Hewitt Blog

My Washington Examiner column this week is about the people who don't leave Ohio.

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Powerline's Paul Mirengoff calls attention to a headline at Politico.com that labels Col. Alan West, GOP candidate for Congress, as "bombastic."

Col. West is anything but bombastic.  What he is an inspiring and plain speaking patriot who is a very good candidate.

Politico's got a great brand --one of the few news portals that is generally understood to be staffed by reporters who keep their views out of the news.  I am pleased to feature Mike Allen and many others form the site on my show, but I worry about headlines like this one and the growing preponderance of center-left and pure left commentators at the site to the exclusion of center-right and conservative commentators.

The Washington Post has refused to correct its overwhelmingly leftwing online imbalance (with only Chris Cillizza staying in the neutral zone), while the Washington Examiner is locking down as the conservative alternative to the Post.  Politico would be very well served by working overtime to prevent the sort of headline Mirengoff points to from forfeiting its position as a website read by both sides.

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The Agemus Group's Frank Dowse provides a troubling summary.

And Frank's piece was written before this report.

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From a friend who helps businesses work their way through the regulatory thicket:

 

Dear Hugh:

I have noted with interest the recent meme on your show about government policy severely hurting the business environment.  My ears especially perked up last Thursday when Brian Westbury discussed how regulatory policy was keeping the pool of money available for lending very low.  There are vast areas of regulatory policy that have a similar effect so I thought I’d write you and tell you about the particular one I deal with.

By way of introduction, I am in the business of “environmental compliance consulting.”  Specifically, I work with manufacturers to help them comply with the myriad and labyrinthine environmental regulations that control how they operate.  I have been doing this for about 20 years.  Most of my clients are businesses with 50 or fewer employees and do less than 10 million a year in business – businesses too small to afford the kind of expertise I offer on their own staff.

 Read More...

My Townhall.com column this week concerns the long term impacts of marijuana use and California's coming vote in November on whether to legalize the possession and use of dope.  I point to the emerging knowledge about the impacts of past use of Accutane --IBS and various tough diseases like Crohn's-- as a caution about the unknown, long term consequences of drug use, though the comments suggest that proponents of legalization are absolutely convinced that nothing bad ever has or ever will be proven to be connected to marijuana use.  The people who took Accutane who have contacted me for help in pursuing their claims no doubt didn't think they were taking anything with adverse long term side effects either.

I have opened a thread on the subject at The Hughniverse for those who prefer the conversation to be serious.  Prop 19 is about even in the polls, but unless funded opposition appears, rolling legalization may win its biggest victory to date in November in the Golden State.

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AP


The momentum behind Carly Fiorina is large and growing, and making a contribution to her campaign this weekend is a great marker to put down before vacation begins.

TheWall Street Journal provides some insight into how Boxer and other endangered Democrats hope to turn the tide flowing against them, but Boxer's two decades of imperious unpleasantness makes it hard for her to be other than what she is --an aging '60s leftist whose limited intellect and abrasive personality has left her with almost no accomplishments in 18 years in the Senate and a host of people who really don't want to do any favors for California.

Fiorina's campaign manager, Marty Wilson, put out this memo to supporters this week, which was passed along to me by one of them:

I guess it’s not a secret anymore; we’ve got ourselves a little old competitive Senate race here in California. Today’s Field Poll shows Barbara Boxer and Carly Fiorina in a statistical tie, 47 percent to 44 percent. This represents a 30-point improvement for Carly since Field first matched up the two in March 2009. Most importantly, Carly has closed a 15-point gap since January 2010. Trends are stubborn things, and Barbara Boxer has found out that this trend is not her friend. Looks like Barbara Boxer has earned herself a spot on the endangered politicians list.  
 
The political environmental assessment for Barbara Boxer is bleak. Her job performance ratings are 42 percent/48 percent approve/disapprove in this most recent poll. In previous years when she was running for re-election, Boxer has had a much stronger job performance rating. In August 2004, her job performance was 49 percent/36 percent. In February 2008, her job performance rating was 40 percent/25 percent. Even worse news for Boxer is that 52 percent of voters hold an unfavorable view of her in general. After 34 years in Washington, the people of California have seen enough of Barbara Boxer’s act and are preparing to give her the hook.
 
Enter Carly Fiorina, Boxer’s most formidable challenger to date. Carly has proven herself to be a tenacious and energetic campaigner who possesses a competitor’s spirit. That’s why it’s no surprise that, even four months before Election Day, she is already well positioned to win in the fall. Carly’s favorable ratings are plus five (34 percent to 29 percent), and she has the support of her own party by an eight-to-one margin. She leads in the traditional Republican strongholds of Southern California, the Central Valley and the rural north. There’s plenty of work for our campaign to do in the next four months to continue introducing her to voters and talking with them about her plan to create jobs and grow our economy, but Carly has come out of a competitive Republican primary with a unified party and an electorate willing to call on someone new to represent them in Washington.  
 
It’s summertime in California, and the glare of the sunshine has finally put the light on Barbara Boxer’s dismal record. Meanwhile, Carly has taken to the road talking to voters about the issues most important to them, and she’s starting to shine. I guess you could say the climate is just right to finally send Barbara Boxer packing.  

 

If the new law does anything like what is suggested in this column, it will be obviously unconstitutional in every respect in which race or gender is used to confer benefits or inflict punishments.

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I will be joined by Team Rubicon members Jake Wood and Sam Chapetta in hour three of today's prgram to discuss the team's imminent mission to the Burma-Thai border.  The team needs to raise $15,000 to support the effort to train Burmese refugees in field medicine, so if you can help them out, please do so at TeamRubiconUSA.org.

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I taped a long interview with Christopher Hitchens today about his new memoir, Hitch 22: A Memoir.  It is a wonderful book, as was the chance to talk at length with the ailing Vanity Fair columnist

The interview will air on Tuesday, which gives you a chance to get and begin reading the chronicle of an amazing life.



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Kevin Fagan, creator of Drabble, will join me in the second hour of today's progam to discuss the world of syndicated cartoons in the new media age.

Drabble's got a new iPhone and iPad app btw.

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