Good or Bad for the Jews

"Good or Bad for the Jews"

Many years ago, and for many years, I would travel to Morocco to visit uncles, cousins, and my paternal grandmother. Some lived in Tangiers;...

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

And They're Off! The 2016 Campaign is Underway . . .

I apologize to foreign readers. Our political system gets a little crazier every election cycle. It is hard to believe but the campaigns for the November 2016 elections are already underway, and, in fact, have been for some time. We have had four candidates formally announce that they are running--Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Hillary Clinton, and Marco Rubio--and we will see several more in the near future. I didn't really want to write about this stuff yet, but . . . it's either that or mope around the house because my favorite TV show, "Justified," is coming to an end. Getting forcibly retired is rough . .  .

I have a couple of favorites in the Republican field but will keep quiet for now as to who they are. Let me just say that it is a very interesting field, indeed. There are some very good candidates and potential candidates out there. I can safely say that any one of these already announced or soon-to-announce GOPers stands head-and-shoulders above Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democrat nominee (we'll get back to that in a moment.) Any one of them has a stronger record of accomplishment, ethical standards, and political smarts, than the rather tired and tiring, and corrupt prevaricator Hillary Clinton.

Let's deal with the kick-off of the Clinton campaign. For me, so far, the operative word is "WEIRD." She seems to hold a bulging campaign war chest--some reports indicate as much $2.5 BILLION--but you couldn't tell from the Ted Mack Amateur Hour roll-out of her latest effort for the top job.  All very weird. Hillary launched with a video announcement that makes her look distant, aloof, arrogant, controlling, and condescending. Note to campaign managers: when you have a candidate that is, in fact, distant, aloof, arrogant, controlling, and condescending, you might not want to emphasize those characteristics.  She made this announcement not to a cheering crowd but to a camera, and then followed that with a bizarre road trip leaving from the Clinton mansion in very upscale Chapaqua, New York to Iowa.

This road trip to meet "people" was proudly announced as undertaken in a "van" named Scooby. Huh? Scooby? What marketing genius came up with that? Is it supposed to appeal to the watchers of Saturday morning cartoon shows of the 1970s, 80s, and 90s? An attempt at evoking down-to-earth hippies doing a Kerouac impression? At conjuring images of a flower-bedecked VW van, belching marijuana smoke from its windows? Nutty. The "van," of course, turned out to be a slick mega-buck Chevy conversion, a rolling living room, a very modern limo, that ripped across the Midwest at high-speed while escorted by the Secret Service. Hillary hardly bothered to stop and talk to anybody, eating at a Chipotle incognito--our only images of her are those provided by grainy security camera footage, conjuring an impression of an armed hold-up by an elderly Patty Hearst in a pant suit.

Why didn't she just fly to Iowa if she wasn't going to talk to anybody? Then today, I see her sitting in what appears to be a car repair shop, with an old alternator and some other assorted car parts scattered around behind her for artistic "blue collar" effect, prattling on about how she wants to be a "champion" for the middle class and fight to get big money out of our political campaigns. Note to campaign managers: when sitting on perhaps $2.5 billion and with a very rich candidate who routinely charges $250,000 to give a vapid speech, you might not want to put the emphasis on money as an evil in campaigns. Just a thought.

My number two son called me just as I was starting to write this. He makes this prediction: Hillary wins neither the White House nor the Dem nomination. I am a bit more cautious, but the kid might have a point. What can Hillary say to overcome her long track record of scandal and nil accomplishment? I don't see an enthusiasm wave for Hillary; the fact that she launched her campaign so early, when there is no obvious Dem opponent on the horizon for the nomination, just might indicate that Hillary's wealthy campaign team worries about Evita's their leader's numbers. Let's face it, any Republican who doesn't pull his punches can eat her alive in debate. "Remember when you proudly told us in 2008 that Obama was not ready for the 2 am phone call but you were? Well, that call came from Benghazi and you were where? Why was the Embassy put on hold?"

