Year: 2011

Team Newt Implodes: Top Aides Quit Gingrich 2012 Presidential Campaign

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This news just broke in the past hour:

Republican Newt Gingrich’s senior aides on his presidential campaign have resigned, according to the Associated Press.
Press secretary Rick Tyler told the AP that he, campaign manager Rob Johnson said other strategists and aides in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina stepped down.

UPDATE: Politico points to an obvious factor:

One official said the last straw came when Gingrich went forward with taking a long-planned cruise with his wife last week in the Greek isles. . . .
[After the campaign’s botched rollout last month] Gingrich then virtually vanished from the campaign trail, taking more than a week off the campaign trail. His whereabouts were unknown until this week, when POLITICO revealed that he and his wife, Callista, were on a cruise in the Mediterranean.

You’re making phone calls to volunteers in Iowa while your candidate is cruising the Aegean Sea — not exactly a moral booster for the campaign team.

UPDATE II: Allahpundit suggests that key members of Team Newt might be about to climb aboard the Rick Perry bandwagon.

UPDATE III: From the Washington Post:

Among the issues, according to knowledgeable sources, was the two-week vacation that Gingrich and his wife, Callista, insisted upon taking against the advice of his top political staff. Coming as it did after one of the most diastrous campaign launches in recent memory, it raised questions as to whether Gingrich would be willing to “commit time to the grassroots,” said Tyler. 

Linked by Republican Redefined, Fire Andrea Mitchell and Katy’s Conservative Corner — thanks!

UPDATE IV: Linked by Bob Belvedere at Camp of the Saints — thanks!

Herman Cain Speaks Bluntly: ‘I Believe Homosexuality Is a Sin … Their Choice’

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In an interview on CBS News:

“I believe homosexuality is a sin because I’m a Bible-believing Christian, I believe it’s a sin. But I know that some people make that choice. That’s their choice.”

OK, I know for a fact that Herman Cain has GOProud supporters, and it will be interesting to see their reaction to this.

Cain is trying to focus his campaign on jobs, the budget and economics — these are his strengths, as a business executive — but he necessarily gets asked by reporters about all sorts of issues. A key factor in Cain’s appeal is his plain-spoken nature and, when asked about homsexuality, he stated (a) his personal belief as a Christian, and (b) his libertarian understanding that people have to live their own lives according to their own choices.

For two decades at least, gay activists have used the “born that way” argument in an effort to gain civil-rights protection for homosexuals, attempting to make sexual preference a hereditary factor analogous to race. So Cain’s remark about sexuality as a “choice” is likely to offend gay activists as much as his remark about “sin.” But I think it’s important to grasp the libertarian sense in which he uses “choice.”

Beyond that, will this help or hurt Cain?

Remember that Iowa is the No. 1 objective for Team Herman. If he were to win the Iowa caucuses, that would be a political earthquake, and his campaign leadership really believes that they can make that happen with a volunteer-based grassroots effort.

So, consider what Cain said, and ask yourself: Is this likely to offend the typical grassroots conservative Republican in Iowa?

Nope. Not even a blip on the radar.

By the way, Herman Cain will be one of the featured speakers at Right Online, which starts June 17 — a week from Friday — in Minneapolis. You should sign up now.

UPDATE: GOProud activist Christopher Barron:

The truth is that Herman Cain is running on a campaign centered on conservative policies that would improve the lives of all Americans – including gay Americans.

UPDATE II: Linked by Lisa Graas — thanks!

Behind Blue Eyes

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Ann Coulter was interviewed by ABC News, and Terry Moran introduced the segment this way:

Simply put — a lot of people despise Ann Coulter, the conservative firebrand, because of her malevolent and acid rhetoric.

Who are “a lot of people”? Liberals. And toward whom is Coulter’s rhetoric “malevolent”? Liberals.

Keep in mind that Ann Coulter is one of the most consistently popular authors in America. Every book she writes is a No. 1 bestseller, every speech she gives draws a capacity crowd and every time she appears on TV, ratings go up.

Coulter is “despised” by “a lot of people” in the same sense that Wal-Mart and McDonald’s are “despised” by “a lot of people” — because liberals like Terry Moran hate anyone who succeeds in the free market, including the free market of ideas.

So the price of being a successful and effective critic of liberalism is that Terry Moran goes on TV and instructs ABC News viewers that everybody hates you before your interview even airs! And then he hands it over to Dan Harris, whose first question for Ann Coulter is, “Is it ever uncomfortable for you to be hated?”

