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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

PRIMARY BULLETIN – AT 12:43 A.M. ET:  With 57% of the vote counted, Kelly Ayotte has taken the lead in New Hampshire, 39-38%.  We'll be signing off now, but will give you the New Hampshire final result in the morning.

PRIMARY BULLETIN – AT 12:12 A.M. ET:  With 43% of the vote counted, Kelly Ayotte is almost even with Ovide Lamontagne in New Hampshire. 

PRIMARY BULLETIN – AT 12:06 A.M. ET:  Charlie Rangel won Dem renomination in New York's Harlem, defeating Adam Clayton Powell IV.  As I understand it, there will be a feisty GOP candidate opposing Rangel, but Rangel is probably a shoo-in for reelection in November.  Harlemites are very loyal, and tend to rally round leaders in trouble.

Carl Paladino, a wealthy insurgent, has won the GOP nomination for governor New York, defeating establishment guy Rick Lazio.  (You may recall Lazio as Hillary Clinton's opponent in Clinton's first race for the Senate from New York.)  Paladino has about as much chance being elected governor in November as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has of being elected prime minister of Israel.  Paladino has no credentials, is crude, has indulged racism and bigotry, and has no place being on the ticket.  His opponent will be Andrew Cuomo, who should have an easy time winning.  The GOP could have done much better. 

PRIMARY BULLETIN – AT 11:33 P.M. ET:  With about 27% of the vote in, Ovide Lamontagne's lead over Kelly Ayotte in the New Hampshire GOP senatorial primary continues to shrink, and is down to four points.  The trend is toward Ayotte, who is the establishment candidate, but is also Palin-endorsed.

PRIMARY BULLETIN – AT 11:13 P.M. ET:  In New York, with 33% of the vote in, ethically challenged Congressman Charlie Rangel is leading challenged-in-other-ways Adam Clayton Powell IV, 50% to 24%.  I doubt if Powell can overcome that.

PRIMARY BULLETIN - AT 10:49 P.M. ET:  Vote counting in New Hampshire appears slow.  It seems, with a bit more than 20% of the vote in, that Ovide Lamontagne's lead over Kelly Ayotte is shrinking, and is down to about six points.  We may have a long night waiting for this one to be resolved.

PRIMARY BULLETIN – AT 9:41 P.M. ET:  There may be another upset in the making in New Hampshire, where tea-party candidate Ovide Lamontagne is running ahead of state attorney-general Kelly Ayote, for the GOP Senate nomination.  Ayotte, although less conservative than Lamontagne, has the support of Sarah Palin.  She is also considered far more likely than Lamontagne to win the general election.  The seat is currently held by Republican Judd Gregg, who is retiring.  With about a sixth of the precincts reporting, it's 46-35 for Lamontagne.

MAJOR BULLETIN:  The Associated Press has just called the Delaware GOP Senate primary for Christine O'Donnell, the tea party/Sarah-endorsed candidate.  Lightning has struck.

PRIMARY BULLETIN – AT 9:02 P.M. ET:  Now, with 47% of the Delaware vote in, O'Donnell leads Castle 55-45.  That will be a difficult lead for Castle to overcome.  This could be a political earthquake in Delaware, but O'Donnell will have a tough time in the general.

PRIMARY BULLETIN – AT 8:54 P.M. ET:  Christine O'Donnell, the tea-party favorite, has taken an early lead over Congressman Mike Castle in the GOP U.S. Senate primary in Delaware.   With 22 percent of precincts reporting, O'Donnell leads, 56-44.

Polls in New York close at 9 ET:  The key race there pits veteran Congressman Charles Rangel, under a very serious corruption crowd, against Adam Clayton Powell IV, who's only been accused of rape...twice.  We're a quality state.

Stand by for more.

