Erick Erickson's Blog, page 93

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.

What Do Rick Perry and Barack Obama Have in Common?

With a tip of the hat to Christina at the Neal Boortz Show who put this together, Rick Perry can at least take some comfort from the fact that he is no worse without a teleprompter than Barack Obama.

Download audio here

Download here.

The Horserace for November 10, 2011

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.

Michele Bachmann

With little money and no new ideas, Michele Bachmann's time has come and gone I'm afraid. I love her. I like her husband. She's passionate and fiery, but she is no longer catching on. She didn't have a debate performance last night worthy of a top tier candidate and is constantly overshadowed these days.

Herman Cain

Herman Cain could be the nominee, but he will not be the nominee.

Herman Cain told us all along that even if he did not have the answers, he would surround himself with the smart people who did have the answers. Not only has his staff given off the impression they're doing a Keystone Kops routine, but Cain has decided to stick with them. Loyalty is all well and good, but loyalty to this?!

Herman Cain says he is a great manager. A great manager would stop the hemorrhaging of the company by either fixing the product or fixing the team. The product, Herman himself, does not need fixing. The team selling the product needs fixing. If he won't fix it, he might as well go on and endorse Mitt Romney as he no doubt will eventually.

Herman Cain would make a great President. But he's not willing to do what it takes and shake up his campaign staff.

Newt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich replaces Herman Cain as the most viable alternative to Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney's team will now throw every ounce of dirt they can at Newt Gingrich. We will rehash his wives, his fall from grace, his alternative history books, etc.

If he can withstand it — and I don't know that he can — he could be a compelling alternative to Romney. But there is one problem. Newt Gingrich has a long time history of shooting himself in the foot and knocking others over as he falls. Maybe, just maybe he can withstand the tide of historic cycles in his life.

Jon Huntsman

He was rather insulting last night. He wants to be the President of the 99%? Really? Who the hell thought that was a good line. How about being the President of all Americans instead of the crowd taking dumps on police cars?

Ron Paul

No chance.

Rick Perry

If he wants to recover from his 53 seconds of infamy, something he can do, he needs to be humble, humorous, and have a good next debate.

The odds are growing long against him. The money is coming in at a slower rate. But there is time. It's just every time something like this happens, Perry plays to the image he's developed as a bumbling campaigner. He needs to work extra hard to overcome the narrative he himself has written.

It's funny. Perry and Cain are polar opposites. Cain has a great product, but a team incapable of selling that product at a Presidential level. Perry has a great team and a terrible product. It's harder to fix the product than the team, particularly when you are the product. But he's never lost an election. We'll see if he can keep the trend going. A David Letterman appearance, a Daily Show excursion, and some good natured self-poking could rehabilitate him.

The one thing Perry really has going for him right now is that he is no worse without a teleprompter than Obama (h/t to Christina at the Boortz show):

Download audio here

Mitt Romney

Romney will probably be the nominee. Conservatives will be hurt. His debate performance last night was not as strong as his other performances. He gave some great answers, but he wasn't nearly as consistent as he has been. And he still cannot answer the individual mandate question well. He just can't. So Obama will get a free pass on Obamacare when they debate.

Rick Santorum

Who?

From the Mail Bag

From: kb7ypf@cox.net

Date: November 10, 2011 12:07:56 AM EST

To: contact@redstate.com

Subject: Mitt Romney as the Nominee: Conservatism Dies and Barack Obama Wins

HI-



The article, Mitt Romney as the Nominee: Conservatism Dies and Barack Obama Wins, is pure Bull S**t!

Is Erick Erickson a Democrat hiding in Republican clothes? I read the article and this idiot has not got a clue as to what Mitt Romney is about. It's very obvious that he is a Mormon hater. And no I am not a Mormon as I know that is running around in the back of your head.

How in the hell do you expect US Republicans to beat Obama when all we do is stab each other in the back with Bull S**t like this. This Erickson should spend his time writing about the Marxist Obama and his Communist Czars and the like.

Enough said.

Regards,

Richard

Dear Herman Cain

Herman,

I owe you a good bit of my present career in radio. You leaving opened the door for me.

I still believe you can win the Republican nomination.

I still believe you can beat Barack Obama.

I still believe you can be one of the most inspiring Presidents since Ronald Reagan.

The Herman Cain I know would not and could not do what you are accused of. And I know it is incredibly unfair to ask you, in effect, to prove a negative. How the hell does one prove one did not do something?

But 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.

I still believe you can win. But to do so, you must fire your staff and start over. It is the only way forward for you. This communications strategy has been an unmitigated disaster. And if this story doesn't kill your campaign, the one about Mark Block initially running your campaign through a 501(c)(3) surely will.

Herman, you must reboot for victory.

