It’s a mad mad
Some things which got pushed aside for the breaking breaking news:
- When Mitt’s lost National Review on releasing tax returns now.
- Ann Coulter is sounding more and more like Marianne Gingrich.
- Hezbollah receiving more powerful, longer range missiles from Syria.
- Hyperbole in defense of Bain is a vice, don’t let them tell you otherwise.
- Bibi denies identifying Israel’s two greatest enemies (not that he would have been wrong had he said it).
- Thank you, Iowa Repubs.
- Question No. 1: Did she or didn’t she. Question No. 2: Who cares?
- No surprise – Perry’s K Street backers flock to Mitt.
- I have the best opinion of The Week.
- More to follow.
- S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, today endorsed Newt Gingrich. Apprently this is a big deal in SC.
- It’s 4:22 PM and Matt Drudge still doesn’t want you to vote for Newt:
+13-1
Comments
The Book On Mitt Romney: Here Is John McCain’s Entire Opposition Research File
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
in pdf format here if anyone wants it.
http://www.davemacleod.net/forums/topic/45853-opporesearch/page__pid__56285#entry56285
Like or Dislike:
1 
0
Is Ann Coulter saying that she never slept with Bill Mahre while she was dating him? Who would that make her? She is either the virgin queen or she lives in a glass house.
Like or Dislike:
4 
0
Surely ‘dating’ has to end at about 22. After that it is “try outs” . There comes a time for “ships in the night’. then ‘any port in a storm’.
By their ages I think it is was stage 4. Now they are both terminalled.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Professor, thanks for the NRO link to Bachman’s statement; I was wondering when/if she would speak out.
It’s no surprise that she objects to Newt’s lack of moral fiber. But lack of poise and experience?
Like or Dislike:
1 
0
been updated BTW:
The Bachmann for President campaign has not issued an official statement regarding an endorsement of any current candidate in the GOP race ahead of the South Carolina primary. Any information found to the contrary is inaccurate.
Like or Dislike:
3 
0
It was already updated in the link, so the MerryCarol chose to ignore that information in the comment
Like or Dislike:
3 
0
You people are a bunch of political illiterates! You wouldn’t know a conservative if one bit you on the backside! A special place in hell is being prepared for you all! You all hated Perry from the beginning! Ah! Ahhhh!
[Covering for retire05, who is on break]
Like or Dislike:
6 
1
whew.
I was having withdrawals
Like or Dislike:
7 
1
So now you are assuming authority to speak for me? I am, in your small mind, not permitted to have my own opinions because I don’t walk lockstep with the lemmings here, obviously.
Perhaps Professor Jacobson can put you on his payroll. And the both of you can convince the nation that moral standards are no longer needed and George Washington is soooooo passe.
Like or Dislike:
1 
4
I’m a communist, atheist, pinko, leftist, statist, socialist, slimeball. Lower your expectations accordingly and stop expecting this pig to dance a ballet.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Re: Bain Capital, some might appreciate this explanation that I heard recently. I’ve been waiting for an excuse to post it and this is as good as any:
Too many people are defending Romney as just being a good little capitalist, when this isn’t really the case—rather, he was playing shell games and essentially committing fraud with investors. I think most agree that the government should probably punish somebody selling watered-down gas… so why not punish dishonest debt instruments? I think most agree that if a minority shareholder uses company money to issue himself a big paycheck, this is embezzlement from the other shareholders. When Romney does this with his multi-million dollar consulting fees, this isn’t different?
Now the crux of this problem is of course the government. Their corporate limited liability laws unfairly rip up contracts between creditors and debtors. Making debt financing tax deductible, but not equity financing, has seriously skewed the corporate structure. And lastly, the Federal Reserve issuing so much debt (largely indirectly) and then bailing out said debt (→ moral hazard) is a significant problem in aiding and abetting private equity craziness of reckless LBOs, etc.
Specifically how the system works: A bank overflowing with money they created from low Fed Reserve interest rates meets with a private equity firm to talk about taking over firm. The bank provides ~80/20 the money and they together purchase the take over target. The PE firm immediately loads up the acquired firm with debt for the bank to get their money. The debt is structured as a huge balloon payment set to self-destruct in about 5 years. The bank realizes this is ticking time bomb, so unloads this debt ASAP to other banks, hedge funds, insurance companies and pension funds. The smarter investors realize this is a hot potato and keep passing it around. Recently they’ve been hiding this bad debt in CLOs (almost identical in concept to real estate CDOs). Hidden amongst other debt, people have no idea the mess they purchased. The PE firm on the other hand wastes no time in borrowing HEAVILY again to finance corporate mergers (they don’t want to do it from the PE firm directly because they could be liable for the debt). They also borrow heavily to finance huge dividends that more than make up for what they paid for the firm. They justify the dividend legally by jacking up short term profits (price increases, job cuts, quality reductions) that threaten the long term health of the company, and by money saved from tax deductible interest as well. If possible, the PE firm tries to dump their acquired firm before the balloon payment comes up… but even if they’re stuck with the firm they usually do very well given all the consulting fees they charge and the huge dividends they give themselves.
As ZeroHedge also explains in a nutshell:
Also note that Romney relied on corporate welfare. Take a walk down the list here:
Like or Dislike:
2 
0
I already have a special place in hell, but thanks anyway.
Like or Dislike:
5 
0
One of my favorite marriage jokes, from the TV sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond:
70-ish Marie, angrily: “I’m just a trophy wife to you!”
Her hubby Frank: “Trophy wife! What contest in hell did I win?”
Like or Dislike:
3 
0
Mrs. H wants an explanation on why Idwaddell’s mention of “a special place in hell” reminded me of marriage jokes.
A little help? Anybody?
