Listen Up Conservative Republicans

I am a Romney guy as all know but I want to point to an actually more important concern. I just got off the phone with another conservative blogger and friend and our most pressing need is not the presidential race but the down ticket, Congress and Senate races. I don't care who you support for president we need to work to make sure that if we do lose the Whitehouse that we will be able to offer a check to the socialist agenda and regain the majority where it is most needed. It will not be easy but I suggest that instead of sending money to the POTUS candidate that it be invested at the local level in making sure we have the forces in place to defeat Hillary's or Barack's socialist agenda. Remember all politics is local so we must work to make sure that we don't lose those local seats and perhaps gain a few back. We as conservatives will need those House and Senate seats like never before if we want to maintain the gains our movement has netted since Reagan. That is where we really, really cannot afford to lose ground as we have an effective check in place to the socialist agenda of the Democrats. If your district is up for grabs go out and fight for it, knock doors , send money, man the phone banks, what ever you can do.
Now is not the time to despair, it is the time to get busy and work to make sure our voice is heard in Washington by electing our local conservative leaders, from city councils to senators and governers.

The Narrative Is Set

Both Barack and Hillary set it in regards to McCain and the MSM is their workhorse. John McCain is a doddering old war-monger with no plans to help struggling Americans saddled under over whelming health care costs and an extension of the Bush policies of war without end. We Republicans cannot let McCain get the nomination because he will lose and lose big, damn what the polls say about head to heads right now as McCain is still the MSM darling since he so loves to bash conservatives, that will change if he gets the nomination. He will become the old senile fool that we were so foolish to nominate, bank on it.

Rumble In The Jungle

Well Hillary and Barack will square off tonight in a bare knuckled brawl that is likely to more resemble something from "Kickboxer" than a political debate. This should be fun. Funny that they are debating in Hollywood at the same arena the Academy Awards are, liberal stronghold and the GOP debated at the Reagan Library.
Should we call it the Punch and Judy Bowl?
Update: They are discussing healthcare and both will clean McCain's clock on this issue and it is a very important issue to alot of people. Hillary admits she wants single-payer, ie government healthcare but that it isn't possible yet. Obama is actually far more reasonable on the issue and only Mitt Romney is fluent on the issue and able to debate it from a free market perspective not socialist.
Update: If McCain is our nominee he is going to get creamed by both of them and they both are already going after him as an extension of the Bush administration. Hillary is actually talking up some of Newt's talking points on medical care.
Update: Question on illegal immigration but they avoid the word illegal and just try to frame it as republicans are against immigrants, Obama sounds like McCain on this. Hillary at least calls them undocumented workers, OMG she said illegal.
Update: They both sound just like McCain on illegal immigration and comprehensive amnesty, we will get amnesty either way.
Update: Hillary breaks out the identity politics, as Michelle Malkin would say, blech.
Update: Barack makes a good point about bringing massive numbers of new voters to the polls and McCain will get painted as a doddering old war-monger of the old school Republicans. Geez they will clean his clock if we nominate McCain.
Update: This debate is a very good picture of what we will see after the nominations are set, McCain is Bush. There have been no fireworks and it has been about policy and the narrative on McCain has been set already and the MSM will run with it, his stay in Iraq for 100 years remark will get regular play and has been mentioned a half dozen times already. Dan Riehl's assessments are very much more clear now about a war weary public.
Acck, Hillary just cackled.
Update: The inevitable will they team up in a "dream ticket" question, Obama defers and says it isn't over yet. Hillary agrees to an extent that it will be a unified Democrat party after the Convention. We are in deep doodoo if we nominate McCain. He will get creamed in the three scheduled debates and his smarmy, snarky, attacks will not play well against either of them and will be totally spun by a biased MSM, McCain will cease to be the media darling maverick bashing conservatives and will become the new Bush. Mitt Romney is our only hope.

McCain Must Be Stopped: Updated

Dan Riehl is absolutely correct in his assessment that the smarmy, snarky, senile John McCain we saw last night will get killed by Obama or Hillary and with it everything conservatives have fought for for decades to come. Dan also links to this piece by Mark Levin that conservatives have to get behind Romney with all they have.
Update: Great article in Human Events on the hijacking of the GOP primaries by independents and the MSM trying to force feed us John McCain. As my good friend and Fredhead, Heidi, points out in the comments that it was the MSM that killed Fred and is trying to do the same to Mitt. The MSM simply despises conservatives because we don't buy their socialist drivel and bow down to them so they are trying their darndest to steal an election cycle from us. I think all primaries and caucuses should be closed to party members only and if indies want a choice they should join a party instead of trying to be king makers. Party members deserve to be able to choose the candidate of their choice or why be a member at all. I saw an idea I liked about setting three primary dates and divide the delegates up evenly up over those dates with two weeks between them. Screw a bunch of subsidy addicted farmers in Iowa, liberal indies in New Hampshire and misplaced New Yorkers in Florida and South Carolina telling the rest of us who we should have as a candidate to vote for.
Update: I just saw that Sean Hannity has thrown in with Mitt Romney, that is big as Sean is a true blue conservative icon with the second biggest radio voice in America and popular show on Fox.

I Have Made A Decision

Based on McCain's smarmy. snide and unbased attacks on Mitt Romney and blatant lies and flip flops, I will sit out the presidential election if he is our GOP nominee. I will vote the down ticket for the GOP and McCain will do terrible damage to that as well even if it is Hillary. They are no different and he would roll over in compromise to the libs when they send him legislation. I cannot trust the man, Mr. Integrity, yeah right, he is a lying donkey ass kisser. The GOP has a major fight on it's hands this year and John McCamnesty, Mr Flip Flop is not the man to save the House That Reagan Built. Donald can call me and others like me deranged all he wants to but that only makes my position stronger. If our economy is to be destroyed I would just as soon it be under the Democrat brand and not the GOP's. I WILL NOT vote for John McCain under any reasons, for any reason. I cannot vote for someone that giggles while offering smarmy lies and smears about such a fair and decent man as Mitt is. He wants a fight, well I suggest us conservatives give him one he can't win. Don't whine about honest policy comparisons and then launch a dishonest smear campaign, that is Clinton politics. In the last week or so I have had McCain fanatics call me delusioned and deranged because I won't bow down and kiss his donkey ass. I have blasted McCain's policies but never attacked his supporters. THE WAR IS ON !!!!

Now There Are Four In The Debate

We have our last GOP debate before Super Tuesday tonight by CNN/Politico from the Reagan Library and Mitt really has to make the case that he is the Reagan conservative alternate to McCain. I expect Huckabee to tag team with McCain against Mitt hoping for the VEEP slot and Paul to really scale back his anti-war and weird fiscal policy rants and rail about the Constitution. I don't know why Ron is even on the stage though he does have one distant second and has raised a ton of money. He is a fiscal and social conservative but he is still a nut pulling about 5% of the National vote from conspiracy nuts and anti-semites and an embarrassment to the GOP.
Update: Quite a back drop of Reagan's Air Force One.
Update: I think so far all answers have been good though Mike Huckabee is undoubtedly the smoothest so far.
Update: I thought Romney got the best of the spat with McCain over semantics about the war though I am biased.(From Hot Air)

I think Huckabee used to much time whining about the time given to him and Dr. Paul is what he is, an old crank that really did not deserve to be on that stage. McCain is a smart ass for sure with his snide little remarks not based in truth. He was a leader in the military and a leader for many liberal positions in Congress and in compromising with the Democrats on many issues contrary to the GOP base except on spending and the GWOT.
Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, the governors, won because they have lead states and effectively though Huck had quite a few ethics problems. I don't think John did himself any favors with is untruthful sniping at Mitt Romney especially in Reagan's Library with his 11th commandment to not speak ill of a fellow Republican.
I will also note that John turned down a tete a tete with Mitt on Meet the Press Sunday that Mitt accepted, I find it unusual for McCain to turn down free media unless he knows he will get taken apart after flip flopping on taxes and illegal immigration. Mitt missed the chance to bring up Juan Hernandez and open borders.
Update: Michelle can type really really fast so she has the best round up from pretty much my perspective on things.
Update: I urge you to read Bryan's comments that accompany the above video.

