FASCINATING: How presidential elections are impacted by a 100 million year old coastline

Deep Sea News has some fascinating observations about the ancient Floridian coastline:

Hale County in west central Alabama and Bamberg County in southern South Carolina are 450 miles apart. Both counties have a population of 16,000 of which around 60% are African American... These two counties share another unique feature. Amidst a blanket of Republican red both Hale and Bamberg voted primarily Democratic in the 2000, 2004, and again in the 2008 presidential elections. Indeed, Hale and Bamberg belong to a belt of counties cutting through the deep south–Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina–that have voted over 50% Democratic in recent presidential elections. Why? A 100 million year old coastline.

During the Cretaceous, 139-65 million years ago, shallow seas covered much of the southern United States. These tropical waters were productive–giving rise to tiny marine plankton with carbonate skeletons which overtime accumulated into massive chalk formations. The chalk, both alkaline and porous, lead to fertile and well-drained soils in a band, mirroring that ancient coastline and stretching across the now much drier South. This arc of rich and dark soils in Alabama has long been known as the Black Belt. But many, including Booker T. Washington, coopted the term to refer to the entire Southern band. Washington wrote in his 1901 autobiography, Up from Slavery, “The term was first used to designate a part of the country which was distinguished by the color of the soil. The part of the country possessing this thick, dark, and naturally rich soil...”

...The legacy of ancient coastlines, chalk, soil, cotton, and slavery can still be seen today. African Americans make up over 50%, in some cases over 85%, of the population in Black Belt counties. As expected this has and continues to deeply influence the culture of the Black Belt. J. Sullivan Gibson writing in 1941 on the geology of the Black Belt noted, “The long-conceded regional identity of the Black Belts roots no more deeply its physical fundament of rolling prairie soil than in its cultural, social, and economic individuality.” And so this plays out in politics...

None of this explains why Blacks vote Democrat in great numbers. The Republican Party was created to combat slavery. Great men from Lincoln, to Booker T. Washington, to Martin Luther King, Jr. were all Republicans.

And the Ku Klux Klan was well-known throughout the 20th century as "the terrorist wing of the Democrat Party."

In more modern times, Democrats William Fulbright (Bill Clinton's mentor), Robert Byrd and Al Gore, Sr. were well-known racists and segregationists.

And, as we speak, conservative hero Allen West is fighting widespread vote fraud by would-be segregationists in the Democrat Party who have attempted to derail his reelection.

You see, drones, the freedom tent is the biggest tent of all. It embraces all races, religions, creeds and colors. It is the antithesis of the Democrat-Progressive tent that divides Americans by gender, age, income, race, religion and ethnicity for purposes of pandering and demonization.

We conservatives are on the side of liberty -- for all Americans. And that, my friends, is something you'll never hear a Democrat say.

Reason #4,617 That I Love Allen West

In a completely masculine and heterosexual way, of course:

After this morning’s ... “Fresh From Florida” breakfast, Congressman Allen West addressed a media gaggle and was asked by a TCPalm reporter about his publication’s editorial board.

“I don’t want your endorsement, I want you to continue to endorse the other guy.”

For those of you unfamiliar, the TCPalm website is the primary mainstream media publication that covers the Treasure Coast area, and it’s a publication hostile to West. TC Palm’s site routinely publishes puff pieces on Murphy as well as Murphy’s almost certainly ghostwritten op-eds.

With a few dozen more Allen Wests in Congress, we could really return this country to Constitutional government -- and unleash the private sector.

Allen West is in a tough race. You can help him out here.

Geraghty: If Reid, Pelosi or Biden were struck by genuine neurological dementia, how would we be able to tell?

At the risk of ripping off borrowing too much of Jim Geraghty's latest at National Review, I can only respond by asking:

If, Jim? If? If???

Whomever Mitt Romney picks as his running mate, I hope that person understands the need to come out of the gate as a fighter... right now, millions of Republicans and independents feel like the world has gone crazy, and no one seems intent upon setting it right.

• Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is basically making things up, claiming that “a number of people” have told him about felony-level tax evasion by Mitt Romney. (Technically, zero is a number.)

• House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi declares, “it is a fact” in response to Reid’s charges and his unnamed sources, and labeling the opposition party, “the E. Coli club.”

• A new ad from President Obama’s SuperPAC declares, “Mitt Romney killed my wife.” (The man’s wife died seven years after Romney left Bain Capital.)

• The Obama “Truth Team” distributes a charge that Romney’s ad hitting Obama for changing the work requirements for welfare “has racial overtones.”

...If, God forbid, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, or Joe Biden were to be struck by genuine neurological dementia, how would we be able to tell?

...Reid, Pelosi, the president, his campaign, and his allies continue to throw out weapons-grade nonsense into the media environment with absolutely no consequence whatsoever.

...There was a time, not long ago, when if the Senate Majority Leader was going to accuse his opponents of a crime, he had to at least point to some evidence, lest he be derided as a McCarthyite, a demagogue, a liar and a toxic influence to public discourse. There was a time when presidential campaigns did not casually accuse their opponent of murder. There was a time when not every criticism of an opponent’s policy triggered a knee-jerk accusation of “racism!”

No one wonders why our political class is so disappointing. It’s because no sane person would want to step into the BS maelstrom that is modern politics... perhaps Romney thinks he can embody this by taking the high road. Perhaps he is correct... But somebody has to call out this nonsense for what it is – and I think many, many Republicans are waiting, with growing impatience, for someone to do that.

We need a conservative fighter, not a squish (see: Pawlenty, Portman) or a centrist with questionable values (see: Christie).

Which is why either Marco Rubio or Allen West must be named Mitt Romney's running mate.

