Herman Cain: The Third Koch Brother?

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WASHINGTON, D.C.
An accusation to which he’s proud to plead guilty:

After a tough week of media scrutiny, Herman Cain retreated to friendly turf Friday with an address to a conference sponsored by Americans for Prosperity . . .
Liberals have criticized Cain for his connection to the group, funded in part by Charles and David Koch, energy moguls who own one of the largest privately owned companies in the country. The Kochs bankroll many conservative and libertarian causes. But on Friday, Cain was anything but apologetic.
“I’m very proud to know the Koch brothers,” Cain told the crowd. “Just so I can clarify this for the media. This may be a breaking news announcement. I am the Koch Brothers’ brother from another mother. Yes. I’m their brother from another mother! And proud of it!”

MITT TO CHINA: DROP DEAD

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WASHINGTON, D.C.
OK, maybe the NY Post-style headline slightly overstates Mitt Romney’s tough talk on China here at the “Defending the American Dream” summit. Instead the former Massachusetts governor promised that, as president, he would evaluate federal programs in terms of deficit spending financed by borrowing from China.

“For each program we have in the government, I’m going to look at them one by one, and I’m going to ask this question: ‘Is this program so critical, so essential, that we should borrow money from China to pay for it?” said Romney, who is neck-and-neck with Atlanta businessman Herman Cain in the race for the GOP 2012 nomination.

“Now, for example, I like Amtrak, but I’m not willing to borrow $1.6 billion a year from China to pay for it,” Romney said, drawing applause from the crowd in the D.C. Convention Center ballroom. “I really like the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, but I will not borrow almost a billion dollars a year from China to pay for them.

“And then there’s foreign aid. Do you know that we give $27 million a year — guess to which country? To China. . . . I will stop sending money to any country that can take care of itself, and no foreign aid will go to countries that oppose American interests.”

That line produced a standing ovation.

Our ruthless Chinese overlords have yet to issue a statement on this unexpected outbreak of Sinophobia from Romney.

A Post Which Tries To Capture The Absurdity Of The Cain Situation In A Way That Some May Find Sacrilegious

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by Smitty

15. Now at that Election Cycle, the Media was wont to release unto the #OWS people a prisoner, whom they would.
16. And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.
17. Therefore when they were gathered together in Zuccotti Park, the Media said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Herman which is called Cain?
18. For he knew that for envy they had delivered him, pulling rumors like rabbits out of a turban so fast that no sane person could track them all, much less formulate a response for why he is labeled by some a Wookie from planet Endor.
19. When the Media was set down on the judgment seat, its conscience sent unto it, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.
20. But the chief consultants and donors persuaded the #OWS multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Herman, who had been known to speak to women on Endor, and was rumored to have appeared as Chewbacca at a Halloween party, some said.
21. The Media answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.
22. The Media saith unto them, What shall I do then with Herman which is called Cain? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified, for we fear he is a Wookie.
23. And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified, for who would accuse an innocent man of hanging around Endor?
24. When the Media saw that it could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made by #OWS, it took water, and washed its hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it, and blame Bush.

It’s Almost As If The US Is Involved In Domestic Low-Intensity Conflict

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by Smitty

Sure, it’s people engaged in political expression, right?

Officials with the revamped ACORN office in New York — operating as New York Communities for Change — have fired staff, shredded reams of documents and told workers to blame disgruntled ex-employees for leaking information in an effort to explain away a FoxNews.com report last week on the group’s involvement in Occupy Wall Street protests, according to sources.
NYCC also is installing surveillance cameras and recording devices at its Brooklyn offices, removing or packing away supplies bearing the name ACORN and handing out photos of Fox News staff with a stern warning not to talk to the media, the sources said.
“They’re doing serious damage control right now,” said an NYCC source.

The good news about the Information Age is that you can find out just how important treating politics as a participatory sport has become.

The bad news, as I keep trying to tell my father, is that sitting at home doing the ‘yelly at the telly’ routine, Archie Bunker style, is no longer good enough. This is the Information Age: you now enjoy a tax against your time to stay engaged, and hold the feet of your elected officials to the fire.

