In interest of future speculation– however– the special election results in Massachusetts offered promising hope.  Many expected a sure win for the Democratic Party, yet Republican Scott Brown walked away Senator in the end.  The victory may have been unexpected by established sources, yet it was anxiously anticipated by citizen’s nationwide.

USA Today: Two weeks ago, Massachusetts Democrat Martha Coakley enjoyed a double-digit lead in polls, was raising an average of $24,000 a day in political contributions and had yet to put up a single campaign television ad.

In a matter of days, her front-runner status had collapsed. Suddenly, a little-known Republican state lawmaker, Scott Brown, had turned the contest for the Bay State’s Senate seat — a seat that had been held by Edward Kennedy for 47 years — into a real race.

Massachusetts voters responded Tuesday by turning out to the polls in droves as snow fell across portions of the state, delivering an upset victory for Brown despite a 3-to-1 Democratic advantage in voter registration. The Associated Press called the race less than an hour and a half after polls closed.

This is upsetting to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi not only because it shows how potentially misleading “voter registration” advantages can be, but also the very real delay this will put on her much criticized health-care reform bill.

The fallout: Democrats rethinking health care bill

“People do not want the trillion dollar health care plan that is being forced on the American people, and this bill is not being debated openly and fairly. It will raise taxes, it will hurt Medicare, it will destroy jobs and run our nation deeper in to debt,” Brown said in his acceptance speech.

[...]

House Republican Leader John Boehner fired back at Pelosi’s “right on course” comment, with spokesman Michael Steel saying, “Regardless of what happens in Massachusetts, it’s clear that jamming this government takeover of health care through Congress will set off a political firestorm. The American people are screaming, ‘stop’ at the top of their lungs, and out-of-touch Democratic leaders ignore them at their peril.”  Politico

The Associated Press reported that some were concerned that they would “block Brown long enough to complete congressional passage of the health care plan he has promised to oppose.”  Harry Reid comments:

“The people of Massachusetts have spoken. We welcome Scott Brown to the Senate and will move to seat him as soon as the proper paperwork has been received,” said Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin said he would notify the Senate on Wednesday that Brown had been elected.

The loss by the once-favored Democrat Martha Coakley in the Democratic stronghold was a stunning embarrassment for the White House after Obama rushed to Boston on Sunday to try to save the foundering candidate. Her defeat on Tuesday signaled big political problems for the president’s party this fall when House, Senate and gubernatorial candidates are on the ballot nationwide.  Associated Press (Yahoo News)

Needless to say, the Speaker of the House is in store for some “big political problems” of her own.  Contribute your support to the John Dennis Campaign today, and help insure she gets her full share.

Brown is a free-market advocate who believes that the “federal stimulus bill made government bigger instead of creating jobs.”  Nancy Pelosi is overwhelmingly responsible for such growth (previous post).  Congratulations on your win, Senator Scott Brown.

He and his team set the “bar” high, hoping to raise $20,000 yesterday.  To their pleasant surprise, the “bar” seems to have been set too low!  Today, it is approaching $25,000.  He sent out a “thank you” for all the gracious donations:

Thank you to all of the donors to our John Dennis for Congress Campaign money bomb yesterday. I am honored, humbled and grateful.

[...]

Thanks also to all of you who supported the bomb in other ways.

[...]

We will use your contributions well and will, I believe, make history.

Regards,
John Dennis

It’s not too late to donate, visit his site today: www.johndennis2010.com

Said Dr. Paul, “John Dennis is truly committed to Liberty, personal freedom, fiscal discipline and a more sensible foreign policy. I am very happy that John has decided to run for Congress and wholeheartedly endorse him.”

For more information on John Dennis, please visit www.JohnDennis2010.com.

Congressman Paul’s endorsement comes through his Liberty PAC, a Republican leadership PAC committed to supporting Liberty minded candidates across the country.

Said Liberty PAC director Jesse Benton, “John Dennis is a terrific candidate who is going to ask tough questions like: ‘Why is Nancy Pelosi running up crushing budget deficits?’, “Why has she allowed President Obama to expand the war in Afghanistan?’, and, ‘Why has Nancy Pelosi refused to support transparency and accountability at the Federal Reserve.’ The constituents of California’s 8th district deserve answers to these questions. John Dennis will hold her accountable.”

LINK

Upset 2010?
by Ryan Jaroncyk

Not your typical Republican, John Dennis is adopting an unorthodox strategy in his bid to unseat Speaker Nancy Pelosi in next year’s congressional mid-terms.  Many political pundits would consider his campaign a long shot, especially in the more liberal domain of San Francisco, but rising voter discontent and a 27% congressional approval rating may set the stage for some potentially spectacular upsets.

Pelosi is revered by most Democrats and is one of the most powerful women in the world.  She is a seasoned politician and has become one of the most recognizable faces in the US Congress. However, a number of developments have weakened Pelosi’s political standing. In an October poll, Pelosi registered a 34% approval rating in the state of California, with only a small majority of Democrats (51%) giving her high marks.  Since the 2006 Democratic takeover of Congress, Pelosi and her fellow Democrats have continued to fund the Iraq War, despite offering vociferous opposition under President Bush, and three years later, there are still over 120,000 troops stationed there and sectarian violence is once again on the rise.  In early 2008, the Bush-Pelosi $168 billion stimulus failed to rescue the economy from the coming crash.  In 2009, the $787 billion stimulus failed to stem unemployment at the predicted 8.1%, the Afghanistan-Pakistan war has been ramped up with two substantial troop surges in less than a year, and healthcare reform has disappointed many in the Democratic Party.  Couple these troubling developments with an angry grassroots movement bent on punishing incumbents throughout the nation, and Speaker Pelosi’s seat may not be as secure as she’d like.

