August 13, 2011
Aug 13 09:48 Censorship, Fascism, Chicago Style Aug 13 13:33 Straw Poll Thoughts Aug 13 19:09 Bachmann wins Iowa Straw Poll Aug 13 23:19 Perry's In; Obama Campaign Responds
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Censorship, Fascism, Chicago Style
If there's a place where people aren't surprised about politicians censoring the media, it' Chicago. It's appalling and disgusting that this story explains how the media played an active, participatory role in silencing a reporter's voice.
This week U.S. Senator Dick Durbin held a press conference with members of the mainstream media to talk about the downgrade crisis. But the Senator's scripted storyline veered off-course when a conservative reporter, me, showed up to ask an embarrassing question. Namely, 'Senator, you've blamed the tea party: but do you bear any responsibility for this downgrade crisis?'
What you didn't hear about this incident in the media? For those of you that need more proof that journalism is dead, read on.
Monday was another beautiful day for a mainstream media cover-up in Chicago. But it would not have been complete without a picnic-basket full of hypocrisy from our very own U.S. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois.
The thought that a reporter doesn't have the right to ask a U.S. senator a question is stunning, yet utterly predictable. Check out this video:
About 45 seconds into the video, an alleged reporter turned to Mr. Kelly and said "You're allowed to stand here and listen but you aren't allowed to ask questions during a press conference." Prior to that, another alleged reporter told Mr. Kelly that he wasn't "with the press." Here's what Mr. Kelly said to Sen. Durbin:
Senator, you've blamed everyone for the downgrade but yourself. You've blamed the TEA Party. You've called them terrorists.
At that point, another alleged reporter told Sen. Durbin "I know who he is" as if this was the press's job to be Sen. Durbin's unpaid press secretary and unpaid, and unlawful, body guards.
At one point, Sen. Durbin asked that Mr. Kelly be removed. That sounds like a tactic that a Soviet Politburo member would use in dispatching with an unwanted question from the Western press.
Sen. Durbin's Chicago-style fascism is worthy of Third World dictators but it certainly isn't worthy of the greatest nation in the world. Sen. Durbin is a jack-booted thug who doesn't deserve re-election. Instead, that type of fascism should earn him a boot from the Senate.
Sen. Durbin took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. When he called for the removal of a member of the press for doing his job, he violated that reporter's First Amendment rights.
Sen. Durbin is a despicable man. He needs to be booted from the Senate so it can return to being the greatest deliberative body in the world like it once was.
With fascist jack-booted thugs like Sen. Durbin, the Senate is now more famous for their attempt to limit debate than to get into spirited debates about the biggest issues of the day.
Keep up the good work, Bill. Don't let a tyrant like Sen. Durbin prevent you from doing your job.
Posted Saturday, August 13, 2011 9:48 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 13-Aug-11 10:15 AM
What is Dennis Hastert doing these days?
Back to Cook County, or lobbying in DC?
Not pushing you to research it, just an "If you know."
If it were of burning interest, I'd research it, and post a comment.
Hastert IS a Chicago politician in all ways. Only GOP, not out of the Daley legacy. But otherwise, he's felt the wind blowing in off the lake, and learned how to face an adverse wind in ways to his personal advantage.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 13-Aug-11 11:26 PM
I don't know what Hastert is doing these days. What I do know, though, is that Mitt Romney's life just got more complicated & his strategy needs to change. He'd planned on largely ignoring Iowa. After Perry beat him in today's straw poll after being an announced candidate literally for minutes, Mitt's attitude better shift from a mindset of running a general election campaign with a huge fundraising lead. He'd better start living in Iowa & pray he does well enough.
Straw Poll Thoughts
Here's a few things to keep in mind about today's Iowa Straw Poll:
1. Like the caucuses, the Straw Poll doesn't make candidates; it thins them out. Today's straw poll will likely hurt Herman Cain and possibly Rick Santorum.
