Don't know if you have ever heard about China's 2,000 year old terracotta warriors, but this is a fascinating story. It's the story of over 7,000 life-size warriors, built out of terracotta. My thanks to my good friend River West.
Byron York of National Review Online has a good interview with Fred Thompson. Senator Thompson talks about a variety of issues, including Harriet Miers, the surge, Iran, tax cuts and more.
Nancy Pelosi has promised Minority Leader John Boehner an investigation into the "stolen vote." Now, she is seeking to limit the time and money spent on the investigation. It looks like a big fight is brewing.
Oprah Winfrey held a fundraiser for Barack Obama and expected it to raise three million dollars for Obama's campaign. Not a bad sum of money. Wonder who Hillary has to compete with Oprah? Maybe Bill.
British Commander General Sir Mike Jackson, who has been very critical of Rumsfeld, said we can't pack up and leave Iraq before the conditions are right. See the full article at Captains Quarter.
Powerline has a post saying that the Islamist terrorists who were planning an attack on U.S. installations in Germany had orders to act by September 15. Why that date? Well, evidently that was the date they thought General Petraeus was going to deliver his report to Congress. Of course, that's not the correct date, but be sure to read the Powerline post, paying particular attention to how the German authorities found out about the attack.
Another Republican Senator is going to announce his retirement from the United States Senate. Chuck Hagel is reportedly going to announce on Monday that he will not run for re-election, nor will he run for any other office. I know a lot of people will be happy with this announcement. But, I think we are just losing Republican Senators at a time when we can't afford to.
Dave Littlefield has been the Pirates General Manager since July 31, 2001. Today the Pirates fired him, replacing him on an interim basis by Brian Graham, the team's director of player development. All I can say is, "It's about Time!!!"
General David Petraeus has sent a letter to our soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen. Read the entire letter here.
Now, how is that for a headline. I've heard it on Fox News, MSNBC and CNN. I don't know about the rest of you, but Osama Bin Laden has nothing to say that I want to hear. I just wish we would capture this guy. Supposedly, the video of Bin Laden, fake or dyed beard and all, will be released prior to the September 11 anniversary. Experts are guessing that the tape will include references to attacks that are to come. Well, that has been happening since the attacks on the World Trade Center, and thanks largely to the efforts of our government, they haven't been successful. Let's hope that they won't be successful again.
Ok, all you supporters of the fair tax. Bruce Bartlett, the guy who attacked the Fair Tax a few weeks ago with his op-ed in the Wall Street Journal is at it again. As you may recall, I asked all of you to vote on whether you favored the fair tax or not. Almost 250 of you responded, which is pretty good for my new blog just getting started. Now Mr. Bartlett has a another article, this time in the New Republic. He starts out really attacking the Church of Scientology, then toward the end of the op-ed he again attacks the Fair Tax. What I would like for all of you to do is read his op-ed in the New Republic, and then leave a comment here. I will wait a few days, then forward those comments directly to Mr. Bartlett or a publication that will do so.
Bill Frist has long been my political hero, and for reasons just like this. Over the years Senator Frist has done so much work like the Survive to 5 Campaign, that no one knows about. He is a remarkable human being, and someone for whom I have the utmost respect. According to Save the Children more than 10 million children die each year before reaching age 5, and three in five deaths are considered preventable through low-cost medical intervention. Save the Children will announce tonight at their 75th anniversary benefit in New York that Senator Frist will head the Survive to 5 Campaign.
The Washington Times has an article that basically calls the General Accounting Office on what the Times refers to as its "disinformation." The Times makes several valid points about the GAO "progress report". First, it forgets to mention the fact that Sunni Arabs in Anbar province have turned against al Qaeda; second, the GAO forgets to mention the fact that as many as 30,000 former insurgents have joined the Iraqi government and coalition forces in fighting al Qaeda. But the most bizarre thing the Times found about the GAO report was their assertion "that there is no clear and reliable evidence that the level of sectarian violence was reduced." It sounds like the GAO is doing it's usual partisan job here.
