Category: Michele Bachmann

Ouch! New Poll Shows Perry at 7% in Iowa

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The headline on the Des Moines Register story is “Herman Cain, Mitt Romney lead new Iowa Poll,” but when you break down the numbers, the really shocking result is farther down:

Herman Cain …………………. 23%
Mitt Romney ………………….. 22%
Ron Paul ……………………….. 13%
Michele Bachmann ………….. 8%
Rick Perry ………………… 7%
Newt Gingrich …………………. 7%
Rick Santorum …………………. 5%
Jon Huntsman …………………. 1%

Perry tied for fifth place? This poll was taken Oct. 23-26 (Sunday through Wednesday), entirely after the Oct. 18 Vegas debate, during a period when the media were heavily reporting Perry’s new tax plan and …

Fifth place? Single digits? Wedged between Bachmann and Santorum?

Perry put $174,000 into a TV ad campaign that started Tuesday in Iowa. As far as I know, Perry is the only candidate now running TV ads in Iowa, so he’s likely to see his numbers rise between now and mid-November. We’re still 65 days from the Iowa caucuses, but Perry’s got a lot of ground to make up if he’s going to avoid an embarrassment.

And the really scary thing: Romney wasn’t supposed to be a player in Iowa, and yet he’s neck-and-neck for the lead. Romney is almost certain to win New Hampshire. If he also wins Iowa . . . dude, game over.

Ned Ryun Calls for Bachmann to Quit; Bachmann Calls Ned Ryun a Perrybot

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Ned Ryun, son of former Kansas Rep. Jim Ryun, created the non-profit grassroots training group American Majority three years ago. Today Ryun issued a remarkable statement:

It’s time for Michele Bachmann to go. For the last two years, I’ve been cautioning about the dangers of individuals or organizations trying to present themselves as leaders of the Tea Party movement. . . .
Since her meteoric rise this summer and win in the Iowa Straw poll, her campaign has been plagued by losses of top staff, lackluster fundraising and a seeming lack of direction. Bachmann’s resulting plunge in the polls is troubling for the tea party, not because “one of their own” is losing her footing, but because the longer Bachmann stays in the race, the more likely we will see her shift to the right. . . .
In Bachmann’s case, it is clear that the campaign has become less about reform and more about her personal effort to stay relevant and sell books; a harsh commentary, but true. It’s not about tea party values or championing real plans to solve real problems. While other campaigns are diving into the substance, the supposed tea party candidate Bachmann is sticking to thin talking points and hanging on for dear life.
Every day the campaign flounders, it risks hurting the credibility of the movement. If she really is about the tea party, and making it successful, it’s time for the Congresswoman to move on. The Tea Party doesn’t have a spokesperson, and it’s certainly not Michele Bachmann.

When I call this a “remarkable statement,” of course, I mean Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Since when does the president of a 501(c)3 non-profit, speaking in his official capacity on that organization’s Web site, go meddling so directly in a Republican primary?

The Bachmann campaign fired back with a statement to CNN: “The strength of the Tea Party is all individual’s opinions are valued but the no single leader speaks for it. Mr. Ryun, who supports Texas Gov. Rick Perry, is entitled to his own opinion. And that’s exactly what he is expressing.”

Ryun denied being a Perry campaign sockpuppet, but the Bachmann campaign’s suspicion is understandable. If you look at Ryun’s blog on the American Majority site, he had said nothing at all about the GOP presidential campaign until two days ago when he endorsed Perry’s tax plan.

So on Tuesday, out of a clear blue sky, Ryun issues a pro-Perry statement and on Thursday, he tells Bachmann to take a hike. Just a coincidence?

Bachmann Pulls the Plug in N.H.?

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John Pindell of WMUR-TV got the scoop:

All paid New Hampshire staff for Michele Bachmann’s presidential campaign have quit over deep frustration with the campaign’s lack of commitment to New Hampshire. …

Because the rest of Pindell’s story is behind a paywall — charging 99 cents to read it online? really? why does that make sense for a TV station’s Web site? — we instead must rely on Politico:

They were going to [resign] even earlier, he reports, but didn’t because it would have harmed the candidate.
It certainly isn’t going to help her now – but they may have felt the hour was growing too late for things to change for her.

And Reuters has this:

“It certainly underscores the impression that New Hampshire isn’t a priority for her. She’s totally written us off,” said former Republican state legislator Fran Wendelboe. . . .
Bachmann has been on a slow fade since winning the Iowa straw poll of Republican voters in August. Bachmann has only been registering single digits in polls of New Hampshire Republican voters. In Iowa, she has been in fourth place in the polls behind Herman Cain, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul.

