Tag Archives: GOP

Wait a minute Mr. Stewart…

Last night (Monday July 27th) Jon Stewart had Bill Crystal editor of The Weekly Standard on as his guest for The Daily Show. This promised to be a lively show as Mr. Crystal is a big supporter of Sarah Palin and is often credited with bring her to the attention of the McCain campaign. (So you can curse or praise Mr. Crystal as you see fit.)
The interview was long and it was lively. In fact they have placed the entire interview on-line as it would not fit within the time constraints of the program.
After the expected Palin back-and-forth Mr. Stewart and Mr, Crystal got into health care. Jon Stewart was in favor of a public option for health care, that is government run health plan, and Mr. Crystal was against the concept.
During the back and forth the military’s health care came up and Mr. Crystal basically agreed that the health care enjoyed by our military is top-notch health care. Jon Stewart leapt for the kill like comic-con fan on a copy of Action Comics #1. It seemed, Stewart pointed out, that the government can< run a top flight single payer health-care systems since it is already doing that for the military. Mr. Crystal tried desperately to get away from the point, going so far as to say the American people do not deserve the quality health-care system that the military gets. This of course is the wrong counter argument entirely. Naturally since neither Mr. Stewart nor Mr. Crystal have served in out military they do not understand how it's health-care actually works. It is free and it is very good. (Oh there are horror stories and I know a few personally, but those are the exceptions and not the rule.) But it removes all freedom from the patient. I'm not just talking about choice in doctors or hospitals or even treatments -- though all those decision are removed from the patient -- I'm talking about how the patient gets to live their life. In the military they can make you lose weight if they think you are too heavy. They can make you exercise if they think you need it. They can ban activities that they think are a cause if injury. (Such as motorcycle ownership.) The trade-off for such an expansive health-care system is the loss of freedom. This is exactly why I do not like the idea of a single-payer health care system, and why I am against the Public Policy option being debated now.

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Not Only Liberals

It’s not only godless liberals who want Sarah Palin to depart from the political stage.

In television interviews she was out of her depth in a shallow pool. She was limited in her ability to explain and defend her positions, and sometimes in knowing them. She couldn’t say what she read because she didn’t read anything. She was utterly unconcerned by all this and seemed in fact rather proud of it: It was evidence of her authenticity. She experienced criticism as both partisan and cruel because she could see no truth in any of it. She wasn’t thoughtful enough to know she wasn’t thoughtful enough.


peg-noonanThat was Peggy Noonan. For those of you who don’t know her Peggy Noonan is currently a conservative columnist for the Wall Street Journal, a solid supporter of the Republican Party, and a former speech writer for Ronald Reagan. While Peggy Noonan and myself go our separate ways when it come to the Right-To-Life issues, there are many areas of agreement.

People who do not know me may assume from my frequent and sharp criticism of the GOP, Repiublicans, and the Conservative movement that my political leanings are to the left. This is not so. I personally favor small and less intrusive government. I think that many solutions can be found better in the private sector. I have a real repulsion to identity politics. For many years and several election cycles I voiced support and often voted for Republicans. (I have never voted a straight ticket for any party and I am very unlikely too.) My criticism of the right side of aisle develops from a greater expectation of that side. I am hurt and angry that the right has wandered off into a crazy land where image matters more than substance and that they have so casually abandoned their principles.

Peggy’s closing sentiments on why it is good that Palin should leave the political scene are dead on in my opinion.

It’s not a time to be frivolous, or to feel the temptation of resentment, or the temptation of thinking next year will be more or less like last year, and the assumptions of our childhoods will more or less reign in our future. It won’t be that way.

We are going to need the best.

