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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2010 BAD NEWS FROM BRITAIN – AT 8:06 P.M. ET: This should serve as a warning to Americans, especially those who blindly embrace "diversity." From London's Telegraph:
COMMENT: Of course, Mr. Fitzpatrick will be called a racist. That is standard fare. The reason that sharia groups have been able to infiltrate is because leftists believe that Islamists are natural allies. Both have the same enemy - the United States. The leftists are delusional, of course, because the Islamists will have them for lunch if they ever gain real power. But leftists are usually delusional. Don't think what's happening to Labour can't happen here. Already we see a pattern of vast expenditures by Saudi Arabia to buy influence in the United States, starting with our universities. It can happen here. February 27, 2010 Permalink BULLETIN: WE FOUND A USE FOR THE CENSUS – AT 7:45 P.M. ET: Leave it to colleges and universities to find a unique way to raise funds. From AP:
COMMENT: I wonder, though, how many students will also be counted at home. There are real concerns that we won't get an honest count this year, as interest groups organize to insure "participation" in the census from their favored constituents. You can be sure that the Obamans will make the census as political as possible, as they do with everything else. February 27, 2010 Permalink
ANOTHER ONE? WEREN'T WE FINISHED WITH THIS? – AT 7:15 P.M. ET: From AP:
COMMENT: Scott Brown did very well in Delahunt's district. Delahunt will probably retire. Question: Will a young Kennedy automatically get the Democratic nomination just by asking for it? Second question: Will voters automatically pull the Kennedy lever in the general election, the way they used to do? We tend, as a nation, ultimately to reject political dynasties. There aren't many people in high places named Adams or Jefferson, or even Roosevelt. This can get very interesting. February 27, 2010 Permalink
APPLAUSE, APPLAUSE – AT 11:14 A.M. ET: One of the most honorable things you can do in politics is to keep your movement, or party, honest and decent. It can be painful, as you sometimes have to oppose old friends and supporters. But it's necessary. William F. Buckley Jr. worked tirelessly to separate fringe elements from the new conservative movement. Ronald Reagan carefully distanced himself from nutbags. Harry Truman lost votes by making the limits clear to both segregationists and the leftist lunatics. Now, that time has come again among conservatives, as The Politico reports:
Absolutely correct. A political movement must be policed from the inside. It can be a broad tent, but it cannot be an infinite tent. One of the reasons the conservative revival worked so well, and launched Ronald Reagan into the White House, is that conservatives were far more vigilant than liberals about keeping the nuts out. Compare Buckley's purge of the John Birchers with the Democratic Party's acceptance of all kinds of fringe leftists, starting in the 1960s. And, by the way, one reason for the revulsion of many toward parts of the mainstream media is the media's inability to separate true, traditional liberals from hard leftists. Old Marxists are described as "progressives" or "social activists."
Go to it, guys. Don't give ammo to the opposition. Sometimes you have to show someone the door to keep the room clean. February 27, 2010 Permalink DEM MONEYBAGS STRIKES AGAIN – AT 10:27 A.M. ET: The great Ed Lasky, of American Thinker, who's always ahead of the curve, reports on the latest despicable escapades of one George Soros, one of the leading financial backers of the Democratic Party and assorted leftist causes:
Ed notes the utter phoniness of this man who finances so many leftist "help the people" causes:
But who cares about real people, those flyover people out there. It's the ideology that counts.
And...
Finally...
