The Other McCain

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

Sincerity, Courage and Other Secrets Behind the Surprising Santorum Surge

Posted on | February 14, 2012 | 73 Comments

Rick Santorum and his wife Karen greet supporters
at a barn near Roland, Iowa, Aug. 6, 2011

How many times on the campaign trail did I hear Rick Santorum describe himself as “Steady Eddie”? Not the flashiest guy at the dance, he’d say, but at the end of the evening, he was the one the girls were proud to bring home to meet their mother. Back when he was still in single digits in Iowa, Santorum gave that little talk at nearly every campaign event, to reassure Republican voters that no matter what the polls said, and no matter what they were being told about “electability,” they should listen to their hearts and vote for the “consistent conservative.”

Seems like a million years ago, doesn’t it? I’m thinking back to that August afternoon in a barn amid the cornfields near Roland, Iowa, when I showed up on a Saturday as a favor to Lisa Graas, to cover her favorite candidate, the guy nobody believed could win. Now take a look at the headlines today:

Poll: Rick Santorum takes
slight lead in GOP race
— CBS News

Santorum Catches Up With Romney in New Poll
— New York Times

59% of Catholics Disapprove
of Obama’s Job Performance
— Rasmussen Reports

That last headline should serve to remind you of something I kept in mind back when nobody else was paying attention to Santorum: Blue-collar Catholics are a vital “swing” constituency, and a Republican who can appeal to those voters is always formidable, whether in a primary or a general election. People kept talking about the evangelical vote in Iowa, but there are a quite a few Catholics in Iowa, too, and once they “came home” to Santorum in the closing weeks of the caucus campaign, that helped boost him up to double digits in the polls. And then, just about the time he pulled even in Iowa with Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry, a lot of other Republican voters said, “Hey, let’s take another look at Steady Eddie.”

Now that we’re in the midst of what I’ve called “Santorum’s Second Surge,” Steady Eddie is getting another look from a lot of people, including liberals like Jonathan Chait, who wonders if Mitt the Moderate is really more “electable” than Extreme Santorum.

Bottom line of Chait’s analysis: It’s really a lot harder to judge “electability” in advance of the general election campaign and Santorum might be more trouble for Obama than most experts imagine.

Of course, such a question takes us off into an unpredictable future. Santorum still has an enormous uphill fight if he’s going to beat Romney, and we’ll have to wait and see if Santorum can withstand the tsunami of negative attack ads that Team Mitt will inevitably unleash against him. Meanwhile, however, we find Santorum earning a certain grudging admiration from unexpected sources:

“I’ve wondered about him and the whole concept of working women and family. But stylistically, which is a part of the game . . . he has something that Mitt Romney doesn’t. There is a connect. I mean, I don’t agree with anything he says, but I like the guy.”
— Mika Brzezinski, MSNBC

This is something I’ve noticed with some of the young liberal reporters who were “embedded” on the Santorum campaign: They disagreed with him without hating him. Why? I think it might be that “Steady Eddie” factor. Even when his campaign seemed utterly hopeless, Santorum just kept on going, and he never budged an inch on the issues. Maybe you think he’s an “extremist,” but he is a sincere extremist — he really believes what he believes in, and isn’t just pandering — and he also shows a stubborn courage, sticking to his guns no matter what, even when he knows his views are unpopular.

It’s that kind of stubbornness that wins Santorum admiration, and sometimes even surprising agreement, from people you would never expect to hear praising him. (Barbara Walters? Hello?)

One more thing: America loves an underdog.

If by some miracle Santorum actually ends up winning the Republican nomination in Tampa, he’ll be one of the biggest comeback stories in American political history. Defeated for re-election to the Senate in 2006, he entered the presidential campaign with seemingly impossible odds against him. The mainstream media ignored him and, with few exceptions, the pundits gave him no chance at all. In the first six months after he announced, he raised less than $1 million, and finished 2011 with less than $300,000 cash on hand. Just three weeks ago, many people were still saying Santorum might as well quit. And now . . .

Well, a lot of flashier guys have come and gone from the 2012 GOP field, but Steady Eddie’s still at the dance, isn’t he?

