Dumb Republicans

Redundant you say?

One irony that was missed on several in attendance at my county GOP convention was that it was held at Henry M. (Scoop) Jackson High School.  Jackson of course was a Democrat US Senator from the state of Washington for many years and ran for president in 1976.

I was sitting at a table full of Republicans at our lunch break and I mentioned how funny it was that Republicans were meeting at a high school named for a Democrat.  Three of them I was sitting with all said the same thing:  "He was really a conservative though."

My heart sank a bit because these delegates and Republican activists have truly forgotten what a conservative is.  I asked them, "In what way was Scoop Jackson conservative?" and their reply was again in unison:  "He supported the military!" they all said.

That's it?  That's all there is to being a Republican anymore is just supporting troops, wearing flag lapel pins and putting a yellow ribbon magnet on your car?  That's it?

I asked them what they thought about his protectionist trade policies and his backing of LBJ's "Great Society" legislation.  All of them looked at me blankly.

I remember reading in a biography of Barry Goldwater how infuriated the Arizona senator was at how Jackson would make speeches mocking Goldwater for his claims that government intervention made the lives of Americans worse, not better.   That's conservative?

Jackson was a warmonger, a trade protectionist, voted to restrict trade to non-market economies, pro entitlement, and pro foreign aid.  He represents much of what is wrong with the Bush administration as many of Jackson's acolytes have been involved in the  Bush administration including former Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz.

Truth be told that over the years the terms liberal and conservative have come to mean different thing.  Now, liberal means socialist and conservative means to conserve your own power.  Neither means to protect freedom anymore.

A note about this week

I'll be heading to the Washington State GOP Convention in lovely Spokane this week.  I will be in Spokane for pre-convention junk including getting my credentials...hoping they aren't challenged.

I've heard rumors that John McCain is going to be at our state convention and if I get a chance to meet him I'll pass what happened...maybe even a photograph...who knows.  He'll likely charge me for the picture since his campaign is pretty much bust.

Anyway, I'm taking my laptop and I've called ahead to make sure Spokane has access to the Internet and I've been told they do.  I will do my darndest to blog on the junk going on there as I get the opportunity.

Also, I was put on a slate of delegates for my congressional district as an alternate by the Ron Paul delegation.   My further involvement in the GOP afterward will be determined greatly on what happens this weekend.

On a side note I was asked where I disagreed with Bob Barr and why I would not right now give an unqualified endorsement...so here it goes:

• I'm not for securing the border, I'm for enforcing laws and making immigration easier...not harder.
• I'm against the Fair Tax (national sales tax) as a solution.
• Marriage should not be a Federal or State issue and to hide behind federalism is not an answer. 
• I'm for an immediate pullout of troops from Iraq and a signal of foreign policy change to the world that if you step in it...you get a stick and scrape your own shoes...we're done.
• I'm for a hard asset based competing currency where citizens could hold in their hand something of value to protect their savings from debt-based monetary inflation. 
• I will not endorse another candidate besides Ron Paul until my involvement in the nominating process is over.  I have signed a pledge to do just that.

Stay tuned, will have more this week.

Barr - Root

I watched the LP Convention over the weekend and witnessed a pretty fun convention and heard several great speeches. Mary Ruwart remained my favorite through and was near victory but lost to Barr on the 6th ballot. Apparently Wayne Allyn Root's delegates (who were released after the 5th ballot) supported Bob Barr 2 to 1 over Ruwart giving Barr the eventual nomination.

In a surprise however Root was nominated for VP and won on the 2nd ballot. You see in the LP the presidential candidate does not pick his runningmate, the convention does. The nominee does however get to give a preference if he wishes to address the subject but traditionally this is not done.

The combination of Bob Barr and Wayne Allyn Root may produce the wealthiest and most well connected campaign since Ed Clark's 1980 run. Root is well established with the media and is connected to several insiders on both parties. Barr is well connected in Washington DC and is also connected to the beltway. Barr and Root will have access to the media that Michael Badnarik only dreamed of.

