The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Baseball Crank Explains It All

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | No Comments

– by Wombat-socho

Well, as much as anyone can explain what’s going on with the GOP and its primary voters this election season. I readily admit I’m a sucker for blog posts like these; everybody who writes books about our party seems to be either a) an insider with an axe to grind or b) a Democrat who would love nothing better than to use that axe on our necks, but the Crank is one of us slobs in the trenches, and seems fairly honest in his assessment of not only the candidates, but the other players in the primary game: the conservative commentariat, old pols like Bob “Viagra!” Dole, and radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh.


What The Republican “Establishment” Really Means
This post should be read first. It’s long, but well worth your time when it comes to understanding why nothing ever seems to change on Capitol Hill and who the players are in the GOP -not to be confused with the conservative movement, as you all should be aware by now, although that distinction is becoming increasingly meaningless as RINOs have become a threatened species within the GOP.


Establishments And Our Money: A Response To Avik Roy
This is a follow-on to the first post, answering the criticisms of sometime National Review writer Avik Roy, who appears to have taken the Crank’s comments excessively personally.

By and large, the two essays explain why the Tea Party and other populist chunks of the GOP base aren’t meekly falling into line behind Mitt Romney; as Billy Joel sang so long ago, it’s a matter of trust, and when it comes to Mitt, there ain’t none. This is something the people so eager to tear down Newt Gingrich don’t understand. His supporters know about his record. It’s been factored in, and at this point they just don’t care. They want a bomb-thrower, an iconoclast, a Samson in the Temple, and so far Rick Santorum just hasn’t been mad, bad, and dangerous to know enough. And every time Ann Coulter or the NR crowd tees off on Newt, it just hardens peoples’ resolve to stick their thumb in the eye of the Establishment. Because what goes around comes around, and it’s a lot more fun to dish it out than it is to sit back and take it.

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Category: Baseball Crank, Election 2012, Republicans

The Tea Party Is Going To Rock 2012

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | 8 Comments

by Smitty

Mark Mekler makes a fine guest, making the case for the bottom-up strategy, instead of the drop-in, Ross Perot actor.

The notion that the restoration of the country is a long-term project is blindingly obvious. However, my gut is that, as things neck down to the August GOP convention, the Tea Partiers are going to become really, really energetic, and cause much fearful wetness in the Lefty midriff.

The two lawyers bandy about the idea of a constitutional convention, and view the country’s situation as too dire for the necessary reflection of a convention in the near future, but not insurmountable.

All the Eeyores need to watch this clip.

The only obvious flaw in this interview is the failure to mention this blog. Next time, Prof. Reynolds.

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Category: Tea Party

I’ve Got Your ‘Precise’ Right Here, ‘Gentleman’ Jim Moran: Patrick Murray For Congress!

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | 1 Comment

by Smitty

Via Big Government we have a throwaway remark from senior #OccupyDC member #OccupyResoluteDesk:

On Tuesday night, the president spoke in no uncertain terms: “Send me a bill that bans insider trading by Members of Congress, and I will sign it tomorrow,” he said. “Let’s limit any elected official from owning stock in industries they impact.” The remarks were cause for celebration for Breitbart editor Peter Schweizer, who authored a 2011 book exposing Congressional insider trading, and 60 Minutes, which ran a widely-viewed segment based on his book (CBS quicklyuploaded the portion of the speech last night). But early reactions from Congress (Republicans and Democrats) shouldn’t encourage much optimism.

And what did the star of Chapter 2 of Throw Them All Out have to say to BHO’s piffle?

“Easier said than done is my reaction,” Democratic Rep. Jim Moran tells Politico’s Manu Raju on the subject of restricting officials from owning stock they could impact. “Unless you are fairly precise about it, you can conceivably influence almost any corporation.”

You’ve got to go, Mr. Moran. You view Americans as sheep, and yourself as the shearer, judging by your actions.

Patrick Murray for Congress

Previous/More Antics:

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Category: Patrick Murray, Virginia

CPAC-in’ Heat

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | 5 Comments

by Smitty

Yesterday I confirmed that I can safely take a couple of days off of work, and signed up for CPAC. This will be my third in four years, having had the reasonable excuse last year that I was enjoying a Navy appreciation tour with the Army last February in Kabul.

