Yesterday we were treated via the Washington Post to a heretofore unknown (to us) moonbat. His name is Colman McCarthy and he is identified as the director for (get ready) “the Center for Teaching Peace in Washington.” His column is entitled: 'Don't ask, don't tell has been repealed. ROTC still shouldn't be on campus.’
And therein we get our first hint. Liberals always lie. They don’t want the military on campuses because of DADT. Then DADT is repealed and….they still don’t want the military on campuses.
We’ll let McCarthy speak for himself:
“Even well short of the pacifist positions, they (universities) can argue the impracticality of maintaining a military that has helped drive this country into record depths of debt. The defense budget has more than doubled since 2000, to over $700 billion.”
So never mind the whole gays in the military thing, the real reason to oppose ROTC is….the deficit! Well, that’s novel.
But wait. It gets better!
“Only one of the eight Ivy League schools - Cornell – offers a degree in peace studies. Their pride in running programs in women's studies, black studies, and gay and lesbian studies is well-founded, but schools have small claims to greatness so long as the study of peace is not equal to the other departments when it comes to size and funding.”
Were you as shocked as RedStateVT that only one Ivy League school offers a degree in peace studies? Particularly when peace studies – along with women’s studies, black studies, and gay and lesbian studies – are the job-creating engines for the new economy. Unemployment is 10%, but we need more peace studies majors.
But wait. It gets better!
“I admire those who join armies, whether America's or the Taliban's: for their discipline, for their loyalty to their buddies and to their principles, for their sacrifices to be away from home. In recent years, I've had several Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans in my college classes.”
Some of my best friends are soldiers! Some of them are Taliban!
Where has McCarthy been? RedStateVT could have done a dozen posts on this guy during 2010. We have only one thing to say to this crackpot: You are talking to the wrong side about peace.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
RedStateVT Presents the Worst of 2010
Nancy Pelosi – All that is wrong with Liberals concentrated in one individual. “We have to pass the health care bill to find out what is in it.” Perhaps the single dumbest statement ever uttered by a political figure. (And Libs love to stick it to W and Sarah Palin!) Instead of exhibiting graciousness in defeat last November, Pelosi works the sycophants and returns as their leader. They deserve each other.
Obamacare – Challenged by attorneys general. Not a tax, but a tax. Waivers for countless political allies of Obama. Death panels…oh, excuse us, end-of-life panels. You name it, this turkey has only just begun to rot. Given the process that led to its passage, can anyone really be surprised?
Eric Holder – The attorney general takes partisanship (and incompetence) to a new level. Not including Obama, has any one individual ever been so unqualified for so high a government position?
Bob Kiss and the Burlington, Vermont Progressives – You folks wanted to turn cable into a public utility and got your wish. Now you have defaulted on your loans and, apparently, stolen money. In a just world, you would be doing the perp walk.
The Climate Change Crowd – Caught lying about the science, they forge ahead as if the whole world did not see what they did. Damn the torpedoes!
Gloria Allred – Ambulance chaser extraordinaire, Allred agrees to serve as the Prog point person to bring the decent Meg Whitman down. Never mind that Whitman paid her maid above market wages and treated her as a member of the family, Allred throws her client under the bus and, we assume, back across the border.
Julian Assange and WikiLeaks – Alleged rapist Assange hides behind a bunch of claptrap about transparency, but fails – as most Liberals do – to distinguish between good and evil. Yes, there is a difference. RedStateVT repeats its challenge to Assange to publish secret communication from Al Qaeda and Hezbollah.
The Mainstream Media – There is a simple fix for the declining viewer/readership of CBS/NBC/ABC, New York Times/Washington Post and the old guard: report objectively. Flummoxed by Fox News, they double-down on their leftist agenda and the bleeding continues.
Reality TV – Here in one genre is encapsulated the decline of western civilization. Special shame goes to the Kardashians whose mother continues to find new and novel ways to pimp her daughters.
Obamacare – Challenged by attorneys general. Not a tax, but a tax. Waivers for countless political allies of Obama. Death panels…oh, excuse us, end-of-life panels. You name it, this turkey has only just begun to rot. Given the process that led to its passage, can anyone really be surprised?
Eric Holder – The attorney general takes partisanship (and incompetence) to a new level. Not including Obama, has any one individual ever been so unqualified for so high a government position?
Bob Kiss and the Burlington, Vermont Progressives – You folks wanted to turn cable into a public utility and got your wish. Now you have defaulted on your loans and, apparently, stolen money. In a just world, you would be doing the perp walk.
The Climate Change Crowd – Caught lying about the science, they forge ahead as if the whole world did not see what they did. Damn the torpedoes!
Gloria Allred – Ambulance chaser extraordinaire, Allred agrees to serve as the Prog point person to bring the decent Meg Whitman down. Never mind that Whitman paid her maid above market wages and treated her as a member of the family, Allred throws her client under the bus and, we assume, back across the border.
Julian Assange and WikiLeaks – Alleged rapist Assange hides behind a bunch of claptrap about transparency, but fails – as most Liberals do – to distinguish between good and evil. Yes, there is a difference. RedStateVT repeats its challenge to Assange to publish secret communication from Al Qaeda and Hezbollah.
The Mainstream Media – There is a simple fix for the declining viewer/readership of CBS/NBC/ABC, New York Times/Washington Post and the old guard: report objectively. Flummoxed by Fox News, they double-down on their leftist agenda and the bleeding continues.
Reality TV – Here in one genre is encapsulated the decline of western civilization. Special shame goes to the Kardashians whose mother continues to find new and novel ways to pimp her daughters.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Home Stretch
Words To Live By
The elections resulted in an overarching victory for conservatives, making it clearer than ever that the Republicans’ position can be summarized in 6 words: Small Government. Low Taxes. National Security. (Boris Epshetyn, Foxnews.com, 12/28/10)
Certainly makes more sense than “Change we can believe in.”
Step Off
Wall Street's biggest banks, whose missteps caused a global financial crisis and economic slowdown two years ago, were more agile when it came to countering the political and regulatory response. The U.S. government, promising to make the system safer, buckled under many of the financial industry's protests. (Washington Post, 12/28/10)
Obama and the Dems caved to their financial benefactors on Wall Street.
The elections resulted in an overarching victory for conservatives, making it clearer than ever that the Republicans’ position can be summarized in 6 words: Small Government. Low Taxes. National Security. (Boris Epshetyn, Foxnews.com, 12/28/10)
Certainly makes more sense than “Change we can believe in.”
Step Off
Wall Street's biggest banks, whose missteps caused a global financial crisis and economic slowdown two years ago, were more agile when it came to countering the political and regulatory response. The U.S. government, promising to make the system safer, buckled under many of the financial industry's protests. (Washington Post, 12/28/10)
Obama and the Dems caved to their financial benefactors on Wall Street.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Who Runs Barter Town?
Impeach
At her confirmation hearings last year, Sonia Sotomayor spent a lot of time assuring senators that empathy would play no part in her work on the Supreme Court.
That was a sort of rebuke to President Obama, who had said that empathy was precisely the quality that separated legal technicians like Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. from great justices. Justice Sotomayor would have none of it. “We apply law to facts,” she told the Senate Judiciary Committee last year. “We don’t apply feelings to facts.”
We are now three months into Justice Sotomayor’s second term on the court. That is awfully early in a justice’s career to draw any general conclusions. But some things are becoming tolerably clear. Justice Sotomayor has completely dispelled the fear on the left that her background as a prosecutor would align her with the court’s more conservative members on criminal justice issues. And she has displayed a quality — call it what you will — that is alert to the humanity of the people whose cases make their way to the Supreme Court. (NYT, 12/27/10)
So, what the New York Times is saying is that Sotomayor lied during her confirmation hearings.
Christine O’Donnell’s Revenge
Alvin Greene, the unemployed Army veteran who suggested during his failed bid for the United States Senate this year that making action figures of himself would help create jobs, is running for office again. Mr. Greene paid the $165 filing fee on Friday to run in a special election for a South Carolina House seat made vacant by the death this month of Representative Cathy B. Harvin, a Democrat. (NYT, 12/28/10)
Just to be clear, Greene is a Democrat. That’s Democrat. Democrat, Democrat, Democrat.
At her confirmation hearings last year, Sonia Sotomayor spent a lot of time assuring senators that empathy would play no part in her work on the Supreme Court.
That was a sort of rebuke to President Obama, who had said that empathy was precisely the quality that separated legal technicians like Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. from great justices. Justice Sotomayor would have none of it. “We apply law to facts,” she told the Senate Judiciary Committee last year. “We don’t apply feelings to facts.”
We are now three months into Justice Sotomayor’s second term on the court. That is awfully early in a justice’s career to draw any general conclusions. But some things are becoming tolerably clear. Justice Sotomayor has completely dispelled the fear on the left that her background as a prosecutor would align her with the court’s more conservative members on criminal justice issues. And she has displayed a quality — call it what you will — that is alert to the humanity of the people whose cases make their way to the Supreme Court. (NYT, 12/27/10)
So, what the New York Times is saying is that Sotomayor lied during her confirmation hearings.
Christine O’Donnell’s Revenge
Alvin Greene, the unemployed Army veteran who suggested during his failed bid for the United States Senate this year that making action figures of himself would help create jobs, is running for office again. Mr. Greene paid the $165 filing fee on Friday to run in a special election for a South Carolina House seat made vacant by the death this month of Representative Cathy B. Harvin, a Democrat. (NYT, 12/28/10)
Just to be clear, Greene is a Democrat. That’s Democrat. Democrat, Democrat, Democrat.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Sarah Palin Will Now Accept Your Apology
When a proposal to encourage end-of-life planning touched off a political storm over “death panels,” Democrats dropped it from legislation to overhaul the health care system. But the Obama administration will achieve the same goal by regulation, starting Jan. 1. Under the new policy, outlined in a Medicare regulation, the government will pay doctors who advise patients on options for end-of-life care, which may include advance directives to forgo aggressive life-sustaining treatment. (NYT, 12/25/10)
Funny how all the things that Republicans (including Sarah Palin) warned about Obamacare – and for which they were derided – are now coming to pass. Cost will go down. Sorry, they will go up. The insurance mandate is not a tax. Oops, it is a tax. Not death panels. Well, yeah they are sort of death panels……
Funny how all the things that Republicans (including Sarah Palin) warned about Obamacare – and for which they were derided – are now coming to pass. Cost will go down. Sorry, they will go up. The insurance mandate is not a tax. Oops, it is a tax. Not death panels. Well, yeah they are sort of death panels……
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Merry Christmas from RedStateVT!
