Jim Webb's Unbelievable Hypocrisy

Exactly how stupid does Jim Webb think we Virginians are? Does he actually believe that we have not followed his voting record and the fact that he has been nothing but a lap dog of the Obama Democrats? Check out the chutzpuh he sent with his latest re-election email. It is an exceept from the RealClearPolitics website on Monday, November 8, 2010:

Jim Webb went to the White House last September. The Virginia senator was meeting with the president to discuss Guantanamo detainees. The conversation soon shifted to healthcare. "I told him this was going to be a disaster," Webb recalls. "The president believed it was all going to work out."

And Jim Webb must have believed it too, otherwise he would not have cast a "Yea" vote for cloiture and for passage of the bill. And now, Webb is saying it was a bad thing? Six months too late, Jimmy boy!

And check this out:

"I've been warning them," Webb says, sighing, resting his chin on his hand. "I've been having discussions with our leadership ever since I've been up here. I decided to run as a Democrat because I happen to strongly believe in Jacksonian democracy. There needs to be one party that very clearly represents the interests of working people ... I'm very concerned about the transactional nature of the Democratic Party. Its evolved too strongly into interest groups rather than representing working people, including small business people."

Uh-huh. This is why Jimmy voted for the bailouts and the failed stimulus package that served to do nothing except reward unions and government workers who voted Democrats into office.

Webb's comments and his emails are nothing less than insulting. I know what he has been doing over the past four years and it does not at all reflect his comments of late.

I'll say it point blank: Jim Webb is a liar. He is lying about his record because he knows that in two years, the Commonwealth of Virginia is going to work very hard to toss him back out and put in a new Senator who will actually respresent Virginia rather than be a rubber stamp for a political party. He was very happy to vote the way the Democrats told him to vote (even when it went against the wishes of Vorginia) and now he sees how wrong he was to do so. But instead of admitting his own culpability, he is making an early effort to distance himself from it by telling outright lies to people.

Supporters of Webb and his staff are especially welcome to respond to this post. I'll be very happy to compare the liar Webb's current statements with his voting record. He can lie all he wants, but his record will always tell the truth about what he really believes.

Letters To Jim Webb And Mark Warner Concerning Retroactive Taxing Of Bonuses

Here are copies of the letters I emailed to Senators Webb and Warner concerning the retroactive taxes Congress wants to impose on the bonuses to be paid to employees of AIG.

Feel free to copy and paste this message and send it to your own Senators:

[Senator], I am writing you to ask you to vote "Nay" on the upcoming bill that would impose retroactive taxes on bonuses paid out to AIG employees. Whether those bonuses are right or wrong, good or bad, is immaterial to my concern here. I am concerned about the integrity of the Constitution of the United States of America. Specifically, Article I, Section 9, Clause 3 which clearly and unambiguously states: "No Bill of Attander or Ex Post Facto law shall be passed." HR1586 which passed the House yesterday falls, by definition, under that clause in two ways. First, a Bill of Attainder, in the context of the Constitution, means a bill that has a negative effect on a single person or group. A punitive tax that specifically targets a certain group (e.g. those who were to receive these bonuses) certainly falls under the definition here. That makes this tax unconstitutional. Second, when Congress passed the stimulus package and Barack Obama put the Presidential signature on that bill, it became the law of the land. Part of that law is an amendment put in by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) that specifically exempted these bonuses from any regulation. Now, Congress is seeking to implement a law that puts such regulation in place and they want to enforce this law retroactively. That is known as an Ex Post Facto law. This too makes this legislation unconstitutional. Either way you look at it, this 90% tax Congress wants to retroactively impose on bonus payments that had previously been made perfectly legal by Congress and the President, is wholly, completely and absolutely unconstitutional. Anyone who would willingly violate a single provision of the Constitution would most certainly be willing to violate any other provision. Please do not be such a person. Please vote "Nay" on the Senate version of HR1586 and preserve the integrity of the Constitution. Thank you.

As I wrote earlier, if this becomes law and is not struck down by the Supreme Court, the Republic will be in grave danger.

Letters to Senators Web And Warner About The Porkulus/Spendulus Spending Bill

Here is the text of a letter that I will be faxing/emailing this morning to Senators Webb and Warner, both liberal Democrats from Virginia. Feel free to copy/paste the letter and fax or email it in yourself. Contact information is provided below.

