David Weigel | February 11, 2008
The Huckabee-McCain choice is basically a choice between third-degree burns and skin cancer, but there's some pleasure to be derived from watching the two go at it. Thus, the Survey USA polls of Virginia—the last Southern state to hold a primary until Mississippi goes next month. On February 8, before the Huckabee wins in Kansas and Louisiana, McCain led Huckabee 57-25, Ron Paul bringing up the rear with 9 percent. Today it looks like the McCain bounce from Romney's exit is already gone: McCain leads 48-37. In 72 hours the gap has shrunk by 21 points.
I'm still expecting McCain to win and for any win to be covered as a Caesarian triumph, but this is the state he blew in 2000 by attacking (correctly, of course) Jerry Falwell as an "agent of intolerance" when he should have been racking up votes in the Tidewater region. McCain famously knuckled under to Falwell in 2006, giving the commencement speech at Liberty University, but why should religious right voters be convinced by that when they can vote for Huckabee? Why should protest voters in the Beltway go for McCain at all?
The Capital Region (VA-MD-DC) Ron Paul organizers have been working this turf for a while, but if they're going to become part of this story it'll be because they help drive McCain's total vote under 50 percent.
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If Huckabee pulls a win in Virginia or even comes within 10 points he will have become the Republican Jerry Brown of 2008.
Well, third-degree burns are an immediate problem, while skin cancer takes a long time to develop. If the intensity is the same, I'll take skin cancer.
Yesterday I posted that I would not vote for Clinton under any circumstane. Let me backpedal. If that ignorant, hillbilly, whack-job preacher gets the GOP nod, I will campaign for either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. I don't think it'll happen, but if it does ...
McCain famously knuckled under to Falwell in 2006, giving
the commencement speech at Liberty University
If I remember correctly, his speech wasn't all that well received,
as he didn't pander to that audience they way he was expected
to.
To be fair to McCain, Ron Paul just spoke at Liberty
University.
So although it may be my preference for a candidate to return an
invitation from Liberty with the RSVP, "No thanks, I'm too well to
attend," I guess that's not realistic.
I guess in the modern era it's no big deal to speak to an
organization whose mission statement makes plain its intent to
subvert the Constitution.
I'm still expecting McCain to win and for any win to be
covered as a Caesarian triumph
Except there will be no one whispering in McCain's ear that he
isn't a god.
If McCain is the Republican nominee he will be insufferable. He
thought he deserved this in 2000 and has had 8 years to think how
much more he deserves it.
Ugh, if Huckabee wins I am seriously considering moving out of the country. Actually, I'm considering it anyway, but I am having a hard time figuring out which country is acceptable. When all suck equally I will probably stay here for my NFL Sunday Ticket. Yeah, I'm a sucker for wacthing my shitty team underperform every year, but at least I recognize that I'm a sucker, if that counts for anything.
If that ignorant, hillbilly, whack-job preacher gets the GOP
nod, I will campaign for either Hillary Clinton or Barack
Obama.
I wouldn't go quite that far. I'd probably write in Eric Dondero or
something. We need a president with military and canvassing
experience.
I'd vote for Caesar. After all, he turned down the crown. He's like a latter-day Cincinnatus!
If I weren't an American I'd be laughing at Americans for fielding such a dismal set of candidates. Is it worse now than ever, or does the interminable election "season" make it seem so?
Yeah, I'm a sucker for wacthing my shitty team underperform
every year, ...
Another Lions fan?
Now that Huckabee seems to be gaining, I don't know whether to vote for Obama tomorrow to stop Billary or vote for McCain to stop Huckster.
You know, Gaius Julius Caesar. He was consul a while back. And a very successful general, winning us large chunks of France. You'd like him--he's a populist with lots of progressive ideas.
Sousa is never good.
The March KIng? You are slandering the writer of Stars and Stripes
Forever?
Fuckin' commie.
"All of the Middle East is divided into three parts..." -- excerpt from McCain's Persian Wars
I don't know Pro L, he utterly failed to build a wall across Cisalpine Gaul. I think he's soft on illegal Celtic immigration.
You know, Gaius Julius Caesar. He was consul a while back.
And a very successful general, winning us large chunks of France.
You'd like him--he's a populist with lots of progressive
ideas.
As I hear reports of this dumbass tax rebate/stimulus package, I am
reminded of the time Caesar paid the rents of all the plebeians,
right after he claimed himself consul for life and a living
god...
Well, I did hear that he plans to leave the capital to go fight the Parthians, which means that he, like McCain, wants to continue our Middle Eastern entanglements.
