Mike Green will be LIVE blogging in ETV Studios Tonight…Make your vote known and please tell us why you voted the way you did and why!

We are about 1 minute out and I am here with Roxanne Walker and Brad Warthen.

Now Andy is talking with our favorite GOP Chairman from Spartanburg. This guy never ceases to amaze me if he can find a camera he will jump in front of it.

Here we go with our first report.

I am predicting it will be a McCain evening followed closely by Mike Huckabee, Thompson then Romney. If this happens McCain will get a big boost in Florida and I believe go on to be our nominee. I do not think anyone can stop him at this time. Rudy’s strategy of waiting until Florida is proving to be a fatal flaw.

On our first cut away Roxanne went right for the party is in disarry card. Just watch the next cutaway and I will get a good zing in on the Dems.

To all the Ron Paul supporters out there why don’t you put your energy to good use and take out some Rhino’s in the statehouse.

Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer is now speaking and he makes one good point that we need to have both primaries on the same day. I agree wholeheartedly this was crazy having the primaries on different days. I disagree with him that the state ran the election well. The whole point of letting the state take over the primary is that no polling places would be closed or consolidated. Then they come out about two weeks before the election and consolidate precincts. Not to mention all the problems in Myrtle Beach. Who are the election officials down there? They need to be held accountable for this mistake.

It looks like it is going to be a long night. Things are just to close to call. I get to go first on our next segment.

We just found out that Brad Warthen went to Memphis state University.

It appears that Mitt Romney is not going to get a bronze tonight but a ribbon for participation.

I am getting word the Upstate is half in and Huckabee is only leading there by 11% of the vote. This will not be enough for him to win here in South Carolina. CNN website is showing what counties are in and how much they are in. Here is the link. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/county/#val=SCREP1

Let’s change the subject now and talk about the whole election process here. I believe South Carolina has lost some prominence in the national spotlight. This compressed election cycle hurt South Carolina and the decision of Mitt Romney to not participate here hurt us as well. Also the election was not as negative as it was in 2000. I credit the rise of the internet and blogs as to stopping this. We along with other blogs were able to expose it and put a spin on it before the main stream media reported it.

Now for some analysis of the race. It appears that Fred Thompson was the spoiler of the race for Mike Huckabee. If you look at it he cut into his leads in the Upstate region and Huckabee was never able to make it up. One could only guess what would happen if Thompson had not been in the race. We could be looking at a Huckabee victory tonight.

The question now is when will Mitt and Thompson drop out. Mitt has put so much time and effort in the state and if it continues and he finishes forth it will not be good for Mitt going into the Flordia primary. It seems the voters of South Carolina knew who Mitt was and rejected him for some reason. It might have been the over scripting of the candidate or maybe it was his lack of connection with the voters. Who knows but it will make an interesting study for some political science student.

Let me say thank you to SCETV for allowing me to give some insight into the Presidential race and thank you for listening to it. I will have some more comments tomorrow on SCHotline.com

Governor Huckabee kicks off return to South Carolina by stumping in Lexington at Hudson’s Smokehouse.

Governor Huckabee receives a warm welcome from and estimated 400+ crowd.

Governor Beasley works the crowd showing some love like few politicians know how to.

Veta and friends enjoy their fifteen minutes of fame with Gov. Huck

As a good friend once stated; “in this business of politics you have to sometimes do business with some unsavory characters”  Brad you are my favorite liberal!

Open Blog for tonights Debate, please tell SCHotline.com how well or not your candidate is Rumbling!

ND Wilson Romney 12-14
By Nathan DiBagno

Staff Writer

POWDERSVILLE ¾ Powdersville Councilman and former Sons of the Confederate Veterans National Cmdr. Ron Wilson said he was unhappy with comments Mitt Romney made about the Confederate flag, calling the Republican presidential candidate a “typical Yankee from Massachusetts.”

“I’m a big believer in Southern history, and I was appalled the last few days when one of the presidential candidates decided to make an attack against the Confederate flag,” Wilson said. “Mitt Romney made some of the most bizarre statements anyone has ever made concerning the Confederate flag. He’s a typical Yankee from Massachusetts who comes down here and wants us to vote for him, and then he wants to trash us when he’s asked about our heritage.”

