Not quite above the crowd

Nick Schweitzer, in justifying his endorsement of the Libertarian candidate for president, claims everyone in Washington D.C. was responsible for the current financial mess. Nick's solution is to vote for Bob Barr... who represented Georgia's 7th congressional district as a Republican from 1995 to 2003.

Sorry Nick. I guess you're voting for Ralph Nader. Let me know how that works out for you.

Look at the Idiots that aren't in the football press box

Welcome to the Idiot Politician of the Week, where each week we sift through the politicians and pick the one stand out idiot that causes us to wonder how they feed themselves, let alone get elected.

This week we may have discovered how some of the idiots get elected, with their idiot party’s help. In the big state of Texas, wasn’t anybody in either party smart enough to change the rules ahead of time to make sure they’re on the ballot? Guys, LBJ may be still voting, but he’s dead in the ground. Either get the paperwork in on time, or change the rules.

As Grumps at the Happy Circumstance points out, you’re making Bob Barr look smart. I thought that was impossible.

When the going gets dumb, the really dumb look for places to shop. Proving that all politics are loco, Oconomowoc Mayor Maury Sullivan announced what he heard were the likely chains setting up shop at the “upscale” shopping community of Pabst Farms: Target, Kohl’s, PetSmart, and OfficeMax. Maybe PetSmart sells upscale dog dishes and beds. If this is the best they can do, do we really need to spend over $20 million on a new interchange? Or can we spend $200 at another local PetSmart for the doghouse Maury Sullivan belongs in?

Then there’s Mukwonago Clerk Steve Braatz complaining his job is more than he can handle.

Verifying voters’ identifications as far back as 2006 would be “virtually impossible,” said Village of Mukwonago Clerk Steve Braatz. “We have other work to do besides election work, and we are short-staffed as it is. There is no way we could do this.”

Braatz said that if required to do so, he would be forced to set aside his regular duties as clerk.

“It would affect my work with budgeting, water bills and taxes,” he said. “Those would have to be dropped. This would have an astronomical impact on the general public.”

Because in two years, voter registrations in Mukwonago must’ve exploded more than his abacus and his staff of monk scribes can handle. Psst. Hey Braatz. Did you ever hear of Microsoft? You know, Excel? Access? Databases and spreadsheets?

But to be a real idiot, you need a national stage. Senator Barack Obama has super-duper secret plan to solve the crisis on Wall Street. When The One is elected president, The Obama will part the East River and walk across to Wall Street. The Revelation of His Plan will not only calm the markets, increase credit availability and make everyone whole, His Plan will also cure the sick and cause the blind to see. His Plan is so powerful, it’s like the opening of Ark of the Covenant at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. He can’t reveal it to us now, because it would “roil the markets,” cause the sea to boil and the flesh to fall away from the faces of stock brokers everywhere.

Yeah, right.  Perhaps he should have his buddies at Fannie Mae explain it for him to soften the blow.  That's if they can be interrupted from their hard work writing checks to the Obama campaign. Congratulations Senator Obama. You are the Idiot Politician of the Week.

Will Bob Barr run as a fourth party candidate?

You thought John McCain and Barack Obama might have troubles within their parties. Former Congressman Bob Barr is facing a tough fight for the Libertarian Party's nomination at their convention.

Former Rep. Bob Barr will be an “underdog” for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination going into this week’s convention in Denver, the ex-Republican’s campaign manager said Monday.

“We definitely don’t expect to win it on the first ballot,” said Russ Verney, the Barr manager who shepherded Ross Perot’s third-party bids in 1992 and 1996. “The other [Libertarian] candidates have been out there recruiting delegates for over a year. Bob just declared his candidacy last week, so he’s definitely the underdog.”

After days of telephone calls soliciting support among LP delegates, Barr’s backers say that when the convention begins Thursday, they will be ready for a tough contest against a crowded field of Libertarian hopefuls, with several rounds of balloting likely.

Geez, what could be the trouble?

Because of his conservative past and relatively recent switch from the GOP, Barr is viewed with suspicion or hostility by many longtime LP members. At the North Carolina state party convention last month, Barr got only one vote in a straw poll that was won handily by Ruwart. (Noting that Ruwart had been active for many years in the North Carolina LP before moving to Texas, one libertarian wit dubbed the Tarheel State “Ruwartistan.”)

Under the rules governing the Libertarian nomination process, with unpledged delegates chosen by state party conventions, no candidate is expected to have a first-ballot majority. The field will be winnowed down as candidates are eliminated, with their supporters shifting to the remaining candidates.

“We’re cautiously optimistic,” the anonymous Barr operative said, but added that he expects a “bloody fight” in Sunday’s vote, possibly stretching into “the wee hours” of Monday morning.

