Rogue Elephant, Donald Trump Is Stampeding Out Of Control (Updated)

Okay, I have to admit I’ve been somewhat entertained by the Donald’s antics in the 2012 Republican horse-race, thus far. His needling of the President on the birth certificate issue has been amusing, even though I don’t get the impression that he’s studied the issue that closely. Trump, who has obviously been following Jack Cashill’s work, Deconstructing Obama, also recently told Hannity that Bill Ayers wrote Obama’s book, Dreams From My Father. I don’t have a problem with that at all. More in the media should be talking about it -especially now that a possible contender for the highest office in the land has accused the sitting president of massive literary fraud.

The problem is — he can not be  serious. First of all, how conservative is the “very conservative” Trump?

2008 Trump Blasts Bush, Praises Obama, Says he Can Save the World: “I think he has a chance to go down as a great president. Now, if he’s not a great president, this country is in serious trouble,” said Trump. “I think [Obama's] going to lead through consensus,” continued Trump. “It’s not going to be just a bull run like Bush did. He just did whatever the hell he wanted. He’d go into a country, attack Iraq, which had nothing to do with the World Trade Center and just do it because he wanted to do it.”

Now that Donald Trump is claiming that the Tea Party is the be all end all, isn’t it quite peculiar his support AGAINST nearly every tea party candidate in the 2010 cycle? He opposed Sharron Angle in favor of Harry Reid (and gave Reid almost $5k to defeat her). He supported uber-Rino Charlie Crist over Marco Rubio. He supported Arlen Specter over Pat Toomey. He donated the max to Kirsten Gillibrand over Joe DioGuardi. He donated to far left congressman Anthony Weiner and Carolyn Maloney. His one “big” uhhh “conservative” donation was $50k to Karl Rove’s American Crossroads PAC. Needless to say, Karl Rove is about as anti-Tea party establishment RINO as they come. This is a man who has NEVER done anything for either the Tea Party or the Republican Party or for Conservatism, and is now running around waving all three banners as though he is the Braveheart of the Right.

Meet the Donald Trump, Sudden Right-Wing Conservative: Contributions, Abortion, Health Care, and Taxes….

Political Donations: Might as well start here:

Charlie Rangel (D-NY): 2006 – $10,000 Yes, he of corruption, tax evasion, and mass liberalism

Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) $12,000 Total, $2,000 in 2006 Re-election

Harry Reid: Donated $4,800 in 2010 to Reid to defeat Sharon Angle. $10,400 to Reid overall

Chuck Schumer: Donated $4,000 during 2010 Election Cycle

Kirsten Gillibrand: $5,800 over past 2 cycles

Ted Kennedy: $7,000

John Kerry $5,500 ($2,000 in 2004 Pres race, which he also gave Bush $2,000. How bi-partisan!)

Democratic Senatorial Committee: $116,000 (versus $30K to GOP equivalent)

Abortion:

Donald Trump Then: “I support a woman’s right to choose, but I am uncomfortable with the procedures. When Tim Russert asked me on Meet the Press if I would ban partial-birth abortion, my pro-choice instincts led me to say no. After the show, I consulted two doctors I respect and, upon learning more about this procedure, I have concluded that I would support a ban.” From his 2000 book.

“I believe it is a personal decision that should be left to the women and their doctors” – When he last considered running for President in 2009.

Donald Trump Now: “As you know, I’m pro-life…  I’m forming an opinion, I’m forming a very strong opinion but I’ll let you know in about three or four weeks if I decided to.”

Until now, I always thought of Trump as just another  a left-leaning rich guy. Now he’s talking a good talk, and has people like Michael Savage, Rush Limbaugh, and Laura Ingraham taking his conservative creds seriously. I’m just not convinced.

Another problem -The opposition researchers are going to have a field day with Trump. How many past scandals from this man’s life (that I have no interest in knowing about) are we going to be treated to? October 2012 will be a very busy month for the MSM if La Donald runs.

But worst of all, he’s now saying he’ll run on an Independent ticket if he doesn’t get the Republican nomination.

He told The WSJ:

“I am very conservative,” said Mr. Trump. “The concern is if I don’t win [the GOP primary] will I run as an independent, and I think the answer is probably yes.” Mr. Trump said he thought he “could possibly win as an independent,” adding, “I’m not doing it for any other reason. I like winning.”

Somebody stop this rogue elephant before someone gets hurt.

MORE:

Johathan Hoenig at Smart Money, The WSJ says Trump is no capitalist:

…Trump professes to support free trade, yet proposes a 25% tax on imported goods from China to level what he sees as trade imbalances in the global economy. It’s a contemptuous proposal which would immediately punish Americans by raising the price on virtually everything we buy.

He has also called for regulators to stop European stock operator Deutsche Börse’s ( DBOEY ) planned $9.5 billion buyout of the NYSE Euronext ( NYX: 37.85, +0.26, +0.69% ) , telling Fox Business Network, “I don’t want foreign countries owning the New York Stock Exchange.” If he was the president, he added, he “wouldn’t even have allowed the discussions to take place.” In a capitalist country, shareholders make that kind of decision, not regulators . Trump sees a clear role for government picking winners and losers in the economy, just the same as the previous presidents he claims to critique.

