Why Republicans have no good choices.

Let's let Ronald Reagan run the country. It would undoubtedly be better than any of the Republican candidates: Ron Paul (hereafter referred to as "Constitution boy"), Mike Huckabee (here after referred to as "Bible boy"), Mitt Romney (hereafter referred to as "flip-flop"), and John McCain (hereafter referred to as "the Democrat").

Constitution boy would like to singlehandedly gut the American Economy by instantly cutting loose thousands of government employees (which is good if done gradually), and I think has a sign on his back that doesn't say Kick Me, but rather "Come Kill our Civilians." Waive the white flag, cut and run, and open the door for terrorists to not only have the entire Middle East as their playground, but also all of our communication networks.

Bible boy seems to want to convert everyone to a Southern Baptist, and we wouldn't have to worry about separation of church and state, because we'd have an ordained minister in the White House. Somehow, he seems to want everyone to forget his tax and fee hikes in Arkansas by supporting the Fair Tax and signing the Americans for Tax Reform no new tax pledge. He seemed to want the so called "comprehensive immigration reform" but now wants to play himself off as a hardliner.

Flip-flop has been for and against legalized abortion, for and against embryonic stem-cell research, for and against gun control, for and against prayer in schools, for and against
gay rights...yet at least his positions now seem to actually make him the most reasonable of the four "conservative" candidates.

Lastly, the Democrat. McCain-Feingold, McCain-Lieberman (also a possible ticket choice), both disasters. Let's look at his positions: against the Bush Tax Cuts when they were economically necessary (2001 and 2003), and for them when they weren't (renewal 2006); against the federal marriage amendment but in favor of don't ask, don't tell; for and against repeal of Roe v. Wade; for embryonic stem-cell research; for gun rights but against political free speech for gun control; for amnesty for illegal immigrants (since it worked so well in 1986): are we to actually believe the "Straight-Talk Express" or should we see him for what he is, which is, basically, a moderate Democrat (2006 acu rating: 65). As for any possible support from Nancy Reagan, I think we should recall the last thing Nancy supported in an election: embryonic stem-cell research. And, courtesy of Drudge, McCain nearly left the GOP.

Last time I checked, the Republican party, and more so Conservatism, didn't pick a candidate based on who they thought had the best chance to win, but rather on principle. We didn't stand by what we thought what was the lesser evil, but rather what was right. These candidates seem to have problems with standing on their principles and standing for what is right.

Let Ronnie run the country from the grave: he'd probably do a better job than any of these so-called conservatives. If you're gonna vote, at least vote for the person who is the best conservative today: Mitt Romney. I'm considering staying home.

Conservative talk radio: OUT OF THIS WORLD

Alarmists in the Republican base are losing their minds, and blazing the trail to insanity are the likes of Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. The bearers of the banner for the American Conservative movement are panicked because they don’t want to become irrelevant, and in the process they are making themselves obsolete.

Let me explain. Follow me, if you will, down memory lane.

Leading up to the 2006 elections, Hannity and the crew[*] were confident that the GOP would see huge wins across the board. Their rationale was that America is really a conservative nation, and the American people would never vote for liberal democrats, even if those democrats paint themselves as moderates. They had this confidence despite polls across the country that suggested the contrary.

Then something happened, they were wrong.

And we lost…

America largely rejected conservatives and voted for democrats, many of whom presented themselves as moderates (most deceitfully so). To many, this was no surprise. We have a bold neo-con in office with a painfully low approval rating. We have a war, that at the time was not going particularly well, and a public that couldn’t understand the intricacies of the conflict and thus bought into the liberal rhetoric of surrender which was more appealing than educating themselves and supporting the war due to its necessity. (In the Army we call this taking the “easy left” over the “hard right.”)

Americans were suffering from conservative fatigue disorder, and the only treatment most people were interested in was none other than the big crack-rock called “change.” Change – regardless of how disadvantageous – is the great political remedy, sold in the shadows by the political minority (in this case, the democrats) to addicts who were all too willing to be blissful in their ignorance.

Did the crew point this out? No way. They couldn’t because they viewed it as a rejection of the conservative movement that keeps them employed. Instead of acknowledging reality, they invented an alternative theory.

You ready for this?

The republicans weren’t conservative enough. That’s why they lost.

Earth to Hannity, Earth to Hannity, we are losing you. Please return to base, in this universe if possible.

I acknowledge that many conservatives were not as fiscally conservative as they should have been and they did not take care of important issues like fixing the border and reforming antique institutions like social security. These are valid criticisms of many republicans in this decade. Many conservatives were probably not 100% happy with the whole of the GOP flock.

So what? They frustrated conservatives didn’t vote democrat. They didn’t abstain and allow liberals to hijack the government. They may have been slightly disenfranchised, but you cannot expect me to believe that conservatives, upset that their politicians are not conservative enough, would turn around and vote for a liberal, or refuse to vote and cast a de facto vote for a liberal.

When God isn’t answering all your prayers, you don’t go praying to the devil.

No friggin way.

But the crew, so immersed in their own rhetoric and ideology, does not have an accurate idea about the pulse of this nation. They live in a world of rabid conservatives and militant liberals; the main callers to their shows. They are missing the moderates.

Moderates decide all elections in this country. The conservatives vote right, the liberals vote wrong, I mean left. But the moderates fluctuate, and they have ODed on conservatives and were ready to try the change-rock. The dems know this, which is why they presented themselves as centrists, and said the word “change” a minimum of 1,000 times per candidate.[†]

That brings us to the ghost of Primary Present.

From the word go on the primaries last year, the crew wrote McCain off. “He was not conservative enough and could never win over the conservative base,” they said. They were partly responsible for the early troubles of the McCain candidacy. But then, lightning struck twice: again they forgot about the moderates.

As McCain gained steam in states like New Hampshire and South Carolina, the song and dance continued. “He can’t win in a state with a closed primary where independents can’t vote.”

Then Florida happened.

And they were wrong.

Again.

In addition to the support of moderates, McCain is getting the vote of hawks and neo-cons in the republican party who may disagree with some of his moderate stances.
But why, you wonder, would a conservative support a moderate candidate who does not hold the conservative line on issues like border policy and global warming?

The answer is strategic, calculated, deliberate and critical. It is also simple: He can win.

Real Clear Politics has McCain beating both Clinton and Obama in close races. Romney gets slaughtered by Clinton, Obama and even Edwards in EVERY SINGLE POLL.[‡] It’s the conservative fatigue.

Now, the crew has stepped up their attacks on McCain and the attacks are becoming more disingenuous and hyperbolic. They are calling him a liberal, not a moderate. They are calling his followers “the liberal wing” of the republican party. They are ignoring or glossing over his conservative strengths on the war and abortion. They mention his opposition for the Bush tax cuts without citing his reasons. They attack him when he switches sides on an issue while accepting Romney when he flips his flop.

They have even gone as far as comparing him with Clinton and Obama, with Hannity saying there is “no difference between a McCain presidency and a Hillary Clinton Presidency,” Rush saying he may “sit this one out” if McCain gets the nod and Ann Coulter saying she would flat-out campaign for Clinton if it comes down to Clinton versus McCain.

If you listen to the crew everyday, you may not know the truth. So here is the straight junk:

McCain has a lifetime conservative rating of 82.6% from the American Conservative Union. Fred Thompson, touted as the “true conservative” in the race has an 86.1% ACU rating. (For the record, Duncan Hunter has a lifetime 92% ACU rating and was the most traditional conservative in the race, but you didn’t see the crew using their clout to get him press time and poll numbers.)

Hillary Clinton has a lifetime 9% ACU rating and Obama has an even weaker 8%.[§] In fact, the National Journal rates Obama as the Most Liberal Senator of 2007, with a 95.5% liberal rating. [**]

But of course, there is “no difference” between John McCain and Obama or Hilary.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have liftoff.

