Friday, March 29, AD 2024 8:24am

Various & Sundry, 3/18/15

– So I guess today’s controversy is Scott Walker firing (or accepting the “resignation”) of his online outreach director after an outcry was made against her hiring due to some harsh things she said about Iowa. Because you simply cannot say anything critical about Iowa, that wonderful Republican bellwether that has correctly picked the Republican nominee twice in thirty years and has voted for the ultimate GOP nominee in the general election once during that same time.

Here’s Drew M at Ace of Spades saying, “Eh, no big deal.” Here’s Ace himself going to eleven on the freakout-o-meter. Personally I just don’t care much either way, though I slightly lean towards the Drew M position. That being said, my main takeaway from all this: just stay away from twitter. Nothing good comes from twitter.

– Let’s step in the wayback machine to a time when adults were welcome in the Democrat party. George Will memorializes Daniel Patrick Moynihan and his accurate assessment that the breakdown of the family would exacerbate economic woes, especially for minorities. Moynihan was pilloried for his views, so it’s refreshing to see that absolutely nothing has changed in our political discourse in half a century.

Fifty years ago this month, Moynihan, then a 37-year-old social scientist working in the Labor Department, wrote a report, “The Negro Family: The Case for National Action,” that was leaked in July. The crisis he discerned was that 23.6 percent of African-American births were to unmarried women. Among the “tangle” of pathologies he associated with the absence of fathers was a continually renewed cohort of inadequately socialized adolescent males. This meant dangerous neighborhoods and schools where disciplining displaced teaching. He would later write: “A community that allows a large number of young men to grow up in broken families, dominated by women, never acquiring any stable relationship to male authority . . . that community asks for and gets chaos.”
Academic sensitivity enforcers and race-mongers denounced him as a racist who was “blaming the victim.” Today, 72 percent of African-American children are born to single women, 48 percent of first births of all races and ethnicities are to unmarried women, and more than 3 million mothers under 30 are not living with the fathers of their children.

Ben Carson may need to sit down and do some studying if he wants to take this whole presidential run seriously.

Neurosurgeon and prospective Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson stumbled on key foreign policy questions during an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Wednesday, appearing to not realize the Baltic States are members of NATO and dating the founding of Islam to well before the birth of Christ.

In fairness, reading through the interview online Carson doesn’t necessarily state that Islam predates Christ, but that the tension in the region does. That being said, I continue to find his entire candidacy quixotic. Conservatives have – rightly – spent the better part of almost decade decrying the cult of personality surrounding Barack Obama, and yet there’s a fairly solid base of support for someone whose main accomplishment in the political arena is delivering one single speech that people liked. In a field that will feature a half-dozen accomplished governors plus a few more serious candidates with varying degrees of accomplishment, what exactly is Carson’s appeal?

– Funny video: how to become gluten intolerant.

I feel sorry for people who have celiac disease and who probably get a roll of the eyes whenever they request gluten free food. Unfortunately there is now a cottage industry of people who don’t even know what gluten is demanding that anything they consume must absolutely not contain the stuff.

– I’ve been lifting weights and getting into strength training. If this thread indicates what happens to the brains of people who lift weights, I might be done.

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Thomas Collins
Thomas Collins
Wednesday, March 18, AD 2015 8:03pm

“Morons across America are astounded to learn that people from *IOWA* grow up rather government-dependent. #agsubsidies #ethanol #brainless,” Ms. Mair wrote on Jan. 22.

Except for #brainless I completely agree. It’s time to get some of the larger states earlier in the season, I’m in NY and I wish the Legislature would pass a law that our primary will be held one week before New Hampshire’s.
Won’t happen, maybe Texas will go for it.

Jay Anderson
Wednesday, March 18, AD 2015 8:21pm

What’s most revealing about the L’affaire Liz Mair is the extent to which the allegedly “conservative” pundit class is freaking out over the firing of a pro-abortion, pro-same-sex “marriage”, pro-amnesty shill who tweeted rude and disparaging things about people whose votes her boss is seeking to win. The allegedly “conservative” Erick Erickson, in response to the firing of his friend, Mair, went so far as to say that those who brought her firing about — he specifically mentioned “Christian conservatives” in his screed — could all go “die in a fire”. Some hack at HotAir echoed that sentiment.
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In the end, this is not the sort of bread-and-butter issue on which elections are won or lost. In fact, this is the worst kind of inside baseball — a complete non-story, no matter how big a deal the so-called “conservative” pundit class wants to make of it. Except insofar as what it tells us about the trustworthiness of said pundit class.

