Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Redneck

2009-04-30T19:00:41Z

CountryfirstRED:

'''Redneck''' is a term for poor whites in the U.S. South. The stereotype depicts a beefy, bestial white
southern workingman or farmer and his scrawny, sallow-looking wife and nasty children. By extension it now refers to any uncouth person.

The term "redneck" was in use by 1890; the first known print usage of the term appears in an 1891 Mississippi newspaper in reference to an upcoming Democratic primary. The exact origin of "redneck" is undetermined. Perhaps it refers to the sun burnt necks of people who worked in the hot fields all day, or to red necks characteristic of sufferers from pellagra (a disease caused by poor diets).

"Cracker" has a similar meaning; it was commonly used before the Civil War.<ref> Grady McWhiney, ''Cracker Culture: Celtic Ways in the Old South'' (1988) [http://www.questia.com/library/book/cracker-culture-celtic-ways-in-the-old-south-by-grady-mcwhiney.jsp online edition]</ref>

The comparable term "white trash" is used by African Americans.
==Social and political history==
After the Civil War the status of the independent white farmers (called "[[Yeomen]]") fell drastically in the South. Many became sharecroppers or tenants--they worked land owned by landowners in town. In the towns the rising southern middle class rejected the celebration of rural life associated with the yeoman. They denounced as "demagogues" the radical leaders who appealed to the poor farmers, for example [[Ben Tillman|"Pitchfork Ben Tillman]] who was governor and senator from South Carolina. As the poor farmers endorsed lynching of uppity blacks, the middle class townsfolk denounced lynching in the name of [[Law and order]]. Some poor farmers moved to mill towns, especially to work in the textile mills of the Carolinas. The money was much better than on the hard-scrabble farms, but this again represented a fall in social status. By the end of the century the middle class was ridiculing the former yeomen as "rednecks" and "hillbillies."<ref>"Hillbillies" lived in remote mountain areas. Stephen A. West, ''From Yeoman to Redneck in the South Carolina Upcountry, 1850–1915.'' (2008)</ref>

Appeals to the redneck vote angered the middle class but they were a minority, and redneck oratory proved successful in stirring resentment against cities like Charleston, South Carolina. A major breakthrough came in the 1899 Democratic primary campaign for U.S. Senator in Mississippi between the last of the middle class [[Redeemers]], Congressman John Mills Allen (1846-1917), and Governor Anselm Joseph McLaurin (1848-1909). Supported by the railroads, landowners and bankers, Allen won support because of his effective humor, clean political record, and reputation as a persuasive speaker. But McLaurin ignored Allen's attacks and skillfully reinforced his image as a poor dirt farmer sacrificing himself for his own people to fight single-handedly the organized corporate and political powers. Allen lost partly because of voting frauds, and, mostly because he did not understand the power of the new redneck rhetoric. He did not think that oratory which fanned the flames of class hatred could withstand criticism, and he was wrong.<ref> Clyde J. Faries, "Redneck Rhetoric and the Last of the Redeemers: The 1899 Mc Laurin-Allen Campaign." ''Journal of Mississippi History'' 1971 33(4): 283-298 0022-2771 </ref>

In the 1900s to 1930s leading reneck politicians included senators [[Tom Watson]] of Georgia, [[Ben Tillman]] and [[Cole Blease]] of South Carolina, [[Theodore Bilbo]] of Mississippi and, especially, [[Huey Long]] of Louisiana. In the 1960s Governor [[George Wallace]] of Alabama made national headlines in his two runs for the White House using redneck rhetoric.
==Recent usage==
Beginning in 1960s poor working-class white Southerners started to call themselves rednecks, redefining the word to mean an honest, hardworking man who respects traditional Southern values. Their use of the term also suggested a racial and class solidarity that set them apart from the upheaval of the civil rights movement, the 1960s counterculture, and the women's liberation movement.<ref> Huber (1995)</ref>
==see also==
* [[Yeoman]]
* [[Populism]]
==Further reading==
* Carr, Duane. ''A Question of Class: The Redneck Stereotype in Southern Fiction.'' Bowling Green State U. Popular Press, 1996. 188 pp.
* Goad, Jim. ''The Redneck Manifesto: How Hillbillies, Hicks, and White Trash Became America's Scapegoats'' (1998) [http://www.amazon.com/Redneck-Manifesto-Hillbillies-Americas-Scapegoats/dp/0684838648/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240277135&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Huber, Patrick. "A Short History of Redneck: The Fashioning of a Southern White Masculine Identity." ''Southern Cultures'' 1995 1(2): 145-166.
* McKern, Sharon. ''Redneck Mothers, Good Ol' Girls, and Other Southern Belles: A Celebration of the Women of Dixie.'' (1979). 268 pp.
* Roebuck, Julian B. and Hickson, Mark, III. ''The Southern Redneck: A Phenomenological Class Study.'' (1982). 210 pp.
* West, Stephen A. ''From Yeoman to Redneck in the South Carolina Upcountry, 1850–1915.'' (2008) 262pp
====references====
<references/>
[[Category:The South]]
[[Category:Dictionary]]

Country Music

2009-04-30T19:00:05Z

CountryfirstRED:

'''Country music''' is a [[genre]] of music which originated in the rural Southern and Western [[United States]]. It is tipified by the heavy use of [[guitar]]s, [[steel guitar]]s, and [[fiddle]]s, and, like its root style [[blues]], an accented 2nd and 4th beat in the drums.

