With less than 24 hours until polls open in most of the United States, the media seems to have taken on the role of the young boy with his finger in the dike, doing their best to plug leaks that will hurt incumbent and liberal Democrat candidates so that voters will not have critical information to help them decide how to vote.

The media would have you believe that in California, former Governor Jerry Brown has already won with poll reports showing Meg Whitman trailing and Barbara Boxer surging to a low single digit lead over Carly Fiorina. Sources associated with the Whitman and Fiorina campaigns have indicated that internal polling actually shows Whitman and Fiorina to be much more competitive than the media would have you believe, and in some cases, beating Brown and Boxer who represent the relics of failed Democrat ideals.

Americans have come to understand the phrase “all politics is local” as immortalized by former House Speaker Tip O’Neill; however, all local politics are not reported equally.

I would like to share with you three examples where the media has been protecting politicians and an explanation of how the media is being influenced in their decision to not report these stories.

First, on October 19, 2010, with news cameras present in studio and rolling, it was revealed on The Rick Amato Show that Congressman Bob Filner (D-CA 51st) was having an inappropriate relationship with a Southwest Airlines corporate lobbyist. It was also revealed that Congressman Filner who serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee agreed to sponsor legislation impacting aircraft maintenance.

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California Republican Senate hopeful Carly Fiorina Tuesday reaffirmed her opposition to the Federal Communications Commission’s bid to exert regulatory influence over the broadband industry, attesting in a web video to the onerous and “antiquated” regulations imposed on the tech industry.

“Net neutrality, in principle, sounds fantastic,” Fiorina said in a ten-question online forum hosted by PDF. “But I grew up in the telcom industry, and I know how bureaucratic, and frankly antiquated, the regulations in the telcom industry have been.”

Fiorina, the former chief executive of tech giant Hewlett-Packard, warned the FCC against imposing a dated regulatory regime on industry that thrives on innovation.

“I don’t think we should take a regulator structure that was created in the early 20th century and apply it in the 21st century,” she said, adding, “I don’t support reclassifying broadband as telecom as a result.”

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After Barack Obama’s historic victory in 2008, many in the Democratic Party and on the political left argued that the GOP and the conservative movement were finished and that Democrats were destined to control, in perpetuity, the presidency, Congress, and culture, writ large. But then something unexpected happened–millions of sleepwalking, mall-shopping Americans finally woke up.

The activist left, which denigrated the previous president in a merciless fashion, took the reins of power with reckless abandon and shoved its brand of poisonous hope and change down the throats of the American people. So we the people, the reawakening silent majority, responded in the form of a grassroots movement that is turning into a juggernaut set to roll past November 2nd and become something transcendent and long-lasting. Our Founding Fathers would be proud that we have rediscovered the spirit and the essence of their ideas.

While the Tea Party has not been specifically partisan–many Republican carcasses lie in its rubble–this conservative and constitutional checks and balances has created a rejuvenated GOP, chastened and wiser.

This weekend I have the honor of sharing the stage with one of the Tea Party’s and Republican Party’s fearless leaders, Sarah Palin. Since her arrival on the national stage, the Democratic Party has recognized her potential as a political powerhouse and has worked in tandem with its partners in crime, the mainstream media, to wage an unprecedented personal campaign against her and her family. The Tea Party can relate.

But the power of Alinsky and the politics of personal destruction vis a vis the Democrat Media Complex has reverse effects when the object of the hate bravely stands up to the bullies and thugs. The Tea Party and Sarah Palin have given America a great lesson in standing up to the bullies who have co-opted the Democratic Party and the American media. (more…)

In the wake of the tsunami of protests from its members over the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) endorsement of a slew of anti-military incumbents, the VFW’s “leadership” has issued a new statement trying to calm the furor and, in doing so, has further embarrassed itself.  You see, to them, the problem isn’t that the VFW allowed its good name to be tarred by supporting candidates like the one who literally partied with Hanoi Jane Fonda.

