The Grown Ups Are Back!

Today, let’s focus on a couple things that have been said by some very bright Republicans at or around the convention in the last few days. These are key points we should all remember.

● Paul Ryan: Paul Ryan spoke last night and laid out pretty much what every Presidential candidate from either party should say, which is why it’s sad his words are so rare.

Naturally, he called for a repeal of Obamacare, which he described as “more than two thousand pages of rules, mandates, taxes, fees, and fines” and which he said has “no place in a free country.” He also promised 12 million jobs, which I take with a grain of salt. But more importantly, he said this:

“Before the math and the momentum overwhelm us all, we are going to solve this nation’s economic problems. And I’m going to level with you: We don’t have that much time. But if we are serious, and smart, and we lead, we can do this.”

It’s about time someone said this. As far back as I can remember, politicians have assured us that everything was fine when we knew it wasn’t. They pretended they had generations to save Medicare, balance the budget and pay off the debt. This was always a lie. The American public knows the truth, we just want to hear that our leaders understand this. And now we’ve found one. And Ryan does.

He also said this:

“Here is our pledge. We will not duck the tough issues – we will lead. We will not spend four years blaming others – we will take responsibility. . . The work ahead will be hard. These times demand the best of us – all of us, but we can do this. Together, we can do this.”

This statement packs a lot more than I think people realize. This strikes me as a declaration that Ryan intends to complete broad-based reform and will not shirk issues just because they are hot button issues that upset the public. To me, this sounds like (1) reform of the healthcare system, (2) reform of Medicare, (3) reform of Social Security, (4) education reform, and (5) comprehensive immigration reform. I base this list on the other things the campaign has spoken about in the last few months. And if I’m right, and if they achieve their goals, Romney/Ryan could very well end up remaking America in a much more fundamentally conservative, free market manner that Reagan even attempted, much less achieved. They could also solve the four glaring problems that still plague this country, outside of the black/white racial divide – education, fiscal sanity, an out-of-control medical system, and what to do about the eleven million illegal immigrants.

● Ann Romney: After her rousing speech at the convention, where Ann Romney was largely seen as winning over women and humanizing Mitt, she went to the Latino Coalition luncheon, where she made a direct appeal to Hispanics on a basis other than ethnic appeals:

“I spoke to women last night and I wanted women to understand how important this election is for their children, but as I was sitting backstage listening, I thought, it's also very important that the Latino community recognize how important this election is for them. And they are mistaken if they think they are going to be better off with Barack Obama as their president. There really is only one way for prosperity, for small business, and that is, this is the simplest way I can say this: If Mitt Romney wins, America wins.”

Notice, her appeal was based on prosperity and small business. It’s about time. I’ve been saying this for a long time. Republicans need to stop seeing Hispanics as a monolithic race which needs to be wooed with promises of racial spoils. They need to learn that Hispanics are people, just like everybody else, and we need to give them they should join us. . . reasons why their lives will be better off.

Ann Romney points out that women should think about the things Mitt will do for America which will make America better for their children and now she’s pointing out how Romney offers the only path to prosperity for the Hispanic community. Compare that with the Democrats who offer only fear, hate and a lifetime of living on government benefits in poverty.

She also went further and took Hispanics to task for not being open to the truth, and the Democrats for trying to trick Hispanics:

“It really is a message that would resonate well if they could just get past some of their biases that have been there from the Democratic machines that have made us look like we don't care about this community. And that is not true. We very much care about you and your families and the opportunities that are there for you and your families.”

This is a critical message. The first step in breaking anyone out of a cycle of dependency is to stop telling them they are doing fine when they aren’t. And here Romney makes it clear that Hispanics are not doing fine and that they are not being honest with themselves. They are instead acting on bias, a bias the Democrats feed.

I think messages like this combined with Romney’s plan to bring prosperity to all corners of America in a color-blind way will go a long way to waking people up in these communities. And then they will see, as Ann Romney said, that they should “naturally be voting” for the Republicans.

This approach is so much better than Bush talking about how he speaks Spanish or prior Republicans trying to out-pander the Democrats. This is an approach that promises people the truth, a better life, and respect.

● Chris Christie: The MSM is tearing Christie apart for his speech. Using the usual “unnamed Republican sources told us” approach, the MSM is claiming that everyone thought Christie’s speech was self-centered. Frankly, I just don’t see that. His speech was strong and highly partisan and went straight at Obama’s failures. For example, he said this about Obama’s leadership:

“There’s only one thing missing now. Leadership. It takes leadership that you don’t get from reading a poll. You see, Mr. President, real leaders don’t follow polls. Real leaders change polls.”

He also spoke of making the right decision, even when it’s hard, and he attacked Obama for not doing that:

“Our leaders today have decided it is more important to be popular, to do what is easy and say ‘yes,’ rather than to say ‘no’ when ‘no’ is what’s required.”

And he attacked their policies:

“Our ideas are right for America and their ideas have failed America.”

But what struck me again was the straight talk aspect of his speech. As with Ryan, he made the point that the American public is smarter than the political class wants to believe:

“They believe that the American people don’t want to hear the truth about the extent of our fiscal difficulties and they believe the American people need to be coddled by big government. They believe the American people are content to live the lie with them. They’re wrong.”

And he finished by refusing to sugarcoat what needs to be done:

“We all must share in the sacrifice. Any leader that tells us differently is simply not telling the truth.”

Ryan made these points better, but I think it’s vital that these points are being made at all. For the last 12 years, our government has gone on a spending binge, trying to buy our loyalties. They have added massive entitlement programs and drowned us in debt. They have destroyed the future to cover up the mistakes of the present. The Democrats have played a hateful, divisive strategy of race baiting and economic spite. The Republicans have gone along to placate the media. I get the sense from the speeches above, that those days are over.

The grown ups have returned.

That’s Why They Call It Dope

Every once in a while, a story comes along that just makes you laugh. That’s the case with a new scientific study about the effects of smoking pot. Get this. . . smoking pot makes you stupid. Really? Noooo way, dude!

The study in question was conducted by an international team under an NHS grant. They followed 1,000 teenage boys and girls between the ages of 13 and 14 for twenty years. Each test subject was given a battery of IQ tests. What the researchers found was that the test subjects who smoked marijuana in their teens fell behind their non-smoking peers by 8 points on these IQ tests by the time they turned 38. That may not sound like much, but it’s enough to take someone from average intelligence to the bottom third of the population. Moreover, these same users also showed early signs of dementia, which is a very bad thing.

This shouldn’t surprise anyone however. Anyone who has known a pot smoker knows that they are, in a word, stupid. They are slow, they have poor memory recall and their personalities are like talking to mud. And that’s when they aren’t high.

No doubt the pot legalizers will dismiss this because they dismiss anything that doesn’t fit their idea that smoking pot is healthy. But this study merely confirms what anyone with a brain should already know. So the next time some pothead tells you that smoking pot is harmless, go ahead and shove them down some stairs. . . I said Dave’s not here!

Speaking of dopeheads, the left is once again out in full force polluting the airways with their intolerance and idiocy. As some of you are no doubt aware, the Republicans are currently holding a little get-together in Tampa right now. So check out these quotes from famous celebrity haters:

● Ellen Barkin, who hasn’t had a hit in forever, tweeted this:

“C’mon #Isaac! Wash every pro-life, anti-education, anti-woman, xenophobic, gay-bashing, racist SOB right into the ocean! #RNC”

Nice! She’s wishing death on her political opponents, just like a good tolerant liberal.

● Samuel L. Jackson, who is quickly losing my respect, tweeted that he “was not understanding God’s plan” since God had "spared" Tampa. He said:

"Unfair Shit: GOP spared by Issac! NOLA prolly Fucked Again! Not understanding God's plan!"

Unlike Barkin, he at least apologized. . . sort of, a few hours later, saying “Apologies to God, Tampa, da GOP & Isaac! Who played the Race card?!”

Who indeed Samuel L? It sounds to me like you played the race card a couple weeks back and Obama and Chris Matthews have been playing it all week. Also, reading your quote as written, you seem to be implying that God, Tampa, the GOP and Isaac all played the race card. Stay off the dope Sam, it makes you stupid.

Perhaps we should return the favor and hope that Hollywood gets wiped out by a tsunami or an earthquake or a plague of rabid hamsters, but I’m not liberal, so I don’t wish death on my political opponents or on the people of cities where those political opponents happen to be meeting.


By the way, for those who didn't watch the convention last night, the speeches were excellent. This has been one of the better conventions I remember in my lifetime.

Obama Will Lose The Election

Obama is losing. He’s losing badly. I’ve been sensing this for some time, but now I’m ready to say it officially. Obama has lost this election. Here’s the proof.

● The Polls: Polls this far out are unreliable. They are even less reliable because we can’t trust the pollsters. Most of the pollsters are using data which suggest a greater pro-Democratic turnout than Obama got in 2008, and many have begun hiding their raw data to prevent people like me from figuring out how badly they’ve skewed the data. But certain things are obvious because they run contrary to what the pollsters are trying to make you believe.

1) Romney has a small lead, even in these skewed polls. Factor out the pro-Obama bias and add in a pro-Romney enthusiasm gap and you’re looking at a landslide.
2) Romney has a statistically significant lead in the battleground states.
3) Several “safe” blue states have become battleground states, e.g. Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Mexico.
4) Romney’s lead is consistent as is Obama’s inability to get anywhere near 50% approval.

