I wanted to do it, but that was back when Democrats seemed invincible and it looked for a while like no GOPer would seriously challenge Harry Reid. What a difference a year makes, huh? We’ve got a lot of people who want Harry’s job. Here are the three front-runners:

Sue Lowden. A 30 year Nevada resident (and thus, by local standards, almost a native), Lowden has been a television anchorwoman, businesswoman, philanthropist and Chair of the Nevada GOP. Lowden currently leads the crowded GOP field and, in polling, would handily defeat Reid in November.

In health care, Lowden favors the common-sense approach to reform which must include such things as tort reform and insurance portability. Low taxes and spending cuts are favored over the Democrats tax-and-spend insanity. On social issues, Lowden is a pro-life Catholic and a defender of marriage. On national defense, Lowden believes that a strong military is good for America and the world.

Danny Tarkanian. College hoops fans might find that name familiar – Danny is the son of legendary UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian. A resident of Nevada for 37 years, Danny played college basketball and is an attorney, businessman and has parlayed his family name in to the Tarkanian Basketball Academy which teaches kids the values of hard work, team spirit and good sportsmanship.

Tarkanian has actually provided a list of federal budget items ripe for cutting, thus taking the normal GOP program of tax and spending cuts a big step further. Tarkanian is also a supporter of the move to audit the Federal Reserve. Pledged to tax reductions, Tarkanian also favors tort reform, portability and inter-state purchases to help bring health care costs down. Tarkanian is pro-life, strong on the 2nd Amendment and figures that immigrants should present themselves at a US Embassy rather than just waltzing across the border.

Sharron Angle. A resident of Nevada since she was 3, and spent her career in education – including running a small, K-12 Christian school – until politics started to call her in the 1990’s.

A fierce defender of constitutional principle, Angle once sued the Governor of Nevada over his attempts to unconstitutionally raise taxes without the mandated 2/3 majority in the legislature. While that case was lost – thanks to activist judges who simply ignored the law – it marked Angle out as someone to be relied upon whenever government decides to take a short cut. Concerned not so much with the nuts and bolts of what is, after all, an unconstitutional power-grab by Reid’s ObamaCare, Angle is determined to see that the laws – all of them – be enforced in accordance our deepest constitutional principles.

So, there are the top three – I in no way wish to downplay the rest of the candidates, but space only allows a certain number. Any supporters of those candidates are welcome to state their case in the comments. Given that the primary isn’t until June, there is plenty of time for a savvy person to rise – and as such happens, we’ll take a closer look. Meanwhile, any of these three fine Republicans would be massive improvement over Harry Reid – and that is the most important thing: getting rid of Reid.

A Republican dares not sin in the least, while a Democrat…

Now, I don’t know much about the specifics of the allegations leveled against outgoing Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY), save that House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer knew about them before Massa’s announcement yesterday. So, it seems they are pretty serious. One thing I do know–or pretty much can assume based upon reaction to past such scandals–is that should this Democrat indeed have sexually harassed a male staff member, gay groups will dismiss it, perhaps even celebrate him as some kind of victim.

Yet, if he had had a (R) after his name, well, he’d be defined as some kind of self-hating pervert.

Remember Gerry Studds, the late Massachusetts Congressman who had had in 1973, while a member of the House of Representatives, a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old male page? Or Barney Frank who let his lover run a brothel out of his home while he signed off on that pimp’s parking tickets? Or Jim McGreevey? Or Kevin Jennings? They do get a bit better treatment from the gay groups than say do folks like Mark Foley.

It’s not about the behavior, it’s about the partisan affiliation.

And not just on matters sexual – on each and every thing a person can do wrong, a properly liberal person will get a pass from fellow liberals provided he makes the right noises about “social justice” or whatever claptrap it is the left is selling at the moment.

As noted above, Studds was caught abusing a young boy – and was hailed as a hero on the left because he came “out” and became an openly gay Congressman. But also think of Tom DeLay – supposed connections with someone else who broke the law and there are demands for his immediate ouster from Congress…William Jefferson, Democrat, gets caught with the bribe money in his ‘fridge and gets re-elected, without a peep from Democrats about the need to force him out.

As readers of Caucus of Corruption know, this is par for the course with Democrats. And it is why corruption is endemic to the Democrat party, at the moment. For decades the rank-and-file have given their leaders a pass no matter what they did – and so the leaders have just gotten worse and worse, confident that it won’t cost them at the polls.

