Friday, November 30, 2007

 

I Ain't Your Proxy

Updating some rather ancient plans, I will not be the VOLConWife's voting proxy at Saturday's Republican State Executive Committee meeting. 6th District Committeeman John Dance's wife will have that honor.

No, I am staying home with my extremely pregnant wife. Besides, as most of you can probably surmise, I am tending to side with this quote by the newly-retired Parkey Strader of Knox County:

"With politics like it is, I don't like it anymore. Politics is ugly now, and I don't enjoy it. I might as well get out and give someone else the chance to think about running."

Yeah, after some of the developments this year (particularly in Knox County), I can see that.

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I Smell Corn Dogs - LSU Must Be Playing the Vols

For reference, read the story here. Many angry Cajuns were not happy that I reprinted the story of their corn dog reliance, but we're all about the truth here on VOLCon - no matter how many threats we get from Louisiana natives.



Call me crazy, a homer, or seeing the world through orange-colored glasses, but I believe that the Vols have something for the Bajou Bengals. LSU has a backup QB, coaches that are packing their belongings for other (not necessarily greener) pastures, and a fan base that is down due to 1) losing to Arkansas last week or 2) the closing of various corn dog factories through the U.S. due to e-coli poisoning.

If I could smell anything over the stench of corn dogs, then I just might smell a Big Orange victory tomorrow...

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Wednesday, November 28, 2007

 

Chuck Norris - Enuf Said

Rett Hatcher is reporting that none other than Chuck Norris will be in the spin room after tonight's GOP debate.

Think that Giuliani or Paul will challenge Huck tonight during the debate, knowing that a series of roundhouse kicks from the baddest man on the planet could be waiting for them once they leave the stage?

I think not...

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New Polls - Huckabee Hot, Giuliani, Fred Losing Ground

New Rasmussen and Clemson polls out of Iowa and South Carolina (respectfully) show some surprising trends, as Romney is no longer leading in Iowa and Huckabee shows more positive momentum than any other candidate.

Rasmussen Reports Republican Iowa Caucus, conducted November 26-27, 2007

Mike Huckabee - 28% (16)
Mitt Romney - 25% (29)
Rudy Giuliani - 12% (15)
Fred Thompson - 11% (14)
Ron Paul - 5% (4)
Tom Tancredo - 4% (4)
John McCain - 4% (6)
Duncan Hunter - 1% (2)

This telephone survey of 839 Likely Republican Caucus Participants was conducted by Rasmussen Reports November 26-27, 2007. The margin of sampling error for the is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.


Clemson University South Carolina Primary Poll

Mitt Romney 17% (11%)
Fred Thompson 15% (19%)
Mike Huckabee 13% (6%)
John McCain 11% (15%)
Rudy Giuliani 9% (18%)
Ron Paul 6% (1%)

(Numbers in parentheses are from CU’s August poll)

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Could the Next President be Party-less?

How is this for a coincidence - I was preparing to write a story about the man who I think might be the next President of the United States, a man who has made diminishing the global nuclear threat his main issue over the past several years, and then it turns out that the story of the day turns out to be nuclear materials being seized in Slovakia. Go figure...

The point I am trying to make is this - with Giuliani being no different than Hillary Clinton in the eyes of most conservatives (and rightly so, I might add), Romney being the biggest
Massachusetts flip-flopper since, well, the last presidential election, and Fred Thompson being outed by the media because he - gasp! - has chosen to make his campaign about actual issues facing this country, it is looking more and more like the conservatives may not unite behind any of the Republican candidates in the primary. Ah, but what happens when we hit the general election?

I (along with many other pundits) have long believed that a third party candidate (Ron Paul, Mike Huckabee perhaps) would ride upon the scene like one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and hand Hillary the White House by sloughing off the conservative base of the Republican Party.

I'm starting to think that might not happen. Oh, I still think that there will be a third-party or Independent candidate.

I just think that he might win.

I think that Democrats will vote for him because he used to be a Democrat in the U.S. Senate and he's not Hillary Clinton.

I think that Republicans will vote for him because he is pro-life, Southern, fiscally conservative, respected by both sides of the aisle, a supporter of the federal marriage amendment, and has more foreign policy experience than all of the current crop of candidates combined.

No, I'm not talking about Zell Miller, but you do have the right state in mind.