Chuck Todd of NBC News has an analysis of last night's Republican debate. According to him there were three clear winners tonight, Giuliani, Huckabee and Thompson. And there was one big loser - Romney. Interesting.
Powerline has a good article on the Democrats treading water on Iraq. According to Powerline different sources are reporting that Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and their cronies are no willing to work with Republicans if they can get them to vote for even a minor troop withdrawal. According to the Politico "Democrats are also worried that they may be losing their political edge on the war, especially as a few congressional Democrats have publicly noted the signs of progress after returning from trips to Iraq.
My friend Sean sent this letter to his local newspaper. I think he has it just right, and wanted to share it with all of you (with Sean's permission, of course)
With his entry into the presidential race today, Sen. Fred Thompson provides GOP primary voters with a chance to return the party back to its core principles of limited governmental power. Early in his career, Thompson served as Minority counsel on the Senate's Watergate committee that helped to expose the abuses of the Nixon administration. Later on, he helped expose corruption in a parole/bribery case in Tennessee that brought down Governor Ray Blanton. In his announcement speech, he said that "a government that can do anything for you, can do anything to you". These are apt words in a time where our retirement system is, due to congressional "borrowing", in deep trouble, where a plan for a simplified tax code is buried in committee while special interests continually vie for breaks, and where in just a few years federal
government spending has doubled, to no apparent benefit. His advocacy of Federalism, the principle of returning Federal power to the states seems to be the best solution.
Sen. Thompson also believes that our National Security is in need of reevaluation. While the Islamic Terrorist threat is of primary concern, Sen. Thompson chaired hearings that dealt into Chinese influence in US elections, and served as a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute studying the Far East and China's growing aggressive posture.The recent Chinese cyber-attack on Pentagon computers illustrates Sen. Thompson's foresight on China.
Sen. Thompson is right when he said that "borders security is national security". Not only are leaky borders begging terrorists to enter, but the expense of illegal immigrants to our federal, state, and local budgets help to jeopardize our countries prosperity.
Perhaps these times will fit this man, I urge GOP voters to support this honest, plain speaking man in these trying times.
Sean
Well, the Republican debate has finally ended. Who was the big winner? Try none of the above. Most of the candidates tried their best to skirt the issues. The biggest loser of the night? Definitely Ron Paul. His answers were so out of touch with the American people. As near as I can figure, Mr. Paul wants to do away with 99.9% of the Federal government. Now that may not be a bad idea, but I don't think he will get too many votes with that.
Tom Tancredo made absolutely no headway. He proved again tonight that he is a one issue candidate and while that issue - immigration - is important, it will not get him the nomination. I think that Mr. Tancredo will drop out of the race soon. Duncan Hunter scored a few points with his pledge to build all of the fence within the first six months. But again, he comes across as not having much substance.
Sam Brownback added nothing to the debate. He continues to argue for morality, but that issue, while important, pales in comparison to threats of terrorism and the War in Iraq. Frankly, Brownback preaches morality, but it is an empty message. Mike Huckabee sure won the argument with Ron Paul, but I have a feeling that his glib comments are not going to resonate very well with the American people.
Mitt Romney seemed to be really off of his game. I have seen him much sharper than he was tonight. Rudy Giuliani just simply talked too much like the Mayor of New York, rather than a Prsidential candidate.
John McCain did better than any of those on stage tonight, but the biggest winner was the man who wasn't there - Fred Thompson.
River West has written another very interesting blog at Senator Bill Frist's site Volpac. As always, River gives us a lot of things to think about.
“HUMAN-ANIMAL” EMBRYO RESEARCH
acceptable or no?
Agreeing in principle at least Regulators have decided to allow human-animal embryos to be created and used for research. I am wondering how citizens feel about these new developments.
Scientists wanting to use hybrids would still need to make individual applications with the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HEFA) it says. 2 teams from England’s Kings College London and Newcastle University have already applied to the HFEA to use hybrid embryos.
