September 11-13, 2012
Sep 11 03:23 Keith Downey exposes Photo ID myths Sep 11 20:12 Rep. Kiffmeyer criticizes Secretary Ritchie's "scare tactics" Sep 12 09:58 Standing shoulder to shoulder with Israel? Sep 12 12:41 The teachers' monopoly vs. parents and students Sep 13 02:26 Kurt Bills closes gap with Sen. Klobuchar Sep 13 03:29 Minnesota DFL delegation vote against Cravaack-Ruckavina school funding legislation Sep 13 15:58 Obama's shoot from the hip moment Sep 13 17:06 Terrorism then & now, Journalism then & now
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Keith Downey exposes Photo ID myths
I attended a Vote Yes on Photo ID get together Monday night. The guest speaker was Rep. Keith Downey. I've written a bunch of articles and posts about Photo ID and voter fraud but Rep. Downey stunned me a couple of times.
First, I learned that Rep. Downey worked on implementing HAVA requirements when he was in the private sector. One of the states that he worked in was Indiana, the home of the Crawford v. Marion County Election Board lawsuit that eventually made its way to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court's ruling on Crawford made Photo ID laws possible throughout the nation.
Rep. Downey made clear that implementing Photo ID isn't the complicated procedure opponents of the bill say it is. He said he wasn't saying that as a GOP legislator. He said that as a result of his private sector experience.
Rep. Downey said that many of the claims now being touted by the DFL as Gospel fact on costs to cities and counties come from the various Photo ID bills that have since been dropped.
Rep. Downey said that many of the DFL statements and allegations "are based on the assumption that the legislature would pass" ridiculous enabling language to the Photo ID amendment if it passes and that "Gov. Dayton would sign that."
The fact that Gov. Dayton vetoed Photo ID when it was a bill guarantees he won't sign a bill with ridiculous enabling language.
Rep. Downey said that many lawsuits have been brought trying to reverse the Supreme Court's Crawford ruling. He said that none of the testimony taken has proven Photo ID disenfranchises voters.
Court after court has ruled that the people who've supposedly been harmed by their state's Photo ID laws weren't actually disenfranchised.
The ACLU-MN, the League of Women Voters-MN and Common Cause MN aren't trying to prevent Photo ID from becoming law because Photo ID makes voting difficult.
The Constitution isn't on their side. The 'evidence' isn't on their side, either. The polls have never been on their side.
That information makes me wonder why they're fighting this as hard as they're fighting it.
Tags: Photo ID , Voter Fraud , Vote Yes , Keith Downey , HAVA , SVRS , MNGOP , League of Women Voters-MN , Common Cause MN , ACLU-MN , Lawsuits , Election 2012
Posted Tuesday, September 11, 2012 10:07 AM
Comment 1 by J. Ewing at 11-Sep-12 09:46 AM
seems to me you need a "not" in this statement.
"Court after court has ruled that the people who've supposedly been harmed by their state's Photo ID laws were actually disenfranchised."
Comment 2 by Gary Gross at 11-Sep-12 10:09 AM
Thanks for catching that Jerry. I changed the sentence to read "Court after court has ruled that the people who've supposedly been harmed by their state's Photo ID laws weren't actually disenfranchised.'
Comment 3 by J. Ewing at 12-Sep-12 09:50 AM
You've done a fine job of catching Ritchie's lies, not that it takes your great talent. The biggest one, to me, is the simplest, when he says something like "223,411 registered voters do not currently have a valid photo ID." He posted this bit of deception on his official website, which to me is malfeasance at best. Why? Because it says absolutely nothing about their ability to GET a valid ID before the 2014 elections.
Comment 4 by Gary Gross at 12-Sep-12 10:00 AM
Jerry, You're exactly right. Whether a person has photo ID isn't determinative of whether they can get a Photo ID.