Category: Election 2012, Rick Santorum

Bravo, Senator Sessions, For Beclowning Zients On BHO’s Orwellian Budget

Posted on | February 14, 2012 | 6 Comments

by Smitty (via Insty)

Stacy’s morning post about the preposterous budget stays current, as that extended shaggy dog story continues to win friends among the sober. Via The Examiner, Sessions attains and holds the high dudgeon on this sad little crapflooder from the Executive branch:
Read more

Category: Barack Obama, Democrats, Republicans

Happy Valentine’s Day to the (Totally HAWWT) Future Mrs. Steven Crowder

Posted on | February 14, 2012 | 46 Comments

In the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry . . .
— I Timothy 4:1-3 (KJV)

Steven Crowder gets some CPAC PDA from his fianceé, Hillary

“My theory is that, in contemporary culture, young ladies have become unaccustomed to being paid compliments outside the context of being ‘hit on.’ Because of feminism and political correctness, young guys have never learned to flatter a girl merely for the sake of flattery.”
— Robert Stacy McCain, Feb. 28, 2010

Every great love story ends “happily ever after,” and my concern for Traditional Family Values is often expressed by three words of encouragement to young couples: “When’s the wedding?”

One of the tragedies of 21st-century American culture is that young people from affluent backgrounds have been indoctrinated to think of marriage as a horrible financial burden, which must be avoided until one has completed  college (and perhaps also grad school), and landed one’s Dream Job with all the perks — middle-class salary, 401(k), health insurance, et cetera. To do otherwise, the Indoctrinators of Youth have taught them, is to doom oneself to a life of impoverished misery.

Urgent News Bulletin to American Youth: That’s crazy.

If you listen to that nonsense, you’ll be 37 years old on your wedding day. I’ve often remarked that many upper-middle-class parents who would not dare disapprove if their daughter came home from college and announced she was a lesbian would, however, be outraged if their daughter came home from college and announced that she had eloped to marry her boyfriend.

There is no law that says college students can’t tie the knot, nor is there any law that requires young couples to pay for a lavish wedding, and anyone who says you can’t afford to get married is lying.

You can get married at the courthouse. A marriage license costs next to nothing. And two can live as cheaply as one. Read more

Category: Marriage, Mrs. Other McCain, Rule 5, Sex

How Do Postmodern Idiots, Who Deny Truth, Have A ‘Truth Team’?

Posted on | February 14, 2012 | 11 Comments

by Smitty

Hot Air identifies this Son of Attack Watch “. . .as the Obama re-election campaign rolls out yet another Snitch Central apparatus for its 2012 efforts.”

I want to see a Truth Teamer on Fox and have Megyn Kelly ask a member to define ‘truth’. As Progressives tend toward soulless zombiehood, the notion of watching their undead minds struggle to define ‘What is truth*?’ is somewhat amusing.

via American Glob, who has the full rogue’s gallery.

*Hint, Pilate: it was staring you in the face.

Category: Barack Obama, Democrats

Sarah Palin Endorses (M)It(t)?

Posted on | February 14, 2012 | 11 Comments

by Smitty

I’ll get to Sarah’s CPAC12 speech excerpt, but first, a review:

If you have it, you don’t need it.
If you need it, you don’t have it.
If you have it, you need more of it.
If you have more of it, you don’t need less of it.
You need it. . .to get it.
And you certainly need it to get more of it.
But if you don’t already have any of it to begin with, you can’t get any of it to get started, which means you really have no idea how to get it in the first place. Do you?
You can share it. Sure. You can even stockpile it if you like. But you can’t fake it.
Wanting it. . .needing it. . .wishing for it.
The point is: if you’ve never had any of it. . .ever. . .people just seem to know.

One more digression, though. It looks like Old Spice has kind of picked up on the resemblance. If NotMitt gets the GOP nod, I may indulge in a bottle of their product. The subtext is about the only thing making this cold open from 11Feb even sort of funny:

Which gets me, at last, to the point:
Sarah inspires a backronym riff:

Maybe, I think, the
message is that the
most intelligent test to
measure intrinsic trustworthiness takes
more in than truckloadish
money, insurmountable team & Tussaud.

