Creating Issues like these are the only way the democrats will have a chance to win in the November Election.   It may create a problem for Republicans in the General Election,  if the voters are so upset about the primary and the Republican party, that they may think it was the fault of the Republican Party and not look any further into the issue.  However, it may cause such a problem across the state, that it may give President Obama an upper hand. In a state that is suppose to be conservative, with a firestorm as this issue is sure to cause, South Carolina may become a possible swing state if this issue becomes much larger than anyone expected it to be.  With the Political realm and all the problems that politicians have caused over the past decades, it would not be a surprise if something so troubling actually caused South Carolina to become a swing state for the General Election.  The only problem is that the conservative movement is alive, just not well here in South Carolina.  A good majority of the Republicans, are RINOs.  They do not represent what Republicanism stands for, which is another cause for concern, not just here in South Carolina, but across the country.   Conservatives are fighting battles on two fronts in order to preserve our nation.  We not only have to fight the RINO party, but we also are battling the Progressive party, which has swallowed up what use to be the Democratic Party.

Now, trying to figure out exactly what I should do is the problem.  I would have to gather 5% of the voters here in my district, which would amount to only about 500 signatures, however, I would need those names by Noon on July 16th. My outcome is still unknown.  I am also not sure if I am willing to register as an Independent, I am a strong conservative, I believe, and I will not change what I call myself or consider myself to be, just because some Progressive decided to use Judicial Activism to achieve their goals.  I have other avenues that I may be able to utilize in order to make change in this county, and ultimately in this great nation.  We conservatives must fight this massive machine anyway that we can.  It is our JOB to stand up and defend what has made this nation great.  We must UNITED across this country and STAND TOGETHER to defend our LIBERTY.  Stand with me, join me in this fight against TYRANNY.  LET US DEFEND THIS NATION TOGETHER.  Spread the word of what has happened here in South Carolina.  We must protect other states from running into this very same problem.  We must work TOGETHER, WE MUST DEFEND LIBERTY AT ALL COSTS. STAND WITH ME!

Some of us here in the county have thought about starting a 3rd party.  Maybe it is finally time, at least at local levels, who knows, we do need to start fixing these problems.  If we do not fix them here in the local levels, we cannot fix them in Washington. Starting local is the only course we have to restore America to the great country she once was, frankly still is, we are just running out of time.  Our nation is facing some of her most perilous times right now, and the Progressive Party will never give up, we must also stand our ground.  The bigger question remains, what impact will this have come November?

To read the cases for more in depth information, click HERE!

Tuesday, June 5

Californians head to the polls today to vote in primary elections and the ballots will be longer than voters have seen in the past. That is because new ballot rules goes into effect this election cycle. Under the new “top-two” system, party affiliations are removed from candidates and voters will have the opportunity to choose from any candidate from any party. The top two winners will then square off in the November elections. This applies to all races except the Presidential race.

There are only two propositions on the ballot this cycle:

Prop 28 has been billed as “term limits” legislation but technically lengthens the amount of time legislators can serve. Currently legislators are limited to two 3-year terms in the Assembly and two 4-year terms in the Senate. That’s a total of 14 years a politician can serve in the legislature. Prop 28 reduces that limit to 12 years but allows lawmakers to serve that 12 years in either house.

Prop 29 levies a new $1 per pack cigarette tax to raise money for “cancer” research. Opponents say it creates a new bureaucracy and doesn’t allocate taxes to be spent within the borders California. So far polling on the measures shows Californians in favor of passing both.

A couple of other races to watch in California today:

In Orange County the heated, controversial race for County Supervisor between “establishment” Republican Todd Spitzer and “Tea Party” candidate Deb Pauly will come to a head. Both Spitzer and Pauly have thrown out contentious, serious allegations of misconduct against each other. Pauly was ousted as vice-chair of the OC Republican Party just days ago and Spitzer has been running from a record in which he increased pensions.

The Senate race, where Republican Elizabeth Emken will join 23 other candidates to take on the heavily funded Diane Feinstein

The race for District Attorney in Los Angeles, where Republican Alan Jackson will try to force a run-off against Carmen Trutanich. Trutanich (D) has faced accusations of corruption and bullying, but has raised twice the funds of Jackson.