An HFEA consultation shows a wider majority of the public favoring the idea when told it could pave the way for therapies for conditions such as Alzheimer's disease than those opposing the idea. Opponents have said many people still would be quite horrified by such a plan.
Scientists want to create hybrid embryos by merging human cells with animal eggs in a bid to extract stem cells. The cells form the basic building blocks of the body and have the potential to become any tissue making them essential for research. The embryos would then be destroyed within 14 days.
At the moment scientists have to rely on human eggs left over from fertility treatment but they are not always good quality and now in short supply. Here is a look at what a few other countries around the world have legislated.
USA - Federal funds can only be used for research involving pre-existing embryos - such as those left over from fertility treatment - and there is a ban on hybrid embryos
Australia - Embryos allowed to be created for research, but human-animal hybrids banned. The only exception is to test the quality of sperm
Canada - Legislation bans the creation of human-animal embryos
Elsewhere - Other countries do not specifically legislate on hybrid embryos. But Italy and Germany only allow the use of pre-existing embryos and many others including Austria, Norway and Tunisia do not allow embryo research at all.
As Liberals say they will bring stem cell and human animal embryo research up for a vote again I think we all want to stay apprised of their intentions. You can by clicking below (or copy/paste to your browser) and selecting Health Care updates to be sent directly to you via email.
Written by river west, iFrist Volunteer Leader
To sign up for Senator Frist's healthcare e-mail updates, click here
My good friend John LeBoutillier takes a look at the Republican and Democratic field for President in a Newsmax article entitled "Fred Thompson Bursts Onto the Scene With a Yawn" Ouch!! You may not agree with John on every issue, but he sure makes you think. Right now John thinks the race for the White House will be Romney vs. Clinton. Won't that be an ugly contest?
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has suggested to government agencies "when in doubt, tilt toward the veteran." The Court went on to note that the issues in the case of Jose D. Hernandez and its approach to the issues was "consistent with the canon that veterans' benefits statutes are liberally construed in favor of the veteran." The Hernandez case stemmed from a charge by Mr. Hernandez that he had been wrongfully charged military leave from 1980 to 2001, therefore causing him to use vacation time, sick leave and leave without pay to perform some of his reserve duties.
The Court also said "It also helps to ensure that veterans are appropriately given the benefit of the doubt and fully enjoy the presumption that veterans' benefits statutes are to be resolved in their favor". Good opinion and about time.
Wow!! The Army Times has reported that on August 30 a B-52 bomber mistakenly loaded with five nuclear warheads flew from North Dakota to Louisiana. The mistake wasn't discovered until the B-52 landed at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. Someone has some explaining to do!!
Indiana State Police stopped a naked man driving along the Indiana Turnpike. The police got numerous complaints, many of them from truckers, who could see directly into the SUV being driven by the 37 year old Chicago man. The trooper made him put his clothes back on before handcuffing the man and charging him with lewd conduct.
When I read this article, I thought "aren't they all freak lawyers? I can say that because I'm a retired attorney. This is a cute story about a guy who has been a Coney Island side show performer for years. His specialty is eating nails. Now he wants to be a freak lawyer. What he really wants to do is work with the alternative people. Good for him.
The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) has an article by Robert J. Stilley on it's web site explaining why the move to schedule the primary for January 29 was the right thing to do. Mr. Stilley argues that moving the primary up means that Florida will have much more of a voice in the selection of the Republican Presidential candidate. He also says that "procedurally, the RPOF has not violated the rules and is confident that Florida will be represented by 114 delegates at the convention." We will see.
Norman Hsu has done it again. Mr. Hsu was scheduled for a court date on Wednesday. Guess what, he didn't appear. Again. San Mateo Superior Court Judge Robert Foiles ordered his bond forfeited and issued a new arrest warrant. If they catch Hsu this time, he won't make bail. He also did not give his passport to his Attorneys on Monday when they met with him. You remember Hsu, don't you? He's the fugitive from justice who has donated thousands to Democratic candidates, most notably Hillary Clinton. Bet he is somewhere overseas, where the country doesn't have an extradition agreement with the United States. Thanks to River West for the article.
