Mark Oxner For Congress (R-FL-27) Ad Banned on FaceBook

The following ad has been banned on FaceBook but you can see it below. After the add is information from the candidate's campaign team:

Oxner Staff: One of the ads to promote Mark Oxner's first campaign video, "Turn This Ship Around," was banned [on Jan 25, 2011] on Facebook. Here is the graphic and text for it...

Ship of Fools.

"We already have Captain Crazy. Don't add Alan Grayson to the crew. Support Mark Oxner for Congress. (R) FL-27 WATCH THE MUST SEE VIDEO!"

This pointed to our web video called Turn This Ship Around. Mark truly believes that the spending by President Obama and his former enabler Alan Grayson (on corporate subsidies, Obamacare, bailouts and more) are enslaving our children and grand children with stifling debt. This is a message that statists would rather not hear: sure, your "free" healthcare or bank bailout sounds good, until you ask how it's paid for. But as President Obama says in the video, "No questions on this ship!"

This message enrages statists.

Apparently Facebook feels the same way.

Our campaign ad promoting the video was reviewed, approved, and ran. Because it was hard hitting, Obama supporters complained and the ad was temporarily pulled by Facebook for re-review. It was re-approved and began to run again. So statists re-complained and it was pulled AGAIN! After re-re-review the ad was again approved and started running again.

On the fourth review, Facebook finally disapproved the ad and refuses to run it claiming that it violates their rules on images regarding political issues. Of course, none of us have seen ads on Facebook with negative images of Republicans, have we? The odd thing is that we have four other identical ads running on Facebook that they and the Obama for America PAC have no problem with. Same ad. Same image. No problem.

So what's the problem?

Perhaps it's a mix of ideology and poor business practices. We targeted the ad five different ways. The one they banned is getting tens of thousands of more impressions than the other ads. It's getting thousands of more click throughs and the Cost Per Click is less than half of the other ads we are running.

Conservative Republicans are learning how to effectively use Social Media and it is scaring OFA and their statist enablers on Facebook.

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Tags: Mark Oxner, campaign ad, FaceBook, Mark Oxner For Congress, Florida, District 27, conservative, republican, Alan Grayson, Democrat, Barack Obama, Ship of State, U.S.S. Constitution, election 2012 To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to America's Best Choice. Thanks!

Sen. Marco Rubio Addresses The Promise Of America

ARRA News Service - Sen. Marco Rubio: In the Weekly Republican Address, Florida Senator Marco Rubio explains the failures of the Obama administration. He contrasts those with the promise of America that he and Republicans believe in, if the government stops doing the wrong things.

Sen. Rubio says, "As you know, earlier this week, President Obama delivered his fourth annual address to Congress. It was an opportunity for the President to talk about his accomplishments over the last three years and to lay out his plans for the year ahead.

"And he missed on both counts.

"You didn't hear much talk about the success of his Administration—and that's because there isn't much.

"Yes, this President inherited a significant national debt, but over the last three years he's made it worse. Our national debt has grown by nearly 50 percent since he took over, and now, for the first time since World War II, our national debt is larger than our country's economy.

"Yes, this President inherited an economy where unemployment was too high, but over the last three years he's made it worse. Today our unemployment rate is higher than the day he took office. In fact, since he took over, it's been stuck over 8 percent every single month.

"This President didn't talk about his record for one simple reason; he doesn't want you to know about it. But you do know about it, because you feel the failure of his leadership every single day of your life.

"The bottom line is this President inherited a country with serious problems. He asked the Congress to give him the stimulus and Obamacare to fix it. The Democrats in Congress gave it to him. And not only did it not work, it made everything worse.

"President Obama has a year left in the White House. So what are his plans now to make things better? What does he plan to do now, that he didn't do before? Well we got our answer Tuesday night. He plans to divide us against each other. To pit Americans against other Americans in the hopes of generating enough votes to get re-elected.

"He tells Americans worried about their jobs that the way to help them is to raise their bosses' taxes.

