Who is Nancy Pelosi?

I wanted to write these comments earlier but I have been engaged in a number of intersting activities recently.

Nancy Pelosi who represents San Francisco in the Congress is the current Speaker of the House of Representatives and third in line for the Presidency--after President Obama and Vice President Biden. She is responsible for pushing some very liberal and expensive legislation through the current Congress. She has also recently received a lot of attention by accusing CIA briefers of lying to her about a number of things including allegedly not telling her about the use of waterboarding of three prominent terrorists in 2002. Her comments have been contradicted by other members of Congress and by CIA officials who attended those meetings. When confronted by this information she gave what can only be described as an inept press conference.

But where did Nancy Pelosi-two hardbeats from the Presidency-come from? While she currently represents California in the Congress, she is orginally from my hometown of Baltimore. Her father, the late Thomas D'Alessandro Jr., was Mayor of Baltimore for three terms and ran the classic Democratic political machine by rewarding friends and eliminating enemies from the political process. While a number of questionable things were done during his administration his most notable action was awarding me with my high school diploma. Nancy was the only girl among six children and she learned politics as a combat sport. She married a wealthy banker, moved to California, had five children and through a combination of money and hardball politics became the Speaker of the House.

So when you see Speaker Pelosi attacking her political opponents and charging the CIA with lying think about her roots.

Remembering Jack Kemp

There has been a lot of coverage of the passing of Jack Kemp this past weekend. He was a remarkable person who went from being an all-pro quarterback to a successful congressman, cabinet secretary and vice presidential nominee. He was a strong advocate of supply side economics and tax cuts and promoted many of the successul policies of the Reagan Administration.

During the 1970s our family attended Fourth Presbyterian Church just outside Washington, D.C. This church had an outstanding pastor, Richard C. Halvorsen, who later became the chaplain of the U.S. Senate. Many prominent government leaders attended Fourth, including the Kemp family. One of his daughters, Jennifer, was in my sixth grade Sunday School class, and I would frequently see Congressman Kemp at church displaying his great enthusiam whenever he was engaged in a conversation.

Every year Fourth held a men's dinner in which a prominent guest, usually an elected official, was the featured speaker. Jack Kemp was the speaker one year and the person who introduced him was named Earl. Earl was virtually blind, but despite this handicap he was always positive. He held a full time job and was very active in the church. In his introduction Earl praised Jack Kemp for all he had done and closed by saying, "Jack you are my hero." When Kemp got up he turned to Earl and said, "Earl you are the real hero and you are my hero." That comment generated cheers and tears that I will not forget.

Jack Kemp was a brilliant conservative thinker who had a huge and positive impact on his party and country. He strongly believed that ideas matter and that the GOP should welcome people from all backgrounds, especially minorities, into its ranks. At this time many people are asking where the next Ronald Reagan will come from. They could just as easily ask where the next Jack Kemp will come from. He was a man of big ideas and who really connected with the Earls of the world.

The First 100 Days Feels Like 100 Years

The press is heavily focused on the first 100 days of the Obama presidency. This has been the benchmark for all new Presidents to be measured against since Franklin Roosevelt's first 100 days of New Deal in 1933. Regardless of ones opinion of the President and his policies what has transpired since January 20 can only be described as breath taking in its audacity. The Administration's strategy is clear--Keep the President's personal approval numbers high with the willing assistance of most of the media while daily promoting new leftwing policies that many people don't approve of or are at least suspious of. In just 100 days we have had an unread $1 billion (includes interest) stimulus bill and a carry over budget with over 8,000 earkmarks pass Congress, a proposed $3.5 trillion dollar budget, national healthcare, cap and trade and many other spending plans that guarantee massive debt and taxes for the future.

The move to super big government has been astounding. The government does or will have major stakes in banks, insurance providers and car companies. The President has fired the CEO of GM and Congress wants to tax the rate of private sector bonuses. Decisions regarding who is fired and what those people earn should be made by the private sector, not by the government. We now know that once you accept government assistance your future is controlled in Washington not at your headquarters.

In foreign policy the President has actually retained the previous administration's policies in Iraq and Afghanistan after campaigning against them as a candidate. Meanwhile, he has reached out to dictators like Chavez, Castro and Ortega while insulting our British friends. Gitmo is to be closed but no one knows where the prisoners will be sent. Alleged torture of terrotists is forbidden but all forms of abortion of the unborn is ok.

Just think this is only the first 100 days. Wait until we see who the President selects for the Supreme Court, how many more companies will be taken over by the government and what new taxes we will be paying. Stay tuned.

Train Ride To The Big Tea Party

On Tax Day I went to the Atlanta Tea Party. One of the big challenges I faced was how to get there. The Atlanta event was held at the state capital in downtown Atlanta from 7-10 in the evening. Driving in Atlanta traffic at rush hour with the Braves also playing a game that night seemed very unappealing. So I chose to ride the Marta subway train which would be more efficient and less expensive (After all I had just sent in a rather large tax payment to Uncle Sam and saving money protesting government tax policy seemed like an appropriate alternative). I had visions of walking into the Marta station buying a ticket and going downtown. What a shock. The station was packed with hundreds of people who had the same idea. The lines were long to get tickets and the trains were packed going to the event.