Taktix, clearly the interstate commerce clause allows the
federal government to claim for itself all necessary powers for the
distribution of bread and circuses.
... and health care, and retirement entitlements, and mortgage loan
subsidies, and ...
If that ignorant, hillbilly, whack-job preacher gets the GOP nod---at least he has a sense of humor and managed SOMETHING!!! (State government for ten years).
If McCain promised to provide televised battles to the death I'd vote for him.
Now that Huckabee seems to be gaining, I don't know whether
to vote for Obama tomorrow to stop Billary or vote for McCain to
stop Huckster.
I have the same problem, I had planned on voting for Obama
tomorrow, but Huckabee is almost as scary as Hillary. OTOH, the
corrupt wife of a former Big Man would makes us look like a third
world nation. Obama it is.
McCain looks like an undead chipmunk corpse, and he preaches
fear and violence....extremely expensive violence....pretty much
non stop.
The notion of such a statist zombie carrying the banner for (what's
left of) the GOP can even make an awww-shucks
I'm-just-waitin'-for-the-apocalypse Jesus freak look appealing.
"The Huckabee-McCain choice is basically a choice between
third-degree burns and skin cancer"
And you chide FOX for claiming to be fair and balanced? You are the
shittiest political writer who doesn't write for The Nation.
You are the shittiest political writer who doesn't write for
The Nation
Better than that stupid "purple like a Ravens-Vikings game" analogy
earlier today...
You are the shittiest political writer who doesn't write for
The Nation
Dave should put this on the main H&R page, and on his bio
too.
at least he has a sense of humor and managed SOMETHING!!!
(State government for ten years).
Well he'd need a sense of humor, wouldn't he? From the Statistical
Abstract of the United States,
PERSONS 25 YEARS OLD AND OVER WITH A BACHELOR'S DEGREE OR MORE,
2004
Arkansas 49th
PERSONAL INCOME PER CAPITA IN CURRENT DOLLARS, 2005
Arkansas 47th
MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME, 2005
Arkansas 48th
HOMEOWNERSHIP RATE, 2005
Arkansas 37th
MOBILE HOMES, PERCENT OF TOTAL HOUSING UNITS, 2005
Arkansas 8th
PERSONS BELOW POVERTY LEVEL, 2005
Arkansas 6th
Plus I don't want someone who thinks "the end times" are near to
have his finger on the nuclear button.
MOBILE HOMES, PERCENT OF TOTAL HOUSING UNITS, 2005
Arkansas 8th
So it's not just a nasty stereotype promulgated by elitist assholes
in New England? As a non-elitist asshole from New England, I'm
shocked.
"MOBILE HOMES, PERCENT OF TOTAL HOUSING UNITS, 2005 -- Arkansas
8th"
That's misleading. The further south one goes the better the
climate for mobile homes. Where does Florida rank?
I have been to Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky,
Tennessee and Georgia. And in just about every measure, Arkansas is
the more progressive/enlightened state in the south.
I'm, apparently, and elitist asshole from New England, and I've
had it up to here with people slagging on mobile home owners.
They're a good choice for a lot of people. They represent a serious
shot at upward mobility for many poorer people, who can at least
get into some equity instead of renting, and use it to get into a
house someday.
But you say "trailer" and everybody just devolves into lowbrow
snobbery.
I once took a writer at the Nation to task for writing the sentence
"They don't allow this behavior at trailer parks!" to highlight how
sleazy some particular politician is. To their credit, they ran it
as a letter to the editor.
The problem with that "ignorant hillbilly whackjob" is that his
weeknesses are very similar to McCain's. They both support an
unpopular war. They both know zip diddly about economics, they both
are barely smarter than your average pro-wrestling fan.
The GOP (and the whole country) needs an effective alternative, but
the best one got kneecapped by bad journalism of which Reason
played a large part.
I'd kind of like to live in a trailer. For one thing, they have
a relatively small ecological footprint, don't they?
Unlike with a house, you can't be driven from your home by rising
property taxes just because of who moved into your neighborhood.
Yeah, you might have to move your home somewhere else, but the part
of it that's fundamentally your property is still yours.
And having lived in small quarters for a formative part of my life,
I'm quite comfortable with them.
So there you have it: apparently I want to be a trailer bum. Do I
have to turn in my cosmotarian card now?
Joe, they're rednecks and vote Republican. Now, you may ridicule them just like we do. You're welcome.
"I once took a writer at the Nation to task for writing the
sentence "They don't allow this behavior at trailer parks!" to
highlight how sleazy some particular politician is. To their
credit, they ran it as a letter to the editor."
Then if you've been reading Weigel's work here, even for just a
week or two, you must be writing scads of letters to the Reason
editors.
