Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader reads in Dave Kopel’s article on NRO that yesterday was a good day for gun-rights advocates. This is a little news your Maximum Leader will celebrate.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader has just seen this on the AP News Wire.

AP: Kerry Calls Bush to Concede Presidency

John Kerry of Massacusetts. You are a good and noble man who fought a good fight. All Americans should be proud of you.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader has been wondering about these exit polls that are all over the news. Let your Maximum Leader recount what he knows to make sure we aren’t missing something…

The exit polls were not accurate at all in predicting the vote count. They were way off because their sample set was not good. Yet, when the media want to report about what motivated Americans to vote, the exit poll data is what is reported.

Humm… Your Maximum Leader figures this is because they have to report something.

It is the exit poll results showing that “moral issues” were a primary factor in many people casting their votes that seems to be depressing the Smallholder. As his minions know, your Maximum Leader and his good Minister of Agriculture go round and round on the who gay marriage issue. In the end, our different moral beliefs make our positions rather rigid. This is the root of the gay marriage debate. And it is one of the factors in this election.

Your Maximum Leader admits that the gay marriage issue may have given Bush an edge in a number of states. But it is hardly surprising that the issue is so polarizing. Religious people, who might otherwise favour taking small steps towards legal status for gay marriage, don’t like having a troubling issue forced down their throats by judges. Your Maximum Leader knows plenty of deeply religious people who don’t really object to the vauge concepts of “civil unions.” Indeed, your Maximum Leader thinks most people would just as soon let people do what they want - provided you don’t flaunt your lifestyle.

What most people want is toleration. But the terms of the debate are anything but tolerant. On the one side it is “The damned queers want to tell me what I have to believe.” and on the other side it is “The damned religious right are just being bigoted hate-mongers.” The two sides aren’t trying to find any acceptable alternatives, of which your Maximum Leader believes there are many.

Anyhow…

Your Maximum Leader must agree with the good Smallholder on a whole bunch of other observations. First, concerning the Poet Laureate’s predictions that the Democrats may be well positioned for 2008 or beyond. As it stands right now, your Maximum Leader doesn’t think they are well positioned. But he does think that if they can find a moderate midwesterner/southerner with some charisma. They could easily make a presidential race competative. Your Maximum Leader just hopes it is too early for anyone to be thinking seriously about 2008.

Frankly, the Kerry/Bush race was competative. Your Maximum Leader doesn’t understand anyone who says the outcome was somehow predictable. And your Maximum Leader doesn’t understand the constant complaints that this election was “the nastiest election ever.” Look minions… No one went and called George Bush’s or John Kerry’s mother a whore (like John Quincy Adams did of Andrew Jackson); and no one said that Bush was going to crown himself king (like Thomas Jefferson did of John Adams). Okay, on that last point there are some people out there who do think the Bushes are trying to take over the country. (The notion of which is laughable.)

Your Maximum Leader also agrees that this election outcome is not a referendum on the “neocon” agenda. While that was certainly a factor, your Maximum Leader wouldn’t paint with that broad a brush.

Also, your Maximum Leader feels he must clairify his position of an earlier post. Your Maximum Leader doesn’t expect a second Bush term to be “moderate” in the sense that the Smallholder is taking it. Your Maximum Leader hopes that as a lame-duck Presient Bush will try to find a few domestic issues (like Education) and reach across the asile and include Democrats in the process. If Bush wants to better his (as of yet very mixed) place in history - he’ll have to make some concessions to statesmanship over politics.

And that touches on the last point that your Maximum Leader would like to make. All this talk of “moral values” may be much more than what TV commentators are saying right now. The talking heads on TV might not get it. Your Maximum Leader believes that what Americans want in a President is a statesman. We only have politicians to choose from it seems, but deep down we want statesmen. When Americans think of our presidents we think of the great statesmen we’ve had leading our country. Washington. Lincoln. Both Roosevelts. Jefferson. Reagan. These men all had a sense of moral clarity that has nothing to do with religion per se. These men had a sense of what is right by Americans and what wasn’t. They had a sense of our national consciousness. They had a clear understanding of what it means to be American. George W. Bush did a better job of communicating that he had an inkling of that understanding. Your Maximum Leader is convinced that John Kerry has an inkling of that understanding too. But didn’t do as well communicating it. Do not misunderstand your Maximum Leader, he doesn’t believe that George W. Bush belongs in the pantheon of great presidents. But if he does some soul searching and realizes that he can move beyond politics he might surprise us.

Carry on.

Kerry should have conceded last night. The Ohio provisional ballots won’t come close to erasing a margin of over a hundred thousand votes.

