Howard Phillips, Chairman of The Conservative Caucus, a non-partisan public policy action organization founded in 1974, issued the following statement concerning the nationwide defeat of Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives:

"The November 7 election results are, to a significant degree, attributable to the policies of the Bush Administration in many areas, in addition to Iraq. These include:

• advocacy of amnesty for illegal aliens,

• failure to enforce existing immigration laws which require penalization of corporations which hire illegal aliens,

• promotion of a North American Union (NAU) scheme to merge the United States with Canada and Mexico,

• historically high subsidies to Planned Parenthood,

• appointment of open homosexuals to key positions,

• massive expansion of the Federal role in education,

• increased funding of the United Nations,

• expansion of foreign aid,

• failure to move forward deployment effectively of a ballistic missile defense,

• budget busting expansion of non-defense Federal spending and massive increases in annual deficits and the overall national debt,

• trade policies which have undermined America’s manufacturing base and placed millions of American jobs at risk,

• approval of anti-family FDA policies such as authority for the distribution of RU-486 and over-the-counter sales of "morning after" contraceptives,

• approval of threats to U.S. civil liberties, including elements of the Patriot Act,

• signing into law the McCain-Feingold election regulation bill in clear violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution.

"The tragedy is that the Republican Congressional leadership in the House and Senate, by and large, rubber stamped unconstitutional Bush Administration policies, instead of fulfilling responsibilities of oversight and independent judgment as intended by the framers of the U.S. Constitution which made the Legislative Branch of our government primary in our Federal system.

"One can only hope that, during a time of partisan gridlock, Republicans in Congress will manifest a degree of independence from unwise Bush Administration policies and that the President himself will stand against unwise policies of the new Democrat Party majorities in Congress.

"Tragically, during the campaign season just ended, in most parts of the country, conservative voters, in order to manifest their unhappiness, were put in a position of either (a) holding their nose and voting for Republicans with whom they disagreed, (b) staying away from the polls, or (c) voting for imperfect Democratic candidates.

"Fortunately, in some instances, the Democrats put forward candidates who were more conservative than their Republican adversaries and a handful of these candidates were successful on election day.

"My hope is that, as we draw closer to the 2008 Presidential and Congressional elections, Constitutionally faithful candidates not tied to the Bush Administration will receive significant media attention and popular support."

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JOHN KERRY WAS THE OCTOBER SURPRISE

Wes Pruden writes in The Washington Times (11/3/06, p. A4), “The senator’s slur in congressional testimony four decades ago against the men with whom he served in Vietnam — ‘they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads …cut off limbs, blown up bodies, shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan …poisoned food stocks and generally ravaged the countryside …’ — was of a piece with everything he could say afterward.

“Two years later, he suggested that the United States would one day dispatch an army of illiterates and louts to a place like for example, Iraq. ‘I am convinced a volunteer army would be an army of the poor and the black and the brown,’ he wrote in a reply to a questionnaire when he ran for a House seat in 1972. ‘…I also fear having a professional army that views the perpetuation of war crimes as simply “doing its job.”’”

BOSTON CELTICS, THANKS TO RED AUERBACH, WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST EVER SPORTS FRANCHISES

Growing up in Boston, I was a devoted fan of the Boston Celtics and spent many a night with my ear pressed against the radio in my bedroom listening to their struggles with the Syracuse Nationals and other teams.

What a great cast of characters they had, one of the greatest in sports history, and credit for the assembly goes to their wonderful coach and general manager, Red Auerbach, who died recently.

John Feinstein wrote in The Washington Post (10/30/06, p. E1), "There are some people you think will never die. No one ever fit that mold more than Red Auerbach. Five days ago, at the age of 89, he had a black-tie crowd at the United States Navy Memorial dinner roaring while he accepted the 2006 Lone Sailor Award. Ten days ago, at what turned out to be the last of the weekly lunches his close friends savored and planned their weeks around, he was - as always - looking forward to the start of another NBA season.

"The NBA begins its 61st season this week. It will be the first one - ever - without Red. He died Saturday afternoon the only way he possibly could have - a sudden heart attack. Anything less sneaky couldn't possibly have gotten him. He had been through kidney failure, heart failure, dialysis and almost as many surgeries on various parts of his body as he won championships (16) with the Celtics. In the summer of 2005, he had a cancerous blockage in his colon. The doctors said there was no choice but to try and get it out even though it was entirely possible the surgery would kill him.

