47% of Dems want Obama opposed in primary

We're still 14 months away from the 2012 Iowa caucuses, the first nominating contests of the presidential race, but an Associated Press-Knowledge Networks Poll released today shows President Barack Obama's path to re-nomination, much less re-election, is anything but smooth.

"Among all 2008 voters, 51 percent say he deserves to be defeated in November 2012 while 47 percent support his re-election," the AP reports. Keep in mind that electorate is far more pro-Obama than the likely 2012 electorate.

Nine out of ten Republicans oppose Obama's re-election, unsurprisingly. Among Democrats, one out of four oppose his re-election. Among independents, who decide elections, Obama's re-election bid trails by 10 points, 46 percent to 36 percent.

But it's those Democrat numbers that should give the White House reason to worry. "Among Democrats, 47 percent say Obama should be challenged for the 2012 nomination," the AP reports. Many of those backed Hillary Clinton in the 2008 nomination contest.

Along with 61 percent of Clinton 2008 backers, a troubling 29 percent of Obama's 2008 backers now want a 2012 primary challenger.

"More than 1 in 4 who said in October 2008 that Obama understands the problems of ordinary Americans now say he doesn't. The same is true for those who said he is innovative, cares about people like them and shares their values," the AP reports.

"Of those who said right after the 2008 election that they had a favorable opinion of Obama, nearly one-quarter now view him negatively," the AP reports.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Democrats outspent GOP this year by nearly $200 million

Let's get one post-election excuse out of the way right now -- the old "we were outspent by the GOP and corporations." Not only did the Democrat party committees outspend the GOP ones, among outside groups the single biggest spender is the pro-Democrat government employees' union, which outspent the Chamber, Karl Rove and other Democrat boogeymen by tens of millions. Democrats outspent Republicans this year.

"The money race totals come to $856 million for the Democratic committees and their aligned outside groups, compared to $677 for their Republican adversaries, based on figures compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics," POLITICO reports today.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

WTP statement on the latest lawsuit filed against Dennis Unsworth

Western Tradition Partnership Executive Director Donald Ferguson released the following statement Friday morning concerning the latest lawsuit filed against Montana Political Practices Commissioner Dennis Unsworth:

“Western Tradition Partnership (WTP) noted with interest today the suit filed against Montana Political Practices Commissioner Dennis Unsworth by the organization “Montana Shrugged.” In that suit, Montana Shrugged sued the Commissioner to prevent him and the State of Montana from enforcing unconstitutional provisions of Montana’s campaign finance laws that infringe upon their constitutionally-protected political activities.

“WTP made these unconstitutional provisions of Montana law known to Commissioner Unsworth long before Montana Shrugged filed their lawsuit. Yet, despite WTP’s good faith efforts to work with the Commissioner to ensure he did not waste Montana taxpayer money on frivolous investigations that violate the free speech rights of WTP and other persons who speak about issues in Montana, the Commissioner recently released an unsupported and poorly written opinion attacking WTP’s independent expenditures.

“The Commissioner made this assertion despite knowing the United States Supreme Court categorically stated independent expenditures, including those made by corporations, do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption. Therefore, as Montana Shrugged has asserted in its lawsuit, and as we have made known to Commissioner all along, the State has no interest in banning or regulating the political speech of WTP or any other association in Montana.

“WTP is in the process of preparing its own lawsuit against Commissioner Unsworth for his actions which violate WTP’s First Amendment rights, and for his politically-timed smear attack against WTP and other conservative issue groups in Montana.

“The claims to be asserted by WTP will track those made by Montana Shrugged, and will go further to assert the Commissioner’s entire regulatory and investigative process violates the due process clause of the United States Constitution because there is no meaningful opportunity for a group, like ours, to defend against or refute unsubstantiated and mean-spirited allegations before the Commissioner makes a violation determination.

“The Commissioner has a terrible track record of violating Montana’s First Amendment rights, recently being rebuked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for “petty bureaucratic harassment” of a church in Helena. That suit cost the State over $200,000 and, as indicated by the lawsuit filed by Montana Shrugged, the Commissioner’s unconstitutional actions in that case and our legal case could cost state taxpayers even more.

