Allen West Debates Rep.Joe Klein

October 6th, 2008 between African American Republican Lt. Allen West and Rep. Joe Klein that was held at Temple Beth El in Boca Raton





http://www.allenwestforcongress.com/

Quote of the Day

Destiny’s Child wrote a song that became a hit in 1998 called "Independent Woman." The lyrics were,

.... The shoes on my feet / I've bought it
.... The clothes I'm wearing / I've bought it
.... The rock I'm rockin' / 'Cause I depend on me
.... If I wanted the watch you're wearin', I'll buy it
.... The house I live in / I've bought it
.... The car I'm driving / I've bought it
.... I depend on me (I depend on me)

But the reality is quite different for many Americans. It might go something like this:

.... The house I live in / Government bought it
.... The health care I'm receivin' / Government bought it
.... The education I'm gettin' / Government bought it
.... I depend on government (I depend on government)

In a society where less than 5% of black Americans own their own businesses, where merely 3% of black Americans have savings of any significance, and where 60% of them are employed by their government, perhaps the song should have been called "Dependent Citizen" rather than "Independent Woman."

~ Black Libertarians

Listen - Beyonce

This should be the African American Republican theme song to the Republican National Committee...LOL

HipHopRepublican.com on NPR

~Hey folks this is going to be a big week for HHR this blog will be doing over 20 different interviews around the country this week. We are doing HOT 97,NPR's the Leonard Lopate Show, ITN Washington Bureau and The Star Malaysia number one new paper. This is just a few we have done so many it is hard to count and now we are doing another week. Everyone remember no matter who you support Obama or McCain just "do you" and get out and vote peace out! Also Monday will be the launch of the new HHR.2.0. The new site will look like an online magazine witha forum to debate the issues and speak out!

In the meantime HipHopRepublican.com's Marcus Skelton is now a regular guest on NPR's Barbershop with Michelle Martin about Obama's recent prime time television address. The barbershop is a radios how where black males from different ideological beliefs come together to discuss the issues of the day.

Awesome!

Vote However You Like," a parody to TI's "Whatever You Like". Atlanta Georgia Ron Clark Academy.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEKNAZ


Lyrics:

Obama on the left
McCain on the right
We can talk politics all night
And you can vote however you like
You can vote however you like, yeah

Democratic left
Republican right
November 4th we decide
And you can vote however you like
You can vote however you like, yeah

(McCain supporters)
McCain is the man
Fought for us in Vietnam
You know if anyone can
Help our country he can
Taxes droppin low
Dont you know oils gonna flow
Drill it low
I'll show our economy will grow

McCain's the best candidate
With Palin as his running mate
They'll fight for gun rights, pro life,
The conservative right
Our future is bright
Better economy in site
And all the world will feel our military might

(Obama supporters)
But McCain and Bush are real close right
They vote alike and keep it tight
Obama's new, he's younger too
The Middle Class he will help you
He'll bring a change, he's got the brains
McCain and Bush are just the same
You are to blame, Iraq's a shame
Four more years would be insane

Lower your Taxes - you know Obama Won't
PROTECT THE LOWER CLASS - You know McCain won't!
Have enough experience - you know that they don't
STOP GLOBAL WARMING - you know that you won't

I want Obama
FORGET OBAMA
Stick with McCain and you're going to have some drama
We need it
HE'LL BRING IT
He'll be it
YOU'LL SEE IT
We'll do it
GET TO IT
Let's move it
DO IT!

Obama on the left
McCain on the right
We can talk politics all night
And you can vote however you like
You can vote however you like, yeah

Democratic left
Republican right
November 4th we decide
And you can vote however you like, I said
You can vote however you like, yeah

I'm talking big pipe lines, and low gas prices
Below $2.00 that would be nice

But to do it right we gotta start today
Finding renewable ways that are here to stay

I want Obama
FORGET OBAMA,
Stick wit McCain you gone have some drama
MORE WAR IN IRAQ
Iran he will attack
CAN'T BRING OUR TROOPS BACK
We gotta vote Barack!

Obama on the left
McCain on the right
We can talk politics all night
And you can vote however you like, I said
You can vote however you like, yeah

Democratic left
Republican right
November 4th we decide
And you can vote however you like, I said
You can vote however you like, yeah
Category: News & Politics

Tags: obama mccain rap song

Gay Republicans

Statistics About Black Americans - Education

Statistics About Black Americans - Education 79% are high school graduates (vs. 14% in 1950)

17% are college graduates (vs. 2% in 1950). Women: 18%. Men: 16%
Top 5 states with largest % of black college grads: Vermont 35%, Montana 33%, New Hampshire 28%, Maine 23%, Idaho 22%

3% have post-college degrees

95% of black children ages 5 and 6 are enrolled in school (vs. 69% in 1954)

School vouchers: 57% support, 43% oppose

Best way for more black kids to receive a good education: 44% say change district boundaries, 40% more government money, 10% vouchers, 6% combo or other answer

81% believe too little money is spent on schools

School prayer: 79% support, 20% oppose, 1% don't know

Has educational equality happened since 1964: 77% say yes

Quality of their kid's school: 37% fair, 35% excellent or good, 25% poor

Are black kids' school options = to white kids: 68% say no, 31%yes

Single-gender public schools: 26% support

What would best help more blacks go to college: 65% say better college preparation, 25% more financial aid, 4% more spaces for black students

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 JCPES survey

"Whose the Sell Out"

"Sell Out"- One who is compromising of one's integrity, morality and principles in exchange for money, 'success' (however defined) or other personal gain. It is commonly associated with attempts to increase mass appeal or acceptability to mainstream society. A person, who does this, as opposed to continuing along his or her original path, is labeled a sellout and typically disregarded. Selling out is often seen as fickle; gaining success at the price of lost credibility. Often times black Republicans are accused of being sell outs when in fact the true sell out are right here within our own black community. So who’s the real sell outs and why do we never call them on it its time to speak truth about the real sell outs to the race.

Recently Alfonso one of this blogs video contributors had this to say about the real sell outs.

“A black men that sells death in the form of drugs… that’s a sell out

“A black man that sells another black women on the street... that’s a sell out

“A black man that says he loves his black sisters so much yet knocks her up leaving her to raise the kid alone ...that’s a sell out.

“A rapper that parades its beautiful black sisters half naked on stage to a world audience in order to make a buck... now that’s a sell out.

