Conservative Donnybrook

Via Gutfeld, Sanrio is planning to introduce a line of Hello Kitty clothes and merchandise for men. I’m like, what?

Douthat on the conservative coalition:

It’s true that the current conservative intelligentsia, forged in the crucible of Ronald Reagan’s successes, is heavily invested in keeping the triple alliance [of religious conservatives, anti-taxers, and neoconservatives] intact – hence the Thompson bubble, the anti-Huckabee crusade, and the “rally round Romney” effect. And it’s true, as well, that if the Republican Party recovers its majority in the next election the alliance will be considerably strengthened. But such a recovery is unlikely, and already, in the wake of just a single midterm-election debacle, it’s obvious that the Norquistians and neocons and social conservatives aren’t inevitable allies – that many tax-cutters and foreign-policy hawks, for instance, would happily screw over their Christian-Right allies to nominate Rudy Giuliani; or that many social conservatives don’t give a tinker’s dam what the Club for Growth thinks about Mike Huckabee’s record. (So too with the neocon yearning for a McCain-Lieberman ticket, which would arguably represent a far more radical remaking of the GOP coalition than anything Chuck Hagel has to offer.)

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Fred Thompson has released a new video message detailing why he wants to be your president.  I find it hard, if not impossible, to argue with Fred on issues such as taxes, immigration and defense.   I am with Fred.  Its time to get things done, not cut and run.

Slate has a pretty interesting piece arguing that independent coffeehouses actually benefit when a Starbucks moves in next door.

Ever since Starbucks blanketed every functioning community in America with its cafes, the one effect of its expansion that has steamed people the most has been the widely assumed dying-off of mom and pop coffeehouses. …[but] strange as it sounds, the best way to boost sales at your independently owned coffeehouse may just be to have Starbucks move in next-door.

That’s certainly how it worked out for Hyman. Soon after declining Starbucks’s buyout offer, Hyman received the expected news that the company was opening up next to one of his stores. … Each new Starbucks store created a local buzz, drawing new converts to the latte-drinking fold. When the lines at Starbucks grew beyond the point of reason, these converts started venturing out—and, Look! There was another coffeehouse right next-door! Hyman’s new neighbor boosted his sales so much that he decided to turn the tactic around and start targeting Starbucks. “We bought a Chinese restaurant right next to one of their stores and converted it, and by God, it was doing $1 million a year right away,” he said.

It probably helps that Starbucks’ coffee doesn’t taste very good. Anyway this rings true. I don’t remember a ton of independent coffee shops being around in my hometown before the days of ubiquitous Starbucks storefronts, but now they’re much more common.

I thought I would share one of the best fan banners I’ve ever seen.

Supply-sider Bruce Bartlett has written a pretty detailed takedown (pdf) of the FairTax proposal. (I hate having to use focus-grouped marketingspeak. Will there be a competing tax proposal called the Howdy Duty and another called TaxHappy?) A shorter Bartlett OpinionJournal piece from back in August is here. Ilya Soman at Volokhs piles on.

This gives me some pause regarding Huckabee’s judgment about policy–but what do I know about tax policy? Maybe the Pro-FairTaxers will come out with a devastating counter-counter argument to the Bartlett types. But it also makes me question Huck’s vaunted political instincts. Is anyone really clamoring for this? Is there a large constituency that will be energized by this plan? Perhaps he should simply adopt the WillmoreWay, a.k.a. tax simplification and lower marginal rates.

Regardless of all this, I might have to support Huck anyway because his name is Huck. Does it get any more American than that?

AOL is pulling the plug on the browser that ushered in the World Wide Web’s ubiquity. Well, lately it was just a rebranded version of Firefox, but still.

Rod Dreher is on the Huckabee beat (Huckabeat?). He reports on a Huckabee conference call with reporters:

A Michigan reporter asked: What would you say to the unemployed in Michigan? Answer: “I’m the one Republican candidate that’s talking about the panic, the angst, the concern that’s growing in the middle class, and how people who have lost their jobs aren’t sure who’s paying attention.” He said at the Michigan debate, his opponents talked about how in the macro economy, everything’s going great, and that’s true. But it’s not true for everyone. He said that the country needs a presidsent who understands that the US has got to be able to feed itself, to fuel itself, and to provide the manufactured goods the American people need.

… He’s telling people that he identifies with common-sense conservatism, one that identifies more with Main Street than Wall Street. He’s speaking to a sense among Republican voters that the party has forgotten to look out for the little guy, that community matters less to the party leaders than business interests. Whether that’s a legitimate criticism or not is a fair question, but the point is he’s talking about these things, and doing so believably.

Sounds about right. Dreher also notes that WaPo’s Dan Balz seems impressed with Huck’s latest stump speech. Balz:

Huckabee was openly critical of his own party and suggested a victory in Iowa would shake the rafters of the GOP. “I love this country and I love it more than I love the Republican Party,” he said. “The Republican party needs to be changed. There are some people who aren’t that fond of me for saying it…. [snip]…

But he demonstrated Thursday night an original touch, a unique style and a sense of self-confidence in his own instincts. His performance was the work of a politician who no longer should be underestimated by anyone in his party.

