Top Republican woman in Congress becomes a force

◼ In the world of conservative politics, Republican Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers has arrived. - Reuters

In the last three weeks, she has sparred on national television with Democrats over Republican policies toward women, been called a "lying mouthpiece" by a liberal blog, and chided former House speaker Nancy Pelosi.

...She has appeared on TV and written defiant opinion articles, saying that Democrats are accusing Republicans of being anti-women because the Democrats do not want to discuss President Barack Obama's handling of the economy and the federal debt.

GOP leaders join Issa in pressuring Holder on Fast and Furious

◼ House Republican leaders on Friday joined Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) in pressuring Attorney General Eric Holder to turn over documents to congressional investigators in the Fast and Furious case. - Jordy Yager/The Hill

Following a 15-month investigation House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) demanded that Holder comply with a 7-month old subpoena or face the consequences.

“As co-equal branches of the U.S. Government, the relationship between the Legislative and Executive branches must be predicated on honest communications and cannot be clouded by allegations of obstruction,” stated the Republican leaders in a letter to Holder sent on Friday.

“If necessary, the House will act to fulfill our Constitutional obligations in the coming weeks.”

...Since early last year, Issa has been investigating the botched gun tracking operation Fast and Furious, which oversaw the sale of nearly 2,000 firearms to straw buyers for Mexican drug cartels in a failed attempt to dismantle their gun trafficking routes.

But after 15 months, Issa and GOP leadership say that the DOJ has stopped complying with his efforts to get more information about who in the agency knew about and approved the controversial tactics, which may have contributed to the killing of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

Congressional Republicans Outraise Dems in April

◼ The GOP's House campaign organization slightly outraised its Democratic counterpart in April and also ended the month with $2 million more in cash. - Caitlin Huey-Burns/Real Clear Politics

Democrats need to gain 25 seats in the November elections to reclaim the speaker’s gavel. Analysts say the challenge is a difficult one, and some believe that the party will only pick up five to 15 seats. DCCC Chairman Steve Israel told reporters last week that the committee is within range of its goal, and predicted that the margins will at least be “razor close” on Election Day. But Israel also said he has been asking the Democratic National Committee for financial help with down-ballot races. The DNC and the Obama re-election campaign do not plan to share money with the congressional campaign groups anytime soon.

Meet the Rubios

◼ (T)hey’re not just any couple. - Politico

At 40, he is the most prominent Latino in national politics today, and a widely touted prospect to be Mitt Romney’s running mate. She is a shy, behind-the-scenes booster married to her high school sweetheart who has never given a speech and bristles when the media reduces her life to a brief stint as a Miami Dolphins cheerleader.

Are we supposed to call him ‘Dear Leader’? Is this some kind of North Korea thing?”

◼ Dems Disenfranchise Voters After Polls Show Obama in Close Primary Race - Weekly Standard

After a poll released this week showed President Barack Obama only beating his Democratic primary opponent John Wolfe Jr. by seven points, 45 percent to 38 percent, in Arkansas's Fourth Congressional District, state Democrats moved to practically disenfranchise Arkansas voters. "[D]elegates Wolfe might claim won't be recognized at the national convention," national party officials are telling state Democrats. Wolfe is being accused of not following the party rules.

...If he's denied delegates he's rightfully won, Wolfe says, Democrats would be effectively disenfranchising those who chose him over President Obama. And if that happens, he’ll take his own party to court.

“They took my money and put my name on the ballot,” he says. “They’re trying to make people think it’s hopeless to vote against Obama.”

America's fourth greatest President strikes again

The 2012 HBGF Garden Tour

◼ Coming Sunday June 24th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., HBGF invites you to explore and become inspired by the gardens of the Eel River Valley on this year’s HBGF Garden Tour.

GET ON TWITTER! #FF means Follow Friday

It does pay to get on Twitter. Every voice counts. And yes, Twitter is a political battlespace. Get on it. - Michelle Malkin

When you sign up, Twitter will help you get started, with a list of people to 'FOLLOW.' You'll see their suggestions are almost all Democrats. But conservatives and Republicans have taken to Twitter like ducks to water, and they make sure the news is vetted, with a great deal of hilarity.

We recommend getting started with ◼ Victor Davis Hanson, @VDHanson, ◼ Bernard Goldberg, @BernardGdotCom, ◼ Drudge Report, @tweetdrudge, ◼ Jim Treacher, @jtLOL, ◼ Guy Benson, @guypbenson, ◼ benshapiro, @benshapiro, ◼ Ann Romney, @AnnDRomney, ◼ jimgeraghty, @jimgeraghty, ◼ David Freddoso, @freddoso, ◼ Legal Insurrection, @LegInsurrection, ◼ John Nolte, @NolteNC, ◼ Byron York, @ByronYork, ◼ stephenkruiser, @stephenkruiser, ◼ Dana Loesch, @DLoesch, ◼ Mandy Nagy, @Liberty_Chick, ◼ Tammy Bruce, @HeyTammyBruce, ◼ Roger Simon, @rogerlsimon, ◼ EdMorrissey, @EdMorrissey, ◼ Charles Krauthammer, @krauthammer, ◼ Mark Knoller, @markknoller

And, of course: ◼ California GOP, @cagop, ◼ CA GOP Chairman Tom Del Beccaro @tomdelbeccaro, ◼ CA Party Girl, @CAPartyGirl, ◼ National Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus, @Reince, ◼ Tom Del Beccaro, @CArepublicans,
◼ Humboldt Republican Women, HRWF

Get started at ◼ TWITTER.COM Once you've signed up, and signed in, click on any of the links here, then click 'FOLLOW.'

