Video: Big Sis On The Hot Seat For Fast and Furious

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was on Capitol Hill Wednesday to discuss her department’s border security and immigration enforcement records at the House Judiciary Committee. Chairman of the Committee on House Oversight and Reform,  Darrell Issa, stopped in to ask some questions:

Issa: “You have two dead agents that worked for you, one North of the border – one South of the border – particularly in the case of Brian Terry – he was gunned down with two weapons from Fast and Furious… it has been months and you tell me that you weren’t doing it (her own investigation) because of an IG investigation. Let’s go through a few questions….”

Napolitano: (raising her voice) “Wait just a minute, wait a minute…..That insinuation is not accurate.”

Issa offered to have the transcript read back to her.

Napolitano: “No, it’s the insinuation, I’m objecting to…

Issa: For three months, you had a dead Border Patrol agent and there was no IG investigation. What did you do between December and February to find out about Fast and Furious? … People on the ground knew those were Fast and Furious weapons found at the scene within hours. It wasn’t something that wasn’t known. It was known at the time.”

Napolitano:”I think your insinuation. …”

Issa: “Ma’am please answer the question. Please don’t talk in terms of insinuation.”

His main questions were, “what did you do in between December and February of 2011,  to discover further the conditions around his death? And aren’t you here today, furious that the Justice Dept not ATF – the Justice Dept – kept from you the knowledge of  Fast and Furious for this entire period of time, when you had an agent -  dead?”

She answered that her number one concern was making sure that those responsible for Agent Terry’s death were brought to justice.

Oversight Watchdog Trey Gowdy (R-SC) also pressed  Napolitano on her agency’s involvement – and her role in – Operation Fast and Furious.

Oversight Watchdog Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) blasted Napolitano for her agency’s lack of interest in Operation Fast and Furious, even after two border agents were slain.

Shockingly enough, she still maintains that the border is more secure now than it’s ever been.

RELATED:

Tina Korbe at Hot Air: Rep. Joe Walsh to Eric Holder: You better resign immediately, buddy

… the most memorable portion of the letter came, not at the beginning, when Walsh lambasted Holder’s understanding of his job, nor at the end, when he called for Holder’s resignation. It came in the middle, when Walsh delved into the seemingly-obvious-but-not-yet-confirmed motivation for the program.

I can still remember the howls of outrage when Bush’s Atty General Alberto Gonzales fired a few attorneys. If I remember right, there was no body count associated with that “scandal”.

Hat tip: Sipsey Street Irregulars

Linked by Michelle Malkin and Doug Ross, and Noisy Room, thanks!

Attention GOP Establishment: Herman Cain Is The Frontrunner, Now – Not Romney

The results of the latest Poll:  IBOPE Zogby Poll: Cain Trounces Romney in Head-to-Head Matchup:

Herman Cain trumps Mitt Romney in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup, a new IBOPE Zogby Interactive survey finds, and he continues to lead the GOP field, although his numbers have slightly declined.

The interactive poll, conducted from Oct. 18-21, shows Romney leading Rick Perry and Ron Paul in separate head-to-head matchups. The survey also finds the endorsement of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie having no positive impact for Romney from GOP voters, but it does lead 34% to have a less favorable opinion of Christie compared to 10% being more favorable toward him.

Candidate	%
Cain	63%
Romney	29%
I would not vote	4%
Not sure	5%

A Rocky Mountain Poll in Arizona also has Cain edging ahead of Romney 25% to 24%.

According to the survey, 25% of Arizona Republicans say if the state’s primary were held today, they would vote for Cain, a businessman, former Godfather’s Pizza CEO and radio talk show host, with 24% saying they would back Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, who’s making his second bid for the White House. Cain’s one point margin is well within the survey’s sampling error.

Scott Wheeler explained the Cain surge at The Washington Times:

All over the country, I have had numerous people tell me over the past several months that if they could pick anyone out of the Re publican field to be president, it would be Herman Cain. Then they follow it up with this caveat: “But since he can’t win, I’m going with” so-and-so. (Insert the name of any other Republican here.)

Daniel Henninger wrote about similar observations in the Sept. 29 edition of the Wall Street Journal: “You hear the same thing said about Herman Cain all the time: Herman Cain has some really interesting ideas, but… .

“I love Herman Cain, but… .

“But what?

“But he can’t win.

“Why not?

“At best, the answer has to do with that cloudy word ‘electability.’ Or that Mr. Cain has never held elected political office,” Mr. Henninger writes.

