Year: 2010

Randy Altschuler: ‘Scrap the Current Legislation . . . and Start Listening’

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Press release from a New York GOP congressional candidate:

“It’s obvious, the dysfunction in Washington continues. In the end, the healthcare issue will only be solved by common sense, free market solutions, like Tort Reform and the dropping of state barriers on the purchase of Health Insurance. Speaker Pelosi, Senator Reid and President Obama need to understand that the current legislation is Dead On Arrival. Congressman Tim Bishop should call on Speaker Pelosi to scrap the current legislation, stop playing partisan politics and start listening to the American people. The voters of New York’s 1st Congressional District deserve no less.”

Randy Altschuler is the candidate in NY1 (eastern Long Island) whom I interviewed during CPAC. Altschuler is a successful entrepreneur running against Rep. Tim Bishop, a Pelosi clone in the NY1 district that was reliably Republican for years until, in 2002, Bishop won with barely 50% in what was basically a fluke (the GOP incumbent ran a negative ad that backfired). Anti-war and anti-Bush backlash started early in NY1, and Bishop won re-election against weak opponents in 2004, ’06 and ’08.

However, since Obama’s election the pendulum has swung back in the other direction and conservatives in the district are fired up. Check out this huge Tea Party protest when Bishop held a town-hall meeting in June:

NY1 is clearly a winnable seat, and Altschuler is the kind of guy — a self-made businessman, not a politician — who can win in a year when “outsider” candidates are challenging the system. Check him out.

RANDY ALTSCHULER for U.S. CONGRESS

Yet Another Person I Forgot to Hate: So Many People to Oppress, So Little Time

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Hot Air Green Room contributor Sarjex announces that she’s a regular at the Lebanese seafood buffet, IKYWIMAITYD:

It’s been big fun reading the hilarious comments regarding the “Gay Air” revamp cartoon and was reading them out loud to TLG (The Liberal Girlfriend.) . . .
When I hear all the “social justice” queers talking about how hard it is to live in Texas or other places and the US is sooo oppressive I like to snort to them, “Try Iran!” . . .
TLG has been dubious at times with my involvement in Hot Air (I’m a regular chatizen during the Ed Morrissey show) once accusing me of basically lying to my friends during the show. She told me they wouldn’t be nearly so accepting if everybody there knew I was gay.

I responded in the comments: Continue reading Yet Another Person I Forgot to Hate: So Many People to Oppress, So Little Time →

Despite GOP Opposition, Obama Health Care Summit Finds Cure for Insomnia

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The Presidential Boredom Task Force is meeting today at the Blair House in D.C., with Democrats telling boring stories about sick people without insurance:

In their opening statements, Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid focused largely on the why of health care reform instead of the how. They told the stories of people struggling with their health insurance and didn’t do much to tie it back to how their proposals would make life better for those folks.

Which is a fair synopsis of the basic problem here: Democrats want to scream that the “system is broken,” and regale us with sob stories — “A killer whale with a pre-existing condition ate that poor girl’s deductible!” — in order to push through a plan that, (a) won’t necessarily fix these issues, (b) could harm the overall system, (c) is overwhelmingly opposed by voters, and (d) would cost umpteen kazillion dollars.

Allow me to suggest an innovative health-care solution that won’t require endless blathering on national TV:

KILL THE DAMN BILL!

Continuing coverage at Michelle Malkin, Hot Air and Memeorandum, for those with an insatiable appetite for pointless tedium.

Did I say “pointless”? Yeah, this is just a show, a prextext to give Democrats an excuse to ram through their plan under “reconcilliation” rules without any GOP input whatsoever.

Special Election FL19: Edward Lynch in the First House Campaign of 2010

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Of all the candidates making the rounds at CPAC last week, arguably the most important was Edward Lynch, the Republican candidate in Florida’s 19th District. Why? Because (a) Lynch has already won the GOP nomination, (b) most Democrats don’t yet realize how vulnerable this seat could be, and (c) it’s a special election scheduled for April 13 — making it the first U.S. House election of 2010.

As Lynch told me during a brief interview at CPAC, this April special election offers Republicans a chance to continue the momentum they’ve built with last year’s wins in Virginia and New Jersey and last month’s Scott Brown win in Massachusetts. Lynch was a big hit with conservatives Continue reading Special Election FL19: Edward Lynch in the First House Campaign of 2010 →

Re-Election ‘Slam Dunk’ for Mikulski?

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Just turned this up while researching the Senate race in Maryland, where I live:

Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (Md.) has announced her campaign staff for her re-election bid, which is expected to be a slam-dunk for the four-term Democrat.
Campaign manager Simone Ward, media consultant Mandy Grunwald and pollster Fred Yang have joined Mikulski’s effort, according to a release from her campaign.
Ward comes from EMILY’s List, where she served in the political department and helped elect Rep. Donna Edwards (Md.) and others. Grunwald, who will serve as the campaign’s chief communications strategist, is best known for working on Hillary Rodham Clinton ’s campaign for the White House. Grunwald has advised several Democratic senators in recent cycles, including Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire.
Yang and his firm, Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group, have polled for 12 senators and two Maryland Democrats recently elected to higher office, Gov. Martin O’Malley and Rep. Frank M. Kratovil Jr.

This is a year when all the political factors favor Republicans. So why is Mikulski — an ugly left-winger from Baltimore — considered a “slam dunk”? Two reasons:

  1. The GOP in Maryland is run by a bunch of clueless country club types; and
  2. The National Republican Senatorial Committee is controlled by the incomparably clueless John Cornyn.

