Erick Erickson's Blog, page 92

Morning Briefing for November 16, 2011

RedState Morning Briefing

For November 16, 2011

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

1. We Sent 'Tea Party' Republicans to Washington for This?

2. House Republicans Set to Again Violate Their Pledge to America

3. A Tale of Two Pipelines

4. CBO Director Admits Stimulus Will Shrink Economy

5. Senator Coburn: The Agony of a Pragmatic Conservative Amidst Inflexible Liberals

6. HELP: I've Made it to Round 2, Now Vote to Get Me to Round 3!

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1. We Sent 'Tea Party' Republicans to Washington for This?

In the House Republican's Pledge that I told you was a "Pledge to Nowhere," you find this language:

"tax increases must be prevented" and "We will help the economy by permanently stopping all tax increases".

Got it? The House GOP pledged, also known as a promise, to stop "all tax increases." It was their promise.

According to The Hill, the Republicans are about to give a capital "F" and a capital "U" to the tea party and throw in the towel on their Pledge.

Lawmakers emerged from the closed-door meeting saying Hensarling had made the case that offering some new revenue — $300 billion in at least one publicized offer — would be a good trade to secure a permanent extension of the George W. Bush-era tax rates.

So we're going to keep permanent the Bush tax cuts that no one really thought would actually expire next year even though they technically are supposed to and replace those with a $300 billion tax increase?

To rub salt into the tea party's wounds, "Hensarling received a standing ovation following his presentation." Yes, a Republican got a standing ovation by Republicans for proposing a tax increase.

To be fair, if there are serious structural reforms to the tax code and serious concessions by the Democrats on entitlement reform, I would want to look seriously at the plan. But, based on what we know so far, the Democrats have offered nothing publicly substantive and the GOP is offering up a bunch of smoke and mirrors on the House side to cover up the fact that House leaders are actually proposing a tax increase on the American public.

Yet again the GOP is negotiating with itself. Given the way the GOP is operating on itself in public, I'm surprised it isn't blind.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. House Republicans Set to Again Violate Their Pledge to America

With much fanfare in the midst of their campaign to take back control of the House of Representatives, House Republicans unveiled their Pledge to America. Many conservatives thought it was an enormous missed opportunity to lock a new Republican majority into a bold reform agenda. But House Republicans said that they wanted to under promise and over deliver. Who knew their conservative critics would end up being the keeper of their low expectations?

Unfortunately, Leadership's commitment to their Pledge deteriorated quickly upon taking control. The Pledge called for a $100 billion cut in nondefense spending, but since this was going to be too hard in an abbreviated fiscal year, they decided to "prorate" that amount. Conservatives at the Republican Study Committee fought their Leadership and got them closer to $100 billion, but not all the way.

However, the Pledge also promised to transform the way the House of Representatives as an institution would be run. They promised to end the practice of packaging spending bills and other related legislation into so-called "omnibus" bills. Specifically, House Republicans pledged to "end the practice of packaging unpopular bills with 'must pass' legislation to circumvent the will of the American people. Instead, we will advance major legislation one issue at a time."

Since it doesn't actually say the word omnibus, did they mean something else? No, the passage was widely known to mean an end to omnibus bills. In fact, according to an October 2010 post on Speaker Boehner's own blog, "House Republicans have also called for an end to the practice of passing massive 'omnibus' spending bills, arguing such bills make it too difficult to cut spending and too easy to shield spending projects from public scrutiny and debate."

Now, House Republicans are about to violate this pledge too.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. A Tale of Two Pipelines

One of the reasons we're supposed to be wary of the Keystone XL Pipeline is its alleged threat to the Ogallala Aquifer, the water source for much of the Great Plains.

The pipeline would be separated by almost 400 vertical feet from the aquifer, which is not actively recharged. That makes it extremely unlikely that even a large pipeline leak would contaminate water supplies.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. CBO Director Admits Stimulus Will Shrink Economy

We could have done a lot of good things with the $830 billion that was flushed down the toilet through the 2009 stimulus. That money could have been used to permanently transform our entitlement programs to free-market personal ownership accounts. It could have been used for massive pro-growth tax cuts. Instead, it was used to grow perennial dependency and for special interest handouts. But all of the supercilious smart economists say that it helps stimulate the economy, right? After all, it is called stimulus.