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Would living under Obama’s wrath be considered “your private hell”? It is for me.
Like or Dislike:
1 
0
Apparently (according to Drudge) Democrats get more political campaign contributions from Bain than do Republicans. Not surprising but it’s going to complicate Mr. Axelrod’s plan to dirty up Romney over the whole Bain issue. I wouldn’t be astounded if the whole Bain Pain Game disappeared after a while.
Like or Dislike:
1 
0
I find it more intriguing to look at it this way:
Why hire a Bain person, who worked with Romney/under Romney? What inside information might that person have? What angle is this really leaning toward – digging dirt, blackmail, or something else?
All too interesting – and there are no coincidences with these Chicago thugs.
Like or Dislike:
2 
0
Rush believes that ABC was part of a concerted effort to clear the Republican field because, “Obama, to win election, his opposition has to be neutralized or taken out. He doesn’t win straight-up-and-up elections.”
And then Drudge messed up their plans. “Drudge, on the 14th anniversary of posting the Lewinsky story, runs his story last night that ABC’s got this Marianne tape, and they’re in this big ethical debate over when to run it, which forced them to move it up.”
Drudge Screwed Up ABC’s Plans for the Marianne Gingrich Interview
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2012/01/19/drudge_screwed_up_abc_s_plans_for_the_marianne_gingrich_interview
Like or Dislike:
2 
1
Henry Hawkins | January 19, 2012 at 4:21 pm
I thought you had lost it.. What a relief!!
Like or Dislike:
1 
0
Oh, no. You were corrct. I have lost it. But I lost it before I began posting here, so you can’t tell the difference.
Like or Dislike:
4 
0
If Bobby Harrell has endorsed Newt, can William Jefferson be far behind?
Out of the 300+ Republicans who served either with Gingrich as House colleagues or under him as Speaker, how many have endorsed him?
Like or Dislike:
0 
1
Personally, I place zero importance on endorsements by politicians because it is always a political decision, often in complete opposition to what they really think.
Like or Dislike:
4 
0
Most Repubs in SC can care less who Bobby endorses.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
“Out of the 300+ Republicans who served either with Gingrich as House colleagues or under him as Speaker, how many have endorsed him?”
The fewer who do, the more I trust him.
Like or Dislike:
2 
0
I liked Bachmann in the beginning. I wouldn’t have voted for her because she lacked experience and name fame, but thought she was a nice person. As time went on, her vindictive nature came out. Really, I question whether she is such a devout Christian at all. If she is, the Golden Rule sure has changed. I really dislike people who are able to give you the shaft and smile while doing so. She just had to get in her last hurrah and extend her 15 minutes. I think she was put in the race as a cover for Romney. She sure went after everybody but him. We’ll see who she endorses. Bet it’s Mitt. I never understood why she was running at all.
Her saying Newt lacks experience is hilarious. A second term Minnoesota congresman taking to task a former Speaker of the House with years of fighting DC but lacks experience. Yet she thought she was capable of being the president. That’s rich. Can this woman make herself any more of a cortoon?
Like or Dislike:
6 
0
Of the majors who’ve dropped out (Pawlenty, Bachmann, Cain, Huntsman, Perry), I’d say only Bachmann has damaged herself long-term politically in the effort. I so very much detested the implications of the ‘crazy eyes’ ad hominem hurled at her by the left, but now, after her meltdown….. hmmm, maybe, maybe.
Like or Dislike:
5 
0
Can’t help but think that this is just Drudge revisiting history.. Instead of “Newsweek” killing a story (1/17/98)..now it’s ABC….supposedly debating ethics (1/18/2012) to release before or after the primary…
http://www.drudgereportarchives.com/data/2002/01/17/20020117_175502_ml.htm
As a reader I’m not impressed with this “journalistic trip” Drudge is on. I’m not impressed before the primary and I won’t be impressed after the primary, since story is based on reporting/interviewing that was already out there in print. The Drudge report should be roundly mocked for it. Nice try, no cigar.
Like or Dislike:
3 
0
Drudge has embraced the very journalistic sins of the MSM that prompted him to start up The Drudge Report in the first place.
I’m afraid that the blogosphere will end up not countering the MSM’s crimes, but expanding them across the internet. The list of sites I trust is certainly shrinking.
Like or Dislike:
8 
0
Here is the latest discovered dirt on Marianne Gingrich. It seems that she was conspiring with an arms dealer who was attempting to recover payment from Saddam Hussein for weapons supplied to Iraq during the Iran-Iraq. She was freely throwing Newt’s name around (from her own account), but there seems not to have been any Newt involvement.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Gad-fly. If I remember correctly, he was investigated and cleared.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Another example why I don’t like Hannity: 1. In this 3 minute “interview” he manages to talk for 2 minutes. It takes him :45 to ask a “question,” which is more a lump of half-baked statements. 2. He also manages to equate what’s happening to Gingrich to some illusory persecution of Romney.
What a motor-mouthed tool.
Like or Dislike:
1 
0
Never have I seen so much angst from the GOP/MSM establishment. They are throwing EVERYTHING but the kitchen sink (it was already thrown at Palin in 08) and they’re still in panic mode.
I’m expecting accusations that Newt is an Alien from Mars.
Like or Dislike:
1 
0
“Ann Coulter is sounding more and more like Marianne Gingrich.”
LOVE IT!
Like or Dislike:
1 
0
Al Gore/Keith Olbermann’s Current TV has contacted me for an interview about my 1975 one night stand with Ron Paul.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[...] Is it me, or does Drudge seem to be on an anti-Newt campaign? The day-long banner he gave to Marianne Gingrich was as over the top as anything I’ve ever seen. He [...]
Like or Dislike:
0 
0