Republicans! If You're In It to Win It - GTFO of the Bedroom!

I love Rudy Giuliani.

To me Rudy will always be da Man. In my humble opinion he is the reason NYC is what it is today and not the cesspool haven of crime I remember from my youth. Yeah, he was tough; he pissed a lot of people off, but when is the last time you heard someone say they were “afraid” to go to NYC? Now, it is a shining beacon for the world to enjoy and indeed they do. Of course, Mikey Bloomberg has made the place completely unavailable for normal people to live there – but – that’s another entire blog post.

Back to Rudy.

When I saw the headline last week about Rudy advising the Republican Party to drop the Gay Marriage issue I was completely psyched, and not just because it’s something that drives me nuts personally, but because people tend to listen to Rudy. I thought: “Awesome. Maybe now at least one of the tired old philosophies that 90% of R’s don’t agree with anyway, will be taken off the table.” Then I read the freakin’ article.

Rudy disappoints with his stance on Gay Marriage. It’s not enough to just say it should be taken off the table for discussion and that the topic should be left up to the individual states. R’s have to drop it all together. The Democratic Platform is SO ludicrous on its own; they don’t need this kind of ammunition to bandy about and bash the R’s into oblivion election after election. Imagine the votes that could be picked up if only this one plank was left off the platform. Drop the antiquated stance on abortion and the R’s could rock both the White House and Congress with ease.

It’s not like it would be hard to do either. I honestly don’t know a Republican in my circle of political friends who subscribes to the points of views the Demo-rats accuse us of. So why hang on to this age-old horseshit? I realize the answer lies in campaign funding from far right organizations, but think about how dropping the argument would bring in other revenue streams. Hell, that’s part and parcel of being a Republican right there – forward momentum towards success. Change it up – make money from other sources.

The Democrats use this issue to muddy the waters. They have to. Their philosophy is so desperately flawed they must demonize us on attributes other than our basic philosophy. Who can argue with personal freedom, individual’s rights, justice and the belief that nobody should be taxed differently than anyone else? When did prosperity take a back seat to “just getting along and letting the Government (taxpayers) pick up the slack”?

The opposition to Gay Marriage goes against our strong belief in individual’s rights. It’s counterintuitive to our main belief system. As Republicans we want Government to stay the hell out of our life as much as possible. How do we justify that with statements and campaign promises about keeping marriage only between a man and a woman…and legislating it? Moral superiority? We certainly already hold the monopoly on that over Democrats just with our love of this Nation and enforcing the ideals the founding fathers set forth for it. So, why are we mucking around in it? It baffles the mind to be honest.

If you’re a Republican and you come out supporting gay marriage there is no need to worry about the Liberal label. No one is going to accuse you of being a socialist, supporter of entitlements, a progressive taxation fan, or a champion of minimum wage. In fact, when boiled down to the basics, amongst people who use more than a 1/10^th of a percent of their brain power, you would actually be seen as more genuine in your support of the Republican Party. Our party is about empowering the people – all the people. We can’t nurture that ideal if we keep trying to tell people who they should invite into their bedrooms or who they can spend their lives with.

I guess beginning with dropping the issue as a political strategy move is a start – but it’s a weak one. Weak is one thing Republicans are not. We leave that to the other party.

Winning in 2012 is essential to keeping our country from tumbling over the precipice to ruin Lord Falderal has led us to. No mistakes can be made. Republicans need only look to the basic platform in order to win. This administration is going to take itself out with their sophomoric missteps and blind leading the blind initiatives. But, let’s not take any chances. Drop the gay marriage issue and believe in it; don’t do it because Rudy said to.

