Christine O'Donnell likes Hillary Clinton for President in 2012

What?? This is from the I-ain't-believing-this Department.

On ABC's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday, Christine O'Donnell threw her support to an unexpected - and seemingly uninterested - potential 2012 presidential candidate: Hillary Clinton.
"I hope she runs for President," O'Donnell told ABC's George Stephanopoulos, adding that she would even consider becoming a Democrat in order to have the opportunity to vote for her.(link)

Cristy O'Donnell who was the darling of the Tea Party crowd, Cristy O'Donnell of the "I am not a witch" commercial, Cristy O'Donnell who lacked credentials to be elected, is really a RINO. (I think that is the first time I have ever said someone was a RINO.)

As Mark Rogers said about this on his Facebook post, "So the Wicked not-a-witch of Delaware would consider switching parties and voting for Hillary Clinton for President. All of you apologists for that dim bulb need to beat yourselves with whips and make other acts of penitence. That she got so many votes suggests there isn't much 'aware' in Delaware."

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The unemployment rate is up! It is time to cut the minimum wage.

The unemployment rate edged up to 9.8 percent in November. It went up,  not down. Things are not getting better. These unemployment numbers are not acceptable and Congress needs to take bold action to put people back to work. Instead of taking action to put people back to work however, the Democrats keep trying to raise taxes. Implementing record tax hikes as unemployment rises is just dumb. To stop the unemployment rate from rising higher, Congress should extend all of the Bush era tax cuts for starters. The second thing Congress needs to do it cut the minimum wage.

The Federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, which for a forty-hour work week is $290, about the same as a week of unemployment benefit. Critics will argue that one cannot support a family on $290 a week, and that is true.  However if one is on unemployment benefits one cannot support a family on $290 a week either. As Congress debates extending unemployment beyond the current 99 weeks of benefits, it should consider any extension tied to a reduction in the minimum wage.

There are people who could be put to work at $5.25 an hour who cannot be put to work at $7.25 an hour. At a lower wage rate, an employer may be willing to invest in training of a low-skilled worker whereas they may not be able to afford to do so at a higher rate of pay.  An employer considering outsourcing jobs overseas may not have to so if he could hire people to do the same work at less than $7.25 an hour  here in America. An employer considering reducing labor cost by automating jobs, may choose to not invest in labor-saving technology if labor rates were lower. An employer faced with the choice of laying off some workers or keeping everyone employed but cutting wages, is limited in cutting wages when the lowest wage possible is $7.25.

A low wage does not have to be the maximum one ever earns, but a low wage is often the first rung on the latter. A minimum wage of $7.25 makes that first rung out of reach for many people. Not everyone who works for minimum wage is supporting a family on that wage. Many families have two wage earners. A second wage earner earning a modest minimum wage, may keep a family from losing their home.  Many of the people who work for minimum wage are young adults still living at home. Working for less than $7.25 is better than not working at all.

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A move is afoot to close the primaries in Tennessee!

A move is afoot to close the primaries in Tennessee and I wholeheartedly support this move.

I admit that I have often voted in the Democratic Primary, usually the Davidson County primary but sometimes the State primary as well. Most of the time, there is not even a Davidson County Republican County primary and if one wants a voice in who holds the Courthouse seats, one has to vote in the Democratic Primary. When I have voted in the Democratic Primary, I have usually voted for the most conservative Democrat. I suspect there are some closet Republicans holding office as Democrats in Nashville. 

The effect of Republicans like myself voting in the Democratic primary is that by doing so we fail to build a Republican Party. Davidson County is a one-party town and unless primaries are closed it is likely to stay a one-party town. In much of East Tennessee the situation is reversed and many Democrats vote in Republican primaries. Also, if one Party's campaign is already pretty much a sure thing and the outcome can easily be predicted, members of that party are tempted to vote in the primary of the opposition Party where there is a real contest.

Republicans should not be allowed to choose the Democratic Party's nominee and Democrats should not be allowed to choose the Republican nominee. Moderates and independents will not like this move but anyone who believes the Parties should represent a set of clear values and present the public a clear choice should support it. 


Below is the facebook announcement of this move and a copy of the proposed resolution. Mark Winslow is a member of the Republican Party State Executive Committee. 

If you are a Republican and support the idea of closed primaries please contact your member of the State Executive Committee and urge them to support this resolution.

Standing Up for Tennessee Republicans

by Mark Winslow on Tuesday, November 30, 2010 at 6:24am

On Saturday our Tennessee Republican Party Executive Committee will meet in Nashville. At the meeting, a group of us will present the following resolution adopting the official position that our state should move to a system of registration by party and should structure our primaries so the political parties cannot interfere in other parties' primary elections and county party organization. Republicans deserve the opportunity to conduct our primaries free of influence from others and with the belief that we are selecting candidates who truly believe in the principles of limited conservative government. This is merely a long overdue first step and the final decision rests with the legislature and the new governor. But Republicans should know that their representatives at the Tennessee Republican Party are looking out for their best interests.


