The Other McCain

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

Ideology, Personalities and Competence

Posted on | December 4, 2012 | 29 Comments

Last week, I was a guest on “The Rebecca Diserio Show,” and Becca Lower has been kind enough to transcribe the first half of the interview here. We were talking about Saxby Chambliss and I compared it to the situation with Charlie Crist in 2009-2010:

Now, I’m all in favor of electing a Republican majority in the Senate. But the idea that the way to do that is to abandon principles, to muddle the difference between Republicans and Democrats on key issues. Well . . . if that worked out so well in the past, you might think of, I don’t know, the administration of President Dole, you know… It just doesn’t work as practical politics. Never mind that it represents a cowardly abandonment of firm principle.
The problem is, if you go back to 1964, the simple title of Phyllis Schafly’s book: A Choice, Not an Echo. You have to offer the voters an alternative to the party in power, or else the opposition has no reason to exist.

The idea that it’s “smart” to be moderate ignores this basic reality of politics. Successful opposition politics is about highlighting the failures of the party in power and offering a principled alternative. It’s not so much about individual politicians as it is about building a movement.

One of the most insightful things I’ve ever heard about politics was from Stephen Gordon, who worked on the 2008 Ron Paul campaign. Gordo said, “The Ron Paul movement wasn’t about Ron Paul, it was about a movement.” When the Tea Party movement was at full strength, it was like that: People didn’t care so much about candidates or personalities as they cared about the movement itself. But after 2010, the presidential campaign got a lot of people distracted by personalities, and the Tea Party energy was dissipated as a result. Something else from the interview:

Rebecca, a basic problem, something that we saw in the aftermath of this election. You remember the meltdown of the ORCA system, correct? . . . Well, what we learned in the wake of this was that the people who had been put in charge of this basic, very important too l– technological tool – to get out the vote and to report get out the vote efforts, they didn’t understand the technology they were using.
Okay, this was just shocking. It was incompetence. And we have a problem, that people in the Republican party whose job it is to talk about the media don’t know anything about the media. You hear people talking about demographics who don’t know anything about demographics. And you have people talking about culture who don’t know anything about culture.

The Republican Party has a shortage of basic competence. There is too much cliqueishness, too much Old Boy-ism, where who you know is more important than what you know, and the catastrophic failure of ORCA was the tip of the iceberg in that regard.

Some people have tried to isolate this to the Romney campaign, to say that Romney and his aides were uniquely unqualified, but the fact is, they were much more competent than any of their rivals for the GOP nomination and, overall, ran a pretty good campaign. The fact that Republican Senate candidates generally fared worse than Romney argues against the “blame Romney” excuse. The GOP’s problems are a lot more pervasive and complex than just one candidate or campaign.

Read the rest of the interview at Becca Lower’s blog, and you can listen to the audio here:

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Category: Conservatism 101, Election 2012

LIVE AT FIVE: 12.04.12

Posted on | December 4, 2012 | 3 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Republican $4.6 Trillion Fiscal Cliff Counter-proposal Rejected

Speaker Boehner leaves a press conference

Proposal based on Simpson-Bowles committee concepts, though Bowles disclaims parentage

Obama Warns Assad Against Using Nerve Gas On Rebels
“There will be consequences and you will be held accountable.”

Duchess Of Cambridge Pregnant, Palace Confirms
Wills & Kate expecting first child; Kate in hospital with hideous morning sickness



POLITICS
Obama Wants Four More Years For Debbie Downer At The DNC

The President and the DNC Chair

President’s nod virtually assures Wasserman-Schultz’ return as head of Democratic National Committee


Navy Cross, Silver Stars Awarded To SpecOps Marines

Military Judge At Nidal Hassan Court-Martial Removed From Case

Governor Cuomo Goes To Washington

Supreme Court Silent On Gay Marriage Cases

Great Lakes States’ Asian Carp Suit Rejected



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Crude Prices Slip On Manufacturing Numbers, Lack Of Solution To Fiscal Cliff: NYMEX $88.91, Brent $110.78
Manufacturing Declines To Weakest Level Since June 2009
Stocks Slump In December Opener
Oracle Paying 2013 Dividends Early To Beat Uncle Sam
Big Four PRC Affiliates Accused Of Blocking SEC Probes
South African Company To Build First US Gas-To-Liquid Plant
Samsung “Project J” Rumor Hints At Galaxy S IV In April 2013
Facebook Wins Preliminary OK Of “Sponsored Stories” Settlement
GNAA Tumblr Tantrum Is No WikiLeaks
Don’t Blame Me For txtspk, Says Sender Of First SMS
Apple’s New “Assembled In USA” iMac A Bear To Upgrade, Repair
How Microsoft Can Save Windows And Maintain Its Iron Grip Over IT
PengPod, A True Linux Tablet, Hits Its Mark On Indiegogo
“Bioshock Infinite” Developer Hires Stunning Real Life Elizabeth Lookalike



