Black Leader: Democratic Party Architect of Racism (Update)

I have alos posted this at michiganredneck.wordpress.com/

Found this interesting article, by Ronald Kessler, in newsmax.com.

• Washington Insider with Ronald Kessler

• Black Leader: Democratic Party Architect of Racism

• Monday, February 25, 2008 9:43 AM
• By: Ronald Kessler

• Frances Rice, chairman of the National Black Republican Association, describes the Democratic Party as the architect of modern day racism.
• Rice, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and lawyer, says in an interview it was Republicans who pushed through much of the ground-breaking civil rights legislation in Congress. Now, she says, Republicans stand for empowering blacks to help them out of poverty. In contrast, Rice says, the Democrats push to keep blacks dependent on government handouts and encourage them to see themselves as victims.

• In Rice’s view, “The Democrats fight every effort of Republicans to get blacks out of poverty because they know that once blacks become prosperous, the Democratic Party will lose its power base.”

• Rice co-founded the National Black Republican Association in 2005 with the mission of returning African-Americans to their Republican Party roots. Because co-founder Andre Cadogan knew Newsmax CEO and Editor in Chief Chris Ruddy, the first meeting of the organization took place at Newsmax offices in West Palm Beach, Fla. The organization has grown from five members to over a thousand members. It publishes a quarterly glossy magazine — The Black Republican — and has a Web site: www.nbra.info.

• Aligning themselves with special interests, Rice says the Democrats are “fighting school-choice opportunity scholarships that are designed to get black children out of failing schools, because the teacher’s unions wants to maintain control over buildings.”

• “Our philosophy in the Republican Party is to teach a person how to fish, so he can feed himself for a lifetime, whereas the Democratic Party’s philosophy is give a man a fish, so he can eat for a day,” Rice says.
• Rice says most blacks are not aware that from its founding in 1854 as the anti-slavery party, the Republican Party has been at the “forefront of the struggle for civil rights, which is why Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Republican.”
• It was Republicans, she notes, who fought to free blacks from slavery and amended the Constitution to grant blacks freedom, citizenship, and the right to vote. Republicans also pushed through much of the ground-breaking civil rights legislation in Congress from the 1860s through the 1960s, Rice says.

• “It was the Democrat public safety commissioner, Eugene ‘Bull’ Connor, in Birmingham who let loose vicious dogs and turned the fire hoses on black civil rights demonstrators,” Rice says.

I recall back in the 2004 Presidential General Election the Democrats posted an ad in a magazine that has a high black readership, using pictures from such past incidents. Funny, they were trying to get blacks to vote against Republicans, of all things, using the slogan, "Don't let them do this again." In reality, it was the "them" that were Democrats.

• Democrat Georgia Gov. Lester Maddox “brandished an ax handle to prevent blacks from patronizing his restaurant,” Rice says. “Democrat Alabama Governor George Wallace stood in front of the Alabama school house in 1963 and declared that there would be segregation forever. In 1954, it was Democrat Arkansas Governor Orville Faubus who tried to prevent the desegregation of Little Rock public schools. It was Republican President Dwight Eisenhower who sent the troops into the South to desegregate the schools and who appointed Chief Justice Earl Warren to the U.S. Supreme Court, which resulted in the 1954 Brown versus Board of Education decision.” [more here]
  

Huckabee Stresses Bipartisan Cooperation

Found this in wbztv.com from New Hampshire. It's not a huge article, but it is still great nonetheless.

• At a campaign stop in Manchester, New Hampshire on Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee took Republicans and Democrats to the chopping block, saying both parties need to stop thinking the "other guys" can never be right.
• "I look at Washington and just see it broken," he said. Huckabee, who on Thursday planned to turn in his formal paperwork to get on the New Hampshire Republican primary ballot, returned to his message of bipartisan cooperation.
• Huckabee said his party is just as bad as the Democrats, if not worse. That's why, he says, the Republicans did so poorly this past election. "Republicans aren't right all the time. Democrats aren't wrong all the time. ... Whether it's good politics or not, it's how government ought to be working.
• "The presidential candidate also compared the U.S. to a talented and arrogant child when asked if the country has lost its stature in the world.
• He said people don't resent us because we're a superpower; they resent us because we have acted like one. "I don't' want the country to weaken ourselves" but instead, "use our strength as a light for others." [source]

I absolutely love this last quote. I couldn't agree more.

