TURNING POINT----AT LEAST FOR ME

OK ... all bets are off.

Don't get me wrong ... I still have this deep felt desire to see the Republican's get punished by the electorate in next week's midterm election ... but suddenly the stakes seem to be too high.

What turned the tide for me? John Kerry, that's what. That insipid, haughty, pretentious jerk uttered another one of his absurd statements about our men and women in uniform ... and in a flash my fear of Democrats and their disdain for our military services overcame any desire I had to put Republicans over my knee.

You did hear what Kerry said, didn't you? Come on now .. surely you have. [refresher] For the few of you who might have been in a 48-hour coma, The Poodle was talking to a group of college students in Pasadena, California (where else?) on Monday when he said: "You know, education--if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

So there you have it. There's your choice. According to Mr. Band-Aid Purple Heart, you either become smart, or end up serving in our armed forces.

John Kerry seems to have a deep-seated disdain (bordering on hatred) for those in uniform. Remember, please, that it was John Kerry who, many years ago, talked about our troops in Vietnam regularly committing atrocities against innocent women and children. It was also John Kerry who remarked earlier this year about American troops in Iraq "terrorizing" women and children. How dare that pompous ass suggest that it is our troops who are doing the terrorizing over there?

For the record, Kerry is dead wrong. Not that he cares. Just four days ago The Heritage Foundation issued a report by Tim Kane entitled "Who Are the Recruits? The Demographic Characteristics of U.S. Military Enlistment, 2003-2005." You have the link, go and read the report for yourself. If you do you will find that a higher percentage of military recruits have graduated from high school than the general population. In 2004 82.7% of recruits were high school graduates while another 7.03% had their GEDs. The national high school graduation rate that year was 79.8%. Even today, in 2006, the high school graduation rate for recruits is still higher than the high school graduation rate for the civilian population. Looks to me like the recruits are doing pretty well. You'll also find that "the Department of Defense reported that the mean reading level of 2004 recruits is a full grade level higher than that of the comparable youth population."

Clearly John Kerry had no idea what in the hell he was talking about .. the arrogant putz.

So .. the firestorm erupts, and here comes Kerry to the microphones to set the record straight. Did he apologize for his insult against our troops? Are you kidding? Not only did he not apologize, but he actually had the stones to try to tell us he wasn't talking about our troops, he was talking about Bush! I would ask just how stupid Kerry thinks Americans are --- but the very fact that he thinks we should have made him president indicates what his answer, were he to be truthful, would be.

These men and women are on the front lines, giving up their lives, to defend us from Islamic fascism -- and Kerry is back here talking about what intellectual failures they are. Intellectual failures that terrorize women and children in the night.

Do we hang the sins of John Kerry around the necks of all Democrats? Well, let me ask you. Did you hear of one single Democrat .. just one .. anywhere .. stepping forward to repudiate what Kerry said? Maybe some Democrat did, but I sure as hell haven't heard anything about it. Have you? A Democrat congressional candidate in Iowa has gone so far as to say Kerry's words were "inappropriate." Hardly an apology .. but he did ask Kerry to cancel a planned campaign visit to his district.

In other words ... these gutless wonders who just love to tell us how much they truly do support our troops won't even stand up to be heard when our soldiers are slandered by this rich woman's boy toy.

This is such a gift to the Republicans. It's as if Karl Rove himself paid John Kerry a large amount of money to read from a script. It couldn't be better. Here we are, on the even of the 2006 mid-term elections...in which the Democrats are poised to take over the House and maybe the Senate. Now here comes John Kerry, standard-bearer of his party in the last presidential election...to slander our troops. Bad move....even the most anti-war politician never blames the troops. It's political suicide.

So .. that's it. We're six days out, and I've come unglued. Sure, the Republicans have become just another party of big government and pork barrel spending ... but at least they don't slander the very men and women who are shedding blood every single day to defend our country.

Give me the big-spenders who support our troops over the big-spenders who slander them any day.

I'm voting Republican.

We'll just have to figure out another way to take these Republicans miscreants to the woodshed.

THE POODLE'S OPINION ON MILITARY SERVICE

The Poodle recently told a group of college students the following: "You know, education...if you make the most of it...you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well...if you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

Well isn't that just so very special! Now we know what The Poodle things about all of your sons, daughters, fathers, brothers and sisters who are "stuck in Iraq."! They just couldn't cut it in school. They weren't smart enough. Now they have found themselves stuck in the military and in Iraq.

If this is the way John Kerry feels about the military, why doesn't he just throw away all those medals he has? Oh, wait. I forgot. Been there, done that.

