Some time away for reflection!

Well it's been a few weeks since I last wrote. I have no excuse for my absence except that I have a real life to live and be a part of. In that life though of recent note, I have learned a great deal about myself as well as about the ones I love and care for. I know what you are thinking, "Matt, what about the political stuff and the post-election analysis?" Fine, I'll address that too, but my real life outside of politics comes first in this writing. I hope you enjoy and learn from my lessons as well.



OK, since the election I have had a great deal of conversations with my friends and family on numerous topics. Not the least of which was greed and selfishness that exists in us all. Yes, I'm guilty of it as well. Additionally, taking advantage of a persons great heart is something that many of us do without regard for the person involved or even understanding why we are doing it. For example, when a person holds the door for you in a given building, do we return the favor to that person or another individual? Do we give someone a smile back after they say "Hello" to us on the street or in the hallway at work? Remember, they are going out of their way to try and be polite to you as well as maybe trying to put you in a better mood. You might wonder what this has to do with selfishness or greed or other things. The point is, we have so many interactions throughout our daily lives that we tend to forget the little things that make us or others great people. Being polite and acknowledging others is part of that process.



Do you ever wonder why we talk to certain individuals or become part of their circle of friends? Is it a personal or emotional need or is it a want? We as hard working Americans tend to bypass ones who play no real effect in our lives. Why? We also tend to put down others who differ from us or are lesser in their careers. Is this not true? Of course it is. Someone recently told me regarding an old classmate of ours, "I have no use for that person in my life so I could care less if I see them again". I thought for a moment, that if that were true of everyone, we would truly have no friends or at least very few of them. I'm here to remind you that people change throughout their lives and I'm talking about their hearts as well as their maturity. We also add a few pounds and lines to the face and lose a few hairs on the head too.



Another question, why do we hold grudges towards our family members or friends when they cannot be a part of an outing we are hosting? Is it again, another way of showing our "status" or is it a silent selfishness? We don't always know why people do things or not do things with our families and friends. Perhaps it is just as simple as it sounds, meaning life happens and we just can't do everything that comes up. Even after we make the plans to make the outing, things or plans can change in our lives. Don't be selfish and take offense to others decisions. We again, are not aware of their lives. Anyway, enough of the emotional stuff and other gratifying purposes in our personal lives. Lets talk a little politics.



OK...so we (Conservative Republicans that is) lost! Pure and simple, "...we just didn't get the job done", to paraphrase former Patriots coach, Pete Carrol. The more and more I think about it, we had the wrong candidate at the wrong time. After witnessing Gov. Mitt Romney at the Maine Republican State Convention in May of 2008, I knew we clearly made the wrong choice as the parties nominee. Gov. Sarah Palin was by far the main reason we brought some of the conservative voters to actually vote for Sen. John McCain. Sen. McCain made mistake after mistake on the campaign trail. One key mistake was simply voting for the bailout of the financial institutions. By putting a government "solution" to a market crisis simply punished the taxpayers for others failures. Another mistake was not hitting Barack Obama harder on his relations with William Ayers, Rev. Wright and Louis Farrakhan. Those were just a few of the mistakes that our candidate for the 2008 Presidential election made.



Now for what the Republican Party did that helped secure the Democratic Party nominee in the White House. First and foremost...I'll say it again, we nominated the wrong person. We needed someone who could hit Obama hard with more facts on foreign relations as well as provide more conservative principals to our economic woes. Second, we did not produce at the registration level. We lagged behind the Democrats in the total amount of new registrations as well as gaining the much needed Unenrolled voters. Third, we did not define the differences with the parties in our ads and literature. And Lastly, it was a Democratic Year. With the War in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the poor economic situation that the country was going through, as well as having a minority on the Democratic ticket, it was inevitable that we would lose the election. It reminded me of the 1976 Presidential Election when the country was going through a scandal at the White House as well as the ongoing Vietnam War. The Republicans at the time nominated President Gerald Ford and all the Democrats had to do was nominate peanut (excuse the pun). Simply put, there was no way the Republicans were going to win that election either. Now, those are my takes on this election, so don't hold it against me. Remember, we are entitled to our opinions right? Which is why we have the 1st Amendment.

That is all for now my friends but as "D-Day" approached for us Republicans on January 20Th, we must hold everyone accountable to all their duties. That includes the "Anointed One" by the Democrats. I certainly will not shy away from constructive criticism from our newly elected President because I never did before with our current president. Let us wish our outgoing and incoming presidents the best of luck with their next journey. They will definitely need it.

As always...and more than ever, God Bless America!

I want Romney!

