Washington Examiner: GOP Picking Gilbert Baker Too Soon

This is what we have been saying since last Spring. The Arkansas GOP is picking our candidate for us. Once the state party picks the candidate, the national GOP picks up on that candidate since he appears to be the anointed one which leaves other candidates little chance of winning the primary.

WashingtonExaminer.com

Is the GOP prematurely picking favorites in the Arkansas senate race? [UPDATE]
By: Mark HemingwayCommentary Staff Writer11/24/09 3:51 PM EST

After the debacle in the NY-23 special election, Senator John Cornyn, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), announced, "We will not spend money in a contested primary.

However, it sure looks like the NRSC is throwing its weight around in one of the most heavily contested senate primaries in the country.

Last week, Cornyn and three other heavyweight GOP senators -- McConnell, Grassley and Vitter -- held an NRSC fundraiser for Gilbert Baker, an Arkansas state senator looking to challenge Blanche Lincoln for her senate seat. David J. Sanders, an Arkanasas political columnist, notes that when all is said and done there could be a nine-way GOP senate primary in the state.

So why is the NRSC raising money for Baker? Making matters worse, Baker is not an especially conservative candidate. Like a lot of Arkansas Republicans he's in the Huckabee mold of being socially conservative and somewhat economically liberal.

Citizens First Congress, a liberal group, rated Baker as having the most liberal voting record of any Republican senator in the Arkansas legislature. But Sen. Blanche Lincoln currently has a 27 percent approval rating in her home state. "She's a dead woman walking," Sanders told me.

See this link for rest of article: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Is-the-GOP-prematurely-picking-favorites-in-the-Arkansas-senate-race-72846672.html

Does this Republican Candidate Vote Your Values?

(A candidate Running for US Senate Against Blanche Lincoln)
(Be sure to read the red font section at the end)

(1) Voted for the bill that resulted in $360 million tax to increase our sales tax to 6%. Act 59 (SB42), 2003 Session

(2) Voted for the facilities bill that allowed the State to take over all school facilities in Arkansas (Facilities Committee recommended 4.5 BILLION for next five years.) Schools can no longer build or remodel without permission of the state and according to state regulations. Act 90 (HB1009 by Pickett Second Extraordinary Session of 2003.

(3) Voted for the Omnibus bill that implemented a government controlled curriculum in every school in Arkansas that has resulted in numerous additional state department employees to oversee and control the implementation of that curriculum in the local schools. By 2006, 61 schools had been put on probation for some minor infraction that which allows the State Department to consolidate the school, take over the administration and suspend or even oust local school board members. Act 1467 (HB2697) 2003 Session

(4) Voted to give $107 million dollars to Arkansas Department of Education for 32 new employees, etc. They supposedly consolidated the schools to save money by hiring fewer superintendents. $22 million paid the salary for every superintendent in the state in 2003, but this $107 million gift to ADE would pay for 1,070 superintendents at $100,000 for a year. SB91 (Act 98), 2nd extraordinary session, 2003.

(5) Voted for the bill that sent $456 million to facilities in 2007 from the surplus fund (this is like hidden tax-taking money from surplus that could be used for other things people will be taxed on later.). SB833, 2007 House Bill 2501 and Senate Bill 833. $104 million was appropriated for facilities in 2005 and the state's share of facilities was $277 million in 2006.

(6) Voted for every consolidation bill that went through the Senate, for closing schools with enrollment of 500 (which didn't pass); with enrollment of 350 (which did pass and closed 45 campuses by 2006); for closing isolated districts (which put many kids on the bus for 3 1/2 hours a day after voting for a bill the year before that got through on the basis they would not close isolated districts. He also voted for countywide school districts (supposedly administrative only but the wording in the bill clearly gives authority for countywide school districts) Only 14 senators voted for this bill. SB67 of Second Extraordinary Session of 2003. (The 500 consolidation bill was SB

(7) Supported and voted for all the following bills: The most powerful liberal Democrat Senator Argue (Senate Education Chair for several years) gloated over the amount of money raised for in 2005, writing the following in a guest article in the Democrat Gazette May 15, 2005. "In the current school year we’ve added $380 million to the school system. Next year we’ll add $170 million, and then in the 2006/07 school year, we will add another $98 million. In addition to these new operating funds, we’ve appropriated $104 million to begin our new school facilities program. This totals $752 million of new spending in our school system in the current and next two school years. Total K-12 spending is now 53 percent of total state general and dedicated revenues, an all time high."

