Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The Day Will Come
It is now clear to me that what has transpired is a carefully calculated plan by one or more of the other families. As a legitimate business man who has been harrassed by overzealous federal agents, I do not here cast judgment upon Rod Blago.
But one thing is clear. The Barzinis(Daley) and Tattaglias(Pelosi, Boxer, et al) have conspired to place some pezzonovantes as my leaders.
What is the end result?
Omerta. I face 2 clowns trying to control me as a puppet by the strings of a marionette. This, I cannot tolerate.
So on the day of my children's communion (twins), I have no choice but to restore balance between the families.
Yes, I do renounce Satan.
But on that day, may God be with you.
I have dealt with Senators before. Just ask one from Nevada.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
I Will Post Your Writings
I have received many emails providing opinions, thoughts, and informative text from many who seem to prefer not to post comments.
As I realize many readers might not have the time to post on a regular basis, I have decided to open up this blog to those interested in publishing an article on an occasional basis.
All I ask is that it relates to the overall theme of this Blog.
As you can see from my postings, I always cite the authors of any writings not my own and provide a link where one exists.
To sum up my decision:
I am interested in discussion and dialogue, not being TOP DOG.
I want YOU, those younger than me, to start taking the reigns and riding the GOP elephant into a new world order.
I am a team player. My team is the GOP. Thus, in the best interest of the team winning, it is not my role to compete against you, but to assist you to help our team achieve our goal(s).
Using a football example, I might know the 3-4 defense to no end. But if, as a safety, I just cannot break on an out pattern same as before and it costs the team, it comes time to step aside and groom my replacement to ensure team victory.
Hope this makes sense.
Paul Fuentes
As I realize many readers might not have the time to post on a regular basis, I have decided to open up this blog to those interested in publishing an article on an occasional basis.
All I ask is that it relates to the overall theme of this Blog.
As you can see from my postings, I always cite the authors of any writings not my own and provide a link where one exists.
To sum up my decision:
I am interested in discussion and dialogue, not being TOP DOG.
I want YOU, those younger than me, to start taking the reigns and riding the GOP elephant into a new world order.
I am a team player. My team is the GOP. Thus, in the best interest of the team winning, it is not my role to compete against you, but to assist you to help our team achieve our goal(s).
Using a football example, I might know the 3-4 defense to no end. But if, as a safety, I just cannot break on an out pattern same as before and it costs the team, it comes time to step aside and groom my replacement to ensure team victory.
Hope this makes sense.
Paul Fuentes
Ill. Gov. arrested in Obama successor probe
By MIKE ROBINSON, Associated Press Writer Mike Robinson, Associated Press Writer – 11 mins ago
CHICAGO – Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday on charges of conspiring to get financial benefits through his authority to appoint a U.S. senator to fill the vacancy left by Barack Obama's election as president.
According to a federal criminal complaint, Blagojevich also was charged with illegally threatening to withhold state assistance to Tribune Co., the owner of the Chicago Tribune, in the sale of Wrigley Field. In return for state assistance, Blagojevich allegedly wanted members of the paper's editorial board who had been critical of him fired.
A 76-page FBI affidavit said the 51-year-old Democratic governor was intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps over the last month conspiring to sell or trade the vacant Senate seat for personal benefits for himself and his wife, Patti.
The affidavit said Blagojevich discussed getting a substantial salary for himself at a nonprofit foundation or an organization affiliated with labor unions.
It said Blagojevich also talked about getting his wife placed on corporate boards where she might get $150,000 a year in director's fees.
He also allegedly discussed getting campaign funds for himself or possibly a post in the president's cabinet or an ambassadorship once he left the governor's office.
Full Story
Note: The Feds deviated from their normal MO and arrested this clown before his term nearly ended (as is usually the case), and before Christmas included:
1. He was trying to strong-arm campaign donations before a new state law restricting donations went into effect January 1, 2009.
2. He was trying to find a way to rescind an $8Mil state grant to Children's Memorial Hospital after the hospital CEO did not reciprocate with a $50K to $100K contribution.
3. He was holding up approval of the Chicago Tribune selling Wrigley Field until the fired some editors that wrote less than flattering things about Blago.
4. And, the straw that broke the camel's back, he was trying to sell the Senate seat Obama vacated to the highest bidder.
What a piece of work.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Some Other Poster Board Material
Can Carolina Go All The Way??
I have not seen a team run the rock the way Carolina did tonight. This is no ordinary tandem. You have 2 RBs that can take it to the house on any given play (its almost unfair). That is the type of play that can win in bad weather and on the road.
What is more impressive is that it came against a Monte Kiffin D. Monte is not the highest paid assistant coach in the NFL without merit. He is cream of the crop of D coaches in terms of creating a scheme b4 game day, and tweaking it on game day.
Once again...yes, this is a political blog..but there is life beyond politics.
Just ROLL With It
The Promise and Peril of Ethnic Minority Outreach
An interesting article written by Next Right Blogger Matt Moon:
Bottom Line Up Front: Ethnic minority outreach means "reaching out" to them where they are, not inviting them to where we are. But it doesn't mean pandering to them based on rhetoric tied to their ethnic identity.
A very important part of the RebuildTheParty.com platform is to rebuild our grassroots infrastructure. One of the issues to be debated is how much our party has to centralize or decentralize our grassroots operations; but what's clear is that the fabric of our state, county and local parties has been falling apart.
Part of rebuilding our grassroots infrastructure at the state and local levels has to include pressing the "Restart" button on coalition building among a series of constituency groups, including ethinic minorities. Sophia Nelson, an African-American Republican congressional staffer, writes about minority outreach in an opinion piece in today's Washington Post entitled "It's My Party, But I Don't Feel Part of It."
"The problem, former Maryland lieutenant governor Michael Steele told the Washington Times last week, is that party officials 'don't give a damn.' To them, he said, 'outreach means let's throw a cocktail party, find some black folks and Hispanics and women, wrap our arms around them -- 'See, look at us.' And then we go back to the same old, same old.'
Full Story
Bottom Line Up Front: Ethnic minority outreach means "reaching out" to them where they are, not inviting them to where we are. But it doesn't mean pandering to them based on rhetoric tied to their ethnic identity.
A very important part of the RebuildTheParty.com platform is to rebuild our grassroots infrastructure. One of the issues to be debated is how much our party has to centralize or decentralize our grassroots operations; but what's clear is that the fabric of our state, county and local parties has been falling apart.
Part of rebuilding our grassroots infrastructure at the state and local levels has to include pressing the "Restart" button on coalition building among a series of constituency groups, including ethinic minorities. Sophia Nelson, an African-American Republican congressional staffer, writes about minority outreach in an opinion piece in today's Washington Post entitled "It's My Party, But I Don't Feel Part of It."
