News and Commentary Archive for January, 2006

January 1, 2006:
"The Hillary Condi Avalanche" was the New Year's Day piece by Salena Zito, columnist for the Pittsburg Tribune-Review.  The article compares and contrasts the two women and speculates on the key issue of: "Will she run?"

But will Condi run? Her answer is consistently "No," which of course means nothing. Nobody who is ever running for president is running for president.

Well, except maybe for John Kerry.

Think about this: When duty calls, Rice always has responded by serving her country.

Ms. Zito also quotes Dick Morris, author of Condi vs. Hillary, who points out the demographic implications of a Rice candidacy among suburban female and minority "swing" voters, but goes on to make this observation:

The potential exists that America will have in front of it two models of feminine advancement -- one dependent on a husband, the other independent. Morris may be on to something when he says "the Condi Rice model will be much more attractive to women."

January 3, 2006: Happy New Year !
We regret the long delays in updating the website.  Many administrative pressures absorbed our time at the end of the year.  Many things are happening, and there are many events that are rapidly approaching -- offering  many opportunities for expressing your support, and dedication, for Dr. Rice's candidacy in 2008.
We are planning on having a major presence at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) 2006 in Washington, (We are a co-sponsor.) February 9-11, followed by the Southern Republican Leadership Conference (SRLC) in Memphis, March 9-12.  It is at these events that we are hoping to bring in new leadership and plan for the future.  Your presence and participation are essential.

Additionally, there are many state, county and local events that will offer opportunities to show, and generate, support during 2006, as well.  These opportunities are limited only by your creative abilities to carry the message to "Draft Condi" to these events.  We already have plans to begin distribution in the near future of the 2nd Amendment magnetic bumper sticker below -- look for an announcement soon:


Because of the overwhelming response that we've received, we're working to introduce new leadership that will accelerate our organizing efforts and provide us with a presence "inside the beltway," in early primary states, and in key electoral states.  Although we have been proud of ourselves as a "grassroots" organization, it is becoming apparent that we're going to need legal, accounting and political assistance that is beyond the abilities of our volunteers if we are indeed going to make the "Draft Condi" movement a reality.  This past year, we've made the transition from an online "Cheerleaders for Condi" to a "Draft Condi" movement.  (Talk about "mission creep!")  Now, we're re-organizing to become a team of activists that will be able to jump through the hoops necessary for actually getting on the ballot -- or if there is some statutory impediment in a particular jurisdiction, making the preparations to facilitate getting on the ballot for 2008.

Our new leadership will also be responsible for negotiating the sales, shipping and handling of "Condi Gear."   Up until now, this has been handled by volunteers; but with growing demand, we're going to be looking to outsource this so that our volunteers and activists can concentrate on the political needs of the organization more than "envelope stuffing."  For the present time we have suspended sales (Except for the $1 SASE bumper sticker.) until these details are worked out, BUT we'll still have Condi Gear available at CPAC and SRLC if you can't wait. 

Furthermore, in the next several months; we're looking forward to the production and distribution of our next video under the direction of our new leadership.  Your participation at CPAC and/or SRLC will actually give you the opportunity to express your support on camera for possible inclusion in our next online, or on-air, spot.  See you in Washington, or Memphis!


January 4, 2006: Rice intervention rumored to have been "crucial" in alleged cop-killer's extradition.
After years of diplomatic "deadlock" between the US and Mexico over the extradition of Raul Gomez-Garcia, the alleged murderer of Denver Detective Donald Young is returning to the US to face justice -- albeit with assurances not to seek the death penalty or life without parole.   Dr. Rice reportedly "threatened" the Mexican government with unspecified consequences if Presidente Vicente Fox didn't start acting like the amigo that he says he is.  Hopefully, this is the beginning of more cooperation with our neighbor to the south.

Jan. 6, 2006: "I LIKE RICE" or "I LIKE CONDI"
Decisions, decisions...  We've been having great difficulty deciding on new campaign buttons and lapel stickers for use at political gatherings.  They will be available online after our new ordering and shipping system has been implemented -- hopefully before the end of this month.  In recognition of our Eisenhower Draft "roots," we're adopting an "I Like Ike" motif for these new buttons.  If you cannot wait until the buttons are available online, come to CPAC in Washington, DC, or SRLC in Memphis, or one of the Iowa or California gatherings that are going to be attended by Condista volunteers this winter.  By the way, since we almost were evenly divided, we made both! 