On top of that, he has pushed for a one-time 14.25% tax on the rich as a means of supplementing funding for Social Security and Medicaid, along with universal health care . Philosophically, those positions are indistinguishable from the anti-capitalist political establishment now in power.

Trump, of course, is free to run and support whatever platform he wishes, as are his many fans across the country. But despite his personal fortune, they should know his proposals and political philosophy are far from capitalist. Punitive and redistributionist taxes, centralized planning, barriers to trade and an entitlement “social safety net” are all ideas straight out of Karl Marx , not John Galt .

“You need a person like me to run this country for a while because we have to get this country back so that we’re respected again.” Trump told CNN recently.

A businessman whose proposals seek to destroy capitalism? There’s nothing to respect about that.

Ed Morrissey is  not on the Trump bandwagon, either:

this is a second coming of Perot.  Trump has the money (at least for now) to mount a vanity campaign as a third-party alternative to the two major-party nominees.  This would end up splitting the anti-Obama vote and set the President up for an easy re-election through a popular-vote plurality that would translate into an overwhelming Electoral College majority.  Liberals are not going to flock to Trump’s side for any reason, which means whatever Trump draws will come directly from those who were already inclined to vote against Obama.  It would be a nightmare scenario for Republicans in this cycle, a sort of Charlie Crist on steroids and junk bonds but with a viable Democratic opponent in the mix.The GOP should nip this in the bud now.  Can we agree that the starting position for anyone seeking the Republican nomination is that they will support the outcome of the primaries?

What can the GOP do to stop it? This is getting ridiculous.

Aaron Worthing: Trump: Give Me the Republican Nomination or I Will Give Obama a Second Term

But the thing that bothers him the most about Trump is —-the comb-over.

MORE:

Mark Levin on facebook:

Trump is NOT the real deal. He will get Obama re-elected. This is not a game. This is not a circus. He is not a conservative. He was happy to donate to Schumer, Weiner, & Emanuel campaigns last year. He was pro-choice recently and now claims to be pro-life. He sounds more & more like Ross Perot. If he runs as an Independent, Obama wins. We should not encourage this.

See also:

The Right Scoop: What you need to know about Donald Trump

That should be titled – All you need to know about Donald Trump.

Linked by David Swindle, NewsReal Blog, thanks!

Hat tip: Charles B.

Reminder: Tax Day Rally At Mo Capitol, Today

Via Email:

United for Missouri will be hosting a statewide Capitol Tax Day Rally on April 12, 2011.  The location will be on the south lawn of the state capitol and will begin at high noon and conclude by 1:00pm.  Our focus this year will be on tax reform and government spending!  Register for the event here: United for Missouri Capitol Tax Day Rally

We are pleased to announce that Herman Cain will be our keynote speaker for the event!  Herman Cain has a unique personality and multi-dimensional background in business, politics and life. Herman Cain is an accomplished speaker and writer on the subjects of leadership, motivation, national and economic policy, politics, and achieving one’s American Dream. Herman Cain understands that it’s not government that “grants” the American Dream – it is individuals who obtain it – despite government’s “help”!

We anticipate a large crowd to gather at the Capitol on that day.  Invite your friends, neighbors and family to attend this event.  I’m excited to hear what Herman Cain will be sharing with our group. Come prepared to hear the truth – not to have your ears tickled!

After the event is concluded, we encourage you to go inside YOUR state capitol and let your legislators know you are watching!  Register for the event here: United for Missouri Capitol Tax Day Rally

To find the tax day tea party nearest you, use Freedomworks’ FreedomConnector.

Video: Boehner on Obama: “Giant Ideological Differences as to How We View the Role of the Federal Government”

House Speaker, John Boehner spoke with Bill Hemmer on Fox’s America’s Newsroom, this morning.

Some highlights:

• He compliments the contributions of Republican freshmen, welcomes tea party conservatives to the political arena.

• On the coming budget battle “Armageddon”: Says Republican members will not raise the debt limit unless we take serious steps in the right direction.

• The President’s plan is to “do nothing”, which is totally irresponsible, and we will not be going down that path. Told him to “forget the next election”…

• Describes a “tense moment” with the Vice President, who jumped up during the negotiations with “feigned moral outrage”.  Boehner said, “Joe, what the hell was that?”

• On Obama: “Ideologically there are giant differences as to how we view the role of government”.

video via brandootr.

Hat tip: Weasel Zippers

Video: Barack The Magic Suit In Imagination Land

I hope you don’t mind if I whiff out another video while I fight this nasty Spring cold.

This is actually a pretty entertaining production from PJ Media’s Andrew Klavan.

Bill Clinton seen nodding in approval.

___

This fairytale theme gives me an excuse to repost one of my favorite photoshops:

Hat tip: Moonbattery

 

Video: McCotter Discusses Budget Compromise And The Democrats’ “New Civility”

Yesterday, on Fox, Rep Thaddeus McCotter, (R-MI) weighed in on the difference between Democrats and Republicans on budget issues, noting that the Democrats are locked in a 1960′s and 1970′s attitude toward a big bureaucratic government making decisions for you.

“The Democrats’ doing nothing and spending everything approach means that we’ll have bankruptcy; the Republican reform approach means that we’ll have solvency.”

