April 28, 2006

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.

Ken Cucinelli
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!

April 13, 2006

One Last Thing...

With the birthday of Mr. Jefferson today, and the former successor to Mr. Jefferson's seat returning to Charlottesville, how could I neglect to post this one last thing before I take my sabbatical?

Senator George Allen made a stop here in Charlottesville. Here are a few pictures of our esteemed junior senator and a number of other influential Republicans in Charlottesville.

A

Virginia Delegate Rob Bell begins the ceremonies.

B

Congressman Virgil Goode introduces Senator George Allen.

C

The Senator spent a lot of time thanking everyone present. He then moved into his platform. Good stuff there. Strong on national defense, lower taxes, and border control. He also stressed continued strength in Virginia education, pushed for greater responsibility by those involved in Congress, and praised the new number one export of Virginia, computer memory chips, eclipsing tobacco to be the first product in Virginia's 399 year history to do so.

D

"We win, they lose, and there is no substitute for victory!" - I agree with Romeocat, that was a good soundbite.

E

Albemarle County Republican Chairman Keith Drake looks on as Senator Allen speaks.

F

Senator Allen and family, as he formally announces (again) his campaign to return as our next United States Senator. I do not care if Jim Webb is "George Allen's worst nightmare" or if Harris Miller appears to be an early favorite among Democrats on the whole; George Allen is a spectacular politician, and this is, very much, his race to lose.

And, as a side note, take a look at Too Conservative. He believes that the Redskins' own Darrell Green may be looking to run against Mark Herring for the 33rd District for the State Senate. Having always been a huge Washington Redskins fan and a great admirer of Darrell Green, this is exciting news indeed. Must be copying Lynn Swann ;) .

And (I apologize if this is sounds like it is tooting my own horn) I heard earlier today from a friend that she was disappointed that I was discontinuing my work here. It is a great compliment to me that anyone will make this humble blog a daily (or weekly, or monthly) read. Again, thank you to anyone who supports me in any way here at the Red Stater. Continue to fight the good fight: ensure that Rob Schilling prevents a Democratic monopoly on the Charlottesville City Council; help George Allen build a lead that makes his "biggest nightmare" nothing but a day dream; and stand for what is right. I look forward to my return; do not worry, it should not be for too long. Expect to see me back by June, shortly after graduation. Perhaps I'll post some images from my "Honor of Honors".

April 09, 2006

Can I Put You On Hold?

A week ago, Sic Semper Tyrannis decided to end its run, noting in particular, Lighthorse Harry's end at the University of Virginia. He is not the only one gearing up to leave Mr. Jefferson's University; in another month, I will also be graduating. These last few weeks have been rather hectic, as I have had a lot of work recently. Because of this, I am sure it has been rather obvious that my normally light posting has been even lighter. For the time being, I plan on keeping it that way. I am not going to say that I am entirely leaving blogging right now, but I will not have the time to add much in the next month or two.

With my impending move to Northern Virginia, I have requested of Waldo to have my blog removed from the Charlottesville blog aggregator. I will remain with the Old Dominion Blog Alliance though, as I will not be leaving the Commonwealth. For anyone who has been a regular here recently, please click on some of the ODBA links, on the Charlottesville Blogs link, or even give one of the Blogs For McCain's Opponents a look (at least, for those of you who think that choosing a RINO in the primaries would be a bad idea); they have been a great source of support, and they deserve the same (if not more).

This is not farewell; I do intend to return. But right now, I cannot guarantee when that will be. So, I will just say "Later".

UPDATE 4/10 9:50: Before I forget, I will still be reading other blogs, so do not be too surprised if you see me commenting elsewhere.

April 05, 2006

Just like Weird Al, Except Conservative and Not Meant as Comedy

Chad has this parody of "We Didn't Start the Fire" linked, a song called "Bush Was Right" by The Right Brothers. It sounds really great, though I suspect that many Bush-bashers will feel the same way as anan did.
I hope they get their a$$ sued off for copyright infringement.
I suspect that anan did not make this comment on behalf of Billy Joel. I tried to comment (for whatever reason, Chad's comment filters are a bit too sensitive and it saw me as a spammer, which is funny as I do not comment there as much as I used to) in response about this; if this were made by The Left Brothers and called "Bush Was Wrong", I suspect they would enjoy it as much as I enjoyed this. Whatever happened to freedom of expression?

April 02, 2006

Goodbye to SST

The Virginia Blogosphere has grown greatly in the last couple years; sadly, it must at times also lose members at times. The Old Dominion Blog Alliance is losing one of its greatest blogs, Sic Semper Tyrannis. Addison, Old Zach, and Lighthorse Harry have all done an exceptional job with this blog. Sadly, I never got to know Addison, but Old Zach and Lighthorse Harry are great friends who I know have big things in store for them in the future. Both are born leaders, and I would not at all be surprised to see either of them on a ballot one day (going by their real names of course). Lighthorse Harry I have known for nearly four years, and he has always been very supportive. I have not known Old Zach for quite as long, but he is very engaging, and even encouraged me and a few other blogs written by college students to join the ODBA, something I still take as a great compliment. As their lives get busier (something I am very familiar with recently), they have found that they cannot make blogging a priority; that is all right, we all have to make tough decisions like that in life. But they have both made a great contribution to Virginia politics, and I am sure they will continue to do so. Make us proud guys!

As something of a final gift, Old Zach chronicled his thoughts on Virginia Republicans this past week. Here are each of the parts.
Part I: Republican Malaise
Part II: What is a Republican?
Part III: What's Wrong With NOVA?
Part IV: Who is Our Leader?
Part V: What Are Our Goals?
Part VI: Thoughts on the Blogosphere