Despite recent losses, many conservatives are optimistic about the future. But not all. David Frum, a conservative columnist, thinks it a little too optimistic to predict a Republican return in 2010.
Frum gives four reasons why it will take longer, with his main reason being "the collapsed intellectual state of the party." You can read the entire article here and see if you agree.
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The next Republican presidential candidate will likely be a current governor. That much is clear. What's unclear is which governor it will be. Many think, and hope, it will be Bobby Jindal from Louisiana.
Mr. Jindal, a 37 year-old Indian American, recently told fellow governors that Republicans have failed to inspire. "We should stand for the American dream," he said. He went on to blame Republicans in Washington for cutting taxes without cutting spending, and for not providing solutions to problems.
Today's Economist has an interesting article, "Ship of fools," about why Republicans lost the election. The author is a little harsh and doesn't mince words - as you can probably tell from the title - but his basic point is sadly accurate.
"There are any number of reasons for the Republican Party’s defeat on November 4th. But high on the list is the fact that the party lost the battle for brains... Republicanism’s anti-intellectual turn is devastating for its future. The party’s electoral success from 1980 onwards was driven by its ability to link brains with brawn. The conservative intelligentsia not only helped to craft a message that resonated with working-class Democrats, a message that emphasized entrepreneurialism, law and order, and American pride. It also provided the party with a sweeping policy agenda. The party’s loss of brains leaves it rudderless, without a compelling agenda."
You can read the entire article here.
President Bush gave a great speech today (haven't heard that one lately) about our current financial crisis. His main points were along the lines of what we previously mentioned here.
You can read more about his speech here.
What does this revitalized Republican party we've been talking about look like? Glad you asked.
The Party must become relevant to a majority of Americans once again. This means actually making an effort to reach young voters and addressing the problems facing the middle class. Our answers don't resonate with people anymore because they're solutions for old problems. Conservatives fixed the problems they set out to conquer at the outset of the Reagan Revolution, and the results of that can be seen in our country's overall prosperity in the last 28 years.
And yet, there is still more work to be done. We must apply conservative principles to a new set of problems, such as health care, energy, the environment, social security, and international development.
"It is not a mandate for a party or ideology, but a mandate for change."
-Harry Reid, senate majority leader
Obama will have to remember this: he won because he represents change, not because the majority of Americans agree with his policies. This is going to make it very difficult for Obama once he actually has to start making policy.
Come on, admit it: Obama's acceptance speech was pretty awesome. Whether or not you voted for him, it was an amazing moment in American history. We have a lot to be proud of as a nation.
The reason we found it inspiring—historical significance aside—was that Obama's speech was laced with beautiful, patriotic rhetoric espousing conservative principles:
Americans are known for one quality above all others...our willpower. When we look at our history, time and again we see the amazing feats we’ve accomplished through an iron will and a steely determination. When the French, defeated by the heat and malaria of the Panamanian jungle, gave up on constructing a canal through Panama, it was America that stepped in and made the seemingly impossible dream of the Panama Canal a reality. After World War II, it was American treasure that poured into Europe. Both friends and foes received our help after the devastation of war. History abounds with these and other examples, as time and again America’s will and determination has been called upon, and time and again it’s answered the call.
But occasionally that great American will is subverted by our own leaders. The last to do so was Jimmy Carter. Carter let America’s enemies advance with little opposition, abandoned our allies and openly contemplated whether our best years were behind us. With his weakness of spirit rubbing off on the rest of the country, it was little wonder America was mired in what Carter called a “crisis of confidence.”
With the election upon us, we conclude our series on Obama's 'Chump Change'. Today, it's his change with foreign policy we have our doubts about.
Obama Change: Pull out all troops from Iraq in 16 months and meet with rogue dictators without preconditions.
Chump Change: Leave Iraq and the entire Middle East in a state of chaos by pulling out troops too quickly and make a huge diplomatic mistake by meeting with rogue leaders without preconditions.
If history has taught us anything, it’s that countries in turmoil are great at rebuilding themselves. For example, Germany after World War I.
It's not all gloom and doom for the Rust Belt these days. In fact, this NY Times article shows how the best days might be ahead for states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Iowa.
Three thoughts (that just so happen to be ones we've been saying here at The Relevant Elephant) stood out while reading this article:
After almost two years of hearing about 'Change' from Senator Obama, many are still wondering what exactly this 'Change' will be.
In case you've missed the past couple days, we've been having a little fun by intepreting what we think is actually 'Chump Change'. Today, it's his change, or lack thereof, with Social Security that we call into question.
Obama Change: Keep Social Security as it is and don’t allow it to be privatized.
Chump Change: Maintain a failed program when privatizing it would give twentysomethings more options with saving for retirement.
When Obama ironically fails to change our bankrupt system, he is forced to swap retirees’ monthly checks with coupons good for one Hot-n-Ready from Little Ceasar’s.
Here is more of Obama's Chump Change, this time about our economy.
Obama Change: Protect U.S. workers and provide more government programs
Chump Change: Increase prices for U.S. consumers, make the U.S. less competitive, and raise taxes
Flanked by unionized Wal-Mart greeters, Obama can be found rollin’ back America with tax hikes and toilet paper rations for all.
