Chicago Boyz

I have been copied on a round of emails among California Conservatives who supported McClintock to the bitter end and loathed Arnold — all this as if beating the Democrats was some kind of side issue. They are all, like me, pro-Life. They are not, unlike me, people who think that incremental gains and actually winning elections is an OK strategy. As news of Arnie’s win came in, I was copied on an email with the quip that we will now see if Arnold is the lesser evil. That frosted me. I responded as follows:

I saw one report that Arnold won with 51% of the vote. In other words, he doesn’t need the conservatives at all. He doesn’t have to answer their phone calls, ever. So much for McClintock’s principled stand. He and his (on current reports) 12% have proven their political irrelevance — a Republican candidate can take an absolute majority in California in the face of their active opposition. Wow. McClintock and his supporters held a weak hand and they played it very, very badly, doing a serious disservice to their (and my) cause. Reagan would never have made that kind of missplay. Anyway, despite the best (i.e. inept) efforts (de facto, intent aside) of McClintock and his allies to serve as spoilers and keep the Democrats in, they and their de facto allies Grey and Cruz have (thank God) lost after all.

Good.

Now, the Democrats face the miserable prospect of a hostile governor in our largest state, a ringing defeat and humiliation of their party and its governance, a crushing blow to the Clintonian triangulating model of politics, the need to expensively campaign there in 2004, materially enhancing the chances our pro-life president will be reelected. So, all is well.

———‘s grudging query as to Arnold being the lesser evil will be answered in due time. But that fact that any conservative can actually wonder whether Grey or Cruz would be “better” just shows that I have entered, since —- got me in on this round of emails, from my perspective, some kind of twilight zone where my view of things is totally out of step. It has been an interesting visit to this odd realm.

Arnold will be lots better than Davis. That is good enough. Be happy about it. Only two years olds cry if they can’t have all the cake, now.

Forget the LA Times controversy. That was a ginned-up deal and only mattered because lefty journalists, who don’t want Schwarzenegger to win, wanted it to matter. Look instead at Tradesports.com (click on “RECALL.ARNOLD”), where Arnold’s odds have been rising since mid-September and are now around 75%. That’s always been the real story. He’ll win and probably win big.

A brilliant post by Val on one of the world’s great political ironies: voters elect irresponsible leftist/populist spendthrifts who wreck their local economies, leading to mass emigration. The cycle repeats as the emigres foul their new civic nests by again voting for leftist/populist spendthrifts. Every libertarian or conservative resident of the U.S. sunbelt knows what Val is talking about. Lex probably has a learned explanation for this phenomenon, but I feel the same way about it as I do about Jews who are basically conservative yet always vote for Democrats: how can they have so little insight into the contradictions of their own behavior? Beats me.

I may be the last guy to see this, but the official trailer for the third and last Lord of the Rings movie is now out. My oldest kid and I just watched it. We agree it looks most cool. Stirring stuff, moving stuff.

The cavalry charge of the Rohirrim, one of my all-time favorite scenes in any book I have ever read, looks awfully good. The entire passage reads like the Song of Roland, or some genuine epic of the dark ages:

“Horns, horns, horns. … Great horns of the North, wildly blowing. Rohan had come at last.” “For morning came, morning and a wind from the sea; and darkness was removed, and the hosts of Mordor wailed, and terror took them, and they fled, and died, and the hoofs of wrath rode over them. And then all the host of Rohan burst into song, and they sang as they slew, for the joy of battle was upon them …” “Hard fighting and long labour they had still; for the Southrons were bold men and grim, and fierce in despair; and the Easterlings were strong and war-hardened and asked for no quarter. And so in this place and that, by burned homestead or barn, upon hillock or mound, under wall or on field, still they gathered and rallied and fought until the day wore away.”

Read it all.

Steve Mumford has a new column up. Just had a chance to skim it. Looks good. Good text, good art. (Thanks to Mark at Kaedrin for the heads up.)