The Victorious Opposition

I’ve been enduring a massive attack of allergies in the past week.  It’s left me either too miserable to think clearly or too stoned on antihistamines to write so I’ve missed out on blogging about a few stories in as timely a manner as I would have liked.  Let’s just put them all together.

First, I noticed last week that House Republican Minority Leader John Boehner demanded that Obama fire his economic team for the obvious reason that it sucks.  Boehner obviously feels that Geithner & Co. has not demonstrated any leadership in a time of crisis and has supported spending billions of dollars to little effect.  Of course, I have many of the same complaints about Boehner and am already dreading the fact that the House GOP will still be led by him next year and that they will be the majority.

Murkowski was defeated by a Tea Party candidate in Alaska partly thanks to her support of TARP and Boehner had voted against a majority of his own party to support it as well.  I like to see these Tea Party candidates winning nominations against RINO’s but if we’re going to have the same borrow-and-spend Republican leadership in charge at the end of the day, it’s not going to matter.

Conclusion: Fuck Obama’s economic team.  Fuck John Boehner too.

The next story I missed out on while in a Sudafed haze was that the CIA has begun identifying Yemen and Somalia as the big al-Qaeda threats.  Well, I’ve mentioned before that I consider the Somali threat to be overrated.  Yemen, on the other hand, is a bona fide haven for AQ and the CIA is right to focus on it.

Allow me to take this opportunity to point out that we’re still pouring blood and treasure into Afghanistan for no apparent reason, despite knowing full well that AQ is in Pakistan and Yemen.  Realistically, the Taliban is no more and no less a threat to us than al Shabaab in Somalia.  In the countries where AQ is, we either scale back our military forces (Iraq) or we use targeted drone strikes (Yemen, Pakistan).  In those countries where AQ isn’t we send a hundred thousand troops to promote women’s suffrage and forbid them from shooting at anyone.

Conclusion: Fuck Afghanistan.

Finally, The State Department released its report on Human Rights Violations in the United States to the UN.  You know, that awesome organization for good that places countries like Libya on Human Rights committees, accepts kickbacks from Saddam’s regime in the Oil-for-Food scandal, and sends peacekeeping troops to rape hell out of every impoverished female they can get their hands on.

The Obama Administration partly based its findings on the existence of the Arizona immigration law that is extremely popular with Americans.  Notably, the DOJ did NOT sue Arizona on account of human rights violations but on a constitutional technicality.  If that state is a human rights violator, then I suppose that we should be nation-building in Arizona with a multi-national force.  Damn it, we will bomb them into modernity!

This is the kind of thing that isn’t just going to doom Obama in 2012.  It has the potential to permanently shut Democrats out of the Presidency for the remainder of our lifetimes.  Look at America right now: have we ever been this afraid for the future of our country?  I don’t mean like in the Civil War or Great Depression; I mean in your lifetimes?  Right now, our national self-esteem sucks and the last thing we need is our jackass president wriggling on a bunch of dictator’s jocks while giggling about how the US is filled to the brim with a bunch of lowlife bigots.  It’s not true.  Further, we are morally superior (not just equivalent or inferior as Obama believes) to the vast majority of nations within the UN and certainly more so than the completely hopeless UN organization itself.

After this stunt, it’s impossible to imagine that anyone will make the mistake of comparing Obama with Reagan or Lincoln ever again.  It was always bullshit, of course.  That Obama does things like this and then wonders aloud why more and more Americans think he’s different and that he has other interests in mind above those of the wellbeing of the US is probably the most amazing aspect of all.

Conclusion: Fuck Obama.  Fuck the State Department.  Fuck the UN.

Washington State (motto: a little different) just completed its “jungle” or “top two” primary, a unique primary system in which the top two candidates in the primary election face off in the general election, regardless of party affiliation.  Facing off against US Senator Patty Murray, fourth in the Senate leadership, was former State Senator and two-time gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi, and the Sarah Palin-backed former Washington Redskins player Clint Didier (it’s necessary to point out that Mrs. Palin’s endorsement was issued before Mr. Rossi entered the race).  The election results are in, and it will be Mr. Rossi facing off against Senator Murray in a race that is a prime example of the dynamics of the current election cycle.