While on his way to a parallel universe, Hannity said that “you should vote with your heart. No one should vote for who they think will win, but for who most closely represents their values. You can’t vote with November in mind. . .”

Of course, a half-hour later on the same program Hannity suggested that the “true conservative vote” unite behind Romney and abandon Huckabee so Romney has a fighting chance.

Laura Ingraham said a vote for McCain is “spelling the death of conservatism,” and now Romney himself is jumping on the alarmist bandwagon, implying that people who vote for McCain have a desire to take the party in “a different direction.”

Next stop, the formerly planet known as Pluto. . .

Back to reality for The Bottom Line:

The conservatives in this country still believe in their conservative values, but the moderates are looking for a moderate to “unite the country.” Because they are burnt out on conservatives, a candidate like Romney or Huckabee would lose, and the polls show it. If one of them gets the nod because they “more closely represented our values,” then they lose, we will have a liberal who will raise taxes, socialize healthcare and surrender in Iraq.

John McCain can win. The perception is that he is just center enough to be electable, and the moderates would prefer him over extreme liberals like Clinton or Obama. If he wins, we then get a president who is a little weak on the border and has some other issues but who WILL fight the War on Terror the way it should be fought, who will prevent the liberals from socializing our healthcare, who will protect our second amendment rights and who will fight the pro-life fight on the abortion battlefield.

Sure, he isn’t perfect. But here in the real world we have to win the moderates to win the White House, and McCain is the only one who can.

Sometimes the lesser of the evils is the best choice.

Sometimes you have to step away the rhetoric and get back to reality.

True conservatives still venerate and desire their conservative values, but sometimes you can’t get what you want.

Now someone find a way to send that message into outer space.

---

[*] for the purposes of this post, “the crew” refers to some or all of the following: Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, Ann Coulter, Mark Levin, and/or Glenn Beck.

[†] The 1,000 times is an average. The actual requirement was 500 changes per state legislator, 750 changes per governor, 1,250 changes per House of Representatives candidate and 1,500 changes per Senator.

[‡] http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/national.html

[§] http://www.acuratings.org/2006all.htm

[**] http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/

Sean Hannity: Newly minted RINO?

Reading the comments in Hot Air and caught wind that apparently Sean Hannity will 1.) support Mitt Romney in his New York primary and 2.) drop out of the GOP to re-register as a member of the conservative party. Googled it, and sure enough, on his own website's forums,

MR HANNITY: will re-register from republican to conservative. BRAVO!!

Looking for audio, but if true, this officially makes him a RINO. Will update if I come across anything, but suffice to say, very disappointing.

John McCain, the Reagan Republican

Nancy Reagan, that is. On Drudge:

EXCLUSIVE: NANCY REAGAN FOR MCCAIN, TOP SOURCE TELLS DRUDGE: 'SHE ADORES HIM, AND IS FULLY SUPPORTING HIM IN HER PRIVATE LIFE. SHE WILL NOT PUBLICLY ENDORSE'...

I wonder if she'll release a formal statement.

Schwarzenegger endorsement watch

I'm guessing it's coming pretty darn quick and will probably take the form that McCain's endorsement of Schwarzenegger did back in 2003:

"For too long, Sacramento has been controlled by the big-moneyed special interests. As Arnold Schwarzenegger says, 'Money comes in, favors go out and the people lose.' I could not agree more.

"I have spent much of my career fighting against the corrupting influence of special interest money in politics. When Arnold becomes governor, I hope to have a powerful ally in that fight.

“That is why I endorse Arnold and look forward to working with him in his fight to clean up Sacramento."

Will update if/when necessary.

Update: CNN --

The second source described the endorsement as "more than expected" and said the conversations were aimed at arranging a Thursday announcement. "Yes, that is the plan," this source said.

Update: Or sooner?

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will officially endorse McCain after Wednesday night's GOP debate, sources close to both men hint. Both the governor's office and McCain's campaign are maintaining an official silence on the subject. But if the Governator does pat Mac on the back, it would only add to McCain's momentum.

Giuliani (expected) to endorse McCain at 5pm CST

Not confirmed, but strongly supported conjecture.

Sen. John McCain's campaign has announced a press conference, scheduled for 6 p.m. EST today, at which he'll be receiving what the campaign terms a "major endorsement." No guessing games today -- seems like this means the reports are true, and that the big endorser will be Rudy Giuliani, once a rival for the Republican presidential nomination.

GOP debate starts at 7 CST.

NEWS FLASH - Hannity and Rush are WRONG, and probably angry.

Since McCain emerged as a front runner, the conservative talk radio elite has turned their big guns, usually reserved for liberals, dead at McCain. They called him a liberal. Said there was no difference between a possible McCain presidency and a possible Clinton presidency.
Comparing a republican to the hildabeast is like calling someones mother a fat pig.
When it turns out their mother is dead.
And she died of obesity.
It doesn't get much worse.

"McCain will never win in states with closed primaries."
"He is only winning because of the democrats and the independents."
"Romney will definitely win Florida."

Beck, Hannity, Rush and the rest, eat your words.

Now let me point out, McCain is a little more liberal than I would prefer. I think McCain-Kennedy, McCain-Lieberman and McCain-Feingold are all terrible ideas. I think he was wrong to oppose the Bush tax cuts. I think he is wrong on a lot of things.
Mr and Mrs conservative talk radio- I hear you.

But here is the BOTTOM LINE:
McCain is the ONLY candidate that can beat either dem. The only one. Right or wrong, the independents and moderate liberals view McCain as "The Maverick" who will not go along with the party on everything. Maybe they are right. Maybe President McCain will do things that will raise my blood-pressure and put a whole in my stomach lining. Maybe.
Here is the only certainty - McCain will win the War on Terror. Obama and Clinton will surrender. That is what it comes down to. I firmly believe that Rudy and Romney would also fair well in the War on Terror, if they ever got into office. But they probably wouldn't.

When we cast our votes on Super Duper Tuesday, we are not voting for McCain or Romeny or the Huckster. We are voting for the defeat of Clinton and Obama.
We are not voting for the guy who has the most staunch conservative values and party-line track record. We are voting for the guy who can win.
All the liberal pundits admit that McCain is the most difficult for them to beat. Both dem front runners have targeted McCain in debates because they know he is the guy to beat, and "Real Clear Politics" has McCain beating all three dems.
The moderate conservative who will WIN the WAR is better than the "true" conservative who will bring home a loss in November.

Now, Rudy is throwing his hat in for McCain. The way I see it, it is over. McCain gets the nod, and if he makes Rudy his VP, we take New York and the White House.

But it isn't over yet, now Hannity and his crew are blaming McCain's success on the support of "the establishment," (which sounds like a paranoid liberal theorist) and the division of the "true conservative vote" between Huckabee and Romney.

Rest assured, McCain will take it. We may not like everything he does, but he has the backbone our country needs and we can all bet that he will not do nearly as many things we don't like as say, Clinton or Obama.

And the best part, Rush and Hannity will have to get behind McCain and eat their words.

Man, I can't wait.

See you on Tuesday.

Rush is not going to like this

But then again, I don't really care. Talk radio backlash, lady and gents.

Obama summoning... Malcolm X?

Oh geez. (h/t HA)

“They’re trying to bamboozle you,” Obama said for the first time Wednesday in Sumter, S.C., to a predominantly African American crowd while refuting e-mails falsely identifying him as a Muslim. "Don’t let people turn you around because they’re just making stuff up. That’s what they do. They try to bamboozle you, hoodwink you.”

Obama repeated those lines frequently as he traveled around the state.

The lines echo the best-known version of the Malcolm X speech, which comes from Spike Lee's biopic. It's a stinging address full of blunt racial division, which warns blacks about being “hoodwinked” and “bamboozled” by “the white man.”