The first year, 2009, I was wandering around in a fog. Stacy was still on Blogger at the time, and there was still a glimmer of hope that the Faux Moderate Obama who’d won the election and just sworn in might hang around for a few years of vaguely Clinton-esque suckage.

Somehow I heard that Evan Sayet would be at Heritage, doing a follow-up to this excellent talk:

Stacy and I went to Heritage, and I got an autograph in his book.
I also got recruited into blogging. By 2010, I was a Ron Burgundy-esque ‘big deal’. We were getting our doggone blog on. And then there was a side trip to the ‘Stan.

That trip was broken up by the arrival of the World’s Youngest Blogger:

I bring up Niklas because we’re planning to bring him down for at least a fly-by. Looking at the speaker list, I hope to get him a photo op with Sarah Palin. The other attendee that I’m looking forward to meeting is Daniel Hannan. I am jealous of Niklas already, as he is far better looking than I. No, I’m actually not jealous. Rather, I’m motivated to work hard at fixing the cesspool of American politics, so that, when he’s my age, he has no legitimate cause for anger at my for not trying harder.

One other side project for this CPAC: a bite or a beverage with Tabitha Hale and Stacy McCain. As a Christian, I have a natural instinct toward being the peacemaker. I’m not exactly sure where the tension is, but I hope to be a vessel of improvement.

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Category: CPAC

LIVE AT FIVESIX – 01.27.12

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | 6 Comments

– compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
SecDef Panetta Defends Leaner Military


SecDef Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs Chair General Martin Dempsey



Eight Army brigades, six Air Force fighter wings, seven cruisers on the chopping block; Senator Lieberman (I-CT) accuses Administration of putting budget first instead of considering defense needs


What CNN Thinks You Should Be Thinking About Last Night’s Debate
Mitt and Newt slap-fight about investments and immigration, RON PAUL! and Rick Santorum try to keep the debate focused on issues

Dems Playing Obama’s Run-In With Brewer For Advantage Among Hispanics
Obama says encounter blown out of proportion



POLITICS
Is Gingrich’s Space Vision Realistic, Or Grandiose?

"Endeavour" launches on STS-134

Space industry execs dubious, Brevard County pols and voters more enthusiastic about going back to space

GOP May Block Nominees In Response To Obama’s Illegal Recess Appointments

Oil & Gas Industry Opposes Use Of “Fracking” As Word

SecState Clinton Ready To Retire From Politics

Environmentalists Sue To “Protect” Whales From Sonar


Care For Aging Inmates Puts Strain On Prisons

Detroit Democrats Told To Vote For Ron Paul In GOP Primary


Bob Dole: Picking Gingrich Would Lead To “Sweeping Victory” For Obama



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Dollar Falls To One-Month Low As Fed Extends Rate Target To Late 2014
EU, IMF Press Greece On Reforms Before Money Flows
European Banks Face Dilemma Over Cash Pile
Wall Street Stumbles Amid Mixed Earnings, Economic Data
Starbucks Earnings Rise, Retail Products Log Growth
Samsung 4Q Profit Rises On Smartphone Sales
Parent Of Obama-Backed Battery Company Goes Bankrupt
Taxpayers Still On The Hook For $133 Billion From TARP Bailouts
Oil Prices Heed The Fed, Ignore Iran; NY Crude Ends The Day Just Under $100
Gold Soars To 7-Week High On Fed Rally
Twitter May Censor Tweets In Individual Countries
Nintendo Sees Profit Next Year, But Shares tumble
Motorola Sells 200K Tablets, Reports $80 Million Loss
Google Announces Privacy Changes Across Products; Users Can’t Opt Out
Megaupload Closure Forces Cloud Storage Questions
Four Signs That WebOS Is On The Right Track
Why A Cheap iPad Won’t Threaten The Kindle Fire



SPORTS
QB Peyton Manning, Owner Jim Irsay Trade Jabs Over Indianapolis Colts

Colts owner Jim Irsay

Irsay calls injured QB “a politician”

Clippers Rally Past Grizzlies 98-91

Celtics Erase 27-Point Deficit, Beat Magic 91-83

Buccaneers Hire Rutgers’ Schiano As Head Coach

Alfredsson Loads Up On Ottawa Teammates In NHL All-star Fantasy Draft

#25 Wisconsin Upsets #16 Indiana 57-50


NASCAR Officials Hoping To Build On 2011

England All Out For 327, Take 70-Run Lead Over Pakistan In Second Test

Nationals Sign Reliever Brad Lidge To One-Year Deal



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Demi Moore Released From Hospital As Ashton Returns To L.A.