"He tells those who are hurting that the only way they can be better off, is for others to be worse off.

"He tells all of us that the only way for some of us to climb up the economic ladder is for others to be pulled down.

"This divisive rhetoric, this effort to gain political support by convincing some that they will be better off if we punish others, this stuff has never worked anywhere it's been tried.

"People end up fleeing countries who adopt economic policies based on these flawed principles. And more often than not, they come here.

"They come here because this is not who we are.

"Americans have always believed that all of us can succeed.

"That those who have made it fairly, can stay there. And those who are trying to make it will have a real chance to join them.

"This is what has made us different. This is what has made us prosperous. This is what makes us exceptional.

"And now, for the first time in my adult life, we have a President who's asking us to abandon our economic heritage.

"To become like the countries people come here to get away from.

"To become like everybody else.

"Yes, people are hurting. Yes, there is a growing gap between the rich and the poor.

"But the way to solve it is not to embrace the 'trickle up poverty' economics of other nations.

"The way to solve it is to embrace the American Free Enterprise system.

"No economic system is perfect. But the American Free Enterprise system has empowered millions of people in the past. I know, because I saw it with my own eyes.

"My father was a bartender. And I thank God every night that there was someone willing to risk their money to build a hotel on Miami Beach and later in Las Vegas where he could work.

"I thank God that there was enough prosperity in America so people could go on vacation to Miami or Las Vegas. Where people felt prosperous enough to have weddings or Bar Mitzvahs and, by the way, could leave tips in my Dad's little tip jar. Because with that money he raised us. And he gave me the opportunity to do things he never had a chance to do.

"Now, we had help along the way. I had student loans and grants from the government to help me get my education. And I went to our public school system.

"That's an important role for government to play. And so I also thank God that we had an economy prosperous enough to afford to pay for these things as well.

"So, I'll just close by saying, I hope this year will be the beginning of our work towards a new and prosperous American century.

"Because I know that this idea of a nation where anyone from anywhere can accomplish anything, it's not just something I read about in history books. I've seen it in my own life. And there's no reason why we cannot continue it here, if only we do the right things."

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Tags: Senator, Marco Rubio, Florida, Republican Response, Barack Obama, White House, Economy, Debt, Unemployment, Prosperity, America Exceptional, Free Enterprise To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to America's Best Choice. Thanks!

Newt Woos Space Coast Voters - Vows to Establish a Moon Colony

Newtville Moon Colony
Pix via Moon Colony News

COCOA, Fla. (AP) - Newt Gingrich is promising to establish a permanent base on the moon by 2020 if he's elected president. Gingrich, the former House speaker, told an overflow crowd gathered on Florida's space coast Wednesday that he wants to develop a robust commercial space industry in line with the airline boom of the 1930s. He also wants to expand exploration of Mars. . . .  Read More

Ozark Guru: Anyone remember why Australia was settled? Maybe Newt's Moon Colony could be a "freedomist prison colony" with a GITMO wing for Muslim terrorists who would then be guarded by members of the other wings.  Potentially, the other wings could include for starters a Jesus wing for overzealous pro-life Fundamentalist Christians and Conservative Catholics, a Mormon wing for the descendants of Romney, Beck and their supporters, and a Freedom wing for any Tea Party Patriots and Constitutionalists who are not already in the previous two wings. Am I having a Newt Dream or a nightmare? Better yet, just this once let's forget this Newtism. Hum, just a minute, what about a Mars colony?

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Tags: Republican, presidential candidate, Newt Gingrich, Moon Colony, 2012, campaign rhetoric, review, satire, Ozark Guru To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to America's Best Choice. Thanks!

Erikson: The Jacksonville Brawl

CNN GOP Primary Debate, Jacksonville, FL

by Erick Erickson (Diary), RedState: I’m biased, but I think the real winner last night was CNN and I feel confident I’d say that even if they didn’t send me a paycheck. After that disastrous and embarrassing NBC debate, Wolf Blitzer held his own, did not get devoured by Newt Gingrich, and engaged in a lot of substance without a lot of random questions like . . . oh . . . say . . . should states ban birth control.