Two local elections are mirroring what is happening in Wisconsin today. In San Diego and San Jose voters will be asked to decide on pension reforms in order to reign in the city budgets. Predictably, unions have been fighting the measures in both cities. The results will have a ripple effect throughout the rest of the state, as California faces an $85 billion unfunded pension liability in the coming years.

California currently does not have any of those pesky, racist voter identification laws so vote early, vote often.

You can follow election results live at the Orange County Register . I’ll also be doing a live, remote show from a special location to be disclosed at showtime, so tune into the Dark Side with Kira Davis at 7:00 p.m. Pacific.

**UPDATE**

The results for Tuesday night’s primary are in, and as you can see by this screenshot (of the same ABC website mentioned above), the final tally did not match the premature results which were posted on Monday night.

Several people have said that the premature results were most likely posted as a “test”, but it still seems odd that they would go live on the ABC affiliate’s official website.

When my daughter was two, she rode alongside me to South Carolina and Florida, campaigning for the Bush-Cheney re-election. She had adopted cute little catch phrases along the way, which she recited daily, charming everyone from the Publix cashier to her preschool teachers: “Laura Bush is a cwassy wady!”; “John Kerry is a flip-flopper” (which made her giggle every time she said it); and “Vote for George ‘n Cheney!” Campaigning in Jacksonville on that warm November day in 2008, I feel sure that my daughter helped President George W. Bush bring it home in Florida.

Over the years, we’ve traveled to surrounding states to attend FairTax rallies, and worked on other campaigns – some not so successful – but what my kids are learning along the way is that it takes active citizenship to make a difference. They see other people sitting around complaining about their status in life, but I’m proud to say that my children know that action is the only solution to a problem.

This morning, I talked them through the entire voting experience yet again, explaining why we show our ID and voter’s registration card, why it’s necessary to still complete the form, why the “ballot” looks like a credit card, how to cast an electronic vote and so forth. At one point, my oldest looked up at me in that tween way and said, “Moooom, we know.” And I was rewarded.

We voted and were out of there, peach-covered “I’m a Georgia Voter” sticker on each of us, in less than 15 minutes. Much to their chagrin, I made them stop outside the precinct and pose for a picture next to the “Vote Here” sign. When I looked through the lens, though, I felt my eyes well up with tears. My kids were actually excited to be there with me. Like me, they see voting as an honor, not an obligation (though one day I’ll teach them that it is a little of both).

I know it will only be a few more years – just two more presidential elections – until my daughter will be voting for the very first time. Regardless of which way she ends up voting, I feel sure I have instilled in her the importance of active citizenship. I hope she takes me to the polls with her.

Show starts at 10pm East / 7pm West.  CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Show recording:

The other thing that is surprising (and particularly #HeadDesk worthy) is that Huntsman thinks his dropping out will consolidate the vote.  That couldn’t be any further from the truth.

Huntsman dropping out does very little, if anything, to affect the dynamics of this race.  Right now you have three factions: Romney, Paul, and then this gaggle involving Perry, Gingrich, and Santorum.  And the truth is that as long as Paul is in the race, there will probably never be anyone with enough momentum to overcome Romney.  Even if you have Santorum and Perry drop out, there is a very real chance that Paul staying in can help Romney get the plurality every time.

So it’s cute that Huntsman wants his endorsement to carry weight, just like it’s cute that McCain wanted his to do so, but Jon dropping out did nothing to change this cluster-truck that we’re dealing with.  The only thing it did was to make the Huntsman girls seem a little less relevant.  But with today’s news culture, they can probably go to CNN and be three times more compelling as pundits than Meghan McCain has ever been. (click here and here to see some of what the Huntsman girls have become famous for)

Why should it be illegal to videotape public officials?

When some local politicians in New Hampshire found out that election officials had been handing out ballots for voters who were already dead, they were outraged… with O’Keefe!

For example, look at the reaction of Nashua City Clerk Paul Bergeron:

“They recorded it without election officials’ knowledge, which apears to be a violation of our New Hampshire wiretapping codes, and some of these are out of state residents, so I don’t know if violations of wiretapping or ID theft could hold up in court, but if they crossed state lines to commit these crimes, it may be a federal crime as well. This is serious; we won’t tolerate voter fraud, regardless of what the intent might be,” Bergeron said.

