lightning round
by Jon on Jan.18, 2009, under Babble, Politics
I haven’t blogged much about the goings on in government lately, so we’ll do a quick catch-up / rundown of a few things.
- Senator Burris — I don’t really have a problem with this. Sure, the process was tainted, but maybe in a way that benefits us. With Blago being in the situation he’s in, the need to set up his defense put him in a position of having no choice but to appoint someone who was squeaky-clean and well regarded. Of course the pick had to be someone who would actually accept it, which means someone who knows they aren’t slick enough a politician to win the seat otherwise. So in the end I think we’re getting a decent and honest public servant, maybe even the sort of person we wish they all could be. Even if he doesn’t seem to be the sharpest crayon in the box, at least from what I’ve seen.
- On the subject of pending Senators, I’m ambivalent on the Caroline Kennedy thing. Yeah, I don’t much like seeing an aristocrat glide into the seat banking on a family name, and if there’s an obvious and deserving choice who’s getting screwed out of it, then that’s no good. But so far I’ve not heard of this person, and it seems like the choice may be between coronating a Kennedy or coronating a Cuomo. So, meh.
- And then there’s Al — yeah, I’m pretty happy that it looks like Franken’s going to get his seat. This isn’t even a partisan thing so much as an I just like Al Franken thing. I don’t agree with him on everything, and I don’t think I’d ever vote him into any executive position, but as one voice out of a hundred, I think he can make some meaningful contributions.
- Drilling down to the state, how ’bout that Williams-Odom-Naifeh coup in the Tennesse House, eh? The entertainment value alone of watching the hard-right troglodytes from Mumpower to Hobbs melting down made it a grand old time. I do agree with Roger that this isn’t really a step forward for progressives, but I disagree with Roger that it’s a bad thing for progressives. It’s just maintaining the status quo. But, given how hard the goopers seem to want to beat us back to the 50s — the 1850s, that is — status quo is probably the best we can hope for. And I said this elsewhere as a joke, but I think it’s sorta true — if Kent Williams is a “Republican in Name Only”, then the GOP never had anything more than a “Majority in Name Only”. So what we have now — a House run by a moderate Republican with the support of a relatively conservative bunch of backwater Democrats — really is actually a pretty good reflection of how this state thinks — for better or worse.
- Locally of course all the buzz is about the
WhitesEnglish Only abomination, which I’ve written a bit about previously. I won’t run down the pro/con laundry list since I think anyone reading me is almost assuredly firmly locked on one side or the other. I may whip up something separate on the broader question of the xenophobia behind this thing, but for now suffice it to say, get out Thursday and vote down this monstrosity. Unless you’re for it, in which case you need to get to the polls on Friday :)
Meanwhile, where are we partying Tuesday?
6 comments for this entry:
January 18th, 2009 on 12:25 pm
the party seems to be on the west steps of the capitol building. it’s strange; i’ve been there several times before, but i couldn’t imagine being there on tuesday. given the sensationalism of it all, i have to wonder if there’s going to be an open bar… ;)
January 27th, 2009 on 9:14 pm
And you call yourself a libertarian?
“I’m pretty happy that it looks like Franken’s going to get his seat.” The person with the worst case of Bush Derangement Syndrome I’ve ever seen
January 28th, 2009 on 5:25 am
Am I someone whose abstract ideology is informed by strict adherence to the zero-aggression principle? Absolutely. Does said ideology much resemble “libertarian” as reinvented by American conservatives? Not really.
January 30th, 2009 on 9:50 pm
Jon – I tend to agree on all these points … even the Al Franken thing is good for a chuckle or two (I don’t see him being taken seriously enough to hurt much, and his intentions are mostly benign, anyway). And the TN House mess, at least Naifeh is (at least officially) no longer pulling the strings; maybe it will even mean a couple more bills getting to the floor for a change, altho I fear they’ll be more likely conservatoid social oppression masquerading as “fighting liberalism” … than they’ll be pro-liberty ones!
I also as you know share ideological bearings with you, and neither do I consider myself in any way shape or form as a @#$%^& conservative
January 31st, 2009 on 11:51 am
Yep, like I said I wouldn’t want Franken in an executive position where he would have to be taken more seriously, but do think he can be good in a spot where there are 99 other voices to keep him in check.
Hopefully the supposedly moderate Williams will help keep at least the worst of the gop social oppression at bay, and like you said it’s good to get rid of Naifeh. So hopefully we hold the status quo for the next two years, then maybe get Odom or some other moderate dem in the seat.
Yeah, I had to snicker a bit at the suggestion that having “Bush Derangement Syndrome*” was somehow supposed to be a bad thing from a libertarian perspective. Hell, it’s one of the better things you can say about someone.
* Which doesn’t even mean what conservatives think it means. The term was coined by a liberal columnist, fer pete’s sake. It doesn’t mean one is deranged for disliking Bush, it refers to the sputtering rage induced by having to deal with the monkey boy.
February 12th, 2009 on 7:43 pm
Howdies, Jon.
I don’t have a comment on yer post, just sayin’ hi. I was cleaning up my address book lately which got me talkin’ w/ S, who fw’ed me your blog address.
Drop me a line!
dmp