==History==
Modern country music (in the later half of the 20th century and beyond) is considered "hillbilly music," or [[bluegrass]] (which itself has roots in the folk music of the [[Appalachia]]n hills), as well as early blues from the [[deep south]].

==Artists==
Some famous country musicians include:
*[[Hank Williams]]
*[[Toby Keith]]
*[[Johnny Cash]]
*[[Garth Brooks]]
*[[Willie Nelson]]
*[[Tim McGraw]]
*[[Eddy Arnold]]
*[[Carrie Underwood]]

Several organizations present awards to outstanding country performers including the [[Academy of Country Music]].

[[Category:musical Genres]]

Elitism

2009-04-30T18:58:38Z

CountryfirstRED: Undo revision 658561 by Karajou (Talk)

{{RefAppeal}}

'''Elitism''' is an attitude or belief in one's superiority based solely on membership in a particular group or community. Elitism can be seen, for example, in the delusion that being a celebrity or a gatekeeper of the mainstream news media <i>in itself</i> imparts sufficient wisdom to justify airing one's personal opinion on an issue.

During his ministry Jesus attacked the religious elitism of the [[Saduccees]] and the [[Pharisees]] which led them to manipulate the ruling Roman governor into executing this populist upstart. Because it is based in the values of Christianity, conservatism has an ambition to be populist, unlike liberalism, in which the [[Professor values|beliefs]] of the intellectual elitists make them superior to the public.

Notable elitists include:

#[[Al Gore]]
#[[Barack Obama]]
#[[Hillary Clinton]]
#[[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]]
#[[Marie Antoinette]]
#[[Sean Hannity]]
[[category:culture]]
[[category:psychology]]

Democrat Party

2009-04-30T18:38:54Z

CountryfirstRED:

for the party itself, see [[Democratic Party]]

'''Democrat Party''' is an epithet used in the U.S. by Republicans to refer to the opposition Democratic Party. Many Democrats strongly dislike the term and believe Republicans use it to ridicule them as not true practitioners of democracy inside the party.

The debate is the use of the proper noun "Democrat" as an adjective, in place of the established adjective for the party, "Democratic." Thus "Kerry is a Democratic Senator" or "Senator Kerry is a Democrat," is standard American usage, while "Kerry is a Democrat Senator" is controversial.
==Objection==
Many liberals object to the term. ''New Yorker Magazine'' commentator [[Hendrik Hertzberg]] wrote: "There’s no great mystery about the motives behind this deliberate misnaming. 'Democrat Party' is a slur, or intended to be - a handy way to express contempt. Aesthetic judgments are subjective, of course, but 'Democrat Party' is jarring verging on ugly."<ref> Hertzberg (2006)</ref>

==History of usage==
"Democrat Party" has a long history of usage by opponents of the Democratic Party--mostly Republicans but also third party leaders like [[Ralph Nader]].<ref>See "Transcript: Ralph Nader on 'Meet The Press' Sunday, May 7, 2000" at [http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/050800-03.htm]; "Presidential candidate Ralph Nader makes stop in Minnesota; sees little difference between Bush, Kerry," Oct 27, 2004, at [http://www.hometownsource.com/2004/October/27nader.html] </ref> The history has been traced by scholars and commentators to the early 20th century.<ref>including Feuerlicht (1957), Lyman (1958), Safire (1993), Sperber and Trittschuh (1962), Numberg (2005) and Hertzberg (2006).</ref> The earliest known use of the term, according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', was in Britain in 1890: "Whether a little farmer...is going to rule the Democrat Party in America."<ref>under "Democrat" 4 citing ''Spectator'' 15 Nov. 1890 p 676. </ref> The term was used by [[Herbert Hoover]] in 1932, and in the late 1930s by Republicans who used it to criticize Democratic big city machines run by powerful political bosses in what they considered undemocratic fashion. Republican leader [[Harold Stassen]] said in 1940, "I emphasized that the party controlled in large measure at that time by [Frank] Hague in New Jersey, [Tom] Pendergast in Missouri and Kelly-Nash in Chicago should not be called a 'Democratic Party.' It should be called the 'Democrat Party.'"<ref>Hertzberg (2006) citing Safire</ref>

The noun-as-adjective has been used by numerous Republican leaders since the 1940s and appears in most GOP national platforms since 1948.<ref>''National Party Platforms, 1840-1996'', editors Kirk H. Porter, and Donald Bruce Johnson, (1996).</ref> In 1947 the Republican leader Senator [[Robert A. Taft]] said, "Nor can we expect any other policy from any Democrat Party or any Democrat President under present day conditions. They can not possibly win an election solely through the support of the solid South, and yet their political strategists believe the Southern Democrat Party will not break away no matter how radical the allies imposed upon it."<ref>Robert Taft, ''The Papers of Robert A. Taft'', edited by Clarence E. Wunderlin, Jr., 2003, 3:313.</ref> President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] used the term in his acceptance speech in 1952 and in partisan speeches to Republican groups.<ref>''Washington Post'', October 28, 1958, page A8.</ref> Ruth Walker notes how [[Joseph McCarthy]] repeatedly used the phrase "the Democrat Party," and critics argue that if McCarthy used the term in the 1950s then no one else should do so. <ref> Walker (2005).</ref>