Congratulations to the LP for selecting a couple of strong freedom lovers...even if they aren't purists.

Colorblindness - Racial and otherwise

I am colorblind.

Ever since the moment when I explained to my parents that I understood traffic lights I have known that I was colorblind.  My explanation contained what I had observed:  That you stop on red and go on white.  White?  The fact that anyone considers a green light green is still puzzling to me.

Throughout life I have stopped paying attention to color as a distinguishable feature.  I do not shop for clothes without help and I do not wear anything that I'm not already sure goes together.  I do not see in black and white.  I'm not completely colorblind as I see all primary colors clearly, but secondary colors and muted tones are not describable.  Like the chart below, I have no way to identify or give a name to what I see.

 

Colorblindness is how many describe an ideal society when it comes to racial identity but I should warn you in advance.  Like any disability you have other senses that become more sensitive.  If you strive for colorblindness then your other senses of bias and unfair discrimination will become stronger.

My mind has given up long ago thinking of color as anything important.  When I see clothes, product labels, signs and yes...people, my mind pays very little attention to this detail.  As if through my inability to make it useful my brain has completely stopped using it as a factor. 

Instead, culture becomes my dividing line.  Where colors may be a factor of choice for some I would rather divide people along other lines.  Pick-up truck driving people, Country Music listeners, introverts, extroverts, quiet people, rednecks, poor, privileged, spoiled, victim-minded, loud people, time wasters, selfishly driven, and the list goes on and on.  My senses along these dividing lines are very strong and my mind begins sorting people out before I've been with them very long at all.

None of these distinctions have necessarily divided people according to good and bad, but rather into safe bins where later I can sort them even further.  It occurred to me that there is some inherent human need to divide people according to convenience and race is probably the easiest and laziest way to do it...though thankfully I am not afforded that luxury. 

Libertarian Party Convention - May 22-26

Do you want to see a real nominating convention?

There are about a dozen (big L) Libertarians that read this blog and this is for them...the rest of you pay close attention.

The LP has a choice this year.  To nominate a Conservative that believes in Federalism (Barr) a media savvy outsider that is really a Reagan Conservative (Root) or an actual libertarian. (Smith, Ruwart, Kubby)

The choice to outsiders always seems obvious.  You pick the guy with the greatest name recognition but as Michael Badnarik proved four years ago, you don't need name recognition to get as many votes as Ralph Nader.  What you need is a fairly organized 50 state party.

I'm fulfilling my ethical obligation to not be involved in the nominating process of the LP because I am a delegate for the GOP.  My involvement as a Republican is simply to promote liberty and the vehicle matters less to me than the principles I care very deeply about.

If I was involved this is how I would break down the field.

Mike Gravel - polite applause and then escort him out of the convention hall.

Bob Barr - To his credit he has worked in the LP for about 3 years and has grown to love liberty.  I like him but his old drug warrior ways make me uneasy.

Wayne Allyn Root - He makes me want to initiate force.  (A few Libertarians reading this are laughing at this inside joke)  If Root is nominated I will likely write-in Ron Paul.

Steven Kubby - I like him though he is too much of a Marijuana candidate.  Kubby is an American hero for civil liberties and I admire him greatly.  He is also perhaps uglier than Gary Nolan.

Dr. Mary Ruwart - Mary is a libertarian in the mold of Harry Browne.  In the convention I would vote for her on as many ballots as her name appears.

Daniel Imperato - Not exactly a libertarian.  He's a wealthy international businessman who would get the endorsement of Bloomberg if he were to be nominated.  I can't see that nomination happening.

There you go...where else are you going to get this kind of coverage on a convention that hardly anyone is going to watch on TV?

More stuff later...including another podcast with a prize inside.  Stay tuned!

Medicated Blog Post #8

Jenna Bush got married.  I know about her dress, the song she and her father danced to and about the band that played at the reception...too bad the news services couldn't get me reliable updates on the earthquake in China.

