Yes. Yes, this ‘big government, federal override of the states’ thing is working out ever so well.
A popular section of Pensacola Beach has been closed because of oil that washed ashore there.
Government officials closed about a quarter-mile section of Casino Beach on Thursday. Thick pools of oil washed ashore there Wednesday.
Via Gateway Pundit, via Instapundit. But never fear: the White House in on the case! Continue reading Pensacola Beach closed due to Obamaspill.
You get the feeling that possibly Democratic politicians are starting to get nervous about November: they’re starting to advertise anywhere that they can. Third Base Politics has the saga of Mary Jo Kilroy (D, OH-15), who put up a big honking sign at her HQ, then had to bring it back down for a zoning violation. Kilroy, of course, is the Congresswoman currently trying to lie about being an anti-TARP warrior; I’m noting this latest mistake by her campaign for three reasons.
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who left the Republican Party to run for Senate as an independent, has hired a top Senate Democrat’s former chief of staff.
In a just-released statement, Crist announced that his media team will be headed by Josh Isay, who used to work for Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Schumer is a member of the Senate’s Democratic leadership team and once headed the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
More details here (H/T: Hot Air). The company is SKDKnickerbocker, and the anonymous Democrat who noted that this wouldn’t be happening without permission from the White House is quite correct: it wouldn’t be. Naturally, this means abandoning Kendrick Meek (interesting fun fact: he supported Hillary Clinton in the primary), but that’s no obstacle for the Democratic party, particularly since Meek is African-American anyway and thus assumed safe to be imposed upon*. Also naturally, you can assume that Crist will promise to caucus with the Democrats; even more naturally, you can assume that he’ll lie about that, too…
Mind you, all of this assumes that Crist can beat Marco Rubio. Click on that link to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Moe Lane Continue reading Democratic party abandoning Kendrick Meek in FL-SEN?
(Via @davidhauptmann) Regarding Alan Grayson’s latest, predictable attempts at outrage, I offer a prayer:
Dear Lord,
Please never let me be in a situation where I need to do things like this in order to achieve an erection.
Love,
Moe Lane
PS: Mere mortals can always contribute here.
This is good news…
Gov. Charlie Crist told MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough on April 30 that he would “probably” give refunds to donors who don’t approve of him leaving the GOP. Some donors to his U.S. Senate campaign were told before the switch that they would get their money back or pro-rated refunds.
No more. A couple of hours before Crist officially becomes an NPA voter, campaign spokeswoman Michelle Todd said there will be no refunds. Asked whether that amounts to a flip-flop, she said, “We have never made an official statement before. It is now the official statement. They donated to the Charlie Crist for U.S. Senate Campaign, and it’s still the Charlie Crist for U.S. Senate Campaign.”
…for three reasons: Continue reading Good news: Crist isn’t giving that money back.
Well… no. But it was too obnoxious a title to pass up.
Prior to everything else: Rubio.
I had originally titled this as “Democrats get their own Orange Guy in Florida,” but it isn’t fair to hold the tint control in Jeff Greene’s introductory video against him*. Greene is the Big Meanie who has just swooped into the Florida race to ruin Rep. Kendrick Meek’s and Senator Robert Menendez’s day; he’s got no real qualifications except having money, but he apparently makes up for that by having a lot of money. Enough money, in fact, that he’s telling people not to give more than $100 apiece: that translates to “I’m going to self-fund this windmill tilt.”
And that means, yeah, he doesn’t have a chance of getting the nomination. Not to be unnecessarily blunt about it, but the Democrats are not going to abandon their only African-American major candidate for Senator, and no matter that Meek was a sacrificial lamb in the first place; he’s their sacrificial lamb, darn it, and there are limits. Also, the fact that Greene so helpfully has used his own introductory video to give us an idea of what line of underhanded personal attacks to use against him in the primary** tells us that said attacks will be able to mine a rich vein of material. So I don’t expect this guy to win. But I expect that he’ll make the Democrats pay for that win.
Through the nose***.
Moe Lane
[UPDATE]: Welcome, Instapundit readers.
If Crist really does declare an independent run this afternoon Sen. Cornyn of the NRSC will wind up looking foolish, true. Only thing is, Sen Menendez of the DSCC is going to end up looking even worse. He’s the one who recruited a candidate that Rasmussen has in third in a GOP split and who PPP reports is less popular than Crist. And now the DSCC actually has to go all-in on a bad fundraiser and an uninspiring candidate*. That’s bad enough in a year where they’re playing offense – which is to say, a year that’s not 2010. In short, the Democrats could have been walking into this the presumptive winner. Instead, they’re even now trying to figure out how to torpedo Charlie Crist themselves in order to maintain their shot at the seat.
Oops?
Moe Lane
*Not that the DSCC has very many inspiring ones this cycle, either. But Kendrick Meek is especially noteworthy in his blandness.
Crossposted to RedState.
Jim’s being unfair. To national blights.
This paragraph from Jim Geraghty – larger topic: Charlie Crist’s unforced errors – resonates beyond Crist’s apparent decision to decay his orbit and burn up in the upper atmosphere:
Many Americans see Washington, D.C., as a national blight combining the high morals of late imperial Rome, the good character and widespread honesty of post–Cold War Moscow, the financial restraint of modern Athens, and the respectful modesty of Beijing — and Crist is running on the message that he can work well with everyone who’s already there.
Well, it seemed like a good idea in 2008. That’s going to be on a lot of political gravestones, by the way; mostly Democratic ones, but Crist is apparently willing to volunteer for one last bout of ‘bipartisanship’ in that regard.
Jim Geraghty apparently thinks so, based on that Q-poll that currently has him barely winning a three-way race and the news that former Senator Connie Mack has quit the Crist campaign after the governor vetoed the education reform bill. And I will admit that yes, Governor Crist could run as an independent. Governor Crist could also repeatedly slam a silverware drawer on his hand until he passes out from the pain; which would be the rough equivalent in terms of results. I’m sure that people are telling him about Lieberman and Specter; but Lieberman didn’t preemptively reject his party prior to the primary (or at all, really), and the real race in PA is over which party gets to make sure that Arlen Specter returns to private life.
Granted, Crist could still do it. Hope springs eternal, right?
Moe Lane
PS: Rubio for Senate.
Via Hot Air: Allahpundit independently makes the same suggestion…
If I were Crist, here’s what I’d do. First, I’d dial up Jeb Bush and ask him whether there’s any chance whatsoever that he’ll endorse me. If he says no (which seems likely), either because he’s backing Rubio or staying out of the race, then I’d dial up Rubio and offer him a deal. In return for me dropping out right now, endorsing him, and helping him fundraise, I’d ask for a commitment that he’ll help me beat Bill Nelson in 2012. That’s really the only way at this point that Crist can regain his standing among the base, whom he’ll need to have onboard for any shot at the Senate.
…that I did last month, only I didn’t bother with suggesting that Crist give Jeb an opportunity to bail him out. It’s not too late, Governor: you still have something to trade. We don’t have to let this situation deteriorate further.
But the clock’s ticking.
Moe Lane
Crossposted to RedState.