No, the problem is that you, the veterans, are just too stupid to understand how it’s not the leadership’s fault that this happened on their watch:

Comrades,

The angry tone and tenor of the telephone calls and messages being received at national headquarters make it clear that many of our members are not cognizant of the fact that VFW National By-Laws clearly stipulate that the VFW Commander-in-Chief is not authorized to direct or otherwise attempt to introduce his control over the VFW PAC. Furthermore, no membership dues or donations made to the VFW or VFW Foundation are used for the VFW PAC.

As you know, the recent endorsements by the PAC are the subject of much controversy. Unfortunately, many questions have been raised regarding VFW’s involvement in the endorsement process and the integrity of the organization as a whole. Regrettably, many of our members and supporters are disappointed and have misdirected their anger toward the VFW as having lost its purpose.

Comrades, we cannot sit idly by while a great organization is being disparaged and maligned, even unintentionally. It is vitally important that you take a direct role in alleviating this current flood of criticism by reminding members and supporters that:

– The VFW PAC was created by the VFW members and not by VFW national leaders. 2/3 of the delegates of the 80th VFW National Convention (1979) voted to establish PAC as a standing committee.

– VFW By-Laws stipulate that VFW leadership does not direct PAC activities and that the VFW convention is the governing body of the organization. As such, it is only the delegates at the convention that can determine the continuation of the PAC.

– Encourage VFW members to get involved in their VFW Posts and to exercise and further direct their concerns to convention delegates so that there can be an informed debate on the existence of the PAC.

If I know my vets, they are plenty “cognizant” of when they are being fed a bunch of crap.

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Ten years ago, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)– currently chair of the Senate Ethics Committee– personally moved legislation that has financially benefited her son, Capitol Confidential has learned.

Boxer, then in her second term as a U.S. Senator, carried legislation restoring federal recognition to a Native American tribe, the Coastal Miwoks.  At the time, the Miwoks claimed to be a “nongaming tribe.”  However, Boxer’s legislation, as signed into law by President Bill Clinton, allowed for a casino to be constructed– a result that would specifically have been blocked under similar legislation introduced by Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA).

Now, with a major relevant condition having been met, local residents are bracing themselves for construction of a new casino, a project that has been pushed by none other than Boxer’s son, Doug Boxer.  Questions are being raised about the younger Boxer’s involvement and his mother’s legislative actions that paved the way for what looks like a financially lucrative deal benefiting him personally.

Less than a year after Boxer’s tribal bill was signed into law, Doug Boxer helped negotiate a casino partnership between the tribe and Station Casinos of Las Vegas.  Doug Boxer’s firm also acquired options on 2,000 acres of land that was later transferred to Station Casinos for an undisclosed price, but which some reports indicate could have been as much as $24 million.

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There is a brief story by Jim Carlton in the weekend edition of The Wall Street Journal entitled “Fiorina Stays Away from Middle Road,” and in the cover story for the latest issue of The Weekly Standard, Fred Barnes describes Carly Fiorina’s campaign against Barbara Boxer as “the most important race of 2010.”

I am not sure that I agree with the extravagant claim advanced by Barnes. But if Fiorina does, in fact, put an end to Boxer’s career, his assertion might well prove to be right – for, as Barnes shows in detail, the title of Carlton’s story is apt.

Carly Fiorina is not a squish. She is anti-abortion, and she makes no bones about the fact that she thinks Roe v. Wade a travesty. She is hostile to Obamacare, and she wants it repealed. She thinks that a tax increase at this time would be counter-productive, and she means to stop it. She thinks the deficit a threat to American prosperity and power, and she intends to see to its reduction. She favors offshore drilling, and she supports Arizona’s attempt to stop illegal immigration. She does not pander; she does not retreat. She makes her case. And if she wins – and she may well win –  in California of all places, it really will be the occasion of a political earthquake. More important, from my perspective, even if she loses, we win.

