BOB HEDLUND IN HEADLINE PHOTO OF BROWN CAMPAIGN NOW UP AT FOX NEWS!!

America's longest serving Libertarian Republican State Legislator, Sen. Bob Hedlund of Weymouth, MA, is clearly visible in the large headline photo at the Fox News website.

Hedlund is a close friend and ally of fellow State Senator Scott Brown. He was influential in originally recruiting Brown to run, after speculation centered on Hedlund himself as a possible contender.

Hedlund has been a member of the Republican Liberty Caucus Advisory Board since 1994. He has attended two RLC National Conventions. He's also been a friend of the Libertarian Party of Massachusetts.

http://www.foxnews.com

by Eric Dondero

He was known as "Boss Tweed," and he ran New York City Democrat politics for over two decades. He used tactics such as voter intimidation, vote buying, trading votes through booze, prostitutes and cold hard cash. He muscled political opponents through staged strikes, protests, street demonstrations, and sometimes even fistfights and rumbles.

Boston itself has its own history of voter intimidation and rough-edged politics.

From the essay "The Boston Irish: A Political History" by Thomas H. O'Connor:

Based in the ghetto network of churches, clubs and bars, the sometimes ruthless and always populist ethnic class politics of Irish party bosses would turn out to be an effective strategy against Anglo-American "brahmins". By virtue of their sheer number and well oiled (and infamous) "poltical machines" - the boss of the local precinct (like John F. Kennedy's grandfather, e.g.) acting the role of mediator between the individual and collective interests of his district and the municipal government - they were able to force the leaders of the Protestant Yankee establishment first to share and later to yield political power. With the election of John F. Fitzgerald (Rose F. Kennedy's father) as mayor of the city in 1905, the Boston Irish would take full control over the city and use their political power to further their own social and economic aspirations.

Now one very prominent TV Cable News talk show host, coincidentally himself of Irish descent and a New Yorker, wants to resurrect the old traditions of Tammany to save the Boston-based seat of the proud ole' irishman Ted Kennedy.

From Chris Matthews, Hardball MSNBC, Friday, Jan. 16:

CHUCK TODD: Everybody is going to blame Coakley... she wanted to coast. They were whispering in her ear, you know once you won the primary you were the virtual Senator, Senator-elect, you might as well start thinking that way. And the Republicans, you know this guy Brown, he's not a neophyte. He's been a candidate that the Republicans have identified for the longest time... wanted to get him to run for Congress, believed he was a rising star. When the spotlight got turned on, he performed, and she turned out to be, ya know, a cross between a technocrat a little bit, I think, doesn't seem to have this automatic warmth... hasn't been able to connect. Now they're grasping for messages... just shows you they never had a consistent message: Why not Brown. Elections are about choices.

MATTHEWS: You know in the old days, it shouldn't be hard getting back to the old days. If the Democrats faced a kinda disaster in the works, you'd go back to your ones, the people you were sure were going to vote Democrat and you'd make sure they got to the polling place. You'd get them lunch. You'd get them a car. You'd make sure they'd got there. And in some cases you'd be buying people to get them. Not officially buying them. But getting them there as block secretaries. Block captains. You'd be getting them street money. Legitimate. But it's a little bit old school.

CHUCK TODD: Right... right.

MATTHEWS: But I hear talking to some people today, they're aren't people like that up in Massachusetts any more. They're aren't those automatic Democrat votes out there any more. You can't count on anybody...

CHUCK TODD: You're right Chris. It isn't the old machine that's up there.

MATTHEWS: Well, the street corner guys are getting called upon, perhaps a little too late. Perhaps. We'll see. It could still be very close. Thank you Chuck Todd.

See the full video of the exchange at MSNBC.

Today's modern day political street thugs are of course, ACORN and SEIU. They no longer descend from the Irish ghettos. But the same mentality of intimidation and street thuggery remains. Will see next Tuesday, if Matthews does indeed get his wish, and that mentality prevails.

Photos - Cartoon of Boss Tweed protecting the ballot box, Boston street thugs, and Tammany Hall, NYC.

