Monday, November 29, 2010

The Veteran Vote

Michael Franc   November 29, 2010 4:00 A.M.

“Our nation stands at a precipice, pushed to the edge by the very forces of which MacArthur spoke. To defeat them, we will have to draw upon the character traits he identified as part of the military code. These values, one suspects, resonate most strongly in those communities where large numbers of veterans reside. It was precisely in these communities that the spirit of the Tea Party movement was strongest on Election Day.”

Read it here.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

So you think you know what’s going on in Afghanistan…

Read this.  I know it’s long, just read it…

- Free Range International - http://freerangeinternational.com/blog -

Healing Ulcer

Posted By babatim On November 14, 2010 @ 12:44 pm In Afghanistan

After only 90 days of fighting to root out the Taliban of a place they have owned for over a decade, Gen McChrystal called Marjah a bleeding ulcer [1]. That was an unbelievably stupid assessment given the nature of the enemy, the rules of engagement placed on the Marines by the General, and the paltry amount of time the Marines had invested in the fight.  Marjah is still being called “the most dangerous place in Afghanistan” [2] by embedded media which is, in my professional opinion, not true.  I’ve just returned from a three day trip into Marjah after being lucky enough to catch a ride with the CO of Regimental Combat Team 1, Col Dave Furness who was taking a road trip to visit his battalions in the field.  There is too much information from that trip to post in one sitting so the first dispatch from the trip will cover Marjah.  The other things I saw, like Senators McCain, Lieberman, Graham and Gillibrand in the Nawa District Center will have to wait.

The CO

                  of 2/6, LtCol Kyle Ellison with his boss Col Furness

                  talking to local shop owners in the Marjah Bazaar

                  during his Friday morning walk about. Note the lack of

                  body armor and helmets

The CO of 2/6, LtCol Kyle Ellison with his boss Col Dave Furness talking to local shop owners in the Marjah Bazaar during his Friday morning walk about. Note the lack of body armor and helmets

Counterinsurgency takes a lot of two things, boots on the ground and time.  The Marines have been at this task for nine months and they are winning.  But it is not easy, it is not cheap in the only currency we care about which is the blood of fellow Marines.  The only persistent bitching I heard from Marine commanders concerned their ability to rapidly employ the most potent tool in their arsenal – money.  They feel if they are the ones doing the clearing they should be doing the holding too and able to directly finance the projects they nominate.  I have a lot to say about that myself but being in the reconstruction business I’m going to (this may be a first) shut up and let that sleeping dog lie for now.  The best way to relate the current state of play in Marjah is with lots of pictures and a little bit of story telling.

The first stop in Marjah was COP Shanfield which is

                named after one of the squad leaders from 2nd platoon

                Echo 2/6 who was killed in action nearby. This is the

                COC - 2/6 is known as The Spartans

The first stop in Marjah was COP Shanfield which is named after one of the squad leaders from 2nd platoon Echo 2/6 who was killed in action nearby. This is the COC which monitors the squad sized patrols that are pushed out of this small base 24/7.

We entered Marjah on the afternoon of 11 November heading directly to one of the dozens of platoon combat outposts (COP’s) which dot the Marjah area.  We were heading for an important ceremony but not one we would wish on anyone else.  As I have said many times before war means fighting and fighting means killing.  Unfortunately the killing part of warfare cuts both ways and when the Americans lose a Marine his fellow Marines host a memorial service.  This is a painful yet important ritual designed to not just to honor the dead but also assist the living in dealing with the loss of comrades they knew intimately and loved deeply.  That is the dynamic of infantry – you know your fellow Marine better than anyone else in the world knows him  You may not always like every member of your platoon but you love all of them.  And there is not doubt in the mind of an infantry Marine that the men he is with will instantly and willingly take suicidal risks to help him if he is in trouble.  Memorials are tough and this one was especially tough for the very tight 2nd Platoon, Echo Company, 2nd Battalion 6th Marines because they were saying goodbye to their leader.

