PA12: Palin Picks a Winner

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What do you do when you’re a Republican in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and you’ve just stomped Nancy Pelosi’s handpicked Democrat into smithereens in a public debate for the congressional seat formerly held by the late Jack Murtha? Tim Burns headed straight to Coney Island Lunch for the world-famous “Sundowner” burger:

The Johnston Tribune-Democrat story about the debate is so “fair and balanced” as to be soporific. It’s 3 a.m., I’ve just driven 240 miles round-trip and I’m too tired to give you the full gonzo account until I get a few hours of sleep. But the neutral objective fact is that Burns wiped the floor with Critz so bad, it reminded me of when the Alabama Crimson Tide made Tim Tebow cry.

How good is Burns? Driving home, I called Pamela Geller and told her, “You’re gonna love Tim Burns. And not just the Let’s-Call-Islamic-Jihad-What-It-Is factor. Frankly, this guy makes Scott Brown look homely by comparison.” (On the other hand, Burns doesn’t have a 6-foot-tall “American Idol” singer in his family.)

Sources close to the Burns campaign informed me that, in the first 72 hours after Sarah Palin’s endorsement Monday, the campaign collected more than $80,000 in contributions — but don’t stop now, folks. The special election is May 18 — just 19 days away. Pelosi and Obama are pouring big money into this district trying to hold onto Murtha’s seat, and the Burns campaign will need every nickel you can spare.

I’ll have much more to report later Thursday. Thanks to Tim Burns for being a good sport, and thanks to his campaign staff for their cooperation. Thanks to Da Tech Guy for the continuing loan of his increasingly famous fedora. Thanks to Chris Renner for valuable assistance. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the Shoe Leather Fund to pay for this road trip. And thanks to Mrs. Other McCain, for letting me make this trip on our 21st wedding anniversary.

Note to Ace of Spades: Start checking out air fare to Pittsburgh for Election Night. Don’t forget to bring lots of pudding.

PREVIOUSLY:

Democratic Wreckage Report: Blanche Lincoln

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by Smitty

Liberty Pundits bring the schadenfreude for the Senator from Arkansas.

Out on the left coast, where redeeming the Congress will require perhaps greater effort, Valley of the Shadow is attending a Republican debate, and plans to report tomorrow on who is packin’ the gear in the effort to oust Waxman. Also your attention is drawn to the VotS tip jar to help keep the reporting coming.

Stacy McCain went over the Pennsylvania border, in search of vanilla pudding the Burns story, in the special election to replace Murtha. Support bloggers out there fighting the good fight!

Einstein Was A Physicist. Repeating Others’ Economic Failures, Hoping For Success, Is Sane.

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by Smitty

The Federal Reserve holds interest rates where they are for an ‘Extended Period‘, and the Dow holds itself above 11k. One person in three thinks the country is one the right track, which may or may not be related to Fed policy.

Across the pond, Spain joined Portugal and Greece in the downgrade club. If words themselves could do the trick, Greece would be leading the way out of the pit, emphasis mine:

Speaking during a cabinet meeting Wednesday, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said that every EU member must “prevent the fire that intensified through the international crisis from spreading to the entire European and global economy.”
Papandreou insisted Greece was determined to bring its economy into order. “We will show that we do not run away. In difficult times we can perform — and we are performing — miracles,” he said, adding that “our government is determined to correct a course that has been followed for decades in a very short time.”

Via Blogprof, Peter Schiff, who is campaigning to replace Chris Dodd, rhetorically dribbles James Galbraith on the subject of debt like a California State check:

Let Galbraith eat cake.

Meanwhile, the Republicans appear to have decided that the havok to be wreaked by Dingy Hairy’s financial regulatory reform bill is less than the threat of an all-nighter trying to keep it off of the Senate floor.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, said there had been a “key agreement reached”.
He cited “assurances” from Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, Connecticut Democrat, that he would remove provisions in the bill that the GOP believes will lead to excessive risk-taking by financial firms requiring more bailouts.

