[H/t: Patterico]

Democratic Congressman David Scott (D-13th District, Georgia) had a bit o’ trouble when asked a simple question about the Obama health care plan being jammed through Nancy Pelosi’s House. Seems that a mild-mannered, well-spoken doctor, who had repeatedly tried to get a meeting with the Congressman but couldn’t, finally decided that he would have to corral Scott at an open meeting. The doc wasn’t out of line, as questioning had been open to all subjects . . . however, the Congressman can’t quite rise to the occasion when asked, “Do you support a government run option?”

With all the YouTube action over this past week of concerned conservatives and independents getting VOCAL to the max at these types of meetings, it is refreshing to see one where the opposition is all calm, cool and collected while the elected official has a fit. Ace says it well:

Videos of angry protesters shouting are dime a dozen. Yes, people are angry. We know that. Adds very little to the debate, except the very incremental information that yes, these particular people are angry too.

On the other hand, catch an idiot melting down over a perfectly fair question from one of his constituents, and you’ve really got something. Priceless:

Make one wonder what the good Congressman would have said if the doc had asked him about the deficit, which grew by $181 billion in July!

Bailouts for financial firms and billions in tax revenue lost because of the recession drove the deficit to a record $1.3 trillion in July, according to the independent Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

Tax receipts that have fallen due to the poor economy and increased spending to save car companies, banks and mortgage firms were major contributors to the federal deficit, according to CBO, which provides official budget numbers for Congress. The federal deficit grew by another $181 billion in July.

Falling tax receipts and increased spending on bailouts for auto companies and the financial sector and for the economic stimulus package added to the deficit, according to CBO.

That’s 181 billion, with a “B”! Sure sounds like a great time to spend more of the people’s money, right? Like, let’s see . . . Nancy Pelosi and the Dem Wit House need some new private jets to fly around in, the Obama administration agrees on getting four, and voilà — the House votes to buy not the four, but eight!

$550 MILLION for Eight. Private. Jets.

The funding for new planes is “a classic example of Congress being out of touch with the realities of deficit spending,” said Mr. Thune.

The Obama administration had sought $220 million to buy four passenger jets, including two that are currently being leased by the Air Force, to replace a fleet of older planes. Before leaving town for the August break, House lawmakers doubled the aircraft order to eight, at a total cost of $550 million.

Hmmm, if Congressman Scott had been asked about this private-jet-buy his head probably would have done a Linda Blair spinaround!

Let’s recap:

• About the “details” of Obamacare, Dem wit Congressmen don’t want to talk about it, don’t want to answer any concerns, run and hide from constituents!
• Tax revenues are down severely, spending is up exponentially; the deficit is growing like baby Godzilla!
• Nanny Nancy and her Dems decides the timing is perfect to saddle taxpayers with the cost of eight private jets, just so they can fly the friendly skies in style!

All this madness can end, by the way; 2010 is just around the corner.

Howdy! If anyone is still out there to read this . . . I see that it was Mother’s Day, 12 days ago since I posted. That has to be some kind of record for me. It’s certainly not that there hasn’t been a lot to write about, a lot to complain about, a hell of a lot to be worried about — but gee folks, clients came out of the woodwork with a vengeance and one would be a fool to complain about being busy in this current economy!

Speaking of said economy, I see on Drudge that the feces have hit the wind machine big time — the Fed Chairman “promising” that inflation will increase, all but six states had job losses last month with this lovely granola state ‘winning’ the biggest loser contest, the Feds may force GM into bankruptcy even though it has made a tentative ‘deal’ with the UAW, (funny how those pesky bondholders can be so picky about the terms of their haircuts — gee, ya think that a secured lender is supposed to get preference over the Unions’ unsecured debt or somethin’?) The US dollar has hit a new multi-month low vs euro, pound and yen. Sweet! Anymore good economic news?

Oh yeah, Treasury Sec. Tax-dodger Tim is ‘concerned’ about U.S. creditworthiness, which is being flushed down the toilet Internationally so he’s now ‘promising’ to cut the budget deficit, like right damn now! With all the spending this administration has planned, and the stimulus package and TARP plus the impending Carbon Cap & Trade legislation that is being railroaded through Congress without opposition comment — where are they gonna come up with the moolah? Once they drain that upper 5% income bracket, better bend over ’cause they’re gonna come after yours and mine!

