Are we going to do something smart for a change?

It looks like the GOP, known (rightly) for years as the "Stupid Party" actually has a clue about what to do if Gustav slams into the Gulf Coast during next week's convention:

The contingency plan – a worst case scenario if the storm devastates coastal areas – would turn Republicans into Red Cross-type volunteers who would help collect donations, food and goods to help storm victims.

McCain - whose campaign motto is "Country First" – said helping people during an emergency will take precedence over accepting his GOP nomination for president.

"It wouldn't be appropriate to have a festive occasion while a near tragedy or a terrible challenge is presented in the form of a natural disaster," McCain told Fox News in a pretaped interview airing today.

That might just do the trick in terms of killing the meme that I worried about a couple of days ago.

The link to the Post story comes from Instaglenn, who wisely suggests "sending a group of volunteers down afterward, with Sarah Palin in charge." Yes, please.

Posted by: Sean M. at 05:43 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Hmmmmm...

....do you think the Kossaks might be worried?

Posted by: Sean M. at 06:26 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Wow....just wow....

It's not often I get to file something under the "GOP Win!" category and truly, truly mean it.  Last night I went to bed and dreamt all night that John McCain had chosen Tim Pawlenty as his running mate.  When I woke up at 11am, I didn't even head to the computer to see who the choice was, because I knew McCain's choice could do nothing but disappoint.

Boy was I wrong. 

When I got out of the shower, the friend I'm staying with was awake, and said "CNN News just woke me up with a text saying that McCain chose some b**** from Alaska as his running mate."  At this point, I told him that he was just going to have to deal with the fact that I would be on the computer all day. 

I'm thrilled.

I'm shocked.

I just shelled out $50 to John McCain.  I just bought two bumper stickers and I only have one car. 

The next 67 days just got a lot more exciting.  We now have what we were lacking: a GOP ticket we can be excited about.

Hey, $3,000,000 in 7 hours can't be wrong!

We now return me to my regularly scheduled vacation. 

P.S. - Yes, my head did asplode.

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 01:20 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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My Meaningless Take On The Palin Selection

While some prominent conservative bloggers are disappointed at the Palin pick, and worried that Gov. Palin may become Geraldine Ferraro Redux, one thing I noticed today that has been lacking on our side of the aisle for a long while is back:

Excitement and Energy.

Hell, just look at the comment and traffic activity here, at Moron Central, and elsewhere. This move has excited many in the base of the Party to actually (gasp) kinda, just maybe, don't look twice, support McCain.

Also, I tip my hat to Maverick for being ballsy enough to eschew the Conventional Wisdom that picking another capable, though boring, white guy with ties to a "battleground state or area" was the wise move. He gambled on energy and buzz, and it is paying off in the short term. And all of this without pissing off a base that (myself included) already eyed Maverick with suspicion and caution.

Yeah, Pawlenty, Portman, Cantor, and Romney may very well have been wonkish Beltway approved picks, or ones that would have helped solidify states like Michigan or Ohio, but would they have generated this sort of buzz? Would they have been able to get more than a "meh. I guess I'll support him" from many in the base? Would my wife and that friend of mine I see at the playground with his daughters when I take my daughter to the park be talking about Romney tonight like he was Palin?

Why do I mention my wife? Here's why. She works in a secure office without TV, radio, or internet access. She didn't know about the Palin pick until she heard it in the car on the way home from her job. She immediately called me screaming, "Did you hear?!?!?" That is how excited she was over the Sarah Palin pick. If a person who really doesn't follow politics too much can get this excited, how many times over has that happened across America this afternoon and evening?

Hey, this race is tight, and McCain could have played it safe and gone for a boring pick. He didn't need to do a desperation pick, ala Mondale/Ferraro in 1984. But the Palin choice has rocked the campaign season to its core. No more proof is needed than the fact Team Obama seems on its heels for the first time since Jeremiah Wright became a household name.

Of course, I am writing this after settling my daughter down for bed and enjoying a nightcap to help me forget about my job. So who knows?

But well played, Senator McCain. Well played.

Posted by: eddiebear at 11:21 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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The bumper sticker

I actually told MP in google that I wanted a bumper sticker with the Palin in giant letters and a tiny McCain...guess one of the Jawas did too.  I think I'd like to see a shirt, poster or sticker with Palin '08! in giant letters, with "...and that bastard McCain too, I guess" under it in tiny letters.

Posted by: doubleplusundead at 04:54 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Your morning dose of Kathryn Jean Lopez's shameless Romney boosting

With rumors flying about that Sarah Palin may have taken a private jet out of Alaska, Kathryn Jean Lopez is trying to do damage control for her man Mitt.  Mwahahahaaaa.

Exit question:  If it is Palin, and we find out for sure before Tuesday, Vintage is on vacation, does he drop in to make a celebratory post or does his head just asplode from sheer awesomeness because of the combination of having Palin as VP while being on vacation?

