Dear Editor:

I am generally a defender of the St. Pete Times to my fellow conservatives as I believe the paper’s news reporting to be the best in the state. However, my conservative friends can’t get past the fact that your paper is a liberal propaganda rag and your editorial on Thursday (Final option: Send health bill to House) proves it.

While I saw flaws in the paper’s entire argument for passage of Obamacare, the most disconcerting was your notion that the “dramatic advances the Senate bill offers” include the “setting of limits on how much money insurers can keep for marketing, other business expenses, and profits.”

This my friends is socialism (defined as public or direct worker ownership and/or administration of the means of production and allocation of resources) plain and simple.

Great idea! Why don’t we start this practice with a test-run among newspapers? We’ll let the government decide how much money you can spend for marketing, charge for classified ads, inserts, business expenses, executive compensation, paper-boy pay, and overall profits. Okay, well, all but the latter – we all know newspapers have driven themselves to the point of irrelevance and don’t have any profits to regulate.

Chris Ingram

Chris Ingram is the president and founder of 411 Communications a corporate and political communications firm, and publisher of www.IrreverentView.com. Ingram is a frequent pundit on Fox News and CNN, and has written opinion columns for the Washington Times, UPI, Front Page Florida, and National Review online. E-mail him at: Chris@411Communications.com.

By Chris Ingram

In case you missed it, I have it from multiple sources that Charlie Crist (who is already looking at his political death but who has the chance to avoid said death from becoming a suicide by dumping Jim Greer as RPOF Chairman), will soon announce Greer’s resignation in the coming days or weeks.

But just in case Greer’s spendthrift ways, dictatorial style, bloated ego, bad advice, and general buffoonery aren’t enough to convince Chuckles to force him out, Florida Republicans can breathe easy in knowing there is an effort afoot to recall said chairman at the party’s next meeting.

But for the love of the party Charlie could save the GOP (and any chance he has at becoming Florida’s next U.S. Senator – God forbid), by axing the fat boy with the penchant for strip clubs, private jets, and buddies like disgraced Crist fundrasier Scott Rothstein.

If Charlie doesn’t dump him, I am convinced Allen Cox, the now ex-RPOF budget committee chairman (where he served for the last seven years) will be successful in his effort calling for Greer’s ouster. Greer recently axed Cox when he got wind of Cox’s effort to recall Greer. Having removed Cox, Greer must have figured he got his fox out of the henhouse. Wrong. Although Greer is a stooge, he thinks he’s smart by axing Cox. Can you spell “backlash” Jimbo? Cox has more allegiances among party leaders than Greer could ever hope for. If anything, Greer’s actions will motivate Cox loyalists who otherwise may have refrained from taking sides to now take sides with Cox.

Bye-bye tubby!

The list of party leaders who have signed a recall petition is long and deep and includes representatives from Lee, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Charlotte, Collier, and Duval counties (among others). 

According to Cox, there are close to 60 signatories while party rules only require 30 to force the call for the rescission.  In a nutshell, that means there will be a real vote on Jim Greer – if Chuckster doesn’t realize Greer is dragging him down and dump him first. And that is still my bet.

One important note on who the people behind the rescind Greer effort are. Or more specifically who they are not. They are not a bunch of wing-nuts with nothing better to do. They are not the people we should be looking to for leadership on this issue (like Bill McCollum, who like Charlie, doesn’t have much of a spine or penchant for leadership — but hey, it’s his turn so lets elect him governor). Rather, they are people like Cox and Lee County Chairman Gary Lee, and former RPOF Chairman Tom Slade who said, “If Jim Greer had any integrity he would have already resigned as Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida.”   They, and many like them are people who have worked hard for the party for years. They are seasoned and experienced. And they are people who know how to raise money. And that my friends, if nothing else is something Charlie Crist may very well pay attention to. That is, if his sinking poll numbers haven’t already gotten his head out of the tanning booth.

That petition to rescind Greer (signed by nearly 60 RPOF executive committee members) includes the following charges:

1) FINANCIAL MISMANAGEMENT

2) VIOLATION OF RPOF RULE 8–ENDORSEMENTS of CANDIDATES in CONTESTED REPUBLICAN PRIMARIES.

3) VIOLATION OF RPOF CONSTITUTION ARTICLE II-A, TO DEVELOP A STRONG, EFFECTIVE, AND INFORMED REPUBLICAN PARTY OF FLORIDA

4) VIOLATION of RPOF CONSTITUTION ARTICLE VII, PARTY AUTHORITY

The entire call for a special meeting to rescind Greer is pasted below.

Stay tuned…

Chris Ingram is the president and founder of 411 Communications a corporate and political communications firm, and publisher of www.IrreverentView.com. Ingram is a frequent pundit on Fox News and CNN, and has written opinion columns for the Washington Times, UPI, Front Page Florida, and National Review online. E-mail him at: Chris@411Communications.com.

