Casper Gutman calls for a coup

Limbaugh's been watching Seven Days in May again.

Leprosy, schmeprosy

Considering a run against the Senate's only Hispanic member, Lou Dobbs suddenly hearts Hispanics.

Kill a man, get three squares a day for a few months. It's proof hate crime legislation is bogus.

Warthen's upset that hates crimes penalize "thought" and regular criminal law ought to be enough to meet any situation.

Tell it to Sean Kennedy's family. Here's how the justice system treated his attacker.

There's no hate crimes law in SC, so things must be running tickety-boo, eh?

Principles be damned, he cost us places at the trough

Anaconda's wishing we had a different president for Thanksgiving ("did I mention he's black?").

He specially regrets the tenure of President George W. Bush. Not because he bankrupted the treasaury, launched two pointless wars, put everyone int he nation under surveillance, and let Dick Cheney run amok for eight years, but because W cost the Republicans at the last two elections.

SC Senator Kevin Bryant: Plagiarist of the Week. Distant runner-up: Boy Fogle

Boy Fogle's shilling for a sold-out event:

FOX News Channell hosts Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck will be coming to South Carolina in January when their ‘Bold & Fresh’ tour makes a stop in North Charleston. But if you don’t already have tickets, you’re probably out of luck.

O’Reilly and Beck will be at the North Charleston Coliseum and Performing Arts Center at 1 p.m. on Jan. 30 — one of only four stops across the country. The tour website, however, says the North Charleston date is sold out.

The two men will each perform live before taking the stage together. It’s being billed as “an event that makes professional wrestling seem like a night at the opera.”

For Beck, this will be his second trip to the Palmetto State in three months. He held a book signingat the West Ashley Barnes & Noble on Nov. 19.

Waldo was struck by  "the night at the opera" line. Oh, right, it's in State Senator Kevin Bryant's legislative blog promo for the event, too.

So then we wondered, who's issuing the talking points?

We looked up the Bold & Fresh Tour site. Turns out Boy Fogle only lifted the line about the opera Fox News promo without attribution. 


Senator Bryant, in contrast, cut and pasted the whole thing without attribution.


Senator Bryant's version is here:

Bold & Fresh Tour 2010There’s no shortage of people talking about what’s going on in the world today, but there are far too few who are actuallysaying anything of substance.  Faceless pundits talks around the issues, not about them…celebrity gossip passes as breaking news…and the liberal bias spewed by the mainstream media makes them like less like a public service and more like an extension of the White House Press Office.  Enough is enough-it’s time for the truth from somebody who’ll give it to you straight, whether you like it or not.  Actually, make that…somebodys - Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck.  This January, they’re coming out from behind their desks and going on tour.  Your town may never be the same…

Bill O’Reilly is the godfather of “no spin” and in your face television.  For years he’s been the centerpiece of the Fox News lineup with his unmistakable style and unflinching commitment to truth as he sees it.  In Bill’s world, brutal honesty beats hypocrisy every time.  And you know how they say with some men their “bark” is worse than their “bite?”  With Bill…yeah, not so much.  As Bill puts it, “My teeth are in good shape.”

Glenn Beck in the new kid on the block, the fastest rising star in cable news.  Through humor, raw emotion and the tenacity of a pit bull, Glenn has become the new voice of Conservative America.  Steeped in the teaching of our forefathers, Glenn wears his heart on his sleeve and no matter what he says–whether it’s about politics or pop culture–you can bet he’s got the facts to back it up.  He’s less a TV host and more like, um…a force of nature.  “There is really no better way to start the new year than by joining Bill on stage for the first time ever,” says Glenn.  “Wait…should I be worried?.”

Don’t miss out on the rare opportunity to see these two men live on stage.  It’s an event that makes professional wrestling seem like a night at the opera.  You’ll hear from Bill, you’ll hear from Glenn, and then…they’ll take the stage together.  What happens then?  Heaven only knows, but one thing is for sure-you’ll want to see it with your very own eyes.

The Bold & Fresh Tour version is here:

Bold & Fresh Tour 2010

There's no shortage of people talking about what's going on in the world today, but there are far too few who are actually saying anything of substance. Faceless pundits talk around the issues, not about them... celebrity gossip passes as breaking news... and the liberal bias spewed by the mainstream media makes them less like a public service and more like an extension of the White House Press Office. Enough is enough—it's time for the truth fromsomebody who'll give it to you straight, whether you like it or not. Actually, make that...somebodys—Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck. This January, they're coming out from behind their desks and going on tour. Your town may never be the same...

