Bluey Blog - Official Blog of Robert B. Bluey

Even Good Men Make Mistakes

My heart goes out to Tim Goeglein and his family. Goeglein resigned from his job at White House today after a blogger documented plagiarism in a column he wrote for his hometown newspaper in Indiana. More evidence turned up throughout the day; the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel said 20 columns from Goeglein included plagiarized material.

When I first learned of the news this afternoon, I was shocked. As someone who has known Goeglein for several years, the whole situation was extremely disappointing — a good man lost his job over something so foolish and our country lost a dedicated defender of first principles at the White House.

Like all scandals, this will come to pass. Goeglein is hardly the first person forced out of a job over plagiarism. He has made many friends in his time at the White House since 2001, and before that as a Bush campaign aide in 2000. Prior to his resignation, he was a special assistant to President Bush and deputy director of public liaison, often attending conservative gatherings such as Grover Norquist’s Wednesday meeting, and lobbying for events like Bush’s speech at Heritage in November. When I was at Human Events, I remember him saying how Vice President Cheney kept a copy of our newspaper on his coffee table.

The next few days and weeks won’t be easy for Goeglein, but I wish him well. I’m sure he’ll land on his feet after he pays the price for this stupid mistake.

All Dressed Up for the Press Party

Missy and I attended the 25th annual National Press Foundation awards last night at the Hilton Washington Hotel. It was our second year at the dinner; Heritage regularly buys a table at the black-tie event.

With us were my Heritage colleagues Conn Carroll (with wife Wendi), Paul Gallagher (with wife Cindi), Izzy Ortega (with girlfriend Josie Rote), Audrey Jones and Eric Heis. Photos of the group are on Flickr.

This year turned out to be much more enjoyable. I ran into friends Shira Toeplitz of Roll Call, Jackie Kucinich of The Hill, Mike Steel of Minority Leader John Boehner’s office, Tory Mazzola of Sen. John Ensign’s office, J.P. Freire of the American Spectator, Amos Snead of FD Dittus Communications, and Carrie Sheffield of the Washington Times.

links for 2008-02-29

• The Murtha Bash: Pork Crash - Ed Frank, Americans for Prosperity

  I’m happy to report that last night’s “Murtha Bash - Pork Crash” was a resounding success.

  (tags: pork earmarks murtha democrats congress)

links for 2008-02-28

• The False and the Absurd - Quin Hillyer, American Spectator

  As if the liberal establishment media isn’t already embarrassed enough by the bizarrely thin New York Times hatchet job against John McCain, now 60 Minutes comes along.

  (tags: karl_rove media)

• Election Priorities: Latinos vs. Blacks - Matt Sanchez, Human Events

  The multi-ethnic American unity that resulted from the “melting pot” of the 19th and early 20th Centuries has long-since cooled into the fuzzy landscape of identity politics.

  (tags: 2008 democrats republicans elections)

• Trying Terror Suspects: The Impacts on Security and Liberty - Michelle Bussenius, Hoover Institution

  The Pentagon has announced plans to try six Guántanamo Bay detainees under the provisions outlined in the Military Commissions Act, calling into question how to balance the need for increased security with individual liberties.

  (tags: terrorism guantanamo 9/11)

• Focusing on Healthcare and Budgets - J.P. Freire, American Spectator

  Attending Heritage’s bloggers briefing today, I got to hear Rep. Dave Camp, who is running for ranking member of the Ways & Means Committee and Rep. Paul Ryan, ranking member of the Budget Committee.

  (tags: health_care budget congress)

Republicans on Brink of Extinction in New York

These are hard times for Republicans in New York — and, unfortunately, it appears the situation might get a whole lot worse.

The surprise loss yesterday of another state Senate seat means that the GOP now holds a slim one-seat advantage in the upper chamber of the legislature. With Democrats already in control of the state Assembly and the governor’s mansion, this poses a big problem for the GOP when it’s time to redraw the political map after the 2010 Census.

Republicans control just six seats from New York in the U.S. House following three loses last year. And with moderate Rep. James Walsh retiring and speculation the Rep. Tom Reynolds might quit in the wake of financial scandal at the National Republican Congressional Committee, which he previously chaired, that doesn’t offer much hope.

If the GOP does lose the state Senate, allowing the Democrats’ to control the redistricting process, expect at least three seats to move to the other column. Having left my native Utica more than six years ago, I hardly have a good grasp of what’s happening to the party. But even from afar, I’m not liking what I see.

William F. Buckley Jr., R.I.P.

Conservatives across the globe were saddened today by the news of William F. Buckley Jr.’s death, a great loss not only for our movement but for the nation as a whole. Buckley, of course, founded National Review, which transformed conservatism and changed history.

My boss, Heritage Foundation President Ed Feulner, said it best in his tribute to Buckley:

Without Bill Buckley there would be no National Review. And without National Review, there would be no conservative movement, no Heritage Foundation, no President Reagan – or an America that’s recognizable today.

We’re featuring on The Foundry many more reflections on Buckley’s life. And there’s not a conservative blog or website where you can’t find others mourning his loss. One, in particular, to check out is RedState, where my friend Ben Domenech has pulled some favorite quotes from Buckley.

Myron Cope, R.I.P.

Myron Cope, the legendary broadcaster for the Pittsburgh Steelers, died today at the age of 79. Cope left a lasting mark on the Steelers with his screechy voice and famous Terrible Towel. Several video tributes of Cope are available on YouTube, including one from the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.

I thought this quote from the Trib’s video summed up Cope’s legacy best: “Nobody who ever watched a Steelers game and heard Myron Cope’s voice will ever forget it.”

links for 2008-02-27

• The Real McCain - David Brooks, New York Times

  You wouldn’t know it to look at them, but political consultants are as faddish as anyone else.

  (tags: mccain 2008)

• Speaker Pelosi, Speaker O’Neill and the Censoring of Dissent - Newt Gingrich, Human Events

  Speaker Pelosi and the House Democratic leadership must be feeling the heat.

  (tags: pelosi pork earmarks congress)

• Time to Change the Party - Patrick Ruffini

  If you’re a Republican operative who has worked in Presidential politics, possibly the defining moment of the past decade was nine years ago this July, when George W. Bush’s campaign announced a record $37 million fundraising haul for the first six mo

  (tags: republicans bush mccain)

links for 2008-02-26

• Obama’s Finance Ploy - Editorial, Wall Street Journal

  Barack Obama is promising to end partisanship in Washington, and here’s a place to start: He could stop playing politics with the Federal Election Commission in a way that could hamper John McCain’s campaign against, well, Mr. Obama.

  (tags: obama 2008)

• Obama targets NAFTA but says supports free trade - Jeff Mason, Reuters

  Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama assured U.S. trading partners on Sunday that he did not oppose free trade despite making increasingly critical comments about multilateral deals such as NAFTA.

  (tags: obama hillary_clinton 2008)

links for 2008-02-25

• Risky strategy that doomed Reagan in ‘76 could boost Democrats - Matt Negrin, Boston Globe

  As the 1976 Republican National Convention approached, Ronald Reagan’s campaign was facing almost certain demise.

  (tags: hillary_clinton obama 2008 reagan)

• Two Winnable Wars - Anthony H. Cordesman, Washington Post

  No one can return from the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan, as I recently did, without believing that these are wars that can still be won.

  (tags: iraq afghanistan war terrorism)