Live-Blogging the South Carolina Debate UPDATED

We're just getting started.  Stay tuned.

Update 1:   We begin with Newt trying to defend his negative attacks on Romney after vowing not to go negative.  Romney defends by touting his private sector record.  If an Olympics reference is on your bingo card, DRINK.

Update 2:  A "vulture capitalism" question to Rick Perry.  DRINK.   Perry seems a little stiff.  He's calling on Mitt to release his income tax records and gets applause.  Perry calls for the repeal of Dodd-Frank and when he says we have way too many regulations in this country he gets lots of applause.

Romney gets a chance to respond but says he needs more than 30 seconds.  Uh, okay.

Update 3:  Romney:  "You never want to see anyone lose a job."  That ought to play well with his "I like to be able to fire people," comment.  Context or not.   Romney dodged the call for his tax records, by the way.  Why is that?  What's he hiding?

Update 4:   Shift to Ron Paul who comes out swinging on Santorum by explaining he couldn't hit Santorum on everything he wanted to in one single ad.  Ouch.  Santorum says he voted for NCLB and "I shouldn't have."  On right to work, Santorum says he supports it.

Juan Williams asks Santorum if "barbed personal attacks" should be abandoned.  Dumb question.  Santorum hits Romney with question about a negative ad his PAC ran.  Romney dodges the question from Santorum and says "We've got plenty of time, I'll get to it when I want to."  The crowd is applauding Santorum who is really drawing blood here.  "It's MLK day!" he says.  The question is about felons being allowed to vote.  "I don't believe that people who have committed violent crimes should be allowed to vote again," Romney says.

Santorum calls him on it.  Bam!

Santorum is relentless on this and Mitt is stuttering. 

Update 5:  Perry just stuck them both by pointing out that the "Washington insiders" need to get out of it and let the states decide.  Applause.

Update 6:  Fox sets Romney up give a summary of his "conservative" positions.  He's pro-life, he says, against gay marriage, believes in freedom and free enterprise, on and on and on.  Oh, and not a flip-flopper.  Yeah, okay.

Juan to Perry on the voter ID law in South Carolina.  Are you suggesting on this MLK day that the federal government should not scrutinize the voting laws in states where blacks were once denied the right to vote?

Perry's response is that the federal government should stay out of it and pulls the right to work issue into it as well.  He says this administration is at war against religion too, for that matter.  Strong answer by Perry, I think.  "South Carolina is at war against the federal government."  Huge applause, too.

Update 7:  When asked how long someone should be able to draw unemployment checks, Newt says it should all be tied to a training program.  "99 weeks is an Associates Degree!" he says, to applause.  Newt just called Obama "the food stamp president."  Heh!

Update 8: Romney:  our tax rates are too high and regulations too burdensome.  We have an energy policy that doesn't take advantage of our natural resources.  This president has opened no new markets around the world.  Bailouts aren't the answer.

To Ron Paul a defense cuts question:  "what do you say to people in this state" that worry that your positions will cost jobs?  Paul says we would not be weaker under his policies and says he gets lots of donations from active military.  "There's a difference between military spending and defense spending," Paul points out.  Building embassies is not defense spending "it's waste," he says. 

What is the highest federal income tax any American should have to pay?
Flat tax - Perry
25% - Romney
15% - Newt
0% - Ron Paul

Question to Mitt:  "Will you release your income tax records?"  Romney says he looked at what other candidates like Bush and Reagan did, they released in April.  He'll probably do that in April, then.  He's stammering on this a bit.  "What's happened in history is that people released them in April and that's what I'll probably do."

Update 9:  Why is every question from Juan Williams race related?  He's asking Ron Paul now about disparate numbers between arrested blacks and whites.

Next he goes to Newt and asks if he could be perceived as anti-black.  "Only the elites despise earning money," he says.  Juan says people of all races ask him if Newt's comments are "anti-poor."  Juan gets boo'd.  "It sounds as if you're trying to belittle people," when you use the term "food stamp president," Juan says.  Newt schools him on political correctness and using uncomfortable facts.  The crowd stands and applauds.

Juan should be under the desk about now.

Update 10:  Ron Paul gets to spend a long time rambling about his foreign policy position.  He sounds nuts.

Newt is strong on the Bin Laden question - "He's not a Chinese dissident!"; in other words, you kill your enemies.

Going to Romney after Paul only makes Romney sound more sensible.  A run over dog would sound more sensible than Ron Paul when he gets cranked up on "all these WARS!!!"

Mitt says we "absolutely not" negotiate with the Taliban.  "We should not negotiate with the Taliban, we should defeat the Taliban!"

Update 11: Rick Santorum does not support a military mission into Syria but wants the international community to help remove Assad.

To Rick Perry:  "Does Turkey still belong in NATO?"

He advocates cutting foreign aid to zero.  "Our president has a foreign policy that makes our allies very nervous and emboldens our enemies."  I'm not sure he answered that question, exactly.

Perry has mentioned his military service several times in this debate.  Somehow the marine urination video comes up here.  He blasts Biden for calling those Marines despicable, and he says "Let me tell you what is despicable: cutting Danny Pearl's head off" is despicable.  Hanging our contractors from bridges is despicable, he says.  Applause.  Perry suggests that this administration has strong disdain for our military.

Update 12:  When asked if he would have signed the national defense act as written, Mitt says yes.  He gets boo'd.

Pivot to the housing market - Perry basically says to get the federal government out of it.

To Newt - a Social Security question.  The Chilean model comes back out.

Update 13: Santorum and Newt duke it out on Social Security.  Santorum calls Newt's privatization "irresponsible" right now.  Newt defends the personal savings account model.  Draw.

Romney agrees with Santourm:  "Rick is right," he says.