I'll say it now...I want Gov. Mitt Romney to be Sen John McCain's running for this election. I believe if he actually chooses an Independent as in Lieberman, than we will take two giant steps back with this party. He needs to look at the conservative wing of this party and more importantly, the Pro-Life crowd. I am a strong Pro-life advocate and believe that any other choice than a Pro-life running mate is calling for disaster.

This is a short note only to give my support for Gov. Mitt Romney for VP. He is a very articulate man and understand the bells and whistles of governing. If McCain does not chose Romney, my two other choices are Sec. of State Condi Rice and LA. Gov. , Bobby Jindal. Conservative, experience and able to get the crowds going is key here. We must stop the Obamamania from taking over the middle votes. We must remain America the Beautiful and Home of the Brave. We will move away from our freedom if Obama is elected by securing more debt to pay for useless programs. Not too mention, he is not a military person, thus putting our national security at risk. Remember the downsizing that Clinton did in the 1990's? It will be far worse if Obama is elected.

God Bless America! God Bless our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marine who fight for our freedom everyday in honor of our great country.

Matt's Take: 2008 Maine Republican Convention

So the 2008 Maine Republican State Convention has come and gone. This past weekend many exciting things happened along with a few hiccups. Regardless of those later items, it was a great event designed to motivate the masses and to push our Republican agenda to the tops of every one's minds. A great speech by former GOP Presidential candidate, Gov. Mitt Romney on Friday night captured a very grateful audience and in an eloquent way, demanded unity with the party faithful. Additionally, Sen. Olympia Snowe, Sen. Susan Collins and congressional candidates, Dean Scontras and John Frary added to the patriotic and embracing atmosphere. I was very pleased, as well as extremely tired, when it was all said and done on Saturday afternoon.

The hiccups along the way that I mentioned were mainly due to a few items that got tangled in the area of the agenda. I'm sure many that went to the event and complained about the time it took for certain things to occur, generally take the volunteers in place for granted. I know what many of them were going through and I respect ALL the volunteers behind the scenes of this event a great deal. So, let's not complain about the event unless you want to volunteer at the next one.

Now, speaking of volunteers, we're going to need plenty this election cycle. The Ron Paul supporters who made it on the city and county committees and the State Committee, I truly hope they stay involved and help our local candidates. Whatever you feel about a presidential candidate can also be transferred to the local arena as well. I will venture to say that most all Republicans in the Maine Legislature are conservatives and do what ever is needed to limit the growth of government. Isn't that one of our principles of the Republican Party, to limit government?

Finally, many of you know I serve as Chairman of the Somerset County Republican Committee and I want to offer my deepest sincere congratulations to my good friend (and somewhat of a mentor), Maine GOP Chairman Mark Ellis. Mark, along with Executive Director Julie Ann O'Brien managed to have not one, but two great speakers attending this years Convention. Gov. Mitt Romney and national political commentator, Cal Thomas. Both men gave wonderful speeches that played very well to our brand of Maine Republicans. Mark and Julie have done a great job with keeping the party together in a trying time during the differences of opinions at the presidential level as well as at the local level. They have pushed hard for working closer with the Republican leadership in the Maine Legislature and you can definitely see the impact with the "McCain Unity Ticket" of national delegates. Regardless of the presidential race, Maine Republicans have to come together to battle our own issues here in Augusta. Again, I thought the convention ended with the enthusiasm that was well needed to move this party forward. I'm glad I attended and am truly glad I am a Republican in Maine.

God Bless America!

Who should McCain pick? I say Condi!

The other day I was discussing with a colleague about the much viewed picture of Sen. John McCain being real chummy with Gov. Mitt Romney on the campaign trail. Obviously the topic came up of whether McCain should indeed pick Romney to be his VP running mate. At this point, what would be the best scenario for the Republicans to maintain the White House?

I argued that maybe it would be more beneficial for McCain to pick Condoleezza Rice over Romney. Before anyone blows a gasket on my radical thought, think about what is going on in the world of politics. The Democrats are bickering all the time about Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama being their nominee. Both camps are fighting for gender votes, minority votes and white male votes. My thought is, if you put McCain-Rice ticket up against Obama-Clinton, You hit the ultimate extreme in political cat and mouse game. The race card should not be played at that point because each party would have a minority involved in the campaign. Second, the gender issue would be out of the question because of both Rice and Clinton. That leaves one major factor of differences left to distinguish the candidates. Experience!

Experience has always been a factor in political campaigns. McCain has decades of service to his country as both a military war hero and a Senator. Obama has limited experience at best and lack of leadership at the international level as well as no military experience. Condoleezza Rice has a wealth of experience on foreign relations as well as national security. Hillary Clinton has experience as a First Lady, but International diplomacy? No! National security? No!

