The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog

Jeb Bush

Posted by W. James Antle, III on 1.6.09 @ 3:40PM

The word seems to be that he's not running for Senate in Florida. Not only does that take the strongest Republican candidate off the table in that particular race but it also could dampen recruitment for other races. Being able to attract a big name like Jeb Bush might entice other big names to run as Republicans in 2010. Maybe his dad embarrassed him.

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15 Seconds in Sderot

Posted by Philip Klein on 1.6.09 @ 2:02PM

This video of Israeli children dancing the "Hokey Pokey" one second and sprinting for cover the next, is a haunting example of how the every day lives of southern Israelis are disrupted by regular rocket attacks. Even though Israeli efforts to protect their civilians limit the casualties inflicted by the rockets, they still create terror. American liberals like Josh Marshall have labeled Hamas a "distraction." Try telling that to the children in this video.

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The Anti-Blackwell Brigade

Posted by W. James Antle, III on 1.6.09 @ 1:23PM

Jim Geraghty has been trying to figure out who is behind an anonymous hit on RNC chairman candidate Ken Blackwell and includes Ohio Republicans on his list of suspects. Blackwell has long been hated by members of his state party establishment for the same reasons many conservatives like him. And there are other Republicans, some of them Blackwell admirers, who worry that his strategy for Republican success is too close to what worked in 2004 but failed in 2006, including in his own gubernatorial race. It remains to be seen whether his Conservative Resurgence Plan will allay those concerns or not.

Though while we're on the subject of Blackwell, bloggers, and conservative credentials, I might as well say this: Blackwell's reported 1976 vote for Jimmy Carter is now as far in the past as Ronald Reagan's 1948 vote for Harry Truman was in 1980. A lot of reliable Reagan coalition members, including Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, voted Democratic in 1976. I think we can stop holding it against him.

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Free Paul Jacob

Posted by Doug Bandow on 1.6.09 @ 12:38PM

Oklahoma has taken the lead in attempting to criminalize political differences. The state is notoriously difficult for third parties seeking ballot access. Now state Attorney General Drew Edmondson, reputed to be yet another gubernatorial wanna-bee, is trying to use criminal indictments to shut down initiative campaigns. Paul Jacob, a long-time leader in the fight to limit politicians' terms, cut taxes, and reduce spending, and two others have spent more than a year under criminal indictment for having the temerity to ask Oklahoma citizens to sign a petition to place a tax and budget limitation measure on the ballot. He deserves the support of liberals as well as conservatives and libertarians, since what he was engaged in involve both free speech and the right to petition government.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette recently editorialized:

THE NAME Paul Jacob will be familiar to folks who followed the struggle to get term limits adopted in Arkansas. For he pretty much led it. An Arkansas boy, he went national as head of U.S. Term Limits and now runs an outfit called Citizens in Charge. It seems he's never outgrown his need to put the people, not the politicians, in control of government. One needn't agree with his ideas to admire his commitment-or defend his right to express them.

But anyone so interested in reform was bound to rile an establishment with an overweening sense of entitlement. So when Mr. Jacob and his merry band of reformers showed up in Oklahoma, they naturally attracted the attention of Drew Edmondson, that state's attorney (and zealot) general.

This time Paul Jacob and company were gathering signatures for a proposal that would have limited legislators' power to spend, spend, spend. Their reward for this show of civic interest? Mr. Jacob and his fellow signature-gatherers, Rick Carpenter and Susan Johnson, were indicted.

The charge? Being part of a criminal conspiracy, to wit democracy. Or as General Edmondson phrased it, attempting to defraud the state by hiring folks from outside Oklahoma to help them gather signatures. Even if according to Paul Jacob, they sought signatures only from duly registered Oklahomans.

"The attorney general's office," to quote Mr. Jacob, "is well aware that the people who pursued this petition drive on the ground went to state officials first, asked them what the rules were and followed their advice. And they were told that as long as someone is residing in the state for the duration of the petition drive, that's residency."

No matter. Mr. Jacobs and friends were indicted anyway. Welcome to Oklahoma.

For more information on the case go to Paul's website. Everyone expects the courts to eventually toss out the case, but he needs our support to ensure that happens.