SPORTS
Surgery For A-Rod, Resignation For Yankees

Alex Rodriguez

Out for up to six months, will probably get as many hits as he would in the lineup

Giants Sign Angel Pagan, 4 Years/$40 Million

NIU Fans Pumped For Orange Bowl

Mets GM Sandy Alderson Openly Entertaining Offers For R.A. Dickey

Sri Ram Sene Opposes India-Pakistan Cricket Series

Nationals Sign Lefty Zach Duke



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Lindsay Lohan’s Bank Accounts Seized By IRS

Lindsay Lohan arriving for a private dinner

Revenooers want $234K from 2009-2010, unspecified amount from 2011

John Travolta Sued By Alleged Gay Lover

Katt Williams Busted In Seattle After Bar Fight

Adam Levine Trashes “Honey Boo Boo” As “The Decay Of Western Civilization”

Taylor Swift And Harry Styles Enjoy A Romantic Day Out

Nylon + Lucy Hale

Jennifer Aniston & Justin Theroux Celebrate Engagement With Star-Studded Bash

Johnny Depp Performs With Alice Cooper In L.A.



FOREIGNERS
Israel Rejects US, Euro Criticism Over Settlement Plans
Pope Orders Bishops to Exert Closer Control Over Catholic Charities
Congolese Troops Enter Goma After Rebel Withdrawal
Hamas Leader Tells Fatah: Let’s Fight Israel Together
Pope Benedict XVI Goes On Twitter As @Pontifex
Norks Defy Sanctions, Place Rocket On Launchpad



BLOGS & STUFF
Legal Insurrection: If We’re Doing Doomsday, Let’s Really Do Doomsday
Andrew Malcolm: As America Faces A Fiscal Cliff, The Obamas Make Do With 54 Christmas Trees
Weasel Zippers: President Deems GOP Fiscal Offer Not Serious Enough To Deserve Counter-Proposal
Power Line: Why Are Republicans Losing The Tax Debate?
Rick Moran: Petition Calls On White House To Build The Death Star
Mary Katherine Ham: Polls Say Nation That Elected Obama Wants More Spending Cuts Than Tax Hikes And Still Hates Obamacare
Keith Hennessey: Time To Call The President’s Budget Bluff
Rush Limbaugh: What Made Jovan Belcher Murder The Mother Of His Child?
Ed Driscoll: Dispatches From Post-Racial America
Twitchy: Pope Benedict XVI Joins Twitter, Vile Hate Begins Before His First Tweet
Matthew Boyle: Why I’m Enlisting In Andrew Breitbart’s War
Jed Babbin: No Ifs, Thens, Or Buts
Protein Wisdom: Bob Costas’ Anti-Gun Rant – The Fallout

Category: Live at Five

Why Does the IRS Hate Redheaded Celebrities With Large Breasts?

Posted on | December 3, 2012 | 16 Comments

Stop the hate!

Add an IRS seizure to the problems taxing Lindsay Lohan.
Uncle Sam has taken control of all of the “Liz & Dick” star’s bank accounts in an effort to recover $233,904 in unpaid taxes from 2009 and [2010] and an unspecified amount from 2011, TMZ.com first reported.

Well, what’s a young celebrity damsel in distress to do? Have no fear — Hef and Charlie to the rescue!

The 26-year-old Hollywood star has already been helped out by her friend Charlie Sheen, who gave her $100,000 to help her get back on track with her finances, but sources tell website TMZ she’s still falling dramatically short, as she also owes money for 2011.
Lindsay has spent most of this year trying to get her career back on track, and after filming roles in TV movie Liz and Dick and The Canyons as well as stripping off naked for a Playboy photo shoot, she is set to earn more than $2 million by the end of this year.

Such chivalrous gentlemen they are. Now that the IRS has begun cracking down on redheaded celebrities, it’s probably just a matter of time before they go after Christina Hendricks.

