Sarah Palin Greener than Thou Arnold Schwarzenegger: Sarah Schools Arnold

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin schooled current and failing California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger about climate change.

Sarah Palin with Santa and baby Trig

This came after Arnold asked the White House to emulate California's fight against climate change. Hilarious considering that California is a failing state, deeply in debt and asking you and me to bail them out. Schwarzenegger started the accusations:

“You have to ask: what was she [Palin] trying to accomplish?” said Mr Schwarzenegger. “Is she really interested in this subject or is she interested in her career and in winning the [Republican] nomination [for president]? You have to take all these things with a grain of salt.”

Palin answered Schwarzenegger's question, speaking as a resident and official of this Nation's only Artic state:

Why is Governor Schwarzenegger pushing for the same sorts of policies in Copenhagen that have helped drive his state into record deficits and unemployment? Perhaps he will recall that I live in our nation’s only Arctic state and that I was among the first governors to create a sub-cabinet to deal specifically with climate change.

While I and all Alaskans witness the impacts of changes in weather patterns firsthand, I have repeatedly said that we can’t primarily blame man’s activities for those changes. And while I did look for practical responses to those changes, what I didn’t do was hamstring Alaska’s job creators with burdensome regulations so that I could act “greener than thou” when talking to reporters.

This is exactly what we need from Palin: huge doses of perspective and reality.

Jenny Sanford Deals With It and Gets Out of It: Jenny Sanford Divorces Mark Sanford

The First Lady of South Carolina, Jenny Sanford, is divorcing Governor Mark Sanford. After months apart to try to deal with the Governor's infidelity and his childish and very selfish remarks to the press, calling the 'other woman' his "soul mate," Mrs. Sanford is moving on with the couple's four sons. See a video below.

Jenny Sanford

Jenny Sanford Divorces Mark Sanford 
Related and Background: Jenny Sanford Moves Out and Moves On

Kenneth Bach Shreds Gerald Walpin Documents: AmeriCorps IG Kenneth Bach Shreds WH Evidence

Gerald Walpin was the Inspector General (IG) for AmeriCorps. He believes he was fired by the White House (WH) for an incriminating report on AmeriCorp showing the abuse of $75 million dollars of taxpayer monies. Walpin is suing to get his job back, but evidently, documents perhaps pertaining to his case have been shredded at the request of the White House, by the very man who replaced him.

White House

According to Salisbury News:

The acting inspector general of AmeriCorps said he shredded White House documents at the request of an agency press spokeswoman that pertained to the controversial firing of the previous inspector general, Gerald Walpin, who was ousted after investigating a political ally of President Obama.

 The email obtained by CNSNews through Freedom of Information ACT (FOIA):

The e-mail message from agency spokeswoman Ranit Schmelzer seemed urgent, as she wrote: “WH documents were sent in error. Can you please destroy them? And can you confirm you receive this e-mail?” Acting IG Kenneth Bach responded 13 minutes later writing, “Confirmed, documents were shredded.”...

The documents referenced in the Bach-Schmelzer email exchange included a draft of a letter to be signed by President Obama that would be sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to inform her that Obama was firing Gerald Walpin as inspector general for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), which runs AmeriCorps, and also a set of talking points to be used in explaining to the media why Walpin was being fired.

When an Inspector General is fired, there is a procedure for doing so, none of which those sympathetic to Gerald Walpin believe, happened, including Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA). To date, President Obama has only said that he "lost confidence" in Walpin.

Not only did Walpin expose fraud at AmeriCorps, he also exposed a politician - a friend of Barack and Michelle Obama, who misused charitable funds. The politician is former NBA star and current Mayor of Sacramento, California Kevin Johnson. Johnson's past is fraught with scandal - inappropriate touching of at least one minor, recruiting AmeriCorps personnel to work in his own non-profit, St. Hope Academy, and to work for him personally. Walpin's report charged that the supplemented St. Hope salaries by "converting" AmeriCorp grant funds and more.

So let's take a look at Kevin Johnson, and keep in mind that Walpin's investigation was correct and it is documented that Johnson misused federal funds, at times for his personal benefit. That fact is not being disputed by anyone.

Read Who is Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson?