Well, earlier today, CBO Director Doug Elmendorf admitted to Senator Sessions that in the long run the stimulus will shrink the economy. He testified at a Senate Budget Committee hearing that the stimulus will indeed "be a drag on GDP" over the next ten years. Any diligent student of history already knew that, but now we have the "gold standard" of budget and economic scoring to affirm that self-evident truth. Nevertheless, fear not, the stimulus will have a stimulating effect in the short-term. That's why we are enjoying a robust annual average GDP growth of…..1.4%.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

5. Senator Coburn: The Agony of a Pragmatic Conservative Amidst Inflexible Liberals

Senator Tom Coburn released a report, Subsidies of the Rich and Famous, detailing a list of subsidies, transfers, and "tax breaks," that are paid to individuals with Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of over $1 million. The report found that millionaires have received at least $9.5 billion in "government payments" since 2003 and $113.7 billion in "tax breaks" since 2006. Accordingly, Coburn concludes that many of these tax deductions should be eliminated, while benefits for the rich should be means-tested or reduced.

As our debt approaches $15 trillion, Coburn's heart is undoubtedly in the right place; however, many of his proposals are misguided. While some of the deductions enumerated in this report should be eliminated immediately, most of the savings will come from revoking universal tax deductions from those who already have the highest tax burden. Additionally, while some of the subsidies, such as the farm and green handouts, should be abolished, most of Coburn's savings on government benefits would come from reducing Social Security payments to the rich. Social Security payments, unlike welfare and other subsidy programs, represent real money that was paid into the system through payroll taxes. Any effort to deny those payments from the rich would engender further redistribution of a program that was not conceived for redistribution. Also, it would ostensibly be a 12.4% tax increase on those high-income earners, as they would pay the tax without receiving the retirement checks.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

6. HELP: I've Made it to Round 2, Now Vote to Get Me to Round 3!

If you were reading RedState a few weeks ago, you may have seen a post by Neil asking for help expanding the RedState Radio Empire by voting for me in a contest at my local AM flagship station WBT in Charlotte, NC.

Put simply, the contest will put someone on the air on Sunday nights from 6-8pm and then, following that 3 month period, may be given a full contract to be a permanent host at the station.

When the word went out from RedState to start voting for me, my 'likes' went through the roof and I quickly moved into 1st place. Unfortunately, this upset a handful of people who were also hoping to win and rampant cheating began.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

While You Were Distracted

While we've all been distracted by the Presidential race, there is other news out there that may give you heart burn. Way back when during a forgotten age, conservatives were treated to this:

The Hill – 6/24/11 – Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Friday said President Obama "must lead" if the standoff over the debt limit is going to be resolved but warned that any package with tax increases "cannot pass the House."

ABC News – 6/23/11 – GOP Congressman – Tax Increases Can't Pass The House

The Washington Times – 6/24/11 – "There is not support in the House for a tax increase, and I don't believe now is the time to raise taxes in light of our current economic situation," said Cantor (R-Va.).

The Washington Times – 6/24/11 -Speaker of the House John Boehner added today, "The president and his party may want a debt limit increase that includes tax hikes, but such a proposal cannot pass the House."

And now?

Politico – 11/13/11 – Rep. Jeb Hensarling "we believe that frankly increasing tax revenues could hurt the economy, but within the context of bipartisan negotiations with Democrats, clearly they are a reality," he said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."

Yes, the Republicans who back in June were telling us they would hold the line on tax increases have decided that they must have tax increases. Otherwise the defense budget will be cut. Except the defense budget will be cut only if the GOP actually lets the defense budget be cut. As Jim DeMint recently pointed out, Congress cannot, in fact, bind future Congresses to any cuts.

Now the question of the day: do Republicans really think if they approve these tax increases that this time, unlike every other time, Democrats will actually cut anything?