If our aim were a mere partisan victory, my claim would be ridiculous. A vote in the Senate is, after all, a vote in the Senate. But if there is something more at stake – if a partisan victory predicated on an abandonment of principle is a devastating, demoralizing defeat – then it is far, far better to lose a close race while making a principled argument, as Abraham Lincoln did in his senatorial campaign against Stephen Douglas in Illinois in 1858, than it is to win by way of cowardice, collapse, and compromise.

To grasp what I mean one must look beyond November.

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You might think that a prominent veterans organization like the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) would actually reserve its political endorsements for, you know, veterans, or at least those politicians that actually demonstrate some level of respect for the military.  But you would be wrong.  And the problem is not just the VFW; rather, the VFW’s current lobbyist-driven fiasco simply serves to illustrate how out-of-touch the Washington in-crowd is with the feelings of us benighted souls dwelling outside the beltway.

In the Florida 22^nd Congressional District race, incumbent Democrat Ron Klien is running against Republican challenger Allen West.  Actually, he’s properly addressed as Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Allen West, a decorated combat veteran who commanded a battalion in Iraq until he was forced to retire after making a 9mm suggestion to a captured terrorist that it would be a very, very smart move to give up some information about future attacks against LTC West’s men.  Now, that’s not to say Congressman Klien does not have a distinguished military record of his own – to be fair, apparently he saw most of Saving Private Ryan on AMC once, though he found it pretty scary.

After due consideration- which apparently means the VFW’s lobbyists told it to do so – the VFW endorsed Klein.

Okay, sometimes an organization makes a mistake.  I mean, it’s not like the VFW decided to endorse, say, a liberal Democratic senator who tried to humiliate an Army general testifying by demanding that he call her “Senator” instead of the perfectly appropriate “ma’am,” or who allowed her fundraisers to be hosted by the likes of Hanoi Jane.  That would be, well, crazy.

Oh, wait.  The VFW is endorsing leftist Senator Barbara Boxer.  Yeah, the same Barbara Boxer who voted to undercut us troops as we sat out in the desert waiting for Operation Desert Storm to start.  Yeah, the same Barbara Boxer who undercut the troops by voting to cut and run in Iraq.  Yeah, that Barbara Boxer – the one who will be running around using the VFW’s shameful endorsement as a shield against the truth of her track record of contempt for our military.

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A citizen journalist interviewed sign-holding protesters at a Barbara Boxer rally outside of KPCC radio station where Boxer was debating Carly Fiorina.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Californians are left with a deeply unsatisfying choice for the U.S. Senate this year. The incumbent, Democrat Barbara Boxer, has failed to distinguish herself during her 18 years in office. There is no reason to believe that another six-year term would bring anything but more of the same uninspired representation. The challenger, Republican Carly Fiorina, has campaigned with a vigor and directness that suggests she could be effective in Washington – but for an agenda that would undermine this nation’s need to move forward on addressing serious issues such as climate change, health care and immigration.

It is extremely rare that this editorial page would offer no recommendation on any race, particularly one of this importance. This is one necessary exception.

Boxer, first elected in 1992, would not rate on anyone’s list of most influential senators. Her most famous moments on Capitol Hill have not been ones of legislative accomplishment, but of delivering partisan shots. Although she is chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, it is telling that leadership on the most pressing issue before it – climate change – was shifted to Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., because the bill had become so polarized under her wing.

For some Californians, Boxer’s reliably liberal voting record may be reason enough to give her another six years in office. But we believe Californians deserve more than a usually correct vote on issues they care about. They deserve a senator who is accessible, effective and willing and able to reach across party lines to achieve progress on the great issues of our times. Boxer falls short on those counts.

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Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Chair of the Senate Ethics Committee, has paid some $30,000 since 2004 for the endorsement of embattled Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) in the context of a scheme that critics charge is unethical and amounts to Waters using her political station to benefit her family members.

According to the Washington Times, Waters “has turned political endorsements into a family business, using federal election laws to charge California candidates and political causes to include their names as her personal picks on a sample ballot, or ‘slate mailer,’ she sends to as many as 200,000 South Central Los Angeles voters.”

