Matthew Berry. Not the ESPN guy: the former Clarence Thomas clerk/DoJ/FCC guy. He’s running on a fiscal conservatism/national security/ethics platform; and opposing the infamous Jim Moran, believer in Israeli conspiracies. His statement about Moran’s blathering* on the NYC show trials works for me:
“It is wrong for Congressman Moran to question the patriotism of the millions of Americans who believe that terrorists such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed should be tried by military commissions rather than in civilian courtrooms. Furthermore, Congressman Moran’s comment reflects a basic ignorance of American history. Military commissions were used to try war crimes during the Revolutionary War, Mexican War, Civil War, Spanish-American War, and World War II. The use of a military commission to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would have been entirely in keeping with American history and tradition.”
For those wondering: VA-08 is a D+16 district that includes Arlington, Virginia, which makes Matthew’s oppositional stance on the hot-button topics of the stimulus, cap and trade, and the health care rationing bill all the more notable. He’s also supportive of the Tea Party’s objectives of more citizen involvement in government, particularly from a fiscal point of view. Lastly; Matthew happens to be gay, and is making no attempt to hide his sexual orientation. Which, given the way that minority conservatives routinely get viciously targeted by the Other Side, deserves particular mention.
The race itself is in its early days; Matthew appears to be the first candidate to declare for the primary (the VA GOP**, while not involving itself in primaries, did note that “it would be of great benefit to the Commonwealth of Virginia if Jim Moran were to lose his seat;” they look forward to supporting the eventual candidate). All in all, a fiscon and natsec hawk sounds like a definite trade-up to the guy that we have in there now - especially since he reads RedState. Note to candidates: that is a very, very smart thing to do…
Moe Lane
*Apparently, objecting to show trials in NYC is now somehow un-American. I’d note the irony, except that I’m more bemused at the irony that a ’show trial’ has become the best possible outcome for this administration.
**Who did a nice job with the last election, by the way.
Crossposted to Moe Lane.
Sweet
aesthete Monday, November 16th at 3:42PM EST (link)I imagine that he’s for gay marriage, but do you know where he stands on abortion?
Guilt is a rope that wears thin.
-Ayn Rand
“I am a freeman in a free state!”
-Last words of Dumnorix, chieftan of the Aedui, 54 BC
and I'm supposed to be excited about this?
lycurgus Monday, November 16th at 3:50PM EST (link)pass
If Moran can be taken down
Dan McLaughlin Monday, November 16th at 4:01PM EST (link)you should be.
“No compromise with the main purpose, no peace till victory, no pact with unrepentant wrong.” - Winston Churchill
Take what we can get
RedBeard Monday, November 16th at 4:08PM EST (link)And no one could possibly be as rotten as Moran.
Standard-bearer for grouchy curmudgeonry since, oh, 1975 or so.
See, this was the mistake, Will-me-lad.
Moe Lane Monday, November 16th at 4:49PM EST (link)Anybody with this persona that you’ve put together would cheerfully drag himself over broken glass to get rid of Jim I-see-Jewish-conspiracies Moran.
Check out my new blog at http://moelane.com/.
http://twitter.com/moelane
My (blogging-related) wish list.
My, impressive bag -- congrats. nt
mschmitt Monday, November 16th at 4:55PM EST (link)*Golf clap* nt
aesthete Monday, November 16th at 4:59PM EST (link)Guilt is a rope that wears thin.
-Ayn Rand
“I am a freeman in a free state!”
-Last words of Dumnorix, chieftan of the Aedui, 54 BC
I had an openly gay Republican represent me in Congress...
ZeusKingoftheGods Tuesday, November 17th at 6:36PM EST (link)… and never again would I vote for such depravity. Former Congressman Jim Kolbe represented Southern Arizona for 22 years. The man was sick! At the time, he was the only openly “gay” Republican in Congress. And we Republicans were told to support him – if we knew what was good for us.
So, what did Mr. Kolbe support? Well, Jim Kolbe was 1 of only 6 Republicans in Congress to vote against the ban on partial-birth abortion. He was a huge supporter of abortion. He also hid language in a bill that allowed gay lovers of foreigners and diplomats to use their sam-sex partners to seek asylum and immigration recognition. Jim Kolbe was also the open-borders genius who wrote Bush’s amnesty plan. So, what did he oppose? Well, he wouldn’t support Republicans who ran to replace him after he retired because they were opposed to gay marriage. He was Dede Scozzafava before Scozzafava was. The list on Jim Kolbe goes on & on.