I really wanted to see two things tonight. I wanted to see Romney take the fight to McCain and earn the front runner spot. That didn’t happen. Romney came off well but I doubt the fundamentals changed. The other thing I wanted to see was some sign that McCain was ready to be a leader and be a less irritating figure than he has been up to now. That didn’t happen either. His “I led for patriotism, not for profit” line is a slap in the face to business. A slap in the face to business, and from the presumptive nominee of the pro-business party? Who does he think he is? And where does he think his own money came from? It came from his wife’s father, who presumably led for profit, not for patriotism.
His dishonest attack on Romney’s war stance, captured above, just signals that he’s the same old McCain.
I’m now in the position of having come around to like Romney. He’s decent, smart and fair and I think he would make a fine president. And I dislike McCain all over again. He’s a smarmy beltway insider who just lied to everyone who was watching while he smeared a good man, flipped on his own awful legislation and belittled free enterprise. This man wants to lead the party of Reagan?
McCain sure has his work cut out for him at CPAC. I don’t want to say that his mission of making peace with the base is impossible, but I won’t argue that it’s not.

McCain is a donkey assed jerk off period.

Rudy Is Out

Rudy is done and has endorsed John McCain but I knew that from the very first debate when he said that he would be supporting John if he wasn't running. I know at least one vote that will go to Mitt now, my best friend was a big Rudy guy with Mitt as his second choice. Conservative Republicans now have to make up their mind between now and Super Tuesday whether to get behind Mitt or let someone that has shunned us for years in favor of some rather liberal positions walk right in. Mike Huckabee cannot win the nomination and his supporters are closer to Mitt's on social issues and has split the conservative vote with Mitt. The choice is clear now, Mitt Romney or John McCain, the Reagan conservative or the Rockefeller republican. Tonight's debate is very important for Mitt to make the case for himself.
John Edwards has also dropped out so watch for the Clintons to pull out the long knives for Barack Obama's scalp in a desparate attempt to take him out. This is going to be fun to watch especially after the Kennedy clan's endorsement of Obama. Their next debate is going to be a wild affair for sure.

Florida Votes

All polls show a deadheat between John and Mitt and I almost don't want to watch. It will be very close perhaps hinging on a ton of early and absentee ballots cast and I will be on pins and needles till fairly late tonight. I don't look at exit polls but if you want to Geraghty at the Campaign Spot has some very early leaks. If it as one or two point win it means little more than some delegates, if it is a blowout one way or the other it could be the nominee is crowned tonight, I hope I am celebrating and not drowning my sorrows. I am betting on the Mitt organization and its GOTV efforts in the early voting.
Update: Very early returns have Mitt and John playing leap frog with 6 lead changes so far.
Update: With 30% in, McCain is up by 1%, with about 7,000 votes separating them out of 600,000 cast.
Update: Mitt is getting killed in Miami-Dade county and represents the vote spread between John and Mitt.
Update: Rudy is giving a very gracious and very funny concession speech on Cspan. McCain won three counties, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach by huge margins that represent his lead margin at this time, the rest are a wash but I still don't know if absentee ballots are included. The fun part is Ron Paul has less votes than the margin between John and Mitt, I guess winning real polls is alot harder than spamming online meaningless ones. I don't think Mitt can close the gap but its so close you never know. I wouldn't concede it yet.
Update: A sincere congratulations to John McCain on a very hard fought win, I bitch about McCain alot but really will have little problem voting for him in November if he pulls it out. He may not be my favorite but he is still lightyears better than any of the dhimmicrats. Now it is a delegate race to the finish and bargaining time, McCain/Romney would make a powerful combo for sure, security and fiscal know how with social conservative bona fides and a very strong VP in '12 or '16. The race is not over, Romney has run a very impressive campaign to come from almost zero name recognition compared to McCain's total name recognition to where he is today.

Very Funny

Rush plays some parody songs of McCain, courtesy of Hot Air.

State Of The Union Address

I am sure it will be a grab bag of things, including the vast differences in Iraq since this time last year. I am wondering how many Code Pinkos have infiltrated the audience to disrupt it. I think President Bush's legacy will play very well in history despite what the lefty MSM wants to believe.
Update: Decent speech but my hackles went up on this, 30 BILLION dollars to fight AIDS overseas, WTF!?! That 6 BILLION a year could do a hell of a lot to fix our breaking infrastructure here at home, fund our troops, and, and, and.....!
I expect the Dem rebuttal to be a "the war is lost, we are in a recession so lets retreat and grow the nanny state even more than Bush" bunch of bull hocky.

McCain's Worst Nightmare

Having Michelle Malkin, one of the best investigative journalists in the business, on his tail. She has another report up on the liberal shenanigans of his finance co-chair.

Meet Jerry Perenchio. He’s a National Finance Co-Chair of the McCain 2008 campaign and the billionaire founder of Spanish-language media conglomerate, Univision. He also heads up a charitable foundation that has showered gobs of money on extremist green lobbying groups. Take open-borders zeal, add campaign finance hypocrisy, mix with eco-radicalism, and presto:
The perfect, multiculti-profiteering McCain money buddy.

Sweet Identity Politics At Its Best.

The ladies, if we can call them that, at NOW are absolutely outraged that the bloviating blow hard of the Senate, Ted Kennedy, endorsed Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton and say it is because, gasp, she's a woman. It appears the whole Kennedy clan has gone to Obama, could this really mean the end of the Clintons?

Women have just experienced the ultimate betrayal. Senator Kennedy’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton’s opponent in the Democratic presidential primary campaign has really hit women hard. Women have forgiven Kennedy, stuck up for him, stood by him, hushed the fact that he was late in his support of Title IX, the ERA, the Family Leave and Medical Act to name a few…
And now the greatest betrayal! We are repaid with his abandonment! He’s picked the new guy over us. He’s joined the list of progressive white men who can’t or won’t handle the prospect of a woman president who is Hillary Clinton (they will of course say they support a woman president, just not “this” one)…
This latest move by Kennedy, is so telling about the status of and respect for women’s rights, women’s voices, women’s equality, women’s authority and our ability – indeed, our obligation - to promote and earn and deserve and elect, unabashedly, a President that is the first woman after centuries of men who “know what’s best for us.”

Hat tip to Hot Air for this juicy morsel. It has long been noted that those that live by identity politics, die by identity politics. I think Obama will be tougher to beat in the general election but it will still be sweet to see the Clintons relegated to the sewer of history. I very seriously doubt that we will see Obama and Clinton on the same ticket since they very clearly hate each other intensely. Hillary can't stand the fact that this fresh young upstart is raining on her coronation and Barack is incensed that they played the race card. Barack is a hard-core leftist to be sure but he is good and decent, likeable guy and has tried to take the high road while the Clintons have done their best to pull him into the gutter with them. Eventhough he will be tough to beat, I am pulling for him to beat the Clintons and have a race on the issues not on Hillary's baggage. This is just one of the many reasons I favor Mitt is his firm grasp of the issues.

Mitt On Fox

Responding to McCain's lies about him.

McCain, Soros And The Reform Institute: Updated and Bumped With Video

Dovetailing with open borders advocate and campaign volunteer advisor Juan Hernandez is who does pay Hernandez, The Reform Institute that McCain used to chair and who Their sugar daddy is, George Soros. Michelle and Captain Ed Morrisey have been covering this latest developement in McCamnesty's bid for presidency. Their donor list reads like a who's who of left wing foundations from Theresa Kerry's Tides Foundation to Soros' OSI.

The Reform Institute is a tax-exempt, supposedly independent 501(c)(3) group, as Ed Morrissey noted two years ago, “that employs Rick Davis, who also works on McCain’s staff as his chief political advisor, and they pay him $110,000 per year. The Reform Institute has often supported McCain, paid for events highlighting him and his agenda, presumably including campaign finance reform.” The Reform Institute received $200,000 in donations from Cablevision…and McCain basically tried to intervene on Cablevision’s behalf by writing a letter to the FCC supporting its regulatory agenda. Morrissey noted at the time: “[T]he Reform Institute helps keep McCain’s staff gainfully employed between campaigns, allowing McCain to do less fundraising while retaining the best of the available talent. For instance, Carl Hulse and Ann Kornblut note that Rick Davis managed McCain’s presidential campaign in 2000 before founding Reform Institute. Now its president, he gets over $100,000 a year from RI for “consulting services”. That money allows Davis to remain available for McCain’s future campaigns, and the funding he raises for RI gives him inroads for building support.”