STATE COMMITTEE-Republican Party of Florida (RPOF)
  
This Written Request for a Special Meeting of the RPOF State Committee is presented to the RPOF Chairman, Jim Greer, for action in accordance with RPOF Constitution, Article IX, Section 2, “Special Meetings”:

Resolved,

 That upon careful deliberation and consideration of the current and recent past management of the Republican Party of Florida,

            And, further, in consideration of the best interests of the Republican Party of Florida presently and in the upcoming 2010 elections,

 We, the undersigned members of the RPOF State Committee, do call for a Special Meeting of the State Committee to be convened at the time of the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Annual  Conference of the Republican Party of Florida, January 8-9, 2010, said meeting to be in closed session,

For the following stated purpose:  

That the RPOF State Committee, by authority under the RPOF Constitution, Article XI, and by Parliamentary Authority, Article XX, Section 61, (P.642-643), as provided in Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, take appropriate and necessary action in due process as required,  to submit to the State Committee members for vote by secret ballot to:

 Rescind the January, 2009, election of the Chairman, Jim GREER,

for charges and cause as stated below:

CHARGE ONE: Upon information and belief,

FINANCIAL MISMANAGEMENT
                      Specification 1
                     
That Mr. Greer, as Chairman, has financially mismanaged the RPOF resulting in a 2009 RPOF Core Activities Operations deficit of approximately Four Million dollars ($4,000,000) due to excessive spending; 
                     Specification 2

                     That Mr. Greer, as Chairman, has caused irreparable harm to the RPOF’s ability to provide essential financial resources to Republican Candidates in 2010.   

CHARGE TWO: Upon information and belief,

VIOLATION OF RPOF RULE 8–ENDORSEMENTS of CANDIDATES in CONTESTED REPUBLICAN PRIMARIES.

  Specification 1

  That Mr. Greer has, as Chairman, acted in violation of Rule 8, which prohibits endorsements of Republican candidates in contested primary elections, by expressing support for specific candidates in contested Republican Primaries;

 CHARGE THREE: Upon information and belief,

VIOLATION OF RPOF CONSTITUTION ARTICLE II-A, TO DEVELOP A STRONG, EFFECTIVE, AND INFORMED REPUBLICAN PARTY OF FLORIDA

  Specification 1

  That Mr. Greer, as Chairman, has unilaterally acted to secure legislative amendments to Florida Statutes which grant authority and powers exclusively to the Office of Chairman, and which expand the numbers of non-elected, appointed members to the State Committee, in violation of RPOF Constitution or Rules, and without  notice, consultation, nor action approving said revisions by the Executive Board nor State Committee;

CHARGE FOUR: Upon information and belief,
 
VIOLATION of RPOF CONSTITUTION ARTICLE VII, PARTY AUTHORITY

                        Specification 1

              That Mr. Greer, as Chairman, has conducted himself by failing to adequately lead and supervise RPOF staff in proper and appropriate ethical conduct resulting in said RPOF staff committing actions intended to discredit or harm Republican Candidates for Election.                       
                         
                                     Specification 2

               That Mr. Greer, as Chairman, has without conformity to RPOF Constitution and Rule 9, acted to change the Loyalty Oath and its application and enforcement on RPOF members without proper authorization, and approval of the Executive Board nor State Committee; 
  
Therefore, be it resolved by secret ballot of the State Committee, the question of Rescinding the January, 2009, Election of the Chairman be put before the Annual Meeting of the RPOF.

As attested by the below listed RPOF Member:

Name(print)   Office                                   Signature  
 
1. Allen Cox     Vice Chair, RPOF

2. Gary Lee                Chairman, Lee County

3. Peter Feaman  SCM, Palm Beach

4. Bob Starr  Chair, Charlotte

5. Clyde Simpson  Chair, Jefferson

6. Lindsay Harrington  SCM, Charlotte

7. Tony DiMatteo  SCM, Pinellas

8. Paul Groom   SCM, Gulf

9. Deborah Ashbrook SCW, Gulf

10. Andy Tuck   SCM, Highlands

11. Kristina Kulpa  SCW, Hendry

12. Brenda Skupny  SCW, Lee

13. Mel Karau  Chair, Hendry

14. Joan Hartt  SCW, Highlands

15. Allison DeFoor   SCW, Wakulla

16. Rick Hartley  SCM, Duval

17. Bill Bunting  SCM, Pasco

18. Eric Miller  SCM, Martin

19. Charles Dauray   SCM, Lee

20. Georgia Phillips SCW, Lake

21. Ned Pooser  SCM, Franklin

22. A.J. Matthews  SCM, Hillsborough

23. Charles Oakes  SCM, Highlands

24. Jane Sturges  SCW, Charlotte

25. Virginia Bomford SCW, Seminole

26. Diane Simpson  SCW, Jefferson

27. John Salak  Chair, Bay

28.  Dan Abel  Chair, Leon

29.  Deborah Cox Roush Chair, Hillsborough

30.  Melissa Arnold  SCW, Okeechobee

31.  Debby Goodman  SCW, Monroe 

32.  Greg Goebel  SCM, Monroe

33.  Joe Arnold  SCM, Okeechobee

34.  Doug Rankin  SCM, Collier

35. Joyce Estees  SCW, Franklin   

36.  Steve Nisbit  SCM, Hendry 

(According to Allan Cox, nearly 30 more have been added since this list was released)

By Chris Ingram

The St. Petersburg Times just reported that “Republican prosecutor Pam Bondi of Tampa jumped into the Republican race for attorney general today, saying she has the legal experience needed to be Florida’s top attorney.”