Demi Moore and her estranged husband

Maybe the nitrous wasn’t the only problem.
Kutcher “Deeply Concerned” About Demi

Epstein From “Welcome Back Kotter” Dead At 60

Drew Carey & Fiancee Call Off Engagement





Pat Sajak: Vanna And I Used To Do “Wheel Of Fortune” While Drunk

Russell Brand Already Seeing Other Women, Trashing Katy Perry

Beyonce & Jay-Z Choose Oprah As Baby’s Godmother

Somber Heidi Klum Still Wearing Her Wedding Ring



FOREIGNERS
UNSC To Discuss Arab Plan For Syria
Teheran Ready To Sit Down For Nuke Talks, Says Ahmadinejad
Car Bomb Kills 28 In Baghdad
Costa Offers 11,000 Euros Compensation To Concordia Passengers
PM Says New Guinea Army Mutiny Over; Soldiers Demanding Pardon
Embarrassment For Australian PM After Aboriginal Protests Turn Violent; Australian Flag Burned
ROK Allows Private Group To Deliver Food To Norks For First Time Since Kim Jong-Il’s Death
Norks Threaten To Punish Mobile Phone Users As “War Criminals”



BLOGS & STUFF
Newsmax: Mike Reagan, Rush Limbaugh Blast Romney
NRO Corner: “An Empty Bucket In His Hand”
Gateway Pundit: SHOCK & MAUL: Mittwits, Republican Elites Bomb Newt
Weasel Zippers: Pelosi Says “It’s Just My Instinct” That Newt Won’t Be President
Maggie Gallagher: The Gingrich Friend Deficit
Powerline: Yahoo News Casually Smears Conservatives
Fausta’s Blog: Reuters’ Rubio Hit Piece Blown To Pieces
Hot Air: In Case You Care, Barney Frank Is Engaged
Atlas Shrugs: The Motive Of The Pro-Jihadi Media Is Very Clear


SOTD: Let The Music Do The Talking

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Category: Live at Five

CNN JACKSONVILLE FLORIDA DEBATE

Posted on | January 26, 2012 | 61 Comments

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.
CONCLUSION 1 a.m. ET: Excuse my long absence. Had to go to the spin room for the post-debate action, then write a column for The American Spectator. I was hesitant to say this earlier but, did Rick Santorum kick butt or what?

Because I wanted to believe he did well, I felt that maybe I was prejudiced. But then I saw Guy Benson’s post at Townhall:

What a night for the former Pennsylvania Senator … he definitely made a very serious case that he might be the best Not Romney in the race.

No argument. Newt was off his game tonight, and I’d score Romney the winner — that is to say, I think Mitt did what he needed to do to win here Tuesday. But I suspect a lot of people watched that debate and said to themselves, “Hey, that Santorum kid’s pretty feisty.”

9:30 p.m. ET: Newt talks about the “Romney attack machine,” defends his claim to being a latter-day Reagan.

9:25 p.m. ET: Admit it: Rick Santorum won the Best Wife competition.

9:16 p.m. ET: Rick Santorum wants Marco Rubio in his cabinet. Newt wants Rubio as VP. Romney recites the names of lots of Latinos who haven’t self-deported.

9:12 p.m. ET: Mitt Romney: “We’re insisting on personal responsibility.” This is good for Santorum to be able to go back-and-forth with Romney, thus ending the Mitt-and-Newt Show. Also, he name-checked Scott Plakon.

9:07 p.m. ET: Rick Santorum slams Newt and Mitt for their records on health care.

9:03 p.m. ET: Lynn Frazier is unemployed and wants health insurance. Ron Paul blames government for inflating medical costs.

8:59 p.m. ET: Newt accuses Santorum of being “cheap.”

8:58 p.m. ET: Mitt says, “You’re fired.” Accuses Newt of pandering. “We’ve got to say no to this kind of spending.”

8:57 p.m. ET: Newt warns of Chinese dominance of space.

8:55 p.m. ET: Ron Paul wants to send Newt to the moon.

8:50 p.m. ET: Question about NASA and manned space flight, because all politics is local. And galactic.

8:49 p.m. ET: Wolf Blitzer asks Ron Paul, age 76, if he’s willing to release his medical records. Paul makes a joke about age discrimination.