Here's a little Halloween treat for you: more Chump Change.
Obama Change: Invest in research for renewable energy and not drill for oil on U.S. land
Chump Change: Increase gas prices during the decades it will take our country to get off oil and not allow for a comprehensive energy plan
That cross-country trip you’ve been planning should be affordable by 2036—that is, if your car is powered by the audacity of hope.
"Change, it turns out, wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. Barack Obama is discovering that there is quite a bit he likes about the way things are." - Gerald Baker, Times Online
Although Obama is appealing and has a good message of unity and hope, the change he wants to bring has no significant value – it’s Chump Change. It's actually regressive, not progressive.
That's why over the next five days leading up to the election, we'll be sharing with you some of Obama's 'Chump Change'. Today, it's health care.
It's nice to see people are learning a thing or two from us... especially if they're Harvard economists.
We probably can't take all of the credit, but here is a great NY Times article talking about our need for better financial regulation, not more. It makes three great points:
- We need a new regulatory structure that makes our market work better.
- Good regulation makes sure investors can get their money back.
- When making new regulations, our lawmakers shouldn't do it with a sense of vengeance but with a rational approach to make our markets work best.
It goes on to explain more about how we could set up this "better regulation," but you'll just have to read it for yourself. Some of it might be controversial, so let us know your thoughts.
"I’m not optimistic about bringing about major redistributive change through the courts. You know, the institution just isn’t structured that way." - Barack Obama
If you think we've been a little hard on Barack Obama lately, you're probably right. It's because his economic worldview continues to be drawn into question with little more than a week until the election. By now, we're all familiar with Barack's conversation with "Joe the Plumber", where the democratic candidate advocated "spreading the wealth around".
Barack Obama says he's for the middle class. What's one of the best ways to help them? Create more jobs.
According to this NY Times article, though, Obama's healthcare plan would do just the opposite. As part of his healthcare plan, Obama would raise taxes on businesses with uninsured employees in order to pay for his government-funded health insurance. While this might sound great in theory, the effects of such "play-or-pay" policies haven't had a great track record at the state level over the past two decades.
Fines on businesses would cause them to either hire less people or keep employee wages low, which doesn't benefit anyone. Obama's campaign said they "decided not to decide on" the amount of the fine, but studies estimate it would cost 6 percent of a company's payroll. What does that mean? According to researchers at Harvard and the University of Michigan, 224,000 workers would be laid off as a result.
Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister before World War II, was the Bill Buckner of 20th century politics. Buckner cost the Red Sox the ‘86 World Series by letting a routine groundball roll between his legs. Chamberlain’s error was just as avoidable but far more costly. In 1938, Chamberlain broke his promise to protect Czechoslovakia and gave away part of that country to Adolf Hitler to appease the dictator and secure peace. Encouraged by Chamberlain’s weakness, Hitler broke the agreement and took the rest of Czechoslovakia.
At a glance Chamberlain and Barack Obama couldn’t be more different. Chamberlain was nearing seventy when he served as Prime Minister, the son of a prime minister, and in many respects epitomized the British aristocracy. Who could be so foolish as to compare the inspiring, rags-to-riches political saga of Barack Obama with Chamberlain, one of history’s greatest failures?
There are more slaves today than ever before in human history. This slave trade is worth $32 billion a year - more than what Nike, Google, and Starbucks make combined. Human trafficking (which is a nice way of saying slavery) involves victims who are forced, defrauded, or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation.
If you're like most Americans, it seems impossible this is still happening. It also makes you wonder why you haven't heard more about it.
Thankfully, the Republican Party has a plan in their 2008 Platform to fight human trafficking: "We advocate the establishment of an Inter-Agency Task Force on Human Trafficking, reporting directly to the President, and call for increased diplomatic efforts with foreign governments that have been negligent toward this evil."
As with most issues, we shouldn't just look to our government to solve the problem. That's where nonprofit organizations and individuals come in. One way to fight slavery is by creating awareness, which is just what the film Call + Response set out to do. Below is their (slightly graphic) trailer. Be sure and check out their website to see if the movie is playing in your city.
We have talked quite a bit about taxes lately as it's taken a more prominent role in the presidential election. In order to paint a picture of how our current tax breaks are not just for the wealthy, here is a simple illustration by an economics professor from Georgia.
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers,' he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.' Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
In 1970, we imported 24% of our oil.
Today it's nearly 70% and growing.
T. Boone Pickens' advertisements have been all over television the past several months. If his name alone doesn't scream 'oil baron', his slow, Texas accent certainly does.
The Pickens Plan is clear: we must reduce our dependence on foreign oil. He's positioning the issue as a matter of national security ... and it is.
Why are you going to vote this year?
If for no other reason, you should do it based off inspiration from this poster alone.
AIGA, the professional association for design, puts out a series of posters encouraging us to vote each election cycle. You can check out there entire collection here.
Obama's 'new kind of politics' is starting to resemble its predecessor: 'the old kind'. The airwaves have been bombarded recently with attack ads that mischaracterize McCain's health care plan.
