Erick Erickson's Blog, page 143

Jon Huntsman and John Edwards #EERS

Tonight, we're talking about the Johns. You can listen live at http://wsbradio.com and call in at 1-800-WSB-TALK.

Consider this an open thread.

Jon Huntsman Calls Obama 'Remarkable' Before Plotting His Treachery

As Jon Huntsman headed out the door to China in August of 2009, he sent Barack Obama a handwritten note. Included is the statement "You are a remarkable leader — and it has been a great honor getting to know you."

The rest of the story is that Huntsman went to China to serve as Barack Obama's Ambassador to the Chicoms and, concurrent to that, decided to challenge Obama for his job.

It speaks volumes about the man's lack of character and naked ambition that he would choose to serve the President, cast that choice as the patriotic thing to do, then pooh-pooh any notion of disloyalty to the President of the United States when he began plotting against him.

In Huntsman's own words, he considered Obama a "remarkable leader". What changed? And did Huntsman violate the Hatch Act? You can bet the media is going to give him a digital rectal exam trying to find out.

Ed Schultz and MSNBC Have Not Apologized to Neal Boortz Yet

Yesterday, I provided conclusive proof that MSNBC's Ed Schultz had doctored a Neal Boortz quote to make it look like Neal Boortz was advocating white people in Atlanta murder black people.

In reality, Boortz was advocating that victims of carjackings get conceal-carry permits and gun down the thugs trying to car jack them.

Ed Schultz willfully and maliciously left out the key part of Boortz's quote providing context that Boortz was talking about self-defense against thugs. When a guest on Schultz's show tried to raise the context in which Boortz made his comments, Schultz immediately switched to bashing the tea party movement as racist.

As of yet, MSNBC and Ed Schultz have not apologized to Boortz for doctoring his quote. When will MSNBC adhere to basic journalistic standards and correct the Schultz'a malicious act of quote doctoring?

Jeremy Gaines is the Vice President of Communications for MSNBC and can be reached at Jeremy.Gaines@nbcuni.com. You might want to email him and ask when MSNBC plans to issue an apology to Neal Boortz for doctoring his quote.

Embracing the Bilderberger Conspiracy

Unbeknownst to any of us here, there seems to be a great concern from a few concern trolls on this site that we Bilderbergers are on the rise. It's not like we've been hiding. We've got our own website for pete's sake.

As much as we here at RedState are desperate to raise capital to open a chain of Build-A-Burger restaurants where the food is so good it must be a conspiracy, the actual Bilderberg Group is nothing but another group of internationalist millionaires and politicos who get together each year and hash out big meta topics on world issues and, if you believe the hype, plot a one world order type government.

In reality, the existence of the Bilderberg Group is just a distraction for many and allows people who see decline in their own life or in this country to project their angst onto a shadowy group about which these people know very little. That is the nature of most conspiracies of this type. The conspiracy is an imagined plot that allows the imagination to project one's own misery onto others instead of taking responsibility for it themselves.

That's all well and good, except here at RedState. Any person lamenting the Bilderbergers and claiming so and so is no good because he is a member need not stick around and I've instructed the moderators to ban on sight.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm still catching up from two weeks ago in Switzerland with the rest of the gang and have more important matters to deal with.

Silence of the Lambs

Yesterday, I called on conservatives and conservative organizations to actually dare to retaliate against Republican members of Congress who refuse to cut, cap, and balance before raising the debt ceiling.

If any Republican dares to raise the debt ceiling without first ensuring (1) cuts in the budget; (2) caps in spending; and (3) the Lee-Cornyn-Hatch Balanced Budget Amendment makes it out to the states, conservatives must agree to at least attempt to find someone to primary them in their next election. More importantly, there must be zero tolerance for forgiveness on this issue.

Every year, conservative groups come up with pledges, the politicians nuance away the pledges, and the most we get is a tisk tisking that the pledge was violated.

If our debt is the biggest national security issue we now face, there must be more than that. There must be scorched earth against any who vote to raise the debt ceiling without cutting, capping, and balancing first.

