attachment - ruthie blum

8/11/2019 attachment - ruthie blum

1/9

Attachments

Israel, c/o Ruthie Blum [via book, essay, and book-review]

Rush

Jim Geraghty

To Hell in a Handbasket - Carter, Obama, and the Arab Spring

ByRuthie Blum[daughter of Norman Podhoretz]

RVP Press

[Note also her recent essay exploring the implications of Prime Minister Netanyahu's and Palestinian

Authority President Abbas' speeches at the U.N. General Assembly].

*

With Friends Like These...

[book review]

by Ruthie Blum

10.01.14 - 12:00 AM

Israel: Is It Good for the Jews?

By Richard Cohen

Simon & Schuster, 288 pages

In July 2006, as Hezbollah rockets rained down on the north of Israel, Washington Post columnistRichard Cohen published an op-ed in which he called Israel a mistake. The piece, titled Hunker Down

with History, was published four days into what would come to be called the Second War in Lebanon.

During that war, precipitated by an anti-tank missile attack on Israel Defense Force soldiers patrolling

the border, and by the attacks throughout the north, Israel targeted terrorist bases in Lebanon from the

air and on the ground.

Cohens response to the indiscriminate targeting of Israeli civilians by Iran-backed terrorists was not only

to explain why Israel itself is a mistake but also to warn against compounding the honest mistakea

well-intentioned mistake, a mistake for which no one is culpableby forgetting this fact.

Why did Cohen, an openly proud Jew, consider the establishment of the Jewish state a mistake? He

wrote: The idea of creating a nation of European Jews in an area of Arab Muslims (and some Christians)

has produced a century of warfare and terrorism of the sort we are seeing now. Israel fights Hezbollah inthe north and Hamas in the south, but its most formidable enemy is history itself.

One could argue with him, and many did so at the time. But there were many others who cheered. And

it was the latter he found most disturbing, for some reason: A disquieting sort of applause came my

way, he writes in his new book,Israel: Is It Good for the Jews?He continues:

Needless to say, the odd anti-Semite checked in via email, making the usual whacko references to

Jewish power and Jewish wealth and Jewish malevolence. This sort of stuff is easy to dismiss because it

is so loony. More troublinginfinitely more troublingwere the congratulations I received from friends,
http://rvppress.com/books/14#sthash.sOn2baAP.dpufhttp://rvppress.com/books/14#sthash.sOn2baAP.dpufhttp://rvppress.com/books/14#sthash.sOn2baAP.dpufhttp://rvppress.com/books/14#sthash.sOn2baAP.dpufhttp://rvppress.com/books/14#sthash.sOn2baAP.dpufhttp://rvppress.com/authors/13http://rvppress.com/authors/13http://rvppress.com/authors/13http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=20587http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=20587http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=20587http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=20587http://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/with-friends-like-these-1/http://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/with-friends-like-these-1/http://www.commentarymagazine.com/pods-author/blum-ruthiehttp://www.commentarymagazine.com/pods-author/blum-ruthiehttp://www.commentarymagazine.com/pods-author/blum-ruthiehttp://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/with-friends-like-these-1/http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=20587http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=20587http://rvppress.com/authors/13http://rvppress.com/books/14#sthash.sOn2baAP.dpuf


2/9

colleagues, and acquaintances whom you would have thoughtthat is, I would have thoughtwere

either supportive of Israel or, at the least, not hostile to it. But what oozed out, what was suggested or

inferred or implied, was that they had finally met a Jew who acknowledged the truth about Israel.

Cohens book is a long answer to themnot to his critics, but to his champions, who had made him so

uneasy. A bit odd, to say the least, but characteristic of the books paradoxical nature as a whole. As is

customary of a number of liberal Zionist journalists and pundits whose hearts bleed in all the right

places, but whose mugging by reality has left them with conservative notions that threaten to push

them into a political camp they abhor, Cohen presents a view of Israel that is inherently contradictory.

On the one hand, he is sympathetic. On the other, he sees it as a result of the Holocaust and treats the

settlement of Palestine as an understandably selfish act on the part of people who did not take into

account the existence of Arabs living there.

On the one hand, he defends the relative care with which the IDF deals with its enemies. On the other,

he hastens to qualify his defense with the compulsory note that it often uses excessive force.