WHAT?  WHAT?  YOU MEAN...GOP CAJONES?  WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN? – AT 7:46 P.M. ET:  We have wonderful news.  Some Republican senators have learned that they're men, and have decided to do something to honor the breed.  They're taking on President Obama over a foolish provision in a disarmament agreement with Russia.  Never thought we'd see the day.  From the Washington Times:

Senate Republicans are challenging the Obama administration on the new strategic arms accord with Russia, proposing new language to the treaty's ratification resolution that would bar limits on U.S. missile defenses.

A draft ratification resolution, sent out on Monday by Sen. Richard G. Lugar, Indiana Republican and ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, would prohibit a U.S.-Russian panel established in the treaty from forging side agreements on missile defenses. The Senate panel is scheduled to vote Thursday on the treaty signed earlier this year.

Lugar?  Lugar?  That marshmallow has come alive?  I have now seen everything.

The administration on Monday dispatched Rose Gottemoeller, assistant secretary of state for verification, compliance and implementation, to talk with Republican staff about Mr. Lugar's draft. One Senate aide said Ms. Gottemoeller is opposed to the draft's language because it will complicate treaty implementation with the Russians.

My heart breaks.  Maybe the administration will ask for the Bolshoi to perform at Ground Zero as compensation to Moscow.

Ms. Gottemoeller and State Department spokesmen declined to comment on the Republican draft resolution.

Republican support for the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) is important for the White House, which has made Senate approval of the treaty a high priority and the centerpiece of its "reset" policy with Russia. The treaty, which requires 67 votes in the Senate for passage, would further reduce the Russian and U.S. nuclear missile arsenals to 1,550 deployed warheads.

COMMENT:  Now we're getting some common sense into the START talks.  It isn't Ronald Reagan doing the negotiating.  It's Barack Obama.  Republicans must be ultra-vigilant before Obama gives away the store, then raises our taxes to change the lock.

September 14, 2010       Permalink

NEW POLL SHOWS GOP ON THE MARCH – AT 7:19 P.M. ET:  A new Fox poll shows the extent of Republican dominance in the current campaign, at least so far:

Florida GOP Senate nominee Marco Rubio has jumped to a 16-point lead over independent Charlie Crist, according to the latest Fox News poll, as Republicans make gains across the country on dissatisfaction with President Obama's agenda.

In the first round of Fox News battleground surveys for the 2010 election, Republican candidates for Senate and governor in Florida, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Ohio and California all kick off the election season in contention or ahead.

In each of the states, large numbers of voters believe that the Obama agenda is hurting their local economy.

The surveys covered 1,000 likely voters in each state and were conducted by Pulse Opinion Research for Fox News on Sept. 11.

Polls of likely voters are the ones we like.  It's pretty clear from this and other polls that Rubio is making great strides in Florida, and that former Republican and current Governor Charlie Crist's gambit, becoming an independent, isn't paying off.

As for other states, I think Pennsylvania looks solid:

Opposition to the policies of the Obama administration is helping Republican Pat Toomey gain an edge in Pennsylvania’s Senate race, according to a new Fox News poll.

Toomey drew 47 percent support among likely voters, compared to 41 percent for Democrat Joe Sestak in the race to replace Sen. Arlen Specter. Eleven percent were undecided.

And Ohio, often seen as a national indicator, also brings smiles:

Republicans hold the advantage so far in the battleground state of Ohio, a new Fox News poll finds.

Republican Senate candidate Rob Portman held a 7-point lead over Democrat Lee Fisher among likely voters -- 48 to 41 percent. Democratic incumbent Gov. Ted Strickland trails GOP challenger John Kasich by 5 points -- 48 to 43 percent.

We should note that both the Florida and Ohio Senate seats are currently Republican, so the GOP is looking simply to avoid losses in those states.

The Pennsylvania seat, if Toomey takes it, would be a turnover.

California and Nevada are critical to the GOP's chances of taking the Senate.  The Senate seats are both held by Democrats.  Nevada is a case where the Republicans may have blown a superb chance by nominating a less-than-stellar candidate in Sharron Angle.  Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, is fighting for his life and was considered a goner not many months ago.  He's made the race even because of Angle's blunders.