This tells me Romney wins 53% to 47%.

● Enthusiasm Gap: The polls show a huge enthusiasm gap – up to 13% in favor of the Republicans. This is significant because it would take a Democratic-leaning gap for Obama to win and that just won’t happen. But look beyond the polls. Romney and Ryan are speaking to massive crowds. Obama can’t fill a phone booth. Romney and Ryan are drawing massive amounts of money. Obama’s running debt. All over the country, people are putting up signs saying, “I built this.” By comparison, Obama bumper stickers have gotten really rare. People are going in droves to see a documentary exposing Obama, but no one has been interested in any pro-Obama crap for years now. This is something you can feel in the air, hear at the store, and see in random places online – people are enthusiastic about Romney, no one’s even thinking about Obama.

● Democratic Desperation: The Democrats are hitting the bottom of the barrel in terms of how they are running this campaign. They’ve tried everything from various “wars on ___” to flat out slander. They’ve accused Romney of felonies, of hate, and of killing some guy’s wife. They’ve appealed to black-racism. They’ve tried to attack Mormonism as a cult. They’ve tried to scare Hispanics and round up illegals to vote. They’ve accused Republicans of anti-Semitism, of hating women, and of wanting to bring back slavery. The one thing none of them have done is actually mention an issue.

What this tells me is that they are desperate. These are not attacks someone makes if they are winning. This is scorched earth with no regard for the consequences or the future. This is a party that knows it will lose and doesn’t care what it does to the political landscape on the way out. Moreover, using these tactics now tells us they see the race as essentially lost right now and are desperate to turn it around before it becomes an obvious and settled fact.

● Media Desperation: Like the Democrats, the MSM is desperate. We see this in several ways. First, despite 80% of their stories about Romney being negative, they have yet to find any attack which will stick. So they keep trying wilder and wilder attacks, which is a sign of desperation and a strategy guaranteed to backfire. Secondly, they avoid talking about Obama like the plague. This is because they know he’s so unpopular that they cannot help him by giving him coverage. Instead, they need to attack Romney.

Indeed, look at the lengths to which they go to talk about anything other than the issues. The Akin controversy is the perfect example of this. Everyone except the hard-core Religious Right have repudiated that troglodyte, yet the MSM continues to cover this incessantly and continues to try to connect Akin to every other Republican. Why do this? Because they have nothing else they can talk about.

Look also at the distortions. There is no mention of real inflation. Unemployment is downplayed. The failing economy is still called “a recovery.” There is no mention that gas prices are higher than they were under Bush, when the media blasted us with the-sky-is-falling stories about gas. Are American troops still dying overseas? The media won’t tell you. How is Obamacare working? Has anyone lost their health insurance? Are doctors still taking Medicare? Have medical costs gone down a single dollar? The media sure doesn’t know. How about too big to fail? Where are the reports about the biggest banks doubling in size under Obama? Did Copenhagen result in any positive change for the environment? Who knows. . . the MSM sure doesn’t.

This is proof the MSM knows Obama is in deep trouble and that they simply can't discuss anything without making it worse.

Obama has already lost this election and the items above prove it. The Democrats know he’s in such desperate trouble that they had to waste all their ammo already, and none of it scored a hit. That means Obama has lost. The MSM is desperate to cover up his tracks and knows they can’t promote him because people don’t like him. That means Obama can’t recover. And the public enthusiasm tells us what even the doctored polls are starting to suggest, the right will turn out in force in November and the left won't.

Barring something truly unusual, this election is over and the only question now is the margin of Romney’s victory.

Thoughts?


P.S. Don't forget, it is Star Trek Tuesday at the film site.

The Republican Platform: Fringey Stupid

Oh boy. I’ve gotten a look at the Republican platform and let me tell you, while the common sense folks of the Tea Party are making progress all over the country, the fringers who make up the inner sanctum of the Republican cult remain safely ensconced in their bunker. . . untouched by reality. Check this out.

● Priority Number One: The Economy! Well, no. Of the 18 “ideas” listed, not one of them involves improving the economy. Why? Because the retarded chimps who put this platform together don’t care about the economy. What do they care about? Read on.

● Priority Number One: Repealing Obamacare! Well, no. That’s number six on the list, after such high priority issues like “making the internet family friendly.” Yes, you read that right. These dipsh*ts think it is more important to let people know that the Republican Party wants to censor the internet than it is to repeal Obamacare.

● The Homosexual Menace: So what is the first priority listed? This year’s most important priority, apparently, will be stopping gays from marrying. Why? Because “studies” show that children from married couples stay off drugs, get married and don’t commit crimes. Ergo, gays shouldn’t be allowed to marry. Don’t worry if that makes no sense, just accept the idea that Jesus hates gays. By the way, this same group of the self-righteous is opposed to civil unions too because gays are yucky.

● Fix Welfare. . . Somehow: Next our slow friends have decided that welfare doesn’t work, especially because Obama wants to discourage people on welfare from working. So they want someone, somewhere to fix the current system somehow to encourage people to work. . . which it already does.

● Internet “Freedom”: Apparently, the platform will include some highly technical sounding, yet utter nebulous plan to support internet freedom. Reading the definition will make your head spin, but the lawyer in me had to laugh at all the caveats and interest group sops already obvious in the definition. It sounds like the Republican “internet freedom” platform will be about protecting ISPs (who support Republicans) over net companies (who support Democrats). Any freedom resulting from this will be purely coincidental.

And just in case some freedom should accidentally result, the platform makes sure you can't misuse your freedom because it includes a nifty little section on censoring the internet to make it “family friendly.” See, the internet is EVIL. Apparently, “millions of Americans suffer from . . . pathological gambling” and “the Internet must be made safe for children.” So it’s time to shut down gambling sites, ban sex offenders from the internet, and force ISPs to save the children. . . all “while respecting First Amendment rights.” No, I’m not making this sh*t up.

● Americans with Disabilities: Forget the economy, it’s more important that we make sure Americans with disabilities are included in all aspects of our national life. Well, not all aspects. In fact, all we really care about is two things: (1) we need to force insurers and doctors to treat people with disabilities (I’m told doctors in particular like to tease the disabled with fake cures), and (2) when will somebody finally stop the government from taking children away from people with disabilities? Seriously! This national crisis just dominates the news and it's time someone had the courage to address this! Be brave Platform monkeys, be brave.

Oh, we should also support some nebulous sounding employment programs which we didn’t have the time to examine, but their titles sound nice.

● Repealing Obamacare/Abortion: Finally, we come to repealing Obamacare. Why repeal it? Well, because it’s not right. Also, “Through Obamacare, the current Administration has promoted the notion of abortion as healthcare. We, however, affirm the dignity of women by protecting the sanctity of human life. Numerous studies have shown that abortion endangers the health and well-being of women, and we stand firmly against it.” Yep, they talk about repealing Obamacare because it promotes abortion.

● Fixing Our Healthcare/Abortion: So how do we fix the nation’s healthcare? Simple: “health is an individual responsibility” and people need to take better care of themselves. That means you fatboy! “Chronic diseases [are] related to lifestyle [and] drive healthcare costs.” So we need to “promote healthy lifestyles.” No doubt, these will be based on being abortion-free and internet porn free. And lest you think I’m joking, two paragraphs into this one, they call upon states to stop “subsidies for abortion.” I guess abortion makes you fat.

Then they give the usual sop to insurance companies (big Republican contributors), which is the worst thing we could do other than what Obama did, and they want science to save us by making record keeping cheaper. Maybe we should ban 16 oz. drinks?

● More Abortion: Then we do two more “healthcare” related points – “supporting” research and protecting individual conscience in healthcare. The first involves banning stem cell treatments and stopping abortion, and the second involves stopping abortion. Are you starting to see a pattern here?

● Reforming the EPA: Oops, sorry, the EPA is cool. . . everybody likes the EPA. We need to reform the FDA. Why? Because drug companies are Republican contributors and they are having a hard time with the current EPA.

● Oops, forgot, more Healthcare: Yes, we’ve mentioned healthcare several times, but we forgot to mention that we want to reduce costs through tort reform. That should fix everything, even though Andrew pointed out that tort reform will only cut a couple billion dollars in a multi-trillion dollar system. Yep. . . problem solved! (Especially once we stop fat people from getting abortions.)

● Education: We’re opposed to “the crippling bigotry of low expectations.” Hell, who isn't?! So how do we fix that? We want reform! But we don’t believe in one-size-fits all, so we can’t really tell you what we want, but it must involve traditional values.

● “Fixing” College Costs: College costs suck. They are “unsustainable.” We should get private companies to issue student loans (fyi: they already do) and we should tell people more about what they are paying (fyi: they already know). Also, maybe not everyone should go to college? Problem solved!

● Prison Reform: Yes, this issue which just dominates the nation’s headlines day after day after day finishes this amazing platform. Basically, we support what we’ve been doing because liberals oppose it and that makes it reform. Yay reform!

● Other Points: Also, while we're at it, let's keep them dirty Mexicans out and let's think about the gold standard because the 500% inflation in the price of gold in the past decade sure makes gold seem awfully stable!


There you have it. A declaration of idiocy. This is the kind of document I would have written if I wanted to lampoon the Republican Party as being dominated by cultists. Gays, abortion, abortion, abortion, some stuff nobody cares about, abortion, stupidity and the status quo described as reform. Not only has this gang of fornicating monkeys completely missed the issues of the day, they’ve proven that (1) they remain obsessed with gays and abortion, (2) they are obsessed with controlling everyone’s private lives, and (3) they know NOTHING. At least they didn’t include Islamophobia or suggest that women get pregnant and stop taking jobs that belong to men. I guess that's something.