"The problem, former Maryland lieutenant governor Michael Steele told the Washington Times last week, is that party officials 'don't give a damn.' To them, he said, 'outreach means let's throw a cocktail party, find some black folks and Hispanics and women, wrap our arms around them -- 'See, look at us.' And then we go back to the same old, same old.'
Full Story
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Best Weightlifting Routine Bar None
Frankie's 5X5. I have never had such high incremental gains in weight lifted week to week, bar none. Now, as any other routine, always cycle. Never do a specific routine for more that 8 to 12 weeks.
Here is a link for the 5X5: Frankie's 5X5
P.S. Why do I post this on a political blog?? Conservatives have a life outside politics.
Nuff Said
Here is a link for the 5X5: Frankie's 5X5
P.S. Why do I post this on a political blog?? Conservatives have a life outside politics.
Nuff Said
A Post On A Friend Blog
Building The Grand New Party
Here is a simple strategy for the Republican Party to use in order to reinvent and reinvigorate themselves following the “Blue State Sweep” of 2008. The GOP should focus on the following five pillars:
1. Be the party of the Constitution: Uphold the principles of government and citizens’ rights spelled out in what is at the center of the most successful democracy in history. Whether it be Freedom of the Press, Freedom of Religious Expression, the Right to Bear Arms, or the checks and balances of government, the Republican party should be steadfast cheerleaders of this fundamental core of the United States. Also, boning up on the Federalist Papers wouldn’t hurt.
2. Be the party of Pragmatism: As a Democrat-controlled Executive Branch and Legislature push through pet project after pet project, the Republicans can reinvent themselves as the party of pragmatic, goal-oriented, fact based solutions to problems, in contrast to whatever liberal idealism may arise from the current climate. Intellectual pragmatism can be applied to both domestic and foreign policy. Economic solutions, instead of legislative, can be found to political problems.
3. Be the party of Minimalist Government: less is more.
4. Be the party of Economic Liberty: aka the Free Market, aka Capitalism. Due to anti-capitalist promotion following the current economic downturn, classically economic liberals are on the defensive. The truth is, capitalism is the best economic system ever invented by mankind. It is also, for the most part, a self-correcting system. Reforms should be favored above government entanglement in the private sector. There are many scapegoats for the current mess, but the record shows many Republicans calling, unsuccessfully, for reforms of Freddie and Fannie, etc.
5. Be the party of Social Conservatism: the majority of the American people remain socially conservative on a number of issues. Social conservatives turned out in droves in 2004 to support many ‘Family Values’ measures. As Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs tells us, food, safety and shelter will always be prioritized over ideological values. If socially conservative voters lose their jobs and face eviction from their homes, they will vote for whoever seems most capable of offering them a way out. Social conservatism alone will not win an election.
- Hamilton
FedLocally Blog
P.S. Be careful when serving barbeque. These boys are from the Carolinas and will spit out anything not Vinegar based!!!
Here is a simple strategy for the Republican Party to use in order to reinvent and reinvigorate themselves following the “Blue State Sweep” of 2008. The GOP should focus on the following five pillars:
1. Be the party of the Constitution: Uphold the principles of government and citizens’ rights spelled out in what is at the center of the most successful democracy in history. Whether it be Freedom of the Press, Freedom of Religious Expression, the Right to Bear Arms, or the checks and balances of government, the Republican party should be steadfast cheerleaders of this fundamental core of the United States. Also, boning up on the Federalist Papers wouldn’t hurt.
2. Be the party of Pragmatism: As a Democrat-controlled Executive Branch and Legislature push through pet project after pet project, the Republicans can reinvent themselves as the party of pragmatic, goal-oriented, fact based solutions to problems, in contrast to whatever liberal idealism may arise from the current climate. Intellectual pragmatism can be applied to both domestic and foreign policy. Economic solutions, instead of legislative, can be found to political problems.
3. Be the party of Minimalist Government: less is more.
4. Be the party of Economic Liberty: aka the Free Market, aka Capitalism. Due to anti-capitalist promotion following the current economic downturn, classically economic liberals are on the defensive. The truth is, capitalism is the best economic system ever invented by mankind. It is also, for the most part, a self-correcting system. Reforms should be favored above government entanglement in the private sector. There are many scapegoats for the current mess, but the record shows many Republicans calling, unsuccessfully, for reforms of Freddie and Fannie, etc.
5. Be the party of Social Conservatism: the majority of the American people remain socially conservative on a number of issues. Social conservatives turned out in droves in 2004 to support many ‘Family Values’ measures. As Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs tells us, food, safety and shelter will always be prioritized over ideological values. If socially conservative voters lose their jobs and face eviction from their homes, they will vote for whoever seems most capable of offering them a way out. Social conservatism alone will not win an election.
- Hamilton
FedLocally Blog
P.S. Be careful when serving barbeque. These boys are from the Carolinas and will spit out anything not Vinegar based!!!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
De La Hoya v. Pacquiao
As Denzell Asked in "Man on Fire": Are You Trained or Untrained?
ROUND 1
De La Hoya closed as a 2-1 favorite. De La Hoya is minus-200 and Pacquiao is plus-170. The over-under is 9½ rounds. Pacquiao comes out with a slight weight advantage tonight. On the unofficial HBO scales, he weighed 148½ and De La Hoya was 147. De La Hoya is the aggressor early, but nothing lands in the first minute. Straight left from Pacquiao and then a combination from Pacquiao connects. Lead left by Pacquiao. Right to the body by Oscar. Manny misses a big hook. Straight left by Pacquiao. Combination to the head by De La Hoya backs Pacquiao up. Right by Oscar connects. Straight left by Manny.
Iole scores it 10-9, Pacquiao
ROUND 2
Lead right by De La Hoya and a right hook from Pacquiao. Double jab by De La Hoya. Pacquiao is circling away. Combination from Oscar but doesn’t land flush. Combination to the body by De La Hoya. Right-left from Pacquiao. De La Hoya’s face is reddened from the punches. Pacquiao left lands and then an uppercut. Lead left by Pacquiao keeps getting through. Difference in hand speed is stark. Hard jab and then a left by Pacquiao. Lead left by Pacquiao.
Iole scores it 10-9, Pacquiao.
ROUND 3
Lead left from Pacquiao to open the round connects. De La Hoya has to stop that. De La Hoya is doing nothing offensively in first minute of round. Pacquiao flicks a jab that is short. Right to the head and left to the body from De La Hoya. Lead left again by Pacquiao. Left to the body from Pacquiao. Oscar seems befuddled. Right hook to the body from Pacquiao.
Iole scores it 10-9, Pacquiao
ROUND 5
De La Hoya connects with a jab, but first 30 seconds of round are very slow. They’re circling but not throwing much. Pacquiao lands a right hook. Triple jab from Pacquiao. Combination from Pacquiao backs De La Hoya up. The way this is going, it wouldn’t be a shock if De La Hoya were to quit on the stool at some point. He’s taking a tremendous amount of punishment. Body shot by Oscar lands and then two lefts. Oscar’s left eye is closing. He looks like a beaten, old and shot fighter.
