Texas just held a US Senate Republican run-off, you might have heard, and elected a new guy by the name of Ted Cruz.   There's been a bit about it in the media, mostly written by people who have rarely actually been in Texas, but I found this one by a guy in Dallas that I thought was pretty close to my personal interpretation of the reasons why Cruz won.  This is not a Tea-Party triumph, although the Tea Party does gain momentum and credibility from it.

Will put it back soon. Need to restore from backup.

Will put it back soon. 

R9GjJA Thanks again for the post.Really thank you! Keep writing.

I think I found John Shimkus tell if I ever play him in poker, he scratches his head with his right hand when he is bluffing, or tugs on his shirt. Presses his left index finder on his temple hard when he knows he has a bad hand.

promoted by stinerman

Huge omnibus bills should be a LAST resort, never the first choice.
But for the Congress of today, whenever any big, multifaceted problem is encountered, the FIRST RESORT... is to create a legislative Swiss Army Knife to fix it.

It's not that Swiss Army Knife legislation has any great history of success. Remember how urgent it was to pass "comprehensive Immigration legislation"? Passing everything at once was such an urgent priority that they didn't pass a darn thing!

Another perfect example of Swiss Army Knife legislation is the Stimulus Bill (massive, hard-drive-filling, 647-page PDF ) as passed by the House. I mean, it's got it all-- the nail clippers, the file, the saw, the scissors, the can opener-- but is it a good can opener? do we need a can opener in this situation? and if so, why did we not try to pass a good, standalone can opener first?

Y2hbjP Fantastic article.Really thank you! Really Cool.

hXWfCP Awesome article post.Much thanks again. Awesome.

Some issues are big and scary and complicated (like war and our financial system), and I can understand how I'm not really in a position to specify expectations for how the government will address them.

However, some other issues are so straightforward (even if they aren't 'big') that I can confidently say that if the new Democratic government does not address these issues, then they will be guilty of negligent government.

I'm sure that many issues fall into this category, but here's are two issues that I expect the new government to take care of in fairly short order:

OagXyW Really enjoyed this post. Fantastic.

Z42IYM Very neat article.Really thank you! Want more.

It is becoming more apparent with each passing day that the American lifestyle as it currently exist is unsustainable. For more than three decades we have accepted the false narrative that we can live beyond our means and there will be no cost for the extravagance. Not only has our government accepted and promoted this falsehood, but we as a nation have accepted it as well. It has become so ingrained into our national psyche that anyone who dares to point out its inherent flaws is immediately ridiculed by politicians, the media, and their fellow citizens. You see rather than looking at the real culprits of our failed domestic and foreign policies we want to create these “bogeymen” who want to destroy our sacred way of life. The truth is that it is always easier to blame others for our shortsightedness and faults.

Over the course of the next months, I'm going to pose a high-level political process question to the SC faithful. These questions will be mostly about how the government is fundamentally structured rather than on some sort of issue. My hope is that we can all debate from first principles on an issue that isn't readily discussed in normal political discourse.

Because we generally use single-member districts in the US, I will focus on alternative voting systems that are used in single-member districts.

Over the course of the next few weeks or possibly months, I'm going to pose a high-level political process question to the SC faithful. These questions will be mostly about how the government is fundamentally structured rather than on some sort of issue. My hope is that we can all debate from first principles on an issue that isn't readily discussed in normal political discourse.

Today, I'll ask questions about ballot access laws.

qXZugC Thanks for the blog.Really looking forward to read more. Awesome.

Congresswoman "Mean" Jean Schmidt (R-OH), perhaps aware of a strong correlation between the vibration of her vocal cords and the likelihood of personal humiliation , has yet to ask one single question in hearings as a member of the Agriculture Committee in the 110th Congress, according to committe transcripts.

Hat tip to The Liberty Papers for calling attention to the annual Pig Book by Citizen's Against Government Waste .

Notable rankings by posted by Stephen at Liberty Papers:

The top 5 porkers in the Senate were:

#1 Cochran (R): 241 projects costing $892.2 million.
#2 Stevens (R): 150 projects costing $469.4 million
#3 Shelby (R): 206 projects costing $464.5 million

X68DbI Thanks again for the blog article.Thanks Again. Much obliged.

YKBc0x Wow, great blog post. Awesome.

nrcMJt Thanks-a-mundo for the post.Much thanks again. Really Great.