Shifty Specter On Solid Ground

Bush, Democrats, Environmentalism & Animal Rights, John McCain, Politics, Republicans

Sean Hannity wants to know how Arlen Specter could go from supporting Genghis Bush, in some years 80-90 percent of the time, to supporting BHO 96 percent of the time considering the two mens’ principles, their core values, their belief system are diametrical opposition?”

They are? How so? Specter is a politician’s politician who amply proves that “The Democratic and Republican parties each operates as a necessary counterweight in a partnership designed to keep the pendulum of power swinging in perpetuity from the one set of colluding quislings to the other, and back.”

Speaking of a politician’s politician, do you remember once-upon-a-time when McCain supported Cap and Trade?

And, of course, some Repbulicans voted with Obama on “Cap and tax.”

The 2008 Republican energy platform hammered away about “reducing our petroleum dependence.”

Although only Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, and Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine voted for BHO’s print-and-spend stimulus; the rest voted against it—Repbulicans did pitch in for Bush’s Stim—only 16 voted “No.”

Jump in and help us go over all the other policy points of convergence between the parties. But I think slimy, shifting Specter is on solid grounds.

What’s Fueling The Fever Of Freedom?

Constitution, Democracy, IMMIGRATION, libertarianism, Liberty, Political Philosophy, Private Property, States' Rights

IMMIGRATION IS. When states stand up to the always-oppressive federal government, it’s a good thing. When issues loom large enough to bring about this necessary rift—necessary if freedom is to prevail—they deserve a closer look, if not, I would argue, our unreserved support. If gay marriage, yea or nay, prompted a state to secede; I’d be the first to cheer that state on.

Virginia’s Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has ruled that “state law enforcement officers are allowed to check the immigration status of anyone ‘stopped or arrested.” According to FoxNews, Cuccinelli issued a legal opinion on Friday “extending that authority to Virginia police in response to an inquiry over whether his state could mirror the policies passed into law in Arizona.”

“It is my opinion that Virginia law enforcement officers, including conservation officers may, like Arizona police officers, inquire into the immigration status of persons stopped or arrested,” he wrote.

Bring it on is what Cuccinelli is telling the federal government.

According to Lou Dobbs, interviewed by Megyn Kelly, “11 states are preparing to emulate Arizona. It is not what the Obama administration wanted; but it is exactly what the American people want,” he told the host of America’s News. Kelly says there are at least 18 states poised to follow Arizona on immigration and into a conflagration with the feds.

Now, you could challenge me as follows: “Mercer, you are not a proponent of majoritarianism. You’ve argued vigorously against democracy—even have a book due out that is a manifesto against raw democracy. Why are the people’s wishes okay in this instance?”

Because, as I’ve often said (most recently in this blog post), people have negative, leave-me-alone rights. Preventing a foreign invasion is perfectly within the purview of the “night-watchman state of classical-liberal theory,” in the words of the late philosopher, Robert Nozick.

Having delegated defense and policing to government, a people has a right to live free of the dangers that flow from being trespassed upon.

To the American Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson especially, secession was essential to the American scheme. Jefferson viewed extreme decentralization as the bulwark of the liberty and rights of man. Consequently, the United States was created as a pact between sovereign states with which the ultimate power lay. Sadly, it has progressed from a decentralized republic into a highly consolidated one.

The Constitution assigns the narrow function of naturalization to the feds. That small thing notwithstanding; I find it hard to fathom a founder arguing that the men and militia of a state should sit on their hands because a tier of tyrants (the feds) told them to (while their farms and nature reserves are trashed and their families endangered).

Neither should libertarians sit this thing out.

What’s Fueling The Fever Of Freedom?

Constitution, IMMIGRATION, libertarianism, Liberty, Political Philosophy, Private Property, States' Rights

IMMIGRATION IS. When states stand up to the always-oppressive federal government, it’s a good thing. When issues loom large enough to bring about this necessary rift—necessary if freedom is to prevail—they deserve a closer look, if not, I would argue, our unreserved support. If gay marriage, yea or nay, prompted a state to secede; I’d be the first to cheer that state on.

Virginia’s Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has ruled that “state law enforcement officers are allowed to check the immigration status of anyone ‘stopped or arrested.” According to FoxNews, Cuccinelli issued a legal opinion on Friday “extending that authority to Virginia police in response to an inquiry over whether his state could mirror the policies passed into law in Arizona.”

