Glenn Reynolds has a Commentary in the Washington University law review on a citizen’s right to record the police. I think this is an important check against governmental power.
Category: Politics
Pennsylvania Primary Decisions
Tomorrow is Election Day in the Commonwealth. Now that the presidential race is largely locked up, attention focuses on our Senate primary to take on Sen. Bob Casey. For those of you who only loosely follow politics in the Keystone State, this is a great article summing up the problems the GOP has created for itself in this race.
For those who don’t follow Pennsylvania politics, well, the state Republican Party powers that be endorsed a guy who wanted to host a fundraiser for very liberal (and extremely anti-gun) Joe Sestak and was a Democrat who voted for Obama in 2008. In the lead is a guy who was a Democrat for 40 years and hasn’t even been a Republican long enough to have voted in a GOP primary before. Somewhere between those two is Sam Rohrer who has already shown he’s not so great at running a statewide campaign when he made bizarre campaign investments in his failed gubernatorial race.
So you might see why Republicans in Pennsylvania are kinda “eh” about the whole thing. Here are a few funny quotes I’ve found in the media surrounding the race:
Welch [the GOP endorsed former Democrat] is hoping the high amount of undecided voters — even in Smith’s own most recently released survey, about a third of the Republican electorate was undecided — will gravitate to him.
I love the logic of this businessman. If a voter tells a pollster they are undecided, they will come to me! Unfortunately, that’s flawed logic. We’re undecided, but I know my indecision is over which non-Welch candidate will get my vote. I will not reward the state party officials who handpicked pretty much the worst possible candidate. It will be a blow to the party, and maybe a few more county leaders will oppose the endorsement process all together next time.
Next is the view of a voter:
“Most of the time, it’s Election Day before I make up my mind,†said Richard Beard, a dinner attendee from nearby Chambersburg, Pa., who couldn’t name the Republican candidates.
What dinner was he attending? The area GOP dinner. This is someone who cares enough about the party to show up to dinners with potential presidential candidates. Yet he can’t name any of the GOP candidates in the primary, much less the party-backed candidate. Yes, that my friends is what we call enthusiasm. And that’s what awaits us for November.
That said, we will both be at the doors to the school as soon as they open tomorrow morning. Make sure you know which Congressional district you are in this year since those maps changed. NRA is endorsing in the primaries in the new PA-4 (old PA-19), PA-17 (dramatically redrawn), and PA-18.
PETA with Suits and Deodorant
I admit that I laughed. I also shared it on Facebook to my friends and family who have probably donated.
Investors Business Daily on Nugent
We need to remind the administration and the Secret Service that “Braveheart” is only a movie and that Nugent is no more likely to ride a horse down Pennsylvania Avenue wielding a medieval battle-ax than Obama was to bring a handgun to the first presidential debate.
They are referring to Obama’s rhetoric in the 2008 campaign, where in Philadelphia he said “If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.”
Ted Nugent in the Washington Times
Probably about as reconciliatory as you’re going to get from Uncle Ted, which is to say it’s not. Like I said, anyone who thinks Ted Nugent was literally calling for beheadings is delusional, especially given the Braveheart reference before it.
Celebrating the “Shot Heard Round the World”
Today is April 19th, the day the American Revolution began:
They don’t do stuff like this for kids anymore. Maybe that’s why you have problems like this.
Obama’s Statement on the Nuge
In what has been characterized as pulling the rug out from Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, the Obama Administration has the following to say about Ted Nugent’s remarks:
“A lot of this other stuff is noise,” his spokesman said today. “[Obama] has made the point that we can’t, as a general rule, police the statements of every supporter.”
I think Obama recognizes it’s not smart politics to go after Ted Nugent. For one, if he did so, he’d elevate Nugent’s status in the debate. He’d turn him into someone the President of the United States feels the need to respond to. Two, he’d risk alienating the people that Nugent speaks to. Three, he’d open himself up to be held accountable for every whacky and nutty thing (and there will be those in spades, on both sides) every minor supporter utters.
I don’t really characterize Obama’s statement as pulling the rug out from Wasserman-Schultz. Smart politics is to let your lower level functionaries make hay out of something like Nugent. The President has to be protected, and that means he needs to maintain the appearance of being involved in all this petty nonsense, while at the same time turning lower level functionaries loose to gin this stuff up in the media.
Jackson-Lee: Burning the 4th Amendment
Sheila Jackson Lee needs a constitutional refresher:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Here’s an a program she’s currently implementing:
Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee unveiled the program, labeled Bus Safe, during a press conference on Friday. According to a Metropolitan Transit Authority of Houston (METRO) press release, agencies involved in the scheme will, “ride buses, perform random bag checks, and conduct K-9 sweeps, as well as place uniformed and plainclothes officers at Transit Centers and rail platforms to detect, prevent and address latent criminal activity or behavior.â€
The proper response to this ought to be outright defiance. The police or TSA have absolutely no right to randomly search anything of yours. Remember, these people don’t just believe the 2nd Amendment is dead letter. They would willingly destroy every freedom in America if given half the chance.
h/t to Thirdpower
Watching the Left Come Unraveled over Ted Nugent
According to many on the left, Ted Nugent is crazy and paranoid for suggesting he’s going to be in jail if Obama wins re-election, while at the same time Obama’s supporters are yammering that he should be in jail. As I’ve mentioned, I’m not the world’s biggest fan of Nugent’s over-the-top rhetoric, but anyone who thinks he was literally calling for beheadings in November, or was making a threat against the President, is delusional. For context, here is Nugent’s full speech:
More on the Nuge Rhetoric
The Romney Campaign has spoken against over-the-top rhetoric, from either side. This is pretty much what I expected:
Divisive language is offensive no matter what side of the political aisle it comes from. Mitt Romney believes everyone needs to be civil.
The left is pushing for Romney to condemn Nugent by name. This is classic divide and conquer. They’d love to see Romney out there condemning Nuge, because Nuge’s fan base is exactly the type of folks that Romney is going to have a hard time reaching, and getting out to the polls in November. They’d love to drive a wedge between Nugent country and Romney country, which could only help their candidate.