This is bad news for trial lawyer Jeff Kottkamp, who happens to be Florida’s Lieutenant Governor and a man who is best known for flying around the state to go to parties, fund raisers, and football games in state airplanes — and at taxpayer expense.

But it is great news for the voters of Florida and more specifically, Republican Primary voters. They will have the opportunity to send a message to Charlie Crist, state Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer, and the rest of the “leaders” of the party establishment that they’ve had enough. Enough double-talk. Enough pandering. And enough ignoring of the looming fiscal, transportation, education, and insurance crises of the state.

With U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio, guberbanatorial candidate Paula Dockery, and now Bondi for attorney general, next summer’s Primary Election will be about re-nominating the very people who got us into the mess we’re in and expecting them to now have ideas on how to get us out of it, versus starting with a new slate of leaders who have fresh ideas.

Personally I prefer the latter.

Chris Ingram is the president and founder of 411 Communications a corporate and political communications firm, and publisher of www.IrreverentView.com. Ingram is a frequent pundit on Fox News and CNN, and has written opinion columns for the Washington Times, UPI, Front Page Florida, and National Review online. E-mail him at: Chris@411Communications.com.

Big Labor came through for the Democrats last November big time. They put their man in the White House, helped expand the Democrats’ majorities in Congress. Now it’s payback time.

The biggest problem facing organized labor in this country today is that so many people have wised up to their scam and no longer are joining unions voluntarily. Indeed, the only membership growth area for organized labor is among government workers, not in the private sector. Go figure.

For years now, harassed and brow-beaten workers have been publicly nodding their heads in agreement just to get union organizers to leave them alone, but then in the privacy of their secret ballots they’ve been voting, “Thanks, but no thanks.” That’s why union membership today is at its lowest level in half a century.

Unable to win traditional elections fair and square, Big Labor has a new idea: Just get rid of secret elections altogether. Which is exactly what the ridiculously misnamed “Employee Free Choice Act” (EFCA) would do.

Instead of workers being allowed to cast secret ballots in a union organizing election, union agitators – with or without brass knuckles and baseball bats on their shoulders – would go out and coerce workers into signing a “card” which says the worker wants the union to represent him or her. Once the union agitators collect enough pro-union “cards,” the employer would be forced to recognize and negotiate with the union without a secret ballot election being held.

A better name for this bill would be the “Employee Coerced Choice Act.” Either way, it stinks.

Taken to its logical conclusion, here’s how elections in this country could be held in the future:

Union agitators dressed as street hoods and gang members would patrol neighborhoods, going door-to-door with slate cards featuring only Democrat candidates for offices scheduled to be on the ballot in November. Voters would be pressured to sign the slate card indicating they support the election of all the Democrats listed. And once the agitators scare the bejeepers out of a majority of voters into signing the Democrat slate cards in a given district, the election would be called off and the Democrats declared the winners.

Absurd, right? Yet if organized labor gets its way, that’s exactly what will soon begin happening to workers in non-union American businesses such as Wal-Mart, McDonalds, Starbucks and even your local bank.

Barack Obama was elected by secret ballot. Rep. Hilda Solis – who has been nominated to be the next Labor Secretary – was elected to her congressional seat by secret ballot. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was elected by secret ballot. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was elected by secret ballot. And yet all of these folks support organized labor’s push to deny average U.S. workers the same right to cast a vote free of coercion.

While this is certainly “change,” it’s also as un-American as it gets. A harbinger of things to come?

Chuck Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, a non-profit public policy grassroots advocacy organization. The views expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Citizen Outreach. He may be reached at: chuck@citizenoutreach.com.

Ho, ho, ho-ly cow! Boy, did Christmas come early for Illinois’ dying horse track industry this year or what?

Here’s the issue in a nutshell. People in Illinois aren’t going to horse tracks the way they used to. It’s a dying industry. On the other hand, people are going to Illinois casinos. It’s a thriving industry. So two years ago the Illinois Legislature passed a new “temporary” 3 percent tax on the four most successful casinos in the state and redirected the money to the unsuccessful horse racing industry in an effort to “save” it.

But it’s hard to even call this a tax since not a dime of the money went to the state or to any other public use.

So if this punitive “Success Tax” isn’t exactly a tax, what would you call it? Well, Barack Obama – himself a former Illinois state legislator – would call it “spreading the wealth.” Karl Marx, the well-known socialist, would call it “From each according to his abilities; to each according to his needs.” Robin Hood would call it “robbing the rich and giving to the poor.” Of course, common street thugs would probably call it something far simpler…

“Stick ‘em up!”

The four casinos slapped with the “Success Tax” challenged it in the Illinois courts. But they rolled snake-eyes there – which probably should come as no surprise. Why would anyone think that judges who come out of such a corrupt, anti-business political environment would think and act any differently on this issue than your average Chicago community organizer?

Indeed, the Illinois Supreme Court gave its “Good Comrade” stamp of approval to this government imposed and enforced redistribution of wealth scheme. The gaming companies have appealed to the United States Supreme Court where, if there’s any justice, the legislation will be struck down. The problem is the conservative Roberts Court may well decline to even review the case, seeing it as a state rather than federal issue.

