Thank You, Todd Purdum

I'm sure you have all heard about the blatantly dishonest 10,000 word hit piece that was written in Vanity Fair about Gov. Sarah Palin today. I won't link to such rubbish, but you can easily find said article on Real Clear Politics. It was written by Todd Purdum, who is the political correspondent for Vanity Fair Magazine. Which makes me wonder; who reads Vanity Fair for political coverage?

I don't want to go into too much detail here about the actual content of the article, as that has already been given thorough analysis by Bill Kristol, Jim Geraghty at National Review, and Tom Bevan at RCP.

What I feel is important about this is the motive behind these articles. Imagine if (supposedly) legitimate journalists wrote these types of articles, with this frequency, about Dan Quayle in June of 1993. I pick Dan Quayle because he somehow developed this reputation for not being a very bright guy. It should be noted, also, that Dan Quayle now runs a multi-billion dollar private equity firm. Hmmmm....

The reason there were no articles such as the one written by Mr. Purdum was due to the fact that Dan Quayle was never a terribly charismatic guy, and never had any kind of avenue to fight back against whatever was said about him. Even if he did, no one cared.

When Gov. Palin speaks, people listen, whether they agree with her politics or not. She gets media time whenever she wants it specifically for this reason. She has been fairly successful at using the media to her advantage, something that she was unable to do 8 months ago. During the verbal altercation with David Letterman, Palin used this opportunity to give two interviews on more liberal networks. She briefly addressed the Letterman issue, but made it clear that she was going to discuss policy; more specifically the natural gas pipeline she is working on in Alaska. This allows her to get her message to those who may not pay attention to her policy regularly, and it shows in the gains she is making with independents.

It seems that the governor has a unique ability to make attacks against her work in her favor. At this point, it is only a matter of how long it takes people like Todd Purdum to figure out that their totally factless and baseless attacks are helping her over time. Perhaps those elusive independents, now disenchanted with Obama, are thinking "Hey, why do they keep going after this woman, what is she actually all about..?"

So I say, "Thank You, Todd Purdum." Keep up the good work. I know you are so low on the food chain that even Bill Clinton called you a scumbag, but this country needs all the help it can get right now.

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You Are Free

Well under the current administration and their agenda for this country, not exactly.

The copy reads...

* Freedom is subject to terms and conditions. "Freedom" means the freedom we give you to do and say what we tell you. "Free" means your choice to do or not do what we tell you. Freedom can be removed at any time. Freedom is subject to availability. Freedom is a privilege, not a right. Freedom does not extend to events, beliefs and actions that are not condoned by us. We will determine who is subject to Freedom. Freedom is not free. Freedom requires that there are people who are not free. Freedom can be impinged upon by those who gave you your Freedom and an continue to keep you Free. If it is determined that you perform or have performed any act, speech, or conversation that is deemed Unpatriotic, your Freedom will be immediately revoked. We will determine what is Unpatriotic as we are the only one who know what is good for you. You are Free to so what we tell you.

Something to consider as we prepare to celebrate our Nation's independence from Britain this Saturday.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

As Mark Levin so wisely stated in his new book, Liberty and Tyranny,

"...we, as human beings, have a right to live, live freely, and pursue that which motivates us not because man or some government says so, but because these are God-given natural rights."

This idea laid forth by our Founding Fathers, and described so clearly by Mr. Levin is becoming a glaring difference between current Conservatism and Liberalism.

We Conservatives need to stand up and see to it that our freedoms are not stripped from us one by one from the Government that is supposed to be protecting and defending our freedom. In the words of President Ronald Reagan

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free."

Happy Fourth of July.

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Even When Obama Talks Progress In Iraq The "Progressives" Remain Unhappy

This is interesting. Obama gives a speech praising the Iraqi takover of many sections of Iraq. However, it seems that the "progressives" (aka ultra liberal), aren't happy about. Read this article about why the progressive left aren't as happy about Iraq as Obama is. This article will drive anyone with common sense nuts.

They want countries like Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and the U.N. (useless nations) more involved in Iraq. Yeah, get Iran more involved in what goes on in the Iraqi government that sounds like a good idea. Here are some more points to think about as you read this article: 1. They claim that more Iraqis have died in the Iraq war than during 35 years of Saddam Hussein rule. Of course they don't mention that Saddam was killing mostly innocent people while the U.S. and coalition troops have killed mostly radical terrorists loyal to Saddam. 2. Talking about Maliki the Iraqi president: "He's built a countrywide patronage system to bribe and pay off tribal allies, in anticipation of 2010 elections." However Acorn under investigation of fraud in over 30 states are A OK to be involved in the 2010 census. 3. "Maliki is dependent on the good will of Iran, who could topple him instantly if he crossed Tehran." All I have to say about this is that Iran can't topple Malaki in Iraq if Obama stands by his own campaign statements that if Iraq does begin to fall apart he will use troops to restabilize Iraq.

Remember, John McCain criticized Obama on the campaign trail for saying that if we ended the Iraq war and pulled our troops out we would go back in to help restabilize Iraq. That is why McCain, I voted for neither of them by the way, said we shouldn't pull out of Iraq completely because it would be easier to restabilize if a U.S. force remained in the country. Remember the 100 years comment that gave McCain so much trouble from the Obama camp? It seems that the "progressives" are just never happy when it comes to Iraq. They fight against going in. Then they fight staying in. Now it seems they aren't even satisfied with a rather large scaling back of U.S. responsability in Iraq. Since neither Obama or Bush seem to be able to make them happy why should we pay any attention to what they say?

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FINALLY: Minnesota Has Two Senators Again

Norm Coleman has conceded the long-contested Senate race in the state of Minnesota to challenger Al Franken. Certainly, we all take great closure in the fact that Minnesota has the same representation in the Senate again.



I believe that leaves only one other state that does not have two senators actually working, as this character was hospitalized some time back...

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A Letter From MoveOn.Org to me

Dear MoveOn member,

The U.S. House passed a huge energy bill Friday. Lots of good people are applauding the passage of this legislation. But here's the ugly truth:

Big Oil and Coal lobbyists, working in cahoots with some conservative Blue Dog Democrats, weakened the bill terribly—it now falls far short of President Obama's campaign vision to transition America's economy to clean energy and create millions of new jobs.

In fact, the bill repeals a key part of the Clean Air Act and doesn't do nearly enough to shift America to renewable energy—so instead of a boom in solar and wind, the bill locks us into dirty coal power for another generation.¹

Working with progressive champions in the House, we were able to achieve modest gains at the eleventh hour (see details below). But saving the Clean Air Act and fixing other problems with the bill as the fight moves to the Senate will require a massive grassroots outcry.

So we have a decision to make: Should MoveOn launch a full-court press to fix the bill, and turn up the heat on senators who might be tempted to side with Big Oil and Coal?

Click to vote:

"Yes. Let's fight to save the Clean Air Act and fix the energy bill."

"No. I don't think we should do that." (And tell us why.)

We'll go forward if 2/3 of us who vote think it makes sense.

It's not necessarily an easy choice. Of course we won't stop working on health care or other issues, but this will require significant resources. All of us will need to pitch in to make sure our senators get the message. And there are certainly thoughtful people who say the bill is the best we can do, and we should focus solely on passing it.

You can read differing views on the bill from a variety of leading experts by clicking here. But here's one indication of how far it got weakened:

During the floor debate last week, conservative Democrats openly bragged that the bill would result in "increased coal use."² They urged others to support it because the Clean Air Act rollbacks in the bill would stop President Obama's Environmental Protection Agency from setting new rules for global warming pollution.³

Most people haven't heard much about these problems in the bill, which runs over 1,200 pages and was negotiated mostly behind closed doors. But as progressive leaders in Congress have spoken out, momentum to fix the bill has grown.

Nearly 50 members of Congress, led by Reps. Chellie Pingree and Keith Ellison, signed a letter calling for the bill to be strengthened.⁴ And Rep. Lloyd Doggett was one of several who spoke out on the day of the vote, saying, "The fine print [in the bill] betrays its laudable purpose. The real cap is on the public interest and the trade is from the public to the polluters."⁵ A few even voted against the bill to spotlight its problems.⁶

To win in the Senate, we need to make sure everyone understands that the Clean Air Act is under attack and highlight the other big problems with the bill. If we decide to proceed with this campaign together, we'll boost progressive champions like those who fought in the House, and expose conservatives who do the bidding of the oil and coal industry.

It's a big step—we'll need to work even harder, and organize even better. And it's up to you.

Should we go ahead with a big campaign to fix the problems with the energy bill as it moves through the Senate?

Click here to vote yes: http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51552&id=16469-17182837-FkbPfpx&t=6

Click here to vote no (and tell us why): http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51551&id=16469-17182837-FkbPfpx&t=7

Thanks for all you do.

–Justin, Eli, Michael, Laura and the rest of the team

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Why is this important? It's simple really. According to MoveOn this bill is not far left enough because of conservative DEMOCRATS. They actually think this bill is too conservative. Well then let me ask you (and them something).....If this bill helps "big oil" and "big coal" and as we now know it's full of wasteful spending how can anyone support it? The "right" hates the "pork" special interest spending, and apparently the "left" thinks this bill sides with the oil and coal industry, (funny I thought they were puppets of the Bush administration).

Here's an idea straight from your friends at he counted wrong: Scrap this junk energy bill and work together to come up with some real solutions to today's problems. As I've stated many times in the past the people who this congress are supposed to work for, (that's we the people), are done with right and left. We want to see congress follow the principles most of us adhere too. It's not about right and left.....it's about right and wrong.

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Nanci Pelosi Seems Worried

Nanci Pelosi has given some instructions to Democratic lawmakers about what they should talk about over the July 4th recess.

The major themes she wants to be discussed are healthcare, stimulus, and the energy bill (now being called the "green jobs" bill by most of it's supporters). This should prove to be a tough sell.

Many are still weary of the government taking control of our healthcare system. The stimulus plans, (Bush's and Obama's), were never supported by much of the public. Also the more people seem to learn about this energy bill the lower support for it will be. Of course that won't matter to Congress since they've already passed it in the house and are likely to pass it in the Senate as well.

The public is already fed up with all of the "pork" coming out of Washington. John Boehner has been doing all he can to expose the waste in this bill. If there's one thing the public has been paying attention to in recent years it's the waste coming out of Congress. When money begins to disappear out of the public's pockets due to this bill then the public will be far less interested in hearing about all of the "green jobs". You can't keep talking about created or "saved" jobs with any credability if unemployment continues to rise.

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Charles Krauthammer on the Cap-and-Trade Bill

Charles is very much a pro-environment guy. But watch this.


Rep. John Boehner also had some choice words about the climate change bill:

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Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) had a few choice words about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) landmark climate-change bill after its passage Friday.

When asked why he read portions of the cap-and-trade bill on the floor Friday night, Boehner told The Hill, "Hey, people deserve to know what's in this pile of shit."

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Yeah, that sounds about right.

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Contact House RINO's

I found this interesting little piece about what we can do about the 8 House Republicans who supported cap-and-trade, also known as the largest middle class tax hike in U.S. history:

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URGENT ACTION REQUIRED..
THESE RINOS HAVE 5 DAYS TO CHANGE THEIR VOTE...
WE ARE IN DAY 1.

Check out this link: http://www.teapartypatriots.org/ to get the complete roll call of who voted for or against this bill.

Bono Mary Mack (CA) 202-225-5330 Fax (202) 225-2961
http://bono.house.gov/Contact_Mary/

Castle Mike (DE) 202-225-4165 Fax 202.225.2291
http://www.castle.house.gov/Contact/

Kirk Mark (IL) 202-225-4835 Fax: 202-225-0837
http://www.house.gov/kirk/zipauth.shtml

Lance Leonard (NJ) 202-225-5361 Fax: (202) 225-9460
http://lance.house.gov/?sectionid=48&sectiontree=3,48

Lobiondo Frank (NJ) 202-225-6572 (fax)(202) 225-3318
http://www.house.gov/lobiondo/IMA/issue.htm

McHugh John (NY) 202-225-4611 Fax (202) 226-062
1 http://mchugh.house.gov/zipauth.aspx

Reichart Dave (WA) 202-225-7761 Fax (202) 225-4282
http://reichert.house.gov/Contact/ZipAuth.htm

Smith Chris (NJ) 202-225-3765 Fax 202-225-7768
http://chrissmith.house.gov/zipauth.html

DO NOT GIVE UP ON THIS. One, still some opportunity with these RINOs. Second, it has not passed the Senate.

----------------------------------------------------


I am all for the Big-Tent concept of the Republican Party. I believe that we cannot have the same commitment to conservative principles out of a Republican in Maine as we can from a Republican in South Carolina. I believe we need to win in Red, Blue, and swing states. I realize that Senators and Congressmen need to vote in a way that keeps their constituents happy. I get it.

But there has to be a line in the sand.

First it was 3 Republican senators who helped break a filibuster in the senate. They should have known the stimulus was a giant crap sandwich, but OK. Now it is 8 turncoat Republicans in the House, all from blue states.

There needs to be principles that Republicans should be unanimously in favor of. Lower taxes, smaller government, opposition to excessive government regulation, and strong national defense. Beyond that, I believe that conservatives should be more understanding of what it is like being a Republican in a blue state. But this should not change the core principles of being a Republican.

These 8 Republicans voted for what will likely be the largest tax increase in U.S. history. This tax will be hidden in our utility bills, and therefore will hit low and middle income families the most. And this is all in the name of "Climate Change," a theory that is by no means proven, and I consider unlikely at best. We all want clean and renewable sources of energy, but their supply and demand must be determined by the marketplace, not by bureaucrats in Washington. This will have the same economy-stagnating effect as the price controls of the Nixon and Carter presidencies.

I suggest calling these congressmen and letting them know we will punish them in 2010. But we must also get to work on our senators. I will have a list of senators who are on the fence on this issue.

This lunacy must be stopped.

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Even Obama Supporter Warren Buffett Seems Concerned About Obama Agenda

From a CNBC interview today.

BECKY: The last time we sat down to talk to you was on May 4, and at that point you told us that you think we're in an economic war right now. How much progress do you think we've made in that war?

BUFFETT: Well, it's been pretty flat. I get figures on 70-odd businesses, a lot of them daily. Everything that I see about the economy is that we've had no bounce. The financial system was really where the crisis was last September and October, and that's been surmounted and that's enormously important. But in terms of the economy coming back, it takes a while. There were a lot of excesses to be wrung out and that process is still underway and it looks to me like it will be underway for quite a while. In the (Berkshire Hathaway) annual report I said the economy would be in a shambles this year and probably well beyond. I'm afraid that's true.

Buffett says he's not concerned about deflation, but thinks inflation will be a problem in coming years.

Buffett repeated his criticism of "cap and trade" as a method to control pollution, saying it would be a huge, regressive tax.

Buffett was a major supporter of Obama's throughout the campaign. He has always openly opposed cap-and-trade but this is really the first time he has seemed this concerned.

It is becoming clear that support for many of Obama's policies is collapsing rapidly. Looks like the American people bought a lemon...

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If There Were An Award for Great Blog Posts....

Obviously there is a lot going on in Iran right now.

I found this post on C4P, originally written from a poster at Aces, and it was so good I had to post it here. It refers to Neda, the young woman who was murdered by Iranian police on Saturday:

"I finally looked at her picture, and she looked familiar somehow. I think we have a statue of her in the harbor at New York. Delacroix caught a glimpse of her once on a barricade in Paris. She carried water to the cannon crews at Monmouth, and drove a chariot at Watling Street. She cut off Holophernes' head.

She will be missed, but she will be back. She's that kind of girl."

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Barack Obama's Poll Numbers Plummet

The latest Rasmussen poll shows that Barack Obama is at his lowest approval ratings to date. His approval stands at 53%. More notable though, is what is commonly referred to as the Passion Index. The Passion Index is the difference between the percentage of likely voters who strongly approve and strongly disapprove of the way the president is handling his job. 32% strongly approve and 34% strongly disapprove, giving the president an approval index of -2. This is the first time Obama has dipped below 0 on the scale.

Several political analysts have expected this to happen naturally, as the unpopularity of Obama's policies would eventually catch up to the president's job approval rating. However, as Dick Morris notes here, most Americans still blame Bush for the economy, and that is the only thing keeping Obama's approval ratings reasonably high. Morris also opines two weeks ago that this would happen, and offers analysis of how Obama is popular even though his policies are not.

I would argue that much of this is frustration over the economy, high spending, and in the very short term, the current fight over health care. CBS/NYT released a poll today suggesting that 72% of Americans favor a public option. I would argue that CBS/NYT has their thumbs on the scale again. I would also say that Rasmussen would disagree with them. Now who do you believe, a reputable independent pollster like Rasmussen, or a pollster like CBS/NYT with a clear liberal agenda?

Great analysis in the Green Room as well.

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Journalism and the World are Changed Forever

Social networking has changed the world forever. Even as all foreign journalism has been shut down in Iran, we are given information from the Iranian people using various social networking tools. Protesters are using tools like Facebook and Twitter to transfer information to the blogosphere and the world.

Some very interesting Tweets from Twitter. Log in to Twitter and use #iranelection. There are about 30 new tweets coming down every few seconds.

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WSJ: A Flat Tax for California?

Arnold finally wakes up. California may use the flat tax to help bring businesses back to the state. Something they should have done years ago.

The best idea is his semi-endorsement of a flat tax for California. The state's budget problem has two main causes: The first is runaway spending and the second is a tax structure that smothers businesses and entrepreneurs. California's income tax is the most progressive of all 50 states, with the second highest top rate (10.55%) after New York City's 12.62%. The Governor's revenue office calculates that between 50% and 55% of the income tax in the state comes from Kobe Bryant and the rest of the richest 1% of taxpayers.

This sounds like a liberal's tax paradise, but the "soak the rich" system has imploded on itself. As tax rates keep rising, more Californians move to places like Nevada and Texas where they can pay zero income tax, leaving Sacramento with fewer revenue sources. Moreover, the progressive rate structure means that California experiences more extreme gyrations in its revenues than any other state.

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Trouble in Paradise? Latest Poll Numbers From Public Policy Are Out

Public Policy is a left-leaning polling firm that releases in depth polls each month. I generally don't like their polls very much, as they use a very small sample size; about 600 voters.

The latest poll is here. For comparing trends, there are also results for April and May.

President Obama's approval rating is down a point and his disapproval is up 3 points, going from 53/41 in April to 52/44 in June. But a deeper look into the details of the poll brings up some very notable points:

• Obama's approval rating among men has slipped considerably; from 50/45 in April to 48/49 in June.
• In a hypothetical matchup with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Palin has increased her lead among base conservatives from 63/29 in April to 74/16. She has cut Obama's lead among independents by 2 points; from 44/51 in April to 41/46 in June.
• Palin's favorability among moderates is up from 28/67 in April to 33/58 in June. This is a more left-leaning demographic, as many liberals refer to themselves as moderate due to the negative connotation associated with the word "liberal."
• The biggest increases are in Palin's favorability ratings among independents, a group many thought she would be unable to reach. In April, her favorability among independents was 38/51. In June, it is now 44/42, with 14% undecided.

This poll was conducted in the middle of Palin's feud with David Letterman, so this could provide some evidence that Palin benefitted.

The slips for Obama are inevitable and will likely continue for some time. Evidence has existed that support for his policies has fallen considerably in recent weeks, with the American people becoming increasingly weary of soaring debt and government takeover of private enterprise.

Prediction: Obama to 49/49 approval overall by next month. Palin's recovery to repair her image will be slow and steady.

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Welcome!

Welcome to He Counted Wrong!

We are here to provide information, news, and analysis of current events and politics from a conservative standpoint. We'd also like to keep things light and entertaining, with a slight dose of sarcasm. We offer diverse thought in political matters; traditional conservatism, libertarianism, fiscal and social conservatism, and even some thoughts from a classical liberal standpoint (think JFK).

What we all have in common is that we believe that the United States is under attack by politicians who support far-left ideologies like fascism and democratic socialism.

Keep checking our site over the first few weeks, as this is a bit of a work in progress. Any feedback is welcome: hecountedwrong@gmail.com

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