Newt Gingrich's Speech to Michigan Republicans

Here is the video that Newt Gingrich prepared to have shown at the Michigan GOP Convention last weekend.

Some Pictures

I am still editing pictures. They are being edited in order of importance, then chronological. The most important are those that are First District related.

Saul Anuzis speaking at First District Caucus Meeting

Mackinac County Delegates (left to right) Robert Winkelman, Kathy Wells (yours truly dear, sweet, adorable, favorite blogger), John Monville

Me with City of Lansing in the background

Me in front of the Michigan Capitol Building (in the background)

Newt Gingrinch (Yeah, yeah, I know this ain't First District, but hay, it's Newt, Newt the man)

First Districters seated at the Convention


Joel Westrom, another Man with a Plan

Tony Stackpoole and friend

People on Carpio Express Yooper Bus

Group picture, in Gaylord

Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of Frank Egeler. If you took any of him send them to me at gypzychik (at) yahoo.com. More pictures on the way.

Mike Huckabee Gains National Momentum, Positive Recognition as “Dark Horse Candidate” to Win GOP Nomination

NEWS RELEASE
Mike Huckabee Gains National Momentum, Positive Recognition as “Dark Horse Candidate” to Win GOP Nomination

Little Rock, AR – Former AR Governor and Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee received praise from politics’ ‘odd couple’ – former President Bill Clinton and former Speaker Newt Gingrich –who said Sunday, in separate interviews, that he is the most likely “dark horse candidate” to win the GOP nomination.

Huckabee, who now ranks fourth in Iowa among likely Republican Caucus-Goers, welcomed the positive comments, saying his 1st place win in the recent “Values Voter” poll – along with other significant developments, has buoyed his chances for victory.

Huckabee is now ahead of Sen. John McCain in Iowa and nearly tied with former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, according to a Sept. 29 Newsweek poll conducted with 1,215 Iowa registered voters by Princeton Survey Research Associates International on Sept. 26-27.

“The Newsweek poll reflects what we’ve been feeling on the ground for some time: that there is steady, upward momentum for my campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire , and other early primary states,” said Huckabee.

Huckabee, who participated in one of Gingrich’s ‘American Solutions’ workshops in New Hampshire on Saturday, said he was pleased by the former Speaker’s comments on ABC News’ “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” that he is an appealing candidate who would be “instantly viable” if given funds to succeed.

“Obviously we’re making a similar pitch to our supporters and donors,” said Huckabee. “We’ve got a winning message. O ur focus is on the money game.”

Former President Clinton, who also appeared on the ABC show, said Huckabee is the only GOP “dark horse that’s got any kind of chance” of winning the GOP nomination. Clinton also said his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton (NY), is the likely Democratic nominee.

Last month, a NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed Huckabee and former Gov. Mitt Romney nearly tied in respective head to head match-ups against Hillary Clinton. Clinton led Huckabee 50-36 with 6% undecided, while she led Romney 51-38 with 5% undecided. The poll also gave Huckabee the lowest negative ratings among all Republican candidates for President, boding well in a potential match-up against Clinton .

Huckabee said Sen. Clinton’s “front-runner” status gives her a natural advantage, which could be overcome “once Republicans rally around their candidate.”

Campaign Manager Chip Saltsman agreed, saying that a Huckabee-Clinton match-up would be formidable. “Since the Iowa Straw poll, Gov. Huckabee has been gaining upward momentum in nearly every poll. Recent results in an American Research Group poll, released last month, show Gov. Huckabee is leading Mitt Romney among Republicans in South Carolina , and leading Fred Thompson in both Iowa and New Hampshire . These trends all indicate one thing: Mike Huckabee is a candidate who has the ‘right stuff’ to win.”

Huckabee, Gingrich and McCain-Feingold (and Romney)

There is a Michigan blogger that I like to read on occasion, American Princess. Today I found this post, talking about McCain being behind why Newt can't run for president, and most importantly why Mike Huckabee could not fly to Mac Isle. I will include just the things about Mike, but I encourage you to check out the post, along with reading her whole blog.
The Real Reason Behind McCain-Feingold

• On Mackinac, there's a strip of runway where people can land their private planes. When Mike Huckabee missed his hopper to the island, he was going to have to charter a jet, and with Mitt Romney unwilling to share, was going to have to foot the $15,000 bill himself. Why? Well, because according to McCain-Feingold, he'd blown his one, well-crafted shot at travel expenses and now he was wholly depended on the cash in his pocked to make his lunchdate.
  Just today, Newt Gingrich found out that McCain's campaign finance reform was standing in the way of his finding solutions and actually implementing them as the leader of the free world
• So, first Huckabee and now Newt...is the Republican's lagging candidate subversively destroying everyone who dares to challenge him for the nod through a carefully crafted decades long initiative to replace existing campaign finance laws with ones he could foresee as being destructive?