Can anyone add anything else?

HHR On- Tell Me More with Michel Martin

On election day HHR will return to NPR but this time with Michelle Martin. HipHopRepublican.com met Michelle Martin at the Republican Convention in St. Paul. One of the first things I remember about her is her love and devotion for her two little ones. Michelle was very kind to us and gave us many interviews while we were at the convention to which we want to say thank you! Next Tuesday Charles Badger a contributor to HHR will be doing an interview on the topic of first time voters for NPR's program Tell Me More with Michel Martin. It will air next Tuesday--Election Day.


~Charles Badger is a contributor to HipHopRepublican.com he is also a sophomore at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky. He was a White House Intern in the summer of 2008, appointed McCain campaign Youth Co-Chairman for Kentucky for the 2008 election and serves as Vice-Chairman of the Kentucky Federation of College Republicans. Charles also works on issues of juvenile crime and prison reform as an appointee of the Governor to the Kentucky Juvenile Justice Advisory Board. At Berea, Charles chairs the campus chapter of College Republicans, is Editor-In-Chief of the student newspaper, and Speaker of the Student Government Association Senate. Charles was born in Queens, New York and now lives in Nashville, TN.

This State of Hip Hop

Quote of Day

He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach himself.
~Thomas Paine

Obama & Experience

Grand New Party: How Republicans Win the Working Class

~This is an interetsing review of Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam's new book Grand New Party .The new book which you can purchase on this blogs sidebar sets the roadmap for making the party great again. An intersting partical quote from the artilce is that unlike the past todays working class depression-era victims depicted in the songs of Woody Guthrie are long gone. Today, they are likely to be health-care workers, office administrators, or government employees, and they are far from destitute: a typical Sam’s Club voter owns his own home and has filled it with material comforts unimaginable to previous generations. What makes them an identifiable class—and a class in undeniable trouble—is the lack of a higher education, possession of which has become the most important driver of social and economic status in America.



by Daniel Casse

As the Bush administration, mired in unpopularity, reaches the end of its eight-year run, there is a surfeit of advice on what the Republican party can do to reinvent itself. David Frum’s Comeback (2007) argues that important elements of the traditional GOP agenda are no longer relevant to current politics. Michael Gerson, formerly President Bush’s adviser and speechwriter, suggests in Heroic Conservatism (2007) that conservatives need higher, more compassionate ideals. Newt Gingrich, the leading Republican figure in Washington during the 1990’s, seems to have given up the ghost entirely; Real Change, his most recent book, is a populist manifesto that advocates non-partisan solutions to America’s problems.

Now come Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam, young editors at the Atlantic Monthly, with another assessment of Republican ills and how to cure them. The authors, not yet out of their twenties, prove to be hard-nosed policy analysts and shrewd political observers. Grand New Party offers an entirely original critique of how both liberals and conservatives have misdiagnosed the problems of a key American constituency, and why this failure might present the GOP with an unexpected opportunity.

Unlike most takes on the Republicans, Grand New Party focuses on ground more familiar to critics than to supporters of conservative politics: namely, how to develop both a perspective and actual policies that will appeal to working-class Americans. The book is an outgrowth of a much-discussed Weekly Standard essay about “Sam’s Club Republicans,” named for the mammoth discount-shopping meccas run by Wal-Mart. These are the predominantly white, non-urban voters who comprised a vital part of the Roosevelt coalition in the 1930’s and 40’s and of Nixon’s “silent majority” in the 70’s, and who came to be known as “Reagan Democrats” in the 80’s.

Douthat and Salam describe these voters as “working-class,” but, as they quickly point out, that term is no longer necessarily attached to a blue-collar job or a union card. Nor are Sam’s Club voters the sort of Depression-era victims depicted in the songs of Woody Guthrie. Rather, they are likely to be health-care workers, office administrators, or government employees, and they are far from destitute: a typical Sam’s Club voter owns his own home and has filled it with material comforts unimaginable to previous generations. What makes them an identifiable class—and a class in undeniable trouble—is the lack of a higher education, possession of which has become the most important driver of social and economic status in America.


Politically, the Sam’s Club voters do not fit neatly into either party, instead flitting for the last two decades between Democrats and Republicans. For this reason, no doubt, the mainstream media assume that they must be centrists, hungry for “moderate” policies on trade, the environment, and campaign finance. This dovetails with the diagnosis offered by liberals and leftists, who are eager to blame the problems of the working class on free-market policies that have supposedly pandered to entrepreneurs, corporations, and Wall Street.

Thus, Paul Krugman, the economist and New York Times columnist, has made a second career out of claiming that corporate malfeasance and inflated executive salaries are the culprits behind our growing “income gap.” In his bestselling What’s the Matter With Kansas? (2004), Thomas Frank goes a step further by suggesting that a conservative political machine has used red-meat issues like guns and abortion to distract these voters from even recognizing that their economic well-being is in decline, thus keeping them from joining the Democratic party. And so forth.

Douthat and Salam agree that the Sam’s Club voter is suffering, but they reject such analyses. Sam’s Club voters are not marching for European-style universal welfare benefits or more expansive unemployment insurance. Nor have they been hypnotized by conservatives to ignore their own well-being and become right-wing activists. “The poorest Americans haven’t turned right over recent decades under the influence of those ‘hallucinatory’ culture-war issues,” write Douthat and Salam. “Instead they’ve turned left, voting for Democrats more reliably than even in the heyday of the Great Society.”

As for the “wage gap” argument, the authors point out that what really unsettles the working class is not the salaries at Goldman Sachs but the insecurity of their own lives. According to recent studies, a significant number of working-class Americans have household incomes above $85,000 a year. Their relative affluence, however, has not ameliorated the social instability that characterizes their lives and that manifests itself in higher rates of divorce, out-of-wedlock births, income volatility, and general economic stress. It is true that the wealthiest Americans have seen their incomes soar as compared with the lower-middle class; but the fault lies not in any corporate conspiracy but in the combination of education and experience that increasingly fuels upward mobility.

Liberal observers, then, have a skewed view of what ails the Sam’s Club voter. But Douthat and Salam are even tougher on Republican strategists—who, they state flatly, have fallen out of touch with their own base. The members of today’s working class are culturally conservative, church-going, and eager to improve their lot. They should be the spine of the GOP. If they are not, it is because the GOP has given them no reason to be.