This frequently irritating balance and counterbalance is at the heart of two consecutive chapters,

Jabotinsky Was Right and Jabotinsky Was Wrong. In the first, Cohen paints a surprisingly flattering

portrait of the man who had fathered what became right-wing Israeli politics, first debunking the

posthumous assumptions about the father of the revisionist movement in Zionism, and then expressing

his sorrow about the false claims that Jabotinsky supported the mass transfer of Arabs to make way forJews. Jabotinsky recognized that Arabs were no different from other peoples, Cohen writes. They

loved their land and would fight tenaciously to keep it. He had scorn for those who felt otherwise.

Rather than seeing this as a moral virtue, however, Cohen actually considers the unwillingness of both

the revisionists and the Labor Zionists (like Israels first president, Chaim Weizmann, and its first prime

minister, David Ben-Gurion) to kick out the Arabs of Palestine a mistake: A different nation, a different

victor in the wars of 194748, might have cleared out the general area of ArabsThis policy, this refusal

to engage in population transfer or ethnic cleansing so that Israel would be as free of Arabs as Hungary

is of Romanians or Turkey is of Greeks has left Israel in mortal peril.

Cohen says Jabotinsky was wrong because he believed that in due course, a moderate Arab leadership

would emerge and come to terms with Israel. Pretty mild error for a firebrand such as Jabotinsky,

even more striking for a liberal American Jew like Cohen to admit as much. Still, Cohen cannot bringhimself to follow his own logic. Jabotinskys prescription for a conceptual Iron Wall between Arabs and

Jews, and for patience on the part of the Jews to wait until the Arabs repudiated radicalism in favor of

pragmatism and agreed to make peace, took hold if only because events went his way, he says. The

Gandhian goodness of the liberals, the socialists, was to no avail.

Just as its title constitutes the kind of presumptuous question that is never asked about any country

other than Israelat one point Cohen says Israel has run out of time andpurpose, which is not

exactly the sort of thing required of nationsso are Cohens constant references to the antagonistic

traits of Jews in general and to Israeli actions in particular grating. Herein lies the main flaw of an

otherwise compelling and beautifully written book. Israel: Is It Good for the Jews? reads like a fascinating

memoir, with choice historical and personal anecdotes. But it feels like a work that didnt know what it

wanted to be when it grew upas if Cohen set out to justify the notion that Israels survival ought to be

in question, yet ended up falling in love again with the Jewish people and the Jewish state in spite of

himself.

Quote Gems from Rush Limbaugh dot com:

"A lot of us had better start speaking up about things or we're going to get snowballed and we're going

to end up losing our freedom."


3/9

"I don't think there's anything wrong with believing in yourself. I don't think there's anything wrong with

believing in your ideas. There's more than one way to do things."

"Is Obama an expert in the Constitution 'cause he taught it, ostensibly, in Chicago? In my view, he's not

an expert. He's an expert on why he doesn't like it and would like to transform it, make end runs around

it, or get rid of it. But it doesn't mean I should shut up because I wasn't there when it was written. That's

absurd!"

"I just happen to think that more people are much smarter than they think they are. It really isn't any

more complicated than that. And for whatever reasons they tell themselves they're not. For whatever

reasons they defer to others who they think are smarter, because of a whole bunch of different

variables and reasons."

"There's so much denial of basic human nature in liberalism that it becomes absurd."

"This push for diversity is a myth. It doesn't lead to what everybody thinks, other than outward

appearances. It gives the illusion that we're fair. It gives the illusion that we're balanced."

"I'm not an expert on Ebola. I've never had it. I don't know anybody who's got it. I'm relying on what's inthe news media and what the experts at the CDC are saying."

"The bureaucracy exists to get bigger. The bureaucracy exists to support itself. The bureaucracy is not

there to help you. By definition, bureaucracies exist to exist."

"I have simply weighed in on what I think may be some haphazard behavior by officials in the way we're

dealing with this Ebola outbreak. I don't like this idea that laypeople are unqualified. I've been hearing

this my whole career."

"Bureaucracies are like base life forms. A nuclear bomb might wipe out everything but the cockroaches,

but there would be life left. Ditto, bureaucracies. Whatever happens, there's always going to be one

somewhere, and it'll be spawning."

"Here we have a perfect example of what people refer to as 'homegrown terrorism.' Here we have a

red-blooded American boy from Chicago. In fact, referred to by the AP in the story as 'an Illinois teen,'

quote/unquote, who suddenly decided to take up terrorism. Oh, wait. His name? Mohammed Hamza

Khan."

"We don't have enough people speaking up. I think the degree of anger, fright, outrage over what's

happening to this country is palpable. I think it's almost incalculable. People are afraid."

"I guarantee you, Obama's not going to get Ebola, but the media is acting like Ebola's going to hurt him

more than any people that end up contracting it."

