The Other McCain : Page 1894 : "One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up."

Mitt Romney Assailed By Two Blindfolded Dental Hygenists

Posted on March 21, 2012March 21, 2012Comments

by Smitty

. . .who were trying to make a circle. OK, my title reference might be just a little obscure, but look at what the Left has done:

I realize that Stacy has already flogged this horse, but I think we can boil it down for glue to stick a few points together:

Fehrnstrom has said possibly the most honest thing thus far about the GOP primaries as such, at least from the standpoint of the campaign. They’re all rock bands on tour right now, trying not to wreck any notes, and hoping to rack up the most sales by the end of the tour in Tampa.
The campaigns all understand that the are pouring words into the air. Winning the election means they can influence legislation, but the percentage chance of carrying out any significant change promised on the campaign trail is in the single digits.
Caffeinated Thoughts points to the new Etch-a-Sketch Mitt Romney site. Flog me gently with a morning star: Fehrnstrom found him a nerve!
The pressure and surreality of the campaign, to end on an obscure reference, will continue until it reaches a Peter James Bond crescendo, and I mean that strictly in an “Act of God” (not nefarious) way.

via The Blaze

Update: We were linked earlier by Race 4 2012 and Bodacious Bob Belvedere, busting out the Eraserhead reference. Memeorandum is in full swing. Hot Air has Newt offering a taunt, the Tatler has some background on the Etch-a-Sketch site, and links to Jennifer Rubin at the WaPoo gives us the Full Whoopee, saying it’s not a gaffe-gaffe:

The irony is great here. The same right-wing bloggers who have pummeled Romney all along for being insufficiently conservative now say he’s telegraphing that he will be moderate in the general campaign. Huh? Indeed, Santorum has been complaining all along that Romney is too moderate. So if he’s been a moderate, he’d be fine as is in the general election, right? Santorum’s spokesman, after months of calling Romney a moderate, now claims he’s dying to get back to his true stripes — being a moderate.

See, Jennifer, think of the ship of state as about ready to go aground, and needing some hard right rudder to get out of shoal water. Having the Romney campaign telegraph bringing the rudder amidships not only brings the entire Romney campaign into question, but invites curiosity about over-achievement. You know, a little more left rudder. . .

And little RINO tools do precious little to dispel that gnawing anxiety.

Update II: Still more linkage from Daily Pundit, Da Tech Guy, and POH Diaries.

Is Jennifer Rubin’s Unrequited Affection For Dan Riehl Giving Way To An Ace of Spades Fixation?

Posted on March 21, 2012March 21, 2012Comments

by Smitty

Dan Riehl has just never been a productive social outlet for Jennifer Rubin, tempting comparison with Stacy McCain’s efforts in the direction of a certain activist who will remain unmaimed by this post. But are the tides turning? Can enough spectacularly bad feedback do for Jennifer Rubin what polls cannot for #OccupyResoluteDesk, i.e., teach her something? Perhaps:
Anyone in the blogosphere for any length of time will know that Ace of Spaces calls his readers ‘morons’. One is left to wonder whether Ace’s sarcastic, virtuoso blogging has turned Jennifer’s head.

Possibly I’m stretching the tweet to the point it could be a hat, or a brooch, or a pterodactyl, but what do you expect? Conservatives are the sort of people who vote against what Progressives say are their best interests.

Romney’s ‘Etch-a-Sketch’ Platform: Santorum’s ‘Act of God’ Moment?

Posted on March 21, 2012March 21, 2012Comments

TROUTVILLE, Virginia
En route to Louisiana, I stopped here to meet Ali Akbar for lunch, then gassed up the car and was about to get back on the road when I decided I needed to get online and check my American Spectator column today (found four typos, now corrected). I got back home from Gettysburg at 3 a.m. after long off-the-record conversations with “sources close to the campaign.” The beers? Also off-the-record.

But I got up this morning and hit the road without ever getting online, so I needed to check in and see what was happening. And here at McDonald’s, I encountered this shocking story:

Top Romney Adviser Says Romney Can
Change His Positions After The Primaries:
‘It’s Almost Like An Etch A Sketch’
. . . Appearing on CNN this morning, Romney Communications Director Eric Fehrnstrom was asked if he’s concerned that Romney may alienate general election voters with some of the hard-right positions he’s taken during the primary to appeal to conservatives. Fehrnstrom brushed this concern off:
“Well, I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign. Everything changes. It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all of over again. “

Dude. How much is that quote worth to Rick Santorum? At least a million dollars in the next 48 hours, I’d say, and maybe an extra 10 percent of the vote in upcoming primaries, if the Santorum campaign can turn that quote into a 30-second ad PDQ.

