Posts Tagged ‘Sarah Palin’
September 27th, 2011 by John Feehery
“And so tonight — to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans — I ask for your support.”
In November of 1969, Richard Nixon uttered this line in a televised address to the nation, explaining his plans in Vietnam.
At the time, the nation was enveloped in social, economic and racial turmoil. Nixon was speaking to the folks in the country who were respectful of authority, preferred order to chaos, disdained the revolutionaries and distrusted the intellectual elite who were attacking the pillars of American society.
The silent majority came to mean the white middle and lower middle class of America, and Nixon’s phrase came to be seen as a way to polarize an already polarized society.
But the phrase still has some uses.
The Republican Party has been embroiled in revolution from the so-called Tea Party Patriots.
These Tea Party Republicans were the first to embrace Sarah Palin. They gained inspiration from Glenn Beck back when Beck was the man. They held large protests around the country and on the National Mall. They targeted Republicans in primary fights in the midterm election, and successfully took out Bob Bennett, the senator from Utah; Mike Castle, the favorite to win the Delaware Senate seat; and Lisa Murkowski, the sitting senator from Alaska (who ended up winning the general election in a daring third-party challenge). Read more...
Tags: Bob Bennett, Buchanan, bush, Bush II, Chambers of Commerce, Dole, Glenn Beck, Herman Cain, Jeb Bush, Jon Huntsman, Kiwanis Clubs, Lisa Murkowski, majority, McCain, Michele Bachmann, Mike Castle, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Politics, presidential campaign, Presidential election, Reagan, Richard Nixon, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Robert Taft, Sarah Palin, Tea Party Patriots, Tea Party Republicans, Vietnam, white middle and lower middle class
Posted in GOP, Government, History, Liberal Media, Media, Politics, Presidential election, Promises, Reviews, Theory, election, speeches, spending, taxes | 2 Comments »
September 21st, 2011 by John Feehery
I was working out at the gym this morning (I know, miracles never cease), and I looked over briefly (I know, you don’t believe me), at the television and saw one of the hosts interviewing Rachel Maddow.
I am not the biggest Rachel Maddow fan in the world (ok, I am not really a fan at all) and I immediately assumed that the topic of conversation was on the President’s decision on “don’t ask, don’t tell”, an issue that apparently is important to the MSNBC host.
According to the headline blaring at the bottom of the television screen was “Is Obama losing his base?”
Interesting question, given that the previous day, the President struck a blow for some of his most passionate supporters by going through with change in a long standing military policy.
I will make this observation.
The President is not losing his base (if that is true) because he is moving to the middle. He is losing his base for largely the same reasons that he is losing the middle and losing the rest of the country.
Sheer incompetence. Read more...
Tags: America, Barack Obama, Conservatives, Democrats, don’t tell”, Economy, election, Gibson Guitar, Government, Msnbc, NRLB, Obama, Obama Justice Department, Obamacare, President Obama, Presidential election, Rachel Maddow, Republicans, Ron Paul, Ron Susskind, Sarah Palin, the Obama Administration, “don’t ask
Posted in Bad Decisions, Bailouts, Economy, Financial Crisis, Government, History, Liberal Media, Media, Politics, Promises, Theory, Unemployment, bad news, election, health care, spending, taxes | No Comments »
July 19th, 2011 by John Feehery
There are two kinds of politicians.
Fixers come into office to fix things. They seek to fix problems for their constituents, fix the legislative process and fix government.
Breakers come into office to break things. They seek to take down the political order, break up the status quo and destroy icons.
Fixers occupy the political middle on both the left and the right. They like to work within the system, they don’t demonize their opponents; they tend to be workhorses who find the media a necessary, but tedious evil.
Breakers occupy the political fringes on both the left and the right. They hate the current system. They hate their opponents. They tend to be show horses who use the media to carry their message.
Breakers can become fixers, but fixers rarely become breakers.
Newt Gingrich was a breaker. Denny Hastert was a fixer.
John Boehner is a fixer. Nancy Pelosi was a breaker.
Both Bush’s were fixers, as was Bill Clinton. Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama started as breakers. Franklin Roosevelt campaigned as a fixer, became a breaker when he took the White House (his Hundred Days was a prime example of how the breaker operates) but became a fixer during the Second World War. Read more...
Tags: America, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, budget amendment, Democrats, Denny Hastert, Economy, election, Franklin Roosevelt, George W Bush, George Washington, GOP, Government, Haley Barbour, Hermann Cain, John Boehner, Jon Huntsman, Media, Michele Bachmann, Mitch Daniels, Mitt Romney, Nancy Pelosi, Napoleon, Newt Gingrich, Patrick Henry, politicians, President Bush, Republican Conference, Republicans, Robespierre, Ron Paul, Sarah Palin, Second World War, Tea Party Caucus, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Tim Pawlenty, White House
Posted in Economy, Financial Crisis, GOP, Government, History, Laws, Liberal Media, Media, Politics, Presidential election, Promises, Theory, election, spending, taxes | 1 Comment »
June 21st, 2011 by John Feehery
Midway through the first debate, I got an email from a reporter. “What do you think of Michele Bachmann’s performance?” she asked. I missed the first portion of the debate because I was putting my son to bed, so I replied, “What do you think?” She told me, “Frankly, I think she is kicking butt.”
