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With Minnesota it’s not a real surprise that we often get overlooked when it comes to presidential politics. So I’m not overly surprised that I didn’t receive my first call from a presidential campaign until tonite. What surprised is where it came from.

My first campaign call comes from Barack Obama, or as the Clinton’s call him “Jesse Jackson”.

Wow….someone has their call lists seriously messed up. I’m not the most well-known Republican, but I’ve pissed off enough Democratic interests that I’m sure I’ve marked in a database somewhere. NRA member. I’ve purchased hunting/fishing licenses since before I can remember. Middle-Upper class income. In whose mind am I a likely Democratic supporter?

Unless the Obama campaign has almost limitless resources (money and volunteers) and decided to just use the phone book, they probably should refactor their lists.

On the plus side, when I pointed out this out to the caller, to his credit was friendly enough to laugh and agree. He pointed they were just going after demographics and apparently I’m one of them. I thought white men was Edwards forte though, perhaps the youth thing did me in?

Oh well, I’m not offended by it, and the caller and I were able to share a laugh having both been there before. So at the very least he’s clearly not a Franken Democrat.

This whole presidential campaign, John McCain has said that he has “heard the American people” on immigration. I have to wonder exactly what he thinks he’s heard and exactly which country he thinks he’s running for the presidency of. Because recent revelations definitely indicate he has no intention of abandoning the whole amnesty thing.

His Hispanic Outreach Director? Juan Hernandez, an open-borders activists, who wants even the Mexicans in the US to think “Mexico first”. Wow, and that’s your director??

And that’s not the worst of it, turns out McCain also has MANY links to an open-borders group funding by George Soros, the millionaire that has spent millions trying to defeat Republicans. How many links?? Well basically they employee his campaign staff when he’s not actively campaigning.

Recently Geraldo Rivera, the open-borders hack, took time off from calling his opponents Nazis, and has endorsed McCain

Now the New York Times, that liberal propaganda rag, endorses McCain, in part because he “risked his presidential bid to uphold fundamental American values in the immigration debate“. Fundamental American values huh?? According to who?? Because last I checked, most of America was opposed to McCain’s amnesty plan.

And then to top it off, Mel “Open Borders” Martinez, RNC Chairman, has endorsed McCain.

And while it doesn’t fit, as long as we’re on a roll off point out revealing endorsements, McCain was also recently endorsed by the Clintons….yeah, the people we’re supposed to be defeating.

Put that all together and I’m starting to wonder just what exactly McCain thinks he heard from the American people. Because right now it sounds like he’s even more dedicated to his goal of amnesty and open-borders than ever before.

UPDATE : When it rains it pours….Amnesty supporting Florida Gov. Crist endorses…..John McCain….what a surprise.

If there is any truth to the idea that you can judge a man by the company he keeps, I think McCain is running for President of the wrong country.

*sigh*

Let me get this straight, we are undergoing a minor economic slowdown.  A slowdown that shows every intention of fixing itself.  A slowdown that according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) will not result in a recession.  But some how a brief economic hiccup in January/February, is going to be fixed by rebate checks in June?!??

Ok and how is this being paid for?? Reduced spending?? No they are borrowing $100 billion, further increasing the deficit and probably raising interest rates as a result.  Something they’ll later have to raise taxes to pay off.  Sweet.

And then let me get this straight, we’re giving it….not to the people that contributed in the first place in taxes, but to people, some of which don’t even pay taxes.

And chances are these rebates are going to be spent on goods that weren’t even manufactured in this country to begin with.   And the fact that a one-time rebate isn’t going to change anyone’s habits.  It’s only a temporary blip, and nobody’s budget or spending habits are going to change.  Not like they would with say…..a tax cut.

Morons, all of you….especially you Republicans, why do you bother falling for this stupid stuff?

And this stuff is legal in all 50 states….and it costs $160 for about 20 lbs of it….

So, my birthday is in June, anyone want to buy me an early present??

