With his political Pac running ads in Iowa, Stephen Colbert knocked off Mitt Romney. The write-in votes for Rick Perry topped the votes for Mitt Romney. This actually raises more political questions for Romney's campaign than I'm sure they want to answer. While Romney basically wrote off the Straw Vote ,despite winning it in 2007, the question is whether he can write off Iowa, wait for New Hampshire and then plunge into the conservative waters of South Carolina.
There were three basic losers today--Jon Huntsman, who polled a pitiful 69 votes, Newt Gingrich, who netted 385, and Tim Pawlenty, who came in third with 13.57% of the vote. Luckily for Pawlenty, he at least outdrew Frothy Mix.
Michelle Bachmann barely topped Ron Paul--4,823 votes to 4,671 or 28.55% to 27.65%. Michelle Bachmann is projected as the possible winner for the Iowa Caucus next year.
But the day belonged to Rick Perry, who announced he was running for President in the Palmetto State. Perry has managed to play the media perfectly so far and has overnight become the frontrunner for the Republican nomination. The author of "Bush's Brain" appeared on Chris Matthews and called Perry "the most naturally gifted politician coming out of Texas since LBJ" but did comment that he has been a horrendous governor. But that's the beauty of this year's Republican contest, no one has had to do anything positive in the political arena because the whole lineup is running against government both as an idea and as a reality.
Steve Benen wrote a nice piece in Washington Monthly about the fate of supposed saviors in presidential years and noted the demise of people like Fred Thompson, Wes Clark and others who got in late in the day. Mark Plotkin appeared in local radio to dismiss Perry as another one of these types that enters to a big splash and fades away.
I disagree with this. Rick Perry has any number of SuperPacs raising funds for him and will have more money than anyone except Barack Obama and possibly Mitt Romney. His bravado and definiteness comes across to the Republican base as the type of assuredness they relish. And people knowing how Texas is now the 21st century Mississippi forget that the nation backed another 100% political animal with some pretty bad state statistics--Bill Clinton and Arkansas. From his announcement on the web, it's clear he has married the rhetoric of the neocons with economic nationalism and the social conservatism. This will be potent among Republican voters. How he actually fares in retail campaigning will test whether his act--which is 100% Texas compared to George W's--can sell nationally.
For an excellent and short summary of Rick Perry's record, I refer you to a post by Sandy Berman at www.dailykos.com entitled "Ladies & Gentlemen--The Real Rick Perry". It starts off with Perry being rated as one of the worst governors in American history for ethical problems. And from there his record descends. But when these issues come up, all he has to do is blame the "liberal media" and all will be forgiven.
My apologies to a reader who chastised me for my comments on Mitt Romney's Mormonism. She pointed out that Rick Perry and Michelle Bachmann are connected to more crazed people than the Mormons and they pose a real threat to the United States. Altnet has an expose of when the New Apostalic Reformation approached Rick Perry and told him of the biblically important role Texas would play in the future of the United States. My reader was right. Mormonism is basically a 19th century version of scientology compared to these people.
Howard Fineman at Huffington Post comments on how Phil Gramm, a "controversial former Senator" backs Perry. Well, what a surprise! Gramm was Perry's mentor and both men have shared staffs. No surprise there.
How much is pure cynicism and how much is it belief? Rick Perry embraced the Tea Party when it began,while Washington politicians egged them on but kept a distance. Perry was down by 25% points to Kay Baily Hutchinson in the race for the governor's mansion. He then made his famous secession statement and instantly leaped ahead to win the race. The man running Kay Baily Hutchinson's campaign was Karl Rove. It was Karl Rove who convinced Rick Perry to convert from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party and Rove has acted ever since like he regretted it.
In the governor's race, the Hutchinson campaign kept encoding "Perry is gay" in its literature. A pure Rovian move. When Perry recently complained that this rumor was planted by the Democrats, I wrote that I had only heard it from Republicans, never a Democrat. In 2004, the Austin-American wrote an extensive report about this whole rumor and about Perry's wife leaving the governor's mansion. The rumor was so intense that Texas newspapers characterized the situation as a crisis in government. The rumors had Perry having a boyfriend named Geoffrey Conor, a dapper former Secretary of State. The whole Perry staff was summoned to the governor's mansion and given a pep talk by Perry himself who blamed the whole thing on the internet. And clearly in the 2010 race, Karl Rove used these rumors to advantage until Perry broke the race wide open. It remains to be seen whether this rumor gets picked up again in this year's primary season. For whatever reason, the Bush family and Karl Rove still bear a grudge against Perry.
People looking for Sarah Palin will note that she got only 1% in the write-in vote today. But political observers mention how close she has become to Rick Perry. There is speculation that once out of the primaries, Rick Perry must "moderate" and talk about the economy, leaving Sarah Palin to performed her function as attack dog whipping up the Tea Party. This leads to the idea of Sarah running as Perry's Vice Presidental nominee. I didn't make that up.
This all almost makes one feel sorry for Mitt Romney, who still is name number 1 on Team Obama's list of opponents. Romney just can't compete with Perry on the Right. It would totally warp him and make him seem even weirder. And it will be interesting to see where the Bush family comes out. After all it was George H.W. Bush who gave Romney the forum last election to defend his religion. And we have already heard that Karl Rove will not raise money for Perry.
What was interesting today was to see Rep. Issa of San Diego absolutely rip into the so-called "Texas Miracle". Issa, who wants to earn his reputation investigating the imaginary crimes of Barack Obama, blasted Perry before the California GOP as someone who pillaged California and stole jobs, not created them. Issa said he had backed Mitch Daniels because he was a governor who really earned respect. So expect this fight to get bruising.
And it looks bad for the Washington pundits, who were lining up behind Tim Pawlenty. His showing today casts doubts on his viability, especially since he lost to Michelle Bachmann,someone he said had no political accomplishments.
Commentators mentioned that the Straw poll today demonstrated enthusiasm behind the GOP because the turnout was greater than last time. Actually, the turnout was far below the 1999 Straw Poll, which did indicate real enthusiam in the 2000 elections.
Showing posts with label Tim Pawlenty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tim Pawlenty. Show all posts
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Paint It Black*
*Rolling Stones
**Bill Maher read verbatim the exchanges between Anthony Weiner and a Las Vegas casino worker. That actually was the scandal. Check it out on YouTube or Democraticunderground. You'll see what I mean. Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats called on Weiner to resign after it was discovered he innocently tweeted an under-aged girl. Even though it was innocent, in light of the past week the texting sounded hinky. But how can you have a Boehner in the House, if you don't have a Weiner.
**Jack Germond appeared again in the Daily Beast and wrote a column suggesting that even though all news is terrible, President Obama may not have a worry in the world given his GOP competitors. Germond mentions that Mitt Romney suffers from the same disease his father did, the inability to explain policy changes in a convincing manner. He likens Dad's Vietnam gaffe with Mitt's evasion on the individual mandates in his Massachusetts health care law. So far Jack says that Mitt is front-runner solely because he was second to McCain last time and that's how it works in Republican circles. Germond says it's still true that you have to have something or somebody in order to beat President Obama.
**The fallout from the Newt implosion continues. Apparently, the staff didn't want to sell books and films and told Newt to get rid of the souvenir stand of Newt,Inc.
**The next Very Serious Person--Republicans seem to generate alot of them these days--is Texas Governor Rick Perry. He is charming and has swagger. He has one of the best employment records in the nation. He is a natural fund-raiser. I suggest he run with Todd Palin, the first secessionist ticket since the Civil War. Mark MacKinnon is saying that there is no reason for Perry not to run. His wife and children want him to and Newt's two top campaign aides are in his inner circle. Beltway operatives said quietly that he's crazy as a loon. Others whisper that there are some things that haven't come out yet. And we do know he has a long history of courting the most extreme right entities in the country. He is hosting a Prayer meeting with AFA, the extreme Right Christian organization that showcases the rantings of Bryan Fisher. Making a guest appearance at the meeting is Rev. Hagee,who is more of a Zionist than Bibi and is rabidly anit-Catholic. Stay tuned. If Perry runs, he could be highly dangerous to the nation.
**The Other Very Serious Person is Tim Pawlenty, who seems to have become delusional with his economic plan. Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post gutted it by suggesting that the United States has never seen a 5 percent growth rate for 10 years as TPaw imagines. Marcus also goes on to reproduce the independent economic think tank analysis of TPaw bankrupting the country. Perhaps conservatives are beginning to wake up. The Manhattan Institute's Josh Barro in the City Journal slams Pawlenty's plan noting that America hasn't had 5% growth rates for a ten year period since 1941 to 1959, which saw WWII, the recovery from the Great Depression and massive exports to Europe for reconstruction. He de-constructs Pawlenty's fiscal proposals even if we had high growth rates and concludes with great precision how they would not succeed. Bruce Barlett has already crossed the Rubican saying that the United States only had a ten year growth period from President Bush through Clinton. The concern is that Pawlenty will spark more tax-cutting madness from Mitt Romney, who in his 4th incarnation claims we are on the brink of losing our free market system.
** New Jersey's Governor Chris Chrissie is already in trouble with the courts for stealing $1 billion from the public school system. Now he wants to privatize it and has offered public schools in under-performing districts to private corporations. This comes at the same time he has announced a $400 million cut in Medicaid. The disease seems to be spreading throughout the country with the newly elected Republican governors.
**We will all look back on the 2009-2010 Congress as the high water mark of legislative activity. The Senate now literally spends one-third of its time doing nothing. After two and a half years, the Obama Administration still lacks key personnel because of the constant GOP threats at filibustering. Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell had reached a gentlemen's agreement at the end of last term that the GOP would use the filibuster sparingly on nominations to the executive branch. Apparently, this hasn't worked. Also, President Obama has seen the fewest of his judicial nominees approved since the days of Jimmy Carter.
**Alabama has surpassed Arizona with the most restrictive immigration act. Hispanic activists have told immigrants--legal and illegal--to get out of the state because it is so repressive. The state also just passed a "fetal pain" bill, which seriously restricts abortion,letting them join in the roll call of states that are waging a war against the uteri.
**If I'm not mistaken, Louisiana and Tennessee have basically over-ruled Roe v. Wade. Does anyone remember Griswold versus Connecticut? This was a case brought by a middle-class married couple to challenge that state's prohibition against contraceptives. I was very young when the case was decided and contraceptives were legalized by the Supreme Court. Now not only are abortion procedures under attack but with "personhood" bills the whole concept of contraception is being challenged at the state level. Why now?
**Remember the ads that said the most dangerous place for African-Americans is in the womb? Now pro-lifers are running these in Spanish saying the most dangerous place for Hispanics was in the womb. I thought it was Arizona and Alabama. This will be the meme used by the Republicans to try and suppress the Hispanic turnout for Democrats.
**We have the motherlode of e-mails from Sarah Palin's short tenure as Governor thanks to David Corn of Mother Jones. Corn liked the Alaska FOIA laws and decided to file suit during the 2008 campaign for all of Sarah Palin's e-mails. What looked like a relatively cheap and short enterprise only just ended because e-mails had to be acquired from state employees when Palin used her private e-mail accounts. The problem has been that Alaska published the e-mails on paper and provided the news media with all of them, which now have to be scanned for easy access. The highlights of Troopergate, the Bridge to Nowhere and the whole courting of Palin by the McCain campiagn are there. But it's what has been redacted seems to raise questions. The e-mail about Cheney's views on Alaskan oil all blacked out, the potential conflicts of interest by Todd Palin kept quiet, and assorted teasers on potential scandals. One I liked was that the Koch Brothers weren't making enough profit so they threatened Palin that they would cut jobs if she didn't reduce the state's share of their oil revenues. So far, there are no bombshells but they make for an entertaining read.
**The White House has requested that the debt ceiling be raised by July 4th. Now legislators are going to meet three days a week to resolve the issue of what cuts will occur. John Boehner is insisting on double the cuts to the amount raised. The Senate has one team working to propose a combination of cuts and revenue and the Vice President has another group working. Meanwhile China is claiming that we are already defaulting.
** A momentary default will cost the United States $1.2 trillion. But this stuff doesn't seem to faze the GOP in the slightest.
**Leftwing bloggers are writing fast and furious about the GOP's effort to sabotage the economy. I can't say I disagree. I really have not come to any conclusion yet whether the GOP really believes what it says these days or whether it is all a ploy. I am beginning to be concerned with the nutty proposals being made by the presidential candidates and the radical actions by GOP governors that they really might believe their Randian economics. It seems to me that a reporter should try and get these people to lay out the full implicatons of their policies. What kind of America will be left for anyone.