Rep. Kiffmeyer criticizes Secretary Ritchie's "scare tactics"
Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer's op-ed in the Princeton Union-Eagle is a devastating criticism of Secretary Ritchie's scare tactics in opposition to the proposed Photo ID constitutional amendment.
This criticism is particularly sharp:
He's said that members of the Armed Forces deployed overseas would be unable to vote if the Voter ID amendment passes. As the chief election officer of the state, Ritchie should be familiar with the MOVE Act and UOCAVA ballots under federal law and thus should be fully aware that military absentee ballots are not affected by state laws. Not even an amendment to the State Constitution can hinder military balloting.
If Mr. Ritchie isn't aware of these laws, then he isn't qualified to be Minnesota's Secretary of State. If Mr. Ritchie is aware of these laws but lies to scare people in an attempt to get them to vote no on the proposed constitutional amendment, he's too corrupt to be Minnesota's Secretary of State.
Secretary Ritchie is ignoring the word 'substantially' and argues that eligibility verification cannot be accomplished on election day in the polling place. He claims that all 500,000 same-day registrants in Minnesota would therefore have to cast a provisional ballot to be counted later.
Ritchie's intellectual dishonesty is disgusting. It isn't reasonable to assume that everyone using EDR doesn't have a drivers license or state-issued ID card. Still, that's precisely what Mr. Ritchie does with this thinking.
It's important to ask Mr. Ritchie why he'd make that assumption. I suspect he doesn't really think that but that he's just employing that as a scare tactic. Mr. Ritchie knows that anyone who uses EDR will cast a regular ballot if they present a state-issued Photo ID.
Mr. Ritchie can't admit that, though, because that'd destroy another of his chanting points. If he admits to the truth, his arguments crumple.
His office claims that almost one million voters would have problems voting. This defies logic.
There are approximately 4,000,000 registered voters in Minnesota. In making that type of claim, Mr. Ritchie's office is claiming that one-fourth of Minnesota's registered voters don't have a state-issued form of photgraphic identification.
It's time for Mr. Ritchie to stop with the fearmongering. It's time he started telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
It's time people recognized Mr. Ritchie's corruption.
Tags: Op-ed , Photo ID , Mary Kiffmeyer , GOP , Mark Ritchie , Fearmongering , Military Vote , UOCAVA , DFL , Elections
Posted Tuesday, September 11, 2012 8:12 PM
Comment 1 by eric z at 12-Sep-12 12:09 PM
Kiffmeyer criticizes Ritchie.
This is news?
This is worth a blog post?
Slow day?
Comment 2 by Gary Gross at 12-Sep-12 12:51 PM
It's news when a corrupt secretary of state travels the state lying about the proposed Photo ID constitutional amendment.
It's even worse when he claims that it's part of his official responsibilities, then gets reimbursed by the taxpayers for campaign visits.
In other words, yes, this is news by any objective criteria.
Comment 3 by walter hanson at 12-Sep-12 02:25 PM
Gary:
If you're not aware of it lots of that 500K of EDR comes into a motor vehicle on election day or before to apply for the change of address on their drivers license so they can register on site.
I guess that's more proof that Ritchie doesn't know what is going on.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Comment 4 by walter hanson at 12-Sep-12 02:26 PM
Eric:
Keep in mind this is the previous secretary of State who was known for doing election law fairly commenting on what the current Secretary of State doesn't know.
That's news!
Unless of course if you want to pretend that Ritchie knows how to do his job.
Oh I forgot you're pretending liberals are good.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Comment 5 by eric z at 13-Sep-12 08:38 AM
Walter - Get real. Take a reliable poll on who is respected, Ritchie or Kiffmeyer, and then post that.
Comment 6 by Gary Gross at 13-Sep-12 11:21 AM
Eric, Mark Ritchie is the most corrupt official I've seen in 40 years of watching politics.
He's lied repeatedly, which I've documented in detail over the past 7 years, starting with his campaign.
In May, he made numerous 'editorial comments' that he knew were false at a Stearns County Commissioners meeting.
