Republicans should let Barack Obama jump off the “fiscal cliff” if he wants, but they can also do something productive for the American taxpayers.  That is why the American people gave them huge majorities in the House of Representatives in both the 112th Congress in 2010 and in the 113th Congress in last month’s election.  The Republicans in the House of Representatives should pass a permanent extension of President George W. Bush’s 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, leave town and have a Merry Christmas.

Newt Gingrich was quoted in a “NewsMax.TV” article on Saturday that he is almost afraid that agreement will be reached to avoid the country from going over the so-called “fiscal cliff,” because “the agreement will be ‘a really bad deal.’”  Remembering past deals such as the one President Ronald Reagan said was one of his worst decisions  --  i.e. Reagan said he would deliver $1 dollar in tax increases for every $3 of federal spending cuts offered by then-Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill  --  Speaker Gingrich said, “I don’t see any evidence that the president is prepared to deliver liberal Democrats in the Senate for any kind of spending cuts that matter.” 

The 1994 election provides a beacon of hope for Republicans in Congress.  Voters in the historical mid-term election gave control of the United States House of Representatives to the Republicans for the first time in 40 years.  The last time the Republicans gained control of the House was when Dwight David Eisenhower won his overwhelming victory over Adlai Stevenson in 1952.

Senate Republicans also regained control of the Senate from 1953 to 1955, just as the Republicans in the House did.  While House Republicans were in the political wilderness for the next 40 years, President Ronald Reagan’s two landslides in 1980 and 1984 gave Republicans control of the Senate for six years.

The reason the U.S. Congress was controlled by the Democrats for most of the 40 years prior to the 1994 election can best be personified by the long-time minority  --  emphasis on minority  --  leader, Congressman Bob Michel, a very kind and genial man, but a highly ineffective leader.  Congressman Michel was perfectly content to accept crumbs from the Democrat spending feast.  If the Democrats promised a cut of $1 dollar in federal spending for every $1 tax increase  --  a highly unlikely proposal since they normally wanted more tax increases --  you can bet the spending cuts would not materialize following the tax increases because of decades of weak Republican leadership.

So, what does the battleground for the coming 2012 presidential election look like?  Well, those national tracking polls you've been hearing about won't tell you.  All they do tell you is what a national sample of registered (or maybe "likely") voters said on any given day.   And of course the samples for those polls (and even the questions) get "gamed" by the media who sponsor them.

But the simple fact is that we don't elect a President "nationally".  In effect, we hold 50 different state-by-state elections, with each state being allotted a set number of "electoral votes" based on state population.  And you can pretty much bet the farm on "how" about thirty-five or forty of the states will vote in November...which leaves you with the "swing states".

The map below reflects the most likely swing states, based on polling over the past year.  They are: Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada.  Of course that list could (and will) expand or contract over the coming months, but this gives you a pretty good idea of the lay of the land.

The news that the government of Great Britain is mounting a full-scale assault on Christians is not really surprising.  The left-wing in England, like their counterparts on the European continent, have long discriminated against Christians, while at the same time, in myriad ways, protected those of Muslim faith.  For much of his 3 years in office, Barack Obama and his administration have been mirroring Europe’s blatant discrimination against Christians.

The latest example of the rabid discrimination by Prime Minister David Cameron’s government in Great Britain against Christians came from a news report from the United Kingdom’s national newspaper, “The Daily Mail”.  According to the newspaper, the UK’s Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone, a Liberal Democrat, has instructed government’s lawyers to stop Christian workers from wearing the cross.  The Cameron government will call on Europe’s “human rights” judges to dismiss the claims of Christian workers Nadia Eweida and Shirley Chaplin that they have a right to wear a cross to work as a symbol of their faith in Jesus Christ.

While all of the attention concerning the 2012 presidential race has been focused on the ongoing Republican primaries and caucuses, the most recent batch of state by state poll numbers from Gallup have received much less attention.  And they don't look good for President Obama.

When you take the current poll numbers regarding Obama's approval rating (e.g., where he has a "net positive" rating), and then assign that state's Electoral College votes on that basis, the result is a 323 to 215 vote blowout, with only 270 being necessary to secure the Presidency.

Of course it is VERY early to be making any predictions.  The election is still about eight months away, and that is several eternities in politics, (especially given how fast things have changed in this cycle).

But it is safe to assume that the Obama campaign would rather that the polling "shoe" be on the other foot at this point, as they are clearly starting out from a position of weakness.

The Democrat-controlled United States Senate under the leadership of Harry Reid, D-NV, has done virtually nothing since it began on January 5th of this year.  Indeed, the Democrat leadership in the Senate  --  and in the United States House of Representatives, during the leadership (if you can call it that) of San Francisco Democrat Nancy Pelosi when she was speaker for 4 years before the Republicans took control this past January  --  has not passed a budget as required by law for a number of years. 
 
On the other hand, the new Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed its budget, as required by law, earlier this year.  The House Republicans have also passed over 25 major bills to create jobs in America, a nation which has suffered a 9% unemployment rate, on the average, under Barack Obama since he became president almost 3 years ago.
 
Before the Republicans adjourned for Christmas in the House of Representatives last week, they passed a spending bill  --  now signed into law by Obama  --  which will fund the government until the end of the 2012 Fiscal Year on September 30th. 
 

A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air balloon approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2,346 feet above sea level. You are 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude."

She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be a Republican."

"I am," replied the man. "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me."

The man smiled and responded, "You must be an Obama Democrat."

"I am," replied the balloonist. "But how did you know?"

"Well," said the man, "You don't know where you are or where you're going. You've risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You've made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and now you expect ME to solve your problem. You're in EXACTLY the same position you were in before we met, but somehow, now, it's MY fault.

Author unknown

Gallup has just reported its latest "generic ballot" numbers, (where potential voters are asked which party they intend to vote for in the next election).

The results are historic, with Republicans taking their biggest lead in the sixty year history of the Gallup poll.