“If these are New Hampshire residents they should lose their right to vote forever, in addition to fines or imprisonment. I take it seriously, and people shouldn’t dismiss this as just a harmless stunt; it’s not,” Bergeron said.

Wow – this guy takes fraud really seriously!  Any time fraud happens he’s pounding his desk demanding that something be done about it.  Except that, I haven’t been able to find one quote from him expressing even the slightest concern about how easy it was for someone to walk into a polling place and get a fraudulent ballot.

If that seems inconsistent, it is.  And a quick look at the Nashua web site will tell you exactly why Bergeron is furious about the undercover video that was taken… but reluctant to talk about how vulnerable this election was to fraud:

[The City Clerk’s Office] conducts all local, state and national elections…

So Bergeron isn’t really angry that someone allegedly broke a random law about videotaping public officials.  He’s angry because someone is spotlighting the fact that he didn’t do enough to ensure the integrity of this election.

Now that his ineffectiveness is getting publicity, rather than take responsibility, Bergeron is attacking James O’Keefe – plain and simple.

Another politician who’s outraged and demanding that O’Keefe and his associates be “prosecuted to the full extent of the law” is New Hampshire Governor John Lynch.  Why?  Last year he vetoed a bill that would have required a person to show photo ID in order to vote.  In hindsight, maybe Lynch is realizing that that wasn’t the best decision.

In reality, neither of these guys are genuinely outraged by this voter fraud.  Their reaction can be explained with three letters: C-Y-A.  That’s all it is.  They are angry that someone is drawing attention to their ineptitude so they are lashing out at the person doing it.

This perfectly demonstrates why we as citizens need to be legally able to videotape our public officials.  Unfortunately, this type of reaction is common when someone in a position of authority is challenged because people in power will often do whatever they need to do to hold on to that power.

Our elected officials have a lot more resources at their disposal than the average citizen and can even use their position in government to retaliate against anyone who exposes their shortcomings. Because of the enormous power that comes simply from being in government, we as citizens need to have the most powerful defense available to us – video tape.

But this is about much more than just defending ourselves from being persecuted by out of control politicians.  Video is also by far the most effective way for individuals to create change in the policies of government.  In fact, O’Keefe’s video has already prompted an investigation.

As New Hampshire’s unfortunately named Assistant Attorney General explained:

According to the Union Leader, state Associate Attorney General Richard Head said his office became aware of the effort on Election Day and began investigating immediately.

“That investigation is ongoing,” he said. “Based on the information received on Election Day and the information on the video, we are undertaking a comprehensive review of voting procedures with the Secretary of State.”

Now do you think O’Keefe would have gotten an immediate reaction like that if he had obtained ballots for dead people and then written an article about it?

What if he had interviewed election officials and written about that?

How about if he had written a letter to the Attorney General?

Of course not.  If he had used any or even all of those methods there is no way that Richard Head would already be reviewing the voting procedures.  That is the power of video.

It all comes down to the balance of power between the people and the government – and right now the scales are tipped way too far in favor of the government.  Because of that, videotaping public officials is a tool that we must have at our disposal if we are going have any chance of properly holding our government accountable.

While claiming to be a firm supporter of the 10th Amendment, the amendment which Thomas Jefferson said kept the federal government small, Santorum stated, “the idea that the only things that the states are prevented from doing are only things specifically established in the Constitution is wrong.” Perhaps he supports a different 10th Amendment than the one most actual conservatives hail. In 2005 Santorum wrote a “conservative answer” to Hillary Clinton’s It Takes a Village, which advocated for more government involvement in people’s lives. It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good plays to most conservatives’ desire and love of family values, but its assertion to take action for the “common good” should give lovers of liberty some pause. The General Welfare Clause of the Constitution is often hailed by liberals as justification for their big government programs. And just like liberals, Santorum advocates for government based solutions in his book including, but not limited to: national service (forced conscription), publicly financed trust funds for children, incentives for community investments, and economic literacy programs for every school in the country. Santorum’s support for federal education isn’t particularly shocking given his vote for President Bush’s “No Child Left Behind Act”.

