January 10, 2012

Listening to the results of the New Hampshire primary....

... on the satellite radio of a car in the heart of Texas.

78 comments:

mccullough said...

Bouncin' off a satelite, crushing the last long American night.

MadisonMan said...

Are the stars at night Clear and bright?

edutcher said...

You guys are still driving?

Find someplace and stop for the night. This driving through stuff is for masochists.

MadisonMan said...

Are the stars at night Clear and bright?

No, they're Big and bright.

mesquito said...

Where on earth is Althouse going, anyway?

Wince said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Beer, Bicycles and the VRWC said...

I miss my adopted home. Please send timely reports on where you are and what it's like?

Wince said...

I'll tell you 'bout Texas Radio and the Big Beat
Soft drivin', slow and mad, like some new language

Now, listen to this, and I'll tell you 'bout the Texas
I'll tell you 'bout the Texas Radio
I'll tell you 'bout the hopeless night
Wandering the Western dream
Tell you 'bout the maiden with raw iron soul and Cruel Neutrality


The Wasp (Texas Radio and The Big Beat)

I wanna tell you about Texas Radio and the Big Beat
Comes out of the Virginia swamps
Cool and slow with plenty of precision
With a back beat narrow and hard to master

Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance
Others, mean and ruthful of the Western dream
I love the friends I have gathered together on this thin raft
We have constructed pyramids in honor of our escaping
This is the land where the Pharaoh died

The Negroes in the forest brightly featheredI wanna tell you 'bout Texas Radio and the Big Beat
Comes out of the Virginia swamps
Cool and slow with plenty of precision
With a back beat narrow and hard to master

Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance
Others, mean and ruthful of the Western dream
I love the friends I have gathered together on this thin raft
We have constructed pyramids in honor of our escaping
This is the land where the Pharaoh died

The Negroes in the forest brightly feathered
They are saying, "Forget the night.
Live with us in forests of azure.
Out here on the perimeter there are no stars
Out here we is stoned - immaculate."

Listen to this, and I'll tell you 'bout the heartache
I'll tell you 'bout the heartache and the loss of God
I'll tell you 'bout the hopeless night
The meager food for souls forgot
I'll tell you 'bout the maiden with raw iron soul

I'll tell you this
No eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn

I'll tell you 'bout Texas Radio and the Big Beat
Soft drivin', slow and mad, like some new language

Now, listen to this, and I'll tell you 'bout the Texas
I'll tell you 'bout the Texas Radio
I'll tell you 'bout the hopeless night
Wandering the Western dream
Tell you 'bout the maiden with raw iron soul

james conrad said...

YEEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAAAA, predicts a BIG romney win tonite! If you make to Dallas, consider Cattlemans for a KILLER steak, or it was 30 years ago.

Wally Kalbacken said...

Obama falls 4% in daily tracking poll:


http://www.gallup.com/poll/113980/Gallup-Daily-Obama-Job-Approval.aspx


Not more cowbell, more Johhny Depp!

edutcher said...

mesquito said...

Where on earth is Althouse going, anyway?

Maybe Austin, maybe DFW.

Since Meadhouse has been to Austin, my guess is DFW.

rcommal said...

My bet is Austin.

Ann Althouse said...

We're visiting family in Denver and Austin and seeing America along the way, in traditional American fashion... By car.

Browndog said...

Ron Paul/ The Huntsman Trio's father, garnered 50%of the vote..

As it appears.

Fuck Me.

Fuck us all.

(Thank you Professor for allowing me to curse....as it was not gratuitous, but needed.)

Writ Small said...

The networks have called it for Romney in first and Paul in second and Huntsman in third.

Fourth and fifth are too close to call with Santorum and Gingrich battling. Perry was confirmed in sixth or last.

I saw a very interesting observation over on Andrew Sullivan's blog. I know, I know, but please keep reading.

The point was that second place to Romney is important because Republican's tend to nominate the guy who placed second in the previous nominating contest (for example it was Romney in second place last time and McCain placed second in 2000.

