This political season conjures memories of a particularly silly night back in those days many of us would just as soon forget.
The occasion was the Michigan-Seton Hall national championship game in men's basketball. A friend and I watched at a bar and, before tip-off, for reasons even NASA would not be able to figure out, we decided to drink a shot for every three-point basket made by Michigan.
Nevermind that Michigan was rather adept in this area. Had it been ninth-grade girls basketball, this would have been a bad idea.
Before halftime, our vision and attention span had regressed to the point we were drinking if a shooter was anywhere near the three-point line. Just to be safe, mind you.
At some point in the second half, we apparently lost the ability to keep track of which team was shooting.
The Tea Party movement specifically and conservatives in general are fast approaching a similar state.
I'm all for the grass roots thing. Getting people interested, and in some cases involved, in politics for the first time is a very good thing.
And I'm all for rooting out the RINOs. People like Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, John McCain, Lindsey Graham ... it's past time to retire them or, at the very least, send them the way of Arlen Specter.
Problem is, far too many people who embarked on this RINO hunt became drunk on a handful of victories the past year and began shooting at any large animal.
Now, it's come to the point they're taking aim at anything on four legs.
I've not known in my lifetime of a politician with whom I've agreed 100 percent. Or 90 percent. Probably not even 80 percent.
Conservatism's Godfather, Ronald Reagan, thought amnesty for illegal aliens a grand idea, for crying out loud. And that was front and center for everyone to see.
Wonder if we dug below the surface what we could find to not like about Ol' Ronnie?
The point is this: Give me any politician with at least a four-year stay in office, and I'll bet you your house I can pick through those four years, day by day, line by line, and find something I don't like. Something that just "isn't conservative enough." Something that smacks of "cronyism" or "good-old-boy politics."
Now that isn't to say people shouldn't have favorites. Or even least-favorites.
Many have crossed the line, though, in supporting one over another.
The infighting among "conservatives" has reached a crescendo, particularly here in Texas, where Debra Medina supporters talk about Republican incumbent governor Rick Perry the way I would about Nancy Pelosi.
No matter. Not yet, anyway.
Most telling will be after the primaries, after some of these Tea Party candidates lose their races, will their supporters line up behind the victors to defeat the real enemies?
How this spring, summer and fall play out in that regard will give us a good indication of how 2012 will come together for the Republican Party.
Because the presidential field is bound to be crowded. Battle lines already are being drawn by a lot of folks who seemingly are as adamant in their devotion to certain candidates as some are to their gods.
When all is said and done in the primary, though, will bitterness leave this party fractured and scuttle the Republican nominee's chances?
Or will a united front emerge to complete a very necessary undertaking?
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Super (or not) thoughts
I love watching sports fans and even the media react.
Sean Payton is being hailed in many quarters as a genius after the Saints cemented momentum in the Super Bowl by recovering on onside kick to start the second half.
This, of course, was after I saw many online screaming for his head after the Saints failed to score on fourth-and-goal in the second quarter.
The undeniable fact is that success dictates emotion where sports fans are concerned. Had the Saints not recovered that kick? No doubt the media, as well as fans of course, would be referring to him in a much different light.
Result notwithstanding, was the gamble worth taking? What do you think?
*****
New Orleans is one of my favorite cities. Well, let's be honest. The Quarter is one of my favorite places.
It's also a source of much frustration.
With all the "scene" stories out of New Orleans this week in the aftermath of the Saints' Super Bowl victory, one theme was constant:
Renewed hope for a struggling city.
First of all, yes, this city suffered a horrific disaster. I've never, nor do I intend to now, belittle that fact.
But reading quotes from people there about the Saints and what it all means, one is left with the impression that a football team hoped enough, and a championship was bestowed upon it.
New Orleans continues to struggle four-plus years after Hurricane Katrina in large part because New Orleans struggled for decades before the disaster. Generational welfare long ago robbed a large part of this city's people of the ability or even desire to do for themselves.
That was never more evident than immediately before the hurricane and most certainly after it.
And now, four and a half years and no telling how many billions of dollars in aid later, a football team's championship, in one New Orleanian's estimation, "gives us hope that good things will begin to happen for us, too."
*****
Would more than a handful of people known what the Tebow ad was about had the Looney Left not lost its mind a month before the game?
And that's not even the most asinine part of this story.
In the aftermath, the geniuses at NOW actually suggested in its criticism of the ad that it glorified violence against women.
Almost as pathetic as criticism of Sarah Palin for having a few words written on her hand.
Sean Payton is being hailed in many quarters as a genius after the Saints cemented momentum in the Super Bowl by recovering on onside kick to start the second half.
This, of course, was after I saw many online screaming for his head after the Saints failed to score on fourth-and-goal in the second quarter.
The undeniable fact is that success dictates emotion where sports fans are concerned. Had the Saints not recovered that kick? No doubt the media, as well as fans of course, would be referring to him in a much different light.
Result notwithstanding, was the gamble worth taking? What do you think?
*****
New Orleans is one of my favorite cities. Well, let's be honest. The Quarter is one of my favorite places.
It's also a source of much frustration.
With all the "scene" stories out of New Orleans this week in the aftermath of the Saints' Super Bowl victory, one theme was constant:
Renewed hope for a struggling city.
