Archive for January, 2010
No, Governor Perry Did Not Nearly Shoot Me
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010That’s a great story to make up, though. Have to give this intrepid blogger (word is that he/she/it is an operative from inside the Kay Bailey Hutchison campaign) credit for creativity. Here’s what anonymous blogger Come And Take It Blog said:
At seven seconds in, you can clearly see Rick point a loaded gun away from the range and in the direction of a woman he is supposed to be teaching to shoot! The muzzle can’t be more than a few inches from her face…she even flinches back a little.
So, I went to the gun range on Friday, January 22, 2010 at Red’s Range in Austin. Governor Perry hosted about 20 bloggers (most of whom had never seen a gun before and were as newbie as me–pretty funny actually).
The Governor showed a couple of us how to shoot. Here’s the video:
First, as is obvious, the Governor did not point the gun at me. Second, I did not flinch from him moving the gun around.
However, I did flinch with all the guns going off all around me, but got used to it.
Bonus: If you watch the tape again, you’ll hear Andrew Breitbart in the background. He looked like he was having a great time. All us city-slicker bloggers in ear muffs and armed must have been humorous for a guy used to Texas and guns like Rick Perry.
John and Elizabeth Edwards Legally Split Today
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010Buried today in the news of the State of the Union and the Apple iPad this:
Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, who admitted last week that he fathered a child with a videographer, separated Wednesday from his wife, Elizabeth, according to a source close to her.
Edwards, 56, denied he was the infant’s father for more than a year, saying his affair with Rielle Hunter was over before she became pregnant.
The former U.S. senator from North Carolina unsuccessfully sought the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.
Elizabeth Edwards’ sister, Nancy Anania, told People magazine in an article dated Wednesday that Elizabeth told her, “I’ve had it. I can’t do this. I want my life back.”
The sister told the magazine, “She’s got cancer and has young children and totally believes in marriage … but she can only do so much.”
And there’s a sex tape. Of course. And it won’t get released “unless he needs the money.”
AND, John Edwards hates “fat rednecks:”
Young also writes that Edwards, who billed himself as the modest son of a mill worker, hated making appearances at state fairs where “fat rednecks try to shove food down my face. I know I’m the people’s senator, but do I have to hang out with them?”
You wouldn’t have heard this story if it weren’t for the MSM. But they’re no biased. Nosiree…
President Obama Is Out Of Touch
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010Remember when President Bush I was shocked about the technology to check out at the grocery store? [Update: That story, reader Mark Urbin points out, was a myth. See Snopes.] Remember when the press made hay over Senator John McCain’s ignorance about email?
They’re out of touch! screamed the headlines.
Well, the Out Of Touch disease afflicts President Barack Obama in a way that is more pernicious than most. It’s not that he doesn’t know how much a loaf of bread costs, it’s that he doesn’t care.
Ace has an excellent description of the constituencies that Obama caters to and they ain’t you and me. Here’s what he says:
That last bit is a sort of interesting observation — Obama abandoned the blue-collar/middle-class Democratic voter in favor of two groups, the lower class, and the, ahem, “Educated Class” about whom David Brooks waxes so poetically.
In essence, Obama caters to those who have so much money that they don’t care how much the government taxes because it won’t affect their bottom line and those who have no money and who hope the government gives out more.
Barack Obama caters to…himself. He has the street swagger and single mother psychology influencing him on one hand and the indulged exclusivity of his education on the other.
His scorn for the middle class family, the backbone of any taxation scheme, is visceral, emotional, and intellectual.
Ace continues:
I really was just trying to explain why it is the very-wealth tend to be much more liberal than the middle class. (Much more left-liberal.) And my point is just that at their levels of income, taxation becomes an abstract sort of issue to them. And they are very willing to trade one abstraction (higher taxes on money they’d have trouble spending even if they really tried) for another abstraction (“I want to see Obama win on this just so he can have his victory”).
It’s not abstract to the great majority of Americans.
Of course. The uber-wealthy deal in abstraction both politically and financially. It’s all a grand theory, Lovey.