It certainly is. And it has been going on for years. London's Daily Mail has now picked up the story:
Will the Democrats now refuse to accept funds from Soros? Are you kidding? February 27, 2010 Permalink CALIFORNIA CAMPUS TROUBLES – AT 10:07 A.M. ET: Shades of the 1960s, there is trouble on the campuses of the University of California. The New York Times reports:
That's the tip of the proverbial iceberg. At Berkeley, demonstrations against tuition hikes have turned violent. In one recent incident, someone tried to set fire to the chancellor's house. And just a few weeks ago, in an incident that got national attention, Muslim students at the University of California at Irvine, and from surrounding areas, tried so vigorously to prevent the Israeli ambassador to the United States from speaking that 11 were arrested. Irvine has been a tinderbox for years. California campuses often influence colleges throughout the country, and we wonder if we're seeing the start of new campus unrest. However, let me note this: One thing we see, as we've seen since the 1960s, is that various groups on campus are treated quite differently, depending on their popularity with the political left. If African-Americans express a concern, as black students have, appropriately and correctly, at San Diego, it's addressed immediately. But other groups, like Christians, Jews, conservatives, and those less favored by the academic establishment, often see their protests ignored or even ridiculed. The arrests at Irvine represented the first serious response to years of intimidating behavior by some Muslim students there. If there is a new period of campus unrest before us, college leaders would be well advised to treat grievances equally. There is a backlash building against colleges in this time of economic stress, and how student groups are treated will play a role in whether that backlash grows. February 27, 2010 Permalink
SINKING LIKE A STONE – AT 9:51 A.M. ET: It keeps getting worse for Obama in the daily Rasmussen tracker:
And...
And get this:
The figure for independents is just staggering. And this...
Noting that there's a margin of error, and that this is only one poll, we must point out that, if the survey is accurate, the president is losing the women's vote. Is anyone at the White House noticing? Anyone concerned? Or are they still convinced that Japanese planes could never reach Pearl Harbor? I'm getting a sense that many voters are turning against Obama personally, that they see personal characteristics that they don't like. I wrote about this at the Angel's Corner last night. If the public comes to dislike the president, it will be even more difficult for him to win back his former popularity. February 27, 2010 Permalink
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2010 THE DROP-OUT LIST GROWS AGAIN – AT 7:29 P.M. ET: Scandal-plagued and governmentally challenged Governor David Paterson of New York has announced that he will not run for a full term. You may recall that, in this soap opera, Paterson succeeded Governor Eliot Spitzer when Spitzer was forced to resign in a prostitution scandal. Paterson is being forced out by a series of revelations about improper influence surrounding an aide's domestic violence problems. One thing about New York: When we have scandals, they're intimate and gossipy. None of this mishandling of public funds nonsense. Paterson's withdrawal paves the way for Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, son of former Governor Mario Cuomo, to become the Democratic nominee. Is it an opportunity for Republicans? Not really. New York is heavily Democratic, and, unless it's revealed that Cuomo is secretly married to John Edwards, he should win easily in November. His probable opponent will be ill-fated former Republican Congressman Rick Lazio, last seen in a losing fight against Hillary Clinton for a Senate seat several political generations ago. There's also a Senate seat up again in New York, which could provide an opportunity for Republicans, but so far no credible candidate has stepped forward. The GOP in New York is weak and unimaginative. The party tends to be owned by the highest-ranking Republican official in the state. It used to be Nelson Rockefeller's toy. So, for now, New York stays blue unless someone on a white horse rides in. February 26, 2010 Permalink
STRANGENESS IN IRAN – The Iranians are doing strange things with their uranium, and no one can figure out why. The New York Times's excellent David Sanger has the story:
COMMENT: Historically, the Iranians are excellent negotiators, stemming from the Persian tradition. This is pure speculation, but this movement of uranium can be some kind of negotiating ploy, the nature of which is still to be seen. One thing is clear: So far, Iran has beaten us badly in the negotiating game. They've given up nothing, and gotten everything. Mr. Obama, who fancies himself a man of brilliance and an international actor of high tone, seems unable to do a thing about it. February 26, 2010 Permalink SCRATCH ANOTHER ONE – AT 10:07 A.M. ET: It looks like Scott Brown country may lose another far-left Dem congressman, with an opportunity opening up. From the Boston Herald:
COMMENT: We are moved by this affirmation of family values. Why, the congressman is just showing us what a little warmth can do. Delahunt is one of the most left-leaning members of Congress. He took a major hit recently when it was revealed that he had been the D.A. who dropped the ball in 1986, when Amy Bishop (who recently murdered three fellow professors at the University of Alabama) killed her brother with a shotgun. The shooting was put down as an accident, despite the fact that Bishop fired the gun three times. Had Delahunt done his job and properly prosecuted the case as a murder, the recent Alabama tragedy might have been avoided. Scott Brown did well in the district Delahunt represents. If Delahunt pulls out, it could provide another opening for a strong Republican. February 26, 2010 Permalink PAYBACK FROM THE VOTERS – AT 9:37 A.M. ET: Rasmussen reports this morning that President Obama's poll numbers are awful:
And...