That means there is every incentive for Perry and Santorum and Gingrich and Huntsman to fight for that second spot, since this sets that person up for 2016 if Romney loses to Obama.

Of course if they all stay in the race, it's almost impossible for anyone to unseat Romney since conservatives voters are divided.

Romney is sitting very pretty.

mesquito said...

We're visiting family in Denver and Austin

Sigh. I love Texas and detest Austin.

MayBee said...

If in your travels you happen across the real Rick Perry, will you please return him to the campaign trail?

Beer, Bicycles and the VRWC said...

Spend some time on 6th Street in Austin. It's the best. (Even if Austin is the Madison of Texas.)

bagoh20 said...

I like that Morrison poem, except for the "cruel neutrality" part.

Toad Trend said...

Lets not lose sight folks, its still ABO.

Anybody. But. Obama.

wv - expect

Dan said...

try the bible channel instead...

Revenant said...

That means there is every incentive for Perry and Santorum and Gingrich and Huntsman to fight for that second spot, since this sets that person up for 2016 if Romney loses to Obama.

My prediction:

Ron Paul gets second place . Third place goes to "who cares"; they're all losers now and they'll be losers 4 years from now too. Romney wins the nomination. Romney then loses to Obama as tea partiers decline to vote for "Obama Lite" and stay home in droves.

In 2016, the nomination goes to RAND Paul, who is competent, charismatic, a true small-government type, and lacks his father's baggage, placing him in a good position to "inherit" his dad's support and expand it further. The Dems, meanwhile, are faced with a nasty nomination fight because (a) Biden is too old and (b) he's Joe Biden. Paul wins.

Guildofcannonballs said...

John McCain 88,571 37.71% 7
Mitt Romney 75,546 32.17% 4
Mike Huckabee 26,859 11.44% 1
Rudy Giuliani 20,439 8.7% 0
Ron Paul 18,308 7.8% 0
Fred Thompson 2,890 1.23% 0

New Hampshire sucks. My hunch is they secretly feel inferior to Massholes and seek to emulate them indirectly.

Lift Thee Or Die.

Toad Trend said...

"Romney then loses to Obama as tea partiers decline to vote for "Obama Lite" and stay home in droves."

I hope you are kidding, but I don't think you are. This is a slam but I don't care. Tea party folks aren't stupid and realize they aren't going to get EVERYTHING they might want. Perfectionism is a character flaw, revenant. I really hope you are wrong.

Anybody. But. Obama.

wv - bedner

I'll be busy bedner.

HT said...

If Romney can do something fast to avoid looking more and more sinister (hint: gray will soften you), then I give him very good odds for beating Obama in ... whenever it is.

Unfortunately.

chuck b. said...

Romnoids? Romniacs? Mittenites?

Tim said...

"Anybody. But. Obama."

Yes. This is the intelligence test of the '12 elections. Vote for Obama, or fail to vote for the Republican nominee, and you fail.

Simple as that, like it or not.

Chuck66 said...

AA and Meade....driving towards Mexico, one step ahead of the fuzz.

Chuck66 said...

Revenant....Ron Paul is crazy, as are his followers. Usually the kids of big names are worst than their parents, but in this case, I like Rand Paul. He has the libertarian smarts of Ron Paul, and none (or little of) of the craziness.

Bender said...

Well that's it I guess. With this win tonight, Romney picked up FIVE DELEGATES. FIVE!

That means primary campaign is all over.

So all you folks who don't like Romney now need to shut the hell up about him, get in line, and do what you are told, damn it.

Now it's on to the general election -- ten months away.

Anonymous said...

Welcome to Austin. We're glad you're here visiting. Being an Austinite and a U of Texas grad, I enjoy your blogging about Madison - it feels like a frosty mirror image of Austin. BTW - avoid 6th Street unless you're looking to take some high-octane jello shots with young drunks. There are other very nice restaurants and bars west of Congress Ave.

Bender said...

Yeah, they are all just crazy nuts about Romney up there in New Hampshire, a bellweather state if ever there was one. Just crazy for their next-door neighbor Mitt, with an overwhelming 35 percent of the vote!

