The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

#tcot @AceOfSpadesHQ So, You’re Still Kinda Butt-Hurt About Rick Perry, Huh?

Posted on | November 29, 2011 | 98 Comments

Look, I’ve just endured my own Disastrous Month of Pain, OK? But I seriously doubt that 78 days from now I’m gonna be grousing bitterly about Gloria Allred and Ginger White. So why — 78 days after the Tampa debate — is Ace still ax-grinding against Michele Bachmann?

What’s especially interesting is that Bachmann signs up so willingly for Sacrifice Attacks. Some attacks are kind of over the top and involve a lot of blowback; they hurt the person making them as much or more than the target of the attack.
Gardasil, for example. That more or less took Bachmann out of things.
And that wasn’t entirely unforeseeable. A lot of people — including Republicans — are not so jazzed about the anti-vax swamp that a lot of the animus there seemed to be coming from. And her cloyingly emotional appeal — “Little. Girls.” — came off as shameless.
Plus, her convenient My Daughter Came Out a Retard mystery witness.

Dude. That was Sept. 12. And I was there:

TAMPA, Fla. — Rick Perry came into last night’s debate here with a target on his back, leading in the polls only a month after his late entry into the Republican presidential campaign. His fellow GOP candidates fired at the Texas governor all night, but it wasn’t until Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann said the phrase “innocent little 12-year-old girls” that he suffered any serious wound. . . .

You can call that a “cloyingly emotional appeal” if you want, but it was absolutely devastating in terms of Perry’s support among conservative moms. Don’t take my word for it: Ali Akbar was in the audience in Tampa, sitting among a bunch of Tea Party women who came into the debate pro-Perry. Afterwards? Thumbs down.

Was the Gardasil issue overblown, misrepresented, misunderstood? Tell it to conservative mom Michelle Malkin. But why blame Bachmann? Because you think she’s stupid? Because she’s a woman? Because her attack on your guy Perry was effective?

And this endorsement of the C4P write-in campaign?

Rather than look for a Palin-like candidate, doesn’t it just make more sense to write in Palin?

“Hey, let’s undermine Bachmann in Iowa — just for spite!”

Ultimately, it wasn’t Michele Bachmann or any other Republican rival who destroyed Rick Perry. He surfed into the race on a tsunami wave of overconfidence, his campaign led by a bunch of cutthroat assholes who had just finished sabotaging Newt Gingrich.

They convinced a lot of people — Ace among them — to climb aboard The Smilin’ Texan Express for a one-way ride to glory.

“Phantom Menace.” Told ya so.

Perry auto-destructed and keeps bumbling onward toward greater humiliation. So why keep beating up on Bachmann? Why scapegoat her, instead of blaming the geniuses who sold you on Perry? (“Howdy. Thank you, Erick.”) Or why not own up to letting yourself get sold?

It’s been non-stop pain for me lately, Ace, so I’m not here to rub salt in your wounds, but . . . beating up on a girl? C’mon. Let it go, man.

And tell Tabitha Hale I said, “Hi.”

 

UPDATE: Linked by God’s Own Crunk — thanks!

Some in the comments are wanting to turn this into “Why Everybody Should Hate Ace,” which isn’t my intention at all. Ace loved him some Perry, which required him to do some hating on everybody else — especially anyone who attacked Perry (Bachmann and, to a lesser extent, Santorum) or appeared to prosper at Perry’s expense (Cain).

Honestly, I get it: Vengeance is fun, and hate is a habit, which is why I can’t stand me no Newt Gingrich. What Newt did to Doug Hoffman was so wrong and so stupid as to make Newt permanently unacceptable to me. When Hoffman forgave Newt, I was shocked beyond words. Dude, if I’d been screwed over that bad, I wouldn’t even have taken Newt’s call.

Ace is a good blogger, and one of the best at eviscerating liberals. His work on WeinerGate was heroic and — just in case you didn’t realize it — Ace ought to take a bow for Barney Frank’s retirement. No blogger did more than Ace to promote Sean Bielat, and it was Bielat’s 2010 challenge, combined with re-districting, that convinced Barney to hang it up.

