Snow-Buster

So our busted forecast yesterday made for a day at home. What kept me occupied? Rand Paul's awesome fillibuster, er, snow-buster (don't like filliblizzard). And the principled senators who stood with him were led by Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Lee. Here's the full list, with Ron Wyden the only Democrati who participated.

The Republican senators who participated in the filibuster with Paul include Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Pat Toomey (R-Penn.), John Thune (R-S.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wy.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.).

Future President

No doubt that Paul Ryan is going to be a candidate for president someday. Unfortunately, it won't be next year. But his words make so much sense: 

The president, he said, has made a shift in his appeal to the electorate. "Instead of appealing to the hope and optimism that were hallmarks of his first campaign, he has launched his second campaign by preying on the emotions of fear, envy and resentment."

But Republicans, in their desire to defend free economic activity, shouldn't be snookered by unthinking fealty to big business. They should never defend—they should actively oppose—the kind of economic activity that has contributed so heavily to the crisis. Here Mr. Ryan slammed "corporate welfare and crony capitalism."

"Why have we extended an endless supply of taxpayer credit to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, instead of demanding that their government guarantee be wound down and their taxpayer subsidies ended?" Why are tax dollars being wasted on bankrupt, politically connected solar energy firms like Solyndra? "Why is Washington wasting your money on entrenched agribusiness?"

Rather than raise taxes on individuals, we should "lower the amount of government spending the wealthy now receive." The "true sources of inequity in this country," he continued, are "corporate welfare that enriches the powerful, and empty promises that betray the powerless." The real class warfare that threatens us is "a class of bureaucrats and connected crony capitalists trying to rise above the rest of us, call the shots, rig the rules, and preserve their place atop society."

Republican Congress

Bye Nancy Pelosi!

Election Hype

Before tomorrow's results, here are a few things that will be remembered from the 2010 Midterm Elections:

• Christine O'Donnell upsetting Mike Castle, and her inane comments on everything from contraception to witchcraft.
• The tea party candidates, from Rand Paul to Sharon Angle and Joe Miller to of course, Christine O'Donnell.
• Primary upsets from Delaware to Utah to Alaska. And the third party challenges. Colorado governor.
• Charlie Crist's flip flopping.
• Ben Quayle.
• An interminably long campaign season, that really began with 2009's elections in NJ and VA and Scott Brown's election.
• Comparisons to 1994.
• Sarah Palin's endorsees.
• The emergence of Rubio, Rodriguez in NM, and hispanic/black Republicans.
• Poll after poll after poll...
• It'll be the last time before we'll start talking about the 2012 presidential election,which will begin in about 36 hours...
• Americans are just scared, right, Obama?

Whole Food Republicans

Lots of this sounds familiar:

What's needed is a full-fledged effort to cultivate "Whole Foods Republicans"—independent-minded voters who embrace a progressive lifestyle but not progressive politics. These highly-educated individuals appreciate diversity and would never tell racist or homophobic jokes; they like living in walkable urban environments; they believe in environmental stewardship, community service and a spirit of inclusion. And yes, many shop at Whole Foods, which has become a symbol of progressive affluence but is also a good example of the free enterprise system at work. (Not to mention that its founder is a well-known libertarian who took to these pages to excoriate ObamaCare as inimical to market principles.)

Yes, you can be a city-dwelling yuppie type who votes conservative. And maybe I'd quibble a bit...I "believe in environmental stewardship," because I refuse to pay taxes for plastic bags, but I also don't like waste. I believe in diversity, including philosophical/ideological diversity. And I appreciate Whole Foods, both because I admire its libertarian-leaning CEO, and also because I value the foods that go into my body. I'd rather not eat crap, for the most part, after I take so much time to run and work out.

The Republican party can have smart, educated, urban voters who care about their communities. It's not that a "progressive" lifestyle is better, but it's just not "liberal."