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Extended Thoughts on Sarah Palin

sarah-palinThe more I think about it the more I think there’s something we do not know about what is going on with Sarah Palin.
The resignation from the Governor’s desk makes no sense unless somethings else is going on. I think it comes down to a few scenarios.
1) Scandal. There’s some big terrible scandal coming down the way and the only way Sarah could avoid it was by quitting. The problem is that quitting doesn’t help. She loses the pulpit of the office and the services if the government lawyers if it is legal trouble. For the life of me I can’t figure out a scandal that would be improved by quitting.
2) She really is tired of the personal attacks. But if that is the case she’s not going to get away from them by campaigning for others and remaining in politics. The nature of modern politics is that lots of nasty personal attacks are hurled and you better be able to stand up to them. Again, without the bullhorn of the job she’s disarming herself in that fight.
3) She’s gotten a better offer. Some sort of TV show or other major media spotlight that pays better and flatters her ego better. This is credible if that’s what she really wants. To be the conservative Oprah would be a gig she is well suited for — but then again I don;t a high opinion of Oprah as a thinker either. If this is the case we’ll hear about it soon, otherwise why quite now?
4) The job’s not fun anymore. With Oil prices crashing and the economy in a shambles it’s no longer fun being in charge of Alaska. Suddenly there are lots of problems and the money’s much tighter. Perhaps she was never suited for a job that required real decision making and when it started to happen, she bailed.
5) She wants to head up a new party. There’s some talk from the Tea Party folks that they;d love Sarah as the head of their movement. Frankly I think it would kill all serious consideration of their cause. She’d be posion.
or finally–
Maybe her ego wasn’t getting stroked enough. The sort of ties into the criticism angle except instead of running away from attack she’s running toward adoration. Places where people pay $150 a dinner to hear her speak and won;t ask any questions that can’t be responded to with a pat answer.

Honestly, I would not rule out that last one.

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Wave bye-bye to Sarah Palin

Today a Friday before the 4th of July weekend, Govenor Sarah Palin of Alaska announced she would not only NOT seek re-election but she will be stepping down as Govenor before the end of the month.
I don’t doubt we’ll hear from her a lot, but forget her as a serious contenter for the nomination in 2012.
I for one will not miss her.

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Political Round-up

So here are a few of the stories popping about in the political realms and my thoughts on them…

San Diego Sheriff’s Office Responds to Political Fundraiser with multiple cars and a Helicopter.
This is a fun one. Some reports have as many as eight squad cars, and a helicopter used when someone called in a noise complaint about a fundraiser going on in an upper-scale area of San Diego County in the later afternoon early evening. Reports are that some of the Democratic fund raisers were pepper-sprayed and treated roughly by the deputies.

From a fund raising email after the events.

It’s the 11th hour to show that you have the courage and the commitment to stand with me
against the strong forces that are gathering against us. It’s also the 11th hour for you to join
with over 650 supporters to help me reach my goal of raising $200,000 by tomorrow. Don’t rely
on others to do this. I need YOUR support to show that we have what it takes to fight and
win. I am asking you to please go to now, before
Tuesday’s deadline expires.

I don’t agree that this represents ‘gathering forces.’ I don’t doubt that the original call was motivated by politics, but I think what the upper-political classes have tasted here is the usual police powers over-reach. I don’t think the Deputies though “Hey, Let’s bust up a Democratic Fund raiser!” but rather expected to find young and noisy kids and college students whom they are used to pushing around. The police in our country still get away with far too much abuse of their powers and positions.

The Democrats move up to 60 seats in the Senate. Al Franken has now officially won his Senate seat. This would have normally made him the 59th Democratic Senator in the current Senate. (The Democrats lost the Georgia seat they needed for a clear sixty.) Thanks to Pat Toomey and the Club For Growth though the Democrats were gifted their sixty seat filibuster-proof margin when Arlen Specter was chased out of the Republican Party and into the Democratic Party to survive. Have no illusion about this, Specter did this to stay in the Senate, he doesn’t want to be looking for work in this recession. Having abased himself by switching parties purely to survive, Specter now appears to be doing whatever it takes to make the Democrats happy. So with Cap-and-trade coming up and Health care and all sorts of other big issues, the republican Base has proved itself the Democratic Party’s best friend.

A Magazine Profile of Sarah Palin ignites a crap storm in the blogosphere.
Vanity Fair published a profile on John McCain’s ex-running mate, Sarah Palin and it was not a flattering one. If you were inclined to not like Palin this article is likely to confirm what you though about her, if you are a fan of the Governor you;re likely to to find fault particularly with a lot of un-named sourcing. What the article has stirred up is all the bad blood between faction of the GOP who love her and who hate her. Personally I think she was not ready for the national stage and she is one of the reasons I simply could not vote for McCain. She was a bridge too far for me and I have never regretted that call. Still she has her supporters I know I have gotten the dirty looks for voice my opinions on her.