The latest developments in the race have to do with Mr. Didier and his actions in the wake of losing the primary.  The tag “sore loser” is sticking more and more to Mr. Didier as he refuses to issue an endorsement until Mr. Rossi agrees to what the Rossi camp has indirectly referred to as a “list of demands”.  These demands, as recorded by PubliCola, include:

1) Introduce the “Sanctity of Life” Act that U.S. Rep. Ron Paul introduced in the House. The bill would allow local jurisdictions to pass anti-abortion laws without interference from federal courts.
2) Sign a pledge that he won’t support any additional taxes or increases in new taxes.
3) Pledge to vote no on any bill that increases federal spending.

It should be obvious that Rossi’s acquiescence to Mr. Didier’s demands, particularly the first, is fraught with political peril.  Washington is well-known as a pretty solidly blue state, and the fact that its Senate race is even competitive illustrates the political headwinds facing Democrats this election cycle.  Mr. Rossi cannot afford to alienate the centrist voters that are critical parts of his path to victory.  Furthermore, he would surely look weak if he acquiesced, so it was no surprise that, in what PubliCola deemed his “Sister Soulja Moment” his campaign said “thanks but no thanks” to Mr. Didier.  But apparently, Mr. Didier’s press secretary interpreted the Rossi campaign’s message a little differently:

Didier’s spokeswoman, Kathryn Serkes was more candid with us:
“So is Dino saying, ‘Fuck you’ to those people [who supported Didier]? ‘Fuck you, I don’t need your votes? I can win with 33 percent.’”

I’m sure most people see Mr. Didier’s approach as a losing strategy, which makes his intransigence all the more interesting.  The easiest explanation is a personal one—that he is maybe arrogant and selfish, more concerned about wielding his own power that he’s blinded to the damage he brings to his cause.  A more charitable way of looking at it is that he has a narrow-minded devotion to his principles that causes him to be unrealistic in his political expectations.

Whatever the motivation, it begs the question of how “principled” should tea partiers be, given the political realities.  Should they act as an independent bloc, refusing to back candidates who do not pledge 100% fealty to their cause?  Or should they be willing to get behind conservative candidates that are in general agreement with their principles, though they maybe don’t take as hard a line? 

Bonus Question:  Any VO readers want to share any similar circumstances in their own area’s races?

Say what you will about Obama’s total inability to grasp the concept of leadership, he has opened up the spigots, and people from every persuasion have heard the clarion call to “stop this man dead in his tracks”. So now we have politics. 2.0, a new breed of politicians in the wings, who think the time is ripe to put on the brakes and avoid the cliff we are headed toward. More gunslingers in Dodge City, what’s not to like?

First up, Ben Quayle (does the potato fall far from the tree? you know what I mean):

Pretty ominous for a kid who just started shaving. Not that I don’t like theater,  and kicking the hell out of the place seems just what the doctor ordered, but a few more issues and maybe a smile here and there ( is he still wearing his braces?) might endear him more to the folks. 1976? are you frickin’ kidding me? I got T shirts older than him. But Arizonans are pretty riled up now anyway, so bring the heater.

He seems a bit light on experience and life lessons, but even is his short life time he has done more than that community organizer. He is up against 10 other Republican candidates for the spot so he has his work cut out for him.But I say give the kid a chance.

Another whodathoughtit, “Let’s get ready to rumble!!!!!”

On Tuesday Ct. voters decided it was not a good idea to vote against someone who has body slammed, pile drived, and full nelsoned some rather bad dudes in her day:

Former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon won an encore smackdown over Republican opponents Rob Simmons and Peter Schiff to become the GOP Senate nominee in Connecticut.

And she has that same luxury Carli and Meg share, the ability to bankroll her whole campaign:

The political rookie has put more than $22 million of her own money into the race so far

This race seems to me one of the most interesting out there, McMahon will have to defend some pretty outrageous clown like behavior in the ring and her opponent will have to defend his opt quoted claim of military service in Vietnam,a claim btw that has been exposed as a blatant lie, should make for some fun debates.

