January 23rd, 2013 at 7:35 pm
Paul Ryan Heckler Works at Holder’s DOJ
Jim Treacher of The Daily Caller does a public service by compiling all the data points on the man who started the booing of Paul Ryan as the latter walked to Barack Obama’s second inauguration.
Dan Freeman, a civil service (i.e. technically non-political) hire at the Department of Justice’s Voting Rights section, said on his Facebook page that he “Just started the booing when Paul Ryan came out.” Helpfully, Freeman gave his location as “United States Capitol.”
Sleuthing by the blogosphere netted biographical nuggets like Freeman’s involvement in the Yale Law Democrats, and internships for liberal activist groups. Among his responsibilities was undermining the Bush Administration’s national security strategy by challenging the state secrets privilege in court. He also helped defend terrorists at Guantanamo Bay.
If you’re wondering when Freeman had time to learn federal election law, he didn’t. But at Eric Holder’s Justice Department, the relevant experience was met checking all the liberal activist boxes.
And, thanks to civil service protection, Freeman will have his position for as long as he wants it, regardless of who becomes the Attorney General, or for that matter, President of the United States.
December 28th, 2011 at 4:00 pm
Is the Colorado Model Coming to Your State?
Ever heard of the Colorado Model? The brainchild of four rich liberals, it helped turn a reliably Republican state into a lock-down Democratic state in less than a decade. RedState excerpts the keys to its success:
Eric O’Keefe, chairman of the conservative Sam Adams Alliance in Chicago, says there are seven “capacities” that are required to drive a successful political strategy and keep it on offense: [1] the capacity to generate intellectual ammunition, [2] to pursue investigations, [3] to mobilize for elections, [4] to fight media bias, [5] to pursue strategic litigation, [6] to train new leaders, and [7] to sustain a presence in the new media. Colorado liberals have now created institutions that possess all seven capacities. By working together, they generate political noise and attract press coverage. Explains Caldara, “Build an echo chamber and the media laps it up.”
Throw in some Saul Alinsky-inspired community organizing and the wealth of liberal elites, and you’ve got a strategy being exported to Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida, among others.
The good news is that conservatives and Tea Partiers can use these principles to swing the balance of power the other way. The time is now.
March 31st, 2011 at 5:41 pm
Tea Party’s Lesson from Budget Fight: Go Bigger Next Time
Bloomberg reports that the rumored $33 billion in cuts being negotiated by House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is looking like the key number both sides are working towards. For perspective, that’s $28 billion less than the House of Representatives passed a few weeks ago, and $67 billion less than Republicans promised during last year’s mid-term elections.
When the $61 billion cut was passed, Tea Party-backed legislators accepted the reduction under the assumption that half a loaf is better than nothing at all. Now, the loaf is down to a third, and activists are having none of it.
Whatever sum gets approved, it’s a sure bet the Tea Party and the members of Congress friendly to it won’t forget the importance of starting the cut threshold even higher next time. At this rate, don’t be surprised if the 2012 battle cry is, “$500 Billion in Cuts or Fight!”
Tags: 2012 Elections, activist, budget, Congress, deficit, Harry Reid, John Boehner, Republican Party, spending cuts, taxes, tea party
October 23rd, 2010 at 10:35 am
British & French Definitions of ‘Liberty’
Today’s New York Times draws out an helpful distinction between British and French notions of liberty. The context is each country’s reaction to the growing public sector spending crisis.
“France’s problem is that, for too long, the economy has been run as a kind of job club for French workers,” said an editorial in The Spectator, a conservative British magazine. “Britain and France believe in liberty, but have different definitions of it.”
While the British believe in “liberty from government,” the editorial said, the French “still like the big state and squeal at the prospect of being removed from its teat.”
The French also pay higher club dues and expect commensurate rewards. French pensions can reach three-quarters of a working wage, compared with just over two-fifths in Britain. So, if French workers and teenagers strike over their pensions, there’s plenty to protest about.
One of the consequences of France’s keener devotion to socialism is a reduced sense of class conflict. Not so in Britain.
If Britain falls prey to protest, there will be sharper overtones of class struggle than solidarity. Britain is a more divided society than France. Wealth is more ostentatious, poverty more visible. People in Britain have learned to have sharper elbows in pursuit of individual gain, while France prides itself on a broader concordat.
“Social confrontation is part of our democracy,” said Prime Minister François Fillon, “but social consensus is, as well.”
How each country’s government handles the coming backlash to ‘austerity’ in public spending will do much to define the future of freedom for their respective citizens. Hopefully, they can make a credible argument that limited government and greater individual opportunity go hand-in-hand instead of coming to blows.
October 22nd, 2010 at 12:30 pm
Tea Party Jolts the GOP Back to Life
In today’s Wall Street Journal Peggy Noonan lets loose with an unequivocal endorsement of the Tea Party’s contribution to revitalizing the GOP. According to Noonan, Tea Party activists kick-started the Republican resurgence by decoupling it from former President George W. Bush’s ideological grip.
The tea party did something the Republican establishment was incapable of doing: It got the party out from under George W. Bush. The tea party rejected his administration’s spending, overreach and immigration proposals, among other items, and has become only too willing to say so. In doing this, the tea party allowed the Republican establishment itself to get out from under Mr. Bush: “We had to, boss, it was a political necessity!” They released the GOP establishment from its shame cringe.
Much like 1995, 2011 will feature a Republican congressional majority that is unabashed in its demand for fealty to first principles, the Constitution, and limited government. Oh, the anticipation…
October 15th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
Conservative Women Leading the Social Network Revolution
Slate’s Noreen Malone writes an incisive article detailing the secret behind the rise of conservative female activists: superior use of social networking.
This brand of social activism also happens to perfectly dovetail with the brand of conservative feminism that was being promoted at the (Smart Girl Summit): You can maintain your duties as a wife and mother but also become involved in the movement through making phone calls, handing out flyers, running for school board if national office seems too disruptive to your family. ( “Start small, build big” was another theme—school board leads to county leads to state, etc.) You can organize an entire conference and run a highly trafficked Web site but, since those activities are not professionalized, still call yourself a stay-at-home mom. And those “maternal” skills—organization, communication—are just as good, if not better than, a high-powered professional résumé in a movement that’s asking for foot soldiers. (But high-powered résumés are OK, too—cf Liz Cheney.)
Though Malcolm Gladwell makes some excellent points about the limitations of social networks as vehicles for social change, the increasing use and adaptability of social networking technology is allowing a whole new breed of conservative activists (homeschooling mothers) to dramatically impact the national political scene; at least when it comes to news coverage and GOP primaries.
Stay tuned…
April 13th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
American Majority
There’s a great article by Ned Ryun, courtesy of Red State, about the need to get conservatives and the movement they animate focused on taking back control of America, one local election at a time. On a day when the Heritage Foundation is announcing a nationwide campaign to flex its muscles with members of Congress, Ryun’s American Majority is training candidates for school boards and state races. We need both; especially when it comes to putting our principles into action.
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