WASHINGTON - In a country that asked itself just four short years ago if it was ready for its first black president, a joke by famed actor Robert De Niro at a star-studded Manhattan fundraiser for U.S. President Barack Obama has caused a curious stir.
"Callista Gingrich. Karen Santorum. Ann Romney. Now, do you really think our country is ready for a white first lady?" the actor said to roars of laughter from a crowd that included Michelle Obama.
When someone in the audience yelled: "No!" DeNiro continued, "Too soon, right?"
But in a nation where hot-button race issues loom large, Obama's re-election campaign team was quick to distance itself from the remark while Newt Gingrich, the Republican presidential hopeful with a fondness for hyperbole, demanded the president apologize for it.
"We believe the joke was inappropriate," Olivia Alair, campaign press secretary to Michelle Obama, said in a statement.
Gingrich went much further, calling it "inexcusable."
"On behalf of my wife and on behalf of Karen Santorum and on behalf of Ann Romney — I think that Robert De Niro's wrong," Gingrich said at a campaign stop in Louisiana. "I think the country is ready for a new first lady and he doesn't have to describe it in racial terms."
...De Niro's publicist, meantime, said the actor had no intention of responding to the criticism, calling his remarks "obvious satire."
EYE ON A CRAZY PLANET
Showing posts with label Newt Gingrich. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Newt Gingrich. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
10 points about Romney, Newt and the primaries
The wind is blowing in too many directions for me to even bother to guess the outcome of the Republican primaries any more, other than to make the bold prediction that, under no circumstances, will Ron Paul be the winner.
As to the Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney battle, here are some facts to be taken into account:
1. Nobody outside his immediate family actually likes Mitt Romney.
2. Rick Santorum stands no chance.
3. Ron Paul is crazy. I'm not sure how that's relevant to these points, but I'm talking about all the other remaining Republican candidates and I didn't want him to feel left out.
4. Mitt has a lot of money, but he isn't going to be able to spend it in every state the way he had in Florida to smear Gingrich.
5. So far, including the Florida results, only 5% of the total delegates to the Republican convention have been allocated.
6. Mitt Romney is an uncharismatic stiff that makes Al Gore seem like a rock star by comparison.
7. If Santorum gives up his hopeless campaign, the bulk of his support would likely go to Gingrich.
8. If Santorum doesn't give up his hopeless campaign before the convention, he can turn his delegates over to Gingrich then.
9. Mitt has the GOP establishment behind him, but those Tea Party people punch above their weight in party activism and most of them are in the Gingrich camp.
10. Super Tuesday looms large and Gingrich will do well in a lot of those states.
Even though the primary battle between Gingrich and Romney seems to be exposing lots of dirty Republican linen, the benefit from the process is that it's giving the candidates an opportunity to be able to respond to attacks now instead of when the Democrats bring them up in the fall Presidential campaign. That dirt is also getting the American public familiar with the attack points, so the November election may rest less on what the Democrats say about the Republicans than how Americans feel about Obama's handling of the economy and America's place in the world.
As to the Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney battle, here are some facts to be taken into account:
1. Nobody outside his immediate family actually likes Mitt Romney.
2. Rick Santorum stands no chance.
3. Ron Paul is crazy. I'm not sure how that's relevant to these points, but I'm talking about all the other remaining Republican candidates and I didn't want him to feel left out.
4. Mitt has a lot of money, but he isn't going to be able to spend it in every state the way he had in Florida to smear Gingrich.
5. So far, including the Florida results, only 5% of the total delegates to the Republican convention have been allocated.
6. Mitt Romney is an uncharismatic stiff that makes Al Gore seem like a rock star by comparison.
7. If Santorum gives up his hopeless campaign, the bulk of his support would likely go to Gingrich.
8. If Santorum doesn't give up his hopeless campaign before the convention, he can turn his delegates over to Gingrich then.
9. Mitt has the GOP establishment behind him, but those Tea Party people punch above their weight in party activism and most of them are in the Gingrich camp.
10. Super Tuesday looms large and Gingrich will do well in a lot of those states.
Even though the primary battle between Gingrich and Romney seems to be exposing lots of dirty Republican linen, the benefit from the process is that it's giving the candidates an opportunity to be able to respond to attacks now instead of when the Democrats bring them up in the fall Presidential campaign. That dirt is also getting the American public familiar with the attack points, so the November election may rest less on what the Democrats say about the Republicans than how Americans feel about Obama's handling of the economy and America's place in the world.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
The Food Stamp President becomes the Class Warfare President
With what may be President Obama's final State of the Union address , he has outlined the divisions that will define the philosophical conflict in the 2012 election. The conflict to be played out will be the battle between American exceptionalism and European-style class resentment.
“You can call this class warfare all you want. But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense.”
Obama didn't actually distinguish what kind of taxes he was talking about during his attempt at divisive populism during his State of the Union speech tonight. The reason those billionaires are paying less in taxes is because they tend to make more income from Capital Gains taxes. That's tax on profits from investments bought with money they have already paid taxes on. Like when you get taxed on interest in your bank account.