I think this ability to think outside the box is what scares his competition, on both sides. Both parties talk about how bad the other party is. This tactic may work within party systems, but not the average American who is fed up with Republicans and Democrats smearing each other.

Trip to Iowa Part 1

Bus and train depot in Kalamazoo, Michigan

On Friday, August 10 I set off on an Indian Trails bus to go to Iowa. I had so many emotions coursing through my veins. I was elated, nervous, excited and happy all at the same time. I was happy because I was going to help volunteer for the candidate who will turn the Republican Party back to the way it should be. I was nervous, because I was going to help volunteer for the the candidate who will turn the Republican party back to the way it should be. I was excited because I would be a part of political history.
I hopped on that bus with a big huge grin. Considering that I was on a bus, people were probably wondering what I was smoking ;). I'll tell ya what, my only high was knowing that Mike Huckabee is the only Republican I will support.
There wasn't too much excitement going south-way throughout the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Mostly I slept. Then we get to Benton Harbor, MI. Until this time, the majority of the passengers each had a seat to themselves. Then we had to wait for another bus to come in so we could add 35 more people. When the other people boarded there wasn't enough room for everyone. Some people would have to stand up for the next 2-3 hours until we got to Chicago.

*Now for the conversation I had on the bus. Many of the people were making jokes about being stuffed like sardines on the bus. One dude said, "We should take a video of this and put on YouTube. We can find a way to blame this on Bush. He was joking and everyone laughed. Well after he said this a political discussion ensued. At first, I just listened, until I found the right time to jump in about Mike Huckabee.
When I found the proper time to jump in I asked them if they had heard about Mike Huckabee. One guy said, "The name sounds familiar, who is he?". I told him about his history as Governor of Arkansas. I let him know that Mike is now running for President. I told him that even though he is a Republican, he doesn't act like how "us blue-collars" view Republicans. The guy said, "I don't care who is a Republican, Democrat or Independent. I just want to know who will put Americans first, before his party or corporate buddies." I told him that Mike Huckabee will definitely put America first. I let him know how Mike feels about corporations sending jobs overseas, laying off people, filing for bankruptcy then giving CEOs major raises. I told him about what Mike Huckabee did for the victims of Katrina. I told them why I was traveling on the bus and let them know that I have never felt the need to hop on a bus to cross three states just to do volunteer work for a candidate.
This gentleman that I was talking to said, "He sounds like a great guy who knows what he's talking about. But if he is everything you say he is, there are too many powerful people in Washington who will do all they can to keep him out. None of these guys, Dem or Rep would want someone like that. They want their fighting with each other and making their corporate buddies rich. More power too him and I hope he does win." I told everyone they need to check out Mike on the web and tell everyone they can about him.
Most of the people were giving their opinions that people like Mitt, Rudy, McCain, Hillary and Barack are the only ones they have been hearing about and that it's all about money. The dude I was talking to mostly, said that there are two difs 'tween Reps and Dems. I hate to talk like this on this blog, but I will. He said, "Republicans use lubrication and Democrats don't." Sorry, but it's true.*

We finally got to Gary, Indiana. Everyone was talking about the economy of Gary. They were talking about the economy of the town and how it was a booming town and now it's nothing. Some of them were saying, "There's a crackhouse, crackhouse, crackhouse, crackhouse, nice house, repeat. Instead of dropping people off, we added more people. Finally we dropped people off in Hammond, Indiana.
We were getting closer to Chicago. Everyone was excited to be on our way. The sky started getting dark. Nobody could really see what direction the bus was going. We turn off the express-way. We get into town, thinking we are in Chicago. But nothing looked familiar to regular riders. Then, everyone was like, "this looks familiar." Guess what? Larry, the bus driver got us lost in Gary. Somehow he turned around and ended up back in Gary.
Everyone was royally ticked. At least there was some people adding humor to defuse the situation. I like, "Leave the driving to someone else." A take on the Greyhound slogan, "Leave the driving to us.
We finally arrived in Chicago an hour after the expected arrival time. I only had 15 minutes to transfer to the next bus. Fortunately that bus was a late. So I had time to buy some rubbery chicken and mashed cardbaord, I meant mashed potatoes and take it on the bus. The Chicago Greyhound Cafeteria used to have great food. I don't know what happened. This next bus was a Greyhound. I like Greyhound better than Indian Trails. Indian Trails doesn't give as many breaks at the stops. Greyhound usually allows breaks at every stop. I took this bus all the way to Des Moines.
Again, slept most of the way. We had a nice little dinner break in Walcott Junction, Iowa at about 1:50 am. I ate at the Arby's at a truck stop. Whatever happened to the local restaurant inside of a truck stop with the waitress who has a big bee-hive and calls everyone "hon"? Anyways, I digress. I went in to the convenience store side, to get some tums. They had a really cool Reese's peanut butter cup display. It was a cardboard cut-out of Elvis holding candy. I wished I had taken a pic of that.
When I finally arrived in Des Moines, after 5am., I just had to hop on one more bus and be in Ames in a half-hour. Lord, I was again grinning like a dork. I could not sleep, even if I tried. When I arrived in Ames the bus depot was outside of town. I walked into town, only to find out my motel didn't open until noon.
I will talk about the excitement from the actual Straw Poll soon. Tomorrow is the 30Th Anniversary of Elvis' death. Tomorrow will be Elvis day. I have an Elvis blog post prepared. I am about to watch Larry King. Normally don't watch him, but he will be live at Graceland. He is going to interview Lisa Marie and/or Priscilla Presley. Sorry I didn't let y'all know sooner. If ya want ya can watch the repeat episode at 3am. Set your DVD or VCR!