Mary Kiffmeyer exposed his lie that military personnel serving overseas wouldn't be able to vote if Photo ID was approved. She highlighted the fact that federal law, specifically UOCAVA, governs voting eligibility for military personnel when serving overseas.
If Ritchie didn't know that, then he's too stupid to be SecState. If he knew that & lied, then he's too corrupt to be SecState.
Comment 7 by walter hanson at 13-Sep-12 04:55 PM
Eric:
The evidence is overwhelming that Ritchie doesn't know what he is doing except for trying to cheat to help the DFL win elections.
So what piece of evidence which you haven't offered that shows Ritchie knows what he is doing for the good of the people of Minnesota and to protect everyone's voting rights including to have people who aren't qualified to vote to be stopped from voting.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Standing shoulder to shoulder with Israel?
President Obama's words are meaningless, especially when it comes to Israel. Last week, President Obama said that he'd " stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel ." This week, when Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu asked to meet with President Obama, President Obama chose to appear on David Letterman's show instead :
The president will chat with the "Late Show" host during a trip to New York City next week, according to the National Journal. Letterman's nightly monologues mostly spare the president from satirical ribbing, saving his most cutting remarks for the Romneys...or even former President George W. Bush.
The news comes on the same day Obama told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he couldn't meet with him due to a scheduling conflict.
Nothing says standing with Israel like sitting down with David Letterman for a chat.
The fact that President Obama hasn't announced that he's rescheduling his Letterman interview to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu speaks louder than 100 of President Obama's speeches.
President Obama hasn't been faithful in dealing with America's best ally in the Middle East. Instead, he's tried re-establishing a diplomatic relationship with Iran and Syria while throwing Israel under the proverbial bus.
After the Democrats' platform difficulties with regards to Israel, Hamas and the Palestinian Right of Return, don't be surprised if Jewish voters don't reward him this November.
Tags: President Obama , David Letterman , Benjamin Netanyahu , Israel , Allies , Iran , Syria , Forida , Elections
Posted Wednesday, September 12, 2012 9:58 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 12-Sep-12 12:12 PM
Off point, but thanks for NOT doing a 9-11 post. It is easier to do one than not. This year the date went by without hysteria, largely so, and that is good.
The teachers' monopoly vs. parents and students
Chicago is the latest place where the teachers unions face the possibility of parental backlash. John Kass's column highlights the Chicago Teachers Union's arrogance and ineffectiveness:
When Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis led her members out on strike this week, she said real school would be closed.
"Negotiations have been intense but productive," she said. "However, we have failed to reach an agreement that will prevent a labor strike. Real school will not be open (Monday)."
Real school? You mean that public system where four of 10 students don't graduate?
Since real school wasn't open, I was compelled to visit an unreal school.
A South Side school where 100 percent of the students graduate, and 100 percent are accepted to college. A Roman Catholic all-boys school that draws from poor and working-class neighborhoods, a school where there are no cops or metal detectors, no gang recruitment, no fear.
An unreal school that is mostly black, but with a smattering of whites and Latinos, and where every student who sees a stranger in the halls goes up to the newcomer, introduces himself, shakes his hand, looks him in the eye and calls him Mister.
Leo High School, at 79th and Sangamon, seemed pretty unreal to me, too.
Leo isn't pretty. It's 87 years old. The staircase steps are worn and scalloped from all those years of boys tromping to class. But the minds inside are sure springy, like that of Jeremy Clark, future G-man.
When vouchers were first introduced as an alternative to public school only education, the results were impressive. Feeling threatened by the competition, the teachers unions' response was that private schools cherrypicked the best students, then saddled public schools with the least talented students.
That meme was just a reflexive response by a monolith that felt threatened by competition. Since the early days of charter schools, homeschooling and vouchers, attractive alternatives have popped up, giving parents alternatives like Leo High School.