Congratulations to all of our blogosphere friends who were rooting for a Bush victory.

Special congratulations to the Foreign Minister, who celebrated thusly:

“And what a vote of confidence for all of us Neo Cons out here!”

Unfortunately, Greg, I don’t think this election will end up being a victory for Neo Cons.

Or for Beautiful Atrocities’ “fiscal conservatives.”

I’m sleep deprived, and all the returns are not yet in, but I think this may turn out to be a watershed election. BigHo thinks that the Dems will be able to win in 2008. I disagree.

The number one motivating factor for voters was “moral issues.” Translated: abortion and gay marriage. Abortion has brought people to the polls. We saw a record turn-out last night. Normally this is good news for the Democrats. But the turn-out was people angry enough to primarily cast their votes in an effort to keep Adam from marrying Steve - something like 80% of people who cited moral issues voted for Bush. I think this was probably the difference in Ohio and Florida - and thus the election. Anti-gay initiatives and state constitutional amendments won handily.

Folks who voted for other issues tended to support Kerry (except on terrorism).

There’s a new sheriff in town. And he t’aint a moderate who will reach across the aisle like the Maximum Leader wants. And he t’aint a Neo Con like the Foreign Minister wants. And he certainly t’aint a fiscal conservative.

The new sheriff don’t like the looks of dem “nancy boys.”

The American people have spoken.

This a a catastrophe for the Democrats. This is not an issue amenable to education or persuasion. Anti-gay animus is something that derives from a gut level. With the rest of the nation split between reds and blues, Evangelical Christians led by folks like Ralph Reed are the fulcrum of power. They know it, and have demonstrated it to the Republican party.

The only hope for the Democrats on a national level is if they shift to the right on social issues. But that probably won’t happen due to the influence of the left in the blue states. And it probably wouldn’t work anyway; too many Christians are too uncomfortable with the moral drift of the country to ever trust the Democrats on this issue.

Fiscal conservatives have demonstrated that they will be loyal regardless of what happens. Was it Rove who said that “deficits don’t matter?” Fiscal conservatives either supported Bush after he spent money like a drunken sailor OR stayed home. If they stayed home, they have demonstrated that they don’t matter in electoral calculus.

From now on, Republicans ought to run entire gay-bashing campaigns. It is what America wants and the Democrats have no answer. Someone with more wit than I can come up with a shorthand phrase that refers to the old practice of “waving the bloody shirt.” They ought to put “protection of marriage” initiatives on the ballot for every congressional and gubernatorial election. Republican control of the House and Senate should widen every two years. I don’t see how the Democrats will make a serious challenge for the White House in the next decade.

I hope I’m wrong.

I expected and predicted a Bush win. I thought he would win on security issues or the war issue. I could live with that. The tsunami of anti-gay vtes surprised me. I’m very sad. Not because Bush won. But because of how he won. I had hoped for better from my countrymen.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader is giving a half-breath of relief. It appears s though George W. Bush has won a second term as President of the United States.

In case you missed the blow-by-blows…

Your Maximum Leader doffs his bejeweled floppy hat to Steve the Llamabutcher. What a trooper! Did you read his liveblogging of the election? Find part one here and part two here. If your Maximum Leader may channel Scotty in Star Trek II, “When other bloggers ran, he stayed at his post…” Bravo Steve. Yeoman’s work indeed.

As your Maximum Leader types these words it appears as though the President’s lead in Ohio will hold up. And the un-prognosticated states remaining look as though they will break (more or less) for President Bush.

Your Maximum Leader, at this point, is reminded of 1960. If minions will recall (from personal or historical memory), the election of 1960 was close. Razor-thin margin close. It came down to Illinois and roughly 100,000 votes in Cook County/Chicago. The historical record shows that most likely these votes were fraudulently recorded for Kennedy. Knowing that massive fraud likely occured in this critical state; but also knowing that he had overall lost the race to Kennedy, Richard Nixon conceded. He didn’t think that the nation should have to go through the bitterness of a long-contested recount/investigation. In your Maximum Leader’s opinion, this is one of - if not the - finest moment of Richard Nixon’s political career.

We all know the pain and divisiveness caused by a bitterly contested recount. Both the Gore and Bush campaigns are guilty of causing one in 2000. (And because this is his forum, your Maximum Leader will go ahead and say that he thinks that the Gore Campaign started it…) We, as a nation, need to move forward from here.

From what your Maximum Leader knows this morning, it seems almost mathematically impossible for John Kerry to pull out a victory in Ohio. Your Maximum Leader hopes that Senator Kerry will conceed and move on. Your Maximum Leader also hopes that Republican’s don’t gloat.