California would be a superb pickup for the GOP, as it would retire intellectually limited Senator Barbara Boxer.  Her GOP opponent, Carly Fiorina, is competitive in an overwhelmingly Democratic state:

Sen. Barbara Boxer is in a statistical dead heat with Republican challenger Carly Fiorina, while Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman holds a 6-point lead over Democrat Jerry Brown, a new Fox News poll finds.

COMMENT:  We are racing toward election day, now seven short weeks away.  As in war, the victory may well go to the side that makes the fewest mistakes.  There'll be more and more polls examining the races we've just covered, and we'll report them.

September 14, 2010     Permalink

SNIPPET OF THE DAY – AT 9:06 A.M. ET:

RAMSGATE, England, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- A British court heard an automobile thief was arrested after he put gasoline into a stolen diesel-powered car.  Police said Daniel Boxall, 27, of Ramsgate, England, was arrested June 12 along with passenger Richard Lloyd after the $20,000 Audi A4 broke down at the side of a road, This is Kent reported Monday.

We simply must find a way to get car thieves to read instruction manuals.  Until we do, we cheat the criminal class and increase its sense of oppression.

September 14, 2010      Permalink

ELECTION UPDATE: A TRUE SLEEPER CANDIDATE – AT 8:52 A.M. ET:  There is no more competent governor in American today than Mitch Daniels, the governor of Indiana.  And naturally, there is "that kind" of talk about him, as The Politico notes:

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has been holding a series of private dinners with top Republican business leaders, policy hands and donors from around the country since this spring, an indication that he’s thinking more seriously about a presidential bid than he publicly lets on.

The dinners, which take place at the governor’s mansion in Indianapolis, are meant to introduce Daniels to a class of GOP heavy-hitters who could both finance and advise a White House campaign.

And...

Both attendees and Daniels’ advisers said the governor is not using the sit-downs to request commitments or even talking in any detail about the prospect of a run.

Rather, the intimate get-togethers are more like get-to-know-you sessions – the political equivalent of a first date – in which the governor can tell the story of what he’s done in the Hoosier State and gauge interest in a possible candidacy and his visitors can get a first-hand look at the Republican who’s been winning so much insider buzz.

Daniels would probably make a fine president.  The problem, though, is that he'd have to get elected.  That is a complication that has frustrated many men.  If truth be told, Daniels has a speaking style that can render the residents of cemeteries even more dead.  He is an instant cure for insomnia. 

I heard him speak at a small meeting earlier this year.  Nice guy, personable.  But he has that roundabout, philosophical way of speaking that makes you wonder what he's really saying. 

Look, maybe this is the right time for a guy like this – a politician who doesn't sound like one.  He could be the unique guy who wins despite the rules.  But he'll have to convince a public with an attention span of ten seconds.

Intriguing, though.  I hope he runs just to give an unusual guy a shot.

September 14, 2010      Permalink 

ANOTHER MAN OF PEACE, IN THE PROCESS OF BITING THE DUST – AT 8:31 A.M. ET:  Troubles are building up for the imam behind the Ground Zero mosque.  It was revealed yesterday that one of his former, and major, associates, is a 9-11 truther who makes speeches denouncing the idea that Al Qaeda was behind the 9-11 attacks.   Today the troubles are more basic: 

An imam at the centre of a dispute over plans to build a mosque near ground zero is being sued by a northern New Jersey community where he owns two apartment buildings.

Newark's The Star-Ledger newspaper reports the lawsuit was filed on Monday in state Superior Court by Union City, which is just across the Hudson River from New York and has about 70,000 residents. It says the lawsuit charges that Feisal Abdul Rauf hasn't addressed complaints by tenants and orders from the city to correct code violations.

Well of course not.  He's too busy promoting harmony among the world's religions.  Yeah, right.

The lawsuit identifies Rauf as sole officer of building owner Sage Development LLC. One building has been vacant since a 2008 fire. The other contains 16 apartments.