Leo didn't cherrypick the best students from the public schools. They simply took the students that applied, then did what the unionized schools hadn't. The statistical comparison between Leo High School and the Chicago Public Schools speak for themselves. Leo graduates 100% of their "mostly black" students. Chicago Public Schools graduate a pathetic 60% of their students.
Janet Beihoffer is an experienced teacher, having taught grades 4-6 earlier in her career. She now teaches Metropolitan College in the Twin Cities. The title of Janet's presentation was Expectations Matter :
It's apparent that Florida has implemented some impressive reform policies, which Ms. Beihoffer highlighted during her presentation. Here's what she listed as the highlights for Florida's reforms:
•?Set higher expectations
•?Grade schools: A-F
•?Reward schools that succeed
•?Provide school choice
•?Eliminate social promotions
•?Require reading ability at end of 3rdgrade
•?Find quality educators
Did the reforms work? The proof is that they did. Based on the NAEP tests for reading for 4th graders from 2003-2011, Florida's score improved from 218 to 225. By comparison, the national average for that timeframe went from 216 to 221. During that timeframe, Minnesota went from 223 to 222.
White students in Florida went from an average score of 226 in 2002 to 235 in 2011. In Minnesota, students stagnated, starting at 229 and finishing at 229.
The stunning statistic is that "black students in Florida" tested at 196 in 2002, then finished strong at 209 in 2011. By comparison, "black students in Minnesota" average reading score for 4th graders started at 202 in 2002, only to finish with a 199 average in 2011.
If education was in the private sector, the unions would be bankrupt while schools like Leo High and Cristo Rey would be making obsene profits. In head-to-head competition, there is no competition.
That's why Chicago parents should protest against the unions getting a pay raise, much less asking for a 35% pay raise. They're already making $30,000 a year more than private sector workers in Chicago. Their crappy results should earn them a pay cut. Instead, they're asking for a massive pay raise.
If Chicago unions persist in demanding massive pay increases for inferior results, I'd hope parents either leave Chicago or that they'd send their children to schools that don't shortchange students or parents.
Teachers unions better beware. The school choice movement is providing parents with superior alternatives to union shops. Schools like Cristo Rey and Leo High aren't the way of the future. They're fast becoming the way of today.
School choice isn't a partisan issue. This article shows the bipartisan nature of the movement:
"Across America, citizens of all political parties are fed up with the status quo," Morris said. "Parents want their hard-earned tax dollars to go to great schools, not to entrenched bureaucrats. This is why we have seen a groundswell of support for school choice in the past several years, and an unprecedented level of school choice legislation being enacted in statehouses across the country."
"We all have to bring our ideas to the table, regardless of party," Trippi said. "I want to help bring Democrats and Republicans together to work towards education reform. Participating in National School Choice Week is the first step everyone of us can take towards social justice and a better future for all of America's children."
Rahm Emanuel should take his 16% pay increase off the table immediately. Chicago's teachers haven't earned a pay increase. If Chicago remains a rigged game, expect people to move to Wisconsin where their children will get a great education because the unions don't have a monopoly.
Tags: Chicago Teachers Strike , Rahm Emanuel , Unions , Monopoly , Graduation Rates , Cristo Rey , School Choice , Dick Morris , Joe Trippi , Bipartisanship , Parents , Students
Posted Wednesday, September 12, 2012 12:41 PM
Comment 1 by jerry at 13-Sep-12 01:56 AM
leo does not accept every child who applies. their acceptance rate is 95%. that # comes from leo h.s. itself. to say that private schools dont cherry pick is very misleading at best. private schools have entrance exams. why would you need exams if you were going to except every child who applied. leo cost about $7000.00 per year in tuition. i cant imagine there are many kids whos parents would bother sending them to take the entrance test to leo knowing that they would not be able to afford the tuition anyway. so right away my guess is that private schools have by just having an entrance exam and tuition weeded out 95% of the undesirable students. where do you think these undesirable kids end up going to school? leo has a 15:1 student teacher ratio. chicago is approximately 30:1. that gives leos teachers much more one on one time per student. even with the cherry picking a 100% graduation rate is an amazing accomplishment. but lets not say this proves something it doesnt. comparing chicago public schools to private schools is like comparing ford to ferrari.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 13-Sep-12 02:03 AM
They would if the money attached to the student, not the school.