For many years, Douthat and Salam write, Republicans have made small government and supply-side tax cuts the pillars of their economic program. The Republican hero has been the small-business owner or entrepreneur who resents government interference in the economy. Such role models, central to Republican speech-making since Reagan, have, however, become irrelevant to the lives of working-class voters, who still need help from the government if they are going to realize the American dream.


How can Republicans reach them? The second half of Grand New Party offers a series of proposals, whose common purpose is to help working parents raise children without being forced to make painful economic compromises. The standard liberal response to this dilemma has been universal day care and generous parental leave. To Douthat and Salam, these are really “business-friendly” policies, designed to make it easier for people to work, not necessarily family-friendly policies, designed to strengthen the home.

For their part, Douthat and Salam would provide government subsidies to parents who take care of children at home and even pension credits that recognize the dollar value of household work. They would also eliminate the payroll tax for working families and, rather than imposing a minimum wage, offer wage subsidies to employers.

Similar ideas have been kicked around for decades in both conservative and liberal policy circles. But Douthat and Salam’s ideas, trained on covering the full spectrum of everyday life, are more imaginative. For example, they endorse a public-school funding mechanism aimed not at reducing class size but at rewarding schools that succeed in attracting students. This would stimulate market competition and ensure that good schools have the resources they need. To fight crime, they propose that the federal government help hire an additional 500,000 police officers in local communities, a move that would have the added effect of creating a source of professional employment for urban males. They would also spend much more on urban roads and highways, a proposal sure to anger anti-sprawl activists but one that, if implemented, might actually reduce the time spent commuting—the bane of many working-class families.

Only the most libertarian reader is likely to find this program objectionable in its entirety, though others will surely object to some aspects of it on budgetary grounds. What Douthat and Salam have done, and have done exceptionally well, is to take on the very issues—child care, health care, government aid—that were once the exclusive preserve of liberal advocates and to devise policies addressing them that promote responsibility, independence, self-respect, and individual advancement. This is no small achievement.


Which is not to say that Grand New Party is a flawless work of analysis. At times, the authors wax sentimental over the possibilities of a new era of working-class opportunity. Extolling the old-fashioned virtues of the skilled laborer without a college degree, for example, they call for a greater emphasis on schools teaching craftsmanship. Elsewhere, they envision the reestablishment of tight-knit communities in which the local pharmacist will take time off to teach chemistry in an open community school. They also believe they can revive the spirit of the American frontier by funneling government subsidies to dying rural communities. Such reveries may sound lovely, but they are utopian, and they detract from the tough-minded approach of the book as a whole.

The main trouble with Grand New Party lies elsewhere: in the decision of the authors to attempt both a policy analysis and a partisan political strategy in one and the same volume. When it comes to the latter, Grand New Party is unpersuasive.


In response to the GOP’s growing electoral strength in the 1980’s, the Democratic party tried to make itself more appealing to certain tightly defined demographic groups: urban liberals, Jews, blacks, gays, union members, and so on. Pollsters like Stanley Greenberg and Mark Penn, both of whom worked for Bill Clinton, went further by categorizing voters into “single urban environmentalists,” “married minivan drivers,” and the like. Grand New Party assumes that similar techniques will work for the GOP—that is, that a new coalition can be galvanized into formation by means of a list of bite-sized policies for bite-sized constituencies.

There is scant evidence that this is the case. Indeed, the Democratic effort itself proved unsuccessful when Hillary Clinton, guided by Mark Penn, sought to use it to catapult herself to the Democratic nomination.

Consider Douthat and Salam’s central notion of appealing to families as a powerful voting bloc. Demographically, the United States has an aging population, and most current polling shows that the older voters become, the less interest they have in supporting policies that help parents and children. Nor, despite the strong case made by Douthat and Salam for a governmental helping hand, are voters in general clamoring for an expansion of government services. A May 2008 survey by Rasmussen Reports found 62 percent of respondents preferring fewer government services, with lower taxes. Nowhere does this book present a realistic political strategy for reversing such sentiments.

The innovative policies proposed by Douthat and Salam might indeed bring about welcome changes for many working-class Americans. To that end, Grand New Party can serve as a valuable resource for the next Republican President’s domestic-policy team. It will, however, be far less useful as an electoral weapon for this year’s Republican presidential candidate.

~Daniel Casse is a senior director of the White House Writers Group, a Washington, D.C. communications and strategy firm.

Muslim Republican-Muhammad Ali Hasan

Muhammad Ali Hasan is a young Muslim Republican candidate running for State Representative in rural Colorado. In this pod vc2 producers the Lockerpartners join Ali at the county republican convention on the campaign trail to see how his Muslim identity affects his political strategy and civic aspirations.

http://www.hasan2008.com/

Blacks & the Republican Party

By Richard Ivory

Last week I received a document from The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies one of the nation’s premier research and public policy institutions and the only one whose work focuses exclusively on issues of particular concern to African Americans and other people of color.

This document funded by the AARP should be required reading for any person interested in Republican minority outreach. If there is a glimpse of hope for the party in this 30 page document it is that on average younger blacks agree with the Republican Party than the Democrat Party. However the document states that the southern white male dominate image of the parties leadership keeps many of them away.

The document is entitled "Blacks and the 2008 Republican Convention" a free copy is available for download HERE. For more information, go to www.jointcenter.org

McCain & Race

The campaign for a federal holiday in King's honor began soon after his assassination. Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed in 1986. Sen. John McCain like many others at the time felt that a holiday to honor a private citizen would be contrary to longstanding tradition (King had never held public office). Despite this McCain eventually reversed his position, and encouraged his home state of Arizona to recognize the holiday despite opposition from Arizona's Governor Evan Mecham. The media has highlighted many instances where McCain referred to his decision as a mistake. What these same media outlets however have failed to note is the many times McCain led the charge in cosponsoring bills honoring Martin Luther King and other Civil Rights heroes.


The following are just some of the bills and resolutions John McCain has cosponsored honoring African Americans.

