Reboot Congress

Rand Paul (R-KY) Speaks At Missouri Lincoln Days

2014-02-25T22:29:00.000-06:00

US Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) spoke at the 2014 Lincoln Days in Springfield, Missouri. He was introduced by US Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO). I've also posted video of some of the breakout sessions:

Erika Harold Fundraiser with Herman Cain

2014-02-05T08:07:00.000-06:00

Former Republican Presidential candidate and CEO of Godfather's Pizza, Herman Cain, introduced Republican Congressional candidate Erika Harold at a recent fundraiser in Brentwood, MO. Cain has endorsed Harold in her attempt to unseat incumbent Republican Rodney Davis in Illinois's 13th Congressional District.

Harold is running against incumbent Republican Rodney Davis. Their primary is coming up on March 18th.

I was able to attend last Friday's fundraiser. Here's a short video review of the evening:

Watch Herman Cain's complete remarks.

Watch Erika Harold's complete remarks.

Todd Zywicki on the $7.2 Billion Credit Card Settlement

2013-09-13T10:01:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, U.S. District Judge John Gleeson heard arguments from retailers and the two big credit card companies, Visa and MasterCard, about a proposed settlement that would award retailers about $7.2 billion in their class action lawsuit. In anticipation of that hearing, Professor Todd Zywicki wrote an op-ed for Forbes arguing for the settlement. Zywicki argues that it would help end years of frivolous legislation from the retailers. In this video, I interview Professor Zywicki about his Forbes article and the details of the settlement.

Child Soldiers: Our Syrian Allies

2013-08-30T23:04:00.000-05:00

The photo above is from NYMag.com which reports:

The photo, taken by Sebastiano Tomada, shows Ahmed, the eight-year-old son of a Syrian rebel fighter, smoking and standing guard with an AK-47 outside a barricade in Aleppo.

That's the face of our Syrian "allies" and every Chicago third grader is now wondering when he gets an assault rifle and pack of smokes courtesy of the American tax payer. I mean, if it's good enough for our "friends" surely we wouldn't want American children to go without.

It's troubling that our "allies" employ child soldiers. Didn't then Senator Barack Obama co-sponsor legislation in 2008, later signed into law, to prohibit America from sending money and material to countries using child soldiers? Yes, yes he did. It passed the House and Senate unanimously. There were a lot of abstentions, but no one in either House of Congress voted against it.

As president, Obama has repeatedly waived that law. Apparently, he opposed the use of child soldiers before he supported it which may explain why John Kerry got the top job at Foggy Bottom.

Video: Ben Yount on Citizen Journalism at #SGS13

2013-08-16T22:41:00.000-05:00

Ben Yount of the Franklin Center talks about citizen journalism and the tools of the at Smart Girl Summit 2013.

Video: James O'Keefe on his book, Breakthrough, at #SGS13

2013-08-15T23:16:00.000-05:00

James O'Keefe, of Project Veritas, talks about his book book, Breakthrough, at Smart Girl Summit 2013. O'Keefe explains how he began his journalistic career in college by satirizing political correctness. He also talks about his efforts to expose voter fraud.

Video: Women Fighting Back Discussion at #SGS13

2013-08-14T20:35:00.000-05:00

Tami Nantz led a panel discussion with Stacy Mott of Smart Girl Politics, Hadley Heath of the Independent Women's Forum, and Colleen Holcomb of Eagle Forum at Smart Girl Summit 2013. The panel discussed the failures of the GOP in the 2012 election cycle to address the concerns of women and what Republicans can do in the future.

Video: Engagement Panel at #SGS13

2013-08-13T20:43:00.004-05:00

Kira Davis chairs a panel discussion with Adrienne Ross and Britteny Morrett at Smart Girl Summit 2013 about conservative outreach to minorities. The panel discusses whether reaching out to minority voters is pandering or just good marketing.

