From Eric Dondero:

New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg may be the next Democrat to go. Which would bring the number of 'D's in the Senate down to 58.

Here's the original AP story via Right blogger Don Suber:

Lautenberg was taken to the hospital Monday after his office said he fell. The office said Tuesday the senator was treated for a bleeding ulcer...

Now as NJ.com reports:

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, New Jersey’s 86-year-old senior senator, was diagnosed with treatable cancer in the stomach in the last 24 hours and will begin chemotherapy today.

As Suber sardonically notes:

Let’s see, this went from a fall, to bleeding ulcers, to cancer in the stomach within 5 days.

It sounds Politburo-ish to me.

Of course, Republican Governor Christie gets to appoint a replacement if and when Lautenberg were to resign. Speculation in NJ GOP circles centers on two names: Tom Kean, Jr. and State Senator Joe Kyrillos.

The Right blog SaveJersey.com writes:

Tom Kean, Jr. would be an exceedingly strong choice for Christie... The younger Kean is a proven party leader and a solid fiscal conservative.

However, the immediate concern for Dems, one less vote for the "Jobs bill" and for Health Care reform.

Bush critic and staunch opponent of the War in Iraq, Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin looks increasingly endangered for reelection.

Former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson has not yet announced his intentions to challenge Feingold. However, in a hypothetical match-up Thompson would soundly defeat Feingold.

From Rasmussen:

Thompson holds a 48% to 43% edge over Feingold. Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate, and five percent (5%) are undecided.

Thompson's lead was expanded slightly from the same poll conducted last month.

If Thompson fails to declare, Feingold may still face a stiff challenge from two largely unknown candidates. Continuing:

Feingold leads real estate entrepreneur Terrence Wall 47% to 39%.

Against another potential GOP opponent, businessman Dave Westlake, Feingold currently holds a 47% to 37% lead but again fails to receive 50% support.

Any incumbent who attracts less than 50% support at this point in a campaign is considered potentially vulnerable.

by Katherine Jenerette

Last year Obama was going to move the nation forward with what he billed as his top priority: the economic stimulus package called the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan."

And now it appears that the only thing that was 'stimulated' was a Federal Power Grab and more strings attached to the free marketplace.

So if this Obama creation, with another fancy name - the "National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform" - works as well as his prior 'sounds-good-but-means-trouble' Federal nothingness, we are all in for an unprecedented rate of federal government growth for the next 7 or eight generations.

Chi Ching! Sounds like a Biblical plague of Federal locusts…swarming.

I don't pretend to be some conservative miracle worker for South Carolina's First Congressional District. I just know Obamamania-slash-Pelosimaniacs need to be stopped.

Washington D.C. is a pretty tough place but, you can count on the fact that my 'one vote' in the Congress will be for the District that I represent. I know that every vote I would make to spend money as a Congressman 'screws' someone and 'helps' someone . . . and costs every hardworking person and their family.

President Truman had the 'buck stops here' thing backwards: Every 'buck starts with a tax-paying person' not with the Federal Government in D.C.

The only strings attached to me are going to be from the voters - I'm used to fighting to get things done and to get things done right.

I don't pull any punches, and I can take a punch and will get up before the count is over.

Get me in an elevator as the SC-01 Representative at the capitol with Nancy Girl Pelosi, and I will do more than whistle Dixie to her…

Editor's Note - brought to us by Jenerette's national spokesman and LR Blog contributor Stephen Maloney. To make a contribution http://www.jenerette.com

MOVEMENT NEWS

Says she's a Tough-as-nails Paratrooper not to be messed with

Libertarian-conservative Founder of Draft Sarah Palin for VP in 2007/08, and friend of Libertarian Republican blog Adam Brickley attended C-PAC. Over at Race42012.com Brickley reported on his meeting with South Carolina Congressional candidate Katherine Jenerette:

Jenerette, a veteran and paratrooper in the Army Reserve, has a tough race in the GOP Primary to succeed retiring Rep. Henry Brown. Among her opponents are Paul Thurmond, the youngest son of Strom Thurmond, and and Caroll Campbell III, the son of former Governor Carroll Campbell. However, I will say that Jenerette has the drive and the strategy to succeed. She ran a tough campaign in the primary against Rep. Brown in 2008, and managed to win 19% of the vote with a shoestring budget. This time, she’s back for more – and now she’s in decent position as a Tea Partier facing off against a more fractured field of establishment opponents.

