October 2012 : Page 30 : The Other McCain

Another Shocking Republican Scandal! ‘Redneck Romeo’ Jason Aldean Goes Wild

Posted on October 1, 2012October 1, 2012Comments

While we were at Mitt Romney’s rally in Toledo last week, I remarked to Ali Akbar that the warm-up music for the Republican’s events includes some country-rock songs that aren’t quite what you’d usually associate with GOP family values, for example Luke Bryan’s “Country Girl (Shake It for Me)“:

Get up on the hood of my daddy’s tractor,
Up on the toolbox it don’t matter,
Down on the tailgate, girl, I can’t wait
To watch you do your thing.
Shake it for the young bucks sittin’ in the honky-tonks,
For the rednecks rockin’ ’till the break of dawn
For the DJ spinning that country song
C’mon c’mon c’mon . . .

Well, not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s just slightly incongruous to hear it while nice Republican folks are assembling for a presidential campaign event.

Another of the country rock tunes on the Romney warm-up soundtrack is Jason Aldean’s “My Kinda Party“:

Oh baby, you can find me
In the back of a jacked up tailgate,
Sittin’ ’round watchin’ all these pretty things
Get down in that Georgia clay.
And I’ll find peace
In the bottom of a real tall cold drink,
Chillin’ with some Skynyrd and some old Hank.
Let’s get this thing started.
It’s my kind of party.

Again — not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s upbeat downhome music, and if it helps get the good old boys fired up, great. But the media loves to make wild guilt-by-association charges and you’ve got to be careful. Today, while I was looking at updates for the story about the GOP staffer partying down with Lindsay Lohan (the staffer once had his photo taken with Paul Ryan), I saw another story about a shocking celebrity scandal:

Country music superstar Jason Aldean says his very open public display of affection with a former “American Idol” contestant — who is NOT his wife — was a huge, drunken mistake.
Jason released a statement today, apologizing for his indiscretion, after TMZ posted pictures early this morning of the country singer and “A.I.” castoff Brittany Kerr getting up close and personal — hugging, touching, and flirting at a very popular, crowded bar on the Sunset Strip.
Jason — who has been married since 2001 — says, “The truth is that I screwed up. I had too much to drink, let the party get out of hand and acted inappropriately at a bar.”
He says, “I ultimately ended up embarrassing my family and myself.” And then adds, “I left alone and that’s the end of the story.”

See there? One of these hillbilly yodelers gets rowdy and starts making out with some floozy in a bar, and next thing you know, BuzzFeed and Politico will be all over it, demanding that the Romney campaign comment on the incident. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure Mitt would get a 2-point bump in the Ohio polls if he began his next speech by saying, “You can find me in the back of a jacked-up tailgate . . .”

Ad Slams Obama on National Security

Posted on October 1, 2012October 1, 2012Comments

From the American Crossroads super-PAC:

Headline at the Daily Caller:

White House shifts spin on Benghazi assassination,
downplays focus on anti-Islam video

Here’s a good poll question: How stupid do they think we are?

Obama Solves Mexican Hunger Crisis

Posted on October 1, 2012October 1, 2012Comments

How do you say “food stamps” in Spanish?

Department of Agriculture personnel in the Obama administration have met with Mexican Government officials dozens of times since the president took office to promote nutrition assistance programs — notably food stamps — among Mexican Americans, Mexican nationals and migrant communities in America. . . .
“The Mexico-U.S. Partnership for Nutrition Assistance Initiative is just one of a wide range of USDA partnership activities intended to promote awareness of nutrition assistance among those who need benefits and meet all program requirements under current law.” Vilsack wrote to Sessions in a letter obtained by The Daily Caller.
Since the partnership began, Vilsack wrote, USDA personnel have met at least 151 times with officials from the Mexican government “to discuss nutrition assistance programs as well as to provide program updates.” Those instances included 91 meetings with embassy and consulate staff in 25 U.S. cities; 29 health fairs in 19 U.S. cities; and 31 roundtable discussions, conferences and forums in 20 U.S.

They’re using Spanish-language soap operas to promote it:

This is one of those “Solving Problems We Didn’t Know We Had” issues that liberals are so good at: Not enough Mexicans on food stamps!

(Hat-tip: Gateway Pundit.)

Is The DNC Raaaaacist for Saying That a Black Man Can’t Win a Debate?

Posted on October 1, 2012October 1, 2012Comments

by Smitty

Bluegrass Pundit points to the NY Post quoting Brad Woodhouse engaging in a little soft bigotry of low expectations:

It’s a further lowering of expectations ahead of the first debate in Denver next week. Democratic National Committee spokesman Brad Woodhouse tells Fox News he thinks Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will win.
Woodhouse says the way the DNC sees it, challengers win the first debate when they are up against incumbents.
“Mitt Romney has had a lot more time to debate, the president has not debated in the past four years in terms, of a campaign debate. I think the president will hold his own, but he’s not known for sound bites. And these are 60 second, 90 second responses.”

