Republican Party or Toga Party?

The Kent County GOP issued a press release last week with a last minute endorsement of one of the candidates in the 32nd District  primary.  Kind of late notice for the party to be telling the faithful how they're supposed to vote, don't you think?  The primary is this Tuesday, after all.  The rules of the Delaware GOP require fifteen days written notice to all candidates prior to such an endorsement being made.  No such notice was given, but the Kent GOP found a clever way around that.  Here's a quote from their press release.   “Mr. Parrott and Mr. McVay both appeared before the Executive Committee earlier this year seeking our endorsement." What they got wrong here is that Mr. McVay was seeking their neutrality, not their endorsement.  And that "earlier this year" in this case means the first week of June.  That's over three months ago.  At that time, they decided not to make an endorsement.  They said, "It wouldn't be appropriate."  What's changed?

 I had to laugh when I read the press release.  It reminded me of the movie Animal House.  Maybe back in June, they really did make an endorsement, but it was a "double secret endorsement."  So in this scenario, Mr. McVay is the, shall we say "somewhat unconventional" Delta House, Mr Parrott stands in for the preppie Omegas, and I guess that means the Kent County GOP  is Dean Wormer.  Way to go Kent GOP.  Great way to run a political party guys.  No wonder the Delaware GOP is "circling the drain" to steal a phrase from a popular Libertarian blogger.  Mr. Parrott has taken quite a beating in the media for refusing to debate Mr. McVay because of his Libertarian background.  We happen to think Libertarians make better Republicans than Republicans do. 

Ron Paul Owns the RNC

Sick of the Wasted Vote Meme

OK.  So I'm pretty sick and tired of people telling me I'm wasting my vote by supporting Gary Johnson.  I'm really sick and tired of people telling me that a vote for Gary Johnson is a vote for Barack Obama.  News Flash!  My vote for Gary Johnson is a vote for ...Gary Johnson.  Surprise!!!  My vote belongs to me until I bestow it on someone.  It doesn't belong to Mitt Romney.  It never belonged to Mitt Romney.  I'm not stealing my own vote from Mitt Romney.  I believe Mitt Romney is an honorable man.  A little light on convictions maybe, but an honorable man.  I'm sure that my views and his might even align on some things...if I just knew what his views really were.  I also believe that Barack Obama was then, and remains today, a horrible choice for president.  I further believe there is a difference between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, but not enough of a difference.  So I will vote for a candidate who will surely lose this time around.  I will NOT vote for the lesser of two evils.  If Mitt Romney loses this election, contrary to what a bunch of crybaby Republicans will be saying, it will NOT be my fault.  It will be because thousands of voters decided to tell the Republican Party you need to earn our votes.  We reject your choice for president.  And if you do this to us again in four years, we will reject that choice as well.  Good candidates get our support.  Mediocre candidates get rejected.  You believe in competition and free markets?  Well, that's the free market at work.  Liberty may be a niche product today, but we've got big marketing plans for the future, and those plans start with taking market share from both of the big government parties a little bit at a time.  We're not buying an inferior product just because it's more popular. 

But wait, there's more.  I live in Delaware.  We are the Bluest of Blue States.  No matter how I vote, Romney or Gary Johnson, Delaware's three electoral votes will go to Barack Obama.  That is a sad fact for both Republicans and Libertarians, but it is very liberating.  If you are a Libertarian, or an Independent who thinks both major parties have let you down, or even a Republican who thinks their party made a terrible choice for nominee, you can demonstrate your dissatisfaction at absolutely no cost.  You too can "waste" your vote on Gary Johnson, and tell the Republicans, "Seriously?  That's the best ya got?"  Stop thinking about the next four years.  Start thinking about the next forty years.  Stop thinking about yourself.  Start thinking about your children.

Oh, don't believe me about Delaware being a Blue State?  Here are the stats for the last twenty years.