1stLt James R. Zimmerman of Aroostock, Maine was

                killed in action on the 2nd of November 2010. He

1stLt James R. Zimmerman of Aroostock, Maine was killed in action on the 2nd of November 2010. He is survived by his parents and his wife Lynel.

The universal sign of a tight platoon headed by an

                exceptional platoon commander is how the junior Marines

The universal sign of a tight platoon is how the junior Marines feel about their leader. Here a young corporal in a filthy uniform with a field haircut gathers himself to deliver a tremendous tribute to his former boss. It was an obvious emotional strain for him which is, of course, the norm for these services but it said a lot about just how good Lt Zimmerman was at leading Marines

The firing detail

The firing detail

There is nothing easy about being an infantryman in

                combat

There is nothing easy about being an infantryman in combat

This was my first visit to a Marine COP and I wished it had been for another purpose.  Marjah is rapidly healing but that doesn’t mean the Talbian has given up and slinked off to some other area in the Helmand.  Marjah was place where they all ran after getting their asses kicked out of every significant town from Naw Zad in the north to Khanishin in the south and there is very little maneuver room left for the Taliban in Helmand Province.

The 2nd Battalion 6th Marines is currently responsible for the southern, central and some of the northern portions of Marjah which is actually a series of villages organized around a gigantic grid of canals which were built by US AID back in the 60’s.  They are expanding their control block by block by spreading their Marines out into platoon and squad size outposts from which Marines foot patrol constantly.  The villains still offer battle but only on their terms which means they will fire on a patrol only when they have set up IED’s between their positions and the Marines.  When the Marines came back to Afghanistan in 2008 the Taliban had forgotten that they were not like other infantry.  The Marines maneuver when fired upon closing with and destroying those stupid enough to take them on.  After getting mauled time and again the Taliban learned to use small arms fire to augment IED blasts in an attempt to lure aggressive Marines into mine fields full of more improvised explosive devices.  Now the Marines maneuver to fix and then swarm with other units coming in from a different direction or with precision fire from drones.  To facilitate this they establish multiple small postions – partrol from them constantly and then push out to establish more small bases once the area they are working comes under their control.

Every Friday the 2/6 CO goes for a tour of the

                central bazaar. When he started he could make it from

                his outpost to the ANP post on the far side in 20

                minutes. These days he can't make it that far due to the

                crowds of Afghans who want to stop and tell him two

                things; 1. they appreciate the Marines and what they

                have done and 2. Please don't leave and let the Taliban

                come back

Every Friday the 2/6 CO goes for a tour of the central bazaar. When he started he could make it from his outpost to the ANP post on the far side in 20 minutes. These days he can't make it that far due to the crowds of Afghans who want to stop and tell him two things; 1. they appreciate the Marines and what they have done and 2. Please don't leave and let the Taliban come back.

The CO has not gotten far when more residents stop

                to chat

The CO has not gotten far when more residents stop to chat

The crowds continue to grow and note how relaxed

                everyone is in a bazaar where this past summer we were

                dropping 2000 pound JDAMs

The crowds continue to grow and note how relaxed everyone is in a bazaar where this past summer we were dropping 2000 pound JDAMs

The

                Marines took the funds from the "Interim Security

                for Critical Infrastructure" and stood up armed

                neighborhood watch groups organized by blocks. The ISCI

                program was apparently designed to allow commanders to

                hire local "security contractors" for guarding

                critical infrastructure which is stupid. The Marines

                view the people as the most "critical

                infrastructre" they have in their AO so they spend

                those program funds on armed security of the people by

                the people. On blocks with ISCI guards there are no

                Taliban. As this car load was heading backing home they

                got a stern reminder from LtCol   Ellison
 "remember

                fellas if you are not on your block the weapons stay in

                the cars right?"