“WTP has always obeyed all applicable, constitutional laws and engages in lawful public education campaigns and citizen-powered lobbying of policy-makers. We are disappointed the Commissioner is using his office to try to enforce clearly unconstitutional laws, and against lawful organizations like ours.

“We strongly encourage the Montana Legislature to conduct oversight of this office during the 2011 legislature, to reform the State’s tragically broken campaign finance laws, and to ensure the person charged with enforcing Montana’s campaign finance laws is not a partisan, political appointee. Though WTP has suffered an unfair attack as a result of the Commissioner’s unconstitutional actions, WTP is hopeful some good will come out of its efforts to uphold the First Amendment and real reform for the better will occur.”

# # #

Obama unwittingly makes himself the punchline

What did we learn from the supposed leader of the free world's appearance on a late night basic cable comedy show?

That Obama economic adviser Larry Summers, the man behind even higher unemployment, even higher debt and even higher inflation, "did a heckuva job."

"You don't want to use that phrase, dude," Stewart recommended with a laugh.

And, when asked why people should continue to support him after two years of disappointment,

"We have done things that some folks don't even know about," Obama ventured.

Amazing. In two years the only thing Obama had managed to accomplish is combining two of the most infamous quotes of George W. Bush and Richard Nixon.

Dana Milbank, one of The Washington Post's more left-leaning reporters, destroys Obama's latest bumbling here.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Barack Obama Pt. 1
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Barack Obama Pt. 2
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Barack Obama Pt. 3
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

They ignored us. They must love us.

The Washington Post tries to contact more than 1,400 Tea Party organizations. Only a minority, 647, bothered responding. Of those who didn't hate the Post enough to ignore the call, 66% percent reported media coverage of the Tea Party was at least "somewhat fair." That works out to about 420.

The Post' spin based on the fact only about 420 of more than 1,400 Tea Party organizations said the media were at least "somewhat fair?" That the Tea Party doesn't believe in media bias.

Of course, this is the same paper who polled Virginia voters, found less than one percent cared about Bob McDonnell's college thesis paper, and wrote a hysterical front page story that Virginia voters were concerned about McDonnell's college thesis.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

The "extreme" mainstream

I was struck this morning by this line from a Nation editorial on "The Extremist GOP":

Even so, Florida's Charlie Crist, Alaska's Lisa Murkowski and Rhode Island's Lincoln Chafee remained Republicans in good standing. This year, all three are running insurgent independent campaigns against a GOP that has folded Ronald Reagan's "big tent."

So, the Naton implies that Crist, Murkowski and Chafee represent the mainstream, and their Republican opponents are relegated to the fringes of popular opinion.

U.S. Senate race - Florida
St. Petersburg Times poll
Conducted 10/15 - 10/19
Marco Rubio (R) 41%
Charlie Crist (I) 26%
Kendrick Meek (D) 20%

U.S. Senate race - Alaska
Daily Kos/PPP (D)
Conducted 10/9 - 10/10
Joe Miller (R) 35%
Lisa Murkowski (I) 33%
Scott McAdams (D) 26%

Rhode Island gubernatorial race
Brown University
Conducted 9/27 - 9/29
Frank Caprio (D) 30%
Lincoln Chafee 23%
John Robitaille 14%

So, the only former Republican-turned-independent who leads his "extreme" Republican opponent is Lincoln Chafee, who's running in a race where the Obama agenda is not an issue and in a state where John McCain got just 35%. And he's still losing.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Why 'the leadership question' matters this year

Interesting find from The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza (Whom you can follow on Twitter via @TheFix):

...a recent poll conducted for The Hill newspaper showed that 61 percent of independents in 10 battleground districts viewed Democratic leaders as more left-leaning than they are, while only 16 percent said that Pelosi and Reid hold views similar to their own. The survey also showed that even 23 percent of likely Democratic voters viewed Pelosi and Reid as to their ideological left.

By contrast, only 38 percent of independents viewed House Minority Leader John Boehner or Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell as to the ideological right of them.

Read Mr. Cillizza's full article at http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/senate/harry-reid-nancy-pelosi-and-th.html?wprss=thefix.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Western Tradition Partnership responds to Unsworth

BOZEMAN – Western Tradition Partnership Executive Director Donald Ferguson released the following statement Thursday:

WTP has had very little time to review the decision today handed down by the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices. Consequently, WTP cannot comment on the merits of the opinion. However, Western Tradition Partnership has always obeyed all applicable campaign finance laws and regulations. In response, WTP intends to file an action against the Commissioner of Political Practices in order to vindicate its First Amendment free speech rights. WTP believes that, with time, the legal issues will resolve themselves, and will be resolved in favor of WTP.

