Posts tagged ‘2008 Election’

  |  
December 16, 2008

The Columbian’s Ignorance About The Electoral College

by lewwaters

The December 16 edition of the Columbian contains one of the most ignorant articles I have ever seen in their pages, In our view Dec. 16: Flawed System, addressing the Electoral College system set up by our founding fathers long ago.

Even though their favored candidate won both the popular vote and the Electoral vote, which has happened all but 4 times in over 200 years, the Columbian publishes a opinion that the Electoral College should be abolished and instead, we rely solely on the popular vote.

What folly!

In the article, they state,

“The Electoral College made sense when the nation’s Founding Fathers designed it to make sure large population centers would not run roughshod over more sparsely populated areas.”

Does it escape the Columbian’s writers and editors that the majority of our over 300 million population continue to reside in just a few states?

We saw in 2004 how just one county swung the governor’s race over the wishes of many of the rest of the counties. Would we desire to see that nationwide on a regular basis?

Equally as ignorant is,

“Perhaps the worst part of the Electoral College is that it violates democratic principles of equal votes and equal representation.”

Is it a “Democratic Principle” that the heaviest populated states decide the presidency while lesser-populated states receive no voice in the presidential selection?

In their condemnation of the Electoral system, they craftily avoid the why of the founding fathers setting it up. Some of the perils of going to strictly a popular vote can be seen here.

More information can be found at Electoral College, the most informative section on the whys at page 3.

The 2000 election of George W. Bush over Al Gore is described here, explaining just how and why it works this way, as designed. The previous three times the Electoral Vote was in disagreement with the popular vote is well explained here.

The Electoral College was actually a compromise on how to select our president, popular vote or congressional vote. Popular vote only very likely could result in a president popular only to one region of the country, that region being the one with the heaviest population. Middle America would be ignored and cast aside during campaigning, candidates vying only in the heaviest populated states.

The Electoral College is a brilliant idea set up long ago that has served the country well. The dismay expressed by the left since 2000 over it just shows they never actually looked into it and instead, fall back on knee jerk reactions.

One would think that Clark County’s main source of news would have done their homework before jumping on this and going off half-baked. But, that might require breaking out of the groupthink of the left.

I am left believing that had the 2000 election results been reversed and the Democrat had won the Electoral Vote while the Republican had won the national popular vote, we would not be hearing any calls for abolishing the Electoral College, but would be hearing how marvelous it is and that it works well.

Little wonder they are facing bankruptcy when they won’t even do their homework on such an important and brilliant faction of our election process.

Posted in Clark County Issues, National Politics, Washington State | 4 Comments »

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
November 1, 2008

Dino Rossi’s Vancouver Rally

by lewwaters

In all, a pretty good turn out this morning for Dino’s appearance in Vancouver at his Vancouver Victory Headquarters. The small office was packed with what I’d estimate at well over 100 people.

Dino gave an inspiring speech to all on how taxes have increased and businesses have left Washington State and his plan to turn that around and make Washington a great State to run a business and horrible State for criminals.

In his effort to reach all of Washington’s citizens, he stated there is no town too small for him to appear in. In keeping with that he has scheduled rallies from here in Vancouver to Shelton, 5 in all, echoing his words to all of Washington’s voters.

Besides Governor Gregoire’s increasing our taxes and spending, leaving us a projected multi-billion dollar budget deficit, he spoke of how her policies resulted in over 3,000 felons gaining early release from prison, allegedly due to “overcrowding.” Three police officers were killed by some of those released felons and one woman was raped and her baby thrown against a wall by another.

Gregoire’s response? Commission a study.

More on Governor Gregoire’s failue at governing Washington State can be seen here.

From failure at fiscal responsibility to protecting our citizens, Gregoire has been a disaster for Washington State. Little wonder that Dino Rossi has secured the endorsements of newspapers across the state, our own Columbian excluded.

Additionally, Rossi has gained the endorsement of several Police Guilds across the state, even as Gregoire claims she the support of the Police.