But something happened in September that changed everything. After the Republican candidates debate in Orlando, Fla., in which many saw Mr. Cain as the winner, and the Florida straw poll that followed, which Mr. Cain won, people across the nation started seeing for the first time that their first choice to be president really had a chance of winning – a possibility the Republican base hasn’t seen for a long, long time.

As soon as people who were already predisposed to like him, saw that he actually had a chance, they jumped on board the Cain-train.

Gallup reported yesterday: Cain Catching Up With GOP Rivals in Recognition.

 Herman Cain is now recognized by 78% of Republicans nationwide, marking a gain of 28 percentage points since September and 57 points since March. This is the largest gain in recognition for any GOP presidential candidate Gallup has tracked this year, and puts him roughly on par with the other major candidates

Regardless of whether Cain ends up winning the Republican presidential nomination, he has accomplished the remarkable feat of moving from being relatively unknown among members of his own party nationwide to being recognized by almost 8 in 10.

Republicans have been relatively enthusiastic in their evaluations of Cain all year, and his Positive Intensity Scores for five weeks straight have topped the list. Cain’s score is down to 30 this week from 34 last week, but it remains more than twice as high as that of any other Republican tested.

***

About Three-Quarters of Republicans Who Know Cain View Him Favorably

Cain is in the enviable position of having the highest percentage of overall favorable opinions among Republicans and the lowest percentage of overall unfavorable opinions. Almost three-quarters have a broadly favorable view of Cain, and 16% have an unfavorable view. Romney, Gingrich, Santorum, and Perry are viewed unfavorably by 24% to 29% of Republicans who recognize them. Bachmann, Paul, and Huntsman are all viewed unfavorably by more than a third of Republicans who know them.

One reason for Cain’s increase in name recognition would be internet buzz created by campaign ads like “The Smoking man”

A perplexed New York Magazine wrote a post analyzing the ad:  Five Theories About the Bizarre New Herman Cain Campaign Ad:

4. The smoking scene was another way to signal that Cain is not your normal, focus-grouped, politically correct politician. His chief of staff will smoke a cigarette like he’s a rogue cop in a film noir, and he doesn’t care if the anti-tobacco groups or the liberal nanny-staters whine about it.

3. Herman Cain is trying to appeal to people like Mark Block. He’s white, he has a mustache, he has a Midwestern accent, and yes, he smokes cigarettes. In short, he looks and sounds like someone from the SNLDa Bears sketches. And he believes in Herman Cain. Come on in, working class Republicans — the water’s fine!

(He kinda reminded me of Father Guido Sarducci.)

I think this reason is closest to the mark:

2. The smoking scene guaranteed that the ad would become viral. The Cain campaign knew that the mainstream media would throw a hissy fit over the inclusion of cigarette in a campaign ad, and they were 100 percent correct! Look — we’re talking about it right now!

As tipster Charles B. notes, once voters know him, they like him. And they are looking for any excuse not to vote for Romney.

Tina Korbe said at Hot Air commenting on his new radio ad:

 Sheesh! No matter what he says, he sounds friendly saying it. A conservative in the cheerful mode of Ronald Reagan, indeed.

Ding ding ding!

UPDATE:

Okay, not to be a turd in my own punchbowl, but some Tweeps put me to some (not so great for Cain) knowledge:

Via National Review: Romney Leads in Iowa, N.H., S.C., and Fla.

The leads in SC and Iowa are within the margin of error. Cain clearly has some work to do in FL, (and he is), and we all know he won’t win in NH, so no need to worry about that.

The nationwide polling trend has been surging in Cain’s direction, and barring some unforeseen gaffetastophe – it will continue to do so.

Check out these latest polls:

Hermantum: “100% Pro-Life” Cain Leading In The Polls

Cain Leads New Ohio Poll; Close to Romney in Nevada; Perry Fading Away

Fox News Poll: GOP Primary Voters Get on the Cain Train

SEE ALSO:

Romney receives the KISS OF DEATH:

Romney Secures McCain Endorsement

MORE:

This should help Cain on the foreign policy front:

FP:Exclusive: Inside Herman Cain’s new foreign policy team

MORE:

Rush Limbaugh had a message to the GOP establishment, today:

“The circumstances that led to that landslide defeat for Democrats in 2010 have not changed. There is no reason for the Tea Party to have dissipated. There is no reason for the Tea Party to have lost energy and they haven’t, but every effort is being made to make people think so. That the Tea Party was a one-election-wonder and now they are back to their mom and pop stores and they had their one little fling with politics and now its over and the Tea Party doesn’t exist. That’s wishful thinking, but it isn’t the case; and so the days of Conservative Republicans…. settling are over.”

Hat tip: Charles B.

