Money Can’t Buy Me Love – Or Votes

Posted on September 29, 2017 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

The recent Republican primary runoff victory by Judge Roy Moore over Luther Strange in the race for Jeff Sessions’ Alabama senate seat is just the latest in a string of expensive losses for the Swampers. Nearly a full year after American voters turned the pollsters and pundits upside down, the DC good-ole-boys are still in full Trump Denial.

Here are some of the Swampers’ embarrassing defeats:

Breitbart News reports Strange lost the runoff election by 20%, spending an estimated $30 million ($137 per vote) compared to Moore’s $2 million ($7 per vote). This is after Moore pounded Strange in the first primary despite being outspent 25 to 1. Strange was heavily funded by Mitch McConnell’s Senate Leadership Fund and the NRA.
Issue One claims Democrats blew $32 million in a failing effort to push Jon Ossoff past Republican Karen Handel for the Georgia congressional seat vacated by Tom Price, who has already resigned his administrative office. Issue One says Handel spent $23 million, but other analysts claim Handle was outspent 8 to 1 – the truth is probably somewhere in-between.
Hillary Clinton spent about $15 per vote, three times the amount Donald Trump invested on the presidency in 2016.

The first shot over the DC Establishment bow was fired by Dave Brat in 2014, when he sacked Eric Cantor, Republican house majority leader, in the Virginia congressional primary race. Cantor had the backing of the entire swamp, including the Chamber of Commerce, the NRA, and the National Association of Realtors. All of the Republican money and every loose dollar on K Street was bet on Cantor – $5.5 million in all. Brat had a measly $200,000 and a warm smile from the Tea Party. It’s fitting that Brat’s first name is David, as Goliath (Cantor) fell in a large, thunderous heap. Brat has since been a stellar Freedom Caucus member.

My Congressman, Ralph Norman (R-SC), spent a little bit more than his opponent, Archie Parnell, seeking the seat vacated by Mick Mulvaney a few months ago. And most of that spending was his own money. “I don’t want to owe favors to anybody,” he told me early in the race. And he has stayed true to his word, already taking strong positions against the powerful, big-money lobbyists. Norman is also on the Freedom Caucus.

Maybe the Swampers will finally “get it” and stop trying to buy political offices against the will of the people, who are tired of business as usual on Capitol Hill.

Nah, it won’t happen. The DC Establishment Swampers will continue to do what Swampers do – spend other peoples’ money. They can’t help themselves.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

I don’t care too much for money,
Money can’t buy me love!

Can’t Buy Me Love – the Beatles

The lads are rockin’ it with their Rickenbackers and Voxes!

What The Hell Is ‘Mad Dog” Up To?

Posted on March 24, 2017 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

With all eyes on the middle of the swamp, riveted on the battle over the repeal and replacement of ObamaCare, a little drama has been percolating, unwatched, over in the far corner under the cypress trees.

Not long ago, General James Mattis rode President Trump’s full-throated endorsement to the lofty post of Secretary of Defense, past eminently qualified candidates like Sen. Jeff Sessions, Rep. Mike Rogers, and veteran security advisor Stephen Hadley. The men overlooked for the job had several things in common – all are Republicans, are loyal Trump supporters, and are broadly respected in conservative circles.

Mattis had a few things going for him, too. People called him “Mad Dog”. He once said, “it’s fun to shoot some people.” He also once said he is opposed to the Iran nuclear giveaway. Did I say his name is Mad Dog?

President Trump was so impressed with old Mad Dog he slam-dunked him right into one of his most critical cabinet posts. Congress didn’t hesitate to give Mattis a waiver allowing the recently-retired general to bypass the required 10-year waiting period between active military service and SecDef. Why, Leon Panetta himself personally campaigned for Mattis. What’s not to like?

Wait a minute, Leon Panetta? The guy who viscerally hates Donald Trump? The far-left, Obama insider, Democrat apparatchik who was one of the biggest moving parts of the Clinton Machine? That Leon Panetta?

It gets weirder. Old Mad Dog’s first big recruit was Anne Patterson for undersecretary of defense for policy. Patterson gained notoriety as a honcho on Hillary Clinton’s team for her support of the Muslim Brotherhood regime that failed so spectacularly in Egypt.

