Let's Reelect the Messager!

President Barack Obama is taking the position that his self-described "shellacking" was due to poor messaging, not policy.

Obama told 60 Minutes,

I think that, over the course of two years we were so busy and so focused on getting a bunch of stuff done that, we stopped paying attention to the fact that leadership isn’t just legislation. That it’s a matter of persuading people. And giving them confidence and bringing them together. And setting a tone,” Mr. Obama told

“Making an argument that people can understand,” Mr. Obama continued, “I think that we haven’t always been successful at that. And I take personal responsibility for that. And it’s something that I’ve got to examine carefully … as I go forward.”

Wait a second: John Yarmuth was one of the Democrats in charge of "messaging." And yet he escaped the "shellacking." There must be about 62 Democrats wondering about the justice in that outcome.

Hey, NRCC: What About KY-3 ?

Politico reports that the NRCC is already identifying what Democrats to target in 2012 for the second wave.

Here's a word of advice: you need to pay attention to John Yarmuth. To be sure, Democrats will always have a big registration advantage in Kentucky's 3rd Congressional district. Yarmuth's voting record is so far to the left, however, that he irks Republicans here in a way that words cannot convey.

At a fundraiser for Todd Lally, Yarmuth's most recent opponent, Republicans expressed dismay and then outrage upon learning that the NRCC had not given a single dime to the Lally campaign.

Republicans here get that the target-rich environment this election made the NRCC dizzy with possibilities. In sort of a reverse triage, low-hanging fruit needed to be picked first. Nonetheless, the NRCC's refusal to send a few bucks to defeat Yarmuth makes many donors in KY-3 wonder if it is best to give to individual candidates rather than the committees.

A Word About John Yarmuth's Buddies at SEIU

We've noted recently that SEIU, the nation's largest union, is giving roughly $44 million to Democrats this year, and that John Yarmuth is one of their recipients. SEIU reps met with Yarmuth in the run-up to the Obamacare vote. Their donation suggests they were well-pleased with his vote.

For those who don't follow SEIU, here is a synopsis from RedState on what the union's been up to lately. Consider the implications for a tight race, like we have in Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District:

• In Milwaukee, a SEIU lobbyist brags about a hatchet job the union is planning on Republican Scott Walker on behalf of Democrat Tom Barrett, with media cooperation.
• In Washington state, an SEIU member was arrested for allegedly forging signatures on petitions
• In Harris County, TX a group run by a former SEIU staffer allegedly turned in over 23,000 fraudulent voter registrations [Video of said former SEIU staffer here.]
  • Note: The situation seems to have deteriorated further as actual voting has begun.
• In Arizona, the SEIU (and affiliated groups) allegedly signed up 20,000 voters and was involved in get out the vote early rallies where it is possible that ballots from undocumented immigrants were sent in.
• Ironically, on Tuesday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals threw out Arizona’s requirement that citizen’s show proof of citizenship in order to vote. . . .
• • In Colorado, 6,000 voter registrations were canceled under Colorado’s 20-day rule. TheSEIU and SEIU-affiliated groups sought a preliminary injunction to reactivate the cancelled registrations.
  • In Yuma, Arizona, Mi Familia Vota (a group connected to the SEIU and whose national treasurer is SEIU’s Eliseo Medina) and One Vote Arizona turned in more than 3,000 voter registrations, of which 65% were invalid. Yuma County [AZ-7] is where Democrat (socialist) Raúl M. Grijalva is in a tight race against Republican Ruth McClung [h/t Jim Hoft].
  • On Tuesday, the Washington Examiner’s Mark Hemingway reported Nevada’s Clark County had voting machines that had Democrat Harry Reid’s name already checked. To make matters worse, the voting machine technicians are represented by the SEIU.

House Passes Economic Recovery Legislation; Yarmuth Votes Yes

As predicted, Congressman John Yarmuth (along with at least 21 other former naysayers) switched his vote, allowing the House to pass the economic recovery legislation. The roll call is here. Final count: Yeas - 263; Nays - 171.

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Yarmuth Primes To Switch His Vote

The New York Times provides further evidence that Congressman John Yarmuth is about to change his vote to yes on the economic recovery legislation:

Representative John Yarmuth, Democrat of Kentucky, says he does not need to watch television or check the Internet to know how the stock market is faring these days. All he has to do is check in with his office and ask if the phones are ringing.