Here are the sponsors of the pledge:

60 Plus, Act for America, American Civil Rights Union, American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, Americans for Limited Government, Christian Coalition, Citizens Against Government Waste, Citizens for the Republic, Citizens United, Club for Growth, Concerned Women for America, Conservative HQ, Council for National Policy, Family Pac Federal, Family Research Council Action, FreedomWorks, Halt the Debt, Independent Women's Voice, Institute for Liberty, Less Government, Let Freedom Ring, Liberty Center for Law and Policy, Liberty Central, Liberty Counsel, National Tax Limitation Committee, National Taxpayers Union, Patrick Henry Center, Patriotic Veterans Inc, Renewing American Leadership Action, Taxpayers Protection Alliance, Tea Party Express, Tea Party WDC, and The Carleson Center for Public Policy.

Likewise, Jim DeMint is a signatory to the pledge.

Will DeMint pledge to use the Senate Conservatives fund to primary Republican Senators to balk at cutting, capping, and balancing? He is starting to sound like it. But sound is not action.

Will the above listed groups do more than tut-tut? I've heard from both For America and FRC Action PAC that they are serious and mean business. What about the others?

I don't want to put these groups in a bad spot or make it sound like I'm hostile to them. I'm not. I support the pledge. But I am tired of conservative groups doing pledges that ultimately have no teeth in them.

This is either the gravest threat we face or it is not. And all these people and groups say it is. If they are serious, they must be prepared to wage war on the Republicans who waver, compromise, and nuance — whether those Republicans signed the pledge or not.

"But wait," you say. "Some of these cannot 'wage war.' There are tax exempt statuses to worry about. And some of those who betray us are in safe seats. We can't waste our manpower going after them."

Fine, fine. If you are prevented from going out and campaigning against these guys, then you certainly can refrain from inviting them to speak at or on behalf of your organization. You can start leaving them out of your literature. You can pretend they do not exist unless you can be critical of them.

Otherwise, work to find a primary opponent. Some of them won't be beatable. Many of them, if we gang up on them, will go down in flames. The issue is whether you are going to tut-tut or actively work to ruin those who ruin this country.

I know many of those who have signed the Cut, Cap, and Balance Pledge. I hope you will too. I intend to. I know most of them and the organizations involved believe the day of judgment has arrived on our future as a country. So, just like on the real day of judgment, the time for forgiveness is over — politicians must now either be saved or ruined. No more second chances and future acts of redemption. It is a wonderful thing that the conservative movement is so full of Christian charity and forgiveness, but if this issue is judgment day then it's also the day for accountability, not forgiveness, for politicians who claim to be part of the conservative movement.

If the conservative movement does not treat capitulation on this issue as an ultimate, unforgivable act of betrayal, the conservative movement will never again be treated seriously by the very politicians the movement seeks to influence.

If you just want to make a pledge and then sit back, count me out. I'm done with heady rhetoric tied to pledges that amount to bark with no bite. So conservative movement, what do you choose?

Rick Perry Will Be At the RedState Gathering. Will You?

The weekend of August 14, 2011, RedState will be going to Charleston, SC for our 2011 RedState Gathering.

Nikki Haley will be there. Ted Cruz and Michael Williams will be there. Adam Hasner will be there. We expect Jim DeMint to be there (he hasn't confirmed yet) and Mike Pence too.

I can finally confirm today that Governor Rick Perry of Texas will be there as well. So I'm sure you are wondering what you need to do to get there. It's easy. Go here: https://rsgathering.kimbia.com/rsgatheringreg and register.

Morning Briefing for July 21, 2011

RedState Morning Briefing

For June 21, 2011

Go to www.RedStateMB.com to get
the Morning Briefing every morning at no charge.

1. Rick Perry Will Be At the RedState Gathering. Will You?

2. Silence of the Lambs

3. Ed Schultz Doctored a Neal Boortz Quote to Accuse Boortz of Advocating Murder

4. Steve Benen Is Shocked To Find That Some People Don't Like Signing Statements

5. McCain and Graham Claim to Speak for Conservatives on Libya

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1. Rick Perry Will Be At the RedState Gathering. Will You?