As most can recall, Rossi won the election in 2004 by a narrow margin and two of the recounts, with Gregoire pulling it out by 129 votes in the questionable third recount, sparking outrage among voters of both parties who were denied their demanded Revote of the election.

Strong suspicions of voter fraud, especially from King County, who ‘discovered’ several ‘missing or misplaced ballots’ in each recount has left many Washington voters suspicious of the Gregoire administration. Her conduct in office has affirmed many who feel Dino Rossi was the rightful winner of the last election.

In efforts to once again snatch the governorship, the Gregoire campaign has resorted to the usual bag of dirty tricks and accusing Rossi of smearing Gregoire with lies, whenever his campaign plays video and audio of her own words.

The truth about Rossi’s stand on issues may be seen at Dino Fact Check and Rossi is the right candidate for these times.

The Columbian’s Jeffrey Mize covered the event for the financially troubled paper and I had the chance to chat with him afterwards. For a left leaning newspaper, Mize seems more fair-minded than other writers and reporters employed by the Columbian, which I feel is a major reason the paper is financially troubled, readers tired of biased reporting. I’m curiously looking forward to reading his take on today’s rally.

Regardless, Dino appeared today and gave Clark County much needed attention, something we often miss from the rest of the state, being so close to the Oregon border. Dino intends to return our state to sound footing and return much needed jobs and businesses to Washington. Instead of endless tax increases, he will lower them to a more reasonable level while reducing spending significantly.

Unlike Gregoire, Dino Rossi isn’t afraid to make decisions without first contacting ‘focus groups’ to see which way the wind blows.

Citizens of Washington, we need Dino to take his rightful place in Olympia. We need to reduce the number of Democrat seats in Olympia that has led us to this point. We need real change in Olympia, change to representatives that care more about us and the state than their political careers.

We need Don Benton, Joseph James, Micheline Doan, Joe Zarelli, Ed Orcutt, Jaime Herrera, Debbie Peterson, Tom Langston and Mike Bomar in Olympia alongside Dino.

We cannot afford four more years of Christine Gregoire.

Posted in Clark County Issues, Washington State | 2 Comments »

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
November 1, 2008

3 Year-Old Sarah Palin

by lewwaters

Politics aside, this is the cutest video I have seen so far. Enjoy.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Tags: , , , ,
September 2, 2008

Answering David Carrier’s Comment

by lewwaters

Thank you, David, for stopping by and attempting to take a specific stand.

However, there was no need to take the cheap shot, I prominently linked to your campaign site in the beginning of the article. That’s what the bolded words in blue are, links back to other sites.

Let’s take a look at what you said in your comment here.

Readers may want to refer to my web site for the truth about my positions- www.davidcarrier.org. I would just like to set the record straight on a couple of items mentioned here:
1. I believe we should work for the common good because of my Christian faith, not because I am a socialist. The importance of working for the common good dates back to Jesus Christ, whose teachings and example I attempt to follow in my own life. You may recall that Jesus said that the second greatest commandment was to love one another.
2. In general I do not support tax increases, and do not support an income tax in the state of Washington. I support shifting the tax burden away from the middle class by closing tax loopholes and finding ways to make the tax system more progressive. For example, we should provide an exemption from property tax increases for seniors and people on fixed incomes.
I encourage readers to find out the truth by visiting my web site.

You say you believe in “working for the common good” due to your Christian Faith. Fair enough. You cite Jesus and claim it was his teachings that taught that. I assume you have fallen into the modern Liberal Christianity taught in many Churches today. The “Common Good” ethic Jesus taught was following God’s Word and living by it. It was a spirituality, not creation of a welfare state. Of course, since the New Testament had not been written until after his death, we must assume he was speaking of what we refer to as the Old Testament.

Granted, much in the OT is more of a historical recording, but a lot of it gives us principles we should follow, I feel. One thing the OT speaks of, and most “Progressive Democrats” ignore is found in Leviticus 19:9, 10 and 23:32.