Since Monday afternoon, when Mr. Yarmuth voted against the plan, the constituents calling his office have swung from almost universal opposition to the bill to evenly split.

“Before the vote on Monday, I think our count was 965 to 60,” Mr. Yarmuth said, describing the wave of sentiment against the plan. “On Tuesday, after the market dropped,” he said, “the calls started out in the morning saying, ‘why don’t you do something.’ Once the market came back, they started evening out again. Now they are running about 50-50.”

Mr. Yarmuth said that several of the new provisions could potentially sway his vote. He checked in with his staff on Wednesday morning and learned that constituent feedback was closely tracking the stock markets, he said.

“This morning when the market was off a couple of hundred points, they said the calls were coming in saying do something, and when the market was up they stopped,” Mr. Yarmuth said. “So people are following the market pretty closely.”

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Thanks, Mama Pelosi, For That 700 Point Stock Market Plunge!

We can thank House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's partisan rhetoric for the Wall Street legislation going down in flames today in the House. No doubt she was suffering from severe lack of sleep, but there really was no excuse for her standing up before the vote and trying to place the entire blame on Republicans -- and specifically President Bush -- for the financial market crisis.

Wasn't it the Democrats who just last week decried injecting "presidential politics" into the legislative debate? Well, that is exactly what Pelosi did today -- and House Republicans were understandably furious at her for trying to spin the vote even before it was taken.

So it's back to the drawing boards for the Administration and Congress to come up with Plan B. Here's one suggestion to get things started: gag the House Speaker.

If Congressman John Yarmuth is still "messaging" for Pelosi, he's got his work cut out for him. It's time for Anne Northup to run an ad hanging Pelosi around Yarmuth's neck.

Update: Make that a 777.68 point plunge.

Update: I guess Yarmuth has resigned his position on Pelosi's "messaging" team: he voted against the bill. So did Congressmen Ben Chandler, Geoff Davis and Ed Whitfield. Congressmen Ron Lewis and Harold “Hal” Rogers voted for it.

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Congressional Democrats Drill Themselves A Hole

Ed Morrissey at Hotair suggests that the last poll numbers could be registering the beginning of a GOP resurgence to retake the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. He attributes the Republicans' gain to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's mishandling of off-shore oil drilling legislation:

The erosion began last month, and may result from a double whammy of sorts. The Palin effect may have energized the base, but the gain among independents may be more likely the result of the Democratic punt on energy in August. Nancy Pelosi shut down Congress rather than allow a vote on expanded drilling, a huge miscalculation with an electorate favoring that policy by more than 2-1.
. . . .
If Democrats lose the House, they can look back to Pelosi’s adjournment as their tipping point. She may have singlehandedly transformed her party, which looked like it couldn’t lose this year, into a minority in the House.

So much for Congressman John Yarmuth's "messaging" on behalf of Pelosi.

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Use It Or Lose It Nonsense

Democrats like John Yarmuth, and his mentor Nancy Pelosi, have stonewalled development of other sources of energy -- like drilling in shale -- by responding that the oil companies are not drilling on all the land they've leased from the federal government. But their snappy slogan -- "use it or lose it -- defies common sense.

At a time when oil prices are at a record high, it would be economically irrational for the oil companies to not pump every possible gallon of crude. It would be contrary to the oil companies' own self interest to hoard crude in federal lands, especially after having spent hundreds of million of dollars for a lease. Why would they do such a thing -- laziness? evilness? Given the Democrats' attempts to demonize everyone who works for an oil company, they probably assume evilness.

The "Use It Or Lose It" rhetoric makes even less sense, given how the federal lease program works:

"I think it gives you a good idea why our leases are arranged in 5-, 8- and 10-year terms," said Randall Luthi, director of the Minerals Management Service, the arm of the Interior Department charged with overseeing offshore drilling in federal waters.

"If a company gets to the end of those terms and they're not making significant progress — and I do mean significant progress toward actually producing — those leases come back and we sell them again," he said.

Leases also can get tied up in court, often over environmental concerns. Or companies can determine that developing a particular tract doesn't make economic sense. Either way, they're listed on the federal government's books as "non-producing."