Note that "K-12 Note that "K-12 funding now accounts for 40 percent of the Colorado general fund budget." http://www.ncsl.org/programs/fiscal/tels2005.htm

For the state of education in Arkansas, since these bills passed, see red bulleted points in article at this link: http://www.wpaag.org/Test%20Score%20Scam%202009.htm

(8) Was quoted in newspaper article as saying on November 2009: "_____________, State co-chairman of the Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee, said he has no criticism about the growth in state government’s employee ranks." This quote was made in the newspaper article that reported, "In Beebe’s second full fiscal year as governor, 1,254 employees were added to the payroll, the second consecutive 1,000-plus increase under the Democratic incumbent and the fifth 1,000-plus increase in the past 11 years. ("State still hires, despite cuts" AR Dem Gaz by Wickline)

(9) Never sponsored an illegal alien bill in all the years he has been in the House or Senate or given any real support to the movement against illegal aliens when he was Republican Chair. He was on the committee that tabled Senator Holt's bill in to keep illegal aliens from getting benefits. He did vote against Joyce Elliott's bill to give instate tuition and scholarships to illegal aliens.

(10) Was the sole co-sponsor of liberal Betty Pickett's HB2749 (ACT 1813) alcohol bill that has allowed the ABC Board to grant numerous private club licenses in dry counties in Arkansas. The bill passed the Senate by only one vote.

(11) Is so out of touch with real conservatives that he relied on favorable quotes from John Brummett and the Arkansas Democrat Gazette in his fund raising letter, and a quote by John Brummett is the only quote from anyone he uses on his website in the article "About Gilbert Baker." Everyone knows that John Brummett is one of the most liberal journalists in Arkansas. The Democrat Gazette has in the past endorsed Senator Lincoln, Vic Snyder, and wrote puff pieces on two of the most liberal Democrats in Arkansas, Senator Jim Argue and Senator Joyce Elliott, as well as a puff piece on the first self avowed lesbian in the legislature, Kathy Webb. In addition, this paper has blasted almost every true conservative legislator in recent years.

(12) Although he is conservative on social issues, he has never championed them in the legislature or filed significant bills in that direction.
(13) Is the Arkansas senator given the highest rating in (meaning he voted more liberal) by a liberal organization in Arkansas of any Republican in the Senate and received a higher score than 41 Representatives including several Democrats by this liberal group. Information taken from this link, page 42 & 43 Citizens First Congress - a Liberal Group http://citizensfirst.org/resources/2009%20Vote%20Guide.pdf

Senator Gilbert Baker Voted FOR All The Bills Above
(And is the one Described Where No Bill is Mentioned)

Senator Jim Holt Voted AGAINST All The Bills Above
(Except the facilities in 2007 after he had left the Senate)

"Barring a remarkable turn of events in the fourth quarter, this Republican primary is over. Mr. Baker is your nominee," Blake Rutherford reported on his blog after reporting the 3rd quarter fund raising for the candidates. Baker has raised ten times the amount of money of any other candidate. I, myself, predicted as much last Spring.

That remarkable turn of events could be another person entering the race. Senator Jim Holt, a proven experienced true conservative has said he would let us know in November if he was running. If just a little over 3% of the people had voted for Holt rather than Lincoln in 2004, he could have won. Lincoln was not the least vulnerable in 2004 and spent about $5.8 million on her campaign - 35 times the amount of money Holt spent.

Many people think Gilbert Baker can't win against Lincoln. The independents, Tea Party people, Secure Arkansas, and many others are still upset with the Republican establishment, and they are not going to support Senator Gilbert Baker with his voting record. McCain could not win against Obama as bad a candidate as Obama was, and many people don't think Gilbert Baker can win against Lincoln.

Many think an independent will enter the race if Gilbert Baker stays the front runner or wins the primary. It would be much better for Senator Holt to run as a Republican who has a record and a reputation of actually voting the way the Republican base wants him to vote rather than splitting the conservative and Republican vote by an independent. And Holt has the perfect voting record to please Tea Parties, Secure Arkansas, Independents and TRUE conservatives.