I guess that's how McCamnesty runs a shoestring campaign, Mr. Campaign Finance Reform, yea right, use others to pay your staff so you don't have to. Rick Davis runs his campaign. From Capatain Ed, I urge you to check out the above link.

But the oddities don't end at the donors page for Reform Institute. We've already detailed how McCain's chief political advisor earns a six-figure income from the nonprofit which heavily promotes McCain and the BCRA. As the New York Times noted yesterday, RI provides a back-channel method of keeping his campaign staff employed without McCain having to do any fundraising for his political campaigns -- and avoiding the donation caps that come into play for his donors. And Davis isn't the only beneficiary of this loophole.

Plus McCain says that he would sign McCain/Kennedy amnesty if he is president after saying he would build the g**d*** fence.
Update: The word is getting out as Johnny Mac is asked about Juan "open borders" Hernandez in Florida and spins like a windmill in a hurricane, lying donkey boy. Hot Air has audio and transcript. How could he not know the positions of somebody that works for the same group he and his campaign manager helped found?

Update: Welcome to the Barnyard Freepers but this is an old post, please visit the frontpage and join the conversation, many thanks for the links and boost!

On The Lighter Side

From Ace of Spades, Tarzan's chimp ,Cheetah, out lives his costars at 75 and has employed a ghostwriter for his memoirs.

Dang, skinny dipping in '34 whoda thunk it!

Romney On Cspan

I watching him speak at a rally in Florida and boy has his stump speechifying really improved, this is the Mitt that I have been backing for many years, powerful, dynamic, energetic and firey. The crowd is eating it up in Miami. I will see if I can find some video, that was very good.
He is going to be in Sacramento next week and I just might have to go see him if I can round up $250 after I pay my business sales taxes for last year.
I hope this link works, video is here, if not go here and look for recent programs and Mitt Romney in Sweetwater.
An added bonus for the first time he leads the RCP average in Florida and is moving up everywhere while the rest are static or moving down.

Clintons And The Race Race

Go read this excellent essay by Noel Sheppard on how and why the Clintons are playing the race card and how the MSM fail to see it. The whole thing is excellent so go read it.

Are The Clinton's Done?

In the wake of the stunning landslide for Obama in yesterday's South Carolina primary have the Democrats finally gotten tired of their most famous power couple? It seems so as there is wide spread condemnation of Billy boys tactics and open wondering who is really running for president, he or she, by liberal pundits They are also beginning to wonder if the right has been right all along about the Clintons and their ruthlessness now that the shine is off.
From one of the leaders of Bush Derangement and hater of all things conservative at the LA Times, Jonathan Chait:

It made me wonder: Were the conservatives right about Bill Clinton all along? Maybe not right to set up a perjury trap so they could impeach him, but right about the Clintons' essential nature?
[T]he conservatives might have had a point about the Clintons' character.

Newsbusters has more here and here.

Revenge

I want revenge. Not forgiveness, healing, reconciliation or bridge-building, but revenge, harsh, powerful, uncompromising. One Jew has been savagely murdered and two shot, for the simple crime that they were Jewish, by members of the "moderate" Fatah terrorist organization. For this terrible attack, there must be no tolerance, no turning the other cheek and no mercy, but rather revenge, terrible and sweet.

O earth, do not conceal their blood! How long with this continue, Israel's corrupt judenrat giving up Jewish land to appease the murderers, with the only result being death and destruction? How can any Jew hear of this and his blood not boil? The blood of this holy martyr, HaShem yinkom damo, is on the head of Ehud Olmert and his entire cabinet, along with the blood of those who have been killed in various attacks and rockets on Sderot. After the Holocaust, when Europe became one giant Jewish graveyard, we pledged 'Never Again'. Never again to Jewish weakness. Never again to going silently like sheep to the slaughter. And yet Ehud Olmert continues to call Abbas, the head of the murderous organization dedicated to the Final Solution to the Zionist Problem, a moderate! A man of peace who is prepared to end the violence against Israel in return for an Arab state. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Since 2005, Gaza has been judenrein, free from any alleged occupation or Israeli intereference. In the subsequent two and a half years, the Arabs of Gaza have not proven themselves ready for self-government but plunged themselves into a bloody civil war, with Hamas finally winning. When Israel disengaged Gaza, throwing out 10 000 Jewish settlers in the process, it left behind farm equipment and greenhouses. Showing the world yet again how the Arab never miss and opportunity to miss and opportunity, the vile savages desecrated the synagogues of the former settlement and burnt the greenhouses, destroying a chance to start a self-suficient economy. Now, the streets of Gaza are overflowing with sewage because the pipes have been used as rockets to launch at Sderot and gangs of Islamofascist thugs terrorize the population. Thriving Jewish communities were razed to appease these animals and in gratitude, the Arab murderers killed every Jew that they could get their hands on. Even as Israel released hundreds of Arab terrorists, kidnapped Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, remains in the hands of Hamas. The weapons that Israel gave to the Arabs as a sign of goodwill have found their way into the hands of Jew-murdering pigs; Fatah policemen were guilty in the death of two Jewish hikers in Judea and Samaria.

The time for talk is over. It is now time for revenge. Israel says that it has disengaged from Gaza so let it make good on its claim. Let Israel completely disconnect from Gaza, and seal tightly all the gates. Any transer of electricity, medical aid and information as well as any contact by Israeli officials must be banned. Any village which is used as a base for staging assaults on Jewish targets will be razed, after its population is expelled. No Hamas or Fatah official should be safe and bombardment of Gaza will not stop until the Arabs declare complete and unconditional surrender.

Liberals, in their perverted notions of righteousness, claim that this is immoral. Nonsense! Morality comes directly from HaShem and is derived from the Torah. The highest moral law is that of self-preservation and to that end, Israel must hesitate one iota. Let everyone take to heart the teaching of our Sages contained in Midrash Tanchuma: Just as they show you no mercy, so you should not show them mercy. There have been enough dead Jews, enough bereaved mothers and enough orphaned children in the misguided quest to make "peace" with the Arabs and to relinquish Jewish land. The Arabs have had ample time to show their unwillingness to stop murdering and have killed, looted, bombed and attacked every chance they have got.

By failing to take revenge and to stand up for ourselves, we are guilty of the worst sort of chillul HaShem. "And I scattered them among the nations and they were dispersed through the countries; according to their way and according to their doings I judged them. And when they came into the nations whither they came, they profaned My Holy Name when they [the nations] said concerning them: These are the people of the Lord and are gone forth from His land! And I had pity for My Holy Name which the House of Israel had profaned among the nations into which they came. Therefore say unto the House of Israel: Thus said the Lord, G-d. I do not do this for your sake, O House Of Israel, but for My Holy Name's sake which you have profaned among the nations into which you came. And I will sanctify My Great Name, which was profaned among the nations, which you profaned among them, and the nations shall know that I Am The Lord, said the Lord G-d, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all the countries and bring you into your own land." (Ezekiel 36) Whenever a Jew is degraded or attacked by a non-Jew, this is a chillul HaShem. Whenever a Jewish settlement is bombarded or a Jew walking on the streets of Jerusalem is shot, this is a chillul HaShem. "And when they came into the nations whither they came, they profaned My Holy Name." Our defenselessness, weakness, our reliance on the wobbly reed of flesh and blood and our refusal to claim what is rightfully ours, is the essense of desecrating G-d's Name. "Israel's lowliness is a Chillul Hashem in that the nations say of them, "These are the Lord's people [and they are gone forth out of His Land] yet He is unable to save them." (Rashi on Ezekiel 39:7).

Eventually, we will wake up to the necessity of Jewish self-defense and assertion; the only question is how long and at what cost in Jewish blood? Jews, do not allow the death of our brothers to go unavenged! We have learnt from the Holocaust and from the thousands of years of exile that preceded it that if we do not stand up for ourselves, no one will.