I blow holes through Kleenex.  Don't like using paper towels.  New solution:  Bath Towel.  Ew.

Bob Barr sort of reminded me of Ed Clark in his speech announcing his candidacy...though Barr is no 'low tax liberal."  I recognize fully that none of you understand that reference.

Prince Caspian comes out this week.  I always liked this particular book in the Narnia series.  These short books were really made for the 1 hour and 40 minute movie.

I found a 24 hour pharmacy where I can get sudafed as it is required to sign for it here...you're never out of sudafed until after 8pm...it's how it works.

People have asked me to blog on Obama's pastor but I have little to say about it really.  Most people I know don't agree with their pastor 100% but still support them.  It's normal.  Obama attends that church for political reasons...the same reason McCain (who is an Episcopalian) attends North Phoenix Baptist Church.  He attends there because it's a big church and he can be seen among many evangelicals to make him look more conservative.  It's politics people...remember that.

None of you bit on me stating that Hillary and Obama will not bring the troops home.  Which is why all those of you who email me encouraging me to vote for Obama should shut up about it.

LP Prediction - Bob Barr, Wayne Allyn Root and Mary Ruwart in three ballots...again many of you don't know what I'm talking about.

I had a dream I was on a boat with a friend.  The boat was rented.  I hate boating.

Ugh.  I'm going to go blow my nose.

Aid to Natural Disasters

Seen the news?

It's terrible!  Thousands of people trapped by flooding without clean water or food.  Their leaders had warning but did very little to help their people prepare and now these same leaders are standing in the way of help arriving.  Absolutely unacceptable.  Am I talking about New Orleans or Myanmar?

The government of Myanmar has seized shipments coming into the nation and has decided to distribute the relief themselves (feed their police and military) even though they lack the experience to work with water and sanitation.

Here is the score:

Governments take tax dollars from their citizens and force them to donate to a military dictatorship that is doing little to prevent their own citizens from dying.

Libertarian lesson: 

Governments are not capable of charity because they are instruments of force.

I would even add the example of the greatest humanitarian relief project in the history of the world was done to project political will rather than humanitarian need...which was of course the 1948 Berlin Airlift.  Myanmar is neither strategic nor important to enough international governments to motivate a general political will to help them.  The government aid will only go to their corrupt government while scores of private charitable organizations and their armies of volunteers struggle on the ground to help the people.

Remember the ozone?

Remember that thing?

That thing that mysteriously surrounds our globe and protects us from the sun?  That thing...do you remember that thing?

When I was in elementary school I went through Jimmy Carter's then new ecology indoctrination and learned about how the lifestyle of my selfish parents was going to destroy the world because they were destroying the ozone layer.

Everything contributed to the demise of the layer.  You name it.  Spray-on Deodorant, shaving cream, the production of normal household items, dog farts, and whatever else you can think of.  I'd come home so mad at my parents for living the way they did.  Sure they loved me but not enough to keep the ozone layer and prevent our world from entering into another ice age.

Scientists were wrong.

People tell me this in response:  The science is so much better now.

Many scientists have come forward and said they were caught in a craze and they had the evidence to understand that industrialization was a blip on the screen compared to the real main culprit of ozone depletion...volcanoes. 

So Al Gore says that the last Cyclone that killed at least 50,000 people was the result of global warming and I can imagine all the kids rushing home to dispense some bullshit accusing statement on their parents for killing people in 3rd world nations.  Now who will make their running shoes?

By the way...Chile has had some huge volcanic activity lately so don't be surprised to hear about some more ozone depletion in the future...but it won't be linked to the volcano...like someone with really bad gas they'll blame it on you or the dog.

And don't worry...when I'm proven right I'll be happy to remind you of this post.

Collateral Damage in the Drug War

Timothy Garon had advanced Hepatitis C and needed a liver transplant to survive.  Because he was very sick his doctor prescribed medical marijuana to him to alleviate nausea and abdominal pain and also to stimulate his appetite.

