Observations From The Keynote Speeches

TL;DR Version: Gawd bless Murrica, we lurves our guns, please vote for me.

As if you expected a politician to say anything else at the NRA Annual Meeting. That’s why I’m not much interested in any of the speechifying. Still…

… Bobby Jindal, my governor, is probably the smartest of likely Republican Presidential candidates, and by a wide margin. He was a boy wonder when he was an aide to Jim McCrery, he was a wunderkind when he took over Louisiana’s Department of Health and Hospitals at age 23, and he’s a policy wonk with few peers. He’s an ardent supporter of gun rights, and you will not find a more well-versed and knowledgeable candidate on healthcare issues.

But he wants to be President, and that means catering to the religious right if you’re a Republican. It’s also why I won’t be voting for him. Bobby, please, get back to policy and run as a libertarian or independent. You won’t have a snowball’s chance in Hell of winning, but at least you won’t be a whore for people who are just as bad in their own way as the far left.

Scott Walker said some good things. This guy has star quality. He’s personable, he’s telegenic. Most of his speech focused on economic policy, and that the growth of government is NOT the way to grow the economy.  Keep talking, Scott. You have my attention.

Rick Santorum is speechifying about how prayer saved his daughter. Bella Santorum was born with Trisomy 18, and has suffered significant health issues all her life. Rick relates a tale of how his daughter was suffering from pulmonary edema, and prayer saved her.

That may be true, Rick, but I’d imagine those doctors and nurses had more to do with it.

Apparently, both Santorum and his wife have concealed carry permits, and his wife asked for ammo for her birthday. I think I like Rick’s wife better than Rick.

David Clarke, Jr., Sheriff of Milwaukee County talks like a hardass. Even if he weren’t wearing a dress uniform, you’d know he was a cop. Initially gained notoriety for urging the citizens of Milwaukee to consider armed self-defense, because they could no longer rely on the police department for timely protection. Not a big surprise, but it’s nice to hear a cop acknowledge that when seconds count, the police are only minutes away.