The Poodle has about summed up his opinion on military service in that statement. In the coming days, he will do everything he can to backpedal. He'll tell us that's not what he meant...that he was really saying this or that. But the fact is, he said it. What about those who join the military so they can get money for college? It is an insult for somebody like John Kerry to sit in his cushy office and talk down to those who are risking their lives in Iraq.

The truth here is that this isn't just John Kerry speaking. This is pretty much the way many Democrats ...especially Hillary Clinton ... feel. Disdain for the military and for those who serve runs deep in the Democrat mind.

Oh, and John Kerry voted for the war that sent those troops to Iraq. But he's had amnesia about that for several years now. And I'm sure the 150,000 troops we have in Iraq are pleased to know that John Kerry thinks they are stuck there because they couldn't cut it in college.

ONE WEEK TO GO

One week to go until Election Day...and the outlook isn't any better for the GOP. The races may have tightened, but the outcome still stands to be the same: As things stand now, Nancy Pelosi is going to be your new speaker-elect, though it will be close.

This is not a victory the Democrats will have earned. It is a game the Republicans tried very hard to lose.

In the meantime, the anti-Bush, anti-Republican media campaign is in overdrive too....with the New York Times running stories about military funerals and CNN marking the 100th U.S. military death in Iraq this month. There is no doubt as to which party the media wants to run things inside the Beltway.

So what about the Republican base? Will they stay home in droves, as predicted, or are they going to wake up at the last minute and head to the polls? Are they going to vote for Democrats, just out of spite? Well, the truth...as usual...lies somewhere in the middle. Things will be tighter than predicted. If the election were held today, the consensus is that about 20 House races are in play, of which the Democrats need 15 to take over. They should get that easily.

Pay no attention to national polls about George Bush's approval rating or Republican vs. Democrat. All that matters is who registered, likely voters are going to vote for in those specific 20 districts. It's not about George Bush or Nancy Pelosi, but rather Joe Blow vs. Mary Smith. That's what it's all going to come down to.

As for the Senate? The Democrats are out of luck there. They don't seem likely to get the 6 seats they need to take over. The more plausible scenario there is 3 seats, giving the Republicans an even smaller majority...but still leave them in control. So now you're up to date.

HOLLYWEIRD ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

By Michelle Malkin

Michael J. Fox has gotten all of the attention, but the entertainment industry is trying to sway the elections in many other ways on the ground and on the airwaves.

Eco-activist Robert Redford is pushing Prop. 87 in California--a $4 billion oil tax increase in the name of environmental do-goodism. The initiative is funded by Hollywood producer Stephen Bing and supported by Julia Roberts, Jamie Lee Curtis, James Caan and Ben Affleck.

On Thursday, HBO will air a documentary called "Hacking Democracy" that lionizes leading election conspiracy theorist Bev Harris of Black Box voting fame.

On Sunday, Fox is set to air an episode of "The Simpsons" sharply critical of the war in Iraq.

Meanwhile, the desperate Dixie Chicks are on the attack against conservative Internet users of the Free Republic.

Will Cameron Diaz do a repeat on Oprah this year about how, like, rape could be legalized if we don't make the right voting choices?

Stay tuned...

PELOSI'S PUPPET & SCHUMER'S SHILL

Those are my new ‘official’ nicknames for Patty Wetterling and Amy Klobuchar. The last I checked, neither had said anything that wasn’t straight from the Democratic policy handbook. You didn’t know that they had a policy handbook? I’d say shame on you if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s more like a policy sheet. Here’s the reported contents of that sheet:

• Bush should have held bilateral talks with Iran & North Korea, and multilateral talks with the rest of the world. Bush Bad.
• Bush didn’t talk with North Korea. That’s why they’ve got nukes now. Bush Bad.
• What terrorists in Iraq? There aren’t any terrorists in Iraq. If you don’t believe us, ask the Mainstream Media. Bush Bad.
• Bush hasn’t enforced the borders. Just say no to border fences. Vote for open borders. Bush Bad.
• Repeal Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy. Bush Bad.

Last night, St. Patty tried getting creative on the taxes issue. She said “Let me reassure you. I DON’T WANT TO RAISE YOUR TAXES. I’ll cut your taxes…unless you’re Paris Hilton.”

Later that night, Sen. Bachmann, Ms. Wetterling and John Binkowski appeared on the Steve Thompson radio program on KSTP-AM 1500. Here’s what an unscripted moment for Ms. Wetterling produced:

Wetterling: She voted to raise property taxes in the Senate. She did that.

Sen. Bachmann jumped all over that like Justin Morneau jumps all over a hanging slider in the middle of the plate. Here’s Sen. Bachmann’s response:

You cannot vote– Patty, I hate to burst your bubble, you can’t vote to raise property taxes.