Thanks to frequent commenter Joe for the tip. I called Bachmann’s spokeswoman Alice Stewart to get her reaction and haven’t yet heard back from her.

Michele Bachmann Slams Rick Perry: ‘He’s Not a Fiscal Conservative’

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Full text of a press release sent by the Bachmann campaign last night:

Perry and the Texas Strategy for the Economy

Rick Perry’s biggest weakness is on the highest priority issue at stake in 2012: he’s not a fiscal conservative.

Rick Perry is not fiscally conservative on spending and debt.

1. During Rick Perry’s tenure as governor, real spending in the state budget increased nearly 50 percent. In the 2000-01 biennium, real spending in the Texas state budget (adjusted to 2009 dollars) was $122.71 billion. In 2010-11 biennium, real spending in the Texas state budget was $182.02 billion, an increase of 48.33 percent. (Texas State Legislature, 76th Legislative Session, Conference Committee Report on H.B. 1 As Modified by S.B. 4 and Governor’s Veto Proclamation and Contingent Appropriations Included in H.B. 3211, Available at: www.lbb.state.tx.us; Texas State Legislature, 81st Legislative Session, Conference Committee Report on S.B.1, Available at: http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/Bill_81/5_Conference/Bill-81-5_Conference_0509.pdf; Governor Rick Perry, S.B. 1 Veto Proclamation, 6/19/09, Available at: www.governor.state.tx.us; U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics Inflation Calculator, Available at: www.bls.gov)

2. During Rick Perry’s tenure as governor, real per capita spending in the state budget increased more than 20 percent. In the 2000-01 biennium, real per capita spending (adjusted to 2009 dollars) in the Texas state budget was $5,800.53. In the 2010-11 biennium, real Per capita spending in the Texas state budget was $7,102.17, an increase of 22.44 percent. (Texas State Legislature, 76th Legislative Session, Conference Committee Report on H.B. 1 As Modified by S.B. 4 and Governor’s Veto Proclamation and Contingent Appropriations Included in H.B. 3211, Available at: www.lbb.state.tx.us; Texas State Legislature, 81st Legislative Session, Conference Committee Report on S.B.1, Available at: http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/Bill_81/5_Conference/Bill-81-5_Conference_0509.pdf; Governor Rick Perry, S.B. 1 Veto Proclamation, 6/19/09, Available at: www.governor.state.tx.us; U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics Inflation Calculator, Available at: www.bls.gov; Texas State Comptroller Of Public Accounts, 2008 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the State of Texas, p. 252, Available at: www.window.state.tx.us; Texas Department of State Health Services Website, Projected Texas Population by Area, Available at: www.dshs.state.tx.us)

3. State government employees grew faster under Perry than federal government employees (U.S. Census Bureau website, www.census.gov, accessed 7/09):
From March 2000 to March 2007, the number of Texas state government employees increased 10.07 percent, from 303,795 to 334,378.
According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, from July 2000 to July 2007, the population of Texas increased 13.83%, from 20,946,049 to 23,843,432.
From March 2000 to March 2007, the number of civilian federal government employees decreased 5.83%, from 2,899,000 to 2,730,000.
According to U.S. Census Bureau Estimates, from July 2000 to July 2007, the population of the U.S. increased 6.78%, from 282,171,936 to 301,290,332.
4. During Rick Perry’s tenure as governor, bonded debt has increased 137 percent. In FY 2000, bonded debt in Texas was $13.2 billion. In FY 2008, bonded debt in Texas was $31.3 billion. (“Debt Affordability Study,” Texas Bond Review Board, 2/09, p.4 Available at: www.brb.state.tx.us)

