Don’t bet on Newt if beating Obama is the goal

By Chris Ingram

Just recently I made up my mind to vote for Mitt Romney for president. In assessing the rather weak field of GOP candidates, I believe Romney is the only one who has the experience, temperament, steady hand, and enough appeal to independents and swing voters to beat Barack Obama.

Newt Gingrich’s potential jackpot victory in Florida on Tuesday will only come at the behest of conservative Republican voters who don’t like Romney. Gingrich is betting they will leave their conscience at the door and forget about all the things they claim they value (morality, smaller government, no amnesty for illegals), roll the dice and vote for him. It’s an election strategy most Vegas odds-makers called a long-shot just weeks ago.

Newt Gingrich with Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson (left). Adelson and his wife have contributed over $10 million to a Super PAC benefitting Gingrich.

But Newt’s silver tongue, intellect, and remarkable recollection of history have served him well.

He’s wagering voters’ memories aren’t as remarkable as his own.

Gingrich would rather voters forget about Read the rest of this entry »

By Chris Ingram

The Tampa Tribune

Published January 22, 2012

Ask most Americans about “illegal immigration” and they are likely to conjure an image of someone of Hispanic origin swimming across the Rio Grande or evading border patrolmen in the desert. The reality is that just who is “illegal,” how they got here and their impact on our society is much more complex than the visual impression we get from television news.

Farmers say that if they were restricted to hiring only domestic workers, crops wouldn't get picked.

The Department of Homeland Security estimates that between 27 and 57 percent of the country’s 12 million to 14 million “illegals” are visa overstays — people who arrived legally with temporary, non-immigrant status and didn’t leave the country when their visas expired. Government policies perpetuate the problem because those who overstay their visa, once they leave, can’t ever come back legally due to their overstay violation.

The bumper sticker solution

I’m generally a law-and-order type, and I used to believe that Read the rest of this entry »

Based on the volume of listener calls who had great questions, and my four terrific guests, the over the airwaves debut of “Irreverent Radio” was a success. Special thanks to my guests, Republican Party of Florida chairman, Lenny Curry;  National Review contributor, Neal Freeman; William March, Tampa Tribune senior political reporter; and Bob Dardenne, chair of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at the University of South Florida, and of course, the management at News Talk 1470 AM 1040.

We’ll be back next Saturday from 1-4 p.m. on News Talk 1470 AM and streeming live on the internet at www.NewsTalkFlorida.com with more guests including state Senator Jack Latvalla and my thoughts about why Newt can’t beat Obama.

Thanks for listening!

Chris Ingram

Chris Ingram is the president and founder of 411 Communications a corporate and political communications firm, and publisher of Irreverent View. Ingram is a frequent pundit on Fox News and CNN, and has written opinion columns for the Washington Times, UPI, and National Review online. He is the Republican political analyst for Bay News 9, the only 24 hour all news channel in Florida’s largest media market. The opinions expressed here are those of author and do not represent the views of Bay News 9. E-mail him at: Chris@IrreverentView.com.

Please feel free to submit a comment on our blogs. By posting a comment you acknowledge reading and following the terms and conditions of posting found here.  You may also submit a comment by e-mail. If you e-mail a comment you consent to your comment and name being posted on the Irreverent View website. If you wish to remain completely anonymous, please state so in your e-mail.

Irreverent radio — listen live on 1470 AM this Saturday from 1:00-4:00 p.m.

Listen to “Chris Ingram’s Irreverent View” radio show live tomorrow (Saturday) January 21 from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. with special guests: Republican Party of Florida chairman, Lenny Curry; Neal Freeman, a veteran journalist who is covering the presidential campaign for National Review and The American Spectator; William March, Tampa Tribune senior political reporter; and Bob Dardenne, chair of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at the University of South Florida.

Listen to “Chris Ingram’s Irreverent View” radio show live on Wednesday, Jan. 18 from 11:00 a.m. – noon.

The show is broadcast live and can be heard on your PC or on your I-Pad, Android phone or tablet. If listening on your mobile/notebook/portable device, you must first load the app on your phone/notebook/portable to listen — see directions below or at http://www.rhinoonair.com.

Topics for today’s show include the upcoming South Carolina GOP presidential preference primary, the RNC penalties on the Fla. GOP conventioneers, and we’ll have Florida political consultant Kevin Keogh,  who is the former three-term chairman of the Maine Republican Party as our special guest . The listener call-in number is 727-388-4777.

To listen on your PC just click on the “Listen Live” button on the homepage of RhinoOnAir.com.