Defend Allen West against George Soros

Unbelievable:

CREDO SuperPAC, a radical group bankrolled by progressive billionaire George Soros, has just launched a massive campaign targeting Rep. Allen West and raising unlimited sums of money to take him out this election. Reports indicate Soros has personally pledged $5 million to beat Rep. West.

George F-ing Soros? Are you f-ing kidding me?

I just sent in $50 to the West campaign. If you have a few spare bucks, please consider helping true Constitutional conservatives like Allen West and Ted Cruz.

We need these men in Congress.

We need patriots to defend our Constitution and our country. The time, my friends, grows short to save this magnificent land from bankruptcy and ruin.

So do what you can.

Allen West Commemorates Flag Day: "This We'll Defend"

Earlier today, Rep. Allen West (R-FL) commemorated Flag Day.

Today marks the 237th birthday of the United States Army as well as the celebration of our Stars and Stripes, Flag Day.

The Army is the largest and oldest established branch of the United States military, with a primary mission 'to fight and win our Nation’s wars by providing prompt, sustained land dominance across the full range of military operations and spectrum of conflict in support of combatant commanders.'

I can still remember the details of the day that I was sworn in as an Army Second Lieutenant in 1982. I remember the pride I felt wearing our nation's uniform and the feeling that I was a part of something larger than myself. I knew it was an honor, a privilege, and a responsibility...and I was committed to it wholeheartedly, just as thousands of men and women volunteer to commit themselves today, not because they are forced to, but beacuse they truly want to serve their nation.

It is fitting that the Army's birthday also falls on Flag Day, as the Army's motto is 'This We'll Defend.' If it weren't for our brave soldiers defending our nation for the past 237 years, there would be no freedom to fly our flag. In fact, there would be no flag at all.

'This We'll Defend' represents the spirit of our Army, in that there is no 'I' or 'Me', but 'We'. As soldiers, we are unified to further a mission. On the 237th birthday of the Army and on the celebration of Flag Day, let us as Americans recommit ourselves to the spirit of the Army, that 'We' are stronger united than divided, and working together, 'We' as Americans will always prevail."

Amen, brother.

Civility: Progressive kook pushes World War II vet while screeching "f*** you" to him at Allen West town-hall

The word disgusting doesn't begin to describe the actions of these progressive loons -- especially seeing as how we're just hours after Memorial Day.

The scene: a town-hall event for Rep. Allen West. At the behest of Debbie Wasserman-Schultz or her ilk, progressives make a make a habit of targeting West because they hate the Constitution and they despise America*. They know that West stands for both -- and, unlike these punks, he's put his life on the line protecting their right to protest him.

In what appears to be the aftermath of a town-hall, several World War II vets stand up for West as a couple of the moonbats try to insult him.

Instead of honoring their service, the liberals go after these heroes, to the point of putting hands on one while dropping the f-bomb on him.

Because that's the way liberals roll, don't ya know?

These progressives disgust me. They ought to hang their heads in shame, but that would require the capability of actually feeling shame.

Take heart, patriots, because November is coming.


* Sorry, drones, but you can't love America and support a presidential candidate who repeatedly promises to 'fundamentally transform' it, as Barack Obama did.

Curiously Juxtaposed Obamacare Headlines o' the Day

Coincidental, I'm sure.

Exhibit A: Obama Loses 14 Points with Catholic Voters Over HHS Mandate

As more than 40 Catholic groups file suit against the Obama administration over its HHS mandate forcing them to pay for birth control and abortion-causing drugs for employees, new poling data shows President Barack Obama is tanking with Catholic voters... [Recent Pew Surveys show a] huge 14-point loss the pro-abortion president has had with Catholics in recent months...

Exhibit B: Obama Admin Signs $20M Contract for Obamacare Public Relations

Not only are Americans forced to fund abortions, and potentially rationing, in the Obamacare health care scheme, but new reports reveal they are spending $20 million on an election-year public relations plan to promote it.

The Health and Human Services Department signed a $20 million contract with a public-relations firm to promote Obamacare in a new multimedia ad campaign designed to educate the public about its supposed benefits. The Hill indicates the ad campaign was a mandate included in the final health care law.

As Mark Levin noted last night, if we had any House leadership at all, Kathleen Sebelius would be called in front of Congress and the responsible HHS managers charged with illegal campaign contributions to Obama's reelection effort.

But John Boehner is an intellectual and leadership lightweight. We've all had enough with the Repubicans, the wimps and the weaklings, who are more worried about consolidating their own power than saving America.

If we can get a couple o' dozen more Constitutional conservatives elected in November, I truly believe we can get Michele Bachmann or Allen West installed as Speaker of the House. Just think of it.


Hat tip: BadBlue.com.

Allen West Locates Real WMDs

I would follow Allen West into battle anytime, anywhere.

Freshman Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) on Wednesday evening likened President Obama's preference for higher tax rates to "tax weapons of mass destruction" that Obama is aiming straight at Middle Americans.

"Although he has never served our country in uniform, or risked his life to defend its freedoms and liberties on distant shores, it seems President Obama understands a thing or two about weaponry," West said on the House floor. "But in the president's case … the current weapon of choice is tax policy, and the enemies are small businesses, investors, entrepreneurs and corporations, who seemingly are deemed undesirable.

"President Obama seems determined to punish and wipe out economic success in this country, leveling tax weapons of mass destruction on all taxpayers."

West said Obama favors the expiration of tax cuts on marginal rates, as well as reducing estate tax exemptions and increasing taxes on capital gains and dividends.

"Next year, unless changes are made to the tax code, America will be bombarded with the heavy artillery of the largest tax increase in the nation's history, causing massive economic injury and destruction," West said.