"Oh, yeah. I always take the path of greatest resistance. I never take the path of least resistance,meaning when conversing with people."

Morning Jolt. . . with Jim Geraghty


4/9

What Is With Our President?

Contemplating President Obamas confident -- and erroneous -- assurance that Ebola was unlikely to

reach America, and that if it did, Americas hospitals and doctors were prepared to diagnose and

respond immediatelya veteran speechwriter for cabinet officials wrote in:

In the times that I was involved in speeches for various folks in the previous

administration they and those around him were highly attuned to hyperbole and

statements such the one Obama made about Ebola. Now people can crack wise about

Iraqi intelligence and the like, but from my experience those officials and senior advisers

I dealt with always were asking: Is this right? Should I be saying this? Can I say this?

Or should I say be saying it another way? I dont want to be out on that limb. I get no

sense that anyone over there [in the Obama White House] ever asks those questions

about speeches, timing of remarks, guests who surround him for said utterances, etc.

To illustrate his point, as the Ebola case in Dallas and the Islamic States advance in Iraq and Syria

dominated the headlines, President Obama went to Northwestern University in Chicago and offered aspeech on the economy, hitting all the familiar notes:student loans, raising the minimum wage, extend

unemployment benefits

Pivot to the economy. Again. He also declared, while good, affordable health care might seem to be a

fanged threat to freedom on Fox News, it turns out its 's working pretty well in the real world.Polls of

the American public say otherwise, Mr. President!

Granted, we dont want our president panicking on camera when ominous news strikes. But even his

defenders would have to admit that Obama increasingly offers strangely muted, disconnected, or listless

responses to frightening news developments. The day the plane was shot down over Ukraine, he offered

some pro-forma comments before his well-worn infrastructure speech, then continued on to his

scheduled fundraisers. He went to Texas for a series of fundraisers but refused to visit the border at theheight of the humanitarian crisis of unattended children entering the United States. He denounced the

beheading of an American, then immediately headed off to the golf course.

Yesterday we noted Aces assessment that Obama says Nothing to see here, folks, move on to

everything. There are four possible explanations for Obama's perpetual, "relax, there's no real crisis

here, we've got this" tone, no matter the circumstance

Explanation One: No-drama Obama" doesn't have a "crisis mode."He's spent his adult life in so many

relatively calm, methodical, slow-paced institutions -- academia, the state legislature, part-time law

career, the U.S. Senate that he can't move or work fast. He's perpetually deliberative, taking his time,

getting sucked into "analysis paralysis", looking for that elusive final piece of information that will clarify

it all, ultimately basing his decision upon "what the experts say." (This means he needs reliable expertsnot a HHS Secretary not being honest about the state of Healthcare.gov, a VA Secretary unaware of

abuses within his own department, and so on.)

On CNN, at the height of the VA scandal, Gloria Border quoted an unidentified former White House

staffer saying,People dont like to tell him bad news. Part of it is the no-drama culture.
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q-struggle-to-drive-by-islamic-state-advance/2014/10/02/b8e86f66-4a26-11e4-891d-713f052086a0_story.htmlhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?Fpv1DO3xeDi3SQbdkGshtGSgpx54xar0F&http://www.nationalreview.com/campaign-spot/389324/oh-look-presidential-statement-ebola-didnt-pan-out-jim-geraghtyhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?Fpv1DO3xeDi3SQbdkGshtGSgpx54xar0F&http://www.nationalreview.com/campaign-spot/389324/oh-look-presidential-statement-ebola-didnt-pan-out-jim-geraghtyhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?Fpv1DO3xeDi3SQbdkGshtGSgpx54xar0F&http://www.nationalreview.com/campaign-spot/389324/oh-look-presidential-statement-ebola-didnt-pan-out-jim-geraghty


5/9

On a related note, whatever great analytical ability Obama may have once had, it's deteriorated . . .

Ryan Lizza of The New Yorkeroffered a fascinating in-depth article about how the Obama White House

makes decisions that suggested by the time the issue reached the presidents desk, the decision had

already been narrowed down to a few similar options. Mickey Kaussummarized:

The Presidents decision-making method--at least as described in the piece--seems to

consist mainly of checking boxes on memos his aides have written for him. . . . Hesasked about including medical malpractice reform in his health care bill, and writes (in

his characteristically cautious and reasonable style) that we should explore it. . . .

Hes presented a plan for a watered-down tax on multinationals or a very watered down

tax. He writes worth discussing. . . .

