Gard - Kagen Rematch

From the Appleton Post-Cresent:

Former Assembly Speaker John Gard is expected to announce Sunday that he intends to run to unseat U.S. Rep Steve Kagen, D-Appleton.

Gard, 44, who was narrowly defeated by Kagen in 2006, was backed by the Republican National Committee in his previous run for Congress.

Gard's campaign spokesman Mark Graul declined to say Thursday whether Gard was the party's pick this time around.

"The only 'pick' that John Gard is concerned about is that he's the pick of the people of northeastern Wisconsin," he said.

Graul said Gard, who lives in Suamico, has spent much of his time since August talking with voters about support for him running again.

Gard will make his announcement at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the Bay Beach Park main pavilion in Green Bay, and at 3:30 p.m. in the Pierce Park picnic pavilion in Appleton.

Gard certainly isn't making TWO announcements on Sunday to say he intends NOT to run against Kagen.

Surely, the people of the 8th District will get it right this time.


"If our children are healthy, they'll develop into their full potential and become wonderful tax-paying citizens sometime."


"Then I go to [President Bush's] wife, 'Hi Barbara, how are ya?' I did that because I learned on the campaign that the meanest thing you can say to another gentlemen is, 'he's a fine fellow,' and you then refer to his spouse by a different name."

--STEVE KAGEN

Steve Kagen?

What were the people in Wisconsin's 8th Congressional District thinking?

The race between Steve Kagen and John Gard should have been a no-brainer for voters.

Did new voting machines malfunction? There must be some explanation.

A majority of the voters could not have knowingly picked Kagen over Gard.

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Steve Kagen, a millionaire doctor new to politics, won Wisconsin's only open U.S. House seat Tuesday after a campaign promising to bring change to Washington and to the policy in Iraq.

"We already have too many professional politicians in Washington. Thank you so much for giving someone new a try," he told cheering supporters in Appleton after defeating veteran Republican state legislator John Gard. "We needed a positive change and a new direction. I think we found it this evening."

Then he added, "There's a doctor in the House."

Before Tuesday, according to the Congressional Quarterly, only 12 licensed physicians were serving in Congress -- 10 in the House and two in the Senate.

Kagen's win gave Democrats another seat in their effort to gain a House majority. With the high stakes, the race became the most expensive campaign in state history for a two-year job in Congress.

Kagen's margin of victory was slim.

Who cares? A win is a win and a loss is a loss.

It's amazing to me that given the choice between someone nutty like Kagen and a highly qualified, experienced, committed individual like Gard, Kagen would come out on top.

It took a while for Kagen to come out and address his supporters to deliver his rambling victory speech.

No doubt, he waited for Gard to call and concede.

Because the race was so close, it took a long time before Kagen was willing to claim victory.

Then again, Kagen could have been slow to do his victory dance because he operates on "Injun time."

Good grief.

What is this guy doing in the House of Representatives?

Elect John Gard

Here's the bottom line in Wisconsin's 8th Congressional District race:




Simply put, John Gard represents the values of Wisconsinites.

Steve "Injun time" and "terrorist slayer" Kagen does not.

Vote for John Gard.

Kagen Riding on Injun Time

About a month ago, I learned a new word -- "macaca."

I had never heard it before. I didn't know it was a slur or an offensive word.

Thanks to The Washington Post, days of front page coverage of Sen. George Allen's use of the term raised my consciousness of the inappropriateness of the horrible M-word.

The Left went bonkers over macaca, like it was the worst affront imaginable.

Eleanor Clift declared that Allen's "macaca" remark had destroyed his chances of ever becoming president. It was such a serious offense.

Obviously, no apology could salvage his tattered political career.

Today, I expanded my vocabulary again, sort of.

I had never heard the expression "injun time."

I'm still not sure that I really know what it means.

Democrat Steve Kagen, candidate for Wisconsin's 8th Congressional District, used the phrase at an Aurora Healthcare forum.

Hear Kagen on tape.

From WisPolitics:

Dem 8th CD candidate Steve Kagen apologized today for apparently saying he was on "injun time" to describe his reason for arriving late to a forum.

According to a recording of the remarks, Kagen opened by introducing a staff member.

"I want to thank you for driving me around the district this morning. I really appreciate you getting me here almost on time," he says to laughter. "Our excuse, uh, in Oneida was, well we are on injun time. They don't tell time by the clock. Our excuse here is I'm a doctor and we're never on time."

"Injun time."

Isn't "injun" a derogatory term?

I think most people would recognize it as unflattering.

Kagen not only used an offensive word, he was apparently referring to an offensive stereotype when he used it.

STOP THE WASHINGTON POST PRESSES!!!