All We Want for Christmas.......
The biggest immediate danger to incumbent Democrats will be in the Rust Belt, where Michigan , Pennsylvania and Ohio Ohio losing two seats, political analysts expect the Republicans to eliminate a Democratic seat from the Cleveland
Thursday, December 23, 2010
All On A Waywarding Day
Synchonicity
The departing Democrats are, as one in their ranks put it, "Obama's Orphans." So many of them cast vote after vote for the president's program. They were then left at the side of the road while history moved by. During the recent campaign, these loyalists were accused of being "out of touch," and they certainly were out of sync with the prevailing mood of those who chose to vote this year. (E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post, 12/23/10)
Yes, Dionne will admit that Dems were “out of synch.” But only with those who “chose to vote.” If not for those pesky voters, Dems would have fared so much better!
All It Was
Democrats also disputed that the election results were a repudiation of their agenda and pointed instead at the hard times many Americans are suffering through. “The economy has been awful all over the country,” said Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader. “The economy is the reason you had the uproar from the Tea Party. That’s all it was.” (NYT, 12/23/10)
Obamacare. Ground Zero mosque. Arizona immigration law. Spending. Taxes. Oh, and the economy. Yes, that’s all it was.
The departing Democrats are, as one in their ranks put it, "Obama's Orphans." So many of them cast vote after vote for the president's program. They were then left at the side of the road while history moved by. During the recent campaign, these loyalists were accused of being "out of touch," and they certainly were out of sync with the prevailing mood of those who chose to vote this year. (E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post, 12/23/10)
Yes, Dionne will admit that Dems were “out of synch.” But only with those who “chose to vote.” If not for those pesky voters, Dems would have fared so much better!
All It Was
Democrats also disputed that the election results were a repudiation of their agenda and pointed instead at the hard times many Americans are suffering through. “The economy has been awful all over the country,” said Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader. “The economy is the reason you had the uproar from the Tea Party. That’s all it was.” (NYT, 12/23/10)
Obamacare. Ground Zero mosque. Arizona immigration law. Spending. Taxes. Oh, and the economy. Yes, that’s all it was.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
A Separate Reality
Insanity Now!
Caught a few minutes of Democracy Now! (note the exclamation point) on Monday. Host Amy Goodman has a new spin on the extension of the Bush tax rates. Tax rates are cut for millionaires/billionaires, but actually go up for the working poor! Wow, we don’t think even Colonel Bernie Sanders was peddling that line.
The Marquise de Merteuil
There was no time for a valedictory or even a toast. Pelosi still had history to make, inequities to erase, strategies to craft. (Washington Post, 12/22/10)
Opinion piece from the WAPO? No, objective news reporting! Later in the day, Pelosi helped a blind man cross the street, offered scientists some ideas on curing disease, and pitched in laying sandbags to stop hillside erosion in California. All in a day’s work for the Speaker.
Simple(ton) Math
An audit of Burlington Telecom, prepared for the Department of Public Service and released this month, concluded the city-owned telecom utility incurred a debt of more than $50 million to build a network that reaches fewer than 5,000 residents and ignored rules imposed by the state to protect Burlington taxpayers from risk. (Burlington Free Press, 12/22/10)
So let’s get out the calculator. $50 mil divided by 5,000 subscribers equals $10,000 per subscriber. Assume an average annual bill of $1,000 per and you get a smoking return…after 10 years!
Caught a few minutes of Democracy Now! (note the exclamation point) on Monday. Host Amy Goodman has a new spin on the extension of the Bush tax rates. Tax rates are cut for millionaires/billionaires, but actually go up for the working poor! Wow, we don’t think even Colonel Bernie Sanders was peddling that line.
The Marquise de Merteuil
There was no time for a valedictory or even a toast. Pelosi still had history to make, inequities to erase, strategies to craft. (Washington Post, 12/22/10)
Opinion piece from the WAPO? No, objective news reporting! Later in the day, Pelosi helped a blind man cross the street, offered scientists some ideas on curing disease, and pitched in laying sandbags to stop hillside erosion in California. All in a day’s work for the Speaker.
Simple(ton) Math
An audit of Burlington Telecom, prepared for the Department of Public Service and released this month, concluded the city-owned telecom utility incurred a debt of more than $50 million to build a network that reaches fewer than 5,000 residents and ignored rules imposed by the state to protect Burlington taxpayers from risk. (Burlington Free Press, 12/22/10)
So let’s get out the calculator. $50 mil divided by 5,000 subscribers equals $10,000 per subscriber. Assume an average annual bill of $1,000 per and you get a smoking return…after 10 years!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Solstice
Alphabet Soup
For gays and lesbians currently serving in the military, this doesn't mean they necessarily have to make public their sexuality. It just means that soon they won't have to fear being discharged for being who they are. (Eugene Robinson, Washington Post, 12/21/10)
From the incomprehensible Robinson comes this one about the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal. Gays and lesbians don’t have to make public their sexuality and don’t have to fear being discharged? Isn’t this what DADT was all about? How about adopting RedStateVT’s axiom: STAYS – Stop Talking About Your Sexuality.
I Dream, You Dream, We All Dream for…..
These young people are of many nationalities, but the overwhelming number are Hispanic, and there is no doubt that the public pressure on Congress is largely aimed at limiting the growth of Latinos in the country. (Edward Schumacher-Matos, Washington Post, 12/21/10)
Another disingenuous WAPO columnist weighs in, this time on the DREAM Act. Don’t you love that name? Who doesn’t want to DREAM? Schumacher-Matos recites a litany of past sins of the federal government (who hates America?) targeting Native Americans, African Americans, Chinese Americans and so on. Of course he fails to mention the one really salient point, that these groups were not here illegally.
For gays and lesbians currently serving in the military, this doesn't mean they necessarily have to make public their sexuality. It just means that soon they won't have to fear being discharged for being who they are. (Eugene Robinson, Washington Post, 12/21/10)
From the incomprehensible Robinson comes this one about the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal. Gays and lesbians don’t have to make public their sexuality and don’t have to fear being discharged? Isn’t this what DADT was all about? How about adopting RedStateVT’s axiom: STAYS – Stop Talking About Your Sexuality.
I Dream, You Dream, We All Dream for…..
These young people are of many nationalities, but the overwhelming number are Hispanic, and there is no doubt that the public pressure on Congress is largely aimed at limiting the growth of Latinos in the country. (Edward Schumacher-Matos, Washington Post, 12/21/10)
Another disingenuous WAPO columnist weighs in, this time on the DREAM Act. Don’t you love that name? Who doesn’t want to DREAM? Schumacher-Matos recites a litany of past sins of the federal government (who hates America?) targeting Native Americans, African Americans, Chinese Americans and so on. Of course he fails to mention the one really salient point, that these groups were not here illegally.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Porphyria's Lament
Yes, Indeed
“The problem is tax cuts can be popular," Frank said. (Washington Post, 12/17/10)
Barney Frank explains the problem!
Worth Noting
In 30 states, the people have protected traditional marriage by constitutional amendment: In no state where the question has been put directly to voters has same-sex marriage been adopted by democratic majorities. (Matthew J. Franck, Washington Post, 12/17/10)
Good column by Franck on the demonization of anyone who dares oppose gay marriage….which apparently includes most Americans.
Labeled
The label "conservative" conveys much useful information about people who adopt it. So does the label "liberal," which is why most liberals have abandoned it, preferring "progressive," until they discredit it, too. (George Will, Washington Post, 12/19/10)
The great George Will.
“The problem is tax cuts can be popular," Frank said. (Washington Post, 12/17/10)
Barney Frank explains the problem!
Worth Noting
In 30 states, the people have protected traditional marriage by constitutional amendment: In no state where the question has been put directly to voters has same-sex marriage been adopted by democratic majorities. (Matthew J. Franck, Washington Post, 12/17/10)
Good column by Franck on the demonization of anyone who dares oppose gay marriage….which apparently includes most Americans.
Labeled
The label "conservative" conveys much useful information about people who adopt it. So does the label "liberal," which is why most liberals have abandoned it, preferring "progressive," until they discredit it, too. (George Will, Washington Post, 12/19/10)
The great George Will.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Chances Are
If Reid waits until New START is done before holding the vote on DADT, Senators could start going home once the treaty is resolved, dooming DADT repeal. But this scenario would be averted if Reid slips in the DADT vote before START. By contrast, if the DADT repeal debate and vote are done first, no Senator will leave Washington before START is resolved. So doing DADT repeal first doesn't imperil START. (Greg Sargent, Washington Post, 12/16/10)
Because – clearly – the message that the American people sent to Washington in November – the number one concern of the people – before jobs, before Islamic terrorism, before taxes - was this: let gays serve openly in the military.
No wonder the approval rating of Congress is 18%.
Because – clearly – the message that the American people sent to Washington in November – the number one concern of the people – before jobs, before Islamic terrorism, before taxes - was this: let gays serve openly in the military.
No wonder the approval rating of Congress is 18%.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Let RedStateVT Be Your Guide
How Novel
By contradicting two prior opinions, Monday’s court ruling in Virginia against the Obama health care law highlighted both the novelty of the constitutional issues and the difficulty of forging consensus among judges who bring differences in experience, philosophy and partisan background to the bench. (NYT, 12/14/10)
Let’s review: Two prior opinions upheld Obamacare. Suddenly a third judge disagrees. And so the New York Times now wants to talk about judicial partisanship!
