Hastings . . . Rejected for Chairmanship

by Jonathan Weisman and Peter Slevin - November 29, 2006 - Washington Post

In recent days, [Alcee] Hastings and his allies had launched a spirited campaign to clear his name from the stigma of his impeachment.

[snip]

He pointed repeatedly to his 1983 acquittal by a Miami jury and wrote that it is "amazing how little importance" his critics give that verdict.

[snip]

In fact, there is a certain simplicity in the conclusion drawn by an investigating committee of five eminent federal judges, each with strong civil rights credentials. Those judges, and later more than three dozen others, concluded that Hastings lied to the Miami jury as many as 15 times to win acquittal.

[snip]

Two federal judges soon filed an administrative complaint, accusing Hastings of conduct prejudicial to the courts, which led to the judicial investigation. John Doar, the chief House Watergate counsel, and a panel of judges investigating the matter said they uncovered substantial new evidence that convinced them that Hastings joined the bribery conspiracy and then fabricated a defense to hoodwink the jury.

[snip]

"Judge Hastings' conduct was premeditated, deliberate and contrived," wrote the committee. . . . .

The fact that keeps being ignored by the MSM is that Hastings was convicted by the Senate. CONVICTIED! Impeached is the same as indicted. However Hastings was not just impeached but convicted for lying at the trial where he won his case in court. He was removed as a judge.

So Hastings was not only guilty of taking bribes, he was guilty of lying in the trial over his bribes. He continues to lie about both situations and attacks his accusers with insults. He calls anyone who brings up either issue a "racist" and a "fool".

What I have to ask is how can this man get elected? The congressional black caucus is adamant that both Alcee Hastings and William Jefferson are upstanding members of their caucus and defends them both. Jefferson was accused of taking a bribe of $100,000, $90,000 of which was found in his freezer. Does the congressional black caucus not care about these crimes? Is the message they wish to send that being black excuses any act?

Gaia Scientist Lovelock Predicts Planetary Wipeout

by Jeremy Lovell - November 28th, 2006 - Reuters U.K.

James Lovelock, who angered climate scientists with his Gaia theory of a living planet and then alienated environmentalists by backing nuclear power, said a traumatised earth might only be able to support less than a tenth of it's 6 billion people.

"We are not all doomed. An awful lot of people will die, but I don't see the species dying out," he told a news conference. "A hot earth couldn't support much over 500 million."

[snip]

Lovelock said temperature rises of up to 8C were already built in and while efforts to curb it were morally commendable, they were wasted.

In other words, we are doomed. However the enviromentalists are furious because Lovelock doesn't blame the United States. His view, "China is building a coal-fired power station a week to feed rampant demand, and India's economy is likewise surging. If either suddenly decided to stop their carbon-fuelled development to lift their billions of people out of poverty they would face a revolution, yet if they continue, rising CO2 and temperatures would kill off plants and produce famine", he said.

To environmentalists this is simply unacceptable. To claim that China (a glorious socialist state) and India (another glorious socialist state) are the main cause of this impending disaster is not acceptable to the enviromental movement. Therefore Lovelock's premise is rejected . . . partially. His impending disaster theory is perfectly okay to them however he cannot be right as to the cause. The only question the enviromental movement needs an answer to is how is it the fault of America?

Happy Thanksgiving, And Now On To Christmas

Traditionally we put up our Christmas decorations on Thanksgiving weekend. This year, the house looks pretty good. I hope this will be a good Christmas Season. During a time of war, it seems that family and friends mean more than ever. Hold all yours close and pray for our troops overseas.

Christmas Decorations Are What Set The Mood

And God Bless you all.

Holding Islam To Account

by Amil Imani - November 25th, 2006 - The American Thinker

Islam has spawned many sects that are master practitioners of the art of double standards. As far as Muslims are concerned what is good for Muslims is not good for the non-Muslims; and, what is bad for Muslims is good for non-Muslims.

What complicates matters is that there is no way of knowing which of the dozens of at-each-other’s-throat sects is the legitimate Islam. As soon as Muhammad died his religion of peace became a house of internal war: jockeying for power and leadership started, sects formed and splintered into sub-sects, and bloodletting began in earnest.

The internal infighting in Islam is presently playing in full color—in red—most dramatically, in the Iraqi theater. Shiite raid Sunni civilians, slaughter them like sheep, and toss their bodies like trash in the streets or the rivers. The Sunnis return the favor with just as much viciousness and savagery.

