Keystone Cops President

Obama threatened to veto an extension of the payroll tax cut that included a hurry-up for the Keystone pipeline approval process.  Republicans ignored him, and now Obama is prepared to move on and accept the tax cut extension linked to Keystone.  Can we hear from yet another lefty as the rug is pulled out from under him?  Yes We Can!

Nonetheless, environmental advocates were unhappy. “We’re stunned that the president would say one week that he’s going to veto any provision that includes Keystone, and then cave the next week,” said Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, an environmental group opposed to the pipeline. “Where I come from, people don’t do that, but I guess this is Washington.”

No, I guess this is Obama.  Maybe they can run the Keystone pipeline all the way down to Gitmo, which will still be open.

I suggest the DNC resurrect Mack Sennett for the Obama campaign videos.

Comments

[daddy]

Premiero!

[daddy]

"Can we hear from yet another lefty as the rug is pulled out from under him?"

Seems like its catching TM.

To repeat from Dem Senator Mark Begich on Obama's bogus drilling permit for Shell Oil from yesterday:

"U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, said in a release he was not happy with the decision to shorten the drilling season. Alaska has done offshore exploration safely in the past and the technology is better than ever, he said. "I am concerned that today's short-sighted decision is influenced by election year politics instead of the long-term energy and jobs needs of our country," he said. "I am disappointed that the administration has diverted from months of positive progress and thrown this last-minute monkey wrench into Arctic development." Link.

Who's next?

[hit and run]

Obama: 180 dot gov.

[steve]

And yet it won't hurt him next November and it may actually help.

The liberals hate the GOP more than they're p****d at Obama, so they'll show up and vote. And there may be a few in the mushy middle who views this as a sign that Obama really isn't as left as the right claims.

[Thomas Collins]

From the NY Times article TM linked, there is a reference to Obama's ability to continue to delay Keystone with "environmental stipulations." Keystone is a good example of the importance of electing a Prez Newt or Prez Mitt with a GOP Senate and House. The tide is turning against green whackoism. A GOP Congress will help Newt or Mitt avoid a lapse into prior green whacko feints. As for Keystone, I think it will continue to be delayed as long as the current Administration is in place. Obama couldn't have found a better energy obstructionist than Lisa Jackson.

[Pofarmer]

Exactly, Steve, and the actual pipeline can still be tied up with regulations and permits ad infinitum.

[Janet]

Maybe they can run the Keystone pipeline all the way down to Gitmo, which will still be open.

They can't need much energy at Gitmo. How many are even left there? No new guys since we're now incinerating them out in the field. We don't get much intel, but the guy doesn't give us anymore trouble....that's for sure.

[centralcal]

Wow. Andy McCarthy steps up to the plate and really dissents from the NRO Editors. Well done.

[Jim,MtnView,Ca,USA]

On another blog I saw commenters suggest opening ANWR next.
Is "The Wuss" firmly marginalized now?

[Stephanie]

From the McCarthy piece:

And as for Gingrich’s Republican “colleagues,” whom the Editors applaud for ejecting him from the speakership, no one can deny that they had their reasons. But is there not another side of that story worth telling? In the seven years they controlled Congress after Gingrich left, didn’t these esteemed colleagues have something of a “weakness for half-baked (and not especially conservative) ideas”? Under a Republican president, they added over $3 trillion to the federal deficit, shunned conservative policy in favor of Beltway influence-peddling, and so damaged the GOP brand that we ended up, first, with an electoral rout that lost the majority Gingrich had worked years to forge, and then, with Obama. How much should I really care that Newt’s fabulous colleagues think his reemergence would be a disaster for Republicans? Lest these characters forget, it is the Tea Party and President Obama’s radicalism that have put them back in the saddle — 2010 was not a merit promotion; they were the only alternative in town.

The 2012 election will be about a government careering toward financial ruin, and Gingrich is the candidate who can say he actually wrestled the federal budget into balance — by comparison, Gov. Jon Huntsman, who the Editors say rates “serious consideration,” blew out Utah’s budget, raising government spending by a whopping 33 percent. In an election about the imperative to repeal Obamacare, Gingrich is the candidate who helped defeat Hillarycare — by comparison, Governor Romney ushered in a health-care system that became a model for Obamacare (and he stubbornly continues to insist that it was a great achievement — the main reason he can’t crack the 25 percent ceiling in most polls). In an election that is about grappling with budget-busting entitlements, Gingrich is the candidate who reformed welfare — which, the Editors acknowledge, is “the most successful social policy of recent decades.”

