A. They spent everything trying to put in the fix for Charlie Crist in Florida

Q. Where is the national GOP in the Massachusetts special election?

Well, supposing Ed Morrissey actually wanted an answer to his question, it's obvious enough: The national GOP only spends money in an election when the party establishment sees a Dede Scozzafava-type opportunity to screw over conservatives.

If Scott Brown were a corrupt closet homosexual running against a pro-life conservative with grassroots support, John Cornyn would spend every cent in the NRSC budget in an effort to defeat the conservative.

NOT ONE RED CENT for NRSC!

UPDATE: Leo Pusateri at Blogs for Victory says:

Having just gotten off a blogger conference call with Mr. Brown, I can categorically state that Brown denies any lack of support for his campaign by the RNC. . . .
It would appear that the story from the Boston Herald was designed not to report on the status of, but rather to outright sabotage the momentum of Brown’s Senate campaign.

Pusateri says give directly to Scott Brown's campaign, and who can argue with that?

UPDATE II: Professor William Jacobson details the strong blogger support for Brown.

Harry Reid's crooked math

Jimmie Bise explains that the Senate health-care deal's cost projections were bogus, based on double-counting planned "savings" in Medicare.

If the federal government is actually capable of wringing $500 billion of "waste, fraud and abuse" out of Medicare, why not do that first?

Show us the "savings," and then we'll talk.

McCaskill draws 100 protesters

Dana Loesch explains the outrage:

The overwhelming majority of Missouri (and national) voters oppose Harry Reid’s senate fauxcare bill, yet McCaskill is eager to play the part of the rubber stamp and help pass it in the senate -- and even complains about having to do so on Christmas. This is what she wanted!

This is what happens when people in Congress view their job as representing Washington special interests, rather than representing their constituents.

Below his pay grade, I suppose

Once you've been mayor of New York and run for president, the Senate is definitely a step down.

This is a perfect opportunity to poke more fun at all those sophisticated people who, in 2006-07, argued in all apparent seriousness that Rudy Giuliani could win the GOP presidential nomination. Dude spent $59 million and got . . . what?

Genius strategy: Bet the whole wad on Florida and finish third. Ron Paul got more delegates, which wasn't really that hard, seeing as how Rudy's delegate count was zero.

Exit question: What loser will Allahpundit support in 2012?

Sheldon Whitehouse gets a memo from the Dept. of We Can Fact-Check Your Ass

Kerry Pickett of The Washington Times does the kind of journalism conservatives supposedly don't do:

Video from Hot Air where Ed Morrissey has much more. Excuse me for saying that this elevated my mood from bleak despair to ecstatic hope.

Once I heard a preacher talk about the "God of the Valleys." When we are on top of the mountain, it is easy to suppose that our achievements are the result of our own excellence. But it is in that dark valley -- where we feel doomed and hopeless -- that we learn the true meaning of faith.

After you've cried out for help in the darkness of that valley, make a vow that if you should ever get to that sunny mountaintop, you will remember the God of the valleys, who delivered you from destruction when all seemed lost.

Most people won't see the relevance of that sermon to this Whitehouse video, but some people will. Remember: "It is history that teaches us to hope."

UPDATE: By way of exegesis, I worked for hours yesterday transcribing excerpts of Whitehouse's remarks and Jon Kyl's rebuttal. A congressional source had gotten me a rush transcript written in ALL CAPS, which meant that, in order to provide the text, I had to retype it all myself.

Tough work, but somebody's got to do it. Then I caught an hour's nap, so that I could file an 850-word column for the American Spectator immediately after the 1 a.m. cloture vote. Then I put up a post in the Hot Air Greenroom and a post here, linking both the Spectator column and the Greenroom post. All the while, I relentlessly promoted my work via Twitter and e-mail.

So you can imagine what a crushing embarrassment it was to discover that Ed Morrissey didn't even bother to link me in his 10:12 a.m. post at Hot Air. All that work, for nothing, you see? Add this terrible personal humilation -- "Why does Ed Morrissey hate me?" -- to the depressing reality of the 60-40 cloture vote, and I was feeling lower than a snake's belly.

Not only that, but a paycheck I'd expected in the mail didn't show up today, and the tip-jar contributions have slowed to zero the past two days, putting the Pasadena trip in jeopardy -- to say nothing of the fact that I can't even afford to buy my wife a Christmas gift.

Total and complete failure.

And then I saw Kerry's video, a hopeful omen at a moment of utter despair. "Angels unawares."

Meanwhile my blog buddy Jim Treacher just got a new job, and we congratulate him on his good fortune.

(Do you reckon ObamaCare will buy me dentures after I grind my teeth down to the gums?)

