Rasmussen and, everybody knows, the independents in terms of political consultants, these people that hire themselves out, the supposed expertise to get candidates elected, independents is where they go to work every day, the so-called undecideds, the moderates, independents, whatever you want to call them, the 20%, basically that are not ideologically tied to either the Republican or the Democrat Party… Read more…

I’ve always found it strange that the independents — say if John Boehner were to be critical of Obama — would say, “Okay! That’s it! We knew it! We’ve had it with you Republicans. To hell with you! We’re going back to the Democrats,” where we’re treated daily with the rackets of people like Barney Frank and Maxine Waters who tell us to go to hell and worse. I, frankly, have never bought it, but our side has.  Read more…

I guess you didn’t notice that the independents abandoned Obama as far back as November 2010 in the midterm elections? Obama hasn’t had these independents for onto a year now, and nothing he’s doing is going to get them back. He’s in danger of losing his base. That’s why he has to assume positions and speak the rhetoric that he truly believes. Read more…

I am apparently the black sheep of political consultants as I never advise my clients to go after the independents but rather I parrot Rush Limbaugh with “Conservatism works every time it’s tried.”

For more than 20 years now we have tried comparing Republican candidates to Ronald Reagan and most candidates have tried likening themselves to Ronald Reagan.  Reagan wasn’t the standard, Reagan was the exception and many of us have long desired to find someone to match his character, his commonsense approach to fiscal issues, and his socially conservative values. But, if Ronald Reagan was running today, could he win? Could he overcome the desire to “just beat Obama” by going after the so-called Independents?

I truly don’t know where the notion has come from that in order to capture the independent vote and beat Obama, we must have a Republican Nominee who is not too socially conservative. My guess is that this has been dreamed up by the left and perpetuated through the mainstream media and has saturated our culture to the point that those on our side have forgotten history and have actually bought into this notion.

At this same point in Jimmy Carter’s Presidency, Carter had a 54% approval rating. George HW Bush was at 50% at the end 1991 then lost to Clinton in 1992.  Obama is currently sitting at 43%.  Going back nearly a century, no president with an approval rating below 50% at the end of their third year has won re-election.  Carter was actually the exception in that he had a rating over 50% and actually lost.  Not only did Carter lose, but Ronald Reagan won in a landslide with a 44 state victory.

Now, who carried Ronald Reagan to victory?  The Religious Right (defined as Christian political groups that are characterized by their strong support of socially conservative policies) was “blamed” for his victory by the mainstream media. AND, as an added bonus in that election, the Republicans captured the Senate for the first time since 1952 (how ironic that we also need to take the Senate in 2012).

Please compare and contrast Ronald Reagan with a Moderate Republican like John McCain, who was well known for “reaching across the aisle.”  Even compare and contrast him with both George Bush’s (and Bob Dole) who were not known for being social conservatives.  What happens when we move to the middle to get the so-called Independents?  The Religious Right sits home and does not vote, as they did with John McCain. Have we forgotten the narrow Bush victory over Gore?

With 75% of Americans identifying themselves as Christian, does it not make sense we should appeal to them, even if all we desire is to simply beat Obama?  I believe the real reason there were large numbers of “Reagan Democrats” was because the people held to their religious convictions much closer than they held to their political ideals. We must step up and support the candidate who will inspire conservatives to turn out and vote.  That candidate is Senator Rick Santorum.

Kerry Wood
SC State Director
Rick Santorum for President

Seems the “haves” … the Occupy people are pissed that the “have-nots” .. the homeless … are TAKING THEIR STUFF!

The incident highlights an emerging rift between the Occupiers and homeless, who have moved into the tent city to feast on freebies. Occupy protesters and a law enforcement source said cellphones, laptops and other items have been swiped from tents, but Driscoll said the department has received no reports of robberies.

“The homeless people are down there lurking around,” a law-enforcement source told the Herald. “Some of them are mentally ill and criminally insane. The potential is there for problems.”

Demonstrator Andrew Warner, 36, said homeless people are hijacking tents, getting drunk, “passing out” and stealing.

“It’s turning into us against them,” Warner said. “They come in here and they’re looking at it as a way of getting a free meal and a place to crash, which is totally fine, but they don’t bring anything to the table at all. It gets really frustrating.”

Jackson Bush, manning the Occupy information tent yesterday, said some homeless people have been hoarding free items, including donated coats.

“We do have homeless people and people addicted to drugs who need to steal things,” Bush said. “They’re getting more than they need and trading it off. What we noticed is all the new jackets are disappearing quickly.”