**Some wag got off a great line--"America can not afford the rich and corporations anymore."
**Bill Maher read verbatim the exchanges between Anthony Weiner and a Las Vegas casino worker. That actually was the scandal. Check it out on YouTube or Democraticunderground. You'll see what I mean. Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats called on Weiner to resign after it was discovered he innocently tweeted an under-aged girl. Even though it was innocent, in light of the past week the texting sounded hinky. But how can you have a Boehner in the House, if you don't have a Weiner.
**Jack Germond appeared again in the Daily Beast and wrote a column suggesting that even though all news is terrible, President Obama may not have a worry in the world given his GOP competitors. Germond mentions that Mitt Romney suffers from the same disease his father did, the inability to explain policy changes in a convincing manner. He likens Dad's Vietnam gaffe with Mitt's evasion on the individual mandates in his Massachusetts health care law. So far Jack says that Mitt is front-runner solely because he was second to McCain last time and that's how it works in Republican circles. Germond says it's still true that you have to have something or somebody in order to beat President Obama.
**The fallout from the Newt implosion continues. Apparently, the staff didn't want to sell books and films and told Newt to get rid of the souvenir stand of Newt,Inc.
**The next Very Serious Person--Republicans seem to generate alot of them these days--is Texas Governor Rick Perry. He is charming and has swagger. He has one of the best employment records in the nation. He is a natural fund-raiser. I suggest he run with Todd Palin, the first secessionist ticket since the Civil War. Mark MacKinnon is saying that there is no reason for Perry not to run. His wife and children want him to and Newt's two top campaign aides are in his inner circle. Beltway operatives said quietly that he's crazy as a loon. Others whisper that there are some things that haven't come out yet. And we do know he has a long history of courting the most extreme right entities in the country. He is hosting a Prayer meeting with AFA, the extreme Right Christian organization that showcases the rantings of Bryan Fisher. Making a guest appearance at the meeting is Rev. Hagee,who is more of a Zionist than Bibi and is rabidly anit-Catholic. Stay tuned. If Perry runs, he could be highly dangerous to the nation.
**The Other Very Serious Person is Tim Pawlenty, who seems to have become delusional with his economic plan. Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post gutted it by suggesting that the United States has never seen a 5 percent growth rate for 10 years as TPaw imagines. Marcus also goes on to reproduce the independent economic think tank analysis of TPaw bankrupting the country. Perhaps conservatives are beginning to wake up. The Manhattan Institute's Josh Barro in the City Journal slams Pawlenty's plan noting that America hasn't had 5% growth rates for a ten year period since 1941 to 1959, which saw WWII, the recovery from the Great Depression and massive exports to Europe for reconstruction. He de-constructs Pawlenty's fiscal proposals even if we had high growth rates and concludes with great precision how they would not succeed. Bruce Barlett has already crossed the Rubican saying that the United States only had a ten year growth period from President Bush through Clinton. The concern is that Pawlenty will spark more tax-cutting madness from Mitt Romney, who in his 4th incarnation claims we are on the brink of losing our free market system.
** New Jersey's Governor Chris Chrissie is already in trouble with the courts for stealing $1 billion from the public school system. Now he wants to privatize it and has offered public schools in under-performing districts to private corporations. This comes at the same time he has announced a $400 million cut in Medicaid. The disease seems to be spreading throughout the country with the newly elected Republican governors.
**We will all look back on the 2009-2010 Congress as the high water mark of legislative activity. The Senate now literally spends one-third of its time doing nothing. After two and a half years, the Obama Administration still lacks key personnel because of the constant GOP threats at filibustering. Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell had reached a gentlemen's agreement at the end of last term that the GOP would use the filibuster sparingly on nominations to the executive branch. Apparently, this hasn't worked. Also, President Obama has seen the fewest of his judicial nominees approved since the days of Jimmy Carter.
**Alabama has surpassed Arizona with the most restrictive immigration act. Hispanic activists have told immigrants--legal and illegal--to get out of the state because it is so repressive. The state also just passed a "fetal pain" bill, which seriously restricts abortion,letting them join in the roll call of states that are waging a war against the uteri.
**If I'm not mistaken, Louisiana and Tennessee have basically over-ruled Roe v. Wade. Does anyone remember Griswold versus Connecticut? This was a case brought by a middle-class married couple to challenge that state's prohibition against contraceptives. I was very young when the case was decided and contraceptives were legalized by the Supreme Court. Now not only are abortion procedures under attack but with "personhood" bills the whole concept of contraception is being challenged at the state level. Why now?
**Remember the ads that said the most dangerous place for African-Americans is in the womb? Now pro-lifers are running these in Spanish saying the most dangerous place for Hispanics was in the womb. I thought it was Arizona and Alabama. This will be the meme used by the Republicans to try and suppress the Hispanic turnout for Democrats.
**We have the motherlode of e-mails from Sarah Palin's short tenure as Governor thanks to David Corn of Mother Jones. Corn liked the Alaska FOIA laws and decided to file suit during the 2008 campaign for all of Sarah Palin's e-mails. What looked like a relatively cheap and short enterprise only just ended because e-mails had to be acquired from state employees when Palin used her private e-mail accounts. The problem has been that Alaska published the e-mails on paper and provided the news media with all of them, which now have to be scanned for easy access. The highlights of Troopergate, the Bridge to Nowhere and the whole courting of Palin by the McCain campiagn are there. But it's what has been redacted seems to raise questions. The e-mail about Cheney's views on Alaskan oil all blacked out, the potential conflicts of interest by Todd Palin kept quiet, and assorted teasers on potential scandals. One I liked was that the Koch Brothers weren't making enough profit so they threatened Palin that they would cut jobs if she didn't reduce the state's share of their oil revenues. So far, there are no bombshells but they make for an entertaining read.
**The White House has requested that the debt ceiling be raised by July 4th. Now legislators are going to meet three days a week to resolve the issue of what cuts will occur. John Boehner is insisting on double the cuts to the amount raised. The Senate has one team working to propose a combination of cuts and revenue and the Vice President has another group working. Meanwhile China is claiming that we are already defaulting.
** A momentary default will cost the United States $1.2 trillion. But this stuff doesn't seem to faze the GOP in the slightest.
**Leftwing bloggers are writing fast and furious about the GOP's effort to sabotage the economy. I can't say I disagree. I really have not come to any conclusion yet whether the GOP really believes what it says these days or whether it is all a ploy. I am beginning to be concerned with the nutty proposals being made by the presidential candidates and the radical actions by GOP governors that they really might believe their Randian economics. It seems to me that a reporter should try and get these people to lay out the full implicatons of their policies. What kind of America will be left for anyone.
**Some wag got off a great line--"America can not afford the rich and corporations anymore."
Friday, May 27, 2011
Mooseferatu*
*Paul Krugman's suggestion for the title of the new Sarah Palin film "The Undefeated".
You can hear the noise of the motorcycles here tonight as Rolling Thunder is in town to focus attention on the issue of MIAs and POWs as well as other veterans' issues. Andrea Mitchell tracked down Ted Shpak, the legislative director for Rolling Thunder, and asked him how Sarah Palin got involved. "We didn't ask her. We don't endorse her." Apparently First Dude Todd is trying to procure a motocycle for Sarah to ride tomorrow. "We can't prevent anyone from riding,"said a distinctly troubled looking Shpak. He thought she was a distraction away from the Rolling Thunder message.
Palin's slick ad for her Bus Tour signals to almost everyone that she is running. It's too much like a well-produced political ad complete with her voice over. I guess we will be hearing more Sarah Palin voice-overs. They come from the audio version of her magnum opus Going Rogue.
The Bus itself looks like the Rapture Bus from Harry Campings recent adventure for the end of the world. Maybe she got it from him. It clearly has the same paint job.
The tour will mark the first time Sarah Palin has been back to New Hampshire since 2008. Mitt Romney immediately moved there after the 2008 election for his moment of glory. Let's see what kind of splash she makes on Mitt's home turf.
The Rushbo thinks Palin should run because he loves how she scares the Beltway elites and the Republican establishment. He believes Democrats are so scared of Palin because they know she can beat Barack Obama. If Rushbo is coming out so in front of this, it will influence a decision.
Meanwhile Ron Paul has zoomed into second place in New Hampshire.
Her female rival Michelle Bachmann said today that she "heard the calling." So even though her money bomb failed, she heard God tell her to run. Now when Sister Sarah gets in the race that makes three people, including Frothy Mix, whom God told to run. Maybe God is like Chairman Mao "Let A Thousand Flowers Bloom" and then he mows everyone down. Or maybe God's just confused. Will know soon enough.
Mitt Romney was saved by a fire alarm at his Iowa town hall meeting. He had just been asked how a moderate Republican from a Democratic state could win a caucus of social conservatives. Then the bell rang and he said he believed in safety and asked everyone to evacuate.
Even though God has told Michelle Bachmann to run, he obviously didn't teach her about winning hearts and minds. She was the main speaker scheduled for the Polk dinner in Iowa and belatedly cancelled so the organizers couldn't find another speaker so the dinner was cancelled. The more well-known Lincoln dinner in Iowa had to be cancelled but that was because Republicans no longer recognize Abraham Lincoln.
"Google Me" Santorum has a slight problem in his home state of Pennsylvania. The city fathers of his hometown have put a tax lien on his house because Frothy Mix doesn't believe in paying his taxes.
Peggy Noonan thinks that younger voters might be attracted to Newt and they don't remember his past. Since Newt is now for Coupon Care,it's hard to see the appeal. But worse for Newt is today endorsement of Coupon Care by Pat Boone, who now is the spokesperson for the new astroturf counter organization to AARP. I don't think it's a great idea to win the youth vote when you're seen with Pat Boone.
Tim Pawlenty seems to have a Huckabee problem. Remember Huckabee released some hardened felons by pardon because they said they had become Christians. Of course, on release they started up with their old mayhem. Pawlenty pardoned a sex offender because his wife, the person he sexually abused, wanted to open a child care center. Pawlenty erased the man's entire record as a sex offender. He's been arrested for sexually abusing his young daughter hundreds of time. No one knows whether he touched the children, who had been in the child care center next door to their home.
I really can't believe this but conservatives really do want Rick Perry to run for President because of his economic record. This is a man who hid the amazing $20+ billion budget deficit from the public and demanded from the Obama Administration waivers to use the stimulus money to cover his massive budget shortfall. This is also the guy sitting over the whole Texas Textbook Scandal and the man who is in the middle of wiping out Medicaid in the state. And that's just the start of the list.
Conservatives have already cut pre-emptive ads against Jon Huntsman about his various positions on cap and trade, health care reform and gay rights.
The GOP field is freaky-deaky. I think Palin would be the best person to sell Coupon Care. She could sell it as a commonsense solution to America's problem and say that the real American makes do with clipping coupons to go grocery shopping.
Mitch McConnell is having another one of his Get Off My Lawn Days. He is holding the debt ceiling vote ransom to significant cuts in Medicare. What's truly worrisome about this is that reporters asked him if the Biden group comes up with significant cuts but none of Medicare would you support the debt ceiling vote. He said:" No."
The position of the Obama Administration should be "We don't negotiate with terrorists." Put the revolver in Mitch's hand and he call his bluff. Let him pull the trigger. The reason is that the grand patrons of Mitch's side of the GOP are the Chamber of Commerce, who are already on the record saying not lifting the debt ceiling would plunge us back into a recession at minimum. Let these guys pound on the Republicans for awhile.
In the last budget fiasco,Obama played the cool reasonable guy.The Left thought he sold out when in fact the budget deal actually increased government spending by $400 million. But this time, the GOP is emboldened by Congress' rejection of Obama's Israel policy and still think they can muscle him. It's important for him to draw the line on Medicare and let the others do the work on the GOP.
You can hear the noise of the motorcycles here tonight as Rolling Thunder is in town to focus attention on the issue of MIAs and POWs as well as other veterans' issues. Andrea Mitchell tracked down Ted Shpak, the legislative director for Rolling Thunder, and asked him how Sarah Palin got involved. "We didn't ask her. We don't endorse her." Apparently First Dude Todd is trying to procure a motocycle for Sarah to ride tomorrow. "We can't prevent anyone from riding,"said a distinctly troubled looking Shpak. He thought she was a distraction away from the Rolling Thunder message.
Palin's slick ad for her Bus Tour signals to almost everyone that she is running. It's too much like a well-produced political ad complete with her voice over. I guess we will be hearing more Sarah Palin voice-overs. They come from the audio version of her magnum opus Going Rogue.
The Bus itself looks like the Rapture Bus from Harry Campings recent adventure for the end of the world. Maybe she got it from him. It clearly has the same paint job.
The tour will mark the first time Sarah Palin has been back to New Hampshire since 2008. Mitt Romney immediately moved there after the 2008 election for his moment of glory. Let's see what kind of splash she makes on Mitt's home turf.
