Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Liberal, socialist, progressive
Quick note about word choice. Recently in the news (http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090423/pl_politico/21638) was an item about an RNC conference measure to re-brand the Democratic Party as the “Democrat Socialist Party.” In case you hadn't noticed yet, "Socialist" is the new favorite word of conservatives, and has completely replaced "liberal" in our vocabulary. "Liberal" is shopworn, "Socialist" is fresh. BTW, you'll notice that those on the left don't use the term "liberal" anymore either; now, they say they're "progressive." So "liberal" is totally out.
Purging our head
RNC Chairman Michael Steele has got to go. Not only is it not OK to be a moderate, it's not OK to even reach out to moderates. Yet here is Michael Steele saying crazy stuff like this: “I’m a student of multiplication and addition, and not subtraction and division. My focus is on building a party that reaches across the board.” No wonder conservatives are attacking the guy (http://conservativeamerican.org/, for example). We need to purge for the sake of our purity. The motto for our strategy for 2010 has got to be "Shrink to Win in 2010!"
Come on, Michael, be the rabid dog a party chairman is suppposed to be (like Howard Dean).
Prediction: Steele is gone before the end of the year.
Come on, Michael, be the rabid dog a party chairman is suppposed to be (like Howard Dean).
Prediction: Steele is gone before the end of the year.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Shrink to win
We're all riled up about Charlie Crist since he announced he'll run for the Senate seat being vacated by Mel Martinez in 2010.
The main pieces of evidence against Crist are that he hugs Obama and he doesn't have a family.
He's also not across-the-board anti-tax, having proposed cuts in property taxes but an increase in cigarette taxes, and if there's anything I can't stand it's a moderate. You say his views are nuanced, I say he's a waffler. We have to be black and white on our issues. Pro-life. (That's always the top issue). Anti-tax. Pro-family (i.e. anti-gay, plus pro-life). Pro-gun. There's no in-between on our issues, and I don't trust anyone who is in between or even smells in between. And Charlie Crist smells in between.
As one learned commentator on RedState.com says about the Crist-versus-Rubio Senate race in 2010, "It is not an understatement to say the heart and soul of the GOP will be determined in the Florida election."
Here's another nice zinger from that site: "Crist is much more interested in protecting endangered animals than Florida’s tax payers." I like that, getting in a gratuitous dig on environmentalists.
We don't want guys like Crist, even if they can win a seat that would otherwise go to the Democrats. I'd rather have purity. It's easier on my brain.
The main pieces of evidence against Crist are that he hugs Obama and he doesn't have a family.
He's also not across-the-board anti-tax, having proposed cuts in property taxes but an increase in cigarette taxes, and if there's anything I can't stand it's a moderate. You say his views are nuanced, I say he's a waffler. We have to be black and white on our issues. Pro-life. (That's always the top issue). Anti-tax. Pro-family (i.e. anti-gay, plus pro-life). Pro-gun. There's no in-between on our issues, and I don't trust anyone who is in between or even smells in between. And Charlie Crist smells in between.
As one learned commentator on RedState.com says about the Crist-versus-Rubio Senate race in 2010, "It is not an understatement to say the heart and soul of the GOP will be determined in the Florida election."
Here's another nice zinger from that site: "Crist is much more interested in protecting endangered animals than Florida’s tax payers." I like that, getting in a gratuitous dig on environmentalists.
We don't want guys like Crist, even if they can win a seat that would otherwise go to the Democrats. I'd rather have purity. It's easier on my brain.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Why we're better than England
It's because we don't ban people like conservative talk-show host Michael Savage from our country. http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/05/07/us.savage.banned/index.html OK, we couldn't, really, since he's a U.S. citizen, but even if we could, we wouldn't, even if he is a mean-spirited bigot, because we believe in freedom of speech and trust that the best ideas will triumph over inferior ideas. Those Brits probably banned Savage just because he isn't classy enough for them. Maybe the BBC doesn't give chavs their own radio shows.
Logic game: read the two statements below and answer the question that follows.
Statement 1. Home Secretary Jacquie Smith cited Savage for "seeking to provoke others to serious criminal acts and fostering hatred which might lead to inter-community violence."
Statement 2. Savage said, "I have never, ever promoted violence. There has never been one violent incident attached to my show."
Question: What part of the British Home Secretary's characterization did Michael Savage not deny?
Logic game: read the two statements below and answer the question that follows.
Statement 1. Home Secretary Jacquie Smith cited Savage for "seeking to provoke others to serious criminal acts and fostering hatred which might lead to inter-community violence."
