Left-wing bloggers boost 2014 re-election campaign of Sen. Jeff Sessions

Michelle Malkin:

The left-wing blogosphere has been busy slinging mud at Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, who has taken over the lead GOP spot on the Senate Judiciary Committee. All on cue, the liberal bloggers are recycling old quotes out of context to smear Sen. Sessions as a racist and cripple the Republicans from voicing any opposition to President Obama’s first Supreme Court nominee.
The race-obsessed leftists are the ones wearing the bigot blinders. They see every white Southern Republican male in public office as a de facto racist.

In case you don’t know anything about Alabama Republicans, they are profoundly suspicious of any Republican official who has never been denounced as a “racist.” If liberals want to destroy Senator Sessions, they should start saying nice things about him.

Ultimately, this scattershot business of smearing every opponent of Obama as “racist” will have precisely the opposite effect of what liberals hope. Lots of folks are starting to notice this — look at Glenn Beck — and fight back.

Stand firm and tell the truth. The idiot liberals might just yet Alabamify this country.

Free the Beers!

Moe Lane is on the story of how gourmet beer enthusiasts in Alabama are waging an activist campaign against a Republican state senator who opposes their effort to legalize their favorite brews.

As might be expected, the ubiquitous Libertarian troublemaker Stephen Gordon is right in the middle of it. First he pushes the “Going Galt” meme, then he breaks the DHS “Rightwing Extremist” report, and now this.

He’s like the Forrest Gump of liberty.

UPDATE: Daley Gator has sharp words for the Republican douchebag. BTW, I understand that Alabama has a state law against sex toys. Couldn’t somebody file a lawsuit asking the state supreme court to rule that Sen. Bobby Singleton is a dildo or a buttplug, and thereby ban him from the state?

4th of July Tea Party? Make plans now!

Given the rousing success of the April 15 Tax Day Tea Party, activists are already starting to make plans for another wave of Tea Parties on July 4.

Stephen Gordon and I have discussed the possibility of coordinating an Alabama event with my traditional Fourth of July fireworks spectacular at Camp FUBAR on Lake Weiss. Here’s video of last year’s show:

If y’all want to have a big shindig out by the lake, the more the merrier, but start hitting the tip jar now, so I can afford to buy a big supply of fireworks wholesale soon. Ask anyone who was there last year, it’s an incredible show. And if we get enough contributions, I might be able to make it as big as my legendary 2005 finale:

VIDEO: The ‘Bama Tea Party speech

You might be a right-wing extremist if . . .

I’m actually much better-looking in person.

Stephen Gordon at Liberty Papers has the best roundup on the Alabama Tea Party scene.

RELATED:
4/17: Dear Ross Douthat
4/17: I Question the Timing!
4/16: The World’s Worst TV Reporter
4/16: ‘Bama Tea: How big is huge?
4/14: Alabama, here I come!

Tito Perdue, literary genius

Woke up this morning at 8:30 a.m. after staying up until 3 a.m. talking to my old friend Tito Perdue. The morning sun is streaming down on the lakefront here about 10 miles north of Wetumpka, Alabama. It’s beautiful, although I thought the midnight stars were more beautiful.

We watched opera last night, and Tito reminded me how we met. I’d written a column for the Rome (Ga.) News-Tribune which (humorously, I thought) explained why I couldn’t stand the caterwauling of an operatic soprano. Tito, who was then living in Cave Spring, Ga., wrote a letter to the editor denouncing me as a philistine. This was the start of a long and eventful friendship. More after this operatic interlude featuring the Russian soprano Netrebko:

Among other things, I’m semi-responsible for Tito’s “outing” as something other than a liberal. (Don’t ever call him a “conservative”; he’ll reply, “No, I’m a reactionary!”) Tito’s first two novels were published to critical acclaim and he looked to be well on his way to being the next Winston Groom (who is, in fact, a cousin of his). Critics thought his Faulkneresque style was “postmodern,” and he was favorably reviewed in the New York Times, etc.

Then, after we met, I wrote a feature profile about Tito, describing his library full of classics, his enjoyment of Wagner, his admiration of Nietzsche, his general loathing of all things new or even recent. Among other things, he mentioned in the interview that, if there were ever to be a film made of his books, the only director he’d want would be Elia Kazan — who, you may recall, “named names” for the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

Tito thought the article was splendid, and copies of the article were distributed by his agent. At which point, the game was up. His book contract was cancelled and it was a couple of years before he published his next novel, which the New York Times didn’t review. Difficult as is the life of a literary novelist in the Age of Illiteracy, imagine what it’s like for Tito being marked as an antagonist of the liberal culture — really, an antagonist of the entirety of contemporary society. And, doggone it, Elia Kazan is dead!