During my wee-hours discussions over off-the-record beers, I made note of the Neutral Objective Fact that all Santorum needed was for Romney to stumble, then pounce on it as hard as they can and it might shift the whole direction of the campaign. Well, if this isn’t a “stumble,” what is?

Team Romney said it would take “an act of God” to keep Mitt from winning the nomination. Or maybe a quote from Eric Ferhnstrom.

UPDATE: Press release from the Santorum campaign:

Hogan Gidley, National Communications Director, said: “We all knew Mitt Romney didn’t have any core convictions, but we appreciate his staff going on national television to affirm that point for anyone who had any doubts. With the two year anniversary of the signing of ObamaCare upon us, can voters really believe that the man who urged the President to use his healthcare plan in Massachusetts as a model would really repeal ObamaCare? Or is that promise just something they would ‘shake up and restart’ with when Romney hits the general election.
“Voters can trust that Rick Santorum will say what he believes, and do what he says. They may not always agree with Rick Santorum, but they can trust him because they know he is a man of principle. Clearly, the same cannot be said of Governor Romney.”

Here’s the video:

If I were Rick Santorum, I’d use this quote to beat Mitt Romney like a rented mule — and that’s a Neutral Objective Fact.

UPDATE II: It is also a Neutral Objective Fact that you can click here to contribute to the Rick Santorum campaign.

UPDATE III: Thanks to the commenter who pointed out that this quote has already been turned into an online ad:

UPDATE IV: In the nick of time, Erick Erickson endorses Romney. I guess Erick loves him some Etch-a-Sketch.

UPDATE V: During lunch today with Ali Akbar — get your “Remember Breitbart” T-shirt now! — we were discussing the primary campaign and the alleged “inevitability” of Romney, and I emphasized something I’ve learned about politics: Events happen.

You can’t predict what’s going to happen tomorrow or next week, and every once in a while an event happens — like a top adviser admitting that his “inevitable” candidate has absolutely no core principles — that invalidates your previous calculations.

Right On, Cameron: The World’s Respect Is Worth #Occupy’s Leftovers

Posted on March 21, 2012March 21, 2012Comments

by Smitty

I’d like to expound upon Tina Korbe’s point here: Continue reading Right On, Cameron: The World’s Respect Is Worth #Occupy’s Leftovers →

‘Random’ Image Juxtapositions

Posted on March 21, 2012March 20, 2012Comments

by Smitty

Ho. . .hum. . .

Go, Paul Ryan!

Posted on March 21, 2012March 20, 2012Comments

by Smitty

Via Breitbart, Paul Ryan is a true statesman:

He is making the least passionate, most rational case possible:

It is rare in American politics to arrive at a moment in which the debate revolves around the fundamental nature of American democracy and the social contract. But that is where we are. And no two documents illustrate this choice of two futures better than the president’s budget and the one put forward by House Republicans.
The president’s budget gives more power to unelected bureaucrats, takes more from hard-working taxpayers to fuel the expansion of government, and commits our nation to a future of debt and decline.
The contrast with our budget couldn’t be clearer: We put our trust in citizens, not government. Our budget returns power to individuals, families and communities. It draws inspiration from the Founders’ belief that all people are born with an unalienable right to the pursuit of happiness. Protecting this right means trusting citizens, not nameless government officials, to decide what is in their best interests and make the right choice about our nation’s future.

The contrast with the hysteria (in the classical sense) of Matthew Yglesias is astounding:

Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin chairs the House Budget Committee and is also a follower of the philosophy of Ayn Rand.

and:

But one of Ryan’s oddest ticks is that along with a passion for reducing spending on programs that benefit poor people and a passion for programs that benefit Ayn Rand, he loves to talk about his devotion to the safety net!

For crying out loud in the dark, Yglesias: you sound like my eight-month old with a diaper load. I will keep this brief:

The Lefty lack of concern for deficits, budgeting, and the debt is the largest existential threat to the ‘safety net’. YOUR ILK are the ones who don’t care about the needy, with all this crack-addict-on-a-bender spending.
Ryan is no Randian, or he’d be after that net with an axe. Rand would argue that the safety net is really a spider web to entrap and weaken people.

For my money, liberty is more important than federal safety nets. Safety nets, if desired and funded by states, are welcome. If you argue that states cant afford safety nets, you’re moving in the direction of a rational understanding of the situation.

Short of that, Yglesias, you’re indistinguishable from a worm.