I wrote several weeks ago about my appearance on The Global Current. Days before the election I was on again, along with representatives of the College Democrats, College Republicans, and Young Socialists. For those of you that missed that live roundtable, here’s the video footage:
Overall I thought it went pretty well, although I think it could have been a bit more lightly moderated so there was more interaction. It also didn’t help that there were four of us and only a half hour for the show.
As I write this I’m watching McCain give his speech closing his campaign. Time to face the future. Nothing is going to be gained by crying about these results, we need to hit the ground running.
First things first there needs to be a serious reevaluation of what the movement stands for. Do we make the attempt to rebuild the Reagan coalition? Or does the movement fragment, with the social and fiscal conservative wings pulling apart into different parties? Or does a whole new route get charted, something like Douthat’s “Sam’s Club Conservatism?”
Whichever it is, something needs to be done, and I think it needs to take the following points into account:
Immigration – we can’t continue to maintain the anti-immigrant stance. Regardless of it’s against “illegal immigration” the perspective is only Democrats don’t hate brown people. So long as we keep this up we risk turning the Latino and Asian votes into the next Black vote.
Serious fiscal responsibility – tax cuts are key, but it’s no longer enough to just run on them. We need to rebuild the center right brand as being the cause of both low taxes and low spending.
Ron Paul Republicans – they can’t be disregarded. They need to be acknowledged and brought in, particularly concerning monetary policy and foreign policy. Don’t go all the way, but incorporate some policy proposals (i.e. close some foreign bases in the likes of Japan, rein in the Fed a bit, etc.)
The internet – this election proved we’re far behind here. It’s time for us to catch up.
All of these things are already being discussed, with the best talk I’ve seen happening over at TheNextRight, especially what Soren Dayton, Patrick Ruffini, and Jon Henke have been writing. It’s going to be a rough 4 years, but it’s a good opportunity for the center right to come out stronger than it’s ever been.
I should have made these a lot sooner, but there’s still time before the election, so here are my endorsements.
President: Bob Barr OR John McCain
I’ll explain myself here. My vote (via absentee ballot) was cast for Barr. I think he is the best choice of all the presidential candidates. However I also recognized that I vote in a very blue state, and as a result, my vote has no real meaning in electoral terms. It’s only value is as a statement of preference and adding to the popular vote percentage in hopes of shifting the debate in a more libertarian direction.
Therefore, if you live in an already decided state (red or blue) my endorsement is for Barr. However, for those persons that live in a swing state, I have to reluctantly recommend McCain. He’s wrong on a lot of issues, but he’s also right on some, and where he’s wrong he’s not as wrong as Obama. The single vote still doesn’t count for much, but when it might help swing a state away from Obama than self-defense is more important I’m afraid.
MD-01: Andy Harris
Andy Harris is a pretty good guy. I’ve met him a few times over the summer, and while we don’t agree on every issue, he’s still a strong, reliable fiscal conservative with relatively good limited government instincts on a lot of other issues (sadly on foreign and social policy he leaves to be desired).
On the other hand frank Kratovil is a deceptive shill for the Democrat party. He has been trying to sell himself as an independent moderate, but has been quite chummy with Maryland’s worthless governor, Martin O’Malley, and as G.A. Harrison noted, is part of Team Obama. There’s nothing independent or moderate about that.
And as for the libertarian in the race, I’ve heard he’s pretty good on the issues, but he effectively hasn’t run a campaign. I’m all for ideological purity, but it doesn’t need to prevent someone from running a serious campaign as well. Therefore, if you live in MD-01, there’s only one real choice, Dr. Andy Harris.
NJ-10: Write in
I’d offer a recommendation for my other district (where I attend college), but unfortunately there’s only the incumbent Democrat, Donald Payne, and the Socialist Workers candidate, Michael Taber. There’s no good choice between Socialist Lite and Socialist. Write in anyone, it’s a better choice.
And should you choose not to vote, I fully support that decisions as well. But rather than explain why, I’ll let reason do so with their excellent remix of the “Don’t Vote” ad.
I just got an e-mail about some serious Democrat shenanigans in my home of Queen Anne’s County. I’m not surprised, but I am certainly disgusted.