"He was sitting up asking for ice cream a few hours after the surgery was completed.

"The obituary writers will explain his legacy: taking over an almost bankrupt team in Boston in 1950 and building it into one of the great dynasties in the history of sports. He did it with smarts and guts and, as he so indelicately put it, balls. For Red, there was no bigger compliment. …

"But Red's real secret was his heart. He genuinely loved his players and his friends, and they loved him back. He was intensely loyal. His motto seemed to be, 'I can criticize my players and my friends, but you can't.' …

"Red was perhaps most famous for the victory cigar. Many saw it as the ultimate symbol of arrogance, of rubbing defeat in the face of a vanquished opponent.

"Actually, it started out as just the opposite.

" 'I never believed in jumping up and down and getting on my players when a game was won,' he said. 'I thought it was out of line - showed up the other team. So, I'd get the subs in, sit and fold my arms. But I had no one to talk to - there were no assistants in those days - and I felt silly just sitting there. I always had a cigar in my pocket, so one night, I took it out and lit it up. It gave me something to do. Then, after while, it became a big deal. I never meant for that to happen.'

"Of course, these days, Red's cigar would be banned in most arenas. In fact, there is a Boston city ordinance that bans smoking in all public buildings. There was one exception to the rule: Red Auerbach in the arena whenever the Celtics were playing. …

"I was fortunate enough to be there for what turned out to be his last one. Red had been very sick last September, in intensive care for five weeks. And yet, there he was, on opening night against the Knicks, walking to his seat just before tip-off to a wild standing ovation from the crowd in TD Banknorth Garden. One of Red's cardiologists turned to me as Red was sitting down and said, 'You understand, it would be a miracle for a man of 50 to be here tonight after being where he was a few weeks ago. This …' he gestured with his hand at Red, 'is simply unbelievable.'"

In the same edition of The Washington Post, Michael Wilson wrote, "In 1956, the Boston Celtics traded Cliff Hagan and Ed Macauley to the St. Louis Hawks for the rights to the No. 2 pick in the college draft, where they selected a kid who had led his team to 55 straight victories and two NCAA championships, who averaged 28 points and 29 rebounds his senior year, a kid who turned out to be Bill Russell.

"In 1978, while Larry Bird was a junior at Indiana State, the Celtics drafted him even though he was returning to school for his senior season.

"In 1980, the Celtics traded the No. 1 pick in the drat to the Golden State Warriors for a package that would turn out to be Robert Parish and Kevin McHale, who would join Bird to form probably the greatest front line in NBA history.

"Completing any one of those deals puts you at the top of your sport.

"Making all three of those deals, as Red Auerbach did as boss of the Celtics, makes you a legend, someone to be loved, hated, envied, studied and ultimately treasured. There will never, ever be anyone like Auerbach again.

"Never again will a man coach and build 16 championships in a major sport in one lifetime. No one man will impact the game of basketball, on the court, the way Auerbach did as coach and boss of the Celtics. …

"If all Auerbach had done was make the aforementioned deals and win those nine championships as head coach, it would have been enough to make him the greatest coach in the history of professional basketball. His teams won those nine championships without a league scoring champ, with players such as K.C. Jones and Satch Sanders who were paid primarily to play defense, with great players such as John Havlicek coming off the bench. That's enough of a contribution right there, actually more than should be expected of any one coach.

"But Auerbach had to go and have a spine, too. He drafted the first African American player (Chuck Cooper). Auerbach was the first to start five black players. Auerbach, when he retired, essentially picked Russell to coach the Celtics, making him the first black head coach in modern American professional sports. Auerbach was doing this, mind you, in a city very often openly hostile to blacks, a city heading into racial upheaval. 'Red, to me, was colorblind,' former Celtic Kermit Washington said last night in a telephone conversation. 'He just didn't care. If you were purple and from Mars and gave an effort, Red was fine. There were a lot of things going on in Boston then. But Red was such a strong personality. He didn't answer to anybody. I think he always knew that if he won, he wouldn't have to answer to anybody. He was a tough, tough man.' …

"The stories coming out of Los Angeles and Philly and all the cities where the Celtics were despised cannot be written without mentioning that Auerbach's cigar smoke could be very annoying, that he did devious things like cut off the hot water to the visiting locker room in Boston Garden, or remove some of the light bulbs or turn up the heat to the point of unbearable."