Carolina Politics Online

This is definitely a face palm moment.

Actually, this merits a double face palm.

“If Osama bin Laden ran in this district as a Republican, he would get 38 to 40 percent of the vote in any election year,” says Wayne Wingate, Spratt’s communications director, as he walks alongside the congressman at the festival. “This is a very Republican district. So you’ve got that plus this tea party angst against any incumbent in the world right now.”

Columbia Free Times

So that is the opinion that Congressman Spratt and his staffers apparently have of about roughly 300,000 of their constituents.  They think so lowly of the people they are “representing” that they think we would actually cast our votes for Osama bin Laden, a man who orchestrated the deaths of over 3,000 Americans nine years ago, rather than reelect Jack Spratt.

If I were Bubba I’d be shopping for a new communications director pretty damn quick because for a race that’s down to the wire like this one, he can’t afford to have an insidious douche like Wayne Wingate out and about flapping his yap for him.

Is this the same Wayne Wingate who used to own Durango Bagel?

That Jack Spratt is now attacking his election opponent is a sign that he is concerned about his reelection bid.  He wouldn’t be going on the offense against Mulvaney if he didn’t fear his chances of being defeated by him.

Spratt told a Fort Mill audience this week that Mulvaney voted against funding for children’s health insurance, early childhood education and new school buses while in the Legislature, and also proposed eliminating state money for S.C. educational television.

“He basically is against the government,” Spratt told 80 supporters at a fundraiser at McHale’s pub on Gold Hill Road. The York Democrat labeled his opponent “a candidate of the tea party.”

The Herald

This is a problem?  These are the things that he is criticizing Mulvaney over?  That he opposes too much government interference?  That may play well to the far left constituency that Bubba has been pandering to for the past few years, but I doubt most people are going to have a problem with a candidate who believes in fiscal discipline and a limited role in government.  Bubba can attempt to paint Mulvaney as some type of extremist, but Bubba himself is just the opposite extreme, voting in favor of government mandated health insurance and the economy choking Cap and Trade bill as well as being the architect of budgets with trillion dollar deficits.

Mulvaney fired back, accusing Spratt of trying to take the focus off his own unpopular votes.

“While I have listened to my constituents, John Spratt has listened to Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama,” Mulvaney said of the Democratic U.S. House speaker and president. “Where I made tough choices to stay on budget, Mr. Spratt has grown the national debt.

“No matter how harsh Mr. Spratt’s attacks on me become, he will not be able to hide his record.”

Spratt has fielded criticism over his support of health care reform, the stimulus package and the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), derided as a bank bailout bill.

And Mulvaney is exactly right.  Spratt’s voting record reeks of a two week old, messed in diaper.  He won’t be able to hide from his record and it will destroy him on November 2nd.

Outside, where the temperature hovered between 95 and 98 degrees, about 20 people from the Charleston area took part in the protest, including John Steinberger and Jack Jackson, advocates of the FairTax, a plan to replace federal income taxes and payroll taxes with a national retail sales tax, among other components. “We just want people to realize there is a better way,” Steinberger said.

He said he hoped that Biden took notice of the crowd, but even if he didn’t see the turnout — or it didn’t matter to him — for several hours, passers-by on the busy Columbia roadway did.

One of the event organizers, William Stallings of Rock Hill, stayed up until 3 a.m. with his wife making signs, including one with a picture of a baby and the words “Stop! Spending my money.”

“We want our freedoms back, a responsible government and less spending,” Stallings said.

The Post and Courier

The White House has adjusted its deficit prediction for the year and now estimates a jaw dropping $1.47 trillion deficit for 2010.  You can thank John Spratt for this.  As chairman of the House Budget Committee he carries the most influence over the budget and bears a bulk of the responsibility for the deficit built into it.  Furthermore, this year he failed to pass a budget for the first time ever and it was done on purpose! The projected deficit next year is another trillion and a half and the Democrats don’t want that to be added to the fodder they are going to be nailed with in November. They are already heading for a brutal onslaught by voters all across the country.

Never in American history have we seen such recklessness from a Congress.  I think Spratt is gravely underestimating the furor of the voters in this coming election.

Vice President Joe Biden will headline a fundraiser for U.S. Rep. John Spratt next week during a visit to Columbia.