The Rushbo thinks Palin should run because he loves how she scares the Beltway elites and the Republican establishment. He believes Democrats are so scared of Palin because they know she can beat Barack Obama. If Rushbo is coming out so in front of this, it will influence a decision.
Meanwhile Ron Paul has zoomed into second place in New Hampshire.
Her female rival Michelle Bachmann said today that she "heard the calling." So even though her money bomb failed, she heard God tell her to run. Now when Sister Sarah gets in the race that makes three people, including Frothy Mix, whom God told to run. Maybe God is like Chairman Mao "Let A Thousand Flowers Bloom" and then he mows everyone down. Or maybe God's just confused. Will know soon enough.
Mitt Romney was saved by a fire alarm at his Iowa town hall meeting. He had just been asked how a moderate Republican from a Democratic state could win a caucus of social conservatives. Then the bell rang and he said he believed in safety and asked everyone to evacuate.
Even though God has told Michelle Bachmann to run, he obviously didn't teach her about winning hearts and minds. She was the main speaker scheduled for the Polk dinner in Iowa and belatedly cancelled so the organizers couldn't find another speaker so the dinner was cancelled. The more well-known Lincoln dinner in Iowa had to be cancelled but that was because Republicans no longer recognize Abraham Lincoln.
"Google Me" Santorum has a slight problem in his home state of Pennsylvania. The city fathers of his hometown have put a tax lien on his house because Frothy Mix doesn't believe in paying his taxes.
Peggy Noonan thinks that younger voters might be attracted to Newt and they don't remember his past. Since Newt is now for Coupon Care,it's hard to see the appeal. But worse for Newt is today endorsement of Coupon Care by Pat Boone, who now is the spokesperson for the new astroturf counter organization to AARP. I don't think it's a great idea to win the youth vote when you're seen with Pat Boone.
Tim Pawlenty seems to have a Huckabee problem. Remember Huckabee released some hardened felons by pardon because they said they had become Christians. Of course, on release they started up with their old mayhem. Pawlenty pardoned a sex offender because his wife, the person he sexually abused, wanted to open a child care center. Pawlenty erased the man's entire record as a sex offender. He's been arrested for sexually abusing his young daughter hundreds of time. No one knows whether he touched the children, who had been in the child care center next door to their home.
I really can't believe this but conservatives really do want Rick Perry to run for President because of his economic record. This is a man who hid the amazing $20+ billion budget deficit from the public and demanded from the Obama Administration waivers to use the stimulus money to cover his massive budget shortfall. This is also the guy sitting over the whole Texas Textbook Scandal and the man who is in the middle of wiping out Medicaid in the state. And that's just the start of the list.
Conservatives have already cut pre-emptive ads against Jon Huntsman about his various positions on cap and trade, health care reform and gay rights.
The GOP field is freaky-deaky. I think Palin would be the best person to sell Coupon Care. She could sell it as a commonsense solution to America's problem and say that the real American makes do with clipping coupons to go grocery shopping.
Mitch McConnell is having another one of his Get Off My Lawn Days. He is holding the debt ceiling vote ransom to significant cuts in Medicare. What's truly worrisome about this is that reporters asked him if the Biden group comes up with significant cuts but none of Medicare would you support the debt ceiling vote. He said:" No."
The position of the Obama Administration should be "We don't negotiate with terrorists." Put the revolver in Mitch's hand and he call his bluff. Let him pull the trigger. The reason is that the grand patrons of Mitch's side of the GOP are the Chamber of Commerce, who are already on the record saying not lifting the debt ceiling would plunge us back into a recession at minimum. Let these guys pound on the Republicans for awhile.
In the last budget fiasco,Obama played the cool reasonable guy.The Left thought he sold out when in fact the budget deal actually increased government spending by $400 million. But this time, the GOP is emboldened by Congress' rejection of Obama's Israel policy and still think they can muscle him. It's important for him to draw the line on Medicare and let the others do the work on the GOP.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Mitch Daniels Out, Cain In and Newt Melts Down
Mitch Daniels sent out an e-mail last night to supporters alerting them to his decision not to run for President. He basically said that he made the decision for family reasons. It's sad that all the Republicans who bow out seem to gain stature in my eyes than those who stay in. I thought Mitch Daniels statement was nicely phrased and fairly modest. He did not claim like Donald Trump that he would have won or like Mike Huckabee that his support was national, not regional. The business wing of the Republican party supported Daniels and he would have access to the Bush money-making machine if he had decided to run. It's a tribute to Daniels that he didn't buy into the Beltway hype and the GOP punditry claiming he was the One.
But Herman Cain announced before an enthusiastic crowd of 10,000 in Atlanta that once he is elected he can say ,"Free at Last, Free at Last" and that Martin's dream would have been fulfilled. The 65-year old pizza salesman is a tea party favorite and the winner of the South Carolina debate. The twitter feeds when he announced were really amazing. He has the type of following one usually associates with Ron Paul.
Newt continues his metldown. On Face the Nation this morning he still tried to weasle out of his criticism of Paul Ryan and at first denied he had talked about him on Meet the Press the previous week until they played the clip. Then he was asked about the Tiffany Charge Account. Here, Newt revealed how out of touch with reality he is. He first explained that he has no debt, no second home ,only a rental in Wisconsin with a mortgage and he has been a successful small businessman--contrary to the "Obama model". So if he and Callista buy stuff at Tiffany's they are private citizens and can do what they want. Then he tried to explain how his Tiffany's account didn't charge interest--that's a way to win the average voters' heart. So you are left hanging about a huge jewelry bill, which finally Newt snapped that you'll have to ask Tiffany's about that.
For someone who has contemplated running for President for decades, Newt certainly is not a prime time player. He has been all over the map on almost every issue and it's not been a full month. He doesn't even remind me of when he was a guerrilla leader and a bomb-thrower. He resembles a suicide bomber more than anything.
Tomorrow we see how Tim Pawlenty can excite the crowds. Already he has taken friendly fire, his predecessor Arne Carlson, a Republican, charged that Pawlenty created a state deficit that as a percentage of the budget was worse than California. John McCain seriously considered Pawlenty for his vice-presidential candidate because he admired his working-class background and how he worked his way up to be a lawyer and then entering politics. There are serious problems with Pawlenty but none greater than he is boring and lackluster.
Old Frothy Mix Santorum decided to get into the torture debate after John McCain revealed what Leon Panetta told him about the killing of bin Laden. Santorum actually said that McCain didn't understand how torture worked, that you break someone down and they tell you everything. McCain, someone who has been tortured frequently over a period of years, did in fact talk about how the tortured will say absolutely anything to stop the pain. Santorum's attack was met with disbelief by the McCain family and a funny response from the Senator's staff who said,Who?" Mark Salter, McCain's alter-ego,posted on his Facebook that Santorum was the dumbest person he ever met in the years he served in the Senate. A couple of days ago Santorum apologized for his comment--sort of.
Mitt Romney was hailed for having a telethon in Las Vegas where his rich backers used their rolodexes to raise more than $10 million in a day. Somehow that doesn't seem that great. Ron Paul's money bombs usually net $1 million after one of his appearances and no one has to make a call.
The new New York Magazine has a long piece on how Glenn Beck was fired from Fox. But the main point of the piece is how Roger Ailes aspires to being the arbiter of who will be the GOP presidential nominee and his endless war against the Obama Administration. Ailes comes across as a shrewd political operator with all the freaky ideas we associate with super-rich people. You could imagine he and the Koch Brothers talking about eugenics. He actually believed that Obama was going to create a private police force.
The piece details how Ailes tried to get Sarah Palin to lay low after Gaby Giffords was shot in Tucson only to have her cut her "blood libel" video. Ailes has been trying to get Sarah to make a decision about running for President for months so he can re-program Fox.
But the Republican he loves is New Jersey Governor Chris Chrissie ,whom he hosted at his Hudson River house along with Rush Limbaugh. Despite Ailes' pleading, the governor refused to commit to run for President this year. A group of Iowa Republicans will be travelling out to New Jersey to make another pitch soon.
But so far the GOP race is looking like a Romney-Pawlenty contest. This is driving republicans to despair.
The most attractive candidate is Jon Huntsman but the comments on right-wing blogs have been universally scathing. Also, he did not do himself any favors by virtually changing all his positions in a week to make himself more acceptable to the Right.
But Herman Cain announced before an enthusiastic crowd of 10,000 in Atlanta that once he is elected he can say ,"Free at Last, Free at Last" and that Martin's dream would have been fulfilled. The 65-year old pizza salesman is a tea party favorite and the winner of the South Carolina debate. The twitter feeds when he announced were really amazing. He has the type of following one usually associates with Ron Paul.
Newt continues his metldown. On Face the Nation this morning he still tried to weasle out of his criticism of Paul Ryan and at first denied he had talked about him on Meet the Press the previous week until they played the clip. Then he was asked about the Tiffany Charge Account. Here, Newt revealed how out of touch with reality he is. He first explained that he has no debt, no second home ,only a rental in Wisconsin with a mortgage and he has been a successful small businessman--contrary to the "Obama model". So if he and Callista buy stuff at Tiffany's they are private citizens and can do what they want. Then he tried to explain how his Tiffany's account didn't charge interest--that's a way to win the average voters' heart. So you are left hanging about a huge jewelry bill, which finally Newt snapped that you'll have to ask Tiffany's about that.
For someone who has contemplated running for President for decades, Newt certainly is not a prime time player. He has been all over the map on almost every issue and it's not been a full month. He doesn't even remind me of when he was a guerrilla leader and a bomb-thrower. He resembles a suicide bomber more than anything.
Tomorrow we see how Tim Pawlenty can excite the crowds. Already he has taken friendly fire, his predecessor Arne Carlson, a Republican, charged that Pawlenty created a state deficit that as a percentage of the budget was worse than California. John McCain seriously considered Pawlenty for his vice-presidential candidate because he admired his working-class background and how he worked his way up to be a lawyer and then entering politics. There are serious problems with Pawlenty but none greater than he is boring and lackluster.
Old Frothy Mix Santorum decided to get into the torture debate after John McCain revealed what Leon Panetta told him about the killing of bin Laden. Santorum actually said that McCain didn't understand how torture worked, that you break someone down and they tell you everything. McCain, someone who has been tortured frequently over a period of years, did in fact talk about how the tortured will say absolutely anything to stop the pain. Santorum's attack was met with disbelief by the McCain family and a funny response from the Senator's staff who said,Who?" Mark Salter, McCain's alter-ego,posted on his Facebook that Santorum was the dumbest person he ever met in the years he served in the Senate. A couple of days ago Santorum apologized for his comment--sort of.
Mitt Romney was hailed for having a telethon in Las Vegas where his rich backers used their rolodexes to raise more than $10 million in a day. Somehow that doesn't seem that great. Ron Paul's money bombs usually net $1 million after one of his appearances and no one has to make a call.
The new New York Magazine has a long piece on how Glenn Beck was fired from Fox. But the main point of the piece is how Roger Ailes aspires to being the arbiter of who will be the GOP presidential nominee and his endless war against the Obama Administration. Ailes comes across as a shrewd political operator with all the freaky ideas we associate with super-rich people. You could imagine he and the Koch Brothers talking about eugenics. He actually believed that Obama was going to create a private police force.
The piece details how Ailes tried to get Sarah Palin to lay low after Gaby Giffords was shot in Tucson only to have her cut her "blood libel" video. Ailes has been trying to get Sarah to make a decision about running for President for months so he can re-program Fox.
But the Republican he loves is New Jersey Governor Chris Chrissie ,whom he hosted at his Hudson River house along with Rush Limbaugh. Despite Ailes' pleading, the governor refused to commit to run for President this year. A group of Iowa Republicans will be travelling out to New Jersey to make another pitch soon.
But so far the GOP race is looking like a Romney-Pawlenty contest. This is driving republicans to despair.
The most attractive candidate is Jon Huntsman but the comments on right-wing blogs have been universally scathing. Also, he did not do himself any favors by virtually changing all his positions in a week to make himself more acceptable to the Right.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Only Hours Away from Rapture
89 year old retired civil engineer Harold Camping has built a ministry worth over $104 million in assets. His radio station is near the Oakland Airport stuck between an auto shop and a palm reader. While his flock are home praying and waiting for the end, he said he was going to spend today with his wife in the mountains and wait for the end there. Nice idea. And if it doesn't happen, he still has the cash.
The problem seems to be that the end is supposed to start in New Zealand and the media there are reporting no earthquakes, well-nothing much is going on at all. It is New Zealand after all.