After spending a few minutes with her – I think this woman definitely has a shot. For one, she is a PISTOL - and I’m not even sure that term does her justice, even when bolded, italicized, underlined, and capitalized. She sat and chewed that fat with several bloggers for a few minutes - and this woman doesn’t just come off as a real person, she IS a real person. In all my political experience I have NEVER met a candidate with such a total lack of pretension.

Sarah Palin in Fatigues

Continuing:

Of course, she’s solid on the issues, and very well spoken (although in a very down to earth fashion) – but it was the “what you see is what you get” attitude that really hit home for me.

To give you an example, when the topic turned to Sarah Palin (who Jenerette REALLY remind me of) - she not only said she likes Gov. Palin, but that she’d love it if Sarah would be willing come to South Carolina and skydive with her and her friends in the U.S. Army Golden Knights (the army’s elite parachuting unit).

When I explained to her just how difficult it is to get a Palin endorsement, Jenerette looked me in the eye and told me, “Oh, I don’t want an endorsement, I just want to jump out of an airplane with her!”

Maybe this is rather superficial of me – but that was the moment I decided we NEED this woman in Congress. That sort of attitude could go a long way in the stodgy halls of the U.S. Capitol.

The "Thomas Jefferson of New Jersey"

The battle lines are drawn. It's Republican Governor Chris Christie versus the Unions: Teachers Union and State Worker Unions, who according to NJ.com dumped in $814,000 to Democrats in New Jersey last year, much of that going to defeat Christie.

From NJ.com:

delivering a major budget speech today, laying the groundwork to make a range of cuts that will include $475 million in state aid to schools, according to people familiar with his plans. New Jersey Democrats... are infuriated that he had not consulted with them.

Most politicians and political experts agree the war between Christie and the unions is unique in Statehouse history. No previous governor ever opposed the unions so directly and with such gusto, and the unions never fought back so readily.

However, Christie is gaining support from taxpayers and even some libertarians for his budget cutting efforts. So much so in fact, that one prominent NJ Libertarian economist Dr. Murray Sabrin of Ramapo College has even posed the question: Is Christie "New Jersey's Jefferson?" Sabrin was the 2006 Libertarian Party nominee for US Senate. He is also an associate at the Ludvig von Mises Institue.

From Murray Sabrin.com, Feb. 12:

if Democrats had a clue about how the economy works, they would realize that state revenues are very sensitive during the course of the business cycle. When the economy started to turn down more than two years ago, that should have set off alarm bells in the governor’s office and in the legislature. Instead, they collectively buried their heads in the sand and hoped the economy would turn around quickly.

In his address Governor Christie made the following remarks.

“And make no mistake: our priorities are to reduce and reform New Jersey’s habit of excessive government spending, to reduce taxes, to encourage job creation, to shrink our bloated government, and to fund our responsibilities on a pay-as-you-go basis and not leave them for future generations. In short, to make New Jersey a home for growth instead of a fiscal basket case.

“Let us live within the means the people are already providing us and not take more of their hard-earned wages and savings from their pockets.”

In his first inaugural address Thomas Jefferson said: “… a wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government….”

Governor Christie may turn out to be New Jersey’s Thomas Jefferson. Let’s hope so for the people of New Jersey and future generations.

Andrew Breitbart lets it rip at CPAC...

[Rachel] You're standing naked in front of the American people. You're part of a propoganda machine to attack the last president. Make him out to be the worst president on the face of the earth... in the era of new media, there's checks and balances... and if you think you can put your clothes back on while continuing to peddle this propoganda you're wrong. You validated my business model because you are so bad at what you do.

Later in the video...

Every single person here, conservative, or libertarian, or free market, classical liberal, Hayekian, whatever you want to call them. The one thing these people do have in common is a contempt for the mainstream media.

