The @DaveWeigel Silly Conspiracy Theory | New Ledger #tcot #teaparty

OK, I couldn't resist. Dave Weigel drew me in like ... searching for a cliche ... a vulture to a dead raccoon. He threw out an interesting one-off tweet about Christine O'Donnell that made it clear he has no idea what's going on in Republican circles outside the DC cocktail circuit.



...Like a hungry drunk to an olive?



But it was fun to write the response, which you can read in full at The New Ledger.



...Like a meth head to a double-wide? I'll work on it and get back to you.

Amplify’d from newledger.com

Dave Weigel’s Silly Conspiracy Theory

Theory: Christine O’Donnell is catnip for liberal media so it ignores actual surging GOP candidates in WV, WI, etc.

Now, at first glance there is much to commend in this little tweet. It is identified as a theory, which, while somewhat redundant in the informal world of social networking in general and Twitter in particular, still serves notice that this is even more of a musing than usual. A theory can be useful even, or especially, when it is falsified, providing instruction for those willing to learn.

We see an unsubtle swipe at Christine O’Donnell, Tea Party darling and target of such strange bedfellows as Bill Maher and Karl Rove. Weigel contrasts her with “actual surging candidates”, pushing the narrative that she can’t win and should be ignored.

Charity requires that we interpret the theory in a way in which it makes sense. What Weigel means by “surging” candidates here is obviously candidates who are polling within striking distance. Or perhaps he misidentified the states in which candidates are surging. These things are forgivable, and do not prompt this post.

But here it is: if “Christine O’Donnell is catnip for the liberal media”, who is using her that way? Weigel clearly assumes an active control over which races the insurgents back (or something). The Republican Party has no such control. The Tea Party movement exercises no such control. The O’Donnell campaign certainly isn’t in it to be a distraction for Ron Johnson or John Raese. Read more at newledger.com

 

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Know Whereof You Speak

from Joseph L. Bast

President of The Heartland Institute

Exactly What the Tea Party Movement Needs!

On February 19, 2009, CNBC commentator Rick Santelli stood on the trading floor of the Chicago Board of Trade and called for a “new tea party” to protest out-of-control spending by politicians in Washington. Little did he know that his words would become the rallying call for millions of Americans, many of them getting involved in politics for the very first time.



The Heartland Institute was there from the start. We helped the Santelli video “go viral.” Our staff helped organize the first Tea Party events in Washington DC and Chicago. We supplied speakers and promotional support to scores of Tea Party events around the country. And in recent months, we’ve distributed tens of thousands of free copies of our Legislative Principles booklets to activists, candidates for office, and civic and business leaders.



So here’s our next big thing: The Patriot’s Toolbox, a 263-page book that consists of eight chapters, each presenting ten principles for free-market reform in clear and precise English. Each chapter originally appeared in the Legislative Principles series, which means they are specially designed and edited to meet the needs of busy elected officials and opinion leaders. No rhetoric, no history lessons, and no long-winded lectures. Just solid facts backed up with bibliographies.



The Patriot’s Toolbox gives the new patriots of the Tea Party movement the intellectual ammunition they need to take their country back! It is exactly what the movement needs right now to build and explain its vision of a better country with less government and more individual freedom.



The Heartland Institute hopes to put hundreds of thousands of copies of The Patriot’s Toolbox into the hands of grassroots activists in the coming months. We need your help! Visit www.heartland.org or call 312/377-4000 and request a free copy of the book, and let us know how we can work together to help get the ideas out. Because we don’t want to sell books. We want to help take our country back!



Please forward this message to anyone you know who supports the Tea Party movement or just wants to know more about free-market solutions to social and economic problems. Thanks!

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What the Left Needs to Exist | PJM #tcot #p2

When the statists want to take something from you -- whether it's a tax increase, a mandate on what you can eat, or on what you must buy -- they need a bogeyman. That eeevil insurance company about to raise your rates beyond an authorized percentage or the rich person about to ... be rich, these are your enemy, the left tell you.



Read more at the PJM link below.

Amplify’d from pajamasmedia.com

‘Please’ and ‘Thank You,’ Said the Left’s Bogeyman

Progressives, leftists, liberals, fascists, Islamists, statists, Jersey teachers’ unions — really, anyone who thinks they deserve a bit more of your stuff — use the tactic of winning over adherents by claiming the existence of a Bogeyman.

