Sitting Out the RPV Convention

For a few reasons, I'm not a delegate to this year's Republican Party of Virginia convention. I was a delegate last year, and it was an entirely frustrating experience in opportunity costs. The conservative I supported for Senate lost to a moderate, who later lost the general election to Mark Warner. The conservative I supported for Chairman won, and was later bounced by the State Central Committee. And the convention itself was chaos.

But mostly, I'm not a delegate because I'm no longer a Republican.

But that doesn't mean that I don't care about the outcome of this convention, as it will affect the Commonwealth of Virginia.

That's why I'm glad that I fully expect Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling to win the nomination to retain his post. He's been a strong voice of common sense against the liberal administration of Gov. Tim Kaine.

It's why I hope that Ken Cuccinelli wins the nomination for Attorney General. Sen. Cuccinelli is a real conservative who isn't afraid to stand up to the liberals in his party, and that's what Virginia needs.

And it's why I hope that Bill Stanley, the alternative to SCC's latest hand-picked choice, wins the race for chairman. When they booted a popularly elected chairman less than a year into his term, SCC's picked a fight with grassroots conservatives, a fight they shouldn't be allowed to win.

Since 1989, the Republican Party has oozed more and more elitest contempt for grassroots conservatives with each passing year. In the process, it has aided and abetted the modern liberal quest to crush the market economy and tighten government's grip on every aspect of American life. And not coincidentally, it has increasingly lost respect and credibility, as well as elections.

There are still many good people, including many of my friends, in the party that I can no longer stomach. I hope they're able to do some good this weekend.

Republican Hypocrisy

The Republican National Committee last week adopted resolutions "Recognizing the Democrats' March Toward Socialism" and "Commending Republican Members of Congress for Their Opposition to Bailouts and Reckless Spending".

This degree of hypocrisy should make Bill Clinton blush.

It was a Republican president and his Republican water boys in Congress who pushed the bank bail-out through, and it was that same Republican president who diverted bank bail-out funds to an auto bail-out after the Democrat-controlled Senate refused to approve the latter.

But nowhere do these resolutions acknowledge that Republican responsibility.

If the Republican Party ever sincerely decides to return to free-market conservatism, no one will be better pleased than this blogger. But for the RNC to point fingers at the majority party, with no recognition of, much less repentance for, Republicans' disgraceful role in tightening the grip of big government's tentacles around the necks of responsible Americans makes it impossible to believe that the party can be sincere about anything, except its own unquenchable thirst for power.

TSA Replacing Puffers with Naked X-Rays

Tyrants Searching Americans (TSA) is scrapping its airport "puffer" machines in favor of whole-body imaging machines, which give screeners free peeks at travellers' naked forms.

After wasting more than $36 million tax money on the "puffer" machines, the TSA will blow another $1 million to remove them. Intended to detect bomb residue, the machines frequently break down in the face of dirt.

And unlike whole-body imaging machines, they don't offer screeners the perk of a peek. Though the naked X-ray machines can't penetrate plastic or rubber that resembles skin, they do give screeners a view of passengers buttocks, nipples, and genitals.

The House of Representative is scheduled to consider a bill sponsored by Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) to ban the naked X-rays in a couple of weeks.

“Nobody needs to see my wife and kids naked to secure an airport,” says Mr. Chaffetz.

Congress Punishes Responsibility, Again

The federal government yesterday took another step forward in its on-going quest to undermine freedom of contract and reward financially irresponsible whiners on the backs of those who exhibit virtuous economic behavior. The Senate passed credit-card legislation that restricts the right of banks, among other things, to raise interest rates on late-payers. The House, which earlier passed a similar bill, is likely to pass the Senate version today.

This is, of course, just the latest example of the government taking the power that it has been granted in order to secure rights and abusing it in order to violate rights. It's another instance of arrogant overlords infantilizing the people. And it's a little bizarre: The TARP was forced on the banks and the people with the excuse that banks needed money to lend, but now, eight months later, Congress is passing laws that will further discourage lending.

And of course, as is always the case when government steps in to protect irresponsible whiners from having to pay for their own mistakes, this one will hurt the responsible people, in this case credit-card users who pay on time, most likely with higher annual fees and perhaps with scaling back on rewards programs.

No government can do what ours is trying to do: make life soft and cushy. And the more it tries, the worse it makes matters for everybody.

What happens to Vegas?

Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons is crying foul. President Barack Obama is planning a junket to Caesar's Palace in order to help raise funds for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. But the President also told companies that accept bail-out dollars, "You can't go take a trip to Las Vegas ... on the taxpayer's dime."

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reports that more than 400 conventions and business meetings scheduled to take place in its city have recently been cancelled, meaning the loss of 111,800 guests and 250,000 "room-nights", according to a statement from Gov. Gibbons. The cancelled events cost the Las Vegas economy more than $100 million, not including gaming revenue, the Republican governor said.

"I am disappointed at the hypocrisy shown by this administration," Gov. Gibbons said. "President Obama is coming to Las Vegas later this month for a political fundraiser, but he will not help the struggling families in Las Vegas and Nevada who are out of work because of his reckless comments."

But as painful as this is for me to admit, President Obama has a point. Hard-working taxpayers shouldn't have to foot the bill for failing companies' luxury get-aways. As I've written earlier, bail-outs should hurt. Corporations that are so unscrupulous as to survive via plunder should suffer, and they should provide a warning example to any other companies thinking of committing the same moral outrage.

But Gov. Gibbons has a point too. Discouraging business travel means destroying opportunities for hard-working people in the travel and related industries. President Obama and his liberal water boys and girls in Congress just squandered billions of tax dollars on his "stimulus" gimmick. Does President Obama really believe that only government can stimulate the economy? That there's no value in companies providing business for other companies? If failing companies are to be propped up on the backs of taxpayers on the claim that they're vital to our economy, why are they then discouraged from fully participating in the economy?

This is just one example with what's wrong when government meddles in the market economy: Government then seeks to control microl-level business decisions, and both taxpayers' money and businesses' opportunities go to waste.

Update

If you ever want to shake up your life, write a book. As many of you know, last week I sent my publisher what I really hope is the final version of Slaying Leviathan: The Moral Case for Tax Reform. And as many of you have noticed, blogging once again fell by the wayside as I struggled to complete the revision. Sadly, as those of you who care will have realized by now, I also had to give up my show on Radio For Conservatives because of time constraints. But I'm happy that the station keeps growing, and I hope that you listen to the other shows. I look forward to appearing on some of them as a guest, and to getting back to blogging. Thanks for your patience and your support!

Jack Kemp, RIP

The conservative movement sufferred a significant loss today with the passing of Jack Kemp at age 73. He was, of course, a great conservative leader, the chief architect of the historic Kemp-Roth tax reform bill. He was also a friend to me and an encourager of my work when I really needed one. Few men in his position would have spent the time and energy that he did to help a relatively young and unknown conservative with not much more to offer than an idea. But then the former quarterback never lacked for energy; sometimes I got tired watching him. When BreakPoint published my column, "The Cost of Abandoning Great Things: Why Republicans Lost Conservative Trust", he took the time to send me a note congratulating me for its "powerful reasoning about the power of great ideas". We shared the same view of tax policy as a moral issue, and I was humbled and honored when he offerred to endorse my book Slaying Leviathan: The Moral Case for Tax Reform. He told me he was one of my "fans"; well, I was one of his. I'm crushed that he didn't live to see Slaying Leviathan published, and I mourn for this great loss to our conservative movement.