By MOLLY BALL
REVIEW-JOURNAL

September 5, 2008
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Nevada Sen. John Ensign, speaking Thursday at the Republican convention, warned that America’s freedom is in peril if Democrats make gains in the November election.

“If the Democrats win a stronger majority in the United States Senate, our nation will move farther and farther from the principles of freedom,” said Ensign, whose speech was postponed from Monday.

He added, “Do you want those who do not understand that there is true evil in the world to dictate our foreign policy? Or do you want to continue to stand up to radical Islamic extremists? Republicans are on the right side of … critical issues because we will always champion freedom. We know that sacrifices are made every single day to strengthen, protect and honor that freedom.”

The chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Ensign told the crowd of the necessity of taking back the majority in the Senate, something he has elsewhere acknowledged is very unlikely.

He mentioned a Nevadan who has fought in Iraq, Jacob Fogel of Elko, saying, “He put it this way: ‘Nobody really knows what freedom is like until you have to fight for it.’”

Former President Reagan shares with Republican nominee John McCain an unwavering belief in freedom above all else, Ensign said.

“To stray from freedom is to turn our backs on the 42 million Americans who have served our nation on the front lines of freedom by donning the uniform of the United States military,” he said.

At the early hour in the program, not everyone was listening. The Nevada delegates on the floor gave Ensign an enthusiastic reception, but Gov. Jim Gibbons was standing up having a conversation through most of the speech.

GIULIANI FEELING GOOD

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was beaming Thursday as he discussed Wednesday’s speech by Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

“I woke up this morning feeling really good,” Giuliani said in a roundtable discussion with a group of reporters. “I thought that Sarah Palin’s speech last night was superb. … I think she changed a lot of minds last night.”

Giuliani noted that, according to television ratings, nearly as many people watched Palin — 37 million — as tuned in for Democratic nominee Barack Obama’s stadium acceptance speech, which drew 38 million viewers. “And it didn’t cost us nearly as much money as it cost the Democrats,” he said.

Giuliani ridiculed Obama’s setting, among Greek columns and followed by fireworks, describing the GOP event as more “intimate.” In the Xcel Center, the stage was transformed into a catwalk-style T shape so that McCain could evoke the feel of his famous town halls.

Giuliani asserted that Republicans are controlling the direction of the campaign.

“The Democratic convention was extremely reactive,” he said. “The convention reacted to the questions the McCain campaign had produced about Barack Obama. His speech, although very exciting, was a very defensive speech. What you’re going to see from Senator McCain, he’s just going to talk to the American people about what he wants to do.”

Giuliani said it was significant that so many of McCain’s primary rivals lauded him from the convention floor. He said Republicans didn’t come into their convention severely divided, as the Democrats did because of the lingering wounds from the primary battle between Obama and Hillary Clinton.

While Giuliani maintained that social conservatives and the Republican base generally were already on board with McCain, he acknowledged that many weren’t as fired up as they are now. He said Palin has “made them much more enthusiastic, which is very important in politics.”

Giuliani warned that questions about Palin’s political experience governing a town of about 6,500 people will be taken as attacks on small-town America.

“There are a lot more cities like that in America than there are New York City,” he said.

August 4, 2008

HumanEvents.com

My son recently passed his driver’s test and could not be more excited. Unfortunately for him, gas prices are at record highs and Democrats continue to obstruct Republican attempts to solve our energy crisis in the short and long term. As Americans demand relief from the energy burden they bare, the time has come for Republicans and Democrats to work together to solve this crisis.

Election year promises and pandering by Democrats like Mary Landrieu and Jeanne Shaheen don’t get the job done and simply prolong the problem. And further raising the price by increasing taxes at the pump – as supported by Al Franken – certainly does not help either.

The solution to our energy problem will not be a simple one; in fact it will require more than one solution, so let’s put them all on the table. Exploration and drilling are not the only solutions; rather, they are part of a comprehensive solution to ensure energy independence. To that end, President Bush took a step in the right direction recently by lifting the executive order banning offshore oil drilling and has called on Congress to reciprocate. Yet, Democrats continue to drag their feet using rhetoric to promise action while alternatively doing nothing and proposing decades old solutions which are proven failures.

