Friday, April 08, 2005
Extra! Extra! Read all about it!
Tom DeLay Pays Campaign Staffers!
The Statesman lapsed into its nagging habit of playing Democrat handmaiden recently by running this total non-story about Tom DeLay employing his wife and daughter on his campaigns. The money quote (sorry, bad pun) of the piece is this:
Never mind the fact that the story does not even broach some type of conflict of interest angle, which would be a more legitimate charge, or suggest any other specific legal infraction. Using the "unusually generous" red herring, the Statesman hopes it can further insinuate wrongdoing and further besmirch the name of Tom DeLay in the public perception.
You see, Mr. DeLay's real crime is being an effective Republican in Washington D.C. His work over the last election cycle has played a large role in increasing the Republican advantage in the US House of Representatives. This includes the acrimonious 2003 Texas redistricting battle, which saw state Dem lawmakers shut down government business by fleeing across state lines. It is for this that he must be punished.
Maybe Mr. DeLay is guilty of some type of campaign finance infraction. If that is the case, then the media should air well-researched stories that present the issue in its full clarity. Give us a point/counter point with evidence and cross-examination. But don't float hit pieces in lieu of real reporting. Fluff stories like this make me think the Dems have nothing to say in this case.
Though, in a broader sense, it just might mean that the Democrats have nothing to say at all: no ideas, no innovative platform, and no positive alternatives. They just have relentlessly refined tactics from Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinksy.
The goal of these tactics is to create such a steady drumbeat of criticism (justified or not) so that the target becomes so worn down by the charges that they will give into a lesser charge to stop the attack, sort of like a plea bargain. However, the attackers then use that admission to escalate the attack on legal or procedural grounds to force further concessions or resignations. It is the same thing that happened to Newt Gingrich in the mid 1990's when he was forced out of office.
Seemingly devoid of ideas, the Democrats are running the same play again and the Statesman seems happy to be the water boy.
4/16/05 update: James Bell of the Weekly Standard explains by Rep. DeLay is so loathed by the legacy media and liberal Democrats: His policy positions fit Red State values to a "T". Click here for more.
The Statesman lapsed into its nagging habit of playing Democrat handmaiden recently by running this total non-story about Tom DeLay employing his wife and daughter on his campaigns. The money quote (sorry, bad pun) of the piece is this:
"Although several members of Congress employ family members as campaign managers or on their political action committees, advocacy groups seeking an overhaul of federal campaign finance and ethics laws say that the payments to DeLay's family members were unusually generous, and should be the focus of new scrutiny of the majority leader."So, those unbiased, squeaky clean, "advocacy groups" lament the fact that someone is making good money doing political work. (Who are these "advocacy groups", do their directors employ family members in any way, and are any of them paid "unusually generous" amounts?)
Never mind the fact that the story does not even broach some type of conflict of interest angle, which would be a more legitimate charge, or suggest any other specific legal infraction. Using the "unusually generous" red herring, the Statesman hopes it can further insinuate wrongdoing and further besmirch the name of Tom DeLay in the public perception.
You see, Mr. DeLay's real crime is being an effective Republican in Washington D.C. His work over the last election cycle has played a large role in increasing the Republican advantage in the US House of Representatives. This includes the acrimonious 2003 Texas redistricting battle, which saw state Dem lawmakers shut down government business by fleeing across state lines. It is for this that he must be punished.
Maybe Mr. DeLay is guilty of some type of campaign finance infraction. If that is the case, then the media should air well-researched stories that present the issue in its full clarity. Give us a point/counter point with evidence and cross-examination. But don't float hit pieces in lieu of real reporting. Fluff stories like this make me think the Dems have nothing to say in this case.
Though, in a broader sense, it just might mean that the Democrats have nothing to say at all: no ideas, no innovative platform, and no positive alternatives. They just have relentlessly refined tactics from Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinksy.