Joe Kennedy is the Independent/libertarian (small L) candidate for the Massachusetts's Senate seat. He needs Hoosier help! If you have some time today and tomorrow to make phone calls to help turn out LP votes, please contact Debbie Tharp at 1-559-308-3672, or at dbbspill@yahoo.com. To find out more about Joe, please visit his website: joekennedyforsenate.com.

Also, check out this story: Conservative PAC Says Joseph Kennedy Taking More Votes From Martha Coakley in U.S. Senate Race; Coakley Drops Below 50% Thanks To Kennedy

The Ultimate! Sports Guy candidate

Local TV News report out of Boston - Channel 7 - on Scott Brown's Sunday campaign rally in Worcester. Plus, a wrap-up of Brown's other Sunday campaign stops. Reporter ends with announcement that candidate Brown plans to give the finale' for the hard-fought campaign shaking hands outside the NHL's Boston Bruins arena late Monday.

UPDATE!

"Martha or "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia..."?"

Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island, was a featured guest at the Obama-Coakley rally. After speeches, surrounded by reporters, Kennedy, who went to alcohol re-hab in 2006 after a drunk driving incident, repeatedly mis-stated the candidate's name, as "Marcia." From the Hotline:

"[it took] eight years for George Bush and his cronies to put our country into this hole ... some work needs to be done and this president's in the process of doing it and we need to get Marcia Coakley to help him to do that."

UPDATE!!

Very Final Poll shows Brown leading Coakley by 5

Released late last night, the PPP poll, a liberal firm, shows a continuing surge for Republican Scott Brown. The final numbers: 51% for Scott Brown, 46% for Martha Coakley. (Independent-Libertarian Joe Kennedy was not included).

Reports PPP:

Over the last week Brown has continued his dominance with independents and increased his ability to win over Obama voters as Coakley's favorability numbers have declined into negative territory.

Football great Doug Flutie, famed Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, Ayla Brown (Scott's daughter) semi-finalist for American Idol...

Add to the growing list of Scott Brown celebrity supporters actor John Ratzenberger. He was a co-star on the hit 1980s TV sitcom "Cheers." The series was based on a real tavern in downtown Boston, that still exists today. (Though, the Cheers bar was recently reported to be having financial problems with the downturn in the economy.)

From the BostonHerald.com:

[At a Sunday rally in Worcester] Brown, bolstered by a last-minute campaign surge in the polls, reminded the crowd of over 2,000 people that he is their candidate.

Brown was serenaded by his daughter, former “American Idol” semi-finalist Ayla Brown, backslapped by Red Sox [team stats] ace pitcher Curt Schilling [stats], and pumped up by former “Cheers” know-it-all John Ratzenberger during the electric rally.

Ratzenberger is a known conservative and supporter of the Tea Party movement. He's also a friend of Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.

Cheers Star Ted Danson, an well-known Hollywood liberal, has made no endorsement in the Massachusetts race.

by Robert Romano

January 17th, 2010, Boston, MA—With Tuesday’s special election for the open Senate seat in Massachusetts just two days away, citizen watchdog groups are paying special attention to the potential of voter fraud in a closely-contested race.

“The potential for voter fraud in Massachusetts is almost unlimited,” said Dan Tripp, a project leader for Americans for Limited Government Foundation’s election observers currently on the ground in Massachusetts.

“Voters in Massachusetts are not generally required to show identification at the polls,” Tripp explained, saying that the only voters who would be required to show ID were those first-time voters who registered by mail after 2003. “That’s less than 5 percent of the eligible voting population.”

“For the rest of the voting population, they need only provide a name and address associated with the voting list at the polling location,” Tripp said. “This enables multiple votes at multiple locations, with neither poll workers nor poll watchers having any means to detect the fraud, nor any means of verifying the actual identity of a voter showing up at the polls.”

According to the Massachusetts elections law, Title VIII, Chapter 54, Section 67, “No person shall vote if his name is not on the voting list…” And according to Massachusetts regulations, 950 CMR 54.04 (2009): “The voter must announce his address and name to the election officer in charge of the check-in voting list.”

“Given the lack of any ID requirement, Massachusetts elections law is an open invitation to fraud,” said Nathan Mehrens, counsel for Americans for Limited Government Foundation. Mehrens indicated that “Of course, the most probable fraud is dead voters showing up to vote on Tuesday.”