The politics of “do nothing” while blaming oil companies continues to backfire on Democrats. John Harwood of The New York Times reported on a recent poll by Stan Greenberg, former advisor to Bill Clinton, which indicated,

“McCain’s message adding domestic oil production to a policy of alternative energy investment and conservation is favored over Obama’s message that blames oil companies, calls for investments in alternative energy, and rejects limited offshore drilling.”

So while Senator Obama continues to struggle with the complexity of our national problems, Democrat Senate candidates seem equally baffled.

For example, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, a supposed proponent of increased domestic production, cast the deciding vote in committee to continue the prohibition of oil shale development in the western states. Landrieu claims to support repealing the moratorium, but admitted that politics played a role in voting against the legislation in committee – the vote failed 15-14.

For those unfamiliar with oil shale you should know that oil shale reserves in the western states, according to some estimates, represent three times the amount of oil in Saudi Arabia’s reserves. Utilization of these reserves would help to alleviate the strain on Americans’ wallets in the short term as well as create domestic jobs while keeping our money here.

Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire is not much better when it comes to solving this crisis – then again she has a history of failing to solve crises. Instead of looking forward to solve our energy crisis, Shaheen has reached back in history to craft her energy solution. Shaheen, like any good Democrat, believes raising taxes is the solution and has advocated for a reinstitution of Jimmy Carter’s windfall profits tax – which, just like Shaheen’s first bid for Senate, was a failure.

The windfall profits tax is a proven failure. Instead of decreasing prices, it drastically raised them by curtailing production and decreasing supply, while demand remained constant. Not to mention such a tax is regressive, since added costs are simply passed on to consumers.

But neither Landrieu nor Shaheen go quite as far as failed radio host Al Franken. During his campaign for Senate, Franken has indicated on several occasions his support for raising gas taxes by 5-10 cents. Franken, who has made millions of dollars joking about rape and authoring pornography, goes on to state he does not even think people would notice such an increase.

Americans are facing a harsh reality while Democrats live in a fantasy world. The time to act is now. Failure to do so is a dereliction of duties for all Members of Congress. We must allow Americans to utilize their amazing ingenuity to create and perfect energy alternatives to ensure long term energy stability and security, while still addressing our short-term needs. We must provide incentives and tax credits to companies leading the way in alternative energy developments. No stone should be left unturned and every avenue explored as we work together to solve this crisis.

The Republicans have a plan to lower gas prices in the short-term while providing incentives for longer-term alternatives. Democrats have rhetoric, failed policies of the past and more taxes as their “solutions.” That is why you continue to see improving poll numbers for Republicans across the country.

On Election Day the choice is clear, the choice is Republican.

CQ Politics Presidential Race Rating: Safe Republican

John McCain would have been favored to win Kentucky, a conservative-leaning state on the northern fringe of the South, even if Barack Obama had done better in the May 20 Democratic primary that he lost overwhelmingly to Hillary Rodham Clinton . Although politically competitive for many down-ballot offices, Kentucky has shown repeatedly that it doesn’t care for Democratic presidential nominees, especially those not from the South.

Kentucky last went for a non-Southern Democratic presidential nominee in 1952, when another Illinois Democrat, Adlai E. Stevenson, narrowly won the state against Dwight D. Eisenhower. Republicans have carried Kentucky in nine of the past 13 presidential elections dating to 1956, with Democrats winning only with Texan Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, Georgia’s Jimmy Carter in 1976, and Bill Clinton of Arkansas in 1992 and 1996.

With Kentucky unlikely to emerge as a presidential battleground state, the political focus in the state will be on Sen. Mitch McConnell , leader of the 49-member Republican minority, who is seeking a fifth term. McConnell in 2005 became the longest-serving Republican senator in the state’s history; no Kentucky senator has ever won five six-year terms.

