Congress 2010 Thread

[Omnis]

Yeah, and as a Senator Rand's makes more sense. You kind of have to be more immediate and more vocal in the House where Ron is with 434 other people.

 

[FoolKiller]

So, this morning Rand Paul's main competition in the Republican primary was interviewed on the main news/traffic station.
Click here to hear it in a Pop up player

No surprise that there was no difficult questions asked. I did take a few points from his interview that stuck out with me though. I bolded points that I gather from his previous statements.

• His main concern is the country's fiscal health/deficit.
• He differs from Dr. Paul in that he supports Republican initiatives and candidates.
• I wonder how he can support Republican initiatives (bank bailout) and worry about the deficit at the same time.
• He is using his new standby of accusing Dr. Paul of a lot of non-Kentucky support.
• He does not mention where his financial support is coming from as he runs for a Federal job.
  [*]He is not asked about Dr. Paul's support in a poll of Kentuckian's.

And I am really worried about a guy who has this as his picture on his Web site and for his press releases, as seen on the radio station's site.

Looks like he needs a bathroom.

Dr. Paul's site has the image I am using as my avatar.


Speaking of, I scanned in the stuff I got from Dr. Paul's booth at the state fair.

This is the front and back of his information card:

Stickers they were giving out:

Front and back of the $1 Trillion bill (I also have just the front scanned if anyone wants it.

And the bumper sticker.

I also took the sticker and gave it a black background and made it avatar size with MS Paint. It's the best I've got.

I also added the image to that of the bumper sticker and made it a wallpaper desktop.


What I want to do is take my current avatar, the I'm a Rand Fan avatar, and an avatar size of the bumper sticker and make it an animated .gif that switches images about once every 3 seconds. I lack decent photo editing software though.

 

[YSSMAN]

Talk radio around here can be pretty tough on candidates, particularly Michigan Public Radio (ie, NPR), which (generally) isn't afraid to ask difficult questions to the people who make policy for the State. The ad-supported local talk radio is mostly garbage around here, I've found, which is why I don't listen to it.


Things are still pretty boring up here in Michigan's Third District, the State as a whole. Vernon Ehlers is still looking to run in 2010, and there hasn't been any word of who the sacrificial lamb will be for the Democrats. Vern's seat is essentially locked, as a more centrist Republican, he is far too popular among most of the centrist Democrats and Republicans to lose anyway.

Its the gubernatorial race that will be interesting. Pete Hoekstra (MI D2 - R) is in, but I can't see him winning. Furthermore, even if he did end up vacating his seat, its safe to assume that it will shift right back to a conservative Republican. Not the kind I'd want to vote for, to put it mildly (people in Ottawa County are weird).

 

[Omnis]

Unfortunately, BJ Lawson has decided not to run against David Price in North Carolina again. He almost beat him on the first try in 2008 too, in a heavily democrat district. Oh well.

 

[FoolKiller]

Well, I am glad to see that the Republicans have not picked sides in the Kentucky race...yet...sort of.

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090825/NEWS0106/908250355/1008/rss01

Senate Republicans plan Grayson fundraiser

By Joseph Gerth
jgerth@courier-journal.com

If there was any doubt who the Republican establishment in Washington favors in Kentucky's U.S. Senate race next year, it's waning.

Two dozen members of the Senate Republican caucus — including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee — will hold a $500-per-person fundraiser for Secretary of State Trey Grayson on Sept. 23 at the committee's headquarters in Washington.

Grayson's campaign manager, Nate Hodson, couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.

David Adams, a spokesman for Rand Paul, a Bowling Green ophthalmologist who is Grayson's chief opponent in next year's Republican primary, said the fundraiser doesn't surprise him because it was clear the party's leadership was lining up behind Grayson.

“Rand Paul is not going to make any policy decision nor will he make any vote based on what makes him popular with the leadership of any party,” Adams said.

Grayson and Paul are two of the five Republicans seeking the GOP nomination to replace Sen. Jim Bunning, who announced last month that he would retire after two terms because of his difficulty in raising money. He has accused McConnell and Cornyn of trying to force him from the race.

Bunning is one of 16 Republican senators who are not hosting the fundraising event.

Mike Reynard, a spokesman for Bunning, didn't respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

Amber Wilkerson, a spokeswoman for the Republican campaign committee, said the group, whose responsibility is to elect Republicans to the Senate, has not made an endorsement in the race.
FK Note: BS

But the fundraiser should be seen as a sign that the party prefers Grayson, said one person who closely follows Washington politics.

Quinn McCord, managing editor of the National Journal's Hotline, said the Republican leadership is undoubtedly backing Grayson now.