One last item before I’m off for a client lunch. Nancy Pelosi is now finished saying anything more about her accusations of lying by the CIA. Guess that hole’s been dug deep enough!

More when I can . . .

I guess it was bound to happen, but who thought it would be so soon? I mean, every big MSM resource besides the LAT (well, that one’s gettin’ smaller by the minute!) has been giving the John Edwards/Rielle Hunter love tryst and love child story the total cold shoulder. Kinda makes you wonder what they’ll think of this.

Today, Edwards came clean, sort of, revealing the truth of the affair. However, he denies having fathered the child of the woman that he had sex with.

In 2006, I made a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my family and to my core beliefs. I recognized my mistake and I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman, and I asked for her forgiveness. Although I was honest in every painful detail with my family, I did not tell the public. When a supermarket tabloid told a version of the story, I used the fact that the story contained many falsities to deny it. But being 99% honest is no longer enough.

I was and am ashamed of my conduct and choices, and I had hoped that it would never become public. With my family, I took responsibility for my actions in 2006 and today I take full responsibility publicly. But that misconduct took place for a short period in 2006. It ended then. I am and have been willing to take any test necessary to establish the fact that I am not the father of any baby, and I am truly hopeful that a test will be done so this fact can be definitively established. I only know that the apparent father has said publicly that he is the father of the baby. I also have not been engaged in any activity of any description that requested, agreed to or supported payments of any kind to the woman or to the apparent father of the baby.

OK, take the test, dude. Take the test. ‘Cause your gettin’ caught sneakin’ around at 2-in-the-AM last month to see her and the baby keeps on beggin’ that question. Of course, this is all just salacious nonsense, unless you are the mother of the child and need support.

But, if the Dem-wits let him address their convention in Denver one will have to wonder just what they are all smokin’. And then there’s this, you could just mark it up as another bad decision made by the all-knowing, all-seeing Big ‘O’. I think they need to tell ol’ Silky to giddy up along to the barn, bed his own self down and politically disappear. Besides, he’s got a sick wife that needs him more than ol’ Barry Obama ever will . . .

Technorati Tags: John Edwards/Rielle Hunter

Laer over at Cheat-Seeking Missiles has the following:

The National Enquirer, on the John Edwards/Rielle Hunter love child story since last year, finally caught the Sen. with his pants on, but just after he had them off:

Go and read the NE article at C-SM, see the pics of Edwards and Hunter — gee, they do both have great hair!

All I’ve got to say is that it looks like John Edwards just got scratched off the Obama VP list. He might also have other things to be thinking worrying about. Over at Overlawyered.com they are discussing No. Carolina’s little tort law that would allow Elizabeth Edwards to sue Hunter for alienation of affection. Kinda makes one wonder which side would be retainin’ ol’ Silky. Heh!

Giddy up!

Technorati Tags: John Edwards, Rielle Hunter, Obama VP list

Hmmmm, can the Barack Obama campaign try a premeditated, totally jaded and deceptive tactic like handing out signs at their rallies that are intended to look “homemade”, as if those holding them are so enamored with their Messiah candidate they couldn’t help but express themselves for all the world to see?

Yes, they can!

Now, for something completely different!

See Gary Vanerchuck’s review of four Oklahoma wines, made in Oklahoma from Oklahoma grown grapes. A big surprise awaits the results of a group of community college students and their teacher’s efforts at a Cabernet/Mertiage blend.

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Gary Vanerchuck, Oklahoma wines

What you see here is the 2009 model year Corvette ZR1, a monster of a supercar that will be the first $100,000 Chevy. However, from the specs and performance envelope, it will be well worth the bucks and undoubtedly will be the most performance for the dollar from anyone. It all came about due to the General’s CEO Rick Wagoner, upon seeing the current Z06 Vette, asking something like, “Gee, if you guys can do this for 60 grand, wonder what you could do for 100K? Asked and answered! Motor Trend reported that it would have 620 plus horsepower and at least 600 lb/ft of asphalt buckling torque.

Now, if you are a motor-head like yours truly, you’ve known about this amazing sports car for awhile. So, why the post ‘Okie’? Because I read something that Mark Tapscott wrote last Wednesday about a statement made by Marge Oge, director of the EPA’s office of transportation and air quality. She said the following: “We must bring about an end to the horsepower arms race among auto makers and replace it with another different kind of a race, a race to produce the most affordable and desirable, low carbon-vehicle each year.”

