Archive for the ‘opinion/news’ Category

Our democratic friends and the media are stepping on so many land minds these days its hard to count them all, but a few things instantly come to mind:

Boom! We all love school in July

Every day that the Wisconsin teachers choose to take off is a day that parents around the state have to find sitters for theirs kids. Parents all around the nation relate and understand this. One of the things people are also forgetting is that an awful lot of school was missed this year already due to wild weather. Every day the teachers take off is a day those kids will be in school in July, again something parents nationwide can relate to

Boom!: Walker itis or take two protests and call me in the morning:

Every time we hear people talking about budget cuts in any state we hear the words “waste and fraud”, “waste and fraud”. Well now on camera we have Wisconsin doctors giving phony sick notes so Teachers can collect taxpayer money while protesting. Again this is something every single person nationwide can understand. Let’s forget the dishonesty, violation of medical ethics , the great potential lawsuits and liability suits that are going to come from this and the sheer audacity of the act and consider one other thing. This is a political protest and the doctors are giving out notes based not on medical necessity but on their political beliefs.. The federal government last year passed over the objections of the voting public a national healthcare law “Obamacare”. One of the many objections to this law has been the possibility “political” decisions in medicine, well there it is for all to see. I wonder will the same people who have no problem with the doctor notes due to “stress” will be all in favor of giving notes on April 15th (a Friday) for Tea Party folk to protest nationwide?

Boom! Walker Reagan and Unions:

We have seen an awful lot on the 100th anniversary of the Birth of Ronald Reagan, a poll just out showed him picked as the greatest president of all time (I disagree, but that’s another post). The Reagan halography has been all over and one thing that has been reported on a lot was his confrontation with the Air Traffic Controller unions. You might remember that the media was uniformly against him in this (and almost everything) but it was a turning point. Now not two weeks after all of this pomp was on TV we have Scott Walker standing his ground against both. If you think that bloggers and viewers are not making the connection, you are wrong.

Boom! Hide and seek:

The Wisconsin Senate’s ride has continued all the way to Chicago (talk about the symbolism for the White House) and it has led to milk cartons and jokes. Forgetting the long-term damage it will do to any agenda they have and the Badger14 blog reports become more arrogant and their attempts to become sympathetic for abandoning their jobs are just not washing.

Boom! Remember that Civility thing?

Was it not even two months ago when the key word was civility? That we had to watch what we were saying and show respect? Well now that the “target” is a republican governor that is out the window. On Morning Joe today you have Mika twisting like a pretzel saying yes some signs are bad both others make a point. Suddenly the fierce moral imperative of civil discourse that we were drilled with for weeks is not longer such an imperative. Coming so soon after the stern media lectures it didn’t give people a chance to forget and speaking of signs…

Boom! Dictator Dictator who is a dictator?

One of the things I’ve noticed over the years is that people who have actually lived under a real dictatorship tend to be more conservative. Our friends on the left in Wisconsin have been throwing the dictator card out pretty freely.

Phil Hands for the Wisconsin state Journal via Disrupt the narrative

Today on Big Government we have a fellow of the left saying he would like Castro or Che rather than Walker (the better to shoot or imprison those who disagree with him I guess). It’s reached a point where the target is so big even cartoonists of the left are unable to miss it as illustrated. The cartoonist, Hands is a man of the left but the assertion that Walker is too much for him. As he put it:

I’m sorry, but Walker is not a despot or a dictator. He, and the rest of the republican clowns serving at the State Capital were elected, by a wide margin, by the people of Wisconsin. I find it ironic that the same day that thousands of people skipped work to rail against our “undemocratic” leader, fewer than a quarter of the registered voters in Madison bothered to vote in an actual election.

Personally I find it insulting to see people who are making 100k in wages plus benefits claiming to be under a dictator’s thumb when people living off of dollars a day are actually being shot by real dictators at the same time.

All of these have in common the fact that this can be easily understood by the general public. This is the critical distinction. Each of these things put democrats in a bad light, are supported by video and can’t be defended easily. On twitter It has been a struggle for people of the left who reflexively support these guys to do so. The hems and the haws have been very informative.

While some members of the GOP are getting wobbilly, I say man up. The reason why the left and the unions are screaming so loud is because they are losing both the argument and the visuals: as Powerline puts it:

I agree with Roger that this is a watershed moment. I think it is George Will who supplies the appropriate term for what we are seeing: “reactionary liberalism.” The petulant public employee unions and their associated goons swarming the Wisconsin capitol remind me of nothing so much as George Wallace blocking the schoolhouse door against integration, or the scenes, played out on national television in the early 1960s, of Democratic politicians whipping up mobs and setting dogs on civil rights marchers in the South. It was a clear sign the old order, also dedicated to preserving illegitimate privilege, was collapsing.