Lord Falderal Ruins Another Wonderful Institution

Worst President Ever

I look forward to the White House Correspondent’s dinner coverage every year with anticipation and glee no matter who is President. It’s the one time during the year I can honestly say I’m capable of tossing aside my political vehemence and just enjoy a little fun. Actually, that is what the whole deal is supposed to be about. Historically, it’s been a kind of Presidential roast with even the President being involved in self-deprecating humor about himself and his job performance since the prior year’s dinner. It’s a time for making fun of poor poll numbers, accentuating verbal flubs, ragging on the VP and other top advisors and taking some shots at reporters. It’s not a campaign stop, never has been and never should be.

I have been following the WHC since the Reagan years and can’t think of a time I didn’t enjoy the President’s portion where typically they lambaste themselves fairly well. Reagan was the master of that dinner year after year. Even Clinton’s WCH participation never disappointed during his tenure in office. Almost nothing was as much fun as W’s 2006 speech though. That one is classic! Check it out here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq7sRkg_2Ss

Well, I guess my feelings this year show how truly disgusted I am with this non-President as the arrogant douche bag did what he does so well – be arrogant.

Instead of going along with history and making himself his own target, Falderal instead chose to go after those he has been too weak to speak out against in real time. He used this lighthearted event to take some pointed and sometimes very un-funny shots at his adversaries. I know the comments I’m going to get on this: sour grapes because of the whole Republican thing. But, if you really sit and think about it and what the event is all about you’ll start to understand why this President sucks so bad on a larger scale. In essence – he has no clue whether navigating through international crises, domestic disasters or realizing he is being thrown an opportunity to atone for his foibles.

What he and his advisors did was take this opportunity to hit back at detractors and wrongly thought it would score some points with the public. It’s a mistake that could cost him dearly. While it may have endeared him to a sympathetic media who has been dying to hear some retaliation towards Donald Trump et al; it makes him look all the more wimpy and opportunistic to the voters by taking an event where he could have poked fun at himself and appear humble, but instead made it a campaign speech. The voters are not stupid (except the ones who may vote for him again) and would not have taken some well-placed jokes at his own expense as admission of a job poorly done. What it would have done is shown he is capable of self-realization and could make fun of his legion of mistakes and perhaps move on. That kind of thing can go a long way in repairing the damage he has done with his disillusioned base.

This was not the time to start campaigning. This was a time to have a little fun and show some mettle. The Trump stuff was funny, let’s face it, and I think it should have stayed. But, going after Bachman and Pawlenty just showed he was using this as a platform for revenge; a revenge he doesn’t have the balls to initiate in a regular news cycle or in an appropriate forum. I mean, he’s on TV all the time, why not take his time with Oprah to cry about his possible opponents, why screw up what is a revered traditional event loved by people from every political persuasion imaginable. And all he did was piss off Trump even more. Falderal better hope there isn’t anything in his skeleton collection Trump can get a grip on.

The Lion King video was absurd. If ever there was evidence of my aforementioned assertion that this was merely an extension of Falderal’s immense ego, the presentation of that video clip was it. Of course, it was a cartoon – that kind of makes sense.

I’ve never tried to hide the fact I can’t stand the guy, and now that he’s ruined yet another of our great institutions in this country, I really can’t wait to see this ponce tossed out on his ass and push Carter out of the coveted worst President in History title.

The Problem With Sarah

I like Sarah Palin.

I can hear all the boos and hisses roaring through cyber space as both my Republican and Democrat friends are reading that line. But, it’s true and I don’t mind admitting it. Would I vote for her? Not today, maybe not in 2012. Do I think she would be a good candidate? Sure. Why not? Anything is better than the current occupant of 1600.

That “why not”, has become a fun phrase for me this Holiday Season on the precipice of what will surely be an announcement in the next couple of months. Mostly because I am not clear on the polarizing effect this woman has on people. I don’t see the reason there is so much hate directed towards her by both R’s and D’s. So, I have been asking everyone I can: “why not?” Frankly, I’m getting the answers I expected.

This week in New York City I posed the question to some of my favorite people. Folks I consider bastions of intelligence and fair mindedness. Except when it comes to Sarah.