P. T. Barnum comes to mind.

Morning Briefing for November 15, 2011

RedState Morning Briefing

For November 15, 2011

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

1. While You Were Distracted

2. Republican Chaos

3. Objectivity Lost: Journalist Covering Shale Gas Sues Same Industry

4. The Implosion of Herman Cain

5. Jon Huntsman's Poor Messaging

6. The IRS as Tax Preparers?

7. Unionized Clerical Workers Fight UAW Greed…

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1. While You Were Distracted

While we've all been distracted by the Presidential race, there is other news out there that may give you heart burn. Way back when during a forgotten age, conservatives were treated to this:

The Hill – 6/24/11 – Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Friday said President Obama "must lead" if the standoff over the debt limit is going to be resolved but warned that any package with tax increases "cannot pass the House."

ABC News – 6/23/11 – GOP Congressman – Tax Increases Can't Pass The House

The Washington Times – 6/24/11 – "There is not support in the House for a tax increase, and I don't believe now is the time to raise taxes in light of our current economic situation," said Cantor (R-Va.).

The Washington Times – 6/24/11 -Speaker of the House John Boehner added today, "The president and his party may want a debt limit increase that includes tax hikes, but such a proposal cannot pass the House."

And now?

Politico – 11/13/11 – Rep. Jeb Hensarling "we believe that frankly increasing tax revenues could hurt the economy, but within the context of bipartisan negotiations with Democrats, clearly they are a reality," he said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."

Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. Republican Chaos

Chaos: Mathematically, we see it when small changes to the inputs of a function produce large, wild changes to the outputs. I believe we're seeing that now in the GOP primary race, as a weakened Herman Cain and a strengthened Newt Gingrich, combined with a steady Mitt Romney and a resilient Rick Perry, turn it into a four cornered brawl.

Two new polls from late last week: First, ORC International for CNN polled 480 Republicans and Independent leaning Republican RVs, mobile and landlines, MoE 4.5. Ending the same day was The Tarrance Group and Lake Research Partners for Politico/George Washington polled 1,036 likely voters for an MoE of 3.1. Both polls hit mobiles and landlines.

A third poll has come out that ended over the weekend, later than those two in fact. PPP polled 576 primary voters, MoE 4.1. The poll was automated, which I believe means legally mobiles were excluded.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. Objectivity Lost: Journalist Covering Shale Gas Sues Same Industry

I don't read the New York Times or the Chicago Tribune. For that matter, I don't read the closest newspaper to my home, the Charlotte Observer. I don't read these rags for a simple reason: I find the that the objectivity that is claimed within their pages is a sham. There are plenty of polls and countless bits of anecdotal evidence and investigations that have shown a liberal bias that overwhelmingly represents the modern newspaper.

I basically stick to three kinds of news: partisan news, where I can at least trust that the person speaking is fully aware of and honest about their personal bias; breaking news, which is the kind of news that often hasn't figured out how to address the narrative that they are eventually going to apply to it; and finally, word of mouth. Word of mouth isn't a luxury that every person has, but I know enough people and have enough contacts that I'm often able to find out what's going on by simply talking to people I trust.

Within the ever shrinking world of the newspapers I ignore is the paper of record for Denton, Texas: The Denton Record-Chronicle. Within the pages of this old world media artifact is a journalist named Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe. Peggy is the designated reporter on the Shale Gas industry which is a very important issue in the state of Texas. She also happens to be suing that industry for building a gas processing plant near her home.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. The Implosion of Herman Cain

Anyone who saw the debate on Saturday night and observed Herman Cain's performance clearly saw a man who was terrified of the questions he was being asked and was hoping to be noticed as little as possible. Apparently, there was a good reason for that. Herman Cain apparently sat down with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel editorial board to talk foreign policy and, well… this happened.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

5. Jon Huntsman's Poor Messaging

I'm a bit shocked by this excellent Coffee & Markets interview with Ambassador Jon Huntsman.

Believe it or not, outside of his crummy campaign messaging ("I believe in science") and the debates, this is a guy who actually sounds conservative. I have to wonder if there are two Jon Huntsmans out there — the conservative and the liberal going to different events.

If nothing else, he certainly sounds to the right of Mitt Romney on a number of core issues, including healthcare and the environment. Yes, I know! The same Jon Huntsman who did the pact with Ahnuld on global warming sounds to the right of Romney.