Anzlyne
Anzlyne
Wednesday, March 18, AD 2015 9:04pm

The lady should not have said those things, because they are not true. Walker was correct to accept her resignation because she was counterproductive for his purposes. He showed good judgment and was not just bowing to political correctness. As far as being a republican bellwether, Iowa conservatives may not alway follow the directions from the top of the GOP, maybe more conservative than Republican. She showed her lack of understanding of the conservative base in the midwest, not just Iowa.
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Ted Cruz came to Iowa a couple of weeks ago to the Ag Summit was straightforward about ethanol etc, but did not alienate people with snark. Cruz is also from an ag state.
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A very small percentage of Americans anymore have anything to do with farming, and there are a lot of misconceptions. There are also many and various enterprises that are subsidized that may be more debatable than supporting crop production.

Ernst Schreiber
Ernst Schreiber
Wednesday, March 18, AD 2015 11:03pm

I think Carson’s appeal lies in the fact that he’s accomplished something outside of politics. It would be nice to elect somebody who knew how to do something other that raise money and give speeches. I almost included “and win elections,” but they don’t know how to do that –that’s what they hire experts for.
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As for Iowa, as a midwesterner I’m partial to the quaint, retail politcs aspect, but didn’t Reagan skip it?
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I’m not surprised to hear about Ace’s attack of the vapors, he’s consistently proven himself to be more Rabbit than Pooh-bear.

Elizabeth Fitzmaurice
Elizabeth Fitzmaurice
Thursday, March 19, AD 2015 7:12am

“…..and yet there’s a fairly solid base of support for someone whose main accomplishment in the political arena is delivering one single speech that people liked.”
Indeed. His popularity reminds me, unpleasantly, of the cult-of-Palin. And perhaps a fair number of his fans also rather like him for the color of his skin.

I also liked his one speech that you’re referring to. He’d probably make a great Surgeon General to the next Conservative President. But definitely not for President.

Mrs. Zummo
Mrs. Zummo
Thursday, March 19, AD 2015 7:32am

I like Carson, but I suspect he’s running for a cabinet position. HHS perhaps? Being a surgeon is largely a lone wolf endeavor. Perhaps he had a few employees, and he dealt with departmental politics at Johns Hopkins. It’s safe to say he has little to no executive experience. More than Obama, but we can do better than that. He’s not a serious candidate, but I’m interested in what he’ll add to the field.

Mary De Voe
Thursday, March 19, AD 2015 10:42am

I like Carson, too.

Art Deco
Art Deco
Thursday, March 19, AD 2015 2:26pm

What’s most revealing about the L’affaire Liz Mair is the extent to which the allegedly “conservative” pundit class is freaking out over the firing of a pro-abortion, pro-same-sex “marriage”, pro-amnesty shill who tweeted rude and disparaging things about people whose votes her boss is seeking to win. The allegedly “conservative” Erick Erickson, in response to the firing of his friend, Mair, went so far as to say that those who brought her firing about — he specifically mentioned “Christian conservatives” in his screed

She’s in their social circle and you’re not and I’m not and one might wager that no one who is like the generic Republican voter is. Of course it’s a performance issue when public relations about the candidate is displaced by public discussion of his motormouth public relations aide, but do not tell these characters whose work includes, er, talking to press agents.

It also ought to occur to the once-engaging Mr. Michael Brendan Dougherty that Mair is a professional press agent, as in “Madam, I’m a professional. I work for money…And the difference between this great lady and myself is that my work is her hobby. My hobby happens to be gardening, for which I don’t expect to be paid.” Republican consigliere Roger Stone was once asked what his political principles were. His reply was, “I don’t work both sides of the street”. She has her regular clientele, and it’s not likely she’s a monopoly service provider or has some sort of secret sauce which makes her indispensable.

Art Deco
Art Deco
Thursday, March 19, AD 2015 2:30pm

Indeed. His popularity reminds me, unpleasantly, of the cult-of-Palin.

That’s bizarre. He’s very unlike Gov. Palin. Gov. Palin is a lapsed radio reporter who is not known for her accomplishments in her private work life. She does, however, have 11 years under her belt as a public executive and a history of negotiating amicably with legislators. Also, her appeal is derived in part from her vernacular qualities, something surgeons seldom have.

Art Deco
Art Deco
Thursday, March 19, AD 2015 2:44pm

Morons across America are astounded to learn that people from *IOWA* grow up rather government-dependent. #agsubsidies #ethanol #brainless,” Ms. Mair wrote on Jan. 22.

Ignorant women employed as press agents might be astounded to learn that 90% of the personal income received by Iowa households is not attributable to farm earnings and that 85% of the workforce is not employed in farming.

Ernst Schreiber
Ernst Schreiber
Thursday, March 19, AD 2015 3:32pm

Whining and complaining about Iowa and New Hampshire on the part of the media is as much a feature of the quadrennial silly season as shaking hands and kissing babies.
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Hawaii is no more electorally significant than Iowa or New Hampshire, but you wouldn’t hear any belly aching from reporters about the pineapple industry or the tourist lobby.

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