Let me tell you first who lost the debate because it was in a moment with Wolf Blitzer. There was a moment he asked Newt Gingrich about Romney’s tax returns and Newt tried to say the question was inconsequential. He tied his napkin around his neck, pulled up his fork and knife, and was just about to sink his teeth into Wolf when Wolf pushed again. The crowd heckled Blitzer. Gingrich drooled over the moderator he was about to consume. “Wanna try again,” he asked mischievously. Wolf Blitzer, instead of hopping on Newt’s plate pushed once more, pointing out Gingrich had, just this week, attacked Romney on these things. The crowd reacted a bit and Gingrich suddenly tried to get everyone on stage to call a truce. Romney had none of it, instead calling on Gingrich to, in effect, man up and say to Mitt’s face the things he says elsewhere.

The crowd turned on Newt. They laughed. They jeered. Blitzer, saved from the jowls of moderator eater, went straight in to a tax question based on Romney’s taxes and Newt’s tax plan with Newt still on defense from the prior question. The moderator ate Newt. Live by the debate, die by the debate, and Newt Gingrich died in some clever rhetoric, losing the crowd both in that instance and on Mitt Romney’s stock ownership.

Mitt Romney won the debate. He and Gingrich behaved like petulant children, but Romney got under Newt’s skin in a way Newt did not get under Romney’s skin and Newt came off looking the lesser of the two. Additionally, Mitt Romney finally offered up a bold and clear answer on his wealth with a strong defense of capitalism and self-made men. There was no apology and no defense. It was precisely what he needed to do.

Though he may have won, Rick Santorum had the best night of any candidate and though Romney won on points, Santorum won on style and substance. He offered up the strongest attack yet on Romneycare, pointing out how if Romney is the nominee we cede an important line of attack on Obamacare. He rattled Romney in a way Newt did not. He acted like the adult in the room. He got himself some supporters from Newt Gingrich I’m pretty sure.

Then there was Ron Paul. Many of us quickly dismiss Ron Paul, but his performance was stellar. He offered extremely sound responses on healthcare, education, border security, and more. Very few of the questions were on foreign policy, which is where he tends to go off the reservation. Last night he came off as warm, funny, and right on the mark. It was his best debate performance. Santorum and Paul benefited from Romney and Gingrich’s constant bickering.

But Romney did what he had to do. He stopped any swing back from Gingrich. His performance more likely than not helped him secure Florida unless Gingrich can pour in money and manpower in the next 24 hours.

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Tags: CNN, Republican, Primary, debate, Jacksonville, Florida, election 2012, Erick Erikson To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to America's Best Choice. Thanks!

Rasmussen: 2012 Florida Republican Primary

Rasmussen Reports :: Florida GOP Primary: Romney 39%, Gingrich 31%, Santorum 12%, Paul 9%

Mitt Romney has jumped back ahead in the fevered Florida Republican Primary race with his support back to where it was before Newt Gingrich’s big win Saturday in South Carolina. Read More.

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Tags: Florida, Republican, primary, poll, Rasmussen Reports To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to America's Best Choice. Thanks!

Allen West: Harry Reid Stands For "Fiscal Insanity"

Theresa Helsing comment on the following video: Congressman Lt Col Allen West "Spanks Harry Reid". Thank You Sir.

[Video Source]

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Tags: Florida, US Representative, Allen West, Harry Reid, fiscal insanity, video To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to America's Best Choice. Thanks!

ICYMI: Allen West: I'd Step Up to Vice-Presidential Plate if Asked to Run

U.S. Rep. Allen West, who generally has deflected suggestions that he could be a vice-presidential candidate, now is saying he would “step up to the plate” if asked.

The freshman Florida Republican and tea party favorite took that swing at pitches from three constituents at a town hall meeting, according to The Palm Beach Post.

