GOP tries to keep Oregon from turning any bluer
From an article in the Oregonian:
Dispirited by a long string of Republican losses in Oregon, influential GOP members have formed a new organization they hope can play a powerful behind-the-scenes role in reviving the party's fortunes.
The new group, the Oregon Leadership Council, was formed by a broad cross-section of top Republicans after a series of private dinners in the summer and fall. The dinners brought together activists ranging from anti-abortion leaders to prominent downtown Portland businessmen.
"We have to do something because right now it is not looking very promising," Portland investment broker Tim Phillips said. "If we don't do something, there is a risk we will see a multigenerational decline in the Republican Party in Oregon."
Phillips, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2004, is co-chairing the roundtable with Ron Saxton, who in 2006 became the sixth Republican nominee in a row to lose a race for Oregon governor.
The Republican Party, which once held most of the statewide offices in Oregon, has had trouble electing candidates to the state's major political offices since the early 1990s. Democrats hold all of the statewide offices in Salem as well as six of the state's eight seats in Congress.
In recent years, Republicans have lost control of both houses of the Legislature. And in the current political season, the party has so far been unable to recruit a single candidate for the three statewide offices on the ballot -- secretary of state, treasurer and attorney general.
Phillips and other members of the new group, which has been incorporated as a nonprofit so that it can raise money for such things as research, said Republicans have been hurt both by national trends -- such as President Bush's unpopularity -- and by the difficulty the Oregon GOP has had in attracting people outside its base. "Right now the party has very little respect with Democrats and independents," said Mike White, vice president of the group and the executive director of the Oregon Family Council.
Phillips said the roundtable hopes to help "rebrand" the party by helping candidates develop new issues and by forging better links among the GOP's disparate factions. Ultimately, he said, he hopes the group might be able to help avoid the divisive primaries that many Republicans believe have contributed to their defeat.
Eventually, he said, the nonprofit group, which cannot endorse candidates because of its tax-exempt status, might decide to form a political action committee and become more involved in campaigns. But members downplayed their ability to play a kingmaker role in the party.
Phillips said there was no intent to re-create the old Oregon Round Table, a small group of wealthy conservative donors formed by Shilo Hotel owner Mark Hemstreet in the early 1990s, which sought to elect like-minded legislators and pass ballot initiatives.
Other key members of the group include Portland commercial real estate broker Clayton Hering and Fisher Farms owner Bob Terry, both of whom are prominent party fundraisers; charter school advocate Rob Kremer; veteran tax activist Don McIntire; and state Republican Chairman Vance Day. Saxton declined to talk about the group, saying he wanted to stay out of the public eye after his run for governor.
Washington County businesswoman Goli Ameri, who lost a 2004 race against U.S. Rep. David Wu, D-Ore., sparked the group's creation by setting up a series of dinners to talk about how to get the Republicans back on track in Oregon. But Phillips said she stepped back in November after President Bush nominated her to be assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs.
Even many of the Republicans in the group say it's too early to tell whether they can make a difference. "You won't know if it's accomplished anything until you've had an election," said McIntire, adding that the only achievement so far has been to get all of the party's factions talking with one another.
Dan Lavey, a political consultant connected to Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith, the only Republican holding statewide office, said he wishes the group well.
However, he added, "The most effective way you can position a political party is to have quality candidates who run quality campaigns."
Original Article by Jeff Mapes: 503-221-8209; jeffmapes@news.oregonian.com
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/120045571498470.xml&coll=7
Judge Supports Anytown Citizens United Claim
By Bob Doe
Anytown Gazette
An Anytown judge recently supported Anytown Citizens United's right to affect positive change for all. Judge Public stated that, "Anytown Citizens United is within it's rights to continue working on behalf of the community." This ends a lengthy court battle that began when No Good Enterprises charged Anytown Citizens United with not minding its own business. "We knew we would prevail", stated Anytown Citizens United co-founder Nancy Jones.
Legislators Agree to Improve Things
By Winston Maverick
Anytown Times
Succumbing to pressure from Anytown Citizens United, two key legislators agreed to stop conducting business as usual and start working for positive change. "We want to thank the fine citizens of our community for their support and efforts throughout this campaign", declared Sue James, a member of Anytown Citizens United. "This could not have been possible without the wonderful support we received from the community at large. This has been the second such action by Anytown Citizens United. The previous effort resulted in an overall satisfaction increase of over 30%. "We're not done yet!" exclaimed Anytown Citizens United president Hank Smith.