What does raising the tax rate on investment income usually accomplish? Lower investment rates. Investments are what create jobs and drive industry. If Obama had ever held a real job in his life, he might understand that better. But seemingly motivated by the defunct, vapid Occupy movement's call to class warfare and vilifying the "1%", the Food Stamp President, who is in danger of losing the 2012 election, has leaped upon the opportunity to exploit class resentment.
A disciple of radical activist Saul Alinsky, Mr. Obama may not have a tremendous understanding of the American spirit, which is something very different than the attitudes in the socialist Europe he admires and wants to emulate.
That weakness has laid bare the Republican strategy, to play upon optimism and the American dream and use it against Mr. Obama's 21st Century version of Jimmy Carter's National Malaise.
The man who came to Washington promising "change" is now likely to be remembered as "The Great Divider," being responsible for more political polarization than a predecessor who was relentlessly accused of that fault.
Obama's State of the Union shows a President who thinks he leads a nation as pessimistic as he is. That betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of the American character and one that will likely cost him more votes than the Deocrats' war chest can buy between now and November.
Update: I think I know where Obama's getting his stupid economic ideas
Herman Cain's response to the State of the Union address was rather good:
The rest of Cain's response is at The Other McCain
“You can call this class warfare all you want. But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense.”
Obama didn't actually distinguish what kind of taxes he was talking about during his attempt at divisive populism during his State of the Union speech tonight. The reason those billionaires are paying less in taxes is because they tend to make more income from Capital Gains taxes. That's tax on profits from investments bought with money they have already paid taxes on. Like when you get taxed on interest in your bank account.
What does raising the tax rate on investment income usually accomplish? Lower investment rates. Investments are what create jobs and drive industry. If Obama had ever held a real job in his life, he might understand that better. But seemingly motivated by the defunct, vapid Occupy movement's call to class warfare and vilifying the "1%", the Food Stamp President, who is in danger of losing the 2012 election, has leaped upon the opportunity to exploit class resentment.
A disciple of radical activist Saul Alinsky, Mr. Obama may not have a tremendous understanding of the American spirit, which is something very different than the attitudes in the socialist Europe he admires and wants to emulate.
That weakness has laid bare the Republican strategy, to play upon optimism and the American dream and use it against Mr. Obama's 21st Century version of Jimmy Carter's National Malaise.
The man who came to Washington promising "change" is now likely to be remembered as "The Great Divider," being responsible for more political polarization than a predecessor who was relentlessly accused of that fault.
Obama's State of the Union shows a President who thinks he leads a nation as pessimistic as he is. That betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of the American character and one that will likely cost him more votes than the Deocrats' war chest can buy between now and November.
Update: I think I know where Obama's getting his stupid economic ideas
Herman Cain's response to the State of the Union address was rather good:
The rest of Cain's response is at The Other McCain
Sunday, January 22, 2012
The Republicans' Gordon Gekko unleashes the forces of fear against Newt
There's capitalism and there's capitalism. There's the good kind that creates jobs, produces valuable services and products, leads to technological advances, and creates choices and freedom for consumers and employees.
And then there's the Mitt Romney/Gordon Gecko/George Soros kind. That's the kind where creepy characters make a few calls, pull a few levers, buy and sell other people's achievements, then take a profit.
Mitt Romney's corporate raider capitalism is not the kind that built America, but it could be the kind that destroys it. Romney's similarity to Oliver Stone's fictional character is eerie, even down to the slicked back hairstyle the two share. Romney is not a criminal, but neither is he inspiring.
So without much to motivate people to vote for him out of enthusiasm, he is trying to scare voters out of choosing Gingrich by unleashing a pack of media hounds like the flaky Ann Coulter, who now is a Romney booster. Only a year ago, Coulter complained that if the Republicans pick her current candidate of choice, it would be the same as handing the 2012 election to Obama. But for her, Gingrich just isn't conservative enough. So she goes with Romney?
The Democrats must be enjoying the specticle of Republicans accumulting ammuniation for President Obama to use against them in the fall.
Cornell Law Professor William Jacobson writes on his blog Legal Insurrection that:
It’s really no surprise. As Mitt Romney has faltered from inevitability to modest favorite, a chorus of pro-Romney voices in the media and Republican Party is insisting that if Newt is the nominee, we not only lose the presidency we also lose the House and fail to take back the Senate.
It’s pure conjecture. If a bad week can cost Romney 20 points in South Carolina, it can cost him that much in Ohio, or Florida, or Virginia in the general election. Current polling is interesting, but overstated in its import.
Yet the argument is stated with absolute certainty.
And then there's the Mitt Romney/Gordon Gecko/George Soros kind. That's the kind where creepy characters make a few calls, pull a few levers, buy and sell other people's achievements, then take a profit.
Mitt Romney's corporate raider capitalism is not the kind that built America, but it could be the kind that destroys it. Romney's similarity to Oliver Stone's fictional character is eerie, even down to the slicked back hairstyle the two share. Romney is not a criminal, but neither is he inspiring.