Update 14:  A gun owners question for Romney from Juan.  No race baiting on this one.  "How can you convince gun owners you will be an advocate for them?"   Mitt says he's signed pro-gun legislation in his state.  He disagrees with new legislation and does not believe in new laws restricting gun use and gun owners.  Juan asks Mitt if he's gone hunting since '07.  Yep - elk hunting, he says.  Heh - Romney says Rick Perry is probably a more serious hunter than he is.  Perry agrees.

Update 15:   Santorum attacks Ron Paul on gun liability.  Sigh.

Woah.  Newt just jabbed Romney saying if he can't control his SuperPAC "it makes you wonder how much influence he would have as president."  Random.

Final update:  We end with Romney disavowing SuperPacs and Perry vowing to secure the border.  Who won this one?  Man.  Tough one.  They all had strong moments.  To my mind, though, this is the first time Romney took any hits.  Perry continues to improve.  Newt was strong as was Santorum. 

Glad it's over. 

Heigh ho - there's another damn debate this week! Thursday?   Good grief.

Leaves and Acorns

<------- is what I did yesterday and today.  I raked up 17 bags of leaves (and acorns), filled two trashcans with sticks, pruned three crape myrtle trees and blew of the driveway twice.

As I was raking today the acorns were falling so fast it sounded like popcorn in a microwave.   Like hail hitting the cars.

Meh.

Time for a beer.

Debate Prep

Another day, another Republican debate.  This time from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  Watch live here.  The moderators will be Bret Baier of Fox News' 'Special Report' and Gerald Seib of the Wall Street Journal.  Kickoff:  9 ET, 8:00 SIGIS time.

SIGIS will be live-blogging, of course.  Professor Jacobson will be covering at his place, too.

In the meantime, here's your debate prep:

We are down to five now that Huntsman has bowed out.  Michael D. Shear and NYT has What to Watch for in Tonight's Debate.

Nate Silver has a poll analysis and says Romney is it.

Newt says he can unite Republicans.

Senator Jim DeMint won't endorse but he does predict Romney wins S.C.

South Carolina state Senator Tom Davis has endorsed Ron Paul.

Christian conservative leaders have gone with Rick Santorum although there are now cries that the vote was rigged.

Rick Perry joins the chorus of those who want Mitt Romney to release his tax returns.

Cognitive Disonance will have Bingo cards for the debate up shortly.

As for me, as long as there are no long dissertations on contraceptives again, I guess it'll all be a win. 

Live-blogging later, folks.

"Are You Better off Today Than You Were Four Trillion Dollars Ago?"

Rick Perry filed a great performance Saturday night at the second Huckabee forum in South Carolina. 

I particularly liked this segment:



The polls are not favoring Perry, of course, although some polls have Perry making gains ahead of Santorum in South Carolina this week.

Pundette is still on the Perry bandwagon:

His limited-government message, with his impressive record as Texas governor to back it up, should appeal to conservatives who understand the terrible mess we're in.

I'm still there, too.  So he had some poor debates...he's more than made up for those in his most recent performances.  Perry's record in Texas is more consistent and conservative than Romney's record; Santorum's conservatism can't stack up to Perry's, and Newt has so many issues I find myself wondering why he's still polling so high.

It's time for people to take a second look at Perry before it's too late.  The media has already anointed Romney as the nominee.  That's enough to give me pause.  Team Obama's obvious glee in a Romney nomination is enough to stop me in my tracks. 

Rick Perry is the leader we need to get us out of this mess.  No doubt in my mind.

Pajamas in Public

How concerned are you that you might go to your local CVS or Target and find some person in their pajamas walking the aisles?  Is this a big concern for you?

It is to District 3 Caddo Commissioner Michael Williams:

Caddo Parish District 3 Commission Michael Williams said it was an incident at a local Walmart that offended him and some elderly customers that spurred him to push for an ordinance that would prohibit wearing pajama pants in public."I saw a group of young men wearing pajama pants and house shoes," he said. "At the part where there should have been underwear," his private parts were showing through the fabric.

Offensive?  You bet.  Nanny state?  Yep.  Trying to legislate common sense?  Absolutely.

Passing a law like this might put the People of Walmart site out of business.

Of course the ACLU has already come out against the proposed ordinance:

The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana released a letter from Executive Director Marjorie R. Esman Friday afternoon, saying “clothing is a form of expression protected under the Constitution of the United States.”

I agree with Commissioner Williams that this is inappropriate behavior but I have concerns about legislating things like this.  We've all seen the sagging pants and I remember the discussion when a no-sagging ordinance was passed:  many people insisted it was just a passing fad and would go away on its own.  (It hasn't.)  Others said the ordinance was "profiling" and would target certain groups.  (It didn't).  Overall, the sagging ordinance in Shreveport has resulted in 31 misdemeanor charges since it was passed in 2011.

Is this a sign of an overall decline in America?  Inconsideration of others?  Or is it just poor "home-training?"  Laziness?

I'm reminded of my mother and grandmother who would never consider going out shopping without stockings and gloves on.  You dressed to go downtown!  What would grandmother think of the young mother with three kids going to Walmart in her Family Guy pjs and slippers to buy PopTarts?

Since we already have indecency laws on the books, possibly we should just consider going with that one if some guy wants to go to Walmart with his junk exposed.

Added:  After I posted this I went to Super One (local supermarket) and lo and behold...a gentleman about 50 or so was walking with a young child through the grocery store.  He was wearing a fur hat, a white crew neck t-shirt, and cartoon print black pajama pants with his slide on fuzzy slippers.  




Photo credit:  Mike Silva - The Shreveport Times

Full Metal Jacket Reach Around: The Good Friends, Good Times Edition

We're lounging around today just watching football and snacking on football-watching-food;  the Saints are having a tough time with the 49ers.  The second half just started.  Mr. SIGIS yells at the TV a lot when we watch sports.  The World Series nearly did him in.

