If you want to get the attention of politicos in the Twittersphere, apparently all you need to do is write about the female body.
While the GOP will no doubt have some fun with this story, I would much rather focus on issues instead of attempts to always shoot people down on the personal front. I do think this story will point out the hypocrisy of those on the left who would take a similar action (mistake or not a mistake) and use it to criticize a Republican for being part of a “war on women.”
Here’s the story from Buzzfeed:
The Democratic party’s top recruit for the U.S. Senate race in Montana has a Facebook problem. Either he’s dangerously clumsy with the site’s iPhone app — or he recently let the world know how much he appreciates breasts.
A screengrab captured by a Republican operative with interest in the 2014 Senate race shows Democratic Lt. Gov. John Walsh — whom national Democrats are hoping will jump into the Senate race soon — “liked” a Facebook profile featuring pictures of women’s breasts on Facebook around 9:45 p.m. on Aug. 19. The name of the account is “Breasts.Proof men can multitask2.”
“This was spam and an unintentional accident. Once the Lt. Gov. knew that it had happened it was immediately removed from the page,” said the Democrat (unnamed source for Buzzfeed).
The Daily Caller, a conservative website, is also covering…and Montana Media Trackers has “10 Funny Tweets About Montana Lt. Gov. John Walsh’s Internet ‘Breast Gaffe”
This guy is Montana’s Lt. Gov and top Democrat #MTSen recruit http://t.co/XWBQRDMJTg pic.twitter.com/5qMmL0p7pY
— Bill Murphy (@billmurphy) September 12, 2013
While Republicans will get a laugh, what’s the real story here? Dems are spinning a candidate of last resort as their “great candidate.” (Also evident by the fact that they are attempting to throw out the “war hero” card very, very early)
From Roll Call:
Walsh, 52, hasn’t announced anything yet, but several knowledgeable Democrats in Big Sky Country and on Capitol Hill said he is taking a serious look at the seat. Since taking office in January, Gov. Steve Bullock has often dispatched Walsh to events around the state, party sources said, using his knack for retail, which would also come in handy on the campaign trail.
“He’s got a strong profile, clearly enjoys being out in Montana and campaigning,” said Adam Pimley, a Montana-based Democratic consultant. “He’s a natural at it. He shakes hands like nobody but Brian Schweitzer,” the state’s previous governor.
So, he can grip and grin…well there you have it.
Meanwhile, Democrats are also doing everything they can to prop up a career staffer to US Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) for the US House race. Per The Washington Post…
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has added nine candidates to a recently launched program to support top recruits, including seven women, the committee announced Monday.
The other seven candidates are: Former state senator Staci Appel (running in Iowa’s 3rd District); businesswoman Erin Bilbray (running in Nevada’s 3rd District); former state House member Jennifer Garrison (running in Ohio’s 6th District); attorney Roxanne Lara (running in New Mexico’s 2nd 7th District); the former state director for Sen. Max Baucus, John Lewis, (running in Montana’s at-large district); retired Navy commander Suzanne Patrick (running in Virginia’s 2nd District); and former county legislator Martha Robertson (running in New York’s 23rd District).
On a much more important front…
WSJ: EPA Plan to Curb New Coal-Fired Power Plants
The Obama administration plans to block the construction of new coal-fired power plants unless they are built with novel and expensive technology to capture greenhouse-gas emissions, according to people familiar with a draft proposal.
The administration’s rule on emissions from new power plants, a long-awaited measure that is one of the capstones of the administration’s climate-change agenda, is set to be formally proposed by the end of next week. While the new rule isn’t final yet and is likely to face a legal challenge, it would be another blow to a coal industry already buffeted by a bonanza of cheap natural gas and increasing regulation.
Response to President Obama’s speech on Syria from Rick Tryon in Great Falls:
Excellent speech by the President for all you public speaking students; clear, short, to the point with concise sentences and explanations that addressed the major questions about a possible strike on Syria. Appealed to emotions like American PRIDE, ANGER at the inhumanity of Assad, FEAR of chemical weapons being used against us, SYMPATHY for gassed children.
A technically almost perfect speech delivered with sincerity from the heart, but it did not convince me that we should kill a bunch more Syrians and risk WWIII.
Meanwhile, Newsbusters.org shares some pertinent history, for those of you who may be asking, what would Reagan do?
NewsBusters.org: Colbert Mocks Reaganites for Bad History, Falsely Says Reagan ‘Looked the Other Way’ on Saddam’s 1988 Gas Attack
PRESIDENT REAGAN 1988: Mr. Secretary-General, distinguished delegates, the terror of it. The horror of it. We condemn it. The use of chemical weapons in the Iran-Iraq war — beyond its tragic human toll — jeopardizes the moral and legal strictures that have held these weapons in check since World War I. Let this tragedy spark reaffirmation of the Geneva protocol outlawing the use of chemical weapons.
