The Other McCain

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

Memo From the National Affairs Desk: Foreboding Gloom Pervades Vanuatu

Posted on | April 11, 2012 | 85 Comments

“After having destroyed every conservative that came on the scene, you can’t say ‘You have to line up behind me.’ No, no, no. Conservatives are not going to jump until they hear where Governor Romney wants to take everybody.”
— Richard Viguerie, veteran conservative leader

“I still think Mitt’s electability is a myth and a lot of conservatives are going to have to sell their souls to support Mitt (More than a few of them have already gotten started). There are a lot of conservatives who’ve put their reputations on the line to assure everyone that Mitt is actually very conservative — and extremely electable. Of course, some of those same people started doing CYA-backpedaling when it looked like Romney almost had the nomination locked up, which begs the question: If you don’t think Mitt is going to win, why were you working so hard to undermine all the other candidates and push Mitt in the first place?”
— John Hawkins, Right Wing News

“Wednesday April 11th is day one of the general election. But there are things I’m seeing that tell me that Mitt Romney is kicking off the campaign in a telling defensive posture.”
— Josh Marshall, Talking Points Memo

“You go to war with the Mitt you have.”
— William Jacobson, Legal Insurrection

My ambition to abandon the drudgery of journalism for an exciting new career in diplomacy as the Future U.S. Ambassador to Vanuatu suffered a major setback Tuesday. When Rick Santorum promised me that ambassadorship in December — in a telephone interview, while he was still in sixth place in the Iowa polls, waiting to catch a plane during his layover in Fort Worth on the cheapest available flight from Des Moines to D.C. —  I made sure I saved the recording.

Because I knew, when the miraculous Iowa victory came through, Santorum’s political advisors would try to talk him out of it.

So I was prepared to hold him accountable to that promise, and he not only won Iowa, he won 10 other states. Santorum raised $9 million in February, beat Newt Gingrich in Southern states like Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana — oh, it was so close, I could taste it. And I had the digital audio of that ironclad promise, the Word of Honor of a Christian Gentleman that next year I’d be jetting off to Porta Vila to begin my new career in South Pacific diplomacy.

Dreams die hard and, despite the professional requirements of Neutral Objective Journalism, my friends, I dared to dream.

When I’m feeling this low, it’s nice to know I’m not suffering alone: I’m not depressed; the world objectively sucks.

Yesterday, after Rick Santorum quit, my 13-year-old son Jefferson asked, “Does this mean I have to stop bad-mouthing Mitt Romney?”

“Yeah,” I said. “It doesn’t mean you have to start good-mouthing him, but you have to stop bad-mouthing him.”

Then I went on to explain that, having been saddled with a nominee whom we had opposed with all our might, we cannot be held responsible for the inevitable disaster. Therefore, on Wednesday, Nov. 7, we will be ready to demand an accounting from those responsible. Read more

Category: Election 2012, Fear. Loathing., Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Shoe Leather Fund, Vanuatu

#OccupyResoluteDesk: “I’m Not Trying To Redistribute Wealth”

Posted on | April 11, 2012 | 13 Comments

by Smitty

The #Occupier-in-Chief said that while peddling his class warfare wares yesterday, as reported in The Examiner.
Barack is accurate here: he’s not trying, he is effecting redistribution of wealth. Now, zoom in for the sub-pixel-sized image of the bearded Yoda, Rutherford B. Hayes, that follows BHO’s statement:

Category: Barack Obama

Our Double-Secret Strategy To Ensure GOP Triumph

Posted on | April 11, 2012 | 123 Comments

by Smitty

While I haven’t been as deep in the tank for any candidate as the marquee name on this blog, I have been consistent in my disdain for Ol’ Willard Mitt. In that spirit, I dared say on Twitter:

This earned me a stern note from Michael Zak, whose book Back to Basics for the Republican Party, is somewhere in my to-read stack:

This invites the question: should we just form up and join the March for Mittens? Why, no: no, we should not. Look folks, the American spirit wasn’t crushed when the Japanese nuked the Alamo, and we’re just not going to roll over for a conservative show-horse, even if he could take a Canadian beauty contest. Read more

Category: Election 2012, Mitt Romney

LIVE AT FIVE – 04.11.12

Posted on | April 11, 2012 | 3 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Norks Fuel Rocket As ROK Goes To Polls

Norks to launch despite warnings from...well, pretty much everybody

Meanwhile in Seoul, President’s party expected to lose parliamentary majority


Annan Says Syria Promises To Respect Ceasefire
Also, will respect us in the morning

Officials: Zimbabwe’s Mugabe “Well, On Holiday”
Angry denials that leader is mortally ill



POLITICS
SecState Embraces “Texts From Hillary” Parody

HRC at work behind the scenes...