January 9, 2006:  "Plan A"
Among Condistas, you'll frequently hear the expression, "Plan A."  With VP Cheney's brief admission to the hospital this morning, we may be hearing more about this in the media.  It refers to the often mentioned plan, or rumor if you prefer, that at some point VP Dick Cheney will step down for any of a variety of reasons and Dr. Rice will become the Vice President.  This scenario has received a lot of press attention from time to time.  More recently it appeared in Dr. Jack Wheeler's (To the Point News) forecast for the New Year, Crystal Ball 2006.

But the Number One story of 2006 will take place next summer, when Dick Cheney resigns due to his health, and Bush appoints and the Senate confirms Condoleezza Rice as Vice-President of the United States.

January 11, 2006: New Leader On Board.
As we have grown, we have become acutely aware that we need leadership and representation "inside the beltway."  Now, it is with great pleasure and anticipation for the future that we are proud to announce our association with Jessie Jane Duff, US Marine Corps (ret.).  She's a Washington, DC, consultant who has accepted the challenge of being our acting chairperson in the nation's capital as we reorganize for the future while maintaining a busy schedule cosponsoring CPAC 2006, attending SRLC under the direction of Jeff Jenkins, making our "California debut" with Condista leaders Dave Cavena, Chris Meade and Susan Farrand taking the initiative at events throughout the "Golden State," and spreading the message in North Florida with Nick Zoller.  (Watch for after-action reports to be posted soon!)  It will be a daunting task, but we're confident that Jessie is up to it after 20 years in the Corps, working at Frito Lay and SAIC as a civilian, and now as a Washington "mover and shaker" she'll be in a position to advance the "Draft Condi" movement.
As our acting national chair, she's wasting no time.  She's starting off with a visit to the crucial early primary state of Iowa next week where she'll be recruiting, fund-raising and in contact with Iowa media outlets.  Then, she'll return to Washington to prepare for CPAC 2006.  We encourage ALL Condi 2008 supporters to come to CPAC 2006 to show their support and voice their opinions as we re-organize for the future.  There is so much to do and Jessie needs YOU to be there. 

January 11, 2006: "Call them Condi-obsessed" was how Betsy Rothstein of the The Hill newspaper described us Condistas after an interview with our new Acting Chairperson, Jessie Jane Duff, and reported in an article Run Condi Run in the paper's Capital Living section today.  (FYI, we didn't "hire" Jessie as reported in the article -- she's an unpaid volunteer just like the rest of us.)  Go ahead, call us, "obsessed" -- just don't forget to call us!   In all fairness, it was Jessie's first few days "on the job" when this interview took place after arriving in Washington, DC, so we hadn't brought her up to speed on all of the details of AFR history, but we're not complaining!  (Plenty of time for briefing the new boss at CPAC, February 9-11!  Be there!)  Ms. Rothstein is correct about one thing, organization has been a problem as we've grown.  And there's no one better than a 20-year Marine veteran, like Jessie, to fix that!
The article mentions that we "claim" to have 4000 supporters, but can't explain that number.  Your humble webmaster takes the blame for that one.  We have between 3000-4000 names, e-mail addresses, etc. from our website customers, guestbook signers (both online and at political gatherings), donors, etc.  The exact number is a depends on if you count couples at the same address once, or twice, or if you count "gift" purchases made by one person for another once, or twice, or how do you count "repeat" customers at different addresses, etc.  It's almost as bad as having "hanging chads!"

January 14, 2006: Iowa Bound.
On Monday, the 16th, Martin Luther King Day, the Iowa 2006 Republican Caucus will be held.  We'll be there, including our new Acting Chairperson Jessie Jane Duff.  We're looking forward to recruiting the leaders that we'll need in this crucial early primary state.




January 14, 2006: "I'd love to see her run.  She's terrific!" was the comment by our First Lady, Laura Bush about Dr. Condoleezza Rice, her candidacy and the idea of a female Commander-in-Chief.  Mrs. Bush was quoted during a CNN interview from the Map Room of the White House yesterday as she's preparing to lead a delegation, including Dr. Rice, to the inauguration of Liberia's first female President, Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson.

 

CNN's Rising Star
Zain Verjee interviewed the First Lady.