Wilson then called on Palmetto State voters to not support the former Massachusetts governor during January’s primary elections.

“I sincerely hope that South Carolinians, when we get a chance to vote in the primaries in January, we’ll let him know what we think about his comments.”

During a CNN/Youtube debate, Romney said the Confederate flag was not one that he would recognize or hold up in his room.

“The people of our country have decided not to fly that flag. I think that’s the right thing,” Romney said. He also called the flag “divisive,” and said he didn’t believe it should be shown.  

The Sons of the Confederate Veterans has publicly criticized both Romney and Fred Thompson, another Republican presidential hopeful who said that Americans shouldn’t publicly display the flag at state capitols.

“I know that everybody who hangs the flag up in their room like that is not racist. I also know that for a great many Americans it’s a symbol of racism,” Thompson said. “He’s free to do whatever he wants to in his home. As far as a public place is concerned, I am glad that people have made the decision not to display it as a prominent flag, symbolic of something, at a state capitol.”

Although Wilson said he doesn’t like the statement Thompson made either, he doesn’t believe any candidate has been as offensive as Romney.

“He made the most outrageous comments of any candidate so far,” he said. “Mitt Romney ought to apologize to this state.”

Wilson said he instead supports U.S. Congressman Ron Paul, citing the Texas Republican’s opposition to the IRS, the income tax and the war in Iraq as some of the main reasons.

Wilson said that while Paul believes the United States should support the troops, he believes they should bring them back instead of wasting millions of dollars overseas.

“I believe I should vote for who I believe is the best candidate,” Wilson said. “The result is in the hands of the Lord.”

###

From: ndibagno@theeasleyprogress.com [mailto:ndibagno@theeasleyprogress.com]
Sent: Monday, December 17, 2007 09:31
To: wilsonr@atlanticbullionandcoin.com
Subject: powdersville post article

From: http://fred08.com/virtual/taxrelief.aspx

Thompson Plan for Tax Relief and New Economic Growth

In today’s competitive global economy, a fair, simple, and pro-growth tax system is essential for America’s success. America must be the best place in the world to invest and create high-paying jobs.

Fred Thompson’s Plan for Tax Relief and Economic Growth promotes fairness and simplicity in the tax code and will create greater growth in the economy. It is based on a fundamental assumption that keeping tax rates low increases economic growth and enhances American competitiveness in the global economy. Increased economic growth will lead to higher wages and higher levels of employment in America. Equally important, lower taxes enhance the personal and economic freedom of all Americans by allowing them to keep more of their hard-earned dollars. Allowing Americans to control their own financial future has been integral to our nation’s economic success and strength since its founding, and is the key to our future.

The economic proposals offered by Democrats will move us in the wrong direction — their plan for higher taxes, in particular, will reduce America’s competitiveness, push investment and jobs overseas, and send more of workers’ and families’ income to Washington. The conservative approach is to reduce government spending and return more money to America’s families.

The following elements of the Thompson Plan for Tax Relief and Economic Growth will spur economic growth and move the nation towards a fairer, simpler tax system on the way to Fred Thompson’s ultimate goal of fundamental tax reform.

