The Other McCain

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

#SC01 UPDATE: Mark Sanford Cites His Vote for DOMA in Local TV Roundtable

Posted on | March 30, 2013 | 8 Comments

Campaign signs outside Thursday’s debate venue

CHARLESTON, S.C.
Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford cited his vote for the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) during a TV appearance with Republican rival Curtis Bostic, three days before their runoff in the 1st District special congressional election.

Appearing in a televised half-hour debate Saturday morning on Charleston NBC affiliate WCBD-TV’s “Beyond the Headlines” program, both Bostic and Sanford expressed their opposition to same-sex marriage. Sanford, who represented the 1st District for three terms beginning in 1995, referred to his own 1996 vote for DOMA, which President Clinton signed into law.

“I think that ultimately, you know, marriage is a sacrament and, you know, it is something that is ultimately in the purview of faith rather than civil authority,” said Sanford, whose 2009 sex scandal resulted in his own divorce, as well as a censure by the state legislature and a $74,000 ethics fine. “I voted, when  I was in the United States Congress, for the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between one man and one woman. It is not say, tragically, that every marriage makes it, but that this is the ideal we ought to be aiming for.”

DOMA was the subject of a Supreme Court hearing Wednesday, with several justices voicing skepticism about its constitutionality. In Saturday’s TV forum, Bostic called for a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman under federal law.

 


 

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Category: Congress, Election, Gays, Marriage, South Carolina

Why Did Those Racist Crackers at CNN Keep Roland Martin From Being a Star?

Posted on | March 30, 2013 | 18 Comments

Just by way of historical context, let’s remember that CNN was a trailblazer in this regard, making Bernard Shaw their primetime news anchor back in 1980. Keep that in mind in appraising the sour grapes rationalization by axed commentator Roland Martin:

Roland Martin on Thursday blamed racism for his inability to get his own show  at CNN.
“You have largely white male executives who are not necessarily enamored  with the idea of having strong, confident minorities, who say, ‘You know, I can  do this,'” he told HuffPostLive.
“I am simply saying ‘give folks a shot,’” he added. “We deliver, but we never get the big piece, the larger salary, to be able to get from here to there.”

(Hat-tip: Memeorandum.)

Update (Smitty): welcome, Instapundit readers!

Category: CNN

Teaching by Example

Posted on | March 30, 2013 | 21 Comments

“The cheating had been going on so long. . . .
We considered it part of our jobs.”

The New York Times tells the story of the Atlanta teacher cheating scandal. Teachers systematically changed students’ answers on standardized tests, erasing wrong answers and changing them to the right ones, and the deception went all the way to the top: Dr. Beverly Hall, the Atlanta superintendent, was hosted at the White House and named superintendent of the year by the American Association of School Administrators. She collected more than $500,000 in performance bonuses.

And now Dr. Hall has been indicted by a grand jury on charges that could send her to prison for the rest of her life.

Pay attention, kids. This might be on your final exam.

Category: Education

Chris Cassone Strikes Again:
‘My Baby Loves Barbecue’

Posted on | March 30, 2013 | 4 Comments

by Smitty

Hot cars, a cool girl, some rockabilly, and intense eats. How much more American could this song be?

Meanwhile, my baby loves a paycheck, and I must apologize to the loyal readers for my general absence the last week. There is a new job, which is pretty much the same old technology contracting I was always doing. The commute may be slightly worse, and the pressure a little higher. This is going to confine me to popping in on Twitter occasionally, and helping to promote criminally underrated geniuses like Chris Cassone, and maybe the occasional World’s Youngest Blogger update.

Category: Chris Cassone

Why John Avlon Hates Sarah Palin

Posted on | March 29, 2013 | 75 Comments

Prominent among the clueless douchebags who thought Rudy Giuliani could be elected president, John Avlon by 2009  was faced with a problem: How could a pro-Obama liberal Republican hireling find work in a political environment where the Tea Party uprising demonstrated that the Charlie Crist collaborationist Vichy wing of the GOP  had no natural grassroots constituency?