Day One

__________________
Mitt Romney

AP 2004 FLASHBACK: “Kenyan-Born Obama All Set for US Senate”

◼ Earlier today Breitbart.com published a 1991 booklet by Barack Obama’s literary agent that claimed Obama was “born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia and Hawaii.” - Jim Hoft/Gateway Pundit

It’s not the only time Barack Obama claimed to be born in Kenya.

On Sunday, June 27, 2004, the AP published an article about “Kenyan-born Obama”.
The article can still be found in the internet archive.

THE VETTING - BREITBART EXCLUSIVE - OBAMA'S LITERARY AGENT IN 1991 BOOKLET: 'BORN IN KENYA AND RAISED IN INDONESIA AND HAWAII'

◼ Breitbart News has obtained a promotional booklet produced in 1991 by Barack Obama's then-literary agency, Acton & Dystel, which touts Obama as "born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia and Hawaii." - Joel. B. Pollak/Breitbart

The booklet, which was distributed to "business colleagues" in the publishing industry, includes a brief biography of Obama among the biographies of eighty-nine other authors represented by Acton & Dystel.
It also promotes Obama's anticipated first book, Journeys in Black and White--which Obama abandoned, later publishing Dreams from My Father instead.
Obama’s biography in the booklet is as follows (image and text below):

"Barack Obama, the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review, was born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia and Hawaii. The son of an American anthropologist and a Kenyan finance minister, he attended Columbia University and worked as a financial journalist and editor for Business International Corporation. He served as project coordinator in Harlem for the New York Public Interest Research Group, and was Executive Director of the Developing Communities Project in Chicago’s South Side. His commitment to social and racial issues will be evident in his first book, Journeys in Black and White."

◼ OBAMA’S LIT AGENCY USED 'BORN IN KENYA' BIO UNTIL 2007 - Ben Shapiro/Breitbart

Archive.org shows that the Dystel website used the following biography for Obama as of April 3, 2007:

BARACK OBAMA is the junior Democratic senator from Illinois and was the dynamic keynote speaker at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. He was also the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. He was born in Kenya to an American anthropologist and a Kenyan finance minister and was raised in Indonesia, Hawaii, and Chicago. His first book, DREAMS FROM MY FATHER: A STORY OF RACE AND INHERITANCE, has been a long time New York Times bestseller.

Obama launched his presidential campaign in February 2007.

By April 21, 2007, the Obama bio had been changed to state that Obama was born in Hawaii...

◼ LITERARY AGENT RESPONDS TO ‘BORN IN KENYA’ OBAMA BIO: ‘NOTHING MORE THAN A FACT CHECKING ERROR’ - The Blaze

◼ A 'FACT CHECKING ERROR'? DYSTEL & GODERICH ASK WRITERS TO SUBMIT THEIR OWN BIOS - Steve Boman/breitbart

◼ OBAMA 'KENYA' LIT BOOKLET RAISES QUESTION MSM WILL REFUSE TO ASK - John Nolte/Breitbart

◼ Surprise! Barack Obama was a 'birther' - Doug Ross
◼ "What do you think? I've resisted all the birther stuff for the last four years." - Althouse
◼ Was Obama Himself the First Birther? - Ed Driscoll/PJM
◼ Oh, Dear: 1991 Promotional Material Circulated By Obama's Literary Agency States, In His Bio, That Obama Was "born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia and Hawaii" - Ace Of Spades (Language warning/comments)
◼ Is Obama a Pathological Liar? - Roger L Simon/PJM

Rubio To Geithner: The Crisis Is Not Admitting There Is A Crisis

◼ “We are having a debt ceiling crisis on a daily basis, and here’s why, because this government every year is spending $1.5 trillion more than it takes in.” - ABC

Congress won’t have to vote again on raising the debt ceiling until next year, but Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., warned Thursday that the country is dealing with a “debt ceiling crisis on a daily basis” and suggested that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s claim that a debt ceiling crisis does not currently exist is itself a problem.

NEW: FULL AUDIO OF REV. WRIGHT’S SHOCKING INTERVIEW ON OBAMA

‘Sir, that information came officially to us from the podium at the White House’

◼ NYT admits: White House leaked bin Laden raid info... - Paul Bedard/Washington Examiner via Drudge

Meet CRP Chairman Tom Del Beccaro

He’s much more than the Chairman of the California Republican Party, he’s also a columnist for Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com, Publisher of PoliticalVanguard.com, author of The New Conservative Paradigm and a frequent talk radio and television commentator. He’s heard by millions on the radio, TV and in person each year, and, in his multiple roles, Tom is uniquely positioned to feel the pulse of politics all the way from the grass roots to Presidential candidates and legislators in between.

As part of the CRP's “Right Track, California!” Statewide Tour, Tom's the guest speaker at the Humboldt Republican Women General Meeting TODAY, May 17th
LOCATION: 445 Herrick Avenue, Eureka
TIME: 11:30 a.m. Lunch & Socializing; Meeting 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
PRICE: Your choice, Beverage & speaker - just $4.00, Full Buffet Luncheon - $14.50 (Tax and tip included) Payable to HRWF

Can't make it to lunch?