Excerpt from Laura Bush Interview:
 

January 14, 2006: Online Donations, Bumper Stickers, and Magnetic Bumper Stickers available again!
We have resumed online donations and shipping of bumper stickers and magnetic bumper stickers.  The only change is now that our "Condi Gear" will be available to donors, as opposed to sales of merchandise.  This is being done in order to simplify the administrative burden of sales taxes, occupational licenses, etc.  However, we will have to collect FEC mandated information for your donations -- you're cooperation is appreciated and we won't give your personal data to anyone except as required by law.  By making the administrative requirements simpler, bringing some new volunteer staff on-board, as well as decentralizing distribution at political gatherings to our state and local organizations; our response time and service should improve.  We'll resume shipping Condi apparel and campaign buttons on, or before CPAC in Washington, DC, Feb. 9-11.

January 15, 2006: Dr. Rice warns Norway's Red-Green Coalition Government.
Kristen Halvorsen, leader of Norway's Socialist Party, expressed support for a boycott of Israeli goods and was quickly rebuked by our Secretary of State.  Known to many as the "Velvet Hammer" within the State Department, Dr. Rice informed (actually, "promised" was the word used in an Aftenposten article on Jan. 12.) the Norwegian Government that there would be a "tougher climate" between the US and Norway if the new coalition government followed through on this policy.  The Norwegian Foreign Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre and Socialist Jalvorsen quickly backpedaled and "clarified" their positions in written statements to both Israel and the US.

January 15, 2006: Second Amendment Magnetic Bumper Stickers available.  Dr. Rice has impeccable "Right to Keep and Bear Arms" credentials.  At a recent gun show, we were "sold out" of our new magnetic bumper stickers within 15 minutes of our arrival as eager attendees surrounded us to inquire where they could get "one of those Condi bumper stickers."  Click here to order yours now, for shipment February 1st, when the new batch is scheduled to arrive.  Come to think of it, we'd better order some more for CPAC (Feb. 9-11 in DC) and SRLC (March 9-12 in Memphis).  See you there!

January 17, 2006: Martin Luther King Day and the Iowa Caucuses.
Yesterday was MLK Day and it coincided with the Republican Iowa Caucuses.  AFR Chair Jessie Jane Duff traveled from Washington to Des Moines where she spoke with Iowa media.  She appeared on WOI-TV Channel 5 News, an ABC affiliate.  (We hope to post the video soon.)  She also was interviewed by WHO-radio's Jan Mickelson.  Contacts with Iowa print outlets were made, and we were even interviewed by the Polish television's Washington bureau.  Our new campaign buttons made their debut and were snapped up eagerly by the caucus-goers.  We'd like to think that MLK would be pleased -- after all he was a registered Republican.
 

Used with permission, and with many thanks, to Chris Balli -- graphic artist.
Higher resolution versions will be available soon.

January 18, 2005: White House Likes Idea of Condi for President was the title of a Reuters article by Steve Holland released yesterday afternoon. The article summarizes recent statements about Dr. Rice, including those by First Lady Laura Bush and, most recently, White House Spokesman Scott McClellan:

"I think she's made her views clear. But I have my personal thoughts about what a great job she would do."

 

January 20, 2006: WOI-TV ABC Channel 5 Iowa Caucus Report.  See the news report from Caucus night in Des Moines.

January, 23, 2006: Transformational Diplomacy, a.k.a. "The Rice Doctrine"
At the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Dr. Rice elucidated what could be described as a new "mission statement" for the State Department during an address on the 18th.  It is available on the State Dept. website for broadband, dial-up, audio and Q&A.  This address was accompanied by a fact-sheet that described the more practical application of transformational diplomacy as it relates to the organization of the State Department. The following day, she named Randall Tobias as the new Director of Foreign Assistance (with Senator Richard Lugar and Professor Andrew Natsios from Georgetown in attendance -- broadband, dial-up, audio, transcript and fact sheet New Direction for US Foreign Assistance)  Later, the Secretary spoke to US Agency for International Development employees.  (transcript, Q&A.)  National Public Radio (NPR) broadcast an interview with Ambassador Anthony Holmes by Debbie Elliot discussing the implications of this major new policy.

January 23, 2006:  ¡Estamos haciendo algo correcto cuando se enoje Fidel!  (We're doing something right when Fidel gets mad!)  The Cuban dictator, famous for his long-winded speeches, "read a list of new provocations and declarations" by the US.   It seems that he's upset about the US Interest Section in Havana -- under Dr. Rice's able leadership -- having the bad manners to push for the release of political prisoners, display Christmas decorations, and post uncensored news.  Dr. Rice was mentioned by name in a recent government-controlled Cuban News Agency report for special disdain by the aging Communist dictator for her December 19th meeting with the U.S. Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba.  Last year, the Secretary appointed Caleb McCarry to lead the Commission and "facilitate Cuba's eventual transition to democratic governance."  (You can read about Cuban political prisoners here, and take a virtual tour of a Cuban prison isolation cell, through the US Interest Section's website.)

