On the eve of the South Carolina GOP Primary, ABC News televised an interview with Newt Gingrich’s second wife, Marianne, where she claims the presidential contender asked her for an “open marriage” so that he could see the woman that would become his third wife, Callista. Truth be told, this is a re-hashed interview, the original having run in Esquire Magazine in 2010. Which leaves us this to consider: the execution and airing of this interview is either an attempt by a woman scorned to even the score, a politically motivated hit-piece, or both. Whichever it turns out to be, the one thing it won’t be is a game changer.

That Newt Gingrich has had marital issues in his past is common knowledge. Anyone shocked by this news should not consider themselves well-informed. Anyone offended by the marital transgressions of his past should heed the words from a follow-up Esquire Magazine article:

“…Love makes fools of us all, etc., and liberals who believe in parole and rehabilitation really should think at least once before they snicker at the religious folks who have decided to believe in Newt’s remorse for his past behavior.”

In a recent article titled, Political Baggage: Establishment & Media Manipulation, in which I wrote about Mr. Gingrich’s infidelity issues, juxtaposing them to the sexual peccadilloes of myriad Democrat and Progressive politicians, I argued:

“In an age when the world is being enveloped in darkness – both ideologically and violently; when our country stands on the brink of deteriorating from a Constitutional Republic to a Socialist Democracy; when government has grown into such a behemoth that it is on the precipice of being the master to the very people who created it, We the People had better look beyond the imperfections of the personal man where “political viability” and “electability” are concerned.

“Today, as we advance in the 2012 election cycle, We the People need the smartest man in the room at the helm of the Ship of State. We need someone who has humility enough to learn from past errors, correcting course when it is the best choice to make, leading our nation in this tumultuous time. We need someone who understands and respects the knowledge that only history can afford as we – as a nation; as the guardians of liberty – navigate the future.

“What we cannot afford is to allow the narcissistic mainstream media talking heads, self-absorbed political pundits and the self-aggrandizing political strategists to talk us out of the smartest guy in the room simply because they believe his ‘baggage’ is too heavy to carry.”

These words are worth repeating in light of the Marianne Gingrich interview.

(more…)

The gist of a recently released opposition research document from Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is that the former Massachusetts governor is not a real Republican because some of his centrist positions and alliances with Democrats. Researchers working for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) reportedly authored the file during the 2008 Republican primary.

But some of the claims may simply illustrate a man who is committed to his own ideals, loyal to those around him and perhaps trying to do what is morally right–maybe even by hiring advisers to offer him objective perspectives so that he doesn’t just have people around him who mimic his own views. Among some of the exacerbated criticisms are the following with an alternative counter-point below each allegation:

1. “Romney voted for Paul Tsongas in the 1992 Democratic presidential primary”

Tsongas was a Senator from Massachusetts, Romney’s own state.

2. “Romney was an independent until deciding to run for the Senate in 1994.”

Mitt Romney’s 1994 bid for U.S. Senate was his first attempt at running for political office. It should be no surprise that he was independent before then since independents make up the majority of Massachusetts voters–some of whom remain non-party affiliated or “unenrolled” so that they can opt to vote in either primary in each election. According to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Elections Division online records, in February 1994  there were 418, 298 registered Republicans, 1,283,986 registered Democrats, but 3,174,759 total voters, which leaves 1,471,500 unenrolled voters. Romney was no different than the largest class of Massachusetts voters.

(more…)

One cannot turn on the television or radio without some talking head or so-called political analyst pontificating about how Newt Gingrich is grandiose, how Mitt Romney isn’t really a Conservative – and how they both have flipped on several issues – or how Ron Paul’s foreign policy is isolationist. Glenn Beck, to many people’s extreme disappointment, even went so far as to call Speaker Gingrich a Progressive (I guess ratings are down at GBTV). It makes for good news show content, to be sure. In certain respects there is truth to the critiques. But this hyper-critiquing and self-immolation also does two things that Conservatives and Republicans fall prey to each and every time the General Election cycle comes calling: It deflects from addressing the differences between the GOP field and the opposition; and it provides the opposition with talking points, opponent research and the luxury of hiatus.

Make no mistake, the primaries are where each party – when not in incumbency – needs to critique and evaluate their prospective candidates. A hard-fought primary, when devoid of “it’s my turn” establishment national party politics, usually results in the fielding of the best candidate, and a candidate who is sufficiently prepped to engage in the “main event.” But there is a difference between an intellectual meeting of the minds, where policy differences and a juxtaposition of experiences are proposed, examined and debated, and the childish, nonsensical “braggateering” (to coin a word); of trading insignificant insults; of executing a campaign of personality-based mudslinging.