I don't think any of the others that are running can beat Gilbert Baker in the primary. They don't have name recognition or enough money to do it. I think Senator Holt has an excellent chance of beating him. Senator Holt has far more name recognition in the state than even Senator Baker does. And none of the others that I know of have a voting record so none of us know how they will vote or if they will compromise under pressure. Senator Holt has several years of legislative experience and votes to prove he can take the heat. He has also had experience running a statewide campaign as well campaigns for the House and the Senate.

See these links for other articles on Gilbert Baker:

Washington Examiner - GOP picking candidate too soon http://www.wpaag.org/Gilbert%20B%20-%20GOP%20picking%20him%20too%20soon.htm

Liberal Organization in Arkansas gives Gilbert Baker highest rating of all Republican Senators and higher than 41 House members.
http://www.wpaag.org/Gilbert%20Baker%20voting%20record%20by%20liberal%20group.htm

Gilbert Baker relied on John Brummett Quotes in fund raising letter and on his web: http://www.wpaag.org/Gilbert%20Baker%20fundraising%20letter%20-%20Brummett.htm

High Human Cost of Low Prices?

Pressure to maintain low prices leads to unsafe working conditions in Chinese factories, says report. A group called "China Labor Watch" based in NY claims Wal-Mart inspectors are not doing much inspecting.

I don't know anything about the group, they could be funded by Target for all I know. But I do believe that Free Trade will only produce a net better life for all if practiced by free people who have similar regard for human life. A slave economy that treats workers as a disposable resource is going to be able to undersell the free people who value the individual. If the slave economy has enough humans to throw away, they can keep trading with the Free People until the slave Masters can buy the Free People out.

Tariffs on the products of unfree economies can be viewed as insurance premiums on economic security.

One Vote for Return to Paper Ballots

A example of a paper ballot which uses the superior instant runoff voting system.
***************************************************
There is a shocking subplot to the NY-23 special election. Here is an excerpt from the article....

" Because, as we learned yesterday, at least some of the certified electronic voting machines in the NY-23 congressional special election were discovered to be running malicious code (a virus) in the week prior to voting. We now hear word that election officials, According to the report, election officials, after cleaning only the identified machines, took no further action to re-certify other voting machines in the district.

Although the technical nature of such a virus is interesting; it is difficult to adequately explain in article format. For the technical minded, the programming technique (called return-oriented programming) utilized is described here; while the application of this technique is described here (h/t Scope).

For the layman, I’ll simply list a few facts regarding the virus:

1. The virus could only have been implanted after the voting machine was installed into the polling centers and the machines turned on at least once.

2. The virus was implanted by an operative with direct, physical access to the voting machines.

3. The virus is eliminated only when power is completely removed, and not necessarily when the machine is “turned off”. "

The Hallmark of Our Times

Senator Blanche Lincoln was the 60th and final vote needed to get the health care bill into a position where it will pass. Lincoln played coy with Arkansas voters as to whether she would support the bill’s introduction on the Senate floor, but key Democrat leaders seemed to know even last week which way she was going to go. Senator Dick Durbin assured some press that Lincoln would vote the way President Obama wanted her to. This was while Lincoln told the folks back home that she was still thinking it over.

In the senate, it takes sixty votes to let a bill come to the floor for debate, and only 51 votes to pass it. Because of that the key vote is really the vote to start debate on a bill. Lincoln voted for debate, and in this case that it is the same as agreeing to the bill, no matter what she says. The reason is simple- the votes are already counted. The so-called “debate” is not going to change anyone's vote. The high-sounding rhetoric Lincoln will spew (about her only voting to let the "debate" go forward) is pure disinformation. A vote to debate this bill is a vote for the bill, because the "debate" part is a sham.

Political observers are predicting that Lincoln will vote against the final bill in an effort to have it both ways. That is, she will vote against it as long as there are 51 other votes for it. She wants to say “I only voted to let debate proceed, but I voted against the bill.”
She will count on voter ignorance to pull this off. The full truth is that she cast the key vote that allowed the thing to become law- the vote to bring the bill to the floor for debate.

Duplicity and dishonesty have certainly become the hallmark of our times. We see it in government with behavior like Senator Lincoln’s; we see it in business with ENRON and Bernie Madoff; we even see it in our pulpits with preachers who don’t have the courage to tell their congregations what the scriptures say about sensitive topics. That bleeds over into our lives. We don’t keep our promises to one another. It is getting to where no one can trust a word they hear.