Dear [Senator], I am writing this letter to ask you to vote “Nay” on S. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This bill was a bad idea from the beginning. It will cost $1.3 trillion that we do not have, and $1.3 trillion that our children and grandchildren will have to work to pay off. And, given the new revelations of health care provisions (which have nothing to do with stimulating the economy) that were stealthily inserted into this bill, it is even more imperative that you vote against it. In particular, I am referring to Title VII, the subsection titled “Agency for Healthcare and Research Quality.” It states: "That the funding appropriated in this paragraph shall be used to accelerate the development and dissemination of research assessing the comparative clinical effectiveness of health care treatments and strategies, including through efforts that: (1) conduct, support, or synthesize research that compares the clinical outcomes, effectiveness, and appropriateness of items, services, and procedures that are used to prevent, diagnose, or treat diseases, disorders, and other health conditions and (2) encourage the development and use of clinical registries, clinical data networks, and other forms of electronic health data that can be used to generate or obtain outcomes data: Provided further, That the Secretary shall enter into a contract with the Institute of Medicine, for which no more than $1,500,000 shall be made available from funds provided in this paragraph, to produce and submit a report to the Congress and the Secretary by not later than June 30, 2009 that includes recommendations on the national priorities for comparative clinical effectiveness research to be conducted or supported with the funds provided in this paragraph and that considers input from stakeholders: Provided further, That the Secretary shall consider any recommendations of the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Clinical Effectiveness Research established by section 802 of this Act" This is very dangerous wording and will lead us to the socialized health care systems that have wreaked havoc on the people of Canada and Europe. Essentially, it allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a standard of who and what can be treated by doctors and hospitals and who and what cannot. In other words, it will permit the Federal Government to approve or disapprove of a doctor’s recommended treatment of a patient. It will effectively allow the Federal Government to over-ride a doctor’s decision. Given the fact that these bureaucrats will have little to no medical training themselves, that alone is reason enough to oppose this bill. Further, this provision was hidden in this bill for a specific reason. Tom Daschle, the tax-evading former HHS appointee, wrote in his 2008 book, Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis, that he supported the failed socialized medicine plan of the Clintons in 1994 and said that its failure was due to delay. (In actuality, the American people do not want the government making medical decisions for them.) Hence, Daschle wrote “If that means attaching a health-care plan to the federal budget, so be it. The issue is too important to be stalled by Senate protocol.” Thus, this socialized medicine provision was written in to the bill during some late-night session when the cameras were not rolling and the Republicans had been locked out of the proceedings. Please vote “Nay.” On this bill and help to preserve quality health care for Virginia and America and to protect our children and grandchildren from a debt that they had no hand in creating. Thank you.

Senator Webb's contact information:

Fax: 202-228-6363
On-line contact: Contact Senator Webb

Senator Warner's contact information:

Fax: 202-224-6295
On-line contact: Contact Senator Warner

Democrats Force Higher Energy Costs On America: Ban Exploration Of Oil Rich Lands

Get ready for higher energy costs courtesy of the Democrat-controlled Congress. The Senate voted 66-12 to ensure that we Americans remain dependent on foreign oil to satisfy the needs of our economy. What is even worse is that now, we will be at the mercy of OPEC more than ever before in our history.

For those of you from Virginia, you'll note that the very first legislative action of Senator Mark Warner was to ensure that we Virginians are paying higher prices for our energy needs. You'll also noted that Jim Webb voted that way as well.

Writing for Town Hall, Amanda Carpenter has this to say:

The 1200-page, pork-laden, $10 billion proposal locks up millions of acres of energy-rich property by designating it as environmentalist-friendly “federal wilderness” area where not even as much as a bicycle would be permitted to travel across the land. Many of these areas recently became available when the ban on domestic drilling in Western states expired last fall and the liberal left couldn’t muster the courage to keep it in place due to rising energy prices. Now Democratic leaders are using different legislative strategies to put a new kind of ban in place.

The Dems have deluded themsleves into believing that some form of alternative energy is going to come to our rescue within the next four years. Don't hold your breath over it. Oil is still the most economical energy source we have and no matter how much money we put into solar or wind or pixie dust, alternative energy sources will not be able to make up for the amount of energy we will be losing because of this land grab.

More:

For example, one piece of the bill that has drawn the ire of the Wall Street Journal is a provision sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank (D.-Mass.). He’d like to make a robust, container shipping port located in his district’s Taunton River into a scenic tourist destination. This would have the liberally convenient side effect of killing a proposal to create a terminal to import liquefied natural gas.

Again, this will have the effect of forcing energy prices higher. But will Barney Frank, Jim Webb and Mark Warner care? No! They have all the perks they need as members of Congress and no reason to care about the needs of Joe and Jane Average American.