West also criticized Obama's understanding of tax policy, arguing that increased taxes would do little to reduce the deficit, which he said is caused by overspending. He also said people facing higher taxes would react to these taxes, leading to less new revenue than the Obama administration anticipates.

"The American people … want a constitutional republic, not a socialist, egalitarian welfare nanny state," he concluded. "The American people want an economic future so bright that they will have to wear sunglasses."

Da-yam. I love this man.

In a completely platonic way.


Hat tip: BadBlue.com.

Dear Mr. Mataconis at 'Outside the Beltway': I eagerly await your apology to Rep. Allen West

Doug Mataconis at Outside the Beltway is outraged -- outraged! -- that so few Republicans have condemned Allen West's linkage of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) to Communism.

Just to recap, last week Rep. Allen West (R-FL) -- one of the rising stars in Congress -- publicly tied the CPC to the Communist agenda:

He had the intestinal fortitude to call the Congressional Progressive Caucus Communists...

...The cries from the Democrats can be heard far and wide – calling West irresponsible for calling patriots Communists. Just one small problem – the Congressional Progressive Caucus was founded in 1991 by Bernie Sanders, who is an avowed Socialist and a Congressman from Vermont; Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and the radical Washington DC based “think tank,” Institute for Policy Studies (IPS).

...Except all of [the media's] video clips are very carefully edited to cut out the next thing West said. Here is the quote in full, with the omitted part presented in boldface:

It’s a good question. I believe there’s about 78 to 81 members of the Democrat Party who are members of the Communist Party. It’s called the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Which is completely accurate.

It doesn't take much work to prove West right:

• According to The Weekly Worker (the Communist Party newsletter of Britain), "...The [Congressional Progressive Caucus] CPC is ‘organised around the principles of social and economic justice’, a ‘non-discriminatory society’ and ‘national priorities which represent the interests of all people, not just the wealthy and powerful’.” ... the CPC platform is “strongly supported by the Communist Party of the United States of America... The CPUSA has served in effect as a loyal tendency inside the Democratic Party for over half a century."

• According to the Democrat Socialists of America, "We work with [various radical] movements to strengthen the party’s left wing, represented by the Congressional Progressive Caucus."

In fact, the agenda of the CPC is virtually indistinguishable from Karl Marx' 10-point Communist Manifesto:

According to Karl Marx, the following ten elements were requisite conditions for "a transition from capitalism to communism."

1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes. Washington Examiner: The great Obama land grab: "White House officials have been meeting quietly with environmental groups to map out government plans for acquiring untold millions of acres of both public and private land... The federal government, as the memo boasted, is the nation's 'largest land manager.' It already owns roughly one of every three acres in the United States... This is apparently not enough."

2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax. National Taxpayer Union: The top 1% of taxpayers already pay 40% of all income taxes. The top 5% pay 61% of all income taxes. And the top 25% pay 87%. The bottom 50% pay 3% of all income taxes.

3. Abolition of all right of inheritance. USA Today: "Estate tax to return in 2011, and it could hurt ordinary folks."

4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants [those leaving the country] and rebels. New York Post: The President's new jobs-killer: "...President Obama explicitly targeted the industry for two massive tax hikes. First, he'd ban oil and gas companies from using the 'Section 199' tax credit, a measure for domestic manufacturers enacted in 2004 to boost US employment... Second, he wants to end 'dual capacity' protection for US energy firms... Without this shield against double taxation on foreign revenues, American companies would be competing on an uneven global playing field... Yet, by the federal government's own economic model, these tax hikes would lead to huge, immediate job losses."

5. Centralisation of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly. New York Post: Democrats, Fannie Mae still issuing subprime loans, even after meltdown. And CNS News: Obama to Nationalize Student Lending with Pending Budget Bill.

6. Centralisation of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State. Tom's Hardware: "Bill Allows Obama Power to Shut Down Internet." And "Advertisers on talk radio targeted by Congressional investigations." And "In an exclusive interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, President Obama made the extraordinary claim that Fox News is 'destructive to [America's] long-term growth.'."

7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of waste-lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan. National Legal and Policy Center: "Obama Arranges Takeover of GM and Chrysler; Auto Workers Union Gets Huge Stake." And Discover: "New EPA Rules Clamp Down on Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining." And News 9 Oklahoma: "EPA to Crack Down on Farm Dust."

8. Equal liability of all to labour. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture. Wall Street Journal: "SEIU’s Stern Tops White House Visitor List." More recently: "The AFL-CIO's Richard Trumka talks to the White House every day." And "Obama’s OFA, Churches Join Democratic Socialists for Saturday March in Washington."

9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equitable distribution of the population over the country. Heritage: "The Clean Water Restoration Act Means Troubled Waters For Property Owners": "...The Waxman-Markey global warming bill is far and away the most worrisome environmental measure currently working its way through Congress, but it is certainly not the only cause for concern... S. 787, the Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA)... would do much more harm than good, especially for farmers, ranchers, developers, energy producers, and other property owners."

10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production.: Reuters: "Obama says public employees should not be vilified." New York Sun: "Obama Tells Teachers Union He Opposes Vouchers." And Big Hollywood: "[Teachers' Union] NEA: Obama’s Ministry of Propaganda."

In short, the CPC represents a radical Marxist vision for America. It represents Communism. The CPC is antithetical to the United States Constitution, the very document that these Leftists took an oath to uphold! Put simply, they lied under oath.

I encourage you to read the mission statement of the CPC, which represents a laundry list of Utopian dreams that can only be compelled by a massive, centralized, authoritarian federal government. And, that, of course, was something this country's founders feared.

Progressivism is incompatible with the U.S. Constitution. I sincerely hope that, in the not too distant future, any self-admitted "progressive" will be ineligible to hold public office. Because you can't be a progressive and honestly take an oath to uphold the Constitution.