==Current usage==
In recent decades, however, the Republican Party has made the phrase "Democrat Party" its preferred way of referring to its opposition. The Republican Party Web site makes extensive use of the term. <ref> See [http://www.google.com/search?as_q=&num=10&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=Democrat+Party&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=www.gop.com&as_rights=&safe=images] </ref> The White House since 2001 has often used the noun-as-adjective when referring to the opposition party, and President Bush has used it almost exclusively.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,126757,00.html "Bush Courts Black Voters at Urban League"] AP July 23, 2004; [http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/2/1/212536/7288 List of 356 uses of Democrat as an adjective by President Bush]</ref> Likewise it is in common use by former House Majority Leader [[Tom DeLay]],<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,92971,00.html "DeLay: Democratic Party Unfit to Lead"], [[Fox News]], July 26, 2003.</ref> House Minority Leader [[John Boehner]],<ref>[http://www.slate.com/id/2156949/fr/rss/ "Pelosi's Big Day"], [[Slate (magazine)|Slate]], January 4, 2007.</ref> Senator [[Chuck Grassley|Charles Grassley]],<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,181052,00.html "Alito: No Person Is Above the Law"], [[Fox News]], January 9, 2006.</ref> Congressman [[Steve Buyer]]<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1998/12/18/transcripts/index7.html "Transcript: House debates articles of impeachment"], [[CNN]], December 18, 1998.</ref> and others. George W. Bush spoke the phrase "Democrat majority" in his [[2007 State of the Union Address]].<ref>[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/01/20070123-2.html Official 2007 State of the Union Transcript]</ref> (The advance copy that was given to members of Congress read "Democrat''ic'' majority".)<ref name="Copeland">{{cite news | first=Libby |last=Copleand |title = President's Sin of Omission? (Dropped Syllable in Speech Riles Democrats) | date = 2007-01-25 | url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/24/AR2007012402469.html | publisher = [[The Washington Post]] | accessdate = 2007-03-31}}</ref> Bush joked about his leadership of the "Republic Party" the following month.<ref> Noam H. Levey [http://www.latimes.com/news/la-ex-bush3feb04,1,4457343.story?ctrack=1&cset=true "Bush reaches across Partisan divide"]; LA Times, February 4, 2007 </ref>

Aside from partisan usage, the term can also be found used in non-partisan media. [[Media Matters for America]] has documented the occasional use of "Democrat Party" by CNN, ''The New York Times'', ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''The Chicago Tribune'', and the Associated Press. Abroad the term is occasionally used by the [[BBC]].<ref>[[Media Matters for America]], August 16, 2006. [http://mediamatters.org/items/200608160005 "GOP strategists christen 'Democrat (sic) Party' -- and the media comply"] On BBC see [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4259291.stm], on ''[[USA Today]]'' see [http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-10-11-reid_x.htm]; on [[Fox News]] see [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,227961,00.html]</ref>

Some state and local Democratic organizations use the noun-as-adjective on their web pages in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Indiana.<ref>[http://www.jeffcodems.org/web/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=117&Itemid=2 ''Chair's Newsletter--March 31-April 11, 2006'']. Jefferson County Democratic Party. Retrieved 2007-01-26. [http://www.il-democrats.org/DeWitt/calendar.html ''DeWitt County Democrat Party'']. Retrieved 2007-01-25. Indiana. [http://democrat.whitleynet.org/ ''Whitley County Democrat Party'']. Retrieved 2007-01-25. [http://www.ksdp.org/node/3044] regarding "The Kansas House Democrat Caucus" and "The Democrat Leadership Team" in 2007. On Missouri see [http://missouridems.org/calendar/] for "February 15, 2007: Saline County Democrat Club" and "March 2, 2007: Missouri Democrat Days."</ref> Lyman (1958) noted that "Democrat party" is common local usage in Maryland. In Indiana numerous "Democrat clubs" have filed incoproration with the Secretary of State, indicating widespread non-controversial usage among local Democrats.<ref> In Indiana there are 34 incorporated groups with "Democrat" as part of their legal name) versus 226 that use "Democratic"). These seem to be active local clubs. (Brown County is the official county organization). Alphabetically the first few are as follows: 17th District Democrat Club, Inc.; Indianapolis, 17th Ward Democrat Club Inc.; Andrew Jackson Democrat Club Of Tippecanoe County; Bloomfield Democrat Incorp.; Brown County Democrat Central Committee Corporation; City Of Portage Democrat Club; Clark County Democrat Men's Club, Inc.; Clinton County Democrat Club Inc., etc. Source: [https://secure.in.gov/sos/bus_service/online_corps/name_search_results.aspx?search_name=democrat&search_type=exact&client_id=&search_mode=search&submit.x=0&submit.y=0]. </ref>