Interesting!

I just found this over on the Drudge Report.  This article details some rather scumbag tactics used by a handful of police departments.  It makes me wonder, at what point do operations cross the line from exercising police power in furtherance of public health, welfare and safety to raising revenue for the municipality?

There’s some buzz in the blogosphere about the rollout a new solar panel manufacturing process by a company called Nanosolar that promises to dramatically reduce the cost of solar energy. (Here’s some rather breathless coverage from Popular Science.)

Matt Yglesias expresses skepticism about some of the more optimistic claims, but then writes:

…the point remains that renewable energy is not some outlandishly expensive hypothetical alternative. … And if the rich world decisively commits itself to renewable electricity, the number of firms trying to find cost-effective ways to deliver this sort of electricity will skyrocket…

Presumably, he’s talking of the “rich world” “committing” through government action and regulation. But if such strides are being made in cost-effectiveness, won’t government action be less necessary to promote the uptake of renewable energy? It is worth noting that Nanosolar received a $20M grant from the Dept. of Energy, but over $110M in private venture capital.

Jonathan Adler at Volokhs seems to have it right:

… if such power sources are cost-competitive, the transition will occur without need for government subsidies and mandates.

Anyway, perhaps we should heed the wisdom of Homer Simpson here: “And Lord, we are especially thankful for nuclear power, the cleanest, safest energy source there is. Except for solar, which is just a pipe dream.“

Didn’t know there was an online wrestling museum did you?  Me either.  Here is the Mexican wrestling section….Dig those crazy masks!

Ohh Boy, another assasination and more violence.  Pakistan is in a state of flux (were they ever in another state?).  The questions now: Who killed her?  What will this bring…civil war?  a crushing of any opposition to Musharraf?  Only time will tell.

 Pray for some stability.

Christ is born. May the world rejoice with His coming.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing, As they rejoice before you as at the harvest, as men make merry when dividing spoils. For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, And the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed, as on the day of Midian. For every boot that tramped in battle, every cloak rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for flames.

For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, From David’s throne, and over his kingdom, which he confirms and sustains By judgment and justice, both now and forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this!

It seems that, no matter who wins, we will probably be stuck with another bad president for four more years.  I would like to offer the following as my candidate in 2012:

Tom McClintock in ‘12!

(I may even have Mr. Newland’s support here!)

The real story here is not that Huckabee supports a national sales tax.  No, the real story is that the Los Angeles Times calls “Mike Huckabee, one of the most conservative Republicans in the 2008 presidential race….”

Now, my laughter aside, I would like to give a Conservative Donnybrook Christmas present to our readers, let’s make this post a sounding board for you!  In that vain, Karl and I had this discussion about a month ago; should the income tax be repealed in favor of a national sales tax?   This is the question I offer all of you!  Please, give me your answer and a good reason why you think we should/should not.  I am NOT looking for lengthily prose on why we should not have any tax at all or why it is unconstitutional.  The debate should be focused on income versus slaes and why. 

See here for proof.

Worth a read.

in the Amityville Horror,

John Derbyshire: Get Out.

Wow. This ad from the Hillary campaign is just awful.

The idea of Hillary generously handing out Dem base wish-list checkoffs like Christmastime goodies seems like a parody of political campaigning. It also trivializes all the issues that it invokes. A shiny box marked “Bring Troops Home” that a smiling Hillary sticks on top of “Alternative Energy?”

Most of all, she just seems so smug, unlikable, and insincere. It’s like it amplifies all of her worst qualities. That’s totally subjective, I guess, but I would bet that a lot of people, Democrats included, are rubbed the wrong way by this. I realize the tone is supposed to be light-hearted, but this ad just doesn’t work.

It also goes to show that she is no Bill Clinton. No matter how methodical and careful her campaign is, she’s still Hillary. Via Continetti/Campaign Standard.

Terry Eastland has a nice piece on the Huckabee campaign over at The Weekly Standard. I’m still not sure about him but I’m coming to like the ol’ Huckster more and more. Probably the main reason is that the GOP establishment absolutely despises this guy. It makes me think he’s doing something right.

The main issue that gives me pause about Huckabee is immigration–despite the somewhat mystifying love he’s getting from immigration-skeptical voters. And the whole FairTax thing does seem kind of nutty. But still, he doesn’t seem to care about toeing the National Review/Heritage Foundation line on the issues, and that’s got to be a good thing.

The “electability” issue could be a problem. Not his actual electability, but voters’ perceptions of it. Last time around in Iowa, you’ll remember, Democratic voters outsmarted themselves by giving Kerry the victory, believing him to be the most electable Dem. Of course, he ended up being a terrible candidate. Romney’s a better politician than Kerry, but I think Iowa GOP voters would be smart to vote for the more interesting candidate over the guy with the establishment bona fides.