Every Republican running in this next election should thank President Obama...

...for this pre-election soundbite/gift:



From the Washington Post: "A couple weeks ago, President Obama declared that, while he wasn't on the Nov. 4 ballot, his policies were. And just about every GOP candidate in a red or swing state soon launched an ad using that comment to tie his or her Democratic opponent to Obama...While it's the second time Obama has gone down this road, this comment probably stings more than the last one for Democrats running in key Senate races -- almost all of which are in red or swing states where Obama is quite unpopular...While Obama's previous comment suggested the election was indeed something of a referendum on him, these comments suggest not only that, but that Democratic candidates are actually on-board with him -- something most of them have made pains to argue is not the case...Obama's comments are the kind of thing Democrats might privately say to assure donors, but wouldn't really say in public."

Just a few more weeks...

Early surrender?

"Tingles" acknowledges the obvious...



“It’s going to be very hard to hold the Senate — I think the Senate goes,” Chris Matthews said on MSNBC's Morning Joe earlier today. “I think we heard from the Ghost of Christmas Future this week; they’re going to lose the Senate,” he added, referring to Republican David Jolly’s victory Tuesday in Florida’s special congressional election.

 The fat lady hasn't begun to sing, but it sounds like she's in the wings and warming-up...

One heckuva long drive...

And wet, too!



During the Democrats' all-night climate change "talkathon"/
sleepover in the Senate last night, Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J. -- aka: media darling) let the world know that once upon a time, he drove all the way to the Aloha State.
 
“I just do want to say that right after I turned 17 and got my New Jersey driver’s license, one of the earliest places I drove was a trip — the only trip I have ever taken was to Hawai'i,” he said.

So which freeway did he take? 


Bonus: Dan Quayle still not getting a pass from the media...

Insulting the faithful

Why is this man (Senator Scott Brown) smiling?

New England -- specifically, Massachusetts -- is all about tradition. History there permeates every aspect of life, not the least of which is religion.

And in that part of the country, there is but One True Faith.

So one has to wonder how the person the Democrats have been calling the (new) "smartest woman in the world" could make such a blunder.

From Taegan Goddard's Political Wire: "Elizabeth Warren (D) and the rest of the Democratic field for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts couldn't answer a simple question about the Boston Red Sox at a forum yesterday. Apparently, they learned nothing from Martha Coakley's (D) defeat two years ago when she took heat for refusing to campaign outside Fenway Park and called Red Sox great Curt Schilling a Yankee fan." (See video clip below.)

Somewhere, U.S. Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) is smiling...

Getting the people's work done...

...one fairway at a time.

From White House Dossier:

President Obama this afternoon went golfing with Bill Clinton and White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley, a rare case of Obama engaging in his favorite form of relaxation with serious, high-level partners. The president generally golfs with young staffers in what amounts to a boys afternoon on the links. But today’s outing likely involves work, as the politically hobbled president plays with the Democrats’ master politician. Daley knows both men well, having served as Clinton’s Secretary of Commerce. Also along is Clinton aide Doug Band.

The foursome is playing the Andrews Air Force base course. The press pool was given a brief glimpse of the group.

From the report:

At 2:21 pm, pool taken out to green and stopped roughly 200 ft from hole. First striking image: Clinton’s head of white hair and bright red golf shirt. Got there as they were finishing up. Within a minute, the foursome loaded into carts – POTUS w Clinton and Daley with Band – and drove off.

It’s Obama’s 24th time golfing this year and the 82nd outing of his presidency.

Hey, look at it this way -- more time on the greens means less time in the Oval Office...and that might mean less damage.

I know, wishful thinking...

Varying shades...

The numbers (and colors) tell the true story...

"On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly state employment and unemployment summary. The graphic below summarizes the results. Bottom line: lots of red, a little green and quite a bit unchanged."

"Two observations: The only green states have GOP governors and the only bright red states have Democrat governors. But I'm sure that's all coincidental, what with the Democrats' exceptional track record of success..."

(Borrowed "liberally" from Doug Ross @ Journal)

Cashing in...

Hollywood is abuzz today with news that some of its biggest male stars have been involved in poker games with very, very "high-stakes" -- think "millions."

According to an article the web site, Radaronline (by Dylan Howard, Senior Executive Editor, Star magazine), "Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire is among more than a dozen high-profile Hollywood people being sued in connection with a mega-millions illegal gambling ring that ran high-stakes underground poker games, Star magazine is reporting exclusively. Maguire, 35, won more than $300,000 from a Beverly Hills hedge fund manager who embezzled investor funds and orchestrated a Ponzi scheme in a desperate bid to pay off his monster debt to the star and others, it's alleged."

Tobey Maguire - Mr. Chips...

