McCain Is In Israel’s Best Interest
Tuesday, November 4th, 2008McCain Is In Israel’s Best Interest
And American voters there know it.
Tigerhawk: “He’s still having fun”
Sunday, November 2nd, 2008Via Tigerhawk:
Well, there’s that. And McCain has good comic timing.
Ann Althouse talks about the comedy and Obama. It seems like comedians are afraid to spoof Obama or his wife. There is the racial sensitivity thing. But man the topic is ripe for the picking. And, in some ways, I think there is a sort of reverse-racism involved. If a candidate would be spoofed and he or she is white, but comedians won’t spoof Obama because he’s black…that’s racist.
Did You Have A Problem Voting?
Saturday, November 1st, 2008If you experience voting problems, the McCain campaign has set up a hotline for you:
Why You Should Vote For John McCain
Thursday, October 30th, 2008Why You Should Vote For John McCain
Good reasons from a good blog friend.
The Post Wherein I Explain Myself
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008More than one friend, both blogger and non-political observers, have warned me that my credibility will be dirt should I hold to the delusion that McCain can pull this election out. My response has been to say, “Shut up and vote. It’s over when it’s over.”
In 2006, I’ll admit it: I didn’t want to see the writing on the wall. The Congressional races were going to be bloodbaths. Republicans were going to lose big. It was obvious and I didn’t want to see it.
John Hawkins, who has been scary-good at predicting these things tells me I’m smoking the hopeful, delusional dope once again. But I’m not. Not this time. This time, I see this and I know the election outcome does not look good for McCain. I read this and I know the Obama strategy is working. I watch the Republican elites bail and I know that they believe it’s over. I note that press is actively working (with a few fair exceptions) to get Obama elected with even the LA Times withholding reporting that might make Obama look bad.
So I see all this and I see that McCain is still within reach and I refuse to be part of the chorus of malcontents adding a nail to the coffin–when there’s no one filling it. As I said earlier today, I believe that there are good reasons people might lie to pollsters about who they are voting for in this election. And then there is the whole lying with statistics thing.
Most of all though, I refuse, REFUSE, to give momentum to a candidate who will promote failed ideologies. In this charged, biased environment, I am not sure what and who to believe and I read this stuff all the time. I’m not sure how much the hype has created this outcome or if the outcome is even created. How do polls swing 8 points in a day when the external environment has barely changed? How do polls that were so extreme a week ago, tighten so dramatically? Why should I believe a word from the media driven polls when they have such a vested interest in the outcome? And I remember it being “over” in 2000 and 2004, too. Hawkins says the internals of the polls and the states swinging were much different. Maybe. Like I said: I’ll admit it. It looks really bad.
It is not, however, impossible. And it is not over.
So this time, I’m not ignoring reality, I’m hoping that reality will change. I’m hoping that volunteers in swing states can change hearts and minds. I’m hoping the McCain campaign will work hard and get a message out that I hope will inspire voters to change their apathetic ways and get out and vote.
Barack Obama, his supporters and the media have given his ascendancy an air of inevitability. You know, everyone wants to be on the side of a winner–especially those not ideologically driven. So, when America was losing the war, it was unpopular. When the war looks won, suddenly everyone supports it. Well, the same thing happens in elections and Obama and the press knows it. There will be grandiose journalistic self-examination after Obama wins. Before then, there’s a job to do and that’s to promote a winner and be on the side of the trendy and new.
I won’t participate in a self-fulfilling prophecy. I just won’t. Those like Peggy Noonan who have aired their concerns could wait ten days to give their constructive criticism, but one suspects their are personal considerations to attend to. Goodness knows that no matter the outcome of this election, the Republicans need to take a long, hard look at their tent. It’s a big tent, but it needs some cleaning up.
That can wait. For the next seven days, I write like we’re winning. I see reality clearly. It’s a long shot. Very long. And still, a McCain win is possible. As long as a win is possible, there will be no hedging or quibbling or criticizing or throwing in the towel. Well, not from me, anyway.
Cross-posted at RightWingNews.com
McCain Will Win
Tuesday, October 28th, 2008When John McCain wins, won’t the world, Democrats and even establishment Republicans be shocked? I still say that McCain will win. Vote people. The last election came down to just over 500 votes.
I’m not the only one who believes McCain will triumph.
Attention David Frum: Wait Until The Patient Is Dead To Do The Postmortem
Tuesday, October 28th, 2008Here’s the thing about so-called “Moderates”: they have no loyalty to any ideal but pragmatism. And pragmatism is defined as “what’s good for me.”
The latest ostensible voice of reason is moderate pragmatist David Frum. He is full of artful, empty prose. In a nutshell, McCain will lose. It is Palin’s fault. Stop spending money on McCain. Spend more on the Senate races.
