Fresh Loaf

— Has there ever been a sillier television show than Real Housewives of Atlanta? Oh, let us kount count the ways. You can’t even call them “Buckhead Bettys” because none of them actually live in Atlanta proper. Local celebrity chef Richard Blais is keeping a blog on the show, that includes impressions on different restaurants the BBs visit, and he’s decided the show is missing one key ingredient: Drama. What? Isn’t Kim’s off-key singing, and her perpetual cigarette and glass of wine enough?

— It’s still political season in Georgia and, nationally, the right-wing conservatives are trying to regroup. DriftGrift has a thoughtful post on the battle between moderates and conservatives for the soul of the party. He also notes Rush Limbaugh’s quote that uber-conservatives want moderates to vote Republican but that “they can never be one of us.”

— And then there’s the Paul Brouns of the world. At Rather Than Working, Dave posts a letter he sent to the distinguished Congressman noting that there’s a big difference between objective opposition and just being plain stupid.

— The folks at Down Right were also taken aback by Broun, and say that comparing our president-elect to Hitler doesn’t accomplish very much. Instead, they write, let’s step back and assess how Obama handles all the burning issues he faces once he takes office.

— At Going Through The Motions, the lovely Sara also pleads for reconcilliation and partnership. And she’s also found a cool blog that tries to foster that spirit: From 52 to 48.

— And, finally, Muskrat shares the meaning behind Veterans Day, and what the little things meant to him when he was deployed to Iraq.

Bookmark It

Even worse than losing an election, the national Republican Party has lost its way. The party that worked so hard at dividing America with one cultural wedge issue after another now finds itself divided, split into two camps: those who realize they need to reform the party and those who don’t.

At this point, I’m hoping only the most blinkered partisan would deny in his or her heart that the GOP somehow ended up being the party of ignorance, fear and intolerance. At least, those have tended to be the tools that party strategists have used to rally the troops.

By ignorance, I mean the systematic attacks on book-learnin’, evolution and competence reflected in the personality cults surrounding Pres. Bush and Gov. Palin, and in the ridiculous war on “elites,” whatever that means. Fear-mongering – over terrorist attacks, Iran, etc. – was, of course, the Bush administration’s default position. And the intolerance shown against gays and immigrants is hardly in keeping with real American values.

In the waning days of the presidential race, David Frum and other Republican leaders and strategists acknowledged that their party was floundering and that the Rovian tactics of smear and knee-jerk social conservatism won’t work anymore.

(more…)

Bookmark It

GOV. SONNY PERDUE AND HOUSE SPEAKER NEWT GINGRICH: Amused to find out that they’ve suddenly become outsiders, reformers and agents of feminism.

(Photo by Joeff Davis. Galleries of Joeff’s photos from both party conventions can be found on his web site, Joeff.com)

Bookmark It

Peach Pundit, the Macon-based political website that recently took a CL Best of honor, has posted most interesting, if somewhat premature, poll results for the 2010 governor’s race. Conducted by Landmark Communications, an outfit run by local GOP consultant Mark Rountree, the poll measures only the appeal of Republican candidates among Republican voters. But, let’s face it: Can anyone imagine Georgia’s next governor not being a Republican?

Anyway, on to the results: If the GOP primary were held today, Casey Cagle would win the nomination without a runoff, with 51 percent of the vote. Pretty impressive numbers by the lite guv, another CL Best of winner. Following distantly are self-promoting Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, with 21 percent; new Secretary of State Karen Handel, with 13 percent; and U.S. Rep. Lynn “10 Commandments” Westmoreland, with 10 percent. The big news is the guy who comes in dead last. That’s right, it’s the property-tax avenger, House Speaker Glenn Richardson, who could not even muster a 4.5 percent showing among the 850 Republicans polled.

The most conspicuous omission is that of Sen. Johnny Isakson, but Landmark explains that he was left off the list because his candidacy would likely scare away several of the other possible contenders, skewing the poll results. Good point.

So far, Peach Pundit is the only place online we’ve spotted the Landmark poll.

Bookmark It