The Colonel
Here’s Sanders — a train robber with the audacity to accuse the passengers of “making out like bandits” simply for hanging on to what he couldn’t manage to steal. (Michelle Malkin, 12/12/2010)
Best description of Colonel Sanders that we have heard in a while.
The Bernie Talkathon
Progressives, who have dismissed the charge of socialism as a libel, seemed happy to accept ideological leadership from a self-described democratic socialist. (Michael Gerson, Washington Post, 12/14/10)
Good one from Gerson.
By contradicting two prior opinions, Monday’s court ruling in Virginia against the Obama health care law highlighted both the novelty of the constitutional issues and the difficulty of forging consensus among judges who bring differences in experience, philosophy and partisan background to the bench. (NYT, 12/14/10)
Let’s review: Two prior opinions upheld Obamacare. Suddenly a third judge disagrees. And so the New York Times now wants to talk about judicial partisanship!
The Colonel
Here’s Sanders — a train robber with the audacity to accuse the passengers of “making out like bandits” simply for hanging on to what he couldn’t manage to steal. (Michelle Malkin, 12/12/2010)
Best description of Colonel Sanders that we have heard in a while.
The Bernie Talkathon
Progressives, who have dismissed the charge of socialism as a libel, seemed happy to accept ideological leadership from a self-described democratic socialist. (Michael Gerson, Washington Post, 12/14/10)
Good one from Gerson.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Confounding
As House Democrats met privately to weigh the tax deal negotiated by the White House, an angry chant spontaneously rolled across the room. “Just say no, just say no,” rebellious lawmakers cried. Vulgar words were aimed at President Obama. (NYT, 12/12/2010)
RedStateVT calls for John Boehner to censure those Democrats who defamed the president.
With divided government imminent, Democrats are using these final days to make a desperate push for priorities, including an immigration measure for young Americans who entered the country illegally….. (NYT, 12/12/2010)
“Young Americans who entered the country illegally?” Well, OK, we give up trying to figure that one out!
By the end of last week, it certainly looked as if Barack Obama had outsourced his presidency to Bill Clinton. First, he cut a Clintonian-style deal with Republicans on tax cuts and then he literally turned over the White House lectern to his predecessor. (NYT, 21/11/2010)
See RedStateVT’s previous post (The Big Dog is Back) on this issue.
RedStateVT calls for John Boehner to censure those Democrats who defamed the president.
With divided government imminent, Democrats are using these final days to make a desperate push for priorities, including an immigration measure for young Americans who entered the country illegally….. (NYT, 12/12/2010)
“Young Americans who entered the country illegally?” Well, OK, we give up trying to figure that one out!
By the end of last week, it certainly looked as if Barack Obama had outsourced his presidency to Bill Clinton. First, he cut a Clintonian-style deal with Republicans on tax cuts and then he literally turned over the White House lectern to his predecessor. (NYT, 21/11/2010)
See RedStateVT’s previous post (The Big Dog is Back) on this issue.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Since You Asked
Quick Question #1
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. defended the use of sting operations orchestrated by government informants, telling advocates for Muslim-American civil rights in remarks on Friday night that the tactic is an “essential law enforcement tool in uncovering and preventing terror attacks.” (NYT, 12/10/2010)
Who is this guy? (By the way, exactly right Mr. Holder!)
Quick Question #2
“This nation has a record-breaking $13.8 trillion national debt at the same time as the middle class is collapsing and poverty is increasing,” Mr. Sanders said. “It seems to me to be unconscionable, unconscionable for my conservative friends and for everybody else in this country to be driving up this already too high national debt by giving tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires who don’t need it.” (NYT, 12/11/10)
Who exactly are Bernie Sanders’s “conservative” friends?
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. defended the use of sting operations orchestrated by government informants, telling advocates for Muslim-American civil rights in remarks on Friday night that the tactic is an “essential law enforcement tool in uncovering and preventing terror attacks.” (NYT, 12/10/2010)
Who is this guy? (By the way, exactly right Mr. Holder!)
Quick Question #2
“This nation has a record-breaking $13.8 trillion national debt at the same time as the middle class is collapsing and poverty is increasing,” Mr. Sanders said. “It seems to me to be unconscionable, unconscionable for my conservative friends and for everybody else in this country to be driving up this already too high national debt by giving tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires who don’t need it.” (NYT, 12/11/10)
Who exactly are Bernie Sanders’s “conservative” friends?
Friday, December 10, 2010
The Big Dog is Back
RedStateVT watched this news conference and will state the following: THIS WAS THE SINGLE MOST UNEQUIVOCAL DISPLAY EVER OF PRESIDENTIAL IMPOTENCE. Mauled by his own party, President Obama meets with Big Dog Bill Clinton to garner support for his compromise deal with the Republicans. Obama cannot sell the deal, so he asks Clinton to sell it for him. Start there. How humiliating must it have been for Obama to have to call in the Big Dog? Dems are turning on Obama, but still have a soft spot for the Big Dog. But wait, the humiliation got worse. Bill commands the center of the podium as though he were still the president. Obama stands off to the side trying to look natural, but no doubt burning up inside. How did it get to this he must be asking himself? But wait it gets worse! During the Q&A, Obama tries to cut in a couple of times, but Clinton talks over him. Finally, rendered utterly and completely embarrassed, Obama says: I’ve got to go, my wife is waiting for me. Bill continues to hold court.
This actually happened! And like the presidential seal falling off the podium a couple of weeks back, it is entirely emblematic of the Obama presidency. He is powerless and adrift.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
RedStateVT Returns...and Reflects
It is hard to know what to make of WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange. Never mind the rape allegations, what exactly is his point? Confidential diplomatic cables should be leaked in the name of transparency? Well OK, how about Assange gets a hold of some Al Qaeda communication and leaks that. Let’s get a look at what Hamas is cooking up. And what about Dr. Evil over in North Korea? Of course he never would because in the alternative universe that Assange inhabits, the U.S. and any other democratic nation are always the bad guys. Assange doesn’t recognize the nature of pure evil. Maybe he’ll discover it in his prison cell.
Meanwhile the Berkeley (CA) City Council wants to honor PFC Bradley Manning who stole military documents and gave them to WikiLeaks. Yes, there are aliens among us.
The leak of classified documents can certainly not be laid at the feet of President Obama or Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton and the press has not done so. But consider for just a moment if this had happened two years ago. President Bush, Dick Cheney and Condi Rice would be hounded by Chris Matthews, Katie Couric, that guy Keith somebody, etc. A minute would not pass without Team Bush being blamed. You know RedStateVT is right.
Interesting how the soak-the-rich rhetoric of the Democrats on the Bush tax cut extension issue is not resonating with the public. Kudos to the people! Dems have played the class warfare card so often that it is worn out. Even the common man seems to realize that demonizing the successful is unfair.
New York Congressman Anthony Weiner is now officially the new SUDs – Spokesman for Unhinged Democrats - the replacement for the departing Alan Grayson. Weiner on Fox yesterday: “the estate tax doesn’t matter because you are dead.”
The Obama Presidency is imploding.
Nominee for Quote of the Year
Liberals don't care. Their approach is to rip out society's foundations without asking if they serve any purpose. (Ann Coulter, 12/1/2010)
Meanwhile the Berkeley (CA) City Council wants to honor PFC Bradley Manning who stole military documents and gave them to WikiLeaks. Yes, there are aliens among us.
The leak of classified documents can certainly not be laid at the feet of President Obama or Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton and the press has not done so. But consider for just a moment if this had happened two years ago. President Bush, Dick Cheney and Condi Rice would be hounded by Chris Matthews, Katie Couric, that guy Keith somebody, etc. A minute would not pass without Team Bush being blamed. You know RedStateVT is right.
Interesting how the soak-the-rich rhetoric of the Democrats on the Bush tax cut extension issue is not resonating with the public. Kudos to the people! Dems have played the class warfare card so often that it is worn out. Even the common man seems to realize that demonizing the successful is unfair.
New York Congressman Anthony Weiner is now officially the new SUDs – Spokesman for Unhinged Democrats - the replacement for the departing Alan Grayson. Weiner on Fox yesterday: “the estate tax doesn’t matter because you are dead.”
The Obama Presidency is imploding.
Nominee for Quote of the Year
Liberals don't care. Their approach is to rip out society's foundations without asking if they serve any purpose. (Ann Coulter, 12/1/2010)
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Three Four Five
A South Korean military chief turned his eulogy at a funeral today for two slain marines into a tirade against the North, threatening to retaliate "thousand-fold" for the men's deaths by bombardment earlier this week.
Seoul is also readying 4-day military exercises with American forces beginning Sunday, aimed as a threatening display of military might and deterrence against Pyongyang. The USS George Washington, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that's one of the largest in the world, is due to take part. The North called the upcoming games an "unpardonable provocation" and warned of retaliatory attacks creating a "sea of fire" if its own territory is violated.
What do you say RedStateVT fans…Time to take out Dr. Evil and Mini-me?
En Vogue
Mavericks are not in vogue these days on Capitol Hill, a place where hyper-partisanship and obduracy seem to be their own rewards. But Senator Richard G. Lugar, an Indiana Republican who played that role long before it had a brand name, is standing against his party on a number of significant issues at a politically dangerous time to do so. (NYT, 11/28/10)
In the past, the New York Times has defined liberal Republicans as “principled” or “moderate.” The new naming convention is to call them “mavericks.” RedStateVT calls them Democrats.