Tripp said scores of camera crews, poll watchers, and other election observers are deployed throughout the state. “Our special election observers are the eyes and ears on the ground, and who are well-positioned to ensure the legitimacy of Tuesday’s special senatorial election in Massachusetts.”

Americans for Limited Government Foundation, which is sponsoring the extensive election observation project, has partnered with NetRightNation.com, a nationwide coalition of bloggers that is coordinating with Massachusetts bloggers on the ground.

Tripp emphasized that Americans for Limited Government Foundation’s observers “are strictly non-partisan, and designed mostly to deter and detect voter and other types of election fraud and intimidation at the polls.”

“The message to anyone thinking about committing election fraud in Massachusetts is this: We will find you. Our camera teams could be anywhere,” Tripp declared, concluding, “We’re one of many groups engaged in monitoring the Massachusetts special election. The question individuals should be asking when they consider committing fraud is, ‘Is it worth the risk?’”

Courtesy of Adam Bitely at News Alert and NetRightNation.

by Eric Dondero

Oldtimer Libertarians might remember the 1991 Libertarian Party National Convention. It was the first LP National Convention covered in its entirety by C-SPAN, gavel to gavel. Ron Paul had run for President on the Libertarian ticket in 1988, with fmr. Alaska State Rep. Andre Marrou as his VP. The ticket had gained a great deal of national media exposure, but never really cracked through. Of course the entire Libertarian Party was excited about the prospects of this "coming out" to America through the relatively new medium of C-SPAN.

And it promised to be an exciting convention. California LP activist Dick Boddie, a Black American and motivational speaker from California was running for the nomination for President against Marrou. During the nominating speeches, Boddie's father, a 70+ year old Baptist preacher gave a rousing speech for his son. The older Boddie, a veteran of the Civil Rights movement, was unfamiliar with his son's chosen political party. In front of live TV he repeatedly referred to his son as seeking the nomination of the "Liberation Party." It was a cringe moment for convention goers, and Libertarians nationwide watching the proceeding on C-SPAN.

Now, a promiment polling firm appears to have made a similar freudian slip, broadcast to the national media, no less, a day before an exceedingly important election where all eyes are focused on Massachusetts.

From the Merriman River Group (affiliated with the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership) at InsideMedford.com:

Brown supporters focused most on pocketbook issues, Coakley supporters on healthcare reform, undecided voters split

A poll conducted by the Merriman River Group (MRG) and InsideMedford.com indicates that Scott Brown leads Martha Coakley 50.8% – 41.2% in the contest to fill the seat of the late Senator Ted Kennedy. Liberty Party candidate Joe Kennedy pulls in just 1.8% support, while 6.2% of voters are still not sure. Brown and Coakley both have most of their supporters locked in. 98% of both candidate’s supporters say they are definitely or probably going to vote for their candidate. In contrast, 22% of Kennedy’s supporters are just leaning toward him, suggesting that Brown and Coakley may both want to take aim at swaying those voters.

Such an error would be understandable 10 to 15 years ago, when the LP was a lot less popular. But given the fact that Libertarian candidate Joe Kennedy has received write-ups in the NY Times, Fox News page, and USAToday, you'd think his proper affiliation would have been noted, particularly from an institution that is connected with Harvard.

Certainly neither Joe Kennedy nor the Libertarian Party is to blame here. Once again, it's a case of liberal elites at an academic institution, unfamiliar with libertarian ideals and not at all familiar with the Party that represents those beliefs.

CORRECTION

From the Editor: Turns out we were wrong. Joe Kennedy does indeed have the ballot access designation of "Liberty Party." This, despite his campaigning under the Libertarian Party banner. Apologies to the Merriman Group.

Estimates: Less than 2,000 for Obama/Coakley event - 4,000+ for Scott Brown

At the Obama rally in downtown Boston, Martha Coakley failed to fill the hall as noted in this video. Meanwhile, across State in Worcester, Scott Brown filled a hall with a capacity crowd of 3,000. Reports that another 1,000 stood outside unable to get into the event. (Photos of Brown rally at InstaPundit.)

