LA's the Place

Nearly everyone has forgotten but LA used to have a slogan. LA City Nerd says bring it back.

News You Can Use

Nearly every lock you have is worthless.

Global Warming Update

Bill has been very good at identifying the flaws in the studies that claim to prove global warming.



Now, some anecdotal data on record cold temperatures this year starting in Florida.

Bush Channels David

W and the Democrats

Some Advice for Democrats

From the 'Conservatives' at LA Weekly.

So Democrats better hurry in coming up with some immediately stirring proposals for both the economy and the war. Better start searching, as well, for at least one or two compelling national leaders who can articulate those ideas in some way other than Kerry-speak. A small raise in the minimum wage, and the obfuscation built into the very word “redeployment,” aren’t nearly enough. The mood of the American electorate revealed on Tuesday is one of angry impatience, an intense distrust of the establishment, which just happened to be recently occupied by Republicans. Democrats, take a few days off to savor your victory. And then take good notice of the way the electorate shook off such reprobates as Pennsylvania’s Rick Santorum and Kurt Weldon, Montana Senator Conrad Burns, Arizona Senator J.D. Hayworth, and a few dozen others as if they were nothing but a bad case of fleas. That they were Republicans was only serendipitous.

Republican Post Mortem from Rhode Island

By putting forth a candidate like Steve Laffey, Republicans could have guaranteed a race in Rhode Island where issues like the economy could have been discussed. The fact that we currently have a great economy, and the way we got to it, was lost to Rhode Islanders this election cycle. The fact that our goal in Iraq and the Middle East is noble, and the fact that in wartime sometimes mistakes are made and things take longer than we would like, was lost in the battle between who was more anti-war and anti-Bush – Chafee or Whitehouse. Talking about these things in the Senate race would have given us the opportunity for those ideas to have trickled down to other candidates – and blunted the effect of the "I hate Bush – No, I hate him more" mantra from both parties a little bit.

Read it all.

My Name is Ralph.....

And I am a recovering Republican enabler.

I have read many commentators following the Democrat’s takeover of congress, but Rush comes closest to expressing my feelings. He said that he feels liberated.

Now I'm liberated from having to constantly come in here every day and try to buck up a bunch of people who don't deserve it, to try to carry the water and make excuses for people who don't deserve it. I did not want to sit here and participate, willingly, in the victory of the libs, in the victory of the Democrat Party by sabotaging my own. But now with what has happened yesterday and today, it is an entirely liberating thing.

I can relate. How many times in the past year alone have I been furious with the failure of my party to rule. It is criminal that a Republican senate could not approve more conservative judges. I don’t claim to understand Bill Frist but he clearly had no interest in disciplining his troops and pushing the Republican agenda. The fact that he could imagine a future as a Presidential candidate is further evidence that the world looks different inside the beltway. I felt bad about hating Frist, helpless about doing anything to change him, and demeaned about giving an impression of confidence and support for his leadership when I am frustrated and angry.

I seethed with every email from Senator Dole asking for money to shore up floundering RINO Lincoln Chaffee in his battle to win the primary against a real republican and then, to add further insult, the RNSC threw even more money down a rat hole trying to get him re-elected.

I bit my tongue when the President never vetoed any of the over-the-top spending bills or even attempted to draw a line in the sand over anything. Then he established a huge new entitlement which didn’t even earn him anyone’s respect and wanted to give away citizenship to invaders.

The house frittered away their majority on non-essentials and only the threat of voter revolt stirred them to action on illegal immigration before they abandoned their posts to seek re-election. The speaker was more motivated to protect a corrupt Democrat than to eliminating pork. Unfortunately, he survived the massacre. But at least he has withdrawn from consideration.

Now all I have left to defend is the President. I never trusted his conservatism and so it is difficult to maintain that he disappointed me. I have, however, always trusted his leadership on defense. Now, the only issue I expect him to fight the Democrats about is the war. I always feared that he was his father’s son. Bush1 got rolled on taxes. Will Bush2 get rolled on the war?

For years I have carried the burden of justifying the Republican quislings in Congress. I am known to my friends as a Republican and therefore the traitors are mine. I am forced to somehow rationalize their betrayal of the voters that elected them as behavior which, in the long run, will accomplish the Republican mission. This rationalization is tiring and demoralizing and now, with the Democrat triumph, I have a whole new perspective. The Republicans I trusted to support my conservative principles abandoned me. They still claim the Republican Party and claim to represent the principles which I thought I shared with them. If they are the Republican party then I am not a Republican.

After their betrayal, they can no longer count on my automatic support. I demand accomplishment first. I don’t know how they can manage this as minority party but it’s no longer my problem. I am not claiming them until I see something worth claiming.

Finding the Soul of the Republican Party

In their rush to select new leadership, the Republican congress runs the risk of alienating further what remains of it's loyal supporters. Each of us needs to contact our congressman (those of us who still have republicans) to urge their serious attention to this task and to select the best candidates. I sent this letter to my congressman today.

The Honorable John Doolittle
2410 Rayburn HOB
Washington D.C. 20515


Dear Congressman:

Congratulations on surviving the recent election. Despite un-proven allegations about your relationship with Jack Abromoff and reservations on my part about your commitment to a solution for the Social Security problem, I was happy to give you my vote on Tuesday.

Now I ask your commitment to electing strong, new leadership to the house. It is clear that current leadership failed us badly and must be replaced. It is equally clear that the new leadership must have strong commitment to Republican principles and be committed to knocking heads when necessary to keep members in line. I am dismayed that there is a rush to elect the new leadership and fear that this rush will do nothing but produce a leadership which differs from the old one only in the faces. I frankly distrust current leadership and ask you to search diligently for strong candidates that can lead the party back to majority status.

Your experience in Congress should provide a good background to identify and support strong candidates and I expect you to do nothing less. Please resist the rush to a decision. Use your influence to delay the election to allow more time to find and research candidates for the new house republican leadership. And finally, identify candidates which, from your experience, will be able to lead the party back to Republican principles and the hearts and minds of the voters.

You and the remaining Republicans in the house will have challenges in the next two years. I have higher expectations from you now because so much is depending on how Republicans manage their minority status. It has to start now with strong new leadership. Take your time and find the right people. There is great interest from Republicans and a focal point to examine dandidates positions in the blogging community, I encourage you explore the questions posed to candidates by voters and their responses here.


Sincerely,

Why I voted for...

RIght Wing Duck finds a reason to vote for Tom

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High on Believing

If you have voted today then indulge yourself with David.
I believe!

Jihadists Support Democrats

Get yourself over to Powerline and read the details.

Europe is Pelosi's America

Americans can already see what their country’s future will be if they vote for Pelosi and her band. They only need to watch Europe. That is what America will be like 20 years from now if the Liberals succeed

Brussells Journal says that Europe is way beyond the US, but even as their world falls apart around them they pull an Alfred E. Newman.

In this scenario Europe has more to lose than America. That makes it all the more surprising that Europe’s politicians refuse to support America. They seem to be hoping that the Muslims, although they despise the Europeans, will leave them alone so they can carry on paying the taxes that the immigrants live off. I fear it will not turn out this way. Moreover, the funds are running dry because the welfare state hampers wealth creation.

New York Times Proves Saddam Had WMDs, WMD Programs!!!

In an attempt to discredit the Bush Administration, the Times acts like Karl Rove's house paper...

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I Don't Vote for Democrats

because they are going to get me killed!
HT Wizbang