The Other McCain : Page 2473 : "One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up."

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Got a few more hours sleep and now I’m beginning to emerge from the mind-fogged condition of extreme exhaustion that was the inevitable result of this long final road trip of the 2010 campaign.

Now it’s time to get our gloat on. What about the idiots at MSNBC? For my money, it’s hard to top Lawrence O’Donnell’s fear-mongering claim that Rand Paul might single-handedly destroy the global economy:

Then there was Barney Frank’s spiteful little tantrum. As Ed Morrissey observes, this has to be the least gracious victory speech in the history of victory speeches:

Feel free to gloat it up in the comments.

My Bagpipe Teacher Would Not Approve

Posted on November 3, 2010November 3, 2010Comments

by Smitty (h/t Kottke)

As someone who occasionally gets some time on the instrument, I can appreciate the playing here, to a degree:
The fingering is articulate at ludicrous speed, and the peel-offs are way beyond my own meager skill. However, one is officially required to assume a reactionary stance about any non-traditional pieces on the instrument.
But would SFU tell him to STFU (silence the foolish unpleasantness)?

Me: These Federal Entitlements Are As Realistic As A Unicycle With A Kickstand

Posted on November 3, 2010November 3, 2010

by Smitty

Lefty: Easily done.

Me:	Well, scratch that analogy. Wait. It’s got no pedals.
Lefty:	Bush.
Me:	I thought you had a reality-based argument there, momentarily.

Update: And what’s in my reader? A link that gets us to “Scary Wage Data II — Social Security Changes Its Numbers“:

Removing the phony W-2s reduced total compensation by $32.3 billion or 0.55 percent of all the wages, salaries and bonuses earned by Americans. The total number of people with any work was reduced by two to 150,917,733.

As a result of the revisions, the data show that the average wage in 2009 dollars declined by $457 (not $243), a 1.2 percent decline from 2008. The revision shows that since 2000 the average wage, in 2009 dollars, barely changed in real terms, increasing only $347 or 0.9 percent after nine years.

The median wage – half make more, half less — was unchanged at $26,261. The median is $37 lower than in 2000 and $253 lower than in 2008.

It is my fervent hope that the Roberts Court has the courage to revisit prior decisions and note that they have proven pure hooey over time, and simply club them to death with the appropriate legalese flourishes.
Update II:American Enterprise Blog’s Andrew Biggs is a sane conservative, which I guess makes me a raging rabid reactionary, for suggesting raising the early retirement age from 62 to 65.
Retirement is only a Federal problem because it was made one in the name of Holy Progress. The remedy to our current crisis will be found in reviewing soberly just what levels of government own which problems. Systematically and reasonably returning State level concerns to the States, where they belong, will probably become popular after the economic cataclysm coming Real Soon Now, or my name isn’t Half-Cocked Jack.
But forget the common sense solutions, Biggs: let’s discuss shades of lipstick for the pig.

Miracle Comeback: Ann Marie Buerkle Now Has Slim Lead in NY-25

Posted on November 3, 2010November 3, 2010Comments

Oh, my goodness. This was a Republican candidate I covered during my road trip with Da Tech Guy, but I’d written off this district as lost last night. Incumbent Democrat Rep. Dan Maffei had already declared victory.

But today Left Coast Rebel proclaimed the good news: Ann Marie Buerkle has come back to a 659-vote lead, thanks to late returns from Wayne County.

Absentee ballots remain to be counted, so say a prayer.

I’m a “Road Man for the Lords of Karma,” and the karmic wheel may be turning against Dan Maffei.

Dear Ace: ‘A Choice, Not an Echo’

Posted on November 3, 2010November 3, 2010Comments

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — OK, after the last post, I promised I was going to go back to sleep, but somebody in the comments said that Ace of Spades was “bitching and moaning . . . that the tea party cost us DE et al.”

Because I didn’t see the aforesaid bitching and moaning, I can’t address any specific complaint by Ace. Let me say, however, that it is wrong to blame “the Tea Party” for the Senate defeats in Delaware and Nevada and the apparent Murky comeback in Alaska.

Nor, I think, can “the Tea Party” be blamed for the double-wipeout in California. I always felt that Whitman and Fiorina would either both win or both lose. If either of them melted down, the other would go down with her. And it was Whitman who melted down over that illegal maid thing — an unfair liberal media hit, but it took her off-message during a crucial phase of the campaign and she never recovered her balance.

Note to future Republican candidates: Do you own damned laundry and wash your own damned dishes. If you have ever employed a domestic servant named “Maria,” please don’t run for office as a Republican.

Mike Murphy, $90,000 a month. Meg Whitman, 41%.

Attaboy, Mike!

Let me continue with California for a minute: Continue reading Dear Ace: ‘A Choice, Not an Echo’ →

On Supporting Long-Shot Candidates

Posted on November 3, 2010November 3, 2010Comments

by Smitty

I’ve not the slightest misgiving about supporting my local candidate, Col. Patrick Murray (USA-Ret), against Jim Moran, who enjoyed one of the more comfortable margins yesterday evening.