Now while waiting to see if he could get on the list for a transplant he was denied because he was a marijuana user.  A user with his doctor's blessing in accordance with Washington State Law.

Swedish Hospital in Seattle agreed to reconsider if he would avoid marijuana use for six months and enroll in a 60-day drug treatment program...but these same doctors also agreed that his liver disease was too advanced for him to last that long anyway.

He died yesterday.

Who would win in a fight? - #3

Fonzie	James Dean

The battle of the leather jacketed stars which includes Wisconsin native and high school dropout Fonzie (Arthur Fonzarelli) and the Rebel Without a Cause Jim Stark (played by James Dean.)

Don't expect any knives or heat to be present at this fight as they're both troubled young men who can get a girl but typically shy away from a fight.  I'd expect some creative tough talk from these two guys that will end in an eventual marshmallow fight.

Comments are open now...declare your winner!

Hillary and Obama will not bring troops home

The UK announced last week they were stopping their pullout of Iraq due to an escalation in violence there.  How long will it take for Britain to be able to completely pull out of the country? 

Obama and Hillary have different timetables for leaving the country but neither one have made it a policy to leave the region so whenever violence increases...we're more likely to stay.  Unless there is a policy change and an overall move to a foreign policy that is committed to engaging with the world through non-military means...we'll stay in places where we have no legitimate business.

It was also announced today that the US troop death count hit a 7-month high in Iraq...which only proves (in the minds of Bush and McCain) that we have to stay there because if we don't fight them there, we'll fight them here.  I wonder if anyone has ever considered that our enemy may try the same strategy?

More to come.

McCain the Uniter...uh...whatever

Since being involved with the GOP nominating process I've discovered that in my area the GOP has been largely fair and accepting of Ron Paul delegates (ie - newcomers) and have not universally singled them out as unacceptable. 

That said there has been an ultimate qualifier as to if a delegate is seriously considered.  Will you support the nominee?  They don't even use his name...they just call him "the nominee." 

McCain just received 72% of the vote in Pennsylvania and 27% decided that both Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee were worth a vote even if it didn't mean anything.  McCain doesn't seem to be a unifying figure at least at this point in the campaign.

So I have a question to McCain supporters:

Do YOU support the nominee?

I'm sick of your type badgering me and others about our loyalty to John McCain when his own supporters don't even bother to vote for him, put up a yard sign or canvas a neighborhood.  Look I understand that you want him elected because of the whole "he's better than Hillary or Obama" thing but c'mon.  There is more to supporting a candidate than simply saying you'll support him.  Why is McCain's campaign broke while Ron Paul still has millions in the bank?

Over a year ago an obscure Texas Congressman said he would run for president.  He was invited to the debates but was rarely given more than 4 minutes of face time.  He was marginalized and only mentioned in any press coverage with the qualifier of "long shot" and his supporters made him a national figure.  Everyone knows who Ron Paul is today.  We supported him. 

In contrast the John McCain supporters don't even refer to him in name...they refer to him as "the nominee" and promise a vote for him but I doubt that many of his so-called supporters will encourage others to back him.  McCain's delegates don't even show up to the county conventions as seen here, here, here and here.

So let me make a simple and practical suggestion:

If you're not going to support him, then don't ask me to.  When you see this turd of a candidate floundering next October, don't look to me as the problem...don't look at the dreaded Ron Paul people as the reason John McCain can't get above 45%.  If he's doing better by Fall then I know  you will have started to get more serious.  When I see a John McCain blimp in the sky I'll know you mean it and not just holding your nose while pulling the lever.

In the meantime just stop the third degree and get your own campaign started...maybe others will join when they see you mean it.