The slate mailer business, it turns out, is run by Waters’ daughter, Karen, via her public relations firm.  Records show that Karen Waters’ firm has been paid more than $350,000 since 2004, and has billed a further $82,000 since California’s June primary, for its services in this regard.

It is a scheme that has been criticized by good governance groups including the Sunlight Foundation and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

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News broke just before the weekend that California Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina opposes the absurd notion known as Internet Network Neutrality (NN).

“The principle sounds fantastic, but the principle is not the problem,” Fiorina said in an interview at the Technology Policy Institute’s conference in Aspen, Colo. “The problem is how companies and regulatory bodies are trying to translate that principle into policy, which would have a bad effect.”

A spokeswoman later added that Fiorina “opposes Net neutrality and thinks government intervention and more regulation will not be helpful where the Internet is concerned.”

It’s really helpful to have someone running for office publicly standing opposed to NN who is as knowledgeable on it as is Fiorina – she is a former (1999-2005) chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard (HP).

Fiorina’s opponent is a big NN proponent.

Fiorina’s position contrasts greatly with that of her opponent, Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, who previously cosponsored legislation that would have set open Internet rules firmly in place.

In a statement, Boxer reaffirmed her support for Net neutrality. Her office later added that Boxer felt it was “premature to comment” on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s efforts to mandate Net neutrality using its own rule-making process.

(Emphasis mine.)

“Premature to comment?”

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The focus of American politics is often on the East Coast.  The interplay between Washington DC and the major media outlets on the East Coast often results in West Coast politics being as much as an afterthought as  college sports are to eastern writers.  This year, however, is different because the West features some of the highest profile races in the Country – races that can be won by Republicans.

The races that are grabbing that attention – which attention is likely to grow – are: (1) the Nevada race for Senate pitting the Democrat Leader Harry Reid against newcomer and the Tea Party candidate Sharon Angle, (2) the Washington State Senate Race between the Democrat incumbent Patty Murray and a yet to be determined Republican , and in California (3) newcomer Republican Meg Whitman v. Jerry Brown for Governor, and (4) newcomer Republican Carly Fiorina v.  Democrat incumbent Barbara Boxer for US Senate.

In each of those races, the Republican has more than just a chance to win.  In California, the latest polling shows the Republican Whitman statistically tied with the Democrat Jerry Brown,(B) 44 – (W) 43.  Whitman is proving to be an incredibly determined candidate and is more than matching the spending on the Left in support of Brown.  How worried are the Democrats about that race?  The Democrats Governor’s Association, in a very rare move, spent money to attack Whitman during the Republican primary.  Perhaps more telling, the LA Times recently ran an article chronicling Brown’s troubles entitled:  “Brown’s frugal campaign may be too little, too late.”

In the race for Senate, Boxer’s slim lead over Fiorina is within the margin of error 44-41 – but within that Field poll is even more trouble for Boxer.  Her unfavorable rating jumped from 39% to 52% over the last year.  Combined with Boxer’s high name identification, that poll indicates that Boxer will have a hard time convincing the voters who already know her – and don’t like her – to vote for her in this anti-Washington, non-incumbent year.   Fiorina, on the other hand, has a big upside potential and is a dynamic candidate who will be better funded then any of Boxer’s prior opponents in a state favorable to women candidates.

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Today, at the California Republican Party Convention in Santa Clara, California, Carly Fiorina is debuting yet another outrageous web video—this time slamming Sen. Barbara Boxer, who Fiorina seeks to replace this November. The web video—actually a lengthier “movie”—is featured at a new microsite, www.failedsenator.com.

Fiorina grabbed headlines—good, bad and ugly—with her infamous “Demon Sheep” video earlier this year. Following the release of that video, her campaign pledged that more would be on the way. This latest offering, which is already being dubbed the “Boxer Blimp,” takes Boxer to task for her record in the Senate. California Republicans say that is something that has been little examined in the course of previous campaigns, but which is essential to highlight in a year where the three-term Senator’s approval ratings are lagging while California’s economy remains on proverbial life support.

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