Monthly Archives: February 2016
February 28, 2016 — Scott Johnson
Hillary Clinton clobbered Bernie Sanders in the South Carolina Democratic primary yesterday, capturing 73 percent of the vote. Paul comments on the outcome here. Clinton’s death march to the Democratic nomination has resumed in earnest. I think it is worth noting that turnout in the primary was down over 2008, as it has been elsewhere in the Democratic contests to date. The Daily Caller’s Chuck Ross takes a look here.
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February 28, 2016 — Scott Johnson
I saw singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester perform on the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota more than 25 years ago and he just bowled me over. There couldn’t have been more than a hundred people in the audience. Accompanying himself on guitar, he turned in a beautiful performance concluding with “Yankee Lady.” Although Winchester had famously evaded the draft by decamping to Canada in 1967, returning to perform only
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February 27, 2016 — Paul Mirengoff
As I read Ian Tuttle’s article about Trump University, two thoughts occurred to me. First, Marco Rubio’s description of Donald Trump as a con artist seems literally to be true. Second, why did it take so long for this matter forcefully to be raised in the campaign? According to Tuttle’s account, Trump University was never a university. When the “school” was established in 2005, the New York State Education Department
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February 27, 2016 — John Hinderaker
For Minnesotans, the Donald Trump phenomenon has an air of deja vu. We have seen this play before, and it doesn’t end well. in 1998, former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura (a stage name) ran for Governor of Minnesota as an independent. He had two opponents, one strong–Norm Coleman–and one weak, Skip Humphrey. Through most of the campaign Ventura was given no chance. But as the fall wore on, his campaign
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February 27, 2016 — Paul Mirengoff
A few weeks ago, I heard a young black female Bernie Sanders supporter say: “We [black people] built this country; we’re not anyone’s firewall.” How these two propositions might relate to one another, the woman did not say. Logic is not the strong suit of BlackLivesMatter. In any case, both propositions are false. Black people did not build this country, though they contributed significantly to certain aspects of its development.
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February 27, 2016 — Scott Johnson
Donald Trump has big plans for his prospective presidency. He said on Friday he plans to change libel laws in the United States so that he can have an easier time suing news organizations (video below). Politico’s Hadas Gold reports: During a rally in Fort Worth, Texas, Trump began his usual tirade against newspapers such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, saying they’re “losing money” and are
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February 27, 2016 — Scott Johnson
One thing George W. Bush got right: the Islamic Republic of Iran is an evil regime. It seems an elementary point. It seems obvious. The regime is responsible for the murder and disfigurement of many Americans. It is the proud supporter of terrorist organizations including but not limited to Hamas and Hezbollah. It is itself a tyrannical, murderous, terrorist regime. Yet President Obama is operating on a theory of international
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February 27, 2016 — Steven Hayward
As the next three weeks spool out, remember that the RNC crafted a nomination process for this cycle intended to pick a nominee early, so that we wouldn’t go through the agony of 2012 when Romney took a long time to nail it down and took on a lot of damage along the way. Oops. And finally. . . with a slight change in the format:
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February 26, 2016 — Paul Mirengoff
During last night’s debate, Ted Cruz criticized Marco Rubio for supporting U.S. military intervention in Libya to topple the Qaddafi regime. Qaddafi’s demise has, of course, resulted in awful consequences, including, but certainly not limited to, the rise of ISIS in Libya Rubio responded that he supported our intervention because it was foregone conclusion that Qaddafi would fall and he wanted the U.S. to facilitate a satisfactory post-Qaddafi future. Unfortunately,
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February 26, 2016 — John Hinderaker
The United Kingdom suffers from immigration issues similar to those that afflict the United States. As a member of the European Union, it is obliged to accept large numbers of unskilled immigrants who find not only Britain’s wages, but also her welfare system, much superior to those in their own countries. Immigration is one aspect of the debate now raging over whether Britain should withdraw from the E.U. (“Brexit,” as
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February 26, 2016 — John Hinderaker
Paul has already noted one of the strangest incidents in last night’s debate, when Donald Trump repeatedly talked about judges signing “bills.” Before the debate fades into history, let’s go to the tape. It’s short: Three times, Trump says his sister and Sam Alito signed the same bill. As Paul politely put it, judges don’t sign bills. I would say, how did this knucklehead get through the eighth grade? We
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February 26, 2016 — Steven Hayward
We reported before about the panic of the Democratic establishment over the estimates of Bernie Sanders economics fanboy Gerald Friedman of UMass/Amherst, who says that Bernie’s nostrums will deliver all the milk and honey in Venezuela, or something. Now it’s the turn of Christina and David Romer, Democratic economists at UC Berkeley, to dump on Friedman. Christina Romer served on Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers in the first term, and
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February 26, 2016 — Steven Hayward
Now we know why Chris Christie went after Marco Rubio so hard in the New Hampshire debate and left Trump alone: Chris Christie Endorses Donald Trump and Calls Marco Rubio ‘Desperate’ Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey endorsed Donald J. Trump on Friday, a major turn in a wild race and one that gives the New York businessman a major boost as he heads into the pivotal Super Tuesday contests.
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February 26, 2016 — Steven Hayward
When it comes to climate change, I feel like Michael Corleone in Godfather III: Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in. I already noted here earlier my latest rumble with some climatistas in Boulder on Monday, and today I see the news that the temperature “pause” is back on again. Last fall, conveniently just before the Paris climate summit, the government announced to great fanfare
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February 26, 2016 — Paul Mirengoff
Last night, in response to a question from Hugh Hewitt as to whether he would make a deal with liberals on religious liberty, Donald Trump decided to defend the judicial record of his sister, federal appeals court judge Maryanne Trump Barry, on abortion. In doing so, Trump displayed his characteristic ignorance and dishonesty. Here was the exchange: TRUMP: Now, Ted’s been very critical — I have a sister who’s a
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February 26, 2016 — Steven Hayward
I’m a certified Woodrow Wilson hater, and when the left at Princeton demanded a few months ago that Wilson’s name be stripped from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs because of his racism, I thought of printing up a bumper sticker: “Conservative: Hated Woodrow Wilson before it was cool.” But even a stopped clock is right twice a day. From an 1889 essay entitled “Nature of Democracy in the
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February 26, 2016 — Scott Johnson
The Super Tuesday primaries are imminent. Which candidate do Republicans prefer to face Hillary Clinton in the November election? Whom do they want to represent them? That’s the question. Paul Mirengoff recaps and assesses last night’s CNN debate among the remaining GOP presidential candidates in Houston in “Trump battered, but is he bruised?” Herewith my impressions of the CNN event. Given the needs of Senators Cruz and Rubio to take
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