The Democrats took out an advertisement in The Bay Times featuring a message from Susan Eisenhower about why she left the Republican party. Suffice to say it’s a pretty idiotic bit of writing.
She highlights Lincoln, Roosevelt, and her grandfather as examples of the true Republican party – when all three are massively anathemic to the Republican party of Goldwater and Reagan, the stalwarts of true conservative ideology.
She claims all three were supporters of the Constitution, protectors of civil liberties, and advocates of fiscal responsibility – clearly not accurate at all.
And that’s just the start of it. But it’s not the despicable part. That came in the bottom with the authority line. Check it out.
This ad was paid for the Democratic Central Committee of QAC. But you’d never know it by the authority line. As Diana Waterman, the QAC Coordinator of the McCain campaign noted:
The timing of this advertisement does not allow for a Correction or response in The Bay Times prior to the Election. Maybe it was an honest mistake (the treasurer told the Advertising Manager when he called her today, that she thought she had sent it with a correct authority line), but it seems a little suspicious, knowing we wouldn’t be able to refute it or correct it.
Maybe the mistake was innocent, but I have trouble believing that myself, particularly in light of all the other election shenanigans Democrats and their proxies have been pushing. It’s one thing to read about ACORN’s voter registration fraud and other such low-down acts, but to see it so close to home is upsetting.
EDIT: G.A. Harrison has an excellent post about this as well, with links to the full advertisement. Here’s the link.
If you go to, live near, or will be in the area of Seton Hall University (South Orange, NJ) today you should come and check out the political events happening today.
First, at 4:30 pm in the Beck Rooms of Walsh Library, there’s going to be a Student Political Panel Discussion featuring representatives from the 4 political groups on campus: the College Republicans, College Democrats, Seton Hall University Students for Individual Liberty (SHUSIL), and the Young Socialists for Democratic Change.
Second, at 6:00 pm in the University Center Living Room, there will be a Mock Presidential Debate, with representatives from College Dems, College Republicans, and SHUSIL, each acting as a proxy for their presidential candidate (SHUSIL will be representing Bob Barr).
These should both be excellent, so I strongly encourage everyone to come out if they can. And as an additional bonus, I’ll be speaking for SHUSIL at both events.
I’m gonna go ahead and make one election prediction.
No matter who wins, we lose.
Thinking back over this election, the thing that seems overwhelmingly clear is that both Obama and McCain have been running on personality and not issues. And of course, the end result, of either being elected is that the focus will be on them.
This isn’t good for anyone. The Cult of the Presidency has been on the rise for decades now, and it’s as big as it’s ever been. It’s the same culture that allows for a single personality to help drive things like the Patriot Act and the bailout (not that he didn’t have help, but the presidential obsession is a clear boost).
Both of the major candidates would only drive this trend further, and that my friends is change we can believe in. Believe in, and then die a little more inside.
I just saw a great press release put out by Americans for Tax Reform. Simply put, it was calling out Obama for his enthusiasm for “spreading the wealth” while he’s been personally benefiting from the current lower tax rates he’s been campaigning against.
Personally I think it’s a great suggestion and look forward to hearing that Obama has cut the check ATR proposes. The press release is below the cut.
WASHINGTON, DC—Americans for Tax Reform today challenged Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) to put his money where his mouth is and pay up on his “tax gap.” Specifically, if Obama’s tax-increase policies had been in place since 2001, he would have paid $250,727.70 in additional income taxes. This does not even count the additional Social Security payroll taxes he would have had to pay under his tax-increase plan, nor any interest or penalties.
“Obama talks a lot about ‘spreading the wealth’ and ‘redistributing income,’ said ATR President Grover Norquist. “Maybe he ought to start by ‘making a sacrifice’ to the federal Treasury as part of his ‘patriotic duty.’ We’ve even included a check for him.”
The Obama Tax Gap*
2001: $420
2002: $585
2003: $910
2004: $0
2005: $60,257
2006: $27,002
2007: $161,555
Total Tax Gap: $250,727
*Assumes that the 33% and 35% tax brackets were in fact 36% and 39.6%
### Americans for Tax Reform is a non-partisan coalition of taxpayers and taxpayer groups who oppose any and all federal and state tax increases. For more information, or to arrange an interview with Mr. Norquist please contact John Kartch at (202)785-0266 or by email at jkartch@atr.org.