Iole scores it 10-9, Pacquiao
ROUND 6
Nothing happens in first minute of round. Pacquiao lands left to body and a left to the cheek. They trade in the corner and Pacquiao gets the best of it. Straight left from Pacquiao lands. Hard straight left by Pacquiao snaps Oscar’s head back. De La Hoya’s left eye is a mess. Right by Pacquiao lands on that eye. This may be stopped soon by the corner.
Iole scores it 10-9, Pacquiao
ROUND 7
Lead right by De La Hoya lands to open the round. Pacquiao rakes De La Hoya with a three-punch combination. Double jab by Manny. Pacquiao batters De La Hoya into the corner. He’s pinned on the ropes and Pacquiao is firing away. Fight is close to ending. Pacquiao is hitting De La Hoya hard with everything he throws. Oscar is in big, big trouble. Left to the body by Pacquiao hurts Oscar. Oscar has never been beaten like this in any of his 44 previous fights. Pacquiao is overwhelming him.
Iole scores it 10-8, Pacquiao
ROUND 8
Pacquiao goes to the body and is warned by referee Tony Weeks to keep them up. Lead right by Oscar connects. Combination by Pacquiao pins Oscar in the corner. Lead left by Pacquiao buzzes De La Hoya. Combination wobbles him in the corner. Double jab by Pacquiao. Combination by Pacquiao lands. De La Hoya goes to the body. Four-punch combination by Pacquiao lands and hurts Oscar.
Iole scores it 10-9, Pacquiao
ROUND 9
Fight is stopped just as the round is set to begin. Manny Pacquiao is the winner. Official time is 3:00 of the eighth.
Wait til next time!!
P.S. In case you are wondering why this is here, this is a site intended to interest Asians, Hispanics et al..a little fun does not hurt..
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Dont Forget To Clean Your Own Backyard
Get Rid Of All ACORN(S).
I. What you should know about ACORN.
1. ACORN and its affiliated groups always collect record number new voter registrations.
2. They most always target “swing” states, states where they have targeted key statewide office holders, or states where key Senatorial races are at stake.
3. They recently have been filing voter registrations on the eve of the closing date for filing, thus overwhelming county registrars and making it nearly impossible verify a vast majority of new registrations prior to a pending election.
4. When issues are raised, the response is always the same. They cannot control the actions of a few bad apples and vow to cooperate with any investigation.
5. ACORN does not always operate under the name “ACORN”. In one instance, an investigation conducted by No Quarter found 25 different businesses registered to an address in New Orleans including ACORN, CSI Inc., Project Vote, and the SEIU. (1)
II. A History of ACORN and Vote Fraud.
1. In 2006, ACORN submitted just over 1,800 new voter registration forms in one Washington state county alone. A subsequent investigation revealed all but six of the 1,800 submissions were fakes. (2)
2. On November 2, 2006, a federal grand jury in Kansas City indicted four ACORN employees for “knowingly and willingly” submitting false information to election authorities. The four allegedly submitted 15,000 fraudulent voter registration forms including ones with fake names, signatures or addresses. (3)
3. In 2006, St. Louis election officials were so inundated with Acorn-generated voter registrants that they mailed a letter to 5,000 registrants, requesting the recipients to contact them. Fewer than 40 responded. Over 1,000 addresses listed on its registrations did not exist. That investigation did not close until December, 2007 when 8 ACORN workers were indicted. (4)
4. August 18, 2008. The Bernardillo County (New Mexico) Clerk’s office turns over more than 1000 suspected bogus registration cards submitted to their office by ACORN. (5)
5. August 28, 2008. Cuyahoga County (Cleveland, Ohio) election board officials reported they are investigating 75,000 registrations submitted by ACORN to determine if there is enough evidence of fraud to refer the case to the county prosecutor. (6)
6. September 14, 2008. Michigan reports high number of fraudulent voter registrations submitted by ACORN. (7)
7. October 1, 2008. ACORN is found to have appointed 7 convicted felons as deputy voter registrars in Wisconsin. (8)
8. October 7, 2008. The Las Vegas Sun reports that ACORN’s offices were raided. Although ACORN claims it had been cooperating with authorities, ACORN only responded to subpoenas. In a 19-page affidavit by criminal investigator Colin Hayes of the Secretary of State's office, Hayes said 59 inmates worked for ACORN between March 5 and July 31. (9)
9. October 9, 2008. Lake County Indiana officials are inundated with new voter registrations, including 5000 filed by ACORN. As of the date of the report, Lake County officials have found that upon verification about half of ACORN’s submissions were fraudulent. (10)
10. October 10, 2008. Philadelphia’s voter registration administrator rejected 57,000 (so far) of registrations submitted by ACORN and other groups. (11) Philadelphia had a similar problem with ACORN registrations in 2004 when it was inundated with more than 190,000 registrations (38 percent of the half-million votes cast in Philly in the last presidential election)on the eve of the submission deadline. (12)
10. October 13, 2008, the Cuyahoga County bipartisan election board voted unanimously to refer the case to the local prosecutor. One of the new voters, Freddie Johnson, 19, of Cleveland, said he signed 73 voter registration forms over a five-month period. In return, ACORN canvassers gave him cigarettes or cash, about $20 in all, he told WEWS-TV in Cleveland. (13)
11. October 24, 2008. More than 43,000 Minnesotans registered to vote this year through ACORN.(14)
12. November 1, 2008. In Marion County, Indiana, ACORN operatives turn in registrations for 105% of the voting age population. (15)
The above referenced is not an exhaustive list of ACORN's involvement with submission of bogus voter registrations. What we will never know is how many fraudulent voter registrations go unnoticed or unreported. And ACORN is not the only organization out there committing these acts. Democracia USA, a subsidiary of the National Council of La Raza, was caught doing similar acts in Florida. (16)
What is quite scandalous is that these groups have been recipients of taxpayer dollars (15) and were to be pork recipients of the recent Wall Street bailout. (17)
It also these same Democrats that consistently oppose voter-id laws, citing that there is very little evidence fraudulent votes are cast on election day. (18) As a former prosecutor, I can tell you that it is almost impossible to detect fraudulent votes. Verifying voter registrations en mass is a task most election boards do not have the budget, time, or staff to accomplish. Moreover, even if you discover post election that someone with a registration listed to a boarded up building or a vacant lot voted, it is almost impossible to identify and prosecute a perpetrator.
Thus, it is imperative for all state and local GOP organizations to recognize the importance of defending the integrity of the ballot box. It is crucial that voter-id laws are established in those states where they are non-existent. Even is states where Democrats control legislatures or governorships, public pressure can be a major influence as most Americans back such legislation. (19) Poll watchers on election day must be high on any organization's list of priorities, particularly in those precincts where one suspects voter fraud might occur.