McConnell’s Democratic opponent is Bruce Lunsford, the wealthy founder of a nursing home chain and twice-unsuccessful candidate for the Kentucky governorship. In a year in which voters in general express disapproval of both President Bush and Congress, Lunsford’s campaign pivots on a theme that McConnell is Bush’s “chief architect in the Senate” — echoing arguments by Democratic support groups that McConnell is the Senate’s “obstructionist in chief.”

McConnell’s operation, in turn, already has begun linking Lunsford to Obama as a symbol of Democratic Party liberalism, with references to “Obama-Lunsford” energy policies. McConnell’s high profile and easy access to campaign cash, countered by Lunsford’s vast personal wealth, should make the Kentucky Senate race one of the most expensive in the nation. CQ Politics rates the race Republican Favored.

The state’s most competitive House race probably will be in the Louisville-based 3rd District, where the Democrats will be playing defense. Freshman Democrat John Yarmuth faces a rematch with former five-term Rep. Anne M. Northup, the Republican he unseated in 2006. The district is Kentucky’s most urban and Democratic-leaning. CQ Politics rates this race Leans Democratic.

A competitive Democratic takeover bid may yet emerge in the state’s 2nd District, which includes Bowling Green and other territory in west-central Kentucky that has a strong conservative lean. Veteran Republican Ron Lewis is retiring, and Democratic state Sen. David Boswell is waging a serious, if uphill, campaign in a district that backed Bush four years ago with 65 percent of the vote. The Republican nominee is Brett Guthrie, also a state senator. CQ Politics currently considers this race Safe Republican.

August 4, 2008

Politickerme.com

Tom Allen votes to go home

PORTLAND, Maine– Late Thursday evening, the U.S. Senate voted 48-40 in favor of a motion to adjourn so lawmakers could leave Washington for a month-long August recess. U.S. Senator Susan Collins was among those who voted to remain at work in order to address high gas and oil prices.

Unfortunately, a day earlier, the U.S. House of Representatives also voted to go home without addressing the current energy crisis. This motion passed by just ONE VOTE, 213-212. Congressman Tom Allen voted to go home.

“It’s unfortunate there are some in Congress who would rather wait until at least September to deal with our nation’s energy crisis. Congress should have voted to stay in session and pledged to work together in a bipartisan way to try and address the problem. The decision to go home and let families continue to worry is simply irresponsible,” said Mark Ellis, Chairman of the Maine Republican Party. “Had Tom Allen, who is a member of the House Energy Committee, voted to stay in session instead of voting to go home, Congress would be at work today trying to solve a crisis that will not go away on its own.”

Also on Friday, Senator Susan Collins announced her support for a bipartisan, compromise energy plan that would increase American production of energy to help bring down the cost of energy. The plan, drafted by five Republicans and five Democrats, incorporates provisions of Senator Collins’ Ten Point Energy Plan, announced in April, that would provide additional funding to help low-income families weatherize their homes. The plan also eliminate needless tax breaks for big oil companies, and would allow drilling along the East Coast from Virginia to Georgia, and on the western coast of Florida, near areas where drilling infrastructure already exists. It would leave in place all other currently-existing bans on drilling in the U.S., including the coast of Maine, and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

July 31, 2008

Elections are more than three months away, but Susan Collins is positioned well to win a third term in the U.S. Senate.

Collins, first elected to the Senate by Maine voters in 1996, has showed up 14 percentage points ahead of Democrat Tom Allen, currently a U.S. Representative from the state’s First Congressional District. The poll was conducted by the Portland-based firm Critical Insights between June 1 and 27.

A breakdown of how the registered voters surveyed were leaning gave Collins and her supporters cause for cheer.

Independents make up Maine’s largest voting bloc, and of those independents, 60 percent favored Collins. Of further interest, in a state where voters consider the worth of a candidate above the party of which she or he is a member, Collins was favored by 25 percent of respondents who identified themselves as Democrats.

