#rsrh So, you hate your choices in the GOP primary.

I get that; I truly do.  Because so do I; and I have not been too thrilled at the prospect of having to pick one of the three* candidates left.  So I’ve decided not to pick one of them, after all.  You see, Rick Perry’s on the Maryland ballot, so I’m going to vote for him… not as a protest vote, but as a this-will-get-me-to-the-polling-place vote.

I recommend this strategy generally for three reasons: Continue reading #rsrh So, you hate your choices in the GOP primary.

Nancy Pelosi retreating from insinuations of new dirt on Newt Gingrich.

http://weaselzippers.us/2011/12/05/pelosi-on-second-thought-maybe-i-dont-have-any-dirt-on-gingrich/

For those who missed it:

Continue reading Nancy Pelosi retreating from insinuations of new dirt on Newt Gingrich.

Pssst! Maxine Waters (D, CA)!

Just thought I’d let you know: about this?

The CBC is trying to help by organizing job fairs across the country. [Congresswoman] Waters also wants to help by putting more pressure on the big banks to help with mortgages.

“If they don’t come up with loan modifications and keep people in their homes that they’ve worked so hard for, we’re going to tax them out of business,” Waters said.

Continue reading Pssst! Maxine Waters (D, CA)!

#rsrh Sarah Palin runs!

…in marathon: Sarah Palin runs half-marathon incognito in Iowa. (Via Drudge)

It’s actually a very nice human interest piece, which is why it’s kind of a shame that I have to tack on a polite request that the Sarah Palin whatever-it-is stop playing will-she, won’t-she games with running for President and just declare one way or the other.  Mucking about with the regular media or pundits is fine; but this game has been steadily more annoying among New Media types for the last… two months or so, I’m guessing/estimating.  And none of this has been improved by the impenetrable media shield that Palin’s staff has over any and all interactions with their patron.  And when I say ‘impenetrable’ I’m explicitly including ‘light and oxygen’ in that metaphor.  I like Sarah Palin just fine, but if she’s actually planning to get the Republican nomination then this is no way to run a campaign. Continue reading #rsrh Sarah Palin runs!

President wishes to troll GOP debate.

I cannot BELIEVE that I had to write that out.

The basic gist of this is as follows: President Barack Obama has requested – please note that word – that he be permitted to address Congress about jobs in a special joint session next Wednesday evening at 8 PM. Unfortunately, the White House is apparently as self-aware about national events as is, say, a brain-damaged basset hound, because it unaccountably missed noticing that there was a major Republican debate scheduled for that date and time. One being hosted by a major news network (NBC) and online news site (Politico). Such an abject lack of intellectual curiosity about one’s surroundings – remember, it’s the White House itself which is claiming that they had not known about the conflict ahead of time – is perhaps not unexpected from this administration, but it’s certainly not what you would call seemly. Or adult. Indeed, calling it ‘adolescent’ defames teenagers.

Now, everybody here knows the truth – the White House is desperately trying to control the conversation about Obama’s performance to date, largely because if they don’t the conversation will be Barack Obama: Tedious Idiot, or Blithering Idiot? – but we’re expected to pretend otherwise. I shall not: and before I go any further, let me just note that there’s a reason why we have a minimum age requirement for the Presidency. It’s because the Founding Fathers wanted to keep children from running this country.

Alas. Continue reading President wishes to troll GOP debate.

Rick Perry Insensitive to Barack Obama’s Feelings!

Yeah, it was a trap.

Governor and new Presidential candidate Rick Perry (R, TX), on his priority levels:

…if I hurt the president’s feelings, well, with all due respect, I love my country and I love future generations more than I care about his feelings.

To give the context: the White House has been taking the opportunity offered by Perry’s entrance to the race to take slaps at the candidate. As Glenn Reynolds noted at the time, this was not a particularly smart strategy… which is something that I’ve come to agree with, and I’ll tell you why. Continue reading Rick Perry Insensitive to Barack Obama’s Feelings!

New Romney Ad: “Bump in the road.”

It’s strong; I thought that it might have been a bit long before watching, but there’s nothing in there that doesn’t need to be.  Mitt Romney‘s campaign came up with a good one, here.  One with a theme that should be repeated by the eventual candidate, at every opportunity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP2GsRzROF8&feature=player_embedded

Via Jim Geraghty. Transcript (via email; no link, sorry) after the fold: note that the transcript doesn’t include the signs, which give a pretty good cross-section of the victims of this horrible economy that President Obama and his Democratic party has been inflicting on the rest of us (from either 2009 or 2007, depending on how you’re scoring things).  Granted, they’re also inflicting it on themselves – but then again, it’s their fault in the first place, so I’m not feeling entirely obliged to be upset on their behalf. Continue reading New Romney Ad: “Bump in the road.”

Two good pickups for Tim Pawlenty.

In the endorsement wars, we have one formal one, and one all-but-one. Both were probably about equally welcome to Pawlenty.

The formal one was Republican Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina: it’s notable both for the person (Rep. Wilson is rather well-liked in conservative circles for pointing out for the record that President Obama is a liar) and the location (South Carolina is an early primary state).  I don’t know if Pawlenty expects to win Iowa or not – there’s currently a good bit of discussion over just how important ethanol is to Iowans – but he certainly needs to win either New Hampshire, South Carolina, or both.  Depending on which politicians show up to the RedState Gathering in August, I may have some interesting answers as to what they think Pawlenty’s chances are in that state.  I’m certainly going to be asking the Governor herself that. Continue reading Two good pickups for Tim Pawlenty.

#rsrh QotD, Get On The Blandwagon! Edition.

Jay Cost, after demonstrating that ‘enthusiasm’ is most useful in the primaries, but perhaps not so much in the general:

…it is not necessarily a problem for Republicans if they are not tremendously enthused about their nominee next year. Conservative dislike of Obama will take care of any enthusiasm gap in the general election. What they need to find is a candidate who shares their values, who can appeal to the middle of the electorate, who will as president implement as much of the party’s agenda as possible, and who can retain the support of the independents during his term. That candidate might turn out to be dull. But he’d still be a keeper. And very possibly a winner.

I have to agree (and I’m coming pretty close to formally endorsing Tim Pawlenty, which should surprise nobody), and it’s partially because of this old graph:

There’s ‘bad,’ and then there’s ‘worse.’ I suspect that the Republican base has had a crash course in the differences between the two, over the last four years*…

Moe Lane

*Democratic activists absolutely hate it when you remind people that their party began seriously mucking things up when they took Congress in 2007. Pass it on!

#rsrh QotD, Too-Public Pragmatist? edition.

Not that I intend to get sucked into the FL-SEN primary quite just yet, but this line from Ace about Florida primary candidate Adam Hasner made me laugh out loud:

I am completely against choosing political candidates based on irrational, tribalistic ethnic appeal, in all circumstances and based upon sacred principle.

Unless it works in our favor. In which case… okay.

Particularly since normally we’d be talking about going a little bit incremental, given that it’s a Democratic-held seat and all that.  But that’s the thing about getting a couple of wins; it makes you hungry for more.

Moe Lane