Watch what you call a Holocaust...

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) is refusing to apologize for claiming that the Republican solution to health-care is for people to "die quickly" and instead said “I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven’t voted sooner to end this holocaust in America.”

If that's what he truly (misguidedly) believes, that's fine, but there's no reason that this should suffice when Rep Joe Wilson's formal apology was required. If you're going to cite a need for civility and respect within the chambers, then it needs to be seen on both sides of the aisle.

Having Fun In Hillsdale

The county fair is going all week and I would highly encourage everyone to take an afternoon or evening and go check it out. Not only can you visit the Hillsdale County Republican Booth in the Merchant Hall, you can have fun riding the rides, eating deep-fried Twinkies and petting the animals. It's a great place for some off-campus fun, and a way to go out and support the community. See you there!

Pulse of the Nation: Health care Reform hits New Low

That's right folks. There is a new low in support for Obama's health care proposal (read Obamacare), according to the latest polling data by Rasmussen.

"Just 41% of voters nationwide now favor the health carereform proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s down two points from a week ago and the lowest level of support yet measured," writes Pollster Scott Rasmussen.

"The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 56% are opposed to the plan."

Interestingly, support is strongest among young voters and weakest.... among the elderly? Wait -- if there were no waiting lines, death panels, or rationing, why would the elderly be against health care reform?

Perhaps the truth of the matter is that Americans maybe largely divided between the responsible, rational, prudent citizens, and the irresponsible, feelings-driven, irrational citizens -- a division that often falls along the lines of adult vs. youth just as in the 1960s.

Perhaps we should trust the wisdom of our elderly, many of whom are members of that greatest generation who sacrificed so valiantly for our freedom.

To view the poll, copy-paste this url:

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/healthcare/september_2009/health_care_reform

Keeping it Confidential

In a 24/7 news cycle, there seems to be very little that is left private, especially in the political sector. Every administration has their share of defectors, who, for various reasons, decide that what the world is really lacking is their, not at all biased, perspective on various political situations.

The most recent example can be seen in Matt Latimer's new memoir Speechless: Tales of a White House Survivor. Its certainly Latmier's Constitutional right to share his story, but that doesn't make it the classy thing to do. From various reviews, it seems that Latimer's book is more an opportunity to settle personal vendettas, rather than share crucial information about the administration's day-to-day operations. William McGurn, responsible for hiring Latimer, has spoken out, discrediting Latimer's authority, in a recent WSJ article.

Latimer's book begs the question: Just because you can share something, does it mean that you should? Americans complain about internal Washington politics. Are petty arguments going to help dispel these fears?

A Foreign Perspective

Sometimes it's enlightening to look at an editorial from a foreign perspective. Just as we learned about the valuable contributions of Alexis de Toqueville, a Frenchman who arguably gave us the best assessment of the U.S. to date, it can be good to see what they are saying about us "across the pond."

The British paper The Telegraph, no friend to conservatives, has this to say about our current president and foreign policy:

"Regimes in Moscow, Pyongyang and Tehran simply pocket [Obama's] concessions and carry on as before. The picture emerging from the White House is a disturbing one, of timidity, clumsiness and short-term calculation. Some say he is the weakest president since Jimmy Carter."

They continue scathingly on domestic policy:

"The grizzled veterans of the Democratic leadership in Congress have found Mr Obama and his team of bright young advisers a pushover. That has gravely weakened his flagship domestic campaign, for health-care reform, which fails to address the greatest weakness of the American system: its inflated costs."

Finally, the knock-out punch:

"Mr Obama's public image rests increasingly heavily on his extraordinary speechifying abilities... But for what? Mr Obama has tactics a plenty - calm and patient engagement with unpleasant regimes, finding common interests, appealing to shared values - but where is the strategy? What, exactly, did "Change you can believe in" – the hallmark slogan of his campaign – actually mean?"

You can read the full-text of the editorial here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/6210152/President-Barack-Obama-is-beginning-to-look-out-of-his-depth.html

Pay Attention to ME!

I'm not sure how popular the Sunday morning news programs are with the Hillsdale crowd, but this morning, President Obama appeared on 5 of them, both to promote his health care bill and to reprimand the MSM for their bias towards rude people. Apparently it's upsetting to the President that so much coverage is going to Joe Wilson, and his health care bill is being overlooked.

I know the President is pretty busy, but maybe he should take a second to read the 1st Amendment. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are right there. Just because he "occup[ies] a pretty special seat at the moment", doesn't mean that he can control the press coverage. That's not the way it works in a democracy. And that's what we're aiming for, right?

IF WE CAN UNITE....

...We can certainly win back the soul of America.

The latest poll from Gallup shows Obama's approval rating at its lowest level to date: just 51% of Americans approve of Barack Obama's job as president. The poll was conducted among Americans at large, instead of "likely voters," who typically tend to be more conservative as a group than a randomize sample.

This 51% approval rating is a full two-percent lower than Obama's margin of victory, which was 53%. This further corroborates the trend across a variety of pollsters showing that many Americans who voted for Obama are no longer supportive of the his actions.

This is a tremendous opportunity for all Republicans everywhere. So long as we unite around our core principles, we can be the alternative for disillusioned Americans who want real reform.

So long as we can bridge our own gaps of personality, practical policy, and self-ambition, and begin playing as a team dedicated to our foundational political presuppositions -- our belief in an absolute, enduring moral order created by God that should govern all of our actions, our recognition of man's intrinsic fallibility, our commitment to strive for a "more perfect union" -- then we may be able to save our country.

To see the poll, look here:

http://www.gallup.com/poll/113980/Gallup-Daily-Obama-Job-Approval.aspx