5. Perry signed the largest state budget into law – $182.3 billion – using his line item veto sparingly:
“With little debate, the Texas House passed its largest budget ever Friday, a day after senators also breezed through the $182.3 billion plan for the next two years.” (Aman Batheja, “Texas House approves $182.3 billion state budget,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5/30/09)
“Gov. Rick Perry, muting his usual criticism, generally praised lawmakers and signed into law a two-year, $182.3 billion budget late Friday after making barely a change. The Republican governor took credit for slashing nearly $290 million of spending, but virtually all of the money wouldn’t have been spent anyway because it was part of bills that died, such as a proposal to expand the Children’s Health Insurance Program.” (Robert T. Garrett, “Perry shows restraint — on his own line-item vetoes of budget,” The Dallas Morning News’ “Trail Blazers” Blog, http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com, 6/20/09)
“He used his veto pen to remove from the budget 28 ‘contingency riders’ — 25 of which would have paid for bills that died before the session ended June 1. Three others would have funded bills that Perry vetoed. While he didn’t mention it, there would have been a net savings of some $12 million if all three had become law, the proclamation indicates.” (Robert T. Garrett, “Perry shows restraint — on his own line-item vetoes of budget,” Dallas Morning News’ “Trail Blazers” Blog, http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com, 6/20/09)
6. Despite criticizing President Obama’s stimulus bill (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) as a “bailout,” Perry’s spokeswoman said he would “fight” for Texas’ “fair share” of stimulus if bill passed and lobbied for funds:
“Democratic Rep. James Oberstar of Minnesota recently asked Texas transportation officials if they intended to reject their share of $30 billion in road and bridge funds. Their answer: nope. ‘The governor has been pretty clear that he thinks it is bad policy and does not support it,’ said Allison Castle, a Perry spokeswoman. ‘But he has said that if Washington is going to be sending out taxpayer dollars, a large portion of which is Texas taxpayer dollars, we’ll fight for our fair share.'” (Dave Michaels, “Perry Blasts ‘Bailout Mentality’ But Will Take Texas’ Share,” Dallas Morning News, 1/30/09)
“For months, Gov. Rick Perry has been an outspoken opponent of emergency spending measures that created a record federal deficit. At the same time, his Transportation Department has lobbied to maximize its haul of federal money from an $819 billion stimulus bill.” (Dave Michaels, “Perry Blasts ‘Bailout Mentality’ But Will Take Texas’ Share,” Dallas Morning News, 1/30/09)
7. According to national conference of state legislatures, Perry’s Texas used stimulus money to plug more of its budget gap than any other state. “[National Conference of State Legislatures] asked states to indicate the major actions they took to close FY 2010 budget gaps and the relative share of the total that each action represented. The information provided by the 35 reporting states is as follows: Twenty-five of the reporting states used federal ARRA funds as part of their solution to close FY 2010 budget gaps. … The states depending most heavily on these funds were Texas (ARRA represented 96.7 percent of the total solution) and Nebraska (88 percent of the total solution).” (“State Budget Update: July 2009,” National Conference of State Legislatures, p. 7, www.ncsl.org)

8. Perry claimed he opposed using stimulus funds for ongoing expenditures, but used the funds for permanent public school teacher pay raises:
In a February 2009 letter to President Obama, Perry said he opposed use of stimulus funds for “ongoing expenditures.” “On behalf of the people of Texas, please allow this letter to certify that we will accept the funds in H.R. 1 and use them to
promote economic growth and create jobs in a fiscally responsible manner that is in the best interest of Texas taxpayers. I remain opposed to using these funds to expand existing government programs, burdening the state with ongoing expenditures long after the funding has dried up.” (Gov. Rick Perry, Letter To President Barack Obama, 2/19/09)
Perry rejected federal some stimulus funds, claiming the strings attached would leave Texas paying the bill after the stimulus ran out, but ultimately used stimulus funds for permanent public school teacher pay raises. “That will become apparent in 2011 when legislators have to fill in the budget hole left when the stimulus dollars go away. The teacher pay raises will be a permanent fixture, as will other spending enabled by the stimulus money. … There are no projections about where to find the money, but it will either come from taxpayers or from school budget cuts.” (Editorial, “Strings Attached To Stimulus Money For Schools,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7/28/09)
Raises are expected to cost state $2.8 billion in 2012-13 budget. “The Legislative Budget Board estimates the cost for the 2012-13 budget at $2.8 billion.” (Editorial, “Strings Attached To Stimulus Money For Schools,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7/28/09)
9. Texas received low marks for stimulus spending transparency in the July 2009 Good Jobs First Report. “Texas doesn’t get high marks for transparency on its official Web sites tracking how federal stimulus money is spent here. The Washington, D.C.-based group Good Jobs First gave Texas a 15 (out of 100) for how transparent its main stimulus tracking Web site was; Texas did better with its site tracking transportation stimulus dollars, earning 40 points out of a possible 100 points. State policymakers maybe can take some comfort that they are not alone in getting dinged for the relative openness with which they disclose how stimulus money is being spent.” (John Reynolds, “Texas Scores Low Marks On Stimulus Spending Transparency,” Quorum Report, 7/29/09)