After 25 years with ABC, and 15 years as morning host for the giant San Francisco radio station KSFO, libertarian-conservative talk show host Lee Rodgers has been given the axe.

Lee Rodgers wrote at the Melanie Morgan blog (photo - left) on Saturday:

Understand, please, that this course was not chosen by the local management of KSFO...

I WILL tell you, in all candor, that thanks to Mr. Suleiman's Citadel management, I could no longer proudly say that the company had never told me what to say or what not to say. There was an obvious cave-in to some ultra-left and pro-Muslim groups...

Farid Suleiman (photo) is the CEO of Citadel Broadcasting.

Morgan was Co-host with Rodgers until 2008 when she was "layed off." Allegations at the time centered on Morgan's stridently Pro-War on Islamic Terrorism views, and her activism on behalf of Move America Forward, a group that fought to elect Pro-Patriot candidates to Congress. Her Co-host Rodgers kept the show going for the last two years with the same themed programming, and with consultation with Morgan. Both continued to cover the Pro-America movement on the Melanie Morgan blog.

The show remained very popular in the Bay Area.

Note - Note, Suleiman, whose national origin and citizenship status is unpublished, uses a different anglicized spelling of his name, "Suleman" in newer reports. Hat tip to an alert LR reader on the Left Coast.

Breaking from Rasmussen...

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows that 23% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. That matches the lowest level of strong approval yet recorded for this President. Forty percent (40%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -17

Jihadi's Trutherism

Some excerpts chronicled by Channel 2 News Atlanta:

Musa: When they strike at the heart of Zionism, they are not suicide bombers they are heros.

Interviewer: You said Zionist America agents blew up the World Trade Center?

Musa: Yes, Zionist Americans, definitely.

Interviewer: Ayatollah Khomeni is a hero of yours?

Musa: Yes, of course.

Musa: I support Hezbollah that the Koran describes.

Interview: How about Hamas?

Musa: Very good organization.

More on Part II (video):

Musa describes Ft. Hood shooter Major Nidal Hassan as "victimized."

Longtime Libertarian Party activist Stephen Gordon is blogging from the C-PAC convention in Washington D.C. over at NextRight. Yesterday, Gordon reported on the widely praised Marco Rubio speech.

Among economic issues, the former Florida House speaker Rubio took some time out to talk foreign policy:

“We will do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to defeat radical Islam.”

Rubio received a standing ovation for his line about prosecuting terrorists in a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay.

In a live interview with Sean Hannity during the event, Rubio also commented:

[I think it's important] that people identify the Republican Party as the party that takes seriously the threat posed to our nation and the world by radical Islam.

As an aside, Gordon also reported on a wisecrack from Rubio to the audience:

The crowd started cheering “Marco, Marco, Marco.” “That cheer always worries me because I’m afraid people are going to start screaming ‘Polo,’” responded Rubio.

Wilders the Frontrunner in some Polls

Jan Peter Balkenende, leader of the leading Dutch Party, the Christian Democrats, made the announcement that coalition partners failed to reach agreement on continuing presence of Dutch troops in Afghanistan. As a result, the coalition has disintegrated. Balekende has made a formal request to the Queen for new elections.

Polls show that the CDA will lose seats mainly to the Dutch libertarian party of Geert Wilders: PVV or Party for Freedom. Some recent polls even suggest Wilder's party could gain the largest number of seats in Parliament which would ascend him to the Dutch Presidency.

From Jakarta Globe:

anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders, whose PVV party is making strong gains in the polls, said he was "delighted" at the cabinet collapse.

"The worst cabinet ever did not deserve to govern for another day," he said.

From the UK Telegraph:

Elections are likely later this year, and the big winner could be the controversial Right-winger Geert Wilders.

Opinion polls predict that his anti-immigration (sic) Freedom Party could become the second-largest or even largest party, making him the likely power broker in Dutch politics.