And no bill shoved through Congress using the new Democrat rules that bar Republicans from offering alternative legislation or bringing in testimony from opposing viewpoints would be complete without loads of pork.

Read on:

Then, as to be expected in an omnibus bill, there’s the pork. California Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D.) is requesting $461 million to legally settle a dispute over the San Joaquin River with the environmentalist group Natural Resources Defense Council. The money would be used for a water project that has the “minimum goal” of restoring 500 salmon to the river. (That’s nearly $1 million per fish!) Montana Sen. Jon Tester (D.) wants $5 million to fund a “Wolf Compensation and Prevention Program” to assist property owners use “non-lethal” measures to prohibit wolves from killing their livestock.

Didn't Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid promise fiscal responsibility when they took over in 2006? Weren't they complaining that the Republicans were waiting resources and pushing energy prices higher?

The Dems lied to us back in 2006 and again in 2008. We are in for some very long years ahead, possibly even a new Great Depression and the Democrats will only have themselves to blame for it.

You can access the complete article on-line here:

Harry Reid’s Land Grab
Amanda Carpenter
TownHall.com
January 10, 2009

To see how they voted, click here:

How They Voted On S. 22
United States Senate
January 11, 2008

$33 Million Lakside Resort Owned By UAW Exposes Jim Webb's Hypocrisy

You know, one of the things that really angers me is arrogant hypocrisy. What I mean by that is a "Do as I say, not as I do" attitude. As the proud father of a newborn baby boy, I can honestly say that I will teach my son to never engage in such behavior. I only wish that the full-grown politicians who ride roughshod over us would live by the same rules we teach our children to live by.

To wit, there is an interesting story from Fox News that came out on December 26th concerning a resort owned by the United Auto Workers and financed by the Big Three Automakers through union negotiated contracts.

You all may recall that I wrote letters to my Congressional Representatives concerning the proposed bailout of Detroit. I noted that legacy costs such as the Jobs Bank program were forcing higher costs on the Big Three and that was why they were facing backruptcy. I further noted that many small businesses here in Virginia were in danger of failing but that no one was talking about bailing them out.

Well, I did get a response back from Jim Webb. In his response, he noted that the Big Three executives recieved much higher salaries when compared to the executives of foreign automakers and proposed forcing the U.S. executives to take a parity of salary. It should also be noted that Senator Webb never made one single mention of the plight of small businesses here in Virginia nor did he express any concern their situation.

This brings me to the point of the above mentioned arrogant hypocrisy. If we are to take such a negative view of the American Automakers executives' salaries, then we must also look at the perks that the officers of the UAW are enjoying. One of those perks is a UAW owned golf course that has bled off $23 million over the past five years.

From Fox News:

Even as the industry struggles with massive losses, the UAW brass continue to own and operate a $33 million lakeside retreat in Michigan, complete with a $6.4 million designer golf course. And it's costing them millions each year. The UAW, known more for its strikes than its slices, hosts seminars and junkets at the Walter and May Reuther Family Education Center in Onaway, Mich., which is nestled on "1,000 heavily forested acres" on Michigan's Black Lake, according to its Web site. But the Black Lake club and retreat, which are among the union's biggest fixed assets, have lost $23 million in the past five years alone, a heavy albatross around the union's neck as it tries to manage a multibillion-dollar pension plan crisis.

So, if we are to take Jim Webb seriously about his proposal of forcing executives to accept parity of salary, should we not also impose the same standard on the UAW officers who live the high life while the rest of America (most of whom can't afford to spend time at high class resorts like the UAW does) floats them?

Or how about applying that same standard to Congress and other government officials? Should we not also impose "parity of salary" on them as well? According to the Census Bureau, the median household income in the United States in 2007 was $50,233.00. Thus, government officials, if they truly believe themselves to be the servants of the people and to be in touch with the peoples' needs, should only accept salaries of $50,233.00 per year. If they are not willing to accept such parity for themselves, then they certainly should not be suggesting that it be imposed upon others.

But I am certain that Jim Webb lacks the integrity necessary to make such a bold stand. He has no problem imposing his standards on others, but will resist to the end any attempt at imposing those same standards on himself.

If any of the bailout money that President Bush released to finance the Big Three ends up floating that resort, it will serve as proof that the Democrats were more interested in repaying the UAW for political support than they were in bailing out the Big Three.

You can access the complete article on-line here:

Autoworkers Union Keeps $6 Million Golf Course For Members At $33 Million Lakeside Retreat
FoxNews.com
December 26, 2008

Jim Webb Thinks We Virginians Are Stupid

Well, we've seen the effects of the bailout that both Senators Webb and Warner voted for to the tune of $905 billion. Stock markets are crashing. They would have crashed anyway, but now we are paying an extra $905 billion for it.

