Dubya Tries to Hop on Tea Party Bandwagon

2 12 2010

As the Tea Party has been gathering steam, people from all over are cramming in to see if they can catch a piece of the pie.  And the pie gets bigger by the minute – with four Senate seats – those of Rand Paul (KY), Pat Toomey (PE), Marc Rubio (FL) and Mike Lee (UT) – being claimed by the Tea Party movement.  There is even talk of a Tea Party Caucus in the Senate and House during the next congressional cycle.  Former President George W. Bush has been trying to capitalize on the political success of the movement like any other.  It may seem odd that he would do that, given that his two constitutionally legal terms of office are over and he cannot rise any farther than he has been in the past.  But his brother Jeb is now being speculated about as a potential Republican candidate for the 2012 presidential election.  Now George seems to be trying to mobilize Tea Party support for his Jeb’s run to follow in his footsteps.

The Tea Party movement and its members would have to have really short memories if they were to follow the former president’s lead and throw their support behind another Bush.  It is important to remember that the Tea Party originally rose in response to cronyism overspending by the BUSH Administration which has been expanded and continued by the Obama Administration.  It is easy to forget – with all the attention centered around Obama – that Bush was the original target of the movement.  The Tea Party will only get behind candidates true to their values and RINOs like Bush will not qualify.  Sure, the Tea Party was largely behind Scott Brown here in Massachusetts and he’s a centrist on fiscal issues, but he was the best the Tea Party could settle for in the bluest state in the nation.  Let’s not forget that George Bush snubbed now Senator-Elect Marc Rubio when he was running in the primary against establishment candidate Charlie Crist.  Now Bush is playing like he knew the Tea Party was the real deal all along.

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Categories : News, Politicians, Tea Party Movement

Judge Napolitano’s Major Fail

1 12 2010

Fox news commentator Judge Napolitano has recently committed political suicide by publicly associating himself with ridiculous 9/11 conspiracy theories.  He said in an interview that he questions what has come to be established as the obvious truth and Common Sense of the matter.

 

“I think 20 years from now, people will look at 9/11 the way they look at the assassination of JFK today,” he added, in an interview with radio host Alex Jones. “It couldn’t possibly have been done the way the government told us.”

 

I was surprised to hear that Fox, which typically holds a center-right tendency, will not be taking any action in response to these surprising comments.  I was personally shocked to hear these anti-Common Sense remarks coming from a man who has at times acted like a Common Sense warrior in the past.  I even own one of his books.  He has such a down-to-earth and vast knowledge of history, our Constitution and the way that the law should properly be carried out based on the principles the country was founded on.  He may not have directly stated that he believed 9/11 was an inside job but this is still too much of a step over the edge.  When he hints at lending undeserved credibility to crackpot conspiracy junk, he not only diminishes his own credibility but also the credibility of the other ideas he promotes as an individual.  The Common Sense warrior becomes a Common Sense liability and stands counterproductive to the spirit of what he champions.  I used to admire him a lot and now I need to be ashamed of that.

It is a shame that the Tea Party and the Campaign for Liberty find themselves infiltrated with conspiracy theorists and other fringe elements.  The traditionalist position stands against the tyranny of the status quo and that makes the position of liberty seem like that of an outsider sometimes.  This creates temptation to ally with others who feel like outsiders to build a stronger force.  9/11 Truthers are treated as fringe outsiders by the elite – and rightfully so, unlike the Tea Party movement.  However, they also have an anti-big government, anti-establishment streak to their rhetoric which deludes some into believing that the Truthers and the Tea Party should be allies.  All too many Tea Partiers carelessly accept them into their ranks and weaken the viability of their own positions.  It reinforces the fringe image of their platform propogated by elitists, propaganda artists and Big Media.  People like Judge Napolitano cripple themselves through such pandering.

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Ron Paul Wins CPAC Straw Poll!

24 02 2010

This past weekend Texas Congressman Ron Paul came in first place in the CPAC straw poll with 31% of the vote, upsetting three-time winner Mitt Romney, who came in second with 22% of the vote.  CPAC is a very large annual event and the straw poll is one of the most pivotal events in determining the winner of the upcoming presidential nomination for the Republican Party.  Ron Paul spoke himself at the conference on and the line to get an autograph by him stretched two ways to Sunday.

This victory is huge news for Ron Paul and for the Tea Party Movement.  However, Fox News and the establishment are doing just like they did during the campaign and doing everything they can to discredit the results.  There are a lot of people out there who don’t like Ron Paul, don’t like his ideas and will do anything in their power to keep him down.  Just when things were starting to look better for him, there is an onslaught of backlash.  Any poll where Ron Paul wins must be discredited at all costs to these people.

