The Watchers Council has announced its winners for the penultimate May 2012 competition and they are as follows. Among the council nominees, the rankings:

• *First place with 3 2/3 votes! Joshuapundit – What Does Peace Mean Anyway?
• Second place with 2 2/3 votes – The Razor- Geert Wilders: A 21st Century Canary in a Coal Mine (more…)

in 2004, in the decision that would (indirectly) launch my blogging career, Log Cabin passed up an opportunity that Richard Grenell yesterday seized with relish–the chance to articulate the role for gay conservatives within a party whose  entire agenda we do not support.

By failing to endorse George W. Bush (and making a spectacle of their non-endorsement), they failed to show their commitment to the broad principles of the GOP, particularly those relating to national security.  The organization’s leaders could have said although we disagree with President Bush on the Federal Marriage Amendment, we support his leadership in the War on Terror and share Ronald Reagan’s view that “The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally — not a 20 percent traitor.”

“Like many voters,” Grenell wrote yesterday in the Wall Street Journal, “I rarely agree with a candidate’s every position. I can support Mr. Romney for president but not agree with all of his stated policies.”  In 2004, Log Cabin could have well served gay conservatives by offering a similarly succinct statement supporting the reelection of George W. Bush.  In so doing, they would have made it a lot easier for skeptical (and non-doctrinaire) social conservatives to help us find welcome within the party’s ranks.

The good news is that the current executive director of Log Cabin, R. Clarke Cooper, (as did his immediate past predecessor) appears to share that view.  His rhetoric (alas!) may from time to time ape that of the gay left, but his commitment does seem to be finding a place for gay Republicans in the GOP.  (He has even used to his Facebook page to praise the man his organization once maligned — George W. Bush.)

It’s nice to see Log Cabin on the same page with Richard Grenell who, despite the Romney campaign’s awkward handling of his appointment, has shown a strong commitment to an imperfect GOP.  And has given greater voice to a notion we have been pushing at GayPatriot at least since Bruce launched the blog — and that I have promoting since I first joined Log Cabin in 1995.

Council Submissions

• The Noisy Room – The Fiction of Barack Obama
• The Right Planet – Marx Is For Hippies
• Joshuapundit-What Does Peace Mean Anyway?
• The Colossus of Rhodey – Still More Narrative Fail
• The Independent Sentinel – Sebellius Channels JFK to Promote Government As the New Religion
• Simply Jews – Tombstone and Mexican spotted owl
• GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – Yemen Blitz
• The Political Commentator – It’s 8:00 AM, do you know where your tax money is going?
• Bookworm Room – Is Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, a 1978 case rejecting academic racial quotas, the smoking gun behind Obama’s Kenyan identity? *UPDATED*
• Gay Patriot – Is there anything Barack Obama doesn’’t politicize?
• VA Right! - Defending Obama Has Become Like Defending Cigarettes
• The Razor – Geert Wilders: A 21st Century Canary in a Coal Mine
• Rhymes With Right – Professional Malpractice By North Carolina Social Studies Teacher
• The Glittering Eye -The Enforcement Deficit
• The Mellow Jihadi – The Biggest Loser, Navy-style

Honorable Mentions (more…)

Council Winners

• *First place with 3 1/3 votes! The Noisy Room– The Fascist Boogie Fever
• Second place *t* with 2 1/3 votes – Joshuapundit The New Egypt’s Politics: Who Can Demonize Jews And Israel The Most?? (more…)

Council Submissions

• The Colossus of Rhodey – “Distress”
• The Noisy Room – The Fascist Boogie Fever
• Simply Jews – Fahd al Quso’s demise, blame the previous manager, Obama’s campaign claims, etc
• Joshuapundit-The New Egypt’s Politics: Who Can Demonize Jews And Israel The Most??
• The Razor – The Myth of an Unbiased Media
• New Zeal – Communists in Congress? (1) Hansen Clarke (D) Michigan
• The Political Commentator – Syosset, New York: Political smear campaign or just a big old coincidence?
• GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – Syrian Unsafe Zone
• Rhymes With Right – Shocking — Mitt Romney And Barack Obama BOTH Were Bullies In School
• Bookworm Room – Presidential Election 2012: Eddie Haskell versus Ward Cleaver
• VA Right! - A Million Souls Up In Heaven
• The Right Planet – Syria
• The Glittering Eye -It’s a Floor Wax and a Dessert Topping
• The Mellow Jihadi – Breastfeeding, By Any Weans Necessary
• Gay Patriot – Marriage to Ann seems to have ended Mitt’s adolescent unruliness
• The Independent Sentinel – Obama’s Bad “Investments” Keep Piling On the Taxpayers – the Auto Bailout Boondoggle

Honorable Mentions (more…)

I decided to take today off from blogging, have one piece upcoming on the political implications of Obama’s shift on gay marriage, but after that may not post again until tomorrow afternoon.  But, don’t be disappointed, even if my blogging is slow, there’s lots of good stuff from the Watcher of Weasels.

