June 30, 2008

Utter Failure declares GOP won't regain majority in Senate

You think?  I was thinking we'd be lucky to keep the Dems from taking the full majority at the current rate.

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There's a metaphor in here somewhere

Remember Rep. Vito Fossella?  He's the Republican Congressman form Staten Island who declined to seek re-election in 2008...after it was discovered that the woman who bailed him out after he got arrested for drunk driving was also his mistress.  A mistress with whom he had fathered a child. 

Anyway, the GOP found someone to run for his seat.  There's only one problem.  He's dead:

Speaking Friday at Frank Powers' funeral, Fossella said his potential successor had given him words of encouragement, telling him, "Everything will be OK."

The 67-year-old Powers died June 22, three weeks after the Republican Party endorsed him for Fossella's seat.
Karol needs to do us all a favor and move to Staten Island and run.

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June 27, 2008

Senators Widestance and John are rolling out the stupid FMA again

I agree with Allah, if you're going to make the futile effort to try and pass this stupid Amendment to pander to social cons, how about sending people who aren't going to make for talk show fodder?  Stupid GOP.

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x73/doubleplusundeadmeenu/facepalm-1.jpg

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Republican Nanny Staters stop attempts to roll back gambling bans

Drew had this yesterday at Moron HQ, but I definitely want to go on record pointing out this kind of Nanny State stupidity as a reminder that the GOP engages in this Nanny State nonsense too.  Republican representatives King, Heller and the rEVOLutionary whacko himself broke ranks and voted for the provision, four Democrats broke ranks and the measure failed in committee, unfortunately.  As Drew also noted, the "for the children" defense was out in force. Spencer Bachus (R-etard),

"The banks have decided that this is a financial burden. We have decided, on the other hand, that our children are worth protecting, and the cost of protecting them is worthy and worthwhile."


There it is, the "for the children" defense, almost every time that phrase is uttered, it is either going to cost you money or liberty, usually heard from Democrats, but we see it way too often from our own side, and I'm getting rather tired of it.

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June 21, 2008

Why Charlie Crist shouldn't be Vice President...

...in 9 words:

NYT: One of your first acts as governor was signing a bill requiring paper receipts on electronic voting machines. You know who convinced me of that?

Christ: Congressman Robert Wexler, the great Democrat of Southeast Florida.
It's bad enough that our Presidential nominee is fawning over liberal Democrats, is it too much to ask that the VP act like an actual Republican?

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June 17, 2008

Finally: Arlen Specter done wasting the Senate's time with Patriots cheating investigation

What a dumbass.

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June 16, 2008

McCain disappears his statement on Boumediene?

That's what Rich Lowry says.  I just searched his site and I can't find any trace. 

(Of course, I say that with the caveat that I am currently at my POS state job with a supervisor hovering over everything I do, so I can't really be as thorough as I would like.)

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Find your veto pen, Bobby

As much as I respect Newt Gingrich, I have to break with him when he says that Gov. Bobby Jindal is McCain's best bet for vice president.  I think, as the Club for Growth has noted, that we should use caution before crowning Jindal the next Reagan.  Now we find out that like President Bush, Gov. Jindal is hesitant to veto negligent spending in the face of political pressure:

The public outcry remains intense over a bill that Louisiana legislators introduced for a possible self-imposed pay raise doubling their salaries, but questions are left unanswered on the political fallout if the bill passes and Gov. Bobby Jindal doesn’t veto the pay raise.

On Friday, the La. House amended the bill, reducing the proposed salary from $50,000 to $37,500, as lawmakers continued to feel the heat over the airwaves of talk radio and on the Internet.

[...]

All eyes, then, would be on Gov. Bobby Jindal, who could veto the pay raise.

Gov. Jindal said that he disagrees with the pay raise, but said that he will not oppose it.