Fox News correspondent Carl Cameron speaks of the Martha Coakley campaign in the past tense.

"There's a lot of Democrats in this hall telling us what they think was the problem for the Martha Coakley campaign. Her campaign they argue just didn't get off the ground..."

Meanwhile CNN's Snr. White House correspondent Ed Henry is reporting the following:

Sources: Obama advisers believe Coakley will lose

Washington (CNN) - Multiple advisers to President Obama have privately told party officials that they believe Democrat Martha Coakley is going to lose Tuesday’s special election to fill the Massachusetts Senate seat held by the late Ted Kennedy for more than 40 years, several Democratic sources told CNN Sunday.

The sources added that the advisers are still hopeful that Obama's visit to Massachusetts on Sunday - coupled with a late push by Democratic activists - could help Coakley pull out a narrow victory in an increasingly tight race against Republican state Sen. Scott Brown.

However, the presidential advisers have grown increasingly pessimistic in the last three days about Coakley's chances after a series of missteps by the candidate, sources said.

Breaking from Breitbart...

Panel discussion on PBS's McLaughlin Group on Saturday: 5 minute segment on the influence of Ron Paul and his followers within the GOP.

The discussion centered on Ron Paul helping to spurn the growing Tea Party movement. Paleo-conservative commentator Pat Buchanan chimed in at the end:

[The Tea Party began] after this nomination of Sarah Palin. This enormous surge to McCain. Enormous crowds of people coming out, when he couldn't get a couple hundred people out before then....

Now Ron Paul will do better than he did before because he will get some of those votes. But right now, quite frankly, the one candidate who can get 'em better than anyone else is Ms. Sarah Palin.

Side Note - Roundtable gave predictions on Massachusetts. Four out of five, including McLaughlin, and liberal commentator Clarence Page predicted Scott Brown win. Only Eleanor Clift replied Coakley.

See McLaughlin Group video at Breitbart.

From Eric Dondero:

Please visit our sister site Worldwide Liberty, for articles on the disaster in Haiti from a libertarian perspective. We also encourage submissions for that site on the current tragedy looking for other libertarian solutions.

Both Senior Editor Clifford Thies, Ph.D in economics, and I offer a couple articles with our thoughts. Clifford tackles the practicality of the crisis and how the U.S. can best respond immediately, mainly through massive mobilization of the mighty U.S. Military. I look at the long term, and offer a uniquely libertarian view: Expand the U.S. Territory that already exists there - Navassa Island - to cover all of Haiti, making it a possible U.S. Protectorate. Then, turn Haiti into one giant Free Trade Zone; a Hong Kong of the Caribbean.

There has been precious few commentary and coverage of the Haitian crisis within the libertarian movement. Visits to libertarian sites, shows few if any articles or even mentions of Haiti. This obviously has to do with the generally isolationist attitudes of the majority of libertarians, from Cato to Von Mises Inst. to the Ron Paul movement. We here at Libertarian Republican and Worldwide Liberty take a decidedly different - more internationalist view - of libertarianism. Unlike our neo-isolationist counterparts, we advocate spreading liberty worldwide. Thus we offer an outlet for discussion of libertarian alternatives for Haiti.

Worldwide Liberty blog

From the Editor:

This is an inspiring libertarian/Tea Party video for Scott Brown for US Senate.

"A vote for Scott Brown is a vote for Liberty... A vote for Martha Coakley is a vote for the the Obama agenda..."

I just sent in my $25.00 contribution to Brown for Senate. I know some of you all here at LR have done the same. If you haven't already done so, please do the same below. (And make sure to put in "Libertarian Republican" in the referrel box.)

A final note: Don't be surprised if this blog is taken over by Scott Brown for Senate Mania in the next couple days. We plan to cover every aspect of the Mass. race, with a special libertarian emphasis. We'll try to cover other issues rather than Brown for Senate, as well. But frankly, for Libertarian Republicans right now, does anything else really matter?

I just made a contribution to Scott Brown for U.S. Senate and I'm hoping you will do the same. You can donate by going to https://www.icontribute.us/scottbrown. Thank you for your support!