Fodder for thought. And no, I haven't made up my mind, either. Still plenty of time before Georgia steps up to the plate. Those two paragraphs, though, weigh heavily in my decision on preference AND electability. Nibbling is not what is needed right now.

[narciso]

Well we need the electricity to run the stairmaster, which one of the detainees regretably went all Norwegian Blue, as for
intelligence, while Jane Mayer, was pining
over the fate of this fellow, and Durbin was
virtually writing a Dear John Letter man, to
the man who would have turned the Capitol, into a funeral pyre, his file said something
a little different;
S//NF) Detainee received computer training from al-Qaida member Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti in preparation for his mission to the US.

(S//NF) Detainee stated while at Abu Shem’s house in Karachi in July 2001, KU-10024 had al-Kuwaiti teach detainee to send email. KU-10024 informed detainee when someone went on a mission, he would need to know how to send messages and email was safer than talking on the phone. Al-Kuwaiti took detainee to a local internet cafe for his training.42

(S//NF) Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti was a senior al-Qaida facilitator and subordinate of KU-10024. Al-Kuwaiti worked in the al-Qaida media house operated by KU-10024 in Kandahar and served as a courier.43

(S//NF) Al-Qaida facilitator Hassan Ghul stated al-Kuwaiti, Hamza al-Ghamdi and Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi traveled with UBL.44 (Analyst Note: Al-Kuwaiti was seen in Tora Bora and it is possible al-Kuwaiti was one of the individuals detainee reported accompanying UBL in Tora Bora prior to UBL’s disappearance.)

[Captain Hate]

Gov. Jon Huntsman, who the Editors say rates “serious consideration,”

Too bad Noot didn't stay on the couch with Nanzi in the eyes of "teh Editorz".

[narciso]

Yes, Stephanie, it's good that McCarthy provides the 'rest of the story' yes Newt lobbied, along with Charlie Black, Rick Davis,
and Culvahouse, for either Fannie and/or Freddie, but as we know it took Hastert to make those notions a reality,

[Jane]

I'm reposting this here because I don't want anyone to miss it:

Every year at Christmas Taylor University has a tradition where at the last basketball game before Christmas they pack the gym in their pajamas and stay absolutely quiet until the 10th point is scored by their team. You Tube here.

My niece graduated from Taylor. She said it was always the most amazing night. This year they had a flash mob to a Justin Bieber song which he tweeted about. If you can watch the video to the end do, it really brought tears to my eyes.

[narciso]

I'd never heard of Taylor, until I saw that clip on Fox and Friends,really inspiring.

Of course 'our old friend' Pete Yost, does provide a little more context, to Gingrich's
hire, but not enough mind you;

Internal Freddie Mac budget records show $11.7 million was paid to 52 outside lobbyists and consultants in 2006, all of them former Republican lawmakers and ex-GOP staffers. Besides Gingrich, the hires included former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato of New York, former Rep. Vin Weber of Minnesota and Susan Hirschmann, the former chief of staff to ex-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas.

[narciso]

I found that piece, here, of course, no mentions of Gorelick, Johnson, Donilon, (who in Weisman's roman a clef, is known as Sorken)
that would just spoil the narrative.

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2011/11/17/AP-Freddie-Mac-Paid-Gingrich-at-Least-One-Point-Five-Million.aspx#page1

[centralcal]

Senate passed the tax cut extension 89-10.

[narciso]

Don't crack open the cider just yet;

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/200073-democrats-concession-to-republicans-on-keystone-pipeline-will-force-obama-to-kill-the-project

[centralcal]

Wonderful link, Jane. Loved the Silent Night close.

[Benjamin Franklin]

Obama 'teh Facilitator' surrenders, again.

The only jobs the Republicans care about.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/17/us/politics/boehner-ties-oil-pipeline-to-payroll-tax-bill.html?_r=1&hp

[Captain Hate]

There's a thread @ AoS about attention whore CRAZY UNCLE reacting to Bachmann's digs in the debate by appearing on that conservative forum, the Tonight show, and making up garbage about how she hates all mooooslims. I'm so glad the RNC includes this lucid and balanced individual in the debates; it really makes me want to open my wallet to them.

