The Other McCain

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

We Know What Kind Of Man He Is,
Even If The Price Is Unspecified

Posted on | December 2, 2011 | 16 Comments

by Smitty

Via Ace, emphasis original:

In the article Verum Serum uncovers, Gingrich does not endorse Fannie’s/Freddie’s practices. Instead, he endorses the model of a government-backed enterprise for handling functions that the government has gotten into.
Functions the government probably shouldn’t have gotten into, but it did, and so given that it did, is it better to have a purely government division handling this, or one with some kind of responsiveness to market forces?

One is reminded of a brace of computer geek quotes from David Wheeler:

  • “All problems in computer science can be solved by another level of indirection. . .Except for the problem of too many layers of indirection.”
  • “Compatibility means deliberately repeating other people’s mistakes.”

Hence my love/hate relationship with Newt. If I could be really certain that he is not just a kindler, gentler version of Arlen Specter, I might warm to his cause:It’s one thing to have the eloquence, to have done all the reading, to have the knowledge to describe the problem in nauseating detail. It’s quite another to have character, as Whittle describes in this great essay:
What we need now is not just character in our candidates, we need the capacity to restore character to our government. Our current lack of character is perhaps epitomized by the utterance of Nancy the Atrocious: “Are you serious? Are you serious?”
Yes, all you Ruling Class Overlords: we’re as serious as a heart attack.
Character-free incumbents and candidates must be discarded. Hence all the anti-Romney and anti-Newt friction; the court of public opinion has deemed them to have all the character of a comic book. Candidates have to believe in limiting government, or they are of no use, and will merely become tools of the machine.

Update: at the Tatler, some Romney analysis:

Mitt Romney is a smart man. He strikes me as a pragmatic corporate tinkerer and fixer, the kind of person who can examine a given situation, diagnose what’s wrong with it, and come up with a fix. He has probably spent the years between that 2008 campaign and the current one thinking and re-thinking about every move he made in that failed effort. Like an NFL coach poring over game film of the Super Bowl he lost, Romney has replayed much of the 2008 campaign in his mind, not in a weird regretful way, but so that he can figure out what went wrong and win next time. He seems to have concluded that since being the conservative candidate didn’t work then, he would try being the moderate now. Hey, that’s who won last time around, right?

Yep, that Romney is pretty much everything except a Tea Partier. Because those hoi polloi Tea Party characters are just so. . .unrefined.

Category: Newt Gingrich

The Krauthammer Caucus

Posted on | December 2, 2011 | 29 Comments

One cause of this year’s up-and-down cycles in the contest for the Republican presidential nomination has been the powerful influence Fox News exercises over conservative opinion. While I am capable of filtering Fox in the same way I filter any other information stream — and am naturally resistant to peddlers of Conventional Wisdom — it cannot be denied that, for some Republican voters, What Is True on any given day bears a strong resemblance to What Fox News Said the night before.

Understand that I have made a career in recent years as someone who knows what goes on behind the scenes in Media World and occasionally reveals it (usually through sly sarcasm) to readers who have never worked in a newsroom. And I have sometimes talked about what I call “The Water Cooler Consensus” that emerges among a group of newsroom co-workers discussing politics. The opinions that solidify in those informal conversations among colleagues have a way of expressing themselves in decisions about what is and is not news.

From this understanding, then, I approach this Washington Post column by Charles Krauthammer:

It’s Iowa minus 32 days, and barring yet another resurrection (or event of similar improbability), it’s Mitt Romney vs. Newt Gingrich. . . .
My own view is that Republicans would have been better served by the candidacies of Mitch Daniels, Paul Ryan or Chris Christie. Unfortunately, none is running. You play the hand you’re dealt. This is a weak Republican field with two significantly flawed front-runners contesting an immensely important election. If Obama wins, he will take the country to a place from which it will not be able to return (which is precisely his own objective for a second term).
Every conservative has thus to ask himself two questions: Who is more likely to prevent that second term? And who, if elected, is less likely to unpleasantly surprise?