These protests aren’t a sign of strength, they are signs of weakness as the union bosses can’t quietly slip in the goodies they want. Or as even EJ Dionne acknowledges (and deplores) the Tea Party is winning.

I repeat the words of Sheridan: Ride Right through them, they’re demoralized as hell.

Update: I’m live at 5 for the first time! I’ll not let my new found fame change me.

…because things have been so busy so lets just throw out the thoughts.

Considering how big the Boycott news was before the conference it wasn’t that big a deal inside.

If I go next year I’ve got to find a closer hotel (or maybe Smitty be home and have space).

Considering the voting patterns of the last 80 years how significant is the fact that two of the most popular speakers at CPAC were black conservatives (Cain and West).

However it must be noted that unlike last year when the entire hotel was glued to their sets during Beck’s Speech, outside the hall plenty of people where ignoring West’s.

Anyone who touts the straw poll results from CPAC has an agenda.

There is no subject so boring nor advocate so disliked that they can’t draw a crowd by offering free food and booze.

I can’t see why a person will pay $15 dollars for a few chicken fingers when there is a McDonalds at the bottom of the hill.

Nor do I think it is wise to imbibe an excessive amount when in the company of a large group of people who write for a living or as a hobby.

CPAC always provides an abundance of rather incredible looking women dressed(?) to be noticed.

The security guys at the conference are very under-appreciated.

As is the staff.

One of the things that confused me the most was the undercurrent of pessimism in the place concerning 2012. In Jan 2010 we won a single senate seat in Massachusetts and all were energized, just three months before we won the house with historic margins and yet everyone seemed down. It makes no sense to me.

I highly recommend sitting next to Midnight Blue while blogging for days. It’s good for your karma.

6 months ago I talked to a young lady who was unhappy over a personal situation. I was very pleased to see her with a young man I know and approve of. It was one of the highlights of CPAC for me.

I seemed to encounter an inordinate number of inebriates this year,

I also spent more on Taxi’s that week than I have in my lifetime.

Steve of No Runny Eggs is a great person to have around.

I was disappointed that Captain Ed’s wife didn’t make it this year, she is a treasure.

I was pleased to see Susanna Fleetwood and her fine husband again…

and Katy with hers

and Dana Loesch with hers.

Nice Deb has an excuse with 6 kids in the house somebody has to be home.

Am I the only man in the conservative movement who doesn’t find Ann Coulter the least bit attractive?

Of course that doesn’t make her any less brilliant.

Tim Pawlenty bores me.

Herman Cain does not.

Nor does Dale Peterson….

Or Haley Barbour.

Ron Paul is the MSNBC of CPAC, he shows that you can make a good living off of a niche market.

He’s still right on domestic spending…

…and abortion.

And he is a more serious candidate than Donald Trump, of course that’s not saying much.

Donald Trump’s speech at CPAC was not as good as everyone is painting it, he just said aloud what every sane person already knew about Ron Paul.

I’ve never seen a person so giving of his time to his fans as Andrew Breitbart.

I think I spent less time with Stacy McCain at this event than I ever have at any such event.

I miss Smitty.

Didn’t get a chance to meet Wombat although saw him briefly.

It was very funny and ironic to have the makers of the film Atlas Shrugs suggest that they were looking for free promotion rather than paid (ie ad for my show). After all a free lunch is what the book is all about isn’t it.

And no I haven’t read it, will likely miss the movie too.

If there is anything more pleasant at CPAC than sitting for an hour talking to Little Miss Attila I’m not aware of it.

It was also fun to see the sheer joy of meeting people who were at CPAC for the first time.

The room that the MSM gets at CPAC really stinks, particularly compared to us bloggers.

But CPAC could give them the Platinum treatment and they still would not treat us conservatives nice

CPAC is much more manageable the 2nd time around.

I’m still pissed at the DJ at the freedom works party for not playing the songs I wanted to dance to.

I bet they would have played them at Breitbart’s party.

I only saw Cynthia Yockey for a moment, that’s a shame.

The lack of Val Prieto and Cheryl Prater was CPAC loss.

The Cannoli went over VERY well this year.

I think a lot of people at CPAC are there to try to cover a “gotcha” moment.

And Chris Barron’s decision to call Cleta Mitchell a bigot was one of them.

Speaking of which I had only three unpleasant experiences at CPAC, one was a fellow who had similar words for me for my opposition to Gay marriage. It was interesting to see my words twisted in that fashion.

