Who wins between California and Texas? Well, as a Texan who lived in California for three years, the answer to this question is clear.

Will Franklin has put together some fascinating infographics about how Republicans and Democrats feel about Texas and California. Go take a look. It’s not surprising, really, but to see it laid out is still disturbing.

As Will says:

Fascinating. There are two dominant models for governance in America today. The California model of high taxation, bloated government, forced unionization, enviro-luddite regulation, higher unemployment, and intense domestic out-migration of individuals and businesses, versus the Texas model of low taxes, streamlined government, right-to-work labor laws, balanced environmental regulation, abundant job creation, and robust domestic in-migration.

Despite having 12 million fewer people, Texas exports 56.8% more than California.

Go read the whole thing. Wow.

My conclusion? Democrats really, really don’t care about fiscal responsibility at all–not even a little bit. They must think there’s a magic money tree somewhere.

The Tea Party would be the assemblage of the most annoying people on the planet if the Republican Party didn’t already exist or if Tea Partiers didn’t breath the same air as Democrats, Liberals and the Occupy Wall Streeters. Political people are annoying. They are, by their very essence motivated by ideas and care enough to do something about it. Most people just want to live their lives and be left alone. People in the political realm want their ideas and rantings to matter. They want to change things. That makes them annoying.

Tea Partiers are getting a bad rap right now. In fact, I just spent far too long debating Outside The Beltway’s libertarian curmudgeon James Joyner about the root cause of trouble in the GOP. It’s the Tea Party’s fault, he says:

Oh dear. Bad Tea Party! Bad, bad Tea Party!

Whenever I see these assertions, I never see the GOP pondering their really bad choices in politicians that had money but had little charisma, political deftness or policy intelligence. See also: Meg Whitman, Carly Fiorina, and Linda McMahon. And that’s just three of them. Many bad candidates put forth by the GOP got trounced in the primaries by these Tea Party candidates because the candidates stunk so badly.

GOP apologists also don’t seem to remember what prompted the Tea Party to begin with: The Bailouts. TARP (something I was on the fence about, myself, but eventually came out against on the principle that everything the government touches turns to poo), GM bailouts, the stimulus and the gnawing anger that Republicans left their values behind with the creation of things like Medicare Part D and the Department of Homeland Security (two things that infuriated me at the time).

The Republican party leadership left their party planks and so people who actually believe in smaller government, in personal liberty, in freedom, left the GOP.

The sense that the government is doing too much for too many for little or not return; the sense that the government is piling up debt for a future generation enslaving them and their children horrified average people who decided to become politically involved and joined the Tea Party.

Anyone who is a third generation Christian knows the joy and dismay being around a new convert. It’s wonderful to see their wonder, love and affection for God and His word. It’s a little disconcerting to see scriptures distorted and extreme behavior in the name of zealotry.

The new Tea Partiers are nothing if not zealous. Sometimes, they misdirect their energy, but overwhelmingly, their impulse has been the right one.

Do Republicans really want to argue for the individual mandate, government control of the internet, and on and on? Well, actually, the current crop of Republican presidential candidates seem to, yes. They’re being “pragmatic”. No, they’re being sellouts.

The Republican party has consistently chosen big money candidates hoping self-funding will help the party. They’ve been consistently proven wrong on this account.

The Republican party continues to cling to big government ways and means. It’s power after all, and they seem disinclined to give it up. Even Paul Ryan’s budget is incremental, long-term and likely to not be enough to save the Republic.

The Republican party leaders cannot articulate conservative values (Santorum articulating conservative social values, notwithstanding) in a positive way because they don’t believe them.

And yet, it’s the Tea Party, the group who reflects what regular Americans believe, who is going to ruin the Republican party and by extension, the Republic?

The Government is too big and too powerful average Americans believe. This is not some wild-eyed notion. And yet, Republicans are not articulating a smaller government message.

Worse, Republicans are not voting that way. So, to the dismay of many long-time Republicans, notorious Dem-liters like Orrin Hatch and Dick Luger, don’t represent their states constituency or their party’s planks. Why have them? Terror at being primaried and losing power seems to be the only thing that penetrates the consciousness of politicians. So, pain is on the way.