So without much to motivate people to vote for him out of enthusiasm, he is trying to scare voters out of choosing Gingrich by unleashing a pack of media hounds like the flaky Ann Coulter, who now is a Romney booster. Only a year ago, Coulter complained that if the Republicans pick her current candidate of choice, it would be the same as handing the 2012 election to Obama. But for her, Gingrich just isn't conservative enough. So she goes with Romney?
The Democrats must be enjoying the specticle of Republicans accumulting ammuniation for President Obama to use against them in the fall.
Cornell Law Professor William Jacobson writes on his blog Legal Insurrection that:
It’s really no surprise. As Mitt Romney has faltered from inevitability to modest favorite, a chorus of pro-Romney voices in the media and Republican Party is insisting that if Newt is the nominee, we not only lose the presidency we also lose the House and fail to take back the Senate.
It’s pure conjecture. If a bad week can cost Romney 20 points in South Carolina, it can cost him that much in Ohio, or Florida, or Virginia in the general election. Current polling is interesting, but overstated in its import.
Yet the argument is stated with absolute certainty.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Chuck Norris endorsement pays off big - Gingrich wins South Carolina Primary
Never underestimate the power of Chuck Norris!
Well, maybe Newt's recent debate performances helped a little.
Well, maybe Newt's recent debate performances helped a little.
That's it, with this news, I'm ready to call the 2012 election for Gingrich - Newt receives Chuck Norris' endorsement
"I’m tired of watching our country being torn to shreds by those who think the answer is more government debt and control. I’m tired of being in bondage to a tax system that robs U.S. citizens like the king of England did before the Revolution. I’m tired of watching our sovereignty being sold by foreign loans and loose borders. And I will not sit back and merely watch this decay and degradation of the U.S. and then hand it over to my children and grandchildren to deal with.
That is why Gena and I have committed the rest of our lives to help Old Glory rise again to her heights of splendor. And that is why we are endorsing and standing with Newt Gingrich, because we believe he can lead all of us who have committed to the same. "
With the power of Chuck behind Newt, Romney's campaign is already in disarray!
That is why Gena and I have committed the rest of our lives to help Old Glory rise again to her heights of splendor. And that is why we are endorsing and standing with Newt Gingrich, because we believe he can lead all of us who have committed to the same. "With the power of Chuck behind Newt, Romney's campaign is already in disarray!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Perry dropping from Republican race - will endorse Gingrich
Just when I had counted the Newtster out, he's back in..
Newt on the difference between lower class English (and it applies to Canadian socialists') attitudes and American ideals:
h/t Doug D.
Newt on the difference between lower class English (and it applies to Canadian socialists') attitudes and American ideals:
h/t Doug D.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Coming to terms with President Romney
After yesterday's Republican debate and Newt Gingrich's lacklustre performance, I think it's time all of us started to come to terms with what looks like the most likely outcome of the GOP primaries: President Mitt Romney.
Rick Santorum is not going the be the Republican nominee. Even the GOP isn't so self destructive that they want the abortion debate and Santorum's other extremely socially conservative positions to be the focus costing them independent voters leading up to November. Don't get me wrong, Santorum's a pretty good Senator, but he isn't Presidential material. Certainly not yet.
Ron Paul is saddled with a conspiracy theoried, racist past that makes him completely nonviable. As total no-hoper, he may be running on principle or his perennial nomination efforts might just be for the purpose of keeping his speaking fees high.
John Huntsman, the candidate that intelligent, moderate Republicans all over really wanted to win, but in whose candidacy they never really put any faith, is climbing in the polls. Who knows, he may emerge on top soon; after all, he's the only "not Mitt" that hasn't yet.
But with Romney's massive, overflowing coffers, and his improved confidence and presidential bearing, the likelihood of him emerging as the nominee seems very close to a reality.
It could be worse. Much worse. Romney is reasonable and has generally sound policies. For all his talk about wanting a Constitutional amendment defining marriage as being only a condition between a man and a woman, given the difficulty in amending the Constitution, that's probably just talk to pander to the social conservatives. Therein lies the problem for many of them, they suspect that Romney's nods to that part of the party are just empty rhetoric.
I hope that's true. Because it's not the extremists who are going to win the election for the Republicans. They aren't going to decide Romney's too liberal and vote for Barack Obama. The worst that could happen, from the GOP perspective, is that they stay home on election day. But realizing that doing so helps keep President Obama in office is probably not going to make that risk a great one. And even if it did, Romney is likely to pick up more disaffected Democrats and independents than he'll lose in Republicans.
President Mitt Romney. If the economy stays the way it is, and Obama continues to blunder his way through foreign policy by leading from behind, it's a phrase we should be prepared to get used to.
It could definitely be worse.
Rick Santorum is not going the be the Republican nominee. Even the GOP isn't so self destructive that they want the abortion debate and Santorum's other extremely socially conservative positions to be the focus costing them independent voters leading up to November. Don't get me wrong, Santorum's a pretty good Senator, but he isn't Presidential material. Certainly not yet.
Ron Paul is saddled with a conspiracy theoried, racist past that makes him completely nonviable. As total no-hoper, he may be running on principle or his perennial nomination efforts might just be for the purpose of keeping his speaking fees high.