So in 2010, Avlon co-founded the “No Labels” movement, funded by liberal donors and assigned the mission of helping Democrats destroy the Tea Party. And if Avlon’s constant smearing of conservatives as “winguts” damaged the Republican Party, so what? Nobody involved in “No Labels” gives a damn.

OK, so the other day Sarah Palin’s PAC came out with an awesome new video declaring Mama Grizzly’s intent to continue being a major force in Republican Party politics, and naturally John Avlon decided this was a fine occasion to defecate all over Palin’s name.

Would it be possible to do a point-by-point rebuttal of Avlon’s ignorant arguments? Yes. Is it necessary to do so? No.

Once you understand the motives of people like that, their methods are mere details. If Avlon ever wrote anything that hurt Democrats, the Daily Beast wouldn’t publish it.

UPDATE: Noticing some chatter in the comments, let me clarify that I am not “anti-Giuliani,” but anybody who thought Rudy was going to be elected president just doesn’t understand how modern politics works. I mean, never mind the primary campaign “path to the nomination,” or even questions of ideology or issues. Just ask yourself: Who was the last bald guy elected president?

There’s this thing called “TV.” Maybe you heard of it . . .

 

Category: Vicious Backstabbing Crapweasels

South Carolina Debate Aftermath

Posted on | March 29, 2013 | 26 Comments

CHARLESTON, S.C.
There is a golf course in the back yard of the mansion where I’m staying here, guest of a prosperous family who are supporters of Curtis Bostic. Whatever mental image is conjured by the phrase “Christian home-schoolers,” it probably doesn’t match this family’s reality: Truly blessed by the Lord, not only with seven children but also ample means for their support. The father of this evangelical brood is a civil engineer of some eminence in his field, and his gracious wife — currently scrambling eggs in the kitchen — is scarcely the grim suffering victim of the theocratic patriarchy that feminist theorists might imagine.

So I’m writing this at the kitchen table while the home-schooled kids are chattering happily away around me — the baby of the brood is gobbling bacon for breakfast — and outside is a glorious spring morning with azaleas blooming beneath the pines beside the 15th fairway. Ah, the arduous existence of the campaign correspondent . . .

The best headline to come from last night’s debate:

Oops: Mark Sanford Attacks Opponent
for Taking Care of Cancer-Stricken Wife

Kind of a failure of oppo-research for Sanford: He was talking about Curtis Bostic having missed meetings of the Charleston County Council, and Bostic was like, “Unfortunately, my wife has had cancer twice . . . ” And Bostic’s son Daniel was pretty indignant about it, too.

Having myself immediately called the debate a win for Bostic, I checked around at other outlets and, while they’re less emphatically judgmental about it, the coverage is generally favorable toward Bostic. I’ll quote CNN’s Kevin Liptak at length:

The two Republicans vying for a spot on the ballot in South Carolina’s special U.S. Congressional election traded barbs Thursday over former Gov. Mark Sanford’s history of marital infidelity.
Opponent Curtis Bostic claimed the former governor was a “compromised candidate” because of an extramarital affair with a woman in Argentina in 2009 during his tenure in the state house. “Trust is a crucial issue. In fact, it has become a crucial issue in this race,” Bostic said during Thursday’s debate. A former Charleston city councilman, Bostic will face Sanford in a runoff vote on Tuesday because neither candidate received a majority in last week’s primary.
The seat up for grabs is South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, which Sanford represented from 1995 to 2001. He went on to become the Palmetto State’s governor, during which time his affair became public.
He and his wife divorced in 2010, and Sanford completed his second term in 2011. He’s now engaged to the woman with whom he had the affair.
During his primary campaign, Sanford told CNN he was seeking “redemption” by running for office again, a sentiment he returned to Thursday.
“The events of 2009 absolutely represent a failure on my part, for which there were and probably always will be consequences,” Sanford said. “But that does not mean, because you have had failure in your personal life, that you cannot step back into life again.”
Bostic, however, argued that the congressional seat – which has been held by a Republican since 1981 – would become vulnerable if Sanford becomes the GOP nominee.
“A compromised candidate is not what we need. It’s just not what we need. We need to secure this seat. It needs to be red,” Bostic said, citing polls showing that Democratic candidate Elizabeth Colbert Busch is leading Sanford.

