To all of my faithful readers,
I'm considering taking this show outside of the blogosphere. Due to my own propensity to end up at high profile Republican events without credentials, I'm considering purchasing a domain name. I like to think of this website as one part stunt and three parts journalism. Tentatively, the concept for the website is to acquire press-level access to large Republican caucus events and hang with the press crew (in hopes of procuring a job post-Americorps, right?). I'll probably provide coverage of each event, along with political analysis of the rest of the day's top political stories. If nothing else, the website will provide further writing practice for yours truly. I'd like to make the site a multimedia venture with clips from the Youtube, Twitter, and whatever else is in this series of tubes. The good news for my pocketbook is this domain name purchase is pretty cheap. The tentative URL for the website is CaucusOutsider.com. If anyone has other suggestions, drop a comment.
Pat
Friday, July 8, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
A collection of thoughts
I have a little to say about a lot of different things, each one undeserving of its own blog. Therefore, I decided to condense everything to one blog.
Americorps:
I'm probably just going through the stages of my year as a VISTA, but right now the program is pushing me in the absolute opposite direction of where I should be. Living on $720/month with no other income isn't exactly a cakewalk. I realize that it's supposed to simulate poverty level and I'm supposed to gain experience from it, but my only consistent thought is the need to have more money. I continually consider law school, but now I lean towards practicing an area of law that is lucrative rather than socially beneficial. I never want to be in this situation again.
Iowa's attitudes towards the poor
After reading a letter to the editor yesterday in the Des Moines Register and the comments that followed, I became sick to my stomach. The letter begged that question "Why are the GOP hopefuls neglecting the poor and hungry in their platforms?". The comments that followed were simply unbelievable. Of course the requisite partisan bickering was well represented, but the comments reached beyond the bounds of either political party. Comments ranged from "The poor are all fat, so there's no way they're hungry." to "The poor are the reason our country is bankrupt. All they do is take government handouts and contribute nothing." I wouldn't ever say with 100% certainty that the welfare system isn't abused once in a while, but by and large, the people receiving it NEED it. Furthermore, when it comes to bankrupting the country, another contributor made the insight "The poor cost the United States government a fraction of the subsidies we pay to Exxon Mobil." Finally, someone gets it.
I left the webpage utterly disgusted at how the poor are used as scapegoats to so many people. I can't ever resist a poke at the political right, but the lines seemed to be drawn in the sand. Somehow, those on the right missed the last 60 years in which the rich became richer and the poor became much poorer. If conservatives need to place blame on a social class, let it be the rich. The poor had nothing to do with tanking our economy.
P.S. Jesus loved the poor. Remember that one, social conservatives?
Mitt Romney's fundraising
Our good friend the "political contortionist" has been fundraising like there is no tomorrow. The former governor has been racking up cash at rates higher than his 2007 rates, at least in the second quarter. My thoughts on this are as follows: the GOP is auto-correcting. Establishment Republicans aren't necessarily in love with Romney, but for their money, there isn't another candidate who represents them as well. Let's remember for a second that all Republicans are not religious zealots. Candidates like Cain, Santorum, Pawlenty, and Bachmann aren't necessarily as attractive, and putting money towards Huntsman's campaign is perceived to be like voting for Ralph Nader (electoral comparison, not ideological).
When donors get to this juncture, Romney seems to be the most viable. Although many questions will always exist about Romney's record, he's still the least crazy of the entire bunch.
Debt Ceiling:
Hey Republicans, when David Brooks is endorsing the Democrats' plan, I think it's high time to accept the deal.
NFL Lockout
For the first time in months, we're close to having football on sundays this fall. I couldn't be more excited. My fanaticism for the Green Bay Packers can only be matched by that of Sarah Palin fans. Having an NFL season means so much for so many people, as irrational as that may be, and you can certainly toss me onto the irrational wagon.
Americorps:
I'm probably just going through the stages of my year as a VISTA, but right now the program is pushing me in the absolute opposite direction of where I should be. Living on $720/month with no other income isn't exactly a cakewalk. I realize that it's supposed to simulate poverty level and I'm supposed to gain experience from it, but my only consistent thought is the need to have more money. I continually consider law school, but now I lean towards practicing an area of law that is lucrative rather than socially beneficial. I never want to be in this situation again.
Iowa's attitudes towards the poor
After reading a letter to the editor yesterday in the Des Moines Register and the comments that followed, I became sick to my stomach. The letter begged that question "Why are the GOP hopefuls neglecting the poor and hungry in their platforms?". The comments that followed were simply unbelievable. Of course the requisite partisan bickering was well represented, but the comments reached beyond the bounds of either political party. Comments ranged from "The poor are all fat, so there's no way they're hungry." to "The poor are the reason our country is bankrupt. All they do is take government handouts and contribute nothing." I wouldn't ever say with 100% certainty that the welfare system isn't abused once in a while, but by and large, the people receiving it NEED it. Furthermore, when it comes to bankrupting the country, another contributor made the insight "The poor cost the United States government a fraction of the subsidies we pay to Exxon Mobil." Finally, someone gets it.
I left the webpage utterly disgusted at how the poor are used as scapegoats to so many people. I can't ever resist a poke at the political right, but the lines seemed to be drawn in the sand. Somehow, those on the right missed the last 60 years in which the rich became richer and the poor became much poorer. If conservatives need to place blame on a social class, let it be the rich. The poor had nothing to do with tanking our economy.
P.S. Jesus loved the poor. Remember that one, social conservatives?
Mitt Romney's fundraising
Our good friend the "political contortionist" has been fundraising like there is no tomorrow. The former governor has been racking up cash at rates higher than his 2007 rates, at least in the second quarter. My thoughts on this are as follows: the GOP is auto-correcting. Establishment Republicans aren't necessarily in love with Romney, but for their money, there isn't another candidate who represents them as well. Let's remember for a second that all Republicans are not religious zealots. Candidates like Cain, Santorum, Pawlenty, and Bachmann aren't necessarily as attractive, and putting money towards Huntsman's campaign is perceived to be like voting for Ralph Nader (electoral comparison, not ideological).
When donors get to this juncture, Romney seems to be the most viable. Although many questions will always exist about Romney's record, he's still the least crazy of the entire bunch.
Debt Ceiling:
Hey Republicans, when David Brooks is endorsing the Democrats' plan, I think it's high time to accept the deal.
NFL Lockout
For the first time in months, we're close to having football on sundays this fall. I couldn't be more excited. My fanaticism for the Green Bay Packers can only be matched by that of Sarah Palin fans. Having an NFL season means so much for so many people, as irrational as that may be, and you can certainly toss me onto the irrational wagon.
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