This is not about Massa. He’s just one in a long line, and is ultimately trivial. What is crucial here is the need to severely punish the Democrats, as a party, for their malfeasance – to take away that which they care most about: their power. If it can be driven home that the actions of people like Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Charlie Rangel – and Eric Massa – played a big role in costing them their majority, it will be good for the Democrats and good for America.

America needs a government which can be at least mostly relied upon to do the right thing for the people. As it stands right now, the only thing we can rely upon with our Democrats is that they’ll sell any thing to any one and to heck with the people. It is time for real change – and November is coming fast.

At Trenton, in 1776, some of Washington’s men marched barefoot in the snow. At Spotsylvania, in 1864, Lee and Grant’s men fought hand to hand, in the rain, for 18 hours. At Tarawa, in 1943, the Marines waded through neck-deep water in the face of Japanese machine guns in order to get to shore. In 1950, General Walker issued a “stand or die” order to his 8th Army in Korea – and plenty of them did die, but they also stood.

Why did these men do that? For more than two centuries American fighting men (and, these days, fighting women) have willingly gone in to the very worst places imaginable and won victories against all odds. Why?

Did they do it so that we could have a bloated Department of Veterans Affairs with a backlog of nearly 1,000,000 claims cases? Did they do it so that fat cat bankers could be bailed out by middle class taxpayers? Did they do it so that our factories could be shipped to China by a collusion of government and business short-sightedness and corruption?

Were they laying down their lives so that terrorists could get Miranda rights? For that matter, were they sacrificing so that criminals could get off on a technicality? Was their blood shed so that in academia, media and the political left their nation – and their sacrifice – could be slandered at will? Were the noblest sacrifices of youth given so that wastrels could sit around collecting government money?

No – they fought and they sacrificed so that their people, we Americans, could be free. Free not to debase ourselves or become the lazy, kept serfs of the super-State – but free to live our dreams, and work hard, and sacrifice in our own turn so that this last, best hope for Man on earth would be preserved. They died that we might live. And what have we done with their sacrifice? Think for a moment of some poor son of our land whose life blood pours out at Yorktown, Gettysburg, Normandy or Pleiku…his life is just slipping away, his family will never see him again; he is giving his all for you…have you lived up to that sacrifice? Have any of us?

This is the test we are given, the task we must perform. They gave their all for a vision of America – for the Founder’s vision. Those words written on paper in 1776 in our Declaration of Independence and in 1787 in our Constitution are what they were defending – and it is, then, up to us to ensure that those ideals are maintained and given their full life in our lives and in our government. If we will not fight for the America they died for, then we are cheating them, and we would be justly damned before history and all decent men and women if we failed in this trust.

We’ve been slack. We’ve let a lot of things slip. We’ve been too quiet – though we are now waking up. But, beware! The siren song of sleep is being spun out – there are those, still, who warn us not to be too ardent. After all, we might offend someone and you know how bad that would be…they want us quieted, again. And some of them claim to be on our side! The whole power structure of money and politics is dependent upon us betraying America, and betraying those patriots who gave their all.

We dare not do that – we must fight, and we must be willing to give our all in this cause of American liberty. If not now, when? If not us, who?

Cross Posted: Noonan for Nevada

Its just “time for a change”…after 40 years in politics:

Representative William Delahunt will not seek re-election to Congress, the seven-term Democrat will announce tomorrow, ending a nearly 40-year career in elected office and giving Republicans hope of capturing the seat, which stretches from Cape Cod to the South Shore.

“It’s got nothing to do with politics,” the Quincy Democrat said today. “Life is about change. I think it’s healthy. It’s time.”

Didn’t want to get healthy 20 years ago, huh?

The DemocRats are abandoning the sinking ship…

Anyone out there feel proud that these are fellow Americans?

Students carried out raucous rallies on college campuses nationwide Thursday in protests against deep education cuts that turned violent as demonstrators threw punches and ice chunks in Wisconsin and blocked university gates and smashed car windows in California.

At least 15 protesters were detained by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee police after as many as 150 students gathered at the student union then moved to an administrative building to deliver petitions to the school chancellor.

University spokesman Tom Luljak said campus police allowed one person inside, But when she emerged, she encouraged everyone to rush the building, he said…

A bunch of irresponsible, whining, little brats – absolutely disgusting.