COMMENT: What is remarkable is that the White House has no real answers to this abysmal showing. The president seems determined to push on with policies that are distinctly unpopular with the American people. Now, at times that can be a sign of courageous leadership, especially in foreign and defense policy. President Truman, pursuing policies that ultimately contributed mightily to our winning of the Cold War, did so in the face of considerable public scorn. The difference is that Obama's policies defy what we have learned about what works and what doesn't, and show no signs of actually succeeding. Unlike Truman, who based his beliefs on experience and history, Obama bases his on ideology...in a distinctly non-ideological country. Truman studied history because, as he said, it prevents a leader from having to start from scratch. Obama doesn't study history, doesn't seem to know much about it, and doesn't seem to care much. When you're a demigod, who needs books? The midterms are little more than eight months away. The question is whether the American people will apply the brakes to Obama, and do so before more real damage is done. February 26, 2010 Permalink
ANOTHER FOREIGN-POLICY FLOP – AT 8:55 A.M. ET: Almost under the radar, the United States has returned its ambassador to Syria. We have not had an ambassador in Damascus since 2005. Syria did absolutely nothing to win this concession from the United States. Enemy states apparently need do nothing to get a reward under the Obama administration. And how has Syria responded to this new opportunity to heal relations with Washington? How do you think? Superlative reporter Benny Avni reports for the New York Post:
And...
Can you name a single foreign-policy success for this administration? I can't.
A great place for the GOP to take a firm stand. Avni suggests that Obama, for once, show some backbone, using as a hook one of Syria's latest acts of defiance, its refusal to open its nuclear program to international inspection.
That won't happen. It might "offend" the Arab world, and we wouldn't want to do that, would we? We must show how much more sophisticated we are than BUSH (!!). And yesterday the administration indicated that sanctions on Iran, promised for the first of the year, may not happen until April, and that assumes we can get the UN on board. The president is great at showing toughness when dealing with Republicans. When dealing with foreign enemies, it's an entirely different story. February 26, 2010 Permalink BRITS GET OBAMA BETTER THAN WE DO – AT 8:27 A.M. ET: As you know, we often turn to British journalists to nail the truth about Obama. Today, Toby Harnden of the Telegraph observes The One's behavior at the health summit, and comes to appropriate conclusions:
COMMENT: That's the best description of Obama's Oscar-losing performance yesterday that I've read. We saw Obama at his Chicago City Council best. All we needed was the "They bring a knife, we bring a gun" line. One term? If the GOP can come up with a presidential candidate who can pass an EKG, that could be Obama's future. Back to community organizing. February 26, 2010 Permalink NANCY'S PLACE – AT 8:14 A.M. ET: What is it about these Democrats? Didn't any of them learn in student government? From The Politico:
COMMENT: Ignore this. It's obviously far-right propaganda inserted by Sarah Palin and her children. These are just the people you want to run your health care. Why? Because they fail, and they learn from their failures. By the time they get to decide whether you live or die, they'll be wise and perfect. Nancy? Charlie? How can Washington and Jefferson compare to them? February 26, 2010 Permalink
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