1. Permanently Extend the 2001 and 2003 Tax Cuts. Tax relief enacted in 2001 and 2003 has proved critical to generating a strong economy that has experienced growth despite the war on terror, the collapse in the housing market, and other economic challenges over the last six years. Unless action is taken, every American taxpayer will see a massive tax increase after December 31, 2010. Allowing this tax hike will impose an enormous financial burden on American families, slow economic growth, cost America jobs, and make it more difficult to address the country’s long-term budget, economic, and security challenges. The Thompson plan ensures the following:
   • Reduced individual income tax rates, saving every tax-paying family a minimum of $600.
   • Preserving the $1000 child tax credit, which was doubled from $500 per child.
   • Protecting Marriage penalty relief.
   • Retaining Education tax incentives, including Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, 529 college savingsplans, and deductions for higher education expenses.
   • Reduced tax rates on capital gains and qualified dividends.
   • Increased expensing of investment for small businesses.
2. Permanently Repeal the Death Tax. Current law provides death tax relief, but only through 2010. The death tax is inherently unfair. Under the Thompson Plan, the death tax would be permanently repealed, thus protecting millions of American families, including small business owners and family farmers, from double taxation at rates ranging as high as 55 percent.
3. Repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax. The AMT is a separate tax system that was intended to ensure that a few high income Americans could not use deductions and credits to eliminate their tax liability. However, because the AMT is not indexed to inflation, it is penalizing Americans it was never intended to affect. While in the U.S. Senate, Fred Thompson authored legislation that would have repealed the AMT. Consistent with that earlier proposal, the Thompson plan will eliminate the AMT as part of broader tax and spending reform. Until comprehensive reform is feasible, the Thompson plan would index the exemption amounts annually so that millions of middle class families will not become subject to this tax.
4. Reduce the Corporate Tax Rate. The United States has one of the highest rates of tax on businesses of the industrialized nations, second only to Japan. EvenJapan is currently considering reducing its corporate tax rate. Economic studies suggest that the U.S. Treasury is actually losing tax revenue by keeping the corporate tax rate so high. In order to increase the competitiveness of U.S. companies in the global marketplace, the Thompson plan would reduce the U.S. top corporate tax rate (including the corporate capital gains tax rate) from 35 percent to no more than 27 percent, which is the approximate average of the world’s leading economies—the nations of the Organization on Economic Cooperation and Development. This tax reduction will promote U.S. competitiveness, encourage companies to keep their operations (and jobs) in the U.S., and spur continued economic expansion and growth.
5. Permanently Extend Small Business Expensing. Small businesses create two-thirds of all new jobs in America, and employ nearly 59 million Americans — more than half of the nation’s private-sector workforce. Women own a quarter of all small businesses, minorities are nearing the 20% mark, and Hispanic Americans are opening their own businesses at a rate three times the national average. Current law allows small businesses to write-off purchases of equipment of up to $125,000 per year, rather than depreciating those assets over time. Making expensing of equipment and other small business items permanent will encourage greater investment and growth.
6. Update and Simplify Depreciation Schedules. The current depreciation schedules are outdated and in many cases do not reflect the realistic useful life of an asset. This is particularly true for investments in high technology. For example, computers must be depreciated over three years, even though they become obsolete in half that time. The Thompson plan would simplify and update these schedules to allow American businesses to make the investments they need to compete and create more high-quality jobs.
7. Expand Taxpayer Choice. The Thompson plan would give Americans greater choice about how to pay their federal taxes. This plan is based on a proposal developed by the House of Representatives Republican Study Committee that would provide taxpayers the option of remaining under the current, complex tax code or opting for a simplified, flat tax code. The simplified tax code would contain two tax rates: 10% for joint filers on income of up to $100,000 ($50,000 for singles) and 25% on income above these amounts. The standard deduction would be more than doubled to $25,000 for joint filers and $12,500 for singles. The personal exemption amount would be increased to $3,500. Therefore, a family of 4 would be exempt from income tax on the first $39,000 of income. The simplified tax code would contain no other tax credits or deductions. It would also retain the 15% tax rate on capital gains and dividends. This approach would dramatically simplify taxes for tens of millions of Americans. In addition, the larger standard deduction and personal exemption amounts will still provide significant tax relief to families with children. This proposal would serve as a stepping-stone to fundamental tax reform.

America ’s economic future depends on our nation’s ability to maintain its competitive and innovative spirit. Solutions to challenges in our economy are found in the homes and small businesses of ordinary Americans, not in the halls of Washington. Fred Thompson’s goal is to allow Americans to retain greater control of their own money.

To do that, Fred Thompson believes we need a more limited, more effective federal government. Currently, government spending is projected to grow at nearly twice the rate of inflation over the next several years. This spending path is unsustainable and will hamper our economy unless fiscal discipline is imposed. It is critical that we address the problem of government spending, especially for entitlement programs, if the U.S. economy is grow and thrive in the coming decades.

