Month: September 2014

Are you as frustrated when you hear the news as I am?
I feel I want to be current with what’s happening in the world but the news is so bad.
I feel very helpless and negative when I hear it.
One day I just thought I would try sending up a little prayer. I just stop a moment and ask God to send His healing Divine light of peace on the world this day.
It did help and I feel I am at least sending positive vibrations into that day with God’s Love.
As it helped me I thought I should share it.
Do you want to try it?

Had an Arizona cc today, including Quentin Ferrell, NFIB’s man there. He says he’s pretty sure the R governor candidate, Dusey, can and will be brought aboard. Also, the incoming Speaker is a pledge signer who will be with us. Together, Ferrell thinks the Speaker and the Governor (assuming Dusey wins) can put the squeeze on Senate President Andy Biggs (who will win reelection as Senate President), force him to allow a floor vote.
This will only work if they are both totally on board — committed. They’re using precious political capital, and this is a pretty cerebral cause. What’s in it for them?
Lew Uhler says we should put AZ on the back burner. The only way we may get it is if it’s the 33rd or 34th state, and national public pressure is brought to bear.

That should be one of the main messages for every Republican running for office.
It’s a three – fer.
Illegal immigration.
Islamic terrorism.
Exotic diseases – like ebola.
Securing the border protects us from all three.
It’s a Republican issue that, I bet, 80% of the American people agree with.

So how do we get 38 states to ratify the BBA?
A) Congress lets state legislatures do it (Article V specifically gives Congress the authority to decide which ratification procedure will be followed). But more than 12, as many as 20-23, will be controlled by Democrats. CA, NY, MA, MD, Il, RI, VT, CT, DE are 9 sure no’s. Four more and it’s blocked. Dicey. But in states like WA, OR, MN and others R’s do better in the state legislature than they do statewide. D’s are concentrated in urban areas, where they win overwhelmingly. R’s are spread out in the rest of the state, and win by smaller margins.
B) Congress says each state must have a special ratification convention. This was done with the repeal of prohibition. This is probably the way to go. We lose the advantage we have in the urban/non-urban divide, but the delegates to the convention will have only one question to answer when they seek votes __ ratify or not ratify. Every poll I’ve ever seen says 65% of the people want a BBA. So I say we go for convention ratification.

Early 2015 saw Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, and South Dakota bring the total of Article V Resos to 28. People begin taking it seriously. Then Wisconsin, 29; Kentucky, 30; and South Carolina, 31. Efforts in Arizona, Utah, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Virginia came up short, but a clear path to 34 was visible. The subject was a major issue in the Virginia state legislative election in November, 2015, and when proponents of Article V achieved a majority in that election, it was assured that Virginia would be the 32nd state — two to go.
2015 also saw a spirited, and crowded, field of Republican candidates seeking the nomination of their party. They were all for a balanced budget amendment, with Kasich, Paul, Pence and Jindal all actively endorsing the use of Article V to achieve it. With the Virginia election proving that 34 was within reach, all four of these candidates became active in pushing the Reso in the remaining target states: AZ, UT, ID, OK, WV and VA. A victory early in 2016 in Utah brought the total to 32, and Virginia, in March of 2016, made it 33.
This was now a national news story, promoted heavily by all of the Republican candidates. The MSM was forced to cover the story, and it caught the public’s attention. When Arizona Senate President Andy Biggs was removed from the chair by a legislative coup, staged by proponents of Article V, it was above the fold, leading the news. Passage in Arizona made 34, and the political story became the reaction from Congress. The Chairman of House Judiciary, Bob Goodlatte, was well prepared, and quickly held a committee vote to officially aggregate the 34 Resolutions, named Philadelphia as the site of the Amendment Convention, and July 1, 2016 as the opening date. This was easily passed by the full House, followed by the Senate.
All of these actions were the subject of intense media coverage, and even low information voters began to realize that an actual balanced budget amendment might be passed, without Congress.
Lawsuits were filed by opponents, challenging several State Resolutions as being inadequate. But these were largely made moot by the addition of Idaho and Oklahoma, bringing the total to 36.
In every state the legislature met, to name their delegates, and instruct them. This is a big story in every state in the Union. More drama with the convening of the Convention, and the election of a presiding officer.
As July and August go by, the deliberations of the Convention share center stage with the ongoing Presidential campaigns. The Republican nominee embraced the whole process, and when the Convention passed its proposed Amendment in September, he quickly endorsed it.
My vision doesn’t include the Democratic nominee’s response. I have no idea what they would do. A BBA is supported by 75% of the people, and 65% of Democrats. Could they oppose it? I don’t know.
Needless to say, the BBA has to be a major issue, if not the major issue, of the remaining Presidential campaign. The Republican has a huge advantage. Not just on the BBA, but on Article V, and federalism. People don’t trust the federal government — they want its wings clipped. When they understand Article V gives them power to do it, they’ll embrace it, federalism, and the Republican.
A man can dream.