This begs a serious question — is his campaign message just that far off kilter? Because in this interview, away from sound bites and debate one liners, this guy sounds reasonably conservative. That raises another question worth asking. Is it just Rick Perry who is having disastrous debate performances? They are killing Jon Huntsman with the base. His snotty one liners and bad jokes just rub conservatives (me included) wrong. But listen to this interview and you've got a small government, free market guy.

Where's the disconnect? Someone might want to ask John Weaver.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

6. The IRS as Tax Preparers?

When conservatives and liberals advocate tax reform they are referring to radically divergent concepts. Conservatives desire a low, flat, and universal tax code, while liberals desire reform that would result in increased revenues. The obvious way to achieve that goal is to impose radical redistributive tax increases, such as the ones Obama has recently proposed. However, there is a more subtle way that is beginning to percolate into the liberal mainstream. Liberals envision a future in which the IRS would automatically pre-file your tax returns for free, sending you the bill.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

7. Unionized Clerical Workers Fight UAW Greed…

Their employer has nearly $1 billion in the bank, owns a golf resort, and is a major shareholder of not one but two U.S. auto companies. Given that, one would think their employer wouldn't treat its employees like the very corporations their bosses often do battle with. However, since 2009, the union workers have been subjected to cut backs and are now facing even more layoffs.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

Jon Huntsman's Poor Messaging

I'm a bit shocked by this excellent Coffee & Markets interview with Ambassador Jon Huntsman.

Believe it or not, outside of his crummy campaign messaging ("I believe in science") and the debates, this is a guy who actually sounds conservative. I have to wonder if there are two Jon Huntsmans out there — the conservative and the liberal going to different events.

If nothing else, he certainly sounds to the right of Mitt Romney on a number of core issues, including healthcare and the environment. Yes, I know! The same Jon Huntsman who did the pact with Ahnuld on global warming sounds to the right of Romney.

This begs a serious question — is his campaign message just that far off kilter? Because in this interview, away from sound bites and debate one liners, this guy sounds reasonably conservative. That raises another question worth asking. Is it just Rick Perry who is having disastrous debate performances? They are killing Jon Huntsman with the base. His snotty one liners and bad jokes just rub conservatives (me included) wrong. But listen to this interview and you've got a small government, free market guy.

Where's the disconnect? Someone might want to ask John Weaver.

The Bachmann-Santorum Rule: We Can Be Extorted

There was one moment in the CBS News debate that has not gotten a lot of attention and should get a great deal of attention.

CBS News asked Rick Perry about Pakistan. Perry responded that Pakistan is not being controlled by its political leaders, but rather by its secret police and military. Likewise, Pakistan should not get foreign aid unless it can show it is our friend and right now it looks to be anything but our friend.

You can hear Rick Perry in his own words right here.

This was followed up by perhaps the most dangerous and willfully naive foreign policy view I have ever heard expressed by Republicans. Michele Bachmann had to disagree with Rick Perry and, by the way, Newt Gingrich. Rick Santorum chimed in to agree with Michele Bachmann.

We can call it the Bachmann-Santorum policy. It is to the left of Barack Obama. And if it is implemented, it will see the world turn into a far more dangerous place with many of us getting killed.

You can hear Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum in their own words. I have not edited the clips. What you will hear is two candidates for President of the United States say that because Pakistan has nuclear weapons, we must treat them as our friend whether they are or they are not.

Taking their statements together — and they were in agreement disagreeing with Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry — we have two candidates telling the world that if you betray us, if you harbor Osama Bin Laden, if you cooperate with the Taliban and terrorist groups, if you work with China to undermine our national security, we will treat you as our friend if you have nuclear weapons.

They say a million monkeys banging away randomly on a keyboard will eventually turn out Shakespeare. We now know what the foreign policy equivalent is: the Bachmann-Santorum Doctrine.

Here is Michele Bachmann disagreeing with Rick Perry.

She was followed by Newt Gingrich who agreed with Rick Perry.

Then Rick Santorum had to open his mouth.

The Perry Campaign Gets a Life Line

Rick Perry's debate gaffe last week will go in the annals of political history as one of the most embarrassing gaffes on a Presidential primary debate stage. His recovery the next day will be studied by future campaigns as the textbook example of damage control. His Saturday night debate performance in South Carolina gets him the complete redemption he needs.