My theory is that there is a pretty large group of people out there who want to be lied to. They find someone who is good at figuring out the lies they want to hear, (or avoiding the truths they don’t want to hear), then they elect those folks, or promote them, or get into a relationship with them. Liars would not lie so much if there were not a market for their product. In this instance, the lie that a lot of people want to hear is that the federal government can “provide quality health care for all”.

A lot less want to hear the truth: the federal government can’t afford the health care they are giving just seniors right now, much less pay for universal health care. The federal government is the most bankrupt entity in world history. I am better off than the federal government in that I am only flat broke while they owe trillions. The main difference is I don’t have a printing press, but while a printing press can make a bigger pile of dollars, it can’t add value to that pile. It can only reduce the value of each dollar in the pile as they print more.

Mayor Frank Gilbert's Letter to Sen. Lincoln

Mayor Frank Gilbert of mighty Tull Arkansas is a sometimes contributor to Arkansas Watch.
**************************************************

Dear Senator Lincoln:
I don’t agree with your vote today. I understand it, though. I understand that you have to protect your position in the Democrat Party’s leadership. I understand what you owe your party and the president. I understand why you were unwilling to take the heat from them that a “no” vote would have cost you.

I know that you believe you can spin your vote so that folks back home will overlook it. I saw you doing that before you cast the vote. Disingenuous is the best spin I can put on your performance. Your insinuation that the only way to have a discussion of health care was to force closure on this bill at this time was trite, contrived and I hope someone else wrote it for you because it made you look very partisan and a little silly.

Of course you and I both know it was a lie and we both know why you told it. Unfortunately only one of us is ashamed of you for it.

The Byzantine nature of politics these days will give you opportunities to make up for it. Now that you have placated the Powerful Folk that you deal with in Washington I hope you will find ways to protect those of us who are not so powerful here at home.

Before you voted you talked about the dangers of government run health and the public option. I know you understand the nightmare of publicly funded abortion that is being advanced by your vote today. I’m certain you are fully cognizant of the dramatic cuts that seniors will face if the current bill is adopted. It is just as certain that you know those cuts will never come about and that the whole idea is just a ruse to keep the Congressional Budget Office figures looking good. I’m sure you know what that kind of creative bookkeeping will do to long term debt and to future generations of taxpayers.

You have cast your first lot with your party and the Powerful Folk. I can only hope that in future votes you will be a strong voice ensuring that the public option will not inflict its potential harm on our health system. That you will work to ensure that my tax money is not used to provide abortion on demand. That you will help likeminded members of both parties in both House and Senate to make sure that health care reform doesn’t bankrupt our country or burden generations of taxpayers with untenable debt.

All I can do is hope. I have no way of affecting your votes on this matter. All any of us back here in Arkansas can do is hope and pray that your allegiances to party and power are not as strong as they appear today. That is all we can do until November 2, 2010.

Respectfully,


Mayor Frank Gilbert

Tull, AR 72015

Top Christian Leaders Urge Civil Disobedience

There is growing concern of a government push to sanction un-PC views on homosexual "marriage" and abortion. Top clergymen in the U.S. urge civil disobedience to such government pressure. That includes top Catholic Prelates and Chuck Colson.

Paul Wins Key Vote on Auditing the Fed

If there is any bill more important than the health care bill, its HR 1207, auditing the fed.

Ron Paul's bill to audit the Federal Reserve won a key committee vote recently, 42-36. I am so used to the special interests winning that I am surprised when the good guys win one. In this case, Paul had to amend his own bill because of the corrupt rules that allow sub-committee chairmen (like Mel Watt)to re-write bills against the wishes of the sponsor before they are voted on. The changes gutted the bill. Paul's amendment basically restored the bill to its previous form.

There is still a long way to go. The process by which a bill becomes a law has become so corrupted that even after a bill passes both houses it can be altered by a small group of insiders on "reconcilliation". In other words, we are fussing at our congressmen for not reading the bills they vote on, but why should they when the meaning of the bill can be altered after they vote on it anyway?

Lincoln One of Two Critical Votes on Health Care Bill

It appears that Blanche Lincoln is one of two Senators who are most critical for the Health Care bill to pass. The bottom line is, it takes 60 votes to agree to begin debate on a bill, and 60 to end debate. If Lincoln votes for debate, it is the same as agreeing to the bill, no matter what she says. The reason is simple- the votes are already counted. The so-called debate is not going to change anyone's vote. The high-sounding rhetoric Lincoln will spew (when she votes to let the "debate" go forward) is pure disinformation. A vote to debate this bill is a vote for the bill, because the "debate" part is a sham.