This is how one conversation went, with the most vehement of Sarah haters in the group. I am leaving the person’s name out on purpose because I don’t want to embarrass them. Let’s call the person SPH.

Me: Tell me the real reasons why you don’t like Sarah Palin?

SPH: Because she’s so stupid.

Me: Really? Palin’s stupid? Did you make $30 million last year?

SPH: Stupid people are capable of making money too you know.

Me: Do you really think she is stupid? Tell the truth?

SPH: Ok, no, she’s not stupid but she has set women back 40 years?

Me: How?

SPH: Oh come on.

Me: Seriously, how? How has she set back women? I am assuming you mean equality wise.

SPH: It’s so obvious.

Me: OK. Then why am I missing it?

SPH: Mama Grizzlies?

Me: What about them? What’s the problem with being a strong woman? What is the problem with protecting your family, being loyal to your family? You’re a feminist, why can’t a woman embrace these things? Does every woman have to be Gertrude Stein?

SPH: Nothing is wrong with those things. That’s where she should stay, at home protecting and being loyal to her family. She has no experience.

Me: City council member, Mayor, Governor, Candidate for Vice President. Responsible for cutting the Gubernatorial budget by 80% in Alaska, bringing awareness to Alaska, teaching the State businesses that they need to form an economy not dependant on Federal spending. That’s just a short list and you call someone like this inexperienced? Have you met our current President?  He has never done any of that and certainly isn’t doing any of it now. So, let me ask again, do you honestly believe Palin to not have any experience? Oh, and also, are these things a stupid person is capable of accomplishing?

Silence.

Me: Come on? I’m listening. I want to know, why is Sarah Palin in your lexicon of hate?

SPH: She pisses me off.

Me: Why?

SPH: She’s a whiner. Always bitching about the media and how they portray her. Thinking they are out to get her.

Me: They’re not? Of course, they are out to get her and you’re swallowing it right up. For the amount of time Palin is out there pitching, the only thing the media ever focused on is piddly little mistakes everyone makes. Trust me, under the same microscope everyone would look like an idiot. They have absolutely targeted Palin.

SPH: See? She even has you believing it.

Me: Because it’s true! Sometimes things are what they are. They hate Palin, just like you do and for what reason? That’s what I am trying to figure out. I think Bush haters are kind of ridiculous too, but at least he had a record they could rightly or wrongly, draw upon. Sarah’s record is pretty damn impressive. Sarah’s dealt with a media induced smear campaign since day 1.

Well, I still haven’t figured it out. I had that very same conversation with different derivatives and no solid reasons were given.

I know what the problems with Sarah are on the political level. What I don’t get is the deeply personal issues people have with her.

I, for one see no reason why she wouldn’t make a good candidate. I don’t think she is stupid. I think she builds on her experience everyday and she learns something from all of her projects. Palin knows how to bring awareness. Her curb appeal is obvious to me. Whether or not she has the real substance behind it is what is bothersome. I think she has the basis to be a great leader. She’s cheap, understands the plight of the American family, realizes that an economy cannot rely on Federal spending to move it along, and knows how to protect those she loves. That is an American leader. Not some Johnny come lately jackass community organizer elected President merely because his predecessor conjured enough hatred amongst the American public that any change was considered acceptable. Talk about lowered expectations.

Sarah’s problem is what I refer to as the polarization of the Coasts. I’ve said it before and am sure I will say it throughout my life as I don’t see it changing. The East and West Coast doctor the spin in politics and they hate Sarah. The coasts lead the charge in any Presidential election and the middle of the country tends to just follow along. The Coasts love to intellectualize everything.

I love intellectualization. It’s fun. If I had the opportunity, I would do nothing but sit around all day and intellectualize everything in my life. I would live inside my own head and have great fun thinking about things like; what would happen if instead of teaching my son right from wrong, left from right, etc., I just sat here and observed the wonder of him trying to figure it all out on his own. What would happen? What if I didn’t go outside chop some wood and started a fire, or turned up the thermostat to keep warm. What would freezing be like? Would I be better intellectually for the experience? I mean I know from what others have taught me that my son would end up a ravaged dolt, we would die from exposure and so on and so forth. But, do I really know it? Maybe I should just sit here and think and let life go on about me.