Video: Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann's (R-IN) opening speech at #SGS13

2013-08-12T19:51:00.000-05:00

Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann (R-IN) kicked off Smart Girl Summit 2013. Ellsperman spoke of her journey to the post of Lt. Gov. and how important it is for conservative women to run for office.

Video: Jenny Beth Martin of Tea Party Patriots addresses #SGS13

2013-08-12T15:27:00.000-05:00

Jenny Beth Martin explained the founding of Tea Party Patriots to the crowd at Smart Girl Summit 2013. After that history, she spoke about how the IRS targeted Tea Party Patriots and other conservative groups and the need to reform the IRS to prevent this kind of abuse in the future.

Video: Karen Handel's Keynote Speech at #SGS13

2013-08-11T21:23:00.000-05:00

Karen Handel was one of the keynote speakers at Smart Girl Summit 2013. Handel, a Republican candidate for US Senate in Georgia, talked about her role in the Komen for the Cure - Planned Parenthood controversy as well as the need for conservative women to transform American politics.

Video: Katie Pavlich Keynote Speech at #SGS13

2013-08-11T09:02:00.000-05:00

Katie Pavlich was one of the keynote speakers at Smart Girl Summit 2013. Pavlich, a Townhall Editor, Fox News Contributor, and NYT Best Selling Author, talked about her experience attending a NOW conference and how to advance conservative issues in the media.

Video: Dan Bongino Explains the GOP's Marketing Problem

2013-08-09T21:23:00.000-05:00

Dan Bongino rocked the crowd at Smart Girl Summit 2013. Bongino, a former secret service agent and candidate for US Senate in Maryland, explained that the conservative message resonates with voters, but Republicans have failed to market it effectively.

#MO3: Blaine Luetkemeyer at the MOGOP Picnic (Video)

2013-06-24T22:02:00.001-05:00

The Missouri GOP gathered in Columbia, Missouri, this past Saturday and heard from several Republican office holders. In the video above, Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) addresses the crowd.

#MOSen: Roy Blunt at the MOGOP Picnic (Video)

2013-06-23T23:24:00.002-05:00

The Missouri GOP gathered in Columbia, Missouri, this past Saturday and heard from several Republican office holders. In the video above, Roy Blunt addresses the crowd.

#MO8: Jason Smith Wins: Time to Keep Him Honest

2013-06-05T23:07:00.001-05:00

This past Tuesday, Missouri State Rep Jason Smith (R-MO) won the special election in the Show-Me State's 8th Congressional District. His victory was overwhelming. He bested Democrat Steve Hodges by 40 points: 67% to 27%.

Now the real work begins.

During the short campaign leading up to this special election, Smith articulated his fiscal conservative opposition to the run away spending in Washington, DC. While speaking about the farm bill, he made it clear that he would like the food stamp portion to be split-off into a separate bill. He also advocated a move away from direct subsidies to farmers in favor of a policy of farm insurance.

In a rural district like Missouri's 8th CD, Smith will face pressure from the special interests that rely on farm subsidies. It now falls on his constituents to make sure he stands strong on these issues.

Heritage Action for America is working to help those constituents do exactly that. Heritage Action is affiliated with the Heritage Foundation and this Saturday, they're hosting a skills clinic in Cape Girardeau:

Holding Congress accountable can be tough work. Whether you are new to the fight or a seasoned activist, the Heritage Action Skills Clinic will help you better engage Congress, so your voice can be heard. Join fellow liberty-minded, conservatives for this FREE training as we provide the tools to take meaningful action.

Sign-up for the clinic now and make certain that our newest Representative remembers the principals, values, and people that have gotten him to our nation's capitol.

Chip Gerdes: Larger than Life

2013-05-14T12:30:00.000-05:00

Band of Brothers

I first met Chip Gerdes in Quincy, IL, at the 2009 9-12 Tea Party and I'm so sorry he died suddenly last week. That Tea Party rocked and Chip was a large part of that. He had secured a great line up of speakers: Andrew Breitbart, Roger Stone, Jim Hoft, and Glenn Reynolds, just to name a few. I shot the whole thing and posted it to YouTube. At forty YouTube videos and over 4 hours of footage, it was and remains the longest event I've covered.