In fact, the Tolbert Report has a story where Sen. Durbin hinted that he already knew how Lincoln would vote, even though she won't tell the people of Arkansas.

End the Fed Rally This Sunday

"If the American people ever allow private banks
to control the issue of their money,
first by inflation and then by deflation,
the banks and corporations that will
grow up around them (around the banks),
will deprive the people of their property
until their children will wake up homeless
on the continent their fathers conquered."

Thomas Jefferson
*************************************
But of course private banks issuing the currency is just what the Fed amounts to. The so-called Federal Reserve is a cabal of private banks who were instrumental in saddling us with trillions in debt while seeing to it that their well-connected friends are bailed out. This assures they stay well-funded despite their bad calls, meanwhile the rest of the nation is suffering a credit contraction causing the value of our homes and businesses to plummet. Since the big banks are flush with taxpayer cash and traded all their losing bets at the fed discount window for more taxpayer cash, the big banks will be in a position to buy us all up soon. Just like Jefferson warned.

If any organization in this nation deserves to be abolished, its the federal reserve. Instead, so thoroughly have they bought off our "representatives", that we can't even get a bill through Congress which requires a full audit of their operations. If you can be in Little Rock this Sunday, please consider being a part of the "End the Fed" rally. Info from the sponsors is below.....
********************************
Date:
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Time:
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Location:
State Capitol
Street:
256 State Capitol
City/Town:
Little Rock, AR

The last END THE FED rally was a day to remember!

This time around, we intend to try and double the participation, and continue to gain recognition.
So spread the word for and wide about this upcoming special event!

THIS IS A NATION WIDE EVENT on November 22nd
BEING HELD AT EVERY FEDERAL RESERVE BANK

We will be marching to the Federal Reserve office at the corner of President Clinton and Center with two stops along the way at the federal building at 700 W Capitol and the Old Federal Reserve Building at 123 W 3rd St.

After the march we will have sign-waving, bullhorning, and handing out literature at the corner of Clinton and Cumberland as we did after the last march.

The last march was a huge success! Let's make this one bigger and better!

A Little Pelosi in All of Them

Nancy Pelosi gave those who still believe in the rule of law a real wake up call recently with her response to the simple question, "Where in the Constitution does the Federal government get the authority to force individual Americans to purchase health insurance?" "That's not a serious question." Pelosi shot back.

Not a serious question? How more blatant could a federal official be in telling us that they will not recognize the rule of law or any restraints on their power? Her answer is the very essence of lawless government. But in a sense Pelosi was just saying openly what many of them practice behind closed doors. In the recent best seller "End the Fed", Congressman Ron Paul wrote that the weakest arguments (in the sense of changing anyone's mind in Congress) for any issue are moral arguments and constitutional arguments.

You may think we can fix the problem by simply voting out Pelosi, or in our case Senator Blanche Lincoln. While Lincoln is a deplorable tool of corporate interests and no one from any side of the political spectrum can trust a single word she says, simply replacing her with another person who secretly practices what Pelosi states openly will not solve our problem. Our problem specifically being a huge federal government that has run amuck, and is now the biggest threat to our continued liberty and prosperity rather than their protector.

The Republican candidates for U.S. Senate are Gilbert Baker, Curtis Coleman, Kim Hendren, Buddy Rogers, Fred Ramey, Tom Cox, and Conrad Reynolds. Each of them was sent a survey by the Benton County Tea Party. Thirty percent of the state-wide vote in the Republican primary will come from Benton County. The candidates wanted that vote. What they did not want to do was answer the survey questions. The reaction of some of them was visceral in their opposition. Only political neophyte Fred Ramey actually returned the survey on time to the lady who was supposed to get them. Coleman sent his in too, but only on the condition that his answers would never be revealed. How is that for a profile in courage?

The sad truth is that each of these men is posing as a champion of liberty and the rule of law. They are all telling voters that they will go to DC and stand up for your rights. But despite the image they project, the reality is that they are afraid to even fill out a survey to let you know where they stand on fundamental issues. Half of the questions on that 44 question survey related to what it means to uphold ones oath to defend the Constitution of the United States. Like Pelosi, those are not the kind of questions they appear willing to answer.