9 ” ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God. (NIV)

22 ” ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.’ ” (NIV)

God gave the Israelites a principle for carrying for the poor and under privileged, leaving crops in the field for them. What modern man neglects in their pursuit to redistribute wealth, is that it was left up to the poor and underprivileged to go out to the field and gather the left over crops.

That way, everybody ate, but all had to work to have their own food.

The modern welfare system advocated by the Progressive Democrats does not mandate that all work, just some and then they take from those who work the hardest and are the most successful. In other words, Progressive Democrats demand not only that the farmers leave more and more of their crops in the field for these “poor,” but that they process it and deliver it as well.

The concept of “for the common good” was put to a test in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. While thousands and thousands of well meaning citizens donated and traveled to help rebuild, how many of the “poor” sat idly by waiting for something to be done for them?

Neighboring communities in Mississippi hit much harder seemed to get back on their feet without as much begging and demanding others do for them.

In Jesus’ teaching about “loving one another,” is it loving for some to sit back and expect others to do for them? Is it loving to forcibly take from some and give to others, who show little or no appreciation? Is it loving to continue to take more and more from the successful, the ones who create the jobs and provide the means of wages, often losing jobs in the process?

Why punish those who supply the products and services we need, not only for survival, but also for supporting our families?

While I applaud property tax breaks for “seniors and people on fixed incomes,” shouldn’t you have a maximum amount of “fixed income” to receive the break, since many “Fixed Income Earners” are actually quite wealthy? Perhaps you meant “seniors on a limited fixed income?”

Giving breaks to the wealthiest “Fixed Income Earners” runs counter to your claims of “shifting the tax burden away from the middle class,” doesn’t it?

I always chuckle whenever I hear Progressive Democrats talk of “cutting taxes on the middle class,” every time they are campaigning. Somehow, it rarely seems to happen. We end up getting stuck with the bill anyways as out of control spending continues.

I find it peculiar for you to say, “In general I do not support tax increases, and do not support an income tax in the state of Washington,” yet also claim to advocate, “finding ways to make the tax system more progressive.”

Do you not realize that the classical progressive tax system IS the income tax? Progressive taxes are based upon ones income.

Here again, perhaps you don’t realize it, but Karl Marx also spoke of imposing a “heavy progressive or graduated income tax” in his 1848 Communist Manifesto.

Do you not also realize the I-5 Bridge proposal you agree with comes with a heavy tax burden and most likely tolls on the Middle Class?

Since you are “interested in shifting the tax burden from the Middle Class,” how about advocating the elimination of so many entitlements and wasteful spending? Would you be willing to sign a “No Income Tax or No Tax Increase” pledge to the voters?

Continually trying to “soak the rich” accomplishes little, other than losing jobs for the Middle Class and raising the cost of goods and services as well as creating class envy.

If you are really interested in giving the Middle Class and Poor a break on taxes, are you willing to work to eliminate our high gas tax and tobacco taxes? Since the majority of those who use tobacco are low wage earners, shouldn’t they receive a break there? With high gas prices, why do we continue to pay more to government than to the actual oil companies?

Senator Benton works to cut spending and eliminate wasteful spending, which would provide real tax breaks to all. Would you?

You claim that, “conservatism does not work.” Yet, Liberalism, Socialism, Progressivism, whatever you wish to call it, has never worked anywhere it is tried. You cannot tax a country to wealth. Redistribution of wealth only ends up robbing citizens of their basic innate desire to advance themselves by penalizing their success.

As you claim to be an economist I am shocked that a simple blue collar worker as I can know this and you do not.

Sorry if it offends you, but I stand by my original claim that you are just another “Tax and Spend Liberal.” You cannot claim to be against tax increases and advocate a “progressive tax system,” which increases taxes.

Senator Benton understands that. That is why so many support his returning to Olympia.

Posted in 17th Legislative District, Clark County Issues, Washington State | 3 Comments »

Tags: , , , , , , ,
September 1, 2008

Joseph James: Ready To Represent the 17th Legislative District

by lewwaters

Now that the dust has settled from our first ever top two primary, we can take closer looks at those we will be electing to represent us in Olympia. One race that merits attention is who will replace Republican Jim Dunn for Representative of the 17th Legislative District.