Bill O'Reilly is the godfather of "no spin" and in-your-face television. For years he's been the centerpiece of the Fox News lineup with his unmistakable style and unflinching commitment to truth as he sees it. In Bill's world, brutal honesty beats hypocrisy every time. And you know how they say that some men's "bark" is worse than their "bite?" With Bill... yeah, not so much. As Bill puts it, "My teeth are in good shape."

Glenn Beck is the new kid on the block, the fastest rising star in cable news. Through humor, raw emotion and the tenacity of a pit bull, Glenn has become the new voice of conservative America. Steeped in the teaching of our forefathers, Glenn wears his heart on his sleeve, and no matter what he says—whether it's about politics or pop culture—you can bet he's got the facts to back it up. He's less a TV host and more like, say... a force of nature. "There is really no better way to start the new year than by joining Bill on stage for the first time ever," says Glenn. "Wait...should I be worried?"

Don't miss out on the rare opportunity to see these two men live on stage. It's an event that makes professional wrestling seem like a night at the opera. You'll hear from Bill, you'll hear from Glenn, and then... they'll take the stage together. What happens then? Heaven only knows, but one thing is for sure—you'll want to see it with your very own eyes.

Bishop Malone to the poor of Maine: wait your turn, I've got to squelch the gays first.

More campaign contribution information has come about about the Catholic Church-led campaign to turn Maine into a theocracy. It's hard to imagine a better argument for revoking tax-exempt status, especially after reading this attempt to fit hate into the teachings of Jesus:

Donna Farrell, communications director for the Philadelphia archdiocese said in a statement that Malone had requested donations to assist with education and to help people understand the timeless teaching of the church that marriage is between one man and one woman.

“As part of the universal church, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia responds to various requests for donations which come from outside the diocese, in order to advance the mission of the church by promoting and defending the teaching of Christ,” Farrell said.

“Examples of contributions which have been made by the archdiocese for other purposes include those to feed the hungry and provide for the needy in mission countries, to assist victims of natural disasters; to support Catholic military chaplains and pastoral care for our men and women in uniform and to defend the dignity and sanctity of life from conception to natural death.

"The archdiocese responds to such particular requests in addition to its ongoing commitment to provide tuition assistance for Catholic education, to sustain struggling parishes and to ensure that the Gospel message is known and realized.”

Richard Malone, who ran the campaign from his million dollar manse in Maine, hoovered up $86,000 on one Sunday in his mandatory collection for inequality. While closing parishes for want of funding, Malone threw another $200,000 of church funds at his campaign to repeal the democratic process. 

Of the $550,000 Catholic dioceses, organizations and leaders gave to the antimarriage campaign in Maine, 52% Bishop Malone stole from the work of his own flock.

Will Folks goes slumming

Waldo, who tilts at windmills for a living, recently scolded Anaconda for another of what Waldo considered bogus feints of interest in real equality in America, in which he made some vague,gummy noises about gay rights and then linked the post to a photo of a couple of Radical Faeries (we assume) hugging a tree.


Given the backhands he's handed Waldo in the past, and his oft-expressed, Leona Helmsley-like view that  little bloggers are beneath his notice, Waldo figures it's wasted effort but worth getting on the record.


So whaddya know but he gets a comment from someone claiming to be Anaconda:

Sic Willie said...

Waldo-

Talk to Mande about the homosexuality is a birth defect thing. She wrote those articles.

As for the constant "anaconda" references, though, thanks for noticing.

:)

-Sic Willie

So now his meme is "somebody else wrote it and I let it stay on my blog."

Seems like there's two options here. You either agree with it, or you don't. If you don't you oughta say so. Otherwise it's fair game to assume you do agree with it. So far the latter's winning by a mile.

But thanks for dropping in- feel free to comment any time.

Smart economic development is welcoming the best and the brightest, not just the straightest and the whitest.

Charleston's city council, demonstrating they get it when it comes to a welcoming business environment, has passed a nondiscrimination ordinance.

Previously Columbia did as well.

When's the last time you saw a big corporation coming to Greenville?

Why, indeed?

