Palin…go away!
Seriously, I don’t care that you have a new book….I don’t care that you have a tattered relationship with your daughter’s “baby daddy“…and I find absolutely nothing of this fascinating in the least. It’s all over TV, she’s been on every talk show on earth….all for what? To increase exposure for a possible presidential run in 2012?
People, the woman quit her job as governor of Alaska…and she is now suddenly viable to be President? I typically love juicy stories in the media but this woman, no matter left or right wing, just doesn’t do it for me. The circumstances are boring and it’s just another public person with a normal dysfuctional family (we all have dysfunction).
I just don’t find her’s real interesting…
Obama wins a Nobel Peace Prize…?
The news was announced that Barack Obama has been selected by the Norweigian Nobel Committee as a winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.
My first reaction is congratulations as this is a nice honor for our Prez to win, on the other hand I am concerned. First let me declare that I am a fan of Obama and I voted for him. Funny coming from someone who has voted the Republican ticket since I was eligible to vote, but something was different this year.
I liked the message of change, I had hope in the messages of health care reform, improvement of foreign relations, and an overall changing of the guard per se. The stance on the wars seemed to be a stand still, troops dying in large numbers and seemingly no direction of our executive leadership to change the course.
I’m just at odds with him actually winning the award right now, almost as if the committee felt bad that his bid for the Chicago 2016 Summer games bombed. Granted, Obama is a true statesman of what is just and right, but so are a lot of other Presidents, the problem is convincing Washington lawmakers to get on board with your thinking.
Yes, he is an advocate of sweeping reform and change, but that is the stance of all politicians and only a few economically viable programs actually see the light of day.
Yes, he is making great strides to reach out to other nations and mend wounds that were seen caused by the last admin. However, the differences in cultures, values, and religion go back thousands of years and it’s not like other administrations weren’t trying to win over the Middle East.
I guess my issue is that I want to see Obama hit hard times and I want to see him tested. I don’t want purely the flash of fancy speeches, the well crafted delivery to world leaders, or the public view that words equate to action, they don’t.
The Peace prize is not only an accolade but now might become a burden. A burden to perform. The award places him in a position which requires even more expectation to lead but also to achieve. Not all goals in politics are reachable, there are accommodations, backdoors, and alternative approaches.
My fear is that too much God like treatment will tarnish the underlying truth, the truth being that Obama is at a very critical crossroads of his tenure and the moment of truth is starting to peak. The world will inevitably be watching now.
Why I love Ann Coulter
Yep, I enjoy her existence. I don’t particularly care for her persona, her constant desire to be in the limelight or the depths to which she will stoop to be the center of attention, and I certainly don’t agree with a thing she says. So why do I love her?
She’s a constant reminder of why I love my country.
I’m not sure that Ann Coulter has even made a point without bending and stretching the truth as if facts were one of those stress relieving items that just have no purpose in life unless they are twisted and crunched into an unrecognizable mess, but my point is that she can. Her credibility seems to be directly related to the size of her big brass balls. She’s like a bull in the china-shop of truth who after her Tasmanian-devil style rant, comes out with perfectly coiffed hair – no worse for the wear.
She has an audience, her books sell. I’m not sure if anyone actually believes the crap she spews out, but thanks to good ol’ American capitalism, she’s a success.
Not surprising, she has a new book out and she she’s on a press tour for it. Sometimes I think she churns out the books not so much to educate anyone on a particular subject, but merely for the fact of having something to talk about so can go on these press tours. She revels in the arguments she gets into with the liberal media and she tosses her blond tresses in a manner that shows she’s not really listening to the interviewer but knows that her points are crap so she expects the questions and has canned answers ready when she hears key words from the host. But again, she has an audience. Those who love her for her big cojones , and those who hate her existence. She thrives off both.