John Huntsman, the candidate that intelligent, moderate Republicans all over really wanted to win, but in whose candidacy they never really put any faith, is climbing in the polls. Who knows, he may emerge on top soon; after all, he's the only "not Mitt" that hasn't yet.
But with Romney's massive, overflowing coffers, and his improved confidence and presidential bearing, the likelihood of him emerging as the nominee seems very close to a reality.
It could be worse. Much worse. Romney is reasonable and has generally sound policies. For all his talk about wanting a Constitutional amendment defining marriage as being only a condition between a man and a woman, given the difficulty in amending the Constitution, that's probably just talk to pander to the social conservatives. Therein lies the problem for many of them, they suspect that Romney's nods to that part of the party are just empty rhetoric.
I hope that's true. Because it's not the extremists who are going to win the election for the Republicans. They aren't going to decide Romney's too liberal and vote for Barack Obama. The worst that could happen, from the GOP perspective, is that they stay home on election day. But realizing that doing so helps keep President Obama in office is probably not going to make that risk a great one. And even if it did, Romney is likely to pick up more disaffected Democrats and independents than he'll lose in Republicans.
President Mitt Romney. If the economy stays the way it is, and Obama continues to blunder his way through foreign policy by leading from behind, it's a phrase we should be prepared to get used to.
It could definitely be worse.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Newt Gingrich finishes 4th in Iowa
That shouldn't really be the headline.
It should have been "Romney wins by a nose over a surging Santorum."
But Iowa is Iowa. Its a nice place to..um....buy fresh corn and catch a good college football game, but it's not the place to decide the outcome of the presidential race. Not yet, anyway.
Michelle Bachman has dropped out. Perry is "Reassessing" his candidacy. Huntsman is, well, no one really knows what he's doing. He's a good guy but running a stealth candidacy is not going to win him anything. And Crazy Dr. Paul is still along for comic relief.
But in the real world, It's now a 3 man race between Romney, Santorum and Gingrich.
The LA Times reports that a super PAC poured millions into Iowa to campaign against Gingrich. That money helped there, but we'll see what happens in the primaries to come.
It could emerge that Romney of Santorum ends up as the GOP nominee in 2012. But I haven't written the wily old Speaker out yet.
h/t American Power and Blazing Cat Fur
It should have been "Romney wins by a nose over a surging Santorum."
But Iowa is Iowa. Its a nice place to..um....buy fresh corn and catch a good college football game, but it's not the place to decide the outcome of the presidential race. Not yet, anyway.
Michelle Bachman has dropped out. Perry is "Reassessing" his candidacy. Huntsman is, well, no one really knows what he's doing. He's a good guy but running a stealth candidacy is not going to win him anything. And Crazy Dr. Paul is still along for comic relief.
But in the real world, It's now a 3 man race between Romney, Santorum and Gingrich.
The LA Times reports that a super PAC poured millions into Iowa to campaign against Gingrich. That money helped there, but we'll see what happens in the primaries to come.
It could emerge that Romney of Santorum ends up as the GOP nominee in 2012. But I haven't written the wily old Speaker out yet.
h/t American Power and Blazing Cat Fur
Sunday, January 1, 2012
The future ain't what it used to be
You never know how things are going to turn out until they happen. But the events of past years and the histories of the players on the world stage can give us some revealing clues about how 2012 may unfold. So despite Yogi Berra's sound warning that "it's tough to make predictions, especially about the future," now that we're about twelve hours into the new year, I'm going to unleash my prognostications.
In Canada, we'll have a sound economic year. The next general election is about four years away, and the Conservatives have a solid majority, so the Canadian political scene will remain stable. The New Democrats will elect a new leader who is profoundly uninspiring and unable to connect with people in any meaningful way. The Liberals will sit back and watch NDP support gradually erode as the ineptitude of their parliamentary representatives makes itself obvious. The NDP and Liberals will do whatever they can to try to get attention for themselves, but the public will remain more interested in the latest Kardashian gossip than the teapot tempests the opposition parties try to stir up.
The battlegrounds that will form in the new year in Canada will largely involve the Labour movement and governmental austerity programs. Governments at all levels will attempt to reduce spending and their will be significant reductions in the number of public employees. Public service unions will try to make it an all-out fight, framing spending reductions as "a class war on the poor" and threatening horrors of cutbacks and social upheaval if the cuts occur.
What the public service unions won't realize until it's to late is that the public is fed up with them and sees through their self-interested hyperbole. We've reached the stage where most union members are disgusted with and humiliated by union leadership, who clearly are acting, not in the interest of the taxpayers or even public sector workers, but for themselves.
Union funded professional protesters like the Occupy movement, OCAP and their controlled mouthpieces like rabble.ca, will do little to sway the majority of Canadians who see them as a bizarre form of paid lobbyists who utilize street theatre as their communications strategy.
The Occupy Movement itself will continue to desperately try to get attention and struggle for some relevance, but without any real success. The word is out on them; it was never a grass-roots movement. Occupy was an orchestrated effort by public sector unions, socialists, Marxists, and their bigoted strategists like Kalle Lasn of Adbusters. These aren't new people protesting new problems, they are the same old full-time malcontents utilizing a new public relations approach. The camping-out technique did let them swell their usual numbers with the ranks of homeless, mentally ill and criminals, but the result was that their protests also featured assaults, rapes, murders, and drug-overdoses.
