Hillary Clinton and the Art of the Smear

In the face of brutal attacks from Bernie Sanders about her use of Wall Street firms as her personal piggybank, Hillary Clinton hits back calling it an "artful smear." Hillary knows a thing or two about smears having engaged in a few of her own along the way. Knowing that a forceful rebuttal is required, Hillary's team  comes up with "artful smear." Not just a run-of-the-mill smear, mind you, an "artful" smear. Someone at Team Hillary will get something extra in their paycheck this week for that one. Even Geraldo Rivera was using it in her defense. 

Which leads us to ask Democrats the following: how would you characterize the attacks on Mitt Romney four years ago? Romney is a church elder, a tither, charity patron, successful businessman, a model husband and father. Dems made him out to be a rapacious capitalist whose business practices killed people. Harry Reid said on the Senate floor that he had it on good knowledge that Romney had not paid taxes for ten years. Now those are "artful smears."


Rolling
The evidence continues to roll in: Broad increases in the minimum wage destroy jobs and hurt the working-class Americans that they are supposed to help. The latest evidence is an announcement that Wal-Mart, America’s largest employer, will close more than 150 U.S. stores, a move that will affect 10,000 employees. (Andy Puzder, Wall Street Journal, 2/6/2016)

Liberals will probably criticize Wal-Mart for closing stores and laying off people. 

The same Liberals who complain when Wal-Mart opens a store. 

The same Liberals who complain that Wal-Mart does not pay its employees enough.  


Programmed
Hillary Clinton’s older feminist supporters have a message for young women who are not backing her candidacy: Shame on you. ...Two feminist icons of Mrs. Clinton’s generation made their frustration known over the weekend, calling on young women who view Mr. Sanders as their candidate to essentially grow up and get with the program. (New York Times, 2/7/2016)

So young females should support Hillary Clinton because she is a woman. Just as all blacks are supposed to support Barack Obama. Funny that no one is saying that blacks should support Ben Carson or Hispanics should support Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio. For that matter, what about Carly Fiorina? She fits the criteria. But Carly Fiorina does not run as a woman. Ben Carson does not run as a black candidate. Ted Cruz does not run as a Hispanic. The difference, of course, is that with Democrats it is all about identity politics. So Hillary Clinton runs as a woman. (Also a grandmother!) That is the Democrat "program." 


Whistle Stop
There were reports of secret waiting lists to hide long delays in care. Whistle-blowers said as many as 40 veterans had died waiting for appointments. And Congress was demanding answers.

Despite mounting evidence of trouble at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Senator Bernie Sanders, then the chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, initially regarded the complaints as overblown, and as a play by conservatives to weaken one of the country’s largest social welfare institutions.

“There is, right now, as we speak, a concerted effort to undermine the V.A.,” Mr. Sanders said in May 2014, two weeks after the story was picked up by national news organizations. “You have folks out there now — Koch brothers and others — who want to radically change the nature of society, and either make major cuts in all of these institutions, or maybe do away with them entirely.” (New York Times, 2/7/2016)

The New York Times largely ignored the VA scandal when it was uncovered for several reasons. Most importantly. it could not be pinned on Republicans. A Democrat, Bernie Sanders was in charge of Senate oversight for the VA. Furthermore, the VA is the Democrat model for single payer, government run, health care. How would it look to expose any of that?

Now, of course, it is convenient for the Times to bring it up in order to check Sanders in the face of his challenge against their favored candidate.

Boots on the Ground

Kicked to the Curb
The stocks of Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger spiked again after the San Bernardino, Calif., shootings last month. They also moved sharply in advance of President Obama’s announcement on Tuesday of measures to curb gun violence. (New York Times, 1/5/2016)

Rumors persist that Smith & Wesson is preparing to name Obama its Salesman of the Year. No one is responsible for more gun sales in America. No one.


Spin Control
Liberal spin can’t disguise that the law is failing on every level other than expanding coverage—as if anyone ever argued that a new entitlement couldn’t reduce the uninsured rate. The huge premium increases and other disruption in the health-care markets that the critics predicted explain why the law continues to be so unpopular with the public six long years after passage. (Wall Street Journal, 1/5/2016)

"...as if anyone ever argued that a new entitlement couldn't reduce the uninsured rate." Exactly the point. Obama and Democrats offered people free or heavily subsidized insurance and then take a victory lap over the success of Obamacare. 


Life Sentence
Apparently, all it takes to get Muslims to sign up for a life of terrorism is one speech by a wealthy reality-show star who holds no office. I mean, joining ISIS is no small commitment; it’s not like changing your vote come Election Day, or registering for a different party. The political and media elites really want us to believe that all it takes to get Muslims to devote their lives to ISIS is a speech by Donald Trump. (David Cole, 12/31/2015, Taki's Magazine) 
http://takimag.com/article/donald_trump_carnage_recruiter_david_cole/print#ixzz3wb3dwFIc

Ann Coulter linked to this great article in her recent column. Why is it that Americans - who have suffered terrible atrocities at the hands of self-proclaimed Muslim zealots - have to walk on eggshells for fear of offending Muslims?