You may be wondering what sort of questions would unnerve these guys so much that they would refuse voters the courtesy of answering them. Click on "Saturday" below and I will post the first half of the quiz, the one that they seemed most unwilling to complete. That is the part of the quiz that deals with the issue of what it means to uphold ones oath to defend the Constitution of the United States....

Lou Dobbs Pushed From CNN for Refusing to Shut Up About Obama Eligibility

WND reports on the behind-the-scenes conflict at CNN which led long-time anchor Lou Dobbs to abruptly resign from the network where he worked for twenty years. The most prominently cited reason- Dobbs wanted to continue to raise the issue of Obama's eligibility for office, and the network ordered him to shut up about it.

As many of you who read this space know, it is clear that whether or not Obama was born in Honolulu, there is simply no way he is a natural born citizen as defined by the 14th amendment. Take the red pill and read the prior link if you dare to. We have an ineligible person sitting in the White House and it is so obvious that he is that people are afraid to look at the issue. CNN is willing to run off one of the few bright spots in their miserable line-up.

When Dictatorship Came to America

Thomas DiLorenzo makes the case that Abraham Lincoln, lionized in federal education guidelines, was a terrible President.

Independents favor Republicans 52% to 30%/Gallup Poll

"Republicans have moved ahead of Democrats by 48% to 44% among registered voters in the latest update on Gallup's generic congressional ballot for the 2010 House elections, after trailing by six points in July and two points last month." [See exact question at the link below]

"In the latest poll, independent registered voters favor the Republican candidate by 52% to 30%. Both parties maintain similar loyalty from their bases, with 91% of Democratic registered voters preferring the Democratic candidate and 93% of Republican voters preferring the Republican. "

"Over the course of the year, independents' preference for the Republican candidate in their districts has grown, from a 1-point advantage in July to the current 22-point gap."
http://www.gallup.com/poll/124226/republicans-edge-ahead-democrats-2010-vote.aspx

Is there any doubt that the health care bill has been the major cause of this move away from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party since the health care bill has been the hottest topic of debate during that time?

Napolitano Quotes Jefferson on State Nullification

**************************
We DON't want or need a constitutional convention. The one we have is fine, it is simply not adhered to. If that is the problem, why would a new one help us? The call for a ConCon is a trap from the neocons who don't care for the protections and restrictions on government that our present Constitution contains (even if they are ignored for now). Still, the rest of this discussion is a home run.

AR Candidate G. Baker Voted More Liberal Than All Senate Republicans and 41 Representatives

Senator Gilbert Baker received the highest score of all Republican Senators by a liberal group, Citizens First Congress. This liberal group rated all senators and representatives' votes in 2009. A high score means the senators voted with the liberals. For example, Joyce Elliott received the highest rating, 94.4%. Therefore, Baker voted more liberal than all the other Republicans in the Senate.

There are just 8 Republican Senators in the Arkansas Senate. Ten senators received lower scores (voted more conservatively) than did Senator Gilbert Baker. Two of them were Democrats and another Democrat received the same score as Baker.

In the House, 41 of the Representatives received a lower score (voted more conservatively than did Gilbert Baker) Thirteen Democratic representatives received a lower score by the liberal group (voted more conservatively) than Senator Gilbert Baker.

Information taken from this link, page 42 & 43 Citizens First Congress - a Liberal Group http://citizensfirst.org/resources/2009%20Vote%20Guide.pdf

Other related links:
Gilbert Baker's Voting Record Compared to Jim Holt
http://www.wpaag.org/Gilbert%20Baker%20&%20Holt%20voting%20record.htm
100% Conservative Candidate Needs Support
http://www.wpaag.org/Holt3%20-%20100%25%20conservative%20candidate%20needs%20support.htm
Washington Examiner - GOP picking candidate too soon http://www.wpaag.org/Gilbert%20B%20-%20GOP%20picking%20him%20too%20soon.htm
Liberal Organization in Arkansas gives Gilbert Baker highest rating of all Republican Senators and higher than 41 House members.
http://www.wpaag.org/Gilbert%20Baker%20voting%20record%20by%20liberal%20group.htm
Gilbert Baker relied on John Brummett Quotes in fund raising letter and on his web: http://www.wpaag.org/Gilbert%20Baker%20fundraising%20letter%20-%20Brummett.htm
Sample of Senator Holt Voting Record in Comparison to Other Two Senators in the Race:
http://www.wpaag.org/Holt%20-%20voting%20record%20compared%20to%20Baker%20and%20Hendren.htm
Why I Support Senator Holt for U.S. Senate
http://www.wpaag.org/Holt2%20-%20Why%20I%20support%20Jim%20Holt%20for%20US%20Senate.htm
A 100% Conservative Candidate Needs Your Support
http://www.wpaag.org/Holt3%20-%20100%25%20conservative%20candidate%20needs%20support.htm

Extortion By The Big Banks?

