Politics – Page 213 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Play on Taxpayer Concerns when Fighting Gun Control

Ultimately, the Albion Borough Council which previously banned guns on city property rescinded their ban after they realized it would cost a pretty penny to defend against lawsuits that they could very likely lose.

The financial cost to taxpayers is a talking point that non-gun owners can identify with, and a major source of contention in Pennsylvania after last year’s state budget fiasco and the simple fact that the Governor has been simply unable to deliver a budget on time since he’s been in office. Local budgets can’t afford partisan political games from Harrisburg, so they definitely don’t have the spare cash to fight lawsuits. It doesn’t have to be your only argument against local gun control, but make sure it gets made.

The Most Interesting Races in the Must Watch State

Everyone says we should look to Pennsylvania as a bellwether of 2010 politics. We have the most number of competitive Congressional races, and we’ve got major statewide elections that will drive people out to the polls more so than other states in this year’s non-presidential cycle. We also have a very good shot at turning the Pennsylvania House over to GOP – a strictly partisan move I would not have cared much for until the very centrist Democrat House Speaker announced his retirement. I do not trust who might move up to that top spot if the Democrats remain in control. (Here is an effort to draw attention to states with closely split legislative houses that can be flipped by pushing just a handful of candidates.)

Last night was the local GOP vote for John Murtha’s former seat. Due to the timing of his death, this election cycle is pretty complicated with two different elections with some of the same and some different candidates held for the same seat on the same day. The shorter story you need to know is that both parties have selected candidates for their races who are political unknowns. The Democrats chose Murtha’s former district director who clearly has political experience, but isn’t on the record with his own views. We don’t know if he shares Murtha’s dedication to gun rights. On the GOP side, there’s a businessman who brings new energy to the grassroots and who the Democrats have resorted to calling mean because he once built a successful business, sold it, and the other owners laid people off. (I expect PA-12 to turn into a children’s playground at the rate the campaign is going because of outside candidates who didn’t have local support. Expect spitballs and screams of “I’m gonna tell on you!” any day now.) As a political newbie, GOP candidate Tim Burns also doesn’t have a record on gun rights yet. So this should be interesting. The district has always been reliable for guns, but we don’t know if it will remain that way.

Depending on how things go, we can see it as a blessing or a curse that we’ll be losing that district anyway. Given that the candidate will have only served a term and a half, it is likely that both parties will agree to do away with PA-12 when we have to give up a seat following the Census.

Depending on how much you like politics, this is either a political junkie’s dream world or a cynic’s worst nightmare. For me, it relies on my mood. Since the political attitude is more anti-incumbent than pro-Republican, I’m really not sure how this will play out. Given that uncertainty, and the fact that the local GOP is trying to actively drive voters into the arms of Democrats, I’m leaning more toward a nightmare mood.

If you’re a Pennsylvania politico, or just a politics watcher who generally has a feel for what’s going on, take the PoliticsPA poll (on the left, about halfway down) on which will be the most interesting May 18 race. Also leave your answer as a comment if you’re so inclined. I’d like to know which races you guys are interested in.

NRA Board Member First Candidate on TV

According to Hotline, the two top candidates in the GOP primary for Arizona governor are bickering about web ads. Meanwhile, the longshot campaign of NRA Board member Buz Mills has just gone on television with his first ad.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF_G80p32dg[/youtube]

One of the interesting observations: He has a mobile campaign. I read something the other day about campaigns using mobile campaigns that suggested they go ahead and lay out the big cash to buy their own “text to” number. Apparently, you can basically rent a word that uses the same text number as many other campaigns.

For Buz, that word is GOBUZ. However, it turns out he is far from the only one using the same number. For example, if you’re in Lake Charles, Louisiana, you can use the same number and text CASA for free queso dip or margarita at this joint. If you’re a golfer who loves wine, you may want to check out the 19th hole event text that could have gotten you special information about a golf event that, presumably, involves wine. If you want to see a biotech shop kiss ass to environmentalists, just use BIOTECH. Taste of Dallas will hook you up if you use the same number with the word TASTE.

Fortunately, it looks like there’s not any craziness sharing the same number as Buz’s campaign. But, you can see how this could get funny for any candidate.

More Beer Raids

The State Police are continuing to ensure that Pennsylvanians only have access to shitty beer. Either that or the State Police are planning one hell of a party and figured out a cheap way to get the beer.

I’m surprised they went after a distributor. The beer distributor lobby in this state is powerful. Normally I am politically opposed to them, because they want to maintain their monopoly through regulation, but if they want to join me in getting rid of this ridiculous registration requirement, I’d be happy to ally on this issue.