Today, more wisdom poured forth if only the ignant masses would listen.
David Frum misses something simple:
The time to do postmortems is after the patient dies. The patient is not dead yet. It does not help a moderate Republican get elected when moderate Republicans cut the legs out from under the campaign on the home stretch.
Fiscal conservatives and libertarian Republicans have shown immense restraint this election season. John McCain was not their first, second or third choice. And yet, many soldier on because John McCain is a good man. He has served his country with honor. He will care for the soldiers and finish the battles in Iraq and Afghanistan with foresight. He actually tried to address the Fanny-Freddie mess and saw the problem ahead of time. John McCain is a far better choice than the liberal Barack Obama. That is an understatement.
And yet, guys like Mr. Frum seem to see no ethical problem with opining about building “from the ashes” the new Republican party. Well, newsflash Washington insiders, there aren’t ashes yet. Rather than addressing ideas for rebuilding the party, wait until the patient is dead.
Far from being consumed by an out-pouring of adoring love for the Republican party, the critics seem to be craven opportunists carving out safe real estate because things don’t look great for the home team. Not one of the moderates have articulated a case for Barack Obama. Rather, they’ve all parroted the trendy anti-Palin response: Quelle horreur! Palin est trés gauche!
The people paying the bills–rank and file Republicans–see these actions as more of the same problems that have plagued Congress and Washington DC in general. It is insulting enough to take cheap shots from the media and the left, but to take them from one’s own team on the eve of such a pivotal and important election, is, well, outrageous.
The election is by no means over. It isn’t helpful to have Moderates throw in the towel reminiscent of Congressional Democrats on the Iraq War. The Moderate Republicans seem a little too eager to have the Republican Party lose.
Restraint, Mr. Frum, show some. There will be plenty of time to figure out how to fix the party after this election is finished. And who knows? If McCain wins, he just may be inviting some of those loyal beer guzzlin’, gun-totin’, Bible-clingin’ Palin-lovers, to the White House. You might even have to sit next to one some time. Quel dommage!
Do All Politicians Lie To Get Elected?
Saturday, October 25th, 2008Watch the last five minutes, the last segment of this video. Do you agree with the suppositions? I’m just wondering a bit, here. Because I actually believe John McCain when he says that he will be working on passing comprehensive immigration reform first thing out of the gate (something I disagree with, by the way). I actually believe that Barack Obama wants to implement some version of Medicare/Medicaid for all.
I remember some people complaining about what George W. Bush put forth when he first got elected and Bill Clinton said something to the effect that Bush was doing exactly what he’d said he do. Actually, nothing, save the lack of the veto pen around spending, surprised me about President Bush’s administration.
And for that matter, I think the current candidates have stated, clearly, what they intend to do, if you have ears to hear. Maybe I’m naive, but I believe them.
What He Said
Saturday, October 25th, 2008Charles Krauthammer keeps his eye on the ball in his ringing endorsement of John McCain. Please read the whole thing. Here is an excerpt:
I stand athwart the rush of conservative ship-jumpers of every stripe — neo (Ken Adelman), moderate (Colin Powell), genetic/ironic (Christopher Buckley) and socialist/atheist (Christopher Hitchens) — yelling “Stop!” I shall have no part of this motley crew. I will go down with the McCain ship. I’d rather lose an election than lose my bearings.
*****
McCain’s critics are offended that he raised the issue of William Ayers. What’s astonishing is that Obama was himself not offended by William Ayers.Moreover, the most remarkable of all tactical choices of this election season is the attack that never was. Out of extreme (and unnecessary) conscientiousness, McCain refused to raise the legitimate issue of Obama’s most egregious association — with the race-baiting Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Dirty campaigning, indeed.
The case for McCain is straightforward. The financial crisis has made us forget, or just blindly deny, how dangerous the world out there is. We have a generations-long struggle with Islamic jihadism. An apocalyptic soon-to-be-nuclear Iran. A nuclear-armed Pakistan in danger of fragmentation. A rising Russia pushing the limits of revanchism. Plus the sure-to-come Falklands-like surprise popping out of nowhere.
Who do you want answering that phone at 3 a.m.? A man who’s been cramming on these issues for the past year, who’s never had to make an executive decision affecting so much as a city, let alone the world? A foreign policy novice instinctively inclined to the flabbiest, most vaporous multilateralism (e.g., the Berlin Wall came down because of “a world that stands as one”), and who refers to the most deliberate act of war since Pearl Harbor as “the tragedy of 9/11,” a term more appropriate for a bus accident?
