The Other McCain

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

Hicks: BHO’s Class Warrior Schtick

Posted on | October 5, 2011 | 7 Comments

by Smitty

Hicks offers a crisp summary of the class warfare nonsense spewing from the White House. Share this with the 20% of the population still, somehow, strongly approving of the fellow:

Bonus Ray Stevens, via Gerard):

A catchy little tune from an American treasure.

Category: Barack Obama

Ezra Klein: Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 Plan Shows ‘Lack of Policy Seriousness’

Posted on | October 5, 2011 | 44 Comments

On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” the Washington Post’s resident Juice Box Mafioso said he doesn’t think Herman Cain’s phenomenal surge will continue because of the Atlanta businessman’s “lack of policy seriousness.” Klein singled out Cain’s 9-9-9 tax plan — 9% personal income tax, 9% national sales tax and 9% corporate tax — by saying “nobody knows how much revenue it would produce.”

It is true that no one has produced an estimate of federal revenue under the Cain plan. However, it is also true that Cain’s proposal for bold reform has been praised by economists including Wall Street Journal senior economics writer Stephen Moore.

And it is furthermore true that Ezra Klein never criticized President Obama for a “lack of policy seriousness,” although the president’s policies have led to economic disaster.

Just sayin’ . . .


Category: Economics, Election 2012, Ezra Klein, Herman Cain, Taxes

LIVE AT FIVE – 10.05.11

Posted on | October 5, 2011 | 3 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Chris Christie: “Now Is Not My Time”

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie

“New Jersey, whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with me.”

Acting Governor Hangs On To Win In West Virginia
Tomblin (D) beats Maloney (R) 49-47%

Afghanistan’s President Karzai Inks Strategic Partnership Treaty With India
Pakistani Pucker Factor OVER 9000



POLITICS
Romney’s Record Thin On Immigration

Mitt Romney speaks in Iowa

Former Congressman, immigration firebrand Tom Tancredo vouches for Romney’s bona fides on subject of illegals

Hank Jr. Apologizes Again For Comments



Obama Touts Jobs Bill On Perry’s Turf

Reid Blocks GOP Senate Move To Vote On President’s Jobs Bill

House GOP Asks For Special Counsel To Probe AG Holder On “Fast And Furious”

Massive Corps Of Engineers Contracting Fraud Alleged



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Euro Weakens, Asian Stocks Drop After Italian Downgrade
Late Surge Erases Early Wall Street Losses
Ford, UAW Agree On Contract With Bonuses
HP To Decide On PC Unit Spinoff This Month, Whitman Says
Banks Defend Debit Card Fees Amid Pressure From Washington
Apple Unveils Latest iPhone, the 4S
Nokia Still Committed To WinPhone As Apple Marches On
Report: Amazon Selling 2000 Kindle Fires An Hour
iPod Refreshed, Zune Retired – Are MP3 Players On The Way Out?
HTC Preps Emergency Patch For Android Phones



SPORTS
Yankees Blitz Tigers 10-1 To Force Game 5

Yankees C Jesus Montero gets high-fived after scoring in the eighth

Inconsistent Burnett turns in good start, helped by defense and six-run eighth inning

Rays Come Up Short, Fall To Rangers 4-3 As Beltre Jacks Three Homers For Texas


Cardinals Strand 14 In 3-2 Loss To Phils; Now Down 2-1 In NLDS

NY Rangers Likely To Put Noted Pest Sean Avery On Waivers

Turner Motorsports Releases Reed Sorenson

Longtime Utah Jazz Forward Andrei Kirilenko Signs With Russian Team

Astros’ Pitching Prospect Dustin Kellogg Killed In Auto Accident



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
“If They’re Going to Pay Me The Stupid Money Right Now, I’m Going to Take It”

Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp: the Vanity Fair interview

“Playboy Club” First Cut From Fall Lineups

Blake Lively, Leonardo DiCaprio Split

Rachel Uchitel Marries Businessman

“Simpsons” Final Season On Hold; Fox, Voice Actors At Loggerheads Over Pay

“Dexter” Opens Sixth Season Big, Future In Doubt

LeAnn Rimes Sits Down With Maya Angelou For Life-Changing Interview

Axl Rose Unrecognizable After Piling On The Pounds



FOREIGNERS
Russia, PRC Veto UNSC Syria Resolution; India Abstains
Somalia Bombing Points To Shabab Jihadis’ Grim Goals
Saudi Police Open Fire On Shiite Protesters
Putin Woos Disaffected Middle Class
Lama Visa Fiasco “Worse Than Apartheid” Fumes Angry Tutu
Germany Returns Skulls From Colonial Era To Namibia
Norks Demand Return Of Citizens Found In ROK Waters
Egypt’s Military Unclear On Timetable For Power Transfer



