Since I cheered on Speaker Boehner a week ago, I feel compelled to offer some support to Congressman Jordan today – although, to paraphrase a great motivator, my support and a nickel will get you a hot cup of jack squat.

In the debt ceiling debate the GOP is fighting demagogues who live and breathe class warfare, and would sing the virtues of increased spending to the point of bankruptcy. It’s understandable that, given the circumstances, tensions have been high between conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC) leader Jim Jordan and Speaker Boehner.

Was it dumb for an RSC staffer to send out a list of Republicans targeted for supporting Boehner? Probably; I’ve seen some annoyingly divisive GOP vs. GOP messaging the past couple of days. But, I doubt it would be easier for Boehner to sell a compromise if Jordan and fellow conservatives were quick to abandon Cut, Cap & Balance.

I can say confidently that feeding anonymous quotes like these to reporters is a bad call:

Two Republican sources deeply involved in configuring new Ohio congressional districts confirmed to The Dispatch today  that Jordan’s disloyalty to Boehner has put him in jeopardy of being zeroed out of a district.

“Jim Jordan’s boneheadedness has kind of informed everybody’s thinking,” said one of the sources, both of whom spoke only on condition of anonymity. “The easiest option for everybody has presented itself.”

[...]

“He doesn’t know it, but he solved a problem for Republican line-drawers by (figuratively) standing up and saying, ‘I’m a jerk and I deserve to be punished,’ ” said one of the sources.

[...]

“The downside of being in an uber-safe district is you often don’t develop the strategic skills you need to survive in the arena and in this case that is going to be painfully evident to Jim Jordan.”

Are there really two GOP insiders who don’t realize this plays perfectly into the leftist narrative of principled conservatives as extremist cranks? Fortunately, Boehner and Jordan appear capable of acting like adults after the RSC email debacle:

“Jim Jordan and I may not always agree on strategy, but we are friends and allies, and the word retribution is not in my vocabulary,” Boehner said. “I look forward to continuing to serve with him in the U.S. House after the redistricting process in Ohio is complete.”

Meghan Snyder, Jordan’s spokeswoman, said, “We would hope that standing strong in favor of lowering spending and balancing the federal budget would not be a reason to eliminate the district of a sitting member of Congress.”

Yes, compromising sucks when the other side is nuts, but the Senate and the White House would be happy to keep spending until the whole contraption caves in. Let’s not rush to shoot ourselves in the foot while Harry Reid and Barack Obama have America’s military over a barrel!

[Update: Corrected a (boneheaded?) typo in paragraph two.]

Follow me on Twitter: @jasonahart

Cross-posted at that hero and Third Base Politics.

It’s not encouraging when Communist Party USA is the authoritative source for news about your senator. Last month PeoplesWorld.org fawned over an otherwise unreported 06/05 banquet featuring remarks from Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH):

“We’re trying to build understanding about Islam, build understanding within our community, and bring people together.”

CAIR’s contributions to the community were recognized in proclamations from U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, the Ohio House of Representatives and from representatives of the mayor and City Council of Columbus.

Understandable that no reputable outlets would cover this, right? Senators endorse all kinds of events, and Islam is just another interest group ripe for the pandering. Generally, though, I’d prefer my senators avoid shindigs keynoted by terror apologists:

The speakers for the event were Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, Director of Outreach of Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Washington, D.C. [...]

Emphasis mine, to highlight the mosque attended by a veritable Who’s Who of Muslim terrorists, including two of the 9/11 bombers and Fort Hood jihadist Nidal Hasan. If Islam in America is such a rich, diverse tapestry, why would a Muslim group in Columbus invite a dishonest PR rep from Dar Al-Hijrah as their headliner? Abdul-Malik seems an odd traveling salesman for interfaith dialogue, given his mosque’s decades-long history of connections to Hamas and other sponsors of terrorism.

Senator Brown’s site includes no news item or press release about the Columbus Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) event; his staff inform me the senator provided a statement but did not attend. Even if CAIR’s national chapter is an unindicted co-conspirator in a Hamas funding trial, it’s no wonder Sherrod likes the cut of CAIR-Ohio’s jib:

Speakers and a video about CAIR’s activities stressed the importance of educating the public about Islam.  Less than two-fifths of Americans are personally acquainted with any Muslim, and right-wing forces cynically exploit this lack of first-hand knowledge about Islam to press their own political agendas.

The Communist Party’s story title (unaltered in the version posted on CAIR-Ohio’s website) reflects this spin on the event: “Banquet speakers see politics behind Islamophobia.” So it turns out we agree! There are politics aplenty behind “Islamophobia,” a word used to silence any critic of Islam or the professional victims at CAIR. Likewise, “Islamophobia” is a handy bludgeon for Progressives like Sherrod Brown, whose careers would be impossible if fewer minorities were convinced of rampant conservative bigotry.

In unrelated news, a recent study of 100 random American mosques found that 81% carried texts advocating violence (above and beyond the violence found in Islam’s scriptures). Reality is unkind to CAIR: the more Americans learn about Islam, the less influence sharia apologists will have!

Follow me on Twitter: @jasonahart

Cross-posted at that hero and Third Base Politics.