Well, that’s a cheap example but it’s pretty much what the Coasts like to do. They seem to tarry to the sort of people who would rather sit around enjoying their own oblivion lost in thought rather than actually doing something about anything at all. And, anyone who speaks in plain and simple truths are just plain stupid. Sarah fits in that category to these people.

These people would rather hear a bunch of platitudes laid out in eloquent well-parsed oratory than hear the actual root of problems and their subsequent solutions. They would rather be sold a bill of goods aimed at making them feel better despite the fact that bill of goods will never be delivered.

Yeah, I cringe when I listen to some of her speeches too. Her style leaves me a little limp, but the foundation is there. She knows what a gallon of milk costs. She knows the value of a dollar, how to protect that value and how to communicate with the masses more than the intelligentsia. What the hell is wrong with that?

Oh, and did I mention, I think she’s hot?

Trifecta 11/2/2010

Wow. What a week.

Republicans prevail as expected, Nancy Pelosi flips all over the place and that scumbag Olberman gets the boot. Not bad. But, there are serious caveats to watch for and lessons to be taken from Tuesday’s historic victory.

First, let’s think about the Republican win and what it means for the next two years. There were certainly hopes that Lord Falderal would get the message and finally work with the R’s to try and get something productive through the legislature. Productive meaning, passing bills and laws that don’t bankrupt the Nation, or upset our Capitalist model.

Well, after Falderal’s speech and the Republican reaction to it, it’s clear that just ain’t going to happen. Why? For one thing, as should have been expected, Falderal did not feel one ounce of chastening for the lambasting his party received. Unlike Clinton when faced with the same dilemma in ’94, Falderal did not show any grace or leadership, and just flat out admit the message was received and he would play ball. He did say he is ultimately responsible. Big friggin’ deal. What does he think we are Kindergarteners? He gets zero points for making that assertion. Of course, Falderal is correct, he will indeed be judged in 2012.

So where does that leave things?

The only sad possibility now is that Congress basically does nothing for the next two years and the R’s focus on taking back the White House and aiming for a super-majority in the House and the Senate. The reality is, that will be the only way to break gridlock. I know it sucks and I would rather see people play well together in the sandbox and actually accomplish something. But, the poisoning in the well goes too deep and the whole thing needs to be dug out and replaced.

My prediction is Boehner will put up the Healthcare Bill for repeal as fast as possible. Falderal will veto and then the Republican Party will have the ammunition needed to take the White House and turn more blue seats red. The argument will be that the only way for repeal to go through and any action taken on future bills will be to take even more D positions. If things stay the same with the economy or only look slightly better that will be an easy sell.

Also, Nancy Pelosi has been cackling away about running for Minority Leadership. Could the R’s be given a bigger gift? In my opinion, she is one of the main reasons Tuesday went so well for the R’s. If she stays on…well…2012 is in the bag.

Probably the most important thing to come out of the election for the R’s is the addition of some great candidates for 2012. There is really good talent out there now and the R’s no longer have to worry about Palin, who really is an albatross that will have to be dealt with at some point. Even better is that the lineup going into 2016 is looking pretty great as well. Pawlenty, Rubio, and a slew of other possibilities will give voters some serious talent to ponder. The tired old guard will of course put their names into the ring, but now there will actually be some very serious young, diverse and brilliant contenders to take out Falderal.

