The Conservative Crack-Up: Viguerie v. Newt

Obama is obviously dead in the water, the Senate is obviously going to go Republican, Angle is sure to best Reid...blah, blah, blah. As we await "Conservative Victory 2010" let us pause for a moment to reflect on just how insane conservatives have become. Richard Viguerie, father of direct mail fundraising, funding godfather of the "New Right" and conservative gadfly linked to a piece by the unknown one-time presidential candidate, Chuck Baldwin. Chuck's problem is that Newt is a Tea Party Fraud. Among Newt's most egregious crimes? He is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations!

Chuck also points out something that has long been forgotten, or never quite understood, that many of Clinton's greatest accomplishments were shepherded by Newt. WTO, NAFTA, the Mexican bailout, welfare reform and a balanced budget. Best story on this is Derek Chollet's America Between Wars. I have not read it but Steven Gillon's The Pact actually focuses on the Gingrich/Clinton relationship and how they had planned to save Social Security and Medicare until Monica's blue dress became public knowledge.

Baba-Bull Watch: El Maleconazo

Alberto at Babalu has a good post marking the 16th anniversary of the Maleconazo - a fleeting moment in which Cubans expressed their displeasure with the way things were. My only problem with the post is the conclusion where Alberto posits that the real story of the Maleconazo is how close Cubans came to freedom that day. Uhhhhh, not really. I think he exaggerates the promise and possibility of el Maleconazo. He can't be blamed for that since examples of street protests and demonstrations are so rare in Cuba. Regimes that have regimes that are usually dislodged by street protests are usually pseudo/quasi democracies and even some of them survive, see Iran. In addition to topple a regime it requires a sustained mass effort, something obviously lacking in el Maleconazo. The last outright totalitarian government to fall due to the strength of public demonstrations was Romania.

I also believe that the greater story is that el Maleconazo was the first mass public display of discontent on the island since the storming of the Peruvian embassy that gave rise to the Mariel Boatlift - over 14 years before. There also has not been a significant uprising since then, another 16 years. That is the big story - two mass signs of protests in 30 years. That is not a very inspiring record.

Calderon: Let's Talk Legalization

I could not believe the headlines when I read them but in a bold and unexpected move Felipe Calderon said drug legalization should be put on the table for discussion. Previously Calderon had said that proceeding alone on this matter made no sense and that Mex would have to follow the US lead on the matter. As a justification this was a little weak. Ultimately Mexico needs to do what it is in her best interests and while upsetting US is something to be taken into the equation, the option need to be explored especially if the survival of the Mexican Republic was at stake.

Particularly refreshing is the fact that the principal opposition parties, nor even fellow PANistas, took Calderon's honesty as an opportunity to grandstand. Deputies from the PRI, PAN and PRD welcomed the President's call for discussion. Only the relatively insignificant left wing Convergencia took the opportunity to rip into Calderon's initiative calling to citing Mexico's lack of socio-political maturity and development. Not a completely outrageous concern, but not one that should be the end all and be all to this debate.

Legalization needs to be discussed. As I have stated repeatedly, it makes little to no sense for Mexican blood to be spilled for what essentially America's problem. If we were not such a ready and boom market for narcotics, Mexican drug cartels would not be in an all out war with each other and the state. There is a political cost to all this. Obviously any move by the Mexicans to regulate the drug market will draw a severe reaction by the US - that cost needs to be considered. In the end however, I do believe that a Mexican state that regulates narcotics can only hope to be less violent, less corrupt and more stable. There will be social and political costs but none quite as perilous as how the situation now stands. The options before Calderon right now are continuing an all out war with the cartels that he may or may not win or cede to said cartels the riches and control they have gained. It may be that his people find current options to be unpalatable.

START, Don't START

Op-Ed in Washington Examiner by Heritage research fellow James Carafano rips into the recently signed START agreement. To back his position up he uses a game devised by his colleague Baker Spring that demonstrated what a horrible world it would be if we followed Obama's "nuke-free world" plan. I will try not to quibble too much although it must be noted that Ronald Reagan had a vision of a nuclear-free world when Obama was still striking up spliffs. As I a Republican and a conservative I can take Carafano, Spring and Mitt Romney at their word and believe that this START thing isn't any good orrrrrr....I can listen to Henry Kissinger, George Schultz, James Baker, Colin Powell, Stephen Hadley and Brent Scowcroft who have all voice support for START. Hmmmm...this one is tough. A bunch of no-name researchers who have accomplished nothing in the foreign policy realm, a politician desperate to show off his tea party bona-fides or a who's who of the Republican foreign policy establishment?

Being Racist Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry...Or Fact Checking

The jumping off point for Steve Sailer's latest screed is a year old photo of Sammy Sosa in white face. Never been a fan of Sammy. Unlike Barry Bonds he was not much of a player till he started juicing and his mugging for the cameras and his desperate need for attention always annoyed me. He is a multi-tasking cheater, recall that he was caught with a corked bat. Coming to Sammy's defense is difficult for me, but defend I must. I do not know what was going through his skull when he popped up at a party ghostly pale, with color contacts and straightened hair but it should be noted that he gave up the look just as quickly as he adopted. It would be too much for Sailer to check that out, of course because it would not fit into his worldview. Sailer is a particular brand of racist, one who thrills at provoking without actually showing us his Stormfront tat. Sailer never actually shouts "White power!" from the rooftops nor does he proclaim that blacks or other minorities are inferior per se. Rather he just likes to needle and poke, noting that those darn minorities sure have some issues, don't they?