The weekend of August 14, 2011, RedState will be going to Charleston, SC for our 2011 RedState Gathering.

Nikki Haley will be there. Ted Cruz and Michael Williams will be there. Adam Hasner will be there. We expect Jim DeMint to be there (he hasn't confirmed yet) and Mike Pence too.

I can finally confirm today that Governor Rick Perry of Texas will be there as well. So I'm sure you are wondering what you need to do to get there. It's easy. Go here: https://rsgathering.kimbia.com/rsgatheringreg and register.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. Silence of the Lambs

I know many of those who have signed the Cut, Cap, and Balance Pledge. I hope you will too. I intend to. I know most of them and the organizations involved believe the day of judgment has arrived on our future as a country. So, just like on the real day of judgment, the time for forgiveness is over — politicians must now either be saved or ruined. No more second chances and future acts of redemption. It is a wonderful thing that the conservative movement is so full of Christian charity and forgiveness, but if this issue is judgment day then it's also the day for accountability, not forgiveness, for politicians who claim to be part of the conservative movement.

If the conservative movement does not treat capitulation on this issue as an ultimate, unforgivable act of betrayal, the conservative movement will never again be treated seriously by the very politicians the movement seeks to influence.

If you just want to make a pledge and then sit back, count me out. I'm done with heady rhetoric tied to pledges that amount to bark with no bite. So conservative movement, what do you choose?

Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. Ed Schultz Doctored a Neal Boortz Quote to Accuse Boortz of Advocating Murder

My WSB colleague and guru, the Talkmaster Neal Boortz, created a bit of controversy this past week over comments he made about shooting thugs in Atlanta.

The controversy actually blew up because of Ed Schultz at MSNBC who claimed Boortz was advocating the murder of urban youths in Atlanta.

There's just one problem here. In both the screen shot and the accompanying audio, Ed Schultz doctored Neal Boortz's quote.

What is it about NBC editing and doctoring quotes this week? I'm sure Comcast can't be pleased.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. Steve Benen Is Shocked To Find That Some People Don't Like Signing Statements

Expecting consistency from left-wing political activists is folly, but rarely does one get such a glaring example as the Washington Monthly's Steve Benen on presidential "signing statements." Watch, and your head will spin.

During the Bush years, liberal commentators suddenly discovered that they didn't like the longstanding practice of "signing statements" by which the President offered his own interpretation of legislation he was signing, in some cases declaring his intention to ignore unconstitutional provisions. Now, in a better world, presidents would just veto laws containing unconstitutional things - this was, in fact, perhaps the most frequent basis on which presidents used the veto power in the 19th Century - but the use of signing statements to set forth a public defense of Executive Branch prerogatives has a long and bipartisan history, and there is a quite respectable argument that such statements preserve the President's role as head of a co-equal branch of government with as much right to his interpretation of the Constitution as Congress or the Supreme Court.

Anyway, Steve Benen was one of the liberal bloggers who pushed the anti-signing-statements hysteria without consideration that there was any argument for defending the practice whatsoever.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

5. McCain and Graham Claim to Speak for Conservatives on Libya

Whenever we attempt to evince bold distinctions between ourselves and the Democrats, Lindsey Graham and John McCain can always be counted upon to muddle those distinctions. Foreign policy, in particular, is a subject in which voters struggle to perceive clear differences between the parties. Consequently, we must repel the rapturous support for the so-called Arab Spring emanating from Obama's tag team of favorite Republicans.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

NBC Keeps Doctoring Quotes, Herman Cain Rebounds, Rick Perry Rises, and More #EERS

Finally, I'm home and live tonight for three hours from Atlanta. We'll talk about NBC doctoring Boortz's quote and leaving out "under God" from the pledge of allegiance. I'll focus on Herman Cain rebounding and do a mini horserace segment tonight with a review of this past weekend.

You can listen live at http://wsbradio.com starting at 7:05 p.m. ET and call in at 1-800-WSB-TALK.

Consider this an open thread.