John McCain Cosponsored A Bill To Award A Gold Medal On Behalf Of Congress, Collectively, To The Tuskegee Airmen In Recognition Of Their Unique Military Record. (S. 392, Passed by Unanimous Consent, 10/4/05)

John McCain Cosponsored A Resolution Honoring The Life Of Coretta Scott King And Expressing The Condolences Of The Senate On Her Passing. (S.Res. 362, Passed by Unanimous Consent, 1/31/06)

John McCain Cosponsored The National African American Museum Act. (S. 649, Introduced 3/30/95)

John McCain Cosponsored A Bill To Award A Gold Medal On Behalf Of Congress To Rosa Parks In Recognition Of Her Contributions To The Nation. (S. 531, Became Public Law No. 106-026, 5/4/99)

John McCain Cosponsored A Bill To Award A Gold Medal On Behalf Of Congress To Jackie Robinson (Posthumously), In Recognition Of His Many Contributions To The Nation, And To Express The Sense Of Congress That There Should Be A National Day In Recognition Of Jackie Robinson, And Also Introduced A Concurrent Resolution Honoring The Lifetime Achievements Of Jackie Robinson. (S. 300, Passed by Unanimous Consent, 10/17/03; H.R. 1900, Passed by Unanimous Consent, 10/17/03; H.R. 1900, Became Public Law No. 108-101, 10/29/03)

~The NAACP released a questioner that both McCain and Obama answered relating issues facing black America. It is a must read into the mindset of Sen. McCain on issues of race and justice.

The NAACP 2008 Presidential Candidates Civil Rights Questionnaire

                                                        "The Loyal Opposition.”

Quote of the Day

"A Winchester rifle should have a place of honor in every black home,"When the white man knows he runs as great a risk of biting the dust every time his Afro-American victim does, he will have greater respect for Afro-American life.

~Ida Wells

(Black Republican actvist 1892 in responce to the lynching of blacks)

Did You Know?

Who were the co-founders of the NAACP?
Black-American Republicans and women’s suffragists Ida Wells and Mary Terrell co-found the NAACP on 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. (February 12, 1909)

Who tried to introduce the ‘40 acres and a mule’ relief?
U.S. Rep. Thaddeus Stevens (R-PA) introduces legislation, successfully opposed by Democrat President Andrew Johnson, to implement “40 acres and a mule” relief by distributing land to former slaves (February 5, 1866)

Who coined the phrase: "A mind is a terrible thing to

waste"?
Arthur Fletcher, the father of Affirmative Action and an assistant secretary of labor in the Nixon administration.

Who supported the 13th amendment?
The 13th Amendment banning slavery passed by U.S. House with unanimous Republican support, but intense Democrat opposition, January 31, 1865

When did lynching become a federal crime?
House passes bill authored by U.S. Rep. Leonidas Dyer (R-MO) making lynching a federal crime; Senate Democrats block it with filibuster January 26, 1922

Who introduced the 1960 Civil Right Act?
President Eisenhower informs Republican leaders of his plan to introduce 1960 Civil Rights Act, despite staunch opposition from many Democrats (February 4, 1959)

Who tried to introduce the 40 acres and a mule relief?
U.S. Rep. Thaddeus Stevens (R-PA) introduces legislation, successfully opposed by Democrat President Andrew Johnson, to implement 40 acres and a mule relief by distributing land to former slaves (February 5, 1866)

HipHopRepublican.com on NPR

Hey everyone I forgot to mention that Ali Akbar one of the blogs new editors and political contributor was on NPR discussing the role of sexism as it relates to the media and Sarah Palin.


Listen Now [14 min 6 sec]

News & Notes , October 22, 2008 · Television personalities like Jon Stewart, Bill Maher and Keith Olbermann have made no secret of their disdain for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. But when does the criticism go too far?

On today's bloggers' roundtable, Farai Chideya takes a closer look at the relationship between the media and the presidential campaigns. She talks with Carmen Dixon of All About Race, Rob Redding of Redding News Review, and Ali Akbar of Hip Hop Republican.

Throw Rich People Off the Social Security Rolls

by Libertarian Girl

Everyone’s been worried about Social Security for a long time and how to make it “sustainable” in the long term. We could cut spending on other programs and try to make a go of it, or we could cut benefits, or just watch the whole thing collapse. Or…
Why not make it means-tested?

Why should rich people get Social Security? When I ask people this, they reply that “We all pay into it, we should all get something out of it.” But we all pay taxes and we don’t all get food stamps, day care subsidies, Medicare or government kickbacks like some people do, do we? Why should we all get Social Security even if we all pay into it?

Any time I hear an argument for keeping Social Security, it involves helping poor elderly people, not sending checks to Robert Redford or Clint Eastwood.

So why should a rich person get Social Security? They’re rich. They don’t need it. Money is going from poor kids fresh out of college– and even teenagers working hard to buy their first car, or save up for college– straight into the bank accounts of Warren Buffett and Carl Icahn and that rich kid you knew in high school’s grandma down the road. In many cases, it’s going from a middle-class grandchild straight to their affluent grandma in Florida.

If you don’t think Social Security is in trouble, take a look at one of the Democrats’ plans for fixing it that failed in 2004-2005, because people don’t want to face up to reality:

I believed Social Security wasn’t in much trouble at all–just needed a few “tweaks”–until I looked at the tweaks the Two Peters were proposing. In addition to the benefit cuts outline above, Diamond and Orszag have the current 12.4 percent Social Security payroll tax rising to 15.4 percent in 2078 and continuing to rise “slowly over time thereafter.” Even if the Medicare tax is kept at its current 2.9 percent (a seeming impossibility) that means total FICA payroll taxes in excess of 18%. You want to try to finance universal health care on top of that? I don’t.

If Democrats want to know what a benefit cut that really zings the rich looks like, they should go to Australia, where (last time I checked) the top quarter of recipients gets no benefits at all. Zero. The bottom half gets full benefits. The people in between get in between. Now that’s a means test! Not coincidentally, after means-testing was introduced in the 1980s, Australia’s pension system cost a little more than half what ours costs, in terms of GDP.

Some people are dead-set against this idea. For instance, according to the “misguided demagogue” Saul Friedman, Max Skidmore wrote in his book, Securing America’s Future:

“Means-testing Social Security would change its nature and destroy the system. Universal coverage, regardless of need, is one of Social Security’s strong points. Millionaires do receive benefits, but they also pay into the system. Their benefits represent a smaller return on what they pay than do the benefits of lower-paid workers… Building in ‘need’ as a criterion to qualify for benefits would require the majority of Americans to contribute for a lifetime to a program from which they could draw no benefits.”

