WHY I ENDORSE SENATOR JOHN McCAIN AND GOVERNOR SARAH PALIN

I actually endorsed Senator McCain and Governor Palin back in June. Well, at least Senator McCain's ticket, which included Governor Palin in August. I could have written a formal endorsement then, but I have decided to do it now, even though I have been working to get this year's GOP ticket elected for the last few months. Why support McCain and Palin? I'll tell you.

We all know we face serious and defining threats in these days, from both our homeland, and from abroad. Our great nation is at a crossroads. Economies go through cycles. Our financial system has decided it is that time again to take a downswing. Actually, most of the world's economies are lagging right now. Iran is threatening free nations. China is booming into a world superpower, led by a form of communism. Russia is becoming imperialist again, threatening sovereign nations around it, especially Georgia and Ukraine. The injustice known as abortion has snuffed out the lives of nearly 50 million unborn Americans. Illegal immigration continues to be an ongoing struggle in this country, and a drag on our environment, healthcare system, education system, and job market in this country. It is also a problem for the reason that the illegal immigrants are not assimilating into our culture well, which hurts our national identity. We need to get a grip on our energy policy. We are sending $700 billion a year overseas for our oil. We need to get those oil sources from home, and work towards a solid alternative energy policy. These are just a few of the obstacles we face as a country.

That brings us to our next leader. In the words of Democratic VP choice Joe Biden, "Now is not the time for on-the-job training when it comes to the Presidency" (he was actually criticizing Senator Obama when he said these words. They were spoken back in the primaries, when Biden and Obama were both seeking the Presidency). John McCain doesn't have much to prove when it comes to showing his patriotism. Most of us know about the terrible torture he went through in his nearly six years as prisoner of war in Vietnam. His time in the U.S. Navy gave him incredible experience in matters of the military. He knows exactly what our brave patriots are going through in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is not sending them there for his own personal gain. He first ran for Congress in 1982, and he has been in the Congress since, so he really knows how Washington works.

To balance out the experience, he chose Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who gives the ticket a good breath of fresh air. She is a great outsider. She has fought corruption in the oil business in Alaska. She fought a "good ole' boys" system that ran the the state's Republican Party, the state itself, and her town of Wasilla. She stands on principles and values she grew up with. Values of community, value of life, freedom, hard work, and opportunity. She is a terrific speaker, and has the presence of a Ronald Reagan. Something we haven't had since Reagan himself. She lacks in foreign policy experience, but so did Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Besides, John has more than enough of that to go around. Give Sarah a little time watching John, and she'll gain foreign policy experience over time. She is also a solid voice on energy independence, a pressing issue facing our country.

On the other hand, I believe voting for Senator Obama is about the same as rolling the dice on our next leader. As I have said above, now is certainly not the time to do that. He lacks tremendously in experience. He is also a socialist at heart. He believes in "spreading the wealth". America has been opposed to this since our founding. Our country was founded on a limited government, and the citizens were free to keep what they worked hard to earn. It was a novel concept at the time, and one that has worked great for us for years. Our economy could once again bounce out of this downtime we are experiencing if the government can keep its hands off. It shows the arrogance of government when they don't trust their citizens to be benevolent with their own money. They think it's their responsibility to redistribute the wealth. This is an idea that is completely unconstitutional. However, Senator Obama supports these policies. He supports the idea of "Fourth Trimester Abortion". Under this, it is OK to kill a baby born alive after a botched abortion attempt. He supports the idea of prematurely pulling our troops out of Iraq without them winning with honor. This would trow Iraq into a vacuum of chaos, and strengthen our enemies. We don't want that. In addition, he has decided to align himself with individuals with a dark past, and even present. Folks like Tony Rezko, Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, and others. Wright has called for G-D America after 9-11. Ayers attempted to bomb the Pentagon, NYC Police Headquarters, and the Capitol in the 1970s. In 2001, he said he wished he would have bombed more. To bring up these connections is not just some political fodder. Bringing up these connections goes a long way in trying to discover Obama's character, a crucial factor in electing a leader.

I believe I have made a solid case for supporting the McCain-Palin ticket tomorrow. To do otherwise would just be throwing the dice. Electing a leader is not a trip to Vegas to play blackjack.

McCain-Palin Rally In Cookeville A Great Success!

An estimated 125 attend event at Tennessee Tech to boost GOP ticket.

A successful rally for the GOP Presidential ticket was held Monday night on the campus of Tennessee Tech University. A good-sized crowd showed up to show their support for Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin, and to hear several guest speakers talk about their enthusiasm for the ticket, and for the candidates running in the Volunteer State.

The event was held in the Roaden University Center on TTU's campus, which is located in Cookeville, about midway between the cities of Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga, and on Interstate 40. The TTU College Republicans, the Tennessee Women For McCain, and the Putnam County Republican Party were the chief sponsors of the event.

