WHAT'S THEIR PROBLEM WITH ROMNEY?

Ann Coulter has a great column on the mystery of why some of the major conservative commentators are anti Romney

In 2008, Romney was enthusiastically supported not only by Limbaugh and Levin, but also by Sean Hannity, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, Laura Ingraham, Michael Savage and many others who now seem to view Romney as a closet liberal. This is especially baffling because there is no liberal candidate in the Republican primary this year.

To read the rest click on the title for a link.

I love this quote from her column:

I would think that the pristine example of the Republican Establishment is Weekly Standard editor and Fox News contributor Bill Kristol. But he wants anybody but Romney, even proposing that we choose someone not running by means of a contested convention..........Without having seen this mystery candidate in action, how do we know he won't be another Rick Perry? You'll recall that Perry was the dream candidate until we saw him talk.

United States Debt Worse Than Greece !

The following chart from the office of Senator Jeff Sessions, ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee, showing that 'America’s Per Capita Government Debt Worse Than Greece,' as well as Ireland, Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain.

The Republican candidates need to be talking about this over and over again !

Downton Abby ****

For the three day "Presidents Day" holiday weekend I watched both seasons of the PBS mini series "Downton Abby". I found the first (last years) season on my Netflix streaming account and watched it Sunday. On Monday, I watch this season on PBS video on my computer. As an Anglophile I loved it. It reminded me of Brideshead Revisited, Upstairs Downstairs and Mrs Miniver all rolled into one. I first learned of the series while watching the Golden Globe Awards show and later from my wife and daughter who are fans. In some ways there was a little too much "soap opera" for me but I loved the setting a lot.

The following is an overview from Wikipedia:

The series is set in the fictional Downton Abbey, the Yorkshire country house of the Earl and Countess of Grantham, and follows the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants during the reign of King George V. The first series spans the two years before the Great War beginning with news of the sinking of the Titanic, which sets the story in motion. The second series covers the years 1916 to 1919,(World War I) and the 2011 Christmas Special December covers the 1919 Christmas period, ending in early 1920.

There will be a third year that will include the "Roaring Twenties"

I watched all 14 episodes for about 17 hours of viewing time. Perfect way to spend a cold rainy three day weekend with no football.

Three of my favorite lines from the movie are when a "middle class" lawyer talks about how he can keep his law practice and help manage the estate on "weekends" the old aristocratic grandmother (Maggie Smith) asks "What's a weekend" or when the Lord of the house tells his American heiress wife "Don't go American on me" when they get into an argument or when the Lord tells his daughter he loves her and then says that's hard to say "for an Englishman."

"Rick Santorum = Church Lady"

Tweet from John Podhoretz of Commentary Magazine. This from a conservative! It will only get worse!

For the culturally deprived this from Wikipedia:

The Church Lady was a recurring character in a series of sketches on the American television show Saturday Night Live from 1986 to 1990....

Created and played by Dana Carvey, The Church Lady is an elderly woman named “Enid Strict”, who is the uptight, smug and pious host of her own talk show, Church Chat. Enid is a spoof of “holier-than-thou” Christian churchgoers....Carvey said he based the character on women he knew from his church growing up, who would keep track of his and others' attendance

As a kid growing up and attending Lutheran churches with my parents I can remember several! They would always greet my folks after church by saying: "we haven't seen you for a while" or "we missed you" or "nice to see you it has been a while."

Santorum Self Destructs

I like Rick Santorum he is a good and decent man; but, his candidacy for the Republican nomination is disintegrating before our very eyes. Each of Mitt Romney's opponents, who have surged ahead of him in the polls, have done the same thing.

First, was Rick Perry who showed he was unprepared.

Second, was Herman Cain who had problems with his past "skirt chasing" issues.

Third, was Newt Gingrich who was...... well, Newt Gingrich.

Now, we have Rick Santorum and his religious beliefs that he openly discuses when he should be talking about the deficit.

The latest reports about a speech Santorum gave four years ago in 2008 at Ave Maria University in Florida where he said that Satan is destroying academia, politics, and the Protestant Church just confirms it. Regardless of whether you believe that or not, there is no way he will be elected President of the United States in 2012. This speech will just confirm to many Americans that Santorum is some kinda "religious nut." Americans for the most part are very uncomfortable discussing religion and don't want their political leaders discussing it other than in a very superficial way. They want their leaders to say "God bless America" go to church on Sunday/Saturday , pray and profess "Divine Guidance;" but, other than that they want their politcal leaders to deal in the secular world. In polite secular society people don't discuss their religious beliefs. Mitt Romny understands this! He has very strong religious beliefs but you won't see him discussing them.