Obviously, this new guy might not support the same things, but Congress does change people. Kolbe didn’t even start off as “so bad.” He just got progressively worse as he became more entrenched into power. So, what are Matthew Berry’s feelings about “Don’t ask; Don’t Tell”? What are his feelings about allowing people who think they are gay to adopt children? What are his feelings about so-called “gay marriage”? And how much will those feelings change overtime if he holds conservative positions on these things?
There are reasons why the “Tea Party” movement became so powerful. And part of that is because voters saw that those who were being pushed on us as “our best” candidates were so flawed and represented things that were dead wrong. The “homosexual agenda” is dead wrong!
Voting against a person who conducts him or herself in such a manner is absolutely justified. Homosexual conduct goes against the very nature of man given to him by God. Now, I don’t live in Virginia, so this race does not affect me. And I am no fan of Jim Moran who is an absolute idiot. But saying that someone just “happens to be gay” is a page right out of the liberal playbook. I would write someone else or find another candidate before either of these choices became acceptable.
As a resident of VA 8, I'll be sure to follow Mr. Berry. nt
rsss Monday, November 16th at 4:23PM EST (link)Just playing the devil's advocate.
douglaswarren Monday, November 16th at 4:29PM EST (link)But you use as a point of argument that he questioned the patriotism of those opposed to his agenda.
Is there not a lot of that that comes from our side of the political spectrum?
Just self-critiquing here. Consistency is a powerful political commodity.
I registered under the email Model.citizen@yahoo.com , because I think that I’m smarter than you are.
http://new.music.yahoo.com/alice-cooper/tracks/model-citizen–2061240
Besides...
douglaswarren Monday, November 16th at 4:31PM EST (link)I understand the take what we can get position, but I mean, he’s obviously not on our side of social issues.
Openly accepting and endorsing his candidancy, does that open a door that might not be able to get closed in the future?
I registered under the email Model.citizen@yahoo.com , because I think that I’m smarter than you are.
http://new.music.yahoo.com/alice-cooper/tracks/model-citizen–2061240
P.s.
douglaswarren Monday, November 16th at 4:33PM EST (link)Note: I intended those as honest questions and thoughts, not in any way as a slight to the poster.
Thanks!
I registered under the email Model.citizen@yahoo.com , because I think that I’m smarter than you are.
http://new.music.yahoo.com/alice-cooper/tracks/model-citizen–2061240
Shallow political attacks are par for the course in politics
aesthete Monday, November 16th at 4:48PM EST (link)Personally, I don’t put much stock in terms like “racist”, “patriotic”, “non-partisan”, “bipartisan”, “caring”, and the rest of the litany of political buzzwords because they have become so devalued through politics. Heck, I almost feel offended when I hear someone calling me patriotic nowadays, given that it almost certainly means that I’m endorsing some sort of government encroachment on our freedoms! I prefer to simply call myself unabashedly American, and to let others sort out what that entails.
I don’t really have an opinion of Berry (I don’t have enough info, really), but he’s bound to be better than Moran on both an ideological and personal level. As a note, I appreciate that he doesn’t seem to be “in your face” about his sexuality, but at the same time, doesn’t attempt to hide it when it would be convenient for him to do so.
Guilt is a rope that wears thin.
-Ayn Rand
“I am a freeman in a free state!”
-Last words of Dumnorix, chieftan of the Aedui, 54 BC
I'm with you totally.
douglaswarren Monday, November 16th at 4:59PM EST (link)On the de-valuing of terms.
Sometimes when I really think on it I start to going in circles. A lot on our side seem to get really upset when the credentials as “Real Americans” are questioned by those that oppose us.
But I do remember, as much as I’d like to block it out, us doing the same thing under Bush and many, all over Internet comment forums on the Internet, still doing so today.
I wonder sometimes if it cheapens our complaints like the one this post pointed out, when we say that you can’t just do that to us, say we’re Un-American, because many of us, myself included, have used that line of attack on others many times in the past and today.
Makes me feel like, again, consistency is a powerful political tool. Inconsistency could hurt us.
Any thoughts? Our ultimate goal should be victory with as few setbacks and self-caused harm as possible, no?
