Archive for August, 2008
Who is Sarah Palin?
Posted by Brendan in John McCain on August 29, 2008
Well, I can’t say I know that much about Sarah Palin. But all indications are that she is a conservative governor, mother of five and a reformer. She is pro-life, a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association and a supporter of ethics reform. She is the governor of Alaska, a former mayor of Wasilla and the runner-up in the Miss Alaska pageant.
I am still forming my opinion on Gov. Palin, but at first glance she seems to be a solid choice. I do think that many women will vote for this ticket, which includes a smart, capable woman and an experienced senator who would make a solid commander-in-chief. I’ll be posting more as I find out more about Palin and develop my opinion about her.
McCain probably made a very good choice today, and really took the wind out of the sails of the Obama campaign. This race is going to be fascinating!
UPDATE: Here is what my fellow bloggers are saying about Sarah Palin.
My friend and colleague, Tom, has the best introduction to Sarah Palin on the web. Here it is.
The Fix
Red State
Marginal Revolution
Marc Ambinder
Out of Control
Cranmer
National Review
Hillary Clinton Forum
Tom Gaitens
UPDATE: My boss Dick Armey just made his views known to the public:
“She’s obviously a reformer,” said former House majority leader Dick Armey. If Obama, a first-term senator, tries to question Palin’s credentials, “he will get a big backfire,” Armey predicted.
UPDATE: Club for Growth President Pat Toomey likes Palin:
Palin also won quick confirmation from the fiscal conservative wing of the party in the form of Club For Growth president Pat Toomey. “At a time when many Republicans are still clinging to pork-barrel politics, Governor Palin has quickly become a leader on this issue,” said Toomey. “She is a principled reformer who understands how badly wasteful spending has marred the Republican brand.”
UPDATE: Larry Kudlow sings Palin’s praises on National Review:
In a blog post on the National Review’s web site this morning, Kudlow said he’d be “thrilled” if Palin were the pick. “She’s a strong pro-life, supply-side, drill-drill-drill ethics reformer who has worked hard to change the Ted Stevens culture-of-corruption problem in Alaska,” he said.
UPDATE: Victor Davis Hanson argues that this was a good pick:
The pick appeals to the Hillary independent voter and forces Obama to go easy, since he doesn’t want both a primary and general election in which liberal women thought he and his MSNBC media henchmen took the sexist, mean-spirited low road. Given McCain’s 72 years, women will realize that the role and future of this VP is no token appointment.
Russia blocks Georgia’s main port city
Posted by Brendan in Foreign Policy on August 21, 2008
Regardless whether you believe Georgia or Russia is to blame for the ongoing conflict in the Caucasus, the Russians continue to show that they aim to use the war as an excuse to dominate the Georgians. As Reuters reports, the Russians continue to violate the terms of the cease-fire, and are blocking access to the Georgian port of Poti.
Russian forces dug trenches and built fortifications in key areas of Georgia Thursday, but also rolled columns of tanks north toward home, picking and choosing how their nation would comply with the terms of a peace accord.
Although Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has pledged his forces would pull back from Georgia by Friday, his troops appeared to be in no hurry—even settling down in strategic spots. This raised concerns about whether Moscow was aiming for a lengthy occupation of its smaller, pro-Western neighbor.
Does Olympian Michael Phelps support Ron Paul?
Some of my friends over at the Campaign for Liberty think he might. The word is that his training partner is a donor to the Ron Paul presidential campaign. How cool would it be for Michael Phelps to become a supporter of the freedom movement and even do an ad for Ron, or other limited government conservatives?
Here is an excerpt from the blog chatter on the subject.
His training partner, Erik Vendt, is already a dedicated follower of liberty, a $200 donor to the Ron Paul campaign (on December 16th no less), and doing his best to convince Phelps that freedom works.
Today, we are all Georgians
Posted by Brendan in Uncategorized on August 12, 2008
John McCain put it succinctly and powerfully today when he told the world, “Today we are all Georgians.” I am watching CNN, which is covering a rally in Tbilisi, Georgia where president Mikheil Saakashvili gave an impassioned speech. He quoted McCain and the crowd erupted in cheers.
The Russians seem to be trying to rebuild their lost Soviet empire. It is sad to watch the world stand by helplessly as the Russians roll over a sovereign nation that is moving towards freedom and democracy. There really are no good options, here. Obviously we don’t want a war with Russia, but if the world does nothing, Russia will only set its sights on Ukraine or other former Soviet republics.
In the meantime, McCain’s statement sums up how the civilized world views the events of the last few weeks. We are all Georgians, indeed.
Republicans revolt on energy prices
The Republicans in the House of Representatives have been giving speeches on energy prices in a mostly empty room while the Democrats are on vacation. I have been out of the country and haven’t been following this story until now, but my colleague Nan Swift has been.
The revolt on the House floor will continue until the Republicans can bring the Democrats back from their August vacation to vote on increasing the domestic supply of energy to bring oil and gas prices down. I’m told that some of the speeches have been quite good, and that the R’s might have finally gotten their groove back. Let’s hope so.
I will be on the House floor tomorrow to see with my own eyes what is going on. No cameras are allowed, so I will just have to write updates on this blog when I get back to the office. Will the Democrats continue to ignore real solutions to high energy prices this summer? Time will tell. But it’s good to see the House Republicans finally show some bold leadership, even though the mainstream media is ignoring their speeches.