The Tea Party Movement had an amazing showing on Tuesday although the lesson there is to pick some better candidates next time because the loss of Delaware, Utah and Alaska was completely avoidable. The GOP, Democrats and the country as a whole better start taking the Tea Party seriously. I am not a tea partier but I have spent the year defending them and I am gleeful they showed those smug fuck Democrats what they could do. I lost what respect I had for the D’s this year as I watched them demonize their fellow countrymen as incoherent racists. It was a truly disgusting display and showed the true colors of the party of hypocrisy. The downtrodden and hurting are apparently only legitimate if they belong to the D’s. Foul, just plain foul.

Finally, watching the fall of Olberman has got to be one of the most fabulous feelings ever. Unfortunately, it only amounts to a pissing match between the d-bag and his boss and lacks real substance, but what the hell; I’ll take what I can get. The truth is I enjoy watching that kind of demise as it showcases another hypocrisy, that of Liberals constantly hounding Fox about being political whilst defending the mainstream media as bastions of legitimacy and fact-finding. Uh huh.

I hope I never feel the need to say this again, but this year the Democrats really disgusted me on so many levels; something which has never happened to this extent before and what I have to say to the Democrats is this:

Fuck y’all. You just got schooled.

Pay Attention East Haven: Vote for Linda Monaco

UPDATE: With the election of a new Governor, Mike Lawlor has been appointed to something or other and there is a special election being held February 22, 2011

Yes, this is another East Haven, CT post.

It may seem I have been strangely obsessed with East Haven this year given the amount of space dedicated to blog posts regarding the shenanigans going on in the small Connecticut town. There is a reason however, and that reason is I believe East Haven to be a great metaphor for the United States as whole, as far as abuse of power by the Government goes. I am not going to re-hash those shenanigans; you can read about them here:

http://blogofirreverence.blogspot.com/2010/04/good-police-chief-bad-mayor.html

http://blogofirreverence.blogspot.com/2010/05/and-then-there-were-three-arrested-that.html

East Haven is the perfect example of why voters need to toss out the offal that creeps throughout the halls of our Capitals, both at the Federal and State levels. Like the United States, East Haven is wildly patriotic, proud, and has one of the strongest senses of community you will ever find.

East Haven is a town of real, hard working, family oriented people who have been hit hard by the crumbling of the economy and the tyranny of its local government. Like the rest of the country, the problem stems from the stagnant pool of politicians the town is burdened with. Like the US of A, East Haven needs a change.

For the last 22 years, Representative Michael Lawlor (D) has represented the town at the state level for the 99^th Connecticut General Assembly District. Lawlor is kind of East Haven’s prodigal son. He’s been through the system so to speak; attended the town’s public schools, was awarded a law degree, became a prosecutor, and all the other boring regimental stuff you do when trying to become a career politician. There is nothing wrong with that, and I honestly don’t have a lot of bad things to say about Mike.

The problem with Mike is he’s played out like a bad banjo string. He has been indoctrinated to go along with whatever whim the Connecticut legislative Democrats conger up. Lawlor has become a de facto part of the problem by not formulating original and productive ideas predicated on the wants and needs of his constituents. Instead he votes along with a body of career politicians, so fat, happy and stupid, it’s embarrassing.

The Connecticut legislature hasn’t had a significant turnover in so many decades it is astounding to think about. The reasons could be varied and I personally have no idea which ones are valid, but my theory is voter apathy, the result of which has been ridiculously high taxes, an ever-increasing amount of brain drain, and the exodus of much needed jobs. The state has been blessed with a great Governor whom could have been even greater if she had a reasonably intelligent group of legislators to deal with.

This year, East Haven has a fabulous candidate challenging Lawlor, a candidate who has a very good chance of winning and would be a major boon to East Haven.

Linda Monaco is the real deal.

Born from good hardworking Pittsburgh stock, Linda’s route to politics was not a straight line like Lawlor’s. Linda didn’t wake up one day during her formative years and say; hey, I think I want to be a politician, so I’ll map out my life path to make sure I get there. No, Linda’s route was more circuitous, and along the way she picked up the kind of experience, education, and values that make the now elusive American Dream seem possible again.