To be fair, it's not like Senator McCain is winning any Congeniality awards in this campaign (as we well know: Maverick, etc.), but it's important to separate fact from fiction on this critical issue.
This article from the National Reveiw recently brought these false accusations to light, but here's a quick summary...
In elections, you always hear a lot about recent polls and how far someone is ahead. But how trustworthy are they? Well, if you've ever doubted their accuracy, here might be a solution: fivethirtyeight.com.
It's a website that looks at all the election polls around the country, places different weights on them based on historical accuracy, sample size, and how recent they are, and then produces the results. It's actually a little more complicated than that, but that's the gist of it.
The accuracy of their results in the primaries were unprecedented. You will definitely want to use this site throughout the election season.
Senator Obama has talked a lot about how he will lower taxes for 95% of Americans. And after we've heard him say it, we've heard him repeat it, slowly emphasizing "95%".
It's true that Obama is proposing a small tax break of $500 to $1,000 for many Americans (although not 95% as he claims since 45% of Americans don't have pay taxes). What's not small, though, is the harm that will be done to our economy if he raises two types of taxes: capital gains and dividend.
When you think of our failing economy, what comes to mind? Most likely (if you ever watch the news), you think about our slumping housing market and the stock market. That's why Obama's tax increases are simply not smart.
Aristotle had a unique outlook on life. He taught his students to live between extremes. In battle, for example, the extremes were cowardice and irrationality. Nothing was worse than cowardice, but a foolhardy rush to war with no consideration of the costs or risks wasn’t much better. Courage lay between the two.
Courage recognizes the fear that drives the coward to inaction but acts anyway; however, such action is marked by caution and sobriety rather than haste and foolish bravado. Thus courage fits neatly between (and is superior to) the two extremes.
I’m no Aristotle, but if I could be so bold, let me give you this piece of advice: live between panic and intellectualism. It’s a little place called common sense, which I urge us to live in because it’s going to see us through the dark economic days ahead.
Apparently so. This article shows the influence American politicians are having on the runways of Paris. Palin's now famous "hockey mom" hair-do was all the rage at Paris' Fashion Week.
Palin wasn't getting all of the attention, though. Obama is also a source of inspirtation...for a line of dresses.
Gov. Palin stopped the bleeding last night. She's bounced back from punch line status to legitimate Vice Presidential candidate. It looks like Tina Fey is back to her day job (aka 30 Rock).
Palin's interview with Katie Couric was a dark day for the GOP ticket—she stumbled over several questions which replayed repeatedly for the viewing public. If you watch CNN with any regularity, you've probably seen the clip a dozen times.
Certainly the media has been too critical of Palin, but that's not the most unfair part. It's hard to understand why our media literally makes fun of a Vice Presidential candidate for not having vast foreign policy experience. Since when was that a prerequisite?
Whether this is the first election you can vote in, or it's the first time you care enough to vote, the deadline for registering is almost here. It varies by state, but this list will tell you about yours. If you still need to register, visit Rock the Vote.
Also, don't forget to vote absentee if you won't be around on good ol' November 4. The process can sometimes take several weeks, so it's good to start early.
Lyndon Johnson was probably the best negotiator in U.S. political history. Known as “Master of the Senate” before becoming president, he was often able to get other Senators to do what he wanted. Perhaps his greatest feat in the Senate was getting civil rights legislation passed when Segregationists dominated his party.
As president, he even talked a justice of the Supreme Court into resigning to become ambassador to the United Nations.
There was one battle, however, Johnson couldn’t negotiate his way out of...the Vietnam War. Johnson felt sure that if he could just sit down with Ho Chi Minh, the North Vietnamese leader, he could talk him into ending the war. Regrettably, Ho was of the opinion that as long as Johnson was willing to talk, he wasn’t willing to fight hard enough to win. Even more regrettably, Ho was right.
The presidential campaign has been awfully dramatic lately. Will there be a debate? Why did McCain go to Washington? Who's wearing lipstick?
While all of this drama might be entertaining, the most important piece of legislation this decade has seen is still being debated in Washington. In case you haven't seen the news lately, our financial institutions are in a bit of a pickle, and Bush has proposed spending $700 billion to buy up bad loans that banks have made, allowing them to lend freely again.
In the first two parts to this series, we gave Mayor Bloomberg's thoughts of the current financial woes and how we got here in the first place. In short, he said our government pressured banks to make bad loans, the banks were too aggressive in making these loans, and greedy Americans gladly bought more than they could afford. He also said the government shouldn't create more regulations but simply create a better (more simplified) system for oversight. Washington should also remember what fiscal conservatism means and work to get our country out of debt.
If you've watched the news at all this week, chances are you've seen Bill Clinton doing an interview. Why is Bill all over the news? Well, it's not necessarily because Hillary's getting ready for a 2012 run for the White House. The reason you're seeing a lot more of Bill is that the annual meetings of the Clinton Global Initiative are being held this week.
Basically, Clinton brings together a lot of rich or influential people and gets them to donate money to worthy causes. In the first 3 years, CGI has raised $30 billion in commitments, helping 200 million people in 150 countries with such issues as health, education, clean energy, micro loans, etc.
Interestingly, in many of these interviews, Bill has basically been promoting a conservative ideology (in not so many words).
