Comments on The Belmont Club,"The House of the Rising Sun"

During the Republican debates last year I paid attention to the candidates body language and how they interacted. It was very obvious that Mitt Romney was the least popular man in the room. While they all disagreed with Ron Paul on the issues and had an interest in seeing John McCain slowed or had little social rapport with Mike Huckabee it was clear that on a personal level they could all get along. Well maybe not Rudy Giuliani and Ron Paul but on that issue I agree with Rudy. This means exactly as much as it means. The Presidency is not a High School popularity contest and none of those men were running for "Miss Congeniality." On a policy level I had few disagreements with Romney and felt he had a good resume. On the religion issue I thought he got a raw deal and the MSM went into full blown bigotry feeding in an effort to pump up division among the Republicans. Still there is something to be said for the judgement of one's peers. I am on record as noting that the Electoral College is designed, as is a parliamentary system, to use the vetting skills of experienced leaders to select one of their own.

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Peter Boston,
(who explained how Kennedy School grads can cause disasters)
A friend of a friend has a Slinky factory that is underutilized. We can get a Rider attached to the next Interior Department dam authorization bill that will ensure that all airplanes have 10,000 Slinkys attached under the wings to be deployed in the event of emergency. It might save lives, for the children.

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Permit me to riff on my Electoral College, leaders selecting leaders theme. Perhaps for 2012 the Republican Party could pump up voter interest by selecting their candidate through an American Idol/ Survivor hybrid. All the Elected Republicans in each state/territory/overseas unit get to caucus and select three "favorite sons/ daughters." At the first cut we would have a pool of about 160 names. These then get to meet in twelve regional rounds, ten for groups of five states each plus two more for non-state units and the Internet Wild Card entries. This second round would cut the field to 36 names. For the third round there would be a series of responses to public questions in electronic Town Hall format followed by registered party member voting in a system the requires winning applicants to meet a minimum threshold across several regions. The top 12 candidates would be advanced to the fourth level. At levels four, five and six the candidates would meet for public debates and then vote among themselves. This would winnow the field to 8 and then 6 and finally 4 candidates. The 150 plus candidates from the original field would then reassemble, in what could be called the Convention, and pick the 2 leading candidates. The members of the Party would then have a national primary that would select the final standard bearer. This process would last for exactly eight weeks and would rivit the public's attention during an otherwise low ratings period leading into the Fall campaign season.

Change you can believe in.

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buddy larsen,
(who noted that the Black Panther story makes the US a Banana Republic)
Everyone thinks they are the Top Banana going into the monkey. Everybody is the same coming out.

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Unsk,
(who attacked Romney and McCain as "RINOs")
Haven't you figured it out yet? It was the ridiculous insulting and tantrums by paleoconservatives calling a decent honorable, and on most issues worthy and electable, man called John Sidney McCain names like "McShame" that got Obama elected. We did not get into this mess simply because of the brilliant tactics of David Axelrod or the cupidity of the owners of NBC or the intimidation and vote fraud perpetrated by Acorn and the New Black Panthers. We lost the election because to many people who should have known better stayed home or cast some silly minor party protest vote while claiming that the Republican wasn't good enough and that America deserved to experience real pain to purge it of left wing illusions. Well now you have us all experiencing the lesson that rejecting McCain guaranteed would happen. Trillions in wealth are being destroyed, the Constitution and laws are being shredded, millions around the world are being consigned to tyranny and possible murder. I hope you are happy with what you have bought us. If only you were a Moby that said those things intending to help elect Obama and get these results but I suspect that you are not. You will simply protest your sincerity and blame McCain for not being pure enough to meet your ideals.

You may be correct about Romney but let us not make the same mistake twice.

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(regarding Orthodoxy versus Electability)
These things, like most things, go in cycles. In the 1960's the Left Wing true believers broke up the Democratic Party over Vietnam, which like most wars started under the Democrats. That resulted in a string of Republican victories. The Gramscian project of marching back into power has been a result of them learning to be patient and methodical and build alliances. The Conservatives should not abandon their principles, for one thing that is a proven vote loser, but they do need to stay focused on practical politics. To much is at stake to retreat into a cloister.