Daily Links – April 27, 2012

Today is April 27th. On this date in 4977 B.C., the universe was created. At least, that’s what 17th century German astronomer Johannes Kepler calculated. So Happy Birthday, Universe! If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have anywhere to exist, which is the bulk of what I do. Also on this date, in 1773, British Parliament passed the Tea Act, setting in motion a chain of events that led to the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773. The protest was vastly more successful than subsequent counter-protest, Occupy Crumpets. On this date in 1791, Samuel B. Morse was born. Morse once famously said “…. .-! / — .- -.. . / -.– — ..- /
.-.. — — -.-!” Truly a touching sentiment. And finally, today is National Hairball Awareness Day which may sound gross, but is a lot less so than National Hairball Self-Awareness Day, which was predicted by the Mayans. Consider this an Open Thread.

Republicans prepare contempt citation against Eric Holder | CBS News
“House Republicans investigating the Fast and Furious scandal have gotten the go-ahead by their party leaders to pursue a contempt citation against Attorney General Eric Holder, senior congressional aides told CBS News.”

Jon Stewart Mocks N.C. Democrats | Free Beacon
“Daily Show host Jon Stewart mocked the state of the Democratic Party in North Carolina Thursday, between the trial of former presidential candidate John Edwards and the ongoing sexual harassment scandal in the North Carolina state Democratic Party:”

First Signs of a Real Obama Backlash? | PJ Tatler
“Barack Obama, meanwhile, is oblivious to all this. He keeps on pushing government as the be all end all solution to everything. A new poll out suggests that this attitude is going to catch up with him.”

Top Ten Rejected NPR Headlines | Ace of Spades HQ
NPR asks, “Is Slow Growth Actually Good For The Economy?” Ace serves up a list of ten rejected NPR headlines of equal absurdity.

Today’s Word of the Day comes via Merriam-Webster.
patagium (puh-TAY-jee-um): noun 1. the fold of skin connecting the forelimbs and hind limbs of some tetrapods (as flying squirrels) 2. the fold of skin in front of the main segments of a bird’s wing

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Morning Briefing for April 27, 2012

RedState Morning Briefing

for April 27, 2012

Go to www.RedStateMB.com to get the 

Morning Briefing every morning at no charge.

Yes, yes, we have a new look today.  It’s because I want your undivided attention and figured shaking things up would give it to me after you finished mumbling, “There he goes again.”  

We’ll return to normalcy conservatives, I promise.  Why shake things up today?  To highlight our sister publication.

As I mentioned last week, this month marks an exciting new chapter for our sister publication, Human Events. The nation’s first conservative weekly and Ronald Reagan’s favorite newspaper has a dynamic new look and additional firepower to provide more news and analysis than ever before.

Human Events has expanded its team of reporters and will now feature deeper coverage of the issues most important to you, ranging from the economy to energy and healthcare to national security.

We’re proud to be part of the Human Events family. Be on the lookout this weekend for more exciting details in an email, including powerful video coverage of the new Human Events being commemorated on the floor of the House of Representatives.

And now, the Morning Briefing.

1.  Death of the Moderate . . . Democrat

It is worth noting that on Tuesday several moderate Democrats went down in flames in Pennsylvania, continuing a trend that has escalated since 2008. Liberals do not want moderate Democrats in their caucus.

What is most interesting about it from a conservative perspective, however, is how there has not been a ton of coverage about the death of the blue dogs — more dogs dead in Barack Obama and the left’s war on dogs. Had moderate Republicans been defeated, we would have major stories on pretty much every news network and on the front page of every paper in America.

Routinely we hear that Republicans cannot win in New England, despite Republican successes in New England in 2010. Routinely we hear about the GOP driving moderates out of the party. Big tent cliches surround the stories. Rarely does the ongoing purging of the Democratic Party make such news.  Read the rest of the story . . .

2.  Yet Another Reason Why Today’s Unions Suck: Dues Devour Wage Increases

On the eve of Obama’s NLRB unleashing its new rules giving unions the ability to hold ambush elections—that is, the evisceration of employers’ ability to question or challenge unions in their quest to cherry-pick voting units—more data was just released by the Bureau of National Affairs that calls into question why anyone in their right mind would pay dues to a union today.

In addition to the $369 billion in underfunded union (private-sector) pension plans, the abundant evidence that unions kill companies and destroy jobs, today’s unions are doing such a miserable job at the one thing they’re supposed to do—negotiate contracts—that union members should demand refunds from their union bosses.