Earth Day - How I saved the planet

I was rudely awakened this morning by migrant workers using 2-stroke engine powered blowers.  The sound was bad enough but I just couldn't stay in bed knowing that their caustic exhaust was warming the planet with every passing second.  I jumped out of bed and got my solar powered calculator and quickly figured what I owed in carbon offsets because after all...they were my gardeners. 

I ran out on to my front porch and yelled in my best Spanish for them to stop.  "Please amigos, this is Earth Day!" I shouted.  If ever a day existed to thank mother earth it was this glorious day.  Seeing me they snickered.

It was one thing to wake me up and to disrespect my plea.  It was quite another to destroy my planet while doing it.  I ran out and grabbed the blower from one of them and hit him over the head with it.  The other worker witnessed the full force of my wrath and he ran away.  I poured out the 2-stroke gas and oil mixture into the mouth of the passed out gardener.  His dead body would process fuel in an earth friendly way.  Sure I killed a man, but I did it for mother earth.

I took a cold shower making sure I didn't use any natural gas and got ready to ride my bicycle to work.  I knew I would be able to pedal fast and stay focused since the shower stopped me from thinking about sex and other non-earth-friendly activity.

An old Volvo was in front of me at a stop light.  Smoke was pouring out the exhaust as I noticed it was a Turbo Diesel model.  I decided to dismount my bike and talk to the driver.  Maybe he hadn't heard it was Earth Day.

"Friend, you seem to have a lot of exhaust there.  Care to pull over and let me give you some information about where you can buy some carbon offsets?"  I said to him in a friendly tone.

But this man was not to be reasoned with and I could tell he shared the same earth killing attitude of the gardener that made me late to work because I had to drag his body around to the side of my house to deal with later. 

"Get back on your bike there granola head."  The man said while chuckling.

"Sir, there is no need for name calling, I'm just trying to help you pay respect to the planet on her day of honor."  I replied.

"Fuck off treehugger!"  He shot back while throwing a piece of litter from his car into my face.

The nerve!  I tried to help him understand how he can impact the environment and he responds by littering.  I could take the disrespect and I could take name calling but the litter was just too much.

I gently picked up the piece of trash he had thrown in my face and I reminded him that littering was not only illegal but very disrespectful to the planet.  Then I took the piece of paper and I jammed it back into his face.

"Maybe your trash will take that smirk off of your face planet hater!" I shouted at him.  I took the small tire pump I had tucked into the back of my very tight and sexy bike pants and I bludgeoned him repeatedly until I was sure that he would not be able to pollute any longer.  I reached in and turned off the motor so that his car would stop its assault on the atmosphere. 

I stood there looking at the blood trickle from the several puncture wounds I had made in the side of his head and face and I couldn't help but think how much Earth Day inspired me to make a difference.  It's true, one person can make a wonderful impact if they just look for opportunities.  It's shameful that this only comes but once a year.

I'm but one person, but I can make a positive impact on behalf of our home and mother:  Earth.  Hopefully you found inspiration in this testimony of the small part I played in saving the planet.

Look Mom! I'm a Republican (part 2)

I attended a delegate meeting hosted by my county GOP.  The meeting was short, orderly, and very much a mutual admiration society.  Libertarians have been accused of being a debate society rather than a political party and in that same context I'd compare the GOP (at least my local brand) as more of a country club.

I love talking to both Republicans and Democrats because I find myself explaining things to them in ways they've never heard.  You see, once you bring a discussion from a standpoint of liberty they realize that you're neither liberal or conservative...but something else.  The man I talked to today recognized it for what it was.

I spoke to a man who is absolutely for a national ID card.  His argument is that citizens have limited rights for their privacy and no right to anonymity.  What he thought would be his trump card backfired and he asked me, "Why don't you want an ID card, what do you have to hide?"  My answer surprised him.

I have plenty to hide I told him.  The details of my life are my own because I own my life.  He had no right to know the private details of my life anymore than he has the right to use my house without permission.  What belongs to me belongs to me.