When this stuff started hitting the media in force,a scientific blogger wrote how much he enjoyed these end time speculations. He pointed out that the Mayan year 2012, when the world was supposed to end, actually occurred several years ago. He claimed the Mayan calender was geared to Venus and hence did not calibrate to our calender. I have no idea how true this is.
Tim LaHaye of the Left Behind series claims people like Harold Camping give people like him a bad name because he was too specific, unlike LaHaye. Although LaHaye was specific in the old days saying Mikhail Gorbachev was the anti-Christ.
A couple of suggestions are fun. Tell fundamentalists that Rapture happened, sorry they didn't make the grade. Or leave clothing outside fundamentalist churches with little notes saying goodby. A website was created offering to take care of your pets when you are raptured.
But Camping's conceit is relatively harmless unless his parishioners gave him their life savings. Someone who is a menance is anti-gay preacher Bradlee Dean, who for some unexplained reason gave the opening prayer at the Minnesota Legislature. Among his highlights was his accusation that President Obama was not a Christian. Even the Republicans said the prayer sounded like something from Nazi Germany. The Speaker interrupted the session and began it all over again with someone else giving the opening prayer.
Meanwhile President Obama is off to his ancestral homeland of Ireland, where his distant cousin campaigned for him to visit Moneygall,the town of his Irish ancestors.
Before you are raptured, make sure you watch a video of John Lithgow reading the press release from Newt Gingrich's campaign about the attacks on the Newt for his comments on the Paul Ryan Medicare Plan.
Newt hasn't had such a great week. He apologized to Paul Ryan, sucked up to Rush Limbaugh claiming inprobably that he never said those things about the Ryan Plan, even though all of YouTubeLand have his comments for eternity. He sent out an e-mail to everyone whom he could reach saying that people saying these things are the liberal media.
After being blasted by teabaggers for advocating tests for potential voters, he backed away from his statement only to double down on his belief that students and immigrants should take an American history test before they can vote. I seem to remember that immigrants actually do take a test to become a citizen, which is still a requirement for voting. He said these things in Iowa to a wildly applauding audience. He again backed away from his remarks.
Newt refused to answer any questions about he and Callista owing between $250,000 and $500,000 to Tiffany's. He did remind everyone that his campaign only comes around once in a lifetime.
Jon Huntsman obviously is serious about running for President. The reason you know is that he is changing every position he ever had about anything.
Willie Nelson endorsed libertarian Republican candidate Gary Johnson. And then, after a few joints, he decided not to.
Herman Cain, the creator of Godfather's Pizza,announced today he was running for the Republican nomination. I guess he saves Alan Keyes the trouble.
Michelle Bachmann, who grew up in Iowa, senses an opening now that Mike Huckabee has turned down a bid for the nomination. She is going full-tilt boogie into Iowa.
Sarah Palin says she has the fire in her belly and is still considering a run.
Tim Pawlenty officially announce on Monday if he hasn't been raptured. Earlier in the week he was asked why he was running for President. He said it was so he wouldn't stay at home and drink beer. His defenders said this was indicative of his being low-keyed. His detractors said that this was like Roger Mudd's interview with Ted Kennedy when Ted couldn't figure out why he was running.
Mitch Daniels got in the new for walking into a door, requiring several stitches.
Mitt Romney has been up to much. He did say that he favored Paul Ryan's Medicare Plan but, of course, he is filthy rich and doesn't need Medicare. Paul Begala cuts ads against Romney, which are being aired in South Carolina, which are aimed at making the elimination of Medicare a litmus test for all Republican candidates. Begala is a Democrat.
While Benjamin Netanyahu left his meeting with President Obama relieved, that hasn't stopped Orrin Hatch from drafting a Senate resolution opposing President Obama's position on Israel and Palestine. This reminds me of Eric Cantor saying he would protect Netanyahu from Obama, a statement that created several press clarifications.
Gallup reveals for the first time that a majority-- 53%-- of Americans support same sex marriage and 45% oppose. If you want to watch a fascinating discussion, Ted Olson and David Boies spoke at the CATO institute this week on the Proposition 8 case. You can access it on YouTube. It is about an hour discussion on the intricacies of federal marriage laws and their implications for rights.
I second the motion that President Obama should make Elizabeth Warren a recess appointment to the Consumer Protection Agency since both Senate and House Republicans have vowed to block her.
While New York 26 is exciting people because a Democrat could capture a House seat in an historically Republican district in New York state, I wouldn't get thrilled about this. It is true that democrat Kathy Hochul is campaigning against the Paul Ryan plan and that is generating alot of support. But Karl Rove and his billionaire friends have poured buckets of money in the campaign for Jane Corwin. Today Hochul has a 4-pt lead but Corwin is deep pockets herself.
In the funny history department, someone noted that 2012 will resemble 1984 in that the economy will be almost identical with 7.7% unemployment and just recovering from a severe recession with the incumbent sparking intense animosity from the rival party.
Joe Biden is in an undisclosed location trying to work out the deal on raising the debt ceiling. GOP Young Guns claim that not raising it for a while won't hurt but even under their plan--the Ryan budget--the debt ceiling would have to be raised multiple times within a short period to stave off a financial collapse of the country.
So far, no one has been able to tell me a single private health insurance company who will ensure seniors under the Ryan Plan.
Remember America is exceptional even under Harold Camp's vision of today. Over 200 million people will be saved tonight. According to his calculations, Americans will constitute the plurality.
The reader should know I took the Pew survey on political attitudes and I am one of the Disaffected.
The problem seems to be that the end is supposed to start in New Zealand and the media there are reporting no earthquakes, well-nothing much is going on at all. It is New Zealand after all.
When this stuff started hitting the media in force,a scientific blogger wrote how much he enjoyed these end time speculations. He pointed out that the Mayan year 2012, when the world was supposed to end, actually occurred several years ago. He claimed the Mayan calender was geared to Venus and hence did not calibrate to our calender. I have no idea how true this is.
Tim LaHaye of the Left Behind series claims people like Harold Camping give people like him a bad name because he was too specific, unlike LaHaye. Although LaHaye was specific in the old days saying Mikhail Gorbachev was the anti-Christ.
A couple of suggestions are fun. Tell fundamentalists that Rapture happened, sorry they didn't make the grade. Or leave clothing outside fundamentalist churches with little notes saying goodby. A website was created offering to take care of your pets when you are raptured.
But Camping's conceit is relatively harmless unless his parishioners gave him their life savings. Someone who is a menance is anti-gay preacher Bradlee Dean, who for some unexplained reason gave the opening prayer at the Minnesota Legislature. Among his highlights was his accusation that President Obama was not a Christian. Even the Republicans said the prayer sounded like something from Nazi Germany. The Speaker interrupted the session and began it all over again with someone else giving the opening prayer.
Meanwhile President Obama is off to his ancestral homeland of Ireland, where his distant cousin campaigned for him to visit Moneygall,the town of his Irish ancestors.
Before you are raptured, make sure you watch a video of John Lithgow reading the press release from Newt Gingrich's campaign about the attacks on the Newt for his comments on the Paul Ryan Medicare Plan.
Newt hasn't had such a great week. He apologized to Paul Ryan, sucked up to Rush Limbaugh claiming inprobably that he never said those things about the Ryan Plan, even though all of YouTubeLand have his comments for eternity. He sent out an e-mail to everyone whom he could reach saying that people saying these things are the liberal media.
After being blasted by teabaggers for advocating tests for potential voters, he backed away from his statement only to double down on his belief that students and immigrants should take an American history test before they can vote. I seem to remember that immigrants actually do take a test to become a citizen, which is still a requirement for voting. He said these things in Iowa to a wildly applauding audience. He again backed away from his remarks.
Newt refused to answer any questions about he and Callista owing between $250,000 and $500,000 to Tiffany's. He did remind everyone that his campaign only comes around once in a lifetime.
Jon Huntsman obviously is serious about running for President. The reason you know is that he is changing every position he ever had about anything.
Willie Nelson endorsed libertarian Republican candidate Gary Johnson. And then, after a few joints, he decided not to.
Herman Cain, the creator of Godfather's Pizza,announced today he was running for the Republican nomination. I guess he saves Alan Keyes the trouble.
Michelle Bachmann, who grew up in Iowa, senses an opening now that Mike Huckabee has turned down a bid for the nomination. She is going full-tilt boogie into Iowa.
Sarah Palin says she has the fire in her belly and is still considering a run.
Tim Pawlenty officially announce on Monday if he hasn't been raptured. Earlier in the week he was asked why he was running for President. He said it was so he wouldn't stay at home and drink beer. His defenders said this was indicative of his being low-keyed. His detractors said that this was like Roger Mudd's interview with Ted Kennedy when Ted couldn't figure out why he was running.
Mitch Daniels got in the new for walking into a door, requiring several stitches.
Mitt Romney has been up to much. He did say that he favored Paul Ryan's Medicare Plan but, of course, he is filthy rich and doesn't need Medicare. Paul Begala cuts ads against Romney, which are being aired in South Carolina, which are aimed at making the elimination of Medicare a litmus test for all Republican candidates. Begala is a Democrat.
While Benjamin Netanyahu left his meeting with President Obama relieved, that hasn't stopped Orrin Hatch from drafting a Senate resolution opposing President Obama's position on Israel and Palestine. This reminds me of Eric Cantor saying he would protect Netanyahu from Obama, a statement that created several press clarifications.
Gallup reveals for the first time that a majority-- 53%-- of Americans support same sex marriage and 45% oppose. If you want to watch a fascinating discussion, Ted Olson and David Boies spoke at the CATO institute this week on the Proposition 8 case. You can access it on YouTube. It is about an hour discussion on the intricacies of federal marriage laws and their implications for rights.
I second the motion that President Obama should make Elizabeth Warren a recess appointment to the Consumer Protection Agency since both Senate and House Republicans have vowed to block her.
While New York 26 is exciting people because a Democrat could capture a House seat in an historically Republican district in New York state, I wouldn't get thrilled about this. It is true that democrat Kathy Hochul is campaigning against the Paul Ryan plan and that is generating alot of support. But Karl Rove and his billionaire friends have poured buckets of money in the campaign for Jane Corwin. Today Hochul has a 4-pt lead but Corwin is deep pockets herself.
In the funny history department, someone noted that 2012 will resemble 1984 in that the economy will be almost identical with 7.7% unemployment and just recovering from a severe recession with the incumbent sparking intense animosity from the rival party.
Joe Biden is in an undisclosed location trying to work out the deal on raising the debt ceiling. GOP Young Guns claim that not raising it for a while won't hurt but even under their plan--the Ryan budget--the debt ceiling would have to be raised multiple times within a short period to stave off a financial collapse of the country.
So far, no one has been able to tell me a single private health insurance company who will ensure seniors under the Ryan Plan.
Remember America is exceptional even under Harold Camp's vision of today. Over 200 million people will be saved tonight. According to his calculations, Americans will constitute the plurality.
The reader should know I took the Pew survey on political attitudes and I am one of the Disaffected.
Friday, May 6, 2011
No Intelligent Design in the Palmetto State
The first Republican debate was sponsored by Daddy Koch's John Birch Society and the Oathkeepers--which should tell you everything you want to know. The teabaggers held a rally beforehand where they accused Senator Lindsey Graham of being a pinko or some equivalent.
The Mad Sikh Nikki Haley, the female Luv Gov, was joined at the debate by the more famous Luv Gov Sanford, who had made it in from the Appalachian Trial for the occasion. Haley warned the candidates who stayed away that they would have to explain themselves to the voters. You see whoever wins the South Carolina primary wins the whole shooting match.
Buddy Roemer wasn't allowed to participate and Freddie Krueger, the openly gay candidate, was forced to tweet the debate from the balconey. The audience was fairly empty except for the Paultards, the boisterous supporters of Ron Paul's Love Revolution. Chris Wallace often looked behind him as he was moderating with annoyance.
Gary Johnson, the libertarian former Governor of New Mexico, lost the Gong Show becaue he is pro-choice and argued for legalizing marijuana. He also wanted to end all corporate taxes, which he said would create millions of jobs instantly. Gary also lost out because he was anti-torture.
Torture has become the new Republican wedge issue, separating the men from the boys. Ron Paul lost on this issue, saying he wanted to do away with the secret prisons as well as torture.
After the debate, Frank Luntz, the author of the GOP's talking point memo against healthcare reform, held a Focus Group, where the clear winner was Herman Cain, the creator of Godfather Pizza. Only 1 of his Focus Group went into the debate a Cain supporter. Luntz exclaimed that the results were the most remarkable in his 35 debates for Fox.
The Focus Group liked Herman Cain because he was articulate, had a well-defined plan and was not a politician but a straight-shooter. Sounds interesting, heh?
