Is This Going to Be Like 1994? Even Better, Will It Be Like 1894?

Experts on both sides have been talking about this year's potential congressional shift as being like the historic 1994 elections. In those elections, Republicans picked up 54 seats in the House and eight in the Senate, giving the GOP control of both houses.

Some have started to describe the potential impact of this year's results as being closer to those of 1894. The 1880s and early 1890s were an era of what some have called political deadlock. Elections in the years leading up to 1894 for Congress, president, and governors generally produced tight results. The economic disaster of 1893 and 1894 convinced voters that Republicans could solve the economic problems of the nation. Several states, including West Virginia, which had voted Democratic for decades, moved to the Republican column. West Virginia remained Republican until 1932. Republicans gained 130 seats in the House of Representatives in 1894 and captured the presidency in 1896.

Our current economic crisis is serious and deep. Even though some indicators rise and fall, unemployment remains at severely high levels. Democratic intervention has not helped and has actually made the debt worse. We do not have the financial capability at this point to engage in the minor deficit spending recommended by John Maynard Keynes that was used from time to time by Democrats in the last century. Our entire conception of political expectations needs to be overhauled and government reduced considerably. Liberal media types say that the GOP has no program and no vision, just "no." Such claims are out and out lies. We know what needs to be done, but do we even have the guts to do it when we return to power?

Elections, however, are not won in the beginning of October. Democratic pollsters are claiming that Republican leads in some areas are narrowing, so we cannot relax over the next month.

How Can Republican Victories This Fall Help Kill Obamacare?

This question came up in a Facebook discussion yesterday. I made a casual comment that Republican victories could help kill Obamacare and got a fair question. How?

First of all we have the court cases challenging the notion that the federal government can force you to purchase a commodity because you are alive. This runs counter to any principles or ideals Americans generally hold, as well as the Constitution, but without this part, Obamacare does not work. The Virginia case has gone farthest. This case will end up in the United States Supreme Court. Only five justices have consistently shown a dedication to restrained government and the Constitution. If one gets sick or dies, a Republican Senate can ensure that we keep socialists off the bench. It can also prevent any attempt by Obama to enlarge the court to get what he wants.

Second comes the matter of funding. All money bills start in the House of Representatives. The best way to kill a bad policy is to either vote it out or simply defund it until it dies of its own accord.

Finally there is the matter of states' rights. Missouri voters by an overwhelming margin (71% of the vote, more than Manchin got in West Virginia in 2008!) put into law a proposition that nullifies the federal government's power to compel anyone to purchase health insurance. This high percentage shows that mainstream Democrats do not even support this mandate. Other state legislatures have voted to opt out of and resist other facets of Obamacare. A leftist Congress can punish states by witholding highways funds. A Republican Congress will sympathize and work with them to get rid of this bad law.

Republican gains will help destroy Obamacare. Even if they cannot overturn it in one fell swoop, they can kill it with the death of a thousand cuts. Since 60% of the people still hate Obamacare and only 40% approve of Obama at all, this looks increasingly likely.

Oh and we hope everyone enjoys the fact that the First Lady is vacationing in Spain with seventy-seven secret service and forty of her best friends on your dime. And no, she is not in the Holiday Inn, either.

1st Congressional 2010 Primary Election Poll results

The following online poll was run by the PHC. It is not a scientific poll.

141 responded to the question, "Who will you vote for in the 1st Congressional District Democrat Primary?"

Results:
Michael Oliverio III (Monongalia County) 80%
Alan B. Mollohan (Marion County) 19%

429 responded to the question, "Who will you vote for in the 1st Congressional District GOP Primary?"

Results:
David B. McKinley (Ohio County) 45%
Sarah Minear (Monongalia County) 30%
Thomas Stark (Wood County)13%
Mac Warner (Monongalia County) 4%
Cindy Hall (Ohio County) 4%
Patricia VanGilder Levenson (Ohio County) 1%

A Crowded Field and Digging a Deeper Hole

Complicated or refreshing? When you look at the field of candidates contending for the GOP nomination in the First Congressional District, either one of these words could come to mind. Yes there is currently a bewildering array of contenders, some strong, some with more of an outsiders' chance. They agree on many basic ideas, but differ in important ways. Over the next few months we will try to help sort out the differences between the candidates.

How is this refreshing? The people have come out and let it be known that Congress as currently constituted has performed unacceptably. As usual they show a complete disconnect from the people, but in the past few years they have also worked very hard to drive our country into decline. Massive debts destroy the financial reputation that we worked so hard to create dating back to Alexander Hamilton. The world has lost faith in our ability to lead the economy and make sound decisions. Some see an opportunity to use the current crisis to tweak the eagle's tail and cut us down a peg. No doubt our own left wing in theis country loves to see the United States shorn of its traditional dominance. But is this healthy for the world at large?

Who to blame? Obama has done a lot of damage, but the current majority party has seen nothing but decline since they took office in 2007. When Obama blames current problems on conditions created before he took office, he is careful to forget the votes and policies of a Democratic Congress.

Obviously the problem is the Democratic Party's massive lurch to the left. Mollohan has to march in step to ultra left winger Nancy Pelosi and her desire to destroy gun rights, coal mining, publicly fund abortions, raise the debt sky high, and do a lot of other things that will harm our nation and its people. We realize that a vote for Alan Mollohan os a vote for Nancy Pelosi and her disastrous record. Regradless of the good services he has done for individuals seeking help from his office, he is supporting the majority party in Congress whose almost every move has harmed West Virginia.

Most recently Congress raised the debt ceiling to allow yet another so-called stimulus package through by the barest of majorities. Alan Mollohan and Nick Joe Rahall voted to waste more money. Shelley Moore Capito voted against it, remembering much of the stimulus money spent last time went to groups like ACORN.

2010 cannot come soon enough. Mollohan's weakness is evident in his paltry fundraising and the enthusiasm of an army of candidates expecting to unseat him. Republicans in the First District need to band together this summer and fall and send Alan Mollohan and the Dmeocratic Congress into retirement.

Obama thinks Republicans do as they’re told; has he been to WV?

I find it ironic that President Obama thinks that the party of individual responsibility takes its marching orders from the top. He obviously has never read the Republican Party platform. Republicans are very passionate about insuring the views of all are heard, but mostly we passionate about keeping the rights guaranteed in the Constitution. Here is what he said.

Obama is about as wrong as he could be on this issue. I invite him to come to West Virginia and review the workings of the state Republican Party. There are many diverse opinions and the people are extremely passionate about it. The West Virginia Republicans are doing battle amongst themselves all via to get their version of what they believe is the right course of action heard. The reality is far from the uninformed statements of Obama.

Or perhaps Obama only sees the true end game of the Republicans, because in the end all but a few on the fringe will come together and work to defeat Democrats. On Election Day 2010 we will speak with one voice. That voice will say we have had enough of your socialist policies and defeat many of your supporting minions. Keep in mind that in 2012, it is Obama’s turn to find out what happens when Republican’s do as they are told.