COMMENT:  So, if the complaint is correct, Mr. Ground Zero Mosque is a deadbeat landlord, as well as a man who partnered with a 9-11 truther, as well as a man who has an associate in the mosque project with a long criminal record, as well as a man who believes America had a role in the attacks, as well as...

Oh but wait.  Christiane Amanpour introduced him on TV as a moderate.  What more do we need?  The man is clearly a prince.

Yuch.

September 14, 2010     Permalink

IT'S ABOUT TIME – AT 8:23 A.M. ET:  No guarantees here, but at least the Justice Department is acknowledging that, Houston, we have a problem.  From Fox:

The Justice Department's internal watchdog said Monday it would launch an investigation into the Justice Department's enforcement of civil rights laws, eliciting praise from Republicans on Capitol Hill who have been blasting the Justice Department for months over a controversial voting rights case.

For more than a year, Republicans and others have been questioning why the Obama administration reversed course on a federal lawsuit against two members of the New Black Panther Party, who were videotaped outside a Philadelphia polling station on Election Day 2008. The two were dressed in military-style uniforms, and one was holding a nightstick. The issue escalated in June when a former Justice Department attorney, J. Christiam Adams, alleged it was all part of an Obama administration policy to avoid prosecuting minorities, an allegation the Justice Department has strongly denied.

On Monday, the Justice Department's Inspector General said his office does not have legal authority or jurisdiction to investigate the handling of the New Black Panther Party case specifically, but it does have authority to look "more broadly [at] the overall enforcement of civil rights laws by the Voting Section," including "information about cases such as the New Black Panther Party matter and others."

COMMENT:  If the probe is conducted honestly, it could be one of the most important Washington investigations in years.  Dropping that case was an outrage, but the action was consistent with the hard-left views of many of the people Eric Holder has brought into the Justice Department. 

But the key words here are "conducted honestly."  Sometimes a probe just provides a legal cover-up.  We might also add that skilled bureaucrats have ways of holding back information, making a thorough probe impossible.

Stand by on this one.

September 14, 2010      Permalink

ELECTION UPDATE:  SEVEN PRIMARIES TODAY – AT 8:06 A.M. ET:  Today is the last of the major primary days for this election season.  Our great national nightmare is almost over.

The key primaries will be Republican, with tea partiers and the GOP establishment sometimes clashing.  The Politico reports:

WASHINGTON – The primary season is ending as it began, the Republican establishment on one side in state after state, and tea party activists on another.

The competition is particularly strong in Delaware and New Hampshire, where GOP senatorial nominations are the prize, and New York, where Republicans pick a challenger for an uphill fall campaign for governor.
Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Maryland also hold primaries Tuesday, along with the District of Columbia.

Among incumbents, veteran Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel of New York and Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty face particularly stiff challenges — one because of ethics charges in Congress, the other after conceding to voters he has behaved arrogantly over the past four years.

Rangel is opposed by Adam Clayton Powell IV, son of the late Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, who Rangel defeated for the Congressional seat in 1970, some 40 years ago.  Rangel faces serious corruption charges.  Powell is no Boy Scout either.  He's been accused of rape twice and was convicted of driving while impaired.  But, hey, it's New York.  Those are minor issues.  It isn't as if he was convicted of disobeying a party boss.

In Delaware, veteran Rep. Mike Castle, a moderate, vies with Christine O'Donnell for the nomination for a Senate seat. O'Donnell has the support of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as well as tea party activists. New Castle County Executive Chris Coons has no opposition for the Democratic nomination.

This is the major story of the night.  Castle is certainly no movement conservative.  He is from the old school of GOP moderates.  But, bottom line, if he's nominated, he's the overwhelming favorite to be elected. O'Donnell, an ideological conservative, is a lightweight, to put it mildly, with considerable personal baggage.  She would likely be defeated in the general election.  This is Joe Biden's seat.  I hope the GOP doesn't blow it over ideological purity.