Ace and I (and evidently many of y’all) are having a disagreement over a contested primary. It happens, and we can’t let ourselves go all Montagues and Capulets over this stuff. Because next August, if we find ourselves watching Mitt Romney give his acceptance speech in Tampa, we’re all going to have to find a way to convince our fellow Americans that this was The Greatest Acceptance Speech Ever.

Like we really mean it.

Am I looking forward to that? No, but if that’s the way the cookie crumbles, it’s what I’ll be doing, and I’ll keep pushing Romney as long as there is any real hope he can beat Obama.

Then I’ll go to the voting booth on Nov. 6, 2012, and probably vote Libertarian again, just to defy the GOP Establishment sons of bitches who keep ramming these doomstruck losers down our throats.

Anyway . . .

Don’t hate Ace. He’s a good man ewok to have on our side.

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Category: Ace of Spades, Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry

Comments

98 Responses to “#tcot @AceOfSpadesHQ So, You’re Still Kinda Butt-Hurt About Rick Perry, Huh?”

  1. Anonymous
    November 30th, 2011 @ 1:49 am

    I suspect you and I are a small minority here but for me Newt over Romney is a no brainer.

  2. Anonymous
    November 30th, 2011 @ 1:57 am

    For the record my criticism of ACE involves no hate, he is a man of many parts and one of those parts is or was an irrational fervor for Perry.

  3. The Wondering Jew
    November 30th, 2011 @ 2:34 am

    Perry certainly looks down right now, but I really hope Republican primary voters will give him a second chance.  Believe me I understand his weaknesses (and as a Paul supporter– with reservations, no one needs to convince me that Perry is not the apostle of conservative purity.)

    But speaking practically, we don’t have other horses to back.  Cain, Bachmann, etc. were never serious candidates– not because I said it but because their performances, knowledge and records were not adequate to step into the top job. Newt is very smart, but so erratic and with lots of baggage– I don’t think he can beat Obama or consistently carry a conservative message.  Romney is Romney and while he can win, I don’t think he can govern as a conservative.

    Step away from the media stories and the debate performances, and ultimately Perry has a credible 10 year track record of at least reasonably effective conservative governance in Texas, a large and diverse state.  He has the requisite experience to take on the top job. He’s said a lot of the right things on federalism.  And I believe that ultimately, he can beat Obama. He’s far from a perfect candidate, but he is not fatally flawed– and, I’m afraid that is something that can’t be said of any of his primary opponents.

  4. mAcChaos
    November 30th, 2011 @ 4:00 am

    He spends a lot of time in the comments, expounding on his views far beyond what the original post says.

  5. jwallin
    November 30th, 2011 @ 4:16 am

    I’m still worried about Ace doing a LGF meltdown of some sort and start riding a bicycle to the beach and sporting a pony tail.

    I’ve never heard him be this obsessed and downright mean.

    So far not to the commenters but it’s been close a couple times.

    Now his semi-meltdown has drawn attention from other bloggers and this worries me.

    Ace: you’re taking this stuff too seriously. Yeah Obama is a scoamf and is leading the US down a slime lined oil slicked road to hell and we desperately need to get him out but hey, ease up.

    I’m more concerned than angry with him and I hope he doesn’t catch blogger’s ego disease and start playing wack a mole with a ban hammer.

  6. MrPaulRevere
    November 30th, 2011 @ 4:17 am

    Ace got all weird on me when I asked him why he was a fan of Dennis Hopper, a man who made drug use and immorality a very lucrative career in Hollywood. The ‘Ace of Spades lifestyle’ which brags about drunkeness and viewing porn has nothing to do with traditional conservatism.

  7. MrPaulRevere
    November 30th, 2011 @ 4:28 am

    I have nothing to add to this:  I’m still worried about Ace doing a LGF meltdown of some sort and start riding a bicycle to the beach and sporting a pony tail.

