Cognitive Dissonance

Here’s a staggering observation from Jay Nordlinger:
One of the creepiest, most disturbing things about the “war on Rush” — particularly as orchestrated from the White House? Limbaugh is a private citizen. A reader wrote, “The same people who gasped because the FBI surveilled John Lennon are more than happy to have government employees — including [...]

Beyond Parody

Daniel Larison’s take on Michael Steele’s ridiculous hip hop posturing is pretty hilarious. Now Michelle Bachmann – fresh from a crash course in Ebonics circa 1997 – is trying to get in on the action:
As Steele concluded his remarks, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann — the event’s moderator — told Steele he was “da man.”
“Michael Steele! [...]

Fear-mongering is a bipartisan sport

The AFL-CIO’s blog provides a useful corrective to anyone who thought political scare tactics were the sole province of the Republican Party:
Buy American Opponents: Un-American
What do Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have in common?
They both oppose provisions in the economic recovery package that would ensure that taxpayer dollars are [...]

Minority Outreach

Go Republicans!

TPM Election Central notes today that South Carolina Republican Party Chairman and recently declared candidate for RNC chairman, Katon Dawson, was formerly a member of a the 80-year-old whites-only Forest Lake country club.
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In August, Dawson did indeed send a letter to the country club calling for it to open its doors to minorities. But [...]

This Week’s Sign of the Apocalypse

Ashlee Simpson names her son “Bronx Mowgli Wentz.” Newsweek hosts a symposium on her choice.

“The Most Libertarian Part of the Country”

The trouble with Confederate sympathizers is that they tarnish the substantive case for states’ rights. Today on National Review, John Miller interviews H. W. Crocker III, author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War, who jauntily informs us that the antebellum South was “the most libertarian part of the country.” I have several [...]

Wednesday Morning Quarterback

Despite an unhealthy obsession with Brett Favre, I usually enjoy reading Peter King’s MMQB column for Sports Illustrated. This week, he included a segment on football players’ responses to the presidential election. Pretty moving stuff, and I’d recommend giving it a read even if you’re not into sports. But now, the fans have spoken (from [...]

The Way Back

The Other McCain is in rare form today:
Conservatives don’t need a global-warming plan, or a poverty plan, or a health-care plan. We ought to be arguing instead that the problems liberals now “plan” to solve are either non-existent (e.g., global warming) or else are largely the result of the last generation’s liberal “plan.” But the [...]

Astounding

An article manages to lament our ill-treatment of Bush without bothering to discuss the merits of his presidency. But don’t worry – in a decade or two, he’ll be seen as the next Truman.

Words Fail

Wow. And no one at the Fed had second thoughts?

Newsbusted!

They’ve got a heck of a scoop on their hands:
Imagine if John McCain had whispered somewhere that he was willing to bankrupt a major industry? Would this declaration not immediately be front page news? Well, Barack Obama actually flat out told the San Francisco Chronicle (SF Gate) that he was willing to see the coal [...]

Into the Wild

The track record of parties finding their ideological compass in the wilderness is undoubtedly mixed, but this argument is just stupid (emphasis mine):
It’s amazing that some smart conservatives still cling to the “winning-by-losing” strategy, refusing to surrender the lunatic idea that you can build a party’s strength by reducing its numbers. No movement in U.S. [...]

Recklessly Invading Iraq Means Never Having to Say You’re Sorry

Having read John Schwenkler and Daniel Larison on how the Iraq War has undermined Republican advantages on national security, I confess I had some hope that conservatives would repudiate Iraq and embrace a more thoughtful approach to foreign policy. Then I clicked over to this McClatchy poll on the presidential race and found that McCain [...]

I want what they’re smoking

According to Professor Bainbridge, a majority of prominent conservative bloggers still think McCain will win the election:
1) Who do you think is going to win the election?
A) John McCain: 53% (39)
B) Barack Obama: 47% (34)

Ummm, guys?

India Bans Smoking

And according to this Washington Post writer, it’s elitist . . . because it doesn’t do enough to prevent tobacco use in poor, rural areas. Hilariously, not a single contributor to the Post’s roundtable discussion thinks to mention that policing people’s nasty habits is not an appropriate venue for government activism.
Neil Clark may be a [...]

Better Public Figures Needed

Pat Buchanan strikes again:
Has anyone ever asked Joe [Biden] about his own and his party’s role in cutting off aid to South Vietnam, leading to the greatest strategic defeat in U.S. history and the Cambodian holocaust? Has anyone ever asked Joe about the role he and his party played in working to block Reagan’s deployment [...]

We’re Doomed

Jeffrey Goldberg highlights the TSA’s absurd response to his frightening article on airport security (you really should read the whole thing). I’d highlight my favorite part, but there’s so much inanity I can barely stand it. Exhibit A:
The comments about TSA not hassling the reporter for carrying a Hezbollah flag or AQ [Al- Qaida] T-shirt [...]

Euphemism of the Year

It’s true that Professor Ayers participated passionately in the civil rights and antiwar movements of the 1960s, as did hundreds of thousands of Americans. His participation in political activity 40 years ago is history; what is most relevant now is his continued engagement in progressive causes, and his exemplary contribution—including publishing 16 books— to the [...]

Michele Bachmann

Has an odd tendency of referring to herself in the Third Person. Here’s a taste of Bachmann’s latest:
I gotta tell you, liberals just can’t contain themselves around attractive, conservative politicians women (sic) like Sarah Palin and Bachmann. It drives them up the wall.
Undoubtedly so. On a related note, check out her crazy remarks on Obama’s [...]

Understatement of the Year

From the Washington Post’s Obama endorsement:
Not even his fiercest critics would blame President Bush for all of these problems, and we are far from being his fiercest critic.
You don’t say?
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On the substance of the Post’s endorsement, the most worrying thing is the writers’ absolute confidence that an Obama Administration will signal no real shift in [...]