Biden will be in town July 23 to help dedicate the new Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library at the University of South Carolina. Completed in June, the $18 million library is named in honor of the retired Democratic U.S. senator from South Carolina, a close friend of Biden’s.

An afternoon fundraiser for Spratt will take place at the South Carolina State Museum, the York Democrat’s office confirmed late Tuesday. Ticket availability and prices were not available.

“The vice president is coming for the dedication of the Hollings library and graciously offered to appear at my fundraiser as an aside,” Spratt said through a spokesman. “I’m grateful for his gesture and look forward to the event.”

The Herald

If I were an endangered incumbent Democrat like Jack Spratt that last thing I would want is a member of the current administration holding a fund raising event with me and making a public appearance related to my reelection campaign.  Spratt should be running as far away from the White House as possible, but it’s not surprising he doesn’t recognize that.  He’s not mentally aware enough to see that he is a major part of the problem in D.C.

I wonder what asinine remarks will come out of our gaffe prone Vice-President at this shindig.

In lieu of an official budget, John Spratt last week introduced a budget enforcement resolution, eluding any details as to how exactly record deficits will be reduced. The reason for this is obvious. The Democratic Congress is attempting to pull one over on the American people. They caught hell for their $1.5 trillion deficit last year and in an election year they don’t want to be forced to vote on another budget with a similar deficit.

The enforcement resolution is being used because rank-and-file Democrats did not want to vote for a budget resolution that would show large deficits, particularly in an election year marked by worries about the nation’s fiscal solvency.

The measure, written by House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt (D-S.C.), calls for a budget by 2015 that would be balanced except for debt interest payments. This mirrors a goal already set out by Obama.

Spratt’s measure doesn’t say what policies Congress should enact to reach that out-year goal, something past budget resolutions have done. Instead, it relies on the White House fiscal commission, a bipartisan panel looking at tax, spending and entitlement policies, to come up with a plan to halve the projected $1.5 trillion 2010 deficit by 2015.

The Hill

Spratt has failed in his duty as our elected representative here in the Fifth District and as the Congress’s Budget chairman. The NRCC has called Spratt out on his dishonesty and deception.

More Bubba hypocrisy…

Speaking to a friendly crowd, Spratt, who is chairman of the House Budget Committee, explained the status of the U.S. House’s budget, something he said is in place despite not having a resolution.

“We need something to keep spending in line,” he said. “We need something that causes people to stop and say, ‘Can we afford it?’ We’ve got that in place…. Don’t worry about the fact we don’t have a budget.”

In late June, the budget vote stalled and was replaced by other measures, including an alternative budget resolution calling for a cap on discretionary spending at levels lower than those in President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2011 budget.

Spratt detailed the country’s deficit and unemployment numbers when Obama took office, talking about its positive turnaround and indicators for the future.

The Herald

Spratt tells you one thing, but does another.  He is the budget chairman.  He ushered through a budget last year with a deficit of a trillion and a half dollars and he’s going to usher another one with similar financial deficiencies.  Spratt helped pass the health care bill, creating yet another entitlement program that this country cannot afford.  Now he stands up before an audience of his sheep and lectures about responsible spending?  But here is the real kicker.  In 2006, it was John Spratt who said “If you can’t budget, you can’t govern.”

And what positive turnaround is Bubba referring to?  The real unemployment rate has remained in the mid teens and is worse than it was when Obama took office.  This Congress and administration have had more than enough time to start producing results.  It’s clear to me the only way to get the country back on track is to throw bums like Bubba out and stop the disastrous agenda coming from the White House.

Congressional candidate Jim Pratt won the Republication nomination in a recount in which he was certified as the winner over Nancy Harrelson by 111 votes.  Pratt will now face Congressman Jim Clyburn in the November election.  Harrelson ran against Clyburn in 2008  Clyburn handily defeated her, receiving 67.5% of the vote.  The district is a gerrymander special, carved out to specifically elect a black Democrat.  It encompasses the cities of Columbia, Florence, Sumter, and North Charleston.  The Cook Partisan Voting Index scores this seat as D+12 which puts it pretty handily in the Democrats’ column.  Although it’s not impossible for there to be an upset, especially with all the anti-incumbent angst this year, I don’t expect to see Mr. Clyburn leaving Washington.