Hey, Mataconis: I'll be looking forward to your next post, which should be a well-written apology to Lt. Col. West.

The 'Give the Mullahs a Case of the Squirts' Ticket

That sound you hear in the distance is Debbie Wasserman-Manhands' head exploding.

I find it especially interesting that the Republican establishment keeps telling us that the nomination is a fait accompli for Mitt Romney; yet, somehow, the man can't seem to get even 40 percent of the vote. And, with proportional delegates in the states, the race remains wide open.

Further, Florida gets only half of its delegates this year because it jumped the primary line. So I encourage Newt and Rick to keep at it. When their respective constituencies combine forces, I predict a very unhappy Karl Rove.

Outrage over West's Goebbels remark (Obama likening the U.S. to Nazi Germany on NPR remains in memory hole, however)

Please consider this report from The Hill:

Dems call on Rep. West to apologize for Joseph Goebbels comparison

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) landed in hot water on Friday for his remarks the previous day comparing the Democrats’ proficiency in getting out their message to the notorious head of the Nazi Party’s propaganda department under Hitler.

“If Joseph Goebbels was around, he’d be very proud of the Democrat Party, because they have an incredible propaganda machine,” West said Thursday... “Shame on him,” tweeted Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.). “Rep. West needs to apologize now for insulting the memories of the millions who lost their lives during the Holocaust.”

Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) also called on West to apologize.

Curiously, these Democrat hacks were utterly silent when then-candidate Barack Obama was revealed to have compared the United States to Nazi Germany during an NPR interview.

None other than Charles (or the "Chuckster", as he prefers to be known) Johnson of LGF -- then in the patriotic phase of his career -- discovered Obama tarring America as a fascist regime.

The audio recording of Barack Obama espousing his socialist philosophy of “redistribution of wealth” is all over the internet and Fox News today (although the other media outlets are ignoring it), but there’s another disturbing section on that tape that has so far escaped notice.

The link to the audio is here: Chicago Public Radio - Audio Library: Odyssey.

At about 15:30, Obama compares what was going on in the United States during the time of Brown vs. the Board of Education to ... Nazi Germany. Yes, really. Here’s the quote:

“...just to take a, sort of a realist perspective...there’s a lot of change going on outside of the Court, um, that, that judges essentially have to take judicial notice of. I mean you’ve got World War II, you’ve got uh, uh, uh, the doctrines of Nazism, that, that we are fighting against, that start looking uncomfortably similar to what we have going on, back here at home.”

There you have it. America is close to electing a President that compares his own country to Nazi Germany.

Countdown to media analysis of Obama's egregious statements in: 3... 2... never.

Photo: Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader Greet One Another, December 2012

Wouldn't this pair blow a few minds?

With Senator John Kyl vacating his post in 2012 and the Palin family moving to Scottsdale, wouldn't the former governor make an outstanding replacement? I mean, not only for Kyl, but for the anti-charismatic Mitch McConnell as well?

And it goes without saying: Rep. Allen West should be the House Speaker. No one else, save Paul Ryan perhaps, carries the conservative leadership mantle as well.

Allen West metaphorically b****-slaps Debbie Wasserman-Schultz

And a well-deserved metaphorical b****-slapping it was (brought to you courtesy of the DNC public relations arm known as Politiho).

Florida GOP Congressman Allen West this afternoon dispatched a scathing personal email to Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, calling her "vile, unprofessional ,and despicable," "a coward," "characterless," and "not a Lady," and demanding that she "shut the heck up."

Wasserman Schultz, in whose neighboring South Florida district West lives, provoked his tirade with remarks after he left the House floor today, in which she responded -- without naming him -- to the Tea Party freshman's support for "Cut, Cap, and Balance" legislation to raise the debt ceiling.

"The gentleman from Florida. who represents thousands of Medicare beneficiaries, as do I, is supportive of this plan that would increase costs for Medicare beneficiaries, unbelievable from a Member from South Florida," Wasserman Schultz said, saying the legislation "slashes Medicaid and critical investments essential to winning the future in favor of protecting tax breaks for Big Oil, millionaires, and companies who ship American jobs overseas."

Her criticism of the legislation -- more or less what most Democrats are saying today -- provoked a furious response. West copied members of House Republican and Democratic leadership on the email, as well as his chief-of-staff, Jonathan Blyth.

From: Z112 West, Allen
Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 04:48 PM
To: Wasserman Schultz, Debbie
Cc: McCarthy, Kevin; Blyth, Jonathan; Pelosi, Nancy; Cantor, Eric
Subject: Unprofessional and Inappropriate Sophomoric Behavior from Wasserman-Schultz

Look, Debbie, I understand that after I departed the House floor you directed your floor speech comments directly towards me. Let me make myself perfectly clear, you want a personal fight, I am happy to oblige. You are the most vile, unprofessional ,and despicable member of the US House of Representatives. If you have something to say to me, stop being a coward and say it to my face, otherwise, shut the heck up. Focus on your own congressional district!

I am bringing your actions today to our Majority Leader and Majority Whip and from this time forward, understand that I shall defend myself forthright against your heinous characterless behavior……which dates back to the disgusting protest you ordered at my campaign hqs, October 2010 in Deerfield Beach.

You have proven repeatedly that you are not a Lady, therefore, shall not be afforded due respect from me!

Steadfast and Loyal

Congressman Allen B West (R-FL)

Wasserman-Schultz is -- provably -- a Marxist hack. She is unconcerned with her constituents and seniors in particular. According to its Chief Actuary, Medicare is set to collapse in just ten short years. Instead of working to save it, this ludicrous excuse for a politician instead demonizes Paul Ryan's courageous plan and the heroic Rep. Allen West.