Walpin, who has been exonerated from any wrong doing says such a request from an "agency spokeswoman" is "shocking," as well as acting Inspector General Kenneth Bach's compliance.

Related and Background:

U.S. Attorney General Larry Brown and CNCS Displeasure with Walpin's Investigation 


Kevin Johnson - St. Hope Scandal: Rick Maya Resigns, Gerald Walpin Investigates 

Who is Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson - Walpin-Johnson Investigation

Schwarzenegger Involvement: Kevin Johnson Investigation by Gerald Walpin

Gerald Walpin Fired by President Obama: Inspector General Walpin Fired
 
Gerald Walpin Firing Update: AmeriCorp $75 million Misused: Michelle Obama Hires?
 
Glen Beck - Gerald Walpin Video: IG Gerald Walpin on Glen Beck
 
White House Charges Walpin Confused Disoriented Disruptive

Chris Christie Winner New Jersey Governor Race: Chris Christie Big Fat Winner

Chris Christie predicted he would be "a big fat winner," and according to Fox News, Republican Chris Christie has won the New Jersey governor race, unseating the wealthy, tax-raising Democrat, Jon Corzine. See video below.

Chris Christie 

New Jersey has had 27 Democrat governors and 16 Republicans. Christie Todd Whitman is the last Republican elected statewide. She left office in January 2001.

Corzine alluded to Chris Christie being too fat to be hold the governorship. That ratcheted-up the dialogue and Christie made some hay with it (see a video below).

 Christie supports tax credits for families sending their children to private schools, he supports state-funded vouchers for families trying to get their children out of failing school districts, he supports merit pay for teachers and wants to increase the availability of charter schools. Christie supports civil unions and opposes same-sex marriage. He has promised not to raise taxes, and to lower the state income and business taxes - although he has stated this will not be doable immediately, and especially not doable in the first year.

Chris Christie made a name for himself by prosecuting public officials from both sides of the aisle, without losing a case.

For six years he was indisputably the state's most visible law enforcement officer, a finger-wagging prosecutor with Jersey roots who made a name convicting so many corrupt public officials that state GOP leaders practically begged him to ride his white horse into Trenton and recapture the governor's mansion.

Chris Christie, 47, is a former U.S. Attorney for the district of New Jersey. He graduated University of Delaware with a B.A. in Political Science and received his J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1987. After graduation he joined the firm of Dughi, Hewit & Palatucci in Cranford, New Jersey. He became a partner of the firm in 1993.

Christie has been married to Mary Pat Foster Christie since 1986. They have 4 children together, between the ages of 5 and 15, and live in Mendham Township, and he love Bruce Springsteen.

Corzine, 62, is a former U.S. Senator, a former CEO of Goldman-Sachs, and a very wealthy man who earned an estimated $400 million in Goldman Sachs' initial public offering. He won the New Jersey governor's race in 2005. He has campaigned for mandatory public preschool, affirmative action, universal health care and same-sex marriage.

Republican Chris Christie was practically begged by the state GOP to run this race (maybe they did "beg"). He won forty-nine percent to Corzine's forty-five percent. Fifty eight percent of independents voted for Christie with thirty one percent casting their vote for the Democrat.






Don Imus and Chris Christie (video)

Don Imus Chris Christie: Chris Christie Big Fat Winner (video)

New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate, Chris Christie, came out with a few good lines today. Listen as Christie talks to Don Imus about his weight. Sitting governor, Democrat Jon Corzine, has used Christie's weight as an issue in the race. See latest polling below the video. See post election update 11-03-09 below:

Chris Christie

 Don Imus and Chris Christie (video)
The RealClearPolitics polling average 10/28/09 shows Corzine holding a +1.6 lead The Daily Kos 10-26 through 10-28-09 poll shows Christie ahead of Corzine 42% to 41% GreenbergQuinlanRosner 10-27 through 10-28-09 favors Corzine 43% to Christie 38% Rasmussen 10-27-09 shows Christie 46% to Corzine's 43%

Update post election 11-03-09:

Chris Christie won the race for governor of New Jersey.

