News and Commentary Archive for June, 2005 June 1, 2005: Condi vs Hillary: The Next Great Presidential Race. Amazon is already listing this book, scheduled for an October 1, 2005, release. See our May 16, 2005, posting Is Dick Morris a Condista?
June 2, 2005: Presidential Wire '08. Patrick Ruffini, the brains behind the Internet operations of the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign and the subsequent 2005 Inaugural website (See his complete resume here.), launched Presidential Wire '08. It is an ambitious project and will be on our daily reading list until the election.
June 3, 2005: Rice ought to be GOP's top pick in 2008. This was the theme of an opinion column, "Back in the Day", by Nelson Graves published by the Virginia newspaper, News Leader. While we agree, in principle, with the column, we are amazed that the "suggestion" of Laura Bush as a presidential candidate by the Cheneys on Larry King is actually being taken seriously. Even the Washington correspondent, Francis Harris, of the UK's News Telegraph mentions it in her June 1, 2005 story. It would seem that the Cheney's dry sense of humor is even "drier" than that of the British!
June 5, 2005: "Oh Lord, I love my dad." That was Governor Jeb Bush's  response this week to his father's suggestion that he would make an "awfully good" president. The Washington Post reported the story after this past Tuesday's Larry King interview with former President Bush (41), now age 81. When specifically asked if he'd seek the oval office, the governor just shook his head "no" -- dismissing the idea.
June 6, 2005: Dr. Rice to meet Venezuelan Activist today. In a move sure to infuriate Venezuela's authoritarian President Chavez, the Secretary of State will meet with Maria Corina Machado, an opposition political activist, while Dr. Rice is in Florida for the Organization of American States (OAS) meeting -- the first held in the US in 31 years. The meeting between Rice and Machado, which will occur outside the OAS meeting, is welcomed by many in the South Florida Venezuelan and Cuban exile communities who generally oppose Chavez and his close ties to Castro. The frequently blustering Venezuelan leader of the oil-exporting nation has recently threatened to break-off relations with the US and seek nuclear power with the assistance of Iran. Further details can be read in the syndicated article by Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post and published today in the Post, Boston Globe and other newspapers.
June 9, 2005: Dr. Rice praised for "Diplomatic Flair". Dennis Ross, a former US-Middle East envoy, was quoted by Fox News today:
"Condi Rice has re-energized America's diplomacy and foreign policy in the few months she's been there, sending the message that we have something to say, but we're also prepared to listen."
The article summarizes Dr. Rice's accomplishments, as well as some "rough spots", in the approximately 18 weeks that she has been Secretary of State. It also highlights how Dr. Rice's close relationship to the President and negotiating tactics compliment her impressive personal skills as she tackles some of the most complex issues on the world stage today.
June 10, 2005: The Commander in Chief is a Woman! In a new series that will be part of the ABC primetime lineup this fall, Geena Davis is a feisty Independent Vice-President in a Republican Administration. We can't wait for the show to explain how that happened! (It wasn't included in the video clips posted on their website.) When the President dies, all the nasty, evil Republicans around her pressure her to step down to allow Nathan "Bloody Hell" Templeton, the Republican Speaker of the House, to become President. Naturally, she decides to become president after having a "family conference" that doesn't include her husband. (Why would ANY Hollywood superwoman character ask her husband anything? Except maybe, "Could you give me a massage?" after a tough day at the office.)
ABC couldn't imagine giving even fictional credit to the Republican Party for having the first female President. But that's OK, because we all know that Dr. Rice will be the first real female President after the election in 2008. In researching this show, we overheard that this is "Hollywood getting America ready for a woman as President." What "Left-Coast" thinking! Polls have shown that Americans are overwhelmingly ready for a female President. As the last election showed, Hollywood may reflect American attitudes and opinions (some more so than others), but it certainly doesn't dictate Americans attitudes and opinions. Even though the premise of the show appears flawed, we'll probably TIVO the first few episodes -- unless we're too busy getting Dr. Rice on the ballot across the country.
June 11, 2005: Minnesota is Condi Country! The Speaker of the House in Minnesota, Steve Sviggum, sent a personal note to Condista  Crystal Dueker after she went to Minnesota to check out what it takes to put Dr. Rice on the ballot in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes". He wrote that Dr. Rice "is the right choice" and that he'd "be honored" to be part of the effort to elect Dr. Rice to the Presidency in 2008. We salute Speaker Sviggum's leadership and support. This is typical of the responses that we receive as we organize the leaders and activists that will make the Draft Condi movement a reality across the country. Join us! Get active! Register for the online forum. Drafting Dr. Rice is going to require a nationwide effort organized everywhere on the local level. It may seem that 2008 is far away, but if we truly are going to do this, the time to get busy is NOW.