'Right-wing Leninism'? BUMPED: Senate debates before cloture

UPDATE 3:56 p.m.: Dan at Sevens quotes Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Emagogue):

"Tumbrels have rolled through taunting crowds. Broken glass has sparkled in darkened streets. Strange fruit has hung from southern trees."

In other words, opponents of this bill are Jacobins, brownshirts and Klansmen. Some Republican Senator should make a point of order about this kind of rhetoric. It's one thing to throw around inflammatory metaphors on a blog or cable TV, but another thing entirely to bring it onto the floor of the Senate.

UPDATE 3:25 p.m.: If somebody's got video or a text of Whitehouse's speech, please let me know. That was one of the most villainous speeches I've ever heard by any Senator, and I hope to God that some of my friends who are Senate staffers will provide a Republican with a solid rebuttal to vile Adorno/Hofstadter psychoanalytic crap, which is no more valid today than when Buckley critiqued it in Up From Liberalism nearly 50 years ago.

UPDATE 3:03 p.m.: Sheldon Whitehouse is the Keith Olbermann of the Senate, and I mean that in the worst possible sense of "Keith Olbermann." The only good part of his speech? "Mr. President, I yield the floor." And not a moment too soon!

UPDATE 2:50 p.m.: For crying out loud, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) reads Richard Hofstadter on the Senate floor. In other words, if you oppose this bill, you're a neurotic suffering from status anxiety. There can be no rational opposition. Is Julian Sanchez ghost-writing speeches for Democrats now?

UPDATE 2:33 p.m.: Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) just said he's got relatives in Nebraska who are "embarrassed and ashamed" by Ben Nelson's "Cash for Cloture" sellout -- click that link, because The Boss is still fighting. She weighs less than 100 pounds, but it's all fight.

PREVIOUSLY 2:09 p.m.: C.K. MacLeod writes a lengthy defense of the radical worse-is-better approach to political opposition.

This idea was central to Vladimir Lenin's revolutionary vision: The worse real-life conditions became -- the more oppressive the czarist regime, the greater Russia's military disasters in World War I -- the greater likelihood of the kind of political upheaval in which the Bolsheviks could seize power.

Given its source and original meaning, Lenin's worse-is-better strategy is obviously not something any conservative would endorse. However, as MacLeod makes clear, that isn't the way he means it. What he is arguing is that a short-term "win" by the Democrats should not be viewed by their opponents as a demoralizing defeat, but rather as a springboard for future conservative victories. His is a message of hope, not despair:

This is a moment for sober judgment, and for confidence in one's own beliefs and analysis, whichever best keeps you in the fight. It's a moment to decide whether our message to the Obamaist progressives is going to be: "You win -- we give up" or "We're coming after you, and getting rid of your laughable, embarrassing, and repugnant health care bill (presuming you ever get around to passing it) will just be the beginning."

Indeed, and you should read the whole thing. Speaking of radical rhetoric, I notice that King Herod Harry Reid plans to kill the babies by Christmas.

---

Humor Update: (Smitty) 3:13PM
Whereas I read MacLeod's piece and thought of Coleridge, by way of the Monty Python. This legislation could prove both an albatross and a career opportunity for Dingy Harry, as seen in the clip:

As a bonus, Graham Chapman's humorless Colonel prefigures the tender, loving care that government health care will embody.

The gross, atrocious irresponsibility of this bill in all aspects will be a boon to Americans. Harry Reid gives us ammunition. We will return it to him with, bonus kinetic energy.

Nebraskans: Help Save America!

Don't let Sen. Ben Nelson flip-flop on ObamaCare:

As I explained here yesterday:

Nelson can vote "yes" on the motion to proceed to a vote (which requires a 60-vote supermajority). and then vote "no" on final passage, where only 51 "yes" votes are needed. Because of the overwhelming Democratic majority in the Senate, there is no question on the final passage if it gets that far; therefore, the only way Nelson (or any other Democrat) affects the outcome is if he votes "no" on the motion to proceed.
So unless and until Nelson says he'll join the filibuster, his statement of opposition is meaningless.

Get on the phone, Nebraska! Or go in person to Nelson's office nearest you:

Omaha
7602 Pacific St.
Suite 205
Omaha, NE 68114
Tel: (402) 391-3411
Fax: (402) 391-4725

Lincoln
440 North 8th Street
Suite 120
Lincoln, NE 68508
Tel: (402) 441-4600
Fax: (402) 476-8753

Washington, D.C.
720 Hart Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: 1-202-224-6551
Fax: 1-202-228-0012

Scottsbluff
Tel: (308) 631-7614

Kearney
Tel: (308) 293-5818

South Sioux City
Tel: (402) 209-3595

This is where Tea Party power -- the individual activism of citizens -- can make a difference.

If Nelson says 'no,' is Obamacare dead?

