Today's Funny Politics

I got some good laughs, politically, today. The first was listening to Rush Limbaugh nearly in tears declaring the end of the GOP. If, by the "death of the GOP" Rush means lockstep dittoheads who do his bidding, and only his bidding, I hope he's right. It would be the best thing for the GOP.

If he means the "Reagan GOP", that died years ago. That caused the other part of my laughing at Rush. He whined about the loss of Dennis Hastert's Illinois congressional seat to the Democrats. The thing was, Hastert was one of the leaders of the death of the conservative end of the GOP. Dennis, while out of power, talked of fiscal restraint and smaller government. When the GOP got control of the House (and appropriating money) he was one of the fattest pigs at the trough. He never found an earmark he wouldn't toss into a bill.

He could stand to be reminded that under Reagan, who did get tax cuts pushed through, just like with George Bush's time in office spending went up. It took Gramm Rudman and Gramm Rudman Hollings to get spending under control.

If Rush means the GOP that holds it's breath and stomps it's feet when it doesn't get exactly what it wants in Congress, I hope that one is dead. Just like I hope the Pelosi-Reid Democratic party dies. All or nothing politics, which is what it sounded like Rush was lamenting the loss of has done NOTHING good for the country. If that brand of politics goes away we are all better off.
Rush should keep in mind that St. Ronald was not only the great communicator, but the great negotiator, and was able to move things in goverment not by an iron fist but through shrewd give and take since he never controlled both houses of Congress.

The second big round of political laughs today was a two parter with Barack Obama as the star.

After Hillary crushed Obama yesterday in West Virginia I'm sure John Edwards phone started ringing off the hook with DNC big wigs telling him to endorse Obama NOW!!!! That happened this afternoon.

The party wants, desparately, for Hillary to go away, and quit pointing out that Obama can't win white working class votes, no matter how hard he tries. Somehow a millionaire trial lawyer is supposed to make a millionaire latte liberal look like the new champion of the working guy.

Dick Morris does a good job of pointing out why that group isn't voting for Obama, and why many of them still won't when Hillary is out of the race. Sorry Barack, getting the endorsement of Edwards, who didn't even last to Super Tuesday, won't help you much.

For the record, Senator Obama, your "bitter" remarks, your reverend, and your wife have permanently turned them off. Even your new lapel pin won't help much. Now wearing the flag looks like you are pandering to the folks who called you on it months ago.

The second laugh is Obama campaigning in Michigan. I'm sure that while he was stumping there today, he didn't mention that it was his campaign that kept them from having a new primary where their votes would count. He couldn't, it would have been another example of how the working class whites won't support him.

I'm sure that he didn't mention that at the end of the month, when the rules committee of the DNC meets, his folks are going to fight to keep Michigan and Florida's delegations out of the convention. If those get counted, he no longer gets to claim he won the popular vote.

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Bye Bye Rudy and John

Presidential candidates are dropping like flies after the Florida primary. Rudy Guiliani and John Edwards both dropped out today. I'm not really sure the race is any worse off on either side of the ticket with their departures, either.

While Rudy had some good points, like Romney and McCain he had more than a few liberal tendancies, and I'm not sure with his personal baggage he'd have been the best foe for Hillary or Obama.

Edwards never really had a chance, and was basically running to remind us there are still a few straight white guys in the Democratic party, though no one in the party courts their votes. I personally think John would have had a better chance had he dumped his wife, grabbed a boyfriend, and ran trying to be the first gay president. Let's face it, that silver spoon in his mouth and his $1200 haircuts made his message of being "for the little guy" kind of hard to believe.

It will be interesting to see, if McCain ends up as the GOP nominee, if the 'true conservatives' who claim to hate him are going to be willing to vote for him, or will they sit on the sideline knowing that without their votes Hillary could be the next President. To me sitting out the election would be the ultimate "cutting off of the nose to spite the face" move on their part.

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More Lawyers for Elections?

I'm just wondering, after yesterday's Michigan primary elections if they might not lead to a lawsuit.

Specifically, Hillary Clinton was the only "big name" Democrat on the ballot, and easily won 57% of the vote (uncommitted came in second). But, because Michigan insisted on moving their primary up before February 5th, the party has stripped the state of all of it's delegates.

The GOP also took delegates, but only half of them.

This leads me to wonder, if come Democratic National Convention time, if Hillary trails Barack Obama by less delegates than she would have won in Michigan, could we see a lawsuit over the DNC's actions?

Hillary is smart like a fox sometimes. While both Obama and Edwards managed to get their names off of Michigan's ballots, Hillary didn't, and instead just vowed not to campaign there. It makes me wonder if she hasn't been thinking all along that she'd win the vote (duh) and then try and get the delegates seated if she needed them.

Just a thought.

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Should Iowa Matter?

The title is the real question, should Iowa matter this much in politics? Should a state with 1/2 the average population of US States, no significant minority representation, no real industrial base, and second and third tier urban areas be this important?

The answer is, of course, no. The only reason it is this important is the media has decided it should be. Due to that decision, nearly every other state has tried to move it's primary elections up, to maintain relevance.

Say Iowa's winners, Obama and Huckabee, end up with the nominations? Is that what we 'really' want? On the Democratic side it's possible, on the GOP side, I'd say no. In reality, neither is probably ready for the job. Of course, if voters actually looked at qualifications, not just commercials, Bill Richardson and John McCain would probably have wiped everyone off the map. But voters don't, we don't like to admit it, but we buy the sales pitch, and don't really kick the tires.

Some folks will drop out after today, hopefully Dennis Kucinich and Duncan Hunter (who's probably more qualified than both of the winners) take quick exits. But some folks who might actually be better qualified, and have a chance at winning may leave too. That's too bad; one small; really insignificant; state making that big a difference in how we select our leaders.

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I'm Not A Fan of His, But He Does Have A Point

I'm not a John Edwards fan, however, in this new ad, he does have a point. The question is, are the folks claiming Hillary is "inevitable" listening?



My Guess is no, but you never can tell.

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