By Michael R. Shannon

Last week an intrepid reporter tracked down a creature long thought to be extinct along these shores. It appeared in the guise of Retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. John W. Douglass a man who claimed in an interview that he’s a “conservative Democrat.”

Unfortunately for his family, like the man who claims the world will end May 21st or Obama has a plan to cut spending, Douglass suffers from delusions. What else can account for a man who the HuffPost says “campaigned vigorously for Hillary Clinton and then Barack Obama” describing himself as a “conservative.”

I can see a so–called “conservative” Democrat holding his nose and voting for Obama — because he’s been raised to believe the GOP is the real Evil Empire — but actually aiding and abetting?

Douglass intends to wrest Virginia’s 10th district seat currently held by Frank Wolf from Republican hands and present it to the Democrats. Gen. Douglass — who evidently is unaware Congressional candidates do not have access to air strikes — appears to believe he has a chance against the 30–year incumbent.

But any voter who genuinely supports Douglass because of his claimed “conservatism” is in for a rude awakening. That’s because, in the unlikely event he actually wins and Dems take control of the House, the first vote Douglass casts in Congress will be to elect Nancy Pelosi as Speaker.

This is the equivalent of a vegan going to work for the Hormel Company where he can facilitate change by working within the system to bring his pro–broccoli viewpoint to the table.

However, we don’t have to wait until after the election to learn Douglass is just another bait–and–switch Democrat. (Where’s Obama’s Consumer Protection Agency when you really need it?)

Douglass is strangely silent on abortion, Obamacare, illegal immigration, out–of–control spending or the deficit, all of which are legitimate conservative issues.

What he has strongly supported in the past is the always promising, never effective early childhood education. Genuine conservatives know this boondoggle as the subsidized daycare and government expansion program. Head Start, Smart Start or Maxwell Smart, these programs have never been proven to be effective. Any gains among program participants disappear by the third grade.

What guarantee’s Democrat support is feminist agitation, teacher union pressure and the fact it’s cheaper than Kiddieland because the taxpayer foots the bill.

Douglass’ views on energy and gas prices aren’t any better. A conservative would be saying, “Drill, baby, drill. Here, not Brazil.” Authentic conservative Republicans in Richmond support ending the 30–year ban on offshore oil and gas drilling because more supply will eventually lower prices and gas drilling alone will create an estimated 2,600 new jobs.

Douglass on the other hand wouldn’t even poke Mother Earth with a spoon. And his solution to high gas prices reveals the Democrat’s basic lack of familiarity with capitalism. He wants to confiscate legitimate oil company profits and redistribute the money to subsidize HOV–clogging Prius owners: “It’s wrong for these big oil companies that are making record profits that are coming right out of the wallets of working people here in the 10th District,” he said.

“If we take that money and spend it somewhere (!), it would be a lot better in incentivizing people to go into hybrid or electric cars or convert to natural gas or whatever it takes to put our country on a solid energy footing.”

You’d think that since Douglass operates a Fauquier County winery he would know that all profits come from “the wallets of working people” regardless of whether they are buying Boone’s Farm or Bogle. The same goes for oil companies.

It’s conceivable Douglass only marks his wine up a buck or two a barrel, regardless of cost. This would account for his ignorance of percentages. Oil company profits are simply a percentage of the price of a barrel of crude. If the underlying price of oil increases, the amount of profit per barrel increases, too, although the underlying percentage remains the same. This is how supply and demand works.

Robin Hood or robbin’ hood energy policy that takes from the proven and productive to give to the unproven and unreliable is hardly a roadmap for energy independence.

Douglass’ “green energy” is an illusion, just like his conservatism. In truth it is heavily subsidized, boutique energy paid for by taxing “working people” who aren’t brie and Chablis Democrats boasting of their “green” credentials while waiting for the sun to grow this year’s grapes.

Michael R. Shannon is a public relations, advertising and political consultant with experience around the globe. He is also a popular speaker and can be reached at michael–shannon@comcast.net.

