I checked in with Greta Van Susteren on Tuesday evening apropos Trump's call for a ban on Muslim immigration, and Rush was kind enough to mention it the following day:
By the way, a guest host of this program, Mark Steyn, was on Greta last night. Did you hear what he said? This is great. Steyn said, quote (paraphrasing), "To most Americans, Donald Trump sounds a lot less nutty than John Kerry did when he said in Paris that Islam's not the problem, while they're still mopping blood up from the streets in Paris." Bingo. To most Americans, Donald Trump sounds a lot less nutty than John Kerry trying to explain that there is a rationale for Islam bombing and shooting up Charlie Hebdo.
A few listeners/readers/viewers wrote to say they doubted my confidence in "most Americans": Even conservatives were so beaten down by political correctness they would side with the media, the Democrats, and all the respectable Republicans (Jeb!, Kasich, Lindsey Graham, etc) in being utterly horrified by the proposal. Well, we now have some numbers:
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 66% of Likely Republican Voters favor a temporary ban on all Muslims entering the United States until the federal government improves its ability to screen out potential terrorists from coming here. Just 24% oppose the plan, with 10% undecided.
Among all voters, 46% favor a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States, while 40% are opposed. Fourteen percent (14%) are undecided...
Fifty-nine percent (59%) of voters believe it is too easy for foreigners to legally enter the Untied States. Only 10% believe it is too hard, while 23% say the level of difficulty is about right.
As they say on Broadway, nobody likes it but the public.
While we're on the subject, I said a few months back somewhere or other that I would be surprised if Jeb! made it as far as any actual Iowa or New Hampshire votes. In the Real Clear Politics poll of polls, he's currently at 3.6 per cent - and he's spent $50 million to get there. The confident assertion of GOP insiders has always been that, as the field narrowed, Trump would hit his ceiling, and voters would coalesce around a mainstream candidate. Let's see how that's working out. In the latest CBS/New York Times poll, Trump is in first place with 35 per cent, Ted Cruz is second with 16 per cent, and Ben Carson third with 13 per cent.
That's three crazy outsiders with a combined 64 per cent of the vote. Meanwhile, the combined "mainstream" vote - Rubio, Bush, Christie, Kasich, Pataki, Graham - is 18 per cent, or two points more than Ted Cruz on his own, or half of Trump's numbers. That's why they're now talking about a brokered convention. At this rate, the GOP establishment will be running third party.
~I mentioned earlier Howie Carr's fine column in The Boston Herald re me and Judith Curry and our exchange with Senator Ed Markey, but to be honest I preferred the more malicious opening of Howie's piece in the version that's running over at Breitbart News:
Tuesday the Congressional lifer managed something few solons from Massachusetts or anywhere else have ever accomplished.
First, he let two hostile witnesses take over a Senate subcommittee hearing on global warming and begin questioning him. Then, about two minutes into the relentless cross examination – by a woman and a Canadian author – "Fast Eddie" began foaming at the mouth.
Literally. Fee-fi-foaming at the mouth.
Watch the video for yourself.
As I mentioned, after that first exchange with Dr Curry and me, Markey decided that discretion was the better part of valor and chose not to return for the second round of questions.
Laurence Jarvik writes about Greenpeace's attempt to witness-tamper with Professor William Happer:
Nerves were obviously raw from the get-go, and there didn't appear to be much staff support for Dr. Happer during the ugly incident.
Seated a few rows behind the confrontation, I noticed a young man standing oddly, pressing his chest firmly against Steyn's. They looked like two wildebeest in a National Geographic nature documentary. The straining duo were soon separated by a policewoman. After watching the video, it turned out that Steyn had been trying to prevent fisticuffs, interposing his person between the outraged witness and his Javert. Steyn was acting as bodyguard.
I would bet that the Greenpeace witness-tamperers were there with the encouragement of Dem staffers. Very appropriate for a hearing on the intimidation of climate dissidents.
~Asked what I enjoyed most about my day in Washington, I said it was WMAL traffic gal Jamee Whitten working the title of my new cat album Feline Groovy into her travel update. My interview with WMAL's Brian and Larry can be heard here. Click on the December 8th 8am hour.