General Mattis also flirted with Democrat Michele Flournoy, founder of the far-left Center for New American Security and former Obama undersecretary of defense for policy, for a sub-cab post. Flournoy ultimately turned him down because Mad Dog is not quite leftist enough to suit her taste.

Mattis’ latest pick is Rudy DeLeon for undersecretary of personnel and readiness. DeLeon is a senior fellow at the Center for America Progress, whose current stated mission is to undermine the Trump presidency. CAP was created and developed by John Podesta (there’s that name again) and is funded by George Soros. According to Jordan Schactel in Conservative Review, DeLeon signed on to a letter that calls Trump’s national security order restricting immigration “beneath the dignity of our great nation” and advised government workers to apply “discretion,” in an attempt to essentially undermine the president’s initiative. DeLeon is a big proponent of Obama’s nuclear giveaway program to Iran.

I can’t see any reason why a person with DeLeon’s pedigree wouldn’t fit perfectly into Trump’s administration, can you?

General Mattis’ appears determined to load up the administration with as many Trump-haters as he can find, as if there aren’t enough enemies left over from the Obama regime already.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Big man, walking in the park
Wigwam, frightened of the dark
Some kind of solitude is measured out in you
You think you know me but you haven’t got a clue
Hey Bulldog!

Hey Bulldog – the Beatles

Tell Me Again – Why Do You Support Amnesty and Illegal Immigration?

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

ramirez10 So tell me again – why do we want to offer amnesty to illegal immigrants and encourage even more legal and (mostly Mexican) illegal immigration? (statistics from Mark Levin’s outstanding book “Liberty and Tyranny”, comments by me)

Mexico only requires school attendance through the eighth grade. One third of Mexican immigrants to the US have not graduated from high school. Any wonder why our literacy statistics are headed south? Or why the flood of unskilled and uneducated immigrants is pushing down pay rates in the US?
One third of immigrant-headed households are on at least one major welfare program. No problem, we can just print more money, right?
One third of immigrants lack health insurance. These are the uninsured “Americans” that we are compelled to cover under ObamaCare.
Over one half of Mexican immigrants are here illegally. If our federal government and “sanctuary cities” do not enforce immigration laws, we encourage even more illegal immigration.
9 percent of the population of Mexico was living in the US in 2004, and in 2007, 27% of Mexico’s labor force was working in the US and sending home $20 billion per year. Mexico’s corrupt government and dysfunctional economy cannot sustain its growing population, so they export their labor force to the US, and the proceeds are sent back to Mexico – representing a major proportion of that nation’s income.
One out of five students in 2006 was Hispanic, and at current growth rates by 2050 the majority of US students will be Spanish speakers. The stress put on US schools by immigration is reaching crisis proportions.
More than 55 million individuals in the US speak a language other than English at home – 34 million speak Spanish.
The current level of assimilation of all recent immigrant groups is lower than at any time in US history, and Mexicans are the least assimilated of any group. Immigration no longer produces the “melting pot” of grateful and talented immigrants who became patriotic Americans and made our nation great. Instead, we are rapidly becoming a balkanized, polarized country.
Mexican adolescents are imprisoned at rates 80 percent greater than the general immigrant adolescent population. The US already has by far the greatest incarceration rate in the world.
Hispanic women have the highest unmarried birthrate in the country – over three times that of whites and Asians, and nearly 1.5 times that of black women. We already know how destructive the increased number of unwed mothers is to our economy.

I will be accused of racism for reporting these truths. Believe me, I have no ill will toward Mexicans or any other ethnic groups. My only aim in presenting this argument is the economic survival of the United States. Mexico certainly does not allow illegals to cross their borders.

The percent of US residents actively working is now at an all-time low. Wage rates continue to decline. Our competitive edge against other nations is gone due to our relative lack of skills and education. What could possibly justify encouraging and allowing more unskilled and needy immigrants to move in? If we stopped the flow of low-wage unskilled workers into our economy, businesses would adjust – they would increase labor rates and/or efficiency. As long as we tolerate the status quo, businesses will take advantage of the profit opportunity – and the immigrants.

