Republican Nomination Process

Voter Fraud

To the cheaters go the spoils. 

We sneer in this country when we see the massive voter fraud in Russia (more votes for Putin in some areas than there were registered voters) or Venezuela (organized voter thuggery).  But we should be careful in our high-mindedness ... for we are rapidly becoming equally corrupt ... so much so that I fear our democracy is in jeopardy.  We have seen the seedy side of "community organizers" in the exposure of ACORN's shenanigans (see: Many Instances).  We have seen local elections in Chicago and Nevada that were clearly rigged.  We have even had nation-wide elections that are suspected of to have been stolen ... JFK's in particular.  Democrats decry George W. Bush's first election as being decided by the U.S. Supreme Court ... but would have been perfectly happy to have it determined by the clearly-biased Florida Supreme Court.

I have recently read a compelling blog that deals with this subject in a plain-talk manner.  May I suggest that you give it a gander.  It's not very long ... see: The Diplomad.  And, if you like this former U.S. diplomat's  (and Dartmouth graduate's) style, go back from time to time to read his insightful analysis of the world and national situation.  I have a generic link to his blog on this blog.  (He is about to spill the inside poop on Hillary's tenure at Foggy Bottom.)

Back to voter fraud.  This country is overwhelmingly Conservative (see: Gallup Survey), yet Liberals keep winning elections where they probably shouldn't.  There can be few explanations for these inconsistencies other than Democrat-organized voter fraud.  (There might even be some cheating on the part of Republicans ... particularly in the South.  This too is inexcusable.)  Although many citizens understand this is happening, they do nothing.  And, when they do something to stop voter fraud, they are charged with "voter suppression." 

This electoral misfeasance is a grievous wrong and needs to be remedied if we have any chance of maintaining our Democratic institutions.  Perhaps a political party might be charged under the federal Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) statutes?  (You know which one I mean.)  Wouldn't that be a breath of fresh air?  Perhaps even, if Romney can win the Presidency this fall (despite expected massive voter fraud), his adiministration might begin the thankless job of cleaning these Aegean stables?  And returning us to a nation that our founding fathers would recognize.

Caught My Eye

Four tidbits on the Internet that have recently caught my eye:

1. According to the Congressional Budget Office the cost of Obamacare is now estimated at $1.76 trillion over ten years (and well over $2.5 trillion if you count other implementation costs according to Charles Krauthammer on Fox News last night) as opposed to the "around $900 billion" that Obama promised in order to get this monstrosity "passed" through Congress ... see: Washington Examiner Piece).

2. Relatively unnoticed, President Obama's Pentagon is also proposing to save $13 billion by 2017 by upping the premiums on military health care benefits ... see: NY Post Article.  Shame on them!

3. A relatively obscure Bureau of Labor Statistics table is now getting some media attention.  It is called "U-6" and it highlights the structural unemployment in the United States.  Are you ready for the (more) realistic number?  It's 14.9% ... see BLS Release.  Yes, it has come down too, but it is still quite a bite higher than the 8.3% figure ballyhooed by the national media.

4. As part of its fire-hose crony-capitalism spending,  the Department of Energy provided a loan guarantee to a car company of $529 million to build cars in Finland ... see: ABC News Report.  Here is a quote from Consumer Reports when it tried to check out this new "green" car (the electric Fisker Karma): “We buy about 80 cars a year and this is the first time in memory that we have had a car that is undriveable before it has finished our check-in process.”

Oh yes, and one more ... yesterday U.S. Marines were disarmed when our Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, spoke to them in Afghanistan ... a clear affront to our proud soldiers by our lily-livered empty suits.   See: The Telegraph Article.

And so, to bed ...

Mr. Cool

The then Senator Obama once told Harry Reid that his "gift" was being able to read from a teleprompter so easily.  That certainly is true, but he has a much larger asset ... and that is his "coolness".  Marshall McLuhan once prophetically observed that television is a cool medium.  And President Obama fits this medium like a chamois glove.  He even strides "cool."  I seldom can watch him perform on television without singing to myself that old 1959 Coasters' song Charlie Brown:

Who walks in the classroom, cool and slow
Who calls the English teacher, Daddy-O      (see: All Lyrics)

So, in the upcoming Presidential election, Obama (I like to call him The Barry to reprise that other cool media character, The Donald), has the natural advantage in the upcoming debates.  Neither Rick Santorum nor Mitt Romney nor Newt Gingrich are particularly cool personalities ... Romney is cooler than the other two, but still boiling hot compared to The Barry.  What does this suggest?  To me, it implies that, if the election is determined on emotion (as it was in 2008), Obama will win in a walk.  However, if the U.S. electorate chooses to view things this fall with a preponderance of logic, then Obama will loose in a landslide.  It should turn out to be a classic battle between the head and the heart.

And what will determine the mood of electorate then?  My guess would be the degree of angst (created by the world situation) that is roiling the voters ... the hotter things are, the less well "coolness" will play.

Bieber-licious

A life is a terrible thing to waste ... yet 24 Tibetans (many of them monks) have self-immolated in the last year to protest the Chinese government's repressive treatment of the Tibetan people,  (See: LA Times Story ... please read it to the end).

These protests have gotten scant coverage in the Western media and, thus, these grisly deaths have achieved little purpose in this country.  Why is this?  Obviously, Justin Bieber's mooning over Selena Gomez is much, much more important ...

Carom Shot

Rather than clutter up this blog with attempted aesthetics, I've decided to create a separate blog called Haiku Wanderings.  If you appreciate such doggerel, please click on that link.

Libretto

A libretto is the script or narrative for an opera ... often in English.  You can frequently see the standees at the back of the opera houses following all the singing and arm waving with their libretti ... even silently mouthing the words.  Now we have such a narrative for the Republican nomination process which is as melodramatic as many of these German or Italian arias.  Basically, the theme is -- even though Mitt Romney has a virtual overwhelming chance of winning the Republican nomination, there is still a statistically measurable chance (if the moon turns blue on the same night as a Martian landing in Hoboken) that there will be a brokered convention (no candidate gets more than 50% of the delegate votes).

Why do these media pundits sound so slavishly hopeful (and silly) for this to occur?  It's the money honey ...  The news media wants to maintain the high ratings and circulations that they have enjoyed so far in this Wagnerian political songfest.  And, if they can keep the American public on the edge of their seats for the rest of the Republican primary/caucus season, maybe they can just continue to pay those high salaries to their rabid talking heads and Op Ed writers.   How did that line go in the Watergate hearings?  "Follow the money ..."  [Also, many on the media left hope against hope that continued hostilities can also fatally damage Romney.]

Readers, don't be sucked in ... the fat lady has already sung.