In New Hampshire, Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes is unopposed for the Senate nomination, and Republicans are settling a multi-candidate race. Former Attorney General Kelly Ayotte campaigned with the support of the party establishment and Palin, while Ovide Lamontagne claimed backing from tea party activists. Bill Binnie and Jim Bender campaigned on the strength of their records as businessmen.

Again, Ayotte stands a good chance of saving this Republican seat, currently held by Judd Gregg, if she's nominated.  Her opponent stands virtually no chance in the general.  Sarah got this one right and went with Ayotte.

The election is seven weeks from today.  We have seven weeks to stop the train wreck in Washington.

September 14, 2010     Permalink

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2010

THESE AMERICANS, SO DUMB, SO VULNERABLE TO FOX NEWS.  WHAT ARE WE INTELLECTS GOING TO DO? – AT 7:30 P.M. ET:   A new study out from Pew confirms the supremacy of Fox News.  Those in the White House reading the study are advised to have heart medication nearby:

Pew is out with their annual look at how news consumers get their information, with several interesting breakdowns across various forms of media.

But one category that sticks out is which cable news network plays a “significant role in people’s news habits” – not surprisingly, FNC grew year-to-year but CNN and MSNBC were down, even among Democrats.

Rotten right-wing Democrats.  You just can't trust them. 

From the study:

Overall, cable news continues to play a significant role in peoples’ news habits – 39% say they regularly get news from a cable channel. But the proportions saying they regularly watch CNN, MSNBC and CNBC have slipped substantially from two years ago, during the presidential election.

Only Fox News has maintained its audience size, and this is because of the increasing number of Republicans who regularly get news there. Four-in-ten Republicans (40%) now say they regularly watch Fox News, up from 36% two years ago and just 18% a decade ago. Just 12% of Republicans regularly watch CNN, and just 6% regularly watch MSNBC.

As recently as 2002, Republicans were as likely to watch CNN (28%) as Fox News (25%). The share of Democrats who regularly watch CNN or Fox News has fallen from 2008.

COMMENT:  What this tells me is that the universities haven't done as much damage as we may have thought, and that many Americans see right through the mainstream media. 

The mainstreamers have been outfoxed.  We must ask what will happen to the institutions on life support – CNN, MSNBC, CNBC.  Can they really survive with these losses?  Of course, Comcast is taking over NBC, and maybe it will provide a humane, loving end to its two cable failures.  As far as CNN is concerned, it will probably live on as a curiosity.  At least viewers of Ted Turner's dream don't have to put up with Christiane Amanpour any longer, although ABC views now carry that burden.

September 13, 2010       Permalink

REVOLTING – AT 7:18 P.M. ET:  The imam in charge of the proposed Muslim cultural center/mosque at Ground Zero has been speaking out since his return from a State Department-sponsored trip to the Middle East.  He might have been wiser to shut up.  This is his latest burst of wisdom, from Fox News:

The imam leading the effort to build an Islamic community center and mosque near ground zero says there is a "misperception" that the proposed site is sacred ground.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf said Monday that the location where the center would be built, two blocks from the World Trade Center, has a strip joint and betting parlors nearby. He says it's "absolutely disingenuous" to suggest that it is "hallowed ground."

COMMENT:  The insensitivity of that statement is breathtaking.  Yes, there are areas around Ground Zero that are seedy, and that is the fault of zoning boards.  But there are human ashes in the very ground where the proposed mosque will be built.  A wheel assembly from one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center went through the roof of the building that is on the site right now. 

It is hallowed ground because the American people say it is.  We don't need the approval of the imam.  This is the same man who, last week, said that if the mosque issue isn't "handled right," there could be repercussions in other parts of the world.  That is blackmail.  That is the old Mafia protection racket.

And yet, there is silence among his leftist allies and endless "multiculturalists" who choose not to see because, if they did, and spoke out honestly, it might mean a few less party invitations on the West Side of Manhattan.