Here we are, locked in the worst economy in 75 years with State and local budgets overburdened and what do our privileged children do? Go on a rampage because they might have to pay a bit more for education.

Cry me a frickin’ river, you little twits.

Guess what? Its time for you to sacrifice. Maybe you’ll have to leave college for a year or two to earn some money to complete your education. Maybe you’ll have to work hard to get ahead – and just maybe you’ll learn to be grateful for the mere fact of being an American.

Every last one of these young cretins should be expelled and never, ever allowed to set foot on campus again – fill their spots with people who will be grateful for the chance at higher education.

UPDATE: The little morons can’t even spell correctly on their protest signs. We’re supposed to spend more money on 20-something illiterates? Sorry, but if you can’t spell right by college age, I’m not ponying up for remedial education…

UPDATE II: Moe Lane also feels expulsion is the best answer.

Hey, Barry, I’m sure I’m a third cousin or something to some wavering Democrat or other, can I become a judge, too?

Don’t too much stock in that Nevada TEA Party you might have heard about.

First African-American Catholic priest has cause for sainthood opened.

What Did They Fight For?

Have you checked out my latest video?

You know all those riots they have around the world? They’re always burning old tires. Where’d they get them? We’re swamped with cars and I couldn’t for the life of me put my hand on a single old tire if we suddenly needed to have a riot. In an emergency, can you use that little, fake tire you have in the trunk?

Seems that some events in DC of late have him a bit upset:

That this inexperienced travesty of a chief executive, Obama, more a byproduct of timing and media collaboration, than his own worth, or accomplishment, is personally advocating for the so-called nuclear option is the final straw…

…Reconcile this, you distasteful, malevolent little quisling punk – a timely reminder of some words I never thought would have such import during my lifetime.

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

The cause is well known and it is just. When the alleged leader of a democratic republic places his own wishes so above those of the complete body politic, he is no longer worthy of the title, leader, no matter what office he might occupy.

Only a fool with no clear appreciation of, or for, America past and present, would dare undertake what this pustule in the White House is attempting to do. It is contingent upon the Republican Party to undertake every step, every maneuver it can to bring this government to a halt…

…This neophyte, this joke we have in the White House has absolutely no idea of the force and the rage he is about to unleash on him and his entire political party…

…Reconciliation for this disaster of a destructive health care bill I doubt anyone on the Hill can fully define means all out war. The only question remaining is, whose side are you on?

I agree, completely. I wish I had said it – and I would never, ever retract any of it. The battle lines are, indeed, drawn. Whose side are you on? The people, or the elite? The American republic, or the corrupt political machine? Choose. Right now.

I think we’ve all had enough. The other day, a 17 year old girl was dug out of shallow grave in San Diego. She had been placed there by a convicted sex offender who got 6 years instead of 11 and then was let out a year early. That is the liberal super-State – can’t even protect a 17 year old girl. Can’t even prevent monstrosities Nero never dreamed of in his most insane imaginings. This is progress? That we’re more depraved than ancient Rome? You want us to turn even more of our lives over to you, and you can’t even police a city?

No. Never. Your time is done. You’ve sparked a revolution, and we will win it and we will take our nation back and we will restore the Founder’s vision…and then we’ll forget all about you.

By snatching away 10 million acres of land we, the people, could use to create new wealth:

You’d think the Obama administration is busy enough controlling the banks, insurance companies and automakers, but thanks to whistleblowers at the Department of the Interior, we now learn they’re planning to increase their control over energy-rich land in the West.

A secret administration memo has surfaced revealing plans for the federal government to seize more than 10 million acres from Montana to New Mexico, halting job- creating activities like ranching, forestry, mining and energy development. Worse, this land grab would dry up tax revenue that’s essential for funding schools, firehouses and community centers.

Here we are, flat broke and with a shrinking private economy and what to Obama and his liberals think a good idea? Grabbing land and turning it in to nature reserves. That’s just the ticket, Barry – we don’t need no stinking wealth!

Bunch of pinheads!

Now is not the time to make it harder for Americans to make, mine and grow things. We need a crash course of wealth creation in this nation – we shouldn’t be taking 10 million acres off the table but, instead, trying to find 10, 20 or 30 million acres we can put back on. We need room for farms; room for mines; room for factories – we need to be encouraging wealth creation and using as much of our own resources as possible as that keeps the money here, at home.

We need to toss these fools out – starting with Congress in November, and then Obama in 2012. The future of our nation depends on how fast we can change our government.