And I think John Hayward was on the same wavelength, though I remarked to Mrs. Other Smitty, when Sarah spoke, words to this effect:

But mostly I think Palin fires up a crowd because of her sincerity. At one point, she said the Republican presidential candidate should be someone “who instinctively turns right to Constitutional conservative principles,” and it’s “too late to teach that.” She has that instinct. She doesn’t have to check off any boxes or carefully plan her oratory to please a conservative audience. She understands. She makes it look easy. She makes you wonder how her countrymen could have been foolish enough to put Barack Obama in the White House, and what he’s still doing there.
It’s possible her observation that it’s too late to teach our presidential candidate how to turn Right was meant as a veiled jab at Mitt Romney. She didn’t endorse anyone, and she repeated her desire for the primary season to continue, because “in America, we believe that competition strengthens us.” Not surprisingly, given her experiences during and after the 2008 campaign, she has a dim view of campaign consultants.

Category: Election 2012, humor, Mitt Romney

Obama’s ‘Preposterous’ Budget

Posted on | February 14, 2012 | 10 Comments

“The American people have spoken loudly for the past three years, demanding fiscal responsibility from our leaders and President Obama is either deaf or simply won’t listen. Today’s proposal of nearly $4 trillion in spending over the next year is preposterous, not only in overall funding but in priorities. If we do not get our spending under control, we will have turmoil in the streets — and that’s not a guess — all you have to do is look to Europe. America needs to lead, and America needs a leader prepared to make those tough choices. I am committed to balancing our budget and cutting $5 trillion in spending in five years. These are the measures necessary to not just put our nation’s fiscal house in order, but to spur on economic growth and confidence in our free-market system.”
— Rick Santorum, press release, Feb. 13

Among other things, Obama’s $4 trillion budget includes special economic aid to countries involved in the “Arab Spring”:

Most of the economic aid for the Arab Spring countries — $770 million — would go to establish a new “Middle East and North Africa Incentive Fund,” the president said in his budget plan. . . .
The Middle East and North Africa Incentive fund “will provide incentives for long-term economic, political, and trade reforms to countries in transition — and to countries prepared to make reforms proactively,” the White House budget document said.

James Pethokoukis of the American Enterprise Institute:

All in all, Obama has proposed some $1.6 trillion in new taxes over ten years, taking tax revenue as a share of GDP to 20.1 percent in 2022 vs. a historical average of 18 percent. And despite all those new taxes, Obama’s plan would still add $6.7 trillion in new debt and make no progress in lowering the nation’s total debt levels as a share of output. The debt-to-GDP ratio is predicted to be 74.2 percent this year and 76.5 percent in 2022.

Tina Korbe at Hot Air quotes Rep. Paul Ryan: “We have a debt crisis on our horizon. . . . For the fourth year in a row, he’s decided to do nothing about it and he’s actually created a budget to make it much, much worse.”

Did somebody say “worse”?

As Allahpundit observes, the president’s budget proposes to zero out the D.C. school-choice scholarship for poor children while simultaneously proposing $100 million in subsidies for electric cars.

Remember when Obama told Joe the Plumber he wanted to “spread the wealth”? Obama didn’t say that this would involve taking money from poor kids to give it to rich people who buy Chevy Volts.

If Democrats told the truth, nobody would ever vote for them.

Category: Barack Obama, Budget

LIVE AT FIVE – 02.14.11

Posted on | February 14, 2012 | 7 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho

TOP NEWS
House GOP Moves To Decouple Payroll Tax Extension

Speaker of the House John Boehner

Boehner to schedule vote on payroll tax extension alone

Israel Blames Iran For Attacks On Embassies
Teheran denies involvement in attacks

Budget Filled With Broken Promises And Gimmicks, Say Republicans
Senators line up to lambaste “Debt On Arrival” budget from White House

POLITICS
“Super Tuesday” Looms As Decisive Day For Gingrich

Newt Gingrich, speaking at CPAC last Wednesday

Low on money, falling behind in polls…will he make it to spring?