"Sing aloud, O ye nations, of His people; for He doth avenge the blood of His servants, and doth render vengeance to His adversaries, and doth make expiation for the land of His people." (Deut. 32:43)

Cross-posted from For Zion's Sake

Democrats Play In South Carolina Today

They vote in their primary today amid reports of record turnout, Barack has led all recent polls by a large margin but they were wrong in New Hampshire. Here's something to make you queasy, if Barack were to win in Nov. just imagine an Attorney General named John Edwards as I have been hearing rumors of from none other than the Prince of Darkness himself, Bob Novak. Polling has closed so results should start trickling in soon. It will be interesting to see how the King and Queen of sleazy politics spin the results.
Update: 30% reporting, Obama 54, Clinton 27%, Edwards 20%
Update: 85% in, Obama 54, Clinton 27, Edwards 18
Update: finals, Obama 55%, Clinton 26%, Edwards 18% , the Cinton duo has to be smarting a bit, that was a huge loss and should give Obama a huge bounce. Like I said let's see how the Clinton smear machine spins it.

McCain's Very Bad Day

Wow, I knew McCain was awful on this but this is really bad besides getting the endorsment of the New York Times for being the anti-Republican, and open borders amnesty shill Geraldo Rivera, his hispanic outreach director advocates for completely open borders with a free flow of people. Michelle Malkin has the scoop.

Dr. Juan Hernandez, McCain Hispanic outreach director: “We must not only have a free flow of goods and services, but also start working for a free flow of people.”

and

Hernandez was a close advisor to Vicente “Welcome to North America” Fox and headed up a Mexican bureaucracy called the “Presidential Office for Mexicans Abroad.” It was designed to allow Hernandez to travel across the country, meddling with local, state, and federal immigration enforcement on behalf of millions of illegal aliens in America. He lobbied for illegal alien driver’s licenses and Mexico first, defended Mexican bus operators carrying illegal aliens to the USA, and promoted extending banking privileges to illegal aliens.

In an interview on ABC News’s Nightline, Hernandez stated bluntly that he was betting that the Mexican American population in the United States –all generations– “will think Mexico first…”I want ‘em all to think Mexico first.”

Unreal and this.

GOP Debate Tonight

With the field finally narrowed down from 8-9 to 5 we should get some real fireworks between McCain and Romney and possibly Rudy and Huck with Ron looking like he's been sucking on a lemon and ranting as usual. I wonder if Ron will get any questions about his racist anti-semitic news letters and wacky troofer following. Rudy has everything riding on Florida and has sunk to a distant third in recent polling even after practically living in Florida the last few weeks so he really needs to shine as does Huckabee who is out of money. Mitt just needs to be solid and look presidential as he comes under attack from all three. John needs to come up with some new lines and explain his many recent and angry flip flops on taxes and amnesty as recent as this morning "I have always been for tax cuts except the ones I voted against" not to mention the fifty tax increases he voted for, sounds an awful lot like another John that ran on the other ticket four years ago. A ticket this John considered joining in case anyone forgot.
I will post updates as the debate proceeds.
Update: Here we go Brian and Tim will be moderating and they are usually pretty good and it starts with the stimulus package going through Congress. Mitt goes first. It does not go far enough and should have permanent tax cuts.
John, I am for the cuts I voted against.
Update: Mike makes a good point about infrastructure investment creating jobs and stimulating local economies.
Update: Nobody can say Dr. No is not a fiscal conservative, he votes no on everything.
Update: I would say strong answers across the board with the exception of Dr Paul and his 'empire' talk, strong defense, lower taxes etc. the next part the candidates get to question each other, this should be good.
Update: Dang, no fireworks.
Final update: While I bash McCain, Huckabee, Paul and Giulliani because I am a Romney hack I thought they all gave strong performances. There were no angry exchanges as we see in the DNC race. They were incredibly civil and touted their own records, a plus for the GOP, even Dr. Paul was far more credible than any of the Dems. Mitt withstood some withering questioning from Russert and looked presidential as did Rudy, McCain did fine and so did Mike no gaffes from any of them, except McCain and his tax positions after voting to raise them fifty times.

Ouch, This Will Leave A Mark

Ann Coulter lights into McCain's lies and flip flops on taxes and illegal alien amnesty. With the exception of the GWOT McCain would essentially be the same as electing Hillary, he has voted with the Democrats on raising taxes and drinks the Al Gore kool-aid on global warming and opposes domestic oil exploration.
And Mark Krikorian at NRO.

We all know John McCain is terrible on immigration. For years he held America’s sovereignty and security hostage to amnesty and increased immigration, and his newfound support for “enforcement first” is so insubstantial and transparently insincere that it insults our intelligence. He’s so bad that Americans for Better Immigration ranks his performance in office as the worst of all the presidential candidates — including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. (See the GOP grid here and the Democratic one here.) And as Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation has pointed out, passage of McCain’s bill “would represent the largest expansion of the welfare state in 30 years.”

Ouch, and Dan Riehl, a McCain nomination will rip apart the GOP and I am beginning to think so myself just from my observations from around the New Media, blogs and talk radio. A lot of conservatives will sit on their hands feeling that if our country is going to go in the tank it might as well be the Democrats doing it to us. That is what Rush was saying today.
From Hot Air, Michelle, "Not the candidate conservatives can trust."

Romney Builds Steam, McCain Takes Hits

New polls out in Florida show Romney is getting the bump and McCain sinking and with Fred now out of the race and 75% of his voters going to Mitt and Phil Klein reporting from the road in Florida says he is starting to pick off some of Rudy's support as well. Mitt's prowess on economic issues is playing well with voters in Florida concerned about the economy.
Meanwhile McCain's Straight Talk Express has changed its tires for flip flops on illegal immigration and tax cuts and he has admitted he knows nothing about economics. I guess that's why he opposed the Bush tax cuts and voted to increase taxes 50 times. McCain may be the MSM darling as they want to tell GOP voters who is our best candidate because he is closest to their liberal thinking, meaning he compromises and capitulates to the Democrats while saying his own party is broken. Michelle Malkin is taking him to task on illegal immigration and reminds us that McCain has called the base bigots because we wouldn't let him and his liberal cohorts ram amnesty down our throats. McCain does not respond well when his actual record is attacked and his hot temper is legendary in the Senate literally cursing out fellow GOP Senators for not buying his liberal proposals. He was also caught saying Americans wouldn't pick lettuce for $50 an hour in the Arizona summer, several in the audience said they would, problem is lettuce is a Winter crop in Az. I guess he has spent to much time with that cabbage headed Ted Kennedy.

Want To Discuss Issues

Issues:
1-Win The War
2- Secure The Border
3- Appoint Constitutional Justices
4- Stop The Spending
5- Lower The Taxes

1- If we don't the rest don't matter.
2- See above.
3- This is the only way the President can have an impact on abortion and other issues dear to social conservatives and that won't matter if the above are not solved.
4- Do you want to saddle your kids and grandkids with socialist policies?
5- See above.

Clinton, Obama And Alinsky

Two absolute must reads in American Thinker about Saul Alinsky, the communist radical organizer of the '60s, and his acolytes. They both believe in the socialist revolution and the social planning of a central government that is all things to all people so if you want to understand the nuances of how they campaign read these two important essays, one by Kyle Anne Shiver the other by Andrew Walden. They explain alot about the tactics that both are using to gain power and why they want it.

Fred Is Out: Updated

I don't believe he really wanted to run and then to get drafted to great acclaim and then crash and burn has got to be a little embarassing. He will not endorse anybody but I think most of his fans will migrate to Mitt since they are the closest on policy issues and Mitt has a real chance of winning. I also believe if he had run a better campaign McCain and Huckabee would have been nonfactors.
I hear Huckabee is out of money and may get out soon as well.

From the Romney campaign:

"Throughout this campaign, Fred Thompson brought a laudable focus to the challenges confronting our country and the solutions necessary to meet them. He stood for strong conservative ideas and believed strongly in the need to keep our conservative coalition together. Ann and I would like to extend our best wishes to Fred, Jeri and their family and congratulate them on their efforts during this campaign."

Update: Patrick Ruffini ran a poll over the last couple days since SC asking where Fred's supporters would go and the results are as I expected with nearly 5,000 responses.
Romney 74%
Giuliani 15%
McCain 7%
Huckabee 5%

Sidenote: I understand Fred's mother is seriously ill and in intensive care so my prayers are with them and urge my readers to do the same. I am sure this had something to do with his decision, it would be extremely hard to campaign effectively in that situation.