“It is my opinion that Virginia law enforcement officers, including conservation officers may, like Arizona police officers, inquire into the immigration status of persons stopped or arrested,” he wrote.

Bring it on is what Cuccinelli is telling the federal government.

According to Lou Dobbs, interviewed by Megyn Kelly, “11 states are preparing to emulate Arizona. It is not what the Obama administration wanted; but it is exactly what the American people want,” he told the host of America’s News. Kelly says there are at least 18 states poised to follow Arizona on immigration and into a conflagration with the feds.

Now, you could challenge me as follows: “Mercer, you are not a proponent of majoritarianism. You’ve argued vigorously against democracy—even have a book due out that is a manifesto against raw democracy. Why are the people’s wishes okay in this instance?”

Because, as I’ve often said (most recently in this blog post), people have negative, leave-me-alone rights. Preventing a foreign invasion is perfectly within the purview of the “night-watchman state of classical-liberal theory,” in the words of the late philosopher, Robert Nozick.

Having delegated defense and policing to government, a people has a right to live free of the dangers that flow from being trespassed upon.

To the American Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson especially, secession was essential to the American scheme. Jefferson viewed extreme decentralization as the bulwark of the liberty and rights of man. Consequently, the United States was created as a pact between sovereign states with which the ultimate power lay. Sadly, it has progressed from a decentralized republic into a highly consolidated one.

The Constitution assigns the narrow function of naturalization to the feds. That small thing notwithstanding; I find it hard to fathom a founder arguing that the men and militia of a state should sit on their hands because a tier of tyrants (the feds) told them to (while their farms and nature reserves are trashed and their families endangered).

Neither should libertarians sit this thing out.

UPDATED II**: The Contradictions Of Palin

Barack Obama, IMMIGRATION, John McCain, Sarah Palin

She jumped on the opportunity to run on a ticket that supported legalizing 20 million of “God’s children,” John McCain’s misty-eyed moniker for illegal immigrants. While campaigning in 2008, Sarah Palin parroted the McCain position on immigration, still does in many respects.

Now, “Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Sunday that Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) has ‘the cojones’ that President Obama ‘does not have’ to take on illegal immigration.”

This is, first, a stupid statement, because untrue: Obama doesn’t lack for political audacity to pass his legislative agenda. This he has proven. Moreover, a lack of courage is more forgivable than an ideological, intentional refusal to allow the enforcement of immigration laws, which is Obama’s stance. BHO is purposefully preventing Arizona from doing the work he doesn’t want done.

That was the position Palin’s running mate held, before he got religion on enforcement and befriended the fabulous Sheriff Paul Babeu from Pinal County.

And for cowardice and cunning on the border look no further than Bush. Palin has had kind words to say about Genghis B.

UPDATE I ** (Aug. 4): (This update was written on the 2th, but did not update, for some reason. Read it.) A COUPLE OF POINTS: The fact that Palin picks winners matters not. The Flo-trained chimp from the Progressive Insurance ads produces winning combination too. What we need to look at is whether Palin picks principled candidates for office. Carly Fiorina and McCain may have been polite picks, but they were no good. She did well to endorse Rand Paul. So Sarah, a feminist by any other name, was calling BHO a metrosexual. Yes, BHO is not manly; he definitely qualifies as androgynous, a quality not many black men have assimilated, other than Don Lemon of CNN. Come to think of it, good for black men: they have certainly retained their secondary male characteristics: deep voices, confident stride, loud laugh, etc. Black men do not sound like the feminine, younger, white boys of the TV commentariat—liberal and conservative—with their high-pitched voices, fussy cadence, and fancy eye-wear. In their defense, a loss of testosterone is, partly, involuntary. Perhaps women like BHO b/c he is so soft and unmanly. But I digress. Myron was right all along about Sarah being political “cotton candy.” She’s a great personality as a mom, hunter, runner, oil and gas ace (expertise she has never “tapped”). But for the rest: nothing much at all.

UPDATE II (Aug. 4) : In my opinion, Nora makes a good point; Palin’s cojones coinage is tacky. But it goes with the Reality-show flavor her personal life is taking, what with the two, on-again; off again dimwit betrothed; and the neighbor she is always huffing about. Her silent steely husband (I like him); I still think he’s behind the laudable secessionist sentiments Sarah has disavowed. The Dude, btw, does not belong to the Party of Dumb Dames.