Howard also reports that "an FBI investigation into Brad Ruderman, the CEO of Ruderman Capital Partners, uncovered how he lost $25 million of investor money in clandestine poker games held on a twice weekly basis in suites at the luxury Beverly Hills hotel, Four Seasons, and the Viper Room on Sunset Boulevard. Tinsel town A-listers Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon also played in the no-limit Texas Hold 'em games which had a buy-in of $100,000, multiple members of the ring told Star. DiCaprio, Affleck and Damon are not being sued."

(The legal filing can be viewed here...)

High-stakes poker games aren't unusual in Hollywood or anywhere else there's a lot of money lying around. The history of Tinsel Town is replete with stories of movie stars holding regular card games to discuss business, women and money. Frankly, it's their money and they're really not hurting anyone, right? So let them have their fun.

But what's interesting about this group that's throwing the big bills around is that every name listed is an Obama-supporting liberal Democrat.

So, who cares?

Let's not forget that Damon, Maguire, Affleck and DiCaprio were all big, big Obama backers. They contributed time, money and their faces to his election and political efforts.

So, who cares?

Weren't the Dems - the president included - supposed to represent "the Little Guy?" Last I heard, the Little Guy ain't throwing around millions in poker games. Again, I don't begrudge people using their money as they see fit, but these are all guys who regularly get up on their soapboxes to berate the rest of us schmucks for wanting to hold on to more of our own money... and they harangue us for cash to support all sorts of special interests.

Here's an idea, boys: how about instead of asking for more of our money to help your causes, you take some of that disposable income (i.e.: stakes and winnings) and put it toward the things that are near-and-dear to you?

Matt Damon (in "Rounders")...

Furthermore, let's not forget that not long ago, Damon and some of his other Hollywood chums were on the bandwagon against tax cuts. My question to the Dem/liberal guys in this underground card game is this: have you been paying taxes on your winnings? If you were playing for a couple bucks here and there, what would anyone say? But let's face it, the money flowing in and out of your little casino there is way, way, way more than the average annual salary of those "average" people you say you're standing up for with your politics, policies and pronouncements. If you're not paying taxes on these winnings, why not?

If you "talk the talk," then it's time to "walk the walk." Let's see your record of winnings and your income tax filings.

C'mon superstars -- do it for the Little Guy...

Late add: From the website, Dealbreaker.com, more on the poker-lawsuit story...

• An FBI investigation into Brad Ruderman, the CEO of Ruderman Capital Partners, uncovered how he lost $25 million of investor money in clandestine poker games held on a twice weekly basis in suites at the luxury Beverly Hills hotel, Four Seasons, and the Viper Room on Sunset Boulevard. Tinsel town A-listers Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon also played in the no-limit Texas Hold ‘em games which had a buy-in of $100,000, multiple members of the ring told Star. DiCaprio, Affleck and Damon are not being sued. Others who were part of the secret society and are facing hefty lawsuits include billionaire businessman Alex Gores, The Notebook director Nick Cassavetes, "Welcome Back, Kotter" star Gabe Kaplan, Paris Hilton’s infamous sex tape partner, Rick Salomon, record label owner Cody Leibel and Las Vegas nightlife entrepreneur and real-estate developer Andrew Sasson, among others.
• The games were “exclusive events, by invitation only, and that there was a regular roster of players consisting of wealthy celebrities, entrepreneurs, attorneys and businessmen,” according to the lawsuit filed against Maguire in the United States Bankruptcy Court, in Los Angeles. Ruderman lost $311,300 to Maguire, including one losing hand of $110,000, on July 30, 2007, it’s claimed. The Ponzi mastermind used clients’ money to “pay for gambling losses at clandestine, high stakes poker games that were operated without any licenses or permits,” the suit said.
• In their attempt to win back Ruderman’s losses, the trustee has claimed Maguire is “not entitled to receive the transfers from the Debtor, which transfers were compromised of improperly-diverted investor funds.” In a deposition of the alleged ringleader of the operation, which took in tens of millions of dollars beginning in 2006 through 2009, Maguire is described as a “very, very frequent player,” in the games, which ended in 2009. Maguire won as much as $1 million a month over a period of three years, one source told Star… “That means he could have made up to $30 to $40 million from these games,” the whistle-blowing card shark predicted.

"We own the economy"...

You sure do, Debbie. You sure do...

From The Washington Examiner: "We own the economy. We own the beginning of the turnaround and we want to make sure that we continue that pace of recovery, not go back to the policies of the past under the Bush administration that put us in the ditch in the first place,” DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz told this morning's Politico Playbook Breakfast.

Video clip of the day..

Spot-on...

From an old friend comes this clip. It's not new but it doesn't seem to have been all that widely shared: "Two Democrats on an Escalator"...

(h/t: Gary F.)

So much for that "civility" thing...

California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton...

Remember when U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was nearly killed by a crazed gunman (who murdered and wounded more than a dozen other people?