The Marines took the funds from the "Interim Security for Critical Infrastructure" and stood up armed neighborhood watch groups organized by blocks. The ISCI program was apparently designed to allow commanders to hire local "security contractors" for guarding critical infrastructure which is stupid. The Marines view the people as the most "critical infrastructre" they have in their AO so they spend those program funds on armed security of the people by the people. On blocks with ISCI guards ( identified by the arm bands) there are no Taliban. As this car load was heading backing home they got a stern reminder from LtCol Ellison "remember fellas if you are not on your block the weapons stay in the cars right?"

On the

                way back to base LtCol Ellison stops to present a

                battalion coin to an Afghan policeman telling him he

                earned it by always being at his post with his weapon

                and controlling his intersection like a professional

                which the Marines find "motivating". This is

                counterinsurgency 101 in action where small acts of

                recognition provide huge amounts of motivation

On the way back to base LtCol Ellison stops to present a battalion coin to an Afghan policeman telling him he earned it by always being at his post with his weapon and controlling his intersection like a professional which the Marines find "motivating". This is counterinsurgency 101 in action where small acts of recognition provide huge amounts of motivation

After

                the bazaar tour it was time for another memorial this

                one for Staff Sergeant Jordan B Emrick, an EOD

                technician who gave his full measure while working with

                a platoon patrol. The Platoon commander who was on point

                thought he say something in the ground and SSGT Emrick

                stepped up to assess what the Lt had spotted. It was a

                command detonated mine which went off as SSGT Emrick

                squatted to get a good look at it.took the full blast.

After the bazaar tour it was time for another memorial this one for Staff Sergeant Jordan B Emrick, an EOD technician who gave his full measure while working with a platoon patrol. The Platoon commander who was on point thought he saw something in the ground and SSGT Emrick stepped up to assess what the Lt had spotted. It was a command detonated mine which detonated as SSGT Emrick squatted to get a good look at it.

The

                afternoon started with a "strong man" show at

                the local school. Both Inchon 6 and Spartan 6 were

                invited by the District Governor

The afternoon started with a "strong man" show at the local school. Both Inchon 6 and Spartan 6 were invited by the District Governor. In this photo the Sergeants Major from RCT 1 and 2/6 are getting the kids pumped up before the big show.

Waiting for the Parwan performance

Waiting for the Parwan performance

The ANP arrive with the District Governor

The ANP arrive with the District Governor

The

                show starts with forms from both father and son

The show starts with forms from both father and son

Then some father and son brick breaking on a bed on

                nails

Then some father and son brick breaking on a bed on nails

More bed of nails work

More bed of nails work

The show concluded with the classic "run over

                the Parwan with a tractor load of police trick

The show concluded with the classic "run over the Parwan with a tractor load of police" trick

That evening we were invited to a dinner in the

                newly opened restaurant by the District Governor

That evening we were invited to a dinner in the newly opened restaurant by the District Governor so we headed downtown again on foot.

Some of the elders from blocks which have recently

                been cleared also attened the meal - they were there to

                ask for permission to stand up ISCI teams in their

                blocks which comes from the District Governors office

Some of the elders from blocks which have recently been cleared also attened the meal - they were there to ask for permission to stand up ISCI teams in their blocks which comes from the District Governors office

The

                Marine leaders make it a point to travel into Marjah

                "slick" which means without body armor and

                helmets as a show of confidence in local security

                conditions. But they're not stupid and a fully armed

                security detail travels with them. A dinner like this

                attracts things like suicide bombers but there is no way

                any unknown person would get through the layers of

                security and into the restaurant. They certainly would

                have never gotten past these two devil dogs.s

The Marine leaders make it a point to travel into Marjah "slick" which means without body armor and helmets as a show of confidence in local security conditions. But they're not stupid and a fully armed security detail travels with them. A dinner like this attracts things like suicide bombers but there is no way any unknown person would get through the layers of security and into the restaurant. They certainly would have never gotten past these two devil dogs.