In 2006, Rick Santorum showed his true colors while promoting his book on NPR. Santorum told the host, “One of the criticisms I make is to what I refer to as more of a libertarianish right. You know, the left has gone so far left and the right in some respects has gone so far right that they touch each other. They come around in the circle. This whole idea of personal autonomy, well I don’t think most conservatives hold that point of view. Some do. They have this idea that people should be left alone, be able to do whatever they want to do, government should keep our taxes down and keep our regulations low, that we shouldn’t get involved in the bedroom, we shouldn’t get involved in cultural issues. You know, people should do whatever they want. Well, that is not how traditional conservatives view the world and I think most conservatives understand that individuals can’t go it alone.” Its safe to say that Rick Santorum probably doesn’t think too much of Ayn Rand or her masterpieces: The Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged.

Now, I’m not one who cares about the earmark issue too much as it is constitutionally permissible and because its the Congress’ duty to allocate funds, but I do admit that it can and often does “corrupt the process”. For those who do care, Santorum was a huge ear-marker in his days in the House and Senate, and not just for his own district. Santorum voted to fund the notorious “Bridge to Nowhere”. Since being out of office, Red State points out that Santorum now opposes earmarks. But as the conservative economic organization The Club for Growth, points out: Santorum is someone who does try to have it both ways, “He voted NO on raising the minimum wage in 1995 and 2005. But on the same day he voted NO in 2005, he sponsored an amendment that would increase the minimum wage, which he later boasted about to skeptical voters in a 2006 campaign brochure he released called ’50 Things You Didn’t Know About Rick Santorum.’” I’ll add one thing you should know about Santorum is his support for Bush’s agenda domestic and abroad, including the dreaded and expensive, Medicare Part D.

Perhaps most unpopular here in South Carolina is Rick Santorum’s support of labor unions. Now, one may dismiss it as electoral pragmatism based on his former home state, just like earmarks could be, but given our battle with the NLRB; perhaps we are rightfully now less forgiving. Santorum opposed the National Right to Work Act, voted against NAFTA and some other free trade proposals, and has supported tariffs, such as on steel, to help unions avoid competition. Also in the interest of helping unions avoid competition, Santorum repeatedly voted to protect unions with his continuous support of the Davis-Bacon Act. Speaking of protectionism, Santorum has also supported farm subsidies in the past. Now to give Santorum credit, he doesn’t use the tired expression “level the playing field” which is a noble goal, but also an overused cliché. The reason he clamor for the “leveling of the playing field” economically is because his jobs plan openly favors manufacturing by giving them all sorts of special breaks. I don’t want to come off as unsympathetic to the manufacturing industries’s plight, I am, and do want it to come back, but I don’t want other industries to have to pay the manufacturing’s industries’ “fair share” for them. On a similar, un-capitalistic note, Santorum also voted for the Sarbanes-Oxley financial regulation bill, which kills start ups and harms existing businesses.

If this is conservative, than I sure as hell am not a conservative. Barry Goldwater’s nickname was “Mr. Conservative”. Oh, how the definition has been forgotten over the years. Santorum’s record is abysmal. Liberals would call me a right wing extremist based on my view of government, they would hear the legislation I want and immediately break down and cry. Upon meeting and conversing with a Michele Bachmann campaign staffer, I made him argue for bigger government. Not that I like either of them, for what should be obvious reasons, but there’s no way Romney could’ve been much worse than Santorum. In fact, Santorum even supported an individual mandate. Proof of this may be found in a local Pennsylvania Newspaper which described Santorum and a rival Republican’s healthcare proposal with, “Santorum and Watkins would require individuals to buy health insurance rather than forcing employers to pay for employee benefits.” Because both are big government Republicans, I won’t be voting for them… but if I had to pick between them, I’d chose Romney, hands down. Romney, while not a small government candidate, would do less harm to conservatism because no one views Romney as a conservative. Everyone calls him a moderate, and rightfully so. If Romney further grows government, the conservative brand isn’t on the hook. What I cannot sit by and watch is a big government Republican in Santorum, be called a conservative and grow government just like his fellow “compassionate conservative”, President Bush did. As you can see the term conservative is on the ropes; from Robert Taft and Barry Goldwater’s constitutionally limited government views to Rick Santorum’s family values based big government nanny state. This is a term we really cannot afford to lose. Please don’t help kill the brand and the label.

Maybe Megyn Kelly should have remembered to ask him again.  Maybe he forgot.  Or maybe he’s prepared to run third party, if things don’t go his way.  We’ll all know eventually, won’t we?