Senator Bill Frist has been instrumental in getting some great ideas from fellow Americans over at Your Ideas America. Much like how the Senator ran the Senate so beautifully as Majority Leader, Senator Frist is quietly getting real ideas from real people. The Senator has a natural ability to bring together people from all sides of the fence in a like manner to achieve real results, so quietly that few even notice the great strides that occur.
We should not discount Senator Frist in the Presidential elections, if not 2008, some future year. He is still a young man. His appeal to all sides and his natural intelligence gives voters a prime reason to consider Senator Frist for prime time White House exposure. He is closely associated with President Bush, and a major event could easily push Bush's poll numbers through the roof, which would give a tremendous boost to Senator Frist. No other candidate can muster that kind of support from such a wide audience.
Well, you have to admit that Larry Craig is consistent. He keeps making bad decisions, then trying to change his mind. First, he agreed to plead guilty to something he says he didn't do. Now he is going to try to revoke his guilty plea and fight the charge. Then he announced his intention to resign his Senate seat on the 30th of September. Now, he says he may reconsider that decision.
Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is very involved in One Vote 08, the national and international campaign to fight poverty and hunger around the world. Last Thursday, just a day or so after spending ten days in Bangladesh working with Save the Children, Dr. Frist spent the day in South Carolina speaking to people from the education, faith, political and business communities. According to the staff of One Vote 08, Dr. Frist did some incredible outreach for the One Campaign in South Carolina. In my opinion, the work that Senator Frist does in this country and around the world makes him one of the world's greatest humanitarian.
Anytime I see an article about the mountain gorillas of Africa, I automatically think of former Senator Bill Frist, who has gone to Africa frequently to see these magnificent beasts. Now comes word that rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo have taken control of large parts of the Virunga National Park, home to rare mountain gorillas. Only 700 mountain gorillas remain - half of which are in Virunga.
Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as Chemical Ali will be executed within 30 days. A court in Iraq has upheld his death sentence for crimes against humanity. Thanks to River West for providing the article.
The number of hunters 16 and older has declined by 10 percent between 1996 and 2006 - from 14 million to about 12.5 million. Now that is not good news. Why the decline? One reason is the loss of hunting land to urbanization. Another reason is the perception by many families that they can't afford the time or costs that hunting involves. My friend Chris will probably be even more upset by this next statistic. The number of Americans who fish also has dropped sharply - down 15 percent, from 35.2 million in 1996 to 30 million in 2006. Despite this political support for hunting remains strong, with several states recently putting the right to hunt and fish in their constitutions. River West provided this article.
China is suspected of hacking into the computer network at the Pentagon. Of course, Chinese officials are denying it. However, a senior official says the Pentagon has pinpointed the origins of the attack and the Pentagon has "a high level of confidence" that the People's Liberation Army was responsible. River West provided this information.
Britain has complained to China that Chinese-made weapons are being used by the Taliban to attack troops in Afghanistan. China has promised to investigate. Many experts believe that the weapons are coming to the Taliban through Iran. It will be interesting to see how far the Chinese investigation goes. Another article provided by River West.
China has a new exhibition in Beijing, with some helpful ideas on how Chinese officials can avoid graft and corruption. The exhibition has been organized to showcase China's battle against corruption. It gives details of several officials who have fallen from grace. I wonder if that would work in this country? Thanks to River West for the info and article.
The BBC is reporting that the Colombian army says it has killed a leading member of the country's largest left-wing guerrilla group, the Farc, during an assault against rebel troops. Tomas Medina Caceres was killed in the assault, in what the Colombian defense minister described as the biggest blow to the group's logistical capacity. Again, I have to wonder why this story is not being reported by the American press. Thanks to River West for this information.
