You Decide 08

Newt Gingrich Contemplating Bid in '08

2005-01-08T18:14:00.000-05:00

Link to Story on Yahoo! News
Executive Summary: He's an ideologue, not a national leader

Newt Gingrich is the master of the Republican Revolution and the "Contract with America". When you watch Gingrich speak on FOX News, the first impression that you get is that the man is supremely arrogant. While he may be right on many economic policies, he's also quite uncompromising and his personal life is almost Clintonian. In fact, given that there's credible evidence of many affairs he has had, as well as the rumor of draft-dodging, he'd likely alienate the more conservative elements in the Republican party itself.

Gingrich is credible on the idea of fiscal conservativism, but he lacks a strong record on issues that Bush was succesful on, such as education and criminal justice. As a rule, I think Governors make better Presidential candidates, because they have an executive record to run on. [Exception is made for candidates with a well-known personal record on an issue, like Frist or Hillary on health care] They're already accountable. The notable exception is Bill Clinton, who did nothing except threaten state troopers as Governor of Arkansas and still got elected.

Ultimately, Gingrich doesn't come across as a charismatic, uniting leader: he has the irrascible temper of Zell Miller, and isn't afraid to show it. And plus, these "steps towards" a presidential bid have always been lingering: A CNN Article from 1998

Hillary Clinton Whines About Election... Again

2005-01-07T15:39:00.000-05:00

Hillary Clinton appealed to her party's "wacko wing", as the New York Post puts it today in complaining that the 2004 election had been run unfairly:

"As we look at our election system, I think it's fair to say that there are many legitimate questions about its accuracy, about its integrity..."

What a nutcase. Barbara Boxer and Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (sadly my representative - I've me the lady and she seemed quite a nice person) are deluding themselves if they believe anything but the simple clear and plain fact that Bush won the election. If anything, it was the Democrats that engaged in dubious behavior (including the 'trading' of votes across state lines to try to trick the electoral system) and in all-out fraud by registering non-existent voters such as Mary Poppins.

Another crazy lady would be Melissa Harris Lacewell, who wrote a racially charged piece about how Boxer and Tubb-Jones's objections amounted to trying to start a 'discussion'. This is pure and utter poppycock. Barbara Boxer did not worry about disenfranchised voters in New Hampshire. No, this was focused solely on Ohio. That alone suggests that their intent was to advocate giving the election to Kerry.

All the smart Democrats (ie: anyone who wants to have a Kucinich's prayer at winning the 2008 election) raised no objections on the House and Senate floors. Notably, Reverend Jesse Jackson could not convince the liberal (and politically aspiring) Barak Obama to complain about the voting. In fact, Hillary decided in the end to quit carping and assent to Ohio's votes going to Bush. Meanwhile, Boxer is hoping to get a part in Michael Moore's Fahrenheit sequel as the White Knight. More likely than not, she's clearly established herself as a loyal (and loony) Democrat.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: If you want to be President, attempting to obstruct democracy is not a wise move.

Vote YES for Dean as DNC Chair

2005-01-06T20:13:00.000-05:00

//EDIT: Apparently, the Democrats have figured out that Dean would hurt them and are thus asking the incompetent Terry McAuliffe to stay [Newsmax]

Just as Karl Rove was cheering for Dean to win the Democrat's nomination, all conservatives ought to root for Dean to become the next chairman (perhaps the politically correct retitiling of it as "chairperson" is more appropriate) of the Democratic National Committee. His firebrand style of rip-roarin' hooliganism could easily ensure that the Democratic party becomes so far 'out there' that no sensible moderate voter would ever consider voting for them. All it would take is a few more lines like

"I still want to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks"
"I've always been endorsed by the National Rifle Association."
"We won't always have the strongest military"

Yup, that's the guy. His crazy antics made him clearly unfit to be Commander-in-Chief (at least Kerry just chortled instead of screaming). His crazy antics could easily make the Democratic Party no more than the Washed-Out Pot-Smoking Hippies Party. The one thing that Dean would excell at would be fundraising. He did a bang-up job getting half the internet to donate him money for his failed 2004 run. While he's a pretty bad politician, it would be interesting to see him motivate 10% of America to donate the funds necessary to keep the Democrat's boat from sinking even more.