Im sure Obama is smarter than this. He cant be an executive who spends his days

checking boxes, accepting the choices presented by his aides, never reaching outside

them through unconventional channels or reaching unconventional thinkers, never

throwing over the framework with which he is presented.

The presidency is on autopilot, with policy and decisions largely set by the staff. Of course, the second-

term administration team is considerably weaker than the first-term team.

Explanation Two: He does recognize how bad things are, but he realizes the only thing keeping his poll

numbers above 40 is the public's short attention span and people's ability to tune out bad news.So no

matter what happens, he HAS to act like it's no big deal, so that everyone can go about their business.

The problem with this theory is that we would see or hear tales of Obama directing a behind-the-scenes

crisis response from this White House.

In fact, its the opposite; the lower-level folks seem more concerned than the bosses.Eli Lake reports a

strange inertia:

Within the American government, the threat was considered serious enough that the

U.S. Joint Special Operations Command the Pentagons elite hunter-killers prepared detailed targeting packages for the group, with the specific locations of the

groups leaders. But those plans never made it to the White House, according to senior

U.S. intelligence and Pentagon leaders . . .

The senior leadership in the military didnt want to ask the question when they knew

the answer would be no, said the senior U.S. intelligence official quoted earlier about

why the targeting packages were not sent to the White House in June.

Explanation Three: Obama experienced some sort of psychological breakdownor "snapping" and is now

reacting to serious problems in completely inappropriate ways, such as saying out loud how he would

advise the Islamic State, etc.

Rememberback in 2011:

We're told by a source inside the Timesthat the paper is preparing a story arguing that

Obama no longer finds joy in the political back-and-forth, has seemed increasingly

listless to associates, and is generally exhibiting the litany of signs that late-night cable

commercials will tell you add up to depression.
http://news.nationalreview.com/?FpvpD7Vnz9fck7bdkGshbGSgsxi4xalYF&http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/01/30/the-obama-memoshttp://news.nationalreview.com/?FpvpD7Vnz9fck7bdkGshbGSgsxi4xalYF&http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/01/30/the-obama-memoshttp://news.nationalreview.com/?FpvpD7Vnz9fck7bdkGshbGSgsxi4xalYF&http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/01/30/the-obama-memoshttp://news.nationalreview.com/?FpvpD7Vnz9fck7bdkGshbGSgsxi4xalYF&http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/01/30/the-obama-memoshttp://news.nationalreview.com/?FpZpD73xC9icc7bVHkphbGSFsx54xAl0F&http://dailycaller.com/2012/02/02/what-does-obama-do-all-day/http://news.nationalreview.com/?FpZpD73xC9icc7bVHkphbGSFsx54xAl0F&http://dailycaller.com/2012/02/02/what-does-obama-do-all-day/http://news.nationalreview.com/?FpZpD73xC9icc7bVHkphbGSFsx54xAl0F&http://dailycaller.com/2012/02/02/what-does-obama-do-all-day/http://news.nationalreview.com/?Fpv1D7VxzDfwklbdHGshbGSgpxisOarYF&http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/02/exclusive-u-s-special-ops-readied-syria-attack-in-june.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=cheatsheet_morning&cid=newsletter%3Bemail%3Bcheatsheet_morning&utm_term=Cheat%20Sheethttp://news.nationalreview.com/?Fpv1D7VxzDfwklbdHGshbGSgpxisOarYF&http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/02/exclusive-u-s-special-ops-readied-syria-attack-in-june.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=cheatsheet_morning&cid=newsletter%3Bemail%3Bcheatsheet_morning&utm_term=Cheat%20Sheethttp://news.nationalreview.com/?Fpv1D7VxzDfwklbdHGshbGSgpxisOarYF&http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/02/exclusive-u-s-special-ops-readied-syria-attack-in-june.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=cheatsheet_morning&cid=newsletter%3Bemail%3Bcheatsheet_morning&utm_term=Cheat%20Sheethttp://news.nationalreview.com/?Fpv1D7VxzDfwklbdHGshbGSgpxisOarYF&http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/02/exclusive-u-s-special-ops-readied-syria-attack-in-june.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=cheatsheet_morning&cid=newsletter%3Bemail%3Bcheatsheet_morning&utm_term=Cheat%20Sheethttp://news.nationalreview.com/?FpZ1D73nBDiwclbVkGshbGSFpx5sOAr0F&http://gawker.com/5839440/is-barack-obama-depressedhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?FpZ1D73nBDiwclbVkGshbGSFpx5sOAr0F&http://gawker.com/5839440/is-barack-obama-depressedhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?FpZ1D73nBDiwclbVkGshbGSFpx5sOAr0F&http://gawker.com/5839440/is-barack-obama-depressedhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?FpZ1D73nBDiwclbVkGshbGSFpx5sOAr0F&http://gawker.com/5839440/is-barack-obama-depressedhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?Fpv1D7VxzDfwklbdHGshbGSgpxisOarYF&http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/02/exclusive-u-s-special-ops-readied-syria-attack-in-june.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=cheatsheet_morning&cid=newsletter%3Bemail%3Bcheatsheet_morning&utm_term=Cheat%20Sheethttp://news.nationalreview.com/?Fpv1D7VxzDfwklbdHGshbGSgpxisOarYF&http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/02/exclusive-u-s-special-ops-readied-syria-attack-in-june.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=cheatsheet_morning&cid=newsletter%3Bemail%3Bcheatsheet_morning&utm_term=Cheat%20Sheethttp://news.nationalreview.com/?FpZpD73xC9icc7bVHkphbGSFsx54xAl0F&http://dailycaller.com/2012/02/02/what-does-obama-do-all-day/http://news.nationalreview.com/?FpvpD7Vnz9fck7bdkGshbGSgsxi4xalYF&http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/01/30/the-obama-memoshttp://news.nationalreview.com/?FpvpD7Vnz9fck7bdkGshbGSgsxi4xalYF&http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/01/30/the-obama-memos


