Power of 5 USA

RNC Chairman Steele on Sen. Specter's switch to the Democratic Party

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele released the following statement today:
“Some in the Republican Party are happy about this. I am not.
Let’s be honest-Senator Specter didn’t leave the GOP based on principles of any kind. He left to further his personal political interests because he knew that he was going to lose a Republican primary due to his left-wing voting record.
Republicans look forward to beating Sen. Specter in 2010, assuming the Democrats don’t do it first.”

Top Secret Stimulus - Post from WSJ Political Diary

Democrats apparently are in a mad rush to pass their stimulus bill before the public or Members of Congress have much chance to read it. Just a few days ago the House overwhelmingly passed a new procedural rule requiring 48-hour public notice before any bill faces a roll call vote. The idea was to allow voters to review bills online before they are approved by Congress. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been crowing about this new era of transparency.

But the stimulus bill, which numbers more than 700 pages and was just renegotiated by the House and Senate Democratic leadership, may be voted on less than 24 hours after the agreement was reached. Last night, House Republicans were vocally complaining that they still didn't know the line-by-line details of the biggest spending bill to hit Capitol Hill since World War II. We also hear that House Blue Dog Democrats are furious with Ms. Pelosi for forcing a vote that clearly violates the party's own brand new sunshine rule.

Many squeamish House Democrats who represent mostly Republican districts are getting slammed back home for voting in favor of the original House stimulus bill. These moderates are also angry that the Democratic leadership bill made more room for pork by slicing Barack Obama's much-heralded tax cut for families by 20%. Couples were supposed to get $1,000, now they will get $800 off their income taxes.

A House Republican leadership staff member tells me: "Yep, looks like they will waive that [disclosure] rule even before the ink is dry on it." Rep. Dave Camp, ranking Republican on the Ways and Means Committee, adds: "Frankly, because this process has been so rushed, we are literally flying blind."

One rumor is that Democrats want to speedily enact the bill in the House without public vetting because Nancy Pelosi has to fly to Italy over the weekend. Democrats in the leadership are also getting weary of this stimulus debate. They're aware of the shrinking public approval and want to strong-arm the bill through Congress before rank-and-file House members get cold feet.

So the era of transparency and openness on Capitol Hill has come and gone. Mr. Camp pleads: "The American people have a right to know what's in this bill." Ms. Pelosi thinks it best that they learn about the bill's contents only after Barack Obama has signed it into law.

-- Stephen Moore

Response from an Email Chain -

We MUST engage and embrace - which will in turn always GROW our party, re-enforce our message, strengthen our bench, hell, at this point Build our bench, the GOP has been pushing people off the bench for years...( I mean we really can't complain that Obama's Cabinet is a retread of Clinton's Team...Bush 43 was a re-tread of Bush 41 and Reagan) There is lots of young private sector talent that we should be recruiting... But for CRAFT (California Republicans Aligned For Tomorrow) going after Meg Whitman, formally of eBay, the GOP would probably not have a good shot at the Governor's Mansion.... It is going to be a journey, because she is not a CA political insider, and a woman... But she has a record of PROVEN results.

We have to stop throwing stones, the American electorate is not that stupid...We should be about the business of creating REAL opportunity, articulating SUSTAINABLE solutions, developing ACTIONABLE plans, and supporting ELECTABLE candidate...

I could go on, but this is just my .02

On Sarah Palin...

I find it very interesting that some people are having 'heartburn" with this. I think that strategically, it shows that McCain is thinking about the country, the party, and the future. He has his opponents scrambling, since this was not out of the 'playbook' that they had for McCain. That was first very obvious, as they unsuccessfully try to tie him to Bush '43. So it will take the O-Biden (now he's Irish) Team longer to come up with a plan. If the first few 'attacks' are any indication… then, as long as McCain stays "on his message" then the American People will see the truth.

Another strategic thing that must be considered is in choosing Gov. Palin, age 44, with a win, she is a shoe-in for 2012, if McCain chooses not to run again, and also for 2016. In 8 years, she will only be 52.

This helps with the rebuilding process. Lest we forget, the Republican party, and the Conservative movement, have no BENCH! We have not been growing leaders, getting them started in the political process. Placing them into position for the future, making them a part of the political process. I don’t think that the message that we want to send to Generation X, Generation Y, and Generation V, that they are not an option. This is a generation of socially conscious, aggressive, people, who feel they have something to contribute, and will use alternate means to accomplish their goals.

AMAZINGLY, Obama forgot one of the bullet points of his own speech “Sometimes change does not happen in Washington, Sometimes change COMES TO Washington". Discarding Sarah's EXECUTIVE experience as a Mayor insults most Americans, because America, is a collection of small towns. Discarding Sarah's EXECUTIVE experience as Ethics Commissioner and Chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, upsets their apple cart, since this is evidence that it is the people and not “Big Oil” that will be the priority of this administration. Discarding Sarah's EXECUTIVE experience as a Small Business Owner, insults the fabric of American ingenuity, accountability and determination. Discarding Sarah’s EXECUTIVE experience as a WORKING MOTHER, is an insult to anyone who has managed a family. Running a home & family is the quintessential executive experience of managing people, process, budget, tools, etc.

Is Obama & his team implying that only Washington experience that they consider relevant? If so, then this shows that it is HE that is “more of the same”.