We've always heard how most Americans would rather have a beer with President Bush than other politicians. According to the Honorable Michael Bloomberg, Bush has (figuratively speaking) took it up a notch and bought alcoholic Americans a round of drinks. Let us explain.
In Part 1, we shared thoughts from Mayor Bloomberg about America's financial crisis, explaining what the government bailouts mean. Today, we'll give you his thoughts on how we got here in the first place.
Michael Bloomberg, business mogul and New York mayor, spoke at Georgetown last week. He talked about what's happening on Wall Street, the Federal Government's bailouts, and how we got to the place we find ourselves today.
While Bloomberg considers himself an independent, his economic views are mostly conservative. His assessment of what's going on with the financial industry seems to be accurate, and his prescription for improving it sounds convincing.
In this first part, we’ll cover Bloomberg’s assessment of the recent government bailouts and the need for fixing how Washington regulates the financial industry.
Recent polls show McCain is now leading in the Electoral College - barely. McCain is likely up 227-216, but neither candidate is close to securing the 270 needed to win.
This is handy line chart from Rove & Co. shows the recent shift.
In answering the question, “Why am I a conservative?” I with many other young conservatives in the present day am forced to take a step back and ask myself… am I a conservative? Who are the true conservatives today? What political party truly embodies conservative principles?
The values promoted in the definition of conservatism in this post sure sound like positive things which should be preserved, yet at times it seems to me that most conservative pundits, commentators, and talk show personalities prefer to use these hallmarks of conservatism as battle lines from which they sling mud at the opposing team instead of truly promoting and preserving them.
New York's Fashion Week wrapped up last week, but don't worry fashion fans... an all-new episode of the beloved Project Runway airs tonight.
Fashion has been newsworthy for decades, but Bryant Park is now mentioned more than ever thanks to Bravo, Heidi Klum, and Tim Gunn (aka the “Silver Fox”).
Few industries capture the attention of Americans quite like the world of fashion. While we could never imagine wearing 97% of the clothes paraded down the runway, we’re still captivated.
As we all know, though, the fashion industry can have its dark side – from malnourished models on runways to sweat shops in developing countries. These sweat shops, controversy aside, illustrate what truly makes the fashion industry work: trade.
As we mentioned previously, education is a unique issue because both sides strongly agree on the desired outcome and have committed large amounts of money to it. It's also an area where more Americans are generally okay with larger-than-normal government programs, mainly because equal opportunity is a value deeply embedded within us.
Differences are clear in this election, however, and they mainly fall along party lines. Obama wants to increase funding for several programs while starting several new programs. He proposes this as his "historic commitment" to improve the current public system, which would make the federal government's role in education much larger than it currently is (a liberal value). McCain wants to keep funding at its current level while proposing ways to make our current system better. He also wants to increase a parent's ability to choose where their child goes to school (a conservative value).
Religious belief is a funny thing. We're not supposed to talk about it at parties. If it's Madonna, People Magazine lauds her spiritual search and says, "Rock that red bracelet." When it's a political candidate, the tune sort of changes.
Recently, Governor Sarah Palin's religious beliefs have become the focus of significant media scrutiny. Gov. Palin grew up attending Wasilla Assembly of God. The Assemblies of God is a fundamental, Pentecostal movement that believes the Holy Spirit is active and available for all followers of Christ. Many elected officials at various levels of government have been and are adherents in Assemblies of God churches across the country. The Palin "controversy", however, is not with the Assemblies of God. It is with the beliefs of Wasilla Assembly's senior pastor, Ed Kalnins.
Special thanks to our friends at Postsecret for displaying this. Postsecret is a popular website sharing anonymous secrets sent in on postcards.
Last time, we summarized Obama’s education plan. Today, we will take a look at McCain’s. For his complete plan, you can visit his website.
McCain’s plan isn’t as long or detailed as Obama’s. That’s likely due to his general philosophy about education: it should mainly stay in the hands of the states. The McCain approach is about allowing the states to determine what is working and to provide support for those programs. In this view, the states drive change and the federal government's role is to draw attention to working models, encouraging other states to try them.
In the world of video games, there are two types of players: those who play by the rules, and those who use cheat codes. To be honest, cheat codes are fun. They make the game a lot easier; you skip all of the hard work and get straight to the payday. You can get unlimited health, limitless resources, or whatever else the game will allow. At some point, the game ends. You’ve got to return to reality, get a job, and pay the bills.
Apparently Barack Obama didn’t get that memo. One might assume he thinks winning the presidency is like a giant game of SimCity™—one where he holds the cheat codes. As a side note, EA recently announced that SimCity™ will soon be available on the iPhone/iPod Touch platform (but I digress).
While watching Governor Palin deliver her address at the Republican Convention I found myself bubbling over with excitement, and judging from the calls and instant messages I received, I wasn’t the only one. The reason I and many others were thrilled and relieved by Governor Palin’s speech was that we could sit back and say, “She’s one of us,” and by that I don’t mean a conservative, I mean an ordinary, down to earth American.
The more I think about it, the more I realize that being able to relate to ordinary Americans is a trait shared among other successful conservatives, including George W. Bush and most notably Ronald Reagan. Maybe it’s because they all had the same speech coach, but I’ve got a good feeling it’s something deeper.