The First libertarian Prime Minister of a European Nation ever

From the London Financial Times:

Party for Freedom of Geert Wilders... has consistently done well in polls, with the most recent surveys forecasting it could win 24 of the 150 parliamentary seats and become the second biggest parliamentary party after the Christian Democrats. Currently it has just nine seats.

If he exceeds expectations, Wilders could become the first libertarian Head of State ever to govern in a European country.

Note - Wilders is currently on trial in the Netherlands for making politically incorrect statements about Radical Islam, and for producing a film, "Fitna," critical of Muslim treatment of women.

He has received death threats worldwide, and has to travel with an entourage of body guards. (Wilder's predecessor Gay libertarian anti-Islamist Pym Fortuyn, who was running for election, was assasinated by a Muslim-sympathizing extremist in 2005 on the streets of Amsterdam.)

Photos of Wilders and his friend American libertarian Pamela Geller up top, and anti-Wilders demonstrators in Indonesia.

Even many Conservatives have gone Politically Correct on Islam

Ironically, the most popular event at the Conservative Political Action Conference this weekend was not one of the official, from the main stage speeches, but rather an "unofficial" side panel discussion, featuring libertarian anti-Islamo-Fascist "rock star" Pamela Geller and Islamic Jihad expert Robert Spencer.

From reporter Kelley Beaucar Vlahos FoxNews.com:

The speakers participating in "Jihad: America's Third Rail," an "unofficial" panel at today's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) wanted their standing-room only audience to know that there's more to fear than jihad -- it's Islam itself that is the threat.

Sentiments like that are what has made this panel -- which just ended here at the Marriott Wardman Hotel in D.C -- one of the more controversial at the three-day conservative confab.

"Everyone knows Islam is a religion of peace that has been hijacked by a tiny minority," said Robert Spencer, sarcastically and to a great amount of applause and guffaws. Spencer, executive director of Jihad Watch and associate director of the Freedom Defense Initiative, which he recently founded with Atlas Shrugged blogger Pamela Geller, told his audience everyone believes that "like they believe in Santa Claus though no one has ever seen it."

He declared that "conservative media leaders even parrot this line" that Islam is a peaceful religion at its core.

But it was the female participants who stole the show. Continuing:

the group's message, that political correctness was preventing the American people -- elected officials and the government included -- from acknowledging -- in Geller's words -- that Islamists "have infiltrated at every level of society and all levels of government."

Wafa Sultan, author of A God Who Hates, argued that Islam is a tryannical religion and was roundly applauded when she was introduced as a "former Muslim."

Islam is "the very same teaching that drove 19 terrorists to fly planes into the World Trade Center," she said.

Even Politico reports:

An event devoted to opposing Islam drew an overflow crowd.

And over at The Other McCain, Smitty reports that Geller and Spencer launched their Freedom Defense Initiative to the crowd:

In the Rock Star Blogger pantheon, few exceed Pamela and Robert for lasting impact.

From Eric Dondero:

A debate will take place today in Katy, Texas for the four candidates running in the GOP primary for US Congress District 14. The debate is sponsored by the Katy Tea Party Patriots.

To his credit Ron Paul, the longtime incumbent Congressman will be participating along with his two top challengers Gerald Wall and Tim Graney.

Fox News reports that it's not so much fiscal policy that Tea Partiers are upset with Paul on, although there are grumblings about his propensity to go after specific "pork projects" for the district. Rather, Tea Partiers are uneasy with his isolationist/non-interventionist views on foreign policy, and his weak stance on defense.

From Fox:

Tea Party 'Revolution' Targets Ron Paul in GOP Primary

Paul's son, Rand, is a Tea Party favorite in his race for Senate in Kentucky -- he was recently endorsed by Sarah Palin, who was the keynote speaker at the Tea Party Convention in Nashville earlier this month.

But Rand's dad appears to have fallen out of favor with some Tea Partiers. They say that while Ron Paul's fiscal conservative message is sound, he's a little too fond of pork-barrel projects and nowhere near tough enough on national security.

Both Graney (photo -right) and Wall (above left) have strong roots in the Texas Tea Party movement. Continuing:

Graney, a small-business owner who never ran for office before, said that while Paul has established himself as a national voice on his favored issues, he's not representing his district well.