The Thompson Plan for Tax Relief and Economic Growth provides commonsense solutions to increase American competitiveness in the 21st century. These solutions will allow Americans to keep more of their money and encourage companies and entrepreneurs to invest and create jobs in the United States. Enhancing the choices of taxpayers, permanently reducing taxes, encouraging investment in America’s corporations and small businesses, and restraining government spending are all steps in the right direction. America’s economy has endured several challenges over the last several years — it is time to move forward and enter a new era of economic security and prosperity.

www.schotline.com

By Nicolas Sarkozy

Madam Speaker, Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen of the United States Congress, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The state of our friendship and our alliance is strong.

Friendship, first and foremost, means being true to one’s friends. Since the United States first appeared on the world scene, the loyalty between the French and American people has never failed. And far from being weakened by the vicissitudes of History, it has never ceased growing stronger.

Friends may have differences; they may have disagreements; they may have disputes.

But in times of difficulty, in times of hardship, friends stand together, side by side; they support each other; and help one another.

In times of difficulty, in times of hardship, America and France have always stood side by side, supported one another, helped one another, fought for each other’s freedom.

The United States and France remain true to the memory of their common history, true to the blood spilled by their children in common battles. But they are not true merely to the memory of what they accomplished together in the past. They remain true, first and foremost, to the same ideal, the same principles, the same values that have always united them.

The deliberations of your Congress are conducted under the double gaze of Washington and Lafayette. Lafayette, whose 250th birthday we are celebrating this year and who was the first foreign dignitary, in 1824, to address a joint session of Congress. What was it that brought these two men–so far apart in age and background–together, if not their faith in common values, the heritage of the Enlightenment, the same love for freedom and justice?

Upon first meeting Washington, Lafayette told him: “I have come here to learn, not to teach.” It was this new spirit and youth of the Old World seeking out the wisdom of the New World that opened a new era for all of humanity.

From the very beginning, the American dream meant putting into practice the dreams of the Old World.

From the very beginning, the American dream meant proving to all mankind that freedom, justice, human rights and democracy were no utopia but were rather the most realistic policy there is and the most likely to improve the fate of each and every person.

America did not tell the millions of men and women who came from every country in the world and who–with their hands, their intelligence and their heart–built the greatest nation in the world: “Come, and everything will be given to you.” She said: “Come, and the only limits to what you’ll be able to achieve will be your own courage and your own talent.” America embodies this extraordinary ability to grant each and every person a second chance.

Here, both the humblest and most illustrious citizens alike know that nothing is owed to them and that everything has to be earned. That’s what constitutes the moral value of America. America did not teach men the idea of freedom; she taught them how to practice it. And she fought for this freedom whenever she felt it to be threatened somewhere in the world. It was by watching America grow that men and women understood that freedom was possible.

What made America great was her ability to transform her own dream into hope for all mankind.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The men and women of my generation heard their grandparents talk about how in 1917, America saved France at a time when it had reached the final limits of its strength, which it had exhausted in the most absurd and bloodiest of wars.

The men and women of my generation heard their parents talk about how in 1944, America returned to free Europe from the horrifying tyranny that threatened to enslave it.

Fathers took their sons to see the vast cemeteries where, under thousands of white crosses so far from home, thousands of young American soldiers lay who had fallen not to defend their own freedom but the freedom of all others, not to defend their own families, their own homeland, but to defend humanity as a whole.

Fathers took their sons to the beaches where the young men of America had so heroically landed. They read them the admirable letters of farewell that those 20-year-old soldiers had written to their families before the battle to tell them: “We don’t consider ourselves heroes. We want this war to be over. But however much dread we may feel, you can count on us.” Before they landed, Eisenhower told them: “The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.”

And as they listened to their fathers, watched movies, read history books and the letters of soldiers who died on the beaches of Normandy and Provence, as they visited the cemeteries where the star-spangled banner flies, the children of my generation understood that these young Americans, 20 years old, were true heroes to whom they owed the fact that they were free people and not slaves. France will never forget the sacrifice of your children.

