Remarks from Senator John McCain

November 4, 2008 – Thank you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening.

A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt’s invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel and prideful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African American to the presidency of the United States. Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth. Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer in my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day, though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise.

My friends, we have — we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly. A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.

In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.

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Tags: Barack Obama,Concession Speech,Election 2008,John McCain
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Fred Barnes, in his latest piece, highlights five things the Republican Party needs to do.  Here is number five:

Republican Weakness. Where is it? In the Northeast, across the upper Midwest, and in cities and upscale suburbs. To gain a majority in Congress, Republicans will have to win House and Senate seats in those places. To win the presidency, they’ll have to appeal to voters in those locations.

Republicans in Washington must keep these voters–they’re more moderate than conservative–in mind and avoid alienating them. Republicans don’t need to jettison conservative principles. Ryan, the party’s most innovative thinker, says Republicans need only apply these principles to the new political era, and moderates will be comfortable with the result.

One more thing is essential, according to Ryan. “We’ve got to be happy warriors,” he says. “We’ve got to stop being the angry white guy party.” Otherwise, Republicans will play right into Obama’s hands.

More than anything, we need to stick our principles.  But we cannot be overbearing social and neo conservatives.  We are going to do well in the South.  But what are we doing to win votes in the Northeast and the Northern Plains?  Why haven’t we been competitive in the Pacific Northwest?

These are all valid questions and we, as Republicans, need to start digging deep to find the answers.

Tags: Fred Barnes,Republican Party
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Well ladies and gentleman, we lost.  And we lost overwhelmingly.  But it wasn’t a surprise.  What hurts the most to me are the losses we suffered at the county and municipal level in New Jersey.  We lost Congressional District Three, in my honest opinion, because of interparty fighting, not because of “Obamamania.”  George Gilmore and Ocean County couldn’t get over the fact their candidate lost in the primary to Medford Mayor Chris Myers (a Burlington County man).

The 12% margin of victory for Myers in Ocean County is a joke.

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How do we lose two freeholder seats and the county clerk’s office in Burlington County?

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How do we get swept out in Cumberland County?

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We have a lot of questions.  We need to do some soul searching in the next few weeks.  But know this: our path to victory in 2009 and beyond begins today.  We cannot be looking over our shoulders wondering what we could have done different.  It is time to be proactive.  It is time to bring forth a new generation of young Republican leaders.  We need to rally around Congressman Cantor from Virgina and Congressman Ryan from Wisoconsin.  We need to rally around Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and other young Republican leaders like him nationwide.  And we need to dump Tom Wilson, our illustrious State GOP Chairman.  Our party is in shambles here in New Jersey.  Just look at the selection process for our U.S. Senate candidate to understand my point.

My friends, join me: stand with me as I fight to bring about Republican ideas and values.  Stand with me as I work to rebuild our party from the ground up, so we can retake Trenton and Washington.  It is time for a taxpayer revolution my friends, and it begins today!

Tags: Bobby Jindal,Burlington County,Chris Myers,Conservatives,Conservativsm,Election 2008,Eric Cantor,George Gilmore,Kyle Battaglia,New Jersey,Ocean County,Politics,Republican,Tom Wilson
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The Rider community is a strong one.  We are one big family that comes together in times of tragedy and rejoices together when one of our own goes and achieves something great.  Unfortunately, there are times when the school community, much like a family, is divided.  During any election year, the campus is bound to be separated on ideological differences; a microcosm of the rest of the nation.  What separates Rider from other places around this country is the forum in which this “unity” is perceived.

                Rider has sought out speakers to come to campus, some liberal and some conservative.  This is to be applauded.  Sadly, this year there has not been a strong presence of dissenting opinion sponsored by the administration.  On Constitution Day, an event celebrating the implementation of the Constitution of this nation, Rider invited Former Democrat Congressman Harold Ford of Tennessee.  While he gave a great speech addressing the political climate of this country, he did not in any great detail discuss the reason why he was invited:  the constitution.  A mere oversight, perhaps, but considering the fact that he was a paid speaker on a topic he should have stuck to it.  This week we are hosting Donna Brazile, a noted Democrat political commentator, as our Unity day speaker.  Unity day focuses our attention on bringing people together and not dividing them apart.  How unifying is inviting only liberal points of view to Riders campus in arguably the most important election in our lifetimes?  Where is the forum for conservative thought about the election?  I do not dispute Ms. Brazile’s expertise as a political commentator; however, I strongly disagree with my Student Activities fee being spent to bring only one side of the political scene to campus.  The administration has the duty to represent all student interests and in my eyes has failed to do that.  It is no wonder Rider is ranked as one of the 20 least politically active campuses in the nation when the school provides a forum for only liberal minds.  College is supposed to be a vigorous debate with all students, asking them to think critically and examine all sides of an issue in order to form their own opinions on a topic.  This has not been encouraged on Riders campus.

                I hope that the Unity day and Constitution day speakers’ political affiliation was merely an oversight.  Unfortunately, considering the left leanings of many in this administration, how can we reasonably expect a fair and unbiased learning environment?  It makes our job, as concerned conservatives, difficult when we fight against the liberal imperialism on campus.  It is our responsibility, as College Republicans, to seek out the truth and bring balance to this campus.  We will be protesting Donna Brazile at 6 pm in front of the BLC.  Join us so we can tell the administration that we are not all democrats.  We have a right to be heard on this campus!

Tags: Rider
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…To Congressman Scott Garrett from NJ’s 5th District for voting against the Bailout. Nice to know that there are some Republicans out there still fighting for our beliefs.

Categories: Current Events, Rants & Opinions
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