Bluey Blog - Official Blog of Robert B. Bluey

Not Your Average Driving Range

Missy and I just got home from a fun evening with our friends Maureen and Mike. We were at a driving range called TopGolf, the most high-tech golf experience you could possibly imagine. Each player’s golf balls have microchips embedded in them, allowing a computer at each station to track the distance and accuracy of every shot. I’ve never experienced anything like it before. And the best part is they serve beer! I can’t wait to go back.

Lincoln Chafee Resurfaces at Right Wing News

John Hawkins at Right Wing News says that “when Lincoln Chafee contacted me and offered to buy Right Wing News so he would have a built in audience for his new blog, I took it very seriously. Then, when I heard how much he was offering, well, all I can say is, you would have taken the money, too.” Let’s hope this is one really awful April Fools’ Day joke.

The Life and Times of President Gore

Phoenix Woman writes an amusing post at Firedoglake featuring a timeline of what things might have been like under President Al Gore.

The GOP’s 2008 Election Playbook

Karl Rove and his Republican cohorts have Rep. Henry Waxman (D.-Calif.) to thank for sharing with the world the GOP’s 2008 election playbook. Waxman’s crusade against General Services Administrator Lurita Doan has shifted focus to the role of Rove and deputy Scott Jennings, who gave a presentation about Democrat targets and vulnerable Republicans to GSA employees.

Waxman has posted the 28-page presentation on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee website — revealing the GOP’s early outlook on House, Senate and gubernatorial races. The Politico’s David Mark and Josh Kraushaar wrote about it yesterday, and I’ve compiled several tables below.

HOUSE: This first table includes the top 20 House Democrat targets that Republicans are eying for 2008. Most of these Democrats were narrowly elected in 2006 and are seen as vulnerable because they either faced weak Republican opponents or won in districts carried by President Bush (B/C ‘04).

The House Republicans in this table are on the GOP’s “priority defense” list. The candidates marked with an asterisk (*) may not seek re-election.

The following House Republicans are on the GOP’s “secondary defense” list. As noted by the many asterisks, several may opt not to run. Two on the list (Jindal and Hunter) are already pursuing another political office.

SENATE: This list includes the Senate Democrats who the GOP will target in 2006. A few candidates on this list might consider retiring. Others are seen as weak because they represent traditionally Republican states.

These Senate Republican seats are considered the most vulnerable.

GOVERNORS: There are three gubernatorial races in 2007 and several more in 2008. The states marked with an asterisk (*) will take place this year. This first list includes top Democrat targets.

This list includes the GOP’s most vulnerable governorships.

Bluey on Townhall: Transparency Takes a Hit

In my latest Townhall column, I write about the notoriously secretive Congressional Research Service, a legislative agency that’s decided it no longer needs to track pork-barrel spending now that Democrats are in charge of Congress. Sen. Tom Coburn smells something fishy.

The DisHonors Awards: 2007 ‘Winners’

Mary Katharine Ham has the video (below). The Media Research Center has a list of all the winners. Congrats on 20 successful years to Brent Bozell and all my former colleagues!

On My Radar: Friday, March 30, 2007

Last week on our trip to Ithaca, my wife told our friend Dan Tillapaugh how much she enjoys the animal pictures I post on Bluey Blog. I mentioned one shot of a squirrel that I particularly enjoyed but hadn’t posted yet. Personally, I prefer the scenic shots of the countryside or cities. However, my readers have spoken. I promise to use more animal shots in the future.

• Jack Murtha Calls For A Draft - Streiff, RedState
• Pork Goes to War - Thomas Schatz, New York Times
• Ten Myths About the Defense Budget - Baker Spring, Heritage Foundation
• A Dose of Reality On Health-Care Spending - Ed Feulner, RealClearPolitics
• Drop ‘one China’ policy - Charles Snyder, Taipei Times

• Poll: A Surprising G.O.P. Edge for ‘08 - Jay Carney, Time
• Who is the GOP’s pro-growth candidate? - Kimberley A. Strassel, Wall Street Journal
• Conservative think tank lends helping hand to Giuliani - William Douglas, McClatchy Newspapers
• As Forbes Endorses Giuliani, Giuliani Endorses a Flat Tax - Richard Perez-Pena, New York Times
• Bobby Jindal Saves Louisiana - Ben Domenech, RedState

• In 2008 It’s Ronald Reagan vs. Bobby Kennedy - William Kristol, Time
• Warning signs for the Democrats - Ronald Brownstein, Los Angeles Times
• Democrats Will Face Legislative Disagreements - Mike Franc, Human Events
• One man’s campaign against federal debt - Kyle Almond, CNN.com
• Call for blogging code of conduct - BBC News

John Edwards: Social Networking Addict

My good friend David All is quoted in this Washington Post article about John Edwards’ obsession with social networking sites. Well, it may not be Edwards himself who is addicted to Facebook, Flickr and 20-some other socnets. Turns out that it was his wife, Elizabeth, who is responsible for blazing a trail for the most tech-savvy presidential candidate.

Everybody Loves Jack

The Washington Post’s Susan Kinzie writes about Georgetown’s mascot, Jack, the Hoyas’ famous bulldog. I grew to love Jack when my brother was a student at Georgetown. We had several encounters with him on campus, the most notable coming at Matt’s graduation last May (above photo). For a better look at Jack, check out this photo.

Not All Conservatives Love Fred Thompson

C. Jane Stewart says the former Tennessee senator and “Law & Order” actor is no Ronald Reagan. In fact, she says Thompson is positioning himself to be John McCain’s running mate. Ouch.