“The bottom line is that it's a clear signal to donors and Republicans across the country that party leaders in Washington have already made the calculation who their strongest nominee would be,” he said.

McCord added that they may have stopped short of endorsing Grayson out of fear that their backing could hurt him in the state or because Paul, who did well in a recent public opinion poll and raised $430,000 last Thursday over the Internet, is seen as a potential threat.

“This type of fundraiser allows the NRSC to both have their cake and eat it too,” he said. “But it's also a way of hedging their bets, effectively saying, ‘We like this guy, but we're not so certain about how things will play out in this state that we want to put our credibility on the line 100 percent just yet.' ”

Grayson has generally been considered the favorite in the race and has been gearing up to run for some time with the quiet support of some influential Republicans.

Paul, on the other hand, has attacked both Republicans and Democrats, saying that both are guilty of hypocrisy. He also criticized last fall's bank bailout bill, which was championed by Democrats and Republicans alike — including McConnell.

Other Republicans who are running are Todd County businessman Bill Johnson, Oldham County school teacher Brian Oerther and Northern Kentucky consultant Roger Thoney.

Wasn't Grayson saying something about Dr. Paul's support and funding being from out of state?

 

[Omnis]

Why is it that typical political higher-ups always make me gag?

 

[Omnis]

Schiff says if he gets $1.5million in total funds raised, he's definitely in the race for the Senate in Connecticut.



If he doesn't run, all money will be sent back to everyone who donates. The website is schiffforsenate.com. Keep an eye out for the moneybomb he talks about. I'll be the herald for it here.

 

[FoolKiller]

Guess who else is planning to run for Congress now: David W Hedrick.

In case you don't know who that is, it is this guy:


Of course, there is a lot more to learn about him, but I like what I have seen so far.


And in the Rand Paul race, Grayson's Senate fundraiser is being seen as a direct challenge by the Rand Paul supporters. I am really glad this is happening in my state because I get to see stuff like this almost daily now.

 

[Omnis]

Is David Henrick related to Hendrick Motorsports Hendrick? Imagine a legion of politically mobilized Nascar fans.

 

[FoolKiller]

Is David Henrick related to Hendrick Motorsports Hendrick? Imagine a legion of politically mobilized Nascar fans.

Hedrick, not Hendrick, so likely not.

 

[Omnis]

Oops.

 

[Omnis]

Mike Shedlock, commonly known as "Mish," endorsed Peter Schiff and Rand Paul for senate yesterday. Here's the link: http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/09/i-endorse-peter-schiff-for-senate.html

Mish runs a popular economics blog and is known for his strong disagreement with Peter Schiff over Schiff's claim that America will experience detrimental inflation, with a worst-case-scenario of rampant hyperinflation. Shedlock argues that, instead, the US will face deflation and that if we have a depression it will be deflationary in nature.

It goes to show how even though they disagree on what is likely to happen in the future, they both share the same concern for and understanding of what is wrong and what needs to be done. I think that these two men in accord gives great credence to Schiff's awareness of our situation and to Schiff's candidacy altogether.

 

[FoolKiller]

Well, as the quarter for reporting fundraising has ended and the funds are being reported, Rand Paul has the second best first quarter of any of the candidates, raising over $1 million.
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20091001/NEWS01/910010347/1071/NEWS0106/Senate+candidate+Rand+Paul+raises+$1+million

Senate candidate Rand Paul raises $1 million

By Joseph Gerth
jgerth@courier-journal.com

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul raised more than $1million in the year's third quarter, becoming the second candidate in the race to break the million-dollar mark during a three-month fundraising period.

David Adams, Paul's campaign manager, said Paul's campaign topped the $1million mark by the end of Wednesday, the final day of the third quarter. When he files his report, Adams said, Paul will show that he has raised about $1.1million since he began raising money in June.

The fact that Paul was able to raise that much money in a short time — outdone so far only by the $1.3million that state Attorney General Jack Conway, a Democrat, raised in his first quarter of fundraising — should demonstrate he's a viable candidate, Adams said.

“We needed to build credibility every way, shape and form we could,” he said.

Candidates aren't required to disclose their fundraising totals until the middle of October. But Paul, who keeps a running total of his fundraising on his Web site, announced his fundraising early.

Secretary of State Trey Grayson, a Republican who started the race as the prohibitive favorite, raised nearly $602,000 during his first quarter of fundraising, while he was still exploring a Senate race. He and Paul both entered the race after Republican Sen. Jim Bunning announced July 27 that he would not seek another term.

