I was just reading Town Hall and I saw an ad for a t-shirt that said, “Powered by Capitalism.”
I said, “I should put that on my blog by the paid links. You know, like Obama’s website says ‘Powered by Hope’? But my blog is powered by capitalism. They don’t accept ‘hope’ for my hosting fees.”
To which Bob remarked, “Hope don’t pay the bills.”
I thought it was funny, but maybe you had to be there.
September 7th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Obama’s fundraising numbers would beg to differ.
This shall be a historic presidential election, complete with massive shifts in policy and a new direction for the country. It will not be unlike 1932 with F.D.R. coming in to author the New Deal or for that matter Lyndon Johnson, with both the Civil Rights Act and Social Security Act in 1964.
Right now your only hope is that the D.S.C.C. does not claim the 60 vote, filibuster proof majority in the Senate that they hope for, excluding Droopy the Dog (R, CT). To me, that’s more the story than the presidential race.
September 8th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
I doubt that people are making campaign contributions in hope, but rather, in dollars. Hope doesn’t pay the campaign bills, either, I suspect.
This election is far from over. There hasn’t even been one debate. Obama is, um, not exactly, um, the smoothest orator when, um, not reading a teleprompter or, um, giving a rehearsed speech. So, the jury is still out, as far as I am concerned.
I remember being at a party in 2002, where all of the attendants (all liberal) were talking about the Vermont gubernatorial election. Democrat Doug Racine was seen as a shoo-in by everyone there. Finally, I said that I thought Republican Jim Douglas had a good shot at it. The room went silent. Really!? (Shock!)
Yeah, well, Douglas won, didn’t he?
It ain’t over ’til it’s over.
Honestly, though, Republicans always have hope. That’s why we are immune to Obama’s charm.
September 9th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Even should McCain be voted in as president, he will face an angry Congress who would be willing to fight tooth and nail on every possible issue, least not of all McCain’s economy and foreign policy agendas.
I say this, of course, chewing on my lip in worry, having watched the Democratic majorities pay lip service to progressive principles until deciding that some compromise is in order and giving the Republicans what they’ve demanded.
“Honestly, though, Republicans always have hope.”
I have to ask, hope for what? Didn’t most Republicans already have their beach party from circa 2001 to 2006?
September 10th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Honestly, I think that McCain will have a pretty easy time with Congress. He actually is a consensus builder. That is why conservatives are so loath to support him. We’re kind of looking for more purity in a candidate.
“Didn’t most Republicans already have their beach party from circa 2001 to 2006?”
I think you mean 1994 to 2000. Once we got a big government, big spending Republican for president, the party was pretty much over.
September 12th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
“I think you mean 1994 to 2000. Once we got a big government, big spending Republican for president, the party was pretty much over.”
I’m somewhat surprised that you are enthusiastically supporting McCain-Palin in that case. While they are extensively conservative on social issues (well, she is anyway. McCain’s record is a bit more liberal but still has voted 90% of the time with Bush), both are proven big spenders while cutting taxes type of leaders, which is essentially what we’ve had in the White House for the last 8 years.
McCain has claimed to balance the budget by eliminating pork, however the total pork spending in the US is in the range of 18 billion dollars. The total US spending per year is in the range of 2 trillion dollars a year – it would be nice to know how that drop in the bucket for pork projects is going to remotely pay for a 10 billion dollar a month war in Iraq…let alone all of the other deficit spending that the Bush Administration is piling up.
Similarly, Palin’s Alaska gubernatorial experience involved requesting some $750 million a year in pork barrel spending, including the highest per capita in the nation. She showed an eagerness to spend money surpluses on things such as a sports arena and sending out $1200 tax rebates to the good folks of Alaska – hardly a fiscal conservative. Listening to her on the Gibson interview, I don’t know how anyone can say that she will be any different from the Bush policies except that she is a woman!
Perhaps I’m wrong and you are more of a Ron Paul or Bob Barr supporter, but I don’t get that sense from reading your posts regarding the woman.
September 12th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
What I fundamentally don’t understand about Palin and fiscal responsibility is how a small AK city like hers can have revenues go up at a faster rate than expenditures and they STILL ended up with a huge deficit. That’s some Republican magic in action there…