I told Tom:  Tell ‘em I have Aspergers!

But really I am interested in UKIP because it is in many ways like the Tea Party in US politics.  There are some emphasis on social issues in UKIP but the primary issue is independence and sovereignty for the UK from the EU superstate.  Tea Party activists are not all social conservatives.  The issues driving Tea Party members are respect for the Constitution, control taxing, spending and debt and stop runaway intrusive government.  The anti-EU platform can affect millions.  The UK ought to be able to deny prisoners the vote, deport suspected terrorists, and allow weights and measures to be sold in pounds.  The EU wants to regulate HOW olive oil is eaten!  They also said it was false advertising for bottled water manufacturers to say it prevents dehydration!  Their vision of Europe is a United States of Europe – a super empire not unlike the USSR.  Not formed of states who wanted to be united like the US but rather by elites seeking power for themselves at the expense of their nation.

There is now evidence that UKIP could even become the new Conservative Party.  Yes that’s right.  In the US, the Tea Party is an interest group in the GOP.   But in the UK, it is a separate political party.  I have shown that they can take power with much less than a majority.  UKIP also seems to draw from Labourites as well as Tories:

The political assumption has long been that all UKIPpers are disaffected Tories, but this is a flawed generalisation. Lord Ashcroft’s polling [PDF] found that UKIP voters in 2010 were as likely to identify with Labour as they were with the Conservatives. Tories are the largest party group among those considering supporting UKIP at 31%, but they are outnumbered by the 33% who feel no affinity to any party at all – and Labour supporters make up 21% of the total.

This is compounded by a fascinating analysis of local election data by Survation which shows that the composition of UKIP’s voter base is not static, but changes as their level of support rises.

Up to 16% in the polls, the bulk of their new votes come from Conservatives – but past that point, the majority of their new switchers come from Labour. As the only party to secure over 20% in both South Shields and Eastleigh, it is clear their performance is more complex than simply capturing outrage in Tunbridge Wells (though they perform well there, too).

All I can say is wow.  Now UKIP is only 2 points behind the Conservative Party in a recent poll.  If there is a by-election in the right district in the next few weeks, or if there is a UKIP sweep of the EU elections in 2014, there could be mass defections.  There is scared talk in the Tory halls of power right now:

Cameron reached out after senior Tories, who were enraged by allegations that the Tory co-chairman Lord Feldman had made disparaging remarks about Tory activists, warned of a sea change in the parliamentary party as growing numbers of MPs decide that the prime minister is becoming a liability. Feldman strenuously denied the allegations which he described as “completely untrue”.

But senior figures indicated that the chairman of the Conservative backbench 1922 committee, Graham Brady, was expected to receive further letters calling for a confidence vote. Brady, who is understood to have been sent a limited number in recent months, will have to call a vote if he receives at least 46.

Some think UKIP leader Farage is a better choice for PM than PM Cameron!  The Daily Mail’s report sounds like the wheels may be falling off the Tory party.  Six Conservative councillors have defected to UKIP:

It is expected to trigger a fresh round of defections from the Tory party to UKIP among local councillors as well as rank and file activists.

Six members of the Conservative group on Merton council in south London have announced they are switching.

“It” is the comments by a “senior Tory ally” of the Prime Minister described TORY activists as “mad, swivel-eyed loons.”  Here is an article saying there are defections to UKIP:

Local Conservative party campaigners, including the chairman of one constituency association, will this week pledge their support for Nigel Farage after one of David Cameron’s allies described grassroots Tories as “mad, swivel-eyed loons”.

Can you imagine Mitt Romney calling GOP Tea Party activists “mad,swivel-eyed loons”?  Maybe the Tory party is indeed irretrievably broken.  UKIP needs to have the platform to have a solid conservative party.  No more gay marriage:  Rather take marriage out of the code, set up civil unions, and protect the church to say what it believes the Bible says.  Not yet touch the abortion laws.  Protect Christians and other religious believers.  By all means show what will happen if no more EU rules, regulations and judicial decisions binding upon the UK.

The question can only be placed openly:  Will someone seek Cameron’s party position and if so, will it be a euroskeptic or europhile?  (Now if there was a serious party challenge from a wonderful libertarian like MP Steve Baker, that would be a good development.)

A pro-European Tory member of the House of Lords, said this:

Mr Cameron was also strongly criticised by Lord Howe, the former Conservative Chancellor who helped bring down Margaret Thatcher.

He said Mr Cameron was ‘losing control’ of the party after pandering to Eurosceptics by offering an in/out referendum. Lord Howe, who also served as Foreign Secretary, accused Mr Cameron of ‘running scared’ of his own MPs and UKIP.

Lord Howe also said that “…deep anti-Europeanism” is now “infect[ing] the soul of the party.”  I am appalled:  What country do you give allegiance to, Lord Howe?  If the United Kingdom, then support her!  If Europe, than you ought not be in the Lords!

AND the Tories expect UKIP to win the EU parliament elections in 2014:

David Cameron expects the UK Independence Party to win next year’s European Parliament elections despite his pledge to hold an in/out referendum on Europe.

A senior Conservative source said it was now taken as a ‘reasonable assumption’ in Downing Street that UKIP would top the poll next May – sparking a fresh round of Tory bloodletting on Europe just 12 months before the General Election.

My thoughts, unsolicited, is that UKIP needs to come up with a realistic alternative to the EU.  Libertarian and anti-EU think tanks should fill the bill. It shouldn’t be difficult.  If the Tories sack PM Cameron, that might save the party – if they draw a strong euro-skeptic.  But if they do not, there could be true realignment.  UKIP can study the voters it needs to get the 36% it needs to come to power and restore British sovereignty.  Remember, UKIP’s fight is our fight.

