As mentioned earlier on The Blaze , Rep. Allen West (R-FL) has come under fire for some strongly worded remarks he made over the weekend. Bob Beckel of Fox News’ The Five , for example, has condemned Rep. West’s comments as “disgraceful,” “despicable,” and “disgusting.” Naturally, since Rep. West’s comments have made headlines, major media outlets have been fighting to get some face time with the controversial Congressman. First up was Soledad O’Brien of CNN’s Starting Point . O’Brien played a clip of Rep. West’s “get the hell out” remarks, then said: “I don’t get it. I mean, I don’t understand what you’re saying. Which is… you’re telling Obama and Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi to get out of the United States. Explain it to me.” “No, Soledad. Soledad. Absolutely not. And you know that,” Rep. West replied. “No, I truly — no joke. I am not being facetious. I do not get what you’re saying.” “Well the thing is,” West explained, “you should have listened to the entire speech. You didn’t listen to the entire speech which talked about the contrast between the quality of opportunity which allowed a young man born in 1961 in the inner city of Atlanta Georgia to now represent the highest-income zip code in the entire United States of America. That’s the America that I love, that’s the America that’s dear to me.” West concluded his remarks by inviting O’Brien to come to south Florida and read the Federalist papers and Constitution with him. “As fun as that sounds, the two of us sitting down and reading the Federalist papers together,” O’brien giggled. “No, I’ll stick to the TV interviews with you if you don’t mind.” See the Congressman’s exchange with O’brien via Mediaite : Later in the morning, when Fox and Friends asked the Congressman about Bob Beckle’s freak-out, Rep. West explained, “If you go back and read the transcript of the message that I gave, it was about equality of achievement, about economic dependency, it was about enslaving the American entrepreneur well in spirit. That message needs to leave this country.” He went on to say that if anyone watched that entire speech they would understand that he’s talking about “a contrast of visions in this country.” “I think Bob Beckel owes me an apology for saying that he would not refer to me as a Congressional representative nor as a Lieutenant Colonel Retired,” West said. See the Fox and Friends exchange via Fox Nation: Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com Of course, once Beckel caught wind of Rep. West’s suggestion, he scoffed at the very thought of dialing back his rhetoric. “Mr. West,” Beckel said, “Let me just tell you, if you’ve got enough time you can wait, but I am not going to apologize to you.” Going around the table, Beckel asked his co-hosts if they thought he should apologize. For some reason, some of Beckel’s associates became squeamish and responded to his question with non-committal answers. “In the end, Beckel declared the situation over, saying that West has one position and he has his own. There wasn’t, however, any apology,” writes Mediaite’s Jon Bershad . Watch The Five’s discussion via Mediaite :
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Rep. West Fends off Critics, Demands Beckel Apologize
Texas Senate candidate and NR cover subject Ted Cruz: The $4 million man. So far . The Ted Cruz for Senate campaign has now raised over $4 million, effectively tying the overall fundraising of the sitting Lieutenant Governor. This remarkable fundraising continues the extraordinary momentum of the Ted Cruz for Senate campaign. Keep reading this post . . .
