GOP Vixen

Appease In Our Time

                                                                                                                                                                                        Why is it when President Bush mentions appeasement everyone, particularly Democrats, automatically think of Obama? Shouldn’t that be the real story?

A new low for Barbara Boxer

This from The Politico:

"While Pope Benedict XVI's historic visit to Washington received wall to wall coverage, Sen. Barbara Boxer briefly held up a Senate resolution welcoming the pontiff because she objected to language about how the pope values 'each and every human life.'

The measure later cleared the Senate Thursday afternoon after the sponsor of the resolution, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), dropped the reference to 'human life' because some Democrats saw it as a reference to abortion. According to Republican aides, Brownback, a devout Catholic, did not want a high profile fight over the resolution, which was adopted on a voice vote. In fact, Brownback blackberried his staff from the Pope's mass at Nationals Park to direct them to drop the references to human life.

...'There was some politics involved here, and the objectionable language has been withdrawn,' a senior Democratic Senate aide said.

Three Senate Republican aides involved in the issue say that Boxer objected to the 'life' language, which Democrats see as an implicit reference to the Catholic church's opposition to abortion."

This was the part of the original resolution they raised a fuss over:

"Whereas Pope Benedict XVI has spoken out for the weak and vulnerable, witnessing to the value of each and every human life;"

Wow. WOW. Unfreakin' believable. How completely cold-blooded has American politics gotten when lawmakers object to giving value to human life? "Objectionable language"??? Particularly in praising the good deeds of the pope?

In the pic, btw, Benedict is celebrating life -- his 81st birthday, to be exact. Surely that shameless celebration of human life will earn him a censure from the Boxer wing at this rate.

Obama Greed; Audacity Indeed!

Consider this: Michelle Obama works for the University of Chicago Hospital as vice president for community affairs making a cool $121,910 salary. Just after Mr. Obama takes office, Mrs. Obama’s salary jumps more than 2 ½ times to $316,962! Shortly thereafter, Mr. Obama requested an earmark for $1 million to construct a hospital pavilion for…..the University of Chicago Hospital! Can't wait to see the McCain ad on this.

Now it seems Obama has suddenly found earmark religion. Although McCain’s plan to stop earmarks for one year was soundly defeated in the Senate, both Obama and Clinton voted for the ban. Obama even tried to take the opportunity to take a poke at Clinton. Obama pledged to not seek earmarks even if the earmark ban failed, and then challenged Clinton to do the same. This gives the impression that Obama is against earmarks while Hillary is not. You have to hand it to Obama; he is a master of perception.

I wonder if anyone will ask Obama or Clinton what it says about their leadership abilities when neither can muster up more than four democrat votes for a bill they both support.

Take Note McCain

Geraldine Ferraro is upset. After years of being a democrat insider and working for, and with, minorities of every stripe, Ferraro has been called a racist. Decades of public service were no shield after Ferraro suggested that Obama’s candidacy might have more to do with his race than his lofty achievements. The caterwauling is so loud you might have thought Ferraro had been caught with some of Robert Byrd’s bed sheets in her linen closet.

Although the Clinton campaign has apologized, Ferraro is not backing down. Ferraro insists the Obama camp is playing the race card and publicizing her remarks in order to flog Clinton. The irony seems to be lost on Ferraro that the Clintons have been using that tactic on republican opponents for years, but John McCain should take notice. Obama and his camp will try to paint McCain and anyone working for him a racist at the drop of a hat. If Obama’s people are willing to suggest longtime Democratic Party stalwarts like Bill Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro are racists, what can we expect them to say about republicans?

C'mon, Spitz, resign already...

So I've heard the argument all day on TV: If politicians had to resign for being unable to control their sexual urges, we'd have no politicians left. Yeah, no great debate there. But Eliot Spitzer paid for sex, thus breaking local law, and paid to transport his call girl from N.Y. to D.C., thus breaking federal law. Break the law, step down. It's not a "personal" matter.

Plus, the affair should call into question his money-managing skills as governor, too. Five grand for an hour or two? Potentially $80,000 spent over his career as a high-class john? That averages out to about 16 moments of, er, sexual satisfaction for the price of the first house my parents bought. Undoubtedly, he thought the money was buying his anonymity (though he used a friend/donor's name without the guy's knowledge -- nice!) and buying his secrecy (yeah, that worked really well).

So Spitzer should wipe the Gumby look off his face and call it a day.

Incidentally, I was at the Mayflower hotel a little over a year ago, but all I got was an omelet from a book publisher who wanted to yap about ways to stick it to the left. She should have left the cafe, gotten in the elevator, went about eight floors up, and gotten the story, evidently...

Plus, the affair should call into question his money-managing skills as governor, too. Five grand for an hour or two? Potentially $80,000 spent over his career as a high-class john? That averages out to about 16 moments of, er, sexual satisfaction for the price of the first house my parents bought. Undoubtedly, he thought the money was buying his anonymity (though he used a friend/donor's name without the guy's knowledge -- nice!) and buying his secrecy (yeah, that worked really well).

So Spitzer should wipe the Gumby look off his face and call it a day.

Incidentally, I was at the Mayflower hotel a little over a year ago, but all I got was an omelet from a book publisher who wanted to yap about ways to stick it to the left. She should have left the cafe, gotten in the elevator, went about eight floors up, and gotten the story, evidently...

