The four largest Tea Party organizations in Arizona agreed not to endorse a candidate in the Republican Senate primary, which pits incumbent Sen. John McCain against challengers J.D. Hayworth and Jim Deakin. Their reasons speak well of the Tea Party movement and put the lie to the “astroturf” nonsense (emphasis added):
“The Tea Party is a non-partisan, grassroots movement that stands for limited government, free markets, and fiscal responsibility. Both McCain and Hayworth’s records during their many years in Washington leave much to be desired on these issues,” said Robert Mayer, co-founder of the Tucson Tea Party. “It is their job to hold themselves up to these values and fight for our votes.”
Other tea party organizers across the state agreed that the local organizations should not endorse so early if at all.
“It is not appropriate to make an endorsement in this race at the drop of a hat, as some other groups are doing,” said Kelly Townsend, organizer of the Greater Phoenix Tea Party. “The movement must stand for ideas, and do everything possible to provide information to people so that they can make the best personal decisions.”
…
“We stand for principles and ideas, not for politicians or parties,” said Patrick Beck, organizer of the Mohave County Tea Party. “Our mission is to promote constitutional government and fiscal responsibility, and to inform people so that they can make their own decisions.”
McCain is anything but a champion of limited government and individual liberty. Although Hayworth, a former congressman, is described as “more conservative” than McCain, he’s not more pro-liberty. His primary focus has always been the authoritarian social-conservatism issues and a hard-core anti-immigrant agenda. I don’t know anything about Deakin, and no one seems terribly interested in or concerned with him, so I assume he’s not really a factor.
The Arizona Tea Party people seem to be principled, consistent advocates of liberty, and I think they’ve done the right thing by declaring essentially that “none of the above represent our values.” My hat’s off to them.
Last week, Politico reported that top Obama advisers have begun planning the 2012 re-election campaign (!). So Doug Powers helpfully came up with a bunch of suggestions for campaign slogans. Here are my favorites:
“It’s the stupid, economy!”
“Is government better off than you were four years ago?”
“It’s not socialism; It’s the free market owned and operated by the government!”
“It’s mourning in America”
“There’s a bear in the woods; isn’t it important to understand the bear’s perspective?”
I like that last one best. It's sly and subtle and requires that you remember a bit of political history.
Here's my favorite from the comments:
Obama in 2012,………….The chains you have been waiting for.
If you've got any good suggestions, post a comment.
Based on Ann Althouse's recommendation (HT: Instapundit, who has other good comments and links), I watched this 6-minute video of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) at the health care summit. Excellent command of the fiscal facts, delivery, and a closing that emphasized the liberty issue. This guy has a bright future. Check it out:
I didn't watch any of today's health care kabuki theater, and I've only done a cursory review of the news, analysis, and opinion pieces about it. But here's what I've gathered happened.
The Republicans offered substantive, well-reasoned alternative proposals, pointed out serious problems with the Democrats' massive plan, and exposed the Democrats' untruths about that plan.
The Democrats counter-argued as follows:
One of my constituents had to take her kid to the emergency room, and … and … it wasn't even an emergency! That shouldn't happen in America!
One of my constituents had to wear her dead sister's false teeth! That shouldn't happen in America!
One of my constituents had her face gnawed off by badgers! That shouldn't happen in America!
The President concluded by appealing to bipartisanship:
I've decided all the Republican ideas suck. I hope some of you Republicans will see the light and embrace what I've decided is best for America. But it really doesn't matter, because we're going ahead with it anyway. Forget what I said about the importance of the filibuster and the sanctity of Senate rules and tradition back when I was a Senator for a few months. We're going to cram this thing down your throats with 51 votes!
That's about all there was to it.
Oh, yeah, I almost forgot — there was that issue of equal time and fairness. The Republicans objected to the fact that Obama and the Democrats got much more time than they did. The President countered with something like this:
My time doesn't count because I've decided not to count it. And I'm the President. So there.