Question: if this is the way these Muslims treat each other, how would they deal with the infidels, when they have the chance?

This is a pretty good article to read for a summary of the religion of "peace". Amercans need to come up to speed on Islam as one of two things is about to happen. We will either be turned into a Muslim country or we will defeat this world wide plague. For a while I thought the latter was assured, but the desire for appeasement indicated by the recent elections has given me pause.

Some of the trends that should make us nervous are such things as the fact that Europe will be majority Muslim by 2050. Indonesia is starting to implement sharia law and much of Southeast Asia is turning Muslim. Russia is playing around with support for Iran because Russia is almost majority Muslim now. The war in Chechnya is Putin's attempt to stop this but the outcome there is far from certain. Putin is hedging his bets by reactivating the cold war and that seems to have caught our intelligence community by surprise.

It is clearly not in our interest for Russia to arm Iran and send them at us with Putin on the side of the radical mullahs. It is somewhat surprising that Russia would see this as in their interest too. However that becomes more reasonable if you accept Putin's view of a world whose future is filled with nuclear bombs. It appears Russia has accepted that the whole world being nuclear is probably an inevitable fact. We are still talking about denying Iran the bomb. Unless Democrats are ready to allow us to bomb Iran that will not happen. If Islam unites with Europe and sides with the communists of China we will have few allies in this nuclear war. This is the long term risk. The short term risk is no better.

What does it mean for America if Iran and several other nations go nuclear? Is there any way to deny the probability that nuclear war will follow? Is America still stubborn enough about freedom that we will win a nuclear war? Is it possible we will not even fight but simply surrender?

The recent elections do not give much hope. What is your position? Have you decided? (An even better question might be, "Have you even thought about nuclear war?")

The Theocons Are Coming!

by Mark Steyn - November 24th, 2006 - SteynOnline
(from National Review, November 6th 2006)

More and more, I wonder whether lefties mean it, any of it. Take Rosie O’Donnell. The other day, one of her co-hosts on “The View” was musing on current events and opined, “If you take radical Islam and you want to talk about what is going on there you have to…”

And at this point Rosie interrupted. “One second. Radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America where we have a separation of church and state.”

Does she really believe that? That “radical Christianity” is “just as threatening” as “radical Islam”? These terms are imprecisely defined. You get the feeling that to Rosie O’Donnell “radical Christianity” is pretty much Christianity – or at any rate any Christian denomination without an openly gay bishop. Still, it’s hard to imagine even Rosie would feel “just as threatened” by an evangelical Protestant church opening up next door as by, say, a Wahhabi madrassah.

But who knows? The left’s preference for phantom enemies over real ones is such a feature of the current scene one assumes that for a few of them at least it has to be genuine. To the likes of Miss O’Donnell, “radical Christianity” affords opportunities for moral equivalence theory unseen since the Cold War. Pierre Hassner of the Center for International Studies and Research got the ball rolling shortly after 9/11. “It’s nonsense to say, ‘We’re the force of good’,” he scoffed. “We’re living through the battle of the born-agains: Bush the born-again Christian, bin Laden the born-again Muslim.”

This war of leftists against average Americans came home in the recent elections. Still many average Americans voted to give political power to people who believe that local pastors Wallace Phillips and Ralph White are as evil as Osama Bin Laden and Ayatollah Khoemeni.

Haven't heard about the planes the followers of Wallace and Ralph have had flown into buildings in American cities? According to Rosie O’Donnell you must not be paying attention. She says with great sincerity they are "just as threatening as radical Islam ". Forgive me if I think that such extremist rhetoric is idiocy. I thought it would be viewed as such by the majority of Americans. A vast majority. Yet it is part and parcel of the rhetoric of Democratic party leaders.

So why is it that many people who agree that Wallace and Ralph are no threat go into the election booth and align themselves with Rosie and her party?

People who are voting in America appear to be voting without understanding what is happening in our nation. Political parties have suffered from a growing disenchantment and this illusion is actually strengthening the party insiders. As more and more people declare themselves independent of party, the core insiders, who are never at risk of losing elections and are significantly more corrupt than those who are not insiders, acquire seniority and power.

Many Republicans feel their own people elected from 1994 through 2004 have failed to support what the core voters believe in. They also believe, and it has proved true, that the more secure insiders assumed that corruption would not be punished. At first that was true but after a while the corruption grew so blatant that it spilled out into public knowledge. Now many people believe Republicans are corrupt.