In answer to the voters’ written questions at the meeting, West said: "If people come to me and ask me to continue to serve my country in a higher capacity, I'm not going to say no. It would be an incredible privilege and honor. I doubt that I'm on anybody's list.

“Thank you for asking and if it came to fruition, yeah, I'd step up to the plate," West said, drawing applause, the Post reported.

Read more on Newsmax.com: Rep. Allen West: I'd Step Up to Vice-Presidential Plate if Asked to Run   Important: Do You Support Pres. Obama's Re-Election? Vote Here Now!

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Tags: Allen West, VP Candidate, Florida To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to America's Best Choice. Thanks!

Obama Rejects Keystone Jobs

Despite Strong Union Support And Encouragement From His Own Jobs Council, President Obama Claims The Pipeline Is Not In Our National Interest

OBAMA JOBS COUNCIL REPORT: ‘Timely Development Of Pipeline’ Projects Are ‘Necessary’
“Policies that facilitate the safe, thoughtful and timely development of pipeline, transmission and distribution projects are necessary to facilitate the delivery of America’s fuel and electricity and maintain the reliability of our nation’s energy system.” (President’s Council On Jobs And Competitiveness, 2011 Year-End Report, 1/17/12)

·    “Continuing to deliver inexpensive and reliable energy is going to require the United States to optimize all of its natural resources and construct pathways (pipelines, transmission and distribution) to deliver electricity and fuel… now more than ever, the jobs and economic and energy security benefits of these energy projects require us to tackle the issues head-on and to expeditiously, though cautiously, move forward on projects that can support hundreds of thousands of jobs.” (President’s Council On Jobs And Competitiveness, 2011 Year-End Report, 1/17/12)

UNION SUPPORT: It’s ‘Not Just A Pipeline,’ But ‘A Lifeline For Thousands’
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS: “‘The Keystone Pipeline project will offer working men and women a real chance to earn a good wage and support their families in this difficult economic climate,’ said… James P. Hoffa.” (TransCanada, “U.S. Pipeline Contractors Association and Unions Pledge their Support for Keystone XL Project,” 9/14/10)

AFL-CIO: “…it is America's workers who are clamoring for the expedited approval of this important project. As President Obama has rightfully declared when it comes to the creation of jobs, ‘WE CAN'T WAIT.’” (Mark H. Ayers, President, Building And Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO, “For The 99% Of Americans, Keystone = JOBS,” Huffington Post, 11/3/11)

AFL-CIO: “For America's skilled craft construction professionals, any discussion of the Keystone XL project begins and ends with one word: JOBS… Throughout America's Heartland, the Keystone Pipeline represents the prospect for 20,000 immediate jobs, and as many as 500,000 indirect jobs via a strong economic multiplier effect… without one single dollar of government assistance.” (Mark H. Ayers, President, Building And Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO,  “For The 99% Of Americans, Keystone = JOBS,” Huffington Post, 11/3/11)

·    “Enactment of S.1932 will mean a significant portion of the projected 20,000 direct jobs and the 118,000 spin-off jobs will be created immediately.” (AFL-CIO Building And Construction Trades Department President Mark Ayers, Letter To Sen. Lugar, 12/6/11)

INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS: “Says International President Edwin D. Hill: ‘We welcome the opportunity to work in cooperation with TransCanada to provide the skilled work force needed on this vital project.  At a time when jobs are the top global priority, the Keystone project will put thousands back to work and have ripple benefits throughout the North American economy. Our members look forward to being part of this historic project and pledge to deliver the highest quality work to make it a success.’” (International Brotherhood Of Electrical Workers, “TransCanada Pipeline PLA Could Mean Construction Boon,” 10/20/11)

LABORERS’ INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA: “…not just a pipeline, but is a lifeline for thousands of desperate working men and women.” (“Unions Furious At Obama For Killing Pipeline Jobs,” Fox News, 11/10/11)