God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!

Republican News from Michigan

I thought I would share a few things of interest regarding Republican activities in Michigan.

One is my District will be having a picnic and meeting in my town the same day as the Straw Poll. I am torn between if I want to volunteer at the Straw Poll or attend the picnic, where I can tell people about Mike Huckabee. I would be able to set up a table for Mike Huckabee and set out bumper stickers. If I can work it out just right, I would set up my display between the Romney and Brownback tables.
I have emailed a field director from the campaign to see if he could send me promotion tools. I haven't heard from him yet. I hope he's just really busy. If I do attend I can not show up empty handed. I have already talked to one of the organizers of the picnic and he knows I want to promote Mike there. He also told me there will be Ron Paul supporters there. I don't care if I look like a fool, but I do not want Mike or his campaign to look like a fool. I could just see it now, the Ron Paul guy shows up with all kindsa material and I am empty handed. Yes, there will be a Ron Paul guy there. So if I don't hear from the guy from the Huckabee campaign I may need help from my fellow bloggers. There will be about 50 people. So if just a few of you each donate a few bumper stickers me, those few added together can add up to 50. Also, I would like help writing up literature.
Hopefully, I will hear from him and not need your help. The way I see it, whether or not they are waiting on the outcome of the Straw Poll, there will be just be more people knowing about him when he does have a good outcome at the Straw Poll. These are people that I do not see very often, since the 1st District consists of the entire UP and northern Lower Peninsula. Despite what some people may say, The UP and "Up North" area is not full of hicks. Charlevois and Traverse City are included in the 1st District. And those are richy rich towns.
These are people that once they hear about what Mike Huckabee stands for giving $2,300 to them is like me buying a candy bar. Oh gosh, I hope no one from the 1st District is reading this. Why ignore them until the results from the Straw Poll are in?

I will take pics from the event and post here.

The next thing is, I get emails from Mitt Romneys Michigan HQ. I feel why take myself off the email list when I can find out what they are up to? I got one today about signing up volunteers in Michigan.

• Come join Congressmen Joe Knollenberg and Pete Hoekstra, along with Scott Romney and others for Sign Up Michigan!
  Sign Up Michigan! is a statewide effort in which Elected Officials, Grassroots Leaders and Volunteers, spend the day calling their friends, families, co-workers, and neighbors to recruit new members for Team Mitt, Governor Mitt Romney’s national grassroots team.
  Don’t miss this great opportunity to reach out to your community and help build the team! Join us Monday August 6th and bring a friend to get in on the excitement. Refreshments will be provided throughout the day.

No, I will not give the locations. There may be people reading this who is a Mitt supporter. Why Mitt Romney supporters would read my blog is beyond me. If you want to go holding Mike Huckabee banners I will give you the location in an email ;).
Here's my point. I would love it if the Huckabee campaign would do that here in Michigan. I would work for free. Whatever they wanted me to do, I would do it.

Now for the last part. I got an update about the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference. Sam Brownback and Duncan Hunter will be there, added to the original line up of Rudy McRomney.

Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference Updatehttp://www.mackinacconference.com/

RegistrationRegistration is now open for the 27th Biennial Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference. Make sure to sign up today and reserve your spot at this exciting event. You will not want to miss it!