He and Wall, who helped organize a local tax day Tea Party rally last April, said the claim that Paul inspired the Tea Party movement is false.

In actuality, Paul faces little threat from the three challengers, having raised $1.9 million for the race. Past Paul primary challengers (Cynthia Sinatra - Frank Sinatra's ex-wife in 2006, and Friendswood Councilman Chris Peden in 2008) maxed out at 30%. However, a slight possibility remains for a run-off if Paul doesn't win straight out 50%.

Clarification: It is generally viewed that the Tea Party was co-founded by Paul and the Libertarian Party, with a great assist by CNBC's correspondent Rick Santelli. Paul followers helped the Libertarian Party to organize three rallies very early on in Chicago, Seattle and Denver. But it is generally accepted that Eric Odom and the Illinois Libertarian Party originally took the lead and deserve the lion's share of the credit.

By Chris Spangle, Executive Director of the Libertarian Party of Indiana

Ed Coleman left the Republican party (because it left him) a year ago yesterday.  Coleman is at-large, and represents a million people. The conventional wisdom is that Libertarians serving in government are such a minority, that achieving anything is meaningless. Local Republican blogger Paul Ogden notes some of the issues that Libertarians have stood against.

This bird's eye view from a member of another party shows the effectiveness that we as a third party can have at raising issues in a high-profile, evenly divided political climate. It only takes one Libertarian to gum up the works of "bipartisanship."

http://www.ogdenonpolitics.com/2010/02/ed-colemans-one-year-libertarian-party.html

read more

Happened just weeks after Ft. Hood

"Our diversity, not only in our Army, but in our country, is a strength. And as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that’s worse," -- Gen. George Casey, Army Chief of Staff.

The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) first broke this story early yesterday. It has now been reported by Fox News.

CBN News has learned exclusively that five Muslim soldiers at Fort Jackson in South Carolina were arrested just before Christmas and are in custody. The five men were part of the Arabic Translation program at the base.

The men are suspected of trying to poison the food supply at Fort Jackson.

A source with intimate knowledge of the investigation, which is ongoing, told CBN News investigators suspect the “Fort Jackson Five” may have been in contact with the group of five Washington, DC area Muslims that traveled to Pakistan to wage jihad against U.S. troops in December. That group was arrested by Pakistani authorities, also just before Christmas.

Coming as it does on the heels of November’s Fort Hood jihadist massacre, this news has major implications.

The libertarian-oriented/Ayn Randian blog BeJohnGalt.com asks:

Muslim soldiers trying to poison Troops... If it is true and the five Muslim soldiers were arrested in December, why are we just hearing about it two months later?

Shades of Ft. Hood???

Photo hat tip Debbie Schlussel and H/t to BeJohnGalt for background.

UPDATE!

Numerous blog sources are now reporting that the 5 soldiers may have been assigned to a special unit of "non-US citizens." The program was especially designed to recruit Arabic translators.

UPDATE!

According to AP and Breitbart (video), two of the soldiers, "are under investigation" by the Criminal Investigations Unit of the Army.

A devout Muslim man, and "aspiring lawyer" threw his baby daughter off the Driscoll bridge on the Garden State Parkway, across from Staten Island, NY last week. She is presumed dead, however, her body has not yet been found.

He had snatched the baby from the mother's home in East Orange, NJ. Afterwards he drove to pray at a Mosque in Atlantic City.

Shamsid-Din Abdur-Raheem had been involved in a custody battle with the baby's mother.

Now background on Abdur-Raheem is being revealed, including a short stint at the office of the US Attorney General in Washington D.C.

From WND:

He was also an intern in Washington, D.C., with the juveniles section of the Office of the Attorney General, according to March 2009 press release from Stockton College. He was fired after only a month for missing work and not completing assignments. He lashed out during his termination, and security personnel escorted him out of the building.

Photo of Driscoll bridge

Chris Christie, Bob McDonnell, and Scott Brown, provide Hunter Chamberlain inspiration

From Eric Dondero:

In Florida next Tuesday there will be a special election for a State House seat. The district is heavily Democrat; Hillsborough County (Tampa Bay).