(Via Memeorandum.) That’s the beginning and the end of his column, and everthing in between must be considered in light of a premise that Krauthammer implies without actually saying:

 If you are a supporter of any candidate other
than Newt or Mitt, you’re wasting your time.

This is a belief that has been repeatedly telegraphed to Fox News viewers for the past two weeks. And the people who are communicating that message may be entirely sincere. But no one should discount the possibility that they are also sincerely wrong.

Charles Krauthammer is a brilliant man, but he is not the only brilliant man in the world, and not all of the brilliant men in this world are nationally syndicated columnists employed by Fox News. Ergo, I’m no more likely to outsource my political thinking to Krauthammer than I am to let Chris Matthews, Peggy Noonan, Paul Krugman or Meghan McCain dictate my opinions.

Will Fox News pick the next president? Or do ordinary people in Iowa still have more influence than the Krauthammer Caucus?

UPDATE: Richard McEnroe is not one of The People Who Matter. Neither are the voters of Iowa. Nor, for that matter, are you or I.

* * * * *

What You Can Do
If you agree with the logic of the foregoing argument, why don’t you copy it in an e-mail and send it to your Republican representative, senator, governor or state GOP chairman? You can also e-mail it to your favorite local or national talk radio host. Also, by using the “share” button at the bottom of the post, you can share it via Twitter or post it to Facebook. Thanks in advance for your help in spreading the word.
— RSM

Category: Conservatism 101, Election 2012, Fox News, Iowa

Santorum Praised by Sarah Palin on Fox; Endorsed by Key Iowa Evangelical Pastor

Posted on | December 2, 2011 | 38 Comments

Has the fight for the Republican 2012 presidential nomination already become a two-man race between Mitt Romney versus Newt Gingrich? Not according to Sarah Palin, who singled out former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum for praise during her appearance Thursday night on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show.

“There is still a lot of fluid dynamic going on in this race,” Palin said, adding that if Republican voters “start shifting gears and deciding they want ideological consistency, then they’re going to start paying attention to, say, Rick Santorum.”

The former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential candidate went on to praise Santorum for being consistent on issues including his support for Israel and his pro-life stance:

TRANSCRIPT:
Sean Hannity: All right. If, if – if you were to assess – first of all, two questions in one: Do you think this come down to Newt versus Romney? Do you think any of the other candidates can emerge? And two, because they’re leading in the polls right now, a quick synopsis of the strengths and weaknesses you see in Newt and Romney.
Sarah Palin: I don’t think it has come down solidly to Newt versus Romney – no, not yet, because there is still a lot of fluid dynamic going on in this race. And if voters kind of start shifting gears and deciding they want ideological consistency, then they’re going to start paying attention to, say, Rick Santorum, who has been consistent on being a hard-liner against Iran, to help protect Israel. He’s been consistent on wanting to protect the most vulnerable and the sanctity of life. He’s been consistent in saying, we need to slash the federal income tax – I say we need to do away with it, that’s the only way to re-industrialize America and create jobs. People will start paying attention to some of these other messages from some of these other messengers, like Rick Santorum – you’re going to see that happen, still, in the next 32 days.

Palin followed up her appearance on Hannity’s show with a message sent to her nearly 700,000 Twitter followers:

Glad Santorum wants to re-industrialize USA w/ eliminating the corp income tax on manufactures.

Palin’s boost for Santorum drew attention from such campaign observers as Danny Yadron of the Wall Street Journal and Kathryn Jean Lopez of National Review. Many of Palin’s supporters had hoped she would be a candidate for president this year and were disappointed by her Oct. 5 announcement that she would not run. Her praise for Santorum comes at a key point in the campaign, barely a month before Iowa Republicans cast the first actual votes for delegates in the Hawkeye State’s Jan. 3 caucuses. There may yet be an opportunity for Santorum, as blogger M. Joseph Sheppard said in highlighting Palin’s comments:

“If Gingrich, who is now starting to feel the blowtorch . . . falters then, who knows, Santorum might be in a position to be the next Non-Romney.
“Certainly Santorum is unencumbered by any personal baggage. If his social views come under attack whilst he is rising, should he rise, then there would be little effect on his rising support as everyone is well aware of his right to life beliefs.”

