A dangerous precedent is established when politicians openly promote lawsuits between citizens. Such use of governmental influence belies a nation where everyone is equal before the law and drives an unnecessary wedge between the populace. Legally, Hoyer isn’t prohibited from supporting Fluke. But ethically he should refrain from encouraging civil litigation. He violated the public’s trust, compromised a potential lawsuit’s integrity, and possibly led Sandra Fluke astray.

Hoyer’s open hubris doesn’t mean a defamation suit has no merit. Libel attorneys have outlined two reasons why Sandra is on solid legal ground. She’s a private citizen victimized publicly by a powerful figure. Also, Limbaugh’s disparaging remarks about her sex life “embedded false statements of fact.” But there are also flaws in this reasoning that could make litigation a risky path for Ms. Fluke.

Is Sandra indeed a private citizen? When an activist publicly presents their opinions as expert testimony before Congress in the attempt to influence a legislative outcome, they become part of the debate. Sandra isn’t a public figure in the same sense as Hoyer, or famous like Limbaugh. Yet her public activism makes her a public figure. Therefore, she cannot hide from criticism.

What about the insults? Being a public figure doesn’t mean it’s open season for character assassination. However, a libel suit could be Sandra Fluke’s undoing. Instigating legal action entails the possibility of actually litigating. Settling for a cool million from the well-heeled Limbaugh would be a smart move. But taking her case to civil court where sworn testimony is presented opens a can of worms. Sandra Fluke’s background becomes fair game in court, including her sex life. Don’t think the Limbaugh defense team wouldn’t try to prove Sandra the biggest tramp since Mata Hari.

Limbaugh can afford the highest flying legal eagles money can buy. They’ll peek in every closet; look under every rock. Fluke’s classmates, friends, and lovers — from high school until now — will be interviewed. The most damaging will be called as witnesses for the defense. If Sandra Fluke is the least bit promiscuous we’ll learn every intimate detail, right down to her favorite acts and positions.

Public opinion favors Sandra today. But that goodwill disappears if court testimony proves her everything Limbaugh said she was. Her lawsuit will be lost, the potential windfall of an out-of-court settlement gone, and her public reputation legitimately besmirched. 

That’s the risk Sandra Fluke runs if she takes Hoyer’s legal advice. Suing Limbaugh for libel and losing makes her appear even worse than Rush portrayed her. Maybe she should then sue Hoyer for bad legal advice, and for attempting to build his political capitol at her expense.

The villain is, predictably, anyone who criticizes Sandra Fluke. But keep in mind that Fluke is no innocent bystander; she’s a feminine activist. She knew full well that Georgetown didn’t include contraceptives in student insurance plans before she enrolled. Sandra’s an operative who used her private life to affect public policy, thus inviting criticism. Frankly, Ms. Fluke is symptomatic of the entitlement attitude that has infected our nation. She demands a benefit at someone else’s expense and is willing to grovel at government’s feet to get it. A freedom fighter she’s not.

However, we don’t really know Ms. Fluke’s personal affairs, and not all women who use contraception work at the corner brothel. Rush should’ve chosen his words with more care. He since apologized, leaving everyone to decide for themselves whether he did so sincerely or to stem the advertising exodus from the EIB network. But if anyone thinks this is the end of the line for the Rush Limbaugh Show, they’re jumping the gun.

Conservatives support Rush because he publicly articulates their views on culture and government. As the fallout continues and they see advertisers, and a few radio stations, withdraw from the king of daytime radio a sense of panic on their part is normal. Despite Rush’s apology the firestorm hasn’t relented, prompting grave concern about Limbaugh’s survival among his supporters.

Liberals, conversely, have indulged more fantasies about Limbaugh’s demise than have teenage boys about Sports Illustrated swimsuit models. He’s arrogant and uninformed, a colossal blowhard who must be silenced at all cost. In wake of his Fluke rebuke, leftwing forums and message boards are joyously singing funeral dirges to the despised Rush Limbaugh.

Whichever side of that fence you’re on, you’re reacting prematurely. Controversy isn’t new to Rush Limbaugh. He has faced it before and emerged stronger each time. Remember Donovan McNabb, and the phony soldiers? It turned out Rush was right on both topics. He survived drug addiction, hearing loss, the great Viagra airport bust, and failed marriages. Each was said to be his undoing. But he’s still there, coast to coast, weekdays from noon to three Eastern Time.