Speakers, Please check our website for updates on our featured speakers. http://www.mackinacconference.com/

Meal TicketsBe sure to order your meal tickets and secure your seat in advance. Check out our website at http://click.emailgop.com/?ju=fe881d767761017e7c&ls=fe251679746c0174761170&m=fef8167770650c&l=fef91674776303&s=fe5e10727c6401757014&jb=ffcf14&t= to order yours today. Just a reminder for those staying at the Grand Hotel, your meal tickets are included in your hotel package.

Golf TournamentTee-times are still open for the 1st Biennial "Chairman's Cup" golf tournament. Sign up today at www.mackinacconference.com/golf.asp

Vendor TablesIf you are a vendor interested in participating in the conference please check our website for additional information on obtaining a table, www.mackinacconference.com/vendors.asp

Agenda(Please note that this agenda is tentative and subject to change)

Friday, September 21, 20073:00pm-9:00pm Conference Registration opens3:00pm-9:00pm Media Registration opens3:00pm-10:00pm Vendor Tables open3:30pm-5:30pm Welcome Reception on the Front Porch5:00pm-7:00pm Pundit's and Pollsters Panel7:30pm-9:30pm Dinner Program with Special Guest Mayor Rudy Giuliani

Saturday, September 22, 20077:00am-10:00pm Conference Registration opens7:00am-10:00pm Media Room opens7:00am-10:00pm Vendor Tables open7:30am-8:30am Congressional Q & A8:00am-12:00pm Chairman's Cup Golf Tournament8:30am-10:00am Breakfast program with Special Guest10:10am-11:00am Conference Panels11:10am-12:00pm Conference Panels12:30pm-2:00pm Lunch program with Special Guest Governor Mitt Romney12:00pm-2:00pm Chairman's Cup Golf Reception2:30pm-3:20pm Conference Panels3:30pm-4:20pm Conference Panels5:30pm-7:00pm Chairman's Reception7:00pm-9:00pm Dinner Program with Special Guest Senator John McCain

Sunday, September 23, 20079:30am-10:30am Non-Denominational Church Service

Part 1 Chapter 5 Yellow Dogs Bite

Well, you've been waiting all week for this. I finally have the book report for Chapter 5 done! Whew! If you are new to this blog or missed previous book reports please read Intro,
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, before continuing to read.

So now it is time to join me on the front porch, have a cup of sweet tea, in fact take some banana pudding. Bring your own guitar or grab Stella and guitar pick while a write this.

The premise of this chapter is about the Democrat/Republican rivalry that goes on in Arkansas. And how Mike Huckabee overcame that through his political career. As you recall from my previous blogs and if you have read his biography, that he was only the third Republican to be elected Governor of Arkansas since reconstruction.

Mike Huckabee says that it is difficult for a Republican to run for public office in Arkansas. When he ran in the 1992 U.S. Senate race at dinners he was given the worst seat and ignored by the event organizers. He was always at the end of the line in parades.
During this time the Clinton presidential race dominated all the news in Arkansas. State and National media was covering Bill Clinton's campaign. This was the first time that anyone from Arkansas had been a nominee for a major political party in a presidential race. Thus the Senate race didn't get much national coverage.
Dick Morris had been Mike's pollster. How loyal were Mike's supporters? This is what Mr. Morris said to him, "Your voters would swim the Mississippi at flood stage to get to the ballot on election day." They did not believe anything negative that was printed about Mike Huckabee. They knew what he stood for and they stood for the same ideals. If you don't recall from previous he lost.
As stated in my previous reports, after Bill Clinton became President Jim Guy Tucker, Lieutenant Governor at the time, elevated to Governor. Thus there was a need to hold a special election for a new Lieutenant Governor, a spot vacated by Tucker. Mike figured that since he had had a dedicated staff from his Senate race, he would run for this position. He knew that this would be an uphill battle.
Mike knew that many Arkansans would choose to vote for the Yellow Dog Democrat before they voted for a Republican.* The newspapers did not cover him or his campaign. When he would be at parades or events middle age women would make obscene gestures and yell at him.

Mike points to three factors in his victory.

