Laus Deo

“Laus Deo.” This is a Latin phrase meaning “Praise be to God.” Why is this on a website that tries to be fair?
The Washington Monument is 555 feet, 5.125 inches high. At its peak on the aluminum cap is the phrase “Laus Deo.”
In an era where freedom from religion tends to be the more politically correct view, I find it ironic the the phrase “Praise be to God” can be seen from any point in our Nations Capital.

Why Democrats Lose Elections

Democrats complain that they have no voice. They give excuses of everything from Republicans gerrymandering Congressional districts to the Great Right-Wing Conspiracy."

These excuses are weak on premise. As a political consultant I often surf the web for what kind of political messages are out there. When I opened the Democrat party's website something hit me that I have felt for a long time. But to see it from the primary source is a different experience.

The Democratic National Committee has no policy strategy. Translation they don't promote any agenda other than anti-Bush or anti-GOP. I had to dig to find a platform of any kind. It was in a transcript of Howard Dean's Christmas radio address and provided no concrete ideas for how the DEM's would accomplish its goals.

Look at the main page of their website. There are no policy matters being showcased. If the Democrats wish to take Washington they need to be more specific on what they will do when they get there.

Without a platform voters view the party as lacking leadership. The Republican's have their own issues but they have a platform and they are in power. For those readers who aren't familiar with the mechanics of electoral campaigns, incumbants will win unless the voter is convinced that they need fired. This happens only when a candidate has a weakness (i.e. unethical behavior) and he/ she has a strong opponent (i.e. strong platform).

Security Issues in America

House Democrats issued a statement that the Homeland Security Department has not met expectations. They site that the department has not met 33 of its own goals including upgrading specific types of targets and the streamlining of communications between agencies.

It is necessary that the American Public gets a report on the progress of the HSD. But do we need the specifics such as types of sites that are vulnerable. Isn't that making terrorists' jobs easier by allowing them to focus on those types of sites. Knowledge is a powerful tool, but it is also one that can be very dangerous.

Political Damage of Hurricane Katrina

Unless you have had no communication with civilization for the past 6 months, you know about the devastation to the residents of the Gulf Coast as a result of Hurricane Katrina. But are you sure you know who will take the brunt of the political damage? President Bush, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, and Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco have all received some sort of political repercussions.

President Bush has received the most public criticism for FEMA’s delays to get supplies to affected areas. But I don’t believe he will be affected nearly as much as Nagin or Blanco. Time or rather timing has been on the President’s side. He will not face the voters of the Gulf region. Nor is the aftermath of the hurricane the top issue with the general public in reference to him. The more time that passes the less of an impact will the disaster have on President Bush.

Both Ray Nagin and Gov. Blanco are a different story. They each will receive significant damage for several reasons. Both are first term incumbents where all of their constituents have been personally afflicted by the disaster. Questions also remain about their responses in the days prior to the Hurricane coming ashore. Furthermore a significant portion of their electoral base has been scattered across the country and unlikely to be available for the elections.

Nagin has been criticized for not utilizing all available transportation to move those who were unable to leave on their own. Reports have surfaced stating that passenger rail services had offered free seats on their lines for outgoing passengers as the moved their rail stock out of the city. This offer had been turned down by the Mayor’s administration.

Governor Blanco will probably have the deepest issues to deal with in association with Hurricane Katrina. She too has been criticized by her inability to thwart bureaucratic red tape in order to get federal aid process moving. But she has an issue that could be more troublesome for her. Memos were published by the media giving the impression that Governor Blanco’s office was more concerned with the public relations spin in the aftermath than in the recovery effort.

There are many other factors that could affect the re-election hopes of Mayor Nagin, and Governor Blanco. Many of these are well beyond their controls. The only things either of them can do is to show proactive leadership, and not seem so concerned about their own political future. If they do the first the latter will take care of itself.

ACLU Loses in 'Seperation of Church and State' Case

On Tuesday, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a Kentucky courthouse in Mercer County can display the Ten Commandments as long as it is shone in a historical manner alongside other historical documents. The 3 judge panel also stated that the ACLU misinterpreted the Constitution's ban on establishing a religion to mean there can be no acknowledgement of religion by government.

Judge Richard Suhrheinrich wrote "The ACLU makes repeated reference to the separation of church and state. This extra-constitutional construct has grown tiresome. The First Amendment does not demand a wall of separation between church and state. Our nation's history is replete with governmental acknowledgment and in some cases, accommodation of religion."

