Primaries in 3 States: ‘If Stutzman Wins, DeMint Is Going to Look Like a Genius’

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There are primaries today in North Carolina, Ohio and Indiana, where Jim DeMint’s backing of conservative Republican Marlin Stutzman inspires this reflection from Jim Antle at The American Spectator:

DeMint has endorsed state Sen. Marlin Stutzman and has helped him raise over $220,000 in a matter of days. If Stutzman wins, DeMint is going to look like a genius — nobody in Washington and relatively few people in Indiana gave him any chance. Even DeMint seems uncertain, saying, “I’m not sure if I got in soon enough.”
But what if the conventional wisdom pans out and former Sen. Dan Coats wins, former Rep. John Hostettler finishes second, and Stutzman runs third? People are going to ask whether DeMint helped a conservative candidate of the future (Stutzman) at the expense of a conservative who could have won the primary today (Hostettler). If Hostettler wins or Stutzman finishes second, there will be less room to quibble.

At least since 1995, when Bob Dole was GOP Senate leader, Republican senators have been the most effective foes of conservatism in Washington. One reason for that is the NRSC’s disastrous habit of recruiting and/or defending unprincipled moderates in contested Republican primaries (e.g., Chafee, Specter, Crist). Even if Stutzman comes up short in Indiana, DeMint is clearly onto something in trying to find viable conservative alternatives to the supposely “safe” candidates preferred by NRSC.

This isn’t a call to “purge” moderates from the GOP, but rather to say that it is time for Republicans to stop being afraid of their own party’s conservative grassroots. Nearly six decades after Buckley published God and Man at Yale, and three decades after Ronald Reagan was elected president, conservatism is now a respectable mainstream political philosophy.

However, too many Republicans still have a defensive flinch reflex that causes them to back down from a fight and to treat the common-sense beliefs of GOP voters as embarrassing “extremists.” The real extremists are the left-wing wackos who are backing the unelectable Jennifer Brunner in Ohio’s Democratic primary because Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher is (allegedly) not liberal enough.

The nutroots backing Brunner and the Republicans who backed Charlie Crist are de facto collaborators in the same project: Driving American political discourse leftward. 

An effective political movement cannot be organized on the basis of appealing to “centrists.”  For starters, as Dan Schnur says, “There’s no such thing as a raging moderate.” What one finds among so-called “independent” voters is not firm principle but, rather, ignorance of and disengagement from the political process. The greater the voter’s knowledge and involvement, the more likely he is to be a firm partisan of one party or the other. “Independent” voters tend to be bandwagon-jumpers who like to vote for the winner, and their opinions are thus lagging indicators of political trends.

Democrats labor diligently to make liberal ideas acceptable to these alleged “moderates,” while too many Republicans respond to the mainstreaming of liberalism by saying, “Me, too! Open borders! Carbon taxes! More federal funding for public schools! Miranda rights for al-Qaeda!”

It does no good for conservatives to win the “war of ideas,” if they elect Republicans who are afraid to fight for those ideas. And the key to success in this regard is for grassroots conservatives to get directly involved in the political process, as Professor Glenn Reynolds points out:

In many states, Tea Partiers are taking over the local GOP apparatus, running for precinct chairman or other low-level offices, as they try to take over the party from the ground up. . . .
[R]allies without follow-through are just rallies. And the Tea Party movement is now following through with the grunt work of politics: Organizing precincts, waging primary battles, registering voters, and compiling mailing lists.

As the professor observes, that kind of “grunt work” — e.g., working a phone bank in Pennsylvania — isn’t glamorous or exciting, but it is the only alternative to leaving politics in the hands of insiders and elites.

NYC Times Square Car Bomb: Latest News on ‘One-Off’ ‘Lone Wolf’ Faisal Shahzad

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Jammie Wearing Fool reminds us that liberals made fools of themselves in dismissing the Times Square car-bomb, with Janet Napolitano declaring “You know, at this point I have no information that it’s anything other than a one-off,” and Charles Schumer speculating: “The odds are quite high that this was a lone wolf.”

If the odds against a conspiracy were so high, what about this?

Authorities said a clue in the investigation was a video posted online early Sunday morning by persons in Connecticut, who may have been involved in the bomb attempt. The video, posted on a site registered one day before the attack, has the Taliban in Pakistan claiming responsibility for the attempted bombing.