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Israel and Its Own Civilians

Posted by Philip Klein on 1.6.09 @ 12:18PM

As the debate continues to rage about the number of civilian casualties on both sides, one aspect of the story isn't receiving enough attention. Supporters of Israel have rightly noted IDF efforts to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza and pointed out that Hamas leaders purposely hide themselves and their arsenals among civilians, who are used as human shields to give Israel pause, or alternatively, to gain propaganda victories from civilian deaths. Less focus has been given to explaining that one of the main reasons that the death toll is relatively low on the Israeli side is that Israel goes to great lengths to protect its own civilians. Every building in Israel must be equiped with a bomb shelter and they have developed an alert system to warncivilians about incoming rocket fire. The IDF has a Homefront Command branch specifically dedicated to coordinating civil defense and educating the public about what to do in the event of a given attack. Furthermore, if any Israelis are injured, the nation has developed among the best emergency response medical services in the world. So, putting this together, if you have one side that puts its energy into protecting its own civilians and another side that tries to keep its civilians in harm's way -- even putting aside the variable that one party has a more powerful military -- it isn't surprising to see more casualties among the Palestinians than the Israelis.

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No Admission for Burris

Posted by W. James Antle, III on 1.6.09 @ 11:48AM

Roland Burris was denied entry to the Senate floor today as he tried to take the Illinois Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama. If the Republicans tried something similar with a distinguished African-American politician who would be the only black senator, they'd surely be compared to Democrat George Wallace standing in the schoolhouse door. As I write today in my column on the main site, Bobby Rush may make sure Harry Reid doesn't get off any easier.

As Doug notes below, the Democratic leadership has tipped its hand with a possible compromise that's being floated in the press: they might be willing to seat Burris if he agrees not to run in the 2010 election. This suggests that some Democratic senators are more worried that Burris wouldn't be able to hold the seat in two years than about the taint of Rod Blagojevich's appointment. (Not that Illinois Democrats have had any problems voting against Burris in primaries in recent years.) There is also the possibility that they will ask Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn to endorse the appointment to lessen the taint.

The speculation that the Democrats might allow Burris to serve as a placeholder for two years but not run in the 2010 election comes after reports that Harry Reid lobbied against appointing Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., Congressman Danny Davis, or State Senate President Emil Jones, who are all black. His preferences were Attorney General Lisa Madigan and former congressional candidate and Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth, who are not black.

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A Scam So Easy A Caveman Could Run It

1.6.09 @ 11:37AM

Cartoon: Early Democrats

From NewsBusters, NASA's Hansen to Obama: Use Global Warming to Redistribute Wealth.

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Panetta and Interrogation

Posted by Philip Klein on 1.6.09 @ 11:28AM

It's being widely reported that the reason for the bizarre appointment of Leon Panetta to lead the CIA was his opposition to aggressive interrogation, whereas other more experienced candidates were in some way linked to the Bush administration's interrogation policies. Whatever the moral and practical arguments are against such interrogation methods, it seems awfully dangerous to apply such a rigid litmus test on that one issue, and take a risk on somebody with no intelligence background. The Sept. 11 attacks and the Iraq War arose out of major intelligence failures, demonstrating the glaring need for somebody competent in charge of the CIA who actually has real world experience in these matters, not just a Democratic Party loyalist who has a cozy relationship with the incoming president.

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Obama and Gaza

Posted by Philip Klein on 1.6.09 @ 11:13AM

As the Gaza situation enters its 11th day, Barack Obama finally says something -- sort of:

"Obviously, international affairs are of deep concern. With the situation in Gaza, I've been getting briefed every day. I've had consistentconversations with members of the current administration about what's taking place. That will continue. I will continue to insist that when it comes to foreign affairs, it is particularly important to adhere to the principle of one president at a time, because there are delicate negotiations taking place right now and we can't have two voices coming out of the United States when you have so much at stake."

How difficult would it be for Obama to reiterate his proclaimed support for Israel's right to defend itself and place the blame for the crisis on Hamas, as President Bush has? How would that affect delicate negotiations at all? This is an early indication that perhaps he doesn't really believe his campaign's overtures to the pro-Israel community.

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Che

Posted by J. Peter Freire on 1.6.09 @ 10:02AM

Ericka Andersen goes a little further than most when she bravely asks a liberal friend what is up with the Che fetish. The friend answers:

Che was a doctor who took a trip on his bike all around SA and worked as a volunteer in a rudimentary jungle hospital in Sao Paolo, Brazil and later decided to change his life goal from being a physician to being a revolutionary in the name of the voiceless…

He is the symbol of outrageous bravery who said "Shoot, coward, you’re only going to kill a man" right before he was executed and who believed in the immortality of the revolution to save the masses of unequal citizens.

He and Castro killed many too, but they did it for an ideal, a belief that many Liberals accepted and preferred to imperialism deaths. He traveled and spent his life, truly to fight for what he believe was right, equality of the people and his image is now ubiquitous…

Equality of the people... to be shot in front of a wall for being gay? Or to starve?