Question for Liberals
President Obama should pound the table for a clean, yearlong extension of unemployment benefits, and should excoriate phony deficit hawks — in both parties — who say that jobless benefits are too costly, even as they pass vastly more expensive tax cuts for the rich. (NYT, 11/28/10)
So now the country cannot afford tax cuts for the evil rich because we need that money for continued unemployment benefits. (There’s always something to spend the money on!) Unemployment benefits have now been extended for 99 weeks. The New York Times wants a blanket extension for another 52 weeks. So here’s a question: how long should benefits be paid? We are at 99 now, the Times says 151 weeks. Pick a number…200? 300? 400?
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Coexist
Targeted
Attacks against Jews and Jewish sites accounted for more than 70 percent of the 2009 incidents against religious targets, while Muslims were targeted in just over 9 percent of the incidents. (Politicsdaily.com, 11/27/10)
Schooled by the Left, Muslim groups like CAIR have learned well how to play the victim card. The reality, of course, is that the real victims of discrimination for over 2000 years continue to be the Jews.
Meanwhile
Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, was arrested at Union Station in Portland at 5:40 p.m. just after he dialed a cell phone that he allegedly believed would kill or maim hundreds of innocent people, including children, the authorities said.
Prosecutors said that Mohamud and an undercover agent drove to Portland in a white van laden with six 55-gallon drums with detonation cords and plastic caps, all of which were actually inserted. The men parked the van, and met another undercover agent who drove them to the Portland train station, from where Mohamud planned to escape. Mohamud dialed the cell phone given to him by the undercover agents, authorities said. But when the device did not detonate, the agents suggested that he get out of the car to get an improved cell signal and try again. When he did so, he was arrested. Mohamud reportedly yelled, "Allahu Akbar!" -- Arabic for "God is the greatest!" – and tried to kick the FBI agents and police officers who apprehended him. (Politicsdaily.com, 11/27/10)
Attorney General Eric Holder called this an isolated incident and cautioned against drawing any conclusions based upon the name of the accused or his religion.
Attacks against Jews and Jewish sites accounted for more than 70 percent of the 2009 incidents against religious targets, while Muslims were targeted in just over 9 percent of the incidents. (Politicsdaily.com, 11/27/10)
Schooled by the Left, Muslim groups like CAIR have learned well how to play the victim card. The reality, of course, is that the real victims of discrimination for over 2000 years continue to be the Jews.
Meanwhile
Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, was arrested at Union Station in Portland at 5:40 p.m. just after he dialed a cell phone that he allegedly believed would kill or maim hundreds of innocent people, including children, the authorities said.
Prosecutors said that Mohamud and an undercover agent drove to Portland in a white van laden with six 55-gallon drums with detonation cords and plastic caps, all of which were actually inserted. The men parked the van, and met another undercover agent who drove them to the Portland train station, from where Mohamud planned to escape. Mohamud dialed the cell phone given to him by the undercover agents, authorities said. But when the device did not detonate, the agents suggested that he get out of the car to get an improved cell signal and try again. When he did so, he was arrested. Mohamud reportedly yelled, "Allahu Akbar!" -- Arabic for "God is the greatest!" – and tried to kick the FBI agents and police officers who apprehended him. (Politicsdaily.com, 11/27/10)
Attorney General Eric Holder called this an isolated incident and cautioned against drawing any conclusions based upon the name of the accused or his religion.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Liberal National Defense: Unilateral Disarmament
President Obama insists that New START is important as a step toward his dream of a nuclear-free world. Where does one begin? A world without nukes would be the ultimate nightmare. We voluntarily disarm while the world's rogues and psychopaths develop nukes in secret. Just last week we found out about a hidden, unknown, highly advanced North Korean uranium enrichment facility. An ostensibly nuclear-free world would place these weapons in the hands of radical regimes that would not hesitate to use them - against a civilized world that would have given up its deterrent. (Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post, 11/26/10)
Thanks to Krauthammer for setting us straight on Republican reluctance on START.
If we only search people who "look like terrorists," al-Qaeda will send people who don't fit the profile. It's no accident that most of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers were from Saudi Arabia; at the time, it was easier for Saudi nationals to get U.S. visas than it was for citizens of other Arab countries. If terrorists are clever enough to hide powerful explosives in ink cartridges, then eventually they'll find a suicide bomber who looks just like you, me or Granny. (Eugene Robinson, Washington Post, 11/23/10)
Note to Robinson: the way to beat your enemies is to uncover their weaknesses, force them to adapt, repeat the process, and eventually break their will. It is not to say, in effect: why bother attacking, they are just going to try something else.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Thankful For
The top five things that RedStateVT is thankful for.......1) The American Soldier
2) The Tea Party
3) The Attorneys General fighting Obamacare
4) The Climate-gate scandal
5) The defeat of Arlen Specter
Liberal Experiments in Capitalism
Many questions remain about who is going to step forward and provide the new equipment to keep Burlington Telecom in business. City officials remain confident that the state-of-the-art system has so much potential value that investors will overlook the fact that it hasn't been able to pay its bills so far. One of those bills is the $17 million borrowed illegally from city taxpayers. Both Kiss and Keogh believe that debt will eventually be paid back once BT gets back on its feet. But there's no guess as to when that will be. (WCAX.com, 11/25/10)
Some news items speak for themselves.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
How Green is Your Valley?
With nearly 15 million Americans out of work and the unemployment rate hovering above 9 percent for 18 consecutive months, policymakers desperate to stoke job creation have bet heavily on green energy. The Obama administration channeled more than $90 billion from the $814 billion economic stimulus bill into clean energy technology, confident that the investment would grow into the economy's next big thing.
But the huge federal investment has run headlong into the stubborn reality that the market for renewable energy products - and workers - remains in its infancy. The administration says that its stimulus investment has saved or created 225,000 jobs in the green energy industry, a pittance in an economy that has shed 7.5 million jobs since the recession took hold in December 2007.
The industry's growth has been undercut by the simple economic fact that fossil fuels remain cheaper than renewables. Both Obama administration officials and green energy executives say that the business needs not just government incentives, but also rules and regulations that force people and business to turn to renewable energy.
Without government mandates dictating how much renewable energy utilities must use to generate electricity or placing a price on the polluting carbon emitted by fossil fuels, they say, green energy cannot begin to reach its job creation potential. (Washington Post, 11/23/10)
There you have it in a nutshell. The modus operandi of the Left. You are getting green energy whether you like it or not and irrespective of the cost because we say so. It is yet another lie of the Obama administration along with ‘shovel-ready projects’ and ‘the health care mandate is not a tax.’
Corny Guy
Al Gore says his support for corn-based ethanol subsidies while serving as vice president was a mistake that had more to do with his desire to cultivate farm votes in the 2000 presidential election than with what was good for the environment. (Politicsdaily.com, 11/24/10)
What else is the ‘crazed sex poodle’ not telling us? That An Inconvenient Truth is filled with lies? That he has made millions from pushing the climate change hoax?
But the huge federal investment has run headlong into the stubborn reality that the market for renewable energy products - and workers - remains in its infancy. The administration says that its stimulus investment has saved or created 225,000 jobs in the green energy industry, a pittance in an economy that has shed 7.5 million jobs since the recession took hold in December 2007.
The industry's growth has been undercut by the simple economic fact that fossil fuels remain cheaper than renewables. Both Obama administration officials and green energy executives say that the business needs not just government incentives, but also rules and regulations that force people and business to turn to renewable energy.
Without government mandates dictating how much renewable energy utilities must use to generate electricity or placing a price on the polluting carbon emitted by fossil fuels, they say, green energy cannot begin to reach its job creation potential. (Washington Post, 11/23/10)
There you have it in a nutshell. The modus operandi of the Left. You are getting green energy whether you like it or not and irrespective of the cost because we say so. It is yet another lie of the Obama administration along with ‘shovel-ready projects’ and ‘the health care mandate is not a tax.’
Corny Guy
Al Gore says his support for corn-based ethanol subsidies while serving as vice president was a mistake that had more to do with his desire to cultivate farm votes in the 2000 presidential election than with what was good for the environment. (Politicsdaily.com, 11/24/10)
What else is the ‘crazed sex poodle’ not telling us? That An Inconvenient Truth is filled with lies? That he has made millions from pushing the climate change hoax?
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Netherlands
In the netherlands that is the “high teen” channels of cable broadcasting we find some strange things. There are the documentaries where reasonable looking people - often a professor of such and such - claims to have hard evidence that Dick Cheney was seen planting explosives in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. (It was a ‘controlled demolition!’ he swears.) There is the guy who wants Vermont to secede from the U.S. (In our view, the greater likelihood is the U.S. seceding from Vermont!) Also, that woman who knows for a fact that Bush invaded Iraq to get oil (notwithstanding $3/gal prices). And then there is the Colonel. Yes, RedStateVT caught a replay of Vermont’s own Bernie Sanders giving a talk to St. Michael’s College students….something about “where America is headed.” It was Colonel Sanders in the environment that he loves, with no one to really challenge him. He droned on about income inequality as if material success in life is a completely random event. Of course he sees his role as that of arbiter of what is fair. ‘You got too much…..we need to take some of that back and give it to someone else….’ Here’s a RedStateVT rule: never trust a career politician like Sanders when it comes to spending your tax dollars.
And to St. Mike’s: how about presenting two sides of the argument so that your students can challenge both and make up their own minds? That’s educating.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Spendthrifts
The draft recommendations of the president's commission on deficit reduction call for closing popular tax deductions, higher gas taxes and other revenue raisers to drive tax collections up to 21% of GDP from the historical norm of about 18.5%. Another plan, proposed last week by commission member and former Congressional Budget Office director Alice Rivlin, would impose a 6.5% national sales tax on consumers. The claim here, echoed by endless purveyors of conventional wisdom in Washington, is that these added revenues—potentially a half-trillion dollars a year—will be used to reduce the $8 trillion to $10 trillion deficits in the coming decade. If history is any guide, however, that won't happen. Instead, Congress will simply spend the money. (Stephen Moore and Richard Vedder, WSJ, 11/22/10)
Why do die-hard conservatives oppose any new taxes? For the same reason that most average Americans do. They know that once the money goes to Washington, the political class will find ways to spend it.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
If We Told You
RedStateVT Predicts...