Ed Morrissey says, “Hmmmm.” And then there’s this:

The number from a disposable cellphone led FBI agents to the suspect arrested Monday night for allegedly driving a car bomb into Times Square on Saturday evening, according to a senior official.
“They were able to basically get one phone number and by running it through a number of databases, figure out who they thought the guy was,” the official said.

Ask yourself, where did this guy get the money to travel back and forth to Pakistan, buy the SUV online, buy three propane tanks, buy a disposable cell phone, buy a ticket to Dubai? Sure, maybe there was no conspiracy, but did you notice three passengers were taken off that Dubai flight?

TIMES SQUARE BOMB SUSPECT ARRESTED;
MAYOR BLOOMBERG HARDEST HIT

PREVIOUSLY:

NYC Bomb Suspect Faisal Shahzad Arrested at JFK; Glenn Beck Still at Large

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The arrest was announced overnight:

A U.S. citizen from Pakistan accused of driving a bomb-laden SUV into Times Square and parking it on a street lined with restaurants and Broadway theaters was to appear in court Tuesday to face charges for his failed attempt to set off a massive fireball and kill Americans, federal authorities said.
The suspect, Faisal Shahzad, was taken into custody late Monday by FBI agents and New York Police Department detectives while trying to leave the country, according to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and other officials. He was identified by customs agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport and was stopped before boarding a flight to Dubai, Holder said early Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
Shahzad is a naturalized U.S. citizen and had recently returned from a five-month trip to Pakistan, where he had a wife, according to law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation into the failed car bombing.

More news in a minute, but first to explain the joke in the headline. Monday morning, liberal blogger Susie Madrak at Crooks & Liars wrote:

You know, I don’t want to jump to conclusions here, because that would make me too much like Matt Drudge. But if the car bomber was indeed a white guy in his 40s who didn’t know the difference between ammonium nitrate and plain old fertilizer, I’m thinking it’s gotta be a Beck Patriot who was trying to water the tree of liberty with… the blood of random Times Square tourists. . . .
Ah, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it’s a Limbaugh listener.

It may be a bit early to rule that out, I suppose, but Madrak is still trying to externalize blame, implying that it was “wingnuts” who were guilty of a rush to judgment.

UPDATE: OK, so the bomb suspect isn’t a right-wing teabagger. What do we know about the guy? Via Hot Air Headlines, here’s NBC News:

Law enforcement officials said Shahzad bought the SUV that was parked in Times Square on Saturday from a Connecticut man three weeks ago and paid cash. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity.
NBC’s Pete Williams earlier reported the man’s name was on an e-mail that was sent to the seller of the car last month. . . .
The Times also reported that Kevin B. Barry, an official with the International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators, said the attempted bomber had left many leads for detectives to follow.
“He was trying to cover his tracks, but he left more clues than a guy walking into a bank to rob it without a mask. This guy left everything here but his wallet,” Barry said. . . .

UPDATE II: Chris Renner:

The fact that the truck was parked at the front door of the Viacom building (Viacom owns Comedy Central) should strongly suggest, to anyone with a modicum of sense, that the recent South Park controversy might have had something to do with this.

Note that the category “anyone with a modicum of sense” excludes Susie Madrak. Also via Renner, Dan Riehl has more on Faisal Shahzad’s Internet activity. Dan links Tammy Bruce for this detail:

Shahzad’s flight to Dubai had left the gate and was headed toward the runway when authorities discovered that he was on board and wanted. He was removed from the plane and taken into custody, an official said.

Close call.

UPDATE III: Gateway Pundit was blogging early on the arrest, and Ed Driscoll rounds up the reaction, including Andy Levy’s Tweet to NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg:

“Please find out what Shahzad Faisal has against health care reform. Our city is counting on you!”

And to explain that joke, here’s video via Brent Baker at Newsbusters:

UPDATE IV: Heh. Now the #2 Google result for “JKF plane suspects.” More blogging from Left Coast Rebel, Weasel Zippers, Wizbang, Yid With Lid and RedState.