More than 37 million Americans watched Gov. Sarah Palin's historic speech this week. That's pretty impressive considering that Senator Obama, the greatest political orator of our time, only garnered a million more viewers for his convention speech (Greek columns and all).
To put that in perspective, the TV audiences for these speeches were bigger than those for this year's Academy Awards, the finale of American Idol, or the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.
Before McCain announced his VP choice, most Americans had never heard of Sarah Palin. While it was fun watching different reporters mispronounce her name the first day, Palin has quickly become a fixture on the national scene.
And honestly, we couldn't be happier.
The previous entry in this education series outlined a brief history of America's current education system. The next two blogs will discuss both Obama and McCain’s specific plans.
Today, we’ll look at Obama’s. You can click here to view his entire plan on his website, but here’s a brief synopsis:
When it comes to Early Childhood Education, Obama plans to implement universal pre-school for all children, quadruple funding for Early Head-Start, and increase Head Start funding.
Hurricane Gustav did not cause the damage we all feared. This was partly due to nature, partly due to the great leadership of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.
Bobby was certainly in the news over the past couple days, although he had to miss his keynote speech at the Republican National Convention. He is a rising star within the Republican party, with strong fiscal conservative values.
On Friday, the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Bobby released an article showing how fiscal conservatism helped Louisiana beat Katrina. You can read that article here.
President Bush will address the Republican National Convention tonight. While he's sure to focus on McCain, he might also mention the beneficial effects of his 2001 tax cuts.
As you might have noticed, this was also a large topic of discussion at the Democratic National Convention last week. A good amount of their speakers said Bush only gave tax cuts to the wealthy.
Not surprisingly, the two sides are at odds over the effects of the tax cuts. Some argue the tax cuts stimulated our economy, helped us recover from 9/11, and kept this current recession from being worse. Others say these cuts are reckless and have led to our growing federal deficit.
Education is one of the most important issues for young voters in the upcoming Presidential election. And for good reason.
Education is an interesting topic because everybody agrees on the desired outcome: an educated population. The debate occurs over determining the best means to that end.
Both Republicans and Democrats are pro-education, but there is a difference. Conservatives tend to favor choice and financial freedom for parents, which lines up with the conservative principle of freedom of choice. Liberals, on the other hand, focus more on strengthening existing systems. This is why you often hear of Republicans advocating for a voucher system while Democrats argue that funding should stay in the public system.
Obama delivered a masterful speech last night, and it was certainly a historic moment. Unfortunately, it was a misleading speech at extreme odds with his record.
It's understandable that Obama is trying to move to the middle as the general election approaches, but many parts of his speech were based on strong conservative principles. In fact, part of his speech gave a better representation of the benefits of conservatism than we've seen a Republican give in a long time.
Here are some of the highlights of the speech that have conservative principles at the core:
A new survey by Reuters shows that McCain has a 5 point lead over Obama. It also shows that Obama's lead with young voters has slipped by 12 percentage points to 52 percent. McCain is currently getting 40 percent of voters ages 18-29.
CNN has launched The League of First Time Voters, which connects those who are voting in a election for the first time. It also helps to compare views and give resources.
The website shows that most first time voters (who have visited this CNN site, at least), tend to lean left on most issues.
Obama might not have these young voters in his pocket, though. In this video, young journalists talk about how young voters view this election.
There's also a music video by Daughtry. What more could you want?
“Back-to-School” is here. Many of us are moving into dorms, adapting to new classes, or taking the little one to Target to buy oversized pencils.
While the start of the new school year looks different for all of us, one thing is certain: we naturally think a bit more about education.
If you happen to be entering grad school or are starting a savings account for Baby Einstein’s future college bills, your initial thought about education probably has something to do with its skyrocketing price tag.
As mentioned in a previous entry, natural gas could eventually power our cars, which would be a good alternative to foreign oil. According to this New York Times article, Pelosi is investing in a company that produces natural gas for use in automobiles. While her investment is controversial (a potential conflict of interest with her role as Speaker of the House), Pelosi dismisses any such suggestion: "I'm investing in something I believe in."
Whatever you think of the ethical ramifications, Pelosi could make some serious dough with recent increases in natural gas production. America's natural gas production is rising faster than it has at any point in the past 50 years because of new technologies related to drilling. This may be good news for all Americans for two reasons.
Since The Relevant Elephant launched just over ten weeks ago, thousands have started reading our blog. We've had visitors from 100 countries, along with citizens from every state. All in all, we've had a great start.
But here's the thing: the 2008 election is right around the corner. Right now we're in that magical time when everyone and their mom is interested in politics. We've got an incredible window of opportunity, but it's closing fast. If we're going to spread the word about why conservatism is best for everyone, now is the time to do it. And that's where you come in.
Google will be showing up at both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. In addition to free smoothies and massages, they'll be there promoting a couple new tools they've developed.
Power Reader in Politics lets politicians and political pundits share articles they are reading with you.
Google Elections Video Search automatically transcribes candidates speeches to text and indexes them. The gadget not only allows you to search the titles and descriptions of the videos, but also their spoken content.