State Auditor Mary Taylor: "Get the government out of the way"

From Eric Dondero:

Former Congressman, and Republican nominee for Governor of Ohio John Kasich twittered the following announcement on Thursday:

Please join me in welcoming Mary Taylor as OH's next LG. We are committed to working to bring jobs and prosperity back to our state.
10:36 AM Jan 14th from web

She is currently State Auditor, and like Kasich is known for staunch fiscal conservatism, and dedication to budget retstraints. She refers to herself as Ohio's "Government Watchdog."

During the announcement press conference (YouTube video) Taylor said:

"Ohioans are correct to ask, does government spend my tax dollars responsibly... despite my repeated warnings about a looming multi-billion dollar budget hole, and the dangers of over-relying on one-time state and federal stimulus money, I've been ignored. I've tried to help. I've offered solutions. But our Governor is a hard guy to help.

John Kasich and I believe, that government should only do that with which they are unable to do for themselves. We know that if government gets out of our way, businesses will create jobs here in Ohio and we will prosper."

Kasich still backs abolishing state income tax, open to legalized gambling

Of particular interest to libertarians, candidate Kasich went on record on two other fronts in a recent interview with the Columbus Dispatch. Kevin Holtsberry of Ohio Politics On-line reports:

In a move that will probably cheer the libertarians, and others who back gambling expansion, it seems Kasich is open to that idea as well:

Kasich said he was not backing away from his plan to phase out the state income tax...

Kasich said that, as governor, he would examine an expansion of legalized gambling from the viewpoint of whether it makes sense for the state.

“I’m not ideologically opposed to gambling,” the former Westerville congressman said. “I haven’t made up my mind on it, but I’m not going to say we’re not going to do it and pound my fist on the table. We’ll have to see, and that doesn’t mean we are going to do it. We’ll have to take a really hard look at it.”

KasichforOhio.com

by Eric Dondero

Well, this could go down as the very biggest of the soon-to-be famous Martha Coakley gaffes.

On Boston radio WBZ yesterday, Martha Coakley accused Red Sox great Curt Schilling of being a "Yankees fan."

From the NY Times blog, Saturday:

It was Ms. Coakley who brought up baseball in the interview on WBZ News Radio. She noted that her rival, Scott Brown, a Republican State Senator, had been campaigning in Boston Friday with Rudolph W. Giuliani, and she reminded listeners that Mr. Giuliani is a Yankee fan.

The interviewer, Dan Rea, said, “Yeah, but now Scott Brown has Curt Schilling, OK?’’

To which Ms. Coakley replied, “And another Yankee fan.’’

“Schilling?’’ Mr. Rea pressed.

“Yes,’’ she said.

“Curt Schilling a Yankee fan?’’ he persisted.

“No, all right, I’m wrong on my, I’m wrong,’’ she said.

Here's the video of the recorded radio show.

Times reporter Michael Cooper goes on to note that the Red Sox pitcher "was accorded near-heroic status here for guiding the team to victory over their arch-rivals, the Yankees, in a key game in 2004 while his own sock was literally bloody from an ankle injury."

Curt Schilling responded early this morning on a post at his blog 38 Pitches:

But never, and I mean never, could anyone ever make the mistake of calling me a Yankee fan. Well, check that, if you didn’t know what the hell is going on in your own state maybe you could….

Coming on the heels of the Fenway Park diss, where Coakley sardonically commented that Scott Brown was wasting his time shaking hands "out in the cold," in front of the world-famous Baseball park, this cannot be at all helpful to Coakley's campaign, not too mention 3 days before the election.

UPDATE!

Latest internal polls being leaked from both the Coakley and Brown campaigns, according to NRO, have a range of complete tie to Brown up by 11 points.

No major change in the Texas political landscape after debate

Self-described "libertarian-conservative," radio talk show host and frequent Rush Limbaugh fill-in, Mark Davis of WBAP in Dallas, pronounced three winners yesterday, in the much-anticipated Republican Governor's debate. And the winners are: Rick Perry, Kay B. Hutchison and Debra Medina.