1. Learned through experience in the Senate race.
2. He had a message of honesty and integrity.
3. Took opponents by surprise

After Mike finally got into his office, there was no furniture. See Chapter 3 When riding in the elevators in the capitol people would get off, because they didn't want to ride in the elevator. One time he attended a Summer festival where he was told to sit anywhere, this was while he was the Lieutenant Governor.
There were other politicians at this event. After they took their turns speaking one of the announcers mentioned, "We do have other members here in our audience, including a Republican Mike Huckabee." They didn't even mention that he was the sitting Lieutenant Governor. Many people were upset and embarrassed that their Democrat party would behave that way.
Governor Tucker and Lieutenant Governor Huckabee got along better than Governor Clinton and Lieutenant Governor Tucker got along. The rivalry between Clinton and Tucker went back to 1978. In 1982 Clinton and Tucker were planning on running against each other for Governor. In 1990, thinking Clinton would not run again, Tucker thought he would give it a try to run for Governor. Bill Clinton had called a press conference. Everyone, including Hillary Clinton, thought he would make an announcement not to run for re-election. To every one's surprise, Bill Clinton said "I'm going to run one more time." Sometime after that Dick Morris told Mike that Clinton's plan was to say he would not run again.
After the 1990 election, Clinton was not around much. He was already planning on running for President. Tucker was left to take care of business. He was ticked off at Clinton. Clinton never gave him the vital details to be able to properly take care of things. Clinton also left the state with a huge financial mess.
Tucker and Huckabee got along fine, until 1995. That was when the indictment for Tucker's involvement in Whitewater was handed down. Tucker wanted to look like a tough leader, before going into court.

Three things that Tucker tried doing.

1. Change of public school funding.
2. Highway construction program.
3. Rewrite of state constitution.

For the school districts Tucker wanted to consolidate 311 districts into 35 super districts, adding country schools in with the city schools. Mike said this was a bad idea, since the country schools were doing better than the city schools. In Cabot, Arkansas Tucker was booed off the stage. His idea was unpopular.
In order to get the highway bill passed Tucker had to make promises to the state senators. Mike was told that the senators thought it was a bad idea, but they voted for it to get the things promised to them.
Mike was told that for the constitution convention he and other Republicans would be included in on the plans. When Mike was to speak at a Methodist Church, Tucker called him and told him the inclusive deal was off for the Republicans. Mike alludes this to the fact that Tucker caved into political pressure from the Democrats. This was also about the same time that Mike decided to run for US Senate again. This would be the first time in 18 years that there would be an open seat for Senate.
In December of 1995 the constitution convention failed 80% to 20%. The highway bill failed 87% to 13%. Mike had opposed this also. Due to the fact that it was going to cost too much money. Also, the Republican Party spent $200,000 for him to oppose it on TV.
After these failures, Jim Guy blamed Mike for being the reason these bills failed. Mike says Tucker just got egotistical. He wanted to look cavalier before he went into court. He looked anything but. Political cartoonists portrayed Tucker as a lame duck. After all this the only time the two ever saw each other was for two photo ops.

• Leaders have the responsibility to think and to act in the context of their positions. Having been awarded their offices by voters, elected officials in particular must consider the effect their actions will have on others. In trying to pursue his interests instead of those of his constituents, Governor Tucker found that his own people turned against him. Even yellow Democrats had had enough.

* Yellow Dog Democrat: A cowardly despicable person. I admit it, I did have to look this one up.

In my attempt to butcher the Beverly Hillbillies closing credits, written by Paul Henning and sung by Jerry Scroggins:

• Now it's time to say goodbye and read the next chapter
• I would like to thank you folks for kindly reading this
• You're all invited back again to this blog
• To have a heaping helping of this hospitality
• (Hillbilly that is. Set a spell. Take your shoes off. Y'all come back now, ya hear?)
  

I will try harder to get these book reports out faster. I will be honest, this one took a while because it was mostly about specific incidents about Jim Guy Tucker and Arkansas politics. I wanted the report to be relevant to Mike's point about character without getting too far off track.
The problem with doing a book report on a book written by Mike Huckabee is that he speaks so eloquently that I am afraid that I will either butcher his words and/or not relay the message to y'all correctly.
I have already started my notes on Chapter 6. I will be putting Chapter 6 and 7 together, since they match so closely.

God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!