But to the families, small business owners and private sector folks making $50,000 and trying to find where to cut and where to spend extra, the price of a loaf of bread matters in a big way. And they want the President to understand why it matters, even if he doesn’t know the cost himself.
The problem presenting the American people, specifically the middle-class tax payer is that they have a President who resents them and their basic values and needs.
He wants them to be quiet while he gives them what is good for them. He wants to tax them while he does it.
Barack Obama simply cannot relate to the middle class reality. The reality he chose was to vacillate between the urban rich and poor worldview–indulged and aggrieved at the same time.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of the American people don’t fit that reality. They have a much different view of America.
It seems highly unlikely that President Obama’s view will ever mesh with the average American’s view.
German Homeschooling Familly Granted Asylum In The United States
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010This German family has been persecuted for a long time:
The long wait is over for a German family that immigrated to Morristown in search of the freedom to homeschool their five children.
A U.S. immigration judge granted political asylum to the family Tuesday afternoon in Memphis.
The decision clears the way for Uwe Romeike, his wife and their five children to stay in Morristown where they have been living since 2008.
German state constitutions require children to attend public or private schools and parents can face prison time or fines if they don’t comply.
Romeike, an evangelical Christian, said he believes the German curriculum is “against Christian values.”
Now, as long as their education stays free here in America.
President Obama Prefers To Be A One-Term President Or Something
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010Yes, he said it:
“I’d rather be a really good one term president, than a mediocre two term president.”
Uh huh. Those are our only two choices? How about a mediocre one term president, ‘cuz that’s the way it seems to be going.
Check out the video. You can tell he’s pained when he says the words…like he knows they’ll get him into trouble.
Podcast 82: Leon Wolf And Nathan Wurtzel On Football, SOTU, And More..
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
Melissa welcomes Nathan and Leon to the show to discuss a little football and of course, politics.
Download MP3
To subscribe on iTunes, just click here!
When Melissa isn’t on the radio, you can find her at melissaclouthier.com and on Twitter. Her username is MelissaTweets.
Conservatives Pushing Back: Illinois, Florida and California
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010This will be a good year for not just Republican gains, but for conservative gains. Consider Marco Rubio in Florida:
Marco Rubio, who began last year as a total unknown, has pulled ahead of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist in the Florida Senate Republican primary for the first time, in a new Quinnipiac poll released today.
The poll shows Rubio leading Crist by three points, 47 to 44 percent – a lead within the poll’s 3.8 percent margin of error. In last June’s Quinnipiac survey, the little-known Rubio trailed Crist by 31 points.
Crist still is viewed favorably in Florida, though his approval ratings are on the decline. A bare 50 percent majority approved of his performance in office — down from 59 percent last October — with 38 percent disapproving.
And then, there’s the Illinois race where Mark Kirk is trying to portray himself as conservative–while he voted for Cap-N-Trade. Patrick Hughes is the obvious choice here, too. Over at Furthermore:
The simple mention of Kirk’s name has consistently drawn louder boos at IL Tea Parties than the names of Dick Durbin and Roland Burris. For the record, Kirk voted YES on Cap and Tax, NO on the Surge and he is NO friend of gun owners. Kirk also was against the partial birth abortion ban!
But, we are down to seven days. That’s 7! I sure hope the Tea Parties can act together in time to help! Conservatives across the country are seriously considering a last minute ‘air drop’ of support into Illinois for Pat Hughes. Please help.
A money bomb today over at Hugh’s site.
And then there’s California where Carly Fiorina speaks Democrat lingo:
Former Hewlett-Packard CEO and Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina found herself in political hot water Friday after speaking warmly of Jesse Jackson and saying democracy won’t be “truly representative” until “at least” half of elected officials are women.
In a speech that became public Friday, Fiorina fondly recalled the Rev. Jesse Jackson — a controversial figure across the political spectrum but anathema to many on the right — “very graciously” visiting her at HP years ago, when the two worked together to boost diversity among Silicon Valley’s work force.
