1. Politicians think you’re not paying attention. As Jeff Jacoby of The Boston Globe writes in his piece “Fannie, Freddie, Frank, and Fiction,” Barney Frank is campaigning as an opponent of programs to assist low-income homeownership. Barney against Fannie and Freddie? As cosponsor of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, Barney Frank did nothing to rein in the ticking time bombs at Fannie and Freddie. In 2003, he bashed the Bush administration’s reform efforts by saying, “the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.” In 2004, Frank supported the movement to create mortgages with as little as a 5% down payment, calling it “an essential part of any program to increase home ownership in America.” In July 2008, weeks before their collapse, he said, “Fannie and Freddie are fundamentally sound—they are not in danger of going under.” He’s been in office since 1981. It’s time for Barney to go. His opponent, Sean Bielat is a U.S. Marine Corp Reserve major who believes in a return to Constitutional values. Fannie and Freddie’s regulator says the companies could end up costing the government $363 billion. A vote for Sean Bielat will send Barney packing.
2. “Memo to White House: Calling voters stupid is not a winning strategy,” writes Karl Rove in his Wall Street Journal editorial “Obama’s Incoherent Closing Argument.” He refers to a fundraiser in West Newton, Massachusetts, last Saturday where Obama said, “facts and science and argument [do] not seem to be winning . . . because we’re hard-wired not to always think clearly when we’re scared.” I find that ironic since the electorate feels like it has been fooled by this administration and Pelosi, who used the faux science behind global warming to pass cap and trade. There’s every reason to be scared with this group of leaders at the helm.
3. John Robitaille is running for governor of Rhode Island. In an appearance on the Helen Glover Show he tells it like it is: “Rhode Island has a very generous unemployment compensation rate compared to most other states and, couple that with our very generous welfare programs, and there’s not really an incentive for people to go back to work.” He continues, “One contractor who’s a friend of mine told me that he had two people turn him down flat [for a job] because they were making more money on unemployment than wanting to go to work for $15, $17 an hour. That’s wrong.”
4. According to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, which compares the average weekly benefits in each state with the average weekly wage in those states, Rhode Island ranks second in the nation for the highest jobless benefits, paying 47.8% of the average hourly wage. The benefit can go as high as $13.76 per hour for an individual and $17.20 per hour for someone with five or more dependents. Only in Rhode Island.
5. John Robitaille is up against former U.S. senator Lincoln Chafee, who defined the term RINO in that role and who is running as an independent. The other candidate is Frank Caprio, who Bill Clinton stumped for over the summer. Both Chafee and Caprio are big government spenders while Robitaille will make the tough spending cuts Rhode Island desperately needs to make.
6. John Loughlin is running for U.S. congressional House seat RI 1. This is the seat held by Patrick Kennedy for 16 years. President Obama visits Rhode Island Monday to campaign for Loughlin’s opponent David Cicilline. Once again, it’s the Republican Loughlin who will make 2001–2003 tax cuts permanent for everyone, reject cap and trade, and repeal and replace Obamacare.
7. Charlie Baker may very well be the next governor of Massachusetts. Deval Patrick has pulled out all the stops, with a visit by President Obama, an endorsement by the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, and financial backing from the Massachusetts Teachers Association and SEIU 1199, to name just a few elements of his campaign. Charlie Baker is the candidate who is best aligned with the fiscal conservative principals of the Tea Party—and not with the unions, who just want to elect a pushover boss.
8. Where is Hillary? Is there any doubt she wants to be as far away as possible from this wave election? And is it possible she’ll stay away until 2016? She’s one big reason why Republicans had better focus on cutting spending in the 112th Congress—if they don’t, she’ll be out in full campaign mode for 2012.
9. Sharron Angle’s opponent Harry Reid thinks she’s an embarrassment. What’s embarrassing is how Scary Harry jammed Obamacare down Americans’ throats. That’s reason enough to vote for Sharron Angle, who represents the fiscally conservative Tea Party
10. Kelly Ayotte, U.S. Senate candidate from New Hampshire, is leading her opponent. She wants to repeal Obamacare. Look for her to be a leading Republican woman in the Senate.
The Internet puts your candidate and your ballot initiatives at your fingertips. Do some focused research over the next 11 days, and take advantage of your last chance to be heard on how you feel about President Obama’s record on jobs, health care, cap and trade, terrorism, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the government takeover of GM and the country in general, and, last but not least, Wall Street bailouts. Tell your friends and family to “Remember November.”