He brought up the straw-man of identity theft (staying curiously away from the subject of finding illegals also known as Mexicans) and said that the safety of our society depends on being certain who everyone is.  I asked him if he was sure who I was, after all I was only wearing a name tag.  He conceded he didn't know for sure and then I continued by asking him that if I was misrepresenting myself in this conversation and I was not who I said I was...did he have a case against me?  Could he claim damages?  He brought up identity theft again and I explained to him that the real crime is theft which government should always prosecute to the highest degree.  That government should protect the property of all persons (citizens and otherwise) against the fraud and force of others. 

He then admitted that my argument was the first one he ever heard that made some sense and felt like he needed to rethink his own view some and then added...you sound more like a libertarian to me.  To my point perhaps I had misrepresented myself. 

Congratulations moron, you're officially an object lesson.

My Personal Earth Hour Experience

Earth Hour.  Sixty minutes of sitting around in the dark.  One complete hour of not using any electricity.  No computers, no appliances, no televisions or stereos.

Google showed their commitment by making their page black instead of white as if they were virtually turning out the lights.  Cities from all over the world were participating and kids in public schools in the  United States were being indoctrinated to harass their parents until they submitted and agreed to participate.

I also participated.

Conservation in general is something I like quite a bit.  I am someone who strives to use less packaging, drive fuel efficient vehicles that also have an ultra-low emission rating.  I'm what many here in the stupid Seattle area would consider to be green, but I'm not really.  I'm a conservationist.  I hate waste.  Earth hour was something I could get behind even though I knew fully that it would make no difference.

I lit candles,  lots of them.  I had a hand-cranked radio that I listened to.  I played a word game with family.  All devices were off (except a few later that I forgot were on...whoops) and turned off my porch light.  It was basically like living in the 1890's.

When it was all over I turned my front porch light back on but nothing else went back on...at least not right away.

The end result was nothing though and that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.  Liberal do-gooders always plan these types of things and focus greatly on the experience rather than any measurable difference.  I knew this going in so I had no high expectations but I did still gain something by it.

Like wilderness hiking and camping it is good remind oneself that you have the ability to live simply, minimally and if need be...with bare essentials.  The act of being prepared and self-sufficient is an element that most liberals probably didn't consider because it's very...well...libertarian really.

Playing a board game by candlelight proved nothing.  It did give me one more excuse though to live as minimally as possible at that moment.  I consider that a worthy reminder that everyone needs... at least once in awhile.

Election Boredom is Officially Gone

Grump properly chastised me for being impractically bored with an election that was shaping up to be memorable.  I conceded to him that the election drama was very interesting and anything but boring...though the candidates themselves have brought so little substance that it's really hard to get particularly excited about them...perhaps I expect too much, I dunno.

Obama and Hillary look like they will take their campaigns into Denver and participate in a brokered convention where super-delegates will decide nothing more than who can better beat McCain.  That's it.  Nothing else will be a factor.  Whoever has perceived momentum will get the nod and the total delegate count will be meaningless.  If the Democrat nominee loses in November it may be the last brokered convention you see.  Pretty cool huh?

The Republican convention in Minneapolis will need to be a week-long infomercial reintroducing us to McCain and helping us forget George W. Bush.  How you can honor your party's president for 8 years and brush him aside at the same time will be tricky and worth watching.

The Libertarian National Convention looks to be heating up finally.  The Ron Paul Revolution set things back for awhile as many in the party vacated LP campaigns to help Ron.  Wayne Allyn Root (professional Vegas Oddsmaker) and Bob Barr (as well as Mary Ruwart) look to be in hot contention and will also go into a brokered convention.  Gavel to gavel coverage will be on CSPAN if you have the stomach to watch this.  Frontrunners in this party are impossible to predict.

John McCain - What the economy ordered?

Consider this a personal counter-point to my observation back in November that his campaign was over.  Hear me out.