Collins’ strength is anchored in her repeated willingness to work with colleagues of both political parties to address the issues plaguing Maine and the United States in a manner meant to benefit the interest of the people who have chosen her to lead and represent them.

Collins serves on three Senate committees that are important to the people of Maine — Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Armed Services and the Special Committee on Aging.

As the ranking Republican member of Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, she works closely with Committee Chairman Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut independent.

Earlier this month, Collins was able to announce the award of $11 million in Homeland Security grants for Maine.

Collins’ position on Armed Services Committee is especially important to the people of Maine and New Hampshire.

The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is vital to the defense of the United States and the economy of southern Maine and southeastern New Hampshire. Collins has been a tireless advocate on behalf of keeping the shipyard open and making sure full advantage is taken of the quality of work performed there in the assignment of workload.

Susan Collins knows of the energy concerns being felt by people everywhere in our country, especially in the Northeast.

“Our nation is facing an energy crisis,” said Sen. Collins at a hearing of the Homeland Security Committee last week. “The sharp spikes in the price of oil are causing great harm to our economy, from the major industries that drive our nation forward to the small businesses that are the lifeblood of our communities. As I travel throughout Maine, I hear time and again of the hardship the skyrocketing cost of gasoline and home heating oil is causing families.”

The aged and the aging are among the most vulnerable of our neighbors in Maine and elsewhere in the United States. The soaring energy costs threaten to leave them without adequate heat this winter. Collins knows this country has to have a meaningful energy policy and must have one soon. The partisan divide she holds in such disdain has kept it from happening for too long. The same is true of the cost of health care and the rising cost of food.

Collins’ ability to view domestic and international issues with an open mind and a broad view is reflective of the way people in Maine think [EM] people who think in terms of the overall good; people who think in terms of what can be rather than what might have been.

It’s no wonder the poll earlier this month showed a broad preference for the re-election of Susan Collins.

The weeks ahead will determine whether she can make it happen.

By RON JENKINS

July 30, 2008

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe looks strong in his bid for a third term. The Democratic nominee, on the other hand, has a lot of work to do if he wants to pull off an election upset in November.

Inhofe, 73, already was a heavy favorite in Tuesday’s primary because of his superior financing. He got 84 percent of the vote in sweeping past three little-known opponents.

His opponent in the fall, state Sen. Andrew Rice, got a little less than 60 percent of the vote in defeating Jim Rogers, a perennial candidate who had run twice previously for the Senate.

Rice, 35, said it was “still a good victory.” He noted that Rogers had a familiar name and turnout was low — 328,974 voters, only about 18 percent of the 1.8 million Democrats and Republicans eligible to vote.

“It’s going to be important to get my vote out more and more and to have the spotlight shined on our records,” Rice said.

In other races, Republican Rep. John Sullivan of the 1st Congressional District and Democratic Rep. Dan Boren of the 2nd Congressional District won their primaries with ease.

Inhofe has drawn the ire of environmentalists for calling global warming a hoax. Although he said he is a proud conservative, Inhofe described himself as “a big spender” on issues important to Oklahoma — defense and infrastructure.

Rice, a former missionary, has said he was inspired to run for public office after his brother died in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.

Rice said he has a record in his first year in the state Senate of working with Republicans on important issues, while Inhofe has been “an ultra partisan” in Washington.

Inhofe said it would be “a pretty hard sell” to convince voters that he is a Washington politician with little real-world experience. He said he had 30 years’ experience in business and ran for federal office because of excessive government regulation.

“Of the opponents I’ve had, I’ve never had one where there’s so much disparity in philosophy,” Inhofe said of Rice.

Inhofe has raised more than $5 million, according to his latest campaign report, while Rice has collected about $1.4 million.

Independent Stephen P. Wallace also will be on the ballot for the Senate race in November.

In the other races, Sullivan will face businesswoman Georgianna Oliver, while Boren goes up against Raymond J. Wickson, who has lost two previous congressional bids.

Rocky Mountain News

July 30, 2008

Rep. Mark Udall learned Wednesday there are some political promises he shouldn’t make.