Occupy was characterized by incompetence evidenced through an inability to accomplish anything other than to demonstrate the intellectual bankruptcy of radical socialists who want to run the world, but couldn`t even effectively manage a campground.
The other domestic battlefield will be in education, where radical socialists are trying to indoctrinate future generations with the aid of hapless provincial education ministers. The public has caught on to this and with increased attention on the matter, a strong backlash is brewing.
In the US, there is a very good chance that the Republicans will implode and Barack Obama will be elected to a second term. Ron Paul, an isolationist extremist and crackpot, will not get the Republican nomination. But the infighting between him, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney leading up to the convention could create serious enough harm to let Obama recover from his slump in popularity.
A lot will depend on what happens to the US economy in the next ten months, and how Obama deals with crises like Iran`s posturing and nuclear ambitions. The Republicans may pull out a November victory if Gingrich of Romney emerges as the nominee and presents a reasonable, centrist candidacy that isn`t embarrassed by American Exceptionalism and presents sound economic alternatives. But the Republicans have a way of shooting themselves in the foot, so we`ll just have to see how things turn out. My actual prediction here is that the Republicans do capture the White House in the election, but I`m not going to bet the farm on it.
As far as the rest of the world goes, it`s going to be a mess. South America is going to have economic disasters and political upheavals, although on the bright side, Hugo Chavez may die and a responsible government could be restored in Venezuela.
Islamic extremism will continue to be a major threat to the civilized world. The middle eastern Arab upheavals will lead to Islamist regimes that claw back human rights. There won`t be the sort of full-fledged tyranny in any of them that emerged in Iran following its 1979 revolution, but that part of the world will become more dangerous and more extreme. The Palestinians leadership will conitue to give contradictory messages about its intentions towards peace while their incompetence and hate prevents any progress from being made. Israel, hamstrung by horrendous proportional representation system that almost guarantees government participation by religious extremest parties will muddle through the status quo for another year. The barbarity of the Arab upheavals and Iran, combined with the US election will reduce pressure for any meaningful progress in the Palestinian/Arab/Israeli peace process.
One very dangerous development that may occur is that Iran, facing economic and military pressure, may utilize its proxies Hamas and Hezbollah to start another war in the region to deflect attention from the Islamic Republic. If that happens, they will also be utilizing their useful idiot proxies in the west to wage a propaganda war on their behalf.
On the whole, 2012 will be another year where Canadians should be very grateful for having one of the safest, most prosperous and free countries in the world as their home.
In Canada, we'll have a sound economic year. The next general election is about four years away, and the Conservatives have a solid majority, so the Canadian political scene will remain stable. The New Democrats will elect a new leader who is profoundly uninspiring and unable to connect with people in any meaningful way. The Liberals will sit back and watch NDP support gradually erode as the ineptitude of their parliamentary representatives makes itself obvious. The NDP and Liberals will do whatever they can to try to get attention for themselves, but the public will remain more interested in the latest Kardashian gossip than the teapot tempests the opposition parties try to stir up.
The battlegrounds that will form in the new year in Canada will largely involve the Labour movement and governmental austerity programs. Governments at all levels will attempt to reduce spending and their will be significant reductions in the number of public employees. Public service unions will try to make it an all-out fight, framing spending reductions as "a class war on the poor" and threatening horrors of cutbacks and social upheaval if the cuts occur.
What the public service unions won't realize until it's to late is that the public is fed up with them and sees through their self-interested hyperbole. We've reached the stage where most union members are disgusted with and humiliated by union leadership, who clearly are acting, not in the interest of the taxpayers or even public sector workers, but for themselves.
Union funded professional protesters like the Occupy movement, OCAP and their controlled mouthpieces like rabble.ca, will do little to sway the majority of Canadians who see them as a bizarre form of paid lobbyists who utilize street theatre as their communications strategy.
The Occupy Movement itself will continue to desperately try to get attention and struggle for some relevance, but without any real success. The word is out on them; it was never a grass-roots movement. Occupy was an orchestrated effort by public sector unions, socialists, Marxists, and their bigoted strategists like Kalle Lasn of Adbusters. These aren't new people protesting new problems, they are the same old full-time malcontents utilizing a new public relations approach. The camping-out technique did let them swell their usual numbers with the ranks of homeless, mentally ill and criminals, but the result was that their protests also featured assaults, rapes, murders, and drug-overdoses.
Occupy was characterized by incompetence evidenced through an inability to accomplish anything other than to demonstrate the intellectual bankruptcy of radical socialists who want to run the world, but couldn`t even effectively manage a campground.
The other domestic battlefield will be in education, where radical socialists are trying to indoctrinate future generations with the aid of hapless provincial education ministers. The public has caught on to this and with increased attention on the matter, a strong backlash is brewing.
In the US, there is a very good chance that the Republicans will implode and Barack Obama will be elected to a second term. Ron Paul, an isolationist extremist and crackpot, will not get the Republican nomination. But the infighting between him, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney leading up to the convention could create serious enough harm to let Obama recover from his slump in popularity.