If the Nebraska Democrat's statement means he'll join the the GOP filibuster, this could be the stake througth the vampire's heart:

A moderate Democrat whose vote could be crucial said Thursday an attempted Senate compromise on abortion is unsatisfactory, raising doubts about whether the chamber can pass President Barack Obama's health care overhaul by Christmas.
"As it is, without modifications, the language concerning abortion is not sufficient," Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson, a key holdout on the health care bill, said in a statement after first making his concerns known to Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. . . .
[I]n a radio interview earlier in the day with KLIN in Lincoln, Nebraska, Nelson also said that abortion wasn't his only concern and he didn't see how the Christmas deadline was achievable.
The development came with Senate leaders working round the clock trying to finalize their 10-year, nearly $1 trillion bill in time for a final vote on Christmas Eve. Nelson is emerging as a major obstacle -- perhaps the only remaining one -- since Democrats need his vote to have the 60 necessary to overcome Republican stalling tactics.

(Gee, Associated Press, thanks for that perfectly neutral characterization of the "Republican stalling tactics.")

Here's the situation: Nelson can vote "yes" on the motion to proceed to a vote (which requires a 60-vote supermajority). and then vote "no" on final passage, where only 51 "yes" votes are needed. Because of the overwhelming Democratic majority in the Senate, there is no question on the final passage if it gets that far; therefore, the only way Nelson (or any other Democrat) affects the outcome is if he votes "no" on the motion to proceed.

So unless and until Nelson says he'll join the filibuster, his statement of opposition is meaningless. If you are a Nebraska resident opposed to ObamaCare, you need to contact Nelson and try to get a clarification:

Omaha
7602 Pacific St.
Suite 205
Omaha, NE 68114
Tel: (402) 391-3411
Fax: (402) 391-4725

Lincoln
440 North 8th Street
Suite 120
Lincoln, NE 68508
Tel: (402) 441-4600
Fax: (402) 476-8753

Washington, D.C.
720 Hart Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: 1-202-224-6551
Fax: 1-202-228-0012

Scottsbluff
Tel: (308) 631-7614

Kearney
Tel: (308) 293-5818

South Sioux City
Tel: (402) 209-3595

And if you are a Nebraska Tea Party activist, you need to go in person to Sen. Nelson's office nearest you. No need to get angry or make a scene. Just make sure the Senator's staff knows that you understand the legislative process, and that you won't count the Senator as having voted against the legislation unless he joins the filibuster and votes "no" on the procedural question.

Battle Cry: If Not Now, When?

Erick Erickson urges Senate Republicans to fight ObamaCare with every parliamentary means available:

Some might argue that Republicans should not look "obstructionist." But they are wrong -- the vast majority of Americans don't like this bill and don't want it to pass. The Tea Party movement was the upheaval of millions of ordinary Americans who are scared and angry about the out-of-control growth of the federal government, federal spending, and the national debt. They want to see the Republicans obstructing passage of this bill and if they think the Republicans are not fighting with every tool they have at their disposal, then any advantage that the Republicans think they will get in next year's elections from such a bill being passed will evaporate.

Erick makes reference to the Doug Hoffman campaign in NY23, which is the subject of my 1,400-word article in the December-January issue of The American Spectator:

Yates Walker ate breakfast in the Blue Moon Café on Main Street in Saranac Lake, New York, on the morning of November 4, and delivered an after-action report on the battle that had just been fought in the upstate 23rd District.
"We took a CPA from 9 percent to 46 percent in two and a half weeks," said Walker, a young veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division who had been hired 18 days earlier to work on Doug Hoffman's congressional campaign staff. "I couldn't be prouder." . . .
Hoffman's surprising surge in the closing weeks of the three-way special election in upstate New York had, in Walker's words, turned the bespectacled accountant into "an electric symbol of conservatism." . . .

You can read the whole thing. That article was written in the Buffalo airport, where I had these thoughts:

As I was lashing together my article, it seemed to me that the tipping-point of the Hoffmania momentum shift was Oct. 16, when the Siena poll showed Hoffman surging while Scozzafava had fallen behind the Democrat. That was the same day Michelle Malkin's column called Scozzafava "An ACORN-Friendly, Big Labor-Backing, Tax-and-Spend Radical in GOP Clothing."
Two weeks later, the final Siena poll confirmed what the Hoffman people had known for some time: Dede was heading for a weak third-place finish. So the RINO quit and repaid the GOP Establishment by endorsing Democrat Bill Owens. Exposing RINOs as untrustworthy creatures was worth whatever damage might be suffered by having Owens in Congress -- until next year, when the freshman Democrat will face a re-energized GOP grassroots in NY23.
Go back and read my "Memo to the Grassroots." I didn't know it at the time, but that Hot Air Green Room post was written the same day that Yates Walker decided to hire on as manager of the Plattsburgh office of the Hoffman campaign. Yates was just one of several people who helped turn the Hoffman campaign into such a stunning dynamo of grassroots energy. . . .

