I hate Washington. Despite having a few friends who live and work in the DC area, I have found my view of the city has evolved from a genuine dislike to a visceral hatred. Maybe I am an idealist, but to me DC is a home to snake oil salesmen, prostitutes, and power-hungry hustlers. It is worse than a den of iniquity. This is injustice.
Freedom, to most people in DC, it is a quaint euphemism that those who cling to their guns or religion take too seriously. You are subjects, peasants whose land and labor they tax, grist for their political machinations—they are your masters, your lives and your wallets theirs for the taking.
Worse still, the lines between good and evil (I mean that in a moral, black-and-white sense) have become so blurred that in most cases it is only a matter of degree (or time) before the few good people who go to Washington to make a difference become corrupted through compromise and collusion.
Here’s an example:
On January 15, the Republican National Committee holds an election to determine who will be its next chairman. In fact, much like union bosses run their unions, the RNC chairman is “elected” by the few (168 in the case of the RNC) to lead the many. Candidates include Saul Anuzis, Maria Cino, Nobleman Collins, Reince Priebus, Michael SteeleAND Anna Wagner.
Not knowing any of these people personally, it would be inappropriate to cast suspicion on any of their characters just yet. However, given all the turmoil at the RNC over the past few years, his scandals and expensesit seems that there are a few people who should NO become the next RNC chairman.
First and foremost, of course, is Michael Steele. If the RNC wants to avoid total irrelevance by 2012, Steele has to go.
Second, every Republican who had a hand in supporting or championing ObamaCare is poison; they are saturated with the arsenic of Kool Aid. That would apparently rule out both Maria Cino and Michael Steele’s right-hand man, Reince Priebus, from being the next RNC chairman.
Cino, according to Gateway PunditShe’s neck-deep in promoting ObamaCare as a lobbyist for Pfizer, and she’s another member of the Republican Party establishment.
Priebus, for his part, isn’t just screwed, he’s screwed over with ObamaCare. Priebus, who was the RNC’s top lawyer during the Steele administration (until last month), is now running against Steele —unlessSome say Steele is employing a “bait and switch” tactic by backing off and supporting Priebus.
As the RNC’s general counsel, it’s incredible that Priebus didn’t know about (or approve of) his boss’s behavior. In most cases, when there’s unethical behavior or unforgiving lapses in sound judgment, most people with high moral standards wouldn’t tolerate it — let alone continue to collect a paycheck as the perpetrator’s right-hand man.
But giving Priebus the benefit of the doubt on whether he knew (or should have known) about his boss’s outrageous RNC spending, Priebus’s work at a law firm that profited from the ObamaCare bill and seemingly had nothing to do with it makes Priebus about as hazardous as arsenic in a shot of Kool Aid.
According to Think about progress [h/t Jim Hoft]:
Despite his vehement attacks on Obama, Priebus makes his living at a law firm that is far more sympathetic to President Obama’s policies. Priebus works as a partner at the law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP in Milwaukee. During the summer, the company created a series presentations to explain health care reform to its clients and introduce the firm’s services to employers looking to comply with modern health care reform regulations. During one presentation, John Barlament, a colleague of Priebus’s at the firm, said that not only was repealing health care reform unlikely, but that lawsuits filed by Republican Party allies seeking to have the law declared unconstitutional were likely without merit. Referring to the controversy over the individual mandate, Barlament explained that the commerce clause of the Constitution “gives Congress the authority to act “about its legislation”
If Priebus’ law firm is already profiting from ObamaCare, how likely is the RNC to push for its repeal if Priebus is at the helm?