I was astounded. I immediately tuned in, and I watched closely. Bachmann held her own, but she was no Rory McIlroy. She didn’t completely embarrass herself, but in my mind, she didn’t suddenly reinvent herself to become presidential material.
The next day, the press reaction was universal. Bachmann and Mitt Romney were the winners, while Tim Pawlenty was the big loser. Immediately, the pundits were declaring Bachmann a serious presidential contender, one who would probably win Iowa and would surely contend in South Carolina. Pawlenty was toast.
But how could Michele Bachmann suddenly become a serious presidential contender? Certainly she has become a ubiquitous presence on cable news, but she has no executive experience to speak of, no deep congressional experience, no notable accomplishments. She hasn’t shown herself to have any policy depth, nor any historical perspective, nor any really good ideas about how to move the country forward. She is attractive, undoubtedly, and she has mastered the art of the sound bite, but in this complex and increasingly dangerous world, a serious presidential contender must have more to offer than good looks and a sharp tongue. Read more...
Tags: Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Democrats, Ed Rollins, election, Jon Huntsman, Michelle Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Obama, republican party, Republicans, Romney campaign, Rory McIlroy, Sarah Palin, Tea Party, Tim Pawlenty
Posted in Financial Crisis, GOP, Government, History, Liberal Media, Media, Politics, Presidential election, Theory, election | No Comments »
June 9th, 2011 by John Feehery
President Obama should be watching closely the actions of those members of the House who are abandoning Anthony Weiner. These are the same characters who will likely abandon him next year if the economy doesn’t improve dramatically.
Politicians are pretty transactional creatures. If you can help during my reelection, I am all with you. If you cause me serious trouble, you are a problem who must be disposed with.
Mr. Weiner is that problem today for House Democrats. Mr. Obama could be that problem next June.
Politico reports that the Obama team is expanding the map, looking to win in Georgia and Arizona, because they know they can’t win in Indiana, Virginia and North Carolina. That means that the Obama team is already hitting the panic button. They go to bed every night, praying that Republicans nominate Michelle Bachmann, Sarah Palin, or Rick Perry.
The GOP is now more trusted than the President on the economy, which is amazing if you think about it. They have passed a controversial budget that promised to dramatically reform Medicare, and that Medicare plan is pretty much all they have. And yet, because the American people dislike the President’s economic policies so much, the GOP has seized the advantage. Read more...
Tags: Aanthony Weiner, America, Barack Obama, Congress, Democrats, election, Eric Cantor, GOP, Government, health care, House Republicans, Michelle Bachmann, Obama, Politics, Presidential election, Sarah Palin, White House
Posted in Economy, GOP, Government, Media, Politics, Presidential election, Theory, election, health care, spending | No Comments »
June 8th, 2011 by John Feehery
In the short term, the economy might dip back into a recession, which means that our debt picture in the long term gets only worse.
In the short term, it sure is fun to make fun of Anthony Weiner. In the long term, do we really want to kick out members of Congress because of affairs that they didn’t have?
In the short term, the media swarmed over an Internet rumor that there were 30 dead bodies outside Houston. In the long term, if the media keeps jumping on these stories and causing local police departments to deploy resources, they all go broke within five years.
In the short term, Republicans may lose their House majority over Medicare, in the long term, if that happens, we will never fix Medicare and it will go broke.
In the short term, politicians seem to only care about the next election. In the long-term, short-sighted thinking will spell the doom of this nation.
In the short term, everybody is talking about jobs. In the long term, we have more serious issues when it comes to the basics — water, food, roads, electricity – which nobody is talking about. Read more...
Tags: Anthony Weiner, Congress, Democrats, Economy, Government, House Republicans, Iraq, Long Term, medicare, Michelle Bachmann, national security, Politics, recession, Republicans, Sarah Palin, scandal, Short Term
Posted in Bad Decisions, Financial Crisis, Foreign Relations, GOP, Government, Media, Politics, Presidential election, Religion, Scandals, Theory, Unemployment, bad news, health care, middle-east, national security, poverty, spending, war | No Comments »
June 3rd, 2011 by John Feehery
It is great to be here in New Hampshire.
I am not going to kid you. I need to win New Hampshire if I have any chance of winning the nomination to be President.
I have no chance in Iowa. Believe me. I know. Those folks hate me. I sprinkled that state with millions of dollars the last time I ran, and they weren’t buying what I was selling.
So, I have to win here.
I am not going to pull a Guiliani and wait until Florida. What an idiot! I hear he is back up here, nosing around. I hope Rudy runs. I hope he brings his third wife too. That plays well with the family values crowd.