6/9

Explanation Four: Hes too wedded to his previous stances and conclusions to realize when hes made a

mistake and adjust his approach. As my speechwriter friend concludes, When your boss has told you

and the world that he is the smartest guy in the room (I think that Im a better speechwriter than my

speechwriters. I know more about policies on any particular issue than my policy directors. And Ill tell

you right now that Im gonna think Im a better political director than my political director) and even if

you dont believe it, its pretty difficult to tell the smartest guy in the room that he is wrong or perhaps

might want to rethink something. Then again, if the smartest guy in the room didnt bother to get the

memo,let alone read it,then it all makes for the perfect storm.

A Fine, if Generic, List of Eleven Unifying Principles for the GOP

The Tea Party Expressfeels warm and fuzzy about RNC chairman Reince Priebus.

As America approaches a critical midterm election, Chairman Priebus delivered a

positive message of opportunity through conservative solutions. He is totally correct in

stating that Republicans have to be more than opposed to Obama and the Democrats.

Fortunately, led by many of the Tea Party-supported members of Congress, Republicans

have been forthcoming with dozens of positive ideas to strengthen the American

economy and give more opportunity to all Americans.

Priebus outlined the eleven principles that are exactly how Republicans will lead going

forward. He highlighted Tea Party-ideas like Senator Rand Pauls Economic Freedom

Zones a bold solution to combat poverty in the inner cities. In order to bring down

energy costs and end Americas reliance of others for oil, Chairman Priebus pointed to

Senator Ted Cruzs Great American Energy Renaissance Act. And to train a 21st century

workforce, he highlighted Senator Tim Scotts SKILLS Act.

You can check out Priebuss speechhere.The eleven principles are perfectly fine, but principles arent

really the problem for the GOP, at least not compared to, say, not having an ability to turn their ideas

into enacted policy in Washington. Youll notice Priebus makes a fine loud-and-proud call for school

choice . . . but not a word on Common Core.

On immigration, he says:

As a nation of immigrants, we must fix our broken immigration system. We cant reward

those who break the laws and punish those who lawfully wait in line. Legal immigration

has strengthened this country, and we want to continue that legacy and protect the

American worker.

Thats pretty clearly anti-amnesty . . . but no real specifics on what happens to those here illegally.

Priebus doesnt have to lay out every little detail or a specific legislative agenda; thats not the RNC

chairmans job. On the other hand, the principles goals, really arent whats holding back the partytoday.

Say What? At Least Ten ISIS Fighters Have Been Caught Coming Across the Border
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7/9

RepresentativeDuncan Hunter,Republican of California, does not seem like a nut job or one prone to

wild exaggerations. Butlast night he said something jaw-droppingon Greta Van Susterens program:

Van Susteren:Hold on. Stop for one second.

Hunter:They are going to be bombing American cities coming across from Mexico.

Van Susteren: Let me ask a question. You say that they are coming in the southern

border, which changes all the dynamics Do you have any information that they are

coming in through the southern border now?

Hunter:Yes.

Van Susteren:Tell me what you know.

Hunter:At least ten ISIS fighters have been caught coming across the border in Texas.

Van Susteren:How do you know that?

