The Other McCain

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

‘Swarmin’ With Mormons’

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | 64 Comments

John McCain, Luis Fortuno and Mitt Romney during
rally at Lanco & Harris, Orlando, Jan. 27, 2012

ORLANDO, Fla.
If you don’t vote for Mitt, why do you hate America? That was the fundamental theme of Friday’s super-patriotic rally for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at an industrial warehouse here.

After a three-hour drive from Jacksonville, I arrived slightly late and was stunned by the size of the crowd, as evidenced by the cars parked streetside and in every parking lot near the Lanco & Harris warehouse. Four TV satellite trucks were parked near the loading dock, and as I walked up the ramp into the warehouse, some cranky geezer was onstage ranting about how he was fed up with all these darned debates.

“Nineteen of ’em! I’m tired of the mud wrestling!” the geezer said, provoking applause from the crowd of about 500 packed into the warehouse. As I got closer to the stage, I recognized the cranky geezer as Sen. John McCain, who then said: “Hey, you kids, get off my lawn!”

OK, maybe I just imagined that last quote, which didn’t show up in Maggie Haberman’s report for the Politico, but I’m sure I got the trademark cranky-geezer tone just right.

Exactly why the Romney campaign wants this elderly loser campaigning for them, I don’t know. McCain lost Florida by 200,000 votes four years ago. But there are lots of grumpy old folks in Florida who are registered Republicans, and maybe having McCain stumping for Mitt generates some sympathy or something.

Anyway, the crowd was big and enthusiastic, and I worked my way around to the other side of the stage where I saw Eric Ferhnstrom, one of Romney’s top advisers, and asked him, “Y’all got this pretty much locked up, don’t you?”

The polls show Romney pulling away here in Florida, but Ferhnstrom wouldn’t admit the obvious: Mitt’s going to win this one in a landslide. Instead, he merely agreed that “the trend is encouraging,” and said, “Mitt hasn’t won a day since he won South Carolina.”

Which is true. For the past week, Newt’s been swinging wildly, and desperation is not attractive. He’s headed for a failure of Perry-eque proportions here, and the none-too-subtle assertion that Newt’s the victim of an Establishment conspiracy — a myth that even Sarah Palin has apparently bought into — only makes it more embarrassing.

The main point of tonight’s rally was for Mitt to collect the endorsement of the Governor of Puerto Rico, Luis Fortuno who, in keeping with the super-patriotic theme, praised Romney for being “committed to protecting the homeland, and that includes Puerto Rico.”

It was hard to miss the implication that, if any of the other Republicans gets the nomination, Puerto Rico will be overrun by Iranian terrorists. But the subtexts of campaign rhetoric are generally lost on crowds of jazzed-up enthusiastic partisans, so Fortuno’s comment was cheered by the audience with the same fervor as they had cheered McCain’s earlier darn-these-stupid-debates comment.

Anyway, the crowd was large and as rabidly as pro-Romney as any crowd I’ve seen and they didn’t seem any more “Establishment” than any other GOP crowd you might find during this campaign.

Eventually, I found Sarah Rumpf, who had an assistant shooting video of Mitt’s speech. And then afterwards, I bumped into Dave Weigel, who was wondering what percentage of the audience might be Mormon.

“All of them,” I said. “They’re everywhere. We’re surrounded by ’em. The place is swarmin’ with Mormons.”

Which might be about half-true. Sarah had told me that there are a lot more Mormons in Central Florida than most people suspect. Nobody has any solid statistics on how many LDS there are in the Sunshine State, but they are sufficiently numerous as to give Romney a solid “base” of core supporters, in the same way that dopehead college kids give Ron Paul a solid base, or angry middle-aged guys form the core of the Gingrich grassroots.

And that’s probably enough raw slander for one night. I’m supposed to be driving down to Naples, where Dan Collins‘s parents have a condo they’re not using. There aren’t any campaign events near Naples tomorrow, but I’ve got unlimited mileage on this rented Chevy, so what do I care? Besides, I need some rest, before I get all cranky and start grumbling about these darned debates — “You kids get off my lawn!”

— 30 —


The Mitt-maniacs were out in force.

The rock-star candidate shakes hands after his speech.

Sarah Rumpf (right) and her assistant, whose name I forgot.

