Rivera Bucking for Press Sect’y in a McCain WH?

Well, John McCain was endorsed by the New York Times, as we mentioned here the other day. As if that isn’t enough indication of how bad the guy would be, Michelle says he’s now been endorsed by Gerry Rivers, or whatever he’s calling himself these days. One gets the decided impression he’s researched and considered McCain with the same careful diligence as he did Al Capone’s Vault.

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I remember similar Clintonian feminists in the 1990s trashing, smearing and sliming women who dared to complain about the sexual harassment and abuse of women that Bill Clinton – with his wife’s full knowledge – engaged in for years. This couple really do corrupt everything they touch.

Andrew Sullivan, Atlantic.

Of course Andrew the excitable is mistaken.  People who defend abuse of women are not feminists.  The Clintons are not feminists.  They are misogynists.  Gender feminism died July 20, 1998:

“I would be happy to give him [Clinton] a blow job just to thank him for keeping abortion legal. I think American women should be lining up with their presidential kneepads on to show their gratitude for keeping the theocracy off our backs.”

Hat tip: Memeorandum.

Addendum:(Bit)

How bad is this business with the Clintons getting when Sullivan, someone we’ve been using for a punching bag for half a decade, and David and myself  come down on the same side of an observation? And how much worse is it thatthe woman is still in the running for the job of POTUS?

 I am shocked.   CNN(Clinton News Network) has discovered that the Snake, a.k.a. James Carville and the Forehead, a.k.a. Paul Begala are partisan hack.  Greg Sargent, Horse’s Mouth: 

Exclusive: After Obama Complaints, CNN Bans James Carville And Paul Begala From Appearing As Analysts Until Dem Primary Is Settled
January 24, 2008 — 7:11 PM EST // //
Okay, this is interesting. I’ve just learned that CNN has told top Dem strategists James Carville, Paul Begala, and Robert Zimmerman — who are CNN mainstays but are all Hillary supporters — that they will not be doing any more political analysis on the network until the Democratic primary has reached a conclusion.

I’m also told that this move came after the Obama campaign repeatedly complained to high level officials at CNN about the presence of Carville and Begala on the network.

But why until only after the primaries have been decided.   Begala and Carville are not merely paid Clinton hacks, they are partisan democrat hacks.    There is no reason to expect that either stooge would remotely capable of not showing extreme bias towards the republican nominee in the general.

Hat tip:  Memeorandum.

Curses and tribulations be upon the developer of the “WP Auto Content Generator”, who is herewith declared a sub-human species, one not deserving to use any more air.
May the fleas of 1000 rabid camels infest his armpits.

May onions grow in his navel.

May the Easter Bunny leave only the alternate Jelly Beans.

May his computer’s power supply fail because of roach infestation.

May he look amazingly like the guy who was sleeping with OJ Simpson’s girlfriend last night… the one still alive… the one he’s insanely jealous of.

May he discover that those are not raisins, after all, and thereby discover his guinea pig has been into his cupboard.

May he fall asleep for 8 hours, in the sun. At the Equator.

May he find that he’s been sleep walking naked through Times square, two seconds before meeting the front end of a speeding bus.

That is all.

One of the principles that separates a democracy from say Joe Stalin’s Soviet Union, is that we decide our elections the rules established prior to the election.   In Florida 2000 Al Gore tried to get the Florida Supreme Court to change the rules of the election after the election.   That is called cheating.

The Democratic National Committee, in her infinite wisdom, or utter lack thereof, decided to strip Michigan and Florida of their delegates.  Agree with the DNC or not, those were the rules, and those wee the rules the candidates agreed to abide by.   That is until Mrs. Clinton decided that the rules are for the other candidate.

Mrs. Clinton won Michigan, because she was the only major candidate on the ballot.   Barack Obama and John Edwards did not compete in the state, because the DNC said the Michigan would not count.

Now that Mrs. Clinton has won Michigan under the old rules, she wants to change the rules.   That is called cheating, Ezra Klein:

This is a very, very, very big deal. From the Clinton campaign:

I hear all the time from people in Florida and Michigan that they want their voices heard in selecting the Democratic nominee.I believe our nominee will need the enthusiastic support of Democrats in these states to win the general election, and so I will ask my Democratic convention delegates to support seating the delegations from Florida and Michigan. I know not all of my delegates will do so and I fully respect that decision. But I hope to be President of all 50 states and U.S. territories, and that we have all 50 states represented and counted at the Democratic convention.

I hope my fellow potential nominees will join me in this.

I will of course be following the no-campaigning pledge that I signed, and expect others will as well.

