Jane Chastain : Politically Direct

Are you caught between the shipping deadline for online sales and the mad dash at your local department store on the busiest shopping weekend of the year to complete your Christmas list?Wouldn’t it be nice if there were one “perfect” gift for everyone? That certainly would simplify matters. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone gave you the perfect Christmas gift? Read the rest of this entry »

Instead of listening to advice from the has-beens on the Iraqi Study Group, Congress and the president would be better served to seek the counsel of the mastermind of the terrorists’ attacks against this country, Osama bin Laden.Why not go directly to the source of our trouble? It makes about as much sense as trying to negotiate with Iran and Syria! Read the rest of this entry »

Recently, I was taken to task by Howard Phillips, the founder of the U.S. Taxpayer Party – now the Constitution Party – for an error I made in a column titled “What’s Wrong with the Two Party System?” In that column, I lamented the fact that, in the last election, I “threw away” two votes by voting for the American Independent because there was no way I could justify voting for either major-party candidate. (The American Independent Party is an affiliate of the Constitution Party in my state.)I incorrectly stated that the Constitution Party makes a “living for its leadership,” but does little else. I should have said “makes a living for its staff.” The leadership of the party takes no salary, and I want to make it clear that its dedicated staff – like most in the conservative movement – is underpaid. Read the rest of this entry »

Less than a week after the election, a leak from Karl Rove delivered a slap in the face to the Republican conservative base: Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, the co-author of the president’s bill to grant amnesty to illegal aliens, has been handpicked by the White House to be the new chairman of the Republican National Committee. The next day Bush made it official, although this choice still must be approved by state party leaders.Did Rove learn nothing from the Republican bloodbath? What about his boss?

The Martinez-Bush amnesty plan is as popular as horse droppings. Cow droppings make good fertilizer, but horse droppings are a poor substitute. They have to be broken up or they pile up and stink. Read the rest of this entry »

In this election, were you faced with a choice between a bad and a terrible candidate?This year, I did something I rarely do: I threw away two votes. In my state there are no conservative candidates in the Democrats Party, and I simply could not bring myself to vote for two godless Republican state candidates who have failed us. Therefore, I cast two votes for American Independent (Constitution Party in California) candidates, in protest.

When it came time to vote for Congress, the situation was not a lot better. I voted for the Republican candidate, who didn’t deserve it, to keep control of the House of Representatives in the hands of Republicans and give the party a chance to redeem itself.

So, what is wrong with the two party system? Nothing, that a little time and effort from average Americans can’t cure! Read the rest of this entry »