The GOP (and the whole country) needs an effective
alternative, but the best one got kneecapped by bad journalism of
which Reason played a large part.
That's historical revisionism at best. What kneecapped Ron Paul was
quite simply the refusal of the Republican Party or its ideological
apparatus to take him seriously. Not being permitted to early
debates, not being given airtime, his numbers never mentioned even
when they were higher than other candidates. From the very
beginning, Ron Paul was given the treatment reserved for spoiler
candidates.
Don't expect an alternative from the GOP. Their own errors this
decade have doomed them, and it's time to wander in the woods again
until they get a better idea.
I'm sure your efforts at conscience raising were very rewarding. Gold star!
You see, New England has as much white trash as anywhere else, but ours don't have southern accents and don't tend to live in mobile homes.
Paying lot rent can be more expensive than you think. While trailer ownership is not renting, the depreciation is there, plus the lot rent. While it is homeownership, it's more akin to vehicle ownership. The equity is not the same as with a stickbuilt house, because resale is not nearly as good. So, it's somewhere in between. Renting is sometimes better if you rent cheap and save up for a traditional house. Not always, but sometimes.
They may be rednecks, Nick, but they don't seem to vote Republican nearly as much as the guy who rents them to the land.
Was Huckabee the governor who lived in a trailer for a while? During a governor's mansion renovation or something like that?
True, Nick, but the construction/manufacture has advanced so much in the past decade or so that they are keeping their value much better than they used to.
Add to it, that sometimes the kind of customers in the market for trailers, screw themselves with bad mortgages. Again, not always but sometimes.
Now, joe, you're about to say that capitalists all walk around wearing top hats. Plenty of slumlords are Democrats. And trailer-park owners, if there's a difference.
Mobile homes combine the worst aspects of renting with the worst aspects of owning.
We have lots of trailers in Massachusetts.
They rent them out as classroom space to rich suburban towns who
turn down property tax increases.
We have trailer parks on Long Island. We just don't have tornados, so you never hear about them.
joe, I know what kind of trailers you're talking about. They're not really the same as the single-wides you see rusting down south. Took an alternate route from Raleigh to Charlotte once and was depressed by the time I got there.
I'd kind of like to live in a trailer. For one thing, they
have a relatively small ecological footprint, don't
they?
True, but they are tornado magnets.
"Ron Paul organizers have been working this turf for a while,
but if they're going to become part of this story it'll be because
they help drive McCain's total vote under 50 percent."
Don´t discount the Nazi vote. Herr Doktor Paul vill vin!
Ron Paul Gets Ready to Quit
Paul rules out a third party run:
I don't like absolutes in politics, but it's about as close to
being absolute as possible that I'm not going to be the
[third-party] competitor. I may well have an influence and I will
make statements and maybe there will be somebody I can support, but
you know I don't have the plan to offer myself up because of the
politics of it, you know doing third-party or independent run, the
need for the money and getting on [the ballot] with all the laws
and getting in the debates - it's just not practical for me.
Plus, if he quits now, he gets to keep about $5 million cash on
hand for use for his own future political purposes. No need for any
more of those inflammatory fundraising letters! Yet I wonder: isn't
there something odd about Paul's desire to hold onto those
imminently worthless federal shinplasters? Maybe there's something
about finally laying hands on a great big pile of Federal Reserve
notes that makes one think they might hold some value after
all?
We have lots of trailers in Massachusetts.
They rent them out as classroom space to rich suburban towns who
turn down property tax increases.
And, the loaded comment of the day award goes to...
The real problem isn't trailers, or tar paper shacks, or crumbling intercity apartments. The problem is that we do not have a non-racial, general, yet thematically precise insult term for the stubborn strain of people in any given society who are ignorant and inordinately proud of that fact. I'm not talking about the genuinely stupid, I'm not talking about the poor. I'm talking about the people who know there is a whole wide world of opportunity and consciously reject to engage it. And they are determined to pass this ignorance on to their children. Any ideas?
And, the loaded comment of the day award goes
to...
I thought we stopped giving those out because the shelf in his rec
room finally collapsed from their combined weight.
I thought we stopped giving those out because the shelf in
his rec room finally collapsed from their combined
weight.
Oh, I ran out of trophies a while ago. The prize now is just a
thump in the johnson...
The real problem isn't trailers, or tar paper shacks, or
crumbling intercity apartments. The problem is that we do not have
a non-racial, general, yet thematically precise insult term for the
stubborn strain of people in any given society who are ignorant and
inordinately proud of that fact. I'm not talking about the
genuinely stupid, I'm not talking about the poor. I'm talking about
the people who know there is a whole wide world of opportunity and
consciously reject to engage it. And they are determined to pass
this ignorance on to their children. Any ideas?