10. Perry’s “political machine” received an infusion of stimulus money:
“And those grants have become an integral part of Perry’s political machine….While Perry’s office is the conduit for the federal money [for local law enforcement agencies], the governor chooses which agencies receive the money and how it is spent. The political payoff has been great.” (R.G. Ratcliffe, “Perry Making Use of Stimulus Boost,” Houston Chronicle, 9/8/09)
“Every time Perry doles out the federal Byrne grants, he sounds like the money is his. ‘Texas is tough on crime and remains dedicated to equipping our law enforcement with the resources necessary to protect our citizens and ensure the safety of our communities,’ the governor said while handing out $2 million of the federal money to East Texas communities last year.” (R.G. Ratcliffe, “Perry Making Use Of Stimulus Boost,” Houston Chronicle, 9/8/09)
Byrne Grants helped Perry win the endorsement of the Border Sheriff’s Coalition in 2006. “Perry in 2005 gave $6 million in funds to the counties participating in the Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition ‘to deter illegal immigration and prevent border-related crime.’ Days before Perry’s 2006 re-election victory, the sheriffs made a high-profile trip to Washington with the governor to discuss border crime, and most endorsed Perry. ‘I don’t think it was a coincidence that the grants roughly correlated with those endorsements,’ said Democratic political consultant Jason Stanford, who managed the gubernatorial campaign of party nominee Chris Bell.” (R.G. Ratcliffe, “Perry Making Use Of Stimulus Boost,” Houston Chronicle, 9/8/09)
11. Perry was played both sides in the fall 2008 debate over the TARP bailout:
Perry wrote a letter to Congress urging support of “An Economic Recovery Package” in the middle of the TARP debate. “[The Letter] Was Widely Interpreted Wednesday To Mean That Perry And His Democratic Counterpart Supported The Revised Bailout Plan The Senate Passed.” “Perry, who chairs the Republican Governors Association, wrote a letter with West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association , urging members of Congress to ‘leave partisanship at the door and pass an economic recovery package.’ That was widely interpreted Wednesday to mean that Perry and his Democratic counterpart supported the revised bailout plan the Senate passed.” (Jason Embry, “Perry’s Stand On Bailout Could Figure In 2010 Governor’s Race,” Austin American-Statesman, 10/3/2008)
The same day he released the letter with Manchin, Perry sent out a statement condemning the bailout. “In October, Mr. Perry, as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, and his Democratic counterpart, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, issued an urgent appeal for Congress to ‘pass an economic recovery package.’ Congress did. But when Ms. Hutchison said she’d be voting for it, the Texas governor issued another statement: ‘Government should not be in the business of using taxpayer dollars to bail out corporate America.'” (Wayne Slater, “Quick Take: Governor’s Jab At Washington Pokes His Potential Political Rival,” Dallas Morning News, 11/21/08)

PAULBOT-MANIA: Ron Paul Supporters Buy Victory in ‘Value Voters’ Straw Poll

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The question to be asked is not whether it is unfair for the Paul campaign to keep doing this, but why the rest of the GOP field can’t spend a few bucks to do it themselves. Dave Weigel at Slate reports:

He beat out seven other candidates and “undecided.” The full results, with 1,983 ballots cast:

Ron Paul – 36.9% (732)
Herman Cain – 22.5% (447)
Rick Santorum – 16.3% (323)
Rick Perry – 8.4% (167)
Michele Bachmann – 7.9% (157)
Mitt Romney – 4.4% (88)
Newt Gingrich – 2.7% (54)
Undecided – 0.7% (13)
Jon Huntsman – 0.1% (2)

In a post-vote press conference, FRC President Tony Perkins made sure to note that 600 people had bought tickets for Saturday only — a none-too-subtle hint that Paul’s supporters had over-represented themselves.
“Do the math,” said Perkins. “Ron Paul and his campaign are very well organized.”

What did 600 tickets cost the Paul campaign? And what would have been the publicity value if, for example, the Rick Perry campaign had paid for 1,000 of their supporters to attend the summit? Perry raised $17 million and he can’t afford to buy a straw poll? Your stupidity is not someone else’s fault. Beyond that, the story is:

A. Herman Cain continues his momentum; and
B. Santorum got twice as many votes as Bachmann.

This pretty much puts a fork into the Bachmann campaign. If she can’t beat Santorum in a straw poll at a national conference of social conservatives, Bachmann probably can’t beat Santorum in Iowa, either.

UPDATE: Jazz Shaw at Hot Air: “Ron Paul brings home the bouquet for best organizational skills at a conservative event .”

And by “organizational skills,” he means, the willingness to spend money on grassroots activism, i.e., offering free tickets for any Paul supporter who wanted to come vote for their guy.

UPDATE II: My buddy Joe Fein has shown how the Paulistas won — “stole” might be too strong a word — the California GOP straw poll.

Stipulate that the Paul campaign operates according to the “By Any Means Necessary” radical principle. Nevertheless, the point to which I wish to call the reader’s attention is this: The Paul campaign is smart to spend money on getting their supporters to events, and other campaigns are stupid in spending money to hire a bunch of staffers and consultants who don’t necessarily provide value-added to their efforts.

