The Other McCain

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

Departing from Logan: Live Free or …

Posted on | January 11, 2012 | 40 Comments

“There was never enough time. Every deadline was a crisis. All around me were experienced professional journalists meeting deadlines far more frequent than mine, but I was never able to learn from their example.”
– Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72

BOSTON LOGAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Pete Da Tech Guy woke me up about 9 o’clock this morning: “We both overslept! We’ve got to hurry!” But first he had to figure out how to connect the computer to the printer to print my boarding pass. Pete did some excellent driving to get me to the airport on time, and we listened to Boston talk radio on the way. with the question of the day being, “Is Mitt Romney inevitable? Is it all over but the shouting? Have all efforts to stop Mitt been a vain and futile waste of time? Should we jump off a bridge now, or wait until after the Florida primary?” (I paraphrase slightly.)

For conservatives, Tuesday was “A Cruel Night in New Hampshire“:

MANCHESTER, N.H. — About 40 percent of voters in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary cast their ballots for either Texas Rep. Ron Paul or former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who finished second and third behind the “It’s His Turn” Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
Adding in Romney’s 39 percent, the top three finishers in the Granite State got nearly 80 percent of the vote — even though none of them can credibly claim to represent the mainstream of GOP conservatism that has developed over the past three decades. Romney, of course, has been on both sides of every important issue during his political career, having even denied any fealty to “Reagan-Bush” during his unsuccessful 1994 Senate race. Ron Paul’s foreign policy views are not merely at odds with mainstream Republicanism, but arguably put him to the left of President Obama. And Huntsman has not only embraced same-sex civil unions and global-warming theory, but has praised the Democratic president who appointed him ambassador to China.
Thus in New Hampshire, a state where independents are eligible to vote in the GOP primary, barely 20 percent of voters chose either of the conservative candidates — former House Speaker Newt Gingrich or former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum — who competed here. Gingrich and Santorum each got less than 10 percent of the vote, providing the only real suspense of the night with their see-saw battle for fourth place. Texas Gov. Rick Perry didn’t even bother to campaign in the Granite State, and got about 1,500 votes. And so the first-in-the-nation primary ends with the fight for the Republican nomination exactly where it was when the campaign started, with Romney as the pre-emptive favorite. . . .

That’s from my American Spectator column today and you should read the whole thing, in case you aren’t yet sufficiently depressed. Last night at the Radisson Hotel, I came to the conclusion that Republicans are on the verge of nominating their own John Kerry: A candidate whose supposed strength — for Kerry, his military service; for Romney, his business background — proves to be a dangerous weakness.

The Gingrich “super PAC” is about to unload $5 million worth of attack ads on Romney in South Carolina, and as weird as it seems for a Republican to be attacking “ruthless” capitalism . . . Well, Newt was always kind of weird anyway, so this only confirms what we already knew about him.

In New Hampshire, they still have only 98% of precincts reporting, with both Gingrich (23,271 votes) and Rick Santorum (23,118) at 9.4 percent. Michele Bachmann, who quit the race a week ago, got 349 votes Tuesday, which is more than twice the margin between Gingrich and Santorum. Take that as proof that New Hampshire voters are extraordinarly stupid. Top headline this morning at Memeorandum:

Ron Paul To Everyone But Mitt: Drop Out

Which is not the craziest thing Ron Paul has said in the past 24 hours. Hell, he probably said a half-dozen crazier things before breakfast today. But that’s how this campaign has been: Non-stop insanity from start to finish. It’s like being assigned to cover a psychotic breakdown, so that the challenge as a journalist is to report accurately all the paranoid gibberish, the bizarre hallucinations and delusions of grandeur.

And there is never enough time to report it all. I’m flying home today for a couple of days of rest, before it drives me nuts. Time to board that flight. Hit the freaking tip jar!