And if anyone doubts that fraud can influence the outcome of elections, I wonder what Norm Coleman in Minnesota might opine about that. Or just ask Jim Talent who lost his Missouri U.S. Senate seat to Claire McCaskill by less than 50,000 votes. It has been well documented that ACORN sent troops into Missouri under the guise of supporting a minimum wage referendum and in fact were actively campaigning for McCaskill. (20) If nothing else, I'm sure some candidates would love to have the "intelligence" gathered by such drives (names, emails, phone numbers, cell phone numbers) in their database to help GOTV efforts. The following is one example of a GOTV effort in Ohio: Video
P.S. All of you local officials need to push for enhanced penalties on violations of exiting state voter fraud laws, or draft new ones. In most instances, the U.S. Attorney's office will not prosecute "small" cases, nor cases where the probability of a guilty finding is NOT almost guaranteed.
Thus, it is imperative that county prosecutors start engaging against voter fraud. I know it's easier said than done. I cannot point to 1 case of voter fraud prosecuted by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. That has to change if we are to preserve the sanctity of the ballot box. Know that the voters are with you on that issue and forge ahead.
I am Paul Fuentes and I approve of this message. It is not above my pay-grade.
I. What you should know about ACORN.
1. ACORN and its affiliated groups always collect record number new voter registrations.
2. They most always target “swing” states, states where they have targeted key statewide office holders, or states where key Senatorial races are at stake.
3. They recently have been filing voter registrations on the eve of the closing date for filing, thus overwhelming county registrars and making it nearly impossible verify a vast majority of new registrations prior to a pending election.
4. When issues are raised, the response is always the same. They cannot control the actions of a few bad apples and vow to cooperate with any investigation.
5. ACORN does not always operate under the name “ACORN”. In one instance, an investigation conducted by No Quarter found 25 different businesses registered to an address in New Orleans including ACORN, CSI Inc., Project Vote, and the SEIU. (1)
II. A History of ACORN and Vote Fraud.
1. In 2006, ACORN submitted just over 1,800 new voter registration forms in one Washington state county alone. A subsequent investigation revealed all but six of the 1,800 submissions were fakes. (2)
2. On November 2, 2006, a federal grand jury in Kansas City indicted four ACORN employees for “knowingly and willingly” submitting false information to election authorities. The four allegedly submitted 15,000 fraudulent voter registration forms including ones with fake names, signatures or addresses. (3)
3. In 2006, St. Louis election officials were so inundated with Acorn-generated voter registrants that they mailed a letter to 5,000 registrants, requesting the recipients to contact them. Fewer than 40 responded. Over 1,000 addresses listed on its registrations did not exist. That investigation did not close until December, 2007 when 8 ACORN workers were indicted. (4)
4. August 18, 2008. The Bernardillo County (New Mexico) Clerk’s office turns over more than 1000 suspected bogus registration cards submitted to their office by ACORN. (5)
5. August 28, 2008. Cuyahoga County (Cleveland, Ohio) election board officials reported they are investigating 75,000 registrations submitted by ACORN to determine if there is enough evidence of fraud to refer the case to the county prosecutor. (6)
6. September 14, 2008. Michigan reports high number of fraudulent voter registrations submitted by ACORN. (7)
7. October 1, 2008. ACORN is found to have appointed 7 convicted felons as deputy voter registrars in Wisconsin. (8)
8. October 7, 2008. The Las Vegas Sun reports that ACORN’s offices were raided. Although ACORN claims it had been cooperating with authorities, ACORN only responded to subpoenas. In a 19-page affidavit by criminal investigator Colin Hayes of the Secretary of State's office, Hayes said 59 inmates worked for ACORN between March 5 and July 31. (9)
9. October 9, 2008. Lake County Indiana officials are inundated with new voter registrations, including 5000 filed by ACORN. As of the date of the report, Lake County officials have found that upon verification about half of ACORN’s submissions were fraudulent. (10)
10. October 10, 2008. Philadelphia’s voter registration administrator rejected 57,000 (so far) of registrations submitted by ACORN and other groups. (11) Philadelphia had a similar problem with ACORN registrations in 2004 when it was inundated with more than 190,000 registrations (38 percent of the half-million votes cast in Philly in the last presidential election)on the eve of the submission deadline. (12)
10. October 13, 2008, the Cuyahoga County bipartisan election board voted unanimously to refer the case to the local prosecutor. One of the new voters, Freddie Johnson, 19, of Cleveland, said he signed 73 voter registration forms over a five-month period. In return, ACORN canvassers gave him cigarettes or cash, about $20 in all, he told WEWS-TV in Cleveland. (13)
11. October 24, 2008. More than 43,000 Minnesotans registered to vote this year through ACORN.(14)
12. November 1, 2008. In Marion County, Indiana, ACORN operatives turn in registrations for 105% of the voting age population. (15)
The above referenced is not an exhaustive list of ACORN's involvement with submission of bogus voter registrations. What we will never know is how many fraudulent voter registrations go unnoticed or unreported. And ACORN is not the only organization out there committing these acts. Democracia USA, a subsidiary of the National Council of La Raza, was caught doing similar acts in Florida. (16)
What is quite scandalous is that these groups have been recipients of taxpayer dollars (15) and were to be pork recipients of the recent Wall Street bailout. (17)
It also these same Democrats that consistently oppose voter-id laws, citing that there is very little evidence fraudulent votes are cast on election day. (18) As a former prosecutor, I can tell you that it is almost impossible to detect fraudulent votes. Verifying voter registrations en mass is a task most election boards do not have the budget, time, or staff to accomplish. Moreover, even if you discover post election that someone with a registration listed to a boarded up building or a vacant lot voted, it is almost impossible to identify and prosecute a perpetrator.
Thus, it is imperative for all state and local GOP organizations to recognize the importance of defending the integrity of the ballot box. It is crucial that voter-id laws are established in those states where they are non-existent. Even is states where Democrats control legislatures or governorships, public pressure can be a major influence as most Americans back such legislation. (19) Poll watchers on election day must be high on any organization's list of priorities, particularly in those precincts where one suspects voter fraud might occur.
And if anyone doubts that fraud can influence the outcome of elections, I wonder what Norm Coleman in Minnesota might opine about that. Or just ask Jim Talent who lost his Missouri U.S. Senate seat to Claire McCaskill by less than 50,000 votes. It has been well documented that ACORN sent troops into Missouri under the guise of supporting a minimum wage referendum and in fact were actively campaigning for McCaskill. (20) If nothing else, I'm sure some candidates would love to have the "intelligence" gathered by such drives (names, emails, phone numbers, cell phone numbers) in their database to help GOTV efforts. The following is one example of a GOTV effort in Ohio: Video
P.S. All of you local officials need to push for enhanced penalties on violations of exiting state voter fraud laws, or draft new ones. In most instances, the U.S. Attorney's office will not prosecute "small" cases, nor cases where the probability of a guilty finding is NOT almost guaranteed.