And, that’s what this opinion and the Commissioner’s complaint process should be about, application of the law. With this in mind, WTP is very disappointed in the content and tone of the opinion. The opinion clearly denotes that the complaints filed here do not allege coordination between WTP and CEE and another party, person or entity. And, indeed, the Commissioner’s opinion itself finds no evidence of coordination.

Yet, the opinion drags the names of WTP’s counsel, the Republican Party, numerous political candidates, persons associated with different organizations, and lawful businesses into the mix and alleges that there is . These persons have nothing to do with the legal questions of whether there was proper attribution of the mailers at issue and whether WTP was/is required to file as a political committee in Montana and the Commissioner had no right and authority to make these persons and entities a part of a widely distributed public document.

It appears that the opinion is written to score political points as much as it written to discuss the application and reach of Montana’s campaign finance laws and whether the First Amendment places any limitations on those laws. The tone and content of the opinion do not reflect well on the Commissioner, his office, or the State of Montana.

Further, the timing of the opinion is interesting. Earlier this week, WTP won its case against the Commissioner on whether Montana could prohibit corporations from directly expending funds on independent expenditures. Further, this opinion was released less than two weeks away from the November 2, 2010 election date.

It must be remembered that this opinion comes from the same office that was slapped down by the Ninth Circuit of Appeals for its heavy handed, and unlawful, tactics in regulating the activities of Canyon Ferry Baptist Church in Helena. That case cost the State of Montana some $225,000. The Commissioner’s track record on determining the application of Montana’s campaign finance laws and in hindering the ability of persons and entity’s to engage in the First Amendment protected speech and association rights is not a good one.

In light of this decision, WTP believes that serious reform of the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices office is needed. WTP encourages the 2011 legislature to engage in oversight of the activities of this office and its expenditures.

Further, WTP encourages the State of Montana to do what other states have done and remove the Commissioner of Political Practices position from being a governor appointed one. Such partisan appointments, when combined with decisions such as this one, do not install faith in the independence of the office for those who engage in political speech and activities in Montana.

# # #

‘John Hickenlooper is so radical he thinks he can control global weather through tax hikes.’

WTP ad exposes 'insane' Hick plan for 'tens and tens and tens of billions of dollars every year' in job-killing weather taxes 
DENVER – Colorado’s largest grassroots advocate of lower taxes and affordable energy began statewide promotion Friday of a hard-hitting Internet ad exposing a videotaped call by Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper for governments to spend “tens and tens of billions of dollars each year” on global warming taxes. 
 
In an address to the Colorado Environmental Coalition’s “Rebel with a Cause” May 2009 gala, the Democratic nominee for governor told the crowd, “I’m saying that clearly the climate is changing, clearly mankind’s activities are causing it. And that we’d be ins…insane not to be spending tens and tens and tens of billions of dollars every year buying insurance to begin to prevent and stop that change that’s happening.”
 
“John Hickenlooper is so radical he thinks he can control global weather through tax hikes,” said Donald Ferguson, Western Tradition Partnership Executive Director.  “He can’t control global weather by killing your job through, in his own words, 'tens and tens and tends of billions of dollars every year' in tax hikes.  But he can stop his sliding poll numbers by renouncing this insane job-killing plan.”
 
“The only man-made disaster in Colorado is John Hickenlooper’s insane plan to tax jobs into extinction,” said Ferguson.
 
The Internet ad, being promoted statewide, features Hickenlooper’s videotaped call for higher taxes, then asks residents to contact the gubernatorial candidate and urge him to renounce his plan, which would lead to massive job losses.
 
The direct link to the ad is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBasyMuH-zY. WTP's YouTube channel, featuring all of WTP's ads, is at www.YouTube.com/WTPMedia.
 
WTP does not advocate the election or defeat of candidates.  Supported by grassroots members, WTP is a fast-growing non-profit organization dedicated to fighting environmental extremism and promoting private property and responsible development and management of land, water, and natural resources.  WTP is incorporated in Colorado, and Coloradans account for much of the group’s large and fast-growing membership.
 