Truth be told, I can’t watch an interview with her without yelling at the TV. But I watch anyway for a few reasons:
1. Makes me appreciate the fact I’m not in a political group for whom she is a talking head. I couldn’t fathom being a part of an organization or movement that relied on her to get any message across. Her fact-tangling approach to most issues removes any credibility she may have on any relevant agenda item.
2. Gives me things to think about when I’m in a political discussion. Her mannerisms and approach are so polarizing that it’s almost like a “what not to do when trying to make a point and be taken seriously’ seminar.
3. Her confidence. We can learn from her ability to look you straight in the eyes and tell you the sun is bitterly cold and scoff at you when you point out scientific proof that it is, in fact hot, you liberal idiot.
4. I’m rubber and you’re glue whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you, you liberal idiot.
5. She is taking full advantage of her American rights and I hope she truly appreciates it. Nevermind the fact that she’s the two steps back for each step forward good, smart female political pundits have made (on both sides, thank you) I really hope that she appreciates and thanks whatever god her close-minded little heart worships that someone decided to give Republican Barbie a microphone and there are people who believe her outrageousness, just because it sounds so far out there, it must be true.
A few of her wonderfully classy quotes:
“I was going to have a few comments about John Edwards but you have to go into rehab if you use the word faggot.” –at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference
“These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by griefparrazies. I have never seen people enjoying their husband’s deaths so much.” -on 9/11 widows who have been critical of the Bush administration (note: nobody, except of course her, who is cashing in on slamming them)
“We need to execute people like (John Walker Lindh) in order to physically intimidate liberals.” (note: she calls Obama ‘B. Hussein Obama’ because of the fear that name instills but you notice she’ll use Walker Lindh and not refer to Bush as ‘G. Walker Bush’”)
“We should invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity.” – Days after September 11 attacks
“Whether they are defending the Soviet Union or bleating for Saddam Hussein, liberals are always against America. They are either traitors or idiots.”
“Press passes can’t be that hard to come by if the White House allows that old Arab Helen Thomas to sit within yards of the President.” (note: I find this particularly nasty, its because of women like Ms. Thomas who helped pave the way for women in political reporting)
Seriously Ann, stay classy. And thanks for reminding me how free this country still is.
What is Next for the GOP? Part II
In Part I of this series I laid out why I thought the GOP was headed for defeat. A lot of analysis will go into that in the next few months and I hope the conclusions are correct.
It is too late and I am too tired to write a lengthy piece, but let me just leave you with a few thoughts from the election tonight:
1) The key thing that jumped out at me in exit polls was the 65-70% of Hispanics that voted for Obama.
While hispanics make up only 15% of the national electorate, that number is growing and fast. In certain states which were key tonight, the % is much higher (NV, NM, AZ, FL and CA).
Any strategy the Republicans formulate for remaining a player in national elections going forward must contemplate both the overwhelming support Hispanics gave to Obama and the growing strength of that demographic group.
I call on the Republican Party to recruit and develop Hispanic candidates for the House of Representatives and the Senate in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida and California. The Republican Party has the potential to do very well with Hispanics, but it has been so enslaved to the neo-con, NRA, far right of the party that it risks making the party a rump of angry old white folks.
One of the long term benefits of developing Hispanic candidates and making a concerted effort to reach out to Hispanics is that the Republicans eventually might put California back “in play” (not any time soon mind you, but 8 to 12 years out).
2) The Republican’s will hold on to enough Senate seats that, if it needs to – I mean really needs to, it can impede a radical agenda. While I think some in congress will want to jam through all kinds of proposals which would be terribly disruptive to a fragile economy and represent long term major structural change to the nation – I think Obama recognizes the key failure of the first two years of the Clinton administration: reaching for too much, too fast in a way that created the backlash that led to Newt Gingrich and the “Contract with America”. Keeping this in mind, my advice is that Republicans should resist the temptation to try to thwart everything the Democrats want to do and look for ways to work with them.