To me, the choice is simple. You go with the best ticket that represents the most experience versus the other ticket. McCain-Rice is a far superior ticket on all national election items versus an Obama-Clinton ticket. Sometimes, experience has to count for something. In this case, it should count for moving the country forward and protecting it from radical extremists. I hope others see my point.

God Bless America!

Romney's out too: Now what?

Well, after a very eventful time in Maine last weeknd, Gov. Mitt Romney call's it quits today. I really must admit I was a little shocked at the timing, however, his reasons were very admirable. His speech today at the Conservative Political Action Convention said it all.

“If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I
would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that
Sen. Clinton or Obama would win,” he said. "And in this time of war, I simply
cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror."

So the question comes, what now? Who is left to battle Sen. John McCain? My friend Tim commented on my previous post about Having a Huckabee / Paul ticket would bring out the conservative voters due to Huckabee being a social conservative and Paul being a fiscal conservative. He may be right, however, who will bring out the moderates to win the election? That seems to be the key to winning the election time after time.



We have never seen a president become more conservative on issues as his presidency has moved on. President Bush seemed pretty conservative to many of us when he was elected. Time has shown that his fiscal side is anything but conservative. With John McCain all but clinching the Republican nomination, if he were elected President, who would he chose for a running mate? How conservative will he be or better yet, how liberal will he act? We already know that he is for amnesty for illegals and against waterboarding of prisoners to gain information. Can he be that strong on defense with those items? I'm not sure. I hope for America's sake he is. I truly hope he understands what is at stake here...Our Freedom! Unitl the General Election I'll keep asking...Now What?



God Bless America!

Romney wins in my home state of Maine!

Well, my vote counted today in the Maine Caucus and Presidential Preference as Gov. Mitt Romney won the state by very convincing numbers. In my county of Somerset, Romney garnered about 51% to McCains nearly 26% and surprising Ron Paul got about 13% to Mike Huckabee's 9% where additionally 1% of voters were undecided. It was a great day for Maine Republicans that participated in the process.

As the poll numbers come in from around the state, Romney's lead is staying consistant with my county. My major concern of the week leading up to this was of all the support that Ron Paul was gaining. I'm not saying I am bothered by his stances and such, just that I believe him to be a low level tier candidate that cannot gain the same amount of support in other parts of the country. I did not want to see a Paul victory in Maine for the very reason of not supporting a major candidate. Now if Paul had won a primary by now I may be OK with it. However, even with Huckabee only winning a few states, he is still in my eyes a lower tier candidate.

I honestly thought that McCain would give more of a fight to Romney in Maine. McCain had the support of our ranking members of the party with Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Olympia Snowe as well as Maine House Minority Leader Josh Tardy. I really looked at it like with that much fire power, how could he not win in a moderate state? Well, that is why I do not get paid to make predictions about politics.

I did get up and say a few words on behalf of Sen. Collins and try to gain some support for her. I was asked if i would do that by her office and I accepted because I think she has a done a wonderful job representing Maine while she has been in Washington. Additionally, I also spoke of my upcoming election as a Town Selectman that is in March. I encouraged all the voters that to take part in that process of a Town Meeting. I like seeing people be involved, even if I do always agree with their view. This allows for more opinions and viewpoints to be heard as well as ideas being floated around during trying times. That is what our country was built of from ...ideas!

I will close with saying that it was very nice seeing all the people come out to my local caucus and the ones located across my county to participate in the very unique voting process. I hope those individuals continue to support the Somerset County Republican Committee and the Maine Republican Party as well as all our local candidates as they are the reason I do all the volunteer work that I do. I love politics and I truly love my State of Maine and the passion in wanting it to prosper for the future generations of Mainers.

God Bless America!

Could Giuliani's run be done? / Ron Paul: Hang it up!

Giuliani: Out of the Race?

We should find out real soon who will win in today's Florida's Presidential Primary.candidates. In recent reports, it has been stated that if Rudy Giuliani loses, he'll likely drop out of the presidential race. At that point, an endorsement is likely to come for one of the remaining candidates. I'm wondering that whoever he does endorse, could it it be the end of that candidates campaign? How much support could Giuliani drum up for another when he barely mustered up enough for himself among moderate Republicans? I don't see him endorsing Ron Paul or Mike Huckabee. I'm thinking that he is more likely to endorse John McCain over Mitt Romney, at that point, give the edge for the nomination to Romney.