Former Senator Carol Moseley Braun entered the race for Chicago mayor on Saturday by reintroducing herself to voters, some of whom were not born when she last won election in 1992. (NYT, 11/21/10)
The Obama administration will enlist former President Bill Clinton to dissuade Braun from running, thereby clearing the field for Rahm Emanuel.
Medical Mystery
Saudi Arabia's elderly monarch will travel to the U.S. to seek medical care after being hospitalized late last week, according to a statement released by his palace on Sunday. (WSJ, 11/21/10)
Now wait just a minute here! The Saudi king has all the money in the world. Why did he not seek treatment in Cuba…or Canada…or some other country where we have been told by the Left that health care is so much better? Why is he coming to the U.S., a health care backwater? Call Michael Moore. Call Nancy Pelosi. RedStateVT demands answers.
Told Ya So
Consumer advocates fear that the health care law could worsen some of the very problems it was meant to solve — by reducing competition, driving up costs and creating incentives for doctors and hospitals to stint on care, in order to retain their cost-saving bonuses. (NYT, 11/21/10)
Has anyone heard a story yet where the health care bill has resulted in lower costs? So far all we'ver heard is that it plugged the "donut hole" and adult children get to stay on their parents' plan (much to the chagrin of parents everywhere).
Bribegate II
President Obama's nominee for a high-level United Nations reform position dropped out of the U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania last year shortly after Sen. Arlen Specter switched parties and won an endorsement from the White House. (Foxnews.com, 11/20/10)
At what point do coincidences become corruption?
Former Senator Carol Moseley Braun entered the race for Chicago mayor on Saturday by reintroducing herself to voters, some of whom were not born when she last won election in 1992. (NYT, 11/21/10)
The Obama administration will enlist former President Bill Clinton to dissuade Braun from running, thereby clearing the field for Rahm Emanuel.
Medical Mystery
Saudi Arabia's elderly monarch will travel to the U.S. to seek medical care after being hospitalized late last week, according to a statement released by his palace on Sunday. (WSJ, 11/21/10)
Now wait just a minute here! The Saudi king has all the money in the world. Why did he not seek treatment in Cuba…or Canada…or some other country where we have been told by the Left that health care is so much better? Why is he coming to the U.S., a health care backwater? Call Michael Moore. Call Nancy Pelosi. RedStateVT demands answers.
Told Ya So
Consumer advocates fear that the health care law could worsen some of the very problems it was meant to solve — by reducing competition, driving up costs and creating incentives for doctors and hospitals to stint on care, in order to retain their cost-saving bonuses. (NYT, 11/21/10)
Has anyone heard a story yet where the health care bill has resulted in lower costs? So far all we'ver heard is that it plugged the "donut hole" and adult children get to stay on their parents' plan (much to the chagrin of parents everywhere).
Bribegate II
President Obama's nominee for a high-level United Nations reform position dropped out of the U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania last year shortly after Sen. Arlen Specter switched parties and won an endorsement from the White House. (Foxnews.com, 11/20/10)
At what point do coincidences become corruption?
Friday, November 19, 2010
Rogues' Gallery
U.S. homeowners who have missed mortgage payments shouldn’t have “false hopes” that they can challenge foreclosures due to paperwork flaws, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said Thursday. (WSJ, 11/19/10)
Barney Frank: Criminal
Right after her victory, Ms. Pelosi blamed her low approval numbers on attack ads she said had undermined her image. (WSJ, 11/19/10)
Nancy Pelosi: Unpopular
After noting, yet again, that he felt that he and his family had been victimized by the news media in a way that was “just totally unfair,” Mr. Rangel thanked the members of the committee and said he was sorry. (NYT, 11/19/10)
Charlie Rangel: Guilty
Some on the left believe (Attorney General Eric) Holder should resign out of principle. Some on the right believe he should leave because he is out of his depth. Such bipartisanship should not go to waste. (Michael Gerson, Washington Post, 11/19/10)
Eric Holder: Incompetent
(Gerson deserves the Pulitzer for that line!)
Barney Frank: Criminal
Right after her victory, Ms. Pelosi blamed her low approval numbers on attack ads she said had undermined her image. (WSJ, 11/19/10)
Nancy Pelosi: Unpopular
After noting, yet again, that he felt that he and his family had been victimized by the news media in a way that was “just totally unfair,” Mr. Rangel thanked the members of the committee and said he was sorry. (NYT, 11/19/10)
Charlie Rangel: Guilty
Some on the left believe (Attorney General Eric) Holder should resign out of principle. Some on the right believe he should leave because he is out of his depth. Such bipartisanship should not go to waste. (Michael Gerson, Washington Post, 11/19/10)
Eric Holder: Incompetent
(Gerson deserves the Pulitzer for that line!)
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Pulling Mussels From a Shell
Congratulations!
Representative Nancy Pelosi was re-elected as the House Democratic leader on Wednesday despite a striking show of unrest among members of her caucus following the Democrats' heavy losses in the midterm elections. Meeting in private, House Democrats voted 150-43 to leave in place a woman who, as Speaker of the House, became a lightning rod for public anger over some of the sweeping and costly legislation passed during the past two years. (NYT, 11/17/10)
This is what Pelosi’s friends at the New York Times had to say!
We recall that it was President Obama who famously told John McCain at the televised “bi-partisan” health care summit: “Elections have consequences.” Apparently 150 Democrats didn’t get that message. Here at RedStateVT, we could not be happier that Pelosi will continue to be the face of the Democrat Party for two more years.
He’s Unexceptional
The conservative use of American exceptionalism as a political sword today is perversely revealing. (Matt Miller, Washington Post, 11/18/10)
Miller derides Sarah Palin and other conservatives for talking about the uniqueness and greatness of America. He sees this as a sign of insecurity. Then he says that he loves his country and is a patriot. Then he says the following:
There's something off when the first generation of Americans that is less educated than its parents feels a deep need to be told how unique it is. Or that a generation that's handing off epic debts and a chronically dysfunctional political process (among other woes) demands that its leaders keep toasting its fabulousness. Especially when other nations now offer more upward mobility, and a better blend of growth with equity, than we do - arguably the best measures of America's once-exceptional national performance.
For a second there, we were not sure whether or not Miller was going to devolve into the Left’s litany of complaints about America. In the end, however, he delivered the usual claptrap of nonsense. Less educated…really? More upward mobility...where? Better growth with equity…what does that even mean?
Our only disappointment is that Miller did not get into foreign policy where he could have talked about wars of aggression and imperialism. Maybe a future column. Sounds like maybe someone doesn’t love his country as much as he claims!
Representative Nancy Pelosi was re-elected as the House Democratic leader on Wednesday despite a striking show of unrest among members of her caucus following the Democrats' heavy losses in the midterm elections. Meeting in private, House Democrats voted 150-43 to leave in place a woman who, as Speaker of the House, became a lightning rod for public anger over some of the sweeping and costly legislation passed during the past two years. (NYT, 11/17/10)This is what Pelosi’s friends at the New York Times had to say!
We recall that it was President Obama who famously told John McCain at the televised “bi-partisan” health care summit: “Elections have consequences.” Apparently 150 Democrats didn’t get that message. Here at RedStateVT, we could not be happier that Pelosi will continue to be the face of the Democrat Party for two more years.
He’s Unexceptional
The conservative use of American exceptionalism as a political sword today is perversely revealing. (Matt Miller, Washington Post, 11/18/10)
Miller derides Sarah Palin and other conservatives for talking about the uniqueness and greatness of America. He sees this as a sign of insecurity. Then he says that he loves his country and is a patriot. Then he says the following:
There's something off when the first generation of Americans that is less educated than its parents feels a deep need to be told how unique it is. Or that a generation that's handing off epic debts and a chronically dysfunctional political process (among other woes) demands that its leaders keep toasting its fabulousness. Especially when other nations now offer more upward mobility, and a better blend of growth with equity, than we do - arguably the best measures of America's once-exceptional national performance.
For a second there, we were not sure whether or not Miller was going to devolve into the Left’s litany of complaints about America. In the end, however, he delivered the usual claptrap of nonsense. Less educated…really? More upward mobility...where? Better growth with equity…what does that even mean?
Our only disappointment is that Miller did not get into foreign policy where he could have talked about wars of aggression and imperialism. Maybe a future column. Sounds like maybe someone doesn’t love his country as much as he claims!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Guilty!
Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) was found guilty Tuesday of breaking 11 separate congressional rules related to his personal finances and fundraising efforts for a New York college. A House ethics subcommittee that handled the trial now sends the case to the full committee for the equivalent of sentencing. (Washington Post, 11/16/10)
Not to worry. On CBS with Katie Couric viewers were assured that Rangel was “beloved” by his constituents and that he would certainly not be expelled. Whew!
Isn’t it Rich?
One of the more interesting narratives of the 2008 Presidential election was the liberalization of the rich. Rather than voting simply for lower taxes and less government, the wealthy came out in force for Barack Obama the “wealth spreader.” Fully 52% of voters with incomes of $200,000 or more pulled the lever for then-Sen. Obama, compared with 46% for Sen. John McCain. Sen. Obama also did better than the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, John Kerry, who won only 37% of the vote from people with $200,000 or more in income. Mr. Obama raised more money than Sen. McCain in eight of the wealthiest 10 zip codes in the U.S. (WSJ, 11/17/10)
Low Voltage
George Will’s latest column (Washington Post, 11/16/10) provides these statistics on the Chevy Volt: it costs $41,000, seats four and travels forty miles on a charge. This is the “clean energy” technology that the Left wants more of.
