cb.blog

Category: Politics

Pol·i·tics: the art or science of government or governing, especially the governing of a political entity, such as a nation, and the administration and control of its internal and external affairs. Posts in this category pertain to local and national politics.

  • I Love Ann

    Ann Coulter nails the idiocy of the Seven Nitwits:

    The deal they struck, this masterful Peace of Westphalia, simply put into writing the rule that the minority party controls the Senate — which will remain the rule until the Democrats aren’t the minority party anymore.

    If the Democrats had a 10-vote majority, you can be sure they wouldn’t cow-tow to the Republicans under the guise of “minority rights”, “Senate tradition of deliberation”, and “fundamental checks and balance”. They would ram through their Liberal agenda – hard.

    Kinda like what the American people want the Republicans to do with a Conservative agenda, as Ann points out:

    But even so, didn’t we win the last election? Why, yes, we did! And didn’t we win a majority in the Senate? Yes, we did! To be precise, Republicans have won a majority of Senate seats the past six consecutive elections. (And the last six consecutive elections in the House of Representatives, too!)

    I think that means Republicans should win. Republican senators support Bush’s nominees and Democratic senators oppose them. The way disagreements like this are ordinarily sorted out in a democracy is that a vote is taken among our elected representatives, and majority vote wins.

    If the Senate Republicans can’t get it done, I have a two-word suggestion: Recess Appointments.

  • Political Poaching

    RINOs are about to become an endangered species. They are now in season. Seven spineless betraying numbnuts have just sabotaged the clear majority that America sent to the US Senate, and the electorate will not forget. Seven RINOs have just expended the last of their political capital, and we will make them pay.

    More later…

  • Relax, The Adults Are In Charge

    Read the text of the speech given today by Senator John Kyl (R-AZ), as posted at ConfirmThem.com:

    The reality is that the Senate is now engaged in an historic effort to protect constitutional prerogatives and the proper checks and balances between the branches of government. Republicans seek to right a wrong that has undermined 214 years of tradition – wise, carefully thought-out tradition. The fact that the Senate rules theoretically allowed the filibuster of judicial nominations but were never used to that end is an important indicator of what is right, and why the precedent of allowing up-or-down votes is so well established. It is that precedent that has been attacked and which we seek to restore.

    Read the whole thing; it’s worth it. Then compare his words with the illogical rantings of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid.

    Just thank God that the adults are in charge…

  • Name That Speaker

    Senator John Cornryn (R-TX) exposes the blatant hypocrisy of Null Party Senators by using their own words against them, in his Name That Speaker web site. I was going to dig for some of these quotes, but he’s already done it.

    Bring on the Filibuster! The Null Party is about to go down in flames.

    (Hat Tip: ConfirmThem)

  • Official: Senate Democrats Obstructionist Crybabies

    In a statement released today, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott took the Minority Democrat Party to task for shutting down the Senate in an action tantamount to a bratty kid taking his ball – or, more accurately stealing the ball from its owner – and going home in order to prevent the completion of the game he has clearly lost:

    “What a difference a day makes. Less than 24 hours after he complained the Senate is ignoring issues important to Americans, Democrat Leader Harry Reid today threatened progress on an energy bill, a jobs bill, disaster relief, and a closed intelligence meeting.

    “To close down the committees over the judges issue is not only counterproductive, it could hurt Americans looking for work or suffering at the gas pumps.

    “Despite any differences over the judges, the American people want their government to continue working on issues important to them. They want the Senate to do its job.

    “Despite his suggestions to the contrary, Senator Reid’s actions speak volumes. It would appear the Democrats’ threat to shut down the Senate has already begun.”

    This action isn’t even the nascent MSM/Democrat-darling filibuster; what the Democrats are doing is a complete obstruction of the Constitutionally mandated role of the Senate, and abdication of thier responsibilities as Senators. Apparently, these Senators from the Null Party™ didn’t learn the Lesson of Daschle. They will. They are now officially the Deadbeat Party, and they will pay the price for their insolence at the polls.

    (Hat Tip: ConfirmThem)

  • REVIEW: South Park Conservatives: The Revolt Against Media Bias



    The 165-page South Park Conservatives, as pointed out in RedState.org’s review, serves as a primer of the nascent weakening of the Liberals’ oligarchical stranglehold over the dissemination of, totalitarin control over conversation and debate about, and single-mindedly biased news-reporting of political, cultural, and social issues. The book discusses the Conservative revolution Talk Radio, Cable News and programming, Internet News and Punditry, the Blogosphere, the book-publishing industry, and in academia.

    The book is very well-written, informative, and makes for enjoyable reading, but it has one short-coming: the vast majority of the book concerns the outlets of this Conservative revolution, rather than the people driving that revolution. The phenomenon of the revolution itself has been well-documented, from the City Journal article “We’re Not Losing The Culture Wars Anymore” from which South Park Conservatives was born, to Hugh Hewitt’s Blog, which covers most of the same information, but with a focus on how savvy blog-entrepreneurs should take advantage of the phenomenon. South Park Conservatives could have filled an interesting niche had it focused more on its namesake and less on their means of expression.

    The book hints at – but doesn’t delve into – this younger generation of Conservatives as the grassroots support base and incubator for future Conservative leaders. Clearly, the most interesting and insightful chapter in the book, Chapter 8: Campus Conservatives Rising, should have been made the focus of the book (as the title seemingly implies) – along with those with whom they are finding a common voice in the New Media and Academia.

    Missed opportunity notwithstanding, I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants an interesting explanation and discussion of the revolt against “illiberal liberalism” and the people who are driving it.

  • Breaking: SCOTUS Upholds Constitution

    Supports Legitimate Constitutional Function of Federal Government; Prohibits Discriminatory Bans on Inter-State Wine Sales

    GOPBloggers.com reports on the decision yesterday by the Supreme Court of the United States, striking down laws forbidding direct shipments of wine from out-of-state.

    In a long overdue ruling that split Justices Antonin Scalia (who sided with Breyer, Ginsburg and Stevens) and Clarence Thomas, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down state laws forbidding direct shipments of wine from out-of-state. While proponents of such laws used the prevention of underage drinking as their pretext, the Court saw through this facade and acknowledged that the true purpose was simply to protect both in-state wine producers and wine distributors’ profits.

    Great news for my parents, who live in the People’s Republic of Maryland, which, not surprisingly, has some of the most restrictive laws on out-of-state wine shipments. I, on the other hand, live in Missouri, which is already a reciprocity state.

    The post also points out how the CNN report misses the crux of the ruling, referencing the 21st Amendment, rather than Commerce Clause:

    As usual, the MSM gets it wrong. The AP article states that the case centered on the 21st Amendment. While it was relevant, the opinion focused on the fact that the 21st Amendment did not give States the power to discriminate in interstate commernce, so the Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) ruled the day. In this case, laws were ruled unconstitutional because they actually contravened actual constitutional provisions that actually exist. That’s what distinguishes it from run-of-the-mill liberal judicial activism.

    To refresh your memory, the Commerce Clause is as follows:

    The Congress shall have Power…To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

    A further reading of the rest of the U.S. Constitution with respect to limitations on the rights of the States clearly indicates a prejudice against discriminatory anti-competition practices between states.

    The dissenting opinions centered on two arguments: the right of the States to regulate liquor sales, and the impact striking down inter-state wine shipments would have on sales of liquor to minors. However, as the majority pointed out, addressing the first issue:

    The details and mechanics of the two regulatory schemes differ, but the object and effect of the laws are the same: to allow in-state wineries to sell wine directly to consumers in that State but to prohibit out-of-state wineries from doing so, or, at the least, to make direct sales impractical from an economic standpoint. It is evident that the object and design of the Michigan and New York statutes is to grant in-state wineries a competitive advantage over wineries located beyond the States’ borders.

    We hold that the laws in both States discriminate against interstate commerce in violation of the Commerce Clause… and that the discrimination is neither authorized nor permitted by the Twenty-first Amendment.

    And in response to the latter:

    The States provide little evidence that the purchase of wine over the Internet by minors is a problem. Indeed, there is some evidence to the contrary. A recent study by the staff of the FTC found that the 26 States currently allowing direct shipments report no problems with minors’ increased access to wine… Without concrete evidence that direct shipping of wine is likely to increase alcohol consumption by minors, we are left with the States’ unsupported assertions. Under our precedents, which require the “clearest showing” to justify discriminatory state reulation… this is not enough.

    Read the opinion for yourself; the majority completely discredit these claims.

    For those of you soon to be freed from discriminatory out-of-state wine shipment laws, refer back to my post on Missouri Wineries and sample what the country’s first officially designated wine district has to offer.

