Mitt Romney’s Money Problems

3:29 am EST June 26th, 2007 | Uncategorized | 19 Comments

As noted earlier, he’s tapping his own money to bolster his campaign which is very strange this early in primary season. Some interesting bits from the NYT on flip flopping Mitt Romney’s cash issues:

The possibility of a drop-off also highlighted the potential risks of the strategy he pursued in the first quarter, when he relied on a relatively small base of wealthy donors who gave the maximum contribution of $2,300 for the primary. Mr. Romney had fewer than 33,000 donors in all, compared with Mr. McCain, for example, who had 50,000 donors, and Senator Barack Obama, Democrat of Illinois, who raised $25 million with more than 100,000 donors.

Romney gave his campaign $2.3 million in the first go-round (have any other campaigns donated to themselves? I don’t think so.) and then his “whales” gave him the rest, but at least for the primaries they’re tapped out whereas other campaigns – especially Obama – did not get the max for the primaries and can go back to those folks for a second round.

The article goes on to explain that Romney had another one of his all-day fund raising events, but the last time he raised $6.5 million – this time? $1.5 million. Romney has run a lot of ads already and if you look at the poll of polls he ain’t moving much.

I almost wonder if it’s too soon to start a Mitt Romney Drop Out watch?

(Does this mean Hugh Hewitt’s ~~fluff job~~ book “A Mormon In The White House?” will soon be sitting on the remaindered pile next to Hewitt’s plagiarist edited “Painting the Map Red: The Fight to Create a Permanent Republican Majority“? Because right now Mitt Romney in the White House is looking as likely as that Republican majority…)

Topic: Mitt Romney

Dick Lugar Said Something That Isn’t Crazy, Don’t Make Him King Just Yet

3:14 am EST June 26th, 2007 | News | 3 Comments

Some folks on my side of the aisle are citing this recent speech by Sen. Dick Lugar on the senate floor as the sign of… well, something. And look, maybe Dick Lugar has come to his senses and maybe some of his other Republican colleagues will finally start helping to pull America off the cliff the president has thrown us off. But, let’s wait and see.

A few months ago everyone thought it was great when Sen. John Warner began to sound less hawkish, but when it came time to actually piss or get off the pot, he voted against the timetable legislation that passed the Senate.

As I stated before, I don’t trust Republicans on Iraq and they have given us no reason to do so since the war began. Maybe Lugar is going to step up to the plate and put his vote where his piehole is, but until then it’s just talk. And talk, especially from a politician, is cheap.

Topic: Iraq

Open Letter To Beyonce Knowles, Because I Have No Doubt That Beyonce Reads My Blog Between Concert Dates

2:57 am EST June 26th, 2007 | Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Dear Beyonce,

I am aware that Jay-Z has lint that’s worth more than everything I own, and I understand that he has mansions and designer clothes while I have an apartment and the only thing designer I’ve got is a three-year-old FUBU shirt and Tommy Hilfiger jeans I bought because it had really big pockets. BUT, if you decided to come over to my place to lounge I have furniture you can sit on and if you chose to lay on the floor – for ANY reason – I have carpet and not hard metal that would leave indentations in your skin.

Think About It,
Oliver

P.S. He smokes and I don’t. Think of the (future) kids!
P.P.S. I am also a member of the New World Order. That must be at least as good as a Grammy or maybe an MTV Video Music Award?

Topic: Women

My Initiation Into The New World Order

2:19 am EST June 26th, 2007 | Uncategorized | 7 Comments

On Monday a guy who I couldn’t see well in the dark in a car I didn’t know called out to me in front of the Council On Foreign Relations building (the CFR is the nexus for many conspiracy theories) and shook my hand and told me he liked my blog.

Clearly I am now a part of the New World Order.

Topic: Oliver's World

Snappy Answers To Stupid Questions

11:58 pm EST June 25th, 2007 | Uncategorized | 11 Comments

GOP "Web 2.0" guru David All seems to be gloating about Republican pols being on Twitter more than Democrats. He links to a post asking "where is nancy".