Your friend,

Erick

The CNBC Debate in a Nutshell

I'll spare you a formal post on the CNBC Debate. Let me just state that of all the stupid debates and all the stupid questions we have been subjected to, I do not believe there could be a more stupid debate with stupider questions than the CNBC Debate. It is the freaking business channel and were subjected to 90 painful minutes of the Republican candidates explaining how business works to the moderators.

No one treated Herman Cain as the front runner. Even Herman Cain didn't treat Herman Cain as the front runner.

The clear winner is Newt Gingrich who will now become the alternative to Mitt Romney, though it is doubtful he will be able to weather the media storm into his personal life. Believe it or not, Rick Perry had the best damn debate performance of his entire Presidential career last night. He gave fantastic answers. And then . . . wow. What a disaster. It was like finally getting your sail boat out of dry dock to enjoy your first enjoyable sail only to sink. He's going to need every penny of that $15 million after that.

Mitt Romney gave very good answers as usual, but I remain shocked that after all this time he still cannot answer questions on the individual mandate without flubbing.

That's your debate review. Can we just give CNN a monopoly on the debates? They seem to be the only network that is capable of doing one with substantive questions. Heck, CNBC would not even live stream its debate. Hello? 21st Century calling.

Morning Briefing for November 10, 2011

RedState Morning Briefing

For November 10, 2011

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

I'll spare you a formal post on the CNBC Debate. Let me just state that of all the stupid debates and all the stupid questions we have been subjected to, I do not believe there could be a more stupid debate with stupider questions than the CNBC Debate. It is the freaking business channel and were subjected to 90 painful minutes of the Republican candidates explaining how business works to the moderators.

No one treated Herman Cain as the front runner. Even Herman Cain didn't treat Herman Cain as the front runner.

The clear winner is Newt Gingrich who will now become the alternative to Mitt Romney, though it is doubtful he will be able to weather the media storm into his personal life. Believe it or not, Rick Perry had the best damn debate performance of his entire Presidential career last night. He gave fantastic answers. And then . . . wow. What a disaster. It was like finally getting your sail boat out of dry dock to enjoy your first enjoyable sail only to sink. He's going to need every penny of that $15 million after that.

Mitt Romney gave very good answers as usual, but I remain shocked that after all this time he still cannot answer questions on the individual mandate without flubbing.

That's your debate review. Can we just give CNN a monopoly on the debates? They seem to be the only network that is capable of doing one with substantive questions. Heck, CNBC would not even live stream its debate. Hello? 21st Century calling.

1. From Insult to Injury: Obama Owes Netanyahu An Apology

2. The Virginia Way: A Governor's Guide to Results Oriented Conservatism + What it Means for 2012

3. When Not Thinking, You Run On Autopilot — Even David Gregory

4. The Michigan Republican Who Will Raise Your Taxes

5. Charlotte Workers Offered Free Legal Aid To Fight DNC Convention Discrimination

6. Rick Perry on Federalism & Immigration

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1. From Insult to Injury: Obama Owes Netanyahu An Apology

Allies are people you work with. Garden pests and leaky faucets are things you "deal with."

President Obama doesn't seem to know the difference.

At the G20 summit last week in France, he let out his true feelings on Israel. And a live mic was there to catch it all.

Here's the exchange between President Obama and French President Sarkozy on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

–Sarkozy: "I cannot bear Netanyahu."

–Obama: "You're sick of him, but I have to deal with him every day."

Deal with?

Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. The Virginia Way: A Governor's Guide to Results Oriented Conservatism + What it Means for 2012

When your state is known as the "Mother of Presidents", and home to Yorktown, Mount Vernon, Monticello, Appomattox, and the first permanent English settlement in America, you don't toss around the saying "we made history" too lightly.

But, my friends, I am pleased to say that is exactly what the Commonwealth of Virginia did Tuesday. We Made History.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. When Not Thinking, You Run On Autopilot — Even David Gregory

Were someone in casual conversation to refer to a black person as the n word or even as "colored," what would the reaction be? And if that person immediately took to twitter to say the "remark this morning was a very poor choice of words. Did not mean to make that connection at all. Was not thinking. I apologize," what would people think?

Typically when something like that happens, the presumption is that the person must have had his brain on autopilot and released his inner thinking without passing it through the "acceptable discourse" filter or some such. There could be other explanations — maybe he read something or heard something ahead of time and it got lodged in the input/output loop. That happens to everyone.

What exactly explains David Gregory this morning saying there are no "Grand Wizards" in the GOP to push Herman Cain out of the race?

And this begs a real and serious question I must ask again: After David Gregory's "Grand Wizard" comment, why the hell does the GOP want to let NBC conduct another GOP debate?

If the GOP is going to boycott Univision because of its Marco Rubio family smear, why not boycott NBC's January debate in Florida because of its routine and collective smear of the GOP?

Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. The Michigan Republican Who Will Raise Your Taxes

For this week's primary target, I want to make an exception. I do it because the Congressman deserves it and to make a point. I want to focus on someone who represents a district that is split evenly between Republicans and Democrats. For sure, I think its wise to focus on those Republicans who are wasting a good conservative seat, which is why I have covered districts so far that are +10 GOP seats or better. Those are no brainers. But I'd be remiss if I didn't occasionally draw attention to liberal Republicans in swing districts also — particularly one on the Super Committee who seems hell bent on raising your taxes.

Why? For a couple of reasons. First of all, conservatives can hold these seats when they are principled and willing to explain themselves to their constituents. Republican politicos love to forget that Pat Toomey represented a Democrat district that voted for Al Gore, John Kerry, and Barak Obama. He was a die hard advocate of free trade amidst calls for steel tariffs in the steel mills of Allentown, Pennsylvania. He didn't just vote and hide. He was typically the leader of House conservatives during his time in the House of Representatives. He would win handily with winning percentages of 57% (2002), 53% (2000), and 55% (1998). And now he is serving in the United States Senate representing the blue state of Pennsylvania.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

5. Charlotte Workers Offered Free Legal Aid To Fight DNC Convention Discrimination

You've probably seen the reports from RedState's Ben Howe on the Democratic National Committee discriminating against union-free Charlotte-area businesses on awarding 2012 Convention work, then Charlotte's Mayor Foxx denying it, only to see the DNC award the Convention work to a Beltway union-company anyway.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

6. Rick Perry on Federalism & Immigration

When Governor Perry and I sat down last week in Orange County, CA, I wanted to drill down on two areas of interest for conservative voters.

First, in his book Fed Up!, Governor Perry repeatedly returned to the idea of federalism, but few people have really explored that with him. This transitioned into some questions on immigration, his views on amnesty, and what role the states have to pay in immigration laws with Washington doing nothing.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

Rick Perry on Federalism & Immigration

When Governor Perry and I sat down last week in Orange County, CA, I wanted to drill down on two areas of interest for conservative voters.

First, in his book Fed Up!, Governor Perry repeatedly returned to the idea of federalism, but few people have really explored that with him. This transitioned into some questions on immigration, his views on amnesty, and what role the states have to pay in immigration laws with Washington doing nothing.

The Michigan Republican Who Will Raise Your Taxes

For this week's primary target, I want to make an exception. I do it because the Congressman deserves it and to make a point. I want to focus on someone who represents a district that is split evenly between Republicans and Democrats. For sure, I think its wise to focus on those Republicans who are wasting a good conservative seat, which is why I have covered districts so far that are +10 GOP seats or better. Those are no brainers. But I'd be remiss if I didn't occasionally draw attention to liberal Republicans in swing districts also — particularly one on the Super Committee who seems hell bent on raising your taxes.

Why? For a couple of reasons. First of all, conservatives can hold these seats when they are principled and willing to explain themselves to their constituents. Republican politicos love to forget that Pat Toomey represented a Democrat district that voted for Al Gore, John Kerry, and Barak Obama. He was a die hard advocate of free trade amidst calls for steel tariffs in the steel mills of Allentown, Pennsylvania. He didn't just vote and hide. He was typically the leader of House conservatives during his time in the House of Representatives. He would win handily with winning percentages of 57% (2002), 53% (2000), and 55% (1998). And now he is serving in the United States Senate representing the blue state of Pennsylvania.

But the reason that it is so important to fill these seats with conservatives is because they often act like a ring in a bull's nose, steering the Republican majority as a whole to the left and using their "potential" electoral demise to demand concessions from their conservative colleagues. These concessions are normally done in concert with a sympathetic Leadership who are always willing to take a moderate's word for what is needed to get elected.

Let's take just three vignettes that barely show up in the voting record of this Congressman, who was elected in 1986 and is serving his 13th term (its not you, Charlie Dent, so you can relax for now).It's February of 1995. Republicans have just taken control of the House of Representatives and are now trying to pass the various parts of the Contract With America. One of those major components is a $190 billion tax cut. This Congressman, and his colleagues with the Tuesday Group, insists that the tax cut be put on hold until the budget was balanced, which up until this point has not been done in decades. "With everyone trying to out tax-cut each other, we're talking about very sizable cuts in revenue," he says, joining his colleagues that maybe the Contract shouldn't be followed "word for word." Three months later, this Congressman joins with about a dozen Republicans and 23 Democrats in threatening to "take down the rule" if language isn't included to revoke the tax cut if specific deficit reductions were not met.

Such procedural rules are party-line votes that set up the terms of debate on each piece of legislation. The Leadership hates when Congressmen vote against these procedural rules, and its worth noting that with all the mind-numbing complaints about awesome work of Jim Jordan and the RSC this year, there has been no talk thus far of taking a rule down. (I think there should be, but that's for another post.) This Congressman threatened it in month three of a new House majority to bring down a tax cut that was promised in the Contract with America.