Thinking about this election and my thesis, I’ve got to wonder, “What’s happening with the tax issue?”
Obama is probably set to be the next president of the United States, and he’s been running on a plan that he openly admitted is about “spreading the wealth around.” In previous years this would set a lot of people off, but a good chunk of the electorate is calmly accepting it. What’s the explanation? I’ve got a few thoughts:
1). We have lost the war on taxes, at least for the foreseeable future. Through Obama and others the Dems successfully re-framed the issue in such a way that Americans have accepted tax hikes and soaking the rich.
2). We’ve only lost a small battle. They haven’t successfully re-framed the issue, Obama has just run rhetorical circles around McCain and people have bought into his message of Hope, Change, Puppies, and Rainbows.
3). We’ve only lost an election. The Dems still haven’t managed to re-frame the issue – in fact all they did was appropriate the Right’s framing on the issue. After all, Obama keeps talking about his middle class tax cut, and the message of cutting taxes is bolstering his charasmatic appeal.
4). I’m wrong and McCain pulls the election off, prolonging the fight without changing the status quo any.
Of them all, I feel like 3 is the most probable. Obama has repeatedly been using the language of the Right, while slightly subverting it to fit his own goals. Tax cuts AND Fairness, Spreading the Wealth AND Helping Small Business.
This is horrifying to see, but it is beautifully crafted and planned rhetorical warfare. I don’t know who it is that is running this part of Obama’s campaign, but they are good. This is far better than George Lakoff’s “turn taxes into membership dues” proposal for getting the Left control of the tax debate.
And it worries me a lot more because of that fact. If the GOP, libertarians, and other small government activists don’t step up their game in the coming years, especially 2010 and 2012, and take the fight back to the Dems rhetorically, in ways that will connect with modern voters, and with proper spokespeople, we might be seeing another 1920′s with the voice of limited government exiled to the wilderness for another generation or two. Maybe even all the foreseeable future the way politics is played now.
The right is definitely getting clobbered this election, but I’ve got at least one thing to be excited about. From Roll Call,
The first order of business for House Republicans returning from an expected bruising at the ballot box: how badly to punish their leaders. Internal speculation of a bloodletting at the top has grown amid the rank and file’s rejection of the $700 billion Wall Street bailout package and as GOP prospects have dimmed.
This should have been demanded as soon as they rammed the bailout through, and definite plans needed to start developing once it was clear that voting for the bailout had serious negative electoral implications.
So thank goodness for that. House GOP leadership is awful. We desperately need someone in charge that listens to the Republican Study Committee, they’re pretty much the only good guys we’ve got in there (besides Ron Paul).
I was just checking through my blog subscriptions when I saw a piece by Patrick Ruffini over at TheNextRight that confirmed something I’ve been thinking for a few weeks now.
Republicans aren’t going to win the presidential election. I’ll admit, obviously there’s a slight chance McCain could pull through, and the left has a decent history of pulling defeat from the jaws of victory. But the fact is, barring some unforeseen massive game-changer, Obama is walking away the winner, and I’ve accepted that.
The problem is that not enough other people have. The RNC is focused only on the presidential, and that is a disastrous plan in my opinion.
What we need to do is treat this election like Dole’s. It was acknowledged relatively early on that he couldn’t win so resources were instead focused in on House and Senate races. That’s what we need to do here – if the Dems get 60 votes in the Senate the U.S. is pretty much fucked.
Luckily I think there’s still time and if heavy amounts of resources – the RNC, the Campaign for Liberty, and the others – pulled their resources from McCain and reallocated them around the country in a number of close races I think the GOP should be able to keep the Dems from getting a filibuster proof majority.
And if that goal is met, I think we’ll be ok. Obama and the Dems won’t be able to pass much, and with a pretty much guaranteed economic downswing for the next few years, ownership for it should transfer to the Dems, laying the groundwork for a congressional revival of real conservatives in 2010.
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