Iain Dale attends a dinner and stumbles over the problem with the Republican Party (Waldo's previously dubbed it the prophet or counselor dilemma): 

He made the best acceptance speech and coined a new version of Tony Benn's signposts and weathercocks analogy. He divides politicians into two: those who ask 'why' and those who ask 'when'. He explains it by saying that some politicians are more interested in asking why something is being done or why something is being said whereas others tend to concentrate on when they are going to get promoted or when they are going to get a job.

So, what are you? A Why or a When? Perhaps that's a question all aspirant politicians should consider, and if they come up with the wrong answer, they ought to ask themselves if they are going into politics for the right reason.

It's an interesting conundrum for those least likely to contemplate it in SC: the consultant/bloggers on the right, who periodically call for change but make their living servicing the opponents of change.

Republican flyover land

NYT columnist David Brooks has never been poor, unemployed or uninsured. That's how he could write this column.

Gay couples take up spaces at state dinner for foreigner that real Americans could have filled

We continue to romp on the President for zeroing out so far on the big gay rights issues, but he gets points for the grace notes. As we've said before, he and his administration don't wake up every morning thinking, "how can we make gay Americans more marginal? And get votes for doing it?"

You can bet you never saw these three couples on President Bush's dinner guest lists:

Mr. David Geffen
Mr. Jeremy Lingvall


The Honorable Fred Hochberg, Export-Import Bank
Thomas P Healy


Ms. Urvashi Vaid
Ms. Kate Clinton

Paying top dollar to be second-class.

The Advocate:

If the estate tax penalty remains in effect, affected gay and lesbian couples will be subject to a total of $237 million in additional taxes in 2009 — and more than $3.5 billion in added taxes over the decade by 2011, according to a study by the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law’s Williams Institute.

Currently, taxpayers with estates valued at less than $3.5 million are exempted from federal estate taxes. The tax is scheduled to be repealed in 2010 but will resume in 2011 with a $1 million exemption.

Because gay relationships are not recognized by the federal government under the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, taxpayers in same-sex relationships who transfer their assets to a surviving spouse are not exempt from the estate tax. Other tax protections that allow married heterosexual couples to transfer a business to their children — even those who are not legal descendants of the surviving spouse — are not offered to gays and lesbians. 

"Even in 2010, when the estate tax is currently slated to be repealed, federal law allows different-sex married couples to shelter an additional $3 million in capital gains when a partner dies," said Michael D. Steinberger, the study’s author. "Regardless of your views about this tax, it is a costly implication of legal discrimination against gay and lesbian couples."

The report, funded by Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management, is available here.

This week with Congressman Bob Inglis

Our weekly tour of congressional websites broadens a bit as the campaign season come upon us. Today we look at Congressman Bob Inglis' campaign site, which  rose in our estimation from the fact that Boy Fogle attacked it.

Waldo's remarked before that Inglis, who represents the 4th congressional district, has the only congressional website int he SC delegation that seems to be run by a living, breathing, human being. When he goes on a congressional delegation trip, he puts up a post on why he went, and what was done. He seems interested in actually explaining why he votes the way he does.

So on his campaign site he considers his pluses and minuses as a candidate and legislator. It's refreshingly human, and worth a read. Frankly, the rest of the congressional delegation websites are those of Stepford legislators, smiling, in favor of everything, never admitting to a glint of humanity.

Another blogger packs it in.

I've calculated your chance of survival, but I don't think you'll like it.


      -Marvin The Paranoid Android, in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Shortly after Waldo undertook this venture in 2007, he came across another political blog, The Delaware Libertarian. It only took reading a couple of posts to know that prose style. We sent the owner a note: "I KNOW YOU!"

DL's founder was a college contemporary of Waldo's 35 years ago, and has gone on to a distinguished academic and publishing career. He is- as he was then- an uncommonly smart and thoughtful writer and the scope of his erudition seems to know no bounds. As Waldo tried to build a readership, DL directed traffic our way- and readers followed his recommendation. During some patches when the conservative blogdom in SC was targeting Waldo personally, he called them under the scrutiny of his much greater, international, audience. It helped.

Waldo has always been envious of DL for the candor with which he has mixed his views of the world with the quotidian challenges of being a husband, dad, and grandfather and teacher. He knows from the madness of the current health care plan. In the political climate of SC, DL has a different meaning for bloggers.

So now, he says, it's time to pack it in. He's taken a look at his life and found there are other things he needs to give more attention to.