You can also meet Tom at a TOWNHALL MEETING
LOCATION: Eureka Women's Club, 1531 J St, Eureka
TIME: 5:00-6:30 p.m.
The Public is invited.
Sponsored by the Humboldt Republican Party

◼ REPUBLICAN STATE CHAIRMAN SCHEDULES TWO EUREKA EVENTS
◼ California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro will be in Eureka for two events Thursday as part of a statewide brainstorming tour to promote the GOP. - Times-Standard

‘CHURCH WAS NOT THEIR THING’: NEW AUDIO FROM REV. WRIGHT’S SHOCKING INTERVIEW WITH OBAMA BOOK AUTHOR ED KLEIN

◼ “We keep forgetting that Barack Obama was selected before he was elected. You didn’t select him. He’s accountable to the ones who selected him and who paid for him to be the president,” Wright said. (Audio) - The Blaze

◼ BECK OFFERS $150K FOR WRIGHT’S SECRET BOX ON OBAMA - The Blaze

On Thursday, The Blaze released more exclusive audio of an interview (parts of which were first released by Sean Hannity) between “The Amateur” author Ed Klein and Reverend Jeremiah Wright. That book contains shocking allegations about President Barack Obama and the relationship he shared with the controversial preacher. Among the information in the book is Wright’s claims that: Obama saw the pastor as a “deterrent” to becoming president; neither Michelle nor Barack Obama truly embraced religion as “church was not their thing;” and that church served only as a political platform for the Obamas.

But most poignant of all, however, is that the audio reasserts the information that was leaked over the weekend: that Wright was offered a bribe of $150,000 by close Obama-friend Eric Whitaker to remain quiet and refrain from preaching until after the 2008 election. In addition to that, though, the controversial pastor also claims to have a cardboard box that contains proof of Whitaker’s offer, along with other items that would corroborate his story.

On his Thursday morning radio broadcast, Glenn Beck said that based on Wright’s history, it is clear he is not a man who has ever shied away from “telling the truth about who he is and what he believes in.” With this in mind, Beck made Wright an offer difficult to refuse: $150,000 for the contents of the cardboard box.

Obama's Promise

Republicans' offices in House of Reps burgled...

◼ House Burglaries Baffle Staff, Police - Julia Edwards, National Journal via Drudge

State GOP chairman in town TODAY!

◼ California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro will be in Eureka for two events Thursday as part of a statewide brainstorming tour to promote the GOP. - Times-Standard

According to a press release, Del Beccaro will be the featured speaker at the noon luncheon of the Humboldt Republican Women Federated at the Eureka Elks Lodge, 445 Herrick Ave., in Eureka. Reservations can be made be calling 839-5538.

The Humboldt County Republican Party will sponsor a town hall meeting featuring Del Beccaro that evening from 5-6:30 p.m. at the Eureka Woman's Club, 1530 J St. in Eureka. It is open to the public, and he will discuss the Republican theme in terms of job creation, tax reform and regulatory reform. He will also take questions from the audience.

Jay Carney Executes a Flawless Triple Axle Back Flip at Today’s Press Briefing

◼ Calls Senate’s 99–0 Vote Against Obama’s Budget “Yet Another Gimmick” - Weaselzippers

◼ Democrat-led Senate votes down 4 GOP budgets for ‘13 - Stephen Dinan/Washington Times

The Senate on Wednesday rejected every single budget being offered this year, leaving the chamber - and therefore the federal government - without a plan to address Medicare, Social Security and the other major entitlement programs that are driving deficits and debt.

In repeated votes, Democrats who control the chamber defeated four Republican proposals, including a plan that passed the House in March. The entire Senate also unanimously rejected President Obama’s 2013 budget, voting 99-0 against it, following a 414-0 vote against it in the House earlier this year.

“A stunning development for the president of the United States in his fourth year in office,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions, Alabama Republican.

Congress is required by law to pass a budget by April 15, then write the annual spending and tax laws to carry out the budget’s targets.

But for the third straight year, Democrats didn’t offer a plan of their own in the Senate. The last time it did pass one was in 2009, when Democrats controlled all the levers and wrote the measure that paved the way for them to pass Mr. Obama’s health care law.

No on Prop 28 launches new web ad today - exposes the scam!

Backroom Obamacare deal probed by GOP

◼ link - Neil Munro/Daily Caller

GOP legislators are alleging that White House officials cut a secret deal in June 2009 with the pharmaceutical industry to clinch passage of Obamacare.

“Based on email exchanges and other primary source material … top personnel in the White House were involved in negotiating and approving this deal,” reads a memo released by Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Fred Upton.

The memo’s release suggests that Republican legislators will step up efforts to investigate the deal, which helped allowed the administration to impose tight and intrusive regulation over one-seventh of the nation’s economy.

”The important question to answer is what did the White House get in return” for the deal, said the May 16 memo, which also described the White House’s refusal to cooperate with the House investigators.

Romney wins Nebraska, Oregon primaries

◼ Mitt Romney won the Nebraska and Oregon Republican primaries on Tuesday, adding to his delegate haul in his march toward the GOP presidential nomination. - Michael O'Brien/NBC

50-43 Wisconsin voters want to keep Walker's union reforms

◼ Wisconsin voters want to preserve Walker's public sector union reforms that sparked a wave of protests last year and triggered the recall. - Philip Klein/Washington Examiner

As governors around the nation try to grapple with the stranglehold public sector unions have over state budgets, the Wisconsin experience is a crucial. Walker stood firm, the reforms went into effect, none of the dire predictions of opponents came true and now independents overwhelmingly want to keep them.

GOP is the real party of American women

◼ link - By 14 HOUSE GOP WOMEN for Politico

...Let’s face it: Republican women — like us — would never be part of a party that didn’t believe in women’s rights, equal pay for equal work and strong laws against sexual violence. The Republican Party believes in all of those things.

We also believe in something else: We believe that women want to be empowered. We believe that women want independence. We want opportunities. We want an equal chance to succeed — no special favors and no glass ceilings. We want our daughters to have those same opportunities, that same chance to live the American dream. We want our sons to have it, too...

