Redstate

Posted at 9:43am on May 9, 2007 Steve Kagen Hides His Pork

By Erick

Poor Steve Kagen (D-WI). Just a couple of months ago he embarrassed himself by claiming to insult the President and First Lady at the White House and assaulting Karl Rove in the bathroom. Now he's admitting he lied to get elected in his heavily Republican district.

According to the Majority Accountability Project, Kagen ran his campaign as a conservative Democrat promising to "require full disclosure of all earmarks" and work toward ending "all pork-barrel projects." But that has not happened.

Kagen is running as fast as he can from his pledges and won't divulge any of his requests for pork.

In a district that the Republicans will probably take back in 2008, Kagen is doing all he can to be a one term wonder.

Posted in Steve Kagen | Targets | Targetted Seats | WI-08 | Wisconsin — Comments (5)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 1:55pm on May 3, 2007 Can We Shut This Down Before It Starts?

By Erick

Nancy Boyda (D-KS) is a target for us, though she's been very smart at toeing the line lately. While we certainly want to see Nancy beaten in 2008, I think we should not whore out our principles to do so.

The Republican party, if it wants to stay credible and distinguished from the Democrats, must maintain its believe in fiscal conservatism, which means we don't need to be nominating tax hikers. Our friends at the Club for Growth are raising warning flags over Lynn Jenkins, a potential challenger to Boyda.

• Jenkins voted to raise the state sales tax by 8% (HB 2009, 2002)
• Jenkins voted to expand the Death Tax to family members outside the immediate family (SB 39, 2002)
• Jenkins voted to increase fuel taxes by more than 38% over four years (HB 2071, 1999; HB 2507, 2001; HB 3011, 2002)
• Jenkins voted to increase state income taxes by 5% (Topeka Capital-Journal, 04/12/02)
• Jenkins voted against decreasing state property taxes by $1 million (SB 69, 2001)
• Jenkins voted to increase taxes on insurance premiums (HB 2065, 2001)
• Jenkins voted to increase taxes on tobacco by 270% (Topeka Capital-Journal, 04/12/02)
• Jenkins voted for an $18.1 million increase in alcohol taxes (Topeka Capital-
• Journal, 04/12/02)

• Jenkins voted for a total of $335 million in higher taxes in 2002 (Topeka Capital-Journal, 04/12/02) and a total of $31.4 million in higher taxes in 2001 (Topeka-Capital-Journal, 05/05/01)
• Jenkins supported taxing the Internet (Project Vote Smart, 2000)
• Jenkins refused to sign a pledge against new taxes. (Kansas Taxpayers Network)

With Republicans like that, who needs the Democrats?

Posted in KS-02 | Targets | Targetted Seats — Comments (8)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 10:18am on Apr. 18, 2007 Them Targetted Dems

By Erick

How are the Freshman Democrat Blue Dogs doing? These are the men and women who beat Republicans in Republican leaning seats and promised to be Republicans without the corruption. Well, Robert Novak has a report card.

Thus far, Gabrielle Giffords, Harry Mitchell, Joe Donnelly, Brad Ellsworth, Nancy Boyda, Heath Shuler, Charlie Wilson, Chris Carney, Jason Altmire, and Nick Lampson have disappointed. In fact, Lampson failed to vote on either the GOP proposed budget or the Democrat budget. And sadly, Gabrielle Giffords, Nancy Boyda, Chris Carney, and Jason Altmire voted in lock step with the Democrats from embryo killing research to eliminating the secret ballot in the workplace.

Chris Carney, whose district gave Bush 60% of its vote and Nick Lampson whose district gave Bush 64% of its vote have both voted in lock step with Nancy Pelosi on every issue, other than Lampson bailing on budget votes.

As Robert Novak notes

By winning a term in 2006 to represent a Republican district, each of the Democratic moderate freshmen earned two years to convince GOP voters that Democrats can look after their interests just as well as Republicans. But to the extent that each votes and thinks Democratic, each also risks a short career that could be over as soon as 2008.

