Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable.
African proverb
Tea Party and the Future: Vetting Candidates? Yes Expand Agenda? No
I saw an interesting Fox News segment on the Tea Party that focused on the prominent failures of multiple high-profile candidates, in particular, as explicitly named during the segment, Joe Miller, Christine O'Donnell, and Sharron Angle, and on the question of expanding the Tea Party's agenda beyond limited government and fiscal responsibility.
The interviewee conceded the obvious: that the Tea Party (Express) did not do due diligence in researching the personal backgrounds behind the referenced candidates. The rejections were due to failed messengers, not the message. The gist of the discussion was that the Tea Party needed to learn from its missed opportunities during the 2010 campaign.
One could only hope that if and when the Tea Party looks at potential candidates against Obama, they will realize that Sarah Palin may talk the talk, but she doesn't walk the walk. She comes with baggage, just like the failed Senate candidates, she runs worse than major contenders like Romney and Huckabee against Obama, and despite some populist moves like her misleading account of selling the $2.7M state plane on eBay (in fact, although it was listed on eBay, it didn't sell there, but in a subsequent transaction at a $600K loss) and letting go a domestic staff at the mansion (but later would be forced to reimburse the state for other family member utilization of state-paid transportation), she presided over huge spending increases by the Alaskan state legislature and signed into law significant tax increases on energy companies. Sarah Palin is the epitome of political spin, and her personal hero is, of all people, Hillary Clinton, whom has less than a 10% lifetime rating by the American Conservative Union.
One could only hope that if and when the Tea Party looks at potential candidates against Obama, they will realize that Sarah Palin may talk the talk, but she doesn't walk the walk. She comes with baggage, just like the failed Senate candidates, she runs worse than major contenders like Romney and Huckabee against Obama, and despite some populist moves like her misleading account of selling the $2.7M state plane on eBay (in fact, although it was listed on eBay, it didn't sell there, but in a subsequent transaction at a $600K loss) and letting go a domestic staff at the mansion (but later would be forced to reimburse the state for other family member utilization of state-paid transportation), she presided over huge spending increases by the Alaskan state legislature and signed into law significant tax increases on energy companies. Sarah Palin is the epitome of political spin, and her personal hero is, of all people, Hillary Clinton, whom has less than a 10% lifetime rating by the American Conservative Union.
SNL Skit: 2010 Public Employee of the Year Satire: Thumbs UP!
An Example of Airport Security Abusive Behavior (Not TSA Personnel): Thumbs DOWN!
Dr. Phil McGraw, a syndicated TV psychologist, discusses (with accompanying incident video outtakes) the experience of a female business traveler whom got a concussion from local airport police whom decided that the woman wasn't sufficiently complying with the TSA screening process (yielding a small bottle of contact lens solution) and threw her to the ground, causing a concussion. (The woman claimed that she told the TSA personnel they could simply dispose the contact liquid bottle and denied provoking the authorities in any way.) In my opinion, this incident constituted criminal battery and unconscionable abuse of authority; I see no evidence in the video of any of the victim's behavior which justified this kind of response (even if she said something disagreeable, which we can't tell, a professional officer should be able to keep his emotions in check).
Sarah "I Quit" Palin Goes After the "Blue Blood" Bushes
Sarah Palin once again demonstrated her polarizing personality, not taking very well former First Lady Barbara Bush's suggestion in a recent Larry King interview that "I think she's very happy in Alaska, and I hope she'll stay there." This was a thinly-veiled, politely worded suggestion that Sarah Palin abandon her all-but-certain quixotic attempt to run for President.
This is public plea for Mike Huckabee to announce for the Presidency, if for no other reason than to save the GOP from a landslide loss to Barack Obama; the polls show that Huckabee draws votes, particularly from social conservatives, whom would likely otherwise go to Palin.
