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Politics : American Presidential Politics and foreign affairs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: PROLIFE who wrote (13559)	10/24/2006 10:21:29 AM
From: Peter Dierks	Respond to of 71588

That really puts things in perspective.

To: PROLIFE who wrote (13559)	10/24/2006 10:37:06 AM
From: haqihana	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71588

Dan, The demorats are desperate. They are using every ruse in the book to hide their real agenda, and the human tools that they are relying on to forge ahead with their intention of making America a socialistic nation. Here in Florida, they are lying through their teeth against the republicans that are sure to win the election on their own merits. Some of the demorat candidates here, are claiming to have done things for the nation when the records say that they did not such thing They are relying on the voters that do not know the issues, and vote for who they think will give them the largest hand out.

To: PROLIFE who wrote (13559)	10/24/2006 5:10:59 PM
From: Peter Dierks	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71588

Voters Still Want Tax Cuts And some Democrats are smart enough to deliver. BY BRENDAN MINITER Tuesday, October 24, 2006 12:01 a.m. EDT Wal-Mart's aversion to high prices seems to be catching on, and surprisingly it's Democrats who are reaping the rewards. In Arkansas, home to the megaretailer, one of the hottest issues in the governor's race this year is repeal of the state's hated 6% tax on groceries. Getting rid of the food tax has been on the conservative agenda for years, and four years ago repealing it even made it onto the ballot, but lost by a wide margin. Now with the state enjoying a large surplus and Gov. Mike Huckabee retiring, the stars are aligning to abolish the tax that brings in a mere $200 million a year. And it's Democrat Mike Beebe who is leading in the polls with his promise to phase it out. The party of Bill Clinton is making a comeback in Little Rock by taking a page out of the former president's playbook and stealing conservative issues for political gain. For President Clinton, signing welfare reform was his ticket to re-election in 1996. Now for Mr. Beebe it is targeting a hated tax--something Republicans did in the 1990s to win the governor's mansions in New Jersey and Virginia. There's a lesson here for the GOP. Asa Hutchinson, a former Arkansas congressman and now the Republican gubernatorial candidate, failed to realize the power of the food-tax issue early enough in this campaign. When cornered by the Associated Press in January and asked if he favored repealing the tax, he gave an answer he's been fighting to take back for months: "I would love to see [the tax] phased out, but the people voted on that and defeated it." Mr. Hutchinson has since proposed immediately repealing the tax, but has not been able to take the high ground away from Mr. Beebe on the issue. On taxes, Republicans win when they are unequivocally on the side of paying less. And in the states where GOP lawmakers have waffled or, worse, raised taxes, the party tends to implode. In Tennessee, GOP Gov. Don Sundquist spent his last few years in office trying to create a state income tax and voters rewarded his party in 2002 by sending Democrat Phil Bredesen to the governor's mansion. This year Gov. Bredesen will likely walk his way into a second term. In Colorado, the Republican foundation has crumbled in the past few years. It shouldn't be lost on anyone on the right that two years ago GOP Gov. Bill Owens led the effort to suspend the state's Taxpayers' Bill of Rights to allow for sharp increases in spending and a five-year suspension of rebates the state would otherwise have been forced to mail to taxpayers. Gov. Owens is on his way out now, and it should come as no surprise that Republicans will almost certainly see Democrats capture the governor's mansion next month. Rocky Mountain Republicans are divided and disillusioned. Democrats are not. The unreported story this election cycle is that while scandals and the war have dominated congressional races, on the state level conservative economic ideas are still winning elections. Voters continue to support promoting economic growth by cutting taxes. Leading this trend is West Virginia, a heavily unionized state dependent on coal and other "extraction" industries. Gov. Joe Manchin, who was elected two years ago, is now locked in a battle with a surging Republican Party and could end up losing control of the Legislature next month. The biggest issue in the election is which tax to cut and by how much. The debate is being driven in part by Don L. Blankenship, CEO of the largest coal producer in the state, Massey Energy. He promises to spend whatever it takes to put the GOP in power and last year spent $650,000 to hand the governor his biggest setback in office so far, a defeat of a bond initiative aimed at underwriting the state's teacher pension system. The governor has convened a special panel to evaluate the state's taxes and recommend where to cut. He promises to hold a special legislative session after the election to implement reforms, and his spokeswoman Laura Ramsburg makes no bones about where the governor is coming from on taxes: "The more you can increase the pie, the more it will benefit everyone," she told me. The lesson here is that those benefits extend to tax-cutting elected officials. Mr. Miniter is assistant editor of OpinionJournal.com. His column appears Tuesdays. opinionjournal.com

To: PROLIFE who wrote (13559)	9/19/2007 12:11:21 PM
From: Peter Dierks	Respond to of 71588

Judicial Watch Files Lawsuit against Bureau of Land Management to Obtain Records Related to Senator Reid’s Role in Coyote Springs Development Project Sep 18, 2007 Contact: Press Office 202-646-5188 Did Reid Peddle Influence in Exchange for Campaign Contributions, Favors? (Washington, DC) -- Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it filed an open records lawsuit on September 5 against the Bureau of Land Management as part of its investigation of Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) and his role in a massive real estate development project in Coyote Springs, Nevada. At the heart of Judicial Watch’s investigation is whether or not Senator Reid improperly used his influence on Capitol Hill to pave the way for the development project in exchange for campaign contributions and other favors from lobbyist and long-time friend, Harvey Whittemore. According to the Los Angeles Times: “Helping make Coyote Springs come alive was an alliance between a multimillionaire developer and one of the highest-ranking members of Congress: Nevada Democrat Harry Reid, the Senate minority leader and a member of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee…Over the last four years, Reid has used his influence in Washington to help the developer, Nevada super-lobbyist Whittemore, clear obstacles from Coyote Springs' path…As the project advanced, Reid received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Whittemore. The contributions not only went to Reid's Senate campaigns, but also to his leadership fund, which he used to help bankroll the campaigns of Democratic colleagues.” In addition to donating more than $45,000 to Senator Reid’s campaigns and political action committees, Whittemore has also reportedly helped to advance the careers of Reid’s two sons. One of the two, Leif Reid, has served as Whittemore’s personal lawyer and has represented the lobbyist and developer in negotiations with federal officials. Leif Reid even reportedly called his father’s office to discuss obtaining the proper permits for the project. Judicial Watch originally filed its Freedom of Information Act Request on March 9, 2007. The Bureau of Land Management had 20 days to produce records, deny their existence, or claim exemptions. After more than six months, the Bureau has failed to respond. Judicial Watch seeks any and all “contacts and communications” related to the land deal between the Bureau of Land Management and Senator Reid (D-NV), Senator John Ensign (R-NV) and then Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-NV), who now serves as Governor of Nevada. Ensign and Gibbons both supported the Coyote Springs project at key stages, and also received campaign contributions from Whittemore. “The Bureau of Land Management should release all documents pertaining to this deal so the American people can know the truth about Senator Reid’s involvement,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “If Senator Reid sold his public office to advance a development project that would financially benefit his friend and a member of his own family, he should be held accountable to the full extent of the law.” judicialwatch.org