As we approach the actual start of the primary cycle – yes, we haven’t begun the cycle just yet – this act of political stupidity is coming into play, yet again, among the front runners for the 2012 Republican Presidential Nomination.

(more…)

When it is all said and done, historians may look back on this GOP primary season and conclude that Mitt Romney lost his chance at the nomination on a bet.

During Saturday night’s debate, Texas Governor Rick Perry challenged Romney on a passage in his first book, claiming an early edition had said the Massachusetts Romneycare program should be a model for the national plan. Romney disputed the claim, and when Perry persisted, he jokingly offered a $10,000 bet. “Rick, I’ll tell you what:10,000 bucks? $10,000 bet? “Perry didn’t take the bet, “I’m not in the betting business.”

The average American household has an income of $59,800 (gross) which means that Romney was not only breaking Mormon doctrine, which recommends against gambling, but he was also being casual with the equivalent of 1/6th of the cash the average family lives on. He might have just as well been amazed by a supermarket scanner as George H.W. Bush was, or suggested to the unemployed, “Let Them Eat Cake,” because Mitt Romney just announced that he was totally out of touch with the American people.

Barack Obama’s attacks on the GOP centers around a supposed lack of concern for the middle class. Should Romney get the nomination, expect to see that clip over and over, because whether true or not, last night Mitt Romney gave Barack Obama the ammunition he needs to show the former Massachusetts governor has no idea about the plight of the average family. That will probably include the first segment of the answer, when he talked about growing up wealthy. “I didn’t grow up poor,” Romney said. “But I grew up with a dad who had been poor and my dad wanted to make sure I understood the lessons of hard work.”

Almost immediately after Romney’s gaffe, former Obama aide Bill Burton, who now runs a Democratic party super PAC, was tweeting a preview of future Obama attacks.

(more…)

Something amazing happened at the Occupy LA rally the other night.  Who knew a capitalist would confront the people at the Occupy LA Rally.

Also funny to see that so many of the Occupy LA crowd would support Herman Cain for president. The even chanted “9-9-9!” Looks like Cain has crossover appeal that the GOP establishment has overlooked.

(more…)

The past week was very interesting in Presidential politics.  The darlings of the rank and file Republican Party, New Jersey governor Chris Christie and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, have concluded it is not time to run for President. Herman Cain (who was recently labeled a racist by a Democrat strategist on CNN) has become the sweetheart of the white-supremacist, right-wing Tea Party.

The popular press is lauding liberal Democrats for having finally found their own voice in the Occupy Wall Street protests. And Missouri’s Democratic Senator, Claire McCaskill, did not even show up for President Obama’s (who polls below 30% in MO) fundraiser in St. Louis. And a rumor is circulating that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has told Obama he cannot win passage of the jobs bill as proposed and will only take it in pieces to the Senate floor, thus distancing himself from the President.

Does anyone need to know anything else about the 2012 elections?

The problem for decades in Washington has been that lawmakers, Republican and Democrat, have spent their way to political success. Now that there is no more money, nobody knows what to do.  In fact, there is only one Congressman, Darrell Issa (R-CA) who has started (not inherited) a successful company that sold a product and wasn’t just in the service industry, law, accounting, insurance, medicine, banking, you get the idea.  The genesis of American capitalism is an agrarian society taking the risks necessary to make something from nothing and selling it.  He is likely the only one that has made the sacrifices necessary to build something from nothing, and make a profit.  The concept is that without actual profit you can’t spend money.  Everyone else, Democrat and Republican more resembles the Occupy Wall Street group who want to tell everyone where money should be spent, decisions based on personal interests and taxes, not capitalism.  The situation is exacerbated by the contempt and lack of cooperation between the congressional parties, as well as between members of Congress of both parties and the executive.

For some time, the question of when that animosity began has gone unanswered. Certainly there have always been hard-fought ideological battles in the halls of government. But there have also been famous relationships between party leaders, relationships that helped bring these leaders and the country together. When did our modern politics deteriorate so much? Recently a longtime friend and Washington insider suggested that it began with the defeat of the nomination of Judge Robert Bork, the highly respected and superbly qualified candidate, for the Supreme Court. (more…)

On Friday Former President Bill Clinton spoke at the dedication of a bridge at his Presidential library.  During his address he complained that Republicans try to take too much credit for his welfare reform legislation and for balancing the budget. The two parties can argue about who was behind welfare reform, but no one deserves credit for balancing the budget.  The truth is  the United States federal budget was not balanced in any of Bill Clinton’s eight years as President. Not once!

