USD College Republicans

Biden's spin

Hey Joe- What good is getting money for armor when you're pulling the troops out in the same bill?

Posted at 08:46PM Oct 02, 2008 by crepub in Presidential Race 2008  |  Comments[0]

Palin owning on energy

Palin knows about energy and she's kicking the crap out of Biden's radical talking points.

She also caught him on badmouthing clean coal a few weeks ago.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 08:36PM Oct 02, 2008 by crepub in Presidential Race 2008  |  Comments[0]

Roll over, Marx

It's no longer "redistribution of wealth." It's "fairness."

Thanks for the update, Joe.

Posted at 08:21PM Oct 02, 2008 by crepub in Presidential Race 2008  |  Comments[0]

Biden's Lies

Biden is talking about deregulation, deregulation, deregulation, and how it's so bad.

The truth is, deregulation has nothing to do with the current financial "crisis."

He also fails to mention that government is the PROBLEM with the current high price of health care. If we added MORE regulation to our health care system, we would have nationalized health care.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 08:14PM Oct 02, 2008 by crepub in Presidential Race 2008  |  Comments[0]

Teachers unions: politics over kids

I think I'll be a teacher. That way, I can spread my partisan agenda with no qualms from the teachers unions

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 08:02AM Oct 02, 2008 by crepub in Education  |  Comments[0]

If you want more than politics on the blog server

...post more.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 11:10PM Sep 29, 2008 by crepub in General  |  Comments[2]

Line of the night

"I agree with Senator McCain."

More to come.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 09:51PM Sep 26, 2008 by crepub in Presidential Race 2008  |  Comments[0]

NOW who's bringing politics into the financial "crisis?"

Mark Ambinder is reporting that Chris Dodd, another old, white-haired man, insinuated that John McCain caused a ruckus during yesterday's bigwig meeting about the bailout at the White House. But the truth is that McCain and the Republicans listened openly and calmly.
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Though Sen. Chris Dodd implied that Sen. McCain sandbagged the rest of the negotiators by bringing up alternative proposals, McCain himself did not bring up those proposals, according to four independent sources briefed by four different principals inside the meeting, including two Republicans and two Democrats.
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Even though I think the bailout is a terrible idea and a political stunt to begin with, the people who were crying about the evils of "presidential politics" in this process seem to be the ones who are INJECTING presidential politics into it themselves.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 09:11AM Sep 26, 2008 by crepub in Presidential Race 2008  |  Comments[0]

Private police forces?

This article about police force budget cuts says that in Palm Beach, police may stop responding to some calls due to lack of funds.

This got me thinking about remedies to the situation. If the budget can't be increased through cuts in other areas or by raising taxes (two things that are often undesirable), why not allow private police forces?

I'm not to familiar with the argument in favor of private police forces, so I Googled it and found this interesting article. I also found part of a longer article
:
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We tend to think of the police services as being provided by the government. Actually, in the USA there are more private police, security guards, etc., than there are governmental police. In a libertarian society, this trend would be accentuated. There is no agreement yet on whether a vestigial police force is necessary.
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This is a fascinating problem and I hope some discussion of private police forces is at least entertained by the powers-that-be.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 09:22AM Sep 25, 2008 by crepub in Libertarianism  |  Comments[0]

Hypocrisy

Green idealists are most likely to take long flights.

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The research team questioned 200 people on their environmental attitudes and split them into three groups, based on a commitment to green living.

They found the longest and the most frequent flights were taken by those who were most aware of environmental issues, including the threat posed by climate change.
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HT: Drudge

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 11:18PM Sep 24, 2008 by crepub in Ridiculous!  |  Comments[0]

More thoughts on Nesselhuf's reply

1) Mr. Blake made it sound as if Nesselhuf actually had an active role in the USD money. He had absolutely nothing to do with the bill, other than voting for it like every other senator

2) Mr. Blake said that Nesselhuf is the first Senator from Clay County in 100 years to hold a Senatorial leadership. That is about as much of a stretch as possible. There is absolutely no statute or Senate rule mentioning a "Caucus Chairman." It is a title made up by the Democrats to make him sound important. If he were something like majority or minority leader, whip, or president pro tempore, he would be a Senate leader. But he isn't any of those.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 05:27PM Sep 24, 2008 by crepub in University of South Dakota  |  Comments[1]

Obama refuses to suspend campaign

I'm watching Barack Obama on CNN right now. He is saying that he won't suspend his campaign right now and that he wants to debate on Friday.