Michael R. Shannon
MANDATE: Message, Media & Public Relations
http://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelrshannon
http://www2.insidenova.com/topics/types/person/tags/michael-r-shannon/

 

WesternFront America

It’s beginning to look like Governor Flomax — the man who closed the highway rest stops in Virginia — will enter the race for our open US Senate seat. Former governor Tim Kaine is much sought after as a candidate due to his most notable accomplishment, which came on November 8, 2005, when he won the election. And not because he was the scourge of car–trip families all along the Eastern seaboard.

Even though Kaine’s career peaked before he was sworn in, he’s still the only Democrat in Virginia who’s won a statewide race in the last five years and is not already in the Senate.

Looking back over his term in the governor’s office, there was always something of a mismatch between Kaine’s vision of what his legacy would include and the political reality of what was feasible in Virginia.

(Conversely, his political philosophy why he’s so perfect in his current out–of–town job as chairman of the Democratic National Committee: He actually believes Obama’s ideas are brilliant!)

Kaine didn’t plan to be known for the remarkable number of men who could be seen standing with their backs to the roadway just inside the woods along the interstate. Nor did he wish to be known for the skyrocketing number of women suffering from poison ivy exposure and urinary tract infections.

Initially his legacy was to be built on a foundation of transportation, teacher pay raises and universal pre–Kindergarten. Kaine’s solution for our chronic traffic woes involved passing a tax increase, with the money to be used to transport motorists along new highways, rather than into nearby bushes.

His pre–K mobilization — a big favorite with the teacher’s unions — was intended to expand early childhood education and rev toddlers up like a BMW at a stoplight; preparing them to eventually beat the Jamaicans in a spelling bee.

But his failure to pass a tax increase for roads and spelling flash cards forced former Gov. Kaine into legacy retrenchment. Universal pre–K, better known as subsidized daycare, collided with a tight budget environment. So he grudgingly limited the proposed program to students who qualified for reduced–price lunches.

But even that fell victim to budget problems. All Kaine could persuade the General Assembly to fund was a pilot program that had his two teenagers playing “Baby Einstein” videos for neighborhood children.

And we know what happened to transportation, although all may not be lost — with Ms. Obama currently waging Jihad on Junk Food it’s entirely possible the Kaine campaign can position rest stop closing as part of a plan to fight obesity by encouraging Virginia residents to take impromptu nature walks.

These multiple legacy failures are why even the Washington Post describes Kaine as having a “somewhat deflated political record.”

But you know; he is the only Democrat to win a statewide election in the last five years.
Kaine’s other accomplishment was passing what amounted to a statewide ban on smoking in restaurants, but removing second–hand smoke flavor from the french fries is hardly the basis for a campaign. It would be understandable for a candidate who specializes in emissions control to angle for the job of Environmental Protection Agency administrator, but becoming the next senator is a stretch.

Kaine did leave office with a 60 percent approval rating among Virginians with a healthy urethra, but this is simply tautology popularity. He was popular because, like a reality show participant, his name was in the paper and not because Virginians approved of any particular accomplishment, simply because there weren’t any. This popularity will soon disappear when the campaign starts.

Kaine as senate candidate is also an odd choice for a state that so thoroughly repudiated the Obama administration in the last election. As chairman of the DNC, Kaine is joined at the hip with Obama. There is no way he can credibly distance himself from Obamacare, cap–and–trade, high unemployment, huge deficits, $4–a–gallon gasoline and Michelle’s diet hectoring. This is a major vulnerability in a state that defeated three incumbent Democrat congressmen in the last election.

But have I mentioned Kaine is the only Democrat to win a statewide election in the last five years?
In an interview, Kaine once defined success in politics as doing things that nobody will ever want to undo. By his own benchmark, the Kaine legacy comes up very short.

But Kaine did provide me with my favorite rhetorical question during his last year in office. Many times I was able to respond to a question with an obvious answer by asking, “Does the Virginia motorist poop in the woods?”

Michael R. Shannon is a public relations, advertising and political consultant with experience around the globe. He is also a popular speaker and can be reached at michael–shannon@comcast.net.