Fresh Political Winds Are Blowing…

Remember Obama’s  laughingstock of a budget proposal for FY 2012? The one he unveiled on Feb 14 to an uncharacteristically skeptical press corps,  which ignored all of his own fiscal commission’s recommendations, made the financial crisis worse, and  Paul Ryan called an abdication of leadership?

A thoroughly disgusted Ace of Spades said at the time:

So, Obama, having abdicated his responsibility of prudence, leadership, intelligence or idealism (this either proves he is stupid or profoundly cynical), has forced the out-party House of Representatives to take a leadership role — a role for which they aren’t well suited, not because of a lack of individual ability, but because the Constitution is expressly designed for a government led by the President.

But that’s what the (expletive deleted) has decided to do — you guys propose necessary entitlement reforms; I’ll just demagogue against them and walk my way into relection.

Hows that strategy working out for him, now?

President Obama plans a Wednesday speech laying out new ways to cut the deficit and address America’s long-term fiscal woes, including entitlements, White House aides said Sunday.

“You’re going to have to look at Medicare and Medicaid and see what kind of savings you can get,” Obama adviser David Plouffe said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

That is a tacit admission by the White House that its 2012 budget plan wasn’t serious.

The P.O.S has already been thrown into the ash-heap of history.

John at Powerline writes:

That tells you everything you need to know about who won the standoff over FY 2011. Republican calls for a responsible budget are in the ascendancy, as the administration’s polling evidently confirms. You can draw the same conclusion from the evolution in Harry Reid’s statements about spending cuts, as noted by Andrew Stiles at The Corner:

Harry Reid, Feb. 3, 2011, on Paul Ryan’s initial offer of $32 billion in spending cuts:

The chairman of the Budget Committee today, today sent us something even more draconian than we originally anticipated…So this isn’t some game that people have been playing. The House of Representatives [is] actually sending us some of these unworkable plans.

Harry Reid, April 9, 2011, on a deal to cut $38.5 billion:

This is historic, what we’ve done.

When the Democrats are trying to take credit for spending cuts (much as President Clinton tried to claim credit for welfare reform, after vetoing it twice), you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing.

Investors Business Daily suggests that the same old same old “Washington fiscal fudge” is now longer operational in today’s political climate:

Democrats have wanted to let government surge as a share of the economy and eventually push up taxes to pay for that. But they’ve never come out with a plan to admit that. In the past, they didn’t have to. They used scare tactics in 1995 and 2005 to beat back GOP efforts to reform entitlements, while offering no long-term solutions of their own. But the political calculus has changed.

We already saw it during the fiscal 2011 budget fight. Obama initially wanted a $40 billion increase to nonsecurity discretionary spending. Then the Democrats wanted a spending freeze. On Friday, Obama hailed as “historic” a deal to cut spending by $38.5 billion. Even though Republicans didn’t get all they wanted, they got a lot, and won the rhetoric battle over the need to cut spending.

It will be interesting to see what Obama has to say on Wednesday. He will argue for higher taxes on wealthy Americans, as always, but those won’t come close to paying for surging entitlement spending. He will probably try to say just enough to sound serious without actually addressing the problem. Reining in government spending would infuriate his base while hiking taxes sharply on everyone to pay for those government benefits would turn off the rest of America.

But after Ryan’s bold proposal, the old Washington fiscal fudge may not work anymore.

We can always hope.

See also:

Michael Barone at Townhall:  Spending Cuts Are Hot in the Political Marketplace:

One of the things that fascinate me about American politics is how the voices of the voters as registered in elections and polls are transformed into changes in public policy. It’s a rough-and-ready process, with plenty of trial and error. But for all its imperfections, the political market seems to work.

Three developments during the past week illustrate this process — developments, not results, because each is part of an ongoing struggle that will not be resolved soon.

Betsy’s Page: Obama lines up for a Mulligan:

So expect a lot of nice rhetoric in Obama’s Wednesday speech and not a lot of substance. Obama has had his opportunities to address the deficit and he’s whiffed on all of them. Now he’s asking for a Mulligan because it’s dawning on him and the Democrats, as Michael Barone points out, that spending cuts are popular in the political marketplace. Obama and spending cuts aren’t a natural pair, but the Republicans have pushed him into trying to take a Mulligan on all his muffed opportunities to address federal spending.

Hat tip: Retired Geezer.

New TV Ad: Barack Obama’s Legacy Of Failure

A new ad,  “Barack Obama’s Legacy of Failure,” by The Campaign to Defeat Obama, a sister organization to The Tea Party Express is currently running in  some key  battleground states.
.
The Political Ticker reports:

Joe Wierzbecki, the executive director of the organization, tells CNN that the ad began running this weekend on television stations in Nevada, with ad time being purchased in Michigan and Wisconsin. Wierzbecki says his plan is to eventually also run the commercial in Colorado, Missouri and Ohio. All of these states could be extremely contested in the upcoming battle for the White House.

The group is currently fundraising to pay for the ad buy.

“We’re looking at a budget of $250,000 for this new ad right now. We hope to expand on that, but I won’t know if we’re successful for a few weeks, depending on if our fundraising continues to remain strong,” says Wierzbecki.

You can help them  kickstart this fund-raising drive by contributing online – HERE.

Videos: All Eyes On Paul Ryan As The Next Budget Battle Moves Forward

Now that the 2011 budget fight is over, all eyes are turning toward Paul Ryan – the man of the next few weeks/months as his 2012 budget proposal, Path To Prosperity is debated.