It is readily available on the internet.

It is called “Rules for Radicals” and was written by Saul Alinsky and it is really hard to get my Conservative and Republican friends to read this tiny little book we all know about.

I suppose they feel that since they are not radicals, they shouldn’t read it.

Or perhaps that it is so much worthless tripe and a waste of time.

But it is everything you need to know about Democrats’ tactics.

Consider this statement that Terry McAuliffe sent out moments after Ken Cuccinelli was officially nominated:

Wow, they really did it.

Moments ago, the Republican Party of Virginia officially nominated Ken Cuccinelli as their candidate for Governor.

We knew this was coming, but I want to make sure you know what it means.

If Ken Cuccinelli is elected Governor of Virginia, he’ll spend the next four years pursuing his divisive social agenda — trying to delegitimize climate science, roll back gay rights, and limit women’s access to health care — instead of focusing on what’s really important: creating jobs and opportunity for Virginia families.

Pay attention to the last sentence. The “Rules for Radicals” are posted below. How many of the 12 rules did Terry McAuliffe use to create that last sentence?

The answer is below the 12 Rules. See if you can catch them all!

* RULE 1: “Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.” Power is derived from 2 main sources – money and people. “Have-Nots” must build power from flesh and blood. (These are two things of which there is a plentiful supply. Government and corporations always have a difficult time appealing to people, and usually do so almost exclusively with economic arguments.)

* RULE 2: “Never go outside the expertise of your people.” It results in confusion, fear and retreat. Feeling secure adds to the backbone of anyone. (Organizations under attack wonder why radicals don’t address the “real” issues. This is why. They avoid things with which they have no knowledge.)

* RULE 3: “Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy.” Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty. (This happens all the time. Watch how many organizations under attack are blind-sided by seemingly irrelevant arguments that they are then forced to address.)

* RULE 4: “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.” If the rule is that every letter gets a reply, send 30,000 letters. You can kill them with this because no one can possibly obey all of their own rules. (This is a serious rule. The besieged entity’s very credibility and reputation is at stake, because if activists catch it lying or not living up to its commitments, they can continue to chip away at the damage.)

* RULE 5: “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.” There is no defense. It’s irrational. It’s infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions. (Pretty crude, rude and mean, huh? They want to create anger and fear.)

* RULE 6: “A good tactic is one your people enjoy.” They’ll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more. They’re doing their thing, and will even suggest better ones. (Radical activists, in this sense, are no different that any other human being. We all avoid “un-fun” activities, and but we revel at and enjoy the ones that work and bring results.)

* RULE 7: “A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.” Don’t become old news. (Even radical activists get bored. So to keep them excited and involved, organizers are constantly coming up with new tactics.)

* RULE 8: “Keep the pressure on. Never let up.” Keep trying new things to keep the opposition off balance. As the opposition masters one approach, hit them from the flank with something new. (Attack, attack, attack from all sides, never giving the reeling organization a chance to rest, regroup, recover and re-strategize.)

* RULE 9: “The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.” Imagination and ego can dream up many more consequences than any activist. (Perception is reality. Large organizations always prepare a worst-case scenario, something that may be furthest from the activists’ minds. The upshot is that the organization will expend enormous time and energy, creating in its own collective mind the direst of conclusions. The possibilities can easily poison the mind and result in demoralization.)

* RULE 10: “If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive.” Violence from the other side can win the public to your side because the public sympathizes with the underdog. (Unions used this tactic. Peaceful [albeit loud] demonstrations during the heyday of unions in the early to mid-20th Century incurred management’s wrath, often in the form of violence that eventually brought public sympathy to their side.)

* RULE 11: “The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.” Never let the enemy score points because you’re caught without a solution to the problem. (Old saw: If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Activist organizations have an agenda, and their strategy is to hold a place at the table, to be given a forum to wield their power. So, they have to have a compromise solution.)

* RULE 12: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions. (This is cruel, but very effective. Direct, personalized criticism and ridicule works.)

The correct answer is that McAuliffe used 11 of the 12 rules in a single sentence.

If Ken Cuccinelli is elected Governor of Virginia, he’ll spend the next four years pursuing his divisive social agenda — trying to delegitimize climate science, roll back gay rights, and limit women’s access to health care — instead of focusing on what’s really important: creating jobs and opportunity for Virginia families.

Rule 7 is the only one they did not use.

Rule 1: Cuccinelli will not have the power to do what McAuliffe is predicting. But McAuliffe wants to scare Virginians into believing he does.

Rule 2: Global warming, Gay rights, Women’s health are all areas Democrats thrive on. Their area of “expertise” – really exploitation. McAuliffe didn’t mention energy, traditional family values or the other issues that they are a loss with. He also didn’t mention taxes (although McDonnell didn’t help with the fiscal conservative narrative with the massive tax increase).

Rule 3: See Rule 2 above.

Rule 4: Republicans have God in the platform. The Bible teaches “gay rights” are a sin. In order to be pro gay rights you must be against the Bible.

Rule 5: Ridicule.

Rule 6: Democrats enjoy attacking Conservatives on gay issues, abortion, global warming, etc.

Rule 7: Did not use for obvious reasons.

Rule 8: Like I said, this came out moments after Cuccinelli became the nominee and the pressure will not stop.

Rule 9: Imagined threats of loss of health care and a tidal wave from melting glaciers terrify low information Democrats.

Rule 10: Repeat lies enough and people believe them.

Rule 11: The constructive alternative? “instead of focusing on what’s really important: creating jobs and opportunity for Virginia families.” Notice Terry didn’t mention Green jobs. Not his area of expertise.

