Hallelujah! More loopholes found in campaign finance law!

Do as I say, not as I do

The co-author of McCain-Feingold seems to regret ever crafting such restrictive policies now that he seeks a cash infusion into his presidential campaign coffers.

Although he has inexplicably vowed to further strengthen the campaign finance law, John McCain’s allies have found new loopholes in the very language he helped write—and they’re using them to reel in huge contributions to assist him in competing in the match-up with Barack Obama—who has now disavowed the public spending limits he pledged to abide by.

The Wall Street Journal reports that one tactic involves a Republican Party fund aimed at electing governors that has started marketing itself as a home for contributions of unlimited size to help Sen. McCain.

The Republican Governors Association isn’t subject to restrictive limits, and has long gathered up large donations from individuals and companies. Now it is telling donors it can use their contributions to benefit Sen. McCain in some key battleground states.

That makes the group “the best way to help McCain,” says donor David Hanna, who gave $25,000—more than 10 times the legal cap of $2,300 for direct gifts to presidential candidates.

The imprudent 2002 campaign law restricts donations to presidential races, purportedly to curtail the influence of wealth. In fact the law is regarded by many as tightening a noose on First Amendment free speech guarantees.

Stunning victory for Second Amendment

District of Columbia gun ban struck down

The Supreme Court ruled today in DC v. Heller, that Americans have a right to own guns for self-defense and hunting, according to the justices’ first major pronouncement on gun rights in U.S. history.

In a 5-4 ruling, along party lines, the court struck down the District of Columbia’s 32-year-old ban on handguns as incompatible with gun rights under the Second Amendment.

Citizens residing in the District of Columbia have been prohibited from gun ownership for 32 years, since a handgun ban was enacted by the Washington city council in 1976. It exempted handguns owned prior to the law going into effect, but only if they were registered and either equipped with trigger locking devices, disassembled or unloaded,

Opponents of the law have long maintained they are defenseless in a crime-ridden city.

Associated Press reports that Dick Anthony Heller, 66, an armed security guard, sued the District after it rejected his application to keep a handgun at his home for protection in the same Capitol Hill neighborhood as the court.

Justice Stephen Breyer wrote a disquieting separate dissent, supporting the minority opinion of Justice John Paul Stevens: “In my view, there simply is no untouchable constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to keep loaded handguns in the house in crime-ridden urban areas.”

In the view of liberal justices, American citizens are to remain silent, defenseless and vulnerable crime targets.  Justice Anthony Kennedy, who has become the Sandra Day O’Connor replacement “swing vote,” correctly voted with the conservative justices on this issue.

Glenn Beck provides excellent additional information here.

Late afternoon reading to keep you sharp

Article VI Blog runs an interesting post today, Monday in the sleepy summer season, with some great links to nationally syndicated thinkers. We recommend the site generally, but especially today.

Trio of battleground states could be problematic in presidential race

Democrat presidential candidate Barack H. Obama is leading Republican John McCain in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania, though generally by modest margins, according to findings of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

The three states are likely to be among the most hard-fought in the fall campaign. Obama failed to win any of them in his primary contests against Hillary Clinton.

The one significant red flag for Obama in recent state polling comes from Michigan. There, a Rasmussen survey taken last week showed him leading by just 45% to 42%, a tight race for a state plagued by a downtrodden economy that many thought would benefit Democrats this year. Other recent polls have shown McCain leading.

Though an Ohio loss would be damaging to Republicans, a Michigan loss would be a big blow to Democrats. It would be as difficult for Obama to win the presidency without Michigan as it would be for McCain to win without Ohio.

A close race in Michigan also could lend credence to the idea that McCain would consider former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as his running mate. Romney’s father, George, was a popular Michigan governor from 1963 to 1969. Romney’s presence on the ticket could also bring a sizable chunk of grassroots conservatives who have remained reluctant to join forces with the widely regarded as liberal McCain–who has made no overtures to win their support.

The Wall Street Journal article detailing the polling data is available here.

Garbage in, petrol out

No more worries about carbon footprints, off-shore drilling or environmental concerns in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).  Just get yourself a beaker and some bugs, and off you go….