However the belief that putting Democrats back in charge will fix the problem was instantly negated as John Murtha and Alcee Hastings were promoted as party leaders. It will not be long before the large litany of people that Bill Clinton pardoned also regain their leadership roles in the Democrat lexicon.

And while all of this is happening, there is a battle over ideas taking place that is lost from public view. Comments about the hatred of the left for decent people on the right, as exemplified by Rosie O'Donnell's comment, never make the press.

It would be easy to lead this criticism into a denunciation for the left wing press that is still the main stream media in our nation. However there is now a clear right wing press large enough that anyone who is seriously concerned with our nation can find out both sides of any argument. Anyone seriously concerned with our nation cannot claim that the positions taken by power brokers of either party are difficult to know.

When did the intelectual discussions of our nation become so trite and ignore so much that is important? We ignore issues and where the party leaders stand! At gatherings of family and friends here in the Inner Banks, often even in gatherings of political party insiders, I find it an astonishing reality that no discussion of "issues" or "leaders stand on issues" is popular. Such discussions always engender taking sides and are considered "controversial" and thus to be avoided.

We talk about their personalities and how well liked they are. If they are in the other party we condemn them with insults that have become meaningless. However we never get down to specifics of what they believe, or even more important what they will actually be allowed to do by their party when in office. Governor Easley campaigned on a limit to government speding that sounded great on the campaign trail. Who was allowed to ridicule the very idea that his party would allow him to implement it? He has never even tried.

This article by Steyn is a great breakdown of some of the key positions on issues that will affect our lives in the coming years. Yet I doubt one in a hundred citizens can even follow the article on first reading . . . as it alludes to concepts and issues and values that are so rarely discussed in public. I recommend that you read it. I recommend that you discuss it with your friends. I predict that few will. And I believe that is why this nation is in serious trouble.

Want to save our nation? Have the audacity to actually argue with someone about what is needed and which party can do it. If you don't, then at least honestly concede that whatever happens, you don't care.

Teaching Thanksgiving From A Different Perspective

by Staff - November 23rd, 2006 - Associated Press

Teacher Bill Morgan walks into his third-grade class wearing a black Pilgrim hat made of construction paper and begins snatching up pencils, backpacks and glue sticks from his pupils. He tells them the items now belong to him because he "discovered" them.

The reaction is exactly what Morgan expects: The kids get angry and want their things back.

Morgan is among elementary school teachers who have ditched the traditional Thanksgiving lesson, in which children dress up like Indians and Pilgrims and act out a romanticized version of their first meetings.

He has replaced it with a more realistic look at the complex relationship between Indians and white settlers.

Realistic? What duplicity. Morgan claimes he wants a more realistic look at the relationship between whites and "indians". However what he is really doing is evaluating the acts of whites as if they had our current level of knowledge and material wealth while imputing purity and innocence to the "indians" they never had. A realistic look would recognize that the entire world of that time was a far more difficult and dangerous place than his simplistic view of the pilgrims acts can embrace.

Life in European countries at that time was tough, often deadly, with short life spans and little food for many. Indentured servants and the poor lived in close to slave like conditions. An example: Lords had the "right" to take the virginity of of a poor man's bride before he could marry her. How subservient does a man have to be to allow another to sleep with the woman he loves? The force that drove so many Europeans to migrate was not idle interest in stealing from "indians", but a desire to simply live free.

As for the "purity" of these "indians" so beloved of the liberals, they were tribes whose existence was based on a nomadic culture of constant warfare. There was no ownership of land not based on force. They were annoyed when whites moved in but they did not enforce any ownership rights because they did not recognize them. It was all about food and power. The modern "indian" concept they they collectively owned North America is a convenient rationalization of their desire to keep sucking reparations from modern taxpayers, but the very people they claim collectively owned this land never felt kinship with other tribes at all. They capured and enslaved each other. They raped each other's women. They fought them for temporary control of land they wanted. They killed each other. Usually in brutal ways and with torture in the killing a standard practice. And when whites arrived they kept the same practices they had always lived by. They did not kill whites because of some desire to defend their nation, something they were too savage to conceive. They killed them for food and power just as they had always done.

When white men seeking a better life came to these shores they were exactly like an "indian" tribe that moved from one area after they had exhausted its resources and tried to find a new area where they could whip the tribe that currently held it and take it for their own. This happened constantly.

By what irrational logic and hypocrisy does Bill Morgan evaluate the view of these two peoples based on different expectations? Why can whites not seek a better life here while the transgressions of "indians" are ignored?