It’s time to purge the party of its moronic fringe and force the party hierarchy to at least join the 20th Century, if not the 21st. Fortunately, Romney doesn’t believe any of this crap and is more likely to wipe his butt with this document than he is to read it.

As an aside, if you want to know what the platform should have looked like, how about this:

1. Replace Obamacare with free market healthcare.
2. 10% across the board cut in federal spending and federal wages.
3. Flat tax.
4. Strict anti-lobbying/graft laws.
5. Repeal of all regulations not necessary for public safety.
6. Comprehensive immigration reform.
7. School choice using vouchers.
8. Internet Anti-Censorship Law plus Privacy Rights.
9. Banning government funding for abortion, imposing reasonable restrictions and otherwise leaving this decision to the individual.

Yet More Election News

Lots of little things to catch up on today, but nothing really big. So let’s do a news round up and whip some of these out. Then we can all move on with our lives. :)

● Issue One: Everywhere you look, the MSM is smearing Paul Ryan. The Democrats too are focusing almost exclusively on Ryan. This suggests two things. First, they know that Ryan is very important to this ticket and they are desperate to stop him. Unfortunately for them, their attacks on him have been pathetic. They’ve found no damning votes, no skeletons in the closet, and no close associates looking to make a name for themselves by turning against him. Nothing they’ve tried has touched him.

Secondly, it suggests that the Democrats really have no idea how to win this election. Poll after poll shows the public worried about jobs and the economy, and they aren’t happy with Obama’s record. But rather than defend that record or come up with some new plan the public will believe (his latest involves hiring more teachers), they are trying to smear Ryan. . . the number two guy on the ticket. This is horrible strategy. When November rolls around, Ryan won’t even be an issue in the voting both, so attacking Ryan is nothing more than a waste of time. That the Democrats don’t understand that is fascinating.

● Issue Two: Swift Boat Boogaloo. Obama really stepped in it when he tried to claim credit for killing bin Laden. Not only was it unseemly for a President to try to steal the credit which belongs to the troops who did the actual deed, but it soon became apparent that our Kenyan Overlord did little more than cower in the corner while others pushed the decision buttons. Yet, Hollywood is intent on making a pro-Obama propaganda film about the event. So it’s rather hilarious that a group of Navy SEALs is putting together an advertisement attacking Obama for his mishandling of this as well has his administration’s penchant for leaking secret documents which harm the troops in the field. Of course, the Democrats are furious about this and they are calling it another swift boat attack, but that won’t change the fact that an ad like this will prove to be highly effective against our arm-chair warrior in Chief.

● Issue Three: Gallup now shows Romney with a small but growing lead over Obama – 47% to 45%. I can’t get to Gallup’s underlying data, but you can guess it’s probably biased at least 3% to the left. That means Romney’s support may have crossed the magical 50% mark.

● Issue Four: Priorities. Last week, Gallup released a poll showing voter priorities for this election. In the top spots by far are (1) creating good jobs, (2) reducing corruption in the federal government, and (3) reducing the federal budget deficit. Each of these is a notable Obama failure – with the corruption thing being the most ironic since Obama claimed to want clean and transparent government. Obama’s main selling point, “increasing taxes on wealthy Americans” ranks last on the list with only 49% support – 43% behind the jobs issue. This tells us that Obama is in real trouble and is plan to save himself is deeply flawed.

● Issue Five: The Boston Globe has now become the first left-leaning editorial board to demand an apology from Biden for his "chains" comment. They noticed that if Romney or Ryan had said that, they would have been attacked for "racial insensitivity" and they think Biden should not be excused merely because he's on the left. Imagine that!

● Issue Six: Finally, there is this issue about appointments. You may have heard that the Congress has decided to give the president more power to get his appointments. Specifically, 170 posts which needed Senate approval in the past will no longer need Senate approval. Some people are upset about this because it gives Obama more power, but let’s get real. A President should, by and large, be able to appoint the people he wants to fill most posts. And for decades now, the Senate has done a horrible job of make decision on appointments, leave some slots empty for years after a President is elected. This decision will be a good thing for Romney who should be able to hit the ground running that much faster now, despite what I expect to be Democratic attempts to grind the Senate to a halt. It’s too bad the parties couldn’t come together to give Obama more power to restructure the Executive Branch as well because Romney could have used that very effectively.

Thoughts? Anything I missed?

Republican Wacko Should Resign Now

This is going to be a nasty article and some of you won’t like it. I don’t care. I’m finding myself really pissed off at the retard who will be representing our side in the Missouri Senate Primary. His name is Todd Akin and he seemed pretty decent until his dogma shut down his brain. He needs to resign.

Akin was asked this weekend during a television interview about his view on whether or not abortion should be allowed in the case of rape. His answer was this:

“If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”

By which he meant that victims rarely get pregnant from “legitimate rapes.” He then stated that he thinks abortion should be banned in the case of rape.

Uh... f*ck you.

First of all, what is a legitimate rape? And what kind of piece of sh*t would believe that rape comes in degrees of legitimacy? I hate the word “insensitive,” but I can’t imagine a better use for it than the way Akin just smeared rape victims. This is so reminiscent of Texas gubernatorial candidate Clayton Williams, who obnoxiously said about the rain: “It’s a lot like rape. As long as it’s inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it.”

That a human being would utter either of these statements is frankly incomprehensible to me. How f*cked up do you need to be to believe that only certain rapes matter or that rape is something women should enjoy? Where does the Republican Party keep finding these sex-obsessed troglodytes?

Secondly, what is this crap that somehow the female body “has ways to shut the whole thing down”? Where does this medical quackery come from? If a doctor said this, they would lose their medical license for incompetence. If a teenager said this, we would laugh at them for being stupid. Yet here a grown “man” says this? This is dogma, this is not science. This is a man who believes in witchcraft, who sees women as unclean deceivers, and who fears the atheists under his bed. This is not a man whose judgment can be trusted. This is the kind of crap which gives Christians a bad name.

Akin, of course, apologized for this obscenity, but this is one of those moments where you can’t un-ring a bell. We now know what he believes, and this is not a man I would want near any female I knew and I sure as heck don’t want him in a position to represent my side of the aisle on women’s issues. He is unfit and needs to resign.

And let me say, this is exactly why young professional women will never vote Republican, but that’s not even what bothers me here. What bothers me is that a man with a Fourteenth Century understanding of sexual relations could be chosen to serve in the United States Senate. He needs to resign. If he doesn’t, I will support McCaskill.

Conservatives need to rid themselves of these people.

And while I’m at it, let me say that if you believe women should be forced to carry children to term when they’ve been raped, then you are wrong. There is no legal or moral justification for your position. You are suggesting sexual slavery. You are suggesting that you have the right to victimize these women every single day until they give birth because you think your religion tells you to use the force of law to control others. You are wrong.

UPDATED: It is now being reported that Akin will resign. Good. But there's one more bit to add to the story. The mouth-breathers at the Family Research Council have been giving strong support to Akin throughout the day. Their president Tony Perkins claims this is nothing more than an attempt to distract from the record of that unclean woman Claire McCaskill and Satan’s workshop at Planned Parenthood. Pathetic. Seriously, if you don't see the problem with this, then there is something wrong with you.

Replace Biden? Are You Kidding?

Seeing as how it’s Thursday afternoon and I’m feeling lazy, let’s do a short topic today. . . about the man who rides the short bus to the White House. Should Obama replace Joe O’Biden? Can Obama replace slow Joe? Who would replace Biden?

● Should Obama Replace Joe: Absolutely. Biden is a massive liability on all fronts. The man is a joke. He’s gaffe prone and his gaffes are offensive. Even when he’s speaking intentionally, as he was when he twice suggested that the Republicans want to institute slavery this week, no one takes him seriously because they assume he went off script. He adds no gravitas to the ticket. He bring no worthwhile policy experience. He’s no match for Paul Ryan. And frankly, he does very poorly against the latest Republican line: “could you imagine this man as President?” Indeed, Rudy Giuliani said yesterday that he even doubts Biden has the intellectual capacity to be President. . . and it’s not like the rest of us weren’t thinking it. Said Giuliani:

“I’ve never seen a vice president that has made as many mistakes, said as many stupid things. I mean, there’s a real fear if, God forbid, he ever had to be entrusted with the presidency, whether he really has the mental capacity to handle it.”

Personally, if I were Obama, I’d drop Joe in a heartbeat! Obama has until September 6th to push the reject button.

● Who Would Replace Joe: This is where things get tricky. Sarah Palin yesterday suggested that Obama replace Biden with Hillary; John McCain echoed this last night. That would certainly make their base happy and it might even win back a couple moderates, but I doubt it would change the dynamic ultimately. And that’s the real problem for Obama. Who could he name that would change the dynamic? Hillary... maybe, but no one else.

And if the dynamic can’t be changed, then no one in their right political mind will want to be the wingman on a losing ticket! That’s a ticket to political oblivious and no one with a future will want to risk that. That leaves only people who are past their primes, ready to retire or truly questionable choices like Jon Huntsman, who may want to prove he’s not an evil Republican.

My money is on nothing changing.

