“Suicide is painless, it brings on many changes”
song from M*A*S*H

The bus is going over the cliff, and no one has their foot on the brakes

Well, it seems we’re already in the political “silly season” for 2008, and 2007 has barely begun. Political campaigning is quickly becoming a permanent state of affairs.

My concern in this essay isn’t whatever candidate the Democrats are going to present (unless they really surprise me and nominate Zell Miller, in which case I’ll vote Dem for the first time in my life). I know what that party stands for, which is basically everything I’m against.

No, my concern is what I see coming from the Republican party. At this time, the two candidates that seem to be getting the most traction – at least if you listen to the MSM as well as the columnists on this site – are McCain and Giuliani.

Let’s take McCain first (and save the “best” for last). McCain, he of the McCain/Feingold infringement of the First amendment, McCain/Reed/et al gun control bill, McCain/Kennedy pro-illegal alien bill, his embrace of the global warming nonsense, the Gang of 14, the Keating scandal… this guy’s a serious candidate for the REPUBLICAN nomination? Sounds more like a lefty Democrat to me.

Further, McCain is constantly touted as a big expert on military affairs because of his war record. Let’s get serious. He was a jet-jockey, a junior officer in Vietnam, who was shot down and became a POW. That’s like saying Custer was an expert on Indian affairs because he was at the Little Big Horn. Any expertise he may now have is due to his experience on the committees on which he’s served while in Congress, just like any other legislator, including those with no prior military experience.

Then there’s Rudy. Rudy, Rudy, Rudy. Sounds like a line from a Cary Grant film. Rudy, as far as I’m concerned, is nothing more than Hillary Clinton without the hair. He’s pro-abortion, pro-illegal alien, and anti-gun. Yeah, he did a good job as New York’s Mayor on 9/11. Does that qualify him for the Presidency? He’s promised to appoint “conservative” justices if elected. A politician’s promise, and we have no track record from which to draw judgments. Second, whose idea of “conservative”?

If you want some idea of Giuliani’s integrity, take a look at the following link:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0212072giuliani1.html

Here’s the problem, as I see it. The Republicans took a beating in the 2006 election. They positioned their whole campaign as an anti-Pelosi tirade, a big bunch of Chicken Littling, and it was a message that didn’t sell. The last big Republican tsunamis were the elections of Reagan, and the 1994 sweep stimulated by Gingrich’s Contract with America. Since 1994, their margins have steadily declined, while at the same time they’ve morphed more and more into Dem-Lite.

Coincidence? I don’t think so.

Apparently, they haven’t yet learned a thing from their defeat. The Republicans are already stumping for Giuliani using the same straw man tactic that assured them defeat last year, this time substituting the name “Hillary” for “Pelosi”. As Einstein observed, insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly while expecting a different outcome each time.

The apologists, on this site and elsewhere, are saying we should simply hold our noses and vote for Giuliani or McCain. But if we do that, what have we gained? We should sacrifice all our principles, the very things that define us as different from Democrats and liberals, simply to have someone in the Oval Office who has an “R” behind his name? Pretty pathetic when a party’s whole campaign boils down to: “Hey, the other guy’s worse than we are”. Now, there’s a battle cry to rally the troops.

There’s also a long-term side effect that should be considered. The moment the Republican party decides they don’t need core/issue voters, their support for conservative issues will disappear like smoke in the wind. Say goodbye to your guns; say goodbye to any chance of getting a handle on the illegal alien problem; say goodbye to any support for the pro-life issue; say goodbye to whatever little fiscal sanity still existed; and say a big hello to higher taxes and more entitlement spending.

I live in Leftifornia, a state with a RINO governor. Believe me, you won’t like it.

In today's LA Daily News, there's an article about the new bills pending in Sacramento dealing with various aspects of the illegal alien problem here in Leftifornia. You can see the article for yourself by clicking the following link:

http://www.dailynews.com/ci_5263223

Be sure to take a look at the chart that accompanies the article by clicking this link:

http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site200/2007/0219/20070219_080502_DN20_immig.jpg

What’s interesting to note is that there are eight new bills pending. Five of them, in line with the will of the people as expressed in previous elections through various ballot measures, would limit or restrict the “rights” of illegal aliens. All of these bills are offered by Republicans.

The other three bills, however – all offered by State Senator Gil Cedillo – would grant rights to illegal aliens. SB60, which Cedillo seems to offer in every single legislative session, is the infamous bill to give driver’s licenses to the illegals.