 





RECENTLY:


Category: Election 2012, Fear and Loathing in New Hampshire, Shoe Leather Fund

Comments

40 Responses to “Departing from Logan: Live Free or …”

  1. keyboard jockey
    January 11th, 2012 @ 12:05 pm

    Hey remember when McCain beat Romney is New Hampshire? Good Times! Good Times.
    Mitt Romney & The L Word(s) Liberal, Liar and Liquidator.
    Senator John McCain just endorsed Mitt Romney, here is a video of John McCain going through Mitt Romney’s Liberal Laundry List.
    Meanwhile Newt Gingrich is going to release an attack ad against Mitt Romney titled “The King of Bain”. I decided to look up the dictionary definition of the closest spelling to Bain. Bane definition, a person or thing that causes misery or distress ( esp a bane in of one’s Life).
    http://youhavetobethistalltogoonthisride.blogspot.com/2012/01/mitt-romney-l-words.html

  2. As Romney Consolidates, New Hampshire No Longer Virtuous Foil to Cretinous Iowa
    January 11th, 2012 @ 12:31 pm

    […] in the news, New Hampshire was longingly regarded by pundits as a real contest that would produce significant results that even people in major media markets could respect. Now that New Hampshire has given Romney the boost that the MSM expected, though, it has faded into […]

  3. Dan Collins
    January 11th, 2012 @ 12:38 pm

    Can’t you team up with Breitbart to do an Internet broadcast debate with right-bloggers asking the questions?

  4. Jeff Y.
    January 11th, 2012 @ 1:15 pm

    Romney is going to win the nomination, and libertarian-conservatives will sit the election out. That’s where it’s going.

    Me, I’m not voting for Romney. Probably means I won’t vote either.

  5. Bob Belvedere
    January 11th, 2012 @ 1:26 pm

    Bravo, Stacy, on a job very well done!

    Have a safe trip home and may the wind be at your back.

  6. Charles
    January 11th, 2012 @ 1:27 pm

    So your favorite candidate drops out and you vote for her anyway, that is extraodinarily stupid because the contest for 4th and 5th place is just so extraodinarily important.

    If people really wanted to stop Mitt Romney, the thing to do was to pile all the votes on Ron Paul in the early states. If Iowa and New Hampshire had both voted for Ron Paul and Roney was looking at another loss ot Paul in South Carolina, that would have blown the Romney lock off the door.

  7. Zilla of the Resistance
    January 11th, 2012 @ 1:48 pm

    Safe trip, Stacy, thanks for all that you do! Go home, get some rest, hug the wife & kids, eat some home cooking and then feel free to stop by my place to see how many danged awards you personally won while you were away! Hopefully it will cheer you up a bit when you see what you’ve won. 

  8. Anonymous
    January 11th, 2012 @ 1:53 pm

    Thus in New Hampshire, a state where independents are eligible to vote in the GOP primary, barely 20 percent of voters chose either of the conservative candidates — former House Speaker Newt Gingrich or former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum — who competed here. Gingrich and Santorum each got less than 10 percent of the vote, providing the only real suspense of the night with their see-saw battle for fourth place. Texas Gov. Rick Perry didn’t even bother to campaign in the Granite State, and got about 1,500 votes. And so the first-in-the-nation primary ends with the fight for the Republican nomination exactly where it was when the campaign started, with Romney as the pre-emptive favorite. . . .

    Well, given that Newt and Rick Perry went after Mitt Romney on being a capitalist…I can understand why there was some confusion by the voters.   Rick Santorum only just came to NH, could  not buy any ads (they were all sold out already), and basically had to scrable for a few days.  Given that, I think Santorum did pretty good.  

  9. Anonymous
    January 11th, 2012 @ 1:54 pm

    If you want to stop Mitt Romney fine.  Vote for Santorum (who did not stoop to the shameful attacks Newt, Perry and Huntsman did).  

  10. Anonymous
    January 11th, 2012 @ 1:57 pm

    That is not a good idea.  You should be promoting Santorum at least.  And if is Romney and Obama against each other in the general…if you are in a swing state lie back and think of America.  You should vote if only to vote libertarians and conservatives down ticket.  If you are in a red state, well then go third party conservative-libertarian and vote for conservative candidates down the ticket.  

  11. Zilla of the Resistance
    January 11th, 2012 @ 2:09 pm

    BTW, I hate to add to your depression, but facebook hates you. I can post SMITTY posts from TOM, but this is the message I keep getting when I try to put the link to the above post at that political information page that I run there:

    Sorry, this post contains a blocked URL
    The content you’re trying to share includes a link that’s been blocked for being spammy or unsafe:2.bp.blogspot.comFor more information, visit the Help Center. If you think you’re seeing this by mistake, please let us know.