This is what Herman Cain actually said. On Afghanistan, he would consult with his experts and do whatever they told him. On DOMA, he said that not defending it in court was tantamount to treason. He would eliminate the IRS and place the United States back on the Gold Standard. He said that Government should get off the back of businessmen because business creates the jobs. He was interested in ending entitlement programs and adopting the Fair Tax. Now that's a plan.
Ron Paul, who just showed up in a CNN poll as the most competitive Republican against post-bin Laden Obama, argued to great cheers for a withdrawal from Afghanistan and the legalization of marijuana,cocaine and heroin. He argued that the role of government was to protect business from unions. he also would adopt the gold standard.
Number 2 in the Focus Group was Ole Frothy Mix Santorum. Santorum got the largest response on the applause-o-meter when he said that "Obamacare is the end of Freedom." In fact, it represented the greatest threat ever to our national security.
Asked by Chris Wallace about his remarks earlier in the week that Obama was making the United States less secure, Rick said that Obama's foreign policy only worked when he followed George W. Bush's master plan and when he was "on his own" like in Egypt and Libya, he failed.
Santorum said that eliminating all corporate taxes would create 10 million jobs instantly. He blamed feminists for women working and not staying home. And he took a shot at Mitch Daniels about a "truce on social issues" by saying that anyone who believes that just "doesn't understand what America is about."
Then Sean Hannity's favorite and the secret conservative favorite, Tim Pawlenty, Mr. Electric. Pawlenty has to introduce himself as a two term governor of Minnesota and had to explain ad nauseum about his many, many trips throughout the Middle East. He was trying to come off as Presidential by saying he would only torture on select, special occasions and he would invade Libya and overthrow Qaddafhi.
Chris Wallace ran an ad from year's past when Pawlenty supported Cap and Trade. Pawlenty apologized for having taken that position, which commentators said showed courage.
Pawlenty said that intelligent design could be taught in schools but this decision rested with local school districts and when asked whether he believed in evolution, he said it wasn't for him to say. He was asked to take a shot at Romneycare--which drew big Boos from the audience--but he wouldn't comment because Romney wasn't there to defend himself.
So we now know a couple of other constants to the new GOP's platform--eliminate corporate taxes and explictly adopt a program for torture. So we have anti-choice,anti-evolution,anti-women,anti-gay marriage and anti-taxes as the new mainstays.
Why do we think the debates will get any better when Newt and Callista enter the fray next week? Fox News has allegedly given Mike Huckabee to shit or get off the pot by the end of May.
The GOP pundits are sensing that Romney is doomed because of his healthcare in Massachusetts so you'll see Pawlenty's name gratuitously show up in columns on anything. He's the escape hatch for formerly mainstream Republicans. But what happens when conservatives recall that all those foreign trips were with John McCain, who is not exactly the darling of the teabaggers and now the most unpopular Senator?
Matt Taibibi has written about Pawlenty that he has heard Pawlenty speak several times and still doesn't know what he believes or remembers a word he has said. Some say that is precisely his strategy.
One last note--during the disasterous townhall meetings Republicans were having over recess, the John Birch Society was out in force, especially in the Northeast, putting out fliers that Communists and Move-On were disrupting them. Communists? Really.
The Mad Sikh Nikki Haley, the female Luv Gov, was joined at the debate by the more famous Luv Gov Sanford, who had made it in from the Appalachian Trial for the occasion. Haley warned the candidates who stayed away that they would have to explain themselves to the voters. You see whoever wins the South Carolina primary wins the whole shooting match.
Buddy Roemer wasn't allowed to participate and Freddie Krueger, the openly gay candidate, was forced to tweet the debate from the balconey. The audience was fairly empty except for the Paultards, the boisterous supporters of Ron Paul's Love Revolution. Chris Wallace often looked behind him as he was moderating with annoyance.
Gary Johnson, the libertarian former Governor of New Mexico, lost the Gong Show becaue he is pro-choice and argued for legalizing marijuana. He also wanted to end all corporate taxes, which he said would create millions of jobs instantly. Gary also lost out because he was anti-torture.
Torture has become the new Republican wedge issue, separating the men from the boys. Ron Paul lost on this issue, saying he wanted to do away with the secret prisons as well as torture.
After the debate, Frank Luntz, the author of the GOP's talking point memo against healthcare reform, held a Focus Group, where the clear winner was Herman Cain, the creator of Godfather Pizza. Only 1 of his Focus Group went into the debate a Cain supporter. Luntz exclaimed that the results were the most remarkable in his 35 debates for Fox.
The Focus Group liked Herman Cain because he was articulate, had a well-defined plan and was not a politician but a straight-shooter. Sounds interesting, heh?
This is what Herman Cain actually said. On Afghanistan, he would consult with his experts and do whatever they told him. On DOMA, he said that not defending it in court was tantamount to treason. He would eliminate the IRS and place the United States back on the Gold Standard. He said that Government should get off the back of businessmen because business creates the jobs. He was interested in ending entitlement programs and adopting the Fair Tax. Now that's a plan.
Ron Paul, who just showed up in a CNN poll as the most competitive Republican against post-bin Laden Obama, argued to great cheers for a withdrawal from Afghanistan and the legalization of marijuana,cocaine and heroin. He argued that the role of government was to protect business from unions. he also would adopt the gold standard.
Number 2 in the Focus Group was Ole Frothy Mix Santorum. Santorum got the largest response on the applause-o-meter when he said that "Obamacare is the end of Freedom." In fact, it represented the greatest threat ever to our national security.
Asked by Chris Wallace about his remarks earlier in the week that Obama was making the United States less secure, Rick said that Obama's foreign policy only worked when he followed George W. Bush's master plan and when he was "on his own" like in Egypt and Libya, he failed.
Santorum said that eliminating all corporate taxes would create 10 million jobs instantly. He blamed feminists for women working and not staying home. And he took a shot at Mitch Daniels about a "truce on social issues" by saying that anyone who believes that just "doesn't understand what America is about."
Then Sean Hannity's favorite and the secret conservative favorite, Tim Pawlenty, Mr. Electric. Pawlenty has to introduce himself as a two term governor of Minnesota and had to explain ad nauseum about his many, many trips throughout the Middle East. He was trying to come off as Presidential by saying he would only torture on select, special occasions and he would invade Libya and overthrow Qaddafhi.
Chris Wallace ran an ad from year's past when Pawlenty supported Cap and Trade. Pawlenty apologized for having taken that position, which commentators said showed courage.
Pawlenty said that intelligent design could be taught in schools but this decision rested with local school districts and when asked whether he believed in evolution, he said it wasn't for him to say. He was asked to take a shot at Romneycare--which drew big Boos from the audience--but he wouldn't comment because Romney wasn't there to defend himself.
So we now know a couple of other constants to the new GOP's platform--eliminate corporate taxes and explictly adopt a program for torture. So we have anti-choice,anti-evolution,anti-women,anti-gay marriage and anti-taxes as the new mainstays.
Why do we think the debates will get any better when Newt and Callista enter the fray next week? Fox News has allegedly given Mike Huckabee to shit or get off the pot by the end of May.
The GOP pundits are sensing that Romney is doomed because of his healthcare in Massachusetts so you'll see Pawlenty's name gratuitously show up in columns on anything. He's the escape hatch for formerly mainstream Republicans. But what happens when conservatives recall that all those foreign trips were with John McCain, who is not exactly the darling of the teabaggers and now the most unpopular Senator?
Matt Taibibi has written about Pawlenty that he has heard Pawlenty speak several times and still doesn't know what he believes or remembers a word he has said. Some say that is precisely his strategy.
One last note--during the disasterous townhall meetings Republicans were having over recess, the John Birch Society was out in force, especially in the Northeast, putting out fliers that Communists and Move-On were disrupting them. Communists? Really.
Friday, April 29, 2011
America The Exceptional--Kochistan
Steve Benen at Washington Monthy justed noted that Mitt Romney, who has refused to be on the stage with other Republican contenders so far, has agreed to kiss the Koch Brothers' ring at the Presidential Summit on Spending and Job Creation, which is funded by the crime family. Steve notes that the Romney family has received Koch funding before. Mitt should remember what happened to the first Mormon who wanted to run for President in 1848. The sect's founder Joseph Smith ended up shot in an Illinois jell cell. He may be lured to New Hampshire by Koch assassins. Joining the Mitt will be Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum and Michelle Bachmann.
Remember I wrote it first that Glenn Beck was the stalking horse of the Mormon candidacy of Mitt Romney. Beck has recently attacked Mike Huckabee as a "progressive" Republican or "someone like John McCain" who increases the size of government and has increased taxes while Governor of Arkansas. This odd spat got played out with Huckabee blasting back but the tenor of it was so odd as to reveal Beck's other agenda.
Meanwhile Newt and his lovely Bride Calixto or Calista will appear in their new film "American Exceptionalism", which will be a call to arms to reassert America's special nature--being owned by the Koch Brothers. Newt keeps cancelling appearances at candidate fora because he can't quite wrap up his business empire. He still has too many trinkets to sell.
Tim Pawlenty is really on a roll. After declaring that Planned Parenthood practices euthanasia because they operate in areas serving the poor, He burst on the scene at the NRA to declare that President Obama doesn't understand America and that we are an exceptional country. Wayne LaPierre told his fanatically member that the presidential election will be determined by states with Big Guns and hunting and that Obama will lose. (Of course, Obama never did confiscate the guns as conservatives promised.)
This will be the theme for the foreign policy section of the Republicans in 2012. Charles Krauthammer put teeth in this today with op-ed in the Washington Post by blasting President Obama's lead from behind strategy. He argues that Obama lacks a doctrine--Gee, we have already benefited from so many doctrines--has bowed to the inevitable emergence of China as the world leader and acts quietly because Obama believes the world hates us. As Charles pounds his chest, the world has always hated us and the Chinese are just a regional power. Watch this become a major thread in the arguments leading up to 2012.
Karl Rove is hurt saying that President Obama is waging a dirty campaign for re-election. I guess unlike Karl's genteel Swift Boater effort against John Kerry. No one yet has mentioned that , despite Rove's contention then that the Swift Boaters were not linked to the Bush campaign, that all those who bankrolled the effort were the first donors to underwrite Rove's mysterious Crossroads (Crosshairs) America. Rove said that it was Obama's fault that birtherism took over the Republican party, that the President had played rope-a-dope and made the GOP seem wacky. Of course, Rove says this was all to distract everyone from the serious problems the country has. Which is the perfect inverse of what President Obama said that his release of his birth certificate can allow us to get back to those issues. It looks like Rove is making a comeback. Here I agree with the Donald that Rove should retire.
Conservative Human Events is reporting what I have been noting that Mike Huckabee, the frontrunner for 2012, is sending signals he will not run. He has been avoiding all the candidate fora and telling former supporters to find other candidates. But I'm not sure that he will be allowed to cop out because if Romney is wounded by Romneycare, then if Huckabee doesn't run, Charles Koch will force David to come out and say he's been Born-Again. The Billionaire Club must secured the allegiance of the Religious Right if their plan for the final conquest of America is to succeed.
Inside the Beltway strategists are now talking up a Romney-Petraeus ticket. The one spoilsport to this seems to be Marc Thiessen who says that Petraeus is soft on torture--i.e. he prohibits torture. The problem with this scenario is that no one else in America believes the Iraq was worthwhile. It's not like Ike defeating Hitler. But I was at a Republican event last week and they really still believe in the Iraq war. It was stunning. They glowed when they talked about it. So Petraeus is their hero. What happens when they find out he's a self-described Rockefeller Republican?
We have only about two weeks to go until the world ends so we should expect alot of our religious friends to be "raptured", which would do wonders for our political system.
Remember I wrote it first that Glenn Beck was the stalking horse of the Mormon candidacy of Mitt Romney. Beck has recently attacked Mike Huckabee as a "progressive" Republican or "someone like John McCain" who increases the size of government and has increased taxes while Governor of Arkansas. This odd spat got played out with Huckabee blasting back but the tenor of it was so odd as to reveal Beck's other agenda.
Meanwhile Newt and his lovely Bride Calixto or Calista will appear in their new film "American Exceptionalism", which will be a call to arms to reassert America's special nature--being owned by the Koch Brothers. Newt keeps cancelling appearances at candidate fora because he can't quite wrap up his business empire. He still has too many trinkets to sell.
Tim Pawlenty is really on a roll. After declaring that Planned Parenthood practices euthanasia because they operate in areas serving the poor, He burst on the scene at the NRA to declare that President Obama doesn't understand America and that we are an exceptional country. Wayne LaPierre told his fanatically member that the presidential election will be determined by states with Big Guns and hunting and that Obama will lose. (Of course, Obama never did confiscate the guns as conservatives promised.)