It’s nice to be noticed but:

MOBster and True North contrib Kevin Ecker - so conservative he actually laughs at the “Daisy Ad”

I present the infamous “Daisy Ad”

I’m just not sure how to take that….I’m not sure if I’m Dr. Strangelove or a Reaganite, or an odd mixture of both.

In any case, he offers some good advice for conservatives that are a bit disillusioned with our choices for this election. And believe me, I’m one of them.

Ok I’ve collected a series of items that while I find interesting and/or have some snarky comment on, doesn’t really warrant a full post. So here’s some of them….

- Illegal aliens kill more Americans in ONE YEAR, than the total number of US deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan combined! Presumably illegal aliens are just killing Americans that Al-Qaeda terrorists won’t then?? And considering that has been more progress in Iraq and Afghanistan than on illegal immigration, can I start yelling “Quagmire!” yet??

- President Bush looks like he will NOT be signing an executive order to force Congress to, well follow the law, on earmarks. Rather than tell Congress to get bent, he’s apparently going to let all those expenditures that aren’t in the actual laws, have the force of law. Why? I dunno. Apparently he doesn’t want to pick a fight with Congress, because Congress has been so friendly to him lately??? Other than a few hurt feelings because politicians couldn’t bribe their supporters with our money, I don’t see a net loss here?? Net benefit?? The GOP finally gets credibility on spending. So signing the executive order is a win-win situation???? THAT explains why President Bush isn’t doing it.

- Afghanistan has an Air Force now!! Sweet….although granted it’s made up of the old worn-out donated equipment of various countries. But still, it’s a start. Presumably France’s surrender papers are in the mail by this point.

- Looks like the UN Security Council is about ready to draft some sanctions on Iran. My guess is that sternly written letter is just around the corner. Perhaps even a wagging finger and disapproving frown is in the near future as well. At which point the UN will have exhuasted it’s bag of tricks.

- Have the Terminator and Matrix movies taught us nothing?!?? Apparently not, as Israel is planning basically creating their own “SkyNet” system. Hmmm, interesting. What could go wrong? Morpheus, please call your office.

- I hate to say I told you so, because it’s a lie, I love to say it. Finally the African-American community is realizing that illegal immigration sucks, just plain sucks. They’ve suddenly noticed what many of us immigration activists have been saying all along. That minorities are disproportionately negatively affected by illegal immigration. They are watching their neighborhoods go to hell and their jobs disappear, and they’re starting to wonder why they are supporting liberal politicians who keep telling them that illegal immigration is a good thing. That sound you hear is the pot at the end of the rainbow coalition exploding.

- Pelosi scores a major success!! Coming off the heels of monumental failure in the House, Pelosi has finally gotten something done. She has replaced the standard cafeteria menu with uber-expensive snobbishly-elitist eco-friendly menu choices, and the Congressional staff just love it!!! Nah, just kidding, they all hate it and think it sucks.

- According to Canadians, our presidential election is mind-numbingly simple to figure out which way we should all vote…

Now consider the state of debate in each party. While the Republicans compare tax proposals and the best way to prosecute the War on Terror, Democrats are divining the patterns and meaning of the glitter and dried macaroni glued to the page of one of their leading candidate’s kindergarten projects.

Does this decision not become unsettlingly simple?

Well, when you put it THAT way…..yes! And that’s the least convincing of the arguments presented. Check it out.

Huckabee?!??!

WTF?!??

I mean not that it’ll really matter much, other than make us question just what Hunter is/was thinking??

Hunter : Fair Trade
Huckabee : Free Trade

Hunter : Opposes pathway to citizenship
Huckabee : Supports legalization of illegals

Hunter : Pro-Gitmo
Huckabee : Anti-Gitmo

Hunter : Small government
Huckabee : Big government

What’s going on here??  Oddly enough a McCain endorsement would have made more sense, at least you know he’s applying for the VP slot or at least a cabinet position.  This makes absolutely no sense, other than that Hunter appears to have squandered all credibility and political capital by endorsing the guy that has the least chance of winning anything (excluding Ron Paul).

