I haven’t posted on politics in awhile and boy has there been a number of interesting events. So here, in no particular order, are my own muddled thoughts.
IOWA
So Rick Santorum is the newest version of the Not-Romney, and became so in time to effectively tie for winning the first contest of 2012. (Yes, I know that Romney officially managed a win by 8 votes, and given any sort of error percentage this is more properly called a tie.) I doubt Rick Santorum can go the distance and win the nomination, he’ll get a boost from this win, take in some more cash, get crushed along with everyone else in New Hampshire, and fight on to South Carolina where Romney may finish the contest. I stand by my prediction that Romney is going to be the nominee, though about 75% of the Republicans really don’t want him. Problem for the Republicans is that Romney isn’t a very good politician. He’s won office only once, and that office he resigned rather than lose at re-election, he’s a weak candidate to throw into the election, but they really don’t have anyone else, all other not-Mits have had there bright moment in the spot light and like a vampire in the desert they spontaneously combusted into ash. Rick Perry had a shot but he blew it, totally unprepared for a national campaign, and coming in behind Newt in Iowa killed his campaign. He’s fighting on to South Carolina, but for his political hopes of 2012 they can only be resurrected by a miracle.
CFPB appointment.
So Obama has used a ‘recess’ appointment to install a head to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, after the Republicans stone-walled his nominees with no intentions of letting any person take the post. I place recess in quotes because the senate was not in recess, but rather being called into session for a few scant moments before being adjourned again for the day, a tactic utilized by the Democrats to stymie Bush and prevent his own round of recess appointments. Frankly I think this appointment is unconstitutional, the Executive does not get to define what is, for another branch of government, a legitimate session. It’s an abuse of the ‘advise and consent’ powers, but the senate determines if the senate is in session, not the White House. (The Democrats used this tactic to block nominees that did not like, pretty much all of the people that Bush would have liked, the Republicans have stated they will refuse to allow the position to be filled until the law is re-written to their satisfaction, using the ‘advise and consent’ power to further a legislative goal.)
Unlimited Detention of Americans Suspected of Terrorism.
It was a grave mistake for Obama to sign such a bill. I don’t care that he issued a ‘signing statement’ assuring us his administration will no abuse this power, if the power exits one day it will be abused. Sadly the Republican Party, despite their current fetish for constitutionalism, would be no better than Obama. While Obama has halted the most pernicious evils started under the Bush administration, that is torture, as far a civil liberties go he has been a serious disappointment