The hypocrisy is most evident in the ridiculous comment "the tribe suspected the settlers of robbing Indian graves to steal food buried with the dead". Anyone who knows the culture of the pilgrims would recognize that casual theft was not their way. However I doubt that people who are starving and who lived a hand to mouth existence would see taking food for their children as something to be concerned with. They recognized that food left on a grave would simply rot. Cultural sensitivity is easier for well fed liberals of today.

I am sure these liberals probably feel the pilgirms should simply have voted themselves more welfare rather than coming to America. I think it is also correct to assume that liberals are far more in tune with the socialism in which the average Indian tribe lived at that time than in any culture that recognizes property rights.

It is therefore duplicitous to measure the pilgrims through claiming that coming to America to start a new life is equivalent to individually stealing from another individul while claiming purity for the savages who occupied the land before the pilgrims arrived.

Generations Of Valor

Generations Of Valor

Pearl Harbor survivor Houston James of Dallas embraces Marine Staff Sargeant Mark Graunke, Jr. during a Veterans Day commemoration this year in Dallas. Graunke lost a hand, a leg and an eye while defusing a bomb in Iraq last year.

Thank you to all our soldiers and veterans. Thank you for our freedom.


Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you,
Jesus Christ and the American Soldier.

One died for your soul;
the other for your freedom.

'Free To Lose' Isn't Good Philosophy

by Mark Steyn - November 19th, 2006 - Chicago Sun-Times

If Milton Friedman had to die, then a week after the defeat of a Republican Congress that had apparently forgotten every lesson Friedman taught in Free To Choose is eerily apt timing. As it happens, had ill health not intervened, Professor Friedman would have been disembarking round about now from a National Review post-election cruise with yours truly and various other pundits and commentators.

Instead, we were obliged to sail without him, and in the days that followed I found myself wondering what the great man would have made of the most salient feature of our deliberations: On the one hand, there are those conservatives for whom the war trumps everything and peripheral piffle like "No Child Left Behind" can be argued over when the jihad's been seen off. On the other, there are those conservatives for whom the war is peripheral and, insofar as it exists, it doesn't begin to mitigate the abandonment of Friedmanite principles on public spending, education and much else. There is a huge gulf between these two forces, to the point where the War Party and the Small Government Party seem as mutually hostile as the Sunni and Shia on their worst days. If the Republicans can't reunite these two wings before 2008, they'll lose again and keep on losing.

At least one aspect of this is the need for Republicans to talk about these differences. George W. Bush and Karl Rove have not talked about these issues with anyone. They have simply dictated the course for the last six years, and in the process reviled those who disagree with them through insults. Remember the insult to the vast majority of the party when Bush called them "vigilantes" for disagreeing with his plans for amnesty and a guest worker program that was so beloved by his rich corporate buddies?

When I returned to the Inner Banks 2 years ago, I was simply amazed at how many "conservatives" still cling to the democrat party. I started talking with them about why and they rejected the belief that the democrat party is ruled by socialists who are militantly anti-American. No evidence will convince them they are a minor part of the democrat party and their wishes don't matter.

Today there are many in the Republican Party who support Bush. They ignore all evidence that he has abandoned the party. Over his record on this one issue of the war, they give him a free hand to change the party in all other ways to whatever he wants. Steyn is right about his conclusion in this article. Unless and until someone can reconcile the two warring parties inside the Republican Party, we are handing control of the nation to a party that is controlled by people who are enemies of free enterprise.

The consequences will be horrible.

Bush Surrenders To Mexico

by John Lillpop - November 14th, 2006 - Canda Free Press

Dear America: What will you do when G.W. Bush surrenders to Mexico?

A breaking news bulletin interrupts regular broadcasting during prime time. Television cameras zoom in on the White House where a historic piece of legislation is being about to become law by virtue of approval by President G.W. Bush.

At the center of the stage sits President Bush, smiling broadly at the Democrats and RINOs who made amnesty for illegal aliens possible. That would include Democrat senators Reid and Kennedy, and Republicans Frist and McCain. The U.S. House would be represented by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Sanchez sisters, and other advocates for illegal aliens.

With a stroke of his presidential pen, G. W. Bush will grant legal status to the 12-20 million illegal alien criminals who have invaded America since 1986, when wholesale amnesty was last granted. Once Bush is finished, former illegal aliens will comprise anywhere from 3-8% of the total United States population.

Nearly all of the “hardworking, goodhearted” illegal aliens that Bush will legalize will vote Democrat for the remainder of their lives, thereby effectively ending the two party system in America.