Ryan gave the Weekly Republican Address on Friday:

 

On ABC This Week, George Will threw some red meat to Paul Ryan fans, saying, Ryan is 8 years younger than Obama but vastly more experienced and conversant with these issues.”

Gateway Pundit was offended by Meet the Press host David Gregory‘s opening question to Ryan today on the budget negotiations this week:

“I want to start where I started with Mr. Plouffe. How much responsibility do Republicans take for this spectacle of the near shutdown of the government, and shouldn’t you all be embarrassed?”

Ryan didn’t blink. In fact, to him, the question was a perfect pitch,  right over the plate,  allowing him to knock it out of the park by slamming the Dems for failing to pass a budget, last year.

Watch video, here.

Your Sunday Hymn: We Will Rise Again

I just love this.

Nicely performed by a Stanford student, “avid Catholic” and dog lover known as “Flip Dude” on YouTube.

 

 

 

 

Video: Allen West Weighs In On Budget Deal And Faux Anthrax Threat

I could have added this as an update to my previous post about the budget deal, but basically, any video with Congressman West  warrants its own post.

Here, West holds forth on budget bill,  the death threats he recently received, and Obama’s job performance. (“Once the Final Four was resolved, Obama became  more engaged”, he quips):

Hat tip: Weasel Zippers.

 

Congress Strikes Deal, Shutdown Averted (Updated)

Fox News is reporting:

House Speaker John Boehner, speaking briefly to reporters after talks had concluded, said the plan was to pass one last short-term spending resolution Friday night to buy lawmakers the time needed to prepare and pass the final budget bill.

Hot Air reports in its final updates:

Tapper says the GOP conference has given Boehner the green light and now sources from both sides are saying the deal is done. $38.5 billion in cuts, no defunding of Planned Parenthood. National Journal sets the scene inside the conference room:

BREAKING: House Speaker John Boehner outlined the parameters of a long-term funding deal, telling his members in a closed-door meeting, “This is the best deal we could get out of them,” according to a lawmaker in the room who asked not to be identified.

The deal is still not official, Boehner cautioned, but in a sign things are coming to a close, the House is preparing for a 5-6-day short-term continuing resolution with $3 billion in cuts, he told members, according to the lawmaker.

Update: Here’s a slightly sunnier way to think of the $38.5 billion in cuts: “CNN Congressional Producer Deirdre Walsh reported that a senior GOP aide in the meeting called it the ‘largest real dollar spending cut in American history’ and said the proposal would cut more than $500 billion from the federal budget over the next 10 years.”

The joint statement from Reid and Boehner:

“We have agreed to an historic amount of cuts for the remainder of this fiscal year, as well as a short-term bridge that will give us time to avoid a shutdown while we get that agreement through both houses and to the President. We will cut $78.5 billion below the President’s 2011 budget proposal, and we have reached an agreement on the policy riders. In the meantime, we will pass a short-term resolution to keep the government running through Thursday. That short-term bridge will cut the first $2 billion of the total savings.”

As part of the compromise, the GOP will get a vote in the Senate on defunding Planned Parenthood and NPR, etc. Needless to say, those votes will fail.

At Michelle Malkin, Doug Powers reports:

Obama has canceled his Colonial Williamsburg weekend vacation. A possible indicator that nothing’s going to be solved today.

Update X: Maybe the Williamsburg vacation can be quickly re-scheduled — a deal has been reached to avoid a shutdown. Details are still, as they say, sketchy:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama and congressional leaders reached a last-minute budget deal on Friday, averting a government shutdown, Republican lawmakers said.

With a midnight deadline looming for a government closure, the compromise between Obama’s Democrats and opposition Republicans requires lawmakers to approve stopgap funding to keep federal agencies running into next week until the budget agreement can be formally enacted.

Republican Congressman Devin Nunes told Reuters that “the deal” — a plan for $39 billion in spending cuts — was presented to House Republicans at a closed-door meeting and that most members would vote for it. There was no immediate comment from the White House or congressional Democrats.

MORE:

A lot of people are slamming  Boehner for not getting everything we wanted, as if he didn’t have a Dem-Socialist Senate, and President to deal with. When he says that was the best deal he could get, I tend to believe him. The punditry in Washington are saying that this was a win for Boehner.

Pundette says: In budget deal, Obama and Reid lose

They came to an agreement with Boehner that can’t make them happy. The deal itself is better than I expected: $38.5 billion in cuts, no federally funded abortions for DC, and separate votes on Planned Parenthood funding and Obamacare repeal.* Andrew Stiles calls it a big win for Boehner, and makes a pretty convincing case that it’s so:

Perhaps more significant than the $38.5 billion in cuts, which Boehner told members was “the best deal we could get,” are the political implications as both side prepare to tackle the bigger spending issues. “We’ve changed the conversation,” said freshman Rep. Tim Griffin (R., Ark.). “This year we’re talking about how much we’re going to reduce — cut — and that’s a major cultural shift in a matter of months.”

Indeed, Harry’s Reid dramatic shift on spending cuts — from denouncing the initial GOP offer ($32 billion) as “draconian” and “unworkable,” to celebrating a $38.5 billion spending cut as “historic” — is remarkable in and of itself. Also telling was the way that Democrats artificially inflated the amount of cuts being offered. (At least they care enough about the political sensibilities of American voters to lie to them about it).