Paul, a first-time candidate, came into the race as a relative unknown, hoping to benefit from a national group of libertarian-minded voters assembled by his father, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who ran a failed presidential campaign in 2008.

Even though Ron Paul won few delegates, he was successful in creating a band of committed voters around the nation who have poured money into the campaigns of Rand Paul and Peter Schiff, an economic adviser to Ron Paul who is running for the Senate in Connecticut.

Until recently the question remained as to whether the Ron Paul backers scattered around the country would come out in force for Rand Paul. That seemed to be answered on Aug. 20, when Rand Paul raised $430,000 in 24 hours.

Adams said he doesn't know how much of the money Paul has raised comes from Kentucky.

“I don't care,” he said.

The race is “going to take a heck of a lot of money, and this is a race of national importance,” Adams said. “We're calling on supporters that have emerged from coast to coast that want freedom and liberty promoted as important issues.”

Jennifer Duffy, who analyzes Senate races for the Cook Political Report in Washington, said the big total for Paul isn't a surprise. But she said it's unclear what impact Paul's fundraising will have on the race, because Grayson hasn't reported his fundraising totals.

“Republicans expected that Paul's money bombs would generate significant dollars, especially since he seems to be relying on his father's lists (of contributors),” she said.

Nate Hodson, Grayson's campaign manager, declined to comment on Paul's fundraising totals.

 

[FoolKiller]

Just a few updates:
After all quarterly fundraising reports came in Rand Paul was the fundraising leader in the Kentucky race with $1.1 million, compared to Trey Grayson's $640K.



And despite Grayson's attack that Rand Paul's support was all out of state, it turns out that Rand Paul rasied more in state funds than Grayson. Of course now Grayson's attacks are taking a new turn. Grayson is now attacking Rand Paul for not being a born and raised Kentuckian, despite having lived here over 15 years.
http://www.randpaul2010.com/2009/10/obviously-hit-a-nerve/

With Rand Paul dominating in fundraising and polling competitively in the Kentucky Senate race, his primary opponent Trey Grayson is now attacking him for not growing up in the state.

In an interview with a television station in eastern Kentucky, Grayson called Paul “an outsider” with tenuous ties to his home state.

“He’s an outsider, he’s not a Kentuckian. You know I’m a 5th generation Kentuckian, educated here in the public schools, raising my family here. The reason so why so many thousands of Kentuckians are helping out my campaign is they’ve seen my record as Secretary of State. They’ve seen me deliver on what I promised,” Grayson told WKYT-TV.

So, you can't attack his funding for not being from Kentucky, so you will attack him directly for it?

Anyway, it look like Rand Paul has a very serious chance at winning this and has his opponents making petty attacks now.



Tomorrow afternoon Rand Paul will be in Lexington, KY doing a meet and greet and I will be there. It is an event for the Franklin County (that's where I live) Young Republicans. As I am not part of the group it looks like I will be crashing the party. It would be funny if some of them attempted to have a discussion with me about politics. I might just scare them. I mean, I know some of these guys and they think Sarah Palin is the greatest thing to hit the Republican Party in years.

Expect pictures as I will attempt to get some with my cell phone. If Dr. Paul will take one with me that would be awesome. I may try to get video of his speech too.

 

[YSSMAN]

I mean, I know some of these guys and they think Sarah Palin is the greatest thing to hit the Republican Party in years.

Yeesh. There is no hope left for the GOP outside of the Pauls and a few other level-headed moderates.

 

[FoolKiller]

Expect pictures as I will attempt to get some with my cell phone.

I just got a few on Saturday as the place was dimly lit and none of them were very clear.

The first two are during his speech and the last one is afterward during teh meet and greet portion.

My friend that is on his advisory council told me to introduce myself to Chris Hightower, who works on the campaign. I found out who that was and introduced myself and we hit it off really well and ended up standing there discussing how hard it was to find people in this state that even know what Austrian economics are and how my friend gives me credit for "saving" him during college and now teaches an economics class at Western Kentuckly University based on the Austrian school of thought using Mises as a resource (I did that?). Anyway, when Dr. Paul got a free moment Chris tapped him on the elbow and then gave me a personal introduction and Dr. Paul thanked me for educating my friends and said that they have enjoyed having him on board. It was weird because all I thought I was doing was educating my poorly informed roommate.

And the guy doing the talking in this video is Chris. He's a nice guy. We'd probably be good friends if we lived in the same town.




