By Chris Ingram

The Tampa Tribune

Published May 16, 2012

My ancestors descended from Salzburg (in present-day Austria) after facing religious persecution from the Catholic Church, which opposed the teachings of Martin Luther that the Lutheran Salzburgers followed. In 1731, 20,000 Protestants were ordered by Count Leopold von Firmian, the Catholic archbishop and prince of the Salzburg state, to dispose of their property and leave the country. Most of the Salzburger outcasts settled in other parts of Europe, but some 300 of them settled in the American colony of Georgia after pleading with King George II of England, who had a German duke and a fellow Lutheran, for help.

The plight of my ancestors is similar to those of countless immigrants who settled in what would become the United States of America.

Despite the fact that most Americans have stories of their ancestors coming here under less-than-desirable circumstances, a few among us seek to deny those (more…)

An irreverent view of the “Buffett Rules”

By Shamus McConomy

Buffett rules are good for America. They bring harmony, sharing and fairness to Americans.  I don’t understand all the haters of the Buffett rule. Perhaps the lawmakers overreached (again) and wrote a bill laced with some poison pill pork projects that had to be voted down. Perhaps I could take a stab at some legalese that will establish a Buffett Law that is sure to satisfy Congress and the rest of Americans.

(more…)

By Chris Ingram

The Tampa Tribune

Published April 14, 2012

With Rick Santorum now out of the race for the Republican nomination for president, Mitt Romney has no serious challengers remaining and can begin to focus on beating Barack Obama.

With all the speculation about a hotly contested floor fight now nothing but a dream in the minds of political prognosticators and the media, there are likely benefits to Florida Republicans headed to the Republican National Convention in Tampa, now that Romney is the apparent nominee.

Florida delegates are currently facing a number of sanctions imposed by the Republican National Committee. The Florida delegation is facing (more…)

Mark your calendar! Next month’s Irreverent View lunch will be on Wednesday, April 4th at 11:45 a.m. at Rigatoni Restaurant located at 3437 West Kennedy Blvd. (just east of Himes on the north side of Kennedy). Rigatoni will have an all-inclusive lunch with 3-5 menu choices for under $15.00. Seeting is limited and you must RSVP if you plan to attend. Parking is available in the front, side, and back of the restaurant as well as in the parking lot of the apartment building directly behind Rigatoni.

This month’s guest: Our special guest this month is Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn. He will speak about the upcoming GOP convention in Tampa and discuss other issues facing the city and answer your questions. Buckhorn is the first Democrat to speak before an Irreverent View lunch. No, we’re not joining the dark side; Bob is a good man, and a great public servant with Tampa’s best interest at heart. There are a few good Democrats out there, and Bob is one of them. I’m convinced he holds up to the standards of good and fair government that Irreverent View lunch guests expect. So mark your calendar for April 4^th

Please RSVP by noon Tuesday, April 3rd.  As always, feel free to bring a friend.

About the lunch*: The lunch group is informal but we have some loose/suggested criteria. They are: You should either be a card-carrying Republican, professed libertarian, a conservative, or someone who thinks our country is currently going down the toilet because most of the politicians (Rs and Ds) we elect are a bunch of bums and morons (think Kevin White and Mike Haridopolos) who are more concerned with their own egos, their own pocket-books, and getting re-elected than they are concerned about the future of the next generation. You can be a liberal Republican, or a conservative Democrat, or a limousine liberal, though the rest of us may wonder what is wrong with you if you are one of those; still, you’re welcome anyway.

IMPORTANT! Please note the following: If you think all Democrats are useless promoters of socialism; or if you frequently stir and drink the GOP’s Kool-aid; or if you believe Rush Limbaugh calling a young co-ed he has never met and knows nothing about a “slut” is okay; or if you don’t think that Rick Santorum isn’t at least just a little bit of a whack job, this particular lunch is not going to be right for you. As such, we ask that you please plan on packing a sack lunch and eating at your desk while listening to the EIB Network that day.

(*) Irreverent View lunch criteria are not necessarily the views of our guest speakers, (but they should be).

By Chris Ingram

The Tampa Tribune

Published March 10, 2012

If my email inbox is any indicator, the politics of gender-baiting, fear-mongering and class warfare preferred by the Democrats is being directed at what Democrat party polling must show is the GOP’s weakest link: women.

In the last month I’ve received blast emails from Democrat notables, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Bill Nelson, Donna Brazile, James Carville and Tampa’s own big-government liberal, Rep. Kathy Castor, among others.

For the most part the emails have contained emotionally charged and inflammatory messages suggesting (more…)

Watch Bay News 9 for all of your ”Super Tuesday” national election news tonight from 7:00 p.m. until the last ballot is counted. Election coverage with Political Connections host and Bay News 9 anchor Al Ruechel starts at 7:00 p.m. tonight. Ruechel will be joined by Chris Ingram, Bay News 9′s Republican political analyst and the Bay News 9 news team with reports and analysis throughout the night.

Bay News 9 can be found on HD channel 1009 and channel 9 only on Brighthouse Networks in the Tampa/St. Pete market.

Language, Rhetoric, Semantics-It’s All Noise to Me in the Fight for the GOP

By Debra Cole

(Editor’s note: when I was a Kool-aid drinking Republican back in high school and college, I probably would have hated Debra Cole. Today, the rose colored glasses are off, and I think she is hysterical. I hope I.V. readers will enjoy her latest rant. It will make you think and laugh — and there is lots of truth to it — Chris Ingram)

Since becoming a mother, I’ve learned that making friends with cool parents can be a challenge. There are neurotic helicopter parents who will dial 911 if the kid gets a bruise.  Bringing attention to the threat du jour is their sole purpose after reproduction. Top ten favorites include recalled cribs, food allergies, and which roller coaster could decapitate a child. They make you long for the days when parents casually dropped off kids at the county fair knowing full well that toothless alcoholic carnies operated the Ferris wheel.

Then there are the parents that can’t talk about anything but (more…)

By Chris Ingram

The Tampa Tribune

Published March 3, 2012

Mitt Romney appears once again to be on his way to securing the GOP nomination for president.

I have to admit I am not crazy about how Romney seems as hollow as an ice cream cone.

Romney has been criticized for being a flip-flopper on nearly every social issue you can imagine, being the first to pass Obamacare and taking a government bailout to “save” the Utah Olympic games. Mitt isn’t exactly what you would call a Barry Goldwater conservative.

Romney’s perception as being a (more…)

By Chris Ingram

The Tampa Tribune

Published February 8, 2012

Just like his pal former speaker of the U.S. House Newt Gingrich, ex-congressman and former Florida attorney general Bill McCollum wants voters to forget a few things.

Gingrich would like voters to forget he’s a philandering hypocrite, a “histobbyist” and the ultimate Washington insider, with the ethics violations, record fines and enemies to prove it.

For his part, McCollum would like voters to forget about the fiasco that was his service as a Clinton impeachment manager. As one of the managers, McCollum proved his mastery of the law couldn’t get a grand jury of 12 Orthodox Jews to indict a ham sandwich.

McCollum would also like voters to forget that (more…)