I call upon the signatories to that protocol, as well as other concerned states, to convene a conference to consider actions that we can take together to reverse the serious erosion of this treaty. And we urge all nations to cooperate in negotiating a verifiable, truly global ban on chemical weapons at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. It is incumbent upon all civilized nations to ban, once and for all — and on a verifiable and global basis — the use of chemical and gas warfare.
National Journal: Why Are Companies Reluctant to Hire Military Veterans?
The U.S. military is the most trusted institution in America, according to Gallup surveys. Honoring service members is a no-brainer for businesses looking to please consumers. Even people who oppose current military engagements want to support the troops. Yet despite all this goodwill, many recent veterans find it hard to transition into the civilian labor force. In 2012, nearly 10 percent of veterans of Iraq or Afghanistan were unemployed, compared with 7.9 percent of the general population, according to federal statistics.
Corporate commitments provide a bridge from the military to the civilian labor market. But they can’t address labor market challenges that all job seekers face. “We know that it is a major barrier to entry, especially in this economy, to not have the educational experience that a company is looking for,” says Brian Hawthorne, an Iraq war veteran and a board member for Student Veterans of America. Veterans with advanced degrees are much more likely to find employment—and to find family-supporting jobs—than those with just a high-school diploma. Likewise, those who go home to poor or rural areas where jobs are scarce struggle to find work just like their neighbors do.
Hawthorne worries that the public focus on posttraumatic stress and suicide rates among veterans may lead employers to dismiss young veterans as risky hires. “I know vets who don’t include their military service on résumés. To me that’s a real shame, not only for the service member but for the organization,” he says. If a company rejected him based on a negative stereotype, Hawthorne says, he wouldn’t want to work there anyway.
Lyn Mikel Brown, Ed.D., is a professor of education at Colby College. When it comes to the controversial sentence and remarks by District Judge G. Todd Baugh of Billings, whe writes this op-ed for CNN.com: In Montana, a case study in rape culture
Where does this bizarre line of reasoning come from? We need only look around for clues at a media culture that regularly tells young girls that growing up means shedding all signs of pink princess innocence for a porn version of sexy. A culture that celebrates Robin Thicke singing, “I know you want it” at the VMAs as Miley Cyrus — having made the lightening quick transformation from teen role model to sex object,whose job it is to give pleasure to a grown man– twerks in his crotch.
We reward girls and young women who take off their clothes, tell them that their sexual availability and sexual power are their most important assets. We grant them record deals, reality TV shows, and global news coverage. Once they cross over, slut-shaming and Judge Baugh-like sentences enable men like Rambold to take full advantage — as long as it’s not “this forcible beat-up rape.”
How significant was the Colorado recall vote this week? National Review has this:
The national implications of this are significant. When Bill Clinton signed the 1994 “assault weapons” ban, he didn’t just lose the House, he also lost the argument for 20 years. Colorado was supposed to be the blueprint for other “purple” states. If gun control could be done here, then why not in Pennsylvania, or Nevada — or even Texas? Now, it will presumably be difficult to convince state legislatures in other parts of the country to touch the question of guns. Privately, defenders of Morse have shared with me that, while they wanted their man to win, they wish he hadn’t put the Democratic party in this position. This is wise. Gun control rarely works out well for the party.
The Daily Caller: Free Pot in Colorado
Opponents of a proposed 25 percent combined sales and excise tax for recreational marijuana gave away as many as 4,000 free joints in Denver’s Civic Center Park Monday.
The handout wasn’t just for kicks, but to kick off a campaign to vote no on Proposition AA in November, a statewide ballot measure that would levy a 15 percent excise tax and a 10 percent sales tax on sales of marijuana and marijuana-infused products.
No longer “Moo U”- ha MT @wabermes: #Bozeman #blotter caller complained neighbors “work in some type of circus” practice flame throwing.
— Aaron Flint (@aaronflint) September 10, 2013
Helena IR has 5 Questions: Terry Dagenais reflects on 30 years in Vigilante press box
Terry Dagenais recently retired after 30 years in the press box at Vigilante Stadium, and when I approached him for an interview, it quickly became apparent that he would prefer to talk about others, rather than himself.
Q: Can you share your comments about Rocky Erickson and Karl Kallin?
A: Rocky Erickson was unbelievable. He always worked by himself in the corner, did his own spotting and his own stats, at the same time reporting the game. He never skipped a beat. Karl Kallin is the guy that takes care of the stadium — unlocking doors, turning lights on and all that stuff. He’s usually the first one there and the last one to leave.
Congrats to Minot, ND-based Rob Port, who this week celebrated the 10 Year Anniversary for SayAnythingBlog.com
From The Daily Caller’s Matt Lewis:
Having lived briefly in North Dakota, I know old media outlets like the Forum used to get away with biased (or just plain shoddy) coverage. And if you didn’t like it, your only recourse was to write a letter to the editor that they *might* publish.