Author: Fritz Pettyjohn

Based on the fact that my appearance on Fred Forman’s show in Yankton did in fact result in a number of calls to the SD legislature, I’m going to push to get on in other states.  I had a lengthy and productive talk with Rep. Powell today in Utah, and he has agreed to try and get me on the “Rush Limbaugh of Utah”, Rod Arquette.  Rep. Harrison in LA is going to try and get me on Robinette’s show in New Orleans, and Sen. Hagedorn is arranging for me to get on a couple of stations in Boise.  Based on my experience in SD, these should all go well.  Having been a host, I know how to guest.  This should build on itself, success breeding more opportunity.  I’ll be on KSOO in Sioux Falls tomorrow, and will really try to get people to call in to Pierre.   Hal’s Reso is heard in State Affairs on Friday, so the timing should be good.  I’m going to try to parlay that in to convincing Rep. Banz in OK and Rep. Thorpe in AZ to make a real effort to get me on in their states.  If, as I expect, all my appearances produce results, this may mean I go into TN as well.  Maybe SC too.  And I’ll definitely be using all these appearances to our advantage in MT, ND, and WY this summer.  Also, I’d like to be on in WA, OR, MN, and KY.  I really think this will be helpful, and I’m anxious to get it really rolling.  And I’ll get better with practice.

Troubling email from Hagedorn in ID about a “brutal” committee hearing.  I really don’t know what this is about, but we may have a real fight on our hands there.  We’ll do all we can .  I’m going to talk to Lew about sending our “letter” that was designed for candidates and tweaking it so we can send it to sitting legislators in ID an d UT.  Idaho is Birch country, I guess, and it could be tough.

Rep. Powell in Utah seems very committed an d intelligent.  He wants to work closely with me.  I agreed to go to Salt Lake to testify.  We’ll try to get Sens. Hatch and Lee.  Powell is going to talk to the Gov., as well as the Senate President.

No one said this would be easy.

Things are looking up in Utah, one of our problem states.  Rep. Kraig Powell is introducing our Resolution.  Sponsor Rep. Ivory will handle the Delegate Limitation  Act.  Powell is a three termer, who sports a Ph. D. as well as a J.D.  I’ll be on a conference call with him and his aide, Tony Castagno, tomorrow.  If we can get U.S. Sen. Lee to come out for us, it would be a huge help.  He’s got the cred with the hard right caucus goers who put him in the Senate.  Lew Uhler is going to see if Sen. Hatch can get him on board.  The I Am American crew is planning a Utah event.  And I’ll do all I can to get on Utah talk radio.  Stay tuned.

In Kentucky Rep. Jim DeCesare has put in a Reso.  I emailed him and hope to hear back.  I know I don’t have the political savvy of someone like Mitch McConnell, but for God’s sake, how in the hell can he NOT want to dive in and help us.  He’s got a serious Tea Party primary challenger.  What better way to inculcate yourself with the budget hawks and hard right folks?  It’s so obvious.  Lew has talked of going back to Kentucky to give McConnell some sort of deficit fighter award from Lew’s NTLC.  I called Lew and asked him to see if he’s following through, and at the presser have Rep. DeCesare there, and have McConnell come out full bore for the BBA.  It would be big news in KY, and probably make Fox News as well. 

For the life of me I can’t see the down  side for McConnell.  And if he’s an old acquaintance of Lew, why not do him a favor as well. 

We’re not going to pass the KY House this year.  We all know that.  Speaker Stumbo won’t allow it.  But if we get traction on the issue, it could be a big part of a lot of KY House campaigns.

We want KY.  We only need to flip four House seats to get it.  I know McConnell wants to flip the House.  According to Barone’s Almanac, he set up the big party switch that gave us the KY Senate.

Come on, Mitch.  THINK!

We’ve got 20.

21- Michigan  Things couldn’t look much better.  Should be soon.

22 – South Carolina  Passed House.  Apparently in a Senate Committee with a hostile chairman.  There are, of course, a variety of ways to deal with a hostile chairman – starting with a call from the Senate President and Majority Leader.  I’m going to find out more about this, and try to help with a solution.  We’ll get SC

23 – Georgia  Passed Senate, waiting in House for an unenthusiastic Speaker to let it on the floor.  Latest from GA is that will happen.

