Questions for @THEHermanCain

I finished reading This Is Herman Cain! this week and have some questions for you since you didn’t discuss your political views and involvement before you ran for the Senate:

• How and how much were you involved in politics before you decided to run for office?
  
• How long have you been a registered Republican?
• Since you were old enough to vote, which presidential candidates did you vote for?
• Have you or any of the companies you owned every contributed to a Democrat candidate?
• What does being a conservative mean to you?
• How long have you considered yourself to be a conservative?

Bennet, Udall, and Perlmutter Watch 3-14-11: Recent Votes

From MegaVote at Congress.org:

Recent Senate Votes

Patent Reform Act of 2011 – Vote Passed (95-5) The Senate passed this bill that would overhaul the nation’s patent system and change the way they are issued and challenged. The House is expected to pass its own patent bill. Sen. Mark Udall voted YES Sen. Michael Bennet voted YES  Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 – Vote Rejected (44-56) The Senate rejected this House-passed continuing resolution that would have reduced spending by $57.5 billion over the remainder of the 2011 fiscal year. The current, short-term continuing resolution expires on March 18, 2011. Sen. Mark Udall voted NO Sen. Michael Bennet voted NO Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 – Vote Rejected (42-58) The Senate also rejected a Democratic alternative to the full-year continuing resolution that would have reduced spending by $4.7 billion over the remainder of the 2011 fiscal year. Sen. Mark Udall voted NO Sen. Michael Bennet voted NO

Recent House Votes

FHA Refinance Program Termination Act – Vote Passed (256-171, 5 Not Voting) This bill would end a Federal Housing Administration program that helps homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth refinance their mortgages. The bill is unlikely to see action in the Senate. Rep. Ed Perlmutter voted NO  Emergency Mortgage Relief Program Termination Act – Vote Passed (242-177, 13 Not Voting) This House bill would terminate the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Emergency Homeowner Loan Program and redirect the unused funds to paying down the national debt. The program provides emergency loans to unemployed homeowners in certain states. The bill is unlikely to see action in the Senate. Rep. Ed Perlmutter voted NO

@JohnBoehner Doesn’t Get It!

In a speech late Tuesday night, Minority Leader and probable future Speaker John Boehner announced, “The people’s priorities will be our priorities, and the people’s agenda will be our agenda” (“Boehner: Election a ‘repudiation of Washington’“).  Based on this statement, I have to question Boehner’s commitment to the Constitution and conservative principles.  Just because the people have a certain priority or agenda doesn’t mean that Congress has the authority under the Constitution to pursue that priority or agenda.  I want the Constitution to be the House Republicans’ priority and agenda.

Democrats Won in Colorado Because of #TABOR

According to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, in September Colorado’s unemployment rate was 8.2% compared to the national rate of 9.6%.  In the 2010 ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitive Index, Colorado ranks 15th in economic performance and 2nd in economic outlook.  I think this is due in large part to the limitations TABOR (Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights) has put on taxes and government spending.

Since voters in Colorado aren’t hurting as much as voters in most other states, they weren’t as angry with Democrats and didn’t turn to Republicans in as large numbers.

Videos: Bobby Jindal Speaking at Rally For Economic Survival

Video:  “Bobby Jindal Speaking at Rally For Economic Survival“

Video:  “Bobby Jindal Speaking at Rally For Economic Survival – Part 2“

Summer Reading: Economics

The latest edition of the Centennial Review (July-August 2010), which is published by the Centennial Institute, features an article by Arthur C. Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute and author of The Battle: How the Fight between Free Enterprise and Big Government Will Shape America’s Future.

Videos: “Ken Buck and Sen. Jim DeMint”

Video:  “Ken Buck and Sen. Jim DeMint 1“

Video:  “Ken Buck and Sen. Jim DeMint 2“

Video:  “Ken Buck and Sen. Jim DeMint 3“

The Manchurian President by Aaron Klein with Brenda J. Elliott

In The Manchurian President (Washington, DC:  WorldNetDaily, 2010), Aaron Klein (on Facebook and Twitter) and Brenda J. Elliott (on Twitter) pick up where David Horowitz (with Richard Poe) and Michelle Malkin left off with The Shadow Party and Culture of Corruption, respectively.  Klein and Elliott clearly outline “Barack Obama’s Ties to Communists, Socialists, and Other Anti-American Extremists” as the cover promises.

One source often cited in the book is Trevor Loudon (on Facebook and Twitter), a libertarian blogger from New Zealand, on whose blog, New Zeal, you can read “The Obama Files” (106 files to date) in which Loudon traces Obama’s socialist/communist connections.  He (Loudon) is also a contributor to KeyWiki, which “is a bipartisan knowledge base focusing primarily on corruption and the covert side of politics in the United States and globally” (“KeyWiki:About“).

My only complaint about the book is that the fonts used for subheadings and page numbers make them difficult to read.

Summer Reading: Environment, Politics, and Fiction

Even more books to read:

• Steven W. Mosher and Thomas W. Fuller, Climategate: The CRUtape Letters
• William Voegeli, Never Enough: America’s Limitless Welfare State
• Dan Joseph, Generation Right: The Young Conservative in the Age of Obama
• Laura Ingraham, The Obama Diaries
• Glenn Beck, The Overton Window

Video: “Flotilla Choir presents: We Con the World”

Video:  “Flotilla Choir presents: We Con the World“