Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog

• Two Californias – Abandoned Farms/Third World Living Conditions
  The last three weeks I have traveled about, taking the pulse of the more forgotten areas of central California. I wanted to witness, even if superficially, what is happening to a state that has the highest sales and income taxes, the most lavish entitlements, the near-worst public schools (based on federal test scores), and the largest number of illegal aliens in the nation, along with an overregulated private sector, a stagnant and shrinking manufacturing base, and an elite environmental ethos that restricts commerce and productivity without curbing consumption.

  ++++++

  Read it all and wonder what happened to the Golden State

  (tags: california)
• Sen. McConnell: Prevent Tax Hikes, Pass a Sensible CR – Everything Else Can Wait
  U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday regarding the need to pass a sensible CR rather than a 2,000-page omnibus spending bill:

  “Yesterday Democrat leaders unveiled an Omnibus spending bill that some have described as one last spending binge for a Congress that will be long be remembered for them.

  “The Senate should reject it.

  “It appeared to some of us that we were making good progress on the economy when lawmakers in both parties agreed Monday to let taxpayers keep more of their own money.

  “But yesterday, Democrats unveiled a 2,000 page spending bill that repeats all the mistakes voters demanded that we put an end to on Election Day.

  “Americans told Democrats last month to stop what they’ve been doing: bigger government, 2,000-page bills jammed through on Christmas Eve, wasteful spending.

  “This bill is a monument to all three.
  ++++++
  Agree

  (tags: Mitch_McConnell)
• Sen Jim DeMint will force readings of START Treaty and omnibus bill
  Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) will force readings of both a nuclear arms treaty and $1.1 trillion spending bill that could eat up hours of the remaining lame-duck Congress.

  DeMint will invoke a senatorial privilege to ask that texts of both the New START Treaty and the 2011 omnibus spending bill be read aloud on the Senate floor.

  The readings could take seven to 12 hours to verbalize the START Treaty, while the omnibus could take 40 to 60 hours, according to a spokesman for DeMint.
  +++++
  Poker game between GOP and Harry Reid

  (tags: START jim_demint)

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele speaks during a Republican election night results watch rally, in Washington, November 2, 2010

The National Review makes the case.

Say what you will about him — Michael Steele plays by nobody else’s rules. He shocked the political world on Monday night by announcing he’d run for reelection as chairman of the Republican National Committee. We admire his pluck, but not his judgment. It’s time for someone else to run the RNC.

The party — and the country — can’t afford to hope for another political bailout in 2012, a cycle that will be even more important than 2010. Republicans will be looking to defend, consolidate, and expand legislative gains, and not just President Obama’s agenda, but the president himself, will be on the ballot. It is thus crucial that every GOP institution be running on all cylinders. For all the Herculean work of the outside groups, there are certain tasks for which only the party committee is suited, given its ability to coordinate with state parties. If nothing else, the subpar reputation the RNC has earned under Steele’s leadership will make it impossible for the committee to work at its optimum.

Steele’s poor performance as chairman has had one fortunate side effect — it has created a robust field of alternatives. It gives us no pleasure to say this, but none of them would be worse than Steele, and we believe any of them would be better. Someone else deserves a chance at the top of the RNC.

Michael Steele should declare success, secure another gig, perhaps on Fox News, write a book and leave the RNC.

Palin stresses her electability as a reason to run for president in 2012

Over the past month, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) has quietly altered her case for the presidency in a savvy shift of rhetoric.

The lofty goal? Turning the main reason a Republican might oppose her into the primary reason for voting for her. If she can pull it off, the nomination might be hers, but she is up against a tough set of barriers.

Every candidate must have a compelling reason for running, and until one month ago, Palin’s was simple.

In October, she told “Entertainment Tonight” that she would only run if the field were missing a candidate who had “common sense” and “pro-Constitution passion.”

It there were such a candidate, Palin would opt out of a race and be “their biggest supporter and biggest help-mate.”

That answer boxed Palin in considerably, because the field will likely include at least a few candidates who fit those criteria. For example, Palin gave a ringing endorsement to Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), a possible 2012 candidate, in his reelection bid earlier this year.

“He does what is right regardless of whether it is popular. He walks the walk of a true conservative. And he sticks to his guns — and you know how I feel about guns!” she said of him at the time.

And there are other names closely associated with the Tea Party movement, of which Palin is a prominent member, who might run: Rep. Mike Pence (R) of Indiana, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum (R) and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.).

If the economy does not improve substantially and President Obama continues to sink in the polls, Sarah Palin will run for President. But, she will enter the race late. In the meantime, she will do events, raise money and keep in the public eye – on Fox News.

The Big 4 candidates in the race, other than Sarah Palin, will be Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, Indiana Rep. Mike Pence, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. I don’t think Newt Gingrich will be a factor. In a multi-way GOP primary Sarah Palin will definitely be a top tier candidate. But, the attack ads of Romney and the others might be brutal and sink her candidacy.