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Not only has Congressman Ron Paul’s “Internet only” phenomenon crossed into impressive straw poll showings, but real dollars are being generated as well. After passing John McCain for cash on hand last quarter, the campaign has just reached a similarly impressive milestone. A call for $500k in online donations for the last week of the quarter resulted in contributions totaling over $1 million, meaning Paul has raised close to $3 million in the 3rd quarter. Paul’s libertarian message of eliminating the income tax, ending the wars in Iraq and on drugs, and increasing personal freedoms seems to keep spreading. The Ron Paul snowball is gaining momentum.

Newt has finally said “no,” just two days after saying he’d make the run for president if supporters would pledge $30 million to his campaign. Apparently what he heard the last 48 hours was “chirp chirp” not “ka-ching!” I’ve been a Newt fan since 1984 and I think he’s the kind of innovative thinker and problem solver the country could use right now, but his flirting for the last year has worn very, very thin. It’s one thing to question the wisdom of campaigns starting so early, it’s another to imply that we’re all idiots for being interested. He’s made the right call; now let’s hope he sticks to it.

Just when you think Democrats running for President can’t sink any lower in their attempt to win support for the candidacy, one of them opens their mouth.

The offender this time is Hillary Clinton, formerly Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Hillary Clinton before that (she changes what she wants to be called more often than Prince).

Hillary wants to give newborns a “baby bond” for $5,000 so they can have some savings and be able to use that cash, yours and ours, for college or a down-payment on a house when they reach 18 years old.

She argued that wealthy people “get to have all kinds of tax incentives to save, but most people can’t afford to do that.”

Here’s an idea, Hillary. Why not advocate for lower taxes for EVERYONE and less regulation so things don’t cost so much, that way people would be able to SAVE THEIR OWN MONEY instead of having to forfeit so much of it to the government? How about that? Get out of people’s way so they can do things for themselves!

Crazy talk, we know, but Hillary’s little “baby bond” plan would cost about $20 billion a year since about 4 million babies are born in this country every year.

This woman, that party is insane and they must be stopped!
Cross posted from the It’s First Friday blog

Namely, the big 4 candidates: Giuliani, McCain, Thompson, and Romney. The hosts and candidates at the “All American” forum at Morgan State did spend good amount of time
addressing those absences in the beginning, highlighted by Sam Brownback’s suggestion that everyone in, say, South Carolina, register Republican for the sole purpose of casting a primary vote for one of the 6 candidates that bothered to show up to speak to the heavily African-American audience.

Most of the questions involved race, and some candidates highlighted race, while Ron Paul, Tom Tancredo and Alan Keyes insisted that the issues were not about race, but about problems inherent in the tax, welfare and criminal justice system which were harmful to the poor, and thus, disproportionately harmful to minorities. Onto the highlights:

Ron Paul was met with roars of applause ever time he spoke. He stated that the employment disparity (i.e. that more white high school drop-outs are employed than black graduates) was a direct result of the minimum wage law, and that before it, there was no such disparity. Likening them to Prohibition, Dr. Paul called for a repeal of the drug laws, and cited them as reasons for some alarming statistics: though blacks are 14% of drug users, they make up 36% of those arrested for drugs, and an astonishing 63% of those who are put in jail. Paul also called for an end to the war in Iraq and a repeal of taxes.

Alan Keyes, as loquacious and eloquent as ever, was constantly being cut off by the moderator for going over his alloted time. Keyes preached morality, marriage, family and a return to God-fearing ways which were threatened by the “hedonism” of today’s society. On the issue of residents of DC not being able to vote, he simply said “They can move!” One interesting proposal Keyes suggested was that for its members, each community should have a large role in the justice system, which sounds too much like a system that results in honor killings.

Predictably, Tom Tancredo blamed every problem on illegal immigration, though he railed against the welfare state which is doing more to keep poor people poor rather than help them improve their situations. In a moment that Stephen Colbert would be proud of, Tancredo stated that people in DC can’t vote because DC is not a state.

Duncan Hunter had good moments and bad. He cited the absurdity that one can not purchase health care across state lines, and said he would be more supportive of suffrage for DC residents if DC would recognize the second amendment. On the other hand, Hunter stated that young blacks needed to be shielded from pornography, and when asked what he would do to improve/fix the criminal justice system he failed to respond, subsequently adding that the right to a trial by jury was great. He also related that his 6-year-old grandson has been stumping in the classroom for him.

