Erick Erickson's Blog, page 82

Morning Briefing for December 23, 2011

RedState Morning Briefing

December 23, 2011

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

1. Stopping SOPA

2. About Those Racist Ron Paul Newsletters that He Didn't Read and Completely Disavowed

3. So Hang On A Minute

4. Joe Lieberman inserts himself into Operation Fast & Furious.

———————————————————————-

1. Stopping SOPA

I love Marsha Blackburn. She is a delightful lady and a solidly conservative member of Congress.

And I am pledging right now that I will do everything in my power to defeat her in her 2012 re-election bid.

I wonder if the left feels that way about Debbie Wasserman Schultz?

Both Marsha Blackburn and Debbie Wasserman Schults, the head of the Democratic National Committee and a Congresswoman from Florida, are cosponsors of the Stop Online Piracy Act.

The Act intends to stop online piracy. The way the Act goes about doing this is, in large part, allowing Eric Holder to take control of the internet and shut down websites he does not like. It is a totalitarian response from a bipartisan coalition of Congresscritters most of whom admit they have no freaking idea how the internet even works. Don't believe me?

In a committee hearing on SOPA, co-sponsor Mel Watts (D-NC) was really open about it saying, "I'm not a nerd" before proceeding to admit he understood nothing about the law, how the internet worked, or pretty much anything else related to it.

The legislation originated with Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX). As Neil Stevens explained in detail here the legislation will wreck terrible havoc on the internet. There is an alternative called the OPEN Act, which stands for Online Protection & ENforcement of Digital Trade Act. The OPEN Act accomplishes what SOPA intends to accomplish without handing Eric Holder the power to shut down websites that make him unhappy. Another big difference is that SOPA is backed by rich men in Hollywood and the OPEN Act is backed by people who actually use the internet and know how it works.

This battle is so important — and is one of those rare fights where the left and right are united against Congress — that I suggest the left and right unite and pledge to defeat in primaries every person named as a sponsor on H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. About Those Racist Ron Paul Newsletters that He Didn't Read and Completely Disavowed

First of all, let me apologize for all the Ron Paul stuff lately. Being a dumb yokel from Nashville who has never lived or worked in or near Washington, DC, I am powerless to resist the mind control rays from the Establishment, who have ordered me to continuously assault Ron Paul (or at least this is the answer to my posts that I most often find from Paul's followers). Almost nothing I have written on in the last week is new from 2008, so I know that many of you already know it. On the other hand, based on the response, a surprising number of people didn't know a lot of this stuff – which I guess makes sense. It's difficult to explain Paul's rise in the most recent Iowa polls without theorizing that he is duping at least some actual Republicans, as opposed to leftists disgruntled by Obama's aggressive foreign policy stance [pause for hysterical laughter]. This one, however, is genuinely new to me.

A lot of ink has been spilled about Ron Paul's racist newsletter that was printed in the late 80s/early 90s. At this point, literally no one will defend the content of the letters, not even Paul himself. It is universally recognized that some truly repugnant stuff went out in Paul's name during this time period. If you want a sampling of this material, click here. Now, this stuff has been known about for years, and was known about in 2008. Paul's explanation back then was that he didn't know about what was going out in the newsletter, didn't read most of the issues, completely disavowed their content. In other words, the exact same thing he is saying today. So although this demonstrates that Paul is not really built to withstand the sort of scrutiny that every other frontrunner has to take as a matter of course, you can at least understand why he got exasperated and walked off during an interview with CNN's Gloria Borger on the topic.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. So Hang On A Minute

Let me get this straight.

Twenty years ago someone put some crazy, racist stuff in newsletters bearing Ron Paul's name and written in the first person as if they were from Ron Paul.

Ron Paul never read them.

Ten years ago, when confronted with some of the crazy stuff (I'm trying really hard not to use "crazy s**t" here), Ron Paul says he wrote them, but they must be taken in their whole context to understand them.

Fast forward to the present and Ron Paul never wrote them, does not know who wrote them, cannot recall the names of anyone who worked for him who might have written them, is shocked to learn he made big money off them, and people think this guy has the qualifications to be President of the United States?

Letting someone write bat crap crazy stuff under your name, not knowing who they are or what they are doing, profiting from them, then taking responsibility before denying responsibility is credible?!