Read it all.

See also:

Carl Cameron, Fox News: Who Won the Shutdown Showdown? It Wasn’t Even Close

The history of offers on this bill goes something like this. Democrats first offered no cuts, then $4 billion, then $6.5 billion, then $33 billion, then settled at $38.5 billion.

Boehner made numerous adjustments to his offer in recent days too, but started at $32 billion, then with a Tea Party push went to $62 billion, then dropped to $40 billion, then $38.5 billion.

Democrats claimed they met Republicans halfway after the $10 billion in cuts that already passed this year were approved. They settled late Friday night at three and a half times more.

Boehner came in $8.5 billion higher than the halfway point between his high offer of $61 billion in cuts and the Democrats opening bid of zero cuts.

It was not a totally lopsided bargain. Dems have some silver linings. There were no votes on defunding the EPA or PBS and NPR. Democrats fought for and won a $2 billion cut from the Department of Defense, knocking the military appropriation for the rest of the year down to $513 billion.

But the GOP had to be able to see this as a win in the end, because it is puny compared to what they want to do next.

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s 2012 budget resolution proposes cuts of $5 TRILLION in the next 10 yrs.

Cameron neglects to mention that the  100 million in cuts were promised conservatives in the Republicans’ 2010 campaign pledge to America.

-

It’s not like tea party conservatives were being unreasonable in expecting Republicans to at least try to keep their promise.

UPDATE:

Dick Morris says Republicans sold us out: A BUDGET DEAL: REPUBLICAN SUICIDE:

We all watched in amazement and horror as the Democratic Party led its minions off the cliff and made them vote to jam through Obama’s health care law. We knew it was mass suicide, but we watched with incredulity as they bravely stepped up to drink the Kool-Aid. Now it is the turn of the Republicans freshmen — the very people who inherited the seats of those who walked the plank — to march off a cliff of their own.

The electorate that impelled the GOP triumph in 2010 will not tolerate a breaking of the Republican promise to cut $100 billion from the budget. They will accept, of course, the pro-rated share of the advertised total — $61 billion over seven months — but not anything less. It is a simple matter of keeping one’s campaign promises.

Any freshman who votes for a budget deal below $61 billion will face a primary and likely defeat either for the nomination of in the general election. That is just the fact of political life.

The Tea Party supporters and the aroused Republican electorate will not stand for it. The myopia which obscures Boehner’s and Cantor’s view of this reality is as blinding as that which made Pelosi, Obama, and Reid sacrifice their majority over health care.

RS McCain isn’t thrilled with the deal, either, writing at The American Spectator: Boehner’s Bargain: Conservative Victory?

My own midnight mood was disgruntled. It appears that Republican leaders used pro-lifers as a bargaining chip, making a show of standing firm on the defunding of Planned Parenthood, only to abandon that position at the last minute. The GOP thus made a winner of Chuck Schumer, who had vowed the Senate would “never, never, never” agree to cut the taxpayer subsidy to Planned Parenthood.

Basic rule of thumb: It’s not a conservative victory if Chuck Schumer has any reason to smile.

Beyond the GOP’s disappointing (but by no means unprecedented) abandonment of social conservatives, the amount that Boehner’s bargain would cut from the 2011 budget, about $39 billion, represents something less than 1/30th of this year’s deficit. So if this “historic” reduction of federal spending (to borrow Harry Reid’s expression) charts our future course, the United States might achieve a balanced budget by 2042.

Gabe at AoSHQ couldn’t disagree more:

So Reid was left with the policy riders, especially the defunding of Planned Parenthood. On that one issue Reid got some traction, but only very late in the negotiations. But note, even there he failed to preserve his position. Originally, Reid said that he would never allow a floor vote on Planned Parenthood funding. Never. It was entirely off limits. But there’s a funny thing about saying “never” when you’re talking about public consideration of how to spend millions of dollars. Reid’s “never” looked pretty damn unreasonable.

And now, because of Boehner’s oh-so-reasonable demeanor, there will be a floor vote on corporate welfare for Planned Parenthood. To go along with larger budget cuts than the ones that Reid called “extreme” and “draconian” just a month ago.

Not bad, Speaker.

Poll: New Tone Nominees For Week Of April 2 – April 9

The left loves to blast conservatives for their “vitriolic discourse”, yet often fail spectacularly to maintain basic civility in their own discourse.   The New Tone Award is reserved for liberal notables who wallow in this hypocrisy.

New Tone Nominees For Week of April 2 – April 9

Howard Dean Tells College Students Fox News Lies – Then Lies to Them Four Times

“What Fox News says is often not true, and they know it’s not true and they say it anyway. It is not a news organization. It is a very expensive, incredibly well-funded, right-wing propaganda organization.”

Dean continued to drive this point home claiming that the reason so many Fox viewers believed Saddam Hussein was involved in 9/11 was because “they were lied to every single day on virtually every program on Fox News.”

Video With Cheney Fighting For Breath Leaves Mika Laughing

Today’s Morning Joe played a Letterman clip of a faux-promo for an imaginary TV show called “The Dick Cheney Story.”  As the title song from the Mary Tyler Moore Show plays merrily in the background, we’re treated to images of Cheney wielding a gun, in a wheelchair and undergoing open-heart surgery.  The clip closes with video of Cheney fighting to get a breath of air.Cut to Mika, doubled-over, laughing hysterically, literally to the point of tears.