Judge Alice Batchelder joined Suhrheinrich in the decision. District Judge Rice concurred in the result but not the written opinion.

For more information on the case visit the Cincinnati Enquirer .

A Soldier's view of the Iraq Election

Every day on the news we hear about people dying in Iraq and how things don't look so good in the Iraq War. Well I tracked down a soldier in Iraq and this is what he had to say.

I was not one bit surprised at the turn out with approximately 70% turning out to vote. What surprised me was the amount of Sunni Arabs that decided to exercise their right to vote. Not only that, but their reaction to reporters asking how they felt about voting. The vast majority felt very strongly about voting and for a lack of a better term felt bad for not exercising their right as a citizen back in January and October. That is a very good sign that all three major ethnic groups are participating. Also surprising was the lack of insurgent activity. In one of Iraq's finest hours, the insurgents did not try to darken the day but instead remained quiet. I can only hope that this trend of lessening violence will continue as the new Iraqi government takes effect and their security forces become stronger and more skillful.

This Heroic American can be found at http://www.gigotti78.blogspot.com/ . He and another brother in arms also do question and answer sessions at http://www.askthesoldiers.blogspot.com/ . I encourage everyone to check these blogs out for an unadulterated view of life in Iraq.

God bless these men and the work they do.

Hillary Clinton for President - the Best thing for Republicans

Hillary Clinton is the leading candidate for the Democratic Presidential ticket in 2008. This is good news for Republicans.

By the time things gear up for the next Presidential election she will have consumed 15 years of national press coverage. There will be few voters who will not have some sort of ideas about her.

The conservative right is unified against her saying she is too liberal. Organizations such as the Stop Hillary PAC have been popping up all over the country recruiting volunteers and gathering funds. The opposition to Senator Clinton is very active and vocal.

Polls show that democrats and independents are split on her for mainly two reasons. Her attempts to appear more moderate and a chilling persona have left them looking elsewhere for leadership.

At this point the Democratic Presidential primary is looking as if it will be another dogfight as Senator Clinton and Indiana Senator Evan Bayh face off against each other along with a host of other also-ran opponents. This could leave the democrats splintered opening the door for the Republicans to keep the Presidency. The only obstacle would be if the GOP can’t feature a strong leader as their candidate.

Links related to this article:
Stop Hillary PAC http://stophillarypac.com
Official Hillary for President site http://www.votehillary.org/
Official Evan Bayh Site http://bayh.senate.gov

Congressional Consequence of the President's Approval Rating

President Bush has seen his approval rating at 47 percent, a jump 8 percent since November. This is due to what appears to be a successful election process in Iraq where approximately two-thirds of voters turned out to the polls. Public perception in the U.S. is that Iraq is becoming increasingly self-sufficient and will allow more of our troops to come home.

Many question what this means for members of Congress who are looking for re-election in 2006. In brief, it means very little.

Most Congressional races are solidly one party or the other. They are not in play just as many states were not in play for last year’s Presidential race.

In order for the poll to affect the Congressional seats in play the President needs to grow his ratings above 50 percent and sustain that number for an extended period of time. Otherwise this poll will have been a blip on the radar that has long been forgotten by voters.

In January, this blog will discuss why the public should be wary of polls.

Most Corrupt Congress?

Yesterday U.S. Senate minority leady Harry Reid (D) was interviewed on Fox News Sunday. In that interview he claimed that the current Congress is the most corrupt in American history.

Can he honestly say that the 109th Congress with all its campaign finance laws, oversight committees, and such is more corrupt than in the past where such measures were not available? Is he ignorant of our nation's history or are there other motives for the comment?

One motive for his comments could be the posturing of his party for the coming congressional election cycle. By questioning the ethical integrity of Republicans in Congress he hopes his party could take a few seats and diminish the Republican hold on power.

Senator Reid needs to be careful when making accusations and implications of dishonesty. Many members of his own party have had questionable ethical behavior in the past. Questions about Reid himself have risen in the last few days.

During the same Fox News Sunday interview Reid became defensive when when questioned about whether or not he took money from Jack Abramoff, who is being investigated by the Department of Justice for payoffs to lawmakers.

"Abramoff gave me no money. His firm gave me no money. He may have worked (in) a firm where people have given me money."

Most members of Congress are returning contributions made by Abramoff's clients because they are seen as a potential cover for the payoffs. Senator Reid has refused to return those contributions. The obvious question must be asked. Why?

For more information on the contributions of Senator Harry Reid, Jack Abramoff, or others visit the Federal Election Commision .