February 21st, 2011 by jdnorman
The Richard Norman Company is proud to announce that we have won the 2011 Pollie Award from the American Association of Political Consultants for Political Fundraising Mail in 2010. We will be accepting the award at a special AAPC Pollie Awards Gala on March 11, in Washington, DC.
Hailed as the “Oscars of Political Advertising” the Pollies represents those engaged in the business of politics. Spanning several categories the Pollie Awards offers an opportunity for both political consulting and public affairs professionals to achieve recognition.
Winners are selected by a panel of judges representing the industry’s best campaigning experts. Winners represent the latest talent and techniques in this 8 billion dollar industry.
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December 29th, 2010 by Richard Norman
Brent Bozell is founder and President of The Media Research Center, (MRC). MRC has been a client of The Richard Norman Company for two decades. We are proud to have been a small part of their growth over the years, but the real reason for their success is Brent Bozell. One of the brightest minds of the conservative movement today, Brent has exposed the left for the frauds that they are more than anyone I know. Here is an excellent example of his great work…
Fox News Makes You Stupid?
There is nothing the left believes in more robotically than the stupidity of conservatives. Otherwise, they would not be conservatives. When liberals get routed in an election, they do not question themselves. The first — and for most, only — verdict is that the American people were disastrously flooded by a tsunami of stupidity and misinformation.
So it’s not surprising that left-wing bloggers would rejoice when they can write the headline “New Study Proves That Fox News Makes You Stupid.” That’s the Daily Kos headline. According to them, Fox News is “deliberately misinforming their viewers” to help Republicans, who “benefited from the ignorance Fox News helped to proliferate,” as voters “based their decisions on demonstrably false information.”
The liberal pranksters masquerading as pollsters at the University of Maryland’s Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) are at it again. In a new survey, they claim that those who watched Fox News Channel on a daily basis were significantly more likely to believe in “misinformation.” But how is that word defined? Look at the details and you will be floored by the misinformation — coming from the pollsters themselves.
Here’s Exhibit A: Fox viewers were more likely to believe “Among economists who have estimated the effect of the health reform law on the federal budget deficit over the next ten years, more think it will increase the deficit.”
That is misinformation? This question is not about facts at all. It’s about the opinions of economists looking into a crystal ball, and PIPA’s “economists” estimate that herding 35 million uninsured Americans into a new federal entitlement program is going to reduce the deficit. This assertion by liberals that ObamaCare would cut deficits isn’t technically a “lie” — yet. It is merely a patently ridiculous claim that doesn’t acknowledge the real world. But somehow, Fox News viewers are tagged as the “misinformed” dummies, because their opinions are grounded in logic.
Here’s Exhibit B: Fox viewers were more likely to believe “Most economists who have studied it estimate that the stimulus legislation saved or created a few jobs or caused job losses.” Once again, this isn’t about facts, but about economists and their estimation. The idea that there is “misinformation” afoot, and it’s not about the incredibly nebulous and politicized notion of “saving or creating” jobs — something so nebulous it can never be factually verified — shows you the bias of the PIPA pollsters.
Let’s go all the way back to the drawing board on this poll. Is it fair — whether the pollsters are liberals or conservatives — to expect the American people to identify correctly the estimates made by a panel of economists organized by news editors of The Wall Street Journal? In a random polling sample, how many memorizing Journal subscribers are you going to find?
There is a more serious polling problem here for PIPA. The poll was done from Nov. 6-15, 2010, with a sample size of 848 respondents, for a margin of error of 3.4 percent. Given that an average primetime audience of Fox News is 2.2 million out of a nation of more than 300 million people, that’s 0.7 percent. Out of 848 poll respondents, 0.7 percent would give us total of about six Fox viewers. In their own polling breakdown, PIPA says 17 percent said they were almost-daily Fox viewers, or about 145 people. Even that is simply not high enough to test in a serious poll.
That is why this survey wasn’t food for the national media, but scraps left for craven bloggers who know nothing about facts and care less about the truth.
Almost every piece of “misinformation” the PIPA people floated to measure how conservatives misunderstood Obama involved blatant spinning about Obama’s role in the auto bailout or the TARP program, or how the “stimulus” included tax cuts, or even Obama’s birth certificate.
They’re not alone in trying to nail Fox. In August 2009, an NBC-Wall Street Journal poll reported 72 percent of self-identified Fox News viewers believed the health-care plan will give coverage to illegal immigrants, 79 percent believed it will lead to a government takeover, 69 percent thought it would use taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions, and 75 percent believed that it will allow the government to make decisions about when to stop providing care for the elderly.