On the other hand, I have been impressed by the roll-outs of the Cruz, Paul, and Rubio campaigns. Not even the echo chamber legacy media could hide the genuine enthusiasm these articulate and knowledgable Senators attract.

Anyhow, enough. We will discuss all this to death in the coming months.

54 comments:

  1. She Who Must Be Next had to enter sooner than later. Had she delayed, other contenders would jump at her non-action and start to carve out voting blocs AND cash. Then SWMBN would have to spend a significant portion of her cash on a Nomination that she believes is Hers by Right (and in todays Democrat Politics, She may well be correct).
    By jumping in now, She has the commanding headline to keep those other also-rans out and to enable her to suck up as much Campaign cash as possible (stay tuned for the untraceable pre-paid gift/debit card in less than $100 amounts showing up by the tens of thousands). Even if She does not win the General Election, She stands to become one of the wealthiest people in the world; "donating" perhaps a Billion+ dollars of unused Campaign Funds to the Clinton Foundation...then rejoining the Foundation allowing her to launder that money into Her private accounts based on a 9 figure salary.

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    1. if she wins the nomination, she'll win the generals by gender. obama's shown that identity politics wins.

      - reader #1482

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  2. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but leaving a Clinton in charge of money is like leaving a rabbit in charge of a field of lettuce.

    Let's say for the sake of the discussion that 1/2 a billion is spent on a campaign that she loses ... what happens to the other two billion? A nice golden handshake, eh?

    Phil B

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  3. Still, Hillary does have her fans in the UK - this link explains (for the slower members of the class) why you SHOULD vote for the Clintster:

    http://davidthompson.typepad.com/davidthompson/2015/04/uterus-rising.html#more

    And THIS quote from the comments made me smile:

    Mark Levin coined the term "genitalian" yesterday to denote those who vote for a candidate's naughty bits.

    I'm not sure they want to encourange people to vote for Hillary's naughty bits; the mental image alone is enough to put me off my feed for months.

    Phil B

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  4. I'm with you Mad, I don't she'll be elected. I just get this feel her time has passed. She has to run though, to keep her and Bill in the limelight and power. As for the Dems this clip says it all for me:

    https://youtu.be/jMyD3TSXyUc

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  5. Dear Dip, I worry that too many of our voters are prisoners of the MSM and will see the conservative candidates only through their lens. I wonder whether you might have seen real-world (rather than electronic world) campaign tactics overseas that might work here and help conservatives reach, for example, the Reagan Democrats.

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  6. I have a theory where the Repubs send a lousy candidate to the Big Show in return for the Dems sending a lousy candidate the next cycle. On a level playing field, Hillary would have absolutely no shot at this. But, I suspect, Hillary will spend 20% of her "War Chest" (Ewww) on the campaign and walk away with the other 80%.

    That being said, I would like to remind you that in the 2004 election when President Bush was running for re-election and Barrack Obama was running for his first term, 1,000,000 people in the State of Illinois voted for them both. So anything can happen.

    ~M

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    1. "... the fact that she launched her campaign so early, when there is no obvious Dem opponent on the horizon for the nomination, ..."

      I suspect that Hilary lauched her campaign early to stave off legal troubles. Now she can claim any indictment against her (for any of her many crimes) is "politically motivated" since she is now a presidential candidate. She isn't really trying all that hard to win ... just to stay out of prison.

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  7. The Ted Cruz roll out was totally expected and the MSM presstitutes were in fits after he made a simple speech on the occasion. I couldn't tell if their anger was because of the content or because he didn't use a teleprompter or even a written text.

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  8. Why would Hillary announce now?

    It's an attempt to keep others from the field for the Democratic Nomination, in part. But it is always about the money. The more active her campaign appears, the more money she can raise. Which leads to the sophomoric videos.