Any American can see what has happened. “Red States” got redder. “Blue States” got bluer. That is interesting. Your Maximum Leader will have to ponder it further. In order to govern effectively, President Bush will have to reach out to Democrats and try to include them in government.

This will be hard. It used to be that Republicans could reach out to old “yellow dog” Democrats (as we used to call them). These Democrats were of the socially progressive but fiscally conservative ilk. Alas, there aren’t that many left. Those Democrats have been replaced with socially conservative (and generally) fiscally conservative Republicans. The Democrats in the Senate and House tend to be more partisan and more liberal. That just makes it harder to do business together. Some Democrats will have to step up. As will some Republicans. The first six months or so of a Bush second term will be critical in setting the tone.

Don’t misunderstand your Maximum Leader. He is not suggesting that Republicans coddle Democrats. Nor is he suggesting that Democrats roll-over because they are a minority. What your Maximum Leader hopes is that both sides will try to find a few issues on which both sides can compromise. Bush can afford to do this as he is a lame-duck now. He can afford to spend some political capital to heal wounds. He needs to.

Now, it seems as though our friend Jeff at Beautiful Atrocities has put us on a list of “poor sports” thanks to a post from the very happy Foreign Minister this morning. Come on Jeff! We’re not poor sports. Can’t we be afforded just an outburst of enthusiasm early in the morning?

But Jeff does ask a rhetorical question that your Maximum Leader hopes will be answered in the affirmative. The question is: “Do you think we can find some Rpublicans in favor of fiscal sanity?” Damn, your Maximum Leader certainly hopes so. But the recent past doesn’t bode well for us…

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader posted a link yesterday directing minions to Sadie’s very well done post on Sex & Politics. Well, she is now giving us part two of the post.

According to Sadie your Maximum Leader’s type (the pseudo-benevolent autocrat goes like this:

A Pseudo-Benevolent Autocrat: You have two casual, non-exclusive dating relationships. As you are possessed with absolute power and flanked by a tightly knit group of despots, essentially you can do whatever the hell you want. Yet you linger, skillfully wielding this power with the intent of improving your subjects’ lives–whilst nourishing the ulterior, back-pocket motive of reinforcing your own authority in the process. Such a manner would be to provide generous gifts to both ladies, and having mindblowing sex with both of them shamelessly. Meanwhile, you assure them that even if their fellow serfs call them “sluts,” it matters not. Why? Reforming the entire social structure of the country allows you to recategorize the strata. “Slut” will then no longer be a derogatory term, instead it will enjoy a level of prestige rivaled only by trial lawyers. Eventually you persuade the ladies to bring you beer and nachos whilst lounging in a hammock, feeling enlightened and reading Voltaire.

Isn’t Sadie just brilliant? Oh yes. She is. Go and read the whole thing for yourself.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader will put forward a little suggestion to election officials everywhere… Paper ballots.

Your Maximum Leader knows that many trees may die to provide the paper for the ballots for 100,000,000+ Americans. (Couldn’t we require that all paper ballots be made from 60% recycled materials?)

Your Maximum Leader also knows that paper ballots fly in the face of all American’s love (and your Maximum Leader’s love) of technology. But if you stop and think about it, you can apply technology to reading the ballots accurately. Just because you are using paper ballots doesn’t mean you have to count them by hand as they do in Highland County, Virginia. (Population 2,400)

Your Maximum Leader thinks that the big loser in this election is the high-falutin’ ultra-cool electronic voting machine. They are expensive, prone to break down, and confusing to idiots. If you can use a pen and fill in a circle, you can vote on a paper ballot.

In your Maximum Leader’s precinct, we use paper ballots and mark them with a black or blue pen. It was so simple a 5 year old could do it. And your Maximum Leader empircially tested this. He took the Tomboy Villainette into the booth with him and instructed her which circles to colour in. She performed admirably.

Paper ballots. Think about it.

Carry on.

And what a vote of confidence for all of us Neo Cons out here!

Back to the trenches for a Cigar and a Scotch…..

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader, as is his wont, reports a wild boar attack in Douglas County in Wisconsin. The boar was estimated to be nearly 500 lbs. Great Jeezey Chreezey! 500 pounds ofwild tusked beast roaming the countryside.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader says go now and read Gregg Easterbrook’s Tuesday Morning Quarterback column on NFL.com.

And this week your Maximum Leader has a little bone to pick with the good Mr. Easterbrook. In the TMQ column, he argues that some subatomic particle research going on at Fermilab is so theoretical as to never be able to yeild a practical application. Easterbrook says that this research should be done with private funds.

