Hillary, going up against… nobody… was only able to garner about 60% of the vote. That means 35% of the votes would rather have anybody but Hillary. I don’t think this speaks well for her. If I were her campaign, I wouldn’t be too happy about this, and wouldn’t get too cocky.
Category: Politics
Mitt Takes Michigan
Michigan had a grand opportunity to end Mitt Romney’s campaign tonight, but it appears they were not in the mood to do the rest of the country a favor and sink this ship.
UPDATE: Bitter notes some disrespect Mitt paid to John McCain.
Holmesburg Update
It looks like Holmesburg Fish and Game Protective Association, which has been under threat of being expelled from the land it leases from the city for it’s club grounds, is still working on securing a lease:
Yes, we’re still here. Yes, we’re still in business. No, it’s not yet a done deal. HF&GPA has four main priorities right now. They are to lobby the Fairmount Park Commission (FPC) for a lease, to get member dues for ’08 in, to recruit new members and to complete the work on club ground that was postponed because of the threatened closing.
The club officers and negotiating committee will take care of approaching the FPC about securing a lease, but if you have any contacts with the FPC we’d be most interested in hearing about them and would be very appreciative for your help. This effort will be ramping up now that the holiday recess is over.
The way most members can help is by sending in your $100 dues for ’08 as soon as you can. An FAQ I can address here is- if the club should have to close (Arrrrg! Not if we have anything to do with it!) your dues would be pro-rated and the unused portion reimbursed. An alternative for you would be to pay $50 towards your ’08 dues now and the other $50 in May, but the club would prefer you send the full dues if possible.
We’re now more optimistic about HF&GPA being around for years to come than at anytime since August 1st 2007 – a date that will live in infamy. But, all of the bad press and political maneuvering has taken its toll. We have lost members and need to replace them if we’re to maintain a fiscally sound and vital association. Do what you can to help bring in new members and you’ll also be helping to insure the longevity of the HF&GPA.
That’s good news. I’m glad things are looking up for them. I know our club has taken in some Holmesburg people, but I hope they will stay members and continue the fight.
Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, please don’t forget to thank Philadelphia City Council (and especially Joan Krajewski and her office) for supporting our bid to stay where we are. I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that Council unanimously supported us in several votes. They also represented us in our negotiations with the other agencies. Without Council’s help and guidance, we’d be selling club assets out of cardboard boxes by now. Please make a point of expressing your gratitude and urging that the FPC afford us a lease. Thank you all for supporting your club leadership through these trying times. Brighter days are ahead if we stay the course if we continue in our roles as responsible and hospitable sportsmen and women.
I’m glad the city is burying their normal gun hating political rhetoric and doing the right thing here. There was nothing to be gained from the city kicking honest sportsmen and women off their facilities.
How to Lose Young Voters
Young people have been really big on Obama, despite the fact that he’s peddling the same old crap the Democrats have been peddling for decades. The GOP need to learn how to court the young vote, unless they want to look at Democratic majorities for decades to come. What are some ways to lose young voters?  Well, you can start by advocating a ban on video games. Especially when it’s pretty obvious the advocates are repeating crap they have been hearing and have not actually played the game.
Yep… banning video games. That’s sure to energize young voters.
Christian Charity
Via Instapundit, Fred talks about Christian Charity:
Mixing theology and social issues on the campaign trail is rare for Fred Thompson, but he discussed it today answering a question from a member of the audience.
A woman asked him if he would “as a Christian, as a conservative†continue President Bush’s programs to combat global AIDS.
“Christ didn’t tell us to go to the government and pass a bill to get some of these social problems dealt with. He told us to do it,†Thompson said.
“The government has its role, but we need to keep firmly in mind the role of the government, and the role of us as individuals and as Christians on the other.â€
He received a round of applause for his answer, and went on to expand on the role of government in fighting AIDS and other diseases.
This guy gets it. Hopefully this message will resonate with religious voters.
New Jersey Bills
Bryan Miller is no doubt proud of his latest legislative accomplishments and is wondering how anyone could oppose him and still be a reasonable person. I suppose I will play the part of unreasonable person here, and take apart these bills. I’ll leave it to the reader to decide whether I’m reasonable:
S-2431/A-3035 increases the penalty for being caught in public with an illegal firearm to a 2nd degree crime. Until now first offenders enjoyed a presumption against incarceration. This measure removes that presumption. Offenders now face likely incarceration, fitting in a time when the state faces a rising tide of gun violence from the use of illegal handguns.
If I were to take a shotgun into New Jersey to shoot some clays, if I am not in possession of a valid FID card, that is an illegal shotgun. If I stop at a Donkin Donuts drive-through for a cup of coffee, I am now in possession of an “illegal firearm” and will go to prison in New Jersey for many years. Bryan wants you to think of gang members toting around their Gatts. New Jersey law is far far broader than that, and it’s easy for normally law abiding people to run afoul of New Jersey’s monstrously complicated and overly broad laws. My policy was, and still is, not to take any firearms into New Jersey. I make my Jersey friends come to Pennsylvania if they want to shoot. It’s too easy to get in trouble in New Jersey if you’re caught with a gun, even if you have them for sporting purposes.
S-2934/A-4620 imposes stepped fines on gun owners who fail to report lost or stolen firearms to law enforcement. On its face, this measure is the height of sense. Wouldn’t police want to know of guns floating around, potentially in the wrong hands? Plus, this law is a likely barrier to ‘straw purchasing,’ the linchpin of illegal handgun trafficking.