If we're to take Ron Paul at his word, maybe we need to get him an Alzheimer's test. He is old. Hell, if pigs did fly and he did get elected President, he'd be 81 at the end of his first term.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. Joe Lieberman inserts himself into Operation Fast & Furious.

Short version of the background: Operation Fast & Furious was a botched Department of Justice operation where the federal government catastrophically mucked up a program ostensibly designed to curtain illegal gun running to Mexico by… sustaining, encouraging, and enabling gun running to Mexico. Several hundred people have died as a result – including at least one American law enforcement official – and now questions are being asked in Congress.

Including questions by Homeland Security Chair Joe Lieberman (CT).

Please click here for the rest of the post.

Stopping SOPA

I love Marsha Blackburn. She is a delightful lady and a solidly conservative member of Congress.

And I am pledging right now that I will do everything in my power to defeat her in her 2012 re-election bid.

I wonder if the left feels that way about Debbie Wasserman Schultz?

Both Marsha Blackburn and Debbie Wasserman Schults, the head of the Democratic National Committee and a Congresswoman from Florida, are cosponsors of the Stop Online Piracy Act.

The Act intends to stop online piracy. The way the Act goes about doing this is, in large part, allowing Eric Holder to take control of the internet and shut down websites he does not like. It is a totalitarian response from a bipartisan coalition of Congresscritters most of whom admit they have no freaking idea how the internet even works. Don't believe me?

In a committee hearing on SOPA, co-sponsor Mel Watts (D-NC) was really open about it saying, "I'm not a nerd" before proceeding to admit he understood nothing about the law, how the internet worked, or pretty much anything else related to it.

The legislation originated with Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX). As Neil Stevens explained in detail here the legislation will wreck terrible havoc on the internet. There is an alternative called the OPEN Act, which stands for Online Protection & ENforcement of Digital Trade Act. The OPEN Act accomplishes what SOPA intends to accomplish without handing Eric Holder the power to shut down websites that make him unhappy. Another big difference is that SOPA is backed by rich men in Hollywood and the OPEN Act is backed by people who actually use the internet and know how it works.

This battle is so important — and is one of those rare fights where the left and right are united against Congress — that I suggest the left and right unite and pledge to defeat in primaries every person named as a sponsor on H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act.

It's actually a simple idea.

Everyone on the left and right who is interested should pledge $10.00 per candidate, or $321.00. If that's too much, just pledge $10.00.

A fund should be created and the left should go out and find candidates to take on the Democrat sponsors. The right should go out and find candidates to take on the Republican sponsors. Heck, maybe Act Blue would let us on the right come by and we can all use their pre-existing platform (a platform no one on the right has even been able to really compete with. Seriously, I'm a big admirer).

The money should then be used to fund the primary challenges against the incumbent sponsors of SOPA. Let the right vet and direct the funding on the right so no one thinks the left is trying to pick the challenger and vice-versa on the left.

This might mean some allies are taken out. It might mean we take out Marsha Blackburn on the right and Debbie Wasserman Schultz on the left.

But sometimes a fight is that important. Killing SOPA is that important. Letting the Attorney General of the United States shut down the internet as he wants, whether it be Eric Holder or a future John Ashcroft, should scare the mess out of every American.

Congress has proven it does not understand the internet. Perhaps they will understand brute strength against them at the ballot box.

If members of Congress do not pull their name from co-sponsorship of SOPA, the left and right should pledge to defeat each and every one of them.

So Hang On A Minute

Let me get this straight.

Twenty years ago someone put some crazy, racist stuff in newsletters bearing Ron Paul's name and written in the first person as if they were from Ron Paul.

Ron Paul never read them.

Ten years ago, when confronted with some of the crazy stuff (I'm trying really hard not to use "crazy s**t" here), Ron Paul says he wrote them, but they must be taken in their whole context to understand them.

Fast forward to the present and Ron Paul never wrote them, does not know who wrote them, cannot recall the names of anyone who worked for him who might have wrote them, is shocked to learn he made big money off them, and people think this guy has the qualifications to be President of the United States?

Letting someone write bat crap crazy stuff under your name, not knowing who they are or what they are doing, profiting from them, then taking responsibility before denying responsibility is credible?!

If we're to take Ron Paul at his word, maybe we need to get him an Alzheimer's test. He is old. Hell, if pigs did fly and he did get elected President, he'd be 81 at the end of his first term.