At which point that should be the end of it. Remember, the tax was only “temporary.” It was to sunset this year. And the money has already been deducted and is being held in an escrow account pending the end of the appeals process, at which time it will be released to the prevailing party.

Alas, once government gets its claws into you it’s virtually impossible for them to let go. So two weeks ago the Illinois Legislature passed the 3 percent “tax” again. As it turns out, two years of taking some $80 million from successful private casino companies and giving it to unsuccessful private horse racing companies didn’t do the trick.

Unfortunately, that’s not where this extortion story ends. Enter Illinois Gov. Rod “Pay to Play” Blagojevich.

Page 39 of the recent criminal complaint issued by the United States against “Don Blago” is a reference to “a law which involves directing a percentage of casino revenue to the horse
racing industry” – which the governor has since signed back into law. Reading the transcript of the recorded conversations between the governor and “Fundraiser A” at the behest of “Contributor 1,” it almost sounds like one of those jokes: “A governor, a fundraiser, and a lobbyist walk into a bar…”

But there’s nothing funny about the Legislature and governor confiscating money from one business to hand to another. I mean, isn’t that what a congressional bailout is for?

In any event, this sad state of affairs in Illinois is likely a preview of what’s in store in the coming Obama-nation. Businesses and individuals who dare to be successful and make a profit will be looted to fund failure and sloth.

But those cheering on this new American “tax the rich, feed the poor” socialism should take note of the end of that song lyric: “Until there are no rich no more.” Like it or not, the reality is that poor people don’t start companies. Poor people don’t create jobs. And poor people don’t pay $80 million to prop up horse tracks.

The Obama socialists better be careful what they wish for.

Chuck Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, a non-profit public policy grassroots advocacy organization. The views expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Citizen Outreach. He may be reached at: chuck@citizenoutreach.com.

By Jamie Miller

After much hand-wringing about the election results, Republicans turn toward the task of rebuilding the GOP as a brand voters will trust. Many pundits ask, “Where does the GOP go from here?” I think the better question is, “Who will lead the GOP and in which direction?”

Pundits have already started looking toward the 2012 election while apparently ignoring the importance of the off-year 2010 elections and the redistricting which follows. If we ignore the redistricting process that will be in place for 2012, the GOP will certainly find itself in the minority throughout the next decade.

To understand where the GOP should go, we should examine some of the successes and failures of 2008. While Florida turned blue for the first time since 1996 when a very similar nominee – old, white, U.S. Senator – was defeated by Pres. Clinton. You will not win Florida with a nominee who is older than the average age of the guys playing golf on Wednesday mornings throughout the state.

In spite of that, Florida once again led the nation holding back a national tide that could have easily swept four GOP Congressman from office, flipped half a dozen state house districts, and switched at least two state senate seats to the Democratic side of the aisle.

There were two major battlegrounds within the battleground of Florida, Miami and Orlando. The last time the head of either ticket won Miami/Dade County by more than 100,000 votes was in 1996 when Pres. Clinton won the county by about 110,000 votes. As a general rule, Miami/Dade is won by about 30,000 – 40,000 votes. It is normally won by the Democrats in a Presidential year and Republicans during gubernatorial years. Sen. Obama won Miami/Dade County by nearly 140,000 votes. The Democrats targeted three GOP members of Congress in Miami/Dade and did not win any of those races. They targeted two in Orlando, and won them both after Orange county fell by 85,000 votes. Bill Clinton lost Orange County by 1,000 votes in 1996 and George W. Bush lost Orange County by about 2,000 votes in 2000. Republicans picked up the Mahoney seat which was lost in 2006 due to the courts not replacing Rep. Foley’s name on the ballot following his withdrawal from the race. A net loss of one Congressional seat in this environment was a huge victory especially since the Feeney campaign was mismanaged by both the candidate and the consultants involved.

Kudos, once again, to the Republican Party of Florida of staying focused on the issues they could control, raising the dollars needed to support state legislative candidates as well as the overall turnout effort, and keeping candidates on message through the use of new technologies. While the Florida Democratic Party made great strides in the ground game due to the influx of cash from the Obama Campaign, the GOP ground game kept a Democratic tsunami from sweeping the state.

There will likely be more comparisons made about the 2008 McCain Campaign with the 1996 Dole Campaign, in Florida there are many more similarities to the 2000 Bush Campaign. The greatest similarity between 2008 and 2000 in Florida seemed to be that the national campaign failed to listen to Florida election experts including those at the Republican Party of Florida. As much as people like me tried to encourage the McCain campaign to invest in Florida early, they seemed to rely on the coattails of a popular governor who was not on the ballot. The same mistake was made in 2000 because “the brother” was governor of the state.

Crist won an overwhelming victory in 2006 and few pundits in the state or the country believed he was going to lose the race for governor to Jim Davis. Crist won by seven points with 52 percent of the vote. The other competitive statewide race in 2006 was the race for attorney general where Bill McCollum won by five points with nearly the same 52 percent of the vote. These were both races that ended up being “blow-outs” for competitive, statewide races. It stands to reason that the best McCain could’ve done in Florida is about a five or six point win with 52 percent of the vote. He certainly wasn’t running a race that anyone thought was a “blow-out.” So, I question, “Why did the McCain Campaign take Florida for granted?”

