Obama: The Difference Between '94 and Now is Me

From Jake Tapper at ABC News:

Rep. Marion Berry, D-Ark., fears that these midterm elections are going to go the way of the 1994 midterms, when Democrats lost control of the House after a failed health care reform effort.

But, Berry told the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, the White House does not share his concerns.

“They just don’t seem to give it any credibility at all,” Berry said. “They just kept telling us how good it was going to be. The president himself, when that was brought up in one group, said, ‘Well, the big difference here and in ’94 was you’ve got me.’ We’re going to see how much difference that makes now.”

Asked today by ABC News’ Yunji de Nies if the president said that, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs pleaded ignorance.

“I have not talked to the president about that,” Gibbs said, employing one of his favorite dodges.

Gibbs seemed to suggest that he shared that view, whether or not President Obama said it.

“I hope it's not newsworthy to think that the president hopes and expects to be an effective campaigner in the midterm elections,” Gibbs said.

Berry told the newspaper that he “began to preach last January that we had already seen this movie and we didn’t want to see it again because we know how it comes out…I just began to have flashbacks to 1993 and ’94. No one that was here in ’94, or at the day after the election felt like. It certainly wasn’t a good feeling.”

- Jake Tapper and Yunji de Nies

If this conversation took place after Scott Brown's stunning victory in Massachusetts, Obama is clueless about the tidal wave preparing to hit him.

Gibbs said that the President "expects to be an effective campaigner" this coming election cycle. As Mike McCarville so aptly noted, he has been exactly that - for the Republicans.

The Conservative View: Too Big For Your Britches

This week's Conservative View, by Adair County Commissioner Russell Turner (R-Stilwell).

The Conservative View
by Russell Turner

Too Big For Your Britches

We humans can experience problems in our life; it is a sad fact that many times we create most of those problems ourselves. Whenever anyone becomes so arrogant they think that they are above the law, or too good to lose in any competition, they are on the fast track to getting a much deserved dose of reality. Throughout my life I have heard my parents on many occasions comment on someone that got over confident, they would often say that the person was “getting too big for their britches”. I feel that that same analogy could be applied to the results of the Senate race in Massachusetts.

While the outcome was a victory for the conservative candidate Scott Brown, we conservatives would be foolish to believe that this one race is a trend for the conservatives to somehow ride a wave of support to being the majority in the US Senate. While some would say that this race is a wakeup call for the Democrat party, I believe it to be a wakeup call for all political parties. The Republican Party gained the majority during the Clinton Presidency because the people of America spoke with a loud voice that they didn’t want the government controlling more aspects of their lives. For a while the Republicans held to their conservative values, and then they fell into the trap of wanting to maintain their power and stay in office at any price. I have found that when anyone is willing to pay any price for something it is just a matter of time until the price becomes so high they can never pay it. When we conservatives hold true to our beliefs we have the ability to make the hard choices based upon logic. Often people don’t like the consequences of the hard choices, but in the long run we are better off to take the bitter medicine and get it over with.

The people of Massachusetts merely made a choice based upon the issues of today. The health care issue has many Americans worried about the size and scope of government. The liberals were locked in full throttle to pass the health care reforms even though the American people were not supporting it. We conservatives need to listen to the voters and be willing to use our conservative values to justify our decisions, if we start to get too big for our britches the voters will let us know.

If you wish to contact Russell Turner, or want to subscribe to his email loop, email him at rdrepublican@windstream.net.

The Biggest Upset in American Electoral History?

In an huge upset, Republican Scott Brown won tonight in the Massachusetts Senate special election, with 52% of the vote. Some are beginning to speculate that this may be the biggest upset in American electoral history, or at least modern electoral history.