Horserace for December 22, 2011

We're headed into Christmas and people are starting to tune out. Before they tune out, the last images they are seeing before setting their eyes on a Christmas tree, are Newt Gingrich under attack from Team Romney, Ron Paul under attack from everyone, Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry on a bus tour in Iowa, and Rick Santorum getting help from evangelicals.

The clock ticks down to the actual start of the race in just over a week. Iowa voters will go to the caucuses and start us down the road to the White House.

Even though people are checking out and tuning out, there is still time for a shake up and there are two trends in Iowa that all the polls are showing. Rick Perry is going up. Newt Gingrich is going down.

We'll get into it all in the Horserace today.

Michele Bachmann

Michele Bachmann is rebounding, but the Gallup poll shows that Bachmann trended up for several weeks before going back down. It seems people are taking a look at Bachmann and Perry and going with Perry. Bachmann's debate performances have been strong in recent weeks, but not enough to cause a significant rebound. Out of money and out of time, Michele Bachmann's days are numbered.

Newt Gingrich

Don't ever believe anyone who says negative advertising does not work. People may not like it, but it works well. Newt Gingrich is getting pummeled by Bachmann, Paul, Perry, and Romney. He has not adequately responded. He does not have the money to respond. But more importantly, he does not have the organization in Iowa to churn people out for the caucuses.

If he holds on to the top three, Gingrich could rebound in South Carolina, but the trend lines in the polling suggest he could wind up in fourth place, which would put him out of the race.

Jon Huntsman

Huntsman continues to inch up in New Hampshire, which hurts Romney, but I don't know that it helps Huntsman. He would have to rebound and go where? South Carolina? Florida? He could still be the guy the non-Romney supporters rally around, but he is going to have to make a strong showing in New Hampshire.

The funny thing is Huntsman does not have to win New Hampshire. He just has to make Romney look like a weak first place win. Unfortunately though, I think Huntsman is going the way of Rudy.

Ron Paul

No chance. Here's his problem even in Iowa. His voters who say they are going to go caucus for him are new voters, young voters, and non-Republican voters. These people don't go to caucuses. And the young voters have all gone home for Christmas vacation from college.

He's going to do well, but that'll be about it.

Rick Perry

Rick Perry is surging slowly and steadily in Iowa. I would not be surprised if he makes it to the top three. Over the last few weeks his campaign has been hitting every note right. But polling is hard to measure right now and Rick Santorum got several evangelical endorsements that help him compete against Perry in Iowa.

If Perry holds steady and doesn't lose his footing again, I still see a solid path for him. In fact, I think we are back at the old dynamic. Romney, being distracted by Gingrich, is letting Perry back up off the floor and we may come down to Perry vs. Romney at the end. Advantage Perry.

Mitt Romney

The most remarkable thing about Campaign 2012 is Mitt Romney holding so steady in the polls. He doesn't go up much, but he doesn't go down much either. It is just constant. Unfortunately, he keeps holding in second place.

There is real momentum for Romney in Iowa. If he wins both Iowa and New Hampshire, he could be the nominee. The odds are right now in his favor as everyone focuses on Newt. But there is still a sizable portion of the base who will strongly revolt against Romney if he gets into the number one spot for long.

Still, it remains Romney's race to lose.

Rick Santorum

Santorum got help from Iowa's Secretary of State and several key evangelicals. That will help him go up in the Iowa polling, but it will do nothing more than secure Mitt Romney's lead. Santorum draws from Perry, Bachmann, and Gingrich. His ascendancy helps Mitt Romney win Iowa. Santorum himself will not be the nominee.

None of the above

If the race stays chaotic, look for someone else to get in. I've long thought it was impossible, but pay attention to the calendar. Between the end of January and beginning of March, little happens. There is time after South Carolina for someone to get in, make a play for the big states, and get to an open convention. The odds are long, the possibility is slim, but there is an opportunity.

Lack of Principle Got Them In This Mess. Principle Gets Them Out.

The payroll tax holiday has become a mess for Republicans. I am beginning to believe raw sewage has greater political acumen than the Republican leadership in Washington. At least raw sewage can pick the path of least resistance when flowing through the bowels of Washington, D.C.

Not so the Republicans.

They have gotten themselves into this mess for three reasons.

First, House Republicans were going to vote on their bill and leave town, but decided to play nice with the Senate Democrats. So instead, the Senate did to the House what the House had planned to do and then did not do. The Senate passed its plan and fled.