I registered under the email Model.citizen@yahoo.com , because I think that I’m smarter than you are.
http://new.music.yahoo.com/alice-cooper/tracks/model-citizen–2061240
I'm very utilitarian in my thinking there
aesthete Monday, November 16th at 5:27PM EST (link)Personally, I won’t ascribe motivations onto others unless there’s probable cause. Even then, I see little use in talking about motivations on the part of politicians; it is, functionally speaking, as useful as looking for motivation in “”, and given the massive PR teams that any major politician has, probably futile to discern whether you’re seeing real emotion, or an orchestrated performance.
I’m of the view that, generally speaking, showing the results of progressive policy is more effective, because it is more objective. Conservatism has always been at its best with objective truth and statement, and is out of place in the post-modernist world that liberals tend to prefer (note how often their calls to arms rely on emotion, and not substance).
Guilt is a rope that wears thin.
-Ayn Rand
“I am a freeman in a free state!”
-Last words of Dumnorix, chieftan of the Aedui, 54 BC
Forgive me.
douglaswarren Monday, November 16th at 5:33PM EST (link)I appreciate your response but, unfortunately and totally my fault, I couldn’t really understand the underlying theme.
Basically, I can be an idiot, and I didn’t really get what you were saying there.
Maybe you could elaborate. My curiosities and questions are honest and open to all.
Thanks.
I registered under the email Model.citizen@yahoo.com , because I think that I’m smarter than you are.
http://new.music.yahoo.com/alice-cooper/tracks/model-citizen–2061240
Sure
aesthete Monday, November 16th at 5:51PM EST (link)My post was rushed and badly-written, and in reading it again, I can see where you were confused.
In short, I was saying that in the end, discussion of the various allegations of “racism” or “unpatriotism” or what say you are fruitless because of the obvious ambiguities surrounding politicians, and because of the simple fact that you, as a voter, don’t know them. Moreover, whenever conservatives get into the namecalling game, liberals win: we’re not very good at it, and we are at a disadvantage to begin with, as a result of an unfair and biased arbiter (MSM).
Therefore, rather than try to win on a subjective level, where progressives have natural advantages, we should try to frame issues objectively. As an example, instead of calling Dems “unpatriotic” or “socialist”, we should show the effects of their actions (”the bill that Senator X voted for will have the effect of increasing the budget by 200%”).
Hopefully, that clarified my position a bit.
Guilt is a rope that wears thin.
-Ayn Rand
“I am a freeman in a free state!”
-Last words of Dumnorix, chieftan of the Aedui, 54 BC
Absolutely.
douglaswarren Monday, November 16th at 6:17PM EST (link)Thanks for taking the time.
In truth, I tend to agree with you. Sure, some of his policies are socialist inspired but the truth is that America has been a mixed economy for as long as there has been a stable and prosperous middle class and what you really see all over the Internet are alleged conservatives calling everyone that’s not conservative, Socialists, Communists, fascists, totalitarian, or dictator interchangably and sometimes all together as if it ever makes actual sense.
This is an area where I think, as you say, we sell ourselves short because we’re not as good at it. We should be arguing on the basis of what these bills are ACTUALLY going to do instead of just crying out the scariest word we can find.
It has it’s place but I fear sometimes it might hurt us in the end. As I said, consistency. How can we be upset that Moran questioned our patriotism when we call and have called people that oppose us anti-American and any other scary word we can find ad infinitum?
But I fear I may he treading on thin ground here. I’m just so worried about all this stuff and I know how important trying to defeat it is that I want to air out some of the things I think about that I worry about hurting us in the long run. The MSM shows what they want and people do remember. Even if we wish they wouldn’t.
I registered under the email Model.citizen@yahoo.com , because I think that I’m smarter than you are.
http://new.music.yahoo.com/alice-cooper/tracks/model-citizen–2061240
Link, please.
Moe Lane Monday, November 16th at 6:12PM EST (link)At Jim Moran’s level, please.
Check out my new blog at http://moelane.com/.
http://twitter.com/moelane
My (blogging-related) wish list.
Haha, sorry.
douglaswarren Monday, November 16th at 6:19PM EST (link)Call me an idiot, but again, I’m a confused what you were trying to convey to me, if this was to me.
Thanks!