Remember how it occurred in January -- not long after the contentious November elections -- and how the still-smarting Left used it as an opportunity to cut into GOP momentum by calling for "civility?"

Remember how pundit after pundit called for nicey-nicey in American politics and decried anyone who didn't sign up for the newest version of political kumbaya?

Remember how long it lasted? Yep. Not long at all.

Oh, sure, members of Congress sat next to each other at the State of the Union speech, but that was about as long as it lasted.

Gabrielle Giffords...

Since those golden days of our refreshed democracy, a virtual laundry list of less than civil comments (read: downright ugly/violent) have been made by Democratic politicians and pundits about their opponents. The latest: John Burton, California's Democratic Party chairman, who -- according to The Contra Costa Times -- "came under fire Friday for suggesting Gov. Jerry Brown "try shooting" a Republican to persuade them to vote for taxes."

The story continues: "In an interview with Bay Area News Group this week, Burton said Brown 'can try shooting somebody and tell the next guy, 'You don't want that to happen to you, you better step up and vote.' "... What's Jerry going to do unless he took out a gun?'"

As the story points out, "Sensitivity over violence-laden political remarks has come under scrutiny since the assassination attempt on U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat, that some believe was incited by heated political rhetoric."

So how does Team Burton respond?

"A spokesman for Burton said Republicans are in no position to criticize Democrats for using violent political metaphors."

That sounds like a very civil response...

From the days after the Giffords shooting...

Standing up for an accused traitor...

The Moonbats emerge...

An earlier pro-Bradley Manning protest...

President Barack Obama's visit this week to the nation's biggest ATM (aka: California) included several fundraising stops in the liberal-heavy Bay Area and Hollywood.

His last appearance in the Bay Area took place on Thursday morning and, yes, it was nothing more than another high-priced opportunity for him to build-up his war chest for the 2012 presidential campaign.

Held at San Francisco's tony St. Regis Hotel, guests paid between $5,000 and $35,800 -- each -- to hear him give yet another speech filled with platitudes. Along the way, however, things went a bit off the rails. A protest was staged by members of the “Fresh Juice Party” (hey, another hilarious send-up of the Tea Party's name...remember how well the "Coffee Party" went over?).The group kicked in a total of $76,000 to gain entrance to the event so that they could let the president, those assembled and the media know that they don't like the way alleged Wikileaks leaker, U.S. Army Pvt. Bradley Manning, is being treated in pre-trial detention. (See video below.)

Bradley Manning...

So what this group of clowns was essentially doing was to hold a sing-along at an event few witnessed or heard about, and to top it off they were there defending an accused traitor -- a sworn member of the U.S. military who reportedly leaked secret documents. Oh, and along the way fattened the very treasury of the man they have a beef with -- Obama.

Let's remember this: Manning isn't being tortured. At. All. The conditions he lives in might be a tad spartan, but he is in prison. Furthermore, whatever discomfort he's feeling, it's probably nothing compared to the discomfort being felt -- 24/7 -- by our brave men and women serving in the Iraq, Afghanistan and (now) Libyan wars...not to mention their loved ones.

I guess no one ever accused these protesters of being smart...

So much for public service...

I guess it has come to mean, "the public serves the so-called servants."

The Cato Institute, citing a Wall Street Journal article, is letting taxpayers know that it can pay - in some instances, quite handsomely - to "do the people's work."

"Departing members of the House of Representatives awarded millions of dollars in extra pay to aides as they closed down their offices, according to lawmakers' spending records," according to the WSJ article. "The 96 lawmakers paid their employees $6.7 million, or 31%, more in the fourth quarter of 2010 than they did, on average, in the first three quarters of the year....Because most of the departing members were Democrats, fourth-quarter salary increases in 2010 for Democratic staffers were the largest in the decade LegiStorm has been gathering such data." (Full disclosure: "Republican staffers enjoyed a similar boost when many of their employers left office at the end of 2006.")

Nice work...if you can get it.

My friend and radio colleague, Devin Nunes (who also represents California's 21st Congressional District), isn't just one of the "best and the brightest" on Capitol Hill, he's also a forward-thinking politician - a rare find these days. Below is his latest op-ed, which appeared in Tuesday's edition of the Washington Examiner. It's another fine outing by the rising Congressman from California's Central Valley.

A road map for America's energy future

By: Rep. Devin Nunes 03/02/11

As tension and uncertainty in the Middle East rises and revolutions spread in the Middle East and North Africa, Americans are once again confronting the financial and national security consequences of our dependence on foreign oil.

Over the years, the American people have been promised "energy independence" by Democrats and Republicans from different administrations and Congresses. Whether the mantra is "drill baby drill" or a green energy revolution, we have all been consistently disappointed by the outcome.