The Republican Party is the real party of American women. And women have played a huge role in our party’s success. We have a dynamic group of 24 women in the House, including a record nine freshmen. Four of the six women governors today are Republicans. We’re also the only party in the past 25 years to nominate a woman for vice president.

American women have a right to be self-confident, and we have a right to be suspicious of politicians who say we should be dependent on government programs. We, the House Republican women, will continue to advocate for the positive solutions that women want — and America needs.

If the Democrats think we’ll be silent on women’s issues — or any issue — they should think again.

Bipartisan agreement: OBAMA 2013 BUDGET GOES DOWN IN SENATE, 99-0

◼ President Obama’s 2013 budget just went down to defeat by a 99-0 vote in the Senate. In March, the measure went before the House for a vote – and went down to flaming defeat, 414-0. The Obama budget had been held up in the Senate by Democrats for fear of complete failure; that fear, it appears, was justified. - Ben Shapiro/Breitbart

◼ Obama budget defeated 99-0 in Senate - Stephen Dinan/Washington Times

DEB FISCHER PRIMARY VICTORY SHOCKS POLITICAL WORLD

◼ The message was clear: the conservative grassroots are fed up and candidates favored by both the Republican and the Washington conservative establishment are not safe. - Tony Lee/Breitbart

◼ Palin-endorsed Deb Fischer wins Nebraska Senate primary; will face Bob Kerrey in November - Doug Powers/Michelle Malkin

Fischer’s win certainly proves that the influence of Sarah Palin hasn’t waned. Sarah and Todd Palin endorsed Fischer less than a week before the primary, and that gave Fischer the momentum needed to push her over the top.

(Note from MM: An enormous amount of credit goes to ShePAC, which provided early and vocal support for Fischer.)
◼ ShePAC

New SBA spot skewers Obama’s “war on women” meme

◼ The pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List has a new video pushing back against the Democrat’s “war on women” talking point — and it’s pretty effective. - Ed Morrissey/HotAir

It warns that women who do not toe the government line will no longer be considered legitimate women, at least until they get re-educated to conform to the beliefs of Dear Leaders Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi...

Thinking for yourself and adhering to your own beliefs and values — the very actions that will get you tossed out of the Approved Womenhood League. The petition mentioned at the end can be found here. At the very least, the video gives us a pretty good graphic to use for “war on women” posts in the future.

POLL: NORTH CAROLINA: ROMNEY 51%, OBAMA 43%

◼ Mitt Romney has moved out to an eight-point lead over President Obama in North Carolina after the two men were virtually tied a month ago. - Rasmussen

That’s a big change from last month when Romney posted a narrow 46% to 44% lead over the president in Rasmussen Reports’ first survey of the race in North Carolina. Democrats have signaled North Carolina’s importance as a key swing state by deciding to hold their national convention in Charlotte this summer.

Purging at party meetings unappetizing

◼ Letters to the Editor - Times-Standard

Recently, the Times-Standard published a few letters which can best be described as hit-and-run by certain local disgruntled members of the Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee. (”Support authentic Democrats in June” and “Insurgency targets party committee,” May 10, Times-Standard.)
I was at the May 9 HCDCC meeting. I have only attended a few HCDCC meetings to support candidates I supported. I expressed my disgust at the way these HDCC meetings are conducted and this meeting only proves that a radical minority is damaging the local party as a whole.

Since the Nov. 2010 election, this radical minority has had a case of sour grapes. Milt Boyd tried to influence questions and discussions on a special resolution. Another HCDCC member yelled “Traitor!” at one of the members who stood up and pointed out that procedure and notice had not been properly followed and voted against the resolution. The Brown Act and bylaws are selectively applied by these self-appointed “true Democrats.”

I find the local Republican party more welcoming and in line with my values but I chose not to pick one party because I want to make my choices based on the individual, the best person for the job.

Pam Service's letter once again alleges and challenges many untruths that have been addressed in the past. Who gets to define “true Democrats”? Boyd and Service, who both have a vested interest in defeating the people they accuse.

John Chiv
Eureka

Congressional profiles: Former professor Halliwell, Marin businessman Roberts vie for 2nd Congressional District seat

◼ Congressional profiles: Former professor Halliwell, Marin businessman Roberts vie for 2nd Congressional District seat - Donna TamThe Times-Standard

Dan Roberts wants more family values, less government spending...
Mike Halliwell says he holds true to his republican values...

And the consequences are likely, in my view, to be more proliferation, more instability, as the U.S. is challenged by both adversaries and friends alike for a lack of capability and a lack of resolve.”

◼ ROBERT JOSEPH GOES NUCLEAR - FORMER STATE OFFICIAL: OBAMA SOFTLINE POLICY TOWARD IRAN, NORTH KOREA CREATES A MORE DANGEROUS WORLD - Washington Free Beacon via Drudge

Robert Joseph, undersecretary of state for arms control during the George W. Bush administration, also said in a speech that the administration’s push to engage Iran and North Korea, and to eliminate all nuclear arms, has increased global threats to U.S. security.

Joseph challenged President Obama’s statement that his administration inherited a policy toward Iran “in tatters” and said the current conciliatory approach had failed to stem Tehran’s drive for a nuclear bomb.

“Despite multiple claims that the sanctions are working, the scope and the pace of Iran’s nuclear program are expanding and accelerating,” Joseph said at a breakfast meeting May 9.

Shock Poll: Romney now leads among women

◼ link - Paul Bedard/Washington Examiner

President Obama’s claim that the GOP is mounting a war on women has proven to be a failure. A month into his assault on the Republicans and Mitt Romney, the new CBS-New York Times poll shows that the GOP presidential candidate now leads among women--and men.

