The Other McCain

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

Remember ‘Hottie McAwesome’?

Posted on | September 19, 2010 | 86 Comments

Excellent advice from Hillbuzz:

This actually reminds us a lot of how Democrats tried to use Scott Brown’s ROCKING HOT Cosmo centerfold pictures against him, thinking calling the man “a former nude model” would prevent him from being elected Senator.  The Democrat playbook is to find something they think will embarrass a person, attack him or her personally, and drive a wedge between that candidate and voters by turning the person into a pariah and laughingstock. . . .

Read the whole thing. Being sexy is so bad for Republicans! 

Let me point out that the Marcela Hoeven bikini scandal has done nothing to undermine GOP prospects in North Dakota. And to completely change the subject, how many weedheads in Delaware know about Christine O’Donnell’s position on the War on Drugs?

“Drug policy should be decided at the state level, not the federal level.” . . .
Will McVay, Chairman of the Kent County Libertarian Party . . . stated that she “did not shy away from the libertarian label.”

Hmmmm. It’s almost as if O’Donnell is not a one-dimensional cartoon stereotype. Longtime O’Donnell supporter Jerry Wilson stands up to defend Christine from the latest smears, and Carol at No Sheeples Here adds to the fun:

Oh, look: That wacky witchy anti-wanking wingnut all the “experts” said could never beat Mike Castle has raised nearly $2 million in less than five days since she beat him. And she just got $20 from me. (Y’all have been so good about hitting my tip jar, I’d feel bad if I didn’t give a little.)

Put your money where your heart is, people: Fight back!

CHRISTINE O’DONNELL for U.S. SENATE

UPDATE: Putting aside for the moment that we’re talking about the Future of the Country, this Delaware fight is the best online entertainment value of the year! Anytime Jeff Goldstein decides to start pounding the hell out of Patterico, you know you’re going to get your money’s worth.

Mark Levin is hanging tough, naturally, and Dan Riehl . . . my God, who’s ever seen the like of this? Bam! on Patterico, then Bam! Bam! again, and Bam! Bam! Bam! on Hinderaker. The most remarkable of all, however, was when Dan threw an elbow at Mary Katharine Ham.

Drew M. at Ace of Spades wonders what the impact of the drip, drip, drip will be. Let me say this: The very worst of it, to date, was when three of her former staffers went telling tales to Politico. Her financial history is already yesterday’s news — “Asked and answered,” as the Clinton White House used to say — and she’s already held her own in the first debate with Coons.

So she’s been hit, hit, hit for five consecutive days and raised nearly $2 million in that time. She’s still on her feet, you see.

Bloodied, but unbowed.

My gut hunch is that she’s taken the worst of it already. The Castle campaign dumped everything really damaging it had on her, and still lost. Can Democrats dig up anything worse, or else recycle Castle’s stuff to truly lethal effect? Kinda doubt it.

O’Donnell is a little more than 10 points down in the polls, but she’s up around 40% with six weeks to go in a Blue state against a bald guy who raised taxes three times in four years. Let me remind you that on Jan. 10 — just nine days before the Senate special election in Massachusetts — the Boston Globe poll showed Martha Coakley with a 15-point lead over Scott Brown.

We remember how that turned out, don’t we?

By God, don’t tell me Christine can’t win. Give her all you can.

Category: Christine O'Donnell, Delaware, Election

The Swiftboating of Christine O’Donnell (Reply to Barrett Brown)

Posted on | September 18, 2010 | 110 Comments

I don’t suppose you’d be inclined to explain the process by which you determined that O’Donnell’s own account of her dabbling in witchcraft constitutes a “smear.” Does “smear” mean something different in Confederate talk than it does in American English?
— e-mail from Barrett Brown

“Smear” describes the intention of the actor as much as the content of his actions. Democrats have employed the term “swiftboat” to describe what they perceived to be such tactics employed by Republicans. But let’s examine that term and see how it applies here, shall we?

John Kerry purposefully made Vietnam heroism the centerpiece of his 2004 campaign biography. The organization Swift Boat Veterans for Truth therefore put forward other Vietnam veterans, including men who had served with Kerry, to dispute the facts and interpretation of Kerry’s record. Believing that the SBVT campaign constituted a smear, Democrats therefore now describe any similar GOP effort as “swiftboating.”

To what extent has Christine O’Donnell made her biography the centerpiece of her 2010 Senate campaign? Not at all, so far as I am aware. She instead focused her GOP primary campaign squarely on Mike Castle’s record in Congress, especially his anemic ACU ranking and his votes for TARP and the cap-and-trade bill.

The one exception to that issue-focused campaign was the online video insinuating that Castle had carried on a clandestine gay affair. That video was produced by a former O’Donnell staffer without authorization of the candidate or her campaign, and has generally been condemned by O’Donnell’s supporters. It is doubtful that it had any meaningful impact on the results of the primary.