Mark makes a great case for ol’ Marge here being a royal example of an inside the beltway blithering idiot, and out of tough car-hating liberal, someone that has no idea whatsoever about how supply-and-demand controls markets and merchandise availability. Read the whole thing. I sure like his finishing statement, especially the last sentence in light of Super Tuesday being less than 48 hours away.

Maybe Oge is just jealous that other people are having so much fun driving their powerful cars (or watching them being raced at places like Daytona and Indy). It’s that same old familiar Puritan/liberal fear that somewhere, somehow, somebody might be enjoying themselves too much, so the government must step in and “fix the problem.”

Interesting, isn’t it, that we trust the wisdom of crowds when it is expressed politically via free elections, but not when it is expressed economically via free markets.

The Left hates free markets, come to think of it, they don’t much like real free speech either. But hey, back to the fun stuff! Fast Lane Daily caught this monster’s development mule out in the wild!

That’ll give those ol’ Puritan/liberals areason to be afeared! Sweet!

Enjoy.

Technorati Tags: Corvette ZR1, Marge Oge

Yesterday the House of Representatives voted on Congressman Steve King’s resolution to honor the Christmas holiday and the Christian faith. There were nine NO votes! From Michelle Malkin’s blog:

Congressman Steve King reacted this morning to the nine “NO” votes on his resolution to honor Christmas and the Christian faith. The vote shocked Capitol Hill observers because votes on similar resolutions honoring the holidays of Islam and Hinduism passed without any NO votes.

Appearing this morning on the Fox News Channel’s Fox and Friends, King said, “The [nine] naysayers didn’t make it to the floor to debate. I would like to know how they could vote Yes on Islam, Yes on the Indian Religions and No on Christianity when the foundation of this nation and our American culture is Christianity…I think there’s an assault on Christianity in America.”

{…} None of the nine voted against resolutions honoring the Islamic holiday of Ramadan and the Hindu holiday of Diwali. [emph. mine]

Visit Michelle’s site for the names of the nine, plus links to the full vote tally. Three of the nine are from California — Hey dude, gotta stop the repressive-theocratic machine don’t ya know . . .

Why am I not surprised?

Technorati Tags: Congressman Steve King, resolution to honor the Christmas holiday

Dean Barnett comments upon the myopic Senate Democrats‘ actions on the 6th anniversary of 9/11.

Here’s what gets me – no one knows more about Iraq than David Petraeus and Ryan Crocker. No one. And yet what have the congressmen and senators done the last two days when they’ve had them as witnesses? Give speeches. Lecture. Play to the gallery. In other words, seek office. Why do Petraeus and Crocker even have to be there? It’s very clear that most of the senators don’t care what they have to say. If the Senators and congressmen wanted to learn about Iraq and play a constructive role going forward, they would have done a lot more listening over the past two days than talking.

That’s the second time in two days I’ve taken a detour into Fantasyland. Sorry about that. But the rain here and the poignancy of today’s sad anniversary have gotten the best of me. One of the reasons I do what I do is because 9/11 changed me; I wanted to play a role in our nation’s dialogue. It took me a couple of years, but that’s why I eventually started writing.

We have 160,000 men and women in harm’s way. Our enemies are playing for keeps. That’s one lesson that we should have learned on 9/11 that we should never need a refresher on.

And while our enemies play for keeps, our members of congress play for reelection.

Ain’t that the truth!

Technorati Tags: Senate Democrats

What happens when a bunch of we-know-better-than-you, sanctimonious — but “really, really loaded” — members of the American aristocracy need to step up and do their part for the environment?

Check out this one from the Daily Show — I’m laughin’ my you-know-what off!

“A lot of people think renewable energy is benign, but it will potentially impose detrimental impacts to human safety” — Audra Parker, Assistant Director of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound

Not to mention to the views off Nantucket — if you’re looking through you binocs that is.

Self-righteous, self-absorbed, I’m super rich so “screw you” Lefties . . .

Bwwwhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

As Drudge headlines it: White House: Democrats Have Launched Over 300 Investigations In 100 Days…

In a constitutional showdown with Congress, the administration claimed executive privilege and rejected demands for White House documents about the firings of eight U.S. attorneys.