So if the Friends of the Caribou bring suit to stop an oil company from drilling, that land is listed as "non-producing." Democrats therefore maintain that the government should be able to take it back, regardless of whether the suit was frivolous or the oil company was close to making the land productive. But note: even if the government can convince another oil company to lease the seize land, as long as the litigation to stop the drilling is still pending, the land remains listed as "non-producing,"

It's all a big charade that lets Democrats rant against Big Oil without producing a drop of oil.

No surprise on the regulatory and litigation delay; we've seen the same problem in developing nuclear energy. It takes longer to get to the end of the permit process for a nuclear plant than to build one, and that's assuming no one from the Green Party sues.

Despite the risk of an empty well and a lawsuit, the oil companies have still been willing to lease the land and attempt to extract oil and gas from it. Congress, and the market, have built in a guarantee that those companies will use their best efforts to develop the land in the short increments for which they lease it: it's called the lease price.

Any company, even a big oil company, that invests "$100 million or more" on and oil lease and doesn't do all it takes to get a return on the profit will have more to worry about than John Yarmuth asking for their lease back. They'll be worried about about a shareholder derivative suit.

Pelosi's Money Talks For Yarmuth

The Democrats apparently are worried about Congressman John Yarmuth's losing his seat to challenger Anne Northup. According to the Associated Press, Yarmuth is one of only 31 members of Congress who are receiving funds from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for television advertising. No doubt this is payback for Yarmuth's "messaging" the far left agenda of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Obama's Moveon.Flip-flops

Barack Obama is getting a jump on July 4th by adding old-fashioned appeals to patriotism in his campaign speeches, though his rhetoric does not square with his voting record.

For example, Obama criticized Moveon.org for its full page ad in the New York Times last year that called General David Patraeus "General Betrayus." Obama, however, refused to vote in favor of a Congressional resolution that condemned the ad.

Likewise, though his "major speech on patriotism" attacked Moveon.org, Obama has not disavowed Moveon.org's nationwide bake sale drive held last week to raise funds to elect him.

And Obama added to the body count under his campaign bus by disavowing comments by General Wesely Clark, who said that John McCain's military service did not qualify him to be commander-in-chief.

Yarmuth's Remedy For Pelosi

We knew Congressman John Yarmuth is into "messaging" for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but last week he became literally a mouthpiece for San Fran Nan. At her weekly press conference on Thursday, Pelosi had lost her voice, so she brought along Yarmuth, as well as Congressman Ed Markey of Massachusetts, to speak for her. According to the Washington Post,

Pelosi said she'd been advised that "something stronger" might really help her recovery, particularly a "good shot" of alcohol. She said that the Kentuckian Yarmuth might endorse that kind of liquid cure. "Some specific brands as well," Yarmuth joked.

No need to dilute it with all the water Yarmuth carries for Pelosi.

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Name That Building!

Congressman John Yarmuth has fit in nicely with a Congress that spends more time naming federal buildings and honorary months than it does actually solving the nation's problems.

House Minority Leader Roy Blunt notes that the Democratically-"led" House is too busy to do anything substantive, like reduce gas prices. This Congress has important bills to pass:

Of the 244 laws that the Democrat Congress has enacted (thru June 6, 2008):

- 92 (38%) were to name government buildings or lands;

- 39 (16%) were to extend existing laws or make technical corrections to existing laws;

- of the remaining bills enacted into law, 87 (35%) were so uncontroversial that they passed either without a recorded vote in the House or with fewer than 10 votes in opposition.

As for Louisville's Congressman John Yarmuth, he is right there naming buildings and sponsoring other useless legislation, like renaming the Hike's Point Post Office.

Now, it's all well and good to honor our "Iraq and Afghanistan Fallen Military Heroes of Louisville" but instead of bestowing a "memorial post office," how about just letting our military accomplish their task? How about acknowledging their success -- the success of the surge? How about denouncing Moveon.org when it takes out a full-page ad in the New York Times to call General David Petraeus "General Betrayus"? Not Yarmuth: he had a chance to condemn Moveon.org's attack on Petraeus, and he refused.