MANDATE: Message, Media & Public Relations
703-583-6277
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WesternFront America

I’m a very chastened conservative this week. In looking over last year’s columns I find I’ve used the words: jewelry, sneeze, impatient and grab. By my calculations — assisted by Chris Matthews and those helpful people at MSNBC — I’m responsible for one burglary, a swine flue scare, two fire–zone parking violations and a groping on the Metro.

Prior to the cowardly shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her constituents in Arizona, I had no idea that ‘progressives’ and the media considered conservatives to have such awesome motivational power. I thought we were a bunch of rednecks who sat on lawn furniture and read the Constitution aloud because we refused to support the media by buying newspapers.

Personally, I thank a merciful God that I never used the words ‘Glock’ and ‘target’ in the same piece. If I had only known my words had such power I could have used my talent for good…

And while having liberals and the media acknowledge the persuasiveness of conservative thought is a welcome change, I don’t think it logically follows that conservatives are also granted custody of all the nation’s crazies. That constitutes ideological patient dumping.

Let’s take a look at Jared Loughner. He’s a registered Independent who did not trouble himself to vote last November. Loughner posts incoherent videos on YouTube that display an obsession with grammar and the odd flag burning. Pima Community College suspends him after repeated classroom outbursts disturb teachers, administrators and students. In the backyard he has an altar featuring a skull and candles. And finally, G.I. Jared is rejected by the Army for repeated drug use.

Deranged, drugged and disruptive. Sounds the master of ceremonies at a Code Pink convention. A gas spectrometer could not find a molecule of conservatism or TEA party DNA in this character.

Besides, if “conservative vitriol” is inspiring a leftist, why is he shooting Democrats?

The Democrat rush not to let this crisis go to waste is enough to give exploitation a bad name. And did you notice the Democrat and media ‘solution’ to American discord allegedly caused by conservatives just happens to fit hand–in–glove with ‘progressive’ legislative goals?

First, forget about the repeal of Obamacare, that’s way too contentious for Congress during a time when liberals want lowered voices.

And speaking of voices that members of Congress often hear, Rep. Robert Brady (D–Timid) plans to introduce legislation that would make it a federal crime to “use language or symbols that could be perceived as threatening or inciting violence against a…member of Congress,’ which would grant them the same protections from anxiety and verbal unease that homosexuals now enjoy on virtually every college campus.

Rep. Louise Slaughter (D–Hysteria) wants to revive the “Fairness Doctrine,” so there would be no “hate” on the radio and no Rush either.

And certainly a shooting like this vindicates ‘progressives’ call for more gun control legislation.
Yet, as a wise friend of mine pointed out, in no state of the Union is it legal to drive to your nearest shopping center and start blazing away at the customers. It doesn’t matter if they are Congressmen or custodians — shooting them is equally illegal.

When ‘progressives’ go after what they don’t want to hear on the radio, somehow we never hear criticism of the music industry for incitement, even though one of Loughner’s videos featured a song by Drowning Pool containing the refrain, “Let the bodies hit the floor, let the bodies hit the floor, let the bodies hit the floor.”

Possibly because cracking down on artistry like that would be hitting a little too close to home. (Columnist note: by “hitting” I mean “landing” and not the actual impact of a fist with a member of Congress’ face.)

That would be censorship of the same type of people who often provide the soundtrack for Democrat political rallies. To say nothing of the music company execs that contribute to Democrat campaign coffers.

And as for more gun control, there is a good chance Loughner would never have been able buy a gun if Sheriff Clarence Dupnik had done his job and investigated him for making a number of death threats in the months before he opened up on Rep. Giffords.

When one looks at the before and after incident performance of both Arizona and Washington officials there is a lot of blame to apportion and not much praise. But there is one notable exception: When my son begins deciding where to attend college, if the choice comes down to Pima Community College or Virginia Tech, he’ll be heading to Arizona since Pima is 1 – 0 versus crazy and Tech is 0 for 2.

Michael R. Shannon is a public relations and advertising consultant with corporate, government and political experience around the globe. He’s a dynamic and entertaining speaker and can be reached at michael–shannon@comcast.net

Michael R. Shannon
MANDATE: Message, Media & Public Relations
http://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelrshannon
http://www2.insidenova.com/topics/types/person/tags/michael-r-shannon/

 

WesternFront America

It’s time to make my endorsements

Cochise County (Arizona) – Over the past 13+ months I have written about the political climate in this state, and a main thread of my writing has been based around the idea that you as the voter must become more educated and not simply support someone because they are the prettiest, or have the “best” chance of beating other candidates.