Suppose you are a college kid who might be willing to support a Republican presidential candidate. Now, suppose that you could actually get to meet that candidate, and get free travel to events where that candidate appears. OK, furthermore suppose that the campaign had a sort of Amway incentive deal where, if you were campus activist who could sign up a dozen of your college buddies to accept the same free-travel deal, you’d get a small commission for every warm body you delivered on the Republican candidate’s behalf.

Shouldn’t Republicans be able to understand how the Ron Paul campaign is using market incentives to build their movement?

Why, then, are most GOP presidential campaigns top-heavy affairs that spend ridiculous sums on “media consultants,” etc., rather than to use their money the way Ron Paul’s campaign uses their money?

Like I said: Your stupidity is not someone else’s fault.

GOP Debate at Simi Valley, California

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9:49 p.m. ET: And it’s over! Let the spin begin. If you’re watching this on MSNBC, you’ll get to see Rachel Maddow hosting the post-debate show with Chris Matthews, Ed Schultz, Al Sharpton and Lawrence O’Donnell. I think I’ll skip it myself.

9:47 p.m. ET: Brian Williams references LBJ in asking a question of Ron Paul about school lunches.

9:46 p.m. ET: Hey, a question for Herman Cain at last! Cain once again promotes his “9-9-9” tax plan.

9:45 p.m. ET: Another question for Perry. Death penalty.

BTW, it’s been 30 minutes since we’ve heard from Herman Cain. We’ve heard from Governor Asterisk twice during the past half-hour. Because NBC is racist.

9:42 p.m. ET: Mitt Romney gets a tax question and turns it into an attack on Obamanomics. Agrees with Gingrich that Bernanke should be fired.

9:40 p.m. ET: Newt would fire Ben Bernanke tomorrow. Wants to audit the Fed.

9:38 p.m. ET: Bachmann wants to drill in the Everglades. Why doesn’t everybody else want to drill in the Everglades?

9:37 p.m. ET: Rick Perry hates him some science! Why doesn’t everybody else hate science?

9:35 p.m. ET: Governor Asterisk loves him some science! Why doesn’t everybody else love science?

9:33 p.m. ET: Santorum gets a question on Libya. Criticizes what he calls the “isolationist” stance of Huntsman and Paul.

9:31 p.m. ET: Bachmann’s turn at foreign policy. Praises our troops. Criticizes Iran, supports Israel. Gets a follow-up and bashes Obama on Libya.

9:29 p.m. ET: Perry is offered a chance to criticize George Bush. Declines, and instead praises Obama on foreign policy, then denounces Obama’s Keynesian economic policy. Even when offered a follow-up chance to criticize Bush directly, he declines.

9:27 p.m. ET: Governor Romney says the economy sucks. Figures the guy in the White House is the problem.

9:26 p.m. ET: Governor Asterisk is against signing pledges and gets a follow-up question. Another minute of my life I’ll never get back.

9:25 p.m. ET: The Smilin’ Minnesotan. Bachmann likes Ronald Reagan. Controversy ensues?

9:24 p.m. ET: Smilin’ Texan time again. He’s for the Balanced Budget Amendment.

9:23 p.m. ET: Romney’s pro-Tea Party.

9:22 p.m. ET: We’re back after a commercial break. Now the “Lightning Round” that’s not a lightning round.

9:18 p.m. ET: Ron Paul wastes another minute of my life I’ll never get back.

9:16 p.m. ET: Governor Asterisk wastes another minute of my life I’ll never get back.

9:15 p.m. ET: Herman Cain: “Empower the states to do what the federal government hasn’t done and won’t do.”

9:14 p.m. ET: Bachmann loves her some Cubans!

9:12 p.m. ET: Rick Santorum brags about being the son of Italian immigrants.

9:11 p.m. ET: Newt Gingrich brags about his own record of support for amnesty.

9:10 p.m. ET: Mitt Romney talks tough on immigration.

9:09 p.m. ET: Perry advocates using Predator drones on the Mexican border.

9:08 p.m. ET: Brian Williams introduces a token Hispanic to ask a token question about immigration.

9:07 p.m. ET: Newt Gingrich talks about supporting Obama’s education policy. No cheers.

9:05 p.m. ET: Brian Williams lectures Perry about how stupid Texans are.

9:04 p.m. ET: Governor Asterisk again.

9:03 p.m. ET: Herman Cain agrees with Ron Paul!

9:02 p.m. ET: Ron Paul points out that we didn’t have FEMA until 1979. Good point — it’s a Carter-era agency.