Organized labor is launching a new push for national health care. The Cato Institute says their actions will end up hurting workers in the long run. Why? Because they want to bypass union-employer bargaining disputes. Now you ask, how would that hurt union workers. Well, the Cato Institute says in the long run, Union workers would end up paying higher taxes for health care, and they would not have access to health care they have today. Thanks to River West for this article.
Funny, how hard it is to find a story like this. CNN is reporting that Northern Irish Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and ex-paramilitary Billy Huthinson attended talks in Finland with about 30 members of Iraq's Sunni and Shiite communities. According to CNN "Iraq's warring factions have reached an agreement aimed at boosting peace following talks with politicians from Northern Ireland and South Africa." The ability to talk, and engage in frank discussions is a critical component in reaching a resolution of the conflict in Iraq, and one that President Bush has consistently pushed for. My thanks to River West for providing this article.
President Bush arrived in Australia to attend the Asia-Pacific summit. Not since World War II has a President had so many important matters to deal with. Of course, Iraq is at the top of the list, but the participants will also deal with global warming, trade and difficult foreign policy challenges like North Korea. The President won't have much of a chance to rest in the coming days. In fact, he will leave the summit a day early, in order to return to Washington in advance of General Petraeus' report to Congress. My thanks to my good friend River West for this article.
Politico has a story today talking about the likelihood of the coming Congressional showdown. The name of the story "Congressional showdown likely soon", implies that the media is anticipating a monumental battle between Republicans and Democrats over issues like the Iraq war, the powers of the President, executive privilege, government spending. I suspect that in the end the Democrats will back down or face vetoes on many of the bills that they would like to have enacted. They don't have the votes to override most of those vetoes, and therefore run the risk of appearing weak and ineffective to their liberal base. It should be an interesting fall and winter.
There is an article by Doug Patton in GOP USA today called "Being a Democrat Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry." Mr. Patton's argument is that Republican voters hold their politicians to a much higher standard than Democratic voters hold their politicians to. I think that Mr. Patton has missed the mark here. I don't believe that Democratic voters are any different than Republican voters when it comes to issues of morality. I believe the different standard is with the Mainstream Media. They are the ones that hold Democrats and Republicans to different standards. They are the ones who gloss over the shortcomings of the Democrats, while making the disasters of the Republicans page one news. I think that if Democratic voters were asked their opinion, they would tell you that they want honest, ethical, moral politicians just like Republican voters do.
I'm not sure how many of you had a chance to hear the President speaking to our troops in Iraq, but I think it is well worth listening to.
No matter how I try, there seems to be no escaping this story. The New York Daily News has an article by Michael Goodwin with the headline "From a sex-sting senator to a fugitive fund-raiser, scandals mark politics." Mr. Goodwin has a funny line. He says "Like cigarettes, politicians should be wearing warning labels." The sad thing is he may be right.
John Edwards received the endorsements of the United Steelworkers and United Mine Workers of America. As a former member of the USWA, I have thought for quite a while that unions have outlived their purpose. Their support of someone who is largely irrelevant in the race for the Democratic nomination, just supports the argument that these unions are also irrelevant.
The California Highway Patrol is hunting for a serial crank caller. This guy, who goes by the name of Nomar has made almost 2,000 fake calls to 911. Police say the man is quite convincing, and if they can't determine it's a false call, they send emergency crews out. I wonder if anyone has died because this idiot takes emergency personnel away from a real emergency.
Mitt Romney is quoted in the Boston newspaper as throwing a couple of zingers in the direction of Fred Thompson. First he said, "Why the hurry? Why not take a little longer to think this over?" He also is quoted as saying "I think people will notice there have been a bunch of guys who have been working real hard to get to know voters across the country." Another zinger by Romney "I think he'll have some fun. We're going to presumably have some debates with him. We'll have had five without him." Well, Mitt, you better enjoy yourself now. Fred Thompson is getting in the race. Why do I think he will be your worst nightmare?