From the Dallas Morning-News, "Debate delivers awkward moments and clarity":

In a nutshell, Gov. Rick Perry needed to weave a narrative of a recession-resistant Texas, succeeding because of his leadership. He did that.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison needed to get aggressive with Perry, reminding the conservative base of the gripes they've had with him at times during his decade in office. She did that.

Debra Medina needed to appear worthy of her spot on the stage, a self-proclaimed ordinary citizen sandwiched between two of the most successful politicians in Texas history. She did that, and then some.

So if every camp could properly say it succeeded, the result becomes obvious: no major change in the landscape of the race. If Perry had a double-digit lead walking in, he had one walking out.

Best for Texas: Perry as Governor, Hutchison as Senator, and Medina running for future office

Davis goes on to write, that what most Texans really want is continuous of the status quo, with recession-battling Perry as Governor and ObamaCare opponent Hutchison remaining in her current office:

I have been looking, for a shred of evidence that her heroic recent stances against Obamacare and cap and trade – some of the best moments in her Senate career – will somehow translate into a new wave of voters who want her to escape the Beltway and move into the governor's mansion.

I see none. What I am sensing is a murmur of an echo of what Texas said in 2006, when voters gave a thumbs-up to Perry in Austin and Hutchison in Washington.

As for inside-the-major party "3rd party" candidate Medina, Davis sees a distinctly bright future, possibly running for some other statewide office. He noted that the former County GOP Chair contributed to the debate on a number of issues that wouldn't have otherwise been brought up. She pushed an increase in the state sales tax, to allow for complete elimination of property taxes. And she also brought up an issue not normally discussed in such debates. Continuing:

[She] courageously revealed a libertarian streak that teaches that each state should have a debate over drug legalization. (I said courageously, not necessarily wisely.)

As Massachussetts goes, so goes California.

This just breaking from Rasmussen:

Boxer leads former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina by just three points, 46% to 43%. In November, Boxer was also at the 46% level of support but led Fiorina by nine points.

The longtime Democratic senator runs best right now against state Assemblyman Chuck Devore, beating him by six points, 46% to 40%. Two months ago, though, she posted a 10-point lead on DeVore, 49% to 39%.

As for Campbell, the ex-congressman and former state finance director who on Thursday quit the governor’s race to jump into the Senate contest, Boxer leads him by just four points, 46% to 42%.

DEVELOPING...

From Eric Dondero:

We just received a Tweet from a trusted source inside the Beltway, that Congressman Vic Snyder, Democrat of Arkansas plans to retire. This is AR 02, which includes metropolitan Little Rock.

Our source indicates that the seat is now likely to move from the "toss-up" category to "Lean 'R'" as rated by various political observers.

Now a 4 Point Lead for Scott Brown over Martha Coakley

A scant 4 weeks ago, Republican candidate for Senate Scott Brown was as much as 30 points behind Democrat Martha Coakley in one poll. Polls released earlier this week had him down by 4, another down by 2, and 1 actually showing him ahead by a single point. Now, State Senator Brown, appears to be pulling off the impossible: Poised to win what some liberal commentators have described as the "Ted Kennedy seat," in the United States Senate.

In what's being called a "Poll Shocker" by the Boston Herald this morning, Brown has opened up a 4-point lead.

From the Boston Herald:

Brown’s 4-point lead over Democrat Martha Coakley is within the Suffolk University/7News survey’s margin of error, the underdog’s position at the top of the results stunned even pollster David Paleologos.

"It’s a Brown-out,” said Paleologos, director of Suffolk’s Political Research Center. “It’s a massive change in the political landscape."

The poll shows Brown, a state senator from Wrentham, besting Coakley, the state’s attorney general, by 50 percent to 46 percent, the first major survey to show Brown in the lead. Unenrolled long-shot Joseph L. Kennedy, an information technology executive with no relation to the famous family, gets 3 percent of the vote. Only 1 percent of voters were undecided.

Pollster Paleologos went on to say that Brown clearly had the momentum, and predicted that all signs point to him posting a stunning come-from-behind victory:

"Either Brown’s momentum accelerates and his lead widens, or this becomes a wake-up call for Coakley to become the ‘Comeback Kid’ this weekend,” Paleologos said.

Sidenote: Various polls in New Jersey, days before the Governor's election in November had Chris Christie within the margin of error, ahead by 2 to 3 points. He won by 4.5%.

