LIVE AT FIVE – 01.17.12

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C.
Monday night in the spin room after the Fox News debate in Myrtle Beach, I had the opportunity to score a brief interview with Rick Santorum’s campaign manager Mike Biundo, which included this exchange:

RSM: A lot of people in the media are trying to play this up as Mitt versus Newt. They’re kind of low-rating your chances here.
BIUNDO: Well, they’ve been doing that all along, haven’t they? And we’re 2-and-0 versus Newt Gingrich right now. You know, you see what happened in Texas this weekend, and conservatives are starting to rally behind Rick’s campaign.

The fact that Santorum beat Gingrich in New Hampshire has been woefully underreported. As the Boston Globe pointed out, it appeared late on primary night and into the next morning that Gingrich had won fourth place. But when the final votes were tallied, Santorum took fourth by a margin of 138 votes, with 23,312 votes to Gingrich’s 23,174.

Meanwhile, as Byron York reported Monday, it is still quite possible that the final official count in Iowa will show that Santorum defeated Mitt Romney there, and Santorum is planning for a long campaign:

“This nomination is not going to be decided in two or three states, it’s going to be decided over a long primary process,” he said. “We’re optimistic that we can pull out a win here and stop this narrative that [Romney’s nomination] is inevitable.”

With that background, then, it is shocking to see what Newt said today during a campaign stop in Florence, S.C. :

A reporter asked the former House speaker if the former Pennsylvania senator should drop out of the race. “Well I would be delighted if he decided to endorse me,” Gingrich said, but added it was Santorum and Perry’s decision to make.
“So I am respectful that Rick has every right to run as long as he feels that’s what he should do, but from the stand point of the conservative movement, consolidating into a Gingrich candidacy would in fact virtually guarantee a victory on Saturday,” Gingrich said in Florence Tuesday. “And I’d be delighted if either Perry or Santorum wanted to do that.”

What the hell kind of talk is that, coming from a guy who placed fourth in Iowa (13%) and fifth in New Hampshire (9%), especially in regard to Santorum, who fought Romney to a standstill in Iowa?

Yesterday, Santorum was endorsed by Penny Nance of Conservative Women for America. Today, Santorum was endorsed by Richard Viguerie, a legendary figure in the conservative movement, and also endorsed by the chairman of the Berkeley County (S.C.) Republican Party.

Newt’s suggestion that Santorum should be “consolidating into a Gingrich candidacy” is preposterous and insulting, and enough to make me want to post this attack ad from Romney’s “super PAC,” just for spite:

Category: Election 2012, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, South Carolina

Greetings from Charleston!

Posted on | January 17, 2012 | 9 Comments

CHARLESTON, S.C.
Thirteen-year-old Jefferson and I were rolling leisurely south from Myrtle Beach on U.S. 17 — past pines and palmettos and live oaks draped in Spanish moss — when a black SUV passed us and I did a double take. I’d gotten just a quick glimpse at the driver as he passed, but my peripheral vision is excellent, and so I sped up until I was even with the SUV and confirmed that it was . . .

Tony Katz of All-Patriot Media, who actually Tweeted this coincidental sighting along the campaign trail. And as we approached the Charleston suburb of Mt. Pleasant, I signaled to Tony to roll down his window and shouted — as we were running parallel at about 60 mph — that this was where the Santorum campaign had its South Carolina state campaign headquarters, which was my initial destination for the day. Tony nodded and rolled on.

A few miles down the road, just before we reached the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge into Charleston, we found Santorum HQ in a shopping center. As we pulled into the parking lot, we were greeted by two familiar faces: Rick Santorum’s two oldest sons, John and Daniel, carrying boxes out of the office. They explained that they were going to the post office to send out a mailing. So you see that the senator is not kidding when he talks about how his family helps with the campaign.