Comment 2 by jerry at 14-Sep-12 07:10 PM
thats it. they would if the money was attatched to the student , not tbe school. no wonder its just me and you.
Kurt Bills closes gap with Sen. Klobuchar
According to private polling done for the Bills campaign, Sen. Klobuchar's support is sinking while Kurt Bills' support is surging:
In June Public Policy Polling showed Klobuchar up by 26 points. Bills argued that as voters became more familiar with his campaign the numbers would close.
Close they have. In a new poll conducted this week, Bills closed the distance between the candidates by nearly half. Instead of a 26 point spread, the new poll shows a 14 point difference between the candidates. Bills has moved up by 12 points, and Klobuchar has dropped by 2.
DFL political hacks will dismiss this polling, saying it's self-serving spin. They said the same thing when Chip Cravaack's campaign published a private poll that showed a tight race between Chip and Jim Oberstar.
Wednesday night, people in St. Cloud saw a conservative candidate with a positive message and an air of confidence. Kurt Bills has a positive message of getting spending under control, reviving an economy that, on its best day, is best described as lackluster and getting regulations under control.
Compare that with Sen. Klobuchar's record of twice voting to raise taxes on Boston Scientific and Medtronic, her doing nothing to lower gas prices or electric bills and her silence on making PolyMet a reality.
That's a history of a) raising taxes on two of Minnesota's biggest private sector employers, b) turning a blind eye towards families having difficulty making ends meet and c) doing nothing about growing jobs in northern Minnesota.
If Mr. Bills gets his message out, at mininum, he'll give Sen. Klobuchar's campaign manager a nasty case of heartburn. A month ago, it would've been seen as pure foolishness to think that Kurt Bills had a shot at defeating Sen. Klobuchar.
Thanks to Sen. Klobuchar's stellar record of participating in photo ops and her dismal record on job growth and economic development, coupled with Bills' appealing pro-growth economic message, that's at least a possibility this November.
The Twin Cities media won't hesitate in doing their utmost to hide St. Amy's vulnerabilities and shortcomings. That's what they tried doing with Jim Oberstar, too. Their efforts worked so well that Oberstar's a "visiting scholar at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs."
Based on the speeches I've seen Kurt Bills give the past week, it's a mistake to think he doesn't have a shot at making Democrats squirm this November.
We've dealt with two economically challenged senators representing us in the Senate. Now it's time to send the senior senator packing so we can get the economy going again.
Tags: Kurt Bills , Private Polling , Chip Cravaack , Economy , Regulations , Pro-Growth Policies , GOP , Amy Klobuchar , Photo Ops , Tax Increases , Medtronic , Boston Scientific , Jim Oberstar , DFL , Election 2012
Posted Thursday, September 13, 2012 2:26 AM
No comments.
Minnesota DFL delegation vote against Cravaack-Ruckavina school funding legislation
Wednesday afternoon, the House voted to approve Chip Cravaack's land swap bill that had solid bipartisan support in the Minnesota legislature. The Mesabi Daily News is reporting that, despite the fact that this bill has the support of political opposites like Chip Cravaack and Tommie Ruckavina, the DFL members of the Minnesota delegation voted against it .
Rep. McCollum took a particularly harsh beating during the debate:
When McCollum said it was 'completely unnecessary' because the state law had already set the process in motion, Republican Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah said: 'The state wants to do it quickly, the federal Forest Service does not. It helps the kids of Minnesota to take it away from an agency that moves at glacial speed.'
After that specious argument failed, Ms. McCollum tried a different argument, only to be shot down again:
When Rep. McCollum said repeatedly that there was not a map related to the issue, Rep. Cravaack responded with a map of the area in question alongside him. 'Well, here's the map,' he said, pointing out the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Forest Service have the map and it's also available to the public online.