It has been my personal goal to help enlighten people to the horrendous wrongs that some of our current and prior incumbents have committed. Contrary to popular opinion I am not a supporter of these individuals regardless. After all I refused to vote for McCain or Obama in the presidential elections in 2008 for a reason, and I doubt there is many who would say today that I am wrong, though there were plenty then.

With one exception I have held off from giving endorsements as I firmly believe that each of us must make the best decision we can with the information we have. I firmly believe in the rights of each legal voter to decide for themselves who they want representing them in Washington, Phoenix, or Cochise County for that matter. However, with that being said I also firmly believe that in some cases people are ignoring the problems simply because they want to vote for their party. This is also wrong, party politics do not work. They have not worked and regardless of what many say they will not work. Voting simply because a person is a democrat or a republican will only continue the progression of “evil” that exists in today’s political climate.

I firmly believe that we are witnessing a huge possibility in this state and across the United States, for instance in Arizona alone Independents have risen in number. And in Arizona an Independent can vote either Republican or Democrat in the primaries. In fact the numbers are high enough so that if the independent vote were to concentrate around a candidate there is a strong likelihood that that candidate would be elected. So my appeal and list of endorsements today is not meant for the hard line Republican, or the hard line Democrat. It is meant for the voter who no longer has their head in the sand; it is meant for the Independent voter who has decided that this election season they will vote their conscience. It is meant for the voter who realizes that we need ethics, morals and a true sense of American pride, not some false store bought pride. Now bear in mind that my selections are for primaries and may change for the general elections based on the outcome of the primaries.

Arizona Federal candidates:

Arizona candidate for Senate - Jim Deakin
Arizona candidate for Congressional District 8 – Due to recent revelations at this time I am not publicly supporting a candidate in this race.

Arizona State:

Arizona Gubernatorial candidate – Barry Hess (Libertarian – which means I must rely on the Libertarian vote as I am currently registered Republican to support Jim Deakin)
Attorney General - Thomas Horne
Secretary of State – Sam Wercinski (Democrat so I must rely on the Democratic vote for primaries)
Corporation Commissioner – Barry Wong
State Senate District 30 – Marian Ann McClure
State Legislative District 30 – Brian Abbott
State Legislative District 25 – Peggy Judd

Cochise County:

Superior Court Division II – Roger Contreras (This was a difficult decision as there are two great candidates running –)
Justice of the Peace JP5 – Tim Dickerson (Again this was a difficult decision, however, having had a traffic ticket decided in Judge Dickerson’s court, and having had to pay as a result I am confident that he is a fair and honest Justice.)

Clerk of Courts - Mary Ellen Dunlap

The City of Sierra Vista:

Mayoral candidate - Josh James
City Council – Tom Crosby

There are various items to vote for and those I will not be giving endorsements on at this time, however, the above is my list of candidates for various positions based on who I believe is the best candidate for the role after having interviewed researched, and fact searched on them all. Some of these decisions were extremely difficult however; I firmly believe that the decisions I have made reflect my ethical and moral stance as well as support for the Constitution and this nation.

On a side note, my endorsements reflect my views personally and are made on this column, I will continue to print news from all candidates who send or are interested in doing so in the Cochise County Elections 2010 column. Making the endorsements I have here will not affect my fair coverage (according to what is provided to me) in that column. The truth, facts and my integrity are extremely important to myself and this is reflected in how I approach each article regardless of personal viewpoints I always provide facts to back them up.

Originally posted at Examiner.com

© Jesse Mathewson

 

WesternFront America

Pardon me while I gloat. I know that when Republicans win an election we are supposed to apologize to Democrats for interrupting the march toward a bright and glorious future, but I can’t help myself.

Tuesday’s election results were the perfect outcome. Republican wins in the governor’s race in Virginia and New Jersey put Blue Dog Dems on notice that the natives are restless and the loss in New York lets the White House continue to delude themselves that they just need to keep on, keepin’ on.