The federal government has two types of debt public debt and intra-governmental debt.  Public debt is comprises securities held by investors outside the federal government, including that held by investors, the Federal Reserve System and foreign, state and local governments  Intra-governmental debt comprises Treasury securities held in accounts administered by the federal government, such as the Social Security Trust Fund.

Traditionally the annual federal government budget deficit or surplus is the cash difference between government receipts and spending, ignoring intra-governmental transfers. This is a trick as intra-governmental debt needs to be repaid just like the publicly held debt. This is also how Clinton claimed a surplus in three out of his last four years. (Source for all of the numbers below, US Treasury Direct).

These figures include the public debt but not the intra-governmental debt.  Its like paying off your American Express card while ignoring the fact that your Mastercard over the limit and months past due. Your Amex looks great but your budget is not balanced.

(more…)

Another opinion poll was released reporting s a deterioration of Barack Obama’s support in the Jewish Community.  What makes this set of results surprising is the poll was conducted by the American Jewish Committee, a group who’s leanings are so liberal,  it chastises more conservative Jewish organizations that criticize Obama’s Israel policy. Another surprise in the survey (at lease for those unfamiliar with Jewish voters) is that Israel is just one of the issues driving Jews away from Obama.

For the first time since his inauguration, the annual  AJC poll shows more Jews disapproving of Obama’s performance than approving. Approval of Obama’s performance declined to 45 percent, and disapproval rose to 48 percent. Last year’s AJC survey reported 51 percent approved, and 44 percent disapproved.

Key areas of  Jewish voter disapproval are the economy (duh), and immigration. Foreign policy is a wash and most Jews approve of  the President’s performance with National Security and Energy.

As expected, the President’s Israel Policy meets with disapproval.

(more…)

In 2008, candidate Obama famously dodged a serious question by telling America that the question was simply “above [his] pay grade.” Three years into his Presidency, voters around the country are clearly voicing their opinion that being held accountable for the failing economy is not above his pay grade.  Even in California, perhaps America’s last bastion of liberalism, voters are finally turning on Obama.

Around the country, the numbers all point to Obama losing in next year’s Presidential election.  Generic Republicans beat him in polling match ups.  Following Democrats’ loss of the House last year, Republicans just won a special election for a seat in New York that they haven’t held since 1923.  Perhaps the most telling number, unemployment is above 9% (with no real improvement in sight) and no President has won re-election with unemployment above 8%.

In California, however, a majority of voters have stood by Obama.  For most of this year, a strong majority of voters approved of Obama’s job performance.  Now suddenly, Obama’s ratings took a sharp turn for the worse and, for the first time, less than a majority of voters in California approve of his job performance – just 46% to be specific.

Given that the economy has not changed much over the last year, the question could be asked:  Why have California voters suddenly turned on Obama?

(more…)

As usual the Drudge headline was striking and accurate, “Revenge of the Jews.” Indeed a big part of GOP candidate Bob Turner’s win against the Democratic candidate David Weprin was the Jewish vote going to the GOP. NY 9 may be the most heavily Jewish district in the country (estimates range from 33-40% of the electorate). The real question is what does this mean for the 2012 election and can these results be replicated in other districts. The answer is—probably not. What people nationally forget is that some of the Jewish vote for Turner was about Israel, but also some of the vote was about other issues. And it was the combination of issues that gave Turner the Jewish vote last night.

There were three major Issues in the campaign Israel, Gay Marriage and the economy. When Ed Koch got involved and turned the race into a referendum on Jews and Obama, he gave two reasons. The first was Obama’s poor treatment of the Jewish State, and the other was Obamanomics. Interestingly, he did not criticize Obama’s economic platform because of all the conservative reasons such as the debt, big government, etc. Koch criticized it because he wasn’t spending/doing enough.  In his endorsement of Bob Turner published in the Jerusalem Post, he said voters needed to send the Democrats a message that Obama was not liberal enough in the debt ceiling negotiations saying the President has

been the major advocate for seeking a far-reaching deal that would have combined a debt limit increase with substantial spending cuts; significant changes in social programs like Medicare, Medicaid and perhaps Social Security; and as much as $1 trillion in new revenue.

Koch was unhappy that Obama was even considering reforming entitlements.  In the end the message Ed Koch brought to the campaign was Obama hates Israel and is too much of an economic moderate.