The St. Louis Tea Party was becoming a media machine and Chip was instrumental in making that happen. He was a sort of special ops political operative who played a critical role between grassroots activists and established conservative media outlets. He wasn't really interested in the long format video work I was doing; however, he recognized I had some video production skills. As a result, he asked me to make a few short videos. I never asked to be paid and he never offered. It was for the cause.

I'd post the videos to an account he had set up and he would see that they got out. Today, that account is dark. Nothing's been posted to it in quite a while. I'm sure he had dozens of other accounts. He loved to troll the left.

Chip knew how to provoke a story, too. He knew how to confront the left effectively and get them to say something stupid. So, where I was useful for the occasional video airstrike, Sharp Elbows provided the ground assault that Chip loved so much. Perhaps their finest op was Sharp's "Jackpot Brother" hit on Rep Phil Hare.

And so ended Hare's Congressional career.

Sharp and I worked together on a couple of videos during the 2010 election cycle. He had a day job that kept him busy and driving around the St. Louis region so on a few occasion when I had gotten a tip about a Russ Carnahan event that day, I'd give Sharp a call. If he could get there, he'd stick a camera in Carnahan's face and drop-off his footage with me. I'd cut, title, and post what he shot so his evening blogging would be half done before he got home. Chip, Sharp, myself, and many others--Michelle Moore, Bill Hennessey, Dana, Patch, the Editor, Hoft, too name a few--we were a band of brothers.

How the Media Works

You have to understand that the media world has two parts: content creation and distribution. Bloggers like Sharp and myself are in the business of content creation--original reporting, opinion pieces, video of news-worthy events, etc. Distribution is what we all want. In-bound links from the Instapundit or Michelle Malkin are worth thousands of views and those views translate into advertising revenue.

What the establishment understands is that they don't have to do much content creation because every fourth grader is doing it for free. Therefore, they put all of their resources into distribution. The establishment owns distribution and they operate it like a spigot. Stories they don't like never get picked up. Stories that promote their viewpoint are seemingly re-blogged, retweeted, and liked on Facebook dozens of times.

Chip had fostered a relationship with grassroots activists, but he was paid by politicians. And the politicians best able to pay him were the ones in elected office: the establishment. Chip was one of their spigots.

Treachery

It was early summer 2011. I remember it well. I got an email from Chip about a story that would be breaking later that day. Rebel Pundit had traveled to Indiana and had posted video of Indiana Republican Richard Mourdock's campaign manager going off. Chip was firing up a blogswarm against the Mourdock campaign. Chip was working--perhaps paid, perhaps volunteer, I don't know--for Mourdock's primary opponent, Dick Lugar.

A few weeks later, Dan Riehl posted a hit to Breitbart.com targeting Missouri Tea Party favorite, Ed Martin. Chip told me that he had written that hit, but Dan has always maintained that it was his work. I don't know. I do know that there's a symbiotic relationship between political consultants and the media whether that's the mainstream media, bloggers, or whatever. The consultants want stories that help their guy, but they don't want the campaign's finger prints on the story, so often the consultants and the media collaborate. Authorship really doesn't matter so long as the facts are true.

With the hit on Martin, I realized that Chip and I would be on opposite sides of most Republican primaries in the 2012 election cycle. That's ok. Primaries are family-feuds. I thought we would be able to patch it up afterwards.

The Tea Parties in Indiana had demonstrated state-wide grassroots organization at its finest. They developed the model that conservatives should adopt if they want to replace an establishment Republican. Indiana Tea Party leader Greg Fettig (video of how they did it) wrote the book on how they accomplished this: Tea Party on Safari.