[Jane]

I loved the bare feet CC.

[centralcal]

Yes, Jane - connected to a shoe drive for the needy, if I understood right?

[Benjamin Franklin]

Doncha love welfare queens who game the system?

http://www.texastribune.org/texas-politics/2012-presidential-election/perry-retires-boost-pension-pay/

"Rick Perry has done something his opponents have been hoping he’d do for years: retire. But it’s not what the governor’s detractors had in mind.

Perry officially retired in January so he could start collecting his lucrative pension benefits early, but he still gets to collect his salary — and has in turn dramatically boosted his take-home pay.

[narciso]

I miss when he had Steyn, and Lileks on, as well as the movie review, otherwise,

http://www.hughhewitt.com/blog/g/ebdb68ce-0c5d-4d6a-978e-efa36405b662

[MoodyBlu]

CC,

Agree on McCarthy. NR did it now they have to live with it.

[Janet]

Thanks for the video link, Jane. Wonderful.

[Jane]

Narc, Taylor is the school where a bunch of kids were in a car accident (maybe bus) and they got the girl who died mixed up with the girl that lived. That was several years ago. It took a long time to figure out the error and one set of parents had buried the other parent's child who were standing vigil for the other people's child.

[mikey]

I think this kills Obama. I know the argument very well " he will take credit for passing the legislation and liberals will vote for him anyway" Big deal. The narrative for the general election has changed because this President has such a low political IQ and no filter.

How do you argue against a do nothing congress? How do you maintain the narrative that the Republicans put party in front of country? It all falls apart. As a comparison , Gingrich can give back the Fannie Mae money and declare he made a mistake, nonetheless he is still tainted by his actions. Same here.

And finally, the Republicans during the debate, first Gingrich then Bachmann made the case against environmental extremists. If you have listened to the MSM, you would not think they exist and that the pipeline decision was controversial because the President had to weight two valid concerns that also happen to be major parts of his base. They are now at the forefront of the Democratic base and Obama will need to defend them.

[Benjamin Franklin]

"I think this kills Obama. I know the argument very well " he will take credit for passing the legislation and liberals will vote for him anyway"

Monumental contradiction contained in the same sentence.

This is strategy, and he's beating you with your own stick.

[Danube of Thought]

Minus 17 at Raz today.

[boris]

"your own stick"

Actually he is beating off with your own feather.

[Benjamin Franklin]

"beating off"

You still here? No where else to go eh?

[boris]

Today the IE popup blocker has been issuing "modified this page to prevent cross-site scripting" ...

Corss-site scripting can be used to collect personal info on people who visit this page. Maybe and ad or some new feature in sitemeter.

[boris]

"You still here?"

I have not been banned from this site like "semantic1eo" (aka Ben-Dana-Fracking).

[Chubby]

((Don't crack open the cider just yet))

exactly, narciso

the USA Today story linked to by Drudge LUN says that there was "rare" bipartisan agreement wrt a just-passed trillion dollar spending bill.

((Separately, the House of Representatives, in a rare bipartisan vote, passed a $1 trillion spending bill on Friday, after an agreement was reached preventing a potential government shutdown. Senate paassage was expected Saturday.))

in the shadow of the bipartisan trillion dollar spending bill, the bill linking keystone approval and payroll tax cuts seem rather small potatoes.

imv it appears neither party will give a fig if the keystone/payroll tax cut bill is vetoed; the politicians on both sides have been able to milk it for all it's worth, both sides playing to their base, and the optics is all that really matters to them. If it is vetoed, both sides will be able to blame the other guy, and that is gold to politicians.

[Danube of Thought]

Can't make this stuff up:

"California Democratic Congressman Mike Honda, a member of the Budget and Appropriations Committees, told The Daily Caller that Democrats in Congress passed the $825 billion Recovery Act because they 'didn’t know what the hell was going on' with the economy. He also said that Congress needs to 'increase our deficit right now' by passing more stimulus spending."

[Old Lurker]

DoT there simply is no way to make that up. There are indeed two Americas.

[Benjamin Franklin]

"I have not been banned"

You just don't know it yet.