Before the Tea Party came along, the Republican Party was a hot mess. The New York, California, Nevada, Ohio, and Colorado GOP (just to five states off the top of my head) stunk. Calcified, self-protective, hierarchical, detached, and consumed by infighting, it’s rich that people want to blame the Tea Party for failure when the Tea Party new blood is coming in and attempting to right the sinking ship.

Is the Tea Party blameless? No. I was dismayed when Tea Party Express went into the Nevada primary and endorsed Angle. The other two candidates were good enough and had a great chance against a very weak Harry Reid. In Pennsylvania, one Tea Party leader has nearly derailed very good school choice initiatives by being absolutist and self-aggrandizing.

Still, the Tea Party energy and idealism has been great for the Republican Party, the body politic, and the country. America teeters on the edge of insolvency and has been pushed leftward fiscally by not only liberals, but so-called “Blue Dog” Dems and Republicans, too. It’s appalling.

Two years ago, I wrote that Mitt Romney was a weak candidate and that the GOP leadership should be looking, and intently, for better alternatives. They chose to travel the path of least resistance. They should not be surprised that the majority (not just the hard-core Tea Partiers, who seem to be divided themselves) are seeking a candidate who shares at least some of their conservative values.

As for me, I’m not particularly attached to any of the candidates. It would be nice for a GOP complainer to make an affirmative conservative, or even Republican (read the party planks) case for Mitt Romney. I have yet to see it. But I do see a lot of pre-emptive blaming of the Tea Party.

Sorry, the GOP needs to look for another scapegoat. Looking in the mirror would be a good start.

Consider this from Ann Coulter.

Consider this from Ace.

I went to great lengths yesterday to withhold judgement waiting for more information. So, so far, we’re one, possibly two women completely disqualified as accusers.

Mind you, none of this changes my opinion of Herman Cain’s fitness one way or another. I don’t want him to be our next president and didn’t before this.

What does matter to me is the truth.

What does matter to me is that the press is grossly unfair and biased against ANY conservative. They’ll spare no expense to destroy conservatives (remember those 15K Palin emails?).

What does matter to me is that conservatives seem JUST FINE burning down other conservatives…see also Herman Cain when the spotlight wasn’t on him.

What Ann and Ace don’t address is this: Axelrod may have dug up these allegations. Two of these women may be suspect. Axelrod didn’t, though, manufacture these women ten years ago. Those allegation have been sitting there. Axelrod may or may not have just dug them up.

So.

That’s where things are at now.

Some people have asked why are there allegations only from the time at National Restaurant Association. Well, he did live away from his wife at that time and he was a lobbyist not a CEO. So. Who knows?

We’ll see if other women come forward. So far, what we have learned a couple things:

1. One, or possibly two, accusers are suspect.

2. Herman Cain flails under pressure.

3. Herman Cain has a horrible staff.
The last two things don’t bode well. A CEO should make better executive decisions. Eh. What a flippin’ mess.

Imagine this:

I’ve decided that tomorrow, I’m going to be CEO of Godfather’s Pizza. But, Melissa, you protest, you have no experience! I beg to differ. Consider:

1. I like pizza. A lot.
2. I run a business. Sure, it’s a small business with a couple of employees, but…what?
3. I know people who own stocks. Heck, I own a little myself. Dealing with stockholders should be no sweat.
4. I know what franchises are.
5. I’m a people person.
6. I work hard.

I figure that if Herman Cain can be a CEO of a company so can I.

Absurd? Of course. Being the CEO in the food service industry doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, Herman Cain himself says that he started at the bottom and worked his way up.

It’s arrogant on my part to think that I could just jump into the job and more importantly, succeed, from day one. It diminishes the hard work, skill and understanding that’s imparted from being immersed im the business.

Herman Cain wants to be President of the United States. He has never done these things:

1. Held elected office.
2. Served diverse constituencies with conflicting demands.
3. Run a successful campaign.
4. Hired ground game campaigners in any state, even now.

Here’s the thing, I don’t think so little of Herman Cain’s role as CEO at Godfather’s Pizza that I believe “anyone can do it”. That’s simply not true. Not anyone can do it. Otherwise, anyone WOULD do it.

