Indigo Journal - Recommended Diaries

Blow by Blow of RNC Debate

Snead — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 21:38:19 GMT

Atlas gave a preview of the RNC's four-way and today the Washington Independent watched the debate for GOP chair so you didn't have to.

A quick opener, this proved to be an easy crowd to fluff:

The forum was organized by Grover Norquist and Americans for Tax Reform, and Norquist went out of his way to point out that Democrats chose Tim Kaine without any debate. “No election, no choice.” He waited for the knowing laughter, then pounced. “Sort of like card check!”

It's Ken v. Katon in the first round:

After Katon Dawson bragged that he’d turned the South Carolina GOP around, Ken Blackwell emphasized that he had won 15 elections. In Ohio. “We all know how difficult it is to win elections in that swing state of South Carolina.” The laughter lasted for around 10 seconds.

Dawson wants Republicans to be more like Ron Paulites and paint their cars:

Before the debate began, Ron Paul supporters had found the web site where they could submit questions and deluged it. One of their questions gets in: What will the candidates do to keep the r3VOLution going? The candidates all pledge to try. “We can’t just include people who pass our personal litmus tests,” says Steele. “I saw the Paul movement in my state,” says Dawson. “We’re a party that needs excitement, and people painting their cars, and putting signs on overpasses.”

Much to the ire of @ecgwesley, all four failed the tech-savvy portion of the exam:

Norquist grills the six contenders on their technology: Are they on Twitter? What are their favorite websites? Do they have their own websites? Everyone, save Blackwell, tells people to go to their own campaign pages. Blackwell tells the crowd to visit Townhall.com, the Washington Times, and a few other conservative sites. “I wrote and have written for those organizations for a long time. My views are very clear.”

I almost fell asleep just reading the summary, so I can't imagine anyone watched the thing. For another account of this exciting event, be sure to see The Palmetto Scoop's upcoming declaration of victory for Dawson.

UPDATE: RawReplay has a quick video clip, in which the candidates are asked which Republican president was the worst. SC's Dawson says he'll take a dead Republican over a live Democrat any time.

Republicans Have a Four-Way

Atlas — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 07:39:53 GMT

Stop me if you’ve heard this one. Three white guys and a black guy enter a room. It’s not a joke, well, actually it is. However, out a crowded field of six dudes running for RNC Chairman only four have enough public endorsements to get on the RNC ballot: Ken Blackwell, Katon Dawson, Saul Anuzis, and Mike Duncan. I’m sad to say Chip “the Tragic Ego” Saltsman didn’t make it, but maybe his musical forays will raise his profile and some dead Confederate soldiers to support his candidacy.

It’s a busy week for these contenders as pissed off Republicans continue to probe Anuzis, Dawson, Blackwell, and Duncan. These eager beavers have debates and a lot of campaigning to do, which means some state Republican parties may want to check the coffers after this chairman thing is over. In less than a month, the 168 members of the Republican National Committee, including the SC crew of Dawson, Glenn McCall, and Cindy Costa, will vote for the new face of the GOP. But, just like "change' is getting played out, so is the concept of "new" in the Republican Party.

Greenvillians Protest Gaza Invasion

AnyIdiotSC — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 04:49:34 GMT

A crowd of 150+ gathered Sunday afternoon in front of Greenville City Hall to protest the Israeli invasion of Gaza. For a report of the peaceful protest, quotes from participants and bystanders, and comments from the largely hateful and ignorant trolls who lurk on the paper's website, read Paul Alongi's report at the Greenville News site GreenvilleOnline here.

Showing my true sub-cub reporter status, I didn't think to whip out my iPhone and take shots of the crowd, nor did I stop to interview anyone myself. So you're stuck with my limited take on the issue.
For the record, I confess a sad ignorance of the history of the Middle East and of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I don't hold a (self-) discernible bias for either side, though, in the interest of full disclosure, I'll say that my family did share latkes with some Jewish friends on Hanukka.

I can't say that I agree with either side. I don't like Palestinians firing rockets into Israel, and I don't like Israelis settling on land apportioned to Palestine by treaty and killing 10 or 100 Palestinians for every Israeli hit by rockets from Gaza. I don't see how anyone sane can call for the destruction of Israel nor the annihilation of Palestinians. From my admittedly limited reading of the situation, it seems the far-better-armed Israelis try to strangle Palestinian civilian advances at every turn. The ill-equipped Palestinians are backed into a corner. Is it so surprising that they lash out with what little fire-power they posses? I don't condone it, but it seems like a totally predictable response.

Stop for a minute and imagine yourself in the shoes of a Palestinian parent, living on land guaranteed to you by international treaty, yet walled off by Israel soldiers, who restrict your movement and limit the flow of goods (and weapons) and even water into your community, leaving you wondering if your children might one day starve or die of thirst.

Now imagine yourself in the shoes of an Israeli, living every day with a fear that the rockets might one day fall on your house, where children play and await your return. Imagine the persecutions that your people have endured, and consider that your small, hard-won nation is surrounded by countries that refuse to recognize your right to exist.

I doubt that most Americans, who, like myself, have never visited the region or even talked at length with partisans of either side, can truly relate to the situation on the ground in Gaza, the West Bank, or Jerusalem. Yet the world looks to us to lead the way out. I vaguely recall George Bush making a token effort to stick his foreign diplomacy toe into the conflicted waters. It seemed that he put in just enough effort that he could check off Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in his Day Planner. No doubt we'll be hearing of his more heroic efforts in the next draft of the Bush Legacy.

And so it falls to President-elect Obama, as if his calendar weren't already full. Given his calming temperament and penchant for consensus building, I'm hoping Obama can move the peace process further than either Clinton or Bush before him. It seems that the stability of the entire Middle East and even our prospects of leaving behind stable regimes in Iraq and Afghanistan all depend on solid movement towards a solution in Jerusalem.

Oh, and then there's the collapsing world economy thing. No pressure, Prez-elect.