    I sent a message letting them know that they are mistaken, but considering the fact that the Paulbots have been trying to get my page shut down and me banned from facebook by filing numerous complaints, I don’t know if they’ll fix it.
     

  12. Anonymous
    January 11th, 2012 @ 2:28 pm

     And of course some indies, libertarians and conservatives did this.  

  13. Anonymous
    January 11th, 2012 @ 2:30 pm

    RSM was awesome.  

  14. Adjoran
    January 11th, 2012 @ 3:32 pm

    So, you are for Obama and more Justices like Sotomayor and Kagan, then.

    It’s your right to help elect Obama.  Just don’t pretend that isn’t what you are doing, mmmkay?

  15. richard mcenroe
    January 11th, 2012 @ 3:34 pm

    I say to you only this: your vote is your own; it is your only material expression of your convictions and conscience.  You are are entirely correct to withhold it from any candidate you do not believe will serve those o r the interests of the country.

    But do not throw out the down ticket candidates with the RNC’s bathwater.  Look at your Congressional and Senatorial candidates and give them every support you can.

  16. richard mcenroe
    January 11th, 2012 @ 3:35 pm

    just put some pants on first.

  17. PON FARR, American Style: The Nov. 2012 Election « Temple of Mut
    January 11th, 2012 @ 3:36 pm

    […] If Mitt Romney wins the nomination, we will be treated to the American version of the ritual battle known, as kal-if-fee. […]

  18. Adjoran
    January 11th, 2012 @ 3:48 pm

    There is no way to spin this result.  It is quite striking.

    Among conservatives, Romney won.  Among Tea Party supporters, Romney won.  Santorum won a good percentage of those who consider themselves “very conservative,” but Romney won the group.  Santorum was tops among those who believe abortion ranks higher as an issue than the economy or deficits.  Romney won every other group.

    Among Catholics, Romney won, and in every income group except the lowest and every age group except under 30 (both won by Paul with Romney second).  Among those who called themselves “Evangelical” or “born again” Christians, Romney won.  Among those who do not, Romney won. 

    Among Republicans, Romney won.   Romney was second to Paul among people who identified themselves as independents, but first among registered independents.  He was third behind Huntsman and Paul with self-identified Democrats (registered Dems not allowed to vote in the GOP primary).

    If Gingrich, Santorum, and Perry combined their votes, they would have finished third – beating Huntsman by 2%.

    The fat lady may not have sung yet, but she just flushed the toilet, washed her hands, and adjusted her horned helmet.

  19. Adjoran
    January 11th, 2012 @ 3:49 pm

    Maybe Paulbots, more likely the Left.  Facebook won’t even disclose their privacy policies – the real ones – to Congress.  Who knows what far-left rules the guy follows:  he hosts fundraisers for Obama.

  20. I respect Ron Paul and all, But….. | Thoughts and Rantings
    January 11th, 2012 @ 3:57 pm

    […] Hit & Run, Bloomberg, The Politico, The Other McCain, The Daily Dish, Outside the Beltway, The Gateway Pundit, Questions and Observations, Shakesville, […]

  21. Mike G.
    January 11th, 2012 @ 3:59 pm

    So Stacy, where are you flying into in South Carolina and where do you plan to visit? SC is a little bigger than NH. It takes about five or six hours to go from one end of the state to the other, depending on how you drive.

  22. Zilla of the Resistance
    January 11th, 2012 @ 3:59 pm

    I started having problems immediately after Paulbots SAID they wanted to get my page shut down. I’ve been going after Obama there since May of 2010, made national news when my far left (now former Congressman) publicly attacked me and my page, but I NEVER had problems with facebook telling me that complaints are being filed against me until AFTER Ron Paul’s lunatic fans SAID that they were going to get me shut down. 

  23. richard mcenroe
    January 11th, 2012 @ 4:14 pm

    That’s two or three hours if you engage the Stacy-drive.

  24. Teri
    January 11th, 2012 @ 4:36 pm

    I’m with you, Jeff Y. I’m writing in the candidate I think should win. I will not vote for any of the remaining candidates.  I have to do what’s right for me and not betray myself and everything I believe in like I did four years ago–convinced by friends and relatives “that it’s better than the alternative”–when I held my nose and voted for McCain. I can’t do it.  I just can’t do it.