No candidate in the Republican race has campaigned as hard in Iowa as Santorum, who has visited all 99 counties in the state, and will return to the state Sunday as part of his “Faith, Family and Freedom Tour.” In an appearance Thursday on MSNBC, Santorum told Andrea Mitchell: “We will do well in Iowa — I have no doubt about that. . . We’re going to surprise a lot of people on [Iowa caucus] Election Day on January third.”

A Catholic father of seven, Santorum ranks low in polls but has strong support among social conservatives, including an Iowa evangelical minister whose endorsement was announced in a press release sent by the Santorum campaign Thursday night:

SANTORUM RECEIVES ENDORSEMENT
OF INFLUENTIAL IOWA EVANGELICAL LEADER
Influential Iowa Evangelical Leader, Pastor Cary Gordon
Stands With Santorum And Will Formally Announce
Via Text Message to 788,000 Registered Voters

Verona, PA – Tonight, Iowa evangelical leader, Pastor Cary Gordon announced his endorsement for Republican Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum for President of the United States.

Senator Santorum said: “I am truly honored to receive this endorsement tonight. Pastor Gordon is a leader for God’s truth in Iowa and the nation – and has stood tall against the forces that have pushed the redefinition of marriage. His work in Iowa has helped ensure that the traditional American family is defended and protected. I am humbled to have such a stalwart defender of traditional American values by our team’s side as we work to return our nation to the values that made our nation the greatest in the history of the world.”

As detailed by Jennifer Jacobs of the Des Moines Register, influential Sioux City Pastor Cary Gordon endorsed former Senator Rick Santorum for President of the United States:

Sioux City Evangelical Minister
to Endorse Rick Santorum
By: Jennifer Jacobs, The Des Moines Register

Sioux City evangelical leader Cary Gordon, who played a role in the defeat of three Iowa Supreme Court justices in last year’s elections, will endorse Rick Santorum for president on Friday.Gordon will make his endorsement via a text message Friday morning to 788,000 cell phones owned by registered Iowa voters or by residents of Iowa’s 5th Congressional District.He is pastor of Sioux City’s Cornerstone Church and president of PeaceMakers Institute. He is steadfastly opposed to same-sex marriage and abortion.Gordon told The Des Moines Register today that he also will spell out reasons why he favors Santorum – and rejects Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney – in a 20-minute video.

UPDATE: The text above has been edited to reflect a change in the video selection, substituting the YouTube clip for this video from the Media Research Center of the entire Palin/Hannity interview. The exchange in which Palin brought up Santorum’s name occurs at the 8:37 mark of this video:

In a statement on his campaign Web site, Santorum said: “I am grateful to hear these kind words from a strong, conviction conservative like Governor Palin.”

RECENTLY:


Category: Election 2012, Fox News, Iowa, Rick Santorum, Sarah Palin

Crowder Turns The Fallon/Bachmann Incident Into Conservative Recruiting Call

Posted on | December 2, 2011 | 6 Comments

by Smitty

Steven Crowder recaps the disgraceful Michele Bachmann intro music, and links in the new Miley Cyrus video.

Crowder then argues, as many have, that conservative kids need to mount a counter-insurgency on Hollyweird. That is certainly one prong. But also, efforts like Declaration Entertainment are crucial to building a fresh, renewed culture based upon the traditional, pre-Commie infiltration values that we know work.

Update: Linked at Maggie’s Notebook.

Update II: Linked at The Lonely Conservative.

Category: Blogging, Video

LIVE AT FIVE – 12.02.11

Posted on | December 2, 2011 | 4 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Senate Blocks Tax-Cut Bills

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell

26 GOP senators break ranks and vote against payroll tax continuation

Hillary Clinton, Aung San Suu Kyi In Burma Talks
Meeting follows private dinner on Tuesday

Senate Ignores Obama’s Veto Threat, Passes $662 Billion Defense Bill
Bill passes 93-7, includes funding for wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, is $43 billion than last year’s DoD appropriation



POLITICS
President Redirects $50 Million To Fight AIDS

President Obama greets Bono and Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent

Cites W’s bold leadership in fighting AIDS at home and abroad

Cain: Wife Didn’t Know About Friendship With Ginger White

GOP Leaders Still Torn About Supporting Romney


Gingrich Clarifies Statements On Child Labor

Rick Perry Iowa Mailers Pitch Plan To “Overhaul Washington”

Majority Of Illegals Have Lived En Los EEUU Por Mas Que Diez Años

House Republicans Accuse White House Of Withholding Solyndra Documents



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Global Markets: Stocks Set For Weekly Gains, Eurozone Summit Looms
Auto Sales Accelerate Sharply In November
Massachusetts Files Suit against Five Banks Over Robo-signing
Costco, Nordstrom’s Report Strong Sales In November
Wall Street Slips, Eyes Payroll Report
Obama Renews Push For Consumer Bureau Chief
Frosty Reception For Coca-Cola’s White Christmas Cans
Jobless Claims Climb Back Over 400K
Google Confirms No Affiliation With Carrier IQ
AT&T Slams FCC, Whines That Report Is Unfair



SPORTS
Four Interceptions & Lynch’s Running Lift Seahawks Over Eagles

Seahawks defensive back David Hawthorne

Hawthorne’s 4Q interception seals victory over slumping Eagles

QB Donovan McNabb Cut By Vikings

Aggies Fire Football Coach Mike Sherman

Coach’s Plan To Rouse Ovechkin Produces Little

Busch Brothers Try To Harness Emotions

Pavelec, Little Lift Jets Over Coyotes, 1-0

Stars Use Pair Of Goals In Third To Stop Senators

Nationals Making A List, Checking It Twice For Winter Meetings



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Why Scarlett Johansson Hates Blake Lively

Scarlett, Blake, and Ryan

It’s all about Ryan Reynolds

Demi Moore Isn’t Dating Skin Care Mogul

Judy Lewis, Secret Daughter Of Hollywood, Dies At 76

Brad Pitt Consoles Suicidal Actor At “Moneyball” Event

High Sobriety

Michelle Trachtenberg Was Almost Bella In “Twilight”

“Friday Night Lights” Star Zach Gilford Engaged

Russell Brand: Happily Married And Thinking Babies With Katy Perry



FOREIGNERS
Zawahiri Claims Jihadis Hold Missing US Aid Worker
WSJ: Pakistan Gave OK For Deadly Airstrike
Syria Opposition Groups Agree To Coordinate Efforts
Putin Faces First Setback In Russia Vote
France & Germany To Fight Euro Debt Crisis With New EU Treaty
Netanyahu Scolds Livni For Meeting With Abbas



BLOGS & STUFF
Lonely Conservative: Did Newt Bash Poor Children Before Or After Declaring He’ll Be The Nominee?
Allahpundit: Bret Baier Says Romney Complained After Interview That Questions Were “Uncalled For”
Legal Insurrection: Surrogate Fight Night – Open
NRO Corner: It’s The Other Button I’m Worried About
Gateway Pundit: Pro-Jihadi Amnesty International Calls For W’s Arrest
Sister Toldjah: Like! In New Rick Perry Ad, Candidate Pokes Fun At His “Brain Freeze” Moment
Junkscience.com: Flameout – GM Offers To Buy Back Volts
Rush Limbaugh: The China Myth And Rick Perry
Ed Driscoll: “A Reasonably Enlightened Group Of People”
Steve Sailer: Do College Quotas Hurt NAMs?
Verum Serum: PuffHo Questions Obama’s Progressive Credibility On The Economy
Conservatives4Palin: Insider Trading Hearing Turns Lawmakers’ Scrutiny On Themselves


SOTD: Lucretia My Reflection

Category: Live at Five

INTERVIEW: Sean Bielat Says He’ll Make 2012 Campaign Decision ‘Next Week’

Posted on | December 1, 2011 | 15 Comments

In 2010, Republican Sean Bielat gave Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank the toughest re-election challenge the Democrat had ever experienced. Although Bielat’s insurgent Tea Party-backed campaign fell short of unseating Frank, it was obviously a factor in the 16-term congressman’s decision this week to retire at the end of his current term, rather than seek re-election in a newly redrawn district. Thursday night, Bielat spoke to me in a brief telephone interview.