To listen on your phone or tablet go to the  IphoneApp Store or Android Market and click download/install to load the app to your phone. Then go to RhinoOnAir.com and click on “listen live.”

By Chris Ingram

The Tampa Tribune

Published January 17, 2012

Ask any Republican — from the rank-and-file grassroots to party leadership — what their No. 1 goal for 2012 is and the answer is always, “Send Obama an eviction notice.”

Yet somehow the Republican National Committee, most of its members and its national chairman, Reince Priebus, are hellbent on airing the party’s dirty laundry by taking Florida to the woodshed for violating the RNC’s “rules” about election dates.

I have what I think is a great idea to solve this “problem.” But first, it’s important to understand the facts. They are: Read the rest of this entry »

By Chris Ingram

The Tampa Tribune

Published January 10, 2012

Call in the kids, lock your doors, and cover your eyes and ears, the “Flori-duh” Legislature convenes today to conduct its annual business.

Last year’s embarrassing session saw Senate President Mike Haridopolous outmaneuvered by the House. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering this is the same guy who wrote a book with finger paint and got paid $150,000 to do so by some Podunk community college. The book sold about 100 copies.

I digress; that’s old news. But the players haven’t changed much, and I’m not optimistic that the same knuckleheads in Tallahassee, who in the midst of an economic recession last year spent four days talking about abortion and just one day talking about jobs, will get their priorities in order.

Instead of just complaining about what a bunch of out-of-touch do-nothings they are, I’ve made a list of a few things the Legislature ought to consider. They are: Read the rest of this entry »

Terrorist: “pay back” time for wrongs done to Muslims

By Chris Ingram

The Islamic terrorist who targeted Tampa with his hate hailed from the Baltics where radical factions aren’t all that radical — rather they are the norm. I’ve done consulting work in the region, and I can tell you the culture is a divisive breeding ground for extremists.

Mug shot of Sami Osmakac

According to the criminal complaint filed by the FBI (click here to read), accused terrorist Sami Osmakac said, among other things, that he wanted to “pay back” for wrongs done to Muslims. “We all have to die, why not die the Islamic way?”  “…they can take me in 5 million pieces.” The accused planned to take hostages, targeted Ybor city bars, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office operations center, and bridges between Tampa and St. Pete. At one point he told an FBI informant, “I know a lot of places where it gets real crowded.” Read the rest of this entry »

Last week a Harley-Davidson motorcyle rider who really looked like a sterotypical “biker” was at the zoo when he saw a little girl leaning into a lion’s cage. Suddenly, the lion grabbed her by the cuff of her jacket and tried to pull her inside to slaughter her, under the eyes of her screaming parents.

The biker jumped into the cage and hit the lion square on the nose with a powerful punch. Whimpering from the pain, the lion jumped back, letting go of the girl, and the biker brought her to her terrified parents, who thanked him endlessly.

A reporter from the The New York Times was at the zoo, and he had watched the whole event and approached the biker.

The reporter said, Read the rest of this entry »

Latest taxpayer-funded propoganda shows why Democrats are in fact the problem

By Chris Ingram

Congresswoman Kathy Castor (D-Tampa) recently sent out a taxpayer-funded “franked mail” piece that touts her “accomplishments” as a stooge to the liberal, Democrat Party establishment. Other big-government ideologues like Karl Marx and Vladimir Lennin would be proud of Ms. Castor’s record.

Photo explanation: In an attempt at shameless use of misleading imagery, I tried to find a photo of Ms. Castor on Google Images with Barack Obama to demonstrate what an out-of-touch zero she is. But she's apparently more politically astute than Charlie Crist because I couldn't find one of her and the POTUS. But to prove I looked, I found this pic of Barack Obama the worshiper of bovine regality bowing to THE Burger King. How disgraceful!

The following is a verbatim of Ms. Castor’s franked mail letter with my comments following in red italicized parentheticals (like this).

Enjoy the read. Whether you laugh, cry, (or both), you’ll understand why America’s glory days are behind us, and the future for our children is, quite frankly, going to suck.

Dear Friend,

Happy New Year! Working together, we made progress for our community in 2011 (Record unemployment, lower home values, and more foreclosures, not to mention our public school kids being let out on “early release” at 12:00 on Mondays in order to appease the teacher’s unions is progress?). Highlighted below are economic boosts we can build on in 2012. We will fight for every job for the Tampa Bay area (Apparently only as long as they are GOVERNMENT jobs). In fact, I am going to host a job fair (Paid for with stimulus money borrowed on the backs of our children no doubt) on March 3, so mark your calendar.

2011 HIGHLIGHTS (aka: Read the rest of this entry »