Olbermann Answers Thoughtful Conservative Student’s Question: ‘Conservatives Are Wildly Stupid’

During the question-and-answer period, Olbermann told a student who identified himself as a College Republican,  that “most conservatives are wildly stupid.”

WaPo TV Critic,  Hank Stuever calls coupon clipping moms, “little piggies”.

“Little piggies go to market, and clean up on Aisle 5,” the article’s online headline snarked.”Repulsion may or may not be the show’s ultimate intent, but it stirs up unsettling and complex thoughts, not only about the sins of gluttony and pride, but also about the production and consumption of cheap, processed food,” Stuever insisted. “There’s also something to snack on for those of us fretting over an ever-widening wealth gap amid dwindling resources.”

He Means You, Grandma – Ed Schultz Denigrates Elderly as ‘the Almost Dead’

The path that the Republicans are taking to achieve this is what we call in the media, what I’ve called in the media for a long time, a dead demographic story. What is a dead demographic story? A dead demographic story is it only affects them old folks! And them young folks ain’t gonna be paying attention to it! The 18-to-34, the 25-to-49 crowd. Medicare? What the hell’s that?! I’m trying to keep my job, man! What are you talking about?! That doesn’t catch my attention! But it catches the attention of the almost dead!

Jim Moran Snaps at Veteran: “Sit Down, or leave”:

Moran’s contempt shines through right from the moment he begins speaking, saying, “And if you served your country in the military for 27 years, I thank you for that service, sir.”  Is it so unusual to find a military veteran in Moran’s district that his gratitude has to come with a qualifier?  Does Moran employ the qualifier for veterans who ask questions along the lines of “How can you be so totally awesome and humble at the same time?”  He then insults the constituent by claiming that his question was “caustic” rather than “legitimate,” prompting the veteran to interrupt — and Moran to act like an old schoolmarm when he does.

Rep. Louise Slaughter: GOP Freshmen Came to Washington ‘To Kill Women’

“This is probably one of the worst times we’ve seen because the numbers of people elected to Congress. I went through this as co-chair of the arts caucus,” Slaughter said. “In ’94 people were elected simply to come here to kill the National Endowment for the Arts. Now they’re here to kill women.”

Pelosi on GOP Attempts to Defund Planned Parenthood: They Have Declared “War on Women”

“There is actually a war on women,” the California Democrat said Thursday in Washington, taking aim at House Republicans’ efforts to defund Planned Parenthood and restrict access to abortions, among other measures.

Dem Rep Eleanor Holmes Norton: Gov’t Shutdown Like ‘Bombing Innocent Civilians’

“We are absolutely outraged. This is the functional equivalent of bombing innocent civilians,” she said.

“It’s time that the District of Columbia told the Congress to go straight to hell!”

On MSNBC, Dem Sanchez Tries To Drown Out Republican With ‘Broke Because of Bush’ Chant

During an interview on MSNBC this morning on the subject of the budget and possible government shutdown, the Dem congresswoman from California tried to drown out her Republican colleague from New York, Michael Grimm, by chanting “broke because of Bush.”

You can make up to 3 selections, but you only can only vote once at Left-Wing Institute For Civil Discourse.

Linked by Michelle Malkin, thanks!

Progressives Jump The Gun: Celebrate Wis. Supreme Court “Massive Upset Victory” A Bit Too Early

Screencap via Weasel Zippers

Starting with Kloppenburg’s embarrassing victory press conference, the left  really set themselves up for disappointment and ridicule by ostentatiously celebrating the dubious election result. With only a slim 204 vote lead,  no winner yet certified, preliminary recanvassing ongoing, and an official recount assured, online lefties felt confident to declare victory:

“Wilbur” at Daily Kos actually thought that doing so was a smart “messaging” move: Let’s get our messaging straight: KLOPPENBURG WINS!!!

Can we please, please, please not try to be the smartest ones in the room just this one time and play the game that Republicans always play.  Let’s declare victory now and talk about pushing Prosser off the stage.  This is the message.

Kloppenburg won an election she should never have won.  What a humiliation for the Tea Party and their media toads.

This is a total Wisonsin smackdown of Scott Walker

Prosser should really understand it is time to leave the stage.

Prosser sticking around is just hurting Wisconsin.

There is serious businesss to conduct and Prosser is just gumming up the works by trying to challenge this.

Delaware Liberal said: KLOPPENBURG WINS!! The people of Wisconsin have spoken

Recall Scott Walker was on Cloud Nine: Kloppenburg wins more than an election:

Success does not come much sweeter than this.

Unknown sixth months ago, nonviable six weeks ago, first-time candidate JoAnne Kloppenburg declared victory Wednesday in her challenge to the Wisconsin Supreme Court justice most closely aligned with Gov. Scott Walker.

AZ Blue Meanie crowed: Victory in Wisconsin! Kloppenburg wins, declares victory

Tuesday’s contest was widely considered a referendum on Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s moves to weaken public employee unions and a test of the political strength of the unions to strike back.