In case you missed what I put in bold, here it is again, Mitt Romney unwilling to share

Oh, you missed it? OK, here it is again, larger. Mitt Romney unwilling to share

In case your tired, larger yet. Mitt Romney unwilling to share

Better? Well of course Mitt was unwilling to share. He knew that Mike Huckabee would be at the Dollar-a-Day reception to be able to mingle with Michigan's monied Republicans. He knew that Mike Huckabee was expected to speak at the same lunch as him. He knows Mike is a better speaker than him. He knew that even though most of the people who had meal tickets to said lunch were going to see him, Mike would steal the show. The fence sitters, the ones who wanted to hear everyone at every meal to be able to make up their minds, including some Mitt fans would go to Huckabee like bees to honey.

I tell you what, even if Mike Huckabee talked about nothing more than his hunting trips with his dog and how his dog chases it's tail, for the allotted fifteen minutes Mike would have had a better speech than Mitt's droning on for thirty minutes. Any of you who were at that luncheon, we have both John Boy and Mitty-poo to thank for having to listen to Mitt speak for half and hour instead of fifteen minutes. How about a big hearty smart alack THANK YOU!

I feel much better knowing more of the details about Mike not making it. I am working on a post about my visit to the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference. It is very wordy, with quite a few pics, so it is taking a while. But I thought I would drop in to let ya know about this. Again, check out the full post from American Princess.

God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!

Disclaimer: While my post ripped on Mitt, that is not what her post was doing. She is ripping on McCain.

Newt Speaks Up

Well, my local PBS affiliate has "Outdoor Michigan" on, not the debate. Anyhoo, I am channel surfing. I came across Hannity and Colmes. I caught the end of Newt Gingrich being interviewed. Hannity went off saying to Newt, "You have said nice stuff about Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, John McCain and Fred Thompson." Newt says, "Oh, I have also talked about Mike Huckabee." Sean didn't want to hear it. But Newt was saying that Mike Huckabee has great ideas and he is a formidable candidate. I guess maybe Newt gave him a head slap during the break. After the next guest came on they were talking about Hillary Clinton. Sean mentioned the comment Mike Huckabee made about Hillary "kissing George Soros' backside." That was the first time I have heard Sean mention anything positive about Mike. Come on Sean, that was nice but start talking about more meatier issues regarding Mike Huckabee. I guess I will keep the channel on Glenn Beck.

Newt Gingrich Talks about Michigan and Iranian President Mahmoud "IdiotJob"

I recieved this email from Joel Westrom, 1St District Chairman. It is Newt Gingrich talking about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking at Columbia and Michigan along with other important issues.