We have a racist candidate!!!

We need this splashed on the front page of every publication in the country and leading every news broadcast.

...Christine Mangi, spokeswoman for Kagen opponent John Gard, said the quote was "unfortunate."

"We don’t like to see slurs like this taking place," she said. "In this day and age, we would expect people wouldn’t use words like that."

Kagen is a racist, insensitive buffoon.

So where is the outrage?

It's reserved for Republicans, of course.

Kagen said he was sorry that some people may have been offended.

Here's the statement that Kagen released. I think it's intended to be an apology, even though he doesn't come out and say that he's an offensive oaf.

"I did not mean any harm by my words, and I humbly apologize if I offended anyone. That was not my intent. Instead of words, however, let's talk about actions. I have been a great supporter of Native American issues during this campaign and am proud of the strong relations I have with Native American communities in the 8th Congressional District. John Gard, meanwhile, has repeatedly taken aim at Wisconsin's Native Americans, working to dismantle tribal sovereignty, targeting Indian economic development, and shamelessly using the tribes as a political pawn against the Governor." -Dr. Steve Kagen

So when Kagen is caught on tape making a slur, we're all just supposed to drop it and pretend it didn't happen.

Kagen's Indian remark was one of several "outlandish" statements he's made in the campaign, including a debate line about how he'd personally "take out" a terrorist if he ever encountered one on an airplane, Gard said.

I would call Kagen's statements "outlandish," wouldn't you?

Rather than staging protests to condemn Kagen, Dems and tribal leaders wanted everyone to know that they aren't very bothered by Kagen's remarks.

Several tribal leaders came to Kagen's defense, saying other issues were more important and the expression "Indian time" was not offensive. Use of the term "injun," however, was called derogatory by one tribal leader.

Menominee Tribal Chairwoman Karen Washinawatok said the term "Indian time" is commonly used among Native Americans, whose concept of time traditionally was much different from European settlers.

"It's not at all derogatory... it's the time we were meant to be there," she said. Washinawatok, however, said the word "injun" was derogatory.

Oh, okay. I've got it.

"Injun time" is a problem, but "Indian time" is not at all derogatory.

So it would be acceptable for me to say that an airline runs on "Indian time."

Or, the concert was scheduled to begin at 8:00 pm, but it didn't. It was that darn "Indian time" again.

That works for me. I wouldn't want to offend any Native Americans, but since it's perfectly alright to say "Indian time," I'll be glad to use it often.

Oneida Tribal Chairman Gerald Danforth said "Indian time" was "one of those cliches for why you might be late for an event." Danforth said he thought it was humorous that Kagen had used the term.

"I had to laugh. I didn't give it much more thought than that," Danforth said.

Funny. Really?

REALLY???

I think it's funny that these leaders are focusing on "Indian time" rather than what Kagen actually said, "INJUN TIME."

I would think that would make an enormous difference in terms of how forgiving they want to be.

The National Republican Congressional Committee today blasted Kagen for "his racially insensitive comments" and forwarded a critical press release from a South Dakota Republican congressional candidate, Bruce Whalen. WTMJ-AM talk radio host Charlie Sykes accused Kagen of essentially making a racial slur.

And why would that happen?

BECAUSE KAGEN USED A RACIAL SLUR.

It's on tape. He said "injun."

Why are the tribal officials giving Kagen a pass?

This is why:

Danforth and Washinawatok said there were many more important issues to the tribes than the Kagen remark.

Washinawatok said Kagen had visited the Menominee reservation many times and that she supports his candidacy. Danforth said the Oneida tribe had taken no official position on the congressional race.

Gard's push to give the state Legislature a say in approving Indian gambling compacts was objectionable to Washinawatok. Gard lead role in criticizing tribal gambling deals negotiated by Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle in 2003 also put him at odds with many Wisconsin tribal officials.

It's hard to respect Danforth and Washinawatok.

By going easy on Kagen, they appear extremely hypocritical. Do they want the dignity of Native Americans to be upheld or not? Do they sincerely care?

Do you think that they would react in the same manner if John Gard was caught on tape talking about "injun time"?

How about Mark Green?

What if he picked up on the phrase?

Would that be alright with Danforth and Washinawatok, or would they be on the warpath ready to scalp him?

Oops! Is that offensive?

I'm sorry. Let's pass the peace pipe and let bygones be bygones. Let's talk about what a racist scumbag George Allen is.

Have No Fear, Kagen is Here!

Democrat Steve Kagen: "Here I come to save the day."


Last Friday night, a debate between Republican John Gard and Democrat Steve Kagen, candidates for the 8th Congressional District in Wisconsin, revealed in the clearest terms the fundamental difference between Republican and Dem philosophies in waging the War on Terror.