The crowd was good natured, diverse with ages ranging from the very young to senior citizens, and truly dedicated to a cause they thought was worth leaving the comfort of their suburban homes for and to spend an evening in downtown Atlanta. The signs were everywhere and creative. "Revolution is Brewing", "IRS-RIP", and many saying "Get Your Hand Out of My Piggybank." A number of ladies who wore teapots as hats received a lot of cheers. When the train load of riders got off they poured into side streets surrounding the capital since the capital grounds were already full of people. Like most of those assembled I watched the speakers on a jumbo tron while at the same time watching the crowd. I observed no "incidents" and the greatest display of anger was that of members of the military who were dismayed by the just released Homeland Security report implying that returning veterans should be watched for possible terrorist associations. The signs and crowd (closer to 20,000than the 10,000 estimated by the local media) at the capital was even more diverse with many signs advocating the Fair Tax to an African American couple holding up a sign supporting Sarah Palin.

After hearing a lot of speeches and watching most of the Sean Hannity Show including his interview with Joe The Plummer (Joe has really enjoyed his 15 minutes of fame) I returned home on Marta. While it was now late and the trains were packed the crowd was still good natured and its members I talked to were glad they had come. The engineer who had a two hour ride to get home after arriving at the Marta station was thrilled that his sign got air time on the Sean Hannity Show. The student who drove two hours from the University of Georgia to attend the rally and a young banker both acknowledged that unless things change they will have few opportunities for success in the future because of the projected high taxes they will have to pay.

While the leftwing media has attempted to marginalize the tea parties and attack those who attended them as racist losers, I was encouraged by the quality and quantitive of those attending the event. Let's see how this all plays out. What do you think?

Tea Party Reporters Requested

If you are attending a Tea Party on April 15, watching one on TV or listening to commentary about a Tea Party from the national or local media send me your thoughts--good and bad about the Tea Parties and their impact. I will put the comments together in a future blog. Send comments to tykef@bellsouth.net.

Grading Obama's Trip Overseas and Will the Left try to Ruin the Tea Parties?

President Obama's just completed overseas trip received major coverage and now everyone is trying to determine what it all means. The following is a report card on the various aspects of the trip.

Rhetoric (With Teleprompter): Obama provides great rhetorical flourishes in front of big crowds. I am, however, noticing a trend where the audience gets less enthusiatic as the speech drags on. Grade: A-

Rhetoric (Substance) A great deal of the substance of Obama's speeches focused on how bad the last 8 years were and how arrogant our nation had become. Not impressive for a President. Not in the class of JFK or Ronald Reagan. Grade: C-

Rhetoric (Without Teleprompter) When Obama is off message he has problems. Calling the UK "England" (the Irish and Scots don't like this) and refering to the "Austrian" language causes one to wonder what he was learning at Columbia and Harvard. If "W" or Sarah Palin has said these things the press would have had a field day. Grade: C-

Photo Ops: Pictures of the President in front of the big crowds and the troops were a plus. Bowing to the Saudi king was a minus. Grade: B

Accomplishing Major Goals: The key European countries opposed his request to spend more stimulus money (a bad idea) and to send more troops to Afghanistan. (a good idea). Grade: F

World Response To Obama's Charm. In the middle of his trip North Korea fired a missile and Obama, of course, asked the UN for help. His new buddies the Chinese and Russians opposed him. After making a big deal about how we loved and respected the Muslim world in his speech in Turkey, Somali (Muslim) pirates hijacked an American-flagged ship for the first time and at this writing are currently holding the captain hostage. In fairness most, but not all, of the European fashion magazines liked Mrs Obama's outfits. Grade: F--Fashion is not going to save the world.

Special Alert: There are reports that members of ACORN and other leftwing groups will try to infiltrate the April 15 Tea Parties in order to create acts of violence that they hope will be shown on TV. This makes attendance at these events all the more interesting.

Time For a Tea Party

In 1773 angry colonists dressed as Indians captured a British vessel in Boston harbor and dumped its contents of tea overboard. The Americans were protesting a tea tax imposed by a British Parliament in which they had no representation. Eighteen months later the first shots of the American Revolution were fired not far from the sight of the Boston Tea Party. Thanks, in many ways, to the now famous rant of CNBC reporter Rick Santelli ad hoc tea parties protesting the policies of the Obama Administration and the Congress have sprung up all over the country. As the new administration and Congress appear ready to pass and sign a $3.6 trillion budget which virtually assures massive debt for the country and higher taxes in some form for everyone a rising tide of anger and frustration is sweeping the country.

On April 15, the day when most Americans are reminded that the price of liberty and civilization is not cheap, "Tea Parties" are planned all across the country. In recent years most mass protests have been promoted by liberal groups for a variety of causes. The upcoming tea parties, however, appear to have the support of more conservative groups and individuals who believe the policies coming out of Washington are a threat to individual liberty and are a danger to the long term well being of the country.

It will be interesting to see what kind of messages come out of these gatherings, how large the crowds are and what kind of media coverage they receive. The main stream media loved to provide substantial coverage of any protest against former President Bush (ten people camped outside of his ranch in Texas would receive major press attention). It will also be interesting to compare how the attendees at the tea parties conduct themselves compared to violent leftwing demonstrations such as those witnessed at the current G-20 meeting in London. (I have a hard time believing that the tea party participants will be throwing rocks at government buildings).

In 1773 American colonists protested what they viewed as the bad policies of a remote government. Britain failed to heed the protests and the rest as they say is history. It will interesting to see how the administration and Congress react to what may be many massive outpourings of protest. See you at a Tea Party.