A lot will depend on what happens to the US economy in the next ten months, and how Obama deals with crises like Iran`s posturing and nuclear ambitions. The Republicans may pull out a November victory if Gingrich of Romney emerges as the nominee and presents a reasonable, centrist candidacy that isn`t embarrassed by American Exceptionalism and presents sound economic alternatives. But the Republicans have a way of shooting themselves in the foot, so we`ll just have to see how things turn out. My actual prediction here is that the Republicans do capture the White House in the election, but I`m not going to bet the farm on it.
As far as the rest of the world goes, it`s going to be a mess. South America is going to have economic disasters and political upheavals, although on the bright side, Hugo Chavez may die and a responsible government could be restored in Venezuela.
Islamic extremism will continue to be a major threat to the civilized world. The middle eastern Arab upheavals will lead to Islamist regimes that claw back human rights. There won`t be the sort of full-fledged tyranny in any of them that emerged in Iran following its 1979 revolution, but that part of the world will become more dangerous and more extreme. The Palestinians leadership will conitue to give contradictory messages about its intentions towards peace while their incompetence and hate prevents any progress from being made. Israel, hamstrung by horrendous proportional representation system that almost guarantees government participation by religious extremest parties will muddle through the status quo for another year. The barbarity of the Arab upheavals and Iran, combined with the US election will reduce pressure for any meaningful progress in the Palestinian/Arab/Israeli peace process.
One very dangerous development that may occur is that Iran, facing economic and military pressure, may utilize its proxies Hamas and Hezbollah to start another war in the region to deflect attention from the Islamic Republic. If that happens, they will also be utilizing their useful idiot proxies in the west to wage a propaganda war on their behalf.
On the whole, 2012 will be another year where Canadians should be very grateful for having one of the safest, most prosperous and free countries in the world as their home.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
The closer you look at Ron Paul, the more he looks like a racist, incompetent, incoherent idiot
Ron Paul's basic defense against charges of racism and extremism is that things that went out under his name aren't his fault because he is incompetent.
And the guy wants to be President of the United States of America!? If the Republicans nominate Paul, they don't deserved to win a Presidential election for the next 20 years.
I predict Gingrich will emerge as the nominee, but the fact that Paul is leading in the polls in Iowa is either a scary indication of the state of affairs in Iowa or suggests that polls are worthless.
From The New York Times:
Here's Ron Paul comparing Iran's nukes to the USSR and saying we shouldn't worry about Iran having them. Here's a little tip for you, Dr. Paulooka, the Soviets, for all their many flaws, did not try to die in the name of Lenin so they go to paradise and get 72 virgins.
h/t American Power
And the guy wants to be President of the United States of America!? If the Republicans nominate Paul, they don't deserved to win a Presidential election for the next 20 years.
I predict Gingrich will emerge as the nominee, but the fact that Paul is leading in the polls in Iowa is either a scary indication of the state of affairs in Iowa or suggests that polls are worthless.
From The New York Times:
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Newt Gingrich turned his fire on Representative Ron Paul of Texas on Friday, saying that his Republican opponent had to answer for political and investment newsletters that included racist, anti-gay and anti-Israel passages that Mr. Paul has disavowed.
Mr. Gingrich also sharply criticized Mr. Paul for what he said were his isolationist views on foreign policy. The pointed comments suggested a new dynamic in the presidential primary race, with Mr. Paul as a new and enticing target. His fortunes have risen in Iowa, scrambling the field as some polls suggest that Mr. Paul could pull off a victory in the caucuses on Jan. 3. But in recent days, he has come under increasing scrutiny for offensive passages in newsletters that bore his name, although he has denied writing or approving them.
“These things are really nasty, and he didn’t know about it?” Mr. Gingrich said to reporters after a town-hall-style meeting here.
At the same time, Mr. Gingrich refrained from criticizing Mitt Romney, with whom he has frequently sparred, calling him, at worst, “a Massachusetts moderate.”
Speaking to a large and enthusiastic crowd outside the Blue Marlin restaurant here on a warm and sunny day, Mr. Gingrich mainly framed his candidacy in opposition to President Obama. But he strongly criticized Mr. Paul’s foreign policy positions. Mr. Paul’s criticism of American military involvement overseas is at odds with the views of many Republican voters who may otherwise be attracted to his strong antigovernment message.
“The only person I know who is for a weaker military than Barack Obama is Ron Paul,” Mr. Gingrich said.
Here's Ron Paul comparing Iran's nukes to the USSR and saying we shouldn't worry about Iran having them. Here's a little tip for you, Dr. Paulooka, the Soviets, for all their many flaws, did not try to die in the name of Lenin so they go to paradise and get 72 virgins.
h/t American Power
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Tea Party ahead of Republican establishment on Gingrich
The Tea Party again may be ahead of the Republican establishment and its far-right mavens. Despite the recent bemoaning on the conservative shortcomings of Newt Gingrich from the likes of Mark Steyn and Ann Coulter of how Gingrich doesn't represent Tea Party ideology, the former Speaker of the House has the actual Tea Party endorsement.
