The Hippies Do Have a Point Here, But They Protest the Wrong Villains

A Wisconsin judge, in a wonderful display of legal wisdom, ruled that people do not have the right to drink milk directly from their own cow if they board it on another farm.

Chalk another victory up for crony mercantilism.

State and federal health guidelines used to be used to protect the general public purchasing from major corporations. You really do need to trust that the food that you buy at a store meets some health and safety guidelines. Conversely, if you buy from a truck on the side of the road or a farmers market, there is a little more caveat emptor in this situation. You might get an ear of corn with a huge worm at the top, for instance. But that's OK, just cut the top off and you still have a better tasting ear of corn.

Under the guise of trying to protect us from ourselves, but, in reality trying to protect big connected businesses from competition, food regulations have increased dramatically, especially under Obama. They hit hard the small producers and their small scale operations. Add the Obama EPA's obsession with regulating dust on a farm and you practically have a recipe for killing off the small farmer and small businesses that sell their produce.

This is part of the hippie protest of Wall Street. They really need to understand that their enemy, as always, is Big Government. Companies can ask until the cows come home for special favors. It is the obligation of the government to refuse them in the name of the free market.

Hippies, protest the real villains. Don't clog up the streets and prevent people from going to legitimate private sector work. Protest government!

The Real World Dawns

It's a cold, cruel world because it's real.

We have a set field. Palin and Christie declined. Unless Rudy Giuliani unexpectedly steps in, we have a set field for the Republican primaries.

And no one is happy.

We do have a great field. A businessman with experience at the Fed, two former governors who enjoyed success in their own ways, the intellectual, and the others.

However, we're grumbling because we did not find Supercandidate. The person who combines perfect ideology with a perfect and extensive record.

Perry can't debate and is weak on immigration. Cain apparently backed TARP at the time (so did a lot of scared folks who have since regained their senses), Gingrich had that weird global warming moment. And Romney is health care challenged.

The candidate so many want does not exist and never did. Even Reagan raised taxes in California.

We don't need The (Republican) One. We need the best person available. And we need a winner.

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Kudos to Bill Maloney. What a long, hard fight only to lose by a handful of percentage points. He really shocked anyone who was paying attention. However, it is more proof that shifts in demographics and the national Democratic Party are seriously eroding that party's hegemony in West Virginia

Are the Democrats Worried Yet?

Not too long ago, we secretly denied that it would be possible within a decade. Now it seems within our grasp.

A two party system may soon emerge in West Virginia.

The passing of Byrd has removed some of the powerful coattails that connected other Democratic candidates to voters. "Big Daddy" had big influence on state elections. Joe Manchin also has similar popularity, but he accomplishes this mainly by aping conservative positions in public while mainly voting with his party in the Senate. He who sits between two stools will someday have a hard fall.

Manchin's own race, plus the governor's race this month, illustrates the changes. Raese nearly knocked off Manchin. Tomblin goes into tomorrow essentially tied with Maloney. Independents and conservative Democrats in the north and east of the state are trending Maloney. Democratic registrations have fallen ten percent in the past eight years. This did not directly benefit the Republicans in registrations as much as campaigns.

Doug McKinney and Mike Stuart worked very hard to get the ship turned in the right direction. First the WVGOP paid off its debt under McKinney. Now Stuart has adroitly connected state Democrats with the sinking ship of Obama in key races.

The next few years needs to bring to West Virginia a true competitive party system.