John McCain has in many way represented the new age of the Republican Party.  The man entered the senate taking the seat of an aged, bitter, and often angry Barry Goldwater.  In terms of personality the people of Arizona replaced their senior senator with another bold, angry and straight-talking man in John McCain...but McCain is no Goldwater and I've described his seat in the senate as an unfortunate downgrade from that of ol' AU H2O.

So how could John McCain be what the doctor ordered in terms of economic growth?  John McCain has one strength in terms of positions that he has remained absolutely pure on in his long political career...and that is free trade.

Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were very similar in terms of trade protectionism.  Bush even went as far as adding tariffs to foreign steel, but for as little as McCain understands about economics (like not knowing who was on the president's working group on markets) he does understand one problem that has hurt the economy of this nation and is probably the only remaining resource that is not strained for federal receipts:  Trade.  His position on free trade and uniform tariffs is so good it could trump his otherwise ignorance on the subject of economics.

The United States simply does not trade with that many nations.  Our greatest export is U.S. dollars and fewer and fewer countries are accepting it as reserve currency as it buys fewer and fewer marketable commodities. 

The next president that opens trade and controls the growth of government (reducing its size and scope will simply be a pipedream at this point, but one in my view that is still worth having) will restore the dollar.  Could it be John McCain?

Podmess #2

I talk about what party politics can be like inside the convention and go on to describe a conversation I had with a very conservative evangelical Christian woman at the convention. I talk about hippies and a couple of movies I saw recently and rehash my disappointment in the Seattle Aquarium...did I mention I talk about hippies?

Okay, so click here to listen to the best dumb podcast on the Interwebs.

Bob Barr to inherit Ron Paul Revolution?

Bob Barr announced the formation of an exploratory committee (people to count fundraising money) for a possible run for the Libertarian Party nomination.  I like Bob Barr to a degree but he is no Ron Paul and hasn't earned the right to even sit in Harry Browne's now empty wheelchair.

What I like:

• Bob Barr understands the true spending problem
• Wants to eliminate the IRS and repeal the 16th Amendment
• Has already worked with both parties to overturn or rewrite much of the Patriot Act to restore civil liberties
• Is now very against the war in Iraq and nation building
• Is against pre-emptive war

What I don't like so much:

• Bob Barr is for the Fair Tax as a replacement to the Income Tax
• He is strongly for securing the border (I disagreed with Ron Paul on this also)
• Bob Barr voted for the war initially

You may like him.  Obviously since I'm such a high roller Republican now (ha ha) it is impossible for me to endorse him but given the list of candidates currently seeking the LP nomination, I'd have to name Barr my clear favorite.

Look Mom! I'm a Republican

So I told you back in February that I attended my local GOP Caucus and was elected a delegate to the county convention.  We were able to win the Caucus for Ron Paul with a moderate amount of organization.  But the real test would be what would happen at the county convention.

I live in what is probably the 3rd largest county in Washington State in population.  The 1st Legislative District has many precincts that are heavily Republican.  The entire convention was nearly 800 delegates.  How would our organization stand up to these kind of numbers?

Of the 140 delegates comprised in my district we had the duty of electing only 24 delegates to the state convention which will be in lovely Spokane in late May.  Was there even a chance any Ron Paul delegates would make the cut in a district that was actively black-balling anyone in the rEVOLution?  I ran for state delegate and gave this simple, small speech that included these words:

I believe in limited government.  Government that is only large enough to protect rights that are accorded to us as individuals and not people groups.  I believe in protecting our economy with sound money...

These buzzwords were heartfelt and deliberate.  I meant to say that you may think of me as a conservative since most of you probably thought Milton Friedman was a conservative and Ludwig von Mises was a classical composer... and if you're smart enough to understand what sound money is...then you're probably already a Ron Paul supporter and will want to vote for me.  I won on the first ballot and I'm off to Spokane.  Not exactly a great reward but will make the blog more interesting.

I will cover some of the rest of the experience from the convention in an upcoming podcast as some of this story telling can only be done in front of a roaring fire.  Look for it soon.