The House and Senate Judiciary committees have set a deadline of 10 a.m. next Monday for the White House to explain its basis for the claim.

The administration has not said when or if it will respond. Spokesman Scott Stanzel said Thursday the White House has received a many requests for information since Democrats took control of Congress in January and has turned over 200,000 pages of documents.

“They’ve launched over 300 investigations, had over 350 requests for documents and interviews and they have had over 600 oversight hearings in just about 100 days,” Stanzel said.

Sound OK to me — with Congress spending all its time on silly investigations and passing non-binding resolutions, it can’t create legislation that messes with the rest of us. As long as it doesn’t do anything to impede the war against the radical Islamists we’ll get through this just fine. The more B.D.S. that the general public witnesses, the better off we’ll all be in ‘08 as only the nutters can really be getting into all this incessant Bush bashing.

Woo boy! Annie C. has her verbal gun loaded for bear once again and deftly side steps an attempted smackdown by Elizabeth Edwards on yesterday’s Hardball.

Did Chris Matthews or his crew set up this ringer of a call-in? (Do bears do you-know-what in the woods?)

Is it reassuring to the nutroots that ol’ Johnnie Boy can let Mrs. Johnnie battle the oooooooooo-so-scary Anne?

Once again, John has to ask himself, “Was that really a good idea?”

Note to Edwards — if you’re running to be the Commander-in-Chief, you need to be the one making the call. Brother!

[H/t: Patterico]
From choosing Amanda Marcotte (You do realize that a 29-year-old hipster who lives in Austin might have other interests besides line-dancing and sucking turds, right? – AM) as his blog-mistress, and getting $400 haircuts to spending the day at spas like the Pink Sapphire, Democrat Presidential candidate John Edwards certainly knows how to hit ALL the potholes a grueling national campaign can place in his way. But in 2004, after losing the bid to be John Kerry’s VP, what’s a guy with only $30-mil or so to do to keep his prettified mug on the evening news for the next 2-3 years? The New York Times answers that question today. Looks like ol’ Johnnie Boy has taken the adage God helps those that help themselves to a whole new level!

John Edwards ended 2004 with a problem: how to keep alive his public profile without the benefit of a presidential campaign that could finance his travels and pay for his political staff.

Mr. Edwards, who reported this year that he had assets of nearly $30 million, came up with a novel solution, creating a nonprofit organization with the stated mission of fighting poverty. The organization, the Center for Promise and Opportunity, raised $1.3 million in 2005, and — unlike a sister charity he created to raise scholarship money for poor students — the main beneficiary of the center’s fund-raising was Mr. Edwards himself, tax filings show.

A spokesman for Mr. Edwards defended the center yesterday as a legitimate tool against poverty.

The organization became a big part of a shadow political apparatus for Mr. Edwards after his defeat as the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2004 and before the start of his presidential bid this time around. Its officers were members of his political staff, and it helped pay for his nearly constant travel, including to early primary states.

While Mr. Edwards said the organization’s purpose was “making the eradication of poverty the cause of this generation,” its federal filings say it financed “retreats and seminars” with foreign policy experts on Iraq and national security issues. Unlike the scholarship charity, donations to it were not tax deductible, and, significantly, it did not have to disclose its donors — as political action committees and other political fund-raising vehicles do — and there were no limits on the size of individual donations.

{…}

But it was his use of a tax-exempt organization to finance his travel and employ people connected to his past and current campaigns that went beyond what most other prospective candidates have done before pursuing national office. And according to experts on nonprofit foundations, Mr. Edwards pushed at the boundaries of how far such organizations can venture into the political realm. Such entities, which are regulated under Section 501C-4 of the tax code, can engage in advocacy but cannot make partisan political activities their primary purpose without risking loss of their tax-exempt status.

You’ve gotta give the NYT some credit for actually running this one. Maybe they think Edwards is running a bit too strong and might be damaging Hillary? Maybe they’re just jealous that they can’t afford to go to the Pink Sapphire? Maybe they want a side order of Amanda’s . . . oh poop, can’t go there!

The article starts closing with a statement by Marcus S. Owens, “a Washington lawyer who headed the Internal Revenue Service division that oversees nonprofit agencies.”

“I can’t say that what Mr. Edwards did was wrong,” Mr. Owens said. “But he was working right up to the line. Who knows whether he stepped or stumbled over it. But he was close enough that if a wind was blowing hard, he’d fall over it.”