8:48 p.m. ET: Ron Paul talks about currency. Sound money.

8:46 p.m. ET: Santorum on 28% top tax rate: “If it’s good enough for Reagan, it’s good enough for me.” Get’s a laugh with, “I wish I made as much money as Mitt Romney.”

8:45 p.m. ET: Newt says he’s “the opposite of Obama.”

8:43 p.m. ET: More talk about personal finances. Newt gets caught trying to say he didn’t say what he said. Newt’s in a hole, but won’t stop digging.

8:36 p.m. ET: Ron and Rick get to have their say about Fannie and Freddie. Santorum draws cheers for demanding that they “focus on the issues.”

8:34 p.m. ET: Newt defends himself ably against the lobbying charge. But what was he paid $1.6 million for?

8:33 p.m. ET: Mitt stings Newt on mutual funds, draws cheers.

8:31 p.m. ET: Newt says Romney “has been attacking me inaccurately, and he knows it.” It’s getting nasty again.

8:30 p.m. ET: Mitt Romney gets a question about Fannie and Freddie, and starts talking about Newt Gingrich.

8:28 p.m. ET: Now it’s the Ron and Rick Show. These guys really don’t like each other.

8:25 p.m. ET: Rick Santorum talks about Honduras, accuses Obama of supporting Marxists in Latin America.

8:24 p.m. ET: A lady named Vasquez has a question about trade with Latin America. Ron Paul loves him some free trade.

8:22 p.m. ET: It’s turning into the Mitt-Newt Show again.

8:21 p.m. ET: Newt wants everybody to learn English.

8:20 p.m. ET: Mitt: “Our problem is not 11 million grandmothers.”

8:19 p.m. ET: Romney: “I am pro-immigrant. . . . I want them to come here legally.”

8:18 p.m. ET: Romney accuses Newt of “over-the-top rhetoric,” invokes Marco Rubio twice, gets a big cheer from the audience.

8:17 p.m. ET: Newt Gingrich won’t answer a direct question about his accusation that Romney is “anti-immigrant.”

8:16 p.m. ET: Ron Paul panders to the Vaguely Incoherent.

8:14 p.m. ET: Mitt defends self-deportation. Did you know his father was from Mexico? It’s true. Look it up. Anyway, Romney’s answer is long and complicated.

8:12 p.m. ET: Newt is in favor of a “guest worker” program.

8:11 p.m. ET: On immigration, Rick Santorum wants to enforce the law. This is radical extremism!

8:09 p.m. ET: Candidates say a few words. Rick Santorum introduces his 93-year-old mom, who’s a senior citizen, kinda like Ron Paul.

8:04 p.m. ET: The candidates have been introduced.

8:02 p.m. ET: That was some good pre-debate hype, huh?

8 p.m. ET: And we’re LIVE!

* * * PREVIOUSLY (7:29 p.m. ET) * * *

We’re on the scene here at the University of North Florida where, at 8 p.m. ET, the four remaining Republican presidential candidates will debate on CNN. A few quick headlines for discussion:

Angry Newt Gingrich Attacks
Mitt Romney in Florida
– ABC News

Romney paints Gingrich
as mentally unstable
– Washington Post

4 Sentences: Why Tonight’s Debate Matters
– National Journal

Santorum guarantees he’s
a candidate ‘for a long time’
– CNN

I’ll be live-blogging tonight and I’ll back with more in a bit.

UPDATE: When I walked up tonight, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz was being interviewed outside the filing center:

And here’s video of the media walk-through at the debate hall today:

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Category: CNN, Debates, Election 2012, Fear and Loathing in the Sunshine State, Florida, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Republicans, Rick Santorum

Fear and Loathing: Oceanfront View

Posted on | January 26, 2012 | 7 Comments

TV satellite trucks outside the press filing center,
University of North Florida, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.
Carl Cameron was standing near the satellite trucks parked next to the press filing center when I got back from the media walk-through at Lazzara Performance Hall on the University of North Florida campus, site of tonight’s CNN debate (8 p.m. ET).

“Beats the hell out of Iowa, eh?” I said. The afternoon was warm and sunny. UNF coeds were bouncing past in tank tops and shorts.

“Yeah, lots better than Iowa,” Cameron said. “When are you guys going to attack Newt?”

“Attack Newt? What do you mean?”