[mikey]

"This is strategy and he is beating you with his own stick" If his strategy was a Democratic revolt then he succeeded. When you have no accomplishments to run on and your whole strategy is based upon a narrative you better hope that a counter narrative doesnt develop Democrats siding with Republicans one week after you threaten to vetp the legislation is a more powerful storyline than saying " I passed this legislation" The revolt against Gingrich's leadership seems to carry as much weight as his accomplishments. It feeds the narrative that he is unstable and was a bad leader. There will be unnamed D's that will excoriate Obama over this debate.

[Danube of Thought]

Mark Steyn on the delusian that Newt is a conservative: audio at the LUN.

[JM Hanes]

centralcal:

When people dump on NRO as a bastion of The Establishment, it's good to be reminded that the disagreements on their pages are often as lively as they are here.

I certainly agree with McCarthy about the disastrous Hastert Congress, but Gingrich, himself, also had a hand in damaging "the Republican brand" and "the majority [he] had worked years to forge." Republican losses in the 1998 election were one of primary "reasons" Gingrich was ousted from leadership. The interaction between President Gingrich and the current Speaker whom he exiled to the boonies after a failed House coup, would certainly be interesting, no?

The way folks are talking about it now, you'd think that Gingrich was singlehandedly responsible for conservative successes under his management. Given his fractious relationship with House "colleagues," I'm not sure that Tom Delay doesn't deserve the lion's share of the credit for imposing the discipline that made those victories possible, along with Majority Leader Dick Armey who was a real driver in actually putting the Contract with America together. The fact that Armey has played a defining role in the Tea Party movement, while Newt has spent his time pontificating and quixotically jumping on high profile bandwagons suggests a very different dynamic than the new conventional wisdom about Newt's Congressional career.

Nobody enjoys the perks of leadership like Gingrich does. One of the first things he did on ascending to the Speaker's Chair was to personally redesign the uniforms on the Hill as part of what I called his pomp & circumstance initiative at the time. I remember thinking that Republican arrogance was going to shoot the Party in the foot, again, right when they finally captured the majority.

[Ignatz]

Yeah Barry's got quite a strategy going there.
He's going to do Kerry one better and be against it before he was for it before he was against it again.
That's sure to please everyone.

[hit and run]

CH:
I'm so glad the RNC includes this lucid and balanced individual in the debates

Does the RNC decide who's included, or does the outlet producing/broadcating a debate make that call?

[Captain Hate]

Hard to say, hit. You obviously can't just have *anybody* in there but I'd think the party would be able to exercise a veto power over somebody like, say, David Duke if he decided to declare a run for President and an outlet said "Let's invite him for shizzle and giggles".

Although thinking about it further, which maybe I should've done before posting previously, I guess any party would be put in a real jam if it decided to nix a sitting member of Congress's bid for President, no matter how ill-considered.

[narciso]

AS I pointed out, in the earlier thread, the ones who were so verklempt, over Perry, before
his shortcomings to light, Charlie Black, the one who labeled Palin a 'Diva,' Wayne Berman
(now a Mittens minion) even a fairly good guy
like Culvahouse, were all on the Fan/Fred
farthing, that was the coin of the realm in the late 90s and the early 00s, and it was an entree into the Deputy Secretary of State, the National Security Chair, the White House
chief of staff, in this administration

[JM Hanes]

BTW, can anyone think of Republican candidates whom Newt has put real time &/or money into electing since he left office (aside from endorsing Scozzafava in New York)? Folks who played starring roles in the last, paradigm shifting, election seem to be endorsing Mitt, but perhaps there are others I've just missed.

[narciso]

This one seems to have worked out for him

http://palazzoforcongress.com/blog/endorsements-from-newt-gingrich-and-american-solutions/

[Captain Hate]

JMH even though I can't think of a specific candidate he's endorsed, he's always been a good soldier for the party on the gab shows leading up to an election.

[narciso]

In the 'Forget it Jake, it's Madison, you'll be surprised that 10 more doctors, were unexpectedly not disciplined, for their part
in the recall wars.

[bgates]

From ccal's link:
Huntsman’s “solid record”? Maybe he has one if we’re gauging him by Republican-establishment standards.

McCarthy seems to have fallen prey to the same delusions that have gripped many here:
* that there is any such thing as a "Republican establishment";
* that the preference of this establishment would be for more statist candidates;
* that National Review, a publication so right-wing it supported Reagan over Carter 31 years ago, could ever be part of such an establishment;
* and that it is possible to be part of a "Republican establishment" while being hostile to Newt Gingrich, who after all is a former Speaker of the House.