==Issues of grammar==
Some believe that the use of the noun "Democrat" as an adjective is ungrammatical.<ref> Copperud (1980)</ref> Using a noun as a modifier of another noun is not grammatically incorrect in modern English in the formation of a compound noun, i.e. "shoe store," "school bus," "peace movement," "Senate election," etc. Americans commonly speak of "the Iraq war" rather than "the Iraqi war."<ref name=walker>Walker (2005); [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0812097203&id=efMpTxl3n2cC&pg=PA64&lpg=PA64&dq=%22nouns+used+as+adjectives%22&sig=7SOy_ENpfdI1iBit9e4yF36KwGM ''Master the Basics: English''] by Jean Yatets, 1996, page 64.</ref>

In American history many parties were named by their opponents (Federalists, Loco-Focos, Know Nothings, Populists, Dixiecrats), including the Democrats themselves, as the Federalists in the 1790s used "Democratic Party" as a term of ridicule.<ref> Nunberg (2006); Safire, (1993), 176, 391-2, 595-6; Sperber and Trittschuh. 118-9, 150, 231-2. </ref>.

The use of "Democrat Party" could be part of a broader linguistic trend. As one linguist explained, "We're losing our inflections – the special endings we use to distinguish between adjectives and nouns, for instance. There's a tendency to modify a noun with another noun rather than an adjective. Some may speak of "the Ukraine election" rather than 'the Ukrainian election' or 'the election in Ukraine,' for instance. It's 'the Iraq war' rather than 'the Iraqi war,' to give another example."<ref>Walker (2005)</ref>

==Response==
Members of the Republican Party, from political commentators to President Bush himself, made especially extensive use of the term "Democrat Party" during the run-up to the 2006 midterm elections. In response to the growing use of the epithet in late 2006, a corresponding epithet for the Republican Party, the "Republic Party", began to circulate in liberal parts of the blogosphere; the previous Republican waves of usage had inspired the "Publican Party", but this failed to catch on.<ref>Feuerlicht, 1956</ref>

Democrats complained about the use of "Democrat" as an adjective in the 2007 State of the Union address by President Bush. "Like nails on a chalkboard," complained Clinton White House Chief of Staff John Podesta. Political analyst Charlie Cook attributed its usage to force of habit rather than a deliberate epithet by Republicans: "They have been doing it so long that they probably don't even realize they're doing it."<ref>Copeland </ref> On February 4, 2007, Bush joked in a speech to House Democrats, stating "Now look, my diction isn't all that good. I have been accused of occasionally mangling the English language. And so I appreciate you inviting the head of the Republic Party."<ref>''Washington Post'' Feb 4, 2007 at [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/03/AR2007020300701.html</ref> Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-[[NY]]) repeatedly invoked the phrase "The Republic Party" on the floor of the House in February 2007 while lambasting Congressional Republicans.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsqprEihjXg Youtube - Anthony Weiner Rips the "Republic Party"].</ref>

Another corresponding noun-as-adjective response has also begun to circulate on the Internet: "The Republicans Party."<ref> [http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1018-02.htm][http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/10/28/112436.php][http://www.ironweedfilms.com/node/525]</ref> Members of the Democratic Underground have proposed that "Republicon Party" be used as a counter to the Republican adoption of Democrat Party as a putdown.<ref>[http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3190412 Democratic Underground thread]</ref>

==References==
* Roy H. Copperud, ''American Usage and Style: The Consensus'' 1980, pages 101-102.
* Ignace Feuerlicht. "Democrat Party," , ''American Speech'', Vol. 32, No. 3 (Oct., 1957), pp. 228-231 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-1283%28195710%2932%3A3%3C228%3ADP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-0 online in JSTOR]
* Bryan A. Garner, ''A Dictionary of Modern American Usage'' 1998, p. 196.
* Hendrik Hertzberg. [http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/articles/060807ta_talk_hertzberg "The 'IC' Factor"] ''The New Yorker'', August 7, 2006.
* John Lyman, "Democrat Party," ''American Speech'', Vol. 33, No. 3 (October 1958), pp. 239-40 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-1283%28195810%2933%3A3%3C239%3ADP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-T in JSTOR] notes term as used by some Democrats in Maryland.
* ''Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage'', 1994, pp 328-29, page 667.
* Geoffrey Nunberg. [http://www-csli.stanford.edu/~nunberg/democrats.html "The Case for Democracy"] in "Fresh Air" commentary, January 19, 2005 (radio broadcast).
* Geoffrey Nunberg, ''Talking Right: How Conservatives Turned Liberalism into a Tax-Raising, Latte-Drinking, Sushi-Eating, Volvo-Driving, New York Times-Reading, Body-Piercing, Hollywood-Loving, Left-Wing Freak Show'' 2006.
* William Safire, ''Safire's New Political Dictionary'' (1993).
* Hans Sperber and Travis Trittschuh. ''American Political Terms: An Historical Dictionary'' (1962) pages 117-23.
* Walker, Ruth. [http://blogs.csmonitor.com/verbal_energy/2005/01/index.html "Republicans, Democrats, and the Afghan on the couch"] ''[[Christian Science Monitor]]'', January 27, 2005
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9904EFD61538F934A2575BC0A962948260 "Democrats Find Ally In Republican Camp"], ''UPI'', August 17, 1984.
* Democratic Underground http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3190412 March 31, 2007
====notes====
<references/>