Oh, and did we mention they are providing an entire room for RockBand?
Here is a story of young conservatives getting out there and making a difference - one congressional district at a time.
Four College Republicans have hit the road this summer to help out congressional candidates and spread the McCain love.
Here is a video that explains a little more about it, and you can also visit their website to find out more.
So far, 149 people have applied to officially protest during the Olympics. Chinese officials denied them all.
The Olympics have been pretty quiet so far. A Wall Street Journal blog says that "...almost none of that fiery rhetoric has made it to Beijing, largely thanks to a government crackdown on foreign and local dissent through a campaign of harassment and denying visas to others, human rights groups and Chinese petitioners say."
To find out more about potential implications of the protests, or the silencing of protestors, at these Olympics, you can read our previous post here.
A recent post on the liberal blog Open Left shows that Obama has almost lost his lead. Polling shows Obama still has the lead, but McCain is closing the gap.
We recently wrapped up an 8-part series on Reclaiming Conservatism which went in-depth on what makes up conservatism. Today, we wanted to give you a summarized (and humorous) version of what conservatism is from Daniel Kurtz' "How to Win a Fight with a Liberal".
Conservatism stands for promoting core American values: a strong defense, free markets, lower taxes, limited government, personal responsibility, family values, and the right to life, liberty, and [the pursuit of happiness].
Last time we took a look at expanding both fossil fuel production and the kinds of fossil fuels produced. While further exploration of fossil fuels is a necessary part of energy relief, the development of alternative energy technology is imperative if the U.S. is to achieve energy independence. So let’s look at what’s needed for alternative energy to catch on as well as the benefits of switching.
First, if alternative energy is to succeed, it needs to be marketed in a new light. Conservatives are a funny breed, and if the Left is all for something, that’s usually enough of a reason for them oppose it (although to be honest, liberals are the same way).
Yesterday we focused on Bobby Jindal. After giving it some thought, we sensed that Newt might feel a little left out. To help make amends, we are sharing a quote from the former Speaker of the House that illustrates our country's differing political thought.
A conservative is a person who comes to Bentonville, Arkansas, to study Wal-Mart and learn how to fix the post office. A liberal is a person who comes to Bentonville, Arkansas to make Wal-Mart more like the post office.
– Newt Gingrich
Bobby Jindal is a rising star within the Republican Party. The 37-year-old Governor of Louisiana is considered by many to represent the future of the GOP.
Last week, the GOP Youth Convention announced that Bobby is teaming up with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to serve as Honorary Co-chairs of its campaign to bring young people to the GOP National Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
In about 8 months in office, Jindal has already brought great reform and conservative principles to a state better known for its street-lined festivities and questionable ethics than a healthy business environment and tax cuts.
The Olympics officially kick off tonight at 8:08pm. As Olympics go, it's an historic event, and China has spared no money in making sure their “coming-out party” goes off without a hitch.
In fact, China has spent close to $40 billion building 19 new venues, doubling the capacity of their subway system, and adding a new terminal to the airport. Beyond wanting to impress the world with their infrastructural and architectural prowess, Beijing want us to see Chinese culture at its finest. Chinese officials have even gone so far as to launch etiquette campaigns forbidding spitting, smoking, littering, and cutting in lines by its citizens.
What do dictators, nuclear proliferators, and genocidal regimes all have in common? It's certainly not that they conjure up images of bunnies and daises. China has often protected these different types of countries and leaders from international pressure, reversing any progress made on human rights and humanitarian principles by Western countries.
These “problems” (i.e. Iran, North Korea, and Sudan) have grabbed the attention of many in our generation, and for good reason.
Shawn Askinosie gives us his thoughts today on why Fair Trade is good, but just not good enough. Aksinosie Chocolate is not Fair Trade certified, but Shawn explains their own socially responsible program that he hopes other businesses will imitate.
The Relevant Elephant: What should a consumer know about typical Fair Trade products? What are the benefits? What are the drawbacks? How could it be improved, or is there a better system all together?
For many Chinese, the upcoming Olympic Games highlight the gap between the attractive face Beijing is trying to present to the world and the much uglier political reality of their daily lives. China's human rights record is nothing new; in fact, it's been all over the news for decades. The Beijing Olympics have shed more light on these violations, though. From San Francisco to Seoul, protests seemed to follow the Olympic torch like a shadow.
So, what's behind the global community's concerns with China's human rights record? Mainly, it comes down to two types of violations: religious persecution and political discrimination.
One of the most-watched state primaries in our country is in Missouri tomorrow. Many will be watching to see what happens in the gubernatorial race, as Republicans Sarah Steelman and Kenny Hulshof wrap up a heated primary battle.
The Relevant Elephant has previously endorsed Hulshof, saying that he is the “candidate who has truly proven his relevance to young voters in Missouri” and that “when it gets right down to offering real solutions and achieving real results, Kenny stands out.”
This is the third entry in a series with Shawn Askinosie, owner of Askinosie Chocolate. Today, Shawn shares his political philosophy, tells about why James Dobson should stay out of politics, and offers a solution to make the Republican Party more relevant.