(H/t Memeo)

One poll last week had the uniquely named Independent/Libertarian candidate Joe Kennedy pulling as much as 5% in the Massachusetts Senate race. But traditionally, 3rd party "spoilers," lose support at the very end. Witness the recent NJ Governor's race, where the much-touted 3rd party challenger, ended with a dissapointing 4%, much below original polling predictions of as much as 15%.

Joe Kennedy, a polished, but somewhat mild-spoken Libertarian candidate running on the Independent line, was recently featured in the NY Times article. They called him the "wild card" in the race. Reporter Michael Cooper followed his campaign, and only 12 showed up at a basement speech. In the very latest poll, his support has subsided to just 3%. Other polls have him at just 1%.

Now some well-known Libertarian Party backers are even backing away. From Independent Political Report (top site for 3rd party politics):

Trent Hill, Co-Editor, IPR:

Libertarians should be cheering on a Brown victory–not because Brown is any better, but because it will likely have the effect of stopping the healthcare bill (or at least slowing it dramatically).

Gene Berkman, a prominent leftwing Libertarian, California LP member:

I certainly hope that Joe Kennedy gets a big vote, and takes enough liberal votes to cause the Democrat to lose... he [Brown] might still oppose Obamacare...

At least one prominent Hollywood Actor and some Leftwing Bloggers seem to think so

On GritTV, during an interview, Actor Danny Glover made the following comment (via the London Telegraph):

"When we see what we did at the climate summit in Copenhagen, this is the response, this is what happens, you know what I’m sayin’?"

Some leftwing bloggers are joining in.

Josh Lynch at It's Getting Hot in Here, a blog that bills itself as the Youth Movement leader on Climate change, opined:

We don’t know whether or not there is a link between climate change and Tuesday’s earthquake. As a global phenomenon, it is inherently difficult to map changes in the Earth’s climate to any specific event. What we know is that burning fossil fuels is altering the climate, increasing the likelihood that disasters like this one will occur.

And Climate Change blogger Eric Gonzalez penned the following:

Looking at the bigger picture however, this isn’t just a Haiti specific problem. Indonesia needed the same after the tsunami wreckage. There may be other catastrophes in the future which may lead to inhabitant relocation or reconstruction if climate change predictions are to be believed.

by Eric Dondero

In the afternoon of July 26, 2006, Naveed Haq of Pakistan burst into the Seattle Jewish Community Center screaming "Allahu-Ahkbar," and "Death to all Jews." He shot six woman, including the receptionist at the entrance and a pregnant woman. He chased one victim up a flight of stairs shouting: "I hate Jews. You're a Jew. I'm going to kill you. Allahu-Ahkbar."

When it was all over 1 Jewish woman lay dead.

Nationally, it was a one day story. The country was in the midst of Iraq War fatigue. And a crazed radical Muslim man killing Jewish women in the heart of downtown Seattle, didn't fit the politically correct media template. The Seattle media especially jumped through hoops to downplay any Jihadist links.

Yesterday, Haq was sentenced to life in prison in a Seattle courtroom. From the Seattle Times:

Several of the surviving victims and their relatives addressed the court before the sentencing and recounted how the July 26, 2006, shootings indelibly scarred their lives. Haq looked downward as they spoke.

Nicole Waechter, daughter of Pamela Waechter, who was slain in the attack, spoke of how her mother would want her family to react to the attack.

"She would tell us to keep going, not to dwell on this tragedy," she said through tears. "My mom lives on in many of us."

Cheryl Stumbo, 46, who still suffers from the gunshot wound in her abdomen, spoke forcefully, telling Haq "you will spend the rest of your life paying for your choices."

Now, nearly 3 years later, we can see a pattern. Haq was just the first in a long line of radical Islamist terrorists within our borders: Najibullah, the Dallas skyscraper bomber, the Chicago Six, the Arkansas Military Recruiting station shooter, and of course Major Nidal Malik Hassan.

How many more Haqs, Najibullahs, and Hassans will it take before the country wakes up to the extreme threat we face to our personal liberties and securities within our own borders, from these Radical Islamists?