I also don’t think so little of the United States Presidency that I believe “anyone can do it”. Exhibit “A”: Barack Obama.

This is where some people wax philosophical and say things like this to me, “Melissa, I don’t think the presidency should be out of reach for the average person.”

Newsflash: Our Founding Fathers were not “average people”. They were extraordinary people. Accomplished. Seasoned. Leaders in thought and action and political philosophy and acumen.

I understand that the Presidency has been diminished by some of its holders. That doesn’t mean that standards for office holders should be thrown out. No, we should expect more.

Some of you will think I’m picking on Herman Cain, but really, executive elected leadership is so important that my criterion eliminates people like Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul and even Newt Gingrich.

It is easy to appeal to a district who is often relatively homogenous ideologically. And yet, Herman Cain hasn’t even done this. He hasn’t run a small campaign–and even small campaigns can be fraught with difficulty.

Governing is not the same as being a boss at work where people are being paid to do what you tell them to.

I wouldn’t be so hard on Mr. Cain if I felt that his campaign was being run efficiently or seriously. I am getting increasingly pissed off, though, because a lot of people I like and admire are being played by the Cain campaign.

When I see that Herman Cain is in Texas to do his book tour (he’s been in my neck of the woods twice in the past two months that I know of and will be here next week again), I’m incredulous. This is the most important election in a lifetime, maybe more, and he’s fooling around giving inspirational speeches and selling books in unimportant primary states?

When I hear that key activists in battleground states haven’t been reached out to by the Cain campaign, that tells me that he’s not running for President. He hasn’t even wrapped up Tea Party folks who know and love him, to work for him?

I see the charming smile and the easy way Herman Cain has with people and see a natural politician. His lack of experience and, based on his actions, lack of desire for the presidency, angers me.

Too much is at stake to be fooling around during a presidential campaign so you can get more speaking engagements and sell self-help books.

Cain followers, please demand answers of your candidate. He shouldn’t be just talking the talk, but walking the walk. That means setting up a nationwide network that will help him win the election should he get the nomination.

Either Herman Cain gets serious, or admit this: He is the perfect foil for Mitt Romney.

As it stands, a vote for Herman Cain is a vote for Mitt Romney. And, as far as I can tell, that’s exactly the opposite of what Cain backers want.

There’s only one purpose for the Republican debates and none of them are as follows:

1. To inform
2. To educate
3. To enlighten

The ONLY purpose for the GOP debates is so the media can make all the candidates look like complete unelectable idiots.

So far, they’re succeeding. Gotcha questions and stupid expressions are heightened by a GOP-hating media meanwhile all of Obama’s ignorance and mistakes are minimized and avoided. For those not paying attention, it might seem like Obama is the only rational alternative.

GOP folks look at them and think that the purpose is to influence primary voters. Really, that’s tangential. What’s most important is gathering as much data for Obama’s media team as possible.

For the media, it’s a win. For the GOP, it’s a net loss no matter who the nominee ends up being.

NOTE: If the GOP really wanted to educate the public, they’d sit down in front of conservative audiences with Republican and conservative moderators and answer questions and the media would be forced to show up. The side benefit would be that people could actually make an educated decision.

Now, I’m going to share what was important according to some candidates and the Democrat-media complex who love them:

I don’t believe that the Gardasil vaccine thing is going to determine the primary, the election, or anything else. I could be wrong. It could be The Most Important Issue Ever In The History Of Republican Primaries, so I thought I’d take a little non-scientific poll:

Eric O’Keefe of the Sam Adams Alliance talks about tyranny and how to keep government accountable even after the Republicans take over again. In the second half, Tom Reed who is running for Eric Massa‘s seat in New York talks about his conservative district, federal and state mandates and why all politics are local.

Listen here.

Meanwhile, Americans are stuck with what the Democrats have wrought. And much as they hate the policy rape, they’ll come to identify with their captors soon enough.

Why? It’s human nature.

First, no one will allow Congress to repeal a law that would take away health care “for the children.” Not even the toughest Republican wants to have that conversation with a crying constituent. So it won’t happen. So all the talk of “repeal it” is hopeful hokum.