Indeed, there is no greater impetus behind the long-term survival of these ideologies. I hope not to understate it: you simply cannot support the taking of another’s Natural Rights without convincing yourself — or being convinced at the point of a firearm — that the other does not deserve them, or cannot be trusted with them.

No Bogeyman, no liberalism. Read more at pajamasmedia.com

 

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Republicans should serve as election judges. #ILSen #ILGov #icot

The Illinois Republican Party would like to remind you that to best ensure the accuracy of the voting process, Election Judges from all political parties are needed to maintain accountablility. They say:

Dear Fellow Republican,

We write today to ask you – urgently – to help us in one of the most important tasks of this electoral year.

Please consider serving as an Election Judge in your home county.

Serving as a judge is the toughest one-day job you will ever love. It is a very long day, from about 5:15 a.m. to after 9 p.m., but the rewards of ensuring a fair election are quite satisfying.

If you are interested in participating in this important effort, please email us at ElectionJudge2010@ilgop.org. The State Party will coordinate with county organizations to make sure they are aware of your willingness to help with this very important effort.

Thank you for your time, attention and consideration. Filling open judge seats is a key component to bring Illinoisans the representation and government they want and deserve. That’s why we appreciate you considering serving as a Judge of Election.

Thanks.

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The most important take-away from the One Nation event | Redstate #tcot #teaparty

Redstate's LaborUnionReport makes a point that bears repeating over and over until everyone gets it: there is no denying that the White House, Democrat Party, Communist Party USA, SEIU, AFL-CIO, AFSCME, and NAACP are all on the same Marxist page.



The One Nation event was all of these groups showing unity. They can never again claim they aren't in it for the same goals.



They want to destroy America and turn it into a Socialist Workers' Paradise, in which no one ever goes more hungry than everyone else, no one ever gets medical care everone doesn't need, no one excels, and no one smiles.



There are excerpts below, but read the whole thing at Redstate.

Amplify’d from www.redstate.com

The OneNation March: November’s Choices Are Clearer Than Ever

From the Left’s point of view, they are now completely, unabashedly out in the open. There’s no more hiding behind bromides and phony feel-good names, the Left has now unmasked itself. Socialists, Communists, labor unions, liberals, progressives and other assorted riff-raff…why, they are all, undisputedly, one big, incestuously happy family now. Congratulations!

And, for them, there is no going back into the closet, no turning back: We’re socialists and we’re proud.

The Marxist Left, the Democratic Party and its union masters are in full panic right now.  They may be scared but, unlike the real America, they are mobilizing and coordinating their Get Out the Vote efforts to try to salvage their dream of a socialist utopia.

As an American, if you do not want their vision of America to supplant what was once the freest nation on earth, then you need to vote. More importantly, you need to work to get others to vote. Read more at www.redstate.com

 

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ObamaCare: you can keep your insurance, but not if they quit offering it. #hcr #tcot

3M has decided to send people who retire before age 65 to the government exchanges instead of dealing with it themselves. 3M is taking a giant step back from managing its retiree health insurance.

Amplify’d from www.wallstreetjournal.com

3M Co. on Friday informed retirees and workers it will stop offering a group health-insurance plan to retirees not old enough for Medicare by 2015, citing the federal health overhaul as a factor.

Americans become eligible for the Medicare insurance program at age 65. Starting in 2015, 3M retirees too young to qualify for Medicare will receive financial support through what the company called a "health reimbursement arrangement" instead of the group insurance plan. The company described that as an account retirees can use to purchase individual insurance through exchanges that the health law creates in 2014. Read more at www.wallstreetjournal.com

 

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Remember Rahm "Sharp Elbows" Emanuel? What a guy. #rush #tcot

He's a political thug, and the MSM loves him because he works for libs.

Amplify’d from www.rushlimbaugh.com

CHETRY: Rahm Emanuel, a Washington veteran known for sharp elbows. REID: A masterful politician with very sharp elbows. SCARBOROUGH:  Sharp political elbows. CARD:  I hope he takes his partisan elbows and keeps them close by to his body. BROWNSTEIN:  He has sharp political instincts and sharp elbows.   BROWN:  You mentioned sharp elbows. YELLIN:  A reputation for sharp elbows. Read more at www.rushlimbaugh.com

 

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