Several Florida election experts, were quoted in major daily newspapers weeks and months before the election encouraging the McCain campaign to spend more on television in Florida. While the GOP ground game in Florida is among the best in the country, it was not going to help the top of the ticket that was being outspent on television by 5 – 1.

The biggest blunder of the campaign came when McCain “suspended” his campaign to focus on the economic crisis and then failed to show any type of leadership whatsoever after going to D.C. Americans expected leadership from the GOP nominee and none was shown.

I think that the national GOP needs to look to the states to return to a track where voters and more importantly the public trusts the Republican brand.

That’s why I did not disagree with the pick of Gov. Palin as the nominee for vice president. But, the campaign mismanaged and misunderstood the “Palin Effect.” Her job was to secure the 28 percent of voters who still believe that Pres. George W. Bush hangs the moon while McCain’s job was to continue to generate support from moderates and independents. That’s why it would be a mistake for the GOP to look toward Palin as the leader who gets Republicans back on track. I’m sure Palin has a role within our Party, but if she becomes the leader or spokesperson for the GOP, we could be regulated to a Party that is on the margins of the far right and be nothing more than a 28 percent party for a generation.

The Republican Party needs a leader I call a “Realistic Conservative.” We need a leader who appeals to the base but realizes that he/she must be elected and govern from the ever-growing middle.

I am not suggesting that the Party abandon core principles but to reapply them in a realistic manner. For instance, we should remain a pro-life party, but we should refocus our attention on children who are already here and suffering from homelessness, lack of education, lack of health and dental care, hunger or who are the victims of child predators. These are the children who truly need our help and people who we can help right now.

When dealing with the pro-life vs. pro-choice debate, the GOP needs a leader who understands the reality and the history of what Americans believe are “rights.” Basically, once a generation believes that something, anything, is a right, they will not give it up. We did not accept prohibition in the 1920s. We didn’t accept and won’t accept privatization of Social Security. We won’t let an obtrusive government confiscate our guns or limit gun rights. Americans, likewise, are not going to outlaw abortions after a generation of women has had them, fathers have paid for them for their daughters, and the majority of people believe in some type of abortion being legal even if it is for rape, incest, or the life of the mother. The GOP needs to focus on the children we can help who are here and need it now!

We need to be realistic about health care in this country. If a private company wants to offer health care to same-sex or domestic partners, we should applaud their efforts not boycott them. The more people covered by health care in this country, the better off we all are going to be. I do not think this has to be defined as “marriage,” but let’s be realistic about it. These days, marriage is just as much about a financial commitment between two people as it is a religious commitment. So, while we should defend “traditional marriage” as a religious ceremony, we need to be realistic that Americans expect us to lead on issues that affect them personally on a daily basis.

Republicans should continue to be leaders who will defend attacks on the second amendment and should continue to support our troops and military in every way. I have long been an opponent of Obama’s plan to give those who are in the Peace Corps the same benefits as those in the military because I believe it undermines the service of our men and women who are in harm’s way, and I believe that it will inevitably lead to a draft. As the father of two draft-age sons, I don’t want my children to be forced to fight for a President if they don’t believe in him.

We need a leader who will focus on the opportunities of 2010 while positioning the Party for 2012. This means not forgetting who we are as Americans first. We should realize that because Obama comes up with an idea, it doesn’t mean that we should fight it for the sake of fighting it. Specifically, we should applaud Obama’s efforts to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, but should fight his efforts to establish another bureaucracy to try the inmates who are there. The inmates there are either “Indefinite Prisoners of War” or they have committed a crime against America. They should either be given the rights of a POW or should be tried in an American Court for their transgressions.

We need to remember that executive orders are laws signed by the President without the authority of Congress. We should recognize these opportunities to show distinctions between our Party and the Obama Administration, but we shouldn’t whine about Obama’s use of them overturning Bush’s executive orders. If President Bush wanted them to be laws that lasted long past his administration he should have presented them to and fought for them in Congress.

The GOP has to remember to save our ammunition for the big fights – appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court. The more moderate we appear before the public now, the more Americans will recognize that we are making legitimate arguments when Obama tries to appoint extreme liberals to the U.S. Supreme Court. The more moderate we are on the “small stuff,” the more credibility we will have fighting the big battles.

We need to realize that the Bush family has had a stranglehold on our Party for more than 30 years and its time for a change. This is going to take a lot of leadership, fortitude and vision. Since George H.W. Bush became RNC Chairman in the 70s, there has hardly been a time since when one of the Bush allies was not the head of the RNC. This past election was a repudiation of not only the current Bush Administration but the entire Bush family and their allies as national leaders. It’s time for the GOP to look in a different direction for our next generation of leaders.

The GOP needs to continue to build and cultivate its farm team in state, county and city governments so we have experienced, established candidates who can successfully run for state and then federal offices. This is yet another example of how the nation could turn to Florida for leadership. The state Republican Party has long supported not only local Republican Executive Committees but also supported local candidates as well.