  8. Anonymous
    November 30th, 2011 @ 4:34 am

    GREAT post- very intuitive, Stacy. Perry had it all dialed when he waltzed in and just plain blew it.  But the fact is once you listen to him a bit, he’s kind of a redneck Ken Doll or something, and not very impressive intellectually.

    When I did a “Hey, what about Perry post?” a few mos back,  somebody from TX commented that Perry ‘couldn’t put two words together’ and would implode… that had stuck in the back of my head until I it played out just that way

  9. Adjoran
    November 30th, 2011 @ 6:23 am

    The President can’t just expand government.  The money has to be appropriated by Congress.  If the new Congress with a Republican Senate is determined to fix the mess and end deficit spending, no Republican President would dare try to veto the program.  And if the Congress is not prepared to cut what needs to be cut, no President could make them.

    It’s to the point that either they do or they don’t in the next couple of years, or it just won’t matter anymore.  If we don’t get the budget straight soon, the downgrades will force interest rates up and we won’t get another chance.

    Now, you can say the GOP has had the chance before to stop the spending madness and failed (under that Newt guy), but this time is either different or we are so totally boned that there is no more point in caring.  Either way it is up to Congress.  We just need a President who won’t veto the cuts and go crazy with decrees and regulations.

  10. Adjoran
    November 30th, 2011 @ 6:25 am

    Like that would be a bad thing . . .

  11. Adjoran
    November 30th, 2011 @ 6:30 am

    Well, if Newt hadn’t made himself toxic, we would never even have had to  know who Denny Hastert was, much less endure him as Speaker.

    It’s all Newt’s damn fault!  If only Newt had cut the White House cigar budget, Monica Lewinsky might just be an annoying Jewish virgin today.

  12. Adjoran
    November 30th, 2011 @ 6:36 am

    I’m just not comfortable talking about Ace’s parts, even though I’m sure they are cleanly shaven.

  13. Zilla of the Resistance
    November 30th, 2011 @ 6:38 am

    You obviously are not familiar with my work:
    http://zillablog.marezilla.com/2011/08/no-quarter.html
    related:
    http://zillablog.marezilla.com/2011/10/grover-norquists-islamic-supremacist.html
    http://zillablog.marezilla.com/2011/02/conservative-dhimmitude.html

  14. Adjoran
    November 30th, 2011 @ 6:39 am

    You can ride your bike to the beach.  The problems begin with the amount of time spent sniffing the seat upon return. 

    It took out CJ, and I’m pretty sure Killgore Trout was just on a contact buzz.

  15. Anonymous
    November 30th, 2011 @ 7:11 am

    Since I’m no longer a registered Republican but am a NPA, and now that Cain has imploded, there is no need to switch my affiliation to vote in the primary. So  Newt vs Mitt, meh.  I’ll vote in the election for ABO.

  16. ThePaganTemple
    November 30th, 2011 @ 7:46 am

    She can think that because more than half of them aren’t. Roughly one-third of the electorate are liberal progressive ideologues who will either vote for anything with a d after its name or for some radical minor party like the Greens. Another one third, again roughly, are comprised of independents who mainly vote for first one party or another, depending primarily on which on they’re the most pissed off at on any given election day. More often than not, their vote depends on the state of the economy, which is generally fluid anyway. Almost none of them vote according to which party or candidate votes according to constitutional principles. Which brings us to the third major group, Republicans, a good many of whom aren’t much better when it comes to their voting priorities.

    So yeah, Bachmann is smart to play it that way, and by the way, she has said Social Security needs to be reformed, and she’s even mentioned the prospect of one day moving it into a private system. But she is smart enough to know that something like that will take a long time and will have to be phased in gradually. The only people who have a right to be offended by her position are people who would just like to see the system scrapped overnight. Good luck finding somebody who would go along with that and find the congressional support they need for such an action. It’s just not going to happen.