2. Discount Ron Paul's finish. If Paul doesn't win or take second, it's the headline of the day. His followers are good at these straw polls so he'll always do well at straw polls.
Rep. Paul doesn't have a chance of being taken seriously as a presidential candidate because of his national security policies. He'd be a total disaster if elected.
3. Every 4 years, people talk about how many tickets there are coming out of Iowa. In this instance, Rep. Paul's finish should be ignored in terms of determining the number of tickets out of Iowa. The finish will be something like this: Rep. Bachmann, then Rep. Paul, Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum, with Herman Cain a distant 5th.
That means Herman Cain's campaign will be hurt. That type of finish means Rep. Paul still isn't taken seriously.
The CW is that whoever finishes in the top 3 gets to continue. The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza is even questioning whether Rep. Paul can win the Iowa Straw Poll. My reaction is this: who cares? Ron Paul isn't a serious, top tier presidential candidate.
His followers are genuinely good people. There's much of his domestic agenda that conservatives agree with. His national security policies aren't just strange. They're reckless. We can't afford electing someone that think a nuclear Iran is especially troubling.
In short, Gov. Pawlenty, Rep. Bachmann and Rick Santorum have tickets beyond the Iowa Straw Poll.
My prediction is that Michele Bachmann wins the Iowa Straw Poll, followed by Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty and Rick Santorum.
Posted Saturday, August 13, 2011 1:33 PM
No comments.
Bachmann wins Iowa Straw Poll
Rep. Michele got a big win today when she won the Iowa Straw Poll, winning with 4,823 votes. Rep. Ron Paul finished second with 4,671 votes. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty finished a distant third with 2,293 votes, followed by former Sen. Rick Santorum with 1,657 votes.
There are a number of stories coming from today's Iowa Straw Poll, including Gov. Perry getting 718 votes as a write-in candidate. That beat Mitt Romney's 567 votes.
Still, the big story is that Michele Bachmann won with a less-than-prolific ground game. She defeated Straw Poll workout warrior Ron Paul by 152 votes. Michele is justifiably proud of her win but she's got a challenging road ahead.
Ron Paul finished second but he might've won the straw poll if he hadn't insisted that a nuclear Iran wouldn't be a national security threat during Thursday's FNC-Washington Examiner debate.
FNC Chief Political Correspondent Carl Cameron reported that a large number of people who started the week as Ron Paul supporters flipped to Rick Santorum solely on the basis of Rep. Paul's Iran answer.
Frankly, Paul's stand on national security issues limit him nationally. Today's Iowa Straw Poll is likely his high point the rest of the way, with the possible exception of the Iowa Caucuses.
Today's Iowa Straw Poll results are an embarrassment for Mitt Romney. They're also damaging to his candidacy. Mitt Romney's general election campaign ended with today's results. Before today's results, Gov. Romney could pretend that he was the frontrunner. That strategy disappeared today.
Gov. Romney's people will spin this by saying he wasn't competing in the straw poll. That's BS. Four years ago, he won the straw poll with 31.6% of the vote. It's a big deal to go from 31% to 3% just 4 years later. Another thing that's got to sting is that a guy who announced his presidential ambitions earlier in the day beat him by 150 votes.
Rick Santorum's support isn't huge at this point but his support is rock solid. As a result of today's finish, he's earned the right to fight on. It's entirely plausible that he can build on today's finish.
Finally, Rick Perry's finish should tell everyone that he's a force to reckon with. Though he's likely irritated some Iowans by announcing his candidacy the day of their event, he'll have time to mend fences. Most importantly, Perry doesn't need to win Iowa. If he shows well in Iowa and New Hampshire, he'll win the South Carolina primary.
Congratulations to Michele Bachmann. She beat the man who's dominated straw polls across the nation. That's a victory worth savoring. That said, she can't celebrate too long with Rick Perry co-starring with her tomorrow night at a high profile event in Waterloo, IA.
UPDATE: Hotair has a great roundup live from Ames, IA.