Yarmuth epitomizes a Congress that has named, by RedState's count, "51 months...27 more than are actually on the calendar for a two year Congress." The intentions are all warm and fuzzy but we really need to put the grown-ups back in charge, and Yarmuth lacks the gravitas to do more than message for Mama Pelosi.

Northup Rightly Goes On The Offensive Regarding New Oil Drilling

Anne Northup wrote an excellent op-ed piece in today's Courier-Journal highlighting what should be one of her strongest issues against Congressman John Yarmuth: the need for Congress to allow for more domestic oil drilling to reduce the price of gasoline.

Northup attacks Yarmuth for his opposition to drilling where there are proven reserves while he supports proposed legislation to tax oil companies into drilling in areas that are likely to be dry holes:

Just last week, our representative [Yarmuth] joined 10 Democrats who filed a "use it or lose it" bill which would force oil companies to use the federal leases they currently have or forfeit them. The truth is, oil companies have had very little success with these leased lands, with 52 percent of the leases turning up no oil. Many more were leased for the purpose of recovering natural gas only. Other areas are prohibitive in terms of the cost to drill and questionable in the amount of recoverable oil. It is hard to fathom the thinking of a person who would propose forcing companies to drill all over the continent in places with marginal or no reserves, but refuses to allow drilling where there are plentiful reserves.

Northup criticizes Yarmuth and fellow Democrats for cow-towing to the environmental lobby's opposition to drilling in ANWR and offshore at the expense of all of us at the gasoline pump:

We do not have to look overseas for our oil. Alaska's ANWR alone contains 10.4 billion barrels of oil. Likewise, the Outer Continental Shelf is estimated to contain 19 billion barrels of oil. There are other estimates that put our oil reserves in the hundreds of billions of barrels. When given the opportunity to tap these abundant resources, the House Democrats overwhelmingly opposed it while House Republicans overwhelmingly supported the increased production. Even when the Republicans were in the majority and passed it in the House, the Senate could not muster the 60 votes necessary to pass the bill and send it to the President because of Democratic opposition.

Recently, such large reserves of shale oil were discovered that some now refer the United States as the "Saudi Arabia of shale oil." Yet last year this Congress banned all new shale oil extraction. That's right: No matter where or how safely it could be extracted, this new reserve is now off limits nationwide.

We know where the major reserves of clean, light and easy-to-refine crude oil are located. Even though a majority of people in this country believe we can harvest our oil in an environmentally safe manner, this Congress seems to be too frightened of an environmental lobby that has become increasingly irrational.

Northup and other Republicans should continue to hit hard on this issue. To rephrase Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign theme, in 2008, the Republicans' motto should be "it's the price of gasoline, stupid!"

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Bipartisan Baseball Blather

Congressman John Yarmuth and his Democratic colleagues on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform have wasted a lot of taxpayer money investigating the "he said, he said" dispute between Roger Clemens and his alleged steroids and human growth hormone injector, Brian McNamee. The grandstanding (and it wasn't in a ballpark) has thus far produced an "18-page memo compiled by majority staff and released by chairman Rep. Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, on Feb. 27," according to the Associated Press.

Now the AP reports that Republican committee members have joined in the tree killing, with a "109-page report" that purportedly "'seeks to dispel conclusions that may have resulted from an incomplete consideration of the full record' and contains details Rep. Tom Davis believes could challenge the credibility of McNamee."

Who cares? The House committee shouldn't have conducted the hearings in the first place. Both Clemens and McNamee ought to be able to raise the defense of "irrelevant to the work of Congress" if either of them is ever prosecuted for alleged misstatements in their testimony.

Congressman Davis has opted not to run for reelection this year. Too bad Yarmuth will not do the same. Anne Northup should promise that, once she defeats Yarmuth, she will not participate in similar silly games that masquerade as congressional work.

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Limousine Liberal

Why do these numbers not suprise us? The Courier-Journal's Jim Carroll reports that Congressman John Yarmuth "was more liberal on key votes last year than 69.7 percent of his House colleagues." Also, "Golf Digest has released its ratings of 'Washington's Top 200' in golf, and Yarmuth ranks first among members of Congress with a USGA Handicap Index of plus-0.5." Raising taxes and playing many rounds of golf are easily affordable for a multi-millionaire like Yarmuth.