Those of us who have dealt with mental illness, either within our family circle or among friends or business colleagues, know how difficult it can be to help someone suffering from a mental illness. That's why this news that a new schizophrenia drug has shown promise in trials is so encouraging. One of my good friends is a manic depressive and has taken medication for many years. I can always tell when he has stopped taking his medicine, or has missed a few. The difference the medication makes in him is incredible. If this drug can do the same for those suffering from schizophrenia, we will have climbed a mountain.
Robert Novak has an article today in Townhall called "Republican Melancholy". Novak claims that Republicans have been in much worse shape during the last fifty years, but that Republican voters yearn for a leader. That's why they are interested in Fred Thompson. Novak, being Novak, couldn't resist a little zinger that Thompson did not fulfill lofty expectations. Well, Mr. Novak, there are thousands of us who disagree with you about Senator Thompson not fulfilling lofty expectations. He certainly has done everything he promised us he would. And now the fight begins. September 6 is a new beginning for the Republican party and for all of us.
I know I promised no more stories on Larry Craig, but after listening to Arlen Specter yesterday, I just had to post this one. Specter, certainly not one of my favorite Republican Senators, said that Craig announced his intent to resign, not his resignation. Specter thinks Craig should fight to have his guilty plea withdrawn, and change his mind about resigning. This could get very interesting.
The MSHA has announced that there is no hope of finding the six miners alive. What a sad ending to this story. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families.
I promise this is the last post I am going to do about Larry Craig. I'm not posting this because of Larry Craig actually, but more because the Politico is reporting that the handling of the Craig scandal by the GOP Senate leadership represents a new GOP strategy. I guess I just don't understand why the GOP thinks this is something to brag about. Larry Craig was a loyal Republican conservative, and even active in the Senate leadership. Then he did something disgusting. He was accused by the Minneapolis police of soliciting an undercover police officer to have sex with him. But Craig plead guilty to disorderly conduct. The GOP Senate leadership decided that Craig had to resign immediately. They threatened him with loss of financial support and political support. They removed him from his committee assignments. They called for an ethics investigation. They should have stayed out of the whole mess. This was between the voters of Idaho and their Senator. The people of Idaho were letting Craig know in no uncertain terms that they found his behavior disgusting and his explanation unacceptable. The GOP Senate leadership showed a lack of compassion, understanding and loyalty. And the sad thing is they didn't have to get involved at all. Craig would have been gone within the week if they had left the battle where it belonged - in the State of Idaho. If this is the new GOP strategy, I don't want any part of it.
John Edwards said on Sunday that his universal health care proposal would include mandatory preventive care. According to Edwards, people would be required to go to the doctor for checkups and preventive tests such as mammograms. I don't know about the rest of you but I have enough sense to go for preventive tests such as mammograms, colonoscopies and other tests. I sure don't need the federal government making it mandatory that I do so. This just smacks of big brother.
Jack Kelly of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette has a compelling story about why GOP scandals get more media attention than the Democrat scandals merit. Mr. Kelly argues that Democratic voters expect Democrats to steal on their behalf. He goes on to say "Republicans must be squeaky clean to win elections because their voters will crucify them for behavior Democratic voters wink at so long as the pork keeps flowing." Sad but true. I have no problem with Republicans requiring their politicians be honest and ethical, but it is sad that the Democratic voters are willing to accept so little from their politicians.
What a week for politics. We started with the resignation of Alberto Gonzales, the Attorney General of the United States. The President of the United States said that Gonzales was hounded out of office. I suspect he is right. Nevertheless, that doesn't change the fact that Mr. Gonzales was probably one of the most incompetent Attorney Generals the country has ever had. No one disputes that Gonzales is a really nice guy. He just didn't seem to have any idea of how to run the Justice Department. At times, he seemed almost incoherent. I'm glad he chose to resign, and did so with dignity.
Then we had the nightmare of Larry Craig. On August 27, I joined those calling for Senator Craig to resign. As the scandal developed, and it became clear that no one in the Republican Party would support Craig, I began to think about his situation. How was Senator Craig's conduct different from that of Senator Vitter, Congressman Kennedy, or any other Congressman or Senator involved in an illegal activity? I found myself wondering exactly what was his crime? He plead guilty to disorderly conduct. What had he done that was disorderly? If a guy goes to a bar and tries to pick up a woman or even another guy, is that against the law? If a girl goes to a mall and tries to pick up a guy or another girl, what law is she violating?
