New Jersey Gov: Freeze worked!

Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced that New Jersey residents can relax, if only a bit; his budget freeze has worked and no tax hikes will be necessary to cover the $800 million shortfall between the budget and projected income to the financially-strapped state.

The savings from merely keeping all increases out of the budget, merely keeping funding level, was enough to accomplish this; it’s a common GOP tactic for fixing budget deficits, and it has historically worked nearly every time it has been tried. Sadly, few since Reagan have tried it and the tactic is often undermined by Democrats who find way to balloon the budget anyway.

Still, Christie has pulled it off in New Jersey despite Democratic opposition. That’s not just the saving from “green energy-saving methods” like furnace filters, but real, honest-to-bankbook savings.

Well done, Gov. Christie! You can be sure “draconian” and other typical liberal sobriquets are sure to appear next to his name from now on!

New York Assemblyman would require organ donation

New York Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky is a portrait of why the New York GOP isn’t very conservative. Brodsky, who nearly lost his daughter at the ages of 4 and 10 through kidney failure, has proposed to make it mandatory that every single New Yorker become a registered organ donor, whether they like it or not!

Brodsky, a Westchester Republican, has drawn some plaudits for his support of tax cuts in the state, but this proposal – by far as over-reaching and as much of a big government solution than any proposal by a New York Democrat – betrays his true sensibilities.

No one can fault Brodsky for feeling more strongly about organ donation than, say, mandatory online life insurance, but the best solution is to channel that energy into educational efforts, fund-raising drives, awareness campaigns and the like.

And organ donation can definitely be a life-saver and a good idea. However, to use the strong arm of big government to forcibly register every New Yorker as an organ donor – willing or unwilling – is Big Brother Government at its worst. When one loses the freedom to choose not to volunteer for organ donation – or anything else – what one is really losing is freedom itself.

There’s nothing conservative about that.

Battle of the midgets

The mainstream media, never tiring of telling conservatives which RINOs to vote for, are already trying to sell Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty as the major feud for the 2012 GOP race to face off with President Obama. And the GOP would be utterly stupid to go with either of these tin men.

Romney sold Massachusetts on RomneyCare, which bears a strong resemblance to ObamaCare, on a state level. There’s nothing Reagan-esque about him, and only by comparison did Romney seem even mildly conservative; that’s what standing on a podium next to the RINO king, John McCain will get you.

And Pawlenty? A McCain disciple if ever there were one. He nearly beat out Palin as McCain’s running mate, and would have if he’d been even slightly diverse on views from McCain. But he’s not, so McCain went with Palin in an effort not to lose all the conservatives in his race against Obama.

Here are some names of conservative substance to take a long look at in 2012: Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry, Jim DeMint and John Thune. Sure, toss Sarah Palin in there if you must. As least she’s more energetic and better-informed than Joe Biden, who apparently eats CAD drawings for lunch, thinking they’re an exotic chocolate.

The point is, any combination of that group would make a fine set of opponents for the Obama-Biden ’12 fiasco ahead.

Whether it’s Perry-Thune or Jindal-DeMint, I don’t care… just as long as it’s not Obama-Biden again when the dust settles.

Full of sound and fury

John McCain wants to label it “a tale told by an idiot,” but whether that’s true or not, GOP US Senate challengers in Arizona J.D. Hayworth is certainly “full of sound and fury,” though it remains to be seen if his latest ad campaign in his challenge of McCain for the GOP nod is “signifying nothing” or not.

Hayworth, a one-time talk radio host, launched an ad critical of McCain’s conservative credentials, using an ad that paints McCain’s face blue, as in the movie Avatar. It’s a shiny, glitzy, with-it ad with a biting sense of humor and savvy pop-culture IQ filling the screens of netbooks nation-wide.

So of course, McCain and crew are demanding an apology for Hayworth calling McCain a “nominee for best conservative actor.” And here I thought it was that “sound like Reagan, govern like Carter” fellow currently in the White House.

Huh…

Palin teaming with Burnett for reality series

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and reality TV producer Mark Burnett are teaming up to shop a reality TV series around Hollywood, which would focus on Alaska and the Palin family, according to numerous online reports. Considering a reality show, even if approved for next fall, could spend as much as a year in production and it’s already 2010, the chances of Palin running for the GOP presidential nod in 2012 are starting to look slimmer and slimmer.

No one can begrudge Palin wanting to cash in and make a living for her and her family; but with her job search possibly impinging on the 2012 presidential campaign season, it’s looking like Palin may have her sights set on 2016 and beyond, or has embraced the celebrity life.

The reason a reality TV jaunt could impinge on a presidential run goes not just to conflicting schedules, but to FCC campaign standards. If Palin wishes to run, no broadcast show featuring her could air once her campaign for the White House officially begins, without invoking the specter of “equal time” laws regulated by the FCC. Since it’s unlikely any broadcast or cable net is going to give the green light to a Palin reality show that it would need to clone for some twelve to twenty candidates from the two major parties as well as minor party candidates, the chances of a show getting green-lit by Hollywood would likely depend on assurances from Palin that she’s committed to the show over a presidential run… at least until the first season completes airing.

There are numerous precedents for such situations; in 1980, broadcast TV had to cease airing old movies and TV shows featuring Ronald Reagan until after the Carter-Reagan showdown was over. More recently, in the late 1990s, former pro wrestler and talk radio host Jesse Ventura was forced to step down from his radio gig to run for Minnesota governor.