Think this is not going to happen? Just wait. George W. Bush is about to become the biggest disaster for patriotic Americans that has ever happened in our nation. In the process he and Karl Rove will have destroyed the Republican party.

Nearly one million illegal aliens voted in the 2000 elections, while they were not even citizens. That is the reason that Gore hypothetically won the popular vote. In truth he did not win the popular vote of legal voters, but did win the popular vote of those allowed to vote, when you counted the illegal votes. Grant amnesty and the number will skyrocket to between 5 and 6 million. The Democrats will win every national election for the rest of our natural lives, if not forever.

At least one rational reaction would be in the few months left, Republicans need to impeach George Bush and remove him from office for the crime of failing to enforce immigration law, as he is Constitutionally sworn to do. This is an impeachable offense. Let's do it now. Impeach George Bush. He is a traitor to our party if not our nation.

The World According To Jimmy Carter

by Rick Richman - November 14th, 2006 - The American Thinker

A review of: Jimmy Carter's Palestine Peace Not Apartheid
(by Simon & Schuster, November 2006)

It is not difficult to understand why Democrats wanted the publication of Jimmy Carter’s slim new book (216 pages of text, large print and no footnotes), with its tendentious title and its superficial analysis, delayed until today, a week after the election. The anti-Israel bias is so clear, the credulous description of Arab positions so cringe-producing, the key “facts” on which Carter relies so easily refuted by public documents, that the book is an embarrassment to Carter, the Democrats, the presidency and Americans.

Jimmy Carter has become a symbol of the extremists who now rule the Democratic Party. Global socialists, anti-Semitic, anti-American (remember Carter's "malaise" comment?), anti-Christian secularist (while claiming to be religious and moral), arrogant, insulting and self rigtheous.

Pacifists Are Cowards And Deluded Morons

By Ian Robinson - November 12th, 2006 - The Calgary Sun

Yesterday was Remembrance Day and I am grateful I did not encounter someone wearing a white poppy.

Because the urge to backhand the wearer across the face and tear the symbol of disrespect from that individual's lapel would, I fear, be almost overpowering.

I try to be a civilized man, but when I hear of those profaning one of the most sacred symbols of our culture, it makes me a little crazy.

It is time for more people who care about freedom to start getting as angry as Ian Robinson. It is time for more people to start keeping track of the worldwide movements that are behind some of the recent successes of the Democratic Party. Socialists have always operated in the shadows because they are duplicitous by nature. Socialists claim to be anti-war, but in fact they are simply advocating that anyone who believes in any economic system but theirs should not fight. Socialism is evil and the democratic party is controlled by socialists.

It will not take actions that are in the interest of America, but only fight for political power. What does that prove?

I find it interesting that so many democrats in the Inner Banks reject the premise that their party is defeatist. It reminds me of the response to PETA last year when it was discovered that they were destroying animals that they were supposed to be putting up for adoption. When I told people what the head of PETA says about people, and told them that the organization was not concerned with animals but simply anti-human, they would not believe it. However it is a matter of public record.

The same thing applies to the anti-war movement. It is accorded respect by democrats in the Inner Banks. It is assumed that the anti-war movement is doing this out of some high moral purpose. And I supposed there may be a small part that feel that way. However the leadership of the anti-war movement has a duplicitous goal. They see the destruction of America as a way to defeat free enterprise and create a world wide socialist movement.

The white poppy symbol for the anti-war movement is an evil symbol and does not stand for what it pretends. Ian Robinson is correct. "Pacifists are cowards and deluded morons."

U.S. Must Prove It's A Staying Power

by Mark Steyn - November 12th, 2006 - Chicago Sun-Times

Their [the islamofascist] view of America is roughly that of the British historian Niall Ferguson -- that the Great Satan [America] is the first superpower with ADHD. They reasoned that if you could subject Americans to the drip-drip-drip of remorseless water torture in the deserts of Mesopotamia -- a couple of deaths here, a market bombing there, cars burning, smoke over the city on the evening news, day after day after day, and ratcheted up a notch or two for the weeks before the election -- you could grind down enough of the electorate and persuade them to vote like Spaniards, without even realizing it.

And it worked.