Murray is an exemplary American.
One might say otherwise of Jim Moran.
If you’re not in the game, your loss is self-fulfilling.
It was genuinely fun.
Absolutely no incumbent of any party is so immaculate that they deserve to run unopposed. Allowing VA-8 to be referred to as “Moran’s seat” (NBC-4) is offensive.
Moran’s margin was decreased over 2008, albeit not by as much as I’d like to have seen.
Victory in 2012 may be predicated upon a 2008 foundation. Given a heuristic problem, saying “It’s too hard” and chickening out marks you a liberal. I’ve not the slightest clue whether Destiny will have Murray run again in 2012, but I hope that the redistricting and lessons learned from this outing, plus the recovery time, will support another outing.
From a leadership-by-example standpoint, it’s hypocritical to encourage others to be engaged and expend time and treasure supporting candidates, and then fail to support my locals.
Tying down opposition resources locally prevents the opposition from spreading those resources around. They need to be disabused of the notion of “safe seats”.

Double down, conservatives. The internet promises to decrease the likelihood of the Tea Party enthusiasm being rolled back into the GOP a la the Perot enthusiasm of ’92. If you’re going to get back on the GOP reservation, and accept another Dole or J.S. McCain in 2012, then forget everything earlier in this post and welcome to Venezuela. But I don’t think that threat credible. The Tea Party toothpaste will refuse re-toobing.

Update: Mattie Fein has approved this message. Fortune smile upon you, lady, and the groovy 1/3 of your district.

Screenshot — Mattie Fein, a firm believer in denying the opposition respite.

My Apologies to the Optimists

Posted on November 3, 2010November 3, 2010Comments

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — When I left Boca Raton at 3 a.m., I’d hoped to make it to the vicinity of Orlando before finding a cheap motel to crash in. But I was so tired and brain-fogged, I only made it a few dozen miles up I-95 before I began to get that nodding-off feeling, so I’m here. Woke up after four hours, got some breakfast, and now I’m about to go back to bed.

Before I crash again, however, I’d like to acknowledge that my pre-election gloom — fearing that polls had encouraged conservatives to over-estimate the size of the GOP “wave” — was unjustified. I was wrong, and the optimists were right. Jim Geraghty reports that Republicans have scored a net gain of at least 60 House seats, and possibly as many as 71. (Better make that 70, Jim. It appears that Raul Grijalva managed to steal enough votes to defeat Ruth “Rocket Girl” McClung.)

Also, I owe beers to Joe Marier and John Fund for a couple of election wagers.

While I’ve been traveling, I’ve missed out on lots of important news: Demi Lovato became the latest Disney princess to enter rehab, and Miley Cyrus’s mom got busy with Bret Michaels.

Oh, yeah: And the president held a press conference today.

So there will be lots of catching up to do when I wake up. Please hit the tip jar, so I can afford to get back home.

UPDATE: Duh! Did I say “brain fogged”? Yeah, I forgot to link my American Spectator column about Allen West’s big win last night.

UPDATE II: More news I missed last night: Michelle Bachmann asked Chris Matthews, “Hey, how’s that leg-tingling thing workin’ for ya?”

UPDATE III: Sorry to keep updating like this — I swear, I’m going back to bed in a few minutes — but Bill Kristol has some interesting thoughts on the “What Does It Mean?” question. He suggests the possibility that Russ Feingold will mount an anti-war primary challenge to Obama in 2012.

Probably wishful thinking there, but something else in Kristol’s column shows how being on the scene of a big victory like last night’s Allen West party can obstruct one’s view of the larger picture. Kristol mentions the significance of Pat Toomey’s victory in Pennsylvania.

Hell, the last time I saw the results on the big-screen TV in the ballroom of the Boca Raton Marriott, Toomey was losing, and I figured it was over. Also, I lost track of results in several House races I’d previously covered. In New York, for example, it looks like Ann Marie Buerkle lost narrowly in the 25th District, and Maurice Hinchey beat George Phillips by about 5 points in the 22nd District. On the bright side, Richard Hanna won in the 22nd District and Nan Hayworth won in the 20th District (where my buddy Chris Cassone lives).

In Pennsylvania, Tom Marino won in the 10th District, but Tim Burns lost narrowly in the 12th. There was good news for my friends in Illinois, where Phil Hare got beat by Bobby Schilling in the 17th District, Adam Kinzinger won in the 11th District and it looks like Joe Walsh has squeaked out a win over Melissa Bean in the 8th District. In Missouri, Vicky Hartzler defeated Ike Skelton in the 4th District.

Lots of Democrat “Blue Dogs” got beat in the South and, in general, a look at the map now shows a lot of Republican red, even in the Northeastern and Midwest states where the GOP was supposed to be dead. It was the biggest Republican congressional pickup in decades — even bigger than the historic 1994 “Contract With America” victory.

And you were the wave. Congratulations.