“I like to remind people that women are not a constituency — women are a majority,” Fiorina said during her Wednesday night speech in Sacramento, hosted by California Women Lead, a nonpartisan group that encourages women to seek public office. “Women are the majority of voters and we will never have a truly representative democracy unless women make up half, at least, of our elected representatives.”
At a time Fiorina is seeking to appeal to conservatives, the most reliable voters in Republican primaries, her remarks could prove costly. Critics on the right, including one of her opponents in the GOP Senate primary, argued that her speech smacked of identity politics and bristled at her ties to Jackson.
And Chuck De Vore has been there, from the beginning, laying the groundwork for a conservative to capture Barbara Boxer’s seat.
The wonderful thing about these hardcore primary challenges is that establishment, bloated-government Republicans are having to answer for betraying the Republican brand (whatever that is).
Ultimately a new slew of “Reagan conservatives” will remake the party into a more fiscally restrained, responsive party.
The general election will also be bruising and rigorous. Good. Both Democrats and Republicans have been way too self-satisfied and unresponsive to their voters–they give the impression that the only way to have influence is to buy it.
Maybe a serious threat to their seat will wake politicians recognize their role as a representative, not an imperious leader.
Hayek V. Keynes Rap: Learn Your Kidz About Economix
Monday, January 25th, 2010Great video watch it:
The Last Refuge Of A Miserable Democrat: Call The Voters Stupid
Monday, January 25th, 2010Joe Klein illustrates the anger coming from the left. The Democrats are imploding. The voters are frustrated. The horizon doesn’t look better for the libs.
Who’s to blame? Not the Democrats. Never them. It’s YOUR fault, says Joe Klein in his post titled Too Dumb To Thrive:
It is very difficult to have a democracy without citizens. It is impossible to be a citizen if you don’t make an effort to understand the most basic activities of your government. It is very difficult to thrive in an increasingly competitive world if you’re a nation of dodos.
Oh, and it’s Fox News’ fault, too.
Why can’t voters just get how awesome the President, the Democrats, their policies and the cheerleaders in the press really are? Why oh why oh why?
Idiots./sarcasm off
Wrap-Up: Governor Rick Perry’s Blogger Summit In Austin, Texas–UPDATED With Pictures
Monday, January 25th, 2010Texas Governor Rick Perry hosted a blogger meet-up in Austin, Texas this last weekend.
Friday night, twenty of us met up at the gun range with the Governor. He showed fellow bloggers Kathleen McKinley and Robbie Cooper and me how to shoot his laser-guided, tiny Ruger LCP .380. It was a nice, light little gun, but the loooooong trigger was irritating. Roger Simon has a humorous piece about his gun trepidation that’s worth reading.
Robbie also shared his .45 with me and I got to shoot a clip from his gun. I am left-eye dominant and right hand socialized, which means that I should be left handed (and in some sports I am). This makes me a not-so-great shot. Turns out that Robbie has the same problem and he helped me correct for that. He was very helpful. (A marine would be, don’t you think?)
Kathleen brought her .22 and I shot from that gun, too. Lighter, with less kick. Nice gun. I’m looking for something to carry in my purse. I liked the power of the .45, the size of the Ruger. It’s clear that I haven’t found my favorite gun yet.
It had been years since I’d shot. It is so much fun. I will be doing that again.
The gun range owner told me that Governor Perry frequents the establishment regularly with most people not realizing the Governor is right there. He likes shooting and is a natural sportsman. I believe it. It was obvious he was having a good time. He arrived a little late to the range, but didn’t seem to want to leave.
Following the gun range, there was a reception at a local bar on 6th street in Austin. 6th Street is, for those who don’t know, the “strip” of Austin. There’s lots of bars and music joints. University of Texas is right there. Lots of youthful energy and fun in the neighborhood.