You may be asking yourself, “What can I do to fight back against this kind of insidious media bigotry?” The answer is simple: Buy Ann Coulter’s new book, Demonic: How the Liberal Mob Is Endangering America. Because “a lot of people” will be angry when they open their Sunday New York Times and discover that, once again, Coulter is sitting atop the bestseller list.

McCarthy On The War Powers Act

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by Smitty

Read this NRO post by Andrew McCarthy on the War Powers Act. Truly interesting Constitutional thinking.

What makes the WPA constitutionally problematic, though, is mostly its legislative veto provision, which purports to enable Congress to direct the president to withdraw forces by a joint resolution. (See this 2004 CRS analysis, here.) Joint resolutions are not binding law because, under the Constitution, law can only be enacted if the president signs a bill passed by both houses of Congress, or if Congress overrides a presidential veto of that bill by the required super-majority. (As Rich points out, the veto-override is how the WPA was enacted in the first place.) Putting aside the knottier question whether Congress has the authority to order a president to withdraw forces (i.e., could Congress constitutionally direct a president to withdraw forces by overriding the presidential veto of a bill directing him to do so?), Congress certainly cannot direct a president to do anything by a mere resolution.

Where I would like to see the conversation go is historical. If the decisions stretching from the Constitution to today are taken one at a time, you find yourself giving the people in power the benefit of the doubt; it is at least possible that you’d have done the same in their shoes.
Step back, though, and consider the thrust of American history since the National Security Act of 1947. Do we seem increasingly embroiled in war because human nature has become more warlike, or is it just because we have a hegemonic arsenal laying around?
This is an increasingly crucial set of paradoxes in the American psyche, at least for me:

  • Prior to 1947, we were never hegemonic; that is a facet of Holy Progress.
  • Hegemonic power is at odds with separation of powers in the Constitution.
  • Hegemonic power may be economically unsustainable alongside the social welfare state, which we are addressing with equal sobriety.
  • Having assumed hegemonic power, the desirability and possibility of cleanly divesting ourselves of it is not clear.

On a personal level, coming clean about a screw-up is typically the least-worst approach. This does not mean that getting better is painless, just that honesty minimizes the pain.
Yet ours is a political system that does not reward honesty.
So the question moves to whether we find another sweet liar to move these problems down the road, or whether the economic reckoning flattens us, obviating the question.
I love my country, but, based on the historical evidence, I do not think it can produce leadership clever enough to do anything more than mark time until some economic reckoning forces the question. We’ll have less control, when ‘it’ happens. But our capacity for analysis only kick in retrospectively.  And then, like some Tommy Boy, we’ll have a montage, and recover. It’s who we are; it’s what we do.

When Will Weiner Quit?

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My hunch says today but, rationally, politicians always prefer to save bad news for after 7 p.m. on a Friday. That way, the story doesn’t make the evening news on a weekday, and ends up in Saturday’s newspapers, which almost nobody reads. However, as I mention at The American Spectator, it seems impossible that Weiner can delay his resignation much longer than that:

Weiner’s scandal “has become a national embarrassment for Democratic leaders,” Devlin Barrett of the Wall Street Journal reports, citing unnamed “Democratic aides” as saying that if the embattled congressman “continues to resist calls to resign, the situation could reach a boiling point Monday when House members return to Washington.”

Right: Nancy Pelosi can’t have this thing drag out forever, stepping on her message. She wants him out — ASAP, PDQ, yesterday.

The problem is that Weiner knows this as well as anyone, and therefore can drive a hard bargain. I expect he’s negotating behind the scenes for something in the way of a “severance deal,” with a guaranteed six-figure salary for a no-show job at some progressive 501(c) non-profit, as the price for going away nicely.

According to the New York Post, Huma’s trying to keep Weiner in Congress, a story that seems incredible to me, and as Ace says, “[I]t’s one thing for a wife to be supportive. It’s another thing to be war-rooming it.”

Therefore I’m thinking the Post story is just a way for Team Weiner to send a signal to fellow Democrats that they’d better sweeten the pot on the “severance” payoff or else, The Human Stain is willing to hang around the Capitol and keep effing up their message just for spite.

The Democrats know how to play this game, and so they’ll give Weiner whatever it takes to get him to go quietly, a move I expect to be announced today, or by Friday evening at the latest.