This will be the theme for the foreign policy section of the Republicans in 2012. Charles Krauthammer put teeth in this today with op-ed in the Washington Post by blasting President Obama's lead from behind strategy. He argues that Obama lacks a doctrine--Gee, we have already benefited from so many doctrines--has bowed to the inevitable emergence of China as the world leader and acts quietly because Obama believes the world hates us. As Charles pounds his chest, the world has always hated us and the Chinese are just a regional power. Watch this become a major thread in the arguments leading up to 2012.
Karl Rove is hurt saying that President Obama is waging a dirty campaign for re-election. I guess unlike Karl's genteel Swift Boater effort against John Kerry. No one yet has mentioned that , despite Rove's contention then that the Swift Boaters were not linked to the Bush campaign, that all those who bankrolled the effort were the first donors to underwrite Rove's mysterious Crossroads (Crosshairs) America. Rove said that it was Obama's fault that birtherism took over the Republican party, that the President had played rope-a-dope and made the GOP seem wacky. Of course, Rove says this was all to distract everyone from the serious problems the country has. Which is the perfect inverse of what President Obama said that his release of his birth certificate can allow us to get back to those issues. It looks like Rove is making a comeback. Here I agree with the Donald that Rove should retire.
Conservative Human Events is reporting what I have been noting that Mike Huckabee, the frontrunner for 2012, is sending signals he will not run. He has been avoiding all the candidate fora and telling former supporters to find other candidates. But I'm not sure that he will be allowed to cop out because if Romney is wounded by Romneycare, then if Huckabee doesn't run, Charles Koch will force David to come out and say he's been Born-Again. The Billionaire Club must secured the allegiance of the Religious Right if their plan for the final conquest of America is to succeed.
Inside the Beltway strategists are now talking up a Romney-Petraeus ticket. The one spoilsport to this seems to be Marc Thiessen who says that Petraeus is soft on torture--i.e. he prohibits torture. The problem with this scenario is that no one else in America believes the Iraq was worthwhile. It's not like Ike defeating Hitler. But I was at a Republican event last week and they really still believe in the Iraq war. It was stunning. They glowed when they talked about it. So Petraeus is their hero. What happens when they find out he's a self-described Rockefeller Republican?
We have only about two weeks to go until the world ends so we should expect alot of our religious friends to be "raptured", which would do wonders for our political system.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
The Race for 2012--Continued
Charlie Cook has come out saying that the Republicans will hold the House in 2012 and take back the Senate. But he said that his discussions with top Republican strategists indicate that President Obama will win re-election. With a wing-nut Congress that would be interesting if not absurd. James Carville's Democracy Corps has polled and found that voters have buyers' remorse and that GOP freshmen in the House are so vulnerable that the Democrats have a chance to win back the House. Others dispute this saying that redistricting totally favors the Republicans and that buyers' remorse may not turn into votes.
A Pew Poll shows that President Obama beats the generic Republican rather handily and that specific Republican names don't help much either. Public Policy Polling of swing states show Obama winning his states but not with some of the large margins he experienced in 2008. That's one of the reasons that Republican strategists believe they will have a lock on Congress because the Presidential coat-tails will not be so long. The actions of the Midwest Republican Governors have swung the region's direction back to the Democrats and may help save a few Senate seats.
One of the fascinating things to observe is that the approval ratings of the most visible Republican potential candidates have seriously dropped since 2009. The suggestion is that the more people know them the less they like them. I'm not one of those who believes this race is totally wide open as some have suggested. Basically, I believe it is a Huckabee versus Romney contest at this point.
For the first time, Gallup has Mike Huckabee taking the lead over Mitt Romney. The results of the full poll are fascinating.
19% Mike Huckabee
15% Mitt Romney
12% Sarah Palin
10% Newt Gingrich
6% Ron Paul
5% Michelle Bachmann
4% Mitch Daniels
2% Haley Barbour
2% Rick Santorum
2% Jon Huntsman
2% Gary Johnson
1% Donald Trump
Notice the absence of Tim Pawlenty, who announced his exploratory committee this week. Evangelical Christian Tim Pawlenty just finished his stint as Governor of Minnesota, creating the largest deficit in their history. Pawlenty is known among hunters for gut-shooting a deer and letting his aide clean up after him because he had to go to a fund-raiser.
People claims that Haley Barbour has a good shot because he is well-known for his fund-raising and his ability to exploit every loophole in campaign finance laws. Barbour has been out in Iowa this week pledging to reinstate DADT to avoid the battlefield dangers of an "amourous mindset." The return of DADT has been pledged by Gingrich,Mike Huckabee and Tim Pawlenty.
Mitt Romney facing criticism for his Romneycare program in Massachusetts is going to stay away from Iowa because his handlers fear he will be ambushed by the social conservatives, who dominate the Caucus. He claims he will be creating a strategy that focuses on New Hampshire, Nevada and Florida. However, he will be risking his front-runner status if he stays away from too many primaries.
If there is an emerging pattern to the Republican race, it is that it will be fought over "values" issues and not the economy. With House Republicans and Governors sabotaging the recovery, they are betting that a sour economy will doom President Obama. However, they risk the voters actually waking up and discovering the implications of their actions by then.
The key component of the Republican strategy is the ability to raise astronomical sums of money from people like the Koch Brothers and Rove's billionaire donors to overwhelm the Democrats. The second part is being implemented by the Republican Governors, who are implementing Voter ID laws that will dramatically affect the ability of the young,minorities and the poor to vote. Republicans are hoping they can suppress these key constituencies, who vote overwhelming for Democrats but more importantly for President Obama. A big liability for Republicans is the new census figure showing that Hispanics have grown to 50 million people and are now the largest minority in the country. With the immigration laws proposed by the Republicans in over two dozen states,their one-time dream of capturing the Hispanic vote has faded.
The most interesting new possible candidate is Donald Trump. Trump epitomizes Republican economics at this point in time. Trump inherited a fortune from his father, leveraged enormous debt from it, declared bankruptcy several times but paid 10cents on the dollar, each time increasing his wealth, and actually managed to let a casino go bankrupt. In many ways, he is the most suitable candidate of them all.
A Pew Poll shows that President Obama beats the generic Republican rather handily and that specific Republican names don't help much either. Public Policy Polling of swing states show Obama winning his states but not with some of the large margins he experienced in 2008. That's one of the reasons that Republican strategists believe they will have a lock on Congress because the Presidential coat-tails will not be so long. The actions of the Midwest Republican Governors have swung the region's direction back to the Democrats and may help save a few Senate seats.
One of the fascinating things to observe is that the approval ratings of the most visible Republican potential candidates have seriously dropped since 2009. The suggestion is that the more people know them the less they like them. I'm not one of those who believes this race is totally wide open as some have suggested. Basically, I believe it is a Huckabee versus Romney contest at this point.
For the first time, Gallup has Mike Huckabee taking the lead over Mitt Romney. The results of the full poll are fascinating.
19% Mike Huckabee
15% Mitt Romney
12% Sarah Palin
10% Newt Gingrich
6% Ron Paul
5% Michelle Bachmann
4% Mitch Daniels
2% Haley Barbour
2% Rick Santorum
2% Jon Huntsman
2% Gary Johnson
1% Donald Trump
Notice the absence of Tim Pawlenty, who announced his exploratory committee this week. Evangelical Christian Tim Pawlenty just finished his stint as Governor of Minnesota, creating the largest deficit in their history. Pawlenty is known among hunters for gut-shooting a deer and letting his aide clean up after him because he had to go to a fund-raiser.
People claims that Haley Barbour has a good shot because he is well-known for his fund-raising and his ability to exploit every loophole in campaign finance laws. Barbour has been out in Iowa this week pledging to reinstate DADT to avoid the battlefield dangers of an "amourous mindset." The return of DADT has been pledged by Gingrich,Mike Huckabee and Tim Pawlenty.
Mitt Romney facing criticism for his Romneycare program in Massachusetts is going to stay away from Iowa because his handlers fear he will be ambushed by the social conservatives, who dominate the Caucus. He claims he will be creating a strategy that focuses on New Hampshire, Nevada and Florida. However, he will be risking his front-runner status if he stays away from too many primaries.
If there is an emerging pattern to the Republican race, it is that it will be fought over "values" issues and not the economy. With House Republicans and Governors sabotaging the recovery, they are betting that a sour economy will doom President Obama. However, they risk the voters actually waking up and discovering the implications of their actions by then.
The key component of the Republican strategy is the ability to raise astronomical sums of money from people like the Koch Brothers and Rove's billionaire donors to overwhelm the Democrats. The second part is being implemented by the Republican Governors, who are implementing Voter ID laws that will dramatically affect the ability of the young,minorities and the poor to vote. Republicans are hoping they can suppress these key constituencies, who vote overwhelming for Democrats but more importantly for President Obama. A big liability for Republicans is the new census figure showing that Hispanics have grown to 50 million people and are now the largest minority in the country. With the immigration laws proposed by the Republicans in over two dozen states,their one-time dream of capturing the Hispanic vote has faded.
The most interesting new possible candidate is Donald Trump. Trump epitomizes Republican economics at this point in time. Trump inherited a fortune from his father, leveraged enormous debt from it, declared bankruptcy several times but paid 10cents on the dollar, each time increasing his wealth, and actually managed to let a casino go bankrupt. In many ways, he is the most suitable candidate of them all.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Let's Play--Let's Pretend Our Politics Are Normal
Rumors have President Obama already with a $1 billion in the bank with another $1 on the way for his $2 billion presidential campaign. So let's accept President Obama will be the Democratic nominee.
Now let's focus on the Republicans.
Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee have natural advantages because the GOP always votes for someone who has run before. Both were Governors, which is a big GOP plus.
Now we've heard a slew of Republicans announce they would not run. So far we have the sense that former Governor of Minnesota Tim Pawlenty and former Senator Rick Santorum will run. Newt Gingrich is acting all authoritarian recently suggesting mentally he's running but physically I can't imagine it. Sarah Palin recently told Ann Coulter that Newt told her to suggest she's running for President so her speaking fees would be larger. Even though Andrew Sullivan and David Brooks salivate at the idea that Mitch Daniels would run,he has too many blackeyes against him from the Princeton drug busts to his being the man who spent Clinton's surplus in the George W administration.
So let's go one by one:
Mitt Romney, one-term Govenor of Massachusetts:
Advantage: Running since 2005, organization and money and access to money,presentable appearance, which this time may be the critical advantage
Liabilities: Romneycare,multiple positions on everything, looks terrible when he panders to the Right, former corporate positions, including Marriott Hotels with its porn connection, Mormon. Mitt Romney would have faced less prejudice in his father's time than today. Most visible Mormon in America is Glenn Beck. Even though Romney has tried to build ties with the evangelical community, his faith still believes Jesus was the brother of Lucifer and many simply won't vote for him because of that.
Mike Huckabee, who sounds more and more like he is not running:
Advantage: former Baptist Minister, has the whole range of social issues wrapped up from the New Republican point of view. He's anti-abortion and totally homophobic, even believing that gays should not be allowed to serve in the military. A Christian fundamentalist and does not believe in evolution. Ran last time and the organization is still in place. Populist in economics (also a liability with the corporate wing.
Liabilities: Doesn't have the ambition. Populist in economics. Says polite things about the First Family saying their are role models for family values. His personal policy views are vicious but he is not as a person. Probably could not raise enough money for a sustained campaign. Loves his new life as a Fox News contributor.
Newt Gingrich, disgraced Speaker of the House:
Advantages: Has ability to access millions from his conservative network. Fairly bright with an ability to throw off interesting ideas. Personally against Obama, claiming the President is trying to create a 'secular society". Has extensive links to the fundamentalist community and will say anything they tell him to. Has no known economic beliefs and will do what corporations tell him to. Basically amoral.
Liabilities: Convert to Catholicism from his Southern Baptist faith. May actually believe in evolution. Serial adulterer, which has not been forgotten by conservative Republicans. Notoriously unorganized personally and politically. May run simply to raise funds for a richer lifestyle.
Sarah Palin, former Mayor of Wasilla and half-term Governor of Alaska, former VP candidate:
Advantages: Perfectly mirrors the beliefs of the new GOP base. Authentically a teabagger. Member of a radical Christian sect. Pro-israel because the end-time will occur there. Has access to certain money. Has campaigned for ONE MONTH in a national campaign. Highly known.
Liabilities: A Quitter. Has marital problems. Doesn't seem to have the stamina for a national campaign. Only talks to tamed media and is hostile to the real press. Feels persecuted. Supremely egotistical. May turn off money people. High negatives within own party. Widely considered incompetent.
Rick Santorum, former Senator from Pennsylvania and known as the frothy mix of lube and fecal material:
Advantages: Has every social conservative position down pat.