    I can't see the campaign managers not knowing how poor a candidate Hillary is. So why spend good money on nothing? Instead, they're filling their bank accounts prior to Hillary's withdrawal from the campaign. I think a health issue will arise (real or not) as the excuse (though Megan MacArdle at Bloomberg cites real risks and their affects).

    I've said all along that Hillary is only in it for the money. If she doesn't run, the cash flow ceases, including those speaking fees.

    So will the Democratic Nominee be Lincoln "Lost Linc" Chaffee, or the magic leprechaun, O'Malley of Maryland?

    Green Bear

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    1. Soooo...assuming She wins the nomination, then comes to realize she is going to get smoked in the General, and NOT wanting to go down in history as the 2nd biggest defeat in Presidential Election history (after Reagan's 49 State crushing of Mondale), Hillary decides late July to have a "health issue" and run off with the cash and a modicum of dignity.
      Based on Law and Party rules, the DNC Leadership (Wasserman-Shultz and Co.) will select a replacement Candidate. What sacrificial lamb would they put forward, and will the citizenry really go for someone "selected not elected?"

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    2. KellyJ,

      New Jersey did, and that's not the only time the Democrats did it. Look at the selection of McGovern's Veep candidate, for just one.

      Green Bear

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    3. The endless State-Run Media drumbeat of "Hillary will be Queen" is well and truly underway. There isn't a day that goes by where there isn't some puff piece about how great she is on Yahoo or Google or wherever.

      I remain fearful for the Republic--if there were enough citizens (well, mostly citizens) who would vote in O twice, it's hardly a stretch to see them going for the Harridan.

      Delete
    4. The easiest way to burst that bubble (and probably get banned) is to ask 1 simple question: Please name 1 single accomplishment that she has ever done.
      That question was put to members of her campaign staff and it floored them when they couldn't come up with a single answer.

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    5. My money is on O'Malley. He'll be stomped in the general election, of course.

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    6. I honestly don't see any democrat candidate being 'stomped' in the generals.... mainly because it's a question of "by whom?"
      The GOP also has pretty much nobody to run for President in 2016, and Hillary is going to get all the ERA-era womyn votes... and that's an aging crowd, and the aging crowd is the voting crowd.

      - reader #1482

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  9. Somebody in Iowa maybe think "Scooby Coming" sounded like some kinda code?

    http://whotv.com/2015/04/14/statewide-weapons-of-mass-destruction-drill/



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  10. Without wishing to be ungentlemanly, she really is a loathsome cow... (quite apart from the lies, the incompetence and the thieving, and the lies.

    One looks back on dear old bill almost with nostalgia considering what we have had since!

    (and I'm afraid, at the risk of annoying some of your more intemperate contributors) I must include Bush 43 in the list of utterly useless presidents) Bush senior wasn't too bad, but Reagan was the last decent one.

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    1. Bush responded correctly to 9/11 and completed unfinished business in Iraq. All thrown away now. Apart from that, he was big government and ...

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    2. How quickly we forget ... Afghanistan aside.
      ___________________

      Coming GOP War — Over the War!

      December 12, 2006

      "I believe this is a recipe that will lead to our defeat … in Iraq," said John McCain. ... For what does the Iraq Study Group say?"

      "We are not winning this war. Our situation is "grave and deteriorating." Yet we may succeed if only we will withdraw all U.S. combat brigades in 15 months and bring Syria and Iran to the table to resolve the political crisis."

      "This deepening fissure in the GOP presages a civil war inside the party by 2008, over whether to stay in Iraq — or, if the war has ended in a debacle or defeat, over "Who Lost Iraq?"

      In urging intensified training of the Iraqi army and an expedited withdrawal, the Baker Commission is laying down the predicate for the case that America did not lose this war, Iraqis lost their own war."

      "This ISG report is less about saving Iraq than about saving the U.S. establishment from being held responsible for the worst strategic blunder in U.S. history."

      http://buchanan.org/blog/coming-gop-war-over-the-war-599

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    3. http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/122074.pdf

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    4. And recall as "Victory" was defined then - mostly "Free Elections" - and al those people with purple-inked fingers?

