First Principles

Pretty much every pundit – and every one with at least a brain stem – acknowledges that Romney won this debate decisively.  But what most of them are missing is why it was such a blowout. It’s the format, stupid – the best political debate format I’ve ever seen. And contrary to a lot of […]

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So today Nevada’s delegation to the National Republican Convention stole the votes of thousands of Nevada Republicans.  Caucus goers were promised that their delegates would honor their votes, and would vote on the floor of the convention in proportion to the vote in the caucuses.  The national delegates promised they would “play by the rules” […]

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When I was running for the Assembly, I would often say that the good news is that no matter who is elected for any government post, Government will eventually get much, much smaller.  After all its current size and growth is unsustainable, and things that can’t go on forever, don’t. But the choice we have […]

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Last month, the Obama Administration issued an “Information Memorandum” that broadly reinterprets federal “welfare to work” programs, and encourages states to seek waivers of employment requirements for people on federally subsidized welfare benefits.  While the Memorandum claims that waivers won’t be granted if they violate the spirit of that welfare reform, the reinterpretation of the […]

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Ron Paul supporters in Nevada had their crowning achievement this weekend – they “took over” the state party.  It took them four years of planning, coordination, and subterfuge, but they won a smashing victory over the weekend by sticking it to “The Establishment”. And in doing so, they (at best) did nothing.  At worst, they […]

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A few months ago, I was seriously considering Newt Gingrich for my caucus vote.  But then he came out with his absurd and dangerous suggestion that the political branches of government have the power to haul federal judges before boards of inquiry, and that they be subject to impeachment if we don’t like their legal […]

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I only got home last night in time to see the second half of the Presidential debate.  I didn’t hear anything unexpected, although overall I thought it was substantive and good.  Will it matter?  Who can say.  But here are my thoughts. ~~~ The most compelling thing to me was in the part I missed, […]

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So much great stuff around the Silver State’s Intertubes (and beyond) today… ~~~ Attorney General Cortez-Masto says that the presence of a middle man cures otherwise Unconstitutional transfer of money from government to private industry.  Interesting. I really hope NPRI files a lawsuit over this, if for no other reason than I always get a […]

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I wish this debate had happened sooner.  Although it definitely helped that there were fewer candidates on stage – it’s not an accident that fewer candidates and no absurd timeclock led to a far more substantive debate than we’ve seen in the past. I haven’t seen a lot of the post-debate spin from other people […]

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A reader recently E-mailed me with this question, and I thought the night before the Iowa caucus would be a time to reflect on it here. Is there a good “conservative” “Republican” in the race? As much as I’d like to think the guy currently in office is vulnerable, the Republicans seem to be trying […]

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Mitt Romney has always been my default candidate in this race.  He’s acceptable, good enough, has some points about him I really like, could beat Obama, and ultimately would be a vastly better President than the current one.  And his resume is full of taking economically failing institutions and slashing their waste until they’re successful […]

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When Bill Clinton was being impeached for perjury, I was beyond annoyed with the whole spectacle.  It’s not that I don’t think perjury should be taken seriously – it should.  And it wasn’t that I was a Bill Clinton fan – far from it. But the sanctimony and obvious political hackery at the heart of […]

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