June 12, 2005 New Website Design. We are working on improving the visual appearance and layout of the website. It is always a "work in progress". We NEED your input so that we can continue to improve: register and participate in the online forum. We have to organize, publicize, and energize Condi supporters in all 50 states. It is a big job. WE MUST HAVE YOUR HELP!
June 13, 2005: Great Opportunity for Condi Activism! We are going to order the t-shirts, polo shirts, campaign buttons, lapel pins and "TEAM CONDI" baseball caps that we are going to take
to the NFRA convention in Scottsdale, Arizona, in the next couple of weeks.
(It's hard to imagine that we've "gone through" 5-6000 bumper stickers, several thousand campaign buttons, over 15,000 "Draft Condi" lapel stickers, over a thousand t-shirts, over two hundred polo shirts, etc. and we're going to have to re-order. On the other hand, it's not hard to imagine at all if you're one of the South Florida Condistas that has spent your weekends stuffing envelopes and packages with "Condi gear" while drinking lots of Cafe Cubano in order to stay awake until 2 or 3 am.)
So, if you're a Condista, be sure to order your own "Condi gear" to wear at the convention. If you are an aspiring Condista activist, you may want to combine orders with us to take advantage of "volume pricing" for your Condi group. The order will go out soon; e-mail, or call us at 305-675-9251, as soon as possible to not miss out on this opportunity to economically show your support for Dr. Rice.
June 13, 2005: NFRA-Florida. The National Federation of Republican Assemblies, Florida Chapter, met this past weekend in Jupiter, Florida, on June 11, 2005. The grassroots organization of Florida, and the nation, along the principles that made the Republican Party great is truly exciting. Three Condistas, Chris Jefferson, Admatha Israel, and Richard Mason joined the Florida chapter of the NFRA. Chris and Richard will serve as delegates from Florida to the NFRA National Convention since we'll be there for the convention and, of course, the Goldwater Reception, sponsored by Americans for Dr. Rice where Representative Jennifer Carroll will speak. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet and network with fellow Republicans from across the state and meet Richard Engle, the NFRA President who came to inspire us.
June 15, 2005: Will the "Condistas" convince Dr. Rice to Run? That was the headline on the homepage of ABC News today. The story, reported by Rose Palazzolo, featured a number of bloggers, including Paul Deland and Frank Disalle. Our own Crystal Dueker was quoted as well. She emphasized the importance of the state-by-state grassroots organization that will be necessary to implement our "Eisenhower Plan" to draft Dr. Rice for the 2008 election. This will involve a lot of footwork collecting the signatures on the petitions and fund-raising to pay for the registration fees to get on the ballot. We need your support and participation to make this happen!
June 15, 2005: Play it again Condi. This past weekend Dr. Rice played a charity concert at Washington's Kennedy Center to benefit research into Pulmonary Hypertension, an incurable cardiopulmonary disorder. She performed with a 21-year old soprano, Charity Sunshine Tillemann-Dick, who has been diagnosed with the disease and is the granddaughter of 13-term Democratic California congressman Tom Lantos. The concert attracted a large number of diplomats and dignitaries and was widely reported in the US and abroad. Edward Epstein covered the story for the San Francisco Chronicle. We have contacted the Kennedy Center to see if recordings of the concert are available.
June 17, 2005: Who's Afraid of Dr. Rice? We are mystified why yesterday's Fox News-Opinion  Dynamics poll would not even include the possibility of a Dr. Rice candidacy. (Let us imagine the "official" explanation, "she denies that she's running". Well, so does Hillary -- and she was included in the Democratic poll.) Dr. Rice's absence in the poll was was reflected by respondents to the Republican survey replying "not sure" almost twice as often as those responding to the Democratic survey (23% to 13%). Dr. Rice consistently has been at, or near, the top of the list in MULTIPLE polls where the pollster has included her. So this poll doesn't answer any questions. It only begs the question, "why wasn't Dr. Rice included?" What is even more mystifying is that, after Dr. Rice was excluded in the initial poll question about the Republican primary, they then directly compare Dr. Rice with Senator Clinton with the following question:
Do you think _____ has the integrity to serve effectively as President?