BLOGS & STUFF
NRO Corner: The Dark Side Of The “Occupy Wall Street” Protests
PJ Tatler: House Progressive Dems Embrace Wall Street Protesters
Rich Lowry: The Left’s Pathetic Tea Party
Michelle Malkin: Progressives Of Pallor On Pointless Parade
Legal Insurrection: Fast and Furious Roundup – Holder Lied, People Died?
Weasel Zippers: Top Union Goon Tells Leftist Maniacs To Fall In Line And Support Obama’s Jobs Bill
Big Hollywood: Will The MSM Grill Freeman, Samuel Jackson On Tea Party Racism Claims?
Lonely Conservative: Michelle Obama’s Trip To Africa Cost Taxpayers Half A Million Bucks
Jawa Report: German Taliban Mujahideen Leader Reported Killed By US Air Strike


SOTD: Absolutely Sweet Marie

Category: Live at Five

Gingrich Uses ‘Accountable’ In The Context Of The Obama Administration

Posted on | October 4, 2011 | 8 Comments

by Smitty (via PuffHo)

“The president says he has full confidence in Secretary Chu despite [the Solyndra] scandal,” Gingrich wrote on his website. “What kind of confidence can we have in a president who refuses to hold his cabinet officers accountable?”

Ha ha ha.

“As President, I would have fired Secretary Chu for so grossly mismanaging taxpayer dollars,” Gingrich continued.

Oh, come on, Newt: you know that’s not how Chicago-upon-Potomac works. Let’s review:

  1. The government borrows public money via moronic legislation and Democrat tools give it to idiots with low animal cunning.
  2. Their low animal cunning dominates initially, and the idiots give the kickback to the Democrats.
  3. Then the idiocy kicks in, and the idiotic ventures end, well, idiotically.
  4. The Democrats blame Bush horoscopes Tea Parties.
  5. ???
  6. Profit!

Newt cares not a fig for the Underpants Gnome Administration’s methodology, however:

“My 21st Century Contract with America calls for moving power out of Washington and back to the states and the people, to reduce the arbitrary power of federal bureaucrats. It also calls for a complete overhaul of the federal government’s work rules, processes and bureaucracies using proven private sector waste reduction and productivity improvement techniques like Lean Six Sigma.”

Yeah, the Contract with America is to Newt what RomneyCare is to Bruce Campbell’s political doppelgänger. We need neither a Contract with America, nor RomneyCare: we need leaders who grasp the mission to load-shed the pile of cruft that is DC’s overreach.

Update: Surber ‘lanche!

Category: Barack Obama, Newt Gingrich

CAMPAIGN FOCUS: Will Rick Santorum Be the Next GOP ‘Flavor of the Week’?

Posted on | October 4, 2011 | 35 Comments

Recent media coverage of the Republican presidential field has focused on the front-runners, especially Herman Cain’s emergence as a contender. Little attention has been paid to a candidate who may be poised to make a move: Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.

Santorum could benefit from recent developments, including the apparent decline of Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann’s campaign. It was reported this week that several of Bachmann’s key staffers have left the campaign, and the third-quarter fundraising report due Oct. 15 is expected to show the Tea Party favorite’s coffers running low.

Bachmann surged in the polls after a strong performance in a June 13 debate in New Hampshire, and scored a big victory Aug. 13 in the Iowa GOP Straw Poll. Bachmann’s win at Ames knocked her fellow Minnesotan, former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, out of the race, but the entry of Texas Gov. Rick Perry into the Republican field — at the Red State Gathering in South Carolina the same day as the Ames event — deprived her of the boost she might have expected from her Iowa success. Meanwhile, few in the media noticed that Santorum’s low-budget Iowa campaign had managed a fourth-place finish at Ames.

Perry’s stumbles in three debates in September – Sept. 7 at the Reagan Library, Sept. 12 in Tampa and Sept. 22 in Orlando – were followed by Cain’s surprise victory in the Sept. 24 Florida GOP straw poll. Since then, a series of polls have shown a steep decline in Perry’s support. While Perry was melting down in the September debates, many observers praised Santorum’s strong performances, especially in the Orlando debate, where Santorum hit Perry hard on the immigration issue.

With Bachmann’s campaign evidently in trouble, and Perry’s once-promising campaign thrown off-stride, Santorum could be positioned to gain support particularly among social conservatives who have historically played a key role in the Iowa caucuses. Florida’s decision to move up its primary to Jan. 31 means that Iowa will also move up its caucuses — perhaps as soon as late December — and Santorum has worked hard to build a grassroots organization in the Hawkeye State.

Santorum just completed another three-day swing through Iowa, telling a group in a small town Monday that “no candidate is working Iowa like I am.” And Santorum got good news Tuesday from New Hampshire, picking up the endorsement of former state Rep. Bill Cahill, who will serve as co-chairman of the Santorum campaign in the Granite State. (See full text of press release below.)

