Kasich Hates Your Republican Values -- He Wants to "Redfine" Them For You

...but don't take my word for it, he said it:

Republican presidential contender John Kasich has split from other conservatives in his party on issues like immigration and same-sex marriage, but he's not denouncing the GOP's values just yet.

"I think I have right to define what the party is, Charlie," Kasich told "CBS This Morning" host Charlie Rose early Thursday. "Look, if I win, I have a right to define what the party is, and along the way I'm defining what it is."

How gracious of the governor not to denounce our values...just yet.

• He's for illegal immigration with absolutely no consequences. (I've seen no statement or policy from him or attributed to him that would lead me to believe otherwise.)

• He's for allowing ISIS to operate in Syria (His policy is a no-fly zone that Russia is currently "violating" by CRUSHING ISIS in Syria.)

• He's pro-Common Core

• He's pro Obamacare (even though he claims he wants repeal, his actions tell a different story/  See: Medicaid expansion) 

• He's opposed to cheap oil (See: Fracking taxes)

• He's a tyrant.  When he doesn't get his way, he goes around the legislature and takes "executive" action (Sound familiar?)

 There are reasons why people like Joy Behar and Rachel Maddow like him.  He's NOT one of us.  He is one of THEM.

My favorite bit is about the Trans-Pacific Partnership:

Kasich said that he believes "it's good for the U.S. not only in terms of economics but in terms of foreign policy. Trade can make a difference in strengthening us around the world."

He added that while he hasn't read the full details of the trade bill, he does support it.

He doesn't need to read the bill to know that he likes it.  Obama likes it and that's good enough for him.

Lastly, there's this:

When questioned about his differing stance on same-sex marriage, Kasich said, "Look, I believe in traditional marriage, but the court has ruled."

The Court ruled on slavery, segregation and women's suffrage too.....  Kasich doesn't really believe in traditional marriage or he'd recognize that the decision doesn't hold up to the values of his party and would insist that the party continue to fight.

Instead, he wants to "redefine" Republican values just as he has "redefined" conservatism in Ohio.  How'd THAT work out for us?

Good Ole Syria

By ALBERT AJI, Associated Press Writer

There is "a real opportunity" for Syria and Israel to resume peace talks with help from the United States, Sen. Arlen Specter said Saturday after arriving for a two-day visit.

Specter said he hoped Syria's participation in last month's Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Md., was a step toward "a new beginning for real efforts" to reach a Mideast peace, including between Syria and Israel.

"I think there is a very important moment in the Middle East and there is a real opportunity if the parties are ready to move," Specter, R-Pa., told The Associated Press. "It's up to the parties. It's up to Syria and Israel, but the United States, I think, is in the position to be helpful."

Ok everyone who believes this stand on your head. Syria has been the toadie in this region for so long why would they even entertain the thought of leaving Lebanon alone and not being Iran's lackey. This will yet again prove useless especially in the wake of the Pakastani situation. Look for Lebanon to heat up again with no election in site

Bush's Legacy

George W. Bush is doing what every second term president does: try to get the Palestinians and the Israelis to break bread, smoke a little peyote, and sing a verse or two of "Kumbaya."

The AP News report:

WASHINGTON (AP) The State Department has announced that the U.S. will host a Middle East peace conference at Annapolis, Md., on Nov. 27.

This has not worked before and it will not work now. When the Palestinians are tired of killing and dying, then there will be peace. But until Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia are dealt with, that will NEVER happen... Call me crazy, but the only way this problem gets fixed is if Islamofascism dies and these regimes start working for peace in earnest.

President Bush need not worry about his legacy...that was solidified on September 11th, 2001.

Good News! Syria Might Have Nukes

Last week, I was seeing all these reports about an alleged Israeli air strike in Syria. It even came up a couple of times in the daily State Department briefings.

Turns out, that there is some serious evidence that Syria may have some nuclear facilities that are being funded by...wait for it...Iran...and stocked by...wait for it...North Korea.