I hear Sarah Palin is visiting the state too. I really hope she runs. She will get all of those tea-party votes that I will never get. I would rather she split the crazy vote so Pawlenty doesn’t win.
The Tea Party doesn’t like me very much. Well, screw ‘em. These guys don’t have the balls to call themselves Republican anymore. Most of these Tea Party organizations are run by flim-flam artists who are trying to find get rich quick schemes. Read more...
Tags: Americans, Barack Obama, Bible, Democrats, Dick Armey, George Bush, medicare, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Paul Ryan Medicare plan, preseidential election, Republican, Rudy Guiliani, Sarah Palin, Scott Brown, Tea Party, Tim Pawlenty
Posted in Economy, Financial Crisis, Foreign Relations, GOP, Government, History, Media, Politics, Presidential election, Promises, Religion, Theory, election, health care, spending, taxes | 1 Comment »
May 31st, 2011 by John Feehery
Riding my rented bike through the crowd of motorcyclists over the weekend provoked two thoughts: My bike was no match for their hogs, and my shorts and tee-shirt didn’t quite fit in with their duds.
Every Memorial Day, thousands of bikers from around the country flock to Washington D.C. to pay tribute to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect their country. Quite often, traffic shuts down, which is why I was riding my rented bike.
Most of these bikers play the role of the hard-core motorcycle gang member, with their tattoos and their leather regalia. But it is just a role. When they go back home, in all likelihood, they are just normal middle class Americans.
This year, Sarah Palin joined the party.
She, too, was wearing leather, and she too was playing a role. We just haven’t figured out what that role will be.
If she runs for President, she will be the most macho of the candidates running. She will run to the right of Romney, run to the right of Pawlenty, run to the right of Newt Gingrich and run to the right of Ron Paul. Read more...
Tags: America, anti-abortion, anti-EPA, anti-tax, Barack Obama, Conservatives, election, Government, Iowa, McCain, Memorial Day, Michelle Bachmann, middle class Americans., Mitt Romney, motorcylcists, New Hampshire, Newt Gingrich, Pawlenty, Presidential election, pro-fishing, pro-gun, pro-hunting, pro-military, pro-motorcycle riding, Republican, Republicans, Ron Paul, Sarah Palin, South Carolina, veterans, Washington D.C., White House
Posted in Fun, GOP, Government, Media, Politics, Promises, Theory, election | 2 Comments »
February 11th, 2011 by John Feehery
Hosni Mubarak surprised everybody when he said that he was sticking around until September. Charles Krauthammer predicts that once the mosques adjourn in Cairo later today, there are going to be a lot of very angry Egyptians who are not to going to accept Mr. Mubarak’s decision.
You want to cause a revolution? Raise expectations and then disappoint those whose expectations you raised.
House Republican leaders promised in their pledge to America to cut one hundred billion dollars from domestic discretionary non-defense spending. They then tried to explain to their newly elected revolutionaries that they had to pro-rate those budget cuts to account for the fact that close to half the budget year was done.
To newly elected revolutionaries, they don’t want rational explanations. They want to cut a hundred billion dollars. Instead of be toppled by the rebels, the leaders did what they had to do. They agreed to the terms.
The lesson: Don’t unnecessarily raise expectations.
Conservatives have come to Washington to their annual meeting to try to hash out what conservative really means. The consensus? I am a conservative, but that guy over there is a sell-out squish. Read more...
Tags: America, Congress, Democrats, dollar, Economy, Egypt, Glenn Beck, Hosni Mubarak, John Boehner, policitcal revolution, Republican, Republicans, revolution, Sarah Palin, spending, Tea Party
Posted in Economy, Government, Politics, Theory, spending | No Comments »
February 7th, 2011 by John Feehery
Ronald Reagan casts a long historic shadow.
He changed the course of American history and now is proudly featured in General Electric advertisements that focus on his 100th birthday.
It is unusual that so much attention would be paid to a birthday of a President who has been dead for seven years.
It is even more unusual to have the leading political figures of both the left and right consciously try to pattern themselves after that same president.
Time Magazine featured a cover that had Reagan and Obama together, as if they were best buddies or something.
It is no secret that Obama has patterned his Presidency after the Reagan model.
And in a general sense, Obama may be successful.
After all, like Reagan’s first two years, Obama’s first two years were successful on the legislative front. Both Reagan and Obama passed huge chunks of their agenda before a compliant Congress, in the face of mounting unpopularity.
And both Reagan and Obama’s political parties paid a huge price for it at the ballot box. Reagan’s Republicans got smacked hard and sunk further into the minority, while Obama’s Democrats got pummeled at the polls and lost control of the House. Read more...
Tags: Barack Obama, Congress, Democrats, election, George W Bush, GOP, Government, Obama, Politics, Presidential election, Republican, Republicans, Ronald Reagan, Sarah Palin
Posted in GOP, Government, History, Media, Politics, Presidential election, Theory | No Comments »
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