[narciso]

Right, bgates, there is no fight club, and 'the first rule, is you don't talk about fight club'

[JM Hanes]

While I'm doing stream of consciousness posting this morning, I'd also point out that it was, in fact, Newt's brutal excommunication of Boehner which generated the new Speaker's unprecedented, inclusive, allocation of responsibility to his own Tea Party freshman. Perhaps Newt deserves some twisted thanks for that, too.

[Danube of Thought]

Is Newt Establishment or not?

[matt]

Loretta "The Dirty" Sanchez was on the radio yesterday and was simply delirious in her advocacy of the high speed rail line the dems are lobbying for from San Fran to LA.

She was complaining about the delays at Orange County airport when she is flying her small plane that can last for up to 45 minutes and the terrible waste of fuel on the ground from all of those planes.

Having flown out of OC for 40 years, the only delay is between 0645 and 0715 in the AM because of the takeoff curfew, which ends at 0700. Thus there is a backlog of up to a dozen planes which launch in rapid succession and arrive on time.

These liberal assholes will say or do anything to further their agenda of looting and pillaging the country as best they can.

It is already a given that the rail line cannot meet any of the projections; financial, technical, or operational. There is huge resistance to the massive waste, and there is no way the state can come up with it's part of the cost to build the project. And yet this has become a beacon for the grifters of the Left.

My feeling is that it will fund billions in diversity programs, community organizing activities, and environmental lawsuits that will keep their machine going for the next 20 years, and that that is the sole reason for their zeal.

[Danube of Thought]

Is it bad or good to be part of the Republican Establishment? (I'm searching for some help on how I should think.)

[Jane]

Nobody enjoys the perks of leadership like Gingrich does.

Hmmmmm I think the current CIC has him beat by miles.

[Threadkiller]

Bad... No! Good!

Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

[Danube of Thought]

Well, surely there's some test we can apply to a Republican to determine whether he or she is part of the Establishment. I'd like to have someone (preferably an anti-Establishment person--although I don't think I've heard anyone proclaim himself pro-Establishment) spell it out for me.

[Ignatz]

--She was complaining about the delays at Orange County airport when she is flying her small plane that can last for up to 45 minutes and the terrible waste of fuel on the ground from all of those planes.--

Let's see, the latest projection is around $65BILLION! in 2010 dollars [$98Billion in inflated dollars] for just the Anaheim to San Fran route so I figure in about, hmmm, never, it will pay for itself in the fuel savings alone.

A better expenditure would be an underwater high speed rail line to HI. Anyone stupid enough to think Anaheim to San Fran at $65 billion is a good idea are bound to do us the favor of taking a high speed trip to paradise.

[narciso]

I find the Duke and Duke arguments increasingly overwrought and beside the point, like from this fellow who overpromised
on Egypt and New Orleans, and let W, catch the flack

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2011/12/17/gerson-bostom-and-gingrich-on-sharia-law/

[narciso]

He's such a kidder, wait he's serious;

http://www.therightscoop.com/obama-i-support-israel-and-dont-let-anyone-else-tell-you-otherwise/

[Danube of Thought]

Hmmm...sounds suspiciously like Establishment statism to me:

WASHINGTON - Newt Gingrich seized the TV airwaves in 2009 to bash President Obama’s stimulus package, calling it “entirely a pork-barrel bill’’ that would do little to solve the recession.

Later, in a Web video, the former House speaker stepped back from his blanket criticism. He explained that he strongly supported spending $27 billion of stimulus funds to encourage doctors and hospitals to create electronic medical records for patients. Left unsaid was that the Gingrich Group, his consulting business in Washington, received large payments from medical technology companies that stand to profit from the federal money.

And let's not forget his plan to have the government place giant mirrors in space to light the highways (or whatever).

[narciso]

That was a fairly long time ago, Danube, he does have a touch of the technocrat, like Mallory, in the Better Angels and Shelly's Heart,

http://news.yahoo.com/newt-gingrich-space-mirrors-212500239.html

[JM Hanes]

Jane:

"Hmmmmm I think the current CIC has him beat by miles."

I don't.

[Danube of Thought]

The $27 Billion of federal taxpayer dollars for electronic medical records was two years ago.