• Iranian Free Speech: Only in America ; and Learning From the World That Fails by Newt Gingrich (more by this author) Posted 09/25/2007 ET
  I don't know if you saw it, but the decision of Columbia University to invite Iranian dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak in their "distinguished" lecturer series took a truly bizarre turn last week. Seeking to justify the soapbox Columbia has given to a man who is actively engaged in killing American troops in Iraq , Columbia Dean of International and Public Affairs John Coatsworth told Fox News that even Adolph Hitler would have been invited to speak at Columbia .
  Well, across town from Columbia in New York City is the New School , another institution of higher learning. I was with the New School 's President, former U.S. Democratic Senator from Nebraska Bob Kerrey, yesterday morning. As the protests over Ahmadinejad's speech raged, he had some powerful things to say about what the New School could teach Columbia about history, about the real meaning of free speech and about common decency.
  Could Hitler Come to the New School? 'Yes, If He Was Dead.'
  By way of history, you should know that the New School is a university that from its very founding has been dedicated to academic freedom and democracy.
  During the 1930s, the New School was a haven for intellectuals and artists who had been banished by the dictatorships of Hitler and Mussolini.
  And after World War II, the New School was the first academic institution to establish a program designed specifically for returning soldiers to complete their education. For those who had sacrificed to serve their country, the New School offered the opportunity to get ahead in civilian life tuition-free. It remains today an all scholarship college.
  And so it came as no surprise that when I asked New School President Kerrey if he would have allowed Adolph Hitler to come on his campus, his reply was powerfully blunt:
  "Yes, if he was dead."
  It's a standard that I agree with wholeheartedly. It's too bad that the leadership of Columbia University hasn't learned the lesson of the New School : America honors freedom of expression by being a refuge for the oppressed, not by giving a soapbox to the oppressors. This is not about free speech, the Iranian dictator can stand on any
  New York City streetcorner and say what he wishes, but we do not need to legitimize his hate-filled holocaust-denying diatribes by giving him a platform at a "distinguished" lecturer series at Columbia .
  Learning From the World That Fails
  If the Iranian dictator's speech at Columbia is an example of one institution's failure to learn, there is an opportunity coming up later this week for all of us to learn how to change our country.
  You've heard me talk before about Solutions Day, coming up this Thursday and Saturday, and how we're going to focus on moving our government from the world that fails to the world that works.
  Last weekend, I went to a state that illustrates better than any other state in the union the consequences for real people -- real families, real jobs, real lives -- when government is mired in the world that fails.
  Will the Last One to Leave Michigan Please Turn Out the Lights?
  In 1950, Michigan was one of the most prosperous states in America . There were 1,800,000 people in Detroit , and Detroiters enjoyed the highest per capita income of any large city in the country.
  Today, Michigan is an economic basket case. Its unemployment rate is a crushing 7.2 percent -- the highest in the nation. And to make matters worse, Michigan taxes are higher than the national average.
  So with no jobs and high taxes, it's no surprise that Michiganders are going elsewhere to live and work. Its population is declining so much that the wry joke in Michigan is that the last one to leave please turn out the lights.
  Michigan and the Virtual Circle of the World That Works
  But there is a way forward for Michigan . It's not complicated, and it's not theoretical. It's a simple story, taken from Michigan 's recent history, of government in the world that works.
  When former Gov. John Engler (R.) was leading Michigan , its economic outlook was much different. Gov. Engler brought Michigan to 3.2 percent unemployment, the lowest unemployment rate in the state's history. And he did so while cutting taxes and controlling spending.
  And Gov. Engler did something else that was critical to Michigan 's prosperity: During his time as governor, Michigan regained its AAA bond rating. The reason this is critical is because a state's bond rating determines how much its taxpayers pay on the state's debt. The better the rating, the less taxpayers pay. The less taxpayers pay, the more money is available for tax cuts or other priorities.
  It's the virtual circle of prosperity of the world that works: Lower taxes means more jobs means higher revenue from a bigger economy means controlled spending means a better bond rating. And a better bond rating means a lower cost of debt which means more money available for lower taxes which means the creation of even more jobs.
  'Like a Teenager Getting a Credit Card and Not Realizing He Has to Pay'
  That's the world that works. Now we get to the world that fails.
  In 11 short months after gaining power, Democrats in Michigan managed to lose the AAA bond rating. As I told my audience of Michigan Republicans gathered on Mackinac Island last weekend, it was like a teenager getting a credit card and not realizing that he has to pay. (You can view the entire speech here.)
  So, today, Michigan is in the virtual circle of the world that fails: It's losing jobs, losing people and losing money, and now it has to pay even more to service its debt.
  And, predictably in the world that fails, the solution that Democrats in Lansing are proposing is a huge tax increase to close the gap between the state's higher costs and declining revenues.
  Higher taxes are precisely what Michigan does not need right now. So far, the battle over the tax increase has been a fairly partisan one -- with a Democratic majority in the legislature and a Democratic governor pushing for the taxes, and Republicans, under the leadership of state party Chairman Saul Anuzis and others, pushing for lower spending.
  But this doesn't have to be a partisan battle. The guiding principles of the world that works aren't red versus blue. They're red, white and blue. Michigan simply needs to do what we know works and have the courage to carry it out.
  Solutions Day Begins This Thursday
  The same problems that effect government in Lansing today effect government, to a greater or lesser degree, virtually everywhere in America .
  Solutions Day, which begins this Thursday, will be a genuinely bipartisan opportunity for Americans to move government -- from the level of school boards and city councils all the way up to Congress and the White House -- from the world that fails to the world that works.
  These events get underway in just two days, including:
  
  
  Roy Romer, a Democrat who is the former governor of Colorado and superintendent of schools in Los Angeles , will be giving a workshop on reforming public schools.
  Elaine Kamarck, the head of President Bill Clinton's reinventing government initiative, will give a workshop on reducing the bureaucracy.
  Former FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan will lead a discussion on creating a 21st-Century intelligent health system.
  Congressman Brian Bilbray (R.) of California will broadcast from the border on enforcement first in the illegal immigration debate.
  Solutions Day will be this and much, much more. For more information and to sign up, just visit AmericanSolutions.com or call 866-580-6398 (866-580-NEWT).
  