[[category:Democratic Party]]

Arlen Specter

2009-04-30T18:35:04Z

CountryfirstRED:

{{Officeholder
|name=Arlen Specter
|image=Specter-0.jpg
|party=[[Democratic]]
|spouse=Joan Specter
|religion=Judaism
|offices=
{{Officeholder/senator
|state=Pennsylvania
|terms=January 5, 1981 – Present
|preceded=Richard Schweiker
|former=n
|succeeded=
}}
}}

'''Arlen Specter''' is the Democratic senior [[United States]] Senator from [[Pennsylvania]]. He was first elected in 1980, and has been reelected five times since then. He has moderate to liberal viewpoints - particularly when it comes to economic and social issues. He supported Obama's massive stimulus bill in 2009. He also opposed trying to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Senator Specter has been a moderate [[Republican]], disagreeing with the Bush Administration on numerous issues. He was one of three Republicans who supported Obama's stimulus bill in 2009. Threatened with a [[conservative]] [[primary]] challenger for his seat in 2010, on April 28, 2009, he announced he will switch to the Democratic party, providing the 60th vote needed for Democrats to stop GOP [[filibusters]].

He is a US Air Force veteran, serving during the [[Korean War]].

==Political career==
Specter first foray into politics was when he was elected District Attorney in Philadelphia in 1965. He mounted an unsuccessful campaign for mayor of Philadelphia in 1967 and was defeated for reelection to a third term as district attorney in 1973. He was defeated in the 1976 Republican Primary for U.S. Senate by John Heinz and in the 1978 primary for Governor of Pennsylvania by Dick Thornburgh. Arlen Specter was elected to the Senate in 1980 and is currently serving his fifth term. In 2005, Senator Specter became Pennsylvania's longest serving U.S. Senator. He is Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and a senior member of the Appropriations and Veterans Affairs committees. Specter also made an unsuccessful run for the presidency in 1996 and ended up supporting losing candidate [[Bob Dole]].

==Political views==
Specter's moderate to liberal views have affected his political career as a Republican. Many considered him a RINO (Republican in Name Only) while he was in that party. For example, his status as the Chairman of the [[Senate Judiciary Committee]] (a position he held from January, 2005 through January, 2007) was in question when he made comments hinting that he would oppose candidates who would overturn [[Roe v. Wade]]. In addition, in the 2004 Republican Senate Primary Election, he only received 51% of the vote when the conservative [[Patrick Toomey]] challenged him.

Arlen Specter was the only Republican in the Senate to vote for the [[Employee Free Choice Act]], <ref>http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jun/27/nation/na-union27</ref>, legislation supported by big labor that would eliminate a private-ballot vote over whether workers would [[union]]ize. Specter was also one of only three Republicans in the United State Congress to vote for the 2009 economic stimulus bill,

In the past, there were issues where Specter was considered marginally [[conservative]]. In 2002, he voted to authorize the use of military force in [[Iraq]], although many Democrats did so as well. A native of [[Kansas]], Specter supports [[Second Amendment]] rights and [[capital punishment]].

==Health Problems==
On February 16, 2005, Specter announced that he had been diagnosed with an advanced form of Hodgkin's disease, a type of cancer. Despite the advanced form, Specter continued working during chemotherapy. He ended treatment on July 22. Senator John Sununu shaved his head to show solidarity with Specter when he was undergoing chemotherapy and was temporarily bald.

==2010 Reelection==

Specter barely won the 2004 Republican primary, which allows only registered Republicans to vote, by less than 2% against [[conservative]] challenger [[Pat Toomey]]. [[Rick Santorum]], himself a former Pennsylvania senator, described that "Specter's biggest problem ... may be that thousands of southeastern Pennsylvania Republicans who voted for him in 2004 can't vote for him in the (2010) primary. Why? Because they're no longer Republicans." In fact, the number of registered Republicans in Pennsylvania decreased by 162,000 between 2004 and 2008.<ref>http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/americandebate/Arlen_Specter_tilting_rightward.html</ref> This is one of the main reasons why Specter switched parties; to get re-elected in 2010, he needs to rely on his left-leaning supporters.

Specter's approval ratings remained high at 62% as of 2008.

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://specter.senate.gov/ Official Senate website]

{{DEFAULTSORT: Specter, Arlen}}
[[Category:United States Senators]]
[[Category:Democratic Party]]
[[Category:Reagan Era]]

Elitism

2009-04-30T18:32:10Z

CountryfirstRED:

Fox News Channel

2009-04-30T18:29:23Z

CountryfirstRED: /* Fair and Balanced */

[[Image:FNC logo.jpg|thumb|right|Fox News Logo]]

The '''Fox News Channel''' is a [[United States]] [[cable]] and [[satellite]] [[news]] channel. It is part of the Fox Television Stations Group, a subsidiary of [[Australia|Australian]]-born media mogul [[Rupert Murdoch]]'s [[News Corporation]]. [[Roger Ailes]] was named Chairman of the Fox Television Stations Group on August 15, 2005.