There seems to be fear among the prognosticators of hyper-conservatism that Gingrich may be soft on abortion, immigration, global warming and a slew of their other issues. They've even voiced the fear that the Reaganite who ushered balanced budgets and welfare reform through Congress may actually be a closet progressive.
That's just the kind of short-sightedness and self-absorbed shallow thinking that could hand Barack Obama a second term.
The Tea Party outlook may have its many failings. Any movement that has had love affairs with candidates who are as unelectable as Sarah Palin and Christine "I am not a witch" O'Donnell has some obvious shortcomings. But as a young movement whose core issue is the reduction of government spending and taxes, it has shown the capacity to learn and evolve and unlike its self-proclaimed proponents, understands that whomever ends up winning the Republican primaries will be running for President of the United States, not President of the Tea Party.
Disaffected Democrats along with independents put off by Obama's mishandling of the economy and foreign affairs will have to be won over by the Republican nominee. Mitt Romney isn't that guy. Romney is the Republicans' Al Gore, an unlikeable, unnatural stiff that couldn't win a national election on his own. A hard-right social conservative who appeals to the core concerns of the Palin Republicans could alienate swing voters more than enough for the eloquent, intelligent sitting president to be able to overcome his present unpopularity.
For all their Newt-bashing, the GOP right-wingers haven't been able to come up with a viable alternative to him, and they should be thinking of that basic fact before they open their mouths or put finger to keyboard (or pen to paper as a previous generation would say). There are no better choices in the current slew. Paul is crazy, Bachman is inept, Santorum is a non-starter, and Huntsman has a lot of the right qualities except for the most essential; he hasn't been able to get anyone to be interested in him.
Newt's performance in the weeks leading up to the Iowa Caucuses have proved he still has the sharpness and the capability to lead and to attract new converts. He should not have to win over the people he should already have in his corner.
Gingrich may not be the dream candidate of the far right, but he's the best hope they have for a Republican to beat Obama next November. So to the Coulters and Steyns who are griping loudly enough to potentially hurt the Republicans' best shot at the White House, the advice I'd offer would be from Stephen Stills' classic song; if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with.
There seems to be fear among the prognosticators of hyper-conservatism that Gingrich may be soft on abortion, immigration, global warming and a slew of their other issues. They've even voiced the fear that the Reaganite who ushered balanced budgets and welfare reform through Congress may actually be a closet progressive.
That's just the kind of short-sightedness and self-absorbed shallow thinking that could hand Barack Obama a second term.
The Tea Party outlook may have its many failings. Any movement that has had love affairs with candidates who are as unelectable as Sarah Palin and Christine "I am not a witch" O'Donnell has some obvious shortcomings. But as a young movement whose core issue is the reduction of government spending and taxes, it has shown the capacity to learn and evolve and unlike its self-proclaimed proponents, understands that whomever ends up winning the Republican primaries will be running for President of the United States, not President of the Tea Party.
Disaffected Democrats along with independents put off by Obama's mishandling of the economy and foreign affairs will have to be won over by the Republican nominee. Mitt Romney isn't that guy. Romney is the Republicans' Al Gore, an unlikeable, unnatural stiff that couldn't win a national election on his own. A hard-right social conservative who appeals to the core concerns of the Palin Republicans could alienate swing voters more than enough for the eloquent, intelligent sitting president to be able to overcome his present unpopularity.
For all their Newt-bashing, the GOP right-wingers haven't been able to come up with a viable alternative to him, and they should be thinking of that basic fact before they open their mouths or put finger to keyboard (or pen to paper as a previous generation would say). There are no better choices in the current slew. Paul is crazy, Bachman is inept, Santorum is a non-starter, and Huntsman has a lot of the right qualities except for the most essential; he hasn't been able to get anyone to be interested in him.
Newt's performance in the weeks leading up to the Iowa Caucuses have proved he still has the sharpness and the capability to lead and to attract new converts. He should not have to win over the people he should already have in his corner.
Gingrich may not be the dream candidate of the far right, but he's the best hope they have for a Republican to beat Obama next November. So to the Coulters and Steyns who are griping loudly enough to potentially hurt the Republicans' best shot at the White House, the advice I'd offer would be from Stephen Stills' classic song; if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Another reason to celebrate Chris Hitchens' life and mourn his passing
The most disgusting, vile, stupid people on the planet are cheering that one of the loudest voices that exposed their vapidity, ridiculed them, and laid bare their moral debauchery is no longer with us.But don't worry, plenty more of us are still here.
Related video: A fascinating discussion taped in 2002 of Hitchens and Newt Gingrich discussing The War on Terror
Sunday, December 11, 2011
After last night's debate, it looks like Gingrich is a shoe-in
Last night's Republican debate in Iowa left Newt Gingrich looking stronger than ever, while his most serious rivals, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, both shot themselves in the foot.
