The Other McCain

by Smitty

Why I can’t help but admire large swaths of Ron Paul’s ideas:

Ron Paul told host David Gregory that he would abolish federal student loans. . .

All of those students must claim a state for residency. Why. The. [Ahem]. are states not taking care of their own citizens? Well, clearly the federal government can cause money to appear much more readily. Given the moral hazards an unintended consequences of decades of this, it is high time that We The People call ‘nonsense’ on this.

Many miles away something crawls to the surface of a dark Scottish lake. . .

Mitt Romney defended his conservative bona fides today, insinuating that some mistook his lack of “outlandish … rhetoric” for a lack of conservative beliefs.

“I don’t know on which issue I’m not conservative,” he told Sean Hannity in a radio interview. Romney cited what he had done as governor of Massachusetts — balancing the state budget annually, increasing school accountability and education choice, and increasing the state’s rainy day fund — as proof he was conservative. “I think my record is as conservative as you’ll find,” he said. Alluding to the health-care program he signed into law, Romney noted that Newt Gingrich had conceded during the last debate that he had supported an individual mandate at one point.

And he pointed out that he had been elected in a very Democratic state: “I think people recognize that when you’re elected in a dark-blue state like Massachusetts … a conservative like me is playing an away game,” Romney remarked, noting also his efforts on abortion and traditional marriage.

Romney did identify one way in which he differs from some of his GOP rivals: “I may not be as incendiary or outlandish in rhetoric.”

Shag your rhetoric, mister: it’s your results that have people wondering if you’re packing the gear, or Yet. Another. Ruling. Class. Knob.

Instead of a 59 point plan to vulcanize a dead cat so that it bounces more, just tell us what federal agencies you plan to snuff. Because really, if you’re not whacking some bureaucracy with a Big Fancy Hammer, then you’re just shining us on.