Before the Senate vote, I faxed letters to my Senators about my opposition to the bailout (as did about 80% of the rest of America). And Jim Webb responded with an email. Here is a portion of what he wrote to me:

For many years, I have said that the current Administration has failed to exercise appropriate oversight of the nation's banking and corporate sectors, and has promoted policies that reward Wall Street at the expense of Main Street. The Administration's actions are largely responsible for our current economic crisis, which resulted in President Bush's September 2008 proposal to help restore soundness to U.S. credit markets.

Now, either Webb is completely ignorant of recent history or he is deliberately lying to me hoping that I am too stupid to see through the lie.

The truth is that several times since 1999, the Republicans have tried to enact reform of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. You can read my earlier blog posts about how people like Senator Chris Dodd and Representative Barney Frank have stonewalled those efforts by saying that they saw no problem at all.

Democrats Will Not Talk About Freddie Or Fannnie
84rules
October 7, 2008

Pelosi Declares Hearngs On Housing Crisis: Barney Frank To Co-Chair
84rules
October 3, 2008

Crony Capitalism Is The Root Cause Of Freddie And Fannie Troubles: Democrats At The Center Of It All
84rules
September 27, 2008

And a more in depth look at Barney Frank's statements about Freddie and Fannie over the past several years:

Barney Frank: Lies And Damned Lies About Freddie And Fannie
84rules
September 24, 2008

And he also wrote this little tidbit:

I opposed the original hastily-written and woefully inadequate financial sector bailout bill proposed by President Bush. In the nearly two weeks after the President's proposal, the U.S. Congress radically changed the original bill to better protect taxpayers and to ensure greater Congressional oversight. I am pleased that the bipartisan compromise legislation to stabilize our nation's economic system (H.R.1424), which the Senate passed on October 1, 2008 by a bipartisan vote of 74-25, bore no resemblance to the original Bush proposal.

Now, the only real difference between the original bill and the one Webb voted for was over $150 billion in earmarks and pork. Thus, if we follow Webb's own words, the only reason he voted for the second version was because it contained so much irresponsible spending! Look at all the wooden arrows Webb voted for! Look at all the Rum from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Webb voted for! Webb voted to give Hollywood a $500 million tax break for making movies! Those are among the the differences between the original bill and the bill that the Senate passed!

So, Senator Webb either has the most incompetent research staff in the Senate, or he is deliberately lying to us Virginians about the true causes of the current financial crisis and the true reasons he voted for it. Or another theory is that he is simply toting the Democrat Party line because that is what he was told to do by his political masters even if it means going against the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Anyway you cut it, he must really think that we Virginians are stupid.

We need to make sure that he is a one-term Senator and then elect someone who will actually represent Virginia rather than the interests of the Democrats.

Congress Passes Legislation That Hands American Taxpayers The Largest Bill In History

All the scaremongers said that it was necessary to avert a credit crisis.

Credit crisis?

Where? I was still getting credit card offers through the mail. A 20-year-old friend of mine just got approved for a car loan. Student loans are still being approved. Small businesses are still able to get loans. Exactly where is the "credit crisis?"

Only on Wall Street. And Congress has now authorized the President to screw the American Taxpayer with over $805 billion in responsibilities. Maybe our children will be able to pay this off, but those of us living on Main Street just got served notice that the Federal Government cares more about the people who make big campaign donations than they do about the American people.

From the Associated Press:

The final vote, 263-171 in the House, a comfortable margin that was 58 more votes than it garnered on Monday. The vote capped two weeks of tumult in Congress and on Wall Street, punctuated by daily warnings that the country confronted the gravest economic crisis since the Great Depression if lawmakers failed to act. Bush was poised to make a statement on the historic vote. "We all know that we are in the midst of a financial crisis," House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio, said shortly before casting his vote for government intervention in private capital markets that was unthinkable only a month ago. "And we know that if we do nothing, this crisis is likely to worsen and to put us into an economic slump like most of us have never seen."

And this bailout is going to put us in a situation like none of us have ever seen!

Here is what I see:

- Wall Street Big Wigs and the Congressional recipients of their donations are stuffing my tax dollars into their pockets.
- Numerous recipients of earmarks and pork stuffing my tax dollars in their pockets.
- My gasoline prices going up because some idiot inserted a carbon tax into the bill my and stupid fool Senators (Webb and Warner) and Representative (Wolf) completely missed it!