Donderoes?
Reason is a libertarian magazine, Taxtix®, and libertarianism belongs to Eric Dondero by law, since he spent so very much time holding a sign in cold weather. Keep in mind that the non-aggression axiom includes property, and kindly respect that Eric Dondero owns everything associated with libertarianism.
So there you have it: apparently I want to be a trailer bum.
Do I have to turn in my cosmotarian card now?
Converted shipping containers are the way to go, my man. You're
recycling, so the basic structure has an ecological footprint of
almost nothing.
Converted shipping containers are the way to go, my
man.
That or a van down by the river.
Well until the Republicans are handed their worst defeat in decades they won't listen to reason. So enjoy turning chicken shit into chicken shit salad in that whole McCain vs Huckabee ordeal..
Isn't recycling actual goods overrated from an ecological standpoint? I was under the impression that recycling was kind of a sacred cow and that the real ecological footprint was land usage. I could be wrong. of course.
Let's see, first off about the trailers: I live in a
manufactured home on eight acres in the mountains of Northern
California. Manufactured homes are an excellent choice if you have
large scale plans (as I do) and want someplace to live on the
property meanwhile.
Second off, the fact that Huckabee is a heretic in scientific
matters doesnt matter to me too much or at all. If I don't want him
to be President (and I don't) it is because of his wacky tax ideas
more than anything else.
Third off, I think that Johnny would be a fun President.
Fourth off, if Obama would pick Richardson for his VP, he would
increase the chances that I will vote Democratic this year.
Admittedly, these chances are currently infinintesimal, and would
have to go up quite a bit to be even measurable, but there it
is.
.
Ron Paul isn't quitting. He scaled back just like McCain did
just prior to Iowa. People here at H&R predicted MCain's demise
also, but alas it turned out to be a bit premature.
Paul got over 20% and may well win Washington State in delegates.
The story being buried in the press is that both outsider
candidates benefitted from Romney's departure, but McCain (the
"maverick") didn't.
Castle Grande (of Clinton/McDougal Whitewater fame)was to include a trailer park and a microbrewery. I could handle living in a trailer park next to a microbrewery.
I'll also be turning in my Cosmotarian decoder ring, but because
I dont have the sufficiant hatred and fear of McCain as a Reasonite
should have apparently.
And, and before anyone else says it.....DRINK!!!
Cesar, above, called Mr. Huckabee the "Jerry Brown of 2008." The only problem with that scenerio is that Jerry Brown lost all momentum and stopped winning states. As a matter of fact, Tsongas, who had dropped out of the race continued to get more votes in promaries than Brown did. The person who said this must have watched the uninformed pundits on MSNBC yesterday. Cesar, parrots can talk, but their critical thinking skills are pretty weak.
"The problem is that we do not have a non-racial, general, yet
thematically precise insult term for the stubborn strain of people
in any given society who are ignorant and inordinately proud of
that fact."
May I suggest "Weigels"?
Episiarch, rest assured that your heroic efforts at Star Trek TOS references on this thread have not gone unremarked, nor unappreciated. :)
Episiarch,
Just saw an old Mission: Impossible episode with William
Smithers (Merik in "Bread and Circuses") as the bad guy. If you're
a TOS fan, M:I is extra fun, because guest stars overlap like mad.
Mark Lenard was a bad guy in another episode I saw (bless
DVDs).
But you say "trailer" and everybody just devolves into lowbrow snobbery.
Well said.
Some of my best memories are of living in a trailer on Grassy Key a
hundred and fifty feet from the water. I certainly couldn't afford
to buy a house there and rents were double what they were on the
mainland.
Even so I not below trailer park jokes.
So, what do a tornado and a redneck couple getting a divorce have
in common?
Someone's gonna lose a trailer.
The GOP (and the whole country) needs an effective
alternative, but the best one got kneecapped by bad journalism of
which Reason played a large part.
Aha, it's nice to see that "The Backstab" is alive and well. I'm
sure Paul's failure had nothing whatsoever with his inability to
turn money and grassroots support into actual votes.
Manufactured homes: my area of special expertise. I'm a man home
dealer (as well as a GC, and a Realtor. I know, how many sleazy
professions can one man have?). These things have improved a good
bit, but they are still just pure crap. I sell Fleetwood, Cavco,
and Palm Harbor. Some are better than others but the quality is
crap across the board. Almost any site built home is preferable. I
also build homes and the difference between low end site built and
man homes is unbelievable.