Thus, it is imperative that county prosecutors start engaging against voter fraud. I know it's easier said than done. I cannot point to 1 case of voter fraud prosecuted by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. That has to change if we are to preserve the sanctity of the ballot box. Know that the voters are with you on that issue and forge ahead.
I am Paul Fuentes and I approve of this message. It is not above my pay-grade.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Just A Rant
I am from the Chicago suburban area. I grew up within the operations of the Dem Machine of Chicago, and in reality now, Cook County. As a Republican operative since 1982, I have seen the Dems pick off pockets of previous GOP strongholds in suburban Cook County and the collar counties, precinct by precinct. The problem has been that GOP leaders never even see it coming. They always seem to want to cling to an "old boys network" and never look to fresh blood, new ideas, or new constituencies.
What we saw happen November 4, 2008 was the culmination of a campaign that took Karl Rove's model of 2000 and 2004 and add Chicago style machine politics. This election was not won during the months preceding the Presidential campaigns. The campaign started year prior when Obama sent his ACORN (and affiliated) troops to places like Missouri to elect Claire McCaskill and Virginia's Fairfax (Asian) and Prince Williams (Hispanic) counties to insure the defeat of George Allen as Senator.
Since 2004, they have been micro-targeting precincts, wards, and counties. Their targeted bases? Constituencies ignored by the GOP (see Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and other Red Turned Blue states).
Sorry for the rant, but I am not happy about current GOP operations.
There are constituencies out there ripe for the GOP to court and win over. George Bush did it in 2000 and 2004. Unless we learn from our mistakes, we will follow the slide started in 2006.
Paul
What we saw happen November 4, 2008 was the culmination of a campaign that took Karl Rove's model of 2000 and 2004 and add Chicago style machine politics. This election was not won during the months preceding the Presidential campaigns. The campaign started year prior when Obama sent his ACORN (and affiliated) troops to places like Missouri to elect Claire McCaskill and Virginia's Fairfax (Asian) and Prince Williams (Hispanic) counties to insure the defeat of George Allen as Senator.
Since 2004, they have been micro-targeting precincts, wards, and counties. Their targeted bases? Constituencies ignored by the GOP (see Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and other Red Turned Blue states).
Sorry for the rant, but I am not happy about current GOP operations.
There are constituencies out there ripe for the GOP to court and win over. George Bush did it in 2000 and 2004. Unless we learn from our mistakes, we will follow the slide started in 2006.
Paul
Told You So
I told you Hispanics were not Obamanation Kool-Aid drinkers. The bonds are already severing (a mere 26 days post the Messiah's election).
Question is...can you operatives, do you operatives, have the sense to drive the wedge deeper and widen the crack in the armor?
Latinos unhappy with Obama picks
By: Gebe Martinez Gebe Martinez – Sun Nov 30, 12:04 pm ET
Obama promised hope and change, and Hispanics hoped for the usual two Latinos in the Cabinet. And heck, why not three or four? Now that would be a change.
But at this early stage in the appointments process, there is a trickle of disappointment running through the Latino community.
First, the most prominent Hispanic leader, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, lost the plum secretary of state assignment to New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Last spring, Richardson angered the Clintonistas by backing Obama over Clinton during the heated Democratic Primary contest, only to now see her being offered the top diplomatic post.
“There’s nobody more prepared and experienced” for the job than Richardson, said Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. Richardson was energy secretary and ambassador to the United Nations during the Clinton administration, and he helped free hostages in North Korea, Iraq and Cuba.
Full Story
Question is...can you operatives, do you operatives, have the sense to drive the wedge deeper and widen the crack in the armor?
Latinos unhappy with Obama picks
By: Gebe Martinez Gebe Martinez – Sun Nov 30, 12:04 pm ET
Obama promised hope and change, and Hispanics hoped for the usual two Latinos in the Cabinet. And heck, why not three or four? Now that would be a change.
But at this early stage in the appointments process, there is a trickle of disappointment running through the Latino community.
First, the most prominent Hispanic leader, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, lost the plum secretary of state assignment to New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Last spring, Richardson angered the Clintonistas by backing Obama over Clinton during the heated Democratic Primary contest, only to now see her being offered the top diplomatic post.
“There’s nobody more prepared and experienced” for the job than Richardson, said Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. Richardson was energy secretary and ambassador to the United Nations during the Clinton administration, and he helped free hostages in North Korea, Iraq and Cuba.
Full Story
A Message to GOP Leaders
Lessons Learned
This was a year where Murphy’s Law went against the Republican party nationwide. Whatever could go wrong, went wrong. With a financial meltdown occurring a month before the general election, Ronald Reagan would have had a tough time winning. That being said, the Republican party has to take the proverbial “time out” and engage in some introspection. For the GOP’s long term survival, it has to recognize mistakes made and capitalize on opportunities staring it in the face.
Part 1:
I. The GOP has to repave the inroads Bush made into the Hispanic Constituency in 2000 and 2004.
A careful read of an article written by Clint Bolick for the Hoover Institute in 2007 will lead one to conclude it was eerily prophetic. In that article he begged the question: “Should Republicans court Hispanic voters? Only if they want to survive.” What he predicted came to roost in 2008. (Listen to Latinos http://www.hoover.org/publications/digest/10678346.html).
Ken Mehlman made a similar pitch in 2007, noting that Republican candidates that followed George Bush’s lead in reaching out to Hispanics fared well. He noted “Smart Republicans who have listened to, and offered solutions to, concerns of Hispanic-Americans have done even better: Sixty percent for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, 44 percent for former New York Gov. George E. Pataki and 46 percent for former Colorado Gov. Bill Owens in 2002. Even in the tough year of 2006, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger collected 40 percent of the Hispanic vote, while Florida Gov. Charlie Crist pulled in 49 percent and Arizona Sen. John Kyl won 41 percent.”. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0507/3777.html
What actually occurred since 2004, was a rapid erosion of the Republican brand amongst the Hispanic constituency due in large part to the debate over immigration. What GOP leaders do not realize is that in November 2008, Hispanics knew a lot more about Jim Sensenbrenner and Tom Tancredo than they did about John McCain. While not always the lead topic on ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC, it was on Univision that has a far larger audience. Republicans further hurt their image when all GOP candidates balked at appearing at a Univision sponsored primary debate. Univision had to cancel the event. In contrast, all Democratic candidates except for one appeared as scheduled. Adam J. Segal, who heads the Hispanic Voter Project at Johns Hopkins University, commented on the absence of outreach by stating “"This [political environment] gives Democrats a huge advantage …they are likely to draw far more Hispanic votes than in 2004 and would gain at least a half-million vote advantage.." . http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/09/28/hispanic.vote/
Segal’s estimates were far below the reality of November 2008. The nonpartisan National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials estimates that between 9.6 million and 11 million Hispanics voted in the election, compared to a U.S. Census estimate of 7.6 million in 2004. Latinos comprised 9 percent of all voters this year, compared to 7 percent in 2004, according to Associated Press exit polls. This surge of voters was nowhere more pronounced than in key battleground states. In Florida, where President Bush won 56 percent of the Latino vote in 2004, Obama earned 57 percent of the Hispanic vote to McCain's 42 percent. Obama won three-fourths of Latino votes in Nevada, and nearly 7 in 10 favored him in New Mexico, where he would have lost without them.In Colorado, Hispanics supported Obama at nearly the same rate as Democrat John Kerry in 2004 - about 6 in 10 - but they made up 13 percent of the electorate this year, compared to an estimated 8 percent four years ago. http://www.thenewstribune.com/tacoma/24hour/politics/story/533338.html In 2006, Hispanic represented 1.6% of the voting eligible population in Ohio, a state Obama carried by slightly more than 205,000 votes.
