The Exercise of Vital Powers

It’s [ joining a bloggers tour of Iraq is ] simple, really. You just contact the Office of Public Affairs, which is part of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and you ask. Of course, there is something of a process. You do need to demonstrate seriousness of purpose and a track record of thoughtful writing on the war would probably stand you in good stead, but there is no political litmus test. (How we got to go to Iraq | Redstate)

Somehow I doubt the DoD would say this blog is serious, when I post something of substance maybe once every two weeks.

RLC member Senator Johnson (R-Savannah):

“Obesity is the No.1 problem with health care in America. Obesity is probably the No. 1 problem with government also,” said Johnson, who was joined at a morning news conference Wednesday by several other Republican and Democratic senators.(Senate cuts local projects, sets up budget showdown | ajc.com)

Actually Senator, the number one problem with health care is government interference in the free market which has setup bizzaro-insurance-system where people expect someone else to pay for all their health care needs.

“Remember that every time you use a commuter train on a freight line, some trucks are going to have to be moving onto the road,” said [GPPF's Benita ] Dodd. “I believe first of all that we need the room for our freight. I also believe there is a track record among rail authorities to overestimate their ridership and underestimate their costs.” (Commuter rail could make traffic worse, specialist says | ajc.com)

Best Peach Pundit comment ever:

This “buying carbon credits” is a bunch of crap and is the equivalent of raping a woman, then paying someone who didn’t rape a woman so you could claim you lead a rape neutral lifestyle.

wsbradio.com: News Councilman Disputes Account of Apartment Entry

As reported here, I was elected to serve as a member at large of the Gwinnett Republican Party.

So it begins. Again.

So here is a worst case scenario for 2008:

Lets say there is a clear Democratic frontrunner, probably Hillary or Obama. By Feb 5th they have the votes locked up for the nomination and then they start campaigning.

Lets also say there isn’t a clean GOP frontrunner. No candidate has a lock on the nomination, and they are all campaigning to win the votes of delegates on the 3rd ballot.

The Dem candidate can go into full fundraising mode, he/she has the lock and that party can unite behind their candidate in Feburary.

The GOP won’t unite till September once the convention is over. There will surely be sore-loser supporters who won’t support the eventual nominee.

Furthermore, the nominee will have had to promise all sorts of things to GOP special interest groups. That will make him that much harder to sell to independents in the General election.

Of course, by the end of the year, there could be a clear GOP frontrunner and no Democratic frontrunner and this all works in our favor. And I still think a national primary day is the only thing that is going to get rid of the stupidity of Ag Subsidies, so it could be worth it in the long run.

Over on Peach Pundit “landman” asks:
“The pressing question in this Primary,as sad as it is to say is HOW DID WE GET OURSELVES IN A POSITION TO HAVE SUCH A WEAK OVERALL FIELD?”

Laziness? Hubris? No one who would be worth a damn wants the job? To become a credible candidate you have to suck at the teat of lobbyists, rent seekers and big government nannys? The fact that with a war going on, and liberal entitlement programs about to bankrupt the government, people care more about who fathered the slut’s baby than who will be our next President?

Maybe its because our leaders make up bullshit issues like Global Warming, Gay Marriage or liquids on planes, rather than talking about real issues that can’t be reduced to a sound bite the average voter (or third grader) can understand.

Argh!!!!!

Who reads what and why:
1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.
2. The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country.
3. The New York Times is read by people who think they should run the country and who are good at crossword puzzles.
4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don’t really understand The New York Times. They do, however, like their statistics shown in pie charts.
5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn’t mind running the country, if they could find the time, and if they didn’t have to leave Southern California to do it.
6. The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country and did a far superior job of it, thank you very much.
7. The New York Daily News is read by people who aren’t too sure who’s running the country and don’t really care as long as they can get a seat on the train.
8. The New York Post is read by people who don’t care who’s running the country as long as they do something really scandalous, preferably while intoxicated.
9. The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country but need the baseball scores.
10. The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren’t sure there is a country or that anyone is running it; but if so, they oppose all that they stand for. There are occasional exceptions if the leaders are handicapped minority feminist atheist dwarfs who also happen to be illegal aliens from any other country or galaxy provided, of course, that they are not Republicans.
11. The National Enquirer is read by people trapped in line at the grocery store.
12. None of these are read by the guy who is running the country.

H/T: Robbie

Bottom line, though, Keen said the Republican base doesn’t want to see Democrats hold the White House and Congress. “We can’t let that happen,” Keen said. “Conservatives want to win, too. The movement has matured. We want to retain one leg of the three-legged stool.”(source: Political Insider)

Glad to see the AJC acknowledge what i’ve been saying for awhile: George W. Bush has been one of the nations strongest Democratic Presidents.