Chris Larson - TIME's 100 Most Influential People 2011

Does Wisconsin state senator Chris Larson have an inflated ego?

YES.

Larson believes that he is one the most influential people of 2011. And he wants you to believe it, too.

Larson tweets:

Vote here for the Wisconsin 14 in TIME magazine's 100 most influential people of 2011. Thanks for your support!... http://fb.me/VMjSjIzA

"Wisconsin's 'Fab 14' State Senators" are praised by TIME magazine.

They've revolutionized the very concept of the filibuster. Presented with a state budget plan that limited the rights of public employees, 14 Democratic members of the Wisconsin state senate, recognizing that they were outgunned in the chamber, decided their best course of action was to pick up and leave the state with the aim of forcing a compromise. You can't have a vote if you don't have a quorum. When their 22-day adventure came to an end they returned to Madison, they became a flash point for both union rights and austerity in debt-ridden America. Derided as the "most shameful 14 people in the state of Wisconsin" by the Republican state senate majority leader, they also became folk heroes on the left. Pins were printed in their honor, and people even learned their lawmakers' names.

These people would only be considered folk heroes by seriously twisted individuals.

They ran from their responsibilities. They attempted to block the will of the people by overturning the results of the November 2010 elections.

If you don't get what's wrong with that, odds are you live in Madison or you're a union boss or you're a Leftist or you're Obama.

Obama 'Greatest Orator of Modern Times' - Roger Simon

On CNN's Reliable Sources Sunday, Roger Simon, Politico, had high praise for Obama's oratory skills.

Video, from Breitbart:



Transcript, from NewsBusters:

HOWARD KURTZ, HOST: So is the press starting to sour on the stalemate in Libya?

Joining us now here in Washington, Roger Simon, chief political columnist for Politico; Dana Milbank, columnist for "The Washington Post," and in San Francisco, Debra Saunders, a columnist for "The San Francisco Chronicle."

Roger Simon, are the journalists and the anchors we just saw now aggressively challenging and acting openly skeptical about the Obama policy in Libya?

ROGER SIMON, CHIEF POLITICAL COLUMNIST, POLITICO: Yes, and that's a good thing. We're supposed to be openly skeptical.

The bloom isn't entirely off the rose between Obama and the press, but reporters are starting to concentrate more than ever on what he says rather than how he says it. We will stipulate that he's the greatest orator of modern times, but now we're looking beyond that in every speech for what he's actually telling us.

Obama is the greatest orator of modern times?

That is laughable.

How does Simon define "modern times"? The 21st century?

It's nuts to consider Obama the greatest orator of modern times.

What's more pathetic is Simon's admission that reporters have been so dazzled by Obama that they haven't been scrutinizing the content of what he says.

The crush the press has had on Obama is an embarrassment. Are these professional journalists, or are they groupies?

They never should have been swooning. They should have been serving as reporters. Truly embarrassing.

Some examples of Obama's oratory "greatness":

The "Breathalzyer"



The "Corpse-man"



The "Twitters"



The "Uh"





The "E-pants-ipation"



"E-pants-pation" still makes me laugh.

No matter what Simon says, the fact is Obama is NOT the greatest orator of modern times. He pales in comparison to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. or President Ronald Reagan. I think even Jesse Jackson is better than Obama.

Without a teleprompter, the man is lost. With his teleprompter, he struggles. He doesn't connect with his audience. He simply reads, sometimes with disastrous results.

When it comes to content, Obama really falls apart.

Let's deal in reality.

Troy Merryfield and JoAnne Kloppenburg - Ad

This is a must-see ad for Wisconsin voters.

Troy Merryfield, an abuse victim, calls out JoAnne Kloppenburg for failing to denounce a positively disgusting ad from the Greater Wisconsin Committee, smearing Justice David Prosser.

A week ago, Merryfield asked Kloppenburg to have the decency to condemn this piece of trash rather than exploit his suffering for her political gain.

Read his statement.

Needless to say, Kloppenburg continued to exploit Merryfield.

So today, Merryfield, the victim of both a pedophile priest and the Kloppenburg proponents, is speaking out again.

Will Kloppenburg respond now?

Is she utterly shameless?

We'll find out.



Transcript

TROY MERRYFIELD: In 1978, my brother and I were abused by someone our family trusted.

With the help of David Prosser and law enforcement, we brought our abuser to justice.

Now, we're being victimized again.

This time, JoAnne Kloppenburg's allies want to use our pain for their own gain.

I asked JoAnne Kloppenburg to try and stop these false ads.

JoAnne Kloppenburg refused.

It's just wrong.

I admire Troy Merryfield. It takes a lot of courage to come forward like this.

It's disgusting that Kloppenburg's team has exploited Merryfield and his brother, showing no sensitivity for their pain whatsoever.

For her part, Kloppenburg prefers to potentially benefit from the smearing of Justice Prosser than do the right thing -- strongly and clearly and loudly condemn the Greater Wisconsin Committee's ad.

Kloppenburg is a disgrace.

She has a choice. She can do the right thing.

She's not.
____________________

UPDATE, April 2, 2011: EXPANDED: THE VICTIM SPEAKS

Fareed Zakaria and Jay Leno

Jay Leno continues to bombard his audience with political drivel from Leftists.

