Wishin’ For Armageddon

March 5, 2012

So, I guess I wasn’t the only one who thinks a big GOP loss might be good for the party: In “Batman Begins” — the 2005 movie about the origins of the caped crusader — there is a group of villains who believe the city of Gotham is beyond saving and that the only way to fix it is to first destroy it.As the Republican presidential race has worn on (and on), there are some within the party wondering — privately, of course — whether the only way for the party to face the growing divide between its moderate and [...] read more

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Why David Brooks is Wasting His Breath

February 29, 2012

David Brook’s recent rant on the rise of extremists in the GOP got me thinking.  I’ve already given some reasons why it’s not so easy for mainstream Republicans to stand up to the extremists.  I hinted that part of the problem is somewhat structural in part.  Part of what has made the GOP more extreme than it was in say, the 1970s is that forces within American society have pushed both political parties to change their nature.  Granted, this is happening at a faster and more dramatic pace in the GOP than it is among Democrats, but the change is [...] read more

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What a Wonderful World

February 28, 2012

I don’t think I really need to say more about this except, “bravo.”

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Honor Among RINOS

February 27, 2012

David Brooks uses his Tuesday column to take mainstream Republicans to task for not standing up to the “wingers.” He notes: All across the nation, there are mainstream Republicans lamenting how the party has grown more and more insular, more and more rigid. This year, they have an excellent chance to defeat President Obama, yet the wingers have trashed the party’s reputation by swinging from one embarrassing and unelectable option to the next: Bachmann, Trump, Cain, Perry, Gingrich, Santorum. But where have these party leaders been over the past five years, when all the forces that distort the G.O.P. were [...] read more

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The Myth and Disaster of a Brokered GOP Convention

February 23, 2012

David Frum takes on the myth of a “brokered convention” this summer when the GOP gathers in Tampa.  He does a good job of explaining how the rise of the primary/caucus system and the demise of the party bosses have made such a myth less and less of a reality and if it did happen, it might spell doom for the party. 1) Imagine that Romney falls just slightly short of the 1144 needed to nominate. In this scenario, an individual party chairman from a smaller state with more old-fashioned rules might be lured to find some way to redirect [...] read more

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The Problem With Dog Whistle Racism

January 31, 2012

Commentators Juan Williams and Jeffrey Goldberg have come out with articles on what they see as “dog whistle” racism among the GOP nominees.  Here’s what Williams said in his column: The language of GOP racial politics is heavy on euphemisms that allow the speaker to deny any responsibility for the racial content of his message. The code words in this game are “entitlement society” — as used by Mitt Romney — and “poor work ethic” and “food stamp president” — as used by Newt Gingrich. References to a lack of respect for the “Founding Fathers” and the “Constitution” also make [...] read more

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Why Is Jon Huntsman Losing?

January 10, 2012

I’ve never made it a secret that I really like Jon Huntsman for the GOP Presidential Nomination. I like the former Utah governor’s record as a solid Republican that had more moderate to liberal social opinions. He seemed to court a lot of love from a number of moderate and liberal pundits, but when it came to actually campaigning for President, he’s been at near the bottom of opinion polls. Why is that? Back in November, Ross Douthat tried to answer that question and came up with the following which is pretty plausible:   Huntsman has none of Romney’s health [...] read more

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Yes, I’m Still Alive

January 6, 2012

Sorry about not publishing for a while.  I took a break from political blogging.  There are some changes afoot for this blog, so stay tuned.

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The Next Big Thing

November 29, 2011

A few years ago, I somehow stumbled into an argument.  A man who identified as an independent was arguing with me about the Bush Administration and about his not liking then presidential candidate John McCain.  I kept telling him McCain wasn’t Bush and that a McCain presidency was not going to be Bush, part 3.  He kept on talking about everything that had gone wrong over the years; the Iraq War, torture and a whole mess of other issues. After a while, I started to realize this guy wasn’t an independent by any stretch of the imagination.  I finally told [...] read more

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David Frum’s Big Mistake

November 28, 2011

I recently lauded David Frum for his latest assessment on the state of the GOP, but I think he made a big booboo in a column for the Canadian newspaper, the National Journal.  Frum said that he thought the two best GOP presidential candidates were either former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman or former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.  He then ends the article with this: The Washington, D.C., primary is set for April 3. I’ll probably cast a vote that day for Huntsman, if only to show support for a brave and independent-minded candidate — and in hope that a strong [...] read more

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