In other words, they don’t get back nearly what they paid in, but if we didn’t send checks to these millionaires, the system would be destroyed? How does that make any sense?

They’re already getting a bum deal by not getting back what they paid into the system, and they already pay far more in taxes above and beyond that for things they’ll never use– Medicare, state taxes for welfare and public transit and all those things that rich people have no need for. Is Medicare destroyed by not giving it to everyone? Is public trasit destroyed because more people pay for it than use it? I don’t follow this argument.

Skidmore also wants to lift the income cutoff for paying Social Security taxes and dedicate death taxes to the Social Security fund… so he wants rich people to still get their “benefits,” but pay millions more dollars more into the system. How is that more fair to rich people than just telling them they won’t get benefits at all?

http://www.libertariangirl.com/

HipHopRepublican.com on Grit TV

HHR contributor Brandon Bryce, takes part in this lively interchange on Laura Flanders' Grit TV.

Black Male Teachers Wanted

Do you know any Black males who are seniors in high school who want to go to college out of state for 'FREE' ?

Several Black Colleges are looking for future black male teachers and will send them to universities/colleges for 4 years FREE.

The 'Call Me MISTER' program is an effort to address the critical shortage of African American male teachers particularly among South Carolin a 's lowest performing public schools. Program participants are selected from among under-served, socio-economically disadvantaged and educationally at-risk communities.

The Call Me MISTER program combines the special strengths and resources of Clemson University with the individualized instructional programs offered by four historically black colleges in South Carolina : Benedict College , Claflin University , Morris College and South Carolina State University . To provide even greater opportunity and access, students have the option of first attending one of our two-year partner colleges before transferring to one of the four-year institutions to complete their baccalaureate degree. In addition, the project has limited enrollment in th e middle school Master of Art in Teaching program. Please click on the participating schools on the menu to the left to learn more about these sc hools' programs.

? Anderson University

? Benedict College

? Claflin University

? Clemson University

? College of Charleston

? Morris College

? South Carolina State University

? Greenville Technical College

? Midlands Technical College

? Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College

? Tri-County Technical College

? Trident Technical College

The project provides:

Tuition for admitted students pursuing approved programs of study at participating colleges. An academic support system to help assure their success. A cohort system for social and cultural support.

Visit http://www.callmemister.clemson.edu/index.htm for more details and the online application or call (800) 640-2657.

HipHopRepublican.com on Anderson 360

Our very own James Davermann participated in a panel on CNN Anderson 360 ask African-American panelists for their thoughts.

Quote of Day

“I have reached out to the White House, to other black GOP leaders in our area and asked them to cite policy and legislation that has been put forth from Republican hands,” Mr. Lewis said. “And the response that I have gotten—and I am being very frank with you all — has been, well, ‘John McCain has spoken before the NAACP,’” he said. “I am dumbfounded,”

~ President of the Howard University College Republicans

New Data on Black American

On Monday, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a think tank that specializes in black public opinion, released its latest poll. Some stats:

The presidential election: 84% black Americans prefer Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) over Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for president, who was chosen by 6% of respondents. The other 10% did not know or would not say. Senator Obama dominates all subgroups of black voters except black Republicans, who favor Sen. McCain 74% to 19%. However, black Republicans were such a small portion of the sample that this statistic is considered statistically unreliable.

Priority issues: The economy is Black America's top concern—with 62% naming it the most important national problem. The war in Iraq and healthcare (7% each) were the next issues most frequently mentioned. The order of most important issues corresponded to the Joint Center's 2004 poll. However, the economy's dominance as a focus of concern is double from 2004 (31%).

The country's direction: 88% of black respondents said that things in America "have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track". Less than one-in-fourteen African Americans thinks USA is going in the right direction.

Ideological identification: JCPES didn't highlight this one, but I calculated it using their sample size and plugging in the numbers that the poll listed of people's self-identifying ideology. 43.6% of respondents self-identified as liberal, 24.4% as moderate, and 31.3% as conservative (the other .7% must not have answered the question). Among those who identified as conservative, 78.3% self-identify as Christian conservative and 21.7% as secular conservative.

There has been an increase of self-identified liberals and conservatives from the 2004 poll, and a contraction in self-identifed moderates. Given that only 4% of the entire sample identified as Republican, it should be noted that the overwhelming majority of rank-and-file, self-identified black conservatives remain Democrats or independent and not Republican.

Party identification: 73% self-identify as Democrats, up from 63% in 2004. Black Republicans in the survey declined to 4%, down from 10% four years ago. Black independents also declined, from 23% to 19%, over the same period.

A couple of surprises: Despite the brouhaha during the primary election, the Clintons remain very popular. Sen. Hillary Clinton is viewed favorably by 86.4% of blacks and unfavorably by only 7.8%. These ratings are even more favorable than she got in the 2004 poll. Former President Bill Clinton is also warmly regarded, with 85.5% viewing him favorably and only 9.2% unfavorably. His favorability rating is down from its peak in 2000, but better than his rating in 2002. In fact, both Clintons have a slightly higher favorability rating than does Michelle Obama (82.6%).

Among blacks, 46.9% view Secretary Condoleezza Rice favorably, while 31.4% view her unfavorably. Her figures are up from the 2004 poll, when she was National Security Adviser, and are by far higher than other Bush administration officials.

HT-BookerRising

Jennifer Hudson's Mother & Brother Found Dea

TMZ.com - 28 minutes ago

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Jennifer Hudson's mother was one of two victims shot and killed in Chicago earlier today. A neighbor tells TMZ the other victim was Jennifer's brother Jason.

~This is sad ..she just went on tour its crazy how someone like her can rise so fast and then have a tragedy like this tears her whole world apart. HHR will be praying for the whole Hudson family! I suspect they were probaly trying to rob her family.

The COS Communities

The COS (pronounced cause) Communities provides a place where you can ask questions, share answers and socialize with people who are seeking advice on topics that are vital to communities across the country. Come on in and get involved.

Why Participate in the COS Communities?

For the last generation or two, the world’s sense of community has dissolved and our parenting skills have broken down — this puts our young people at risk, especially young black males.

The COS Communities address critical issues Americans face all over the United States. The goal is to prepare our communities with an education and skill set that can support the success of our young people.

How did the COS Communities get their start?