Yes, Scott was the first black Republican elected to public office in South Carolina since 1900, when he first won a seat on County Council.

He’s the only black Republican in the Legislature today, and he likely will be the only black Republican in Congress if he wins the general election in November.

But Scott is quick to dismiss that sort of talk, and has been loath to discuss race at all during his congressional campaign. He claims no interest in being the “only” or the “first” black anything.

“My goal is just to be the guy that I’ve always been,” he said at his Allstate Insurance Co. office in West Ashley the day after his victory in the runoff election.

The Post and Courier

Why can’t the racist media talk about Tim Scott’s qualifications and vision instead of constantly focusing on the fact that he is black.  Who cares?  Nobody voted for Tim Scott because he is black.  Tim Scott didn’t set out to become the first black Republican to represent South Carolina in Congress since Reconstruction.  He ran to advance an agenda he thinks will be beneficial to South Carolina’s First District.  I like Scott because he wants to repeal health care deform and restrain the growth of government.  That’s all I would have needed to know if I lived in that district.

The media is overwhelmingly leftist.  That has been confirmed by study after study.  It’s a simple fact.  It is also the left that claims to be the side of the political aisle that believes in equality in every aspect of life, so why then is it always the left that is constantly bringing up race?  All we’ve heard since the South Carolina primary is how Tim Scott was the first black Republican State Representative in 100 years and how he’ll be the first Congressman from South Carolina in over a century.  What we should be hearing about is what Tim Scott intends to do as the next Congressman from the First District.

The racist media really needs to get over this fixation they have.

Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin endorsed First District congressional candidate Tim Scott on Saturday.

Scott faces fellow Republican Paul Thurmond on Tuesday in the GOP run-off election.

The endorsement was apparently first announced on Facebook. Palin wrote that Scott is a “pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment, pro-development, commonsense conservative who’s been endorsed by the Club for Growth because of his solid commitment to the principles of limited government and fiscal responsibility.”

The Post and Courier

You can say what you want about Sarah Palin, but the woman has a significant amount of influence among Republican voters and her endorsement carries weight.  She took Nikki Haley from last place to first place overnight in the gubernatorial race.

This is an excerpt from one of Bubba’s press releases:

John Spratt Introduces the “Reduce Unnecessary Spending Act”

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) issued the following statement after introducing the “Reduce Unnecessary Spending Act of 2010,” a legislative proposal to increase the powers of policy makers to eliminate wasteful spending through a procedure known as expedited rescission.

“Today I was pleased to file a bill to provide an extra tool to enforce fiscal discipline. The purpose of ‘expedited rescission’ is simple: to allow the President to sign a spending bill into law and at the same time propose to Congress that certain items in the bill with a budgetary cost be eliminated. Congress takes up the proposals on a fast-track basis, and the proposed cuts take effect if approved by a majority in each house.

“While my involvement with this idea dates back to the 1990s, I am pleased to be joined today by 20 original co-sponsors spanning the spectrum of House Democrats – from Progressive to New Democrat to Blue Dog, and from freshman to veteran – all united in our belief that we need to do everything we can to be sure that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and deficits reduced.

This man is a complete and utter liar.  Was it not Jack Spratt who chairs the House Budget Committee and was a-okay with passing a budget last year with a $1.5 trillion deficit?  Is it not Jack Spratt who is ready to push a  budget for this next fiscal year with a $1.5 trillion deficit?  Was is not Jack Spratt who voted for every deficit riddled budget of the Bush Administration as well?  Now he is going to tell us that he cares about responsible spending??

For Immediate Release – June 8, 2010

SUBJECT: South Carolina 1st Congressional Candidate Katherine Jenerette Endorses Tim Scott

Katherine Jenerette for Congress, First U.S. Congressional District, South Carolina

Web Site: http://www.jenerette.com

Bio: http://www.jenerette.com/2010_bio

Katherine Jenerette Official Campaign Photos: http://jenerette.org/photos/

E-mail: uscongress@msn.com Tele contact: (843) 685-5476

For More information Contact: Stephen R Maloney, National Spokesman Jenerette for US Congress Campaign
Phone: 412-952-9232 e-mail: TalkTop65@aol.com

Katherine JENERETTE ANNOUNCES ENDORSEMENT of Tim SCOTT for CONGRESS

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH – Katherine Jenerette, Horry County Candidate for the 1st Congressional District seat being vacated by Rep. Henry Brown, held a press conference late Tuesday night to announce that she will endorse SC Rep. Tim Scott in his bid for Congress.