    And by the way, every government program is a scam. Name me one that gives us our money’s worth. Just one. Social Security at least gives you something tangible. Instead of bitching about entitlements, which do need to be reformed and eventually privatized, why not concentrate on the things that are really hindering economic growth? The real villains are government agencies and the regulatory regimes that are wrecking the country.

  17. steve benton
    November 30th, 2011 @ 7:55 am

    Newt is running circles around the field, and it’s not even close. He knows how to cut a budget, he’ll defend our nation against aggression, and will take the fight to the liberals. 

  18. Bob Belvedere
    November 30th, 2011 @ 7:59 am

    I think one of the reasons emotions are running so high this election cycle is that so many on the Right justifiably believe so much is at stake.  We’re hanging by a thread here in America, facing a major financial and, therefore, social collapse.  The world is much more dangerous a place for us than it ever was during The Cold War.

    I think this explains why the partisans of the various candidates are becoming so heated so often and engaging in vicious rhetoric.

  19. ThePaganTemple
    November 30th, 2011 @ 8:33 am

    Hell who was the time to wade through all that crap? I can read some novels as fast as I could read through all the comments on some of his posts.

  20. ThePaganTemple
    November 30th, 2011 @ 8:37 am

    Yeah Perry, the guy who things the president has the authority to send Congress packing if they won’t do what he says, after he cuts their staff and their pay. I wonder if he’s stupid enough to really think that, or if he’s smart enough to know Congress gets to vote on that.

  21. ThePaganTemple
    November 30th, 2011 @ 8:44 am

    That’s the problem with blogging. You start to think you’re so important it looks bad if something happens that points that you might have been wrong about a position, so you double down on the ignorance. And a lot of commenters are as bad as the bloggers. But then again, I guess most people you meet in everyday life are like that as well.

  22. Anonymous
    November 30th, 2011 @ 8:44 am

    The president is more than half the equation in expanding government and certainly well more than half the equation in shrinking it. I can’t recall ever hearing or reading that the 96Th congress created the Department of Education, are you suggesting that we are being unfair by blaming Jimmy Carter for that? The president can almost single handedly expand the scope and activity of federal departments and agencies. But even more damaging in the long run is the benign neglect they receive under supposedly conservative executives.

  23. Anonymous
    November 30th, 2011 @ 8:55 am

    Link?

  24. Garym
    November 30th, 2011 @ 9:17 am

    I’m going to have that image in my head all day. Thanks alot!

  25. ThePaganTemple
    November 30th, 2011 @ 9:23 am

    You haven’t seen his latest ad, have you?

  26. philip averbuck
    November 30th, 2011 @ 9:39 am

    A very nice, good blogger, GM Roper, is a long-time Texan.  He told me months ago that Perry wd be a great nominee, and he supported him.  GM is a very honorable guy.  That meant something to me, although I’m still just voting for the strongest anti-Romney at primary time.

  27. Pathfinder
    November 30th, 2011 @ 10:12 am

    Can’t seem to understand that it was going to cost the people of Alaska a heck of a lot of money too, which means she cared about burdening the people with the expense of those frivolous lawsuits — and according to some (a lot of some on that site and a couple of others) that’s a sure sign of a bad politician.

    Who should probably have burned through as much money as it took.

    There are arguements for and against this, but the friendly fire has been a bit much.  I’ve been disappointed in Palin, but not to the extent I sound like a progressive with rabies.

  28. Pathfinder
    November 30th, 2011 @ 10:23 am

    It’s that record and some of the things in it that the Democrats will use.

    My wife came up with an interesting theory: no matter who wins this next election, things are going to suck — badly and in all aspects; be prepared for the Dems to lose the elections in some way and then try to do real damage on the GOP/TP/conservative brand, in this they may have to fight a bit with their own canidate and the situation could change at a moment’s notice.  There isn’t going to be one bright spot for a very long while, and unless you own a tropical island it’s highly doubtful you won’t be affected by this (unless you are as wealthy as Soros, then maybe too, but he probably has that island, or a fortress high in the Alps).
    Anyway, whoever wins the election may just loose in the court of public opinion unless they can pull off the win-win of all time.  That is unlikely — too many diverse groups of people would have to crown you savior of the country, so many variables of what could go wrong.  Fail to do this, and not only you but your political party, even your political ideology (and maybe even your religion in the case of Perry and his rather, ehem, enthusiastic embracing of the same as of late) could wind up totally discredited.