As the early poll numbers continue to come in, Many voters feel like I do in that Giuliani is not presidential material (merely 15% support). I guess at this point you have to ask why, considering just a few short months ago he was leading national polls everywhere. I'm thinking that his strategy of pulling out of Iowa, New Hampshire and Michigan hit his campaign real hard. To put it another way, would you want to support someone who never campaigned in your state or thought other states were more important than yours? I wouldn't.

Ron Paul Give it up!

OK, I'll admit it, I'm not a Ron Paul supporter nor am I fond of having to get all of this mail from him and the phone calls. I may be critical here but please, think about how much time and peoples money you are wasting on your campaign? Think about what those supporters could be doing rather than all of the grunt work for you? I take nothing away from them, but you need to make a decision as to whether or not you really think you have a shot at winning the nomination from the other top candidates. I'm not sure what your strategy is, maybe you are aligning yourself up for a potential VP slot or even an "Independent" run at the President. Regardless, you are not garnering the support from a majority of Americans and that is a fact. I hope for your supporters sake, you hang it up.

To all the volunteers helping the campaigns, you are Great Americans and truly patriots in the field of politics. I'm sure all the candidates truly value your contributions. Remember, please help out the local races in your own state as well.

As always...God Bless America!

Will Obama's SC win be enough "HOPE" for the Dem's?

With Sen Barack Obama winning in South Carolina, will it be enough to propel him to the lead of the Democratic Party's nomination for president? The way things are looking, you might think so. I saw a poll the other day that had him down to Sen. Clinton by a few points, but with nearly a 30 point in today's primary, you have to think he gained a lot of momentum. The Dem's probably really like this guy because of his youth, demeanor, speaking ability, but seriously, what the heck has he done? Clinton talked about his "present" votes in the Illinois State Senate, but what does that mean? What did he stand for and how did he vote that will prove he is a LEADER? I'm waiting.........!

Giving a week plus before Super Tuesday, will anyone possibly jump out of the race at this point? I'm thinking that for the Republicans, the next one out will have to be Rudy Giuliani and maybe Ron Paul. Heck, who am I to judge, I thought John Edwards was going to win the Democratic nomination because of a few "unsaid" items. I never said I was a true political scientist, more like a hack. But Giuliani and Paul have real low numbers and a very "secluded" base so I find it hard that they can stay in the race and sustain or even gain any momentum to get them up to the point of McCain, Romney and Huckabee.

Anyway, as the week trudges on and the whips and chains and "dirty laundry" come out from the candidates, we might want to remember that next Sunday is what really matters in American current events...The Super Bowl. And of course, being from Maine and Northern New England, I'm rooting for the PATRIOTS! At least with Bill Belichick, you not going to get mud thrown or racial overtones or anything that resembles what we've seen from Obama and Clinton. You are going to get short and to the point answers and sometimes a smile, well maybe. Thank God football will be back on next Sunday. GO PATS!

Oh yeah, as always with me...GOD BLESS AMERICA!

The Media's Lost Story: Romney Wins Wyoming!

NEWSFLASH! "Mitt Romney wins Wyoming Caucus. Romney on verge of Comeback"

OK, so that wasn't the headline, but who do we blame? Fox News? CNN? CSPAN? MSNBC? Well I blame ALL of the media. What was missed over the weekend was the fact that Romney had a comeback from his disappointing loss in Iowa. No it wasn't New Hampshire, nor South Carolina but Wyoming. By winning with 67% of the voter (14 Delegates) over Fred Thompson (6 Delegates) and Duncan Hunter (1 Delegate). So why did the media miss this or better yet, why did they DECIDE to miss this? The simple fact is 2 reasons: 1. Wyoming is small and 2. They do not want a Republican to have any media attention.

The media neglected Romney's victory in Wyoming for fear of what I'm not sure. Maybe a momentum shift and also possibly for the fact that the Democratic Party did not participate in Wyoming. They are scheduled to be in Wyoming on March 8th. Is that reason enough to hide the news from the public? Absolutely not.

With all the attention going to New Hampshire and whether or not Barack Obama can take off as the Democratic Party's great "Hope for Change", will the Republicans get enough attention directed to any of their candidates. Many of the news themes from New Hampshire are along the lines as will Hillary Clinton implode? Can Romney catch John McCain. Also there is a vibe going around whether or not Ron Paul and Rudy Giuliani can gain any ground on Mike Huckabee and McCain.