To those 20-year-old heroes who gave us everything, to the families of those who never returned, to the children who mourned fathers they barely got a chance to know, I want to express France’s eternal gratitude.

On behalf of my generation, which did not experience war but knows how much it owes to their courage and their sacrifice; on behalf of our children, who must never forget; to all the veterans who are here today and, notably the seven I had the honor to decorate yesterday evening, one of whom, Senator Inouye, belongs to your Congress, I want to express the deep, sincere gratitude of the French people. I want to tell you that whenever an American soldier falls somewhere in the world, I think of what the American army did for France. I think of them and I am sad, as one is sad to lose a member of one’s family.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The men and women of my generation remember the Marshall Plan that allowed their fathers to rebuild a devastated Europe. They remember the Cold War, during which America again stood as the bulwark of the Free World against the threat of new tyranny.

I remember the Berlin crisis and Kennedy who unhesitatingly risked engaging the United States in the most destructive of wars so that Europe could preserve the freedom for which the American people had already sacrificed so much. No one has the right to forget. Forgetting, for a person of my generation, would be tantamount to self-denial.

But my generation did not love America only because she had defended freedom. We also loved her because for us, she embodied what was most audacious about the human adventure; for us, she embodied the spirit of conquest. We loved America because for us, America was a new frontier that was continuously pushed back–a constantly renewed challenge to the inventiveness of the human spirit.

My generation shared all the American dreams. Our imaginations were fueled by the winning of the West and Hollywood. By Elvis Presley, Duke Ellington, Hemingway. By John Wayne, Charlton Heston, Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth. And by Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins, fulfilling mankind’s oldest dream.

What was so extraordinary for us was that through her literature, her cinema and her music, America always seemed to emerge from adversity even greater and stronger; that instead of causing America to doubt herself, such ordeals only strengthened her belief in her values.

What makes America strong is the strength of this ideal that is shared by all Americans and by all those who love her because they love freedom.

America’s strength is not only a material strength, it is first and foremost a spiritual and moral strength. No one expressed this better than a black pastor who asked just one thing of America: that she be true to the ideal in whose name he–the grandson of a slave–felt so deeply American. His name was Martin Luther King. He made America a universal role model.

The world still remembers his words–words of love, dignity and justice. America heard those words and America changed. And the men and women who had doubted America because they no longer recognized her began loving her again.

Fundamentally, what are those who love America asking of her, if not to remain forever true to her founding values?

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today as in the past, as we stand at the beginning of the 21st century, it is together that we must fight to defend and promote the values and ideals of freedom and democracy that men such as Washington and Lafayette invented together.

Together we must fight against terrorism. On September 11, 2001, all of France–petrified with horror–rallied to the side of the American people. The front-page headline of one of our major dailies read: “We are all American.” And on that day, when you were mourning for so many dead, never had America appeared to us as so great, so dignified, so strong. The terrorists had thought they would weaken you. They made you greater. The entire world felt admiration for the courage of the American people. And from day one, France decided to participate shoulder to shoulder with you in the war in Afghanistan. Let me tell you solemnly today: France will remain engaged in Afghanistan as long as it takes, because what’s at stake in that country is the future of our values and that of the Atlantic Alliance. For me, failure is not an option. Terrorism will not win because democracies are not weak, because we are not afraid of this barbarism. America can count on France.

Together we must fight against proliferation. Success in Libya and progress under way in North Korea shows that nuclear proliferation is not inevitable. Let me say it here before all of you: The prospect of an Iran armed with nuclear weapons is unacceptable. The Iranian people is a great people. It deserves better than the increased sanctions and growing isolation to which its leaders condemn it. Iran must be convinced to choose cooperation, dialogue and openness. No one must doubt our determination.