What jarred me during the debate was how people in the audience enthusiastically applauded Sanford. My column at The American Spectator:

Republicans here applauded Mark Sanford at the end of a sort of sermonette in which the former governor discussed the Argentine sex scandal that led to his being censured by the state legislature.
“I failed. I failed very publicly,” Sanford said during Thursday’s debate, referring to “the events of 2009” as he pleaded that “because you have had failure in your personal life” it does not mean “that you cannot step back into life again.”
Whether stepping back into life can also mean trying to step back into Congress, less than four years after an adulterous affair that made national headlines, is the question that faces voters in next Tuesday’s Republican runoff in South Carolina’s 1st District. Democrats have nominated the sister of cable TV comedian Stephen Colbert as their candidate, ensuring widespread attention to the May 7 special election to fill the seat vacated by Tim Scott’s appointment to the Senate. Will GOP voters here really choose Sanford as the face of the party in this high-profile race, perhaps even risking defeat in the Lowcountry district that has been safely Republican? This was the concern raised in Thursday’s debate by Sanford’s opponent, Curtis Bostic.
“A compromised candidate is not what we need,” said Bostic, the Marine Corps veteran and former Charleston County councilman who emerged from a 16-candidate GOP primary field to face Sanford in the runoff.
“Trust is a crucial issue,” Bostic said, adding that the possibility of Sanford winning the Republican nomination has made Democrats “excited about the possibility of taking this seat back.”Citing polls that show Sanford vulnerable against Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch, Bostic warned that if 1st District voters choose the scandal-stained Sanford, “We will lose this seat and lose it needlessly.” . . .

Please read the whole thing. I’ll update to add more reaction in a bit. First I have to finish my breakfast and enjoy this fine Carolina morning.

UPDATE: A reporter at the Patch.com quoted a notorious weirdo’s heinous reaction, requiring me to inform the jackal via Twitter:

Memo to deranged cyberstalker Bill Schmalfeldt: @Bostic4Congress‘s wife is still very much alive, praise God.

UPDATE II: Becca Lower’s reaction to Sanford’s apologia:

There’s a difference between acknowledging that we all sin, that we’re all flawed individuals, and breaking the vow you’ve made to your spouse and the pledge you’ve made to your state.

UPDATE III: Danielle Saul’s verdict:

I believe that Bostic proved he is the best candidate to defeat Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch.
Bostic has a proven record of standing firm in conservative principles. We need to start sending good people like Curtis to Washington D.C. that say ‘enough is enough’ and start getting things done.

UPDATE IV: You gotta admire Quin Hillyer’s expertise at headlines: “Don’t Cry for Him Carolina.”

 


 

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Category: South Carolina

LIVE AT FIVESEVEN: 03.29.13

Posted on | March 29, 2013 | 2 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Obama Moves To Shame Congress Into Passing Gun Control Package

And speaking of shame...

And speaking of shame…

Putting White House muscle and his supporters behind Senate bill

Administration To Unveil Proposal To Lower Auto Emissions
Tighter sulfur, nitrogen oxide requirements would increase car, gasoline prices


Mandela Remains Hospitalized As Easter Weekend Begins
Responding positively to treatment for lung infection



POLITICS
Rubio, Inhofe Join Cruz, Lee And Paul In Vow To Filibuster Gun Control Bill

Preparing the Republican alternative

Preparing the Republican option

Meanwhile, Chuck Grassley prepares an alternative bill

Plan To Hand Out Free Shotguns In Tucson Spurs Debate

Lawsuit Challenges Michigan Emergency Manager Law


Chicago, NY, LA Prosecuted Fewest Federal Gun Crimes

President Sets Up Commission On Streamlining Vote Process

Maryland Senate Committee Passes Gas Tax Increase, Amendment To Protect Transportation Money

Sarah Palin Aims To Help Pick Candidates, Play Significant Role In 2014 Elections

