Monthly Archives: October 2010

October 26, 2010 — Paul Mirengoff

Minnick in trouble

On Friday, I wrote about Rep. Walt Minnick, the Democrat who represents Idaho’s first congressional district. Minnick is a “blue dog” Democrat whose votes against Obamacare and the stimulus caused the Tea Party Express to endorse him for re-election during the primary season. But since then, Minnick has refused to support the repeal of Obamacare and refused to say that he will not support Nancy Pelosi as his party’s leader »
October 26, 2010 — Scott Johnson

UnRiehl World View

Dan Riehl purports to comment on Paul Mirengoff’s post “Huckabee’s gambit” in his post “Powerline’s predicament: Bought and paid for by Karl Rove.” As one might deduce from Riehl’s heading, he has virtually nothing to say about the substance of Paul’s post, which he misconstrues as a defense of Karl Rove. In lieu of commentary on the substance of Paul’s post, Riehl makes a couple of ad hominem assertions. First, »
October 25, 2010 — Paul Mirengoff

Charlie Cook’s crunch-time election analysis

With only a week to go until election day, Charlie Cook provides his take on the battle for Congress. In the case of the Senate, Cook puts the “over-under” at eight seats. That’s probably a sensible place to put it. Right now, I think I’d take the “over.” As for the House, Cook writes: “It would be a surprise if this wave doesn’t match the 52-seat gain on Election Night »
October 25, 2010 — Paul Mirengoff

Independents poised to deal hard blow to Democrats

Story number one in this election cycle is, in my opinion, the abandonment of the Democratic Party by independent voters. This phenomenon pretty much ensures that the Dems will lose control of the House and that the Republicans will enjoy major gains in the Senate. Story number two is the enthusiasm gap, of which the Tea Party movement is, depending on one’s point of view, a cause, an effect, or »
October 25, 2010 — Paul Mirengoff

Why warts matter

Joe Miller, Lisa Murkowski, and Democrat Scott McAdams debated last night in Anchorage. The Weekly Standard has a summary here. Fox News’ summary is here. CNN’s is here. During the debate Miller admitted that he was once disciplined for violating policy while he worked as a local government attorney. Miller previously had refused to discuss the matter, but eventually made his admission after a judge ordered that the relevant personnel »
October 25, 2010 — Scott Johnson

The return of Bill Clinton, cont’d

We quoted Jay Nordlinger’s comments on Bill Clinton campaigning for Democrats around the country at length here. Jay was disgusted by Clinton’s wayward relationship with the truth in just about his every utterance. Yesterday Clinton came to Minnesota to speak on behalf of Tarryl Clark, the Democratic challenger to Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s Sixth Congressional District. Long-time observers of Clinton may be less interested in reading what Clinton had to »
October 25, 2010 — Scott Johnson

Mantz on a mission, cont’d (bumped)

We wrote about the incredible story of Army Captain Joshua Mantz in “Mantz on a mission.” Captain Mantz was patrolling in Bagdhad with the First Infantry Division on April 21, 2007, when he was hit by an armor-piercing bullet that killed Staff Sergeant Marlon Harper. Part of the same bullet that killed Sergeant Harper then exited, hit Captain Mantz and severed Mantz’s femoral artery. Captain Mantz bled out and went »
October 24, 2010 — Paul Mirengoff

Huckabee’s gambit

Mike Huckabee has blasted Karl Rove and the “Republican Party establishment” for the “elitism” and “country club attitude” that he claims has driven Republican criticism of Christine O’Donnell. Huckabee says that he too was the victim of the such elitism when he ran for president. In Huckabee’s view, both he and O’Donnell suffer because they “didn’t go to the right school and [attend] the proper cocktail parties on the D.C. »
October 24, 2010 — Paul Mirengoff

A vicious cycle, Part Two

Shortly after NPR fired Juan Williams, I suggested that his sacking was a smart move, given the leftism of NPR’s audience. NPR’s “base,” it seemed to me, was outraged not only by Williams’ comments, but also by the fact that he appears on Fox News at all. The Washington Post reports, however, that the affair may cause long-term damage to public broadcasting’s finances. In particular, it’s possible that the next »
October 24, 2010 — Paul Mirengoff

A race to the bottom

Which modern, living American public figure has consistently taken wrongheaded positions and, in doing so caused serious harm, over the longest period of time? The question is too easy, so let me rephrase it. Which modern American public figure other than Jimmy Carter has consistently taken wrongheaded positions and, in doing so caused serious harm, over the longest period of time? Dennis Ross is a good candidate. He has a »
October 24, 2010 — Scott Johnson

A free enquiry into the nature of Alan Grayson

Having George Will undertake an assessment of Florida Eighth Congressional District Rep. Alan Grayson is a little bit like having Samuel Johnson review Soame Jenyns. In both cases, something in the subject under consideration ignites the writer, and the mismatch of intellect between the writer and the man under consideration results in demolition. In Johnson’s case, it was Jenyns’s complacency over the problem of human suffering. In Will’s case, it »
October 24, 2010 — Scott Johnson

Stanley Kurtz’s irresistible book, cont’d

Paul Mirengoff provided his initial impression of Stanley Kurtz’s Radical-in-Chief in his post “Stanley’ Kurtz’s irresistible book.” Now Katherine Kersten summarizes Kurtz’s findings for readers of the Minneapolis Star Tribune in “Obama has been hiding his real agenda.” Something tells me that not everyone at the Star Tribune is pleased with the word Kersten is spreading. At the moment I can’t even find her column listed among the Opinion pieces »
October 24, 2010 — Scott Johnson

A word from Steve Hayward

My friend Steve Hayward is the author of the two-volume Age of Reagan and several other important books. He writes to comment on the Washington Post story on the New Black Panther Party case and John’s related post. The underlying dispute about color-consciousness at the Department of Justice, Steve writes, has been brewing for a long time: I quote the infamous remarks in my Reagan book of Mary Frances Berry »
October 24, 2010 — Scott Johnson

Keith Ellison’s fatwa

Minnesota Fifth District Rep. Keith Ellison made his name as the first Muslim elected to Congress. It was therefore all but obligatory for him to weigh in on the firing of Juan Williams from NPR as a result of Williams’s expression of his feelings on Fox News about seeing air passengers dressed in “Muslim garb,” as he did last week on Ed Schultz’s MSNBC show. It’s always illuminating to hear »
October 24, 2010 — John Hinderaker

Angle Looks Like A Winner

Sharron Angle is edging ahead of Harry Reid in the polls, which shouldn’t be a surprise after she trounced him in their only debate last week. Michael Barone made the very important point that quite a few of the novice candidates associated with the tea party movement have turned out to have sharp political instincts: One of the constant refrains of the so-called mainstream media is that Tea Party candidates »
October 23, 2010 — John Hinderaker

The New Black Panthers Make the “News”

We haven’t yet written anything about the Washington Post’s story on the New Black Panthers case. The Post’s account, which highlights a schism in the Justice Department over whether enforcement of the civil rights laws should be race-neutral, is certainly interesting, but unless I am missing something it contains little that has not been widely reported and discussed in the conservative press. So if the Post’s account is significant, it »
October 23, 2010 — John Hinderaker

They Hate Us!

The Democrats, that is. P. J. O’Rourke is the funniest person, and one of the nicest guys, in the world of punditry. He diagnoses the Democrats’ loathing for their fellow citizens: They don’t just hate our Republican, conservative, libertarian, strict constructionist, family values guts. They hate everybody’s guts. And they hate everybody who has any. Democrats hate men, women, blacks, whites, Hispanics, gays, straights, the rich, the poor, and the »