In Which I Become a Conservative

Fallows on False Equivalence
In a fine riposte to Ross Douthat, who claimed that just about everyone in politics has flip-flopped on Privacy and Civil Liberties issues based on the partisan identity of the administration, James Fallows of The Atlantic shows otherwise: The anti-security theater alliance has always included right-wing and left-wing Libertarians (both exist), ACLU-style Liberals, limited-government-style Conservatives, and however you would choose to classify the likes of Bruce Schneier or Jeffrey Goldberg (...

Fallows on False Equivalence
In a fine riposte to Ross Douthat, who claimed that just about everyone in politics has flip-flopped on Privacy and Civil Liberties issues based on the partisan identity of the administration, James Fallows of The Atlantic shows otherwise: The anti-security theater alliance has always included right-wing and left-wing Libertarians (both exist), ACLU-style Liberals, limited-government-style Conservatives, and however you would choose to classify the likes of Bruce Schneier or Jeffrey Goldberg (...

Suburberus
Since the Dawn of Recorded Conservative Time (which began on Jan 20, 1981), a mighty beast has guarded the gates to Republican political success: a three-headed Centrist the Greeks called Suburberus. Legend tells us that Suburberus was developed at the AEI Skunk Works in a join venture between a very busy Conservative Movement and a very lazy Establishmentarian media. For Conservatives, the beast's toxic mantra of "Both Sides Do It" has become the ultimate weapon to simultaneously suffocate bo...

Atlantic Writer: Democrats Are As Pure As The Driven Snow And Republicans Are Nothing But Ruthless And Opportunistic Thugs
Normally the best thing to do with anyone who writes for the company that employs Linda “Report all lies against the regime” Douglas and Andrew “Show me the afterbirth” Sullivan is to ignore them. Sometimes though one of them writes something so ridiculous it’s necessary to call them out on their BS. This James Fallows post is one such time. Fallows was responding to Ross Douthat’s contention that conservative anger about the TSA now and not under Bush is part of the ebb and f

In Which James Fallows Becomes A Conservative (And Misses The Point) - With Bonus Toby Keith Reference
James Fallows engages in a little goodnatured conservative-bashing in his column in the Atlantic today, and inadvertently touches on a point that's genuinely interesting: The TSA case, on which Douthat builds his column, is in fact quite a poor illustration -- rather, a good illustration for a different point. There are many instances of the partisan dynamic working in one direction here. That is, Conservatives and Republicans who had no problem with strong-arm security measures back in the Bu...

In Which James Fallows Becomes A Conservative (And Misses The Point) - With Bonus Toby Keith Reference
James Fallows engages in a little goodnatured conservative-bashing in his column in the Atlantic today, and inadvertently touches on a point that's genuinely interesting: The TSA case, on which Douthat builds his column, is in fact quite a poor illustration -- rather, a good illustration for a different point. There are many instances of the partisan dynamic working in one direction here. That is, Conservatives and Republicans who had no problem with strong-arm security measures back in the Bu...

Liberals and Tories head down to wire in Vaughan
In Monday's three federal by-elections, the Tories appear to have one sewed up in Manitoba while the NDP are looking good for the other in the province, but the third ballot in Ontario is too close to call. And the Liberals likely have the most to lose. VAUGHAN - The Race. This one is just too close to call. Maurizio Bevilacqua has been the Liberal MP here since the riding was formed in 2004 and held precursor ridings since 1988. In 2008, he took nearly 50 per cent of the vote. But Mr. Bevilacq...

Mask-wearing protestors in D.C. can now be arrested
» Wear masks. The American Civil Liberties Union came out against the bill. "It's already unlawful to wear a mask while committing a crime," said Arthur Spitzer, the legal director for the ACLU's Washington branch. "Now they've prohibited peaceful demonstrations when people are wearing masks ... and there are legitimate reasons to Protest outside a house with a mask on." For example, an employee may want to Protest her boss and wear a mask so she won't get fired, he said. Please read our Ab...