Second, House Republicans let the Senate Republican Leader call the shots. Let us not forget that in the government shutdown against Bill Clinton in the 90′s, House Republicans were betrayed by Senator Bob Dole, the then Republican Leader, who announced the Senate was going back to work when the House expected to stay shut down.

Third, and most importantly, the GOP lost — and they did lose, here being clubbed to death like a baby seal — because they abandoned long held Republican principles.

It has been a defining principle of the GOP that drives the left crazy that tax cuts need not be paid for. Tax cuts generate economic grown which then cause the tax cuts to pay for themselves.

The GOP abandoned this and instead decided to engage in a tit-for-tat over cuts with the Democrats. The cuts turned into Democrats and Republicans competing to see who could raise fees and taxes to pay for this cut. That is a war that cannot be won right now if not ever.

Likewise, the GOP decided to abandon its principled position to getting government out of the way of small businesses. By pushing forward with a two month extension, the GOP decided to leave uncertainty in the mix, which hurts business. And let us not forget that this two month payroll tax holiday extension is wholly unworkable because of the Senate's changes. Most businesses won't be able to implement the changes Mitch McConnell agreed to within the time of the tax holiday.

Lastly, the GOP believes that continual extensions do not actually generate economic growth. That is why they have fought so hard to make the Bush tax cuts permanent. But here the GOP is letting the Democrats out flank them on tax cuts. This only results from the GOP abandoning basic economic sense and long held Republican principles.

So what's the solution?

I think the GOP now needs to out flank the Democrats and call for clean legislation extending the payroll tax holiday permanently with no other provisions. The Democrats will then cry foul and say this risks undermining social security, at which point the GOP will have to openly wonder why then does a second year extension not undermine social security.

The fallback position should be to set the expiration based on three consecutive quarters of 3% GDP growth in the economy. End the payroll tax holiday at the end of the immediate next year in which the first three quarters of that year see 3% growth or higher in GDP.

That provides an ascertainable point at which the payroll tax holiday should end and premises it on actually doing some good for the economy.

But this two month extension should be cause for the GOP to drag Mitch McConnell into the street (metaphorically speaking of course) and let him feel the wrath of employers who don't know what the hell is going to happen in January. It abandons principles, harms businesses, and perpetuates uncertainty.

The Ron Paul Newsletter and His Jeremiah Wright Moment

If you've been under a rock somewhere recently you may not know that Ron Paul published a bunch of crazy, racist newsletters in the late 80′s and early 90′s.

Ron Paul, ten years ago, took responsibility for the content, even admitted at one point that he had written some of them.

Today, Ron Paul claims he knew nothing about them even though they generated around a million dollars in income for him.

The newsletters were the "Ron Paul" newsletters and each was written in the first person as if from Ron Paul, without an author's byline, conveying that the views expressed were Ron Paul's.

No one doubts that someone other than Ron Paul wrote them, but they were written as if they were from Paul and he profited handsomely and at one point took responsibility for writing some of them himself.

One of the newsletters claimed that gays were going to donate blood en masse in hopes of infecting the American blood supply with AIDS.

Let's presume Ron Paul did not write that.

But I know many Ron Paul supporters, including some in my church, who cast aspersions on Barack Obama for attending Reverend Jeremiah Wright's church for 20 years. They don't believe Barack Obama didn't know Rev. Wright believed the CIA invented AIDS to kill black men. They will give Ron Paul a pass, but they will not give Barack Obama a pass.

Why?

I fail to see how Ron Paul's eponymous newsletter written in the first person as if from Ron Paul claiming gays intended to infect other Americans with AIDS through compromising our blood supply is any different from Reverend Wright claiming the CIA invented AIDS to kill black men.

If you know all these things about Ron Paul, and know he was perfectly fine with Neo-Nazis raising money for his campaign in 2008, and know he was perfectly fine going on Iranian national television to claim Israel keeps concentration camps wherein it routinely kills Palestinians, and you still intend to vote for him, I don't really see that the Republican tent needs to be big enough to accommodate you.