In South Carolina Saturday night the Rick Perry so many people have been hoping would come out to play, came out to win. He gave a sharp answer on dealing with Iran and Pakistan and captured the tea party zeitgeist by saying we should start each year at zero in our foreign aid budgets, including with Israel. He then went on to explain that those countries, like Israel, that are shown to be our friends would get money in the foreign aid budget.

This then descended into a lecture on zero based budgeting, nearly getting him an amen from Newt Gingrich.

The star moment for Perry, however, came when he took after Ron Paul over enhanced interrogation techniques. Everyone knows Ron Paul's foreign policy is nuttier than a pecan grove at harvest, but no one until Rick Perry Saturday night has had the nerve to say so.

On the opposite end of alternatives to Romney we want to do well, Herman Cain showed his foreign policy views are not yet ready for prime time. He fell back again and again on either not knowing the answer or wanting help from others. His campaign's theme of drawing on the experts regardless of the candidate's background is becoming more and more hollow considering the experts running his campaign were picked by Herman Cain.

But there is good news for both Perry and Cain in the latest polling.

52% want Rick Perry to stay in the race and only 37% of Republicans think the recent allegations about Herman Cain should disqualify him from running. Mitt Romney remains frozen with only about a quarter of the Republican electorate wanting him.

This race is still anybody's to win or lose.

Morning Briefing for November 14, 2011

RedState Morning Briefing

November 14, 2011

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

1. The Perry Campaign Gets a Life Line

2. The Bachmann-Santorum Rule: We Can Be Extorted

3. Obama administration gives $433m no-bid contract to Democratic donor.

4. Occupy "movement" criminals depicted as "fringe". Really?

5. The Ex-SEIU Boss, Donor Dollars, No-Bid Contracts & Testing Anthrax Vaccines on Kids

6. Now is Not the Time to Shirk From Obamacare Fight

———————————————————————-

1. The Perry Campaign Gets a Life Line

Rick Perry's debate gaffe last week will go in the annals of political history as one of the most embarrassing gaffes on a Presidential primary debate stage. His recovery the next day will be studied by future campaigns as the textbook example of damage control. His Saturday night debate performance in South Carolina gets him the complete redemption he needs.

In South Carolina Saturday night the Rick Perry so many people have been hoping would come out to play, came out to win. He gave a sharp answer on dealing with Iran and Pakistan and captured the tea party zeitgeist by saying we should start each year at zero in our foreign aid budgets, including with Israel. He then went on to explain that those countries, like Israel, that are shown to be our friends would get money in the foreign aid budget.

This then descended into a lecture on zero based budgeting, nearly getting him an amen from Newt Gingrich.

The star moment for Perry, however, came when he took after Ron Paul over enhanced interrogation techniques. Everyone knows Ron Paul's foreign policy is nuttier than a pecan grove at harvest, but no one until Rick Perry Saturday night has had the nerve to say so.

On the opposite end of alternatives to Romney we want to do well, Herman Cain showed his foreign policy views are not yet ready for prime time. He fell back again and again on either not knowing the answer or wanting help from others. His campaign's theme of drawing on the experts regardless of the candidate's background is becoming more and more hollow considering the experts running his campaign were picked by Herman Cain.

But there is good news for both Perry and Cain in the latest polling.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. The Bachmann-Santorum Rule: We Can Be Extorted

There was one moment in the CBS News debate that has not gotten a lot of attention and should get a great deal of attention.

CBS News asked Rick Perry about Pakistan. Perry responded that Pakistan is not being controlled by its political leaders, but rather by its secret police and military. Likewise, Pakistan should not get foreign aid unless it can show it is our friend and right now it looks to be anything but our friend.

You can hear Rick Perry in his own words right here.

This was followed up by perhaps the most dangerous and willfully naive foreign policy view I have ever heard expressed by Republicans. Michele Bachmann had to disagree with Rick Perry and, by the way, Newt Gingrich. Rick Santorum chimed in to agree with Michele Bachmann.

We can call it the Bachmann-Santorum policy. It is to the left of Barack Obama. And if it is implemented, it will see the world turn into a far more dangerous place with many of us getting killed.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. Obama administration gives $433m no-bid contract to Democratic donor.