Get that ? “getting more than they need and trading it” … hahahaaaaaa. Makes you wonder are the Occupy people more upset that their stuff is being taken or that the homeless are acting like capitalist!

Think about how upside-down the world has seemed since Obama was elected in 2008. Things we never believed could EVER take place in this country are becoming common-place at a pace that is both frightening and mind-boggling. The more our political world has been churning out of control around us, the more we gravitate toward a conservative rock like Senator Jim DeMint.

What has separated Senator DeMint from the political-pack is that he has been willing to step out and do what is right, regardless of how others are behaving. This is why it is so difficult to believe he would be trying to play king-maker in his presidential forum, entertaining the likes of Romney and Gingrich (and including undeclared candidates like Giuliani and Palin) while leaving out someone like Rick Santorum (who at least finished 4^th in the Iowa Straw Poll, above most of those invited).

Hiding behind a Real Clear Politics poll is not the right thing to do. Our country needs clear, conservative leaders and we need to be able to count on the ones we have, like Senator DeMint, to continue doing what is right and not play into the mainstream. There is no doubt in my mind that Senator DeMint knows who all the players are and what they really stand for. It is his forum and he can certainly do what he likes, but it seems the right thing to do would be for him to invite a truly conservative slate of his choosing.

Should we really have any faith in polls, based on what we’ve seen put out by the mainstream? It is time to FORGET who the mainstream is telling us to choose and do the right thing and give solid conservatives like Rick Santorum a fighting chance.

Is it just me or is anyone else getting tired of the liberal media’s ANNUAL double-dip recession talk? What does double-dip recession even mean? The definitions are all over the map, depending on who you listen to, but in general it is a return to a recession after a short-lived recovery.

2007

Overwhelming majority of media claims the recession started in 2007. What the mainstream media should have claimed is victory in 2007 as they spent the entire Bush presidency trying to convince the public that the economy was bad. You remember; this is way back when unemployment was barely breaking 5% and gasoline was under $2 a gallon. We would hear people say how bad things were, but it was never them, it was the other guy… who? “I dunno but people are hurting…”

Compare to today, when things are really bad and if you haven’t been unemployed yourself in the past few years, you likely have a close friend or family member that has which you can quickly point to.

2008

The year of Obama (If you are Chinese, 2008 was also the Year of the Rat). As the year gets started and it looks as though they will get either Hillary or Obama elected, the media has a big problem on its hands. Everything they allowed to falsely define a bad economy is actually heading south. They talk about how much better it is going to be under the Democrats, but they know it’s not really going to be. They must do something to brace the public for the coming disaster other than simply blaming it on Bush. The Double-Dip Recession arrives:

From the Wall Street Journal (02/08/2008):

The economy isn’t even officially in recession yet, and already some are warning of a “double-dip”: a slump, followed by a brief recovery, then renewed slump.

Double-dip recessions are rare, and not well defined.

Their agenda was clear:

From the Washington Times (12/26/2008):

With only 26 days left to harangue, mock and bash President Bush, some of our colleagues in the media aren’t wasting a day. Bashing ex-presidents, except for the ex-presidents with shrill prominent wives, isn’t nearly as much fun as bashing while he’s still the real thing.

There’s method in the gladness at the New York Times, which relieved itself at the beginning of Christmas week with an umpity-thousand word accusation – beginning on Page One and continuing across several acres of newsprint inside – that George W. Bush invented the meltdown of the subprime housing market, which in turn has led to the collapse of Detroit and all kinds of bad things for Atchison, Topeka and maybe even Santa Fe.

The point of the epic was clearly to portray George W. as the new Herbert Hoover, so that when recession becomes Depression (with the capital-D) not a single rabbit will be safe anywhere and everyone will remember who did it and – voila! – the Republicans will be shut out of the White House and control of the Congress for a generation, and maybe more.

2009

Bloomberg (08/24/2009):

Nouriel Roubini, the New York University professor who predicted the financial crisis, said the chance of a double-dip recession is increasing because of risks related to ending global monetary and fiscal stimulus.

Politico (10/07/2009):

Could a double-dip recession be near?

All that’s enough to convince some observers that the economic recovery is faltering and could be heading for a “double dip” recession. And that would mean the recent green shoots of recovery turn out to be just a pause in a much longer economic slide.

And management consultant Peter Cohan wondered in his economic blog: “I don’t know why the market moves up and down from day to day, but lately a growing fear of a double-dip recession could be a contributing factor.”