Let’s all huff, and puff, and . . . Wondering what the Lefty blogs are saying about this one? Me too. Over at the DailyKos:

[I]t almost looks like maybe the Times ran an unsupported hit piece. Bad enough they devote so much space to “Democrats said…on the other hand, Republicans said” stories without ever mentioning that what the Republicans said were lies, now we have to contend with stories about Democrats in which even basic journalistic precepts like asking involved parties for their take on the issue at hand are ignored? Not just ignored but turned down when offered?

Hey dude . . . welcome to our world!

John Edwards — “pushing the boundaries” and “stepping awfully close to the line” of campaign ethics violations. What else would you expect from a trial lawyer?

Technorati Tags: Amanda Marcotte, John Edwards, Center for Promise and Opportunity

Talk about reaping what you sow. Those waskelly Dems that got lead down the primrose path by Kos and his Kids are getting a dose of wacko-realism at their very first Congressional conference.

House Democrats tried to unveil their lobbying reform package today, but their press conference was drowned out by chants from anti-war activists who want Congress to stop funding the Iraq war before taking on other issues.

Led by Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a slain soldier, the protesters chanted “De-escalate, investigate, troops home now” as Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., began outlining the Democrats’ plans to ban lobbyist-funded travel and institute other ethics reforms. The press conference was held in the Cannon House Office Building in an area open to the public.

Emanuel finally gave up trying to be heard over the chants, and retreated to a caucus room where Democrats were meeting

Hugh Hewitt is interviewing one of the protesters on air as I write this and she finally uttered the “impeach” word. She’s getting all wound up now, calling Hilliary Clinton a “War Hawk”! As soon as Hugh puts up the transcript I’ll add the link here.

Lefty Nutters — the gift that keeps on giving! Bet those Dems wish that they could visit the return counter about now! (db)

Technorati Tags: Anti-war Demonstrators, Cindy Sheehan, Democratic Caucus, Rahm Emanuel

Mark Tapscott, Editorial Page Editor of the Washington Examiner and blogger at Tapscott’s Copy Desk sent me a link to today’s Examiner editorial about the GOP Congressional leadership elections. It was written after Lott once again was chosen as the GOP Senate leader, but before the House elections had taken place. The Examiner wasn’t much impressed with the Lott decision.

A major factor in the GOP’s loss of its majorities in both chambers of Congress was nationwide voter disgust with the billions of tax dollars being wasted on anonymous earmarks, exemplified in the activities of now-jailed super lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Lott has been among the most vocal opponents of earmark reform. So now the GOP minority puts him in the second-most powerful job in the Republican caucus?

Being cautiously optimistic about the House leadership elections, the editorial says:

On the House side, the GOP has one remaining chance to do something concrete to indicate they got the voters’ message. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., and Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz., are seeking the House minority leader and whip positions, respectively. Both are articulate, energetic reformers. If the House GOP caucus opts instead to keep part or all of the leadership team that bungled the 2006 campaign, the party will richly deserve its coming years in the political wilderness.

Finally, confronting the reality of the Boehner/Blunt wide-margin sweep of the GOP caucus, Mark writes on his blog:

The key issue here is whether the GOP can ever be a reliable tool for advancing the principles and programs that America’s moderate conservative majority have supported for decades. I remain open to persuasion otherwise, but my view is the leadership decisions made by the Senate and House GOP provide abundant evidence that conservatives, libertarians and faith-based traditionalists should look elsewhere. [emph. mine]

Wow! When Newt left in ‘98, to avoid being replaced after losing seats in that election cycle, and then having his replacement, Bob Livingston, pretty much immediately thereafter resigning in the midst of scandal, Denny Hastert seemed like a calming choice for the House leadership position. Well, in 2006, calm was not what was needed — An iron fist on ethics and some strong earmark control was what needed to be seen by John Q. Voter.

The choice that Mark lays out, whether to remain in the GOP or go looking elsewhere, doesn’t seem like much of a choice to me — ’cause there ain’t much else out there. Third parties are irrelevant, causing damage to the party that is the membership donor. Far easier, and quicker, would be to “fix” the broken party, which Captain Ed will be starting to work on in the near future with what he is calling the First Principles Project. Those that we have selected by our votes have chosen not to lead, instead they are sitting on their fat status quos.