Morning Briefing for December 22, 2011

RedState Morning Briefing

December 22, 2011

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

1. Lack of Principle Got Them In This Mess. Principle Gets Them Out.

2. The Ron Paul Newsletter and His Jeremiah Wright Moment

3. Ron Paul Hates Republicans and Everything They Stand For

4. Coburn Details $7 Billion in Waste from 100 Dumb Projects

5. Why Do People Keep Asking Newt Gingrich About Meghan McCain's Drivel?

———————————————————————-

1. Lack of Principle Got Them In This Mess. Principle Gets Them Out.

The payroll tax holiday has become a mess for Republicans. I am beginning to believe raw sewage has greater political acumen than the Republican leadership in Washington. At least raw sewage can pick the path of least resistance when flowing through the bowels of Washington, D.C.

Not so the Republicans.

They have gotten themselves into this mess for three reasons.

First, House Republicans were going to vote on their bill and leave town, but decided to play nice with the Senate Democrats. So instead, the Senate did to the House what the House had planned to do and then did not do. The Senate passed its plan and fled.

Second, House Republicans let the Senate Republican Leader call the shots. Let us not forget that in the government shutdown against Bill Clinton in the 90?s, House Republicans were betrayed by Senator Bob Dole, the then Republican Leader, who announced the Senate was going back to work when the House expected to stay shut down.

Third, and most importantly, the GOP lost — and they did lose, here being clubbed to death like a baby seal — because they abandoned long held Republican principles.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. The Ron Paul Newsletter and His Jeremiah Wright Moment

If you've been under a rock somewhere recently you may not know that Ron Paul published a bunch of crazy, racist newsletters in the late 80?s and early 90?s.

Ron Paul, ten years ago, took responsibility for the content, even admitted at one point that he had written some of them.

Today, Ron Paul claims he knew nothing about them even though they generated around a million dollars in income for him.

The newsletters were the "Ron Paul" newsletters and each was written in the first person as if from Ron Paul, without an author's byline, conveying that the views expressed were Ron Paul's.

No one doubts that someone other than Ron Paul wrote them, but they were written as if they were from Paul and he profited handsomely and at one point took responsibility for writing some of them himself.

One of the newsletters claimed that gays were going to donate blood en masse in hopes of infecting the American blood supply with AIDS.

Let's presume Ron Paul did not write that.

But I know many Ron Paul supporters, including some in my church, who cast aspersions on Barack Obama for attending Reverend Jeremiah Wright's church for 20 years. They don't believe Barack Obama didn't know Rev. Wright believed the CIA invented AIDS to kill black men. They will give Ron Paul a pass, but they will not give Barack Obama a pass.

Why?

Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. Ron Paul Hates Republicans and Everything They Stand For

Most people already know that Ron Paul refused to endorse John McCain in the 2008 general election. While I don't necessarily agree with that decision, especially from a contender for the GOP nominee, I can certainly understand it. Lord knows I hated every nice thing I had to say about John McCain and wasn't entirely pleased about pulling the lever for him (which is a dramatic understatement). Most people assume that Paul endorsed Libertarian candidate Bob Barr in 2008, which is partially true. However, that is not the entire story. Paul also endorsed three other candidates.

The first of those was Chuck Baldwin. I don't really know a lot about Baldwin except that he has been on record early and often in support of the proposition that the South should have won the Civil War. This sort of thing would ordinarily disqualify most normal people from endorsing Chuck Baldwin, but Ron Paul is not most normal people. And given what most Ron Paul supporters seem willing to forgive, a little Confederate sympathy (or even a lot of Confederate sympathy) seems like small potatoes.

The second was Cynthia McKinney.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. Coburn Details $7 Billion in Waste from 100 Dumb Projects

At some point we will need to go beyond merely cutting waste, fraud, and abuse. We will eventually have to wind down the welfare state and close government departments and agencies. However, there is no reason we shouldn't demand an immediate bipartisan effort to eliminate programs that are just plain dumb, even according to Democrat socialist ideology.

Nobody has been more assiduous and instrumental in identifying silly government projects than Senator Tom Coburn. Yesterday, Senator Coburn released his annual "Wastebook" profiling 100 "unnecessary, duplicative, or just plain stupid projects spread throughout the federal government." The total cost of these programs is $6.9 billion. Cutting these programs would only account for roughly 40 hours of our debt, but why spend a penny on this stuff?

Please click here for the rest of the post.

5. Why Do People Keep Asking Newt Gingrich About Meghan McCain's Drivel?

I have a serious question: Why do people keep asking Newt Gingrich about the latest dumb thing that has fallen out of Meghan McCain's mouth? Politico notices that Newt has zinged McCain yet again over her latest ridiculous criticism of his candidacy. This time, it was Laura Ingraham confronting Newt with McCain's claim that Callista is "icy" and doing damage to his campaign. By my count, this is the fourth or fifth time a major media figure has thrust a microphone in front of Newt and asked him his opinion of something Meghan McCain has said.