Like pledging to oppose sending Congress on its summer break - and then missing the vote altogether.

Wednesday, the House voted 213-212 to adjourn this week.

The vote came two days after Udall vowed, in a televised debate, to oppose recessing unless the House first took up a crucial energy bill.

Udall, who spent Tuesday campaigning in Colorado, had just landed in Washington on Wednesday afternoon when he got word that the adjournment vote was imminent.

He phoned House leaders, asking them to delay the vote, but they didn’t.

Udall was racing up the Capitol steps when voting closed. He was one of 10 members absent for the tally.

Tara Trujillo, press secretary for Udall’s Senate campaign, said that the Eldorado Springs Democrat was “extremely upset” that he was not allowed to cast a ballot.

But Dick Wadhams, campaign manager for Republican Senate nominee Bob Schaffer, said that Udall not only broke a promise, but that his non-vote was worse than had he voted in favor of the adjournment resolution.

“It’s one thing to vote wrong, but to not even show up for the vote? Even by ‘U-turn Udall’s’ standards, that’s extraordinary,” Wadhams said.

The adjournment resolution became an issue Monday when Udall and Schaffer, a former congressman from Fort Collins, argued over the solution for rising gas prices. Schaffer said that House Republicans are backing a bill that calls for more domestic drilling and renewable fuels but that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would not let it come up for a vote.

Schaffer challenged Udall to vote against sending Congress off to its monthlong summer break unless the bill were brought to the floor, and Udall agreed.

On Wednesday, the five-term congressman expressed great frustration that he could not cast his vote - presumably the swing vote in the 213-212 tally that would have postponed the recess. He wrote a letter to Pelosi calling the decision to ignore his delay request “disturbing.”

“There’s no question that Mark Udall is angry on how this was handled because he knows that our country is worse off under our current energy policy written by President Bush and Bob Schaffer,” Trujillo said.

Udall also missed three votes on successful bills Tuesday while he was in Colorado. He did return in time to vote for a bill that would have cut down on the manipulation of oil prices by increasing oversight of commodities markets. That measure failed when only 61 Republicans supported it.

The Denver Post

July 30, 2008

Democratic Senate candidate Mark Udall missed a critical vote today that might have kept Congress from going into summer recess until it passed an energy bill, breaking a vow he made in a recent debate.

Udall spokeswoman Taylor West said the Boulder County lawmaker was on his way back to Washington at the time and that the vote was called with only 10 minutes’ notice. Udall asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to delay the vote without success, and the resolution passed by one vote, 213-212.

With gas prices the No. 1 financial worry of voters, promising to try to keep lawmakers in session until they took action was a bold stroke, but missing that vote could be an equally costly political mistake by the five-term congressman.

Udall’s staff said the Democrat stayed in Colorado to attend several campaign-related events, including a meeting with business leaders and a fundraising event — which Udall’s Republican opponent quickly jumped on.

“While Coloradans are paying $4 a gallon for gasoline, I guess it wasn’t important enough for (Udall) to show up for work this week,” said Dick Wadhams, the campaign manager for Republican Senate candidate Bob Schaffer. “He made a commitment Monday, he didn’t even show up for work Tuesday and then he missed the vote today.”

West said that her boss would send a letter to Pelosi today objecting to the fact that the vote wasn’t delayed long enough for him to make it from the Washington airport to the Capitol.

July 30, 2008

Senate Republicans will match dollar-for-dollar what the Democrats plan to spend this campaign cycle, U.S. Sen. John Ensign said Wednesday.

The Nevada Republican, who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said the GOP would match Democrats’ spending despite a nearly 2-to-1 disadvantage in cash on hand, The Hill reported.

Ensign noted that Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who leads the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee have recently placed television buys totaling approximately $44.8 million in targeted Senate races in a handful of states.

“I will not allow our Republican candidates to be outspent by the DSCC this cycle,” Ensign said.