This is the sort of decision that has the potential to tear the party apart. In an attempt to retain some control over the process and keep the various states from accelerating their primaries into last Summer, the Democratic National Committee warned Michigan and Florida that if they insisted on advancing their primary debates, their delegates wouldn’t be seated and the campaigns would be asked not to participate in their primaries. This was agreed to by all parties (save, of course, the states themselves).

Is Mrs. Clinton too stupid to realize that attempting change the very rules she had agreed to abide by could tear her party apart?   Are the Clinton so desperate for a third term for B.J. that they will destroy their own party to get it?

Hat Tip:  Memeorandum.

“We must not only have a free flow of goods and services, but also start working for a free flow of people.”

So speaks, Dr. Juan Hernandez, John McCain’s Hispanic outreach director.   A free flow of people is what gave us Nine Eleven.   Not only does McCain not understand economics, he does understand national security.   If McCain doesn not even understand national security,  he can not be expected to understand anything.

Michelle has the story, here, and Byran has more.

• Got a few inches of snow up here yesterday, mostly lake effect stuff in the afternoon. Just enough to drive the birds crazy.they went through three lbs of seed in about a half hour. Yes, Virginia, that means a lot of birds.  The hangers on, too; The BlueJays, the crows, the rabbits, and the gray squirrels. The advantage is I spend very little fertilizer to keep the lawn green; the birds see to that. The disadvantage is I have to cut it more often. It evens out.
• A clash of green values? Possibly. It would, however, be far easier, and perhaps more accuate to suggest that this was merely a clash of two idiots facilitated by an over reliance on written law.
• Hmmm. This would seem to be a topic totally usable in the upcoming election.
• Spain is finding out what we’ve been saying here for seven years; Appeasement of Islamo-fascists doesn’t work.
• McGehee has a big day. Yikes!! Apparently this ‘Get off my lawn” thing is stirring the soup.
• It appears that word has gone out that Iraq is now safe… at least safe enough to travel to.
  
• Our world traveler is in Japan. Always wnated to go to places like that; Doubt I’ll ever get that chance.
• I see a lot of McCain defending going on over at OTB. I wonder a bit at that. I also see the New York Times endorsed him.  I don’t wonder about that, at all. Wouldn’t you expect the New York Times to support the far leftist candidate? I dunno, but if I’m McCain, Im regarding the Times endorsement the way most Democrats would an endorsement from Kucinich.
• I see Gaius’ wife went deer hunting… rather unexpectedly.
• I note news from Iowa, by way of the Pilot Tribune, where apparently they started a legislature session with a prayer from an Imam, who apparently added the phrase ‘victory against those who disbelieve’. Remember what we were talking about a while ago, about the purpose of government being to support the culture? This doesn’t qualify. I also spoke to this situation here, last August.
• The one question that nobody asks about this rebate thing the Congress agreed to yesterday; If they’re giving it back to us, did they really need to take it in the first place?

Local Congressman James Walsh(NY – 25) is retiring, Rachal Barnhart, 13WHAM:,

(Rochester, N.Y.) – Congressman James Walsh of Onondaga is retiring. The Republican has held the 25^th district seat for two decades

[…]

So who will the Republicans run for his seat? 

Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks has been mentioned as a possible contender. She lives in the district, has name recognition, and is a proven fundraiser.

I say, go for it Maggie. 

Brooks easily won re-election as Monroe County Executive, with no major party opposition.  Maggie can easily become the republican version of Louise Slaughter(NY — 28), a democat in a republican leaning district.

Hat Tip:  Memeorandum.

Scott over at Powerline passes along the eulogy given by the Commander of my old unit 3/2 U.S. Cavalry (I was a Scout/Bradley driver in K Troop 3/2 ACR from 1988-1990 in Germany; back then we were an armored cavalry regiment; a couple of months after I rotated back stateside, they deployed for Desert Storm).  My prayers go out to my fallen comrades and their loved ones.

A friend has sent us the eulogy given by Lt. Col Rod Coffey, Commander 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment (Wolfpack), Diyala Province, Iraq, at the January 22, 2008 memorial ceremony for his six soldiers and one Iraqi interpreter killed in a booby-trapped house in Sinsil, Iraq on January 9, 2008 during Operation Raider Harvest. Col. Coffey spoke to honor the soldiers that died in the operation:

Specialist Todd E. Davis, 22, of Raymore, Mo.;
Staff Sgt. Jonathan K. Dozier, 30, of Rutherford, Tenn.;
Staff Sgt. Sean M. Gaul, 29, of Reno, Nev.;
Sgt. Zachary W. McBride, 20, of Bend, Ore.;
First Sgt. Matthew I. Pionk, 30, of Superior, Wis.; and
Sgt. Christopher A. Sanders, 22, of Roswell, N.M.