For more information on WTP, go to http://www.westerntradition.org.  For more information on this issue, or to schedule an interview, contact Political Director Donald Ferguson, Donald.F@westerntradition.org or 703-200-3669.
 
#  #  #

Er, thank you?

This is from what is supposed to be a Denver Post endorsement for Michael Bennet:

...Michael Bennet has been mostly AWOL since he was appointed senator in January 2009.

From that day, he has been running for election and, at times, running scared...

...But with that newfound control of Washington, Obama and the Democrats overreached. They moved the country to the left, helping to stick future generations with trillions in debt by reckless spending on a stimulus package and other programs, legislating health-care reform that failed to slow the growth in costs, and lavishing billions on corporate bailouts and takeovers.

Sen. Bennet, unfortunately, has helped push that agenda along.

If he had bucked his party and his president on just one major issue, and in turn shown some Colorado independence, it would have been much easier to endorse him. Instead, his 20-month career has been frustrating to watch, leaving voters, and us, with a difficult choice.

On Dec. 21, 2009, for example, he made an impassioned speech on the Senate floor, blasting Washington lawmakers for their dirty dealing as they patched together a health care bill larded with special deals. It was an eloquent speech and a devastating indictment on all that's wrong with Washington. Then, three days later, he voted for the bill.

The current health care bill is law because of Bennet's one vote.

That vote, and his speech, epitomize his short Senate career: So much potential, yet not enough spine.

For 20 months, he wouldn't take a position on the Employee Free Choice Act — a giveaway to labor unions that makes it easier to organize — because he was worried about ticking off labor and getting a primary challenger (which he got anyway).

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

GOP opens biggest lead in Zogby poll

Republicans have opened up a nine point generic ballot lead in the latest Zogby poll, considered by many to be a Democrat-leaning survey. Tied at 45 percent on Monday, the rapidly-growing nine point lead is the largest measured this year and indicates the Democrat "enthusiasm gap" is growing worse.

Not only do Republicans lead among independent voters by a crushing eighteen point margin, 49 percent to 31 percent, but approval of Obama's job performance among Democrats has plunged nine points this week, from 88 percent to 79 percent, and the percentage of Democrats who plan to support their party's candidate for Congress fell eight points, from 88 percent to 80 percent.

Keep in mind, however, polls are simply a snapshot of public opinion at that time, and with 18 days to go anything can happen.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

White House attempt to defend Obama's "shovel ready" gaffe betrayed by math

From reporter Amanda Carey in this morning's Daily Caller:

In a press briefing Thursday afternoon, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs addressed President Obama’s comment in a recent interview with the New York Times regarding the stimulus and “shovel-ready projects.” In the interview, Obama curiously said that he realized too late that “there’s no such thing as shovel-ready projects.”

“Well, I — look, there are more than 75,000 job-creating projects have been started as a result of the infrastructure investment in the — in the Recovery Act,” said Gibbs.

Let's take Gibbs at his words and assume that 75,000 jobs figure is in no way padded or inflated, though the White House has already established a well-documented record of falsifying jobs numbers.(1)

The "stimulus" bill spent $105.3 billion on "infrastructure improvements."(2) If 75,000 jobs were created that comes out to $1,404,000 in borrowed government spending per job created.

$1.4 million in spending for each temporary infrastructure "stimulus" job.

And that's the best-case scenario, not including the cost of interest on the borrowing or the fact it is all but certain fewer than 75,000 jobs were created.


(1) - The Heritage Foundation, "Morning Bell: The Fake Jobs of Obama’s Failed Stimulus," Nov. 17, 2009
(2) - The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Obama: Those who disagree with me harbor a racist 'tribal attitude'

CBS News' Brian Montopoli reports:

Asked about what the questioner saw as an increase in racial tension Thursday, President Obama said a "tribal attitude" can come as a result of economic hardship...

...He then suggested that the recession has played a part in driving racial antagonism while he has been in office.

"Often times misunderstandings and antagonisms surface most strongly when times are tough. And that's not surprising," Mr. Obama said, arguing that Americans are less worried when things are going well.

He added that anxiety over not being able to pay bills - or having lost a job or a home - sometimes "organizes itself around kind of a tribal attitude, and issues of race become more prominent."