The final tally, according to the Republicans: Obama, 119 minutes; other Democrats, 114 minutes; Republicans, 110 minutes.
At The Corner, Veronique de Rugy asked the question, "Is That Really What Free-Market Means?"
This morning, the New York Times reported that the president "defended his spending, tax and regulatory initiatives as the natural response to a historic economic crisis," and declared himself an "ardent believer in the free market," challenging "a line of criticism that has fueled discontent with his presidency." Obama said "the policies of his first year in office . . . 'were about saving the economy from collapse, not about expanding government's reach into the economy.'"
If the president's policies are the policies of a free-market president, then I will never call myself free market again. I have to say, I've felt this way often in the last eight years, especially when President Bush declared "I've abandoned free market principles to save the free market system."
President Barack Obama said he and his administration have pursued a “fundamentally business-friendly” agenda and are “fierce advocates” for the free market, rejecting corporate criticism of his policies.
Why yes, this is what free-market means. At least when it's used by Barack "Humpty-Dumpty" Obama.
`I don't know what you mean by "glory",' Alice said.
Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. `Of course you don't — till I tell you. I meant "there's a nice knock-down argument for you!"'
`But "glory" doesn't mean "a nice knock-down argument",' Alice objected.
`When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, `it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.'
`The question is,' said Alice, `whether you can make words mean so many different things.'
`The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, `which is to be master — that's all.'
Alice was too much puzzled to say anything; so after a minute Humpty Dumpty began again. `They've a temper, some of them — particularly verbs: they're the proudest — adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs — however, I can manage the whole lot of them! Impenetrability! That's what I say!'
Allahpundit has the complete video of Glenn Beck's keynote speech at CPAC. I don't have time to watch it tonight, but it sounds like a humdinger. I love the pull quote:
“It’s not enough to not suck as much as the other side,” said Beck, on how Republicans can regain their ideals. “The first step to redemption is admitting you have a problem. … When they do say they have a problem, I don’t know if I believe them. … They’ve got to recognize they have a problem. … ‘I’m addicted to spending and big government.’”…
Beck went on to compare GOPers to Tiger Woods, who recently gave his first public apology for his cheating candal. Beck said some people believed he was only sorry because he got caught. Beck, to GOPers in Congress: “You got caught. Are you sorry?”…
More Beck: “One party will tax and spend. The other party won’t tax, but spend. It’s both of them together. I’m tired of feeling like a freak in America.”
If CPAC is any indication, the conservative movement has become decidedly more libertarian, as well as more energized. Limited government, fiscal sanity, and other economic liberty issues are at the forefront. Social conservatism has taken a back seat or faded altogether. For instance:
A warmly received Dick Cheney said he's OK with gays serving openly in the military.
Ron Paul was the top vote-getter among potential presidential candidates in a straw poll of attendees.
In that same straw poll (PDF), 80% said their most important goal is "to promote individual freedom by reducing the size and scope of government," versus 9% who chose "to promote traditional values by protecting traditional marriage and protecting the life of the unborn."
The poll found that 52% chose reducing the size of the federal government and 33% chose reducing federal spending as one of their top two issue priorities. Only 5% chose promoting traditional values, and 1% chose stopping gay marriage.
A speaker who criticized the inclusion of the gay Republican group, GOProud, was roundly booed. (To be fair, Ron Paul's straw poll finish was booed too. But I can think of some pretty good reasons for that, even from a libertarian perspective.)
My experiences with the Tea Party movement tell me that the "conservative" grass roots of America are already pretty libertarian in many respects. About half of the 10,000 attendees at CPAC are 25 or younger, suggesting that conservatism is going to move even closer to libertarianism in the future.
That's change I can believe in! Hopenchange, man, hopenchange!
I've got a bumper sticker from the Independence Institute that has a circle-slashed Obama logo and says "He's not my doctor" (a take-off on the one popular among leftists during the Bush years that said "He's not my president"). Now I think I need another one that says "He's not my dentist, either."