Linda has run the gamut of a true American life. She’s worked hard, been a single Mom, realized the achievement of higher education later in life could only benefit her family, and has an attitude and personality not often seen in modern politics. In other words, she’s likable and not in a “she’s better than the alternative kind of way”. You can’t help but be taken by her verve and energy. There is no syrupy, sickeningly sweet political lubricant with Linda. The intrinsic feeling you get is that she is for real and can be trusted. That is what Government needs today. Real people who have been through the trials and tribulations of real life.

She is not a party hack either, and that is one of the things I like most about Linda. (As should be abundantly clear, I have been majorly disappointed with the choices the CT GOP has made this year.See: http://blogofirreverence.blogspot.com/2010/05/connecticut-gop-needs-enema.html) It doesn’t matter what political party you are registered as, if you believe in capitalism, small government and liberty, you can feel good about a vote for Linda.

What we have in this country and the State of Connecticut and the Town of East Haven, is a crew of political Methusalahs who need to be taken out because as we all know, they won’t just bow out gracefully. Linda Monaco would be a good start towards achieving that goal.

What the United States and East Haven needs now is jobs, jobs and more jobs. Linda Monaco understands that and more importantly…she gets it. As a small business owner who has had to tighten her own reigns while at the same time making life easier for her clients by creating a sliding scale payment system, she not only knows how to create income, she knows how to help other people create it as well. This is the kind of simplicity that will save this country, the understanding of supply and demand and not living beyond our means while also helping out our own by buying their goods and services and keeping it within our own community families.

Linda is whom we need in Government. What we don’t need is a bunch of Mike Lawlors whose idea of job creation is to go along with his myopic brethren creating Government growth. It will be a long, long time before you see me write this line again about anyone seeking public office:

It would be an honor for East Haven to be represented by someone like Linda Monaco and not the other way around.

The cavalry is coming in November and if you live in East Haven, CT, be a part of change for the good. Vote for Linda Monaco.

Check out Linda’s website:

http://www.lindamonacopeoplefirst.com/

Party of Hypocrisy

I have always believed the Democratic Party to be perpetually fueled by hypocrisy on so many different levels. However, there is one area in which I find their hypocrisy to be particularly appalling; how they deal with dissenting views. Not only do they tend to be the Party of the impolite, they love to use insult and slander as their tools, certainly more often than Republicans do. Some of my D friends like to say it is because of their great passion and commitment to the Party.

This may be, but oftentimes when I find myself in debate with said D friends, they pack up their marbles and stomp off claiming there is no arguing with a “Republican” because somehow we lack the intellect to debate effectively. Personally, when someone storms off I consider that a win!

Democrats claim to be the protectors of the downtrodden as well as everyman. Even to their own people they are condescending. They talk down to their constituents like they are some kind of saviors. “Don’t worry if you can’t make it on your own, we’ll protect you from those evil business people and Republicans by taking their wealth and distributing it to you.” Instead of boosting their people up, Democrats almost seem to revel in tearing them down so they can “take care of them”.  It’s almost like they need that in order to show their indispensability to American Society.

Democrats urge their followers to rail against the machine. The problem is the machine is them! They perpetuate a self-defeating prophecy in order to flex their muscle and expand the growth of Government and keep their people on cradle to grave Government assistance.

Democrats create the state of fear they are always blaming the Republicans for by making their own countrymen fear…their countrymen! They scream on high about how Republicans in Government are victimizing the very people they work for when in fact, what they are doing is trying to create a situation where everyone has the ability to reach their personal best. How? By keeping Government out of their lives as much as possible.

Free speech and civil liberties are the sabers Democrats like to rattle and claim to protect. Well, isn’t it odd when a movement like the Tea Party comes around they are instantly demonized by the Democrats as racist, anti-intellectual rednecks? These are the disenfranchised and victimized, the very people the Democrats claim to protect. I guess though it makes sense, if they are obscene enough to drag their own people down I guess it would be all the more easier to do it to “outsiders”.