The 2012 Republican campaign so far has been defined by candidates rising and falling as “flavor of the week,” as Sarah Palin said. With two debates scheduled in coming weeks — Oct. 11 in Hanover, N.H. and Oct. 18 in Las Vegas, Nev. — Santorum will have a chance to make his case as the next flavor to challenge the front-runner vanilla of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

*** TEXT OF SANTORUM PRESS RELEASE ***

SANTORUM NAMES BILL CAHILL
NEW HAMPSHIRE CO-CHAIRMAN
AND SENIOR ADVISOR
Former Executive Councilor and State Representative
endorses Santorum for President

Verona, PA – Former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) announced today that his campaign has received the endorsement of former Executive Councilor and State Representative Bill Cahill. Cahill will serve as Santorum’s New Hampshire Co-Chairman and Senior Advisor alongside Claira Monier.
Bill Cahill said, “I am excited to endorse Rick Santorum for President of the United States and I look forward to serving as the Senator’s New Hampshire Co-Chairman. Senator Santorum has shown he is committed to New Hampshire and has the work ethic Granite Staters demand from their candidates. The Senator’s passion and commitment to conservative principles are exactly what our nation needs right now to get back on track.”
Claira Monier said, “I am excited to work with Bill to help propel Senator Santorum to victory in New Hampshire. From working with Senator Santorum’s campaign since he announced, it is clear that he respects New Hampshire’s role as the First-in-the-Nation primary state and does not take our votes for granted. His commitment to New Hampshire and the nation is without doubt, and we look forward to making him our next president.”
Senator Santorum said, “I am honored to have Bill’s endorsement and thrilled that he will serve as a Senior Advisor and my New Hampshire Co-Chairman. Bill has a strong track-record of helping conservative candidates and a long history of standing up for conservative principles in both volunteer and elected positions. Bill is an esteemed member of the New Hampshire community and I look forward to working with him as we move toward victory in the First-in-the-Nation primary!”
Bill Cahill, of Piermont, is a former Executive Councilor from District 3 and a former New Hampshire State Representative. Cahill has served in numerous volunteer leadership positions on various presidential campaigns, including the 2008 campaign of Senator Fred Thompson and most recently as a member of Governor Tim Pawlenty’s New Hampshire steering committee. Cahill is the founder and CEO of Cahill Public Affairs, LLC.


Category: Election 2012, Rick Santorum

Mead Was Nearly Onto Something There

Posted on | October 4, 2011 | 8 Comments

by Smitty

Walter Russell Mead shoots. . .it rolls around the rim. . .falls out. Sonofa. (Emphasis mine):

For all the brouhaha over the Citizens United decision, however, campaign finance reform was never the ideal way to reduce the influence of special interests on politicians. Despite the howling from the commentariat about “opening the floodgates” of corporate money into politics, I have never been able to see how regulating the ability of people to spend their own money on elections is anything but a violation of the most basic of civil liberties.
That doesn’t mean I’m not worried about the mix of political ambition and corporate self-interest. But it might make more sense to work on this problem from the demand side: reducing the incentive for lobby groups to pump money into politics by reducing the discretionary ability of lawmakers to tinker with the tax system.

I have infinite faith in the capacity of lawmakers, given time and a system, to arrive at a work-around. Thus, I have little faith in the capacity of legislation to bind any Congresscritters.

The real hope would be to minimize the corruption by scaling the system down, and making it as transparent as possible. Scaling down means using the enumerated powers of the Constitution. Making it as transparent as possible means that, short of no-kidding existential threat like Imperial Japan, we Just. Don’t. Run. Deficits.

But no, let’s compromise. If we only smoke just a little crack, maybe the public noggin won’t totally ‘splode.

Category: Progressivism

New Polls Confirm Presidential Surge of Best-Selling Author Herman Cain

Posted on | October 4, 2011 | 17 Comments

Three national polls published since the Florida straw poll on Sept. 24:

ABC News/Wash Post (9/29 – 10/2)

Romney 25% … Cain 17% … Perry 17%

Quinnipiac (9/27 – 10/3)

Romney 22% … Cain 17% … Perry 14%

FOX News (9/25 – 9/27)

Romney 22% … Cain 17% … Perry 19%

Furthermore, the liberal polling firm PPP conducted surveys in three states — North Carolina, West Virginia and Nebraska — and found Cain leading in all three! And here’s your “unexpectedly” news of the day:

Herman Cain is surging in the polls and on the best-seller  charts.
“This is Herman Cain,” a newly released memoir by the businessman and Republican presidential candidate, was in the top 10 on Amazon.com as of Tuesday afternoon.
Interest in the book has soared since Cain unexpectedly won the Florida straw poll on Sept. 24.

Just checked the Amazon Associates sales report. So far, we’ve sold three copies of This Is Herman Cain! and for each $13.75 you spend to buy his book, my commission from Amazon is 55 cents. If you bought 10 copies of This Is Herman Cain! I’d get $5.50. Wouldn’t This Is Herman Cain! be an excellent Christmas gift for your family and friends?

RECENTLY:


Category: Books, Election 2012, Herman Cain, Polls

Roger Simon Interviews Ali Akbar

Posted on | October 4, 2011 | 1 Comment

Ali gives me a shout-out in this interview about his protest against Morgan Freeman:

Category: Tea Party
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