==Founding==
Fox News was started in 1996 by Murdoch and Roger Ailes. The two of them perceived a need for a news organization that offered more balanced reporting, one where the facts from all sides would be presented. Main-stream media "Political Correctness" was banished, with the news [[anchor]]s calling [[terrorist]]s what they were, (terrorists), instead of referring to them as "militants." As of February, 2007, polls show that over 20% of Americans say their main source of news is the Fox News Channel.

Fox News uses the slogan "Fair & Balanced," carries bipartisan shows like [[Hannity and Colmes]], and daily guest pundits from all sides of the [[political spectrum]]. Fox News also is non-hostile to conservative and [[Christian]] values, viewpoints, spokesmen, and ideas. Fox News has gained the reputation for reporting the news in an unbiased manner and then allowing the viewer to decide; "We Report, You Decide" is another of their on-air slogans.

Fox News has dominated the [[ratings]] of other cable news outlets.<ref>[http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-anderson4oct04,0,2195035.story?coll=la-opinion-center]</ref> Launched by media [[tycoon]] Rupert Murdoch and former political consultant Roger Ailes as a refuge for viewers fed up with real or perceived liberal bias everywhere in the so-called "[[mainstream media]]", Fox is the undisputed ratings champion of cable news. It's been trouncing [[CNN]], [[MSNBC]] and [[CNBC]] for years, and it quite often draws a much larger audience share than all competitors, combined.

==Fair and Balanced==
[[Image:Fair_balanced.jpg‎ |thumb|left|Fair And Balanced Logo]]
Critics have been known to complain about the "Fair & Balanced" slogan. Former President [[Bill Clinton]] exploded at ''Fox News Sunday'' anchor [[Chris Wallace]] in September of 2006, accusing him of "a nice little conservative hit job" after being pressed by Wallace about his record on fighting [[Al Qaeda]]. Democratic politicians and advocates have relentlessly attacked the cable network, sometimes accusing it of being a Republican [[propaganda mill]]. Former Vice-President and environmental activist [[Al Gore]] has likened Fox to a right-wing "[[fifth column]]." Groups such as [[MoveOn.org]], funded a classic [[documentary]] entitled ''[[Outfoxed]]'', which purports to expose the channel's 'nefarious Republican agenda'. Some have referred to FOX News as "the propaganda arm of the Republican Party" or "Faux News." In a grandstanding gesture of political theater the group unsuccessfully petitioned the [[Federal Trade Commission]] to stop Fox's from using its slogan as "deceptive advertising". It was unanimously rejected. <ref>[http://www.showbizdata.com/news/36127/FTC-REJECTS-COMPLAINTS-AGAINST-FOX-NEWS FTC: "It's best to ignore nuts"]</ref> Fox News spokesman Rob Zimmerman told today's (Tuesday) Wall Street Journal: "If they can attack Fox News to this extreme, ''then all news organizations are at risk to be targeted by similar attacks. ... It's best to ignore nuts."''

A recent comprehensive study by [[UCLA]] political scientist Tim Groseclose and University of Missouri-Columbia economics professor Jeffrey Milyo found [[Brit Hume]]'s ''Special Report'' — Fox's most straightforward news show — more centrist than any of the three major networks' evening newscasts, all of which are liberal. <ref>[http://rcp.missouri.edu/articles/milyo_media.html]</ref> The program is a model of smart news television.

And although it's true that the Fox's opinion shows (as opposed to its news shows) are, as they're supposed to be, frequently bombastic and opinionated, it's equally true that Fox's [[Bill O'Reilly]] is not a mainstream Republican, but a registered [[Independent]] who sides with conservatives. He regularly charges the oil companies with [[price-gouging]] and attacks big business for quashing the little guy. Who can say what host [[Greta Van Susteren]]'s politics are? She mostly covers the [[crime]]-of-the-day stories. [[Geraldo Rivera]] has always been liberal on most issues, with the exception of being a strong supporter of the military and stiff penalties for [[sex offender]]s.

Liberal commentators go in and out of the Fox studios all over America, every day — some of them, like host [[Alan Colmes]] and news analyst [[Marvin Kalb]], and [[Eleanor Clift]] affiliated with the channel. There's no doubt, of course, that Fox News is closer to mainstream America than [[CBS]], [[ABC]], [[NBC]] or [[CNN]]. But, after all, that was its founding mission.

Conservatives have criticism for Fox. Their 'Fair and Balanced' motto allows [[liberal]] [[propaganda]], lies, deceit, and half-truths to gain an audience. In reality, Fox was judged to actually provide a more "fair and balanced" coverage in the 2008 Presidential race than the other two networks, who allegedly had a decidedly pro-Obama tilt, a study by the ''Center for Media and Public Affairs''. <ref>[http://www.cmpa.com/pdf/08summer.pdf Center for Media and Public Affairs: ''How TV News Has Covered McCain, Obama and Hillary'']</ref>

== Ratings Dominance ==
Fox News Channel was the 2nd highest rated cable channel on all of television during the first quarter of 2009 in prime time Total Viewers. CNN was 17th and MSNBC 24th for the first three months of the year. FNC beat CNN and MSNBC combined and gained the most compared to the first quarter of 2008, up 24%. 2009's first quarter was FNC's 3rd highest rated quarter in prime time in the network's history — just behind Q4 '08 and Q3 '05. In prime time, ages 25-54 demo, and in total day in both categories, FNC grew more year-to-year than CNN and MSNBC combined. FNC had nine of the top 10 programs on cable news in Total Viewers.