Just a few examples:

1. Three weeks ago, Democrat Martha Coakley was leading the polls by nearly 20 points. Tonight, she lost by 5. I can't think of an election that changed so drastically so swiftly.
2. I subscribe to WORLD Magazine, and we received the January 16th edition of the bi-weekly magazine in the mail today. I'm not entirely sure when this would have gone to print, but on the Massachusetts election, WORLD said, "Massachusetts voters will almost certainly send... Martha Coakley to Washington after a special election [to replace Ted Kennedy]." Their article went on to further state that Coakley held a "commanding lead" over Brown.
3. Last year, Barack Obama won Massachusetts by a margin of 61%-36%. Brown won 52%-47% - a huge 16-point swing for an unpopular party that only .
   

Massachusetts has had only 4 Republicans in the U.S. House since the last Republican Senator lost his reelection bid in 1978 (one GOP House member died in 1991, one lost reelection in 1982, and two lost in 1996).

So, was this the greatest upset in electoral history? I think it has to rank up there.

On a side note, Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee chairman Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said this among his "Blame Bush" post-election statement: "President George W. Bush and House Republicans drove our economy into a ditch and tried to run away from the accident." This in the seat previously held by Ted Kennedy, who actually did drive his car into a pond, and left the scene of the accident, leaving his passenger (Mary Jo Kopechne) to die in the vehicle. Surely Van Hollen or someone on his staff caught the irony in his statement.

Also, it appears that the Democrats will seat Brown very soon. From Forbes.com:

Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin said he would notify the U.S. Senate on Wednesday that Brown had been elected. Originally, he had said he might take over two weeks to certify the results of the special election, giving Democrats a window in which to try to rush through final passage of Obama's health care plan.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., promised to seat Brown "as soon as the proper paperwork has been received."

This will almost surely signal the death of ObamaCare, as moderate Democrats facing reelection this year will become jittery over passing unpopular, radical legislation like the President's health care plan. Senators Jim Webb (D-VA) and Evan Bayh (D-IN) are already admitting that the health care plan and other Obama administration are dragging down the Democrat Party.

So, on to the midterms - there are only 286 days left!

The SCOTT Heard 'Round the World

Massachusetts Republican State Senator Scott Brown has now become Massachusetts Republican U.S. Senator Scott Brown.

In a stunning night, Brown roared to the finish line with 52% of the vote; Coakley received 47%, and independent/libertarian candidate Joe Kennedy (no relation) got 1%. The Democrat agenda (including President Obama's health care plan) now hangs in the balance, since the Republican Party will now control 41 Senate seats, enough to sustain a filibuster.

Massachusetts Senate Results

For results from the Massachusetts Senate special election, go to this website (AP) or this website (Boston Globe).

At 7:53pm CST, Republican Scott Brown led Democrat Martha Coakley 53% to 46%, with 40% of precincts reporting.

Showdown: Brown vs. Coakley

Tomorrow, the special election for the Massachusetts U.S. Senate seat will be held. Republican State Sen. Scott Brown has roared to an unexpected, and unprecedented, lead over Democrat Attorney General Martha Coakley.

At the first of the year, polls showed Coakley with a lead of 16 points; surveys released today showed Brown winning by 9 and 10 percent.

A victory by Scott Brown would send shockwaves through Washington, and likely signal the end of Obama's health care plan (unless House and Senate Democrats can suddenly stop squabbling over the bill, and vote on it in some manner before Brown can be seated).

The final showdown occurs tomorrow. Only time will tell whether the upstart Republican can pull off the unthinkable: defeating a DEMOCRAT, in MASSACHUSETTS, in TED KENNEDY'S old seat.

The Conservative View: A Lesson Re-Learned

This week's Conservative View, by Adair County Commissioner Russell Turner (R-Stilwell).

The Conservative View
by Russell Turner

A Lesson Re-Learned

Being a conservative it is easy to get discouraged about the status of our government and the policies that are being rammed down the throat of the American people. It is evident to see that the mainstream media owes their allegiance to the liberal philosophy. It is sad that the mainstream media no longer has the ability to report issues in an honest and unbiased fashion. When you look at history, the conservative cause has always had to overcome the status quo. Today we are fortunate to have other sources such as the internet and talk radio, the people that founded this country did not have anything as good as we do today. I believe that the desire for freedom enabled our founding fathers to do remarkable and great things. I believe that desire is a part of our genetic makeup. Far too often we have a bad habit of allowing someone to make us believe that the grass is greener on the other hill, more often than not when we get there it is not what we were led to believe.