For those of us who have been upset about exploding spending under President Bush and a GOP-controlled Congress, this isn't exactly welcome news.  Gov. Jindal has released a statement on the bill (emphasis mine):

"I still disapprove of this pay raise.  While I'm glad they reduced it, it's still more than a doubling of their pay, which I believe is excessive.  The legislature is a separate branch of government and must manage their own affairs. There is still time for them to turn back. They will have to answer directly to the people. "One thing is for sure, I will not bail them out on this and do their job for them. 

I will not veto this as it is very clear to everyone that the result would be a grinding halt to the tremendous reforms and progress our state is making.  I will give them no excuse to stop doing the people's business, and I will not allow the momentum of our state to stop over this or anything else."

Given that this is the Louisiana legislature we're talking about, it wouldn't surprise me if they reacted that way to a veto.  I think that is a believable response, but still unfortunate. 

My concern with Jindalmania! is that the GOP will paint itself intself into the same corner that the Democrats have this election cycle.  This man, who I agree has a great political future with the Republican Party, needs to be vetted thoroughly before people proclaim him as the standard-bearer for conservatism. 

***Thanks for the link, Club for Growth!  Everyone make sure to take a look around the blog.  It's full of plenty of other good stuff from doubleplusundead, bmac, Moron Pundit, Sean M., and yours truly. 

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June 14, 2008

House GOP way behind their fundraising goals

Anyone surprised by this?  No?  Okay, good, we'll move on.  How short is the House GOP on their fundraising goals?  Try less than halfway to their goal,

Most recent figures show that GOP lawmakers have brought $27 million into the coffers of the National Republican Congressional Committee in the past 17 months, far short of the target of about $58 million. Compounding the challenge, they will soon be asked to raise another $20 million or more to help candidates in selected battleground districts.


The article notes that many House GOPers are way behind in their contributions to the NRCC as well.  We all know this is precisely what happens when you have no base, no foundation, the money situation quickly becomes dire.  The House GOP and the Senate GOP would be wise to at least put forth a solid effort to open up ANWR, the coasts and inland for drilling and petroleum extraction, and to allow new refineries to be produced, and use that to recover a bit.  They're in a brutal election year if they think they're gonna ride McCain's coattails to safety successfully.  They're much better off taking their own path, even at the risk of embarrassing or doing political damage to McCain.

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June 13, 2008

McCain may want to rethink this amnesty nonsense

From Hotair, a poll from Rasmussen shows that one third of voters are angry about the illegal immigration situation.  Another 27% say they are frustrated by the lack of action from DC.  Of the third of those angry voters 83% are angry with the government, and only 12% are angry at illegals themselves.  Voters overall think securing the border should take priority over resolving the status of illegals 63% to 28%. 

Here's where it gets interesting, Republicans and unaffiliated voters are slightly more likely to favor welcoming immigrants who don't pose security threats, aren't criminals, and aren't seeking to exploit US entitlements than Democrats!  Where a big source of the anger is coming from is that voters (correctly) believe the government discourages assimilation.  In large part the anger is a product of the American people's desire to protect our culture, and our government's refusal to do anything to achieve that end. 

McCain better hope an Amnesty fight doesn't break out this year, and he better pray his little toadie Lindsey "we'll make the bigots shut up!" Graham keeps his piehole shut.  He'd also be wise to kick Juan "Mexico First!" Hernandez off the Straight Talk Express, pronto. 

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June 12, 2008

Quote of the Day (already)

From a reader of The Corner:

Senator McCain has challenged Senator Obama to visit Iraq. It’s been one-thousand, four-hundred-thirty-two days, 6 hours, 48 minutes and 13 seconds since Mr. Obama was last there – How can he (or is it He?) possibly understand the situation on the ground.

Well. When was the last time John McCain was in ANWR? A quick google doesn’t show any reference to his ever visiting this pristine national treasure. Governor Palin’s been there. She wants to drill. Jonah’s been there. He’s for drilling ANWR dry. Good enough for me.

Heh.  On that note, I'm hitting up the Val-U-Rite vodka a little early.  Hopefully I can pass out until January 20, 2013.