    Extended coverage:
    SCOTUS Blog
    Fermentations, Again, and ,Again
    Professor Bainbridge

  • It’s About Time

    Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist issued a statement Friday indicating that he will move the Senate into a debate on up-or-down votes for Judicial nominees:

    May 13th, 2005 – Upon completion of action on the pending highway bill, the Senate will begin debate on fair up or down votes on judicial nominations. As is the regular order, the Leader will move to act on judge nominations sent to the full Senate by the Judiciary Committee in the past several weeks. Priscilla Owen, to serve as a judge for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Janice Rogers Brown, to serve as a judge for the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, will be the nominees of focus.

    It’s about time. This usurpation of power and abdication of responsibility – not to mention, abject hypocrisy – by Senate Democrats must come to an end.

    The Democrats are playing a very dangerous game. Aside from setting aside 214 years of Senate tradition, abdicating the responsibility inherent in the advise-and-consent clause, and trying to force an unconstitutional 60-vote majority on Presidential judicial nominees, the Democrats are risking two critical outcomes: 1) they are forcing the Republicans’ hand on the issue, providing them the means and motive, for the first time since they reclaimed Majority status 10 years ago, to act as the Majority party, and 2) the relegation of the Democrat party reputation to that of obstruction, irrelevance, hypocrisy, classlessness, and irrelevance.

    More later…

    (Hat Tip: Blogs 4 Bush)

  • Well, At Least They Admit It…

    Editor and Publisher reports that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch will remain “Liberal” under new owner Lee Enterprises:

    When Lee Enterprises Inc. agreed to purchase Pulitzer Inc. for $1.46 billion, it also agreed that the flagship St. Louis Post-Dispatch will keep its longstanding liberal editorial slant for at least the next five years, according to the purchase agreement mailed to Pulitzer shareholders Friday.

    Well that’s comforting; wouldn’t want the Compost-Disgrace to become, you know, balancecd or anything…

  • United Blogs of America?

    Rebecca MacKinnon asks an interesting question in her post on global blogging, with respect to the lack of global content among the mostly American blogosphere:

    Why don’t American bloggers link very much to bloggers around the world? People in the room suggested there are 2 main reasons: One reason is that they don’t know where to find the good blogs from other countries – unless Instapundit or somebody has linked to them. Another reason is that people don’t have enough context or knowledge about events going on in foreign countries to blog about them.

    Both explanations are plausible, but let me add a third: Sphere of Concern versus Sphere of Influence.

    A huge part of the rise of the blog phenomenon – from the “A-List” to the Tail – at the expense of the MSM is the frustration of literally millions of individuals who recognize the blatantly biased, one-sided, agenda-driven product that for too long has been passed off ostensibly as “news”. As has been detailed in such books as Blog and South Park Conservatives, this disparity led to the rise of Conservative talk radio (pioneered by Rush Limbaugh, and followed by many), the FOX news network, and most recently, the mostly Conservative internet explosion known as the blogosphere. I won’t re-hash that history here; I only mention it as background.

    The blogosphere is a unique addition to this rise of “New Media”. It is the modern incarnation of the combination of the power of Gutenberg’s printing press with the influence of Martin Luther’s ideas. While few bloggers fancy themselves neo-Lutheran in their ability to influence the masses and subvert the controlling authorities in the process, most appreciate their role in participating in that foundational tenet of a free society: the free-flow of information and ideas.

    So what’s my point? Just this: American bloggers tend to focus their work on American issues because it is those issues over which they may – individually for some, and corporately for the rest of us – exert some level of influence. While American bloggers may – and, I would guess, most do (take, for example, Gateway Pundit) – have in their Sphere of Concern global issues, they recognize that such issues are far-removed from their Sphere of Influence.

    Again, the reason that the blogosphere experienced such explosive growth – primarily among Conservatives – is that would-be bloggers recognized blogging as a means to counter-balance the MSM; in other words, the intent of blogging is to exert influence (no matter how minimal that influence may be for anyone not named Glenn Reynolds). It is logical to assume that most bloggers believe their influence could be exerted most effectively with respect to America-centric issues. Coincidentally, the first showdown between “old” and “new” media took place during the most recent American Presidential election cycle.

    If this explanation holds true, then as the blogosphere matures, it will attempt to exert its influence not just in American issues, but in increasingly global issues. (Cases in point: the Darfur crisis and the UN Oil-For-Food scandal.) However, I would go even farther: the MSM focus on several global issues only because those issues are first introduced, investigated, and discussed in the blogosphere.