      Only as a retired US General could Imagine so well

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XUO5jjtUBw

      Jeebers

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  11. Elizabeth Warren will run and win. She says all the right things and have both my liberal and moderate friends convinced she is sincere. I try to explain to them that Warren says exactly the same things now that Obama said in 2008. We still got the increase in income inequality, too big to fail banks getting bigger, Wall Street profiting, etc.

    You heard it here first.

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    1. You mean the white red indian?

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    2. I keep hoping for Hellary vs Fauxcahontas. Now that would be a show worth watching...well maybe not but could create a few laughs here and there.

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    3. And last. Warren's made it clear. She's not running.

      Wesley Clark accepted a draft by his supporters, but everything was getting up and running by this point in the cycle.

      James Webb might be your best wager against Hildebeast. O'Malley's career has been in Maryland, not a trial of fire for a Democratic politico. He was ultimately bereft of the only achievement which really matters in Baltimore, crime control. His tenure in the statehouse was sufficiently annoying that a Republican managed to take it away from his protege last fall.

      He performed one public service: sending Robert Ehrlich back into private life for good. If he can do the same re Hildebeast, that's something.

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  12. I look forward to your assessment of the finale of "Justified." I thought they did a great job with it.

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  13. I groan at the prospect of the corrupt and incompetent Shrillary Shrooooo as our next POTUS. Further, I hope that the GOP will have the 外卵 to expose her record right and left. Further, if Warren beats out the Shroooo, I hope that Fauxahontas becomes a household term.

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  14. They are off to a great start. She did not tip the wait staff at Chipotle and her "meeting with voters" was fake.

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  15. "conjuring an impression of an armed hold-up by an elderly Patty Hearst in a pant suit."

    Now there's a home-run.

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    1. Yeah, that line is making the rounds now. I wish I could five cents for every time it is being tweeted . . . sigh.

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  16. And I do not see a 2016 election but someone handing over the once Republic to someone else.....
    Too many drills and preparations going on around the nation that are quite peculiar......

    Something is amiss.....
    E. Texas Rancher

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  17. " Let's face it, any Republican who doesn't pull his punches can eat her alive in debate. "

    Nonsense. Anyone who doesn't pull his punches will be eaten alive by the press. Remember ol' Wossname in the Senate debate who just walked over and said "here, sign this pledge"?

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    1. Yeah. Like John of Orange [Boehner], Head for the Ditch Mitch & All the New Republican Men (Balls Snipper Ernst) of the Senate told us they'd Sure as hell do! if we'd just elect 'em.

      And now Corker apparently.

      Appears to me the Press can just sit it out for what is it now ... five hundred and some number days? Six hundred or so?

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    2. His name is Enrico Lazio and he is a common-and-garden Republican from Long Island. New York voters have terrible taste, so he lost. Since 1974, there have been 11 contests for governor, 11 for state attorney-general, 11 for state comptroller, and 14 for U.S. Senate. That's 47 contests. Of these 37 were won by Democrats and 6 of the 10 remaining were won by Republican sociopaths. Edward Regan's three terms as comptroller and Dennis Vacco's single term as attorney-general are the only examples of arguably normal men winning on the Republican line, and Regan's last campaign was in 1990. Lazio had quite a headwind no matter what he did.

      What was vaguely interesting about Lazio's campaign was how Democratic observers in the press corps readily defaulted to condescending and insulting descriptors for him. One feministi yapped about Lazio and his 'frat brothers', even though the man attended Vasser College, which has no frats. Another Democrat writing in New York Review of Books referred to Hillary as having 'beaten the pup'. The 'pup' in question was 42 years old, had been admitted to the bar 15 years earlier, had been eight years in Congress, eight years as a public prosecutor, had been married for more than a decade, and had two children. Normal people refer to such a person as a 'middle-aged lawyer', but partisan Democrats are non-normal. Michael Kinsley babbled about how he was a 'smart young' blah blah blah who obviously wanted to get out of New York to the big city. New York is nearly 5x as large as Washington, Mrs. Lazio and the girls had lived in Long Island the whole time he was in Congress, he'd gotten all of his schooling in rough weekend commuting distance from his childhood home and he owned a home in the same county where he grew up. Of course, after he lost, he landed a job in Manhattan and commuted home to ... Long Island.