It's a completely understandable- and laudable- decision.

But for Waldo- and thousands of other readers- the world has just gotten a little smaller. A little meaner. Bloggers on the Right, driven by what they oppose, or hate, or both, never seem to run out of energy.

They're all pretty much the same thing, aren't they?

TPM:

Covering All the Bases

Josh Marshall | November 24, 2009, 2:33PM

Alex Castellanos is really getting around. He's now CNN analyst, "senior communications advisor" with the RNC and top strategist and consult for AHIP (the insurers lobby) and the Chamber of Commerce.

Barrett sides with personal privacy opponent who worries about bestiality but not cuddling a dead infant with one's live children

Congressman J. Gresham Barrett (R-Running for Governor) is bringing in former PA Senator Rick ("Man on Dog") Santorum to campaign for Barrett in Greenville, Spartanburg and Hilton Head December 8-9.


Santorum vaulted to fame after a 2003 AP interview in which he managed to "freak out" a serious reporter:

ms. jordan: I mean, should we outlaw homosexuality? 

mr. santorum: I have no problem with homosexuality. I have a problem with homosexual acts. As I would with acts of other, what I would consider to be, acts outside of traditional heterosexual relationships. And that includes a variety of different acts, not just homosexual. I have nothing, absolutely nothing against anyone who’s homosexual. If that’s their orientation, then I accept that. And I have no problem with someone who has other orientations. The question is, do you act upon those orientations? So it’s not the person, it’s the person’s actions. And you have to separate the person from their actions. 

ms. jordan: O.K., without being too gory or graphic, so if somebody is homosexual, you would argue that they should not have sex? 

mr. santorum: We have laws in states, like the one at the Supreme Court right now, that have sodomy laws and they were there for a purpose. Because, again, I would argue, they undermine the basic tenets of our society and the family. And if the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything. Does that undermine the fabric of our society? I would argue yes, it does. It all comes from, I would argue, this right to privacy that doesn’t exist in my opinion in the United States Constitution.. . . 

In every society, the definition of marriage has not ever to my knowledge included homosexuality. That’s not to pick on homosexuality. It’s not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be. It is one thing. And when you destroy that you have a dramatic impact on the quality— 

ms. jordan: I’m sorry, I didn’t think I was going to talk about “man on dog” with a United States Senator. It’s sort of freaking me out. 

mr. santorum: And that’s sort of where we are in today’s world, unfortunately. The idea is that the state doesn’t have rights to limit individuals’ wants and passions. I disagree with that. I think we absolutely have rights because there are consequences to letting people live out whatever wants or passions they desire. And we’re seeing it in our society. 

ms. jordan: Sorry, I just never expected to talk about that when I came over here to interview you. 

In Santorum's world, the privileges of opposite marriage include this:

In his Senate office, on a shelf next to an autographed baseball, Sen. Rick Santorum keeps a framed photo of his son Gabriel Michael, the fourth of his seven children. Named for two archangels, Gabriel Michael was born prematurely, at 20 weeks, on Oct. 11, 1996, and lived two hours outside the womb.

Upon their son's death, Rick and Karen Santorum opted not to bring his body to a funeral home. Instead, they bundled him in a blanket and drove him to Karen's parents' home in Pittsburgh. There, they spent several hours kissing and cuddling Gabriel with his three siblings, ages 6, 4 and 1 1/2. They took photos, sang lullabies in his ear and held a private Mass.

You want fries with the Mauzer?

From Joe.My.God, an outsider's view of one of South Carolina's economic development schemes:

A Truly Black Friday

While cities around the country try to beef up this week's Black Friday (traditionally the #1 retail sales day of the year) by granting temporary suspensions of sales tax on clothing or other goods, the state of South Carolina will let you buy GUNS tax-free. Via NY Daily News:

The great state of South Carolina is putting its own sick twist on Black Friday with a tax holiday on firearm purchases. Not cars. Not clothes. Certainly not books. Just guns. For the 48 hours following Thanksgiving, gun buyers will enjoy a break of up to 9% in state and local taxes. Firearms traffickers are not expected to pass the savings on to New York criminals, but what is called "the extrava-gun-za" and "Second Amendment Weekend" is sure to help South Carolina stay among the top five states that provide 85% of the illegal handguns recovered in New York City.