UPDATE V: A potentially significant detail from the Wall Street Journal:

A person briefed on the case by law enforcement said investigators found forensic evidence—a fingerprint on one of the propane tanks — belonging to a man of Middle Eastern origin in the bomb-laden SUV.
This person said authorities have identified the man, but weren’t releasing that information while they try to locate him.

Does “Middle Eastern origin” encompass Pakistan, or is this a second suspect? Oh, and the bylines on the WSJ report include Devlin Barrett. Ring a bell? As an Associated Press reporter last year, Barrett was responsible for inspiring the misguided “anti-government sentiment” speculation in the Sparkman case — which turned out to be a suicide staged as a fake hate crime.

UPDATE VI: NYC Police Commissioner Ray Kelly:

“We didn’t want the press to do the investigation. You know, you’d all like to get involved in the case and solve it for us. We appreciate that, but this is what law enforcement has to do.”

This is an important point. Reporters understandably want to get as much of the story as soon as possible, but criminal investigation is a job for the police. And the mayor isn’t exactly a CSI forensic expert:

Mayor Bloomberg is that most dangerous variety of idiot — the idiot who believes himself the smartest man in the room.

Not to get too far ahead of the investigation or engage in unwarranted speculation, but if Faisal Shahzad isn’t pissed off about health care, what could possibly be his motive? Perhaps he’s a religious extremist — one of those “Christianists” Andrew Sullivan is constantly warning us about? Or maybe one of those “anti-science creationists” who so alarm Charles Johnson?

IT’S THE JIHAD STUPID!

Hater.

National Offend A Feminist Week: Is She Insensitive?

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by Smitty

Birchtree Sustainable Studios has been seeking linkage for some time, but achieved new depths of shamelessness during NOAFW. Billy Bob says:

Now in this post I have decided not to offend feminists but rather to point out why their cause in America is so ludicrous and farcical.

See here, BB. You and I both know that hardcore, bra-burning, tobacco chewing feminism is about taking yourself and your cause so seriously that pointing out the ‘ludicrous and farcical’ aspects of it would be like mentioning to Al Gore that he’s as worthy of an Oscar and a Nobel as he was the presidency. It’s tantamount to a declaration of war.

What feminism tries to do is to take a woman (spoon) and a man (fork) and make them into a spork, one problem with that…sporks kinda of suck at eating food.

Feminism would argue that tradition is old and therefore passé. Sporks are born of Holy Progress, and we should always make womb for Progress, not babies.

Possibly BSS could follow up Recycle Reuse Rabbit with something equally catchy, yet offensive. How about a sculpture entitled Dworkin Sporkin’? A jolly bust that goes bust! Not too disrespectful, mind you–the lady passed five years ago, I just learned.

Hateful Racist Teabagger from Pakistan?

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Keith Olbermann will be heartbroken:

Federal authorities are closing in on the man they say is a person of interest in the Times Square car bomb attempt this weekend, who is described as a naturalized American citizen who hails from Pakistan and just returned after spending five months there. . . .
There is growing evidence the bomber did not act alone and had ties to radical elements overseas, with one senior official telling ABC News there are several individuals believed to be connected with the bombing and that at least one of them is a Pakistani-American. . . .

When someone pointed out that the bomb was parked near the New York headquarters of Viacom (i.e., Comedy Central), I figured the perp might be a Muslim trying to avenge the “South Park” Mohammed episode, but I didn’t blog that hunch — or anything else about the Times Square bomb attempt — because I didn’t want to jump to a conclusion in the absence of evidence.

And I still don’t want to jump all the way to a conclusion. Ace of Spades notes that NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg guessed “somebody with a political agenda that doesn’t like the health care bill or something.”

And who knows? Maybe there are lots of Pakistani-Americans upset about the health care bill. “Or something,” as Mayor Bloomberg said.

UPDATE: News is breaking quickly now, and Allahpundit notes this report from CBS News:

The source said forensic evidence uncovered in the vehicle led them to a Middle Eastern man’s name that was familiar to counter terrorism investigators.

So it’s apparently somebody who was already on their list. Will keep an eye on this story, now that the investigation has proceeded past the point where we’re not merely guessing about the perps and their motives. More at Memeorandum.

UPDATE II: A Green Room poster comments on the reluctance of Attorney General Eric Holder and some in the media to label the botched car-bomb an act of terrorism. That reluctance may have been mainly due to the crudeness of the bomb, which was so amateurish as to be an embarrassment to any terrorist organization that claimed credit for it.

