Conservatism's core principles

Contemplating the long road back from the political wilderness to which the GOP will almost certainly be consigned next week, in the WaPo yesterday former Bush administration strategic advisor Peter Wehner argues that conservatives must stay the course with their "core principles":

"But saying that conservatism is in better shape than the GOP is not to say it doesn't face challenges. It would be silly and self-defeating for Republicans to repudiate conservatism's core principles of a strong national defense, limited government, constitutionalism and protection for unborn children."

Pardon? As Andrew Sullivan points out, there's something wrong with that sentence.

The first three "core principles" are general approaches to governing, but the last one is a specific policy, not a "core principle". (And ironically, it runs counter to the real conservative core principle of limited government and less state intrusion into the private lives of citizens.) The fact that an anti-abortion stance is being identified as a "core conservative principle" is indicative of the religious right's long-term influence on the GOP. When the rebuilding process begins, Republicans would do well to remember that the religious right is in no small part responsible for making the GOP what it is today: unelectable.

Sarah Palin Bye-Bye Watch

The wheels have fallen off the Palin train, the rats are fleeing the sinking ship and the McCain campaign is beginning to realize it has a world-class disaster on its hands. Even her own campaign people are calling Palin "clueless". After a mock debate and town hall presser meant to shore up Palin's coherency, McCain insiders wept openly: "What are we going to do?"

What indeed? The VP debate is looming on the horizon like a thundercloud, and all indications are that Palin will be demolished, squashed like a salmonberry with ease by Smokin' Joe Biden.

Somehow the GOP has to stop that debate from happening. They tried to "delay" it to "an unknown time" (like November 5th). That didn't work. Now what? Will a family emergency call SaWah home to Alaska and Mitt Romney (or someone) heroically step in to pick up the slack? I think that's exactly what will happen, it's just a matter of whether they're smart enough to do it tonight (so it's old news by Monday).

Can you imagine John McCain's brain right now? It must be squirming like a toad. I wonder how he'll do in the debate tonight?

UPDATE: Here we go... Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Furrin Policy Speed Dating

Yesterday the VP candidate brushed up on the mad skillz she needs to run the Free World. Foreign policy? Check!:

"During her first national-television interview as the Republican vice presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin admitted she had never met a foreign head of state before. On Tuesday, she met two of them. As foreign leaders gathered in New York for sessions of the United Nations General Assembly, Gov. Palin discussed national security and energy policy with the presidents of Afghanistan and Colombia."

Oh, SURE she did. That's why the press was allowed to sit in and cover these meetings. But never mind all that. Considering the disaster in progress on Wall Street, she needs a little high finance expertise as well. Quick! Run her by an ATM! Economy? Check!

A whiter shade

GOP: the party of the pale:

"The reception honoring black participants at the Republican National Convention had it all – tasty food, an open bar and a little swag.

The only thing missing was the black delegates."

Gee, I wonder why?

As the GOP implodes

Now that the right-wing seems to have lost its collective mind and the GOP is imploding in a vast sea of bibles and batshit, maybe it would be a good time to wonder: What would "Mr. Conservative", Barry Goldwater, think about Sarah Palin and the religious right?

“I don’t have any respect for the Religious Right.”
“Every good Christian should line up and kick Jerry Falwell’s ass.”
“The religious factions will go on imposing their will on others”
“A woman has a right to an abortion.”
“I am a conservative Republican,” Barry Goldwater wrote in a 1994 Washington Post essay, “but I believe in democracy and the separation of church and state.”

Goldwater on the Repulican Party and the religious right:

"Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them. .....

The religious factions that are growing throughout our land are not using their religious clout with wisdom.... I'm frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in 'A,' 'B,' 'C,' and 'D.' Just who do they think they are?... I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of "conservatism.""

Just sayin'.

$9.11 for Rudy

It's no surprise that GOP preznitial nominee Rudy Giuliani has been flogging the 9/11 horse all through his campaign, but it may have reached past the ridiculous and into the realm of the absurd with this latest gimmick: a fundraising party that asks attendees for -- are you ready for it -- $9.11 per person. Shame, shame. How tacky can you get?:

"A supporter of Rudy Giuliani's is throwing a party that aims to raise $9.11 per person for the Republican's presidential campaign. Abraham Sofaer is having a fundraiser at his Palo Alto, Calif., home on Wednesday, when Giuliani backers across the country are participating in the campaign's national house party night." [...]

"According to the invitation, "$9.11 for Rudy" is an "independent, non-denominational grass-roots campaign to raise $10,000 in small increments to show how many individual, everyday Americans support `America's Mayor.'""