Straw purchasing is already both a federal and state crime. “It was stolen” is not an absolute defense to the charge. What Bryan was looking for with this is to make another law with which to charge them with because the state would be unable meet its burden that all the elements of a straw purchase had taken place. The problem with this law is that, people do get guns stolen. Originally the bill required immediate reporting, not reporting within a time period after discovery. The original penalties were also a lot more server. My problem with these Lost and Stolen reporting requirements is that they’ll disproportionately be used to jail poor gun owners in urban areas who might keep a firearm for self-protection, but aren’t that aware of the laws, and don’t have insurance issues to worry about. I’ll give Bryan one thing, this law, when considered with all of New Jersey’s other laws that are easy to unknowingly violate, doesn’t add much to the crap pile for gun owners in the Garden State.
S-2470/A-2602 requires that, with a very minor exception, purchasers of handgun ammunition show proof that they have passed our state’s rigorous firearm background check before being allowed to buy handgun ammunition. This new law is intended to prevent the sale of handgun ammo to folks who intend to use it for ill. There has been much evidence in recent years of gang members buying handgun ammo at sporting goods stores (many of which do not sell handguns). This legislation will make it more difficult for them to do so.
So gang members are going to just go “Dang, well, I can’t buy ammo anymore. I guess next time I’ll just throw the gun at the rival drug dealer who wants to kill me” Or are they going to smuggle it through illegal channels just like they currently do with guns? It’s already illegal for gang members to possess ammunition. What makes Bryan think the restrictions on ammunition are going to be any more effective than the restrictions on firearms are? This law isn’t going to deter criminals from getting the tools of their trade, but it is going to make it harder for New Jersey gun owners to buy ammunition.
This is only a start. We can expect the new Legislature, seated last week, to consider further measures to enhance public safety, including a bill to limit individuals to the purchase of no more than a single handgun in any thirty-day period (up to twelve per year), a bill to ban civilian ownership of massively destructive .50 Caliber weapons and a bill to require all new handguns purchased to include microstamping technology to aid law enforcers in tracing crime guns and solving crime. Watch this space for more news on upcoming legislation.
Whatever bills they pass will never be enough folks. Worthwhile to remember that their previous 50 caliber ban would have also banned a lot of muzzleloaders, just for you hunters out there that think they are never coming for your deer rifle. They will try if they can get away with it.
Rally Around McCain for Michigan
Bitter is arguing we should rally around John McCain in Michigan, where Fred isn’t polling well, in hopes of knocking Mitt the Shit out of the race.
If Mitt doesn’t win Michigan, even though he has more delegates than anyone else right now, he’s lost the momentum he needs to go into Super Tuesday as a truly viable candidate. Don’t get me wrong, he’d still spend his money like crazy, but politically, the GOP mainstreamers are going to be more open to shopping for a new candidate – and that could be Fred since McCain seems to have a few more enemies.
Read the whole thing. I agree with Bitter’s analysis. Michigan is Mitt’s other home state. Mitt should have won New Hampshire, hands down, but he didn’t. He should, if his candidacy is remotely viable, be able to win his real home state of Michigan, a state that elected his father Governor. I think if Mitt can’t win Michigan, it casts some very serious doubt on his viability as a candidate, and the GOP machine just might get behind another candidate. We can only hope.
Standing Up in Canada
Thanks to Geek With a .45 for this link. Follow it, watch all the videos. It is some truly excellent stuff. This man is facing The Inqusition a Canadian government inquiry demanding answers as to why he published cartoons that were deemed offensive to Islam. Here is the first video, just for your perusal. Watch all of them:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iMNM1tef7g[/youtube]
We must never let this happen in our country. Never! Bravo to Mr. Levant for standing up for his rights.
An Endorsement
If you will notice on the right side of this blog, I have added a sidebar item in support of Fred Thompson’s candidacy for President. I decided that it was time to put my money where my mouth is, so I have made a donation to the Fred’s campaign as well.
I will keep the banner there as long as Fred remains a candidate. I’ll admit, I was disappointed by Fred’s showing in New Hampshire, but I sincerely hope that Fred can pull out a win in South Carolina, and do well in the South. I’m tired of supporting compromise candidates, so here’s hoping Fred gets it together and sweeps the South and Super Tuesday.
My 2008 Election Coverage
In case you haven’t been able to tell yet, Snowflakes in Hell will have more emphasis on the elections in 2008 than have previously. There is nothing of greater consequence to gun owners than elections. They decide what can and can’t be accomplished, and ultimately decide whether we have our rights protected, or spat upon.
Via Dr. Helen I found an excellent article by Jonah Goldberg I think you all should read.
Huckabee, who once promised to “take back this nation for Christ,” has masterfully blended right-wing identity politics with feel-your-pain populism. “There’s a great need in this country,” Huckabee explained, “to elect someone who reminds them of the guy they work with, not the guy who laid them off.”
He’s largely right — and shame on us for it. I’ve never met an employer who likes cutting jobs. Yet the assumption behind Hucka-Edwardsism is that if we only had a president who understands — feels! — the pain of losing a job, people wouldn’t lose their jobs.
Huckabee is the Jesus loving version of Bill Clinton, which is part of why I find the viability of his candidacy more than a little creepy. He’s striking chords with a very influential part of the Republican base, who I am beginning to conclude cares far less about the principles of limited government than they do about electing themselves a former preacher.
The Republican coalition was beginning to show strain when we nominated George W. Bush. The events of 9/11 temporarily clouded our differences, but with America being eight years removed from the events of that day, and with Iraq looking like it’s settling down, I think the fissures within the Republican coalition are starting to appear again.
I believe 2008 may end up deciding whether that coalition is salvageable, or is irrevocably broken. I fear the consequences of a broken coalition will be progressive Democratic rule for another couple of decades, and I don’t think our country, as we know it, and as our aspirations wish it to be, will survive that.
Classical Values also has some excellent commentary on Jonah’s article as well. Go check out it out.