Had David Prosser won, you can be certain that the right-wing noise machine led by FAUX News would have been claiming that this “referendum” vindicated Gov. Scott Walker and his Tea-Publican legislature. But since Prosser lost what was deemed to be a sure thing only a few weeks ago, Gov. Walker now wants to distance himself from that “referendum” election label. Walker says Supreme Court race not a referendum on his agenda. I’ll bet he does.

He’s right, this “referendum” vindicated Scott Walker and the “tea publican legislature”.

AFL-CIO Union Boss, Richard Trumka saw the outcome as proof that unions are winning the debate on collective bargaining rights:

The Hill reported on Thursday:

Speaking at Wayne State University in Detroit, the labor leader said he sees a bright future for unions. He said collective bargaining rights are more prized now that public sector unions have come under fire from Republican governors.

“Honestly, for years — for years — we’ve been trying to hold a national debate on collective bargaining, and thanks to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker — and a few of his friends — we’re having one. And guess what? We’re winning,” Trumka said, according to prepared remarks.

“The overreaching of anti-worker politicians today may have given us the game changer we need.

And sweetest of all, via Weasel Zippers: Soros-Puppet Group MoveOn.org Fundraises Off Kloppenburg’s “Massive Upset Victory”…

Dear fellow MoveOn member,

I’m writing to you from Wisconsin, ground zero in the fight between Republicans and the middle class, where we just had a HUGE win!

I’m literally breathless. I’m witnessing history. Incumbent candidates for the Wisconsin Supreme Court generally get re-elected in a landslide. But in the general election on Tuesday, progressive JoAnne Kloppenburg closed the gap and won by a razor thin margin against conservative justice David Prosser!

On Wednesday morning, with 99% of the vote in, and Prosser up by more than 800 votes, I said it was too close to call, and a recount would be forthcoming. If Prosser had won with a lead of only 200 votes, a statistical tie, I wouldn’t have felt comfortable declaring victory, especially knowing how recounts usually fare for  Republicans. That so many on the left did feel comfortable declaring victory, I think,  is somewhat telling.

SEE ALSO:

Dan Riehl captures the heartache of the  Unionistas: Public Sector Unions: Bury My Heart At Brookfield City:

Like a thousand trails of tears, interspersed with spastic rage, progressives huddled down within the #wivote Twitter hashtag last night as conservatives pounced like ravenous wolves, rending quivering flesh from corpulent corpses like that of @MMFlint – aka Michael Moore. Given that there was hardly even a solid backbone to gnaw on, we simply chewed on their asses and spit them out!

Oh woe, ”I shall not be here/I shall rise and pass/Bury my heart at Wounded Knee Brookfield City.”

Linked by Michelle Malkin in Buzzworthy, thanks!

Obama Playing Politics With The Troops’ Pay

WaTimes: House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio (left) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada meet Thursday with reporters outside the White House after their meeting with President Obama regarding the budget and possible government shutdown. (Associated Press)

The Republicans were given control of the  House, last November to stem the Dems’  cataclysmic spending tsunami, but the Dem-Socialists won’t allow them to do the job they were elected to do.

Look at the stress on Speaker Boehner’s face, up above. He’s not taking this lightly. He’s not using the troops as political pawns -  Obama and Reid are.

Ace has the flaming skull up:

… Obama is taking the position — for political reasons — that the military is “non-essential.” They can’t be furloughed, but he has decided (or Gates has; I rather think it’s Obama’s call) that they’ll show up for work but won’t get paid until later.

Mike Flynn, citing Federal Times, notes this is not what happened during Clinton’s shutdown.

When the government was shut down in 1995, military personnel continued to report to work and were paid, but the planning guidance sent to the services and defense agencies says a shutdown this time will be different.

This is Obama’s choice, then, and he’s doing it because the military are among the few government employees held in high regard. So they’re camera-friendly props and pawns.

But don’t be fooled, then: It’s Obama, and not Boehner, withholding their checks. Clinton sent out the checks on time. Obama’s choosing to stick it to them to make a political point.

Via Maggie’s Notebook, Obama called the bill to fund the military a “distraction”:

For the past several weeks, the Administration has worked diligently and in good faith to find common ground on the shared goal of cutting spending. After giving the Congress more time by signing short-term extensions into law, the President believes that we need to put politics aside and work out our differences for a bill that covers the rest of the fiscal year. This bill is a distraction from the real work that would bring us closer to a reasonable compromise for funding the remainder of Fiscal Year 2011 and avert a disruptive Federal Government shutdown that would put the Nation’s economic recovery in jeopardy. Source: MajorityLeader.gov

When the President’s party controlled  both Houses of congress, why did he opt to not pass a full budget for the fiscal year 2011? Was it a malicious decision intended to lead to a sequence of events that would culminate in a government shutdown, asks Rep Mike Lee:

video via Freedom’s Lighthouse

Because Republicans always get blamed for government shut-downs.

They think.

Report: Prosser Takes The Lead In Wis. Supreme Court Race! (With Updates)

Lib heads explode

Via Gateway Pundit:

A discrepancy has been found in the Winnebago County tally:

1:36 PM: Winnebago County Clerk numbers boost Prosser

Winnebago County returns posted by the clerk’s office give Justice David Prosser 244 more votes there than JoAnne Kloppenburg compared to the results The Associated Press tallied.