Hunter:Because Ive asked the border patrol, Greta.

Van Susteren And the border patrol just let's ISIS members come across the border?

Hunter: No. They caught them at the border. Therefore, we know that ISIS is coming

across the border. If they catch five or ten of them, you know that there are going to be

dozens more that did not get caught by the border patrol. That's how you know. That's

where we are at risk here, is from ISIS and radical Islamists coming across the border.

Once again, they don't have a navy, air force, nuclear weapons. The only way that

Americans are going to be harmed by radical Islam -- Chairman Dempsey said the same

thing. He said that's where the major threat is here, that's how these guy guys are going

to infiltrate through America and harm Americans.

Thenadd this comment by a House Democrat:

Rep. Tim Bishop (D., N.Y.) warned during a recent speech that up to 40 radicalized U.S.

citizens who have fought alongside the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL or ISIS) have

already returned to the United States, where they could pose a terrorist threat.

Bishop claims that of the 100 or so Americans who have traveled to the Middle East to

join ISILs ranks, some 40 have returned and are currently being surveilled by the FBI,

according to his remarks, which were filmed anduploadedto YouTube last week.

One of the concerns is the number of U.S. citizens who have left our country to go join

up with ISIS, Bishop said during the speech. It is believed there have been somenumber up to 100 that have done that.

It is also believed thatsome 40 of those who left this country to join up with ISIS have

now returned to our country, Bishop said, eliciting shocked responses from some in the

crowd.

Is the threat of Islamic State terrorists crossing our southern border no longer theoretical? Could the

administration really successfully cover up something as big as this?
http://news.nationalreview.com/?Vpcl.f36Z-RPsrn3TkpUtoYgsxisxar0V&http://hunter.house.govhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?Vpcl.f36Z-RPsrn3TkpUtoYgsxisxar0V&http://hunter.house.govhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?Vpcl.f36Z-RPsrn3TkpUtoYgsxisxar0V&http://hunter.house.govhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?Fpcl.f36J-MPsjhyTkpUtoYFsx5sxArYF&http://yidwithlid.blogspot.com/2014/10/stunner-rep-duncan-hunter-r-ca-ten-isis.htmlhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?Fpcl.f36J-MPsjhyTkpUtoYFsx5sxArYF&http://yidwithlid.blogspot.com/2014/10/stunner-rep-duncan-hunter-r-ca-ten-isis.htmlhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?Fpcl.f36J-MPsjhyTkpUtoYFsx5sxArYF&http://yidwithlid.blogspot.com/2014/10/stunner-rep-duncan-hunter-r-ca-ten-isis.htmlhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?VFIl.f36ZPi3prhyNGpUtoYgpn5sOAlYV&http://freebeacon.com/national-security/dem-rep-40-american-isil-fighters-have-already-returned-to-the-united-states/http://news.nationalreview.com/?VFIl.f36ZPi3prhyNGpUtoYgpn5sOAlYV&http://freebeacon.com/national-security/dem-rep-40-american-isil-fighters-have-already-returned-to-the-united-states/http://news.nationalreview.com/?VFIl.f36ZPi3prhyNGpUtoYgpn5sOAlYV&http://freebeacon.com/national-security/dem-rep-40-american-isil-fighters-have-already-returned-to-the-united-states/http://news.nationalreview.com/?FFIl.f36JPf3pjnyTkshtoYFpni4OarYF&https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5gPDpYSMyw&list=UUqNfXxfww4ATBZsbv64nwRghttp://news.nationalreview.com/?FFIl.f36JPf3pjnyTkshtoYFpni4OarYF&https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5gPDpYSMyw&list=UUqNfXxfww4ATBZsbv64nwRghttp://news.nationalreview.com/?FFIl.f36JPf3pjnyTkshtoYFpni4OarYF&https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5gPDpYSMyw&list=UUqNfXxfww4ATBZsbv64nwRghttp://news.nationalreview.com/?FFIl.f36JPf3pjnyTkshtoYFpni4OarYF&https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5gPDpYSMyw&list=UUqNfXxfww4ATBZsbv64nwRghttp://news.nationalreview.com/?VFIl.f36ZPi3prhyNGpUtoYgpn5sOAlYV&http://freebeacon.com/national-security/dem-rep-40-american-isil-fighters-have-already-returned-to-the-united-states/http://news.nationalreview.com/?Fpcl.f36J-MPsjhyTkpUtoYFsx5sxArYF&http://yidwithlid.blogspot.com/2014/10/stunner-rep-duncan-hunter-r-ca-ten-isis.htmlhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?Vpcl.f36Z-RPsrn3TkpUtoYgsxisxar0V&http://hunter.house.gov


8/9

The Midweek Poll Roundup

Pollsters released a whole bunch of surveys Tuesday. Not many earthquakes.