Jenny Sanford Moves Out: Jenny Sanford Moves On

South Carolina's First Lady, Jenny Sanford, is moving from the Governor's Mansion in Columbia to their Sullivan Island home off Charleston with her four sons. Husband, Governor Mark Sanford, that lying, cheating emotional mess who says he has a "soul mate," who happens not to be his wife, could not convince Mrs. Sanford that she should help him prop-up his political ambitions and make nice in front of the cameras. See video below

Jenny Sanford

I respect Mrs. Sanford for trying to bring her husband back into the fold, especially for the four boys, but I am not surprised that she cannot see this man as the head of the family household right now.

Sanford says she will remain engaged in her activities as First Lady. In other words, she will not let down the people of South Carolina, as did her lying, cheating, emotional-mess-of-a-husband.

Gov. Sanford has refused to resign as governor after the scandal, pledging he could both run the state and work on his family issues. Some state leaders had called for Sanford to step down so he could attend to his family full time.

Sanford has been a passionate fundraiser with cancer her chief effort. Her mother is battling melanoma.

Jenny Sanford, Cancer Bike Ride (Photo)

For a refresher of Governor Sanford's scandal, he fell in love with an Argentinian woman, Maria Belen Chapur (or Shapur), a 43 year old divorcee with two sons. And Sanford had four sons back home. His emails to Maria were erotic and shameful for a public official who must have known that he could and probably would be outed at any time.

Wrote Sanford: "You have a particular grace and calm that I adore. You have a level of sophistication that so fitting with your beauty. I could digress and say that you have the ability to give magnificent gentle kisses, or that I love your tan lines or that I love the curve of your hips, the erotic beauty of you holding yourself (or two magnificent parts of yourself) in the faded glow of the night’s light."

Jenny Sanford, 46, is a native of Winnetka, Illinois, an upscale suburb of Chicago. Jenny Sullivan Sanford grew up in a large family. She was the second child of a Irish Catholic family of five children. Her grandfather, Joseph W. Sullivan co-founded and manufactured the Skilsaw - the first portable electric saw. Her parents reside in Loblolly Bay, Florida.

She received a bachelor's degree in finance and graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University in 1984. From 1984 to 1990 she worked for the investment firm, Lazard Freres & Co. in New York, rising to Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions. Jenny and the future South Carolinian Governor, Mark Sanford met during the years at Lazard and married in 1989. Mark Sanford enter the political arena after the birth of their second son. In 1994, Sanford ran for the U.S. House of Representatives, winning the seat. Jenny managed that campaign, as well as his successful gubernatorial run in 2002. Friends say that Mrs. Sanford has been Mark Sanford's chief political strategist.

He would have never won either of his governor's races without her -- no way," said Will Folks, Sanford's spokesman from 2001 to 2005. "She ran the show. He pointed the direction he wanted to go, and she was the bulldozer that cleared the path and got him there."

Mrs. Sanford well-knew what it meant to Mark Sanford's political ambitions to not show-up, stand by his side and do the usual political wife's duty of publicly forgiving his abhorrent behavior

His career is not a concern of mine," Jenny Sanford told reporters camped at the end of her driveway as she left with her boys for a boat ride the other day. "He's going to have to worry about that. I'm worried about my family and the character of my children."

At that time, Jenny Sanford said:

I believe wholeheartedly in the sanctity, dignity and importance of the institution of marriage. I believe that has been consistently reflected in my actions. When I found out about my husband's infidelity I worked immediately to first seek reconciliation through forgiveness, and then to work diligently to repair our marriage. We reached a point where I felt it was important to look my sons in the eyes and maintain my dignity, self-respect, and my basic sense of right and wrong. Psalm 127 states that sons are a gift from the Lord and children a reward from Him.

I will continue to pour my energy into raising our sons to be honorable young men. I remain willing to forgive Mark completely for his indiscretions and to welcome him back, in time, if he continues to work toward reconciliation with a true spirit of humility and repentance.

At that time, Mark Sanford said his wife was a "wonderful Christian woman," and had been "absolutely magnanimous and gracious," throughout the ordeal. Here's a look at Jenny Sanford as First Lady:

In an office led by a governor noted for his laid-back style, Jenny Sanford is a jolt of rapid-fire talking and high-heels walking with a whirlwind management style that wastes not a second.

She gets up at 5:30 every morning and does an exercise routine that includes aerobics and Pilates, a form of stretching exercise that she says has helped with back problems she suffered. She gets the kids off to school and arrives at the Statehouse by 8:30 for the daily staff meeting.