By contrast, at no time during the GOP primary campaign did Castle’s Republican supporters attempt to defend his record on the merits. Other than their attacks on O’Donnell’s financial history, etc., the pro-Castle argument could be summarized thus: “Mike can win the general election; Christine can’t; better to elect a RINO than to risk defeat by the Democrats.” Republican primary voters in Delaware seem to have rejected those arguments, 53%-47% being a rather decisive “no” to the status quo.

Now, in the general election campaign, the issues in Delaware are even more starkly defined between Chris Coons and O’Donnell than they were in the GOP primary. A vote for Coons is emphatically an endorsement of the policies of Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama. A vote for O’Donnell is a rejection of those policies.

Every indicator of electoral sentiment currently suggests that voters are prepared to deliver one of the loudest “no” votes in American political history. Therefore, it behooves Democrats to make the mid-term election a vote about something — anything — other than the Democratic Party’s policies.

This is why Christine O’Donnell’s opponents want to talk about masturbation or witchcraft or whatever else will prevent voters from perceiving the election as a referendum on that set of policies colloquially known as Obamanomics.

Certainly no one could blame Democrats for seeking to change the subject — “Hey, let’s blame Bush!” — but I am increasingly doubtful that voters are in a mood for such sideshow distractions. In fact, according to many observers in Delaware, the Castle campaign’s relentless negative personal attacks on O’Donnell backfired badly in part because voters perceived that Castle (running as the de facto incumbent) was trying to avoid a discussion of his record on the issues. 

So, why do I describe the use of O’Donnell’s 1999 comments on witchcraft as a “smear”? To repeat, it is a matter of intent. O’Donnell has never raised the subject of witchcraft as part of her current Senate campaign, nor has she ever proposed any government policy toward withcraft, so far as I know.

Why was O’Donnell discussing witchcraft on Bill Maher’s show? How did this topic come up? What was the context? We don’t know, nor has anyone attempted to place this video clip in its proper context. Rather, the clip is being used to convey a clear message: “SHE’S A TOTAL KOOK!”

That message is obviously intended as a smear. To borrow the Left’s jargon, they are trying to “swiftboat” Christine O’Donnell.

Barrett, you have objected in the past when, highlighting your leadership role in an atheist political organization, I dismissed you as a fanatical God-hater. Perhaps you have sufficient self-awareness to perceive how your bias against Christianity informs your antagonism toward Christine O’Donnell. Perhaps not. Either way, the source of your fanaticism is apparent to anyone with eyes to see.

When you first attacked me in October 2009, Barrett, you did so by jumping on someone else’s bandwagon which you evidently believed was rolling on its way to inevitable victory. Nearly a year later, it appears your belief was in error. After some months of silence, now you solicit my explanation of a single word — “smear” — in one of many posts I have written about the Delaware Senate campaign.

How stupid do you think I am?

Don’t you see that it is your intellectual arrogance that defeats you at every turn? You believe that you are so damned superior to anyone who disagrees with you that every argument must resolve itself as another stunning triumph for Young Genius Barrett Brown. Yet the relevance of any such debate is always obscured by your arrogance, as the only reason you ever enter into an argument is to demonstrate how much smarter you are than everyone else.

Whatever the subject, your conclusion is always the same: Everyone should admire Barrett Brown. And whatever the outcome of the debate, you are never satisfied by the result, because no one could ever admire you as much as you admire yourself.

Excuse me for refusing to cooperate in your latest attempt at self-aggrandizement, although I appreciate the opportunity once more to instruct you that you aren’t nearly so smart as you think you are.

Please contact me again the next time you feel a craving for humiliation, Barrett. I’ve rarely encountered anyone who needs humiliating as badly as you do.

— RSM

UPDATE: Hinderaker declares O’Donnell “RIP.” Michelle Malkin says, “Grow some balls.”

Well, I paraphrase slightly . . .

BTW, what is it with some Republicans who would rather walk away from a difficult fight rather than to muster a show of force by winning where Conventional Wisdom says victory is impossible? I’ve always loved underdogs who fight like hell and win despite all odds, but it seems some members of the GOP commentariat are wired differently.

Christine O’Donnell is a “lousy candidate”? Well, pray tell what would you call John McCain?

“Don’t Blame Me, I Voted for Bob Barr!”

Category: Delaware

Yeah, About That Day Trip. . .

