2012
by PunditGuy | Apr 21, 2012 | Politics | 0 comments
2012
Dan Rather, The Forgeries and the Tarnish on the Tiffany Network
8 years ago, the internet erupted with news that CBS, and specifically Dan Rather, reported a politically timed story aimed at damaging George W. Bush’s reelection. When the dust settled, there were forged documents, firings, and the unceremonious retirement of Mr. Rather.
TexasMonthly recounts the story in all its glory.
Charlie Rangel Will Resign This Week
At least Tunku Varadarajan of The Daily Beast thinks so.
He’s an embarrassment, and a hindrance to his party’s 2010 fortunes.
Rangel is toast.
MORE: Rangel proceeding worries Dems and puzzles ethics experts.
Obama summons 2008 voters
You remember the big block of voters who came out of nowhere in 2008 to vote for The One, don’t you? Yeah, those brainless, out of touch with reality, touchy-feely sheep who were hypnotized by the second coming of the pseudo messiah. Those voters.
Well, Obama understands that 2010 will be a blow out for the Dems if he doesn’t "reconnect" with "his" base. So he pulled out the teleprompter, set up his YouTube camera, and went to work.
Gaze into my eyes…
The question is, will it work this time around? Everyone knows voter turn out for congressional elections is notoriously lackluster. The only way Obama can effectively rally the lemmings is if he manipulates a willing media into putting him on TV (in a positive light) nightly from say, late September until the vote in November. Unfortunately for Barry, this time around the media might have to go to Defcon 5 to filter out the discontent of real voters who are intelligent enough to realize what kind of train wreck the Obama presidency has been to date. ABC-CBS-NBC-CNN-MSNBC-PBS will have to manufacture some interesting camera angles to blunt out the thousands of people holding signs like this one.
Psychobabble
This should scare you to death.
Repeal all of Obamacare?
Lest you think the GOP is gearing up for a quick November 2010 election win and an even quicker repeal of Health Care Reform, think again.
In a brief chat with the Huffington Post on Tuesday, National Republican Senatorial Committee chair John Cornyn (R-Tex.) implicitly acknowledged that Republicans are content with allowing some elements of Obama’s reform into law. And they’d generally ignore those elements when taking the fight to their Democrat opponents as November approaches.
Realistically, a full repeal is probably a loser position in November. After all, when asked, most Republicans in congress are quick to note that there are points of agreement with Democrats on certain aspects of Health Care Reform. You know, the whole pre-existing conditions stuff, etc.
I was just wondering how long it would take for someone in the party to speak up and “clarify” the campaign year position on what it means to get rid of Obamacare. For the record, it took just over two hours after the bill got signed. Expect more “clarity” as we get closer to fall.
I Love Reality
Wait for it.
So here’s a prediction for you: Obamacare is not going to happen, regardless of the fact that the president is going to sign it into law today, regardless of what happens in the 2010 and 2012 elections, and regardless of any speech given anywhere in Washington. The government’s ability to simply say “Make it so!” and ignore economic reality is coming up against its limit. If Nancy Pelosi thinks the Republicans are obstructionists, wait until she wants to borrow money from people who don’t want to lend it to her and don’t have to run for reelection.
Obamacare will be a huge new outlay on an already bloated federal budget, two-thirds of which is committed to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, national defense, and interest payments on the national debt. Somebody’s not going to get paid. Bond investors are worried that it’s going to be them, but my bet is that it’s going to be those who have put their faith in Obamacare. But, hey, it was fun while it lasted. Have a Tylenol.
— Kevin Williamson is a deputy managing editor of National Review.
You can read the whole thing here.
I’m a realist too, and what Williamson says makes a whole lot of sense. When it comes to tough choices, the entitlements with the most longevity will win the day. They’ll be paid, while Obamacare won’t. So, yeah, take a Tylenol.
Edward M. Kennedy, Dead at 77
While I have nothing but disdain for the Senator from Massachusetts, today is not the day for that. Teddy Kennedy is dead, and I’ll remember him for his commitment to family.
“Edward M. Kennedy — the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply – died late Tuesday night at home in Hyannis Port,” the statement said. “We’ve lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever.”
Those are genuine words, I’m sure. My thoughts go out to the Kennedy family as they work through their loss today.
MORE: The cash register has already begun to ring.
Ahmadinejad Came In 3rd Place
According to leaked results of the actual vote in Iran over the weekend, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came in 3rd place, not first as originally reported.
The statistics, circulated on Iranian blogs and websites, claimed Mr Mousavi had won 19.1 million votes while Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won only 5.7 million.
The two other candidates, reformist Mehdi Karoubi and hardliner Mohsen Rezai, won 13.4 million and 3.7 million respectively. The authenticity of the leaked figures could not be confirmed.
Mr Mousavi has accused Iran’s government of “fraud” after Mr Ahmadinejad was declared on Saturday to have 62.6 per cent of the vote, making him the landslide winner. The capital has been rocked by disturbances for the last three days.
No wonder they’re rioting.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports today that a public opinion survey of Iranians three weeks before the vote showed Ahmadinejad leading by a more than 2 to 1 margin — greater than his actual apparent margin of victory in Friday’s election. Why this is news I have no idea. Didn’t Sadam Hussein get reelected by 98% of Iraqis a few years ago? Was that supposed to reflect genuine love for the dictator? Of course not. We didn’t believe it then and we don’t now.
Since polling is so rare in Iran, those who were asked how they would vote were no doubt wondering who was really asking the question. Was it a polling company or was it the Iranian government? Clearly, fear played a part in the results of the poll.
I’m afraid none of this will end peacefully anytime soon. As of this writing, people are being gunned down in Tehran.
Tehran Live
Just came across this site after browsing over at Bill Quick’s place. It’s called “Tehran 24” and the folks there are doing a great job chronicling the protests and demonstrations that have been going non-stop since the fixed election results were announced yesterday. Go check ’em out.