Gov. Mark "Appalachian Trail" Sanford vetoed the gun tax break, but the legislature overrode him. Thanks to its lax firearm laws, gun shops outnumber McDonald's in South Carolina by 4-1.

Labels: gun control, retail, South Carolina, taxes,Thanksgiving

Dick Cheney's man on the Court

The Birthers go on about how, somehow, there has been a plan dating back 47 years to make President Obama president by obscuring his "foreign" birth. Perhaps more interesting his how, in plain sight, the heirs of Richard Nixon continue to affect American politics and law, 35 years after he resigned:

Dueling indices into Mrs. Palin's mind. Willow, take Trig. The photographers are gone.

Mrs. Palin's book has no index. Slate did one.

Now Christopher Buckley has done another.

Hell hath no fury like a former press flack scorned

Anaconda's peeved:

Since S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford’s communications staff has apparently decided to start screening phone calls and hanging up on reporters whose only crime was attempting to bring you governor’s side of the story, it’s become pretty much impossible for us here at FITS to do our jobs.

In fact, after several months of receiving the “silent treatment” from Sanford’s press office (an office our founding editor helped build, incidentally) the only solution we can see to the communications quagmire is to simply encourage our readers to call the governor himself.

Buttering their bread on the white side

Only on the job since March, RNC communications director Trevor Francis has quit. Chairman Toby, in a nice irony, has brought in old-time Jesse Helms hand Alex Castellanos to help the party race-bait through the 2010 elections.

So much for Mr, Rentier's hope for a new way of doing business in SC

Ronald Reagan famously commented that he didn't leave the Democratic Party, it left him. Now the Republicans have returned the favor.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Adam Fogle: time to stand up for really, really white people

Tell it to a warrior.

Boy Fogle has a paroxysm of (fake) liberal thinking:

SC POLITICO RESPONDS TO ATTACKS ON REDHEADS

A recent wave of anti-Ginger persecution has reached a new low after a 12-year-old California boy was reportedly beaten because of his red hair.

The assault took place last week at A.E. Wright Middle School in Calabasas, Calif. Police said the boy’s beating, by as many as 14 classmates, may have been spurred on by a Facebook message saying that Friday was was “Kick a Ginger Day.”

The attack has one South Carolina politico seeking to — pardon the pun — shed some light on the issue of Ginger harassment.

South Carolina Republican Party Third Vice Chairman Adam Piper, himself a Ginger, was outraged.

“There is no place for bias and intolerance based on hair color or any other characteristic in America,” Piper said.

Despite the recent attacks on his people, Piper said he does not support hate crime legislation. “We need one set of laws regardless of one’s hair color or any other characteristic.”

Police said they were not prosecuting the attack as a hate crime.

The anti-Ginger meme largely began after a 2005 episode of the adult animated series “South Park” in which one character sought to destroy everyone with red hair, freckles and fair skin.

This is a bullshit post. For one thing, he cites no other US instances of his claimed "wave of anti-Ginger persecution", even though the link  says "ginger persecution intensifies." Second, no GOP offcial is going to make so expansive a statement as Pudge attributes to junior assistant deputy vice president Adam Piper. For one thing, that sort of comment would admit gays have rights. For another, it's unsourced, which in Scoopland means proceed at your own risk. There is no other source for the comment than Boy Fogle. Third, you've got Boy Fogle's long and well-documented antipathy to the rights of real groups his party- and his paymasters- work to discriminate against under law- not to mention his insatiable desire to ride such stories to publicity for himself. Such as here; and here; and here; and here; and here; and here; and here; and particularly here; here; here (where he insists, unchallenged, that he's not a  homophobic bigot); and here. Fourth, all South Park did was a appropriate a British term for reddish-haired people- rather common there- that goes back to the 1820s. He could look it up in the OED, for example.

It says a lot about the hacks of the SC GOP mailrooms that beating up people can be made into a joke. Because, as anybody who's been on the receiving end knows, the first thing bullies try to do is dehumanize people they want to go after. Boy Fogle, whose personal hypocrisy knows no bounds when it comes to accepting interventionist legislation his party opposed but that benefits him- here, and here- will, we hope never experience harassment or persecution based on disability thanks to the extension of federal hate crimes law both SC senators and all the SC Republican congressmen opposed.