We went to Hangar 2 on base last night; it was a light crowd (holiday weekend) so our DJ friend, Larry, played lots of Jerry Jeff Walker for us in anticipation of our February date to see him.  It's a nice bar, Hangar 2, and one of those places where we have good friends and have good times.  That's our "bar-guard," Joy, pictured left.  She makes a mean beef Thai salad! 

That said, we were home early and I got up this morning, hit a couple of estate sales, then went to my mom's.  The rest of the day has been fairly lazy. 

Let's look at some links:

We'll start off with my currently featured blog, Andy's Place.  I can't explain why but his latest video made me laugh until I nearly cried.  Goofy as shit!  I loved it so much I even made Mr. SIGIS watch it and he laughed too. 

Doug Ross has Obama's new campaign poster.

Legal Insurrection's Saturday Night Card game is up.

American Power has video of Liz Cheney blasting Obama's defense cuts.

Smitty has a little video of John Wayne on liberals.  Stacy McCain thinks it's time for Rick Perry to get out of the race.

Fuzzy is on a rant and reminds us all to keep our focus.

Pirate's Cove has a bleak outlook for all those green ventures.

Althouse celebrates 8 years.

Bride of Rove is reading Steyn's After America has has thoughts.

Reaganite Republican ponders the consequences of a third-party run.

Pundette explains Stephanopoulous's strange obsession with contraceptives at the NH debate.

Ed Driscoll has a totally depressing post about a world with no bookstores or video stores. 

Sarah continues to live with a black cloud above her but manages to make it hilarious all the same.

And that's a wrap.  The Saints are stressing me out.  Here's a little Jerry Jeff Walker for you: love this song:

Happy Valentine's Day, Jerry Jeff!

Yay!

We just got our tickets to see Jerry Jeff Walker in February at Sam's Town!

Yay!

L.A. Freeway, baby!

Thank You Senator Peacock!

Back in October I endorsed Barrow Peacock for Louisiana Senate 37 in his race against term limited Rep. Jane Smith and I took some heat on this blog for it in the comments:

Thankfully, people do not take stock in what a low traffic blogger has to say about politics. Your bias against Representative Smith discredits you as a viable source of anything other then ignorant opinions.

I have to say, we at SIGIS enjoyed the give and take on that one!  (It got worse from there.)  Heh! 

 Mr. Peacock won that race and this week he showed his constituents why we voted for him.  He was the lone vote against John Alario for Senate president.

John Alario has served as an elected politician for 41 years now;  thirty-seven of those years he served as a Democrat until he decided it would be politically expedient to switch to Republican.  I wrote about Governor Jindal's outrageous support of Alario in late October.

John Alario was quite open at the time of his party switch about the fact that the switch was motivated by political expediency.

From my American Thinker article in November:

Alario was elected to the House in 1972, was term-limited in 2007, and decided to run for the Senate.  His primary goal was to serve as Senate president.  As Alario said:

"Whether I'm a Democrat or Republican or the Whig party, I'd like to be president of the Senate," Alario said. Switching parties "certainly plays into the politics of the situation ... it doesn't hurt to be in that party."

If this happens, Alario will become the second politician in Louisiana history to be president of both chambers, but to attain that objective, he needed to change parties, after 37 years, from Democrat to Republican.

At any rate, the election has come to pass.  Alario has been elected and as demanded by his constituents, Senator Barrow Peacock was the lone vote against him:

The lone vote against Alario was cast by Sen. Barrow Peacock, R-Shreveport. He said after the housekeeping legislative session at the inauguration that he promised his conservative district during the campaign that he would vote against Alario. "It was a campaign issue in District 37," Peacock said.

Senator Peacock chose to stand up against career politicians and the good ol' boy system.  

The only question now is will he be punished with a sorry committee assignment or ostracized by the system?  

SIGIS thanks Senator Peacock for his courage in taking a stand and for honoring his promises.  This is the kind of politician we need - one who recognizes he is a public servant, not there to feed from the taxpayer trough for 41+ years. 

Loose Thoughts

I've just got some quick links this afternoon.  Too much going on in real life right now: the new semester started and I'm working on getting my new kids settled and accustomed to the routine of M205.  This takes lots of planning, even after 16 years.  On top of that, we lost a friend to cancer this week (only 46!) and that's been sad.  The debacle in New Orleans didn't help last night, either.  

For New Hampshire results, stay with Legal Insurrection tonight.  I'm not too interested in NH for some reason.  Any state that rates Jon Huntsman that high has got to have issues.  Not to alienate my NH friends, but..., well, maybe it's just everything else going on.  I just can't drum up the enthusiasm.  Might just be the crop of candidates in general.  Who knows.

Didn't Christopher get whacked in the sixth season of The Sopranos?

Erick Erickson still has hope for Rick Perry.  As do I, but it looks grim.  Like LSU in the third quarter last night.

Pundette's "disordered thoughts" are so totally not disordered. 

Why wasn't Johnny Depp on the WH visitor's log? 

I'm going to curl up with a book and nurse my wounds.  Behave yourselves.

Live-Blogging the New Hampshire Debate

Start up in a couple of minutes.

Update 1:   You can watch on ABC's site if you've got NFL on your TV!

Mitt comes out swinging on Obama blaming him for the jobless rate.  Santorum points to Iran as "the most pressing issue today," but I'd bet all those jobless people think the economy is the most pressing issue.

Newt defends free enterprise.

Stephanopoulos questions Mitt's jobs created numbers.

Huntsman says his record in Utah is better than Perry's in Texas.  Why is he going after Perry who is floundering in the polls?  Romney says having jobs experience is necessary to creating jobs (something Obama wouldn't know about).

Ron Paul rises to Stephanopoulos's bait and goes after Rick Santorum as a "big government person."