Can you believe it! 35 PERCENT! Wow. That's more than one-third! Pretty impressive, especially since it was an open primary where non-Republicans could vote.

HT said...

You shoulda left it at the first one Bender. That wuz funny.

Revenant said...

Tea party folks aren't stupid and realize they aren't going to get EVERYTHING they might want.

Sure. Question, though: which part of Romney DO Tea Partiers want?

Anybody. But. Obama.

No. If the next four years are just going to be more economy-killing regulation, more government growth, bigger deficits, and bigger debts, I would just as soon it happen under a Democrat so people have a harder time blaming the Republican Party's nonexistent commitment to free-market economics for the mess.

Anonymous said...

As I said all along, if Romney wins, and he selects a great VP (e.g., Jindal from LA or Christie from NJ), the WH is for GOP. Obama and Biden lose everything.

But, I digress. I love:

Newt "Serial Hypocrite" Gingrich
Rick "Re-invade Iraq" Perry
Rick "Everyone Marry Everyone" Santorum
Jon "Obama's boy in China" Huntsman

Special thanks to Papa Paul for his honest criticism of the four GOP candidates: Newt, Rick, Rick, and Jon.

Tonight is the beginning. Enjoy it.

edutcher said...

MayBee said...

If in your travels you happen across the real Rick Perry, will you please return him to the campaign trail?

Perry couldn't see wasting resources on NH and is concentrating on SC. It also looks as if he and the other Conservatives will be on the ballot in VA, after all.

Bender said...

Yeah, they are all just crazy nuts about Romney up there in New Hampshire, a bellweather state if ever there was one. Just crazy for their next-door neighbor Mitt, with an overwhelming 35 percent of the vote!

Can you believe it! 35 PERCENT! Wow. That's more than one-third! Pretty impressive, especially since it was an open primary where non-Republicans could vote.


And if Captain Tin Foil can hold Milton's lead to single digits, it will be another "disappointing, underperforming" show.

PS 51% of Huntsman's supporters in the Granite State say they're satisfied with GodZero.

Known Unknown said...

This is good after some beers.

sakredkow said...

Romnoids? Romniacs? Mittenites?

Hemorromnoids?

sakredkow said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Revenant said...

Revenant....Ron Paul is crazy, as are his followers. Usually the kids of big names are worst than their parents, but in this case, I like Rand Paul. He has the libertarian smarts of Ron Paul, and none (or little of) of the craziness.

I would concur, except for the bit about Ron Paul's followers being crazy.

People who actually care about small government have to support *somebody*, and who else is there? Gingrich? Perry? Bachmann? It is to laugh.

I would also add that on some issues, e.g. the need for defense cuts and an end to military adventurism, Ron Paul is the only candidate who *isn't* crazy. Anyone who thinks we can keep spending at current levels either can't do math or doesn't care about deficits.

JohnJ said...

Fox commentators refusing to give Romney his night: He “underperformed.” His speech was “doom and gloom” and “bitter.”

WTF?

I'm Full of Soup said...

Rev:

I doubt Tea partiers will sit out this election. In the next 7-8 mths, the DEMS and Obama will try all kinds of spending boondoggles and that will energize Tea Partiers to vote early and vote often.

Anonymous said...

Just listen to the candidates:

Romney: Just Presidential. No candidate in history seemed so Presidential in NH primary. No one.

Paul: Rebel with a cause. No democrat in history was such a rebel. This is the GOP tent.

Newt, Rick, Rick: So scary that I am thinking Friday the 13th.

Jon: What a fake. I just cannot stand his speech, his finger-wagging, his reference to daughters "my girls", etc. Everything about his is fake. This is the vanity candidacy. I thought it was Newt's, but no, it is Huntsman. A vane individual.

Tank said...

Ron p

The conservative winner.

Actually, the only one running.

I'm Full of Soup said...

It is hard to believe some of these guys still think they have a chance.

Gingrich is unlikeable- he wears out his welcome quickly.

Santorum is a lifer in the public sector and he does not mind his own business.

Perry sounds dopey and he might, in fact, be dopey.