In Kansas, theoutlook is darkening for Senator Pat Roberts.Greg Orman is almost a parody of weather-

vane politicians,pledging to caucus with whichever party has the majority at first, but adding he could

switch parties later. Good luck rolling the dice, Kansas voters! Eh, who are we kidding. The guys aDemocrat, running as an independent because he would lose the election if he said he was a Democrat.

Kansans appear ready to fall for it. (If you doubt this conclusion, ask yourself, why would the Democratic

candidate withdraw if they didnt feel confident he would not align with the Republicans? Why would

they concede the race against an incumbent as vulnerable as Roberts?

In the governors race out there, Sam Brownbackisnt doomed, but hes in trouble.

Things look grim for Terri Lynn Land. Democrat Gary Peters enjoys steadily increasing poll leads, and the

NRSC ispulling its TV ads.

Now for the good news for the GOP:Michigan governor Rick Snyder looks increasingly solid for a second

term.

In Georgia, David Perdue is looking increasingly solid in his Senate race. Herarely has a big lead, but hes

only trailed in one out of the past eleven polls.In the governors race, RepublicanNathan Deal has led 9

of the past 11 polls.Georgia Republicans cant breathe easy quite yet, but things are looking up in the

Peach State.

In Connecticut,Dannel Malloy is tied with Republican Tom Foley.

You Wasted a Couple Hundred Million Dollars? Eh, No Big Deal!

On NRO today, a look at the forgiving Democratic electorates -- four states where the state spent

hundreds of millions to build insurance-exchange sites that either rarely worked or failed completely . . .

where, with one exception, the lawmakers who oversaw the whole program appear set to coast to

reelection.

The exception:

HAWAII

The Hawaiian Health Connector is on its third director in less than a year.

U.S. taxpayers gave the Hawaiian state government $204 million to build the Connector

system,making it one of the most costly in the nation.It failed to work properly from

the beginning, and enrollment fell way below the projections, withjust 10,800 people.It

was expected to become self-sustaining through user fees by the end of 2014 but

earned just $40,350 in its first six months, far below the $320,000 it expected. The statelegislature had to step in and provide an additional $1.5 million to keep it running.

