Is Hillary really the front runner?

I’m starting to think that we may not even have to worry about Hillary Clinton in the General Election. I mean, her odds at winning in a general election are almost as bad as President Bush winning a third term. The latest survey from Zogby Interactive shows her trailing five Republican candidates in general election match ups. Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and John McCain all lead Senator Clinton by margins of five to three points.

This could be an early warning sign for the Democrats. I see this as a disconnect between the Democratic Party and the American people. Clinton dominates her Democratic opponents in most polls, but either loses, or either barely scrapes by in any match up against a Republican candidate. Good Lord, I’m starting to think that Denny Hastert could stay competitive in a poll against her. This is another clear example of what a polarizing figure Sen. Clinton really is.

There are other signs as well. Clinton has recently found herself staring at the rear of Barack Obama’s campaign bus in Iowa. In a new ABC News/Washington Post poll, Sen. Obama attracts 30 percent support compared with Sen. Clinton’s 26 percent. If Sen. Clinton lost in Iowa and/or New Hampshire, we could see a political avalanche of the sort that hasn’t been seen since Howard Dean’s “I Have A Scream” speech in 04.

Maybe primary state Democrats will wise up and throw their support behind a more electable candidate. Not that I really want them to, fine by me if we have a Republican in office on Inauguration Day, fine by me.

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2 billion dollar tax hike in Maryland

Many of you may wonder why I’ve titled this blog, “The Search For Freedom”. Well, I live in what I like to call the “Stalinist State Of Maryland”, and freedom is nowhere to be found. In November of 2006, the fine citizens of Maryland elected the former Democratic Mayor of Baltimore, Martin O’Malley to the governor’s mansion over a moderate incumbent Republican, Gov. Bob Ehrlich.

I don’t think much of O’Malley. He’s your typical, out of touch, political deceiver. But that’s almost too high of a compliment, because if you watch him for more than 2 seconds you will soon realize that he is, for lack of a better word, an empty suit. O’ Malley has no substance, and he can’t even spend taxpayer’s money creatively.

All that being said, I would like to explain to my “red state” readers that abnormally high taxes are just a way of life in Maryland. Good, hard working citizens don’t even think that there is an alternative. Why? Because, in Maryland, unions tell you how to think, and we all know that unions have workers’ best interests at heart, right?

Last week, O’Malley passed his 2 billion dollar tax overhaul through the Maryland House Of Delegates. O’Malley raised the sales tax, the gasoline tax,( because Gas is already too cheap, right?) the tobacco tax, and the income tax on anyone who makes more than 15,000 dollars per year. It kills me that so many people consider the Democratic Party to be ” The Party of the People, the working man”. I hope that some day Maryland voters will finally learn to start thinking for themselves. Call me crazy, but I don’t consider a Democrat backed 2 billion dollar tax hike to be in the best interest of common people. I know, I’m nuts.

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What’s Up With National Review?

What is wrong with National Review? I’ve only been a subscriber for a short while, but their views on the Republican presidential nomination are completely bogus. They constantly praise John McCain, when his senate record doesn’t coincide with anything that they seem to adhere to. I have seen Sam Brownback praised from within their pages, but Mike Huckabee ? I have seen nothing but negative remarks from them concerning his campaign. Let’s take a look at what they have to say.

“Unfortunately, what Huckabee offers by way of solutions is a mixture of populism and big-government liberalism; the common theme of his policies is that they are half-baked.” (“Right Questions, Wrong Answers” Editorial, 11-19-07)

Also, ” When he was governor of Arkansas, these instincts led Huckabee to move farther and farther in a statist direction.”

How do I respond to this? First, National Review claims that Huckabee’s proposed policy is both populist and big-government liberalism. That’s impossible, the two don’t mix. According to the third edition of “The American Heritage Dictionary” the definition of populism is as follows; ( Populism= A political philosophy opposing the concentration of power in the hands of corporations, the government, and the rich.) That sounds pretty good to me. A small dose of populism could be just the type of refreshment that the Republican platform has so desperately needed.

This of course isn’t to say that every one of Mike Huckabee’s positions is infallible. To tell the truth, I disagree with him on a number of things, but I write this just to express my disappointment with the editors of National Review. Why do they return to status-quo candidates when a conservative such as Huckabee is running on a platform of change? It seems like a no-brainer.

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Huckabee’s Momentum Growing

I thought that Mike Huckabee’s momentum would level out once he topped 10% in national polls, but, I was wrong. It just seems like Huckabee is doing everything right. Last night, Huckabee’s website reported that they had exceeded their fundraising goal for the first 20 days of November by nearly 43,000 dollars. He also is rising in the polls, especially in Iowa. He has 24% support in Iowa according to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll. That is compared with Mitt Romney’s 28%.

The difference in that is that Huckabee is using a close to 10 million dollars less than Romney. Huckabee released his first TV commercial last week,(A very clever one featuring Chuck Norris which you can see below.) while Romney has been releasing commercials on TV and radio for months. You can only logically conclude that Huckabee is the up and coming candidate to beat in Iowa.

I also worried that Huckabee’s campaign would be focusing too much on Iowa. I have found, however, that Huckabee is campaigning strongly in several central states, such as Ohio and Indiana. It is extremely encouraging to see that Huckabee’s campaign has a “national” mindset, that will help him in all later state primaries.

More so than what I have previously mentioned, the national media is beginning to show serious attention to Huckabee. From my count, I can recall 4 times that I have seen Huckabee featured on national news programs in the last 24 hours. I don’t know if this attention will last, but he has no place to go but up.

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Chuck Norris : wowsers.

Now It’s a question of what is the stronger force; Chuck Norris, or democracy? Or perhaps both?

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"Conservative Idealism"

I have a disease of longing for a certain kind of conservative, a conservative who truly wants to help people, a conservative that looks at the world not as it is, but at what it could be, a conservative who loves everyday people, a conservative who knows that war is the very last option, and only carries it out when opposition is truly evil, a conservative who knows why he/she is on this earth, and a conservative who is a servant at the heart. I think that kind of conservatism could and would revolutionalize the American culture in general. Conservatives have looked like the bad guys for so long that some young people today won’t even give Republicans a chance. Why? Because obviously we absolutely are fueled by fear. We are afraid of liberal stands, afraid that we will see our society slip into moral and economic decay. Our society will fall if we continue to appeal to people’s fears instead of their hopes. We can’t give way to liberal agenda, we must stand strong; but on the other hand, we can’t be on the defensive. We must look forward in hope, not shrink back in fear. If we could adopt this mindset someday then, and only then could we try to recapture the heart of America.

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Talk Radio has outlived its usefullness.

I used to enjoy talk radio. I used to think that talk radio was somewhat of a healthy balance to all of the left leaning media that you see on T.V. I have began to think that intelligent, informed conservative citizens have nothing to gain from talk radio. Every time I switch my radio from F.M to A.M, I am completely insulted. Has anyone listened to Sean Hannity lately? He spends half of his time trashing Hillary Clinton, and the other half making a hero out of anyone who claims to disagree with her. Talk radio commentators seem to have nothing in common with real conservative citizens. (except, a common disdain for the Clinton’s or “left-wing” elitists.) I have not learned anything new from talk radio. Talk radio could redeem itself if commentators would actually display some sort of relevant, and USEFUL information. Until I see a change, I’m keeping the dial on FM.

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