Category: Celebrities, Taxes

Fiscal Spliff: House GOP Takes A Hit From His Insta-badness

Posted on | December 3, 2012 | 22 Comments

by Smitty

No sooner had Glenn Reynolds suggested in his USA Today column:

1. Adopt the Bowles-Simpson Plan. The plan was the product of a bipartisan commission, chaired by Democrat Erskine Bowles and Republican Alan Simpson, appointed by President Obama to address America’s ballooning deficits and national debt. Most experts agree that it’s a pretty good plan. President Obama didn’t like it because it shrinks government too much.
Tough. It’s a plan, which is more than President Obama has offered, and from a bipartisan commission he appointed. Can Obama get away with vetoing that? Can Senate Democrats get away with rejecting it and bringing on the automatic cuts and tax increases of the sequester? Doubtful. Plus, though the press tends to cover for Obama and blame Republicans, media types love Bipartisan Commissions.

. . .then they went with it:

In the latest in a tit-for-tat between Capitol Hill and the White House to avert the fiscal cliff, House Republican leaders sent President Barack Obama a $2.2 trillion counteroffer on Monday — but it doesn’t hike tax rates on the wealthy or deal explicitly with tricky issues like the debt ceiling and the sequester.
After days of Democratic criticism that they lacked a plan, the Republican leadership endorsed a framework first outlined last year by Erskine Bowles, a Democrat who led the president’s debt reduction committee.
The proposal, unveiled by senior GOP aides Monday during a briefing in the Capitol, assumes $800 billion in fresh governmental revenue through tax reform, $600 billion in health savings and changes to an inflation formula that determines benefit levels across government programs, including Social Security.
There’s also $600 billion in other savings, split evenly between mandatory and discretionary spending.

Why I’m so flippant about this farce, starting with this post title, is that the actual problem is concentrated power and nothing whatsoever in this farcical kabuki seems to consider that:

he Obama administration’s opening bid on Thursday in negotiations to avert a year-end fiscal crunch included a demand for new stimulus spending and authority to unilaterally raise the U.S. borrowing ceiling, a Republican congressional aide said.
The proposal, made by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to congressional Republican leaders on Capitol Hill, was seen as offering little the Republicans could agree to and was greeted with laughter, the aide said.

I’m not ready to quit yet, but I do grow to understand those who’ve just punted, given up, and said “Up this noise.”

GOP: we’re on a suicidal course. Articulate an alternative, federalist, Constitutional course. What part of “the course we’ve steered the last century has Got. To. Go.” eludes you?

James Pethokoukis at AEI has more.

Category: Uncategorized

The Democrat-Media Complex

Posted on | December 3, 2012 | 15 Comments

Andrew Breitbart’s description came quickly to mind:

In conversations with POLITICO, some of the left’s most influential voices in media said that, with the concerns of re-election over, they intend to be more critical of the president’s performance and more aggressive in urging him to pursue a progressive agenda as the clock ticks on his last four years in office.
“Liberals in the media are going to be tougher on Obama and more respectful at the same time,” Hendrik Hertzberg, The New Yorker’s chief political commentator and a former speechwriter for Jimmy Carter, told POLITICO. “He was the champion of our side, he vanquished the foe….. [but] now liberals don’t have to worry about hurting his chances for re-election, so they can be tougher in urging him to do what he should be doing.”

Matt Welch has further thoughts on the bootlicking propagandists.

UPDATE: Did the CEO of the New York Times cover up a pedophile sex scandal at the BBC? “Progressive agenda” and all that.

Category: Media Bias

Rule 5 Monday

Posted on | December 3, 2012 | 14 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


Yesterday was bad. Saturday was spent finding out just how out of shape I am, and just how many books I’ve accumulated in forty-plus years. Sunday was spent enjoying painkillers and immobility. That having been said, here’s this week’s Rule 5 linkagery. Try not to follow the links where you shouldn’t.


Laughing Conservative kicks off with Lucinda Leong, Randy’s Roundtable offers Michaea Crawford, and Fishersville Mike salutes the Colts cheerleaders who got their heads shaved in support of coach Chuck Pagano. Reaganite Republican has a selection of rather weird women, Grumpy Old Man has girls eating ice cream, and First Street Journal offers women in uniform at training. A Trainwreck In Maxwell doubles up this week with Barbara Eden and Danielle Colby, a/k/a Danni Diesel.