What a welcome change to vote for a candidate who wins big. After writing in Tom Tancredo and Sarah Palin during the last two presidential elections, checking the box for Bob McDonnell for governor of Virginia finally put me on the winning side.

And for once, I’m not alone. Polling showed that 41 percent of McDonnell voters were “very enthusiastic” about his candidacy. In contrast with 2008 surveys that showed the choice between voting for John McCain and volunteering for a clinical study of dysentery drugs was a toss–up for conservative Republicans.

Initially I thought Republicans wouldn’t get to enjoy the victory for long. White House blame shifters already tossed Deeds under the bus last week, claiming his failure to fully embrace Obama caused his defeat.

Instead Obama’s busy spinmeisters began peddling the story to a credulous mainstream media that the only off–year election that really counts is in New Jersey where Gov. Jon Corzine did everything but offer to invest Obama’s Nobel winnings on Wall Street.

Oops, in another example of Obama Administration acumen the Dems managed to lose New Jersey, too! Of course the Washington Post assures us there’s nothing to see here, in fact one headline reads “No Referendum on Obama,” but in both states voters who in fact used the election as a referendum on Obama voted against him.

That’s what makes the New Jersey loss so telling. Democrat registration there outnumbers Republican 34 percent to 20 percent, the legislature is overwhelmingly Democrat, all statewide officials are Democrats, the Congressional delegation is Democrat, the incumbent governor is a Democrat enjoying all the advantages of incumbency, Obama carried the state by 57 percent, the Republican candidate is fat and has a lousy jump shot. Yet he still won by five points!

When Barack puts the full Obama on the voters and his man still loses in an overwhelmingly Democrat state, it’s time to start drawing up a seating chart for the lifeboats.

Wouldn’t you like to be a Democrat incumbent on Wednesday morning knowing your political fate was in the hands of the Three Stooges: Obama, Pelosi & Reid?

Meanwhile, Creigh Deeds the Democrat candidate for governor in VA must feel like a Washington Post “Date Lab” loser who tries everything — runs on the thesis, pledges to raise taxes — and still gets a fake phone number at the end of the evening.

‘Country’ Creigh Deeds just didn’t fit in with those Post metrosexuals no matter how hard he tried. When the Posties made an in–kind campaign contribution with the McDonnell Thesis (a 20–year–old term paper that rivaled the Da Vinci Code for popularity among political archeologists but failed to strike a nerve among actual voters) Deeds took the hint and ran with it. And ran. And ran. And ran it into the ground. The Post finally said McDonnell benefitted from a “lackluster Democratic opponent.” Ouch!

It is a strange election in Virginia when the Democrat runs on social issues. Usually a Democrat will appeal to his party’s base during the primary, shaking hands at abortion mills and hitting the gay bars; then move toward the middle during the general election.

Creigh Deeds did just the opposite. He wins the primary as the moderate and then boards the Wayback machine and sets the destination for 1989.

Deeds talked so much about abortion that I thought Planned Parenthood sponsored his campaign. And I could have sworn I got a robo–call Sunday from Anita Hill.

Talk about going back to the failed policies of the past. The only retro social issues event that Deeds left out was a bra burning.

The Postie political staff is of course appalled by the prospect of a McDonnell victory and has spent the fall warning Virginia voters that if elected McDonnell will govern as a conservative. To which I say, thank God.

McDonnell didn’t have to talk about “hot–button” issues because his record over the years proved the Republican base could trust him. McCain, on the other hand, had a real one–two punch: the base didn’t trust him and the independents thought he was erratic.

It will be comforting next year for VA residents to have a first lady in Richmond with the same last name as the first man. When a married Democrat politician appears in a photo clutching a woman with a different last name it just means the first couple has a “modern marriage” so get used to it. When a Republican appears in the same type of photo, it usually means marital difficulties.

Michael R. Shannon is a public relations and advertising consultant with corporate, government and political experience around the globe. He is a dynamic and entertaining keynote speaker. He can be reached at michael-shannon@comcast.net.

 

WesternFront America