"You’ve been had. You’ve been took. You’ve been hoodwinked. Bamboozled. Led astray. Run amok," Malcolm says in the speech.

Robert Gibbs, Obama’s communications director, said he did not know whether Obama was aware that he was echoing Malcolm X.

But that may not be the biggest news of the day. Ted Kennedy's endorsement is up there, but then there's this:

Antoin “Tony” Rezko, a key fundraiser for Gov. Blagojevich and other Illinois politicians, was arrested early today by federal agents after prosecutors alleged he had violated terms of the bond in his fraud case.

“Tony Rezko was arrested without incident at his home in Wilmette,” FBI spokesman Tom Simon said. “It was pursuant to a warrant issued following a government motion to revoke his bond.”

Should be an interesting day.

Clinton(s) lose SC, Hillary punts concession speech from Tennessee

No retreat... no surrender...

BREAKING: Crist endorses McCain

Developing...

Update:

(CNN) — Florida Gov. Charlie Crist will endorse Sen. John McCain in his bid for the GOP presidential nomination, sources told CNN Saturday.

The endorsement will be made Saturday night at a dinner in Saint Petersburg, Fla., the sources said.

Florida voters go to the polls to cast their ballots for the Republican nomination on Tuesday.

In December:

The Buzz is that Charlie Crist has promised John McCain he won't make a presidential endorsement until after New Hampshire's Jan. 8 primary, though Crist wouldn't confirm such a deal with McCain: "It was a private conversation,'' he told Steve Bousquet.

But a strong showing in New Hampshire would resurrect McCain's candidacy heading into Michigan and South Carolina, and Crist's endorsement could be a giant boost for the Arizona senator in Florida Jan. 29.

Here's how McCain campaign manager Rick Davis assessed Florida in an e-mail to supporters: "A state Rudy Giuliani has bet his whole campaign on, Florida will be so driven by momentum from previous victories that no amount of early money or organization will make a difference. John McCain is right on the issues in Florida and has the unique ability to bridge political divides in this historically divided state."

20 point swing to McCain on InTrade.

Saddam lied, people died

As AP would say, I question the timing.

(CBS) Saddam Hussein initially didn't think the U.S. would invade Iraq to destroy weapons of mass destruction, so he kept the fact that he had none a secret to prevent an Iranian invasion he believed could happen. The Iraqi dictator revealed this thinking to George Piro, the FBI agent assigned to interrogate him after his capture.

...Saddam still wouldn't admit he had no weapons of mass destruction, even when it was obvious there would be military action against him because of the perception he did. Because, says Piro, "For him, it was critical that he was seen as still the strong, defiant Saddam. He thought that [faking having the weapons] would prevent the Iranians from reinvading Iraq," he tells Pelley. He also intended and had the wherewithal to restart the weapons program. "Saddam] still had the engineers. The folks that he needed to reconstitute his program are still there," says Piro. "He wanted to pursue all of WMD…to reconstitute his entire WMD program." This included chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, Piro says.

Looks like 60 Minutes is but another arm of the anti-Soros, anti-Truth movement of the Right.

Texas Ranger v. Rambo showdown imminent

Gonna be better than Aliens vs. Predator...

Rambo is lining up with Republican hopeful John McCain in the battle for the White House which could see him slug it out with Walker, Texas Ranger.

"I like McCain a lot," said US actor Sylvester Stallone, who plays the Rambo screen hero, as he threw his support behind McCain, who is taking a lead in the race for the Republican Party's presidential nomination.

Hard on McCain's heels though is Mike Huckabee, already backed by Chuck Norris the actor who plays the Texas Ranger in the hit television series.

Stallone said of McCain, a Vietnam war veteran who spent more than five years as a prisoner of war, that "there's something about matching the character with the script."

Duncan Hunter endorses Mike Huckabee?

What? Why?!

Update from CNN:

“I got to know Governor Huckabee well on the campaign trail,” [Hunter] said in a statement. “Of the remaining candidates I feel that he is strongly committed to strengthening national defense, constructing the border fence and meeting the challenge of China’s emergence as a military superpower that is taking large portions of America’s industrial base.

"Along with these issues of national security, border enforcement and protecting the U.S. industrial base, I see another quality of Mike Huckabee’s candidacy that compels my endorsement," he added. "Mike Huckabee is a man of outstanding character and integrity. I saw that character over the last year of campaigning and was greatly impressed. The other Republican candidates have many strengths and I wish them all well."

Update: No one gets this. I'm chalking it up to Hunter being jaded by the process and raising the middle finger to his competitors, keeping his endorsement from anyone that could actually derive any momentum from his support. Huckabee's a beached dreadnaught; Hunter's endorsement will just lap against his bow, which may be enough for DH.

McCain lights into Dems, picks up a cool mil in contributions in NY

Line 'em up and knock 'em down.

"As president, I'd like to serve this nation a little while longer and I'm asking for your support," McCain said at one of his largest events of the campaign at the Fort Walton Beach Convention Center. "And here, all across North Florida, is where I will be depending upon our veterans. I will be depending upon our servicemen and women."

Congressional medal of honor recipient Bud Day, McCain's roommate in prison, accompanied McCain, offering a quiet but powerful endorsement. He and a group of prominent veterans are also campaigning separately for McCain this week in Panama City, Tallahassee, and Jacksonville, among other areas where the military is predominant.

McCain raced up to New York in the afternoon for a fund-raiser that brought in more than $1 million, said Charles Black, his senior adviser.

Sounds like he gave them their money's worth.

The crowds at McCain's campaign events greeted his red-meat rhetoric warmly.

"The Democrats were wrong when Harry Reid stood on the floor of the Senate and said the war was lost. They were wrong when they said we couldn’t succeed militarily, we couldn’t succeed politically," McCain said to cheers.

"Senator Clinton was wrong when she told General David Petraeus 'I would have to suspend disbelief' to believe the surge is working," he recounted. "You would have to suspend disbelief to believe the it's not working!"

"I'm not asking the Democrats to apologize. No, don't apologize. But you were wrong and now it's time for us to return to the old tradition, that partisanship ends at the waters edge," said McCain.

"And I reach out my hand out to the Democrats – now let's work together to get this job done in Iraq," he said. "Make this world safe, fight back al qaeda and Put your country above your party!"

Zing!

On 35th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, state funded abortions for Missouri inmates

MSNBC (and the rest of the MSM) isn't covering one of the largest annual rallies that, ya know, protests this kind of thing. But the network certainly wasted no time putting this on its front page.

ST. LOUIS - The state of Missouri must provide transportation to clinics for inmates who want to have an abortion, a federal appeals panel ruled Tuesday.

In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the state had to allow a specific inmate, listed as Jane Roe*, to have an abortion after the state tried to end the practice of driving prisoners to clinics for elective abortions.

The American Civil Liberties Union then sought a federal ruling making the high court's decision a class-action on behalf of all imprisoned pregnant women in the state.

...Gov. Matt Blunt called the ruling disappointing and noted that Missouri law prohibits the use of state tax money to pay for abortions.

...Since July 2005, seven Missouri inmates have had abortions, Corrections Department spokesman Brian Hauswirth said. All were elective procedures.

Attorney General (and gubernatorial candidate) Jay Nixon had better appeal this thing... if not for principle or jurisprudence, then for the will of his constituents.

Fred Thompson drops, becomes GOP's first First Tier casualty

Fred, we hardly knew ye. But where do his votes go? It appears he won't be endorsing anyone (yet), so ideologically it seems like this goes Mitt's way...

Finally, this contest is starting to take shape.

Update: WashPo's Behind the Numbers does some crunching...

Reallocating his supporters from most recent Post-ABC national poll to their second choices (same for California congressman Duncan Hunter who also recently ended his bid): McCain 30%, Huckabee 20%, Giuliani 18%, Romney 18%, Paul 5%.

