We Won't Get Fooled Again. Well, Maybe.

Dear Readers, if you truly believe in individual liberty, limited government and the Constitution, remember this when you step up to the ballot box: A vote for the Libertarian Party candidate is really a vote for the Democrat candidate.

Say What You Want About Chris Christie...

...But if you debate the man, he will own you. Own. You. An utterly Reagan-esque response to a petty nipple-tweak:



Sad thing is, I bet Ms. Buono's campaign staff spent hours coming up with that line.

Oh, The Irony:

Seems Woody Guthrie wrote the ultimate Obama Shutdown protest song.

So let's all sing along with Woody's son, Arlo, - a fellow Libertarian Republican. You know the words.

Republicans should start singing this outside every closed monument, park, historic house, ocean, etc. And don't forget this stanza:

As I went walking I saw a sign there
And on the sign it said "No Trespassing."
But on the other side it didn't say nothing,
That side was made for you and me.

Can Republicans Become The Party Of The People?

Good question. Short answer: Yes. But the GOP has to start acting like Republicans to do it.

In many respects we already are the party of the people. The GOP has 40-60% of the country ideologically, depending on the issue. What we need is to quit balkanizing ourselves through factional identity infighting between libertarian conservatives, social conservatives, fiscal conservatives, pro-defense conservatives, pro-business conservatives - something our opponents promote heavily, by the way, and use to isolate us - and focus on the big picture with which we all agree.

And, we need to learn to grow a pair. Fighting for what you believe in is no fault.

"He Fights."

The post title was Abraham Lincoln's famous response to reporters who wanted to know why he stuck with U.S. Grant even after blistering attacks by the press and members of his own party. I think the same response sums up the GOP rank-and-file response to Rand Paul. He fights.

And, he wins. Yes, so does Chris Christie, but he is the darling of the GOP establishment.

Me? As a pro-defense, pro-American exceptionalism, small-l libertarian Republican, I'm on the fence. Both Paul and Christie have a lot to offer the GOP, and I like - and get frustrated - with both. Both are playing very long games - something that the post-Reagan/W. crowd did not. Paul and Christie are the de facto leaders of the two main camps in the GOP now, and them finding unity is the only the GOP is going to win in 2016.

Petard, Your Own, Hoist By. Syrian Edition.

Rand Paul kicks ass. Proof.

If he and Christie can get it together, we have our dream team for 2016.

It's Time For John Boehner To Go.

We do not need a return to the GOP dhimmitude mindset of pre-1992. We cannot afford it. This country cannot survive it. Please Rep. Boehner, for the good of this nation, hand the Speaker's gavel over to someone who has a spine. Now.

We Have Met The Enemy...

...And he is us. It's time we grew up and started paying our own bills, not looking for someone else to pay them.

A Slave To Narrative.

George Stephanopolis, meet Abe Lincoln.

It'll Be A Cold Day In Hell...

...Before Republicans fall for something this stupid.

But wait! Now the "experts" are saying a cold day in hell could well be where we are heading. It's the 1970's all over again! Get that carbon back up in the air!

Prediction.

After watching CNN's GOP debate last night, and today's morning-after quarterbacking, let me add in my $0.02:

The GOP's 2012 vice-Presidential nominee was up on that stagiest night in New Hampshire. Unfortunately, the GOP's 2012 Presidential nominee wasn't up there. Who that will be, I don't know. But it wasn't one of those folks.

Pulse of Louisiana.

Just in time for this week's Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, my buddy John at JMC Enterprises has released a "Pulse of Louisiana" poll. Doesn't look good for Barry, Nancy, Harry and the gang.

Today's Required Reading.

Walter Russell Mead's Death of the American Dream, Part I. Read it all.

All of us - Left, Right, In-the-Middle - have built, and lived in, this economic house of government-regulated cards. Now that is has collapsed, we have to come up with a plan to get the hell out. That is why the debates in the next few months and years are not only foundational to any future American prosperity, but also to who we are as Americans. On that score Mead reminds us of our unique strength:

I will have more to say about the ever-changing American Dream in posts to come; while painful, change is not only unavoidable. It can lead us to better, richer, more truly human lives. It is a new century, and America, the land of the future, must once again find the frontier.

The future is where we need to be looking. For the GOP, we need someone who can lead us there. And so far, we ain't got it.

Balls.

Really big, coon-ass balls. Read it all. About time somebody said this.

My buddy Scott disagrees. Not with the content, but the delivery. Yes, you should respect the office, not the man. But when the man makes such a mockery of the office, what recourse do you have?

UPDATE: Landry is simply representing his constituency, who really, really have issues with the President after his Gulf drilling moratorium. Type "30.561265,-92.021019" into Google Maps, zoom in a bit and see for yourself. (Note: Harsh language)

We Didn't Start The Fire.

Nor, apparently, did Rick Santelli. Let The Yacht Club Boys tell it. In 1936:



Hattip: Small Dead Animals.

O, Christie And Perry, Where Where Are You...?

Mitch Daniels is out, Huntsman, Romney, Paul, Romer and Cain still in.
This is best we can do? Really? Really??

Waiting For Perry?

Since Chris Christie won't run, is Texas governor Rick Perry the next best hope for the GOP in 2012? Some say yes. Considering the parade of has-beens, ankle-biters, and wanna-bees the Republicans have put forward so far, I'm disposed to agree. I want ot see more, though, before I sport a Perry pin.

A Modest Proposal.

Like it or not, the Congress will have to raise the debt ceiling. I don't like it either, but yes, they will. If they don't, the President will have the ability to almost unilaterally cut spending necessary to keep us under the ceiling. And you know what he will do - muck up things the average, not-that-much-into-political-tussles American will notice and get angry about - close National Parks, stop Social Security payments to Granma, stop paying the troops, stop paying out creditors, etc., etc. Fiscally irresponsible in the extreme, yes, but it makes great Alinskyesque political theatre. Especially with The Left / Mainstream Media pushing White House talking points without question.

But, as this article points out, raising the debt isn't going win any points for Democrats with the average Joe and Jane. They (the Democrats) don't want to be the ones holding the bag here, either, especially with so many vulnerable seats in 2012.

Which gives Boehner, Ryan, Rubio, (Rand) Paul, etc., a golden opportunity to cut a deal. Not a promise for a few billion off here or there, but something big.

(Crapgamevoice) You know... a deal deal. (/Crapgamevoice) Like...

Tell Pelosi, Reid, etc., that the GOP will vote to raise the debt ceiling say, $1 trillion, if the Democrats agree to vote out a Balanced Budget Amendment to the States. There are several already introduced into the Congress this session . It takes two-thirds of the Congress to vote on a proposed Amendment before it goes to the States, so support from moderate/conservative Democrats is essential for the two-thirds number. Most States already live within such constraints, and I think they would be more than pleased to have the Feds do the same.

Whatever happens, the GOP can not let this opportunity go by and get a pittance (a few billion here and there) in return. That is not what they were sent there to do, and they will fare almost as bad as the Democrats in 2012 if they come out of this with a few lumps of coal in their bag.

If the folks on Capitol Hill want to do something like this, they better act fast.

Speaking Truth To Idiots.

Chris Christie answers questions from The Left / Mainstream Media about education:



Gee, I thought it was us heartless Republicans who give up on the poor. Christie, as usual, nails the problem. Nails it. Where is this kind of clarity, spine, and plain speaking in the current crop of GOP goofs and ankle-biters who think they are qualified to be President? I pray he runs in 2012.

"The American People Did Not Send Us Here To Fail."

Speaking truth to power. Somebody needs to chisel that over the over the front door of the US Capitol.