Growing Peas

They're called Oregon peas. Planted in Minnesota. We'll see how they do, I've never planted peas before.

Swinging Right

Democracy in America thinks "progressives" might take a page from the past, starting a new Port Huron movement (who'll be the next Bill Ayers), or evolve into more apolitical, cynical Gen X types. Who knows, but the left is having trouble with honest debate, much like our President Barack Obama.

The really vital grassroots right now are the Tea Parties, outnumbering paid protesters like ACORN and MoveOn members.

The pendulum swings in democracy, and it's swinging right.

P.S. And God Bless Texas.

Minnesota Healthcare Freedom Rallies Thursday

True North with details.

Megan McArdle, Why I Oppose National Health Care.

Dr. Melissa Clouthier, (on the same wave length) About those fat people. I would just add--sometimes when you're fat, you're fat. There's not much you can do about it, it's the way you're made.

And from Canadian small dead animals, A Paul Krugman Poll Goes Horribly Wrong:) There's video.

P.S. Reason--should Obama have his eat your veggies wife handle healthcare? Meanwhile, in Canada locavores are hampered by big government.

Tea Party Express Across America

And RecessRally.com Aug. 22nd--let your Congressman know just say no to ObamaCare, yes to real reform--patients own their own healthcare!

Struggle over Middle America

As the liberal social views and internationalist foreign policy predilections of the coastal classes began to hold greater sway in the party, many of the populists who had previously trended towards Democrats because of economic issues or labor rights grew increasingly alienated. And today, the parties continue to struggle over a swath of Middle America on precisely these issues.

--Troy Senik, RealClearPolitics

Show Me State Tea Parties

Why are people in St. Louis so irate about Sen. Claire McCaskill? Could it be because her husband fueled her rise with "affordable" housing deals essentially paid for by taxpayers? Have they gone bust? Just speculating here. Could it be because he was her Tony Rezko/Valerie Jarrett much as they were to our President Barack Obama?

Could it be because there was vote fraud by ACORN, heavily involved with her campaign, much as they were with our President Barack Obama's, and ACORN is set to receive billions in federal largesse for just about everything under the sun?

Could it be because they see the Dem Chicago Way chicanery and incompetence in their neighboring state of Illinois, and bankruptcy for them and the country, heading Michigan and California way?

Could it be because Sen. Claire McCaskill is one of our President Barack Obama's biggest backers, going to bat for him on the now let me be clear-ly failed stimulus program? Could it be because her staff blew off tea party citizens at her constituent office, refusing to meet with them and calling the police? Could it be because she and our President Barack Obama are trying to take over their lives and end of life decisions through a massive Big Brother healthcare regime that will deny and ration care and cost billions more?

Could that be it?

Could that be why Sen. Claire McCaskill didn't even have the guts to show at a town meeting in her own state?

P.S. A tale from New Jersey. "He knew everybody". Reihl World View.

Peterson Under Fire

7th district Minnesota Dem Congressman Collin Peterson feeling the heat on his ill-judged remark. Front page, Fargo Forum:

State GOP Chairman Tony Sutton called it “really bizarre,” but said the comment should help the GOP recruit candidates to run against Peterson.

The veteran congressman said his constituents know him and know they can reach him when needed.

But not at a town meeting, apparently.

The next election is more than 15 months away, but Sutton said there is no doubt Monday’s quote will energize western Minnesota Republicans.

“I have got a feeling it is going to be a lot better,” Sutton said of candidate recruitment. “I think Collin Peterson has gotten by and says, ‘Ah, shucks, I am one of you’ ” when in his 7th Congressional District, but then votes with liberals in Washington. Sutton said Republicans have done a poor job of telling voters that in the past, but “we are not going to let it happen again.”

Some Republicans already are considering challenging Peterson, the GOP chairman said.

Time for a change. Yes we can.

Go Big Red

The assertion of the 10th amendment spreads to another state, this time spearheaded by three lawmakers in Nebraska. The Omaha World-Herald:

The senators are working on resolutions asserting Nebraska's sovereignty under the 10th Amendment of the Constitution.

Nebraska wouldn't try to secede from the union under their proposals but would go on record objecting to federal laws that they say go beyond constitutional authority.

“My goal here is to shine light on the fact that the federal government is overstepping its bounds,” said State Sen. Tony Fulton of Lincoln. “We would be making a statement on behalf of Nebraska.”

A similar measure passed in South Dakota, while in neighboring Iowa Democrats have kept it stuck in committee so far. As many as 30 states have passed or are considering such action, in the face of unprecedented federal incursion (or planned--look at the cap and tax bill) into Americans' daily lives. ObamaCare is the latest big government approach setting off alarms. The efforts are not just confined to Red States--though with a grassroots movement like this, some of the Blues may turn in 2010.

P.S. ObamaCare Tea Party protest in Missouri. Gateway Pundit. HT Dan Riehl.

Time for a town meeting

Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) made what most would consider a remark of bipartisan comity, but how will it play back home?

Out-party politicians have long had to deal with conspiracy theorists on their side — the people who think that the Clintons killed Vince Foster or that the Bush administration helped orchestrate the Sept. 11 attacks.

“Twenty-five percent of my people believe the Pentagon and Rumsfeld were responsible for taking the twin towers down,” said Rep. Collin Peterson, a Democrat who represents a conservative Republican district in Minnesota. “That’s why I don’t do town meetings.”

If you can't handle a town meeting you shouldn't be in Congress.

Dem Culture of Corruption

Sens. Conrad and Dodd knew they were getting sweetheart loans from entities they were regulating. It's the housing sector again. You know, at the core of much of what killed our economy. HT Marathon Pundit.

More at Say Anything.

P.S. Malkin's new book out, called...Culture of Corruption.

--crossposted at BackyardConservative

Base and Battleground

Who hails from here? The Republican 2012 candidates (2010 bounce back again?). Romney, no, well he could claim Utah by the Olympics, but he'll have to make his case in Iowa again. His needed know-how on the economy is a win for him--healthcare, he'll have to explain what happened in Massachusetts. Granted, the Dems and Gov. Patrick took it too far. I think Huckebee has a ceiling on his appeal, limited mostly to the south, but we'll see. Jindal inherits a hundred years of Dem hegemony in Louisiana--but he's made progress at last, GOP style. Will it translate to other states? Pawlenty governs in blue-leaning Minnesota, yet he held the line on spending--and outsmarted the Dems. And it's Sarah America now, out from Alaska--her accent is a natural in the Middle Coast.

So there you are. The Middle Coast is base and battleground both.

A tea party or two along the way won't go amiss.

Who better to chronicle what is at stake than us Middle Coasters? :)

Are we there yet

I grew up in northern Wisconsin and spend a lot of summertime in Minnesota. My mom's from Nebraska, I raised my family in Illinois, and one of my kids went to school in Texas. I have a great affection for this part of the country and want to think some more about what people think around here.

So here are some links to people who mostly come from the Middle Coast. For starters.

P.S. Yes, there are a few outliers in the blogroll.