A: Nancy Pelosi is too busy being Speaker Of The House Of Representatives to eff around with freaking Twitter.

Topic: Democratic House

Rupert Murdoch Suddenly Develops Morals

11:44 pm EST June 25th, 2007 | News | Comments Off

Based on his track record, Matt Drudge is an iffy at best source and while his "scoops" about the New York Times generally come from the advance wire they send out to newspapers, it’s probably a safe bet that he really does have sources at News Corp. close to Rupert Murdoch (they have to coordinate when they’re pushing the b.s. that is their stock in trade, of course).

Tuesday’s expose will examine Murdoch’s wife, Wendi Deng, a mainland Chinese native.

The investigation into Deng has thoroughly enraged Murdoch, insiders say.

Rupert Murdoch presides over an international press empire he personally directs that hasn’t blinked twice at digging into the lives and making up stuff about the families of Bill Clinton, John Edwards, Al Gore and Tony Blair (to name a few). But the New York Times takes a look at some of the sweetheart deals he’s engineered and it’s anger time. Imagine that.

Also: you ever notice that the right never hesitates to bash Google for kowtowing to Chinese censorship, but never say a thing about News Corp/Fox doing the same?

Topic: Fox News

Dana Perino Is Just A Much Better Looking Scott McClellan

8:25 pm EST June 25th, 2007 | Republicans | 6 Comments

Much better looking, same old swill.

Dems Not Allowed To Be Political, Says Politico

8:19 pm EST June 25th, 2007 | News | 18 Comments

You may remember Mike Allen as the Politico writer who gushed over Matt Drudge and slagged the Democratic party as “dogs” while ridiculing former vice president Al Gore. Today he’s written a story where he’s all upset that the Democratic party would do opposition research on Fred Thompson.

Well I Do Declare!

Regardless of what you think Fred Thompson is (I think he’s just another Republican ~~no-nothing~~ know-nothing who has nothing to offer America), the fact of the matter is that the right is falling all over themselves in praise of him and he’s beginning to lead in polls. The press and the right would like to have the old-style Democratic party, the one that lets the right and the media do all the talking and all the definition of the players in an election.

They have written the script and the Howard Dean-led DNC has the nerve to not play along, because that’s the sort of behavior that previously lost us the House, Senate, and White House. The establishment, in this case The Politico and The GOP doesn’t like it when the left fights back. They hate it when we simply show up because they start losing.

They would rather the DNC not have a research operation that simply does what the RNC’s operation did in the past. It would be much more amenable to the Politico and Mike Allen, much more “civil” if the Democrats would just be a dear and lie down and play dead.

It isn’t going to happen.

Topic: 2008 Election, Mike Allen, The Politico

Republican Field Ignores Iraq

8:05 pm EST June 25th, 2007 | News | 5 Comments

Iraq? What is this Iraq you speak of, say the 2008 Republican candidates. Clearly the most important issue in America today is… earmarks.

Topic: 2008 Election

Fred Thompson’s Lobbyist Ties

7:58 pm EST June 25th, 2007 | Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Hollywood actor Fred Thompson casts himself as an “outsider” but is there anything more inside than hobnobbing as a lobbyist in Washington’s power corridors?

As a lobbyist for more than 20 years, billion-dollar corporations paid Thompson for his access to members of Congress and White House staff. During that time he was close to two Senate majority leaders, both from his home state of Tennessee — his political mentor Howard Baker and, more recently, his former colleague Bill Frist.

During Baker’s tenure, Thompson lobbied for a savings-and-loan deregulation bill that helped hasten the industry’s collapse and a failed nuclear energy project that cost taxpayers more than a billion dollars.

More recently, while Frist led the Senate, Thompson earned more than $750,000 lobbying for a British reinsurance company that wanted to limit its liability from asbestos lawsuits.

Topic: Fred Thompson