As we all know, Dunn fell from grace with the Republican Party and lost the primary to challenger, Joseph James. James will be facing off against Democrat, Tim Probst.

Looking over their campaign websites, both seem qualified, both seem to be family oriented men and both seem to care about our community. But, one will be elected to represent the 17th L.D., so voters must make that difficult choice.

Both men have received numerous endorsements from members of their respective parties. Probst has received the endorsement of labor unions locally, as Democrats most often do.

Joseph James

Joseph James

Tim Probst

Tim Probst

James has received the endorsements of the Human Life Political Action Committee and the Faith and Freedom Political Action Committee, as Republicans most often do.

Both have an impressive array of endorsements from citizens and businessmen, it seems right along party lines. Ultimately, though, only one will be selected and sent to Olympia.

Recently the Columbian made hey out of a slip on James part. Staff writer, Kathie Durbin made a point to ask us, “Is Republican legislative candidate Joseph James math-challenged?” James’ campaign sent out a flyer claiming, “over 90 percent of transportation funds go toward mass transit,” whereas “only 3 percent of us use mass transit.”

Since there is a question of the accuracy of the numbers, Ms. Durbin turns to Dena Horton, the Chair of the Clark County Democrat Party. Ms. Horton, in a purely partisan moment, asks, “How can Joseph James claim to be working for our trust when we can’t even trust him to do his homework on an issue as important as transportation?”

The Columbian isn’t known for fairness when it comes to dealing conservative Republicans, so I was pleasantly surprised to read a letter to the editor on August 27th from Doug Simpson, the consultant who supplied the information to James. Simpson said,

Point tripped up by typo
In the July 17 editorial, “Campaign alert,” it was stated that candidate Joseph James’ consultant “conceded the 90 percent figure came out of thin air and that he didn’t know how much of the state’s transportation dollar goes for mass transit as opposed to highways, ferries, etc.”
Allow me to set the record straight. I am that consultant, and I did not say or imply that, and I feel that reporter Kathie Durbin’s agenda in the July 15 story, “Candidate’s claims called ‘inaccurate’,” was less than unbiased or professional.
News organizations know it’s impossible to avoid every typo, even after proofing. As James’ consultant, I let him down because of my own typo. My apology goes to him and to the public. It is disheartening for any candidate when errors are knowingly used against them for political gain.
The point was that a disproportionate share of transportation dollars goes to transit, which moves an extremely small share of daily trips.
Doug Simpson
Spokane

I can personally attest that C-Trans buses that run along my home and stop at the Bus Stop some 20 feet from my kitchen window are rarely filled with more than 4 or 5 riders. Traveling around Clark County I rarely see a C-Trans Bus even half-full. Yet, after voters rejected a taxpayer subsidy to retain many of these routes, C-Trans pulled a switcheroo in 2005 with a special election, restricting votes from the whole County to those areas they considered “would benefit from bus service” the most. After an aggressive campaign, the measure passed and we now pay more sales tax to keep near empty buses running.

Looking backwards on this, Joseph James claim, even with a typo on numbers, was correct. Even if there was a typo on numbers.

Tim Probst, meanwhile, on his website, takes the safe path speaking vaguely on transportation and crediting one Democrat politician with providing for Clark County’s transportation needs, adding, “We can’t afford to allow one of our state representatives to ignore our transportation problems.”

Just who those that would ignore our transportation problems are remains unnamed.

As I indicated in an earlier article, Republican Senator Don Benton spoke out against a desired transportation project that would drain Clark County of tax money while providing little relief. Joseph James agrees with Senator Benton completely.

Democrats, almost down the line, advocate that very project, Light Rail, that would cost Billions of tax dollars, give us tolls for many years and not supply one extra lane of traffic across the Columbia River.

Probst states no specific position on the matter.