    Now, if you look at Democratic/progressive media (old and new) have they or have they not been prepping the ground for Perry?  Why don’t they do this with Mitt? (well, they already know how Republicans/conservatives feel about him, and if he wins a greater defeat of conservatism and the GOP isn’t in the works as Mitt isn’t “grassroots” like Perry has been branded and coronated by so many in the blogosphere).  Anyone else is the dark horse canidate for them — I don’t really think they thought Mitt would be this weak or that Perry would self-destruct like he has.

  29. Pathfinder
    November 30th, 2011 @ 10:37 am

    In fairness to Mr. Ace, some of his regular commentors and co-bloggers over time have gotten more self-important, nasty, and exclusive than he has.  Seems like it’s  a self-affirming vicious circle.  The attitude there has gotten progressively worse since the 2008 election.  The place is starting to sound like an echo chamber, and I’m not sure it’s all the blog owner’s fault.

  30. Anonymous
    November 30th, 2011 @ 10:43 am

    Well, if I was going to scold Ace for holding a grudge and “beating up on a girl,” I had to admit that I’ve done both, otherwise I would have been guilty of the same kind of lack of self-awareness that makes Sully so damned awful.

  31. Bob Belvedere
    November 30th, 2011 @ 10:50 am

    Too many people, both friends and enemies, buy into polls.

    Damn them all [the polls] to the Ninth Circle of Hell.

    The Founders set up a system that could only prevent itself from turning into a Tyranny by rejecting the sentiments of the moment.  One must be guided by Right Reason.  Whim must be avoided like the infection it is.

    Polls are the creatures of Democracy, which is but an enabler of Totalitarianism.

  32. Bob Belvedere
    November 30th, 2011 @ 10:55 am

    Yeah…thanks, pal.

  33. TR
    November 30th, 2011 @ 11:12 am

    FYI, the ‘Ace of Spades lifestyle’ is no more than a big ego boosting distracting front for someone with self admitted and (self- medicating)  ‘panic disorder’ http://ace.mu.nu/archives/059250.php  This inconvenient personal flaw allows him to idolize people like Hopper (RIP) and rationalize his own vicious moodswing and just about anything else his fan club will allow.  LGF all the way.
     

  34. Zooropa
    November 30th, 2011 @ 11:19 am

    A lot of people were disappointed at first with her resignation but it became more understandable when the facts about her financial situation came out.  But Ace would never budge even an inch in his unhappiness with her decision.  It was like he took her resignation as a personal insult and it just got weird after a while. 

    But whatever his reasons were it was no excuse for him playing into the dems hands and basically becoming a patsy for them.  By constantly trashing Palin he pretty much stooped down to the level of ‘conservatives-in-name-only’ like Kathleen Parker.

  35. DaveO
    November 30th, 2011 @ 11:49 am

    Don’t go anywhere. Only vote for conservatives down-ticket. A fully politically neutered Obama is better than a fully functioning RomNewt. We need the Judiciary back in our court, along with both houses of Congress.

  36. DaveO
    November 30th, 2011 @ 11:56 am

    Here’s the question: having vigorously promoted Perry in the primaries, and having enthusiastically gone after Perry’s opponents, does anyone expect Ace and/or his Morons to carry the GOP’s nominee’s water, if it isn’t Perry?
     
    Asked another way: how does a blogger maintain integrity with their readers when the real race begins and that blogger’s choice was not chosen? JournoListers are regularly skewered for having their opinions in line with their paychecks, regardless of what they wrote in the past. What is the proper role for a conservative blogger in the coming campaign?