September 13, 2010      Permalink

BE CAREFUL, BE CAREFUL – AT 9:07 A.M. ET:  Delaware holds its primary tomorrow, with all eyes focused on the GOP primary for the U.S. Senate nomination.  This is the seat once held by Joe Biden.

It had been assumed that the nomination would go to veteran Congressman Mike Castle, a GOP moderate.  But a conservative faction has gotten behind Christine O'Donnell, who's now been endorsed by Senator Jim DeMint and Sarah Palin.  O'Donnell has now shot into a small lead, as The Politico reports:

A new poll suggests a seismic upset might be in the making in Tuesday's Delaware Republican Senate primary.

The survey, released Sunday night by Public Policy Polling, shows Tea Party favorite Christine O'Donnell leading veteran Rep. Mike Castle by 47 percent to 44 percent — a dead heat within the poll's 3.8 percent margin of error.

COMMENT:  Hmm.  Yes, it's true that O'Donnell is the more conservative candidate, but she has more baggage than Samsonite.  There are serious questions about her stability, her finances, her personal integrity, and a whole lot more.  And there are very serious questions about her electability in the general election. 

Republicans have a good shot at taking a Democratic seat in Delaware, and Castle is a highly popular figure across the state.  O'Donnell is, at best, an unknown with huge vulnerabilities. 

In Nevada, Republicans passed over a solid candidate to nominate Sharron Angle for the U.S. Senate, opposing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.  Angle has been a disaster.  An easy win for the GOP has been turned into a dead heat.  I fear the same mistake will be made in Delaware.  Ideological purity is fun if you can afford to lose a few seats here and there.  We can't.

September 13, 2010      Permalink

SNIPPET OF THE DAY – AT 8:56 A.M. ET: 

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Sept. 11 (UPI) -- A bureaucratic glitch in Michigan has led to the issuing of a number of 2011 license plate renewal tags in the wrong color, authorities said.  A state police trooper assigned to the Rockford station reported encountering about 50 vehicles this year with yellow 2011 tabs -- tabs that are supposed to be orange, the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press reported Saturday.

Think of it – the plates went through the manufacturing process, the issuing process, the mailing process, the bolting-to-the-car process...and no one noticed the color?  What will the governor say about these citizens of her state?

September 13, 2010       Permalink 

THIS IS APPALLING – AT 8:38 A.M. ET:  We rarely see the race card played in as ugly and blatant manner as this.  It is shameful.

David Dinkins is the former mayor of New York, and was the city's first black mayor.  He was famously defeated by Rudy Giuliani in 1993, ending liberal control of City Hall in a city with an overwhelmingly Democratic registration.  We'd had high hopes for Dinkins, an apparently decent if underqualified candidate for mayor, but he could not overcome his racial identification and became, essentially, the mayor of black New York.  It was a true tragedy.

You'd think he would have learned.  But David Dinkins is back with a political endorsement that displays for all to see what the race card is really like.  From the New York Post:

Mayor David Dinkins encouraged voters to embrace a state Senate candidate because he looks "more like us."

"It's important, it is so very important, particularly for the people of this district who vote on Tuesday to recognize how important it is to understand that the city is changing," Dinkins said in his endorsement of state Senate candidate Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat on Thursday.

"Most people in the city are going to look more like us than others and that's just a fact," Dinkins said.

Espaillat opponent Mark Levine, who is white, yesterday called on Espaillat, who is Hispanic, to denounce the divisive comment.

Espaillat did not repudiate Dinkins' words.

That is pure ugliness.  It is an insult to the Hispanic community and to all New Yorkers, and it shows the race card for what it is, an appeal to bigotry.  Can you just imagine if a candidate of a different background had appealed to voters to vote for a candidate because "he looks like us" or "sounds like us"?  There's be an uproar, and the usual suspects would come out of the woodwork to shout "racism." 

Dinkins should be widely denounced for this disgrace, but he won't be.  And that is the heartbreak.

Expect the race card to be played nationally this year, and, especially in 2012, if Obama runs again.  It brings out the base and intimidates others.