Midterm elections come and go, but this one will be as contentious as they come, and I make no predictions.The economy, unemployment, and general all round dissatisfaction with this “politics as usual” will still be permeate, thicker than that oil slick BP swears is not there anymore, but voters can easily be swayed with a little misdirection, a well aimed racial smear here and there,and some more helpings of “It’s all Bush’s fault”.

Oh, I think I just found Obama’s new slogan:

Just got back from ClubMed Cancun, hence the title in Spanish for “The ugly side of democracy”.

Some curious going’s on in the land of cessation, a borderline illiterate has won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate. I know, some might say that most dems care that moniker, but it’s worse than you think.

The campaign of defeated Democratic Senate candidate Vic Rawl has assembled a team of national academic experts to review Tuesday’s perplexing South Carolina primary results that propelled a virtually unknown, underfunded and unemployed candidate to the party’s nomination over a veteran officeholder and public official.

To get just a flavor of what a zero Alvin Greene really is, check this out:

Oh boy, I can’t wait for the debates. I think he is in dire need of a catchy slogan ,“who better to represent you than someone as stupid as the average voter?”, and how bad does Vic Rawl feel right now, to lose to Forrest Gump without the athletic ability?

In Spartanburg County, Ludwig said there are 25 precincts in which Greene received more votes than were actually cast and 50 other precincts where votes appeared to be missing from the final count.

“In only two of 88 precincts, do the number of votes Greene got plus the number we got equal the total cast,” Ludwig said.

OK, where’s ACORN?

This really does beg the question, are voters in general informed about the candidates running? Some may think that since S.C.has a large percentage of black voters, it was a racial preference, but Greene polled well in predominately white areas as well. Some could argue that this was consistent with the general disdain voters have with “the establishment”, a throw the bums out movement and maybe Rawl was considered an insider, but Rawl himself had very little name recognition. what Rawl did have was background and a pedigree, something Greene had none of. It would be interesting to get my hands on a S.C. ballot and see what Greene put as an occupation since he is currently unemployed. How about this, more than a few S.C. voters are so detached from the process (and lazy) that they voted for Greene because alphabetically his name would come before Rawl?

I would also like to find out about the details of his unceremonious ouster from the military, honorable but not voluntary.

And, the matter of his arrest for felony obscenity charges.

Court records say he was arrested in November and charged with showing obscene Internet photos to a University of South Carolina student, then talking about going to her room at a university dorm.

Charged with disseminating, procuring or promoting obscenity, Greene could face up to five years in prison. He has yet to enter a plea or be indicted.

It is generally considered a truism that people usually get the government they deserve, but this really does add credence to Alexander Hamilton’s elitist view that only propertied, educated and accomplished citizens should handle the reins of governance. Alvin Greene is not only just an empty (cheap) suit, but he can’t even bullshit his way to competence. We have seen some neophytes whose mastery of the teleprompter armed with catchy phrases able to project an appearance (but only to those with predilection to flash over substance anyway) of grasping the issues, but this guy has zero arrows in his quiver, no answers , and nothing to offer the voters except the tag of “nothing like any politician you have ever seen”.

I don’t think Greene is long for politics, the S.C.D.P.will not stand idly by for this train wreck, some irregularities will surface and Alvin can go back to collecting unemployment and attempting to pick up college girls by showing them dirty pictures, what a charmer.

Let’s recall what an astounding idiot I have for a Congressman, Jim Moran:

For the last decade or so I routinely vote against him. I haven’t paid attention to the GOP primaries; I’ve just gone into the general election and checked the box for whoever was opposite Moran. This year was a little different. Earlier in the year, one of the candidates in my local election received, Matthew Berry, received a copy of endorsements over at The Volokh Conspiracy, from Oren Kerr and from Eugene Volokh. So I decided to look a little deeper, and decided that I liked what I saw. In particular, at the time of those endorsements, there were four Republicans vying for the nomination (down to just two on the ballot). Of the four, Matthew Berry was the only one who actually discussed what his plans/ideas were. The other three were completely filled with anti-Obama rhetoric; only one of them bothered to talk about what he’d do instead. It was almost pure vitriol, like their plan was to run on “I’m not Obama”.