  A Radical View: American States Shouldn't Fail
  As you know, I have a very radical view of our government: Levies shouldn't fail, bridges shouldn't fall and states shouldn't lose their citizens.
  The effort that my organization, American Solutions, is putting forward this week draws on my experience working with Gov. Reagan, candidate Reagan and President Reagan -- developing over a 16-year period a plan to create a Republican majority in the House of Representatives and ultimately creating the Contract with America and being speaker of the House.
  Experience has taught me that if we care about future generations, it is the duty of this generation -- now -- to be committed to real change.
  Thursday is an historic opportunity to begin that change. It's our chance to give our children and grandchildren a country that is as safe, prosperous, innovative and free as the country our parents and grandparents worked and fought to give us.
  I hope you'll join us.
  Newt Gingrich
• P.S. -- You may have noticed that the media has been persistent in asking if I will run for President in 2008. I have consistently said I will not even begin thinking about such a race until after the American Solutions workshops this week.
  As I detailed above, American Solutions is developing a broad set of nonpartisan solutions for all 513,000 elected officials across America . Its polls are available with equal access for Democrats, Republicans and independents. And American Solutions workshops are available for free to all citizens without regard to party affiliation. Democrats, Republicans and libertarians are giving workshops on September 29.
  In short, American Solutions is not a campaign but a movement.
  Because there has been so much speculation about a possible candidacy, I have asked my friend and adviser Randy Evans to consult with people after the workshops, but not before.
  My most likely course of action will be to focus on creating a series of state solution programs (we had great response to the idea of a nonpartisan solutions in Michigan last weekend) and to begin preparing both for a series of bold new initiatives in developing training, education and collaborative tools on the Internet and beginning to develop a vastly larger and more comprehensive second annual American Solutions Day for September 2009.
  If Randy Evans reports such overwhelming interest in a candidacy that we have to think about a different future, I will report to you promptly.
  Until then, you can rest assured that I am focused on solutions and not campaigns.

Newt is Awesome!

Two things, Newt Gingrich has a guest post on Mike Huckabee's Vertical Day and over at RightMichigan.com is the posting and video of his Mackinac Island Speech. First I will give a part of his guest post.

How You Can Help Achieve “Real Change”

• I’d like to thank Governor Huckabee for having me here as a guest today. Over the past few months I’ve been very impressed with the Governor’s openness to new ideas and solutions for improving our country. He showed genuine leadership a few weeks ago by being the first candidate to sign the Nine Nineties in Nine debate pledge. By committing to a much more in-depth, solution-oriented political dialogue in our country, Governor Huckabee showed that he’s truly interested in real change.
  But it’s not just candidates for President that have the ability to bring about real change. Real Change is powered by citizen movements and you have the opportunity to take part. More on that below, but let’s focus first on that phrase – real change. In Washington, we hear a lot of talk about change but too often we see too few results. That’s because even as elections are won and lost by different candidates of different parties, the underlying idea framework and lexicon of our politics and government changes at a much slower pace. Control over Congress and the White House may change parties, leading to new laws and programs influenced by different governing philosophies, but it is still the same cadre of permanent government officials and Washington lobbyists controlling the machinery of government. The result is that even if the American people vote for real change, we end up with change at the margins.

Read the rest of Newt's great words here.

To watch Newts speech from the island click here. As I have said, I am unable to watch video on my computer, but hey, it's Newt. It's gotta be good. Everyone I talked to on the island said his speech was the best. So i will take their word for it. I have no reason to doubt them.

Mackinac Conference Workshops

I just got my package for the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference! There are some cool workshops and other stuff going on. I have previously talked about the meal programs, now I want to talk about the workshops.

First will be the Welcome Reception on the Grand Hotel porch. This is where the attendees will gather.

After the reception will be the first workshop, presented by the Institute for Energy Program. The topic will be about "Energy Realism for the Public Policy Debate." I will try to make it to this one.

The next workshop won't be until late Saturday morning. That is the one that has Newt Gingrich speaking.

After that are two workshops taking place at the same time. One is Perspectives on Tax Policy. The other is Web Activism: Blogging and the New Media. I want to go to both. Have no fear, there will also be afternoon repeats of both in the afternoon.

Of course the best event will be the luncheon with Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney

Besides repeats of the tax and blogging workshops, Saturday afternoon workshops will be two sessions presented by Citizens for Traditional Values. This will be about "Can the Reagan Coalition be preserved?".

There will also be a workshop presented by GOPAC. This will be about "Enlisting a new Generation of Republicans to Lead America."

There will also be an afternoon session with Ward Connerly. Forgive me, I have no idea who this is. I have heard the name. I will have to do an inet search.