“This is really an outrage,” said a local bar owner who missed his Duvel delivery yesterday. “The state doesn’t understand that Duvel actually is registered and has been sold here for years and years. It’s almost unbelievable.”

Don’t get angry, get even. Let’s get together and push Harrisburg to put a short leash on the beer nazis.

Joe Grace Opposes Pro-Flintlock Measure

If you had asked me what pro-gun bills might be at the top of my priority list, I might have ranked making sure Pennsylvania has an official state gun somewhere down with a house resolution making next February “Gunsmith Awareness Month”. That said, I don’t have any issue with Pennsylvania making the rifle named after the state (don’t let those dirty Kentuckians tell you it’s a Kentucky Rifle) its official gun.

Capitol Ideas is reporting that CeaseFire Pennsylvania is taking a position against this muzzle loading, black powder, flintlock being our official state gun, suggesting that “The last thing the Pennsylvania General Assembly should be doing is designating an official state rifle.” Next time I see some gang member toting around a muzzle loading flintlock, I might at least understand the opposition, even if I don’t agree with it. But do we really have to have a debate about this?

Joe Grace would no doubt prefer a debate about “Lost and Stolen” ordinances, and he says as much, but Joe needs to explain why he’s gotten almost two dozen municipalities to pass these ordinances, yet we have zero prosecutions. Two of those municipalities are Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. You’d think if this was such an important crime fighting tool, it might have been used once or twice by now.

Quote of the Day: Privileges or Immunities Edition

Orin Kerr I think sums it up nicely over at Volokh, as to why it’s going to be very difficult to get justices to revive key constitutional principles because they are more academically correct:

My point is only that itâ€™s the system the Constitution gave us. The Framers bestowed responsibility upon politicians for nominating and confirming Justices, and that choice means that the Justices weâ€™re likely to get are likely to be more practical people than constitutional theorists. So if youâ€™re disappointed that the Justices are not committed enough to constitutional first principles, it is of course fair to criticize the individual Justices, and the broader legal culture. But I think at least part of your criticism should be directed to the Framers for giving responsibility to politicians for who ends up a Justice.

It’s often heard that the founders intended to put certain rights beyond the political process when they enacted the Bill of Rights. But really, all rights are subject to politics over the long haul. The genius in our system is that it takes a sustained shift in constitutional thinking, over a long period of time, in order for new ideas and interpretations to work their way into our courts. Perhaps someday, if the population is committed to electing politicians that demand justices right what was wrong, we’ll get Privileges or Immunities restored to its rightful place, but not now.

Ultimately our rights are subject to the political process. That might not be ideal in abstract theory, when in practical implementation of a government, I’m not sure how you make a system that works better than what we have now. Ultimately the Second Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment are fading ink on pieces of parchment. At the end of the day, what those word mean as a matter of law is entirely up to we the people.

Beer Police

Apparently we’ve solved so many crimes in this state that the State Police have nothing better to do than go around looking for unregistered beer. I am particularly disturbed that they seized one of my very favorite area beers, the Monk’s Flemish Sour Ale. I was completely unaware that there was any such thing as a beer registry in Pennsylvania, but I can’t say I’m surprised. The beer business in this state is basically run by the big distributors. It’s regulatory capture at its worst.

It’s high time our state legislators stood up to the Malt Beverage Distributors Association of Pennsylvania, and enacted comprehensive reform and modernization of our laws governing alcoholic beverages. It’s time for Pennsylvania to move beyond the prohibition era. Everyone hates this system. What’s to lose by changing it?

Congressional Races

Over at the other blog, we talk about how the Congressional races are shaping up in Pennsylvania on the gun issue. The first big one is for Murtha’s seat.

Intellectuals Stepping Off the Cliff

Thomas Sowell has an excellent interview here discussing why it’s dangerous to put intellectuals in charge of everything. This is truth. I’ve often heard people decry the influence of lobbyists in Washington. I don’t. The lobbyists are the only ones who know how anything works. If you took the lobbyists out of the equation this country would be run by dimwitted politicians with delusions of grandeur, and overeducated twenty something staffers who think they know a lot more than they really do.

Rats from a Sinking Ship

Thomas Jefferson Club, one of our local tea party groups, is making note of the fact that our Congresman, Patrick Murphy, doesn’t seem to want to be seen in public with President Obama. This is a smart move for Murphy politically, but it’s quite telling. Murphy is vulnerable this year, but despite that, the Bucks County GOP is doing everything in their power to ensure that we do not recapture the seat.