The alternative is that somebody who doesn’t mind doing a little flexing is going to take, slowly, and gradually, all you hold dear.

via Instapundit

Boehner: Have I Pissed Off The Tea Party Enough Lately? Maybe Not

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by Smitty

CBS News:

House Speaker John Boehner addressed one of the biggest sticking points for the 12 member Congressional “supercommittee” today, acknowledging that any bipartisan agreement will need to include some new tax revenue.
“I think there is room for revenues, but I think there clearly is a limit to the amount of revenues that are available,” Boehner told reporters.

Maybe, just maybe, it’s time that conservatives thought about forming a second major political party in this country. The Dem/Dem-Lite siamese twins are really, really tiresome.

via Alan Colmes

Fear And Loathing In Room 302

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by Smitty

A fine day for technical challenges, where buying an all-day pass on the Metro does not mean ‘all day’. Rather, ‘all day’ starts at 0930, if you read the one yellow rectangle in the sea of hieroglyphics on the ticket gadget. The attendant at the turnstile blamed the victim in the most elegant fashion possible when the confusion about ‘all day’ not being all day ‘all day’ arose. Note to Starbucks: if you wonder why I didn’t buy a venti sized beverage this morning, complain to Metro. Tell them Bastiat sent you, since I had to pay twice for the fare to get here. If the Metro ticket machine was any less helpful, it would be the IRS. But that’s another rant. The ride, however, was efficient, and spirited me to the Convention Center without further incident.

Past all that nonsense, it looks like there is a session on protecting the Internet at 0945. We could have a fine viral video if we had a clip of Stacy McCain in there, veering from stupor to agony at the onslaught of technical jargon. He always looks like he’s stuck in a Kafka story at times like that. On the heels of that is my rock star Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli, talking about health care. Always a treat, that guy. So I’ll take some notes and check in after noon.

Today’s Herman Cain Headlines

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Headline at The Week:

Herman Cain’s accusers: Should
they be allowed to tell their side?

And my post from two days ago is cited in arguing that not only should they be “allowed” to tell their side, they should be compelled to tell their side — and under their own names. Anonymous accusations in such a serious matter are unacceptable. Headline at the ABC News:

Cain Accuser May Issue Statement Today

Will she sign her name to it? No. Of course not. And the media continue protecting them under the assumption that they are victims — which amounts to presuming Herman Cain guilty, based on the testimony of accusers whose credibility aren’t allowed to examine. Headline at Politico:

Sources reveal new details about Cain allegation

The “new details” are not nearly as detailed as the headline suggests, but the shoddiness of Politico is already notorious, eh?

Cain Shows Initial Resilience
in the Face of Controversy

Which is from an ABC/Washington Post poll showing a dead heat — Mitt Romney at 24%, Cain at 23% — in a poll taken entirely after the “scandal” made headlines. Republicans are extending their middle fingers to the media and saying: “You don’t get to choose our nominee for us.” But they’ll keep trying. Headline at The Lonely Conservative:

What a Shock – Big Three Networks Devote
50 Stories to Herman Cain Scandal in Three Days

UPDATE: Rasmussen:

National Poll: Cain 26%, Romney 23%, Gingrich 14%

If Cain survives this, he’ll be bullet-proof.

999 Ninth Street NW

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“You’re very attractive,” says Erik Telford

WASHINGTON, D.C.
Here at the Renaissance Hotel — the address of which is the title of the post — I was working hard, trying to get an important story written, but my friends insisted on buying me beers and talking about Herman Cain.

The Americans for Prosperity “Defending the Dream Summit” began Thursday evening at the Washington Convention Center, but the real action is at the lobby bar of the Renaissance. Trust me, I’m professional journalist. I get paid to know these things.

So I found myself talking to Mike Rogers and Chris Heneghan, stone-cold crazy fanatics aboard the Cain Train, who are a story unto themselves. But there’s no time to tell that story now, because at this writing — 12:46 a.m. Friday — they’ve already closed the bar. This is a social injustice, and my friends Mike and Chris have offered me sofa space in their suite at the Renaissance.

The running joke of the night was, “You’re very attractive” — for reasons that should be obvious.

As I say, Messrs. Rogers and Heneghan are a story unto themselves, but there’s no time for that now, as I must pack it in and prepare for Friday’s big events. This post will go live at the blog in the morning, but I bid you good-night with The Five Most Important Words in the English Language: Hit the freaking tip jar!

Mike Rogers stands behind the National Affairs Desk
in the lobby of the Renaissance Hotel, 12:04 a.m., Nov. 4, 2011