A note for my friends in Austin

Colorado beat Oklahoma.

Rough days for Republicans

Things are rough for Republicans these days and no one sums up the state of the party than former Reagan speech writer Peggy Noonan. Noonan's column in today's Wall Street Journal includes the following tidbits.

What political conservatives and on-the-ground Republicans must understand at this point is that they are not breaking with the White House on immigration. They are not resisting, fighting and thereby setting down a historical marker--"At this point the break became final." That's not what's happening. What conservatives and Republicans must recognize is that the White House has broken with them. What President Bush is doing, and has been doing for some time, is sundering a great political coalition. This is sad, and it holds implications not only for one political party but for the American future.

The White House doesn't need its traditional supporters anymore, because its problems are way beyond being solved by the base. And the people in the administration don't even much like the base. Desperate straits have left them liberated, and they are acting out their disdain. Leading Democrats often think their base is slightly mad but at least their heart is in the right place. This White House thinks its base is stupid and that its heart is in the wrong place.

How bad are things in the party? Well read this!

The president has taken to suggesting that opponents of his immigration bill are unpatriotic--they "don't want to do what's right for America." His ally Sen. Lindsey Graham has said, "We're gonna tell the bigots to shut up." On Fox last weekend he vowed to "push back." Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff suggested opponents would prefer illegal immigrants be killed; Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said those who oppose the bill want "mass deportation." Former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson said those who oppose the bill are "anti-immigrant" and suggested they suffer from "rage" and "national chauvinism."

Why would they speak so insultingly, with such hostility, of opponents who are concerned citizens?

Good question, Peggy. The answer is that they are Repbulicans and that is what Republicans do. Don't you watch Fox News? The Republican party has been so devoid of political ideology, policy ideas and ethical leaders for so long that all Republicans know how to do is to speak insultingly, with hostility of their opponents who are simply concerned citizens. Peggy, you really ought to stop your whining.

What happened to Republicans is that they got so caught up in their hatred of Government that they decided not to ever govern. Peggy, were you the one who wrote the Reagan line in his first inaugural address, "Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem." Post-Reagan Republicans get elected so that they could have power and use that power to enrich themselves and their friends. They don't care about governing or good government. There is no vision for what government ought to be -- only a vision for what government ought not to be. As a result, the Republican party and its' leadership has become both ethically and ideologically corrupt.

Peggy Noonan did get the following right when she wrote of the current administration,

What I came in time to believe is that the great shortcoming of this White House, the great thing it is missing, is simple wisdom. Just wisdom--a sense that they did not invent history, that this moment is not all there is, that man has lived a long time and there are things that are true of him, that maturity is not the same thing as cowardice, that personal loyalty is not a good enough reason to put anyone in charge of anything, that the way it works in politics is a friend becomes a loyalist becomes a hack, and actually at this point in history we don't need hacks.

Hacks got the jobs in Iraq. Qualifications didn't matter. Hacks got the jobs in FEMA. Qualifications didn't matter. Hacks got the jobs in the Justice Department. Qualifications didn't matter.

Jimmy Carter never should have retracted his statement that the current Bush administration is the worst in history.

Send the Queen Home

I've read one article about the Queen of England's visit to the United States. I read it because I was interested in how the White House pulls off a big fancy dinner. I really have very little interest in the British royals. I find the entire idea of a monarchy to be absurd.

The article I read was in the NY Times on Saturday. In it, the reporter shared some dos and don'ts as to how people are to behave when hanging out with British Royalty.

Aides to Mrs. Bush shared a few dos and don’ts. The queen shall be addressed as “Your Majesty.” The prince is “Your Royal Highness.”

For women, curtsying is acceptable, but not required. One does not shake the queen’s hand unless the queen offers hers first.

And after Her Majesty finishes her meal, everyone’s meal is finished. (Not to worry, a senior official said of Mr. Bush: “He’s a really fast eater.”)

Will someone please tell the White House we won the Revolutionary War? We aren't royal subjects any more. We don't need to cow-tow to some pompous, old, over-paid, ribbon cutter. We certainly don't need to rush through our meal just so we can finish before the Queen and avoid her having to send us to bed without our dessert.

I'd feel a bit differently if the dinner were in London. But this dinner was in our house. I think it is time for England's Queen to respect our rules.

Altria Arrogance

The Texas Council on Family Violence is having a fundraising champagne reception on May 9th in Austin.

The event will be "A tribute to Ann Richards." Event tickets are $50 while those wishing to join the tribute circle may do so for $100. Altria is one of the 11 sponsors of the event. So for those keeping score, Altria can now claim --

We addicted her
We employed her
We killed her
We honor her