It’s gonna be up to the ground troops to make this one right! (db)

Technorati Tags: GOP Congressional Leadership Elections, GOP Senate Leadership Elections, Trent Lott, John Boehner, Roy Blunt

Cross-posted over at Junk Yard Blog . . .

According to Patterico’s take on it, the foxes are establishing control of the Congressional hen-house. Hope you weren’t holding your breath waiting for some fresh eggs out of these jokers.

John “Grandpa Simpson” Murtha is set to be tapped as the House Majority Leader. He has some ethical issues, including a history of being investigated in Abscam. In that investigation, he obliquely discussed with an undercover investigator the possibility that he might accept bribes in the future, once the investigator provided him sufficient political cover. But more about that in a moment.

And Alcee Hastings looks like the pick for the House Intelligence Committee. He was impeached and removed from his position as a federal judge for bribery. Now we’re putting him in charge of national secrets. No bribery potential there!

This is all terrible for the country — but it’s great for Republicans.

Politically speaking, I couldn’t have scripted this better. Corruption was the top issue for disgruntled voters, so Nancy Pelosi is turning to these guys.

Perfect.

It won’t take those that were swing voters, and those that were so disgusted that they stayed home, long to figure out that they just bought a pig in a poke, and that the Dems are gonna smear lipstick all over that porker! Now, I think I’ll go back over to Patterico and read the extended version of the above — maybe after that I can get these barnyard analogies out of my head . . . Sheesh! (db)

[Addendum: from Michelle Malkin]

My woman-to-woman advice for Nancy Pelosi today: To clean a house, you take the garbage out, not in.
(…)
Nancy Pelosi doesn’t know spic from span. She’s conducting Beltway business as usual, just like the good old boys she demonized throughout the campaign. (Madame Pelosi just happens to do it in an Armani aqua blue-gray pantsuit that gets thumbs-up from obsequious Washington fashion writers.)

Well, a back-scratching corruptocrat in pastel is still a back-scratching corruptocrat. Case in point: Which congressman is Mrs. Clean considering as chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence? Impeached federal judge Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., who took bribes, lied under oath and was kicked off the bench.

And which colleague is she backing for House majority leader? One of Congress’s leading dirtbags: Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa.

As if his extremist cut-and-run war strategy weren’t bad enough, Murtha’s (un)ethical record is enough to make even liberal apologists blush.

Now you’ll really want to go and read or watch the whole thing!

Technorati Tags: Nancy Pelosi, John Murtha, Alcee Hastings, House Majority Leader, House Intelligence Committee

From his “magic hat” to “I voted for the 81 billion before I voted against it” to his most recent episode of foot-in-mouth:

You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.

I guess president Bush could say something similar. “You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you, you can do well — like become President of the United States. If you don’t, you get stuck in the Senate, playin’ with your magic hat.” Heh! But seriously, Kerry’s remark — even if a severely botched joke — is not being taken well by our military personell, and not at all well by those Democrats in close elections for House or Senate seats. If only I could write this succinctly. From Hugh Hewitt:

The American military did not deploy half way around the world to free 50 million people at the cost of 3,000 of their comrades killed and thousands more wounded to allow a has-been politician to insult them and a leftwing media excuse it away. The military does carry on the vast war so that Kerry has the freedom to make such slanders, but I very much doubt if they and those they love or those who admire and respect what they do will be accepting a whitewash any time soon.

But none of us should hold our breath waiting for his-highness Kerry to apologize to anyone, in fact he came out and said that he would NOT apologize to anyone. Michelle Malkin comments that this is SOP for those on the Left, to bash our military, that is:

I devoted an entire chapter in Unhinged to the anti-military animus of the Left. The Democrats have long set the tone for bitter, anti-military sentiment–from liberals in city government declaring “nuclear free zones” and driving military subs away, to liberals banning military recruiters on college campuses and in public schools, to spiteful yellow ribbon-snatchers and veterans’ memorial vandals in your neighborhood. It’s a phenomenon that stretches from Santa Cruz to San Francisco to Seattle to Washington, D.C.

