Lex Libertas

Most people would posit this questions the other way around, claiming that Huck spoiled Mitt’s chances. One Huck supporter just laid out the case that the conservative establishment rallying around the Romney is why we now have McCain as the candidate. I must admit that for the longest time I was afraid that we’d lose to Romney. He had the money and the establishment backing. He even had the “conservative” backing, which I never understood, given his record. A record that Gregg Jackson elaborates on after savaging the Romney folk:

You see for months these conservative elites have been whitewashing by far the most left wing GOP presidential candidate in American history, Mitt Romney.

The conservative talkers and pundits like Rush, Sean, Laura, and Ann flagrantly misled their listeners and readers by falsely portraying Romney as a conservative. Many who would likely have voted for Huckabee cast their ballot for Romney.

Had these talkers, pundits, and conservative “leaders” told the truth about Romney’s $50 subsidized abortions, failing government run healthcare plan, $700 million in tax increases, increased funding for homosexual indoctrination starting in kindergarten, illegal institution of same sex marriage by misrepresenting the Goodridge court opinion and lying about the Massachusetts Constitution, support for homosexual Scout Masters etc… voters interested in supporting a true conservative would have likely gravitated toward Governor Huckabee far sooner and in huge numbers. But that couldn’t be allowed to happen. The social conservative voters are the field slaves in this party, not the decision-makers.

Romney’s limousine-chasing lawyers and rent-a-pundits savaged Huckabee with gross misrepresentations of his record and sabotaged conservatives’ chance to deny John McCain the nomination.

So, please, enough with the McCain-bashing, Rush, Sean, Laura, and Ann. We could have had an authentic conservative Mike Huckabee as our nominee. Had you and your fellow travelers not waterboarded conservative voters for about a year with falsehoods, Huckabee would have united the base (you know those 40 million conservative Christians who put Republicans in the White House election after election). Do you think thinking conservatives are any more happy than you are with McCain as the Republican nominee? Not on your life. But the difference between you and us is, this is your fault.

Check out the whole article for the details on Mitt’s record. And people wonder why I, as a conservative, didn’t support Romney…

I just stumbled across a David Brooks piece from about two weeks ago, Fresh Start Conservatism, which talks about education and economy. Here’s my favorite excerpt:

If there is one thing we have learned over the bitter experience of the past 30 years, it is that per-pupil expenditures and days in the classroom are not sufficient to produce superb information-economy workers. They emerge from intact families, quality neighborhoods and healthy moral cultures.

There’s something wrong with our system when farmers can make more money selling their water than using it to grow crops:

Because farmers get their water at subsidized rates, some of them see financial opportunity this year in selling their allotments to Los Angeles and other desperately thirsty cities across Southern California, as well as to other farms.

“It just makes dollars and sense right now,” said Bruce Rolen, a third-generation farmer who grows rice, wheat and other crops in Northern California’s lush Sacramento Valley.

Instead of sowing in April, Rolen plans to let 100 of his 250 acres of white rice lie fallow and sell his irrigation water on the open market, where it could fetch up to three times the normal price.

“Essentially these farmers are getting water for a subsidized price and selling it to taxpayers at an elevated rate,” said Renee Sharp of the Environmental Working Group.

The newest update of the AK-47, the AK-100 series, will be manufactured in India for Indian consumption:

assembling of the AK-103 will begin in a year’s time and full-scale manufacturing would start once the technology transfer takes place.

The company hopes to sell the gun to various police and paramilitary forces in the country as well as the army. It will not be exported.

Unlike the AK-47 rifle which has a wooden base, the new generation AK-100 series is much lighter and has a body made of plastic. Xavarzin said the plastic component makes it an all-weather rifle, well suited to Indian conditions where soldiers have to trek at high altitudes for a number of days at a stretch.

The AK-47, of course, is one of the most popular weapons in history - and one of Russia’s great sources of pride. It is a rugged weapon, which is more powerful than but doesn’t match the accuracy of the American M-16, and can undergo rougher treatment with less cleaning. It’s the perfect weapon for rebels and insurgents.

First part of this video happened in store on Slavija. I accidentally taped that two girls. Two hours later I met them again on Terazije where they were stealing. Since I was astonished whit their persistence to get new cloth on “total sale”, I decided to continue following them. I want to say that these persons are just extremes and that they don’t represent Serbs as a nation. Citizens of Serbia are mostly normal and honest and I am proud because I’m one of them. I thanks to everyone who supported me.

Nightmare.

On Sunday, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia. This is the most recent step in the disintegration of Yugoslavia. Already by Monday the US and several other prominent European countries have recognized this declaration. Russia and Serbia have come out against the unilateral declaration, citing international law and Security Council resolution 1244. They contend that any decision must be agreed upon by both Kosovo and Serbia (who is willing only to grant autonomy).

This is a nightmare for US strategic interests in the post-Soviet space. Russia is only opposed to separatism for two reasons: Kosovo and Chechnya. If those two issues are taken off the board, then separatism works to Russia’s advantage in the frozen conflicts in Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Moldova. Chechnya is more or less pacified. There is still conflict, but no longer a serious threat of secession. That leaves Kosovo. We have just resolved the issue in favor of unilateral secession, done with the help and protection of an outside, third-party.

Russia is protecting (militarily and economically) separatist enclaves in Moldova, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. This recognition is a huge precedent for those conflicts, which would be good for Russia and bad for the US (mixed for the people on the ground). In fact, these regions are already claiming it:

“It is our firm belief that there should be a universal approach to all these conflicts,” Bagapsh said. “And if anybody thinks that Abkhazia, South Ossetia, or Transdniester will stop this process [toward independence] after the issue of Kosovo’s recognition has been resolved, they are wrong.”