·    “‘…a win-win for employers, for working men and women and for our communities and our countries,’ said Terry O'Sullivan, General President of LIUNA. ‘The partnership between TransCanada and workers and their unions will create good family-supporting jobs, while helping business and our countries compete.’” (TransCanada, “U.S. Pipeline Contractors Association and Unions Pledge their Support for Keystone XL Project,” 9/14/10)

BRENT BOOKER, LABORERS’ INTERNATIONAL: “We’ve been supportive of this project for several years now… Our members, and construction workers, middle-class Americans are in desperate need of jobs, and we think that this project could create that for all those.” (Brent Booker, CNBC, 12/14/11)

·    BOOKER: “We need the jobs now. We need them as soon as we can get them.” (Brent Booker, CNBC, 12/14/11)

·    LABORERS’ INTERNATIONAL: “…not just a pipeline, but is a lifeline for thousands of desperate working men and women.” (“Unions Furious At Obama For Killing Pipeline Jobs,” Fox News, 11/10/11)

UNITED ASSOCIATION: “My name is Stephen Kelly, and I am the Assistant General President of the United Association of Plumbers and Pipe Fitters, which represents over 340,000 members in the plumbing and pipe fitting industry in the United States and Canada… The United Association strongly supports the Keystone XL project and the draft legislation under consideration by the Subcommittee to expedite its approval for several good reasons. First, this project would provide a tremendous and needed boost to the U.S. construction industry, generating thousands of high-quality jobs at a time when the industry is wrestling with nearly 20 percent unemployment.” (U.S. House Of Representatives, Committee On Energy And Commerce, Subcommittee On Energy And Power, Hearing, 5/23/11)

·    “‘The United Association of Plumbers, Pipefitters and Sprinklerfitters (UA) is proud to be a part of this collaboration and looks forward to adding thousands of well-paying construction jobs to this country,’ said UA General President William P. Hite. ‘Our highly-skilled workforce is ready to begin work and help boost our local and state economies.’” (“$7 Billion Keystone XL Labor Agreement Announced,” Pipeline & Gas Journal, 9/10)

DAVID BARNETT, UNITED ASSOCIATION OF PLUMBERS AND PIPEFITTERS: “We do need this pipeline. We’ve worked very hard in the last three years to get this permit for this pipeline.”(David Barnett, CNBC, 12/14/11)

·    BARNETT: “We are experiencing 20-25% unemployment in the pipeline sector right now and our welders and pipe fitters are waiting on this project. … Quite frankly, the American people are tired of Washington D.C. politics going on, and their jobs are waiting in line for these decisions. Let’s get the politics out of it. Let’s give TransCanada a go ahead.” (David Barnett, CNBC, 12/14/11)

INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS: “‘An ambitious project of this scope, spanning over five states and employing thousands of American construction workers, will unequivocally help remedy the struggles of our country's working families,’ said International Union of Operating Engineers General President Vincent J. Giblin. ‘History has proven time and time again that infrastructure projects, such as this, lead to the resurgence of our nation's economy and the ripple effects are far-reaching. The IUOE is proud to be part of the Keystone XL pipeline and our operating engineers throughout the Midwest are ready to provide TransCanada with the skill, professionalism and pride this project requires.’” (TransCanada, “U.S. Pipeline Contractors Association and Unions Pledge their Support for Keystone XL Project,” 9/14/10)

DEMOCRAT SUPPORT: ‘Mr. President, America Needs The Keystone XL Pipeline’
SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): “I am for the Keystone pipeline … The Keystone pipeline, we’re addicted to oil. I'd rather use oil from my friends in Canada, than I would from the Middle East, that sounds good.” Q: “The President says he’s going to veto that though.” MANCHIN: “Well, we’ll see. I’m mean, all the trade unions, everyone’s for it, it creates thousands of jobs!” (Fox News, 12/12/11)

·    MANCHIN: “I’m mean, all the trade unions, everyone’s for it, it creates thousands of jobs!” (Fox News, 12/12/11)