Yours truly, who also is blest to be leading the College Republicans chapter at TTU, decided to take a head-count, which I estimated to be near 125. The crowd was definitely excited to be there, and listened to several guest speakers, which included Beth Campbell, Randy Stamps, and Jonathan Bryant. Mike Callahan, a Executive Committee member from the 15th State Senatorial District, was the Master of Ceremonies.

Yours truly, Jordan Iwanyszyn, opened the event in leading the Pledge of Allegiance, which was followed by an opening prayer. Then, I came back up and offered words of welcome, brought notice to the sponsoring groups, and included a statement on why I back the GOP ticket. I then introduced Callahan, who was responsible for introducing the guest speakers. Campbell was the first of the three to speak. She is the president of the Tennessee Women For McCain, and she spoke on why women should back the ticket. She was followed by Stamps, who is the Executive Director of the Tennessee Republican Party. He also spoke to women, and mentioned how the Democrats seem to dislike women in power, using the examples of the disrespect shown to Hillary Clinton from Senator Barack Obama's campaign, and closing the door on Tennessee State Senator Rosalind Kurita's re-election effort.

Kurita represents a district centered around Clarksville, near Fort Campbell, and angered many state Democrats when she decided to cast a vote in favor of now Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey for that position. Ramsey is the first Republican Lt. Governor since Reconstruction, and Kurita's was a deciding vote in that choice. Kurita faced a tough re-election in a primary against challenger Tim Barnes, and won the primary by 19 votes. However, Tennessee Democratic Party officials met just over a week ago, and decided to give the primary victory to Barnes. Kurita will challenge in a write-in campaign.

Stamps mentioned those two examples as proof that the Democrats are not as favorable to women as they preach, and he said that Governor Palin, and Tennessee State Representative Candidate Terri Lynn Weaver are two women that prove the Republicans are the party favorable to women. Stamps also talked about the state of the battle for the Tennessee State Legislature, in which the GOP currently has the same number of seats as the Dems in the Senate, with one independent. In the state house, the GOP needs four seats to retake the majority for only the second time since Reconstruction. Stamps tried to rally the attendees into supporting local candidates for the state legislature.

Following Stamps was Bryant, who is a former Chairman of the Tennessee College Republicans, and is now working for the Lamar Alexander for U.S. Senate campaign. He spoke on his excitement of being a Republican, and of the ticket that represents the party this election cycle. He also mentioned younger Republican voters, and themed his address towards them.

The attendance was made up of people of all kinds. Young children to aged men, upper middle class to poorer class, and numerous men and women. Other notables in attendance other than the speakers were Noble Cody, a former mayor of Cookeville and a member of the Tennessee Tech Sports Hall of Fame for his basketball days there; Steve Moore, a former trainer at TTU and another member of the TTU Sports Hall of Fame; Phil Wilbourn, a former TTU baseball player; and Howie Acuff, a local attorney and 2006 candidate for the Tennessee House of Representatives.

Following are photos from the exciting night:


People begin to gather before the event begins.

The growing crowd takes to their seats minutes before the event gets under way.

Attendees make their way into the room past the sign-in table.

The scene after the event has begun, and after I had said a few words.

The crowd of 125 listens as Beth Campbell of Tennessee Women For McCain speaks.

Randy Stamps of the Tennessee Republican Party gives his take.

Former Tennessee College Republican President Jonathan Bryant addresses the audience.

A gathering of the evening's speakers. From left to right: Jordan M. Iwanyszyn (yours truly), President, Tennessee Tech University College Republicans; Randy Stamps, Executive Director, Tennessee Republican Party; Beth Campbell, Chairman, Tennessee Women For McCain; Mike Callahan, Tennessee Republican Party Executive Committee Member, 15th Senatorial District; and Jonathan Bryant, Field Representative, Lamar Alexander For U.S. Senate campaign.

PALIN STARPOWER! Alaska Governor Draws At Least 60,000 To Florida Rally!

This photo from CNN shows some of the crowd that turned out for Alaska Governor Sarah Palin at The Villages, a very large retirement community about an hour north of Orlando, Florida. Some estimates have put the number as high as 70,000, but no official count was ever taken. The 60,000 figure comes from the fire chief. According to FOX News, some waited as long as five hours in 92-degree heat to hear the Republican Vice Presidential Candidate speak for 23 minutes. Some people waited 90 minutes to park their cars.

The contrast to the Democratic Veep Candidate, Delaware Senator Joe Biden, is already being looked at. Biden drew only 2,000 to a visit earlier this month. Meanwhile, Democratic Presidential Candidate, Illinois Senator Barack Obama, drew 20,000 voters to a outdoor rally in North Carolina earlier today, a number that pales in comparison to Governor Palin's.