As I obsess over the size of the Republican resurgence (or, more precisely, the Obama rejection) which will come on Nov. 4, I worry about events which could dampen it. Back in ’95, fresh off the 1994 Republican wave that gave us a House Majority, we were sailing along — and then came McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing. It was used by the media to discredit all criticism of the Federal Leviathan, and our sails went limp.
Obama’s decision to go after the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria worried me at first. It could be a game changing event. Americans are pissed at these guys, and want them punished. If Obama managed to blow a bunch of these bastards up before November it would give his party a boost.
But the more you think about it, the less likely it is that Obama will take bold action, and be given credit for it. He’s clearly being reactive, and bowing to political pressure. His heart’s not in it, and his head is too empty to do it even if he wanted to.
I’ll make a personal admission — I think Obama’s right. Aside from securing Israel, we have no business in the Middle East. We’ve fracked our way out of dependence on it, and the only people who deserve support are the Kurds, who I do want to help. The rest of them should be encouraged to kill each other to their heart’s content.
Islam is a religion of war. Raping ten year old girls is OK — you just “marry” them first, as the Prophet himself did. These people are fanatics, who have nothing to contribute to the 21st century. I say get the hell out, and let God sort them out.
But, politically, that’s hard to do. So Obama has embraced a tar baby, it seems to me. And given his incompetence, and that of his inner circle, it’s almost guaranteed this whole thing will be a huge mess all the way to November and beyond. The only thing he’s got in his favor is the press, which will go overboard to defend whatever he does. But it won’t be enough.
So the wave has even more wind headed to its back. We could pick up ten seats in the Senate. And in addition to the Kentucky House, we could get Maine, or Oregon, along with strengthened majorities in places like Montana and Arizona.
In Arizona, that could mean additional State Senators, maybe enough to oust Andy Biggs from the Senate Presidency. Monday’s meeting with him went as I knew it would. He basically told us to fuck off. We’ll either get rid of Biggs, or go around him. If the latter, we may wait until we’ve got 33, then make our move.
Rep. Ken Ivory says he thinks we’ll get Utah next year. That’s a change in his tune. Though he’s a big supporter, he wasn’t even willing to try earlier this year. Rep. Kraig Powell stepped up, and we dang near won. I want Utah — it’s one of my four states, so I’ll be flying back to lobby and testify.
Signs are also very good in South Dakota. Hal Wick is feeling pretty good about 2015. We made a somewhat half-hearted effort this year, and still came within one vote.
With a substantial R majority (thank you, wave) we should get Montana. Hell, they got it in 2007 and 2011, so we can sure as hell get it again.
So my goal of having 31 by the end of 2015 looks doable. 24 plus WS, SC, KY, ND, SD, MT, WY and UT would be 32. Then we win big in the 2015 Virginia state legislative elections, and get it along with Idaho, Oklahoma, Arizona and West Virginia — that’s 37, giving us a margin for error.
Lord willing.