But if I had to guess, I would say that Hillary would help the most. Andrew Cuomo would be the boldest choice. And nobody else would really matter.

Thoughts?

Americans: No More Business As Usual

There’s been an interesting shift in the political scene in this country. Some would argue that it’s a shift toward populism, but I’m not so sure. I think this is more likely a shift away from the abusive system of the past where taxpayers get turned into piggybanks for the well-connected. Let’s discuss.

The difference between populism and where the public seems to be headed is actually quite dramatic. Populism tends to focus on destroying the current system of privilege, taking from the rich, and implementing policies aimed at remaking society in the name of the public. Because of the extreme nature of populism, it is often borderline violent and it tends to flirt with either anarchy or socialism. I don’t see any of that in the current political environment.

To the contrary, groups like the Tea Party want neither anarchy nor socialism. They don’t envy those who have, nor do they seek to crush the rich. What they want instead is to reshape the government to stop it from being able to do the bidding of the connected. Specifically, they want the government to stop guaranteeing the risks of big business, and they want the government to stop issuing two sets of laws, one which helps the connected and one which simultaneously hinders the unconnected.

This seems to be confirmed by a new poll conducted by Rasmussen. Indeed, this poll showed broad bipartisan opposition to cronyism and strong support for free market policies. Consider these results:

● Only 27% think it is “ever ok for the government to make investments in private companies.”
● 71% believe the private sector is “better than government officials at determining the long-term benefits and potential of new technologies.” Only 11% think the reverse.
● 64% think government money will be wasted if the government backs projects the private sector won’t.
● 66% believe crony connections drive most government contracts.
● Then there’s this: “By a 3-1 margin, voters believe elected politicians routinely provide help to favored companies.”
● And this: “Seven out of ten Americans believe government and big business work together against the rest of us.”

It’s the last couple that tell you what is going on. People saw trillions of dollars poured into the big banks to save them after they made horribly stupid bets on things that the banks themselves created after getting the Clinton Administration to change the law to allow them to take these kinds of risk. They saw how the entire financial system almost collapsed because 3-4 big banks fell apart and they saw how these same banks have returned to record profitability (and record size) while the rest of us get to pick up the tab. They saw how billions were funneled directly to unions through the stimulus bill. They saw how billions more were given to Obama donors under the guise of running “clean energy companies,” which went bankrupt within months of getting the billions. They saw GE lobbying to get nonsensical environmental laws passed and then turned right around and get waivers from those same laws. They saw how hundreds of billions in government contracts have been awarded on no-bid, sole-source contracts to companies that handed over tens of millions in lobbying money. They saw how loopholes were put into the tax code which protected only a handful of companies, or in the case of Charlie Rangel’s friends only one company. They saw bribes and sweetheart deals given for regulatory consideration. . . Chris Dodd and Countywide anyone? They saw average bondholders crushed in GM while the unions made out like thieves. They saw nonunion pension rights terminated. They saw a shakedown of Boeing. They saw attempts to tax and control the internet to protect contributors. And they saw no difference between Bush or Obama on any of this.

It is frankly surprising that people haven’t been more populist in their opinions. Outside of the leftist desire to steal from the rich and their rhetoric about getting even with the banks, the public has been remarkably calm. . . determined to change the game, but calm. And I think it is a real testament to the American public that their response to this pillaging and abuse has not been vindictive, but has been instead to demand the system be fixed so everyone can move on.

I think the Republicans better pay attention to this. I think Romney and Ryan will be great for this country, but they need to realize that the times have changed and the public now pays attention to who is sliding through the backdoor with their hand out. Business as usual must end.

The Paul Ryan Effect

We’ve now have a couple days to think about Paul Ryan and to see the reactions all around. This is a phenomenal pick. So let’s talk about the polls and how this changes the electoral map. Also, I’m quoting a piece from the Onion that is well worth reading.

● Enthusiasm: More evidence of an enthusiasm gap. Gallup now reports the Republicans are showing a +13% enthusiasm gap. They caution that it’s too early to tell anything until after the conventions, but this is enough to suggest problems for Obama. His 2008 victory resulted from a +7% enthusiasm difference in favor of Democrats and lots of independents voting for Obama – close to 60%. That +7% has now morphed into a -13% and that’s been fairly constant since 2009. I don’t see how the convention will change that.

As for independents, Zogby just put out a poll that should scare Obama greatly. According to Zogby, Romney was losing and Obama had momentum until Ryan was chosen. Now they are tied at 46% each with 8% undecided. But more importantly, Romney/Ryan leads Obama/Biden by 45% to 40% among independents. Politico has Romney leading among independents by 10%, 47% to 37%. These numbers are death for Obama, who needs about 60% of independents to offset the lack of Democratic enthusiasm. Also interesting from the Zogby poll, Ryan helped boost Romney among 18-29 year olds.

There’s also another interesting issue which has arisen in the past couple days: crowd size. Everywhere Ryan and Romney have gone, they’ve been swamped by crowds. They’ve been speaking to 10,000-15,000 people typically and turning away others. Obama has been talking to crowds in the 1,000 range. Biden just spoke to 600. This is becoming such bad PR that Obama is actually trying to claim he intended this, though half-empty auditoriums tell a different story.

● Where He Helps: So where does Ryan help or hurt Romney? Here are some ideas:

● Conservatives: Ryan has solidified Romney’s right flank in a matter of minutes. Romney no longer needs to worry that evangelicals will stay home or that Tea Party people will view him with suspicion.

● Catholics: Ryan brings a fairly strong Catholicism to the ticket which supposedly will play well with Catholics. In effect, he should appeal to some of the same Catholics who liked Santorum.

● Wisconsin: It’s not clear how much Ryan helps in Wisconsin, except that (1) the local boy almost always gets a couple points added to his score, and (2) Ryan will ignite the activists who turned out to help Scott Walker. If this happens, then the electoral map will shake up a great deal. Wisconsin is only worth 10 votes, not the 18 of Ohio, but if Romney wins Wisconsin, then he could win by also getting New Hampshire and Iowa while losing Ohio. This could be huge.

● Pennsylvania: Ryan’s support among Catholics could be key to winning Pennsylvania, which is awash in Catholics and Tea Party types. And if Romney wins Pennsylvania (still difficult, but doable) then Romney wins in a landslide.

● Florida: Supposedly, Ryan hurts Romney in Florida because of his Medicare plan. But polls show Ryan being popular with old folks. That would seem to put the lie to the idea that Ryan will be a drag in Florida. Where Ryan does help in Florida is the evangelical North and panhandle, and that could well be the difference because turn out will be key in this election.

● Virginia: Believe it or not, a lot of people think Ryan will help Romney win Virginia because he brings a charisma that suburban moderates like, and Northern Virginia is very suburban moderate. I can’t disagree. The thing I heard most about Palin (before she imploded) was that she was the kind of woman any mother would want her son to marry. Well, Ryan strikes me as the kind of man any mother would want her daughter to marry. So if mommy politics counts, then this will help.

● In His Own Words. . . Sort of: Finally, I leave you with this. It’s long, but it’s worth the read. This comes from the Onion and is presented as an editorial written by Ryan himself. I present this because it’s funny, and also because it fairly accurate about Ryan’s charisma advantage:

Admit It, I Scare The Ever-Loving Sh*t Out Of You, Don't I?

When Mitt Romney selected me as his running mate, I knew the Democratic attack dogs would come out in full force. They would say I’m a right-wing ideologue. They would say my views on entitlement programs are far too radical. They would say putting me on the ticket immediately kills Mitt Romney’s chances of becoming president because I’m a liability. But if we’re being honest with each other—if we’re able to put aside the talking points for a few minutes and say what we’re all actually thinking and feeling—I believe we can acknowledge the real truth here.

I’m young, I’m handsome, I’m smart, and I’m articulate. And that scares the ever-loving sh*t out of you. You can pretend like you have this thing in the bag, but you know good goddamn well that this race just got real interesting, real fast.

It’s okay to admit it. You’re frightened to death of me. It might actually be healthy for you to face your fears now rather than later, when Mitt and I are leading by a few points in the polls and it looks like this thing might end badly for you. Face it: I’m not some catastrophe waiting to happen, like a Sarah Palin or a Dan Quayle. On the contrary, you have the exact opposite fear. I’m a solid, competent, some might say exceptional, politician.

Did you get nervous when you read that last sentence? Is it because you know in your heart of hearts that it’s 100 percent true? Is it because, even if you strongly disagree with my beliefs on Medicare, Social Security, women’s rights, and marriage equality, you know my talent as a speaker and my well-thought-out approach to these issues—no matter how radical and convoluted you find them—might just be enough to win over independent voters?

Do you get chills just thinking about how strong my appeal actually is?

I have another question for you: How scared are you that I can convince people I’m right? Because I’m good at it. No, I’m really good at it. You see, I know how to turn up the charm and charisma without putting people off. Then I back up what I’m saying with arguments that, when they come out of my mouth, sound completely accurate and well-reasoned. And I do it with such passion that people automatically recognize me as a man with deep convictions he will stand up for, no matter what.

The American people love that sh*t. They love it.

Passion, intellect, and a magnetic personality. Pretty damn intimidating combo, if I say so myself. You want to talk about polish? Man, I’ve got polish for miles. Oh, and by the way, I’ll go ahead and say this next thing because, if we’re being honest, why the hell not, right? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m white. Hoo, brother, am I white. Yup, you should be scared sh*tless of me, because guess who isn’t?