Governor Palin will also beef up her foreign policy credentials this Wednesday as she holds separate meetings with the presidents of Iraq, Georgia, Ukraine and Pakistan, and with the Prime Minister of India.

The governor is rolling along, and has become a craze among the voters of our great Republic. We are now within 50 days of the election, and exciting developments are happening every day. The Dems' greatest hopes are slipping away. Now, this is not the time to take all for granted, and think the GOP is going to roll away with this. History points to a strong Democratic year. However, the "Palin Effect" just may keep the White House in our hands, and limit the losses in the Congress, and in the state races. Every day is staying exciting!

McCain Slams A Home Run With Veep Choice

Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain made history Friday by choosing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running-mate in his campaign to the White House. Palin is now the first woman to be chosen by the GOP to make a bid as Vice President of the United States.

If you couldn't already tell, you can probably see that I am thrilled by this choice. I believe that if McCain already has a slight advantage now, this pick will help to strengthen it to an extent. Let's remember that history tells us the VP pick doesn't usually win the election for the man who appointed him (or her). However, I believe Palin helps McCain, because she strengthens the base tremendously. News is already out that evangelicals are excited, something that has been hard to come by this election season. Even James Dobson, the well-known founder of Focus on the Family, said he would vote for the McCain-Palin ticket. He struggled with the idea of voting for McCain over the last year or more, but he is now warming to the idea. There is even the idea that Palin on the ticket may cause a number of socially conservative Democrats to turn to the GOP this year. Along with that, she just may turn a number of defected supporters of New York Senator Hillary Clinton to the GOP, after Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama beat her in a tight primary race earlier this year, and didn't really include her in their party's drive to the White House.

Palin is an unknown to may people. That is her possible downside. She is not well-known, and not believed by some to be well-experienced. However, that first downside can be overcome by November. I don't believe the second downside is so bad. Palin is running for the Vice Presidency, not for Commander-In-Chief just yet. She may be President later on, but I believe she is ready for that if the time comes. The Democrats have nominated a U.S. senator who has only been in office for less than four years. Before that, he was a state senator, and a "community organizer", whatever on Earth that is. Palin was a city council member for four years (1992-1996), mayor of the town of Wasilla, Alaska for six years (1996-2002), and was elected governor of the 49th state in 2006. While mayor, she was chosen to be president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors. I'll take someone with her executive experience over someone (like Obama) who doesn't, regardless of how small the setting, and she isn't even running for a job that high.

Palin will not only strengthen the ticket, she will help McCain govern on principles, values, and patriotism. As I have been telling everyone who asks me what I think of this choice, she is a solid conservative, not only in words, but in action. She not only talks pro-life, she decided to allow her young son, Trig, to live, even though he was found to have Down syndrome. She had the opportunity to get an abortion, but she followed her principles instead. She is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, and solid on support for the Second Amendment right to bear arms. She stands for American energy independence, and knows that issue firsthand, being governor of a state where that issue is key. She is a non-denominational Christian, who worships at the Church on the Rock in Wasilla. She is a reformer, who has worked to cut taxes, and the size of government in Alaska. She has a history of fighting corruption, and battles wrong, whether it is outside her party or not. She has appointed Democrats and Independents to her administration in Alaska. Her son, Track, is heading off to fight in Iraq on September 11th. McCain's son has also gone off to fight for our country, which proves that potential Presidents and Vice Presidents do watch their children go off to war.

Another strength of Palin is her common-man's, blue-collar background. Her dad was a teacher, and her mom a secretary in a school. She worked as a sports reporter and a commercial fisherman with her husband, Todd, before she entered elected politics. She was a union member, and her husband continues to be. He now works for the large oil company BP, where he works in a non-managerial position. She is a self-described "hockey mom", and plays the sport, as well as supporting it. She hunts and fishes. It is reported that she would get up at three in the morning to go caribou hunting.

She also seems to have a strong spirit to her. If she was nervous at all during her acceptance speech yesterday, it was not readily visible. She has a strong charisma about her, and shows skills of a great public speaker.

I want to give credit to Mr. McCain on such a solid pick, and credit to him and his campaign for keeping such history under wraps until just before the announcement. I have noticed a re-tooled McCain campaign that is sharp, crisp, and speaking principles and values clearly. I really believe the reason the McCain campaign is back on track is because they've gone to the business of standing for conservative values in the mode of Reagan. They have been putting out great ads, cut back on gaffes, shown enthusiasm for values, and have been speaking on them clearly. At the same time, the Obama campaign has found itself on a slippery slope, and committing various gaffes. They are finding themselves in one now, as their campaign attacked Palin for a lack of experience. Obama later tried to cover it by congratulating her, but it is just the latest move by the Obama campaign showing that he is really just a regular politician, and not the candidate of change he wants people to believe he is.

For the first time since the primaries, I am energized. For the first time in a long while, many of my fellow principled conservatives are, as well.