[[Bill O'Reilly|The O'Reilly Factor]] has now been #1 on cable news for 100 consecutive months, up 27% in Total Viewers year-over-year.

[[Glenn Beck]] has increased the 5pmET time period 90% in Total Viewers and 115% in the demo vs. Q1 '08, ''and is the fastest growing program in cable news for March''. Special Report with Bret Baier is up 39% in Total Viewers and 41% in the demo. [[Sean Hannity|"Hannity"]] is up 36% in Total Viewers and up 35% in the demo since going solo for the hour.

Those three new programs beat CNN and MSNBC ''combined'' in total viewers during their respective time slots.

On the Record with [[Greta Van Susteren]] is up 55% in total viewers and 75% in the demo. Your World with Neil Cavuto is up 60% in Total Viewers and 102% in the demo. Glenn Beck, is up 212% in the demo and up 128% in total viewers. <ref>[http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/ratings/april_ratings_fnc_beats_cnn_and_msnbc_combined_115179.asp Media Bistro: April Ratings: FNC Beats CNN and MSNBC Combined]
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== Anti-elitist ==
Conservatives argue that Fox's real ethos is not Republican or conservative, but anti-[[elitist]] — a major reason it connects with so many Americans and annoys so many coastal elites. "There's a whole country that elitists will never acknowledge," Ailes once observed. "What people resent deeply out there are those in the 'blue states' thinking they're smarter." This anti-elitism shows itself in Fox's pro-U.S. stance in covering the [[Afghanistan]] and [[Iraq war]]s and its broadcasters' use of terms such as "terrorist" instead of the politically correct "militant" to refer to … well, terrorists. Since the [[Vietnam War]] era, mainstream [[journalist]]s have tended to see such blunt language and side-taking as unsophisticated, a betrayal of journalistic [[objectivity]], or perhaps their own ingrained biases against government in general.

Another aspect of Fox's anti-elitism: [[evangelical]] and [[fundamentalist Christian]]s, far from being seen as lunatics or extremists — as too often is the case in the mainstream media — are treated with great respect. "We regularly have on the [[Rev. Franklin Graham]], [[Dr. James Dobson]] and other religious leaders, just as we put on [[Pat Ireland]] and Eleanor Clift," Ailes said, continuing, ''"Most Americans believe in God and have that as their foundation in life. So why shouldn't we have as guests people that they like, respect and want to hear from?" '' Ailes said he didn't get "too worked up" by a [[Pew Foundation]] study that showed that Fox has more Republican viewers than CNN, CNBC or MSNBC and that his reporters and anchors insert their opinions into stories far more than competitors do. Numbers might have something to do with it: Fox is beating the combined audience of the other three. But Ailes dismissed Pew as a "liberal [[lobbyist|lobbying]] organization." He said, "Most polls today are not taken to provide information to the public but to get press for the organization taking the polls. I took a poll of Pew, and 98% of my organization found that they were biased", Ailes said with a wink. <ref>http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/mediamix/2005-04-06-media-mix_x.htm</ref>

In response, Project director Tom Rosenstiel said the study "was not a poll. It was a content analysis designed by a four-university research team and executed at the [[University of Alabama]]." ''One plus for Fox, he said, was that researchers found Fox News stories were more forthcoming about sourcing than their cable rivals.'' <ref>http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/mediamix/2005-04-06-media-mix_x.htm</ref>

== Fox Versus Fringe Views ==
"What really frustrates liberals about Fox, though, is simply that, along with [[talk radio]] and the conservative [[blogosphere]], it has helped shatter the left's near-monopoly on news and information. Fox's opinion-driven programming gives conservatives and liberals a chance to get a fair hearing for their ideas. But Democratic politicians and activists who go on Fox also must defend their views, often against tough questioning, something that happens less often on the networks, where most journalists are left-of-center, survey after survey has shown", said columnist [[Brian Anderson]]. "Even more significant, Fox came on the scene a decade ago as a professional news organization that could define and report news as something different from what the elite consensus says it is. To take one of many examples, the corruption of the [[United Nations]]' [[oil-for-food]] initiative in [[Iraq]], initially downplayed by the mainstream media because of their sympathy for internationalism, was uncovered — deemed newsworthy — on Fox."

All this wouldn't matter if Fox News wasn't so influential. But it is. According to the Pew Research Center, more than 20% of Americans now claim to get news from it, and lots of them (37%) are Democrats or independents. The network's success has also sparked a "Fox effect," leading some competitors to become more open to right-of-center opinions: MSNBC's "Scarborough Country," hosted by former Republican congressman [[Joe Scarborough]], is a prime example. Until a few years ago, Democrats never had to deal with all these mediatized conservatives. <ref>http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-anderson4oct04,0,2195035.story?coll=la-opinion-center</ref>

Ailes said Fox News has no agenda. His charge to his reporters and anchors is simple: "If you make a mistake, get on the air as fast as you can and admit it. ... Do your homework. Make sure you reach out to a point of view you don't agree with to be sure you have some balance in your piece, because journalists, despite the public perception, are not empty-headed fools. They actually come to the job with some ideas and biases." When asked whether the media have a "conscious bias," Ailes said: "I don't know whether it's conscious or not. I think people who are biased to the left and right are by and large honest people who bring their life experience to whatever their beliefs are. I don't think there's some conspiracy of bias to the left, ''but I do think that [[New York]] and [[Los Angeles]] have different views than many people that I know from other parts of the country."'' <ref>http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/mediamix/2005-04-06-media-mix_x.htm</ref>

== Roger Ailes ==
[[Image:Rogerailes_1.jpg‎ |thumb|right|300px|Roger Ailes, Fox News CEO]]
[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,205966,00.html This is a transcript] of Ailes speaking to the Television Critics Association, which will be enlightening to readers digging into the Fox take on reporting and its reaction to controversy about its mission.