Pity poor Sam Brownback who, given his place on the podium, always had to wait for the cheers for Ron Paul to subside before he could speak. Brownback said the government should apologize for slavery and segregation. He said the US should intervene in Darfur by providing food and medicine, but not provide troops. Brownback idea the US should simply support the AU troops makes little sense, as they are there while the genocide continues.

Mike Huckabee advocated a creation of drugs courts, to provide rehab and an alternative to prison for those convicted of non-violent crimes. Then, when asked about whether the US should intervene in Darfur to prevent the continuing genocide, he said that we needed to end abortions in America. Quite a leap.

Thanks to vocal readers (BoruJudasDedrich) who demanded this coverage.

Former President Bill Clinton is mad! No, another woman didn’t hold a garment back from the dry cleaners, he’s not that mad. He’s mad that someone took a picture of his daughter and is displaying it in their restaurant with other photos of famous people who have eaten there.

While Chelsea is not famous for anything she has done, aside from being the closest thing to proof of a physical relationship at one point between her parents, she is a well-known person because of her parents. Not only because of who they are, but because they have both used her in their political campaigns, both by having her on stage and in referring to her every chance they get.

While there’s nothing wrong with what the Clintons have done with Chelsea, there’s nothing private either. But, in typical Clinton style, they don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.

Bill Clinton, undoubtedly in conjunction with Hillary Clinton’s campaign, has sent a letter to Osso Buco, and Italian eatery in Greenwich Village, demanding they remove the picture of owner Nino Selimaj and the Clinton child or else he may take legal action.

In the letter, that you can read here, Mr. Clinton’s lawyer says, “As you know, Ms. Clinton, a private citizen, was not consulted prior to this picture being displayed, and thus, her permission was not given for you to do so.”

What?

As you can clearly see in the picture, it is posed for, not a candid snap of her stuffing her face. If she’s as intelligent as the Clintons would have us believe (intelligent enough to land a six-figure job without her family connections *cough, cough*) then there is no way humanly possible she could not have known the picture was being taken and it would most likely be displayed in the Osso Buca along with the countless other “celebrity” photos.

But, since Chelsea is a “private citizen” does that mean we don’t have to hear about her any more from her parents on the stump? Does that mean she will no longer grace a stage with them on campaign stops? Because the second she does, she stops being a private citizen and becomes just as much fair game as anyone else.

We think this is most likely an attempt to distract the public from the fact that the Clinton Camp threatened GQ into spiking a negative story about Hillary, since they have no legal standing whatsoever. But we won’t forget. As Mickey Kaus asked yesterday:

Could the piece have been as bad for the Clinton camp as the publicity they’re now getting? Are they still not quite operating in the internet age?

As an endnote, if the children of politicians are “off limits,” where is the outrage over every anti-war fascist calling for the Bush twins to be drafted (even though we have an all volunteer army), or the screams of how unfair it is when anyone comments on the perceived relationship between Rudy Giuliani and his children, or the invasion of privacy by some left-wing bloggers into the Facebook and MySpace profiles of politician’s children?

Man, the crickets are loud tonight.

We don’t disagree that Chelsea should be left alone, unless and until she sets foot on stage with her parents again, but we don’t like double standards. Leave them all alone, and stop using them a props.

Hillary talked about a return to the “values” that Bill Clinton had brought to the White House. Now that was high comedy, but it was charming Tolkien character and Ohio Congressman, Dennis Kucinich, who offered the most consistent amusement during last night’s debate on MSNBC.

The diminutive Kucinich suggested that voters could elect the best candidate president, or they could elect a tall person (which, sadly, is usually what happens). He then heartily defended his actions which had led Cleveland into bankruptcy. Apparently desperate to sell Cleveland real estate, rather than say “dead end”, Kucinich said that Bush had led the country into a “cul-de-sac”, which actually sounded quite lovely.

Kucinich topped himself again by saying that the government should increase programs (such as Social Security) to provide for people that, despite the fact that they can’t afford to, choose to retire early! Later, and for some unknown reason, over-weighted and over-rated Tim Russert asked the candidates to recite their favorite Bible verses. Kucinich’s choice was the “Prayer of St. Francis”, which was published quite a few centuries after the Bible.

Thanks for the laughs, Dennis. He may have wanted to add, “I’ll be here all year!” but we all know that’s not going to happen.