“National Review went after him today,” Cameron said.

“I drove here straight from the airport,” I said. “Havent seen anything yet. What happened? What did they hit him on?”

So then he starts telling me about Elliot Abrams going after Gingrich as a disgrace to the Reagan legacy, Bob Dole going after Newt, et cetera, et cetera.  Cameron was standing there with George Bennett of the Palm Beach Post, and we talked a while about this and that, the amazing meltdown of Rick Perry and so forth, and then I excused myself.

Got in the silver Chevy Impala I’d rented at the airport — unlimited mileage — and drove down to Butler Boulevard  and over to the beach, turned left up A1A , cut over to 1st Street and found a Comfort Inn.

The clerk at the desk was extremely helpful and gave me a free upgrade to an oceanfront room. I asked her if there was a Goodwill store nearby, so I could buy a cheap sports coat, since the only coat I brought with me is my big winter overcoat. She gave me directions. I’m on the second floor, with a palm tree right outside my balcony. It’s nice.

I’ve got to cover the debate tonight, then tomorrow I’ve got to do a 1,400-word article for the March print edition of The American Spectator, so this might be headquarters for the National Affairs Desk until Saturday, when there’s a candidate forum near Orlando. A couple more photos:

Inside the debate hall at the Lazzara Performance Hall.

On the balcony of the National Affairs Desk headquarters. Now I’ve got to go get that sports coat at Goodwill, take a shower and get dressed in time for the debate.

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Category: Debates, Fear and Loathing in the Sunshine State, Florida, Newt Gingrich

Mitch Daniels Did Not Impress Me

Posted on | January 26, 2012 | 16 Comments

by Smitty

While I liked Mitch Daniel’s SOTU response, I fall off the wagon here, via Ron Radosh, emphasis mine:

The truth, as Daniels went on, is that Republicans “alone have passed bills to reduce borrowing, reform entitlements, and encourage new job creation, only to be shot down time and time again by the President and his Democratic Senate allies.” He and we stand for a pro-jobs, pro-growth economic policy, the kind that the blue-collar working-class (that the Democrats have abandoned) understand and will support. If we fail to do this, he concludes accurately, “there will never be enough public revenue to pay for our safety net, national security, or whatever size government we decide to have.”

Look, the simple fact that ‘there will never be enough public revenue to pay for our safety net’ is the only real point here.

Sure, you can’t just throw everyone relying upon entitlements under the bus either. I get that. But Daniels, and the Ryan plan, seem about as easy-cheesy as anything Bernanke is up to. These entitlements are non-hunting dogs, my fellow Americans. How about some bold leadership that, you know, briefly admits that these entitlements are not federal tasks, not affordable, and doomed to perpetual crisis. After such a moment of clarity, how about some ideas to re-distribute the power to manage destiny back to the citizens, over time, so as not to seem quite as radical.

Truth telling is a radical proposition, I know, but, if America is exceptional, it should act that way.

via Insty

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Category: Uncategorized

Stacy McCain Still Shines

Posted on | January 26, 2012 | 15 Comments

by Smitty

Marco Rubio is a GOP celebrity whose nod would be a real help in the Florida primary. Legal Insurrection points out that:

Neither Romney nor Newt deserve credit for helping launch Rubio.
That credit goes to the folks at Not One Red Cent and a handful of other bloggers who started backing Rubio in 2009, when no one believed.

And who was the original Not One Red Cent blogger? That would be the Rodney Dangerfield Of Our Dextrosphere, Stacy. If you catch up with Stacy in Florida, offer him some encouragement. Sure, being the RDOOD is a thankless job, so he should be well acquainted with the underside of the bus, but that doesn’t mean that the occasional bit of linkage, re-tweeting, or even tip-jar hitting would be unwelcome.

He may not always be right, but he’s never boring.

 

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Category: Legal Insurrection, Tea Party, Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy

Ruling Class Overlords Repair To Davos For Cthulhu Worship

Posted on | January 26, 2012 | 2 Comments

by Smitty

Protein Wisdom links Breitbart in celebrating the World Economic Forum in Davos. It sounds as though the Commies are realizing that if you subvert capitalism to the point that you destroy it utterly, you’re going to have to come up with a new source of crap with which to flood the world.

But if there is one thing Turbo Tax Timmy Geithner can do, it is crapflood.