Reached for comment, Bart Stupaka Democrat was nearly overheard saying that anything less that a privately signed Executive Order wasn’t worth the condom in which it was delivered.

Look, the Constitutionally legitimate Federal spending is less than half the budget. More dismal analysis here. Veering in the direction of something tasteless, one wonders how much personal, physical risk Mr. Galbraith would undertake in support of his “What, me worry?” analysis of the threat to the US economy. Strictly as a thought experiment, would he seriously bet his own future as cheerfully as he risks that of others, if the negative feedback touched him personally?

Determination to ‘bring the economy into order’ occurs when the budget submitted has a gazoutta less than the gazinta. It will also happen when the Federal government is confined to Federal tasks.  There are too many Galbraithians holding office today.

Reached for comment on the outlook, Tim Geithner was saturnine about the economy:

Previously:
Dow Loses 213 Points on Debt Crisis in Greece, Portugal; Rachel Maddow Trying to Figure Out How to Blame Sarah Palin

Alabama AG Troy King Acts Tough On Crime. Corruption? Not So Much

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Nice “America’s Most Wanted” imitation here by the suspiciously gambling-friendly attorney general Troy King:

Unlike John Walsh, however, Troy King has been the target of a federal investigation, and this new TV ad raises a question: Where did those cop cars come from? If those are Alabama police cars . . . well, the state law is quite clear on such issues:

Section 36-12-61 —
Use, etc., of state-owned property for promotion or advancement of interests of candidates for public office. It shall be unlawful for any officer or employee of the State of Alabama to use or to permit to be used any state-owned property of any character or description, including stationery, stamps, office equipment, office supplies, automobiles or any other property used by him, in his custody or under his control for the promotion or advancement of the interest of any candidate for the nomination or election to any public office of the State of Alabama.

Section 36-25-5 —
Use of official position or office for personal gain. (c) No public official or public employee shall use or cause to be
used equipment, facilities, time, materials, human labor, or other public property under his or her discretion or control for the private benefit or business benefit of the public official, public employee, any other person, or principal campaign committee as defined in Section 17-22A-2, which would materially affect his or her financial
interest, except as otherwise provided by law or as provided pursuant to a lawful employment agreement regulated by agency policy. Provided, however, nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to limit or otherwise prohibit communication between public officials or public employees and eleemosynary or membership organizations or such
organizations communicating with public officials or public employees.

(Acts 1939, No. 657, p. 1031, §1; Code 1940, T. 41, §147(1).)

Sources in Alabama who’ve seen the ad say it was shot in Montgomery, but they’re not sure whether the police cars are Montgomery P.D. or not. If you do a freeze-frame and look closely — and some folks in Alabama have looked very closely indeed — there are no state, county or municipal markings on the cars. But these may have been purposely obscured in post-production.

Suspicions of corruption have been haunting the AG’s office fo months. The situation in Florida — where allegations of GOP corruption have become a potentially damaging scandal — shows the danger for Alabama Republicans of stuff like this. The FBI has been all over Montgomery lately and Republicans have to wonder what will happen if the Justice Department waits until after the June 1 primary to start issuing indictments and making arrests.

UPDATE: Linked at Riehl World View.

Influence of Jerry Lee Lewis Has Belated and Unexpected Effect in Nigeria

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Ever since the Killer married his 13-year-old cousin Myra, we’ve been warned about the decadence caused by rock-and-roll, which has finally corrupted even the most distant societies:

Nigeria’s Senate has ordered an investigation into reports that one of its members has married a 13-year-old Egyptian girl.
Ahmad Sani Yerima, 49, is alleged to have married her at the national mosque in Abuja several weeks ago. . . .
The BBC’s Caroline Duffield, in Lagos, says Nigeria’s human rights commission has already begun an investigation.
Mr Sani was the governor of Zamfara state, where he oversaw the introduction of Sharia law . . . in 1999. . . .
The senator is reported to have paid a dowry of $100,000 (£66,000) to the child’s parents – and to have brought the girl into Nigeria from Egypt.