“I would like to congratulate Tim Scott in his finish in today’s primary election. Tim and I spoke shortly after his primary win was announced this evening and after that conversation I have decided to fully endorse the candidacy of Tim Scott to be the next United States Congressman for the First Congressional District of South Carolina.”

I felt that the right thing to do was to decide which candidate, in my judgment, would do what was in the best interest of the 1st District in the long run. I wanted to be certain that whoever I selected to endorse would be someone who shared my values and beliefs – my Commitment to the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of rights – my belief in the sanctity of human life, including my views concerning the difficult questions of abortion, euthanasia, physician assisted suicide and protection of the unborn. I wanted to be certain that the promises made to our veterans and our active duty servicemen and women would be kept. I needed to know that who I supported would provide leadership on a wide range of topics, such as education, fair tax, social security, and they would ensure that our senior citizens would have access to the best medical care and receive support in their time of need during these changing times. I needed to know that the many local issues of tourism and hospitality, flood and disaster planning and the complexities of our district were foremost on the agenda of who I endorsed. And finally, I wanted to know that the people of Horry and Georgetown counties would not be forgotten once the votes were counted and the election was over. This is my home and these people are my neighbors.

Tim Scott shares my conservative platform and will carry a plan of legislative agendas forward; therefore I have decided to fully endorse the candidacy of Tim Scott to be the next United States Congressman for the First Congressional District of South Carolina.

Here are some of the many reasons why I have endorsed Tim Scott:

#1) I know that Tim will carry the conservative message from the First District voters to Washington, DC.
#2) I know that Tim will cut wasteful government spending, watching every precious taxpayer dollar.
#3) I know that Tim will fight to win the war on terror, and support our military so that America can continue to lead the free world.
#4) And I know that after getting to see and hear all of the all the Congressional candidates over the past few months, Tim Scott is the most effective advocate for conservative change, which is why I am honored to join his team.

I want to thank my husband and my four children for the support, encouragement, energy and love they have shown throughout the campaign. I want to thank my many supporters and volunteers who became my staff and consultants – I also need to thank the thousands of voters throughout the district who stood with me and made it clear that they think it’s time to take a stand on the issues and put forward a clear vision and legislative agenda to carry to Washington.

I encourage all of the voters of the First Congressional District to support Tim Scott and get out the Vote during the run off election in two weeks.

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The S.C. Supreme Court today unanimously ruled Myrtle Beach’s motorcycle helmet law is invalid because it is superseded by state law.

But also, the court said it found the city impliedly repealed the law itself when it repealed its own administrative court ordinance after the court’s chief justices opined that was unconstitutional.

The Sun News

U.S. Rep. John Spratt was late in paying property taxes on two occasions at his home in Washington, D.C., resulting in $1,382 in late penalties and interest, his office confirmed to The Herald.

Meanwhile, Republican challenger Mick Mulvaney’s development company made late tax payments on four different properties between 2005 and 2009, according to York County tax records.

Spratt said he paid the bills as soon as he discovered the missed deadlines. One payment was made three weeks late in September; the other was five days late in April.

The Herald

As far as I am concerned, this is a non-story.  So they both made a few tax payments late.  It happens.  It would be one thing if they completely dodged them altogether, you know, like five of Barack Obama’s cabinet nominees, including the current Treasury Secretary who actually heads up the IRS, but that is not the case here.

But GOP operatives pounced on Spratt’s late payments as a campaign issue, pointing out the York Democrat helps run the federal budget as chairman of the House Budget Committee.

“Be it willfully or mistakenly, is it any wonder the nation’s balance sheet is deep in the red when Barack Obama’s budget chairman can’t manage his personal finances?” asked Andy Sere, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Spratt supporters fired back Thursday that Republicans shouldn’t be so quick to criticize.

And they shouldn’t be.  It’s hypocritical for the NRCC to criticize Spratt for his late tax payments when Mulvaney has had the same problem.  Sure, Spratt is a shitty budget chairman, but the two issues are mutually exclusive.  The NRCC should follow Mulvaney’s own advice and focus on the issues people actually care about.