LA Quick Hits: Hugo & the Banks, Cubans Doubtful About Change, Peru Talking FTA as Exports Explode & I Wish My Girlfriend Was Colombian

• Since he has not done enough to frighten off investment and squelch any hope for private sector growth, Hugo is going after the banks now. He also gives a hat tip to Correa for coming up with the idea of not allowing banks to have ownership stake in media.
• Cubans sceptical of Raul's promise for economic change, they have seen this all before.
• Peru has started FTA talks with Central America.
• Year-to-year, Peruvian exports shot up a shade over 40%, imports were up 38%.
• Colombians only buy 2.2 shoes a year?

Next to Hugo, Sean Penn is Sane

In "Hugo Boss" Christopher Hitchens recounts his time with Hugo and Sean Penn. Same title as a good Foreign Policy piece (subscription only) from a couple of years back. Anyway the best part for me is glimpse into the mind of Hugo:

It did not take long for this hero-obsession to disclose itself in bizarre forms. One evening, as we were jetting through the skies, Brinkley mildly asked whether Chávez's large purchases of Russian warships might not be interpreted by Washington as a violation of the Monroe Doctrine. The boss's response was impressively immediate. He did not know for sure, he said, but he very much hoped so. "The United States was born with an imperialist impulse. There has been a long confrontation between Monroe and Bolívar. … It is necessary that the Monroe Doctrine be broken." As his tirade against evil America mounted, Penn broke in to say that surely Chávez would be happy to see the arrest of Osama Bin Laden.

I was hugely impressed by the way that the boss scorned this overture. He essentially doubted the existence of al-Qaida, let alone reports of its attacks on the enemy to the north. "I don't know anything about Osama Bin Laden that doesn't come to me through the filter of the West and its propaganda." To this, Penn replied that surely Bin Laden had provided quite a number of his very own broadcasts and videos. I was again impressed by the way that Chávez rejected this proffered lucid-interval lifeline. All of this so-called evidence, too, was a mere product of imperialist television. After all, "there is film of the Americans landing on the moon," he scoffed. "Does that mean the moon shot really happened? In the film, the Yanqui flag is flying straight out. So, is there wind on the moon?" As Chávez beamed with triumph at this logic, an awkwardness descended on my comrades, and on the conversation.

LA Quick Hits: Calderon Still Talking Security, Hugo Isn't, But He Should, Hugo Skipping Mercosur, Chincilla Wants to Cash In & More

• Calderon acknowledges the need to open a new chapter in the battle to provide security for Mexico.
• There is a security problem in Venezuela and the opposition promises to make it an issue. The only city in LatAm that has suffered more? Ciudad Juarez.
• Momentum for Honduran recognition continues. Mex and Chile give a thumbs up to the Lobo government. Don't hold your breath for the Legion of Doom following suit.
• Hugo is not going to make it to the next Mercosur summit in Argentina. Cites the tensions with Colombia.
• Chinchilla met with Red Chinese FM Yang Jiechi. The Ticos are trying to cash in on their switch from ROC to PRC recognition - they asked for a donation to finish a four-lane expressway.
• The Santiago exchange soared to a historical high of 4,418.66

Baba-Bull Watch: BonkoBert Makes Another Funny

Apparently he just cracks himself up doing this.

Baba-Bull Watch: BonkoBert - Neo-Nazi

In case you were wondering Bert is still Bonkers. Yesterday a Bert post managed to make a logical leap the likes of which our civilization has never seen. It was the most death-defying daring do this side of Evil Knievel's aborted attempt to traverse Snake River Canyon. BonkoBert (cuz BertBonkers or BonkersBert just doesn't work for me) managed to lump Angela Davis with Carlos Saladrigas. The connection, of course, is Saladrigas' opposition to the embargo as it currently stands. This is reasonable in Planet Bert because if you are opposed to the embargo then you are OBVIOUSLY a communist or an agent of Castro Inc. You see BB is like another Cuban who dons facial hair, he is insulted by the mere idea of dissent and is offended by any hint of debate. The only difference between them is that the other guy can actually kill whoever he wants and BB can only dream about it.

Since Bert started something, I figure that I might as well play it to its natural conclusion. I do not know how many degrees of separation there are between Saladrigas and Davis but I can assure you that Bert can be connected with some unsavory characters with the slightest of ease. On his homepage BB links to an article he penned for WorldNetDaily. WND is holding its "Taking America Back" Conference in Miami in mid-September. Ironically enough one of the main speakers is Constitution Party Candidate for Governor of Colorado, Tom "Miami is a third world country" Tancredo. Tancredo recently spoke at a rally for SB 1070 that other activists snubbed due to the organizer's link to a neo-nazis. So there...Bert is a white-supremacist, neo-nazi.