According to the April 9th issue of the Bureau of National Affairs Daily Labor Report (subscription required), unions negotiated contracts in 2011 that, in 41% of the contracts, employees received no increase in the contract’s first year.  Read the rest of the story . . . 

3.  The Way Things Are Going, They’re Gonna Crucify Me.

Apologies to John Lennon. Concept by Al Armendariz, Administrator of EPA Region VI. Repair Man Jack posted the video with analysis here.

No apology is necessary, Mr. Armendariz. In a perverse way, your comments reveal the tactics of your agency, and more importantly, the philosophy which motivates Mr. Obama’s entire Administration.

It also speaks of the arrogance of a government that thinks its citizens are its subjects, and whose middle managers find amusement in crushing people’s lives and livelihoods.

One more thing about the Roman analogy — mmm, as I recall, that strategy didn’t work out too well for the Romans. Does Mr. Obama play the fiddle?  Read the rest of the story . . .

4.  Sign Letter for Open Appropriations Process in the House

Every elected Republican came to Washington promising to slash spending and balance the budget.  Yet, when it comes time for the most direct way to enact those spending cuts; namely, the annual appropriations bills, most of them are missing in action.

In an ideal world, Republicans should hold the upper hand in negotiations over spending bills. They enjoy complete control over the House, while Harry Reid only has a tenuous hold on the Senate at just 53 seats.  Unfortunately, as we chronicled extensively here at Red State, House and Senate GOP leaders agreed to jettison the Ryan budget halfway through the process in favor of Harry Reid’s minibus and omnibus bills, which vitiated every worthy goal of that budget.  Read the rest of the story . . .

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Death of the Moderate . . . Democrat

It is worth noting that on Tuesday several moderate Democrats went down in flames in Pennsylvania, continuing a trend that has escalated since 2008. Liberals do not want moderate Democrats in their caucus.

What is most interesting about it from a conservative perspective, however, is how there has not been a ton of coverage about the death of the blue dogs — more dogs dead in Barack Obama and the left’s war on dogs. Had moderate Republicans been defeated, we would have major stories on pretty much every news network and on the front page of every paper in America.

Routinely we hear that Republicans cannot win in New England, despite Republican successes in New England in 2010. Routinely we hear about the GOP driving moderates out of the party. Big tent cliches surround the stories. Rarely does the ongoing purging of the Democratic Party make such news.

In fact, the Democratic Party has become increasingly hostile to moderates, though the media rarely cares to focus on this because the reporters who’d pay attention often are to the left of the moderate Democrats and proclaim their position the center. Those moderate Democrats are, therefore, well outside the mainstream.

I do not lament the decline and fall of the Blue Dog Coalition. The United States remains a center-right nation and Democrats must continue to run as “centrist” to appeal in swing states. Their true colors ruin their chances. The fewer “centrists” they have, the more difficult it becomes for them to appeal to voters, including Hispanic voters who continue to be some of the most socially conservative voters in America.

The lesson, here, though is that partisans in both parties prefer their candidates to stand for something and fight for something. The media’s predominant bias is a good government bias and reporters hail those Republicans and Democrats who work across party lines to get things done in Washington. And what have they done?

We’re at $15 trillion and counting to what they’ve done. But it was done in the name of good government — a concept that is always framed as our salvation and will ultimately be our damnation as we go bankrupt with repeated good government compromises.

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Eric Cantor Tries to Stop Stalwart Scott Keadle in NC-8

This has been a tough week for conservatives in Washington.  Republicans in both houses are caving on the postal bailout, highway bill, appropriations, Ex-Im Bank, Violence Against Women Act, and the student loan bailout.  It’s not going to get easier when they come back from recess in May.  This is why we need game-changers like Scott Keadle in Congress.  Keadle is running in NC-8, the seat currently held by born-again blue dog Larry Kissell.

As I search out conservative candidates throughout the country on behalf of the Madison Project PAC, I’m struck by how few candidates truly grasp the problems at hand within the Republican conference.  Sure – they all talk about repealing Obamacare, a balanced budget, and out-of- control spending.  But it is some of the aforementioned issues that separate the real supporters of free-markets from those who merely offer a pale-pastel contrast from the Democrats.

I’ve spent a lot of time with Scott Keadle, and have come to realize that he is one of the biggest super stars of this election cycle.  This is a guy who will get it right on every issue.  And he truly understands the problems inherent with our current leadership.  Perforce, it comes as no surprise that Eric Cantor and his “Young Guns” are taking their show on the road to NC-8.  This, from Hotline:

The super PAC affiliated with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., has made its first independent expenditure in support of a Republican challenger, according to FEC filings. And it comes in a race where another powerful conservative outside group has lined up on the other side.

