Brownback wants to stay in Iraq and the Middle East permanently, "invited" by the Kurds and the various Iraqi regions. (The Rebuilder makes a concession to reality and realizes that partition is the most likely fate for Iraq.)
Huckabee: "We have to consider the surge." Uses the old Colin Powell / John Kerry line about "you break it, you bought it." Grief.
Big back-and-forth between Huck and Paul. Goes something like this:
Ron Paul: "The American people didn't go in. ... A small number of people called the neoconservatives hijacked our foreign policy ..."
Huckabee: "We have to be one nation. We can't be divided."
Paul: "When we make a mistake, it's the obligation of the people, acting through their representatives, to correct the mistake, not continue it."
Huck is talking about "honor." Paul asks him how many Americans we have to lose to "save face."
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Who's More Pro-War?
Romney and McCain are now arguing over who is more pro-war: Romney, who says the surge is apparently working, or McCain, who says that it is not apparently working, but absolutely, positively, unquestionably, how-dare-you-suggest-otherwise working.
Now Paul is being addressed again, about minimizing the bloodbath if we pull out, leaving troops in the region, etc. "The people who say there will be a bloodbath are the ones who said it would be a cakewalk." Huge applause from the audience. "Yes, I would leave. I would leave completely." Points out that one of the reasons we were attacked on 9/11 was because of our troops on the Arabian Peninsula. Points out, also, that sabre-rattling toward Iran is making us less safe. "We need a new foreign policy that says we ought to mind our own business, bring our troops home, defend our borders" -- MASSIVE applause. This is a pro-Paul audience.
Moderators are now trying to bait Paul, say we're taking marching orders from al-Qaeda. Paul says no, this is taking our marching orders from the Constitution, which says war has to be declared. Ghouliani-ites and Fox Fascists are booing this response.
Brownback is now blithering. Says he wants a political surge. Maybe he should suggest having the U.S. federal government rebuild the Iraqi family...
Now Paul is being addressed again, about minimizing the bloodbath if we pull out, leaving troops in the region, etc. "The people who say there will be a bloodbath are the ones who said it would be a cakewalk." Huge applause from the audience. "Yes, I would leave. I would leave completely." Points out that one of the reasons we were attacked on 9/11 was because of our troops on the Arabian Peninsula. Points out, also, that sabre-rattling toward Iran is making us less safe. "We need a new foreign policy that says we ought to mind our own business, bring our troops home, defend our borders" -- MASSIVE applause. This is a pro-Paul audience.
Moderators are now trying to bait Paul, say we're taking marching orders from al-Qaeda. Paul says no, this is taking our marching orders from the Constitution, which says war has to be declared. Ghouliani-ites and Fox Fascists are booing this response.
Brownback is now blithering. Says he wants a political surge. Maybe he should suggest having the U.S. federal government rebuild the Iraqi family...
Brownback Gets Booed
Fox asked a man--actually woman--on the street whether there should be a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. She said no and quotes the state motto, "live free or die." Brownback says yes, and gets applause--but also boos. Gee, don't New Hampshirites trust Brownie to "rebuild" their families?
Guns
The audience went wild when the moderator asked Giuliani whether the Virginia Tech shooting might have been averted if the students had been carrying guns. NH is a reliable pro-2nd Amendment state.
Giuliani says he'll let states make the decision about who can carry a firearm.
At last, Paul is being asked a question, about whether 9/11 might have been averted if the passengers had been armed. Goler is asking this question, asking whether jumpy passengers can be trusted with guns. He's misquoting Paul, and Paul is now pointing that out: the airlines are responsible for the passengers, and they, not the federal government, should make the decision. We shouldn't assume the government is going to take care of us.
"Here is one example where the federal government was involved. They messed it up." Paul is getting huge applause. I suspect it'll be another 20 minutes before he gets another question.
Giuliani says he'll let states make the decision about who can carry a firearm.
At last, Paul is being asked a question, about whether 9/11 might have been averted if the passengers had been armed. Goler is asking this question, asking whether jumpy passengers can be trusted with guns. He's misquoting Paul, and Paul is now pointing that out: the airlines are responsible for the passengers, and they, not the federal government, should make the decision. We shouldn't assume the government is going to take care of us.
"Here is one example where the federal government was involved. They messed it up." Paul is getting huge applause. I suspect it'll be another 20 minutes before he gets another question.
Watching and Waiting
Another question for Huckabee. Paul is getting completely excluded. It's flagrant.
Larry Craig's Family Values
Brownback is blithering away about "rebuilding the family." Do you want your family rebuilt by Sam Brownback?
Duncan Hunter is speaking again. Says the Dems would make Larry Craig chairman of a committee. Audience likes it. "What did you do for America today -- that's my model of a Republican," says Hunter. Good grief.
More Romney. It's notable that precisely one candidate on that stage has yet to be asked a question. We're about 10 minutes in, I think...
Duncan Hunter is speaking again. Says the Dems would make Larry Craig chairman of a committee. Audience likes it. "What did you do for America today -- that's my model of a Republican," says Hunter. Good grief.
More Romney. It's notable that precisely one candidate on that stage has yet to be asked a question. We're about 10 minutes in, I think...
Immigration
"People don't go to their contractors and inspect the IDs of their employees"--this is Romney's line for why didn't catch the illegal immigrants working in his own front lawn. I doubt this is going to cut any ice with the public.
Ghouliani says that he made New York a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants only in order to deal with the high crime rates: he wanted illegals to report crimes committed against them, without fear of deportation, so that the criminals can be caught. The audience seemed to like this.