After the staff meeting one day last week, she prepped a staff member for the governor's Cabinet meeting and sat in on part of it.

Before the morning was over she had done an interview with The Greenville News; approved a press release quoting the governor urging the Senate to pass his Fiscal Discipline Plan; discussed with the governor's speechwriter details of the mountains-to-the-sea bike ride the first family plans in May to encourage fitness; fielded questions from a group of Girl Scouts who had come to the Statehouse to serve as pages -- and held a 30-second tete-a-tete in her cubicle with the governor on contacting a former New York banker and a former chief financial officer for Macy's who want to help with a review of the state's finances.
"It's no knock on a traditional first lady role," the governor said as he whisked through the intern area on his way to his meeting in Fort Mill. "It's just that God gives every one of us different talents, and I think that one of her talents ... is that she has a remarkable eye for detail. That eye for detail has consistently shown itself to be of great help to me in my political work."

Note that Mrs. Sanford's "eye for detail" did not miss a letter from her husband to his soul mate revealing his secreted philandering. Recently, the couple have been spending time together with their boys, taking a family vacation and working to repair their union, but Mrs. Sanford must believe that all that togetherness won't do the job that needs to be done and so she is putting some distance between him and the family for now.


 Jenny Sanford Video

Darrell Issa Rahm Emanuel: No Chicago Political Machine (Full Text)

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) sent a letter to Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel demanding a response to a Politico article stating that Emanuel used "Chicago-style" tactics to intimidate the state of Arizona after Arizona Senator Jon Kyle (R) expressed negative opinions about the stimulus and how the stimulus money is being spent. In the letter, Issa tells Emanuel that Washington, D.C. is not a Chicago political machine.

Darrell Issa

The letter accuses Emanuel of an "assault" on Kyl and "Chicago-style politics" through the letters that suggest "if you prefer to forfeit the money we are making available to your state...please let me know."

[Issa] You've unfortunately reacted by once again resorting to the playbook of the Chicago political machine." As Politico reports, you "launched a coordinated effort ot jam" Senator Kyl and other administration critics:

In response, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry published a column saying "Mr. President, Don't Bully Arizona." In my view, this is an important step. Issa called it as he sees it: intimidation through "Chicago-playbook tactics." Most importantly, he is demanding a response from the nauseatingly haughty Rahm Emanuel.

We'll see if he get is. We do not see letters like this making their way through Congress and landing in the White House. Note, hilariously, Issa attached a "glossary" of terms to describe the "communication and "records" he is asking for, and defining how the words "referring or relating," should be interpreted. Here's the full text with some bold and red text for emphasis, chosen by me:

*****

Written on U.S. House of Representative, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform letterhead and dated August 4, 2009. As you know, Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) recently raised questions about the failure of the stimulus and suggested on a national television show that stimulus money scheduled to be spent in future years ought to be returned to the American taxpayers. Following Senator Kyl's remarks, according to Politico, you coordinated an "assault" on Senator Kyl and other critics of your policies by directing four cabinet secretaries to write to Jan Brewer, the Governor of Arizona, asking pointedly if, in light of Senator Kyl's remarks, Governor Brewer wished to forfeit taxpayer money directed to Arizona by the stimulus.

These tactics have been characterized as "a fist to the nose" and a message to "Back off." While this type of scare tactic may work in Chicago, it will not work to intimidate me or other Members of the United States Congress.

At the risk of adding to the "weeks of frustration" you've reportedly felt in response to criticism of the Administration's ineffective and wasteful policies, please allow me to bring the facts about the stimulus to your attention. In selling the stimulus package, the Administration promised the Congress and the American people that the legislation would create or save 3.5 million jobs and prevent the U.S. unemployment rate from rising above 8%.

I thought the outdated and discredited Keynesian economic theory behind your effort was misguided and I opposed the stimulus. Unfortunately, recent economic data has validated my opposition.-The U.S. economy lost 433,000 jobs in June, bringing the unemployment rate to 9.5%. These job losses come on the heels of other declining economic indicators, and bring the total number of American jobs lost since President Obama took office to over 2.6 million.