For those playing at home, that's McCain +2 points, Romney +3 points, Giuliani +1, and Huck +1 point. Sounds about right.

Great minds think alike. And steal from one another.

So CNN sets up a really cool, giant flat screen for its primary coverage. Fox follows suit, sort of, by setting up a really dim, 80s-era flat screen for Shep Smith to make it easier to take about Lacy Peterson or whatever. Meanwhile, Fox starts broadcasting from the confines of their news vans, apparently in a bid to maximize field coverage a la in theater video phone, and minimize in-studio segments on body language. And guess what! CNN just rolled out their version of it today, since talking about the economy in a van makes sense.

I don't watch MSNBC. So no comment there.

Edwards asks "who can beat McCain?" at CNN debate

More on this soon...

Update @ 8:59pm: Now everyone's talking about how to beat John McCain and the campaign being about foreign policy and national defense. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a front-runner that the Democrats are visibly afraid of.

Update: TPM has video of the earlier, livelier exchange between Obama and Clinton over the latter's work with Wal-Mart, and the former's work with "slum lord" Tony Rezko.

And the Princeton faculty primary goes to...

the Democrats. 100% of it.

All Princeton faculty members who have given to 2008 presidential candidates so far have donated to Democrats, according to federal records of donations to presidential campaigns from Princeton University employees.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is the runaway favorite candidate among those donors, having received $12,050 from Princeton employees. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) drew the second-highest total contributions from Princeton faculty and staff with $5,600. Other donations have gone to candidates including former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.) and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.).

So, so shocking. And then again, not at all... from OpenSecrets.org (click image for more.)

Duncan Hunter eliminates Mitt as an endorsement possibiltiy

Just saw it on Cavuto. Looks like Hunter's upset at Romney's association with Bain Capital, whose association with the Chinese has raised some eyebrows.

Bain Capital is partnering with China's Huawei Technologies in a buyout of 3Com, the U.S. company that provides the technology that protects Pentagon computers from Chinese hackers.

More on this if I see anything.

And Facebook's least preferred candidates are...

Discuss.

Hunter Drops Out - Our Failure

So, the most conservative candidate was finally chased out of the race.
Everyone has been complaining about the lack of a TRUE conservative. McCain's border policy, McCain - feingold, McCain-Kennedy, Huckabee's smoking ban, Huckabee's socialized programs for illegals, Huckabee's bleeding heart, giuliani's stance on abortion or guns, Romney's change on abortion, Romney's pseudo-socialized health care program, Thompson's general lack of a pulse or Ron Paul's psychotic foreign policy.

Duncan Hunter had the highest ratings from conservative organizations, including the NRA, the Christian Coalition and the National Right to Life. He had NONE of the holes possessed by the other republican candidates and yet we failed him.

Unable to harbor enough name recognition (in part due to his home state of California) he was snubbed by major news networks (including Fox) and ignored by the electorate.

And the grass-roots Neo-conservative movement FAILED him. It was our job to boost him up.

Ron Paul has press based solely on the energy (and craziness) of his followers. We should have rallied around the true conservative, we should have found a (dignified) way to get our man some attention.

Now we are left to pick from the least of the evils.

And we have no one to blame but ourselves.

It's been a good day for Republicans

I'm thinking a McCain-Giuliani or a McCain-Steele ticket. Either way, very, very competitive.

Chomsky pwns 9/11 conspiracy theorists

and says that he's "isolated in the West" in believing the event was what it was... that "a large part of the Left completely disagrees on this." Very interesting stuff. The banner in the back, "Lehet mas a vilag," places this somewhere in Hungary, but I'm not sure what or when the event was. Worth your six minutes.

Looks like Noam and I can agree on something. Imagine that.

Update: Unsurprisingly "Lehet mas a vilag" appears to be the name of a Leftist group, meaning something like "There can be another world." Site here.

AP writer Glen Johnson chides Romney from his linoleum pulpit over lobbyists

Remember this after the Hillary hostage situation back in December?

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) - When the hostages had been released and their alleged captor arrested, a regal-looking Hillary Rodham Clinton strolled out of her Washington home, the picture of calm in the face of crisis.

The image, broadcast just as the network news began, conveyed the message a thousand town hall meetings and campaign commercials strive for—namely, that the Democratic presidential contender can face disorder in a most orderly manner.

Hm. Bias yes? Now he's covering the Romney campaign, with predictable results. Look, I'm not looking for all reporters to be automatons, but c'mon, fair treatment and equal-opportunity candidate bashing would be nice. (Ron Fournier anyone? Who also happens to be with the AP.)

Click below for the video.

Abortions way down, but

here's a stat that came as a shock.

Despite the drop, slightly more than one pregnancy in five ended in abortion in 2005, the Guttmacher Institute said.

Imagine your local grade school. Imagine it 25% bigger. Then remember why it's not.

Federal court lets casino cauci go forward

More to come, but for now...

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday allowed Nevada's Democratic Party to conduct voting to choose a U.S. presidential nominee in casino hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, a decision likely to boost Sen. Barack Obama.

For the first time, Nevada Democrats planned to set up nine locations for Saturday's vote so casino shift workers -- who are largely represented by a union that endorsed Obama -- could express their preference for a Democratic Party candidate before the November presidential election.

A teachers' group filed a lawsuit saying the exception for the casino workers' vote was unfair, but Judge James Mahan of the U.S. District Court for Nevada disagreed and declined to issue a temporary injunction.

A large turnout of casino workers could boost Obama, of Illinois, in his tight race against New York Sen. Hillary Clinton because he has won the backing of the Culinary Union, whose 60,000 dishwashers, cooks, cleaners and other hotel service workers could swing the vote Obama's way if they turn out in high numbers.

Update: If it interests anyone, the judge ruling on the case was appointed by George W. Bush.

Obama, the next... Reagan?

What?

"Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not, and a way that Bill Clinton did not," he said, describing Reagan as appealing to a sentiment that, "We want clarity, we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism nad [sic] entrepreneurship that had been missing."

Somebody's kicked the reset button

Michigan: Romney first, McCain second, Huck a distant third. Good grief.

DETROIT (AP) - Mitt Romney scored his first major primary victory Tuesday in his native Michigan, a win he desperately needed to give his weakened candidacy new life and set the stage for a wide-open Republican showdown in South Carolina in just four days.

Romney was the third Republican victor in the first four states to vote in the 2008 primary season, further roiling a volatile nomination fight that lacks a clear favorite.

The former Massachusetts governor defeated John McCain, the Arizona senator who was hoping that independents and Democrats would join Republicans to help him repeat his 2000 triumph here. Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, trailed in third, and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson was waiting for the top three candidates in South Carolina, already campaigning.

This is going to be a long, long race. Can someone not named Huckabee please unite the base? Please?

Clinton, for her part, beat "Uncommitted." And in other news, the Democrats are debating on MSNBC.

Nifong files for bankruptcy... claiming he has $180m in debt

Whoops.

Michael Nifong, the former North Carolina DA who filed rape charges against three Duke lax players and then resigned after being accused of withholding evidence, has filed for bankruptcy. Click here for the bankruptcy filing.

Nifong, who has lost his law license, listed assets of $243,898 and debts of $180.3 million.

$180.3 million?! $180 million of that is from a prosecutorial-misconduct lawsuit filed by six Duke lax players. Each claim $30 million in damages, and each are listed as creditors.

Early results calling a Mitt win?

The source touts that it is based on "citizen journalism" (meaning this could be a game of telephone or an outright fabrication,) but it seems to be affecting the Rasmussen Markets pretty drastically; McCain's gone from being a slight favorite to a one-in-four shot.

The (leaked?) story:

According to a report prepared by Edison Media Research for AP and published in Startribune the initial Michigan primary exit poll results favor Republicans and the Democrats seem to be minority. We project the winner of the Michigan primary exit poll results to be the Republican candidate Mitt Romney.