September 13, 2010      Permalink

ELECTION UPDATE – AT 8:22 A.M. ET:  We are a bit more than a month and a half away from the midterm elections, and Gallup is out with a poll revealing the report card the current Congress is getting from the American people.  Byron York at the Washington Examiner has the story:

The numbers: Bank bailouts, 61 percent disapprove versus 37 percent approve; national health care, 56 percent disapprove versus 39 percent approve; auto bailouts, 56 percent disapprove versus 43 percent approve; stimulus, 52 percent disapprove versus 43 percent approve. Only financial reform, with 61 percent approve versus 37 percent disapprove, is a winner for the representatives and senators seeking re-election.

Although the bank bailout was passed with significant bipartisan support, the news is terrible mostly for the House and Senate Democratic leadership. It's even worse for Democrats when you single out the opinions of independents. Just 32 percent of independents approve of the bank bailouts; 35 percent approve of national health care; 38 percent approve of the stimulus; and 40 percent approve of the auto bailouts. Sixty-two percent of independents approve of financial regulatory reform.

COMMENT:  Okay, Nancy Pelosi won't be elected Miss America.  The results for the Democrat-controlled House and Senate are catastrophic, but the key question is whether they can be turned into GOP votes.  Americans may disapprove, but a good fear campaign can find them voting for people they dislike...to avoid a larger catastrophe.

Many political pundits are now predicting that the Democratic base, indifferent to this election up to now, may in fact come alive and go to the polls on November 2nd out of fear that some program may be taken away from them.  If that happens, many of the assumptions of a Republican tsunami will be in doubt.  That is why these polls, while good for the morale, mean nothing in the end.  The Dems know how to scare people.  Mr. Obama is at it right now, going back into his one successful role, that of campaigner.  It's much easier than being president.  And some people will buy the line, the way they bought it in 2008.

September 13, 2010      Permalink 

FREEDOM'S FATE – AT 7:49 A.M. ET:  Ronald Reagan said it best:  "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free."

Make no mistake about it – freedom had a bad week last week.  The Israelis have a term for it:  salami tactics.  Something is taken away one small slice at a time.

I have only contempt for that "pastor" in Florida who wanted to burn the Koran.  I'm glad the obnoxious gent decided against it.  But, as vulgar as the act is, it is Constitutionally protected, and the pastor was cautioned that if he committed this act, some people overseas might be "offended," and react according to the way their culture handles offense.  That is, essentially, blackmail.

Similarly, the guy behind the Ground Zero mosque warned that if the mosque issue wasn't "handled" correctly, there could be a similar reaction overseas.  That is more blackmail.

In civil-liberties stories they call it "the heckler's veto."  Liberty is lost when a heckler can simply shout down a speaker and prevent that speaker from exercising his First Amendment rights.  As a society we're being subjected to a huge heckler's veto.  We must not "offend" anyone because they may do something unpleasant.   We saw the veto in play last week.  Another slice of the salami.

One of the founding principles of this country is, "I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to my death your right to say it."  Another great principle is that the antidote to offensive free speech is more free speech.  "Sunshine," Justice Brandeis wrote, "is the best disinfectant."

President Obama represents a faction in the United States that has no problem with speech codes on college campuses or vaguely worded "hate-crime" laws that can be employed very selectively against groups that are unpopular at the moment.  Salami slices.

So, while we're pleased that a Koran won't be burned, let us contemplate the circumstances through which the vile act was prevented.  Next we will surely be told that any criticism of certain societies is too dangerous for us, too much of a risk.

Yes, freedom had a bad week last week.  And it was a week in which the Muslim Students Association at the University of California, Irvine, under suspension for a year after shouting down a visiting speaker and making his speech impossible, was told that the suspension was being cut to four months.  The signal was sent that the heckler's veto wasn't all that serious.  Another slice of the salami.

Eternal vigilance, my friends.

September 13, 2010     Permalink