That appealed to the Liberal Jews of Queens, especially in the areas of Forest Hills and Kew Gardens.

The message to the more conservative Jews of Brooklyn was a bit different.

They too were energized by Obama and Israel but just as important (If not more) was Weprin’s recent vote in the NY State assembly in favor of Gay marriage. Indeed according to my sources in the campaign much of the robo-calling to Brooklyn pointed out this Weprin vote.

(more…)

On Sunday, September 3, in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, Tea Partiers marched with the Wheeling Township Republicans at the town’s Labor Day Parade. Upon passing the home of AFL-CIO member and retired Buffalo Grove Fire Department Lt. Larry Andres’s house, they were harassed by Andres and his friends watching the parade at his property on Bernard Avenue.

Lt. Andres and his comrades, clutching overflowing plastic cups and wearing stickers to support Democratic candidate Brad Schneider, shouted “Republican-free zone….Go union!!” and the sexually explicit epithet, “move along Tea-baggers!!!”

Lt. Andres, a pillar of the Buffalo Grove community, was given a “lavish” retirement ceremony in 2007, which included the presentation of an American flag from Buffalo Grove fire chief Tim Sashko. He has been quoted as leaving the public sector at age 56 in 2007 to pursue an acting career in a “Scrooge” play.

We stopped to find out why these individuals were so hostile to the Tea Partiers marching in the parade, but all we could get out of these goons were the usual responses, “They [the Tea Parties] breed hate….They are against everything we stand for.” But when questioned about any specific examples, these agitants were, as usual, not prepared to give a coherent answer. You can see how things went downhill quickly, in the following video.

Is this an example of how the Tea Party “breeds hate,” or the how the unions do?

(more…)

It’s civility week!  Another Twitter montage of #NewTone was just sent our way this afternoon.  Good timing, too, on the heels of Teamster leader Jimmy Hoffa Jr.’s warm remarks yesterday.

Lets not forget the lessons in civility that our dutiful media and President Obama conveyed in the wake of the Tucson tragedy. The vitriol does not seem to have died down.  Perhaps this video will help remind people what’s lurking out there on the Twitter public timeline about all you “Sons of Bitches” and “Hobbits” of Terror.

(more…)

Enough with the nonsensical term of “racers” they are racists!  Democratic members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC)  joined by other prominent African Americans  supposedly for a series of job fairs.  What they are really doing is spewing vile false racist charges against the tea party.  Prominent in this pack of traveling racists is Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who was recently caught on tape telling the tea party to go to hell… pretty strong words for a woman charged with misusing her office to help her husband’s bank get some TARP funds.

The most recent stop for this group of African American racial agitators  was Miami Beach.  The night before the jobs fair they held a town hall so they could talk politics. Rather than  discuss politics this group set up on their objective widen the racial divide in America.

If the Republican Presidential race were a poker game, you could say that Palin, the underdog has remained in late position long enough to see the full ring, to expose the live ones.  She’s learned their tells, and she’s seen some bust, but now it’s time for her to go all in with what looks to be a royal flush.

If you’re not a poker player, you may need a poker dictionary to decipher my analogy.  And “they” think she doesn’t know how the game of politics is played.  The good old boys just never realized that she wasn’t playing by their rules.

If, or rather when, Sarah Palin announces her candidacy for President; Republican polls will likely shift in her favor.  There are droves of Republicans and Independents who like Sarah Palin and what she stands for.  But if there is one common thread you will hear as a negative, it is “but I don’t think she can win.”  Yet she continues to pack in larger crowds than declared presidential candidates.  The media loves to hate her, and to her credit, she’s probably the most highly-vetted potential candidate the country has ever seen.

It’s looking more and more these days as if Sarah Palin will announce her run for the White House in short order.  If you keep up with Palin’s history, you may come to the conclusion that there is no accident in her decision to go to Iowa September 3^rd for what many believe will be her big announcement.  September 3, 2011 is three years, to the day, that Sarah Palin accepted the nomination for Vice President and gave her famously rousing speech during the Republican National Convention.  In the last few days, even those in the media have noted that it appears that Sarah Palin will announce in the early weeks of September.

(more…)

After weeks of hard negotiation a compromise deal is has been drafted and will be voted on by both houses before the end of the day tomorrow. This deal does give a political victory for some of the players and more importantly can even lead to a victory for the country provided that GOP leadership of both houses consider this as a starting point, and make certain steps to keep the pressure coming. The bill will not forestall a ratings download, but honestly I don’t believe that anything could as even a bill that cut $4 trillion doesn’t cut the deficit but merely slows down its growth.