Obviously there is only one justification for amnesty and tolerance of illegal immigration, and it applies only if you are a liberal politician or bureaucrat who cares nothing for the future and security of American families. You want to accumulate as many bodies as possible to be dependent on you, to vote for you, and to keep you in your permanent political positions of power.

Ugly, isn’t it?

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Tell me why you cried
And why you lied to me!

Tell Me Why – the Beatles

Amazing colorized footage of the Beatles from their first movie “A Hard Day’s Night”

How Do You Do It, Max Baucus?

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard 5

baucus Max Baucus has represented Montana in the U.S. Senate since 1978, and has been re-elected six times. He plans to run again next year.

Baucus has overcome a slew of criticisms to maintain his grip on the biggest pot of money on planet Earth. Critics say Baucus has lost touch with Montana, doesn’t live there, and rarely visits the state he represents. I believe voters cut him some slack on that one. His work is in the nation’s capital, and it makes sense that he should have a home there. Still, many Montanans are concerned that 91% of his previous campaign funds came from out-of-state sources.

Max’s personal morals have also been called into question, including lurid stories in the national press of divorces and infidelity, jobs for girlfriends, and crony capitalism. The video of Baucus’ apparently-inebriated speech on the Senate floor has 2 million YouTube hits. Defenders say he was just “tired” – watch the video and judge for yourself. But Bill Clinton lowered the threshold of voter pain on skanky behavior, and Barack Obama has established crony paybacks as an acceptable primary fundraising strategy in the expensive world of national politics. The “Foster Brooks” impersonation was avoided by the mainstream media. Montanans might believe lapses in personal ethics can be overlooked if their congressman votes right.

Montanans should be alarmed, however, when Baucus’ votes and considerable influence run counter to their principles. Responses from the last five years of Montana Chamber of Commerce surveys indicate:

64% (5-yr. avg.) of Montana voters say our national economy is on the ‘wrong track’, versus 23% ‘right track’, with chronic unemployment, anemic GDP growth, and irreparable debt and deficits. All that time Senator Baucus has been at the helm of Senate committees including Finance, Taxation, IRS Oversight, Long-term Growth, Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth, and Deficit Reduction. The Senate has not passed a budget for four years, and looks as if they never will.

While Montanans’ top financial concern continues to be health care costs, Senator Baucus led the charge for ObamaCare, despite knowing it would raise taxes on Americans, damage Medicare, and add to the national debt and deficits. He has always been tight with “Big-Pharma” lobbyists, and remains one of the leading recipients of political contributions from health insurance and pharmaceutical companies.

A solid majority of Montanans have unfavorable opinions of environmental groups, labor unions, and trial lawyers. Baucus supported unpopular global warming legislation, the unions salivate over the millions of new members they will gain thanks to his health care reform plans, and trial lawyers shovel endless money to Baucus campaigns in exchange for avoiding tort reform in Max’s health care bills.

With all of this baggage, and Baucus’ apparent disdain for Montana voters, how does he keep getting re-elected?

Is it the huge sums of money required for an opponent to even consider going toe-to-toe with the well-connected incumbent Senator? (He has already amassed a $3 million war chest for the the next go-around.)

Is it the decades of pork he has funneled to his state? (Montana receives $1.47 back from the federal government for every dollar it pays in taxes.)

Is it his personal charm and boyish good looks? (Women do tend to vote for Democrats.)

It’s time for good conservatives (some of whom are Republicans) to start a serious search for a Senate contender who does not have personal baggage, who can win the hearts and minds of those with financial means, and who is serious about a calling higher than re-election.

Can anybody displace Max Baucus? It just doesn’t seem like it should be that hard.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

How do you do what you do to me?
I’m feeling blue.
Wish I knew how you do it to me,
But I haven’t a clue.

How Do You Do It? – Gerry and the Pacemakers
(also recorded by the Beatles)
Here’s a great video of one of the most under-rated musicians (Gerry Marsden) and bands (the Pacemakers) of the sixties and the British Invasion. Enjoy!