Everyone knows that though Rudy is against abortions personally - and in his defense, he’s never had one - he supports a woman’s right to choose. Quacks of “flip-flop” were heard, but that failed to push him down in the rankings, as the reasoning behind the jeers wasn’t nearly as well-founded as when directed at John Kerry circa ‘04 or Mitt Romney circa last week.

These days, when Rudy meets with the NRA (and is not answering calls from his wife - you could almost hear the audience cocking their guns at the interruption), he claims to be a big supporter of the right to bear arms. As mayor of NYC, Giuliani touted gun control, and he once sued gun manufacturers. Rudy claims that crime in the city decreased greatly (which it did), and that what worked for the city may not be appropriate for the country (true enough).

Giuliani cites recent Supreme Court decisions and 9/11 as reasons for his change of heart, but plenty are skeptical. The flip-flop crowd is waiting to pounce, but Rudy has so far managed to keep them at bay, and now, with a gun in his hand, he may be able to do just that.

ABC News reports that the Hillary Clinton campaign controls access to their candidate more than others. Read more here. She even uses Bill’s clout to kill stories about her. This does beg a few questions. Why is Hillary’s campaign so afraid to give access? What is she trying to hide from us – the real Hillary? Does she really think she can live off the “good old Clinton years” shtick all the while claiming to be a candidate of change? It seems that when Hillary does get with the press, she provides plenty of controversy to talk about, but she is the candidate! We need to see her under fire and in uncontrolled situations. If she does not handle them well, then she shouldn’t get voted into office.

Hillary has the world’s most well known womanizer, liar and morally challenged person (okay, just saying “Bill” would have be shorter, but not as much fun) running interference for her. That bothers me. I would have had some respect for her had she divorced him during Monica Gate, but that whole thing was just another tryst in a series of trysts in their marriage. She is all about power and always has been.

Hillary will do doubt be treated better by the main stream media than any Conservative, but Mitt, Rudy, and Fred all provide access to the Media. If she can’t take the heat, she should get out of the kitchen.

We interrupt this political web site for quick word from our sponsor… A huge thanks to Derby fans who helped make my new book a New York Times Best Seller! We debuted at #6, and we couldn’t have done it without the shameless self-promotion you put up with for weeks. (What? You didn’t notice? Then by all means, click here!)

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Speaking of contests, keep an eye on the Derby for a very special announcement about a campaign commercial contest with $1000 in prize money. The Derby brain trust (an oxymoron if ever there was one) is finalizing details now.

In case you missed the Yahoo’s exclusively online debate (and I’m sure you did), the Democratic candidates got to answer a bunch of questions, and they didn’t even have to bother being in the same place. Charlie Rose interviewed the candidates individually via satellite, viewers watched clips online, and then the viewers were asked for whom they would vote.

Barack Obama won with 35% of the votes, Hillary Clinton came in second with 31%, and John Edwards placed a distant third with 12%. Obama’s online win makes sense as he was more popular with the internet-savvy under-35 crowd. The problem is that Obama won’t win a real election unless those supporters break trends and actually show up to vote in the primaries. The good news for Obama is that he won this ballot despite a “low voter turnout” online, as only about 15% of viewers bothered to vote.

After the questions about Iraq, health care and education, Bill Maher posed an amusing question to each candidate. Maher, who thinks he’s much funnier than he is, did better than most debate interviewers by presenting hard questions that, without the cover of comedy, many would avoid asking. Maher’s best may have been his question to Hillary: “George Bush fooled you. Why should Americans vote for someone who can be fooled by George Bush?” Hillary cackled before avoiding the question.

In recent ads and in an open letter to the Republican Party, (read more here) Mitt Romney accuses Republicans of acting like Democrats. He cites out of control spending, border control, and embarrassing scandals that show a lack of values as proof of the GOP’s bad behavior.

He has hit the nail on the head for the way most true conservatives feel about the Republican Party. We like the GOP better than the Democrat point of view, but we just don’t love either one of them. Democrats did not win in 2006 because the country liked them, as much as we were all so disappointed in the Republicans in Washington that we wanted to punish them. My guess is a “None of the above” option would have won in a landslide.

Mitt’s on message, but can he make us believe that he is the right man to do something about it? Is he really a true conservative at this point? Can he make us believe that he’s better than Fred? One thing’s for sure, Romney has real, demonstrated leadership abilities that Thompson can’t begin to match. Rudy is the only one that can even begin to talk about leadership skills at Romney’s level – but Rudy has yet to become a conservative on several issues. But then again, can we believe anything from any of them? After all, they are ALL politicians.