Not only that, but Santorum in the Ave Maria University speech seems to be saying the devil has taken over academia and the mainline Protestants Churches. Now, I don't think the Republicans are going to get many votes in academia but mainline Protestant churches are another thing.

Click on the title for a link to an audio of Sanatorium's speech.

Santorum in his sweater vest could prove formidable Republican opponent to Barack Obama, the king of cool

Mark McKinnon writes that: "Rick Santorum may be unfashionable and obstinate, but in the end he could prove the strongest Republican contender."

Sleeveless pullovers were never cool. But neither was the small-town kid who was nicknamed "Rooster" by his classmates for the cowlick in his hair and the obstinacy in his nature.


So how, some 40 years later, can Rick Santorum - who has made the unfashionable knitwear that Americans call his sweater vest a trademark of his campaign - hope to challenge the dapper Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination before taking on the king of cool, Barack Obama?

As someone who loves sweater vests and America I hope McKinnnon is right !

To read the rest click on the title for a link.

The ideal Republican nominee

Jay Cost of The Weekly Standard:

Thus, the ideal Republican nominee is a candidate who can articulate the party’s conservative worldview in a way that attracts the sliver of the electorate that is actually up for grabs. By the same token, a nominee who alienates the center is a danger in an electoral battle that will unify the Democrats around Obama. With a base vote of about 46 percent, Obama needs only to split the pure independents to be favored for a second term. As the battle for the Republican nomination continues, one question primary voters will have to ask themselves is: Which candidate can best articulate conservative principles and policies to attract, not repel, these independents?

Click on the title to read the entire article

Cost does not endorse Mitt Romney but as much as I like Rick Santorum I know he would turn off these independent voters. Conservatives in this country need to be disciplined and not allow their emotions to cloud their judgment.

Bill O'Reilly on his Fox News show tonight:

"This has not been a good week for Senator Rick Santorum and it's not really his fault - he simply told the truth but did so in a way that will hurt him. One of Santorum's big donors is a man named Foster Friess, a conservative millionaire investor. Incredibly, Mr. Friess went on MSNBC to talk about contraception, where he joked that 'back in my days they used Bayer aspirin for contraception, the gals put it between their knees.' Senator Santorum says Mr. Friess doesn't have any power in his campaign, but that's not going to stop MSNBC and other left-wing media from hammering him. Everybody knows the majority of the American media wants to reelect Barack Obama, so why are Republican candidates and their supporters giving the opposition machine guns? Talking about the private behavior of Americans is a no-win situation, so Rick Santorum should have never said that birth control has led to a 'dramatic increase in sexually transmitted diseases.' The majority of American voters have no interest in politicians talking about private stuff and Mr. Santorum's private view is never going to be accurately represented. If Rick Santorum does secure the Republican nomination, he will be portrayed as a Puritan witch hunter, a fanatical religious guy, a member of the Inquisition. That's how the liberal media will tag Santorum, and to uninformed voters it could do him damage."

Santorum's Reverend Wright !

According to the Washington Post, Foster Freiss (the wealthy investor bankrolling a super PAC for GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum) made the following quote while appearing on MSNBC Thursday to argue that social issues are largely irrelevant.

I get such a chuckle when these things come out. Here we have millions of our fellow americans unemployed, we have jihadist camps being set up in Latin America, which Rick has been warning about, and people seem to be so preoccupied with sex. I think that says something about our culture. We maybe need a massive therapy session so we can concentrate on what the real issues are. And this contraceptive thing, my gosh, it's such inexpensive. Back in my days, they used Bayer Aspirin for contraceptives. The gals put it between their knees and it wasn't that costly."

Jennifer Rubin:

must be a contest to see how many swing voters they can alienate.. suddenly Romney looks IN touch by comparison

Democrats for Santorum !

I just knew this was coming.

Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas has launched a campaign to make life difficult for Mitt Romney, by encouraging Democrats to vote for Rick Santorum in open primary and caucus states.

(click on title for link)

Michigan is an open primary state. That means Democrats can go to the polls and vote for Rick Santorum, who they think is a weaker candidate, to run against President Obama in the general election in the fall.