Category: Election 2012, Fear and Loathing in the Sunshine State, Florida, John McCain, Mitt Romney

More Of This

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | 2 Comments

by Smitty

Via Insty, Intellectual Conservative (aren’t all the anti-intellectuals on the Left?), gave #OccupyResoluteDesk a solid, American welcome:asdfI hope that spring and summer provide some rousing rally opportunities.

Category: Barack Obama, Uncategorized

A Few Points On #OccupyResoluteDesk And The Military

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | 16 Comments

by Smitty

Protein Wisdom links Jonah Golberg quoting BHO, emphasis mine:

He said of the military: “At a time when too many of our institutions have let us down, they exceed all expectations. They’re not consumed with personal ambition. They don’t obsess over their differences. They focus on the mission at hand. They work together. Imagine what we could accomplish if we followed their example. Think about the America within our reach.”

  • Let me just say that the military is no more consumed with personal ambition than any other segment, and leave it at that.
  • Given that the DoD is facing some rather steep layoffs, this may have been a tacit plea to the military not to do something unspeakable. The fact that military members are rather brainwashed Constitution-mongers makes it unlikely that a Bonus Army incident could recur; then again, #OccupyDC is a sad precedent.
  • ‘Following [the military] example’ would entail civilians accepting curtailment of Constitutional rights. The Commander-in-Chief would be well-advised to recall that people (e.g. me) have curtailed those rights for a specific time in order to protect them in general; not so that some hypothetical cranial rectalitis-afflicted President can steal rights from me in the name of some vauge, shiny notion of unity.

I would that BHO had had the sack to serve in the military, so that he could grasp the depth of contempt with which men view him.

Update: more at Daily Pundit.

Category: Barack Obama

VA Primary Hope Mostly Gone

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | 12 Comments

by Smitty

Via Dell’s Bottom Line, it sounds like there is a bit of hope for a write-in opportunity here in the Old Dominion:

The last hope for Virginia conservatives to vote for one of their own in the March 6, 2012 presidential primary lies in the timely passage of state senator Frank W. Wagner’s SB 510 allowing write-in voting in that election.
By conservative, we mean those who believe the next president should be committed to the long march toward downsizing government and curtailing the administrative state, strengthening our Judeo-Christian culture, and maintaining a strong defense.
The bill is an emergency measure (see article IV, section 13 in foregoing link) requiring four-fifths approval in both chambers and the governor’s assent if it to take effect before the March 6 presidential primary.

Anecdotally, of the people I know who are paying attention to the GOP debates and such, the mood is to blow the GOP primary off entirely if it’s down to Romney or Paul. Of the two, I’m about 49% Romney and 51% Paul in my thinking, at least at the primary stage. Past experience has shown that there just isn’t a line at these primary affairs, so saving time isn’t a strong argument.

Given the opportunity for write-in, Santorum comes to mind. The wild follicle pines for Palin, though.

I’ve no idea whether the ’emergency’ measure can pass, but I’m not holding any breath for it.

Update: it may not merit a post in its own right, but I will now wish good vibes upon Rick Santorum via the PJ Media Shameless Contact Gathering ExerciseNostradamus contest, where you predict the Florida primary numbers.

Category: Virginia

Santorum Praised by Rush Limbaugh, Endorsed by Florida State Sen. Plakon

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | 18 Comments

Wearing my Florida shirt at the CNN Jacksonville debate,
Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012 (Photo by Dave Weigel)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.
On his radio program today, Rush Limbaugh singled out Rick Santorum for his understanding that “ObamaCare is ballgame,” as Rush put it. Limbaugh referred to Santorum’s strong performance in Thursday’s CNN debate, going after Mitt Romney’s own record on health care:

SANTORUM: What Governor Romney just said is that government-run top-down medicine is working pretty well in Massachusetts and he supports it. Now, think about what that means —
ROMNEY: That’s not what I said.
SANTORUM: — going up against Barack Obama, who you are going to claim, well, top-down government-run medicine on the federal level doesn’t work and we should repeal it. And he’s going to say, wait a minute, Governor. You just said that top-down government-run medicine in Massachusetts works well.
Folks, we can’t give this issue away in this election. It is about fundamental freedom. Whether the United States government or even a state government — you have Amendment 1 (ph) here offered by Scott Pleitgen (ph), who, by the way, endorsed me today, and it’s going to be on your ballot as to whether there should be a government mandate here in Florida.
According to Governor Romney, that’s OK. If the state does it, that’s OK. If the state wants to enforce it, that’s OK. Those are not the clear contrasts we need if we’re going to defeat Barack Obama. . . .
SANTORUM: Does everybody in Massachusetts have a requirement to buy health care?
ROMNEY: Everyone has a requirement to either buy it or pay the state for the cost of providing them free care. Because the idea of people getting something for free when they could afford to care for themselves is something that we decided in our state was not a good idea. . . .
SANTORUM: Just so I understand this, in Massachusetts , everybody is mandated as a condition of breathing in Massachusetts , to buy health insurance, and if you don’t, and if you don’t, you have to pay a fine.
What has happened in Massachusetts is that people are now paying the fine because health insurance is so expensive. And you have a pre-existing condition clause in yours, just like Barack Obama.
So what is happening in Massachusetts, the people that Governor Romney said he wanted to go after, the people that were free-riding, free ridership has gone up five-fold in Massachusetts. Five times the rate it was before. Why? Because…
ROMNEY: That’s total, complete…
SANTORUM: I’ll be happy to give you the study. Five times the rate it has gone up. Why? Because people are ready to pay a cheaper fine and then be able to sign up to insurance, which are now guaranteed under “Romney-care,” than pay high cost insurance, which is what has happened as a result of “Romney-care.”
ROMNEY: First of all, it’s not worth getting angry about.

Limbaugh said it is worth getting angry about, and many Republican voters who watched last night’s debate are probably reconsidering whether the media’s predetermined Mitt-vs.-Newt frontrunner narrative is overlooking the possibility that neither Romney nor Gingrich is the best choice to take on Obama. One Florida Republican who sees Rick Santorum as the best hope for conservatives is Florida state Sen. Scott Plakon, who endorsed Santorum Thursday:

Scott Plakon said: “Rick Santorum is a man who has consistently shown that he can be trusted to stand by his deeply held conservative principles regardless of the way the political winds blow and will be a steady, even hand in leading America towards prosperity and liberty again.
“He has consistently shown that he is willing to make decisions not for the next election cycle, but for the next generation. That is exactly the kind of leader and values we need to confront the failed policies and leadership of the Obama administration and to return America to the shining city on a hill that President Reagan spoke of.”

I caught up with Plakon in the “spin room” after last night’s debate and asked him about his switch from backing Herman Cain to supporting Santorum:

The latest Florida poll shows Romney pulling strongly ahead here. From my American Spectator column today:

Thursday’s debate, the 19th televised debate among Republican presidential candidates this year, certainly did not lack fireworks. And while many political junkies have become weary of watching these affairs, the event here on the campus of the University of North Florida may be as decisive as the South Carolina debates that were credited with helping Gingrich score a crucial win there Saturday. Polls this week in Florida show Romney pulling away, and the former Massachusetts governor had one of his best-ever debate performances Thursday, while Gingrich had one of his worst yet.
While arguments between the two Florida frontrunners got the biggest play, however, Thursday was also an impressive performance for former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Polls show Santorum running a distant third in the Sunshine State, but he slammed both Gingrich and Romney for their previous stances on health care. . . .

Read the whole thing, although I confess it was written in a condition of complete exhaustion. CNN neglected to provide coffee in the filing center, and I also ran out of cigarettes before the debate ended. I managed to file my column by midnight, then came back to the hotel room, fell asleep about 2 a.m. and didn’t wake up until 10:30 a.m.

The Tampa Bay Times reports on Santorum’s plans for Florida and beyond:

After remarks at Florida State University  geared toward social conservatives, Santorum rolled out the endorsement  of state Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, a former top Herman Cain  supporter. Plakon told reporters he chose Santorum for his  conservatism, after Newt Gingrich’s recent “Obama style” ads turned  Plakon off.
“We’re not going anywhere. We’re staying in this  race for the long haul. I think we’re playing for the next states,”  Santorum told reporters afterward.
Still,  questions persisted because he’s not looking toward any celebration on  Election Night. He will be in Florida on Sunday and Monday for events,  including in Sarasota and Miami. No promises after that.
Said Santorum: “We’re just trying to figure out Monday from that  point  on what we’re going to do and if whether we’re going to stay here  on Election Day, when you really can’t campaign, maybe start going to   another state and start doing some campaigning. We want to use every   single day to campaign. And we’re sort of up in the air to exactly how  that works.”