Jefferson and I walked inside the campaign office and saw press secretary Matt Benyon working in a corner, while other staffer were toiling away at their laptops — so much of campaign work nowadays is done by computer — and volunteers worked the phones. Jefferson helped himself to a Pepsi (the kid is drinking way too much soda on this trip), and I got a cup of coffee, and then I shot this brief video tour of the office:

We left the Santorum HQ and drove into Charleston, reached the Visitor Center, and I asked for directions to the nearest McDonald’s. We got back in the car and I missed the turn Spring Street, finally turning left at Huger Street, which took us over to Hagood Street — the rear entrance to the Citadel — and then we turned left and came down here for me to do a little blogging.

There will be another Republican presidential debate here Thursday (8 p.m., CNN) and meanwhile we’re going to be hanging out with Ali Akbar, who’s in town to help out with the Gingrich campaign. Of course, the Gingrichites are feeling pretty cocky these days, but I’d advise them to beware of outbursts like this:

Gingrich: ‘I Would Be Delighted’
With a Santorum Endorsement

This tendency toward hubris has struck Gingrich whenever he gets feeling confident. A couple of months ago, Jonah Goldberg dubbed this the “World Historical Newt” problem. Newt is 0-for-2 against Santorum so far and, while the latest Rasmussen poll shows Gingrich leading Santorum by five points in South Carolina, that’s not the kind of margin that entitles Newt to act as if he were already the pre-emptive victor. Some more headlines, via Memeorandum:

Mitt Romney to release tax returns,
estimates rate at about 15 percent
— Washington Post

TRANSCRIPT: Fox News Channel & Wall Street
Journal Debate in South Carolina
— Fox News

Rick Perry Camp Explains Suggestion
That Turkey Is Led By ‘Islamic Terrorists’
— ABC News

Perry: Santorum a ‘good Catholic’
— Politico

So now we’re in Charleston. More news later. Please hit the tip jar.

PREVIOUSLY:

Jan. 17: Is Fox News the Problem?
Jan. 16: SOUTH CAROLINA GOP DEBATE
Jan. 16: South Carolina Pre-Debate Thread UPDATE: New Rick Santorum TV Ad in S.C. Hits Romney as ‘Just Like Obama’
Jan. 16: How Low Will They Go? This Low.
Jan. 16: A Fitting Finale to the Huntsman Flop
Jan. 16: My Son, the C-SPAN Star
Jan. 15: Good-Bye, Governor Asterisk
Jan. 15: VisitMyrtleBeach.com
Jan. 15: Santorum in S.C. Says Obama Views America as a ‘Mistake,’ Divides Nation
Jan. 15: Greetings From Myrtle Beach
Jan. 14: Romney Leads by 21 Points in S.C.?

Category: Election 2012, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Shoe Leather Fund, South Carolina

Amanda Marcotte Has a Conniption Over the Rights of … Shemale Scouts?

Posted on | January 17, 2012 | 23 Comments

You can’t make up stuff as weird as this. In Colorado, a 7-year-old boy named Bobby who thinks he’s a girl wanted to joined the Girl Scouts and was initially rejected. But then the Girl Scout council changed its mind and declared, “If a child identifies as a girl and the child’s family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout.”

As might be expected, some people were upset by this decision. What parent wants to try to explain something this bizarre to their 7-year-old daughter? But the ordinary concerns of ordinary parents mean nothing to a fanatical ideologue like Amanda Marcotte, who uses the phrase “Christian right” three times in the course of a 571-word article depicting little Bobby the Trans-Girl Scout as the victim of a a dangerously radical religious/political menace.

The genuinely troubling thing about this is not merely that, to the liberal intelligentsia, transgendered 7-year-olds are entirely acceptable and praiseworth, a phenomenon about which no one dare raise a skeptical eyebrow, lest they be accused of “hate.” No, what is truly disturbing is the intelligentsia’s belief that there is something wrong with parents who think that Girl Scouts should be for, y’know, girls.

Attitudes that are altogether common and understandable — such as parents’ desire to provide their children a normal, wholesome childhood environment — are re-imagined by the liberal intelligentsia as hateful bigotry, which must be explained by reference to some sort of reactionary political impulse. And thus the majority of Americans are cast as hopelessly prejudiced, prone to manipulation by shadowy right-wingers, and therefore in need of enlightenment by their moral and intellectual superiors because … Progress!