The people of Wisconsin. They love me. Republicans and Democrats there love me. Hell, I get Democrats to vote for me even if my policies make zero sense when it comes to their livelihoods. Do you know why? Because they like me. They like my story. Young, good-looking kid who pulled himself up by his bootstraps to make something of himself. Christ, I'm a storybook candidate. I balance out this ticket so well it’s almost too perfect. The people of Ohio are going to think that. And seniors in Florida—the state we supposedly lost when Mitt picked me—won’t be so scared as soon they know that my mother lives in Florida, and that all I want to do is reform the health care system so she can receive care that makes good fiscal sense.

Boy, I’m going to sell the sh*t out of that talking point. And I’m going to do a great job of it. Why? Because I’m Paul Ryan. That’s what I do.

And if we’re having trouble getting Pennsylvania on board, just wait until I absolutely wipe the floor with Joe Biden in the vice presidential debates. Don’t think for a second that I don’t know you’re terrified of us facing off, because in the back of your mind you know it could be a bloodbath up there.

Well, that’s 77 electoral votes, and by my math that means you can kiss your golden boy goodbye after four short years. All that promise. All that energy. All that potential. Gone in one November night.

I’m your worst f*cking nightmare.

Oh, and by the way, don’t even try to pretend you haven’t imagined me being elected president one day.

P.S. Don't forget, it is Star Trek Tuesday at the film site.

The Paul Ryan Pick

Let’s talk about the Paul Ryan pick. I would have preferred Rubio because I think the GOP needs to romance Hispanics, but putting that aside, the Ryan Pick is excellent. And indeed, we’re seeing that already both in the glee on the conservative side and the fear on the Democratic side.

● Why This Pick Was Great: The Ryan pick was great on many levels. For one thing, Ryan is one of the few politicians people trust. He’s unassuming and he’s wonkish, so he doesn’t appear prone to exaggeration or lying. He’s also willing to tell people the truth rather than trying to give people a false sense of happiness, which allows him to get things done. And he’s not someone who scares people. That will make it difficult for Obama to use Ryan to agitate his own base or upset independents.

Ryan also excites the base of the party. He is seen as the “intellectual leader” of the party these days, especially by fiscal conservatives, because of his efforts at fixing the budget and entitlement reform. His ideas have become those of the party. He’s also very much liked by the Religious Right, who remain queasy about Romney because of his religion -- and this is despite Ryan’s support for extending employment protections to gays. Ryan also is very much liked by the establishment wing who see him as a steady hand.

In effect, Ryan unites the various wings of the party and brings tremendous energy to the base. He guarantees GOP and Tea Party turn out, without scaring the moderates and without increasing Democratic turn out. Moreover, he will prove invaluable in reforming and reshaping the government toward a more conservative, more sane and more sustainable structure once Romney/Ryan are elected. That makes him a great pick.

● The Democratic Response: Naturally, the Democratic response has been shameless. It has also been instructive for how disorganized and how ineffective it has been. Basically, they are attacking Ryan along all the standard hypocritical and propaganda grounds whether they fit or not:

● “Journalist” Andrea Mitchell said Ryan was “not a pick for suburban moms, not a pick for women.” This is the standard “war on women” meme which assumes that women only care about birth control and which ridiculously contends that Republicans want to drive women from the workforce. Only idiots believe this.

● Some Democrats and The New Yorker said Ryan was a bad pick because he lacks private sector experience! Seriously! Think about that. Obama and Biden together spent 0.0 minutes of their lives in the private sector yet somehow this is only a problem for Ryan, who did work in the private sector. Not to mention that the left has been telling us that Romney’s private sector experience makes him unacceptable for the job.

● Many Democrats, and again The New Yorker, are calling him “risky” and “totally a Palin-redo” because he lacks experience. Yeah, right. Palin was a first time governor of a small state that is entirely dependent on federal money. She had about a year of political experience and none of it at the national level. Ryan has been in Congress since 1999, he’s risen to become budget committee chairman, and he’s gone toe-to-toe with Obama on ObamaCare and took him down handily. Ryan is media savvy, policy wise, and a seasoned and skilled political operator. Palin was none of those things. This is the standard Democratic “he’s stupid” attack they always use and it won’t work here because Ryan’s intelligence is obvious. And let’s not forget that these are the same people who thought Obama was qualified because he knew how to read from a teleprompter and cast a handful of votes in the Senate. The “lack of experience” charge is wishful thinking on the left.

The New Yorker also laughably thinks Biden will rip Ryan apart in their debate because of his votes for the Iraq War, TARP and Medicare Part D. Of course, they conveniently forget that Biden voted for all of those things too -- and more. Plus, Obama/Biden can add bailouts, stimulus packages, ObamaCare and financial regulation to that their list of failures, not to mention 9% unemployment and trillions in debt.

● They’re working hard to demonize Ryan on his Medicare reform proposal as well, which is rich coming from a party that plans to cut $500 billion from Medicare to fund ObamaCare. CNN’s Candy Crowley was the first to use the old tactic of pretending that anonymous Republicans are nervous about this, stating that she has spoken with “Republicans” who claim this pick “looks a little bit like some sort of ticket death wish.” Yeah, right, find me an actually Republican who said that you hack.

Running with this, the AP is turning out articles how this pick will likely cost Romney Florida. Once-relevant liberal Michael Kinsley refers to Ryan’s proposals as “Ryan’s slasher novels” and the blogosphere is full of leftists whining about Ryan trying to kill old people and poor people. Too bad for them, nobody will listen.

● Following Crowley’s lead, Politico tells us that unnamed Republican strategists have “misgivings” about the pick because Ryan is little more than a “random Heritage Foundation analyst,” and someone “close to the campaign” supposedly “grumbled” that Ryan would now be dictating policy for the campaign. This is standard leftist prattle as well. When they can’t find a reason to attack a conservative, they invent unnamed sources supposedly on the conservative side who are despondent or outraged or just generally upset by the candidate or policy. It’s bull.

● Dumbass Debbie Wasserman Schultz is trying to link Ryan to the “failed policies of the past” and for wanting “tax breaks for the rich.” Neither line will work with Ryan as he was never the face of the Bush years and because their class warfare attacks haven’t worked yet even against Romney. As an aside, Politico also points out that Ryan is rich. . . something they never seem to mention about all those rich Democrats.

● Politico also worried that the Ryan pick was a desperation pick for Romney, which will force him to change his entire campaign strategy in ways which Politico doesn’t actually explain. They also had a couple articles on how Romney “lost control” of the picking process and was thus forced to pick Ryan because the public forced Ryan on Romney -- which contradicts the polls which show Rubio was the more popular choice and which flies in the face of the argument that Ryan is unpopular.

Conclusion

All in all, Ryan is an excellent pick. He’s a solid fiscal conservative with solid social conservative credential, though he doesn’t display the hate of someone like Rick Santorum. He’s got the backing of every Republican who has spoken. His budgetary brilliance is unmatched. He’s not Tea Party, but his views align with them very closely and he should excite them. And as you can see from the above, the Democrats can’t find anything to attack him with except his entitlement reform proposals, and I don’t see those as a problem. For one thing, they make Ryan the one guy in Washington who isn’t afraid to try to save the current system. For another, the party which plans to rob Medicare of $500 billion is hardly in a position to criticize, and Ryan is smart enough to point that out.

Thoughts?

Why You Should Vote Against The Donks

I did this before the 2010 election and it’s worth doing again. Below you will find a list of reasons to vote against Obama and the Democrats. Share this with your friends. Post the link on other websites you visit. Don’t let people forget!

Here are some of the things the Democrats did over the past two years that you may not have liked:

Obama Economic Record

• You didn’t build that.
• 8-9% unemployment for four solid years, 17% real unemployment.
• 5 straight years of trillion dollar deficits.
• Adding more to the national debt than all presidents combined.
• Hyper Inflation.
• Billions wasted on money to “clean energy companies” (read: donors to Obama) who went bankrupt right after getting money, e.g. Solyndra.
• Vetoing the Keystone Pipeline.
• The trillion dollar union/Democratic-interest-group giveaway known as the Stimulus bill and its dozen sequels.
• The trillion dollar Big Bank giveaway know as the TARP, the TALP and so on.
• Approving and then lying about $1.2 billion in bonuses to AIG.
• Authorizing massive salaries to the officers of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, both of which escaped regulation.
• The consumer and small bank screw job known as Financial Reform, a sop to huge banks and other Democratic donors.
• Effectively handing the Treasury to Goldman Sachs.
• “Saved or created” fake jobs.
• The attempt to tax “carbon,” i.e. everything on the planet.
• Not going a week without a taxpayer funded vacation or round of golf.
• 269 bank failures so far, with 829 more on the worry list.
• Record foreclosures.
• Trying to tax e-commerce to help California.
• Bad faith in budget negotiations.

ObamaCare

• Which destroys Medicare for financing.
• Which forces people to buy insurance and will cause everyone to lose their current plan, despite Democratic lies to the contrary.
• Which will bankrupt the country.
• Which is a huge sop to insurers.
• Which does nothing to contain costs.
• Which does nothing to improve the quality of care.
• Which will lead to rationing.
• Excluding union plans and raising the limits on the Cadillac tax in union-friendly states.
• The abortion distortion in ObamaCare, which exposed “pro-life” Democrats as anything but. . . and suing to stop their opponents from advertising this fact.
• Giving exemptions from ObamaCare to large, well-connected companies like McDonalds and 27 others.