Together we must help the people of the Middle East find the path of peace and security. To the Israeli and Palestinian leaders I say this: Don’t hesitate! Risk peace! And do it now! The status quo hides even greater dangers: that of delivering Palestinian society as a whole to the extremists that contest Israel’s existence; that of playing into the hands of radical regimes that are exploiting the deadlock in the conflict to destabilize the region; that of fueling the propaganda of terrorists who want to set Islam against the West. France wants security for Israel and a State for the Palestinians.

Together we must help the Lebanese people affirm their independence, their sovereignty, their freedom, their democracy. What Lebanon needs today is a broad-based president elected according to the established schedule and in strict respect of the Constitution. France stands engaged alongside all the Lebanese. It will not accept attempts to subjugate the Lebanese people.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

America feels it has the vocation to inspire the world. Because she is the most powerful country in the world. Because, for more than two centuries, she has striven to uphold the ideals of democracy and freedom. But this stated responsibility comes with duties, the first of which is setting an example.

Those who love this nation which, more than any other, has demonstrated the virtues of free enterprise expect America to be the first to denounce the abuses and excesses of a financial capitalism that sets too great a store on speculation. They expect her to commit fully to the establishment of the necessary rules and safeguards. The America I love is the one that encourages entrepreneurs, not speculators.

Those who admire the nation that has built the world’s greatest economy and has never ceased trying to persuade the world of the advantages of free trade expect her to be the first to promote fair exchange rates. The yuan is already everyone’s problem. The dollar cannot remain solely the problem of others. If we’re not careful, monetary disarray could morph into economic war. We would all be its victims.

Those who love the country of wide open spaces, national parks and nature reserves expect America to stand alongside Europe in leading the fight against global warming that threatens the destruction of our planet. I know that each day, in their cities and states, the American people are more aware of the stakes and determined to act. This essential fight for the future of humanity must be all of America’s fight.

Those who have not forgotten that it was the United States that, at the end of the Second World War, raised hopes for a new world order are asking America to take the lead in the necessary reforms of the UN, the IMF, the World Bank and the G8. Our globalized world must be organized for the 21st century, not for the last century. The emerging countries we need for global equilibrium must be given their rightful place.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to express one last conviction: Trust Europe.

In this unstable, dangerous world, the United States of America needs a strong, determined Europe. With the simplified treaty I proposed to our partners, the European Union is about to emerge from 10 years of discussions on its institutions and 10 years of paralysis. Soon it will have a stable president and a more powerful High Representative for foreign and security policy, and it must now reactivate the construction of its military capacities.

The ambition I am proposing to our partners is based on a simple observation: There are more crises than there are capacities to face them. NATO cannot be everywhere. The EU must be able to act, as it did in the Balkans and in the Congo, and as it will tomorrow on the border of Sudan and Chad. For that the Europeans must step up their efforts.

My approach is purely pragmatic. Having learned from history, I want the Europeans, in the years to come, to have the means to shoulder a growing share of their defense. Who could blame the United States for ensuring its own security? No one. Who could blame me for wanting Europe to ensure more of its own security? No one. All of our Allies, beginning with the United States, with whom we most often share the same interests and the same adversaries, have a strategic interest in a Europe that can assert itself as a strong, credible security partner.

At the same time, I want to affirm my attachment to NATO. I say it here before this Congress: The more successful we are in the establishment of a European Defense, the more France will be resolved to resume its full role in NATO.

I would like France, a founding member of our Alliance and already one of its largest contributors, to assume its full role in the effort to renew NATO’s instruments and means of action and, in this context, to allow its relations with the Alliance to evolve.

This is no time for theological quarrels but for pragmatic responses to make our security tools more effective and operational in the face of crises. The EU and NATO must march hand in hand.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I want to be your friend, your ally and your partner. But a friend who stands on his own two feet. An independent ally. A free partner.

France must be stronger. I am determined to carry through with the reforms that my country has put off for all too long. I will not turn back, because France has turned back for all too long. My country has enormous assets. While respecting its unique identity, I want to put it into a position to win all the battles of globalization. I passionately love France. I am lucid about the work that remains to be accomplished.

It is this ambitious France that I have come to present to you today. A France that comes out to meet America to renew the pact of friendship and the alliance that Washington and Lafayette sealed in Yorktown.