Statement 2. Savage said, "I have never, ever promoted violence. There has never been one violent incident attached to my show."
Question: What part of the British Home Secretary's characterization did Michael Savage not deny?
Monday, May 4, 2009
RIP, Father of Modern Republican Economic Policy
Long before Dick Cheney said, "Deficits don't matter," there was Jack Kemp. Although the early 1980s tax cuts are attributed to Reagan, they were initiated by Kemp and Sen. Bill Roth through their 1981 Kemp-Roth Tax Cut legislation. Kemp and his followers were the pioneers of ignoring budget balancing while promoting tax cuts and economic growth.
Of course, now that we have a Democratic administration and Congress, deficits do matter. They just don't matter when it's for tax cuts, military spending, and really anything else when Republicans are in charge.
Trivia question: Who was having lunch with USC economics professor Arther Laffer in 1974 when Laffer first drew his now-famous "Laffer Curve" on a paper napkin? Answer: Donald Rumsfeld (Wikipedia also indicates Dick Cheney was present).
Trivia question #2: By his own admission, whom did Professor Laffer vote for in the 1992 and 1996 presidential elections? Hint: the same person both times.
Of course, now that we have a Democratic administration and Congress, deficits do matter. They just don't matter when it's for tax cuts, military spending, and really anything else when Republicans are in charge.
Trivia question: Who was having lunch with USC economics professor Arther Laffer in 1974 when Laffer first drew his now-famous "Laffer Curve" on a paper napkin? Answer: Donald Rumsfeld (Wikipedia also indicates Dick Cheney was present).
Trivia question #2: By his own admission, whom did Professor Laffer vote for in the 1992 and 1996 presidential elections? Hint: the same person both times.
I don't think this will fit in her purse
According to American Rifleman, the National Rifle Association will feature a custom made AR-15 made specifically for Alaska Governor Sarah Palin at its upcoming annual banquet. http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/05/04/palin-to-be-honored-by-nra-with-special-m4-like-assault-rifle/ The all-white “Alaskan Hunter” is modeled after an M-4 and its .50 caliber Beowulf chamber leaves one former Special Forces veteran impressed. “Wow, that’s sweet,” US military weapons specialist Jack Hancock told The Vote. “The fact that they actually got a .50 caliber on an AR-15 frame is remarkable.” He also noted it would “easily take down” an elephant or a polar bear. However, Hancock advised against hunting caribou with the Alaskan Hunter, despite the abundance of caribous in Alaska. “There really wouldn’t be a lot left to eat off of it, but then again you wouldn’t have to worry about gutting it either.” If it's ever announced that Gov. Palin has dislocated her shoulder or broken her collarbone, we'll know she couldn't resist giving it a try-out.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Good riddance
Thank God that left-winger Specter finally made it official and left the GOP. There are so many reasons he shouldn’t be a Republican. Reason #1 against him is that he’s pro-choice, for god sake. He received a 20% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice American, which is twenty points too high.
Even if he does happen to be rock solid on the Second Amendment and death penalty, the abortion issue alone is enough for me to know that this guy just doesn’t belong in today’s GOP.
For another thing, he’s too gay-tolerant. Sure, he voted not to include sexual orientation in the definition of hate crimes, but he voted to prohibit job discrimination based on sexual orientation. Can’t he make up his mind? I think things are usually a lot simpler than some politicians make them out to be, and I don’t understand how someone can be somewhere other than 100% or 0% on an issue. To me that’s a sign of lack of integrity or lack of intelligence. If there’s anything I can’t stand, it’s a moderate.
Plus, we all know Specter’s decision is based more on Pennsylvania politics than on conviction. Real GOP politicians would never make adecision for political reasons. Only liberals do that. They are so depraved.
Even if he does happen to be rock solid on the Second Amendment and death penalty, the abortion issue alone is enough for me to know that this guy just doesn’t belong in today’s GOP.
For another thing, he’s too gay-tolerant. Sure, he voted not to include sexual orientation in the definition of hate crimes, but he voted to prohibit job discrimination based on sexual orientation. Can’t he make up his mind? I think things are usually a lot simpler than some politicians make them out to be, and I don’t understand how someone can be somewhere other than 100% or 0% on an issue. To me that’s a sign of lack of integrity or lack of intelligence. If there’s anything I can’t stand, it’s a moderate.
Plus, we all know Specter’s decision is based more on Pennsylvania politics than on conviction. Real GOP politicians would never make adecision for political reasons. Only liberals do that. They are so depraved.
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