Just a little over a year ago the pundits were ready to read the obituary for the conservative belief system, now their obituary seems a little premature. I am old enough to have had the honor to have voted for Ronald Wilson Reagan. I remember the mess our country was in due to Jimmy Carter and his cronies promising greener pastures. It has been several years since President Reagan came to power; the voters of that day re-learned our conservative values. Reagan believed in a limited government, strong defense and above all freedom. I saw firsthand the pride in our country that was generated because of those values. Over the past few weeks I have seen the American spirit rekindled.

Even though ridiculed by the main stream press, the tea party movement has grown into a force and a focal point for conservative values. Next Tuesday there will be an election in Massachusetts to fill the senate seat formally held by the late Ted Kennedy. According to recent polls the conservative candidate Scott Brown is leading, just a short time ago this would have been impossible. The events of the last year seemed to have awakened the dormant gene that made this country great. As long as we can re-learn our conservative values when we go chasing greener pastures there will be hope for our country.

If you wish to contact Russell Turner, or want to subscribe to his email loop, email him at rdrepublican@windstream.net.

Latest News Roundup

Since I've been gone since the 31st, here's a quick roundup of the news that I'm aware of that has taken place in the meantime.

U.S. Senate news:

• Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) was quoted in a soon-to-be-released book on the 2008 Presidential election as saying that Barack Obama was "light-skinned", "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one." GOP leaders point to the double-standard in how Reid is being treated for his comments and how Republican Sen. Trent Lott was after his comments several years ago. Reid continues to trail GOP opponents by 5-10 points.
  
• Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) announced that he will not run for reelection this year. He had been facing a very difficult race, with the top Republican candidates leading him by up to 10 percentage points. His stepping aside may make it easier for the Democrats to hold the seat.
• Scott Brown, Republican candidate in the special election for Ted Kennedy's old seat, is now neck and neck with Democrat Martha Coakley. Brown held a "money-bomb" today, with a goal of raising $500,000. However, by mid-afternoon, over $750,000 had been brought in, and the current goal is now $1,000,000 (at 7pm CST, $878,000 had been raised).>
• Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) trails relatively unknown GOP candidates by 10-12 points in the latest polls.
• Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) announced that he will not seek reelection, in a move that has drawn sitting Republican Governor John Hoeven into the race. Hoeven had been beating Dorgan by substantial margins in recent polls.
  

U.S House news:

• Democrats still are on pace to lose a ton of seats in the midterm election this year. Rep. Parker Griffith of Alabama switched parties shortly before Christmas, reminiscent of the party switches that took place in 1994.
• Rep. Dan Boren (D-OK) believes that the balance of power in the House will be very close, but that due to that he will have the most influence he's ever had, no matter who is in the majority.
  

Other news:

• State Rep. and Majority Floor Leader Tad Jones (R-Claremore) announced his intention to run for Labor Commissioner, joining fellow Republican Jason Reese as the announced opponents for Democrat incumbent Lloyd Fields.
• The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) is sponsoring a news site, with a focus on the State Capitol and governmental affairs. CapitolBeatOK.com launched at the end of December.
• Apparently, parts of Oklahoma experienced an extremely rare lake-effect snow while I was gone...
• Congresswoman Mary Fallin (R-CD5) leads State Sen. Randy Brogdon (R-Owasso) by about 50% in the latest gubernatorial election poll. She also cruises to victory over Democrats Drew Edmondson and Jari Askins.
  

... and that's about all I can remember to post. Let me know if I missed something big while I was in the Mexican Riviera, taking in the 80° weather!