Here is one area in which your Maximum Leader thinks Federal Dollars are appropriately spent. As best your Maximum Leader understands it, this highly theoretical research may not ever yeild a practical daily application thus private companies would not gain anything by funding this research. (Private foundations might however…) But the Federal Government probably should fund research that might not have practical application.

If anyone is really interested in your Maximum Leader’s thoughts on this, he’ll expand them later…

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader wants to give a little linky-love (since that is the only type Mrs. Villain allows him to give anymore to anyone who isn’t Mrs. Villain) to his newly minted Most Loyal Minion, Sadie.

NB to Sadie: Think this or this. You know what your Maximum Leader is insinuating you saucy girl you. They look great on you and are fun for your Beau. Plus it reminds your Beau of who his Maximum Leader is… Anyho…

Reading Sadie’s most recent post: Sex & Politics makes your Maximum Leader think that the Smallholder is definately a Democrat. He just goes on and on and on about how people need to pay more taxes. It would serve him right to have one girl go by the wayside to get the “righteous feeling.”

Your Maximum Leader awaits Sadie’s description of Pseudo-Benevolent Autocrat. Which is how your Maximum Leader would classify himself…

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader had a very nice lunch today with some friends (a politically very diverse bunch) and the subject of how and who votes came up. It is interesting to think of how voting has changed over the years in our colonies/republic.

Here in Virginia during the colonial period, 1607-1776, in order to be eligible to vote you had to be: white, male, over 21 years old, and a property owner (either a developed lot in a town, or at least 50 acres in the country). Also during this period, if you owned land in multiple jurisdictions you could vote in each of those jurisdictions. (Thus Geoge Washington at one point voted in no fewer than 5 Virginia counties in the lead-up to the revolution. They were: Fairfax, Westmorland, Stafford, Fauquier, and King George in the settled areas. There were more along the western frontier.) The theory behind this was the oft stated “Stake in Society” argument. You should only be allowed to vote if you have a stake in society (ie: property).

It is your Maximum Leader’s understanding that Pennsylvania, and New York had similar election laws (that is similar to Virginia) during the colonial period.

In the early years of the republic the property clause was removed. This was completed pretty much by the end of the Jackson presidency. As we all know, the race requirement was removed (more or less) after the Civil War. The Sex requirement after WWI. And by the end of the 1960’s the voting age had been reduced to 18.

Now, pretty much any adult can vote. (Except disfranchised felons.) And your Maximum Leader and his friends mused about if this was a good thing. At one point your Maximum Leader asked for the opinions of the table concerning voter challenges going on around the nation. Specifically that many Hispanics were being challenged on the basis of citizenship. (The Smallholder would have been proud of your Maximum Leader trying to mix it up.) The general consensus at the table was that is was sad that we’ve come to challenging voter qualifications. But surprisingly there was consensus concerning one of your Maximum Leader’s peeves.

You see, your Maximum Leader has never ever been a fan of “Motor Voter” laws. That is to say the laws by which if you have a drivers licence in your state you become registered to vote. Your Maximum Leader feels quite strongly that citizens should take the extra time and go and register to vote seperately from some other activity. (That isn’t to say that the facilities can’t be joined together - he objects to one act automatically leading to another.)

The Motor Voter laws may be responsible for many challenges. You don’t have to be a citizen to get a drivers licence. And knowing the inefficiencies of our motor vehicle departments, it is highly likely that many non-citizens who are entitled to drive accidentially become registered to vote.

The consensus at lunch was surprisingly aligned with your Maximum Leader’s opinions on this matter. We should require proof of citizenship before allowing someone to register to vote. Everyone at the table knew an illegal alien who had a drivers licence. We all speculated if those people would also go to vote today. And pretty much to a person we agreed that it was wrong of them to be able to do so.

We also discussed the commuter and voting. This was the more interesting discussion. In our area we have many people who commute the 50 miles to DC every day for work. These people get up before dawn to get to work, and come home after dark. They are not particularly “civic minded.” At least not civic minded in our community. Indeed, most of these people feel as though they live in “Northern Virginia” or “DC.” That is how they view their lives. We speculated if it wouldn’t be better for them to choose where they would like to vote. Many of these people have no idea what issues go on locally. And their primary concerns locally are roads being open to allow them to go to their place of business. They are concerned, to an extent, about schools. But they don’t have time to participate in school board hearings, PTA meetings, or other activities.

It is really something of a quandry isn’t it? Many many voters with no idea what is going on in their community. Of course, as any political science professor will tell you these people rarely turn out for state/local elections. So in a way they’ve removed themselves from that part of the process. And if reducing the number of ill-informed voters is a goal - these people are quite accomodating on their own.