President 2008 61.9% Obama 36.9% McCain 0.6% Nader (Green) 0.3% Barr (L) 53.3% Kerry 2004 45.8% Bush 0.6% Nader (IPOD) 0.2% Badnarik (L) 55.0% Gore 2000 41.9% Bush 2.5% Nader (Green) 0.3% Pat Buchanan (Reform) 0.2% Browne (L) 51.8% Clinton 1996 36.6% Dole 10.6% Perot (Unaffiliated) 0.8% Browne (L) 43.5% Clinton 1992 35.3% Bush 20.4% Perot (Unaffiliated)
I'll be "wasting" my vote for Gary Johnson this year.  You can waste yours on whoever you like.  No consequences. Jess

My Take on Todd Akin: If a Guy's Gonna Get Beat, At Least Let Him Get Beat for the Right Reason

My take on the Todd Akin flap in Missouri is this:  I'm a libertarian, and he's not, so why should I care?  Well I do care.  That's all.  I just do.  The guy misspoke in an interview.  He said two dumb things.  1)  He used the phrase "legitimate rape" and 2) He said something stupid and unscientific about a woman's body rejecting a pregnancy if the sex is not consensual.  He's promptly acknowledged both were wrong, and he has asked the public's forgiveness.  1)  No fair minded, sensible person thinks Akin believes there is such a thing as "legitimate rape"  Just a poor choice of words.  Anybody demagoguing that point is insincere.  Put away the silly "war on women" meme.  2) I'm a health care provider.  Dentist, not physician, but whatever.  You'd be amazed at what otherwise well informed and educated people don't understand about anatomy and physiology.  I hear crazy stuff all the time from my patients.  So the guy doesn't know reproductive science.  Disqualifier for public office?  I don't think so.

The guy's a major religious conservative.  Like it or don't like it, his stance on abortion is principled.  He's asking what about the rights of the fetus.  I know a lot of libertarians who wrestle over abortion because they weigh the rights of the mother over the rights of the fetus and who's doing violence to whom.

But now it gets interesting.  All the big wigs in the Republican party are distancing themselves from this guy.  Romney/Ryan are badmouthing the guy.  Mitch McConnell is badmouthing the guy.  Five current and former Missouri senators are badmouthing the guy.  Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS group is badmouthing the guy and pulling major funding.  John Cornyn, leader of the National Republican Senatorial Committee is pulling $5 million in campaign financing over the remark.  All the "responsible" Republicans are disowning the poor guy.  Why?  Because he's a Tea Party guy,  that's why.  They never liked him in the first place.  Too extreme to beat McCaskill they'll say.  Hell, they might even be right about that.  Think Sharon Angle in Nevada.  But here's the real story.  What they really don't like about him is they know that Tea Party guys don't do what they're told.  They don't "play the game".  At least not until their second term if they get one.  The establishment GOP likes "moderates" because they do what's expected of them once they get elected. They obey the leadership like good Republicans.

Missouri will do what Missouri is gonna do.  I'd love to see Claire McCaskill "retire" from the Senate.  I don't know if Todd Akin can pull that off, especially after this unfortunate unforced error.  But this is a tempest in a teapot.  Akin is no libertarian.  Of that I'm pretty sure.  In fact, the Libertarians actually have a candidate in the race. Jonathan Dine.   So I shouldn't really care.  But I do.  When the media machinery gets ginned up and starts in on the character assassination, I get pissed off.  When every establishment voice in the venerable GOP starts to weigh in against the guy, I really start to smell a rat.  Even if the guy's not my kind of candidate I feel a kinship with him.  And hey GOP.  How stupid are you?  If he refuses to quit the race, you just transformed a race you might lose because you have too extreme a candidate into one you're sure to lose because his own party threw him under the bus.  If somebody's gonna get beat, let 'em get beat for the right reason.

Jess

One Thing Leads to Another and Before You Know It...

My plans for the day have been totally shot to hell. I was originally planning to work on campaign stuff today, but got sidetracked by the story about California approving the start of their High Speed Rail Project. That led to some Google research on the California High Speed Rail Authority, which led to some fairly detailed specs on a similar project in Brazil, which led back to further research on high speed rail technology in general, which led to yet further research on tunneling technology. Net result: No progress on the campaign today, but I would like to direct your attention to this fascinating video on how tunnels are constructed. All in all a pretty interesting if unproductive day!