Imposition
For eight years, Barack Obama has imposed failing economic policies on the country, even as he has brilliantly exploited the results for political gain. Democrats produced stagnating wages, rising prices, economic insecurity and failed antipoverty programs—and then somehow blamed the resulting inequality and fear and destitution on conservatives. (Kimberley A. Strassel, Wall Street Journal, 1/7/2016)

Explanation? Obama owns nothing. Not Russian aggression. Not Middle East chaos. Not skyrocketing health insurance premiums. Certainly not economic malaise. Three-quarters of the media and half of the country do not hold him accountable. 


Dog Eat Dog
The State Department provided an “inaccurate or incomplete” response when a watchdog group asked in 2012 whether Hillary Clinton had used any alternate email accounts, saying it had no relevant records, even though dozens of top officials knew that she relied on a private email address for official communications, an independent investigator reported Thursday. (New York Times, 1/7/2016)

Cynical yet?


Elitists
Since at least the early 1990s, a lot of the public has been intimidated into keeping its mouth shut and head down about subjects in the political and social life of the country that the elites stipulated as beyond discussion or dispute. (Daniel Henninger, Wall Street Journal, 1/6/2016)

Good column by Henninger about how Donald Trump and Ben Carson have confronted political correctness.

The Coin in the Coffers

Pushy
Lawmakers say they will push for a statewide tax on carbon dioxide pollution. The Legislature’s Joint Energy Committee last week reviewed two draft bills that would raise the tax on gasoline by up to 88 cents per gallon. (VTDigger.org, 10/28/2015)

Another brilliant idea from Liberals who - make no mistake - are intent on undoing the Industrial Age. They say that the added cost to taxpayers will be offset because they will lower other taxes. 

You believe them, don't you?


House Speaker Job Requires Hats Ryan Has Never Worn (actual New York Times headline, 10/28/2015)

Hillary Clinton's Presidential Hat Ready (proposed New York Times headline, 10/28/2015)


Sober
U.S. student performance slumps on national exams: Fourth-graders and eighth-graders across the United States lost ground on the national mathematics tests, the first declines in scores since the federal government began administering the exams in 1990. Reading performance also was sobering: Eighth-grade scores dropped, while fourth-grade performance was stagnant compared with 2013, according to results released Wednesday. (Washington Post, 10/28/2015)

And the Liberal response will be: "We are not spending enough on education in this country."

The correct response should be: "Given the enormous amount of money we are spending on education in this country, teachers must be held accountable for these poor results."

The only result will be that teachers unions will increase their political contributions to Democrats who provide the shield that protect them from accountability. 

Sturm und Drang

See Through
Hillary Clinton claimed Monday that she is the most transparent public official “in American history” on email during her town hall Monday on NBC. (freebeacon.com, 10/5/2015)

We get it! This was a joke from Hillary's SNL skit!

What? It wasn't from SNL?


Unlikely
Unlike his father, who said on television that he had no idea Mr. Harper-Mercer cared so deeply about guns, his mother was well aware of his fascination. In fact, she shared it: In a series of online postings over a decade, Ms. Harper, a registered nurse, said she kept numerous firearms in her home and expressed pride in her knowledge about them, as well as in her son’s expertise on the subject.

She also opened up about her difficulties raising a son who used to bang his head against the wall, and said that both she and her son struggled with Asperger’s syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder....Ms. Harper and Christopher’s father, Ian Mercer of Tarzana, Calif., divorced in 2006 and were separated years earlier. Mr. Mercer told CNN last week that he thought the nation should change its gun laws, saying the massacre “would not have happened” if his son had not been able to buy so many handguns and rifles. (New York Times, 10/6/2015)

No, actually Mr. Harper, the massacre would not have happened if your ex-wife had exhibited a modicum of common sense and kept your mentally ill son away from firearms. By the way, where were you while this was happening?


Mistaken
Russia squared off with Turkey and its NATO allies, calling the air incursion on Saturday an innocent mistake because of foul weather — a claim American officials rejected. News services said late Monday that a second airspace violation might have been committed on Sunday, but that report could not be immediately confirmed. (New York Times, 10/6/2015)

RedStateVT has always believed that the gravest danger that Barack Obama poses to America is in the area of foreign policy. Yes, he has and will continue to screw up things domestically; saddling future generations with Obamacare, strangling business with draconian regulations, failing to protect our borders and (today) opening the doors of the jails to free drug dealers. All of these things can be fixed, more or less. But it is Obama's weak-kneed approach to dealing with the geo-political challenges faced by every president that puts America most at risk in ways from which it will be hard to recover. The world's bad actors see in Obama a naive wimp. And accordingly they steamroll over him and over American interests. A new president and a strong Republican Congress can undo Obama's domestic disasters. But how do you get the Ukraine back? How do you get the Russians out of Syria?