Santorum:  "I'm a conservative, I'm not a libertarian."  Defends his record as protecting the interests of his state.  Ron Paul comes back and accuses Santorum again of being a big government person.

Is Rick Perry here?

Update 2:  Ah, here comes Perry.  After the Ron Paul/Rick Santorum bickering, Perry cites too much Washington insider experience;  Perry says with the exception of Huntsman, he's probably the only outsider in the race.

Ron Paul attacks Santorum for voting to increase the national debt.  Santorum is on shaky ground, I think, trying to defend increasing the debt ceiling.

Diane Sawyer jumps in with a national security question.  She goes to Huntsman with a question on Iran.  "Why would you be better as commander in chief than anyone else on this stage," she asks.  Huntsman says his was the best managed state in America and he created jobs.  It's all about trust, he says.  Americans don't trust their leaders anymore.

Sawyers continues the baiting and offers Huntsman the chance to go after "someone on this stage," but he refuses.

Same question to Romney who says that anyone can do better than Obama.  He cites Obama's total lack of experience upon election and he's made one error after another.  He's blasting Obama on his Iran policy.  "This is a failed presidency."

Romney refuses to attack his fellow candidates.

To Perry:  "Do you believe that having worn the uniform of our country better prepares you" to be president?  Perry says yep and then pivots back to Iran.  You cannot cut one trillion dollars from America's defense budget and believe that we won't be compromised, he says.  Obama simply doesn't understand the military.  Excellent answer. 

Newt cites his father's military service and his experience growing up in a military family.  About veterans, Newt says, "I feel for veterans." 

Ron Paul comes after Newt for his military deferments and Newt gets rankled.  Accuses Paul of being dishonest. "Newt:  I wasn't eligible for the draft."

Paul gets asked about the newsletters and he says it has already been explained.

Ron Paul turns this question into some civil rights, Rosa Parks moment and says blacks are disproportionately arrested and sent to death row.  The drug laws are "unfairly enforced" he says.

Commercial.

Update 3:   Why in the world are they spending so much time on the right to contraceptives?

This debate doesn't seem to be firing well; the candidates are seldom sure what the question is and end up answering about whatever topic they want to answer.

Diane Sawyer tries to lead them into the gay marriage issue.  Huntsman is all for civil unions which "add dignity" to a relationship.  Romney stands by his position that marriage is between a man and a woman.  He says children will be better off if they're raised in a setting with a male and a female.

Newt seems disgusted that they've spent so much time on "these issues," and takes off on media bias and the Catholic church.

Did Romney just say that John Adams wrote the Constitution?  Hunh?
  
Update 4:   Santorum gets schooled by Ron Paul for interrupting him.  I don't mean to be petty, really, but I could not stand four years of listening to Ron Paul's whiny voice.

Ah.  Perry is still here.  On third party candidates, Perry rejects that question and opts to answer someone else's gay marriage question.  He blasts this administration for its war on religion.

Jon Huntsman says the Taliban is no longer in power.  For now.

Newt runs through all of the foreign policy pitfalls that lie ahead and paints a scary picture.

Santorum fires back at Obama on foreign policy; the moderators continue to bait the candidates against each other.  The candidates need to reject the baiting and stay focused on Obama.

Update 5:  Perry says he would sent troops back into Iraq.  Ooops.   He says "this president just wants to cowtow to his liberal leftist base."  He says Iran will move back in and all our efforts will have been done for nothing.

That won't help him in the polls any.

Newt says if you're worried about the Iranians in Iraq then deal with Iran.  Good point.

I'm not loving this debate.  No questions on Fast 'n Furious; little discussion of the economy.  Baiting and pitting the candidates against each other.

Update 6:   Mitt Romney hasn't taken any hits at all tonight.

Diane Sawyer is warming up to a jobs question about investing in infrastructure and economic growth.  Yawn...Romney is all for it.  Like, who wouldn't be?  He points out that government doesn't create jobs.

I'm sure Perry is itching to get in on this question.  After his send troops back to Iraq bomb, he needs to do some damage control.

Newt says you can't compete with China if you don't have a decent infrastructure.  He supports and energy program that breaks us free from foreign oil and would invest some of those proceeds to infrastructure.

Huntsman is off on the tax code tangent and supports Simpson-Bowles. 

Romney suggests we are "only inches away from no longer being a free economy."  The middle class has been hurt in the Obama economy, he says.  Simpson-Bowles becomes Bowles-Simpson under Mitt Romney, who also supports it but does not support raising capital gains taxes.

Rick Perry is being ignored again.  Still.  Huntsman is getting much more airtime than Perry.

Update 7:   Perry finally throws himself into the debate by answering a question when not called upon.  He spins off his "get America workin' again" spiel and gets applause.

Huntsman seems to be getting more air time than anyone else.

Romney rejects a question from the moderator and blasts the moderators, gently, about not being focused on the important issues, like the fate of America.   He's off on an apparently untimed speech about what America needs and how we don't need to be like Europe.  He's hammering Obama pretty eloquently.  Score for Mitt.

Mitt gets applause at the end of his speech.

Update 8:  Newt tries to land some hits on Romney saying Romney's plan is a little cautious and not as bold as his own.

Santorum seconds that.

Santorum rejects the term "middle-class" and says there are "no classes in America."  Hunh?  His bigger point is about not waging class warfare but it is awkwardly stated.

Romney blasts Obama for not opening up trade; he's defending his growth plan and insists it is bolder than they give him credit for.  Cites his business experience and his knowledge of regulations.  He steals Rick Perry's line and says he will "get America workin' again."

Shocker.  Back to Huntsman.  More air time than anyone so far.

Update 9: Romney interrupts Huntsman and says uh, excuse me, but you were working for Obama, dude.  China is hacking into our systems, manipulating their currency, stealing patents from us, and you were right there.  Ouch.  If I'm president I'm not going to spend my time talking about how great China is.