If anybody knows the name of a Republican challenger to Mikulski, please let me know in the comments. God knows the Maryland GOP and the NRSC aren’t going to do anything useful here.

J.D. Hayworth vs. John McCain

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Thanks to Barbara Espinosa at American Freedom for highlighting this issue-by-issue comparison:

TAXES
John McCain — Opposed the Bush tax cuts. Voted against repealing the Death Tax. The Club for Growth says McCain’s overall record on taxes “is profoundly disturbing and anti-growth.”
J.D. Hayworth — Helped to author the Bush tax cuts and supports repealing the Death Tax. JD has a higher lifetime rating from Citizens Against Government Waste than John McCain does.

BAILOUTS
John McCain — Voted FOR the big bank bailouts and proposed an additional $300 Billion bailout of all bad debts, making the taxpayers responsible for the bad decisions of others.
J.D. Hayworth — Opposed the big bank bailouts, opposed the Obama plan, and opposed the McCain plan to leave taxpayers holding the bag for the nation’s bad loans.

AMNESTY
John McCain — Wrote the bill granting amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. McCain’s bill was estimated to cost the taxpayers more than $2.6 Trillion.
J.D. Hayworth — Helped lead the fight against the McCain-Kennedy amnesty bill. JD is a national leader in the fight to secure our borders and protect our nation.

MARRIAGE
John McCain  — Opposed the Federal Marriage Amendment that would have protected and preserved marriage as between one man and one woman.
J.D. Hayworth — Marriage Supported the Federal Amendment and believes it is critical that marriage be protected from those who would redefine it.

CAP AND TRADE
John McCain — Co-authored the McCain-Lieberman Cap and Trade bill.
J.D. Hayworth — Cap and Trade Opposes all Cap and Trade legislation and rejects phony climate change data.

FREE SPEECH
John McCain — Authored the McCain-Feingold legislation that violated the First Amendment rights of every American and silenced conservative groups like Right to Life and the NRA.
J.D. Hayworth — Opposed McCain-Feingold and believes that a free and vigorous debate is always in the best interests of our state and our nation.

TERRORISM
John McCain — Opposes enhanced interrogation techniques, supports closing Guantanamo Bay, and supports treating terrorists like criminal defendants instead of enemy combatants.
J.D. Hayworth — Supports our military and its use of enhanced interrogation techniques. Believes that Guantanamo Bay should remain open and that terrorists should be treated as such.

ERIC HOLDER
John McCain — Voted to confirm this far-left activist.
J.D. Hayworth — Opposed the confirmation of Eric Holder as Attorney General of the United States.

MORE READING:

J.D. HAYWORTH for U.S. SENATE

Good-Bye, Meg Stapleton

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And good riddance!

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s senior adviser and spokeswoman, Meghan Stapleton, has resigned, POLITICO has learned.
Stapleton has been a Palin confidante since December 2006 and one of the governor’s most trusted aides since she was vaulted onto the national political scene by being picked as GOP presidential nominee John McCain’s running mate.
Stapleton said she resigned to spend more time with her husband and 2-year-old daughter, Isabella. . . .
Since the end of the presidential campaign, Stapleton has been one of only a handful of aides and trusted contacts maintained by Palin . . .
In that time, Stapleton was a key strategic adviser and the pipeline for anyone seeking Palin’s attention, including Republican officials and reporters.

“Pipeline,” my ass. Stapleton was a 12-foot-high brick wall topped with double rows of concertina wire. It’s this way with nearly all politicians of presidential caliber. There will generally be one staffer — usually the chief of staff or campaign manager — who monopolizes access to the candidate, so that no one can gain access without that person’s permission. And trust me, Stapleton went out of her way to ensure that I never got direct access to Palin.

Think of the invitations that Palin turned down — CPAC two consecutive years and the 9/12 March On D.C. — and now think about the invitations that Palin accepted.

Great “strategic adviser,” that Meg Stapleton . . .

UPDATE: Doug Brady at Conservatives for Palin:

All of us at C4P thank Meg for the dedication and hard work she has done on Governor Palin’s behalf.

Thanks for the politically tone-deaf incompetence, too, Meg!

The Washington Post on Palin’s “inner circle.”

CPAC 2010: Bloggerazzi Photopalooza!

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“It’s all a blur,” Andrew Breitbart said to me in a phone conversation Monday, as we discussed events at CPAC 2010 — the biggest ever and, most attendees agreed, the best. The “blur” effect that Breitbart described is much like the experience of campaign coverage — you go, go, go day after day, with maybe four hours sleep night after night. Between the sleep deprivation and meeting so many people, you lose track of exactly who is who and what happened when.

When CPAC is over, you go through your pockets and find business cards for people you obviously must have met but whose names don’t match up with a face in your fatigue-scorched memory. And when you return to CPAC next year, you’ll be walking through the hotel and pass someone who looks vaguely familiar. You’ll say, “Hey, I know you.” And the other person will say, “Yeah, I think so, but I can’t remember where we met.”

That conversation will continue until either:

  • A. Your memories click and you recall which event you met at the previous year, or
  • B. You give up, admitting that you both were probably too drunk at the time to remember.

This is why it’s important to keep a camera in your pocket at all times during CPAC. My little pink Kodak digital — the famous “Barbie Cam” — captures those faces I might otherwise forget and those incredible scenes that no one would believe were it not for the photographic record. So brace yourself and get ready to be amazed. Continue reading CPAC 2010: Bloggerazzi Photopalooza! →