Looking at the pictures, we see jubilant Kosovars, waving American flags and proclaiming independence. On the main square, people are signing huge letters that say, in English, “Newborn.” On the Serbian side we see thugs destroying private and state property, who look exactly like the murdering ethnic nationalists of the war. This makes a very strong emotional appeal to Americans and Westerners. But remember that ethnic separatism could come back to haunt us as well.

Serbia’s main claim on Kosovo, which is overwhelmingly populated by ethnic Albanians, is that it houses one of the most important churches in Eastern Orthodoxy. The Albanians, though secular, are ethnic Muslims. This cultural heritage and legal territoriality don’t resonate much with Americans, who have always pushed for Self-Determination. An important moment in the movement for Albanian separatism in Kosovo were widespread student protests in 1981. In America, we also have our own campus separatists, MEChA, who want to see the Southwest secede from America. If you look at the pictures of celebrations on Sunday, you’ll see that the majority of flags were Albanian, the country next door and ethnic identity of the Kosovars. Remember when we had hundreds of thousands of people in America marching, many of them waving flags of a neighboring country?

Ethnic separatism is dangerous, and threat to stability in the modern world. Though I am not totally opposed to Kosovo’s independence, and think that each example of secession requires its own calculations, the Kosovo precedent will undoubtedly be used against the interests of the United States.

To anyone honestly paying attention, the surge is working in Iraq. Civilian and military deaths are down dramatically, and we are even seeing a revival of civic life in places like Fallujah. Once the stronghold of the insurgency and al-Qaeda, Anbar has undergone an awakening - which is spreading across the country. Former sympathizers and militants are coming together to fight terrorism. Al-Qaeda groups in parts of the country are collapsing. In the midst of all of this progress, the Democrats can do nothing except declare defeat.

The position of the Democratic Party is that the war in Iraq is not worth fighting, and there can be no dissent on this issue. All of the quantifiable gains made on the ground since the inception of the surge, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi declares yesterday that “there haven’t been gains. … This is a failure.” This inability to objectively evaluate the situation in Iraq stems from the fundamental policy position of the Democratic Party that America should leave Iraq. In order to convince the America people of this position, they have to believe that the war is unwinnable.

Whoever is the Democratic nominee for President, they will tow this line. Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton want to withdraw troops from Iraq, just as we are seeing real progress. When the people of Iraq are finally starting to believe that America will stick it out - and see a future in fighting alongside us, instead of against us - the Democrats want to cut and run.

We must not let Iraq slide into brutal civil war. That blood will largely be on our hands, and neither our conscience or the world will let us forget. We have made a promise to the people of Iraq. In the greater War on Terror, we cannot abandon our allies who have put their lives on the line. A civil or regional war in Iraq would not just cause untold suffering in Iraq. If the terrorists gain a physical sanctuary, that would allow for funding, training, and centralization, and they will more effectively be able to wage war all around the world.

When you go to vote today in Virgina, Maryland, and DC, remember this crucial aspect of electing our next president. We need a candidate who has the vision, knowledge, and experience necessary to lead America during these troubling times. John McCain advocated the surge when most deemed it political suicide. He knew that our policies weren’t working, and what we needed to do.

In the general election, the Democrats will offer a candidate who wants America to surrender, who needs America to lose. Republicans can put up a man of proven courage, with a plan on winning. For the American people this won’t be a hard choice.

I’m at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference. Saw McCain speak, got a great reception, except for one small moment when discussing immigration. I also had a chance to see Ron Paul. I like him better in the debates. I hope to find a break at some point today to answer some of the recent questions posed in comments.

John McCain is a consistent and principled conservative with the foreign policy experience vital to leading America in these times.

A fiscal hawk, John McCain is dedicated to making sure government lives within its means. In 25 years in Congress he never once asked for or received an earmark for his state of Arizona, and has promised to make famous anyone who requests pork barrel projects. Senator McCain has always come down on the side of life, earning a 0% from NARAL Pro-Choice America. He understands the importance of judges, and will appoint strict constructionists with proven records who won’t legislate from the bench.

John McCain considers principle to be more important than politics. He does what he thinks is best for America, not necessarily what the political winds or polls indicate. When he was under fire from all sides for supporting the surge, he explained that he would “rather lose an election than a war.” It’s important to have a leader who will tell you straight what he believes, you don’t have to worry that he’ll say something else when the door is closed.

When John McCain was first captured in Vietnam, he was tortured daily. After some time, the North Vietnamese finally figured out that his father was an admiral. They decided to release him to gain some good PR. McCain refused. He would only go if everyone who was captured before him were also set free. He knew what was coming, and because of that decision he remained another five years in a POW camp. John McCain’s life has embodied the values of duty, honor, courage, and sacrifice. He has proven time and again what he is made of, and when he is president no special interests or media pressure will sway him.

The overriding struggle of our times is against Islamic terrorism. Americans are in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan on a daily basis, and John McCain understands what is necessary for us to win. McCain’s surge, which no other candidate supported at the time, is responsible for a clear decease in civilian and military deaths in Iraq. With McCain as Commander-in-Chief, we will win the war.

Republicans tomorrow have the opportunity to choose a candidate who has consistently stood up for the main values of Conservatism – fiscal, social, and defense. In doing so, we will offer America a true hero who can inspire and lead the country into the next century.