Want more info? Check out the stories at YNet and the New York Times.

UPDATE: /good news sarcasm...

Gov Romney Discusses Pelosi's Trip to Syria with Glenn Beck

State Dept. on Speaker of State Pelosi's Proposed Trip to Iran

From today's briefing received via email:

QUESTION: A couple things on Iran. First of all, Pelosi says she's thinking of going there now with Tom Lantos in tow. Can you give me any reaction on that?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, I'm not sure that that has happened in 27 years that you've had the Speaker of the House travel to Iran. You know, I don't know how serious she is about those plans and I don't think that we have heard from her that she plans to do it. I know that there's a mention of this in a press conference. So at this point, I'm not going to try to react to something that was just mentioned in perhaps an off-hand way in a press conference. But it would certainly be a departure from 27 years of past practice.

QUESTION: Do you think if she does go that this is, you know, a dangerous trend that's happening and the Democrats kind of trying to circumvent what you're trying to do?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, whatever members of Congress ultimately decide to do with respect to their travel schedule, I don't think that there's any confusion on the part of the American people or the international system as to who is responsible for the formulation of foreign policy as well as its execution. That is the Executive Branch led by President Bush, so I don't think there's any confusion about that.

That's diplomat for "Chick better get off our turf."

Democrats Should Cut State Department Funding

In less than one week, Speaker Pelosi met with the President of Syria (a state-sponsor of terrorism), declined a meeting with the President of the United States regarding the funding of American troops fighting the Global War on Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan, and expressed being "open" to visiting Iran - one of the globe's terrorism sponsors-in-chief.

Democrats should propose cutting the funding for the State Department because apparently they think Congress is supposed to have the diplomatic responsibilities of our government. There is no reason to duplicate efforts and confuse our allies and enemies alike as to what the policy of the United States of America really is...

Nevermind that the Constitution of the United States clearly states that foreign policy is to be directed by the President, the Speaker of the House clearly has no intention of following the law. The Justice Department should be directed to open an investigation of the Speaker's willful violation of the law and she should be detained.

There is a difference between "fact finding" and open negotitation with our enemies. Speaker Pelosi wants to undermine the foreign policy of the duly elected government of the United States and that should not be tolerated.

Comments on Pelosi and Hobson Trip to Syria?

Rep. Eric Cantor is collecting comments over at his blog. Head on over there and give 'em a piece of your mind!

Democrat Leadership Appears Drunk on its Own Power

An editorial in yesterday's New Hampshire Union Leader, adds to the national consensus that Speaker Pelosi's visit to Middle East nations was "foolish" and "dangerous." And further, "The Democratic leadership in Congress has been in office only a few months and already appears drunk on its own power."

Of course, readers of WMD knew all of this already it is nice to see the 527 media get one right every now and then...

Lebanese Perspective on Pelosi and Hobson's Trip to Syria

From the Daily Star (Lebanon):

We can thank the US speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, for having informed Syrian President Bashar Assad, from Beirut , that "the road to solving Lebanon 's problems passes through Damascus." Now, of course, all we need to do is remind Pelosi that the spirit and letter of successive United Nations Security Council resolutions, as well as Saudi and Egyptian efforts in recent weeks, have been destined to ensure precisely the opposite: that Syria end its meddling in Lebanese affairs.

Pelosi embarked on a fool's errand to Damascus this week, and among the issues she said she would raise with Assad - when she wasn't on the Lady Hester Stanhope tour in the capital of imprisoned dissidents Aref Dalila, Michel Kilo, and Anwar Bunni - is "the role of Syria in supporting Hamas and Hizbullah." What the speaker doesn't seem to have realized is that if Syria is made an obligatory passage in American efforts to address the Lebanese crisis, then Hizbullah will only gain. Once Assad is re-anointed gatekeeper in Lebanon, he will have no incentive to concede anything, least of all to dilettantes like Pelosi, on an organization that would be Syria 's enforcer in Beirut if it could re-impose its hegemony over its smaller neighbor.