In other words, if you're angry at Obama because you lost your job, you're really angry because you're a primitive-thinking racist.

You know, often times the liberal views of everyone else as racist, sexist, ignorant inferiors surfaces most strongly when times are tough.

And that's not surprising.

WTP TV ad exposes John Morse's job-killing record

DENVER – Colorado’s largest grassroots advocate of lower taxes and affordable energy is flooding the airwaves of Colorado Springs with a new television ad holding State Senate Majority Leader John Morse responsible for tax hikes and spending increases that have helped leave 27,000 unemployed in that city alone.

“27,000 Colorado Springs families are unemployed, their jobs killed by a volley of twelve big tax hikes and a $400 million barrage of government spending, and Senate Majority Leader John Morse is holding the smoking gun,” said Joseph Neville, Western Tradition Partnership Political Director.

“When Senate Majority Leader Morse is holed up in Denver, he blithely ignores the needs of Colorado Springs families. We hope that now he has to return and see 27,000 families without jobs because of his big-spending, big-taxing agenda, residents can change his mind,” said Neville.

WTP’s initial ad buy is $50,000. The ad is also available for viewing at WTP’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/WTPMedia. The ad urges residents to contact Morse and ask him to change his views.

The direct link to the ad is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g98l9OeiwM0. 

WTP does not advocate the election or defeat of candidates.  Supported by grassroots members, WTP is a fast-growing non-profit organization dedicated to fighting environmental extremism and promoting private property and responsible development and management of land, water, and natural resources.  WTP is incorporated in Colorado, and Coloradans account for much of the group’s large and fast-growing membership.
 
#  #  #

Ready. Aim. Backfire!

What has 20 months of pushing ObamaCare, Cap and Tax, a $4 trillion tax hike and screaming "the Tea Party is racist and extreme" accomplished for Democrats?

Voters are now more likely to Democrats are controlled by extremists than Republicans, including must-win independents and Democrats themselves.

As reported by Alexander Bolton in this morning's The Hill:

Likely voters in battleground districts see extremists as having a more dominant influence over the Democratic Party than the GOP.

This result comes from The Hill 2010 Midterm Election Poll, which found that 44 percent of likely voters say the Democratic Party is more dominated by its extreme elements; whereas 37 percent say it’s the Republican Party that is more dominated by extremists.

The revelations in a survey of 10 toss-up congressional districts across the country point to problems for Democrats, who are trying to motivate a disillusioned base and appeal to independents moving to the GOP ahead of the Nov. 2 election.

The polling firm Penn, Schoen and Berland conducted the survey, contacting 4,047 likely voters by phone between Oct. 2 and Oct. 7. The margin of error for this sample is 1.5 percent.

Okay, so voters overall think Democrats are more likely to be controlled by radicals than Republicans. It's either a poll of a tiny sameple, or Republicans are skewing the sample. There's no way independent voters could see Democrats are more radical than Republicans after 20 months of pointing and screaming "Racist!" at anything that disagree with us.

The polling firm Penn, Schoen and Berland conducted the survey, contacting 4,047 likely voters by phone between Oct. 2 and Oct. 7. The margin of error for this sample is 1.5 percent...

...Results for independent voters reflected the larger sample. Forty-three percent of likely independent voters said the Democratic party is more dominated by its extreme elements compared to 37 percent who though the GOP had fallen under the sway of extreme views.

Oh.

Well, at least Democrats realize Republicans are more radical than their own party.

More than one in every five Democrats (22 percent) in The Hill’s survey said their party was more dominated than the GOP by extreme views. The equivalent figure among Republicans is 11 percent.

Poopie.

The data surprised Democratic strategists and political experts in a campaign season when much media attention has focused on the battle between the GOP establishment and Tea Party-backed candidates such as Sharron Angle in Nevada and Christine O’Donnell in Delaware.

They said it suggests problems for a Democratic party seen as too liberal.

“That’s real trouble for Democrats,” said Jim Kessler, co-founder of the Third Way, a centrist Democratic think tank.

“All the press coverage has been about how these Tea Party candidates are fringe ideologues, and there have been high-profile examples of them proving the point,” he added. “Yet, still at this moment, you have independents saying, ‘I think the Democrats are little more extreme than the Republicans.’”