Romney has remained frozen in the polls, with any possible contender leapfrogging over him. A number of pundits have speculated the reason for Republican rejection of Romney being doubts about his conservative credentials. The actual reason is a lot simpler. Romney is arrogant and unlikeable. That came across loud and clear when Texas governor Rick Perry falsely accused Romney of having written that he wanted a national health care plan like the one he instituted in Massachusetts, which, for some Republicans, bears too strong a resemblance to Obamacare. Rather than just using the occasion to show that Perry was wrong, Romney decided to rub it it by offering to make a $10,000 bet on it. Now the bet and Romney's wealth and arrogance are getting more attention than his health care proposals.
But Perry was not able to diminish the perception of having a lack of command of basic facts, something that has haunted him from the beginning of the campaign.
Ron Paul was...Ron Paul; intelligent and sincere, but though his poll numbers place him around third, his isolationist and libertarian extremism will render him unable to win his party's nomination.
After the collapse of Herman Cain's campaign, the unlikely front runner and virtual certainty for the nomination remains former Speaker of the House Gingrich.
He proved himself even more presidential last night by standing by his words and being able to take his opponents' attacks and turn them around to show his strength.
Romney tried to attack Gingrich over comments where during a recent interview, the front-runner declared the Palestinians to be an "invented people." Rather than backtracking, Gingrich stood by his comments and added, “Somebody ought to have the courage to tell the truth. These people are terrorists." After criticizing President Obama's handling of middle east foreign policy, he continued, "It’s fundamentally time for somebody to have the guts to stand up and say, ‘Enough lying about the Middle East.’” Gingrich's remarks on that earned him the loudest, most sustained cheers that any candidate received last night.
When Romney accused him of being a "career politician," Gingrich's pointed comeback highlighted Romney's shortcomings when he replied, "Let's be candid, the only reason you didn't become a career politician is because you lost to Teddy Kennedy in '94."
There is plenty of time for anything to happen in the Republican primaries, but given the current slate of candidates and the abilities they've shown, barring a meltdown, Gingrich looks to be a lock for the nomination.
Were he to win the general election, the US would take a very different direction than under Barack Obama. Gingrich has said that he would make John Bolton, the former US Ambassador to the United Nations, whose hawkish conservatism makes him a lightning rod to the far left, as his Secretary of State.
With a declining economy and rising unemployment in America, and the perception that the current president is inept, weak, arrogant, and unable to manage the nation, President Newt Gingrich, a prospect that would have been unimaginable when he had reached the pinnacle of his career in Congress, may be a reality in 2013.
Romney has remained frozen in the polls, with any possible contender leapfrogging over him. A number of pundits have speculated the reason for Republican rejection of Romney being doubts about his conservative credentials. The actual reason is a lot simpler. Romney is arrogant and unlikeable. That came across loud and clear when Texas governor Rick Perry falsely accused Romney of having written that he wanted a national health care plan like the one he instituted in Massachusetts, which, for some Republicans, bears too strong a resemblance to Obamacare. Rather than just using the occasion to show that Perry was wrong, Romney decided to rub it it by offering to make a $10,000 bet on it. Now the bet and Romney's wealth and arrogance are getting more attention than his health care proposals.
But Perry was not able to diminish the perception of having a lack of command of basic facts, something that has haunted him from the beginning of the campaign.
Ron Paul was...Ron Paul; intelligent and sincere, but though his poll numbers place him around third, his isolationist and libertarian extremism will render him unable to win his party's nomination.
After the collapse of Herman Cain's campaign, the unlikely front runner and virtual certainty for the nomination remains former Speaker of the House Gingrich.
He proved himself even more presidential last night by standing by his words and being able to take his opponents' attacks and turn them around to show his strength.
Romney tried to attack Gingrich over comments where during a recent interview, the front-runner declared the Palestinians to be an "invented people." Rather than backtracking, Gingrich stood by his comments and added, “Somebody ought to have the courage to tell the truth. These people are terrorists." After criticizing President Obama's handling of middle east foreign policy, he continued, "It’s fundamentally time for somebody to have the guts to stand up and say, ‘Enough lying about the Middle East.’” Gingrich's remarks on that earned him the loudest, most sustained cheers that any candidate received last night.
When Romney accused him of being a "career politician," Gingrich's pointed comeback highlighted Romney's shortcomings when he replied, "Let's be candid, the only reason you didn't become a career politician is because you lost to Teddy Kennedy in '94."
There is plenty of time for anything to happen in the Republican primaries, but given the current slate of candidates and the abilities they've shown, barring a meltdown, Gingrich looks to be a lock for the nomination.
Were he to win the general election, the US would take a very different direction than under Barack Obama. Gingrich has said that he would make John Bolton, the former US Ambassador to the United Nations, whose hawkish conservatism makes him a lightning rod to the far left, as his Secretary of State.
With a declining economy and rising unemployment in America, and the perception that the current president is inept, weak, arrogant, and unable to manage the nation, President Newt Gingrich, a prospect that would have been unimaginable when he had reached the pinnacle of his career in Congress, may be a reality in 2013.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Republican front-runner Gingrich calls Palestinians "an invented people"
More video excerpts from Gingrich interview at Sassy Wire
The Palestinians are offended by Newt and have responded in their usual fashion, with threats of violence.
More Newt, including declaration that he will move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and his willingness to completely cut off funds to the United Nations:
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