Huntsman has a grossly inflated idea of his own intellect, his record and his abilities.

Ron Paul is Just Being Ron Paul [though I wish he'd go back to and stay in his attic].

I'm Full of Soup said...

Jeezus Christ - I see I actually agree with Amer Politico!

Hoosier Daddy said...

"... I doubt Tea partiers will sit out this election..."

Agreed. Plenty sat out the 2008 election and saw what that got us.

Romney is the best among them. If you want Obama lite, go with Huntsman. I'll take a moderate Republican over the leftwing ideologue in there now.

rcocean said...

Perry get .7% - looks like NH is still fighting the Civil war.

Rosalyn C. said...

"Romneyans" -- best served chilled and stirred, not shaken

HT said...

Newt has a very very nice voice. He's clearly not a southerner, but he has no harsh edges in his voice. It's always smooth and moves easily from one thing to another.

The reason I have an appreciation for his voice is that when MOTHRA downstairs is raging, I have to put in earplugs. Still I have to listen to something often times, when MOTHRA wakes me up, and one night, I listened to cspan on the radio. Newt was on. CSPAN digs Newt, that much is clear. He was talking to some group of tpers in NH. He's got a nice voice and talks well. I don't listen to his words that much, but he makes no sudden moves.

People underappreciate his voice.

pm317 said...

wow, Gingrich I hear is teaming up with the racebaiter and Obama supporter Clyburn in SC. Really odd.

edutcher said...

Revenant said...

People who actually care about small government have to support *somebody*, and who else is there? Gingrich? Perry? Bachmann? It is to laugh.

Captain Tin Foil????

It is to go into hysterics so hard your sides ache.

I would also add that on some issues, e.g. the need for defense cuts and an end to military adventurism, Ron Paul is the only candidate who *isn't* crazy. Anyone who thinks we can keep spending at current levels either can't do math or doesn't care about deficits.

We tried Isolationism and you can visit the results at Pearl Harbor and Ground Zero.

As for cutting spending, yeah, entitlements need to be privatized and, done right, defense cuts can make a better defense, but, if the Iranians, aided by their pal, Hugo, slip a nuke into the country and Sacramento or Savannah disappears, President Paul's reaction would be, "We need to be nicer to them" .

bagoh20 said...

"I would just as soon it happen under a Democrat so people have a harder time blaming the Republican Party's ..."

That's how we got where we are - just ask Althouse why she voted for The Golden Child.

I want an intensely conservative President now more than ever, but if Obama get's reelected one of two things will happen, the economy will improve (it will no matter what, eventually) and Obama and his foolish policies will not be seen as the long term disaster they are until far too late, or the economy will not improve and although it will be clear that left politics is responsible, the needs of people will overwhelm their intelligence and they will welcome government help even if it bankrupts us. It's already too late to give the left any more rope - we will all hang together.

Anybody but Obama is right, including Romney if he is the most likey to win, and then a congress to keep him right. It's the only realistic winning strategy for the nation at this point.

Phil 314 said...

Conservative Newt Gingrich questions Romney for making money and firing people. Sounds like....

BUSINESS

Newt tries out the Democratic campaign strategy.

Anonymous said...

In the movie, Clear and Present Danger, Harrison Ford is in South America figuring out the drug dealers. A former US soldier working with new soldiers says: We are shut down. There is no air. Basically, they cannot use radio.

The GOP losers (Newt, Rick, Rick, and Jon) are shut down. They have no where to go. They are finished. Unless GOP voters are fools, they will not humor these losers.

Just vote for Romney and give the push he needs to defeat Obama.

yashu said...

Fox commentators refusing to give Romney his night: He “underperformed.” His speech was “doom and gloom” and “bitter.”

WTF?


JohnJ, others agree with you: e.g. at The Corner, The Limits of Election-Night Spin.

Don't know what to make of it myself. Maybe it's just Reality TV syndrome-- for the sake of ratings, gotta keep the competition suspenseful, keep the audience uncertain about who's going to win in the end. After all, what's "news"? It's a narrative.

