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SEQUESTER: The Horror!
March 1, 2013 | 4 comments
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SOTU Preview: Human Props, Budget Fights, and Wedge Issues
February 12, 2013 | 0 comments
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Hello, I Must Be Going
August 14, 2012 | 18 comments
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Weekend Political Wrap-Up, Paul Ryan Edition
August 12, 2012 | 16 comments
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Esquire Blogger Sees Paul Ryan, Shreds His Safety Net
August 11, 2012 | 13 comments
The Spectacle Blog
1. Scott Walker’s victory in the recall doesn’t guarantee a Mitt Romney win in Wisconsin — at first glance, the exit polls suggest the voters are still leaning toward Barack Obama by a decent margin — but it suggests it is possible. It also suggests limits to the unions’ get-out-the-vote efforts and a divide between public sector and private sector union members that could be problematic for Obama nationally.
2. Speaking of that divide, Obama was forced to backtrack last week when he suggested that the private sector was doing just fine. Republicans swiftly pounced on the comment, which echoed John McCain’s confident assurances that the fundamentals of the economy were strong right before the financial meltdown and makes the president appear out of touch. But it also opens up another line of attack for Romney: most of Obama’s ideas for creating jobs, including the jobs bill the GOP stands accused of obstructing, grow the public sector rather than the private sector.
3. I’ll have more to say about this later, but Rand Paul’s Romney endorsement is the latest example that he is tactically very different from his father. Ron Paul refused to endorse the Republican nominee in 2008 and initially urged his supporters to back any of three antiwar third party candidates before settling on Constitution Party nominee Chuck Baldwin. It’s not clear that the elder Paul will endorse Romney this year either. Rand’s endorsement has angered many Ron Paul voters, but it positions him well in the broader party. It could also keep some votes in the Republican column that might otherwise go to Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson.
4. Obama’s private versus public sector comments also show that he isn’t likely to do much to address the fiscal crisis in his second term. As a Keynesian, he clearly believes that government cutting is bad for the economy.
5. Democrats are increasingly concerned about the special election to replace Gabby Giffords, to be held Tuesday. Republican Jesse Kelly, a former Marine who lost to Giffords in 2010, has a decent chance to beat Democrat Ron Barber, a former district director for Giffords who was shot in the attack on the congresswoman.
6. Already on the defensive about his nanny state soda regulations, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended his stop and frisk program from the pulpit of a black church this morning.
7. American Spectator writers were well represented at the Future of Journalism Summit in Providence, Rhode Island this weekend. Senior editors Quin Hillyer and John Fund were discussion panelists, and Fund was one of the main speakers at the awards dinner in honor of Andrew Breitbart. AmSpec alum Phil Klein took home the Breitbart award for best reporter. It was a good event. Netroots Nation took place across town.
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More Blog Posts by W. James Antle, III
http://spectator.org/blog/2012/06/10/weekend-political-wrap-up
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RJ| 6.11.12 @ 12:59AM
Another interesting factor this week was Bill Clinton's comments, speaking well of Romney and under-cutting some of Obama's attacks on Romney. Other members of the Clinton alumni have joined in too, confirming that it is an organized strategy and not an off-hand set of comments. Just more evidence that the SS Obama is going all the way down in November.
Zbigniew Mazurak | 6.11.12 @ 10:26AM
No, Jim, Ron Paul did not settle on Chuck Baldwin. He settled on his fellow leftist, 9/11 truther and staunch socialist Cynthia McKinney. Stop lying.
antlej@spectator.org| 6.11.12 @ 10:59AM
Wrong as usual:
http://www.newswithviews.com/B.....ing160.htm
http://www.ronpaul.com/2008-09.....president/
Paul ultimately endorsed Chuck Baldwin. Just ask Bob Barr.
Casey Abell| 6.11.12 @ 11:47AM
"Obama's private versus public sector comments also show that he isn't likely to do much to address the fiscal crisis in his second term."
W. James III (still love that name) has made his disdain for Romney apparent on many occasions. But isn't he getting a wee bit ahead of himself here? Obama's second term isn't guaranteed, after all. Or even close.
And will W. James III please give up on those Wisconsin exit polls? They only showed a dead heat in what turned out to be a near landslide. Again, we all know that W. James III despises Romney. But adjusting the exit poll data to bring it closer to reality shows that the presidential race in Wisconsin is pretty much a toss-up now. Which again shows that the famous "second term" is far, far from a slam dunk.
antlej@spectator.org| 6.11.12 @ 11:56AM
What are you talking about, Casey? My explicit point was that the recall showed Romney had a chance in Wisconsin and nationally. And I've posted on Michael Barone's adjustment of the exit poll data to show a dead heat before. I've never said a second Obama term was a slam dunk. I'm afraid you are the one whose disdain is getting in the way of your basic reading comprehension.
Casey Abell| 6.11.12 @ 12:04PM
Reread your own sentence. You speak of Obama's second term as a fact, not a hypothetical. You blithely assume that Barry will win a second term. Freudian slip, I'm afraid. You have so little regard for Romney that you think he can't even beat Obama.
Rasmussen disagrees this morning, by the way. Romney 47-44 over Obama.
http://www.rasmussenreports.co.....cking_poll
W. James Antle III | 6.11.12 @ 12:09PM
Casey, you are being ridiculous. I've also written about a Romney administration without expressly noting that it is hypothetical. So what? At the moment, I consider Romney a slight favorite to win. I've never considered Obama more than a slight favorite at any point in this election either. While you are looking for Freudian slips, consider that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
Casey Abell| 6.11.12 @ 2:44PM
"The risk is obviously that Paulite votes for Romney will end up ratifying an agenda they abhor, from preventive wars to Obamacare lite."
That's what you wrote this morning. You now "abhor" Romney, among other choice words you've tossed his way. And you think your blithe assumption of a second Obama term won't go unnoticed?
It's nice that you now say Romney may win. The polls practically force that grudging admission from you. But it's been plain from the start that you don't want him to win. The latest slip of the pen just shows how much you're rooting against him.
Which is okay. It' s free country and you can root against any politician you want. But let's be honest around here, all right?
W. James Antle III | 6.11.12 @ 4:10PM
So now the word "they" is synonymous with "I" and writing about someone's "agenda" is the same as writing about them personally. You're dancing, Casey.
It would be a lot easier to just ask what I think than to do these weird parsings of extremely selective passages. Assuming being "honest around here" is really what you want.
Casey Abell| 6.11.12 @ 4:26PM
You're not a Paulite? Come on, you're one of Ron Paul's strongest supporters. That ain't "dancing,' that's a fact. You think people haven't noticed?
Anyhoo, after a bunch more unemployment reports before November, I'm afraid your worst nightmare will come true. Romney will win.
W. James Antle III | 6.11.12 @ 6:13PM
"after a bunch more unemployment reports before November, I'm afraid... Romney will win."
Umm, you mean like I said in my column last week?
http://spectator.org/archives/.....ma-economy
But I guess you didn't try to look for magical meanings in that one.
As for my vote for Paul, haven't hid it. But Rand Paul endorsed his dad too and is now supporting Romney. Is this really rocket science? If I had wanted to say "we" rather than "they," I'd have done so.
My worst nightmare is that I have to have fruitless exchanges like this, so it's already come true.