LorieByrd.com

Follow the Election on FreedomWorks via UStream

Who do you want to hear concede tonight?

Who do you most want to hear concede tonight?  My top votes are:

1)  Bob "Who're You?" Etheridge (I work for his opponent Renee Ellmers who could use your vote today!)

2)  Alan Grayson

3)  Harry Reid

There are so many more though -- Mike McIntyre, Charlie Crist, Barney Frank, Patty Murray, etc.  Who is on your list?

Will GOP Wave Be Good for Obama?

From Jennifer Rubin:

If he intends to base his last two years on vilifying Republicans, he may succeed — in solidifying the not-Obama, center-right coalition.

Bill Clinton ran circles around the GOP Congress following the 1994 midterm debacle because he was more amiable, flexible, and adroit than his opponents. Whatever his faults, Clinton didn’t hate our guts. He loved being president, and he loved being praised by his fellow citizens. Obama suffers us — first in silence and now in public. And flexibility has really not been his strong suit. In short, Democrats long for a repeat of post-1994, but they lack the Bill Clinton part of the equation. (Frankly, they also lack the Newt Gingrich villain figure. Whatever their shortcomings, the current GOP leadership generally avoids personal displays of grandiosity and lacks a compulsion to say whatever ludicrously daft thought pops into their heads.)

So for those Democrats licking their chops at the prospect of an Obama-GOP face-off, they might want to reconsider. Isn’t it just as likely Obama will make the Republicans look better than the other way around? He’s sure done that during the midterm campaign.

Read it all.

 

Listen Up!

I had a great time talking to Gay Patriot Bruce Carroll on his Blog Talk Radio show tonight.  Adam Baldwin was up first and he was really interesting and super smart so even if you don't want to listen to me, listen to Bruce and Adam.

Find Your Inner Norris

Hilarious new NRA ad:

 

End the Stranglehold on Congress (NC-2)

Full disclosure: I have been working for Renee Ellmers for Congress since May. I have gotten to know Renee really well and the more I know about her, the more I like her. She is the real deal. Renee is running against Bob Etheridge in congressional district NC-2. Etheridge is famous most recently for his hit YouTube video, but he has been on my radar for years because NC-2 is my home district. He has voted for higher taxes and bigger government for years, but over the past two years has really gone all out for the Obama agenda voting for the spendulus, cap and tax, Obamacare and just about anything else Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama have proposed. He has voted with Pelosi 97% of the time.

This year is the best opportunity we have had to defeat Bob Etheridge and get a common sense conservative elected to this seat. But Etheridge has faced little opposition during his 14 years in the Congress and has built up a million dollar war chest which he will be spending soon on television ads. This seat is winnable, but Renee needs money to be competitive. Today the campaign is doing an "End the Stranglehold" moneybomb. Please contribute what you can. This is a great way to make a difference and turn a blue seat red. Please pass this along to your friends. Tweet it. Share on Facebook. And if you are a blogger, grab a graphic to support the campaign. Thank you.

Crossposted at Wizbangblog.com.

Vote for Renee Ellmers in Ten Buck Fridays

I have been so busy working for Renee Ellmers' campaign that I have not blogged much lately, but had to come back to let you all know that Renee has been nominated for the Ten Buck Fridays moneybomb.  Please go vote for Renee!  Ask all your Facebook friends and Twitter followers to do the same. 

If you don't already know what an incredible candidate Renee is, go read more about her at ReneeforCongress.com.

Sestak Says It's Not His Responsibility

Today on Meet the Press, the Democrat candidate for Senate, Joe Sestak, admitted he was offered a job by the White House (via Politico):

Sestak acknowledged in an interview in February that he was offered a position by an unnamed White House official - a potential violation of federal law - but has not offered any specifics on conversation. Republicans are trying to use the issue against Sestak in the November Senate race.