It leaves me wondering if Probst agrees with Vancouver’s Mayor Royce Pollard and Portland’s Mayor Sam Adams in their desire to “force us out of our cars?”

Probst deserves high marks for his help in encouraging passage of a resolution calling on the governor and legislature to enact “clean elections” legislation. We do need less mudslinging in our elective process. But, does Probst actually follow those “clean election” calls of his?

Probst has prominently displayed on his website the Columbian article mentioned above, with no mention of the clarification provided by the consultant.

He also links to some soft hit pieces from around the state by our Liberally biased media accusing Republican Joseph James of “stretching the truth.” This time over accusations of “inflating campaign contributions to make the candidate appear more legitimate” and for taking “liberties with the truth” because when explaining his opposition to tax increases, he refers to one as “Christine Gregoire’s Income Tax.”

We are led to believe that Governor Gregoire does not advocate a State Income Tax, which is in reality the true “taking liberties with the truth.”

Democrats desire to impose an Income Tax in Washington State is well known, statewide. The subject has continually come up for decades. As for Governor Gregoire, her words from an interview with the Spokesman-Review out of Spokane, are,

“We don’t have an electorate out there that will support it right now. Clearly, when I go across the state, the support’s not there. So much of it is, how are we going to educate them to the regressive tax system that we have in this state and how we need to have some sort of conversion over to a partial income tax. … So now’s not the time….”

“But it’s not as if it’s not a good idea. It’s not as if it’s not one that we shouldn’t pursue. It’s one that we just have to keep holding hearings and let time pass and eventually I assume we’re going to get there.”

Following some of linked articles prominently displayed on Probst’s site, we find Governor Gregoire’s Help Fight The Attacks site where we are told,

“Governor Chris Gregoire’s position is clear – she opposes a state income tax. Just look at the record:
Yakima Herald-Republic, 08/14/2008: “State income tax? Rossi’s attempt to tar Gregoire is spurious”
Online Town Hall Meeting, 04/08/2008: “You know there has been some comments made by my opponent on this, and I guess he’s forgotten four years ago. Four years ago, I was involved in a hotly contested primary. My opponent was for an income tax, and I made it clear I did not support it. I haven’t changed my mind…”
Seattle Weekly, 05/05/2004: “Gregoire is flatly opposed to a state income tax.”
Spokesman Review, 07/18/2004: “Democratic rival Christine Gregoire is against an income tax…”

Yet, the same Spokane Spokesman Review in an April 25, 2007 article says,

“The chief reason for the regressivity of the tax code is that Washington is one of eight states without an income tax. It’s a tough sell, say leaders, including Gov. Chris Gregoire and Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, who support the idea of adopting such a tax. They add that it’s just not the right time to push for it, because the public hasn’t sufficiently been educated on the merits.”

Is this the Democrats idea of those “Clean Elections” Probst brags about advocating? Or, is it just a catch phrase on how candidates may obtain donations for their campaigns?

Looking at the “Latest News” portion of his website reveals 3 of the 5 news articles shown are not about his abilities, but are against Joseph James. Isn’t that the same old tired campaign tactic we have grown tired of? Does he not have merits of his own to display instead of trying to tear down his opponent?

On the other hand, looking over Joseph James’ site, I find no negative mention of Probst.

James speaks specifically and admits errors on his part. Probst, described as a Democratic Party Activist, speaks in vague generalities, leaving out specifics about his ideas and plans, a common thread I find in Democrat Party candidates. We only discover their true intent once elected, when it is too late to properly vet them and our taxes have increased.

If you are as tired of the same old political spin we continue to get from Democrats, while being told they are for us and our taxes continue to increase, never solving the problems they claim they need increased taxes for and ending up with yet more tax increases down the road, then it is time for a shake-up in Olympia.

It’s time to elect Joseph James and Republicans and end this ever so slow yet ongoing slide towards Socialism.

Clark County needs Representatives like Joseph James in Olympia occupying the 17th Legislative District, position 1 seat.

Posted in 17th Legislative District, Clark County Issues, Washington State | 13 Comments »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
  |