Buckeye RINO

Sounds like an ingredient in a witch’s brew.

Actually, Bob Schieffer of the CBS show “Face the Nation” wanted to hear what a couple of prominent Republicans had to say about the future of the Republican party on the national level, and one of the perspectives was put forward by former U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.  The other prominent Republican in the discussion with Schieffer was current Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.  You can watch the video here, but be aware that the segment with Gingrich and Jindal begins halfway through the show, with bloviating over auto industry bailouts occupying the first segment.  Otherwise, you can read a print version of yesterday’s “Face the Nation” episode here.

Among the points upon which Jindal and Gingrich agree are that the GOP needs to show that it can devise solutions, not just be a party of opposition.  I agree with that, too.  Gingrich talked about the Republican governors across the nation as being the implementers of solutions that the GOP will look to, and that the media will look to.  Gingrich fancies himself as someone who dreams up lots of solutions.

Herein lies the rub.

As an onlooker, it appeared to me that Gingrich was patronizingly positioning himself as head wrangler over a stable full of Republican governors.  Gingrich is talking as though he is the person who can harness these workhorses together.  Translation: Gingrich fancies himself either as a serious GOP prez contender in 2012; or as head of the RNC (probably not, as he dissed the RNC by saying, “I think that the Republican Governors Association is probably more important than the Republican National Committee in trying to get this done”); or as a kingmaker as to which Republican Governor will get his nod for GOP prez contender in 2012 (kiss his ring, or he might have to make himself king).

Newt’s banter seemed inoccuous enough except for his telltale take on Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, which is why my eyebrow is raised.  Newt said:

“The natural pattern in the news media is going to be, they know how to spell Sarah Palin’s name; they have it locked in their word processor.  She’s going to be a much bigger story in the short run. But, I think, as she goes back to being governor and as she works in Alaska, you’re going to see a group of governors emerge, not just Sarah Palin. And there are 36 governorships up in 2010.

“I think focusing on rebuilding the Republican Party from state legislature and governor to Senate and House is the right model. And I think that the Republican Governors Association is probably more important than the Republican National Committee in trying to get this done”

So Bob Schieffer senses that Palin is being downplayed by Newt Gingrich, so he asks a followup question to confirm Newt’s views once and for all.

“She’s a wonderfully, intelligent, aggressive hardworking person who got, you know, hammered very badly by the press in, I think, fairly distorted ways.

“I think that she is going to be a significant player. But she’s going to be one of 20 or 30 significant players. She’s not going to be the de facto leader.”

Again, this Newt narrative is portraying the Republican governors as all being in a stable with no real leader head and shoulders above the other, leaving room (especially by not mentioning former governors, like Huckabee and Romney) for Newt Gingrich to float to the top.

Let me just say this:  Much as we need solutions from GOP leaders, and much as we would welcome solutions from Newt Gingrich, we do not need the new face of the Republican Party to be that of Newt Gingrich.  Sarah Palin caught on with Republican conservatives like a wildfire, and Newt Gingrich is catching on with the Republican conservative writing this blog entry like a wet blanket.  Not only did Gingrich never capture the enthusiasm with Republican conservatives to the degree that Sarah Palin did, there is also the spectre of sexism that would be raised if Gingrich were to be the new face of the GOP.  Not only would Gingrich be suspect in terms of downplaying Palin, he’s also suspect in terms of his marital history, plus he’s most famously suspect for what his mother revealed to Connie Chung about what Newt thought about Hillary Clinton (a word that starts with a “b” and rhymes with a person who might throw an eye of newt into a cauldron).  While Sarah Palin did not close the gender gap, with the majority of women voting for the Obama-Biden ticket, it’s hard to see how Gingrich would improve upon that demographic.  Sarah Palin did gain a following with men that I don’t think Gingrich quite understands, let alone that Gingrich can match.

As for what we expect to see out of Republican governors in the future, many of the rank-and-file already see something we really like in the performance of Sarah Palin as governor, and that is that she took on corrupt influences entrenched in government, and tossed them out of power.  This aligns neatly with what Jindal said: ” . . . we’ve got to stop defending the kinds of corruption we would rightfully criticize in the other party.”  Jindal has this as number two on his list, but I think Ohio Republicans would put it at number one on our list, because it is too rare.  Jindal’s first item is fiscal conservatism.  Well, I can find Ohio Republicans by the droves who believe in fiscal conservatism, and who have implemented such practices in their own respective elected offices.  Jindal’s third item is the afforementioned need to solve problems.  I can find some Ohio Republicans who can generate solutions.  But that 2nd item on the Jindal list, that of rooting out corruption, who’s had the power to do that in Ohio?  Only grassroots voters.  No prominent elected Ohio Republican has the courage to do what Sarah Palin did in Alaska, and that’s why not only would rank-and-file Republicans put Jindal’s second item as number one, but they’d also look upon Sarah Palin more favorably than the other Republican governors and why they’d think of Sarah Palin as a frontrunner to be the new face of the GOP, despite how Gingrich plays down her appeal.

Will it be Palin vs. Gingrich for the GOP prez nomination in 2012?  If so, Newt might emerge KO’d with a black eye from such a tussle.

I’ve got a lot of things to get done in real life this month, so my blogging may be not as prolific as it was last month.  I do, however, want to at least say a word of thanks to our veterans on Veterans Day.

To those who serve in America’s military, whether past or present, I just want to thank you for being the most important public servants, far more important than any one politician, in keeping America free.