Sadly for NBC, this “misinformation” is already coming true: On Christmas, The New York Times reported “death panels” are back in the ObamaCare regulations, and we knew by midsummer that states were funding abortions through ObamaCare.
These polls identify the real liberal fear: that someone will trust Fox News to tell them things the liberal media try to crush and bury.
Copied from: www.townhall.com
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December 17th, 2010 by Richard Norman
What happened to the excitement of Election Day 2010 when conservatives in the Republican Party won a net gain of 63 seats in the House of Representatives to take over Congress? It was a short-lived victory. Just six weeks later, as if nothing happened, Congress passed a back-room deal, put together by Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and President Obama, a so-called “tax compromise” that will increase deficit spending by nearly $900 Billion! I thought this past election was all about “fiscal responsibility”! So why would Congress pass such a bad bill?
The GOP Members of Congress were oh so willing to compromise with President Obama in order to keep the “Bush-era tax cuts” for upper income earners. As one in that tax bracket, I appreciate their interest in protecting my income. But what did Congress give up to keep that tax rate? Well $900 Billion in deficit spending for one thing. And Congress increased the “death tax” from the current zero percent to thirty-five percent! And unemployment benefits were extended for another 99 weeks which, I believe, makes unemployment benefits available for a total of two and one-half years! Seriously? Can anyone seriously look for a job for two and one-half years? Or are we just creating a huge new permanent welfare class?
I realize that we are in the Christmas season and no one wants to deny benefits to the unemployed at Christmas. How “Scrooge-like” would that be? But still, two and one-half years of unemployment benefits seems ludicrous, especially to a nation that is sinking in debt! The Obama Administration has failed miserably to pull us out of recession. While some spending and growth numbers have gone up, unemployment remains stubbornly high. How about if Congress and the President focused upon job creation instead of paying unemployment benefits for two and one-half years.
This willingness to spend money we do not have is a repudiation of the recent election results and a return to business-as-usual in Washington. Hopefully the new Congress will grow a spine and be willing to undo some of the damage that has been done by this horrible deal.
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May 27th, 2010 by Richard Norman
As we approach this weekend, most people are excited about the arrival of summer, students are excited about the end of school, others just appreciate having a long weekend. While I am all for warm weather and long weekends, it is my hope that people will take a moment to remember what it is we celebrate this weekend.
I come from a long line of veterans. My great, great, great, grandfather fought to defend his homeland in the South Carolina militia during the War Between the States. He lost two brothers in The Wilderness Campaign in Virginia. My grandfather fought in The War to End All Wars in the US Army. He was wounded and nearly bled to death in the Battle of Argon Forest in France. My father enlisted in the US Army during World War II but was not able to get to Europe before the war was ended in 1945. I was too young to go to Vietnam and when I completed college in 1979, our nation was enjoying a time of peace and the services were down-sizing.
I always admired soldiers and wish that I had taken that path in my own life. Not necessarily to go to war, but at least to have the opportunity to serve. I appreciate the selflessness of national service. Today, I am very proud to have a nephew in the Army, and a niece who is getting ready to enlist.
To me, Memorial Day is the one day all year that we should stop and remember all those who gave the last full measure, their very lives, to advance the cause of freedom.
So to those who gave all… my thoughts are with you this weekend. And to all our veterans, living and dead, I say a sincere and heartfelt, Thank you!
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March 9th, 2010 by Richard Norman
This past weekend I had the privilege of meeting Mark Meckler and Jenny Beth Martin, the Co-Founders and National Coordinators of the Tea Party Patriots. Mark and Jenny Beth told their stories of how they became involved in the Tea Party movement. Both were very disenchanted with both the Republican and Democrat parties and both were looking for a way to vent their frustration with the political system which they saw as being “broken”.
Neither of these individuals set out to start a movement. It was a situation where they became involved and one thing led to another. In Mark’s case, he has given up his law practice to work on the Tea Party movement full-time. Jenny Beth and her husband had just gone though some very difficult financial troubles. In neither case was their involvement “convenient”. And in both cases, their involvement was a sacrifice.
I deeply admire people like Mark and Jenny Beth who love their country and put their country ahead of personal gain. We have a lot to learn from their commitment. They, like the Tea Party activists who threw tea into the Boston Harbor, have put love of country above all else. I salute them.
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March 2nd, 2010 by Richard Norman
Sometimes it seems as though good, old-fashioned customer service is a thing of the past. But then, when you least expect it, there it is again!