Those of you who followed my coverage of the NY23 campaign may remember Yates Walker from this video:

The meaning of NY23 has been twisted beyond recognition by the MSM, as I explain in the Spectator article:

Op-ed pundits and TV talking heads portrayed the battle in the North Country as evidence of an intraparty schism, a Republican "civil war," but in fact the ideological factor of right vs. center was less important than the uprising of the party's rank and file against a GOP establishment that grassroots activists consider out of touch, politically inept, and hamstrung by favor-swapping among well-connected Republican insiders. . . .
One GOP Internet operative of libertarian leaning saw the lesson of the NY23 fight as a training exercise for the bigger battle in the 2010 midterm elections, comparing it to the way Web-savvy liberals lined up behind Howard Dean during the 2004 Democratic presidential primaries. "Right now, we're where the Democrats were with Dean in 2003," the Republican operative said, remarking on the left's online advantage that the GOP has struggled to overcome. "We're getting there, but we're not there yet."

Perhaps the most important lesson of NY23 is the value of time. That wild three-week Hoffman surge that began in mid-October produced spectacular results, but it was just a little too late.

Had more conservatives jumped onto the Hoffman bandwagon in August -- when Erick Erickson did -- maybe Scozzafava could have been driven out of the race a couple of weeks earlier. Instead, she got about $1 million from the RNC and NRCC and hung in until the last weekend before Election Day, then endorsed Bill Owens, making just enough difference to elect the Democrat by a margin that, in the end, amounted to about 3,200 votes.

A similar situation exists with ObamaCare, where the White House and Harry Reid (whose poll numbers are in the toilet) want to hurry the bill through the Senate during the holidays, when most people aren't paying attention. Erick Erikson is urging Republicans to fight now -- delay the bill, at risk of being called "obstructionist" -- to give the grassroots more time to put heat on the issue. He quotes Winston Churchill:

If you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed, if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a small chance of survival.

The odds still favor opponents of ObamaCare, and the National Taxpayers Union is calling for Tea Party people to attend a Code Red Rally at the Capitol on Tuesday with Laura Ingraham.

Where will you be Tuesday? Are you ready to fight? If not now, when?

(Cross-posted at Right Wing News.)

Obama-like 'transparency' on Capitol Hill, as Senate votes on football day, again

Hey, let's vote on half a trillion bucks in new spending on a Saturday morning! In December! Two weeks before Christmas! On Shabbat during Hannukah! The same day as the Army-Navy game and the Heisman Trophy announcement!

Next, let's move to final approval on Sunday! Just when the NFL playoff chase is coming down to the wire! And basketball season is getting underway!

Isn't transparency wonderful?

Knock, Knock

Who's there?

Hate.

Hate who?

Hate to tell Harry Reid, but Danny Tarkanian is running for Senate. He's beating Harry in the polls. And he's angry about Harry's slavery remark:

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Danny Tarkanian -- a community activist with a history of working with at-risk African-Americans in Las Vegas -- called on Senator Harry Reid to apologize on the Senate floor for comparing his health care opponents to defenders of slavery.
"Harry Reid's comments comparing opponents of his health reforms to defenders of slavery are a disgrace to the institution of the Senate and an embarrassment to Nevada. If there is any dignity left in this man, he will apologize on the Senate Floor," said Tarkanian.
Danny Tarkanian has been personally active in Las Vegas' African-American community through the Tarkanian Basketball Academy which teaches young Las Vegans -- many of whom are African-American -- life lessons through sports.

Let's look at the facts:

• Tarkanian is a Republican, like Ronald Reagan.
• He's Armenian-American, like Kim Kardashian.
• Tarkanian plays basketball, like Michael Jordan.
• He writes for Big Government, like Hannah Giles.
• Danny opposes ObamaCare, like a raaaaacist.
• Tarkanian speaks at Tea Parties, like me.
• He's got a beautiful wife, like mine.
• He's supported by Sarah Palin's dad, like . . .

This is all we really need to know, except for the fact that the other main GOP candidate, Sue Lowden, is the "preferred candidate of the Republican party establishment." And if there is anything we haters hate worse than we hate Harry Reid, it's the Republican party establishment.

DANNY TARKANIAN for SENATE

Who's with me?

ObamaCare's secret weapon: The Senate GOP Jellyfish Caucus

"Reasonable," "moderate," "compromise" -- synonyms beloved by the RINO sellouts who are always ready to roll over and vote for anything called "reform":

I am told quite reliably that in a meeting today on Capitol Hill, Republican Senators began to rapidly move toward concessions on health care because they are afraid they cannot hold their members. . . . Republicans are starting to waver on this.

Aw, c'mon, Erick -- "starting to waver"? As if, until today, Republican Senators were a formidable phalanx of conservative stalwarts standing on guard to defend our liberties against the unconstitutional schemes of the Left?