I've always felt that the Republicans' ongoing exploitation of the 9/11 tragedy for political gain is sick and sad, twisted and macabre, but that feeling has really reached critical mass with Giuliani's campaign, and especially this tacky idea for a party. Here's someone else who's disgusted:

"The International Association of Fire Fighters accused Republican Rudy Giuliani of exploiting the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks because a supporter is holding a $9.11-per-person fundraiser for the presidential candidate. The union — already a vocal critic of Giuliani's — said Tuesday that the fundraiser's "$9.11 for Rudy" theme is an abuse of the image and symbols of the 2001 attacks.

"It is nothing short of disrespectful to the legacy of the thousands of civilians and 343 brave firefighters who died at ground zero," IAFF president Harold Schaitberger said.

The campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd called the theme "unconscionable, shameless and sickening." The firefighters' union has endorsed Dodd."

Why doesn't he just change his middle name to "9/11"? Then it's right there in bold type for everyone to see, no fancy fundraising parties or slick ad campaigns required. Cut out the middleman, so to speak -- wouldn't that be the fiscally conservative thing to do?!

Republicans and their memories

Why is it that these guys seem to be perpetually overdrawn at the memory bank? Everyone remembers Alberto Gonzales' compelling testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee:

"I can't remember... I don't recall... I don't remember... I can't recall..."
Now GOP presidential hopeful Fred Thompson has joined the ranks of the memory-impaired with regard to the lobbying work he did for an abortion rights group:

"WASHINGTON - Fred Thompson says he "has no recollection" of lobbying on behalf of a family planning group.

The Los Angeles times reports that back in 1991 Thompson lobbied then President George Bush to relax a regulation that prevents federally funded clinics from offering abortion counseling."

Let's review. On Friday the LA Times (and since then, others) revealed Thompson lobbied for a pro-choice organization in the early 90's. The lobbying alone, regardless of the client, is probably enough to cast suspicion on him in authoritarian circles. One does not question a Republican administration! But when the client is a Planned Parenthood-type pro-choice organization, and the lobbying is for abortion rights... oh, the pearl-clutching and swooning and... quick! to the fainting couch!

On the weekend, "Blogs for Fred" was calling it a "swing and miss" hit piece by the LA Times. Today they're calling it "sloppy", a smear campaign by the left, probably Clinton's campaign. (When in doubt, "Clinton" out.) The latest Rasmussen poll shows that in a Clinton/Thompson match-up, they'd be head-to-head, so this possibility might almost be believable. Except that three days after the story broke, Thompson's campaign should be able to deliver a more substantial rebuttal to the allegation than memory deficit. That's the Answer of Last Resort.

It's actually reassuring to know that Thompson isn't really anti-choice, but not so reassuring that he's willing to lie to make people think he is. And if he became president and had to act that way, then there's really no difference. But come to think of it, if he lied about this his campaign's probably over anyway.

Mutt Romney

The GOP presidential candidates for 2008 are indeed a motley crew, half of them having some scandal or other in their past and the other half being just... insane for lack of a better word. Of the frontrunners, only Mitt Romney has so far been fairly untouched by negative publicity... until last week, when the spectre of Animal Cruelty was discovered looming in Romney's past.

Back in 1983 the Romney family put their Irish Setter ("iSetter") in a cage which was then tied to the roof of the car and took off on a 12-hour Boston-to-Ontario road trip. Woohoo! Vacation! Everyone was happy but Seamus, who was in such gut-wrenching fear that he shat all over the roof of the car.

When I take my dog for a ride in the back of my pickup, I adjust my driving to accomodate her: keep the speed down, no 2-wheeled cornering, and especially no sudden stops or starts. Why? Because it's pretty easy to imagine what would happen if I slammed on the brakes at speed: whatever was in the back (and I do mean "was") would take off like a 747. You have to wonder why Romney couldn't anticipate something as obvious as the terror of hurtling through space in an open cage at 80mph -- for 12 hours straight! I'd shit myself dry, which poor Seamus apparently did.

"The incident: dog excrement found on the roof and windows of the Romney station wagon. How it got there: Romney strapped a dog carrier — with the family dog Seamus, an Irish Setter, in it — to the roof of the family station wagon for a twelve hour drive from Boston to Ontario, which the family apparently completed, despite Seamus's rather visceral protest."

If a guy can't empathize with his own dog enough to imagine (or care?) that a situation might be horrific for him, one has to question his judgment on issues like torture, which thanks to the Bush administration is now something Americans actually have to consider when analyzing candidates. It kind of lowers the bar on what one could assume Romney might consider acceptable interrogation techniques.