Posted on | September 18, 2010 | 7 Comments

by Smitty

I took the car in for an oil change Thursday. This 2002 PT Cruiser’s got 121k miles.
It’s a lovely day for a trip, just after noon, going West on I-64, almost to Lewisburg, chatting up me old college chum in Chicago, ‘Welcome to West Virginia’. . .wait, I’m slowing down, check engine, oil light, pop the clutch, no one around me, won’t re-start, sonofa. . .
Oil is fine. Bad gas in Woodstock, VA back on I-81? No, this engine isn’t even trying.
Call the insurance company, get a wrecker out of Lewisburg. Fortunately, that’s where I’m going.
Call the people I’m going to see. Yes, they can come fetch me in about 10 minutes.
Getting the parts and manhours on task for the repair, no’ so fast. Eating some vacation on Monday. Grrr.
Finally, I get to the destination, meet the subject of the treck. Worth every minute of stress. This 85 year old duffer is amazingly articulate and has a story with everything: heroism, travel, romance, art.
Oh, to have the journalistic chops of Stacy McCain and the visual auteurity of Ladd Ehlinger. I set up the camcorder and do a 1 minute clip just to show him what the gadget looks like. He has no interest in a chronological attack on matters; he already knows the story.
So I take notes, and will try to get an outline together.  The acme of skill will be to draw it out of him in some sensible manner that won’t destroy me trying to edit.  That his first three decades are the makings of righteous war flick don’t matter; he is a Sowell fan and wants to talk about American culture on the skids.
When your feet no longer touch bottom, it’s time to shut up and swim.

Category: Uncategorized

He’s a Neo-Keynesian, Not a Kenyan

Posted on | September 18, 2010 | 30 Comments

The insuperable problem with conservatives seeking the origins of Barack Obama’s political commitments in the details of his biography is that the Left always stands ready to reply with its standard argument: “Shut up, racists!”

Never has any prominent American leader’s ideology appeared more solidly rooted in his personal story — this, after all, was the purpose of Dreams From My Father — nor has any leader’s personal story ever been more zealously protected against critical scrutiny. Read more

Category: Barack Obama, Economics, Racism

Desperate New Smear Against Christine O’Donnell: ‘She Turned Me Into a Newt’

Posted on | September 18, 2010 | 114 Comments

We knew they were desperate, but no one suspected the Left would turn this into a literal witch-hunt:

“I dabbled into witchcraft. I hung around people who were doing these things. I’m not making this stuff up. . . . One of my first dates with a witch was on a satanic altar, and I didn’t know it. . . . We went to a movie and then had a midnight picnic on a satanic altar.”

Typical witch pickup line: “Want to go see a movie down at the multiplex and then . . . oh, I don’t know . . . hang out with Beelzebub?”

Speaking of women the Left hates, did you hear what Sarah Palin said in Iowa? “I want to get to Delaware very soon and start knocking on doors.” I put in a call to one of my contacts in the Palin camp, who said they haven’t scheduled that yet. They’re still working on plans for Sarah’s fall campaign tour. Read more

Category: Christine O'Donnell, Delaware, Election, Sarah Palin

Ferocious Marine: Journeying Respectfully to Appalachia

Posted on | September 18, 2010 | 14 Comments

by Smitty

I need to get on the road within the hour to make Lewisburg, West Virginia by noon. If fortune smiles, I’ll produce a daily series of brief clips of a fellow who is the Genuine Article telling a story for the ages. Last Sunday, I met one of his daughters at the 9/12 DC rally, there on the West Lawn. She sketched the sort of tale that would give a bald man a perm, and I said “I would love to interview your dad,” and exchanged contact info. May the Almighty smile on this endeavor.

So here is a whirlwind FMJRA: Read more

Category: FMJRA Award

Democrat Halvorson’s Nazi-Smear Aide Is Lesbian Who Brags About ‘Gigantic Boobs’

Posted on | September 18, 2010 | 68 Comments

A commenter on the earlier post about Rep. Debbie Halvorson’s “Palin-as-Hitler” protesters points out that Halvorson aide Anna Markowski had a profile on the “OkCupid” dating site (Firefox users click here) with this delightful bit of self-description:

And, yes, Markowski identified herself as “25/F/Gay/Single,” so all you lesbian ladies who want to date a gigantic-breasted Democrat who thinks it’s a brilliant strategy to paint Hitler mustaches on Sarah Palin, feast your eyes on Anna:

That’s from the Flickr page of the Boone County Democratic Party, when Markowksi and her gigantic boobs were working on the Missouri staff of Obama’s Organizing for America. 

Some enterprising member of the White House press corps needs to ask Robert Gibbs a question about whether Palin-as-Hitler is an OFA-approved message.

Category: Congress, Election

‘Lisa the Loser’? No, Murkowski Wants to Be Known as ‘Lisa the Laughingstock’

Posted on | September 18, 2010 | 19 Comments

The great thing about a write-in campaign is, Alaska’s voters will get to supply the punchline.

Murkowski is not merely out of touch with the voters; she obviously has begun to lose touch with reality.

Begging your K Street lobbyist pals to help you out? Yeah. That’s gonna be real popular with folks in Alaska, I bet. 

She has allowed her Palin-hating campaign chairman, John Bitney, and her Palin-hating consultant, Andrew Halcro, to convince her that she should destroy what little dignity she still had left.

What’s the phrase she used in her speech?

“We’re in this together.”

Yeah, that’s it, Lisa: You and your delusional RINO buddies, you’re in this together. I guess you didn’t want to let Charlie Crist run away with the 2010 Laughingstock of the Year Award.

As Professor William Jacobson says, “We have proven our point.”

Category: Alaska, Election
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