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Cruz-ing Past the $4 Million Mark
Would Iran make the first move against the U.S. and fire torpedoes at the U.S. Fleet? Possibly. And if it did, according to a report citing a senior Iranian military commander’s announcement today, the Islamic Republic could choose to ambush the American fleet with submarines. Rear Admiral Farhad Amiri — who is also the Lieutenant Commander of the Iranian Army’s Self-Sufficiency Jihad – told Iran’s state news agency Fars that their navy has the best electric diesel submarines in the world. Amiri cautioned that while the U.S. has focused on Tehran’s “astonishing surface capabilities,” it has neglected to consider what could be the more dangerous undersea threat. Amiri also told Fars that “When the submarine lies on the sea bed, it can easily target an aircraft carrier that is passing nearby…that is one of the US concerns since Iranian submarines are noiseless and can easily evade detection as they are equipped with the sonar-evading technology.” The opening paragraph of the Fars story didn’t parse any words: A senior Iranian military commander underlined that the Iranian Navy’s subsurface vessels enjoy a high capability to confront enemies’ threats, and stated that Iran’s submarines are able to ambush and hit enemy vessels specially US Aircraft carriers from the seabed throughout the Persian Gulf. Iran officially states that it has 17 Ghadir diesel electric subs in its fleet, according to Business Insider . Despite the overwhelming superiority of the U.S. military, the Iranian threat to vessels and oil shipments in the Persian Gulf is real, particularly in a sneak attack scenario. Earlier this month Iran threatened the U.S. Fifth Fleet with attack after the John C. Stennis passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Army Commander Major General Ataollah Salehi said ”We advise, warn and recommend [the U.S. Navy] not to return this carrier to its previous location in the Persian Gulf.” “We are not in the habit of repeating the warning and we warn only once,” Salehi said. Whether this is pure bluster from Iran or a threat with teeth behind it remains to be seen. (h/t Business Insider )
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Report: Iran Claims Subs ‘Can Easily Target’ U.S. Carriers in Persian Gulf
Regarding the video of alleged Marines urinating on the dead bodies of Taliban fighters that went viral Thursday, Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) had some intense words for anyone criticizing the military. Here’s an email he sent to The Weekly Standard: “I have sat back and assessed the incident with the video of our Marines urinating on Taliban corpses. I do not recall any self-righteous indignation when our Delta snipers Shugart and Gordon had their bodies dragged through Mogadishu. Neither do I recall media outrage and condemnation of our Blackwater security contractors being killed, their bodies burned, and hung from a bridge in Fallujah. “All these over-emotional pundits and armchair quarterbacks need to chill. Does anyone remember the two Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division who were beheaded and gutted in Iraq? “The Marines were wrong. Give them a maximum punishment under field grade level Article 15 (non-judicial punishment), place a General Officer level letter of reprimand in their personnel file, and have them in full dress uniform stand before their Battalion, each personally apologize to God, Country, and Corps videotaped and conclude by singing the full US Marine Corps Hymn without a teleprompter. “As for everyone else, unless you have been shot at by the Taliban, shut your mouth, war is hell.” West is a former Army Lieutenant colonel.
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Allen West tells critics of Marine-pee video to ‘chill’
And we get to learn about this from yet another unhinged film Abel Ferrara made his new film “4:44 Last Day on Earth” to serve as a wake-up call to humanity over impending ecological disasters. The movie, by the director of 1992’s “Bad Lieutenant,” focuses largely on one couple — played by Willem Dafoe and Shanyn Leigh
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World To End At 4:44am, Due To, Yup, Climate Change Hoax
Texas State Senator Dan Patrick is thinking about joining the crowded GOP field in the Texas Senate primary. And it may all stem from a dispute Patrick had with Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, another Senate candidate, over the TSA’s touching policy: Patrick’s Tuesday run-in with Dewhurst came when he accused the lieutenant governor, the presiding officer of the Senate, of undercutting his effort to pass a bill that would have made it a crime for