They had recognized that the only way to defeat an incumbent was to have one candidate backed by all Tea Parties across the state running against that incumbent. If there were multiple challengers, then the grassroots vote would be split allowing the establishment candidate (Dick Lugar in Indiana) to win the primary. To create state-wide grassroots consensus, Indiana Tea Parties held a straw poll with representatives from all Tea Parties in attendance and they choose Richard Mourdock.

Chip knew about the Tea Party straw poll in Indiana and he sent Sharp to disrupt it. Chip was trying to discredit Tea Parties across Indiana with a video hit from Sharp that he thought would run on the St. Louis Tea Party website. He was playing one tea party off another in an effort to help establishment Republican Dick Lugar win re-election.

I really do not care which candidate someone supports in a primary, but if you foment blue-on-blue conflict, then you're a traitor to the cause. If you play one Tea Party off another in an effort to get an establishment hack like Dick Lugar re-elected, then you're a traitor to the cause. Chip, what were you thinking? You had helped build this awesome media machine in St. Louis and you wanted to use it to attack and discredit Indiana Tea Parties!? I've never been so embarrassed. Chip, why would you do that!?!

I would blog in support of Mourdock's campaign for the remainder of the 2012 election cycle. It was the least I could do for my Tea Party compatriots in Indiana.

The 2012 election is over. I've moved on. A few weeks ago, Ben told me that Chip still wanted to punch me in the face. I think he was still pissed at me over the Ed Martin-Ann Wagner kerfuffle, but that's a story for another day.

Smart Girl Summit

The last time I saw Chip was at Smart Girl Summit here in St. Louis a few years ago. I had my girls in tow. That was the only time Chip had met them. As they were playing in the background, Chip was telling me about the American Girl Doll store up in Chicago. He loved the place and he loved taking his daughter there. It was somehow easy to picture the big guy with his daughter by his side exploring aisle after aisle, shelf after shelf of pink and purple accessories for her American Girl Doll. He probably asked an attendant where he could find a toy SIG Sauer P230 and matching conceal-carry holster for his daughter's doll. He so loved to provoke a story.

This year, Smart Girl Summit will be held in Indy in early August. I'm planning to be there. I look forward to seeing my Indiana Tea Party friends. You guys showed the way in the 2012 primary and it was an honor blogging beside you.

Chip, it's been a wild ride and that's mostly your fault. Too bad you wont get to punch me in the face, but, who knows, maybe Ray will take care of that for you. I miss ya, man--you were the best frenemy I've ever had. Godspeed!

Heritage Study Estimates Amnesty will Cost $6.3 Trillion

2013-05-09T23:07:00.002-05:00

The Heritage Foundation released a report earlier this week that put the cost of amnesty at a minimum of $6.3 trillion. Here's the key paragraph from the Fiscal Cost of Unlawful Immigrantsand Amnesty to the U.S. Taxpayer:

Over a lifetime, the former unlawful immigrants together would receive $9.4 trillion in government benefits and services and pay $3.1 trillion in taxes. They would generate a lifetime fiscal deficit (total benefits minus total taxes) of $6.3 trillion. (all figures are in constant 2010 dollars.) This should be considered a minimum estimate. It probably understates real future costs because it undercounts the number of unlawful immigrants and dependents who will actually receive amnesty and underestimates significantly the future growth in welfare and medical benefits.

The legislation would also disproportionally impact low-skilled American workers, as the Heritage report notes:

A final problem is that unlawful immigration appears to depress the wages of low-skill U.S.-born and lawful immigrant workers by 10 percent, or $2,300, per year. Unlawful immigration also probably drives many of our most vulnerable U.S.-born workers out of the labor force entirely. Unlawful immigration thus makes it harder for the least advantaged U.S. citizens to share in the American dream. This is wrong; public policy should support the interests of those who have a right to be here, not those who have broken our laws.