The last time I checked, didn't the Left call this sort of thing 'crony capitalism?'

"Over the last year, the Obama administration has aggressively pushed a $433-million plan to buy an experimental smallpox drug, despite uncertainty over whether it is needed or will work.

"Senior officials have taken unusual steps to secure the contract for New York-based Siga Technologies Inc., whose controlling shareholder is billionaire Ronald O. Perelman, one of the world's richest men and a longtime Democratic Party donor."

Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. Occupy "movement" criminals depicted as "fringe". Really?

This evening, USA Today published a story describing the law-breaking participants in the "Occupy movement" as a "violent fringe". But how can a movement whose entire existence is predicated upon breaking the law be anything but criminal and destined to incite violence? The mere concept of this "occupation" promotes the idea that the occupiers would perpetrate an act that is bound to break multiple laws in virtually every location where these people have erected their disease- and crime-infested tent cities.

So at what point does anecdotal evidence indicate a trend and show that this is not "fringe" behavior? When do hundreds of incidents of mass lawbreaking, violence, rape and murder demonstrate that this anti-social behavior is standard procedure from these crowds and not the exception? BigGovernment.com is maintaining a running total of the violations rung up by the Occupy crew.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

5. The Ex-SEIU Boss, Donor Dollars, No-Bid Contracts & Testing Anthrax Vaccines on Kids

According to the Los Angeles Times, with the exception of existing in locked freezers in Russia and U.S. labs, the smallpox virus was eradicated in 1978. Yet, in a no-bid contract, the Obama administration has given $443 million of American taxpayers' money for a "experimental smallpox drug" to a bio-defense company, Siga, controlled by billionaire Democrat-donor Ron Perleman and whose board ex-SEIU boss Andy Stern sits on.

. . . .

While the Times notes that there is no credible evidence that the threat of a smallpox outbreak is imminent and that the U.S. already owns enough vaccine to treat the entire population, the Obama administration's ties to Siga become even more questionable, considering the recent recommendation to start experimenting with an Anthrax vaccine on America's children.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

6. Now is Not the Time to Shirk From Obamacare Fight

By now, we are all intimately acquainted with the bromide that "Republican's only control one-half of one-third of government." Nonetheless, we must remember that, in the realm of appropriations, they control the most consequential body of government; the House of Representatives. Unfortunately, almost a year into their stewardship of that body, they have shown only a tepid inclination to defund Obamacare.

Despite months of diligent work on appropriations bills, House (and Senate) Republicans are abdicating their budget powers to Harry Reid's "minibus" scheme – a scheme in which the House is jettisoned from two-thirds of the process, while conference committees adopt the spending bills favored by Senate Democrats [more here and here]. Next week, the Senate will vote on the second minibus bill. Reid is using the House-passed Energy-Water bill (HR 2354) as a vehicle to carry the Financial Services (S.1573) and State-Foreign Operations (S.1601) bills (even though they were never voted on by the full House). So we will have one appropriations bill that covers such disparate expenditures as the IRS and the State Department. But don't worry, it's a minibus bill; not an Omnibus bill. Hence, Republicans will get the green light to vote for it. All but 14 of them already voted for cloture to proceed with the 'don't call it an omnibus bill.'

Here are the issues with Reid minibus number two.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

11 · 11 · 11

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year in the twenty-first century, we pause to honor our veterans on this Veterans Day and remember that first of the great world wars, which ended the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918.

To those who served, we thank you.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 – 1918)

Morning Briefing for November 11, 2011

RedState Morning Briefing

11 · 11 · 11

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

To those of you who served, we thank you and wish you a blessed and enjoyable Veterans Day.

1. With A Mistake Like That, Is He Qualified To Be President?

2. Dear Herman Cain

3. Soros-funded Gigi Sohn falsely accuses me of being AT&T funded

4. Union-Bought Democrat Calls For End Of Congressional Probe Into Obama's NLRB

5. Rick Perry on Foreign Policy & Why He Got Into Politics

6. The Horserace

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1. With A Mistake Like That, Is He Qualified To Be President?

Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. Dear Herman Cain

Herman, part of your refreshing appeal is your willingness to say things like "I don't know" and "I'll surround myself with the best people who do know."