The YG Action Fund, which is run by ex-Cantor aides, has spent $22,750 on a mailer supporting Richard Hudson for the Republican nomination in North Carolina’s 8th District, currently held by Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell. The GOP race also includes Scott Keadle, a dentist and former county official who is one of six House candidates who received endorsements from the Club for Growth this cycle.

Hudson is a longtime Hill aide who served as chief of staff to Texas GOP Reps. Mike Conaway and John Carter and Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C.

There is a reason why this is Cantor’s first independent expenditure on behalf of a Republican challenger.  Keadle will never beat to the drum of leadership.  Richard Hudson is a creature of Washington with his robust ties to GOP establishment leaders.

People often ask me where they could get the best value for their political contributions.  There are a few good stars this cycle, but if I were forced to pick the best individual to support, it would be Dr. Scott Keadle.  If you don’t believe me, just ask leadership.

The primary will be held on May 8, but there will be a runoff if no candidate receives 40% of the vote.  Let’s help end it on May 8.

Cross-posted from The Madison Project

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Mitt Romney is Batman. And knows kung fu.

This is an old story – one that Jim Geraghty (via the Morning Jolt) reminisced about while noting the time that Mitt Romney saved a bunch of people* from drowning – that relates the time that Mitt Romney had somebody take a swing at him on a flight. Supposedly, Romney had asked the guy in front of him to put his seat up before takeoff (Romney and his wife flew economy class, by the way**), the guy swung on him, situation resolved by local security forces. Nothing unusual, right? …No, that’s just what THEY want you to think. There’s a conflicting report.

[Alleged rapper] Sky Blu says Romney drew first blood. Well, he said Romney grabbed him after angrily telling him to move his seat up.

“He grabs my shoulder .. and I just react BOOM get off me!” Blu told the video camera. “He put a condor grip on me. What am I supposed to do?”

“That’s like a Vulcan grip,” offered his bandmate Redfoo.

“Like a Vulcan grip,” Blu concurred. “I’m not your prey. I’m not a salmon going upstream. You’re not going to grip me up.”

Well… I am forced to note, sir, that in fact Mitt Romney was indeed going to grip you up for violating both the laws of decorum and our shared sense of American civics. And that if you do not like it then you should keep your seat upright until the flight attendant informs you that you can recline it. Because if you don’t, then you may receive a condor grip from… hold on. Millionaire businessman. Carefully maintained public persona. Strong positions on law and order. Goes around saving people using high-tech vehicles. Engages in principled low level vigilantism designed to make the world a better place on a street level.

Dear GOD.

MITT ROMNEY IS BATMAN. And knows kung fu.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

*And, as I am forced to point out by the current zeitgeist, their dog. I am likewise forced to point out that Romney did not save the dog for dinner later.

**When’s the last time Barack Obama flew coach, anyway? …And if the answer is “more than two years before he ran for President,” well, I can’t help it if people might think that that reflects badly on him.

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Obama Administration Hails Its Own “Gutsy Call.”

The newest Obama campaign video highlights the killing of Osama bin Ladin.

This video is hardly surprising. http://www.gutsycall.com takes you to https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/o2012-donate-main. So it isn’t like this move hasn’t been telegraphed for a year. It is notable for a few things.

First, it is narrated, in part by Bill Clinton. If there is anyone to blame for the rise of al Qaeda it is Bill Clinton. It was on Bill Clinton’s watch that all the events happened that resulted, ultimately, in the tragedy of September 11. It was his withdrawal from Somalia that showed al Qaeda that a handful of deaths could evict us from a theater of operations. It was under Clinton than the World Trade Center was first attacked in 1993. His non response to the bombing of US military facilities in Saudi Arabia, the demolition of two of our African embassies, and the attack on the USS Cole gave al Qaeda good reason to believe that we would do nothing if attacked. I guess this is an appeal to bring moderate Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents back to Obama. As such, it reeks of flopsweat rather than a confident candidate.

Second, it calls into question whether Romney would have ordered the attack that killed bin Laden based on a 2007 Romney quote:

It’s not worth moving heaven and earth spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person.

This is patently nonsense because the quote neither says nor implies that Romney would be reluctant to make the call to kill bin Laden.