Now back to Wyoming. I've said it before, unless we hold the media accountable, and speak with our voices and actions, America will be lost. The media has a job, not just to themselves but to the American citizen. The First Amendment was not made just for them. It was put there so that the American citizens can have a voice and exercise their rights as Americans. The media is, in my eyes, whether they like it or not, responsible for informing the American Public about the genuine news stories and important information that should be relayed to the public, especially with something of this magnitude such as a candidate winning a presidential caucus, regardless of which state it is in. When things are reported accordingly and factual, the public becomes informed and opinions are shaped.

I can't reiterate that enough; the media needs to be held accountable. We as American need to utilize our own resources and either write blogs, letters to the editor or any other means necessary that helps get the public informed with the correct information. I'm just one source as are my friends that I have listed on my website. We all take writing very seriously as well as providing the supporting information for our columns. I believe that takes care of that topic.

As for New Hampshire, we'll find out in a few days who wins, drops out, who gains momentum and so on. Until then, enjoy the American political process and rely on your own intuition regarding factual information. Keep the media held accountable in this time of necessity. It is your right as Americans!

As always with me....God Bless America!

Iowa Down and New Hampshire Next: Who's in, Who's out?

Well, the first test for the 2008 Presidential campaign is complete. Iowa had some drama and when we woke up this morning, some of us might have been surprised. The questions now are: Who Stays? Who Goes? Who drops out to support who?

For the Democratic Party, in what I feel is a surprising victory,Sen. Barack Obama won by 7%. I'm surprised because it was by that many percentage points. Obama's win came at 37%, John Edwards came in 2nd with 30% and Sen. Hillary Clinton came in third with 29%. With 97 % the rest of the Democratic field (Sen. Dodd, Sen. Biden, etc...) was irrelevant and should all drop out in a week or so. The questions comes, who do they support when they drop out of the race?

For the Republicans, it was a surging Gov. Mike Huckabee winning with 34% that overcame Gov. Mitt Romney with 25% of the vote. Sen. Fred Thompson and Sen. John McCain had a third place tie with only 13% of the vote. In what I feel is the surprise of the race, Rep. Ron Paul nearly doubled New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani with 10% to 3 % respectively. Duncan Hunter nearly achieved a .5%. It's safe to say that Hunter will drop out shortly.

The surprising part about the Republicans is that Giuliani had the lead just a short time ago and then to get smacked around like a fly at a picnic makes you wonder, are polls that accurate? We saw Huckabee surging in recent weeks, but like that? I listened to Giuliani on an interview yesterday with Mike Gallagher you would have thought that he had a huge lead in the polls in New Hampshire when asked about his upcoming schedule. I'm beginning to think that the socially moderate Republicans are losing ground now in politics, at least in my eyes.

On the Democratic party side, I still think that Edwards will win the nomination once he gets to the Southern States. Obama will have to answer questions about his religion and his link to Islam and Hillary will not drum up that much support being from New York. But who am I to give a prediction?

In closing, the next week is going to be even more brutal than before. New Hampshire sits close to Mass and all the other New England states that will help put some delegates in the corner of the winner. I'm thinking that Clinton and Romney will win in New Hampshire. For the GOP, McCain will gain more support as will Ron Paul. Giuliani will again be disappointed after the results come out.

Let us remember that this process is so interesting and very American. Enjoy that process but filter out the rhetoric. We live in America where we have a voice to be heard and this is the time to use it.

God Bless America!

Democrats pulling Religion into Campaign Trail?

For those who haven't heard, former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-Nebraska) recently apologized to Sen. Barack Obama regarding his comments on his association with the Muslim community. Additionally, Kerrey is a supporter of Hillary Clinton.

What he apologized for was this statement:

"It's probably not something that appeals to him, but I like the fact that his
name is Barack Hussein Obama, and that his father was a Muslim and that his
paternal grandmother is a Muslim," said Kerrey, a former governor and the
current president of the New School in New York City. "There's a billion people
on the planet that are Muslims, and I think that experience is a big deal."

In my eyes, I don't feel it is a big deal to even bring up religion when it deals a presidential candidate, especially when many are doing the same with Mitt Romney and his Mormanism. Is Obama embarrassed regarding his families religion? Is he ashamed of his middle name being the same as a murderous dictator such as Saddam Hussein? You have to wonder.

Another thing to think about regarding this issue is, is Camp Hillary behind any of this? Did her campaign organizers pick Kerrey to mention this only to retract it in short time, just to throw out the subtle hint of Obamas past? It's campaign season and her numbers are dropping, so this would not surprise me.

On to the context of the association, do we as Americans have a right to want to understand what Obamas relationships are regarding the Muslim community, considering who we are at war with? This is my question to Sen. Barack Hussein Obama: "What are your personal viewpoints on Islam and your churches viewpoints of other ethnic groups"?

That is all I got today.

God Bless America