I and others have dared to bring these facts to the attention of President Obama, the Congress and the American people. You've unfortunately reacted by once again resorting to the playbook of the Chicago political machine. As Politico reports, you "launched a coordinated effort to jam" Senator Kyl and other Administration critics:
[A]fter seeing Kyl and House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) again paint the legislation as a failure on Sunday talk shows, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel directed that the letters from the Cabinet secretaries be sent to [Governor] Brewer, according to two administration officials.
The fact that the letters were coordinated by you to maximize the level of intimidation is supported by the timing, structure, and content of each letter. Not only were the four letters all sent the day following Senator Kyl's remarks, but they were also remarkably similar in tone and sentence structure. For example, consider the following comparison: Letter from Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation:

On Sunday, Arizona Senator Jon Kyl publicly questioned whether the stimulus is working and stated that he wants to cancel projects that aren't presently underway. I believe the stimulus has been very effective in creating job opportunities throughout the country. However, if you prefer to forfeit the money we are making available to your state, as Senator Kyl suggests, please let me know [emphasis added].

Letter from Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior:

Some key Republican leaders in Congress have publicly questioned whether the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is working and suggested cancelling all projects that are not currently in progress. I believe they are wrong. The stimulus funds provided through the Recovery Act are a very effective way to create job opportunities throughout the Country. However, if you prefer to forfeit the money we are making available to Arizona, please let me know [emphasis added].

Politico reports that in response to these letters, Governor Brewer "knew she'd been thrown a high, hard one." The president of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry felt the need to respond to these tactics by penning a column under the headline: 

"Mr. President: Don't Bully Arizona." At what point do you believe your practice of Chicago-style politics violates a public official's right to speak out in favor of alternative policies? The American people have a right to know what role you played in developing the threatening letters to Governor Brewer and whether you intend to continue to engage in these tactics in the future.

Since I represent a district in the great state of Califomia, I hope that you will not take this letter as an indication of Governor Schwarzenegger's position on stimulus funds dedicated to California nor his position on any other public policy issue. I can assure you that any attempt to intimidate me or silence my criticism of the stimulus through such Chicago-style tactics will be futile. 

 In order to assist the Committee with its investigation of this issue, please provide the following information by close of business on Tuesday, August 11, 2009:

1. Your response to Politico 's report that "White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel directed that the letters from the Cabinet secretaries be sent to [Governor] Brewer, according to two administration officials."

2. A full and complete explanation of the development of the four July 13 letters from the cabinet secretaries to Governor Brewer, including but not limited to the role you or any other White House official played in writing the letters or encouraging the writing of the letters.

3. All records and communications between you and Secretary LaHood, Secretary Salazar, Secretary Donovan, and Secretary Vilsack referring or relating to the decision to send the July 13 letters to Governor Brewer.

4. A full and complete explanation of the role of the Democratic National Committee and the White House Office of Political Affairs in authoring, encouraging, facilitating, or directing the four July 13 letters from the cabinet secretaries to Governor Brewer. Please note that, for purposes of responding to this request, the terms "records," "communications," and "referring or relating" should be interpreted consistently with the attached Definitions of Terms.

If you have any questions regarding this request, please contact Christopher Hixon or Brien Beattie of the Committee staff at (202)225-5074, The letter is signed "Darrell E. Issa, Ranking Member" End Issa letter.

*****

The quote from Politico:

Earlier this month, at the direction of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, four cabinet secretaries fired off letters to Jan Brewer, the GOP governor of Arizona, citing Kyl’s critique and asking if the state still wanted the funds.

Read a portion of the letter from the Committee on Oversight & Government Reform, with a link to the full text in pdf - which is what you see above.

Texas Sovereignty Trumps Government Health Care

Good news for a Saturday morning. Texas may invoke 10th amendment state's rights if the nightmare of government health care becomes reality. I expect other state's to follow.

Rick Perry

Interviewed by conservative talk show host Mark Davis of Dallas’ WBAP/820 AM, Perry said his first hope is that Congress will defeat the plan, which both Perry and Davis described as "Obama Care." But should it pass, Perry predicted that Texas and a "number" of states might resist the federal health mandate.