Robert Stacy McCain: So, this is the week of ‘Bye Bye Barney.’ How are you feeling right now?
Sean Bielat: [Laughs.] Well, you know, if you would have asked me a year ago at this time, I would have said that this was exactly what was going to happen. And then, you know, when he came out February and said, ‘I’m definitely running . . . definitely going to be back in this thing,’ I took it with a grain of salt, but I believed it. So he definitely caught me off-guard [by announcing his retirement Monday].

RSM: He’s saying that it’s mainly about the re-districting. Have you taken a good look at that map?
BIELAT: Yeah, I have. It is a much better district.
RSM: You mean, for a Republican?
BIELAT: Yeah. It’s still overwhelmingly Democrat, but it’s a much better district than before. But implicit in that comment – ‘it’s because of re-districting’ – is the fact that he thinks he’s going to have a competitive opponent, right? Because he’s been re-districted before and not retired. The difference is, he had a challenge last time. Now it’s a new district and I think he just wasn’t sure he’d make it through and it wasn’t worth the effort.

RSM: OK. And are you taking a victory lap? I mean, do you believe that your challenge last year convinced him that it was time to pack it in?
BIELAT: I’m also taking that with a grain of salt. I don’t think he would have retired if I hadn’t run against him, but I also don’t think he’s retiring because I did.
He, on Election Day [in 2010], thought he was going to lose. We were told that by a number of the reporters who were following him and who were in his van – they thought they were going to lose. And you saw he put a couple hundred thousand dollars of his own money it, you know. I don’t think he enjoyed this experience. He hadn’t really done this since 1982. I don’t think he enjoyed the eight debates. I think he was worn out. And I think he didn’t want to do it again, particularly if the district was going to be more favorable to his opponent.

RSM: And is there a chance that that opponent might be you?
BIELAT: [Laughs.] Well, there’s no chance it will be me against Barney, but there’s definitely a chance that it will be me against whatever Democrat they’re going to put up in the Fourth [District]. I’m looking very hard at it. Poltically, I think it makes a lot of sense. We’re just trying to figure out personally if it’s what we want right now, with the new baby and the other 15-month-old and, you know, the sacrifices involved in running. But I’m definitely very interested in it.

RSM: You’ve got two children?
BIELAT: Yeah, we just had the second one about two-and-a-half weeks ago.
RSM: Wow. And I understand that you were spending some time in Pennsylvania and some people were trying to lay the ‘carpetbagger’ thing on you.
BIELAT: Yeah, I think it’s tough to do when we only came [to Pennysylvania] in September and the reason I came was because we had family in the area and we had some difficulties the last time around, with the last pregnancy. So we wanted to be here in case that happened again. We’re planning to go back [to Massachusetts] after the holidays. Hope is still a student at Boston University. She took the semester off. She’ll be back in the spring semester. . . . It’s just the circumstance – we wanted to be near family because of the baby.

RSM: OK, and last time around, the Internet fundraising and the support of New Media seemed to really kick your campaign into high gear.
BIELAT: Oh, without a doubt. I mean, one of the most important people for me to get back on the team is [New Media consultant] John La Rosa. I mean, our money came from online. Fox News was huge, too. Every time we went on Fox News, the money would come in, too. But it was because the groundwork was there, because went on the blogs. It was all over the Internet – the Tweets were out there, and Facebook was useful as well.
So it was huge, and then there was the ‘Dancing Barney’ video [by filmmaker Ladd Ehlinger Jr.] and the incident with [Barney Frank’s] significant other, where he was heckling me – that was huge. I can’t tell you how many people came up to me about that, or said, ‘I sent you a contribution after I saw that.’ That wouldn’t have gotten out there without the New Media channels.

RSM: So that really made a difference. What would be the timetable, if you did decide to run? When would you be thinking about putting something together again?
BIELAT: I want to make a decision next week. You know there’s a number of other Republicans who are calling me to find out my plans, because if I’m not getting in, they may want to get in. So I certainly don’t want to slow them down and, you know, I don’t want to be in limbo myself. If I end up not doing this, I’m going to be working on the [political action committee] – I’d like to kick that off and start doing some good there.  So I want to make this decision fairly soon.

