Charles Djou (R-HI)

Just savor the moment, of a Republican member of the House of Representatives from Hawaii.  If you don't know about Hawaii's Democratic propensity (or is it addiction?), this is akin to San Francisco electing a Republican to replace Nancy Pelosi.

I admit, it might be tough for him to win re-election in November.  Djou only received 40% of the vote, and the two Democrats split most of the rest of the vote:

The two Democrats also turned their eyes toward the party primary in September, as both vowed to continue the fight for the right to face Djou in a one-on-one vote in November.

If they had any sense, one of them would have dropped out, and the other would almost certainly have beaten Djou. But what was it Will Rogers said? "I am not a member of an organized political party. I am a Democrat."

Nailing Woodpeckers to the Wall

Nailing Woodpeckers to the Wall

Couldn't sell this one, either.

Nailing Woodpeckers to the Wall

Several years ago, my wife and I had a builder create our dream home, out in the country. There was a lapse of several months from when he finished it, to when we were ready to move in, because our son was in his senior year of high school. It would have been impractical for him to make the drive every day, so we waited.

One Saturday, we drove up to the new house—and saw what at first glance looked like vandalism! There were holes in the screens, damage to the wood siding—enough that it was obvious as soon as we opened the car doors. What had happened?

Woodpeckers are what happened. As far as they were concerned, this was a weird kind of tree—and well worth attacking. We gathered a variety of suggestions on how to discourage them from continuing their marauding—of which the most stark in its simplicity was: use an air rifle to shoot one, and nail it to the outside of the house. I was told that the rest would see their fallen comrade, and leave our house alone.

This was a bit too redneck for me to seriously consider, but I now see another use for that same strategy. Where the birds were destroying our future house, now it is bird-brains in the House destroying our future—and figuratively, at least, it’s time to get out the hammer and nails.

There are two special elections for the House of Representatives next month: one in Hawaii, one in Pennsylvania. The national Democratic Party is absolutely terrified that if Republicans win these two traditionally Democratic seats, it will throw a scare into other Democratic Congresscritters across the country. Yes: rather like nailing a woodpecker to the outside of the house.

Both races are really quite astonishing—with the Democratic machine in Hawaii apparently quite badly split over who to support. There are two Democrats and one Republican in the race—and this is a winner takes all race. The Republican could win the election with 40% of the vote, if the Democrats split the other 60% evenly.

The district in Pennsylvania, while having a strong lead in Democratic registration, is not exactly blue state territory. At least part of why John Murtha managed to hold the seat as long as he did is that he was, until part-way through the Iraq War, a pretty seriously hawkish Democrat. One of the Democratic strategists interviewed in that Politico article described it having “a lot of ‘Pennsyltucky’ action….” (At least he didn’t start humming “Dueling Banjos.”)

Like many parts of America, it has a lot of Democrats who love America, but were bought off by John Murtha’s ability to bring home the pork. As Americans start to look at the future with genuine concern, the Democrats have reason to be concerned.

I can’t quite tell from Charles Djou’s website if he is a conservative, libertarian, or one of those RINOs that irritate me—but I do know that a RINO winning that special election would be a good thing. I’ve just made a modest contribution to Charles Djou’s campaign for Congress in Hawaii.

Tim Burns, who is running to replace the late John Murtha, is no question, not a RINO. He is a conservative. I’ve just made a slightly larger contribution to Tim Burns’ campaign. If you are serious about stopping the Democratic bird-brains before they knock all our houses down—it’s time to put your money where you mouth is. It’s time to terrify Democratic members of Congress with the prospect of joining the unemployed.

UPDATE: The link to Tim Burns' campaign was broken.  Fixed now.

Twenty Ten

Twenty Ten

A clever multimedia presentation by Lloyd Marcus, sung to the tune of New York, New York. I wish that I believed that we had some chance of taking the country back in 2010, but I know that much of the Republican Party's national leadership still doesn't understand that Democrat Lite as a strategy isn't going to work.

What Is New York's Governor Smoking?

What Is New York's Governor Smoking?

Snowflakes in Hell mentions that New York Governor Paterson has appointed an NRA-endorsed, strongly pro-gun conservative Democrat member of the House to fill Senator Clinton's remaining two year term. And this January 22, 2009 Newsday article tells us how upset Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), the queen on gun control in the House, is about it:

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy said Thursday Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand's gun control views make her unacceptable for the U.S. Senate and threatened a primary challenge in 2010 if Gov. David A. Paterson selects the Hudson Democrat to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton.

McCarthy, who became a prominent gun-control advocate after her husband died and her son was injured in the 1993 massacre at the Long Island Rail Road's Merillon Avenue station that killed six people and injured 19 others, said she is "furious" about reports that Paterson today may select Gillibrand, who last year earned an "A" grade from the National Rifle Association.

"I've spent 15 years trying to prevent gun violence in this country, and if he does pick her and if no one goes and primaries her, I will primary her," McCarthy said. "I will do that. I'm not going to give up on this. I'm not going to let New York State get represented by someone who gets a 100 percent rating from the NRA."

Even better: Rep. Pelosi (D-CA) already dislikes her, according to this January 6, 2009 CBS News report. Now, at this point, you are asking yourself, "Huh? Why would a very, very liberal Democratic governor pick one of those Democrats who could probably be a Republican just as easily--maybe more easily--than fitting in with the Democrats?" Remember that in 2006, a lot of how the Democrats gained control of the House was by running often very conservative Democrats against Republicans that were either not very conservative, or had serious personal problems. (Like sending sexually suggestive messages to teenage boy pages, as a certain gay Republican Florida Congressman did.) Gillibrand was one of those conservative Democrats--and this account tells how she did it:

Gillibrand scored one of the big upsets of the 2006 elections when she defeated incumbent GOP Rep. John Sweeney for New York's 20th District seat. The critical moment in the campaign came shortly before Election Day, when a leaked police report showed Sweeney's wife had called 911 in what appeared to be a domestic violence incident.

Now, for a Democrat, this wouldn't be a big deal--unless you barbecued your spouse afterwards, and lost the vegetarian vote--but for a Republican, this is not okay.

I have a theory that Governor Paterson picked Gillibrand because he knows (as almost everyone with a half a brain knows) that in 2010, the economy will not be better than it is now. Indeed, the economy is likely to be worse--maybe much worse, for reasons I will be explicating in a later entry. There is a chance that Republicans will be in a position to unseat Democrats in a number of Congressional districts. (Of course, if the Republican Party decides that it really wants to win, something that I do not assume, after watching their behavior the last two election cycles.)

The only weaker position than an appointed U.S. Senator running for re-election is someone who has not held the seat at all. If the tide is cresting Republican, in a state like New York, where there are actually quite a few Republicans, who is more likely to defeat a Republican challenger? A very liberal Democrat? Or a very conservative Democrat? Of course, we could hope that if the tide turns in 2010, Gillibrand might change parties--and that could be very entertaining indeed!

UPDATE: Additional reports suggest that Gillibrand is a pro-gun liberal--not a conservative Democrat. It might still assist the Democrats to hold the seat against a Republican challenger.