Or, the talking heads have their own biases, agendas, allegiances. Althouse noticed the CNN enthusiasm for Huntsman. Maybe some of the FOX pundits favor other candidates too? Maybe it's a little embarrassing that (Todd) Palin's endorsement of Newt meant less than nothing. Haven't been watching any of the MSM news channels myself lately, but I hear (Sara) Palin's been saying sympathetic things about Ron Paul and the Ronulans… which is… odd. Maybe some of those pundits are Perry fans, maybe they're Santorum fans. Maybe they're hoping Obama will be re-elected! Or maybe the Romney Derangement Syndrome reaches even the shores of FOX.

Or, more mildly, maybe they just want to maintain friendly relations with the other candidates, so they'll keep appearing on their shows... and so they spin a little to keep some hope (at least nominally) alive.

In any case, for the supposed "establishment candidate," it doesn't seem like Romney's getting a whole lotta love (or even fair credit for his electoral performance) on FOX. (From what I gather reading others' impressions. I've sworn off TV talking heads these days.)

I've gradually warmed up to the prospect of Romney myself. By now, I'm all in. This whole Bain brouhaha (and learning more about what Romney did there) pretty much sold me.

Peter Hoh said...

On Twitter, KimJongNumberUn writes: So Romney gets to be leader even though people hate him? Those bastards in the US have stolen our system.

Peter Hoh said...

Jindal or Christie? Not V.P. material, no matter what the genius who is AP says.

ABO? You might want to remember how ABB did in the 2004 election.

Once written, twice... said...

Yea Romney! Now he can be himself and start his return to the middle. He is the most moderate Republican since Ford. With his easy taking of the nomination, the Tea Party is over. If employment numbers continue in the right direction, President Obama should do just fine against this candidate in the mode of Dole and McCain.

chickelit said...

America's Politico said...

The GOP losers (Newt, Rick, Rick, and Jon) are shut down. They have no where to go. They are finished. Unless GOP voters are fools, they will not humor these losers.

I happen to think you're a loser, AP. You were a big loser when it counted--at the 2010 midterms--remember? I predict you'll be a loser again this fall.

Cedarford said...

AJ Lynch said...
Jeezus Christ - I see I actually agree with Amer Politico!

---------
Amazing indeed, and seconded.

************
Now on to S Carolina. Besides Romney winning, the other stories are the surprising strength of Ron Paul and the libertarians, and the continued collapse of Gingrich.

Newt goes in with an uber-Zionist sugar daddy, Sheldon Adelson, 3rd richest man in America, funding him. Part of the reason why Newtie is calling the Palestinians "an invented people", calling for naming arch-Neocon John Bolton as Secretary of State, claiming that where Eretz Yisrael is, is "mostly land never settled by anyone.

Alex said...

Anyone think Linda Lingle is a good VP for Romney?

Bender said...

So, is this the year where the Republican Party commits suicide?

Is this the year where primary voters toss aside principle in a rush to nominate a more-of-the-same candidate, someone whose policies and positions they have no desire defending, much less promoting, someone that the vast majority do not want, someone who is not even the party's second choice, much less first choice, but someone who has been passed over five times as other frontrunners have come and gone, such nomination being part of some deluded too-smart-by-half "most electable" political calculations that only prove how supremely they deserve to be called the Stupid Party?

People have had six years to get excited about Romney, and they have not. Does anyone really think that he is suddenly going to catch fire then next ten months? People regret voting for him before they even go to the polls.

Sure, with Obama, we will probably see another $6 trillion in added debt over the next four-year term. But at least Romney won't be so bad, we'll see only $4 trillion in added debt over that time. Like Biden has so aptly put it -- BFD.

This is shaping up to be the year where the GOP commits suicide, the year where the party establishment, with the willing assistance of primary voters, ends up giving us the grand choice of either (1) turning around and bending over, or (2) getting on our knees. Great choice there.

Its a recipe for disaster. But it may be just as well. The blood that should have been spilled purging the party of the weak and spineless establishment types that should have happened in 2000 or 2008 will finally come.

Penny said...

