Rossputin.com: Rational Thinking About Our World

Hello all,

[Update: Rush mentioned and quoted my article briefly at the very beginning of the show. He didn't offer much additional comment on it, but just the fact that he mentioned my name is a nice feather in my cap.]

A friend of mine who's listening to Rush Limbaugh live (a couple hours earlier than he comes on in Denver) said that Rush mentioned me by name and is talking about my note in today's "Gang of Four" blog at the Denver Post in which I suggest it might be time for him to back off "Operation Chaos".

(The same note is posted on these pages at this link:
http://www.rossputin.com/blog/index.php/a/2008/05/02/enough_operation_chaos)

Wow!

Try to listen if you can...Noon on 850 KOA in Denver.

I'll try to get the audio clip so that anyone who wants to hear it can do so later.

Best,
Ross

Joshua Sharf, whom I have met and spoken to quite a few times during various political or free-market events, is running for House District 6, the seat being vacated by term-limited Andrew Romanoff.

He is exceptionally intelligent, quite conservative, and would be a great addition to Colorado government. I encourage you to make a donation (as I have) to his campaign, and, if you can, offer other assistance.

His opponent in the Republican Primary, Rima Barakat Sinclair, is self-described as a "Palestinian-American" and has been described (and not just by Sharf) as a "Muslim activist" and a "leftist pro-Palestinian activist".

She wrote an anti-Israeli article in 2006 which you can read here:
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/speak_out/article/0,2777,DRMN_23970_5156501,00.html

And here's a video interview of her, in which she says Israelis are "bombing and killing babies" and that Palestinian terrorists have been imprisoned "for no reason":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d61bZqFYQMI

It would be beyond an embarrassment for Colorado to have an overt sympathizer of Hamas in our state government, and I certainly hope Joshua Sharf can beat Barakat in the August primary and then go on to win in the general election.

If Rush Limbaugh were to ask my opinion about his “Operation Chaos” in which he encouraged Republican voters to vote for Hillary Clinton in their states’ Democratic primaries (including changing their party registration if necessary), here’s what I’d say.

It was certainly clever, and it’s certainly been effective. Now it’s time to know when to stop.

Hillary Clinton’s continuation this far in the race has been great for those of us who (even if not big fans of John McCain) shudder at the idea of either President Hillary or President Barack.

The two Democrats are raising each other’s “negatives” with their attacks and, just as importantly, are spending huge amounts of money while John McCain spends close to zero and stays above the fray.

Maintaining a hint of possibility for Hillary to be nominated has been more than enough to keep her fighting as hard as she can, using every friend, trick, and debt she can, even surviving the incredible missteps of her husband.

The key is maintaining enough of that hint of possibility without actually raising her chances substantially. If Hillary were to do exceptionally well in the remaining primaries, she still won’t catch Obama in pledged delegates, but she will have a very strong argument to make that she should be the party’s nominee because Obama is unelectable.

Indeed, despite Obama’s apparent inevitability after Iowa, I believe (and polls suggest) that if the election were held today, he would have a more difficult time against McCain than Clinton would.

At this point, it’s likely that Clinton will stay in until the convention. Sure, there’s a chance she’d get out if she lost Indiana, but I don’t think the Clinton ego, being this close to the brass ring, will drop out.

Don’t forget, if Obama wins the presidency, Hillary almost certainly can’t challenge him in 2012 as an incumbent. So she’d have to wait until 2016, at which time she’d be 69 years old…certainly old enough that her age would be a liability in an election. So, Hillary’s best chance is either to get the nomination now or to hope that John McCain wins so she can try again in four years, during which time she’ll do everything she can to put herself in an “I told you so” position for the next campaign.

Even if she’s fairly certain she won’t get the nomination, she probably has to stay in the race just to weaken Obama. The only team the Clintons play for is the Clinton team.

Sure, if Obama doesn’t get the nomination, many blacks won’t vote, especially if he’s not on the ticket as VP. Conventional wisdom, and there certainly is truth to it, is that large numbers of blacks staying home could cost the Democrats one or more must-win states, like Ohio or Florida or possibly even Michigan (that’s a longshot for a Republican, but not impossible.)

But more women vote than blacks, and if Hillary stormed back to get the nomination, no matter how unseemly the process might appear to the public, she would get an immense boost, as her husband did, as “The Second Comeback Kid”. Her momentum would help her fund-raising immensely and would inspire more women to make the effort to get to the polls…maybe even enough to offset the blacks who would stay home.

So, Rush, Pat yourself on the back (as if you don’t already do that often enough) and now let the votes fall where they may, hopefully not strong enough for Hillary that she actually does get the nomination through convincing super-delegates of her electability.

Operation Chaos has gone on long enough and it’s accomplished just what you set out to. Time to cut it off so that we don’t actually give Hillary a serious chance of getting the nomination. I’d much rather face a weakened Obama, peppered with images of a lapel without an American flag, not putting his hand over his heart during the National Anthem, and of course Jeremiah Wright, than face the sequel of the Comeback Kid. The current situation in the Democratic Party could hardly be better for Republicans. As Napoleon suggested (or at least it’s attributed to him), “never interrupt your enemy while he is making a mistake.” At this point, more of Operation Chaos would simply be an interruption.