Was he just a deficit hawk who just thought you should balance the budget before you cut taxes? Hardly. That first Republican Majority, led by then-Budget Chairman John Kasich, wrote some serious balanced budgets from the get-go that included all the features of Paul Ryan's current plan. And just three years later in 1998, this Congressmen showed his true colors writing letters to his Leadership that, "The total amount of…spending cuts are still of such magnitude that they are neither desirable nor attainable," in hopes of derailing that year's budget. Balancing the budget was just a useful tool to block a tax cut and collect taxes for the welfare state.

It's July of 1995. House Republicans are trying to reign in the EPA through the appropriations process. In addition to cutting its funding, the appropriations bill includes a number of riders designed to reform Bill Clinton's EPA, such as blocking a mandate for employers to implement employee commute programs and an emission regulation that would have shut down small refineries. Clinton calls it the bill the Polluter Protection Act. An amendment is offered by a Democrat Congressman, Louis Stokes of OH, to strip out all of these riders. It passes by a vote 212-206, with the support of 51 Republicans, including this Congressman. House Leaders reverse the vote, but this Congressman is triumphant the riders would eventually be removed. "We'll ultimately win that one," he said. He is right.

It's July of 2006. The same Republican majority is hardly distinguishable from the one that fulfilled its Contract With America. Too much spending, too many earmarks, and too little reform. This Congressman joins with 48 Republican moderates in forcing House Leadership to make matters worse and pass a minimum wage increase. They refuse to back the adjournment recess so that their colleagues can go home for the August recess. Like taking down a rule, voting against an adjournment resolution against your Leadership is a serious business. Guess what? House Republicans pass a minimum wage increase.

Of course, his record is run-of-the-mill terrible, and I have written on it before. Here are the high points:

He supported multiple pay increases for himself, multiple farm bills, multiple highway bills, multiple energy bills filled with subsidies, and multiple omnibus appropriations bills that jam together spending increases and earmarks of all kind into one bill. He voted to protect the NEA, Amtrak, Head Start, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. He voted for No Child Left Behind, the Medicare prescription drug benefit, Sarbanes-Oxley, McCain-Feingold, TARP, SCHIP, and the auto bailout. He voted against capping entitlements and reforming the budget process to control spending, and he voted to override the Bush Administration's vetoes repeatedly for trying to control spending. And it cannot be ignored, he gave us the ban on the incandescent light bulb.

Let me put it to you this way. Conservatives and conservative majorities go to Washington and don't ever come home in tact because of the broad damaging impact of Republican Congressmen like this.

His name is Fred Upton (Heritage Action Score 51%). He represents Michigan's 6th district, and he needs to be primaried.

When Not Thinking, You Run On Autopilot — Even David Gregory

"After David Gregory's "Grand Wizard" comment, why the hell does the GOP want to let NBC conduct another GOP debate?"

Were someone in casual conversation to refer to a black person as the n word or even as "colored," what would the reaction be? And if that person immediately took to twitter to say the "remark this morning was a very poor choice of words. Did not mean to make that connection at all. Was not thinking. I apologize," what would people think?

Typically when something like that happens, the presumption is that the person must have had his brain on autopilot and released his inner thinking without passing it through the "acceptable discourse" filter or some such. There could be other explanations — maybe he read something or heard something ahead of time and it got lodged in the input/output loop. That happens to everyone.

What exactly explains David Gregory this morning saying there are no "Grand Wizards" in the GOP to push Herman Cain out of the race?

Is he presupposing the existence of Klansmen in politics? Maybe if he means there are none in the GOP, then he is admitting there have been Klansmen in the Democratic Party, see e.g. Robert Byrd.

Either way, running to twitter to apologize for a stunning remark like that suggests David Gregory either really thinks there are a bunch of racists in politics, or David Gregory has been exposed to a bunch of people discussing racists and Herman Cain lately.

And my guess is, frankly, the latter.For the past 48 hours, NBC has led a thunderous assault on the GOP claiming the GOP is only concerned because Cain is black and the women are blonde. The discourse on NBC and MSNBC has been stunning in the race baiting and racial animosity toward the GOP.

Then David Gregory gets involved with his "Grand Wizard" comment. My guess is that the pervasive left-wing anti-GOP bias at NBC even affects guys like Gregory, whether he wants to admit it or not.

And this begs a real and serious question I must ask again: After David Gregory's "Grand Wizard" comment, why the hell does the GOP want to let NBC conduct another GOP debate?

If the GOP is going to boycott Univision because of its Marco Rubio family smear, why not boycott NBC's January debate in Florida because of its routine and collective smear of the GOP?