"Listening to the results of the New Hampshire primary....
... on the satellite radio of a car in the heart of Texas."

How quaint!

rcommal said...

And to think that I was the one characterized as the dramatic chipmunk.

; )

Penny said...

Why do I fear that Althouse broke down at the Sweetwater Cafe?

Perhaps because it's Tuesday!

rcommal said...

[What makes you more impervious to mocking makes you ever stronger.]

Penny said...

Is Amazon open on Tuesday?

Just trying to get my bearings.

And hush....we aren't EVER talking about "balls baring".

Only one man I know would use such a cheap trick.

deborah said...

"The swing vote in this next election is the same as it has been in the last six elections. It is the white working-class voter."


http://thehill
.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-
campaign/203361-
obamas-real-
reelection-problem

rcommal said...

Penny:

Re: "Just trying to get my bearings", see this.

Penny said...

Deborah, it's all about the "swing"...and the do-si-do.

Alamand left and alamand right.

Penny said...

[What makes you more impervious to mocking makes you ever stronger.]

FINALLY...

The kids are getting branded!

Writ Small said...

Can I just point out that there are two utterly contradictory criticisms of Romney:

One is that he'll be a more of the same, RINO who will continue Obama's failed policies and not take bold action.

Two is that he is a ruthless capitalist who will do whatever it takes to fix a company's problem even if that means breaking that company down and heartlessly firing people in the name of saving the greater organization.

It's rather unlikely that both of these characterizations are true. I think Newt and Romney and Santorum erred greatly in going after Romney's Bain tenure. Not only is it an attack from the left that even Ron Paul has criticized, but it completely undermines the first, Obama-lite argument against Romney.

Writ Small said...

sorry - that should have read "Newt and Perry and Santorum erred greatly"

Joe Schmoe said...

New Hampshire sucks. My hunch is they secretly feel inferior to Massholes and seek to emulate them indirectly.

No, the problem with NH is that they are a low taxes/small govt. state. It has a sizable shared border with northern MA, and it has cheaper real estate and good schools. As a result there's been a lot of MA flight across the border to live in NH. The transplants have skewed the state politics quite a bit over the last 10-20 years, and the state is getting more purple. They don't see the irony of ruining what attracted them to NH in the first place.

And as someone else noted, it's an open primary. No doubt a lot of MA transplants cross the line to nominate their favorite moderate or at least to vote against the scariest conservative.

machine said...

Thank you NH for nominating a Democrat...

Everyone else, keep up the good work...

pm317 said...

Ann Althouse said...

We're visiting family in Denver and Austin and seeing America along the way, in traditional American fashion... By car.

------
That is how we like to see this beautiful country too. The last big trip was from Salt Late City to Yellowstone and back. We got one speeding ticket and a warning on the way back to SLC airport as we rushed to make it back to our flight. The second cop was nice and cute and he let us off after hearing we're going to be late (and that we didn't realize the speed limit had just gone down).

My brother and his family were visiting from India and we offered to take them on such a road trip to Florida but they didn't understand the charm of it and said no.

Revenant said...

Captain Tin Foil???? It is to go into hysterics so hard your sides ache.

I know he's a nut, I said that already. But he's the only small-government candidate in the race, which means he's going to attract support from people who care about that sort of thing.

We tried Isolationism and you can visit the results at Pearl Harbor and Ground Zero.

I said "defense cuts", not "isolationism" (Paul's not an isolationist). Also, if you think we were trying "isolationism" prior to 9/11 I can only assume you slept through the 20th century.

if the Iranians, aided by their pal, Hugo, slip a nuke into the country

And it'll take $650 billion a year to keep Iran from getting nukes, will it? Also, when are we planning to invade? Because it is obvious that fear of our military isn't dissuading the Iranians at all.

Politicians always have some chickenshit reason why cutting their preferred programs will lead to disaster. This is just the Republicans'.

Revenant said...

That's how we got where we are - just ask Althouse why she voted for The Golden Child.

No, that isn't "how we got where we are". The mess we're in is every bit as much Bush's as Obama's.