GoreTV

2005-01-04T17:12:00.000-05:00

No, this isn't a station devoted to horror films. It's a cable TV channel run by former Presidential candidate Al Gore.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45826-2005Jan3.html

The odds are that this channel will have little commercial success, unless they are able to find a particular show to put it over the top. Why is this important? Because it represents a platform from which the next Democrat running for the Presidency can appear. It may tank, but if it doesn't, then it represents a threat to the current mainstream media which holds each other accountable. By 'democratizing' television, Gore has conveniently given himself an excuse for media bias (I swear! it's just what the people think!) If the channel's a hit, you never know... might we see Al step back into politics?

Introducing Bill Frist!

2005-01-03T21:04:00.000-05:00

Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader from Tennessee is, in my opinion, the current front runner for the Republican nomination in 2008.

http://frist.senate.gov/
Excerpts from his Biography
The hook : Frist immediately began building on his vision for an innovative transplantation facility that would bring into one center transplant specialists, scientists, and ethicists from a range of disciplines. In 1989 he founded and became surgical director of the multi-organ Vanderbilt Transplant Center. Today the center is one of the premier transplant facilities in the United States.
Strong on Terror : Frist’s expertise in infectious diseases has enabled him to take on one of the greatest threats to the health and security of our nation -- bioterrorism. ...He quickly worked to pass landmark legislation to bolster America’s defenses against bioterrorism. He then wrote his fourth book -- When Every Moment Counts -- to help families prepare for future attacks. The Senator donated all profits to a local preparedness charity in Tennessee.
Education: America’s children have been another top priority for Senator Frist. He was the author of“Ed- flex” -- a groundbreaking law giving teachers and schools more freedom from federal regulations and more flexibility to improve student performance.
Mulitlateralism: Senator Frist served as one of only two congressional representatives to the U.N. General Assembly in the 107th Congress.
Interests [impressive to say the least...]: Bill Frist enjoys flying (commercial, instrument, and multiengine pilot), running (7 marathons), hunting with his boys, medical mission trips to Africa, and writing. He is board certified in general surgery and heart surgery.

Just look at his website. "Bill Frist, M.D." He'll be able to take challengers in the area of health care [the anti-Hillary, perhaps?], while simultaneously being able to speak first hand about tort reform. He's visiting Sri Lanka and India, two countries ravaged by the recent tsunami. And his site has a (albeit automated) Spanish-language counterpart. Note that Tennessee has relatively few Spanish speakers.

Kerry considering run in 2008?

2005-01-03T20:30:00.000-05:00

It's a bit early for the 2008 campaign to be starting, but not according to John Kerry...

"I'm not going to go lick my wounds or hide under a rock or disappear. I'm going to learn", he told Newsweek magazine. This statement alone has remarkable political ramifications. At the very least, this election has boosted Kerry from Senior Senator status to potential Party Leader. While he is called "the liberal Senator from Massachussets" (which he probably is), Kerry has a knack for making the most ridiculous positions sound plausible. There are a few major reasons as to why Kerry would NOT make the cut for consideration in 2008.

1) Charisma. The only solid constituency that the Democrats have now is the youth. Kerry is an old stiff orator. That's just his personality. Maybe if he can get over that, decide on a hair color, and lose the dopey grin...

2) He already lost. And he lost badly to Bush in what pundits thought would be a close election. Still, that never stopped Nixon.

3) The South. This is the biggest question for the Democrats now. Chris Matthews observed it on MSNBC the day of the election itself. Only Southern Democrats have been able to win the Presidency. Why is this? Nobody's quite sure. But you can bet your bottom dollar that if Kerry gets renominated, he'll find a prettier pony than John Edwards to keep the south happy.