Instead of working to save Medicare, she intones platitudes like "shared sacrifice", "winning the future" and "giving tax breaks to big oil and millionaires."

Hey, idiot: it's not "big oil and millionaires" that destroyed Medicare: it's you. You're an embarrassment, Debbie. And I can't wait until Allen West is House Speaker; I hope he puts your office in the basement with Melvin and his red stapler.


Hat tip: Ace o' Spades.

Allen West: Obama is General Custer at Our Economic Little Big Horn

If there's a Congressional award for being blunt and truthful, Rep. Allen West has my vote.

We still have no definitive plan for the debt limit coming from the Obama Administration, regardless of the “negotiations” being led by Vice President Joe Biden...

...When President Obama stood with German leader Angela Merkel and stated that he was not concerned about a double dip recession, that made me think the statement would be similar to General George Custer stating to the Troopers of the 7th Calvary at Little Big Horn, “Hey, nothing to worry about.”

One needs only to look at the economic indicators of job growth, quite anemic to say the least, and the fact that the Dow Jones had its sixth straight week of negative slide. These are the first six straight weeks since 2002.

This month the Federal Reserve’s Quantitative Easing (QE II) will come to an end. It means that the federal government has been monetarizing our debt by buying its own treasury bonds, printing more money, and lowering interest rates to rock bottom, yet these steps have not produced any sustainable improvements.

We could seriously be on the verge of an inflationary fiscal environment. And if anyone from the Obama Administration recommends increased Keynesian style stimulus spending, well, let us go back and look at how many stimulus packages Japan initiated.

We are so not out of the woods, and last year’s “Summer of Recovery,” has now turned into the possibility of a dubious and dastardly double dip recession.

I think West is being optimistic. We've never left the economic downturn.

And the administration's devotion to crony capitalism and job-destroying policies are keeping us in the muck and mire.

Allen West Reads Obama the Riot Act on Israel

Since he apparently won't run for president in 2012, I say we make Allen West the Speaker of the House. After all, he's not a crybaby, nor is he a really lousy negotiator like our current version.

Today’s endorsement by President Barack Obama of the creation of a Hamas-led Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders, signals the most egregious foreign policy decision his administration has made to date, and could be the beginning of the end as we know it for the Jewish state.

From the moment the modern day state of Israel declared statehood in 1948, to the end of the 1967 Six Day War, Jews were forbidden access to their holiest site, the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City, controlled by Jordan’s Arab army.

The pre-1967 borders endorsed by President Obama would deny millions of the world’s Jews access to their holiest site and force Israel to return the strategically important Golan Heights to Syria, a known state-sponsor of terrorism.

Resorting to the pre-1967 borders would mean a full withdrawal by the Israelis from the West Bank and the Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem. Make no mistake, there has always been a Nation of Israel and Jerusalem has been and must always be recognized as its rightful capital.

In short, the Hamas-run Palestinian state envisioned by President Obama would be devastating to Israel and the world’s 13.3 million Jews. It would be a Pavlovian style reward to a declared Islamic terrorist organization, and an unacceptable policy initiative.

America should never negotiate with the Palestinian Authority- which has aligned itself with Hamas. Palestine is a region, not a people or a modern state. Based upon Roman Emperor Hadrian's declaration in 73 AD, the original Palestinian people are the Jewish people.

It's time for the American people to stand by our strongest ally, the Jewish State of Israel, and reject this foreign policy blunder of epic proportions.

While the winds of democracy may blow strong in the Middle East, history has demonstrated that gaps in leadership can lead to despotic regimes. I have questions for President Obama: 'Who will now lead in Egypt?' and 'Why should American taxpayers provide foreign aid to a nation where the next chapter in their history may be the emergence of another radical Islamic state?'

President Obama has not stood for Israel or the Jewish people and has made it clear where the United States will stand when Palestine attempts to gain recognition of statehood by the United Nations. The President should focus on the real obstacle to security- the Palestinian leadership and its ultimate goal to eliminate Israel and the Jewish people.”

It sounds like Rep. Allen West (R-FL) knows what really happened in the Middle East.

Quote o' the Day Award Winner: Allen West

Interviewed on The Laura Ingraham Show, Rep. Allen West (R-FL) wins our coveted Quote o' the Day Award.*

On Michelle Obama's military outreach campaign:

"I think it's part and parcel with the fact that you heard the president announce his campaign, getting that kicked off, and of course you have to try to go out there and garner votes from what is a very conservative group of individuals--that's the United States military...

...60 percent of [military] fatalities in Afghanistan have occurred under his [Obama's] presidency... if this was the Bush administration, the media would be screaming bloody murder. But, of course, once again we see the 'Get Out of Jail Free' pass for President Obama."

On Austan Goolsbee's remark that S&P made a "political judgement":

"They don't want to hear the truth. ... They're so used to having the cheering, adoring mainstream media that is nothing more than their own cast of cheerleaders, much the same as an episode of Glee, and that's what they appreciate more than having real individuals sitting back and assessing this economic situation...

...What you continue to see is a third world dictator-like arrogance, that's what I saw in that speech [by Obama] last week. And look, Laura, to borrow a phrase from Reverend Jeremiah Wright, the chickens are coming home to roost...

...This whole talk about shared prosperity--that really gives me the goosebumps because I'm starting to believe that a community organizer is nothing but a low-level socialist agitator.

Wow.

We need more leaders like Allen West. These are statesmen (and women) who truly do speak truth to power. They stand for liberty against an out-of-control administration that can't or won't abide by our nation's highest law.

As an aside, how does a Bachmann-West ticket sound? Or a West-Bachmann ticket? Or a Palin-West ticket? You get the picture.


* At last check, QOTD winners receive two snow tires and a year's supply of Rice-a-Roni ("The San Francisco Treat").