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

NRCC Targets Yarmuth

As the Ditch Mitch movement runs out of steam, Kentucky Democrats' election-year strategy will need to shift from offense to defense to protect their most vulnerable member in the state's Washington, D.C. delegation. The Southern Political Report notes that Congressman John Yarmuth is on Republicans' target list for defeat in November:

The National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee (NRCC) has included five Southern congressional districts among its 24 targets for making US House gains in this fall’s elections. The five Democratic incumbents that the GOP will focus on in Dixie are Nick Lampson (TX 22), Tim Mahoney (FL 16), Jim Marshall (GA 8), Ciro Rodriguez (TX 23) and John Yarmuth (KY 3). All are freshmen, when incumbents are traditionally most vulnerable, except Marshall, who was elected in 2002.

Yarmuth's vulnerability is undoubtedly enhanced by the poor showing of both Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama with Kentucky voters:

A SurveyUSA poll of Kentucky voters released March 19 shows John McCain leading both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton by significant margins. McCain beat Obama 64% to 28%, a whopping 36-point margin, and beat Clinton by a still healthy 53% to 43%.

Pelosi's Valentine For Yarmuth

Rep. John Yarmuth must be doing a swell job "messaging" for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Yesterday, while issuing contempt-of-Congress citations to former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten, Pelosi gave Yarmuth a valentine:

To the new Members of Congress on this issue of Article 1, led by John Yarmuth, Article 1 protects the prerogatives of the Constitution of the Congress of the United States. I thank our new Members for their leadership on honoring their oath of office.

Too bad Yarmuth is more interested in courting attention from the House Speaker (and mixing it up with baseball players, as discussed below) than serving Kentucky constituents.

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Crybaby

Can you believe Chris Thieneman's meltdown? He files to run for Congress in the 3rd district, then, claiming that party bosses have pressured him to drop out because of Anne's announcement, he quits and says that he is throwing his support behind Yarmuth! Wow, there's maturity. Can you spell C-R-Y-B-A-B-Y!

Eleventh Commandment Applies To Republicans Not Democrats

The filing deadline has come and gone. The biggest names who filed today are, of course, Anne Northup and Bruce Lunsford.

We now have enough for a basketball team among the Democratic contenders challenging Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell: Michael Cassaro, Greg Fischer, Andrew Horne, Lunsford and David Williams. There's no clear big man, and none is a scholarship player from what we can tell.

And in the race to challenge U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, we would imagine that Chris Thieneman is disappointed that Northup has decided to seek to regain her congressional seat. Hopefully Thieneman and Northup -- going forward at least -- will adhere to Ronald Reagan's "Eleventh Commandment": "Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican."

As for the Democrats, any liberal theologan will tell you that the Commandments are not to be read literally, particularly when they are preached to the other party. So the players on the "Ditch Mitch" team should be free to foul as much as they would like during the Democratic primary. That contest should be a fun one to watch. We will have courtside seats -- as good as Lunsford's at U of L games.

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Equal Treatment, Please

Page One complains about a former Fletcher aide, Brett Hall, criticizing Congressman John Yarmuth's aide, Stuart Perelmuter for writing and starring in a local gay movie.

Page One had acknowledged previously that "the movie is questionable for someone in such a high-profile position of Press Secretary."

Now the blog argues:

It’s one thing to discuss Yarmuth’s perceived negatives in an election year but it’s an entirely different ball game when you begin attacking and lying about a candidate’s staff. Staff whom, we remind you, are not elected officials.

The problem with this line of reasoning, as applied by the Demo-blogs, is that it gives Democratic staffers a pass on scrutiny while holding Republican staffers to an entirely different -- and more rigorous -- standard. In short, it's viewpoint discrimination.

Case in point. Last Fall, we heard incessant complaints from the left about a staff member of Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell who supposedly started an internet campaign to "slime" the Dem's Schip poster child, Graeme Frost. It later turned out that the aide, Don Stewart, had merely commented in an email about a story that had originated elsewhere days earlier and already had gone viral.

And though the chronology of events is quite clear for anyone who cares about the facts, some blogs keep trotting out the canard, months after they should have known better.

I agree with Page One that Perelmuter was entitled to pursue his acting career, and I could care less about the subject matter. But fairness -- the left is always demanding fairness -- requires that the same standard be applied to Republican staffers.