Col. Coffey spoke as follows: Gen Petraus, LTG Odierno, Major General Hertling, BG Boozer, BG Thomas, COL Riscassi, fellow squadron and battalion commanders and command sergeants major;On behalf of all the soldiers of 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment we thank you for coming to pay tribute to our fallen brothers in arms.

We are here to honor the memory and service of seven men, seven of our brothers in arms.

There is a story about loss in war where one character comments to another, “We are ready for the occasional empty chair, the fond farewell for comrades lost. But we are never, never ready for so many.”

I cannot, as your commander, in anything I say today diminish the impact of losing these men all at once. In fact because we lost them so quickly, it all seems like a bad dream — that we will wake up tomorrow and they will all be back again.

Each of us, whether present at the scene that day or not, will remember when we first found out. We will remember our inner anguish when we got up the nerve to ask, “Who was it?”

Others will recall the steeled strength it took to calmly and professionally report and verify the battle roster numbers, knowing full well we owed them this calmness and professionalism, so their families would be taken care of.

Others of us will never forget rescuing the four wounded that day and getting them to a helicopter as fast as we could. All these things are true. All these things will be seared in our memories. It was a terrible day and we cannot change that.

We are not alone in mere personal grief, or our desire to honor the fallen. The presence of the general officers here is their effort to acknowledge the sacrifice of this unit and the bravery of these men. Although I have not been able to access every news report, the ones I have read indicate the nation supports us, mourns with us and honors the men we have lost in the recon platoon.

Read the rest here.

Word on the street is that the slugs at the Westboro Baptist Church from Topeka are planning to picket the Heath Ledger funeral.

Look, you morons, I understand full well what your positions on Homosexuality are.  I also know that this is not about hate, as some claim.  But I’ve got news for you: You’re in the business, in the end,  of changing minds. This ain’t getting it done.

Anyone remember John Edwards?

I know… not lately.

He’s not going to the White House, unless they need an elevator operator.  By my read, he’s playing for some sort of appointment to a post in a Democrat White House. Notice… he’s been playing very light of late with both Obama and Clinton?  You know why. He doesn’t want to step on any toes, against the idea that he may actually profit from the second losing presidential campaign in a row, to the tune of some appointment or other from whoever wins, assuming the winner is Obama or Clinton. And yes, I know… he’s supposedly hitting a surge in South Carolina. My current read is it won’t be nearly enough on a national basis, even assuming he takes South Carolina, of itself a large assumption.

I figure, pretty soon, they’re going to be asking the same question about Mike Huckabee.  Likely they should have started asking after South Carolina. The man simply is not going to make it into the White House, I’m pleased to say. When South Carolina, arguably the state he had the best chance in, given the population of those he was targeting… evangelicals… dropped him like a bad habit, it was pretty much over.

And Giullianni isn’t going to the White House, either.  He peaked too soon, and too narrowly, and barring a Super Tuesday Miracle, he’s not going to recover.  No big loss, actually. History’s strewn with people who made it large in local politics who didn’t make it beyond. And granted New York city is as large as local politics gets, but still, it is local. And the debate performance last night was abysmal, and basically did naught but put sealer on the nail heads he’s been busy driving into his political coffin of late.

So, now it’s down to two, in each party, before Super Tuesday even comes along; Romney and McCain, or Obama and Clinton.

And frankly, I’m still trying to decide if sitting this one out is less damaging for the country and for the party, than voting for the RINO. … which ever one that ends up being.  It’s as I said in the Ramble of the other night; at some point the price has to be paid for moving so far away from Republican principles. That time may or may not be now. Or more correctly, that time may or may not be November.

Here’s something else, that nags at me about that choice and it’s consequences; When we made the choice for President back in 2000, we (as voters) had no clue about terrorist attacks less than a year away.  That was a choice made purely on domestic issues.  Yet, look at what developed. The consequences of Al Gore being in the White House under those conditions, in retrospect is too gruesome to contemplate. Further, as I’ve stated before, (Indeed, I said so two days after the attacks) I am convinced that those attacks were the result of Clinton policies, over a period of eight years.

That’s the history By the same token then, in looking ahead, one must in all logic ask if, assuming a Democrat takes the White House, and a further attack comes, would the nation still be standing, given the stated propensities of both Democrats to cut and run from such confrontation?

Assuming we decide that situation would cause more damage to the Republic, and install the liberal Republican RINO, (In this case, McCain, or Romney both of whom at least have a basic understanding of the costs of cutting and running) how do we afterwards convince the Republican party to step up with an actual conservative for a presidential candidate? I mean, is there a time when those national security factors will not be in play?  Given that factor, what pressure would the RNC EVER be under then?