What is going on at Fox News? Is it time to check out MSNBC and CNN again?
June 18, 2005: WDAY-TV 5pm News Interview with Crystal Dueker aired yesterday. She emphasized the need to organize NOW so that we're ready for 2008. We have a big job ahead, and we have to get started. The video is on the station's website.
June 19, 2005: Listen Closely. We have reviewed this excerpt of Chris Wallace's interview with Dr. Rice on today's Fox News Sunday repeatedly and never heard the word "no" when she was talking about the 2008 presidential race. What do you hear? Chris Wallace, the show's host, has an impressive journalistic resume:
"(He)... has been described as an 'equal opportunity inquisitor' by the Boston Globe, 'an aggressive journalist', 'sharp edged' and 'solid' by the Washington Post and 'an equal-opportunity ravager' by the Miami Herald."
June 19, 2005: Solidarity with Burmese Activist. In keeping with the pro-democracy theme of Bush foreign policy, Dr. Rice sent 60th birthday greetings to Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient who has been under house arrest for years by the military government that has ruled the country of Myanmar, previously known as Burma, since 1962.
"Your message of non-violence and courageous support for the establishment of democracy in Burma in the face of the junta's brutal repression and your continuing house arrest inspires people around the world. The American people and I salute you on this special occasion, and reaffirm that the United States stands with you and all others in your struggle to free the Burmese people."
June 20, 2005: New Hampshire Radio Interview with Shari Demers, our state chairperson, aired this past Friday morning on WNTK. (Click here to listen.) Support is continuing to grow in the "Granite State" as our radio spots continue. (You can listen to them on the website, too.) At the risk of repeating ourselves, these activities cost money, PLEASE GIVE NOW!
June 20, 2005: Detroit Free Press reporter, Julie Hinds had an article today entitled: Women in the White House where she outlines the growing acceptance of the idea of a woman President. Supporting this is a recent Zogby poll, one of the largest of its kind, that reported that of 22,126 poll respondents, only 8% said they would not vote for a female Presidential candidate and that only 5% would not vote for an African-American Presidential candidate. These data are encouraging and show a continuing downward trend that should accelerate as we approach the 2008.
Update: This story was picked up by the DFP's parent company, Knight-Ridder, and published in newspapers throughout the country.
June 21, 2005: "Knock it off!" Dr. Rice, also sometimes referred to as the "Warrior Princess" around the White House, forcefully expressed her feelings about Syrian meddling in the affairs of neighboring Lebanon as she flew to Belgium as part of her European and Middle Eastern tour. There are strong suspicions of clandestine Syrian involvement in today's assassination of George Hawi, an anti-Syrian Lebanese politician. Syria's armed forces only recently ended their occupation of Lebanon, but Syrian intelligence agents are suspected of remaining in the country and supporting a variety of proxy organizations -- many of which have terrorist connections.
June 22, 2005: On the Offensive! Dr. Rice at
a conference in Brussels on the future of Iraq sharply answered critics of the Bush administration's Iraq policy. "Terrorism can be defeated in Iraq, it will be defeated in Iraq... . When it is defeated in Iraq, at the heart of the Middle East, it will be a death knell for terrorism as we know it."
She also continued her criticism of Syria today.
"Syria has a responsibility....to its neighbors not to allow its territory to be used for the gathering of people who are wreaking havoc and causing harm against innocent Iraqis.
And it was reported in a Sify News article that the Secretary of State was not shy as she applied pressure on Pakistan, an important US ally in the War on Terror, to permit the travel of Mukhtaran Mai, a woman that was gang raped after a "tribal council" ordered the woman assaulted as a punishment for her brother. Pakistan has responded by assuring the US that a previous travel ban will be lifted and she'll be permitted to visit the United States. While she was prevented from traveling, Mai's attackers were released prompting protests by international human and women's rights activists.
June 24, 2005: Dr. Rice charms even the French? The Secretary during her recent European travels has enlisted the help of our G8 allies, including none other than the French, in putting pressure on the Syrians to stop harboring terrorist organizations and end their "open border" policy with regards to terrorists crossing into Iraq. The left-leaning British periodical, The Guardian, published an article by diplomatic editor Ewen MacAskill about the end of the G8 meeting during which Dr. Rice said (in referring to Iran and Syria)
"There cannot be a blind eye to the activities of states that are supporting terrorist groups."