The latest Leftist to appear on the Tonight Show was Fareed Zakaria.

Naturally, Zakaria carried water for Obama. He kept yapping about Libya and the "smart diplomacy" of the Obama administration.

Yes, it's been absolutely brilliant.

Right.

As usual, Leno didn't challenge the Leftist Zakaria at all.

Leno really has changed. Since his prime time fiasco, he doesn't hesitate to reveal his personal political leanings.

He rarely books conservatives on the show, so any political discussion is incredibly slanted and annoying. There's no balance. Leno rarely plays devil's advocate. It's a liberal echo chamber.

Here's video, followed by some interview transcript:

Fareed Zakaria, Part 1

Fareed Zakaria, Part 2

Transcript

JAY LENO: What is Obama's weakness?

FAREED ZAKARIA: I think Obama's weakness is he's a very smart guy but he's very cool, which is good. You're calm, you're collected, but there's almost too much cool. There's an unsentimental...

LENO: Unemotional.

ZAKARIA: Yeah, you think about the problem of Americans who are unemployed. You talk about 20 million, maybe 25 million Americans -- I think if there was some way that he could connect with them. I think they understand he can't wave a magic wand and do something about it, but he needs to in some way give voice to their feeling of hopelessness and frustration. He's not as good at that as he is at the pure analysis.

Oh, good grief.

That's all Zakaria could up with when it comes to Obama's weakness?

Obama's weakness is a lesser strength?

What a hack!

When Leno brought up the 2012 election and the Republican nominee, Zakaria stressed the Tea Party's influence, suggesting extremism. That's right out of the Dems' talking points and Chuck Schumer's big mouth.

ZAKARIA: The party has changed a lot. This is not Ronald Reagan's party. This is not Richard Nixon's party. This is a party animated by the Tea Party, by populism, by all these new forces. And so I think it's much less going to play by the old rules. And so when people look at a Sarah Palin and say, 'Well, she can't get it,' she energizes that base like nobody else does.

Then Leno set up Zakaria to take some shots at Glenn Beck.

LENO: Let me ask you something just to have some fun here. Glenn Beck -- what did he call you? An 'America-basher' and a 'useful idiot.'

ZAKARIA: Yeah, because I corrected his math. He went on a show with his chalkboard and, you know, explained how 10 percent of Muslims are all, are terrorists.

LENO: 9.8. Ten percent!

ZAKARIA: Ten percent, you know. And I just pointed out if you do the math that means there are 157 million terrorists around in the world, and by the State Department's counts there have been only, what, 10,000... you know, 1000 terrorist events. If you assume 100 people involved in planning, it's just the math doesn't make any sense.

So I just think, look, it's the easiest thing to call somebody when you disagree with them an America-basher. I'm an immigrant. I'm not an American by accident of birth as Glenn Beck is. I'm an American by choice. I came to this country.

LENO: (Laughs, applauds)

I can understand why Zakaria would want to respond to Beck's name-calling, and defend himself. That's fair.

However, Zakaria's remarks do serve to diminish those of us blessed to be born in America, as if he has some greater authority because he chose to be an American.

I don't like that argument.

I don't think of myself as "American by accident of birth." I'm just a proud citizen, grateful to be an American. My pride and gratitude are no accident.

Also, Zakaria derides Beck for calling him an "America-basher."

Will Zakaria condemn the protesters in Wisconsin and their comrades around the country for calling Governor Scott Walker Hitler and other hideous names?

Next topic: The Birther controversy.

LENO: You know I like Donald Trump. He's a friend of mine. He's been here. Why... You can't be president if you weren't born here. If it didn't come out before the election, what is this nonsense? Why does this keep going on?

ZAKARIA: Look, I think that some of this -- maybe there are people who feel genuinely worried about this -- I think some of it is being used by politicans as a coded way to talk about race and the fact that he's different from us, whatever that means. I think it's a great shame because first of all, it's unbecoming, it's un-American. Secondly, you know, look at this last census. What does it mean to be different for us? You've got 15 million Hispanic Americans. You've got a country that is increasingly a mixture of minorities. You know, look at us. We all have funny last names. Right? I mean, join the club.

And there's the race card.

I think Trump just wants publicity. He's shrewd. He's knows how to get it. Call Rosie O'Donnell a fat pig and question Obama's birth certificate, whatever it takes to get attention. It's about self-promotion. But that's not the issue. Zakaria is especially offensive when he calls Americans racists and bigots.

This code crap is silly. It's insulting to the majority of Americans who have policy disagreements with Obama and don't approve of the job he's doing as president.

While I'm sure there are some people against Obama because he's half black, most of us against Obama are critical of his policies and values, not his skin color.

This is the 21st century.

Another Leftist hijacks Leno's show. I blame Leno for handing over the controls.

David Prosser and Mark Levin

Justice David Prosser will be a guest on Mark Levin's radio program today.

Justice Prosser will be on my program at 7:30 PM eastern time, for an exclusive interview. The election is just days away -- on April 5. The battle over Wisconsin's future appears to come down to the re-election of a Supreme Court justice, David Prosser.

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/print/263187

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