"It's interesting. I was asked a question about something that happened months earlier, and I felt that I should answer it honestly, and that's all I had to say about it." Sestak said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." "Anybody else has to decide on what they will say upon their role. That's their responsibility."

Yet Sestak confirmed to NBC's David Gregory that the incident did take place.

"I was offered a job, and I answered that," Sestak said. "Anything that goes beyond that is for others to talk about."

Considering the job offer might have possibly been a violation of federal law, or at the very least, the type of political maneuvering that many voters deplore, Sestak's refusal to provide more information about the offer is troubling.  He says, "Anybody else has to decide on what they will say upon their role.  That's their responsibility....I was offered a job.  Anything that goes beyond that is for others to talk about."  Is this the same position he will take as a Senator? 

If someone were to offer Senator Sestak a bribe, would he just turn them down and leave it up to them to turn themselves in? Or would he let the proper authorities, and the voters, know what was going on, to serve as a strong deterrent for such behavior?  Even if Sestak did not want to raise the issue of the White House job offer, now that it is out in the open doesn't he have some responsibility to provide additional details?  It appears he doesn't think so.  After all, he said, "That's their responsibility."  Well, at least with that statement he is clear with the voters about where he stands on the issue of responsibility.

Crossposted at Wizbang and Riehl World View.

Pantano for Congress

In my early days of blogging and column writing one of my most frequent topics was the war in Iraq.  I was appalled by much of the media coverage and the fact that many Democrats were willing to not only ignore the good work being done in the field by our troops, but to go so far as to smear them in an attempt to gain political advantage.   It should not be surprising that the story surrounding the primary in NC District 7 struck a nerve with me.  The latest news from the losers in that primary race is disappointing to say the least.

The Politico headline says, “GOP Split Clouds McIntyre Race:”

Two unsuccessful Republican candidates in North Carolina have turned their guns on the primary election winner, endangering the party’s hopes of defeating longtime Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.) in November.

GOP voters in the 7th District on May 4 nominated Ilario Pantano, a charismatic Iraq warveteran with a personal story many find compelling and a past encounter with military justice that gives others concern.

Among the latter is Will Breazeale, the second-place finisher and 2008 nominee against McIntyre, who told POLITICO on Wednesday he would do what he can to keep Pantano from winning the seat. He said the third-place finsher, Randy Crow, would join him at a news conference Tuesday in Wilmington, N.C., to discuss their plans.

“We’re going to work against him,” Breazeale — also an Iraq veteran — said. “If the Republicans don’t like it, they can kick me out.”

Breazeale says he has a moral obligation to oppose the nominee because of his actions in Iraq.  “It takes a military man like me to explain to civilians how bad that is.”  Here is how Breazeale “explained” it following his primary defeat:

Buyers remorse is a tough pill to swallow. I cannot help but think that perhaps many who voted for Ilario Pantano are now realizing their nominee's claim to fame is the execution of two unarmed Iraqis? In turn, they are already attempting to set up a scapegoat (me) in order to justify his inevitable, massive failure in November.

Breazeale argues that Democrat incumbent McIntyre will use the issue against Pantano in the general election.  If McIntyre is stupid enough to go that route I predict the tactic will be every bit as effective as it has been for Breazeale, and might even ensure the first Republican in 140 years takes the seat.

When Ace of Spades wrote about Pantano’s primary win last week the first comment to his blog post was, “What are the odds his Dem challenger outright calls him a murderer anyway, even though he was cleared?”  The response from another commenter was, “If it happens, I think the campaign will effectively end, since the D will have just ended his chances of victory and indeed his political career.”  They accurately predicted the tactic, but got the party wrong, although the accusations do sound a lot like those of one Democrat – Rep. John Murtha, who declared the Marines in Haditha guilty before all the evidence was in.  Several years ago Pantano commented on Murtha’s charges in the Washington Post.

Breazeale has announced he will be calling a press conference next week to continue this attack on Pantano.  He is currently reaching out to various media outlets (most recently The Daily Beast), but I can’t help but wonder if he might regret doing so if some of his own past is dredged up in the process. That would not only embarrass Breazeale, but it would continue to take attention away from the choice voters have to make in November.

Now that Will Breazeale and Randy Crow have lost, the focus of the race should be on the differences between Pantano and McIntyre rather than grandstanding by those no longer in the running.  Pantano has pointed out that in spite of voting with Republicans on some issues, McIntyre’s vote is for Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House.  I expect to hear Pantano cite that and many other differences frequently over the next six months.

For those concerned about the charges against Pantano, as Jammie Wearing Fool points out, “Pantano's history is out there for all to see and he isn't hiding anything. A simple Google search will tell you everything you need to know.”

Beginning in 2005, Blackfive’s Matt Burden followed Pantano’s case in a seven part series of blog posts ending with news that the murder charges were dropped.  Burden wrote, “I know Marines who commanded Pantano…every single one of them support Pantano.  Every. Single. One. The ones that I know would follow Pantano to hell and back.”  Burden enthusiastically endorsed Pantano in February.

The Politico headline cited in the beginning of this post is incorrect.  The Republican party is not split.  Pantano’s two opponents lost and instead of honoring the wishes of the voters of NC’s 7^th congressional district, and the overwhelming victory they handed Pantano with 69 percent of the vote, the men are desperately trying to stay in the game.  To do so they may attempt to split the party, but that is not going to happen. 

Iliano Pantano is a strong candidate.  He is young and energetic, as well as media savvy and a wonderful speaker.  Most important, he appears ready to do the work necessary to win the race.  His “100 Days of Work” videos remind me of Charles Kuralt’s On the Road reports – in both production and entertainment value. (In the first video his barber talks with Pantano in a down home southern drawl about Mr. Smith going to Washington and “filly-bustering.”) 

 Read Matt Burden’s Blackfive posts regarding the charges against Pantano – all of which have been dropped.  Read Pantano’s book, Warlord.  Go to Pantano’s website and watch some of his 100 days videos and read his blog posts.  While there watch his interview with Jon Stewart about the book.  Then decide whether or not he is a candidate you might want to support.

Pantano recently posted the following note to supporters about his strategy going forward,

“We have much to do, but let’s do it softly, and with honor and dignity. We are not looking for fights nor do we need to be disrespectful. Imagine a U-boat, that has just fired torpedoes and now moves quietly underwater to a new attack position. Don't ever confuse kindness, and civility with a lack of steely resolve. So get out there and smile. Kill them with kindness. These times are too critical and this race too important to succumb to emotion or foolish rancor. We will win by our rigorous faith and our discipline.”

If you would like to help Pantano prevail in November and be the first Republican to win the NC 7^th district seat in 140 years you can visit his website and contribute to his campaign.  If you are short on cash or live far from his district, his campaign has suggested ten ways you can help him from the comfort of your own home.

Update:  In the middle of the night when I wrote this post I misspelled Ilario Pantano's name in the post title.  I have corrected the mistake and apologize for that and any other mistakes I might find.

Crossposted at Wizbang.

What the Democrats in Congress should fear most

Plain and simple, what is driving many Democrats in Congress into early retirement is the fear (strike that, realization) that the voters back home are beginning to pay attention to what they do in DC.  There are many politicians that talk a good game at home.  They have convinced voters that they are representing their concerns.  They have convinced voters that all those other politicians in Congress are the problem, not them.  Trouble is, thanks to alternative media, the voters at home no longer have to depend on those in the mainstream media, or even those in the conservative media, for their information.  If they have a computer and an internet connection all they need to know about what their representatives are doing in Washington (chiefly how they are voting) is available with a few keystrokes.  The American people are feeling empowered like never before.  They showed up at town hall meetings and made their opinions known. Their representatives then returned to Congress and voted -- some in accordance to what they heard and some in spite of it.  Those who talked one way at home and voted another way in DC should be afraid.  The truth is finally catching up to them.