This move doesn't lend much to his lie that he works in a bipartisan fashion.

More updates as things occur.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 03:54PM Sep 24, 2008 by crepub in Presidential Race 2008  |  Comments[4]

My response to Nesselhuf's response

To Matt Blake’s response to my Nesselhuf column last week:

---On the minimum wage and pre-K education---

-Of course Mr. Blake is happy Nesselhuf supports these. Increased government meddling in citizens’ lives is a valuable tool for the Democratic Party.
-Blake makes a knee-jerk assumption that the minimum wage is beneficial (it isn’t) and that pre-K education is a good investment for taxpayer dollars.

---On Hyperion---

Nesselhuf’s failed bill would have allowed the state government to write incredibly strict environmental regulations, leaving the door open for opposition
to essentially write Hyperion out of existence, by, say, regulating so strictly that Hyperion could not operate.

“I took the laws straight off the books in California…” said Nesselhuf at one of the hearings on Hyperion.

-Also, Nesselhuf was so anti-Hyperion that the Hyperion people don’t want to work with him. Hyperion IS coming. Nesselhuf is not ready.

---My “hard core partisan” stance---

-Apparently Mr. Blake knows me…despite the fact that we’ve never met.

-His claim that I am a hardcore partisan is untrue. Though I am president of a partisan organization, I remove that hat when I write. The Volante hired me
to write Matt Hittle’s opinions, not the College Republicans’. There are several issues in the Republican Platform with which I don’t agree.

-It’s smart for Mr. Blake to paint me as a radical, though. It erodes my credibility in the eyes of readers. Both he and Bill Muller, the Nesselhuf campaign
manager, have done this now. Muller did it in a press release in which he falsely claimed that my Nesselhuf column was a product of the College
Republicans. When asked to correct this mistake, Muller became angry and refused to change the blatant error (or lie, depending on your view).

---Nesselhuf voted _____ times for _____---

-And? What’s your point? So he voted a bunch of times for bills that don’t pass. Shouldn’t his effectiveness be measured not by the ideas he supports, but
by his ability to get those ideas codified into law?

-What do you mean by “helped secure” dollars for USD? You mean he “voted for” the bill that gave dollars to USD. Blake makes it sound like Nesselhuf
took the lead, valiantly “securing” money for USD. In reality, Nesselhuf merely voted for a Regents-supported bill. That’s a no-brainer.

---Nesselhuf is popular---

-No argument there, he’s a nice guy and his father is a nice guy. But you can’t ride the amiability of yourself and your family forever. Eventually, you’ll
have to face your record, whether it’s in 2008 or in the next cycle.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 03:50PM Sep 24, 2008 by crepub in University of South Dakota  |  Comments[0]

The Coal Miner

Either your support coal or not. Which is it?

Posted at 01:03PM Sep 24, 2008 by crepub in Presidential Race 2008  |  Comments[0]

Ron Paul lets us down

Ron Paul recently endorsed Chuck Baldwin for president

Now, I wasn't a Paul supporter, (for reasons that the quote below will establish). But for perhaps the most well-known living American libertarian to endorse such a terrible choice is nearly unforgivable.

Who is Chuck Baldwin? He is the Constitution Party candidate for president. He is also the purveyor of whatever conspiracy theories are hot right now.

Yes, he's one of the "I can't deal with real life, so I've got to develop a story that makes me feel better" crowd:

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Paul himself believes the ridiculous claim that the Bush Administration is trying to establish a "North American Union" uniting Mexico, the US, and Canada under a single government. Baldwin goes Paul one better. He not only endorses the NAU myth but also claims that "By 2015, I’m told, the powers that be want to merge Europe and America." He thinks that the Council on Foreign Relations is at the heart of a conspiracy to create a "global government" - a longstanding trope for conspiracy theorists. He rails against "moneychangers" who are supposedly destroying us by promoting free trade and international investment for the ultimate purpose of establishing a world government. Baldwin even wrote a 2007 column entitled "There is a Conspiracy" documenting the supposed plan to create world government. To prevent this, he is opposed to the "global economy," free trade, and international economic integration, a position radically at odds with that of most libertarians (see the last three links).

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Libertarians, big "L" and little "l," need to distance themselves from conspiracy theorists like Paul and Baldwin. Relationships with conspiracy theorists are steadily decreasing their credibility in the eyes of major political parties and the electorate as a whole.

HT: The Volokh Conspiracy

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 09:18PM Sep 23, 2008 by crepub in Presidential Race 2008  |  Comments[0]

Victory...or not?

Congressional Democrats have finally admitted defeat and are going to allow the moratorium on offshore oil drilling expire. Unfortunately, the ridiculous legislation passed last week that denies the US to drill 90% of its offshore reserves still stands.

Here is the entire article

HT: Drudge

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 07:22PM Sep 23, 2008 by crepub in Congress  |  Comments[0]

Biden: No coal plants in America, but China OK

"No coal plants here in America," he said. "Build them, if they're going to build them, over there. Make them clean."

"We’re not supporting clean coal," he said of himself and Obama. They do, on paper, support clean coal.

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HT: Ben Smith

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 07:07PM Sep 23, 2008 by crepub in Presidential Race 2008  |  Comments[0]

GOP Feed

Posted at 07:02PM Sep 23, 2008 by crepub in General  |  Comments[0]

Suppressing free speech for posterboard space?

After my morning class, I strolled around campus, replacing the College Republicans signs that had been torn down over the morning.

We put our signs on general-purpose sign boards, and people are free to tear them down to put other signs up.

I was replacing torn down signs in East Hall and was approached by a woman who said "If you inundate this board again, I will get you in trouble because I am faculty." I asked this faculty member what, exactly, I would be charged with and she said "littering" and stormed off.

She wouldn't give me her name.

As she stormed away, I told her not to suppress my speech. And I meant it.

Now, I'm not sure what is at issue. Either she was mad about the CRs using too much poster board space or she was mad that the CRs were USING poster board space at all due to some political bias. I'm not assuming the bias, but it is a possibility. Either way, I thought her attempted suppression of the CRs' free speech was ridiculous, so I put up my signs and immediately called the Dean of Students.

Luckily, the Dean assured me that the College Republicans were not being inappropriate with our signage and that there is no precedent, to her knowledge, that allows disciplinary action to be taken against students who put up lots of posters.

They can keep tearing down the posters, as is their right. But we'll keep replacing them, as is our right.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 11:52AM Sep 23, 2008 by crepub in University of South Dakota  |  Comments[4]

Greed

With all the recent talk about greed on Wall Street, I thought I'd re-post this primer on greed from Milton Friedman. It's short, sweet, and insightful.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 09:05AM Sep 23, 2008 by crepub in Economics  |  Comments[0]

Why are Pelosi and company being so secretive?

Nancy Pelosi and company have been writing the most recent appropriations legislation in unprecedented secrecy.

Why?

Earmarks.

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The unusual process means thousands of lawmakers' pet projects of the very sort blasted by GOP presidential nominee John McCain on the campaign trail would escape scrutiny, including up to $5 billion worth of such "earmarks" in the defense budget alone.

Congressional leaders hope to pass the budget legislation this week, but several issues remained undecided Monday. For starters, it wasn't clear how much the White House would be willing to accept.

Bush has threatened to veto bills that don't cut the number and cost of earmarks in half or cause agency operating budgets, taken together, to exceed his request.

While top-level congressional leaders haven't made final decisions, elements of the year-end budget package are likely to include:

_Stopgap government funding. Most federal agencies would see their budgets frozen at current levels for several weeks or even into March. Lawmakers want to avoid a postelection "lame duck" session, but fear the White House will force them to return to session in November in hopes Congress would approve a free trade pact with Colombia.

_Security-related budgets. More than $600 billion to fund the 2009 budgets for the Pentagon, Homeland Security Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

_Disaster aid. Up to $25 billion in emergency funding for victims of Gulf Coast hurricanes, midwestern floods and other natural disasters.

_Automaker loans. More than $7 billion is provided to subsidize $25 billion in loans to help the "Big Three" U.S. automakers retool their plants to build cleaner, more energy efficient cars.

_Heating subsidies. Democrats want to double the budget to $5.1 billion for a popular program providing heating subsidies for the poor.

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Ahhhhhhh the Democratic Party! Champions of open and honest governance! NOT.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 07:50AM Sep 23, 2008 by crepub in Congress  |  Comments[0]

Biden doesn't like Obama campaign's negativitiy

The Obama campaign has taken a turn toward Negative Town, but it appears Gaffe-Master General Joe Biden isn't on board.

The ad in question is the one that ridicules McCain for his inability to use the Internet (which is because he is physically unable to type).

Biden said:

"I thought that was terrible, by the way," Biden said.
Asked why it was done, he said: "I didn't know we did it and if I had anything to do with it, we'd have never done it."

Of course, after getting a tongue-lashing from his Obama Overlords, he changed his tune:

"Having now reviewed the ad, it is even more clear to me that given the disgraceful tenor of Sen. McCain's ads and their persistent falsehoods, his campaign is in no position to criticize, especially when they continue to distort Barack's votes on an issue as personal as keeping kids safe from sexual predators,"

Speak your mind Joe, you're the only one on the Obama side who will open his mouth without a teleprompter in sight!

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 07:42AM Sep 23, 2008 by crepub in Presidential Race 2008  |  Comments[0]

NEW COMMENT POLICY

I'm instituting a new policy here at the College Republicans blog.

All comments must be written under your name, not a pseudonym, not "anonymous."

All comments that are anonymous or those listed under an obvious pseudonym will be deleted.

We CR bloggers are brave enough to write under our own names. We catch flack, but we've got the cajones to keep writing. It's only fair that you do the same.

Thanks

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 12:20PM Sep 22, 2008 by crepub in University of South Dakota  |  Comments[6]

More thoughts on Nesselhuf's ineffectiveness

Joe Sneve, Volante political reporter, has a new blog. The most recent post is about the Nesselhuf's ham-handed response to my recent opinion column on Nesselhuf's ineffectual Senate term.

Here's a pertinent section:

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However, what may be relatively surprising to some is in a press release issued Wednesday afternoon in response to Hittle’s column, Nesselhuf’s camp only addressed one of the columnist’s claims, the claim accusing the senator of not doing enough to benefit the university he attends.
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This got me thinking. How many of those bills that Nesselhuf apparently supported were actually passed? This question wasn't addressed by the Nesselhuf campaign.

Shouldn't Nesselhuf's effectiveness be measured by legislation that was actually PASSED, rather than legislation that he supported, but wasn't passed?

The text of the Nesselhuf press release uses phrases like "Ben has voted" and "Ben helped" and "Ben obtained special clearance." These are incredibly ambiguous. Heck, we still haven't been told what "special clearance" means!

Something is fishy here. The Nesselhuf campaign is claiming that the Senator has been effective simply by virtue of supporting certain ideas. But it seems that actually getting those ideas codified into law is of no importance. I guess that the primary argument for Nesselhuf's reelection is: When it comes to Nesselhuf's record, it's only the thought that counts.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 12:08PM Sep 21, 2008 by crepub in General  |  Comments[2]

McCain's new ads

I especially like the second one because I like hearing the message directly from the candidates' mouth.

"Patriotic Act"

"Foundation"

"Jim Johnson"

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 09:50AM Sep 21, 2008 by crepub in General  |  Comments[0]

Olbermann Watch

Posted at 02:51PM Sep 20, 2008 by crepub in General  |  Comments[0]

Slowing Muller's and Nesselhuf's spin

*The following has not been influenced by, accepted by, or endorsed by the USD College Republicans. They are the views of Matt Hittle*

I've been detached from the uproar over my last column, as I've been out of town. But I'm pleased as punch!

Bill Muller, the Nesselhuf campaign manager sent out a press release after my column went to print.

Here it is:

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Friends of Nesselhuf,
With a mere 48 days until election day, the Republicans have begun their attacks on State Senator Ben Nesselhuf. Recently on campus, posters have surfaced against Ben and then in the current issue of The Volante there was an opinion piece personally attacking Ben. Both of these pieces originated with the College Republicans.
The attacks do not change the facts. The fact is that Ben has been a powerful voice for USD in Pierre.
- Since 2001 Ben has co-sponsored, sponsored, or voted upon legislation that would create, expand or fund a scholarship program over 21 times.
- Ben has voted 9 times to reduce tuition for specific categories of students, such as members of the National Guard.
- Ben helped bring $4.3 million in construction money to USD, including $1.8 million for the new medical school.
- Ben obtained special clearance for the Board of Regents to bond for almost $16 million for lab upgrades at USD.
His voting record shows that Ben understands what is important to USD and has provided a powerful voice for students and employees in Pierre.
It is clear that the Republican Party will go to any lengths to take down Ben, so please donate $25 to help defend Ben against these baseless attacks.
You can donate by clicking here.
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I've got a few things to say about this:

1) My column did not originate with the USD College Republicans. In an on-the-record phone call, Mr. Muller refused to fix this error and became quite angry when I said it was wrong.

2) The Republican Party will go to "any lengths" to take down Ben? I'm discussing his legislative history. It seems that the Nesselhuf campaign needs to learn the difference between issue-based and ad hominem attacks. I will VIGOROUSLY attack Mr. Nesselhuf on his legislative history, but I will ALWAYS refrain from attacking his personal life. The Nesselhuf campaign is again trying to squelch discussion of his legislative history.

3) Almost everyone who has been in the legislature for nearly a decade would have sponsored, co-sponsored- or voted upon USD-related legislation. Just the Opportunity Scholarship legislation was proposed several times, was funded by a separate bill, and there have also have been votes to change it. That amounts to several votes on one USD-related issue. Image all of the scholarships that USD provides, then imagine voting on changes to those scholarships. That amounts to tons of tiny votes- that the Nesselhuf campaign spins to appear important.

4) Mr. Nesselhuf may have voted to reduce tuition for specific categories of students, because these bills often arise in the legislature. However, they are typically opposed by the Regents because they rarely include funding to pay for the loss in tuition revenue - the burden is simply thrown back onto the other universities. Leave it to a Democrat to mandate that something occur, but not fund it!

5) As for the USD construction and lab upgrades, these were part of Regents-pushed bills that were supported by the governor. When Mr. Muller says that Mr. Nesselhuf "helped," that merely means he voted for it, not that he played an active role!

And I think we all would like to know what "special clearance" means.

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As you can see, the Nesselhuf campaign states facts in such a way that pumps up the Senator's resume. They may be true, but when you dig a bit deeper, you'll find that Mr. Nesselhuf isn't a leader, but merely follows.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 09:14AM Sep 19, 2008 by crepub in General  |  Comments[0]

The attacks have begun

In a message to supporters, Nesselhuf campaign manager Bill Muller indicated that the political column I pen for the Volante is affiliated with the College Republicans. It is not.

I demand he correct this error as soon as possible. In an on-the-record conversation I had with him yesterday, he was extremely angry and seemed very reluctant to accommodate this demand.

The e-mail claims I personally attacked Mr. Nesselhuf. I'm not surprised. On this blog, Bill characterized discussion of Ben's legislative record as a "low blow."

Why can't we discuss Nesselhuf's legislative record? Or is Bill simply regurgitating tired press secretary lines?

At any rate, the Nesselhuf campaign needs to learn the difference between personal and legitimate attacks. We don't talk about Ben's family or his personal life. We discuss his record- his votes, his statements, and his employment.

If Bill and Ben had nothing to hide, they wouldn't have a problem with discussion of these things.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 08:29AM Sep 18, 2008 by crepub in General  |  Comments[6]

Tim's Column

Also check out Tim Carr's columnin the Volante this week!

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 10:14AM Sep 17, 2008 by crepub in General  |  Comments[0]

Nessehuf Needs to Go

Check out my political column in the first print edition of the Volante. It can be found HERE.

It discusses State Senator Ben Nesselhuf's inadequacies and why I think he should be removed from office on November 4th.

Apparently, parts of the piece were leaked to Nesselhuf by someone on the Volante staff last weekend, so I'm on pins and needles while waiting for what will surely be a rapid-fire response from Nesselhuf's campaign manager Bill Muller or the USD Dems in general.

Here's a quick disclaimer about the article that is already known by the Nesselhuf campaign: Jerad Higman has not read, influenced, seen, or approved anything I wrote in that column.

Also, the CR signs around campus were not paid for, influenced by, seen, or approved by any Republican candidate. They are totally from the minds and personal pocketbooks of the CRs.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 09:34AM Sep 17, 2008 by crepub in University of South Dakota  |  Comments[0]