In contrast a very pleasant experience was seeing Corinna Conn again

I think that CPAC should just sanction Pam Geller’s events and be done with it. The idea that they are “unofficial” is simply nonsense.

The Swag bags were pretty thin compared to last year.

I think Roxeanne would enjoy CPAC, I also think she would slap an awful lot of faces there.

I don’t see Sarah Palin coming to CPAC next year either.

You can learn more about a pol in an hour of smoozing than in a week of speeches.

Last year I focused on the attendees, this year I focused on the vendors, Maybe next year I’ll spend my time among the authors…

…If I can afford it that is.

CPAC’s come and go but the google group is forever.

Update: the Loud Talker puts up his list too.

This morning I talked to Andrew Breitbart about his trip to Madison and what he saw:

DaTechGuy:
Why did you decide to go to Wisconsin?

Andrew Breitbart: The Democratic Party has used public sector unions as a weapon to intimidate. It’s a formula used state by state (Such as in searchlight) I’ve sensed that any time when Obama’s Organizing for America gets involved they are up to no good. So when I see them go up against the people I try to be there.

DTG:
How “managed” were the union crowds?

Breitbart: OFA was on their best behavior this time, in the past we’ve seen things such as the egging in Searchlight, the assault on Ken Gladney and more, but this time they are now noticing us with the camera and like Wile E. Coyote they are heading back to the Acme factory to find a new way to do things.

The vulgarity was present for all to see but they tried to be their best for the cameras which were everywhere. At yesterday’s rally there was a sea of double soy-latte Caucasian rage against fox news, “tea baggers”, and “Koch suckers” (referring to the Koch brothers). So were the signs comparing Scott Walker to Hitler and Mubarak.

DTG:
I see you mingled with the crowd on the left, I found it odd that you weren’t recognized

Breitbart: I wore a hat and glasses, walked about 300 yards with the crowd to where I was going as they chanted: Hey hey ho ho; Scott Walker has got to go!” This was actually after my speech; I was on the way to where I was going that when I ran into the doctors giving out the notes.

DTG:
Were you surprised at how open the docs were about writing those sick notes?

    Breitbart: First I want to give a Hat tip to the MacIiver institute that did the initial videos, but my mind is no longer blowable. I don’t think they understand how disturbing their letters were. They really believe that If their hearts are in the proper place they can do what they want. Remember we are coming off Lyla Rose’s Planned Parenthood videos. When you start looking at ACRON and Planned Parenthood and the rest they are considered and painted as the crown jewels of the left, but every office except for 1 you had employees turning a blind eye to immorality.

DTG:
What was your reaction to the left’s attempt to call your video “fake”?

Breitbart: The idea that our independent efforts to expose the left for what they are a sign that there is a market for people for it. I’m conspiring with any American truth teller or videographer who wants to expose the left, if they call it a conspiracy so be it.

DTG:
The unions and the left are going “all in “in Wisconsin why do you think that is the case?

Breitbart: It was a good place for them to do this, because of the template that can be replicated elsewhere because of the existing progressive organizations in the state. That’s why it was so important for the tea party and new media to show up to help show things for what they are

DTG:
I’ve suggested that the events in Wisconsin are a living breathing GOP/or tea party ad for 2012 do you agree.

Breitbart: I agree I think that the visuals, the Hitler stuff, going after the democratic process the way they do, when they call (Gov Scott) Walker a dictator when he was democratically elected, when they do this the protesters are trying to say their minority status trumps the majority. The visuals alone for the ad campaigns are a strong message against this.

DTG:
That being so how long can the MSM cover it up?

Breitbart: The acorn videos never played on ABC, NBC etc yet the America people where able to find out about it and Acorn is done. The more they deny the stories like the doctors slowly but surely the average American recognizes that they are not getting the truth. The MSM’s entire edifice is imploding. We’ve shaken the cage and the American People will see there is another way. There is a check and balance against them and it’s the new media

Update: Thanks to the Lonely Conservative for the link. The fair Miss Attila link also links and comments on the phony doctor notes and more. American Glob includes us in headlines and asks some questions.

BTW not to sound greedy but if you like the work, As I mentioned this morning I’m a couple of hundred short this month if you have an interest in kicking in I’d much appreciate it.

My last field guide entry from CPAC is my interview with a pair of sister bloggers:

Their blog is America is conservative. The full field guide is here.

Oh and they actually filmed me interviewing Breitbart, here is a little behind the scenes peek:

Click here for the full set that they shot and here for their own talk with Andrew.