Worse, Obama thinks he is getting it right. Witness:
Mr. Obama believes his Syria policy—the one that did nothing as 250,000 people were murdered; the one that did nothing as his own red lines were crossed; the one that allowed ISIS to flourish; the one that has created the greatest refugee crisis of the 21st century; the one currently being exploited by Russia and Iran for geopolitical advantage—is a success. (Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal, 10/5/2015)


Discouraged
Parents, teachers, classmates, friends and others are in the best position to pick up on these clues, but they often dismiss or ignore them. So “see something, say something” strategies, like those developed in New York after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, can help encourage people to speak up, Dr. Meloy said. (New York Times, 10/7/2015)

Of course, "see something, say something" is not to be employed when a kid name Mohammed brings a box to school with a lot of wires coming out of it. 


Shapeless
The group trying to persuade Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to enter the presidential race is set to broadcast an unusual commercial on national television in which Mr. Biden recounts how his life was shaped by the 1972 car accident that claimed the life of his first wife and their daughter and nearly killed his two sons.

The haunting, mostly black-and-white commercial from the group, Draft Biden, features audio from a speech he gave at Yale University’s commencement in May, just days before his elder son, Beau, died of brain cancer. (New York Times, 10/7/2015)

OK, we'll say it. We have hesitated up til now, giving Joe Biden and his supporters the space to grieve over the death of the VP's son. Now they have crossed the line and we are forced to say what some of you are, no doubt, thinking: The idea that Biden is deserving of the presidency because his son died tragically is just creepy. Of course, it fits in perfectly with the Liberal playbook: the part about the glorification of victims.


Pow Wow
Dartmouth College has removed the new director of its Native American Program after tribal officials and alumni accused her of misrepresenting herself as an American Indian. (Wall Street Journal, 10/5/2015)

On the other hand, Elizabeth Warren - another fake American Indian - remains a venerable figure at her old employer, Harvard Law. Heck, she might even be the next VP!

Press One for English. Press Two to Learn English.

Invocation
A former aide to Hillary Rodham Clinton who helped set up the server that housed Mrs. Clinton’s private email account plans to invoke his Fifth Amendment right in response to congressional questions about the email practices, according to two people who have been briefed on the matter. (New York Times, 9/3/2015)

Nothing significant about this, of course. A Chris Christie aide resigns for causing a traffic jam in New Jersey. (In New Jersey, the absence of a traffic jam is deemed suspicious.) Hillary's aide invokes the Fifth and it is marginally newsworthy. Onward to the nomination!


Intensity
A Kentucky county clerk who has become a symbol of religious opposition to same-sex marriage was jailed Thursday after defying a federal court order to issue licenses to gay couples....The judge’s decision to jail Ms. Davis, a 49-year-old Democrat who was elected last year, immediately intensified the attention focused on her, a longtime government worker who is one of three of Kentucky’s 120 county clerks who contend that their religious beliefs keep them from recognizing same-sex nuptials.(New York Times, 9/4/2015)

Hold the phone sister! Davis is a Democrat? How can that be? As we know - because the media told us - all Democrats believe in gay marriage, global warming, gay marriage, abortion, gay marriage, gun control, gay marriage, higher taxes, etc. Also, how did editors at the New York Times allow this inconvenient truth to be published?

Spicy

Over and Over
More than 30 other cities have also reported increases in violence from a year ago. In New Orleans, 120 people had been killed by late August, compared with 98 during the same period a year earlier. In Baltimore, homicides had hit 215, up from 138 at the same point in 2014. In Washington, the toll was 105, compared with 73 people a year ago. And in St. Louis, 136 people had been killed this year, a 60 percent rise from the 85 murders the city had by the same time last year....“Across the country, we’ve all found it’s not the individual who never committed a crime before suddenly killing somebody,” Mr. McCarthy said on Monday. “It’s the repeat offenders. It’s the same people over and over again.” (New York Times, 9/1/2015)

Liberals are marching in the streets after thugs who threaten police and refuse to surrender are shot. Meanwhile the thugs are killing each other - and the occasional innocent victim - with abandon. We've seen this movie before: tougher laws will eventually be enacted to take the criminals off the streets and keep them off the streets. And then, inevitably, Liberals will begin to whine about how poor minority neighborhoods were decimated by the mass incarceration of young males. (That is, the thugs.) 

Egged on by Vice President Al Sharpton, President Hillary Clinton will open the jail doors and set the criminals free.  


Blow by Blow
Monday on CNN’s “AC360,” New York Times columnist and CNN regular Charles Blow was asked to react to the argument the Black Lives Matter movement and misses a point that all lives matter and shouldn’t be used as a rallying cry.

According to Blow, it’s a “great concept” but ignores the different treatments of people along racial lines.

“In general, that is a great concept,” Blow replied. “And I wish that all of America believed that all lives matter. However, what we see is disparate treatments of different segments of the population, particularly along racial lines in America, which looks like devaluation of specific segments of the population, specifically black people. And I think that until America says, in its core, that all lives matter, it is appropriate, and in fact necessary to point out the lives that America seems to value less.”

Blow went on to argue that since the government in charge in America is a reflection of the people, America is against black people because certain elements of the government don’t treat blacks equally in his view. (Breitbart.com, 8/31/2015)

If only America had a black president. Or a black woman as senior advisor to a black president. Or a black Attorney General. Or black congressmen. Or black governors. Or black mayors. 