Folks, former U.S Senator Sam Nunn, who currently serves as co-chairman of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, has been quietly talking about running. If that's the case, then the former Senator from Georgia is a real threat to both Clinton and Giuliani because he takes votes away from the moderate wing of the Democratic Party, the Independents, and from all across the Republican Party, especially the base.

I'm not ready to throw in the towel on Fred (he needs to come in second in Iowa and win South Carolina, though, and his campaign has been admittedly awful and unwilling to accept grassroots help to this point), but I would certainly be willing to support Nunn over Giuliani and Clinton in a hypothetical three-way dance.

MORE: Tommy Oliver over at Race42008 had the same thoughts recently. Read his post on why Nunn is attractive to voters, his over two decades of service in the Senate, and how he came to be one of the most noted voices on U.S. foreign policy.

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With Over 11 months Remaining and 0% of the Precincts Reporting, VOLCon is declaring Lamar Alexander the Winner

A.C. at Volunteer Voters notes that Congressional Quarterly isn't ready to declare Lamar Alexander's Senate seat as "Safe Republican" in the wake of pretend candidate Mike McWherter's decision yesterday.

I am. Call it premature, but I'm calling this race now. Tuke has no shot, and none of the other Democrats have the cojones to run.

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Tuesday, November 13, 2007

 

Knox County YRs to Hold Elections

Just a reminder - the Knox County Young Republicans are holding elections for the 2008 term today at 6:30 P.M. The monthly meetings take place at the Green Hills Grille on Kingston Pike, and tonight's speaker is Knox County Law Director John Owings.

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Can't Wait to Put Up the Ole Family Tree?

Several readers have alerted me to Lowe's decision to stop selling Christmas trees this year and to instead offer "Family Trees."

See for yourself at their catalog.

Anyone have any good stories about sitting around the old family tree in their youth? Perhaps opening family presents under the family tree? Decorating the old family tree?

I can't recall any. But I suddenly do recall why I will be shopping for my ShopVac and hedge trimmers this evening at Sears and not at Lowe's.

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Great Weekend

A Vols win in basketball.

A Vols win in football.

A Bears win in the NFL.

Quality time working on the nursery with my wife.

If only every weekend was this great!

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Thursday, November 08, 2007

 

Speak Up, Taxpayers!

Bill Hobbs has a poll on how a good chunk of your Tennessee tax dollars are being spent. Hop on over there and let your voice on Phil Bredesen's reckless spending be heard!

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Rangel's Tax Hike - Paid for by You, All in the Name of Democratic Contributors

Last week, I assailed Democrat Charlie Rangel's proposed tax hike - which would be the largest tax increase in American history - along with others such as Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn and Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

Now comes word from The New York Times (and keep in mind that this is the NYT, so its veracity is not proven) that - prepare for shocking news - Rangel's proposal will help those who have been bankrolling Democrats, including Rangel, for years.

I'm sure it's just a coincidence...

MORE:

RedState
Pirate's Cove
Sweetness & Light

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Wednesday, November 07, 2007

 

Huckabee Not Being Honest on his Record on Taxes?

I came across this criticism from Club for Growth, and only because it jives with what I have been told by Arkansas natives do I republish it here. Of course, I suppose it is a victory of sorts that shows Huckabee to have gained some traction to be drawing fire like this.

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Recently, members of the media have begun to inspect former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee’s record with increasing scrutiny. Many have cited the Club for Growth’s criticisms of Huckabee’s economic record, criticisms that are based on exhaustive research of Huckabee’s ten-year tenure.

With his economic credentials called into question so frequently, Mike Huckabee has a ready answer, as he did this morning on Fox News Business: “I cut taxes ninety-four times. I was the first governor in the hundred and sixty year state that ever did that.”

Unfortunately, this line is terribly misleading as Huckabee intends it to be. Governor Huckabee did indeed cut taxes, but the “94 tax cuts” line is an exaggeration on par with Al Gore’s “I invented the Internet.” Using Huckabee’s strange math would mean that George W. Bush cut taxes hundreds of times in 2001 and 2003. While Huckabee signed a $90 million tax cut package early in his tenure, the rest of his “94 tax cuts” were minor cuts and tweaks to the tax code, such as exempting residential lawn care from the sales tax; reducing taxes on bets made at Southland Greyhound Park; and exempting Arkansas Symphony Orchestra purchases from the sales tax. And while we give Huckabee some credit for his modest tax cuts, his tax increases far outpaced his tax cuts, with the average tax burden increasing 47% over his tenure, as documented by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette .

Some of these tax increases include (please see attached chart for detailed documentation):

* Sales Tax, 1996: Huckabee campaigned vigorously for a constitutional amendment to raise the sales tax, which passed by 8,562 votes (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 11/07/96)

* Gas and Diesel Fuel Taxes, 1999: Huckabee signed these tax hikes into law, contrary to his claim that they were passed by 80% of Arkansas voters (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 04/02/99, 04/25/99)

* Sales Tax, 2000 (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 09/25/02)

* Cigarette Tax, 2001 (Associated Press, 04/02/01)

* Nursing Home Bed Tax, 2001 (Associated Press, 06/25/01)

* Sales Tax, 2002: Huckabee proposed a sales tax increase nine days after being reelected, though he made no mention of his intentions when he was campaigning against a ballot measure to repeal the state sales tax on groceries (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 11/15/02); his Legislature rejected his proposal.

* Income Surcharge Tax, 2003 (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 10/09/07)

* Tobacco Tax, 2003 (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 10/09/07)

* Sales Tax, 2003-2004: Huckabee sat on the sidelines while his Legislature pushed through the largest tax increase in Arkansas history, refusing to veto the measure because he didn’t “want to obstruct the wishes of the Legislature” (Associated Press, 02/06/04)

* Internet Taxes, 2004: Huckabee opposed a congressional moratorium on state taxation of Internet access (Bond Buyer, 02/24/04)

Huckabee’s “94 tax cuts” is, at best, well-crafted political spin, and we urge all members of the media to cross-examine Mike Huckabee when he resorts to his favorite line. Contrary to Huckabee’s claims, the Club for Growth is not on a witch hunt against him. We simply believe that the American public deserves to know the facts about his economic record, much as we have done in our other white papers. The more Huckabee continues to insist on his economic conservatism or distort the truth about his tax increases, the more the Club for Growth feels the need to combat his talking points with the truth.

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Cloak & Dagger Comments

Just a reminder, folks...

Just because you register for a Blogger ID under some random name and then refuse to have your profile viewed publicly doesn't mean that you're not trackable.

If you leave a libelous, inaccurate, or just downright mean comment, it will likely not pass through moderation and, if I wish because it's not that hard, I will find out who posted it.

Quit wasting your time and mine, OK Slick...

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Tuesday, November 06, 2007

 

Election Day, 2007

Not much going on today on the election front, to tell the truth. The few races that are being contested are pretty easy to predict.

The Ernie Fletcher era in Kentucky is about to come to a merciful end. It's been tough to watch Fletcher - once a rising star of the Republican party - bumble his way through his term as governor. Of course, it will probably be worse under Democrat Steve Beshear, who has been out of the limelight for a while until this race. Word has it that the coordinated homosexual activists in Lexington and Louisville are quite giddy over Beshear's almost certain victory in the Commonwealth. That can't be a good thing...

In happier news, Governor Haley Barbour will receive another term from the good people of Mississippi. Haley is one of those rare political creatures that has been as effective as a politician as he was a political operative. He should wipe the floor with John Eaves.

Of course, in San Francisco - America's Gomorrah - Mayor Gavin Newsom will certainly win another term. After all, who better to lead San Francisco than an ineffective drunken adulterer?

There are several ballot initiatives today that will be decided, as well. I am interested in seeing how Utah's attempt to create the first statewide school voucher program open to all families turns out. It's a shame that Tennessee has done nothing on this front in the nearly 7 years that school vouchers has gained attention throughout the nation. Of course, we're too busy passing laws so that our officials can patrol our borders looking for illegal immigrants - oops, I mean, illegal cigarettes.

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Putting the "B" in "Busy"

This year has been tough on the ole VOLCon. Work has been uncontrollably busy. Heck, I'm even threatening to have more billable hours than my friends who work for the big metropolitan firms that I always felt sorry for because they worked all of the time.

But I've been trying to play hard, too. At least, I'm doing that until the baby comes.

Tennessee football games. Tennessee basketball games (although I missed last night's exhibition due to exhaustion). Trans-Siberian Orchestra this Wednesday night (which is also being attended by fellow blogger Michael Silence).

I'm glad to have completed the birthing classes, which concluded last week. Baby shower was this past Sunday.

Do you get the impression that my head is spinning?

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