NJ Senate Approves Gay Marriage Bill

Hoekstra Pulls Ad But Still Catching Heat

“Dogs Against Romney” Protest Planned For Westminster Dog Show

Former Corps Of Engineers Manager Pleads Guilty In Contract Scam

House GOP Opens Highway Bill To Amendments

Wisconsin Legislators Unveil New Mining Bill

Obama Proposes “Buffett Rule” To Replace AMT

THE ECONOMY, STUPID
NYMEX Crude Closes Above $100 After Sharp Rise On Monday
North Sea Crude Hits $118
Italy, Spain Ratings Cut By Moody’s, UK May Lose Top Rank
Apple Stock Powers Past $500
Luxembourg Minister Says Greek Exit From Euro Possible
CFPB Releases Model Mortgage Statement
Rackspace Profit Tops Estimates As Cloud Revenue Grows
U.S. & EU Approve Motorola Mobility Sale To Google
Inspections Of Apple’s PRC Factories Begin
Laptop-Shooting Father Fights Off Fame, Police
MySpace Making A Comeback?
Reddit Dragged Screaming Into 21st Century

SPORTS
Randy Moss Says He’s Coming Back

Randy Moss

Family issues resolved, wide receiver wants back into the NFL

Sixers Hang On For Win #20, Send Bobcats To 15th Straight Loss

#2 Syracuse Sneaks By #18 Louisville

Magic Put Down Timbermutts 102-89

A’s Sign Slugging Cuban Defector Cespedes

Rumor: Peyton Manning To The Texans?

Former 49ers WR Freddie Solomon Dies, 59

England Thrashes Pakistan In 1st ODI

Nationals Single Game Tickets Go On Sale March 8

FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Autopsy: Houston Died From Prescription Drugs, Not Drowning

Whitney Houston, 1963-2012, RIP

Alcohol a factor

Celebrities Shamed For Partying While Houston’s Body Still In The Hotel

Beyonce & Jay-Z Skip Grammy Awards

Kate Upton Revealed As 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Cover Girl

Nicki Minaj Panned For Onstage Exorcism At Grammys

Hilary Duff’s Hubby Mike Comrie Retires From The NHL

Oprah Begs Public For OWN Ratings

FOREIGNERS
UN Says Syria Encouraged By PRC, Russia Vetoes
Abu Qatada Release From Jail Sparks Furor
Saudi Blogger May Face Death Penalty For Mohammed Tweets
PRC’s Xi Begins U.S. Visit
Man Held After Amsterdam Airport Bomb Threat
French Socialist Candidate Assails Imposition Of Austerity Plan On Greeks
Young Challenger Takes On Chavez In Venezuela

BLOGS & STUFF
Pundit Pete: Obama Makes Surprise Appearance At CPAC
Babalu: Venezuelan Opposition Chooses Capriles To Challenge Chavez
American Power: Santorum Support Surges Among Tea Party Members, Evangelicals
Ed Morrissey: National Review Tells Newt To GTFO
Atlas Shrugs: American Jizya – Obama Proposes $800 Million For Arab Spring
James Pethokoukis: Obama’s Budget Doubles Down On Class Warfare
Weasel Zippers: CBC Head Emanuel Cleaver Says Obama’s Budget “A Nervous Breakdown On Paper”
Daily Caller: Inside Media Matters – David Brock’s Enemies List
Michelle Malkin: Non-Shocker Of The Morning – Soros Monkeys Coordinate With Democrats
iOwnTheWorld.com: Shoulda Had A Gun
Althouse: “Why America Keeps Getting More Conservative”
Paul Bedard: Privately, Obama Sees Recovery 1-2 Years Off
Marginal Revolution: Dividends And Taxation
Hit & Run: Ludwig Von Mises Approved Of Birth Control. So What?

Category: Uncategorized

This Post Served Sans Brain Bleach

Posted on | February 13, 2012 | 19 Comments

by Smitty

Earlier, Stacy’s Green Room post about my otherwise righteous governor, McDonnell, doing the dirty work for Romney got me thinking:

McDonnell’s argument is dishonest and, furthermore, why can’t Mitt Romney fight his own fights? Should Mitt Romney wish to pick an argument with Santorum over this issue, by all means let him do so, instead of hiding behind Bob McDonnell’s skirts. Does anyone think it enhances Romney’s reputation to deploy his proxies to make liberal arguments against a conservative rival in a notoriously liberal venue like CNN? Why are Republicans doing the liberals’ work for them?

How badly does Romney want to win? Will he give it the Full Klinger? Read more

Category: Mitt Romney
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