The key to crafting public policy is making sure that it helps the public. The immigration reform legislation pending in Congress simply does not do that.

#MO8: Congressional Candidate Forum

2013-04-28T20:59:00.002-05:00

The six candidates vying for the seat vacated by Jo Ann Emerson participated in a candidate forum in Cape Girardeau, MO, this past Thursday evening. The event was sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the NPR affiliate in Cape, KRCU. The election in Missouri's 8th Congressional District will be held June 4th.

Video: Slight Problem with the Cypriot Banking System Explained

2013-03-28T09:20:00.000-05:00

The Australian humorists Clarke & Dawe offer a brief summary of the "slight" problem in the Cypriot banking system. The European Union's response has not yet fixed the problem, though it has resulted in a massive exodus of deposits held by foreigners. (Note to kleptocrats everywhere: if you put an entire nation's banking system on a bank holiday, it's best to make sure that bank holiday applies to the nation's foreign bank branches, too!) As of today, Cypriots are allowed to withdraw up to €300 a day of their own money.

Video: Allen West at CPAC

2013-03-17T15:44:00.000-05:00

From the YouTube description of Allen West's 2013 CPAC speech:

March 14, 2013 - Former Congressman Allen West on Thursday addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in what TheBlaze's Mike Opelka described as a "fiery" speech that had "everyone on their feet." "I'll give it to you straight," West began. "Last November we did take one on the jaw, but this movement and this fight is not determined by the punches that we take. We're defined by how quickly we pull ourselves off the mat and our perseverance."

"There're no shortage of people telling us what conservatism cannot accomplish, what we can't do, how we cannot connect, how we must change our values to fit the times."

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, I want to tell you: That that truly is a bunch of malarkey," he added, seemingly channeling the spirit of VP debate Joe Biden.

"Last time I checked," he continued, "a bended knee is not, nor shall it ever be a conservative tradition."

He went on to argue that people like him (i.e. a black conservative) absolutely terrify liberals.

"I'm speaking from experience when I tell you that there is nothing on this green earth that a liberal progressive fears more than a black American who wants a better life and a smaller government," West said.

Race and Republicans at CPAC

2013-03-15T23:35:00.001-05:00

K. Carl Smith at the Rally for Common Sense

The Blaze reports on a stunningly outrageous comment made at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference during a presentation by K. Carl Smith:

A session at the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) focused on the GOP reaching out to minorities descended into chaos Friday afternoon after a male audience member asked what Frederick Douglass’s former slave master had to be sorry for: “For giving him food and shelter?”

“It seems to be that you’re reaching out to voters, in the method and program that you’re offering us, at the expense of young white Southern males like myself — my demographic,” 30-year-old Scott Terry of North Carolina said during a question and answer session during a discussion called, “Trump The Race Card: Are You Sick And Tired Of Being Called A Racist When You Know You’re Not One?”

The broad brushes are out on the left in an effort to paint all conservatives and especially Republicans as holding the same racist opinions as Terry. We don't. The Blaze notes that [emphasis added]:

Terry was accompanied by Matthew Heimbach, founder of the White Student Union at Towson University. TheBlaze spoke to Heimbach Friday to verify the statements were in accurate and in context. Terry is also a member of the White Students Union at Towson.

This past Wednesday, the White Student Union's website included this announcement [emphasis added]*:

As close to two dozen of us prepare to head to the Conservative Political Action Conference labeled as independent, Towson College Republicans, Campaign for Liberty supporters, and other conservative organizations we will do our best to engage the issue of preservation of the European-American population and a strong stance against immigration.

That word--"labeled"--is an admission that they had to obfuscate their identity to gain entry. And they had to hide their political party preference because Matthew Heimbach is not only the founder of the White Student Union, but also a supporter of the radical American Third Position Party (now called the American Freedom Party).

Simply put, Scott Terry, Matthew Heimbach, and the other gate-crashers they brought with them are neither conservative nor Republican.