Liabilities: His Google problem courtesy of Dan Savage, no organizational structure, no ability to generate any enthusiasm, no demonstrated ability to raise money, and no known support.
Tim Pawlenty, former Governor of Minnesota and considered as McCain's running-mate:
Advantages: from the Midwest. Not elderly and fat.
Liabilities: Extremely boring and boring looking, changed all his policies to be more right-wing, now anti-abortion, anti-evolution, anti-his former policies. No known ability to raise funds or form an organization. Smattering of foreign policy experience because he would accompany McCain on trips.
Michelle Bachmann,congresswoman from Minnesota and Queen of the teaparty.
Advantages: Ability to raise millions from teabaggers. Also from the Midwest. Christianist.
Liabilities: Almost everything she says is a lie. Must rely on teabaggers for organization. Perceived by GOP and Americans as a wingnut. No known ability to organize or be organized herself. No known policy expertise. Believes Glenn Beck would solve the economic crisis.
Ron Paul, perennial Presidential candidate and Texas congressman and father of the teabaggers:
Advantages: Mobilizes through his Crusade for Liberty a grassroots following. Prodigious fund-raiser. Godfather of the teaparty movement. Pro-life. Comes from an important electoral state.
Liabilities: Against the military-terrorist-intelligence state. Against foreign aid, even policy. Against war. Against the Patriot Act. Comes across as an elderly small old man. Corporate Republicans are against him because , while he is against all regulations, he is also against corporate welfare.
Overall, the weakest field ever from either party. And remember it is no longer winner-take-all rules in the primaries so this could drag out way beyond our attention span.
Given the heavy corporate tilt to our elections now with the Roberts Court Limited Citizens United decision, I would bet more on Romney today than the past. But Romney has problems first diagnosed by Ted Kennedy. He called Romney "multiple choice mitt".Just his recent political book shows this. The hardcover analyzes the stimulus package of President Obama and said that it was basically the right thing to do and it had success but wasn't enough. The paperback edition has the stimulus package as a total failure and a waste of taxpayer money. And you could go on issue after issue.
But that may not matter in a time when money can wipe out all blemishes. But right now it's very tough to say that anyone has the advantage. That shows you how poor the field is. Most of these candidates should be showing signs of getting their campaigns ready. Except fpr Romney, I don't see it.
Now let's focus on the Republicans.
Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee have natural advantages because the GOP always votes for someone who has run before. Both were Governors, which is a big GOP plus.
Now we've heard a slew of Republicans announce they would not run. So far we have the sense that former Governor of Minnesota Tim Pawlenty and former Senator Rick Santorum will run. Newt Gingrich is acting all authoritarian recently suggesting mentally he's running but physically I can't imagine it. Sarah Palin recently told Ann Coulter that Newt told her to suggest she's running for President so her speaking fees would be larger. Even though Andrew Sullivan and David Brooks salivate at the idea that Mitch Daniels would run,he has too many blackeyes against him from the Princeton drug busts to his being the man who spent Clinton's surplus in the George W administration.
So let's go one by one:
Mitt Romney, one-term Govenor of Massachusetts:
Advantage: Running since 2005, organization and money and access to money,presentable appearance, which this time may be the critical advantage
Liabilities: Romneycare,multiple positions on everything, looks terrible when he panders to the Right, former corporate positions, including Marriott Hotels with its porn connection, Mormon. Mitt Romney would have faced less prejudice in his father's time than today. Most visible Mormon in America is Glenn Beck. Even though Romney has tried to build ties with the evangelical community, his faith still believes Jesus was the brother of Lucifer and many simply won't vote for him because of that.
Mike Huckabee, who sounds more and more like he is not running:
Advantage: former Baptist Minister, has the whole range of social issues wrapped up from the New Republican point of view. He's anti-abortion and totally homophobic, even believing that gays should not be allowed to serve in the military. A Christian fundamentalist and does not believe in evolution. Ran last time and the organization is still in place. Populist in economics (also a liability with the corporate wing.
Liabilities: Doesn't have the ambition. Populist in economics. Says polite things about the First Family saying their are role models for family values. His personal policy views are vicious but he is not as a person. Probably could not raise enough money for a sustained campaign. Loves his new life as a Fox News contributor.
Newt Gingrich, disgraced Speaker of the House:
Advantages: Has ability to access millions from his conservative network. Fairly bright with an ability to throw off interesting ideas. Personally against Obama, claiming the President is trying to create a 'secular society". Has extensive links to the fundamentalist community and will say anything they tell him to. Has no known economic beliefs and will do what corporations tell him to. Basically amoral.
Liabilities: Convert to Catholicism from his Southern Baptist faith. May actually believe in evolution. Serial adulterer, which has not been forgotten by conservative Republicans. Notoriously unorganized personally and politically. May run simply to raise funds for a richer lifestyle.
Sarah Palin, former Mayor of Wasilla and half-term Governor of Alaska, former VP candidate:
Advantages: Perfectly mirrors the beliefs of the new GOP base. Authentically a teabagger. Member of a radical Christian sect. Pro-israel because the end-time will occur there. Has access to certain money. Has campaigned for ONE MONTH in a national campaign. Highly known.
Liabilities: A Quitter. Has marital problems. Doesn't seem to have the stamina for a national campaign. Only talks to tamed media and is hostile to the real press. Feels persecuted. Supremely egotistical. May turn off money people. High negatives within own party. Widely considered incompetent.
Rick Santorum, former Senator from Pennsylvania and known as the frothy mix of lube and fecal material:
Advantages: Has every social conservative position down pat.
Liabilities: His Google problem courtesy of Dan Savage, no organizational structure, no ability to generate any enthusiasm, no demonstrated ability to raise money, and no known support.
Tim Pawlenty, former Governor of Minnesota and considered as McCain's running-mate:
Advantages: from the Midwest. Not elderly and fat.
Liabilities: Extremely boring and boring looking, changed all his policies to be more right-wing, now anti-abortion, anti-evolution, anti-his former policies. No known ability to raise funds or form an organization. Smattering of foreign policy experience because he would accompany McCain on trips.
Michelle Bachmann,congresswoman from Minnesota and Queen of the teaparty.
Advantages: Ability to raise millions from teabaggers. Also from the Midwest. Christianist.
Liabilities: Almost everything she says is a lie. Must rely on teabaggers for organization. Perceived by GOP and Americans as a wingnut. No known ability to organize or be organized herself. No known policy expertise. Believes Glenn Beck would solve the economic crisis.
Ron Paul, perennial Presidential candidate and Texas congressman and father of the teabaggers:
Advantages: Mobilizes through his Crusade for Liberty a grassroots following. Prodigious fund-raiser. Godfather of the teaparty movement. Pro-life. Comes from an important electoral state.
Liabilities: Against the military-terrorist-intelligence state. Against foreign aid, even policy. Against war. Against the Patriot Act. Comes across as an elderly small old man. Corporate Republicans are against him because , while he is against all regulations, he is also against corporate welfare.
Overall, the weakest field ever from either party. And remember it is no longer winner-take-all rules in the primaries so this could drag out way beyond our attention span.
Given the heavy corporate tilt to our elections now with the Roberts Court Limited Citizens United decision, I would bet more on Romney today than the past. But Romney has problems first diagnosed by Ted Kennedy. He called Romney "multiple choice mitt".Just his recent political book shows this. The hardcover analyzes the stimulus package of President Obama and said that it was basically the right thing to do and it had success but wasn't enough. The paperback edition has the stimulus package as a total failure and a waste of taxpayer money. And you could go on issue after issue.
But that may not matter in a time when money can wipe out all blemishes. But right now it's very tough to say that anyone has the advantage. That shows you how poor the field is. Most of these candidates should be showing signs of getting their campaigns ready. Except fpr Romney, I don't see it.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Before The Truce Fails
Tim Pawlenty says that the "elites" should stop criticizing Sarah Palin. It seems to me if you are a governor and a half-governor and someone who makes $15 million a year, you are a member of the elite. Maybe it's not deserved but you are. So what "elites" is Pawlenty talking about?
At least one is Howard Stern, who used his talents to blast Palin as a fake and several expletive deletes. Howard then said that whatever you think about Barack Obama you had to be proud of the man when he spoke in Tucson.
MSNBC had coverage that conservatives have finally accepted Barack Obama as President. I don't know how I feel about this. It's only been two years and the man handily beat John McCain, while the conservative hero George W. Bush won by one vote of the Supreme Court. But this whole theme only shows that conservatives feel entitled to political power and the presidency.
Since he failed to browbeat the Tucson Sheriff, Rushbo is now trying to intimidate the Fox news panel which praised the President's speech. Meanwhile, Clear Channel is going to take down Rush's "Straight Shooter" billboard.
No House Republicans would even comment on Palin's speech before the House's prayers for the victims. David Weigel says the whole party is embarrassed. But it seems to me the party never shut down the extreme rhetoric of the tea baggers so they are stuck with her.
Knowing she made a gaffe, Sarah Palin has consented to sit down for an interview with ace reporter--no, make that commentator Sean Hannity on Fox News. Talk about a tin ear, Palin has scheduled talking about the shooting on Martin Luther King, Jr. day.
Peggy Noonan, who has spent the last two years complaining Obama doesn't understand America, finally admitted his speech was more than excellent and significant.
The people of Tucson are miffed that the rest of us thought the memorial service was too much like a pep rally. People down there comment that they wanted a joyous occassion, somthing to celebrate, and were joyous the President came down. Who's to criticize?
Give credit to Rachel Maddow for using her show to probe both the mental illness aspects of the shooting and last night the issue of gun control. Whistling in the wind but it is important to frame the issue with the two subjects that loom large after the slaughter and actually have solutions.
The surgeons have done a superb job of briefing the media on the condition of the victims and the progress made by Gaby Giffords but what they say makes me uneasy. They always start at the top with the good news, which is a good technique, but if you listen long enough the true horror of the wounds and what the victims face in recovery become clear.
One leftwing blogger wrote that while the speech may have been Obama's best,she felt that Clinton delivered a better speech. I disagree. I think Clinton now is a better explainer than Obama of policies, but I found him to be boring back then. I also disagree that this was the best speech Obama has delivered. I still love his speech at Ebenezer Baptist Church about the Walls of Jericho delivered in the campaign. Others favor his Race speech.
Former Bush speechwriter Gerson writes today in the Washington Post that the shake-up in Obama's immediate staff will give him a second chance. I remind people this--the man has already achieved in domestic policy more than both Clinton and Carter combined. He also has outperformed in two years George W in his whole eight years. I love these arrogant pricks.
Oh, and yes, he has already created more private sector jobs than all 8 years of W. and by 2012 he will have surpassed the job creation of both Bush's combined--beat 12 years with his four. As Yogi said, you can look it up.
Have you noticed that the Right may have finally lost the moral high-ground? For years, it has tried to have the monopoly on national security, economics and family values. But you get a sense that they know with Tucson they lost it. While Obama's speech purposefully avoided assigning blame, the Right has been scrambling since Saturday's shooting to obfuscate the issue of their own vitriolic rhetoric. They have acted desparate, knowing they have lost big-time. This by the way happened after the Oklahoma City Bombing. The conservative talk show people were eclipsed for about a year or two.
Billy Graham's wayward son, Rev. Franklin Graham felt compelled to defend Sister Sarah because he had sponsored her trip to Haiti. You are missing the main narrative thrust of Palin if you do not see the Christian Right, especially the Dominionist, look at her as Esther. She is anointed and her line about "blood libel" signals that she will be persecuted. I'm not going to go into the eschatology of this. But it is scary.
When is Joe McGinness's book coming out on Sister Sarah? It would be useful for someone to penetrate behind her electronic wall and reveal her grifter lifestyle. I think we all need this as a public service.
The shooting and the Memorial broke the momentum of the new Republican House. Everything has been put on hold. Tuesday the House Republicans will start the vote to repeal the health reform bill. This was the bill for which Gaby Giffords was targeted by the Right. The GOP claims they will try to do this at a lower decibel.
President Obama has the wind at his back and he needs his State of the Union to be boffo box. He had lift in Tucson. He really needs political lift with his State of the Union Address. While he will talk about the tone of political debate, he really needs to reassure Americans that the country is not going down the tubes. He has to emphasize the Sputnik Moment as he and Secretary Chu talk about the challenges from China on clean energy and high-speed rails. He also has to reiterate the government's commitment to education. But here as in Tucson it will be the tone that will give him and us lift.
About all I see coming from this coming Congress is additional spending on infrastructure but nothing else. With the recent poll showing 71% of Americans opposing raising the debt ceiling, this rather mundane fact will be an unnecessary controversy. A right-winger e-mailed me about blocking the rise in the debt ceiling. I asked him why he never said anything the ten times it was done under George W.