Tito is a fine storyteller and his first novel, Lee, is great, even if the critics agree. The book introduces the protagonist Lee Pefley, who is featured in his other novels. His second book, The New Austerities, was actually better, I thought. More recently, he’s published a wonderful tale of Lee Pefley’s romantic youth, The Sweet Scented Manuscript. This is a roman a clef of Tito’s own wild experience at Ohio’s Antioch College, where he met, wooed and married his wife Judy.

Their love affair was scandalous enough to get them both kicked out of school in 1957. They’ve now been married 51 years, and I think young readers — who have zero idea of what the 1950s were really like, much less the kind of love that causes two kids to get married at 18 — would get a thrill out of The Sweet Scented Manuscript. Of course, this postulates the hypothetical existence of young people who read literary novels for any reason other than being assigned to do so by their teachers. Sigh.

At any rate, I’m sitting barefoot in Tito’s living room, which has a magnificent view of the lake. Last night, as we stood out on the deck underneath a star-filled sky, I said I wished my friends up in D.C. had any inkling of how wonderful Alabama is. This horrified Judy, who expressed the fear that such a revelation might result in an influx that would ruin the place.

So whatever you do, don’t tell anyone that the nearest place to heaven on earth is 10 miles north of Wetumpka on Alabama Highway 111, just off County Road 23. Take a right turn at Martin’s Bait & Tackle and keep going until you find the end of Muscadine Lane.

Of course, you’ll never find the place. You probably won’t even bother to try. And isn’t that sad?

‘Stars Fell on Alabama’

I’m here at the home of novelist Tito Perdue, on the lakefront about 10 miles north of Wetumpka, Alabama. We were out on the deck, beneath a clear midnight sky, and I couldn’t help but think of the splendid arrangement of “Stars Fell On Alabama” performed by the world-famous Marching Southerners of my alma mater, Jacksonville (Ala.) State University.

UPDATE: Thanks to Cynthia Yockey for this Doris Day rendition of “Stars Fell On Alabama”:

Man, they don’t write ’em like that anymore.

‘Bama Tea: How Big Is Huge?

How big was the crowd in Hoover, Alabama, for Wednesday’s Tea Party event? Huge. Massive. Ginormous.

I spoke at 5:15 p.m.in Tuscaloosa — Roll, Tide! — and afterward was briefly interviewed by Kelly Munts, a student journalist for the Crimson and White:

Robert Stacy McCain was among those speakers. McCain mentioned his own transition to being conservative after being raised ‘a yellow dog Democrat.’ He advised audience members to get organized in order to be as effective as possible in their reaching their goals. After the speech, McCain mentioned the perspective that he took in addressing the group.
“It was a huge crowd, they got quiet at one point and I think they might’ve been taking me a little too seriously,” McCain said. “I was trying to be upbeat, positive and humorous because you get the most done when you’re having a good time.”

That interview was conducted while walking across the Quad to Stephen Gordon’s Jeep, because I was due at the Hoover event at 6:30 p.m. The statute of limitations hasn’t expired, so I’m not going to say how fast Gordo drove via I-20, I-459 and I-59, but we were a red blur until we got off the exit at Hoover.

A total traffic jam locked up Valleydale Road.. I kept telling Gordo that this was the crowd for the rally, and he kept doubting me. “Nah, it must be an accident up ahead.” But as usual, I was right. Several of the cars we passed — and I’m not going to say that we drove illegally in a left-turn-only lane — had people with American flags and Tea Party protest signs.

When we finally arrived at the event (via a shortcut) the parking lot was full, and as I raced toward the stage, throngs of people were still streaming into the rally, which had already been going for 45 minutes. Famous Alabama radio personalities Rick and Bubba were doing a live TV remote with Sean Hannity. Alabama gubernatorial candidate Tim James spoke; leading Republican observers in the state say he’s the man to watch for 2010.

Next up was Birmingham talk-radio host Lee Davis, who did a James Brown hardest-working-man-in-show-business performance. By this time, I’d found my Samoan lawyer buddy Bert, who lives in Birmingham and joined me backstage. The lady came to tell me I was next up after Davis — a tough act to follow.