Am I the only one who sees what is wrong with this picture?

Please click here for the rest of the post.

Commending the Perry Campaign

I risk being accused of endorsing Rick Perry by saying nice things about his campaign two days in a row, but this is genuinely worth commenting on and is not an endorsement.

Yesterday, I wrote a post that started with Perry as one of the best candidates to beat Barack Obama, but commented on what I perceive to be one of the flaws in his campaign. I wrote, "Of all the candidates running, I think he has one of the best shots, though his internal campaign situation has badly served him and he never should have left Ray Sullivan in his position."

My issue with Ray Sullivan is not personal, nor (as some have speculated) does it derive from his wife assisting the Romney campaign. He is the communications director and, having worked both inside and outside campaigns, it has struck me that the Perry campaign's messaging is erratic — much improved, but still erratic.

But I have to tip my hat to Ray Sullivan and the Perry campaign. Despite my criticisms of Ray, he sent out my post yesterday from the Perry campaign leaving my criticisms in tact.

An amateur campaign does not do that. It takes a lot of testicular fortitude to be willing to do that as a candidate and as a communications shop within a campaign.

This is precisely why I think Iowans and others would be out of their minds if they did not take a look again at Rick Perry before settling. After the MIchigan debate disaster, Perry has retooled, refocused, and executed a very solid game plan. Rick Perry has finally found his voice and Iowa tracking polls suggest the voters there like what they are hearing.

His conservative populism on the economy and Wall Street is pitch perfect. His message on values connects with voters in Iowa in a way few others do. He has finally hit his stride.

Perry should never have gone into the debates as early as he did. But I say that with 20/20 hindsight that he should have spent a month on the trail doing retail first. It seems clear to me he had a lack of preparation and serious back pain issues, which he is only now becoming comfortable telling the truth about.

The campaign has found its voice, found its stride, and has the strength to send out someone else's writing that contains staff level criticisms. Again, few campaigns would be willing to do that.

I don't know whether Rick Perry can get into the top three in Iowa. It may be too late. But I think with Gingrich's collapse, the rise of Ron Paul, and a Rick Santorum candidacy that has never been vetted (Arlen Specter anyone?), Perry remains perhaps the only candidate who can take on both Mitt Romney in a primary and Barack Obama in a general election.

A veteran, a farmer, and a solid job creator who has never lost an election — I think he deserves another look before we look elsewhere for the Not Romney candidate who can beat Obama.

If you don't like what you see, that's fine by me. It's the second look that matters.

Morning Briefing for December 21, 2011

RedState Morning Briefing

December 21, 2011

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

I'm filling in for Neal Boortz today from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm ET. You can listen right here on the WSB live stream. If you want to be part of the show, the phone number is 1-877-310-2100.

1. Commending the Perry Campaign

2. New Gang of Five Coalesce Around McConnell's Excrement Sandwich

3. Yes, Virginia, Ron Paul is a 9/11 Truther (and a Coddler of Racists)

4. Gary Johnson for Senate

5. A great gift idea for that special someone in your life

———————————————————————-

1. Commending the Perry Campaign

I risk being accused of endorsing Rick Perry by saying nice things about his campaign two days in a row, but this is genuinely worth commenting on and is not an endorsement.

Yesterday, I wrote a post that started with Perry as one of the best candidates to beat Barack Obama, but commented on what I perceive to be one of the flaws in his campaign. I wrote, "Of all the candidates running, I think he has one of the best shots, though his internal campaign situation has badly served him and he never should have left Ray Sullivan in his position."

My issue with Ray Sullivan is not personal, nor (as some have speculated) does it derive from his wife assisting the Romney campaign. He is the communications director and, having worked both inside and outside campaigns, it has struck me that the Perry campaign's messaging is erratic — much improved, but still erratic.

But I have to tip my hat to Ray Sullivan and the Perry campaign. Despite my criticisms of Ray, he sent out my post yesterday from the Perry campaign leaving my criticisms in tact.

An amateur campaign does not do that. It takes a lot of testicular fortitude to be willing to do that as a candidate and as a communications shop within a campaign.