Mayor Clueless
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Tuesday that he’s in favor of a carbon tax –- a view not shared by many political leaders of either party in Washington. (WSJ, 11/17/10)
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
RedStateVT Breaks Down the Charlie Rangel Ethics Hearing
"I am being denied the right to have a lawyer," he complained. How could this happen in America? Rangel is denied legal representation! But wait….
Fresh off winning a 21st term, Rangel said he has spent more than $2 million from his campaign account on two legal teams, forensic accountants and media advisers.
Oh, so it turns out Rangel did have lots and lots of legal representation. Could it be that he didn’t like their likely suggestion to him to plead guilty and resign?
Unconvinced by his pleadings - Rangel had spent the past several months demanding a speedy trial - the subcommittee continued with its work after he left.
So first he wants a speedy trial…..
He pleaded for a delay so he could find time and financing for a new legal team.
…and then he wants a delay!
Rangel, the once-powerful committee chairman who oversaw tax and trade policy, walked out of the proceedings in protest less than an hour into the process.
What does this tactic of walking out of the hearing bring to mind? Exactly right! The Delta Tau Chi fraternity walking out of their disciplinary hearing in the movie Animal House, with Charlie Rangel playing the part of Flounder!
With the New York Democrat absent for much of the process, the panel agreed unanimously that Rangel had inappropriately housed his political committees in a rent-controlled building, had used his congressional office to raise millions of dollars from corporations with business before his committee, and did not pay some taxes and fully disclose his assets.
So the subcommittee agrees unanimously on Rangel’s guilt. So far, so good. However, read on…..
But the subcommittee determining Rangel's fate did not reach a verdict on whether those actions broke congressional rules. After three hours of deliberation behind closed doors, the eight-member panel, evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, announced that it would resume talks Tuesday morning.
So while agreeing that Rangel did these horrible things, the subcommittee could not agree whether they broke the rules! The disagreement followed party lines. Let’s see, which side thought that Rangel had, in fact, broke the rules and which side did not?
(All quotes from the Washington Post.)
Monday, November 15, 2010
The Day We Have Been Waiting For Is Here
Charlie Rangel’s ethics hearing begins today.
Axe Axelrod
On Wednesday David Axelrod, President Obama’s top political adviser, appeared to signal that the White House was ready to cave on tax cuts — to give in to Republican demands that tax cuts be extended for the wealthy as well as the middle class. “We have to deal with the world as we find it,” he declared. The White House then tried to walk back what Mr. Axelrod had said. (Paul Krugman, NYT, 11/15/10)
If President Obama really wants a new start, the first thing he should do is get rid of Axelrod. RedStateVT caught him on the Sunday talk shows and he was just awful. This comes on top of being embarrassed by Bob Schieffer (of all people) over his baseless accusations that the Chamber of Commerce was funneling foreign money to the election. Question to Obama (paraphrasing Schieffer): “Is this the best you’ve got?”
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Post Three Thirty Three
No Shelter
Has there ever been a major economic summit where a U.S. President and his Treasury Secretary were as thoroughly rebuffed as they were at this week's G-20 meeting in Seoul? We can't think of one. President Obama failed to achieve any of his main goals while getting pounded by other world leaders for failing U.S. policies and lagging growth. (WSJ, 11/13/10)
President Obama hightailed it out of town after the election which laid bare the disasters that are his domestic policy initiatives. And now he appears to be faring no better on the foreign policy front. Can any thinking person still believe that this man was qualified to be president?
Good TV
Bill O’Reilly’s interview with former President George Bush last week was well done and worth the watch. O’Reilly was tough but fair, the same as he was in the past with President Obama. It is just a relief to see a Republican get interviewed by a grown-up and not have to deal with the gotcha questions (e.g., “President Bush: do you feel that you owe the American people an apology?”)
Has there ever been a major economic summit where a U.S. President and his Treasury Secretary were as thoroughly rebuffed as they were at this week's G-20 meeting in Seoul? We can't think of one. President Obama failed to achieve any of his main goals while getting pounded by other world leaders for failing U.S. policies and lagging growth. (WSJ, 11/13/10)
President Obama hightailed it out of town after the election which laid bare the disasters that are his domestic policy initiatives. And now he appears to be faring no better on the foreign policy front. Can any thinking person still believe that this man was qualified to be president?
Good TV
Bill O’Reilly’s interview with former President George Bush last week was well done and worth the watch. O’Reilly was tough but fair, the same as he was in the past with President Obama. It is just a relief to see a Republican get interviewed by a grown-up and not have to deal with the gotcha questions (e.g., “President Bush: do you feel that you owe the American people an apology?”)
Friday, November 12, 2010
Who Said It?
The president’s travails are not merely a “communications problem.” They’re also a governance problem….. You can’t govern if you can’t tell the country where you are taking it. The plot of Obama’s presidency has been harder to follow than “Inception.”
A) RedStateVT
B) Glenn Beck
C) Michael Steele
D) John Boehner
E) Liberal New York Times Columnist Frank Rich
If you guess E) you are today’s winner!
(NYT, 11/6/10)
Conspiracy Theory
In yesterday's Washington Post we were treated to Ezra Klein’s insightful analysis of why Democrats lost the election. Are you sitting down? It turns out it is all Joe Lieberman’s fault! Apparently Lieberman opposed a Medicare buy-in provision that was being debated which would have changed the economics of the bill which would have allowed it to begin delivering benefits earlier and which the public would have heartily embraced, then something about Colonel Mustard in the parlor with the candlestick and…voila….the Democrats would have won!
It’s akin to the 9/11 Truther gibberish that we get from the Left, but here is our favorite part. Klein describes Lieberman as a “conservative Democrat.” We might even agree with that. But how does the Left describe Olympia Snowe? Why she is a “moderate Republican!” Not a “liberal Republican,” a moderate Republican! Think about it for a moment and you’ll understand our point.
A) RedStateVT
B) Glenn Beck
C) Michael Steele
D) John Boehner
E) Liberal New York Times Columnist Frank Rich
If you guess E) you are today’s winner!
(NYT, 11/6/10)
Conspiracy Theory
In yesterday's Washington Post we were treated to Ezra Klein’s insightful analysis of why Democrats lost the election. Are you sitting down? It turns out it is all Joe Lieberman’s fault! Apparently Lieberman opposed a Medicare buy-in provision that was being debated which would have changed the economics of the bill which would have allowed it to begin delivering benefits earlier and which the public would have heartily embraced, then something about Colonel Mustard in the parlor with the candlestick and…voila….the Democrats would have won!
It’s akin to the 9/11 Truther gibberish that we get from the Left, but here is our favorite part. Klein describes Lieberman as a “conservative Democrat.” We might even agree with that. But how does the Left describe Olympia Snowe? Why she is a “moderate Republican!” Not a “liberal Republican,” a moderate Republican! Think about it for a moment and you’ll understand our point.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
A Heartfelt Thanks to All Our Veterans!
Off Limits
A Pentagon study group has concluded that the military can lift the ban on gays serving openly in uniform with only minimal and isolated incidents of risk to the current war efforts, according to two people familiar with a draft of the report, which is due to President Obama on December 1. (Washington Post, 11/10/10)
Here is exactly what is going to happen as soon as gays serve openly in the military. A couple of enlisted neanderthals are going to get boozed up one night and beat up the openly gay soldier. The lawyers will then come in and the military will be put on trial for “fostering a hostile work environment.” Million dollar judgments will be awarded for which the taxpayer will foot the bill. This is not hypothetical. This will happen. Which is why RedStateVT hews to the simple philosophy that everyone is entitled to their own sexual preferences, but no one is allowed to talk about their sexual preferences. Wait a minute…..isn’t that pretty similar to don’t ask, don’t tell?
These Truths
The Obama administration is increasingly emphasizing the idea that the United States will have forces in Afghanistan until at least the end of 2014, a change in tone aimed at persuading the Afghans and the Taliban that there will be no significant American troop withdrawals next summer. (NYT, 11/11/10)
You knew it. RedStateVT knew it. Obama himself knew it. So why did he ever say otherwise?
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Kicked to the Curb
You Decide: The Washington Post’s Dumbest Op-Ed Writer or the Most Naïve?
Richard Cohen’s ditty yesterday was all about how ridiculous Speaker-to-be John Boehner is because he stated that the U.S. has the best health care system in the world.
No American, certainly not one about to occupy a leadership position in our government, could possibly call the American health-care system "the best health care system in the world." Boehner did just that last week.
Cohen then goes on to describe how infant mortality in Cuba is lower and that while life expectancy in the U.S. is higher than in Libya, it still ranks 49th in the world. These shibboleths of the Left have been effectively refuted in the past, but Cohen either never got the memo or thinks that everyone has forgotten. In this regard, he is much like moonbat director Michael Moore who marveled at Cuban health care while being herded around by government handlers. Note to Moore (and Cohen): they are showing you (and reporting) what they want to. It’s rigged, guys! Some countries, for example, don’t count in infant mortality statistics a baby who dies within a few days of birth. But then again, let’s say Cohen truly believes that health care is better elsewhere. In that case, we strongly encourage him to act on his beliefs. Chest pains? High blood pressure? Just feeling under-the-weather? Head overseas for treatment!
For the record, RedStateVT says: the U.S. has the best health care system in the world.
Knuckleball for a Knucklehead
RedStateVT caught a few minutes of Hardball yesterday with Tingle Boy Chris Matthews (yes, apparently it is still on the air). No doubt, getting dissed by Michele Bachmann on election night has put Matthews in a foul mood. But on top of that, President George Bush is out there promoting his new book and this has Matthews apoplectic once again about the whole WMD thing. Furious that Saddam Hussein is no longer in power, Matthews wants answers.
We suggest he start with those on the Democrat side who looked at the same intelligence that Bush did and concluded that Iraq had WMDs. Begin with Hillary Clinton. Never mind that Hussein had invaded his neighbors or that he had gassed his own people or that he had defied UN sanctions or that he had locked radar onto U.S. jets patrolling the Kurdish no-fly zone or that he harbored terrorists…. Condi Rice, among others, has enumerated the multiple reasons why Hussein had to go. But Matthews is still not happy because the U.S. never found a nuclear warhead. RedStateVT says: get over it, Saddam's not coming back.