Reserved
Mr. Casey, who announced his decision in a 17-page memo that included a page and a half of footnotes, said in an interview that he still had many deep reservations, especially doubts that Iran would keep up its end of the bargain. But he said he ultimately concluded that it was in the national security interests of the United States to support the agreement. (New York Times, 9/2/2015)

Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania. Has "deep reservations" about the Iran deal. About whether Iran will cheat. 

Not to worry. He gets quickly past his internal conflicts...and sells out his country. 


In Writing
Mr. Coons said in a speech at the University of Delaware on Tuesday that just that morning he had received personal, written assurances from Mr. Obama on a range of concerns before finally deciding to endorse the deal. (New York Times, 9/2/2015)

Senator Chris Coons of Delaware. Gets private assurances from Obama on the Iran deal. Why not share?

Then he sells out the country. 

Meanwhile, here is what the Iranians are saying....
The head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, announced plans to expand the reach of Iran’s missiles and warned that despite the nuclear deal, America was still the “same Great Satan.” (New York Times, 9/2/2015)


Dependency
But Mr. Biden’s chances of winning the nomination, if he decides to run, may depend on whether Hillary Rodham Clinton’s bumpy summer turns into a disastrous autumn or winter. And there are no signs that will happen. (New York Times, 9/2/2015)

No signs. None. Not a single one. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

Just For You

Unmentionables
Not mentioned was Mr. Biden’s own history with the financial services industry, an economic power in his home state of Delaware, or the critics who saw him as too close to credit-card companies in more than three decades in the Senate. (New York Times, 8/31/2015)

The New York Times is conflicted, seriously conflicted. On the one hand, it has already settled on Hillary Clinton. She meets their number one requirement for president: she is a woman. (The fact that she is a grandmother is just icing on the cake.) And so the Times has largely buried Clinton's biggest problem: Benghazi. The e-mail scandal has caused consternation at the Times, no doubt. Rouge elements there have been dogged in pursuing the story. Our thought is that editorial pressure will eventually lead to a concluding article that Hill may have been a tad careless, but THERE IS NO CRIME. Onward to the coronation.

Suddenly, however, Uncle Joe comes along. Biden's main qualification...how to put it delicately? Well, it can't be put delicately. Biden's main qualification is that his son died tragically young. So the Times has to acknowledge Biden's status as a victim of horrible family tragedies. The Times loves victims. But ultimately Biden cannot be allowed to get in the way of Hillary. And so the Times runs a second soft hit piece on Uncle Joe. Call it another warning shot across the bow. 


Unconvinced
One of Mr. Biden’s likely priorities as a candidate would be to make a convincing argument that his approach to consumer issues has evolved since his time as a senator. (New York Times, 8/31/2015)

Once again we are reminded that Democrats evolve while Republicans flip-flop.


Spent
Mrs. Clinton spent the weekend fund-raising in the Hamptons.... (New York Times, 8/31/2015)

With the 1%ers?


Catch and Release
The State Department is scheduled to release another trove of Mrs. Clinton’s emails on Monday, as part of its monthly production of messages from the personal email account she used exclusively as secretary of state. (New York Times, 8/31/2015)

We are impressed. Usually these data dumps take place on Friday so that they can be ignored over the weekend. 

What's that?

Oh, sorry. Monday is Labor Day.


Origins
Originally it (Obamacare) was going to lower rates. Then it was going to keep them roughly the same. Then the Democrats admitted that the rates would go up, but they would go up more slowly than they would if we never passed the legislation. (But hey… we had to pass it to find out what was in it, so I suppose all’s fair in love and legislative war.) (Jazz Shaw, Hotair.com, 8/31/2015)

Well put. 

Power Play

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On the Vine

Bad Science
Twenty-nine of the nation’s top scientists — including Nobel laureates, veteran makers of nuclear arms and former White House science advisers — wrote to President Obama on Saturday to praise the Iran deal, calling it innovative and stringent. (New York Times, 8/9/2015)

Which inevitably recalls the column written a while back by George Will who quoted Albert Einstein's comments when Nazi Germany announced "100 scientists against Einstein." Einstein said: "If I was wrong, they would need only one."


Far Away
Even as support for ending marijuana prohibition is building around the country, Congress and the Obama administration remain far too timid about the need for change. (New York Times editorial, 8/9/2015)

New York Times editors want to legalize marijuana...and outlaw plastic water bottles. 


Hands Off
“What this campaign is doing is sending a loud and clear message to the billionaire class: And that is that their greed is destroying the United States of America,” Mr. Sanders, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, shouted above the roar of the crowd. “This country belongs to all of us — and not just a handful of billionaires.” (New York Times, 8/9/2015)

"And by 'billionaires' I mean George Soros, Tom Steyer and Jeffrey Katzenberg."