My wife and I had one such experience recently. During the second “blizzard of 2010″ we were staying at a hotel in Tysons Corner so we would not get stuck in our house (way out in the country) for days. We checked in on Friday and by Sunday, Vickie was ready to get out of the hotel. We ventured over to Tysons Corner Center which reopened on Sunday after being closed by the blizzard on Friday. We had been looking for new bedroom furniture and we stopped in to a store called “Arhaus”. I was not familiar with it but I really liked the look. We found a bedroom set we were really interested in. The sales clerk told us that the set was on sale and we would save about 25% on everything. Then she told us there was a “snow storm special” with an additional 5% off (roughly the sales tax). Then she told us we could also get “one-year same as cash” financing at zero percent interest! SOLD!
While the furniture was already in stock, we couldn’t take delivery for several more weeks as we knew it would be a while before we could even get back to our house. So we set delivery for twenty days later. The day before delivery day, someone from the company called to give us a specific time for delivery. 10:00 a.m. The next morning we had moved out the old furniture and were getting ready. My cell phone rang. It was the driver telling me he would be about 15 minutes late. Not to worry.
The driver arrived on time in a huge moving truck. He and another fellow unloaded the furniture and set it up in our bedroom. They were very friendly and professional. Within an hour of their leaving, someone from the company called to make sure I was happy. Then on Monday came another call from the sales person who sold us the furniture just to make sure we were completely satisfied.
The entire experience, beginning to end, was everything you would ever want in buying furniture. I can highly recommend “Arhaus” to anyone in the market for new furniture. And they now rank up there with Nordstrom and Lexus for outstanding customer service. By the way, you can shop online at www.arhaus.com!
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February 23rd, 2010 by Richard Norman
Much has been written and said about CPAC 2010. As one who spent Wednesday through Saturday at the Wardman Park Marriott attending the conference, I would like to add my two cents worth.
First and foremost, CPAC 2010 was the most energetic and exciting CPAC I have ever attended and I have been every year since 1983. Not only did they surpass the highest previous year’s attendance by more than 20%, the program was packed with more useful information for grassroots political activists than ever before. I have never seen so many breakout sessions, or so many useful and helpful workshops on all kinds of subjects.
The speaker line-up in the main auditorium (which seated in excess of 3,000 people and was full at most times during the day) was fantastic. Much stronger than previous years.
The event was not without controversy. First there were those who were sniping at it because of the co-sponsor lineup which included the gay Republican group “GOProud” and The John Birch Society. There were the Tea Party activists and the Ron Paul followers and lots of (small “l”) libertarians and (capital “L”) Libertarians. There were those who want to build a border fence and those who are for more open immigration policy. There were those who were pro-Bush-wars and those who were opposed to the Bush wars.
All-in-all, I can honestly say that this group at CPAC was the most “diverse” gathering of conservatives that I have ever seen. Libertarians, gay Republican, Birchers, neo-cons, traditional conservatives, social conservatives, birthers, etc. But the glue that held this group together is opposition to Big Government and Barack Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. Let’s hope that all these conservative factions can continue to agree upon the one common enemy until it is defeated. If that can be done, CPAC 2010 and the Conservative Movement, will be remembered as a success.
February 16th, 2010 by Richard Norman
First there were the Tea Parties in the summer and fall of 2009. Then there was Virginia where the conservative GOP candidates swept all three state-wide seats in the November 2009 General Election. And on the same day, New Jersey, where the GOP won in a state where anyone with an “R” beside their name is thought of as a hopeless cause.
Then there was NY-23 where conservatives and Tea Party activists showed the Republican Party and the NRCC that you cannot feed voters chicken manure and tell them it is chicken salad. The conservatives forced the Republican nominee into third place where she ultimately dropped out and endorsed the Democrat (who was to her right).
Of course, who could forget the kick in the gut of the Democrat party when Republican state legislator Scott Brown won a come-from-nowhere victory to win the late Senator Ted Kennedy’s seat in the United States Senate. Not only becoming the first Republican to represent Massachusetts since Edward Brooke back in the 1970’s but winning by promising to be the 41st vote against government-controlled health care, the life-long dream of Senator Kennedy!
Next you have Florida where the NRSC-blessed candidacy of RINO Governor Charlie Crist has become virtually a sideshow as conservative former Speaker of the House Marco Rubio has trounced him in every straw poll taken around the state. Rubio went from 30 points behind Crist to leading him by ten points!
In California, conservative Representative Chuck DeVore has come from nowhere to be polling side-by-side with the moderate party favorite Carly Fiorina and just six points behind radical-liberal Senator Barbara Boxer who is seeking her fourth term in the Senate.
In Arizona, conservative former Congressman J.D. Hayworth is challenging the GOP’s moderate standard-bearer in the 2008 Presidential campaign, Sen. John McCain in the GOP primary. I was in Arizona last week and am told by insiders that McCain is taking the Hayworth challenge very seriously.