My favorite sales line? "Do you think that site built home was
designed to go down the freeway at 60 mph?"
I'm still expecting McCain to win
Huh?
When did Weigel ever expect McCain to win?
They may be rednecks, Nick, but they don't seem to vote
Republican nearly as much as the guy who rents them to the
land.
Most of us try to sell them the land...but asshole planners like
joe try to prevent us from doing just that.
My presidential voting record since I was legal to vote goes like
this:
Clinton
Dole
did not vote
Badnarak
From what I can see over 4 election cycles only one vote went to a
Republican and gasp one went to a democrat.
I like how joe just decried stereotyping poor trailer owners out of
one side of his mouth then talked shit about another group from the
other.
What a fucking hypocrite.
I would vote for joe over McCain or Huckabee.
I would probably vote for just about any H & R poster other
than that guy who hates Mexicans over McCain or Huckabee.
Taktix®,
Oh, I ran out of trophies a while ago. The prize now is just a
thump in the johnson...
I approve, I approve.
Most of us try to sell them the land...but asshole planners
like joe try to prevent us from doing just that.
My father retired, moved to Florida (damn yankee - one who stays),
bought some property and got a double wide mobile home. It suits a
retired couple quite well. Raising kids in it and it likely would
get trashed in short order. It's a nice neighborhood, not atrailer
park. Individuals own the land and it's zoned so "manufactured
housing" is allowed.
I've also seen trailer parks that are a step down from inner city
ghetto.
How many points/demerits do I get for inadvertantly hijacking a
thread?
Don´t discount the Nazi vote. Herr Doktor Paul vill
vin!
"Nazi vote" is code for "jew"
"Cesar, above, called Mr. Huckabee the "Jerry Brown of 2008."
The only problem with that scenerio is that Jerry Brown lost all
momentum and stopped winning states."
I volunteered for Jerry in that campaign. Remember why he started
losing? Right before the New York primary Clinton spread tales of
him doing coke in the CA Gov's mansion and such. Later, after the
damage was done, the tales were found unsubstantiated. Jerry was
great on the mic, just like Huckabee, and was doing very well for
the little money he had (in comparison to others).
I often end up defending the Clinton's around here (it gets
unreasonable sometimes), but I actually detest them and have seen
their slimy tricks first hand.
Brown did, IIRC, win several late primary states unexpectedly even after Clinton was the presumptive nominee.
The Capital Region (VA-MD-DC) Ron Paul organizers have been
working this turf for a while,
I spent from age 6 to age 18 inside the beltway (and then only went
to blacksburg, which is Farifax + Hampton Roads + Appalachia, in
about equal amounts).
I do not see MD,DC, or VA as having a big protest vote against
McCain, despite any Paul (or Huckabee) groundwork
Both McCain (& Obama) draw from the 'cosmotarian' wings of both
parties, and the Potomac River flows through the heartland of
'cosmotarianism'
The latest polls on realclear politcs seem about right to
me.
In each contest McCain will get 54 +/- 3, Huck will get 29 +/- 3
and Paul will get 9 +/- 3.
We agree with huckabee!
You cant tell me that you like the idea of pushing people out of
the way 'just because' is good for politics in any form. Whats
next, you get to vote for the one person on the ballot like a
dictatorship?
Its time for a real change.
Anyone else notice Huckabees the only candidate talking about
actually changing how things are done besides droning off the same
old promises we hear from every politician year after year?
Im actually curious that if Huckabee does pull off a miracle via
voters if they'd even go with him, majority of delegates or not,
and prove the corruption in the whole process!
I think the status quo is afraid he may win and their games will
end. Finally.
Go Mike Go!
Steve is probably just one of DONDEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO's voices. Steve is also kindly, and with all due respect (along with anyone else who'd vote for Huckabee), invited to die in a fire.
I read, I see, I wonder. I wonder if any know the Constitution?
I wonder if any have actually read it. I mean that. Read the thing
people. Your turning into media sheep for no reason. Who cares
about Parties when freedom itself in in jeopardy. WAKE UP!!!
National ID cards with radio chips are law in MAY 2009. YOU VOTED
FOR IT!!!!!!!
"..it does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate,
tireless minority to set brush fires in people's minds."
- Samuel Adams
"With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can
succeed. Consequently he who molds public sentiment goes deeper
than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions." - Abraham
Lincoln
"During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a
revolutionary act." - George Orwell
"The state can't give you free speech, and the state can't take it
away. You're born with it, like your eyes, like your ears. Freedom
is something you assume, then you wait for someone to try to take
it away. The degree to which you resist is the degree to which you
are free…"
- Utah Phillips
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