Moving Right Along

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George H.W. Bush’s Bane

Now, Barack Obama is a smart man.  And he is surrounded by smart people.  So surely someone is up on that whole “doomed to repeat history” thing.  Which is why I’m amazed that he stated he is “agnostic” on the subject of tax increases for people making less the $250,000, after swearing up and down a stack of holy books during the campaign that this wouldn’t happen.  This, rather famously, is what damaged George H.W. Bush, and may even have cost him the 1992 election.

Now, predictably, he is being called a liar.  Not that I disagree, although the terminology one uses when a politician is caught contradicting themselves is entirely dependent on the whether you support said politician or not.  But, let us be honest in a way that politicians can’t be, dealing with the deficit will almost certainly require some more tax income.  I know that Republicans like to make it appear that the Laffer Curve kicks in at anything over single digits (rather than the 35% to 60% that have been tossed out), so if the rich paid 1% and the po’ paid 2%, the feds would have ample funds, but that is probably not the case, and spending cuts at the level necessary to deal with the issue are not politically workable for either party.

So we need some way of increasing tax revenue, and that probably means everybody is going to be paying a little more.  Personally, I’m convinced that Bruce Bartlett has the right idea, but the fact remains, this is the sort of thing that isn’t just a wedge issue.  This is a rock that campaigns crash on.  Which says something about American politics, that the necessary actions to deal with national problems are politically untenable.

As Seen on National Review

I’m trying to remember, what kind of policies did conservative, traditional, exclusive country clubs have?  Oh yeah, horribly racist ones!

Maybe they should reconsider that ad.  Just saying.

Oh No! It’s the Others!

Some professors think that the new rightwing attack on Obama, calling him a professor, is racist (via JustOne Minute, via Instapundit).  They are, however, just being silly.  Using professor as a smear isn’t about race, it’s about being the “other.”  That doesn’t necessarily include race, though it certainly could.

Let me break it down like a fraction for you.  

Not Welcome

Mark Davis:  if someone doesn’t like excessive/un-American levels of taxation then they are “welcome in any roomful of tea partiers, no matter what views they may hold about God and gays.”

Really?  What about this room? They’d make me feel decidedly unwelcome.

Just a Thought That’s Too Long For Twitter

Something occurs to me. It is a common right-wing criticism that the Obama administration lacks business people. The critique is that the administration is made up of academics and politicians, but no one who’s run a company.

It’s interesting to think that these are the same people who argue against increases in government pay. If you want successful businesspeople to work in government you need to pay them a sufficient amount to make it worth their while. Especially if you are the type of person who argues that the free market is the best motivator as well as the way to seperate the wheat from the chaff.

Just saying.

Mary Jane’s Kabuki Theater

At Frum Former, formerly New Majority, there is a post on the medical marijuana dispensaries of Los Angeles. After bringing up the standard criticism tropes, “it’s easy to get,” “they have pot candy,” the post closes with

Before pushing for further legalization, California should focus on overhauling their current laws.

I respectfully disagree.  What California needs to do is quit the kabuki theater and fronting.

The supporters of medical marijuana often have kind of a wink-and-a-nod quality to them, because they are really angling for legalization.  With that mindset, the fact that the dispensaries are essentially a beard for a functional market, where the price of admission is a prescription and non-standard market lingo, isn’t a big deal.

Now, if the supporters don’t feel this way, they need to come down hard, and enact increased regulation.  If not, don’t.

The opponents, on the other hand, like to say that they just want to make the system more medical.  What they really want, however, is to maintain criminalization as much as humanly possible.  This is why Republicans, tradiditionally big proponents of the free market, are suddenly so down on “profit.”  They should be honest about what they want.

And the people of California should powerfully indicate what they want.  And the best way to do that is to move forward with legalization.  If that is what the people of California want, then steps toward legalization can divorce the “medical” from the “marijuana.”  If they don’t want legalization now, and they vote against it, then regulation is appropriate.

So just stop fronting.  As the kids say.

Police the Movement

Some time ago, a contributor at the Volokh Conspiracy called attention to yet another racist comment by Pat Buchanan.  And, predictably, some in the comments suggested that he isn’t properly a member of the Right.  Why, they ask, is even considered part of it?

Simple, because your luminaries keep bringing him up.  If you want Pat Buchanan out of the movement, tell people like Sarah Palin not to “cite” him. Ever.

Easy as that.

ETA: Not only should Palin not cite Buchanan, she really shouldn’t cite him for the opposite of his argument. The only thing worse then relying upon a crypto-racist is relying on your misunderstanding of a crypto-racist.

All Justice Thomas, All The Time

Or at least for this one post.

First, some interesting and gladdening news.  Apparently Justice Thomas strives to select clerks who aren’t from the Ivy Leagues, and specifically attempts to find fits from his circuit, the 11th (via).  It’s nice to see someone high up in the legal field who isn’t completely wed to elitism.  Bonus points, he specifically calls out bloggers who refer to “lesser” schools as TTT (third tier trash or toilets).  Good on him.

On the other hand, he is also apparently taken aback from liberal criticism of Citizens United.  I hate to be the person saying “but they did it first,” but, well, they did.  Republicans and conservatives just love to go the “judicial activism,” portraying the judiciary as a swarm of black-robed ghouls, looking for any opportunity to remake the nation while sticking it to good Americans.  Suggest that civilian courts can try terrorists?  That cops need warrants?  That the accused have some rights?  Then you are sure to be attacked, and almost certainly via from the right hand side.

Now, I completely agree with Justice Thomas that some criticism “run the risk in our society of undermining institutions that we need to preserve our liberties.”  But let’s remember who does most of the undermining.  And that, as a general rule, the undermining is done in the name of law and order or security.

Colorado Springs Citizens Don’t Need Luxuries, Like Streetlights

Conservative bastion Colorado Springs is about to make some hard cuts due to lack of funding for local government. They’re closing all kinds of things, selling off the PD’s helicopters, and shutting down the streetlights at night.

Presumably, Douglas Bruce is smiling.

One quick anecdote, from a former resident.  In college, the CSPD would routinely scramble the helicopter when one of my fellow students would fire off fireworks.  Bottle rockets, firecrackers, roman candles, whatever.

Feel free to wonder how cost effective it was to task a helicopter to look for people making loud noises and pretty colors.  After that, consider whether the criminality of the act, much less the cost, justified it.