Are we talking about the same Republican wussies who endorsed Charlie Crist in Florida? The effeminate weaklings who supported John McCain for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination? So far as anyone can tell, there is not a single Republican in the Senate who possesses a sound brain, a straight spine and a functioning set of testicles.

If anyone is still so foolish as to hope that these worthless Beltway GOP closet cases might yet stand up to Harry Reid, Michelle Malkin says to call your Senator via the Capitol switchboard -- 202-224-3121 -- or call Sen. Mitzi McConnell’s office at 202-224-2541.

Man, in an urgent crisis like this, a blogger has to be careful to avoid typos . . .

(Via Memeorandum.)

UPDATE: "Grow a pair!" and other uncivil language from Blago Bloggo. Also linked by Jimmie at the Sundries Shack, Doug at Daley Gator, Underground Conservative and in Larwyn's Linx at Director Blue.

'Transparency' Looks a Lot Like Hell

At least for George Madison, nominated by President Obama to be general counsel for the Department of the Treasury, which means a hearing tomorrow morning with the Senate Finance Committee. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has a few questions for the luckless bastard . . .

IG-Gate: Whispers of hints of shadows

Ever been in one of those situations where you don't know exactly what's going on, but somebody's hinting that something's going on?

Read every word of this.

The subject was raised in an indirect sort of way. I just jotted down some notes and didn't think too much about it. But my drive home from D.C. is more than an hour long, and as I mentally rehearsed what I'd seen and heard . . . Well, what was that about?

Maybe it was nothing. But maybe it was something. I'm trying to stay calm. Don't try to predict the future.

Shoe leather is an amazing journalistic resource. This is the kind of reporting that gets the blood pumping. Because of unexpected complications in my itinerary, I didn't park my car at Union Station until 4:09 p.m., but after I got through on the Hill, I was whistling a happy tune while I walked back down First Avenue, re-entering the marble lobby of the station at 6:37 p.m., as my meticulous notes show.

From the start: Tourists were still standing in line for a chance to get into the Sotomayor hearings, and I'd left my cell phone in the car. "Deep Cleavage" hadn't returned my calls, and nobody was expecting my arrival on the Hill. It was pleasantly sunny but not hot, and the biggest hassle I had was having to empty my pockets and remove my belt -- the buckle sets off the metal detectors -- to enter the different congressional office buildings.

"The Other McCain," said the receptionist, becoming accustomed to my unannounced arrivals. X is on vacation. Hmmm. What about X's Deputy, Y? Not in. Well, how about Z?

I'm sitting on the sofa and, on the lobby TV, Lindsay Graham is applying a flamethrower to Sotomayor, trying to produce that "meltdown" he'd previously suggested was so unlikely. Get 'em, Goober! I'm almost willing to take back some of those homophobic slurs . . .

Good news! The receptionist says that Z will be there momentarily. Z is "Deep Cleavage." We had never previously met but are already becoming . . . eh, bosom buddies. Z arrives and, as we make our way down the elevator to the basement cafeteria, this unexpected subject arises.

It must have been important, otherwise I wouldn't have a full page of notes about it. But it wasn't what I came to ask about. Deep Cleavage raises the subject and discusses it at some length before I even get a chance to start asking questions.

At the time, however, it didn't register. We were both in somewhat of a hurry. I had other people to see, and Deep Cleavage had a 5 o'clock conference call. It seemed like we talked for 45 minutes but since I didn't even go through the metal detectors until 4:25 p.m. -- meticulous notes, you see -- it couldn't have been that long.

Au revoir, Deep Cleavage, and off I go. Another office, another TV screen with Sotomayor hearings. The person I came to see is not in, but the deputy is available. OK. Actually, much better than OK. Introduction to a staffer who is eager (!) to help. All the charm I can muster is employed in a quick chat in the hallway and I take my leave with a courtly bow. This could become a very important source.

Quickly cutting across the Capitol grounds toward Independence Avenue. The woman walking across from the other side of the avenue is talking on a cell phone, but looks up. "Excuse me, ma'am, but which one is [name of office building]?" She points to the building.

When I get there, neither the communication director nor the press secretary is in the office. The receptionist -- actually, "staff assistant" is her title -- isn't exactly eager to help. It's past 5:30 now, she's running out the clock, and she doesn't know me from Adam's housecat.

Ah, but there is more than one way to skin Adam's housecat and, with the help of directions from an older gentleman, I'm on my way through an underground tunnel to another office building.

In the tunnel, I encounter a cluster of young aides. Obviously, Republicans. The girls are too pretty to be Democrats. Turns out they're Georgians and blonde Shannon, who just finished her junior year at UGA, went to Lassiter High. Ah, once dated a girl from Lassiter, and another one at Sprayberry, but that redhead from North Cobb -- her backyard was the 10th tee at the country club and . . .