WHEREAS Tennesseans, on November 2, 2010, clearly and resoundingly affirmed their desire that conservative values are the guiding principles they wish to determine the future direction of our state.

WHEREAS the vote on November 2 completed a sixteen year transformation of Republicans to majority status in Tennessee.

WHEREAS the clearly voiced positions of Tennessee Republicans in favor of sound fiscal practices, respect for the value of human life, defense of our Second Amendment rights and opposition to a state income tax are the view of the majority of Tennesseans.

WHEREAS Tennessee law now permits participation in Republican primaries by those who do not act in the best interest of our party and the Republicans we represent.

WHEREAS the diminished status of the Democrat Party in Tennessee has lead to increased instances of coordinated crossover voting in Republican primaries with intent to influence Republican elections.

WHEREAS the bylaws of the Tennessee Republican Party are vague on the ability of non-Republicans to participate and influence the election of county party officers and committees.

WHEREAS a growing majority status for Republicans has resulted in increased participation and influence over county Republican conventions and caucuses by non-Republicans.

WHEREAS legislation to require voter registration in Tennessee has been proposed for the past three sessions of the General Assembly without moving to a vote of the full House and Senate.

WHEREAS it is the responsibility of the State Executive Committee to protect and promote participation in county party elections and Republican primaries by those who believe in the principles of the Republican Party.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by The State Executive Committee of the Tennessee Republican Party, in our capacity as the Republican State Primary Board, that we hereby adopt the official position that Tennessee should move to a system of registration by party.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State Executive Committee adopts the position that participation in state primary elections, federal primary elections and county organization should be limited to those registering to vote in the party of their choice.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the State Executive Committee directs the Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party to convey adoption of this position to the Governor of Tennessee, The Leadership of the Tennessee House of Representatives and the Leadership of the Tennessee Senate by transmitting a copy of this resolution to all Legislators Elected as Republicans serving in the 107th General Assembly as well as Governor Haslam. We further direct the Chairman to work with the Office of the Governor and the Legislature to promote this important matter and ensure its passage into law.

For other views:
Pick a Team @ Kay Brooks
TN GOP SEC to be Presented with Plan to Close Primaries@ Blue Collar Muse
TN GOP SEC to Consider Closed Primaries by Brian Hornback @ Brian’s Blog
They are Open if You’re Republican or Democrat by Stacy Campfield @ Camp4U

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Right the wrong and redraw the districts!

by guest blogger J. Lee Douglas

It's been a good harvest and now we need to get the grain to the threshing floor.

Ten years ago in 2001, Jimmy Naifeh and seventy-eight power-hungry democrats agreed to redraw Tennessee's nine US congressional districts into serpentine patterns that grouped conservative-leaning neighborhoods into one single district that would give conservatives such as Marsha Blackburn an almost 95% voter selection. Among conservatives, she could almost not lose because the bulk of conservatives were strategically placed in her district. Sucks, eh? Get mad!!

The net effect for the democrats was that the remaining areas would contain conservatives who would be the minority and never able to have a fair chance to choose someone who might represent their views. An example of this thievery is Jim Cooper's district which consists mostly of Davidson County which was drawn in a way to almost guarantee his election regardless of his obedience to Madame Pelosi.

Look below at the Tennessee congressional map and notice Marsha Blackburn's (teal) district #7 how it runs from outside of Memphis, pinches off where Williamson and Hickman counties touch and then all the way to the Kentucky border in middle Tennessee north of Clarksville! Is that reasonable division of the populous? Mad yet?

This was done for the simple reason that these geographic areas are largely conservative and doing the districting this way creates an imbalance that gives a material edge to people such as Cooper or Lincoln Davis. The math becomes that we get one, they get two, three or four!

The irony? You are disenfranchised and the dems accuse you of their crime and the Tennessean carries their story. Get this, the dems who controlled all houses of the state were so happy with their divisions of congressional districts that from 1902 for sixty years they refused to reapportion the districts and finally relinquished when the US Supreme Court ordered reapportionment in 1962. Let's now act to have this injustice righted. Let's also lobby all of our representatives to NOT do to them what they did to us. We'll reap what we sow. Trust me, justice will prevail.

With the 2010 census now being complete, the new republican legislative body has a chance to right this wrong and to insure that conservative, fair policies and block redrawing of the districts takes place January 11, at the beginning of the next legislative session.

J. Lee Douglas is a practicing dentist in Brentwood Tennessee. He is married, father of four and grandfather of five. He established a Christian dental/medical clinic in Iraq in 1996 and had done oil and gas exploration in West Africa and lived for several years in Switzerland.  He is a local political activist and a Middle Tennessee leader in the TEA party movement and helped start the 9-12 Project Tennessee within 3 months of President Obama’s taking office. Prior to that time he had not been involved in political activity.

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