The Chicago way – more like the Mafia every day:

After two studies refuted President Barack Obama’s assertions regarding the success of Spain’s and Denmark’s wind energy programs, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request reveals the Department of Energy turned to George Soros and to wind industry lobbyists to attack the studies.

Via the FOIA request, the Competitive Enterprise Institute has learned that the Department of Energy — specifically the office headed by Al Gore’s company’s former CEO, Cathy Zoi — turned to George Soros’ Center for American Progress and other wind industry lobbyists to help push Obama’s wind energy proposals.

The FOIA request was not entirely complied with, and CEI just filed an appeal over documents still being withheld. In addition to withholding many internal communications, the administration is withholding communications with these lobbyists and other related communications, claiming they constitute “inter-agency memoranda.” This implies that, according to the DoE, wind industry lobbyists and Soros’s Center for American Progress are — for legal purposes — extensions of the government.

This is the change we can believe in? If by “change” you mean “corrupt, liberal financial sharks get to run the show” then, yes, this is the change.

I think they’re getting a bit desperate over there in liberal-land. Things haven’t worked out quite as hoped – and as things fall apart, they are making ever more mistakes. In this case, first going within a country mile of George Soros; second in not coming 100% clean on it, right out the gate.

I think this whole mess of an Administration will just get worse as time goes on – there are no adults minding the store.

Its not what you might think. Mike Shedlock links to a video of Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) giving a speech to New Jersey’s mayors on the need to cut spending. Here’s a quote:

In the time we got here, of the approximately $29 billion budget there was only $14 billion left. Of the $14 billion, $8 billion could not be touched because of contracts with public worker unions, because of bond covenants, because of commitments we made accepting stimulus money. So we had to find a way to save $2.3 billion in a $6 billion pool of money.

When I went into the treasurer’s off in the first two weeks of my term, there was no happy meetings. They presented me with 378 possible freezes and lapses to be able to balance the budget. I accepted 375 of them.

There is a great deal of discussion about me doing that by executive action. Every day that went by was a day where money was going out the door such that the $6 billion pool was getting less and less. So something needed to be done.

People did not send me here to talk, the people sent me here to do…

…There’s no time left. We have no room left to borrow. We have no room left to tax. So we merely have room left now, to do this. We are all reaching the edge of a cliff. And it reminds me a bit of that part of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid where the had a seminal decision to make. So what did they do? They held hands and they jumped off the cliff.

We have to hold hands at every level of government, state county, municipal, school board. We have to hold hands and jump off the cliff.

I firmly believe we will land and we will be fine. It does not mean it will not be a scary ride on the way down. And it does not mean there won’t be moments of fear and moments of apprehension.

But for certain, the troops of the decades of overspending and overborrowing and overtaxing have gained on us. So the ruination of New Jersey’s economy, and of the quality of life we want all our citizens to have, is certain if we do not take this course.

Liberals believe we can’t swim (if you’ll recall the line from the movie) – that without massive and continual government spending, our whole economy will fly apart. You can hear it from Obama on down – if they hadn’t spent all that money in 2009 (and if they don’t spend more in 2010), then things would have been worse.

To be sure, the most recent GDP numbers would have been worse – but for the millions who have lost their job after Obama promised his spendulus would save their jobs, it could not have got worse. For the millions who’s home values have dropped like a rock, it could not have got worse. For the small businesses which had to close up shop, it could not have got worse. For the construction workers, it could not have got worse. On and on – sure, Obama’s banksters are riding high as are government employees. It could have got worse for them, that’s for sure.

You feel better that it didn’t?

It is time, in Governor Christie’s excellent phrasing, to hold hands and jump. It is time for us to dare to balance our budget – even if it means a massive number of programs will have to be cut, and half the employees of the federal government will have to be let go (if we did, it still wouldn’t equal even 1/6th of the private sector employees who have lost their jobs).

We can do this, Americans. If we could endure a Civil War and Great Depression and World War Two, then we can handle balancing our budget. Sure, it will be a bit frightening, for some – but the results will be good. I promise you, no one will starve, and no one will lack the basic necessities of life (and real necessities – the poor of America are currently very strange poor, as a very large number of them have computers and flat screen tv’s and late model cars): we Americans, holding hands, will take care of each other.

All we need is the political courage to do it – we need a President with the guts shown by Governor Christie, and a Congress willing to back the President up.