The state did add 30,000 people to Medicaid, but 75,000 Hawaiians remain without

health insurance. Whats more, those who signed up may find a strikingly limited

selection of options.
http://news.nationalreview.com/?VpIl.f36Z-iPprnyTGpUtoYgsn54xarYV&http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/senate/ks/kansas_senate_roberts_vs_orman-5216.htmlhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?VpIl.f36Z-iPprnyTGpUtoYgsn54xarYV&http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/senate/ks/kansas_senate_roberts_vs_orman-5216.htmlhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?VpIl.f36Z-iPprnyTGpUtoYgsn54xarYV&http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/senate/ks/kansas_senate_roberts_vs_orman-5216.htmlhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?FpIl.f36J-fPpjh3NGpUtoYFsnisOal0F&http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/orman-i-could-absolutely-switch-parties-after-picking-senate-side-n219636http://news.nationalreview.com/?FpIl.f36J-fPpjh3NGpUtoYFsnisOal0F&http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/orman-i-could-absolutely-switch-parties-after-picking-senate-side-n219636http://news.nationalreview.com/?FpIl.f36J-fPpjh3NGpUtoYFsnisOal0F&http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/orman-i-could-absolutely-switch-parties-after-picking-senate-side-n219636http://news.nationalreview.com/?FpIl.f36J-fPpjh3NGpUtoYFsnisOal0F&http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/orman-i-could-absolutely-switch-parties-after-picking-senate-side-n219636http://news.nationalreview.com/?VFcSDjVtZPRwwLQVNGphboYFpx54Oar0V&http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/governor/ks/kansas_governor_brownback_vs_davis-4146.htmlhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?VFcSDjVtZPRwwLQVNGphboYFpx54Oar0V&http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/governor/ks/kansas_governor_brownback_vs_davis-4146.htmlhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?VFcSDjVtZPRwwLQVNGphboYFpx54Oar0V&http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/governor/ks/kansas_governor_brownback_vs_davis-4146.htmlhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?FFcSDjVtJPMwweQdNGphboYgsn54OArYF&http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/219959-nrsc-cuts-michigan-tvhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?FFcSDjVtJPMwweQdNGphboYgsn54OArYF&http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/219959-nrsc-cuts-michigan-tvhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?FFcSDjVtJPMwweQdNGphboYgsn54OArYF&http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/219959-nrsc-cuts-michigan-tvhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?VpcSDjVtZ-RcwLTdNkphboYFsx5sOalYV&http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/governor/mi/michigan_governor_snyder_vs_schauer-3506.htmlhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?VpcSDjVtZ-RcwLTdNkphboYFsx5sOalYV&http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/governor/mi/michigan_governor_snyder_vs_schauer-3506.htmlhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?VpcSDjVtZ-RcwLTdNkphboYFsx5sOalYV&http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/governor/mi/michigan_governor_snyder_vs_schauer-3506.htmlhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?VpcSDjVtZ-RcwLTdNkphboYFsx5sOalYV&http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/governor/mi/michigan_governor_snyder_vs_schauer-3506.htmlhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?FpcSDjVtJ-McweTVTGphboYgpxi4OAl0F&http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/senate/ga/georgia_senate_perdue_vs_nunn-4040.htmlhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?FpcSDjVtJ-McweTVTGphboYgpxi4OAl0F&http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/senate/ga/georgia_senate_perdue_vs_nunn-4040.htmlhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?FpcSDjVtJ-McweTVTGphboYgpxi4OAl0F&http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/senate/ga/georgia_senate_perdue_vs_nunn-4040.htmlhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?FpcSDjVtJ-McweTVTGphboYgpxi4OAl0F&http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/senate/ga/georgia_senate_perdue_vs_nunn-4040.htmlhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?VFISDjVtZPiwGLQdNksUtGSgpni4xarYV&http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/governor/ga/georgia_governor_deal_vs_carter-3461.htmlhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?VFISDjVtZPiwGLQdNksUtGSgpni4xarYV&http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/governor/ga/georgia_governor_deal_vs_carter-3461.htmlhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?VFISDjVtZPiwGLQdNksUtGSgpni4xarYV&http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/governor/ga/georgia_governor_deal_vs_carter-3461.htmlhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?VFISDjVtZPiwGLQdNksUtGSgpni4xarYV&http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/governor/ga/georgia_governor_deal_vs_carter-3461.htmlhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?FFISDjVtJPfwGeQVTGsUtGSFpn54xAr0F&http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/connecticut/release-detail?ReleaseID=2091http://news.nationalreview.com/?FFISDjVtJPfwGeQVTGsUtGSFpn54xAr0F&http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/connecticut/release-detail?ReleaseID=2091http://news.nationalreview.com/?FFISDjVtJPfwGeQVTGsUtGSFpn54xAr0F&http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/connecticut/release-detail?ReleaseID=2091http://news.nationalreview.com/?VpISDjVtZ-icGLTVTksUtGSgsnisxal0V&http://www.nationalreview.com/article/389818/forgiving-democratic-electorate-jim-geraghtyhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?VpISDjVtZ-icGLTVTksUtGSgsnisxal0V&http://www.nationalreview.com/article/389818/forgiving-democratic-electorate-jim-geraghtyhttp://news.nationalreview.com/?FpISDjVtJ-fcGeTdTksUt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9/9

In August, Hawaiis largest health insurer announced it was pulling out of the small-

business side of the states troubled health exchange; this left only one insurance

company, Kaiser Permanente, for employers. Michael Gold, president of Hawaii

Medical Services Association (HMSA), told the AP that his staff is spending too much

time and money dealing with the Connectors technical problems.

Hawaii stands out as a state where the failed exchange may have cost an incumbentgovernor his job. Governor Neil Abercrombie, whose administration implemented the

Hawaiian Health Connector, was defeated in the Democratic primary by state legislator

David Ige in August.

Ige called the system a disasterin a Democratic-primary debate and pointed out that

Abercrombie had appointed four cabinet members to the Health Connectors board.

The governor countered that the Connector was a creature of the legislature.

Hawaii may be the state with the best sign of a public backlash against the state

government for the embarrassing failures.

The problems of the states exchange probably helped Ige in the primary fight, and boththe Republican gubernatorial candidate, Duke Aiona, and former Honolulu mayor Mufi

Hannemann, the candidate of the Hawaii Independent Party, are campaigning on

scrapping the Hawaii Health Connector. Ige is critical of the program, but never quite

calls for it to be scrapped entirely.

Polling in Hawaii is infrequent, but it appears Aiona has a shot at winning; the most

recent poll put him just 4 percentage points behind Ige. Hannemann is carrying 8

percent.
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