A tax by any other name . . .

In case ye socks need any further evidence that Orlando is still a tourism-based economy, I submit the example of the ongoing brouhaha over the so-called "Travel Promotion Act" that is not only working its way thru the halls of Congress but is also being debated just about everywhere in this little corner of heaven.

Essentially, if passed, the act would tack a $10 FEE (read TAX) on every international traveler who dares to book a flight to the good old USofA.

Then, our friendly (and oh-so-trustworthy) federal government will use 50% of the proceeds to mount an annual ad campaign with a projected budget of $200,000,000.

None of the news accounts I have seen or read seem to know where or how the other 50% is being spent. Evidently, it will be eaten up by the typical Washington wastefulness that has made Beltway bureaucrats the perennial darlings of their fellow citizens.

Now, I know folks like Mitt Romney have been trying to disguise TAX increases by calling them FEES for quite some time now.

But, since when is it the job of the federal government to pimp our tourist magnets all over the world?!

Note, the junior senator from Illinois (and heir apparent to John Kerry, Al Gore, and Michael Dukakis) has signed on as a co-sponsor of this piece of trash legislation.

Surprised?

Don't be. Most socialists live for this sort of tripe. Take money out of the private sector. Waste half of it in DC. Then dole it out as needed to increase the power and influence of the central government.

I say, let the market decide.

And, surprisingly, so does John McCain in this instance.

Keep all of this in mind come November, ok?!

Democrats: Are they dumber than concrete?

That was the actual heading to Mike Thomas 's column in today's Orlando Sentinel. Gotta love it!

Oh, and Mike, the simple answer is "YES!"

Here's the full text of his colum for ye socks who find this sort of political talk interesting:

I am not a political analyst. But I was around for the great Florida voting fiasco of November 2000.And I'm getting flashbacks with talk of a brokered Democratic convention decided by "superdelegates."

Consider this scenario, which no longer seems so far-fetched:Barack Obama goes into the convention having won the majority of primaries and delegates. But he doesn't have enough delegates to win the nomination.

And so the superdelegates -- a group of politicians and political insiders -- go into their star chamber and pick Hillary Clinton.

The fallout not only would cost Democrats the November election but would haunt them for many elections to come.

Now let's return to November 2000. Many blacks in Florida were blocked from voting when they erroneously popped on lists of convicted felons.

Many more who did vote had their ballots tossed out for technical errors -- for example, writing in Al Gore's name as well as punching it on the ballot. The problem was compounded by antiquated machines in rural counties.

More than half the rejected Florida votes in 2000 were cast by black voters. In its report, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights referred to "injustice, ineptitude and inefficiency."A subsequent analysis noted that nationwide, a million votes by blacks may not have been counted. This has been a rallying theme among Democrats.

In a speech to the NAACP during his 2004 campaign, John Kerry said, "Don't tell us that in the strongest democracy on earth that a million disenfranchised African-Americans and the most tainted election in American history is the best that we can do."

And so consider the fallout if eight years later, Democratic Party bosses basically do the same thing that they accused the Republicans of doing. They defy the will of the voters, including the vast majority of blacks, and rig the election for their candidate.

This system of superdelegates is a perversion of the very principles the Democrats pretend to follow.

How can you have a party that professes to be of the people when party bosses, who don't have to follow the will of the people, make up about 20 percent of the convention delegates. There is a public campaign played out in the various state contests and a secret campaign carried out on phone lines.

The Republicans are more democratic than the Democrats.

The backlash of a Clinton backroom win would be harsh.

John McCain would have the inside track on the independent vote. Those energized blacks who turned out with such passion for Obama would lose their zeal. So too would the growing number of young voters looking to the Democratic Party after eight years of George W. Bush.

The Democrats' only hope would be Obama taking the second spot on the ticket. But why should someone who came into the convention in the lead accept the Morgan Freeman role in Driving Miss Hillary?

Obama has won 19 state primaries and caucuses to 11 for Clinton. He also should win the next four primaries.

Yet many projections have Clinton ahead in the total delegate count because she leads among superdelegates.

If this dynamic continues to play out and Clinton wins the nomination, here are two words you can put in the bank: President McCain.

Mike Thomas can be reached at 407-420-5525 or mthomas@orlandosentinel.com.

GOP debate in Michigan

I know it was hard to catch the big tete-a-tete up in Michigan today, because the boneheads who planned it evidently thought 4pm on a Tuesday was a convenient time for most Americans to be sitting in front of their tv's.

Fortunately, they are replaying it later tonight on MSNBC. But, for you socks whose schedules or lack of cable will prevent you from catching it the second time around, here's my very astute and much-sought-after analysis:

As usual, Mike Huckabee looked like the adult sitting at the kids' table during a family Christmas dinner. The rest of the crowded field . . .

Mitt Romney - he's the GOP version of John Kerry--suave, Massachusetts politician with more money than he knows how to spend. We can't let this guy buy the presidency any more than we could allow Kerry in '04.

Rudy Giuliani - come on. He was without a doubt a good mayor of New York City. But the rest of the country is not the Big Apple. And, arguing with Romney against the line-item veto is the best he's got to offer . . . fuh-gedda-bout-it!

Fred Thompson - too little, too late. He may be an actor, but the Gipper he is definitely not. Go back to the small screen and I'll promise to campaign for you to win an Emmy or something.

John McCain - old, tired, uninspiring. His time has already come and gone.

Ron Paul - it's okay to be a conservative, even a libertarian who dresses up like one. But, you don't have to be mad about EVERYTHING. Too shrill. Tone it down.

Sam Brownback, Duncan Hunter, and Tom Tancredo . . . uh, whatever. You are, collectively, the Republican version of Dennis Kucinich.

It's a crowded field, yes. But, I love seeing Huckabee standing shoulder to shoulder with these guys. It makes the choice even more clear, whether the media wants to continue to ignore it. Mike Huckabee needs to be our next president.