This falls into the category of separation of powers, not a Democratic strength. Municipal and county governments set property tax rates. That’s beyond the state legislature’s reach.

If you think that separation of powers issues are a Democratic strength, check out this Amy Klobuchar answer about Iraq:

As with any effective plan, there should be a realistic time-frame based on specific milestones and benchmarks, with honest and current information from the administration about the status of our efforts, the training of the Iraqi forces, and the restoration of basic services to Iraq. In fact, the leaders of Iraq’s otherwise sharply divided Shiites, Kurds and Sunnis agreed that there should be a time frame for the drawdown of American troops. If the president is unwilling to provide a plan, Congress should call upon the Joint Chiefs of Staff to do so.

That’s what happens when Ms. Klobuchar doesn’t stick with her prepared script. She says that the Legislative branch should give orders to the Executive Branch in direct opposition to the Commander-in-Chief’s orders.

It’s obvious that, even though she’s a lawyer, Ms. Klobuchar either has little understanding of the Constitution or little respect for the Constitution’s separation of powers.

Speaking of Ms. Klobuchar, she’s said that she wouldn’t have voted to confirm Chief Justice Roberts or Associate Justice Alito to the Supreme Court; she’d increase taxes for the highest wage earners; she’d push for getting our troops out of Iraq “within a realistic time-frame based on specific milestones and benchmarks.” There isn’t a dime’s worth of difference between Ms. Klobuchar’s positions and DSCC Chairman Chuck Schumer’s positions.

What Minnesotans have to decide this week is whether we want to elect thinking people like Michele Bachmann and Mark Kennedy to the U.S. House and Senate or if we want to elect Pelosi’s Puppet and Schumer’s Shill to those positions.

While that isn’t a difficult decision once you know the facts, it is vitally important that we get it right and elect Sen. Bachmann and Rep. Kennedy.

PENNSYLVANIA POLITICAL UPDATE

Things are heating up in Pennsylvania as Election Day nears. Here’s a look at what’s making news in Pennsylvania.

Small-business group backs Swann

“Lynn Swann has earned the respect of small-business owners and working families throughout Pennsylvania,” said Rich Gallo, vice chair of the NFIB Leadership Council for Pennsylvania. Mr. Gallo said the endorsement was based on Mr. Swann’s “strong support” on key small-business issues. He said nearly 90 percent of NFIB’s 20,000 members in Pennsylvania had recommended the backing of Mr. Swann. “He will work to create an environment in this state where small employers can grow and create jobs. Clearly, Lynn Swann understands that high taxes and overregulation have hamstrung Pennsylvania’s job creators,” he said.

Soon-to-be-former Gov. Ed Rendell’s got to see the handwriting on the proverbial wall when he sees 18,000 small businessmen voting against him.

Santorum: Casey lacking on security

In the first of a two-day series of speeches on national security, Mr. Santorum said Mr. Casey fails to recognize the danger of a threat that encompasses both “Islamic fascism” and leaders of countries who are “fully committed to our destruction. From everything I see, my opponent, Mr. Casey, is unready, unqualified for the office that he seeks at a very critical time in our nation’s future,” Mr. Santorum said in a speech at PRL Industries, a metal-castings supplier that counts the military among its customers.
In an interview with The AP, Mr. Casey called Mr. Santorum’s charge a “ridiculous assertion,” citing his current job as state treasurer and eight years as auditor general. “I’ve been a statewide public official in Pennsylvania for a decade,” Mr. Casey said.

Little Bobbie Casey’s response isn’t exactly reassuring. Citing his time as a number-cruncher isn’t the way to tell voters about his foreign policy bona fides. Only an idiot who can’t think on his feet would try telling voters he’s qualified to vote on foreign policy issues because he’s a numbers-cruncher. This is just more proof that Casey is an intellectual lightweight.

Philly leaders object to voting monitors

TRANSLATION: How can we commit enough voter fraud to push Corrupt Eddie over the top if you’re gonna be watching? That isn’t fair.

City officials and Hispanic community leaders objected Thursday to the federal government’s plans to put monitors at city polling places on Election Day, saying those efforts could discourage people from voting.

That’s utter nonsense. People in Iraq ignore terrorist attacks to vote but election fraud monitors will drive American voters away? “City officials and Hispanic community leaders” must think that minority voters are a bunch of whimps if they actually believe this. That said, I don’t think that they actually believe their quote. It’s pretty apparent that Philadelphia’s “city officials” are Rendell’s cronies who know that he’s in rough shape after two dismal debate performances who can’t win without significant voter fraud.

Add these stories up and it’s apparent that Swann and Santorum are applying the heat to their corrupt and incompetent opponents in the campaign’s final days. Don’t think that Pennsylvanians aren’t noticing.