Meets Tumblr creators Lambe and Smith at State Department

Lambda Legal Fund Sues Nevada To Impose Gay Marriage

Feds Claim Christie Overstated Costs On ARC Project Before Killing It

Obama Raises $1.75 Million In Florida

Ryan: I Haven’t Discussed Being VP Candidate With Romney

George Clooney To Host $6 Million Fundraiser For Obama

Gingrich’s Utah Filing Fee Check Bounces

Pawlenty Closes Book On Campaign Debt

King Mum On Who He’d Caucus With If Elected To Senate



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Oil Traders Defy Saudis, Bet On Rising Prices
NYMEX Crude Hovers above $101 After US Supply Jump Indicates Continued Weak Demand
Wall Street Drop Is Worst Of 2012
Small Business Owners’ Confidence Drops In March
AT&T To Sell Yellow Pages Stake To Private Equity Firm
Best Buy CEO Resigns Amid Probe Of Personal Conduct
Rajoy Says Spain’s Future At Stake As Regions Mull Returning Powers To Madrid
Fannie, Freddie Mull Mortgage Write-Downs
US Grains Futures Down On USDA Data
Nokia Credit To Lumia Customers For Data Fault Makes Phone Free
HP’s Open Stack Bids To Deliver What Amazon Won’t
Death Watch: Microsoft To Kill WinXP In 2014
Wavii Aims To Transform News Delivery With Social Data
YouTube Adds PPV To Live Streaming
Toshiba’s 13″ Excite: Does The World Need A Tablet This Large?



SPORTS
Bobby Petrino Fired At Arkansas After Four Seasons

Former Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino

Arkansas AD Jeff Long rips coach for adultery, lying and other screwups

Guillen Reopens Old Wounds With Praise For Castro

Rose Out, But Bulls Top Knicks Anyway 98-86

Surging Boston Burns Out The Heat, 115-107

Orioles Blow Lead, Game, Fall To Yankees In 12 Innings

Parcells Not Interested In Coaching Saints

Edmonton Oilers, Doormat Of NHL, Score #1 Draft Pick

Chipper Returns With Homer As Braves Beat Astros 6-4

NHL Fans Will See All Stanley Cup Games On Cable For First Time

Detwiler Posts Five Shutout Innings As Nats Break Mets’ Win Streak With 6-2 Victory



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Ricki Lake Elopes

Ricki Lake

Ties knot with fiance Christian Evans in secret SoCal ceremony

Tony Romo And Candice Crawford Welcome Son Hawkins

Adam Levine Blindsided By Breakup With Anna V

What Does Jennifer Love Hewitt Put Behind Her Ears To Attract Men?

Seal Files Response To Heidi’s Divorce Papers, Seeks Joint Custody

Rooney Mara Magically Grows Longer Locks


Amanda Bynes “Has Been  A Little Lost” In Recent Years

Chevy Chase Attacks Own Show, Calls “Community” “A Fscking Mediocre Sitcom”

Madonna’s “MDNA” Suffers Biggest Album Drop Of All Time



FOREIGNERS
CCP Purges Bo Xilai From Politburo, Central Committee; Wife Detained In Murder Investigation
Annan Seeks Iranian Help As Syrian Cease-Fire Deadline Looms
Zimbabwe In Dire Need As Mugabe Drama Dominates News
Philippines Summon PRC Ambassador In Scarborough Shoal Standoff
Everybody Panics As Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood Flexes Muscles
Sudan Government Vows Response After Surprise Loss Of Oil-Rich Town To SPLA
Israel Prepares For Possible Disruptions At Airport
Abu Hamza’s Extradition To US Approved By EU Court
ROK Election Results To Depend On Voter Turnout
Turkish PM Erdogan Slams Assad For “Killing Dozens Every Day”



BLOGS & STUFF
Bryan Preston: Gawker Hires “Fox Mole”, Who Misses Point Of His Own Tale
Protein Wisdom: BREAKING – Santorum To Drop Out
Tim Blair: We Are Tremendous
NRO Corner: Obamacare And The Deficit
Rush Limbaugh: Is Anyone Really Shocked That Obamacare Costs More Than They Told Us?
Power Line: America’s Debt Bomb – Worse Than Europe’s
Weasel Zippers: Poll Finds Obamacare Increasingly Unpopular – Among Democrats
Weekly Standard: Democratic Aide Says A Dozen Dem Senators Interested In Ryan-Wyden Medicare Reform
Jeffrey Lord: Huckabee Show Opens With Staged Caller
Gateway Pundit: Cardinal Burke Declares Cooperation With Obamacare HHS Mandate Is Sin
AmSpecBlog: Beyond John Derbyshire
American Thinker: Hybrids – Once Was Enough For Most

Category: Live at Five

‘Most Beautiful Woman in Canada’ Is …

Posted on | April 10, 2012 | 40 Comments

. . . kind of like “conservative Republican from Massaschusetts.”

