The Other McCain

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

VA Attorney General Cuccinelli On GOP Primary Ballot

Posted on | December 26, 2011 | 24 Comments

by Smitty

Virginia is for politics lovers, and those who love being loved by politics. He has a lengthy email newsletter, which is not a survival guide, but offers some behind the scenes insight on the candidates. Cooch is a Santorum fan, and had the dimmest of faint praise for the Ruling Class Overlord approved GOP front runners.

A Note On The Virginia Ballot
. . .it now appears that the only two candidates that will be on Virginia’s ballot on March 6th: Governor Mitt Romney and Congressman Ron Paul. While I’m glad for them, it screams out for making our ballot more accessible. Read more

Category: Mitt Romney, Republicans, Ron Paul, Virginia

Rule 5 Monday: Boxing Day Edition

Posted on | December 26, 2011 | 12 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


Laughing Conservative leads off this week’s Rule 5 roundup with a Catholic joke, while Randy’s Roundtable takes a midweek break with Nina Agdal and Laura Acuna. Three Beers Later has cartoon Christmas cuties and Joey Heatherton; Fishersville Mike celebrates the delayed start to the NBA season.


El Opinador Compulsivo sifts through two weeks’ worth of picks and comes up with Maddalena Corvaglia, Sofia Vergara, Christmas photography, a cover question involving the Corrs, some grayscale beauties, the Liqui-Moly 2012 calendar, Russian bike rental ads, and a selection of random pix.


Eye of Polyphemus salutes the season with an appropriately costumed Jessica Simpson, Reaganite Republican reveals soon to be enemy Miss Argentina, and Three Beers Later offers a Ron Paul Christmas. Proof Positive has Poppy Montgomery, vintage babe Harriet Hilliard, Victoria’s Secret and the soundtrack of your life, and not one but two 49ers cheerleaders.


A View From The Beach last week had Amy Adams, Milla Jovovich, your occasional Japanese lesson, another stupid sex post, Spricket Explains SOPA and PIPA, something about taking women out of caves, and a belated PSA on how to wrap a Christmas present.


Soylent Green started off the week with Monday Motivationer Erika Mitdank, followed by , Ashlynn Brooke, Christmas wishes, Corset Friday, and Soylent Christmas 2011.


American Power’s week in Rule 5 started with Bikini Christmas, Kate Upton in SI, asked whether Mark Sanchez was dating Ms. Upton, continued with Kate Beckinsale in Flaunt magazine, and wound up with Kelly Brook wishing you a Merry Christmas.


Dustbury brought us Jennifer Aniston from 2005, Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin, and Sandra Bullock with Diablo Cody. Postaldog chipped in with Taryn Manning, Jerseynut added Elizabeth Banks as one of his Hanukkah Hotties (see links in that post for others), and Reaganite Republican proposed a one-time amnesty for Miss Mexico.


The Daleygator’s DaleyBabes for Christmas week included Rachel Jean Marteen, Nefteri Shephard, Pia Reyes, and Alina Kabaeva as well as Asian Babe Tuesday and Christmas Eve Babes.


Deadline for next week’s Rule 5 Monday (Hawkeye Caucii Edition) will be December 31. Thanks to everyone for their links!

Category: Uncategorized

Santorum Gets 4 ‘Clean Kills’ in Pheasant Hunt With Steve King; No Endorsement

Posted on | December 26, 2011 | 13 Comments

ADEL, Iowa
Today’s hunt at Doc’s Gun Club was successful for Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, who said he got four “clean kills,” and also saw his teenage son John get his first bird. Santorum also got some solid publicity for his campaign, as a horde of media turned out to cover his post-hunt press conference with Rep. Steve King.

What Santorum didn’t get was King’s much-coveted endorsement — at least not yet. The conservative GOP congressman praised Santorum but said he hasn’t yet decided whether to endorse anyone before the Jan. 3 caucuses, now just eight days away.

Influential Iowa conservative radio host Steve Deace said on Twitter: “No other way to say it, but no Steve King endorsement hurts whatever hopes Rick Santorum had of being the Cinderella story on Jan. 3.”

Yet King said he hasn’t ruled out an endorsement and would continue reflecting on it. Could he be building suspense for a future news cycle?

Well, I’ve got photos and video of today’s event, but the WiFi connection at this particular McDonald’s has bandwidth issues that prevent me uploading in any kind of timely manner so (like a Steve King endorsement) that will have to wait. There is a caucus volunteer training event tonight in Cedar Rapids and my driver Aaron Rupp says, “We gotta hurry.”

Category: Election 2012, Fear and Loathing in Iowa, Iowa, Rick Santorum

Greetings From Iowa

Posted on | December 26, 2011 | 21 Comments

Aaron Rupp is an industrial control systems engineer from Cedar Rapids who sent me an e-mail yesterday wondering if I needed a ride from the airport. By the time I took off this morning from BWI, my plan had already progressed to include a 140-mile drive to Adel — clear on the other side of Des Moines — for a 4 p.m. “media availability” with Rick Santorum. If you’re going to impose on someone, I say, go ahead and really impose.

