Politics and other nightmares

A fair criticism of Chris Christie and Tim Pawlenty (praised in this post) is that it's easy for them to say the debt ceiling shouldn't be raised because they aren't in Congress and wouldn't have to deal with the consequences. But Sen.

If we're going to make "hate crimes" more serious than other crimes and give the perpetrators "enhanced" sentences, shouldn't we do the same for people who falsely claim to be the victims of hate crimes?

CARMEL, Ind. -- The owners of a Carmel deli who claimed they were the victims of a hate crime were arrested in New Jersey this week, accused of arranging the fire that damaged the eatery.

Keep your silly old gay-mariage disputes to yourselves, says the Supreme Court:

The U.S. Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it would not hear a challenge to the District's 10-month-old same-sex marriage law, marking a likely end to legal disputes over gay marriages in the city. But opponents of the law say they will press Congress to intervene, potentially requiring the city to hold a voter referendum.

What is it they say? A conservative is a liberal who has been mugged. A liberal is a conservative who just got arrested. I'm neither one of those, but . . .

No matter how much everybody talks about austerity and the need for state cutbacks, there will always be some who don't get the word or don't have a clue:

LINCOLN CITY, Ind. — Some southern Indiana lawmakers say they'll fight to keep funding in the state budget for a park amphitheater where outdoor musicals about Abraham Lincoln are performed.

Another Republican with a bad idea, state Sen. Jim Buck of Kokomo:

An idea is being bandied around the statehouse dealing with another tax which would impact people who live in one county and work in another.

It's called a commuter tax and proponents say it would help pay for roads, police and fire departments.

Richard Lugar thinks it would be a fine idea to bring back the Assault Weapons Ban:

If Republicans and Democrats sit together at the State of the Union address, consider it one more sign of End Times. If they're all more civil and polite, they'll just reach more bipartisan consensus, and that's usually not a good thing:

The Congress must allow the country to borrow more to avoid a debt default that would wreak havoc on financial markets and imperil the U.S. economy, Democratic and Republican lawmakers said on Sunday.

There has been so much speculation lately about Mitch Daniels' potential presidential run that the Mike Pence will he/or won't he has died down a little. But it's back:

An independent campaign to draw GOP Rep. Mike Pence into the 2012 presidential race is under way, with a veteran of the Reagan White House launching a petition drive on Monday urging him to enter the primary contests.

Go to hell, and take your civil discourse with you:

The left wants us to be civil — after being so uncivil for a decade.

Bite me.