Some people...
No, I am not wailing about any particular people (though I probably will be by the end of this post). I just seem to have a little difficulty in getting away from here; a couple people bugged me about getting a post up concerning last week's UVa College Republican banquet. I have a few minutes, so I figure now is as good a time as any to post about it and any other thoughts I want to get covered now before going back underground.
State Senator Ken Cuccinelli
Many Republicans outside of the CR chapter appeared, including Christian Schoenwald (who ran for the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors), Rob Schilling (current Charlottesville City Councilmen who is up for reelection on May 2nd), Keith Drake (head of the Albemarle GOP), and the special guest speaker Ken Cuccinelli (state senator from the 37th district). Two former CR Chairmen were present (along with the outgoing and incoming chairmen) and a University professor, whom I sadly never had a class with (Rather than place him at risk of being chastised by other faculty members, I will not release his name; this is more to note that there are some allies for us conservatives within the University community).
Ken Cuccinelli gave a great speech. He defined the three types of politicians he saw. Democrats offer very little and generally only run in elections for the political power they get. Republicans get split into two groups. First, some Republicans act like Democrats and sway with the political winds. Then, there are the agenda-driven Republicans, those whom he felt were the most principled, though this goes without saying. He elaborated how an agenda-driven Republican should have no trouble debating their stance against a Democrat, and defined a Democrat as an onion; as more and more is peeled away, at the center is nothing to hold it up. He uses anecdotes to back this up, noting times in the state senate where Republicans would ask a question of someone speaking on the floor and Democrats would literally scream "do not answer that question!" No joke. If they have something to offer, then Democrats should have no reason to make such an exclamation. He also noted that a good politician appeases their base, but does not change his or her opinion as the political wind blows. We want elected officials to know where they are going. I believe the best way to sum up what he was saying is that we want leaders (agenda-driven Republicans), not followers (Democrats and the other Republicans that he described).
Overall, a great event. Still, a reminder of how much I will miss UVa. It was also a reminder that I will only be able to claim the pseduonym "CR UVa" for a little while longer. When I return full time, this will be resolved.
A few other thoughts:
- I have noticed how the Raising Kaine bloggers and Virginia Centrist have gotten very excited about Jim Webb. In fact, perhaps a bit too excited. They point out that Webb appears to have greater name recognition and that he is more popular than Miller. Yet, Miller has led many polls between the two, and both are seriously lacking against George Allen in their Senate bids. And now, they are trying to bash Allen for things he did as a kid (because I am sure that the RKers and VC were perfect angels who never got into trouble as children) and because of his association with the Confederate flag (last I heard, the Confederate flag was a symbol of southern pride, not of racism). I guess this goes back to what Mr. Cuccinelli said; Democrats have little to offer but personal attacks here. Perhaps Webb and Miller will put an end to this soon, but if this keeps up, expect George Allen to have an extremely easy road to reelection.
- Michelle Malkin has started a new site with some other conservative bloggers and pundits called Hot Air (showing that they can poke fun at themselves every once in a while). So far, I have really enjoyed the regular video Vent in which Miss Malkin speaks about some recent events, branching out from blogging to vlogging. I only have one complaint; why are these vidoes not made as a podcast to subscribe to? That certainly should appeal to the targeted audience. Otherwise, well worth a look. In particular, see the video from 4/26 concerning the upcoming film Flight 93; she praises the film but notes how some still believe that the Bush administration was involved in the attacks. Keep wearing those tin foil hats boys, Big Brother is watching.
- Tony Snow as the new White House Press Secretary? Brilliant! Former speechwriter for the former President Bush, experienced member of the media (so he knows exactly how they think and should be able to deal with the media very well), and strong conservative. The only downside I see is an increase in liberal whining about the perceived conservative bias of Fox News (try seeing it from our side; with a liberal bias in so many media outlets that has existed for so long, anything to the right of that will seem like a "conservative bias").
- We need to get tough on illegal immigration and not let the May 1st protest affect how Americans go about their daily lives. Europe and the UN need to get tough on Iran NOW, not later, as Iran will soon become nuke-capable and will be able to hit European interests and Israel. At least UVa finally got tough with the Living Wage Campaign by arresting the protesters and placing them in a position where they may get expelled. I have said before that I have no problem with this group trying to increase the wage for these workers; indeed, there are some great methods that they could use in going about acheiving their goal, but their methodology has been awful and they have acted indignant towards any efforts that the University has made to try to appease them. If these students feel that obstructing school business is the only way to get what they want, then they will deserve the consequences.