What is up with that laugh?

This past weekend Hillary Clinton appeared on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace. Wallace began with the following introduction, “Senator, in an interesting bit of karma, we are talking on the first anniversary of my interview with your husband, and I would like to show you a clip from that interview. Here it is.” Wallace played the clip and followed up about a question regarding “hyper-partisan politics.”

Senator, talk about conservative hit jobs, right-wing conspiracies — why do you and the president have such a hyper-partisan view of politics?

What followed was a contrived, shrewish laugh. Was she nervous? What gives?

I say it again. What is up with that laugh?

Drudge is reporting that Dubbya thinks that Hillary has “a national presence and this is becoming a national primary.” He also predicted that a GOP candidate would defeat her:

I think our candidate can beat her, but it’s going to be a tough race,” the president predicted in an Oval Office interview. “I will work to see to it that a Republican wins, and therefore don’t accept the premise that a Democrat will win. I truly think the Republicans will hold the White House.”

Bush expresses his opinion in a book due today titled “Evangelical President” by Bill Sampson.

Also in the book, Karl Rove and Dick Cheney both feel that this election will be close and “could go either way.”

Bush A “senior official” also weighs in on Barack Obama:

As for Obama, a senior White House official said the freshman senator from Illinois was “capable” of the intellectual rigor needed to win the presidency but instead relies too heavily on his easy charm.

“It’s sort of like, ‘that’s all I need to get by,’ which bespeaks sort of a condescending attitude towards the voters,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “And a laziness, an intellectual laziness.”

No word yet if Hillary will use these “endorsements” in upcoming stump speeches.

In case you didn’t catch the debate last night, here’s what you missed:

Joe Biden began by talking about “preventive” coverage. Many who noticed that big bug/dirt/piece of trash that was stuck in his hair as he spoke were more concerned with his taking a preventive shower. After all, washing is the most effective preventive care. Biden mentioned “catastrophic” health care coverage, inadvertently describing the damage that such a socialist program would do to the long term health of the country. He went off on a stand-up routine, and was met with much laughter, as he bashed Hillary, Edwards and Richardson with a mostly accurate and honest, if unexpected, rant.

Hillary Clinton began with her usual smugness, ignoring questions and saying we should “do more” for everything and everyone. Rather than debate her fellow Democrats, she continued railing against Bush and the evil Republicans, her rage crescendoing into…deafening silence. When you can’t get a hint of applause from a blue crowd for bashing Bush, you’ve got a serious problem. But for now, while she’s in the lead, she’s content to ignore her opponents and hope to convince people to vote for anyone (meaning her) but a Republican.

Perhaps shockingly - or not so, if you know her - Hillary took credit for the Republican Congress’ balancing of the budget under her husband, though a balanced budget was, admittedly, “not a goal” of the Clinton administration. She further defied reality by ignoring the fact that Social Security is going bankrupt, instead hearkening back to that fiscally responsible Congress under Gingrich, uh, I mean Bill. But Hillary’s magic didn’t stop there: apparently, she single-handedly made sure that drugs are tested so they are safe for children. Spin doctors, come quick, we have a nauseous population.

Chris Dodd was his usual tottering self. Somehow he suggested a $75k tax credit for the middle class, which is often more than a middle class income, let alone a tax burden. He also suggested paid leave for people who house elderly loved ones. Would that be 52 weeks of paid leave?

John Edwards biggest applause may have come during the introductions, when he was announced as a “former” senator.

Bill Richardson, aside from taking a shot from Joe Biden, may have been in the New Mexico sun too long, suggesting increases in (soon-to-be-bankrupt) Social Security. He also promoted corporate welfare, though not by name, because he insists he wants to end that.

Finally, and perhaps best demonstrating their collective understanding of economics and reality, all the democrats on stage agreed that Alan Greenspan was wrong. Wow.

Hillary just refused to condemn Moron.org, er, moveon.org and their baseless and cowardly attack on a man who has spent his life defending the United States. So she believes Bill when he says he doesn’t cheat, but doesn’t believe General David Patraeus. Doesn’t really show the judgment needed for a President…

Senator Obama bravely choose not to vote even though he has been spotted around the Capitol today.

Here are the results of the vote on the Cornyn Amendment supporting General Patraeus.