Since April, women have gone from strongly backing Obama to endorsing Romney. In April, Obama held a 49 percent to 43 percent lead among women. That has now flipped to 46 percent backing Romney with 44 percent for Obama, an 8-point switch.

◼ "Voters now trust likely Republican nominee Mitt Romney more than President Obama..." - Althouse

◼ "... on all five issues regularly surveyed by Rasmussen Reports, especially when it comes to money." - Rasmussen

A new national telephone survey finds that 51% of Likely U.S. Voters trust Romney more than Obama when it comes the economy, while 39% trust the president more....

A month ago, Romney had a similar 49% to 39% lead over the president on the issue of the economy after the two men had been virtually tied in early March....

Romney also now holds a double-digit lead over the president on the issue of taxes: 48% trust him more, while 38% put more faith in Obama....

Forty-five percent (45%) of voters have more confidence in Romney when it comes to health care versus 40% who feel that way about Obama....

Forty-four percent (44%) trust Romney more when it comes to national security, while 42% have more confidence in the president in this area....

Romney continues to edge the president 43% to 40% when it comes to whom voters trust more on energy policy, little changed from April.

The news came from a panicked email from MoveOn.org: BREAKING NEWS FROM WISCONSIN: The Democratic National Committee isn't investing in the massive get out the vote effort in Wisconsin to recall Scott Walker.

◼ MOVEON: DNC PULLING OUT OF WISCONSIN RECALL - Mike Flynn/Breitbart

Transparency update: Donors told to hand over cell phones upon entering Obama fundraisers

◼ Why wouldn’t the Obama campaign want everybody far and wide to know what he’s telling those rich people attending his high-dollar fundraisers? - Doug Powers/Michelle Malkin

You’d think Obama would welcome the use of cell phones as he lectures the greedy one-percenters about how they should be sharing the wealth, demanding a tax increase and stop being eco-hypocrites by getting rid of their planet-destroying private jets in favor of algae-powered go-karts so the video could hit the web just as fast as possible.

Or maybe that’s not what happens behind those closed doors. We may never know...

Audio: Author Ed Klein discusses Obama's relationship with Rev. Wright, a relationship he details in great length in his new book, "The Amateur."

◼ Book: Obama Confidant Tried To Bribe Rev. Jeremiah Wright - Real Clear Politics

◼ In a shocking interview yesterday on the Sean Hannity Radio Show, author Ed Klein said Barack Obama’s former pastor helped Obama accept Christianity without having to renounce Islam. - Gateway Pundit
◼ Rev. Wright Was a Second Father to Obama - Newsmax
◼ NEW OBAMA BOOK SHOCKER: KENNEDYS AND OBAMAS AT WAR — CAROLINE CONSIDERS OBAMA A ‘LIAR’ - The Blaze

◼ Smoking email? O's Whitaker to Rev. Wright - Backyard Conservative

P.S. Just a reminder. Author Edward Klein is the former foreign editor of Newsweek...and former chief editor of the NY Times Magazine, hardly organs of the right.

More states are realizing that the road to fiscal hell is paved with progressive intentions

◼ Jerry Brown vs. Chris Christie - William McGurn/Wall St. Journal

In his January 2011 inaugural address, California Gov. Jerry Brown declared it a "time to honestly assess our financial condition and make the tough choices." Plainly the choices weren't tough enough: Mr. Brown has just announced that he faces a state budget deficit of $16 billion—nearly twice the $9.2 billion he predicted in January. In Sacramento Monday, he coupled a new round of spending cuts with a call for some hefty new tax hikes.

In his own inaugural address back in January 2010, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie also spoke of making tough choices for the people of his state. For his first full budget, Mr. Christie faced a deficit of $10.7 billion—one-third of projected revenues. Not only did Mr. Christie close that deficit without raising taxes, he is now plumping for a 10% across-the-board tax cut.

Editorial page editor Paul Gigot on why soaking the rich isn't solving California's chronic deficit problems. Photo: Associated Press

It's not just looks that make Mr. Brown Laurel to Mr. Christie's Hardy. It's also their political choices....

Meanwhile, leaders in some struggling states have taken notice. They know the road to fiscal hell is paved with progressive intentions. The question regarding the sensible ones is whether they have the will and wherewithal to impose the reforms they know their states need on the interest groups whose political and economic clout is so closely tied with the public purse.

Mr. Brown's remarks Monday suggest the answer to this question is no.

We can get mired in a semantic argument over whether Obama is a card-carrying communist, a European socialist, an admirer of Hugo Chavez's and Daniel Ortega's or, as he says, a fierce advocate of the free market, but such quibbling is more misleading than the labels themselves.

◼ Obama Is the Extremist, Not Conservative Talkers - David Limbaugh /Townhall

NC Non-Citizens Voting, Dead Offered Ballots, UNC Officials Embrace Voter Fraud

◼ New O’Keefe video exposes non-citizens on voter rolls in NC, voter fraud - Matthew Boyle/The Daily Caller

#ObamaInHistory Obama Drops His Name Into the Other Presidential Biographies

Image source

◼ (I)t turns out Obama has added bullet points bragging about his own accomplishments to the biographical sketches of every single U.S. president since Calvin Coolidge (except, for some reason, Gerald Ford). - Seth Mandel/Commentary Magazine
◼ Obama vandalizes WH presidential biographies - Philip Klein/Washington Examiner

Put aside the fact that what Reagan was proposing in 1985 had nothing to do with the Buffett Rule. Obama should not vandalize his predecessors' biographies to promote his own agenda. Obama should get beyond his own narcissism and realize that, win or lose in November, he's just a temporary part of something that's bigger than himself.