Insidious Acts

• Allowing states to waive work requirement for welfare.
• Trying to turn Trayvon Martin shooting into race riot.
• Trying to hook Americans on government benefits.
• Trying to get Mexicans to sign up for American food stamps.
• Obama’s War on the Catholic Church.
• Attacking Boeing on union issues.

Eric Holder

• Fast and Furious.
• Eric Holder’s racist policies, including testimony that Holder sees civil rights laws as protecting blacks only and not whites and dropping Black Panther case.
• Holder refusing to defend DOMA.
• Holder investigating non-violent pro-life protesters while ignoring union thugs who attacked people at town hall meetings.
• Holder refusing top investigate death threats against conservatives in Wisconsin.
• Holder inventing Iran-Mexico link to distract from Fast and Furious.
• Holder in contempt for lying to Congress on Fast and Furious documents.

Democratic Hate

• Democrats supporting OWS rapists and thugs.
• Demonizing the Tea Party as racists and Nazis, and lying to manufacture “evidence.”
• Demonizing a cop as racist for arresting a Grade A jackass who happened to be black.
• Demonizing insurance companies to pass ObamaCare.
• Demonizing drug companies to pass ObamaCare.
• Demonizing employers to pass ObamaCare.
• Demonizing doctors to pass ObamaCare.
• Demonizing Arizona on the immigration issue. Then suing Arizona.
• Demonizing banks to pass Financial Reform.
• Demonizing oil companies to pass cap and trade.
• Demonizing Republicans because. . . well, because.
• Demonizing all Christians when a whacko shot an abortion doctor.
• Demonizing Mormons when California voted against gay marriage.
• Demonizing Israel to appease their anti-Semitism wing.
• Demonizing “right wingers” and Christians when a whacko shot up the Holocaust museum.
• Demonizing Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, George Bush, etc. etc.
• Demonizing John Boehner because they ran out of other people to hate.
• Accusing Republicans of a War on Women.
• Accusing Republicans of a War on Blacks.
• Calling any criticism of Obama “racist.”
• Reporting Obama’s own words attacked as “racist.”
• Exploiting the shooting of Gabby Giffords to slander Sarah Palin and conservatives, to demand restrictions on Free Speech, and to demand gun control.
• Death threats in Wisconsin.
• Attacking Voter ID laws as “racist.”
• Ignoring anti-Semitism at Media Matters and OWS.
• Inviting racist blacks to White House who attack interracial marriage.
• Never standing up to the racial demonization of Clarence Thomas.
• Ignoring Easter, but celebrating all other holidays.
• Using the words “hostage taking” to describe Republican acts.

Democratic Corruption

• Turning the Super Committee into a cash machine for lobbyists.
• Anything related to GE including granting them waivers on rules they lobbied for and appointing Jeffry Immelt to the President's Jobs Council even as he outsourced jobs to China.
• MF Global, where $700 million in investor money went missing as money was donated to Democrats before bankruptcy.
• Attacks on Republican donors by Treasury, including Gibson Guitar.
• It seems that every member of the Congressional Black Caucus is up on ethics charges, from taking dirty money (Charlie Goodtime Rangel) to sending stimulus money to relative’s banks (Maxine Waters) to awarding scholarships to ineligible family members (Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson and Rep. Sanford Bishop).
• Chris Dodd’s sweetheart deal with Countrywide.
• Stimulus money paid in non-existent districts for fake jobs.
• Stimulus money used to pay Hillary Clinton’s campaign debt.
• Stimulus money that went to dead people.
• Stimulus money that went to people in jail.
• No one in the Obama administration paying their taxes.
• Pelosi’s private plane.
• Pelosi’s drinks bill.
• Michelle Obama’s high class vacation-a-rama.
• The Louisiana Purchase.
• The Cornhusker Kickback.
• Medicare money for certain districts in Florida.
• A hospital for Chris Dodd’s vote on ObamaCare.
• Special treatment for Kaiser Permanente, the biggest provider in Pelosi’s district.
• Sestak Jobgate and a whiff of Clinton.
• Romanoff Jobgate.
• Climategate, and Obama’s affirmation of the falsified data.
• Algore Rapegate.
• Weinergate.
• Democrats Jim Moran (Va), Peter Visclosky (Ind.), and John Murtha (Hell) directing $137 million in defense contracts to clients of a lobbyist who funneled more than $380,000 in illegal campaign contributions to them.
• Suggesting we should suspend the Constitution to allow Obama to fix the economy.

Electoral Manipulation

• ACORN voter fraud.
• Manipulating Massachusetts electoral laws to keep Ted Kennedy’s seat Democratic and help pass ObamaCare.
• Running fake Tea Party candidates to hurt Republican chances in November. . . now proven in Michigan, New Jersey and Nevada.
• Trying to manipulate the electoral systems in several states to tilt the playing field toward Democrats.

Twisted Nominees

• Marxist and racist Van Jones.
• Maoist White House Communications Director Anita Dunn.
• Pedophile Safe Schools Czar Kevin Jennings.
• Unqualified Supreme Court nominee "wise Latina" Red Sonia Sotomayor.
• Unqualified Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan.

Weak on Terror

• Abandoning Israel repeatedly, including at the UN.
• Doing nothing to stop Iran getting the bomb.
• “Man made disasters.”
• Refusal to recognize the "Islam" in Islamic terrorism.
• Losing the war in Afghanistan and sending troops for a fruitless last push before surrendering.
• Putting Navy SEALS on a show trial.
• Falsely claiming credit for Osama bin Laden's death.
• Allowing pirates to increase number of ships taken by 625% per year and profits increasing by 22,527%.
• Trying to move terrorism trials to New York City. . . so terrorists can be near their new mosque.

Anti-Americanism

• Apologizing to Arabs and blaming the United States for their hatred of us.
• Feigning ignorance of what could have motivated a Muslim to attack US soldiers at Fort Hood, and warning Americans not to hold this against Muslims. Yet jumping to conclusions in all other cases.
• NASA’s new role as center for Muslim outreach.
• Democratic support of the triumphal mosque at Ground Zero.

Pro-Illegal Immigration

• Suing Arizona to stop it from enforcing a law the Federal Government is obligated to enforce.
• Trying to boycott Arizona.
• Reporting Arizona’s law to the United Nations as a human rights violation.
• Refusing to protect the border and instead putting up signs warning Americans to avoid nearby national parks.

Assaults on Freedom of Speech and the Internet

• SOPA
• Attempting to regulate the internet through Net Neutrality regulations.
• Pelosi’s McCarthy-esque calls for investigations of Democratic opponents.
• Attempting to take away free speech of corporations.
• Attempting to regulate talk radio through the Fairness Doctrine, dressed up as local content laws.
• Remaining silent when South Park creators were threatened by Muslims.
• Telling Molly Norris she should go into hiding rather than going after the people threatening her.
• Joining Muslim countries to work toward a UN resolution proclaiming blasphemous speech a human rights crime.

Faux “Environmentalism” Exposed

• Defending “scientists” involved in Climategate and other environmental reports created with false data.
• Ridiculous Copenhagen non-agreement.
• Wiping out central California’s farmland.
• The total mishandling of the BP disaster.
• Suppressing BP data to hide what really happened.
• Proving that leftist groups care about electing Democrats, not the causes they are using as Trojan horses.

Embarrassing Us

• Regifting in Britain.
• Abandoning our foreign allies.
• Bowing to foreign leaders.
• Sending Geithner to beg the Chinese to keep buying our bonds.
• Teleprompter in Chief.
• Scaring the hell out of New Yorkers with Air Force One joy ride.
• The arrogance of accepting the Nobel Prize for anticipatory good deeds.
• TSA Gropegate.
• Joe Biden

And just in case you like to pretend to be a liberal at the office and you want to discourage your kooky liberal friends from voting, here are some of the most popular (albeit stupid) complaints about the Democrats from the left:

• The Democrats were too interested in bipartisanship for the sake of bipartisanship than in passing the best possible legislation.
• ObamaCare didn’t go far enough because the Democrats sold out to the health insurance lobby and the Republicans.
• The Democrats didn’t do anything to help the environment. They didn’t pass cap and trade, and Copenhagen was a disaster because the U.S. refused to push for a world treaty against polluters like India, China and Brazil.
• Harry Reid used the threat of filibuster (a false threat when he had 60 votes) to stop or slow everything the Democrats should have done.
• Obama never gave benefits to gays in the Federal government, which he could have done by Executive Order, he failed to stand up for gay marriage, and the Democrats didn’t even try to end "don't ask, don't tell."
• The Democrats did nothing to reform the immigration system.
• The Democrats got into bed with Wall Street, taking their money and selling out consumers to banks.
• The Democrats did nothing to stop the mortgage crisis.
• The Democrats didn’t bail out states like Michigan and California with federal money.
• Obama’s reliance on teleprompters chafes at their delusions about his brilliance.
• He’s not cool, he’s an elitist.
• He didn’t save the economy.
• He did nothing to punish BP, all he did was go on vacation.
• He didn’t get us out of Afghanistan.

There you have it. Pass it along to your friends, and make sure everyone votes!!!

Election Stuff

There’s been a good deal of election related news in the past few days. Let’s cover it all. . . every last single item. Or not.

● The Polls: Dick Morris, who is often correct, made an interesting statement about the polls the other day. He noticed that the MSM is presenting the picture of Obama having momentum and they are doing it through polling that purports to show Obama gaining support. Newsweek apparently even speculated about an Obama landslide. Morris says not to believe any of this.