You can rationalize what happened on Tuesday in the context of previous sixth-year elections -- 1986, 1958, 1938, yada yada -- but that's not how it was seen around the world, either in the chancelleries of Europe, where they're dancing conga lines, or in the caves of the Hindu Kush, where they would also be dancing conga lines if Mullah Omar hadn't made it a beheading offense. And, as if to confirm that Tuesday wasn't merely 1986 or 1938, the president responded to the results by firing the Cabinet officer most closely identified with the prosecution of the war and replacing him with a man associated with James Baker, Brent Scowcroft and the other "stability" fetishists of the unreal realpolitik crowd.

I am worried about America. The democrats did not offer any serious argument that we are losing the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. They simply argue that the cost of victory is more than they are willing to pay. So they want to admit defeat and leave. That strategy is "cut and run". Only the Boston Globe has said it publicly, but that is because most democrats are not willing to admit to being defeatists. They don't mind being defeatists, they just don't want to be called that.

Mark Steyn is right. If we once again "cut and run", America is finished. That will assure the next sight you see will be mushroom clouds over American cities.

And that will mean it is time for another civil war. The irony is that the democrats will use our military and police to attack those who are fighting to be free but will not fight here any more than they will fight abroad. So the civil war, when it comes, will be fought between those who want to be free and those who want to protect freedom.

Insanity.

America's Enemies Celebrate

Read articles from newspapers around the world and the single most obvious observation is that everyone who hates America and wishes us ill is delighted at the victory of Democrats.

If you are a Democrat I ask you three questions.

How can you think this is good?

How can you claim you are a patriot when you are aligned with our enemies?

When will you worry about our future instead of political power?

As for America's enemies, I wonder whether we can count the Boston Globe among them? They brazenly say we need to "accept defeat" in Iraq and get out. "Accept defeat"? How have we been defeated? "Cut and run" is not defeat. It is merely an admission by some that they have so little character there is nothing in the world they would fight for.

Not even freedom.

Senator Fred Smith Is A Winner

Republicans lost a lot of races in the elections this week. However they did not need to. This article explains how one candidate connects with the voters.

On election day 2006 I spent the entire day with Senator Fred Smith. I had heard about his famous discipline and on other occassions had an opportunity to observe the sincere way he deals with people including that smile he has for everyone. On this day those two words kept coming back to me as the theme of his success. Sincere and disciplined.

Election Day is the end of the contest for candidates. Some relax and assume the game is over. Fred Smith worked as hard this day as he had the entire campaign. Like all winners in most sports, he focused on finishing the game without concern for whether he was winning or losing until the game was over.

Senator Smith tells a story of his youth when his father observed him failing to give 100% during a football practice. After sending him out to weed the garden for a while, his father finally joined him and read him the advice of a famous coach, "The difference between good and great is a little extra effort".

Preparing For A Long Day, A Needed Cup Of Coffee To Get Started

Senator Smith went in to wood shop that week and made a plaque with those words which he still keeps proudly. However many men work hard and give extra effort. What separates the occassional rare man who seems to never fail is a way of dealing with people at the same time they try hard that makes others feel good about them.

First Precinct Of The Day, Grantham At The Local Volunteer Fire Department

Start Of A Long Day With Standard Effort, Place Signs At Precinct And Fix Any That Have been Blocked Or Knocked Down

Greeting Voters And Handing Out Literature At Granthan Precinct

Ronald Reagan had his famous optimism that was infectious. Fred Smith has this polite manner that never seems to waver. People respond to it. He is always warm and sincere. It is the discipline and hard work that make this sincerity special. Fred is someone you can trust. It is the attribute that separated Senator Fred Smith from most Republicans and their slippage in the polls this year.

Standard Duty At Mount Olive, Fix The Signs And Add As Many As Possible To Empty Spots

At Mount Olive The Main Precinct Is The Old Train Station - The Predicted Afternoon Rain Is Already Starting As A Light Mist

Senator Smith won big while running against a tide that cost him a lot of votes. Before the day was out we found out just how big a win it was.

Putting Out Signs At Dudley Precinct - Drizzle Is Picking Up

Greeting Voters At Dudley Precinct

When we started though, that victory was not known. After asking if I could follow him around on election day, Senator Smith cautioned me that it would be a long day. He kept telling me that I was welcome to drop out at any time. We arranged to meet early on election day at the Republican Headquarters in Goldsboro. The time we had set was 6:00 AM. At 5:55 AM Senator Smith drove up ready to go. I loaded my camera and supplies in his vehicle and we headed out.

