The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State …
Well, the old bench of evil turned out to be too small, too unstable, and I hated the fact that the only way I could mount the press was on the side. I decided to go to Sam’s Club and get myself a new bench of evil, where I could mount the press the right way.  Now every time I decap and resize a piece of brass, it’s like I’m playing a slot machine, only with this slot machine, I win every time!
Now I’m thinking about upping the ante toward a progressive press.
… wife, mother, governor, Viking?
Hat tip to Papa Delta Bravo
… I’m a sucker for hot Alaska governors who shoot AR-15s. I just donated 100 bucks to McCain/Palin ’08. Regardless of how I feel about McCain himself, he’s elevated some very good folks to the national stage, and put them in positions where they’ll be leaders in the Republican Party. Even if his campaign is destained to crash and burn, this is a great legacy to leave us for the future.
If you’re thinking about donating, now is the time. McCain took the public financing route, so this weekend is the last his campaign can take donations. After this, you can only donate through the RNC.
I’ve been worried that the McCain camp doesn’t seem to have their ground game in too good order, especially here in Pennsylvania, but I have to say that their strategic outlook seems to be pretty good. The media is already starting to attack Sarah Palin as inexperienced. But every article that brings this issue up is also highlighting Obama’s lack of experience as well. The difference is, she’s on the bottom of the GOP ticket, and Obama is on the top of the Dem’s. It’s probably not too smart for the Obama camp to even bring this issue up, but they are doing it. The selection of Palin to the McCain ticket has put him in a win-win situation. They can’t not criticize the choice, but on the only issue they can hit her on, also indirectly hurts Obama.
But Robb went and put it on a bumper sticker.
It’s been something I’ve been wondering, but I think Palin’s addition to the ticket might change things. I still lean toward the idea that McCain is not worthy of an endorsement, but then I think how much is on the line this election. McCain is far from perfect, but I think it should be considered in the following light:
I’m not saying NRA should endorse McCain, but I’m not going to freak out if they do. In terms of previous Republican presidents, McCain is really no worse, and may even be better. I have no idea which way NRA is leaning in terms of an endorsement, but I’m willing to accept either course of action. An endorsement has serious political consequences for how people on the ground may help his campaign. While I wish McCain would repudiate his stance on private sales, gun owners have been able to make progress with a very imperfect endorsed presidential candidates from the 1980s to now. I worry that ceding the White House to Barack Obama will cause us to lose everything we’ve worked on for the past decade.
Bruce found a picture of Sarah Palin shooting an evil black rifle. That beats John Effin Kerry in a duck blind any day. But will she be better at shooting lawyers than Dick Cheney?
UPDATE: Breda has the video.
Are you retarded?
Palin’s first veto was used to block legislation that would have barred the state from granting benefits to the partners of gay state employees. In effect, her veto granted State of Alaska benefits to same-sex couples. The veto occurred after Palin consulted with Alaska’s attorney general on the constitutionality of the legislation.
Well, if the gay bashing wing of the GOP is pissed that Palin supports same sex couples, I’m even more tickled pink about McCain’s choice. The gay issue is going to kill the Republican party in a generation if they don’t mellow in the issue. There’s a significant generational gap, and younger Republicans tend to be supportive of gay’s being equal members of society. I think gay marriage is probably a bit too far out there for most people, even though I personally have no problem with the idea, but the GOP needs to jettison the gay cooties wing of the party before they kill it.
Like Bobby Jindal, in her short period in office, she has rocked the boat and brought real concern to the entrenched powers that be. Whats most surprising about this though, is unlike Jindal who is going after Democrats – Palin went after Republicans. Heck, she even went after family members – and has drawn the scorn of the state party who were unable to stop her as she took down their most powerful member – Frank Murkowski who famously appointed his daughter to fill his Senate seat.
And in that respect, in an election where the Republican’s biggest liability isn’t Iraq but Ted Stevens and the Alaskan Bridge To Nowhere, McCain took his maverick mantle by the reigns and just signed up the Anti Stevens to help him root out the corruption endemic in DC.
Compare that to Barack “Corrupt Chicago Democratic Political Machine Champion†Obama.
I think McCain hit this one out of the park. She will be a powerful addition to his ticket, whereas I think Obama is going to increasingly find that Joe Biden is an albatross who doesn’t know when to shut his pie hole. If McCain is looking to reshape the Republican Party with the likes of Palin, Pawlenty, and Jindal, the GOP could have a bright future.
The GOP has suffered greatly under George W. Bush and his merry band. I’ve watched the Philadelphia Suburbs go from leaning pretty Republican, to tilting Democrat, largely because Philadelphia area GOP types don’t like Bush’s brand of conservatism. McCain is someone people around here can get behind, and if the future beyond McCain is made up by his VP short list, that might be a reversable trend. Whether it will be enough to overcome the Lightworker’s momentum remains to be seen. Obama’s success around here will depend on the extent to which he can lash McCain to the deck of the sinking USS George W. Bush.