◼ If you don’t know what this Twitter trending hashtag is about, you’re missing out. - Michelle Malkin
◼ Get in the know at Twitchy.
◼ #ObamainHistory

All the president’s ego: conservatives mock Obama’s insertion of his name into other presidential bios
____________
It does pay to get on Twitter. Every voice counts. And yes, Twitter is a political battlespace. Get on it. - Michelle Malkin

Wow, when Obama wrote in 2006, “I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views,” he wasn’t kidding

◼ Six years later, an Atlantic writer dubs him, “Barack Obama: Our First Gay-Female-Hispanic-Asian-Jewish President” - Ed Driscoll/PJM

...an Atlantic writer dubs him, “Barack Obama: Our First Gay-Female-Hispanic-Asian-Jewish President,” running down the various encomiums Obama’s received from Andrew Sullivan, Kathleen Parker, Geraldo Rivera and other incredibly cheap dates fawning acolytes, including:

In June 2010, The Washington Post‘s Kathleen Parker took the question mark out of the way. “Obama: Our first female president,” her headline declared. Her column made the case that his crisis management style was more typically female.

First Jewish President: Like this week’s issue of Newsweek, New York magazine went big on their Morrison reappropriation. Former White House counsel Abner Mikva told John Heilemann “When this all is over, people are going to say that Barack Obama is the first Jewish president.” The magazine made it their cover.

First Asian-American President: In 2009, Associated Foreign Press ran with the headline, “Obama the first Asian-American president?”...

First Hispanic President: Geraldo Rivera spoke in March 2009 about the hopes the Hispanic community had for Obama’s immigration policies, alleging “Barack Obama is the first Hispanic president the same way Bill Clinton was the first black [one].”

Obama tells women not to get caught up with the obsession over beauty and fashion and instead be a role model and focus on leading.

◼ Obama To College Women: "You Can Be Stylish And Powerful" - Real Clear Politics

Obama gives $5.9 Million Contract to Friend Who Offered Bribe to Silence Rev. Jeremiah Wright

◼ Edward Klein, author of the yet-to-be-released unauthorized biography of President Obama, titled “The Amateur,” has now specifically named the man who allegedly bribed Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Obama’s former pastor, with a $150,000 payment to stop speaking publicly.

“His name is Dr. Eric Whitaker. Dr. Whitaker is the vice president of the University of Chicago Medical Center and he’s a member of Obama’s very tight inner circle. And he sent an email to a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ.”...this was the exact same hospital from which Michelle Obama received a ◼ whopping $316,962 in salary in 2005 as a vice president for external affairs at the University of Chicago Medical Center, the year after Barack became a U.S. Senator. That would total a $195,052 raise from her salary of $121,910 in 2004....

It is worth noting that ◼ the White House Dossier reported today that Whitaker just received a $5.9 million dollar grant from the Department of Health and Human Services last week. He won the grant from over 3,000 applicants.

“Four years ago, I came to Indonesia and experienced a nation of tolerance, openness and pluralism. Things have changed.”

◼ Irshad Manji book tour in Indonesia runs into trouble with Islamic ‘thugs’ - National Post

Police crackdowns and attacks by religious extremists have attempted to derail the book tour of famed Muslim Canadian author Irshad Manji through Indonesia, a country she previously described as a symbol of “meaningful moderation in Islam.”

“Four years ago, I came to Indonesia and experienced a nation of tolerance, openness and pluralism,” said Ms. Manji. “Things have changed.”

On Wednesday, after five tumultuous days of security threats and cancelled events, a book discussion with Ms. Manji was violently attacked by religious extremists believed to be with the Indonesian Mujahidin Council. “As the gangsters shouted, ‘Where is Manji?’ citizens shielded my body with theirs,” said Ms. Manji in a statement she posted to Twitter on Thursday.

A colleague of Ms. Manji, Emily Rees, was rushed to hospital after her arm was struck by a metal bar. Two other attendees suffered head injuries.

◼ RELATED: Lady Gaga concert under threat from Islamic hardliners after attack on author - Michael Bachelard/SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

JAKARTA: Indonesia's national police are considering banning a performance next month by pop diva Lady Gaga amid threats of violence by Islamic extremists.

It follows an attack by religious hardliners on lesbian Muslim author Irshad Manji prompted deep soul searching in a country regarded as the Islamic world's most moderate.

The threats and attacks are part of a trend in Indonesia for extremists to bully and intimidate anyone who does not subscribe to their hard line doctrine. Police rarely act against them.

Team Obama panics, and it’s only May

◼ It’s mushroom cloud after mushroom cloud for President Obama. - Joseph Curl/The Washington Times via Lucianne

We’ll never see the internal polls, but the externals are awful: Down 8 percent to challenger Mitt Romney in the latest poll, with fewer than 180 days; disillusioned college kids, independents and the white working-class fleeing in droves. Even the barber-shops boys are mocking their Man. Makes sense that in Chicagoland, Obama Central, the internals they’re seeing are even worse.

Which explains this past week. Joe “Blunderbuss” Biden on May 6 blurts out that he’s totally cool with gays marrying. Mushroom cloud. Release the hounds: The vice president is at odds with the president. Monday, the White House slow-plays it (with spokesman Jay “Talking Points” Carney finally fully filling his role as Chief Buffoon). Tuesday, a fierce press corps demanding answers (ABC’s Jake Tapper gets his Underoos all in a wad.) Chief Buffoon repeating over and over, no change — until there’s a change. Oh, and North Carolina just happens to be busy voting down gay marriage....