Mar-Mac American Legion Precinct Is Right In Landing Pattern For Seymore Johnson Air Base - First Act - Add Signs

Greeting Supporters Of Other Candidates At The Voter Greeting Line - It Is Becoming Hard To Get Regular Voters To Stop Due To The Steady Rain

Fred Thanks Local Supporter Ann Sullivan

Senator Smith's District is all of Johnston County and the west side of Wayne County. We started out in Wayne County and worked our way west all day long. First Stop was Grantham at the Fire Station.

Time For Breakfast At Famous Local Eagles Nest Diner

Greeting Voters And Handing Out Literature Before We Grab A Quick Breakfast

Putting Out More Signs In Eagles Nest Diner Before Fred Heads Out

I was somewhat suprised that Senator Smith did not have an assistant along to help with the physical work which was a significant part of the work done that day. During the ground game that is retail politics on election day, a major factor is physically installing the signs for the candidate at all of the precincts where voters will be going.

Oakland Fire Station, And A Break From The Rain, As Their Bar-B-Que Pavillion Makes A Great Cover To Greet Voters - It doesn't Help With The Cold Though - The Temperature Has Dropped Considerably

Senator Smith's campaign had already had one pass around all the precincts on the previous evening, ahead of most candidates, putting out signs. On election day the extra effort he put in was going back after other candidates had placed their signs and adding a few more of his so they stood out. Also moving any of his that had been blocked by other candidates.

Rosewood Precinct At Westwood United Methodist Church, Greeting Voters

Senator Fred Smith also believes in showing up to greet voters in as many of the precincts as he could get to in his large territory. His standard line was interesting. "Hi. My name is Fred Smith and I'm your Senator. Here is my card. If you ever need anything please call me." He meant it sincerely as I found out when one person asked him for help. He meticulously listened and wrote down details of the problem. I am sure it will be taken care of.

Driving To The Next Precinct Is As Usual Time Spent Making Calls To Keep Things Organized

Belfast Precinct At The Pentecostal Holiness Church To Greet Voters

Fred spends around 30 minutes in each precinct, and then moves on to the next one. He was well organized, with maps to each precinct location, details of the local officials from each area, and information on key supporters there as well.

Lunch Break, But It Is Not Really A Break So Much As A Time To Make More Calls

Grabbing Some Lunch With Friend And Supporter, Commissioner Andy Anderson

Greeting Voters At Pikeville With Andy Anderson Helping Out

As we moved into each precinct, Fred would make courtesy calls to the local officials to let them know he was coming in to their area. Even though few were available on election day, Fred usually tried. There was never a sense of being in a hurry but Fred also never stopped working all day long. When we got in the car to move from one precinct to the next, Fred would get on the phone, and start checking in with various people, people in the next precinct we were going to, with his campaign to keep track of what other people were doing at other precincts, with the state and county party officials who were working the campaign that day as well.

As we arrived at the next precinct, Fred would unload signs, and start polishing up the entry area to the precinct so his signs stood out. When that was done he would fill his pockets with cards and literature, go greet all the other campaign workers from other campaigns, and start greeting voters. I learned early in the day that as soon as he started working the greeting process, he focused on that alone and it was pretty hard to get his attention. Everything was done with discipline.

At Fremont Several Candidates Had People Handing Out Literature

Most of my questions were answered between phone calls during the travel time from one precinct to the next. When he had time to talk he was unfailingly polite, but the discipline he exercized to keep working was amazing.

As the rain started the plan had a glitch. People were not stopping to talk because of the rain. Fred made a couple of phone calls to get some thoughts on alternatives to handing out cards. Jonathan Hill suggested that instead of handing out the cards, holding a sign would allow them to keep walking while Fred talked.

Greeting Voters At The American Legion Post In Kenly

After trying that out and finding it worked, that is how Fred did it the rest of the day until the rain stopped just before the polls closed. No panic at all when the rain started. Just a quiet discussion of the options and selecting a better plan. It was an interesting exercise to see how Fred adjusted to the realities of a problem.

More Phone Calls, Checking On Other Precincts And Starting To Plan Final Schedule For The Evening

Later in the day we had to return to Johnston county to restock with signs. That adjustment changed the order of precincts we covered, but that adjustment was carried out with no panic. Just a bunch of phone calls to keep others informed.

Selma Precinct And Fred Smith Is The Only Person Greeting Voters

As We Leave, Fred Makes His Usual Batch Of Calls, Out Of Signs, One Call Asks Where There Are Spares He Can Pick Up

Arriving At Johnston County Party Headquarters

Fred Borrows Some Of His Signs Back From Chairman Joseph Avery

Heather Ford, Johnston County Republican Party Chairman Joe Avery And Fred Smith, Discuss Tonight's Plans Before Fred Heads Out Again

As the rain continued to fall, Fred became soaked, even though he tried to stay under an umbrella. The wind meant that from the waist down there was little clothing that was dry. This inconvenince never affected his upbeat mood.