The moderators are asking Huckabee about his claims that immigration restrictionists are racists. He's using the old Newt Gringrich line now about FedEx tracking people. What he hell--who wants the U.S. federal government tracking people as efficiently as FedEx? As if that tracking would be limited to illegal immigrants!
Tancredo is getting the same question about mean-spirited and racist restrictionists. He's accusing Huck, the Ghoul, and the Ken doll of opportunism. That's true, I suppose, and Tancredo may not be an opportunist. But he's a bigger warmonger than any of them, which is really saying something.
Duncan Hunter, zzzzzzzzz.......
Now it's going back to Giuliani and Romney again. I get sick of Fox giving so much face time to these guys. If you have a debate with all the candidates, give them all face time. Not that one expects fairness from this network--or any other!
McCain is seguing from immigration to war, talking about the conferring of citizenship upon foreign nationals who sign up to fight in Iraq. He'd like Max Boot's idea of an American Foreign Legion, I suspect.
C'mon, let's hear from somebody who's for less government -- not this joker Romney, who just said he would cut federal funds to "sanctuary cities." Why not just cut the federal funding regardless of whether they're "sanctuary cities"?
Ghouliani says that he made New York a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants only in order to deal with the high crime rates: he wanted illegals to report crimes committed against them, without fear of deportation, so that the criminals can be caught. The audience seemed to like this.
The moderators are asking Huckabee about his claims that immigration restrictionists are racists. He's using the old Newt Gringrich line now about FedEx tracking people. What he hell--who wants the U.S. federal government tracking people as efficiently as FedEx? As if that tracking would be limited to illegal immigrants!
Tancredo is getting the same question about mean-spirited and racist restrictionists. He's accusing Huck, the Ghoul, and the Ken doll of opportunism. That's true, I suppose, and Tancredo may not be an opportunist. But he's a bigger warmonger than any of them, which is really saying something.
Duncan Hunter, zzzzzzzzz.......
Now it's going back to Giuliani and Romney again. I get sick of Fox giving so much face time to these guys. If you have a debate with all the candidates, give them all face time. Not that one expects fairness from this network--or any other!
McCain is seguing from immigration to war, talking about the conferring of citizenship upon foreign nationals who sign up to fight in Iraq. He'd like Max Boot's idea of an American Foreign Legion, I suspect.
C'mon, let's hear from somebody who's for less government -- not this joker Romney, who just said he would cut federal funds to "sanctuary cities." Why not just cut the federal funding regardless of whether they're "sanctuary cities"?
Thompson is AWOL. Does it matter?
That's the first question. Paul says he welcomes Thompson into the race, saying that T. is pro-war and will therefore dilute the pro-war vote, to the benefit of the traditional, antiwar Republican position. Excellent.
Huckabee was kinda funny in his response to the question of why Thompson wasn't there, but McCain just got a bigger laugh with his crack about it being past Thompson's bedtime. (There seems to be a McCain contingent in the room, too.)
Huckabee was kinda funny in his response to the question of why Thompson wasn't there, but McCain just got a bigger laugh with his crack about it being past Thompson's bedtime. (There seems to be a McCain contingent in the room, too.)
"First in the Fall" Debate
The New Hampshire debate is beginning. We'll see whether Wendell Goler again tries to put words in Ron Paul's mouth. This is sponsored by Fox News, so I suspect that's exactly what will happen.
Huge applause for Paul -- vastly bigger than for Tancredo or Huckabee. At least equal to Giuliani, who got a lot of boos as well as applause. Lots of applause for McCain, too, of all things. A moderate amount for Romney.
Sounds like there's a Paul contingent in the audience. There oughta be, this is New Hampshire, after all, home of the Free State Project.
Crikey, the first question is about Thompson. Who cares?
Huge applause for Paul -- vastly bigger than for Tancredo or Huckabee. At least equal to Giuliani, who got a lot of boos as well as applause. Lots of applause for McCain, too, of all things. A moderate amount for Romney.
Sounds like there's a Paul contingent in the audience. There oughta be, this is New Hampshire, after all, home of the Free State Project.
Crikey, the first question is about Thompson. Who cares?
Ron Paul Wins Again, This Time in MD
Ames, Iowa gets most of the attention, of course, but Ron Paul has been doing very well in straw polls elsewhere. The latest is his win in Maryland, where the state party's first vice chairman, Chris Carvey, had this to say:
“The final vote showing Ron Paul won is a lesson for all campaigns of how grassroots politics can make all the difference. The Paul campaign repeatedly e-mailed their base of support to turn out at the State Fair to cast a vote for Dr. Paul, and in doing so, demonstrated that a small organized operation can beat the odds.” Cavey continued, “The Maryland Republican Party’s booth at the State Fair was a huge success. By contrast, the Democrat Party’s booth was a ghost town. Where were the Democrats? They were at our booth signing our petitions opposing tax increases.”
Ames is not the whole game; while Brownback and Huckabee, not to mention Romney, staked just about everything they had on that contest, Paul has been building up, getting his activists out across the country. And his fundraising for this quarter is, I think, going to astonish the establishment. His MeetUp groups competition, which concluded Aug. 30, should net $1-$4 million by itself.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Ron Paul on the Colbert Report
On the record for wanting to abolish both the Department of Education AND UNICEF, Rep. Ron Paul wows Stephen Colbert. The greatest quote to come out of their discussion is the government's use of the term "war." Not only is the federal government and we are in at least five virtual wars right now (Terror, Drugs, Poverty, Illiteracy, Obesity) - pundit curmudgeons have called on real wars because the country has gone soft. How about this, draft all available men into the NFL/NBA/MLB/NHL/MLS to toughen us up. It makes about as much sense, and would be considerably cheaper.
Monday, June 11, 2007
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