Update: Rusty at The Jawa Report, a serious Fredhead, has posted an open letter to fellow Fredheads to support Mitt because Mitt gets the threat of radical Islam and the need for border security in this age of jihad.
I will add, ignore national polls at this point as they had Reagan way back as well in 1980 and we know how that worked out, grin. I can say we will welcome you with open arms and a warm spot by the fire in the Romney camp.

Update: I never thought my Fredhead friends were defeatist but they are sure mopey. A question for them: If your star quarteback gets hurt do you forfiet the game or send in the next guy and play just as hard for him if not harder to win the game? We have a Super Bowl to win or we will have socialism forced upon us by judicial fiat and executive decree. I cannot pound this point harder, there will be at least three SCOTUS vacancies in the next term and if you care about social concerns that is the key. Do you want to let Hillary or Obama appoint the next three or four Supreme Court Justices? Go ahead and sit on your hands but I don't want to hear a damn peep out of you should that happen.

A Note To Readers

As the primary season grows tight and harried in the GOP race I want all to know that I am willing to discuss issues and policy. I am a Mitt Romney supporter till we have a nominee and then I will get behind that nominee with the same fervor that I support Mitt. You can boost your guy and I don't mind but when you sink to disparaging others because they don't support your candidate you are worthy of being blocked from commenting. I have friends that support Fred, Rudy and John, no Huckleberries that I know of, and we have great fun discussing issues and just being friends and fellow bloggers. We have our reasons for our choices and I respect them and they respect me the same. We have no reason to do otherwise, why should we, we just want the best person to lead OUR PARTY. I believe Mitt is the best man to do that and you may differ in thought but we can't take our eyes off the goal of beating Hillary or Obama. I don't want to hear so and so is the only person that can win, make your case and we will discuss it like adults and friends.

I will add this to finish, , I am also willing to jump in the mud and wrestle the pig, I love BBQed ribs and will put that pig on the grill.

Who Will Go To The Super Bowl?

Game day, can the Chargers go into frozen Foxboro and pull off the upset of the century? I doubt it the Patriots are so darn solid.
Game time temps in Green Bay are expected to be below zero but snow free, will Brett get his chance at another ring? The Giants are tough on the road but Lambeau field is not a typical road game. Go Pack !
My Predictions: Patriots 38-17, Packers 24-21
Update: Despite being beaten up with injured stars the Chargers are hanging tough with solid defense but have been unable to punch it into the endzone, 14-9 Pats at halftime.
Update: Well as expected the Pats go 18-0 though the Chargers made it rough for them and you have to wonder how they would have done if they had been healthy. They will darn tough next year.
Now to the frozen tundra of Lambeau field and I have a fire in the stove and cold beer. This should be good game, the temperature is -1 ,-23 windchill to start, brrr. They just said this is the third coldest game in history.
Halftime update: Pack 10-6 in one heck of a football game. I don't know how those guys can go sleeveless in those arctic temperatures even at that level of activity. I mean exposed flesh will freeze pretty darn quick, I feel for the subs, coaches and cameramen.
Update: Great game, penalties have hurt the Pack bad at the wrong times and the Giants. Go Pack, all tied with a little over two minutes to play.
Update: The Pack catches a break on a missed field goal for the win, Over Time!
The Pack wins the toss, game on! Go Brett Go!!! Ouch, game over, Tynes redeems himself after two misses and the Giants continue their fairy tale post season.

Romney Wins Nevada

Early returns have him winning by a huge margin, +25-30% will this effect voters in SC? We'll see.
Update: Wow Mitt is up by 44% over McCain and Paul and Obama by 70% over Clinton
Update: Mitt 55%, McCain 13%, Paul 12%, Fred and Huck 7%
Clinton and Obama are now tied.
Update: McCain and Paul are less than 100 votes apart with Paul having the edge, if these numbers hold then Mitt is the only one that has not finished behind Paul . That should embarass the rest of the field pretty bad but the land of Sin City and the Bunny Ranch is fertile territory for Paul.
Update: Nevada final, Mitt 51%, Ron 14%, John 13%, Mike and Fred 8%, Rudy 4% and Duncan Hunter gracefully drops out of the race. On the Dem side Hillary 51%, Barack 45%, John 4% amid a storm of controversy. county by county breakdown here.

On to South Carolina where the earliest returns are just starting to trickle in.
Update: 25% reporting- John 35%, Mike 28%, Fred and Mitt 15%
Update: 50% reporting- John 33%, Mike 29%, Fred 16%, Mitt 15%, Ron 4%, Rudy 2%
Update: 80% in- above numbers are holding but less than 1% separates Mitt and Fred with some big districts yet to report, its been called for Johnny Mac. It is a sad day for Fredheads for sure, you are welcome to come join us in the Romney camp to help stop McCain in Florida, we would be very happy to have you join us.
Update: County breakdown is here, Mitt and Fred are both in the 15% range but Fred has a small lead for third without rounding.

Romney On Leno

I very rarely watch Leno but Mitt will be on tonight so I will watch. Jay is fairly conservative/libertarian and runs a smooth show so I will be looking for clips at Hot Air. He slaps Huckabee and his fried squirrel around a bit in his monologue. Slick move by Mitt with a caucus and primary votes in Nevada and South Carolina tomorrow, smart timing for sure. Mitt is the man, I hope he lets his hair down a bit.
Update: Leno asks about all the biilionairs, Romney"I'm not worried about them they are doing fine, I am worried about the middle-class and small businesses". I am a small business and folks wonder why I support Mitt, well it is pretty obvious why.

Jackie Mason Friday

On John McCain

On Ron Paul and blame America haters

On Clinton and Obama

Wow from the comments at Utube the racist, anti-semitic Stormfront paratrooper paulistinians for Ron Paul really hate Jackie. That must be where they spend their time commenting because noone else will let them, Ha.

Juicy Red Meat

Ooooh this is rich and its only going to get sweeter as more gets released, memos from Hillary's '93 task force on healthcare are starting to be released under the Freedom of Information Act by Judicial Watch. No wonder the Clinton's didn't want these getting out because they are a damning indictment of their power tactics to force the plan on America including the personal destruction of opponents and collaboration with the media on how to sell it. I think they are being released a little early but it is mountains of ammunition for the GOP to use against them.
Michelle, Hot Air and Captains Quarters all have excerpts and commentary.

A June 18, 1993 internal Memorandum entitled, “A Critique of Our Plan,” authored by someone with the initials “P.S.,” makes the startling admission that critics of Hillary’s health care reform plan were correct: “I can think of parallels in wartime, but I have trouble coming up with a precedent in our peacetime history for such broad and centralized control over a sector of the economy…Is the public really ready for this?… none of us knows whether we can make it work well or at all…”

• A “Confidential” May 26, 1993 Memorandum from Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) to Hillary Clinton entitled, “Health Care Reform Communications,” which criticizes the Task Force as a “secret cabal of Washington policy ‘wonks’” that has engaged in “choking off information” from the public regarding health care reform. The memorandum suggests that Hillary Clinton “use classic opposition research” to attack those who were excluded by the Clinton Administration from Task Force deliberations and to “expose lifestyles, tactics and motives of lobbyists” in order to deflect criticism. Senator Rockefeller also suggested news organizations “are anxious and willing to receive guidance [from the Clinton Administration] on how to time and shape their [news] coverage.”

• A February 5, 1993 Draft Memorandum from Alexis Herman and Mike Lux detailing the Office of Public Liaison’s plan for the health care reform campaign. The memorandum notes the development of an “interest group data base” detailing whether or not organizations “support(ed) us in the election.” The database would also track personal information about interest group leaders, such as their home phone numbers, addresses, “biographies, analysis of credibility in the media, and known relationships with Congresspeople.”

Lots more at Judicial Watch linked above.

Stewardess Hillary

Jim at Gateway Pundit has the video of the idioic stunt she pulled on her chartered jet 'Hill-Force One'. She should stick to crying and cackling because comedy is not her shtick.

"Now in a few minutes," she continued, "I am going to switch off the fasten your seatbelt sign, however, I've learned lately that things can get oftly bumpy when you least expect it, so you might want to keep those seatbelts fastened."