Our communities began with a group of dedicated citizens that were ready and willing to deal with the serious issues that face our youth today. From three and a half years of town hall meetings hosted by Bill Cosby — Cosby Call-Outs — we learned a lot about what issues are most pressing in the United States today. We listed five issues that outline different cases where this country has lost its sense of community. We then created five communities that act as forums for you to talk and learn about each of these issues. The communities are as follows:

Get an Education/Skills
Be a Parent/Caregiver
Be Healthy
Stop Violence
Get a Job

We invite you to participate in our communities by interacting with others who share the same concerns as you. Come ask your own questions and help provide answers for others by contributing to the COS Communities today.

http://thecos.billcosby.com/about-the-COS-communities/

SHOCK: MCCAIN VOLUNTEER 'ATTACKED AND MUTILATED' IN PITTSBURGH...

From Drudge Report

A 20-year-old woman who was robbed at an ATM in Bloomfield was also maimed by her attacker, police said.Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Diane Richard tells Channel 4 Action News that the victim was robbed at knifepoint on Wednesday night outside of a Citizens Bank near Liberty Avenue and Pearl Street just before 9 p.m.Richard said the robber took $60 from the woman, then became angry when he saw a McCain bumper sticker on the victim's car.

The attacker then punched and kicked the victim, before using the knife to scratch the letter "B" into her face, Richard said.Richard said the woman refused medical treatment after the assault, which happened outside the view of the bank's surveillance cameras.The robber is described as a dark-skinned black man, 6 feet 4 inches tall, 200 pounds with a medium build, short black hair and brown eyes. The man was wearing dark colored jeans, a black undershirt and black shoes.

The Obama-Biden campaign released a statement, commenting on the attack. The statement said "Our thoughts and prayers are with the young woman for her to make a speedy recovery, and we hope that the person who perpetrated this crime is swiftly apprehended and brought to justice."

Update -Michelle Malkin's blog:

~ I spoke with two executives at the College Republicans on the record about this story. Charlie Smith, the National Chair, and Ethan Eilon, the Executive Director, both say the photo is legitimate and that it came from Ashley Todd, the victim in this case. The attack began at 8:50 pm ET and Ashley called the police at 9:30 PM ET. Initially, she was robbed, ran away after the robbery, and the robber followed her to her car. At that point, he became enraged at the bumper sticker and began beating her and scratched the ‘B’ into her face. Ashley went to the hospital early this morning after initially refusing medical attention last night, and had an MRI and/or a CAT scan. Doctors believe her cheek will heal fully.


UPDATE-MSNBC is reporting that Pittsburgh Police determined  story to be a fake http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27350530

1967 French Documentary-John McCain on North Vietnam

Amazing Documentary Of John McCain

As part of a French documentary taken from his time as a POW in North Vietnam, John McCain talks about being shot down and almost dying in hospital. The footage, from the 1960s, is courtesy of the French National Archive and has an English translation.

Pictures from NYC McCain HQ

There are more pictures here -http://www.flickr.com/photos/mccainmanhattan/

I Am Joe

Bloomberg Tries to Buy Himself Another Term

by Richard

The Cato Institutes Vice President David Boaz has an interesting piece on Mayor Bloombergs recent move to seek a third term. For those unfamiliar with New York City politics Bloomerberg the popular billionaire mayor thinks the economic crisis is so huge a factor that only a change in term limits can solve any potential economic downturn.
I actually do like Bloomberg, but not to happy with anyone especially in New York City receiving a third term. However I do think should he get a third term the city will probably be at an advantage.

~New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, who spent $158 million on his two elections, now thinks he should stay in office despite the city’s two-term limit. So far it’s much cheaper–he’s just pressuring all the civic groups and charities in town that have received donations from him, or from the taxpayers, to get themselves down to City Hall and testify to his indispensability in a time of financial crisis. The voters have twice endorsed term limits, but the mayor doesn’t see any need to ask them again; he wants the City Council to overrule the voters.

He continues ...Of course, as Nicole Gelinas of the Manhattan Institute has shown, New York’s revenues have risen 41 percent under Bloomberg, while he has jacked up spending even faster, so it’s not clear why he’s the man you need in a financial crisis.But the striking thing about the plutocrat mayor is the way he’s using his personal wealth–and the city’s tax dollars–to pressure people to support his bid to stay in office.

The New York Times reports: The mayor and his top aides have asked leaders of organizations that receive his largess to express their support for his third-term bid by testifying during public hearings and by personally appealing to undecided members of the City Council. …

The requests have put the groups in an unusual and uncomfortable position, several employees of the groups said. City Hall has not made any explicit threats, they said, but city officials have extraordinary leverage over the groups’ finances. Many have received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Mr. Bloomberg’s philanthropic giving and millions of dollars from city contracts overseen by his staff...... continued here

Nina Simone - Feelings

The definitive Live 10-minute video of Nina Simone's "Feelings" live at Montreux Jazz Festival (1976)

“You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain”- Batman at the end of The Dark Knight

I had been listening to the last dialogue in The Dark Knight, the dialogue between Batman, Commissioner Gordon and his son. Batman saved Gordon’s son but at the risk of Harvey Dent losing his life. Knowing about his murders, Batman will cover it up and blame himself for them. Batman will be seen as an outlaw and will be hunted down to hide the dark side of Harvey Dent. Batman has mentioned people deserve more and because of their faith.

Batman will be hunted down. He is still the hero they need but not right now. Commissioner Gordon says we’ll hunt him because he can take it. He is as Commissioner Gordon says: “Because he is not a hero, he’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector”

Why I mention this final scene is because I see a group in America going under a similar type of event. It is the Republican Party. Formed by a coalition of people to stop slavery in America, the party helped win the Civil War and freed black African slaves. It started out as good, but over time and a century later, it has become the opposite of what it stood for. It stood for fairness and civil rights for all Americans regardless of race, but a century later, it became an outcast for the people it once served in the 60’s with the nomination of Goldwater. Black America felt betrayed and because of that they feel they have no other choice but to vote Democrat despite there are blacks and minorities who lean conservative. One party rule has cities in an economic choke with no hope for people who vote for the same party again and again just because of history. One party rule by any party is not good.

With the nomination of Obama and the Democratic Party being more ethnically diverse, the Republican Party stands to be outcasted for its image on race and equality. They will be condemned and hated, but it will cause the exorcism of the racist demons that have plagued it for almost half a century making it stronger and better.