The author is just getting started...read the whole thing here.

Nancy Pelosi and Dave Hobson should leave the shuttle diplomacy to the professionals in the State Department. They aren't my favorite people on the planet, but at least they know what they are doing.

My favorite line comes at the end:

[F]oreign bigwigs come to town, their domestic calculations in hand; then they leave, and we're left picking up the pieces.

Foreign affairs is better left with the grown ups...

More Criticism of Pelosi's and Hobson's Trip to Syria

USA Today Says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) Stepped "Out Of Bounds On Ill-Conceived Trip To Syria."

"But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi crossed a line this week by visiting Syria, where she met with President Bashar Assad. She violated a long-held understanding that the United States should speak with one official voice abroad - even if the country is deeply divided on foreign policy back home. ... No matter that she claimed to have stuck closely to administration positions in her conversations with Assad, smiling photos of Pelosi and the Syrian president convey the unspoken message that while the U.S. president is unwilling to talk with Syria, another wing of the government is. Assad made good use of the moment." (Editorial, "Pelosi Steps Out of Bounds on Ill-Conceived Trip to Syria ," USA Today, 4/6/07)

The Wall Street Journal Says Pelosi Undermined U.S. Foreign Policy.

"She purported to convey a message from Israel's Ehud Olmert expressing similar interest in 'the peace process,' except that the Israeli Prime Minister felt obliged to issue a clarification noting that Ms. Pelosi had got the message wrong. Israel hadn't changed its policy, which is that it will negotiate only when Mr. Assad repudiates his support for terrorism and stops trying to dominate Lebanon . As a shuttle diplomat, Ms. Pelosi needs some practice. ... With her trip, Ms. Pelosi has now reassured the Syrian strongman that Mr. Bush lacks the domestic support to impose any further pressure on his country. She has also made it less likely that Mr. Assad will cooperate with the Hariri probe, or assist the Iraqi government in defeating Baathist and al Qaeda terrorists." (Editorial, "Democrats at War," Wall Street Journal, 4/6/07)

Pelosi and Hobson have rewarded Syria for bad behavior.

Hobson Violates 11th Commandment

From the Columbus Dispatch article about the spat between Republican Leader, my Congressman and a Great America - John Boehner - and Congressman Hobson (RINO-OH) on the Pelosi/Hobson trip to Syria:

Hobson, the only Republican on the trip, also dismissed complaints about the trip from Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor. Hobson said the administration knew about the trip in advance and provided the delegation with a jet.

"As far as I know, they never said a word to anybody until we were in the air," Hobson said.

As for Romney's assertion during an Iowa campaign visit yesterday that the Syrian trip was a "huge, huge mistake," Hobson said, "I don't know what Romney knows about foreign policy to begin with."

Special thanks goes out to Dave for helping Nancy Pelosi in her attempt to usurp the powers of the presidency in to the role of Speaker of the House.

GOP Primary Challenger wanted. Apply here, just don't tell her that you're a real Republican...she might take over your Board of Elections...

UPDATE: Apparently Eric from Plunderbund doesn't read WMD...I've been criticizing Hobson and the other Republicans on the Syria trip from the beginning. Of course, since that doesn't fit his template, he's happy screaming "hypocrisy" or whatever...that's okay Eric, I don't read you either.

Pelosi's Republican Friends

As previously reported on WMD, Nancy Pelosi thinks she's the Secretary of State; in addition to Rep. Hobson (R-OH), these three Republicans are similary confused as to which branch of government they belong to... (FOX News):

Republican congressmen Frank Wolf, Joe Pitts and Robert Aderholt met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus on Sunday.

HT: Two Babes and a Brain

Brit Hostage Crisis Update

AP News Alert:

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he has pardoned the 15 British sailors and marines detained in the Gulf last month.

...which is great seeing as they committed no actual crime...

