the passing of the era continues

Jack Kemp died yesterday. Rick Brookhiser at NRO remembers him thus:

Was there ever a man of such high spirits as Jack Kemp? Reagan was sunny; Kemp was a perpetual solar flare. He had an athlete’s energy and an optimist’s expectation that all would come out well. He also felt the respect for learning that only those who come to it late and under their own steam have. Ideas, he believed, really could save the world.

if you could put Klein in a bottle

Philip Klein leads off an American Spectator article with a dizzying recounting of Obama’s opening gambits, and warns conservatives there’s a threshold past which we can expect to become more Continental than most of us prefer:

However, if Obama succeeds in passing health care legislation later this year, America will be destined to resemble Europe, and there will be no turning back, no matter how fierce the public backlash over the inevitable explosion in deficits and implementation of rationing.

For all of his successes, Reagan couldn’t make a dent in the main pillars of the welfare state and even consented to a payroll tax hike to subsidize a failing Social Security system. When Republicans swept into Congress in 1994, during the short period in which they actually tried to rein in government, they were able to pass modest welfare reform, but unable to touch Medicare.

Obama envisions himself as a transformational liberal leader, whose programs, like FDR’s New Deal and LBJ’s Great Society, live on long after he’s gone. He’s well on his way to achieving his goal, unless Republicans figure out some way to slow him down.

For another take on the “brink” for this slippery slope, see Kudlow’s comments in the Corner today.

there is a Specter haunting Pennsylvania….

…and apparently it is a spectre of a former Republican. Is anyone really terribly shocked?

Specter as a Democrat would also fundamentally alter the 2010 calculus in Pennsylvania as he was expected to face a difficult primary challenge next year from former Rep. Pat Toomey. The only announced Democrat in the race is former National Constitution Center head Joe Torsella although several other candidates are looking at the race.

The electoral calculus, here, is simple: Specter figures the winds have changed in favor of Democrats enough that he has better odds of winning a general election than surviving another primary challenge. That’s enough pragmatic interest, apparently, to make an honest man of Arlen.

Downtown Sarasota Tax Day Tea Party

DATE: 15 April 2009
TIME: Noon-2pm
LOCATION: Marina Jacks Sarasota Bayfront

NOTE: The location has been changed, and is no longer in front of the courthouse as previously stated

Bradenton Tax Day Tea Party

DATE: 15 April 1009
TIME: 5-7pm
LOCATION: Mixon Fruit Farm, 2712 26th Ave E. Bradenton

From the Mixon site: We invite everyone to come together across party lines, share ideas, voice concerns, and inspire one another to take action. The Government is meant to be in the hands of the people, so let us unite and make it so. . . “We want this to be a high energy positive experience”, says Stephanie Fuhr. Come armed with optimism, an open mind, and an open heart. We are planning on having lots of entertainment and some good old fashion flag waving.

Lakewood Ranch Tea Party — Update

The final details on the Lakewood Ranch Tea Party:

DATE: 15 April 2009
TIME: 3-7 pm
LOCATION: Off the patio from Ed’s Tavern on Main Street

In addition to flags and signs, the organizers are asking people to bring bags (burlap bags, 50lb rice bags, etc) filled with bubble wrap and marked TEA. There are several speakers and performers lined up, and 1280 AM will be covering the festivities. My kiddos will be out there, and I’m going to try and pop in between classes. . .

Venice Tax Day Tea Party

Wow. You know this thing is getting big if even sleepy Venice is roused to action. . .

DATE:15 April 2009
TIME: Wednesday Noon - 1 PM
LOCATION: Gazebo in Centennial Park (in downtown Venice) on West Venice Ave., Venice, FL

POC: Patricia Rule at Prule_fl_mi@yahoo.com and Karen Rodemaker at birder2@verizon.net

Catharsis.

I’m sure most of you have heard clips of the Daniel Hannan p!mp-slapping of British PM Gordon Brown. Here’s the full version of the video. Wow. In my perfect world, I’d have a chance to say the same things to Obama, and do so with the same measure of poise and righteous anger.

Now a Lakewood Ranch Tea Party?

Schweet. It looks like Lakewood Ranch (east Bradenton, FL) may be joining the Tea Party movement. The sec’y of the Manatee County Republican Party contacted me today. According to her, they’ll be closing down “Main Street” on April 15th for a time so we can have a tea party. I’m calling the local tea party POC tomorrow.

If this is accurate, which it seems to be, I’ll post up the details tomorrow.

“Obama can’t be any worse than the Republicans. . .”

This was a sentiment often expressed by independents, libertarians and disgruntled Republicans during the last election cycle. Well, the data is in. We can now state empirically that YES HE CAN!

Is this the change you were waiting for?

HT: Fausta’s Blog, via Facebook.

Asides

• Shooting babies in the air may seem tough, but... (more...) #
• Stimulating Ourselves to Death -- They might sound great, but do stimulus packages work? Read more over at ReasonOnline. #
• He may not be polished, but Bush is a classy guy. #
• This is great news -- Iraq combat deaths are at a six-year low. #
• Quoth the inimitable Derb, after doing the job a working literary critic wouldn't dare: "Oh, well. Let’s console ourselves (more...) #