9 p.m. ET: Ron Paul calls TSA a “monstrosity,” wants to privatize airline security. Blames government for 9/11 — not in a “Truther” way.

8:59 p.m. ET: Newt Gingrich talks about the Department of Homeland Security.

8:57 p.m. ET: Santorum also uses parental rights to attack Perry.

8:56 p.m. ET: Perry talks about the “opt-out” on the HPV mandate. “I will always err on the side of saving lives.”

8:55 p.m. ET: It seems to be open season on Perry now. Bachmann bashes the HPV vaccination mandate as an infringement of parental rights.

8:54 p.m. ET: Ron Paul goes after Perry on the HPV vaccination mandate. “He did it with an executive o0rder!”

8:52 p.m. ET: Herman Cain jumps in without waiting to be asked, endorses the Chilean model to “eliminate the current system.”

8:51 p.m. ET: Perry: “Maybe it’s time to have some provocative language in this country.”

8:50 p.m. ET: Mitt Romney defends Social Security, attacks Perry.

8:49 p.m. ET: Now Rick Perry is asked about his book’s slam on Social Security. Still the smilin’ Texan. “It is a Ponzi scheme . . . a monstrous lie to our children.” He doesn’t back down or apologize.

8:44 p.m. ET: Obligatory video tribute to Nancy Reagan.

8:43 p.m. ET: In non-debate news, Mila Kunis is beautiful. And stupid.

8:38 p.m. ET: I’m back. Did I miss anything important? Now Rick Perry and Ron Paul are going at it. Rick Perry’s got that smilin’ Texan thing down cold, doesn’t he? And now — a commercial.

8:35 p.m. ET: Governor Asterisk again. This looks like a good time to take a break.

8:35 p.m. ET: Mitt Romey talks energy. Then Michele Bachmann talks energy. Speaking of energy, when’s the commercial? I’m about ready for a cigarette and a cup of coffee.

8:33 p.m. ET: Rick Perry is asked stupid question about income disparities between blacks and whites, doesn’t even pretend to answer it. Nobody seems to mind.

8:31 p.m. ET: Rick Santorum brags about his role in passing Welfare Reform, and says we should apply the same principle to food stamps and other programs.

8:29 p.m. ET: Herman Cain adds a denunciation of RomneyCare to his denunciation of ObamaCare.

8:27 p.m. ET: Newt Gingrich just won the “Let’s Denounce ObamaCare” Derby.

8:26 p.m. ET: Michele Bachmann says she wants to repeal ObamaCare. And will take in all the uninsured as foster children.

8:25 p.m. ET: Governor Asterisk again. He looks like a game-show host, doesn’t he?

8:23 p.m. ET: Now healthcare. Perry bashes RomneyCare. Romney bashes ObamaCare. Now it’s back to Perry again. Politico editor John Harris messes with Texas. Perry bashes Washington, D.C.

8:19 p.m. ET: Newt Gingrich reminds us of his claim to being a Reaganite.

8:17 p.m. ET: Ron Paul, who placed second in the Ames Straw Poll, is the seventh candidate who gets a question in the debate. Paul gets a follow-up question, rambles about bureaucracy and lobbyists.

8:15 p.m. ET: Took them a quarter-hour to get to Michele Bachmann who — it’s important to remember — actually won the Ames Straw Poll three weeks ago. Bachmann plays the “I’m a mom” card. Nobody else on stage can challenge her on those terms, after all.

8:13 p.m. ET: Now the question for Jon Hunstman, a/k/a “Governor Asterisk.” Question is about China, answer is about something else.

8:11 p.m. ET: Rick Santorum says “I’ve done things” and recites his record in Congress. Herman Cain talks about his “9-9-9” economic plan. Interrupted by spontaneous applause.

8:09 p.m. ET: Brian Williams follows up with a question to Romney about “career politicians,” then goes to Perry for a “rebuttal.” Now back to Romney. Now back to Perry. Now back to Romney. So we’re nine minutes into the debate and have heard from only two of the candidates.

8:05 p.m. ET: Now Mitt Romney’s turn to talk jobs. His message: “Elect the smilin’ Mormon.”

8:03 p.m. ET: First question to Perry. Brian Williams messes with Texas. Perry smiles and deflects the attacks. His message: “Elect the smilin’ Texan.”

8 p.m. ET — We’re live! With Brian Williams and a snappy special-effects intro!

PREVIOUSLY: Yes, I’m live-blogging tonight’s Reagan Library debate — 8 p.m. ET on MSNBC — from here in my basement, which offers a significant savings in terms of travel expenses.  The New York Times offers its “Five Things to Watch” debate preview, with such questions as “How Does Perry Perform?” Because you needed the New York Times to tell you to keep an eye on that, right?