"In the event of an unexpected drop in poll numbers, this plane will be diverted to New Hampshire."

"If you look out to the right, you will see an America saddled with tax cuts for the wealthiest and a war without end. If you look out to the left, you will see an America with a strong middle class at home and a strong reputation in the world."

"Once we have reached cruising altitude we will be offering in flight entertainment, my stump speech, in its many variations."

"Once again, thank you for joining us on Hill-Force One. We know you have choices when you fly, and so we are grateful that you chose the plane with the most experienced candidate..."

As Jim asked, experienced at what? I would suggest lying and flip-flopping but that is being nice.

Why I Am Single And Happy

I just saw Sex and the City for the first time, 'nuff said, ladies tell me women aren't really like that, I was disgusted by the entire show, cheating lying bitch money grubbing sluts.

Retreat And Defeaters Back Down On War Fight

At least they are consistent, now they just want to block Bush from entering into any long term agreements with Iraq after a year of getting hammered and losing vote after vote in Congress. I still here calls for impeachment here and there but it is hollow wishful thinking since they don't have the votes for that either. From Politico

The groups believe this switch in strategy can draw contrasts with Republicans that will help Democrats gain ground in November and bring the votes to pass more dramatic measures. But it is a long way from the early months of 2007, when Democrats were freshly in power and momentum for a dramatic shift in Iraq policy seemed overpowering.

“There was a consensus that last year was not productive,” John Isaacs, executive director of Council for a Livable World, said of a meeting attended by a coalition of anti-war groups last week. “Our expectations were dashed.”

Ann Coulter Endorses Romney

This is a big boost to Mitt's conservative credentials, Ann may actually be able to pull in some wayward voters to the fold. She's onto something when the MSM fawn all over McCain and Huckabee and loath Mitt it means they are afraid of him and know they won't be able to shred him if he gets the nomination. They will turn on Huck and McCain in a New York minute should they get the ticket and feed them to the wolves. Mitt is so squeaky clean the only thing they have to hit him with is the Mormon thing and that won't work as Mitt does well among Evangelical Christians and those that wouldn't vote for a Mormon probably wouldn't vote for a Republican anyway since we know how tolerant the left is to religious people.

Assuming any actual Republicans are voting for McCain -- or for liberals' new favorite candidate for us, Mike Huckabee -- this column is for you.

I've been casually taking swipes at Mitt Romney for the past year based on the assumption that, in the end, Republicans would choose him as our nominee. My thinking was that Romney would be our nominee because he is manifestly the best candidate.

I had no idea that Republican voters in Iowa and New Hampshire planned to do absolutely zero research on the candidates and vote on the basis of random impulses.

Dear Republicans: Please do one-tenth as much research before casting a vote in a presidential election as you do before buying a new car.

One clue that Romney is our strongest candidate is the fact that Democrats keep viciously attacking him while expressing their deep respect for Mike Huckabee and John McCain.

This point was already extensively covered in Chapter 1 of "How To Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)": Never take advice from your political enemies.

Mitt Shows Some Ire With AP Reporter

Mary Katherine has the video of AP reporter Glenn Johnson of regal Hillary Clinton reports, badgering Mitt and accusing him of having Washington lobbyists running his campaign which is not true at all. Hot Air has more details. It is always a good thing when a GOP candidate stands up to biased reporters and Mitt handled it very well but the best part is the little old southern lady calling the reporter rude and ugly.

It Works For Democrats

So Mike Huckabee breaks out the victim identity politics game and blames the vast right wing conspiracy. I guess Huck's identity is redneck preacher man with a forked tongue, fried squirrel. Newsbusters has the story and Hot Air followed up with video.

McCain: Greeny Liberal

In a blogger conference call today John McCain compared drilling for oil in ANWR to drilling in the Grand Canyon or the Everglades and supports euro-socialist cap and trade policies. He doesn't want to drill off our coasts so how in the hell are we going to get off foreign oil if we can't develop our domestic sources, bio-fuels are a colossal pipe-dream and completely unfeasible to replace oil. Battery operated or hybrids do far more damage to the environment through the production and disposal of the batteries just as bio-fuels do. We have plenty of oil but the liberals won't let us refine what we pump, won't let us pump what we know we have and won't let us look for new sources and that is John McCain's position. I am all for green technology but I am realistic about the here and now and we need to tap our domestic supplies like never before, I believe most Republicans and Americans in general support that position. Gasoline is not the only product we get from oil, the plastic industry and cosmetic industry also rely on petroleum by-products.
John McCain is a great American hero and an honorable man but he is so wrong on so many things that he is more a moderate Democrat than Republican and does not deserve our parties nomination. I mean if Cuba and Venezuela can drill off Florida's coast why can't we?
Learn more about energy at The Energy Tribune.
Candidate positions.

Democrats Debate Tonight

Barack Hillary and Silky Pony go at it in Vegas. Racial issues of course come up first with Hillary tanking among blacks with only 25% support. Barack handles it well running as a Democrattic candidate not a black candidate. Will Edwards go after Hillary? Will Clinton get shrill?
Update: Hillary has not broken out the icy glare yet. She gas coined a new phrase "green-collar jobs" to save America.
Update: John Edwards the mill town fighter, did anybody not know he grew up in a mill town with a mill worker dad? He wants to fight, fight fight the people who bring jobs to America, the evil corporations.
Update: Hillary seems to think she is running against the Bush administration.
Boy does Edwards love the class warfare rhetoric. Does BO not remember passing that awful energy bill recently that had no energy in it?
Update: Geez, these three are straight up socialists, all government all the time for everything. The number one fear of financial advisers and investment types is a Democrat in the Whitehouse, I guess they don't realize the middle-class is the investor class.
Update: I can't watch anymore of this, Barack is winning handily.
Update: If you want more head over to Michelle's.

Michigan Primary

Jim Geraghty at the Campaign Spot is hearing Mitt is up 6 pts over McCain with Huck way back in third in the first exit polls. I am leery of exit polls but I have to be happy. Go Mitt Go !
Mitt 35%, McCain 29%, Huckabee 15%, Paul 10% pretty much mirrors the more reliable polls taken most recently.
Update: 15% reporting, Mitt +6, Huck -20
Update: Great night for political junkies.
Republicans 20% reporting, 40% Romney, 30% McCain, 15% Huckabee, 6% Paul, 4% Thompson, 3% Giuliani
Democrats, 61% Clinton, 34% UNCOMMITTED
Update: with 43% reporting the above numbers are holding firm, YAY Mitt !!!
Final Update: Mitt wins handily and Hillary doesn't break the humiliation barrier as the only name on the Dem ballot. Mitt has 2 wins and 2 seconds, more votes and delegates than the others and the MSM still counts him out. Dean Barnett is right that if Mitt just goes out as himself without the advisors telling him what to say he does much better, I look for him to work the fiscal /economy angle much harder from now on, his specialty.
Republicans
39% Romney
30% McCain
16% Huckabee
6% Paul
4% Thompson
3% Giuliani
Democrats
58% Clinton
37% UNCOMMITTED

Totally Cool

A first extreme descent in snowboarding, I mountaineer and won't do this stuff, its nuts but very cool. Video courtesy of Dragon Lady, love the scenery.

Hey Californians: Updated With Video

Did you know we are stealing Arizona's water? Well John McCain thinks we are in a speech in Michigan, thats what McCain wants for California on top of our other troubles, open borders and closed rivers. I heard the clip on Hugh Hewitt's show so I don't have a link unless Hugh has put one up. He was discussing pumping water out of the Great Lakes and said he is from Arizona and California "has stolen our water", he used those exact words.