Santorum’s plans are in flux, and so are mine. I’ve got a 1,500-word article due today for the March print edition of The American Spectator, and there’s an event tonight in Orlando where Romney is expected to get the endorsement of the governor of Puerto Rico. It’s about a three-hour drive, and the event starts at 8 p.m. Tempus fugits and deadline looms.

Category: Debates, Election 2012, Fear and Loathing in the Sunshine State, Florida, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Rush Limbaugh

Baseball Crank Explains It All

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | 25 Comments

— by Wombat-socho

Well, as much as anyone can explain what’s going on with the GOP and its primary voters this election season. I readily admit I’m a sucker for blog posts like these; everybody who writes books about our party seems to be either a) an insider with an axe to grind or b) a Democrat who would love nothing better than to use that axe on our necks, but the Crank is one of us slobs in the trenches, and seems fairly honest in his assessment of not only the candidates, but the other players in the primary game: the conservative commentariat, old pols like Bob “Viagra!” Dole, and radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh.


What The Republican “Establishment” Really Means
This post should be read first. It’s long, but well worth your time when it comes to understanding why nothing ever seems to change on Capitol Hill and who the players are in the GOP -not to be confused with the conservative movement, as you all should be aware by now, although that distinction is becoming increasingly meaningless as RINOs have become a threatened species within the GOP.


Establishments And Our Money: A Response To Avik Roy
This is a follow-on to the first post, answering the criticisms of sometime National Review writer Avik Roy, who appears to have taken the Crank’s comments excessively personally.

By and large, the two essays explain why the Tea Party and other populist chunks of the GOP base aren’t meekly falling into line behind Mitt Romney; as Billy Joel sang so long ago, it’s a matter of trust, and when it comes to Mitt, there ain’t none. This is something the people so eager to tear down Newt Gingrich don’t understand. His supporters know about his record. It’s been factored in, and at this point they just don’t care. They want a bomb-thrower, an iconoclast, a Samson in the Temple, and so far Rick Santorum just hasn’t been mad, bad, and dangerous to know enough. And every time Ann Coulter or the NR crowd tees off on Newt, it just hardens peoples’ resolve to stick their thumb in the eye of the Establishment. Because what goes around comes around, and it’s a lot more fun to dish it out than it is to sit back and take it.

Category: Baseball Crank, Election 2012, Republicans

The Tea Party Is Going To Rock 2012

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | 16 Comments

by Smitty

Mark Mekler makes a fine guest, making the case for the bottom-up strategy, instead of the drop-in, Ross Perot actor.

The notion that the restoration of the country is a long-term project is blindingly obvious. However, my gut is that, as things neck down to the August GOP convention, the Tea Partiers are going to become really, really energetic, and cause much fearful wetness in the Lefty midriff.

The two lawyers bandy about the idea of a constitutional convention, and view the country’s situation as too dire for the necessary reflection of a convention in the near future, but not insurmountable.

All the Eeyores need to watch this clip.

The only obvious flaw in this interview is the failure to mention this blog. Next time, Prof. Reynolds.

Category: Tea Party

I’ve Got Your ‘Precise’ Right Here, ‘Gentleman’ Jim Moran: Patrick Murray For Congress!

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | 3 Comments

by Smitty

Via Big Government we have a throwaway remark from senior #OccupyDC member #OccupyResoluteDesk:

On Tuesday night, the president spoke in no uncertain terms: “Send me a bill that bans insider trading by Members of Congress, and I will sign it tomorrow,” he said. “Let’s limit any elected official from owning stock in industries they impact.” The remarks were cause for celebration for Breitbart editor Peter Schweizer, who authored a 2011 book exposing Congressional insider trading, and 60 Minutes, which ran a widely-viewed segment based on his book (CBS quicklyuploaded the portion of the speech last night). But early reactions from Congress (Republicans and Democrats) shouldn’t encourage much optimism.

And what did the star of Chapter 2 of Throw Them All Out have to say to BHO’s piffle?

“Easier said than done is my reaction,” Democratic Rep. Jim Moran tells Politico’s Manu Raju on the subject of restricting officials from owning stock they could impact. “Unless you are fairly precise about it, you can conceivably influence almost any corporation.”

You’ve got to go, Mr. Moran. You view Americans as sheep, and yourself as the shearer, judging by your actions.

Patrick Murray for Congress

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Category: Jim Moran, Patrick Murray, Virginia
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