 

Jenna Talackova is accepted as a woman for the same reason some accept Mitt Romney as a conservative: Because Donald Trump said so!

The similarities don’t end there: Jenna also used to have a “flip-flopper” problem. Now she’s got an “enthusiasm gap.”

Some women don’t accept Mitt as authentic. I’m sure Jenna can relate.

 

MITT ROMNEY for PRESIDENT
Let’s Support Our Trans-Conservative Nominee!

Category: Canada, Donald Trump, Mitt Romney

Once Again, With Feeling

Posted on | April 10, 2012 | 2 Comments

by Smitty

Now that the November fog has achieved a moment of clarity:

Douche and Turd
Get More: SOUTH
PARKmore…

Category: humor

Most Evil Human Being In Known Universe Speaks, Sounds Semi-Sensible

Posted on | April 10, 2012 | 16 Comments

by Smitty

Bush hasn’t got a lot to say here, other than ‘grow the economy’, and ‘buy the new book’. #OccupyResoluteDesk ought to be thankful that W doesn’t come off the top rope with a vicious rhetorical body blow; but that’s just not W’s style.

I guess I could muster more nostalgia for Bush if, as seen in this clip, he didn’t tacitly accept Entitlements as a given. It’s as though Bush is saying “Hey, lung cancer, I know you’re tissue, too. Just misunderstood. And if we breath a little harder on the good lung, we can make up for the way you’re sucking our vitality down the drain.”

No, W: I realize you gave Social Security reform the collage try in your second term, but history is going to judge you for not making a stronger case. Granted, the electorate threw you under the bus in 2006. I just wish you’d been less of a Progressive, and made a stronger conservative argument.

If you’ll forgive me the crassness of explaining myself, the title is a send-up of the Lefty hyperbole surrounding W., not a personal judgement of the fellow as really being that evil.

via The Blaze

Update: linked at POH Diaries.

Category: Republicans

Dean Clancy At FreedomWorks Didn’t Get The Memo

Posted on | April 10, 2012 | 9 Comments

by Smitty

And so here is Clancy, nattering on, in defiance of the Received Wisdom that the GOP has no ideas of how to improve health care in the United States. He even blasphemes the Holy Tax Code:

The Republicans do have a bunch of ideas for fixing what ails our health care system. I’ll just mention a few of them here. For example:

  • Reform state medical malpractice laws.
  • Incentivize hospitals and doctors to publish their prices, to promote comparison shopping.
  • Let people purchase insurance across state lines.
  • Let small businesses band together to obtain insurance for their workers at group rates.
  • Expand Health Savings Accounts and flex benefits.
  • Ease federal mandates that contribute to emergency-room over-crowding.
  • Block-grant the Medicaid program back to the states.

Here’s my personal favorite:

  • Let seniors join their Member of Congress’s health plan.

Those are just some of the ideas that various Republicans have proposed. And they’re by and large pretty good, common-sense ideas. I think they’d reduce costs without costly mandates, without a big new bureaucracy, without a 2,801-page bill that “they have to pass so we can find out what’s in it.” Oh, and by the way, with all of these ideas, you would actually get to “keep your coverage if you like it,” unlike under the president’s plan. Anyway, that’s all great.

But the one problem that I haven’t mentioned the Republicans dealing with — and it’s very important — is pre-existing conditions. You probably know what that is. It’s the most important problem in health care. If you fix the problem of pre-existing medical conditions, I think you fix the health care issue, as a general matter.

What is that, exactly? It’s the problem you face when, let’s say you have diabetes and you’re unemployed or you lose your job — you have no health insurance. So you go to buy coverage online or out of the yellow pages, and they want to charge you an arm and a leg because of your health status, because of your preexisting condition. That’s a problem for a lot of people, maybe 2 to 4 million people in this country, so not a huge percentage of us, but for each one of those people it’s a big deal.

And guess what? That problem can be addressed. It’s mainly caused by government policy. My line is whenever someone tells you that there’s a “market failure,” look closer: it’s a government failure. There’s some government policy causing the problem. And that’s definitely the case here. The problem with pre-existing conditions is primarily caused by the United States tax code. That’s right, it’s the tax code. And how does that happen? Well, basically the government doesn’t create a level playing field for health care versus health insurance, for health insurance obtained at the workplace versus health insurance obtained out of the yellow pages, for health insurance that has a low deductible versus health insurance with a high deductible. By the way, a deductible just means the amount that you pay out of pocket before the insurance kicks in. All of those distortions are caused by the way we treat health benefits in our tax code.

Read the whole contra-Narrative mess, and remember to savor the Ultimate Truthiness: the GOP has no reform ideas.

It’s either ObamaCare, or under the bus for every manjack among you.

Update: linked by The Lonely Conservative.

Update II: linked at Daley Gator.

Category: Health Care
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