wet rat's blog
Posted at 9:12pm on Feb. 4, 2008 Newt for VP???
By wet rat
McCain can unify the party very easily. If he selects someone who is clearly a movement conservative leader, then he will be providing an opportunity to set up a future candidacy for someone who might not otherwise be considered viable.
Newt, through a combination of his own actions and those of his adversaries, has eliminated himself from the bench of viable conservative candidates. It's a big loss, because he is a real ideas guy in an era where the electorate is looking for something new. If he had an opportunity to rebuild his personal credibility and a launching pad for a candidacy, that would be welcomed by a significant portion of the conservative base.
There are many other conservatives in similar situations. McCain doesn't need to move left for the general election -- he's been running a general election campaign for eight years while working off the assumption that he can inherit the nomination.
Now I doubt that McCain would indeed pick Newt, but he might very well pick someone who can generate some excitement among the base. Any ideas?
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Posted at 4:35pm on Feb. 4, 2008 Why Romney's Mormonism Matters (and Why it Should Not)
By wet rat
The question of Mitt Romney's faith has come up repeatedly in discussions of his failure to unite conservatives behind his candidacy. Unfortunately, most of the analysis as been narrowly focused on the question of the role of religious bigotry. Perhaps the problem is that each of us enters the discussion with a particular view of the relationship between faith and reason, and we find it hard to understand how that relationship can be markedly different for those of other faiths.
Mitt Romney says that his decisions are made based on analysis of data. He also claims to be a believing Mormon, as opposed to a nonbeliever who has adopted that religion for cultural reasons. People of different faith backgrounds will tend to interpret this pair of assertions in very different ways, as I will detail below. My intent is not to comment on the merits of any particular religious claims, as they are not germane to this blog site. Rather, I am trying to put to text my thought process in evaluating how Romney's faith should influence my vote. Since I have not seen this written elsewhere, I figure it is worth sharing here.
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Posted at 10:03pm on Feb. 1, 2008 McCain gives salve to a wounded GOP
By wet rat
My primary vote went to Mitt a long time ago, so my thought process is more down the line of a premortem. For me, the possibility of having McCain in there is like four more years of Bush with a slightly different seasoning -- some good stances, most accompanied with flawed execution, along with some horrible positions that the Dems can be trusted to effectively implement. However, I can see the attraction McCain has in today's climate.
There is a McCain voter out there who is a conservative Christian and who finally found a pastor in his area who was willing to boldly proclaim the Gospel. The problem is that a few months later he was exposed as an adulterer.
There is a McCain voter out there who finally found the means to invest in a few promising companies. Problem is that half of them were just caught cooking the books.
There is a McCain voter who has seen his son die in Iraq because of incompetence in the procurement system.
There is a McCain voter out there who is being put out of business by a big box store. Republicans say that it is the market at work -- only problem is that the mass retailer obtained the property though an eminent domain action taken in the name of "economic development."
There is a McCain voter out there who sees in financial matters little difference between the rule of law in China and the rule of law in the United States. In both places you need to pay the right people off.
There is a McCain voter out there who trusted the GOP congress to change things back in 1994, and has only seen its leaders fall on account of scandal.
There is a McCain voter who voted for one or more of those fallen GOP leaders.
There is a McCain voter out there who looks at Romney and asks "what's he hiding?"
There is a McCain voter out there who thinks he knows McCain's flaws.
There is a McCain voter who wants a break from surprises.
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Posted at 12:25am on Jan. 31, 2008 Is there an upside to a McCain presidency for conservatives ?
By wet rat
Conservatives should see one upside to a McCain presidency: nobody thinks he represents the base. The GOP is in its current mess because too many people have associated Bush with the conservative movement. As a result, what credibility does the movement have?
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Posted at 4:28am on Apr. 1, 2007 The 2008 Candidates: Who would be the best leader?
By wet rat
A lot of folks have commented about it being a bit early to focus on the 2008 primary. Of course, for activists now is the time to think about whether it makes sense to get involved this cycle, even if the mainstream news coverage is premature. There once was a time when I would be inclined to back a candidate simply because he was calling attention to issues I care deeply about. Today, I need to be more careful with my time and money, and there are lots of other ways to simply promote a cause. If a candidate wants more than just my vote, he needs to convince me that he will be not only good on the issues, but also an extraordinarily good leader.
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Posted at 3:46pm on Nov. 11, 2006 Why should I be a Republican?
By wet rat
Why should I be a Republican?