EBL addresses a subject near and dear to my heart: women who love wombats. Also, Mary Woronov!


El Opinador Compulsivo brings back the black & white gallery, along with Kaley Cuoco, Michelle Waver, 80s hair, walking the dog Quebec-style, The Case of the Oxford Drug Mule (featuring Denise Milani), and Christmas-themed shots here and here.


A View From The Beach leads off with Carmen Electra, followed by the second blogversary, the BBC hiding the naked truth about cave girls, Gay Women Will Marry Your Boyfriends, ID That Tramp Stamp, Red, Blonde And Brunette Midnight Music, and a French girl singing like an angel.


Soylent Green’s Monday Motivationer is Aryane; then comes Overnighty Iryna, Tuesday Titillation Laura, Humpday Hawt Spassfabrik Solo Erica Ellyson, When All Else Fails Read The Directions, Overnighty preview, Corsetcare leftovers, Serbia Vampire Alert, Google Shoutout to Japan, Falconsword Friday, and AM Awesome Shannon.


Proof Positive’s Friday Night Babe is Alyssa Milano, his vintage babe is Mary Martin, and Sex in Advertising is all about the Look of Leather. Also, the obligatory 49ers cheerleader! Dustbury checks in with Cherie Currie and Janelle Monae, Three Beers Later offers medical advice, and at The Camp of the Saints, it’s Liz Asset and the Rule 5 News.


The DaleyGator’s DaleyBabes this week included Vanessa Minnillo, Christine Nguyen, Christina Applegate, Natassia Mahlte, Natsumi Abe, Gugu Mbatha Raw, and Nikki Reed with a Rule 5 roundup!


Thanks to everyone for their linkagery! Next week’s links will be due to the Rule 5 Wombat mailbox by Saturday, December 8.

Category: Rule 5

MeetYourDeath.com: Psychopathic Killers Now Have Internet Access, You Know

Posted on | December 3, 2012 | 14 Comments

Steven Michael Fabi (left) and Leigh Swanson (right)

Dan Riehl brings our attention to the case of 45-year-old Leigh Swanson, who went on a blind date Nov. 16 with a man she met online and whose body was found Wednesday in Michigan:

The Midland County sheriff’s department says 30-year-old Steven Michael Fabi was found dead Tuesday in a bedroom of a home in Edenville Township, in the Sanford area. Authorities say he apparently fatally shot himself as deputies were walking up to his house to investigate Swanson’s disappearance. . . .
Sheriff Jerry Nielsen has said Swanson called her mother from the man’s house on November 18th, two days after she left for the date.

Who was Steven Michael Fabi? We don’t know much about him yet, except that he was the prime suspect in the death of Swanson, whose body was found in woods near the house where Fabi lived with his family. A tip led police to Fabi’s house:

As two deputies arrived at the home, Nielsen said, they heard a loud “boom.”
A man came out of the house, according to the sheriff, and told deputies, “My son just shot himself.”

Swanson evidently had a premonition about Fabi:

“Leigh told me that she had a bad feeling about going on the date … I said, ‘don’t go,'” Swanson’s mother, Beverly Kane, explained.
“But when she got there … she called me … and said everything was OK,” her mother added.

You know when you get a spooky feeling about something? Trust that feeling. Maybe there’s not really anything to worry about, but it’s always better to be safe than to be a dead body in the woods. And let’s talk a bit about this online dating thing:

The social networking website where Leigh Swanson may have met the man who police believe killed her is working with authorities in the investigation.
“We are working closely with the Midland County Sheriff’s department to assist in their investigation of this tragic incident,” said Robin Shallow, MeetMe.com’s executive vice president of communications and public relations, in a statement.
Family told media Swanson met 30-year-old Steven Michael Fabi at MeetMe.com.

Obviously, it would be wrong to blame the proprietors of MeetMe.com for the death of Leigh Swanson, just as it would be wrong to suggest that every guy who uses the Internet to meet women is a potentially dangerous creepazoid. On the other hand, you have to ask yourself, “If Ted Bundy were alive today, how would he stalk his prey?”

