Richard Mourdock Ousts Longtime Senator Lugar in Indiana Primary

Senator Lugar will be retiring from the senate come January.  Not by choice, but by the will of the people in Indiana.  


I have been having a back forth with several different people about this since the news hit last night.  They are blaming the libertarians and The Tea Party for Lugar's defeat.  They are none too pleased.  I have heard that Lugar is conservative enough.  Really, for whom?  It would seem to me that the person he is conservative enough for is President Obama or maybe majority leader Reid.  After all he supported both Kagan and Sotomayor for their seats on the supreme court.  It will be a rare instance when either of these justices put the written constitution before their own political belief systems.  There is nothing conservative about voting for either of these women.  You cannot say that someone who is putting ideology before the constitution means that they are qualified for the bench.  They are both judicial activists that will continue to erode the limited role of government intrusion into our lives that our constitution guarantees us all.  


Lugar is a supporter of embryonic stem cell research, has a rating of 78% from the Conservative Union, has a rating of D+ from the NRA and an F from Gun owners of America.  He supported not just TARP, but the illegal and unconstitutional take over of the car companies.  He said not one word when President Obama gave the unions preferential treatment over the car companies bondholders.  Even though that was in violation of bankruptcy laws.  He has consistently voted against much needed earmark reform.  His record on illegal immigration has shown someone who sides with the illegal immigrant over the rule of law.  He also supported Kathleen Seiblus for HHS.  A woman who is raising her own personal war on consciences of people of faith in this country.  


I am supposed to think that this man is a good representative of conservative values and the Republican party?  


Mourdock has a record of protecting life, protecting the 2nd amendment, standing up to the President's auto company takeovers; he actually took the administration to court to try and stop it and protect the bond holders.  He has brought fiscal sanity back to Indiana by returning money to the state treasury every year, refusing a pay raise, helping communities lower bond costs by pooling resources; saving tax payers money and increasing the effectiveness of the pension funds for the retirees.  Indiana has a stronger fund for families to save for college and the pensions he heads were recently named as one of the top managed pensions in the country.  


Boy, he certainly is someone I should turn away from simply because The Tea Party backed him.  Those crazy people who would rather see someone in office that will fight to regain some fiscal policy to our federal government.  


I have resisted the meme that the "establishment" GOP is trying to stop much needed reform and is only interested in the status quo.  After looking at Lugar's record and seeing the people who tried to stand up and say he is "conservative enough" I have to give.  That is exactly what is happening.  I get that compromise is needed to get things done.  I don't deny that.  But it is time that we have conservatives in Washington that understand that the nature of the compromise has been that republicans spend money and the democrats talk about future savings that never materialize is no longer working.  It is time that we cut the budget, rid ourselves of waste, and get our financial house in order.  


So I must ask again Senator Lugar is conservative enough for whom?  


Good Riddens Senator Lugar.  

Was it all a Heist?

That's the question that Jim Geraghty is asking about Christine O'Donnell failed senate campaign.  It seems that she has almost $1 million left over in her campaign coffers.  A campaign spokesman has said that this was advised by legal counsel in case funds would be needed for legal challenges.  Sadly, many elections incur legal costs after election day for recounts and charges of voter fraud. 

But, this isn't what the legal costs would have been for.  O'Donnell had two investigations filed against her; one from the State GOP and one from CREW.  Both of which were filed very early on.  The state party filed before the  primary and CREW filed shortly after her primary win. 

It is no secret that I questioned the honesty and integrity of Christine O'Donnell and reading this has done nothing to change my mind.  While I am no fan of either Senator-Elect Coons or of Congressman Castle, I still felt that people rallying around a candidate that seems to have a Clintonian relationship with the truth was not the best of ideas. 

The money will be allowed to stay in that account in case she decides to run for political office again.  The real issue than becomes that once she declares her candidacy for another public office that money can be used to generate a monthly salary for herself.  This is something that she had been doing in the past.  Her federal income tax return shows that in 2009 she made an income of $5800.   How does one live off of that?  The law states that she will be able to collect an income of either the amount of her last year's income or the income of the office that she is seeking.  Her salary will be much higher in 2010 as she just recently signed a book deal. 

I have no problem with the fact that she is planning on writing a book and using her experience as running for senate to make some money.  That is the way a capitalist system works.  My issue is that her history is one that deserves more scrutiny than it received by grassroots activists.  The Tea Party and Sarah Palin rallied around a woman without doing the due diligence into her history. 

The grassroots movement needs to be more careful which candidates that they are raising the banner for.  While it is true that many involved in the tea party are new to politics, that doesn't mean that doing some background checks on potential candidates is something that should be ignored.  Backing candidates that have questionable personal histories is not something that this movement can afford to keep doing if it wants to move forward. 

There is no way to know at this time what O'Donnell plans on doing with these funds, but if she does choose to run again in two years, these questions should be raised before the tea party rallies around her once again.  If we are saying to Washington that we want them to act more responsibly, then we need to thoroughly vet who were are attempting to send in to replace them.  Otherwise we are just continuing the cycle instead of turning the tide to a more honest and transparent government. 

Greetings from the Tea Party Patriots Party

I am sitting in a hotel down the street from the Capitol with a roomful of Tea Party Patriots.  The room just exploded wtih the news that Marco Rubio is now Senator Elect.  OH HAPPY DAY!!

I will be live blogging throughout the evening.  Please stop by for photos, videoes, and updates.  We will be taking a walk down to the White House once we know that the house has flipped. 

Congrats to Rand Paul and Marco Rubio.

Crist Confirms President Clinton Tried to Oust Dem Candidate from Senate Race

I would not vote for Meek under any circumstances, but I do feel sorry for him.  His party threw him under the bus. 

This is the second time in this election cycle that President Clinton has been sticking his nose into the process that the voters should be deciding.  This is our election.  President Clinton gets one vote in New York and that is it.  The fact that the administration is also doing this again is very disturbing. 

Crist has proven himself to be nothing but an opportunist and nothing more.  Why anyone would trust this man is beyond me.  One of the reasons that this country is in trouble is because we don't put trustworthy and proper people in office.  4 days to go!!!

My real question is when will Sharpton and Jackson going to come and cry racism?  Oh, yeah these are democrats................

Sestak - Keeping it Classy - Belle Ad

How much lower can you go than this?  Lets hope we don't find out. 

Florida Senate Debate

Charlie Crist had the nerve to say he won this.  After this performance, I don't see how anyone could vote for this man. 

It's Time to Call her Ma'am Again

Call Me Madam Joe from RightChange on Vimeo.

The Bizarre Candidacy of Alvin Greene

I am sure by now that you have heard this story, Alvin Greene is the nominee for the senate in South Carolina.  He will be running against Jim DeMint. 

This man had no website, didn't really campaign, never filed anything with the FEC about his fundraising activities.  He lives with his parents, doesn't have a job, has a cloudy military record, and is facing felony charges for showing a college student pornographic material.  It is very strange indeed.  So strange that Jim Clyburn is asking for an investigation on how he won the nomination, and is asking him to drop out of the race. 

I think the question we should be asking is exactly how bad was his opponent? 

Although with all the nonsense that has been going on in South Carolina of late, maybe it isn't so bizarre. 

President Obama Swooping In to Save the Day - Arlen Specter's Latest Ad

I am not exactly sure who's idea this was, but I doubt it is going to have the desired effect. 

To be honest, there is a part of me that would like to see Specter win the primary, so we can watch him lose  against a real republican in November.