Lapsed
Against the backdrop of other current government computer security lapses, notably the large-scale theft of files from the Office of Personnel Management, most specialists believe the occasional appearance of classified information in the Clinton account was probably of marginal consequence. (New York Times, 8/9/2015)

Correction (we would like to see):
Against the backdrop of other current government computer security lapses, notably the large-scale theft of files from the Office of Personnel Management, most specialists who plan to vote for Hillary Clinton believe the occasional appearance of classified information in the Clinton account was probably of marginal consequence.


White Privilege
At a Saturday afternoon rally in Seattle, Washington, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Sen. Bernie Sanders was shut down by screeching Black Lives Matters protestors. As Sanders was speaking, two women surrounded his podium and said they would shut the event down if they were not allowed to speak. When an attempt was made to ask the women to “be reasonable,” they began shouting. Soon, avowed socialist Sanders was forced to leave the stage where he shook hands with many white well-wishers in the audience. (Breitbart.com, 8/9/2015)

Trust us, there is nothing more satisfying than seeing Liberals confronted....by even crazier Liberals!

Chuck Schumer Opposes Obama's Iran Deal. Is He a Racist?

Witless
Jon Stewart Signs Off From ‘Daily Show’ With Wit and Sincerity (New York Times headline, 8/7/2015)

The New York Times writes its eighty-second article on Jon Stewart quitting his job. So far, one article on Planned Parenthood representatives selling fetal organs.

Today's articles include:
-Jon Stewart and ‘The Daily Show’: 9 Essential Moments
-Jon Stewart Signs Off From ‘Daily Show’ With Wit and Sincerity
-The TV Watch: Jon Stewart Cements His Legacy in ‘Daily Show’ Finale
-Nocera: When Jon Stewart Took Down Jim Cramer

In fairness, however, there is one article among the eighty-two that we like and from which we will quote extensively (happily entitled - Jon Stewart, Patron Saint of Liberal Smugness):

Many liberals, but not conservatives, believe there is an important asymmetry in American politics. These liberals believe that people on opposite sides of the ideological spectrum are fundamentally different. Specifically, they believe that liberals are much more open to change than conservatives, more tolerant of differences, more motivated by the public good and, maybe most of all, smarter and better informed.

The evidence for these beliefs is not good. Liberals turn out to be just as prone to their own forms of intolerance, ignorance and bias. But the beliefs are comforting to many. They give their bearers a sense of intellectual and even moral superiority. And they affect behavior. They inform the condescension and self-righteousness with which liberals often treat conservatives. They explain why many liberals have greeted Tea Partiers and other grass-roots conservatives with outsize alarm. They explain why liberals fixate on figures such as Sarah Palin and Todd Akin, who represent the worst that many liberals are prepared to see in conservatives. (Gerard Alexander, New York Times, 8/7/2015)


Mumsy
Challenging Hillary Clinton, who now describes herself in appearances as the grandma candidate, we have the 73-year-old Vermont Socialist Bernie Sanders. Or if not Bernie, maybe the 72-year-old veep Joe Biden, or—let no one doubt it—the silver surfer, John Kerry (71). (Daniel Henninger, Wall Street Journal, 8/7/2015)

The Republican party fields an African American, a woman, a couple of Hispanics, and an Indian American. The Democrat party field consists entirely of old white men. How come RedStateVT is the only one talking about this?


Not Working
U.S. economy added 215,000 jobs in July; unemployment still 5.3% (New York Times headline, 8/7/2015)

The Obama recovery. No U.S. president in history has ever so completely evaded responsibility for the economy like Obama. Seven years in and he is still getting away with blaming Bush while the Liberal media never once asks about the efficacy of his policies. When Hillary is elected, she too will blame Bush.


Road Blocks
Unions may not matter much in American workplaces anymore but unions represent the main political obstacle to just about every kind of reform: School choice. Entitlements. Pensions. Health care. (Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., Wall Street Journal, 8/7/2015)

Well, unions and their political lapdogs, the Democrat party.


Skipper
... Mr. Obama escaped the long, hot August days in Washington for Martha’s Vineyard, as he has every year but one since he became president. In 2012, Mr. Obama skipped his vacation on the island, the affluent summer destination south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, as he waged a re-election campaign in which he attacked the wealth of his Republican rival, Mitt Romney. (New York Times, 8/8/2015)

So the New York Times unwittingly admits that the Democrat party's "attack the rich" strategy is a ruse. Thanks for the clarification.

Source: Another Old White Guy May Challenge Hillary; Democrat War on Women Continues

Cue the Baby
The narrator adds, “And now a new title: grandma.” (New York Times, 8/3/2015)

Hillary Clinton's forthcoming television ad. 

Told ya!


Head Case
Deals among the nation’s largest health insurers in recent weeks have been almost head-spinning. But whatever the details, if the combinations are finalized, the result will be an industry dominated by three colossal insurers. Consumer advocates, policy experts and former regulators say that what may be good for the insurers may not be good for consumers, especially in the wake of a similar frenzy of deal-making among hospitals and doctors’ groups.
“The consolidation in both of these industries has been shown to have an adverse impact on consumers,” said Leemore S. Dafny, a former official at the Federal Trade Commission who is now a professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. (New York Times, 8/3/2015)

The New York Times writes twenty-nine paragraphs on health insurance mergers and the potential impact on consumers. Whatever could have led to industry consolidation? The Times does not say, but gives us a hint. The article briefly mentions something called "the federal health care law" but does not elaborate further. RedStateVT will do further research on this nameless law which is driving up health care costs and report back when we uncover more.