Interesting take on the banksters latest manuevers. Has our government become a "captured regulator" of the big banks?

The Media as Enablers of Government Lies

Its a good read that slays all sacred cows.

I Got Polled Last Night, I Believe By Lincoln

I got polled last night. The questioner was a young lady with a Hispanic accent who in the final round of questions asked me if I had any Hispanics in my immediate family.

Much of the questioning was on health care. Some of it was on my political preferences. Senators Hendren and Baker were the only two mentioned by name. A small segment of the poll was a "push poll". It went something like, "if you knew that this health care plan would insure quality health care for all Americans without spending any more money, and make you better looking, and revitalize your love life, would you be more inclined to support the plan?"

I said "no".

Right in the middle they asked a question that got me thinking. "Regardless of whether you support or oppose the plan, do you agree that the Senators ought to vote for or against the plan?" I said "no" and here is why. This is going to be used by Sen. Lincoln to justify her vote for cloture. That is, to end debate on the plan and force a vote. She is going to say "I polled the people of this state and most of them, whether or not they support the plan, feel like the Senate ought to have a vote on it. I supported a vote, not the plan".

It takes 60 votes for cloture. That is the key vote. Once they cut off debate they can approve the plan with a simple majority of whacked out leftist elitist Senators. A few southern senators who sometimes pose as so-called "moderates" and who are up for election, such as Lincoln, can vote against the final plan knowing that the plan will still pass. The key vote is cloture and everyone in Washington knows it. A vote to end debate is a vote for Obamacare. After seeing government housing, I'll pass on government health care!

State House Votes Down Reform Rule on Speech

Do you think the House should be able to vote for or against a bill without a single member of the body being able to speak for or against it? I don't either, but the Democrats in the state house do. They voted down a reform that would allow one person to speak against a bill or three people for it before the vote. Here is a list of who voted how.

For more on the story, and links to how the legislators voted on a series of reforms, let's check in with Representative Mark Martin's "Off the Marble".

State House Votes Down 48 Hour Reform Rule

Is two days too long to wait after a bill is posted before voting on it? Most of the state house seems to think so. This proposed reform was voted down 51-30. Since there are 100 house members it is clear that many did not vote- which is the same as voting the proposal down. So how did your state representative vote? Here is the list.

Homosexual Leader Makes Veiled Threat

The people of Maine voted down the so-called "gay marriage" law passed by their legislature yesterday. The Bangor paper reports "In a defiant speech to several hundred lingering supporters, No on 1 campaign manager Jesse Connolly pledged that his side “will not quit until we know where every single one of these votes lives.”"

They don't get to decide how I or anyone else views their relationship- we retain that right for ourselves. But like all rights, they must be defended against things like violence and intimidation or they will be lost.

Experiment Reveals Limits of Evolution

Macroevolution has been falsified by scientists who dare not admit what their experiment shows. Even bacteria, the most amenable to large-scale change, lose the ability to spread beneficial mutations further after a while.

State House Republicans Propose Rule Changes

The Tolbert Report has a good one up about proposed rules changes in our state legislature. Reading it was a good eye-opener about how twisted the current rules are. Much like the article below talking about how bad the federal process is, the state house rules give inordinate power to a few key players.

Coverage of Tea Party Event at Capitol

The Pulaski County Tea Party sponsored a "countdown to accountability" rally in the capitol rotunda today. Details here.

NY23 Should Not Matter, But it Does

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It should not matter to us in Arkansas what happens in New York’s 23rd congressional district special election. It should not matter because the way this country was set up the federal government was designed to fend off foreign threats, resolve disputes between the states, and pretty much leave everything else to the states so that local people could manage their own affairs.