·    MANCHIN: “It’s truly a godsend for America to have that supply from a neighbor that is friendly… I can assure you (the Canadian oil) is going to be used somewhere in the world, if it’s not used in the U.S.” (“Democratic Senator Blasts Obama Energy Policy, Says It’s ‘Bouncing Around Like A Ping Pong Bill’,” The Houston Chronicle, 6/8/11)

SEN. KENT CONRAD (D-ND): “I personally think the pipeline is absolutely in the national interest. It’ll help us reduce our dependence on foreign energy, at least foreign sources that are hostile to our interests.” (Sen. Conrad, Floor Remarks, 12/14/11)

·    CONRAD: “I, for one, on this side would hope that this could be part of a final package, and I hope that this is something we could work through in the coming hours.” (Sen. Conrad, Floor Remarks, 12/14/11)

·    CONRAD: “Canada is going to develop this resource. This oil is going to go somewhere. It, to me, is absolutely in our national interest for that oil to come to our country.” (Sen. Conrad, Floor Remarks, 12/14/11)

“Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) said Keystone has the backing of several Democrats. ‘It’s always had more Democratic support than people thought,’ she said.” (“Lawmakers Grow Confident Deal Will Be Reached By Weekend,” The Hill, 12/15/11)

·    “Landrieu says she'd support Keystone in payroll/UI/doc fix bill. Says ‘good deal’ of D & R support for it.” (FOX News’ Trish Turner, Twitter, 12/15/11)

SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D-MO): ‘Make It Go More Quickly’ “My guess is if you send them back a bill that… gave them Keystone… everybody goes home for Christmas.” SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D-MO): “Well, let's hope we can negotiate something like that… if states’ rights are being protected and if this is going to be something maybe that we can try to jump start the approval process, make it go more quickly.” (MSNBC, 12/14/11)

SEN. JON TESTER (D-MT): “I am proud to again offer my support for the Keystone XL pipeline and the jobs it will create. We need a quicker decision, based on the merits of this project.” (Sen. Tester, Floor Remarks, 12/13/11)

·    TESTER: “I do not believe we should have to wait until January of 2013 for a decision that can create American jobs right now. In Montana, we need the jobs.” (Sen. Tester, Floor Remarks, 12/13/11)

·    TESTER:“We should be acting responsibly to create jobs with this pipeline… Instead, we’re watching political maneuvering designed to score points rather than create jobs. And we all know that when this is how Washington acts, the people who lose are hard working Americans and Montanans who just want to go back to work. They want to build and maintain the infrastructure that powers and protects America.” (Sen. Tester, Floor Remarks, 12/13/11)

·    TESTER: “The Keystone pipeline will create Montana jobs and it should not have to wait 14 months for an up-or-down decision…” (“Baucus, Tester Support Keystone XL, But Not GOP Bill,” KTVQ News, 11/30/11)

SEN. MARK BEGICH (D-AK): “I support the project. I think the president’s view on this, of waiting, I think doesn’t make a lot of sense. It is a project that could provide lots of jobs to this country… I think the president’s wrong on delaying this, and I think there are a lot of good jobs relating to this, and again [it’s oil] from a friendly country, Canada.” (“Begich On Keystone XL, Bypass Mail,” KTVA11 Alaska, 12/15/11) SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D-MT): "We need to put Montanans back to work and cannot afford further delays to the Keystone XL pipeline…” (“Baucus, Tester Support Keystone XL, But Not GOP Bill,” KTVQ News, 11/30/11)

SEN. BEN NELSON (D-NE): “The pipeline will be built, bringing jobs to Nebraska.” (“TransCanada To Alter Keystone Route,” The Hill, 11/14/11)

SENS. MARK BEGICH (D-AK), MARY LANDRIEU (D-LA) & MAX BAUCUS (D-MT): “…we write today in support of the Keystone XL Gulf Coast Expansion Pipeline, a project that the Department of State has been considering under a Presidential Permit application since 2008. Now more than ever, it is critical that this country move forward with this project.” (“Media Advisory - Fourteen U.S. Senators Urge Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to Approve Keystone XL Pipeline,” TransCanada, 3/16/11)