With the departure of Fred Thompson from the quest for the Republican nomination for President, the race has changed more than simply marginally thinning a crowded field. Basically at this point the rest of the nomination process, at least for the Republicans, becomes largely academic. Regardless of who the candidate ends up being, there will be at least one large mainstream faction of the conservative movement that will regard that candidate with heartfelt disgust.

Never before has the fallacy of the GOP being a echo-chamber of Rove-talking-point following zombies been more clear. The big-tent of the GOP has many different factions with, while not contradictory, at least very diverse interests. The remaining candidates each hold views, or whose past actions, will alienate at least one very important part of the conservative movement.

Typically in a nomination race, the field thins out by dropping the least desirable, and most problematic candidates first, and you’re left with multiple candidates who would be able to carry all sides. So far in this presidential campaign the exact opposite has happened.

Gingrich, Tancredo, Hunter, and now Thompson, all candidates around which the entire conservative movement could have rallied. Now gone. Instead we McCain, Giuliani, Huckabee and Romney, all guaranteed to alienate one major part of the conservative movement, and instill general apathy in many more.

Can conservatives put aside their putrid disgust with whomever is their candidate in ‘08?? Looking at both historical evidence and recent events, the likely answer is not encouraging.

Starting in 2003, many conservatives were becoming extremely disgusted with the Republican party. We had the Presidency and we had Congress, yet none of the conservative agenda was being accomplished. Instead we had the same inept leadership and massive spending. While conservatives did bite their tongue in 2004, they decided to express their disgust in 2006. Many didn’t show up, others made protest votes, the result being horrible losses across the spectrum for the GOP.

Have we moved beyond that? It doesn’t look encouraging. Since Fred has dropped out of the race, we’ve had a virtual flood of conservatives declaring their intentions to either sit out 08 or vote Democrat. Glenn Reynolds. Bill Quick. Stephen Bainbridge. Even Rush Limbaugh. Plus already it’s become evident that conservatives aren’t exactly chomping at the bit to be involved.

It’s become fairly clear that many conservatives are broadcasting their intentions to tell the GOP to shove off at the national level. As we saw in ‘06, this has an effect at all levels of the political office. And unless something changes we’re looking at massive losses for the GOP at both the state and national level once again. This would have catastrophic effect on our nation and simply cannot happen.

So while the presidential race is over, at least for me, the ‘08 elections are not. While I’ll probably vote for whomever the GOP presidential candidate is, I’m not going to contribute to the further destruction of the conservative movement by assisting one of the buffoons still battling for the nomination. Our presidential candidate can do it without me. Senator Coleman gets the same treatment, but that’s for personal reasons as much as, or more than, political ones.

Instead, I intend to focus instead on local politics. Both my House districts have to be fought for, and my Representative is defending his seat. That’s where my focus moves to. Mitch Berg pens an excellent post with even more suggestions for conservatives. And by far the most important first step is to attend your precinct caucuses, from there do what you can to contribute where you feel comfortable, and what your finances/time allows.

Just because your presidential candidates disgust you, it’s not time to write off the whole herd. Instead it’s a good sign that this movement needs to be rebuilt, redefined and refocused. And that can only happen at the bottom. Candidates for higher offices usually come from politicians holding lower offices. It’s time to rebuild our farm team, and made sure those lower offices are filled with the type of candidates we desire.

It’s easy to complain about these presidential candidates, but what are you doing to make sure it doesn’t happen again??

[Crossposted at True North]

In the past two elections, liberals promises the voters that if George Bush was elected and/or re-elected President, he would immediately implement a military draft and we’d all end up in military service in Iraq.

As of the writing of this post, there still has been no draft and does not appear to be one in the works.

I’d like to reassure you that I will continue to monitor the situation. Presumably he’s just waiting until the last minute to do it. That way he’ll have the necessary troops to institute this fascist dictatorship we keep hearing about.

Because it’s such a kickass ad, plus I know at least one of my reader is a Marine who will probably replay this thing about 20 times.