I heard one Dennis Miller show listener discuss his support for Sarah Palin, saying in effect that the moderate Republicans and others would have no choice if the two principal rivals are Obama and Palin: "What are they going to do: vote for Obama?" No, that's never going to happen. But I GUARANTEE a race between Obama and Palin opens up an independent candidacy (e.g., NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg) which would be significantly more potent than Perot's 1992 run or John B. Anderson's 1980 run: I like businessman/3-term Bloomberg's chances against an incompetent Obama and an even more incompetent Palin.
However, Sarah Palin's rebuke against the Bushes, calling them 'blue bloods' (no doubt meant to convey the image of an elitist moderate Republican multiple-generation dynasty) along with a thinly-veiled attack on George W. Bush's economic policies, may come back to haunt her (I would love to hear Rove's response to the Palin critique). As if Palin didn't have enough on her plate with her recent gaffe reference to rogue nation North Korea as "our allies"... [It could also be a petty slap back at Bush for reports saying that Bush attributes McCain's loss to the selection of Sarah Palin. Where some people see spunk and the ability to stand up for herself, I see a thin-skinned person whom sweats the small stuff and lacks judgment and class in dealing with adversity. There's absolutely no question that the Palin selection did not help in the battleground states, but I attribute the loss more to the economic tsunami and McCain's erratic performance during the tsunami, in particular the foolhardy suspension of his campaign.]
George W. Bush is very popular with the GOP base, especially military and social conservatives, and his own favorable ratings have shown a resurgence, rivaling Obama's flagging ratings. Retaining the Bush tax cuts has been a major conservative initiative since Bush left office. Jeb Bush, who has gotten considerable attention for his own possible Presidential ambitions (which he rejects for 2012), also won 2 terms as governor to an influential Southern state and Tea Party favorite Senator-elect Marco Rubio is Jeb's protégé. For Sarah Palin to diss the Bush clan of highly likable, competent public sector executives shows an astonishing lack of respect and political judgment.
However, Sarah Palin's rebuke against the Bushes, calling them 'blue bloods' (no doubt meant to convey the image of an elitist moderate Republican multiple-generation dynasty) along with a thinly-veiled attack on George W. Bush's economic policies, may come back to haunt her (I would love to hear Rove's response to the Palin critique). As if Palin didn't have enough on her plate with her recent gaffe reference to rogue nation North Korea as "our allies"... [It could also be a petty slap back at Bush for reports saying that Bush attributes McCain's loss to the selection of Sarah Palin. Where some people see spunk and the ability to stand up for herself, I see a thin-skinned person whom sweats the small stuff and lacks judgment and class in dealing with adversity. There's absolutely no question that the Palin selection did not help in the battleground states, but I attribute the loss more to the economic tsunami and McCain's erratic performance during the tsunami, in particular the foolhardy suspension of his campaign.]
George W. Bush is very popular with the GOP base, especially military and social conservatives, and his own favorable ratings have shown a resurgence, rivaling Obama's flagging ratings. Retaining the Bush tax cuts has been a major conservative initiative since Bush left office. Jeb Bush, who has gotten considerable attention for his own possible Presidential ambitions (which he rejects for 2012), also won 2 terms as governor to an influential Southern state and Tea Party favorite Senator-elect Marco Rubio is Jeb's protégé. For Sarah Palin to diss the Bush clan of highly likable, competent public sector executives shows an astonishing lack of respect and political judgment.
One step you can take is to sign the petition at http://flywithdignity.org.
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| Courtesy of David Vincent Wolf |
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| Photo Courtesy of Max Trombly |
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| Photo Courtesy of Max Trombly |
Political Humor
In her new book, Sarah Palin says she once gave up chocolate for an entire year just to prove she could do it. Still think she's not qualified to be President? - Jimmy Fallon
[She once managed to spend almost two-thirds of a single term as Alaska's governor just to prove she could do it. Still think she's qualified to be President?]
An original:
- Remember when Chris Matthews mentioned after an Obama speech,"My, I felt this thrill going up my leg"? He still gets that thrill--going through airport security...
Musical Interlude: Holiday Tunes
Royal Guardsman, "Snoopy vs. The Red Baron". One of my family's favorite Christmas albums...