The endorsements from The VC carry a decent amount of weight. Combine that with someone who talks about where he stands and what he wants to do, as opposed to just complaining about someone he’s not even running against, and that’s a pretty strong base to win my vote - even though I don’t necessarily agree with him on a number of issues. So I went out today and voted in the primary - perhaps the simplest ballot I’ve ever seen: one choice, between two candidates, end of ballot. No other races, no ballot questions, no nothing.

And, oh, btw - turns out that Matthew Berry is openly gay. I only discovered that after noticing that he was the only one of the four I initially looked at that didn’t have the stock GOP “sanctity of marriage” boilerplate language on his website. I don’t believe there are any openly gay Republican Congressmen, are there? I’ll update after I see the election results. I’d be surprised to see an openly gay man win a Republican nomination in Virginia (although if it’s going to happen anywhere in the state, this is probably the part where it would happen).

Either way, I’m still going to vote against Moran in November.

Update: My guy lost, 52%-48%. Apparently his opponent decided to make gay rights an issue at the end of the campaign, although there’s no way to know if this was deciding.

OK, who the heck is this guy?

Never heard of him. Is he in this thing at all? Remotely credible?

H/T: The Volokh Conspiracy

Check out this new ad from the NRSC, that one is going to leave a mark:

I am immediately struck by how, in this age of the internet and 24 hour news coverage, everything you say anywhere to almost anyone is now a permanent record. Back in the days of the Lincoln/Douglas debates, if you did not like what the newspapers wrote about your speech last night, just claim that you were misquoted, not so today, although in this case you could blame it on an errant teleprompter.

Nobody that I know is making the claim that Obama caused the oil spill disaster. Not like Katrina where some on the loony left claimed that Bush had a hand in weakening the berms to kill black people, nobody is saying that Obama is behind this to delay/erode the push for more drilling off of the coast (maybe he did it to kill all the white seagulls in the gulf).

But that line of ,“We got our foot on the neck of BP” will only work so long and the bankability of this line expired about 3 weeks ago. I understand the logic in allowing BP to fix the leak, they have the expertise way over the federal government, but after so many fits and starts and failed attempts, why wasn’t the bull pen even alerted to get someone warmed up. The Army Corp. of Engineers has some pretty smart people, with all of Obama’s contacts in Academia (they all supported him and his progressive agenda) isn’t there someone in this field at some university that could come up with an idea. Many of the other oil companies gave him big bucks as well, why not a few phone calls to some of these guys asking for some input. I realize that his golf game needs work, but 2 trips to the gulf areas in 6 weeks, he really is acting like this is one big inconvenience for him.

We are going to see more ads like this surfacing in the next few months. I would hit him hard on his missing in action in Nashville as well.

Wild prognostications have been bantied about by the right wingers over the outcome of the November elections and a possible reclaiming of the senate. I never count my chickens until after they have been sold to the Colonel and his check has cleared, but if Obama’s lack of leadership (thus tainting all the dems) is going to be a prevailing theme, there will be no dearth of material available.

A few months ago, Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and current candidate for California’s Republican nomination to the Senate ran an incredibly bizarre ad attacking one of her GOP opponents. Now the Democrats have come up with this:

They’re on the money about Carly as HP CEO; I brought that issue up in comments on the earlier post. It’s interesting to see the Democrats spending ad dollars attacking Carly during the GOP primary season; maybe they think they’re vulnerable to her? I hope Californians aren’t falling for Carly’s “I can manage your money” stuff without looking at her HP history.

Either way, it’s a pretty good ad…

I’ll say one thing about the GOP, they may run national elections like dandified Nancy’s, but during primaries, they are lean and mean. And no place is it more heated and entertaining than in Arizona.

Wow, who’d a thought the old guy (or at least his friends) had it in him?

That’s some imagery working there. Don’t know much about JD Hayworth,  he never came off as being particularly cerebral. But if this ad is any signal that the gloves are off, this race may, from a spectator standpoint, be even more fun than the Fiorini/Boxer throw down. Did the same guy design both ads, with all the undue exposure of barnyard animals?

To tell you the truth, I think it’s time that maverick from Arizona retired anyway. We have talked about term limits, how about age limits? Do we really want guys like Strom Thurmond, Robert Byrd and John McCain deciding national policy between naps?