Our nation is the lone superpower of the world. The other nations look to the United States of America to lead, to be a beacon, to be an example, to be the best.  I thank you, who wear or have worn the uniform of the armed forces of the United States of America, for your unsurpassed contribution to America’s greatness.

For those on duty now, I want you to know that I pray for you.  You have blessed America.  May God bless America also, and may He bless you.

The State of Ohio Blogger Alliance has undertaken the task of highlighting criticisms of the Obama ticket that the in-the-tank MSM works hard to downplay or outright ignore.  The effort has been titled “Help Ohio Prevent Electing Obama Now” (HOPE ON), and, in all, 13 installments will be rolled out for blog readers to peruse and reflect upon.

Here are my recaps for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, and Part 12.

BizzyBlog wraps up Part 13, the final installment of HOPE ON.  You can see an accompanying video at BizzyBlog, and you can see all 13 videos at neverfindout.org.  The transcript reads:

Thank you, Senator McCain. We don’t hear much about your service to our country. You don’t talk about it very often. But that’s okay. We will.

We all know to judge a man’s character not by what he says, but what he does. You haven’t just told us you love America. You have shown us. The years you spent tortured as a prisoner of war, don’t just tell us you are honorable. They show us we can trust you.

What did our Founding Fathers hope for in a president? How about a war hero who sacrificed again and again for the love of his country? How about a veteran of the Senate who has tirelessly put America first?

Senator McCain, fads come and go, but they don’t last. You are not a fad. You are the real deal, Senator. We could never question your commitment. We can’t question your experience. We can’t question your associations and your motivations.

You have always been proud of America. You have always put your country first. And for that, we say, “Thank you, Senator.”

The person who really did an excellent job of pointing out why McCain is the right person for the presidency right now is California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Here’s a video clip of Schwarzenegger speaking to those assembled at a McCain rally in Columbus, Ohio, during the past week. At about the 4 minute mark into the video, Schwarzenegger extols McCain by saying, “I only play an action hero in the movies, but John McCain is a real action hero.”  At about 5 minutes and 20 seconds, Schwarzenegger recounts his own migration from the socialism of Europe to the opportunity of America.  He also points out that Europe has had to backpedal on socialism because of its pratfalls, and he points out that America should not be marching toward socialism to find solutions for our economic problems, because socialism doesn’t have the solutions.  The Schwarzenegger speech is definitely worth a listen, so I hope you check it out.

From the Buckeye RINO perspective:

I’m pleased that Senator McCain stopped by Sandusky on his whirlwind campaign tour of Ohio.  On the stump, McCain gave a rousing speech, like the one at the Republican National Convention, imbued with hope, which is a stark contrast with the stump speeches I’ve sampled from Joe Biden.  Obama, on the stump, mocks McCain, but I don’t think there’s really much to mock, even though it has worked wonders on turning Obama into the media darling while placing McCain in the media doghouse.  McCain has not been George W. Bush, despite Obama’s contrary assertions.  McCain has been transparent.  McCain has been bipartisan.  McCain has been true to America even through times of wartime torture, and he has the scars to prove it.  McCain and Palin are firmly committed to reforming Washington DC.  As I noted in Part 9, McCain and Obama should be measured by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.

If you’ve been reading this HOPE ON series, then you are aware of some of the most troubling aspects of the Obama platform.

• Obama has revealed himself to be a socialist.  We now have the smoking gun.  Now that he’s been pinned down, his counter-argument is that McCain’s platform is based on “selfishness,” which is hardly the way I’d describe John McCain when the chips are down.
• It’s now been shown that Obama’s reluctant shift toward an all-of-the-above approach toward energy was just a sham, as it’s now come out that the regulatory burden to be imposed on the coal industry during an Obama presidency will be prohibitive.  How many more industries, not just in the energy sector, could be impacted by regulatory burdens imposed by Obama remains to be seen.
• Obama’s views on education reform aren’t directed at learning or achieving academic success.  As shown by his work with Bill Ayers, “social justice” is to be the ultimate imperative that the schools are charged with achieving.
• Obama hasn’t been forthright, and the media has been his willing accomplice, as he intentionally steers clear of a number of topics.
• His views on how to achieve foreign policy objectives aren’t just naive, they are dangerous.
• Obama and his campaign are using the same politics of personal destruction against detractors like Joe the Plumber that Bill Clinton used against the likes of Paula Jones.
• Obama not only didn’t keep his word about public financing of his campaign, but he and his campaign have deliberately removed the checks and balances that would ensure that donors are identified, are U.S. citizens, have not donated using stolen credit card numbers, and have not exceeded the individual donation limits.
• And if checks and balances aren’t in place when it comes to campaign finances, they aren’t in place when it comes to voting.  The notoriously corrupt Chicago political machine has been exported from Illinois to all parts of the United States, especially swing states like Ohio.  Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has not ensured the integrity of elections.  The system can be gamed.  There are reports of ballot box stuffing and other forms of election fraud across the USA.  Brunner is now publicly saying that checking against voter fraud may cause her computer network to crash, which is the biggest lie I’ve heard emanating from Columbus since Marc Dann was drummed out of the Ohio Attorney General’s office.

This is just a partial list, for it doesn’t touch on issues of immigration, abortion, Iraq, Afghanistan, Russia, China, infrastructure, consumer protection, the First Amendment (“fairness doctrine”), the Second Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, the Supreme Court, national defence, housing, the Federal Reserve, states rights, etc.

McCain’s reforms are aimed at increasing the integrity of our nation’s politics.  Obama’s proposed changes, especially in light of how the campaign has been conducted, raise questions about integrity.  McCain is the real reformer, the real maverick, the real change agent, the real action hero, the real deal.