Sun Charge Proposal Defeated
By Tom Thumb
Anytown Tribune
A grassroots effort and proposed boycott organized by Anytown Citizens United put a halt to plans by the XYZ Company to build a giant umbrella above downtown Anytown. The XYZ Board of Directors' plan was to charge citizens to remove the umbrella to receive sunlight on the town. Anytown Citizens United went into action. "We weren't going to let our citizen's be in a situation where they would have to pay for sunlight," explained Anytown Citizens United treasurer Skip Allen. Folding under pressure from Anytown Citizens United, the XYZ company has decided to take the giant umbrella and make it a dome that would rest over Elm Street Park, allowing children to play on rainy days, and shading them on extremely hot days. Allen gleefully cheered, "We are pleased to see that XYZ has a heart!"
Another Lawmaker Swears Off Earmarks!
Andrew Roth
Another day and another lawmaker has sworn off earmarks. Today it's Rep. Todd Platts (R-PA-19). From PennLive.com:
U.S. Rep. Todd Platts, R-York County, is drawing a line in the sand and just saying 'no.'
"I will not be requesting earmarks as part of this year's federal budget," Platts announced on Monday citing the broken earmarking process by which members of Congress doled out $12 billion to $15 billion for some 9,000 projects last year.
"The number of earmarks has skyrocketed," he said. "Billions in taxpayer dollars have been wasted. The system has been abused on both sides of the aisle."
Congratulations are in order, Mr. Platts. Well done.
Tuesday's Daily News
Andrew Roth
THE DAILY NEWS
McCain Must Get Behind King Dollar - Larry Kudlow, National Review
Obama and Clinton on Trade - Jagdish Bhagwati, FT.com
Ohio and NAFTA - Don Boudreaux, Cafe Hayek
Conflicting Answers from Obama on NAFTA - C. Budoff Brown, The Politico
What the World Is Hearing on Trade - Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek.com
Is Obama Lying About NAFTAGate? - Byron York, National Review
Unions Are Evil And Weird - Rich Karlgaard, Forbes.com
'Interesting" Economists - Brian Holler, Thinking on the Margin
The Non-Sulzberger Death Tax - New York Sun Editorial
New Tax Burden Data - Tax Foundation Press Release
A New Business Model is Emerging
Andrew Roth
Nine Inch Nails, a hard rock band, has released a new album. It has a whopping 36 tracks on it, but the first 9 are available online for free. Like Radiohead before them, NIN is finding value is giving away its music.
This is encouraging to see.
NAFTA – Myths vs. Facts
Andrew Roth
The office of the U.S. Trade Representative has a great fact sheet (PDF) on NAFTA. Here's a good one:
Myth #2: NAFTA has cost the U.S. jobs.
Fact: U.S. employment rose from 110.8 million people in 1993 to 137.6 million in 2007, an increase of 24 percent. The average unemployment rate was 5.1 percent in the period 1994-2007, compared to 7.1 percent during the period 1980-1993.
Some NAFTA Numbers
Andrew Roth
Thanks to Mark Perry, check out these numbers on manufacturing and employment before and after NAFTA became law.
The World's Dirtiest Cities
Andrew Roth
Forbes has the list.
Buffett on the Economy
Andrew Roth
Warren Buffett thinks that by any "common sense definition," our economy is in a recession.
First Appropriator to Swear Off Earmarks!
Andrew Roth
I think this is our first appropriator to swear off earmarks. According to this news report ($) from Roll Call:
One appropriator, Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), is holding a campaign event shortly before the [first quarter fundraising] deadline, but there is no chance he’ll be collecting cash for earmarks. “I am backing a moratorium and I won’t be requesting any earmarks,” Kirk said. “I just hope others follow suit.”
We hope others do as well. Congrats to Rep. Kirk! Here is the master list of congressional members who have sworn off earmarks.
Monday's Daily News
Andrew Roth
THE DAILY NEWS
Earmark Vote Could Pit McCain Against GOP Caucus - Manu Raju, The Hill
Economic Stats: Texas vs. Ohio - Wall Street Journal Editorial
Noise about NAFTA - San Francisco Chronicle Editorial
Wrong About Mexico - Mary Anastasia O'Grady, WSJ
Dems Favor Ohio Over Texas on Trade - Gebe Martinez, The Politico
Democrats, Off Course on Trade - Sebastian Mallaby, Washington Post
Priced Out of the Market - New York Times Editorial
Tax Cut For Hugo? - IBD Editorial
Time to Bury U.S.-China Decoupling Myth - John Wasik, Bloomberg
Federal Spending By the Numbers 2008 - Brian Riedl, Heritage
SENATE Key Vote Alert - One Year Earmark Ban
Key Vote Alert
"YES" on DeMint Earmark Moratorium Amendment to the FY09 Budget Resolution
The Club for Growth urges Members of the Senate to vote "YES" on the DeMint amendment to the FY09 budget resolution that would impose a one-year moratorium on earmarks. This key vote will be part of our 2008 Congressional Scorecard.