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June 11, 2008

Obscene Profits

It seems that John McCain thinks oil companies make obscene profits.  My cursory research shows Exxon-Mobil at roughly 21% gross profit margin.  One wonders at what profit margin the nation's largest Anheuser-Busch distributor operates. 

For comparison purposes, Anheuser-Busch itself operates at roughly a 33% profit margin and I can't imagine the wholesalers are that far behind.  Unfortunately, it seems that Hensley & Company is not a publicly traded company and doesn't report their numbers.

Just how much profit is obscene, Johnny Mac?*  20%?  10%?  And if Exxon-Mobil is over the threshold, when are you going to go after the brewing industry? 

Inquiring minds want to know.

* - The correct answer is eleventy billionty trillionty billionty percent.  Want to check my math?  Google it!

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McCain the federalist

Political genius John McCain at a town hall meeting today got asked about drilling in ANWR and off the coasts.  After giving his standard nonsensical answer on ANWR, he said:

"I respect the rights of the states to control the waters off their coasts, but I think we should tell states like California and Florida that we will drastically increase the revenues they would receive [if they opened up those waters for exploration]."
Federalism is a handy dodge when you get asked an inconvenient question, isn't it Senator?  As far as I'm concerned, a statist like McCain deferring to federalism is a bigger dodge than the Obamessiah always labeling tough issues "distractions".  All I can say is that this man better be the best damn googler in the United States if he wants me to do any work for the GOP this fall.

On a side note, I eagerly await a post or article from early McCain backer Ramesh Ponnuru decrying this tactic.  If he's going to call out Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson, he should have the intellectual honesty to do the same for John McCain. 

***{doubleplusundead}  Thanks for the link Ace, and thanks for dropping by doubleplusundead again, morons.  One note, this is our co-blogger Vinty's post, not mine***

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June 10, 2008

Because strong, principled leadership means never having to lead

From the Politico (emphasis mine):

[Jeb] Hensarling, the chairman of the RSC, has gathered more than the 50 signatures he needs to force an internal caucus vote on the unilateral earmark moratorium. The Texan could call for a vote anytime, thereby forcing members to choose between banning earmarks and supporting House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), who opposes earmarks himself but doesn’t want to get ahead of a majority of his caucus.

Pardon me, but what the hell is Boehner doing as House Minority Leader if he doesn't want to, ya know, lead? Why not just have the balls to say that you don't think the House GOP should have to rally around anything?

I'm all for the Big Tent Republican Party, but once you get inside the tent there needs to be some order. I'd think that having a Minority Leader who actually wanted to lead would help.

Oh yes, and for the few of you who think that another big loss in 2008 will send the GOP a message, think again:
A current Republican leader says that Hensarling and the conservatives “are doing Rahm’s work for him” — a reference to Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), the former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman who helped orchestrate the Democrats’ takeover of the House two years ago.

You see, if we do lose handily in 2008, it will be because of those dogmatic hard-line conservatives in the Republican Study Committee. It will have nothing to do with the fact that the conservative base now sees the GOP as "Democrat Lite".

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June 09, 2008

texas gop getting nervous

Via Malkin, Good, they should be, the question is, do they recognize what is causing the problem?  What do you think?

"A lot of them, and rightly so in many cases, are mad. They're concerned," said Roger Williams, chairman of the Texas GOP's voter turnout efforts this year. "What we've got to do is alleviate those concerns and get them to vote."


Sounds to me like "bullshit 'em long enough to squeeze one more vote out of 'em."  I don't hear, "The GOP leadership needs to wake up and give the base some proof that they're not the worthless, corrupt sellout lumps that most of the base (rightly) thinks they are." So, I'd say that they don't get it.  Moar,

Republican pollster Mike Baselice said half the Republican voters in Texas say the state and nation are on the "wrong track." He calls them "grumpy Republicans" who cannot be counted on to turn out to vote against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

"I'm concerned about the wrong-track Republicans opting not to vote," Baselice said.