 

Category: Crime

LIVE AT FIVENINE: 12.03.12

Posted on | December 3, 2012 | 11 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Fiscal Cliff Brinksmanship Goes To 11

TurboTax Timmy Explains It All

Speaker Boehner condemns White House plan as “non-serious”

PRC, Russia Press Norks To Scuttle Rocket Launch
Russians cite UNSC prohibition on missile launches

OK, France, Sweden Summon Israeli Ambassadors Over Settlement Expansion
UK may withdraw ambassador from Tel Aviv consulate



POLITICS
Obama Golfs With Bill Clinton While Economy Burns

Bill & Barack hit the links at Andrews

Third golf outing since winning re-election


Coast Guardsman Killed Off California Coast

40 Tennessee Schools Join Pilot Program For Longer School Hours


Doyline, Louisiana Evacuated After Six Million Pounds Of Gunpowder Found Improperly Stored

Schumer In Hot Pursuit Of $10 Million In Sandy Aid

Wikileaker’s Court-Martial Delayed

Finnish MP Defends “Jews Control US Media” Comment

Clashes Over Internet Regulation Erupt During UN Talks

AAA Weighs In Against E15 Mandate



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Oil Continues Rise On Mideast Tension, Signs Of PRC Growth Revival: NYMEX $88.81, Brent $111.43
Greece Begins Buying Back Bonds
Delta Bids For Singapore Airlines’ 49% Stake In Virgin Atlantic
UK Lawmakers Seek End To Corporate Tax Avoidance
Michigan To Host Two Federally-Funded Battery Research Centers
Ford Rebranding Lincoln In Effort To Stand Out In Luxury Crowd
UN Internet Regulation Treaty Talks Begin In Dubai
Nokia Wants A Linux Expert For HERE Maps, Not An Android Phone
Among US Social Networks, Smartphone Use Trumps Mobile Web
Text Messaging Passes Its Peak As It Celebrates 20th Birthday
RIM: signs Of Life For Struggling Blackberry Maker?
“Bioshock Infinte” Box Art Released



SPORTS
Patriots Beat Dolphins, 23-17

Tom Brady hands off to Stephen Ridley

Victory clinches AFC East title for Patriots

Steelers Rally, Stop Skid With 23-20 Win Over Ravens

NHL Players Agree To Tuesday Meeting Without Bettman, Fehr

Texans Beat Titans 24-20 To Clinch Playoff Berth

McElroy Pilots Jets To 7-6 Victory After Rex Finally Pulls Plug On Sanchez

Colts Luck Out, Beat Lions 35-33

Nationals Non-Tender Lannan, Gorzelanny, Flores



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Shania Twain Kicks Off Two-Year Stint In Vegas

Shania Twain

In residence at Caesar’s Palace; 90-minute show apparently awesome

Hefner & Harris Getting Married – For Real This Time

Mario Lopez Weds Courtney Mazza

Lindsay Lohan – I DON’T Need Rehab!

Jovan Belcher – Girlfriend’s Family “Utterly Shocked” By Murder/Suicide

Dennis Quaid Files For Divorce

Chris Brown Quits Twitter

Ricky Gervais Acts All Atheist, Then Deletes Tweets

Sandra Lee Wants To “Educate The Uniformed” On “World Aides Day”

Alanis Morrissette Defies Boycott, Threats Over Israel Concert



FOREIGNERS
Egypt’s Top Judges Begin Strike As Anger Mounts Over Morsi’s Power Grab
Loyalists Pound Rebel Strongholds In Damascus
For Israel, Iron Dome Missile Defense System Represents Breakthrough
Pope Unveils @pontifex Twitter Handle
Former PM Pahor Defeats Incumbent For Slovenian Presidency
Boko Haram Suspected In Killings Of Christians In NE Nigeria
Clinton Warns Assad Against Use Of Chemical Weapons
Syrian Violence Spreads To Turkey, Lebanon
Former Communist Poised To Lead Italy



BLOGS & STUFF
Weasel Zippers: Obama Honors Rosa Parks Anniversary By Tweeting Pic Of Obama
Atlas Shrugs: Hillary Clinton Complains Holocaust Victims Lack “Empathy”, “Generosity” Toward Nazis
Israel Matzav: Obama’s Problem Is That Israel Supports The Right
Gateway Pundit: McCaskill Feels Sorry For Boehner For Not Wanting To Raise Taxes
Protein Wisdom: NBC Sports Hits A New Low
Ed Driscoll: Why Does Bob Costas Insist On Politicizing Cowboys-Eagles Games?
Jim Geraghty: A Presidency Of Perpetual Crisis
JustOneMinute: Sunday Morning

Category: Live at Five
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