24 – Wisconsin  52 of 99 sponsoring in House, 13 of 33 in Senate.  Great leadership from Rep. Kapenga.  Sen. Johnson a big booster.  Gov. Walker surely will join in soon.  Looking good!

25- Tennessee  Speaker of the House is a co-prime sponsor, with 26 colleagues.  I’m counting on him to get the Senate to play along.  Speakers have lots of ways to do that.

26 – South Dakota  How we could fail in SD is beyond me.  Could happen in Feb.

27 – Idaho   I’m almost as positive about ID as SD.  I’m on top of this one.

28 – Arizona  Only problem appears to be a reluctant Senate President.  We hear he’s a reasonable man.  Reasonable men can be dealt with.

29 – Oklahoma  Problems with Birchers, but the strong support of iconic Sen. Coburn should defuse that.  OK is O. K.

30 – Louisiana  My pal Rep. Harrison says he’s going to get it done.  I believe him.

31 – Utah  Birch problems here.  If we can’t get Sen. Lee to help us take them on, it’s tough.

32 – Virginia  Uphill.

33 – Montana  Can do.

34 Wyoming   Can do too.

35 – North Dakota  Can do three.

36-40  (After 2014 election ) Maine, Minnesota, Kentucky, Washington, and Oregon.

We’ll get her done.

I guess we’re worried about a House Rules Committee vote on our Resolution in VA.  There are seven members we/’re not sure of.  I will call the staffers of all of them tomorrow morning and make the pitch.  I also offered suggestions to our executive director, Scott Rogers about who we could ask to contact these guys.  I’m not sure we really have much in the way of resources to throw at them.  It’s frustrating.

There’s inside politics, and outside politics.  The Task Force has been playing inside, and doing pretty well.  But we have no real outside game.  It’s a problem.  Inside politics is the mechanics of passing a bill.  Outside politics is building public support for the bill.  We’re trying to play tea party politics, which is an outside game.  It helped in Ohio, and will elsewhere.  But there’s a lot to be done beyond the Tea Party.  I’m trying to do it with talk radio, but there’s a hell of a lot more that could be done.

I’ve got to get everyone on the Task Force to think of this thing like a political campaign, as well as a lobbying effort in state Capitols.  In politics you’re always trying to get the message out, using the media whenever you can.  We’ve got nothing when it comes to media.  If we had money we could hire an actual PR guy.

Patience.  Patience.  This will go on for a couple years beyond 2014.  And when you get the BBA through, the real fun starts, as everybody wakes up to Article V and starts pushing other Liberty Amendments.

Our day will come.

I tend to see the glass half full.  Being such a rabid partisan, I also tend to think my side will win.  Sometimes I’m so wrong.  I thought Clinton wouldn’t survive the stain on Lewinsky’s blue dress.  People didn’t care.  I used to tell people that Wally Hickel was a complete asshole, and half way out of his mind with megalomania.  They didn’t care. 

I should have learned my lesson with Ted Stevens.  What an obnoxious little bastard he was.  But I knew people didn’t care, and I acted accordingly.

Obama’s a dope, and a liar.  The difference, I guess, between him  and Clinton is that Clinton lied about his personal sexual misconduct.  Obama lied about the biggest legislation of his Presidency, one that personally affected tens of millions of people.  That’s got to make a difference.  Except he’s black, so people want to cut him some slack.  The R’s have got to be careful.  We shouldn’t mock the sorry bastard. 

Anyway, I continue to believe in the Reagan Project.  It makes so much sense, it’s so timely, the winds continue to fill our sails.  I’m just impatient.  I want the dam to burst, and have everyone realize this is for real.  Biden called the passage of Obamacare a big effin’ deal.  He was so right, except that the dumb bastard had it totally ass backwards.

I think the current conventional wisdom about Hillary is wrong.  1) I’m not sure she’ll run, at all 2) If she runs I think she’ll have a fight on her hands to get the nomination.  Aren’t people getting sick of her?  God, she’s been around for almost a quarter century  3)  I think we kick her ass in the general.  Boy do I have fun thinking up Benghazi attack ads.  Feature the grieving mother of one of those killed, coupled with the statement that Hillary will come to regret, “At this point, what difference does it make?”  Or an ad with the father of one of those killed.  The guy who says Hillary came up to “console” him by repeating all the bullshit about the video causing the whole thing.  You use an independent group, just like the Swift Boat Veterans and Kerry.  That killed him.  This could take Hillary out.

In my dreams I’m in the room when these ads are made.