The Relevant Elephant: With your unique blend of experience as both an attorney and a small business owner, what is your political philosophy? How has it developed over the years?
Shawn Askinosie: My political philosophy, when I was in my twenties and younger, I was about as conservative as you can get. When I was sixteen years old I circulated a right-to-work petition so that Missouri didn’t have to be a union state, so we wouldn’t be a closed shop. When I was a freshman at Baylor University I delivered the nomination speech for Ronald Reagan at a mock convention that we held.
In an interesting turn of events, Senator McCain and the Republican Party are now using Obama's popularity against him, comparing him to Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and David Hasselhoff.
They recently released separate videos, painting Obama more as a celebrity than a viable commander-in-chief.
Watch these videos and let us know your thoughts. Is there truth behind the ads, or are they just a clever (and humorous) political ploy?
From the McCain Campaign
The Relevant Elephant: Why did you start Askinosie Chocolate?
Shawn Askinosie: Well, I was a criminal defense lawyer for about twenty years, and I really was just beginning to feel a sense that I needed to do something else, and that it was time for me to move on and to try new things and to develop a new passion for something else… 20 years is a long time to do something. So for about five years, I prayed that God would give me another passion, and I was about ready to give up on that when, in May of 2005, it came to me to make chocolate from scratch.
The term “fossil fuel” has become a dirty word when discussing energy policy. Not only are they responsible for draining our pocketbooks at the pump, they also destroy the environment and may or may not fund terrorism. Outrageous!
The unfortunate truth, however, is that for the foreseeable future our economy will continue to run on fossil fuels, primarily oil. Thus we need a short-term (fossil fuel) and long-term (green technology) energy strategy garnered toward delivering a cheap, reliable, domestically produced supply of energy.
“If you guys had compared me to Willy Wonka, I was gonna have to hit you.”
– Shawn Askinosie, after his interview with The Relevant Elephant
Earlier this week, The Relevant Elephant had a chance to sit down with Shawn Askinosie, owner of Askinosie Chocolate. More than once, his business dealings and work with children have earned him comparisons with the infamous Willy Wonka… something he’s obviously excited about.
Why am I a conservative? Well, I guess it all began when I was 5 or 6 years old. I was riding in the car with my dad, who was listening to Rush Limbaugh, and after quietly listening for a while I looked up at my dad and said, “Wow, this is my kind of guy!” I might not have understood all the aspects of conservatism at the age of 6, but I haven’t looked back since.
For me, limited government and America’s global role are what make conservatism most appealing. Limited government concerns both taxes and the scope of government. While I realize taxes are an inevitable part of life, I also recognize that the government doesn’t create revenue or profit on its own, it merely reaps the fruits of others’ labors. Therefore, government has an obligation to be frugal with our money and not spend it frivolously.
"I understand the challenge I have, and I understand that this election is really all about the people of your generation," John McCain said of young voters at a recent town hall meeting in Ohio.
According to an article today on CNN, McCain has his work cut out for him. As of right now, Obama is carrying the young vote (for a few obvious reasons, not the least of which is age).
Conservative outreach groups are saying that McCain must work to connect young voters with the principles of conservatism. Incidentally, that's what The Relevant Elephant is doing, and will continue to do.
We do this because we strongly believe that when a young voter understands the guiding principles of conservatism, they will see that it's best not only for our country, but for themselves as well.
The Relevant Elephant is working hard on some exciting updates that will better inform you on the Presidential election. So be sure and check back often.
The Relevant Elephant recently presented ideas from Mickey Edwards about how the conservative principle of restraint should apply to the United State’s foreign policy. He claimed that Americans should champion liberty and justice, not necessarily democracy.
In the most recent edition of Foreign Affairs, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defended the US’s foreign policy, including the spread of democracy and the war on terror. Today, we’ll provide a summary of her defense for the war on terror – specifically in Iraq.
There is much debate on whether we should have invaded Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein. Interestingly enough, the war in Iraq did not start with President Bush.
We’re not usually fans of email forwards, but this one caught our eye and we thought it would be worth sharing.
I'm reminded of the time that Catherine...a little girl in our neighborhood...told me that she wanted to be President one day.
Both of her parents, liberal Democrats, were standing there with us, and I asked Catherine - "If you were President, what would be the first thing you would do?"
There’s an old children’s book that says “if you give a mouse a cookie, he’s going to want a glass of milk”. The book goes on to say all of the terrible things that will happen once you give said cookie to said mouse, culminating in the mouse requesting another cookie, thereby starting the entire process over. The moral is that you should not—under any circumstances—EVER give a mouse a cookie, lest you live to regret it.
The same thing is kind of true about the federal government. If you give an inch, it’ll take a mile. Then it'll tax you for using the road for that mile and it'll tax the fuel that it takes to drive on it.
When US Congressman Kenny Hulshof declared he was entering Missouri’s Governor race, a seat was left open in Missouri’s Ninth District. Five Republican candidates are battling to fill his seat.
Today, The Relevant Elephant talks
to one of those candidates – former University of Missouri football star Brock Olivo. The 32-year old professional athlete-turned-politician talks to us about gas prices, Washington’s out-of-control spending, and why the Republican Party needs more candidates like himself.