CNN Money (11/16/2009):

6 double dip warning signs

Will recovery turn into recession?

Most economists agree the U.S. economy is in recovery. The question is whether it will stay that way.

The economy grew at a 3.5% annual rate in the third quarter. But even with that shot in the arm, there are plenty of worries about whether the economy could topple into another period of decline, or “double dip” recession, early next year.

NBC News (11/18/2009):

President Barack Obama gave his sternest warning yet about the need to contain rising U.S. deficits, saying on Wednesday that if government debt were to pile up too much, it could lead to a double-dip recession.

2010

Christian Science Monitor (06/05/2010):

US is falling into a double-dip recession.

The only reason the economy isn’t in a double-dip recession already is because of three temporary boosts: the federal stimulus (of which 75 percent has been spent), near-zero interest rates (which can’t continue much longer without igniting speculative bubbles), and replacements (consumers have had to replace worn-out cars and appliances, and businesses had to replace worn-down inventories). Oh, and, yes, all those Census workers (who will be out on their ears in a month or so).

But all these boosts will end soon. Then we’re in the dip.

Huffington Post (07/01/2010):

A Double-Dip Recession Defined

Concerns are rising that the economy is at risk of slipping into a “double-dip” recession.

Yahoo Finance (08/16/2010):

What the Double-Dip Recession Will Look Like

A growing and vocal minority of economists believes that there will be a double-dip recession primarily because of the intransigence of high unemployment and the rapidly faltering housing market.

Mother Jones (08/25/2010):

Is A Double-Dip Recession – Or Worse – Finally Here?

In the past few days, though, a chorus of economists have voiced increasingly pessimistic views on where the economy is headed. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics and a former McCain aide, said on Monday that the housing market was headed for a “double-dip” of its own as the last effects of the federal government’s first-time homebuyer tax credit finally escape the housing market. “We probably, almost assuredly, will experience more house price declines,” Zandi told CNBC. “By those two criteria, I think that would qualify as a double dip.”

2011

The lame-stream media is once again pimping the notion of a double-dip recession and everyone is talking about it as though it is something real. Well it’s nothing short of pure fiction. We would have had to have some sort of real recovery then dip back into recession again.

While there is no official definition of recession it is commonly described as short-term.

From Webster: Depression:

A period of low general economic activity marked especially by rising levels of unemployment.

This is where we really are – DEPRESSION – and Obama OWNS it whether the lame-stream media acknowledges it or not.

Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum responded from Iowa via Twitter and Facebook:

Leaving a packed townhall n Clinton. Saw Biden’s comment on Tea Party. No surprise he hasn’t been right bout terrorism in yrs. #iacaucus

Homes for Life is a home for young men, ages 18-21, who are homeless. This is located behind the Westside Club at 4180 Copper Line, Spartanburg, SC 29301.

 

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Going into this debate, I would have rated Rick Santorum as a second-tier candidate with the potential of moving into top-tier status with the ability to win.

I would have rated Herman Cain a third-tier candidate with the potential of moving to second-tier by the time the elections are over with an actual win just way out of reach.  I’m not trying to disrespect him at all with my statement; just where I gauged he was in name ID with a fight that was too long and hard to squeeze into the next eight months when the Primary Elections really get started.

Last night, Herman Cain really had nothing to lose and everything to gain… and he gained everything.  His answers were spot-on, but I believe it was his demeanor that really touched people without most even realizing what was capturing them.  He comes across like a like a father or grandfather, someone we can trust and respect, someone we can count on, who has wisdom we can actually admire.  As everyone is desperately searching for another Ronald Reagan, please think back to Reagan and what really drew us in to him. It wasn’t just his values, but largely it was his demeanor.  Reagan was someone we could all feel a personal connection to whether we actually met him or not.  It is a very tall order to find someone like that which is why we have not… before now.

I’m certain there will be plenty of people who will want to criticize me for comparing Herman Cain to Ronald Reagan.  Reagan grew into a legend that will be very difficult, if not impossible, to ever match.  I’m just saying I see some rather stark similarities in Herman Cain’s demeanor (and wit) and I’m starting to believe we may have another legend in the making.

Regardless, Herman Cain has moved from a third-tier dark horse (and everyone knows I love a dark horse) to second-tier candidate in rapid fashion.  THAT is momentum and if nothing else, it is going to be very interesting to see where this momentum carries him.

Article by guest blogger: Kerry Wood