Without question there are some things which need to be tackled. My top two are: fixing regulation of the financial system and health care. I think that both parties will be in relative alignment – with only degrees of difference – on the financial system. With respect to health care I think there will be wider difference.
I think that instead of trying to thwart altogether the type of health care reform the Democrats will want to push through, the Republicans should try to shape the policy to provide a base of health care coverage while reducing the aggregate amount spent by this nation on health care and keeping the incentive structure of the free market working to continue to promote the advancements in technology which this nations health care industry and the free market have created.
The next two years will be interesting. Let’s see what Obama is really made of.
The Big Day!
I love election day, it feels like the Superbowl to me and I am already thinking of all the munchies I am going to put together to watch the returns come in.
I expect an Obama victory, but not the blow-out that many forecast. I believe, and have a $0.25 bet with a fellow blogger, that the over-under on the electoral college count will be 310 for Obama. I took the “under”.
I would like to see McCain pull it out, but I just do not think it is in the cards.
However, I thought I would take a moment and say a few good things about Obama, why I do not fear the socialist takeover of the American system that many on the left would like to see and many on the right fear (and probably have blown out of proportion).
First, I think that Obama is highly intelligent, honest and loves his country. I also think he is a consensus seeker and will surround himself with highly intelligent advisers. Obama also has a track record of taking in all views. On this last point I will give him credit over the current Administration.
Secondly, I think the Republicans will keep 42 seats in the Senate and that combined with the moderate Democrats in the Senate will provide a ballast against any radical moves to overhaul anything (tax policy, healthcare, etc) in a way that would be disruptive to the economy.
Thirdly, the weak state of the economy itself requires treading carefully into any attempts at modifying the system, particularly tax rates, and the glaring problem that both parties want and will attack aggressively in the first 100 days will I suspect be to repair the lax regulation that led to the recent financial crises. I think the focus on this will be so intense it will take away from other initiatives that may be less attractive to conservatives.
Finally, with respect to tax policy, the Bush tax cuts were going to be allowed to roll-off in 2010 regardless of who was elected President. Anyone who says differently is just wrong. With the makeup of congress as is, much less with the make up we will have after this election, extension of those tax cuts had no chance. I think allowing those tax cuts to expire will be the extent of major adjustment to tax rates in the first two years of an Obama Administration. I did not feel like the federal government was extracting unfairly from my income prior to the Bush tax cuts, so allowing them to expire does not bother me that much. Plus, anyone paying attention at the time, and I recall thinking about how the tax cuts were structured, knew that this was a temporary windfall that would go away at some point any way.
So all in all, I still feel good about our nation and its future and so should you (especially if you are an Obama supporter). I will also add that I do think Obama might be the right guy to restore some of our prestige internationally. The world wide support for him is great. I know that should not matter to voters what people in Africa, Asia, India, Europe think. But the fact is our credibility and respect has been hammered and as long as Obama strongly supports our national interest – if his international popularity restores some of that prestige I am all for it.
I am really not sure what to do now, Turd Blossom and I agree on something
I think its really spooky and could just be a Halloween trick, but I just watched a video that relates to another post about Sarah Palin going over the edge and I was making all kinds of bullet points that help prove my point when I saw it.
Karl Rove agreed with me. At 2:23 it happens. He says sure it might be a good tactic but its way too late in the process to try to Obama’s ‘known associations’ against him now. I’m in a state of shock and denial.
Oh yeah, and that latest known associate Palin tried to turn into a rally point? McCain helped fund an organization for which Khalidi was a (known) founder. I wonder if someone forgot to tell her or she just thought it was good to get Obama’s known relationship out there. That again goes to my point to stick to the talking point this late in the game.
For reference on McCain’s known involvement with this questionable person of interest, check out the group, on which McCain sat on the Board of Directors, The International Republican Institute’s financial statement, page 14, line item West Bank, CPRS. Yes, that is over $400,000 given to that group.