This is precisely why I think Iowans and others would be out of their minds if they did not take a look again at Rick Perry before settling. After the MIchigan debate disaster, Perry has retooled, refocused, and executed a very solid game plan. Rick Perry has finally found his voice and Iowa tracking polls suggest the voters there like what they are hearing.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. New Gang of Five Coalesce Around McConnell's Excrement Sandwich

If I had voted for a bill that not only screwed my party, but also screwed the country, I would keep a low profile. If I had passed a bill that was unworkable for businesses and helped preserve the entities that precipitated the housing crisis, I wouldn't show my face in public for a while. Evidently, there are five GOP senators, some of which have flirted with "No Labels," who are unfazed by their vote for McConnell's pathetic extenders package. Worse, they are demanding that the House join them in helping their own reelection prospects at the expense of the rest of the country.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. Yes, Virginia, Ron Paul is a 9/11 Truther (and a Coddler of Racists)

A few days ago, some folks took exception with my last post about Ron Paul, claiming that the video wherein Paul stated that there was "glee" in the White House after 9/11 did not establish that Ron Paul was a truther. Silly me, I assumed that people remembered all the material from 2008 which had already pretty much proved the point, but it appears that some have forgotten. Let us review, then, some small portion of the evidence.

Much of the raw evidence, gleamed from raw footage/audio of Paul on certified nutjob and avowed 9/11 truther Alex Jones' radio show (and other private meetings which were recorded) has since been pulled down, but this nugget remains.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. Gary Johnson for Senate

Apparently, Gary Johnson is continuing to mull a completely fruitless third-party run for the Presidency. His specific beef is that he performed so poorly because he was unjustifiably excluded from most of the television debates, which he apparently blames on the GOP. I really don't know how much merit this complaint has – I am under the impression that the media/sponsoring organizations for the debate decide who is included and who is not. Certainly you could have made the case that for much of the race, if you were going to include Santorum and Huntsman, you should have also included Johnson. I just don't know if he's taking out his frustration on the right folks here.

I don't know very much about Gary Johnson. I gather that he is more of a hard-boiled libertarian in the style of Ron Paul, only with much less crazy. Although I don't necessarily agree with where those sorts of people stand, I'm glad to have them around in the party, especially in the Senate where they can really muck up the works to some good effect. I do know that Johnson remains popular in New Mexico and according to at least one poll, does substantially better than the rest of the GOP field in polling of the upcoming New Mexico Senate race.

I hope that Johnson reconsiders this third party run nonsense. If attention is what he wants, I think he will find that running as the Libertarian party's candidate for President doesn't really provide a whole lot of that. On the other hand, I could really get behind more crazy honey badger libertarians in the Senate making Mitch McConnell's life unbearable. The solution here is clear: Gary Johnson for Senate. Sour grapes never do anything but set your teeth on edge.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

5. A great gift idea for that special someone in your life

But alas – unfortunately, you won't be able to buy this one for Christmas this year. It seems that the latest in the Tom Clancy Rainbow Six series may have adopted a new villain: Occupy Wall Street. MRC TV has the story here.

Now I'm not all that convinced that it's OWS that they're going after – I don't see any stringy hair or torn clothes…but they may be smelly (can't tell here…)

As the good folk at MRC point out, the Left is none too happy to see their allies getting blown up. If the OWS kids really are the target of this game's ridicule, it's really too bad the creators weren't even MORE explicit about it. After all, the Left didn't seem all that broken up when another game creator decided that "Tea Party Zombies Must Die". I suppose the lesson here is that I can look at that example of liberal silliness and chuckle about it, whereas the Left, as usual, is indignant about one of their causes being mocked.

So – for anyone except maybe Ron Paul fans (who might be reminded too much of the Great Satan going after Iran), this one should be on your short list for next Christmas!

Please click here for the rest of the post.

From the Mail Bag: Ron Paul, Is That You?

I don't know, but I bet whoever it is will be voting for Ron Paul.

Begin forwarded message:

From: crazyjerk@excite.com

Subject: Dear dirty Jews

Date: December 20, 2011

To: contact@redstate.com

No one likes Israel. Every one hates you, your f**king website and your ideas. You guys are filthy f**king jews and I'm very happy that you died in the gas chambers.

Iran is not a threat to the United States. The only threat Iran is to is Israel and I'm VERY happy about that. I hope Iran destroys Israel. Also, jews aren't even smart. That's propaganda.