Less than 24 hours after meeting our globe-trotting Secretary of State, the French foreign minister, Phillipe Douste-Blazy also criticized the Syrian government. He condemned the recent assassinations of anti-Syrian politicians. Assassinations that have been connected to Syrian intelligence agents that remained behind after Syrian armed forces ended their long occupation of Lebanon. He went on to suggest that Syria may not be complying with the United Nations resolution demanding complete withdrawal of all Syrian forces. This opens the door for future sanctions, with French approval, on the UN Security Council. Did the French finally wake up and decide to join the War on Terror? June 24, 2005: Is Ted Kennedy the NEW "Baghdad Bob"? One would think so after watching his continuing efforts to undermine the US War on Terror for his own political motives during  yesterday's Senate testimony of Donald Rumsfeld, high ranking generals and DoD officials. He used the occasion as a platform to spew anti-US, anti-administration rhetoric. Almost immediately he appeared on Arab networks throughout the Middle East as he threw out Vietnam-era hot-button terms like "quagmire". His comments probably were broadcast in time to encourage the suicide bombers that killed at least 5 Marines this morning in an attack on a convoy close to Fallujah. (The Senator may not see the connection here, but we certainly do.) By aiding our enemies, it appears that he is hoping to destroy the Bush Administration's credibility overseas and sabotage US foreign policy -- so ably crafted while Dr. Rice ran the NSC and now skillfully executed in the diplomatic arena by the State Department under her leadership. It's unfortunate that Ted has put on so many pounds in his later years, we're sure that "Baghdad Bob" (the former Information Minister under Saddam known for making outlandish claims of victory during the war) would be happy to lend him an old uniform for the next time he appears on camera. It would be much more appropriate attire for broadcasting anti-US propaganda in the future.
June 26, 2005: Vice-President Casey? After watching the Senate Hearings this week where Teddy Kennedy quizzed Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, a phoenix arose from the ashes of liberal angst that resulted from the Senator's inability to score any political points by attacking the administration's execution of the War on Terror. General George Casey's stellar performance in refuting Ted's outrageous claims about the lack of progress in the War on Terror and the lack of military success in Iraq prompted several people to contact us with the suggestion of General Casey as a potential running mate for Dr. Rice. (Click here to see an excerpt.) Fred Barnes, the executive editor of The Weekly Standard and co-host of Fox News' The Beltway Boys, said yesterday that the Senator, "was shot down big time," by General Casey, the Multinational Force Commander in Iraq. Although we have every confidence that Dr. Rice can pick her own VP candidate, maybe it's time for General Casey to retire and become a registered Republican? (Although he's doing a great job in Iraq for the time being.) It is interesting to note that in our current VP poll, General Tommy Franks is just a couple of votes behind the front runner Rudy Giuliani. So, the idea of a former military leader for VP appears to be popular. Look for General Casey's name in an upcoming poll.
June 27, 2005: Dr. Rice stands up for the Big Apple. After having to cancel a Singapore trip to lobby the International Olympic Committee  (IOC) for the 2012 Olympics for New York City, the Secretary of State agreed to appear for a rally outside New York's City Hall tomorrow. Condi was quoted as having said that New York is the, "perfect place for the Olympics".
June 28, 2005: Time Magazine published an edited, truncated version of a letter by our own  Crystal Dueker where she reminds Time's Joe Klein that Dr. Rice is the "choice" of many Republicans, and Americans in general, after he omitted Condi from his list of potential candidates for 2008. Time also managed to omit that Crystal is our national co-chair and our website address. Here's the edited version.
Rice in 2008?
In "Which Brand Would You Buy?" [June 13], columnist Joe Klein mentioned Senators John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Sam Brownback as prospective presidential candidates. He overlooked Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. A smooth diplomat and tough problem solver, she could follow in the historic footsteps of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe, each of whom held the post of chief diplomat before becoming President. Our nation is ready for our own Margaret Thatcher, a woman of strength who wears a diplomatic velvet glove. CRYSTAL DUEKER - Fargo, N.D.
June 30, 2005: Gun Show Volunteers? We need YOU to volunteer to attend local gun  shows, fund-raise, distribute information, etc. Dr. Rice has impeccable Second Amendment credentials and we plan on capitalizing on that. Gun owners, NRA members, Second Amendment Foundation members, etc. are no strangers to political activism and they all need to be informed about Dr. Rice and why it is imperative that they support her for 2008. We're working on posters and flyers for exhibit tables. E-mail the webmaster or your nearest state chairperson (Check Contact Us info.)
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