Together let us be worthy of their example, let us be equal to their ambition, let us be true to their memories!

Long live the United States of America!

Vive la France!
Long live French-American friendship!

By Jeffrey Sewell [SCHotline.com]

Katie Levinson: Rudy Giuliani National Communications Director [Bio] [Audio]

Katie Levinson currently serves as Communications Director to the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Campaign. Levinson is responsible for all aspects of strategic communications, managing a staff of over twenty including the press office, rapid response team, war room, regional press operation and nationwide surrogate activity. Levinson also serves as the campaign’s chief spokeswoman appearing in national, international and local broadcast and print media. The Washington Post called Levinson “…a major recruit in the 2008 presidential staff sweepstakes.”

Immediately before joining the Giuliani campaign, Levinson served as Communications Director for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s historic landslide re-election victory in California. Levinson was responsible for all strategic and day-to-day communication for the campaign. The communications operation Levinson ran in California was described in the San Francisco Chronicle as “among the most technologically advanced and effective… ever seen in the state” and the Washington Post remarked the campaign “drew wide praise in the political world.”

Prior to the Schwarzenneger re-election campaign, Levinson served as Director of Television at the White House where she was the primary liaison and spokesperson for all television network executives, anchors and producers. As a senior member of the White House Communications team, Levinson was involved in a wide range of issues including foreign policy and the war on terror, the economy, Supreme Court confirmations and crisis communications.

Before serving in the White House, Levinson was the Director of Broadcast Media and senior spokesperson for the Republican National Committee (RNC) during President Bush’s successful bid for re-election in 2004. During her tenure at the RNC, Levinson oversaw a national and regional television operation, directed a multi-million dollar operating budget, and managed media relations for both the Republican National Convention in New York and each Presidential and Vice Presidential debate.

Levinson has also spent time as a political producer with MSNBC in New York and worked in the public affairs firm of Hill and Knowlton in Washington , counseling Fortune 500 corporations on media outreach and issue advocacy strategies.

Levinson began her Washington career in the office of her hometown Congressman, Christopher Shays, of Connecticut. Working her way up from answering the telephones in his office, Levinson was appointed Shays’ Communications Director serving as primary spokesperson and managing strategic communications in both the congressional and campaign offices.

Originally from New Canaan, Connecticut, Levinson holds a Masters degree with honors in Public Policy and Administration from the London School of Economics and earned her Bachelors Degree summa cum laude from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York .

###

by Andrew Citizen

Have you ever had someone you love and respect publicly do something, shall we say, less than smart? You know that sinking feeling you get in your gut when you find yourself saying, “Not again!”? Well, it happened to me Thursday. Dr. James Dobson, one of the most influential child psychologists of the last 50 years and founder of Focus on the Family, came out with guns blazing in a diatribe against Sen. Fred Thompson.

Here is what all the fuss is about:

“Isn’t Thompson the candidate who is opposed to a Constitutional amendment to protect marriage, believes there should be 50 different definitions of marriage in the U.S., favors McCain-Feingold, won’t talk at all about what he believes, and can’t speak his way out of a paper bag on the campaign trail? He has no passion, no zeal, and no apparent ‘want to.’ And yet he is apparently the Great Hope that burns in the breasts of many conservative Christians? Well, not for me, my brothers. Not for me!”

Let’s take those points one by one, shall we?

Thompson isn’t opposed to a Constitutional amendment defending real/traditional marriage. He has used his bully pulpit since 1994 to defend marriage—and while we’re at it, the unborn as well. Please show me a vote from his years in the Senate in which Thompson stood against any pro-family legislation. He has been stalwart in defending “family values”—so much so that last March, Dobson declared that he “appreciates Sen. Thompson’s solid, pro-family voting record and his position that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided.”

Thompson is a federalist who believes that powers not granted to the federal government belong to the states. He wants to see an amendment that would keep the judiciary from legislating anything the people would never vote for at the ballet box. To him, the type of marriage protection amendment we should have is the question—not whether we should have one or not. Thompson deserves praise for standing firm in this cultural context, not a cheap shot.