Packing Heat
While short on sensible gun safety prescriptions, the Republican candidates are quite precise in disclosing the types of pistols and rifles they proudly own. According to The Washington Post, Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio prefer .357 magnum revolvers; Donald Trump has a Heckler & Koch .45; Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina owns an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, and so forth, for a total of at least 40 guns among 15 candidates. (New York Times editorial, 8/3/2015)

Of course what the Times editors will not tell you is that all rich Liberals have bodyguards who carry firearms. But we wondered, do any Liberal politicians own guns. Here is what we found...and it is terribly exciting!

Gov. Jerry Brown has a small arsenal. During a meeting with law enforcement officials Wednesday, the governor revealed, "I've got three guns and one dog," the LA Times reported. (Baycitizen.org, 4/7/2011)

With Troubles Mounting for Hillary Look for Granddaughter to Appear Soon

Insecurities
Government investigators said Friday that they had discovered classified information on the private email account that Hillary Rodham Clinton used while secretary of state, stating unequivocally that those secrets never should have been stored outside of secure government computer systems. (New York Times, 7/25/2015)

No the lead story is not about a presidential candidate who broke the law. That presidential candidate is a Democrat and so the story appears buried underneath a headline in 6 point font. Lead stories about controversial things that Donald Trump says get the really big headlines.


Unclear
Campaigning in Iowa on Saturday, she was asked about the email issue. “I think there’s so much confusion around this that I understand why reporters and the public are asking questions, but the facts are pretty clear,” she told reporters, according to The Associated Press. “I did not send nor receive anything that was classified at the time.” But the two inspectors general said on Friday that the information they found was classified when it was sent and remains so. (New York Times, 7/26/2015)

So another lie.


Crier
President Obama has said repeatedly that each mass shooting cries out for stricter controls to keep mentally ill people and criminals from obtaining guns, but the issue has not resonated on the campaign trail. (New York Times, 7/25/2015)

Another idea...stop calling the mentally ill "differently-abled" and start locking them in insane asylums like we used to do. 

Grace in Everything

Fakers
The vast majority of patients who seek a doctor’s authorization for pot do not have cancer, glaucoma or other serious illnesses. In Oregon, “severe pain” is reported as a condition requiring treatment in 93 percent of patients, while fewer than 6 percent had cancer. Most people are getting prescriptions for conditions where cannabis is not clearly effective, and for symptoms that are very subjective and potentially faked. (Aaron E. Carroll, New York Times, 7/20/2015)

Not to worry, stoners, Liberals have already declared the case for "medical" marijuana to be "settled science."


Dumb and Dumber
Among the dumbest (regulations) were Washington’s affordable-housing mandates, beginning in 1977, that led to a loosening of underwriting standards and put people into homes they couldn’t afford. The Federal Reserve played its part in the 2008 financial crisis by keeping interest rates too low for too long, inflating the housing bubble. Washington not only failed to prevent the crisis, it led us into it. (Wall Street Journal, 7/20/2015)

We have, on several occasions, talked to Liberal friends about the financial crisis and specifically the role that meddling politicians like Barney Frank had in the meltdown. We've pointed to YouTube videos where Frank urges Fannie/Freddie to "roll the dice." Getting their talking points from Rachel Maddow, Liberals say these things were minor and the real problem was Wall Street and the hedge fund managers. 

By the way, we have no love for either Wall Street or hedge-funders (like Hillary Clinton's son-in-law) who give inordinate contributions to Democrats. One cannot deny, however, the guilt of Democrat politicians. Including some you may have heard of:

The Clintons’ mortgage policy saga began two decades ago during the booming early Internet era, when concern grew in Washington that minorities and the working poor weren’t reaping the benefits of an improving economy, especially in the housing market.

In a bid to create affordable housing for minorities and low-income residents, Mr. Clinton in 1995 ordered new bank regulations to encourage lending in poor neighborhoods. The Community Reinvestment Act gave banks higher ratings if they lent more in credit-deprived localities. (Washingtontimes.com, 7/20/2015)

Speaking of Bill and Hillary, our next presidents:

The Clintons reported pre-tax earnings of more than $30 million over the past year by giving speeches to Wall Street banks and other major corporations. This is consistent with the modern Democratic view that individuals/corporation are entitled to obscene wealth so long as they believe the right things. (Andrew Stiles, freebeacon.com, 7/20/2015)


The Slippery Slope
With same-sex marriage on the books, we can now ask whether polyamorous relationships should be next. There is a very good argument that they should. (William Baude, New York Times, 7/21/2015)

And so it begins. Or is it continues?

Kick out the foundations of civilization and civilization crumbles. 