Nothing done by our government in the past several decades has actually helped to achieve the goal of energy independence, or for that matter, kept energy prices affordable for American families. Quite the reverse is true.

We are more dependent today than ever before and far more economically vulnerable than at any point in our nation's history. Today, I and others will introduce legislation that will finally deliver on the energy security promises made by leaders past and present - promises that began during the 1973 oil embargo, our nation's first call to action.

The plan, known as A Roadmap for America's Energy Future, recognizes the importance of oil, gas, coal, and oil shale to the American consumer, as well as our nation's economy. It opens up for exploration and development the vast resources known to exist throughout U.S. territories on land and sea. This unlocked energy will fuel job growth and it will assure Americans access to stable and affordable energy.

At the same time, the plan recognizes that dependence on any one fuel source is dangerous, particularly a finite resource. As such, the Energy Roadmap will make the necessary investments to transition our economy to renewable and advanced energy alternatives over time. This is achieved at no expense to the taxpayer.

Furthermore, unlike current subsidies and tax credits, new forms of energy will be available to Americans on a cost-competitive basis.

The Energy Roadmap accomplishes these goals by depositing lease and royalty revenue associated with fossil fuel development into a renewable energy trust fund. Those dollars are then made available to energy producers through a reverse auction - ending the government's current process of selecting winners and losers.

This market-based way of providing federal assistance will ensure the cheapest and most efficient technology thrives. It will also open up the alternative energy market to greater innovation and competition, a sharp contrast to the existing system of subsidies and support which are subject to the influence of lobbyists and activists through political cronyism.

Another component of the Energy Roadmap establishes a mandate to site 200 nuclear reactors by 2040. New streamlined regulations and a system to manage waste will help drive private-sector investments in these facilities, which today are mired in red tape, lawsuits and the liability associated with the storage of used fuel.

Nuclear power is essential to achieving an abundant and affordable supply of electricity to fuel America's economic growth and will provide the base load power needed to allow significant growth in next-generation electric vehicles.

While having the desire to become a renewable society is reasonable, that should not prevent us from using traditional fuels to keep the economic engine running in the interim. Congress should pass A Roadmap for America's Energy Future so that our government can finally live up to the commitments it has made to the American people to deliver affordable energy now and for the future.

Rep. Devin Nunes is a California Republican.

If we don't do something proactively, the decisions will be made for us...

(reprinted with author's permission)

Babs Boxer's bad math...

(Less than zero...)

According to U.S. Sen. Barbara “Call Me Senator” Boxer, the GOP has “a vendetta, against Elmo.”

As in, Elmo from the children’s television show, “Sesame Street.”

She claims the GOP is out to de-fund the last hope for educating the nation's kids.

The truth is, Elmo and his friends aren’t the target. The questionable allocation of funds to public broadcasting, which is supposed to be non-partisan but is often driven by the Left’s agenda, is under scrutiny by Congressional cost-cutters -- especially during these tough economic times.

Perhaps Babs can explain why she thinks a huge business needs taxpayer funds.

According to an article in Entertainment Weekly, “Some PBS shows have been Jurassic-size hits: Barney & Friends, The Frugal Gourmet, Sesame Street, and The Civil War reportedly rake in heaps of dollars from toys, books, CDs, T-shirts, and video tie-ins, but GOP leaders say little of the loot ever comes back to PBS. ‘If you look at the revenues that Big Bird is generating, Sesame Street makes as much money as the National Hockey League,’ claims Brent Bozell. But the numbers themselves are hotly disputed — and have become weapons. Sen. Larry Pressler of South Dakota, who is spearheading the trim-PBS crusade, has claimed that Sesame Street grosses $800 million a year; last week, David V.B. Britt, president and CEO of the Children's Television Workshop, called such talk a "consistent campaign of misinformation."

The EW story continues: “In a sense, both sides are right. Karen Raugust, executive editor of The Licensing Letter, an industry trade paper in Brooklyn, explains that toys and tie-ins from Sesame Street did generate about $800 million in retail sales last year. However, toy stores kept approximately half of that money — and toy manufacturers kept most of the rest. She says the Children's Television Workshop, which receives a small percentage of wholesale revenues, took in only about $20 million. ‘People have been saying that Big Bird is worth a billion, but it's really much less when you're talking about royalties,’ Raugust says.

“Conservatives may accuse Big Bird of keeping the dough, but PBS profits are often recycled into PBS programming. Out of Sesame Street's $20 million, says show spokesperson Ellen Morgenstern, $13.5 million was poured straight back into Sesame Street, and the rest went toward producing shows like Ghostwriter,” states the article. “And although the Workshop gets about $6 million from PBS, it no longer receives any funding directly from CPB. In effect, this means Sesame Street receives no government money.”

Maybe Babs Boxer didn’t pay close enough attention when Count Count was presenting elementary math lessons.

Her math is so bad, it's scary...