Republicans, democrats, funding and the future

  Suddenly the press, viz., Politico, is interested in the amount of money a politician spends on travel here and there in government flying machines. 
  Bill Clinton was notorious for buzzing around the country on thinly veiled fundraising jaunts, and certainly no one could possibly fail to mention, oh, say Michelle Obama's penny pinching extra $63,000 early plane trip to Hawaii or fabulous self sacrificial trip to Spain or flying the dog on a separate plane or The Messiah Himself flying around the country fundraising and charging the country for it...(Notice most of the sources to which I've linked are conservative. The CBS link title is "Michelle Obama criticized as modern day Marie Antoinette, which can easily be inferred as much a criticism of the criticizers as the spendthrift herself.)
  The politician in question is Haley Barbour, whose star has been rising considerably in recent days. Barbour is an interesting character, partly because he is sort of the anti-Romney possible candidate for the presidency. As the Hill Buzz guys repeatedly mention, the Republican party rarely steps out of the mold when it comes to presidential candidates. It's always the next rich white guy in line. 
  And Romney is an appealing character, Hillbuzz's personal experience with him notwithstanding in which Romney appeared to be a foppish, fussy, pampered sort of fellow unused to dealing with the real world.
  The horse race is beginning to heat up nationally. The knives are out and have been for Palin, whose popular influence probably reaches further than any other candidate.
  Some folks are pushing Pawlenty, some Thune, some Mitch Daniels, some Newt. They all have one thing in common: they're old white guys.
  This is also true of Barbour but he's not a traditional candidate. Why? Because he's forceful, practical, down home folksy and strong, rather than the usual go along to get along cucumber sandwich crowd candidate.
  He has more personality than all the other old white guys put together.
  You could picture yourself eating ribs and drinking beer with Barbour or Palin. Not so the others. Certainly not Romney.
  So natch the Politico pulls the long knives out for Barbour. Gabriel at Ace says Palin gains the most from this so-called expose because she sold the state jet on eBay rather than fly all over the country in it. Maybe so. We'll see.
  Also regarding the state of Republican politics, this link to Hillbuzz is a gossipy piece about the state of Republican politics in Chicago. Kevin calls Republicans "The party of stupid." 
  Indeed.
  The race for RNC chair is also heating up, as the WSJ today has a comment that Steele is losing support faster than he's gaining it. We'll wait to see if the old "racism" cries start up if he loses his job. 
  The truth is that equality means equal butt kicking when you do the wrong things. If you spend the party apparatus into the ground, if your employees are caught going to porn joints, if you have trouble articulating why you're a Republican, then you're probably not a very good RNC chair.
  Who cares what color your butt is. Kick it out.
  That's true equality.
  Critics are saying that Steele had a most successful season with the Republican landslide on November 2, but the truth is Steele had little to do with it. It was citizen activists, many of whom say the same thing: We woke up. Now we're doing something.
  While some lament (or rejoice) that the RNC is in deeply in debt, I have yet to see any commentary regarding the fact that numerous patriots, knowing full well the financial state of the RNC, spent time studying candidates nationally and consequently donated to specific candidates who represented their interests, rather than delegating that money to others to decide for them. How else to explain Sharron Angle's enormous last quarter draw?
  That citizen interest is, in itself, a change from the way things have been done previously. 
  Now let's hope, as we march toward the next election, that we can pick someone who is a little less traditional than the usual white bread dude.
  The field is wide open, with lots of interesting characters on the horizon.
  The democrats, however, are in a pickle.
  Obama is indeed an interesting character, if not one we like. 
  He is charismatic (my fingers are choking as I write) enough to sway the weak minded with lofty rhetoric about oceans and mountains and how much we need to love everyone and not have nukes anymore. He's good looking (to his cult members, at least), appears to be family oriented, and knows how to mouth the right things (in general) when in a pinch.
  In truth, we all know he's a typical Chicago thug (I respect the presidency, so it feels sort of traitorish to write that) whose heavy hand is transforming traditional conservative US citizens into activists who are increasingly seeing themselves as madcap pirates and legal insurrectionists.
  He has decimated his party into only the most leftwing and increasingly unpopular politicians, who are being seen for who and what they are. (Read it? We don't have time to read the bills! Rules? We don't follow rules. We make em up as we go! In short, DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?)
  Any criticism of Obama, regardless of its origin, is regarded, or at least accused of, racism, the first unfair card to play to shut your critics up without ever having to even explain your behavior. 
  Indeed, democrats are increasingly worried about the insular nature of the Obama regime.
  Though he is adored by the press, he increasingly reveals his absolute contempt for all of them, as the enormous ego that seems to have been nurtured by the people in his life takes over in times of trouble. 
  It looks to be a few years before that party collects itself again, having willingly led the people of this country down the road of regulation, control and heavy handed intervention.
  In short, they are writing the letter V.
  For Vendetta.
  How...interesting,,,,,