The whole thing was (say it with me) — a setup. Send Joe out — he’s a goof, he might misspeak, who knows? — and then play it for all its worth. Work it for the week — the press will go along. Jobs? The economy? Please. We’ve got to get to the bottom of this gay marriage thing!

But even that bodes ill: The big brains on the yellow couches in the Oval Office are busy coming up with ways to distract from the economy by pandering to the most liberal people in America. They must’ve concluded they don’t have much else. Can they do it every week, for the next six months? Panic. Desperation.

John Stossel - A Right to Collective Bargaining

Are public employee contracts a major reason states are going broke and is there a right to collective bargaining? ◼ http://www.LibertyPen.com

The Spirit of Geert Wilders

◼ A foreword to Wilders’ Marked for Death. - Mark Steyn/National Review Online

When I was asked to write a foreword to Geert Wilders’ new book, my first reaction, to be honest, was to pass. Mr. Wilders lives under 24/7 armed guard because significant numbers of motivated people wish to kill him, and it seemed to me, as someone who’s attracted more than enough homicidal attention over the years, that sharing space in these pages was likely to lead to an uptick in my own death threats. Who needs it? Why not just plead too crowded a schedule and suggest the author try elsewhere? I would imagine Geert Wilders gets quite a lot of this.

And then I took a stroll in the woods, and felt vaguely ashamed at the ease with which I was willing to hand a small victory to his enemies....

It is not easy to be Geert Wilders. He has spent almost a decade in a strange, claustrophobic, transient, and tenuous existence little different from kidnap victims or, in his words, a political prisoner. He is under round-the-clock guard because of explicit threats to murder him by Muslim extremists.

Yet he’s the one who gets put on trial for incitement.

...in the end the quiet life isn’t an option. It’s not necessary to agree with everything Mr. Wilders says in this book — or, in fact, anything he says — to recognize that, when the leader of the third-biggest party in one of the oldest democratic legislatures on earth has to live under constant threat of murder and be forced to live in “safe houses” for almost a decade, something is badly wrong in “the most tolerant country in Europe” — and that we have a responsibility to address it honestly, before it gets worse.

_______________
◼ After America: Get Ready for Armageddon - Mark Steyn
◼ Marked for Death: Islam's War Against the West and Me - Geert Wilders

Julia's Circle of Life

◼ The continuing adventures of Barack Obama's favorite eyeless, mouthless government dependent - Iowahawk

Empty Promises: Debt & Deficits

As the week progressed, a developing bombshell story got buried under President Obama’s gay marriage announcement. Not only is the supposed CIA asset not a CIA asset at all, but the entire operation was exposed prematurely and the double-agent’s life was immediately threatened by an intelligence leak that very well may have come out of the White House for political gain.

◼ BOMBSHELL: Al-Qaeda Infiltrator was Working for Brits not CIA, Cover Blown for Election Year Politics - Patrick Poole/PJM

Local Election Coverage: District Soup

◼ Racing for the top county seat in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd districts - Zach St. George/The Journal

This year, seven candidates are vying for three seats up for grabs in the June 5 election: Jimmy Smith is stepping down, leaving a three-way race in the 1st District between retired English teacher Annette de Modena, retired HSU educator and former Wiyot Tribal Chairwoman Cheryl Seidner, and compost-businessman and youth sports organizer Rex Bohn. Estelle Fennell, a longtime journalist and former executive director of the Humboldt Coalition for Property Rights, is challenging incumbent apple baron Clif Clendenen in the 2nd District; and in the 3rd, small business developer Karen Brooks is attempting to topple incumbent Mark Lovelace.

Ron Paul is out.

◼ Rep. Ron Paul of Texas said Monday he will not compete in primaries in any of the states that have not yet voted — essentially confirming Mitt Romney will win the Republican presidential nomination. - Stephen Dinan/Washington Times

◼ Paul won't campaign in new states - Politico

In a statement just out from Ron Paul's campaign, the Texas congressman announces that while he'll continue to try and accumulate delegates at state conventions, he won't be mounting a serious effort in new upcoming primaries:

We will continue to take leadership positions, win delegates, and carry a strong message to the Republican National Convention that Liberty is the way of the future.

Moving forward, however, we will no longer spend resources campaigning in primaries in states that have not yet voted. Doing so with any hope of success would take many tens of millions of dollars we simply do not have. I encourage all supporters of Liberty to make sure you get to the polls and make your voices heard, particularly in the local, state, and Congressional elections, where so many defenders of Freedom are fighting and need your support.

I hope all supporters of Liberty will remain deeply involved - become delegates, win office, and take leadership positions. I will be right there with you. In the coming days, my campaign leadership will lay out to you our delegate strategy and what you can do to help, so please stay tuned.

◼ RON PAUL 'GOES GALT': QUITS PRESIDENTIAL RACE BUT HOPES TO TURN TIDE - Breitbart News

How important is voter ID to insuring honest elections?

◼ Florida finds 180K non-citizen voters - Mark Tapscot/Washington Examiner

Well, Florida was decided by less than 500 votes in 2000. A dozen years later, officials in the Sunshine State have found more than 180,000 registered voters who may not be U.S. citizens, according to Reuters.

Each of the 180,000 individuals are being contacted by state officials and asked to provide proof of their U.S. citizenship. People seeking Florida drivers licenses are required to verify their citizenship. The 180,000 names showed up in a data analysis comparing voter registration rolls with drivers license records.