Language of the post fits the style of a press release and precedes the Forbes report with some of the identical verbiage by ~three minutes. Only time will tell, but some apparently think this is reliable. Let's see if this turns into another New Hampshire.

Update: The Campaign Spot is reporting early results of Romney 25, McCain 29. That's consistent.

Gitmo and Politics

Adm. Mike Mullen (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs) wants to close Guantanamo Bay's Prison because it's hurting the US image.

I guess the world we live in makes our national security dependent on political impressions. Which is pathetic. We've caught and locked up hundreds of terrorists at Gitmo, which means they're a long swim from the mainland, and we would most likely just be moving them to another prison. Most likely on the mainland. Closer to us.

Let's keep Gitmo open to house terrorists, keep them away from us, and keep pressing them for information (since they're unlawful enemy combatants for the most part) by whatever means are appropriate.

Success!!1! Time to play a profane drinking game while dancing on an open bar and reading indecent literature

Revel, my friends, for it was all nearly outlawed this week. On Monday:

..."We have people complain from time to time especially about establishments on Main Street getting out of control."

And so [City Councilman Richard Veit] has taken action with a proposed bill. It promises to control rowdiness, curb underage drinking and give police some real rules to enforce at area bars.

Veit says, "It's not necessarily that everything is out of control. But if we have these rules and everybody knows what they are, then we won't ever get to that point."

Among the rules: no open bar, no drinking games or contests, no dancing on tables, and no indecent, profane or obscene language, songs, entertainment and literature.

Eventually, the nefarious Indecent Speech Lobby prevailed and the bans were bounced, with Veit saying afterward that his proposal had been "mischaracterized" by the media. As he explained, "It doesn't make it a crime to use profanity." And I agree! How could anyone misunderstand language this clear?

At no time, under any circumstances... shall any licensee or his/her employees allow any indecent, profane or obscene language, song, entertainment, literature or advertising material upon the premises. ...Any person who shall violate any provision of this section shall be guilty of a violation of this code of ordinances punishable as provided in [Sub. Sec] 115.99....

I hate the media with its anti-Richard Veit bigotry. Note, though, that acts and/or representations of bestiality are still banned, so please confine your celebrations to those outlined in the post's title.

Heck, while you're at it smoke a cigarette, too. That's not banned. Yet.

*Note to table dance enthusiasts: Turns out that table dancing is, in fact, banned under the new legislation. So don't table dance in St. Charles. You know who you are.

MO Dems Offer Praise for Disgraced Bowman

Missouri Democratic Rep. John L. Bowman, Sr. of Northwoods resigned his seat after pleading guilty on charges of bank fraud and unauthorized use of an access device.

State Democratic Party spokesman Jack Cardetti said, "It's a regrettable situation. Rep. Bowman fought hard for his district, and he was a good legislator." According to the Post-Dispatch.

Just another thing to prove that the idea of an ethical Democrat is about as far fetched as Ron Paul's Presidential Candidacy.

Soros Funded Lancet Study in Iraq

George Soros, billionaire political activist for the left and major donor to 527s including Moveon.org, funded 23,000 GBP of the 50,000 GBP cost of the Lancet's study into civilian deaths in Iraq.

Liberal Bias - coming to you one billionaire at a time.

Janet Huckabee and Georgette Mosbacher light into campagin manager Ed Rollins in SC

But what about? We need a high-res video and a lip reader, stat! (via Ace)

To get it Right, rally around John McCain

If you had asked me two years ago who I thought would be the most electable Republican in 2008, I would not have responded "John McCain." Immigration, McCain-Feingold, "Gang of 14"... the list of reasons why rank-and-file Republicans didn't like his politics was remarkable, given his sterling record as a conservative on most other issues and pedigree as a bona fide American hero.

And I'll admit it: I was, and to some extent still am, a Mitt Romney guy. Romney, flaws and all, seemed like the only reasonable option for everyone; clearly, the party has not felt the same way, though at 60 years old his days in politics are far from over (assuming he can still stomach the enterprise.) I believed that he represented in this race the only cross-board conservative that the Reagan Coalition - which is not dead - could unite behind.

Others believed Fred Thompson was also such a man, who until recently was walking his much-hyped campaign rather than running it. Giuliani and Huckabee were also alternatives... and are no-gos, almost certainly because they sever a leg of the conservative tripod - social, economic, and foreign policy - in ways that few are especially comfortable. And I emphasize "few."

So why my conversion to McCain? For all the flack McCain gets for his "un-conservative" dalliances, those infidelities - with the exception of immigration - almost categorically haven't affected a super-majority of the Republicans, or of anyone else for that matter. Campaign finance reform capped what you could give to a candidate during a campaign; how many people do you know that max out their donations? The Gang of 14 was an arrangement that guaranteed there would be no filibusters of judicial nominees in a closely divided Senate; is not Samuel Alito a more-than-adequate outcome from the arrangement? And why, pray tell, did the Republicans lose the House and Senate? The Iraq War, official corruption, and the explosion of federal spending played no small part... but where was, and is, John McCain on all of these issues?

It may be my naivete as a young, libertarian-leaning Republican to not grasp the extent of Capt. McCain's sacrileges, but I've got to say, those missteps have had almost no practical impact on the lives of Joe and Jane American, and the more I talk to relatively non-political peers of mine, the more I realize that they would never vote for a Republican... unless, of course, it was John McCain.

John McCain is not only electable; he's someone every American, and Republican, can rally behind. The party is no doubt fractured, but to nominate any other candidate is to risk proving out Huckabee's hypothesis that the Coalition, and by implication the party, is dead. It's that sectarianism and identity politics that typifies the Democrats but, up to this point, has hardly touched the Republicans. We must not let it.

Every election is the "most important of our lifetime." This one is most-most important. If the Republican Party wants to secure the Reagan Coalition, preserve its tenets of small government and individual liberty, and win this election, it should nominate John McCain. For these reasons, for party unity, and for a better United States, I give him my endorsement.

Kucinich Repeats Dem War Cry

Because claiming George Bush stole an election isn't low enough for Liberal Democrats, now you've got Dennis Kucinich claiming one of their own, Hillary Clinton, stole New Hampshire. And demanding a recount.

This is how the Democrats operate. No grace.

U.S. "Worst" In Healthcare

A new Commonwealth Fund study ranks the United States last in providing healthcare. The study reports that as the United States falls "even farther behind" on health system performance, France, Canada, Italy, and 15 other nations have improved leaps and bounds. According to the findings, the United States could have prevented 101,000 deaths each year by performing as well as the other nations.

Before conceding that a universal or socialized system must provide more effective and timely healthcare, consider the basis of the study: "While most countries surveyed saw preventable deaths decline by an average of 16 percent, the United States saw only a four percent dip." This research demonstrates which nations improved healthcare, but does not compare each nation's overall quality of care.

President Bush often asserts that the United States has the best health care system in the world. As the fine print of the Commonwealth Fund's study affirms, "American health care is respected worldwide in terms of its training and education, technological sophistication, [and] focus on the consumer." In fact, the United States spends more per capita on healthcare than any other nation. Other countries—including France, Canada, and Italy—benefit greatly from our investments in medical research and technology.

Rather than "U.S. Worst in Healthcare," an AP story on the same study might have reported: "The best healthcare system in the world improved patient outcomes by four percentage points in one year."

Special to the NB >> Conservatism at a Crossroads: Huckabee Takes GOP, Nation in Wrong Direction

Former News Buckit contributor Brian T. Johnson published the following the morning of the Iowa Caucus on Dec. 3. We gladly pass it along to our readers.