But hey, I’m Mack the Knife. I killed. I told ’em how my buddy Stephen Gordon broke the story about the DHS report about “right-wing extremists,” and then:

Since I work in Washington, I contacted my source at the Department of Homeland Security and asked him what I should be on the lookout for. And I’ve got my notes from that interview with me. You might be a right-wing extremist if . . .
. . . you refuse to bow to Saudi royalty.
. . . you think the only good pirate is a dead pirate.
. . . you don’t think it’s a good idea for politicians in Washington to borrow another trillion dollars you grandchildren will have to repay.
. . . you think you know how to run your life better than a bunch of ‘experts’ in Washington.
. . . you believe in God, but don’t think that Obama is the Messiah.
. . . you believe the only reason you have First Amendment Rights is because of your Second Amendment rights.

That may not seem too funny just reading it on a blog, but the magic was in the delivery. It went over very well with a big fired-up crowd. Alabama people are the finest people on the planet.

After the rally, went to the Five Points Grill for a celebratory dinner with friends, where various right-wing conspiracies political plans were discussed. Between Gordo and his buddies, I’m pretty sure they’ve got the whole dang state locked up for the foreseeable future.

Stephen Gordon on Rachel Maddow Show

(BUMPED; UPDATED) Talking Tea Party:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Right now, I’m staying at Gordo’s house in Hartselle, Alabama. Will be speaking today at 5 p.m. in Tuscaloosa at the University Quad, then hot-wheeling over to Hoover for the 6:30 p.m. event at Veteran’s Park.

UPDATE: BTW, where are those “right-wing billionaires” when you need them? Instead of flying in on a private jet, I drove 700 miles to get here. Then, because Gordo had fallen asleep and didn’t hear his phone ringing, I slept in my car for a couple of hours.

To update a little more of what’s gone online while I was offline for 18 hours:

• Patrick Ruffini pushes back against the Left’s “authenticity” meme.
• Michelle Malkin documents the history of the Tea Party movement.
• Michelle also punk-smacks Paul Ryan (tea-bagging my man-crush!)
• Glenn Reynolds tea-bags the Wall Street Journal.
• Right-Wing Extremist Pride!
• Extremist Round-Up.
• Tea Party Round-Up.

Tons of more stuff at Memeorandum, including a few examples of today’s JournoList-approved Meme O’ Th’ Day: “Oh, those silly right-wingers.” Matt Taibbi mocks:

This new Holy Trinity of right-wing basket cases has been pushing all sorts of crazy hallucinations of late. . . . It’s like a Farrelly Brothers version of right-wing political agitation.

Marc Cooper at the L.A. Times:

Go to a hobby store. Buy a scale model of a U.N. One-World-Government Black Helicopter and a tube of glue. Toss the model kit. Sniff the entire tube of glue. You’re all set for the party.

And of course, that sober empiricist Sully:

[T]hey deserve to be dismissed as performance artists in a desperate search for coherence in an age that has left them bewilderingly behind.

Leave your behind out of this, Andrew.

UPDATE: For anyone tempted to discouragement by such elitist snark, let me share a comment I made at Hot Air’s Green Room:

It’s important to understand the insight that someone shared with me last year: “The Ron Paul movement wasn’t about Ron Paul. It was about a movement.”
Could anyone reasonably claim that John McCain represented a movement?
Conservatives need to re-learn the idea of building a movement, instead of sitting around passively waiting for the Next Ronald Reagan to just magically appear.

People tend to get the kind of leadership they deserve. During the Bush years, the conservative grassroots developed a sort of inert passivity, waiting around for GOP HQ to tell them what the important issues were and what the appropriate messages were. This top-down, hierarchical model of organization was somewhat successful, so long as the Democrats were willing to play by the same rules.

What happened, however, was that after the Kerry debacle in 2004 people like Markos Moulitsas told the activist base of the Democratic Party that they should stop sitting around waiting for Bob Shrum to figure out a winning strategy. Instead, they started organizing at the grassroots level and just plain raising hell, and pretty soon the Democrats in Washington said, “Hey, who are those guys?”

Next thing you knew, Hillary, Edwards, Pelosi and everybody else was kowtowing to the grassroots, Joe Lieberman was walking the plank and — lo and behold! — the Democrats took back Congress in 2006, maintained the momentum and won the White House in 2008.