U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 110th Congress - 1st Session

as compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate Bill Clerk under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate

Vote Summary

Question: On the Amendment (Cornyn Amdt. No. 2934 )
Vote Number: 344 Vote Date: September 20, 2007, 12:36 PM
Required For Majority: 3/5 Vote Result: Amendment Agreed to
Amendment Number: S.Amdt. 2934 to S.Amdt. 2011 to H.R. 1585 (National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008)
Statement of Purpose: To express the sense of the Senate that General David H. Petraeus, Commanding General, Multi-National Force-Iraq, deserves the full support of the Senate and strongly condemn personal attacks on the honor and integrity of General Petraeus and all members of the United States Armed Forces.
Vote Counts: YEAs 72

NAYs 25

Not Voting 3

Grouped By Vote Position

YEAs —72

Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC) Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johnson (D-SD)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Leahy (D-VT)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN) Martinez (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
McCaskill (D-MO)
McConnell (R-KY)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Roberts (R-KS)
Salazar (D-CO)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Sununu (R-NH)
Tester (D-MT)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)
Webb (D-VA)

NAYs —25

Akaka (D-HI)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Byrd (D-WV)
Clinton (D-NY)
Dodd (D-CT)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI) Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Levin (D-MI)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Murray (D-WA)
Reed (D-RI) Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)

Not Voting - 3

Biden (D-DE) Cantwell (D-WA) Obama (D-IL)

Jesse Jackson has been out of the news lately because, well, he’s irrelevant, but not being in front of a camera doesn’t sit well with the “good Reverend,” so he decided to make an ass of himself verbally to get some headlines.

Jackson, in a rant about God only knows or cares what, said Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama is “acting like he’s white.” What that means is unknown, but what that shows is just how stupid, desperate and racist Jesse Jackson is.

How someone “acts white” is not clear, and Jackson, being the strong, fierce and principled leader that he is, promptly claimed he didn’t remember making the statement, so he wasn’t able to clarify his accusation.

When is this guy going to finally be completely ignored by the media?

For thoughts on what “acting white” means, we found this blog. Check it out.

VAJOE.com has a snazzerific “Candidate Calculator” that asks you to weigh in on 23 issues ranging from Iraq to free trade to school vouchers to gay marriage. After clicking “finish” it tells you which candidate is your best fit. How easy is that? It’s like e-Harmony on political steroids. Perhaps this should be mandatory inside every voting booth?

Take the quiz here and report your results in the comments! It only takes a few minutes.

Rudy Giuliani continues to run his campaign as if he already has the nomination locked up. All but ignoring new-kid-on-the-block Fred Thompson, Mitt “It’s not flip-flopping if I changed my mind” Romney, and Mr. Straight-talked-myself-out-of-the-nomination, John McCain, he’s already attacking liberals and specifically Hillary Clinton with the gusto of a general election campaign.

First, on the heels of the MoveOn.org General Petraeus ad, he ran an ad of his own (at the same discounted rate MoveOn got and he challenged the New York Times to give him), ripping Hillary:

“Who should America listen to,” the ad asked, “A decorated soldier’s commitment to defending America, or Hillary Clinton’s commitment to defending MoveOn.org?”

He’s also getting his Halloween outfit on early in Iowa. He’s going as “the liberals worst nightmare” this year. In an ad designed to play up his electablity, he rails on liberals and MoveOn once again:

“MoveOn.org is the most powerful left-wing group in the country,” the ad, which is running statewide, intones. “They spent millions electing anti-war liberals. And publicly brag how the Democratic Party is theirs — bought and paid for. Why is MoveOn attacking Rudy Giuliani? Because he’s their worst nightmare.”

Trick or treat Rudy?

Raise your hand if you knew Alan Keyes announced he was running for president. Anyone? (Lower your hand, Mrs. Keyes.)

Stephen, one of our founding PD contributors, wrote about it February and people laughed and called him names. Now we learn it’s official, former Ambassador Keyes is in the mix.

Your daily Mitt Romney flip-flopper update (via The Note)

Today, Mitt Romney is an anti-gay conservative.

Four years ago, his campaign paid for fliers like this.

That is, of course, in addition to being pro-choice, a supporter of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, a believer in evolution - we could go on all day…

I’m excited to see how Romney explains his way out of this one, because you have to give him credit, he comes up with some inventive ways to explain his “evolving” positions. I think we are not far from seeing Mitt claim that he is not the same Mitt Romney who used to live in Massachusetts.