Not known for a bites. Probably because he didn’t build that.

Seriously, Brad: get stuffed. The American people have had three and a half years of Barack “Spock” drivel crammed in an uncomfortable location. The guy can stand and deliver. If he’s so purportedly smart, let him dazzle us with brains.

This notion that a black man somehow ain’t packin’ the gear in a debate after 3.5 years on the job as President is the saddest sort of raaaaacism.

News From Ohio: Obamanomics Sucks

Posted on October 1, 2012October 1, 2012Comments

Back home from a week in Ohio, I find the two latest polls — from PPP and the Columbus Dispatch — showing Obama still ahead in the Buckeye State, although not by the insane 7- to 10-point margins claimed by polls last week. Anybody can report on the polls, but what about the reality on the ground in Ohio?

One of the bits of Conventional Wisdom you hear about why Mitt Romney is having a hard time in Ohio is that the economy isn’t so bad there. Republican Gov. John Kasich’s pro-business policies have ameliorated the state’s woes, and many Ohioans are also grateful for the GM bailout, so therefore (according to the Conventional Wisdom) Romney’s economic message doesn’t resonate as much.

Being habitually skeptical toward the Conventional Wisdom, I doubt the sufficiency of these explanations. And my doubts were bolstered last week when I walked into a convenience store and saw the headlines in Thursday’s Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum:

Those three front-page headlines in this small-town paper (in Crawford County, Ohio, where my wife is from) tell us a lot about what’s really going on in Ohio these days:

Unemployment remains the same
Even though Crawford Co. unemployment rate
fell 1 percent, more people are not employed
BUCYRUS — Although the unemployment rate for Crawford County fell from 9.0 percent in July to 8.0 percent in August, it does not mean more people are employed.
According to the Ohio Labor Market Information, the civilian labor force in Crawford County went from 20,700 in July to 20,500 in August but the number of employed people remained the same for both months at 18,800.
“Since the number of employed stayed the same, 200 people went off of unemployment because their time limit is up and they have not found work yet,” said Dave Williamson, director of the Crawford County Economic Development Partnership. “We have no more people working than we did last month.” . . .

See? No new jobs, but 200 people exhausted their unemployment benefits and therefore the official rate drops 1 percent. Generalize from this one example, and this shows how easy it is to pretend that this is a “recovery,” rather than a depression. Next:

Study says more children
have health insurance
Despite increasing poverty, the number of children with health insurance increased across Ohio last year.
Uninsured children fell from 6 percent to 5.8 percent. The data comes from the annual American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The increase in children on insurance comes as median incomes across the state were relatively flat, and the percentage of families in poverty — especially those with children — rose slightly.
The reasons for the increase in insurance for children could be numerous, said Curtis Skinner, of the National Center for Children in Poverty.
Generally, he said, insurance coverage is better for children than adults because they qualify for Children’s Health Insurance Programs or Medicaid.
Ohio might have been more proactive in promoting its insurance program for children, Skinner said, or more families might have qualified for the benefit because of lost jobs or wages. He said the increase in children’s health insurance was not likely caused by an increase in private insurance coverage.
Angela Krile, spokeswoman for the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association, said she also couldn’t pinpoint the reason for a drop in uninsured children. She said one in three Ohio children are enrolled in Medicaid, which helps provide coverage for families in poverty.
“Really, this just shows the importance of Medicaid in our state for children,” she said. . . .

Got that? The good news — more children have health insurance — is actually bad news: More children in Crawford County are now living in poverty, and a third of all Ohio kids are covered by Medicaid. Can you say “Cloward-Piven Strategy,” boys and girls? Next:

Local children
are going hungry
‘Pack the Park’ event aims to help
BUCYRUS — There is a harsh reality in our community: children in Bucyrus and Crawford County are going hungry. The proof exists in the rising percentages of free and reduced-price lunches in school districts throughout Crawford County.
At 7 p.m. Saturday, local citizens can help combat this growing issue during an event called “Pack the Park” at Aumiller Park. Presented by the new Crawford County Young Professionals group and Together Time, this is an opportunity for community members to help feed hungry children in Bucyrus.
“The Young Professionals became aware of this problem facing Bucyrus City School students: more than 70 percent of our students require assistance with food by receiving free or reduced lunches,” said Casie Grau, CCYP president. “We are concerned about our area youth and the impact that lack of food and nutrition has on their ability to learn and succeed in school.” . . .

What? Children going hungry in Ohio? More than 70 percent of students in Bucyrus schools qualify for free or reduced lunches?

Is this the Hope or the Change?

