RACE FOR TED KENNEDY SENATE SEAT

Did you know there is a senatorial election in Massachusetts this upcoming January 19th? Ted Kennedy's seat is open and that day will determine who fills it. Yet, it appears that the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is somewhat disinterested in throwing its weight behind Republican candidate Scott Brown.

The Boston Herald REPORTS:

GOP U.S. Senate candidate Scott Brown has been all but abandoned by the same national Republican committees that pumped hundreds of thousands in campaign cash to former governors Mitt Romney and William Weld during their long-shot bids for U.S. Senate.

The snub has outraged local Republicans who say national conservatives should be jumping at the chance to nab the first open Senate seat in decades despite Brown’s tough odds in the Jan. 19 special election.

“They need to give Scott a level playing field,” said former state GOP chairman Peter Torkildsen. “It’s one of those rare opportunities that a Republican has a good shot in Massachusetts.”

What I find more than a little disturbing about this is that the NRSC has demonstrated a propensity for targeting moderates with its assistance, to a fault. Case in point is in Florida. NRSC chairman John Cornyn threw his group's support behind Charlie Crist over Marco Rubio in Florida back in MAY. Yet, since then, Rubio has pulled ahead of Crist slightly.

Days before Arlen Specter defected to the Democrats, the NRSC came out IN SUPPORT of him instead of Pat Toomey, who is a true conservative.

What on earth is wrong with Cornyn's NRSC? They should be all over this?! Obama is tanking and conservatism is on the rise. The GOP will face a severe backlash even if this race is close with Brown losing while the NRSC stood on the sidelines. Dede Scozzafava in NY 23 is the prime example.

Contact the NRSC and let them know how you feel.

h/t to HA

ROBERT SPENCER WEIGHS IN ON NORTHWEST 253

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano is not the problem but she certainly isn't the solution either. Her reaction(s) to the near tragedy on Christmas day was that "the system worked". After the political backlash that revealed that statement as being completely idiotic, Napolitano shifted gears.

Robert Spencer writes about the overall strategy (or lack thereof) when it comes to dealing with Islamic terrorism.

As for airline security procedures, Abdulmutallab was able to get on the airplane without a passport, and with ingredients for an explosive that would have destroyed the plane and killed everyone in it. TSA officials are busy tightening security procedures with new Abdulmutallab-inspired rules such as forcing passengers to stay in their seats for the last hour of the flight, but these new measures will do nothing to prevent another attack. One thing we have seen over the years since 9/11 is that airport security is always one step behind the jihadists: after jihadist Richard Reid attempted to set off a bomb hidden in his shoes, we all have to take off our shoes and send them through security scanners. After a group of jihadists tried to sneak onto planes explosive chemicals hidden in drink bottles, we can’t carry drinks through airport security terminals. Because Abdulmutallab attempted his jihad attack just before the plane landed, now we can’t get up during the last hour of the flight. The one thing that the TSA should have learned, but hasn’t, is that next time the jihadists will do something else, not just repeat what they did before. And even if every passenger were given a full body cavity search, they will find some way to get around it. But attempt a new approach based on sensible profiling? The TSA would rather fold up shop altogether.

Read the WHOLE THING.

VIDEO: KRAUTHAMMER BLASTS OBAMA ON IRAN

The protests in Iran may soon become bigger than the ones that took place in June over what people perceived as fraudulent elections. Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton has come out and said that unless the military becomes fragmented, thereby opening the door for weapons winding up in the hands of the people, a government overthrow is highly unlikely.

The flip side to that involves the potential for the United States and / or Israel to help facilitate that fragmentation with some form of support - either financial or communications capabilities. The problem with that prospect is the man who occupies the White House.

Krauthammer slams Obama over this, saying "This is a moment in history and he's missing it."



h/t to HAP