The Rain Kept Picking Up Force And Is Now A Downpour As We Change Precincts Again

Almost Dark, And Fred Is Greeting People At One Of The Busiest Precincts, The C3 Church

A quick breafast was slotted in, and later a quick lunch. Dinner was food grabbed at the various victory celebrations at party campaign headquarters in both Johnston County and Wayne County at the end of the day.

Greeting People At McGees Crossroads (50-210) Before Heading For The Last Precinct Of The Day, Benson

Closing Down The Final Precinct In Johnston County Before Heading Home For Dry Clothes - Then A Long Drive Back To Wayne County - Too Late To Help The Rain Stops

As the voting wrapped up, another adjustment in the schedule took up a series of phone calls to fit in a quick trip home to get into dry clothes before we started to tour the victory celebrations. As we arrived at the campaign headquarters in Wayne County though, the primary purpose was to get the details and gather the numbers that said how Senator Fred Smith and other Republicans had done.

He shared with me the numbers from his last campaign. His hope was that he could beat those numbers, however he recognized that the trends were all against him. The weather too worked against Republican incumbents because of the all day long cold rain and its lessening affect on turnout. The one thing Fred stressed was that he needed to understand what people wanted. He knew each precinct well. He wanted to know how every precinct felt as indicated by their votes.

Greeting Old Friends At The Wayne County Republican Headquarters In Goldsboro

Fred Meticulously Runs The Numbers For All Precincts To Determine The Results

Before He Leaves Wayne County Republican Headquarters Fred Runs The Numbers One Last Time While Being Interviewed By The Local Paper

After the polls closed, Fred added another task to the list of actions he was taking care of. Fred started listening to the radio to find out how the party was doing, across the nation and across the state. It fit with the perception I got all day of Fred's ability to juggle a dozen different tasks at a time and stay on top of all.

Fred Fits Into His Schedule A Visit To A Friend's Victory Celebration - Sheriff Carey Winders And Senator Fred Smith

The Department Celebrates The Re-election Of The Wayne County Sheriff Carey Winders

That the democrats were successful in their turnout efforts in Fred's area was indicated by the fact that one of their candidates for another office won with 58% of the vote. That did not bode well for Republican candidates running in the same county. For Fred to overcome this advantage a very large percentage would have to split their vote.

Another Drive Gets Us To Johnston County Republican Headquarters

Johnston County Republican Headquarters Is A Joyous Scene And A Party - Dinner Was Grabbing Food From The Table Set Up

Fred And Wife Ginny Meet At The Johnston County Republican Headquarters

Fred Thanks Two Key Workers, Dodie Renfer And Blair Keen

However that is exactly what happened. Fred won with an impressive 64.86% vote advantage over both counties. That was over 7 points higher than the previous election win. Fred had accomplished his goal. In some areas, Fred received over 75% of the vote. Even in his opponent's home precinct, Fred won the precinct with well over 50% of the vote. It was an impressive victory by a man who has proved his ability to appeal to the voters on both personality and on the issues.

No Driving This Time, The Court House Is a Short Walk From Republican Headquarters

Greeting Friends At The Courthouse

In The Court House Hallway, Computer Monitors Display The Totals

Before We Head For Board Of Election, Local Paper Gets An Interview

At the victory celebrations Fred spent considerable time thanking all of his supporters for their hard work. Making sure everyone was thanked and gathering the details of the vote meant he never slowed down. Finding out how others were doing was a special concern. The end of the day was still a continous effort spent organizing the details of the campaign, right until we left the very last party in Raleigh.

After Another Short Walk We Get To the Board Of Election Where Fred Is Still Calculating The Final Numbers With Jonathan Hill

Then Another Walk Back To Johnston County Republican Headquarters Where Fred Thanks The Party Workers For All Their Efforts

Almost Midnight And Duval, Fred's Son, Is Driving Us To Raleigh For The State Gathering

Vernon Robinson Was One Of Numerous Party Regulars Who Congratulated Fred On His Victory

Closing Down The Party at The "Brownstone"

When we got back to Clayton to end the day it had been 21 hours of solid work and Fred still had his smile. Sincerity and discipline. After this day I felt I understood much better why Fred Smith has always been a winner at eveything he tries.