AP News Alert:

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the 15 British sailors and marines will be released at the end of the news conference that is under way.

LONDON (AP) An Iranian official says the captive British sailors and marines will be handed over to the British Embassy in Tehran.

LONDON (AP) Prime Minister Tony Blair's office says it "welcomes" the news that 15 sailors and marines held by Iran will be freed.

UPDATE - AP News Alert:

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iranian state television says the British sailors and marines will leave Iran on a plane Thursday.

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) Syrian officials say Damascus played a key role in getting the 15 British sailors and marines released by Iran.

Pelosi Thinks She is Secretary of State

Nancy Pelosi has decided to visit Syria, her second trip to the Middle East which means she wants to put her stamp on foreign policy. Anybody see THAT in the Constitution?

This topic came up in Friday's briefing with the State Department. Here is a taste:

QUESTION: Nancy Pelosi is visiting Syria. The White House criticized her decision to go. I was wondering what you think of this. And it's my understanding that the Bush Administration tried to dissuade her from visiting Syria at this time, didn't think it would be appropriate.

MR. MCCORMACK: Right.

QUESTION: Can you speak to that?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, we've -- you know, our message both to Republicans and Democrats alike who either have visited Syria in this recent period or intend to, as Speaker Pelosi does, has been consistent, it's been the same. In our view, it's not the right time to have those sort of high-profile visitors to Syria mostly for the simple fact that the Syrians, despite a number of different pleas and approaches from the United States as well as other countries, have refused to change their behavior vis-à-vis support for Palestinian rejectionist groups, for their support for -- their unhelpful stance with respect to Lebanon. And we don't think it would be appropriate for high-level visitors, even those from the Congress, to pay a visit to Syria right now.

A typical Syrian MO on this is to use these visits to tell the rest of the world and say, "Look, there's nothing wrong. We're having all these visitors come to Syria, coming to Damascus, there's no problem with our behavior," and they point to the visits as proof that there is no problem with their behavior and that they are not, in fact, isolated. So that's the simple reason why we have encouraged others as well as Speaker Pelosi not to travel.

That said, congressmen and representatives are going to make their own decisions about where they travel. And in this case, they made the decision to go forward. We are going to provide all the support that might normally be expected to be provided to a member of Congress traveling to a foreign country. We provided a briefing for Speaker Pelosi's staff and those traveling with her. So that's about -- that's really where we stand right now.

QUESTION: Will anyone from State be accompanying Speaker Pelosi?

MR. MCCORMACK: No.

It doesn't sound like the career diplomats at the State Department are too happy with the trip either...

BizzyBlog's Tom Blumer emails this:

I think it means the surge is working, and that they're going to tell the Syrians to "step it up, for cryin' out loud; you can't let US forces win."

They would have made an additional stop for the same purpose in Tehran if it weren't for the British hostage situation. That's okay; Assad will pass it on.

Well, I'm not sure that Pelosi is going to encourage the enemy, but her trip will be interpreted by our enemies as something being in their favor. Democrats still seem to view the Global War on Terror as a limited conflict with al Qaeda...it is bigger than that. It always has been. 9/11 was the trigger event that brought western civilization in to the conflict, but the Islamofascists have been fighting this war long before bin Laden was anybody.

Is Syria an Islamofascist country? I'd have to say, "Yes." Does that make Syria an enemy of this country? I think so... The first rule of international relations is that countries will do what is in their nation's best interest first and foremost at the time. When you are honest with yourself about what Syria's motives and goals are, you will see that they line up perfectly with Iran and the rest of the Islamofascists. You know, the guy who wat Israel wiped off the map while shouting "Death to America!" It's time we start taking those people seriously...they mean what they say and it is time we give them their due attention.

That is who Nancy Pelosi plans to visit...

3:00PM UPDATE: New SOB Alliance Member Liberally Conservative points out that Ohio Republican Congressman Hobson went along on Nancy trip...