Now, with such hostile forces present a lot of people seem to believe the Republican Party is irreparable and that the Tea Party should form its own political party.  This would be a terrible idea and lead them down the road to disaster.  Third parties rarely gain any steam in this country and it would simply split votes.  If this were a European or Israeli electoral system instead of the American one that might make more sense.  A possible exception would be if the Tea Party played a role like the Conservative Party of New York where they do not typically nominate their own candidates but nominate the Republicans with the option of withholding their support if the candidate is not good enough.  With the never-ending army of activists the Tea Party musters, this would be a great way to participate in the 2010 midterm elections.


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Tea Party Must Disown Sarah Palin

10 02 2010

I have usually been a fan of Sarah Palin and given her a lot more deserved credit than my peers who bow down to the Conventional Wisdom of the media do.  But even I am up-in-arms over her recent comments on Daniel Pipes’s article and as the keynote speaker at the Tea Party Convention.  Daniel Pipes made the suggestion that the only way for Obama to drastically recover support in time for the next election would be to attack Iran – Iran not being a popular nation in America these days, especially with their current president.  This would rally the patriotic support that the neoconservatives thrive off of.  Pat Buchanan wrote his own article on the matter – rightfully denouncing the prospect of going to war, especially for merely political reasons.  “Will Obama cynically yield to temptation, play the war card and make “conservatives swoon,”  in Pipes’ phrase, to save himself and his party? We shall see.”  Now, I agree with Sarah Palin on a multitude of issues, but she’s still an amateur when it comes to foreign policy.  I think the McCain camp may have had a little too much influence on her in this regard.  I sense some of McCain’s explosive impulse in her.  She claims to have read Pat Buchanan’s article, but she’s in favor of attacking Iran.  She doesn’t seem to acknowledge any alternative to a full-scale attack on Iran.  And also, why is she giving political advice to Obama?!

I find it remarkable that Palin is a long-time fan of Buchanan’s – she attended a rally of his in Alaska with her husband during one of his presidential campaigns in the 1990s – but is seemingly oblivious to his theory on war and foreign policy.  Buchanan is a paleoconservative, not a neoconservative.  Maybe she misunderstood the message of the article he wrote.  Anyhow, it is not only Buchanan that Palin is pulling doublespeak on.  It is the Tea Party itself.  The Tea Party originated in response to reckless deficit spending by the Bush and Obama administration.  Bombing Iran would only add to that problem.  The Tea Party represents a need for a smaller and more subserviant government for the people.  An unprovoked war with Iran would not help that in any fashion – government expands and becomes more intrusive in war time.  Palin may have jumped on the Tea Party bandwagon and has been tirelessly rallying support for some of its causes, but she can’t be allowed to set the agenda.  If she wants to be a part of the Tea Party, than she must work for the Tea Party – the Tea Party does not and never will work for her.  She needs to accept this or just butt out!


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Categories : International Conflicts, Obama Administration, Politicians, Taxes and Spending

A Promising New Film

7 01 2010

This trailer shows a new film depicting the events of 2009, when the Tea Party Movement really got off the ground.  And it is an inspiring story indeed.  The full impact of this movement may not be felt universally for years to come, but that’s no reason that it is any less relevant a topic for today.  This is the story of how Americans all over the country have discovered their power as individuals.  They have what it takes to make a difference.  They should not rely on the government to provide for them.  They should not have to pay excessively high taxes for programs that don’t work.  After a century of “progressive” and socialist trends, the individualistic spirit of personal liberty from 1776 is making a comeback.

I do hope that this film sufficiently emphasizes how the establishment media went to war with the Tea Party and tried to silence them, but was ultimately unsuccsessful.  Or, at the very least, I think that this should be part 2 of a trilogy.  The first part would be how the seeds of the movement were planted by Ron Paul supporters in the presidential primaries of 2008.  The third part would be how the Tea Party wins over Congress in 2010.


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Categories : News, Patriotism, Politicians

A New Soldier Joins The Fight

6 01 2010

Erick Erickson, the guy who started the blog RedState.com is inserting himself into the heart of the 2010 Congressional elections, where he hopes to bring some more Common Sense to Washington.  In the nature of following the Tea Party protesters and others who believe in Personal Responsibility and more accountability in Washington, he has promised to help elect not just new Republicans, but better ones.  He has cited three points as his main goals as a new soldier for the movement:

• Beating Gov. Charlie Crist and electing Marco Rubio as Florida’s junior senator.

• “Taking out” Republican Sen. Bob Bennett of Utah because he’s a centrist.

• Ensuring the Republican establishment receives no credit for whatever success the GOP has in November.

If I were him I would be careful to emphasize that last point a little more.  Ensuring that the establishment does not get credit is the only way that the insurgents can continue to have success in the future.  Getting the right spin put on the message is more important than any one or two victories.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Palin Praising Obama and Digging Grave

14 12 2009

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/12/11/sarah-palin-praises-obamas-nobel-acceptance-speech/

I think it’s pretty much Common Sense that Obama did NOT deserve the Nobel Peace Prize.  He himself seemed somewhat embarassed.  Even the proponents cited the fact that he was President Bush’s immediate successor as the key reason instead of anything Mr. Hope and Change has actually done.  Nevertheless, I have all but digested his award over time.  He’s got the award – it may seem obscene – but time to move on.  I was therefore pleased to see that his potential rival Sarah Palin complemented his speech.  The man is a good speaker, so that’s not too surprising.