It’s obviously early in the 2012 cycle, but the good news for Republican chances to retake the Senate is that they already have big-name, experienced candidates gearing up in just about every state that is expected to feature a competitive race. Democrats are gradually increasing their numbers, but some members of their party are already worrying about slow recruitment: Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., wants members of his party to stop waiting for recovering Rep. Gabby Giffords and begin a Senate bid sometime in the next month. The biggest name isn’t always the best name; just ask Floridians about their Senate primary last year. But an early entry by a popular House member or lawmaker who has already won statewide helps put Republicans’ minds at ease; they can rest assured that barring some surprise twist – like, say, Christine O’Donnell beating Mike Castle in Delaware! – they’ll at least have strong enough candidates in place to make the Democrats earn any Senate wins this year. If you put as many good candidates in as many states as possible, you’re in position to maximize your wins if your party has the wind at its back on Election Day. First, in the four seats of the retiring Senate Democrats… Daniel Akaka of Hawaii: Right now, former Rep. Ed Case and State Sen. Donna Mercado Kim are in on the Democrats’ side. The GOP outlook depends heavily on the interest of former two-term Gov. Linda Lingle. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico: Democrats have their big name, Rep. Martin Heinrich, with a few other state officials making noises. The GOP has former Rep. Heather Wilson , as well as a few others. Kent Conrad of North Dakota: Republicans have Public Service Commissioner Brian Kalk , who is currently the only candidate who has filed papers. Jim Webb of Virginia: Republicans have former Governor and Sen. George Allen as well as Jamie Radtke and a few other local figures; Democrats have former Gov. and DNC Chair Tim Kaine. Elsewhere, 16 Democrat incumbents are currently seeking reelection in 2012. Republicans do not yet have prominent challengers to Dianne Feinstein of California, Tom Carper of Delaware, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Maria Cantwell of Washington, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Herb Kohl of Wisconsin. (There’s some speculation that Kohl might retire.) Republicans are still looking for a top-tier candidate to run for the open seat in Connecticut, where Joe Lieberman is retiring. Of course, in a presidential year, most of those states will be difficult territory even for a strong GOP candidate, with the possible exceptions of West Virginia and Wisconsin. The states with Democrat incumbents and at least one promising GOP challenger: Bill Nelson of Florida: Republicans have several candidates, depending on how broadly you define, ‘big-name’: Florida State Senate President Mike Haridopolos , former state Rep. Adam Hasner and former Sen. George LeMieux . Debbie Stabenow of Michigan: Former Michigan GOP chair Saul Anuzis and Secretary of State Terri Lee Land are considering bids. Claire McCaskill of Missouri: The GOP options include former state senator and state treasurer Sarah Steelman , as well as former congressional candidate Ed Martin . Jon Tester of Montana: Rep. Denny Rehberg , who has won multiple times statewide (since his congressional district is the state). Ben Nelson of Nebraska: Two big names for Republicans: State Attorney General Jon Bruning , state Treasurer Don Stenberg . Sherrod Brown of Ohio: At least two promising options for Republicans: State Treasurer Josh Mandel and former Secretary of State Ken Blackwell. Bob Casey, Jr. of Pennsylvania: Obviously not an easy state for Republicans, but if Dicks Sporting Goods CEO Ed Stack
We, the Unhyphenated Americans: Meet My People by Michelle Malkin Creators Syndicate Copyright 2011 My fellow Americans, who are “your people”? I ask because U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who is black, used the phrase “my people” in congressional testimony this week. It was an unmistakably color-coded and exclusionary reference intended to deflect criticism of the Obama Justice Department’s selective enforcement policies. It backfired. In pandering to skin-deep identity politics and exacerbating race-consciousness, Holder has given the rest of us a golden opportunity to stand up, identify “ our people” and show the liberal poseurs what post-racialism really looks like. Herman Cain is my people. He’s my brother-in-arms. I’ve never met him. But we are family. We are kin because we are unhyphenated Americans who are comfortable in the black, brown and yellow skin we are in. We are growing in numbers — on college campuses , in elected office , on the Internet , on radio airwaves , everywhere . And that drives liberals mouth-frothing crazy . Cain is the successful Georgia businessman who has wowed audiences across the country with his passion for free markets, free minds and the American Dream. The former president of Godfather’s Pizza and forceful tea party speaker happens to be black. So he must pay the price that all minority conservatives in public life must pay. As I noted last week, a cowardly liberal writer recently derided Cain as a “monkey in the window,” a “garbage pail kid” and a “minstrel” who performs for his “masters.” Race traitors. Whores. Sellouts. House Niggas. Self-haters. I’ve heard it for nearly 20 years in public life. Every outspoken minority conservative has. Sticks and stones may break our bones, but these spiteful epithets can’t enslave us. Val Prieto is my people. A fierce, freedom-loving American blogger of Cuban descent, he rejects race-card games and refuses to be lumped in