Posted by: doubleplusundead at 08:49 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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If this is any indication, the DNC Convention will rawk

This is Todd Beeton writing at the lefty site MyDD (emphasis mine):

On my shuttle to the hotel, I encountered a storm of another kind: an Obama delegate from Illinois and a Clinton delegate from Massachusetts. When she said she was a Hillary delegate, the Obama delegate said facetiously: "Oh they're letting you in here, are they?" She retorted (in a friendly but stern way): "That's what's wrong with Obama folks. You're not reaching out to the Hillary people."

Rove, you magnificent bastard. 

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 11:32 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Sean Parnell on card check

In addition to being a kleptocrat, Rep. Don Young of Alaska is also in favor of eliminating the hallmark of democratic elections - the secret ballot - during union organization votes. Young's opponent in the August 26 House primary, Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, has an op-ed in today's Anchorage Daily News defending his stance against the legislation:

Our freedom in elections is protected by the anonymity of citizens casting a ballot in private. Ballot box privacy is sacred and essential to democracy and human dignity. Tyranny would prevail if we went to our local polling station and the kingpins in the neighborhood stood around, handed you the ballot, and asked you to cast it in front of them. Coercion and undue pressure would be overt and commonplace.

[...]

I will always stand up for workers, whether they choose to join a union or to work in a non-union workplace. I will stand up for each worker’s right to privacy in choosing whether to join a union.

Card check legislation is not about whether one supports unions or non-union workplaces. It’s about supporting freedom for Alaskans.

It's embarrassing that we have to teach any elected Representative (Republican or Democrat) the importance of secret balloting to a free and fair election.  But, here we are. 

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 03:05 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Coburn keeps fighting

There is still an effort in the ethics committee to reprimand Tom Coburn for the heinous crime of delivering babies for free at a for-profit hospital.  Again, Coburn doesn't get paid for doing this, he pays his own malpractice insurance even.  The ethics committee is claiming conflict of interest. 

Of course, the real reason all these ethics committee shenanigans are being done is that Coburn has been undermining pork legislation in a huge way, and some in the Senate want to punish him for the efforts.  He has all the right enemies, in other words.

Coburn isn't going to just take a reprimand if they do it, he'll demand a full Senate vote on it.  Almost makes me want to see the ethics committee go forward to see how many people would go after him for his efforts to go after pork, especially the pork fiends on our own side.  I don't think they will, if it failed, it'd be embarrassing, if it passed, people would be disgusted. 

(h/t)

Posted by: doubleplusundead at 08:01 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Sick of Starbucks?

Well, if you happen to live in or around Crown Point, Indiana, there's an alternative:

Behind the counter, owner Dave Beckham smiles proudly in a khaki T-shirt that reads "Zip It, Hippie." The shirt is for sale at the Crown Point, Ind., cafe, along with ones that say "Peace through Superior Firepower."

"It's a change from the traditional liberal bastion coffeehouses," Beckham says. "No one is going to bad-mouth America in here."

Oddly enough, there's no mention in the article about whether or not Posh Spice waits tables there.

Posted by: Sean M. at 11:39 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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The real motive behind McCain's Obama=Celebrity ads?

Here's Yuval Levin, writing at The Corner:

The McCain campaign’s insistent focus on the “celebrity” angle seems not only an effort to try to turn Obama’s strength into a weakness, but also a way to prepare the ground for his convention speech. The big stadium speech, in front of many tens of thousands, will no doubt provide a pretty impressive scene.  The McCain folks, by trying to get the public used to thinking “empty celebrity” when they see Obama in front of a huge screaming crowd, seem to want to give some shape in advance to the public’s reaction to that image later this month.

I feel stupid that I didn't think about this first.  Didn't these celebrity-themed ads about Obama start shortly after Obama announced he'd be moving his acceptance speech to a larger, open-air venue?

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 02:07 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Jason Chaffetz is campaign blogging

How does he start out his most recent post?  With a picture of him with Gov. Sarah Palin. 

Awesome.

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 12:20 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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House GOP Revolt will go on at least two more weeks

They're finally using their brains for once.  They're planning on keeping it going until August 22, three days before The Chosen One leaves us for three days and three nights, only to be brought back as the Official (as compared to "presumptive") Savior.

Unless.

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 10:06 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Former Speaker Newt Gingrich joins the House GOP Revolt

Welcome back, Kotter?:

House Republicans brought Gingrich to the Capitol Wednesday, partly to revive media coverage on their fourth day of protest speeches in the chamber. The rest of Congress is gone for August recess, but Republicans have been speaking on the closed-down House floor, calling for a special session to vote on drilling and energy.

While Gingrich did attract more camera crews, he also pointed to what may be the GOP's next strategy: if Democrats refuse to hold a separate vote on oil drilling, Republicans could try to block the votes needed to keep government running past September 30.

"Are (Democrats) really prepared to close the government in order to stop drilling?", Gingrich asked, "Because I think the country will find that to be a suicidal strategy."