Morris has seen state-by-state polling of the thirteen key states. He says this polling shows Romney gaining momentum in nine of those states and Obama gaining momentum in four. From this, Morris claims that Romney is ahead in Indiana, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Nevada, North Carolina and Colorado. He is basically tied in Virginia, Florida and Ohio, though Obama importantly remains stuck below 50% in each. Moreover, while Obama is still ahead in Iowa, New Mexico, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, he is stuck below 50%, which presents a significant pick up opportunity for Romney -- Obama needs to win each of those states to win the election.

All told, Morris thinks that Romney may end up with around 350 electoral votes, which would be a landslide. I’m leaning in that direction as well.

● The Trumpster: According to reports, Romney plans to unleash Trump to win over swing-state whites in Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan. Trump huh? Well, before you scoff, consider this. According to Zogby, Trump appeals to whites who earn less that $35,000. These people make up the bulk of the undecideds. They apparently see Trump favorably based on “his celebrity, personal magnetism, and the positive aspiration brand he offers, [which] seems to gel with this group of voters.” He’s also a fearless campaigner who won’t shy away from blasting Obama on any issue. This could get interesting.

● The Money: I’m not a believer that money decides elections, but a lot of people are. To me money is more an indication of which way people think the election will go. Thus, it’s fascinating that Romney continues to out raise Obama by huge margins. In May, Romney raised $77 million compared to $60 million for Obama. In June, Romney took in $106 million compared to Obama’s $71 million. Now we learn that in July, Romney took in $101 million compared to Obama’s $75 million.

● The General: According to an Obama donor, Obama thinks Romney is looking to pick Gen. David Petraeus for his Vice President. Obama promptly denied saying that. On the one hand, this pick would probably electrify the public. I bet this would add 3-5% to Romney’s poll numbers everywhere. On the other hand, I’m leery of Petraeus. Generals rarely make good politicians and Petraeus is a known moderate. Given that Romney is still viewed with suspicion by the right, I think this would be a bad move. I still prefer Rubio.

● The Shameless: Obama keeps hitting new lows in his political ads. Last week, one of his ads called Romney a felon for his SEC filings. This week, he’s got some guy whining how he lost his healthcare when Romney closed a plant which led to his wife dying of cancer, i.e. Romney killed his wife (LINK). For the record, she died four years after Romney left Bain. Also, anyone who has dealt with our healthcare system knows this is crap. But that never stops the Democrats. PLUS, it turns out that she actually had insurance through her own job even after Bain closed the plant (LINK).

Romney, by the way, has hired a new advisor whose job will be to start pushing back on the Bain attacks. That shouldn’t be too hard, just point out the companies Bain saved.

● The Spending Cuts: Finally, do you recall the $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts that are supposed to kick in? Under a new law signed Tuesday, Obama will need to begin detailing where those cuts will happen as early as next month. This isn’t going to sit well with his voters when he tells them that if he’s re-elected, he will cut their jobs or benefits. Of course, that assumes he does what the law requires. Obama has already delayed Medicare cuts until November, even though those were supposed to kick in already, and he’s apparently been leaning on Big Business not to fire people before the election.

Obama Was Sabotaged!!

Remember how I mentioned the other day that the Democrats would start producing excuses soon for why they will lose this coming election? It’s started. This weekend, Politico did a fascinatingly whiny and stunningly wrong piece in which they basically conclude that the economy will defeat Obama and they try to explain why this was really beyond Obama’s control. Apparently, everyone else is sabotaging the economy. Observe.

Forget that Obama has saddled the economy with trillions in new taxes and regulations. Forget that he wants to shove Obamacare on the nation’s employers and terrorize the medical community. Forget that he’s adding more to the debt than all other presidents combined. Forget that he’s allowed too big to fail to get even bigger, that he’s done nothing to stabilize the housing market, and that inflation is out of control. Yeah, forget all that. The real reason the economy sucks is because. . .

(1) Corporate America is “sitting on vast piles of cash.” Yep. Although conditions are clearly right for Corporate America to be out there starting new businesses, launching new products, hiring like crazy, and making America the economic powerhouse it was meant to be, this cabal of Romney supporters simply refuse to do any of that.

Politico notes that according to the Fed, private companies are sitting on $2 trillion in cash. Reuters puts the number closer to $5 trillion. So why aren’t they spending that money on hiring people? Well, apparently, these evil business types site uncertainly, which Politico defines as there being “no guarantee there will be enough consumer demand to buy the product because not enough jobs are being created to put more money in people’s wallets.” Politico calls this a real “chicken and egg problem.”

Now think about this. What Politico is saying is that it is impossible to break out of a recession because business can’t hire people until they know the recession is over, but the recession can’t end until business starts hiring. If this is true, then how did we overcome the dozens of prior recessions the country faced? The fact of the matter is that the real uncertainty which bothers business is that Obama has imposed an incredible amount of new costs on businesses and consumers, and those costs aren’t known yet because of the way he did it, i.e. they are uncertain. No one in their right mind would commit to expanding their business if their costs could double any day or if consumers might find themselves socked with dramatically higher taxes and healthcare costs at any minute. That’s the real heart of the problem.

(2) Evil Congress wants to raise everyone’s taxes! They also want to slash spending, especially military spending. Yeah, right. Forget that Obama has been the one pushing for both things. Forget that the Democrats refused to negotiate the budget deal in good faith. Forget that Obama is the one who demanded the military cuts as part of the budget deal. Yeah, forget all of that and then you can blame the Congress because they have been unable to overcome the Democrats to stop these things.

It’s funny how Politico can miss the obvious. They actually worry that the nation is headed toward a “fiscal cliff” when these trillions in tax hikes and spending cuts will kick in on January 1, 2013 and they attack the Republicans for playing politics with this and for now leaving town on recess. They go back to the old MSM canard of calling the Congress “dysfunctional.” Yeah, ok, and who is to blame here? Nothing the House does gets passed in the Senate. Harry Reid won’t even bring Republican bills to a vote. Heck, he wouldn’t even allow Obama’s budget to be brought to a vote. And it was Reid and Obama who have been playing politics on the Bush tax cuts, first refusing to extend them long term and now using them for class warfare purposes. And it was Reid and Obama who pushed the idea of automatic spending cuts as part of the debt deal because they refused to agree to any responsible cuts. So if this is bad for Obama, it’s a problem of his own making.

(3) The evil central bankers around the world have refused to print more money! This gets rich. Politico notes that the Fed has a dual mandate to fight inflation and to “do whatever it can to boost employment” -- that’s actually not true, the dual mandate is to fight inflation and encourage growth, which is not the same thing as employment. Then they whine that all the Fed is doing is fighting inflation “despite no signs of any inflation.” Wow. First, inflation is soaring. Food and fuel inflation has run anywhere from 12% to 25% under Obama, not to mention that quality and quantity has been cut to try to mask price increases. It’s only if you look at official inflation, which excludes the things which inflate that you get to around 2%. Secondly, the Fed has done amazing amounts to promote growth. For one thing, it’s kept interest rates near historic lows since 2008. For another, it’s pumped vast amounts of new money into the economy through several rounds of quantitative easing. So what exactly hasn’t the Fed done?

Politico also blames Europe for being a drag on the world economy and the European Central bank for doing nothing to help. Total ignorance. They also specifically blame the Germans for not bailing out the other European countries, as if Germany was obligated to pay off the debts of Greece. Should we be paying Mexico’s debts?

Conclusion

This is low-grade economic idiocy and it’s premised on “facts” that are simply untrue. What interests me the most, however, is the attitude. The economy is bad because those evil capitalist who need to be put up against the wall have consciously tried to make us look bad and didn’t continue to do the things capitalists do when we started attacking them. The Fed owes us jobs and needs to keep spending to help Obama. Those lousy Europeans have sabotaged us by not fixing their damn problems and paying off debt that doesn’t belong to them. And that Congress. . . damn them, they didn’t overcome Obama’s policies enough to prevent Obama from being bitten in the ass by them.

Talk about whiny and talk about having NO grasp on reality. Do we really ever want to implement a policy put in place by people who think like this?

P.S. Don't forget, it is Star Trek Tuesday at the film site.

Harry Reid Lies And Smears. . . Again

Harry Reid is a man without morals or shame, a man who will lie so blatantly that he doesn’t even care if people know he’s lying, just so long as he thinks his lies are having some effect. A couple weeks back, Dingy Harry started attacking Mitt Romney. At first this seemed strange since no one really cares what the bastard says. But it soon became clear he had been chosen by Obama to lead the smearing of Romney. Reid was likely chosen because he’s a Mormon and thus cannot be accused of being anti-Mormon.

In this instance, Reid claimed that Romney hasn’t paid taxes in ten years, which would be a felony -- and follows Obama’s allegations that Romney committed a felony by misreporting his management position at Bain. . . yawn. Oh, sorry. Where was I? Oh yes, then Reid suggested that Romney has “money hidden in Bermuda, the Caymans Islands, and a Swiss bank account.” He then attacked Romney through Romney’s father: “His poor father must be so embarrassed about his son.”