While in Sin City today trying to prop up the fading electoral hopes of Harry Reid, the President completely forgot that he'd previously denounced corporate meetings in Las Vegas as unseemly and gambling trips to Las Vegas as irresponsible. Suddenly, he was cheering for the Vegas tourism industry he'd done such harm to earlier.
But this is really about dentistry. Presented with a "What's in it for me?" question about Obamacare from a dentist, the President "hoped" that it would include dental and vision coverage. Hey, the new plan that Obama, Reid, and Pelosi have been crafting in secret is reportedly all but finished — so he should know what it includes, shouldn't he?
According to the President, cavities in children are a "huge" national problem that hinders their ability to get a good education. Really.
And he wants everyone to floss. I wouldn't be surprised if the new Obamacare plan included an individual mandate to floss. And wash behind your ears.
Later this week I'll head to Nashville, where I'll have the honor of speaking with members of the Tea Party movement. I look forward to meeting many Americans who share a commitment to limited government, common sense and personal responsibility. This movement is truly a grassroots, organic effort. It's not a top-down organization; it's a ground-up call to action that already has both political parties rethinking the way they do business.
From the town halls last summer to the protests and marches in the fall to the game-changing recent elections, it has been inspiring to see real people — not politicos or inside-the-Beltway professionals — speak out for common-sense conservative policies and values. As with all grassroots efforts, the nature of this movement means that sometimes the debates are loud and the organization is messier than that of a polished, controlled machine. Legitimate disagreements take place about tone and tactics. That's OK, because this movement is about bigger things than politics or organizers.
Of the many falsehoods, misstatements, and disturbing statements the President made in his State of the Agenda speech, one that Ed Morrissey called attention to really struck me (emphasis by Morrissey):
We find unity in our incredible diversity, drawing on the promise enshrined in our Constitution: the notion that we are all created equal, that no matter who you are or what you look like, if you abide by the law you should be protected by it; that if you adhere to our common values you should be treated no different than anyone else.
As Morrissey observed, this is so wrong in so many ways.
First, it's not a notion, it's a principle. But I suppose to a post-modernist Alinskyite admirer of Said and Chomsky, notions and principles are pretty much interchangeable, both just pieces of some narrative.
Second, it's not "enshrined in our Constitution," it's from the Declaration of Independence. Epic fail.
Third, the notion that only those who "abide by the law" and "adhere to our common values" are protected by the Constitution is truly disturbing. Especially coming from someone who once taught Constitutional Law.
And since I'm growing more paranoid by the day, I have to wonder what exactly, in Obama's eyes, qualify as "our common values." By his criteria, I'm not at all sure I'm protected by the Constitution.
Morrissey asked an interesting question:
And if Obama really believed what he said, then why is he trying terrorists (who clearly reject our values and refuse to recognize our laws) in criminal court with these same Constitutional guarantees?
Well, Ed, I'm sure he really believed it when he said it in the context in which he said it. It's part of his narrative for dealing with the Congress and the American people.
Mirandizing enemy combatants who are waging a declared war on the United States and treating them as no different from convenience store robbers is part of a different narrative. Which he also really believes.
We are in deep doo-doo, folks. For three more years.
It permeates the public’s consciousness and Big Media obsessively promotes the perception to our detriment. Yet, like a canker on a suitor, polite Republicans won’t discuss it. No longer, however, can we pretend the issue doesn’t exist. It does and, though painful to admit, we must confront the truth.
Republicans have a “hip gap.”
This is not to say Democrats are hip. People who squander their precious breaths of life poring overDas Kapital, practicing rhythmic chanting with Kindergarten lyrics, chaining themselves to national monuments and/or writing memoirs prior to accomplishing anything are utter stiffs. They can only pass themselves off as cool in comparison to…well, us.
Oh sure, we’d like to think this is just another slanderous Leftist attack on Republicans. But, let’s be honest: a large gaggle of GOPers have yet to put a toenail into the Twenty-First Century’s cultural crosscurrents – or, for that matter, the Nineteenth’s.
