October 2009 – Page 22 – Shall Not Be Questioned

WTF in Wisconsin

Wisconsin’s tourism lobby group is changing their name. Why? Because when it was named the Wisconsin Tourism Federation 30 years ago, the acronym WTF didn’t have any meaning. Nowadays…well, you read the interwebz.

As I told JR Absher, this is really too bad. If they were really innovative, they could have embraced the acronym when appropriate. I could see some great ad campaigns to attract younger visitors playing off the name. Or, since they are a lobby coalition, if a piece of particularly egregious legislation was introduced, it would be a fun political ad that would get the attention of legislative staffers if used properly.

Tim Pawlenty Steps up for 2012

According to Jim Geraghty, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is really stepping up the pace on potential presidential ambitions. He has signed many top GOP consultants and created a new PAC to support other GOP candidates across the country this year and next year. Jim does have a few concerns about Pawlenty’s charisma, and it’s a fair concern given the rhetorical skills of Obama.

All good stuff, of course, but I was reminded of a conversation I had a few months ago with a top strategist for one of the Republican candidates of last year. He liked Pawlenty, but said he couldnâ€™t describe himself as a believer: â€œDo you see Tim Pawlenty being the guy who gets up on a stage in fall of 2012 and rhetorically wins an argument against Barack Obama? No matter how hard I try, I just canâ€™t see it.â€

As he points out, as much as Hillary and the GOP mocked his lofty rhetoric and pointed out the real problems of policies, Obama still won the primary and the election.

During the 2008 election, Gov. Pawlenty came to Pennsylvania as a surrogate on sportsmen’s issues. He warned about Obama’s history on gun rights when he helped kick off the Sportsmen for McCain coalition.

Whether you’re a gun owner or not, Pawlenty would be a huge improvement over the HopeChange we’ve got now.

First Amendment Case for Defeating a Gun Ban?

Dave Kopel makes a pretty compelling case that bans on guns in churches favors some religions over others, and that there may be an establishment clause case to make against them.