It's pretty obvious that Rep. McCollum either doesn't know what she's talking about or she's willing to shaft students to prevent Chip's bill from passing.
What's disgusting is that DFL Reps. Ellison, McCollum, Peterson and Walz voted against a significant funding source for K-12 students. So much for the DFL being the party that's "for the children."
That isn't the only disgraceful behavior on behalf of the DFL members of the Minnesota delegation:
Minnesota Democratic U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken would not answer directly a question of whether they support the House measure passed on Wednesday, but did endorse a land swap in some form yet to be spelled out. And, they said, they are collaborating on legislation.
'I understand how important this is for our schools and local economies in northern Minnesota, and that's why I continue to support a land exchange and am working with similar legislation with Senator Franken to get it done,' Sen. Klobuchar said in an e-mailed statement to the Mesabi Daily News following a call to her Washington office.
A statement from Sen. Franken mirrored Klobuchar's.
Minnesota Democratic U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken would not answer directly a question of whether they support the House measure passed on Wednesday, but did endorse a land swap in some form yet to be spelled out. And, they said, they are collaborating on legislation.
That's code for saying they're killing Chip's bill. Sen. Franken and Sen. Klobuchar know that their "similar legislation" would require a conference committee, which wastes valuable time during a lame duck session.
That's a best case scenario with Harry Reid running the Senate and Sens. Franken and Klobuchar doing their best to sabotage the bill that Chip, Mark Dayton and Tommie Ruckavina support.
This vote proves that Tim Walz and Collin Peterson aren't moderates. Voting with Raul Grijalva, Betty McCollum, Emanuel Cleaver, John Conyers, Dennis Kucinich, Jim McDermott and Keith Ellison won't improve Peterson's or Walz's moderate ratings.
Tags: Boundary Waters Canoe Area , Land Swap , School Trust , Chip Cravaack , Tommie Ruckavina , Mark Dayton , Bipartisanship , Betty McCollum , Collin Peterson , Keith Ellison , Tim Walz , Amy Klobuchar , Al Franken , Partisanship , Education , DFL , Election 2012
Posted Thursday, September 13, 2012 3:33 AM
Comment 1 by Chad Q at 13-Sep-12 07:59 AM
Does anyone in CD 4 need any more proof that Betty McCollum is worthless to her district and the state as a whole? She has been proven time and time again to be incompetent during the debates and now this, yet the morons in CD 4 keep sending her back to Washington. It is very frustrating knowing there are so many more qualifed people that could have her seat but the DFL keeps voting her in no matter how worthless she is.
Comment 2 by Gary Gross at 13-Sep-12 11:23 AM
Chad, I'm not predicting anything but CD-4 got more conservative in this redistricting. With the right plan & proper leadership, CD-4 can get flipped.
Comment 3 by Jim at 24-Sep-12 10:12 AM
"What's disgusting is that DFL Reps. Ellison, McCollum, Peterson and Walz voted against a significant funding source for K-12 students."
A significant funding source? Really? Unbiased estimates are that if this exchange moves forward, it would provide a maximum of $26 dollars per student per year in the state of Minnesota. You know how much tourism is worth to the state every year? $1.6 billion.
Response 3.1 by Gary Gross at 24-Sep-12 10:55 AM
Jim, Are you arguing that those "$1.6 billion" in tourism would instantly dry up if the land swap happened? Please tell me that you aren't that foolish. Better yet, please tell me you don't think we're foolish enough to believe that.
Obama's shoot from the hip moment
This morning, President Obama made the type of mistake his campaign accused Mitt Romney of making when he said that Egypt wasn't an ally or an enemy. Now they're walking President Obama's statement back :
In an interview with Telemundo Wednesday night, Obama said that the U.S. relationship with the new Egyptian government was a "work in progress," and emphasized that the United States is counting on the government of Egypt to better protect the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, which was attacked by protesters on Sept. 11.