Timeline Illustrates Precisely Why We Need a New Speaker: John Boehner's Profile in Ineptitude

Can someone send a copy of Negotiating for Dummies to Speaker Boehner? Please consider the Speaker's feckless statements and actions over the last several months -- after being handed his position by a huge groundswell of conservative support known as the Tea Party movement.

• 1/7/2011: Boehner Doubles Down On Promise To Cut $100 Billion: "Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) yesterday doubled down on $100 billion in cuts. 'No ifs, ands or buts about it,' he said."

• 2/20/2011: House Approves $61 Billion Spending Cuts, Raising Risk of Federal Shutdown: "Senate Democrats already have said they won’t accept the cuts in the $1.2 trillion spending bill, and Obama’s budget office has threatened a presidential veto. "

• 3/2/2011: Boehner: Compromise Will Trim GOP’s $61 Billion Budget Cuts: "Responding to a question Tuesday about whether he foresees the House ultimately budging from the $61 billion figure, the Ohio Republican did not say that the chamber would hold firm when the Senate returns their proposal, which will likely include less than a $61 billion reduction in spending levels."

• 3/10/2011: Tea Party pressures Boehner in budget battle: "Complaints by Tea Party Republicans have already forced Boehner to almost double the amount of spending cuts proposed this year from $32 billion."

• 4/4/2011: Boehner says $33 billion in cuts is not enough: "I’ve made clear that their $33 billion is not enough and many of the cuts that the White House and Senate Democrats are talking about are full of smoke and mirrors. That’s unacceptable," the Speaker said.

• 4/7/2011: Interviewed on ABC News, Speaker Boehner vows not to shut down the government over a 2011 "continuing resolution" budget impasse: "I've said that 1,000 times since the first of the year. I do not want to shut the government down. I think that is irresponsible." [Ed: As an aside, the government has been shut down numerous times in recent years including a 21-day impasse during the Clinton administration.]

• 4/12/2011: Boehner touts fact that ''Budget Agreement Eliminates Funding for Obama Czars' as a reason to support the continuing resolution budget deal.

• 4/14/2011: Boehner: I’m standing by the $38 billion number: Boehner stands by the $38 billion in cuts, saying that this was really "$78.5 billion less than what the president wanted to spend... [and that he was] very disappointed in [Obama’s] speech yesterday,"

• 4/15/2011: CBO Says Spending Cuts Aren't As Advertised: "The Congressional Budget Office reports that the $38 billion in cuts to the budget for the current fiscal year will actually reduce this year's deficit by only about $352 million."

• 4/16/2011: Boehner’s office is not surprised Obama found a way to circumvent Congress, according to a staffer. A spokesman for Boehner said that the Speaker was not surprised that Obama has chosen to ignore the budget rider eliminating funding for the "Czars".

In other words, Boehner held the trump card -- a partial shutdown of the government -- in his hands and threw it away. Without leverage, he was unable to live up to anything resembling his promises. Promises that the American people support and demand.

As Paul Ryan put it after witnessing the president's hyper-partisan campaign speech on Wednesday, "the gauntlet has been thrown down" by Obama. He's gone all in. The big entitlement programs and the American economic system itself are headed for collapse. That's not what I say. That's what Peter Orszag, Obama's former economic adviser, says: 'If policymakers will not act before we have a fiscal crisis at the federal level, a fiscal crisis we will ultimately have.'

We need a new Speaker of the House. Someone who understands that we're up against true sixties radicals. These are people who want to see the whole society burn down. Because that's where we're headed without a major course correction.

We need a fighter and a competent negotiator. Boehner has proven that he ain't it.

How does Speaker of the House Allen West sound?

Rep. Allen West on the Continuing Resolution Budget Scam: We're kicking the can down the road on the way to economic catastrophe

GOP superstar Rep. Allen West (FL-22) entered the following statement into the Congressional Record earlier today to express his extreme displeasure with the Continuing Resolution. He voted against it, joining

...When my daughter was born in 1993 the Federal Government debt was $4.3 trillion. Just 18 years later, I will shortly be faced with a vote on whether to raise the debt limit to over $15 trillion dollars. When I held my daughter as a baby, I never thought that our nation would be in such financial distress and on its way to a major economic catastrophe.

Over the weekend... I thought even harder about what the United States will be like when she will be my age and what would her son or daughter, my grandchildren, think when they look back in the history books at this critical time in our Republic’s history.

Last November, the citizens of the 22nd Congressional District, and millions of Americans, voted for a new direction for our country. They sent a message to our elected representatives that we needed to end out-of-control government spending, reduce our national debt, and get our fiscal house in order.

The Democrat Majority and President Obama over the last two years have produced deficits of $1.4 and $1.25 trillion, and the President has produced a Budget for Fiscal Year 2012 which would add another $1.6 trillion. The American people know that the federal government is collecting $2.2 trillion and spending $3.7 trillion this year.

The American people know that forty cents of every dollar the federal government spends is borrowed, much of it from China. The American people also know our nation is piling up new debt at the rate of $4 billion a day.

As we are all aware, the 111th Congress was controlled by overwhelming Democrat majorities in the House of Representatives and the United States Senate. Yet even with these enormous majorities, Congress failed to pass a budget or any of the Appropriations bills.

Members of the former Majority Party in the House of Representatives have now resorted to the political rhetoric that the Republican Party is trying to kill women, starve seniors, and the budget deal is the functional equivalent of bombing innocent civilians. They make these statements even after Majority Leader Reid and President Obama recognize that we need to cut federal spending,

This type of political rhetoric is beneath us. We can disagree on the direction we are taking our nation, but let us have a debate on the facts and policies. The American people demand an adult conversation instead of childish name calling.

Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment to briefly summarize my thoughts and votes during the negotiations for the Budget for Fiscal Year 2011. I voted for the first short term Continuing Resolution in the 112th Congress in order to provide Speaker Boehner the necessary time to negotiate with an intransigent United States Senate and White House.

I voted against the second Continuing Resolution because I believed that we were continuing to kick a can down the road, and that the Obama Administration and Members of the Democrat Party wanted to force the Federal Government into a shutdown in order to win political points. It seems their goal is the hope that by shutting down the Federal Government, the American people will perceive an inflexible Republican Party and return the Democrats to power in the next election.

...At the Army Airborne school in 1984 I had a black hat instructor say, “If you set the bar low, you will jump low!” Today, I will be voting against the negotiated agreement because I believe that we set the bar too low and it does not fulfill the promise I made to the constituents of the 22nd Congressional District of Florida. While this bill is a step in the right direction, I am voting against the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2011, H.R. 1473 because it is important for elected leaders to stand by the pledges we make to the American People.

It takes five miles to turn an aircraft carrier, I am pleased, that finally, the Republican Leadership has finally taken control of the helm and begun to turn the wheel. However, I believe we need to turn the wheel a little harder. At this moment in our nation’s history, when the facts are so clear and the political hyperbole is so hollow, my vote reflects that we need more to get our ship of state on the right course.

John Boehner may be a very patriotic citizen, but as a House Speaker he appears slow-witted and fearful of confrontations. When our country is headed right for the fiscal abyss, confrontations are precisely what we need. And the American people will support these fights. Hell, Mr. Speaker, why do you think we're calling you Mr. Speaker? And this ain't 1995, Karl Rove.

I salute Allen West, Michele Bachmann, Steve King, and the other House Republicans who opposed this historic scam. The time to fight is now. Door-to-door. Every block, every manhole cover. We must fight!

And, unlike the radical Marxist Left, we really are doing it for the children.

Epic Fail: John Boehner's $14.7B capitulation

Question: When is $100B in budget cuts actually less than $15B?

Answer: When a feckless House leadership gets played like a cheap accordion.

Remember that $100 billion in 2011 spending cuts the Republican minority promised to enact last October if they were able to regain control of the House?

During the recent midterm elections campaign, Republican leaders pledged to reduce non-entitlement spending by a whopping $100 billion.

“The Republican leadership has committed to this $100 billion cut,” says Brian Riedl, lead budget analyst for the Heritage Foundation. “I expect them to do everything in their power to enact it. They’re on the record, they ran on this, and if it’s brushed aside there would be harsh political consequences.”

There should be. Because, as it turns out, the "harsh, draconian" cuts that Speaker John Boehner negotiated last Friday weren't $100 billion or even the $38 billion figure that the Beltway insiders gleefully advertised.

The full extent of the budget deal reached late Friday did not become clear until today "after congressional aides worked all weekend and all day Monday to shape a detailed spending plan based on the framework that Obama and congressional leaders agreed to Friday," the Washington Post reports... "In several cases, what look like large reductions are actually accounting gimmicks."

National Journal: "The specifics show that finding nearly $40 billion in cuts during the 2011 fiscal year required clever accounting and, for the White House, a willingness to concede on rhetoric to find gains on substance. For example, the final cuts in the deal are advertised as $38.5 billion less than was appropriated in 2010, but after removing rescissions, cuts to reserve funds and reductions in mandatory spending programs, discretionary spending will be reduced only by $14.7 billion."

Let's recap.

Over the last two years, the Republicans -- Boehner and Cantor especially -- were treated like dirt by the Democrats. They were locked out of important policy debates, they were refused the opportunity to introduce amendments, and they had brutal bills like Cap-and-Trade and Obamacare slammed down their throats.

Furthermore, President Obama and the Democrats have set this country on a course for fiscal ruin.

The time for negotiation is long since past, yet the cowardly RINO leaders insist on "working with President Obama".

In the most recent case, Boehner held a nuclear weapon: a partial government shutdown. It was a weapon that has been used at least a dozen times in the recent past. Yet, right up front, Boehner told anyone who would listen that he would never shut down the government. Which meant he had no power in his "negotiations" with the radical Leftists who now control the Democrat Party.

And he got played.

$15 billion in cuts when $100 billion was promised? When the country is headed for a complete economic catastrophe?

We need a new Speaker of the House. Someone who will live up to their word. Someone like Michele Bachmann or Allen West.


Update: Budget deal includes cut of $226 million border fence at suggestion of Obama administration

Update II: A Scam of a Budget Deal.


Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Blunt Opinions on the 2012 GOP Presidential Field

In 2008 I learned my lesson: it's never too early to start examining GOP presidential candidates and to offer my take on winners and losers. The last thing we need in 2012 is an incoherent ('Heh, my friends...'), wish-washy "maverick" who is unmoored from the Constitution.

So I'm sure this take is going to piss off a lot of folks. Tough.

In reverse order of desirability -- using the 10-point must system -- the field is:

Jon Huntsman [1 point] - Who? The former ambassador to China, appointed by Barack Obama, was the media's attempt at marketing a Republican presidential nominee. His liberal track record, combined with his Obama affiliation, make him a non-starter for anyone right of Kathy Griffin.

Ron Paul [1 point] - The once-obscure Texas Congressman has made headlines over the last few years with his attempts to audit the Federal Reserve (okay), his Leftist youth supporters (not okay), his isolationist foreign policies (really not okay), and his tacit acceptance of 9/11 Trutherism (absolutely unacceptable). Echoing Dennis Kucinich's calls for Obama's impeachment (over a supposed violation of the unconstitutional "War Powers Act" - MP3) seals the deal.