John Kerry’s elitist anti-military smear is no errant remark. It’s emblematic. (…)

So now, the airways of talk radio and cable TV are awash in this new Kerry debacle, instead of Mark Foley, instead of any other issues that the Democrats could hope to use against their opponents. Kerry might just cause them to lose their chance to gain control of either the House or the Senate. At least he gives them an “excuse” for the loss — instead of them having to come to terms with their failure to have a plan for the direction of the country and for their constant hate-Bush rhetoric, they can blame it all on John Kerry. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving, “magic hat” wearin’ guy! (db)

Technorati Tags: John Kerry, If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.

[Welcome Anchoress visitors! Read down for more on Torture, Oliver Stone, Clinton's Tantrum at Fox News and thoughts about Fried Okra.]

First, let me make this perfectly clear — I think that what Florida Representative Mark Foley did, which was make explicit sexual advances to a 16-year-old House of Representatives page, was absolutely reprehensible, and his resignation is the good and proper thing. Criminal charges might also apply depending upon the results of the ongoing investigation.

However, the outrage by Democratic leaders would be funny if it wasn’t so pathetic in its political motivation. “My God!” they cry out, “Those decrepit, degenerate Republicans are preying on our young pages — will their immoral, deceitful behavior never stop?” But, in an Op-Ed on Yahoo News this AM, Did Democrats Page Mark Foley?, those same Democrats are taken to task for their, shall we say, partisan outlook on this type of behavior.

But it didn’t take long at all after Foley’s resignation for the Democrats to call for an investigation of the entire Republican leadership in the House, charging that GOP stalwarts knew early on that Foley, as they like to say in the rehab business, had a “problem.”

Kinda begs the question, “Did any of the Democrats know of Foley’s little ‘problem’?”

Despite this, the immediate take by Democrats and much of the mainstream media was that this was a classic example of Republican hypocrisy — talking “morals” and “values” while all the time shielding a child predator.

Ah, you didn’t answer the question. “Did any of the Democrats know of Foley’s little ‘problem’?”

If anything, the episode reveals the Democrats’ hypocrisy about their own behavior. The fact that Foley resigned virtually within minutes of being told that ABC News had copies of his salacious e-mails and text messages indicates he at least felt shame for his actions. Can the same be said for Democrats?

Well, now there’s an interesting concept — Democratic shame. What would that look like, exactly. Lying? Nope, they can parse the meaning of “is”, so manipulating the truth is fair game. How about driving while high/drunk? Ask Senator Teddy Kennedy and his nephew Patrick, Representative from Rhode Island. (You can also ask ol’ Teddy about underwater rescue if you feel like it — but he won’t have many pertinent tips.) How about sex scandals? Glad you asked.

In 1983, then-Democratic Rep. Gerry Studds of Massachusetts was caught in a similar situation. In his case, Studds had sex with a male teenage page — something Foley hasn’t been charged with.

Did Studds express contrition? Resign? Quite the contrary. He rejected Congress’ censure of him and continued to represent his district until his retirement in 1996.

In 1989, Rep. Barney Frank (news, bio, voting record), also of Massachusetts, admitted he’d lived with Steve Gobie, a male prostitute who ran a gay sex-for-hire ring out of Frank’s apartment. Frank, it was later discovered, used his position to fix 33 parking tickets for Gobie.

What happened to Frank? The House voted 408-18 to reprimand him — a slap on the wrist. Today he’s an honored Democratic member of Congress, much in demand as a speaker and “conscience of the party.”

In 2001, President Clinton, who had his own intern problem, commuted the prison sentence of Illinois Rep. Mel Reynolds, who had sex with a 16-year-old campaign volunteer and pressured her to lie about it. (Reynolds also was convicted of campaign spending violations.)

You get the idea. Democrats not only seem OK with the kind of behavior for which Foley is charged, but also they protect and excuse it. Only when it’s a Republican do they proclaim themselves shocked — shocked! — when it comes to light.

So, if they can’t make a legitimate claim to hold the higher moral ground, what is their shock and disdain all about?

Oh ya betcha — it’s nothin’ but politics! Now, back to that little question: “Did any of the Democrats know of Foley’s little ‘problem’?”

We have a lot more questions about this whole affair. The timing of the revelations, as we noted, couldn’t be more propitious for the Democrats. Turns out both the Democrats and several newspapers seem to have known about Foley’s problem as far back as November, according to research by several enterprising blogs.

Why didn’t they come forward then? Who dredged up these e-mails — and why did they hold them until now? This reeks of political trickery.

“This reeks of political trickery” And how! I like the way they wind up their article, too.