I thought a good number of the submissions last time with particularly strong, so encourage you to peruse this list and follow the links if you’re looking for some good blog reading.  It’s not to say I share the perspectives presented in each of the posts, but that I found many to be thought-provoking and otherwise insightful, so enjoy!

And bear in mind–just because they didn’t win doesn’t mean they’re very good.  :-)

Council Winners

• *First place with 5 votes! Joshuapundit – Inside Vladimir Putin (more…)

Council Submissions

• The Noisy Room – All the Little Communist Occupiers in a Row
• The Political Commentator – Must see video: Obama’s “Julia”, Julia’s alter-ego Julia/Julian and campaign incompetence!
• The Independent Sentinel – The Life of Svetlana, Julia’s’ Friend
• The Mellow Jihadi – Gimme a Break: Occupy Marines, Really?
• Joshuapundit-Inside Vladimir Putin
• Simply Jews – Johan Galtung – Another Cause For Celebration At The Elders’ Place
• The Colossus of Rhodey – Ah, “diversity”
• GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – Happy VE Day!!
• Bookworm Room – Marin County: What it’s like to live in one of the most affluent and liberal outposts in America
• VA Right! - Republicans Adopt ‘Rules for Radicals’ Tactics – Right Back at ‘Cha
  Dems!
• Rhymes With Right White House Condemns Romney For Not Rebuking Treason Accusation
• The Glittering Eye -Looting
• The Right Planet – An Immigration Nightmare: The Story of Sunny and Mark
• Gay Patriot – Time after time since he took office, Obama has failed to show the fortitude to stand up to hateful and over-the-line rhetoric
• The Razor – Of Goats And Politics (more…)

Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock yesterday defeated 36-year Senate veteran Richard Lugar in the Hoosier State’s Republican primary.  This Tea Party favorite who has defeated an establishment Republican has, unlike other such victors, a better than even shot of winning the seat for the GOP.  Mourdock is very much in the mainstream of his state’s politics, an accomplished public official who has served on Vanderburgh County’s Board of Commissioners and in his current position.

His opponent, “the longest-serving Senator in Indiana’s history”, recently celebrated his 80th birthday and was first elected to public office when the 60-year-old Mourdock was 13. Lugar doesn’t seem to have maintained a residence in Indiana, the state he has represented in Washington since Barack Obama was in high school.

It does seem time for him to retire to spend time with his grandchildren.

Not only did Mourdock defeat an octogenarian legislator, but he did so by running on on the principles which secured Ronald Reagan’s rise, favoring a smaller federal government with fewer regulations.

Although “a lot of pundits have been prematurely writing the obituary to the Tea Party,” writes Philip Klein in the Washington Examiner, “Mourdock’s victory demonstrates that the movement still has a lot of power.” Indeed.

UPDATE:  Jennifer Rubin echoes — and builds upon — my point:

At first blush this might seem to be a repeat of 2010: Diligent, moderate incumbent taken out by wide-eyed Tea Party loony. But Mourdock is no Sharron Angle or Christine O’Donnell. And Lugar had gotten out of touch with his constituents and had long ago ceased to be an effective reformer or constructive player in the Senate.

Read the whole thing.

At least since Edmund Burke, whom many consider the forerunner of modern conservatism, conservatives believes we must consider the circumstances of any given situation before developing a law, should the circumstances require one, to remedy it.  Burkean conservatives avoid one-size=fits=all solutions and recognize that some laws should change as times change, while others stay the same.  Some strictures remain as valid today as they were in the ancient world, others outdated, belonging quite literally to another era.

“Circumstances,” Burke wrote, “give in reality to every political principle its distinguishing color and discriminating effect.”

A conservative doesn’t change for change’s sake, but he doesn’t impede a change when circumstances require one.  North Carolina’s Amendment One which is today before the voters of the Tarheel State would prevent the state’s General Assembly, its elected legislature, from crafting laws to reflect the changing circumstances of gays and lesbians in that state.

Its defeat would not lead directly to state recognition of same-sex marriage in North Carolina nor even to state recognition of same-sex civil unions, but merely leave both options — and others as well — open to future legislatures.  And bear in mind that every member of those legislatures will be subject to popular election.  All a vote against Amendment One does is keep the issue of same-sex unions open to the elected representatives of North Carolina’s citizens.  Its defeat will not require churches to perform gay weddings.

I urge North Carolina conservatives to hold true to long-standing conservative principles and to vote today against Amendment One.

This past week, The Noisy Room‘d Pathological Politics – Predatory Partners and Persecuting Patriots won the gold in the council category.  And taking home the laurel in the non-Council category was the City Journal/Joel Kotkin‘s piece The New Class Warfare.

