03.12.08 Briefing
From the Desk of Steve Elliott

Earmarks Showdown In Senate This Week... The "Pig" Is Out Of The Bag

Yesterday, Ron De Jong (our Communications Director) and I were in D.C. for a press conference with Sen. Jim DeMint and other members of Congress to present more than 107,000 petitions from Grassfire team members calling for an immediate moratorium on earmarks. View slideshow here.

The conference was held at what is called the "Senate Swamp," just west of the Russell Senate building and across the street from the U.S. Capitol. Many very important press conferences have been held in this same spot. At least two dozen members of the media were on hand and it was my privege to present the petitions on the behalf of our team members.

As Americans begin to understand what earmarks are, I believe the "pig" of pork spending is now out of the bag. Earmarking is a procedural gimmick that allows Congressmen to funnel billions of our taxpayer dollars to their pet projects and and personal supporters. And 95% of these earmarks are never voted on, never submitted for public debate. It's done in the "smoke-filled rooms" on Capitol HIll.

We expect a vote this week. Resources:

Listen to my interview with Sen. DeMint and my audio report with Ron DeJong
Sign the petition
Fax leaders
Call your senators today and urge them to support the Moratorium on Earmarks: 202-224-3121.

Mississippi Primary Reveals Dem's Troubling Racial Divide
Are you ready for the really important story emerging from the Democratic primaries? It's not Obamamania. It's not even "who's gonna win." It's this, captured by a Time.com article entitled "Obama Win Defined By Race":
Broken down, the Mississippi vote had an unmistakable racial descant — and unmistakable limits for Obama. Exit polls revealed once again an emerging racial divide that has opened in the Democratic party between whites who tend by healthy margins to favor Clinton and blacks who overwhelmingly favor Obama. African Americans comprised nearly half of the Democratic vote in Mississippi — and 90% of those voters, according to exit polls, pulled the lever for Obama, his strongest showing yet among African Americans. But Obama did poorly among whites, winning only 30%, according to exit polls. While this split was visible in Alabama and the border state of Tennessee earlier this year, it was visible in Ohio's primary last week, too.

This is a major problem for Obama as a general election candidate. If Obama cannot win 3% of the white vote he will have trouble in the key states, even winning 95% o the black vote. Of course, the media will spin this a racism against a black candidate, but if that charge is made then the reverse must be acknowledged.

1-in-4 Teen girls in U.S. infected with at least one STD
This kind of news should be "above the fold" in the NYTimes and every paper in the nation and should lead the evening news. A new report from the CDC is reporting that one-in-four U.S. teen girls has a STD. Half of all black teen girls has a STD. This is nothing short of an epidemic that would seem to demand an "war on teen sex" response by our churches, our business, and our government. Since the only certain path of success is abstinence, maybe we should start making such policies a top family, church, and national priority.