Of course it does matter, because the type of personality drawn to a power center like Washington D.C. is the sort who desires to accumulate more and more power. That’s why they leave their families and homes to go to a power center. Two hundred years of such personality types flocking to Washington D.C. have brought us to this place, where the federal government wants to involve itself in every aspect of our lives right down to the number of gallons of water our toilet is allowed to hold.

So when something as odd as what happened in New York occurs, it unfortunately matters. This upstate New York district is full of conservative folks regardless of the rest of the state, much like around here. When their congressman left office, they needed a special election to replace him. The law there said that the county chairman of the political parties alone pick the replacements for their party, not a vote of the whole people. The Democrat insiders picked a big spending liberal who supported abortion and homosexual marriage, but so did the Republicans!

The national Republican Party at first went all out to support this pick, a woman named Dede Scozzafava. However New York has ballot laws that are friendlier to alternative parties than Arkansas does, and more people willing to consider them. A Republican named Doug Hoffman went to the tiny Conservative Party and asked to be their candidate. They agreed.

Many grassroots Republicans saw Hoffman as the person more in line with their values and Hoffman gained momentum. The National Republican party pushed back hard against the grassroots, sparing no expense to prop up Scozzafava. They even ran attack ads on Hoffman as it became clear he would get enough of the vote to threaten in this race. Sarah Palin, Fred Thompson and other national conservative leaders bucked the national Republican Party and endorsed Hoffman.

In a side note, Mike Huckabee was keynote speaker for the Conservative Party dinner in New York, he took their money and left without endorsing, or even mentioning, Hoffman. His unwillingness to buck the D.C. Republicans when he actually had the best venue to do so has not gone unnoticed by grassroots leaders around the nation.

Normally when a third party candidate starts to make progress against a liberal republican candidate the mantra is “you must vote for the liberal republican or else you will split the vote and elect the democrat.” And it is usually true, that is where our system is broken. That’s why we need a run-off system for all races, not just local races. In this race though, Hoffman surged so fast that he got more support than Scozzafava. In this race, the liberal Republican was the spoiler who would split votes and get the Democrat elected, not the alternative party candidate. The national Republicans threw in the towel and told Scozzafava that they were not going to spend any more money propping up her campaign. She quit the race and endorsed the Democrat. The vote is Tuesday

Making Sausage is Pure Compared to This

The process by which Congress passes laws has been completely corrupted and needs to be fundamentally altered. Read this to understand why.

Fewer Than Half Of Arkansans Think Obama Is Natural Born

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Arkansas shows that only 45% of voters in the state say they believe Obama was born in this country, while 31% say they think he was not and 24% are unsure.

"Arkansas is the first of four states where we've polled the birther issue (Virginia, North Carolina, and Colorado were the others) and found less than half of respondents confident that Obama is a natural born citizen. The numbers are particularly dramatic among Republicans with 49% saying Obama was not born here to just 23% who grant that he was."

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They confuse the issue here of "born here" with "natural born citizen". Obama may have been born here, but there is simply no way that he meets the criteria of a "natural born citizen." The real "inconvenient truth" is not a book by Al Gore, but the fact that we have an illegitimate person occupying the White House.

Have Some "Transitional" Dinosaurs Just Gone Away?

Ooops. These three pictures represent what were once classified as three species of closely related dinosaurs. It now turns out that they are all the same type of beast at various stages of maturity. Drawings from Holly Woodard at Montana State.
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I know that some readers of this space are probably here for the political writing and are tempted to skip by this creation vs. macroevolution stuff. It is kind of like conservatives who still have faith in the Republican party and who get upset with me for some of my writing about their latest lame-brain move. If they want me to quit writing about it, convince the RNC to stop making lame-brained moves. Same thing here, if you are tired of hearing about the evos latest lame-brained moves, ask them to quit making them! I am only the messenger, they are the idiots here, not me.

At any rate, this story demonstrates that scientists are humans too. When they discover a fossil, they want it to be of a new species that they get to name rather than yet another example of an existing species. It shows how wrong ideas can get lots of momentum as nobody wants to challenge a game where they can all be winners.

Up to one third of dinosaur species may go away now that they realize that they were simply juvenile forms of known types. It is likely that many "transitional" forms were simply intermediate growth stages of the same critter. Every few years, evos come to us with yet another discovery showing how "everything you thought you knew is wrong". That becomes the new dogma until the next "everything you thought you knew is wrong" event. In between events, they hurl ugly insults at people who don't buy into the latest "what we all know is true" about evolution.