The Hill reported that the Democratic campaign committee had about $22 million more than its Republican counterpart at the end of June.

“While I am aware we do not currently have the funds to match the DSCC, I am giving our (independent expenditure) unit this budget on faith — faith that my Republican colleagues will step up to the challenge and transfer the funds necessary to remain competitive with the Democrats,” Ensign said.

“I have informed my colleagues that it is now up to them,” he added.

Las Vegas Review-Journal

By JOHN ENSIGN

SPECIAL TO THE REVIEW-JOURNAL

Two months ago, I made the point that a steak-and-eggs breakfast in Las Vegas was cheaper than the price of a gallon of gas. With soaring energy costs fueling increases in the price of food and other consumer goods, it seems that any kind of bargain these days will be harder to find, even in a city famous for them.

The struggle to find bargains and pay for daily necessities is why Congress must address the current energy crisis now. Every time Americans fill up their tanks, check out at the grocery store, or make a decision about where to cut spending, the weight of Congress’ inaction gets heavier and heavier.

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What is this?

For many months, Republicans have been working to provide relief from the burden of gas prices on all facets of American life. We’ve been focused on a three-pronged approach: boosting renewable and alternative energy, encouraging energy efficiency, and growing our American energy supply.

We need to extend renewable energy tax incentives before they expire. With exciting energy technology on the horizon, now is the time for aggressive investment in renewable and green energy — solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, fuel cells and electric vehicles. I also believe that energy efficiency is the key to increasing conservation of our nation’s energy resources.

Using alternative energy and energy efficiency to be better stewards of our environment must be balanced with the need for reliable, affordable energy to fuel our lives and our economy.

Growing our American energy supply is critical to this equation. We have to infuse American energy into our marketplace — it will lower fuel prices and remove us from the grip of countries that hate us but to whom we pay $700 billion a year for oil. We are facing a problem of supply and demand where, simply put, we use more than we have. But with trillions of barrels of oil right here in the United States and under our control — not in Saudi Arabia or Venezuela or some other country where many people hate us — energy independence can be a reality.

We have at least 10 billion barrels of oil in ANWR, 8.5 billion barrels in deep sea exploration and more than a trillion barrels from oil shale in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. We also have a 230-year supply of coal and great potential in nuclear energy. These changes would lower prices and would do so quickly because the market will react to expected supply increases. And the American people would react to the fact that we have shown vision and accomplished something for their good.

Unfortunately, Democrats have answered one of the greatest challenges facing our nation with flawed ideas that aren’t worth a tank of gas but would cost us dearly.

First there was the climate tax bill that would have devastated our economy and increased the price of gas by 50 cents to a dollar per gallon. Can you imagine? More recently, they rolled out their plan to curb oil speculation which does little, if anything, about high gas prices. That means it does nothing to bring down the price of food, clothing or any of the other consumer goods that are affected by the price of gas. It will not provide relief for struggling Americans, and it lacks the vision and leadership our country needs on this issue. All it does is delay other efforts that would make a difference.

Countless constituents have taken the time to share their personal stories with me, and there is a common thread in their messages. Fixed-income seniors worry about driving to the doctor and paying for food. They’re asking for real solutions. Many Nevadans can’t afford to travel to visit ailing relatives. They’re asking for real solutions. Our entire tourism industry in the United States is being hurt by the high cost of fuel. Manufacturers are cutting jobs. Families have to cut spending a little deeper every week to balance their budgets. They’re asking for solutions.

The time for talk passed as quickly as $3.50-a-gallon gas came and went. Enough is enough. I recently took to the Senate floor and asked my colleagues across the aisle: “At what price per gallon will you finally step aside and allow us to focus on real solutions?”

Bill Clinton vetoed ANWR 13 years ago in a bill passed by Republicans in Congress. If he had signed that bill into law, at least 1 million more barrels of oil would be flowing to the United States every day and gas prices would be lower.

We can’t afford to miss another opportunity for action. Now is the time to act.

John Ensign, a Republican, represents Nevada in the U.S. Senate.