Candidate Cars

I know it is a rather trivial question but what do the candidates have parked in their driveway is fun as they campaingn in Michigan and some stump on the global warming scam? John McCain has drunk Gore's koolaid on that matter and wants to tax energy production. Henry Payne takes a look in today's NRO.
Huckabee who spouts a little Gore on green, a Chevy Tahoe and Silverado, at least he buys American.
Rudy doesn't own a car says he navigates.
Mitt loves cars and Detroit, a Ford Mustang convertible, a Silverado, and a Cadillac suv.
McCain, a Lexus and Cadillac and didn't know Cadillac was part of the Big Three.
Ron Paul, a Buick, Lincoln, Ford truck and a '79 Chevelle.
Fred is associated with his Chevy truck.
Obama when he's not being ferried around in Secret Service Suburbans, a Chrysler 300 and a Ford Escape hybrid, somehow I bet that luxury sedan sees more road than the ugly Escape. Why the hell does he get SS protection on the taxpayers tab when he can afford his own damn body guards?
Hillary is chauferred in Secret Service Suburbans but they own a Chrysler Mariner hybrid which I doubt gets driven at all as Bill gets SS rides as well. I understand them getting the SS protection as a former President but they can afford private security as well.
Edwards has an Escape hybrid as well but has been seen in a Cadillac suv as well, I can't see them in anything but a luxury vehicle.
It seems McCain is the only one that has a non Big Three vehicle but Toyota does manufacture most of their vehicles here as does Nissan and Honda and employ thousands in more industry friendly states than Michigan.

Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles

This is the much hyped FOX series based on the popular movies, well duh, anyway, I am going to watch the premier, lots of shooting and things being blown up amid wild chases and hot chicks, what's not to like? I will post my opinions of course.
Update: It starts on the classic note, can they keep it up? I like it so far and I am not a big TV watcher.
Update: This is actually pretty darn good and should get a loyal following with several sub-plots to develope.
Update: Very good, I will watch this, like I said guns , bombs, chases, hot chicks and a story line to boot.

A Total Suspension Of Disbelief

Oh good grief, Hillary takes credit for the successes in Iraq since the surge she opposed on Meet The Press today. I knew they would try to spin their desire to retreat in defeat as putting pressure on the Iraqis to get it together and not the brilliant strategy put in place by Gen. Petraeus. This has to be the most arrogant, dishonest display this entire campaign. Gateway Pundit has more and video courtesy of Hot Air.

MR. RUSSERT: If General Petraeus says, "Senator, in September you called the surge the suspension of belief. It has worked, and you know it's worked"--let me finish--"you can see on the ground. I'm saying to you, Senator, or president-elect Clinton, don't destroy Iraq. It's working, the surge is working. Keep troops there just a few more months to get this reconciliation complete."

SEN. CLINTON: ...The point of the surge was to quickly move the Iraqi government and Iraqi people. That is only now beginning to happen, and I believe in large measure because the Iraqi government, they watch us, they listen to us. I know very well that they follow everything that I say. And my commitment to begin withdrawing our troops in January of 2009 is a big factor, as it is with Senator Obama, Senator Edwards, those of us on the Democratic side. It is a big factor in pushing the Iraqi government to finally do what they should have been doing all along.

She then blasts Obama for not being anti-war enough, amazing, she has more positions on the war than satelite TV has channels.
Here she tries to spin her way out of the racially tinted attacks on Obama, this could rip a big old nasty gash in the Democrat's coalition of identity groups as blacks are a big portion of those groups. Hillary relies on identity group politics and if in her quest for power is willing to say or do anything to get elected she may very well alienate a core constituency and without the black vote the Democrats can't win.

Update: Welcme to the Barnyard to Gateway Pundit sidetrack visitors!

NFL Sunday

Wow, the Chargers upset the Colts in a real nailbiter, 28-24, I guess we won't get that Manning vs Brady rematch afterall. The Chargers looked really tough though they gave up alot of yards to the pass.
Update: Giants and Cowboys tied up at halftime with a great drive by the Giants to end the half.
Update: This a good game as well, Dallas has hurt themselves with some penalties.
Update: Wow, duel upsets today as the Giants knocked off the Cowboys, 21-17, neither Romo or Manning could pull off successful 2 minute drill heroics that they are so well known for. Can the Chargers stop the Patriots in Foxboro? Will the Giants continue their fairy tail on the frozen tundra of Lambeau field against the wily old fox, Brett Favre? I think the Packers have the best chance against New England in the Super Bowl.

Sunday Morning Must Read

Is this article in American Thinker by Selwyn Duke on the race for the American mind examining the thought police and "hate" crimes.

Yet this is no time for a victory dance. The new media is under attack, as the left aims to silence dissent before it grows strong enough to block the thought police's coup de grace. This is the race for the American mind.

And we are losing.

The attack upon free expression is more varied than one may think, but I'll start with the obvious. Most have heard of the euphemistically-named "Fairness Doctrine," which would essentially eliminate traditionalist talk radio. People such as Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage may then be relegated to satellite - assuming they're willing to leap into the ether - and its far smaller audience.

Then we have hate speech laws, which empower governments to punish people of politically incorrect passions. In Europe, Canada and elsewhere, average citizens have suffered persecution for criticizing homosexuality and Islam and voicing other unfashionable truths. And as hate speech laws become more entrenched and accepted, the list of taboos of the tongue grows longer - and more widespread. They're coming soon to a theater of social operations near you.

NFL Playoffs: Updated

Green Bay and Seattle face off in the snow, now that is how football should be played not in some domed stadium. I like Green Bay in this one though that will probably jinx them, LOL.
Update: Well after an awful start the Packers got it together and are now running away with it and it is snowing buckets, ah post-season at Lambeau field. Boy the snow is really coming down.
Update: Well Brett made that look easy, 42-20 with 6 straight TDs. Up next can the Jaguars upset the Patriot juggernaut on Brady's home turf? I seriously doubt it unless the Pats lie down and that ain't going to happen after last years loss to the Colts.
Update: Jacksonville looks to make this a real ballgame, Garrard seems to be quite the QB and a real class act, 14-14.
Update: 28-20. can Brady's offense be stopped?
Update: 31-20. I don't think so.

Something I Need To Learn

I need to learn how to take good pictures of the night sky as I live aways from city lights in the middle of a huge valley and have a big sky at night. I feel for those folks that live in big cities and have never really seen the night sky. I have been camping in the desert many, many times where we huddled close to a blazing fire and wondered at the incredible immensity of what seemed so close, stars ready for picking as if they were low hanging fruit. I love the high desert and spending time there brings a clarity of thinking, it is you and what engulfs you, a slap or reminder of what you really are just another creature in a quest for survival. You can't help but be in awe of the Glory of God's Creation.

Our night sky is brilliantly mixed with clouds and stars right now, I need to read up on my camera.

A Belated Good-Bye To Joe and Chris

From the Red State boys, I will miss Joe Biden and Chris Dodd in the Democrat campaign especially Ole Slo Joe, a missquote a minute.

What Happens If Barack Doesn't Win

It could be ugly if he continues to lose primaries. It will be BO or Hillary next fall and if they are not elected the MSM media will brand it as latent racism or sexism in America, get ready for it. This could get really nasty between Barack and Hillary supporters over the next few months, best the GOP stay positive and issues oriented while the identity politics in the DNC rears its nasty head. Here is a must read from American Thinker.

This euphoric sense of unity appeared to be quite widespread. After all, the media went crazy last December when Oprah Winfrey called Obama "the one" who, as president, "can bring us all together." And now liberal talking heads and typing fingers were enraptured with what they believed this man -- one part John, one part Bobbie, and let's not forget a dash of Martin -- might represent and accomplish if elected. Indeed, the momentum appeared unstoppable as the contest quickly moved into New Hampshire this week with all odds-makers predicting an Obama rout and his candidacy all but assured.
But when his unprecedented coronation didn't materialize, familiar allegations of possible racial bias did. This was only the first of many primaries and the failure of the only black candidate to emerge victorious already has elicited cries of foul. Ironically, while liberal guilt has historically been both the enabler of minority entitlement and exonerator of its many abuses, the accused bigots in this case were Democrats.

The Democrat base could be coming on a larger fracture than the GOP's conservative base id Obama is not nominated precisely because hillary to many Obama supporters see Hillary as the status quo and would just stay home including black voters if Hillary keeps making racial slurs. This is an interesting POTUS race by all accounts.

Is The Taliban On The Verge Of Crack Up

Ray Robison thinks so and has argued such very cogently for a while now.

Open tribal warfare in remote areas of Pakistan has the potential of scoring a major success in the War on Terror. As pointed out here at AT yesterday, indicators point to the beginning of the civil war between Taliban tribes predicted here at the American Thinker. Two prominent leaders, Taliban chiefs find themselves at bloody conflict instigated by al Qaeda operators. The fault line between al Qaeda allied Taliban and MMA/Musharraf allied Taliban has ruptured.