We need to start training candidates sooner because the challenge of raising the necessary dollars to be competitive during not only an Obama Presidency but also during an economic downturn will be daunting. The GOP must expand not only its major-donor program but needs to give Internet and small donors a reason to donate to the cause. Obama, likely, will give these donors a reason sooner rather than later, but we can’t wait on an Obama miscue. He’s made very few and our roadmap must include a vision that appeals to a broader base of people.

Republicans need to recruit, train and advise potential candidates about raising their community profiles through volunteerism and community activism.

The GOP needs to reach out to organizations with complimentary visions that will likely be hurt by a Democratic stranglehold on the federal government so we can be pro-active with a coordinated candidate recruitment process.

Finally, the GOP needs to realize that the mechanics of elections are changing and we need to change our communication methods to be successful. Sen. McCain did not lose Florida because Gov. Crist expanded early voting. If that were the case, we would’ve seen increased voter turnout and that simply wasn’t the case. McCain lost Florida because he failed to bring a message directly to the voters of Florida in the media with which they want to receive it.

Television is still going to be the main mechanism to deliver messages but we have to start utilizing technologies that are available today like text messaging, micro-blogging and social media to get information in the hands of activists nationwide instantly.

The challenges for the GOP are great and in the face of a federal government that is controlled completely by Democrats, the challenge for Republicans to be relevant will be even greater.

One thing is clear, we need to listen to the American people and adjust our vision of the Party so we represent challenging view points that they are willing to accept as reasonable. Our leadership should reflect our conservative views with a realistic view of what can be accomplished, how we can accomplish it, and with new leaders who emphasize that vision.

Jamie Miller is a political consultant who specializes in campaign strategy, candidate development, and crisis communications. Miller is a former executive director for the Republican Party of Florida. E-mail him at: repjam@aol.com.

By Chris Ingram

The Water Cooler is an occasional feature of talking points about politics.

• Politics makes strange bedfellows. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton exchanged a lot of heated words during the Democratic Primary this year. Now it appears Obama is “considering” Ms. Clinton for Secretary of State. News reports say Clinton and Obama met in Chicago this week and that the Obama camp is doing nothing to deny speculation that she is being considered. CNN reports that team Obama has previously been quick to deny speculation and other rumors suggesting there must be some truth to the story.

Let’s get one thing perfectly clear, Hillary Clinton is a lot of things, but she isn’t a diplomat. And why would she want to be SoS? There isn’t much to hand out in the form of graft, and little to corrupt on behalf of her elite political supporters. No. Clinton would probably prefer the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development or some other agency full of government grants, jobs, and do-gooder programs she can dish out. That’s the Clinton way afterall.

I think this is a trial balloon Obama is floating, and more than likely he has no intention of offering Clinton anything in his administration. But he can put her under “consideration” and then stall, stall, stall. Before you know it, it will be January and he can announce Bill Richardson – or someone else with some foreign policy credentials to be his SoS. The country simply cannot afford a president and SoS who have next to zero foreign policy experience. Someone please call in the adults and give Mr. Obama some advice!

• In addition to the drubbing they took in the presidential contest, the Grand very OLD Party lost twenty-one seats in the House of Representatives (the House is now split 236 to 199, favoring the Democrats) and seven seats in the U.S. Senate (giving the Dems. a 55 to 40 majority as of right now). Two Senators (Bernie Sanders, a socialist from Vermont, and Joe Lieberman, a hero from Connecticut) are officially independent but both caucus with the Democrats.

There are three U.S. Senate seats that are still undetermined. In Georgia, Republican Saxby Chambliss was forced into a run-off when he failed to get the 50 percent plus-one vote on election night due to a third-party candidate syphoning off some votes. He now faces Democrat Jim Martin on December 2. Chambliss will probably win, but Republicans should not take anything for granted. The Georgia Republican Party is in dissaray and if anybody could screw up a one car funeral, it’s the GOP.

In Alaska, convicted felon and incumbent Republican Senator Ted Stevens is in the fight for his life against Democrat opponent Mark Begich. Currently Begich leads by 814 votes with 30,000 votes still to be re-counted. It’s a sad state of affairs when so many of the voting public supports a convicted felon (Stevens was convicted of lying on financial disclosure forms and taking illegal gifts last month). It just goes to show, give people enough pork for their state and they’ll re-elect a tuna sandwich. Stevens was instrumental in the “bridge to nowhere” and has been in the senate for 40 years. He is a disgrace to the Republican party, the Senate as an institution, and the state of Alaska.

Incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota is involved in a re-count with Democrat challenger and former actor/author Al Franken. Coleman currently leads Franken by 206 votes. The state elections board will meet next week to certify the election and then declare a recount as mandated by state law – because the candidates are within a half a percentage point of each other (out of nearly 3 million votes cast). I know Al Franken and he’s a decent, smart, and capable guy. He’s also funny, and a big-time liberal. If he wins, he’ll be one of the most interesting characters in the very tradition-oriented U.S. Senate.

Photo: Chris Ingram and Al Franken in an Iowa cornfield during the 2000 election.

I expect Coleman will prevail though, and Stevens will lose and go to prison where he belongs (unless Bush pardons him). Chambliss should win the run-off and return to the Senate. This would give the Republicans 41 senators to the 57 for the Democrats (when you count the two independents who generally vote with them the Democrats have 59 votes in the Senate). Nothing can be accomplished in the rule-oriented Senate without 60 votes – the number needed to block a fillibuster – and for all intents and purposes, the Democrats have it. For it won’t be hard to get some liberal Republicans like Olympia Snow of Maine or Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania to join them on votes for tax increases, gun control, social spending, and liberal judicial nominees.