Take note, Scoopy: your party didn't- and doesn't- give a flying fuck if somebody wanted to pick on you for your situation. Will you be sitting back waiting for them to end your manufactured ginger plague?

J'accuse!

What gives? Beck & O'Reilly pass over the upstate for Charleston, and Mrs. Palin blows off the whole state

State senator Kevin Bryant, apparently pursuing the view that the private sector knows better in all things, is devoting his legislative blog to a long, wet commercial for Fox News [Waldo's comments in bold]:

Bold & Fresh Tour 2010 There’s no shortage of people talking about what’s going on in the world today, but there are far too few who are actually saying anything of substance [noticeable lack of irony alert, given the content of the blog]  Faceless pundits talks around the issues [It's television, you nitwit, how can they be faceless?], not about them…celebrity gossip passes as breaking news…and the liberal bias spewed by the mainstream media makes them like less like a public service and more like an extension of the White House Press Office.  Enough is enough-it’s time for the truth from somebody who’ll give it to you straight, whether you like it or not.  Actually, make that…somebodys - Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck.  This January, they’re coming out from behind their desks and going on tour.  Your town may never be the same…[never mind that they're only appearing on one city in SC]...

Bill O’Reilly is the godfather of “no spin” and in your face television.  For years he’s been the centerpiece of the Fox News lineup with his unmistakable style and unflinching commitment to truth as he sees it.  In Bill’s world, brutal honesty beats hypocrisy every time.  And you know how they say with some men their “bark” is worse than their “bite?”  With Bill…yeah, not so much.  As Bill puts it, “My teeth are in good shape.” [Loofahs, anyone?]

Glenn Beck in the new kid on the block, the fastest rising star in cable news.  Through humor, raw emotion and the tenacity of a pit bull, Glenn has become the new voice of Conservative America.  Steeped in the teaching of our forefathers ", Glenn wears his heart on his sleeve and no matter what he says–whether it’s about politics or pop culture–you can bet he’s got the facts to back it up.  He’s less a TV host and more like, um…a force of nature.  “There is really no better way to start the new year than by joining Bill on stage for the first time ever,” says Glenn.  “Wait…should I be worried?.”

Don’t miss out on the rare opportunity to see these two men live on stage.  It’s an event that makes professional wrestling seem like a night at the opera.  You’ll hear from Bill, you’ll hear from Glenn, and then…they’ll take the stage together.  What happens then?  Heaven only knows, but one thing is for sure-you’ll want to see it with your very own eyes.

Which is to say, it'll be as choreographed as WWE and Bryant is a shameless shill whom we confidently bet would, if confronted by an opera, demand it be criminalized, then defunded. Or the reverse. Any idiot who thinks a Beck-O'Reilly tour will produce and conflict...well, no wonder he's a perpetual backbencher.

The New White People's Manifesto, or Jim DeMint's 30 Senator Strategy Refined.

RNC member James Bopp, who's busy litigating against marriage equality when not busy purifying the Republican Party, has a new draft catechism out:

"THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Republican National Committee identifies ten (10) key public policy positions for the 2010 election cycle, which the Republican National Committee expects its public officials and candidates to support:

(1) We support smaller government, smaller national debt, lower deficits and lower taxes by opposing bills like Obama's "stimulus" bill;

(2) We support market-based health care reform and oppose Obama-style government run healthcare;

(3) We support market-based energy reforms by opposing cap and trade legislation;

(4) We support workers' right to secret ballot by opposing card check;

(5) We support legal immigration and assimilation into American society by opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants;

(6) We support victory in Iraq and Afghanistan by supporting military-recommended troop surges;

(7) We support containment of Iran and North Korea, particularly effective action to eliminate their nuclear weapons threat;

(8) We support retention of the Defense of Marriage Act;

(9) We support protecting the lives of vulnerable persons by opposing health care rationing and denial of health care and government funding of abortion; and

(10) We support the right to keep and bear arms by opposing government restrictions on gun ownership; and be further

RESOLVED, that a candidate who disagrees with three or more of the above stated public policy position of the Republican National Committee, as identified by the voting record, public statements and/or signed questionnaire of the candidate, shall not be eligible for financial support and endorsement by the Republican National Committee; and be further

RESOLVED, that upon the approval of this resolution the Republican National Committee shall deliver a copy of this resolution to each of Republican members of Congress, all Republican candidates for Congress, as they become known, and to each Republican state and territorial party office.