A recent article posted on the NDN blog (successor organization to the New Democratic Network) should provide fair warning to all current Republican elected officials and the future of the GOP wherein it states “If These Trends Continue, the National Map Will Continue to Get Harder for Republicans – Of the eight states which flipped from Bush 2004 to Obama 2008, four were heavily Latino states. Just as Pete Wilson’s taking on Hispanics in the 1990s contributed to the transformation of California, home of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, from a swing to the bluest of blue states, the demonization of Hispanics by the national GOP is turning very critical battleground states much more blue. ……What should be most ominous to the GOP is what happened in these 4 states heavily contested by the Democrats. In this election, the center-left coalition went after the Hispanic vote as never before. It dramatically increased turnout in the southwestern states, and saw an historic shift of the enormous Florida Hispanic vote from Republican to Democrat. Similar investments in future years in states like Arizona and Texas could very well make these states – home to George W. Bush and John McCain – as blue as New Mexico and Colorado are today. http://ndnblog.org/node/3209
II. Hispanics Are Not the Only Group the GOP Should Be Targeting
Asians are the second fastest growing minority behind Hispanics. And while they may not at first glance be seen as a political titan, all one has to do is look back at the 2006 Senate race in Virginia, when they helped Democrat James Webb defeat incumbent rising GOP star George Allen by .3% of the vote. http://www.aaldef.org/docs/AALDEF2006ExitPollReportMay2007.pdf
Obama won Virginia by slightly over 232,000 votes. Asian voters account for over 160,000 votes in Virginia. In California, Asians make up over 12% of the total vote. Yet once again the GOP dropped the ball by snubbing another constituency. As reported by A Korean member of the Republican Party said, “We have never asked anything of the party, and we do not even have an Asian-American aide.” He expressed his worry over the lack of any real connection between the McCain camp and the Korean-American community. On the Democratic side, Obama recently appointed a Korean aide in charge of public relations. http://www.indypressny.org/article.php3?ArticleID=4187
The Republicans also snubbed the Asian community when failing to recognize, or deliberately ignoring, a new organization known as the 80-20 Initiative. During the Democratic primaries, Hillary was the only one to woo the Asian vote and extend an outreach to 80-20. She won Democratic primaries within the Asian constituency by an almost equal ratio. During the general election, Obama extended the same olive branch and likely pulled in equivalent vote ratios. http://www.80-20initiative.net/
The key issue amongst Asian Americans seem to parallel those of Hispanic Americans. the issues most important to the Asian American community are immigration, family reunification, and language barriers that affect access to things like social services and capital for small businesses. While most discussions on immigration hinge around debates over the Mexican border, deportation of immigrants who have been living in the U.S. -- sometimes for nearly their entire lives -- also splits Asian American families. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/natasha-chen/the-asian-american-minori_b_103190.html
III. Unless the Grand Old Party expands its base, it will go the way of the dinosaurs. As pointed out by Ken Mehlman, “Hispanic-Americans tend to be conservative. Last year, pollster David Winston asked registered voters to rate themselves on a 1 to 9 scale from very liberal to very conservative. He found that, overall, the country was center-right and Hispanic-Americans viewed themselves slightly to the right of the country as a whole.
Hispanic outreach is not only natural for the GOP, it is crucial. The Hispanic community is the fastest growing segment of our country, and it is huge. Univision is the channel where more Americans get their evening news than any other. In Nebraska, one out of every eight people under 35 is Hispanic.” http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0507/3777.html
The GOP’s targeted base is dwindling fast while the fastest growing bases escape their grasps. As noted by Mike Thomas of the Orlando Sentinel, the future of the GOP depends on recruitment of the Hispanic (and I argue, the Asian) voters. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-miket0608nov06,0,6631332.column
IV. There is a Silver Lining in the Clouds
Contrary to what the NDN pundits may portray as a running freight train that will surge through the South and Western states, turning each from Red to Blue, I do not see this as an inevitable outcome.
1. The vast majority of the constituencies they relied on to turn Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, and Virginia Blue, were constituencies that overwhelmingly supported Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries. They were not buying Barry’s message. http://www.usaelectionpolls.com/2008/exit-polls/race-ethnicity.html
2. In 1979, President Ronald Reagan said, "Hispanics are Republicans, they just don't know it yet." Yet, while I see every “conservative” Republican hearkening back to Ronald Reagan in self-comparison (BTW, no offense, that was a generation ago), they are often the same scribes that descend on the line of NO AMNESTY, something that Ronald Reagan had the common sense to champion. Where the Republicans fail, is following up on Reagan’s attempt to make Hispanics come to a realization that by ideology they ARE Republicans/Conservatives. Coming from an urban area with a sizeable Hispanic population and voting bloc (Chicago), I can tell you that the vast majority of Hispanics do not connect Reagan with amnesty, the vehicle that allowed them to pursue and live the American dream. This is not a fault of their own, but ours. We as GOP need to insure we educate voters, one by one if we have to, if we are to survive as a party. This is particularly true today when it seems all media operates on an agenda other than reporting truth in a fair and impartial manner. Asian constituencies would likely identify more with GOP ideology as they are not only highly entrepreneurial, but also highly self-disciplined, upwardly mobile, and seek the American dream without government assistance or interference. In fact, most escape societies that are Communist, Socialist, or invaded by radical Muslims.
3. The 2008 general election might have provided us some harsh lessons, but it also provides us some new opportunities to forge alliances on some issues of mutual benefit and comparative ideology. The Roman Catholic Church launched one of the most aggressive campaigns on the Right To Life issue than I have noticed in all of my adult life. http://www.usccb.org/faithfulcitizenship/FCStatement.pdf CatholicVote.Com also launched some of the most compelling media prior to the 2008 general election in both English and Spanish. http://www.catholicvote.com/
These faith based initiatives should be viewed as a new opportunity to forge an alliance to keep the campaign(s) alive beyond the campaign.
