Palin Plots Her Next Move

It's this week's cover story at Newsweek (via Memeorandum):

It's a fluffy, upbeat piece, and the photos will be splashed at airports and supermarket checkout stands nationwide, just as "The Undefeated" documentary premieres. This will drive progressives crazy. I can see Steve Benen now, incredulous that a "half-term governor" should get so much attention. And well, that's the basis if her appeal right there. Finally we have a national figure who's just one of us, unpretentious and willing to fight. I'd say it's providence, although we heard enough of that "Lightworker" stuff from the Obama cult in 2008. Palin's down to earth, and just what America needs. I hope she makes up her mind soon.

The Republican Party May No Longer Be a Normal Party

And that should be a good thing, except that David Brooks is arguing that the GOP is missing an historic opportunity to balance the budget, if only it would compromise on closing tax loopholes, etc., and so forth. At New York Times, "The Mother of All No-Brainers":

A normal Republican Party would seize the opportunity to put a long-term limit on the growth of government. It would seize the opportunity to put the country on a sound fiscal footing. It would seize the opportunity to do these things without putting any real crimp in economic growth.

The party is not being asked to raise marginal tax rates in a way that might pervert incentives. On the contrary, Republicans are merely being asked to close loopholes and eliminate tax expenditures that are themselves distortionary.

This, as I say, is the mother of all no-brainers.

But we can have no confidence that the Republicans will seize this opportunity. That’s because the Republican Party may no longer be a normal party. Over the past few years, it has been infected by a faction that is more of a psychological protest than a practical, governing alternative.

The members of this movement do not accept the logic of compromise, no matter how sweet the terms. If you ask them to raise taxes by an inch in order to cut government by a foot, they will say no. If you ask them to raise taxes by an inch to cut government by a yard, they will still say no.

The members of this movement do not accept the legitimacy of scholars and intellectual authorities. A thousand impartial experts may tell them that a default on the debt would have calamitous effects, far worse than raising tax revenues a bit. But the members of this movement refuse to believe it.

The members of this movement have no sense of moral decency. A nation makes a sacred pledge to pay the money back when it borrows money. But the members of this movement talk blandly of default and are willing to stain their nation’s honor.

David Brooks is a the left's token big government conservative, and there's some icing on the cake there, as he's operating from the hallowed perches of the New York Times. What's interesting is how this story remained on top at Memeorandum all day yesterday, with progressives weighing in on Brooks' righteousness, and even Megan McArdle agreeing with the notion of some kind of crazed GOP party cult. I can't speak on the budget negotiations, because I'm not in the least convinced that anything the administration and Congress do will make the slightest difference regarding the long term fiscal balance sheet (think entitlement reform). What we need is growth. With a growing economy and a robust job sector we'll begin to pay down the debt as long as nothing else screws things up, like a lousy momentary policy (and Democrat housing policy). Anyway, I'll try to read up a bit anyway, and update with something more knowledgeable. Here I'm mostly ranting at how David Brooks once again shows his true colors as the favorite RINO of the moment.

Jewish Conservatives and the New Media

From Benyamin Korn, at Jewish Telegraphic Agency, "Jews becoming commonplace in conservative ‘new media’."

The piece mentions just about everyone. Andrew Breitbart is Jewish, and so is Tammy Bruce, which I didn't know.

Interesting.

Hat Tip: Israel Matzav.

Suffolk University Poll: Bachmann Gains in New Hampshire; Minnesota Congresswoman Tops Field as 'Most Conservative'

Fox News has a write up, "Poll Shows Bachmann Gaining Momentum Among NH GOP Voters." Mitt Romney is by far the GOP frontrunner in New Hampshire, but as other media outlets are stressing, Michele Bachmann comes on strong in the survey, surging 8 points in favorability since May. The Suffolk press report is here, and the poll data here. What I liked best is that Bachmann beats out the field as the "most conservative" candidate in the race. Bachmann was most conservative at 15 percent, followed by Ron Paul with 13 percent, and Romney at 11 percent. The rest of the candidates were in single digits, and the roster includes big name personalities such as Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum. Bachmann's had a big week. One of the indicators of that is how aggressively the Democrat-Media-Complex has been trying to take her down.