Fair readers, mark your calendars: this is the day I prove what a warm, fuzzy moderate I am. This is the day I agree with Thomas Friedman.

Because he’s such an impeccable centrist, Friedman opened Tuesday’s column by criticizing politicians in both parties:

There is something crazy about what is going on in our country today. Our fiscal condition continues on an unsustainable path, the European currency is heading for a crackup, the Arab world is in the midst of a crackup, unemployment is creeping upward and basically our two parties are telling us that they will not make the reforms that we know are necessary because it would involve too much pain and could imperil their chances of winning the presidency in 2012.

Now, if you’re wondering which of Tom’s ideas I agree with… we’ll get there. First I wanted to let Friedman’s own words illustrate that he has never heard of Congressman Paul Ryan, and is oblivious to unified Republican support for Ryan’s budget proposal. Strange things for a New York Times columnist to be in the dark about, given the fit Paul Krugman pitches at the mention of Ryan’s name.

Since friends have to be brutally honest in this flat, hot, crowded, crazy world, I’d also like to ask my new pal Tom whether this is what an unemployment rate “creeping upward” looks like -

Enough senseless bickering over a few hundred billion dollars and a few million measly jobs! Let’s hear Tom’s solution to the partisan divide in America today.

That’s right. We need to do four things at once: spend, cut, tax and invest. And unless we do all four at once we’re not going to break out of our slow decline. But to do all four at once will require a new hybrid politics, which does not conform to the political agenda of either major party.

A new hybrid politics! Like all Friedman readers, I am on board for anything that is both new and hybrid!

Maybe it is just my friends, but I find more and more people completely disgusted by this situation and looking for a serious Third Party candidate who could run in 2012 and deliver the shock therapy to the corrupt, encrusted, two-party duopoly now running the show in America.

Such a Third Party would have a simple agenda: 1) Inject a short-term stimulus. 2) Enact Simpson-Bowles. 3) Shrink our presence in Afghanistan. 4) Raise automobile mileage standards. 5) Impose a gasoline tax to pay for a massive increase in government-supported scientific research and a carbon tax to pay for new infrastructure and stimulate clean-power innovation.

Yes, Thomas Friedman! Please convince the Democrats who take you seriously that America’s troubles could be solved by – to use your numbering:

1. More failed deficit spending
2. Modest entitlement cuts and not-so-modest tax hikes
3. Something President Obama is already doing with widespread support, given our leaders’ disinterest in defining any sort of “mission” or “goals”
4. Government-increased car prices
5. Government-increased fuel prices for new government energy boondoggles

I give this plan a five out of five for getting America on the right track! Not because any of Friedman’s ideas are especially new or good, but because a monied far-left candidate hawking what Friedman suggests would pull away enough Obama supporters to ensure a Republican landslide in 2012. More than at any point in my brief memory (I wasn’t quite old enough to vote in 2000 – do the math) the GOP, led by Paul Ryan, is taking the side of freedom over the sort of European statism Thomas Friedman endorses.

In a way, it’s impressive that Friedman managed to write an entire article about the need for a Progressive third party without once mentioning the tea party movement. In another way, it’s sad that one of the left’s allegedly great thinkers is so invested in his own spunky originality that he can’t give credit where it’s due.

Follow me on Twitter: @jasonahart

Cross-posted from that hero.

When: Saturday, February 19, 2011
Time: 10:00 AM
Where: Mifflin Township Hall – 155 Olde Ridenour Road Gahanna OH

Monthly meeting of the Gahanna/New Albany 912 Group. This month we will be hosting Dr. Robert Wagner who will try to separate the fact from fiction, myth from reality about the Federal Reserve. We’ve all heard the claims about hyperinflation, TARP, debasing the currency, deflation and depression, and yet when we open our eyes, none of these claims have been even close to reality. How can that be? We’ve printed a bank-load of money, and talk is still about deflation, not inflation. Why? We were told TARP would cost over $700 billion, and in reality we may actually MAKE MONEY off the deal. Why? We’ve been told what we are facing another Great Depression, and yet, the economy is showing signs of recovery. Why? Dr. Wagner has studied, taught or practiced economics for over 20 years, has a MA in Economics, holds a CFA charter, was a portfolio manager of a family of mutual funds responsible for managing over $500 million in assets. He currently is a portfolio manager co-managing over $300 million in assets. Dr. Wagner has also spent the last six years working on debunking the myths surrounding global warming, and has now turned his analytical skills on the Federal Reserve claims.

Title: Hilliard/Galloway 912 Project Meeting
Location: Hilliard Safety Services Building Meeting Rooms B and C – 5181 Northwest Parkway Hilliard OH
Link out: Click here
Description: Join us as we welcome special guest Brian Lewis.

He will give a presentation outlining the impact of Obamacare on individuals and employers.
Brian has spent 28 years in the field of employee benefits as a claims administrator and benefits consultant, and have had the responsibility to “watch dog” regulatory issues in the healthcare industry. He is currently the EVP of Strategic Initiatives for CBCA Administrators.

Start Time: 06:30
Date: 2007-02-17