UPDATE III: Speaking of embarrassments, the dimwit “Hutaree Militia” suspects have been released on bond and Professor Glenn Reynolds says:

It’s only speculation that [the feds rushed to arrest the suspects] because there was pressure from the Administration to generate some militia-threat headlines precisely at the time that the “militia threat” was the talking-point of the day. But it’s not unreasonable speculation, based on what we know so far . . . .

Like I say, not jumping all the way to a conclusion.

UPDATE IV: Speaking of professors, William Jacobson notices that New York Gov. David Patterson is expressing concern about the rights of criminal immigrants. Excellent timing, governor!

UPDATE V: Associated Press:

The vehicle identification number had been removed from Pathfinder’s dashboard, but it was stamped on the engine, and investigators used it to find the owner on record.
“The discovery of the VIN on the engine block was pivotal in that it led to identifying the registered owner,” Browne said. “It continues to pay dividends.” . . .

(More amateurism — the perp evidently didn’t realize that the VIN is stamped on every engine block.)

The SUV was parked near offices of Viacom Inc., which owns Comedy Central. The network recently aired an episode of the animated show “South Park” that the group Revolution Muslim had complained insulted the Prophet Muhammad by depicting him in a bear costume.

Location, location, location. Here’s an AP video report:

USA Today:

Evan Kohlmann, a terrorism analyst who has served as a consultant for the U.S. government, said the device — as described by police — is extremely crude and bears little likeness to the work of al-Qaeda.
“Calling this thing a bomb may be giving it too much credit,” he said. “This appears more like a glorified Molotov cocktail.
“I don’t think this looks like al-Qaeda,” he said, “but you have to be careful. Even organized terror groups are not always foolproof.”

We might consider the possibility that eight years of a global war on terror has degraded the ability of al-Qaeda to recruit members and organize attacks.

UPDATE VI: Allahpundit:

It’s almost not worth speculating on whether this is jihadis or domestic terrorists at work, since drawing the wrong conclusion either way will leave the left or right screaming at you.

Meh. I don’t care who screams at me, as long as I’m right. The evidence is “mixed,” as Allah says, and it’s too early to jump all the way to a conclusion, but if they’ve traced the car and ID’d the buyer as a Pakistani . . .

Good News: Democrats Continue Ripping Each Other Apart in Senate Primaries

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Last week, I pointed out that Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher has been forced to spend $1 million to beat back moonbat-endorsed Jennifer Brunner in the Democratic Senate primary. Fisher’s likely to win the primary Tuesday, but it’s cost him big bucks, and Republican Rob Portman will start the general election campaign with a huge cash advantage and a united GOP behind him.

Meanwhile, in the May 18 Pennsylvania Democratic primary, liberal Joe Sestak is calling Arlen Specter a “liar” and the latest polls show Specter will have to fight like hell just to win the nomination. This is good news for Republicans for Specter (offer expires 5/19) and Pat Toomey.

And in tomorrow’s North Carolina primary, honky geezer Elaine Marshall looks set to win the Democratic primary, crushing the hopes of a young black candidate, Ken Lewis, so Republican Sen. Richard Burr’s looking more lie a sure bet to win re-election in November.

UPDATE: It keeps getting better and better:

Brunner says she won’t campaign
for Fisher if she loses Tuesday

Karl Rove just had an orgasm.

It’s Easy To Get Bored

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by Smitty

This is a 1997 cut off of Aftertaste, by Helmet. How prophetically it characterizes our electorate and politicians, emphasis mine:

If I’m half informed
Sympathize because it’s easy to get bored
I don’t have time to waste
I’m busy cultivating useless good taste
You need to know how to lie
The savage civil servant’s beady eyes
I can call him names
I can tell you how he hurts and cheats
And maims
Then we’ll only see eye to eye
And every breath expelled is wasted
And somebody manage the same lie
Now I’ll spread some more good news
Invented facts that you know you
Can use
Sell them door to door with
Religious fervor that no one can ignore
It’s so easy to get bored
It’s so easy to get bored
It’s so easy to get bored
It’s so easy to get bored


That buzzsaw guitar cuts with all the compassion of the tax code.