Month: January 2012

#rsrh Detroit. Just… Detroit.

Walter Russell Meade is trying to patiently explain things to the Left again:

Detroit isn’t broke because it has an African American majority; it is broke because for decades its politicians have spent more money than they had, and because Detroit never figured out how to reinvent itself as it lost its industrial core. (Pittsburgh and Chicago are two rust belt cities that have been much more successful than Detroit.  Atlanta has done much better under African American leadership than Detroit.) The state government and the feds aren’t refusing to bail it out because so many Detroiters are African American.  The state doesn’t have the money to bail it out, and the GOP nationally believes that bailouts enable bad behavior rather than changing it.  There is no support for bailouts in predominantly non-Black jurisdictions like New York state and California.

Continue reading #rsrh Detroit. Just… Detroit.

Ah, meat-haters.

Via @SonnyBunch comes this fascinating passive-aggressive letter from a newly-converted vegan to her omnivorous* roommate.  It’s too long to reproduce and too good to excerpt: suffice it to say that after reading it I’m tempted to go buy some veal, cook it up, film myself eating it with an open mouth, and send the woman the video.

And I have a bit of a problem with eating veal.

Moe Lane Continue reading Ah, meat-haters.

#rsrh Debbie Downer at the post-debate spin room.

The trouble starts on the first sentence:

When I caught up with Democratic National Committee chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., in the spin room of last night’s Republican debate, she was arguing that President Obama had turned the nation around.

Continue reading #rsrh Debbie Downer at the post-debate spin room.

A reminder on long primaries.

In 2008, the Democratic party had one of the longest, one of the most expensive, and one of the most bitter primaries in American political history.  It was a drawn-out, unpleasant affair where Hillary Clinton, the expected front-runner, was eventually beaten – despite the fact that she won almost all of the top Democratic-leaning states, arguably won the popular vote, and nobody actually won enough pledged delegates to win outright.  Insurgent candidate Barack Obama then, of course, proceeded to win the general election handily, pretty much none the worse for wear for the grind.

Please note that I am not directly comparing any of the Republican candidates* for President to Barack Obama; such a thing would be incredibly cruel to President Obama, who has under-performed in office in precisely the way that one would expect of a liberal academic with no executive experience whatsoever and a legislative ‘record’ that consisted of faithfully voting where, when, and how he was told.  What I am doing is noting that I for one am not terrified of having a long, drawn-out, and expensive Republican primary.  Admittedly, I may end up being in the minority in this one – it wouldn’t be the first time, and it wouldn’t be the last – and, honestly, the decision isn’t mine to make.  If the candidates don’t decide to fight it out, there’s not much I can do in response.  Continue reading A reminder on long primaries.

Wow. It’s rare that you see somebody blow out the spine…

…of his own professional career like the way that Seth Abramovitch just did. Important professional tip here, kids: when you claim that the name of a rap mogul’s (Kanye West) new fashion company (DONDA) is in fact an acronym which incorporates the N-word, do make sure first that said name is not actually that of said mogul’s deceased mother.

I mean, damn.  You don’t say that sh*t about a man’s mom.  You just don’t.

Via @AndrewBreitbart.

#rsrh Let me tell you what the debate should be about tonight.

More accurately, let me let Clubber Lang tell you what the debate should be about tonight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIJJMa3y0ek&feature=related

Seriously, if there isn’t blood on the walls and at least one ear on the ground by the end of it then we all truly did waste the last six months of our lives. I want to see Darwinian, red-in-tooth-and-claw savagery in the debate tonight… and here’s something that Mitt Romney should consider: the only way that he lives through this is to be the most savage one of all. The days of ducking under the podium are over.

And, hell, if Romney starts channeling his inner Batman it’d actually be a bit reassuring at this point; so, no downside.

Moe Lane

#rsrh The consequences of 2006/2008, part XCVIII.

Sean Trende has a typically good analysis up of Team Romney’s structural advantage going into 2012. Short version: Romney’s always been more or less in second place and 2006/2008 were two election cycles where it was hard out there for a Republican governor. We lost a bunch of sitting governors and had a lot of gubernatorial candidates lose their elections… and that’s a problem, because Republicans prefer governors for Presidential candidates.

We really prefer governors for Presidential candidates. Continue reading #rsrh The consequences of 2006/2008, part XCVIII.