The Relevant Elephant: What does it mean to be a conservative?
Brock Olivo: To me, being a conservative means you are frugal with both money and government's role in our everyday lives. It means that you base your decisions on whether or not the taxpayers can afford it. It means you respect the taxpayers' hard earned money and it also means that you approach issues with common sense solutions and don't read more into the law than is there.
The Relevant Elephant recently presented ideas from Mickey Edwards about how the conservative principle of restraint should apply to the United States’ foreign policy. He claimed that Americans should champion liberty and justice, not necessarily democracy.
In the most recent edition of Foreign Affairs, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defended the US’s foreign policy, including the spread of democracy and the war on terror. Today, we’ll provide a summary of her defense for spreading democracy.
The spread of democracy is a high calling, and a responsibility of the United States. Democratic development is not only an effective path to wealth and power for other countries; it’s also the best way to ensure that these benefits are shared justly across entire societies, without exclusion, repression, or violence. For the United States, promoting democratic development must remain a top priority.
On April 15, Barack Obama said that, as president, he would tell the Chinese government, “You guys keep on manipulating your currency, we are going to start shutting off access to some of our markets. If you are doing the right thing and not trying to manipulate your currencies to our disadvantage, then you will have access.”
This isn’t simply campaign rhetoric for Obama. Last July, he co-sponsored legislation with his former rival-turned-pal, Hillary Clinton, addressing the US trade deficit with China (the result of our importing more goods from China than we export to them).
The highly anticipated 3G iPhone arrives tomorrow. Along with its 8:00 am launch comes the further domination of American life by Steve Jobs and his Cupertino crew. Have you ever wondered where the iPhone came from? What was its little life like before you force-fed it your favorite tunes and enslaved it in service of your every communication-oriented whim?
Maybe you remember that fateful day last year. Perhaps you sat in a lawn chair for 10 hours to be one of the first to experience the incarnation of the “Jesus Phone”. You thought about your little, lonely friend sitting on the stockroom shelf, just yards away from your heart and life. Or, maybe that was just us.
It’s 2:30AM, and all is quiet. Without warning, the sound of breaking glass echoes through the night air. Dressed in black from head to toe, a shadowy figure crawls through the broken basement window. He wastes no time, quickly stuffing his bag with valuables, looting the house of its contents.
As he kneels to empty a drawer of silverware into a pillowcase, the intruder is interrupted by a swift kick to the back of the head and is sent sprawling across the floor. As he rolls over and comes to his senses, he finds himself staring down the barrels of two loaded pistols in the hands of the Tomb Raider herself, Angelina Jolie.
“How is this possible?”, he thinks to himself. “I picked this house because celebrities live here... they can’t possibly be gun owners!”
Democracy is like grape jelly: you can spread it wherever you want, but it’s not likely to stay there on its own. Tilt it the wrong way and it’s bound to slide off in one big lump and land on the floor, ruined.
It seems as though the United States hasn’t always got that memo, though.
Oftentimes, when conservatives talk about restraint, it refers to spending. Being responsible with taxpayer dollars and cutting wasteful government spending is one of the core values of the conservative ideology. Restraint, however, can also be applied to foreign policy.
"Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July, but Democrats believe every day is April 15."
- Ronald Reagan
Happy Independence Day from your friends at The Relevant Elephant.
As The Relevant Elephant grows, we’ll be connecting young voters with leading conservatives from across the nation. Today, former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating shares his thoughts about Senator McCain’s character with The Relevant Elephant in light of General Wesley Clark’s recent comments.
Former Democrat presidential candidate,
General Wesley Clark, suggested that being shot down over Viet Nam is not a presidential credential for Senator John McCain. He conveniently ignored the rest of the story.
John McCain went on to complete a distinguished Navy career, including executive stints as a squadron commander. His service as a U.S. Congressman, and long serving United States Senator, are heralded. In those positions he behaved more like a governor and less like a legislator. McCain brought together competing interests of both parties to resolve problems. It was not enough just to talk about resolution. He got resolution. If it were not for his executive leadership in the confirmation battles involving Federal judges, neither John Roberts nor Sam Alito would be on the Supreme Court today.
The Relevant Elephant was invited to travel around Southwest Missouri today to hear Kenny Hulshof’s latest heavy-hitting endorsement (TRE endorsed Kenny for Governor last week). Congressman Roy Blunt, the second highest-ranking Republican in the US Congress, is the latest of many Hulshof endorsements.
We started in Springfield, passed through Joplin,
and finally converged on Mt. Vernon. At each stop, Blunt spoke of his work with Hulshof and his confidence in the leadership Kenny will bring to the state of Missouri. According to Blunt, Hulshof best understands and represents Missouri values.
Let’s be honest. Judge Judy is a justice machine.
Between the lace-draped robe, the finger pointing, and the screaming, she is a force to be reckoned with. Moreover, it is a scientific fact that Judge Judy has more jurisdiction in one finger than the entire Marvel Comics Justice League combined.
But what is justice? For one thing, it’s a buzzword. From Judge Judy to Law & Order to Guantanamo, it’s hard to turn on the TV without seeing or hearing about a crime, a judge, or a jury.