Marjah is no longer the most dangerous place in Afghanistan.  That distinction belongs to Sangin where Col Paul Kennedy is leading the 2nd Regimental Combat Team is a very stiff fight to secure the population of that area.  The Marines way of conducting the counterinsurgency fight has caused some friction with our allies [3] who think they are too aggressive.  They are, without question, the most aggressive fighters in Afghanistan but they are also proving to be the most adept at holding the ground they have cleared.  The battalion which proceeded 2/6 in downtown Marjah, the 1st Battalion of the 6th Marines had a 90/10 IED find rate.  Only 10% of the IED’s targeting them detonated and the others were either detected by the Marines or (in a vast majority of the time) were pointed out to the Marines by the local population.

Colonel Furness told me there was a Corporal in 3/1 (deployed in the South around Khanishin) who had an uncanny ability to spot IED’s.  His squad wanted him on point every day.  49 times there were IED’s placed to target them and 49 times this Corporal found them first.  Know what you get when you find mines targeting your squad 49 times in a row?  Probably a lot of love and respect from your fellow Marines but you don’t get a combat action ribbon because when you find the mines every time the villains don’t shoot.  Mine blasts are used as the signal to attack with small arms and the Taliban are not known for their ability to contingency plan so when the mine doesn’t blow they slink off.   Imagine that; seven months of constant patrols in a kinetic environment but because you are so good at spotting mines you don’t get to wear the coveted combat action ribbon.  Col Furness isn’t a big fan of that order but it is an order so as 3/1 was leaving he showed up at a company formation and meritoriously promoted the kid to Sergeant.  ”It was the least I could do – the kid deserved a hell of lot more… I wish I had 100 more just like him.”

Here is another story you don’t hear every day.  Today one of the squad patrols from 2/6 was stopped by a local man who wanted to turn in his son for being Taliban.  He had told the kid over and over he did not want him fighting for the Taliban who he believes to be immoral and unislamic.  The father and one of his other sons went to the district center and to have their statements video tapped and his son is now in custody.

Counterinsurgency takes time and it is not cheap for the men and women doing the fighting.  The question is not if we can prevail but will we be allowed to do what it takes to prevail and that question can only be answered by our Commander in Chief.  The President can only “vote present” on Afghanistan for so long.  He needs to tell the American people and our allies what we are trying to accomplish in order to define an endstate.   The “July 2011 draw down” of forces is not a plan or an endstate or even a good idea.  It is an abdication of leadership for a meaningless date which is predicated on nothing more than political calculation.   Our president is rumored to be a very smart man.  It is time for him to prove it.


Article printed from Free Range International: http://freerangeinternational.com/blog

URL to article: http://freerangeinternational.com/blog/?p=3734

URLs in this post:

[1] Marjah a bleeding ulcer: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/24/94740/mcchrystal-calls-marjah-a-bleeding.html

[2] the most dangerous place in Afghanistan”: http://www.katu.com/news/local/107051228.html

[3] some friction with our allies: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/03/AR2010090306195.html

Click here to print.

Copyright © 2009 Free Range International. All rights reserved.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Don’t Touch My Junk

Charles Krauthammer

The junk man’s revolt marks the point at which a docile public declares that it will tolerate only so much idiocy.

Hurrah!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Welcome Senate Conservatives

by Jim DeMint

Congratulations to all the tea party-backed candidates who overcame a determined, partisan opposition to win their elections. The next campaign begins today. Because you must now overcome determined party insiders if this nation is going to be spared from fiscal disaster.

Many of the people who will be welcoming the new class of Senate conservatives to Washington never wanted you here in the first place. The establishment is much more likely to try to buy off your votes than to buy into your limited-government philosophy. Consider what former GOP senator-turned-lobbyist Trent Lott told the Washington Post earlier this year: “As soon as they get here, we need to co-opt them.”

Don’t let them. Co-option is coercion. Washington operates on a favor-based economy and for every earmark, committee assignment or fancy title that’s given, payback is expected in return. The chits come due when the roll call votes begin. This is how big-spending bills that everyone always decries in public always manage to pass with just enough votes.