Let any literate person endeavor to point out the nonsensical nature of stuff like this, of course, and you’re instantly classified as one of those shadowy right-wingers. The intelligentsia cannot stand to see anyone give articulation to the ordinary sentiments of those decent non-intellectual Americans who oppose such strange notions of Progress.

PREVIOUSLY:

Category: Feminism, Gays, Intellectuals

Are You Ready for Ameritopia?

Posted on | January 17, 2012 | 13 Comments

Mark Levin, author of Liberty and Tyranny, is back with a new book, Ameritopia: The Unmaking of America, and it’s sure to be one another bestseller.

What Levin offers is a philosophical contrast between starkly different visions of government: The utopian view of “heaven on earth” schemes and the vision of ordered liberty that inspired the American Revolution. Levin provides what is in essence a graduate school seminar on political philosophy, examining four influential utopian works — Plato’s Republic, Thomas More’s Utopia, Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan and Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto — and three authors who extoll the vision of limited government: John Locke, Charles Montesquieu and Alexis de Tocqueville.

Levin shows how the utopian vision threatens the American tradition of law and liberty, a threat that leads toward what he calls “Post-Constitutional America.” Levin writes:

Utopianism is irrational in theory and practice, for it ignores or attempts to control the planned and unplanned complexity of the individual, his nature, and mankind generally. It ignores, rejects, or perverts the teachings and knowledge that have come before — that is, man’s historical, cultural, and social experience and development. . . .
Utopianism substitutes glorious predictions and unachievable promises for knowledge, science, and reason, while laying claim to them all. Yet there is nothing new in deception disguised as hope and nothing original in abstraction framed as progress.

My American Spectator colleague Jeffrey Lord has a lengthy review today of Ameritopia, and writes:

If you want to understand what’s really at work with the mentality that has produced everything from Obamacare to the EPA, campaign finance reform, Roe v. Wade, gay marriage, the controversy over Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital, the New Deal, the Great Society and Fannie Mae — to name a small handful of historical political programs and controversies — Ameritopia is the “must read” of 2012. And beyond.

Indeed, Levin’s book is both timely and timeless, a work of enduring value that is also directly relevant to the current crisis caused by Obama’s utopian worldview. I strongly recommend Ameritopia not only as a thoughtful treatise for adults interested in the philosophical basis of our political struggles, but also as an excellent primer for young people who wish to understand the dangerous ideas that define what we nowadays call the “liberal” or “progressive” movement.

Levin is a lawyer and former Reagan administration Justice Department official who founded the Landmark Legal Foundation. Those who know Levin chiefly as a caustic talk-radio host — “Shut up, you dummie!” — may be surprised at the depth and subtlety of his writing. Liberals cherish the flattering conceit that they have a monopoly on all things intellectual, but it would be amusing to see some of these allegedly clever young “Occupy” protesters attempt to read Ameritopia. It might teach them much, if only they could understand all those big words.

— Robert Stacy McCain

Category: Books, Mark Levin

Is Fox News the Problem?

Posted on | January 17, 2012 | 25 Comments

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.
After the debate last night, I talked to several people about the situation that we find ourselves in: Four days away from the crucial South Carolina primary and still we have three “not Romney” candidates — Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Rick Perry — dividing up the conservative vote. Another 10 to 15 percent of the GOP primary vote here will probably go to Ron Paul, and thus it is altogether possible that Mitt Romney could win with less than 30 percent of the vote.

And so I ask: Is Fox News the problem?

This thought came to me this morning as I watched “Fox & Friends” and saw how, in the apparent interest of being “fair and balanced,” they distributed their attention between the various candidates. Knowing what an enormous influence the network has among conservative voters, is it possible that coverage by Fox News has played a major role in the way this campaign has developed?

Consider, for example, the case of Rick Perry. Traditionally, it has been said that there are “three tickets out of Iowa” — i.e., the top three finishers in the Iowa caucuses go on to contend for the nomination — and yet Perry, who placed a weak fifth in Iowa and didn’t even campaign in New Hampshire, is still running here in South Carolina despite the fact that polls show him likely to get less than 10 percent of the vote.