With a major media bounce and instant leg up on the competition at stake, Iowa Republicans will caucus today to award their formal endorsement in the Party's contest for its presidential nomination. History indicates that no less than the future direction of the Republican Party – and potentially the nation, should the GOP nominee go on to win the general election – may be at stake. Will the party faithful in the Hawkeye state choose the closest thing to a movement conservative, or will they commend a candidate whose conservative credentials are mixed, at best? In Iowa, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is the most potent embodiment of the latter, and to nominate him would be a disastrous mistake.

Huckabee has vaulted into frontrunner status in places like Iowa and South Carolina on the clarity and consistency of his deeply held socially conservative views. As former governor of a Southern state, his matches the winning profile of both George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. His speaking abilities, in debates and on the stump, rival those of Slick Willie. And America has always liked an underdog, the position Huckabee has occupied most of the campaign, and does still in terms of campaign cash and on-the-ground organization.

Despite his soaring electoral prospects in the primary, Huckabee is ill-suited to carry the Republican banner in this year's general election. The GOP candidate must be able to unite the Party and govern in accordance with the first principles of its underlying philosophy, conservatism. Conservatism is the belief in the natural rights of man, traditional moral responsibility and the ability to deter and defend against threats to national security. While troubling questions have recently arisen as to the governor's lack of foreign policy experience and latent dovish tendencies, it is his rejection of limited government that is the most damnable element of his candidacy.

On few issues does Huckabee evince an aversion to expanding the size and scope of the state. To the degree he holds any comprehensive and coherent political philosophy, he appears to assent to the liberal fallacy that to love one's neighbor is to leverage the government's monopoly on the legal use of force for the purpose of redistributing wealth. Not only is such legalized plunder immoral in and of itself, but a government which renders vulnerable, rather than secure, the life, liberty and property of it citizens, is more, not less likely to produce the conditions which government activists purportedly seek to ameliorate.

Taxes, Spending, Regulation

During his decade-long tenure as Arkansas governor, Huckabee raised taxes, increased spending and expanded economic regulations. In recent attempts to muddle the record, the preacher-turned-politician has told campaign audiences about the handful of tax cuts he enacted. Taxpayer savings were more than wiped out however by sales tax increases and new levies on gasoline, cigarettes and more. The overall tax burden on Arkansas jumped 47% during the Huckabee years according to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, while Americans for Tax Reform reports that from 1996 to 2004 spending increased at an alarming three times the rate of inflation.

Betraying contempt for private property rights, Huckabee proposes a nationwide smoking ban in all public and private workplace settings, presumably including restaurants and bars. He supported the massive expansion of Medicare in 2003 and criticized the president's recent veto of legislation that would have expanded taxpayer-subsidized health care to illegal immigrants, children in some families making over $80,000 a year and "adults" up to the age of twenty-five.

Education

Huckabee deserves credit for advancing the charter school movement in his home state, and defending the rights of parents to educate their children at home. However, he opposes voucher programs and speaks warmly of No Child Left Behind and other federal misadventures into education policy. In receiving and accepting the endorsement of the nation's most destructive special interest group, the National Education Association (New Hampshire chapter), he shares company with present and past recipients Hillary Clinton and Howard Dean. The only GOP candidate to receive the NEA stamp of approval, he was likewise the sole Republican to speak at the national organization's Representative Assembly last year. It is difficult if not impossible to imagine Mike Huckabee making serious progress towards genuine school choice or other meaningful education reform if he were to become president.

Crime

As has fortunately been reported and discussed widely in the last several weeks, Hucakbee practiced his brand of compassionate conservatism by pardoning, commuting or reducing the sentences of more than 1,000 convicted criminals in Arkansas. In all, he intervened in at least twice as many cases as his three predecessors – including Bill Clinton – combined. More than a few of these prisoners went on to commit heinous acts after being released, including the now-infamous Wayne Dumond, a rapist who after his early release in 1999 went on to murder at least one Missouri woman before he died (The Kansas City Star reports he was the lead suspect in a second case but never tried). It seems Huckabee's belief in redemption and forgiveness contributed to a lack of discernment – something primary voters will have to consider.

Immigration

On immigration, Huckabee failed in his bid to offer illegal aliens in-state tuition and state-funded scholarships to public colleges and universities in Arkansas. This would have put them in line for government assistance ahead of legal citizens of other states. In 2005 he opposed Republican efforts to verify the legal status of applicants for state services and even objected to a proposal that those registering to vote provide proof of their citizenship, according to a November story in the Associated Press. Rival campaigns have hammered Huckabee on his weak immigration record and it has already cost him the support of some socially conservative voters who might otherwise have jumped on his bandwagon. It will likely continue to be an issue in which Huckabee is forced to play defense in most if not every state primary.

Ethics

Huckabee became governor in 1996 when his predecessor, Jim Guy Tucker, was forced to resign after his conviction in the Whitewater scandal. Such being the circumstances surrounding his rise to power, it reasons Huckabee would have diligently avoided even the appearance of ethical improprieties. Yet as a public official he saw fit to accept an extraordinary amount of gifts – at least one year the value of which totaled more than his gubernatorial salary – and was found guilty of ethics violations five times by the Arkansas Ethics Commission. In a general election against Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-New York), his own record would make it difficult to extract the full advantage of Clinton's own ethical failings.

Some of those who knew Huckabee the best during his time in Arkansas are now among his worst detractors. A former Arkansas Republican Party official told me Huckabee tolerated incompetence and ethically questionable conduct on the part of some party personnel, so long as the offenders were "his people." The same source echoed others who have since come forward publicly to assert that the governor is ruthless toward those who disagree with him, and a thin-skinned man known to carry a grudge. When he attempted to install his wife as Arkansas Secretary of State in the [2002] election, critics including fellow Republicans cried foul. The voters rejected Janet Huckabee by a whopping 24 percentage points.

Populism

On the campaign trail, Huckabee's rhetoric is often closer to the ominous populism of John Edwards than the sunny optimism of Ronald Reagan. He does not seethe furiously like Edwards, perhaps because he is a more innovative orator and his target audience (culturally conservative middle and lower class voters) might be less receptive to unbridled anger than that of Edwards (culturally moderate or liberal middle and lower class voters) . Nonetheless, each preaches from the collectivist catechism of class struggle.

Huckabee stokes the anxieties of the poor and middle class when he affirms that the odds are "stacked against them 20 to 1." In his world, it is often the haves against the have-nots. He implies – sometimes not so implicitly – that his humble background is a more essential qualification for the presidency than his ideas for the future. For all his rhetoric, he has sketched policy proposals in only modest detail.

Underneath it all seems to be the implication that poverty is a virtue, while wealth is a vice. In a land of opportunity, this equation is far from balanced. Adults who stay poor during their lifetime typically work less than their middle and upper class counterparts; their dim financial outlook is often compounded by their having dropped out of high school, committed crimes, turned to substance abuse or produced children outside of wedlock. Christ commands believers to treat the poor with compassion; conservatism confirms that doing so means something other than simply creating another government program.

Alternatives

While imminently likeable and strong on many issues, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is an unacceptable nominee as well. He is not a social conservative – which means he is not fully conservative – and his nomination would alienate the wing of the party for whom social issues are the most important issues. Ignored by the mainstream media and GOP establishment, Ron Paul has been one of the most dynamic and intriguing voices during this primary season. His unpolished campaign style and some of his more unusual views prevent him from going beyond "dynamic and intriguing."

That leaves Arizona Senator John McCain, former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. While possessing limitations, any of the three are preferable, philosophically and politically, to Giuliani or Huckabee.

McCain is closer to being a true conservative than Huckabee, but his crusade to regulate political speech, relatively recent conversion to an enforcement-first approach on illegal immigration, and opposition to the Bush tax cuts make him a less than a unifying force for conservatives.

Thompson lacks executive experience, and perhaps the vigor and raw political instinct for what will be a grueling general election. There are also troubling aspects of his legislative record: he aided McCain's unconstitutional assault on free speech and helped increase federal control over education.