"I think you’ll hear states and governors standing up and saying 'no’ to this type of encroachment on the states with their healthcare," Perry said. "So my hope is that we never have to have that stand-up. But I’m certainly willing and ready for the fight if this administration continues to try to force their very expansive government philosophy down our collective throats."

"It really is a state issue, and if there was ever an argument for the 10th Amendment and for letting the states find a solution to their problems, this may be at the top of the class," Perry said. "A government-run healthcare system is financially unstable. It’s not the solution."

According to this report, Texas has "a higher percentage of uninsured people than any other state."

Under the Senate version of the bill, she said [Arlene Wohlgmuth - Texas Public Policy Foundation], an expansion of the joint federal-state Medicaid program for the poor could cost Texas $4 billion a year.

With over 1.7 million illegals in Texas in 2007, 14% of the nation's total illegals, providing universal health care to those illegals is already and enormous burden for the Texas taxpayer, but will be even more so if government health care becomes law. Roy Beck at NumbersUSA warns that Obama's coming push for amnesty will deceptively change the real cost of health care for illegals.

Previous studies have shown that illegal aliens account for nearly all of the growth in the uninsured in recent years. One of the reasons open-borders advocates would rather push an amnesty through Congress before health care legislation is that the publicized cost of the amnesty would be far less if national health coverage isn't included.

One bright light in whole depressing aura of government health care is Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) who at least, doesn't seem to think that American's should be paying for the health care of illegals, and who voted against the 2007 amnesty legislation.

A story by Jim Landers of the Dallas Morning News quoted Baucus [Senator Max Baucus] who is the Senate Finance Committee chairman. He said that health care reforms that aim to insure every American won’t provide insurance for illegal immigrants and may not address the cost to state and local governments for providing medical care to this large group of the uninsured.

Baucus recognizes that illegal immigrants comprise 15-22% of the estimated 47 million U.S. residents without health insurance.

Leaders of various open-borders groups cried out that the health care reform has to provide full medical coverage to all illegal aliens. While illegal aliens get all kinds of free medical care already, primarily through emergency rooms and the like, including them in national health insurance would cost the equivalent of a bank bailout.

I see the coming gathering storm: health care and amnesty walk hand-in-hand.

2008-What a long, strange year it's been

Cross Posted at The Lonely Conservative

Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, liberals and moderates can all agree that 2008 was an interesting year, to say the least. Who would have thought the New York Football Giants would have bested the New England Patriots in the Superbowl? If you thought that would be the strangest thing to happen this year you don’t follow politics too closely.

2008 kicked off in the midst of the Presidential primary season. Democrats bickered over who cared more about the impoverished and who wanted our troops out of Iraq sooner. Republicans went back and forth, each claiming to be the most conservative, while Republican voters kept wondering how they could channel Ronald Reagan. It was all but assumed that Hillary Clinton would be the nominee of the Democratic Party while the Republican field was wide open. Mike Huckabee did well with Christians and John McCain did well with Democrats and the New York Times.

Some Romney supporters were screaming “It’s the economy stupid!” and “Never nominate the candidate endorsed by the New York Times!” but much to their chagrin, Charlie Crist spoke, John McCain became the Republican nominee and Rudy Giulianni’s Florida vacation came to an abrupt end. In the mean time New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was brought down by a hooker. Hillary Clinton was fighting for her life against Barack Obama and the Main Stream Media throughout the spring. She vowed to take things all the way to the convention, and who could blame her? She was going up against a rival who began his presidential campaign almost immediately after being elected to his first term as a US Senator. But just as John McCain was the media’s darling before going up against the New Messiah, Hillary and her supporters finally understood what conservatives have complained about for years. There is media bias! Poor Hillary couldn’t catch a break, and Bubba didn’t help.

The media helped propel Barack Obama to the top of the Democratic ticket. Gas prices soared over the summer while the Democrats and John McCain railed against the obscene profits of oil companies. Showing how little he knows about the economy, Barack Obama swore he would fund his goodies with a windfall profits tax on the evil oil companies. Republicans spent the summer wishing for a primary do-over. The junior senator from Illinois travelled abroad over the summer where he announced we are all citizens of the world and under his leadership America will soon become a beautiful collectivist utopia. Thousands of German concert goers cheered The One while listening to a free rock concert and swilling beer. J

John McCain kept a low profile until the end of August when he announced Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. The world was stunned while conservative rejoiced! Maybe John McCain did have a conservative bone in his body! They finally had something other than his heroic war record to cheer about. Conservatives found a reason to go to the polls in November and wouldn’t even have to be drunk to do so! John McCain actually pulled ahead of Barack Obama in the polls. McCain’s pick of Sarah Palin was so brilliant that the left was enraged and the media went into a frenzy. Reporters and investigators were air-dropped into Palin’s home town of Wasilla, Alaska to dissect every aspect of the woman’s life. They spent more time digging into Sarah Palin’s past in a week than they did to Barack Obama in two years.