To quote the Dailey Kos:

it's freaking hilarious. I mean, Rick Santorum? Really? The Republicans have offered up this big, slow, juicy softball. Let's have fun whacking the heck out of it.

Santorum: not a "big tent" Republican

Santorum last October said"

"I am not a libertarian, and I fight very strongly against libertarian influence within the Republican Party and the conservative movement."

Did he just read me out of the Republican Party and the Conservative movement? I am not a Ron Paul libertarian but there is a strong streak of libertarianism in my Conservatism and Santorum is reading me out ! He is NO Ronald Reagan. Click on the title for more information

Detroit Today...... Oregon Next !

Quote of the Day taken from the WallStreet Journal "Political Diary":

Imagine a city where all the major economic planks of the statist or "progressive" platform have been enacted:

A "living wage" ordinance, far above the federal minimum wage, for all public employees and private contractors. A school system that spends significantly more per pupil than the national average. A powerful school employee union that militantly defends the exceptional pay, benefits and job security it has won for its members. Other government employee unions that do the same for their members. A tax system that aggressively redistributes income from businesses and the wealthy to the poor and to government bureaucracies.

Would this be a shining city on a hill, exciting the admiration of all? We don't have to guess, because there is such a city right here in our state: Detroit.

Detroit has been dubbed "the most liberal city in America" and each of these "progressive" policies is alive and well there. How have they worked out?

In 1950, Detroit was the wealthiest city in America on a per capita income basis. Today, the Census Bureau reports that it is the nation's 2nd poorest major city, just "edging out" Cleveland.

Could it be pure coincidence that the decline occurred over the same period in which union power, the city government bureaucracy, taxes and business regulations all multiplied? While correlation is not causation, it is striking that the decline in per capita income is exactly what classical economists predict would occur when wage controls are imposed and taxes are increased.--Jarrett Skorup writing at michigancapitalconfidential.com on Feb. 14.

Can Oregon be next ?.....

Santorum: ‘Birth control harms women’

I am going to start a new series on this blog about things Rick Santorum has said that will harm him and the Republican Party in the General Election if he gets the Republican nomination. I am a Conservative Republican and don't necessary disagree with these statements but they will hurt us a lot in the Fall. We need to know it now before we nominate him. He is a good man but sometimes his very conservative values will come across in the media and with independant voters as preachy, judgmental and arrogant. In 2006 in an interview he said:

Interviewer Question:

So would birth control be covered by that notion of freedom without responsibilities?

Rick Santorum:

I vote and have supported birth control because it is not the taking of a human life but I am not a believer in birth control. -artificial birth control- Again I think it goes down the line of being able to do whatever you want to do without having the responsibility that comes with that. …

This is from a personal point of view, from a governmental point of view I support ahh, title 10 I guess it is, and have voted for contraception and although I don’t think it works, I think it’s harmful to women, I think it’s harmful to our society to have a society that says that sex outside of marriage is something that should be encouraged or or or tolerated particularly among the young.

I think it has… we’ve seen very, very harmful long term consequences to our society. Birth control enables that and I don’t think it is a healthy thing for our country.

While he may very well be correct this will not help the Republican Party with woman voters and the Republican Party has historically had a gender gap.On the merits of his answer he doesn't even mention the possibility that millions of married couples (lots of them Republican) use birth control! This is one of the reasons he lost his bid in Pennsylvania to be reelected to the U.S. Senate in 2006. It takes a lot to defeat a sitting Senator but Rick managed to have that happen to him.

Ben Johnson Website

Click on the title for a link to a website about one of my favorite character actors and a member of Director John Ford's "stock company." In 1971, he was awarded an Academy Award for for best supporting actor for his performance as 'Sam The Lion' in The Last Picture Show, directed by Peter Bogdanovich. John Ford reportedly had to talk him into taking the part at Bogdanovich's request.

"The Candy Man"

Mitt Romeny.... Man of Action !

Most people have heard the story of when Mitt Romney was head of the Winter Olympics in Utah he saw a traffic jam on the way to an Olympic venue so he got off his bus and directed traffic. Well today I read one less well known but more important .

Washington Post Conservative blogger, Jennifer Rubin had a private interview with Mitt Romney today after his CPAC speech where he told her this little know story about when he shut down his company, Bain Capital in Boston, so many of the employees including himself could go to New York city to launch a search for a partner's missing daughter.