You ought to be concerned about why they're considering staying home or only voting downticket in the first place, Mike.  Even moar,

Former Republican Chairman Tom Pauken said politicians and party leaders need to reassure the Republican grass-roots workers that their efforts matter for conservative causes.

"The grass roots has withered up and died," Pauken said.


Oh no, the grassroots haven't withered up and died, they've walked off the battlefield.  And they'll be ready to get back in the fray when the GOP shows it has any interest in fighting for conservative principles.  The article notes that a lot of the base is absolutely disgusted that McCain is our nominee, and activists lay it out there, says Cathie Adams, president of the Texas Eagle Forum,

"Everyone I know is unhappy with the prospects of Obama," Adams said. "But they'll stay home rather than just go out and vote against someone."


And any talking head, pollster or strategist can tell you that candidates rarely, if ever win because you're voting against the other one. Adams also says McCain didn't help himself by sending Romney to speak for him at the Texas Convention. 

I'm not totally closed to the idea of supporting McCain, but I can tell you that at this stage, I can't even come close to supporting him unless he makes some efforts to mend some fences.  Certainly some people aren't going to be convinced by anything McCain offers, but the disgust among the base is going to continue to be a problem, and where it is going to be crippling is in organization.  Unless the Congress makes some bold moves toward actually accomplishing something, not just some token thing like the obnoxious, shameless and repulsive Marriage Amendment pander they tried to woo evangelicals in 2006, they're gonna see some massive losses. 

McCain might be saved by his opponent, that McCain is the nominee is depressing, that the other side managed to find someone even worse is horrifying.  Fortunately for McCain, the Democrats chose the only candidate might be repellent enough and that he might be politically skilled enough to defeat this fall.  But if Obama can hold his own, the GOP's gutted machinery might put Obama over the top.  In other years, the GOP could get away with asking people to eat the turd sandwich, but their past sins have all but made that an impossibility. 

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June 08, 2008

Why I'm glad Obama won...

Because I couldn't handle the McCain-Clinton general election lovefest. From McCain's official campaign site (emphasis mine):

Senator Clinton has really grown on us over here in Crystal City over the past few months. She ran an impressive campaign, and proved herself to be an impressive candidate and as John McCain has said, inspired a generation of women.

[...]

Senator Clinton also didn't mention John McCain once during her speech. This came as something of a surprise over here, and a pleasant one at that. But it's clear that John McCain and Hillary Clinton respect each other -- and there is a genuine affection for her here at McCain HQ. During her speech there was no small amount of pleading with the TV: 'Don't do it, you can still win!'

I understand that McCain is trying to build bridges with disgruntled Hillary voters, but what's the use of doing that if it comes at the expense further alienating the people who are the most likely to donate to and volunteer for his campaign?

Exit question: Who must conservatives lobby to make sure all early GOP primaries are closed primaries?

(h/t)

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June 04, 2008

Another edict from the new standard-bearer of conservatism...

Last time I spoke of Rep. Tom Davis, he was giving Republicans advice on how to win more elections: by supporting federal buyouts for people in mortgage trouble, supporting the Democrat line on SCHIP, and other various "moderate" positions.  He's popped up again, and this time he's got some names Sen. John McCain should consider for vice president.  Among them?  Rep. Heather Wilson of New Mexico.* 

Yes, the same Heather Wilson who has an ACU rating of 60.  The same Heather Wilson who voted for SCHIP, increasing the minimum wage, and against legislation to secure the border.  The same Heater Wilson who just lost a Senate primary to Rep. Steve Pearce.  That Heather Wilson.

This man is a genius.  Remember those rumors that Davis would be replacing Rep. Tom Cole as head of the NRCC?  Now more than ever

Exit quotation: "Davis was leery of choosing someone just for the sake of pleasing the conservative base. He would prefer a #2 who could help McCain steal vulnerable bits of Obama’s constituency."

*To be fair, Davis did mention conservative (but not-ready-for-prime-time) Gov. Bobby Jindal and squishy moderate Gov. Charlie Crist as well. 

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