Mike Huckabee Ain't No Sissy

I came up with the title of this post after reading an article in newsobserver.com from North Carolina. "Huckabee's faith moves him past hot button issues"

• WASHINGTON - Mike Huckabee isn't what pundits would call a mainstream Christian conservative Republican.
  Sure, the candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination is a devout Christian. In fact, he's a Baptist minister and was the president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention before he served as the governor of Arkansas for 10 years.
  But ask the 51-year-old Huckabee how his faith affects his politics, and he skips over the standard hot-button issues of abortion, gays or whether people should say "Merry Christmas" or "season's greetings" -- topics that dominate talk radio and cable TV and thus define Christian conservatives to much of the country.
  Rather, he talks passionately about the morality of helping parents send their children to college, the need to observe the golden rule in handling Katrina refugees mistreated by an uncaring federal government, and the immorality of corporate chief executive officers getting multimillion-dollar bonuses while taking pensions and jobs away from workers.

I think it is more important for someone in government to care about these things. While abortion is a major issue, it does not affect everyday issues. Does who's gay or how holidays are wished put young adults through college? No. Does it help victims of natural disasters? No. Does it put dinner on the kitchen table of the workers of the big corporations? No.

• But he says his version of moral conservatism makes sense in governing, and it could appeal to a broader audience at a time when many Republicans have lost support from independents and moderate suburbanites.
  "It is an appealing message to a broader cross-section of the voting public, not just a litmus-test list," said former South Carolina Gov. David Beasley, who recently endorsed Huckabee. "His sense of right and wrong is more than just a few issues."

David Beasley says exactly what I am thinking. Mike Huckabee is a multi-faceted candidate. He doesn't fit any mold. I think this is what scares some in the "party establishment," about him. They want some Pinocchio that they can mold, create and pull the strings. Well Mike ain't no sissy who will allow others to control him. There is no elitist Republican ventriloquist speaking behind Mike Huckabee. Soon, the noses of the "Pinochios" will grow long and the ventriloquists hands up the butts will be exposed. Then the American people will see who the true Conservative really is. And that person is Mike Huckabee.

• During a recent Republican debate in New Hampshire, Huckabee criticized his fellow opponents of abortion for appearing to lose interest in children after birth and for not talking about problems such as homelessness later in life.

I am glad that someone is speaking out that pro-life is more than just what happens up until birth. How is it pro-life if life is not taken serious? When life after birth is not taken serious then it is just "talking points" spin and drivel.

• Huckabee started in politics as Arkansas lieutenant governor in 1993. He moved up to the top job in 1996 when the governor resigned amid a corruption scandal. Huckabee cut income taxes, expanded health care for poor children, boosted elementary-school education and was re-elected twice.
• He noted that he's solidly against abortion -- he signed a state ban on late-term abortions -- but stressed that the issue didn't come close to dominating his agenda.
  "I was consistent in my views and values as it related to social issues," he said. "But 91 percent of our state budget is spent on education, prisons and Medicaid. So it didn't make sense to spend 91 percent of my time on issues that didn't reflect my real job."

• Huckabee insists on other examples to illustrate how his faith affects the way he governs. Nothing got him as agitated as the thought of people losing jobs or pensions.
  When a CEO makes $100 million while his workers lose pensions or jobs, he said, "that is immoral. ... That's not free enterprise. That's theft."

This is one of my biggest pet peeves about the party. They try telling everyone that these fancy pants guys deserve all the big raises and whatnot, because he went to college and got a BS degree. I am not knocking down someone who went to college and studied to graduate. But there is such an imbalance in the pay between the "fat-cats" and the blue-collar people who are struggling to put dinner on the table and pay their bills according to which utility company is threatening to shut them off.

Some people may disagree with me and even call me a liberal. But I don't care. Personally, I think whenever these CEOs and executives get raises and promotions it's because they got a new mistress. And he needs more money to buy her a car, jewelry, fur coats or "set her up" in a condo. Maybe he has to pay hush money. It also could be that his wife has found out about said mistress and is threatening to call the best divorce attorney in town. So what does mister fancy pants do? He buys her something shiny to keep her quiet. These are the same people who talk about morality and purity. Ha-ha!

Sometimes I can see communism in both parties. One party says they want to take from the poor and take from the rich. And yet they want to stay rich. Why? Because they know more than everyone else. They deserve it. That is wrong. Then you have another party that wants to see a major schism in pay between the haves and have nots. Whenever anyone questions this they are told not to question. We are told they know better than the rest of us. This too is wrong. How I got off on a tangent about communism is beyond me?

God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!