But a Republican challenger is giving it all he's got. Hunter Chamberlain, the GOP nominee is knocking on doors, and trying to garner more attention for his underdog effort.

The main issue against his Democrat opponent Janet Cruz is light rail: Cruz is a big backer; while Chamberlain is totally opposed.

Quoted in (Tampa's) Creative Loafing:

"I think it’s a very bad idea (light rail) I don’t think it’s something that we can afford to do at the moment..."

Chamberlain has been inspired by other recent GOP winners. Continuing:

When asked what elected officials he admires, Chamberlin revealed his own ideology, saying he applauded the recent electoral successes of Scott Brown in Massachusetts, Chris Christie in New Jersey and Bob McDonnell in Virginia.

He says that those newly elected Republicans "cater to a more sort of Libertarian independence streak of the Republican Party, and I believe quite frankly that that’s something that the Republican Party needs to do a lot more of, is cater to folks who have a bit more of a Libertarian perspective like I do."

Chamberlain also favors off-shore oil drilling for Florida. On insurance reform he takes a principled capitalist stance:

"A lot of problems could be solved by the private sector rather than government funding or projects. I don't see there is anything wrong with people getting wealthy solving people's problems."

From Eric Dondero:

Libertarians are normally aligned with conservative Republicans on issues and activism. But libertarians can have a positive influence on moderate Republicans, as well.

In Illinois, former Libertarian Party executive committee member, and current Republican Liberty Caucus board member Jeff Wartman is heavily involved in the campaign of moderate Republican for US Senate Mark Kirk. Wartman reports that it has given him a chance to influence the campaign more in a libertarian direction.

Another well-known moderate Republican, like Kirk given a very good chance of winning a Senate seat from the Democrats, is Delaware Rep. Michael Castle.

Castle has a prominent Libertarian as a campaign volunteer: Tyler Nixon. Writes Nixon on the blog he now publishes, Delaware Libertarian:

I will be giving every effort I can to the Castle Campaign, which was the first campaign for which I volunteered as a very young person in 1984.

Castle's record of service to Delaware is simply unparalleled.

But he goes further. Nixon, who was a 2006 and 2008 Libertarian candidate for State House, co-hosted a recent Young Republicans event for Michael and Jane Castle at the Delaware-famous Dead Presidents Pub in downtown Wilmington.

Writes Nixon:

get used to calling Castle Senator, because he is bound for victory...

Note - Nixon serves as Acting Contact for the Republican Liberty Caucus in Delaware.

Former Delaware Governor and one-time Republican Presidential candidate Pete DuPont wrote an editorial carried by Real Clear Politics yesterday; "Nightfall in America: Obama deficits portend a dark future."

Excerpt:

From the WSJ:

When the Democrats took control of Congress in 2007, the debt held by the public was 36.2% of GDP. It rose to 40.2% the next year. This year it will be about 63.6%, next year 68.6%, then 77% of GDP in 2020. And the Obama administration's budget estimates 218% in 2050.

The reason for these rising deficits is the huge increases in federal spending--the intended growth of the federal government--that Congress and the president are pushing. The deficit in 2007 was $160 billion. In the next year the Pelosi-Reid Congress took it up to $458 billion, and when President Obama came into office in 2009 it hit $1.4 trillion. The current 2010 projected deficit is $1.6 trillion, which will lead to a tripling of our national debt from 2008 to 2020.

Mr. Obama will have raised the debt burden as a percentage of GDP by more than President Reagan did in all of his eight years.

All of this means we are indeed beginning to see a new America, dusk rather than dawn...

Note - DuPont's 1988 Presidential campaign included a number of libertarian policy proposals such as privatization of Social Security, and Educational Choice. He was pegged an "economic libertarian" by many in the media.

Current GOP candidate for US Senate from Delaware Mike Castle served as DuPont's Lt. Governor for two terms.

Join the Fight, or Lose your Nation and your Freedoms to Extremist Muslim tyranny.

New video from MrPatriot.org