Click on the title for a link and read it yourself.

After relating the story Rubin writes:

That story, and Romney’s reticence about using it tell you much of what you need to know about him. His methodical and cool, data-driven methodology often conceals sentiment. He is by training and mental habit a businessman, who can work through problem better than almost anyone else, but not a politician and not a orator.


This is the kind of person I want to be President of the United States!

No Football this Weekend !

This is the first weekend in 6 months that there will be no football. What will I do ? What will I do ?.................

Put together my 2012 Oregon Duck Rose Bowl Scrapbook !
Let's Go Ducks.... the season never ends !

2012 Rose Bowl Memories

4:06 in the Fourth Quarter of the 2012 Rose Bowl, Oregon Linebacker Michael Clay, # 46, recovers a Wisconsin fumble near the Oregon sidelines and Oregon Coach Chip Kelly jumps three feet.

FINAL SCORE: OREGON DUCKS 45 WISCONSIN BADGERS 38

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ! SHOUT OUT !

Your not a kid anymore ! Have a great day. We love you.

Halftime in America: Remy Chrysler Ad Parody

Romney / Santorum Ticket ?

Congratulations to Rick Santorum for winning the Missouri Primary and the Minnesota and Colorado Caucuses. The real loser tonight is Newt Gingrich. All of a sudden we have a new conservative alternative to Mitt Romney and it is not Newt. I like Rick Santorum and he often expresses the frustrations of Americans. I am intrigued by his plan to not tax domestic corporations that manufacture products here in the United States to encourage business to return manufacturing to the United States so every thing we buy is not made in China and/or elsewhere.We need to return manufacturing to the United States and he has a definite plan. This should be popular in the "rust belt" of the U.S. He has a populist appeal because of his blue collar roots.

Santorum still needs to prove he can expand his appeal outside the Republican activist that dominate caucuses.

The advantage of having Rick Santorum, as the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney, is that in the end Romney could pick Santorum as his running mate (or the other way around) to unite the Republican Party. Romney could NEVER pick Newt if Gingrich was the conservative alternative. In addition to Republicans, Mitt appeals to independents and Rick has the potential to appeal to social Conservatives and blue collar Democrats who are with us on social issues and on a strong defense and foreign policy. The kind of Democrats Obama thinks he is smarter than, because they "cling to their religion and guns." Reagan Democrats!

I support Mitt Romney, but also like Rick Santorum and both will have been tested by the 20 plus debates and a vigorous but not destructive primary campaign. So long Newt !

"Halftime in America"

Last night, Jay Leno observed that it may be

“half time in America, but China’s got the ball and we’re down by 15 trillion!”

Sorry Clint!

(Chrysler ad during the Super Bowl)

UPDATE:

Rich Lowry writes:

Amid all the patriotic piety, Eastwood neglects to mention that Chrysler is now 58.5 percent owned by Fiat, an Italian company. The heart-tugging images of Turin, Italy, apparently were left on the cutting-room floor.

To read the rest of the column click on the title for a link.

Romney Wins Twice in Nevada !

Mitt Romney won twice in the Nevada Caucuses tonight. He won the vote and he won when Newt Gingrich gave a petulant, angry, vicious post vote press conference that is unlike anything I have seen as a political junkie for 55 years. In one press conference he disqualified himself as a candidate for President of the United States. He showed that there is no 'new" Newt but an angry man who is ruled by his emotions and lacks the character and discipline to be President of the United States.

Victor davis Hanson of National Review:

But whether he knows it or not, Gingrich is becoming a caricature of petulance: no concession in Nevada, no call to Romney, no awareness that his inability to raise money at levels of a political rival or to match a competing campaign organization is not necessarily unfair. That’s politics, and Gingrich knows it. I don’t understand why he thinks now losing to Romney in 2012 is solely due to Romney’s innate deviousness in a way McCain beating Romney in 2008 was not — given that Romney was about the same in both 2008 and 2012. Gingrich seems oblivious to the fact that McCain’s style and history gave him advantages over Romney’s money and hardball in ways Gingrich’s own proven liabilities apparently do not.

Gingrich should carefully play a tape of his post–Nevada caucus performance, and then he would quickly grasp that it was little more than a litany of excuses, whining, and accusations — characterized by stream-of-conscious confessionals and rambling repetitions. And, I think, will hurt him more than anything yet in the campaign

To read the rest click on the title for a link.