There's a whole string of threads on Bachmann at Memeorandum, and just now the San Francisco Chronicle's Mark Morford (who announced that Barack Obama was the "Lightworker" in 2008) has weighed in with the latest misogynistic sleaze attack on the congresswoman, "Michele Bachmann, Hell's Barbie":

Yes, Michele Bachmann is running for president. Michele Bachmann, fundamentalist Christian zealot, paranoid isolationist, lowbrow conspiracy theorist, heavily shellacked automaton, anti-choice anti-gay anti-everything neo-Stepford throwback and easily the flat-out nuttiest female ever to raise a hugely depressing $13 million for her clumsy campaign launch, Michele wants to lead us all to salvation.

It's been a week of virtually non-stop attacks like this. No doubt Bachmann's sending shivers down the spine of the progressive establishment. And that's on the left. Will the GOP embrace Bachmann as well, or would Beltway insiders prefer a McCain 2.0 over the Iowa-born congressional upstart?

The GOP needs a conservative candidate. And while Sarah Palin may still enter the race, Michelle Bachmann's making all the right moves, and getting some well-deserved recognition among potential voters.

RELATED: At National Journal, "Is There a 'Generic Republican' to Beat Obama in the Polls?"And the discussion with Gretchen Carlson on Fox & Friends this morning:

Romney, Bachmann Lead Republican Field in Iowa

At Des Moines Register, "Iowa Poll: Romney, Bachmann lead Republican pack":

Two-time candidate Mitt Romney and tea party upstart Michele Bachmann are neck and neck leading the pack, and retired pizza chief Herman Cain is in third place in a new Des Moines Register Iowa Poll of likely participants in the state’s Republican presidential caucuses.

The results are bad news for the earnest Tim Pawlenty, a former Minnesota governor who is in single digits despite a full-throttle campaign.

Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and business executive, claims 23 percent, and Bachmann, a Minnesota congresswoman and evangelical conservative, garners 22 percent. Neither has done heavy lifting in Iowa.

The rest of the Republican field is at least 12 points behind them.

Bachmann's lit a fire on the prairie. She's the one to watch.

Michele Bachmann Makes Formal Presidential Announcement in Waterloo, Iowa

At New York Times, "Bachmann Is In, Officially" (via Mememorandum).

My Fox Chicago has video and text of the speech, "Michele Bachmann's Presidential Announcement Speech."

Andrew Breitbart is New York Times' Blogger Provocateur

Well, he should be. He's declared war on the Democrat-Media-Complex.

See, "The Right’s Blogger Provocateur."

The Other McCain responds: "The Semi-Smear."

Below, as promised, is the video from the Breitbart talk in Newport Beach. And buy a copy of Righteous Indignation here.

'Courage, New Hampshire' Premiers Sunday

At Hollywood Reporter, "Tea Partiers Create Their Own TV Show and Production Company (Exclusive)."

Also at Big Government, "‘Courage, New Hampshire’: Tea Party’s Shot Across Liberal Hollywood’s Bow." It's playing at the Krikorian Theater in Monrovia, but tickets are sold out. The program's going to DVD, so something to keep to look forward to.

No doubt. WaPo's Rachel Weiner concurs, "Can liberals start their own tea party?" (via Memeorandum).

Breitbart Responds

On Twitter last night, when I tweeted him the news that Netroots Nation will hold its 2012 conference in Providence, RI., where organizers got a "no compete clause" from the convention center and hotels, which would prevent Right Online from holding a parallel meeting simultaneously. See Legal Insurrection, "Confirmed – Netroots Nation 2012 Chose Providence To Keep RightOnline Away."

And coincidentally, I finished Breitbart's book yesterday, Righteous Indignation: Excuse Me While I Save the World! I was almost through with it, and got busy with something else. And I'm also reading a bunch of other stuff, but I came back to finish Righteous Indignation after the Breitbart meetup, which was cool (remember, he'd just gotten back from the Weiner confessional press conference). Anyway, I'll have more to say on the book. If you're a conservative activist, it's almost of Biblical importance.

RELATED: From Joy McCann, at The Conservatory, "More on the Right Online-Netroots Nation Interactions."