Richard Cohen’s ditty yesterday was all about how ridiculous Speaker-to-be John Boehner is because he stated that the U.S. has the best health care system in the world.
No American, certainly not one about to occupy a leadership position in our government, could possibly call the American health-care system "the best health care system in the world." Boehner did just that last week.
Cohen then goes on to describe how infant mortality in Cuba is lower and that while life expectancy in the U.S. is higher than in Libya, it still ranks 49th in the world. These shibboleths of the Left have been effectively refuted in the past, but Cohen either never got the memo or thinks that everyone has forgotten. In this regard, he is much like moonbat director Michael Moore who marveled at Cuban health care while being herded around by government handlers. Note to Moore (and Cohen): they are showing you (and reporting) what they want to. It’s rigged, guys! Some countries, for example, don’t count in infant mortality statistics a baby who dies within a few days of birth. But then again, let’s say Cohen truly believes that health care is better elsewhere. In that case, we strongly encourage him to act on his beliefs. Chest pains? High blood pressure? Just feeling under-the-weather? Head overseas for treatment!
For the record, RedStateVT says: the U.S. has the best health care system in the world.
Knuckleball for a Knucklehead
RedStateVT caught a few minutes of Hardball yesterday with Tingle Boy Chris Matthews (yes, apparently it is still on the air). No doubt, getting dissed by Michele Bachmann on election night has put Matthews in a foul mood. But on top of that, President George Bush is out there promoting his new book and this has Matthews apoplectic once again about the whole WMD thing. Furious that Saddam Hussein is no longer in power, Matthews wants answers.
We suggest he start with those on the Democrat side who looked at the same intelligence that Bush did and concluded that Iraq had WMDs. Begin with Hillary Clinton. Never mind that Hussein had invaded his neighbors or that he had gassed his own people or that he had defied UN sanctions or that he had locked radar onto U.S. jets patrolling the Kurdish no-fly zone or that he harbored terrorists…. Condi Rice, among others, has enumerated the multiple reasons why Hussein had to go. But Matthews is still not happy because the U.S. never found a nuclear warhead. RedStateVT says: get over it, Saddam's not coming back.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Working It Out
Viva Los Republicanos!
The next Congress will feature an unprecedented five new Hispanic Republicans. Two are from Texas and defeated Democratic incumbents - Bill Flores of Bryan and Quico Conseco from San Antonio. Jaime Herrera was elected to an open seat in Washington state. Raul Labrador defeated a Democratic incumbent in Idaho. David Rivera won an open House seat in Florida, just as Marco Rubio won that state's vacant U.S. Senate seat. In addition, Republicans elected two Hispanic governors -- prosecutor Susan Martinez in New Mexico and Brian Sandoval, a judge, in Nevada. (WSJ, 11/8/10)
Welcome to our new Hispanic representatives.
Darth Vader Issa
California Rep Darrell Issa is already eyeing a massive expansion of oversight for next year, including hundreds of hearings; creating new subcommittees; and launching fresh investigations into the bank bailout, the stimulus and, potentially, health care reform. Issa told POLITICO in an interview that he wants each of his seven subcommittees to hold “one or two hearings each week.”
Issa also is looking to dig into procurement and government contracting, and he seems sure to return to the Countrywide VIP program — which has subpoenaed records en route to the Capitol. He’s also got inquiries into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s role in the financial collapse. (Politico.com, 11/8/10)
Dems want to investigate and prosecute Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove, etc? Well it’s payback time! It would be worth almost any price to see Issa get Blarney Frank in the chair.
Don’t Tell Michelle!
Secretary Clinton: I am an eater of chips. (Politico.com, 11/8/10)
Today's New York Times Headlines
Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Faces Struggle in Congress
Gay Couples Begin Attack on U.S. Marriage Law
For Gays, New Songs of Survival
Question: Does The New York Times have an agenda?
The next Congress will feature an unprecedented five new Hispanic Republicans. Two are from Texas and defeated Democratic incumbents - Bill Flores of Bryan and Quico Conseco from San Antonio. Jaime Herrera was elected to an open seat in Washington state. Raul Labrador defeated a Democratic incumbent in Idaho. David Rivera won an open House seat in Florida, just as Marco Rubio won that state's vacant U.S. Senate seat. In addition, Republicans elected two Hispanic governors -- prosecutor Susan Martinez in New Mexico and Brian Sandoval, a judge, in Nevada. (WSJ, 11/8/10)
Welcome to our new Hispanic representatives.
Darth Vader Issa
California Rep Darrell Issa is already eyeing a massive expansion of oversight for next year, including hundreds of hearings; creating new subcommittees; and launching fresh investigations into the bank bailout, the stimulus and, potentially, health care reform. Issa told POLITICO in an interview that he wants each of his seven subcommittees to hold “one or two hearings each week.”
Issa also is looking to dig into procurement and government contracting, and he seems sure to return to the Countrywide VIP program — which has subpoenaed records en route to the Capitol. He’s also got inquiries into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s role in the financial collapse. (Politico.com, 11/8/10)
Dems want to investigate and prosecute Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove, etc? Well it’s payback time! It would be worth almost any price to see Issa get Blarney Frank in the chair.
Don’t Tell Michelle!
Secretary Clinton: I am an eater of chips. (Politico.com, 11/8/10)
Today's New York Times Headlines
Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Faces Struggle in Congress
Gay Couples Begin Attack on U.S. Marriage Law
For Gays, New Songs of Survival
Question: Does The New York Times have an agenda?
Monday, November 8, 2010
Keep It Simple, Keep It Stupid
Engineered Failures
Urged on by government warnings about saturated fat, Americans have been moving toward low-fat milk for decades, leaving a surplus of whole milk and milk fat. Yet the government, through Dairy Management, is engaged in an effort to find ways to get dairy back into Americans’ diets, primarily through cheese. (NYT, 11/7/10)
Even as many politicians, environmentalists and consumers want renewable energy and reduced dependence on fossil fuels, a growing number of projects are being canceled or delayed because governments are unwilling to add even small amounts to consumers’ electricity bills. (NYT, 11/8/10)
Isn’t this what happens when the government starts mucking around in private sector issues?
Strange Desires
House Democratic leaders signaled a desire Sunday to avoid internal leadership battles in an effort to forge party unity, a move that would leave the same team in place that oversaw the worst political rout in 72 years. (Washington Post, 11/8/10)
Sounds about right.
Urged on by government warnings about saturated fat, Americans have been moving toward low-fat milk for decades, leaving a surplus of whole milk and milk fat. Yet the government, through Dairy Management, is engaged in an effort to find ways to get dairy back into Americans’ diets, primarily through cheese. (NYT, 11/7/10)
Even as many politicians, environmentalists and consumers want renewable energy and reduced dependence on fossil fuels, a growing number of projects are being canceled or delayed because governments are unwilling to add even small amounts to consumers’ electricity bills. (NYT, 11/8/10)
Isn’t this what happens when the government starts mucking around in private sector issues?
Strange Desires
House Democratic leaders signaled a desire Sunday to avoid internal leadership battles in an effort to forge party unity, a move that would leave the same team in place that oversaw the worst political rout in 72 years. (Washington Post, 11/8/10)
Sounds about right.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
The Land of Make-Believe
And-a One
Liberal New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman writes yesterday of the various failed Al Qaeda bombing plots over the past couple of years. For nine paragraphs he reviews the incidents and then opines that the U.S. was very lucky and that we must remain vigilant. That would have been a reasonable, though not terribly insightful, column. But, of course, you know Friedman could not leave it there. At the very end he drops this on us:
And that means working to end our addiction to oil. It is disgusting to listen to Republican politicians lecturing President Obama about how he has to stay the course in Afghanistan while they don’t have an ounce of courage to vote to increase the gasoline tax or renewable energy standards that would reduce the money we’re sending to the people our soldiers are fighting.
And there you have it. The liberal answer to terrorism: raise taxes and more windmills!
And-a Two
Liberal New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof was also at it yesterday. His column concludes that because of the income disparity between the top and bottom strata of the country, the U.S. is a “banana republic.” His recipe includes more government programs and, yep, you guessed it: more taxes on the wealthy! Liberals always assume that wealth results from a crime and so their answer is always to punish those who have done well. Funny how liberals are ready to conclude that global warming is “settled science” but refuse to recognize that after 70 years or more of income redistribution in this country, more income redistribution is not the answer. As RedStateVT often responds to those who bemoan their economic situation: “you should have studied harder in school.”
Liberal New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman writes yesterday of the various failed Al Qaeda bombing plots over the past couple of years. For nine paragraphs he reviews the incidents and then opines that the U.S. was very lucky and that we must remain vigilant. That would have been a reasonable, though not terribly insightful, column. But, of course, you know Friedman could not leave it there. At the very end he drops this on us:
And that means working to end our addiction to oil. It is disgusting to listen to Republican politicians lecturing President Obama about how he has to stay the course in Afghanistan while they don’t have an ounce of courage to vote to increase the gasoline tax or renewable energy standards that would reduce the money we’re sending to the people our soldiers are fighting.
And there you have it. The liberal answer to terrorism: raise taxes and more windmills!
And-a Two
Liberal New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof was also at it yesterday. His column concludes that because of the income disparity between the top and bottom strata of the country, the U.S. is a “banana republic.” His recipe includes more government programs and, yep, you guessed it: more taxes on the wealthy! Liberals always assume that wealth results from a crime and so their answer is always to punish those who have done well. Funny how liberals are ready to conclude that global warming is “settled science” but refuse to recognize that after 70 years or more of income redistribution in this country, more income redistribution is not the answer. As RedStateVT often responds to those who bemoan their economic situation: “you should have studied harder in school.”