47 House Democrats voted for H.R.1938, the North American-Made Energy Security Act, which states in part: “the President shall issue a final order granting or denying the Presidential Permit for the Keystone XL pipeline.”(H.R.1938, Roll Call Vote #650, Bill Passed 279-147: R 232-3; D 47-144, 7/26/11)

“America truly cannot afford to say ‘no’ to this privately funded, $20 billion, jobs-creating infrastructure project, which would bolster our economic, energy and national security. To that end, we respectfully urge you to ensure that the Presidential Permit is issued for Keystone XL.” <(22 House Democrats, Letter To President Obama, 10/19/11)

·    “…Mr. President, America needs the Keystone XL Pipeline. It is in our national interest to have a Presidential Permit issued for Keystone XL as soon as possible.” (22 House Democrats, Letter To President Obama, 10/19/11)

·    “The Department of State's Final Environmental Impact Statement reaffirmed the findings of the two previous environmental impact statements, namely, that the Keystone XL Pipeline will have no significant impact on the environment.” <(22 House Democrats, Letter To President Obama, 10/19/11)

·    “…not only would the Keystone XL Pipeline bolster America's economy, but it also would help strengthen our country's energy and national security…” (22 House Democrats, Letter To President Obama, 10/19/11)

·    “With job growth an ongoing struggle for our country, the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline represents a true shovel-ready project that would directly create 20,000 high quality domestic manufacturing and construction jobs for Americans who are desperately seeking employment. The project would also create an additional 118,000 spin-off jobs.”Ibid

Signed By:
Rep. Jason Altmire, (D-PA), Rep. Joe Baca, (D-CA), Rep. John Barrow, (D-GA), Rep. Dan Boren, (D-OK), Rep. Leonard Boswell, (D-IA), Rep. Robert Brady (D-PA), Rep. Jim Costa, (D-CA), Rep. Mark Critz (D-PA), Rep. Henry Cuellar, (D-TX), Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, (D-TX), Rep. Al Green, (D-TX), Rep. Gene Green, (D-TX), Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, (D-TX), Rep. Tim Holden, (D-PA), Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, (D-TX), Rep. Daniel Lipinski, (D-IL), Rep. Tim Matheson, (D-UT), Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, (D-NY), Rep. Bill Owens, (D-NY), Rep. Collin Peterson, (D-MN), Rep. Mike Ross, (D-AR), Rep. Peter Visclosky, (D-IN)

REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): “I'm very much for the pipeline. There is no question about that.” (Rep. Clyburn, MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” 12/14/11)

“Rep. Mike Ross of Arkansas… counted more than 20 Democrats who would likely support adding the Keystone language to the payroll tax package. And he said he disagreed with Obama's threat. ‘Look, I think that'd be a mistake on the president's part,’ Ross said. ‘That's the kind of economic activity we need. It's a win-win. It reduces our dependence on foreign oil and creates jobs here at home.’” (“Dems' Keystone-Payroll Tax Dilemma,” Politico, 12/8/11)

REP. DAN BOREN (D-OK): “At a time when many are without work, it is time that we come together in a bi-partisan way to pass this legislation which will create tens of thousands of new jobs. I commend the Speaker for including the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline that is supported by business and labor. I also believe that this bill should attract votes from both political parties, because it takes initiatives supported by President Obama including the payroll tax cut extension…” (Rep. Boren, Press Release, 12/12/11)

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Tags: Obama, Keystone Pipeline, rejected, lost jobs To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to America's Best Choice. Thanks!

Obama Sacrifices Pawns for Politics

Img Via Polifake

Americans for Prosperity today released the following television ad in six states today. The ad exposes the outrageous cronyism and disregard for American taxpayers in the growing Solyndra scandal.

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Tags: Americans for Prosperity, AFP, American taxpayers, Barack Obama, Solyndra, scandal, cronyism, ad To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to America's Best Choice. Thanks!

