The DOOM that came for Specter.

This has been noted as being almost like a game of rock-paper-scissors:

  • Toomey beats Specter, 45/40.
  • Specter beats Sestak, 46/42.
  • Sestak ties Toomey, 38/37.

Some other numbers for Specter: 46/52 favorable/unfavorable (Rasmussen);  31/59 deserves-reelection (Susquehanna).  The Susquehanna poll also has him leading Sestak in the primary 44/16 and tied with Toomey 42/41, but that may be the usual registered/likely voter difference.  All in all, it’s starting to look like maybe Specter should have taken the hint and announced that he wasn’t going to run for re-election after he switched parties…

Moe Lane

PS: Pat Toomey for Senate.

Crossposted to RedState.

Be careful what you wish for: 111th Congress Edition.

Just a quick focus on this one sentence in this one paragraph in an article by Greg Gutfield:

The White House is focusing on Fox News because there is no one else around to mess with. I mean, aside from Rush, and perhaps a reunited version of April Wine – they got nobody. The Republicans are hanging back, somewhere, waiting for their moment, which may never come. The Dems, however, have everything – the Houses, the President, the media, the international community of dimwitted Norwegians- but they can’t get their crap together.

This isn’t ‘hanging back’ as much as it is ‘waiting.’  The ruling party has made it clear that the GOP’s input is not wanted; the role that they envisioned for our legislators was to meekly sign off on whatever damfool notion the Democrats came up with. If they did that, the Democrats might deign occasionally to throw Republican lawmakers a bone – to be shared with every Blue Dog Democrat in the pack, of course.  Might.  After all, there are ever so many Democratic allies to assuage.  And the Democrats consider this to be a compromise.  After all, their base would prefer to skip ahead to the place where the GOP all died in fires.

So one can hardly blame Republicans for declining to read the lines that the Other Side has written for them.  Particularly since this state of affairs will only last until January 2011 anyway.

Moe Lane

PS: “Party of No?”  “We need to give our own ideas?”  Bless your heart, the Democrats didn’t need any actual ideas in 2006 or 2008 to win.  They ran on a platform of Look At The Horrible Republicans both times – and are now proceeding to demonstrate the difference between ‘bad’ and definitely worse, which makes our work a lot easier, honestly.  For that matter, the people now running for office – and the people who will be winning in 13 months – have their own views on how to run a country, and they don’t need or want input from the party’s central leadership.  In fact, many of them don’t need or want my input, either.  I only pass for a populist in a place like DC.

Crossposted to RedState.

The Onion and IMAO: parallel evolution, or rip-off?

I still haven’t made up my mind on this. Compare:


Obama To Enter Diplomatic Talks With Raging Wildfire

…with this (Via @IMAO_):

Obama Signals Willingness to Negotiate With Wildfires

WASHINGTON (AP) – In response to reports of deaths and widespread property damage allegedly caused by so-called “wildfires” in California, President Obama said that he wanted to the let the more moderate and peace-loving flames know that “America is willing to negotiate without pre-conditions”.

It is a very close match in basic theme – if not in tone – but balancing that is that the joke is obvious. I’m going to give the benefit of the doubt on this one, but I can see why others won’t.

Moe Lane

PS: “Nothing funny about this Presidency” my eye.

Sen. Tom Coburn continues in his vocation…

…to wit, providing fully justified grief to people who really deserve it.  In this particular case he’s making the clock run out on a bill that had some disclosure provisions stripped from it; as has been noted before, there are many ways that an individual Senator can shut things down in the Senate, and Coburn is happy to explore them in the cause of transparency.  The Democrats are of course mad at Coburn for it, because they can’t be mad at the President for making transparency such an important part of his campaign (if not his actual administration), and they can’t be mad at themselves for dumping out the provisions in the first place.

And why did they do it?  The answer is classic Dizzy City:

The top House negotiator, Rep. Ed Pastor, D-Ariz., didn’t recall why his side insisted that the Senate drop the transparency provision. But a Democratic aide said later that there is concern that making every report public automatically might cause agencies to be less candid in their dealing with the Appropriations Committee. The aide required anonymity to speak candidly.

I swear, there’s something in the drinking water here.

(H/T: Instapundit)

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Booby Prize for Creigh Deeds.

He asked for the President; he got the Cubslayer.

Gore coming to Va. for Deeds

Former Vice President Al Gore will be coming to Virginia on Friday to give a last-minute boost to the Democratic candidate for governor, Creigh Deeds, a party source said.

Gore will headline a private fundraiser in McLean at the home of longtime Democratic supporters Al and Claire Dwoskin.

But surely this doesn’t necessarily mean…

Obama in Virginia, But Not For Deeds

President Obama is in Fairfax County today.

But not to campaign for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds.

Snap!

Instead, Obama visits the Fairfax County Parkway extension today with Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood to talk about federal stimulus spending.

Ah.

Well.

Moe Lane

PS: Bob McDonnell for Governor.

Crossposted to RedState.

Does the Huffington Post not read its own writers?

(Via Hot Air Headlines) I can’t say that I blame them if they don’t, but surely if HuffPo’s own Peter Dreier can feverishly and masochistically [verb deleted in the interests of good taste] to the thought of the Evil VRWC coming to get him, surely they can let Glenn Beck use a Niemoller reference wrt Fox News.  I mean, fair’s fair: either HuffPo shouldn’t do it either, or else Glenn Beck can.  Whining about the latter emulating the former’s example seems… goofy.

I mean, show some professional pride, guys.  I understand that you’re not paid to think, but try not to make the rest of us look bad, OK?

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Did the UN find that the Zelaya ouster was legitimate? [Apparently not.]

[UPDATE]: This was just sent to me by a staffer in the UN DPA:

Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

The United Nations wishes to clarify that its position, regarding the legality of the removal of President Zelaya in Honduras has been clearly articulated by the General Assembly Resolution 63/301 adopted on 1 July 2009.   This resolution “condemns the coup d’etat in the Republic of Honduras that has interrupted the democratic and constitutional order and the legitimate exercise of power in Honduras.”

A recent Honduran media report appears to refer to an analysis submitted by a consultant as representing the views of the Department of Political Affairs This is highly misleading. The Department of Political Affairs routinely receives reports and analyses of this type from consultants, academics and other experts. But its views are strictly in line with that outlined in the General Assembly Resolution.

The Secretary-General urges the parties in Honduras to avoid distractions at this critical moment in the negotiations and remain focused on arriving at a consensual agreement to end the crisis in Honduras through dialogue.

He continues to strongly support OAS-led efforts to assist the parties in reaching a solution.

Bolding mine.

_____

This report (see Fausta for a roundup and translation links) that the United Nations Department of Political Affairs found that the Honduran government acted constitutionally could be explosive, if true. Emphasis on ‘if:’ the UNDPA has not yet put up a statement or a report verifying the editorial.  I tracked down somebody in that office, and I got the impression that something will be up on the subject; when they let me know what it is, I’ll update this post.

Crossposted to RedState.