Right now, I’m typing this in the passenger seat while Aaron is driving his brand new Honda Civic with less than 9,000 miles on the odometer. I’m sure this car could hit 110 mph, but Aaron has this whole Midwestern law-abiding thing going on, so he refuses to push it past 80. He’s a Santorum supporter. All the high-speed reckless drivers in Iowa are probably backing Ron Paul. (Libertarians consider speed limits the first step on the road to fascism. And they’re right!)

There was a brief rumor this morning that Rep. Steve King might be preparing to endorse Santorum. However, Aaron tells me, staff for both King and Santorum have denied this rumor. We shall see.

OK — we just pulled off at a McDonald’s near I-80 so I could get online, check the news and get this posted. William Petroski of the Des Moines Register has the lowdown on today’s event:

U.S. Rep. Steve King, one of Iowa’s most prominent conservative politicians, is spending this afternoon hunting pheasants near Adel with former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum – their second hunting trip in the past three months.
But King, whose endorsement is highly sought by Republican presidential candidates, told the Des Moines Register he has no plans today to make an endorsement of Santorum or anyone else.
“I have not made a decision,” King said, acknowledging that time is running short before the Jan. 3 Iowa Caucuses. “There has not been a constitutional conservative to run away from the pack.”
King, who represents a heavily Republican congressional district in western Iowa, said he was joining Santorum at Doc’s Hunt Club near Adel because he and the candidate are good friends and because it offered a chance to give Santorum’s campaign some publicity. They were joined here by former Iowa State University wrestling coach Jim Gibbons of Perry, who has endorsed Santorum; Kevin Reynolds, the husband of Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds; Dave Funk, the Polk County Republican Party co-chair, and about a dozen other shotgun-toting pheasant hunters.
Santorum, who served two U.S. Senate terms from Pennsylvania, is scheduled to meet with reporters at 4 p.m. to discuss his campaign. Santorum and King had hunted together in October in northwest Iowa, and King has also hunted with Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

That’s as much as we know at this point. Time to get back on the road.

UPDATE: Linked by Zilla of the Resistance — thanks! — and welcome, Instapundit readers!

Meanwhile, Bill Quick at Daily Pundit has the answer to the question: “What Would Hunter Thompson Do?”


Category: Election 2012, Fear and Loathing in Iowa, Iowa, Rick Santorum

The Lonely Conservative Injures Herself While Linking Us

Posted on | December 26, 2011 | 6 Comments

by Smitty

This blog fully understands the compulsive desire to link The Other McCain, but encourages blogger safety at all points. If you’re all broken up, how can you link us more?

Ouch! OK, it was an ice skating accident. Seriously, TLC: best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Category: Uncategorized

Fear and Loathing at BWI

Posted on | December 26, 2011 | 19 Comments

BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
They’ll call final boarding in less than an hour, so there’s no time now for a lot of fancy stuff. I’m scheduled for a three-hour flight to Detroit, a one-hour layover and then a 40-minute hop to Cedar Rapids.

The big headline on Memeorandum:

Mitt Romney’s secret money

What does it mean? Who knows? Maybe Mitt’s got more money than George Soros and has bought the GOP lock, stock and barrel. My mind isn’t on Mitt’s money, it’s on Iowa, where I just discovered that Rick Santorum’s schedule has him holding a press conference this afternoon:

4 p.m. CT — Senator Santorum and several prominent Iowa conservative leaders will hold a media availability following a pheasant hunt in Adel, IA.

Hmmm. Two hours from the airport in Cedar Rapids, where I’ll arrive about 1:15 p.m. A guy named Aaron has offered to pick me up at the airport, but would he be up for a 140-mile run to the other side of Des Moines? And then we’d have to turn around and drive back to be at a volunteer-training event in Cedar Rapids at 7.

But what the heck, huh?

If you’re gonna go gonzo, go all the way. This is the kind of situation where the only question is: What Would Hunter Thompson Do?

We know the answer, I think, and so my friend Aaron had best be prepared to do some high-speed driving across Iowa when I arrive, because my plans just changed in the time it took to drink a Bloody Mary in the airport lounge.

The National Affairs Desk, 8:10 a.m., Monday, Dec. 26, 2011

Drinking a Bloody Mary at 8 o’clock in the morning may seem strange, but this is purely medicinal: Three hours cooped up on a plane isn’t the kind of ordeal I can endure in an unmedicated condition, and tomato juice helps fortify my immune system as I prepare for this grueling expedition onto the campaign trail.

What I need is more sleep. I got up at 6 a.m., and if I can catch a couple hours sleep on this flight to Detroit, I’ll be rested and ready when I finally arrive in Iowa. Grab a large cup of coffee for the drive from Cedar Rapids to Adel, and I’ll arrive at that “media availability” as fresh as a daisy and as sober as a judge. No problem.

Well, one problem: Rich Lowry. But he’s a chronic problem, and I don’t have time to deal with it this morning, because I’ve got to get on that plane and fly the friendly skies. Wish me luck, and hit the freaking tip jar.