If you're playing the drinking game you just got the jackpot - Huntsman responded in Chinese.  Oh.My.God.

Update 10:  Close and wrap up now.  What else would you be doing if you were here tonight, is the question.  Perry:  At the shooting range.  Newt:  watching football.  Same for Santorum.  Ron Paul would be reading an economic textbook.  Huntsman would be on the phone with his two sons in the US Navy. 

Thankfully this horrid debate is over.  Too full of non-issues and too full of candidate baiting.  Nobody laid a glove on Romney, Perry was ignored, Huntsman got way too much air time for a non-contender nationally.  Santorum seemed a bit stiff and off his game.  Maybe that's just him, though.

When the highlight of the debate is Huntsman's Chinese, well, hell.  It's not good. 

Romney came off good when he blasted Huntsman for defending China and for his service for Obama. 

I rather missed Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann.

If you care, there's another debate on Meet the Press tomorrow.  I think I'll be skipping that one.  I've had enough.

Back to the Saints game now.

Did Rush Limbaugh Endorse Rick Perry?

Did Rush Limbaugh come close to endorsing Rick Perry yesterday? 

You be the judge:

Let me tell you something, folks: I wouldn't have one ounce of doubt about Rick Perry. I've been hoping Rick Perry would catch fire, but I have people in my sphere who don't want to vote for Perry (and largely they're women) because he sounds too much like Bush.

Not an endorsement but darned close. 

Limbaugh cites Perry's record in Texas and his tax policy as pluses, and insists debating skills and "electability" should have nothing to do with picking the most conservative candidate we can.

By the way, it's debate night again.  I'll be covering the debate here.

On Those Recess Appointments...

Look people, the argument that George W. Bush (or anyone else for that matter) also made recess appointments misses the fact that the Senate is not actually in recess.  Moral relativism is a weak argument anyway but you've at least got to keep the facts straight if you're going to try it.

Krauthammer made this point yesterday:

The president is saying: “I won’t let Congress stop me.” But it’s in the Constitution that you have to have the Senate’s approval… He [the president] can only make a recess appointment if the Senate is in recess. It is not in recess.

In fact, his own Justice Department argued last year before the Supreme Court that the Senate has to be out of session for three days. It has not been. And that appeal was based on a ruling of the Clinton Justice Department–three days.

You can appoint anybody you want in a recess appointment. You can appoint anybody who has already been rejected by the Senate. You can appoint anybody you want as a way to make a purely cynical political point in election year in Ohio, as Obama is doing. But you can’t do it as a recess appointment if the Senate is not in recess.

And Bloomberg:

The White House called these “recess appointments,” even though Congress technically wasn’t in recess. In doing so, the president is playing with fire. He risks an election-year legal challenge that could hamstring the consumer bureau and several other financial regulators whose pending confirmations will probably now stall. The president’s authority -- and that of future executives -- to fill administration posts without Senate approval may be limited by the courts. We think Obama risks too much to make what is largely a political point -- that he, more than the Republican Party stands by American workers and consumers. 

John Yoo (H/T Pundette):

This, in my view, is not up to the president, but the Senate. It is up to the Senate to decide when it is in session or not, and whether it feels like conducting any real business or just having senators sitting around on the floor reading the papers. The president cannot decide the legitimacy of the activities of the Senate any more than he could for the other branches, and vice versa.

Is the president going to have the authority to decide if the Supreme Court has deliberated too little on a case? Does Congress have the right to decide whether the president has really thought hard enough about granting a pardon? Under Obama’s approach, he could make a recess appointment anytime he is watching C-SPAN and feels that the senators are not working as hard as he did in the Senate (a fairly low bar).

And one more:  Allahpundit:

Even if there’s a constitutional argument to be made in Obama’s defense, that argument isn’t available to Democrats. They used pro forma sessions, successfully, to block Bush; the only way to square that circle is to argue that the GOP is being more obstructionist than they were, to the point where other branches are now free to ignore separation-of-powers provisions in the Constitution in order to break the impasse.

Obama is off the rails here. Off the track.  Jumped the shark.  FUBAR.

Back to Regular Programming

I'm back at work now - we had inservice today and the kids come tomorrow so my blogging will be light for a day or two.  Some quick links to check out:

On Obama's recess appointments - check out Doug Ross:

In other words, through his blatantly lawless activities, the President has initiated a Constitutional crisis.

And we all know that if a Republican President had even publicly considered this option, legacy media would be beating the war-drums for impeachment.

It's high time the clueless John Boehner and Mitch McConnell started playing hardball. Real hardball. Impeachment-style hardball. Heaven knows, there are enough charges to impeach five or six presidents at this point.

This is a big deal, folks, but you won't likely hear much about it from the legacy media.  If there's a Republican candidate worth his salt he'll take this drum and bang it through the election.

Professor Jacobson has something to say about the appointments as well.

Speaking of elections, check out Pundette's coverage of Rick Perry's indecision; and ironically, it's the second reference to "Casey at the Bat" that I've heard today (on totally unrelated stories).

Stacy McCain had terrific coverage of the caucuses last night. 

Obama felt the need to speak to Iowa Democrats last night in a weirdly sketchy video feed; he's trying to reinvigorate his base from four years ago:

"[O]ne of the things that we learned four years ago was that when people at grassroots level are getting involved and they're getting engaged, and they're feeling empowered and they're joining hands with each other -- that's a powerful force," the president said.

A group at "grassroots level" is empowering and wonderful as long as they're for him; if it's the Tea Party, well, that's something else again...

Donald Douglas has his own ideas about Michele Bachmann's collapse.

Hang in there.  I'm busy getting to know 65 new sophomores and teaching them the lay of the land in room M205, but I'll be back online shortly.

Iowa Caucus Day: News, Aggregation and Updates

Scroll for updates throughout the day.