"I don't think that we would consider them an ally, but we don't consider them an enemy," Obama said. "They're a new government that is trying to find its way. They were democratically elected. I think that we are going to have to see how they respond to this incident."
It didn't take long before the administration 'clarified' President Obama's statement:
White House spokesman Tommy Vietor told The Cable Thursday that the administration is not signaling a change in that status.
"I think folks are reading way too much into this," Vietor said. "'Ally' is a legal term of art. We don't have a mutual defense treaty with Egypt like we do with our NATO allies. But as the president has said, Egypt is longstanding and close partner of the United States, and we have built on that foundation by supporting Egypt's transition to democracy and working with the new government."
During a crisis, communications must be clear. There's no room for creativity. What's needed is surefootedness based on a strong grasp of the situation.
Clearly, President Obama isn't surefooted. Clearly, he didn't grasp the gravity of the situation. Clearly, his reckless statements happened because he didn't discipline himself to be in crisis mode.
Four years into his administration, President Obama hasn't proven that he'll respond properly to crises. When riots broke out after the rigged elections in Iran, President Obama sided with Ahmedinejad, not the protesters.
This time, when violence erupted in Cairo, President Obama couldn't figure out what the official position of his administration was towards a major nation in the Middle East. That's proof that he didn't think things through on Middle East policy. That's inexcusable.
President Obama's crisis management has been woefully inadequate. That's what the media should be focused on, not on the things Mitt Romney said. If the media wants to critique Mitt Romney's statements, that's appropriate after the crisis is over.
Tags: President Obama , Embassy Attacks , Crisis Management , Media Bias , Egypt , Cairo , Iran Protests , Foreign Policy , National Security , Democrats , Election 2012
Posted Thursday, September 13, 2012 3:58 PM
No comments.
Terrorism then & now, Journalism then & now
Much of the media's attention has focused on Mitt Romney's criticism of the United States' Egyptian Embassy. While that's predictable considering the media's bias, that doesn't excuse them from covering this terrorist-created crisis.
If the biased liberal media has time to criticize Mitt Romney's criticism of the Embassy's statement, if they have time to coordinate questions for Mitt Romney's press conference, then they'd better make time to question President Obama's 'lead-from-behind' policies.
First, the only violence we've seen around embassies happened during the Carter, Clinton and Obama administrations. That didn't happen during President George W. Bush's term in office. President Bush's speech on Sept. 20, 2001 sent the unmistakable signal that the world's only superpower wouldn't sit idly by if terrorists attacked again.
To his credit, President Bush didn't care about how the 'world community' would react. President Bush's commitment, which was the right commitment, was to protect Americans throughout the world.
Second, President Bush wasn't worried if terrorists liked us. At times, his actions even sent the message that he didn't care if they respected us. At times, President Bush's goal was to have the terrorists second-guessing themselves or fearing us.
Third, we've seen repeated terrorist attacks during this administration. To this day, this administration still won't call Major Nidal Hassan's murder spree/terrorist attack a terrorist attack.
Fourth, when there's an Islamist uprising out the US embassy in Cairo, the embassy's statement is to apologize for a film that many people have heard of but few people have seen. It wasn't to criticize the Islamists who tore down the United States flag. It wasn't to tell the Islamists to back off or face retaliation.
The Agenda Media can't be bothered highlighting those things. They're only worried about attacking President Obama's opponent. If the media won't do their jobs, then they need to be criticized.
Finally, Mitt Romney's statement was purposeful and spot on in its analysis. Mitt absolutely shouldn't apologize for criticizing this administration's timid behavior in a time of crisis.
Peace through strength is always better policy than lead-from-behind.
Tags: President Obama , Media Bias , Agenda Media , Terrorism , Crises , Lead From Behind , Embassy Bombings , Democrats , Mitt Romney , George W Bush , Peace Through Strength , GOP
Posted Thursday, September 13, 2012 5:06 PM
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