May 18, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff

Conservative PACs outpacing Liberal ones

Featured image The Washington Post reports that conservative interest groups have “dumped” well over $20 million into congressional races so far this year, outspending their liberal opponents 4 to 1 (do lefty PACs dump money too, or do they distribute it?). Part of this phenomenon can be explained by the money attracted by high profile Republican Senate primary races. Reportedly, primary races in Indiana and Texas alone brought in around $4 million »
May 18, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff

The limits of pledging

Featured imagePolitico reports that a few freshmen Republican Congressmen are publicly backing away from the pledge they made not to vote for any tax increase. Politico cites Scott Rigell (Virginia), Allen West (Florida), and Reid Ribble (Wisconsin). They made the pledge, as many others did, in response to Grover Norquist and his Americans for Tax Reform group. Rigell and Ribble say they are backing away from the pledge because it precludes »
May 18, 2012 — John Hinderaker

Did Obama Blunder By Attacking the Catholic Church?

Featured imageI continue to be puzzled by the Obama administration’s attack on the Catholic Church via the HHS Obamacare contraception mandate. From a rational perspective, it was completely needless. I can’t see a motive for it, other than a bullying desire to show Catholics, and other people of faith, who is the boss. But Obama cast that die, and it may come back to haunt him. There are a lot of »
May 18, 2012 — John Hinderaker

George Zimmerman, Not Guilty?

Featured imageWe have not yet commented on the release of evidence yesterday by the special prosecutor in the Trayvon Martin case. The evidence is highly illuminating, although it leaves at least one critical question unanswered. But, contrary to most press reports, the overall impact of the new evidence is to indicate that George Zimmerman has a strong claim of self-defense. Zimmerman says that Martin attacked him, knocked him down and was »
May 18, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff

Does Jeremiah Wright have a place in this campaign? Part Two

Featured imageYesterday, I opined that Jeremiah Wright should not be off-limits in the 2012 campaign unless research demonstrates that bringing up the Obama-Wright relationship will not hurt Obama. My suspicion is that Obama has some vulnerability here. That suspicion is confirmed, I think, by the Obama campaign’s shrill reaction, and that of its MSM friends, to reports that a PAC might inject Wright into the race (the PAC decided not to). »
May 18, 2012 — John Hinderaker

Behind the Scenes at MSNBC

Featured imageWe wrote here about MSNBC’s disgraceful attacks on Charles and David Koch and Koch Industries in connection with the Trayvon Martin shooting. Guest host Karen Finney said: Who was the Typhoid Mary for this horrible outbreak? It’s the usual suspects the Koch brothers…the same people who stymied gun regulation at every point who funded and ghost write these laws. A few days later, Van Jones, a guest on MSNBC, said: »
May 18, 2012 — Steven Hayward

The Weekly Winston: On Liberalism and Socialism

Featured imageI’m about to be on a cross-country flight from LA to Washington, which means I’ll be out of blogging range all day (unless the flight has WiFi–United is very slow in rolling this out).  So I might as well post my weekly Winston a day early. So here’s more from Churchill’s famous speech of May 4, 1908 at Kinnaird Hall, Dundee, on the differences between liberalism (meaning classical and reform »
May 18, 2012 — John Hinderaker

The Mystery of Obama’s Birth

Featured imageWe know for sure that Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, because it was announced in a local newspaper. But we also now know that for sixteen years, his literary agent circulated a bio that said he was born in Kenya. That statement must have come from Obama himself; or, at a bare minimum, it certainly was known to him. So: why? Why would Obama put it out that he »
May 18, 2012 — Scott Johnson

Bill Katz: He won’t be right back

Featured imageOccasional contributor Bill Katz holds down the fort at Urgent Agenda. Bill is a man of many parts, a few of which go back to his days as a producer on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Bill writes to mark the twentieth anniversary of the last show with Johnny: Tuesday will mark the 20th anniversary of Johnny Carson’s last show. There will be appropriate commemorations and notices. Already, PBS’s »
May 17, 2012 — John Hinderaker

In the U.K., the Nanny-State Apocalypse Is Now

Featured imageHow helpless can people become, in the grip of a relentless, cradle to grave nanny state? Here in the U.S., we still have time to turn back; most Americans are still horrified by the Life of Julia as a dependent of the state. But in the United Kingdom, the Rubicon seems to have been crossed. That is my conclusion, anyway, after seeing this piece in the Telegraph: the British government »
May 18, 2012 — Scott Johnson

A word from Tom Lipscomb

Featured imageABC has reported the statement issued by Obama’s literary agency on the “born in Kenya” deal. Our friend Tom Lipscomb has just posted a comment on his Facebook page. Given Tom’s experience in the business, his views merit the consideration of interested observers. Here is Tom’s comment in full: IF YOU WANT A LITERARY AGENCY THAT WILL LIE FOR YOU OUTRAGEOUSLY TRY DYSTEL AND GOEDERICH A limp statement was squirted »
May 18, 2012 — Scott Johnson

Video: She’s an Indian too

Featured imageSomeone went to a lot of trouble to put together the entertaining video below, and it deserves more than the 936 views that YouTube shows for it. Take a look. »
May 18, 2012 — John Hinderaker

Romney’s First TV Ad: Day One

Featured imageThis isn’t Mitt Romney’s first ad, of course: he’s had videos on the web for months. But it the first one the campaign is running on television, which means it will be seen by more people, and especially by more non-political junkies, than any prior ad. It will introduce Mitt Romney to thousands. Appropriately, it begins with the question, what will a Romney presidency be like? That is, I think, »
May 17, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff

Does Jeremiah Wright have a place in this campaign?

Featured imageWord that a conservative super-PAC was contemplating an ad campaign, to the tune of up to $10 million, attacking President Obama’s association with Jeremiah Wright has generated plenty of buzz. It now appears, however, that no such campaign is forthcoming. The PAC that was considering this approach, the Ending Spending Action Fund of billionaire Joe Ricketts, says that, although the idea was put forth as a possible direction to take, »
May 17, 2012 — John Hinderaker

Why Joe Manchin Flees From Barack Obama

Featured imageThe Obama administration’s record is terrible on pretty much every issue, but energy is one of the worst. Obama appointed a Secretary of Energy whose avowed goal was to raise the price of gasoline. Obama himself promised to make the price of electricity “skyrocket.” Unfortunately, those wishes have come true. One especially damaging aspect of Obama’s War on American Energy is his effort to drive coal-fired power plants–the nation’s biggest »