Pachyderm Coalition News

The Pachyderm Coalition is meeting Wednesday June 18, at 6:15 pm

The meeting location has changed. The group will meet at the El Paso Bar-B-Que Restaurant,  4303 W. Peoria, Glendale, AZ.

Come meet Sen. Sylvia Allen (R-Dist. 5) who is completing Senator Jake Flake’s term, hear from Senate Majority Leader, Thayer Verschoor (R- Dist. 22), and get an update from Don Goldwater on citizen initiatives he is organizing.

Visitors are welcome.

Democrats scramble to finance national convention

The host committee for the Democratic National Convention faces a possible shortfall of $15 million, complicating logistics for the August event and forcing it to abruptly postpone a scheduled media walk through of the site.

The Democratic National Committee has asked the cash-strapped panel to raise $40.6 million by today to finance the event. Last month, the committee said it had just $25 million in cash, and it has failed to meet each of several fundraising deadlines since signing a contract with the DNC last year.

Host committee members consistently have refused public comment on their fundraising efforts.

Observing Flag Day

 Remember to fly your flag

 

Flag Day traditions are a meaningful part of our nation’s history. Read some the facts regarding the background this uniquely American holiday provided by the National Flag Day Foundation.

The Pledge of Allegiance

I Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Following Raul

Democrat glee could morph into misery

Speculation is running high regarding the possibility Gov. Janet Napolitano would take a hike from her ninth floor governor’s office perch if Barack Obama wins the presidency. As a liberal who jumped on the Obama bandwagon as an early endorser, she is being mentioned as a Vice Presidential choice, candidate for U.S. Attorney General or even Supreme Court justice.

Arizona has had a governor jump ship before.

Another Democrat, Raul Castro, was elected to the state’s highest office in 1974. Much to the surprise of Arizonans, Castro, a naturalized citizen, left to take a Carter appointment as ambassador to Argentina just two years into his term.

The move put an unforeseen turn of events into play. Castro was succeeded in office by popular Secretary of State Wesley Bolin, who had served in that capacity nearly 30 years. Within months of becoming governor, however, Democrat Bolin suffered a fatal heart attack.

Democrat Bruce Babbitt, then Arizona’s Attorney General, was next in line of succession, and became governor in 1978.

This time around, the stakes would be considerably higher. Jan Brewer, Arizona’s Secretary of State, is a Republican—a fact not lost on Arizona’s Democrat hierarchy. No political novice, she was elected as a state representative, followed by a stint as state senator, where she was Majority Whip. Her background is varied, with her membership on various committees giving her a breadth of experience on a wide range of issues from health care to taxes. Later she was elected to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors where she served admirably as chairman.

If Napolitano were to depart for the environs of D.C., the exceptionally capable Jan Brewer would be the Democrat’s worst nightmare.

Talkin’ up the gals

McCain’s hometown headache

As Barack Obama scouts for a vice presidential running-mate, the upfront and behind-the-scenes baggage will all be carefully weighed. He’s already assembled a selection committee to keep his hands relatively free of stain at this point. Yet, speculation continues to run high.

Foremost among considerations would be bringing a woman onboard. Think of the limitless new constituencies. The first Black candidate to head a presidential ticket, would balance that first, with another—a woman as vice president!  Such an appointee would be balm to the open wounds left by Hillary Clinton’s graceless exit. Some women are said to be irate that she’s been given her walking papers.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has been mentioned as a possibility. But it is Arizona’s Gov. Janet Napolitano, an early supporter of Obama’s presidential quest, who brings a different type of heft.  As a Democrat from McCain’s own state, Napolitano has the ability to generate a unique excitement along with an abundant dose of embarrassment for McCain.

McCain is keen to avoid dust-ups, even steering clear of Arizona’s recent state Republican convention where his own delegates were being elected. The McCain troops were so concerned that there would be an insurrection by disgruntled conservatives or Ron Paul Libertarians, that uniformed officers were stationed throughout the hall and the state GOP chairman alluded to “anarchists” among the elected state committeemen in the crowded auditorium.

Nary an anarchist reared his head nor was a shot fired, but McCain ducked the event. If he avoids his own party coronation, how willing will he be to return home to a state where Arizona’s governor is Number Two on the opposing ticket?