I am not surprised that my comments on not supporting Romney generated some interest, and I would like to engage with some comments that were made here. I thought the disagreement was on point and respectful for the most part, and since Dr. Brian Mattson has pushed his blue chips out to the middle of …
Atop a Massachusetts Barn
It was declared inevitable a number of times prematurely, but it really does look inevitable now. Rick Santorum has bowed out, and Romney will clinch the Republican nomination some time in the near future. This means, among other things, that I will not be voting the Republican ticket in the fall. But it also means …
Conservative Republican Monkeys
Mittevitability is having a rough go lately. Last night Santorum — a Roman Catholic — took what might be called the hard evangelical states of Alabama and Mississippi. Any thoughtful student of American political history needs to say huh over that one at least a time or two. It took an administration jammed with Chicago …
Stupor Tuesday
Well, Romney staggers on. Although Ron Paul has been a tactical wingman up to this point, his very best friend right now is Newt Gingrich. As long as Gingrich stays in, the “anybody but Romney (or Paul)” vote is split. A simple thought experiment gives a head-to-head Romney/Santorum race, in places like Michigan or Ohio, …
Clouds of Nuance and Ineptitude
I have been asked about my passing comment the other day that I thought military action in Afghanistan was justified, and probably in Iraq. This was coupled with my observations on the constitutional procedures for going to war — Congress should declare war. Those who believe all the DC-lawyer-talk need to be asked what circumstances …
The United Methodist Camp Counselor Approach to Foreign Policy
Here are just a few collected observations about U.S. foreign policy and war, particularly war in the Middle East. We have no business toppling any foreign regime and replacing it with another without a formal declaration of war from Congress. It may be replied (for it usually is) that a regiment of constitutional lawyers in …
Proverbial Bedfellows, As In, Strange
Not trying to juice my traffic by writing about Ron Paul. Promise. I am writing about Ron Paul though, because this is all really interesting, and on a number of levels. The thing that interests me right this moment is the clear working arrangement between Ron Paul and Mitt Romney.
Shorter Than a Yard
It was Sen. Eugene McCarthy who said that being a senator was a lot like being a football coach — you had to be smart enough to understand the game and dumb enough to think it was important. I have written about the dangers of ideology in politics (which addresses the how more than the …
As Blue as Anybody’s
Now, before I say what I am going to say, let me qualify some things. I have qualified them before, and it doesn’t seem to do any good, but hope springs eternal. I am a conservative, barely within the legal limits for Idaho. If someone bumped me too hard, I would probably tip over into …
Santorum, Just War, and False Equivalence
One of the things that needs to be removed from the discussion of Ron Paul’s views of foreign policy is a false equivalence that has become something of a meme in these discussions. It is a false equivalence, not because there could never be an equivalence, but rather because it is being assumed to be …