Look Hillary, a Code Word

Is it just me or is anyone else taking a certain amount of pleasure in watching Hillary become the victim of identity politics. For years Bill and Hill kept blacks voting democrat by beating the drum that all republicans are racists. Even if a republican never said anything remotely racist, they would still be accused of using "code words" which democrats would claim had nefarious intent. They taught their minions well.

Now Bill Clinton, the first black president, is being accused of using racist code words and Hillary is paying the price at the polls. The Clinton’s once loyal black following is now voting for Omaba in near republican proportions. Even Al Sharpton is telling Bill to shut up and Jesse Jackson is accusing brother Bill of using code words. I’m ashamed to admit that all this just makes me smile. Republican schadenfreude baby!

To be fair to Bill, some of the code words he is accused of using are "young" and "inexperienced" which hardly seem racist. But that’s the point; saying someone is racist for no good reason was never fair, and republicans have been treated unfairly for years.

The truth is that Obama is young and inexperienced. Does saying that make me a racist? Therein lies the problem for the Obama camp; as they falsely accuse people of perceived racism, it will only serve to divide people along racial lines and Obama needs whites and Hispanics to win the presidency. This also severely undercuts his claim to be a unity candidate.

Still, watching Bill squirm under the charges of using code words sure is fun to watch. Sweeeet justice.

Finally....

  The field starts to thin tonight. Obama has the mo in the Democrat primary and I look for him to take the brass ring in Iowa. The real dogfight for the Democrats will be in New Hampshire where Clinton seems to be holding firm. An Obama victory in Iowa will put New Hampshire into play and likely bring out the long knives.

On the Republican side, John McCain is currently experiencing his own surge. Romney has been looking increasingly desperate with his attacks on Huckabee and McCain. Romney does have the best machine in Iowa though so you cannot count him out. Still, I think Huckabee wins Iowa because he connects so well with people.

The big story out of Iowa will be Thompson. Most people do not realize that Thompson is a good friend of McCain and was a McCain supporter before he got into the race. If Thompson drops out tomorrow and announces that he is backing McCain, then McCain will be the real winner coming out of Iowa. If Thompson can hang on until after New Hampshire, his endorsement may be able to propel McCain to later primary victories.

The Next Cold War?

One disturbing item that has not gotten a lot of press but has raised some eyebrows is the recent refusal of China to allow U.S. ships port entry into Hong Kong. Two of the ships were minesweepers trying to escape a cyclone. In cases where ships are trying to escape a storm it is customary for any country to allow ships into port no matter where they are from. Initially, the Chinese tried to say it was all a misunderstanding but soon blamed the U.S. for the slight. The Chinese claimed arming Taiwan and honoring the Dali Lama was behind their actions.

When you take a close look at what the Chinese have done recently, it’s clear they are looking to challenge the U.S. which could lead to the next cold war. This year alone the Chinese have continued to deploy missiles aimed at Taiwan, conducted a provocative satellite destroying missile test, and have started to pursue building aircraft carriers and stealth fighters. At the same time, China has allied itself with Iran and is cozying up to Russia.

While building up its military might be dismissed as the natural progression of a developing country, flipping off the U.S. Navy reveal a newly aggressive stance that the U.S. cannot afford to ignore.

Huck is Hot

While on a trip to Atlanta I had a chance to catch the Republican debate. The debate started with Mitt and Rudy hammering each other on immigration and both came out looking bad. You could tell it was a soft spot for both of them since they both looked about as embarrassed as a stripper at a tent revival.

From where I was sitting Huckabee came out on top once again. When he was poked about immigration, Huckabee defended himself rather than try to deflect and make excuses, which made both Mitt and Rudy look worse by comparison. Huckabee also got some more airtime for the Fairtax, which always seems to make the other candidates look uncomfortable. John McCain showed why they are uncomfortable as he tried to pooh-pooh the Fair tax and defend the current steaming pile of crap we now call our tax code. It’s like trying to defend Britney Spears right to have a baby.

I was pretty amused when one of the questions basically asked Ron Paul if he was a complete nut. Paul basically answered he wasn’t completely nutty or at least not as nutty as some of his followers. Paul’s answer won the award for the most disturbing of the night.

Oh, and Fred Thompson was there too. Still no pulse.

Mid East Reruns

  Bush is trying to get folks from the Middle East around a table to sing a few choruses of cumbuya and I just keep hearing this must be bad because it’s Bush’s party. Somehow, people have the idea that Bush is only doing this because he is trying to build a legacy. Yeah, you know you are going to make a lot of progress when the Saudis tell you they won’t even shake hands with the Israelis right from the git go. Let’s get real, every president holds one of these dog and pony shows just to show he cares even though he really thinks they all act like a bunch of childish asses. So this is really little more than the obligatory meeting where the president gives the Rodney King, "can’t we just all get along" speech. The only president that built a legacy on Mid East peace was Jimmy Carter. Good job Jimmy! Think Jimmy Carter’s legacy and a toilet bowl flashes through your mind. Hell, Billy Carter has a better legacy than Jimmy in my mind.

Not to be outdone Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is holding what appears to be an anti-peace conference in Tehran. The anti peace conference will host the finest Middle East thug groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad. You might wonder what they will talk about since they pretty much agree that Israel should be destroyed, all infidels should die, blah blah blah; but the conference is really quite important when the talk turns to what to name your 76 virgins. After all, you don’t want to be the guy that goes unprepared and has to name one Ethyl.