So if you’re a conservative out there in Ohio or Florida or Colorado who’s waiting for RNC HQ to save the GOP, you’re part of the problem. If you want to be part of the solution, you’ve got to become an activist. You’ve got to organize.

Create a movement, and don’t worry about who the leader of the movement is. Be your own leader.

WOLVERINES! HIT THE TIP JAR!

UPDATE 1:30 p.m. CDT: One of Stephen’s friends who is a student at the University of Alabama has invited us to visit him before the Tuscaloosa event. So I’ll soon be on a campus abloom with beautiful ‘Bama belles. A tough job, but somebody’s got to do it . . .

UPDATE 1:50 p.m. CDT: Small world: I sent an e-mail to some old Delta House buddies from Jacksonville (Ala.) State, and got a reply from Robin Nee of Tullahoma, Tenn., whose husband Larry founded the Deltas:

Larry & I are a couple of right wing fools who plan tospeak up for what we believe in today at 4:30 p.m.(CT) South Jackson St. Tullahoma at our local Tea Party.
My sign says: “You can’t fix Stupid, but you can VOTE IT OUT!
Larry’s says: “Way To Go FORD…for not taking the Bailout…too many strings!”

Larry loves him some Fords. You ought to see him at Talladega. No, wait: You ought to see Robin at Talladega.

UPDATE 2 p.m. CDT: “When fascism comes to America, it will look like Tea Party crashers.” Godwin’s Law or fair historical analogy? Disrupting opponent’s meetings was a specialty of Ernst Roehm’s SA Brownshirts. And disruptive tactics aren’t the only thing the contemporary Left of Weimar America has in common with Roehm’s goon squads.

Alabama, here I come!

All right, folks, this will be my last post here for a while, because I’m about to pack up the laptop and drive 700 miles to attend Wednesday’s Alabama Tea Party. Of course, just like the folks on JournoList, I’m strictly a neutral, objective observer, and I’ve got a neutral, objective post over at the new Hot Air Green Room you might want to check out.

While I’m on the road, all you bloggers should e-mail your Rule 1/Rule 2 requests to Smitty. Everybody else, please hit the tip jar, because if this thing is being funded by “right-wing billionaires,” they sure are a bunch of cheapskate billionaires.

Important news: Just in case you missed it, the DHS “terrorist” smear against conservatives — we reported it at 3:14 a.m. Monday — has been confirmed by Michelle Malkin. My buddy Stephen Gordon shares credit with Radio America’s Roger Hedgecock for breaking that story. My old buddy Audrey Hudson got the scoop, and look how the JournoListers are pushing back at Memeorandum. (Heh! Blame that subversive Constitution!) Trust me, there will be more shoes dropping over the next few days, as we learn who was behind the DHS smear.

WOLVERINES! HIT THE TIP JAR! And now, boys, let’s hit that theme song:

Naked Tea Party??

At least one young activist is considering the Lady Godiva approach to this situation.

Via Dave, we see the press is ignoring the Tea Party movement. But can they ignore a naked Tea Party? Ah, the sacrifices that patriots must make for the cause of freedom . . .

UPDATE: I don’t know if famous super-model Cindy Crawford is angry about her taxes, but she is definitely naked, and I’m not going to name the esteemed and learned blogger who called that Rule 5 to my attention.

UPDATE II: In the comments, Dave makes clear that Lady Godiva has been invited to the Richmond, Virginia, Tea Party, April 15 at Kanawha Plaza.

UPDATE III: Stephen Gordon adds historical perspective to the “Going Godiva” meme.

UPDATE IV: Going viral: Moe Lane (crossposted at Red State) and now Monique “HotMES” Stuart jumps in.

UPDATE V: And now Godiva gets the ‘Lanche. I was informed of the ‘Lanche by Dave, who said the traffic roll-off to his SiteMeter has already equalled his daily average. Meanwhile, roll-off at HotMES nearly tripled her daily average by noon.

Do the eager young padwans see how this demonstrates the effectiveness of Rule 2? If you can build a nucleus of bloggers who regularly link each other, and who otherwise follow the Rules, then — assuming that they strive to improve the style and content of their blogging — when eventually one of them gets a big hit, the residual benefits will emanate throughout the cell.

Meanwhile, our volunteer referee has thoughts on proper attire for Jello wrestling.