This particular bill has an interesting history. It passed a couple of years ago just before the election recall of Gray Davis. When the Governator took the election, and promised to veto it, the Sacramento Dems hastily passed legislation nullifying their earlier passage of the bill.

What’s also interesting about this bill is what Cedillo and the bill’s supporters are really trying to accomplish. Their claim is that the bill would legalize the driving that illegals are already doing anyway. But why does Kalifornia need to issue licenses to them? Any valid license issued practically anywhere in the world allows one to legally drive in Kalifornia, as long as the driver is properly insured. Therefore, whatever license the illegal alien is carrying, issued in his country of origin, will serve the purpose. Obviously, their goal is to allow the aliens to more easily assimilate illegally into American society by carrying what is the de facto stamp of legitimacy in our society, a valid and verifiable driver’s license.

Of course, Cedillo’s other two offerings are nearly as bad: a bill to create a state office to help “immigrants” – read that as “illegals” – gain citizenship and assimilate; and one to ensure that illegals can secure state educational aid – read that as “tax dollars”.

But when it comes to this driver’s license issue, Cedillo is the Energizer Bunny of illegal aliens’ “rights”. He simply won’t take “no” for an answer!

There’s a lesson in this for Republicans. Cedillo may be a shill for the illegals, but you have to admire his tenacity. If the Republicans showed half as much doggedness in standing up for their principles as Cedillo, they wouldn’t have nearly as many problems as they currently do.

First, I want to thank all of my friends on this site who have taken the time to check in on my blog, drop comments, ask where I’ve been, send me emails (those who have my personal email address), and otherwise stay in touch and express interest and concern.

You folks are great! Thank you. I appreciate every one of the contacts that have been maintained, every line and email.

I have been off-site since approximately Thanksgiving. In all honesty, the post-election commentary had reached a point that went far beyond boring: "We lost! How could that be?!" "Base conservatives are idiots/traitors!" "Pelosi = Doom of America!" "The sky is falling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Well….. The sky may be falling, but we’re finally out of the political silly season,. And a lot has happened that may be worth a comment or two.

You may also find that there’s a common thread binding my following observations. Let’s see!

The "Surge"

Bush wants to "surge" another division or so into Iraq. I’m a strong supporter of the idea of a US military presence in the Middle East -- see my earlier essays. But sticking more grunts in there without redefining the rules of engagement to allow them to fire upon any and all hostiles only means that we’re sending more target dummies into Iraq. It guarantees a higher long-term casualty count.

Bush is a pathetic President, and refuses to learn from his past misjudgements (with the exception of Meiers); just like his idiotic and slavish devotion to the idea of Amnesty, he seems locked on to the idea that he can create an Israel-type democracy in Iraq.

Lotsa luck on that one, George.

The Republican Party, committed to the idea of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, and slavishly adhering to the idea that trying to emulate Democrats is the way to ensure their own ascendancy, has once again taken the wrong message from the results of the last national election.

Case in point: all the talk about Giuliani as being the next Great White Hope. I’ll preface by saying I detest Rudy. I live in Kalifornia, where we have the Governator, for whom I am proud to say I have never voted. There’s a reason for that: He’s a RINO; runs Right, governs Left. Just like Clinton.

Giuliani’s at least as bad (see my earlier essay "Rudy?… for President?"). Now he’s scratching his back paws in the grass, trying to cover up his earlier liberal statements in an attempt to garner some appeal for conservatives.

Don’t be fooled.

If 2008 is a Rudy v. Hillary contest, I’m staying home.

You’ve just got to laugh at this one! The hubris of Pelosi in demanding a 757 to fly her everywhere, simply so she won’t have to take off her Jimmy Choos in the security line like the rest of the hoi-polloi, is simply priceless.

The only reason the Republicans can’t make the hay out of this that they should is that their own guy, Hastert, started the ball rolling with a smaller version when HE was Speaker.

Pathetic. Another sparkling illustration of why the Republicans have earned their minority status.

Bipartisan hubris, arrogance, and contempt for the electorate. I can’t fault the Democrats; for them it’s simply business as usual.

No, my Finger of Accusation points directly at the Republicans. They have forgotten why Reagan was elected to the Presidency with the largest landslides in modern history. They have forgotten why the Gingrich-engineered "Contract with America" saw the Republican party ushered into majority status with a margin that has been steadily whittled down over every single election since, as they have become more and more simply Democrat-Lite.

Like the bewildered bull staring at the flashing cape of the matador, the Republicans have no idea why they’re getting weaker and weaker, all the while bleeding from the many gashes in their flanks that are solely due to their own inability to grasp the true dimensions of their predicament.