The remaining winners, in their respective categories, are:

Council Winners (more…)

Council Submissions

• The Colossus of Rhodey – “Progressivism” = Insanity
• The Noisy Room – Pathological Politics – Predatory Partners and Persecuting Patriots
• The Political Commentator – Talking Heads say invest, invest, invest but closer inspection may say no, no, no!
• Simply Jews – On Zionist Cruelty To Minors
• Joshuapundit-Obama Campaign’s Latest Claim – ‘Romney Wouldn’t Have Ordered Bin-Laden Hit’
• The Right Planet – Re:Islam
• VA Right! - Thanks Obama:The Car Is STILL in the Ditch and Now We Are FLAT BROKE and Out of Gas!
• Bookworm Room – President Obama’s church is the Chapel of (Progressive) Democracy
• Rhymes With Right – Why Are We Dealing With This Again?
• Gay Patriot – Spiking the Osama ball, Obama forgets what team he’s on
• The Independent Sentinel – Bishops Issue Call To Action To Defend Religious Liberty
• The Glittering Eye -Common Theme/Common Solution
• The Mellow Jihadi – The Black And White Mohawk
• The Razor – Marriage and the State: It’s Time For a Divorce
• GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – Liquidation Day: A Year After OBL’s Death

Honorable Mentions (more…)

This week, Joshuapundit took home the laurel for his post, Yom Hashoah – Reflections On The Holocaust, “a look at how those people who came into contact with it tried to process it, what’s been remembered, why many people would like to forget all about it and what that all means in today’s context.”

The non-Council winner was Raymond Ibrahim’s How the Media Whitewashes Muslim Persecution of Christians.  The remaining Council winners include: (more…)

Council Submissions

• The Colossus of Rhodey – “Progressive” liar set to return to comics
• Joshuapundit-Yom Hashoah – Reflections On The Holocaust
• The Political Commentator – Wall Street 101 For Progressives, Academics and Career Politicians!
• The Noisy Room – Iran + UN: The Incorrectly Included Datum
• The Independent Sentinel – Obama About to Cede Sovereignty of Our Oceans to Marxist UN
• The Mellow Jihadi – The Military Draft
• Simply Jews – There Are Judges In Jerusalem
• GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – PACRIM Airwar
• The Right Planet – Bloody Revolution and Cultural Suicide
• VA Right! - Hollywood Balks at Obama’s Financial Genocide!
• Rhymes With Right – Bishop Takes On Faux Catholic Politicians
• Bookworm Room – The California Open Primary has the practical effect of stifling Republican political speech in November, when it matters most
• The Razor – No One Wins In the Zimmerman Trial
• The Glittering Eye -The Amazing Even Alarming Ease
• Gay Patriot – What gay Republicans (should) expect from the state

Honorable Mentions (more…)

Consistent with conservative principles as articulated by the Republican Party at least since its founding — and particularly in the post-Civil War era as well as in the last third of the preceding century (roughly synchronous with the rise of Ronald Reagan), we should favor laws which do not distinguish based on race, religion, sexual orientation or any other similar factor differentiating one human being from another.

We shouldn’t ask government to sanction our sexual orientation, but do ask that it not condemn it.  We don’t need validation from the state to live freely.  And it is not warranted for the state to punish us for our difference — nor for acting upon our sexual/emotional longings for affection and intimacy.

We ask simply to be treated as human beings with each individual retaining the right to determine his destiny.

And by not asking for privileges based on our difference, we make clearer our commitment to freedom (and indeed to the ideal of equality under the law), to the state leaving each man, each woman alone to determine his, to determine her own destiny.  At the same time, we reaffirm the principles which have made this nation great, have made it strong and made it a shining example for those seeking freedom from oppressive regimes and seeking to replace such regimes with more equitable administrations.

In short, by not asking for anything from the government, we lead by example, reminding all Americans that we don’t need favors from the state in order to seek out opportunities, fulfill our own destines and pursue our own happiness, on our own or together with individuals with whom we choose to associate as part of groups we choose to join.

More on this anon.

NB: Tweaked the text to make it a bit bolder.

Taking home the gold this week in the Council category was Bookworm’s most excellent post, he real threat that the Ann Romneys of the world represent to the statist Left.  Michael Totten‘s The Lost City held that honor among the non-Council submissions.

There were a number of particularly strong posts in this week’s nominations, particularly those considering Mrs. Romney and her recent rise to prominence.  I don’t always share the opinions of my fellow council members, but do tend to find most of their posts most interesting.

The remaining contestants ranked as follow: (more…)

Good morning from the center of the right-leaning blogosphere this weekend! Yep, BlogCon has occupied Charlotte, NC today and tomorrow for two days of information, fun & networking.

So a hearty welcome to the Queen City (no jokes, puh-lease!)