But someone can’t be bribed if they aren’t for sale. Here is some humble advice on how to recognize and refuse such offers.

First, don’t request earmarks. If you do, you’ll vote for legislation based on what’s in it for your state, not what’s best for the country. You will lose the ability to criticize wasteful spending. And, if you dare to oppose other pork-barrel projects, the earmarkers will retaliate against you.

In 2005, Sen. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.) offered a measure to kill funding for the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere.” Before the vote, Sen. Patty Murray (D., Wash.), an appropriator, issued a warning on the Senate floor.

“If we start cutting funding for individual projects, your project may be next,” she said. “When Members come down to the floor to vote on this amendment, they need to know if they support stripping out this project, Senator Bond [a Republican appropriator] and I are likely to be taking a long, serious look at their projects to determine whether they should be preserved during our upcoming conference negotiations.”

The threat worked. Hardly anyone wanted to risk losing earmarks. The Senate voted 82-15 to protect funding for the Bridge to Nowhere.

Second, hire conservative staff. The old saying “personnel is policy” is true. You don’t need Beltway strategists and consultants running your office. Find people who share your values and believe in advancing the same policy reforms. Staff who are driven by conservative instincts can protect you from unwanted, outside influences when the pressure is on.

Third, beware of committees. Committee assignments can be used as bait to make senators compromise on other matters. Rookie senators are often told they must be a member of a particular committee to advance a certain piece of legislation. This may be true in the House, but a senator can legislate on any matter from the Senate floor.

Fourth, don’t seek titles. The word “Senator” before your name carries plenty of clout. All senators have the power to object to bad legislation, speak on the floor and offer amendments, regardless of how they are ranked in party hierarchy.

Lastly, don’t let your re-election become more important than your job. You’ve campaigned long and hard for the opportunity to go to Washington and restore freedom in America. People will try to convince you to moderate conservative positions and break campaign promises, all in the name of winning the next race. Resist the temptation to do so. There are worse things than losing an election—like breaking your word to voters.

At your swearing-in ceremony, you will, as all senators do, take an oath to “support and defend the Constitution.” Most will fail to keep their oath. Doing these five things will help you maintain a focus on national priorities and be one who does.

Congress will never fix entitlements, simplify the tax code or balance the budget as long as members are more concerned with their own narrow, parochial interests. Time spent securing earmarks and serving personal ambitions is time that should be spent working on big-picture reforms.

When you are in Washington, remember what the voters back home want—less government and more freedom. Millions of people are out of work, the government is going bankrupt and the country is trillions in debt. Americans have watched in disgust as billions of their tax dollars have been wasted on failed jobs plans, bailouts and takeovers. It’s up to us to stop the spending spree and make sure we have a government that benefits America instead of being a burden to it.

Tea party Republicans were elected to go to Washington and save the country—not be co-opted by the club. So put on your boxing gloves. The fight begins today.

Mr. DeMint is a Republican senator from South Carolina. This first appeared in The Wall Street Journal.

Read More :: http://www.conservative.org/acuf/issue-168/issue168news3/#ixzz15YqHZas4

Friday, November 12, 2010

Why I Quit...

A Desert Storm veteran explains his decision to leave Air Force after 22 years

by Mike Banzet in 'Belief'

He says it well.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Veterans Day 2010

InStone

“These are the times that try men's souls.  The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.  Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, more glorious the triumph.” 

- Thomas Payne, ‘The American Crisis’ #1, 19 December 1776

Veterans Day in Kabul

By Colonel Rick Waddell, U.S. Army Reserve

When I come out of my hootch complex every morning, I pass through the armored vehicles of the Macedonian contingent that guards the headquarters of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul. Forty-seven nations have troops here on the frontiers of civilization as we enter the 10th year of war. Of the six regional commands in Afghanistan, the Italians command the West, the Germans command the North, the Turks command the Capitol Region around Kabul. The British just gave up command of the South.  The British have 9500 troops here; the French, Italians, and Germans each have between 3000 and 5000; the Canadians and Poles have 2800 and 2600 respectively.  Some of the nations - the British, Canadians, Australians, New Zealand - have been fighting here since almost the beginning in October 2001.