Army Learns Tough Lessons In Nork-Like Wargame



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Oil Drops On Increased Inventories: NYMEX $92.45, Brent $107.61
Economy Posts Sluggish Growth In Fourth Quarter
Japan Factory Output Post Surprising Decline In February
Weekly Jobless Claims Highest Since February
American Chamber Of Commerce In China Says 25% Of Members Victimized By Data Theft
Another Report Says Individual Health Plan Costs Expected To Rise
Softbank, Sprint Vow Not To Use Huawei Equipment After Merger
Amazon To Buy Goodreads For Undisclosed Sum
NY Court Of Appeals Upholds Sales Tax On Online Sellers
GoogleKeep v. OneNote v. Evernote: We Name The Note App Winner
Five Reasons The Windows Desktop Isn’t Going Away
Facebook On The Verge Of Announcing HTC Smartphone?
“Company Of Heroes 2” Closed Beta Starts Next Week
“Journey” Takes Game Of The Year At GDC Awards
Smartphone Users Check Facebook 14 Times A Day
“Final Fantasy V” Now Out On iOS
Razer Preloading Steam On Edge Gaming Tablet



SPORTS
Wichita State Out-Muscles La Salle To Reach Elite Eight

Shockers forward Carl Hall defends against La Salle's Jerrell Wright

Shockers forward Carl Hall defends against La Salle’s Jerrell Wright

Shockers overwhelm early, cruise to easy 72-58 win

Doug Gottlieb’s Rough Start On Thursday’s NCAA Tourney

Mark Martin To Replace Injured Hamlin At Joe Gibbs Racing

Lundqvist Saves 26, Rangers Shut Out 3-0 By Sens Anyway

Red Sox Demote Bard To Double-A

Blue Jackets Fall 6-4 To Oilers, Done In By Late Goals

Kings 117. Suns 103

Pens Crush Jets 4-0, Remain Perfect In March

#16 Syracuse Spanks #4 Hoosiers 61-50

Sedin Line Comes Alive As Canucks Beat Avs 4-1

#15 Marquette Too Much For  #5 Miami, 71-61

Nationals 2013: World Series Or Bust



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Barbara Walters Poised To Announce Retirement

Finally, after 52 years.

Finally, after 52 years.

ABC looking to give star interviewer big sendoff leading up to May 2014 retirement

“GI Joe: Retaliation” Opens Big With $11 Million Box Office

Lohan Finds Unlikely Ally In Kristen Stewart

Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo In Talks To Reprise “Vacation” Roles

Demi Lovato Returning For Third Season Of “X Factor”

Britney Spears On Big Workout Kick

Jon Hamm Crotch Brouhaha Continues: Jockey Offers Free Undies To “Mad Men” Star

Kirsten Dunst: Kissing Brad Pitt Was “Disgusting”



FOREIGNERS
Hollande Presses French To Embrace Reduced Pensions And Welfare For Growth
Syrian Jihadis Getting Western Weapons
Ten Killed, Fourteen Injured In Peshawar Suicide Bombing
Easter Fever Grips Hyderabad
Easter Messages Reflect Pope Francis’ Focus On Poor
Army Vet Charged With Aiding Al-Qaeda In Syria
Filipino Penitents Reenact Crucifixion Of Christ
UNSC Approves First Ever “Intervention Brigade”
French Police Probe Death Threats After Sarkozy Ruling
Canada First Country To Pull Out Of UN Drought Convention



BLOGS & STUFF
Rush Limbaugh: We Lost Once We Modified The Definition Of The Word “Marriage”
Rep. Steve King: Marriage Is Illegal…Without A License
Weasel Zippers: Army Vet Who Fought With Syria’s Al-Nusra Front Arrested In Virginia
Erika Johnsen: That’s Odd – Food Stamp Enrollment Still On The Rise
Lonely Conservative: Food Stamp Usage Still Soaring – Gee, I Wonder Why
Emily Miller: Hey, Piers Morgan, Adam Lanza Was Not An NRA Member
Legal Insurrection: “Very White Republican Leadership” Kinda Looks Like…
Twitchy: Reality Bites Back – “Dudes Of Juicy Couture”, Left Shocked Obamacare Is Costing Them Work Hours
Mark Steyn: Jihadist Welfare Queen
Ed Morrissey: Reason’s Rebuttal To Jim Carrey – “It Takes A Talking Ass”
Rick Moran: Rumors Of The Death Of Anti-Gay Marriage Movement Greatly Exaggerated
Althouse: One Of TIME’s Two New Cover Photos Declaring “Gay Marriage Already Won” Looks Like A Wedding Kiss, The Other More Like A Makeout Session
Allahpundit: Senate Gay Marriage Pool Update – Lisa Murkowski Says Her Views Are Evolving


