Skoien wins, but The Fight Continues
ArchPundit
Circle up and fire over at the Leader.
2004
Bad Strategy
Robert Shaw is claiming dead people voted in the March primary. What he isn’t saying is that they probably voted for him.
Someone Slap Joyce with Hardin
It isn’t as if even most conservatives don’t understand the Tragedy of the Commons. Apparently Joyce doesn’t understand that private property rights don’t alway provide incentives to conserve nor do they necessarily protect intergenerational resources.
I defy anyone to find a thesis to the article.
Finally, does anyone actually know anyone who worships GAIA? I certainly don’t and I’ll put money down that my circle of acquaintences and friends is a bit broader than Joyce’s.
ArchPundit In the Leader
I knew I’d get under someone’s skin sooner or later…but alas, it was just a reprint of Michael Van Winkle’s response to the Obama Poll.
Where I think Michael makes a good point, and I may have been unclear, is when he says:
Archie goes on to claim that Ryan shouldn’t be criticizing Obama as “left,” but rather posturing himself as “center.”
While I theoretically agree, in practice the two strategies are concomitant. In order to open up a space in the center, you have to demonstrate that your opponent doesn’t belong there. This is what Phiel is trying to do.
The strategy can work so long as she remembers where, precisely, the middle is. Perhaps her only mistake was not being quite selective enough on her points of attack. After all, it isn?t the primaries anymore; Ryan doesn?t have to worry so much about his base.
The Ryan camp might be more successful if they focus the media spotlight away from “conservative” issues like abortion and gay marriage, and on to more centrist issues like taxes and education.
Painting Obama as left is good strategy, but you have to move yourself ot the middle. There is nothing mutually exclusive about doing both, but Phiel didn’t do that and that was supposed to be my point.
But Michael–Ryan is behind no matter how you cut it. He might be able to catch up with a smart campaign, but clearly, Obama is ahead.
And what the hell is with the Archie thing? (this isn’t just Michael).
It Would Be Easier to Defend O’Hare Expansion
If there weren’t constant scandals popping up.
What do you want me to do, take down my pants?
Why yes, if it would mean you might think about actually caring about corruption.
Special Circle of Hell
For Matt Hale:
“The first person he shot at, the first, ah, Jew — didn’t even hit him. Didn’t even hit their clothes or anything. He chased them around the house,” Hale says, laughing. “He’s chasing this Jew around his house firing at him.”
Note To Stella
Martin O’Malley didn’t come to get Daley’s advice, he came to build a relationship for a future run at higher office. O’Malley is a Governing Magazine coverboy looking to build up national relationships for a future run. If he gets an idea or two, so be it.
Sorry–It was Tax Day Here
And frankly, I’m angry I don’t pay more to Missouri–actually that isn’t true–I pay about the same amount relative to income as I paid in Illinois, but in Illinois I got something for it. It’s that there aren’t other revenue streams in Missouri. Tomorrow will be slow early, but midday there should be an avalanche and then slow again as I head to a candidate forum.
Is He Conservative?
I think Oneman and I are going to have to turn this into a running gag on Ryan. I’m not singling him out as the only one who thinks this, but we seem to comment a lot on this issue back and forth. We both think the other is wrong, but not in a way that makes communicating difficult. Hopefully that will continue.
But today, Ramesh Ponnuru and I come down on the side that Jack Ryan is indeed, quite conservative.
What distinguishes the Republicans’ 2004 candidates is not only how many conservatives they are fielding. It is remarkable how many smart, idealistic, policy-oriented conservatives have a serious chance of winning this year. Here are seven such candidates: Herman Cain, Tom Coburn, Jim DeMint, Jack Ryan, Bob Schaeffer, Pat Toomey, and David Vitter. (They are running, respectively, in Georgia, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Illinois, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana.) These candidates don’t just have good voting records. They have fought for conservative advances on Social Security reform, health savings accounts, spending cuts, and free trade.
Admittedly, I’m pretty much a staunch free trader, but the voters aren’t as much as I am. Later Ramesh compares this crop to the 2002 crop:
The 2002 Senate elections went very well for conservatives, but the potential in 2004 is in this respect greater. Norm Coleman, Elizabeth Dole, Jim Talent, and John Thune were all pretty conservative candidates. But they were, in general, not as conservative as the 2004 candidates mentioned above: Coleman was against drilling in Alaska, and Thune voted for campaign-finance reform.
And he throws Salvi in there too as comparable. All I can say is that if the GOP wants to become that conservative—–PRETTY PLEASE! And damn, I love the median voter theorem.
Every Dollar You Give to Obama
Is a dollar that can be redirected to Colorado, Oklahoma, Florida and South Carolina. Give to the man and help him keep that lead–to the right folks!