[Ignatz]

--The $27 Billion of federal taxpayer dollars for electronic medical records was two years ago.--

Two years is a considerable length of time for Newt to hold a position.

[JM Hanes]

Gerson wrote a couple of GWB's greatest speeches. I was sorry to see him leave, which, unfortunately, was also when the quality of his own thinking became painfully apparent.

[narciso]

Well we don't need to go there, just consider what his successor, Hastert, was able to secure through the wonders of eminent domain,
a two million dollar profit, on the land. he bought. and his factotum, Feehery, has been a critic of the Tea Party since the word 'Go'

Lets keep in mind, that Newt was pilloried for
daring to propose reductions in the rate of growth in some programs, not the more aggressive paring that will be required to prevent us, from going over Reichenbach
Falls (a timely Sherlock Holmes reference)

[Rick Ballard]

I certainly don't believe any establishment exists any more than I believe that the Mafia exists. Don Tomaso (capo della famiglia Collini di Boston) has assured me that the Mafia is a figment of my imagination and his offer to "send Vinny over to splain things" was so convincing that I'm embarrassed to admit that I ever contemplated its existence.

[Thomas Collins]

JMH, although you were not specifically addressing me, I'd like to note that when I argued that Gingrich's governmental accomplishments surpass Romney's (a point Andy McCarthy makes), I wasn't claiming he did it all by himself. He was the face and the strategist for the GOP's 1994 takeover of Congress and for the GOP's holding Clinton's feet to the fire on welfare reform. My view of a solid POTUS is that he is exactly that (a face and a strategist who needs a lot of help). I'm happy McCarthy pointed out (i) that the type of hit job NRO did on Gingrich could have been done on Huntsman and Romney, (ii) Gingrich's accomplishments in government surpass both Romney's and Huntsman's, and (iii) Bachmann and Perry are deserving of

far more consideration than the NRO acknowledged.

I think my strongest disagreement with Romney's supporters is on the electability issue. On the basis of Romney's campaigns against Ted K, Shannon O'Brien and John McCain, I conclude that Romney is a weak campaigner. In facing Obama, Romney will be in a campaign more like the Ared K and McCain campaigns than his run for Guv against Shannon O'Brien. My prediction, which I hope is wrong, is that if Romney is the nominee, his supporters will be surprised at how weak a campaign he I'll run.

[Thomas Collins]

Make that Ted K, not ARedK.

[Danube of Thought]

I think I can do a pretty good job of pointing out who is and who is not in the Mafia. Thus far I don't think anyone has identified a non-Establishment Republican, although I feel confident that Christine O'Donnell is one. Maybe Jesse "The Body" Ventura?

[Thomas Collins]

It's just typical family business matters, Rick. Sometimes there are family disputes that need to be mediated and resolved. Just like JOM!

[glasater]

Did not someone point out that establishment could be defined as Washington DC oriented R's and moving the area to include most of the NE of the US?
Or one could include all the lonely R's located in the blue hells as Rick B points out from time to time.

[Frau Wasserfall]

"...to prevent us, from going over Reichenbach Falls..."
Didn't Pres. Fore! tell his critics to get out of the way as he put the slip 'n slide in place?

JMH- I mentioned Tom DeLay the other day in this context. There was a good reason to expend the effort, time and money to push him out of power.

btw- Ronnie "Political Lynchings 'R US" Earle must be some judicial giant. He became a municipal judge *two* years after graduating from law school.

[centralcal]

Well, while you all were debating if there is or is not a Republican establishment, and if it does or does not wield any power, I finished my Christmas shopping, my gift wrapping and addressing my Christmas cards. So there.

JM Hanes - I read your comments, thoughtful as always, but I must reiterate that my complaint about the NRO Newt story (which also basically said "don't bother" with several other candidates) was the rather over the top manner in which they front paged it. I agree there are frequently divergent opinions among their regular contributors.

I appreciate fully that McCarthy in his dissent, did so under his own name. I would also appreciate it if "The Editors" would identify themselves, since their language against Gingrich (and others) was so emphatic.

Meanwhile, my unabashed enthusiasm for Garden Gnome remains steady. When the voters winnow the field, then I may prove a totally unfaithful G.G. supporter.

[Threadkiller]

This should help. Apparently "establishment conservatives" love McClintock.

http://dailycaller.com/2011/10/16/leaders-with-ginni-thomas-rep-tom-mcclintock/

WTF is an "establishment conservative"?