Rarely Heard

Crossed Up
Her Political Majesty finally agreed to give her first national campaign interview Tuesday to CNN, though she still hasn’t crossed the threshold of being interesting. The Clinton campaign is a joyless entourage that behaves as if it’s entitled to the White House in return for her family’s privileged life in government. (Wall Street Journal, 7/8/2015)

Our sources say that this is the last interview that Hillary will give until she is elected. 


Trumpster
Republican Party leaders agonize over the prospect that Donald Trump will mount a third-party candidacy that could undermine their nominee. They fear insulting the white working-class voters who admire him. They are loath to tangle with a threat-flinging firebrand for whom there are no rules of engagement. (New York Times, 7/10/2015)

Donald Trump's sin? He spoke out against illegal immigration. Key word: illegal.

Nothing demonstrates more clearly the state of America today.... 

(And, by the way, Democrat Party leaders have no such similar worries about the effect of Colonel Bernie Sanders.)

Here's Peggy Noonan on the same topic: 

...illegal immigration is a calamity. It is an admission by a nation that it has lost control not only of its borders but of itself. It is no longer functioning as a sovereign nation; it has lost its self-protectiveness and dignity. (Wall Street Journal, 7/10/2015)

Well stated!


Costly
Cost has long been a major obstacle to women getting birth control, and declines in what they pay for contraceptives have the potential to increase access and reduce unplanned pregnancies. (New York Times, 7/8/2015)

As has been documented many times, birth control pills are available for $10 per month. Condoms cost less than a coffee at Starbucks. But the crack investigative journalists at the New York Times have not yet uncovered these facts. That would get in the way of the pre-packaged conclusion that Obamacare has saved the female sex. 

And, by the way, where is Sandra Fluke, America's leading expert on the topic of (free) birth control? 

Sandra? 

Sandy?

Normal Tendencies

Earthbound
Much of the early campaign was about allowing Mrs. Clinton to exist in a safe political space, bringing one of the world’s most famous political faces back down to earth from her days as secretary of state so that voters could forge a bond with her. But over the weekend, a half-dozen protesters created an unpredictable environment for Mrs. Clinton as she marched in a parade in northern New Hampshire. At the same time, her aides sought to give her a buffer so that voters could see her, separating journalists with a rope, creating a series of viral photos that ricocheted through Twitter. (New York Times, 7/7/2015)

Apparently the most powerful woman in the world is really a battered girl-child who needs safe spaces and a calm environment. How is that going to work out for America and the world when Putin starts threatening Poland?


Clearly
Mr. Obama’s daybook is clear as far as the eye can see, save for a briefing Monday afternoon with military commanders at the Pentagon and a meeting on Tuesday with the head of Vietnam’s Communist Party. (New York Times, 7/7/2015)

We're betting that he'll find the time to squeeze in a quick eighteen holes.


Lowdown
The Obama administration on Tuesday will announce an initiative to help low- and middle-income Americans gain access to solar energy, part of a series of steps President Obama is taking to tackle climate change, according to administration officials. (New York Times, 7/7/2015)

Because what the poor want more than anything else in the world are solar panels. No doubt you hear it all the time. Give us solar panels! How come only the rich get solar panels?


Lawyers in Love
Lawyers for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was sentenced to death for his role in the Boston Marathon bombing, filed a preliminary motion Monday for a new trial.

The filing in Federal District Court was a procedural motion, described by the lawyers as merely a “place holder,” but it was a prelude to an appellate process that is expected to drag on for years.

“A new trial is required in the interests of justice,” wrote Mr. Tsarnaev’s lawyers, who include the death penalty expert Judy Clarke. (New York Times, 7/7/2015)

"Drag on..." "Interests of justice..." Where to begin?

Former Democrat Senator Jim Webb: Another white guy enters race for Democrat presidential nomination

With the entrance of Webb, the Democrats are now running four white men for president. In addition to Webb, these include Bernie Sanders, Martin O'Malley and Hillary Clinton. If Joe Biden revives his presidential comedy tour, the number will grow to five. 

Where is the diversity?


Seekers
Health insurance companies around the country are seeking rate increases of 20 percent to 40 percent or more, saying their new customers under the Affordable Care Act turned out to be sicker than expected. Federal officials say they are determined to see that the requests are scaled back. (New York Times, 7/4/2015)

It's working! Obamacare is working!


Of the 10.2 million people who obtained coverage through federal and state marketplaces this year, 85 percent receive subsidies in the form of tax credits to help pay premiums. (New York Times, 7/4/2015)

And has been reported previously, 79% of the people who are getting their health care paid for by someone else like it! 

Obamacare is working!

Obama establishes relations with Cuba, breaks ties with Israel

Scott Walker’s Hard Right Turn in Iowa May Hurt Him Elsewhere (New York Times headline, 7/2/2015)

By Contrast Hillary Clinton's Hard Left Turn Will Not Hurt Her Anywhere (RedStateVT headline, 7/2/2015)


The Protractor
She engaged in a protracted struggle to get her fax machine to work. (New York Times, 7/2/2015)

If Hillary can't work a fax machine maybe she is not qualified to be president.


