Democrats
June 12, 2013 — Scott Johnson
José Millán Astray was the founder of the Spanish Foreign Legion and a supporter of Francisco Franco. In a famous confrontation at the University of Salamanca early in the Spanish Civil War, he is said to have responded to a statement of Unamuno with the imprecation (variously reported): “¡Abajo la inteligencia!” (down with the intelligentsia). In his brilliant contribution to National Review’s fifteenth anniversary issue in 1970, Jeffrey Hart began
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June 6, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Although the Obama administration scandals that have emerged since Election Day are hurting the Democrats a bit, Obamacare remains the real threat to the Dems in 2014. As Tevi Troy points out in Commentary, by most every measure, things are going badly on the Obamacare front: Health-insurance premiums are becoming more expensive, which is particularly striking when you consider that the act’s advocates promised it would decrease costs by $2,500
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June 4, 2013 — John Hinderaker
Last week, the Democratic Party sent out a fundraising email that accused House Republicans of voting to double the interest rates on student loans. The scare tactic apparently succeeded, as earlier today the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent out this email to its followers: Subject: seriously, thanks! John – Last week, we asked you to help us do something big, something truly record breaking. Well, thanks to your generous support,
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June 4, 2013 — John Hinderaker
The Tawana Brawley case dominated the news for a time in 1987. Brawley was a black teenager who claimed to have been raped and abused by six white men. Her handlers, led by the “Reverend” Al Sharpton, falsely accused a policeman (who couldn’t defend himself because he had committed suicide, presumably the reason they chose him) and an Assistant District Attorney of being involved in the attack. Brawley’s accusations turned
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May 30, 2013 — Scott Johnson
We are all familiar with the Democratic hit and run operation, metaphorically speaking, in which the cry of “racism” is followed by the “move on” maneuver. Louisiana state senator Karen Carter Peterson — the chairman of the state Democratic party — brings the metaphor to life as she runs away from local television reporters who ask about her declaration that opponents of Obamacare are driven by racism. NRO’s Jim Geraghty
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May 29, 2013 — John Hinderaker
This morning the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent out an email commenting on Michele Bachmann’s announcement that she will not run again in 2014. The email employed the breezy, low-rent tone that the Democrats have perfected. You wonder who writes these things; is it a 22-year-old slacker, or is there some middle-aged guy who gets paid millions to impersonate one? The emails subject heading is “this is CRAZY.” That capitalization
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May 24, 2013 — Scott Johnson
Since the rancid Weiner (Anthony) announced his campaign for the mayoralty of New York, I’ve been looking for an excuse to enter the Weiner (punning) sweepstakes. Now I think the Houston Chronicle may have provided the fodder. Finding the local angle in a New York story, the Chronicle reports on Weiner’s incredibly efficient rehabilitation in Houston: Anthony Weiner’s New York mayoral candidacy was only made more improbable today after he
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May 10, 2013 — Scott Johnson
David Gelernter is professor of computer science at Yale and the author, most recently, of America-Lite: How Imperial Academia Dismantled Our Culture (and Ushered in the Obamacrats). He wrote “Why do we live in America-Lite?” for us, briefly summarizing the themes of the book. Professor Gelernter returned to expand on the themes of his book in “What keeps this failed president above water?” and in “Don’t say we didn’t warn
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May 6, 2013 — Scott Johnson
Marc Thiessen recently recalled that after he was defeated for reelection in 1989, New York Mayor Ed Koch was asked if he would ever run for office again. “No,” Koch replied. “The people have spoken…and they must be punished.” In the 2012 elections, Minnesotans elected Democratic majorities in the state House and state Senate to go along with the Democratic governor (Mark Dayton) they (we) elected in 2010. It’s the
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May 5, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
We’ve been saying for some time that Obamacare will be a central issue in the 2014 election, and that it offers Republicans the hope, if they nominate solid candidates, of taking control of the Senate. Now, Senate Democrats have figured this out, as well. Ron Wyden is latest example. He frets: There is reason to be very concerned about what’s going to happen with young people. If their (insurance) premiums
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May 4, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Outgoing South Carolina Democratic Chairman Dick Harpootlian told a Democratic rally that next year his party will win the gubernatorial election and “send Nikki Haley back to wherever the hell she came from.” Haley is an Indian-American who was raised in South Carolina. Her parents are Sikh immigrants. Harpootlian claims he meant the election results would send Gov. Haley back to Lexington County where she used to live. Last year,
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May 2, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Please dont’t miss John Fonte’s piece on NRO about provisions in the Gang of Eight bill (see pages 370-94) that will funnel federal dollars to left-wing activists so they can organize illegal aliens who obtain amnesty. The money is cleverly earmarked as intended to help integrate immigrants. Thus, it is designated for programs that will promote “linguistic, economic, and civic integration.” But who will get the money? According to the
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April 29, 2013 — Scott Johnson
Journalist J.D. Mullane appeared on FNC’s Huckabee show over the weekend for an excellent interview on the Gosnell trial. Mullane spoke in moving terms of his attendance at the trial as a transformative experience. The interview essentially updated and amplified on his column “What I saw at the Gosnell trial.” Someone should cut a video of the interview and get it online. In the meantime, I want to draw attention
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April 28, 2013 — John Hinderaker
People who don’t regularly communicate with the Democratic Party have no idea what a cesspool of hatred that organization is. It has one means, and one means only, of rallying its supporters to contribute money and to vote: that is to personalize every issue, and to demonize every opponent with smears that would make an honest man or woman blush. This email is typical; the Democrats sent out several, almost
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April 28, 2013 — Scott Johnson
Rep. Hank Johnson is, as they say in presidential nominating speeches, “the man who.” Rep. Johnson is the man who worried that the island of Guam might capsize. In 2010 Johnson expressed concern at a hearing that the planned military buildup on the island of Guam might cause the island “to tip over and capsize.” The testifying naval officer struggled manfully to reassure Rep. Johnson that the island would survive.
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April 7, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Tod Lindberg wonders whether a Hillary Clinton candidacy would “clear the field” of serious Democratic alternatives in the 2016 presidential race. He doubts that it would, and so do I. For one thing, Clinton, eight years older than in 2008 and a loser that year, possesses less of an aura of invincibility than she did when she failed to clear the field the last time. For another, potential challengers have
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March 30, 2013 — John Hinderaker
The 2012 election, in which nearly every traditional rule about presidential politics was broken, showed that we have entered a new era. One feature of this new era is the permanent campaign. Until now, there has always been some respite–growing shorter over the years, admittedly–between the end of one campaign and the beginning of the next. The Democrats have now obliterated that gap; the 2014 Congressional campaign began on the
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