Romney is running on a fully conservative platform, and is the only candidate with significant experience in the private sector. He is a flawed contender, with only a recent arrival on some of his positions and a somewhat wooden, if ruthlessly consistent campaign style. However, his conservative policy proposals, executive experience and exemplary personal record make him perhaps the most appealing choice for the Republican nomination.

Conservative writers and broadcasters have done an outstanding job exposing Huckabee's record and commenting insightfully on the same. That some of them form part of what grassroots conservatives regard as the "Republican establishment" does not diminish the veracity of the case against Huckabee. Mine is an upper-middle class Midwestern family that attended a Bible-believing church nearly every Sunday until I left home for college. Those who distrust the establishment should take at their word those whose sincere criticism of Mike Hucakbee stems from nothing less than belief in God, the Republic and Conservative Politics.

© Brian T. Johnson, January 3, 2008

Brian T. Johnson is a freelance writer and former lobbyist living in Columbia, Missouri.

Kerry Endorsement

Though Pat already hit on this, I think this does more to hurt Obama than to help him. Kerry is bland, a reminder of the past, and an establishment figure.

The Kerry campaign was unable to beat a relatively unpopular President who was seeking re-election. A reminder of weak candidacies in the past.

Agent of Δ, indeed: Kerry endorses Obama

Δ, Δ, I know your name...

Barack Obama is being endorsed by 2004 Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry, FOX News has confirmed....

The endorsement developed swiftly after the New Hampshire primary, where Obama came in second to Hillary Clinton after winning the Iowa caucuses the week before. Kerry’s endorsement had been sought by all three top Democrats before those contests. Kerry held off but moved to Obama after New Hampshire, seeing that even though Obama lost he attracted more than 20,000 more votes in the primary than Kerry did when he won in 2004.

Give me a second... I'm trying to figure out which way the wind's blowing...



The extent to which Kerry's support will help Obama remains to be seen; an endorsement by what can only be called an "establishment" figure doesn't help his message of "change," but it can add legitimacy to his experience and suitability for the Oval Office... which, as we may have seen in NH, could turn out to be an equally potent rallying cry.

Things that raise my blood pressure and put holes in my stomach lining.

Dems play nice, act humble in defeat

The hildabeast loses Iowa and instead calls it a "victory for the democratic party" and talks on almost like she won.

Then, today she wins New Hampshire and Obama's speech sounds like an victory speech, also calling it a "victory for the party."

We all know they hate each other. Let's get those true colors out.

I am going to end the war.
I keep hearing Obama ramble on about how "when I am president, we are going to end that war in Iraq."
HOW exactly does he intend on doing that? What about the consequences of an immediate pullout? What about the ramifications of ONCE AGAIN appearing weak in the face of islamic terror?
Did he see what weakness got us under Clinton? What is his PLAN to fix it?
I am tired of seeing these rabid morons in the background hooting and hollering when he talks about ending the war. Idiots with NO comprehension about the current geopolitical situation and with short memories about what inaction bought us in the 90s.
WAKE UP LIBS!

The privileged few.
I am sick of hearing all of the leading dems talk about how Bush served the privileged few. Bush's tax cuts benefited EVERYONE! The near record low unemployment, the highest rates of home-ownership, the consistent job growth; those benefited EVERYONE.
WAKE UP LIBS

Finally, Hannity, WFT?
Hannity went on today about how even if McCain wins NH, it doesn't mean much, and the loss wouldn't be a big deal for Romney. Hannity has his nose so far up Romney's ass that he can't see reality.
It is a tough feat to win the nomination, or the presidency for that matter, after losing both Iowa and New Hampshire. Not impossible ("the comeback kid" slick willy did it in 92) but still tough. Throw in the fact that Romney is from New England and many citizens of New Hampshire watch TV from Massachusetts and he still couldn't win NH. In fact, he didn't even come all that close (5% at 89% reporting). Lets face it Mr. Hannity, it looks bad for your boy Romney.
He shot his load in Iowa and came up empty and couldn't win in his own backyard.
Romney's ship is sinking, and its time for Hannity to realize it and stop playing nay-sayer to every other GOP candidate. (Except Ron Paul, because let's face it, he deserves it.)

Now I need to take my medication, because it has only just begun.

Predictions apparently aren't my thing

Not betting against McCain anymore. Not on him, either, but certainly not against him.

And a possible Clinton victory? Geesh. The MSM may be eating a lot of crow on that one.

Update: AP calls it for Clinton. Wow. Lead's growing, too, currently at 6000. Was 3000 most of the night.

"League of Young Voters"? See: MoveOn.org

It's the new Facebook political craze, but if you add the app or take a closer look at the app's website you find out... that it's really just a ploy to get young people into the MoveOn apparatus. And no doubt, they spread the love to a few other "progressive" groups. But the point-person's MoveOn.

I feel like I've been here before...

Ron Paul: A secessionist racist when not in public office?

Could be...

Hot Air's got the nitty gritty. Video below pretty well summarizes the revelations from The New Republic, all of which are bad, bad news. Really surpised this come out earlier. Certainly should have.

Huckabee's ambitious (and cynical?) agenda for the Constitution

Mark Levin observes:

Heading into South Carolina, where illegal immigration appears to be the biggest issue among Republicans, Huckabee is going to support a constitutional amendment prohibiting birthright citizenship? Did I not hear him in several debates, including on Sunday, admonishing those of us who've long opposed birthright citizenship, about God's children coming out of the shadows? Is this not the same man who only a few months ago supported McCain-Kennedy? ...

And if anyone is counting, this makes four constitutional amendments Huckabee claims to be supporting:

1. the Fair Tax requires a constitutional amendment to eliminate the Sixteenth Amendment;
2. a Human Life amendment;
3. an amendment to define marriage;
and now,
4. an amendment to end birthright citizenship.

Now, isn't it time that Huckabee explain how he plans to organize an effort to get two thirds of both Houses of Congress, which might include a whole bunch of Democrats, to achieve any of this?

Yep.

Ralph Wiggum for President

One of this year's more substantive ads.

Just a thought, but

is anyone else getting the feeling that John McCain and Barack Obama are getting a bit full of themselves on the stump? Maybe I'm watching too much C-Span, but neither are acting or really saying much that's Presidential... or even substantive.

I'll follow up later, but I'm pretty sure this will be an issue in the MSM PDQ. "The Politics of Condescension." Print it.

Update 1/10: Print it, Bob Novak.

Bill Clinton's accompanying belittling of Obama as unqualified ("the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen") was similarly regarded within the party as a serious blunder. That indeed was the reaction from the Obama camp. Obama himself was condescending about his powerful detractor: "I understand he's feeling a little frustrated right now." In fact, an attack by so powerful and popular a Democratic icon should have been taken seriously by the neophyte candidate.

Update 1/10: Print it, New York Times. Maybe McCain won't get hit by this, but it sure looks like Obama is.

Michelle Six, 36, a lawyer and John Edwards supporter in Los Angeles, said she was horrified to hear Mr. Obama tell Mrs. Clinton she was “likable enough” in a Democratic debate on Saturday. Ms. Six said she found the line condescending, and an echo of other unkind remarks by other men about women over the years.

"Iron my shirt," heckler tells Hillary

First the Paulites, and then this? Come on, now.

"Iron your own shirt," indeed. MKH thinks it might be a plant. Maybe, but judging from the shot of the guys exiting, they were probably 1.) dared to do it (the event was at a high school), or 2.) did it as part of some (fraternity?) prank (there are two colleges in this town of 28,000.) Either way, it looks like a net positive for the Hillster. Will update if I can get some IDs to help figure out if was a prank or plant.

Update: From another angle... looks like they popped up in two spots.

Update II: Hunch confirmed. Captain Fun strikes!

Update III: MM mentions me by name. Unnecessary, but thanks!