Harry’s claim about Romney is a lie. There’s no other way to put it. And Harry knows it’s a lie and that people will see it as a lie. So he doubled down and sent forth his winged monkeys to tell MSM journalists “off the record” that Harry learned this from a source at Bain Capital, a source Harry will not name, but whom Harry really believes. Yeah, right. And my “sources” tell me the following about Harry:

● Harry has sex with underage children who are not his wives.
● Harry keeps a dead hooker in his closet.
● Harry is hooked on blow and meth, and he gives handjobs for crack.
● Harry’s big into gay sex. . . with animals.
● Harry bathes in the blood of poor Mexican children for “health reasons.”
● Harry once killed a man. . . and ate him.
● Harry collects Nancy’s Pelosi’s dead skin and made a coat out of it.
● Harry’s mother was a jackal and is very disappointed in her lying son.

But Harry’s unusual proclivities are not the issue. Nor is the fact that Harry lied to slander Romney, nor that he did it on behalf of Obama. Harry is, after all, a Democrat and knowingly making false, slanderous allegations is about the only thing they are good at.

What the issue is, is the interesting response this false claim has gotten. In the past, the Republicans would have turned the other cheek or maybe even attacked Romney for not surrendering to Harry. This time they’re firing back:

● Romney himself said, “I have paid taxes every year, and a lot of taxes, so Harry is wrong. Harry Reid has to put up or shut up. Harry, who are you sources?”

● Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Reid’s conduct was “beneath the dignity” of the Majority Leader’s office.

● RNC Chair Reince Priebus said, “I’m not going to respond to a dirty liar who hasn’t filed a single page of tax returns himself [and] complains about people with money but lives in the Ritz Carlton. . . . This is just a made-up issue.”

● Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell called the allegations “reckless and slanderous.”

● Sen. Lindsey Graham called Reid a liar and said, “I think he’s making things up.” He further said:

“I just cannot believe that the Majority Leader of the United States Senate would take the floor twice, make accusations that are absolutely unfounded, in my view, and quite frankly, making things up to divert the campaign away from the real issues.”

● George Will said, “This is McCarthyism from the desert.”

But it wasn’t just Republicans blasting Reid either. ABC News’s Jonathan Karl blasted Reid as well:

“It’s one of the most outrageous charges that I’ve ever seen actually made on the Senate floor. When Harry Reid comes to the floor of the Senate and makes this outrageous charge that has absolutely no evidence — I mean, Mitt Romney paid $3.1 million to the IRS in the one tax return that we’ve seen so far. He paid taxes. It’s a completely false charge.”

Even Jon Stewart blasted Harry for this one. He called Reid’s comment about Romney’s father a “bullshit shot” and said, “Harry Reid is a really, really terrible person.”

Frankly, it sounds like this was a mistake by Reid. When even the MSM and Jon Stewart are questioning his veracity and his integrity, all he’s really achieved is damaging his own already-sordid reputation even more.

Interestingly, Harry believes he’s scoring points because he thinks he’s keeping the Romney “tax return issue” alive in the mind of the public. And in accordance with that belief, the Democrats pushed this meme this weekend as well. But the public doesn’t care. This issue will win zero votes and Romney continues to play it well by refusing to play along. In fact, contrary to Reid’s beliefs, the only thing Reid’s attacks have done is to get the Republicans to stop whining about Romney not releasing his taxes. Thanks Harry. . . you bastard.

In any event, Reid has made a huge mistake here. Romney will win this election and I think these are the kinds of abusive moments which will keep Romney from seeing Reid as someone he can work with. And that would make Reid’s comments the perfect example of Democratic policies -- trading long term harm for no short term gain. Sounds like the Obama years.

Crazy People

Every once in a while, Politico does an interesting article that deserves comment, like their article about the myths Obama and Romney are telling themselves about the election.

1. The Democratic Myths

● Bane/Bain Capital. Team Obama believes the Bain Capital attacks will work. They think it worked for Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts and for Newt in South Carolina, so it will work for them. Politico, however, notes that the evidence is “not conclusive” and they site a recent poll which shows that, by a 34% margin, voters think Romney’s business background will make him a better decision-maker.

But frankly, there’s stronger evidence. After Obama spent a summer blasting away with millions in negative ads about Bain, Romney’s poll numbers have continued to rise while Obama’s have fallen. That’s pretty conclusive. And logic tells us these attacks won’t work in any event. For one thing, they are too esoteric for voters to understand. For another, Americans have grown accustomed to private equity financing and it doesn’t anger them. And for another, the longer Obama spends trying to attack Romney for being a businessman, the more he reminds people of his own lack of business acumen and the failure of his Keynesian economic policies.

As for this attack working before, Romney lost South Carolina because it’s an evangelical state. He lost to Ted Kennedy because no Kennedy will ever lose in Massachusetts. Bain had nothing to do with either.

● Party Like It’s 2008. Team Obama is clinging to the idea they can excite their base to get turnout similar to 2008. Politico refutes this with a recent Gallup poll showing that Democrats are 39% less likely to say they are “more enthusiastic about voting than usual.” That is solid evidence, but consider all the other evidence. Look how Obama’s fundraising is way down, how low Obama’s approval ratings have been for so long, and how few Democrats turned out in 2010. That’s the real evidence of a lack of enthusiasm. And then consider this: Obama’s 2008 victory required more than his base. He needed two-thirds of independents and even cross-over Republicans. All the evidence tells us that those people have abandoned him and aren’t going back. Nor is Obama doing anything to attract them, as he’s spending all his time working on his base. The idea that the electorate will mirror 2008 is a pipe dream.

● It’s Bush’s Fault. Team Obama thinks the voters will forgive his near total failure because they will remember how bad things where when he took office and will cut him some slack. But as Politico notes, there is no polling which reflects this. Moreover, Obama’s handling of the economy is routinely seen as a negative and Romney easily blows him away in poll after poll on economic issues.

But there’s an even simpler factor Politico has missed: the public may grade him on a curve because of the problems he was handed, BUT they will ultimately grade him on his performance since taking office in light of those problems. In other words, the bad start Bush gave him only means that people don’t expect him to reach the same heights he otherwise would have reached, it does not excuse his failure to progress. And on that point, Obama has progressed poorly: taking unemployment from a temporary 6% to a permanent 9%, taking a $450 billion deficit and turning it into five years of trillion dollar deficits, rampant inflation, etc.

2. The Republican Myths

● It’s the Economy Stupid. Team Romney is entirely focused on the economy (except when they aren’t (LINK)). Politico thinks this is a mistake because “voters expect their presidents to be multidimensional.” But here’s the problem. First, Romney has proven to be very multidimensional all summer, as he went issue by issue through everything outside the economy. Secondly, what makes them think Obama is any more popular on any other issue? Obamacare, Fast and Furious, standing in the way of school vouchers, environmental failures, his pathetic foreign policy, inflaming racial tensions, failing to respond to disasters, a failed energy policy, a failed industrial policy, cronyism, confusion on social issues, attacks on religion, etc. Where exactly is it that voters will think Obama has an advantage?

● Can Buy Me Love. Romney believes that massive spending by outside groups like American Crossroads will crush Obama. But Politico warns that voters are starting to tune out ads because of their sheer volume. In other words, money doesn’t matter. . . so much for Democratic claims to the contrary. I can’t argue with this. By and large, money isn’t all that relevant, except to the extent it allows a ground game in key states. BUT this race isn’t about money in any event, it’s about Obama’s failures.

● You Don’t Have To Like Me. Romney continues to be not-liked. Romney thinks this doesn’t matter. Politico counters that this means that (1) Romney has no room for error, (2) Romney will have no defense when Obama starts attacking his character, and (3) his unpopularity will cause voters to interpret Romney’s missteps in a negative light. The problem with Politico’s analysis is that it’s not being borne out by the reality. Romney’s “gaffes” and Obama’s personal attacks have failed to influence anyone. And the reason is that voters aren’t weighing Romney v. Obama, they are deciding whether or not Obama deserves a second term. Romney only matters to the extent he’s either acceptable or unacceptable. In other words, they view Romney as simply YES/NO and then they spend their timing thinking about Obama. So all this talk of Romney’s likeability is misplaced. Not to mention, as I pointed out yesterday (LINK), there’s reason to think the disconnect between Obama’s personal popularity and his failure on every other point should be troubling.

● It’s Inevitable. Finally, Team Romney thinks that given the state of the economy, no president can be reelected. Politico agrees that the three presidents who went up for reelection during bad economic times (Ford, Carter, Bush I) all lost, but they also faced other problems -- Watergate, the Iranian hostage crisis, and a third-party challenge from Ross Perot. So Politico concludes that while bad economic times probably do matter the most, elections are more complex than that.

I agree. BUT again, what exactly is Obama offering? Outside of the economy, his only two achievements are ObamaCare, which a clear majority of the public wants repealed, and financial regulation, which nobody cares about. And don’t forget, the public had a chance to render a verdict on all of his “achievements” in 2010 and they gave the Republicans an historic win in the House. The economy may not be the only issue, but Politico is kidding itself if it thinks that Obama fares better on any other issue.

Conclusion

It strikes me that Politico is nervous. Even before digging into these issues and seeing how limited their analysis was, it was already clear they think Team Obama is much more delusional than Team Romney. Indeed, the best they can do with Romney is argue that his reasons might not be correct, but with Obama, they’re pretty darn certain he’s wrong. What all of this tells me is that Romney is using an effective strategy with few holes, not to mention that he addresses the holes when they appear. But Obama is using a delusional strategy that just won’t work and relies on things happening which just won’t happen. Bad news for Obama.