Twenty nations of the total were once dominated by the Soviets or their clients. The Polish admiral that works in the office is quite open about the harsh conditions of his youth, when basic food was rationed, and the only candy they had was made out of the precious, meager rations of milk and sugar. These nations remember what it was like not being free, and they remember the role that NATO and the US in particular had in their freedom.

Most of the forty-seven nations also maintained troops in Iraq until the Iraqis took charge of their own security in early 2009.

As we approach Veterans Day, we should remember that the Commonwealth nations - the members of the former British Empire - observe this date as Remembrance Day in memory of the millions of their citizens that died on the battlefields of World War I. For the Poles, their nation was re-born when the Western Allies won World War I, and 11 November is their Independence Day. Here in ISAF HQ, the Commonwealth soldiers walk around with red poppies pinned to their uniform in the week prior to the day, as do their citizens back home. The tradition is said to come from a 1915 poem written by Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae upon witnessing the death of a friend:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.


We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.


Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

War is always the supreme human folly, and our world has seen much war in the past 100 years.

Yet, the militarists, fascists, and communists were defeated. The victories were costly, but free nations were born and liberty spread. In the darkest days of the four-decade-long Cold War, who could have predicted the eventual stunning victory? Accommodation with and acquiescence to the totalitarians were often the counsel of the faint of heart; perseverance was hard and unpopular. The current war is no easier and certainly no more popular, and it would be easy to believe that defeat out here on the frontier would be manageable because we could hold the line somewhere else, closer to our homes.

A year ago, a friend of mine, a colonel closing in on 30 years of service, wrote from Afghanistan about the death of a sergeant who was the son of another colonel, noting that more than 130 general officers have children in uniform, as do many more senior officers and noncommissioned officers. As my friend put it, "We give all we have to give. Then we send our kids." His own son is here now.  As fate would have it, I am serving alongside the lost sergeant's father, whose pain can only be understandable by those suffering a similar loss, but he continues to hold high the torch thrown from the failing hands of his son, a dedication that surpasses common understanding.

Poppies blow in the fields of Helmand and Kandahar, too, but more importantly they adorn the uniforms of those in Afghanistan who remember the sacrifices of their forebears. They keep the faith by serving in Iraq and Afghanistan alongside the America that did so much in generations past to help their countries.

On Remembrance Day, let us remember these allies, even as we honor our own veterans that "lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow" and did so much in so many places to make a better world.

Hat tip to Mr. Wolf at BlackFive and Dennis Lowery

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Happy Birthday, Marines

In order to wish our beloved Marine Corps "happy birthday," I thought we could honor our friends by posting our favorite Marine Corps  quote. To start:

"Some people wonder all their lives if they've made a difference.
The Marines don't have that problem."

- Ronald Reagan

The Commandant's message remembers all Marines, but focuses special attention on the Marine who fought in Korea. 

 

VET THE STAFF

Now that elections are over, we are happy that the Tea Parties helped elect a majority in the house.

Here is one question I never hear asked. Who are the staff members that work for the Congress and Senate? What are their backgrounds? Are they radicals, conservatives, marxists? They are the people who write the bills for the congress and senate, yet I'll bet no voter knows their names or who they are.

Is there somewhere we can get a list of the staff members that work for our congress and senate? Yes, I know they are not elected, they are appointed, but they are not vetted! How can the citizens find out who is running the offices in Washington?

If they write the bills, are their names on the rough drafts and the final bills?

Don't you think voters and taxpayers have a right to know?

I'll bet if you write or call your elected representative and ask about the backgrounds of their staff, you'll be told it's none of your business or they'll hang up on you.

Try it! Ask your representative. I'll bet we would all get some interesting responses!