How bad is it? A majority of Democrats want their party to be more like the Republicans.

Fifty-eight percent of Democrats said they would urge the lawmaker they supported to “look for compromises across the aisle”; only 35 percent would rather urge their representatives to “stay firm on their principles.”

Kessler, of Third Way, said this is a sign that many Democrats think their party has shifted too far to the left in recent years.

“Even Democrats feel the Democratic Party needs to reach to the center,” he said. “There’s a fear that maybe Democrats overreached in the first two years. They should work to get something done but not fall on their own sword.”

So clearly Democrat party bosses realize they've gone too far toward socialism and are working hard to repair their trust with voters.

But liberal opinion leaders reject this argument.

Charles Chamberlain, political director of Democracy for America, a grassroots advocacy group founded by former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, urged Democratic leaders not to abandon liberal principles to work with Republicans.

“Ask Americans if they want Democrats to compromise on any specific issue like healthcare reform, Social Security or tax cuts for the wealthy and the real-world answer becomes no,” said Chamberlain.

Big problem there, Charlie. A majority of voters oppose the Democrat proposals for "health care reform" and killing "tax cuts for the wealthy," and an increasing number are troubled with the fiscal unsustainability of Social Security. I guess Charlie's definition of "the real world" is downtown San Francisco.

White House promotes backpedaling as efficient form of transportation

"There’s no such thing as shovel-ready projects." - Barack Obama, Time magazine, quoted Oct. 13, 2010

Really? A search for the term "shovel ready project" on the White House website turns up two pages of results, including:

"In making these grants available today, the Department is acknowledging the importance of healthy homes and protecting our children from dangerous lead hazards," said Secretary Donovan. "And not only will this program contribute to healthy, safe homes for all children and families, which is a top priority for HUD, but it will also support shovel-ready projects..." Joe Biden, May 15, 2009

"The ambitious effort follows an initial 100 day period of the Recovery Act focused on providing immediate relief to hard-hit families and communities, jump-starting shovel-ready projects..." - White House press release, June 8, 2009

"A state DOT planned to spend $57 million on road planning studies, rather than shovel-ready projects. After discussions with DOT, the state is now using the funding for road construction projects." White House press release, Oct. 8, 2009

"Well, a lot of the stimulus doesn’t hit until tax season -- that's when people get their refunds. And a lot of the so-called shovel-ready projects will actually -- probably see them taper off in the spring." - White House press conference, Dec. 15, 2009

"These broadband awards are what the Recovery Act is all about – not just rescuing the economy by providing immediate job opportunities through shovel-ready projects..." White House press relase, Dec. 16, 2009

There's also:

"Announcing his energy team, Obama beams about 'shovel-ready projects all across the country.' Unveiling his choice for education secretary, Obama plugs his plans 'to start helping states and local governments with shovel-ready projects.'" - The Washington Post, Jan. 8, 2009 "The Obama Buzzword That Hit Pay Dirt"

"The plan includes spending on what Obama called 'shovel-ready' projects to rebuild roads, make buildings energy efficient, modernize schools and upgrade hospital technology." - USA Today, Dec. 8, 2009, "Obama eyes 'shovel-ready' fixes in a long recovery"

And that's just off the first few archived news stories.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

“Accuse your opponents of the very thing you are trying to do.”

Next time you hear Obama try to scare voters with lies about his opponents, keep this in mind: In 2008, 37,000 donations to Obama appeared to be conversions of foreign cuurency, totaling between $12.8 million and $63 million.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Must Read: Nate Silver's "Understanding and Misunderstanding the ‘Enthusiasm Gap’"

Read @fivethirtyeight's article in The New York Times here for optimum edification. But here's the take-home lesson.

In the 1994 midterm election, 32 percent of Democrats told Gallup they were "enthusiastic" about voting. This year it's much higher at 42 percent, a significant improvement that matches the 42 percent of Republicans who were "enthusiastic" in their historic 1994 win.

That would be great news for Dems indicating they will stave off heavy midterm losses, except for this figure. This year, Republican "enthusiasm" to vote has exploded to a record-breaking 59%, eclsipsing Dem enthusiasm by a 17-point margin, another record in Gallup polling.