Linked by Doug Ross, thanks!

Because I Always Expect A PRIVATE Institution to Accomodate My Different Faith When I Voluntarily Attend It…

Because it would be totally reasonable for me to attend a PRIVATE Islamic university and expect them to provide a chapel on the grounds for me, right? Right?

New charges have recently been filed against the [Catholic] University [of America] on counts of illegal discrimination against its Muslim and female students. The allegations are being reviewed by the District of Colombia Office of Human Rights (OHR), which has the strictest discrimination laws in the country. President John H. Garvey and the University is being urged to respond to the charges.

————————————————

The official allegations claim that CUA, “does not provide space – as other universities do – for the many daily prayers Muslim students must make, forcing them instead to find temporarily empty classrooms where they are often surrounded by Catholic symbols which are incongruous to their religion,” according to a press release on PRLOG.com.

If I were the University Board of Regents, and the Provost, I think I’d come to the conclusion that perhaps there is no need for these students to return next semester. But maybe that’s because I know there would be no reciprocity at an Islamic University.

From the University’s Newspaper, The Tower.

Linked by The Anchoress, thanks!

Video: The Rise of Obamavilles (aka #OWS)

Via RCP:

 AmericanActNet compares the Dems’ *ahem*  “grassroots, populist movement” “squatting on private and public land across the country” to “the Hoovervilles of old”.

Made me laugh:

See also:

What Obama tells supporters when there are no cameras rolling.: I’ve finished 60% of my goals:

“We’ve got so much work left to do,” the president told some of his more glamorous supporters, at a fundraiser at the home of Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith.

About 200 people attended the event, each having paid at least $5,000 each to hear the president. Mr. Obama touted his accomplishments so far, such as health care reform, financial reform and ending the Iraq war — receiving applause from the crowd for each point.

Remarking that he keeps a checklist of goals in his desk, Mr. Obama took out a pen and acted as if he were checking off some items on his list.

“We’ve got about 60 percent done,” he said. “I’m pretty confident we can get the next 40 percent done in the next five years.”

I don’t envy the poor Republican SOB who wins in Nov 2012. It will be a herculean task to undo all of the damage our first Marxist President has done to the economy.

Pollster David Hill writes at The Hill: Stick a fork in Obama — he’s done:

On life support. Dead man walking. Down for the count. He’s toast. Stick a fork in him; he’s done. Pick your own metaphorical cliché as long as it acknowledges that this president is a goner. If you need proof, consider Gallup’s recent assessment of the president’s job-approval numbers: “Only one elected president since Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter, had a lower 11th-quarter average than Obama.” And we all know what happened to Mr. Peanut. Gallup brings the president’s lousy numbers to the bottom line by showing that Obama is losing to a generic Republican in its surveys, as well as in a head-to-head with the leading Republican, Mitt Romney.

Border Agent Sent To Prison For “Violating Rights” of Drug Smuggler

Obama’s DOJ demonstrates once again where its priorities are…not in protecting American citizens, but bowing to the interests of foreign powers.

Via Katie Pavlich of Townhall, this story will infuriate you:

In a prosecution sought by the Mexican government and obtained after the suspected smuggler was given immunity to testify against the agent, Diaz was sentenced last week by U.S. District Judge Alia Moses Ludlum in San Antonio. The Mexican consulate in Eagle Pass had filed a formal written complaint just hours after the arrest, alleging that the teenager had been beaten.

Defense attorneys argued that there were no injuries or bruises on the suspected smuggler’s lower arms where the handcuffs had been placed nor any bruising resulting from an alleged knee on his back. Photos showed the only marks on his body came from the straps of the pack he carried containing the suspected drugs, they said.

The defense claimed that the smuggling suspect was handcuffed because he was uncooperative and resisted arrest, and that the agent had lifted his arms to force him to the ground – a near-universal police technique – while the other agents looked for the drugs.

The allegations against Diaz, 31, a seven-year veteran of the Border Patrol, initially were investigated by Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Professional Responsibility, which cleared the agent of any wrongdoing. Despite being cleared of any wrong doing by the I.C.E.  Office of Professional Responsibility and the DHS Inspector General, the Obama Justice Department went forward with prosecution against Diaz. Considering the Obama Justice Department is full of former ACLU lawyers, this situation is extremely disappointing but not surprising.

Read her full report.

The mission statement of the Dept of Justice is as follows:

To enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law; to ensure public safety against threats foreign and domestic; to provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime; to seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior; and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.

Where’s the part about prosecuting frivolous lawsuits on behalf of foreign governments to benefit criminal illegal immigrants?

Hat tip: Brian B.