Leftwing personalities have uttered far worse slurs toward conservatives than what Limbaugh said about Sandra Fluke. Bill Maher hosted two loons who fantasized about raping Rick Santorum and Michelle Bachman. Oh, what a laugh that was. Michael Moore produces nefarious propaganda on par with Leni Riefenstahl and wins an Oscar for his documentary. Al Franken became a Senator!

So, love him or hate him, get used to him. Limbaugh isn’t going away.

David Michael Kaiser IV was today born at 2:17 p.m. I’m told he arrived at 5 lbs 3 oz and wearing a Gary Johnson 2012 button.

CNN has an exclusive up tonight about Newt’s first divorce, refuting his claim that it was Jackie who requested it.

It’s doubtful this will change anyone’s mind about the former speaker. Either the adultery and divorce bother you, or they don’t. His honesty about who wanted the divorce probably won’t rank high on your list of concerns.

But it does remind us that matters of personal integrity often have a way of shaping races. But should they?

But now he’s accused of a consensual 13-year affair, nothing illegal, and he’s considering an exit? He’s said, “We are reassessing as we speak. Reassessment means reevaluation.”

Cain’s collapse might be the single greatest gift Newt Gingrich has ever received.

A story that began with two women alleging “inappropriate behavior” has grown to include a third woman, female staffers from a conservative talk radio show in Iowa, and hush money from the National Restaurant Association. Yet the details about what occurred, if anything, have thus far been silenced, if they’re known at all. With each “revelation” the Cain saga seems more and more like Clarence Thomas’ confirmation hearings.

If you’ll recall, Anita Hill offered no credible evidence of “inappropriate behavior” on the part of Thomas. It was a case of “she said” so “he did.” The seriousness of the charge trumped the nature of the evidence. But at least we knew the accusations against Thomas, and his accuser. All we know about Cain is that anonymous women once accused him of misconduct, which could mean anything from a passing compliment, to a wink, to a grope.

No claim against Cain has, as yet, become public. But the lack of details hasn’t prevented the media — namely Politico — from running with the story. Funny how the public’s need to know is quickly served whenever scandal descends on a conservative, especially when that conservative’s popularity has been steadily rising.

The media had little interest in Bill Clinton’s sordid and sundry escapades. Juanita Broaddrick was treated like a stalker, Paula Jones was dismissed as trailer trash, and media outlets had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the Lewinsky affair. Reporters and anchors marveled at Clinton’s uncanny aptitude for misrepresentation. The dominant media also ignored John Edwards, at least until the National Enquirer broke Edwards’ sleazy story and it grew too big to cover-up.

Not even the civil rights activists will come to Cain’s defense; he’ll have to exercise his demons alone. If he were a proper black man, one firmly planted on the leftist plantation, he could play the race card. But as a black conservative, Cain isn’t black enough to charge racism. He’s fair game. Assassinating a conservative’s character is always in season, regardless of their race.

I’m not necessarily defending Herman Cain’s innocence or endorsing his candidacy. But he does exhibit some likable qualities. For example, he’s a Washington outsider without political experience. We need another politician with experience in creating trillion dollar deficits and multi-trillion dollar debt like Eliot Spitzer needs a dose of Cialis.

 Everyone has skeletons in their closet. A political candidate’s skeletons are held in reserve until said candidate gains momentum. There’s simply no need to waste time and effort demeaning an also-ran. The fact that Herman Cain is the eye of a media storm means he’s now considered a viable candidate.

To encourage the lazy among us to participate, I’ll pick a random commenter to receive an autographed copy of The Wedding Letters.

Click here to read the article by Joe Scarborough.

If you would like to read the article I wrote comparing Anthony Weiner to Lebron James, click the “Read More” link.

Enjoy your Wednesdays PD family!

Anthony Weiner: Politics’ Bron Bron

The past two summers have not been kind to these two public figures.

Lebron James and Anthony Weiner know all too well what it is like to fall in the eyes of the public.They had everything any man could ever want, but their arrogance took them down, way down. It was their pride that made it so easy for us to root against the Miami Heat and to celebrate when the Congressman finally resigned. If only Mr. Weiner had followed basketball a little more closely, he might still have his job.

