It's interesting to read such a post coming from Wirt, the
oft-self-confessed registered Republican on the list.  Let me take this
occasion to debunk a myth on this list; I am not and have never been a
registered Republican.  I am a conservative.  Currently, the major party
that more (not most) closely reflects my views happens to be the
Republican party, but 40 years ago, that could have been the Democratic
party, before the Socialists, the special interests and the kooky fringe
took it over.

At any rate, the 4 stories that Wirt posted are mildly interesting.
Here is how I read them:

1- On Gay Marriage:
The Republican Party seems to be open to many.  You do not have to
subscribe to all its views in order to be elevated within the party.
The vice-president is for gay marriage, the secretary of State is for
affirmative action, the governator and the erstwhile mayor of New York
(and several high officials) are pro-abortion, etc.  There are many
views reflected in the party.  This is certainly not the case in the
Democratic Party.  If a high official was pro-life or in any way opposed
to a tenet of the party, this person would be summarily purged from the
party.

I take you back to a posting a few weeks ago by my very good friend Wirt
who stated that when someone talks about states rights he instantly
thinks of segregation and worse.  In the case of gay marriage however,
Wirt seems to think states right are ok.  It's nice to be able to pick
and choose your beliefs.  The problem with the various states having
differing positions on marriage is that one will be left with a
veritable panoply of arrangements and when people start moving from
state to state, it will surely create confusion.  I leave it to your
imagination to come up with variations that California, and New York
would come up with and how that would go over in say, Utah.

Finally it is clear that whilst the vice-president has his own opinions,
the president is clearly in charge and the vice-president is the first
one to recognize that. (Or are you picking and choosing again?)

2-On Global Warming
This shows there is certainly room for disagreement in the Bush
administration, something not seen in the prior administration.
However, the accumulating science has really underlined the fallacy
behind this version of catastrophism and so I say, let's see what
tomorrow's report brings.  BTW, this report does not explain the warming
trend on Mars, which I suspect is due to Halliburton, Bush and Texas in
general.

3- On Partial Birth Abortion
Here I must say that I am baffled.  I do not understand what that has to
do with Republicans.  Perhaps one should inform my friend Wirt that just
because there is a Republican administration in the White House does not
mean ALL federal judges are Republicans. Especially in San Francisco.

4-Federal Election Commissioner
And finally we get to the story that is the most interesting. Sen. John
McCain is certainly a colorful figure, a maverick, within the Republican
Party, something that is simply not tolerated in the other party.
McCain is fun to observe and has certainly been in the center of
whatever controversy he can steer up or take part in.  McCain is also
the darling of the (elite, mainstream, left-falling (forget leaning))
media wing of the Democratic Party.  If he can attack, embarrass or at
least disagree with other Republicans, the press reports it with glee.

However, in this case, McCain has to participate in this debate, for two
reasons.  1- He is a Vietnam Veteran 2-He is one of the co-authors of
the campaign finance reform act that has created this mess.  Yes indeed,
McCain-Feingold CFR created this multi-headed monster in its virulent
attack on the first amendment.  The 527s are a direct result of the
McCain-Feingold BCRA of 2002.  The organizations (called 527 after the
section in the tax code under which these tax-free entities fall,) were
formed to advocate policy by whatever means they see fit.

Let me quote from the IRS publication:

Section 527 generally provides that political organizations that collect
and expend monies for exempt function purposes as described in 527
(e)(2) are exempt from Federal income tax except on their investment
income.

Section 527(e)(1) defines a political organization as a party,
committee, association, fund or other organization(whether or not
incorporate), organized and operated primarily for the purpose of
accepting contributions or making expenditures, or both, for an exempt
function.

Section 527(e)(2) provides that the term "exempt function" for purposes
of 527 means the function of influencing or attempting to influence the
selection, nomination, election, or appointment of any individual to any
Federal, State, or local public office or office in a political
organization, or the election of Presidential or Vice-Presidential
electors, whether or not such individual or electors are selected,
nominated, elected, or appointed.  By its terms, 527(e)(2) includes all
attempts to influence the selection, nomination, election, or
appointment of the described officials.

As you can see, the BCRA created a monster and now McCain is trying to
contain it.  Is it gauche of me to point out that McCain only started
squawking when the Swiftvets.com organization came to light but that he
was quite happy to leave alone the 527s attacking Bush during the last 2
years?

Let's see, George Soros buys the Democratic Party and also funds
MoveOn.org to the tune of $15 million.  This organization repeatedly
compares Bush to Hitler and generally attacks him at every turn.  That's
ok with the media, John Kerry and John McCain.

But when 254 Vietnam veterans get together and create an ad countering
John Kerry's claims and they manage to get $150,000 from a Texas donor,
the media, John Kerry and John McCain get their knickers in a twist.  I
guess what makes the difference is that what MoveOn.org and its ilk
produce is total fiction, whereas what Swiftvets.com produces appears to
be truthful and that's not acceptable.

Denys

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