Book Report Part 1; Chapter 1Crucible Moment

Time to pull up a chair and have a nice cup of coffee or hot chocolate while I recite my book report. Please forgive me if this sounds rather childish, as I have not written a book report since high school. How long ago was that? I ain't tellin you.

This chapter is focused around Mike Huckabee taking over the governorship from Jim Guy Tucker who was to resign after he was convicted in the Whitewater Scandal. On July 15, 1996 Mike Huckabee was in his office practicing the televised speech he would be making at 5:15 pm. At this time he would soon be sworn in as the new Governor of Arkansas.

When Governor Jim Guy Tucker announced that he would resign his duties, Lieutenant Governor Mike Huckabee was leading double digits in the senate race. Were he to be elected he would have become the first Republican Senator in Arkansas history.

While Mike Huckabee was practicing his speech he got a call, it was from Jim Guy Tucker. He thought he was calling to wish him well and give him instructions about where certain items were located. Tucker's call was to inform him that he would not be resigning. Tucker had filed a court motion for an appeal. This was five minutes before Mike was to be sworn in as the new governor.

Mike Huckabee reminded Tucker that his people had left their old jobs, sold homes and moved to Little Rock to vote for him. Tucker's staff had found new jobs and readjusted.

While Mike was on the phone he wrote the words "not resigning" on a piece of paper. Janet, Mike's wife, gave him a caring squeeze on the arm. Mike credits her for helping him through this time. After hanging up the phone, he told his staff about the conversation. Everyone was shocked and upset.

As Mike was talking with his staff he simultaneously received a letter and phone call from Tucker. Tucker wanted to know if he received the letter. The letter stated that he would declare disability and "unable to discharge the duties of governor." He wanted another hearing. He claimed a juror in the Whitewater case was prejudiced against him. One the jurors had married a convict that asked Tucker to commute his sentence. Tucker had refused.

Tucker had called a press conference to say that he would not resign. Afterward the people of Arkansas booed and shouted.

Mike Huckabee called into his office, Speaker Bobby Hague and Senate Pro Tempore Stanley Russ. He asked them to talk to Tucker. He said that if Tucker were to resign by 5pm that day he would not use the words impeach. If not he would call for Tucker's impeachment during his 5:15pm televised speech.

Tucker refused to resign.

What happened next? I don't know. You will have to either buy the book or wait to read my book report on Chapter 2. I hope you will continue to read my book reports. I will also be adding current stories about Mike Huckabee. And God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

History of our Republican Roots

As many people know Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican President. President Lincoln freed the slaves. But what all else do you know about the Republican History? Back in 2005 I attended the Mackinac Island Republican Leadership Conference. It is a bi-annual conference for elected officials, candidates and grassrooters in the state to get together and hear Republican speakers. It is held on Mackinac Island in Michigan and takes place on Friday through Sunday during the third weekend of September. This is also where Somewhere in Time was filmed. That was the movie starring Christopher Reed and Jane Seymour.
About a week or two before the conference started I got a flyer in the mail stating what the events would be. One of those events was a workshop about the Republican Party not forgetting our roots. The speaker was Micheal Zak. He is an historian, speaker and author.
I will be as quick as possible in explaining what his speech was about. Basically he said that for a hundred years the Republicans in Senate and Congress had been the ones trying to push through the "Civil Rights Bill" that Democrat President Lyndon Johnson signed in 1963. It was the Democrats who kept it from going through. He also stated that Women's Suffrage for women's voting rights was a Republican issue.
According to Mr. Zac, the Republican Party has allowed the Democrats to take over the Civil Rights issues. Lyndon Johnson's New Society is basically a new version of the plantation system.
Read his book, it is called "Back to Basics: For the Republican Party. Please check out his website Republican Basics. He also has a daily blog where he honors a person in Republican Civil Rights history. Go to Grand Old Partisan.
Until I heard him speak I thought civil rights was strictly a Democrat issue. I thought it was all about making a big deal of some one's race, ethnicity or gender. That is not the Republican view of Civil Rights. It is not what Abraham Lincoln, Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower or Martin Luther King (I realize MLK was not a Democrat or Republican) would want to see. They all believed in equality of everyone and no special rights for anyone. Unfortunately many young Republicans don't know this history and think that it is funny to have "Ghetto Parties", "Immigrant Parties" or "White Trash Parties." This is gross and disgusting. As a Republican I ask myself, WWALDO, meaning What Would Abraham Lincoln Do? Personally I don't think he would think such parties were funny.