Random NFL Thoughts (1/20)

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– I was rooting for the Saints, and it’s garbage that they lost. Drew Brees and Ben Watson are some of the good guys, not to mention VFL Alvin Kamara. That the pass interference call was missed cost them the game, and those officials should be repudiated.

– I’m not a big Rams fan, but they aren’t the Patriots (and they have VFL John Kelly).

– The Patriots definitely got more than their share of calls as well. The Chiefs more blatantly cost themselves than the Saints (the Dee Ford penalty was killer).

– The NFL OT rules need to be changed (at least for the postseason). My proposal is each offense gets a possession like in College ball, but start at the 50 instead of the opponents 25.

– Tony Romo is as good as everyone says in the booth. Watching Nantz/Romo right after Buck/Aikman put the later crew to shame.

Is Mazie Hirono the Worst US Senator?

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If not, she certainly is shooting for it.

The first time I heard her gain notoriety was when she suggested Kavanaugh’s judicial decisions could be used to weigh whether he was guilty of his assaulting Dr. Ford.  I’m not a Kavanaugh fan, but the idea that because a judge is pro-life, rules a certain way, etc makes it more likely they are guilty of sexual assault is absurd.

She most recently caught a lot of hot water for questioning a judicial nominee over his Knights of Columbus membership.  She even suggested he would have to drop his membership and recuse himself from any cases the Knights had a position on.  The Knights are a service group just like the Lions, Rotary, etc.  The idea that a practicing Catholic should basically be ineligible to serve based on their religion is garbage that would be more fit in the late 19th century.

In response to this, Ben Sasse (one of the better US Senators minus his disingenuous opposition to Criminal Justice Reform) introduced a resolution commending the Knights of Columbus and affirming they can serve in Government. It passed unanimously.  Senator Hirono, though, accused Sasse of pandering to the alt-right with this resolution.  Truth be told, the alt-right hates both Sasse and the Catholic church.  Senator Hirono’s viewpoints on the Knights of Columbus are more in line with the alt-right than Sasse’s.

2020 Democrats Overrated/Underrated

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It’s still a little early to say for sure how the 2020 Democratic Primary will look.  We can make some educated guesses at this point, though:

Joe Biden

OVERRATED: Biden simply has too much material for opponents to work with.  He might be likable now, but if he gets in the race and begins to look even remotely like a threat, he’ll get hit with ads on everything from segregation-era remarks to #MeToo problems to any number of other gaffes from over the years.

Cory Booker

UNDERRATED: Hillary Clinton won many of her delegates in 2016 by running up big margins in predominantly African-American districts.  Booker may very well have the best chance of emulating this path.  He also has a legitimate legislative win to his name in Criminal Justice Reform.  Many of the other US Senators on this list don’t have any accomplishments that major that stand out.

Sherrod Brown

UNDERRATED: He may not be as buzzy as some of the other candidates running, but he has major union support and plays well in swing states.  If electability is a big concern for Democratic primary voters, he will get a lot of looks (especially if Biden stays out or gets in and fades).

Julian Castro

EVEN: He can’t be ruled out completely, and he has a message that may play well.  It’s just hard to see how he will stand out with the primary electorate overall or attract the grassroots dollars of some of the other names on this list.

Kirsten Gillibrand

OVERRATED: She has too many past positions that are completely out of line with the electorate.  Her one area she stands out on is her #MeToo credentials from being one of the first to call on Al Franken’s resignation, but I’m not sure how far that will go in a field that may very easily have at least half-a-dozen female candidates.

Kamala Harris

OVERRATED: A career prosecutor is going to have a hard time going the distance in a Democratic primary in this environment.  She has some major criminal justice reform issues from her time in CA, and that could very well create more room for Booker in particular to consolidate the African-American and youth votes.

Amy Klobuchar

EVEN: She maybe gets some traction if electability becomes a big issue, and she’s shown substantive acumen in big moments such as the Kavanaugh and Barr nomination hearings.  If this electorate is more focused on ideology than electability, though, it’s hard to see a lane for Klobuchar.

Beto O’Rourke

OVERRATED: He had the benefit in 2018 of running against a national bogeyman.  There’s just not much evidence he’ll hold up on a national stage running against other Democrats as of yet.

Bernie Sanders

OVERRATED: Age will be a quiet problem with voters, and too many of his voters will scatter with more options than Hillary Clinton this time around.

Elizabeth Warren

EVEN: She’s put together a serious team and will reap the benefits of an early start.  She’ll be priced in as one of the top contenders, but all indications as of now are that she should be.

 

Big Week for Social Issues

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In a Republican Party currently led by a President who has managed casinos, committed numerous infidelities, and boasted of serial sexual assault, Social Conservatism has gone out of vogue.  A couple of causes that come to mind include rising secularism in the country and a backlash to orthodox theology on LGBT issues (I personally hold orthodox Christian views on such issues, though that’s a topic for another day).  Still, for a society to be Conservative in any meaningful sense of the word, these issues still matter.

There’s been a couple of big events this week pertaining to Social Issues.  First, the annual March for Life took place today in Washington D.C.  As several people have pointed out on Twitter, this took place in the context of a government shutdown where  Republicans institutionally fought to fund a border wall significantly harder than they’ve ever fought for pro-life initiatives and defunding Planned Parenthood.  Nonetheless, the March for Life is an important reminder of just how prevalent the pro-life movement is in our country, even if elites on both sides of the aisle reject it.  One quick critiques, though – In a forward looking movement trying to unite pro-lifers of all political orientations, centering the rally around Ben Shapiro and Mike Pence seems questionable.

The other major social debate was around religious liberty issues.  I’m not normally anti-elitist, but many cultural elites were expressing dismay at Karen Pence accepting a teaching position at a Christian school that forbids LGBT behavior among students and doesn’t hire LGBT teachers.  This is essentially the same policy many Christian schools all across the country to have, and this episode revealed just how out of touch many people are with the day-to-day life of people of faith.

Welcome

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Thanks for reading this blog!  Basically, I’m a political operative from Tennessee (though I’ve bounced around a few other places) who’s currently looking for the next thing.  I’ll write some about politics, but I’m sure I’ll also have thoughts on books, sports, faith, society, and who knows what else.

I’ll confess I’ve tried the blogging thing a couple of times before and slacked off.  I decided to pick it up again now, mostly because (a) I wanted a medium besides Twitter so I can expound on issues and think/engage in more than 240 characters, and (b) so I can hopefully become a better writer.  While I have a little downtime right now, it seemed as good a chance to try again as any.

Friendly discussion in the comments is welcome, and again, Thanks for reading!