At least one is Howard Stern, who used his talents to blast Palin as a fake and several expletive deletes. Howard then said that whatever you think about Barack Obama you had to be proud of the man when he spoke in Tucson.
MSNBC had coverage that conservatives have finally accepted Barack Obama as President. I don't know how I feel about this. It's only been two years and the man handily beat John McCain, while the conservative hero George W. Bush won by one vote of the Supreme Court. But this whole theme only shows that conservatives feel entitled to political power and the presidency.
Since he failed to browbeat the Tucson Sheriff, Rushbo is now trying to intimidate the Fox news panel which praised the President's speech. Meanwhile, Clear Channel is going to take down Rush's "Straight Shooter" billboard.
No House Republicans would even comment on Palin's speech before the House's prayers for the victims. David Weigel says the whole party is embarrassed. But it seems to me the party never shut down the extreme rhetoric of the tea baggers so they are stuck with her.
Knowing she made a gaffe, Sarah Palin has consented to sit down for an interview with ace reporter--no, make that commentator Sean Hannity on Fox News. Talk about a tin ear, Palin has scheduled talking about the shooting on Martin Luther King, Jr. day.
Peggy Noonan, who has spent the last two years complaining Obama doesn't understand America, finally admitted his speech was more than excellent and significant.
The people of Tucson are miffed that the rest of us thought the memorial service was too much like a pep rally. People down there comment that they wanted a joyous occassion, somthing to celebrate, and were joyous the President came down. Who's to criticize?
Give credit to Rachel Maddow for using her show to probe both the mental illness aspects of the shooting and last night the issue of gun control. Whistling in the wind but it is important to frame the issue with the two subjects that loom large after the slaughter and actually have solutions.
The surgeons have done a superb job of briefing the media on the condition of the victims and the progress made by Gaby Giffords but what they say makes me uneasy. They always start at the top with the good news, which is a good technique, but if you listen long enough the true horror of the wounds and what the victims face in recovery become clear.
One leftwing blogger wrote that while the speech may have been Obama's best,she felt that Clinton delivered a better speech. I disagree. I think Clinton now is a better explainer than Obama of policies, but I found him to be boring back then. I also disagree that this was the best speech Obama has delivered. I still love his speech at Ebenezer Baptist Church about the Walls of Jericho delivered in the campaign. Others favor his Race speech.
Former Bush speechwriter Gerson writes today in the Washington Post that the shake-up in Obama's immediate staff will give him a second chance. I remind people this--the man has already achieved in domestic policy more than both Clinton and Carter combined. He also has outperformed in two years George W in his whole eight years. I love these arrogant pricks.
Oh, and yes, he has already created more private sector jobs than all 8 years of W. and by 2012 he will have surpassed the job creation of both Bush's combined--beat 12 years with his four. As Yogi said, you can look it up.
Have you noticed that the Right may have finally lost the moral high-ground? For years, it has tried to have the monopoly on national security, economics and family values. But you get a sense that they know with Tucson they lost it. While Obama's speech purposefully avoided assigning blame, the Right has been scrambling since Saturday's shooting to obfuscate the issue of their own vitriolic rhetoric. They have acted desparate, knowing they have lost big-time. This by the way happened after the Oklahoma City Bombing. The conservative talk show people were eclipsed for about a year or two.
Billy Graham's wayward son, Rev. Franklin Graham felt compelled to defend Sister Sarah because he had sponsored her trip to Haiti. You are missing the main narrative thrust of Palin if you do not see the Christian Right, especially the Dominionist, look at her as Esther. She is anointed and her line about "blood libel" signals that she will be persecuted. I'm not going to go into the eschatology of this. But it is scary.
When is Joe McGinness's book coming out on Sister Sarah? It would be useful for someone to penetrate behind her electronic wall and reveal her grifter lifestyle. I think we all need this as a public service.
The shooting and the Memorial broke the momentum of the new Republican House. Everything has been put on hold. Tuesday the House Republicans will start the vote to repeal the health reform bill. This was the bill for which Gaby Giffords was targeted by the Right. The GOP claims they will try to do this at a lower decibel.
President Obama has the wind at his back and he needs his State of the Union to be boffo box. He had lift in Tucson. He really needs political lift with his State of the Union Address. While he will talk about the tone of political debate, he really needs to reassure Americans that the country is not going down the tubes. He has to emphasize the Sputnik Moment as he and Secretary Chu talk about the challenges from China on clean energy and high-speed rails. He also has to reiterate the government's commitment to education. But here as in Tucson it will be the tone that will give him and us lift.
About all I see coming from this coming Congress is additional spending on infrastructure but nothing else. With the recent poll showing 71% of Americans opposing raising the debt ceiling, this rather mundane fact will be an unnecessary controversy. A right-winger e-mailed me about blocking the rise in the debt ceiling. I asked him why he never said anything the ten times it was done under George W.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Sunday Grab Bag
I may have to cave and become a Yankees' fan. A lifelong Dodger fan, I got a kick out of the World Series and seeing the Yankees this past year at Camden Yards. But now that Nick Johnson is going to be the DH, I may have to go all in. For years, I always picked an obscure player to root for. When I was a kid, this person was Ron Fairly, the short first baseman for the Dodgers. A fairly solid hitter, my bet was always on whether Ron would bat .300. I think he did once. I have been following Nick Johnson since his days as an Expo and then when he was here in D.C. with the Senators. The interest has always been that Johnson has never played a whole season while healthy. A natural .300 hitter and potential gold glover, I've always wanted to see him play a whole season to see what his real numbers would look like. Whenever I've watched him, he always has gotten a hit and made great plays. So now with Nick and my hero Mariano Rivera, the Yankees may be my team. It also looks like the Yankees have about two years before they will have to clean house again.
Will I have to invoke the Doug Payne principle now with Henning Mankell? This principle affects all cutting-edge writers when they finally get reviewed by the New York Times Sunday Book Review. I remember Doug would turn off on a series of writers we both loved--J.G. Ballard, Tom McQuane, Don DeLillo, Elmore Leonard, and James Ellroy. Once they were accepted by the Times their day was done as far as Doug was concerned. I thought this was a mistake. As a consequence, he missed out on DeLillo's Underworld and James Ellroy's political trilogy. J.G. Ballard retained his glory but his later novels went unread. Now with Henning Mankell I may be forced with the same dilemma. People are now supposed to "talk" about The Man From Beijing. I hoped to keep him as my own secret. I feel the same thing is happening with Ian Rankin.
Yesterday Barack Obama adopted the McColm solution to Social Security--tax higher levels of income. In his remarks, he said Social Security has only 20 years left at the current expenditures. That means that the Bush Adminisration actually ran through 17 years in the last year and a half to cover the deficit.
At least we are now free of the CPAC madness. Christopher Buckley ,writing in the Daily Beast, slams his first cousin Brent Bozell for a lackluster job on the Mount Vernon Declaration,comparing the prose of the Sharon Statement written by Bill Buckley and Brent's father with the boilerplate drudge of the contemporary conservatives. Conservative Mickey Edwards wrote that not only would he not go to CPAC but neither would Ronald Reagan--ouch. But at least we have a new form of conservativism--Conservative Constitutionalism. After the last administration shredded the constitution, conservatives have rediscovered the document now that a black man is President.
One of the interesting sidebars to CPAC was the the issue of gays. Liberty University threatened to boycott the conference if a gay GOP group attended. The group did and Liberty University pulled out. The one speaker who went gay-bashing was booed from the floor. Liz Cheney after a stint cheerleading for torture voiced support for dropping Don't Ask, Don't Tell. I found this all somewhat puzzling but understandable. Libertarians dominated the conference as Ron Paul's triumph in the straw vote showed and the younger generation of conservatives like their liberal counterparts could care less about gays. But it also marked the diminished power of social conservatives, a subject I will get to in another post.
Tim Pawlenty introduced a series of new principles for conservatives. The only one I remember is that God is in charge. Over the last two years, Pawlenty has increasingly been courting the fundamentalist vote. He now is a creationist, while in his entire previous life he wasn't. Perhaps he picked this up hanging around John McCain, who blurted out in the 2008 campaign that America was "a Christian nation", even though John never believed that either his entire life. With Glenn Beck about to resurrect the Christian revisionists, we should hear more about this. One question I would have for Tim is that if all our civil liberties come from God,what does the recent Supreme Court case on corporate donations to campaigns say about God's views about corporations?
For the record, the last real Christian Republican I knew was former Senator Danforth of Missouri. But that didn't do us much good since we got Clarence Thomas from him.
This week is the Health Care Summit--which should be a non-starter. Republicans have virtually no interest in health care reform or anything else the President wants. If some form of health care passes in the next two months, look to the 2010 elections being less of a Republican victory as has been advertised by our corporate media.
Looking at the ballot for the CPAC presidential preferences I noticed a lot of House members and a couple Senators on the ballot. You can forget anyone like Mike Pence or John Thune. No Republican member of Congress has a chance in 2012. First, because they will have virtually no record of achievement since they are the Party of "No" and you can't very well argue how good your ideas are if you never offer them up as legislation. The other reason is that 2008 was as rare an election as 1960 when a sitting Senator or member of Congress was elected. It won't happen again for quite sometime.
Will I have to invoke the Doug Payne principle now with Henning Mankell? This principle affects all cutting-edge writers when they finally get reviewed by the New York Times Sunday Book Review. I remember Doug would turn off on a series of writers we both loved--J.G. Ballard, Tom McQuane, Don DeLillo, Elmore Leonard, and James Ellroy. Once they were accepted by the Times their day was done as far as Doug was concerned. I thought this was a mistake. As a consequence, he missed out on DeLillo's Underworld and James Ellroy's political trilogy. J.G. Ballard retained his glory but his later novels went unread. Now with Henning Mankell I may be forced with the same dilemma. People are now supposed to "talk" about The Man From Beijing. I hoped to keep him as my own secret. I feel the same thing is happening with Ian Rankin.
Yesterday Barack Obama adopted the McColm solution to Social Security--tax higher levels of income. In his remarks, he said Social Security has only 20 years left at the current expenditures. That means that the Bush Adminisration actually ran through 17 years in the last year and a half to cover the deficit.
At least we are now free of the CPAC madness. Christopher Buckley ,writing in the Daily Beast, slams his first cousin Brent Bozell for a lackluster job on the Mount Vernon Declaration,comparing the prose of the Sharon Statement written by Bill Buckley and Brent's father with the boilerplate drudge of the contemporary conservatives. Conservative Mickey Edwards wrote that not only would he not go to CPAC but neither would Ronald Reagan--ouch. But at least we have a new form of conservativism--Conservative Constitutionalism. After the last administration shredded the constitution, conservatives have rediscovered the document now that a black man is President.
One of the interesting sidebars to CPAC was the the issue of gays. Liberty University threatened to boycott the conference if a gay GOP group attended. The group did and Liberty University pulled out. The one speaker who went gay-bashing was booed from the floor. Liz Cheney after a stint cheerleading for torture voiced support for dropping Don't Ask, Don't Tell. I found this all somewhat puzzling but understandable. Libertarians dominated the conference as Ron Paul's triumph in the straw vote showed and the younger generation of conservatives like their liberal counterparts could care less about gays. But it also marked the diminished power of social conservatives, a subject I will get to in another post.
Tim Pawlenty introduced a series of new principles for conservatives. The only one I remember is that God is in charge. Over the last two years, Pawlenty has increasingly been courting the fundamentalist vote. He now is a creationist, while in his entire previous life he wasn't. Perhaps he picked this up hanging around John McCain, who blurted out in the 2008 campaign that America was "a Christian nation", even though John never believed that either his entire life. With Glenn Beck about to resurrect the Christian revisionists, we should hear more about this. One question I would have for Tim is that if all our civil liberties come from God,what does the recent Supreme Court case on corporate donations to campaigns say about God's views about corporations?
For the record, the last real Christian Republican I knew was former Senator Danforth of Missouri. But that didn't do us much good since we got Clarence Thomas from him.
This week is the Health Care Summit--which should be a non-starter. Republicans have virtually no interest in health care reform or anything else the President wants. If some form of health care passes in the next two months, look to the 2010 elections being less of a Republican victory as has been advertised by our corporate media.
Looking at the ballot for the CPAC presidential preferences I noticed a lot of House members and a couple Senators on the ballot. You can forget anyone like Mike Pence or John Thune. No Republican member of Congress has a chance in 2012. First, because they will have virtually no record of achievement since they are the Party of "No" and you can't very well argue how good your ideas are if you never offer them up as legislation. The other reason is that 2008 was as rare an election as 1960 when a sitting Senator or member of Congress was elected. It won't happen again for quite sometime.
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