- Posted by Christopher Estep on April 10, 2008
The most unpopular Congress in US History already known for getting nothing accomplished, has found a way to do even less. They actually got together to vote on not voting. I know that sounds confusing, but what they are doing is voting to change the rules so they don't have to vote on a free trade treaty with Columbia.
It's like their motto is, "We can't do less? Watch us!"
- Posted by Christopher Estep on December 19, 2007
Yes, I'm conservative and no, I haven't lost my mind. Just read on.
Time Magazine announced their annual Person of the Year as Vladimir Putin of Russia. Over at Blogs for Victory, Mark Noonan is losing his everloving mind because Putin is pretty much becoming a dictator. Apparently, Mark doesn't realize that the Person of the Year has nothing to do with politics, per se, but rather who had the most significant impact on world events over the previous year. It's something that Time has to explain every single year, but some people just don't pay attention or don't get it. Given that criteria, I just don't think that he deserves it. So that pretty much raises the next question.
Who should be the Person of the Year?
I have narrowed it down to 3 choices, all of which may surprise you. The first two will be runners up and the final will be my selection.
Second Runner Up: Barack Obama
No, I can't stand Obama. I think he's the least prepared of any of the Democratic candidates and of those candidates would be my last choice (and that includes Kucinich). But as I said, this isn't a popularity contest. It's all about impact and like him or not, Obama has impacted the primaries in a way no candidate has. It's not because he's the first minority to run, because he's not. But he's the first minority that is actually a viable candidate. This has taken people off their guard and is forcing them to take another look at the traditional segmentation of the electorate. I briefly considered Clinton for the same reason, but there have been semi-viable female candidates before.
First Runner Up: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
This man is a first-class scumbag and really needs to take a bullet right between the eyes, but he has had an impact on world affairs that can't be denied. He caused a furor by speaking at Columbia University where he declared that Iran does not have homosexuality, inadvertently reminding people that he actually kills the gays in his country. The world fears him because of his nuclear aspirations as well as his insistence on denying the holocaust.
Person of the Year: Nancy Pelosi
Like her or hate her, it doesn't matter. Since she became Speaker of the House of Representatives in January, she has been at the front of nearly every national and many international debates. I'm not saying she has been an effective speaker. She hasn't. But she has certainly caused her share of debate and discussion. Let's forget for a moment that she's the first woman to hold that position, something that certainly helps prove my point of her deserving this distinction. In the last year, Pelosi been at the center of nearly every major political issue in the past year, going so far as to wear a scarf on her head while meeting with the president of Syria at the protest of our own president. Every scandal or potential scandal in congress has found her at the center of it as well, either attacking (republican) or defending (democrat) whomever the person accused is.
Think about the last year. Think about everything (good or bad) that Pelosi has been involved in. Think of all of the things (positive or negative) she has impacted and you have to agree that she is deserving of Person of the Year or her impact on world affairs and events.