The Georgians think I'm joking (I'm not) and they razz me when I start humming the University of Alabama fight song. This is fine amusement as we're walking through the tunnel.

Reaching my destination, I connect with my source of last resort. We're talking in the office vestibule when the Congressman, his wife and children pass through. My source doesn't want to trouble the boss, but I know the magic.

"Congressman!" And immediately I'm shaking hands and schmoozing it up, making sure to praise the excellent services peformed by the congressman's staffer, my source.

The congressman and family exit and, as soon as the door closes behind them, I high-five my source. That, my friend, is how it's done: Impose yourself. They're public servants, right? Well, I'm the freaking public.

Explain to the source who it is that I need to get direct contact with. We briefly discuss -- of all people -- Conor Friedersdorf, whose satire of my methods was both funny and accurate. If only I'd remembered to bring my pink camera . . .

Assured that I'll be contacted by the person I need to talk to, I'm ready for the return trip. I ride down the elevator with a recently-elected Democratic member of Congress. I cut back across the Capitol grounds and a few minutes later, as I cross the intersection of First and C, I'm jazz-whistling "Georgia On My Mind." The policeman on the corner says, "That's something you don't see anymore -- people whistling while they walk."

No, you sure don't, I answer. What I don't say is that you also don't see reporters take their leave with a courtly bow. A sense of history -- an evocative name -- now occupies my mind, and I find myself switching the tune to "Shenandoah" as I cross past the Columbus monument toward Union Station. In a few days, there will be a major deadline, but this is far from my thoughts.

I'm going to beat you today -- and didn't I?

A 150-mile round-trip drive, 2 hours and 28 minutes on the Hill, and I've got notes for my next article, as well as a quick blog post at AmSpec, plus promises of connections to more sources in coming days. No sir, you can't beat shoe leather, and it's good for the soul.

Quick shout-out to Obi's Sister, Dan Collins, The Rhetorican and WWU-AM/Camp of the Saints, and this from Jimmie Bise:

So, keep the faith, folks. We may well get that accountability and transparency Barack Obama promised us yet, no matter how hard he fights to break that promise.

Ah, Jimmie, my boy! When will you be back in DC? Check your schedule for Friday. What tales I have to tell, and what new friends you must meet. Y'all be sure and hit the tip jar -- another courtly bow, and good-night!

Dear Republican Senators . . .

. . . while I love my wife very much and trust her completely, it has nonetheless come to my attention that some members of the Senate GOP caucus are so irresistible that any woman might be tempted to stray. And for $96,000 . . .

Cheap shot at Sotomayor's opposition

Leading conservatives have signed a letter (text in PDF format) asking Republican Senators to filibuster Obama's nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Greg Sargent today takes a shot at this coalition:

The organizer of the pressure campaign — which has angered Senate GOP leaders — is identified as one Manuel Miranda, whom the paper only describes as a “former adviser on judicial issues to former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.”
There’s a bit more to Manuel Miranda than that, however. Miranda, as longtime Congressional insiders will recall, was the GOP Senate staffer who was nailed in 2004 for hacking into the computers of Senate Dems and downloading thousands of documents relating to the strategies of Dem Senators on judicial nominations. . . .

Read the rest, but this is an idiotic and irrelevant attack. What happened was that there was a glitch in the congressional computer software, allowing Republican staffers to access an area of the system that Democratic staffers thought was private.

Nobody "hacked" anything. Miranda was merely the staffer who discovered the files showing that Democrats were blocking the judicial nomination of Miguel Estrada because he was Latino, highly qualified, and Dems feared the impact if Estrada eventually were nominated to the Supreme Court.

If Manuel Miranda were a Democrat, he'd be celebrated as a "whistleblower," instead of being smeared as a "hacker." As it is, Miranda's involvement in the anti-Sotomayor effort is being used in a ridiculous guilt-by-association smear. Look at a partial list of the other signatories on this letter to Senate Republicans:

Richard Viguerie, ConservativeHQ.com
David Keene, American Conservative Union
Gary Bauer, American Values
Grover Norquist, Americans for Tax Reform
Larry Pratt, Gun Owners of America
Dr. Virginia Armstrong, Eagle Forum's Court Watch
Colin Hanna, Let Freedom Ring
Mark R. Levin. President, Landmark Legal Foundation
Tom Minnery, Focus on the Family
Wendy Wright, Concerned Women for America
Rev. Miguel Rivera, National Coalition of Latino Clergy & Christian Leaders
Dr. Carl Herbster, AdvanceUSA
Donald E. Wildmon, American Family Association
Niger Innis, Congress of Racial Equality
Willes K. Lee, Hawaii Republican Party. Immediate Past Chairman
Ron Robinson, Young America’s Foundation
Michael P. Farris, Esq., Home School Legal Defense Association
Peter Flaherty, National Legal and Policy Center
Kelly Shackelford. Liberty Legal Institute
Dana Cody, Life Legal Defense Foundation.
Susan Carleson, American Civil Rights Union
Phillip Jauregui, Judicial Action Group,
Ilya Shapiro, Esq., Cato Institute
Dean John C. Eastman, Dean, Chapman University School of Law
Dean Mathew D. Staver, Liberty Univ. School of Law (Founder, Liberty Counsel)
Prof. Teresa S. Collett. University of St. Thomas School of Law, Minnesota
Prof. Ronald D. Rotunda, Chapman University School of Law
Michelle Gress, J.D., The Westchester Institute for Ethics
L. Brent Bozell III, Media Research Center
Thomas A. Glessner, JD, National Institute of Family and Life Advocates
Denise Singleton, American Federation of Senior Citizens
Jim Martin, 60 Plus Association
Rev. Rick Scarborough, Vision America
Rev. Louis Sheldon, Traditional Values Coalition
Andrea Lafferty, Traditional Values Coalition
Keith Wiebe, American Association of Christian Schools
Debbie Joslin, Alaska Eagle Forum, Republican National Committeewoman, Alaska
Bruce Ash, Republican National Committeeman, Arizona
Steve Scheffler, Iowa Christian Alliance, Republican National Committeeman, Iowa
W. Ross Little, Jr., Republican National Committeeman, Louisiana
Curly Haugland, Republican National Committeeman, North Dakota
Cathie Adams, Texas Eagle Forum, Republican National Committeewoman, Texas
Kathy Terry, Republican National Committeewoman, Virginia
David Ridenour, The National Center for Public Policy Research
Amy Ridenour, Americans for the Preservation of Liberty
Jeffrey Mazzella, Center for Individual Freedom
William H. Shaker. Rule of Law Committee
William J. Murray, Religious Freedom Coalition
J. C. Willke, MD, International Right to Life Federation
Bradley Mattes, Life Issues Institute
Fr. Thomas J. Euteneuer, Human Life International
Dr. Patricia McEwen, Life Coalition International
Austin Ruse, Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute
Jennifer Kimball, Culture of Life Foundation
Eric Scheidler, Pro-Life Action League
John Jansen, Generations for Life
Mark L. Melcher - The Political Forum
Deal W. Hudson. Catholic Advocate
Brian Burch, Fidelis and CatholicVote.org
John-Henry Westen, LifeSiteNews.com
Tom Shields, Coalition for Marriage and Family
Chuck Muth, Citizen Outreach
William Greene, Ph.D., RightMarch.com
Jimmy LaSalvia, GOProud
Mychal Massie, Project 21
Linda Harvey, Mission America
David Crowe, Restore America
Sandy Rios, Culture Campaign
Robert Peters, Morality in Media
Dave Bydalek, Family First
Richard Ford, Heritage Alliance
Peter LaBarbera, Americans for Truth
Tim Echols, Teenpact Leadership
Joseph Ureneck, The Fatherhood Coalition, Massachusetts
Daniel J. Cassidy, Editor, Sunlit Uplands, South Carolina
Steve Milloy, JunkScience.com
Don Feder, Feder Associates, Massachussetts
Janet M. LaRue, Esq., Jan LaRue Consulting, Texas
Martha Zoller, "The Martha Zoller Show", Georgia News Network
Janet Parshall, Nationally Syndicated Talk show Host

If you know anything about the infrastructure of the Right, you see that this represents a very broad coalition, from libertarians like Cato's Ilya Shapiro to a veritable Who's Who of Christian conservative activists. No doubt, there are many others who would have signed -- and I could name some that come to mind -- if they weren't worried about getting their educational non-profits entangled in this controversy.

So the fact that Manuel Miranda was the guy the organizer -- helping draft the letter and soliciting signatories -- is pretty doggone irrelevant, given this array of heavy hitters who signed up.

Republicans 'begging' Erick Erickson to shut down Facebook protest of NRSC

You may remember my reaction when the "treacherous bastards" at the National Republican Senatorial Committee endorsed Charlie Crist in the Florida Senate race -- 15 months before the primary!

Erick Erickson of Red State started a Facebook group to protest the NRSC's endorsement of Crist, and Erick just sent this message to group members:

Subject: They are listening
I've been getting all sorts of emails begging me to shut this group down.
Instead, please consider inviting ten friends each.
The NRSC will not listen to us unless we help shut down their fundraising. You can help.
Thanks,
Erick

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE FACEBOOK GROUP.

Meanwhile, there is a new blog HQ for the grassroots anti-NRSC protest: NOT ONE RED CENT.