This blog would like to point to The Protocols of the Elders of Cthulhu, a fine farce founded on Protocols Of The Meetings Of The Learned Elders Of Zion that ran a couple of years ago, but remains just as valid of as Obam’s State of the Union address today.

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Category: Economics, Protein Wisdom

Walter Russell Mead On Liberalism

Posted on | January 26, 2012 | 9 Comments

by Smitty

His article is long enough to merit a hard copy and several reads, but here is one of the meatier portions, emphasis mine:

There are several ugly truths that the country (and especially those states whose governments are bigger and bluer than the rest) must soon face. One concerns taxes. The debate today at the elite level is about whether the rich should pay more. Given the historic lows of marginal and capital gains tax rates, this is a debate of consequence for reasons having to do with fairness. But it distracts attention from a more fundamental political reality: Voters simply will not be taxed to cover the costs of blue government, and in most cases they will vote out of office anyone who suggests otherwise. That, at base, is what the Tea Party movement is all about. Voters with insecure job tenure and, at best, defined-contribution rather than defined-benefit pensions simply refuse to pay higher taxes so that bureaucrats can enjoy lifetime tenure and secure pensions.
Second, voters will not accept the shoddy services that blue government provides. Government must respond to growing consumer demand for more user-friendly, customer-oriented approaches. The arrogant lifetime bureaucrat at the Department of Motor Vehicles is going to have to turn into the Starbucks barista offering service, and options, with a smile.
Third, government must reconcile itself to its declining ability to manage a post-blue economy with regulatory models and instincts rooted in the past. We need to be thinking about structural changes based on properly aligned incentive architecture, not regulatory systems based on command protocols.

All three of these good points orbit the notion of information.

Taxes are so complicated as to be unworkable. Past some crossover income, one wonders if it is possible to do them correctly. Let’s get the question out there: Why must the 16th Amendment exist? If we can put a moon on the man, why cannot we devise a system whereby every state is billed by DC annually, and let the states compete for citizens to pay the taxes? Pardon my rampant capitalism, but there it is. The counterargument would be that striking the 16th Amendment and nuking the IRS merely moves the problem of funding the government. Sure, my plan makes government revenues likely crater. Bug; feature, who can say? But tax reform should be simplified, and the information about who lives where, for tax purposes, should be opaque to DC. The federal government has no business operating below the multi-state and international level.

Services should be located at the appropriate government level. In addition to emancipating our wallets, we absolutely must get the federal government out of education, retirement, housing, and individual health delivery. Government always will be a solution in search of a problem, and, like kudzu, bureaucracy needs some machete lovin’. The information age is about realizing that paying for a bureaucratic mob to shuffle from meeting to meeting, staring at PowerPoint slides all day (I’m not hinting that Dilbert is set in a building in DC, I’m telling you straight away.)

Economic management is a fine oxymoron, but what we seem to need is more economic liberty, and something other than the Federal Reserve. While Ron Paul may not be too electable, that doesn’t render his economic ideas less than 100% spot on. You can tell the potency of Paul’s truth by the studious way it is avoided in the debates. If Paul is wrong, our insane media clown posse owes us a thorough discussion of the topic and a rational examination of the various candidate ideas. Government’s appropriate role is referee, but too often it is suiting up and playing for its chosen side, as Schweitzer details.

Later in his article, formatting mine:

Finally, Americans want to believe that all four goals work together:

  • that defending their security,
  • promoting their prosperity,
  • preserving their freedom and equality and
  • fulfilling their global mission

are all part of an integrated package and worldview—and that the commonsense reasoning of the average American can understand the way the pieces fit together. They are, in other words, looking for more than a set of unrelated policies that accomplish certain discrete goals: They want those policies to proceed from an integrated and accessible vision that meshes with their understanding of traditional American values and concerns.

I hope Mead understands that rational thought, and the information that a rational mind can manage, are under daily assault from these Postmodern jackwagons.

When we have scientists and public figures trying to blow the global warming myth; the overpopulation myth; the raaaaacism myth; the truth/gender/family as social construct myths up the public backside, we face a much greater struggle than merely figuring out what shape Liberalism 5.0 is going to take. It’s a war, Mead.

 

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Category: Intellectuals

Departing for Jacksonville: What’s Up Today Down in the Sunshine State?