Then of course will be the Chairman's Reception on the Grand porch. This one is awesome! It will be hosted by State Republican Chairman Saul Anuzis. When I went in '05 he gave out free beer from Lithuania. There was also a cash bar and appetizer table. This was the first time I had sushi and caviar. It wasn't too bad. I wouldn't pay for it, but if it's there I will try it. Also, I had the best blue cheese ever in my life.

At some point will be some sort of golf tournament on Saturday.

Finally on Sunday will be a non-denominational faiths service.

Guess what y'all? There will be a media room open to all attendees. Included will be computers and phones. I will try to keep y'all up to date up to the moment. I would love if I can talk a friend into letting me use their laptop to live blog during the Huckabee/Romney Luncheon. If not, I will try to get to a computer ASAP.

I hope those of you in Michigan have signed up. If not, you can still register the same weekend.

God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!

Mike Huckabee has coveted position at Mackinac Leadership Conference/Breakdown on Speaking Times

Originally posted 8/21/07 @ 8:48PM.

While the Mackinac Conference is still a month away, for Michiganders this is very exciting. The current schedule is not binding. I thought I would break it down, nonetheless. As you will see the "top tiers" are paired with "second tiers." I will try to take a neutral point of view on this. At this point I am glad Mike Huckabee is still being considered a "second tier." Don't get me wrong, I still want him to be considered "top tier. You will soon see why I think this is good.

FRIDAY
On Friday is 7:30pm-9:30pm Dinner Program with special guests Duncan Hunter and Rudy Giuliani

There will be quite a few people showing up for Rudy. With the exception of 9/11 his liberal views on gay marriage and abortion doesn't jive much with Michigan conservatives. I'm still not certain what Duncan's views are on anything. I don't think too many Michiganders do either.

Let's talk about timing. This dinner is on Friday. Not everyone in attendance shows up on Friday. Usually they wait until Saturday. Perhaps because of Rudy Giuliani being there, this may bring more people who would not show up on Friday.

SATURDAY

8:30am-10:00am Breakfast program with special guests Ron Paul and Sam Brownback

I have no other comment than, ROFLMAO! There is a lot of parties with free alcohol and drinking going on Friday night. I don't think a lot of these hung over people will be willing to wake up for these two.

10:10am-11:00am Morning Session with Newt Gingrich

This one will be good. Newt is awesome. No matter how hung over I am I will buy some Head-On and apply directly to my forehead, apply directly to my forehead, apply directly to my forehead... You get the point. This session will definitely have a good showing. The only problem I have is his affairs and multiple marriages. He does kinda have that Republican stereotype of high falutentness. But he is not pompous like Fred Thompson.

12:30pm-2:00pm Lunch program with special guests Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney

This is going to be the best one! Who is Mitt Romney to Michaiganders? He was born and raised in Michigan. His father was the governor of Michigan. My grandmother recalls him being a great governor. My mom has a fond memory of going to Lansing, Michigan's state capitol, as a Girl Scout. She met him and said he was a nice guy. Michiganders of a certain age will recall his governorship and there may be baby-boomers who remember him also.

Mitt Romney resonates with Michigan conservatives. The majority of Michigan conservatives are pro-life and pro-marriage. Mitt Romney has been married once. Michiganders like that.

IMHO, there will be a large attendance showing up for Mitt. They will leave liking Mike. Mike Huckabee is pro-life and pro-marriage. He believes the second amendment is more than just about hunting. It's about freedom and the right for good law abiding citizens to own guns. But the hunting aspect will resonate with Michigan voters. The Upper Peninsula has the best hunting in Michigan. *While most of the people who will be there are from the Lower Peninsula, many "trolls" come up to the UP for hunting.*

The timing is absolutely perfect. It is on Saturday. The day that everyone will be there. It's not too late, not too early. Plus the lunch programs are the cheapest. Everyone will be over their hangovers and will be able to listen to Mike's message with clarity.

7:00pm-9:00pm Dinner Program with special guests Fred Thompson and John McCain

These speakers could be considered Pompous and Clueless. Pompous, I mean Fred, would draw in quite a few people. I heard that in Michigan, the majority of Republicans are waiting for Fred to run. I don't think too many will show up for John.

This will be the last speaking event. People will be tired and want to go off on their own.

SUNDAY

9:30am-10:30am Non-Denominational Church Service

If only Mike Huckabee would be able to be the guest pastor everyone on that island would be supporting Mike.

*"troll" is the UP slang for people who live in the Lower Peninsula. They live below the bridge, thus they are trolls. It's all good and fun humor.

God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!