No Runny Eggs

I’m on one of the “rented” laptops since mine is upstairs, so I won’t have audio for you until probably tomorrow, and long after AFP has it up on their YouTube channel, but Fred (Dooley, not Thompson) had the same reaction. Still can’t necessarily say I would vote for him, but his stock definitely went up in my book.

Revisions/extensions (6:22 pm 10/6/2007) – My crappy audio (from the far corner of the room, which made my decision to not try to shoot video a good one) is here, while AFP’s video has long since been up (part 1/part 2).

My friend Paul Jacob is here at the AFP Summit, doing interviews with reporters. The Free Paul Jacob website is central intelligence on this story–it’ll be around for a year or more as Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson tries to put Paul behind bars for 10 years.

See also Free Paul Jacob on Ballotpedia, and an article about the Oklahoma 3.

Wisconsin doesn’t have the right of citizen initiative as a state (although we do have the right of recall), but it is the source of the Frami v Ponto decision from federal judge Barbara Crabb in 2003, where she ruled against an attempt by Wisconsin election officials to kick a candidate off the ballot because some of his signatures were collected by out-of-state petitioners. She said the law was an unconstitutional abridgement of the free speech rights of both the petition circulator and the candidate.

AFP has their channel up, and Mary Katharine crashed Fred’s appearance before the Virginia delegation. There will almost certainly be more out there.

The Bloggers’ Row quality is not particularily good because there was simply so much noise. With that bit of warning, here’s some audio:

– John McCain’s speech Thursday night
– Jim DeMint’s speech Thursday night
– Ron Paul’s appearance before Bloggers’/Media Row
– Sam Brownback’s and Mike Huckabee’s appearances before Bloggers’/Media Row (sorry about the combining, Huckabee came up right after Brownback, so I didn’t have time to stop recording.

Just got back from listening to John Fund, and he’s very good. Stupid me didn’t take the recorder down, so I don’t have any juicy quotes of red meat for you. I’m sure somebody else will have them.

Now, do I go to the entertainment industry seminar or the impact leggies one? The latter features Leah Vukmir from Wauwatosa. There’s also the Students for Prosperty run by Mark Block, but since I’m a bit beyond college years,….

I’m sitting here with “Captain Watchdog”, Jason Moore, a bricklayer and political activist from Odessa, Texas. Let’s hear what Jason has to say about citizen engagement and Americans for Prosperity.

ME: Jason, why are you here?

JASON: It’s time that big government politicians hear from normal people, not government trough junkies.

ME: Tell me a little bit about what you do back in Odessa?

JASON: I mostly watch taxing entities (city councils, school districts, county government) in the Permian Basin–the Odessa/Midland area of west Texas. Our motto is, “We Bark of Behalf on the Taxpayer”. We do a weekly radio show and post regular updates on the Citizen Watchdogs website.

ME: Tell me about your relationship with Americans for Prosperity.

JASON: I could not do what I do without AFP. They introduced me into the political system back when I didn’t know anything or anybody. They showed me by example and helped me find effective ways to communicate with my legislators.

ME: What goals do you have in the coming year?

JASON: To continue to change the language government officials use to communicate with taxpayers. It needs to be more straightforward and simple. Secondly, to educate taxpayers about what the proper role of government is. One of the things I always say is, you can’t demand government do more and more, and expect to pay less and less in taxes.

ME: What’s the most interesting event you’ve attended here at the Summit?

JASON: The rally yesterday on the Capitol Steps was powerful. It put a face on regular taxpayers and it put real bodies in Washington to show Washington politicians we mean business. We’re ramping up, and we’re not going to go away. I think before they relied on the meet, greet and retreat strategy. That’s not going to work again. Fiscal conservatives have to stay in the game. It requires daily vigilance.

Thank you, Jason.