I registered under the email Model.citizen@yahoo.com , because I think that I’m smarter than you are.
http://new.music.yahoo.com/alice-cooper/tracks/model-citizen–2061240
You accused Republicans of Moran-level hate speech, douglaswarren.
Moe Lane Monday, November 16th at 8:06PM EST (link)Provide links showing examples of same, at Congressman-level or above.
Next post.
Check out my new blog at http://moelane.com/.
http://twitter.com/moelane
My (blogging-related) wish list.
Very funny
Hooah_Mac Monday, November 16th at 10:08PM EST (link)You see, you say that “our” side, although we know you aren’t on the same side as most people on this site, called the left unpatriotic during the Bush years. Except that never happened. The term unpatriotic was never used, it was a preemptive strike by your side. If you look back you will find that the only ones using the term unpatriotic was the left*, responding to charges they could have only been hearing in their own conscience.
I know the left loves their narrative, but you guys could at least try to use one with a basis in fact.
* Yes, I know someone will dig up a comment on some never read blog somewhere that says unpatriotic, but relevance is the key.
“You can call yourself a Republican, but if you’ve lost the support of Fred Thompson, you are an unholy thing that will be destroyed by a rain of fire.” -IMAO
He's a ghost now -nt-
civil_truth Monday, November 16th at 10:12PM EST (link)And Rightly So!
He has my attention
DerKrieger Monday, November 16th at 5:08PM EST (link)If he’s a strong fiscal and defense conservative I’m willing to give him a listen. Let’s leave social issues to the states
“In questions of power, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” - Thomas Jefferson
“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence (OBAMACARE – mine), the money of their constituents.” – James Madison
As for Jim Moran.
douglaswarren Monday, November 16th at 7:10PM EST (link)Here’s a gem from 2006:
“Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., said: “The seven million Muslim-Americans living in the US are an integral part of American society. Our country is a melting pot of different cultures and beliefs. This diversity is a strength, not a weakness. Bringing more Muslim-Americans into the political process is a goal, not something to be avoided.”
How do you feel about that, especially after recent events?
I registered under the email Model.citizen@yahoo.com , because I think that I’m smarter than you are.
http://new.music.yahoo.com/alice-cooper/tracks/model-citizen–2061240
Never mind, faker. And do some oppo research next time.
Moe Lane Monday, November 16th at 8:10PM EST (link)RedState has a Muslim Contributor; we don’t appreciate it when liberals like yourself try to bait like this.
Moe Lane
PS: “Model.citizen@yahoo.com” Cute. Alas, some of us actually listen to Alice Cooper.
http://new.music.yahoo.com/alice-cooper/tracks/model-citizen–2061240
Check out my new blog at http://moelane.com/.
http://twitter.com/moelane
My (blogging-related) wish list.
He was almost as bad as George Strait
Tbone Monday, November 16th at 8:22PM EST (link)in “Pure Country”.
Envisioning when all that is Left is the Right.
Hey, don't pick on George!
makemyday Monday, November 16th at 8:25PM EST (link)Bad acting aside I loved Pure Country! Please find something else to bang this guy in the head with.
When all else fails…….. Shoot!
“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.” –American author Mark Twain (1835-1910)
“We should never despair, our Situation before has been unpromising and has changed for the better, so I trust, it will again. If new difficulties arise, we must only put forth new Exertions and proportion our Efforts to the exigency of the times.” –George Washington, letter to Philip Schuyler, 1777
I loved Pure Country too
Cheryl Monday, November 16th at 9:05PM EST (link)on the other hand, the acting was pretty corny.
The only movie where they needed an "acting"
Tbone Monday, November 16th at 9:53PM EST (link)double instead of a stunt double for the star.
Envisioning when all that is Left is the Right.
You bet!
makemyday Monday, November 16th at 9:59PM EST (link)But ya gotta admit he sure can sing!
When all else fails…….. Shoot!
“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.” –American author Mark Twain (1835-1910)
“We should never despair, our Situation before has been unpromising and has changed for the better, so I trust, it will again. If new difficulties arise, we must only put forth new Exertions and proportion our Efforts to the exigency of the times.” –George Washington, letter to Philip Schuyler, 1777
He was interviewed here
orfannkyl Tuesday, November 17th at 6:21PM EST (link)http://jumpinginpools.blogspot.com/2009/11/interview-with-republican-candidate-for.html
visit http://www.jumpinginpools.blogspot.com