Iowans are heading out to the caucuses tonight.  The weather is beautiful and should not be a factor in keeping folks from going out.  The governor of Iowa, Terry Branstad said on Fox News this morning that he is expecting record turnout.

One thing to remember about Iowa is that the percentage of people that go out and caucus is relatively small.  I have several family members in various parts of Iowa and I asked them about the phone calls and the caucuses.  Only one of them even knows anyone who actually goes to caucus.  All of them have been barraged by phone calls and most of those have been robocalls.  The robocalls are not particularly effective: it's easier to hang up on a computer than to a person.  As for support for a particular candidate, I got a variety of answers, including undecideds. 

That is the thing about this particular caucus event, I think, that is interesting.  There are so many undecideds.  This thing could be a blowout for one candidate or a photo finish among three.  Who knows?

Throughout the day I'll be posting updates and linking to others who are covering the event.

Legal Insurrection is doing the same thing and he will have a live event tonight.

Stacy McCain has been traveling through Iowa with the Santorum camp and he has terrific coverage and photos.

Real Clear Politics has an Iowa Caucus Primer on how the process works.

Here is Rick Perry's latest ad hammering Rick Santorum on earmarks.  Effective or no?



Stay tuned for updates.

If you're blogging the caucuses, let me know and I'll link you.

Update 1:  Yet another reason why the caucuses are so unpredictable:

Update 2:  Pirate's Cove has analysis of what comes after Iowa.  I don't necessarily agree with this, but we shall see:

By Wednesday, we could see Bachmann and Perry out, though they say they are going to South Carolina and bypassing New Hampshire. Santorum should survive. When it comes to Newt and Paul, we’ll have to see.

It will be interesting to see if the surge of volunteers that arrived Friday in support of Rick Perry pays off.   Also, Perry has the cash to stay in for a while.  I don't think Iowa will be his Waterloo.

Update 3:  Megyn Kelly is broadcasting today from the Iowa state capitol building.  It's one of the most beautiful state capitol buildings I've ever seen.  Here's a YouTube video someone shot of the inside.  

And, speaking of looking past Iowa, the GOP brain trust is already considering VP candidates:

While over a dozen names were suggested by the strategists, some with the campaigns, four top the list: South Dakota Sen. John Thune and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, both surrogates for Romney, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the most talked-about Hispanic in Washington, and former Secretary of State Condi Rice.

Others receiving multiple votes were Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.

"Romney is likely to have to go right," said one former Bush aide. "He'll need somebody to generate enthusiasm from the base. Rubio fits the bill."

What do you think?   They're writing off Santorum as the nominee, obviously, as assuming it's Mittens even before a single vote is cast.

Update 4:  The Des Moines Register has a handy guide and graphic to keep a vote tally.  But...notice the ad at the top of the page.  A glimpse of what is to come:

Update 5:  Rush Limbaugh replayed the audio of Perry's smack down of Mike Allen.  "This is NOT somebody stupid," he said.  Rush said, "I LIKE Rick Perry!"  Rick Perry makes him smile, he says.  Rush also said he LOVES Rick Santorum and says that any of these contenders would be great.  (Even Ron Paul?)

The Perry camp is fired up.  He gave a motivational speech to his volunteers this morning:

“This election is about stopping a president of the United States and his administration that is abusing the Constitution of this country, that is putting America on a track to bankruptcy, and folks, we’re going to take America back. That’s what this is about,” Perry told the crowd as it gave him a standing ovation. “It is a powerful moment in America’s history, and you are on the front lines.”

Of course, then he compared it to Omaha beach which is, I think, an unfortunate comparison.   He's trying to make the case that this is historic, critical even.   Considering the catastrophic losses on D-Day, this might be an overreach.

Update 6:  Ed Rollins, talking to Shepard Smith on Fox, says Michele Bachmanm will come in last tonight (no organization and no money, he says) and that the winners will be Romney and Ron Paul.  Santorum has momentum "but no organization" he says.  When asked about Rick Perry, Rollins says if Perry comes in 4th, he actually stands the best chance to challenge Romney because of his money and organization.  Perry may come in first or second in South Carolina.  "His campaign is very alive," he says.  Rollins says Perry has done a much better job than people recognize.  He doesn't see much for Santorum after Iowa.

As for Newt, Rollins says Newt isn't raising money and is going to have a hard time in New Hampshire.

Rollins predicts Ron Paul will stay in the race to the end and should be treated with respect, but there's no path to the win for him.

Update 7:  Ouch.  Stacy McCain:

"...the Perry campaign is a lamentable joke here in Iowa. I’ve been talking to experienced Iowa Republicans during my travels the past week, and experienced observers are united in the opinion that Perry has wasted millions of dollars on a campaign that has done him more harm than good."

Stacy is, of course, in the Santorum camp and is not a Perry fan as you can tell.

Update 8:  Left Coast Rebel has a live-updating event going on as well.

On Fox, Shep Smith talks to Debbie Wasserman Schultz who says the Republican field is "interchangeable" and "lackluster".   Shep points out Obama's broken promises and DSW says that is "simply not true."  She says he ended the Iraq war which was one of his promises.  He passed Obamacare, she says, yet Shep points out it isn't a single payer system that the base wanted.

The woman is delusional.  She says Obama has turned the economy around and that unemployment is declining.  The Republicans have embraced the Tea Party and "out right winged each other" throughout the campaign.

She says Obama will win "handily."

Silly.

Update 9:  Today's Gallup poll:

Update 10:  Rick Santorum's sweater vest is the new fashion icon.  You too can have a sweater vest:



Update 11:  Rick Perry's just released video:



(H/T: Pundette)

Update 12:  One of our local news stations is conducting its own "caucus," sort of like the Drudge Caucus, I guess.  The results so far?