Rule 12: Cuccinelli is evil! “he’ll spend the next four years pursuing his divisive social agenda” Right. Divisive Social Agenda like protecting life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all. Not things we can all agree on with no controversy like gay “marriage”, killing unborn children and taking away those nasty guns.

Let me respond to McAuliffe with a press release using the helpful hints from Alinsky:

Terry McAuliffe attacked Ken Cuccinelli today demanding he disavow God and stop using the Constitution as a guideline and abandon his plans to developing clean coal and nuclear energy providing jobs to Virginians for decades to come.

Perhaps the Republican ticket should immediately analyze every press release from McAuliffe and point out every Radical Rule he uses.

There would be no need to respond to the false accusations. Just call them out for the Radicals they are.

Every week on Monday morning, the Council and our invited guests weigh in at the Watcher’s Forum, short takes on a major issue of the day. This week’s question:Which of the current scandals do you think is potentially most damaging to the Obama Administration? Why?

The Razor: I have to pick one? Really?

Although I believe the Benghazi Scandal has more weight in the short term since it undermines the administration’s foreign policy credibility, I’d have to go with the IRS scandal because it undermines the liberal argument that is the foundation of the Obama administration: A powerful federal government is in people’s best interests. This argument is predicated on the progressive belief taken from the works of Karl Marx that capitalism is an inherently unfair system that left alone will create a polarized society between the haves and the have-nots, and it is up to the government to distribute the wealth from the haves and give it to the have-nots. An entity like the IRS is required to perform this wealth redistribution, so it plays a much more central role in progressive politics, proven by its use in Obamacare, than it does in conservative politics.

An IRS that is seen as a wing of a political party loses its credibility. It becomes hated by those whose ideology it attacks, but even those whose ideology it acts on behalf of should be concerned because of the precedent such partisan behavior sets. Someday the White House will be in the hands of the Republicans, and the Secretary of the Treasury will be firmly in the GOP camp, so while the IRS may be attacking conservatives today, it’s not a stretch of the imagination to see it being used to target liberals and progressives in the future. Liberals know this, which is why even those who called upon the IRS to investigate the Tea Party like Senator Carl Levin are now acting shocked after it had actually done so.

On May 5 Obama spoke at Ohio State’s commencement ceremony and told the graduates to reject the voices that warn of government tyranny. Days later the IRS scandal breaks and those voices warning of tyranny are proven right. The timing couldn’t have been better, and I’m sure that Obama is blaming Bush for it.

Sara Noble at The Independent Sentinel: I think the IRS scandal is the most damaging. It affects people in a bipartisan way. It has serious ramifications for Obamacare and its going to make it’s way back up to Obama.

The Noisy Room: There’s certainly an argument to be made for each of the fiascoes considered here. Benghazi was appalling and quite possibly should result in big names receiving big sentences for manslaughter via depraved indifference. It was bad, it was heinous, it was unconscionable. The AP phone tapping outrage is certainly a worthy — one might even say impeachable — entanglement and should result in prosecutions, lawsuits and political smack-downs. However, bugging the press is little more than an extension of bugging the whole of the American public and the public at large seems to be fine with having no privacy. Perhaps the
public needs this wake-up call to reconsider the propriety of that..

On the other hand, the IRS affair is an order of magnitude more oppressive, as it has an element of violence at its center, as we will see below.

Without a doubt, the most damaging is the IRS scandal. When our government can use the IRS as a tool of intimidation, subverting the Constitution and all its guarantees and protections, then the American people become the persecuted — the targets of a tyrannical government run amok. One where the silencing of dissent becomes commonplace and the policing of American citizens becomes the law of the land. It is the exact opposite of what the Founding Fathers intended and more closely resembles the jackbooted tactics of the Soviet Union than the United States. I ask, what have we become? Do you recognize your country any more?

American history is replete with scandals, but they pale in comparison to Obama’s IRS goons and his secretive tactics. All I hear is that this is not a scandal, that it does not matter. There is no there, there. Oh, but it does. The very fabric of our freedoms is at stake and it is being shredded by those we entrusted to protect it. The show of force and intimidation through the use of the IRS should make America shudder to her core and it brings into doubt the last election’s results. Not only through fraudulent voting and counting, but through the suppression and squelching of the Tea Party movement and the legitimate voting rights of
millions of conservatives. This was no incompetent bungle; this was a planned and heavily used tactic from the beginning of Obama’s reign and you can see that on display with the intentionally planted question that started this ball rolling. They knew that the lid on this was about to be blown by whistle blowers and tried to head it off. Instead, reaping unintended consequences, they have blown it wide open and brought a new life and fight to the Tea Party movement. They have brought lawsuits to the IRS and the downfall of a progressive government as well.

This affront is such a horrendous abrogation of the First Amendment, it is staggering. The IRS should be shut down and a flat tax immediately instituted. The corruption in our government is systemic and massive hearings, firings and prison terms should be sought quickly and stringently. America’s churches, special interest groups and her citizens have been viciously and blatantly targeted. The damage to the Obama Administration is complete – it is time for impeachment proceedings to begin in earnest.

Liberty’s Spirit: There is no worse scandal between Benghazi, the IRS targeting and the violation of AP emails.