You can read the whole article here.

Posted in Arizona | Indiana | Kansas | North Carolina | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Targets | Targetted Seats | Texas — Comments (6)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 12:33am on Mar. 9, 2007 Will the surge work? Will we fail in Iraq? Who cares?

By Jeff Emanuel

U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Palm Beach Gardens, asks the basic question about President Bush's "surge" in Iraq. If it works, "So what?"

So says the Palm Beach Post's Thursday (3/8) editorial, which lauds the "conservative" Democrat (and Mark Foley replacement) for his stance, and defends the Democrats' "slow bleed" strategy by saying that the real problem is that the "administration's policies in Iraq have bled America of credibility."

Mahoney is also quoted as saying that "we need to let Iran, Syria and the Taliban know that...we won't stay distracted by Iraq." Hmmmm...interesting position for a guy who has called for negotiating with Iran and Syria, and entrusting them with key decisions and actions regarding the future of the middle east. Good job of putting them on notice there, Congressman.

Oh, and nice, principled stand on the future of Iraq, and on the fate of our 150,000 (+ 20,000 in the "surge") troops there, and on the fate of the Iraqi people - as well as that of the region, and of the security of our nation (which would take a serious hit were we to fail in Iraq). Because, hey, the strategy, and the troops carrying it out, could succeed, or could not. Either way, Rep. Mahoney's response remains the same: "So what?"

Posted in Anti-war liberals | Democrats | National Security | Targetted Seats — Comments (20)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 3:14am on Feb. 27, 2007 "Make no mistake, this vote is binding"

By Jeff Emanuel

So said Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-FL) from the floor of the House of Representatives, on the "nonbinding" resolution opposing the 20,000-troop "surge," the day before the House passed the measure 246-182.

The surge was, of course, a key pillar in the President's new strategy in Iraq, and one which seems to be working pretty well thus far.

Read on . . .

Posted in Anti-war liberals | Democrats | National Security | Targetted Seats — Comments (0)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 2:00pm on Jan. 23, 2007 Racist Democrats enforce segregation of their own party

Is it time to start bussing Congressmen to enforce desegregation on Capitol Hill?

By Jeff Emanuel

The Politico's headline says it all: "Freshman Rep. Stephen I. Cohen, D-Tenn., is not joining the Congressional Black Caucus after several current and former members made it clear that a white lawmaker was not welcome."

Cohen isn't black. However, the Congressman he replaced - Harold "I like sports and I like girls" Ford - is, and his district, in Memphis, is 60% black, and his staff is majority African-American. That clearly just isn't good enough - even though, as a Democrat, Cohen likely has no intention whatsoever of rocking the CBC's boat; he appears simply to be trying to represent his constituency in the best way that he can.

The caucus does not have an "official" racial prerequisite for membership; however, no white Member has ever been able to join - even if an overwhelming percentage of their constituency is black.

It doesn't look like that's going to change any time soon, either. Rep. William Lacy Clay Sr. (D-Mo) responded to Cohen's attempt to join by authoring and circulating a memo which emphasized how "critical" it was "that the group remain exclusively African- American."

Clay's son, also a Democrat Congressman from Missouri, reinforced that opinion, saying: "It's an unwritten rule. It's understood. It's clear."

"Half my Democratic constituents were African-American. I felt we had interests in common as far as helping people in poverty," said Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA), who attempted to join the caucus in 1975. "They had a vote, and I lost. They said the issue was that I was white, and they felt it was important that the group be limited to African-Americans."

"I think they're real happy I'm not going to join," said Cohen, after finally backing out of his bid to do so. "It's their caucus and they do things their way. You don't force your way in. You need to be invited."

And the Congressional Black Caucus has made it very clear who is not invited, either now or ever: White people.

Way to work toward that "colorblind society," folks.

Posted in Democrats | Targetted Seats — Comments (17)/ Email this page » / Read More »