Category: Election 2012, Fear and Loathing in Iowa, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Shoe Leather Fund

E. J. Dionne Gets His Winston Smith On

Posted on | December 26, 2011 | 8 Comments

by Smitty

Sweet, sweet NewSpeak.
How thou makest
the truth to reek.
And those blindest
Who’d their past seek.

Dionne’s column is masterful. Wander through the professional-grade propaganda has E. J. denounces the GOP candidates. A taste:

The GOP is engaged in a wholesale effort to redefine the government help that Americans take for granted as an effort to create a radically new, statist society. Consider Romney’s claim in his Bedford speech: “President Obama believes that government should create equal outcomes. In an entitlement society, everyone receives the same or similar rewards, regardless of education, effort and willingness to take risk. That which is earned by some is redistributed to the others. And the only people who truly enjoy any real rewards are those who do the redistributing — the government.”
Obama believes no such thing. If he did, why are so many continuing to make bundles on Wall Street? As my colleagues Greg Sargent and Paul Krugman have been insisting, Romney is saying things about the president that are flatly, grossly and shamefully untrue. But Romney’s sleight of hand is revealing: Republicans are increasingly inclined to argue that any redistribution (and Social Security, Medicare, student loans, veterans benefits and food stamps are all redistributive) is but a step down the road to some radically egalitarian dystopia.
Obama will thus be the conservative in 2012, in the truest sense of that word. He is the candidate defending the modestly redistributive and regulatory government the country has relied on since the New Deal, and that neither Ronald Reagan nor George W. Bush dismantled.

If American history had begun in 1913, then maybe Dionne’s argument would be less of a dirty diaper shoved in the face.

redefine the government help that Americans take for granted as an effort to create a radically new, statist society

It’s not that I would deny E. J. the private right to velvet handcuffs, and whatever other kink turns him on. It’s the fact that this “government help” suppository is being rejected. The plurality of Americans think ObamaCare stinks, and are glomming onto the fact that the rest of the “safety net” programs are also made of industrial strength crap. What is the difference between entitlements and a pressure-sale for a timeshare? I don’t know, either.
And the joke about President Wall Street:

Obama believes no such thing. If he did, why are so many continuing to make bundles on Wall Street?

Ummm, so that the Wall Streeters can line BHO’s wallet? If you really believe there isn’t Wall Street/White House collusion afoot, Dionne, you may represent a safety hazard while driving a vehicle. And alluding to Krugman, E. J., helps your credibility about as much as saying ‘I snort Drano‘.
And truth?

Obama will thus be the conservative in 2012, in the truest sense of that word.

Have you seen truth at any point this year, Dionne? Conservatives conserve liberty. The Federal government, as such, is never an object of conservation. We conserve liberty like we conserve the environment, and both precede this decadent, Postmodern era, filled with lousy, deceptive twerps who urinate down the public back and declare precipitation.

The interesting question, E. J., is whether you have any self-awareness of the falsehood of the ideas you peddle. Are you really so flush with commie kool-aid that you believe this stuff, or are you just a simple prostitute, turning in these acts of Hooverism for a paycheck?

via Alan Colmes

Category: Barack Obama, Uncategorized

Memo From the National Affairs Desk: How’s the Weather Today in Vanuatu?

Posted on | December 25, 2011 | 18 Comments

“Santorum is a social conservative, and everybody seems to have convinced themselves that social conservatives are a dead weight impeding the Republican Party and therefore no one should ever express support for any social conservative anywhere, under any circumstance.”
— Robert Stacy McCain, “Slouching Toward Cedar Rapids”

“How long, O Lord, how long? Where will it end?
“All I ever wanted out of this campaign was enough money to get out of the country and live for a year or two in peaceful squalor in a house with a big screen porch looking down on an empty white beach, with a good rich coral reef a few hundred yards out in the surf and no neighbors. . . .
“What worries me now . . . is the strong possibility that my involvement in politics has become so deep and twisted that I can no longer think rationally about that big screen porch above the beach except in terms of an appointment as Governor of American Samoa.”
– Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ’72

Among the Christmas gifts I received from Mrs. Other McCain today: New luggage, thermal underwear and a wool overcoat — appropriate and much appreciated by a guy who’s about to head out on the campaign trail to Iowa and New Hampshire.

This trip wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of readers who have contributed to the Shoe Leather Fund, and there are more tip-jar hitters to thank on my last night at home before I fly the friendly skies to Cedar Rapids: Ronald in Charlottesville, Joe in Olympia, John in West Hartford, Victor in Virginia, Lamon in Missouri, Stephen in Alabama, Philip in Englewood, Dewayne in Evansville, Mike in New Hampshire, Barry in Florissant, William in Dallas, and Scott in Ontario.

Before I pack up the laptop and hit the Hawkeye State, however, there are a couple of things that probably need explaining, which might have been mysteriously puzzling even to longtime readers. Read more

Category: American Spectator, Election 2012, Fear and Loathing in Iowa, Fox News, Iowa, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Neutral Objective Journalism, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Shoe Leather Fund, Vanuatu
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