Benghazi was a failure of immeasurable cowardice and depraved indifference for the lives of those Obama sent into harms way. But the cover-up of the Benghazi failure is an attack on the first amendment. The lie that a video caused the attacks, led to the imprisonment of the film’s maker.The Administration spent tens of thousands of dollars of our tax dollars on a video denouncing this anti-Moslem video instead of teaching the Arab and Moslem world about freedom of speech. Obama went so far to even castigate freedom of speech at the United Nations. The cover-up of the incompetent decision making related to Benghazi is also in and of itself an abuse of power. The President is answerable to the people and when Presidents lie to the people, when they cover-up the true story, when they hide the fact that our enemies are very active, a Presidency no longer serves the people. He no longer protects us from enemies both foreign and domestic. The fact they Obama’s administration used their power to destroy dissenting people’s careers either in the military, the intelligence services or the Foreign Service shows a depravity not seen since Nixon and quite frankly tried during the Clinton years.

The AP email scandal was a direct assault upon the first amendment freedom of the press as well as an attack on search and seizure and due process. While it has become a running joke how this administration whines about Fox News, the MSM in general is quite frankly more like Obama’s version of Pravda rather than a vigorous investigative body interested in maintaining democracy. So this recent assault didn’t make sense until you read the reports that the AP did not hold off on a story for the length of time Obama ordered. Hence garnering punishment for their independence with the intrusion into their reporting and privacy.This latest assault upon the Bill of Rights in order to get the press in line and do as they are instructed violates one of most basic democratic precepts.

The IRS scandal is a chilling use of power to silence or terrorize citizens that do not agree with Administration policies. Whether the parties involved were conservatives, Tea Party members, those that taught about the Bill of Rights or pro-Israel groups that disagree with Obama’s approach in the Middle East, the fact that the IRS has the power to come in and destroy your life has a chilling effect on freedom of association, freedom of speech,freedom of assembly, the right to petition your government and the right to disagree with your government-a very basic tenet of a democratic society. When the IRS is used to punish your political rivals and reward your political bedfellows it becomes a tool of tyranny instead of a tool of national security.It is telling that the administration is trying to swipe this aside with the departure of Commissioner Miller, who was gong to be leaving in a month anyway.Their contempt for the American people is insulting to say the least and problematic for our democracy in the long run.

In truth all of these scandals are examples of the Obama administrations ideology of contempt for the People of the United States, the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights. You cannot view one without viewing the other. They are the conjoined triplets of a descent into the kind of oligarchy you find in the third world and developing nations. Luckily however, there still exists those in Congress who see the danger to our republic and are trying to get to the truth of all these matters.

Rhymes With Right:Which current scandal will do the most harm to Obama and his administration? That is quite a question, and one that I have to consider quite carefully.

I know which scandal ought to clause the most damage — Benghazi, which flows from Obama’s unconstitutional Libyan War and demonstrates that he puts politics above foreign policy and military concerns and the lives of Americans placed in harms way by acts of terrorism. That is doubly true given the cover-up and the effort to blame the exercise of the constitutional right to speak freely and to criticize (even harshly) a religion not one’s own. But the reality is that the American people don’t care about foreign policy scandals even though they should — especially when those most culpable include the President and his heir apparent.

And I know which one should blow over in short order as a matter that is lot’s of smoke with no fire — the AP phone records scandal. After all, the leaking of classified information is a crime, and it makes perfect sense to determine who the culprit is and charge them appropriately. However, the press will treat this one as a bigger deal than it is (and there are important aspects to it, like Eric Holder’s role), and it is likely not to go away.

Which leads me to the one most likely to do lasting damage to Obama and his administration — the IRS scandal. The irony of this is that there is likely to be no presidential involvement in the scandal at all, just lots of dirty appointees and low-level civil service personnel. But we know that there are those close to the President who have tried to insulate him from it and who helped cover it up until after the election — and it could have changed the course of the election, have no doubt — and who continue to minimize it in an attempt to safeguard Obama and his inner circle. It is likely that Obama will find himself forced to appoint a special prosecutor to deal with this matter now that we know his former Treasury Secretary/current Chief of Staff Jack Lew knew about the IRS wrongdoing a year ago and took no action despite knowing of IRS denials of targeting Obama’s political opponents. The matter now rests too Obama for the DOJ to credibly investigate. Obama is unlikely to be implicated — but the image of him as a hands-off president oblivious to what is going on in his administration will be quite harmful entering the 2014 election season.

Of course, maybe none of these matters will do Obama harm? Maybe the AP scandal will flare up because of media attention or the Benghazi scandal will become hot due to some revelation. Perhaps the IRS scandal will fizzle once it becomes clear there is no presidential involvement. And perhaps most explosively, perhaps the AP records case will cause the press to more closely scrutinize Fast and and Furious, Benghazi, and the IRS affair and lead to explosive revelations regarding one or the other. So while I’m sticking with my suggestion that the IRS scandal will be the most harmful, I would not be at all surprised to be wrong.

JoshuaPundit: First off, a lot depends on what we mean by ‘damage’. I seriously doubt that Barack Obama will be impeached and removed from office, much as he richly deserves it. Barack Hussein Obama could borrow a 9 mm from one of the Secret Service guys, stroll into a convenience store, shoot the clerk, rob the register and walk out and I would still be flabbergasted if a 2/3 majority Democrat controlled Senate voted to impeach him.Aside from loyalty to party over country, there are two other reasons.

First, since the Democrats depend on racial identity politics, and black voters overwhelmingly support this president, even when his policies severely affect them adversely . Impeaching Barack Obama would mean the end of the virtually monolithic black vote Democrats depend on in their urban strongholds.Second, the president controls a huge database full of intimate information on Democrat voters, donors and supporters. The president’s surrogates have already made it clear that they are going to retain this database and lease it out as circumstances warrant to finance President Obama’s radical agenda even after his term is over. I doubt any Democrat politician, especially any with presidential ambitions is going to cut themselves off from that treasure trove unless it could seriously affect their re-election.