Second, there are Medicare cuts in the bill. The country is going down the economic crapper and cannot afford the current Medicare and Medicaid obligations, so the cuts and the bill stay.

Third, when people pay huge taxes and then get nothing for it, they know the taxes won’t go away so they complain about the product. That’s what will happen here.

Now, this bill will change everyone’s life for the worse, so there’s that happy thought. Happy? Well, American citizens from young to old will curse the Democrats.

The young people will be furious because when they voted for Obama with unicorn dreams, they didn’t imagine having to actually pay for health care with money that could be used to buy beer. Dude just harshed their mellow.

Old people will be angry because if there is one group of people who hold on to their entitlements with boney, clingy fingers, it’s old people. So with the new health care bill, they get more free drugs but they have to pay for so much else. They won’t be happy.

Small business owners will be more disheartened. We’re in a recession, remember? Yeah, these companies are barely holding on during these tough times, trying to not fire people or lay them off. Now, they have to add health care costs. Guess what? There will suddenly be many more companies with 49 employees. Are you in a company of 60 people where health insurance isn’t provided? Uh-oh. Watch out.

Doctors will stop taking Medicare and Medicaid patients. I already don’t. In protest, doctors across America will simply refuse to accept any government plan. Chaos will ensue. Old people will be hit hardest.

So yes, people are ticked off. Irate even. The Democrats don’t care and the American people are helpless to do anything except pour money into Republican candidates.

And that brings us to the Republicans. Reversing this travesty depends on them. These are the guys bandying about immigration reform and who routinely get lost in the weeds. Will the rage the American people are displaying help them keep their focus? Maybe.

It’s distressing putting my hope in any politician’s will to act nobly. It’s not in the job description. Politicians, even the fresh, green, idealistic politicians who will be elected in November, get polluted almost immediately. They start listening to “advisers” and the more seasoned pros. They start doing what legislators do: make laws. And laws, by definition, impinge on rights. That’s the way it works.

So no, I don’t believe health care will go away. I believe it will divide us, create chaos, and turn the conversation away from big dreams and freedom to provincial “my piece of the pie” talk.

Health care “reform” makes America small. That’s just the way Democrats like it.

Please don’t think I feel totally hopeless. I don’t. The bill can be gutted and dismantled. But can it be repealed? Doubtful. Is the fight over? No.

But this bill irrevocably changed America, there’s no denying it. And it changes America for the worse.

Marco Rubio, who began last year as a total unknown, has pulled ahead of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist in the Florida Senate Republican primary for the first time, in a new Quinnipiac poll released today.

The poll shows Rubio leading Crist by three points, 47 to 44 percent – a lead within the poll’s 3.8 percent margin of error. In last June’s Quinnipiac survey, the little-known Rubio trailed Crist by 31 points.

Crist still is viewed favorably in Florida, though his approval ratings are on the decline. A bare 50 percent majority approved of his performance in office — down from 59 percent last October — with 38 percent disapproving.

And then, there’s the Illinois race where Mark Kirk is trying to portray himself as conservative–while he voted for Cap-N-Trade. Patrick Hughes is the obvious choice here, too. Over at Furthermore:

The simple mention of Kirk’s name has consistently drawn louder boos at IL Tea Parties than the names of Dick Durbin and Roland Burris. For the record, Kirk voted YES on Cap and Tax, NO on the Surge and he is NO friend of gun owners. Kirk also was against the partial birth abortion ban!

But, we are down to seven days. That’s 7! I sure hope the Tea Parties can act together in time to help! Conservatives across the country are seriously considering a last minute ‘air drop’ of support into Illinois for Pat Hughes. Please help.

A money bomb today over at Hugh’s site.

And then there’s California where Carly Fiorina speaks Democrat lingo:

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO and Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina found herself in political hot water Friday after speaking warmly of Jesse Jackson and saying democracy won’t be “truly representative” until “at least” half of elected officials are women.

In a speech that became public Friday, Fiorina fondly recalled the Rev. Jesse Jackson — a controversial figure across the political spectrum but anathema to many on the right — “very graciously” visiting her at HP years ago, when the two worked together to boost diversity among Silicon Valley’s work force.