What disturbed me was how Palin also praised former President Bush and his foreign policy.  The Tea Party movement, which protests the government’s reckless anti-Common Sense deficit spending, is a thriving grassroots phenomenon which needs leaders and champions in high positions.  Sarah Palin has presented herself as one of those.  However, she seems to forget that the very spending the Tea Party opposes began under President Bush, so alligning herself with him is not the way to get behind the Tea Party movement or get the Tea Party movement behind her.  Palin can’t be pro-Bush and pro-Tea Party.  The best way for Palin and the GOP to regain credibility is to move away from the mistakes of the Bush Administration and start over with REAL fiscal responsibility, not spend-and-spend double-talk.  I only hope that true Tea Party patriots recognize this anomaly and excommunicate her from the movement.

Sorry Sarah, you’ve let us down.  You’re fired.


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Categories : News, Politicians, Taxes and Spending

What’s Up With Sarah Palin?

17 11 2009

After drifting away from the spotlight for the past few months, the former small town-bred Alaska Governor who ran for VP is making her way back into the headlines.  Love her or hate her – where she goes from here is a matter of relevance.  From taking time off following her resignation to writing her memoir and attacking Newsweek’s supposedly sexist portrayal of her on the front cover, its increasingly hard to predict where she will go from here.  If she plays her cards right she will maintain her sphere of influence in the political arena for years to come and still possess the option of returning to elected office.  While she discussed many of her past issues with McCain staffers and Katie Couric in her interview with Oprah, the future of her career was left open-ended and she sounded like she could see herself as anywhere between a pundit and a future presidential candidate.

 

For a while people were asking themselves “does she want to continue?”  As soon as she got a piece of the national spotlight, both her and her family were viciously torn apart by the elitists and the attack dogs in the mainstream media.  The Katie Couric interview was particularly devastating for her image.  The sudden change in her life would have made a lot of folks decide that they had had enough.  Her resignation as Governor of Alaska after the campaign might have been perceived as a retreat from the national arena, but she supposedly talks about that in her upcoming book.  But if she did end up giving up, a lot of her fans out there would be disappointed. Read the rest of this entry »


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The Public Option – Filibuster Time

8 11 2009

So, a health care bill barely squeaked by in the house with a public option provision intact.  The public option is a controversial and pivotal point in this debate which is opposed by many Democrats and supported by almost no Republicans.  The public option is a dangerous step toward a crippled insurance industy and further government involvement in health care.  This could very well be one of the most important debates in American history because whichever side wins it will be a turining point.  If the public option wins, the government role will only grow greater until we have something barely recognizable and the care provided to Americans will get more bureaucratic and substandard as we plunge further and further into debt.  If the public option loses this time, it will not stand a chance in any other Congress and the politicians will likely be forced to focus on more real reform.

It is vital that every attempt be made in the Senate to filibuster the bill that the House has just passed.  Some moderate Democrats have signed on to this task.  And even Olympia Snowe, the RINO who voted for an Obama-backed reform package, has come out against the public option.  The circumstances seem well at the moment but they are still too cl0se for comfort and therefore uncertain.  Harry Reid has put forth the idea of having the public option but allowing individual states to opt out of it.  While that is better than a full public option, I do hope no one else will be tempted by it.  Make no mistake – it would be a victory for the public option.  It would be just as disastrous.  It would merely take longer to sink in.

Filibuster.  Filibuster.  Filibuster.


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Categories : Economics, News, Politicians

Update: Election 2009

4 11 2009

Well, things don’t look so good for either of the two principled Dougs out there – Doug Bennett fell behind early and ended up coming in last in the race for city councilor.  It was a tough campaign and we came a long way but I guess it just was not enough.  And Menino won mayor again.  Given these developments, I solemnly believe it is doubtful that there will be any real change to the way things are here in Boston.

 

As for Doug Hoffman, the most recent polls had showed him out in front by a substantial margin.  However, he’s way behind his rival Bill Owens now so Hoffman’s prospects look just about as grim as Bennett’s.  The local Republican Party nominated Dede Scozzafava  but she was a disappointing candidate for so many people that Hoffman, the Conservative Party nominee, won more support than either of his opponents.  Eventually his rising poll numbers forced Scozzafava from the race and she actually had the nerve endorse the Democratic nominee over Hoffman, who was supported by National Chairman Michael Steele, Former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin and a host of talk radio hosts.  Although Hoffman would have been really good as a Congressman, there was far more at stake here than just one more seat out of 435.  This was supposed to be a valuable lesson for the Republican Party not to give in to Conventional Wisdom and play the safe card with nominees like Scozzafava.  Now we can only hope her betrayal is noted and she is never considered for a political office again. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : News, Politicians, Sovereignty, States

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