While the outward appearance of a civil war may be gloomy on purely humanistic terms, it is a positive development when viewed for what it is: our enemies killing each other off. If we look a little bit down the road, we can see the pros and cons.

The 6,331 GOP Debate

This one is South Carolina and will include Ron Paul. I will comment on anything memorial.
Update: On FOX's live stream preshow some Paulnuts started to get rowdy and they were promptly shutup and the crowd applauded. Nice rendition of the National Anthem to start, a first in the debates, that's SC for you. Ugh a lights and bells soundbite debate.
Update: Whoe Nelly, Fred lights into Mike Huckabee like a hound on a raccoon, go Fred, and gets big cheers. Fred has to go all out tonight and Huck is the target.

Update: Ron Paul is asked about "9/11Truthers" says they are wrong but won't denounce them. Will they ask him about the old newsletters unearthed recently?
Update: Incident in Straits of Hormuz comes up McCain hits it out of the park and Ron Paul freaks out gets laughed at. Mitt, "Ron shouldn't be reading Achmadinejad so much" to big laughs.

Update: McCain sticks Ron Paul good and the good Dr. responds with a nutty rant. So far this one is Fred's, where the heck has that energy been?
Update: I would take Mitt, Fred or Rudy as our man at the table in international negotiations. Whoa, Huck takes a chance to jump on the good Dr. to big applause over support for Israel, the paulistinians of course love Ron.
Update: Fred is batting Huckabee around like a shuttlecock. Mitt has been solid but is quieter than usual.
Update: Like Bush, McCain has that certain "Fly Boy" arrogance/swagger of all fighter pilots, I believe they flew the same jet model.
Update: Mitt and Fred are getting the best crowd response on all policy issues especially on illegal immigration other than the paulnuts who would scream if he farted.
Update: Fred has gone on a focused attack on Huckabee, and its been blistering.
Roundup: Fred won, Mitt benefited as a result, by taking Huckabee down a few notches. This is the first debate the target has not been on Mitt or Rudy but on Huckabee and he crashed, frankly, I would rather vote for Dr. Paul than the Huckster.
With Fred crashing Huck's party with gusto, will Huck slide? I mean that was the biggest broadside of the race. I will get video up as soon as those magic elves over at HotAir can get it up.
Update: I knew HotAir would have it, go Bryan.

Back In Iraq

Mike Yon is back in Iraq after a brief trip home and as I suspected he would, he has written a book about is adventures embedded with troops at war, "Moment of Truth in Iraq". You can preorder a signed copy at his site and through an agreement with the publisher it will help get him funds quicker or hit his tip jar if you are able. Mike has been the most reliable reporter from the ground from the beginning and here is a key graph from his latest post.

There’s only a small group of writers who honestly spend enough time in Iraq to make serious claims based on firsthand accounts. But I’ve seen the Iraqi Army with my own eyes. I’ve done many missions in 2005 and 2007, in many places in Iraq, along with the Iraqi Army: please believe me when I say that, on the whole, the Iraqi Army is remarkably better in 2007 and far more effective than it was in 2005. By 2007, the Iraqis were doing most of the fighting. And . . . this is very important . . . they see our Army and Marines as serious allies, and in many cases as friends. Please let the potential implications of that sink in.

We now have a large number of American and British officers who can pick up a phone from Washington or London and call an Iraqi officer that he knows well—an Iraqi he has fought along side of—and talk. Same with untold numbers of Sheiks and government officials, most of whom do not deserve the caricatural disdain they get most often from pundits who have never set foot in Iraq. British and American forces have a personal relationship with Iraqi leaders of many stripes. The long-term intangible implications of the betrayal of that trust through the precipitous withdrawal of our troops could be enormous, because they would be the certain first casualties of renewed violence, and selling out the Iraqis who are making an honest-go would make the Bay of Pigs sell-out seem inconsequential. The United States and Great Britain would hang their heads in shame for a century.

Something To Think About

Bruce Walker in American Thinker has an interesting piece on the moral dilemma facing the Democrat party over their presidential nominee and ethics. In Barack Obama they have by all accounts a good and decent that appears to be ethically clean and is ideologically a perfect lefty. On the other hand is probably the most ethically challenged political duo in American political history, the Clintons and their endless quest for power. If the Democrats nominate Hillary it will indicate they care more about power than corruption even as a Democrat controlled Congress has demonstrated that very thing.

Worse for our nation, Hillary shows a real chance of winning the Democrat nomination despite the fact that anyone with eyes knows just what she is. When scandals erupt during the nomination process, that is a quantum jump in public toleration of dishonesty and criminality. The mere fact that the wife of an impeached president is seriously contending for the presidency is a low water mark in ethical standards in the history of our nation. What makes this more troubling is that Obama gives Democrats virtually everything, ideologically, that they could hope for. He is Left of Hillary on almost every issue. His politics should delight all the Left, which is nearly all Democrat. And Obama appears highly electable. So why is Hillary even in this race?
The answer is that a scary proportion of Democrats care nothing about ideology and everything about power. Moreover, these Democrats care less about winning elections as they do about returning their party to a position of almost absolute power. There is no way this can be done traveling the high road.

Read the whole thing.

Boom

Rudy has released his tax plan, very, very good, I like it. Matt Lewis at Townhall is my source.

Washington – Club for Growth President Pat Toomey praised Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s new comprehensive tax reform and reduction plan, unveiled today in Florida, calling it “a bold and innovative proposal that will reward hard work, encourage investment, and promote economic growth for Americans across the economic spectrum.”

The Giuliani tax cut plan would extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts immediately; eliminate the Death Tax completely; lower the capital gains and dividends tax rate to 10% and index capital gains to inflation; lower the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%; and permanently index the Alternative Minimum Tax to inflation with a plan for eventual elimination.

The Giuliani tax cut plan also contains a particularly bold pro-growth tax simplification strategy that would give taxpayers the option of opting into a simple tax plan in which their taxes could be done on one page. Instead of the current tax behemoth, the voluntary tax plan would constitute across the board cuts in marginal tax rates by proposing three simple rates of 10%, 15%, and 30%.

“Giuliani’s tax cut plan will encourage capital formation, and capital is the key driver of productivity, higher wages, and a better standard of living for all Americans,” Mr. Toomey continued. “He does that by not only lowering the capital gains and dividends rates, but also by indexing capital gains to inflation. Also, the Mayor’s plan dramatically lowers marginal tax rates at the personal and corporate level, which will encourage a significant burst of economic activity and growth.”

“The current U.S. tax code is a monstrosity of inefficiency and deterrence, with some of the highest corporate tax rates in the developed world and a tax code that totals more than 66,000 pages. Mayor Giuliani’s tax cut proposal today would dramatically move the American tax code and economy in the right direction. This is exactly the kind of plan economic conservatives should embrace.”

Matt with Neal Cavuto and some socialist moobat

Red State Boys On New Hampshire: Updated With The Other Jackie

They keep getting better and better, swallow first of course.


The other Jackie lauches on Hillary in a two parter, heeeeee !


And here

Question For Denizens of the Barnyard

I am a Romney supporter and have admitted that from the beginning and I have good reason to hold our other nominees in very high regard and will happily support our final candidate for POTUS. I have friends across the spectrum of GOP voters, Fredheads, Rudyites, McCainiacs and an occassional Hucka bee, with Mitt and Fred evenly split at the top and McCain close behind. Ok, enough rambling, to my friends in John, Fred and Rudy's camp and voting 2/5 or later, will you switch to Romney if your man has failed to catch fire before then? Gov. Romney is in for the long haul and has the resources, raised nearly 5 mil. today.
Dragon Lady, Heidi Anne, Donald?

Another Question: Will Obama's supporters get all disappointed and go home and possibly riot if he doesn't get the Dem. nomination? Could this split the Democrats more than our primary battle?

General Petraeus In Iraq

Note he has a soft hat on, he is talking about why his surge and COIN tactics worked so well. Good friend of the Barnyard and my blogger platoon leader, Amy at Bottom Line Up Front has this little video snippet.