Some right-wing extremists are trying to say this, er, “High School Confidential” had something to do with Islam — an unfortunate misunderstanding. Obviously, Ahmad Sani Yerima is just another Jerry Lee Lewis fan who got carried away . . . by the Devil’s music.

Good News: Democrat Spends $1 Million Against Nutroots Ohio Primary Rival

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The Senate primary campaign in Ohio has been an expensive bloodbath for Democrats. Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher is the darling of the Democratic establishment, but he’s in a primary against Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, the sweetheart of the moonbat bloggers. (She’s endorsed by ActBlue and HuffPo loves ’em some Brunner).

The news today is that Fisher has finally gained a double-digit lead over Brunner — 41-24 according to Quinnipiac — but the story behind the story is how much Fisher had to spend to get that lead:

Fisher’s campaign spent $975,000 during the first two weeks of April, of which $900,000 went to the Chicago media firm AKPD Message and Media for television ads to air on broadcast and cable stations throughout Ohio.
Fisher . . . had $907,000 left in his campaign account on April 14.
Brunner’s campaign . . . had $59,000 left to spend on April 14. Her light fundraising is a reason why the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee prefers Fisher.
Either Fisher or Brunner will face former Rep. Rob Portman (R), who is unopposed in the GOP primary and who will begin the six-month general election campaign substantially better-funded than the Democratic nominee.
Portman . . . had $7.7 million cash-on-hand on April 14, more than eight times what Fisher banked.

Liberals want you to think that Republicans are the ones committing hari-kiri in contested primaries this year, but this Ohio Senate seat (open due to Sen. George Voinovich’s retirement) was supposed to be a key pickup opportunity for Democrats — and their hand-picked favorite Fisher is going broke trying to fend off some no-name chick who’s got less than $60,000 in the bank. Meanwhile, Portman’s sitting on nearly $8 million with the entire GOP united behind him.

So there’s no need for conservatives to worry about contested Republican primaries. Go ahead — give generously to J.D. Hayworth’s campaign. It’s a free shot. It’s an anti-incumbent year, Maverick’s numbers are circling the toilet and if 70% of Arizonans want to unleash hell against illegal immigrants, J.D. can beat any Democrat in November.

Tell John McCain to take a hike — and tell him to take Charlie Crist with him!

Bitter Clingers for Tim Burns?

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Newt Gingrich has a column today calling Tim Burns “the next Scott Brown” and, in linking Gingrich at The American Spectator, I explained:

Another Pennsylvania GOP source told me last night that many voters in the 12th District “are Democrats because their grandfather survived the Great Depression” and feel “obligated to . . . the old Democratic Party.” However, many of those same voters “don’t like Pelosi, they don’t like Obama, they don’t like what’s going on in Washington,” he said. These are the Pennsylvanians whom Obama described as bitterly clinging to guns and God.

Cling on, dear bitter brothers and bitter sisters! I’ll be coming to see y’all soon.

UPDATE: In addition to guns and God, people in western Pennsylvania are also clinging bitterly to coal:

The cap-and-trade $646 billion energy tax would be a disaster for the already hard-hit economy in PA12, and Obama’s also using the EPA to shut down the coal industry. The Democrats’ job-killing anti-coal agenda is the biggest reason why top election analyst Charlie Cook just moved this race from “toss-up” to “lean Republican.”

UPDATE II: Sarah Palin endorsed Burns on Monday:

Born and raised in Pennsylvania’s beautiful 12th district, Tim Burns’ story is like that of millions of successful small business owners across the country. He started a pharmaceutical technology company out of the basement of his house and grew it to over 400 employees. . . . Last year, he attended a local tea party and spoke passionately about the danger that the policies coming out of Washington pose for small business owners like him. Reflecting on that day, Tim said, “I had not considered running until after the tea parties, but I decided that I owed it to my two children, who are 14 and 12, to do something. We’re in a fight for the very life of our country.” . . .

Read the rest. Hat-tip to commenter HRH.