And if you're not following @fivethirtyeight, you're a goon who hates kittens.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Unemployment rises to 10.1%, Obama pre-election jobs report will not state that

Unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, increased to 10.1% in September -- up sharply from 9.3% in August and 8.9% in July. Much of this increase came during the second half of the month -- the unemployment rate was 9.4% in mid-September -- and therefore is unlikely to be picked up in the government's unemployment report on Friday.

Read the entire report at Gallup: http://www.gallup.com/poll/143426/Gallup-Finds-Unemployment-September.aspx

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Here are two trendlines I'd like to see...

911 Callers Are a Joke in Broward County
Don't know what day it is? Look at a calender. Don't call 911
By TODD WRIGHT

It appears residents in Broward County have their definitions for "nonsense" and "emergency" mixed up.

According to the Broward Sheriff's Office call center, nearly half the 911 calls they receive are for things not quite a life or death situation - unless you consider a fast food order an emergency...

..."'My toilet's overflowing, what do I do?' That's my personal favorite," BSO Sheriff Al Lamberti said.

While it's a stretch, a busted toilet at least could, conceivably, be considered an emergency. But there is no rationale for the number of calls that sound something like this:

"I ordered chicken nuggets and they don't have chicken nuggets," one woman called 911 to report.

The fast food offenses are usually the most common and often the most annoying because people think it's really an emergency worthy of 911, one operator said.

"Screaming in my ear, 'I wanted the sausage, and he gave me the burrito!'" April McGill recalls from one call. "She's trying to force me to eat something off the menu that I don't want!"

The penal code hasn't quite addressed customer service in the fast food industry, but that hasn't stopped Broward residents from picking up the phone and calling the police. People have asked for police escorts, rides to the liquor store and instructions on how to make meatballs.

One woman even called to ask what day it was....

Unsurprisingly, Obama got 67 percent of the vote in Broward County.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Western Tradition Partnership: In the news again

Conservatives: ‘You’re fired’
Mailing makes Sen. Schwartz look like Trump; Schwartz is ‘disgusted’
Peter Marcus, DDN Staff Writer
Monday, October 4, 2010

It’s certainly not the most flattering image.

Incumbent State Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass, is being portrayed by conservatives as the next Donald Trump. “You’re fired!” states a mailing going out to voters in the Colorado 5th Senate District. The front of the mailing: a photo of Schwartz’s face with the body and trademark hair of Trump Photoshopped into the image.

The argument by the conservative Denver-based Western Tradition Partnership, which is responsible for the mailing and has a national arm extending to Washington, D.C., is that Schwartz’s co-sponsorship of a measure this year that raised the state’s renewable energy standard will result in Colorado residents losing jobs. The group also argues that the higher renewable energy standard — 30 percent by 2020 — will raise utility costs.

“Gail Schwartz has two words for Coloradans — ‘you’re fired,’” said Donald Ferguson, executive director of the Western Tradition Partnership. “Her energy tax forcing utility companies to buy more expensive electricity eliminates jobs by increasing utility bills.”

The Western Tradition Partnership, which often directly attacks the renewable energy industry, argues that the higher renewable energy standard panders to “politically-connected, higher-priced ‘green’ speculators.”

“Not only does her special interest energy tax jack up your utility bills, studies show ‘green’ energy destroys 2.2 jobs for every job she claims it creates,” states the mailing. “Thousands of Coloradans — like you — will lose their jobs under Gail Schwartz’s energy tax.”...

Go to http://www.thedenverdailynews.com/article.php?aID=10186 to read the entire article, including a deranged rant by Senator Schwartz in which she attacks the thousands of Coloradans who support us as not being part of the state.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Liberals try to spin "One Nation" vs. Beck photos, crash and burn

After months of building up the "One Nation" rally as something that would be bigger than the Aug. 28 and Sept. 12 conservative rallies on the National Mall, liberals are fuming over these aerial photos of both the "8/28" and "One Nation" events showing the liberal rally was only a fraction the size of the conservative one.

They claim their event was as large as Beck's (after promising it would be bigger) and insist the photo showing what appears to be embarassingly poor turnout was taken in the morning, before the event kicked off.

However...

If you look at the shadows in the 10/2 photo they point north, meaning the sun was in the south when the photo was taken. In D.C. that happens around 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

According their own schedule, they were already at least halfway into their program when the photo was apparently taken.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com