The video is here, since CNN apparently hasn't learned that people sometimes like to embed video. 

P.S. - You know you're a nerd when you look at the Representatives gathered behind Speaker Gingrich and feel like a failure for only recognizing one of them (Rep. Virginia Foxx).

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 02:22 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Signs of life from the GOP elite

Boehner is calling the Blue Dog "we support increased oil production" bluff.  it's good to see some signs of life in the GOP. 

Allah's analysis is interesting,

I honestly don’t see what Pelosi has to lose by letting a vote come to the floor — or rather, I don’t see how she loses more by letting the vote happen now than by suppressing all attempts and letting the GOP bludgeon the Democrats with this issue all the way to November. If they agree to expand drilling, they can always undo it (at least in part) next year by sneaking the rollback into a more comprehensive energy package.

Though I'm not sure it's correct.  I don't think you can assume Pelosi has nothing to lose(from her perspective) unless you know what her game is, and we don't right now.  Is it to inflict economic pain?  And what is the goal they want to achieve out of this economic pain?  Try and weaken the economy to bludgeon the GOP for November?  Is it to try to leverage for greenie boondoggles and regulation in a comprehensive bill?  Is she just afraid of the Nutroots, Gaians and their ideological allies?  Is she hoping that it just dies down and goes away?  Does she believe the Democrat talking points?  What is her game?  I don't think we can know for sure that she has nothing to lose(from her perspective) unless we know what the plan is, if she has any.

Posted by: doubleplusundead at 03:39 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Video from the front lines

I must have missed this over the weekend, but here's video from the House floor during Friday's Republican revolt:

Win!

(h/t)

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 04:49 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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He's not Palin, but I'd be all for it

Sen. John McCain's campaign is vetting Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia for the vice presidency:

John McCain's campaign has asked Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor for personal documents as the Republican presidential candidate steps up his search for a running mate, The Associated Press has learned.

[...]

Cantor, 45, the chief deputy minority whip in the House, has been mentioned among several Republicans as a possible running mate for McCain. A Republican familiar with the conversations between Cantor and the McCain campaign said Cantor has been asked to turn over documents, but did not know specifically what records were sought.

I think Rep. Cantor would be a great choice for Vice President for several reasons:

• Florida.  Rep. Cantor is Jewish, and this may help Sen. McCain win the state without putting another squishy moderate like Gov. Charlie Crist. 
  
• Virginia.  The Dems are making a big push for Virginia, going even so far as to vet a mediocre governor like Tim Kaine.  Not only is Cantor from Virginia, but his district stretches from the Richmond suburbs all the way up to Northern Virginia.  This might neutralize the Dem vote in these two blue areas of the state.
  
• Diversity.  Like it or not, the GOP needs to show that it's not a party wholly comprised of boring, old, Christian white guys.  He is someone who could change up that image without ruining the political futures of Gov. Sarah Palin or Gov. Bobby Jindal by tying them to a McCain ticket. 
  

But, there is one downside: evangelicals.  And by that, I of course mean "private citizens" like James Dobson.  Will they endorse a ticket with a Jew on it?  Personally, I'm one of those rare evangelicals who wouldn't care if a nominee was Christian, Jew, Muslim, atheist, straight, gay, etc., so long as they had the right political philosophy.  But, sadly, unlike Dr. Dobson, I realize I don't speak for most evangelicals.  However, I think they will come around as long as the nominee is pro-life. 

I hope so, anyway.

Update:  Looks like I may have been thinking too anecdotally when it comes to some of the evangelicals:

Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and one of the nation's most influential evangelical leaders, recently praised Cantor as a potential McCain running mate, calling him rock-solid on social issues—a huge concern for Christian conservatives with the maverick McCain at the top of the ticket.

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 12:10 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Probably the best political ad I've seen in ages

This is how you do it,

Posted by: doubleplusundead at 08:00 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Not that there's anything wrong with sitting in the basement in your undies...

Today we can see the reason why I actually like John McCain about 30% of the time.  In response to the New York Times accusing his "Celeb" ad of being racist, the campaign released this statement (emphasis mine):

"If the shareholders of the New York Times ever wonder why the paper's ad revenue is plummeting and its share price tanking, they need look no further than the hysterical reaction of the paper's editors to any slight, real or imagined, against their preferred candidate. This campaign has never engaged in 'racially tinged attacks,' and the Obama campaign conceded as much yesterday in a statement clarifying that "Barack Obama in no way believes that the McCain campaign is using race as an issue."

That the Times made this allegation in a blog post rather than running it on the editorial page indicates that they either knew the charge was bogus or they didn't have the nerve to make their case in full view of the public. But in their new role as bloggers, the paper's editors seem to have all the intelligence and reason of the average Daily Kos diarist sitting at home in his mother's basement and ranting into the ether between games of dungeons and dragons. They also have about as much care for the facts--the "board" has already been forced to append a correction."

It would almost be worth it to have a president who makes fun of Dily Kos.

(h/t)

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 12:46 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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