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Foreign to Him
…Obama seemed to believe the essential U.S. problem with the world was rhetorical. The United States had not carefully explained itself, and in not explaining itself, the United States appeared arrogant. Obama seemed to believe that the policies did not matter as much as the sensibility that surrounded the policies. It was not so much that he believed he could be charming — although he seemed to believe that with reason — but rather that foreign policy is personal, built around trust and familiarity rather than around interests.
(“http://www.statfor.com/weekly/20101103_world_looks_obama_after_us_midterm_election”)
"The World Looks at Obama After the U.S. Midterm Election is republished with permission of STRATFOR."
With little hope for advancing his domestic policy agenda given Republican victories, it has been suggested that Obama pivot to foreign policy. Here too, he appears to have fundamental misunderstandings.
Man in the Mirror
Its high-profile anchor and one of the key exponents of that cable news network's liberal politics, Keith Olbermann, was suspended on Friday without pay for making contributions to three Democratic candidates this election season. (Politicsdaily.com, 11/6/10)
Olbermann recently suspended his “Worst Person” feature citing a need for a return to civility. Sources tell RedStateVT that the real reason was that he would have been force to name himself. Forget the arguments about whether TV personalities should be allowed to donate to political causes. Here’s the real issue. Olbermann knowingly violated the expressed policies of his employer.
History Lesson
African-Americans found a place in Congress in the latter decades of the 19th century, particularly during the Reconstruction period after the Civil War, when 16 black men served, all of them Republicans. (NYT, 11/6/10)
The Republican Party: a long and cherished history of inclusiveness.
(“http://www.statfor.com/weekly/20101103_world_looks_obama_after_us_midterm_election”)
"The World Looks at Obama After the U.S. Midterm Election is republished with permission of STRATFOR."
With little hope for advancing his domestic policy agenda given Republican victories, it has been suggested that Obama pivot to foreign policy. Here too, he appears to have fundamental misunderstandings.
Man in the Mirror
Its high-profile anchor and one of the key exponents of that cable news network's liberal politics, Keith Olbermann, was suspended on Friday without pay for making contributions to three Democratic candidates this election season. (Politicsdaily.com, 11/6/10)
Olbermann recently suspended his “Worst Person” feature citing a need for a return to civility. Sources tell RedStateVT that the real reason was that he would have been force to name himself. Forget the arguments about whether TV personalities should be allowed to donate to political causes. Here’s the real issue. Olbermann knowingly violated the expressed policies of his employer.
History Lesson
African-Americans found a place in Congress in the latter decades of the 19th century, particularly during the Reconstruction period after the Civil War, when 16 black men served, all of them Republicans. (NYT, 11/6/10)
The Republican Party: a long and cherished history of inclusiveness.
Friday, November 5, 2010
The Decider
In his book, titled "Decision Points," Bush recounts being asked by the CIA whether it could proceed with waterboarding Mohammed, who Bush said was suspected of knowing about still-pending terrorist plots against the United States. Bush writes that his reply was "Damn right" and states that he would make the same decision again to save lives, according to someone close to Bush who has read the book. (Washington Post, 11/5/10)
Amen.
First Step
He (Obama) acknowledged that a relationship with the business community had not been “managed by me as well as it needed to be.” (NYT, 11/5/10)
Isn’t the first step of recovery to admit that you have a problem?
See Above
Despite steep losses for her party in Tuesday's elections, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said on Friday that she would run to remain the leader of the House Democrats, even as some of her colleagues urged her to step down. (NYT, 11/5/10)
Republicans must be asking themselves how they got so lucky.
Slewed
Billionaire George Soros, the Hungarian-born businessman known for bankrolling liberal causes, saw a slew of his pet projects and candidates get wiped out in the Republican-red tide on Tuesday. (Foxnews.com, 11/5/10)
One can only hope that Soros continues to squander his fortune.
Amen.
First Step
He (Obama) acknowledged that a relationship with the business community had not been “managed by me as well as it needed to be.” (NYT, 11/5/10)
Isn’t the first step of recovery to admit that you have a problem?
See Above
Despite steep losses for her party in Tuesday's elections, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said on Friday that she would run to remain the leader of the House Democrats, even as some of her colleagues urged her to step down. (NYT, 11/5/10)
Republicans must be asking themselves how they got so lucky.
Slewed
Billionaire George Soros, the Hungarian-born businessman known for bankrolling liberal causes, saw a slew of his pet projects and candidates get wiped out in the Republican-red tide on Tuesday. (Foxnews.com, 11/5/10)
One can only hope that Soros continues to squander his fortune.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Harry Reid is an Ostrich
The defiance of the majority leader belied the party's losses for the evening, as the chamber moves ever closer to a 50-50 split. But Reid showed only a glimmer of compromise, while slamming the door, emphatically, on making all of the cuts permanent. "We are not ostriches with our head in the sand someplace. We're willing to pull our head out and look around if they have some better ideas. (Foxnews.com, 11/4/10)First Reid says he is not an ostrich. Then he says that he is ‘willing to pull his head out and look around.’ RedStateVT concludes that he is, in fact, an ostrich.
Quote of the Day
We've heard over and over about the lack of smart messaging and the president's failure to communicate. If only Obama could better express himself, all would be well. Seriously? This is the same president whose soaring rhetoric once sent his ratings into the heavenly realm and who, after assuming office, never stopped expressing himself. (Kathleen Parker, Washington Post, 11/4/10)
Stunningly to the point! Kudos to Parker.
Now We Understand
What happened was that Obama ran into several crises that he and others had not anticipated, and the cumulative weight of those problems ended up frustrating him. (David S. Broder, Washington Post, 11/4/10)
Sometimes the best explanations are the obvious explanations. Why did Obama fail? Doggoneit, he just got frustrated. Thanks to Broder for setting the record straight!
Kingmaker
A Politics Daily tally puts Palin's Tuesday successes at 62 wins, 23 losses and seven contests that are still too close to call, with Palin's candidates trailing in five of those races. That's a 70 percent win rate, but some of the defeats loom large. (Politicsdaily.com, 11/4/10)
Never mind ‘large looming defeats,’ name another public figure with a 70% success rate.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
RedStateVT's Election Favorites
--Mark Kirk defeats Alexi Giannoulias in Obama’s home town.
--Rand Paul beats back the smears to win decisively.
--John Kasich wins gubernatorial race in Ohio, key for 2012
--Pat Toomey beats Joe Sestak to reclaim traitor Arlen Specter’s seat.
--The utterly despicable Alan Grayson (38%) is trounced in Florida.
--California defeats marijuana legalization ballot measure.
Identity Politics
--Marco Rubio (Cuban-American) wins Senate seat in Florida.
--Nikki Haley (Indian-American, female) wins governor race in South Carolina.
--Col. Alan West (African-American) wins House seat in Florida.
All are Republicans and all won because THEY WERE THE BEST CANDIDATES!
Fruitless
But Democrats conceded that their plans to increase voter turnout did not meet expectations, party strategists said, and extraordinary efforts that Mr. Obama made in the final days of the campaign appeared to have borne little fruit. (NYT, 11/3/10)
After earlier Obama get-out-the-vote failures (e.g. Scott Brown), you would think Dems would have learned.
Oops!
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen believes Democrats will hold onto the House, despite polls suggesting otherwise. Appearing on "Fox News Sunday," the Maryland congressman contended that pundits should hold off from pronouncing an end to Democratic control of the House before voters go to the polls Tuesday. "It’s not a lost cause," he said. (Politico.com, 10/31/10)
Didn’t Joe Biden also predict victory?
Tears for Fears
Yesterday, the day of an historic election, here is what the Washington Post opinion writers chose to discuss:
--Richard Cohen: Sarah Palin, notwithstanding that so far as we can determine, she is not running for office.
--Eugene Robinson: the angry Tea Party, which just might be racist.
--Dana Milbank: election forecasts are often wrong.
--Anne Applebaum: because Al Qaeda’s latest bomb plot failed, we don’t need to worry about them as much or devote as many resources to protecting the public against them.
Love you guys!
--Rand Paul beats back the smears to win decisively.
--John Kasich wins gubernatorial race in Ohio, key for 2012
--Pat Toomey beats Joe Sestak to reclaim traitor Arlen Specter’s seat.
--The utterly despicable Alan Grayson (38%) is trounced in Florida.
--California defeats marijuana legalization ballot measure.
Identity Politics
--Marco Rubio (Cuban-American) wins Senate seat in Florida.
--Nikki Haley (Indian-American, female) wins governor race in South Carolina.
--Col. Alan West (African-American) wins House seat in Florida.
All are Republicans and all won because THEY WERE THE BEST CANDIDATES!
Fruitless
But Democrats conceded that their plans to increase voter turnout did not meet expectations, party strategists said, and extraordinary efforts that Mr. Obama made in the final days of the campaign appeared to have borne little fruit. (NYT, 11/3/10)
After earlier Obama get-out-the-vote failures (e.g. Scott Brown), you would think Dems would have learned.
Oops!
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen believes Democrats will hold onto the House, despite polls suggesting otherwise. Appearing on "Fox News Sunday," the Maryland congressman contended that pundits should hold off from pronouncing an end to Democratic control of the House before voters go to the polls Tuesday. "It’s not a lost cause," he said. (Politico.com, 10/31/10)
Didn’t Joe Biden also predict victory?
Tears for Fears
Yesterday, the day of an historic election, here is what the Washington Post opinion writers chose to discuss:
--Richard Cohen: Sarah Palin, notwithstanding that so far as we can determine, she is not running for office.
--Eugene Robinson: the angry Tea Party, which just might be racist.
--Dana Milbank: election forecasts are often wrong.
--Anne Applebaum: because Al Qaeda’s latest bomb plot failed, we don’t need to worry about them as much or devote as many resources to protecting the public against them.
Love you guys!
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