Just as Bill Clinton escaped open and shut perjury and obstruction of justice charges that were heavy enough to get him disbarred, I think it’s likely that Barack Obama will finish out his term.

This could change if the senate changes, but unfortunately, the way the Republicans are conducting themselves lately, I doubt they will take over the Senate in 2014. Hopefully I’m wrong, but then again, President Biden??!??

As to the scandals themselves, while the IRS scandal (and perhaps Benghazi, although the media’s already trying to bury it) will affect a number of underlings, perhaps even present and past cabinet members, I think the AP scandal is the most damaging in the immediate future, because I’ve noticed a definite change in tone from the media since that happened.Even subservient little toadies like ‘Tingles’ Matthews on MSNBC are voicing some anger over the regime’s behavior lately.

Tyrants always overreach.

The chief value of the IRS scandal is that it woke people up to the essentially totalitarian nature of this president and his followers. With the IRS controlling ObamaCare, a lot of Americans are seriously afraid that if they don’t ‘vote right’ and donate to the proper politicos, they’re going to be placed at the end of the line or even have badly needed medical procedures denied as the inevitable rationing sets in. And they’re absolutely right to fear this.

Much will depend on how outraged the media is, whether one of Obama’s inner circle facing serious charges is willing to turn on the president or whether a clear spokesperson emerges who can make the case for impeachment strongly enough to the American people it simply can’t be ignored.The worsening economic situation might influence that.

GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD:The IRS thing most def. Using the power of an allegedly neutral IRA to crush political dissent is not only uncool – it’s unAmerican.

The IRS touches lottie dottie everybody – people will NOT dig that kinda action and if lucky, will LOL any chance of the same corrupted agency taking over health care or any expandingment of government

It speaks of the political corruption of a major and crucial governmental agency to whose rules and regulations every American—everyone who has a job or a bank account, or who engages in a financial transaction—is subject. Most people will never have an interaction with the State Department or the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but the IRS deals with an intimate and sensitive part of your life, your personal finances. It is the revenue-collecting arm of the government. It is needed. It does necessary work.

If what happened at the IRS is not stopped now, it will never stop. The next White House will come in and they’ll know they can do it too. And if they’re unlucky enough to be caught, they’ll have a have a few uncomfortable moments in Congress, and a few people who were going to retire in the summer will retire in the spring. And it will all go on.

Abuse of power and “unequal treatment under the law” is 44″s most damaging scandal.

Bookworm Room: The IRS scandal is absolutely the worst scandal ever in American history because, unlike all other scandals, which were “insider politics” this one sees the federal government reaching out and using its vast taxing and police powers to stifle dissent from Democrat orthodoxy. It’s irrelevant if Obama new what was going on. If he knew, he’s utterly corrupt. If he didn’t know, he’s willfully blind or ineffectual the point of stupidity, given that his job is as America’s Chief Executive Officer. Regardless, though, it appears that the IRS was completely happy, spontaneously or when given marching orders, to abuse its position of trust.

The only problem, though, is getting the American people to care. I have no idea how one gets that message out. I’ve long thought Al Gore the worst type of self-aggrandizing moron (and it’s surprising how well that plays on the Left), but he definitely had a point when he spoke of the frog in the boiling water. We know that’s not true (frogs aren’t as dumb as citizens anesthetized by scandals, handouts, bread, and circuses), but it certainly makes the point. Americans seem resigned to boiling to death without protest.

Well, there you have it.

Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum. And remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council, and the results are posted on Friday morning.

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See the original article here:

Forum: Which of the current scandals do you think is potentially most damaging to the Obama Administration?

Four years ago, after suffering a most humiliating defeat in 2008 that saw Democrats grab both houses of Congress and the White House, Conservatives, the newly formed TEA Party groups and Patriot groups, Libertarians and anyone else who saw the rising tide of Marxism and Socialism as a threat to America united behind the Virginia Republican ticket and swept Bob McDonnell, Bill Bolling and Ken Cuccinelli into Virginia’s top three offices.

Ken Cuccinelli was not exactly the state Republican machine’s first choice. In fact, his victory did not exactly sit well with the Republican Establishment. But they made the best of the ticket anyway and with the promise of fiscal restraint, lower taxes and smaller government inspired the entire Conservative spectrum to knock on doors, make calls and spread the word that we were not going to take the Obama plan to turn America into a Euro-Socialist style country.

No to bigger government.

No to higher taxes.

No to Socialism.

And Virginia set the tone for the nation and the following year, in 2010, we took away the super majority in the US Senate and the House was handed over to John Boehner and Eric Cantor as they grabbed the gavel from Nancy Pelosi’s greedy government hands.

Finally we could stop the spending and uncontrolled growth of big government. First Virginia and then the nation.

But a funny thing happened to these strong fiscal Conservatives we put into power with instructions to reverse Obama.

They forgot why they were elected.

Boehner and Cantor hold the government purse. Not a dime can be spent without their stamp of approval. And every time I hear Eric Cantor whine about Obama’s spending, that little voice in my head says “then stop signing the freaking checks, Eric!” (Sometimes my head doesn’t actually censor my thoughts but I am not going to print that.)

But at least we had Bob McDonnell! He wouldn’t raise our taxes and spend like Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama on a bender, right?

After all, McDonnell found a lot of money that was just sitting around at VDOT that the clueless Tim Kaine didn’t even know we had! And remember how McDonnell led the charge against Tim Kaine’s irresponsible $2 Billion tax hiking final budget? It didn’t get even a single Democrat vote! There was absolutely zero support for a tax hike in 2010. Even the Democrats feared voter blow back.

But Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell managed to convince most of the Democrats, who are always happy to raise taxes, and 42 Republicans to put through a $6 Billion Tax Hike – triple the Kaine tax hikes – in just three years.

So the Republican machine that gave us the left wing John McCain in 2008 and the equally Liberal Mitt Romney in 2012 managed in 3 years to turn their promise of fiscal restraint into the largest tax hike the the history of the Commonwealth.

Bob McDonnell and Bill Bolling were all smiles and high fives as the McDonnell arm-twisting paid off and the final result was nothing more than a dagger to the heart of Conservatives that had believed their message of fiscal conservatism.

But there was one Conservative on the ticket that did not like the McDonnell Tax hikes. Remember the one that was the “outsider” on the ticket? Attorney General Cuccinelli?

Turns out he was the only honest one in the bunch. And while his hands are somewhat bound by the office he holds to support Virginia Laws, he has opposed this tax increase in every way he could. And seeks to cut taxes when he becomes governor.

I call that repealing the McDonnell tax hike. But as Attorney General that would be inappropriate language for Cuccinelli. But the true Conservatives understand.

Bill Bolling would have not had a chance at this Convention. Ken Cuccinelli would have completely embarrassed the outgoing Lt. Governor. And Bolling knew that and wisely dropped out of the race.

Republican Conventions tend to select the most Conservative candidate and the 2013 Convention followed that rule.

Going in, most people believed that E.W. Jackson was the most Conservative. He is the most charismatic speaker of the group of 7 running for Lt. Governor and a favorite of the TEA Party and Christian groups alike. But could he really pull off a victory?

Well, not to toot our horn here at Virginia Right! too much, we listed Jackson and Pete Snyder as tied for first in our rankings and the final runoff was between these two. So we believed!

And Jackson had amazingly strong support in all 4 votes receiving almost double the votes of the next closest contender each time.

So the final vote came down to the TEA Party favorite Jackson and Snyder who was the head of Virginia Victory for Mitt Romney and highly favored by the establishment Republican machine.

UPDATE:

In fact, the Snyder Campaign even resorted to one last dirty trick in order to try to keep Jackson from winning.

My friend Shaun Kenney over at Bearing Drift has some inside information on this dirty trick. It seems that Snyder was not the trickster but the trickee. Corey Steward did endorse Snyder before he endorsed Jackson. As I have already said in previous posts, Corey Stewart is a real piece of work.

After the third vote that was between Jackson, Snyder and Corey Stewart, flyers were distributed that claimed Stewart had endorsed Snyder. And there was even another flyer that claimed Mark Obenshain had endorsed Snyder. These were circulating just before and during the final vote.

I spoke to an RPV official about this who said Chairman Pat Mullins was not going to make an announcement that both endorsements were false. Neither Stewart nor Obensnain had endorsed Snyder.

I was told that Mullins said they had stayed out of that sort of thing and would leave it up to the campaigns to deal with it. And I am not sure this was the fair thing to do. As far as I know these were the only “liar fliers” of the day.

And after the first vote that eliminated Jeannmarie Davis and Steve Martin, they began the second round of voting before actual numbers were given. A lot of people voted without the knowledge that Jackson had received by far the most votes – but short of the >50% required to win. And Susan Stimpson most likely was harmed as well. Jackson received 3732 votes (31.3%) and Stimpson received 1798 votes (14.8%) to take second place in the initial vote.

I believe that if the RPV had announced the totals prior to the beginning of the round 2 vote it would have made a difference for both Stimpson and Jackson. Once the Delegates had the opportunity to gauge the actual support, many changed their vote. While it obviously didn’t hurt Jackson in the end, Stimpson was eliminated on the next vote.

An interesting note, Bob McDonnell was a no show at the Convention. There were rumors going around that there would be a walk out if McDonnell took the stage to protest his tax hike. So McDonnell chose to be elsewhere during the Convention. They did play a video taped message from McDonnell which was received with an unmistakable chorus of Boo’s!

Four years ago the TEA Party and Patriot groups, Libertarian groups and fiscal Conservatives joined with the Republican Machine and supported their candidates and put them into office. This year, the same group did a better job of selecting candidates that we know will remain true to their promises and not turn to the left as soon as they are elected.

The question is, will the Virginia Republican Machine and the RINO (Republican in Name Only) Contingency support the Republicans or do as I have seen them do, wring their hands and gnash their teeth at how electable this ticket is. Or not electable to be more precise.

With candidates like John McCain and Mitt Romney on the RINO Resume, the “machine” in Virginia is broken.

Fiscal Conservatives worked hard in 2009 to elect 2 of the 3 party favorites. And McDonnell and Bolling went back on their word and lied to Virginians.

The people who call themselves Republicans who are less than enthusiastic with this ticked need to calm down and do what we Conservatives did in 2009 – Work for the Republican ticket.

The talk of TEA Party takeovers and hijacked Conventions needs to go away. When Conservatives, Christians and Republicans (they used to be synonymous) unite behind the same candidate, we win.

But Republicans lose support when they run the Milquetoast “Moderates” like McCain, Romney and McDonnell. These people do not inspire true Conservatives and their watered down message (or record) will ensure Democrats a victory.

We tried it your way with McCain and Romney and lost. And we tried it your way with McDonnell and were lied to.

Those of you that are only concerned with the letter after a candidate’s name and fail to hold them accountable after they are elected are destroying the Republican Party. There is no difference between the two parties without accountability.

If we all work together, Ken Cuccinelli, E.W. Jackson and Mark Obenshain will be the next Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General. But if the hand wringers go off and cry about it, then Governor McAuliffe will be your trophy.