While there a 6th district exploratory congressional candidate (that's my district) showed up to get his name out. His name is Andy Barr, and I talked to him some and he ensured me that he was a "liberty minded true conservative Republican." He's also a lawyer, so we will see.

http://andybarrforcongress.com/

EDIT: I forgot to add that Dr. Paul opened his speech by quoting lines from "The Trees" by Rush (The Band, YSSMAN), which is, in a funny twist, the custom ringtone I assigned to my socialist brother on my cell phone.

 

[FoolKiller]

Rand Paul takes a lead in polls.
http://www.whas11.com/community/blo...intains-lead-in-Democratic-race-68970162.html

Here are the Republican primary results:
32% Grayson
35% Paul
2% Johnson
1% Oerther
3% Thoney
10% Other
18% Undecided

It is a statistical tie, but he was down 11 points over the summer. This is big because too often I run into, "But can he win?" And when I ask if it is a popularity contest or voting for a representative I get, "I would rather a guy I half disagree with than one I completely disagree with." So, it looks like the answer now is, yes he can win.

Also, if you follow the link and watch the video clip (non-You Tube) at the end there is mention of mainstream Republicans throwing support behind Dr. Paul to hedge their bets and another possible candidate if Grayson's numbers continue to fall. It sounds like the establishment will try throwing everything at him, including more competitors.


And in other 2010 news:

Carly Fiorina, failed former Hewlett-Packard CEO and McCain advisor will be running against Barbara Boxer.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/...nge-boxer-in-senate-race/?partner=rss&emc=rss

 

[YSSMAN]

That's good news for Rand, and I'm sure its stuff that will probably roll a bit better later on. If news of his "Money Bombs" and such continues to get out in-state, its essentially free advertising. Hes the kind of Republican I like, and that I wish we had more of, but as you point out, if the actual GOP is fighting against him having the nomination, they're far more likely to screw things up. Take a look at what happened in NY-23, and make it much, much larger. That is what I fear the GOP will try to do across the country, especially in moderate Republican zones (including my own). If they really want to take back the House and Senate, they'll need to come up with something better.

 

[FoolKiller]

That's good news for Rand, and I'm sure its stuff that will probably roll a bit better later on. If news of his "Money Bombs" and such continues to get out in-state, its essentially free advertising. Hes the kind of Republican I like, and that I wish we had more of, but as you point out, if the actual GOP is fighting against him having the nomination, they're far more likely to screw things up. Take a look at what happened in NY-23, and make it much, much larger. That is what I fear the GOP will try to do across the country, especially in moderate Republican zones (including my own). If they really want to take back the House and Senate, they'll need to come up with something better.

The difference between this and NY-23 was that the two parties likely worked together a bit to screw over a third party candidate. That is very easy to do, and why Dr. Paul is running as a Republican. Plus, the Democrat winning didn't upset any kind of balance. This is a system designed for two parties, but when the outsider is playing within the party system they can't really stop him after the primaries, because he will get all the party support by default. There is no way McConnel will suddenly support Conway or Mongiardo if Paul wins the Republican primary. Paul by himself won't stop the wars, but he will be enough to help stop Democrats from running the whole show domestically. He is better for Republicans right now than a Democrat would ever be. It was one thing to have a neutral gain/loss in NY-23, but if Paul is the Republican candidate supporting a Democrat would lose the Republicans even more seats.

Paul just has to win the primary.

 

[FoolKiller]

So, I took off work on December 30th and was planning to renew my vehicle registration. The night before I checked my email and had a message from Rand Paul's campaign manager that Dr. Paul would be in Frankfort filing his official paperwork on 12/30 at the Secretary of State's office and then give a speech at the Republican Headquarters afterward and local supporters were asked to come out. Since I would be less than a mile away anyway I chose to go. So after renewing my vehicle registration and changing my voter registration to Republican, in my Rand Paul shirt, I met him and his supporters as he filed to put his name on the ballot in the primary.

An important note is that the Secretary of State in Kentucky is Trey Grayson, his Republican opponent, whom he is beating by 19 points in polls. While I was still waiting in line for security to clear me Dr. Paul came out an announced to us that we would be heading out while his staff completed the work because Trey Grayson had protesters waiting for him...in the office. I bet I would not be allowed to enter Trey Grayson's office and protest against Grayson.

So, we headed out to the Capitol steps to take a photo. I was off to the side, but the photographer asked me to take a knee in the front row, so I am almost right in front of Dr. Paul. I am waiting for the photo to show up on line and I will post it.

But at the Republican Headquarters I had my new video camera and grabbed some still shots (not great) and recorded the speech.

Dr. Paul and his wife

Dr. Paul and his middle son

Dr. Paul trying to hide his smile as they had to ask people to crowd the podium to fit everyone in.