  25. JeffS
    January 11th, 2012 @ 4:39 pm

    Congratulations, you’re now officially an Obamabot. 

  26. JeffS
    January 11th, 2012 @ 4:39 pm

    Congratulations, you’re now officially an Obamabot. 

  27. Mike G.
    January 11th, 2012 @ 4:39 pm

    Well, from my house in the upper NW corner of SC… US 123 to the 185 toll road to  385 to I 26 to I 95 to the Georgia line is about five hours at around 75 to 78mph. I slow down to 70 from mile marker 25 until I pass mile marker 18 or so, then back up to 80 mph for the rest of the way to GA. The slow down is because the town of Ridgeland is where I got a ticket last year for doing 82 in a 70 zone, which I fought and won because of a technicality.

  28. Teri
    January 11th, 2012 @ 4:44 pm

    Sorry, but this article convinced me that Santorum is a poor substitute for Bachmann. 

    http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=48687

  29. Memo From the National Affairs Desk: Seventeen Days on the Campaign Trail : The Other McCain
    January 11th, 2012 @ 5:00 pm

    […] 11:Philly Layover Musings: The Republican Party Is Depraved and DecadentJan. 11: Departing from Logan: Live Free or …Jan. 10: NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY HQ UPDATE: Romney Wins; Ron Paul Second; Huntsman Third; Gingrich, […]

  30. Mike Tuggle
    January 11th, 2012 @ 7:06 pm

    “Ron Paul’s foreign policy views are not merely at odds with mainstream Republicanism, but arguably put him to the left of President Obama.”
     
    I disagree with this dichotomy. Let’s not forget that left-leaning presidents got us into both World Wars, Korea, and Vietnam. Clinton launched the Serbian (Wag the Dog) War, to the scathing condemnation of many Republicans. Leftists such as Christopher Hitchens, Dianne Feinstein, and Alan Dershowitz supported the invasion of Iraq.

    Professional pissant David Frum condemned Patrick Buchanan, Samuel Francis, Thomas Fleming, Joe Sobran, Charley Reese, Jude Wanniski, Eric Margolis, and Taki Theodoracopulos as “unpatriotic conservatives” for opposing the Neocon Wars.
     
    And let’s not forget Obama’s surge in Afghanistan!

  31. Nomination Excitations: The Day After New Hampshire « The Camp Of The Saints
    January 11th, 2012 @ 8:38 pm

    […] hate to say it, but Stacy McCain’s gloom is effecting me: … Last night at the Radisson Hotel, I came to the conclusion that […]

  32. ThePaganTemple
    January 11th, 2012 @ 10:57 pm

    Yeah shame on Jeff for not supporting a candidate who will appoint another Justice Souter. Doesn’t he know we need to compromise on judicial appointments with Democrats in order to unite our great country?

  33. ThePaganTemple
    January 11th, 2012 @ 10:57 pm

    Well said!

  34. ThePaganTemple
    January 11th, 2012 @ 11:01 pm

    There might be a problem with one specific link on that post.

  35. ThePaganTemple
    January 11th, 2012 @ 11:02 pm

    Don’t worry Zilla, you’re “Still The One” in my book.

  36. ThePaganTemple
    January 11th, 2012 @ 11:03 pm

    Yeah. New Hampshire.

  37. ThePaganTemple
    January 11th, 2012 @ 11:11 pm

    Obama’s “surge” in Afghanistan is like half a hard on. It feels good but its not going to get you very far.

  38. ThePaganTemple
    January 11th, 2012 @ 11:14 pm

    Pete Da Tech Guy woke me up about 9 o’clock this morning: “We both overslept! We’ve got to hurry!”

    Episcopalians?

  39. Our Modern Day Sam Gatlin « The Camp Of The Saints
    January 12th, 2012 @ 8:38 am

    […] example from a posting as he prepared to leave Boston’s Logan Airport yesterday for a trip home for a few days of […]

  40. Bob Belvedere
    January 12th, 2012 @ 8:40 am

    Indeed.  It is still worth while to fight for control of the Congress.