[Rick Ballard]

I certainly can't disagree DonTC. Wouldn't be prudent.

glasater,

Look to the source of the mother's milk of politics and follow the flow to the RNC and the House and Senate election committees. You'll find the headwaters in the Northeast with occasional gushers in Texas seeming to disrupt the pattern.

Richard Fisher of the Dallas Fed made some very candid remarks in Austin -

I maintain that no matter how much cash you have on your balance sheet, or how compliant your banker might be, or how cheap the cost of money, you will not commit substantial capital to expanding your payroll or investing significant amounts to expand plant and equipment until you know what it will cost you to run your business; until you know how much you will be taxed; until you know how federal spending will impact your customer base; until you know the cost of employee health insurance; until you are reassured that regulations that affect your business will be structured so as to incentivize rather than discourage expansion; until you have concrete assurance that the fiscal “fix” the nation so desperately needs will be crafted to stimulate the economy rather than depress it and incentivize job creation rather than discourage it; or until you are reassured that the sinkhole of unfunded liabilities like Medicare and Social Security that Republican- and Democrat-led congresses and presidents alike have dug will be repaired so that our successor generations of Americans will prosper rather than drown in dark, deep waters of debt.

Those observations should, IMO, be the benchmark for making the choice as to who will replace Obama.

[Frau Wasserfall]

TK, if you love McClintock, you may be an establishment conservative.

I love him and I cannot find my identification card. Isn't it frustrating to see such a fine and gifted man speaking to any empty House?

[narciso]

It's a concern, but he didn't make the deal on Cloud City, just talked about it:

ww.mediaite.com/tv/rich-lowry-is-worried-that-newt-gingrich-could-wake-up-one-morning-and-cut-a-grand-deal-with-nancy-pelosi/

[bgates]

sounds suspiciously like Establishment statism to me:

WASHINGTON - Newt Gingrich seized the TV airwaves in 2009 to bash President Obama’s stimulus package, calling it “entirely a pork-barrel bill’’ that would do little to solve the recession.

I'm not sure which part is giving you trouble - the definition of "Establishment statism", the definition of "to bash", or the relative sizes of 27 and 865.

[Threadkiller]

Frau nails it! A long time ago I asked that same question. Why is the room empty? He is not part of the club.

[centralcal]

Also, neglected to point out in my NRO comments above, that Mark Steyn also dissented in part with The Editors, particularly over their dismissal of Bachmann and Perry.

[Danube of Thought]

"I'm not sure which part is giving you trouble"

None of it--it's all Newt, as I know and love him.

I think most Republicans opposed the whole $865, but I don't know which ones were and were not Establishment.

[centralcal]

Thus far I don't think anyone has identified a non-Establishment Republican . . .

I think Sarah Palin might describe herself as one, DoT. I certainly would describe her as such, based on her track record as Governor of Alaska.

[Jane]

TC,

You rock! Thank you!

JMH I am shocked.

I've soured on Newt, not that I was ever un-sour about him, but if it boils down to Mitt v Newt, at this point I'd vote Mitt, and I never ever thought I'd say that.

Of course I reserve the right to once again change my mind.

[glasater]

Rick-

For some reason I seem to be prejudiced to Texas gushers:-)

And from the Richard Fisher letter:

"or until you are reassured that the sinkhole of unfunded liabilities like Medicare and Social Security that Republican- and Democrat-led congresses and presidents alike have dug"

That's the premier problem this country is going to have to deal with for many moons to come.

Which candidate -- Mitt or Newt -- will be the better person sell the country in accepting some pretty drastic cuts.

[Danube of Thought]

"establishment could be defined as Washington DC oriented R's and moving the area to include most of the NE of the US?"

That would include Newt and Christine, but we'll have to decide whether Mitt is Mass. or Utah.

[Ignatz]

Uncertainty? We don't got no uncertainty. We don't have to show joo any steenkeen uncertainty.

Probably too big so here's a link to the original story and chart.

[Ignatz]

Excellent article at the FP on the only way to get control of debt and why lefties hate it.

[Danube of Thought]

It's all so confusing...

"South Carolina Tea Party darling Nikki Haley endorses and records robocall for Mitt Romney"

[bgates]

I think I can do a pretty good job of pointing out who is and who is not in the Mafia.