At least then Republicans will go back to fighting taxes. These RINO’s are only big spenders when they hold both Houses and the Executive branch. Tim Kaine never had a shot at a tax hike. It took a RINO like McDonnell and control of both Houses to increase taxes.

But I missed the excitement with the allegations that the Snyder campaign had made up endorsements of key people to try to overtake Jackson for the nomination.  I prefer to believe it was a sin of overexuberance.  But if so, Snyder needs to make it right.  Call those misrepresented and apologize; send an email to every delegate stating what exactly happened.  Make sure it is not repeated in a future campaign.

And let me say for the record that I was impressed with Pete Snyder and I was helpful with the joint tie for first place with Bishop Jackson because I was so impressed with Snyder.  He seems to be willing to say what he believes in regardless of cost and has a fair amount of charisma.  We’ll see what happens here.

Now time to tout!  I (along with surely lots of other people) suggested in an email that Bishop Jackson should consider running for LG in that he could keep his church and STAND as LG is technically a part-time job.  Jackson could do well in an convention setting, much like Rev. Maurice Dawkins did in 1994.  (Dawkins did not get the support he needed to fight Senator Robb but I liked the effort.)  So, when he ran, I felt a bit like I had to help him!    I certainly felt no check on my spirit from supporting Jackson.

Now let’s do all we can to get the GOP team elected:  Cuccinelli/Jackson/Obenshain.

I am in the media section with great seats in the back of the ground floor.  I have seen and been greeted by too many to mention but I will mention one or two as I listen to the Lieutenant Governor candidates.  I shout out to Del. Peace who provided the Hanover delegation with a box lunch (I am a delegate, too) and a free lunch is great.  Del. Peace is one of our finest members of the legislature in VA.  I also shout out to Loudoun County Supervisor (Sterling District) Eugene Delguardio who will let me know if the county is OUT of ICLEI!

I have not heard all the speakers but I think Pete Snyder, Bishop Jackson and yes, Corey Stewart, Chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, seems to have the best turnout so far.  But we’ll see what will happen.

1:13PM:

Del. Rob Bell just had an excellent video starting with an abused spouse who Bell as a prosecutor fought for again and again until her stalking, abusive former husband finally left her alone.  Bell also had several people, including Del. Rich Anderson (a fine delegate), Senator Tom Garrett and others talk about how the property rights constitutional amendment.  It lost until Bell persuaded a Democrat to support it.  Very effective.

Senator Obenshain did a short video honored his father and had several others to introduce him including Del. Terry Kilgore, Donna Holt and Mike Farris.  Very effective.  His demonstration is pretty broad.  I still think Obenshain will win.  But we’ll see.  Maybe Del. Bell has positioned himself for future run statewide.

Senator (My senator!) McDougle just came by to say hello!

There are 8,094 delegates eligible to vote at this convention.

2:16PM:

Still voting in first ballot.  I voted for Bishop Jackson and Del. Bell.  Awaiting the count.  My prediction is for the first ballot that Sen. Obenshain will win the AG’s race by a 54-46 margin.  No majority in the LG race. That Corey Stewart will be first, followed by Bishop Jackson or maybe Pete Snyder.  The final two who will not be on the second round ballot will be Senator Martin and Jeannemarie Davis.  If there is a surprise, it will be a Bell victory and Del. Lingamfelter finishing in the top three.

Well see….

3:10PM:

It’s unconfirmed but Congressman Goodlatte says he’ll look into overcriminalization.  GOOD!  Find some useless laws and get rid of them or amend them.

3:38PM:

Still not confirmed from deep, deep background but Bishop Jackson may be out in front with nearly 40%; the AG race sounds like Obenshain.  But that is not I repeat NOT confirmed.

3:46PM:

They just stated that the announcement is coming up very shortly.  So much for ninety minutes!

5:24PM!

First ballot!  Obenshain did win and Del. Bell made a nice concession by moving that Sen. Obenshain be nominated by acclamation.  Very classy.  I spoke with Del. Bell and encouraged him a bit that he is still a great voice in the House of Delegates.

BUT the story is the LG’s race:  Not at all what I expected.  Susan Stimpson came in second with just over 15% but was far behind the leader: Bishop Jackson at 31%!  Corey Stewart and Pete Snyder are essentially tied at just under 15% and Del. Lingamfelter has 11.5% for fifth.  The two dropping out after the first ballot were as expected Senator Steve Martin and former state senator Jeannemarie Davis.  Davis actually beat Martin 7.2% to 5.5%.

Here is the raw weighted numbers:

Jackson 3732.31 (31.3)

Stimpson 1798.43 (15.1)

Stewart 1769.14 (14.8)

Snyder 1739.17 (14.6)

Lingamfelter 1375.18 (11.5)

Davis 861.68 (7.2)

Martin 662.1 (5.5)

6:22PM:

Awaiting the results but there is a major demonstration on the floor for Bishop Jackson with a smaller counter-demonstration for Pete Snyder.  Jackson clearly has the enthusiasm of those who support him.  We’ll see…

Now the Stimpson forces are out but not in Jackson numbers.  Same for the Stewart people. Unconfirmed reports say that no one got more than 40% and third ballot will occur.  There also are many delegates have left but the weighted vote remains the same.  There was a paper airplane that went from one side of the Coliseum to the other.  Who says we couldn’t have liberated Benghazi!

6:40PM:

Excitement is building!  I just got hit with a paper airplane – it hurt a bit, too!  I met both Del. Habeeb (I told him I prayed for him once a month!) who is an attorney with the prestigious Gentry Locke firm in Roanoke.  Also met for the first time former Del. Janis.  I admire Del. Janis very much primarily due to his confession of faith in Jesus Christ at an African-American church in January 2011.