A President Obama will make African-Americans hate the GOP even further. Things need to get worse before they get better. The loathing will make them repent and open the doors to everyone not just Southern whites. Sure, some white conservatives will be angry, but they have to realize they can’t get all the attention. The Republicans need to apologize sincerely to all people of color (not just African-Americans) for what happened in 1964. It can then be open to people of all backgrounds and will give the Democrats a run for their money. But outreach is severely needed so people can feel as if their participation matters.

Anything can happen in 4 years, but the GOP needs to be ostracized so when the Democrats do screw up with a supermajority, they can redeem themselves in the eyes of the public. The GOP will repent for what has happened since 1964, it will make them stronger and relevant in the 21^st century. They need to stop and re-evaluate things, true it might take a long time or they might come back in 2 years. It will not take decades for women and minorities to be GOP Presidential Candidates like what some pundits and people I’ve heard say; they can come in 2012. I look at people like Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal, Michael Steele and others.

The Republican Party has lived long enough to see itself become the villain.

The Republican Party offers more ideas than Democrats, I know this. I’ve lived near a city controlled by Democrats for decades, a lack of jobs and now the 2^nd poorest city in America. But the GOP will never be a party of ideas or a party for everyone until they become an ethnically diverse party. It starts after this election and will not end after one victory. It will keep on going until the end of time. They need to solve this image problem and then work hard to bring everyone together. When the day finally comes, the Republican Party will be the true party of freedom.

My name is not important, but the idea is more important. Ideas cannot be stopped. V, the freedom fighter from V for Vendetta said that “ideas are bulletproof”. They cannot be shut down, they must continue to be alive so everyone can be more enlightened!

That’s all I have to say, send to as many people as you can and to the RNC. Make our voices heard loud and clear! We can do it!

~This article was written by an anoymous writer on how he thinks he can help the GOP in the future for all people of America regardless of race, color, sexuality, etc..He listened to the last dialogue of The Dark Knight and it got him to write this. He prefers to be anonymous, because his name is not important.

Minimah seeks Secretary of State office

By Richard Ivory

Charles Minimah, a Republican entrepreneur; is running for Secretary of State for the state West Virginia. Looking at his agenda particularly in the area of small business growth it seems like he has allot of great ideas. While looking over his site we at HHR noticed and discussed amongst ourselves; how notably absent from his websites was his party affiliation that he is even a Republican. The climate must be really bad if you have to run without the Party label. Mr. Minimah seems to be a social conservative something I am not but he seems to cover this up with his emphasis on entrepreneurial opportunity. Whether or not West Virginia is ready for Mr. Minimah will be telling, especially given the states dismal record of electing blacks to state office.

Welcome to the United Socialists States of America.”

by Brandon Brice

Caution should be in place for all those who are making reservations for the Obama inaugural. Those of us who still believe in some resemblance of a Democratic Republic based on capitalistic principles that says hard work should be awarded rather than the increasing socialism offered in the Obama plan, remember as the old folks use to say, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

The fallacy of throwing our eggs in one basket is a lesson African Americans still seem to not heed. If politicians have the endorsement of every prominent person in America, people forget the voters haven’t spoken yet and I thought we lived in a Democracy. What one tells a poll taker and what one votes for may be two different things as Governor L. Douglas Wilder learned in Virginia. What minorities may not appreciate is that if every black person voted for Obama that is likely still less than 12% of the population and probable voter pool.

People are bantering about the riot which will ensue if Obama doesn’t win or the resignation of defeat which will keep folks from ever wanting to try it again. The media’s unwillingness to adequately vet candidates has allowed us to have running for the highest office in the land those about whom many valid questions exists. The smearing and threats to those who dare ask questions is reminiscent of Gestapo tactics as is the devotion to Das Fuhrer. The Fairness Doctrine has been bantered about and used for each side’s purpose with so much noise pollution it is deafening.

That some would dare impugn the mind of a man who was imprisoned for five years on a mission for his country simply because he didn’t finish first in his class (though the last graduate of a medical school is still called doctor) is as reprehensible as not voting for someone simply because he is black (one drop is all it takes per the constitution’s original founders).

When the final votes are counted and the Electoral College findings confirmed we will have a new leader. Hopefully both sides will grow up and reach across the table to unite this great country joining together appreciating as we are so fond of saying, “G-d Bless America” and all that dwell within her as well as those without. We understand from history that bigger government is not the answer, but in many respects the ultimate problem. Socialism has been tested throughout history and has failed, so I ask the American people why are we returning to this system?

~Brandon Brice is a Harlem, NY resident and contributor to HipHopRepublican.com for years this Howard University' graduate was Chairman of that campus' Republican Chapter. Mr. Brice also holds an Economics degree from Rutgers University, was a former Eagleton Institute of Politics Fellow in the state of New Jersey , as well as a fellow in the New Jersey State Assembly Minority Office in Trenton , NJ. Brice has worked as a Policy Assistant for the Honorable le Dennis Hastert during his US Congressional tenure as Speaker of the House. In addition, served as a fellow with the Under Secretary of Disarmament Affairs at the United Nations.

Is West Virginia Racist?

HipHopRepublican.com receives hundreds of emails a month this is one from a distressed West Virginia resident who belives the media is portaying his state as racist for not support Obama. Here is the email and teh article he wants everyone to read.

Dear HipHopRepublican.com

My home state has taken a beaten lately by the national media, portraying most (if not all) white West Virginia residents as racist. This editorial appeared in the Daily Mail (the state's more conservative paper) today: http://dailymail.com/Opinion/Editorials/200810220167.

As a person that is tired of WV's racist stereotype I appreciated the conclusion: "But the tour came out sounding like "Vote for Obama to prove you're not a racist." It would have been more to the point to talk about Democrats' real problem here, which is the "L" word, not the "N" word.West Virginians didn't go for liberal Al Gore in 2000, or for liberal John Kerry in 2004. Maybe they just don't like the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, which doesn't seem to think very much of them either."