Adams said he expects the contest to be waged between Libertarian “purists” who fault Barr for his conservatism and “pragmatists” who see the benefit of nominating a nationally known candidate with proven political ability.

I am not sure what Barr's proven political ability is, since he basically was squeezed out during the reapportionment process in Georgia and lost the GOP primary.

The other candidates in contention at the convention:
Las Vegas oddsmaker Wayne Allyn Root, longtime LP activists Mary Ruwart and George Phillies, ex-Democrat Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska, and Mr. Spock.

Great moments in duhhh

We begin this week's search for the Idiot Politician of the week with Mike Huckabee's attempt at off-the-cuff humor at the NRA convention:

Oh yes, assassination jokes are hilarious.

Meanwhile, Senator Barack Obama had his idiot moment this week when President Bush, speaking before the Israeli Knesset, criticized those who would appease terrorists. Senator Obama quickly stammered, "I will not!" reminding anyone and everyone that, yes, he will.

Onward and downward, the California State Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that because they like gay marriage California will have gay marriage even if the voters overwhelmingly enacted a law against it by referendum and even if nobody had magically found this right in the California previously. What a cruel trick the California court is playing on homosexuals as their ruling will hardly be the final word on the subject. Californians will likely amend the state constitution to ban gay marriage, just like Wisconsin.

That underlines the problem of judicial activism. Quite often the judges hope to be the final word and end the democratic process. This November will State Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald M. George do his best Snidely Whiplash impression when he utters, "Curses, foiled again!"

Libertarian candidate for president Bob Barr fell from the idiot tree and hit every branch on the way down when he endorsed the California State Supreme Court decision. Hey Bob, wait until some state is forced to recognize California's temporary gay marriages. Then you get to explain how the judiciary of one state can create laws that are contrary to the legislative process and the will of the public in one state and then be binding in another state overruling it's legislative process and the will of it's people. Where's that libertarian commitment to federalism, separation of powers and republican principles?

Did you know California has a Republican governor? Some actor. After vetoing two bills to legalize gay marriage, Governor Schwarzenegger now supports the court ruling. Let me get this straight (no pun intended), he's opposed to the legislature passing a law legalizing gay marriage but he supports the courts overstepping their authority? And while he's "personally opposed" to gay marriage, he'll actually fight the movement to amend the constitution to ban gay marriage.

Speaking of the California legislature, they actually debated whether or not the Red Menace is about to overthrow the government, and whether the Commie bastards should be teachers and school janitors.

"The state has every right to hold school employees accountable for their political standing, especially if that employee belongs to an organisation that favours the violent overthrow of the government," Denham said during the debate on the bill.

Denham said that it's also "reasonable that use of public school property should be limited to groups who support our democracy and do not advocate the overthrow of government by force, violence or other possible means."

Look. I saw the Hunt for Red October. We won. They lost. When the commies are safe enough for Elaine Benes to date, they're safe enough to teach in the classroom.

ELAINE: So how was work? Another day, another dollar?
NED: I guess.
ELAINE: Oh well nothing wrong with that. Gotta make those big bucks. . . . money money money money money money money . . . ha ha ha ha ah . . . are you a communist?
NED: Yes, as a matter of fact I am.
ELAINE: OH, AH! OH! WOW! WHOA! A COMMIE! Wow, gee, man it must be a bummer for you guys what with the fall of the soviet empire and everything .
NED: Yeah, well, we still got China, and Cuba,
ELAINE: Yeah, but come on . . .
NED: I know it's not the same.
ELAINE: Well, you had a good run, what was it 75, 80 years? Wreaking havoc, making everybody nervous.
NED: Yeah, we had a good run.
ELAINE: Well, so enjoy yourself. (clink glasses) ha ha uh ha

Besides, I really doubt too many of them are trying to overthrow the system that gives them tenure, health benefits, and state government pensions.

We can't let this week go without mentioning the idiocy of Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne who put the polar bear on the endangered species list. As Henry Payne at National Review Online points out, Kempthorne is just flat out wrong when he says this will not be an excuse to use the Endangered Species Act to set US climate policy. If global warming is supposedly endangering the polar bear (even if it's current numbers are at a record high) then the action plan needed to save the polar bear will necessitate setting US climate policy accordingly. Kempthorne's brain must be frozen.

Proving all politics are loco, two politicians had a moment of no common sense editing between initial thought and uttering speech. Waukesha School Board members Frank Finman and Kurt O'Bryan were singled out by the Waukesha Freeman for being, well, idiots.

Here’s what Finman said:

“I look at my two children in the school district, I see my 11th-grader, who I think is going to escape out the door before the roof caves in. And I look at my eighth-grader and the education she’s getting, and compare that to the education her older sister’s getting, and they aren’t even comparable.”

Escape before the roof caves in? We’re picturing a scene from the new Indiana Jones movie. Finman might be trying to make a legitimate point, but it just isn’t constructive for a school board member to characterize his own school district that way.