Oh, and that phone ringing in the background? Those are the Disney lawyers with a cease and desist order from his honor, Judge Goofy, no pimping the proprietary property….....period.

New Yorkers, meet your new governor:

Well, in the running governor.

Not since porn star Cicciolina was elected to the Italian parliament has there been a sexier political candidate. The first thing you notice is her bust. Round, full, in the Dolly Parton/Jayne Mansfield sense, they are just too “perfect.” Then you notice her eyes: blue, piercing, determined.

Kristin Davis graduated from high school in central California at age 15. She earned a B.A. in business from St. Mary’s College while working in finance. The first hedge fund she worked for was bought by Fidelity, and she worked at hedge funds successfully for another 10 years. Then she became obsessed with the financial possibilities of sex.

Davis built the most successful escort service in world history. She had more than 100 girls and operated in 5 countries, with a call center in Uruguay. She could dispatch a $1,000-plus-an-hour call girl to a hotel or residence in Paris, Berlin, Gstaad, Rome, New York, L.A., Miami, Dubai, Montreal or elsewhere within minutes.

OK, I would not quibble with her business credentials, but the “sexier political candidate”  bromide is a bit of a stretch (at least for me). I find Yulia Tymoshenko (prime minister of the Ukraine) and Cristina Kirchner (Argentinian President) far sexier, but back to credentials. Not since Meg Whitman or even Mitt Romney have we seen a political candidate with this much business chops. And frankly, someone that understands budgets, the simple fact that monies coming in must exceed monies going out, and that spending that which you do not have is just plain bad business sense, this type of education is probably what is needed most, especially for those states (mine included) that is the most fiscally under water.

Davis says here platform is clear: “P-squared” — legalize and tax prostitution and marijuana. Davis thinks that could bring $2.5 billion or more in new revenue to New York, allowing the state to cut the more regressive income and property taxes. Davis backs gay marriage but also opposes gun control as a consistent Libertarian. With New York politicians in particular disrepute, perhaps New Yorkers will find Davis’s plans compelling.

What’s not to like? and a small tax on breast implants, balanced budget here we come.

And I would not even place her in the “novelty candidates” category, not like one of our own:

Some would argue that the way the system works, Solomon could not sway the Democratic run legislatures (plaguing both California and NY) from their profligate spending ways, but, as the Tea Party’s have shown, the people can be stirred,  why not have someone with a nice rack do the stirring?

My mom is a California Republican, little-old-lady-in-tennis-shoes type. Loved Ronald Reagan. Never missed an election. She didn’t know what my business was when I got busted, but she’s never judged and now she’s excited that what happened to me became something positive. She will campaign with me in October.

Gee, I wonder if we are related?

While wasting time over at iowntheworld I came across probably the most awesome, scary, apocalyptic, scathing, damning, and altogether sinister political ad I’ve seen in a long, long time. Fasten your seat belt prior to viewing, this is one wild ride.

Where to begin?

This guy has a ready made niche, doing voice overs for Satan in any more “Omen” remakes.

I don’t know if any of that stuff he said is true, political ads by their very nature run fast and loose with the facts, but that voice and those red eyes scared the crap out of me.

At first I thought this was a goof, I can’t see a 3 plus minute ad getting much traction but I saw an article in my local paper this morning about the California Democrats getting all indignant over it, funny, but the ad didn’t even mention them, what is their beef?  Maybe there is like a shorter version, about 1 minute in length, that will get aired.

The other thing I thought interesting, for an ad touting Carly Fiorina, we see precious little of her in it. Maybe she is still self conscious about her haircut. Here is the Carly for California website. For those unaware, Carly has been undergoing daily radiation therapy for breast cancer, no doubt the treatment has been kicking her ass, but she beat it, good for her.

The ad mentions that Carly “accomplished enormous things in life”, if he is talking about her cancer battle then I would agree. If this is meant to tout her particular business acumen, I’m not convinced. Without delving too far into her wiki page or her background ,the two things I know her for is her CEO’ship at HP and her work as chairperson of the McCain campaign. In my mind both were dismal failures. She did nothing to strengthen the HP name or it’s balance sheet before she was ignominiously let go (with a Warren Buffet style golden parachute) and we all know what a bad campaign McCain ran, if her fingerprints are anywhere near that debacle, she should distant herself from that immediately.