The beautiful and talented Michigan contingent

The Capitol building

The entrance to Paul Ryan’s office (dummy me didn’t take pics inside, but the decorations, such as they are, are Wisconsin products and knick-knacks)

Just another reason why gubmint is so damned expensive; the Supreme Court has its own police force

Home of the Lawgivers-In-Black, aka Supreme Court

John Thune opening up last night’s session

John McCain hammering home the need for no pork

Jim DeMint concluding the theme of the night

The Washington Monument (from the Capitol end of Pennsylvania Avenue)

Vicki McKenna interviews Mark Block in Bloggers’ Row

Mary Katharine Ham blogging away

Leah Vukmir and Jo Egelhoff talk

Al Parinello of Old Tappan, New Jersey is standing across from me. He’s been blogging at Preserve the American Dream since March 2007.   He’s already done over 40 radio interviews because of his blog.   It must be the  controversial nature of his subject: rich people as a despised minority.

ME: Al, what’s the story behind your blog?

AL: Very simple. I went out to acquire the American dream, I worked hard, I did it and I became rich. And then I became the enemy. That doesn’t make any sense to me. So, I started fighting back.

ME: When you say fighting back, can you elaborate?

AL: The concept of the website was born after paying close to $2 million in taxes on a business I sold. The state of New Jersey requested another payment. This time they wanted twenty cents more. But, they also wanted close to a thousand dollars in interest on that twenty cents. I realized there is a dual system of taxation. Those who earn large sums of money automatically become demonized. That’s how I got started.

ME: What’s the most fun you’ve had with your blog?

AL: Being invited on Neil Cavuto’s show. We received over 25,000 hits to the blog in one night.

ME: Should other folks start blogs or…. just read yours?

AL: You should only start a blog if you have NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE DOING. If you know too much, you are sure to fail.

Thank you, Al.

I should say that Al and his great wealth are not typical of the attendees at this summit. The typical person here is someone like Jason Moore of Citizen Watchdogs in Odessa, Texas.

That’s all, folks, at least from Bloggers’ Row. I might be able to get some more stuff up later this afternoon, but it’s networking time.

DAMMIT!

He will be doing the Virginia luncheon, but not Bloggers’ Row.

Sean, you got some ‘splainin’ to do.

Still can’t get the audio on the main Bloggers’ Row, but he’s there. Hopefully he won’t pull a Rudy and avoid us.

Bad news – We’re missing John Stossel. He just showed a Trabant, the embarrassment of (East) German engineering.

Good news – Food has just arrived in Bloggers’ Row.

Blogger Concrete Bob, who also writes the DC Protest Blog is sitting next to me. I’d ask him a question except that Vicki McKenna is doing a riff for her WISN 1130 talk show that commands attention.

The microphone on the recorder appears to be too sensitive; I MIGHT be able to clean up the audio, but from an initial listen on the inferior speaker, it’s pretty much hopeless.

Something I didn’t mention before; I did help out Geharty to get the Wi-Fi here before he retreated to the China Room

Brownback: “Iraq has been a heavy weight on this party.”

Pushing a consumption tax (note; he does not call it FairTax).

Q 1 – Are you disappointed in fundraising? – Nope.

Q 2 – What about Obama not wearing the flag pin? – Fashion is not the statement.

Q 3 – Are you concerned about government privatizing war? – We could outsource peeling potatoes, but we really shouldn’t outsource combat. We’re only spending 3.8% GDP now, we were at 6% under Reagan. We’re at 17% for health care.

Q 4 – Another fundraising question – We have as much money in the bank as some of the guys who raised $10 million. NASCAR reference (the tape will catch that).

Q 5 – Do you think you can break through with the Reagan Democrats? – I’ve done it before in Arkansas (62/38 Dem).

Q 6 from Leslie – (missed it as well)

Q 7 from the Row – How can you reconcile federalism with smoking bans, and another part on health care? – It’s a federalism issue, and I supported it as a workplace issue because the science has ended, and “you can’t spit out what you chew”.

Ron Paul just addressed a crowd of regular reporters and the bloggers on blog roll in the Senate Room.

Comparing his upswelling of online advocates to those of the leading contenders for the GOP presidential nomination, Paul noted that his 950 meet-up groups and network of Ron Paul bloggers came about spontaneously and without the help of hired online political operatives.

Paul is an opponent of NCLB (“No Child Left Behind”). He wants to return “responsibility to the schools, and hopefully more people would be able to opt out of the schools through vouchers or tax credits. Sending education money to Washington and then returning it with strings attached to school districts is not a good idea.”