Senator Craig should have known better. I think he is guilty of violating the law of stupidity. But it seems like he paid an awfully steep price for being stupid. The Republican Party acted very quickly in this matter, and in an almost vicious manner. Republican leadership immediately called for an ethics investigation, then they stripped him of his committee assignments, then they really started playing hardball with him. The RNC let it be known that unless he resigned, they would not provide him with any funds for a re-election campaign. In fact, they would urge Republicans not to contribute to his campaign, and would actively recruit a Republican to run against him.
It seems to me the Republicans rushed to judgment, and in fact, panicked. That's not exactly the kind of leadership I am looking for from our top Republicans. As I listened to the tape recording of the police interrogation, I couldn't help but think back to my days as a defense attorney. Or the many clients I had who thought they could handle their situation without an attorney. Was it stupid for Craig to talk to an undercover police officer, or to plead guilty without the advice of an attorney? Absolutely. Is he guilty of what he plead guilty to? I'm not so sure. Foot tapping, hand gestures, placing a suitcase in front of a stall door, even peeking into an occupied stall. It's a real stretch to say that was lewd conduct or that he was trying to solicit sex. He certainly wasn't guilty of disorderly conduct. Although I still think that Senator Craig did the right thing from a political standpoint in resigning, actually the only thing he could do, I think the Republican Party would have been far better off to let Craig and the voters of Idaho deal with this issue.
The third big story of the week was the announcement by my political hero, Fred Thompson that he is going to enter the Presidential race. Senator Thompson has announced that he will formally enter the race on September 6. All of his supporters have been waiting anxiously for this day. Why? Because we think Fred Thompson is the right man for this moment in time. He is the effective communicator, the man who will level with the American people. He has unique ideas for where he wants to take our country in the coming years.
Senator Thompson is not an apologist for America. He believes that we are the greatest country in the world, and that we don’t have to apologize to anyone for that. I agree with Senator Thompson. It will be terrific to have him get into the race. We will finally have a candidate who can win and who can lead our country.
There is another big story that is going to have far greater political ramifications than Alberto Gonzales or Larry Craig. The Democratic National Committee voted to demand that the Florida State Democratic party change the date of its primary or lose all of its delegates to the national convention. Why? Because the Florida State Legislature, which is controlled by the Republican Party, voted to change the date of the Florida Presidential primary to January 29. Under DNC rules that is a violation.
Howard Dean and the rest of the DNC voted to strip the Florida Democrats of all of their delegates to the Democratic National Convention unless the Florida State Democratic Committee changed the date to February 5th or later. The problem with that is that the FDNC has no power to do so. Sure, they can change their date, but only if they pay for the complete expense of holding the Democratic primary on a different date than the Legislature voted to hold it on, at a cost to the FDNC of several million dollars. Of course the FDNC can't afford to do that.
So, what have the Democrats done? Well, so far, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Joe Biden, Bill Richardson and Chris Dodd have all said they will not campaign in states that are holding primaries before February 5. Of course that includes Florida. How is that going to play to the Democrats in Florida and in all the other states that have already decided to hold early primaries? Not very well.
I talked to a voter in Florida today about the action by the Democratic Presidential candidates. Here is what he told me: I am a lifelong Democrat, a Union person, I have donated to Democratic candidates, worked for Democratic candidates, and voted for every Democrat running for President since 1964. If the 2008 Democratic Presidential candidates boycott the State of Florida because of the actions of the State Legislature, I will switch my registration to Republican and I will never again vote for a Democrat. If they think so little of the Democratic voters in the state of Florida that they will deny us a voice at the convention, then I have been wrong in supporting Democrats and will not make that mistake again. I suspect that there are millions of Florida Democrats who feel the same way.
Good move, Howard Dean
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