When Weiner first became a Congressman in 1999, Lebron James had just turned into a high school phenom, dubbed the supposed successor to Michael Jordan. In DC, Weiner was an up and coming political star amongst Democrats and worked his way up in many liberal circles. Meanwhile in Cleveland, Lebron immediately turned the once last place Cavs into a contender collecting a few MVP trophies along the way. Both men were successful, popular, and media magnets for generally positive reasons. All that changed last summer and continued to worsen these summer months; both remained media magnets but for all the wrong reasons.

Anthony Weiner always reeked arrogance and baby Bron Bron was constantly told only what he wanted to hear as a superstar in Akron. In the summer of 2010 these two men revealed their true colors for all to see and it wasn’t pretty. We all know about the now infamous  “Decision” PR stink bomb James brought upon himself. His self absorption knew no limits as he celebrated in Miami the next day while claiming that the Heat would “Not only win one, not two, not three… NOT SEVEN,” championships.

Weiner did not learn from “Lebum’s” delusions – he thought that he was bigger than the game – big enough to get away with this kind of public showboating. In fact, he would not by outdone by Lebron. Just a few weeks later Weiner followed suit by refusing to yield to the gentleman. Crazy Right! He broke all sorts of House protocol in what was supposed to be a one minute address to the House about giving healthcare to 9/11 responders, a noble cause. His tirade distracted from the bill, hurting his own cause. This prolonged rant earned him scorn from fellow representatives and negative media attention. The problem with arrogance is that its not easy to get rid of, it usually roars its head back in say… a year?

A year passed, both these men were hit hard but certainly not down for the count. It didn’t have to end this way for dear old Anthony. He could have learned from his NBA equivalent. It takes a lot of cajones err confidence, to say that your not putting your head down; to proclaim your life is still better than 99.99% of the rest of the world’s right after yet another collapse in the playoffs. Likewise, I am amazed by the audacity to send photographs of yourself to multiple strange women as an already controversial public figure. You see, it wasn’t Weiner’s wiener (I couldn’t help it) that brought him down but his equally sized ego. A Proverb my mother always quoted to me is brought to mind – pride comes before the fall – she was right. Well, that and “accidentally” tweeting pictures of yourself… Can’t wait to see how these two fare next summer!

Alexandra Petri of The Washington Post calls attention to this ad set to run in a Texas newspaper.

This seems like an awful lot of money to spend on an ad likely to result in a large number of people saying, “No!” emphatically and continuing with their days, but then again, perhaps this lack of acumen is why I am not the president of CASH. And I’m not sure why he chose the “Star Wars” font. Nothing says effective ad-making like “an ad (hominem) hoping to find someone who has had sex with Rick Perry, written in a “Star Wars” font, that implies offensive things about Hillary Clinton’s footwear.”

It’s not even a personal attack. It’s an ad hoping it can make a personal attack later. Is this really where we are?

“Gee,” this ad says. “Wouldn’t it be great if there were a scandal in Rick Perry’s personal life? Get on that, facts.”

“Rick Perry Is A Family Values Hypocrite*” the ad says. *We still have no facts to support this claim.

Are we okay with this? We shouldn’t be.

Where is the line here, folks?

Even if you choose not to weigh in, give her post a quick glance. Her proposed ads for Romney, Bachmann and Paul are pretty clever.

This episode makes the President look like Joseph Paine.

He says he won’t resign, but isn’t this just the tip of the iceberg? Will he survive Weinergate?

Earlier today Rangel was found guilty on 11 violations of House rules. (Only 11?) Some of those include–but are not limited to–the following: used House stationary and staff to solicit money for a school of public policy in his name at the City College of New York, solicited donors for the center with interests before the Ways and Means Committee, using an apartment in Harlem zoned for residential use as his campaign office, failing to report more than $600,000 on his financial disclosure report, and failing to pay taxes on rental income from a villa he owns in the Dominican Republic.

My answer to the original question? Nothing. Oh well, maybe a slap on the wrist. He should be given the boot. If he had any integrity at all he would resign. However, I’m not holding my breath.