The Talmud says: “One should not extravagantly distribute more than one fifth of one’s income to charity.” Are the sages saying there’s a ceiling cap on giving charity? Yes they are, because if everyone were to give too much away there would be too many mouths to feed.

If you have been getting information from the mainstream media you may think tea partiers are forcing Republicans in Congress to; cut the budget so much people will be forced to push grandma’s wheelchair off a cliff or, are trying force the country into default guaranteeing Obama won’t be reelected.

Not true! It’s all about not having too many mouths to feed.

The debt ceiling’s the congressionally approved amount the federal government can borrow. The ceiling is currently set at $14.294 trillion. The country’s debt hit that figure on May 16 and we are currently approaching $14.6 trillion in debt. Thanks to some “re-arranging,” the Treasury Department says we won’t “run out of money” until August 2.

The MSM and progressive politicians report if the debt ceiling isn’t raised by August 2, a biblical-type disaster will occur, wrath of God type stuff; fire and brimstone falling from the skies! Rivers boiling! Earthquakes, volcanoes, Human sacrifice, nothing but Dennis Kuchinich speeches on your TV set … mass hysteria (that premise is false)!

(more…)

“I think we need the freedom to have barbecues,” said Cynthia Davis during a telephone interview Sunday.

If you think it sounds crazy for Davis, a former state representative now serving as chair of the St. Charles County (Mo.) Republican Party, to stake her claim on the right to have a barbecue without government interference, you don’t know the half of it!

On Saturday, Davis hosted her “First Barbecue of the Spring” on the lawn in front of the Back to Basics Christian Bookstore which she owns and operates with her husband, Bernie, and several of her seven children in O’Fallon, Mo. On the menu of food items offered to invited guests was dangerously-delicious meat from T-Bones Natural Meats, suspiciously-sumptuous cakes from Susie G’s Specialty Cakes and — OMG! — chips and salsa from Chevy’s Fresh Mex®.

Though several dozen people attended the early-afternoon event, Davis did not expect Rick Etherington, an environmental public health specialist from the St. Charles County Health Department, to be among them. But he showed up, explaining that he said there in response to the health department receiving calls about the barbecue on Thursday and again on Saturday.

Davis and others at the event agreed that Etherington was polite and only doing his job. It appears, however, that he was being used by someone as a pawn in a thinly-veiled effort to shut down Davis’ event and, in turn, hurt her chances of winning a seat on the board of the St. Charles County Ambulance District during elections April 5.

The ambulance district? I know, it might seem unimportant, but keep reading and you’ll understand why the matter caught my attention.

(more…)

For nearly two years, the tea parties have warned the Ruling Class there would be serious consequences to ignoring the will of the people, and that day finally arrived this past Tuesday, Nov. 2. The tsunami was felt at all levels of government as a majority of House, Senate and Governor races were won by candidates who had substantial support from tea party voters. Previously the tsunami had been felt within the GOP when tea party voters ousted many incumbent and “establishment-preferred” Republicans in primaries.

Now it is important that Republicans read the right message in the tea leaves: “You are on probation!”

It seems paradoxical that a political party could win such commanding victories, yet be held in such low regard by voters. A recent NYT/CBS poll (10/26) found the favorable rating for the Republican Party was 41% and a recent AP poll (10/18) pegged the job performance approval rating for Congressional Republicans at 28%. As my parents always used to say, “trust must be earned” – and it is earned with actions, not pledges.

Republicans have failed us miserably in the recent past by failing, among other things, to curb spending and debt, reform entitlements, or tackle illegal immigration.  In fact, they have bloated spending, increased debt and expanded entitlement programs.

(more…)

Click to Play

It’s a feisty edition of the podcast this week as we’re joined by Red Eye’s Greg Gutfeld and author/columnist David Limbaugh. We cover what the winners will do after election day, a great discussion about the Tea Party and why it is the most significant political movement in a generation, the Frum effect, the pros and cons of a VAT tax, a fashionably late arrival, and yes, some speculation about Peter Robinson’s sleeping attire.

(more…)

Click to Play

The British Parliament does it, why can’t we? Rob and Peter (Lileks is at the Minnesota State Fair this week) answer your questions — when Peter is not answering his wife’s phone — and later, talk to author, columnist, and all around smart guy Shelby Steele. He’s got some fascinating insights about Obama and what the future may hold for him, and us.

For links and discussion on this week’s podcast, please visit us at Ricochet.com.