Republicans for Common Sense Gun Control
OK, due to the recent posts by my colleagues on this topic I felt the need to reply. The title of this post is my name for a group that I have wanted to start for a long time.
We all know that the National Rifle Association (NRA) holds a special and powerful place within the Republican party.
As a Republican, my views on this issue stop short of the proposal posted on this site to ban all weapons that fire a projectile.
But, I largely agree with the sentiment expressed that the founders did not comprehend the notion of automatic weapons, certain types of ammunition, etc.
Possession of small arms by individuals in no way protects our rights. The ballot box is the only effective means of protecting our rights. Against a modern military no useful purpose outside legitimate sporting and self defense requirements is served by individual possession of firearms. Small arms do not prevent tyranny.
In fact, any reasonable cost / benefit analysis of the issue will prove the point that for every crime stopped by an individual with a handgun, many more are committed with them by those more willing to use them – criminals.
Now, an outright ban on guns is not going to happen in this country in my life time (which I hope is at least 30 more years!). Also, I am not sure that I am supportive of eliminating legitimate sporting uses. I am not a hunter, but I do enjoy shooting skeet and trap from time to time.
I do think the mass shootings and crime statistics however compel us as a nation to deal with this issue.
I think that when they think about it (”they” being the average person and “when” being after the immediate economic crisis is over and we as a nation can think about issues such as this again) most people would agree on the following as a starting point:
1) Automatic and semi-automatic weapons (along with ammunition specifically designed for killing human beings) should be banned completely. This includes assault-type rifles and handguns;
2) Shotguns, hunting rifles (bolt and lever action) and revolver type handguns should continue to be permitted but only with strict training requirements, serious penalties for committing a crime with such weapon and the provision that anyone who has ever been convicted of a violent crime will immediately be deemed to have committed a parole violation if caught in possession of such a weapon and required to serve out the full term of their sentence.
With respect to revolving handguns, these would further be restricted to certain individuals who can demonstrate a need for such a weapon (certain private security guards, perhaps individuals living in remote rural locations, etc).
From a political standpoint, I think the issue of gun control is one which will increasingly alienate the swing voter in this country who decides elections.
I think that while the NRA may be of some importance to securing the nomination of the party, the extreme positions supported by it will also serve to marginalize the Republican party in national elections.
This will be a tough issue for the Republican party to address internally, although, they are going to have the time to do it starting a week from today.
What is next for the GOP?
I believe that most die-hard Republicans have written off 2008 and accepted the apparently inevitable election outcome: Democrat in the White House; Democrats in control of both Houses of Congress; and quite possibly, a super majority in both.
The announcement of Colin Powell’s endorsement of Sen. Obama and polling results in many states, that as recently as two months ago would have been considered solid “Red” states, suggest that a lot of people that in elections past have voted for the Grand Old Party are extremely dissatisfied with the status quo.
Before going further I want to make an admission in the spirit of full disclosure:
I am a Republican, indeed I have never voted for a Democrat for President
The reason I state this upfront is because I want the Republican party to find its bearings.
Now, a strong desire on the part of many in the Party core will be to cite some combination of the economy, a poorly run campaign with several obvious tactical and strategic missteps and/or Bush’s unpopularity as the causes of what is increasingly looking like a resounding defeat for Republicans this year.
Failure to look deeper will keep the Republicans a minority party for several election cycles, until they accept what I am about to say.
I believe the cause is something deeper. I think the Republican Party has gotten away from the core ideas that first attracted middle class moderate voters that historically voted with the Democratic Party.
These ideas include the notion of fiscal conservatism, family values, a strong national defense (one not oriented toward reshaping the world, simply protecting our interests in it) and low income tax rates.
These ideas have been mangled by the Party.
In Econ 101 professors usually discuss the old concept of “Guns and Butter” when talking about government fiscal policy. In essence, you can not have all of everything you want (What!). You can spend money on one but you must cut back on the other. During the Bush administration we have attempted to have all of everything we want. We (this being we as in the USA as represented by the current administration) want an expensive war – we got it – we want to keep taxes low – we got it – we want to avoid tackling the budget because we have our hands full with the aforementioned war and pushing through tax cuts – we got that too!
