Time for a Kaine Mutiny?
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The normal posture to assume when an atavistic politician overstays his welcome and blows his exit is to politely divert the eyes in order to avoid embarrassment. But when that departing politician is also the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, it’s hard to overlook a farewell faux pas of disastrous dimensions.
Departing Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine was left with little wiggle room when his heir apparent, Creigh Deeds, got unceremoniously thumped in the recent governor’s race. Deeds had run on a promise to carry on Kaine’s policies – which means Kaine has likely worn out his gubernatorial welcome. And the Old Dominion already has two Democrat senators.
So, what’s a guy to do? Well, in Kaine’s case, self-immolate and see if you can take down the rest of your party down with you.
In Kaine’s valedictory remarks, he unburdened himself of the opinion that, “…tax increases are on the table to help balance the budget. McDonnell says he will advocate against raising taxes.” Wrong. And right.
Wrong, because any politician calling for tax increases when so many citizens of Virginia – and the other 49 states as well – are already pinching pennies just to pay their bills may as well be offering guaranteed exposure to the Black Plague. Right, because McDonnell, unlike Kaine, has not gone obviously insane.
So, here’s the question for every other Democrat officeholder now that their Chairman has declared himself suicidal: Do they intend to follow him over the cliff – or will they openly revolt against his job-killing tax mania?
It’s a fair question to ask followers about their leader. Which makes The WIRE wonder why the Chairman of the Republican Party doesn’t directly confront the Dems about such a critical issue. Maybe he could just ask them, “What Up?”
Cry the Beloved Little Country
Rodrigo Cantero will likely never be a household name in the American lexicon. He’ll never win American Idol. Soar to renown on a Field of Dreams. Or top the charts of the rich and famous.
But Rodrigo Cantero has penned some words that should sear themselves into the heart of every American who cherishes freedom – and etch themselves into the soul of all who resent seeing their country turned from being the “Arsenal of Democracy” into an ally of despots.
Decrying the Obama-led assault on his native country of Honduras, Cantero wrote to The WIRE editors:
“It has been a difficult year, but not because of what has happened in my country (80% of the population approve of the removal of Zelaya), but because of the international community. They have tried and tried again to bring us to our knees, but they never imagined such a small, poor country could stand up to the rest of the world. They could not measure our resolve and our determination to preserve our democracy. It’s ironic that in order for us to maintain our democracy we had to remove a democratically elected president.
“Years from now the world will remember Honduras and our stand for freedom. History will show them how the smallest, poorest of all countries gave a free lesson on democracy and its principles (or at least I hope!!!!).”
Lest anyone think that Rodrigo Cantero is a leader of the opposition party, or a member of the military the left has maligned, he is neither. He is an average, young, everyday Honduran, a self-employed member of that country’s proud emerging middle class, whom The WIRE is pleased to have as a Latin America Correspondent.
And years from now, if justice prevails, the world will, indeed, remember his beloved little country’s stand for freedom – ironically enough, against the world’s most powerful democracy.
The Newest Right
A growing issue among all of the political factions in Washington – as well as the nation’s top political reporters – is where the conservative movement is going. Guessing who will emerge where has become something of a parlor … with the highest possible stakes. Influence and affluence alike are at stake.
Now comes the announcement of a “Conservative Action Project” bringing together in a unique, perhaps historical, coalition the Old Right; the New Right; the Center Right; and the conservative movement’s latest, Internet-driven incarnation, the Net Right.
For, perhaps, the first time ever, they have joined forces with a single, indivisible goal: to stop the government takeover of health care. Whether they can succeed, or not, remains to be seen. But who is included in the coalition – as well as who is excluded – is a story in itself. The roster reads like a roll call of who was, is, and wants to be in the power pantheon of the right:
Tom Schatz, President, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste; William Wilson, President, Americans for Limited Government; Matt Kibbe, President, Freedom Works; Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform; Wendy Wright, President, Concerned Women for America; Jim Martin, President, 60 Plus Association; Marion Edwyn Harrison, President, Free Congress Foundation; Herman Cain, President, THE New Voice, Inc.; T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr., former Chief Domestic Advisor to President Reagan; Richard Viguerie, Chairman, ConservativeHQ.com; Tony Perkins, President, Family Research Council; Alfred Regnery, Publisher, American Spectator; James C. Miller III, former Reagan Budget Director; Tom Winter, Editor in Chief, Human Events; Karl Ottosen, Untied States Federation of Small Businesses
If the Washington power brokers had a “Political Register Red Book,” these names would top the list. Now the trick will be to see how long the book’s bindings will last.