Perry prevails in GOP primary

Two-term incumbent GOP Texas Governor Rick Perry fended off strong challenges from three-term GOP Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson and Tea Party activist Debra Medina to secure his party’s nomination for an unprecedented third term.

Perry, who has embraced the Tea Party Movement and anti-Obama sentiment, secured 51 percent of his party’s support, followed by 31 percent for the more liberal Hutchinson, and around 18 percent for the more conservative-leaning Medina. None of them seem including toward selling life insurance, so Hutchinson will continue in her Senate seat while Medina made a strong enough showing to be heard from again.

However, Perry holds several distinctions; even without a third-term, he’s the longest-serving governor in Texas history and will face former Houston mayor Bill White in the fall in a bid to extend his reign. Perry’s first term was relatively quiet but as the Bush presidency was ending, he emerged from his predecessor’s shadow to become a strong conservative voice.

At a Tea Party meeting last summer, Perry even gave voice to Texas independence if Obama’s strong-arm federal approach didn’t tone done… a note he struck again in his victory speech Tuesday night.

Coleman won’t run

Former US Senator Norm Coleman, seen by many as the candidate in either party most likely to broker a stadium deal for the Minnesota Vikings, has decided to sit out of the race to replace presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty, who decided to forego a possible third term as Minnesota governor.

Coleman lost a tough, close battle with Al Franken for the US Senate seat from Minnesota, in an election marked by allegations of ACORN-inspired election fraud – even though the court system refused to consider such evidence.

While many saw Coleman as the biggest name the GOP could field to replace Pawlenty, the truth is that Coleman is a notorious RINO and was not considered a welcome entrant by the conservative wing of the party. By sitting out the race, there remains a chance a real conservative could prevail from the primary fight.

Still, one has to wonder why Coleman chose to sit out an election he thought he could win; does Franken have pictures of Coleman taking womens vitamins or something? Doubtful.

Brown up on Coakley

Today, Massachusetts will hold an election to fill the vacant Senate seat once filled by the late Teddy Kennedy, and it appears that a Republican may have a chance to not only win the seat in liberal Massachusetts, but could go on to take away the Dems’ filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. That could help stop the ObamaCare plan that looks to imperil the nation’s budget, as well as its quality of care.

According to RealClearPolitics, Brown currently leads Democrat Coakley by nine points. In liberal Massachusetts. Wow. Of course, it helps that Brown is talking issues while Coakley is mumbling something about handing out Nordic Track promotion codes or some such nonsense.

Levity aside, a nine-point lead could be enough to put Brown beyond the margin of error; all eyes will be on Massachusetts over the next 24 hours or so.

2010 midterms looking good for GOP

It’s going to be a tough fight, putting together a reform agenda, an economic plan that offers real hope, and taking advantage of Obama Disillusionment Syndrome, but the political textbooks say that mid-term elections are always hardest on first-term presidents and so far the cards seem to be stacking in the GOP’s favor.

At least 11 Democrat congressmen have announced their intent not to run, with more on the way, and there have already been a couple defections from the Dems to the GOP in the House. There are at least two vulnerable Dem seats in Congress that seem destined to change the party in control as both Harry Reid and Chris Dodd appear doomed to defeat; others could fall as well, if this ripple turns into a tidal wave if midterm discontent.

Of course, the biggest risk for the GOP is whether they will choose to sponsor Democrat-Lite candidates, or real conservatives that will offer voters a real choice in November. If the GOP returns to its Reagan roots, we could be looking at something akin to the 1994 GOP Revolt once again.

Lou Dobbs ponders Senate, presidency

The long-standing former CNN financial analyst, Lou Dobbs, is pondering a run for US Senate from New Jersey as a Republican in 2010. If he runs, it would be in opposition to the U.S. Senate’s only Hispanic member, Democrat Robert Menendez.

Dobbs gained notice for his strong views against illegal immigration and amnesty while a broadcast figure on CNN, but has been softening his views since announcing his intent to run for the Senate seat in New Jersey; sounds like he’d make a perfect politician, if not exactly a conservative. Sounds like someone took some pond pumps to him.

Dobbs has also admitted he’s considered a presidential run, perhaps as early as 2012. That would make him precisely as qualified at the federal level as President Obama was when he ran for the White House.

Huckabee may not run in 2012

Appearing on Fox News Sunday this weekend, former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee admitted he may sit out the 2012 race for president, due in part to his weekly Fox News Channel show. This is great news for real conservatives, since Huckabee is no more conservative than John McCain was, even though he was younger, more Christian and more pro-life.

While his word is likely to be less reliable than good insurance quotes, for now the nation can breathe a sigh of relief and hope that a real conservative, like Sarah Palin or Bobby Jindal, rise to the top in 2012.

And here I thought it would be me…

A CBS News/Vanity Fair poll listed radio host Rush Limbaugh as the nation’s most influential conservative voice, according to results released Sunday. Limbaugh was named by 26 percent of respondents, followed by Glenn Beck with 11 percent and politicians Sarah Palin and Dick Cheney at 10 percent each.

That Limbaugh is the nation’s leading conservative voice should come as no shock, given its a position he held – poll data or not – since the early 1990s. The only true shock is that CBS News is actually acknowledging the radio host’s existence without attempting to tie him to an appetite suppressant scandal or something like that. Refreshing! Thanks for telling us what we already knew, CBS!