Monthly Archives: September 2011

Maine GOP should be bold and visionary, not meek and conciliatory

Well that was much ado about nothing. Republicans caved on redistricting and abandoned their ambitious, if controversial, “Western Maine” plan. The new congressional lines will look an awful lot like the old congressional lines with only a bit of lipstick applied to make the 2nd District a tad more attractive to the GOP. For all […]

Impulse to make laws does little for safety

There is nothing so dangerous in government as a lawmaker who feels compelled to “do something.” People in government often feel they need to justify their own existence by finding a problem and then legislating a solution for it. Like parents disciplining their children, enterprising legislators have a penchant for codifying behavioral rules. Motorcyclists die […]

Republicans should take the third option on climate change

On Wednesday night, eight Republicans gathered at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California to debate each other for the right to take on President Obama next year. Most eyes were on Gov. Rick Perry and former Gov. Mitt Romney, the two front-runners, to see how they would perform. But I was watching the debate for a […]

‘Pay attention to me!’ political candidates say

On the national level, there has been a lot of talk about the cold shoulder Rep. Ron Paul has received from the media despite a very impressive showing at the Ames Straw Poll and being in third place in many national polls. The media establishment, it seems, doesn’t take Paul seriously as a threat to win […]