• It’s a lousy time to be a Republican. Only when Republican Party voters demand that their leaders stop the corruption, stop the raiding of our children’s economic futures (by spending so wildly), and start leading with a vision for our country instead of special interests will the party return to its glory years of the 1980s.

Don’t hold your breath.

Chris Ingram is the president and founder of 411 Communications a corporate and political communications firm, and publisher of www.IrreverentView.com. Ingram is a frequent pundit on Fox News and CNN, and has written opinion columns for the Washington Times, UPI, Front Page Florida, and National Review online. E-mail him at: Chris@411Communications.net.

By Chris Ingram

I’ve taken a lot of heat for my column earlier this week titled “Get Ready for Obamalism.” The criticism has come from the left and right and the media in e-mails, postings, phone calls, and interviews.

I taped a local politics show here in Tampa yesterday (“Flashpoint” airing on Sundays on ABC following “This Week”). The host took me to task for questioning the intelligence of Obama supporters (which I did in a reply to a post after the above mentioned article). Hey, the site is called “Irreverent View.” I’m not writing for a scholarly journal, the church bulletin, or even some mullet wrapper of a newspaper. This is an opinion site folks! I write what I think (that’s my opinion) with a touch of sarcasm and snarkyness to keep it interesting. Anyhow, I looked it up online, and if someone had an 80 IQ, they would be considered borderline retarded. Obviously I don’t really think Obama voters are borderline retarded – that was the sarcasm I told you about. But I stand by the point that a lot of people voted for this guy based on his call for “change” and they know nothing else about him. And I think that is retarded.

Earlier this summer my Godson’s mother (who is Cuban) forwarded me an e-mail about a politician who gave rousing public speeches, was personable, ran against an ineffectual government, and promised everyday people a better life in the form of a government that would take care of them. Today we know this man as Fidel Castro. Dictator. Head of a communist regime. I’m not saying Obama is a dictator or a communist, but he’s definitely got some serious socialist tendencies. If you ask an Obama supporter why they voted for him, all they can do is say “because he’s for change.” Ask them to name three policies he will change (and what the change is, not just what the policies he’s going to change are) and they get that “dear in the headlights” look Dan Quayle used to be so well-known for.

Voting for someone we know nothing about is no way to elect a president.

Some of my Republican friends took issue with my comments and accused me of misrepresenting Bush’s presidency. One Republican reader gave me a bunch of excuses as to why the deficit is so large; why our international standing sucks; and why our economy is in the tank. None of it had to do with putting the blame on George W. Bush. It apparently had something to do with the folks over at cable news station MSNBC because he kept accusing me of being just like some of the hosts of their shows. I told this reader he’d drunk the Bush Kool-aid. He didn’t like that. But what do you expect from a guy who works for the administration?

I also got ripped from a few lefties who said I should be “inspired” by Obama’s election. Inspired by what? The fact that he wants to take more of my money in the form of taxes to pay for a bunch of social programs I don’t believe in? Thanks but no thanks. Of course I think what they really meant was I should be inspired because a black man (half black actually), is president. OK. That’s great if you’re someone who thinks we should judge and measure people based on the groups they belong to of which they had no control. I don’t.

Personally, I’d rather forget about skin color. I think we should look at our country not as a nation of groups, but as a nation of individuals. But the “group” thing is a lot easier to sell, scare, and spook people with. Politicians love it. Bureaucrats love it. The media loves it. Groups that think that because at some point or another they were disaffected by someone else love it too. Again, I don’t.

I am not inspired by Barack Obama just because of the color of his skin. I’ll be inspired by Barack Obama if he cuts government spending; doesn’t cater to the teacher’s unions and their ridiculous self-serving demands; sends some Wall Street CEOs to prison; does something about the looming Social Security crisis; and pays down the national debt. In fact, if he did all that, I’d be happy to pay more in taxes. Just don’t increase mine and cut someone else’s. That’s class warfare and it stinks. We’re all to blame for the mess we’re in and we should all make some sacrifices to fix it.

That will inspire me.

I’m not going to hold my breath.

On an unrelated note, ignore all the stories you are hearing about “anonymous sources” from within the McCain campaign saying Sarah Palin “didn’t know Africa was a continent.” That’s a bunch of bull shit. The people who are saying this are the same self-serving fools who drove McCain’s campaign into the ground. They also happen to be former George W. Bush campaign operatives whom McCain foolishly hired. These Bush people are also now loyal to, and in support of Mitt “I’ll say anything” Romney. They want to discredit Palin because ol’ “Mr. Two Positions on Every Issue” Romney has his sites on 2012.

Just four years away.

Ugh!

Chris Ingram is the president and founder of 411 Communications a corporate and political communications firm, and publisher of www.IrreverentView.com. Ingram is a frequent pundit on Fox News and CNN, and has written opinion columns for the Washington Times, UPI, Front Page Florida, and National Review online. E-mail him at: Chris@411Communications.net.