with Hispanic ethnic grievance-mongers. In response to pro-illegal immigration marchers who infamously desecrated the American flag, Prieto wrote: “I have never and will never, despite having many issues with the government of the United States throughout the years, burn a flag of the United States of America. I am Cuban by birth, American by the grace of God. And a darned proud, dignified, thankful and respectful American. … I refuse to be lumped together as a class or a race simply because we speak a similar language. … I ain’t Mexican, I ain’t Latino and I ain’t Hispanic. I am an American of Cuban descent. And damned proud of it.” Katrina Pierson is my people. She’s a feisty young Texas mom and Dallas tea party activist who supports limited government principles and rejects left-wing identity politics. She confronted the NAACP last year with a rousing manifesto of political independence and rebutted the left-wing group’s attacks on the tea party as racist: “The reality is that we colored people no longer require the assistance from other Negros for advancement,” Pierson said. “These groups run to the rescue of distressed brown people only when the media deems it newsworthy. Meanwhile, there are inner city black children who continue to grow up fatherless while sharing a neighborhood with stray bullets, drugs and a plethora of liquor stores on every corner. … I don’t believe that the true meaning of this nation’s creed was to move black people from one form of slavery to another.” The NAACP, she observed, is made up of “Democrats who bow to a Democrat master today as they once did over 200 years ago. Once this is realized by the forgotten society, race in this country will be as irrelevant as those who thrive off of it.” Amen, sister. Allen West , a retired Army lieutenant colonel and freshman congressman from Florida who happens to be black, is my people. Unafraid to skewer progressive sacred cows, he speaks boldly against global jihad and its Fifth Column enablers screaming “Islam-o-phobe!” West has also nailed the Congressional Black Caucus as “a monolithic voice that promotes these liberal social welfare policies and programs that are failing in the black community, that are preaching victimization and dependency; that’s not the way that we should go.” According to U.S. News and World Report’s Kenneth Walsh, President Obama told guests at a private White House dinner that he believed the tea party movement had a “subterranean agenda” of racism against him. But Lt. Col. West summed up the movement’s transcendent, post-racial agenda forthrightly: “ The tea party is a constitutional, conservative grassroots movement — and that’s it. The tea party stands for three things: They want to see effective, efficient constitutional government, they stand for national security, and they stand for free market, free enterprise solutions. That’s it. “ It’s government of, by and for the people — all the people. Not just the ones still shackled by reflexive Democratic Party loyalty. We are beholden not to our skin pigment or ethnic tribes, but to American ideals, tradition, history and faith in the individual. Three, two, one … RAAAAAAAAAACISTS!
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Hey, Eric Holder: Meet My People
Over at FrumForum , Andrew Pavelyev argues that Republicans “dodged a bullet” with Mike Pence's decision to not run for president; in an e-mail, he mentioned that his post was partially inspired by my disappointed reaction to the Pence news on the Three Martini Lunch. At the heart of complaint with Pence is TARP, and that by leading the charge against TARP at the time, “Pence failed to discern the lesser of two evils correctly, [raising] serious questions about his judgment (as well as his understanding of conservative principles).” Most Americans don't follow the financial markets closely; almost all of us, including myself, wish we understood it better. In autumn of 2008, we were told that if TARP did not pass, financial Armageddon would soon follow. I recall believing at the time that the stakes made the distasteful steps necessary. Even then, however, there were indications that the whole enterprise was a cynical game : Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was imploring House Republicans to get on board with the TARP proposal, while her lieutenant, Chris Van Hollen at the DCCC, was planning to use the vote in attack ads against Republicans in the 2008 House elections. In this light, Pence was trying to prevent his colleagues from acquiescing to a politically suicidal act spurred by bad-faith arguments. Pavelyev can argue that the financial results since the enactment of TARP demonstrates it necessity; I'll let the fiscal and economic pros argue that. But the populist outrage against TARP is not based on ignorance. The management and oversight of TARP since that vote represents a fundamental violation of trust with the American taxpayer, indicating TARP opponents had good reasons for their doubts. If you're going to ask the federal government to give you gobs and gobs of taxpayer money to save your business because you claim the economy itself depends upon it, you had better treat that money as preciously as if it were water in the desert.