The amendment, if passed, would make any legislation that has earmarks in it immediately out of order. A vote to allow the earmark(s) would require a supermajority of Senators to pass.
The earmarking process is inherently flawed. Tax dollars spent on earmarks circumvent regular budget controls, which include committee hearings, oversight, and competitive bidding. This leads to corrupt behavior and abuse. This amendment would force the Senate to have a time-out on earmarks, with the hopeful consequence of reforming the process, making it more accountable to taxpayers.
This key vote will be included in our Congressional Scorecard for the 110th Congress. The scorecard provides a comprehensive rating of how well or how poorly each member of Congress supports pro-growth, free-market policies, and will be distributed to our members and to the public.
Need a Screensaver?
Andrew Roth
Try this one.
Defending NAFTA
Andrew Roth
Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez defends NAFTA in yesterday's Washington Post. He adds this bit of advice:
There was a time in our nation's history when we sought to protect Americans by withdrawing from the world. In reaction to increasing agricultural imports, our government raised tariffs to historically high levels. We tried to protect jobs. But instead of the prosperity Americans expected, our unemployment rate increased to 25 percent and international trade dropped 66 percent. Protectionism was the wrong approach during the Great Depression, and it's still wrong in 2008.
Isolationism is not an option in the global economy of the 21st century. America is at its best when it is competing openly. Our economic prosperity depends on being able to compete. The three free-trade agreements awaiting approval by Congress, with Colombia, Panama and South Korea, would be a step in the right direction and would boost U.S. exports.
Who Could Doctors Save Today?
Andrew Roth
Which famous assassinations could have been prevented with today's medicine?
Julius Caesar? No way. Abraham Lincoln? Perhaps. William McKinley? Doctors "would have had him out of the hospital in a week, 10 days max."
Court Finds Taxing Authority Unconstitutional
Andrew Roth
The Virginia Supreme Court today declared that the un-elected bureaucrats of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority don't have the constitutional mandate to tax, thus saving taxpayers $300 million. Congrats to Kristina Rasmussen and the other plaintiffs in the case.
Quote of the Day
Andrew Roth
The New Republic's Eve Fairbanks recently described the feistiness of Senators Jim DeMint and Tom Coburn [emphasis mine]:
Their talent for rousing support among bloggers and talk-radio hosts and their disdain for bipartisanship--"I didn't come here to make friends, and I haven't been disappointed," DeMint told me--made them powerful. "You can only pass bills if you clear it with the two of them!" hisses a senior Democratic aide.
Interview with Pat Toomey
Andrew Roth
A couple of days ago, Rep. John Campbell, subbing for Hugh Hewitt, interviewed Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. You can listen here.
Letter to the Editor
Andrew Roth
Earlier this month, I sent the following letter to the Lebanon Daily News in Pennsylvania, which they eventually published. Holden is the current congressman for PA-17. Unfortunately, the letters and article mentioned below are behind a subscription wall, otherwise I'd link to them.
I've been following with great interest the letters exchanged in this space between Jerry Shenk and Rep. Tim Holden. What's particularly fascinating is how Holden defends his liberal record as if it's something to be proud of.
In his most recent letter ("Congressman looks to keep money at home," Feb. 6, 2008), Holden argues that his vote for a tax hike wasn't really a tax hike and that his support for a pork project was entirely appropriate.
These two examples only scratch the surface of his liberal record. Holden has voted for higher taxes numerous times. Most recently, he voted for a tax hike in the latest Energy Bill, and he voted for the Democratic Budget, which requires that the Bush tax cuts expire, resulting in the largest tax hike in U.S. history. He has voted against permanent repeal of the dreaded Death Tax as well.
As for earmarks, he may have some success at saying pork projects for his district are beneficial, but most people don't realize that he has to support billions in wasteful spending elsewhere in order to get his prized earmarks. It's a horribly abusive practice. To cite just a few examples, Holden voted last year to fund earmarks for the National Mule and Packers Museum in California. And he also supported earmarks for "grape genetic research" in New York and the Lobster Institute in Maine. All told, these pork projects, along with thousands of others, totaled over $20 billion. And that was just last year!
This is not true leadership. It's the behavior of a "go along to get along" big spending politician.
Exporting Basketball
Andrew Roth
The NBA wants to create a European league that would compete for the NBA championship.
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