Here is what I don't see:

- Accountability from those who caused this mess.
- I don't see Chris Dodd (D-CT) or Barney Frank (D-MA) being hauled before a Congressional committee to give account of how they blocked Republicans from enacting the reform that could averted this whole mess and saved us $805 billion dollars.
- I don't see Franklin Raines being hauled before a Congressional committee to explain how he made $90 million while Fannie was losing money.
- I don't see that the progenitor of this whole thing, the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act, has been repealed which means that banks and lending institutions are still being forced to make bad loans.

Let's see who the big winners really were:

Sec. 101. Extension of alternative minimum tax relief for nonrefundable personal credits.
Sec. 102. Extension of increased alternative minimum tax exemption amount.
Sec. 103. Increase of AMT refundable credit amount for individuals with longterm unused credits for prior year minimum tax liability, etc.
Sec. 201. Deduction for State and local sales taxes.
Sec. 202. Deduction of qualified tuition and related expenses.
Sec. 203. Deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers.
Sec. 204. Additional standard deduction for real property taxes for nonitemizers.
Sec. 205. Tax-free distributions from individual retirement plans for charitable purposes.
Sec. 206. Treatment of certain dividends of regulated investment companies.
Sec. 207. Stock in RIC for purposes of determining estates of nonresidents not citizens.
Sec. 208. Qualified investment entities.
Sec. 301. Extension and modification of research credit.
Sec. 302. New markets tax credit.
Sec. 303. Subpart F exception for active financing income.
Sec. 304. Extension of look-thru rule for related controlled foreign corporations.
Sec. 305. Extension of 15-year straight-line cost recovery for qualified leasehold improvements and qualified restaurant improvements; 15-year straight-line cost recovery for certain improvements to retail space.
Sec. 306. Modification of tax treatment of certain payments to controlling exempt organizations.
Sec. 307. Basis adjustment to stock of S corporations making charitable contributions of property.
Sec. 308. Increase in limit on cover over of rum excise tax to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Sec. 309. Extension of economic development credit for American Samoa.
Sec. 310. Extension of mine rescue team training credit.
Sec. 311. Extension of election to expense advanced mine safety equipment.
Sec. 312. Deduction allowable with respect to income attributable to domestic production activities in Puerto Rico.
Sec. 313. Qualified zone academy bonds.
Sec. 314. Indian employment credit.
Sec. 315. Accelerated depreciation for business property on Indian reservations.
Sec. 316. Railroad track maintenance. Sec. 317. Seven-year cost recovery period for motorsports racing track facility.
Sec. 318. Expensing of environmental remediation costs.
Sec. 319. Extension of work opportunity tax credit for Hurricane Katrina employees.
Sec. 320. Extension of increased rehabilitation credit for structures in the Gulf Opportunity Zone.
Sec. 321. Enhanced deduction for qualified computer contributions.
Sec. 322. Tax incentives for investment in the District of Columbia.
Sec. 323. Enhanced charitable deductions for contributions of food inventory.
Sec. 324. Extension of enhanced charitable deduction for contributions of book inventory.
Sec. 325. Extension and modification of duty suspension on wool products; wool research fund; wool duty refunds.
Sec. 401. Permanent authority for undercover operations. v Sec. 402. Permanent authority for disclosure of information relating to terrorist activities.
Sec. 501. $8,500 income threshold used to calculate refundable portion of child tax credit.
Sec. 502. Provisions related to film and television productions.
Sec. 503. Exemption from excise tax for certain wooden arrows designed for use by children.
Sec. 504. Income averaging for amounts received in connection with the Exxon Valdez litigation.
Sec. 505. Certain farming business machinery and equipment treated as 5-year property.
Sec. 506. Modification of penalty on understatement of taxpayer's liability by tax return preparer.
Sec. 512. Mental health parity.
Sec. 601. Secure rural schools and community self-determination program.
Sec. 602. Transfer to abandoned mine reclamation fund.
Sec. 702. Temporary tax relief for areas damaged by 2008 Midwestern severe storms, tornados, and flooding.
Sec. 703. Reporting requirements relating to disaster relief contributions.
Sec. 704. Temporary tax-exempt bond financing and low-income housing tax relief for areas damaged by Hurricane Ike.
Sec. 706. Losses attributable to federally declared disasters.
Sec. 707. Expensing of Qualified Disaster Expenses.
Sec. 708. Net operating losses attributable to federally declared disasters.
Sec. 709. Waiver of certain mortgage revenue bond requirements following federally declared disasters.
Sec. 710. Special depreciation allowance for qualified disaster property.
Sec. 711. Increased expensing for qualified disaster assistance property.
Sec. 712. Coordination with Heartland disaster relief.
Sec. 801. Nonqualified deferred compensation from certain tax indifferent parties.

