Penny Press Las Vegas, NV Volume 3 Number 31 APRIL 27, 2006 Will The Hammer's Problems Change Congress? See Analysis Page 3 THE PENNY PRESS, APRIL 27, 2006 PAGE 2 www.pennypresslv.com The Penny Press is published weekly by Penny Credits: 5010 Productions, Inc. All Contents © Penny Press 2006 Publisher and Editor: Contributing Editors: Letters to the Editor are encouraged. They should be sent to our offices at 418 1/2 S. Maryland Parkway, Las Press Fred Weinberg Diane Grassi Al Thomas Vegas 89101. They can also be emailed to: Logotype Circulation: Doug French Bill Here [email protected] No unsigned or unverifiable let- Pointedlymad Charlotte Weinberg Brent Jordan Pat Choate ters will be printed. licensed from: Rich Gast Joyce Meyer Bob Jennings 702-740-5588 Fax: 702-920-8215 Penny Press LAS VEGAS, NEVADA 16 PAGES VOLUME 3 NUMBER 31 APRIL 27, 2006 GOP Loss Of House Not Likely By JOSEPH P. TARTARO possible in politics, and there are date or the financing to even field an is in the 6th District of Illinois. Executive Editor, Gun Week likely to be some surprises. But when opponent. This is a seat that Republican Henry Special To the Penny Press you read or hear that the polls favor Hyde has held for 32 years. Hyde Democrats, that President Bush’s 1994 and 2004 Races who was chairman of the Judiciary The 2006 congressional elec- approval ratings are way down Committee for many years and is tions are just seven months away and and that some GOP members of Of course, there are cases when currently chair of the International there are already a number of devel- Congress are distancing themselves there have been major shifts. The Relations Committee had a mixed opments that may change the face of from the White House, you can take ones that come to mind for most record on the gun issue, but he was races for the 110th Congress, which that news with a grain of salt. gunowners would be the 1994 con- always re-elected in what was con- will convene in January 2007. The truth is that historically the gressional elections, in which people sidered a safe Republican District in There are a number of polls public has always given Congress like Judiciary Committee Chairman suburban Chicagoland. low marks as a whole—regardless Jack Brooks and House Majority This year, however, the Illinois of which party is in the majority— Leader Tom Foley were upset, and Democrats—mostly anti-gun but has given high marks to their perhaps the Senate race in North Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and Political Analysis own representative. The public has Dakota in 2004 when incumbent Gov. Rod Blagojevich—are zeroing always tended to blame Congress Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle in on that seat and they have a strong while assigning little or none of that was ousted. candidate in L. Tammy Duckworth, which have suggested that the public blame to their own individual con- This year, no matter how dis- a retired Army major and helicopter is swinging toward the Democrats, gressmen. satisfied the public may be about pilot who lost both legs in a grenade but there are some realities of poli- That is a key reason why incum- the War in Iraq, the illegal immi- attack in Iraq. Duckworth beat back tics which, at this point at least, bents keep winning and why, if gration issue, the further erosion of strong opposition in the state pri- make it highly unlikely that the there is an electoral contest at all, it America’s industrial jobs, the races maries in March, and Democratic Republicans will lose control of the involves open seats. In most cases, will be decided on local issues, and money is easy to get because of the House. Likewise, the odds are not a congressman or woman in their only about two dozen House races— surprise 2004 capture of the neigh- very great for the Democrats to second or third term is going to be mainly vacancies—are even rated as boring 8th District, another long regain control of the Senate. re-elected and in many districts, the toss-ups by the political experts. Continued on page4 However, almost everything is opposition party can’t get a candi- One of those races to watch The Conservative Weekly PAT CHOATE PAGE 5 Voice Of Las Vegas FRED WEINBERG PAGE 6 DOUG FRENCH PAGE 7 Inside: Penny Wisdom BILLHERE PAGE 8 AL THOMAS PAGE 10 Be thankful we’re not getting Local TV News Still all the government we’re pay- JOYCE MEYER PAGE 12 ing for. DIANE GRASSI PAGE 13 —Will Rogers Needs Attention PET OF THE WEEK PAGE 15 See Editorial Page 6 THE PENNY PRESS, APRIL 27, 2006 PAGE 4 GOP Should Retain House Continued from page 3 term GOP stronghold. Delay Announcement Embattled former House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-TX), who was a major friend