Forbidden
ObamaCare putatively forbids IPAB (Independent Payment Advisory Board) from rationing or restricting care. But to adapt Humpty Dumpty, rationing means what IPAB chooses it to mean. As progressive single-payer champion Howard Dean explained in these pages (“The Affordable Care Act’s Rate-Setting Won’t Work,” July 28, 2013), IPAB will de facto determine which procedures and drugs get covered by setting reimbursement rates. IPAB will be able to restrict treatments by reducing rates to levels at which no doctor could provide care. (Wall Street Journal, 7/2/2015)

Our dear Liberal friends are obsessed with Sarah Palin. Sometimes they can talk of nothing else. In fact, they have engaged in a singular 'War on Woman' against Palin. Notwithstanding being elected the governor of Alaska, our snobbish friends somehow deem her to be not intellectual enough. Palin, of course, was the one who first exposed the Obamacare death panels which absolutely infuriated Liberals. 

An outrageous lie they cried! 

Then Obamacare guru Ezekiel Emanuel wrote an article about how no one should live beyond age seventy-five and what did we hear? Crickets.

So anyway, here the WSJ makes clear how Obamacare will ration healthcare. In a word: death panels. OK, that's two words. Just like Sarah Palin!

Hillary Clinton: "I IDENTIFY as your president..."

Pushing Her Buttons
In a sprawling park 30 miles outside Moscow, President Vladimir V. Putin welcomed the country’s first high-tech military exposition on Tuesday, announcing in his opening remarks that Russia would add 40 new intercontinental ballistic missiles to its nuclear stockpile this year. (New York Times, 6/17/2015)

RedStateVT: Secretary Clinton, the New York Times just reported that Russian President Putin is increasing that country's nuclear arsenal. Is this a failure of your 'Russian Reset' policy?

RedStateVT: Madame Secretary?

Clinton: I want to be president of ALL Americans!

RedStateVT: But Madame Secretary, we were asking about the apparent failure of your Russian Reset policy trumpeted during your tenure as Secretary of State. And as a follow-up, please explain how voters should feel about your ability to enact a robust and effective foreign policy as president.

RedStateVT: Madame Secretary?

Clinton: I would like to show everyone pictures of my lovely granddaughter....


Black and White
White Gunman Sought in Killing of 9 at Black Church in Charleston, S.C. (New York Times headline, 6/18/2015)

So has the New York Times EVER written a headline that said: Black Gunman Sought in Killing of White? We cannot remember. 


Swiftly
Pope Francis, in Sweeping Encyclical, Calls for Swift Action on Climate Change (New York Times headline, 6/18/2015)

Liberals are falling all over themselves with this announcement. Some may even return to the church. 

"Climate deniers can no long ignore the reality of climate change; even the pope says so!"

By the way, what does the pope say about gay marriage and abortion?


Pink
Obama Looks at Adding Bases and Troops in Iraq, to Fight ISIS (New York Times headline, 6/12/2015)

Code Pink....where is Code Pink? Cindy Sheehan? Cindy? Anyone seen Cindy lately?


Trumped
The State-Controlled Media is hysterical over the candidacy of novelty Republican Donald Trump. Trump will NEVER poll higher than 5%, but CNN practically did a one hour special yesterday ginning up a non-existent Trump vs. Bush feud. 

Meanwhile, Democrat novelty candidate Colonel Bernie Sanders is polling at 30% in New Hampshire!

Hillary: I want to represent Americans who are not multi-millionaires like me

Hillary Highlights
“The top 25 hedge fund managers make more than all of America’s kindergarten teachers combined, often paying a lower tax rate.” 

...and you may remember that my son-in-law Marc works for a hedge fund.

“When does my family get ahead?” When? I say now.”

...and that is why the Clinton Foundation is ready to accept your donations today.

“As your president, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep Americans safe.”

I've learned from the mistakes I made in Benghazi where four Americans were killed on my watch.

“I may not be the youngest person running for president. But I will be the youngest woman president. And the first grandmother as well.”

Remember that you read it here first: when the campaign hits a rough spot, grandbaby Charlotte makes her first appearance. 

RedStateVT: Racist Democrats Block Obama's Trade Deal

Blocked
Yet in the end, after years of frustration with Republicans blocking his ideas in Congress, President Obama on Friday found the most sweeping legislative initiative left on his agenda thwarted not by the opposition but by his own party. If not for his fellow Democrats, Mr. Obama would have a landmark trade bill heading to his desk for signature. (New York Times, 6/13/2015)

We know it is true because Charles Blow, Eugene Robinson and the crew at MSNBC have been telling us so for years. Rejection of Obama's agenda is due to racism. Here Democrats are guilty. We have that correct, right fellas?


Delivered
As several elected officials join the throngs expected to gather to hear Mrs. Clinton deliver a major address on her vision for the country, Mr. de Blasio will be in Brooklyn on city business. (New York Times, 6/13/2015)

Actually Hillary has a similar problem as Obama. Namely, her own party does not much care for her.