Update13:  Michelle Malkin has a great Iowa caucus day post.

Phew. Are you ready? There are an estimated 614,000 active registered Republicans in Iowa. A small fraction of them will turn out tonight to vote in the first-in-the-nation GOP presidential caucus. The anticipated top three placers are a toss-up. Sunday’s PPP poll had it 20/19/18 for Paul, Romney and Santorum.

She links to Stacy McCain's Santorum coverage.  Both Malkin and Stacy are NOT Rick Perry fans which might explain why they don't link me. (Just kidding - Stacy has linked me often in the past.  It's been a while since I got a Malkin link.)

Update 14:   Rick Perry gets emotional during a speech today praising America's veterans:

Perry was joined on Tuesday by supporter Dan Moran, a Marine veteran who suffered third-degree burns on his body from a bomb explosion in Afghanistan. Perry, a former Air Force pilot, commended Nationwide for its focus on hiring veterans before turning to Moran.

“He understands the importance of selfless … selfless sacrifice,” Perry said with a pause, wiping a tear from his left eye.

Emotion.

Update 15:  As the caucus results come in, here is a live, interactive map.  And remember, Professor Jacobson will be hosting a live event. SIGIS will continue posts as well.  The Des Moines Register also has a place where you can watch results come in but you have to put up with all the Obama advertising on the page.

Update 16:  Here is a timeline of the upcoming primaries.  Next event:  January 10 - New Hampshire.

Update 17:  I'm closing out this post now and heading over to Legal Insurrection to participate in his live event.  Follow me over there.   And thanks for stopping by this post today!  I appreciate it.

Caucus Crash Course

If you're wondering how the Iowa caucuses work, The Washington Times has a primer for you:

Only registered Republicans may participate, but with an ID that shows Iowa residency and age, voters can register at door, allowing for crossover participation. Democrats are known to have switched sides, if only for a night, to caucus with Republicans. And vice versa. And it’s legal.


The Democrats have a convoluted caucus process that involves good old-fashioned arm-twisting and can run into the wee hours of the night. It won't this year because Obama has no challenger.  The Republican Caucuses, however, are a hybrid: part poll and part GOP meeting. Designated supporters of each candidate are allowed to campaign vigorously, making a speech on why their candidates deserve to win that evening’s votes. This is to convince the fence sitters to go with their candidate or to win over someone who is torn between two candidates.

Then Iowans vote by secret ballot. They are given blank sheets of paper with no candidate names on them. They write down their choice and the GOP at each precinct tabulates the results as they are phoned in. The results are then released to the media.

Mitt Romney seems pretty confident.

Newt says "I don't think I'm going to win," and then says it was a "compound sentence structure" that the media just didn't get.  I've been teaching English for almost 20 years and I'm not aware that "I don't think I'm going to win" is a compound sentence, but hey, Newt is the intellectual.  Not me.

Michele Bachmann won "the coffee bean caucus" but Sarah Palin says it's not her time.

Rick Perry is still hammering Santorum and is looking at this think like a long distance race.  Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is with Perry tonight and says:

“It is time for us now to take all of this excitement and energy and turn it into real work,” Jindal said. “It is time for us to get our neighbors, friends, family, everybody we know out and make sure that we help to elect Rick Perry as the next president of these United States of America.”

The Duggar family has joined the Santorum camp and the media is thick around the candidate.

Ron Paul is oozing confidence .

All in all I'd say there's a lot of nervous energy in Iowa tonight.

Stay with SIGIS tomorrow for caucus coverage and up to the minute reports.

Jimmy Carter Redux

Victor Davis Hanson on what may come in 2012:

The result, I think, may be that in this coming year we will see a new boldness among Islamic forces in North Africa; China will show the flag far nearer to Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan, and South Korea; some independent-minded former Soviet Republics will be forced to move closer to Russia; Turkey won’t worry too much whether it overflies Greek or Cypriot airspace — or worse; Iran will test a missile or do something stupider; North Korea may resume its now-and-then shelling of the south; and Lebanon and the West Bank will heat up again — all on the impression that either the U.S. doesn’t much care, does care but is too broke or weary to do much about it, or beneath its public warning harbors some quiet sympathies for such “corrections” in a prior flawed global order.

It should be required reading for anyone considering a vote for Obama.  That and a history class.

Read the whole thing.

Perry Punches Back

It's Time For an Intervention for E.J. Dionne

E.J. Dionne is delusional.  There is no other explanation.

In his latest column, titled "Can A Messiah Win Twice" (gag bucket, please...), Dionne ponders the likelihood of Obama's re-election:

Most Americans still believe that Obama inherited rather than caused the economic turmoil. Barring another crisis in Europe, there is a decent chance of somewhat better times by Election Day.

Obama's fall offensive against Republicans in Congress has paid dividends. Voters seem inclined to blame Washington's dysfunction on the GOP, not on a president they still rather like. Most also think Obama's foreign policy has put the nation on a steadier course.

Wow.

Where to start?

"Obama's foreign policy has put the nation on a steadier course." 

Yes, the shoot to kill drone program has netted us so much new intelligence!  Oh wait....

Most Americans, I think, recognize and are disgusted by Obama's fawning, bowing, apologies to dictators and his alienation of our allies.

Most Americans would be disgusted by his embrace of the Muslim Brotherhood and the news this week that Obama is aligning with Qaradawi to negotiate (read "surrender") with the Taliban.  He's preparing to recognize the Taliban as a legitimate political party.

Most Americans are disgusted by his lack of support for Israel.

Most Americans were repulsed by Obama's failure to support (until forced to make a statement) Iranians protesting a stolen election and who wanted democracy even when they were shot down in the streets by mullah enforcers.

Most Americans were stunned by Obama's complete and utter failure in Egypt.  Egypt has now replaced a pro-American regime with an anti-American one.  Again, he's aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood.