Perhaps some good can come of this. Last year, I shot video of K. Carl Smith--he was the presenter at CPAC who's presentation was disrupted by Terry. Smith had one of the best speeches at the Rally for Common Sense. Here's what I wrote about it at the time:

When it comes to pragmatic political outreach to the black community, K. Carl Smith's framing of the discussion around Fredrick Douglass's life and philosophy was tremendous. Make sure you watch that and then go get his book: Frederick Douglass Republicans: The Movement to Re-Ignite America's Passion for Liberty.

* The St. Louis Tea Party has a policy of not linking to white supremacist blogs, so, sorry, no link.

It's Time to Defund Obamacare

2013-03-10T23:24:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week, thirty Republican Representatives signed a letter to their leadership in the House of Representatives seeking to defund Obamacare. None of the Republican Reps from either Missouri or Illinois joined their conservative counterparts in signing that letter. They chose instead to support the continuing resolution that spends money we do not have on programs we can not afford.

Senate conservative Ted Cruz (R-TX) has breathed new life into the defund Obamacare movement. As the Washinton Post reports:

Outspoken freshman Sen. Ted Cruz intends to offer an amendment to the stopgap spending plan under debate in Congress this week that would defund President Obama’s health care law until the nation’s economy grows at a rate in line with historical averages.

That effort has picked up support from both FreedomWorks and The Heritage Foundation--both have key voted the Senate vote on that amendment. That means that Sen. Roy Blunt's (R-MO) vote on that amendment will be reflect in the score he earns from those organizations. Heritage makes the case for defunding it as soon as possible:

The most severe and damaging economic impacts of Obamacare have yet to occur, as they will come with the law’s full implementation and the implementation of its funding mechanisms in 2014. After that point, this law will be more entrenched and its damaging effects will be much more difficult to amend.

The Democrats control the Senate so even if the Conservatives unite behind Ted Cruz, it's unlikely that they will succeed.

In the Fight: Episode 72

2013-03-03T22:01:00.000-06:00

Episode 72 of In The Fight produced by the Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System. Here's their description of this half-hour show:

On this episode, the Afghan military takes control of the Coalition Forces' oldest base, we see how there are some things that technology just cannot replace, an Air National Guard unit quietly passes a significant milestone, we look at the sacrifices that have been make in Afghanistan, and we see what it's like to be the wife of a deployed service member.

Obama Tips His Hand: Defense Cuts Come First

2013-02-27T11:56:00.005-06:00

That headline on Drudge takes you to a Business Insider article that reads in part:

The Washington Post's Bob Woodward ripped into President Barack Obama on "Morning Joe" today, saying he's exhibiting a "kind of madness I haven't seen in a long time" for a decision not to deploy an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf because of budget concerns.

"Can you imagine Ronald Reagan sitting there and saying, 'Oh, by the way, I can't do this because of some budget document?'" Woodward said.

"Or George W. Bush saying, 'You know, I'm not going to invade Iraq because I can't get the aircraft carriers I need?'" Or even Bill Clinton saying, 'You know, I'm not going to attack Saddam Hussein's intelligence headquarters,' ... because of some budget document?"

American military resolve goes back even further. Reagan renewed America's military confidence after it had been eroded by the Vietnam War and a feckless President Jimmy Carter. President Carter's only use of the American military was to crash a bunch of helicopters in the Iranian desert in a failed attempt to free the hostages. But the article above also calls to mind Teddy Roosevelt's Great White Fleet. Roosevelt sent the fleet, which was based in the Atlantic Ocean, around the world, but not everyone approved of it:

Senator Eugene Hale, the chairman of the Senate Naval Appropriation Committee, threatened to cut the fleet's funding.

Responding in typical fashion, Roosevelt replied that he already had the money and dared Congressional leaders to "try and get it back."

In light of the President's recent funding priorities, is the Benghazi debacle really surprising?

Reboot Congress

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