Dave Weigel offers suggested anti-Perry attacks for the other GOP candidates.

Ace of Spades HQ is doing their usual debate thing.

I’m sure Vodkapundit will be drunk-blogging the debate.

Allahpundit has an open thread at Hot Air.

I’m watching the MSNBC pre-debate coverage hosted by Chris Matthews. Lotta talk about Jon Huntsman. Liberals  just love that guy, don’t they?

Bachmann Ad: ‘There Is an Honest Conservative and She’s Not Rick Perry’

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Like she’s calling him a liar or something:

“Rick Perry says he’s one tough hombre on spending,” the ad says. “But what’s his record? Rick Perry doubled spending in a decade…..And he’s supposed to be the tea-party guy?”
The ad ends with an image of Mrs. Bachmann and the line: “There is an honest conservative, and she’s not Rick Perry.”

Dear PerryBots: I didn’t produce this ad. Nobody asked me to approve this ad. I’m merely reporting what the ad says. And yeah, sure, sharing it with a few thousand readers.

But I’m strictly neutral. Blame Tina Korbe!

No Honor Among Thieves, No Curiosity Among Journalists: Perez Hilton Re-Pirates Video, CBS News Repeats Smear

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The piracy of my video and the smearing of Michele Bachmann continue, despite my having done two posts — here and here — explaining the true story. Here is a screen-cap from Perez Hilton’s site, showing that he downloaded and re-uploaded the pirated/edited “Who likes white people?” video, imprinting it with his own watermark:

Look closely, and you’ll see that Perez’s re-pirated version had already gotten more than 30,000 views (the screen-cap was done at about 8 p.m. ET today) which is of course in addition to the many thousands who had viewed the first ripoff/smear version at the “On Knees” anti-Christian blog. But wait — it gets better:

Yeah — Michelle Castillo of CBS News (!!) made this smear job the No. 1 selection in “Top 5 Viral Videos of the Week.” You can skip ahead to about the 40-second mark of the video:

Castillo writes:

Everything that comes out of Michele Bachmann’s mouth is gold. A new video has her asking a crowd of people, “Who likes white people?” It doesn’t make any sense, so many explanations are surfacing from “White People Soul Power” being the band that played before, to the fact it was raining and Bachmann is asking about “wet” people.

What about the explanation “surfacing” from the guy who was there with the video camera, huh? But never mind that now. Before I continue excoriating Castillo and CBS News specifically, let me say that I have no earthly idea who originated this bizarre supposition that Bachmann was referring to the name of a band. She actually said, “Who likes wet people?” — a joking reference to the fact that it had been raining all day at the Aug. 5 Christian music festival — and there was no band performing with “White” in its name.

Because here is the weird thing: The lineup for the entire concert is online! Bachmann had been scheduled to be there about 6 p.m. but ran late, and so she didn’t speak until after 8 p.m., following Tim Cooper & Friends on the main stage. I know this because I was at the festival to cover Bachmann’s appearance, but it doesn’t take Woodward and Bernstein investigative reporting skills to discover, on the Spirit Midwest Ministries site, under a tab labeled “news,” that their media contact person is Julie Barnes, whose phone number is 515-577-8035.

So any reporter who had seen that silliness about the “White People Soul Power Band” — c’mon, really? I mean, really? — could have spent less than five minutes online, learned that there was no such band at that festival, and called the festival’s promoters to ask them the blindingly obvious question: “Did Michelle Bachmann actually say that stuff about ‘white people’?”

Evidently, however, Michelle Castillo of CBS News doesn’t know how to do a Google search, or browse a Web site, or pick up a fucking phone — what a brilliant journalistic innovation that would be — and call Bachmann campaign spokeswoman Alice Stewart (whose contact information is not top secret) and ask her what this is all about.

No, not at all. But please notice this curious fact:

Yeah, the time-stamp: “6:44 p.m. Aug. 30,” by which time Chris Moody’s accurate post at Yahoo News — identifying my video as the source from which the pirated/edited smear video was stolen — had been a top item at Memeorandum for more than 24 hours!

But wait, it gets better, because here are my two posts on this topic:

  1. Monday Aug. 29, 9:10 p.m. — MY VIDEO of Michele Bachmann’s Christian Testimony Used in SMEAR JOB
  2. Tuesday, Aug. 30, 10:58 a.m. — Lowlife Who Pirated My Video Apologizes for Smearing Michele Bachmann

If Michelle Castillo has the advanced journalistic skills necessary to click that second link, she will discover that, when informed that his copyright infringement was the subject of contemplated legal action, the video pirate had published an apology and deleted the video from his YouTube channel early this morning, more than 12 hours before Castillo included his piracy as the No. 1 selection in the CBS News “Top 5 Viral Videos of the Week.”  