Gard spoke of the need to take the fight to the terrorists, to be proactive rather than reactive, to be tough.

Kagen was a spokesmen for the appeasement approach touted by presidential wannabe Russ Feingold and the "Let's frame the Bush administration as evil and President Bush as Public Enemy #1" crowd.

WisPolitics has the debate video.

It's worth watching how the candidates address terrorism and the Patriot Act.

This exchange occurs about forty minutes into the debate:

MODERATOR JEFF ALEXANDER: Thank you, Mr. Gard. We’ll start with you for our next question. What do you think of the Patriot Act? How will you vote?

GARD: I believe in the Patriot Act. I think my highest responsibility is to keep you, your family, and our nation safe. ...There is a difference here between me and my opponent. The choice could not be clearer. I believe he underestimates the tenacity of the enemy. I do not. ...I think we need to do whatever we can to give law enforcement the tools and our troops the tools to track down terrorists and fight them over there before we fight them over here.

I do not want to react to a terrorist attack. I want to prevent a terrorist attack. And that is the difference. The Patriot Act helps us do that. ...I think it is critical that people understand: We are not the enemy. The terrorists are. ...

MODERATOR: Mr. Gard, thank you. Dr. Kagen, same question to you. What do you think of the Patriot Act? How will you vote?

KAGEN: Well, I believe in giving the President all of the tools necessary to defend us. I believe we can’t make mistakes in this time, but we may not have the right leader. The Patriot Act is law and I will obey it, but at the same time we must seek ways to modify it if necessary to guarantee that we retain our constitutional rights.

...I agree with John. The enemies are intent on destroying America. They're intent on hurting us, killing us. We are their evil one, but let's understand who the real enemy can become if we become too fearful.

I'm... I'm not afraid. I'll put my foot down and stand up if I'm on a plane with a terrorist – I’ll take him out right there.

We need leaders that are tough. We need leaders that are smart. Unfortunately, we've got the tough part right. We just don't have the smart part.

MODERATOR: Dr. Kagen, thank you. Mr. Gard, your one minute rebuttal.

GARD: I don't ever want a terrorist to get on an airplane, and that's the difference.

Well.

Now we know how the Dems will protect us from terrorists.

If you're on a hijacked plane and lucky enough to have tough guy Steve Kagen on board, he promises to put his foot down and take the terrorists out.

Feel more secure?

As long as Kagen is around, we can relax.

Why bother worrying about terrorists when Kagen can just take 'em out?


Ready to take out the terrorists: Kagen puts his foot down, and his knee.


Unbelievable!

It's really funny that Kagen would say something so lame, but the matter is deadly serious.

This is the Dem approach to fighting terrorism: Kowtow to radical Leftists that believe the U.S. is the enemy. Mislead Americans into believing that the government is abusing its power and listening to their phone calls. Scare people into thinking that someone is monitoring their use of public libraries.

The Republican approach? Use all LEGAL means possible to find the terrorists, monitor them, and break up plots BEFORE they occur.

I see a little problem with the Dem plan.

Kagen can't be on every flight.



h/t Charlie

Constituents Boo Feingold

Vice President Cheney was in Wisconsin today to speak at a sold-out fundraiser for Wisconsin State Representative John Gard.

Cheney had some things to say about Russ Feingold's censure stunt, and so did Wisconsinites.

From the Associated Press:

Democrats distanced themselves Monday from Wisconsin Sen. Russell Feingold's effort to censure President Bush over domestic spying.

The White House hit back at the same time, Vice President Dick Cheney telling a fundraiser in Feingold's home state that the resolution was an "outrageous proposition."

As the crowd in De Pere, Wis., booed Feingold's effort, Cheney said, "Don't hold back."

Feingold's fellow Democrats did just that Monday, with several saying they wanted first to see the Senate Intelligence Committee finish an investigation of the warrantless wiretapping program that Bush authorized as part of his war on terrorism.

Asked at a news conference whether he would vote for the censure resolution, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada declined to endorse it and said he hadn't read it.

...Cheney dared other Democrats to support Feingold's resolution.

"The outrageous proposition that we ought to protect our enemies' ability to communicate as it plots against America poses a key test of our Democratic leaders," he said. "Do they support the extreme and counterproductive antics of a few or do they support a lawful program vital to the security of this nation?

"The American people already made their decision," Cheney added. "They agree with the president."

I want to see a vote on Feingold's resolution.

I want to know where 2008 presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, and Joe Biden stand.

I want every senator to be on the record on this one.

What a gift that will be to the Republicans!