Just a few scratched out thoughts, here. Working on a paper. WTF for? Just because.
Bachman Overdrive. Heard Michele Bachmann on NPR this morning, hawking her book “Core of Conviction”. It wasn’t a hardball interview, but not the softest either. Her concept of governance appears to rest on the notion of electing a filibuster-proof GOP majority in the Senate. Short of that, um…. punt, I guess. Interesting, though, that the minimal requirement for running the country is now the achievement of a nearly impossible super-majority in the U.S. Senate. What she either can’t (out of stupidity) or won’t acknowledge is that any Republican majority in the Senate, be it 51 votes or 61 votes, will almost certainly do what the Democrats were too polite to do in January 2009 – essentially gut the power of the filibuster so that they wouldn’t need a super-majority to pass every piece of legislation, no matter how inconsequential. Her party has made filibuster the default condition in the Senate. My guess is that that would change with a change in that house’s leadership.
Mean Little S.O.B. Gingrich has never been a favorite of mine – nor of practically anyone’s, I suspect – but his current campaign for president is remarkably nasty even by his low standard. The only flicker of humanity I’ve seen in him thus far has been his call to implement a bracero-like program for undocumented immigrants who have been here for many years. That will likely cost him with Republican voters, just as it did cousin Rick Perry, who voiced support for education benefits for undocumented youngsters. You could see the stifled glee on Romney’s face when Gingrich rolled out that position during one of the recent debates. No need to worry, though. Gingrich has kept to his standard of dickishness, intoning an almost Nixonian contempt of the Occupy Wall Street movement, exhorting them to take a bath and find a job, etc. Earth to Newt: it’s no longer 1971, man. That dog won’t hunt.
Neocon FAQs. And who was asking the questions at the last GOP debate? War planners Paul Wolfowitz and Fred Kagan, as well as Cheney extreme-right-hand-man David Addington. Little question as to who will be running foreign policy under the next Republican administration. The wild men in the wings are waiting for that call.
No doubt this primary process will result in a GOP candidate that represents the worst and most discredited political tendencies currently on tap. Can hardly wait.
luv u,
jp