  37. Doc Clear
    November 30th, 2011 @ 12:24 pm

    Sorry but Ace and Hot Air are dead to me.  Perry too.  This election is telling as to who people are and how they fight.  I used to go to Hot Air first thing in the morning and then follow the link to Ace.  Never again.  It’s all I can do to as far as getting back at them, but I’m willing to do without their beta male passive aggression.

  38. Pathfinder
    November 30th, 2011 @ 12:39 pm

    Maybe Romney (with grumbling from some, and keep a stiff upper lip and think of England from others) and maybe Newt.

    Cain, Bachman, Santorum, and Huntsman would probably be on the receiving end of mountains of snark at this point (some commentors might get behind them, they already have) and there might be an information blackout as a way of pouting.  Ron Paul — well, that would cause some heads to explode over there (which might be well worth it for the humor value).

    I think they are so far invested in Perry (or at least a certain view of how the GOP should be and who should be allowed into that club) that it would be worse than the commentary over there during 2008 and 2010.

  39. Dianna Deeley
    November 30th, 2011 @ 12:44 pm

    AAAAAGH!
     
    Did you really need to make me have that image?!

    *Joke!

  40. Waiting for Generic Republican
    November 30th, 2011 @ 1:31 pm

    […] Yesterday, though, Ace, Jeff, Ladd Ehlinger, dicentra and some other people were involved in a melee over whom to back or not as the eventual Republican nominee, and it got personal pretty quickly, with accusations and counter-accusations of bad faith, hipsterism, short-sightedness, selling out to convenience, shilling for the narrative, and all of the other slagging that one might expect where the stakes are integrity and self-respect. It was not an edifying sight. It was an uncomfortable sight. And as usual it was preamble to a variety of posts that will produce a great deal more heat than light, even when, as with Stacy’s, they take care to give people with different opinions their due. […]

  41. Anonymous
    November 30th, 2011 @ 2:07 pm

    I hear you. Red State, too.

    I recommend The Right Scoop and Legal Insurrection.

    Even though their owners seem to have picked candidates (Cain and Newt, respectively), they still have kept their senses. IMO.

  42. Anonymous
    November 30th, 2011 @ 9:59 pm

    It’ll be like it was in 2008, with John McCain.

    The only reason anyone on the right seemed to get excited was Sarah Palin.  But even the top dogs would say tepid things like, “hey, he’s our guy, and he’s still better than Obama”.  Weak praise, but praise of a sort.

  43. Anonymous
    November 30th, 2011 @ 10:17 pm

    In fairness to Ace, he allows commenters to abuse him with some really stupid comments.  All without threats of banning. I’ve had several cordial exchanges with him, even though I felt his position was wrong, and wrote exactly why.

    You don’t go to the guy’s site, call him names, and disparage his competence, then expect a high-minded discussion of political philosophy and election strategy.  Yet a lot of people try that every time he gets negative about their candidate.

    I don’t see any potential for “meltdown” at all.  If there were, we’d have seen it already. The man’s extremely bright (he makes Obama look like a 1970’s era Christmas tree bulb by comparison), and well-read. He’s not strongly “socially” conservative, but he understands the reasons FOR social conservative thinking.

    We need to remember, he’s writing the way he’s thinking, and is very good to come back and let us know when he’s blown it, changed his mind, or want’s to double-down on an opinion.  It’s like watching a guy think in real-time.  It’s not always gonna be pretty.

  44. metro_con
    December 1st, 2011 @ 12:57 am

    I agree with you on Hot Air. That website should depress any real conservative, particularly when taking into account how many on our side apparently get their news from that website.

    Also, I have to nominate Hot Air for the righty blog with the dumbest commenters. Those dimwits never fail to throw real conservatives under the bus for the sake of RINOs.

    I’ll also second the recommendation for The Right Scoop.

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  46. Greg
    December 1st, 2011 @ 1:54 am

    Friendly fire? You mean, the fire that was consistently directed at ANYONE who didn’t spend their time thinking up newer and better ways to praise the almighty genius that is Sarah Palin?

    Her supporters are every bit as guilty as her detractors for the nastiness involved in any discussion of her, if not more so.

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