Law of the Sea treaty? “No, I wouldn’t be interested in that. I’m interested in national sovereignty. I’m not looking for another level of government and when I see some of these treaties and international agreements it’s just another level of government. I’m not much interested in those.”

A blogger asks, “Why would a pro-Iraq war conservative support you?

Paul: “For fiscal reasons, if he can’t be persuaded that that [presumably, staying out of foreign entanglements] was our traditional conservative position. [The war] is flat out is going to break us. All great nations that spread themselves too thinly around the world go bankrupt. This is what happened to the Soviet empire.”

The professional journalists here tend to ask horse-race questions. One of them says, “Does Giuliani think he has this thing won?”

Paul: “There are signs of that.”

Up next: Sam Brownback and Mike Huckabee.

Quickly reviewing his speech (thank you, Senator, even if nobody told you we didn’t have audio). He brought in the 2 1/2-foot-high handcart with the tax code.

Q 1 – (Sorry, missed it while I took pics of the tax code cart).

Q 2 – Why is there dissatisfaction with the front-runners? – It’s the issues…. We have to embrace our policies…. We need to have a political solution on Iraq?

Q 3 from the row –How are we going to have a voluntary flat tax alongside the current code? – It’s adding another option.

Congressman Ron Paul

Question 1 – What is your reaction to raising $5 million in Q3? – It refutes those who said that it’s just a few people who use the Internet…. The average has been $40…. Some have used their own money to prop up their bottom line.

#2 – How would you address poverty? – (It’s a good thing I have the tape recorder going; I can’t type fast enough). Paraphrasing – it’s the destruction of the currency and the trillions going overseas. No difference in the parties as far as out-of-control spending goes.

#3 – Can you compete with the other candidates on $5 million? – They don’t have much left in the bank…. We have more than ($5 million) in the bank…. As we gain credibility, the fundraising increases…. We don’t even know how many volunteers we have…they’ve all gone out independently.

#4 – On disadvantaged youth – It’s not the responsibility of the federal government, except for DC. They spend $13,000/student in DC, and it’s not very good…. You cannot do it by spending money you don’t have….

#5 – Do you think Giuliani is acting like he thinks he’s already won? – There’s signs of that.

#6 from the Row – (Too slow; will have to go back to the tape)

#7 – Would you sign LOST? – NO!

#8 from Fred – Why should a pro-war conservative support you? – For economic reasons. Comparing the Soviet collapse to the current situation.

While we don’t get sound from the main stage (Sam Brownback’s there now), and nobody’s come through yet to the podium (thankfully, I’m just off camera range), we do have some benefits:

– The aforementioned Mary Katharine Ham
– Jeff Kropf’s show. He’s had several people on, and now he’s got John Stossel.

Meanwhile, the mouse/media presenter/laser pointer I picked up ROCKS!!!

Ron Paul’s on stage, and I can hear the catcalls from Bloggers’ Row. Jim Geharty and the others in the China Room, which is now the overflow area, should have some fun.

Meanwhile, 2 chairs to my right is Mary Katharine. There go my knuckles.

In the hour I’ve been here in the Senate Room–headquarters for blogger’s row–I’ve been doing a quick post at my home blog, comparing requests for lover’s emails from New Jersey and Arkansas. E-mails: If you work for the government, don’t send love or sex e-mails on your government equipment. Just don’t.

In that hour, this room has exploded into a frenzy of activity. In one corner, we have radio talk show hosts interviewing a succession of guests, including Sen. Tom Coburn. Along the sides of the room, intent, focused bloggers staring at the screens, typing and occasionally (rarely) coming up for air.

Ron Paul is at the podium now, following an appearance by Giuliani.

Giuliani scored with this crowd with his Hillary humor but most of all when he said that the practice of earmarks is like the graffiti in New York City when he became mayor: Not the worst thing in the city, but proof that the process is broken.

Giuliani pledged that all anonymous earmarks will stop on “Day One” of his administration.

Revisions/corrections (10:15 am CDT – steveegg) – Changed the category to “Defending the American Dream”

Still no sound because Jeff Kropf is live, but we’ve at least got video. Jo’s abandoned us to try to get a listen.

I’m still catching up on missing yesterday.

Update – there’s sound and Wi-Fi in the Chinese Room.