Enter John Dennis.  Dennis is a successful businessman and entrepreneur running as a political outsider.  Unlike most of his fellow Republicans, he believes America should withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as close down a significant number of US military bases around the world.  Instead, Dennis advocates a more limited, focused, and cost effective approach to national defense. On the domestic front, Dennis is a staunch defender of civil liberties, a diehard fiscal conservative, and a devoted adherent to the Constitution.  Not afraid to hold his own party accountable, Dennis even campaigned for Dr. Ron Paul in the 2008 presidential primaries, a campaign that vigorously challenged the GOP’s foreign policy, debt-laden fiscal record, and inability to predict the economic collapse.  For a closer look at Dennis’s positions on a slew of issues, click here.

If healthcare reform turns out weaker than expected, climate change legislation stalls, unemployment still hovers around 10%, the pace of the Iraq troop drawdown disappoints, and the Afghanistan war bogs down yet again, Pelosi could face robust competition from the upstart Dennis.  However, if the opposite scenario plays out, then Dennis will not stand a chance and Pelosi will face an easy reelection.

Keep an eye on this California’s 8th Congressional District.  Things could get very interesting.

Read original post at www.caivn.org

Hundreds of protestors surrounded the Hilton hotel in Irvine.  Above is a short clip to get the idea.  Signs expressing the need for change in 2010 were proudly displayed.

Among the protesters was Irvine Councilman Steven Choi, who has recently taken some criticism for having a picture of Nancy Pelosi rendered as Josef Stalin attached to his back during the event.  The Liberal OC article (link above) indicated that his actions disrespected the office, not just the person.  That is, if we do not respect the person that’s fine, so long as we respect the office.

Okay, let’s suppose this is a sound argument for supporting law and order.  Still, how did he disrespect “the office” if the picture clearly shows Pelosi, and only Pelosi, dressed as Stalin?  So then, what does this author mean by “respecting the office”?  Does he expect that when in high government office a person is the office, and therefore should never be spoken ill off, truth be told or otherwise?  If that is the idea, then this notion surpasses socialism and enters the realm of royalty and tyranny!  The office she holds does not leave her unaccountable to the impression she makes on citizens.  Choi illustrated this impression, nothing more.  It is a demonstration of his 1st Amendment right.

Many are determined to point out Pelosi’s accelerating tendencies to support and propose socialist legislation.  The list of such infractions is endless- Patriot Act, FEMA amendment, massive bailouts (which she would like to include the newspaper industry and another measure specificially for “job creation”), healthcare reform, etc.   These policies alone can call forth such pictoral depictions.

Another argument proposed was that she is not a mass-murderer, like Stalin.  This argument is sensitive, but needs to be addressed.  She need not murder millions of innocent people like Stalin did for the picture to make sense, but if we must address the implications, it should be noted that the number of dead innocents are piling up fast in both wars.  These wars could not continue without her funding efforts.  So anyone who dares to bring this point up is perhaps acting against the best interests of the Madame Speaker, to put it nicely.

As always, the American public are one step behind the actions of Congress; the House Speaker’s agenda serves as prime example.  We read today what she had planned long ago.  Our involvement has been limited to retroactive criticism, for the most part.  That needs to change; come next November in the 2010 election, she must be defeated.  My guess is that more renditions of Pelosi as historical socialist leaders are forthcoming, and overdue.  Choi showed bravery and resolve.

Choi is also running for reelection, which probably indicates that his actions were not thoughtless.  Many underground bloggers and concerned citizens laugh about the incident.  One commenter says: “finally someone did it.”

Pelosi challenger John Dennis was also there, lending support to the swelling crowd.  A radio interview was conducted during his stay, as reviewed here, with audio.

Fox News also covered the protest and her speech.  Primarily, the protest was about healthcare, they said.  Pelosi claims the healthcare bill will directly assist in job creation, while protesters disagree.

He asks John for 3-5 hot topics, to which John replies:  Individual liberty, respect for the Constitution and the free market.

Nancy Pelosi’s jet transportation has costs the American taxpayers $21- to $28-million over the last 3 years, and we are borrowing 1/3rd of that money.  “That to me is unconscionable,” he says.
Dennis has the ambitious goal of ending the IRS, saying that we do not need the income tax to fund the government, despite popular belief.

When asked about the drug war, he recognizes the futility, saying: “I think we’ve seen that we’re not prohibiting anybody from doing anything.”  We are creating an underclass of former prisoners and costing a fortune, all for what?   Liberty is not a “salad bar”; if you are going to accept it, you have to accept the whole package.

He also feels the 700+ bases around the world need to be reevaluated from a socio-economic perspective.  We really should stop at “what is constitutional” and what isn’t.  Upon review, we may find that these bases do not make us safer, and certainly are not affordable.

Regarding Social Security, John considers it a pyramid scheme that depends on population growth.  We should allow people to opt out of the system and be responsible for their own retirement.