Third, this may be the first campaign video in history, and perhaps the first time in the history of political campaigns in general, that a candidate has touted merely doing his job as a reason he deserves reelection. Not that he did it well or efficiently or better but just that he showed up for work and did what we paid him to do.

For some reason, presumably because there have been focus groups that agreed with the concept, the Obama campaign seems to think that foreign policy will be the theme with which it can beat Mitt Romney though it is hard to see how this argument, if it is anything more substantial than carrying bin Laden’s head around on a pike until November, will have the strength to last.

Don’t get me wrong on this. I’m glad bin Laden is dead because justice has finally been partially extracted for the attacks of September 11, 2001. But let’s not kid ourselves. Bin Laden has been a non-entity in the direction of al Qaeda and as an al Qaeda fundraiser since 2005 at the latest. I also don’t see the immense courage and steel backbone needed to conduct a raid deep inside a friendly (mostly) country. While Obama has been busy dancing the Electric Slide to celebrate bin Laden’s death, he has studiously ignored that Ayman al-Zawahiri, who has actually commanded al Qaeda since Tora Bora was evacuated, is very much alive, well, and in control.

Besides, do we really think any (added to address some valid point in comments) post-9/11 president could, in the possession of the same information as Obama, could have refused to carry out the raid? Hardly. Word would have leaked within days and that would have been the effective end of any administration.

The foreign policy accomplishments of Obama are tissue thin. In fact, it is difficult to find a single place in the world where America is better situated today than it was four years ago. By and large we have attained a Carteresque perfect storm where our friends don’t trust us, our enemies don’t respect us and there is no will or interest in the White House to change the situation.

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Morning Briefing for April 26, 2012

RedState Morning Briefing
April 26, 2012Go to www.RedStateMB.com to get
the Morning Briefing every morning at no charge.

Yesterday on Laura Ingraham’s radio show, she asked Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell about a recent Roll Call article that framed me as one of the loud leaders of conservatives opposed to Mitch McConnell. The Senator from Kentucky responded that he had never heard of me and I did not have an audience.

That sounds a bit like the child, when asked if he ate the cookie, replying that he had not and besides it did not taste good. If he’d never heard of me, how can he comment on my audience? If he states plainly I have no audience, how can he claim to not have heard of me? His remarks also came less than a day after I came out publicly against bronies, the adult male fans of My Little Pony. I hope that’s just a coincidence.

Mitch McConnell’s remark is just another example of him being vastly overrated as both a strategist and tactician. He claims to have advanced the conservative cause, but told Laura he has to be mindful that to govern Republicans must reach out to all Americans. Perhaps that is why in 2010, with the rise of the tea party, Mitch McConnell backed Arlen Specter against Pat Toomey, Charlie Crist against Marco Rubio (McConnell staffers went to Florida to help Crist), Robert Bennett against Mike Lee, and Trey Grayson against Rand Paul.

I grew up thinking Mitch McConnell was a right wing warrior. It turns out he’s just a typical Washingtonian appropriator who has presided over a massive expansion of the welfare state doing not much more than issuing bold platitudes as he cuts deals to expand government spending and along the way made some major tactical and strategic blunders that groups like ACORN were able to thrive.

Let’s review the record.

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An untold story today following Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primaries is what a bad, bad night it was for Planned Parenthood.

In Pennsylvania’s 134th House district, they spent an eye-popping $100,000 on a TV ad campaign trying to sink the candidacy of Republican Ryan Mackenzie by linking him to ultrasound legislation that was before the legislature.

As Politico noted, this was seen as a trial-balloon of sorts.

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Never mind the fact that Obama got yoghurt splashed on him last night – that’s just an ongoing hazard of being a politician running for re-election in this country. The real story here is this: the President went to Colorado to, essentially, lie to a bunch of kids about how they can get themselves out of this mess that they’re in. And it is a mess. 50% of college graduates are unemployed/underemployed; couple that with student loan debt levels that should really be frightening more people and we end up with a situation where millions of kids are getting out of college and staring DOOM right in the face. And while they are adults – and thus, responsible for their own fates – guess what? The people that connived to put them in this mess are adults, too. We expect twenty-somethings in this culture to make poor life choices, sometimes; what we don’t expect is for the generations above them to so ruthlessly take advantage of that.

Anyway: Obama’s answer in Colorado, last night? …Entrepreneurship. That’s what he was telling the kids. Start that restaurant! Develop that smartphone app! Make your own destiny! Get slammed with a tax hike on small businesses in the form of tighter restrictions on payroll tax exemptions!

…Yeah. One of these things is not like the others.

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