Panic is what has created the great hatred towards the Tea Party Movement. The Democrats know they screwed up royally with this caricature of a President and now they have no idea what to do. They are in huge trouble and their message has gone completely haywire.

The Democrats should take a lesson out of the Tea Party’s message and realize that the so called victimized come in many shapes, sizes, and philosophies. They won’t though, they will continue with their hatred and mixed messages until another faux messiah comes along and dupes their easily duped sheep into a false sense of entitlement.

How Does Rosa DeLauro Stay in Office? Simple. By Doing Nothing.

Not Really DeLauro

How do you stay in office in New Haven, CT? Do nothing.

Well, that is an oversimplification but to make the argument, I refer to Connecticut Congressperson Rosa DeLauro who represents the 3^rd District covering New Haven as well as the surrounding towns.

For the better part of two decades, I have been asked on numerous occasions: “When will Rosa DeLauro finally get voted out of office?” My standard answer is always: “They will cart her carcass from the steps of the Capitol in a pine box.”

What is her secret to longevity? She does nothing.

In a city like New Haven political staying power requires you to do as little as possible. There are a lot of examples, the Mayor being one of them, but no one has the epic do nothing staying power of DeLauro.

DeLauro does have to do the required perfunctory work at election time, but it’s minimal at best. Made even easier because she uses a time tested pattern that has never failed and won’t anytime too soon.

My first personal experience with DeLauro was at some parade a decade ago where I was on the dais with her and then State Senator Bill Aniskovich as well as some other political mucky-mucks. Before and after the parade I witnessed her approach every octogenarian she could line up in the sites of her beady eyes, grab their right hands with her right hand, put her left hand on their wrist, get down low to their ear and whisper: “Don’t worry. I won’t let those awful Republicans take away your Social Security.” I should have counted how many people she did this with, but suffice it to say it was a lot.

I didn’t know her very well at that time and Senator Aniskovish whispered to me that this is how she got elected and hasn’t changed her mantra in every election since her first in 1991.  Ah, ha.

So what has DeLauro done since getting elected on the anti-Republican pro-Social Security chant since 1991? She sponsored and co-sponsored close to 200 resolutions and 4 were passed. Quite a record. They appear below. Have a look and be amazed at their largesse and the amount of work that must have gone into them.

H.Res. 823: Expressing deep condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of those killed and injured in the attack on the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) office in Islamabad, Pakistan, on October 5, 2009, and support for the WFP's mission to bring emergency food aid to the most vulnerable people of Pakistan and around the world.

H.Res. 1240: Supporting the goals and ideals of Global Youth Service Day.

H.Res. 353: Supporting the goals and ideals of Global Youth Service Days.

H.Res. 787: Expressing support for designation of October 13, 2009, as National Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day.

Some earth shattering stuff there, huh? Looks like there is more for Pakistan than New Haven doesn’t it?

The citizens of the 3^rd District are really being represented well from DeLauro’s presence in those chambers. (Please note sarcasm) And, present she is. To her credit DeLauro has only missed 139 roll call votes out of 12,447. That’s roughly 1%. Not bad.

Consider this though, at a pay rate closing in on 200K, benefits to beat the band, and all the curb appeal in her hometown that comes along with a Congressional office; wouldn’t YOU show up to work, too? Especially, if you could just stay in the background and not do anything? Sure, they drag her out on occasion to make a speech here or there; she gave a nomination speech at the Democratic Convention for Bill Clinton before his second election. And, man did she suck. It was painful to watch. She has all the exuberance of a toad that’s been run over by a Peterbilt.

But, DeLauro doesn’t have to be a good speaker. In fact, she doesn’t have to be a good anything.

What DeLauro has is her name and a very brilliant husband who is a nationally revered political strategist. If ever there were an argument for branding in politics, this would be it. DeLauro comes from a long lineage of Italian-Americans in New Haven with connections all over the place. Her husband, Stan Greenberg, has capitalized on this and built a brand that is seriously hard to beat.