That is it for now. Continue to keep an eye out. Perhaps I will have a post or two in the next couple weeks. And the current plan is to return to regular blogging after I graduate. See you all then!
State Senator Ken Cuccinelli
Many Republicans outside of the CR chapter appeared, including Christian Schoenwald (who ran for the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors), Rob Schilling (current Charlottesville City Councilmen who is up for reelection on May 2nd), Keith Drake (head of the Albemarle GOP), and the special guest speaker Ken Cuccinelli (state senator from the 37th district). Two former CR Chairmen were present (along with the outgoing and incoming chairmen) and a University professor, whom I sadly never had a class with (Rather than place him at risk of being chastised by other faculty members, I will not release his name; this is more to note that there are some allies for us conservatives within the University community).
Ken Cuccinelli gave a great speech. He defined the three types of politicians he saw. Democrats offer very little and generally only run in elections for the political power they get. Republicans get split into two groups. First, some Republicans act like Democrats and sway with the political winds. Then, there are the agenda-driven Republicans, those whom he felt were the most principled, though this goes without saying. He elaborated how an agenda-driven Republican should have no trouble debating their stance against a Democrat, and defined a Democrat as an onion; as more and more is peeled away, at the center is nothing to hold it up. He uses anecdotes to back this up, noting times in the state senate where Republicans would ask a question of someone speaking on the floor and Democrats would literally scream "do not answer that question!" No joke. If they have something to offer, then Democrats should have no reason to make such an exclamation. He also noted that a good politician appeases their base, but does not change his or her opinion as the political wind blows. We want elected officials to know where they are going. I believe the best way to sum up what he was saying is that we want leaders (agenda-driven Republicans), not followers (Democrats and the other Republicans that he described).
Overall, a great event. Still, a reminder of how much I will miss UVa. It was also a reminder that I will only be able to claim the pseduonym "CR UVa" for a little while longer. When I return full time, this will be resolved.
A few other thoughts:
- I have noticed how the Raising Kaine bloggers and Virginia Centrist have gotten very excited about Jim Webb. In fact, perhaps a bit too excited. They point out that Webb appears to have greater name recognition and that he is more popular than Miller. Yet, Miller has led many polls between the two, and both are seriously lacking against George Allen in their Senate bids. And now, they are trying to bash Allen for things he did as a kid (because I am sure that the RKers and VC were perfect angels who never got into trouble as children) and because of his association with the Confederate flag (last I heard, the Confederate flag was a symbol of southern pride, not of racism). I guess this goes back to what Mr. Cuccinelli said; Democrats have little to offer but personal attacks here. Perhaps Webb and Miller will put an end to this soon, but if this keeps up, expect George Allen to have an extremely easy road to reelection.
- Michelle Malkin has started a new site with some other conservative bloggers and pundits called Hot Air (showing that they can poke fun at themselves every once in a while). So far, I have really enjoyed the regular video Vent in which Miss Malkin speaks about some recent events, branching out from blogging to vlogging. I only have one complaint; why are these vidoes not made as a podcast to subscribe to? That certainly should appeal to the targeted audience. Otherwise, well worth a look. In particular, see the video from 4/26 concerning the upcoming film Flight 93; she praises the film but notes how some still believe that the Bush administration was involved in the attacks. Keep wearing those tin foil hats boys, Big Brother is watching.
- Tony Snow as the new White House Press Secretary? Brilliant! Former speechwriter for the former President Bush, experienced member of the media (so he knows exactly how they think and should be able to deal with the media very well), and strong conservative. The only downside I see is an increase in liberal whining about the perceived conservative bias of Fox News (try seeing it from our side; with a liberal bias in so many media outlets that has existed for so long, anything to the right of that will seem like a "conservative bias").
- We need to get tough on illegal immigration and not let the May 1st protest affect how Americans go about their daily lives. Europe and the UN need to get tough on Iran NOW, not later, as Iran will soon become nuke-capable and will be able to hit European interests and Israel. At least UVa finally got tough with the Living Wage Campaign by arresting the protesters and placing them in a position where they may get expelled. I have said before that I have no problem with this group trying to increase the wage for these workers; indeed, there are some great methods that they could use in going about acheiving their goal, but their methodology has been awful and they have acted indignant towards any efforts that the University has made to try to appease them. If these students feel that obstructing school business is the only way to get what they want, then they will deserve the consequences.
That is it for now. Continue to keep an eye out. Perhaps I will have a post or two in the next couple weeks. And the current plan is to return to regular blogging after I graduate. See you all then!
posted by CR UVa at 9:02 AM
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