Hmm...So America Wanted A Change

Save The GOP is reporting news that bloggers should be concerned with. Apparently, the U.S. Senate's ethics bill had language that required all bloggers with 500 readers to register or face a
criminal offense. Thank God, though, that the majority of U.S. Senators did not agree with the
action to oppress the grassroots movement of America. That is the good news! The vote was
55-43 to strip the language out that would have oppressed bloggers, as well as any other person active in grassroots politics. Below is how the senators voted. The list comes from the U.S. Senate webpage on floor votes.



Grouped By Vote Position
YEAs ---55
Alexander (R-TN) Allard (R-CO) Baucus (D-MT) Bayh (D-IN) Bennett (R-UT) Bond (R-MO) Bunning (R-KY) Burr (R-NC) Chambliss (R-GA) Coburn (R-OK) Cochran (R-MS) Coleman (R-MN) Collins (R-ME)Conrad (D-ND) Corker (R-TN) Cornyn (R-TX) Craig (R-ID) Crapo (R-ID) DeMint (R-SC) Dole (R-NC)Domenici (R-NM) Dorgan (D-ND) Ensign (R-NV) Enzi (R-WY) Graham (R-SC) Grassley (R-IA) Gregg (R-NH) Hagel (R-NE) Hatch (R-UT) Hutchison (R-TX) Inhofe (R-OK) Isakson (R-GA) Kyl (R-AZ) Landrieu (D-LA) Lott (R-MS) Lugar (R-IN) Martinez (R-FL) McCain (R-AZ) McConnell (R-KY) Murkowski (R-AK)Nelson (D-NE) Roberts (R-KS) Salazar (D-CO) Sessions (R-AL) Shelby (R-AL) Smith (R-OR) Snowe (R-ME)Specter (R-PA) Stevens (R-AK) Sununu (R-NH) Thomas (R-WY) Thune (R-SD) Vitter (R-LA) Voinovich (R-OH) Warner (R-VA)

NAYs ---43
Akaka (D-HI) Biden (D-DE) Bingaman (D-NM) Boxer (D-CA) Brown (D-OH) Byrd (D-WV) Cantwell (D-WA)Cardin (D-MD) Carper (D-DE) Casey (D-PA) Clinton (D-NY) Dodd (D-CT) Durbin (D-IL) Feingold (D-WI)Feinstein (D-CA) Harkin (D-IA) Inouye (D-HI) Kennedy (D-MA) Kerry (D-MA) Klobuchar (D-MN) Kohl (D-WI) Lautenberg (D-NJ) Leahy (D-VT) Levin (D-MI) Lieberman (ID-CT) Lincoln (D-AR) McCaskill (D-MO) Menendez (D-NJ) Mikulski (D-MD) Murray (D-WA) Nelson (D-FL) Obama (D-IL) Pryor (D-AR) Reed (D-RI) Reid (D-NV) Rockefeller (D-WV) Sanders (I-VT) Schumer (D-NY) Stabenow (D-MI) Tester (D-MT)Webb (D-VA) Whitehouse (D-RI) Wyden (D-OR)
Not Voting - 2
Brownback (R-KS)
Johnson (D-SD)


Look again at the nays. There seems to be six of the new senators who took seats away from Republicans in there. You could expect this out of Rhode Island. But to Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia I give a sarcastic thanks. I am certain that former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, as well as former Virginia Senator George Allen would of voted opposite of their replacements on this one. These states had Iraq on the brain so much that they put in these poor examples of leadership in the U.S. Senate. Not that Iraq is not important, but there are many issues here at home that are very crucial as well. This Senate Bill 1 is a very important piece of legislation. Not only was it originally supposed to restrict bloggers, but also keep legislative activities from the American people. The bill would also keep legislative activities under wrap from groups like the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family, institutions that do a good job in informing America of legislation that affects our moral and constitutional standards that have served us well for nearly 200 years. So, America seems to have wanted a change, but my sense would tell me that it looks to be a change toward the old Great Britain before we won our independence. Worse yet, this looks like it could have been a bill that would have been put into effect in the U.S.S.R. several decades ago, rather than our country which was founded on freedom. The next time America looks for change, I hope the voters seriously think about who they vote for and what the consequences will be.

Although the Republicans still have a long way to go to find their roots, notice that none of them voted with the likes of Durbin, Schumer, Clinton and Obama. Hopefully, the GOP is on the right track again!

Mid-Term Elections Recap

For us conservatives, we lost quite a bit on Tuesday. For me personally, there were three losses in particular that still disappoint me: Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, Arizona Congressman J.D. Hayworth, and the ballot measure to ban most abortions in South Dakota. Another potential loss to be considered in Virginia Sentator George Allen, but I still am not too sure about him because I have heard that he supported abortion before his service as a U.S. Senator. I do respect him more after his concession speech, however. Especially after the Christian references he put in there. I hold out hope that Mr. Santorum and Mr. Hayworth will soon again run for public office. Even better, hopefully they could be members of a future Presidential Cabinet.

In Tennessee, things were a bit better. Bob Corker is our new Senator-elect. Although I still have a few questions about him, I trust that he will represent our state well. If he doesn't, I have made a bad mistake volunteering for him. I originally supported and voted for former Congressman Ed Bryant in his second failed run for the Senate. The first time around, he fell to current U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander in the 2002 Republican primaries in Tennessee. Bryant is another statesman that I hope makes another run for public office, although he stated in his concession speech this August that he is done with elected service.

Looking into the next two years, I am not excited about where we are headed. In the House, which was the chamber we needed most in Congress, liberal Nancy Pelosi will likely be Speaker. This is a woman who marched with abortionists and homosexuals. The new House Majority Leader will likely be Steny Hoyer of Maryland, another liberal. In the Senate, a liberal trio will lead the majority party: Harry Reid of Nevada will be Majority Leader, Dick Durbin of Illinois will be his whip, and Chuck Schumer of New York will be third in power. The Democrats would be wise to bring the moderates in their party to leadership positions. That would be more likely to keep them in power for a longer period of time.

Many will say that Americans voted for change on Tuesday. That is true to some extent. I have heard that 40%-50% of registered voters voted this election cycle. Let us remember that less than half of our voting age population are registered voters. That means that less than 25% of potential voters voted. It would be interesting to see what the other 75%+ thinks of the new direction we are now going in.

We are set up for an interesting two years!