Tune in Monday on Memorial Day at 7:00pm Eastern time to watch Katherine Jenerette on FOX Business’ America’s Nightly Scoreboard with David Asman. As part of an episode-long salute to veterans, David Asman kicked off the May 28 edition of Fox Business’ America’s Nightly Scoreboard by hosting four veterans who are running for Congress – South Carolina’s Katherine Jenerette, Florida’s Allen West, Michigan’s Brian Rooney, and Adam Kinzinger from Illinois.

Asman described them as a “refreshing voice that is rising up” and “veterans who want to kick out the incumbents and take their place in D.C.,” adding that they are among “nearly two dozen vets” who are “looking to take back Congress and making a real difference.” The show will be broadcast again on the Memorial Day program.

Police conducted the checkpoint Wednesday and issued 53 citations, arrested six people and towed four vehicles, Bertang said. The following are the total number of citations and violations police found during the checkpoint:

19 driver’s license violation

10 vehicle license violations

1 equipment violation

3 driving under suspension violations

3 illegal drug cases

6 other moving violations

11 no proof of insurance violations

The Sun News

Boy, I don’t know about you, but I sure am glad the Myrtle Beach police violated the civil rights of 728 people with their Gestapo-like checkpoint in order to take down all of those “violent” and “dangerous” criminals.  I mean 11 people without their insurance card?  Thank God the boys in blue are protecting us from them.  Tax dollars well spent.

Start packing your bags, Bubba.  We’ve had enough of you selling us out for San Fran Nan.

This is not the questionnaire that CPO sent out to the First Congressional District candidates, but one sent out by the Jenerette campaign regarding her views on the issues.

North Myrtle Beach, SC — First District Congressional Candidates Katherine Jenerette’s response to recent questions from the media.

Q1) What do you think most separates you from your eight primary opponents? What sets you apart?

Answer: When you mix motherhood, a USC education with an army paratrooper and years of experience in Local State and Federal government in South Carolina you could end up with a Congressman who is more than just a pretty face in a skirt and high heels on C-span. That’s pretty different.

Q2) Specifically, what would be the first two or three things you would do in your first year in office, if elected?

Answer: The first two or three things I intend to do is a list of about two-dozen things starting with the Economy and Jobs and a lot in-between. I don’t have to tell the people what our problems are in South Carolina – they know it, we’re almost broke from too many taxes and a lot of people are plain scared of losing the jobs they have and the answer isn’t in Washington except to get the Federal government red-tape-bureaucracy as far away from small businesses and stop taxing peoples hard earned money.

Second, we have to get our National Security Agenda on track and that starts with securing our borders because if we can send unmanned aircraft drones thousands of miles away to take out targets in Afghanistan we can certainly build a fence along our border with Mexico. Arizona is on the right track and the Federal Governments policies on borders, visas and immigration is screwed up.

Third, I intend to reintroduce my fellow Congressman – especially Speaker Nancy Pelosi – to the U.S. Constitution, and I figure after a while even Pelosi will get tired of me whistling Dixie to her and learn something about us Carolina girls ability to stand our ground up-close and personal.

Q3) What do you consider your single most important experience that has prepared you to serve in Congress?

Answer: I’d say the single most important thing was my years as a U.S. Congressional Field Representative for the First District which gave me a ton of experiences about our needs and the needs of the average person in the district. That experience shaped my principles: As a congressman I won’t just be representing the right, left or either extreme or the people in the middle – I will represent all the people of my district and that includes the richest businessmen and it includes single-moms with kids who are trying to get them through school to educate them and the ordinary people like me who go to work and pay their taxes and wished their government wasn’t so dang big.

Government is supposed to be about people. I’ve always thought that the bigger the government, the smaller the individual – and that one small voice is always important, because when we lose that, we lose what the American dream is all about.

Q4) What do you feel has been the most overlooked issue in this campaign?

Answer: I think that when fifty percent of your jobs and working people are involved with the Tourism Economy which I call “Industry without Smoke Stacks’ I figure that issue should be up there on the list with the Ports of Georgetown and Charleston harbors. I felt that issue was overlooked and it needs to be part of the conversation – it only came up in the context of the Louisiana Oil Spill and like it on not, tourism is what we do best: Carolina Sun, Sand and Food and Charleston hospitality is who we are.

