Two Word (or less) Opinions Again

When I'm busy with my day job I'm relegated to quick posts.  Nothing is much quicker than two word opinions.  While that can be shallow, it can also distill ideas into black and white, good versus bad, yes or no simplicity.  If that's all that ever came about, two word opinions would be bad.  As a starting point for further discussions later on, they make a good headline on a position.

Giver-ment shutdown

So the government (or use many union members seem to think of it, giver-ment) is shutting down. It would be far too simplistic for the Tea Party to simply say, "Good. Bring it Democrats." Although it would be very satisfying. Unfortunately it is a little more complicated than that.

Palin's parents - bitter clingers?

Just a quick hit, no pun intended, on some news of the day. Sarah Palin's parents apparently are sleeping with guns because of death threats they've received from various nut jobs, most likely of a liberal bent. One in particular had them spooked, but the FBI   Does that mean that the President would consider them 'bitter clingers'?

Presumably Chuck and Sally Heath's crime was producing Sarah Palin.  Once again, the left, as anxious as they are to paint every possible idiot with a gun as a fascist right wing nut job (see the Giffords shooting scenario), are going to ignore the vitriolic hatred pointed at the right.  Luckily this was caught in time to prevent another Giffords type tragedy.

EXIT question: Does this sort of thing carry enough weight that Sarah Palin would not run for President?  She's always said the impact on her family is one of her biggest considerations.

Worth Noting: An Apology To Palin

Levi Johnston is quoted in People Magazine as apologizing to both Bristol and Sarah Palin.  Yes, belatedly but at least he''s smartened up enough to own up to his untruthful antics.

Big ripples from Massachusetts

The special election next week for the Senate seat left empty by the death of Ted Kennedy has more, far-reaching, implication than just a single Senate seat. It has national implications that will ripple throughout the nation, and ripple throughout 2010, and beyond. The Democrats, realizing this, have sent in some of their top guns to pull this race out of the fire for their party. So why aren't the Republicans all over this too?

Firstly, consider the impacts of another Republican Senator. With the current tally of Republicans at 40, and 60 votes required to stop a filibuster, the GOP needs one more Republican to be able to thwart a Democrat supermajority. The election of Scott Brown over Martha Coakley would provide that inertia dampening one extra vote that the Democrats swindled by sneaking in Al Frankenberry. It means poorly designed health care reform can be slowed if not stopped. It means cap and trade can be slowed so that real debate can take place. It's not a panacea but it might slow the bleeding on the national debt - or at least stop it from quickening even more.

But that's not the only consideration. With the GOP sweep in Virginia last November, along with the win for Governor in New Jersey, and the near upset of the Conservative Party candidate in NY23, conservatism, and to a slightly lesser extent the GOP has been on a roll. Combine that with a victory in Massachusetts of all places next week, and you have the making of true, surprising momentum. It sets the tone for the 2010 elections. For example, it gives the Republican National Committee a good position to work from for 2010 if there are any recruiting needs still outstanding.

And the momentum has a spinoff effect as well that serves to compound the prospects for the GOP in 2010 - Democrat retirements. If some House or Senate Democrats were on the fence about retirement, imagine how news of Republican Senator from Massachusetts might impact their decisions. It helps ease the incumbency advantage the Democrats possess (in theory), and it might cause the DNC to have to scramble for replacements, thereby taking them out of their 2010 game plan.

So yeah, this special election is a big deal. Special indeed. And the outcome is not a guaranteed Democratic win.



So where the heck is the RNC? After all, just as Sarah Palin pitched in for Hoffman in the NY23 Congressional race, Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney have both pitched for Brown in Massachusetts. Steele? Well, he's on a book tour. Even if he has a team working around the clock behind the scenes to help out Brown, the optics are terrible.

Programming Note - Assessing the Candidates

Two Weeks ago I had mentioned that I was going to do another candidate review this past week.  You may have noticed it didn't happen.  I haven't forgotten but given the soon to be spectacle around Palin's book tour, including Oprah, I've decided it would be smarter to hold of f for a bit.  The reason is that I've decided to try to compare the candidates against each other and the landscape could shift considerably this week.

As a result the Assessing the Candidates revisit will be delayed for at least one week from today in order to process the impacts sure to come this week.

Chris Matthews views on a woman President

Chris Matthews on the electibility of a woman as President;

"I think a woman president would have to be very conservative to get elected. "

Does that means he thinks Sarah Palin could win?  Nah, that's too easy. He was talking about Hilary Clinton, whom I'm sure he views as very conservative.

Anti-Palin press: Then and Now

Whatever is convenient. Different sources, but the idea is simple. Dump on Levi Johnston until he becomes an asset. Then it's kid gloves.

The Hollywood Gossip: (Sept 2008)

Bristol Palin’s high school sweetheart and father of her unborn baby, Levi Johnston, may not be ready for fatherhood just yet.

We're not just guessing that because he's a bad boy teen. He said this!

Bristol Palin, 17, the daughter of Alaska Governor and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, is five months pregnant. Just hours after this shocking revelation, the father of her child was revealed by the media.

While Levi Johnston (pictured below) admits he's "in a relationship" on his personal MySpace page, the teen hockey player made the candid statement that he does not exactly wanna be a parent, proclaiming, “I don’t want kids.”

Way to set the record straight, Levi!

And it got far worse. But after the breakup with Bristol Palin and a chance to use him to knock Palin, the tune changed.

From Salon a review of the Tyra Banks interview (April 7, 20009);

Levi Johnston showed up in an untucked button-down, grey pants and a bright blue sweater vest, sounding no more or less like an anxious dumbass than you might expect of a teenager who wants to talk about his private life on "Tyra."

...

He was affable and monosyllabic, giving mostly grunting "yes" and "no" answers to Banks' questions.

...

But Levi was downright eloquent in comparison to Banks, who treated him with a combination of condescension and obsequiousness unmatched in my recent television watching experience.

...

Given the forum and circumstances, Johnston was relatively gracious, and even classy, when holding forth on both Bristol and her family.

Before he was an abhorred brute. After, a gullible but affable kid in the wrong place. The efforts at being two-faced by the media never seem to cease.

In the words of Tyra, Mmmmhmmmm!