REAL breakdown of the California vote
You won’t really see this in all the election coverage today. (This doesn’t include those that are ineligible to vote which would look more like this.)
UPDATE: It occurs to me that there will be much discussion about low voter-turnout so it may be unfair to say you won’t see this in the coverage. But there will be much more discussion about what the will of the people of California is based on the small number of people that bothered to vote.
Actually, this is Texas Congressman John Culberson on Thomas Jefferson on Twitter. He posted this in a long series ON Twitter (which he says he won’t do again but I’m glad he did) so it’s broken up but I’ve cleaned it up some while maintaining links to the original posts.
johnculberson:
[M]y long term goal - a real time totally transparent federal/state/local gov’t where We the People see & hear all [1]. My true goal w social media is to realize Thomas Jefferson’s dream - this will take several tweets to quote it all but I hope you read it: [2] Today w new media We the People can achieve Mr. Jefferson’s lifelong dream for America. He explains in his ltr to Jos Cabell, Jan. 24, 1816: [3]
“…the way to have good & safe gov’t, is to divide it among the many..until it ends in the administration of every man’s farm by himself… [4] Let national gov’t be entrusted w defense & foreign & fed relations, State gov’ts w civil law, police, & admin of what concerns the State [5] …the counties w local concerns, & each ward direct interests within itself…until it ends in the admin of every man’s farm by himself. [6] [T]he secret [to true freedom] will be found in making [each American] the depository of the powers respecting himself, so far as he is competent [7]. Where everyman is a sharer in the direction of his ward republic, or of some of the higher ones, & FEELS THAT HE IS A PARTICIPANT… [emph added] [8] …in the gov’t of affairs, not merely at an election one day in the year, but every day; when there shall not be a man in the State who [9] will not be a member of some of its councils, great or small, he will let the heart be torn out of his chest sooner than his power. [10] be wrested from him by a Caesar or a Bonaparte….fortify us against the degeneracy of our gov’t & the concentration of all its powers…” [11]”
No matter what your politics are - I hope you follow me here bcz we share a passion to be a “participator in the gov’t of [our] affairs…” [12] And bcz you share my passion to make gov’t truly transparent & elected officials totally accountable bcz we know exactly what they r doing [13].
This is why none of the old media skeptics or lib critics of my Twitters faze me - old media will soon be absorbed like San Fran Chron was [14]. I am a totally committed Jeffersonian & I am absolutely convinced new media opens the door for every American to achieve true freedom TJ saw [15]. Only now w new media can every Amer “feel that he is a participator in the gov’t of affairs EVERY DAY [so he will never let] his power b wrested fr him” [16].
These core principles & goals that Th Jefferson dreamed about for Americans are my core principles & this is why I am so passionate about new media [17]. I hope you read his letter to Joseph Cabell: here is the key part: http://tinyurl.com/d426hz [18] I have already typed far more than I intended - Good night all! [19]
“INTERGENERATIONAL THEFT ACT”
Instapundit
Ha, I like that. (re: the stimulus package—also applicable to the California budget)
“Very important to pass budget ASAP - legislature tired, spent nights here, but we’re still 1 vote short.”
schwarzenegger
Cool to see Schwarzenegger starting to actually use Twitter. He (his staff) pretty much just live-blogged his press conference.
Jeff Miller has thoughts about the similarities and differences in baseball and politics. My (meager) contribution from a few months ago is here.
Read the whole item here, but why are we talking about tax increases in California again?
“My dear American neighbours, I see the political crisis in Canada has finally made it into the Washington Post’s Foreign Briefs column. So, anticipating a flood of interest from all of you at the dog run in the morning, let me try to give you some idea of what’s happening up there.”
I love when my “parenting” and “politics” tags collide.
More here.
This book looks like it has potential. I’ve been thinking along these lines lately. How do we raise a new generation committed to “right” principles?
From the Reviews:
Reb Bradley brilliantly takes us out of what C.S. Lewis called our slavery to the immediate past and gives the whole nation the long-term strategy of victory of good over evil, free enterprise over socialism, and all the other urgent battles we face. Whoever trains the children of the coming generation, controls the future.
“Look, I think there is a gay and secular fascism in this country that wants to impose its will on the rest of us, is prepared to use violence, to use harassment. I think it is prepared to use the government if it can get control of it. I think that it is a very dangerous threat to anybody who believes in traditional religion… you have to confront the reality that these secular extremists are determined to impose on you acceptance of a series of values that are antithetical, they’re the opposite, of what you’re taught in Sunday school.”
“If Barry chooses Hillary as secretary of state, a woman who clearly intimidated him and taught him to be a better pol in the primaries, it doesn’t signal the return of the Clinton era. It says the opposite: If you have a president who’s willing to open up his universe to other smart, strong people, if you have a big dog who shares his food dish, the Bill Clinton era is truly over. Appointing a Clinton in the cabinet would be so un-Clintonian.”
“God save us from imbeciles.”
“I can wrap my head around Obama as President just fine. What will be intolerable is the insane preening from his supporters.”
Mark Hemingway on Oprah’s comment that Obama’s victory is, “The most meaningful thing that has ever happened.”
The Fulfillment: John Podhoretz
America, it appears, is on the verge of electing a black man as its president. It cannot be gainsaid; the immensity of this single cultural moment dwarfs almost any other in my lifetime. Its positive social impact is incalculable; it was only eight years ago that Al Gore traveled to Harlem to kiss Al Sharpton’s ring, which was only seven years after Sharpton had provoked a riot on 125th street that led to a fire that killed seven people. Sharpton was, at that point, by default the most important black politician in America. Obama’s ascension to the White House, if it does nothing else, may at last bring down the curtain on race hucksters like Sharpton, whose power has always been rooted in the political alienation of inner-city blacks.
Re: The Fulfillment: Abe Greenwald
John, I agree. And the truth is, given Obama’s fluidity on everything from guns to abortion to public financing, his blackness is the only inescapable certainty of his future presidency — and it is an unalloyed good.
It Is Historic: Jennifer Rubin
You can’t help but be touched. Many Americans disagree with his policy positions and have legitimate concerns about his outlook and preparation. But that is dwarfed at this moment. Let no one say this is not a remarkable country which defies expectations and confounds its critics.
President Obama: John Podhoretz
History is made. There will be time to be disputatious. This is not that time. A member of a minority group, making up 12 percent of the population, a population that did not even solidly possess the franchise until the 1960s, will win the presidency in a landslide with the largest vote total in American history. It’s a breathtaking achievement for Barack Obama and for the United States.
All of the above from Commentary magazine’s Contentions blog last night (my emphases).
Also this from Frank Martin which is too long to quote but worth reading.