6:50PM:

Unconfirmed numbers show a substantial Jackson lead:

4562.05 weighted votes for Bishop Jackson with 38.2%.

Pete Snyder brought his campaign from near death with a second place showing – 2071.09 with Corey Stewart closely behind at 1999.51 weighted votes.  This would mean that Susan Stimpson, second place after the first vote, is out along with Del. Lingamfelter.

UPDATE:  If true, this means that Jackson has a good chance of winning unless the anti-Jackson vote picks one candidate to get behind.  Stewart is so polarizing that it is hard to see the anti-Jackson vote doing that but maybe Snyder could get that support.  I think Snyder is the only one that can beat Jackson.  It is like these Southern primaries where the leader had to win on the first primary or face being beat by the second place, buoyed by the other candidates’ supporters.  I heard from a Snyder delegate that Lingamfelter had endorsed Snyder so maybe that is the establishment trying to keep Jackson from winning.

Again, these are not confirmed numbers!

UPDATE AGAIN: Will Tom White treat Sandy to fish and chips at Penny Lane Pub for all this an analysis!

7:17PM:

The numbers are very close to what we said earlier.  Lingamfelter and Stimpson are out of the running.  I am hearing that others are trying to gang up on Jackson.  Jackson is reportedly upset about it.  Lingamfelter did endorse Snyder.

8:07PM:

Martha Bonita, the Fauquier County farmer whose issues Del. Lingamfelter came out for Corey Stewart.  The story is the anti-establishment tone of the convention – Obenshain was a degree of nostalgia but I am told that the senator had sometimes defied his party too.  (Bell was definitely anti-establishment)  I see the Jackson and Snyder, neither of whom have ever heard public office before, vote as clearly anti-establishment.

Pending!  I think either Jackson wins on this ballot or Snyder wins on the final one.

8:14PM:

A huge cheer arose just a moment ago from the Pete Snyder section.  Now they have started a brief demonstration.

8:28PM:

Is it ominous for Jackson? Cheering, I mean loud cheering from the Snyder delegation and the Jackson forces are quiet.

UPDATE: I heard someone say:  One more ballot to go!  Could be bad news for Jackson.

I think it is between Pete Snyder and Bishop Jackson.

8:48PM:

Shouts from the Pete demonstration that Corey Stewart had endorsed Pete Snyder.  If so, that means we could see a huge comeback for Snyder who positioned himself as the one that no one hated and the last one standing.  But it is not a sure thing.  Jackson could still win.  We have no numbers.

9:00PM:

Now flyers are out saying both Corey Stewart and the AG nominee Mark Obenshain have endorsed Pete Snyder.  (Official blog rubbing it in: VR endorsed Bishop Jackson and Pete Snyder for first place tie!)

9:27PM:

It’s official!  Jackson nearly had a majority with 49.7% and Snyder is a strong second with 30.6%.  Stewart is OUT!  Fourth ballot.

Sandy must go early but I think Jackson will eek it out in a victory.  I am hearing that some of the Pete endorsements are not authorized but that is an unconfirmed report.  I cannot imagine Snyder would do that.  Signing off until tomorrow.

1. You have to be against capital punishment, but support abortion on demand.

2. You have to believe that businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity.

3. You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens are more of a threat than nuclear
weapons technology in the hands of Chinese and North Korean Communists.

4. You have to believe that there was no art before federal funding.

5. You have to believe that global temperatures are more affected by human activity than by scientifically documented cyclical changes in the earth’s climate. Public policy should be based on “An Inconvenient Truth.”

6. You have to believe that gender roles are artificial, and that being homosexual is natural and normal.

7. You have to believe that the AIDS was invented originally by the government to destroy minorities and is spread by a lack of federal funding.

8. You have to believe that the same teacher who can’t teach fourth graders how to read is somehow qualified to teach those same kids about sex and alternative lifestyles.

9. You have to believe that hunters don’t care about nature, but environmental activists who have never been outside of San Francisco do.

10. You have to believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing something to earn it.

But for first time in many months, the conservative bloc has fallen below 40 percent. This has rattled the coalition.

“The polls show that Merkel’s Christian Democrats are vulnerable,” said Niels Annen, an analyst at the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, which is affiliated with the Social Democrats.

Ignore the “conservative” label; no true conservative junks a perfectly good currency like the Deutschmark without some sort of popular support or referendum.  It’s Tweedledee.  But Tweedledum is not doing much better:

Yet the scandals have not benefited the Social Democrats. The latest polls give them only 24 percent.

There are two other parties, the Free Democrats, a pro business and somewhat libertarian party, and the Greens, the environmental wacko party.  More Tweedledee and Tweedledum.  But there is a new gunslinger in town – the Alternative for Germany.  They are worrisome to Merkel and her coalition.  I cannot understand why Germans find Merkel so popular.  She has used the Germans for a piggy bank to bail out the other euro nations.  However, the AfD are coming on strong:

The AfD leadership, consisting largely of middle-aged professionals and former Christian Democrats, wants Germany to give up the euro. They are convinced that euro zone is economically and financially too diverse to hold together. They are also critical of the bailout packages in which Germany is the main guarantor.

“The AfD damages Merkel’s conservatives,” said Mr. Spreng. This euro-skeptical party could take as much as 4 percent of the votes from the conservatives but also the opposition, according to Allensbach, a polling institute.

The Jedi Knights for liberty in Europe might be outnumbered and outgunnned by the Galactic Empire but remember, it was the little Ewoks that make it possible to destroy the Death Star and thus the Empire.