Still, let us not curse the darkness. Let us light a cultural candle to illume our whereabouts upon the path to hipness. Thus, the following is a True or False pop culture test.
Take a look, take the test, and report your score. If you can figure it out. 🙂
No, I won't be watching, much less posting about, the President's State of the Union speech (or POTUS SOTUS, as we cognoscenti call it). Even if I didn't have work to do, I doubt I could persuade myself to endure the torture. Later, maybe not until tomorrow, I'll read Vodkapundit's drunkblogging of it, which will probably be as informative as and far more entertaining than watching live.
I predict, though, that the William Warren cartoon below will prove prescient (although I'm sure the presentation will be somewhat more cool and subtle than depicted).
ALG Editor's Note:William Warren's award-winning cartoons published at GetLiberty.org are a free service of ALG News Bureau. They may be reused and redistributed free of charge.
UPDATE: Yep, the cartoon was prescient. And Vodkapundit did a fine job of drunkblogging as usual. But zombyboy had by far the most informative and amusing coverage — an absolute must-read.
Larry Kudlow shares my concern about whether the GOP leadership understands the lesson of the Miracle in Massachusetts. And he notes that Scott Brown owes much of his success to campaigning as a JFK Republican:
… Are the Republicans listening? Do they really understand why Scott Brown was victorious? If they do, why aren’t members of the Republican leadership loudly campaigning for an end to tax hikes, just like Scott Brown?
…
Remember that Brown ran on a JFK/Ronald Reagan platform of across-the-board tax cuts to promote economic growth. Take a look at what the senator-elect had to say during his victory speech Tuesday night:
This [health care] bill is not being debated openly and fairly. It will raise taxes, it will hurt Medicare, it will destroy jobs and run our nation deeper into debt . . . I will work in the Senate to put the government back on the side of people who create jobs and the millions of people who need jobs. And remember, as President John F. Kennedy stated, that starts with across-the-board tax cuts for businesses and families to create jobs, put more money in people’s pockets, and stimulate the economy. It’s that simple.
There you have it. Scott Brown could not have been any clearer. That’s the great thing about his message — its breathtaking clarity. Across-the-board tax cuts and a revival of free-market capitalism on the supply-side.
…
A recent Washington Post poll showed that by 58 to 38 percent, voters want smaller government and fewer government services. This, too, should be the Republican congressional message.
It is, in fact, an economic-growth message, the likes of which we haven’t heard since Jack Kemp promoted it in the late 1970s. And the brilliance of Scott Brown was to use the JFK tax cuts — an across-the-board reduction in marginal tax rates — to attract Democrats and independents to his message.
An across-the-board tax cut is the fairest pro-growth message of them all. Lower tax rates for everybody. Get out of the box of rich people and class warfare. For the Ted Kennedy Democrats, that box has been a loser for decades. But for timid Republicans always on the defensive, now is the time to break out and adopt the Scott Brown theme.
This is what Reagan did. This is why the Gipper touted JFK’s across-the-board tax cuts. Republicans must now be bold and fight for across-the-board tax relief, for families, individuals, and businesses, along with smaller government, fewer services, and across-the-board spending cuts.
That's what the Republican leadership should be talking about: across-the-board tax and spending cuts, not across-the-aisle deal-making. If they want to present a less partisan image, let them embrace the optimistic, pro-growth message of both Reagan and JFK — "across-the-board tax cuts for businesses and families to create jobs, put more money in people’s pockets, and stimulate the economy." Let them embrace JFK Republicanism.
I think that would resonate with voters. And drive the Democrats crazy. 🙂
I've been in the throes of a bad cold all week, and somewhat down as a consequence, but I'm getting over it now — and feeling pretty damned good about how things have been going lately. 🙂 Don't let up, Friends of Liberty, we've got them on the run!
Obama can’t get concessions from the Russians, the Chinese, or the Europeans. He can’t get welfare or energy tax bills through a Democratic Congress. And now he can’t even get a Democrat elected in Massachusetts.
