Call me crazy
Oct 13th
Something just doesn’t add up in this Iran-declaring-war-on-us, plot. First of all you have to question the timing. Subpoena’s about to be delivered in the Fast and Furious matter and suddenly we have a much more important story (at least according to Holder) which in of itself makes me very suspicious. Over at JOM, Ranger suggested we might have been waiting for the hikers to be set free, but then why not the next day? And if Iran really wants to start a war wouldn’t they keep those hostages as leverage?
Senators briefed on the matter think there is really a threat, and they sure know more than I do. But why would Iran team up a used car salesman with a Mexican drug cartel? It simply makes no sense for a number of reasons. Why would Iran think it could trust a Mexican drug cartel, and why would a $3b drug cartel risk everything for $100,000 down?
Last night on On The Record Greta interviewed a man who knew Mansour Arbabsia, the alleged terrorist. A man who for a short time worked with Arbabsia said he couldn’t imagine he was a terrorist because he was so disorganized. Why would Iran risk so much with so little?
Something is fishy here.
Cainiac Fever
Oct 11th
I’m really enjoying Herman Cain’s surge. I have a Perry bumper sticker on my car which I am about to replace with an OMG-ABO bumper sticker. (Shameless plug – on sale here later today.)
At any rate, Cain is my kind of guy. He grew up seeing opportunity everywhere he looked, and took full advantage of it. And the results were spectacular.
Everyone knows about his success running Godfather’s pizza. My favorite notch in his belt is his success at Burger King, where he turned the worst performing region in the country into the best performing region in the country, in three years. That’s one year less than a presidential term.
Nothing sums things up better than Walter Russell Mead:
Racist Republicans Flocking to Cain
Either a lot of Democrats have been slandering millions of American voters as racist, or the Tea Party hasn’t gotten the word that Herman Cain is African American. That is the only conclusion that can be drawn after a slew of recent polls shows that Cain is picking up the ‘teavangelical’ vote as former favorites like Michelle Bachmann and Rick Perry fade.
In particular, this morning we get the word from my native state of South Carolina that Cain is the leader in the Republican primary there. According to this American Research Group poll, Cain has a small and statistically insignificant lead over Mitt Romney: 26 percent to 25 percent.
Unless there has been a heretofore unnoticed surge of Black voters into the ranks of the South Carolina GOP, this means that one out of every four voters in the most conservative electorate in the United States are now ready to vote for a Black candidate for president. This should not be all that surprising; the conservative backed governor in South Carolina is of Indian descent, and the voters of Charleston have sent a Black Republican to Congress. It would be hard to find a district of liberal whites who have such a consistently cosmopolitan voting record.
I don’t know any conservatives who even notice skin color, altho I’m sure they exist. That’s the only thing most liberals noticed in 2008.
The growing Brown ambivalence
Oct 6th
Over at the Daily Caller, Amanda Carey has an article titled:
As Scott Brown fights for re-election, tea party groups vow to sit this one out.
From my perspective as a member of the Sturbridge Tea Party, she’s got it about right. I did some phone banking for Brown in his last run, and gave him some money. I even went to visit him in DC while I was there for a tea party event. But just as Scott Brown has actively disassociated himself from the tea party, the tea party has disassociated itself from him. Some tea partiers are angrier at him than others, but as they say, “where ya gonna go?”
Just like Romney, he’s a squish. People who know him say he votes on what he thinks is right. From where I sit it often appears he votes on what he thinks will get him re-elected.
But as the article says, I will certainly vote for him on election day. The thought of “we own all your money” Elizabeth Warren as the next MA senator, is indeed frightening. I’m not sure it is frightening enough to get us to mobilize for Brown.
I do think Brown is worried. This morning on the way to my radio gig I was listening to Jim Polito, who announced Brown had called and asked to be on his show. His bandwidth is not terribly large, so if Brown didn’t think he needed the exposure he probably wouldn’t be quite so solicitous.
Christie is the non-Obama
Oct 3rd
The media is abuzz with the word that NJ Governor Chris Christie might run for President. Like everyone else, I’m a Christie fan. He’s not conservative enough for me, but I think, if anyone can talk some sense into both sides of this very polarized country, Christie can do it.
But that is not what makes Christie appealing. What makes Christie appealing is he is the non-Obama.
On one side you have a skinny, elitist, arugula eating, holier-than-thou, never-held-a-blue-collar-job-in his -life, affirmative action beneficiary, uppity, Hawaiian born, Reverend Wright worshiping, teleprompter reading, perpetual campaigning, scolder, Barack Obama.
And on the other side you have an overweight, straight talking, Newark NJ born, hard working, former hard-ass prosecutor, down to earth, non-pandering, humble Chris Christie.
Who best represents The United States of America to you?
Calling Joe MCCarthy
Sep 30th
This morning while at the post office, a man I didn’t recognize, held the door for me. As I thanked him he said: “I want to thank you for all you are doing with the tea party”. I was surprised he recognized me, but said “thank you” again, and told him when and where we meet.
He then told me that his support had to be in secret because he works for a local bank and could not let anyone know he was a tea party supporter. He then confided that he watched Fox News every night – as if that admission required a confession. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this sort of thing but it still shocks me that love of country and the constitution are things people feel the need to hide.
That wasn’t my first tea party encounter with a banker. We initially held our meetings in a conference room at a local bank opened to anyone who wanted it. One day the bank’s president called me to say he was getting complaints and could no longer let the tea party meet there. This is the same bank that hosts religious services on its property on Sundays.
Apparently being a tea partier is a little like being in the communist party in the days of McCarthy. And if it has come to the point in left wing Massachusetts that it is more acceptable to support public worship at a local business than to support the free market, Alinsky is truly winning.