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. He Kept His Eyes on the Prize

Ken Blackwell and Bob Morrison, ARRA News Contributing Authors: Informed in 1960 that the Rev. Martin Luther King, Senior would be voting for the Protestant Richard Nixon, Sen. Jack Kennedy smiled and said: “We all have fathers.” It was typical of his wit. Kennedy’s own father was a notorious anti-Semite and appeaser. Young Jack would never repudiate Old Joe, or fail to cash Joe’s hefty checks. Kennedy would win that election and go on to present Congress with the most far-reaching civil rights legislation in a century.

"Our lives begin to end the day we
become silent about things that matter."
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)

We celebrate this month the life and legacy of Rev. Martin Luther King, Junior. He kept his eyes on the prize: civil rights for millions of black Americans suffering under unjust Jim Crow laws.

Racial segregation was approved by the U.S. Supreme Court in one of the worst rulings in history, Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). In that case that the former Kentucky slave owner, Justice John Marshall Harlan, wrote this powerful dissent.

“The law regards man as man, and takes no account of his surroundings or of his color when his civil rights as guaranteed by the supreme law of the land are involved... We boast of the freedom enjoyed by our people above all other peoples. But it is difficult to reconcile that boast with a state of the law which, practically, puts the brand of servitude and degradation upon a large class of our fellow-citizens, our equals before the law. The thin disguise of 'equal' accommodations for passengers in railroad coaches will not mislead any one, nor atone for the wrong this day done.”

The wrong of that day of Plessy lasted into the 1960s. Justice Harlan, a Republican appointee, ringingly proclaimed that the Constitution must be “color-blind.” Let’s honor his memory, too.

Dr. King made his point in biblical cadences. He cried out from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial :” “Let justice roll down like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (Amos 5:24) Following the peaceful conclusion of that great March on Washington in August, 1963, President Kennedy invited Dr. King and the leaders of the civil rights movement to a meeting in the Oval Office.

It was not Dr. King’s first time there. President Eisenhower had made a point of inviting Dr. King to meet with him to discuss civil rights when King emerged as the leader of the Montgomery (Alabama) bus boycott in 1957. Dr. King and his followers refused to ride in the back of the buses that their tax dollars supported.

Ike had used his appointive powers to name Supreme Court justices who would correct the injustice of Plessy. Barely a year into Eisenhower’s first term, the high court unanimously ruled against segregation in public schools in Brown v. Board of Education (1954). And Republican Eisenhower sent federal troops into Little Rock, Arkansas when the Democratic Gov. Orval Faubus defied federal court orders to de-segregate that city’s schools.

Eisenhower was criticized endlessly by liberal elites for his emphasis on massive federal highway construction and for encouraging American prosperity. “A vast wasteland,” they dubbed TV in what all now see as its golden age. Still, it was over Ike’s new Interstate highways that the Freedom Riders of the early sixties blazed a trail to end segregation. And those TV news cameras let all Americans see, for the first time, the police dogs and fire hoses necessary to maintain segregation. Political reform followed quickly on the heels of Ike’s achievements.

When Democratic Sen. Hubert Humphrey led the fight for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, he had no stronger ally than Republican Leader Everett Dirksen. Minority Republicans in the Senate gave even stronger support, proportionately, than Democrats did to push through that historic legislation.

Dr. King was willing to lay down his life. His assassination by a white racist on April 4, 1968 was the culmination of King’s lifelong advocacy of full equality under law.

“I have been to the mountain top,” Dr. King told his worried supporters in the days before his murder. He had indeed. He saw the promised land of equal justice under law. He had that vision because he kept his eyes on the prize. All Americans can be grateful for his legacy.
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J. Ken Blackwell is a conservative family values advocate. Blackwell is a former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Commission and is a senior fellow at the Family Research Council and a visiting professor at Liberty University School of Law. Bob Morrison is a Senior Fellow for Policy Studies at the Family Research Council. He has served at the U.S. Department of Education with Gary Bauer under then-Secretary William Bennett. Both are contributing authors to the ARRA News Service.

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