Gail Collins Back To Dogging Mitt Romney

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Campaign Outsider

Old dog, old tricks from New York Times columnist Gail Collins:

Oh, wow! Rick Perry hit Mitt Romney with the illegal immigrant landscapers!

[snip]

I found this very exciting because it brings us closer to the moment when one of Romney’s competitors will point out that he once drove to Canada with the family dog strapped on the roof of the car.

Sorry, Ms. Collins, but that is so last Seamus Sweepstakes™.  There’s a new big dog – House of Obama consigliere David Axelrod – at the center of the hardworking staff’s excellent contest which, if you read the official rules carefully, no one will actually ever win.

But have fun playing!

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Paul McCartney, PETA Bred

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Campaign Outsider

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has launched a new Veggie Testimonial campaign featuring such luminaries as Alicia Silverstone, Casey Affleck, and (Call Me Sir) Paul McCartney, who graced a Wall Street Journal ad yesterday:

So, to review:

John Lennon was the walrus.

Paul McCartney is the fish.

Pretty easy choice, no?

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Gun Control Advocates Put Scott Brown In The Crosshairs

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Campaign Outsider

Activist group Coalition to Stop Gun Violence is targeting Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown (R-Don’t Tase Me, Bro!) in full-page newspaper ads like this one in Wednesday’s Boston Globe:

Via the Huffington Post:

[T]he Coalition to Stop Gun Violence placed a full-page ad in the Boston Globe on Wednesday, urging Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) to oppose any bill that would achieve nationwide concealed carry reciprocity among states.

[snip]

The bill dictates that a person “carrying a concealed handgun” legally under his or her state law “shall be permitted to carry a handgun subject to the same conditions or limitations that apply to residents of the State who have permits issued by the State or are otherwise lawfully allowed to do so by the State.”

Translation: Some looney Texan could be strapped in your local Starbucks.

According to the website On the Issues (about which the hardsearching staff found very little, especially on its own website), these are Scott Brown’s positions on gun control:

  • Allow citizens to carry concealed guns.
  • Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks on guns.
  • Require background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows.
  • Require a license for gun possession.

If that’s true, concealed carry reciprocity opponents have reason to be concerned.

More, undoubtedly, to come.

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The Rose Is The Rose Is The Rose?

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Campaign Outsider

After a tumultuous two years when its very existence was in doubt, the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University has apparently risen from the ashes and reemerged as a better version of itself.

According to ArtsJournal’s CultureGrrl column by Lee Rosenbaum:

Brandeis University’s Rose Art Museum will reopen on Oct. 27 with three permanent collection shows celebrating its 50th anniversary. Emerging from a rocky period under the university’s previous president, Jehuda Reinharz, when its future seemed in grave doubt, it now has the enthusiastic support of Brandeis’ new president,Frederick Lawrence, and has undergone an extensive physical renovation,

Details here. Huzzahs everywhere.

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The Seamus Sweepstakes™ Is Back On!

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Campaign Outsider

In a total vindication of the hardworking staff’s dogged efforts, House of Obama consigliere David Axelrod has picked up where New York Times columnist Gail Collins left off, flogging “[Mitt] Romney’s infamous dog-on-the-roof road trip” on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

Via Mediaite (clip embedded):

[W]hen Joe Scarborough asks, “What is the Obama team’s take on this new front runner (Herman Cain)?” Axelrod replied, “My take is two things. One is, don’t get a take on any frontrunner on Republican side, because they are likely to change tomorrow. We’ve seen so many of them along the way here.”

Then, he pivoted to Romney, and his vexing vacay. “if I were sitting over there in the Romney camp, I would be wondering why people aren’t buying the dog food. And this is not a reference to strapping the dog on the…”

[All together now] . . .  ROOF OF THE FAMILY CAR ON A TRIP TO CANADA!

So – new official rules for the Seamus Sweepstakes: Guess the date when Axelrod stops strapping Seamus to the roof of Romney’s presidential drive and win an all-expenses paid lunch with the hardworking staff.

(Michael Pahre, his employees and consultants not eligible.)

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Let The $4 Billion Rumpus Begin! (Twofer Edition)

Posted on October 18, 2011 by Campaign Outsider

The Geezerati are always in season during an election year, and this one is no exception. Especially spry is AARP, which has launched yet another ad campaign to tell politicians, Don’t make us stop this car:

 

Transcript (via Kaiser Health News):

I’m not a number.  I’m not a line item on a budget. And I’m definitely not a pushover. But I am a voter. So, Washington, before you even think about cutting my Medicare and Social Security benefits, here’s a number you should remember:  50 million. We are 50 million seniors who earned our benefits.  And you will be hearing from us.  Today and on election day.

Some Washington lawmakers are hearing also from the House Majority PAC, which supports Democratic House candidates and just launched a six-figure ad campaign targeting several House Republicans, according to ABC’s The Note:

According to the PAC, the new campaign is meant to hold “House Republicans accountable for protecting profits for companies that ship jobs overseas and for voting to lower taxes for Wall Street and millionaires while middle class families are struggling on Main Street. The ads start today and run for a week.” Targets include Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Calif., Rep. Charlie Bass, R-N.H., Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, and Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wisc.

Here’s the ad attacking Wisconsin’s Duffy, “whose favorite meal is steak and sushi” and who “says he’s ‘struggling’ on his $174,000 salary” (not to mention who “voted for tax cuts for millionaires, tax cuts for Wall Street, even to protect profits for companies that ship jobs overseas):

 

Nut graf :

While Sean Duffy struggles to keep sushi on his table, maybe he should work to keep food on ours.