January 24, 2006: Conservatives Win in Canada!  Congratulations to the Conservative Party of our neighbor to the North.  Stephen Harper, the party's leader, campaigned on a platform of lower taxes, increased defense spending, expanding its peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan, and increased border security.  In an Associated Press article today, Beth Duff-Brown (no relation to our chairperson, Jessie Jane Duff), reported that "Relations with the Bush administration will likely improve under Harper as his ideology runs along the same lines of many U.S. Republicans."


January 24. 2006: Hillary's Plantation: Hillary Clinton reveals her fear of Condi Rice was the title of Shelby Steele's Liberalism Today editorial that appeared yesterday in the Wall Street Jounal.  This important opinion piece points out the loosening grip of the Democrats on the black vote in America and how the junior senator from New York's pandering is only  speeding up the exodus of black voters from her Party.  Let's hope that Hillary keeps up the good work!


January 28, 2008: Condistas in California!
Today, at the California Congress of Republicans (CCR) Convention in Riverside, Keith James and Dave Cavena are there with Condi gear, recruiting and getting Californians to look to the future, a future with Dr. Rice in the Oval Office.  Initial reports are VERY positive with many in attendance expressing support and displaying their newly acquired Condi gear.  We'll post an "after action" report soon.  Interestingly, NO other Republican presidential contenders, or their representatives, even bothered to show up.  Do they consider California a lost cause?  With Dr. Rice as our 2008 nominee, California and her MANY electoral votes will be "in play."  Other than Condi, there is NO other Republican that we're aware of that is capable of this.  Imagine California as a "red state."  We can!
Photos - Keith "Coach" James (above) & Dave Cavena (right).

January 26, 2006: Condi Landslide!
Dr. Rice is on the "Front Page" of the online edition of Human Events today after more than 11,000 readers responded to their Presidential Poll for 2008.  Human Events, a conservative weekly since 1944, reported in an article with the Headline link, Surprise Poll Results, Conservatives Want Condi in "08!":

  "Rice holds a sizeable lead over Virginia Sen. George Allen.  Rice is winning with 34.74% of the vote. Allen is in second place at 20.9%. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is in third at 12.91%."

Of course, these poll results are not a surprise to us after hearing the expressions of support for Dr. Rice at political gatherings across the country. As part of their analysis Human Events Political Editor John Gizzi said:

"As a student of history, this is a sharp reminder to me of Dwight D. Eisenhower...."

Watch 1952 "I Like Ike" TV Ad
 

Earlier this month, in another Human Events article by Fred Lucas, Draft Group Keeps Focus on Condi, our new national Chairperson Jessie Jane Duff was interviewed and our plans for co-sponsorship of CPAC 2006 were discussed along with other Condista activities.

January 26, 2006: Condi's First in Florida!
In a poll conducted by the Kitchens Group, a Florida based political consultant and pollster, founded by Dr. Jim Kitchens, Dr. Rice was the top pick of Florida Republicans for 2008 although the top three were within the poll's margin of error.  The poll was taken Jan. 20-23 and asked 256 Florida Republicans for whom they would vote in 2008.
Republicans:
                     Condoleezza Rice  26%
                     Rudy Giuliani          25%
                     John McCain           20%
                     Newt Gingrich        20%
                     George Allen            3%
All others mentioned received less than 3%.

January 28, 2006: CPAC kick off Banquet!
On the evening prior to the opening of CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) 2006 (Feb. 9-11), the National Black Republican Association will be hosting their Celebration of Pioneers Banquet at the Omni Shoreham hotel in Washington, DC. We are going to be there as co-sponsors of the event and encourage all of you who can make it to CPAC to arrive the night before, February 8th, to attend this event and support the NBRA and us.  Click here for more information and registration.  The current issue of the organization's magazine, The Black Republican, features Dr. Rice on the cover.

 

January 31, 2006: Washington Office.
We're growing!  And to provide us with the "inside the beltway" presence that we need, we have opened an office on Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the Capitol Building.  This will provide a place for press conferences, intern meetings (More on interns for AFR soon!), and other gatherings.  See the "contact us" page for the details.