Ed Schultz Doctored a Neal Boortz Quote to Accuse Boortz of Advocating Murder

My WSB colleague and guru, the Talkmaster Neal Boortz, created a bit of controversy this past week over comments he made about shooting thugs in Atlanta.

The controversy actually blew up because of Ed Schultz at MSNBC who claimed Boortz was advocating the murder of urban youths in Atlanta.

In fact, you can see this screen shot from the Schutlz show highlighting Neal Boortz's controversial comment:

There's just one problem here. In both the screen shot and the accompanying audio, Ed Schultz doctored Neal Boortz's quote. See, Boortz said those things, but in the middle there was this bit:

You need to get a permit to carry that gun. And you do in fact need to carry that gun and we need to see some dead thugs littering the landscape in Atlanta. We need to see the next guy that tries to carjack you shot dead right where he stands. We need more dead thugs in this city.

The full quote is below the fold. But this is the relevant portion for purposes of Ed Schultz's monologue and it is clearly references self-defense, not wanton murder of thugs. In fact, when Schultz then interviewed a Hillary Shelton, Sr. of the NAACP about Boortz's comment and Mr. Shelton brought up Boortz making the comment in terms of self-defense (around 11:02), Schultz jumped in and pushed the guy away from Boortz's context and moved on to bashing the tea party movement.

This was a wholly dishonest editing of Boortz's quote and his context, without even using ellipses in the on-screen text, to accuse Boortz of advocating murder instead of self defense.

Here are Boortz's full remarks:

You know what? I, for one, am tired of putting up with this crap. And you want to know why I moved out of Atlanta and only spend a couple of weeks a year in this town? That's one of the reasons. Carjackings, violence, people getting shot. It's ridiculous. This city harbors an urban culture of violence. And I want you to look around. You drive into the city. The railroad overpass is on the downtown connector covered with graffiti. And that– That is just an advertisement for everybody coming into this town that we really don't give a damn about those who would screw up our quality of life around here. We really just don't care. We don't care enough to paint over graffiti on the overpasses that come into our city, advertising welcome to Atlanta, here's some of our finest graffiti, from some of our finest urban thugs and their little gang signs. And pick up the paper tomorrow morning. Read about all the carjackings. Read about the innocent people shot for the pure de-hell of it.

This town is starting to look like a garbage heap. And we got too damn many urban thugs, yo, ruining the quality of life for everybody. And I'll tell you what it's gonna take. You people, you are - you need to have a gun. You need to have training. You need to know how to use that gun. You need to get a permit to carry that gun. And you do in fact need to carry that gun and we need to see some dead thugs littering the landscape in Atlanta. We need to see the next guy that tries to carjack you shot dead right where he stands. We need more dead thugs in this city. And let their — let their mommas — let their mommas say, "He was a good boy. He just fell in with the good crowd." And then lock her ass up.

The Feckless Are Phoning In Now

I'm already hearing whining and lamenting about my post this morning on conservatives' need to do more than pledge. It's only 10 a.m. and I'm getting the "how dare you question my integrity" emails and the "who the heck do you think you are" emails.

"But . . . meow . . . I'm a 501(c)(3). I can't do anything . . . meow."

That's typical of the weaseling out that's going on. I told you people conservatives like to make pledges and then do jack when members of congress run roughshod all over them.

Here's the deal — if you can't actively oppose a member of Congress for selling us down the river, don't give them a speaking gig, don't say nice things about them, don't let them take the stage at your auditorium to praise you or let them sing their praises.

Either this is a fight worth having now or it is not. I believe it is and you people keep telling me you think it is. Well then, there can no longer be forgiveness. There can only be fighting for the cause or fight those who oppose the cause — even if they claim to be on our team.

"But, we really do have to raise the debt ceiling." If you believe we really do have the raise the debt ceiling, you are not on my team if raising the debt ceiling comes before cutting, capping, and balancing.

I'm done nuancing on this. And for you people in congressional offices writing about how we need to be more reasonable, etc. — you people are the ones telling us just how dire the fight is. So either you are lying about how dire the situation is or you really are gutless.

Those are the only options.