If Weiner hasn’t resigned by Saturday, then, I’m wrong — and this scandal sails into terra incognita, that part of the map where it says, “Here Be Dragons.”

LIVE AT FIVE – 06.09.11

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TOP NEWS
UK, France Submit Draft UN Resolution On Syria

One of many posters of Bashar Assad looming over Damascus

No call for action, just condemnation of crackdown violence

Gates Summons NATO Allies To Libya
Germany, Poland, Spain, Netherlands and Turkey defense ministers told they need to do more

Cause Of German E. Coli Outbreak Still Uncertain
Koch Institute, German Health Ministry divided on whether worst is over





Wars, Budget Top Panetta’s Agenda At Defense
Three wars and Obama’s cuts pose a tough row to hoe for former CIA chief



POLITICS
11th Circuit Considers Striking Down Obamacare

State attorneys' challenge to individual mandate may doom law

Harsh questions from judges for DOJ lawyers

Poll Finds Voters Uncomfortable With Mormonism

Hearing Held On Mass. Transgender Rights Act


Banks Checked; Set To Lose $15 Billion As Senate KOs Delay

Feds Accused Of Misusing VA Land In LA



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Asian Crude Futures Up On OPEC Indecision, Falling US Inventories
US Stocks Continue To Fall After Disappointing Beige Book Numbers
Nikkei Edges Up As Bargain Hunting Offsets Worries About US Economy
LinkedIn Loses Connection As Stock Tanks
CME Group Threatens To Leave Illinois Over Taxes
Apple’s iOS5 As Good As A New IPhone?
Facebook Stirs Privacy Ire With Facial Recognition Software
Nintendo’s New Console Rubs Market The Wrong Way



SPORTS
No Doubting Tim Thomas As Bruins Level Series With Shutout Of Canucks

Bruins' Boychuk and Thomas celebrate after Game 4 victory

Shutout follows rout as Bruins roar back to even the Stanley Cup series at two games apiece

Sox Blast Yankees 11-6, Move Atop AL East




Norris Loses No-Hitter, Wins Fourth For Astros Anyway

Arenas, Other Athletes Still Causing Twitter Headaches

Angels Lose To Rays 3-4 On Squeeze Bunt In 10th

Mets Bullpen Collapses In Loss To Brewers



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
LeAnn Rimes: I’m In The Healthiest Place Of My Life

Does this look unhealthy to you?

Singer, trainer respond to criticism of new lean look

Zach Galifianakis Slams Sean Penn, Ke$ha, Little Kids Everywhere

Kim Kardashian Blasts Cheating Allegations, May Sue

Jennifer Connelly: It’s A Girl!

Emma Stone: Riot Grrrl

Alec Baldwin Sees Weiner Implosion As Opportunity

Mark Grace Busted For DUI


Shania Twain Signs To Headline Massive Two-Year Vegas Gig



FOREIGNERS
Official: 1600 Syrian Refugees Now In Turkey
Yemen’s Saleh Out Of Intensive Care
Taliban Attacks Waziristan Outpost, 8 Pakistani Soldiers Dead
Elephant Kills Man During Mysore Rampage
PRC Confirms It’s Building First Carrier



BLOGS & STUFF
Bill Kristol: Rudy’s Running
Althouse: Wisconsin Protesters Disrupt Special Olympics Ceremony
Allahpundit: Time For Another “Rick Perry Thinking Of Running” Story
Lisa Graas: Why Palin And Bachmann Will Inevitably Butt Heads
Legal Insurrection: Who Will Leave First, Anthony Weiner Or Ed Rollins?
Ironic Surrealism: Obama Approval Drops As Fear Of Depression Rises
American Thinker: Dept. Of Education SWAT Raid Still Troubling After Corrections


— compiled by Wombat-socho

Feminism and the ‘Friendly Stranger’

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“How many coeds do you have to dick-dial behind the back of your pregnant wife before someone notices that maybe that’s not exactly congruent with the teachings of Gloria Steinem?”
— Ace of Spades, “In Which I Confess Some Doubts”

Having resisted the temptation to re-open my long war with Little Miss Attila over the history and meaning of “feminism,” I’m wondering if Weinergeddon isn’t waking some people up to what a lot of people have long suspected about guys who kowtow to feminists. That is to say:

Guys who make a big show of being on board with
the feminist agenda are just doing it to ingratiate themselves
with women, perhaps with the worst sort of ulterior motives.