The people voting DeLauro in year after year are the same demographic every single time. Old Italian loyalists and hard line Democrats who are lined up well in advance of Election Day by DeLauro and her minions, per her husband’s time tested plan.

No Senior Center or nursing home in the 3^rd District is safe from DeLauro and her Republican hating rhetoric. She loves to use fear as the impetus for getting these folks to grease up the spokes on their wheel chairs and risk the trip out in a DeLauro sponsored bus to place that vote. And, of course, if they are too frail and hopefully a little loose in the brains department, DeLauro and her staff will sign them up for an absentee ballot. I couldn’t find numbers on how many absentee votes DeLauro typically gets, but I would feel comfortable speculating it’s a lot.

Her other major constituency, the Democrat hard liners, aren’t going to give up a sure thing. These folks don’t care that she has very little power, ambition, or brains, all they care about is keeping the seat away from Republicans and the ability to name drop and maybe get a few tix to the White House, or a recommendation for little Johnny or Susie to Yale. For DeLauro that is just great, because there is some major league dough rolling through the estates of the 3^rd District and again, she has to do very little to bring it in.

Actually DeLauro!

That money is enough to keep her mug out in front of the party loyalists who may not know her, but just need to know who to vote for. You know, the sheep of the Democratic Party. And, let’s face it; it’s a mug you wouldn’t soon forget. She even has a signature affect…her scarves. Another brilliant touch most likely generated by her husband.

She also works hard to stay away from controversy. The only two scandalous events an opponent could use against her are small potatoes.

In 2008, DeLauro first endorsed epic thief and ne’er-do-well Senator Chris Dodd for President very quietly. Then when it started to come out that he had used the banking system as his own piggy bank, she quickly endorsed Lord Falderal at a huge event at her home. Big deal, who cares? So, she associates with scumbags; every politician does. Also in 2008, she and her husband came under minor fire for allowing Rahm Emanuel to hang upside down at their residence in DC for free. Whoa, prepare the stockade!

Hey, you can’t argue with success. But, it’s a damn shame the 3^rd District is represented by such a lame duck. There have been some fine candidates from both the Republicans and the Green Party over the years. However, neither party has gotten significantly behind their endorsed candidates. Why? Because they recognize the Greenberg/DeLauro strategy and feel like their time and effort is better spent in other races. In other words, they have basically given up.

One might ask why would they do that? Answer: because she does nothing. She leads absolutely nothing. She really isn’t a risk because she is just going to go along with her Congressional brethrens’ plans and claim them as her own to her constituents. And, it’s hard to fight her on any other basis. She stays away from scandal and doesn’t fight for anything significant, she just nods her head and goes along for the ride.

The opposition looks at her as a non-entity. The philosophy goes like this: if the R’s are in power, their agenda will be satisfied by the majority, if the D’s are in power, well, then we lose anyway.

It’s a foul cycle.

What it would take to beat DeLauro is someone who could energize a younger voting base and get them involved in the political process. Unfortunately, we all know how hard that is. Most political operatives would argue that all you need is money to beat her. That is not necessarily true. What needs to be done is to impassion the electorate by making them understand how ineffectual she really is.

One problem has always been that her husband (I am assuming it’s him) will only allow limited and selective debates with her opponents. The reason: she can’t defend her job and is indeed a lousy public speaker. They aren’t going to risk having her look bad when faced with substantive questions. No matter how many times candidates in the past have tried to insist on debates, she always wears this false air of importance around her that she is too busy to debate. Ridiculous.

So, my prediction is that unless a real firecracker of a candidate comes along, DeLauro will remain a fixture until the majority of her constituency dies off, or she does herself. Until then, the 3^rd District can depend on very little coming from the Feds thanks to DeLauro and the sheep that vote her in.