NB: Your Maximum Leader has always hated the appellation “Political Science.” What the hell is wrong with “Government” or “ivics.” It really isn’t a scientific activity. Sure they want to use lots of “scientific methods” in doing research. But the field is really part of the Humanities. Would a good old fashioned name be so hard to bear?

But it made us wonder if it might be better to come up with some other criteria for where you vote…

And in case any of you all were wondering. At the lunch table we had 4 people. Your Maximum Leader (Conservative - trends Republican), one person claims to be independent (but trends Republican), one who claims to be independent (and votes that way, and one long-time Democrat (but one of the old-school Southern Democrats who are socially progressive - not liberal - and economically rather conservative as well as somewhat hawkish in foreign affairs). The vote tally at the table…

George W. Bush - 3 John F. Kerry - 1. (And the Kerry vote was the Independent.)

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader has decided that on a day where there will be precious little civility and culture to give you all an opportunity to get a little culture to brighten your day. Thanks to the Washington Post, your Maximum Leader has read a fascinating article about a new exhibit on Spanish Portraiture at the Prado. If you don’t care to read about it at the Post, you may go ahead and read (in Spanish or English) at the Prado’s site.

Your Maximum Leader loved the Prado when he visited Spain. Until his visit he had never really stopped to think of Spanish painters. But he left Spain with a deep appreciation and love of El Greco and Goya. Picasso’s cubist works are still a bit much for your Maximum Leader’s sense of aesthetics, but he can recognize them as great art. And just to give Picasso a fair shake, your Maximum Leader is quite fond of many of Picasso’s early works.

So, give yourself a few minutes away from the din of election day politics and read about fine art. If you have the inclination and means, get thee to Madrid and see the art for yourself. (And while there, have some tapas for your Maximum Leader. Or perhaps some broiled suckling pig… Yummm… Broiled suckling pig…)

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader just laughed and laughed while reading the lastest from the Crack Young Staff at The Hatemonger’s Quarterly. Money quote: “But we just can’t stand morons exhorting pinheads to vote.”

Brilliant!

Carry on

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader wanted to chime in on the whole Bill O’Reilly sexual harassment issue brought up by the Smallholder.

Your Maximum Leader agrees that the alleged behaviour of Mr. O’Reilly is repulsive. Your Maximum Leader further hopes that Mrs. O’Reilly chooses to leave Bill and get some lawyers to suck him dry.

That said… Your Maximum Leader feels he would have to point out that were Fox News to fire O’Reilly they (Fox) would be in the wrong and potentialy on the line for a big payout to O’Reilly. Why? Well, first off, Ms. Mackris never complained formally to Fox about the alleged behaviour. She went straight to the courts. So, Fox presumably hasn’t investigated any claim on their own, because none was ever made.

Next off, thanks to the settlement no one has done anything wrong. So how could Fox fire O’Reilly when both O’Reilly and Mackris are saying no one did anything wrong. A payment to one party from another is not legally admission of anything. And can’t be used as such. So, your Maximum Leader doesn’t think Fox is on the hook to do anything.

Your Maximum Leader will also quibble a little with Smallholder’s characterization of O’Reilly as a conservative. Your Maximum Leader has watched O’Reilly’s show enough to know that O’Reilly is not a liberal or conservative per se. Bill O’Reilly is a bully bomb-thrower. (And your Maximum Leader is not using “bully” like Theodore Roosevelt would.) O’Reilly is a self-promoter who doesn’t care who’s Wheaties he pees in to get attention. He has gone after just as many liberals as conservatives. He claims to be out to expose wrong-doing and lying. Which he does most of the time. But he is just after the big story in many cases and isn’t really easily identified with one or the other side in a political argument.

Now, there is the point of what hasn’t been said in this non-case. Ms. Mackris may have had tapes of O’Reilly saying things that could have gotten him in more trouble than he wound up getting in; but wedon’t know anything about the circumstances leading up to the tapes being made.

Who is to say that Ms. Mackris wasn’t a willing participant in some dallience at first. And then changed her mind and decided to get some money? Who is to say that she didn’t want O’Reilly to massage her large breasts in a shower at one point; but later feel wronged in some way and want revenge?

We’ll never know because both Ms. Mackris and Bill O’Reilly have signed a legally binding agreement. In that agreement they will both agree that no one did anything wrong and that both parties will keep their mouths shut about whatever wrong didn’t occur.

So it is an open question what did or didn’t happen. As is so often the case in a sexual harassment lawsuit. And ultimately that is why O’Reilly’s ratings will not suffer. No one will really know and both sides can honestly spin it however they want (within the confines of their agreement saying no one did anything wrong).

Carry on.