The left has a morbid fascination with mass murderers, to be sure. Che, Fidel, Chavez, Lenin have all received plaudits on account of their tireless struggle for "equality," that is, "equality" of everyone else. Do all liberals feel this way? Maybe it's just a majority. But I'm surprised there's no chill effect. If Tom Cruise's latest flick, Valkyrie, were sympathetic to Hitler, and showed how Hitler was really just a courageous man who wanted to bring Germany back to its former glory, the directors would never heard the end of it (and rightly so!). Yet what was different about Hitler? He, like Che, sought to extermine those he deemed unfit. They both did so systematically. The difference is that one had a fondness for open collars and cigars, while the other one was big on Wagner.

People who speak well of Pinochet on the right usually make sure to put it in the context of how he was also a dictator and human rights violator. But the dialogue from the left rarely gets into the messy details of Che's life -- they just prefer to ignore the bad parts and portray it as all unicorn giggles and sparkles.

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Roland Burris: So Much for Principle!

Posted by Doug Bandow on 1.6.09 @ 8:47AM

Remember all that talk by the Democrats about how they were worried about the "tainted" appointment process for Barack Obama's Senate seat. When it comes to Roland Burris, it appears that they have other considerations in mind--like holding the seat in the next election. I am shocked, shocked ... .

Reports the Associated Press:

Democrats privately expressed concern that Burris would not be able to hold the seat in a special election that must be held in 2010. Reid has denied that political calculations are involved, but one Democratic official suggested that one potential outcome would be for Burris to be seated and pledge to retire in 2010.

Lynn Sweet makes the same point in the Chicago Sun-Times:

This brings me to why Burris will be much closer to a deal if he takes himself out of the 2010 contest. The Senate leaders want someone in the seat who has an excellent chance to win it in the next election.

Makes you proud to be an American!

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She Said, She Said

Posted by Robert Stacy McCain on 1.6.09 @ 7:00AM

Does the feminist ideal of gender equality lead to gay marriage? Yes, says Helen Rittelmeyer:

Gender differences matter; men and women are not equivalent; gay marriage pretends that they are, and so reinforces a falsehood that’s already dangerously prevalent. . . . Don’t be fooled when feminists say that they want equality, not sameness. It may sound like a concession, but it isn’t one. . . . The very fact that people think of hetero- and homosexuality as inflexible sexual preferences tells us that gender isn’t just any characteristic, but a fundamental one.

Traditional marriage is based on the assumption that men and women are different in complementary ways, so that their union forms an integral whole. If, as feminists claim to believe, men and women are essentially the same, then the notion of complementarity is invalid, and it doesn't matter whether you marry a man or a woman.

The centrality of gender difference to the marriage debate was discussed Monday by Eve Tushnet.

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Second Amendment Paradise

Posted by Doug Bandow on 1.6.09 @ 5:38AM

When I visited Pakistan several years ago I was struck by how every business seemed to have an armed guard. In Lahore the Pizzeria Uno had three armed guards in front. The doorman held a shotgun in his right hand as he opened the door with his left hand. Even the McDonald's had a fellow with an AK-47 sitting on a folding chair in front. Imagine blathering on to these people about gun control!

Now the Wall Street Journal reports that gun ownership is spreading throughout the middle class. When the government can't, or won't, protect you, what other choice do you have?

Reports the Journal:

After escaping kidnappers who chained him to a bed for 25 days, Mohammad Javed Afridi pressed Pakistani law enforcement for swift justice. The police offered him something else: temporary permits for four automatic assault rifles.

Since Mr. Afridi's ordeal ended in mid-October, police in his hometown of Peshawar, in northwestern Pakistan, haven't made an arrest in his case. They raided the kidnappers' hide-out, but the captors got away, a senior Peshawar police official says.

So the cops allowed Mr. Afridi to arm himself against future abductions. The 35-year-old journalist now carries an AK-47 to work and back home to his wife and five children. Relatives rotate duty as his bodyguards. If his car is again stopped by armed men on a dark road, Mr. Afridi vows to shoot first.

"I'm not going through that again," he said in an interview in this city in northeastern Pakistan.

Guns have long been part of Pakistan's traditional culture, especially in the rugged northwestern part of the country. Handed down through generations, rifles have been used for hunting and for firing celebratory fusillades. Now, however, modern assault rifles and handguns have come into vogue among middle-class Pakistanis, and gun registration has jumped.

And the Left thinks it is bad here!

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Re: RNC Rumble

Posted by Robert Stacy McCain on 1.6.09 @ 4:27AM

Phil, I don't know whether it's Seasonal Affective Disorder or what, but when I got back from the RNC chairman's debate, I was so sleepy I had to take a four-hour nap. At any rate, I did a round-up post at my blog, including this video clip of Michigan GOP chairman Saul Anuzis in a post-debate interview: