Regime Change Iran

Here's Robert Kagan on changing regimes in Iran:

Regime change in Tehran is the best nonproliferation policy. Even if the next Iranian government refused to give up the weapons program, its need for Western economic assistance and its desire for reintegration into the global economy and international order would at least cause it to slow today's mad rush to completion and be much more open to diplomatic discussion. A new government might shelve the program for a while, or abandon it altogether. Other nations have done so. In any event, an Iran not run by radicals with millennial visions would be a much less frightening prospect, even with a nuclear weapon.

It's not just the "evil" neocons who see regime change as an increasingly likely solution to the Iran problem. See also, Richard Haass, "Enough Is Enough: Why We Can No Longer Remain on the Sidelines in the Struggle for Regime Change in Iran."

Nearly Three-in-Ten California Voters Identify With Tea Party Movement

From yesterday's Field Poll, "NEARLY THREE IN TEN CALIFORNIA VOTERS IDENTIFY STRONGLY OR SOME-WHAT WITH THE TEA PARTY MOVEMENT. ONE IN THREE VOTERS ALSO NOT CONVINCED THAT OBAMA WAS BORN IN U.S.":

*****

Greater than six in ten California voters (61%) report having heard of the tea party protest movement. This includes 12% who say they identify with it a lot and 16% who have some identification with it.

Registered Republicans and strong conservatives report greater awareness of the movement and are significantly more likely to say they identify with it a lot. While majorities of Democrats, non-partisans, liberals and political moderates are aware of the movement, very few of these voters identify with it a lot or somewhat.

The poll also queried respondents on President Obama's qualifications for office, i.e., "Was Obama born in the U.S.?":

In this survey The Field Poll asked California voters their opinions on this matter. The results show that two-thirds of voters here (67%) say they believe that Obama was born in the U.S. However, 11% think that he was not and another 22% say they aren’t sure.

There is a wide variance in voter beliefs about Obama’s birthplace by party and political ideology. In addition, voter opinions are also correlated with whether or not a voter identifies with the tea party movement.

Eighty-five percent of Democrats, but just 42% of Republicans, maintain that Obama was born in the U.S. There is also a wide divergence of opinion between liberals, 96% of whom believe Obama was born in America, and conservatives, of whom fewer than half feel this way (45%).

Just 29% of the voters who say they identify a lot with the tea party movement believe that Obama is a U.S.-born citizen.

Oregon to Tax Incomes Above $250,000

Perhaps I'm some kind of strange guy, but I don't think an annual income of $250,000 is all that big a deal. It's a comfortable living, sure, but for a family it's not "rich" by any stretch of the imagination. My wife and I filed taxes a few years ago for something not much less the $150,000, and we were hardly getting all that much more "ahead." And the tax bite on our return was close to 19 percent of income, so there goes nearly $30,000 of your income in a year, and that's not counting sales taxes. So, in this economy, why Oregon voters thought it's a good idea to increase taxes on ostensibly upper-middle class families is a mystery. Californians rejected tax hikes in last year's May 19 vote on Prop 1A. So my sense is that the good-government spirit will prevail over redistributionist arguments here at home. And remember Rasmussen's report the other day, "Most California Voters Don’t See Higher Taxes as a Budget Solution." Just 28 percent thought that raising taxes to solve the budget crisis was a good idea.

What's totally typical is that Oregon's big-union, pro-tax increase lobby campaigned on a bill of deception:

Overall statewide turnout was expected to be around 60 percent of Oregon's 2 million voters.

Tuesday's strong support also validated a strategy by Democratic lawmakers to single out the rich and corporations for targeted tax increases.

Campaign ads by supporters highlighted banks and credit card companies and showed images of well-dressed people stepping off private jets. They also hammered on the $10 minimum tax that most corporations have paid since its inception in 1931.

Those messages helped counter warnings by opponents that the taxes would lead to job losses, worsening the state's 11 percent unemployment rate, and prompt wealthy residents to move elsewhere.

"They did a great job of pounding, 'It's only $10,'" said Bob Tiernan, chairman of the state Republican Party. "We got swamped by the union money."

It's only $10.00? ... That is such a crock. Jesus. And it's obviously not just corporate executives. Those taxes always trickle down to average folks. The union thugs pitched class warfare to make the case, with teachers and public employees institutionalizing a reign of expropriation to prevent a rationalizing of public services. The best thing about this is that Oregon so far looks like an anomaly nationally, and conservative elsewhere have the example of the thugs of the Pacific Northwest for a rallying cry against creeping socialism in 2010.

Nearly Three-in-Ten California Voters Identify With Tea Party Movement

From today's Field Poll, "NEARLY THREE IN TEN CALIFORNIA VOTERS IDENTIFY STRONGLY OR SOME-WHAT WITH THE TEA PARTY MOVEMENT. ONE IN THREE VOTERS ALSO NOT CONVINCED THAT OBAMA WAS BORN IN U.S.":

*****

Greater than six in ten California voters (61%) report having heard of the tea party protest movement. This includes 12% who say they identify with it a lot and 16% who have some identification with it.

Registered Republicans and strong conservatives report greater awareness of the movement and are significantly more likely to say they identify with it a lot. While majorities of Democrats, non-partisans, liberals and political moderates are aware of the movement, very few of these voters identify with it a lot or somewhat.

The poll also queried respondents on President Obama's qualifications for office, i.e., "Was Obama born in the U.S.?":

In this survey The Field Poll asked California voters their opinions on this matter. The results show that two-thirds of voters here (67%) say they believe that Obama was born in the U.S. However, 11% think that he was not and another 22% say they aren’t sure.

There is a wide variance in voter beliefs about Obama’s birthplace by party and political ideology. In addition, voter opinions are also correlated with whether or not a voter identifies with the tea party movement.

Eighty-five percent of Democrats, but just 42% of Republicans, maintain that Obama was born in the U.S. There is also a wide divergence of opinion between liberals, 96% of whom believe Obama was born in America, and conservatives, of whom fewer than half feel this way (45%).

Just 29% of the voters who say they identify a lot with the tea party movement believe that Obama is a U.S.-born citizen.

'Cause You Can Never Really Tell When Somebody...

As much as I'm enjoying 100.3 The Sound (especially D.J. Larry Morgan), other than "Golden Years," I don't recall the playlist featuring anything from David Bowie's Station to Station. That recording includes songs from what's probably my favorite Bowie era, i.e., the Thin White Duke (I say probably because I'm torn between the late-'70s and the earlier Ziggy Stardust moment - a toss-up perhaps). I was thinking about what I'd write here, because I was into this album when I was a senior in high school and just after (1979), and of course we were all big partiers back then. Bowie fought some of his most intense personal demons at the time, and paradoxically produced some of his greatest work. Wikipedia's entry for Station to Station says it better than I can:

Station to Station is the tenth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released by RCA Records in 1976. Commonly regarded as one of his most significant works, Station to Station is also notable as the vehicle for Bowie's last great 'character', The Thin White Duke. The album was recorded after he completed shooting Nicolas Roeg's The Man Who Fell to Earth, and the cover featured a still from the movie. During the sessions Bowie was heavily dependent on drugs, especially cocaine, and recalls almost nothing of the production.

I've included two videos, primarily so that folks can listen to the studio production of "Stay." If you're a guitar lover, sink yourself into the sounds of Carlos Alomar, whose riffs here are as classic as anything from the likes of that other "Carlos," Carlos Santana. Plus, the funky - almost techno-Carribean sound -- is perhaps the hippest punk-pop-dance beats of the era. I was absolutely in heaven listening to the entire LP.

Anyway, get a kick here as well at Dinah Shore's introduction in 1976. Who's that with her and Henry Winkler? Not Ruth Buzzi or Jo Anne Worley or ...?

Life, Values, and California's GOP Senate Primary

I doubt these views are particularly representative, from the comments at my essay yesterday on Scott Brown's victory in Massachusetts:

Personally, I don’t give a whit about social conservatism. As far as I’m concerned, there is not much of a difference between progressives and social conservatives in that both want to tell me how to live my life. I want the government to butt out of my pocketbook as well as my bedroom. One reason I’m turning away from the Republican Party is this insane insistence that somehow they know better than I do what is good for me. How does that make them think they’re any better than the Democrats?

If the Republicans make the mistake of playing up abortion or other social issues in this election, they will lose. For now, I’m leaning towards voting for Campbell.

This person sounds more like a concern troll than anything, although there were a number of others at the thread taking issue as well. Of course, folks had more emotion than facts. And despite insinuations to contrary, I never said a word about a Barbara Boxer/Chuck DeVore matchup in the general. Folks seeem to think that California's a wrap for the Dems. But don't believe it. Republicans have long won statewide, and in 1992 Bruce Herschensohn narrowly lost to Boxer -- and that's after a scurrilous Democratic smear campaign suppressed conservative turnout with just days left in the race. And as far as this bit about keeping government "out of the bedroom" ... well, for my money it's the left that's telling folks how to live. Just this week radical feminists launched a campaign against CBS, which plans to run a pro-life advertisement during the Super Bowl (focusing on college football star Tim Tebow,who was born after doctors advised his mother Pam to have an abortion).

In any case, I'm reminded of the most powerful advertisement during campaign 2008, Catholic Vote's "Life":

Time will tell how things turn out in the California primary, but Tom Campbell -- who recently jumped into the Senate race -- has proudly proclaimed his "pro-choice" credentials. And Carly Fiorina -- already squishy on pro-life issues -- has emerged as the "California quota queen" of campaign 2010.

RELATED: From Cliff Kincaid, "None Dare Call it Genocide."

Toyota Halts Sales on 8 Models as Recall Fallout Threatens Brand

At the Los Angeles Times, "Toyota Temporarily Stops Selling Eight Models Covered by Recall":

Toyota Motor Corp. has taken the unprecedented stop of halting sales and production of eight models, including the top-selling Camry and Corolla, because their accelerator pedals can stick and cause runaway acceleration.

Toyota sent an email to its roughly 1,200 U.S. dealers late Tuesday, asking them to immediately cease selling the vehicles. In addition, it told them to refrain from selling certain used versions of the same models.

At the same time, Toyota said it is halting production of the models in five assembly lines in the U.S. and Canada, effective Monday.

The news is the latest blow to Toyota's once-ironclad reputation for quality and safety, which has come under increasing fire in recent months amid rising complaints about of unintended acceleration and other defects.

The eight models affected by the news represented 57% of Toyota's sales in the U.S. last year, including the automaker's Lexus and Scion brands.

"This could be an extended issue. It is very serious," said Aaron Bragman, auto industry analyst at IHS Global Insight. He called the sales freeze, known in the industry as a stop sale, a "disaster," and pointed out that it came as Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. all were improving their quality and mounting aggressive sales and marketing campaigns.

I've been following this case through the Times' coverage. See December's investigative report, "Toyota Found to Keep Tight Lid on Potential Safety Problems: A Times Investigation Shows the World's Largest Automaker Has Delayed Recalls and Attempted to Blame Human Error in Cases Where Owners Claimed Vehicle Defects."

And especiall, from October, "Toyota's Runaway-Car Worries May Not Stop at Floor Mats."

Whoo Hoo! CBO Projects Only $1.35 Trillion Budget Shortfall!!

Hey, give it up for "Mr. Freeze"!

From Politico, "More Red Ink: CBO Projects $1.35 Trillion Deficit":

New deficit estimates Tuesday project a $1.35 trillion shortfall for the coming year even as Congress debates creation of a bipartisan commission to propose long-range steps to relieve the mounting debt facing the nation.

The 2010 deficit projection is only modestly less than the $1.4 trillion wave of red ink that the government experienced in 2009, as revenues continue to lag with the slow economic recovery forecast by the Congressional Budget Office.

Even in 2011, the Congressional Budget Office is projecting a nearly $1 trillion shortfall, and that picture could well be worse depending on the costs of the war in Afghanistan and what Congress decides on long-term tax policy.

CBO projects that unemployment will average slightly above 10 percent in the first half of 2010 and then turn downward in the second half. But the building debt carries with an added burden. Once the economy improves, CBO says, higher interest rates will come back and bite the Treasury trying to finance the accumulated deficits.

“Interest payments on the debt are poised to skyrocket,” CBO says. From 2010 through 2020, it projects the annual costs will triple in nominal terms from $207 billion to $723 billion and more than double as a share of GDP.

Release of the numbers came as the Senate was poised to vote before noon Tuesday on a proposal creating an 18-member fiscal commission empowered to force House and Senate action on deficit reduction steps after the November elections.

And Obambi's trying so hard!

RELATED: At the Director's Blog, "CBO Releases the Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2010-2020" (via Michelle, "Fill in the blank: Obama proposing spending freeze is like…").

Leftists Allege Breitbart Behind Landrieu Office Arrests

Andrew Breitbart has issued a statement on the James O'Keefe arrest at Senator Mary Landrieu's office, "James O’Keefe Arrested in New Orleans" (via):

Statement from Andrew Breitbart:

“We have no knowledge about or connection to any alleged acts and events involving James O’Keefe at Senator Mary Landrieu’s office. We only just learned about the alleged incident this afternoon. We have no information other than what has been reported publicly by the press. Accordingly, we simply are not in a position to make any further comment.”

But the radical leftists are wasting no time concocting theories of Big Government's direct involvement:

Nothing like the presumption of innocence!

Davie Weigel's report is here, "Andrew Breitbart: ‘No Knowledge About or Connection to’ O’Keefe Scandal."

Nice Deb has a roundup of conservative reaction, "ACORN Sting Videographer, James O’Keefe Arrested!"

ACORN Thrilled at O'Keefe Bust

The full story is at the New York Times, "4 Arrested in Phone Tampering at Landrieu Office." And Michelle Malkin expresses the surprise on the conservative right, "Ugh: ACORN-Buster Busted at Sen. Landrieu’s Office in Alleged Bugging Plot; Affidavit Link Added":

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that James O’Keefe, half of the ACORN-busting duo that conducted undercover stings across the country last summer, was arrested today in an alleged wiretapping plot at the New Orleans office of Democrat Sen. Mary Landrieu. O’Keefe and three other young men were arrested by the FBI. One of the men is the son of the acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana.

The Times-Picayune has not posted the full FBI affidavit, but the details they have are damning. This is neither a time to joke nor a time to recklessly accuse Democrats/liberals of setting this up — nor a time to whine about media coverage double standards. Deal with what’s on the table ....

Obviously, the ACORN thugs are thrilled at the news:

And be sure to read the rest of Michelle's post on "knowing your limits."

How Your Leftist 'Friends' Think About You...

Are you concerned about threats to limited government, not unlike the very founders of our nation? Are you sympathetic to the concerns of tea party activists, even if perhaps you've never attended one? Well, then, this is how the lefties describe you (and vilify you), "Intra-Tea Party Bitchiness Threatens Tea Party Slumber Party!":

Everyone watch as the Tea Party’s national Tea Party Party next month slowly implodes as distrust, paranoia and insanity finally get the best of these distrustful, paranoid insane people. Everyone involved in the big Nashville summit (plateau?) suspects everyone else of trying to cheat someone else out of something, most of all Sarah Palin, whose $100,000 keynote speaking fee is a logical scapegoat in all this. And oh my god and one of the non-Erick Erickson ones learned the word “profiteering,” apparently.

Paranoid? Insane?

Remember: Dissent is the highest form of patriotism, if you're a leftist.

See also, the New York Times, "Tea Party Disputes Take Toll on Convention" (via Memeorandum).

Dennis Prager: 'An Open Letter to Charles Johnson'

I did finally read the New York Times piece on Charles Johnson, but I haven't updated for want of something additionally useful to say. But via Glenn Reynolds, I got a kick out of Andrew Sullivan's extreme defense of political flexibility (which is mostly just an attack on those anchored souls with firm convictions). See Glenn for the link, or Google, "How The Internet Enforces Rigidity‎."

And for something serious, from someone of highly respectable ideological thinking, see Dennis Prager's, "An Open Letter to Charles Johnson": (via Memeorandum):

Dear Charles:

As you know, over the years, I was so impressed with your near-daily documentation of developments in the Islamist world that I twice had you on my national radio show — both times face to face in my studio. And you, in turn, periodically cited my radio show and would tell your many readers when they could hear you on my show.

So it came as somewhat of a shock to see your 180-degree turn from waging war on Islamist evil to waging war on your erstwhile allies and supporters on the right. You attempted to explain this reversal on Nov. 30, 2009, when you published “Why I Parted Ways With The Right.”

You offered 10 reasons, and I would like to respond to them.

First, as disappointed as I am with your metamorphosis, I still have gratitude for all the good you did and I respect your change as a sincere act of conscience. But neither this gratitude nor this respect elevates my regard for your 10 points. They are well beneath the intellectual and moral level of your prior work. They sound like something Keith Olbermann would write if he were given 10 minutes to come up with an attack on conservatives.

The rest of the letter is at the link.

Obama's Budget Freeze Symbolism

Jakie Calmes notes that Obama's budget freeze is mostly political symbolism. See, "Obama Seeks Freeze on Many Domestic Programs."

Also, until I have a chance to read over the whole proposal, see the Wall Street Journal, "Budget Freeze Is Proposed: White House Plan Applies to Only 17% of Spending; Small Impact on Deficit":

President Barack Obama intends to propose a three-year freeze in spending that accounts for one-sixth of the federal budget—a move meant to quell rising concern over the deficit but whose practical impact will be muted.

To attack the $1.4 trillion deficit, the White House will propose limits on discretionary spending unrelated to the military, veterans, homeland security and international affairs, according to senior administration officials. Also untouched are big entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

The freeze would affect $447 billion in spending, or 17% of the total federal budget, and would likely be overtaken by growth in the untouched areas of discretionary spending. It's designed to save $250 billion over the coming decade, compared with what would have been spent had this area been allowed to rise along with inflation.

The administration officials said the cap won't be imposed across the board. Some areas would see cuts while others, including education and investments related to job creation, would realize increases.

Among the areas that may be potentially subject to cuts: the departments of Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Energy, Transportation, Agriculture, and Health and Human Services.

"We're not here to tell you we've solved the deficit, but you have to take steps to put spending under control," a senior administration official said.

The spending freeze, which is expected to be included in Wednesday's State of the Union address and the president's Feb. 1 budget proposal, is one of a series of small-scale initiatives the White House is unrolling as the president adjusts to a more hostile political terrain in his second year. On Monday, the president unveiled a set of proposals aimed at making child care, college and elder care more affordable.

"Given Washington Democrats' unprecedented spending binge, this is like announcing you're going on a diet after winning a pie-eating contest," said Michael Steel, spokesman for House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R., Ohio). "Will the budget still double the debt over five years and triple it over 10? That's the bottom line."

Responding to criticism, administration officials acknowledged the freeze is directed at only a small part of overall spending, but that fiscal discipline has to start somewhere. President Obama had requested a 7.3% increase last year in the areas he now seeks to freeze. White House officials said they had achieved 60% of the $11.5 billion in cuts outlined in the budget for the current fiscal year.

Mr. Obama will also propose the creation of a deficit commission to look for potential solutions for the medium- and long-term deficit—a move to garner bipartisan support for what may be unpopular tax increases and spending cuts. A bipartisan group of senators has been trying to get such a commission passed into law in a way that would give teeth to its recommendations. The recommendations of any presidential panel would require congressional approval.

I can't take this talk seriously until I see some serious discussion of downsizing federal entitlements. Mostly, this is politics. More later ...

Hat Tip: Memeorandum.

The 'One-Term' Smokescreen

I watched "World News Tonight." He's lying, obviously. No president wants to be a one-term president, whether good, bad, or every other which way to Sunday. It's a lie -- an Obamunist smokescreen -- for public consumption in the days ahead of his SOTU address. The model to keep in mind is Lyndon Johnson, who rejected a second term when he was repudiated at the New Hampshire primary in 1968. If Obama's serious about being a really good one-term pres, let him announce that he's not running for the Democratic nomination in 2012. I'll believe it when I see it:

The full ABC report is here.

'The Myth of Right-Wing Hate'

In my in-box, from Kathleen Stewart:

Taking Apart the Stimulus Package

There's a lot of discussion of the Obama administration's "porkulus-maximus" faux economic recovery initiative at Memeorandum. Especially interesting is CNN's poll, "Majority of Americans Say Much of Stimulus Wasted." Also good are the responses to Joe Klein's smearing of Americans as a bunch of "dodos." See Left Coast Rebel and Right Wing Nut House, for a start.

But readers also might take advantage of this cool chart from the Washington Post, "Taking Apart the $819 billion Stimulus Package":

Hat Tip: Dana Loesch, "Majority of Americans Say Much of Stimulus Wasted."

Tea Parties Resist National Unity

An interesting piece at the Los Angeles Times, "Still a Disorganized 'Tea Party'":

When Matt Clemente went to a December meeting of "tea party" activists in Worcester, Mass., he was shocked to find the hall packed.

"They were all talking about Scott Brown," he said.

That was when Clemente, a student at College of the Holy Cross, realized Brown wasn't just another Republican running a long-shot campaign for the seat held by liberal Sen. Edward M. Kennedy since 1962. He actually had a chance to win, and the conservative activists who had been organizing around the country against the healthcare overhaul, bank bailouts and increased government regulation could put him over the top if they could get organized in time.

Clemente is also a state coordinator for the Washington-based advocacy group FreedomWorks. After the Worcester meeting, he called the group and reported what he had seen.

The Senate race became a big moment for the sometimes fractured and ragtag group of right-wing activists.

"The movement rallied around the idea of defying the establishment," said Eric Odom, founder of another tea party network, American Liberty Alliance, which ushered volunteers to Massachusetts in the final days of Brown's winning campaign. "This had far less to do with Scott Brown and far more to do with proving we could coordinate and act in a mass way, showing we could move political mountains. We don't view this as support of a candidate; we view it as opposition to a candidate."

But as much as the various groups contributed -- with e-mails, volunteers, money, TV ads -- the victory still had the feel of a crowd running to the sound of the guns.

The movement is far from a well-disciplined army. Its pivot from protesting to politics has been fraught with internal disputes, turf wars and lawsuits. It has continued to struggle with its relationship to the Republican Party, which would very much like to harness the movement's energy without being subsumed by it.

Recent weeks have seen activists tangled in infighting over an attempt to organize a national convention. In Florida, tea party leaders have filed a lawsuit accusing a lawyer of hijacking their movement. Separately, two high-profile national groups are at odds amid accusations of coziness with the Republican establishment.

Underlying each dispute is a debate about how a movement born of an anti-incumbent fervor and homemade revolution ethos can cooperate with the political party it sees as tied to Wall Street.

"People certainly feel betrayed and ripped off by the Republican Party. But I think people are getting out of revenge mode," Odom said. "The primary goal is to defeat people who are not looking out for our interests, in defeating healthcare, cap-and-trade. That goal is to win politically."

There's evidence of success on that front beyond the Massachusetts vote. Tea party activists helped topple a Republican Party chairman in Florida who endorsed moderate GOP Gov. Charlie Crist in the Senate primary over the more conservative Marco Rubio. In California, Republican Senate candidate Chuck DeVore credits tea party activists with helping raise more than $1 million in small donations.

But DeVore said the financial effect of the tea party movement was hard to measure. "It's so decentralized I wouldn't even know how to do that," he said.

The rest is here. I have no problems with the discussion at the piece. In fact, the article provides a good overview of today's "crossroads" moment for the tea parties. And there's a good section on the movement's ties to the GOP. The piece suggests, correctly, I think, that many activists lean to the Republicans, although there's lots of anti-establishment sentiment on the ground. This passage is key for me:

Although many groups say they want to stay separate from the Republican establishment, only a few are pushing to create a third party. Many activists believe such a move would only split the conservative vote and put more Democrats in office.

I'd only remind folks of the old adage of Tip O'Neill, the former Democratic Speaker of the House: "all politics is local." 2010 is a massive year for conservatives and my sense is that movement infighting could well blow the moment. The article discusses the rifts surrounding the National Tea Party Convention that's scheduled for February. Once I heard that the event was going to be closed to the press -- and that includes bloggers like Glenn Reynolds -- I got a bad taste in my mouth (last I heard organizers have opened it up). Folks can turn to the Obama White House for secret meetings and lies about "transparency." I can't see how an event like that helps regular folks on the ground. It's not like a party convention, or anything, selecting candidates for office. So a national tea party event should be open and inclusive, reflecting the spirit of activists at the base.

Other than that, people need to just get out and get organized with their local tea parties. I was heartened yesterday to read Mark Meckler's interview at the San Francisco Chronicle, where he noted that California tea party movement is "incredibly strong." And no doubt there are strong tea parties with local leadership around the country. I've repeatedly noted the phenomenal St. Louis tea party activists, espeically my friends Jim Hoft and Dana Loesch.

Basically, folks need to keep plugging, and to resist most of all the establishment of a third party -- which'll be a sure-fire way to kill the momentum that's been building, and that continues to build.

'Bear Flag Revolt' May Help Chuck DeVore in California

Notice the irony at the screencap. My latest article, the lead story at the moment, is up at Pajamas Media, "Brown Victory Alters the Playing Field in California GOP Senate Primary." Funny how a Carly Fiorina campaign advertisment is plastered in the middle of an essay explaining how she's headed to the defeat at the hands of tea party activists:

California is expected to again face a multi-billion dollar budget deficit, and unemployment remains at 12.4 percent, the fifth-highest rate in the nation. And from San Diego to San Francisco, the Golden State’s grassroots tea party movement has been protesting vociferously against the Democratic-socialist takeover in Washington. There’s going to be zero tolerance for RINOs among conservative activists. Carly Fiorina’s already been hammered as “the next Dede Scozzafava,” and DeVore’s long been identified as the only “mainstream conservative” in the race. As Dan Riehl wrote last November:

DeVore is sharp. He combines a solid conservative record and set of ideas with the polish from having worked in D.C. before going on to the Aerospace industry. His returning to electoral politics and being retired military has given DeVore the type of polish and discipline that wins political campaigns.

And I can attest, from a year’s worth of activism in the local tea party movement, that DeVore is going to have a lock on the conservative base of the GOP’s primary electorate. Even local party officials are talking about a “second American Revolution.” Somehow I doubt that Tom Campbell and Carly Fiorina will generate much enthusiasm among the state’s movement activists. Based on this analysis, I expect that Chuck DeVore will emerge as the Marco Rubio of the GOP Senate primary in California (with a similar set of political assets).

RTWT at the link.

Join the revolt: Chuck DeVore's campaign page is here.

Game Change: Obama to Preview Next Steps at State of the Union

From ABC News, "President Obama Changes Tone Ahead of State of the Union Address: But GOP Leader Mitch McConnell Calls for a Change of Course":

On the eve of President Obama's State of the Union address and the end of his first year in office, Republican Scott Brown's astonishing win in the Massachusetts special Senate race not only reset politics in that state, but reset politics for the entire nation.