And don't forget Sec. 117. The carbon tax. Now the Feds can royally screw our economy just like the governments in Europe are screwing theirs!

At least I can say one thing that is a bit of a relief. This bailout is going to ultimately fail and the economy is going to crash (we cannot keep the markets artificially inflated like this) and it looks like Barack Obama is going to win this election. The crash will happen on his watch and he will have no one to blame except himself and the Democrat-controlled Congress.

You can access the complete article on-line here:

Congress OKs Historic Bailout Bill
Julie Hirschfeld and David Espo
Associated Press via Breitbart
October 3, 2008

Phone Numbers For Senators Webb And Warner

If you are a Virginian, please call these two men and tell them to vote "No" on the Wall Street Bailout!

Warner: (202) 224-2023
Webb: 202-224-4024

Jim Webb Embarrasses And Disappoints Virginia Yet Again By Showing His Complete Ignorance Of War Experience Issue

How many times is this guy going break his 2006 campaign promise of being an independent? Now he is sticking his nose in where it doesn't belong and making unsolicited comments about an issue on which he appears to be completely ignorant.

According to The Hill:

Webb, a Barack Obama supporter, was on MSNBC's "Countdown" to talk about his G.I. Bill to increase education benefits for returning veterans which is now law. Webb criticized both McCain and President Bush for not supporting the bill. Then, unprompted, Webb weighed in on the debate over retired Gen. Wesley Clark's remark that "riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down" isn't "a qualification to be president." "I think what we really need to work on over the next four, five months, and it goes back to the speech that Sen. Obama gave [Monday] and this little fight that I've been watching and that is, we need to make sure that we take politics out of service," Webb said. "People don't serve their country for political issues." He continued: "And John McCain's my long-time friend, if that is one area that I would ask him to calm down on, it`s that, don't be standing up and uttering your political views and implying that all the people in the military support them because they don't, any more than when the Democrats have political issues during the Vietnam War. Let's get the politics out of the military, take care of our military people, or have our political arguments in other areas."

And this shows exactly how ignorant Webb is. It is not the McCain camp who keeps bringing up John McCain's military service, it is the Obama camp that keeps bringing it up. You would think that Webb, as an Obama supporter, would know this. How he has deluded himself into thinking otherwise is a mystery. The only explanation that makes sense here is that the DNC is artificially pushing this issue to help sugar coat the fact that Barack Obama has no military experience at all.

But, let us remember that it was General Wesley Clark who started this firestorm with comments he made on CBS's Face The Nation. Here is what he said:

"In the matters of national security policy making, it's a matter of understanding risk," Clark said "It's a matter of gauging your opponents, and it's a matter of being held accountable. John McCain's never done any of that in his official positions. I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in the armed forces, as a prisoner of war. "He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee and he has traveled all over the world, but he hasn't held executive responsibility," Clark said. "That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded - that wasn't a wartime squadron." Clark has said as much before, but drew little notice. CBS moderator Bob Schieffer cited Clark's earlier remarks and noted that Obama hadn't had those experiences either nor had he ridden in a fighter plane and been shot down. "Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president," Clark replied.

But General Clark didn't hold that viewpoint in 2004 with Sen. John Kerry's Presidential Campaign. When Kerry made his wartime service a centerpiece, Gen. Clark and Jim Webb were perfectly okay with it. Now, whenever the GOP and McCain respond to the hypocisy of the Dems who have been attacking McCain's wartime record, they cry foul.

And if asked what experience Barack Obama has in those areas, the answer from Clark and Webb would be complete silence.

Clearly, Webb is positioning himself to go from campaign surrogate to Barack Obama's rubber-stamp, lapdog VP running-mate and is even offering unsolicited talking points to do so.

But Senator McCain has the best rebuttal to Webb and Clark:

McCain himself said, "If that's the kind of campaign Sen. Obama and his surrogates and supporters want to engage in, I understand that. But it doesn't reduce the price of gas by one penny. It doesn't achieve our energy independence or make it come any closer. Doesn't make any American stay in their home who's at risk of losing it today. And it certainly doesn't do anything to address the challenges Americans have in keeping their jobs, homes and supporting their families."

Webb is a typical Dem in that he does not want to discuss the real issues facing us.