RSM: OK, so you say, within a week?
BIELAT: Yeah. That’s the plan.

RSM: Wow. OK, then. So if we’re going to be scrambling the jets, we’re going to be scrambling the jets in a pretty quick hurry here.
BIELAT: Yeah. I mean, if I’m going to get in, I want to raise money this quarter. And if I’m going to raise money in December, when the holidays are coming up, I’ve got to do it right at the beginning. So that means making my decision right away.

Category: Congress, Election 2012, Massachusetts, Sean Bielat

Campaign Update: Rick Santorum Adds Friday Event in Merrimack, N.H.

Posted on | December 1, 2011 | 4 Comments

As reported this morning, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum will arrive Friday in New Hampshire for a two-day campaign tour. In a “media advisory” issued Thursday afternoon, the former Pennsylvania senator’s campaign announced the addition of another event to his Granite State itinerary. Santorum will speak at 9 a.m. Friday to students and faculty at Merrimack High School, at 38 McElwain Street in Merrimack, NH.

Category: Election 2012, New Hampshire, Rick Santorum

The Raven Keeps Calling Newt’s Name

Posted on | December 1, 2011 | 17 Comments

“If we’re really going to do this, can we at least first have a semi-competitive primary between Newt and a more conservative candidate? Perry’s still out there, you know, hangin’ around at five percent for a big hug from the base. All you have to do is wish it to make it so!”
— Allahpundit

While I was busy today on a “therapeutic escape from depressing realities,” and examining the prophetic omens of cosmic significance, news kept happening:

Gingrich Tells ABC News:
‘I’m Going to Be The Nominee’
By Jake Tapper

WEST DES MOINES, IOWA — A very confident New Gingrich asserted to ABC News Thursday afternoon that he will be the Republican presidential nominee.
“I’m going to be the nominee,” the former Speaker told ABC News. “It’s very hard not to look at the recent polls and think that the odds are very high I’m going to be the nominee.”
The bold assertion came after Gingrich refused to criticize the Republican challengers who have begun attacking him and his record. . . .

You should read the whole thing. And not just because “Jake Tapper” is the Greatest-Ever Not-Really-a-Porn-Alias Name, but also because Newt’s got hubris like some people have halitosis. If your quest is to find the one Republican 2012 candidate who can match the insuperable arrogance of Barack Obama, go with Gingrich.

Mitt Romney preps Newt Gingrich attack
— Politico

Look, Mitt, why bother doing it yourself? Just give your oppo-research dossier on Gingrich to Curt Anderson and let him leak the juicy stuff to Politico. About a week from now, we could all be watching the Gloria Allred press conference with her client, a male-to-female transsexual, describing the beastly abuse she suffered from Newt — 15 years ago, before the operation.

“No fingerprints,” as they say.

Top Romney Aide Calls Gingrich Evil
— Human Events

See what I’m talking about, Mitt? That’s the kind of headlines you get when you don’t outsource your hit-jobs to clever consultant types who know how to do this “Black Ops” stuff right. And I’m not saying that John Sexton at Verum Serum is on your payroll, but he does good work. IYKWIMAITYD.

Gingrich Says He Was Acting as
a Citizen, Not a Lobbyist 
— New York Times

What part of “eye-rolling disbelief” is so hard to understand here? Newt just decides as a citizen he needs to get in touch with his old buddies in Congress and tell them to enact policies that — coincidence! — happen to benefit the clients who are stuffing big money into Newt’s bank account. 

Happens every day. Not a crime. “No fingerprints,” as they say.

Newt Gingrich Isn’t Exactly
What You’d Call ‘Electable’
— Some Guy Who Wrote a Mitt Romney Hagiography

Well, enough news for now. Readers will excuse me, as I must make a phone call explaining to Rick Santorum the significance of a certain archipelago in the South Pacific — as a citizen.


Category: Election 2012, Newt Gingrich
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