Would such a doomed and hopeless candidacy — the zombie shuffle of the undead Republican — be possible if it weren’t for the fact that the Perry campaign can count on Fox News covering them as if they were still a legitimate contender? And isn’t the availability of Fox News airtime a valuable resource that has been exploited by the GOP candidates, enabling them to keep campaigning even when the money starts drying up? And how has Fox News coverage more generally shaped public perception of the campaign? Have the prejudices of Fox News producers, reporters, analysts and anchors exercised a perceptible influence, a thumb on the scale as it were?

These are large and complex questions that I don’t have time to explore adequately this morning, because I’m supposed to be checking out of this motel and driving to Charleston today. But I wanted to throw it out there — discuss among yourselves — preparatory to linking my latest column for The American Spectator:

Mitt Romney came under the most intense fire he’s faced in a televised debate Monday night, hammered from the outset by his four remaining rivals for the Republican presidential nomination. And, according to one of his top advisers, Romney won.
“Governor Romney demonstrated tonight why he’s leading in South Carolina [and] why he’s leading nationally,” Eric Fehrnstrom said in the “spin room” where reporters gathered to get the post-debate perspective of candidates and their surrogates. “You heard him give strong answers about his business record, about Afghanistan and foreign policy, about his entitlement plan. And I think what these debates have turned into is a ‘get Mitt’ show, and anytime something like that happens and Mitt Romney comes out of it unscathed, then I think you can fairly conclude that he’s the winner.”
Whether Romney was “unscathed” in the debate here was, of course, disputed by the other campaigns. Rick Santorum’s campaign manager, Mike Biundo said his candidate “did really well.… He had a very pointed exchange with Governor Romney, showed that he certainly has debate skills and understands and has a command of the issues, and I think you’re going to need that in the fall.” . . .

Please read the whole thing.

UPDATE: Via Memeorandum, the headlines:

Attacks fly in Republican debate
— The Hill

Forceful Attack Against
Romney in G.O.P. Debate
— New York Times

Santorum Rattles Mitt Romney
— Buzz Feed

Category: Debates, Election 2012, Fox News, South Carolina

What’s In Mitt’s Wallet?

Posted on | January 17, 2012 | 10 Comments

by Smitty

Perry cut right to income taxes at his first opportunity during the debate last night. Apparently, Mitt’s campaign has never heard of the Streisand Effect, where topics that really are of no interest (her house, his cash) become endlessly fascinating because people are so adamant about evading them.

Why was the otherwise firm and confident Mitt doing such a fine Fred Astaire on the tax topic?

First of all, I really don’t care. Private property should remain such. From that standpoint, I actually support Mitt’s reluctance. Again, though, the Streisand Effect: the fact that he’s hemming and hawing, draws attention to the question. His motives for evasion, far more than the details, are very much a question for the Dude Who Would Be POTUS.

What might Romney’s income tax returns reveal? I’ll do what Stacy hates, and speculate:

He might be in a tussle with the IRS, and legitimately need time to sort some legal issues.
If you’ve read Throw Them All Out, we might discover that he has made quite the pile o’ cash in various legal, but politically challenging ways. For example, Senator John Kerry was cited in TTAO for hauling in cash from legislative knowledge of health care stocks. I’m confident nothing like that could have possibly occurred in Mitt’s case, for all he must know quite a bit about the companies in the field as a result of RomneyCare. But releasing tax returns would help dispel such concerns.
It could be that Romney just, through no illegal action of his own, wound up within the 1% of the 1%, NTTAWWT, IYKWIMAITYD. I repeat: I don’t care, and class warfare sucks. But why not just go for some transparency on the point?

I guess if he locks in the delegates before disclosure, it’s all good.

Update: Daily Pundit wants transparency in exchange for his vote, which makes sense.