We, the people of the Commonwealth of Virginia, were hoping for much better out of that man. He has been nothing but a colossal embarassment and disappointment to us.

You can access the complete articles on-line here:

Webb: McCain Should 'Calm Down' On Using Military Service
Walter Alarkin
The Hill
July 1, 2008

Obama Disowns Critique Of McCain's Military Record
Beth Fouhy
My Way News
July 1, 2008

Obama Supporters Attacking McCain's War Record And Senator Jim Webb Embarrasses Virginia Again

Back in 2000 and 2004, the libs were all about the fact that their candidates had war records while President Bush had National Guard service only. Now, the libs have a candidate who doesn't even have National Guard service while the Republicans have war hero John McCain. You think the libs would respect that? Not in the least bit.

From The Politico:

The highest voltage third rail of this presidential campaign may not be race, sex, or age, but Senator John McCain's military service. McCain's campaign Sunday issued a pair of outraged statements after retired general and Barack Obama supporter Wesley Clark said he didn't think that McCain’s service as a fighter pilot and prisoner of war was relevant to running the country.

Wesley Clark, if you will recall, was a political appointee (by Bill Clinton) at NATO and damn near started a war with Russia because of his antics in Kosovo. The Brits stopped him from going over the edge.

More:

Obama and the Democratic establishment haven't challenged McCain's record. Indeed, even Clark's words came in response to a direct question from CBS's Bob Schieffer on the specific relevance of McCain's service to the presidency. West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller in April cut a bit closer, suggesting that McCain's days as a fighter pilot were themselves a critique of his character. "What happened when they [the missiles] get to the ground?" he asked. "He doesn't know. You have to care about the lives of people. McCain never gets into those issues." Rockefeller promptly, abjectly apologized, praising McCain's "honorable and noble service to our country" and deploring his own "inaccurate and wrong analogy." His apology reflected a conventional political wisdom that McCain's heroism is too well established, and a climate of respect for soldiers too strong, for attacks on his service to do anything but backfire.

But that hasn't been stopping Obama's surrogates.

David Fenton, a prominent progressive public relations executive who works for MoveOn.org and other groups, also inquired to old anti-Vietnam War circles about details of McCain's Navy sorties, a source familiar with the inquiries told Politico. Fenton declined to comment on the inquiries, and a person familiar with them said they were unconnected to his work for MoveOn. Some anti-war activists link McCain's current position on Iraq to his time in Vietnam. "I wouldn't characterize anybody who fought in Vietnam as a war hero," said Medea Benjamin, a co-founder of the theatrical anti-war group Code Pink. "In 23 bombing sorties, there must have been civilians that were killed and there's no heroism to that." "Anyone who can't look back and admit how wrong it was to be in Vietnam and be killing civilians deserves to be challenged," she said, though she stressed that her group is more focused on McCain's present support for the war in Iraq than on his past. ... A search of Obama’s community website, my.BarackObama.com, finds two posts calling McCain a “war criminal.”

If Obama truly wants to keep his promise about not criticizing John McCain's war service, he should also tells his supporters to refrain from criticizing as well.

You can access the complete column on-line here:

Some On Left Target McCin's War Record
Ben Smith
The Politico
June 30, 2008

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And Senator Jim Webb is still providing no end of embarrassment to the Commonwealth of Virginia. This time, he is using his Senatorial power for personal gain. When Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the House, she insisted that she be given an entire Boeing 757 to transport herself, family and staff back and forth from San Francisco, despite the fact that the former Speaker only had a Gulf Stream jet to transport himself back home.

From Human Events Online:

According to Senate sources, Senator Jim Webb is now staging a similar struggle for family travel. Sen. Webb has “holds” on four Department of Defense nominees. The nominees are Hon. Nelson M. Ford to be Under Secretary of the Army; Mr. Joseph A. Benkert to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Security Affairs; Mr. Sean J. Stackley to be Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition; and Mr. Frederick S. Celec to be Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Chemical and Biological Defense Programs. Their nominations can’t be voted on while the “holds” remain. Behind the scenes, Sen. Webb has told colleagues the holds are punishment for the Pentagon failing to provide him answers relating to Blackwater Worldwide, the security firm routinely used by the Pentagon. However, multiple Senate sources report the real reason for the hold is far different and very personal. Sen. Webb is expected to travel on a tax-payer funded junket to Southeast Asia. He wants both his wife and his 18 month old child to accompany him without having to pay reimbursement to the government. Unfortunately, according to a March 9, 2007, letter from Senators Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), while spouses are permitted to go with the Senator, “relatives of Senators (other than spouses) will not be permitted to travel with Senate delegations.” While none of this controversy has been made public, a senior Republican aide provided a me with a copy of Defense Secretary Robert Gates’s letter of June 26, 2008 to Senator Webb. The letter “follow[ed] up on [their] recent phone conversation and respond[ed] to [Senator Webb’s] letter regarding a training facility proposed by Blackwater Worldwide in Otay Mesa, CA.” Senator Webb’s letter asked a number of questions about Blackwater Worldwide. Gates’ response curiously goes on to the real reason for Webb’s feud with the Pentagon, “You asked me about the differences between the Department’s policy on military air travel for DoD dependents and for family of members of Congress.” Senate sources say Senator Webb most likely made it clear on the phone, and not in writing to the Secretary of Defense, that his hold was as much related to personal travel as it was to Blackwater. Curiously, and relevant to the speculation, Secretary Gates felt the need to add a paragraph to his letter about travel of “relatives other than spouses” of members of Congress. A Senate Republican aide said, “Webb is suggesting that he is holding nominations as punishment for not getting answers back from questions relating to Blackwater, but in reality, it is leverage to get the Secretary to let his wife and eighteen month old both accompany him on this trip.” With the Secretary of Defense’s admonition to Senator Webb that “Senate travel is governed by a memo signed by the Senate leadership dated March 9, 2007, specifically stating that relatives other than spouses are not permitted to travel with Senate delegations” and “DoD Directive 4515.12 prescribes policy for DoD travel support for members of Congress” in a manner reflecting the Senate policy, Senator Webb has run out of legitimate reasons for his holds.

The really sad part is that Webb makes enough royalties from his pedophile themed books to cover this trip from his own pocket and doesn't need us hard-working taxpayers to fund it for him.

The Commonwealth of Virginia is looking forward to getting rid of this worthless waste of flesh in the next four years.

You can access the complete article on-line here:

Jim Webb Pulls A Pelosi
Erick Erickson
Human Events Online
June 30, 2008

Senate Approves Federal Budget That Would End Bush Tax Cuts

So, this is what we get for bringing in a Democrat controlled Congress back in 2006. The Dems are trying to destroy the economic progress that we, as a nation, have made since the 2001 tax cuts went into effect. If they think we are in a recession now, the tax increases the Dems want to enact would send us spiraling into a full blown depression.

But another interesting aspect of the bill was an amendment that would put a moratorium on earmark spending. All three current Presidential candidates voted for it, but a vast majority of Senators (including the two from here in Virginia) voted against it:

John McCain, the GOP nominee-to-be, couldn't attract even a majority of Senate Republicans to vote with him Thursday night behind the earmark moratorium touted by party conservatives as a way to restore the GOP's credibility with voters.

Interesting. Now Senator McCain seems to be too Conservative for his Party. What's up with that?

But this is even more telling about what will be in store for us if the Dems win the White House this year:

The underlying House and Senate Democratic federal budget plans for 2009, though nonbinding, drew blasts from Republicans for allowing some or all of Bush's tax cuts to die in about three years. ... The Senate passed a companion plan by a 51-44 vote. It endorsed extending $340 billion of Bush's tax cuts but balked at continuing all of them. ... "This may be the last bastion in America where they don't get it," he told reporters after Thursday night's vote. "Americans are sick and tired of the way we do business in Washington. As president, I promise the American people ... the first earmarked, pork-barrel bill that comes across my desk, I'll veto it."

Included in those 51 votes was the vote of Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) who during his campaign in 2006 aired a television commercial in which he unambiguously said that he would never vote to raise taxes. Unfortunately, even though we know how big of a liar he is, we have to endure his betrayals for the next four years.

Here is Senator McCain's take on taxes:

However, on taxes, the Arizona Republican voted to extend the full roster of Bush's tax cuts, which he opposed seven years ago as being tilted in favor of the wealthy.

If I understand correctly, one of the big complaints against Senator McCain is that he is against the Bush Tax Cuts. So, if he was still truly against cutting taxes, wouldn't he have voted the opposite way on this bill?

Democratic rivals Clinton of New York and Obama of Illinois both voted to extend only some of Bush's tax cuts while allowing cuts in income tax rates and investments expire. They joined other Democrats in a 52-47 vote against extending $376 billion of them.

This is what we got because the "angry Conservatives" stayed home on Election Day 2006. Will they also stay home in 2008? I certainly hope not.

You can access the complete article on-line here:

Senate Approves Federal Budget That Would End Bush Tax Cuts
Associated Press via FoxNews.com
March 14, 2008