American citizens are targeted for killings far away from any battlefield, based exclusively on unchecked accusations by the Executive Branch that they’re involved in Terrorism.

..Obama had continued Bush’s policy (which Bush never actually implemented) of having the Joint Chiefs of Staff compile “hit lists” of Americans..

Obama’s Director of National Intelligence, Adm. Dennis Blair, acknowledged in Congressional testimony that the administration reserves the “right” to carry out such assassinations.

Read the entire article from, of all places, Salon.com

“Keep in mind again, federal candidates, this was a war of Obama’s choosing. This is not something the United States had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in … If he’s such a student of history, has he not understood that you know that’s the one thing you don’t do, is engage in a land war in Afghanistan? All right, because everyone who has tried, over a thousand years of history, has failed. And there are reasons for that.”

99.999% of republicans and conservatives (not to be confused) are denouncing the comments, with heavyweights like Bill Kristol and Liz Cheney even calling for his head. And perhaps the only elected official defending him is none other than Ron Paul.

So where do you stand? Is it time for Steele, the controversial lightning rod of the GOP, to go?

President headed to fundraiser during Gulf memorial service
Posted: June 11th, 2010 05:45 AM ET

President Obama was en route to a fundraiser for Sen. Barbara Boxer in California during a May 25 memorial service for the workers who died in the Deepwater Horizon explosion, according to his official schedule.

(CNN) – According his official schedule, President Obama did not attend the May 25 memorial service in Jackson, Mississippi for the workers who died in the Deepwater Horizon explosion because he was en route to a fundraiser for Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, in San Francisco.

At Thursday’s White House briefing, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was asked why Obama did not attend the service. The president’s spokesman answered, “I’d have to look at the schedule. I don’t know the answer.”

CNN examined the president’s schedule for that day, and according to it, the president left the White House at 2:55 p.m. EST en route to Andrews Air Force Base for the cross-country flight to the San Francisco fundraiser.

A Jackson source in possession of the memorial service program told CNN that the service began at 2:00 pm EST and lasted “more than an hour and a half” – putting the president in transit to the fundraiser during the second half of the memorial service.

From CNN’s Abby Livingston

The Legacy Committee PAC and the Republican Majority Campaign PAC, hired Brown, a long time Republican strategist, to concept a series of powerful 30-second television ads exposing Harry Reid’s longtime record of political corruption.

“The ad focuses on the close relationship between triad Reid, Al Maktoum and the CEO of MGM Mirage, CEO James Murren,” said Brown. “The bottom line is that the taxpayers and citizens of Nevada pay a terrible price because of the collusion between this corrupt triumvirate. Education and other essential services are being cut in Nevada because of MGM and Al Maktoum’s unwillingness to pay the cost of gaming regulation. While, at the same time, they short change the Nevada budget, they are pouring resources into making sure that their favorite political protector, Senator Harry Reid, is re-elected. These connections begin to explain why Harry Reid, the so-called poor public servant from Search Light is now a multi millionaire.”

According to Kreep, the ad is set to begin running in Las Vegas on March 15, 2010. “The buy for this, and already produced future ads, will be extended around the state in weeks to come.”

The Republican Majority Campaign PAC has extensive experience in independent expenditures. In the last election cycle they raised and spent over 4.5 million dollars in numerous independent expenditure campaigns. Together with Legacy Committee PAC, they have launched an innovative website covering this campaign called ExposeHarry.com. Please watch the website for further developments.

A News Conference is scheduled for Monday, March 15 on the Las Vegas Strip at the famous Welcome to Las Vegas sign from 11:30 until 12:00 pm, Pacific Time, featuring Reid ad producer Floyd Brown and PAC President Gary Kreep, discussing the impact of the ad airing in Las Vegas, and to show the news media a copy of a second ad to be released after the news conference.

Note: MGM Mirage, Inc (my former employer) has just announced that they are pulling out of New Jersey by placing their 50% stake in Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in a divestiture trust after the regulatory group found problems with its partner in a Macau casino. Rumor has it that the company’s Macau business partner, heiress Pansy Ho, was found to be “unsuitable” due to apparent ties to organised crime.

If these further ties to corruption are established then the owner of half of the Las Vegas Strip is in deep trouble.

I’ll post the ad once it becomes available.