Profiles in fear: ‘conservative’ Democrats and THAT WOMAN.

Politico apparently has a sadist running its assignments, because he or she sent out reporters to interview a bunch of ‘conservative’ Democrats to find out whether they’d be willing to let that woman campaign with them – and got everything from uncomfortable silences to Congressmen actually running away. At least, that’s what I’m going to characterize ‘lunging for elevators’ and suddenly remembering that they had meetings that they had to get to right now. And why would this be? Because there’s no right answer to that question:

For these Democrats, many of them part of the right-leaning Blue Dog Coalition, Palin presents a quandary: She’s deeply unpopular within their own party, but in the socially conservative, often rural districts or states they represent, the plain-spoken, wader-wearing Alaska governor has a following.

…hence the running away. There are a lot of Democrats who will be relying on both the largess of the national party and the forbearance of their majority-Republican districts to stay in office past next November. Embracing that woman will infuriate the former, but too-vehemently rejecting her (as in, rejecting her at all) will hurt them with the latter.  Even if you buy into the professional pundits*’ narrative on that woman, it must be admitted that she is popular with precisely the voter demographic that is currently sending a lot of ‘conservative’ Democrats to Congress.  So… well, nobody ever died of shame, right?  So Running Away really is the best answer, especially if you’re not actually mentioned by name.

I’m not going to claim that this was that woman’s plan all along.  In fact, I actually think that the original story got garbled.  But it’s funny to watch them scatter like this.

Moe Lane

*Who also, by the way, were usually astounded about how that man could keep getting his way on the war, not to mention re-elected.

Crossposted to RedState.

The Washington Post is now worried about Democratic tax plans.

Better late, than never?

The Washington Post has come out against the progressive tax raises proposed by Congress to pay for health care. It does so reluctantly – it’s not against the principle of progressive taxes generally – but apparently they feel that the combination of Medicare cuts and wider-than-expected targets for the surcharge are just unacceptable.

…in principle, higher taxes for the well-heeled could make sense — as part of a broader rationalization of the unduly complex tax code.

But there is no case to be made for the House Democratic majority’s proposal to fund health-care legislation through an ad hoc income tax surcharge for top-earning households. The new surtax would hit individual households earning $350,000 and above. It would start at 1 percent, bumping up to 1.5 percent at $500,000 in income and to 5.4 percent at $1 million. The new levy would begin in 2011 and is supposed to raise $540 billion over 10 years, about half the projected cost of health-care reform. The rest of the money would come from reduced spending on Medicare and Medicaid — though the surtax for the lower two categories would jump by a percentage point each in 2013 unless the Office of Management and Budget determines that the rest of the bill has saved more than $150 billion.

[snip]

The long-term deficit is driven by the aging of the population as well as by growing health-care costs, both contributing to Social Security and Medicare expenses. There is simply no way to close the gap by taxing a handful of high earners. The House actions echo President Obama’s unrealistic campaign promise that he can build a larger, more progressive government while raising taxes on only the wealthiest.

To evoke one of my favorite authors, it would be unseemly for me to ask: Continue reading The Washington Post is now worried about Democratic tax plans.

Tea Partiers get apology for insult by town.

Hey, guess what? This show up en masse stuff works!

PORT ST. LUCIE — After a week of complaints about a sign at Freedomfest on July 4, city officials apologized to the Treasure Coast Tea Party.

“It was not our intent to interfere or cast dispersions on the tea party,” said City Manager Don Cooper, who took responsibility for what he called a “bone-head decision.”

About 75 members of the anti-tax group attended the City Council’s Monday night meeting looking for an apology.

Via Instapundit. I have to say, this ‘getting out and marching’ thing is jolly good fun, isn’t it? We should do it more often. As in, ‘whenever we get annoyed at something.’  It certainly seems to get results.

Moe Lane

PS: Still think that it was a good idea to give the American Right a taste for activism, kids? – because ‘high inertia’ is a double-edged sword.

Please, by all means: laugh.

Crossposted to RedState.

How to end a fight with your partner.

Cynthia Yockey couched it in terms of how to save your marriage, but I imagine that it works in all sorts of domestic partnership situations.

“I’m sorry. You were right, dear, AND, I was wrong.”

Yes. Sometimes you’d prefer to have your teeth pulled without anesthetic, I’m sure.

Moe Lane

PS: What? No, no fight with the wife; although it’s a darn good thing that my memory got jogged about the necessity of getting the oil changed today.

Today is the last day of Scott Ott’s pledge drive.

He is running for Lehigh County Executive against entrenched Democratic incumbent Don Cunningham, and on a ticket of fiscal responsibility:

…he is of course well known to us as a long-time political wit and satirist (this is one of his latest works); but he’s extremely serious about this race, and he needs our help. So, if you have anything to donate, you can do it here. Remember: the cavalry isn’t coming to save us. We’re the cavalry.

And we are perfectly capable of saving ourselves.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D, PA-11) babbles about maglev trains.

Well, first he was babbling about how nobody expected unemployment to get this high, and how he didn’t vote for the stimulus because it wasn’t big enough, and then he got into the entire maglev thing… anyway, I’ve cut up and laid out the relevant bits. It needs a soundtrack, but I couldn’t think of anything that would mix nonsensical and doom-laden well enough.

You know what would make me happy? The NRCC coming up with a good challenger to this guy (who, might I add, took money from notorious, now-raided-and-defunct lobbyists PMA Group). That would make me happy.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Annnnnd the Northeastern potato/tomato crop is at risk.

(Via Instapundit) Apparently, it’s going to be that kind of year:

Late blight, which caused the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s and 1850s, is killing potato and tomato plants in home gardens from Maine to Ohio and threatening commercial and organic farms, U.S. plant scientists said on Friday.

“Late blight has never occurred this early and this widespread in the United States,” said Meg McGrath, a plant pathologist at Cornell University’s extension center in Riverhead, New York.

[snip]

The disease, known officially as Phytophthora infestans, causes large mold-ringed olive-green or brown spots on plant leaves, blackened stems, and can quickly wipe out weeks of tender care in a home garden.

McGrath said in her 21 years of research, she has only seen five outbreaks in the United States. The destructive disease can spread rapidly in cooler, moist weather, infecting an entire field within days.

Fortunately, unlike the 19th Century Irish we’re not even remotely reliant on one staple for our food source; doubly fortunately, the Great Hops Crisis of 2008 has passed. Still, the last thing that we need right now is higher food prices in anything.  Particularly french fries and pizza.

Yeah, I thought that I would make sure that the problem was made clear to everybody.

Moe Lane