Priebus currently appears to be leading the race for RNC chairman, but most of the committee members are still undecided. While contact information for committee members is being gathered, here’s where the race is, according to the National Journal currently stands [see update below the list]:
REINCE PRIEBUS (22)
Linda Ackerman, California National Committee Member
Henry Barbour, Mississippi National Committeeman
Sandy Boehler, North Dakota National Committee Member
Jim Bopp, Indiana National Committeeman
Pat Brady, Chairman of the Illinois Party
Mary Buestrin, Wisconsin National Committee Member
James Dunn, Oklahoma National Committeeman
Sharon Giese, Arizona National Committee Member
Curly Haugland, North Dakota National Committeeman
Mark Hillman, Colorado National Committee Member
Bruce Hough, Utah National Committeeman
Steve King, Wisconsin National Committeeman
Jeanne Luckey, Mississippi National Committee Member
Matt Pinnell, Oklahoma Party Chairman
Alec Poitevint, Georgia State National Committee Member
Reince Priebus, chairman of the Wisconsin Party
Pete Ricketts, Nebraska National Committeeman
Steve Scheffler, Iowa State National Committeeman
Shawn Steel, California National Committee Member
Stan Stein, Chairman of the North Dakota Party
Tony Sutton, Chairman of the Minnesota Party
Brad White, Chairman of the Mississippi Party
MICHAEL STEELE (12)
Peter Ada, Guam National Committee Member
John Frey, Connecticut National Committeeman
Holly Hughes, Michigan National Committee Member
Robert Kabel, Chairman of the District of Columbia Party
Lilliana Belardo de O’Neal, USVI Commissioner
Holland Redfield, USVI National Committee Member
Pat Rogers, New Mexico National Committeeman
Herbert Schoenbohm, chairman of the USVI party
Norm Semanko, Idaho Party Chairman
Joyce Terhes, Maryland National Committee Member
Bob Tiernan, Chairman of the Oregon Party
Betsy Werronen, District of Columbia National Committee Member
SAUL ANUZIS (10)
Saul Anuzis, Michigan National Committee Member
Morton Blackwell, Virginia National Committee Member
Gio Cicione, Chairman of the Rhode Island Party
Bill Crocker, Texas National Committeeman
Mark Fahleson, chairman of the Nebraska Party
Dana Randall, South Dakota National Committee Member
Tom Ross, Delaware Republican Party Chairman
Heidi Smith, Nevada National Committee Member
Mike Stuart, Chairman of the West Virginia Party
Dick Wadhams, chairman of the Colorado Republican Party
ANNA WAGNER (10)
Lance Beshore, Missouri National Committee Member
David Cole, chairman of the Missouri Party
Bettye Fine Collins, Alabama National Committee Member
Chris Devaney, Chairman of the Tennessee Party
Ann Dickinson, Missouri National Committee Member
Donna Lou Gosney, West Virginia National Committee Member
Peggy Lambert, Tennessee State National Committee Member
Jim Reed, West Virginia National Committeeman
Randy Ruedrich, Chairman of the Alaska Party
John Ryder, Tennessee State National Committeeman
MARIA CINO (5)
Evie Axdahl, Minnesota National Committee Member
Ed Cox, Chairman of the New York Party
Jo Ann Davidson, Ohio National Committee Member
Kevin DeWine, chairman of the Ohio Party
Priscilla Rakestraw, Delaware National Committee Member
NOBLE COLLINS (3)
Chris Healy, Chairman of the Connecticut Party
Matt Strawn, Iowa Party Chairman
Tom Fetzer, Chairman of the North Carolina Party
UNREPORTED (106)
According to PoliticalReince Priebus collects two more commitments [Brian Sullivan, the GOP Committeeman from Minnesota, and Donna Cain, the GOP Committeewoman from Oregon]increasing support for Priebus to 26.
For the Republican National Committee, this election is likely one of the most significant in a long time. Whoever wins the RNC chairmanship will likely determine whether there is a coordinated grassroots effort to boycott and overthrow the RNC. Perhaps before the January 15 vote, those 168 voting members should consider carefully choosing the next RNC leader based on principle, not politics.
The spread of evil is a symptom of the vacuum. When evil triumphs, it does so only by default: through the moral failure of those who avoid the fact that there is no compromise on basic principles.
In Randa
Choose wisely, because there is more than just politics at stake.
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“I bring reason to your ears, and in language as simple as the alphabet, I raise truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776