O’Bryan went even further:

“If we all agree that our backs are against the wall, then I think we should pursue (a referendum). The scenario you have to give them is that it’s either this or it’s this. One option is the referendum and the other is to shut this district down, which this board has the power to do.”

That, of course, is absurd. No one is shutting down the school district.

We realize these board members were trying to make a point that the district is in dire financial shape. In fact, it’s safe to say O’Bryan, Finman and the rest of the school board care very deeply about the district. These comments are likely meant to create a sense of urgency – perhaps panic – and motivate the community to action.

Whatever the motive, these school board members crossed the line by unfairly trashing the district they are supposed to serve. Citizens deserve better than these juvenile scare tactics from their elected representatives on the board. These board members are only going to turn people off with comments like these and hurt the cause they are championing.

At least these guys aren't listening to advice from former Governor Tony Earl (D).

Former Gov. Tony Earl says he did nothing wrong in helping an acquaintance land a top legal job at the Department of Workforce Development.

Earl says he didn't know the hiring scandal had cost taxpayers $346,000 in legal settlements with candidates passed over for the job as the state's top unemployment insurance lawyer.

Earl says he has known Daniel LaRocque "since he was a youngster" and was friends with his father and uncle.

Earl says he called his former policy director, Hal Bergan, to put in a good word for LaRocque. Bergan was the Workforce Development official in charge of the hiring.

A hearing examiner who reviewed the case said Bergan broke department rules in hiring LaRocque, who got the job based on political connections.

Yo, Bergan, when the former governor calls next time, do yourself a favor and have to go to the bathroom or something. That reach out and touch someone cost the taxpayers a big chunk of change, you idiot. You just made the Idiot Politician of the Week. Say, "Gee, thanks Tony."

I spent the week talking to Libertarians

As I explain in my column in the Waukesha Freeman, it's been a heady week for the Libertarians.

Former Republican Congressman Bob Barr announced he’s running for president as a Libertarian. Zogby polling currently has him at 3 percent, just enough to have a Nader-like effect on Republican chances in November.

Meanwhile, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, the Libertarian candidate for president in 1988, continues to chug along to the Republican convention where his supporters hope to be noisier than his estimated 19 delegates would suggest.

However, this was also the week that saw Kevin Barrett enter in the race for Congress as a Libertarian against Ron Kind.

This is not to say that Barrett is unanimously endorsed by the party. The state party chairman wasn’t sure "what the next steps are" and indicated that there was some opposition to Barrett within the party. However, he admitted, there is a strong component within the party that believes in 9-11 conspiracies. He hoped Barrett’s candidacy wouldn’t be solely about 9-11. He also told me Barrett is a member in good standing.

I checked with Randy Palmer, the Libertarian Party’s 3rd Congressional District representative, and he hoped Barrett would not use his campaign as a soapbox for his conspiracy theories. Palmer had no firm beliefs about what happened on 9-11 and conceded again that there are "lots of people" in the party that believe in the conspiracy theories.

And I conclude,

I would add that any hope of the party leadership that Barrett’s candidacy would not be about 9-11 conspiracies misses the point. That’s how he gained his notoriety, his Web site is plastered with 9-11 conspiracy material, and WEAU television reported Barrett’s call for another investigation into 9-11.

If the Libertarians, both locally and nationally, want to move out from their fringe status and kook reputation, they should issue a strong statement condemning 9-11 conspiracy theorists like Barrett. And they may want to have a long talk with Tommy Thompson’s little brother as well.

Meanwhile, I wrote another piece that complimented my Freeman column over at Jo Egelhoff's FoxPolitics.net. There I went into greater detail of my conversation with Marquette University Professor John McAdams about conspiracy theories. Because of the later deadline, I was also able to include a follow-up conversation with national Libertarian Party Political Director Sean Haugh.

Haugh did end up calling me back to say that he could not support Barrett’s candidacy for Congress. Not because of the 9/11 conspiracy thinking. It was Barrett’s support for Holocaust denier David Irving that had given him pause. “Oh, my.” And then Haugh’s research also led to discovering Barrett had called for the execution of journalists “complicit in the 9/11 cover-up.”

So it’s interesting to note that the Libertarian Party does have some standards. Calling for violence against journalists and denying the Holocaust are, in Haugh’s words, “beyond the pale.”

We’ll see if the Wisconsin Libertarian Party also finds Barrett to be “beyond the pale” or if Barrett will continue to run as a Libertarian without opposition from the party leadership.

Given former Libertarian Party candidate for governor Ed Thompson’s seeming endorsement of much of Barrett’s 9/11 conspiracy views in a February 19 radio interview, it’s a fair bet the Libertarian Party will continue to be the home of the political fringe.