There — I’ve said it as bluntly as possible and, as I say, a lot of people share that suspicion. Being a cynic means that one expects others to act in their own interests, so that whenever you see someone make an ostentatious display of altruistic idealism, your gut-hunch instinct is to suspect a scam: What’s in it for them? Continue reading Feminism and the ‘Friendly Stranger’ →

Weiner’s Secret Desire
UPDATED: ‘X-Rated’ Photo Emerges; Weiner’s Wife Is Pregnant; More Democrats Now Calling for Resignation

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“To be sure, Weiner stayed true to his 1996 pronouncement when, 14 years later, he wed a member of the cognitive elite, a high-powered career woman. But the details of his online shenanigans suggest that he harbored secret desires for female admiration and deference — that he was a closet male chauvinist.”
— James Taranto, “Can’t Feminists Be Hypocrites?” Wall Street Journal

UPDATE: Well, well: I had wanted to ignore this, and I’m sure no sane person actually wanted to see it, but Ace of Spades linked to Dave Weigel and . . . OK, so now Anthony Weiner’s “Full Monty” shot is at the top of Memeorandum. And just coincidentally, top Democrats have begun demanding Weiner’s resignation.

Today, I was talking to a Republican operative who said, “Who cares whether he resigns now or not? He’s been neutered. Can Weiner accuse Republicans of wrongdoing now? . . . I say, let him stay.”

Solid reasoning there, but Weiner’s political uselessness as a liberal attack dog, now that he’s been “neutered,” is precisely why Democrats will be utterly ruthless in throwing him under the bus. As Da Tech Guy pointed out, the consistently clueless Joan Walsh is still blaming the wrong people:

“If we let the other side take scalps, the right wing is choosing our leaders for us.”

No, ma’am. You liberals chose Weiner as your own leader. And as an embodiment of Democratic Party beliefs and values, he’s perfect.

UPDATE II: Weiner’s wife is pregnant. To quote Ace: “Oy.”

UPDATE III: Donald Douglas at American Power:

There’s likely to be a flood of calls for Weiner’s resignation now. And now more than ever, if only for his wife’s privacy, and for the well-being of his unborn child, Weiner should quit Congress, get away from the hostile media glare, and start rebuilding his life.

Absolutely. He should have resigned days ago, but there is absolutely no reason his wife — now the mother of his unborn child — should be dragged through this mess any longer. And the only way to end it is for Weiner to do the right thing and resign.

UPDATE IV: Andrew Breitbart issues a statement:

Earlier today, a photograph resembling one that I had withheld from publication in the Weinergate saga was released without my knowledge or permission.
Prior to the publication of our story on BigGovernment.com and BigJournalism.com this past Monday morning, it was necessary to show the pictures I had received from our source to several news producers, including several at major news networks, to prove that the additional material I described really did exist, which some have continued to doubt.
This morning, I showed a photograph, which our source claims Weiner sent her, to radio hosts “Opie and Anthony” of the Sirius XM radio network on my mobile device. Somehow, without my knowledge or permission, apparently a picture was taken of my mobile device, and subsequently published by Opie (Gregg Hughes) on Twitter.
His co-host, Anthony (Anthony Cumia), stated today:
“In regards to the photo of Anthony Weiner that was leaked by members of The Opie And Anthony show on 6/8, I want to make it clear that Andrew Breitbart had no knowledge that this photo was being made public. A phone with the photo was being displayed and a camera in the studio caught it. It was then uploaded to twitter [sic], again, without Andrew Breitbarts [sic] knowledge.”
I regret that this occurred.

UPDATE VII: Got a fork? Stick it in Weiner now:

“Anthony Weiner lied to the country about his sexual misconduct online. He also lied to me. I had been defending him, based on what he told me, but no more. Weiner must resign from Congress immediately.”
— Kirsten Powers

UPDATE VIII: Et tu, Joan Walsh?

Just now, I was watching Hardball on MSNBC and former DNC Chairman Ed Rendell was also throwing Weiner under the bus “for the good of the party.” Democrats are ruthless that way. They are far more shameless in their cynical partisanship than Republicans.

UPDATE IX: Thanks to @AngelaTC for this tip: Yet another Weiner “sexting” partner has reluctantly come forward: 34-year-old Georgia teacher Traci Nobles.