As a veteran of 25 years in the news business, I promise you that if I were Michelle Castillo’s boss, I’d have several choice words to say to her, the mildest of which would be, “YOU’RE FIRED!”

And I’ll have a few more things to say about the egregious incompetence being practiced by the mainstream media in regard to this story, but first I’ve got to call my lawyer. CBS is going to be getting a letter from my lawyer P.D.Q., and if Michelle Castillo is not instantly terminated for this astonishingly shoddy excuse for journalism, I’d be greatly surprised.

UPDATE: Welcome, Instapundit readers! As for the Professor’s remark about funding my retirement, it may take years of expensive litigation to force the thievish scoundrels to pay up, and in the meantime I’ve got bills to pay, so please hit the freaking tip jar.





UPDATE II: Linked by Bob Belevedere at The Camp of the Saints — thanks!

Just got off the phone with my lawyer, who was finishing up the demand letter to Perez Hilton, whose site has a statement about their willingness to protect the intellectual property of others, with contact information for complaining about copyright violation.

In such letters, it is customary to demand that a retraction/apology be published with the same prominence as the original item about which complaint is made. But having included pirated video in their “Top 5 Viral Videos” round-up, what will CBS News do?

Besides firing Michelle Castillo, I mean . . .

UPDATE III: Thanks to Dana Loesch at Big Journalism for this link to a corrective video by our friends at the Media Research Center:

See? That’s what’s called “fair use” — employing a brief clip from my video in pursuit of truth, as opposed to recycling the pirated ripoff smear video in pursuit of a lie, which is what CBS News has done without even the slightest suggestion of effort toward what lawyers call “due diligence.” (Take notes, kids, this could be on the final exam.)

Meanwhile, our fellow fedora-wearer Ed Driscoll takes a walk down Memory Lane, to that long-ago era when Ken Layne was interested in truth.

UPDATE IV: Maetenloch at Ace of Spades HQ:

Even though it wasn’t what she said and made no sense in context, Ken Layne of Wonkette ran with it proclaiming Bachmann to be a crazy racist. But when it was shown to be a blatant hoax (with the original poster apologizing) he refused to make any corrections and has doubled down on the snark.

Now, I think some people may be misunderstanding my end of this situation. Bachmann is the one with the case for defamation, and that’s her business. My lawyer is pursuing action for copyright infringement, and you see how — with the pirated/edited video having been re-uploaded by Perez Hilton and recycled by CBS News — the original pirate set in motion a chain of events that is now beyond his control.

Already, I’ve seen at least two other versions of the pirate’s ripoff version re-uploaded to other YouTube accounts. (My lawyer is sending takedown notices as quickly as time permits.) Evidently, people do this kind of stuff — re-uploading ripoff videos — all the time, seeking to gain extra views to their YouTube accounts through online thievery.

The YouTube pirates may be doing this in ignorance of copyright law. Ignorance of the law is no defense, of course, but in most cases the original copyright owner is a big commercial enertainment outfit — Time/Warner for example — and once the pirated video is deleted from YouTube, their interest in the pirate ends.

In my particular case? Not so much.

“Good Lord these people are stupid.” You can say that again, brother. This left-wing anti-Christian jackwagon ripped me off and dishonestly edited my video to create a false smear against Michelle Bachmann, an honorable member of Congress, deserving of admiration and respect. The pirated smear video was then posted at numerous Web sites, recycled by other pirates, and included as the top item in a “viral video” roundup by a major news organization.

Dude.

I rattled the tip jar to get enough money to travel to Iowa to cover the campaign leading up to the Ames Straw Poll. I stood in the rain and mud at that festival to get video of Bachmann’s Christian testimony. And you’re going to take my hard work, funded through contributions from my loyal readers, hijack it and pervert it into a vicious smear?

Don’t you see what an overwhelming incentive I have to extract the maximum legal penalty from your sorry ass? And don’t you know that there are many thousands of people — including some very shrewd lawyers — who have been waiting many years for just such an opportunity as this, with some anonymous blog-pest like you caught red-handed in undeniable wrongdoing?

You had better pray God will have mercy on you.

Because my lawyers sure as hell won’t.

UPDATE V: Linked by Donald Douglas at American Power — thanks!

UPDATE VI: Mike at Cold Fury mentions the “fake but accurate” standard that CBS made infamous.