Feminists loathed her for not aborting her baby when she learned the child would have Down’s Syndrome. Yes, Sarah Palin was a conservative dream. A really middle class American who put her money where her mouth is and didn’t just talk the talk. Unfortunately for Palin, she had to go on television and defend John McCain’s record in her early interviews. That would be a hard, if not impossible task for any good conservative. The networks’ editing of her answers didn’t help either. But Sarah Palin didn’t let it stop her. She wasn’t there to please Washington’s elite media. Barack Obama’s choice of Joe Biden as a running mate really wasn’t a joke and the two went on the stump together.

Gaffe after gaffe were ignored by the adoring media, while every aspect of Sarah Palin’s life was put under a microscope. Barack Obama’s “God D*mn America” pastor was ignored but it was reported that Sarah Palin speaks in tongues. Going to 57 US states was suddenly not impossible, yet a corruption-fighting, self-made governor with an 80% approval rating inexplicably became a liability. The media’s love for their Chosen One grew deeper with each passing day. One famous commentator admitted on live television to a thrilling physical reaction when the debonnaire democrat spoke. This love affair was a sight to behold. William Shakespeare himself couldn’t have conjured up such complete devotion.

After the government rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the resulting failure of Lehman Brothers, John McCain failed to defend his and President Bush’s proven record of urging more oversight of Fannie and Freddie. Instead he blamed the whole mess on greed. Then Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson appeared on TV to announce that if we the people didn’t immediately hand over nearly a trillion dollars to him that the economy would immediately collapse. The strategy of manufactured crisis was coming to fruition right before our eyes and Republicans played right into their hands.

President Bush suddenly befriended Democrats even though they persisted in calling him names. John McCain announced he was suspending his campaign until an economic rescue bill agreement could be reached in Washington. He called on Barack Obama to join him. Barack Obama and his staff had high fives all around in celebration of their upcoming victory. Mr. McCain went to Washington and did…..absolutely nothing! He didn’t insist on an immediate reduction in capital gains taxes to keep capital flowing into the US economy. He didn’t insist on suspending mark to market accounting rules which would have eased the balance sheets of our financial institutions. Heavens no! Had he done that he may have appeared to be conservative.

The maverick whose campaign theme was “I am not George W. Bush” went along with George W. Bush and sidekick Hank Paulson like a devoted puppy. 70% of the public was against the rescue plan, so naturally it passed with bipartisan support, save for a few lonely conservative republicans and moderate democrats. The economy immediately went into a tailspin and Americans watched their life savings disappear into thin air. John McCain continued to blast greed while Barack Obama’s poll numbers went up. Barack Obama kept at it, blaming the economic crisis on the failed economic policies of the past eight years. He and the media forgot all about Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Chuck Schumer and Harry Reid.

The drum beat from the Democrats and the media played on and on. It was the Republican’s fault and so what if Fannie and Freddie gave more money to Obama and the Democrats than anyone else? So what if Democrats were complicit in the failure of the GSE’s or made statements that caused a bank to fail and the entire US insurance industry to take a one day stock loss of 30% and up. The public had no need to know that useless information. Heck, they didn’t even know that Democrats have controlled both houses of Congress since 2006. Yes, it was a good year to be a Democrat. Had it been reported that Republicans failed to stop the Democrats, perhaps things would have turned out differently, but alas, it was not to be. Then Mr. Obama showed up in the yard of Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher who had the nerve to ask him a question.

The media and the left went after Joe the Plumber with a vengeance not seen since Sarah Palin hit the campaign trail. They had to work overtime in their attempts to destroy and discredit two conservatives at the same time. Even coastal conservative elites with ivy league degrees joined the chorus against Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber. (Let’s hope those “conservatives” are enjoying the DC cocktail party circuit!)

