Pennsylvnia Federation of College Republicans

As we all know, recent polls have concluded that Senator McCain is trailing Senator Obama even by double digits in some surveys.   McCain has denied the presumption that his campaign is a loosing cause, and for good reason. With 8 days to go before this election comes to a halt, political experts such as Karl Rove have also disavowed this recent gloomy poll numbers and given McCain a fighting, albeit up hill battle to gain the White House.  Are these pundits and even McCain himself simply delaying the inevitable?  Absolutely not.  McCain’s refusal to give in not only fits into his legendary character, but is reinforced by history.  Perhaps the most famous example, though not exactly recent history was Harry Truman’s victory over Thomas Dewey.  After weeks of polls declaring Dewey the leader by as much at 15 points, newspapers while publishing for the morning after election day, mistakenly published the headline “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN.”  The newspaper that committed this famous act and is forever enshrined in a picture is none other than the Chicago Daily Tribune. Just remember, this election isn’t over until it’s over. Never assume you know the outcome, because you may end up looking like the Chicago Daily Tribune.

*Note: The following is a collection of live debate reactions from the Friday, September 26th, 2008 debate from Megan Ritter. Megan’s reactions from the beginning of the debate are found at the end of this post, with reactions from the end of the debate at the beginning of the post.*

• Barack Obama: “I’ve got a bracelet tooooooooo!” What could’ve been a moving discussion between the two men, Obama turned into a cheap moment of oneupmanship. I’m not saying he shouldn’t have brought up his paralell story, but is there any coarser, less respectful way in which he could’ve brought it up?

• Something Obama seems to forget when he tries to paint McCain as a warmonger: Both nominees on the Republican ticket have children currently serving in Iraq. It’s difficult to imagine either of them lightly committing troops.

• I’ve lost track of the number of times Obama has interrupted McCain. It’s somewhere north of six. Still waiting for McCain’s first interruption of Obama.

• McCain’s comment about the consequences of defeat is interesting in that historically it is something that the various peace movements have never honestly considered. We didn’t consider it in Vietnam - we left behind what Peggy Noonan describes as “an untold increase in horror for people on that part of the planet.”

• And “we took our eye off the ball” is a very, very juvenile metaphor for Obama to use when discussing such a fundamentally serious issue.

• A Republican who understands that effective defense spending doesn’t mean funding every goofy boondoggle project possible…I like this guy more all the time.

• Obama interrupting McCain count, so far: three times. McCain interrupting Obama count, so far: zero times.

• For all the animus that they’ve earned from the left it would seem that Reagan and then Bush the Younger have changed the nature of the debate so fundamentally that even liberal Democrats have to run on promises to cut taxes. We’re a looooooong way from Walter Mondale promising - promising in no uncertain terms! - that he was going to raise taxes on as many people as possible. Democrats promising to cut taxes is a political problem for Republican campaigns, but a really nice problem to have!

• Obama points out that high gas prices are killing the middle class. Too bad he didn’t realize this earlier in the summer, when he noted that he would’ve preferred that gas prices not rise quite so fast.

• “Earmarking as a gateway drug.” Obama’s asked for a million dollars worth of earmarks per day he’s been in the Senate?!?

• McCain takes a moment for Ted Kennedy. The left keeps calling McCain a right-wing fanatic, and this is why the label never quite sticks.

• Halfway through Obama’s first answer, I still don’t know what he thinks of the bailout.

• The consensus of the Fox News panel starting this thing: the winner is the one who proves himself likable. Since statistically Obama has run 75% negative ads to McCain’s 55%…

Anyone that knows me knows that I am as anti-feminist as it is possible to get.  I hate the idea of breaking up the family unit all in the name of “women empowerment” and abortion on demand.  I hate the “chickification”, as Rush Limbaugh terms it, of the male population because the feminazis take offense at men acting like men.

Recently, however, I have felt like a feminist.  I am almost ashamed to admit it.  Almost…The reason why I can admit that freely and hold my head high is two words:  Sarah Palin. 

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Over the past few weeks, I have been reading all of the comments on the PACR blog, and I have a few things to say:

1. Please refrain from attacks that are directed toward any particular person. I understand that many of you have strong opinions about certain issues/individuals, but I will not allow this blog to turn into a negative free-for-all. You can properly express your opinions without the use of dergatory speech. A certain decorum is expected on this site, and comments that are considered to be especially distasteful will not be accepted.

2. Please make sure that the comments you are making are actually associated with the post you are commenting on. Questions that have nothing to do with the topic at hand will be removed, as they seem to do nothing but cause trouble and detract from the original purpose of the blog, which is to create discussion around the topic at hand.

3. Please remember that people are busy. If you post a comment and do not receive an immediate response, you are not being ignored; the author of the post is probably just making sure that their school work (which should be the top priority of any college student), is being completed.

All of that being said, remember this: We’re all adults… I shouldn’t even have to post something like this, but I feel it necessary. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact the PA Federation of College Republicans at pacollegerepublicans@gmail.com

Sincerely,

Jessica Thompson

2nd Vice Chairwoman

PA Federation of College Republicans

As I write this, it’s just over 75 days until Election Day.

And I couldn’t be more excited and upbeat about how my campaign for the 11th Congressional District seat is going.

To date, we’ve received contributions from people in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. These aren’t the big PAC checks my opponent is receiving (mostly from the subprime mortgage , banking, and insurance industries, which he’s supposed to regulate), but from “average” American citizens. Even more encouraging are the notes and letters that accompany those contributions.

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I recieved this from a friend a while back!

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat, and among other liberal ideals, was very much in favor of higher taxes to support more government programs, in other words, redistribution of wealth.

She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his. One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school.

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Even though I am not athletic, I love to watch the Olympics. They are one more reason to make me proud of this country that I call my home.

After winning one of his gold medals, Michael Phelps (when talking about how he did in the race) said, “In the circumstances, not too bad I guess,” he said with a shrug. “I know I can go faster.” When I was first thinking about this comment, I thought to myself, “Shouldn’t he just be grateful for getting the medal?” Then, I realized why he really said that. He wants to push himself to always do better.

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As the world turns its head towards Beijing, Russia has seized the opportunity of an occupied limelight and invaded Georgia. I cannot say I’m surprised. Just the hour or so of research I’ve done on the Ossetia-Georgia conflict shows that something was eventually to happen. With no ceasefire in sight and the quick advance of Russian troops beyond South Ossetia, things may escalate further.

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As the end of summer quickly approaches, college students prepare to head back to campus, and an integral part of the political process gains speed once more. College Republicans are more important than ever this year and you have an incredible opportunity to inform your peers and influence their votes in the November Election.

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Last week I received this e-mail and I knew right away that I had to post it. This e-mail is from an American Soldier that is not overly involved in politics, but this was his big step into it. Obama is a liar and personally, I don’t want a president that is a liar. If I ever met Sen. Obama, my serious question to him would be, “Who wouldn’t want to spend time with our troops?” They fight for OUR freedoms! So…here’s the e-mail:

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