Report says 230,000 unemployed losing benefits over weekend

◼ More than 230,000 unemployed workers will lose their jobless benefits this weekend as portions of federal programs expire across several states. - The Hill

The latest batch of cuts affects 236,300 unemployed people in eight states — California (11%), Texas (7%) Pennsylvania (7.5%), Florida (9%), Illinois (8.8%) North Carolina (9.7%) Colorado (7.8%) and Connecticut (7.7%) — half of which have jobless rates above the 8.1 percent national average posted in April.

The Cover of Newsweek

◼ Obama’s declaration has resulted in a lot of enthusiasm at churches … for Romney - HotAir
◼ Andrew Malcolm explains - IBD

◼ The article on how Obama is our first gay president is by–who else?–Andrew Sullivan. Andrew has been campaigning for gay marriage for years, and apparently buys the idea that Obama’s verbal support, unaccompanied by any action other than fundraising appeals, is somehow important. - John Hinderaker/Powerline

◼ Newsweek’s Cover & Why Obama Turned Gay for Pay–He Knows He’s Being Fired - Tammy Bruce

It’s obvious with last week’s Time cover featuring the breast-feeding of a 4-year-old and now this tripe, both magazines illustrate what ‘dying-throes’ look like for the increasingly irrelevant and plain stupid Lamestream Media. With the media slipping on its own slobber over Obama, it’s clear how pathetic the entire situation is. so I think it’s time to address why the Chicago Jesus suddenly went Gay for Pay. I’m happy to provide that analysis to you :) It turns out it’s more Gay for Pay, a Legacy and a Job After I’m Fired.

◼ NEWSWEEK: OBAMA 'FIRST GAY PRESIDENT' - Ben Shapiro/Breitbart

Newsweek magazine released this week’s cover via Twitter: a hopey, changey Barack Obama staring into the future, his head swirled with a rainbow halo. The bold font title: “THE FIRST GAY PRESIDENT.” And the cover story is written by none other than Andrew Sullivan, famed Trig Palin truther (he believes the bizarre conspiracy theory that Trig Palin is actually Bristol Palin’s son rather than Sarah Palin’s). The last time we saw Sullivan writing a cover story for Newsweek, he was asking “Why Are Obama’s Critics So Dumb?”

...The Newsweek cover is obviously a take-off on the old line about Bill Clinton being the “first black president,” but it’s also an unintended backhanded in-kind contribution to the Romney campaign. In the liberal press’ desperate gushing over Obama’s same-sex marriage stance, they’ve alienated more than half the country – every state that has ever held a referendum on same-sex marriage has voted it down. The most polarizing president in history by every measurable statistic has polarized the country yet again – yet Newsweek insists on portraying Obama as a holy figure for embracing an anti-Biblical position, thereby also alienating every religious person in the country.

Unemployment Benefits Ending for Thousands of Californians

◼ A federal benefits extension, known as FED-ED in California, won't be available after May 12 - John Cádiz Klemack and Neil Costes/nbclosangeles.com

...The end of the extension is actually good news for the state because it means California's economy is getting better, said Loree Levy of the California Employment Development Department.

"In order for the state to qualify for the program you have to have a high unemployment rate," Levy said. "Certainly California does have a high rate, but it's not 10 percent higher than what it's been over the last three years, and that is a requirement of the program."

The state's unemployment rate sits at 11 percent, which is better than what it's been, meaning there are jobs out there...

◼ Discussion at Lucianne

Women wear many hats in their lives. Daughter, sister, student, breadwinner. But no matter where we are or what we're doing, one hat that moms never take off is the crown of motherhood.

◼ Three Seasons of Motherhood - Ann Romney

Happy Birthday Bella

◼ Sunday is an important day in the Santorum house. On May 13th, we’ll be celebrating a birthday. My little sister, Bella, is turning four. - Elizabeth Santorum at HotAir

Bella has opened our eyes to many things: the importance of treasuring each day, how to hope even in the darkest of circumstances, that faith is our foundation, and most importantly, what pure, unselfish love looks like...

Jeremiah Wright claims Obama ally offered $150,000 bribe in 2008 to shut up

◼ In his on-the-record interview with Klein, Wright claims that an Obama ally offered him $150,000 to keep his mouth shut and stop preaching until after the election, in excerpts published by the New York Post - Ed Morrissey/HotAir
◼ The ‘bribe’ to silence Wright - New York Post
◼ WRIGHT: OBAMA TRIED TO BRIBE ME TO KEEP QUIET IN 2008 - Ben Shapiro/Breitbart
◼ Bill blockbuster: O’s an ‘amateur’ - Carl Campanile/New York Post

◼ The Amateur [Hardcover], Edward Klein (Author) at Amazon

◼ U. of Chicago medical center VP revealed as Jeremiah Wright briber - Jeff Poor/Daily Caller

“Well, what happened is that after ABC’s Brian Ross broadcast the video tapes of the Rev. Wright ‘God damning America’ and slamming whites and slamming Jews and America, he was contacted by one of Obama’s closest personal friends — a guy who travels on Obama’s plane, who plays basketball with him, who goes on vacation with him,” Klein said. “His name is Dr. Eric Whitaker. Dr. Whitaker is the vice president of the University of Chicago Medical Center and he’s a member of Obama’s very tight inner circle. And he sent an email to a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ.”

Klein reminded listeners that Whitaker’s hospital is the same one that paid first lady Michelle Obama $316,962 a year to handle community affairs for the University of Chicago Medical Center while her husband served in the U.S. Senate.

In an email, Klein said Whitaker had offered Wright $150,000 “if he would shut-up and not criticize Obama anymore.” When Wright refused Whitaker’s offer, Klein said Obama himself personally met with Wright, which supposedly took place after Obama’s March 18, 2008 “race speech,” confirmed by both Wright’s word and the U.S. Secret Service logs.