Ouch.

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What Did You Wear In The (Class) War, Mommy? (II)

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Campaign Outsider

Fashion alert from the front lines: More OWStyle tips, this time via the Boston Herald:

Grunge — It’s all the rage

Grunge is back!

Grubby flannel and boots with a headband are all the rage at Occupy Boston, the hottest day-and-night spot in the city at the moment.

The urban camping wardrobe on display over the weekend was a heavy mix of practical gear — workmen’s pants and steel-toed boots — and a good dose of high-fashion grunge. Plaid shirts and cardigans were uniform staples along with bandanas and the must-have knit cap.

Not everyone, though, is as fashion-conscious as the stylish Herald scribe.

“It’s not a fashion show,” said Ruth Garcia, sporting a pair of gray jeans, black “Thug Life” George W. Bush T-shirt, cap and neon bandana. “We look like ragamuffins.”

Garcia, who has camped out for a week, said she’s known around OB for her all-black attire, but insisted: “I’m not goth.” A white cardigan she found in the “Free Market” tent lent some credibility to the claim.

Oh . . . My . . . Goth!

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NYT Endorses (Pretty Much) Elizabeth Warren

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Campaign Outsider

In an editorial today headlined “Elizabeth Warren’s Appeal,” the New York Times effectively appeals for you to vote for the Massachusetts Senate candidate.

Nut graf:

She is both knowledgeable and accessible when she explains the destructive credit-swap and subprime mortgage games that created the financial crisis. She draws a detailed map back to the early deregulation of the 1980s that began to rip the nation’s economic fabric — the same deregulatory fervor the Republicans are preaching today.

Her larger appeal, though, comes from her ability to shred Republican arguments that rebalancing the tax burden constitutes class warfare. In a living-room speech that went viral on YouTube last month, she pointed out that people in this country don’t get rich entirely by themselves — everyone benefits from roads, public safety agencies and an education system paid for by taxes. And those who have benefited the most, she says, need to give back more.

The Times, it seems, is giving back plenty.

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Why Does MSNBC Put Up With Al Sharpton’s Crap?

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Campaign Outsider

So let the hardworking staff get this straight:

Al Sharpton is the host of MSNBC’s nightly news program PoliticsNation.

Al Sharpton is also the president of National Action Network, “which works within the spirit and tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to promote a modern civil rights agenda that includes the fight for one standard of justice, decency and equal opportunities for all people regardless of race, religion, national origin, and gender.”

In his latter role, Sharpton did this (via the Washington Post) in his offtime Saturday:

Al Sharpton leads rally for jobs, justice

Rev. Al Sharpton organized a March on Washington for Jobs and Justice on the National Mall on Saturday. Occupy DC protesters also joined the event as they headed toward the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

 

And MSNBC is apparently okay with that.

Damn.

Even Fox News has higher standards.

From the New York Times last year:

Fox News Cancels Hannity’s Tea Party Broadcast

Sean Hannity’s plan to broadcast from a Cincinnati Tea Party rally were canceled late Thursday.

Fox said Mr. Hannity returned to New York once it became apparent that the local Tea Party organizers were raising money based on his widely-promoted attendance at the rally.

But it’s okay with MSNBC for Sharpton to shill at a Jobs ‘n’ Justice shindig.

No wonder NBC News want to disown its kissin’ cousin.

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Scene In The Big Town (II)

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Campaign Outsider

Still in the Big Town, still iPadlocked so no links or graphics.

Highlights:

* De Kooning: A Retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art (through 1/9/12). The great abstract expressionist Willem de Kooning is considered by some to be the greatest American painter and one of the three best (along with Matisse and Picasso) ever. Me, I just never got him – until this show. Now I get him a little. (de Kooning once said paintings should never have “hot spots” that draw and hold the viewer’s attention. But this MOMA exhibit is a hot spot.)

* Evolution in Action at the Michael Rosenfeld Gallery (through 10/29/11). The exhibit “reveals the dynamic shifts that occurred mid-century in American modernism by pairing an earlier painting by each artist [14 of them, including De Kooning, Hoffman, Gotlieb, Krasner, and Rothko] with one that is more immediately representative of his or her mature, ‘signature’ style.” An engrossing exercise.

* Will Barnett: Small Works on Paper from the 1950s at Alexandre Gallery. This one, sadly is gone, but Barnett was there when the Missus and I arrived. He’s 100 years old! And sharp as Joan Rivers’ tongue.

* Georges Braque: Pioneer of Modernism at Acquavella Galleries (through 11/30/11). Picasso called Braque “ma femme” in their joint conception of Cubism, but this show demonstrates that Braque was nobody’s inferior in that movement. An eye-grabbing survey of 42 paintings and collages created across five decades.

* Occupy Times Square (through whenever). As the Missus and I made our way to the theater, we encountered the Occupyniks protesting whatever they’re protesting in Times Square, which made the Most Annoying Place on God’s Green Earth even more annoying. But some Occugal the yelled out “KEEP SHOPPING! EVERYTHING’S OKAY!” – which strangely made it okay.

* The Roundabout Theatre Company’s “Man and Boy” at the American Airlines Theatre. Frank Langella delivers yet another pitch-perfect performance in Terence Rattigan’s perceptive and prescient 1930s play.

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