There's much more fisking to be done on Mr. Dionne's piece, especially on the economic portion, but frankly, I'm getting nauseous. 

Clearly Obama still has plenty of fawning sycophants in the media.

Oh, and for the record, Dionne is betting that Obama gets re-elected.  Bwahahahahahaaa!

BREAKING: Cuccinelli Reconsiders Virginia Ballot Position

The Virginian-Pilot is reporting that Attorney General Cuccinelli is now reconsidering his earlier vow to intervene in the primary ballot mess in Virginia.  While he earlier stated that Virginians should be able to have their choice of candidate, today he has seemingly changed his mind:

Today, he said in a statement that he still feels strongly that Virginia should change its ballot access requirements.

“However, after working through different scenarios with Republican and Democratic leaders to attempt to make changes in time for the 2012 Presidential election, my concern grows that we cannot find a way to make such changes fair to the Romney and Paul campaigns that qualified even with Virginia’s burdensome system,” he said in the statement. “A further critical factor that I must consider is that changing the rules midstream is inconsistent with respecting and preserving the rule of law – something I am particularly sensitive to as Virginia’s attorney general.”

So in Virginia, it's going to be either Romney or Ron Paul.

Great.

As for now, Rick Perry's lawsuit (now joined by four other candidates) will go forward.

Crap shoot.

"Governor Perry is Going to Do Better Than Some People Think."

The final Des Moines Register poll to come out before Tuesday's caucuses did not reflect the uptick that the Perry camp was probably anticipating given his grueling schedule, multiple appearances, and extensive advertising.

Yet don't count Rick Perry out just yet.

Perry is drawing huge numbers at his appearances around Iowa:

Rick Perry’s events have taken a turn for the crowded. He’ll arrive, typically, to find that a coffee shop built to accommodate 75 people is crammed with up to twice that many, spilling out the door and jammed into every available corner.

And while Santorum's audiences seem to be comprised of as many reporters as supporters, those at Perry's appearances want to meet the candidate.  They want to hear what he has to say.  There are a large number of undecideds in the audiences that Perry draws but he is winning some of them:

Conversations with voters suggest Perry’s rising numbers are a result of his 14-day bus tour across the state, which gives him a chance to display his famed retail-politics skills. Some showed up to his town hall in Marshalltown with a number of candidates in mind -- but left the event saying they were sold on him.

Molly Ball at The Atlantic suggests that Perry could be the dark horse in Iowa:

As the days to the caucuses wane, Perry has things other candidates would kill for: Crowds who want to meet him, ads all over the airwaves, a decent ground organization, an anti-Washington message people are hungry for, and terrific hair. The question is whether it's too little, too late, to get through the crowded pack ahead of him.

The Des Moines Register poll, as we all know by now, has Romney once again in the lead with 24%, followed by Ron Paul at 22% and Santorum in third with 15%.  Perry holds at 11%, not that far back from Santorum.

The poll covers four days:

Santorum's surge is clear; so is Ron Paul's decline. 

The poll closed on Friday, the same day Perry's Strike Force began arriving in Iowa.  He's got at least 400 volunteers working the state right now going door to door, talking to caucus goers, and manning phones.

The results of this Strike Force won't be known until Tuesday.  Meanwhile, Perry continues to work the state with at least six more appearances before caucus day.  Nate Silver points out:

But for those looking for a glimmer of hope in Mr. Perry’s numbers, I was able to identify one. Mr. Perry was fairly often named as a second-place choice in a Des Moines Register poll released on Saturday. His campaign may have some hope of converting those second-place votes into first-place votes because it has a large number of precinct leaders, who under Iowa caucus rules are allowed to make a speech in favor of their candidate before the voting takes place.

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad says "Governor Perry is going to do better than some people think."

Tuesday will tell.

More on the poll at Memeorandum.

Full Metal Jacket Reach Around: New Year 2012 Edition

Happy 2012 to you all.

Why is it that I feel like I'm at the top of the Super Slide at the State Fair?

As we get this year started I'm cooking our traditional New Year's meal:  corned beef brisket and cabbage.  I've souped up the cabbage this year with this terrific recipe from The Blue Willow Inn.  I've made it before; it's easy and very good.

I'm watching my neighbor outside with his blower, blowing his oak leaves and acorns into my yard.  Shortly I will have to go outside with a rake and clean it all up.  I've been known to go out there and blow them all back in his yard, but I'm trying not to be petty.

Mr. SIGIS and I were asleep before midnight last night.  We went to Ming Garden and had Pad Thai for dinner then went to our local hangout for its last night (going under new management).  We were home by 9:30.  We like it that way.  It was foggy last night and the streets slick with the humidity.  We saw enough loopy driving on the way home to be glad we weren't out any later.

We are sad that the annual outdoor hockey game isn't on today - it's become a New Year's Day tradition, but it will be on tomorrow instead.  Looking forward to that.

I've been perusing the blogs today.  We'll start 2012 out with some Rule 2 action:

Bride of Rove is celebrating the New Year with a new knife sharpener and some introspection.

Donald Douglas is also feeling introspective.

Althouse sums up Obama's eternal position on detainees.

Smitty has some predictions for the new year, including "a permanent golfing arrangement" for BHO.

Andy also has some predictions.

Paco offers no introspection and no retrospection, just a prayer.

Goldfish and Clowns says it's time to "rethink Romney." (H/T: Smitty)

Doug Ross reports on a challenger for John Boehner.

Professor Jacobson comments on Obama's Middle East position and also links to Andy McCarthy's article that I posted yesterday.  Everyone should read that article.

Enough for now.  I have acorns to rake up.  I'd leave them for the squirrels but no amount of squirrels could eat all those things and besides, they roll out from under me when I walk which is dangerous for a girl with a bad ankle.

A prosperous and blessed new year to you all!