I have heard her speak on the issues and she has a command presence that, in my mind, would serve her better in giving Boxer the boot than these Beelzebub ads her campaign is running now.

I found a funny line over at ed driscoll

“I like it! Boys, we’ve got a winner with this one. Run that baby! Get it up on YouTube, pronto.”

“Don’t you mean EweTube, boss?”

“BWAHAHAHAHAH! What could wrong with this idea?!”

And Mary Katherine Ham had some choice comments:

  This thing’s going viral, but not necessarily in a way that will help Carly Fiorina’s message. It just oozes that special brand of ludicrous hilarity that the Internet loves, and the Internet will give the demon sheep many, many lives. And, you will now be able to say, “I knew the demon sheep when.”

  If I thought the creation of the demon sheep was an intentional Internet hit, I’d be impressed, but I’m not sure it was. Nor am I sure that the true inanity required to produce viral hits will ever be the kind of thing that serves political campaigns well, but here’s to the Fiorina campaign for creating something we’ll all remember.

I hope Carly gets the nomination, I can’t wait to see what this crew will come up with in targeting Boxer, but stick with the Satan theme, is always works with democrats.

Check out this ad I found over at iowntheworld:

Give me a minute so I can go put my flag out on the side of my house.

No doubt most are aware of the contentious battle going on in Mass. regarding Ten Kennedy’s senate seat (oops, my mistake, I mean “the peoples” seat). This senate race is a veritable magnet for attention for several reasons, it is the only game in town, it is being contested in the bluest of the blue states, and it features a GOP candidate that has oodles of charisma. And most importantly, it is still a close race. There are tons of sound bites over at youtube for those that have not heard this guy speak (he is Obama like in presentation…......argh…......I’m so ashamed).

But I wanted to talk about this particular ad and its cheesy attempt to emote a certain nationalistic duty to promote one candidate over another.

Yesterday I posted on how Bill Clinton made an out of his ass comment linking the miseries of the Haitian people to the Mass. race and how a vote for Brown would be detrimental to Haiti. We can all laugh and say ,“What a buffoon” but in this ad I heard ,“A vote for Scott Brown is a vote for liberty”, hmmm, so a vote for his opponent is a vote for tyranny?

Another patriotic jingoism we here is “The will of the people”, yes we are all for that, since that is type of government we have (no King George III telling us what to do) but since all the other senators including Ted Kennedy were selected by the will of the people (they won with the most votes) I would say that the will of people always wins out (discounting fraud of course).

Other hot button images that always plays well with the folks, the triumvirate of Obama/Reid/Pelosi as the antagonists and the assclowns of MSNBC, other images that they missed, ACORN and those black panther thugs with clubs intimating voters, those never disappoint.

Those criticisms aside, it was a powerful ad. But the GOPer’s in Mass. (all 3 dozen of them) don’t need any more motivation. And since Brown has pegged his run of the position of being the vote that will derail Obamacare. Those independents that are against this governmental takeover should also be sufficiently energized.

All the right wing blogs are absolutely giddy at the latest poll numbers that show Brown ahead, but I still think his opponent should be favored, this is Mass. after all. Living in another blue state, there is ample buzz about Boxer’s seat being vulnerable this November. I’m skeptical.

Last year (dang, has it been that long?) I posted on a rabble rouser from Michigan, one of five hundred and thirty five who seems to get the concept of where their loyalties should lie. This year we get the opportunity to introduce some new blood into that august body.

For those that live in District 22 in Florida (West Palm, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale areas) Lt. Col. Allen West is throwing his hat in.

Nice speech, using phrases like “Take our country back” will always whip up a crowd populated primarily by those in the minority.

Having a career in the military is a tremendous stepping stone to public service, especially one as prestigious as one lived by Col. West, and if Harry Reid were a Republican he would give Allen a nod due to his lite skin and lack of negro dialect.

Oh, and that reference to that woman who voted for Obama so that she would not have to pay her bills anymore?

Oops!!!