Republican Party Splitting Over U.S. Role in Libya

I don't think Obama's Libyan war violates the War Powers Act, but unlike my fellow neocons, I'm more reserved in my support for the NATO campaign against Gaddafi. Recall Victor Davis Hanson's essay at the start of the war, "A Middle East Policy in Shambles." Completely ad hoc, and spineless too, it's hard to get excited about this, especially since Afghanistan (and Pakistan) remains the central danger point in U.S. international affairs.

Anyway, I think my concerns are not unfamiliar among the wider conservative establishment. Michele Bachmann, in particular, seemed to impart the sense that America's a bit overextended at the moment. See, LAT, "GOP splitting over U.S. role in Libya and Afghanistan":

Republicans are facing a widening fissure over the U.S. role on the world stage as party leaders decide whether to confront President Obama this week over his policy toward Libya.

House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and other congressional Republican leaders have said that U.S. involvement in NATO's bombing campaign, which hit the 90-day mark Sunday, violates the War Powers Act. The House could seek to cut off money for the war as it takes up the annual Pentagon spending bill this week.

Several of the party's potential presidential candidates have called for the U.S. to quit the fight in Libya and questioned the depth of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan.

Other Republicans have begun pushing back, criticizing what they see as a growing isolationist agenda within the party. The result is that Republicans, once relatively unified on foreign policy issues, now have a division that parallels the long-standing split in Democratic ranks.

The debate was on public display Sunday as two of the GOP's leading figures on defense and foreign policy, Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, criticized Republican presidential hopefuls and congressional leaders who question the country's military intervention around the world.

"There has always been an isolationist strain in the Republican Party," McCain said on ABC's "This Week," "but now it seems to have moved more center stage.... That is not the Republican Party that has been willing to stand up for freedom for people all over the world."

Graham said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that any debate over cutting funding for the Libya war would encourage resistance by Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi. "Congress should sort of shut up," he said.

McCain and Graham also criticized former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who's leading in the polls for the party's presidential nomination, for referring to the fighting in Afghanistan as a "war for independence" that the U.S. should leave to others.

"I wish that candidate Romney and all the others would sit down" with U.S. commanders "and understand how this counter-insurgency is working and succeeding," McCain said.

Romney was one of several presidential hopefuls who, in last week's Republican candidate debate, focused criticism on U.S. military operations in Libya and Afghanistan. None took the sort of hawkish positions that McCain advocated during his presidential run in 2008.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), for example, questioned what U.S. interest is at stake in Libya. "We were not attacked," Bachmann said. "We were not threatened with attack. There was no vital national interest."

Congratulations to William Jacobson and the New Legal Insurrection!

If you've kept up with Legal Insurrection in recent months, William has mentioned periodically that he was shifting to the Wordpress platform. There's been a rollout this week at the old blog. And the new one went live sometime earlier today. It's one of the nicest switch-overs I've seen.

William's got his regular Saturday Night Card Game up, as well as an audio clip of Rush Limbaugh reading his recent post smacking down progressive lies about how the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher "dissed" Sarah Palin: "Rush reads LI post about Sarah Palin and Margaret Thatcher."

That's a pretty nice timing for the new blog. Congratulations:

EXTRA: And did you know Ann Althouse will also have a new blog soon? She's even got a Swedish domain: "Althou.se."

The big question: Will it be sweeter than the new Legal Insurrection? Inquiring minds want to know.

Rick Perry Energizes Conservatives in New Orleans

I just don't that much about him, so we'll see.

There's video at RealClearPolitics, and he sounds great. Love the accent.

And at CNN, "Perry wows at Republican conference amid 2012 buzz" (via Memeorandum).

As speculation mounts about his presidential ambitions, Texas Gov. Rick Perry delivered a rousing and unapologetic defense of conservative principles on Saturday at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans.

Perry repeatedly brought an audience of hundreds of Republican activists to their feet with a small government message reminiscent of the one that helped him win an unprecedented third term as governor last November.

Perry said there is "too much spending, too much interfering and too much apologizing" in Washington.

"Stand up!," Perry thundered. "Let's speak with pride about our morals and our values and redouble our effort to elect more conservative Republicans. Let's stop this American downward spiral!"

See also New Orleans Times-Picayune, "Rick Perry sounds every bit a candidate at Republican Leadership Conference." (More at Memeorandum.)

Michele Bachmann Glittered at Right Online

I found the clip at Instapundit, " Failed glitter attack on Michele Bachmann."