4. The grumbling has already started. While listening to a Spanish language radio station over the weekend, the commentators already started criticizing Obama. The gist of the criticism was that in the early days after his election, he never once mentioned immigration as an issue high on his immediate agenda (although the Guantanamo detainees were). This is likely a sentiment felt throughout Hispanic and Asian constituencies that are particularly focused on this issue. What this means for the GOP is that it has to be the party that takes the lead and offer a solution. Whatever the ultimate stance might be, get it out of the way early. Just bring in key players into the dialogue (i.e. business, faith-based institutions, ethnic community leaders, etc). The GOP’s failure to do so since 2004 has had obvious repercussions in 2006 and 2008. Leave it on the backburner and it will haunt our chances of regaining lost ground in 2010 and 2012. Perhaps even far beyond that.
5. Seek to connect with those constituencies that feel they have been ignored or taken for granted. There are pockets in many precincts, townships, counties, and congressional districts. The methods of doing so are FAR easier than one might think or forsee (contact me for further discussion on that subject as I prefer not to disseminate it here). These are the same pockets that have been identified and picked off by the Democrats as they turn Red sates Blue.
In summation, this is not meant to be a criticism of the GOP. As I stated in the start, given all that went against the party this election cycle, we fared far better than I might have expected. At the same time, it is hard to ignore how easily we lost North Carolina and Virginia on short out routes while attempting to play a prevent defense guarding Colorado, Florida, Nevada, and New Mexico to an unknown and unvetted commodity. It is hard to ignore that we did not learn from the lessons of 2006, wherein we began to have state assemblymen and senators, state and county secretarys/clerks (those that control the voting process), congressmen, governors, and senators picked off by Democratic snipers.
This was a year where Murphy’s Law went against the Republican party nationwide. Whatever could go wrong, went wrong. With a financial meltdown occurring a month before the general election, Ronald Reagan would have had a tough time winning. That being said, the Republican party has to take the proverbial “time out” and engage in some introspection. For the GOP’s long term survival, it has to recognize mistakes made and capitalize on opportunities staring it in the face.
Part 1:
I. The GOP has to repave the inroads Bush made into the Hispanic Constituency in 2000 and 2004.
A careful read of an article written by Clint Bolick for the Hoover Institute in 2007 will lead one to conclude it was eerily prophetic. In that article he begged the question: “Should Republicans court Hispanic voters? Only if they want to survive.” What he predicted came to roost in 2008. (Listen to Latinos http://www.hoover.org/publications/digest/10678346.html).
Ken Mehlman made a similar pitch in 2007, noting that Republican candidates that followed George Bush’s lead in reaching out to Hispanics fared well. He noted “Smart Republicans who have listened to, and offered solutions to, concerns of Hispanic-Americans have done even better: Sixty percent for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, 44 percent for former New York Gov. George E. Pataki and 46 percent for former Colorado Gov. Bill Owens in 2002. Even in the tough year of 2006, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger collected 40 percent of the Hispanic vote, while Florida Gov. Charlie Crist pulled in 49 percent and Arizona Sen. John Kyl won 41 percent.”. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0507/3777.html
What actually occurred since 2004, was a rapid erosion of the Republican brand amongst the Hispanic constituency due in large part to the debate over immigration. What GOP leaders do not realize is that in November 2008, Hispanics knew a lot more about Jim Sensenbrenner and Tom Tancredo than they did about John McCain. While not always the lead topic on ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC, it was on Univision that has a far larger audience. Republicans further hurt their image when all GOP candidates balked at appearing at a Univision sponsored primary debate. Univision had to cancel the event. In contrast, all Democratic candidates except for one appeared as scheduled. Adam J. Segal, who heads the Hispanic Voter Project at Johns Hopkins University, commented on the absence of outreach by stating “"This [political environment] gives Democrats a huge advantage …they are likely to draw far more Hispanic votes than in 2004 and would gain at least a half-million vote advantage.." . http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/09/28/hispanic.vote/
Segal’s estimates were far below the reality of November 2008. The nonpartisan National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials estimates that between 9.6 million and 11 million Hispanics voted in the election, compared to a U.S. Census estimate of 7.6 million in 2004. Latinos comprised 9 percent of all voters this year, compared to 7 percent in 2004, according to Associated Press exit polls. This surge of voters was nowhere more pronounced than in key battleground states. In Florida, where President Bush won 56 percent of the Latino vote in 2004, Obama earned 57 percent of the Hispanic vote to McCain's 42 percent. Obama won three-fourths of Latino votes in Nevada, and nearly 7 in 10 favored him in New Mexico, where he would have lost without them.In Colorado, Hispanics supported Obama at nearly the same rate as Democrat John Kerry in 2004 - about 6 in 10 - but they made up 13 percent of the electorate this year, compared to an estimated 8 percent four years ago. http://www.thenewstribune.com/tacoma/24hour/politics/story/533338.html In 2006, Hispanic represented 1.6% of the voting eligible population in Ohio, a state Obama carried by slightly more than 205,000 votes.
A recent article posted on the NDN blog (successor organization to the New Democratic Network) should provide fair warning to all current Republican elected officials and the future of the GOP wherein it states “If These Trends Continue, the National Map Will Continue to Get Harder for Republicans – Of the eight states which flipped from Bush 2004 to Obama 2008, four were heavily Latino states. Just as Pete Wilson’s taking on Hispanics in the 1990s contributed to the transformation of California, home of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, from a swing to the bluest of blue states, the demonization of Hispanics by the national GOP is turning very critical battleground states much more blue. ……What should be most ominous to the GOP is what happened in these 4 states heavily contested by the Democrats. In this election, the center-left coalition went after the Hispanic vote as never before. It dramatically increased turnout in the southwestern states, and saw an historic shift of the enormous Florida Hispanic vote from Republican to Democrat. Similar investments in future years in states like Arizona and Texas could very well make these states – home to George W. Bush and John McCain – as blue as New Mexico and Colorado are today. http://ndnblog.org/node/3209
II. Hispanics Are Not the Only Group the GOP Should Be Targeting
Asians are the second fastest growing minority behind Hispanics. And while they may not at first glance be seen as a political titan, all one has to do is look back at the 2006 Senate race in Virginia, when they helped Democrat James Webb defeat incumbent rising GOP star George Allen by .3% of the vote. http://www.aaldef.org/docs/AALDEF2006ExitPollReportMay2007.pdf
Obama won Virginia by slightly over 232,000 votes. Asian voters account for over 160,000 votes in Virginia. In California, Asians make up over 12% of the total vote. Yet once again the GOP dropped the ball by snubbing another constituency. As reported by A Korean member of the Republican Party said, “We have never asked anything of the party, and we do not even have an Asian-American aide.” He expressed his worry over the lack of any real connection between the McCain camp and the Korean-American community. On the Democratic side, Obama recently appointed a Korean aide in charge of public relations. http://www.indypressny.org/article.php3?ArticleID=4187
The Republicans also snubbed the Asian community when failing to recognize, or deliberately ignoring, a new organization known as the 80-20 Initiative. During the Democratic primaries, Hillary was the only one to woo the Asian vote and extend an outreach to 80-20. She won Democratic primaries within the Asian constituency by an almost equal ratio. During the general election, Obama extended the same olive branch and likely pulled in equivalent vote ratios. http://www.80-20initiative.net/
The key issue amongst Asian Americans seem to parallel those of Hispanic Americans. the issues most important to the Asian American community are immigration, family reunification, and language barriers that affect access to things like social services and capital for small businesses. While most discussions on immigration hinge around debates over the Mexican border, deportation of immigrants who have been living in the U.S. -- sometimes for nearly their entire lives -- also splits Asian American families. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/natasha-chen/the-asian-american-minori_b_103190.html
III. Unless the Grand Old Party expands its base, it will go the way of the dinosaurs. As pointed out by Ken Mehlman, “Hispanic-Americans tend to be conservative. Last year, pollster David Winston asked registered voters to rate themselves on a 1 to 9 scale from very liberal to very conservative. He found that, overall, the country was center-right and Hispanic-Americans viewed themselves slightly to the right of the country as a whole.
Hispanic outreach is not only natural for the GOP, it is crucial. The Hispanic community is the fastest growing segment of our country, and it is huge. Univision is the channel where more Americans get their evening news than any other. In Nebraska, one out of every eight people under 35 is Hispanic.” http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0507/3777.html
The GOP’s targeted base is dwindling fast while the fastest growing bases escape their grasps. As noted by Mike Thomas of the Orlando Sentinel, the future of the GOP depends on recruitment of the Hispanic (and I argue, the Asian) voters. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-miket0608nov06,0,6631332.column
IV. There is a Silver Lining in the Clouds
Contrary to what the NDN pundits may portray as a running freight train that will surge through the South and Western states, turning each from Red to Blue, I do not see this as an inevitable outcome.
1. The vast majority of the constituencies they relied on to turn Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, and Virginia Blue, were constituencies that overwhelmingly supported Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries. They were not buying Barry’s message. http://www.usaelectionpolls.com/2008/exit-polls/race-ethnicity.html
2. In 1979, President Ronald Reagan said, "Hispanics are Republicans, they just don't know it yet." Yet, while I see every “conservative” Republican hearkening back to Ronald Reagan in self-comparison (BTW, no offense, that was a generation ago), they are often the same scribes that descend on the line of NO AMNESTY, something that Ronald Reagan had the common sense to champion. Where the Republicans fail, is following up on Reagan’s attempt to make Hispanics come to a realization that by ideology they ARE Republicans/Conservatives. Coming from an urban area with a sizeable Hispanic population and voting bloc (Chicago), I can tell you that the vast majority of Hispanics do not connect Reagan with amnesty, the vehicle that allowed them to pursue and live the American dream. This is not a fault of their own, but ours. We as GOP need to insure we educate voters, one by one if we have to, if we are to survive as a party. This is particularly true today when it seems all media operates on an agenda other than reporting truth in a fair and impartial manner. Asian constituencies would likely identify more with GOP ideology as they are not only highly entrepreneurial, but also highly self-disciplined, upwardly mobile, and seek the American dream without government assistance or interference. In fact, most escape societies that are Communist, Socialist, or invaded by radical Muslims.
3. The 2008 general election might have provided us some harsh lessons, but it also provides us some new opportunities to forge alliances on some issues of mutual benefit and comparative ideology. The Roman Catholic Church launched one of the most aggressive campaigns on the Right To Life issue than I have noticed in all of my adult life. http://www.usccb.org/faithfulcitizenship/FCStatement.pdf CatholicVote.Com also launched some of the most compelling media prior to the 2008 general election in both English and Spanish. http://www.catholicvote.com/
These faith based initiatives should be viewed as a new opportunity to forge an alliance to keep the campaign(s) alive beyond the campaign.
4. The grumbling has already started. While listening to a Spanish language radio station over the weekend, the commentators already started criticizing Obama. The gist of the criticism was that in the early days after his election, he never once mentioned immigration as an issue high on his immediate agenda (although the Guantanamo detainees were). This is likely a sentiment felt throughout Hispanic and Asian constituencies that are particularly focused on this issue. What this means for the GOP is that it has to be the party that takes the lead and offer a solution. Whatever the ultimate stance might be, get it out of the way early. Just bring in key players into the dialogue (i.e. business, faith-based institutions, ethnic community leaders, etc). The GOP’s failure to do so since 2004 has had obvious repercussions in 2006 and 2008. Leave it on the backburner and it will haunt our chances of regaining lost ground in 2010 and 2012. Perhaps even far beyond that.
5. Seek to connect with those constituencies that feel they have been ignored or taken for granted. There are pockets in many precincts, townships, counties, and congressional districts. The methods of doing so are FAR easier than one might think or forsee (contact me for further discussion on that subject as I prefer not to disseminate it here). These are the same pockets that have been identified and picked off by the Democrats as they turn Red sates Blue.
In summation, this is not meant to be a criticism of the GOP. As I stated in the start, given all that went against the party this election cycle, we fared far better than I might have expected. At the same time, it is hard to ignore how easily we lost North Carolina and Virginia on short out routes while attempting to play a prevent defense guarding Colorado, Florida, Nevada, and New Mexico to an unknown and unvetted commodity. It is hard to ignore that we did not learn from the lessons of 2006, wherein we began to have state assemblymen and senators, state and county secretarys/clerks (those that control the voting process), congressmen, governors, and senators picked off by Democratic snipers.
Friday, November 28, 2008
A Thanksgiving Tip...No Politics
For those of you that enjoy the game of golf, take some sage advice from an old dog. You do not need to buy the latest $400 driver every year. Consider clones, especially if u live on a student budget.
I have played with alot of the best...Mizuno, Nike, Ping, TaylorMade..yet, the best irons I have ever owned were a clone set of Nike Slingshots (for consistency) and a clone set of Nike Blades (for control/draw/fade/playability). There are a few good companies out there that provide very good clubs at a fraction of the price.
Contact me for more info.
Paul Fuentes
I have played with alot of the best...Mizuno, Nike, Ping, TaylorMade..yet, the best irons I have ever owned were a clone set of Nike Slingshots (for consistency) and a clone set of Nike Blades (for control/draw/fade/playability). There are a few good companies out there that provide very good clubs at a fraction of the price.
Contact me for more info.
Paul Fuentes
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