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When the Right is right

So you’ve seen me bash the right and the GOP here, but when they get something right, I’ll owe up to that as well.

Here’s writer Michael Goldfarb on the Democratic idea and bill for Cap and Trade carbon pollution.

Basically, cap and trade strikes me as the Iraq war of the Democratic domestic policy agenda. It’s the overreach moment. It’s a massive program that, unlike health care reform, no one is demanding, no one understands, and no one can explain. Cap and trade may be the only thing that can save the Republican party from eight years in the wilderness.

I do think he’s got a very valid point on this. This is a choice not something we are forced into doing. This is a policy that we really can’t know the final outcome on. I’m reminded of what Gen. Patraeus said at the start if the Iraqi War “Tell me how this ends.”
We didn’t have a clue about what was going to happen after we defeated the Iraqi military. Our poor planning was criminal in that regard. I don;t think the democrats have fully thought this out either. I think it is vast overreach and something that can really bite them on the ass.
Sadly if it does help the Republicans come back from the wilderness that is not necessarily a good thing. It does not mean that the republican have learned anything in the wilderness just that Democrats will have pissed off a lot of voters. We need smarter parties not just an angry electorate.

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Some people never learn

art.mark.sanford.gi Gov. Mark Sanford’s very entertaining weekend as finally come to it’s horrible and predestined conclusion. When the Governor of a state vanishes for four days and there are conflicting stories from his office and people about where he is and what he is doing, then this can’t end well.
Already I am seeing in the blogosphere the charges of unfair. The LIberal and Democrats are treated this way when they are caught cheating. (Ex-governor Spitzer might disagree a tad with people on that.) Still I can understand their anger, but it is misplaced. Sanford is being treated like this because he was such a family values kind of man. That hypocrisy is what really drive the interest and the blood-hunts.
The best example on the Left is really Al Gore. The right just went all knives and forks after Gore for his excessively large mansion and power consumption. The Left wanted to act like it didn’t matter, but it does. Both Gore and Sanford violated the morals and more they expect the rest of the population to live by.
It’s amazing how people can learn the simple rule, Live by your Morals. If you can’t either something is wrong with you or with your morals.

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Another Reason the GOP is in the wilderness.

There are lots of reasons why the GOP is out in the political wilderness. There’s the war in Iraq which did not go as expected, there’s the wild spending spree, there’s the apparent incompetence  at running the government, and there’s being on the wrong side of social issues as they big to change. All of this has contributed to the downfall of the Republican party from having a lock on the entire government (2005) to being locked out of the government (2009).

Here is an example of another reason why the Republicans have taken the fall, they listen to people like MIchelle Malkin. Ms. Malkin is not part of a lunatic fringe on the right, she is an example of a right-wing commentator, columnist, and frequent talking head on Fox news.

Commenting on her blog here’s is what she had to say about a recently announced deal between pharmaceutical companies and the government.

The drug companies have cut a deal with President Obama to help fund his government health care takeover.

In other words: They are subsidizing their own demise.

I have no sympathy for industries willing to collaborate with their own worst enemies.

Don’t come crying when Obama limits your salaries, fires your CEOs, and interferes with your ability to innovate and make profits.

You deserve what you get:

There is no substantive critique of the deal in this post. There is only the concept that the Administration is the enemy. She doesn’t look at the details or comments on them. She doesn’t consider that the Drug Companies themselves might consider it a good idea.  She doesn’t propose a counter measure that would tackle the problem of low income seniors and access to medication.

Nope it’s you dealt with the enemy, nothing about working the problem at all.  This sort of obstructionism will play to the base, but it isn’t going to play to the public. Calling people names and ignoring problems will leave the GOP in the wilderness for a long long time.

BTW I am not saying this deal was a good one, but I am not calling people traitors and enemies for disagreeing with me.

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