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  18. Here's another possibility.

    When ISIS attacks Israel at its borders, China lights off a war in the Western Pacific, and Putin moves like a bear on Eastern Europe in 2016, Hillary will graciously step down as Democratic Party candidate so the election can be canceled.

    The Republicans will be made to look just awful for insisting the election continue.

    The scooby doo is Hillary's campaign is a fake. It's a feature, not a bug.

    Tin Foil Tom (but Alcoa!)

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    1. Election cancelled? No chance of that. WW2 didn't stop two US elections, including one where the USA was a full combatant fighting on at least three fronts.

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    2. Neither did the Civil War where the USA was fighting on multiple fronts - on this continent.

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  19. She starts with a headwind (in the postwar period attempts at a 3 presidential term have failed 6 of 7 times) and even a fairly the militant Cruz is within single digits of her in spite of her name recognition. She's going to have to hustle for this if she's to get it at all. Bracketing out years with an incumbent President running (and not all of those), the least competitive contests in recent decades have been the Republican race in 1960, the Republican race in 1968, and the Democratic race in 2000. The first two came during a transitional period (1950-78) when the deliberative function of the party's convention was dissipating and television was taking over the discussion. She's not (as was Nixon) running in contrast to a discredited incumbent and against his nominal deputy, nor is she running as the nominal deputy to a national icon who scarcely ever had less than 60% of the public in his corner, nor is she running with the wind of congenial economic performance at her back. We've not quite been here before.

    Perry, Huckabee, Walker, Jindal. Any will do. No more senators, please. It's also time for Jeb Bush to enjoy the quiet life with Columba. He's moderately wealthy and now 62 and should be channelling his competitiveness into golf games with his big brother.

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  20. The world is entering an even more dangerous phase, thanks to Obama and HRC at State. The security moms wont vote for her, if the GOP explains what she damage she did.

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    1. You have nailed it, Anonymous. The GOP needs to take off the gloves with Shrillary Shroooo.

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  21. Pete From Freo:

    You'd like to think; in a normal world she'd be wanting to hide away in shame, yet here she is, running for President. Talk about "Life imitates Art", you couldn't write this stuff!

    If she wins, and then wins, she'll eclipse Julia Gillard as the worst first female head of state for any ostensibly democratic nation, ever.

    Cheers DiploMad,

    One of your six Australian readers.

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  22. Carly Fiorina Full Speech: New Hampshire Republican Leadership Summit 2015

    http://commoncts.blogspot.com/2015/04/carly-fiorina-full-speech-new-hampshire.html

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    1. NNNNOOOOOOooooo!!!!!

      Fiorina is a perfect example of "failing upwards".
      I can't fathom that people are actually pushing her to run for potus, hasn't she done enough damage at lucent and HP?

      - reader #1482

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    2. I have to agree. There are other female GOP politicians, like The governor of New Mexico. Why Carly ? Her Senate campaign in California was weird.

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    3. Ummm... what damage at HP and Lucent?

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  23. I just read the Chinese newspaper. Xi Jinping has announced that 2016 will be the year that the "Taiwan problem" is "solved". Sounds ominous to me.

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    1. I keep hoping that kind of talk means that Taiwan is in talks to buyout the communists party in China (officially rather than the current unofficial for-sale sign they've got).

      - reader #1482

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    2. I suspect and fear the other way around, Anonymous.

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  24. Don't forget Fiorina! She's heads and shoulders above everyone else.

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