That said, if this scandal is the Democrats’ answer to their problems at the polls, it’s pretty pathetic. It shows a base contempt for the voters.

The Democrats demonstrate on almost a daily basis that they have a deep-rooted contempt for all voters that are not a part of their “fever swamp” hard-Left base. The deliverers of the Nanny State, long out of power, are frothing at the mouth over the possibility of gaining control of at least one house of Congress, possibly both.

If that happens, we’re on a bad trip for the next two, maybe longer years. They’ll bog down Washington with continuous investigations of the Bush administration, gut the military budget, end support for the War in Iraq, replace the barriers between the intelligence agencies, gut or kill the Patriot Act, resend the Bush tax cuts, and on, and on with every Liberal hair-brained piece of legislation they can think of. Ol’ George’s veto pen would finally get the workout that many have wanted. Would be a good thing that he saved up all that ink!

The Anchoress also sees political motivation at work, and notes how the Democrats can turn-on-a-dime to take advantage of a situation — Principles, we don’t need no stinkin’ principles? It’s election season!

Now, of course, it is politically expedient to cast suspicion and doubt upon a gay man communicating with a 16 year old boy, and the Dems love what is politically expedient. Which causes even this center-left journalist to call them a party without principles.

Democrats being shocked by sexual dalliances of a Republican House member, and close to an ever more important election?

Kinda like a well carbon-crusted pot calling the kettle black, don’t ya think? (db)

Technorati Tags: Representative Mark Foley, Rep. Gerry Studds, Rep. Barney Frank, President Bill Clinton, Sexual Scandal, House Page

1984 was 26 years ago, but it sure seems like it’s today. The Senate Democratic leadership sent Disney president Robert A. Iger a thinly veiled threat to revoke the broadcast license for the ABC network if this weekend’s showing of The Path To 9/11 wasn’t canceled.

Should Disney allow this programming to proceed as planned, the factual record, millions of viewers, countless schoolchildren, and the reputation of Disney as a corporation worthy of the trust of the American people and the United States Congress will be deeply damaged. We urge you, after full consideration of the facts, to uphold your responsibilities as a respected member of American society and as a beneficiary of the free use of the public airwaves to cancel this factually inaccurate and deeply misguided program. We look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Sincerely,

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid
Assistant Democratic Leader Dick Durbin
Senator Debbie Stabenow
Senator Charles Schumer
Senator Byron Dorgan

The DailyKos folks are hyperventilating and letter writing, now targeting Disney board member and former Democratic Senator George Mitchell.

Once again, the self-proclaimed party of tolerance shows just how intolerant it really is. I guess that the meaning of is, and everything else, is only what the Democrats and the Left say that it is. They leave little to the imagination as to what damage they will do if they take control of the House or Senate, or heaven forbid, both. I’m getting really sick of this shit! Fuck ‘em! (He never says that . . .) (db)

Technorati Tags: The Path To 9/11, Senate Democratic Leadership, Harry Reid, Dick Durbin, Debbie Stabenow, Charles Schumer, Byron Dorgan, ABC, Disney

The Anchoress has a rather long, but important, post that asks the question: Has George Bush abandoned his conservative base, or is it the other way around? Consider this excerpt:

Ever stop to think maybe the president feels his base has abandoned him, that uncontent with 75%, they’ve simply moved beyond reason? Ever stop to think that while you’re calling the president every despicable name in the book and demanding his fealty or you’ll “teach him a lesson,” that perhaps there is a lesson you need to learn? That a good man, disinterested in merely laughing or crying for the camera for 8 years and looking to do a difficult job in the face of unprecedented hate, unprecedent speed of communication, unprecedented global instability, unprecedented backstabbing from within his own CIA, deserves some loyalty and the benefit of a doubt as he tries to bring you the 75% you so callously spit back at him as insufficient?

We do not know everything we think we know. Nothing is static; everything is in flux, and it is very likely that more is at work here, on many levels, than any of us can dream. There are things seen and unseen. Think about it. [emph mine]

This is a beautiful examination of the President’s accomplishments, and the battles he’s fought, and continues to fight, both with the enemy, the Left, and now with his own conservative base. Especially if you are struggling with the urge to sit out this year’s elections, it’s well worth the time to go and read all of it . . . (db)

Technorati Tags: The Anchoress, President Bush, Conservative Base