to gunowners during his 11 terms in office, announced that he was retiring in June and would not be a candidate for reelection in November. The GOP may retain this seat, but it is another indication that the next Congress, even if still controlled by the Republicans, will be somewhat different. If the Democrats are successful in their bid to win majority control again, you can expect big changes, with some pretty anti-gun Democrats assuming the chairs of important committees like Judiciary. Another reason the 2006 elections will be different is that we will see a greater influence of the use of the Internet by creative political operatives. Even though he didn’t win his party’s presidential nomination in 2004, then relatively unknown Howard Dean’s campaign used the Internet very cre- atively to raise money and build a significant base. Other national and local candidates have also learned that the Internet offers some power tools and ways to be more selective in targeting messages to likely key constituencies and even precincts. The New York Times ran a front page story on Apr. 2 in which they pre- dicted “new tricks in old game” as part of the sweeping changes facing the political pros via the Internet. The web offers a variety of new ways to reach the voters and the “rainmakers” who provide the financial support in big gobs. The Internet makes it possible to have more efficient and less costly means of communication, using e-mail, interactive websites, candidate and party blogs, text messaging, etc. The web can be used to recruit volunteers, to organize rallies and get out the vote campaigns. More importantly, the Internet offers a powerful way to circumvent many of the incumbent-friendly provisions of the McCain-Feingold cam- paign reform bill that the National Rifle Association (NRA) and other groups fought in court. FEC Decision Significantly, the NRA was delighted when the Federal Election Commission (FEC) voted 6-0 on Mar. 27 in favor of campaign-finance rules that will leave political speech on the Internet mostly unregulated, accord- ing to The Washington Times. “It didn’t take long to reach a decision,” said FEC spokesman Ian Stirton. “All six members voted in favor.” The rules approved by the FEC will give websites, blogs and e-mails the same exemption that is provided to newspapers that cover political unique and evolving mode of mass communication and political speech that campaigns. is distinct from other media in a manner that warrants a restrained regula- That means bloggers can promote or criticize federal candidates and tory approach.’ In layman’s terms what this means is that bloggers and other issues without fear of financial penalty. on-line political sites are given the ‘media exemption’ that allows newspa- However, the rules will regulate on-line paid political free speech. pers like this one to criticize politicians with no strings attached. Two days later, The Times editorialized about the decision: “Unfortunately,” The Times noted in conclusion, “the regulationists “ ‘Tread lightly’ was our advice to the Federal Election Commission last refuse to go away. Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Russ Feingold (D-WI) year regarding government interference with the Internet. And so it has. In are pushing to include the Internet under the umbrella of their anti-free- an unanimous decision . the FEC voted to save most Internet speech from speech legislation, and they have allies in the House. Which is why, as campaign-finance regulations. This is welcome news, if also expected. former FEC Chairman Brad Smith argues, Congress would do well to pass “The truth is that the FEC never wanted to touch the Internet to begin Rep. Jeb Hensarling’s (R-TX) Online Freedom of Speech Act to codify the with, but was forced by a Clinton-appointed judge, who said the Internet FEC’s rules into law. ‘What worries us is the “slippery slope” argument,’ was not exempt from the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign-finance reform Mike Walz, Hensarling press secretary, told us. As good as the FEC decision act. Her decision elicited harsh and deserved outrage from both the left and is, the federal government is now on-line, so to speak. It’s generally a time right wings of the blogosphere—two realms of society that rarely agree. The for concern whenever the government gets a foot in door, since there’s no FEC responded with a 96-page proposal that ‘recognizes the Internet as a telling how a future FEC would interpret the rules.” THE PENNY PRESS, APRIL 27, 2006 PAGE 5 Commentary: Pat Choate Something that is interesting governments have quietly been work- groups) – the people who file 45 per- Really Dull But about patent reform is the politics.