Nemo me impune lacessit

No one provokes me with impunity

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No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

Article 1, Section 9, Constitution of the United States

If this is the law of the land...why in a republic (little r) and as republicans, do we allow mere POLITICIANS to the right to use a "title of office" for the rest of their lives as if it were de facto a patent of nobility. Because, as republicans, this should NOT be the case...just saying...

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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Republican Leadership Has Lost Touch With the Base

After talking with many people who make up the base of the Republican party, I have come to the conclusion that our "elite" leadership (those in Congress & as well as the RNC) have lost touch with those of us at the "grass roots" level. Our leadership has come to the conclusion that a woman (regardless of ethnic background) can't be elected to high office in this country.

Witness the marginalization of former Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin. She has been completely sidelined by the national party, and pretty much ignored. This despite the huge numbers of people who came to hear her talk during the past election cycle. Her poll numbers haven't really wavered, all the while our "leaders" have treated her with disdain. I don't believe that she will run in the 2012 election cycle, however, I strongly suspect that she building a national network, much as Ronald Reagan did in the late 1960's and early mid '70's. That network led to his election in 1980 by a comfortable margin.

In fact, Mrs. Palin has been instramental in helping to derail Mr. Obama's and an irrisponsible Democratic lead Congress' misguided attempts to sieze control of the health insurance industry in this country. This while the Republican Congressional leadership, Mr. Boehner & Mr. McConnell, flails around aimlessly. They, in Congress, are the root of the problem and certainly not the cure. The Republican's feckless spending in the early mid-part of this decade led to the loss of our majority in Congress.

Another potention leader who is very well thought of, but has also been cast into the outer darkness is Condaleeza Rice, Mr. Bush's Secretary of State. An excellent article in Forbes, she is described as,
(http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/21/news/economy/condoleezza_rice_gop.fortune/)
"She's smart. She's experienced. She's worldly. Republican strategists worried about their party's future should take heed."

Rice is mostly known as George W. Bush's Secretary of State. But she is also a concert pianist who once dueled with Yo-Yo Ma and played solo for the Queen of England; a Russian scholar and football fanatic who once listed NFL commissioner as her dream job; a black woman who grew up in the segregated South and is now something of a rock star among the 'tween girl set. (She plans to edit a version of her book about her parents for young girls.)

In other words, her appeal is broad. Onstage, Rice sounds alarms about the threat of terrorism while still sounding reasonable. She offers compassion for women in oppressive societies while hard-headedly tying their plight to America's national security. "I think that societies that treat women badly are dangerous societies," she insists.

Yet another woman of substance who is a member of our party is Margaret Cushing "Meg" Whitman , who as of this writing is planning a for the Governoship of California. Ms. Whitman, was very successful as CEO of Ebay and has the sort of background that is sadly lacking in Congress: she has an understanding of business and economics that the vast majority of Congress lacks.

If we, as a party, truly desire to show that we, as a party are the genuine leaders in equality, we must allow these more than able women to become part of the leadership of our party. All three are literally the embodiment of the feminist ideal. Mrs. Palin is successful in every metric that the "liberal left" uses to measure a true feminist (hence their extreme hatred to her--a family life and successful career), who yet repudiates their liberal attitudes. Ms. Rice is much the same, she is of African descent, yet has chosen the Republican party as representative of her views on life. And Ms. Whitman has had a more than successful career in business and has chosen to run for high public office. By ignoring these women, our leadership has chosen a path of slow destruction.

UPDATE: In a Brainfart, I mistakenly identified the Republican leader of the Senate as Mitchell, oops...Its Mitch McConnell...fixed now

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