Bucyrus, Ohio, is not a squalid inner-city ghetto. This is a small town about midway between Columbus and Toledo, in a county with a total population of less than 44,000, about 97 percent white. If the economic news is this bad in Bucyrus — unemployment stuck at 8 percent, one-third of children on Medicaid, 70 percent qualifying for free or reduced school lunches — how on earth can anybody be deceived into the belief that Obama’s policies are making things better for Ohio?

And if I can see this just by picking up a local paper in Ohio, how has it escaped the notice of those who control the Conventional Wisdom?

PREVIOUSLY:

Sept. 29: VIDEO: Paul Ryan Says Joe Biden Is ‘Making Up All New Falsehoods’
Sept. 29: Do You Believe the Ohio Polls?
Sept. 27: VIDEO: AFP’s Jen Ridgely Talks About ‘Obama’s Failing Agenda’ Ohio Bus Tour
Sept. 27: Get on the Bus! AFP Leads ‘Obama’s Failing Agenda Tour’ Across Ohio
Sept. 26: ROMNEY RALLY IN TOLEDO: Huge Crowd Stands in Line in the Rain!
Sept. 26: Fear and Loathing on the Road to Toledo
Sept. 26: The Most Biased Question, Ever
Sept. 26: Polls: Self-Fulfilling Prophecies?
Sept. 25: SCENES FROM ROMNEY-RYAN RALLY
Sept. 25: ROMNEY-RYAN AT DAYTON AIRPORT
Sept. 25: PAUL RYAN IN CINCINNATI
Sept. 25: Cracking Under Pressure?
Sept. 24: Scenes From Ryan Rally in Lima, Ohio
Sept. 24: GREETINGS FROM LIMA, OHIO
Sept. 24: The Best Revenge: Ohio-Bound
Sept. 23: Memo From the National Affairs Desk: Worldwide Headquarters of Crazy, Inc.

Darleen Click Nails It

Posted on October 1, 2012October 1, 2012Comments

by Smitty

Click the image to go to Protein Wisdom for the full-sized view:

What a creepshow is this administration/media. Does the slash still indicate separation?
Not appearing in this cartoon: Jaime Zapata.

King of the Hill: GOP Congressional Staffer Parties With Lindsay Lohan

Posted on October 1, 2012October 1, 2012Comments

Christian LaBella’s hands will be sore from all the high-fives he’ll collect today from his buds on Capitol Hill after his epic weekend:

Lindsay Lohan just can’t stay out of trouble, but this time the drama queen is pinning the mess on a party pest with a cell-phone camera.
The “Mean Girls” actress mixed it up with a starstruck congressional staffer in her Manhattan hotel early Sunday, prompting cops to step in.
Police say Lohan took Christian LaBella’s cell phone so she could delete dozens of pictures and videos of her partying — and she claims he got physical with her trying to get it back.
After Lohan, 26, called the cops, LaBella, 25, who works for an Illinois Republican, was initially charged with misdemeanor assault in the blowup at the W Hotel Union Square.
But law enforcement sources said the assault rap has already been dropped. . . .

Poor Lindsay, always the victim — and check out the absurd quote from Lindsay’s brain-damaged mom:

“She’s very shaken up,” Lohan’s mother, Dina, told the Daily News Sunday afternoon as she comforted the troubled starlet. “Thank God he didn’t have a weapon.”

What idiocy! If you read the rest of the article, you’ll get Lindsay’s self-serving side of the story (undoubtedly vouched for and embellished by her friend “celebrity booker Claus Hjelmbak”) when clearly all that was happening was two 20-somethings quarreling at 6 a.m. over photos of their all-night-long entertainment.

Lindsay evidently threw a conniption because she didn’t like the photos LaBella had taken, and her vehement rage — rather than any criminal action by LaBella — was the source of the dispute.

There’s a lot of this unfortunate attitude going around: “I’m angry at you, therefore you must be guilty of a crime.”

Lindsay Lohan needs to be advised that her anger-management issues don’t entitle her to have the objects of her wrath arrested.

LIVE AT FIVE: 10.01.12

Posted on October 1, 2012October 1, 2012

— compiled by Wombat-socho

TOP NEWS
Obama Camp Plays Down Debate Expectations

Sandbagging? — Obama speaks at a rally in Vegas

Obama and his campaign acting like underdogs
Related: Christie predicts Romney surge after first debate

Gov. Brown Vetoes Labor Protections For The Help
Bill would have extended overtime, rest breaks, and eased workers’ comp requirements for maids, housekeepers and other domestic employees

Opposition Supporters Shot By Chavista Thugs As Election Nears
Capriles: “Our people are tired of violence, of division, of confrontation.”

POLITICS
Ryan Tempers Expectations For Presidential Debate