Addendum: (Bit) BBCT to Real Clear Politics for adding this post to their “Best of the Blogosphere” list today.

Byran, Hot Air, points out that Mike Huckabee had an interesting point about rebuilding I-95 rather than sending out individual rebate checks:

Mike Huckabee makes some sense on the economic stimulus. He says, essentially, if we’re going to borrow $150 billion from China to finance the stimulus package, why not use it to do something useful instead of just handing it over to be spent on goods imported from China? 

Video:

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Jonah Goldberg, NRO, ponders, note not endorses. the idea:

The  choice isn’t between doing nothing and buying more highways or doing nothing and giving out rebates, the choice is between rebates or roads. And I keep trying to figure out why I’m wrong. But, while I’m against waste, fraud and abuse and all that, I’m not in fact against the federal government building infrastructure, when that infrastructure is needed. Boondoggles are bad. But  it seems to me we really could use an expanded I-95. And since we really are all Keynsians now to a certain extent, it seems to me creating jobs through road-building and the like is better than giving “rebates” to people who haven’t even paid taxes. Or maybe I’m just tired.   

But Ace puts up a far better idea:

If Huckabee wants a little FDR make-work project, how’s about instead of two lanes of highway that the country really doesn’t want, we put some folks to work building a wall? — Jimmie from Sundries Shack

We could start building the fence immediately, and the benefits would be nation wide.  Win-win.

Addendum:

Riehl World View  thinks the Huckster’s idea is ignorant:

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee threw out a truly dumb bit of economic populism during tonight’s debate. And it seemed to resonate with, of all people, Jonah Goldberg at The Corner. Goldberg admits to being tired, perhaps he was actually asleep. What is being discussed here is a quick, short-term, shot in the arm for a sagging economy bordering on, if not in recession.

On the other paw, Ross Douthat, Atlantic, likes the idea:

Of course he can – because America’s transportation infrastructure simply hasn’t kept pace with our population growth, our average commuting time has tripled in the last twenty-five years, and our country needs those extra lanes of traffic. Families need them. Businesses need them. Suburban and exurban voters – the swing vote in elections these days – need them.

Hat Tip: Memeorandum.

I note with interest that Jonathan Martin has put up a post at Politico making note of the fact that the global warming business has all but disappeared from John McCain’s speechmaking. Apparently McCain has finally figured out it’s not Al Gore he’s trying to get votes from, but Republicans.

After hitting it in most every appearance he made in New Hampshire and Michigan, John McCain now rarely brings up the topic of global warming.

McCain’s strong views on addressing climate change play well among independents and Democrats, but most of the GOP base either disagrees with him about the issue or just has little interest in it.

I think you under-estimate the second half of that, but pray, continue, Jon.

He didn’t raise it often in South Carolina and, at a town hall meeting in West Palm Beach today, chose instead to focus his remarks on the economy and national security.

South Carolina, of course, is a conservative state and even the independents who took part in the GOP primary there were likely well right of center.  And the Florida primary is open to only Republicans.

Asked about why he raised it in some places but not others, McCain admitted that the decision was driven by the nature of his audience.

We have a word for that, guy… “Pandering”. Oh, I know he likes to call it being a ‘Maverick’… but still…

The Global warming hoax  has been exposed many times over as being exactly that. A hoax. And that McCain signs onto it, tells me all I need to know about how much tax money and jobs are going to be sacrificed to this phantom crisis under a McCain presidency. There’s a thin line between being a ‘Maverick’ and a “Loose Cannon”.

Word from th AP wire is Dennis Kucinich will announce he’s leaving the race. Reason is, he’s facing four.. count ’em… four contenders for his House seat. And, those are just the ones in his own party. He’s not planning on endorsing anyone else in the primary, which likely causes a sigh of relief in all the Democrat camps.

(There’s an idea… if only we could get him to endorse McCain )

Don’t cry for him, Argentina. He’ll make a splendid Area 51 tour guide.

In this case, the shock is not what is being said about B.J. Clinton, but rather who is saying it:

I write this more out of sadness than anger. Bill Clinton’s ill-tempered and ill-founded attacks on Barack Obama are doing no credit to the former President, his legacy, or his wife’s campaign. Nor are they helping the Democratic party. While it may be that all is fair in love, war, and politics, it’s not fair – indeed, it’s demeaning – for a former President to say things that are patently untrue (such as Obama’s anti-war position is a “fairy tale”) or to insinuate that Obama is injecting race into the race when the former President is himself doing it

Robert Reich.

Hat Tip: Memeorandum.