Kloppenburg led Prosser in the final AP statewide tally by 204 votes.

Both candidates received more votes in the clerk’s office numbers than the AP tally. Prosser netted 710 votes for a total of 20,701, while Kloppenburg netted 466 votes for a total of 18,887.

Those numbers are not official and could still change. The county was working on its canvass today and tomorrow, according to the clerk’s office.

The clerk was participating in the canvass and not immediately available for comment.

Prosser now leads by 40 votes.

MORE:

JSOnline: Winnebago County vote-count change alters Supreme Court race

A tally compiled by The Associated Press Wednesday and used by news organizations statewide, including the Journal Sentinel, indicated Kloppenburg was leading the race by 204 votes. Figures on Winnebago County’s website are now different from those collected by the AP.

Winnebago County’s numbers say Prosser received 20,701 votes to Kloppenburg’s 18,887. The AP has 19,991 for Prosser to Kloppenburg’s 18,421.

The new numbers would give Prosser 244 more votes, or a 40-vote lead statewide.

An editor at the AP said the news service became aware of the discrepancy in the past hour. The AP last checked figures with Winnebago County at 10:14 a.m. Wednesday, according to the AP. The county adjusted its figures at 2:27 p.m.

UPDATE:

Ace has….no additional information, but he does have an awesome flaming badger gif.

RELATED:

Via Hot Air , Christian Schneider at NRO notes, (before this latest tally emerged):

Democrats are trying to spin Kloppenburg’s tentative .013 percent win (recounts forthcoming) as a statewide rebuke of Governor Walker’s attempt to rein in public-sector-union bargaining power. Democratic state chair Mike Tate told Wispolitics.com the results showed Wisconsin had swung back to his side and “voters were rejecting Walker’s policies.”

Yet without the electoral bloodbath in Dane County, Prosser would have won Wisconsin by a comfortable 53.3 percent to 46.7 percent margin. The non-Dane County Prosser vote actually exceeds the 52.3 percent Walker received statewide in November. It wasn’t the state’s voters rejecting Walker’s agenda — it was Dane County’s government workers attempting to keep their paychecks intact.

A liberal commenter here actually called it an “overwhelming” victory. Obviously, this is a statistical tie, and we won’t have the final result for months.

Allahpundit reports that Madison is currently recanvassing, “so Prosser’s lead might be short-lived.”

UPDATE II:

This story just got much, much better:

“Political bombshell”

In a political bombshell, the clerk in a Republican stronghold is set to release new vote totals giving 7,500 votes in the state Supreme Court race back toward Justice David Prosser, swinging the race significantly in his favor.

UPDATE III:

Hot Air: Video: The greatest press conference of all time

Ann Althouse noticed the discrepancy in the vote count, Tuesday night, and mentioned it in her reporting. Good eye.

Ace is gloating like a maniac.

So is Jim Hoft.

Hahahahaha:

Big Hollywood: Michael Moore Freaks Out Over WI Recount: Demands Obama Impound Ballots

The Political Ticker reports that Klopps wants there to be an investigation:

Kloppenburg’s campaign released a statement committing to investigate the controversial vote counts saying, “Wisconsin voters as well as the Kloppenburg for Justice Committee deserve a full explanation of how and why these 14,000 votes from an entire City were missed. To that end, we will be filing open records requests for all relevant documentation related to the reporting of election results in Waukesha County, as well as to the discovery and reporting of the errors announced by the County.”

“We are confident that election officials in Waukesha County will fulfill these requests as quickly as possible so that both our campaign and the people of Wisconsin can fully understand what happened and why.”

Good grief, did she not watch the Waukesha County Clerk’s presser? It was all explained in minute detail, and the Waukesha Democrat who helped tabulate the vote, confirmed the new numbers.

Da TechGuy and some others have been doing some speculating about something I’m not devious enough to have thought of:

…in my opinion thanks to that error, the people who wished to say tweak the election reported the numbers that they did when they did in order to bring their candidate just over the line.

If the correct numbers had been reported the first time then I suspect we’d still have counties out to allow for further necessary “corrections”.

I would be so impressed if  this were true:

Reader Stu Wagner writes: “My suspicious, cynical side says that the Republicans delayed the full count to flush out any Democrat tricks. God bless ‘em, I hope they’re just that smart.” I’d be very surprised if they were that smart. . . .

A gloaty Robert  Stacy McCain speaking for a lot of us: Wound + Salt = ‘Hey, Liberals, How Are You Liking That Wisconsin Result?’

So when I’d stayed up until the wee hours Tweeting election results as they were updated, woke up five hours later to see Prosser hanging on to a slender lead, and then in the afternoon seen Kloppenburg declared the winner by 204 votes, I was ready to say, “To hell with Wisconsin.”

Write ‘em off. Screw those losers. Might as well be California.

But now? Yeah, that was beautiful. Way to go, Wisconsin GOP: Get the liberals all gloaty for about 24 hours and then break their little hearts.

The objective suck is now on the other foot.

See also:

VA Right: Left Wing ‘Media Matters’ Claims Voter Fraud Charges in Wisconsin Judge Race Baseless – When They Thought Democrat Won

Exit question:

Since Kloppenburg  claimed victory with a mere 200 vote lead, will she show some class, and concede, now that Prosser’s ahead by a much larger margin?