TAKE THAT MENORAH AWAY FROM THE CHRISTMAS TREE ! (It's that Stupid, Politically Correct Holiday Season Again)
Tomorrow night is the first night of Hanukkah, Chanukah and/or חנוכה the Jewish Holiday that is spelled a hundred ways in English. Along with the joy of the holiday is the sadness that this minor holiday is continually hijacked by the ACLU and other liberal groups who have no idea what the holiday means. It happens every year at this time: the battles of Political Correctness. When a community puts up a Christmas Tree, one of two things happens. Either there is a battle to ta

We can't blame Rahm, after all
The left has long targeted Rahm Emanuel as the primary reason the White House continues to trade away core liberal priorities in the quixotic quest for Bipartisanship. But Rahm is now long gone. And the White House continues to lead with its chin. It would be nice if we could say the White House has been fighting with Republicans over an extension of the Bush Tax Cuts for top earners, but in reality it's more like they've been meekly not surrendering. Then yesterday, in advance of negotiations...

Beyond "sabotage" - the central issue about the growing political extremism of the Republican Party is that it's undermining fun
An important TDS Strategy Memo by Ed Kilgore, James Vega and J.P. Green In a recent Washington Monthly commentary titled "None Dare Call it Sabotage," Steve Benen gave voice to a growing and profoundly disturbing concern among Democrats - that Republicans may actually plan to embrace policies designed to deny Obama not only political victories but also the maximum possible economic growth during his term in order weaken Democratic prospects in the 2012 Elections. The debate quickly devolved i...

Cher's latest rant about Tea Party shows ugly attitudes about the disabled
Just when you think Cher can't get any worse, she once again described Conservatives, Tea Party members in particular, with language that makes one wonder how she could eat with such a foul mouth. She made her remarks on an appearance with Jay Leno ( see video ) while promoting her copycat movie of Dream Girls, called Burlesque. During her appearance, when referring to Tea Partiers, she called them, "f-ing crazy," which got a loud cheers from the audience. This is not the first time that Cher ha...

By-election loss adds to Ignatieff’s woes
Last updated Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010 12:59AM EST Julian Fantino’s snatching of the Greater Toronto riding of Vaughan in Monday’s federal by-election will further cloud Michael Ignatieff’s troubled leadership and offer a glimpse of a possible Conservative majority government after the next election. The loss of their long-held seat in Vaughan to the Conservatives is disquieting for the Liberals on several fronts. For one thing, the party is 1-for-7 in by-elections under Mr. Ignat...

Is there really any security?
If you want to start a letter-to-the-editor avalanche, just publish an editorial or a column questioning the "security" part of Social Security. Liberals will write, firmly insisting that Social Security is a trust fund, kept in a lock box, that is guaranteed for all eternity. Any claims to the contrary, they will say, are made by fear-mongering right-wingers who are just trying to let big banks and brokerage houses get their grubby hands on all that money. "What money?" co...

By-elections could have major impact on Tories, Liberals
Last updated Monday, Nov. 29, 2010 8:40PM EST The results of three federal by-elections being held Monday -- two in Manitoba and one in Vaughan, north of Toronto -- will not dramatically alter the House of Commons but could have a major impact on the confidence of the Liberals and the direction of the Conservatives. It was a hard-fought battle in Vaughan where the Liberals tried desperately to keep a seat they have held for the past 22 years. The Conservatives pitted their star Candidate, former...

Wikileaks make Hillary look good
Fellow members of the VRWC, even a broken clock gets it right twice a day (provided it is not digital). The Wikileaks show Hillary Rodham Clinton was on top of her game. From the liberal McClatchy News Service: “Seeking a frank evaluation of Argentina’s president, the office of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires late last year to delve into her psyche.” The news service quoted a memo signed CLINTON (doesn’t she know that is cyber s...

Fear Factor: Sarah Palin and 2012
Recently, I attended the Conservatives for Palin, and I gained some insight I think conservatives want to consider moving forward. The group was not like any I have ever known. There were all kinds of people there—Christians, Jews, Hindus, women, men, black, white, Asian, and even Nordic! They were gay, straight, old, young, republican, democrat, Libertarian, and independent, and they all had one thing in common…they believe the stringent adherence to the US Constitution is the answer to t...