The goal of these tactics is to create such a steady drumbeat of criticism (justified or not) so that the target becomes so worn down by the charges that they will give into a lesser charge to stop the attack, sort of like a plea bargain. However, the attackers then use that admission to escalate the attack on legal or procedural grounds to force further concessions or resignations. It is the same thing that happened to Newt Gingrich in the mid 1990's when he was forced out of office.
Seemingly devoid of ideas, the Democrats are running the same play again and the Statesman seems happy to be the water boy.
4/16/05 update: James Bell of the Weekly Standard explains by Rep. DeLay is so loathed by the legacy media and liberal Democrats: His policy positions fit Red State values to a "T". Click here for more.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Local Blog Flogging
Dear VitW Readers,
If you're new to Voice in the Wilderness, from time to time I like point out other blogs in Austin and Texas that are informative, funny, provocative, challenging, compelling, or otherwise edifying. (This also buys me time to post more substantial content ;-) )
Therefore, for your reading pleasure, here are some blogs and posts that have caught my eye recently.....
If you're new to Voice in the Wilderness, from time to time I like point out other blogs in Austin and Texas that are informative, funny, provocative, challenging, compelling, or otherwise edifying. (This also buys me time to post more substantial content ;-) )
Therefore, for your reading pleasure, here are some blogs and posts that have caught my eye recently.....
- Lone Star Times: Funny, conservative, broad in scope, constantly updated, and to-the-point, LST is eminently readable. I just wish they had a bigger presence at the Texas Capitol.
- Freedom Defender: A fairly new blogger, Freedom Defender already has a some substantial posts on the secular slide of the Democratic Party as well as left wing media bias.
- Urban Grounds: Fellow Austin conservative blogger. The other commenters on his posts and I get into some pretty good debates. UG is also a military man and has many politically incorrect views about "anti-war" protesters.
- Discerning Texan: DT does a good job of keeping up on issues that are national in scope and providing incisive commentary.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Socialism... for the Children!
Leave no child (activist) behind
Monday's Austin American Statesman reported that a coalition of advocacy groups issued a "report card" on the well-being of Travis county children. Predictably, the "grades" were not good. According to the story:
Furthermore, the groups associated with the "report card" likely stand to gain financially from the funding increases implied by the report. So, is this truly an effort to help the children of Austin? Or is it the beginning of a coordinated marketing campaign that seeks additional tax-payer funding and increases quasi-governmental involvement in the family?
Monday's Austin American Statesman reported that a coalition of advocacy groups issued a "report card" on the well-being of Travis county children. Predictably, the "grades" were not good. According to the story:
"A shortage of affordable, quality child care, rising rates of reported child abuse and reduced government benefits all contributed to the poor marks given by a coalition of local nonprofits, social service agencies and child advocates.This report's definition of "well being" seems pretty slippery. Of course, desiring the best for the city's children is an honorable goal. But there are two problems. First, this "report card", which is annoyingly not linked from the Statesman story, says little about how well parents are upholding their responsibilities, except that they should be consuming more public services than they are now. It would be helpful to know:
The group, brought together by the Austin Child Care Council Public Awareness Committee, rated child health and safety in Travis County a D-, child care a D+ and school readiness a C-."
- Exactly how government benefits correlate to child well-being? Is there any data that shows a connection between increased Kids Medicaid, TANF, or Food Stamps funding and academic performance? Or health outcomes?
- The percentage of children growing up in fatherless homes in Austin
- The incidence of child abuse by single parent vs. intact homes
- The percentage covered by health care by single parent vs. intact homes
- The utilization of preventive health care by single parent vs. intact homes
- Some quantifiable measure of Austin parents involvement in their children's' education as it relates to academic performance and a breakout of this measure by single parent vs. intact homes
Furthermore, the groups associated with the "report card" likely stand to gain financially from the funding increases implied by the report. So, is this truly an effort to help the children of Austin? Or is it the beginning of a coordinated marketing campaign that seeks additional tax-payer funding and increases quasi-governmental involvement in the family?