PatriotPartner (John) and I will be attending the sessions today and tomorrow and we were so thrilled to see everyone last night at the BlogBash party at RiRa Irish Pub.

Watch for updates from Twitter. And occasional posts from me here. Maybe photos, too!

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Council Submissions

• The Noisy Room – Hiding Behind Names
• The Political Commentator – North Korea Camp 14: Why rogue nations cannot be negotiated with!
• Joshuapundit-John Derbyshire And A Talk About Race
• Simply Jews – This is our dog, Peter Beinart!
• VA Right! - Tax Loopholes? Let’s End the Biggest Loophole of All – the “Earned” Income Tax Credit
• GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – Pakistani Spring
• The Right Planet – The Obama-MSM Suicide Pact
• The Colossus of Rhodey – Obama makes an “uncharacteristic” gaffe — not like G.W. Bush
• Bookworm Room – The real threat that the Ann Romneys of the world represent to the statist Left
• Rhymes With Right – Who Is More in Touch With Average Woman – Ann Or Michelle?
  
• The Razor – Prescription Abuse and the Legalization of Illicit Drugs
• The Mellow Jihadi – An Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, Korea, and Vietnam Vet
• The Glittering Eye -What’s Fair?
• Gay Patriot – Governments should leave us free to pursue happiness, not make its achievement a public policy goal
• The Independent Sentinel – Al-Qaeda Attorney Becomes Number Three Man in the DOJ

Honorable Mentions (more…)

When, in January, I endorsed Jon Huntsman for President, I did so with reservations, pointing out that his “record has been far from perfect.  And, in the course of this campaign, he seems to have a predilection to attack his fellow Republicans — and mock conservatives.”

In her column this weekend, Peggy Noonan offered a similar perspective on his failure to gain traction among Republican voters:

Jon Huntsman was hobbled because he didn’t seem to identify on any level with Republicans on the ground, or particularly like them. Voters don’t take to you when they know you don’t take to them. Sarcastic tweets about global warming were not the beginning of his campaign, but the end.

(Read the whole thing, in large measure to why she contends the “The GOP should go back to being John Wayne.”)

It is passing strange that the Republican candidate with perhaps the most consistently conservative economic plan and a conservative record in office (as well as executive experience) would act as if he were running against the citizens whose votes he most needed to win — and whose political views mostly closely coincided with his own.

I’m not sure Peggy is right when she says that Huntsman didn’t particularly like Republicans, but he certainly didn’t campaign like he did.  And that’s one reason he never emerged as the leading “non-Romney” even if he did have an economic plan which embraced Tea Party principles and which had the potential to resonate with rank-and-file conservative voters.

Due to my family and alumni responsibilities, was unable  to vote this week in the latest Watcher of Weasels contest, so haven’t had a chance to read many of the posts, so here are the winners.  Among members of the Council, The Razor took the gold for Why There Are No Such Things As Unnecessary Tests.

Among non-Council submissions, Sultan Knish took the laurels One Hundred Broken Mirrors; The Political Commentator submitted that post for consideration.

Members of the Council ranked the submissions as follows: (more…)

I expect to have more to say about Rick Santorum’s withdrawal next week, particularly as it impacts the role of gay Republicans in the GOP — and the party’s emerging attitude toward gays.  I had begun that discussion this post.  As part of that conversation, I highly recommend Alana Goodman’s Commentary post about the GOP Shift on Gay Marriage Opposition.  Goodman considers an issue I’d been meaning to address about the National Organization for Marriage (yes, rusty, that’s the post I indicated here that intended to write) which helps show one trend I’d been meaning to consider.

Alas, that by the time I (expect to) get to this post, the (Santorum) story may no longer be fresh, but other obligations take precedence.  The day Santorum dropped out, I was flying to New York (moving a planned trip up a day early for family reasons) and will be “back east” (as we in California call this part of the country) until early next week, with meetings in western Massachusetts (the reason for the trip) in the coming days.

That said, I do want to share with you something blogger Ed Morrissey, who had back Santorum “with some heavy qualifications” said about Romney wrapping up the nomination:

Mitt Romney is the nominee.  He won the nomination through hard work and good organization, but his competition forced him to improve his performance along the way.  The sooner we put fantasies of brokered conventions and one-on-one debates between Republicans — which will only serve as media fodder to attack the GOP — the better we will begin to prepare for the real goal of this process, which is to make Barack Obama a one-term President.  With that goal in mind, I plan to caucus for Romney in the upcoming CD and state Republican conventions in Minnesota and work to unite the party behind its nominee.  However, I also plan to support candidates in the House and Senate that will ensure that a President Romney governs as a conservative, as Donald Devine advises post-Santorum.

I share this because Morrissey, as usual, offers a good summary of the situation and often seems to have his finger on the pulse of conservative sentiment.
(more…)