Or do you want a man who is the most prepared, most knowledgeable, most serious foreign policy thinker in the United States Senate? A man who not only has the best instincts but has the honor and the courage to, yes, put country first, as when he carried the lonely fight for the surge that turned Iraq from catastrophic defeat into achievable strategic victory?
I don’t believe in political saviors. There is no perfect candidate. There is no perfect president. No politician of any stripe can have all the answers in this complex and difficult world. Every election, voters must make the best choice between two fallible human beings. This election is no different however much the Obama supporters seem to believe otherwise.
What a person must look to in a president, ultimately, is his principles, beliefs, experience, and integrity. People expecting perfection are bound to be disappointed.
Peggy Noonan: Who Are The Right Wing Nut Jobs?–UPDATED
Friday, October 17th, 2008So the Republican party today is “vulgar” according to Peggy Noonan:
In the end the Palin candidacy is a symptom and expression of a new vulgarization in American politics. It’s no good, not for conservatism and not for the country. And yes, it is a mark against John McCain, against his judgment and idealism.
When Peggy Noonan says that the conservative movement left her thus forcing her to vote for a leftist, if not socialist, this election, it made me wonder: Who are the vulgar Right Wing Nut Jobs that have taken over the party that I hear so much about? I’d really like to know.
Are church going folk Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are those who believe abortion is wrong Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are low income people who vote Republican because they believe in personal responsibility Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are business owners who believe that punitive taxation is wrong Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are Rush Limbaugh’s 15 million listeners Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are FOX viewers Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are women who give birth Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are people who attend state school as opposed to Harvard or Princeton Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are Wal-Mart shoppers Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are people who get married Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are people who work overtime to have enough money for their kid’s band camp Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are people who read the Wall Street Journal as opposed the New York Times Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are people who join the military Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are people who work hard, go home to their families, and drink a beer with their burger Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Exactly, who, I’d like to know, are the knuckle-dragging weirdos who have thrown the conservative movement into anti-intellectual oblivion?
Surely Noonan must be joking about John McCain being vulgar. John McCain is as establishment, blue-blood Republican as they get. Sure, he’s got the crotchety temperament and he’s not eloquent. But he’s not exactly averse to state-mandated solutions. He is the guy who works across the aisle, remember? Fiscal conservatives and social conservatives have fretted over McCain’s squishiness when it comes to solid conservative beliefs. And Noonan fears he’s too conservative? How much more conservative can one be without being an actual Democrat?
McCain has had a hard time taking it to Obama rhetorically because either 1) he’s not so far away from Obama ideologically or 2) he’s too used to playing patty-cake with the opposition–often working those in his own party over. Maybe the treatment McCain has received by the press and the Dems revealed his true friends. It hasn’t been the left that’s been loving, that’s for sure.
Ms. Noonan, on the other hand, seems to be hedging her bets. She sees an Obama future and fears being on the wrong side of history. Or maybe, she’s just a big snob and choosing a president who is articulate and can turn a phrase ala Reagan matters more to her than the fact that she’d be voting for a socialist with soaring rhetoric.
If an intellectual such as Ms. Noonan can be swayed by the hope and changiness, then it proves my point. Most of the smarty-pants set ain’t too smart.
And I’d like Peggy Noonan and Christopher Buckley and the rest of the establishment elites tell me who qualifies as a Right Wing Nut Job. How have they changed the party into something you people don’t recognize? Because from where I sit, the Republican party has been hijacked alright, but it has been by people who have left everything it means to be a conservative behind.
Congress in Republican control spent like thieves. The last two years under the Democrats have been worse. And it is only the fact that Democrats are worse than Republicans that have many conservatives AND swing voters by the way, holding their noses and voting for McCain.
So Ms. Noonan, since she’s the writer and seems to be representing the snob-class within the Republican establishment, can share her thoughts. No sweeping generalizations, Ms. Noonan. I want specifics. Who are the Right Wing Nut Jobs and what specifically have they done to the party, because I’m not seeing it. I’m seeing a woman who is sick to death of a leader who cannot artfully turn a phrase and who doesn’t articulate the conservative position well. Well, tough nuts, woman. You need to butch up and deal with it. I’d like the conservative movement to have its version of Barack Obama, but we don’t. We have John McCain. He at least has some substance and it’s better stuff than what makes Barack Obama.
I’m sorry that the McCain=Palin ticket offends Ms. Noonan’s sensibilities. Four years of Barack Obama would be far more odious, but maybe the Republican insiders need to experience it to understand it. But at least they’ll be popular with the cocktail hostesses.
UPDATED:
Just as I wonder if Jesus would be welcome to most churches today, I wonder if Ronald Reagan would be welcome at one of Peggy Noonan’s tea parties.
Cross-posted at Right Wing News
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