Posted Saturday, August 13, 2011 7:12 PM
Comment 1 by eric z at 14-Aug-11 08:25 AM
They were writing Pawlenty off in the press. Third, with that preface, means his people will not yet throw in the towel. Anyway, he's running for the Veep spot. For that, he should be very happy with a third.
Win, place and show are the only paying places in the race?
Iowa vs New Hampshire is like a turf track vs dirt. And then South Carolina will be which horse runs best on a wet track, or such. Three out-of-the-money finishes by Romney, or Santorum, and it's to the rendering plant.
Yes/no?
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 14-Aug-11 09:30 AM
Eric, I just posted that Gov. Pawlenty announced that he's dropping out of the presidential race.
Comment 2 by eric z at 14-Aug-11 08:28 AM
Help Gary. I did not see the numbers. You did.
What was Newt's count?
Or where would you link me to, for an answer?
The Hotair link was not helpful, Newt-wise.
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 14-Aug-11 09:29 AM
Newt got 385 votes.
Perry's In; Obama Campaign Responds
Rick Perry made it official. He's now officially a candidate to be the next president of the United States . The Obama campaign's response was pathetic. First, here's Gov. Perry's statement:
"I came to South Carolina because I will not sit back and accept the path America is on because a great country requires a better direction because a renewed nation needs a new president," Perry said. "It is time to get America working again and that's why with the support of my family and the unwavering belief of the goodness of America I declare for you today that I'm a candidate for President of the United States."
Gov. Perry's presence changes this race. President Obama should be worried because Gov. Perry has a strong record of job creation, signing tort reform and for his attempts to limit the federal government's overreach into issues that should be left to state government or to individuals.
People are tired of this administration's regulatory overreach, whether it's the NLRB or the Interior Department that's overreached .
As I said, the Obama campaign's response was pathetic:
"Governor Perry's economic policies are a carbon copy of the economic policies of Washington Republicans. He pledged to support the cut cap and balance plan that would preserve subsidies for oil and gas companies and tax cuts for the wealthiest while ending Medicare as we know it, eroding Social Security, eliminating hundreds of thousands of jobs and erasing investments in education and research and development," Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said in the statement.
If the Obama campaign couldn't use class warfare, they wouldn't have anything to say. This statement is class warfare from start to finish.
This is the Democrats' standard issue press release on Republicans. In their unstable, warped mind, Republicans march in lockstep to the drum of evil corporatists who want to kill old people, pollute the water and hand tons of money to rich people who use $10 bills to light their fatcat cigars.
The truth is that there's alot of support amongst conservatives for eliminating the corporate welfare from the tax code. As for "investments in education", the only thing the Department of Education seems to do is force its rules down states' throats in exchange for 'their' money.
Do people think that President Obama represents the future of America? Do people think President Obama is wedded to a failed economic philosophy? If people haven't noticed, that's the heart of what's driving this election. People don't think President Obama represents the future of America. In overwhelming numbers, they think that he's tied to a failed economic philosophy.
I don't know if Rick Perry represents the best leader of the United States yet. Considering the hopelessness that the people are feeling, I predict that people are willing to give him the opportunity to lay out his vision for limiting the size and influence of government while creating a robust economy.
It's too early to tell whether it's his race to lose at this point. Still, I'm thinking that the people are more willing to listen to Gov. Perry than they are to Mitt Romney.
Gov. Perry's campaign got off to a great start today. Now people will watch whether he can string alot of good days together and solidify his position with Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina voters.
In the truest sense of the word, today marked the real start of the 2012 presidential campaign. For the next 15 months, political addicts like me will feel like kids in candy stores with a thick wallet.
Posted Saturday, August 13, 2011 11:19 PM
Comment 1 by eric z at 14-Aug-11 08:17 AM
That "I came to South Carolina ..." means he's ducking New Hampshire too? Well. If it works, he's a genius. If it backfires, he's roadkill. With Bachmann now the "Huckabee" of this election cycle, in Iowa, give her a guitar.