"The entire political community was caught a little bit unawares on that one," White House senior adviser David Axelrod said today on ABC's "This Week" of Brown's win.

After Brown's upset win ended the 60-seat majority in the Senate that Democrats needed in order to push through health care reform without a Republican vote, the White House is adjusting its political operation by bringing in Obama's 2008 presidential campaign manager David Plouffe. The move comes ahead of mid-term elections in the House and Senate this November, where Republicans hope to capitalize on the momentum of Brown's win and pick up more seats, which could further endanger the president's agenda.

White House advisers played down Plouffe's hire, denying an association with Brown's win.

"David Plouffe has been a regular adviser to the president throughout the year," White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"We have a very strong political operation. What it's a reflection of is that David was working on his book for the last year. He's done with that now. He's enormously talented, as everyone knows, and he brings value added to our operation as we look forward, in terms of strategy and tactics, and he'll be consulting with us on that, and we'll be stronger for it," Axelrod said.

Also back were themes from Obama's presidential campaign.

"This president's never going to stop fighting to create jobs, to raise incomes, and to push back on the special interests' dominance in Washington and this withering partisanship that keeps us from solving problems," Axelrod said.

Axelrod said those same themes propelled Brown to victory.

"This is the Obama who ran for president," he said. "And the themes that he talked about in that campaign were very much echoed by Senator Brown in his campaign, which tells you that the hunger for that kind of leadership is still very strong."

RTWT at the link.

We'll hear all about it on Wednesday during President Obama's first official State of the Union address. See USA Today, "Obama to Reintroduce Himself During State of the Union Address."

Penélope Cruz at Interview

I read this a couple of weeks ago, when I was on my lunch break in Newport Beach during the R.S. McCain freelance blogging. From Penélope Cruz's interview at Interview:

The last year and a half has been a transformative time for Penélope Cruz. Her comically unhinged performance in Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) netted her an Academy Award. She completed her fourth film with Pedro Almodóvar, Broken Embraces, and joined the star--studded ensemble cast of Rob -Marshall’s new screen version of the Broadway musical Nine. But perhaps most -significantly, the 35-year-old Cruz has both reestablished and reinvented herself as an actress. It’s safe to say that, not too long ago, Cruz’s appearances at the multiplex—though plentiful and numerous—were largely overshadowed by her appearances in the tabloids. This was due to a variety of factors, chief among them a string of not-so-good -movies—did anyone see Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (2001)? Waking Up in Reno (2002)? Head in the Clouds (2004)?—which, however unfairly, fueled the perception that she could only act in her native Spanish, but also a succession of relationships that Cruz was reported to have had with her leading men, including Matt Damon (All the Pretty Horses, 2000), Matthew McConaughey (Sahara, 2005), and of course, Tom Cruise (Vanilla Sky, 2001). (Which, just as unfairly, fueled another perception about her that needs no further fueling).

This passage, toward the end of the interview, is my favorite:

COTILLARD: You said about your character in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Maria Elena, that she thinks she will not be creative if she’s not torturing herself. Do you think we as actors need to keep the connection with our failures to be able to do our jobs with depth and authenticity—you know, the dark side?

CRUZ: Yeah, I mean, maybe. It’s actually a similar thing to the ego, because you don’t want to let that go. You have to look deeply inside of yourself to find something to use in your work. But the older I am, the more I refuse to treat my work as therapy and the more I think it’s less honest to do that, less about acting. When I was younger, I sometimes used personal things in creating characters, to the point where I thought maybe it was a little bit dangerous—at least for me. But I don’t feel that somebody can only be good in a character if they are really becoming that person or really suffering. I have played with that before, especially with emotional scenes, and there have been times when I have been close to throwing up because it was hard to get out of that place. It’s always a bigger challenge when it’s a dark character or something very emotionally difficult, but I think my purpose is to find a way where you can have a dance with that, where you go and you come back, instead of maybe being in that state for weeks.