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RINOs are Not Moderate Republicans

Posted by Playful Walrus on Thursday, November 05, 2009 9:00:00 PM
Every once in the while, a letter gets printed in the Los Angeles Times that should be shouted from the rooftops.

Behold, Pat Murphy of Pacific Palisades calls out the MSM on the "moderate Republican" title being misapplied:
Describing people like Dede Scozzafava as a "moderate Republican" is disingenuous. She's a liberal on almost every issue…Consider the following alternative scenario: How would liberals feel if the Democratic Party had pro-life candidates who supported the war on terror, reduced taxes, voted against bailouts, didn't want government healthcare and saw the United Nations as a threat to American sovereignty?
Thank you, Pat.

There are liberals who are Republicans, because parties are about power and networking and pooling resources, and some people think they have an advantage, for whatever reason, in a party that has been dominated by a philosophy different than theirs. Let's not try to disguise Leftists as moderates.
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Trans Fats Terminated in California

Posted by Playful Walrus on Monday, July 28, 2008 12:29:12 PM
You’ve probably heard by now that “Republican” California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed into law a ban on trans fats in restaurants.

I quote below from Steve Lawrence’s Associate Press article.
California on Friday became the first state to ban trans fats from restaurant food, following several cities and major fast-food chains in erasing the notorious artery-clogger from menus.
It’s the first state, but definitely not the last.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation that will ban restaurants and other retail food establishments from using oil, margarine and shortening containing trans fats.
That’s right.  It will be illegal for a restaurant to voluntarily offer the same kind of items it has been offering for years, which people have voluntarily purchased and consumed.  No, this wasn’t a law to mandate that restaurants provide information to customers after which the customers could still choose to order those items,  No, it is a total ban – taking the choices away from the people outright.
In a statement, Schwarzenegger noted that consuming trans fat is linked to coronary heart disease.
What about alcohol?  What about cigarettes?  What about pot?  What about one man sticking himself into the exit of another man?  These things have all been linked to various health problems, but are legal.
Several major fast-food chains have announced that they have eliminated trans fats from their menus or intend to so do in the near future.
Why not allow the market to work???

I’ll tell you why.  It is because the state government has its nose in health care.  You want more government involvement in health care?  Expect more restrictions on what you can eat.  Just as predicted, they are using their attacks on Big Tobacco as a template.  What’s next?  A state limit on calories?

California… a state that encourages sexual practices that can kill you but is concerned your food is too yummy.
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Howard Stern Goes Off on Big Government Dems

Posted by Playful Walrus on Thursday, July 24, 2008 8:04:38 PM
Howard Stern said on the air today that he'd never vote for a Democrat again because he was upset by the Democrats in the FCC who have made it difficult for the satellite radio companies to merge.  Being the businessman he is, and making the "obscene profits" he has, I'm sure he's had plenty of roadblocks and speed bumps to deal with that have been placed in his way by big government types.  And he has in the past supported Republicans who have have supported legal abortion on demand.  On the other hand, his disdain for social conservatives is no secret (and is mutual).  He has supported some libertarian principles over the years.

I haven't caught his show at all since he made the switch to satellite.

But I'm not expecting Stern or just about anyone else who makes these kinds of declarations to stick to them.

Why?  Because the realistic choice in just about every election is a Republic or a Democrat, and quite often a voter must pick the lesser of two "evils" to make a difference.  Sitting out the vote or voting for a third party usually amounts to a de facto support for the frontrunner.

Of course, as a resident of New York, it is entirely possible that Stern could vote for RINOs and other Republicans he finds tolerable, since solid conservative pro-lifers usually don't get far in New York.

Something I do like about Howard Stern is that, although he seems (or at least used to seem) like he gets his opinions mainly from the New York Times, he has, from time to time, made a strong case for limited government.  And if enough of his listeners follow up on that idea, we just might be able to sway them to support limited government candidates and legislation.
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Do I Smell More RINOs in California?

Posted by Playful Walrus on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 3:49:08 PM
Phil Willon, Los Angeles Times staff writer, reports that there is a new group trying to get Republicans elected to statewide office in California.  I thought we already had a group that was supposed to do that: The California Republican Party?
Led in part by former Gov. Pete Wilson and two major political donors from Orange County, a group of moderate Republicans will announce Wednesday a new organization focused on recruiting the "next generation" of GOP candidates for statewide office, including governor and the U.S. Senate.

The organization, called California Republicans Aligned for Tomorrow, was created to turn around the GOP's dismal record in those contests since 1994.
Good thing they went with “Tomorrow” in the name instead of something starting with a “P”.
Underlying the campaign effort is the feeling among some influential Republicans that the state party has bent too far to the right, helping Democrats gain a firm grasp on the Legislature, the state's congressional delegation and statewide offices.
Too far to the right?  You mean like, oh, saying we should spend less and we should deport illegal aliens who murder people, and that public schools should maintain boys restrooms for boys, and girls restrooms girls?
The state party's fundraising efforts also have languished in the last year…
Yeah, we don’t want to support shamnesty efforts.  Show us you are true to conservatism, and we’ll support you.  It’s that simple.

Let’s face it.  Los Angeles County and San Francisco are what make California a blue state instead of red, and it is really hard to change that.  State and local government payrolls get bigger and bigger, and thus public employee unions, through compulsory dues, get more and more money to back their political causes – namely, expanding the government to create more dues-payers for their unions.  Employers and property owners largely have their hands tied as employees and renters call the shots.

California has millions of illegal aliens, most, if not all receiving some form of government assistance.  Their children born here are citizens, who can legally vote.  It is easy to get them to vote Democrat, because Democrats promise to welcome and take care of people like their law-breaking parents.

The only hope for conservatives in California is secession of some sort, something that separates Los Angeles and San Francisco from everyone else.  It could mean one or more new states, or it could mean a smaller California as the other counties get annexed to other states.  Either way, that just isn’t going to happen.
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