On November 20, 2008, [[Roger Ailes]], who now holds the titles of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, FOX News and Chairman of FOX Television Stations, signed a new five year contract with News Corporation, it was announced by Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. <ref>[http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/fnc/roger_ailes_signs_new_5year_deal_with_news_corp_101312.asp Ailes Inks 5 Year Deal With NewsCorp]</ref>

During Ailes' time with [[News Corporation|News Corp]], [[FNC]] passed [[CNN]] in ratings in all day parts in 2002 to become the number one news network in the country, nearing full distribution with more than 90 million subscribers. In 2007, he launched the [[Fox Business News]] which currently reaches more than 40 million homes and served as the biggest launch in cable television history. Throughout Mr. Ailes' tenure, FOX Television Stations has increased its market share each of the last three years with all time record shares in the last two years. In addition, Fox Television Stations has expanded its local news presence by nearly 100 hours a week in a challenging economic climate.

== Tony Snow ==
In April, 2006 the [[White House]] selected [[Tony Snow]], Fox News Anchorman, to be the new White House Press Secretary. "Snow, who in his roles as a [[pundit]] on Fox News and elsewhere has rapped Bush on several occasions, joined the White House only after extracting a promise that he would become an adviser to the president on day-to-day strategy...the former columnist will be the first outsider to become part of Bush's revamped inner circle.", said the [[Washington Post]]. <ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/26/AR2006042600558.html</ref>

Snow, 50, worked most recently as host for ''Fox News Sunday, with Tony Snow'' and as host of his own radio talk show. He was a director of speech-writing for President [[George H.W. Bush]] and has worked as a [[USA Today]] columnist, Editorial Page Editor of the [[Washington Times]], deputy editorial page editor of the [[Detroit News]] and frequent substitute for radio host [[Rush Limbaugh]]. <ref>http://whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/04/20060426.html</ref>

==Bill O'Reilly==
The [[O'Reilly Factor]] has been the most watched cable news segment for eight years. [[Bill O'Reilly]] has interviewed Barack Obama and other high profile guests on his show.
:"FOX News destroys NBC and CNN on cable every night. We cover the news. We don't ignore it. And we don't denigrate it." - Bill O'Reilly
Bill O'Reilly is a registered independent, but sides with Republicans on most issues, excluding several Christian causes. Bill O'Reilly wrote the best seller "A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity." Like [[Sean Hannity]] and other commentators on Fox, O'Reilly's role is that of an independent contractor, expressing his on opinions, not those of Fox News, as opposed to the networks news anchors, like Sheppard Smith.

==External Links==
*[http://www.foxnews.com/ Fox News]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Cable TV Networks]]

John Boehner

2009-04-30T18:20:42Z

CountryfirstRED:

{{Officeholder
|name=John Boehner
|image=Boehner.jpg
|party=[[Republican]]
|spouse=Deborah L. Gunlack
|religion=Roman Catholic
|offices=
{{Officeholder/representative
|state=Ohio
|district=8th
|terms=January 3, 1991-present
|preceded=Buz Lukens
|former=n
|succeeded=
}}

}}

'''John Andrew Boehner''', born November 17, 1949 (age {{age|1949|11|17}}), is a [[Republican]] Representative from [[Ohio]]'s 8th congressional district. On Feb. 2, 2006, he was elected [[House Majority Leader]] and later [[House Minority Leader|Minority Leader]] after Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives in 2006. If Republicans were to win control of the House in 2010, he would likely become Speaker of the House.

==United States Congress==
In 1990, Boehner was elected to represent Ohio’s Eighth Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. From 1995 to 1999, Boehner was the House Republican Conference Chairman. He was the Chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee from 2001 until 2006, when he resigned to become House Majority Leader. Boehner is widely credited with championing the 1994 Contract With America, the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, and the passage of "[[No Child Left Behind]] Act." After Republicans lost control of the [[House of Representatives]] in November of 2006, Boehner was elected by his colleagues to serve as House Minority Leader. Boenher takes a conservative position on most issues. He has worked to lower income and inheritance taxes, arguing, "Americans are being taxed almost every moment of their lives. My goodness, when they are dead, do we have to tax them again?"

==External Links==
*[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000589 Congressional Biography]
*[http://johnboehner.house.gov/ John Boehner House website]
*[http://republicanleader.house.gov/ House Republican Leader website]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boehner, John}}
[[Category:United States Representatives]]
[[Category:Republican Party]]
[[Category:110th United States Congress]]