The gutless RNC censors

Mia Love, The Haitian-American woman running for congress in Utah against a well-known entrenched democrat, spoke before the Republican National Convention. The Salt Lake Tribute reported that two of her remarks did not make it pass the republican censors – er editors. This is interesting because Mike Huckabee has been stating that he was given free rein in his speech. One wonders if any of his remarks were edited as well. What were the edits of Love’s speech? They were two references to race. First, here is the speech that Love gave at the RNC. “Let me tell you about the America I know. My parents immigrated to the U.S. with ten dollars in their pocket, believing that the America they had heard about really did exist. When times got tough they didn't look to Washington, they looked within. So the America I came to know was centered in personal responsibility and filled with the American dream. The America I know is grounded in the determination found in patriots and pioneers, in small business owners with big ideas, in the farmers who work in the beauty of our landscape, in our heroic military and Olympians. It's in every child who looks at the seemingly impossible and says, "I can do that." That is the America I know! President Obama's version of America is a divided one — pitting us against each other based on our income level, gender, and social status. His policies have failed! We are not better off than we were 4 years ago, and no rhetoric, bumper sticker, or campaign ad can change that. Mr. President I am here to tell you we are not buying what you are selling in 2012. The American Dream is our story. It is a story of human struggle, standing up and striving for more. It's been told for over 200 years with small steps and giant leaps; from a woman on a bus to a man with a dream; and the bravery of the greatest generation, to the entrepreneurs of today. This is our story. This is the America we know because we built it. With Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan we can restore the America we know and love. The world will know it, our children will tell it and our grandchildren will possess it for years to come! God bless America.” Now here is what the Salt Lake Tribune reports: In the draft of her speech leading up to the convention, Love had planned to say that Obama has "attempted to pit us against each other based on the color of our skin, our gender, income level, age and social status." Also gone was a later reference to race, where Love said: "The truth is that the president’s policies have made minorities and the most vulnerable in society more desperate and dependent on government, less self-reliant, less upwardly mobile and ultimately less free." Blast those weak-kneed republicans! Love would have said what needs to be said to all Americans but especially to those black Americans who still will vote for Obama strictly because he is a democrat and especially because he is black. What needs to be said by all republicans is that the policies of democrats have robbed the poor of incentives and have created a spiral of dependency. Coming from a black woman this message is particularly powerful. Too bad, the censors at the RNC are gutless.

The Republican Bench

I think it was George Will who referred to the republicans as the “stupid party”. Sadly that has been historically true. The lasting vision of republicans has been the old white country clubber with the blue-haired wife embarrassed by fundamental Christians and conservatives. The Tea Party was certainly not welcomed with open arms by the mainstream republican establishment. But like them or not, the Tea Party fielded candidates under the republican label. The reason being that third party races would guarantee continued leadership by the congressional democrats. Now we have a conundrum. First, the republican platform committee is picking a fight with the conservatives seeking to dilute dissident voices. Of course, they are shortsighted because if those on the right get nominated then they could purge the moderates as well. Second, Mitt Romney who is touted as the candidate of the moderates, had to approve the list of speakers at the convention. Who did we get the first day? Va. Governor Bob McDonnell, Sen. John Hoeven (ND), Rep Marsha Blackburn (TN), Rick Santorum, Sen Kelly Ayotte (NH), Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, Wis Gov. Scott Walker, Nev Gov. Brian Sandoval, Texas senatorial candidate Ted Cruz, Gov Nikki Haley (SC), former democratic Rep Artur Davis, Gov Chris Christie (NJ) and my favorite, Utah rep. candidate Mia Love. None of these are mainstream moderates. All are dedicated conservatives, young, mainly minorities and extremely bright. Look at who the dems will have speaking at their convention and see whose future looks brightest. The republicans and more importantly, the country.

Voting rates in 2008

I was always under the impression that less than 50 percent of eligible adults voted. This is because in elections around the world we hear of 90+ percent participation while it was significantly less in the US. So I went to the census bureau (www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/p20-562.pdf) and found out the following. In the presidential election of 2008, 64 percent of voting age citizens voted which was not statistically different from the presidential elections of 2004. You would think that since this was an historic election with Barack Obama being the democratic nominee that there would be a higher percentage voting, but no. However, blacks voted at the higher levels since those statistics have been recorded. Nonetheless, the likelihood of blacks voting was still only 65 percent. One would have thought that voter participation among blacks would have been much higher. Non-Hispanic whites voted at 66 percent while Asians and Hispanics were only at a dismal 49 percent. I have no clue why the Asian participation rate is so low but you would have thought that given the dustups over immigration and Hispanics now constituting the largest minority group, that their voter participation would be greater. However, the number of minority voters did increase. There were 5 million more voters in 2008 than in 2004. Of that number 2 million were black, 2 million were Hispanic and 600,000 were Asian. The number of non-Hispanic white voters stayed about the same. Consequently, both the number of black voters increased along with black voter participation. Nonetheless, 65 percent participation is still surprisingly low. The census also reported that of the 225 million adults, 206 million were citizens and 146 million were registered and 131 million voted. This means that while only the voting rate for the total population was 58 percent. Of the adult population 64 percent were registered and 90 percent of those voted.

Obama beats the alternative?