The problem with this is that it has left us in a situation where we find that our national financial situation has left us with huge commitments at home and abroad. Debt levels never before experienced outside of wartime (and I mean a war of the kind against the Third Reich). Huge current account deficits (a significant part of which is to pay for oil). A bubble in housing prices brought about by an orgy of deregulation, the collapse of which and ongoing financial and economic crises will likely serve as the catalyst for destroying the momentum of the Republican party in national and many key state elections.
Now Republicans are not to blame for all of this, there is plenty of blame to go around. But what upsets me is that I believe that the Republican party has lost focus and got away from many of these critical issues distracted by a mono-focus on the war on terror internationally while catering to extreme right wing groups within the party on domestic issues. In doing so, it has lost the man in the middle.
Family values are important. But I believe that for too long the Party has relied on the formula of an obsessive focus on social issues while cutting taxes. The Party needs to broaden the tent. It needs to accept that good people can disagree on moral and social issues, but if they agree on what I believe are grave challenges to our status in the world and the quality of life of future generations – they can work together to achieve those ends while disagreeing on other issues. Tax cuts are great. But if we want more government services – we have to pay for it (unless we want to leave that to our children, what an inheritance!).
It is time to change. It is time for the party to refocus on the critical issues that will allow us to hand a strong and prosperous country to our children.
It is time to balance tax policy with fiscal policy. I am not saying I want to go back to the confiscatory tax rates that hamstrung the economy in the ’70’s. But maybe tax rates are fine. Or maybe they do need to go up to some degree. But at the same time, we need to get serious about encouraging savings and cutting Federal spending.
It is time to look at some of the social causes within the Party and, while not abandoning them, to get some perspective and prioritize the degree to which the Party lets these groups dictate policy – particularly in light of the many challenges we as a nation face.
While I am an ardent free market capitalist, it is important to understand that reasonable regulation is important to preserving the system which has created the wealth of this nation. Yes, regulation can go to far (and due to the trauma cast upon the nation from the outdated regulations which were allowed to go unaddressed resulting in the recent catastrophe, it likely will in coming years) but lax regulation is equally damaging.
I believe in a robust national defense and have no problem getting involved internationally when our national interest in on the line. But the unilateral way in which we have conducted foreign policy has been a disaster. This issue has been covered thoroughly in the press so I need say no more.
Finally, it is time to take a look at key issues like health care. I did not like the attempt by the Clinton administration to re-make the industry. But one can not help but look at the sheer cost of health care at all levels – public and private – and acknowledge that something is badly wrong. Those of us with coverage are spending way too much and leaving too many with nothing.
I will not do it here, but in a later post I will make the case for a strong and comprehensive health care policy. But for now, I will say that addressing health care will require the Democrats to take on one of their most vile interest groups: tort lawyers. I will also add that I think the way R&D is financed needs to be completely re-evaluated. If drugs are a public good, then the expensive R&D should be publicly financed.
Now I know most Republicans will read that last sentence and declare me a socialist. I will in a future post put forth an idea that I believe keeps the incentive of private enterprise engaged in the process while using government money to fund much of the cost and thus allowing drug costs to be sharply reduced.
Enough for now – after writing all of this, I need a beer.
Sarah Palin SAT score… You have to see this.
Wow, what else can one say?
It appears Sarah Palin is not setting the academic world on fire. Keep in mind John McCain graduated in the bottom 10 of his class at Annapolis, not the bottom 10% but the bottom 10. So education is not a top priority for this ticket. After all know matter how you do in school you can still be President and Vice-President.
They
Biden Gaffe Clock
Biden Gaffe Clock – This is awesome. Gotta give it the RNC they can be creative.
http://www.gop.com/BidenGaffeClock/
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