Monday, November 8, 2010

Star Freshmen

In one of the largest freshman classes in history, these twelve congressmen-elect stand out.

Feeling pretty good about the election results? Read this and feel even better.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Notes From Nov 3rd Mentor 9-12 Project Discussion Panel

Election Recap

Current US House  178 (R)  -  257 (D)  -  New US House  -  240 (R)  -  185 (D)  with 10 races undecided.  The most Republicans in the House since 1948 when they had 246 seats.

More Ohio congressional incumbents lost than in any other state.  (5)  NY and PA tied when you include open seats.

George Soros funded Secretary of State Project Supported 7 candidates – 2 won, 5 lost

African-American GOP Winners – Allen West in Florida and Tim Scott South Carolina.  Fourteen black Republicans were on House ballots nationwide, almost double the number in 2008.

In New Mexico, Susana Martinez was elected as the nation's first female Hispanic governor. Nikki Haley, whose parents were born in India, will be the first woman governor in South Carolina, and Brian Sandoval became Nevada's first Hispanic governor.

Dan Webster crushed the obnoxious Alan Grayson in the 8th District of Florida.  Grayson said on the House floor that the GOP health care plan was to "die quickly," and ran the "Taliban Dan" ad. 

18 state legislators switched to Republican control.

"I hope he fails."  With those famous four words, uttered January 16, 2009 -- only days before Barack Obama was to be inaugurated -- Rush Limbaugh drew a line in the sand.  And as a result, this morning it is Rush Limbaugh who is the undisputed winner of the 2010 election.   American Spectator

South Dakota Republican challenger Kristi Noem, riding a wave of voter discontent with President Obama's administration, defeated Democrat U.S. Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin in Tuesday's election.

Republican Mark Kirk has defeated Democrat Alexi Giannoulias in the U.S. Senate race.  Kirk has captured the Senate seat once held by the president, dealing an embarrassing blow to Democrats

Congressman Bob Etheridge Loses To Republican Renee Ellmers in North Carolina.  The race drew national attention earlier this year, when Congressman Etheridge was shown in a video to be apparently assaulting a young man who questioned him about his political record on a Washington DC sidewalk.  Etheridge served for 14 years in Congress and Ellmers is a registered nurse in Dunn.

Illinois Congressman Phil Hare who didn’t worry about the Constitution, loses district to Bobby Schilling.  The 28-year hold Democrats have had on the 17th U.S. Congressional District has come to an end.

The House races were largely fought on Republican-leaning turf, but the key Senate fights were in deep blue states.

There will be 18 states subject to reapportionment. The Republicans will control a majority of those — at least ten and maybe a dozen or more. More significantly, a minimum of seventeen state legislative houses have flipped to the Republican Party.
The North Carolina Legislature is Republican for the first time since 1870. Yes, that is Eighteen Seventy.
The Alabama Legislature is Republican for the first time since 1876.
For those saying this is nothing because it is the South, consider these:
The entire Wisconsin and New Hampshire legislatures have flipped to the GOP by wide margins.
The State Houses in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Iowa, Montana, and Colorado flipped to the GOP.
The Maine and Minnesota Senates flipped to the GOP.   
The Texas and Tennessee Houses went from virtually tied to massive Republican gains. The gains in Texas were so big that the Republicans no longer need the Democrats to get state constitutional amendments out of the state legislature.

According to the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) at Rutgers University, 298 women indicated their intent by filing to run for House and Senate seats in the 2010 midterm elections --  (36 Senate, 262 House.)

What makes the 2010 election year stand out is the surge in the number of Republican women running for Congress -- a fact lauded by conservatives and highlighted by mainstream media.

With a record number of female GOP candidates throwing their hats into the ring (145 total, 17 Senate and 128 House), pundits soon began declaring 2010 as "the Year of the Republican Women." (In comparison, 153 Democratic women filed to run for Congress in 2010 - 19 for the Senate and 134 for the House.)