Update IV: Radio stunt. Surprise? Not really.

About this whole "lose NH and Hillary's out" meme

Fooey. Are you telling me that a candidate that's raised over $100 million with $50 million still in the bank, is the double-digit national leader in the polls, and leads in delegates by triple digits and by a margin that cannot even be equaled mathematically until February 5th... is going to drop out before an anemic Fred Thompson? Get real.

Mission accomplished, Matt. The driveby media looks ridiculous.

Big Bad Drug Companies

So Romney said that drug companies are not the bad guys, and everyone is flipping right out.

No I am not huge Romney fan, but I must come to his aid on this one.

I have seen people lament that American Drug Companies are clearly the problem and that this is evident by the fact that you can get generic drugs cheaper in Canada and Mexico. These horrible companies charge so much money so their CEOs and shareholders can get rich.

To any one of you who has ever thought that drug companies are the problem, ask yourself this?

Where do all the lifesaving drugs come from? How much does it cost to "discover" or engineer a cure to an illness? How much education does it take to be a researcher for a big drug company? Who else is more deserving of a big paycheck than the people who create the drugs that keep us alive?

The people who dedicate their lives to finding these cures go to school for over a decade. They deserve to be compensated for their devotion. The drug companies invest millions of dollars into each cure, testing and exploring thousands that do not work for every one that does, and then they have roughly 7 to 12 years to make their money back before the patents expire and drug companies from China and India start copying their medicine for 5 cents a pill.

If designing new life-saving medicines wasn't a profitable venture, on both a personal and industrial level, then people wouldn't be doing it, and you would have to wait for Mexico and Canada to design those drugs. See how well that works out for you.

Drug companies and their employees should be rewarded with handsome profits, and enjoying those profits does NOT make them bad guys." As long as they keep saving our nicotine stained, caffeinated, fat behinds.

Here is a thought, pass legislation prohibiting drug advertisements. Companies must spend millions to market their drugs and the end result is a higher overhead (which must be made up for through higher prices) and a bunch of patients hand-picking their medications. Why not put a moratorium on all advertising of prescription drugs except in publications geared toward health care professionals, and samples sent out to doctors. This way, the companies all save money without the risk of "losing out" to a competitor who outspends them, the REAL people who should be making the decisions about which drug is right for who will still have access to the info, and I don't have to have my dinner ruined by obnoxious commercials about herpes symptoms or worry about someday explaining to my 4 year-old what "ED" is because of the Viagra commercial that came on during the 5pm news.

Just a thought.

Really angry Ron Paul supporters chase Sean Hannity in NH, call him a "terrorist"?

Among other things. Particularly scary in the first few moments, although maybe that's the Blair Witch camerawork I'm picking up on. (And did I hear something about Hannity being a friend of "Himmler"? Zero-to-Godwin's Law in something like 15 seconds.) Looks like some were throwing snowballs, too, which I'm pretty sure constitutes an assault. Take a look:

Note Hannity flashes a smile as he goes into the hotel. Also the mob's abrupt "uh, now what?" moment, before it kinda sorta cheers whatever it just did. Classic.

The crowd's ire stems from Paul's being excluded from last night's forum by Fox News. A little bit of anger's justifiable and as I've said, I'm sympathetic as far as his inclusion in the forum's concerned, but this? Gives Paul supporters a bad name.

Well, a worse one anyway.

Biden, Dodd to Quit

Despite the fact that Sen. Joe Biden is (in my opinion) the most qualified Democrat running for president, he will be quitting the race, as will Sen. Dodd, after their poor showing in Iowa (and their poor polling and funding nationally). One only hopes that Bill Richardson (the Democrat with the most executive experience, and one of the two most qualified in my opinion) and Duncan Hunter follow suit before wasting more of their supporters time and money. Pending the results in New Hampshire next Tuesday, hopefully more candidates will drop from both sides so we can start to see who we might be calling Mr. (or Mrs.) President in just over a year.

Class-Romney vs. Huckabee

Fox News Called Iowa for Huckabee. Shortly thereafter, Fox News's Chris Wallace interviewed Mitt Romney, who congratulated Huckabee on his win in the state. Romney was classy throughout the interview.

A little later, Ed Rollins, Huckabee's National Campaign Chairman, was interviewed by Wallace, and came across angry enough to cause Brit Hume in the studio to make jokes to play down how awkward the situation was.

Romney: Classy, Huckabee Camp: Irritable.

Congrats to Huckabee for his victory, but as Pat's predictions note, Huckabee is the Democrats' dream candidate.

Who's Denny Weddle?

He's part of the "Swift Boating" crew that's reportedly going to unveil some accusations against an unknown Presidential candidate... the day before the New Hampshire primary. Weddle's pparently from Nevada and already in the publishing business in some way.

The story, via the Moderate Voice:

One of this year’s leading candidates will be “Swift-Boated” in a new book to be announced next Monday, January 7th at 1:30 p.m. in the Murrow Room at the National Press Club in Washington.

Reportedly this is coming from a vet who knew the candidate since his college days, with fits with Mr. Weddle, who himself appears to be a vet.

Any guesses as to what the scandal is and how Weddle's related to it?

Update @ 11:30am: A Dem connection? From a marketing firm's website:

I... helped arrange for President Denny Weddle to provide on-site protocol support for then-Secretary of Defense William Perry at an Inter-America Defense Ministers Conference.

Update @ 12:03pm: The contact for the event, Barry Thigpen, has the same name as one of John McCain's military supporters? McCain's been brought up as a possible target, but from within?

Update 1/7/08: Mitt's the target. More specifically, his religion. Disgusting.

My Presidential predictions (as of today)

Guesses, slightly educated. As time goes on, these can (and probably will) change.

In Iowa:

• On the Democrat side: John Edwards wins, in part because of the Dems' "second-choice" rule for its caucus. Obama second, Clinton third. Obama nonetheless hurt as the "agent of change" candidate.
• On the Republican side: Romney wins in a squeaker, turning the Huckaboom into a Huckabust. McCain holds off Fred Thompson for third, ending for all intents and purposes Thompson's campaign.

In New Hampshire (assuming, in part, that my Iowa predictions hold):

• On the Democrat side: Clinton wins, Obama second, Edwards third. Clinton then takes Michigan and Nevada. Obama gets a boost from independents but has to wait for South Carolina for one last chance to boost his candidacy; Edwards starts to fade.
• On the Republican side: McCain makes it close but falls just short to Romney, with independents voting largely in the Democrat primary to boost Obama's chances. Giuliani comes in a distant third, just edging out... Ron Paul (who does jack-diddle in all future contests.)
  

For the nomination (assuming that all of the above predictions hold):

• On the Democrat side: Hillary takes it, losing a least one but no more than two or three primary contests. Vice presidential candidate up for grabs, but probably Richardson. Edwards would decline being VP (again,) and Obama would not fight the Washington status quo only to be co-opted into it.
• On the Republican side: Romney endures after losing several states and surviving the rest. No idea who becomes the VP, though if I had to choose between the current Presidential candidates, I'd be inclined to believe he'd pick Giuliani or McCain, putting the Northeast at least minimally into play. Huckabee has made an enemy of Romney, and Thompson fades away into the obscurity from which he was borne into this race.

Winner in a general election? Hillary 3-to-2, although her negatives may be no small factor in how this comes out. We'll see how big the Republicans come out and how well Romney fills out the role of the party's nominee.

Nightmare candidates for the other party:

• For Republicans: Obama. Candidate of historic proportions campaigning on a reconciliation platform. Little if any baggage.
  
• For Democrats: McCain. War hero and "maverick" who would use all of his maverickness and general popularity to his advantage.
  

Ideal candidates for the other party:

• For Republicans: Hillary. Huge negatives.
  
• For Democrats: Huckabee. Parochial candidate if there ever was one.