“I like to remind people that women are not a constituency — women are a majority,” Fiorina said during her Wednesday night speech in Sacramento, hosted by California Women Lead, a nonpartisan group that encourages women to seek public office. “Women are the majority of voters and we will never have a truly representative democracy unless women make up half, at least, of our elected representatives.”

At a time Fiorina is seeking to appeal to conservatives, the most reliable voters in Republican primaries, her remarks could prove costly. Critics on the right, including one of her opponents in the GOP Senate primary, argued that her speech smacked of identity politics and bristled at her ties to Jackson.

And Chuck De Vore has been there, from the beginning, laying the groundwork for a conservative to capture Barbara Boxer’s seat.

The wonderful thing about these hardcore primary challenges is that establishment, bloated-government Republicans are having to answer for betraying the Republican brand (whatever that is).

Ultimately a new slew of “Reagan conservatives” will remake the party into a more fiscally restrained, responsive party.

The general election will also be bruising and rigorous. Good. Both Democrats and Republicans have been way too self-satisfied and unresponsive to their voters–they give the impression that the only way to have influence is to buy it.

Maybe a serious threat to their seat will wake politicians recognize their role as a representative, not an imperious leader.

Do you have any confidence that the Republicans will fight passage of this disastrous health care bill? With 60% of America against this bill, one would think this fight would be pretty safe fight. That is, people are on your side. The Democrats are the ones controverting the will of the people. They’re the ones who should be afraid and defensive. But it might be impossible to overstate the craven nature of Republican legislators. And it might not just be cowardice. It could also be a pathological desire to intervene and “make it better” and “have a voice”.

I might just be overly pessimistic. Glumness tends to set in whenever I watch Republican Senators in action. Karl is working the odds over in the Green Room and says:

My primary quibble would be with his assessment of reconciliation as an option. Reid has currently taken reconciliation off the table. That in itself would not be a big deal, but we are also starting to hear lefties like Sen. Tom Harkin explain why reconciliation would not be a good thing for liberals. I also think that Hennessey underestimates how bad it would look politically if — after several weeks of normal debate — the Democrats tried to shift to reconciliation. Even the establishment media would be unable to avoid the narrative that Democrats were trying to ram an unpopular bill through the Senate after failing under the normal rules. Public opinion polling consistently shows very bad numbers for a “go it alone” approach. It is hard to think of anything the Democrats could do that would instantly make ObamaCare 10-20% more unpopular than to try passing it via reconciliation.

My secondary quibble would be with the notion that no bill is more likely than a minor bill. If the Democrats fail on a comprehensive bill, they will (imho) fall back to a minor bill of some sort. The reasons for this merit their own post, but we can start with the Democrats’ perception that they will be punished (at least by their base) if they fail to pass something.

My primary reason for thinking that something will pass is as follows:

1. This is about Obama’s ego. He has staked his reputation on this legislation. This is about doing what the Clintons couldn’t. This is about remaking America. He will strong-arm every fence-sitter.

2. This is about Democrat majority relevance. What is their point if they can’t change things and make history when they have a chance? That’s why so many Democrats seem to be willing to take one for the team. This is about irrevocably pushing America left and they will do it.

3. Most of all, there is momentum. At many different steps in the process, the Democrats should have lost steam. Yes they’ll have to do some gymnastics to get this thing passed, but Democrats are concerned about the bigger principle: giving Obama and the Democrat brand “a win”.

Even if the legislation is a horrible failure (and it will be), that’s not the point. The point is that Democrats care for people and they are urbane and as good as Europeans. Seriously. The Dems want to be the world’s “cool kids”. They feel ashamed for the backward, capitalistic nature of America. It’s so gauche.

And as lame as Democrats are about health care, the Republicans who don’t vociferously and vehemently fight it will be deemed worse. Because if you can’t show some spine to the whiny, appeasing kid, what are you? The Republicans need to fight and push and they also need to make clear to their own (hello Maine ladies) that there will be price paid for voting for this monstrosity. I’m not sure the Republicans have the gumption to do it.