And his speech.
[YOUTUBEHD]KCbSU7bXHO4[/YOUTUBEHD]


As I was leaving Trey Grayson's protesters made their way to the Republican Headquarters. I wonder if he will get in trouble with the party for having protesters protesting in front of the Mitch McConnell Building, aka Kentucky Republican Headquarters.

All in all it was a fun day. And I walked away with a stack of bumper stickers.

 

[Omnis]

Wow, Rand's sons look just like their mom.

Also, are those Greyson protestors serious? What a joke! Goes to show you how weak Greyson is if that's all he has.

 

[Dotini]

I hope Rand wins his seat in the Congress. I'm assuming the acorn doesn't fall too far from the tree.

Meanwhile, here's an article from the LA Times allowing as how his dad, Ron Paul, is finally assuming greater clout amongst both Democrats and Republicans: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ron-paul2-2010jan02,0,6923745.story

It's too bad that it's taken a financial catastrophe to bring them to their senses.

Respectfully,
Dotini

 

[FoolKiller]

Also, are those Greyson protestors serious? What a joke! Goes to show you how weak Greyson is if that's all he has.

All you have to do is see the Judge Napolitano and Bill O'Reilly interview to know they are. The guy on the far right was bordering on racist I thought. They wouldn't actually talk to any of us who asked them questions. One guy took a picture of them and said, "smile" and the guy with the head covering said, "I am."

But those were the guys Rand faced when he entered the Secretary of State's office to file his papers. It could have been a friendly hand shaking photo-op, but no.

Ah well, I hope Rand wins to try to put that Kentucky balanced budget requirement into effect for the nation. I can complain a lot about Kentucky politics, but that is one thing we got right.

 

[YSSMAN]

Ah well, I hope Rand wins to try to put that Kentucky balanced budget requirement into effect for the nation. I can complain a lot about Kentucky politics, but that is one thing we got right.

Eh? I believe the majority of States are constitutionally required to operate with a balanced budget. I know we have it here in Michigan, and its not working out as well as we'd like (although I'd blame my douchebag state representatives on that one).

 

[FoolKiller]

Eh? I believe the majority of States are constitutionally required to operate with a balanced budget. I know we have it here in Michigan, and its not working out as well as we'd like (although I'd blame my douchebag state representatives on that one).

How would you rather it work out? I mean, do you mean that you want the money going to something else? Or do you think running a deficit a monetary policy of any form to back it up with is a better idea?

The bonus to forcing a balanced budget is that every budget discussion becomes an issue of debate, placing it in the spotlight. Nothing can be snuck into an appropriations bill as an amendment in order to hide it from the public eye. In the end it means that if your local politicians cannot be fiscally responsible you can truly see the result and vote them from office, as opposed to it being hidden by a bloating debt while a large portion of voters are kept happy with some form of handout.

It also requires states to be business friendly in order to bring in more tax revenue. state governments cannot just appease unions groups (perhaps that is Michigan's problem?) but must bring in all forms of business and avoid measures that are designed with the intent of protecting one special interest.

 

[YSSMAN]

Its not about me not liking the balanced budget system, its more about the way it has been working out during the Michigan Depression in the past decade or so. Its incredibly frustrating, no matter what your political views are. This has been a running problem in our state for quite a long time, and its a multifaceted problem. It also stems from the term limits that we have in both houses as well. Simply put, solutions to our budget issue become more about politics and less about reasonable solutions that keep things like our education system, road repair, state police and other aid programs adequately funded.

To place things more simply, I won't be voting for any of my current representatives next year. Also, I don't really care for many of our Gubernatorial candidates either. Only Rick Snyder has caught my eye, as he appears to be a more centrist Republican option.

God save us all if current US Congressman Pete Hoekstra (R) takes it.

 

[Omnis]

John Dennis is stepping up to the plate to take on Nancy Pelosi:



http://www.johndennis2010.com/ Sure would be awesome for her to be taken down.

 

[Keef]

Simply put, solutions to our budget issue become more about politics and less about reasonable solutions that keep things like our education system, road repair, state police and other aid programs adequately funded.

So it's more about politics, and less about politics.

You can keep your everything funded "adequately", but then of course your budget won't be balanced. Tough times call for tough measures.

 

[Omnis]

Cafferty calls Pelosi a "horrible woman"

 

[FoolKiller]

The Southern Avenger points out the differences between what people like Sarah Palin mean to the tea party movement versus what people like Rand Paul. And like me, he is apprehensive about Palin. Personally, I think Palin and Beck are in the same camp, using the tea party movement for their own benefit.