Across the US
Senate Republicans show America they still have a pair and kill auto bailout
Update (12/11/08 - 11:12pm): Senate fails to invoke cloture with a vote of 52 Yeas to 35 Nays, 8 short of the required 60 votes.
This means that both bodies will have to take this issue up again in January, as the rest of the Senate’s sessions will be pro forma, where nothing really happens.
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It looks like the efforts of Senator Bob Corker (TN) and the leadership of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have paid off and the Senate Republicans have grown a pair, standing up to the Democrats and the White House.
It appears that the Senate wont have the 60 votes needed for cloture, which means that the auto bailout is dead for now.
Some quick quotes from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid:
“I dread looking at Wall Street tomorrow, it’s going to be a terrible sight”
“It’s going to be a very bad Christmas for a lot of people”
The vote on cloture is expected to happen in the next few minutes; I’ll have details upon it’s conclution.
Governor Blagojevich keeps a long-standing Illinois tradition running, political corruption
I’m sure by now you’ve read all the exciting details regarding Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, his arrest, and the pending corruption charges for trying to sell the keys to the United States Senate seat recently vacated by Barack Obama.
While the story itself is exciting political drama, the history of political corruption in Illinois is something that is even more profound.
Here are just a few other examples of political corruption in the state of Illinois over the last few years:
- 2007 – Chicago Alderman Arenda Troutman (D) was charged with bribery
- 2006 – Former Illinois Governor, George Ryan (R), was found guilty on all counts brought forward by the federal government in a case stemming from the illegal sale of government contracts and leases.
- 2006 – Chicago City Clerk Jim Laski (D) pleaded guilty to pocketing bribes for steering city business to trucking › Continue reading
Gun Control and Secessionitis
And now for something completely different…
Now that the campaign is over and Barack Obama has emerged victorious, we must now consider the far-left proposals he is bound to enact now that the pandering is over. Though President-Elect Obama has repudiated gun control for the purposes of the election, it is likely he will return to form soon enough. Throughout his barely mediocre legislative career, Obama was a champion of gun control in all its various forms. In 1998 Obama proposed banning all semi-automatic weapons (which is most of them short of hunting rifles) as well as keeping all firearms out of the inner city (never mind how he would be able to achieve this). Now are we likely to see a new assault-rifle ban or hand gun ban? Moreover, what is the likelihood that Obama appoints anti-gun Justices to the Supreme Court (count on it)? In any case, it is probable that Second Amendment rights will come under attack by Obama and his Democratic colleagues in the Congress. Beyond the expected protests and waves of indignation that will emanate from the NRA and gun owners, another unexpected consequence may complicate Obama’s crusade to protect us from ourselves: secessionitis.
The voice of reason…but for how long?
Ok, so I can already gauge the reaction of readers out there. What state in their right mind would threaten secession over gun control? As amazing as it may seem (or not) the State of Montana has threatened secession once before over Second Amendment issues. I am not speaking of a few militia nuts or libertarians; I am referring to a joint resolution from the legislature of Montana warning the Supreme Court that they would secede from the Union if the proper decision was not reached in the recent D.C. vs. Heller case.
If Obama returns to form and begins an assault on gun rights will we see Montana once again threaten secession? Would other states use the Second Amendment as a pretext for secession? It is no secret that several states already have secessionist movements. Groups in Texas have longed cherished a dream of independence ever since Texas joined the Union and agitate for it still (though with no real success). Alaska has a substantial secessionist movement in the form of the Alaska Independence Party that, incidentally, has already elected a governor in the recent past (Hickell in 1992).
Old timey beards prevent the AIP from garnering more than 10% of the vote.
Though the possibility of secession remains remote, Montana’s recent resolution reveals that the polarization of partisan views in the US is more than politics and is a real symptom of a vast difference of opinion as to the very nature of the United States. Are we a nation built upon a pioneering spirit and the can-do spirit of Horatio Alger? Or are we a nation that must improve on its rustic origins and join with the nations of Europe and have the government guarantee a certain standard of living for all citizens? If the latter were to occur is there a right to secession based on an attitude of “I didn’t leave America, America left me?” Questions to ponder, as far-fetched as they may be, though it wouldn’t be the first time the election of a President has created a bout of secessionitis.