###

SHORT BIO INFORMATION FOLLOWS

Date of Birth: May 31, 1968

Family: (Husband, Van; son, Christian David, 17; three daughters, Benjamin Elizabeth, 14; Drake Katherine, 13; and Wilson Gabrielle, 9).

Residence: North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Occupation: Adjunct Professor of History, U.S. Army Reserve Officer – Paratrooper

Education: BS Coastal Carolina University; MS University of South Carolina.

Public offices: U.S. Congressional Field Representative 1st District, SC; North Myrtle Beach Planning Commissioner; North Myrtle Beach Mayors Advisory Council; Horry County Planning Commission Envision 2025 Committee

Katherine Jenerette for Congress, First U.S. Congressional District, South Carolina

Web Site: http://www.jenerette.com Bio: http://www.jenerette.com/2010_bio

Katherine Jenerette Official Campaign Photos: http://jenerette.org/photos/

E-mail: uscongress@msn.com Tele contact: (843) 685-5476

The National Republican Congressional Committee issued a statement Monday saying Rep. John Spratt of South Carolina, who was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, is losing his memory.

The statement calls the 67-year-old House Budget Committee chairman “Amnesiac John Spratt” and contained six bold-lettered allegations that he’s forgetting what’s happening in Washington.

“After 28 years in Washington, John Spratt’s memory is failing him,” it began. He “can’t even recall what Obamacare does … Now – worst of all – it seems he’s completely forgotten who he works for.”

The Herald

Not the brightest move by the NRCC, but I also think that the AP is making a lot of hay out of nothing.  While Parkinson’s Disease is certainly debilitating, it doesn’t cause memory loss.  If the man was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, then Andy Sere would probably have a lot more egg on his face.  In fact, in that scenario they should probably be thrown at him.

As rationale for the criticism, Sere noted a recent comment from Spratt that it is sometimes difficult to remember which provisions were in the different versions of the massive health care bill.

And I’m sure that’s all it was.  Mick Mulvaney who is running against Spratt in the general election has not made an issue out of Spratt’s health stating that it shouldn’t be a factor, but I disagree.  I think the health of a political candidate is fair game.  If I am going to elect someone to represent me in the government I want to make sure they’re physically capable of doing so.  The issue can certainly be brought up without being nasty or mean spirited.

From a press release from the Jenerette campaign:

North Myrtle Beach, SC — GOP First District Congressional Candidates Tim Scott and Katherine Jenerette teamed up on Wednesday to decry the federal government’s decision to siphon millions of dollars away from the Department of Defense budget to erect a monument to Ted Kennedy in Boston, Massachusetts.

“I don’t know of any Taxpayer Paid shrine or mausoleum to any politician in Massachusetts or South Carolina that can stop an RPG or IED or an AK-47 round in Iraq or Afghanistan ,” said Jenerette a veteran of the Persian Gulf War and a former U.S. Congressional Aide. “But if that $20 million can help save one single American soldier’s life downrange in Iraq or Afghanistan, it’s worth it to keep it in the U.S. Defense Department budget and not siphon it off for the Sainthood of Ted Kennedy or anyone else.”

At least $19 million has been siphoned from the U.S. Defense Department budget to pay for the Kennedy shrine, which could ultimately end up costing taxpayers as much as $80 million.

$80 million of our money while we have a $12 trillion deficit over our heads all just to eternally enshrine Chappaquiddick Fats?  Ted Kennedy deserves a shrine to his memory, why, for being a politician?  Being a Kennedy?  The bulk of his political career was made from of his family’s name mixed with two parts corruption and three parts Chivas Regal.  A lot of “to do” is made of the Kennedys, but they were probably the most corrupt political family in the history of our nation and Teddy was no better.  The only significant accomplishment the man made to this country was spearheading the expansion of the nanny welfare state.

There are few leaders in American history that deserve to have their heads enshrined in stone for future generations.  These were men who faced great odds and brought down enormous threats, men like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln and as much as I may disagree with his domestic policies, Franklin Roosevelt.  These were extraordinary men whose legacies shaped the future of our nation in unimaginable ways during their time.  Ted Kennedy couldn’t carry their jock.