First of all, yes, this city suffered a horrific disaster. I've never, nor do I intend to now, belittle that fact.
But reading quotes from people there about the Saints and what it all means, one is left with the impression that a football team hoped enough, and a championship was bestowed upon it.
New Orleans continues to struggle four-plus years after Hurricane Katrina in large part because New Orleans struggled for decades before the disaster. Generational welfare long ago robbed a large part of this city's people of the ability or even desire to do for themselves.
That was never more evident than immediately before the hurricane and most certainly after it.
And now, four and a half years and no telling how many billions of dollars in aid later, a football team's championship, in one New Orleanian's estimation, "gives us hope that good things will begin to happen for us, too."
*****
Would more than a handful of people known what the Tebow ad was about had the Looney Left not lost its mind a month before the game?
And that's not even the most asinine part of this story.
In the aftermath, the geniuses at NOW actually suggested in its criticism of the ad that it glorified violence against women.
Almost as pathetic as criticism of Sarah Palin for having a few words written on her hand.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Texas needs perspective
I have nothing against Deb Medina. Honestly, I don't. I just question this whole thing from the start.
I'm all for challenging the status quo and getting rid of actual RINOs. And there are plenty still to be weeded out. There are, in fact, a number in Medina's part of the state that need to be taken on.
I guess the state legislature or a U.S. House seat didn't pique her interest enough, though. She wants to be quarterback or nothing.
Even though she's thrown very few passes in her career.
This whole grass roots, Tea Party thing is wonderful. Gets folks involved who hadn't been before. Folks with strong values, conservative leanings and all that.
But it needs to be kept in perspective.
An example: Scott Brown clearly won one of the most stunning political victories of my lifetime by winning the Massachusetts special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by the late Ted Kennedy.
Almost immediately, though, people started with the Scott Brown 2012 stuff. The media even started asking whether he had designs on running for president.
Get a grip.
It's one thing to get "real people" involved in the political process. It's quite another to hand control of a cruise ship over to someone whose sailing experience doesn't go much beyond a 14-foot Sunfish.
It's also one thing to challenge the liberal establishment, as Brown did in Massachusetts, and even some of these career politicians who carry an "R" by their names but have scant conservative leanings.
Rick Perry, however, isn't one of those. And all these claims otherwise, from both Medina supporters and the ever-dwindling number backing Kay Bailey Hutchison, are disingenuous at best and outright lies at worst.
Yes, I've seen the list of grievances. Yes, I'm aware that a decade or so ago, he supported this, and under his leadership he pushed that.
Not once in my life, though, have I been 100 percent happy with a politician, and that includes Ronald Reagan.
Bottom line to me is that Texans might need to take a peek outside the borders and catch a glimpse of the hideous shape many states are in these days. By comparison, Texas is faring pretty darn well.
I give Perry props for doing the kind of job that has made that possible.
Disagree with this position or that. Fine. I've had my disagreements with some of his positions, too.
But calling him "too moderate" or "a RINO" is blatant dishonesty.
It just is.
And giving him the boot because someone else thinks, in essence, that "it's my turn"?
That's a position I don't agree with and can't respect.
I'm all for challenging the status quo and getting rid of actual RINOs. And there are plenty still to be weeded out. There are, in fact, a number in Medina's part of the state that need to be taken on.
I guess the state legislature or a U.S. House seat didn't pique her interest enough, though. She wants to be quarterback or nothing.
Even though she's thrown very few passes in her career.
This whole grass roots, Tea Party thing is wonderful. Gets folks involved who hadn't been before. Folks with strong values, conservative leanings and all that.
But it needs to be kept in perspective.
An example: Scott Brown clearly won one of the most stunning political victories of my lifetime by winning the Massachusetts special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by the late Ted Kennedy.
Almost immediately, though, people started with the Scott Brown 2012 stuff. The media even started asking whether he had designs on running for president.
Get a grip.
It's one thing to get "real people" involved in the political process. It's quite another to hand control of a cruise ship over to someone whose sailing experience doesn't go much beyond a 14-foot Sunfish.
It's also one thing to challenge the liberal establishment, as Brown did in Massachusetts, and even some of these career politicians who carry an "R" by their names but have scant conservative leanings.
Rick Perry, however, isn't one of those. And all these claims otherwise, from both Medina supporters and the ever-dwindling number backing Kay Bailey Hutchison, are disingenuous at best and outright lies at worst.
Yes, I've seen the list of grievances. Yes, I'm aware that a decade or so ago, he supported this, and under his leadership he pushed that.
Not once in my life, though, have I been 100 percent happy with a politician, and that includes Ronald Reagan.
Bottom line to me is that Texans might need to take a peek outside the borders and catch a glimpse of the hideous shape many states are in these days. By comparison, Texas is faring pretty darn well.
I give Perry props for doing the kind of job that has made that possible.
Disagree with this position or that. Fine. I've had my disagreements with some of his positions, too.
But calling him "too moderate" or "a RINO" is blatant dishonesty.
It just is.
And giving him the boot because someone else thinks, in essence, that "it's my turn"?
That's a position I don't agree with and can't respect.
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