Posted on | January 26, 2012 | 13 Comments

My flight leaves Baltimore-Washington International Airport about 9 a.m. and arrives in Jacksonville about 1 p.m. By the time this post goes live, I’ll be on my way to the airport. But I’m troubled by the news reports indicating that Rick Santorum has evidently decided to leave the campaign trail in Florida after tonight’s debate:

Speaking to reporters here [in Naples], the former Pennsylvania senator said was unsure if he would be in Florida the night of the primary, committing only to campaigning in the state [Thursday and Friday]. On Saturday, he’ll head home to Virginia for fundraisers and to prepare his tax records which he plans to soon make public.
Santorum said this weekend will be the first time he’s slept in his own bed since Christmas. . . .
But the GOP hopeful has been seen strong crowds in the South, drawing more than 1,000 supporters to a Megachurch here. And his rhetoric suggests he has no plans to leave the race anytime soon.
“This race has just started. It’s a three man race. We’re going to be in this race for the long term,” he said.

OK, on one hand, this makes a lot of sense. Florida is a winner-take-all state, and if the best Santorum can hope for is third place (as polls currently indicate) it’s only logical that he would rather raise money in Virginia than to spend money traveling around Florida in a last-minute effort that might boost his final showing by a few percentage points, without making any significant difference in terms of delegates.

Nevertheless, it will cost him some potentially valuable media exposure to be off the trail, and a disappointment to his Florida supporters if their candidate doesn’t show up for a Primary Night event in Orlando.

Turning to more practical considerations, however, the campaign calendar becomes more complex and challenging after Florida. There’s the Feb. 4 caucuses in Nevada, expected to be a test of strength between Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. (Lots of Mormons and libertarians in Nevada.) I’d be surprised if either Gingrich or Santorum decided to make an all-out effort there, although if they could knock Romney down a few points, it might enable the Paulistas to deprive Romney of a win.

A better chance for Santorum would be on Tuesday, Feb. 7, when both Minnesota and Colorado hold caucuses. With two states on one day, Santorum could focus his strongest campaign effort in one (probably Minnesota, an industrial state with lots of Catholics), trying to score a stronger-than-expected finish, and leave the other to Romney and Gingrich.

Then, however, there’s a three-week gap in the calendar before the Arizona and Michigan primary on Feb. 28, and I’d expect Santorum to go all-out in Michigan: It’s home turf for Romney (whose father was the state’s governor 40 years ago), but it’s also the kind of blue-collar Midwestern industrial state that has been the focus of Santorum’s economic message. If by some miracle of dogged determination, Santorum could pull an upset win in Michigan — his second victory over Romney — the 2012 campaign would be a whole new ballgame. And that would be doubly true if, while Santorum’s got Romney pinned down in Michigan, Gingrich mounts a similar all-or-nothing battle against Romney in Arizona.

That kind of strategic hypothetical is getting way ahead of the game, however. Meanwhile, there’s Florida, where Allahpundit says Romney “seems to have stopped the bleeding, at least. . . . Looks like Mitt’s Freddie Mac attacks at the last debate were more effective than we thought.”

OK, but who is this “we,” Kemosabe? Never mind. From the standpoint of stopping Romney, Santorum’s reported pull-out from Florida is good news because it could help Newt hand Mitt another defeat, confirming that Romney’s “inevitability” is over. But Newt continues playing the “grandiose” game, generating headlines like this:

Gingrich Pledges To Establish
Permanent Base On The Moon
‘By The End Of My Second Term’

Yeah, he’s pandering for aerospace industry votes on the Space Coast, but those people probably don’t mind. It’s only somewhere down the line — when Romney or Obama cuts a TV attack ad talking about the outrageous cost of this space project — that Newt will be forced to pay a political price for spouting kooky sci-fi stuff like this.

UPDATE: Ruh-roh — Newt down by six in the latest Florida poll? High stakes in tonight’s CNN debate. Much will depend on how Wolf Blitzer runs the show. Will he have Mitt and Rick beating up on Newt? Rick and Newt beating up on Mitt? The moderators of these debates exercise an important influence over the proceedings, and some Ph.D. student in communications could get a dissertation of how this year’s debates have been stage-managed.

Late last night I got an e-mail from CNN’s lovely and charming publicist, Jennifer Scoggins, telling me I’m OK with the credentials for the debate. The question is whether there will be room for me in the filing center.

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Category: Election 2012, Fear and Loathing in the Sunshine State, Florida, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum
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