Deadline to submit links for tomorrow’s FMJRA is tonight at midnight.


Category: Live at Five

Greetings from Charleston! Debate Between Bostic and Sanford 7 p.m. ET UPDATE: BOSTIC WINS DEBATE

Posted on | March 28, 2013 | 26 Comments

UPDATE 8:30 p.m. ET — Well, Mark Sanford had some good moments — in his closing, he quoted Barry Goldwater from memory — but Curtis Bostic was the winner. He pointed out the risk of having Sanford as the nominee: “Democrats are excited about the possibility of taking this seat back,” he said, pointing to polls that show that if Sanford wins Tuesday, Republicans “will lose this seat and lose it needlessly.”

As I said earlier, merely by sharing the stage with the better-known Sanford and holding his own, Bostic scored an important win. In his closing argument, Bostic described himself as a “fresh, new face” and said, “I know I’m the new guy. I’m ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.’ I’m asking for your vote.”

UPDATE 7:40 p.m. ET — OK, I’m prejudiced, but Curtis Bostic is winning this debate. He is well-spoken, articulate and humorous. One of his best lines so far was when he mentioned his service as a Marine: “My boots have been on the ground in places where the enemy was real and . . . that enemy was radical Islam.” He also keeps mentioning the Constitution, which is mighty popular with Tea Party folks. For Bostic to share the stage with Sanford and hold his own . . . #Winning.

* * * PREVIOUSLY (5:53 p.m. ET) * * *

CHARLESTON, S.C.
Just picked up my media credential at Porter Gaud-School, site of tonight’s debate between Curtis Bostic and Mark Sanford in the Republican primary for the 1st District congressional seat.  We then went to get some Zaxby’s Chicken. Just so you know — transparency! — the special South Carolina tip-jar has raised $365 for the trip so far. Here’s a report by Alexis Levinson of the Daily Caller:

In the past two days, Bostic has been endorsed by one-time presidential candidate and former Sen. Rick Santorum, as well as conservative commentator Ann  Coulter and the 60-Plus Association, by way of spokesman Pat Boone.
Santorum called Bostic’s second place finish “a win for the strength of his grassroots supporters and his robust conservative values,” and spent Wednesday  in South Carolina campaigning for Bostic. During that time, he made a backhanded  jab at Sanford and his “values.” The former governor left office surrounded by a cloud of scandal after he disappeared from the state, and upon his return, was forced to reveal that he was having an affair with an Argentine woman who is now  his fiancé.
“I know I’m going to get the question about Curtis’ rival,” Santorum said, according to the Charlotte Observer. “I believe in redemption. I believe in second chances. I have lost races for president and the Senate and I believe people can come back and serve. But the choice here for the people of  the Lowcountry is, ‘Who is the best person who can represent you and your values  in Washington, D.C.?’”

The Charleston Post and Courier:

Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator whose son attends The Citadel and who might run for president again in 2016, said Bostic was strong on all three areas most valued by conservatives: a strong military, limited government and social and moral issues.
“He’s talked about the values of the Lowcountry,” Santorum said. “This is a ‘Mr. Smith goes to Washington.’?”

You can watch the debate via live stream on www.counton2.com beginning at 7 p.m. ET. Popular conservative David Webb will also be livestreaming his own debate coverage.

You should follow the hashtag #SC01 on Twitter.

UPDATE: The requisite photo:

National Affairs Desk, Porter-Gaud School, March 28, 2013

 


Category: Election, South Carolina
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