Last week I was also in Nevada visiting with political insiders where the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is polling very poorly and could easily be picked off by any one of three GOP candidates.
Just yesterday, one of the Senate’s most re-electable Democrats, Evan Byah, with $13 million cash on hand and a commanding lead in the polls, dropped out of the race moving Indiana from the “Solid Democrat” column to the “leaning Republican.” Former Senator Dan Coats is seeking the GOP nod and will be the likely winner regardless of who the Democrats nominate.
In Alabama, our client the former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, Roy Moore, the most strictly-Constitutional and conservative candidate in the race, is leading the party-favorite Bradley Byrne by a two-to-one margin in the polls.
I could go on and on. Bottom line… as I travel around the country I can feel that there is a wave washing across the country. It is not just a Republican wave but a conservative Republican wave. Possibly even an electoral Tsunami.
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December 9th, 2009 by Richard Norman
This past weekend, I had the occasion to sponsor and attend a meeting of Virginia Republicans held in Williamsburg. This meeting was the 26th annual Don Huffman Republican Party of Virginia Advance. As the story goes, Virginia Republicans don’t “retreat” we “advance”, thus the name.
The meeting is named after the greatest RPV Chairman of my lifetime, Donald Huffman who served as party Chairman in the 1983 until 1992. During that time, the GOP became the dominant political party in Virginia with two US Senators, the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General, as well as 8 of 10 Members of Congress. I know Don Huffman and worked closely with him when he was Chairman as the primary direct mail fundraising vendor to the RPV during those years. Don was a great Chairman because he stood solidly by his conservative principles and yet he was inclusive of those who disagreed with him. He was truly the model GOP party chairman, much as Haley Barbour was as RNC Chairman.
This particular RPV Advance occurred one month after a second “clean sweep” where GOP candidates were elected to the Governor’s Mansion, the Lt. Governorship and as Attorney General. I know all three of these candidates who will be sworn in this January in Richmond, and I expect great things from them. Bob McDonnell, our Governor-elect, was once a Delegate from Virginia Beach and represented my parent’s district in the General Assembly. Although he had a vote or two that some Second Amendment advocates (such as myself) question, all in all, Bob has a strong conservative record as a legislator and as Attorney General for four years. Bill Bolling was once seen as the conservative’s top choice for governor in 2009 until he decided to run for re-election thus clearing the way for McDonnell to run unopposed for the primary. His reelection to the Lt. Governor position was a key ingredient for the clean sweep in November. Finally, Ken Cuccinelli is a hero of all conservatives. He has been a tireless supporter of conservative values in the Senate of Virginia and we expect great things from him as AG.
The Republican Party of Virginia also picked up a net of six seats in the Virginia House of Delegates. One of these, Tag Greason of Ashburn, represents the legislative district of my company in Lansdowne. Tag is part of a great crop of new faces in the General Assembly that should be much more conservative than the past group.
The Republican Party of Virginia is certainly stronger today than it has been in recent years. The gains will continue in the 2010 elections if candidates learn the lessons of the past and stick to their conservative principles and not waiver with every criticism of the liberal media. It is entirely possible that the GOP may regain seats lost in the Fifth Congressional District and others next November. If so, maybe Virginia Republicans will name future meetings after the current RPV Chairman, Pat Mullins.
July 29th, 2009 by Richard Norman
The RedState Gathering will take place this weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the first ever “convening” of folks who are followers of the website, RedState.com. Among those expected to attend are Senate Conservatives Fund Chairman Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and former Rep. Pat Toomey who is running against Arlen Specter for the Senate seat in Pennsylvania. (Both Sen. DeMint and Rep. Toomey are clients of The Richard Norman Company.) Also expected is House Republican Leader Marco Rubio of Florida who is running for the US Senate seat from Florida.
The RedState Gathering is an important event because it marks one of the first conservative meetings devoted solely to the spreading of the conservative agenda through “new media”… the Internet, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and the like. With each week that passes, we go farther and farther along the path to becoming more and more dependent upon receiving information from our iPhones, Blackberries, and our PCs than we do newspapers and TV. This makes it all the more important that we, as lovers of freedom, are in the forefront of this new technology.
The Richard Norman Company launched a “new media” or “digital communications” company several months ago to assist our clients with their technology needs. The Senate Conservatives Fund was one of our first clients and we are now working with the House Conservatives Fund as well as several campaigns. We are dedicated to staying on the cutting edge as every day presents us with new challenges and opportunities for communicating our pro-freedom message.
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