Obama and Ayers

Walter E. Williams on Affordable Health Care

The libertarian economics professor opines: "One of the campaign themes this election cycle is 'affordable' health care. Shouldn't we ask ourselves whether we want the politicians who brought us the 'affordable' housing, that created the current financial debacle, to now deliver us affordable health care? Shouldn't we also ask how things turned out in countries where there is socialized medicine? The Vancouver, British Columbia-based Fraser Institute's annual publication, 'Waiting Your Turn,' reports that Canada's median waiting times from a patient's referral by a general practitioner to treatment by a specialist, depending on the procedure, averages from five to 40 weeks. The wait for diagnostics, such as MRI or CT, ranges between four and 28 weeks. According to Michael Tanner's 'The Grass Is Not Always Greener,' in Cato Institute's Policy Analysis (March 18, 2008), the Mayo Clinic treats more than 7,000 foreign patients a year, the Cleveland Clinic 5,000, Johns Hopkins Hospital treats 6,000, and one out of three Canadian physicians send a patient to the U.S. for treatment each year. If socialized medicine is so great, why do Canadian physicians send patients to the U.S. and the Canadian government spends over $1 billion each year on health care in our country?"

He continues his commentary: "Britain's socialized system is no better. Currently, 750,000 Brits are awaiting hospital admission. Britain's National Health Services hopes to achieve an 18-week maximum wait from general practitioner to treatment, including all diagnostic tests, by the end of 2008. The delay in health care services is not only inconvenient, it's deadly. Both in Britain and Canada, many patients with diseases that are curable at the time of diagnosis become incurable by the time of treatment or patients become too weak for the surgical procedure."

And more: "We have health care problems in the U.S. but it's not because ours is a free market system of health care delivery. Well over 50 percent of all health care expenditures are made by government. Where government spends, government regulates. It's truly amazing that Americans who are dissatisfied with the current level of socialized medicine in the U.S. are asking for more of what created the problem in the first place."

Star Wants Your Vote

This is a fictional speech that one of our contributors imagined giving if she were a politician.

Local Politician Sonskystar gave a speech in front of Any Town U.S.A. today. Here’s a copy of her words:

Hello, Everyone. We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s go. I know this is usually the part where I throw out names and Thank You’s but I think we have more important issues to discuss. So for all the assistance I’ve garnered along the way, Thank You.

Now, I know you are surprised to see a Black Woman running as a Republican. And I know people will try to scare you about me. But this is not the time to let their tactics interfere with your future. I’m not asking for your vote. I’m asking for your ear, a little of your time, and eventually your success.

The Civil Rights movement in this country came at a high cost. We lost some of the bravest most dedicated Americans to ever grace this country. But their fight was not in vein. Some would try to tell you we are in the same fight now. I beg to differ. We are in a new age. And we need a new movement, a Hip Hop Movement.

We can not overlook tragedies from the past. We can not act as though slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation never existed. But we can refuse to let it control our futures. We can give honor and respect to those who came before us, but that can not cause us to stand idle like the battlefield hasn’t changed. We must stand and say Thank You Dr. King, Malcolm X, and all the rest but this is our time to pick up where you left off. You gave us the level playing field and now we have to take advantage of your sacrifices.

If you’re listening right now and thinking to yourself, ‘You know she doesn’t sound like your average politician.’ You are right. I am not. See most politicians would come out and make you every promise under the sun. You give them a problem, they come up with a promise for a solution.

The lower class and lower middle class have given our votes to the Democrats for years. What have they done for you? Have your communities gotten cleaner or safer? Have your schools gotten better? Are there more after school programs and assistance towards getting into college. And I’m not talking about paying for college. I’m talking wanting to go to college. What’s the use of throwing money at people, if they don’t have the skills to make it in college because they weren’t taught properly in public schools.

Okay, now she’s starting to sound like a politician. I’m not finished yet. This will shock you. I will not make you any promises. I’m not going to stand here, pull out my book of magic spells, my wand, and whip up all the change we need. It doesn’t work that way. My plans will fail if I can’t get you to fight with me.

The Democrats want to give you. And that sounds great. But what happens when the funding runs out? What happens when they deem the program unworkable. The promises made by Politicians fade and bureaucracy flourishes. And you are left with the same old problems, this time compiled with dashed hopes and dreams.

What I offer is priceless. I offer self sufficiency. I don’t want to give you fish, I want to teach you to be fisherman. I want to give you the power to take care of yourself and your community, no matter how the wind blows in Washington. I want to take away the promises and replace them with actual results.

I think most Politicians get into office and forget their role. They get into office and start to think they know best. I’m not that smug. If one single person had all the answers, we wouldn’t have any problems. As your elected official, my job would be to give you every tool available to do it by yourself. And to fight anyone that impedes on your progress. I mean anyone. Because I know my success will only come when you are first successful.

Real change comes with a price tag attached for everyone. I can not bring change. That’s one promise I will make you. I can not do it. But you can. You can decide to stand up and fight. Because the fight of our time is coming. And you’ve already taken the first step.

In just listening to another point of view. Just giving me the chance to show you, I understand. I grew up in a rural community where Confederate Flags still waved from flag poles. Then I lived in the projects with my single mother. I know the struggles are real and seem insurmountable but they aren’t. Did you hear me? If we all get together and start taking one step at a time, we can crush what seems to be an ever present road block.

That’s how the Civil Rights movement started. Single acts from brave Americans. Before there were large marches, there were small marches. Before there were recognizable names, there were people fighting. Before there was light at the end of the tunnel, there was a dream.

So when they tell you, ‘She’s a Republican. She’s an Uncle Tom. A trader to her race because she sides with ‘Whitey’. Then you say, ‘I have white friends and family. What’s wrong with loving all Americans not just those with the same skin color?’ So when they bring up things from the past, you question how that will get you into the future.

Guess what? You have started to pile stones onto your foundation. And that’s how it starts. A few brave Americans deciding to longer go with the status quo. A few brave Americans willing to stand up when everyone wants them to fail and say I’m still going to fight.

And the change starts to come. Little changes to fix little problems, making the bigger problems seem less threatening. And we have some major problems that need fixing.

Communication is our major barrier. We have so many people pointing to the past. And hell, in some cases the right here and now. But you don’t hear a way out. A real way towards self sufficiency. Now I could point fingers but what would that solve. Nothing. We would still be in this downward slide with more weight dragging us down.

To see the whole speech please go to http://whydidyousaythatgirl.com/

~Star is a contributor to this blog she is 27 year old Republican from Virginia. She has her own blog also at whydidyousaythatgirl.com.