Mark Warner Attacks Virginia Conservatives

Take a look at the video below which includes an audio recording of Mark Warner, who looks to be Virginia's next Senator, attacking Virginia Conservatives, including the Christian Coalition, Pro-Lifers, the NRA, and home schoolers. I thought the Democrats were the party of "inclusion" and "tolerance"?

Which Candidate is the Liberal?

Throughout modern political history, typically a single event or statement by one of the candidates can be attributed as the point in the campaign when "its over". For example, Nixon looking nervous and pale during the '60 debate, Reagan's joke during the second '84 debate about Modale's youth and inexperience, Dukakis in the tank in '88, Kerry's "voting for it before he voted against it". These events are replayed time and again in our memories and in the media.

For Conservatives, we may have witnessed "That Moment" in the 2008 campaign. Here's the quote from Tuesday night's debate:

"You know that home values of retirees continues to decline and people are no longer able to afford their mortgage payments. As President of the United States, I would order the Secretary of the Treasury to immediately buy up the bad home loan mortgages in America and renegotiate at the new value of those homes -- at the diminished value of those homes and let people be able to make those -- be able to make those payments and stay in their homes."

Of course, we would have expected such a statement from Sen. Obama, but sadly it was said by Sen. McCain. The water cooler chat the next day had supporters and Conservatives scratching their heads and asking, "What is McCain doing?" I understand in reading some of the post-debate reviews that the program he is proposing was not explained properly and it came across more socialist that it really is but the damage has been done.

Based on what they heard on Tuesday night, independents who were still undecided now feel as though there is not much difference between the two candidates when it comes to the voters' No. 1 issue -- the economy. If those independent voters perceive that both candidates are looking to get the government even involved in the economic mess, Sen. Obama stands to gain an overwhelming majority of their support based on the intangibles -- likability, presence, communication skills, etc. It also doesn't hurt that Sen. Obama is portrayed by the press as the greatest thing since George Washington...

Sen. McCain failed miserably on Tuesday night in explaining, in simple terms, how he will make America better. He does win, with ease, on foreign relations and national defense issues, but with the stock market dropping several hundred points each day, he needs to propose a solution that not only makes sense but separates him from Sen. Obama and Pres. Bush. His first attempt was a dud...

Did Gov. Palin Cut Alaskan Aid to Catholic Charities?

In today's National Catholic Register, Dr. Warren Throckmorton of Grove City College provided the following analysis on Liberal blog reports that Gov. Palin was a hypocrite when it comes to supporting charitable organizations:

Since Gov. Sarah Palin has arrived on the scene, claims have proliferated that she engaged in draconian budget cuts aimed at needy and vulnerable people.

Case in point: Numerous bloggers have claimed that Palin cut funds to Catholic charities. The idea made at least one mainstream source, as well. In a Sept. 11 Bloomberg News op-ed, Margaret Carlson wrote: “Palin, who said parents of special-needs children would have an advocate in the White House, cut funds for the Special Olympics, Catholic Charities and Covenant House. It would be good to know what she favors that parents need.”

I have previously examined the Special Olympics and Covenant House claims and found them to be false. The Catholic Charities claim is a similar kind of accusation, but a bit more complex.

First, I cannot find a line item or listing for Catholic Charities in the fiscal year 2008 or 2009 Alaska budgets. In the 2008 budget (July 1, 2007-June 30, 2008), however, Catholic Community Services was allocated funding for several projects.

By my calculations, the Alaska Legislature proposed $582,925 in four capital projects, and the Palin administration left $62,925 intact. According to the Palin administration’s rationale for vetoes, the $20,000 for the freezer would have been duplicate funding (apparently another source was found), and the $500,000 would have created “new facilities and programs.” Wilda Laughlin, spokeswoman for the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services told me that most requests for new facilities were not funded, with the priority given to refurbish existing infrastructure (e.g., the Juneau Adult Day Center parking lot).

Now look at the 2009 funding for Catholic Community Services:

The Angoon folks still didn’t get their freezer and fridge. But the Juneau branch received $50,000 for hospice care, and the Fairbanks branch received $150,000 that they did not have before. Again, the charge regarding a cut relates to a reduced increase — and not a cut. As a legislator, it is relatively easy to ask for money for a constituent’s project knowing that the executive branch must balance the budget. In summary, the Legislature proposed $370,000 in three line items, with the final budget allocating $200,000 to the Catholic charitable organizations.

The Catholic organizations received almost six times as much funding in 2009 as in 2008. I do not see how this can be considered a cut.

In fact, the director of Catholic Community Services was happy to get the funding, according to a May 23, 2008 article in the Fairbanks News-Miner: “Palin also halved funding for counseling and adoption services at Catholic Community Resources. But Camille Connelly-Terhune, the group’s executive director, said the group was ‘thrilled’ with the $150,000 it did get. ‘It gives us the option to continue our services,’ she said.”

If Ms. Connelly-Terhune is happy, then why aren’t Palin’s detractors happy? Ms. Connelly-Terhune knows a raise when she sees one.

The Left's Lie About Uninsured Americans

We have heard it time and again during this campaign from the Libs that 46.6 million Americans are without health insurance. They site this figure from a Census Bureau study several years ago.

What they don't/won't tell you are the underlying figures that account for that total.
Let me list them for you:

• 9.5 million are not U.S. citizens
• 17 million have household incomes for $50,000 or more and could afford to pay for health care premiums but choose not to do so

That gets us to roughly 20 million Americans without health insurance, but there's more...

• 18 million are between the ages of 18-34, the vast majority of whom are in good health and are not in need of health insurance or choose not to purchase insurance
• Only 30 percent of the non-elderly included in the total who become uninsured remain uninsured for more than 12 months; 50 percent regain their insurance within four months

There in not a health insurance crisis in America, but rather a health cost crisis. Thanks to the Libs who want to control more and more of our lives, we can expect these costs to increase dramatically in the next few years. When free markets are not able to thrive, history has proven that costs increase and service/quality decreases.

Possibly Your Next Vice President

Sorry for the lack of posts since Friday. For your entertainment pleasure, I have provided the link below to listen to a portion of Mark Levin's show from last Thursday afternoon on the many, many buffoon-like gaffes of Sen. Joe Biden. This is "laugh out loud" good stuff. Enjoy and be scared....

http://www.ReaganConservatives.us/politics/biden_gaffes.mp3