But see also, Gay Patriot, "Throwing glitter rather than debating gay marriage":

Yeah, well, throwing stuff is a lot easier than acknowledging your adversary’s points and countering them with well-thought out arguments.

But check the whole thing. Lots more links.

But the thing I notice at the video, is how easily the protester is able to get to Michele Bachmann. When I first saw Bachmann speak at Knott's Berry Farm in January 2010, she had a staff aide or body guard keeping people away, and she left quickly after making her speech. At this year's Horowitz retreat, however, she was meeting and greeting all the guests and taking pictures, etc. I imagine the ambience was like that at Right Online, being around a bunch of fellow partisans, but there are no metal detectors at these big conferences, and it's scary to think what could very well happen unless she's better protected by security.

Right Online Blogging

It's not me doing the blogging, but Robert Stacy McCain, who brings us a brief Breitbart interview:

RELATED: At The Hill, "A weekend of conservative courtship."

Added: The Blog Prof is reporting: "From the Right Online Conference This Weekend in Minneapolis."

Michele Bachmann Jumps Into 2012 White House Race

Wednesday night's interview with Sean Hannity:

Debate Boosts Bachmann

Stokin'.

At USA Today, "Debate showing elevates Bachmann to higher tier":

"This is really her first introduction to the voters of New Hampshire and I think she made a really good impression," says Kevin Smith, executive director of a conservative advocacy group, Cornerstone Action, which is affiliated with the Tea Party movement. "Most people thought maybe she was just a clone of Sarah Palin, and what I think they saw was that she was more articulate than Palin is and probably has a better grasp of the issues."

Also, at ABC News, "Coming Off Strong Debate Michele Bachmann Takes the High Road."

Michele Bachmann Enters Presidential Race

At Bloomberg, "Tea Party Favorite Bachmann Enters Republican Presidential Race."

And New York Times, "Bachmann Announces Presidential Candidacy."

L.A. Times: California GOP Must Reinvent Itself to Survive

See, "To Survive, State GOP Must Reinvent Itself":

With the unveiling of the state's new political boundaries last week, California Republicans are contemplating their very survival: Without a course correction, they could be headed for the wilderness.

Drawn for the first time by an independent commission instead of Sacramento insiders, the proposed new voting maps suggest the GOP could lose as many as five seats in Congress. Moreover, Democrats may be positioned to win two-thirds of the state Legislature, potentially robbing the minority party of its ability to block tax increases, the last vestige of its governing power in the state Capitol.

Between now and next year's elections, Republicans must scramble to reinvent themselves, recruit more moderate candidates and find common ground with more Californians if they are to be at all relevant in Golden State politics, according to independent experts and partisan analysts alike. Then voters in the considerable number of new swing districts that the maps show could opt to elect moderate Republicans just as easily as centrist Democrats.

There's more, but you get the drift.

It's almost comical. Here's the Los Angeles Times, still a respectable paper, but hopelessly left-wing, arguing that the state's GOP should be moving left, becoming more moderate than it already is. And that's after 7 years of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who did virtually nothing to repair the state's battered fiscal existence. And for decades we've had surging immigration, especially illegal immigration from Mexico and Latin America, that has formed a steady supply of future Democratic Party voters. And for what? Much of California is run down and governed like a Third World kleptocracy. Recall that I was briefly in a funk after last November's election. I spoke semi-seriously about relocating out of state. And I might be dropping the "semi" over the next few years as I approach retirement. Communists are everywhere. Moral bankruptcy and rampant corruption fill the schools, and unions are fiscally bankrupting that state. That's not to say there aren't lots of conservatives, but as the Times points out, they won't have much of a voice in government if trends continue. I'll have more on this. My sense is that right-wing activists have to keep doing what they're doing, and work on mobilizing newcomers to the state, and young people, to conservative values. And then encourage these people to hold the state's GOP accountable to limited government principles. There's no other way, really, short of pulling up the drawbridge to stem the tide of illegal immigration's revolving door and the permanent radical voting block that's consolidating. It's ridiculous.

RELATED: At New York Times, "Redistricting Offers Republicans Few Gains in 2012."

Ann Coulter Looks Fabulous!

On the back cover of her new book, Demonic: How the Liberal Mob Is Endangering America.

Started reading last night. It's great!