McCain-Feingold has been a thorn in the hindquarters of conservatives like me for some time. Thompson supported it, and he was wrong to do so. But what is disturbing in this context is that Thompson has admitted that McCain- Feingold hasn’t worked, and that it has had unintended consequences—such as limiting speech, particularly on ads before an election. Is Dobson even aware of Thompson’s change on this issue? Apparently not.

“Cheap shot” is not the term that normally comes to mind when I think of Jim Dobson. Usually, it’s terms like “defender of the family,” “go-to guru for advice on how to raise my four (!) girls,” and “leader of those looking for direction in a land becoming a cultural wilderness.” That’s the Dr. Dobson I normally think of. That is why his cheap shot on Thompson must be addressed.

I, like so many of you, know that this is the most important election of our lives. Threats from global Islamofascism, weakness at home in political leadership, unsecured borders, runaway spending, looming economic crises and a judiciary set on legislating from the bench—these are critical issues that call for strong leadership. We need leaders who have at their core the principles that made America’s founding and flourishing possible.

I have personally attended every Thompson event in South Carolina since June. He has spoken forcefully as a proven social and fiscal conservative; those standing ovations didn’t come from the MoveOn.org crowd. No other candidate with an approval margin over 3 percent has been as consistent on our issues as he has. Thompson also brings the ability to put the left on its heels in ‘08—never underestimate the power of the media in this cultural context. It may not be fair, but Thompson’s exposure over the last 15 years in movies and TV shows helps put blue states in play in ways no other candidate can without compromising conservative principles. In his fine response to Dr. Dobson’s email, former presidential candidate Gary Bauer noted that “as we approach November of next year, I believe every faith-based voter … has to ponder what a Hillary Clinton presidency will do to our cause … I cannot bring myself to trash candidates who may represent our only chance to stop a Hillary disaster.”

Primaries are about proving oneself—not just for candidates, but also those who lead movements. They present opportunities to question and determine who we will nominate as a candidate for the highest office in the world. Once the process has played out, we unite behind that candidate and hopefully, get four years to positively impact the present and future of this great nation. Those in leadership who have a say in that process need to guard that trust well—not behave like those they say are part of the problem.

Andrew Citizen is a conservative activist who resides in Clover with his wife and four daughters. He has been featured in Dr. James Dobson’s Focus on the Family’s Citizen Magazine.

###

September 17, 2007

Does Fred Thompson dislike South Carolina (football)?

Will college football impact the primary votes of South Carolinians?

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (CNN) — If there’s one thing that rivals presidential politics in South Carolina in the fall, it’s college football. In fact, between the two, college football probably triumphs.

So what happens when a presidential candidate’s college football allegiances conflict with those of football-crazy voters in early primary states?

It’s a question that former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson was faced with on his recent trip to Florida, which currently has its primary scheduled for January 29th.

According to The Politico, when Thompson was asked by a football fan whether he supports the Florida Gators or the Tennessee Volunteers, who played each other last weekend, Thompson said: “I’m too old to change now, I’ve been a Vol all my life … But, I’ll tell you what, we can both do our best to beat the ole ballcoach.”

The “ballcoach,” of course, is Steve Spurrier, the former Florida head coach that followers of Southeastern Conference football love to hate.

But now, Spurrier happens to be the head football coach at the University of South Carolina, whose football team is riding high at 3-0, ranked number 12 in the nation. South Carolina is also the primary state that has backed the eventual GOP nominee every year since Republicans started holding a primary here in 1980.

So if Thompson wants South Carolina to lose … what are Gamecock football fans to think?

According to one football fan, Bryce Murch of Columbia, “you just don’t say that.”

“Saying that in South Carolina is bad news,” he said.

Then again, most South Carolina fans CNN spoke to said that while the comment bothered them, it likely won’t affect their vote.

For the record, Thompson’s communications director Todd Harris told CNN that Thompson’s top two teams are Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

— CNN South Carolina Producer Peter Hamby

###