How dare these two regular people show up and act all normal, middle class and conservative!? What happened to the big tent? The elites even turned on their own moderate maverick John McCain when he started pretending to be conservative. Granted, he was sending mixed messages, like calling Barack Obama a socialist and in the next breath promising to bailout delinquent homeowners. But hey, he was convinced by the media and Colin Powell that Americans only like liberals.

A few maverick reporters had the nerve to ask some tough questions of Obama and Biden. Let’s just say they learned their lesson. Newspaper journalists whose editors failed to endorse Barack Obama were kicked off his campaign plane. They learned their lesson, too. But Obama promised a new transparency in government. As expected, the media lapped it up. Sarah Palin finally broke free of the McCain campaign’s bubble of suppression at the same time Joe Biden was put in the corner after one too many gaffes.

There are only so many ”paying higher taxes is patriotic” statements a politician can make before the voters start to catch on. Conservatives flocked to McCain rallies to see Sarah Palin. Despite McCain’s mixed messages it seemed there was hope for his campaign. The stock market rallied just before the election, only to suffer deep losses after the results came in. Job losses in November soared higher than we’ve seen in a generation. Nobody can figure out what investors and business owners know that the media doesn’t.

Barack Hussein Obama will be sworn in as the next President of the United States. The world now knows what most conservatives believed all along, that America is not a hateful racist country that would never vote for a black man who is willing to throw family members and life long friends under the proverbial bus when it suits him.

Gay Americans aren’t convinced we’re now a nice nation, but again, sometimes supporters have to be thrown under the bus in the name of unity and hopeandchange. President elect Obama wasted no time in putting together his new team. Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich also got busy trying to sell Obama’s senate seat to the highest bidder. So busy, in fact, that the poor fellow didn’t even have time to visit his barber. Democrats across the land stepped out of character to denounce a fellow Democrat caught up in scandal. Americans were surprised again when Barack Obama announced he would appoint Hillary Rodham Clinton to be the next Secretary of State. They weren’t surprised that nobody’s concerned about former President Bill Clinton’s funny money dealings with foreigners. No, they were surprised at Caroline Kennedy’s unexpected desire to be appointed to Hillary’s senate seat. But hey, now that we’ve elected the most inexperienced candidate for President the sky’s the limit. So what if she hasn’t held a full time job, she’s a Kennedy! We’ll have to wait and see how that plays out.

The accidental governor of New York, David Paterson has bigger things to worry about. He’s presiding over an enormous budget deficit (unless you compare it to California) and wants to raise taxes on everything from iPods to malt liquor. He’s convinced that new and creative taxes will lure new business to New York State.

He should just wait until Obama takes office and then stand in line with his hand out. Bailouts continue with more to come in 2009. The Bush administration caved in to the UAW, oops…the auto companies, giving about $17 billion to GM and Chrysler to tide them over until the real Santa Claus comes to town in January. And it isn’t just the auto companies who can expect to be stimulated by the stimuli promised by our President elect. He promises to create 3 million jobs by taking money out of the private sector (aka - taxation) and “investing” it in technologies that aren’t profitable for the private sector.

Let’s hope it works, since he also said he would bankrupt the coal industry. (Be sure to save your energy bills from 2008, just for the sake of nostalgia.) Despite scientific evidence that solar activity causes our climate to change, Mr. Obama has promised to spend…oops again…invest billions of taxpayer dollars to combat man made global warming. This after the coldest fall we’ve seen in a number of years. But scientists be damned! Carbon is bad and we must stop it! We’ll have to figure out how to make plants grow without carbon at a later date, after we figure out how to pay for the trillions of dollars we need to spend eliminating carbon and ”saving” our economy.

Things aren’t all bad for conservatives. The surge in Iraq produced results beyond even Barack Obama’s wildest dreams. There are so few Republicans left conservatives no longer have to spend much time defending them. Gas prices are lower now than we’ve seen in years. (Enjoy it while it lasts as any hopes of increased domestic oil production are dashed.) And with any luck Joe Biden will receive enough media coverage to offer some comic relief for the next few years, we’re sure going to need it. Happy New Year!