It is abundantly obvious to a lot of us Herman that you are not living up to your own words. You said you would surround yourself with the best people — the competent people to help you.

Last week, J.D. Gordon had a disastrous performance on a Blackberry on Geraldo's show. His performance set the tone for the Monday news shows, all of which pointed out that your own communications vice president would not deny the story.

Then Mark Block went on TV to blame Curt Anderson only to walk it back the next day.

This week, Mark Block again went on TV, said he had verified the identify of a reporter as the son of your accuser, and got it totally wrong. But he said it was verified. It was a lie.

Herman, you said you'd surround yourself with the best people and you've surrounded yourself with Class A failures. The problems you are facing are problems of campaign staffing. You've failed to live up to your own standard of hiring the best people.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. Soros-funded Gigi Sohn falsely accuses me of being AT&T funded

Gigi Sohn talked to Personal Democracy Forum about the work she does at her organization, Public Knowledge. She took time to call out RedState and Less Government. Here's my hastily-created transcript of the key passage around the 28:00 mark:

"[On AT&T/T-Mobile] We often get attacked by the right-wing press, folks like, you know, RedState and Less Government, so I'm constantly dealing with attacks fully funded by AT&T – it's like not even a secret – calling us, you know, Soros-supported Marxists and Google shills and all these kind… So, I mean I don't want to respond to those things, but they shape the debate. They're out in the air."

She says RedState, but at RedState I'm the one who posts on these issues, and mostly in my Tech at Night series. In that series I do highlight repeatedly that Public Knowledge takes money from George Soros's Open Society Institute. This is a documented fact on their own webpage.

However I don't get paid a dime by AT&T. I don't make a penny off of my tech policy writing. I don't work for AT&T and never have. I don't accept money from them and never have, not directly or indirectly. I'm one guy who devotes a few nights a week to studying and writing about these issues, and the fully-funded, paid professional Gigi Sohn feels the need to single me out.

I actually am looking for work in the DC or Austin areas to fund my escape from California. So if AT&T did want to hire me, well, serious offers would be listened to. Heck, if Sprint Nextel wanted to hire me, I'd listen. But the fact of the matter is, I'm a lone amateur. I'm not corporate funded and I'm not foundation funded. RedState doesn't even pay its writers, let alone AT&T.

And that's the whole story.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. Union-Bought Democrat Calls For End Of Congressional Probe Into Obama's NLRB

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D) is from Maryland. He doesn't like the fact that Lindsay Graham (R) from South Carolina is fighting the union appointees at the National Labor Relations Board and their attempt to shut down Boeing's new 787 assembly line in Graham's own state.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

5. Rick Perry on Foreign Policy & Why He Got Into Politics

I may be a bit quirky in that I care much more about how our candidates view foreign policy in relation to Central and South America than the Middle East, but I really think it is very important. Socialism is creeping up from South America, China is making incursions into the continent, and Mexico is in a civil war.

I asked Rick Perry about it.

Then I threw a wild card at him — why did Rick Perry get into politics. His answer may surprise you. It certainly puts a more personal, human face on Rick Perry. This is the fourth and final part of my interview with Governor Rick Perry.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

6. The Horserace

There is a difference between being dead and being on life support. Rick Perry is not dead. He has $15 million. He is the Governor of Texas. Donors cannot just ignore him.

But he is on life support after last night. It is entirely recoverable. He's still got something like 2.72 million more debates to suffer through. But wow. How he responds and recovers will tell us more about the man and his potential than his debate performances.

The Jon Huntsman boomlet is over before it starts. His performance last night at the CNBC debate suggests he has no interest in reaching out to conservatives. Herman Cain did not act like and was not treated as the front runner.

Mitt Romney ran as the nominee, which he will probably be. But there is a potential new frontrunner for the anti-Romney faction and one that could give Romney a run for his money in the debating game, if not the actual money game. His name? "Mr. Speaker."

We'll get into it all in the Horserace.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

How about we break down the debates? #EERS

I'm going to delve into the debate tonight. You can call in at 1-800-WSB-TALK and listen live right here.

I'm going to talk about Joe Paterno too, along with the Herman Cain campaign.

Consider this an open thread.