You should hire yourself out to Sicily.

Is a guy who turns state's evidence in the Mafia? Or a hood who doesn't send as much cash upstairs as he's supposed to? Or someone like Whitey Bulgur, who informs from the inside of the organization for decades? How about a judge who usually gives harsh sentences but springs a guy who knows his cousin on a technicality? What about a cop who commits crimes while working deep undercover? I tend to think it's not a binary question of in or out, it's a matter of where a guy is on a continuum from adamantly opposed to the organization with every action he takes and every word he speaks to completely devoted in the same way. Sometimes people aren't on the absolute end of that spectrum, and you can point to certain pro-Mafia actions they have taken while recognizing that they are on balance anti-Mafia.

[Thomas Collins]

Glad it got there, Jane. Enjoy!

[Ignatz]

Politico cites four reasons Barry should be afraid of Newt.

[mockmook]

I don't just want a "conservative" to win.

Will anyone in the muddle sit through a Perry speech?

If Newt were President, everyone's antennae will be up. When Newt speaks, people listen.

Sure, he'll say some wacky stuff, but he will also introduce a conservative virus into the national bloodstream.

[Morgan]

Bgates: Those empty chamber speeches are called "Special Orders." They are always done after hours and have been a tradition for over a century.

[Barbara]

Two years is a considerable length of time for Newt to hold a position.

Posted by: Ignatz

Ignatz,

My favorite comment of the day!

------------------------------

I've soured on Newt, not that I was ever un-sour about him, but if it boils down to Mitt v Newt, at this point I'd vote Mitt, and I never ever thought I'd say that.

Of course I reserve the right to once again change my mind.

Posted by: Jane

Jane,

Your comment on the race carries double weight with me because you live in the People's Republic of Massachusetts. I believe that we have to take our chances with the least inconsistent candidate who is both intelligent, experienced, has the fewest skeletons in his armoire, a good fund raising apparatus (as well as the most money in his piggy bank), and the best organization already on the ground.

I can only dream of how things might have been had Sarah entered the race. For now, however, I believe our best chance is with Romney because all that matters is that we WIN. OMG!

[Danube of Thought]

My test for the Mafia--as opposed to ordinary organized hoodlumhood--would be whether the guy went through all the bogus rituals and cut his finger and stuff. Very binary. I suspect it doesn't go on much any more in the U.S.

Just sat down in biz class on the Surfliner to L.A. with a double Bloody in my hand. Beautiful day. My will to live is rekindled.

[matt]

The political agenda will almost certainly be turned on its ear by the time the conventions come around. Banks around the world are desperately seeking dollars. China's RE bubble is imploding and the Euro crisis continues to spill out of control.

Economics will, I believe, become the defining issue of the contest. We have the media mau mau'ing the OWS movement at almost any cost while they savage the Republican field in any way they can.

Obama in the meantime is facing a revolt in his own party on the budget bill. He can fight delaying actions, but his signature is the only thing standing in the way of another chaotic episode of "The Worm Turns".

Back to the banks and the Euro. The ECB has been buying Greek and Junk debt from other countries for some time. As the crisis spins out of control, the likelihood of default arises, which means that the ECB will have to write down those assets as those respective governments default.

This will crash the Euro, most likely, and then the banks and then the governments who have no money to bail the banks out this time. The markets are pricing a default in now.

The French are screaming most loudly in a chorus aimed at the Brits, which will simply induce further chaos.

The dollar is the best of a very bad lot, but if Uncle Sham or its component state, municipal, and other unfunded liabilities goes down the default highway, what next?

Roosevelt pulled every trigger legal and of questionable legality and constitutionality in order to fight the Depression. He still lost and the economy only rebounded with the war economy of 1939 onwards.

The Telly wrote recently about military staffs preparing for conflict should Europe go kablooey. In this country we are seeing a militarization of police forces, DHS, and even obscure agencies. There is a cram down statist element afoot that is inimical to representative democracy.

Come election time I believe the issues are going to be stark. Safety or liberty? Individual freedom or collective security? And my question is will the Constitution stand?

With the goons and clowns currently in play I see none of them with the intestinal fortitude or ideas to manage a major crisis.

What seems to be becoming clear here is that none of us are willing to accept the current field except as an effort to elect anyone but Obama. What then?