Several days ago I contacted three dear friends who are yellow dog democrats to have them educate me on why a rational thinking person would vote for Obama. One replied "I just love him". One replied it was because of mandatory universal health insurance (Obamacare). I had sent her a blog explaining how the problem could be solved at a fraction of the cost but she said that it did not matter, she was voting for him regardless. Both are white. My black friends who are dems - with two exceptions - are voting for him regardless and make excuses for him. The third (also white) friend replied thusly and reinforced my belief that some differences are simply intractable. Here is what she wrote. "Short answer: Obama beats the alternative. A more elaborate response: Romney is, and has always been, out of touch with the way the majority of Americans live their daily lives - as anyone who has been wealthy all of their lives generally tendsto be. And you can't govern well if you can't understand what your constituents needs are. Also, I think that, left to his own devices, Romney is as much (if not MORE) of a loose cannon as Joe Biden! Mainly because he seems to not understand one WHIT about how what he says will impact his listener. Example: his disastrous European "tour" after his visit to the Olympics. How many international leaders did he offend in the span of only one week?! Just think how much damage he could do to our world standing in four years!! As to your quandary: I feel that a "partisan believer" will never be able to see the "rationality" of another person's opposite viewpoint. And you qualify as a partisan believer, m'dear, BECAUSE you stated upfront that you think supporting Obama is irrational. Maybe support for a candidate you abhor seems irrational to you - and maybe it is to some non-sentient, unthinking Obama's supporters. But I base my preference on rational gathering and culling of TONS of information and a careful observance of each candidate's behavior, rhetoric, background and performance. Hope that answers your question."

Are the Democrats making a big mistake having abortion front and center at their convention?

The Obama camp sure got huffy over Romney’s comment that no one has asked to see his birth certificate. Almost instantaneously, they released a comment with righteous indignation. And this is from the same bunch that has called Romney a felon, a tax cheat, an animal abuser and most famously a murderer. Compared to all that, Romney’s comments were timid and tame. I posted yesterday on Todd Akin and the dems reaction to it with NARAL, Planned Parenthood, Sandra Fluke and other pro-abortion speakers at their convention. A dear friend who is a yellow dog dem thinks this is a mistake. She says that abortion is one issue that should not be up front and in your face at the convention because even dems think that it is something that should be private and even unseemly. Since most Americans identify themselves as pro-life and even most dems find the act unsavory, to have it displayed so prominently at the convention is a mistake. Also, Obama still is very strong among Hispanics. She thinks that if the republicans have any smarts, they will through the super pacs and Ryan (who is catholic) blanket the Hispanic markets with the pro–abortionists' speeches. It should be interesting.

Bill Clinton, NARAL, Planned Parenthood, Sandra Fluke and Todd Akin?

Todd Akin’s stupid comment on rape has caused the polls to flip. Akin’s lead has vanished and now McCaskill is leading by 10 points. Also Romney now trails Obama in Missouri by one point despite he and Ryan and all the republican honchos in Missouri denouncing Akin. Apparently the powers that be in the democratic hierarchy have decided to feature Akin, rape and abortion at their convention. Since the comment, the speakers at the democratic national convention have been announced. Among the speakers are Wisconsin Rep. Tammy Baldwin, the openly gay Democratic Senate candidate, Illinois congressional candidate and Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth, Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski, Eva Longoria, national co-chair of Obama's campaign, Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau, Lilly Ledbetter a women’s equality activist and Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of the late president. But also speaking are Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, Nancy Keenan president of NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League) Pro-Choice America and Sandra Fluke who gained notoriety when Rush Limbaugh lampooned her wanted to have others pay for her birth control. Is there any doubt that these women will try to tie Romney and Ryan to Akin? Well there shouldn’t since Fluke previewed of her speech in an email released by the president's re-election campaign. Romney and Ryan, Fluke wrote "they're in lockstep with Akin on the major women's health issues of our time. There is a clear choice for women in this election." Really? Has the irony of also having Bill Clinton – an accused rapist and a widely recognized sexual predator – keynoting the same democratic convention been lost on the media, on the democrats or more importantly, on women? Maybe the republican superpacs can use the Clinton speech in an ad where they flash pictures of Kathleen Willey, Gennifer Flowers, Paula Jones and Monica Lewinsky while the former president is speaking. For those who have forgotten the sordid escapades of Clinton see what one female democrat wrote: http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/archive/1998/05/williams199805.

More Random Thoughts

The Obama campaign has released the stand-ins for the debate. While the republicans say that no stand-in is needed for Romney and Ryan, the democrats have announced that John Kerry is the stand-in for Romney and Chris Von Holen is Ryan’s stand-in. There is no truth to the rumor that Goofy was being considered as the stand-in for Biden. Romney congratulated Condelezza Rice for her membership in Augusta National. Do you think Obama will congratulate either her or the other new female member, Darla Moore, also a republican? So who is having a war on women? Why is it that there are no success stories in welfare? Namely, there must be someone who has used welfare to spring into the mainstream and from there into prosperity. Surely with all the trillions spent there must be evidence of success - or is success defined as staying on welfare? Didn’t Obama say he was going to evaluate every federal program and if it wasn’t working to get rid of it? I guess he concluded that they all were working.