By Mark Smith

Exit polls in New Hampshire in two small towns have begun the trend today that will elect Barack Obama the 44th President of the United States. In double digit votes beginning at midnight today, Obama came ahead of John McCain and Ron Paul.

What we are likely to see with “Double-Digit” Barack are Double-D inflation, unemployment, and interest rates all at, or about the third year of the first four years of the Obama administration. What many of us as kids, infants, or teenagers watched with the Carter Administration in the 70′s will pale in comparison to what we are about to experience.

The federal fund rate is at 1% now. It has been cut 9 times in 13 months. It has nowhere else to go but up. With unemployment currently at 6.3 % and a ratcheting up of interest rates as job losses continue we could see unemployment at 9% and above in 26 months a little more than half way through the Obama administration. With Harry, Barry (Barack), and Nancy in charge of the government you will see run-away spending and an administration starting out with a $1.6 trillion deficit. This does not include the $2 trillion in spending that is likely to come out of the left-wing troika in Congress and the administration. So hang on to your hats, wallets, and 401k’s America. Change is coming! We just don’t know yet how much it will cost us. But that’s coming soon too. Chances are, that’s all you’ll have left in your pocket.

Mark R. Smith is the president and founder of The Da Vinci Group a Washington, D.C. based government and public affairs firm. Mark provides advice to members of congress, governors, and other state and local officials on an array of issues. Mark is a political analyst for SKY NEWS and a contributor to IrreverentView.com. E-mail him at: capitoldump@gmail.com.

By Chris Ingram

• More out of sense of obligation than excitement, I went to the John McCain rally in the parking lot of the stadium where the Tampa Bay Bucs play. I also took my three daughters because my oldest — who is only four — loves John McCain (because I’ve brainwashed her), and she wanted to go see him again.

Apparently most other Republicans didn’t feel so obligated. That or they don’t have nagging four year olds asking them to go see some old guy running for president. I actually think she likes McCain and she says “he’s a nice man” but I think the draw to the rally is she figured there would be balloons.

Anyhow, most people didn’t feel obligated I guess because most people didn’t show up. Local media estimated the crowd at between 1,000 and 1,200. For a presidential campaign to be unable to round up even 1,500 people the day before an election is a bad sign. Had Barack Obama been in town, I’d guess he would bring in 10,000-20,000 – my die hard Republican friends would quickly point out that’s because all the Republicans are working and the Democrats don’t have jobs.

Maybe not, but their vote is just as meaningful as yours I’d respond. Then they get that deer in the headlights look…

The lack of enthusiasm for McCain is strong and clear. Four years ago W. packed 15,000 in Tampa two days before the election.

• Here in Hillsborough County (Tampa, Fla.), the McCain campaign is disorganized like every campaign. But the level of disorganization is beyond the norm. Republicans just don’t get it when it comes to organizing grassroots – at least not this year. The Hillsborough County Chairman for the McCain campaign was given the job not because of what he knows but who he knows. So we end up with an inept grassroots organization in one of the most important counties in the state of Florida.

• Number of McCain events I have attended and given my e-mail address to the campaign while in attendance in the last twelve months: 5. Number of e-mails I have received from the McCain campaign: 0.

• Number of Obama events I have attended and given my e-mail address to the campaign while in attendance in the last twelve months: 0. Number of e-mails I have received from the Obama campaign: sometimes 2-3 per day every day for the last three months.

• The scariest part about the likely outcome tomorrow (Obama wins), is not really Obama and all his big government, tax and spend, socialist policies. What is scary is all his big government, tax and spend, socialist policies combined with the big government, tax and spend, socialist policies of the Democratic Party leadership in the U.S. House and Senate.

The GOP is poised to lose 30+ seats in the House, and perhaps 10 in the Senate. In the House, it doesn’t really matter. You’re either in the majority or you’re not. But in the Senate, where the rules are clearer, a handful of senators can shut the place down. A handful in this case, is a minority of 40 – that’s what is required for an effective filibuster (stopping bad legislation for those of you who slept through high school civics class).

If the GOP loses 10 seats, the Dems. will effectively control the U.S. Senate 61 to 39. So think about the consequences when you vote tomorrow. If you like money in your wallet, and if you like a Supreme Court nominee who is selected in part because it is known he or she has to be approved by senators from both sides of the aisle, you better think twice about Obama. If he wins, and the Democrats control Congress the way most expect they will, our government is going to grow, and grow, and grow and they’ll leave the bill for our grandkids to pay for it. Think about it this way: Pelosi, Obama, Reid (POR) as in, the Democrats will leave you poor!

• Anecdotally, down here in Florida, the television ads for McCain are more frequent and also more effective this last week of the campaign than they had been. They finally started hitting Obama on his lack of experience and big spending ways instead of whatever it was they were selling a month ago that no one was buying. It’s probably too little, too late, but don’t count McCain out just yet. He has a history of coming back in the 9th inning.

Chris Ingram is the president and founder of 411 Communications a corporate and political communications firm, and publisher of www.IrreverentView.com. Ingram is a frequent pundit on Fox News and CNN, and has written opinion columns for the Washington Times, UPI, Front Page Florida, and National Review online. E-mail him at: Chris@411Communications.net.