The conference itself was held at the AT&T Conference center. (Conference planners everywhere, take note. This is the best facility I’ve been in, in years.) The room was stadium-style, classroom seating with WiFi and pop-up plugs for electricity. Very nice. Do you know how many conferences are ill-equipped to serve bloggers and news people? When it’s a struggle to get power and internet access, frustration ensues. People like to work easily.
Will Franklin, Governor Perry’s New Media Coordinator, deserves credit for creating a tech-savvy environment for the bloggers. Will hosted the event and introduced the panel moderators. Pictures from Governor Perry’s photographer here.
Panel One: Turning Ideas Into Action moderated by Ryan Gravatt and hosted by Jim Eustace and Patrick Ruffini. Most of us know Patrick from his blogging and his work on campaigns. He talked about amplifying messages. Jim Eustace I had never met or heard before. He encouraged blogging activists to get better about analyzing their metrics, etc. Some people might have been snoozing about this topic, but I was eating it up. Bloggers fall into two categories–idea people who use tech and tech people who put forth ideas. I’m the former–an admitted “techtard” and their advice was excellent. I wanted them to keep talking. The talk ended much too soon.
Panel Two: Keeping Conservative Momentum moderated by Ben Domenech and hosted by Matt Lewis and Me. Ben I hadn’t met before–seen his name everywhere, linked his work, etc. What a great guy…and his voice, wow! Turns out that he has a podcast over at Breitbart, too. Anyway, Ben was the best moderator I have ever seen in action. Lucky me! He moderated my panel. Basically Matt and I talked about transforming the Tea Party energy and anger into action. It’s happening. We also talked about the genesis of some of the current messaging problems in the GOP. We also talked about the D.C. culture and how it’s difficult to adhere to conservative values for politicians, thinkers and writers alike. It’s a constant fight.
Panel Three: Growing Influence moderated by Brad Jackson and hosted by Roger Simon and Andrew Breitbart. Roger Simon and Andrew Breitbart agreed about one thing: making money in this business is hard. Ad revenue is down among all media, including new media. Breitbart made many provocative statements. To sum up: He wants to destroy the Mainstream Media. After hearing him recount the media’s treatment of Linda Trip regarding Bill Clinton, I want them destroyed, too. He said,”The media turned a predator (Clinton) into a victim and destroyed a common citizen, Linda Tripp.” Indeed.
There was a break, we were provided boxed lunches (pesto chicken was my choice, if you must know) and went back in to the conference where Governor Perry gave a short spiel about the success of Texas and why he’s hoping to be re-elected. “It’s simple,” he said. And outlined his four pillars of good governance: Low taxes, reasonable regulations, constrained lawsuit environment (torte laws), and an educated workforce. The Governor just rejected Federal education money because he didn’t want the strings attached. He did the same with the Stimulus bill. Turns out to be a wise decision.
Governor Perry introduced Andrew again. Andrew doesn’t do prepared speeches, he said. Well, he gave a good one nonetheless. Link to Breitbart interview at event here.
The operative word was “Courage”. He talked about the courage to take risks in this business. He related how in Hollywood, there is a bubble, that it’s very social and people outside of the accepted belief system are ostracized. At one party he was surrounded by 40 Obama supporters who were yelling at him while his wife cried to the side.
Andrew shared the story of liberals who took risks to expose their own and how they received death threats. He spoke of shepherding the ACORN story because of how the media destroys those who oppose liberal ideology. He painted a stark picture. The speech was rousing.
It seemed fitting that the home of the Alamo was the home for a rallying call to bloggers and activists to fight and fight with courage.
The Conference was one of the best for meeting fellow citizen journalists, activists, and campaign operators. The panels were informative. The speeches inspired.
Ben Domenech on Twitter says that he “hope other candidates do these kind of low pressure outreach activities.” Indeed.
For those interested in hearing Governor Perry speak in Houston, he’ll be stumping with Sarah Palin here on February 7, 2010. Tickets at the link.
Also, I have video of this whole shindig, but still need to cut and edit it. Will attempt to upload this to YouTube. Wish me luck!
Note: All pictures courtesy Rick Perry’s official photographer.
