Up to this point, I haven't taken time to comment on the Douglas Bruce brouhaha. So here it is: I'm glad to see good, intelligent, respected voices from my side able to distinguish between the free market, limited government views he espouses and the shameful behavior he has demonstrated. A few of them are highlighted below... … [Read more...]
Archives for 2008
Economic “Stimulus” = Impatient Politics Trumping Good Policy
Update: It's good to see Michael at Best Destiny and Phil at Clear Commentary thinking along similar lines. With all the news of economic slowdown nearing fevered pitch, some Americans will like the sound of a few hundred extra bucks in their pockets. Hey, it sounds good to me, too. Except it's not a tax break in the sense of getting to keep more of your own hard-earned money. It's plain old wealth redistribution, as explained by George Mason economist Russell Roberts in this piece (HT Rossputin):The money has to come from somewhere. If you raise taxes to fund the plan, the people who are taxed are poorer and they'll spend less. If you borrow money to fund the plan, the people who buy the government bonds have less money to spend and … [Read more...]
Fredmentum Firsthand
"The man finally comes around," writes Red State's Erick Erickson for Human Events, as he travels with the Thompson campaign in South Carolina:Though barely mentioned in the national media, Senator Fred Thompson has been on a barn storming tour crisscrossing South Carolina for more than a week. In a unique approach, he is not just going to major media markets, but to rural areas of South Carolina. On my first day on the trail with Senator Thompson, he drew a crowd of 180 people to a small Mennonite restaurant in Abbeville, South Carolina — population 26,000 with a median income of $15,370. He capped off the day at the Orangeburg-Calhoun County Technical College in Orangeburg, South Carolina with over 200 people braving a rare snow shower … [Read more...]
David Limbaugh: Give Fred Thompson a Second Look, Answer His Call
David Limbaugh eloquently tells conservatives why now is the time to give Fred Thompson a second look and fearlessly answer the call of his campaign:Fred does not run from his record -- more to the point, he doesn't need to. He shoots straight without the constant self-serving reminders that he does, as in telling us he's driving the "Straight Talk Express." More importantly, Fred is right on the issues, and there's little doubt his positions are firm. Research his stances; read his position papers. You'll find he's very strong in all areas important to mainstream conservatives, including national defense, taxes, spending, life, immigration, federalism, appointing originalist judges, health care and education. I'm not drooling over … [Read more...]
Why South Carolina Should Pick Fred
At the American Spectator, Quin Hilyer makes the best case I've seen for South Carolinians to support Fred Thompson in Saturday's primary:If I were a South Carolina Republican voter on Saturday, then for parochial, tactical, and philosophical reasons, I would vote for Fred Thompson. This doesn't mean that I would not have voted for Mitt Romney in Michigan on Tuesday, if I were a Michigander, or that I would not vote for Rudy Giuliani in Florida later this month. Voting in each state, especially in a drawn-out nomination battle, involves particularly local considerations as well as national ones. But for South Carolinians who are mainstream conservatives, those local considerations seem to cry out for a boost for Fred Thompson. Read … [Read more...]
Merrifield Returns to Chair, Dems Still Reel in Union Cash
Over at the new Face the State is a story about the ascension of State Rep. Mike Merrifield back to the chair of the House Education Committee, after last year's controversy and resignation:Rep. Mike Merrifield, D-Manitou Springs, quietly resumed his post at the helm of the House Education Committee on Monday more than nine months after his resignation over a well-publicized email that condemned school choice supporters to a “special place in hell.†Of course, if you've been reading Denise at Colorado Charters or Mr. Bob at The Daily Blogster, you would already be aware of this un-parent-friendly political event in our fair state. More from Face the State:Political consultant Katy Atkinson, a consultant to moderate and … [Read more...]
Why Not Huckabee? The Slime
Why as a conservative don't I support the presidential candidacy of Mike Huckabee? Another great example is highlighted this morning by Jim Geraghty at NRO's Campaign Spot:The Thompson campaign has video of one of those pro-Huckabee push polls. More than a few South Carolina readers have reported the same calls, as well as Campaign Spot Senior South Carolina Correspondent. I'm neither impressed by the Huckabee campaign, nor from Common Sense Issues, the group behind the calls. Sure, the Huckabee campaign says they don't support this, and they're calling on it to stop. But let's see some anger. Let's have Huckabee call up Davis, the guy who's doing this and say, "stop it, you're hurting my campaign." Come on out and denounce Davis … [Read more...]
Romney Wins, Now What?
Mitt Romney recorded an impressive win in the Michigan primary tonight. Hats off to him. Now here's hoping that Fred Thompson surges back to take South Carolina and Rudy makes a comeback with a Florida victory. It will drive all the pundits mad, simply mad - especially those in the MSM beginning to mourn McCain's demise. Can you imagine it? The phrase "Republican frontrunner" will set off unending fireworks on all the cable news programs. So should the word "momentum," which professional and amateur prognosticators appear to have put too much stock into this far. Huckabee's Iowa win got him what? Back-to-back third-place finishes. And McCain went from one week as the New Hampshire darling to badly beaten in Michigan the next. So who … [Read more...]
GOP Primary Thoughts for the Day
Today is the Michigan Republican Presidential primary: Here's hoping that my home state can do its part to derail the McCain Train before it carries the whole Republican Party and conservative movement off the cliff. Meanwhile, Fred is on fire in South Carolina: See here and here for a sample of the details. On the other hand, Paul Mirengoff at Powerline opines that a McCain Michigan victory catapulting him to frontrunner status coupled with Fred's rising status as the leading conservative challenger in South Carolina might do wonders for Fred's campaign. Perhaps, but I'm not willing to take the chance with McCain. Today, I cheer for Romney. … [Read more...]
Rebutting Confederate Libertarianism
Thanks, Mr. Snaggle-Tooth, for your lengthy treatise in response to my prior arguments. In it you write:Ole Ben links a Liberty article by libertarian attorney Timothy Sandefur, ‘n I mus' say it’s jus’ ‘bout as good as the pro-Unionist argumint kin git. Quite Jaffian it wuz, with the acrid odor of Claremont about it. But that article got picked to pieces in-iss un', written by anothah libertarian attorney, Stephan Kinsella. (See this here response by Kinsella too.) Well, in the interest of time, here's an even better version of Sandefur's argument (link leads to abstract, from which you can download a PDF). It's a very well-documented and well-argued essay, and there isn't much I can add to it in this forum. Some of its salient … [Read more...]