UPDATE: John Hawkins of Right Wing News is circulating this petition:

Dear Senator Cornyn,
We the undersigned believe that the National Republican Senatorial Committee should be committed to serving ALL the members of the Republican Party.
Additionally, the NRSC should be focused on defeating Democrats, not Republicans. Towards that end, we believe it was completely inappropriate for the NRSC to endorse a candidate in the Florida primary race.
Therefore, we request that both you and the NRSC alter your position on the Florida Senate race, maintain neutrality, and promise to spend no money directly or indirectly in that race.

Things are getting hot for Cornyn and the NRSC.

UPDATE II: Welcome, Instapundit readers! Please also see my post at Hot Air Green Room: "Behind the ‘Not One Red Cent’ Rebellion."

UPDATE III: Red Hot at Red State. And a Memeorandum thread. Certain left-wing bloggers are laughing, failing to understand what this is about. It is good that they don't understand.

UPDATE IV: Welcome, Ann Coulter readers!

Those treacherous bastards!NRSC to endorse Charlie Crist?

Politico reports that the recto-cranial inversion cases at GOP-HQ are planning another atavistic blunder:

Even as Gov. Charlie Crist comes under fire from Florida conservatives, he will be getting some important political backing today as he announces that he’s running for the Senate in Florida.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee will be endorsing Crist, according to a senior Hill operative, marking the first time it has taken sides (for a non-incumbent) in a competitive GOP primary this election cycle.

(Via Memeorandum.) Why would any conservative ever send another dime to the NRSC after this? Marco Rubio is the conservative in that primary, and it was Charlie Crist whose endorsement of John McCain help deliver Florida to that dingbat loser.

To hell with Charlie Crist and to hell with the NRSC. Go give some money to Marco Rubio.

UPDATE: At AmSpecBlog, I quote the chairman of the Conservative Republican Alliance:

"In case the NRSC forgot, it was Governor Crist that openly supported the Obama 'stimulus' plan, and gave the plan political cover here in Florida," CRA chairman Javier Manjarres said in a press release. "Why does the NRSC issue an endorsement without even waiting to find out where the respective candidates stand on the issues?"

Here's Marco Rubio's first ad hitting Crist:

UPDATE II: Mitch McConnell endorses Crist, prompting John Hawkins to ask:

Can endorsements from Kathleen Parker and Colin Powell be far behind at this point?

Hawkins is calling for Cornyn's resignation as NRSC chairman. Just don't send 'em money, whatever you do.

UPDATE III: Oh, good: Now Ed Morrissey hates me, too.

UPDATE IV: Lots more negative reaction from conservatives, including Erick Erickson of Red State, who calls our attention to Dan McLaughlin's Red State blog post, "Charlie Crist picks a fight Republicans don't need."

Dan Riehl is more approving, but perhaps he hasn't studied the situation in Florida in the detail McLaughlin has. Basically, the old wobbly moderate, Crist, is stepping on the career of the promising Latino conservative, Rubio. It's the exact opposite of what we need. It's a triple disaster: Crist will forego a reasonably safe re-election bid as governor, to waste NRSC money running for an iffy Senate seat, creating an expensive GOP primary in the governor's race. It's just bad basic politics, all the way around, and only an idiot like Cornyn could think this was a smart move for the NRSC.

Jimmie Bise Jr. at Sundries Shack doesn't want any of what John Cornyn is smoking.

Time to retire, Arlen

James Antle notes the Rasmussen poll showing Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter with only 30 percent of the Republican vote against 51 percent for conservative challenger Pat Toomey.

If Specter were a loyal Republican, he would retire, rather than (a) requiring the National Republican Senatorial Committee to spend money on his primary campaign and (b) forcing Toomey to spend millions on his own campaign.

But loyalty's only ever gone one way with Arlen. Even if he could win the primary, Specter would lose the general election. Yet, like all RINOs, the man is vain and selfish. Expect Snarlin' Arlen to wage a bitter fight, smearing Toomey with negative add, paid for with NRSC contributions.

No conservative should give a penny to the NRSC until Specter announces his retirement.

Fine-print foreign policy

Washington Post, via Dan Riehl:

Menendez knew that his hard-line approach to Cuba was a minority view within his party, and that it was at odds with Obama's approach. But he did not expect to discover a significant policy change embedded in the text on an appropriations bill. His policy aides came across the language when the legislation was posted on a congressional Web site.
"The process by which these changes have been forced upon this body is so deeply offensive to me, and so deeply undemocratic, that it puts the omnibus appropriations package in jeopardy, in spite of all the other tremendously important funding that this bill would provide," the enraged son of Cuban immigrants said last week on the Senate floor. Menendez even slapped a hold on a pair of Obama nominees to draw attention to the issue.

When they start trying to change U.S. foreign policy with the fine print of an appropriations bill, you know the Democrats have developed contempt for the voters, and think they are invulnerable to political challenge in the near term.