Vaughan by-election loss adds to Ignatieff’s woes
Last updated Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010 12:59AM EST Julian Fantino’s snatching of the Greater Toronto riding of Vaughan in Monday’s federal by-election will further cloud Michael Ignatieff’s troubled leadership and offer a glimpse of a possible Conservative majority government after the next election. The loss of their long-held seat in Vaughan to the Conservatives is disquieting for the Liberals on several fronts. For one thing, the party is 1-for-7 in by-elections under Mr. Ignat...

Liberals and Tories head down to wire in Vaughan
In Monday's three federal by-elections, the Tories appear to have one sewed up in Manitoba while the NDP are looking good for the other in the province, but the third ballot in Ontario is too close to call. And the Liberals likely have the most to lose. VAUGHAN - The Race. This one is just too close to call. Maurizio Bevilacqua has been the Liberal MP here since the riding was formed in 2004 and held precursor ridings since 1988. In 2008, he took nearly 50 per cent of the vote. But Mr. Bevilacq...

What would an elected Senate look like?
Last updated Monday, Nov. 29, 2010 7:03AM EST While Prime Minister Stephen Harper has struggled to govern in the face of an opposition majority in the House of Commons for almost five years, he’s recently been enjoying a majority in the unelected Senate. But if senators were elected and limited to eight-year terms, as the Conservative Party claims to prefer, the Red Chamber could be just as tumultuous as its democratic counterpart. Is Harper systematically ‘snuffing’ out democ...

When Do People Care About Civil Liberties? When Their Team Doesn't Run the Federal Government, That's When
Ross Douthat had a timely column in yesterday's New York Times on the warped perceptions of "the partisan mind," a concept that non-Republican/Democrat Libertarians are all too familiar with. Key passage: In the 1990s, many Democrats embraced Bill Clinton's wars of choice in the Balkans and accepted his encroachments on Civil Liberties following the Oklahoma City bombing, while many Republicans tilted noninterventionist and libertarian. If Al Gore had been president on 9/11, this pattern might ...

Is Michael Steele The Best Candidate As RNC Chair?
From PJTV The Real Case Against RNC Chairman Michael Steele RNC Chairman Michael Steele has been the subject of much criticism, and according to Joe Hicks, some of this criticism is warranted. But one thing is certain, race has no place in this discussion, whether it comes from Al Sharpton or any other member of the race obsessed left. Michael Steele We have heard many people, Republicans included, question the wisdom of keeping Michael Steele as the chairman of the RNC. Not sure what I think,...

The Meaning Of "Constitutional Conservatism"
The emergence of "Constitutional Conservatism" as a new aspect of right-wing thought is about nine-parts empty slogan and one-part actual idea. When you look at the actual idea, it's fairly scary. Conservatives are correct that the country has changed its original understanding of the Constitution. Those changes have primarily involved making the country more democratic -- we now get to elect Senators, a privilege many conservatives would like to remove. Another change is that the fra...

The Anti-Democratic Strain in Tea Party Conservatism.
Apparently, you're not a "real" conservative unless you want to amend the Constitution in order to settle scores with your political enemies: Michael Stokes Paulsen, a Professor at the University of St. Thomas Law School in Minnesota, said he was there to deliver bad news. "Washington, D.C., remains in substantial part enemy-occupied territory for those who favor any serious meaningful, permanent reforms that would effectively limit national government," he said. He thinks the federal governmen...

John Conyers Son Uses Govt Vehicle to Party (VIDEO)
Why was John Conyers’ son driving a vehicle paid for by Taxpayers for his Thanksgiving weekend partying? I’ve written a great deal over the years about the exploits of the John Conyers family-Marxist anti-Israel Congressman John Jr., wife/beard Monica, and their sons, including John III .  But unlike the hypocritical conservative blogosphere sheeple, I did not make a Big Deal out of video, last week, showing John Conyers looking at Playboy magazine on an airplane.  Th...