Donald Trump [2 points] - The uber-successful real estate tycoon appears to have a single mission: promoting the Donald. His campaign contributions to Chuck Schumer, Anthony Weiner and other Leftists are troubling on their own. But combined with his refusal to entertain questions from conservative media, his campaign has the makings of a publicity stunt, not the effort of a serious GOP candidate.

Mike Huckabee [2 points] - Sorry, folks, but Huckabee is -- in the words of Ann Coulter -- "the evangelical liberals like." In 2008 Huckabee was marketed by the media in ways no real conservative would have ever enjoyed. Why? Because Huckabee was unelectable in the general election, seeing as how his prior positions were largely indistinguishable from those of Barack Obama. His awful track record on illegal immigration, global warming, higher taxes, crime and parole are, to say the least, ominous. Constitutional conservative? Hardly.

Chris Christie [3 points] - The New Jersey governor has the best YouTube cameraman in the business following him around. His candid exchanges with teachers and other union members are posted immediately on the video-sharing website and have garnered widespread attention. Receiving less attention, however, is his odd refusal to join the 30 states fighting Obamacare in the courts. Then add in his past support for global warming legislation, gun control, amnesty for illegal aliens, and erstwhile RINOs Mike Castle and Meg Whitman. To make matters worse, Christie recently launched thinly veiled attacks on Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann and Rush Limbaugh. The governor has some wonderful YouTube moments, but he appears to be miles way from the kind of conservative that Reagan would have embraced.

Mitch Daniels [4 points] - We don't know if Indiana's popular governor is running or not, but one would certainly expect an attempt. Daniels is marketed as a "Reagan Republican", but he joined that administration very late in the game and served as a key aide to RINO Dick Lugar for many years. In his speech at CPAC, Daniels' split-brained message suggested that conservatives abandon social principles to concentrate on fiscal issues. Uhm, why? And his bizarre advocacy of VAT taxes and cuts in defense spending should trouble every Republican.

Newt Gingrich [5 points] - Is there a smarter candidate from either party than the former Speaker? I think not. But even putting aside his bumbling campaign kickoff, Gingrich's well-documented personal foibles and collaboration with Nancy Pelosi on 'climate change' advocacy are problematic indeed.

Tim Pawlenty [5 points] - The Minnesota governor is, in on the national scene, somewhat of a cipher. Minnesotans know, however, that T-Paw supported boondoggles like light rail, universal health care, price controls for drugs, 'green energy' programs, a Sharia-compliant home ownership program and the use of stimulus money to facilitate rampant deficit spending. On the plus side, he's offered consistent, strong support for immigration enforcement.

Haley Barbour [5 points] - The Mississippi Governor is ineligible to run for another term in his state. A social and fiscal conservative, Barbour's main problem is his lengthy career as a lobbyist and political operative. Update: 'So Long, Haley.'

Herman Cain [6 points] - A highly successful businessman, Cain is credited with helping to defeat Hillarycare, the Clinton administration's run at socialized medicine. A Tea Party favorite, Cain appears to have true conservative credentials but is largely unknown outside of the cognoscenti.

Rand Paul [7 points] - The newly elected Senator from Kentucky appears to be a true Constitutional conservative. He's been brave enough, for example, to offer massive budget cuts -- in the trillions -- to address the catastrophic Pelosi-Obama-Reid budget deficit. His most problematic issue is one that plagues his father: an isolationist foreign policy that seems to downplay the threats that America faces around the globe.

Rick Santorum [7 points] - The former Senator from Pennsylvania is a social conservative who has been rock solid on illegal immigration. He helped lead the successful 1996 Welfare Reform Act, assisted in exposing the abuse of the Congressional Bank, supported Mitt Romney over John McCain in 2008, and consistently backed a robust armed forces effort against Islamofascism. One negative mark: losing his reelection campaign in 2006, though a concerted national Democrat and legacy media effort contributed mightily to his loss.

Mitt Romney [7 points] - The 2008 Presidential candidate has but one major issue dogging him: his Massachusetts version of Obamacare, which has proven much more costly and much less efficient than anticipated. A former missionary and successful businessman, Romney has proven to be a solid executive, helping to rescue the troubled 2002 Olympiad from fiscal ruin and transforming it into a profitable venture.

John Bolton [8 points] - the former Ambassador to the United Nations, Bolton is a foreign policy expert and an eloquent advocate for a strong national security posture. Having served in the Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 administrations, Bolton seems to embrace true "Constitutional conservative" principles that underpin his personal philosophy.

Michele Bachmann [9 points] - The first female Republican elected to Congress by Minnesotans, Bachmann has a strong conservative track record. The founder of the Tea Party Caucus opposed the bank bailouts, socialized medicine, global warming and/or climate change (whatever it's called these days), the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, and other Democrat initiatives that threaten the Constitution. Her outspoken support for conservative values have made her a Tea Party favorite.

Sarah Palin [10 points] - John McCain's 2008 running mate was the target of some of the most vicious character assassination attempts in modern political history. After an exceptional track record as a local official, mayor, and then governor, Palin was tarred as "inexperienced" and "stupid", though her resume far surpassed that of the Democrat presidential candidate. Post-election, a series of 18 frivolous lawsuits, most launched by Democrat political operatives, threatened to bankrupt her and her family. She resigned the governorship and began raising money for Tea Party-backed conservative candidates in 2010, arguably becoming the primary rainmaker in the historic GOP landslide. Palin's charismatic appeal, plain-spoken American values and love of country make her a favorite for conservatives and a huge target for Democrats and legacy media, who appear terrified by her amazing popularity.

Others: Marco Rubio and Allen West would be conservative favorites if they ever decide to throw their hats in the ring. At this point, it seems they will serve Florida in the Senate and House, respectively.

Who did I miss? Where was I off-base? Let the flame-wars begin!


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