Category: Mitt Romney

LIVE AT FIVESEVEN 01.17.12

Posted on | January 17, 2012 | 3 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho

TOP NEWS

Going dark to protest SOPA

Wikipedia Joins Web Blackout SOPA Protest
Reddit, Boing Boing, others shutting down Wednesday in protest of “piracy” bill

Fuel Tanker Arrives At Iced-In Nome
Russian tanker makes port, starts oil pumping

Syrian Official Defects, Says Regime Will Fight At All Costs
Consensus is that most of the 5000 dead are victims of the Assad regime

POLITICS
As Rivals Attack Mitt’s Record, His Claims Spread Confusion

Mitt Romney unleashes awesome computational powers

Gingrich, Perry attacks not making anyone happy but the Dems

Walker Recall Organizers To Submit Petitions Today

Gingrich: My Positions Shouldn’t Offend Blacks

Rick Perry Stands By Marines Accused Of Urinating On Taliban

Border Patrol To Toughen Policy On Returning Illegals

Mississippi Pardons Spur Changes In Trusty Program

THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Euro Zone Inflation Dips In December Opens Door To ECB Cut
PRC GDP Grows 8.9%
Spain’s Borrowing Costs Fall At Auction
U.K. Inflation Drops Sharply
Oil Rises To Three-Day High As Saudis Target $100 Crude Price
Steve Wozniak: 8 Reasons Android Is Better Than iOS
Facebook IPO Set For May
Nokia Windows Phone Now Free At Walmart
Hackers Hit Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, El Al Websites

SPORTS
Kobe Cools Off, But Fisher Saves Lakers

Kobe's run comes to an end

Bryant’s streak of 40-point games comes to an end, but Lakers still beat Mavs 73-70

Jayhawks Inflict First Loss Of Season On Baylor, 92-74

Elway Grudgingly Sticks With Tebow For 2012

LeBron James, Kobe Bryant To Play For U.S. Olympic Squad

England Crumbles Under Ajmal’s Off-Spin: 52 For Five On First Day At Dubai

Nationals, Flores Agree To One-Year Deal

FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Brody Jenner, Avril Lavigne Split

Brody & Avril in happier times

Careers and relationship never quite in synch

Madonna Shrugs Off Elton John’s Fury Over Her Golden Globe: “I Don’t Feel Bad”

Jesse Metcalfe Engaged To Cara Santana

Golden Globes 2012 Fashion

Lindsay Lohan Sneaks Into Golden Globe Parties

Katy Perry Expected To Come Out Of Hiding At Marc Cuban’s Super Bowl Party

“Bachelorette” Star Kasey Kahl Arrested For Being A Drunken Mess

Kid Rock On Cigar: “Yeah, I Do Get Special Treatment”

If You Want To Participate In A Futile, Bizarre Giveaway Contest, The Carolina Hurricanes Have You Covered

FOREIGNERS
Divers Blast Holes In Cruise Ship Wreck; Missing Raised To 29
Reports: Syria Heading For Civil War
At Least 26 Dead, Many Injured In Beirut Building Collapse
Kim Jong Il’s Oldest Son Expects Nork Regime To Collapse
PM Cameron Says No New Yacht For The Queen, At Least Not In The Budget
Euro Parliament Chooses Germany’s Schulz For President Over Two UK Candidates

BLOGS & STUFF
Big Government: Controversy Mars Santorum’s Endorsement By Evangelical Leaders
Michelle Malkin: South Carolina – The Final Five
Legal Insurrection: Clarity
Pat Dollard: West Says He’d Step Up To The Plate If Asked To Run As VP
Weasel Zippers: Holder Uses MLK Day To Blast GOP Voter ID Proposals As Racist
Radio Equalizer: Arianna Huffington Slams First Lady Over Apparent Indifference To Poverty
Frank J.: Private Sector Experience? Oh, No!
Michael Walsh: The Strange Birth Of New York’s Gun Laws
Allen West: Mr. President, Please Don’t Play The Race Card In 2012

SOTD: Burnin’ For You

Category: Live at Five

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The Other McCain

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

LIVE AT FIVE – 01.17.12

Who the Hell Does Newt Think He Is?

Greetings from Charleston!

Amanda Marcotte Has a Conniption Over the Rights of … Shemale Scouts?

Are You Ready for Ameritopia?

Is Fox News the Problem?

What’s In Mitt’s Wallet?

LIVE AT FIVESEVEN 01.17.12

THE FULL METAL JACKET REACH-AROUND AWARD

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