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Bush Sums Up Own Presidency

Thursday, December 18th, 2008

Via Boing Boing, of all places, here’s Bush making perhaps the most nakedly precise statement I’ve seen from a politician in ages:

“I’ve abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system.” — George Bush, at 1:40 in this CNN video. (via Slate)
And for me, no matter the context in which he said it (I don’t [...]

A Proper Republican Party Platform – Or a Nudge to Political Independence

Sunday, November 16th, 2008

Had the Republican Party presented this sort of platform, they’d be celebrating and America wouldn’t be facing such frightening prospects:
I voted Republican in 1996, 2000, and 2004. I believe in limited government, individual rights, free market capitalism, a strong national defense, and the right to keep and bear arms – positions that one normally associates [...]

On Limited Government, Conservatives, and Majority Rule

Sunday, November 9th, 2008

P.J. O’Rourke is patently wrong here:
If the citizenry insists that abortion remain legal–and, in a passive and conflicted way, the citizenry seems to be doing so–then give the issue a rest.
The measure of a law’s legitimacy is not whether the citizenry ”insists” on it. In this case, prohibiting abortion would be no more right if a majority [...]

What the Republican Party Should and Shouldn’t Do

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008

Confusing title aside, I essentially agree with this post on Little Green Footballs: Should the GOP Double Down on Social Conservatism?: 
If the GOP decides to go in the Bobby Jindal direction (fundamental Christianity, creationism, hard-line anti-abortionism, aggressively anti-gay rights), it will be committing political suicide. As much as anything else, this election was a referendum on [...]