It is often said that many Democrat voters still think they are voting for JFK and FDR. After this past campaign, I am beginning to wonder if I have hit an age where I am stuck in the past, thinking I am casting votes for Ronald Reagan.
(read more...)
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Posted at 4:26pm on Nov. 10, 2006 New York's Clinton is a hero of mine...
By wet rat
...DeWitt Clinton, that is. His Erie Canal project was opposed by the NYC business elites, but if it were not for the canal, Philadelphia would have grown into a more significant port than New York. NYC as we know it exists because of the canal upstate. Very few people today understand that connection.
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Posted at 12:06pm on Nov. 10, 2006 Will Europe now support the death penalty???
By wet rat
"If sentencing is to be done the first one to be given the most severe sentence this planet has to offer should be the president of the United States, if we're talking about genocidal presidents."
--Hugo Chávez
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/special_packages/5min/15965767.htm
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Posted at 11:38am on Nov. 10, 2006 Pence / Shadegg Action Item Number One
By wet rat
Pence / Shadegg Action Item Number One
The Republicans need to put together a very agressive ethics, earmarking and budget reform proposal ASAP. If the Democrats kill it or water it down, then their campaign image will be quickly shattered. If they support it or push for something even stronger, then they will limit their incumbency protection tactics for 2008.
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Posted at 8:05pm on Nov. 9, 2006 Tim Pawlenty '08?
By wet rat
I haven't heard him mentioned recently, but he is one Republican who successfully swam against the tide. Carcieri is another.
Perhaps machiavel needs to widen his straw poll list a bit.
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Posted at 11:24pm on Nov. 8, 2006 The Disintegration of the Reagan Coalition
By wet rat
Ronald Reagan and his progeny, most notably the 1994 House GOP freshmen, won because they united two unlikely allies. They combined a message of limited government and personal responsibility with a religious and cultural blue-collar conservatism to change the political and social landscape. The Reagan Democrats and the Republican establishment originally found their common ground in anti-communism, but this bond grew strong enough to break down what once were seemingly impenetrable walls.
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Posted at 12:57pm on Nov. 5, 2006 China, Russia and Iraq
By wet rat
Following up on my previous Iraq comments, here's my perception of what is happening on the more diplomatic side.
We know that throughout human history, militaries have constantly shifted between emphasis on mobility and emphasis on hardness.
We also know that the optimum structure for deterring or balancing an emerging empire (such as China) is very different from a counter-insurgency optimum.
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Posted at 8:22pm on Nov. 4, 2006 What does Sun Tzu say?
By wet rat
What does Sun Tzu say?
Sometimes it is difficult to find anyone with sense in the public arena. Perhaps we each suffer from a tunnel vision of sorts? We are trying to look out for our particular interests, which usually are quite detached from the big picture. Our culture has largely rejected the study of the classics, and modern “education” seems to be designed to lead us in rather than out – into life as a good cog.
Hopefully there are some folks out there who are familiar with Sun Tzu. Unlike Clausewitz, Sun Tzu’s words help to make the complex simple. It is far easier to make a living by selling obscurity.
What would Sun Tzu say about our military and foreign policy situation? Here are some thoughts and some questions.
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Posted at 9:29pm on Nov. 3, 2006 Running out of fish
By wet rat
So we're about to run out of fish. That's a problem... but could someone explain this to me...
If there are fewer fish, they'll be harder to catch.
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Posted at 7:05pm on Jul. 17, 2006 A gift of swine
By wet rat
Once there was a small country with a sizable Muslim population that was suffering a great famine. A nearby majority Christian nation, although also relatively poor, happened to find itself with a surplus of swine that year. The leaders of that nation decided to collect part of that surplus for the purposes of providing some relief to their suffering neighbors. The very small Muslim minority in the country protested, and suggested that it would be better to first sell the swine so that halal foods might be provided instead. It would not take very long to make such an exchange.
"But if we wait more people will die!" was the popular cry, and the haram provisions were prepared. Little did that people know that their act of charity would earn them nothing but enmity and scorn from their Muslim neighbors and the ridicule of rich elites throughout the world. And that derision was not undeserved, for they were providing their neighbors with a Satanic bargain -- reject your God if you want to live.
Today, it is those same rich elites who are offering the unfortunate among us a satanic bargain. They are asking American taxpayers to give millions of patients of faith the choice of health in exchange for just a small violation of the fifth or sixth commandment, depending on one's scheme of division. "But if we wait more people will die! There is no time to find ways to make the promise accessible to all, and besides, those people have backwards religions anyway."
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