The 2011 Awards

From dear friend Thomas Lindaman, on his THE BOTTOM LINE blog!

Democrats to Watch: Any Democrat up for reelection in 2012. From Obama/Biden 2012 on down to the city dog catcher, every Democrat is going to be scrutinized by the electorate. Why they’re the ones to watch is to see how many are willing to be seen with the President and Vice President on the campaign trail. If they shun Obama and Biden, it doesn’t bode well for the reelection chances.

Democrat to Forget: Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. From vapid Congresswoman who says the most stupid and unbelievable things to garner attention to…vapid DNC Chair who says the most stupid and unbelievable things to garner attention. Wasserman-Schultz makes Howard Dean’s leadership look credible.

Republican to Watch: Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney has been skating for the most part this election season, so much so it seems he’s the heir apparent to the Republican nomination in 2012. That’s not the reason to watch him, though. The reason to watch Romney is to see if he’s a Trojan Horse. There are several positions Romney has taken and not quite explained away that should give any Republican voter a reason to pause. If he wins the nomination, Romney may revert to form, leaving the Republicans with a hard sell to more conservatives Republicans and Independents.

Republican to Forget: John Boehner. Over the past year, coal mines have caved in less frequently than the Speaker of the House has. As we move into the next Congressional session, there may be a movement afoot to have Boehner removed as Speaker, and I wouldn’t cry any tears if it were successful. Boehner might, but then again he is the weepy type.

Underreported Story: “Climategate.” What started out with an email stating “hide the decline” has become a major story. Now, the only decline being hidden is the decline in credibility of those who said global warming was “settled science.”

Overreported Story: Astroturf Wall Street. Remember how the media fawned over the TEA Party? Neither do I. To make up for them missing the boat with the TEA Party, they’ve given us wall-to-wall coverage of Astroturf Wall Street (well, except for the violence, drug dealing, prostitution, and anything else negative). I’m sure they’ll get around to cover the TEA Party rallies…eventually, but gosh darn it, they’re just too darn busy whitewashing Astroturf Wall Street to bother with equal coverage.

Unreported Story: The extremism of the “Arab Spring.” For all of the media coverage of the “Arab Spring,” you would think there would be some coverage of just who the protesters were. Except this is the mainstream media we’re talking about here. You know, the same media who vetted Sarah Palin’s daughter’s boyfriend’s mother’s dog groomer’s ex-husband’s mailman’s second cousin, but couldn’t be bothered to look at any direct ties between Barack Obama and Bill Ayers? Anyway, although Time made the protester their People of the Year, the fact is the Arab Spring protesters are more violent, more radical, and more dangerous than we’ve been lead to believe. No matter how many times the media told us “they’re just longing for freedom” the Arab Spring protestors want nothing of the sort. And our media sold us out by not doing even basic reporting on that fact.

Man of the Year: Glenn Beck. When you consider the amount of energy the Left has put into destroying Beck and the number of times Beck has emerged victorious this year, it’s clear he has more influence than his detractors think or claim he does.

R. I. P.: support for Obamacare. It may have been signed into law, but Obamacare has been challenged since then, and in some cases successfully. These challenges have made Obamacare less popular than it once was, even among Democrats who supported it. As the fight drags on, Obamacare becomes an albatross around the necks of Obama and the Democrats, and the poll numbers aren’t looking good for it.

Flash in the Pan: Astroturf Wall Street. For all of its grand proclamations and stated commitment to change the financial industry, Astroturf Wall Street has accomplished…nothing. Unless you count running up a sizable rap sheet an accomplishment, that is.

The Real Deal: scandals within the Obama Administration. Although President Obama has been touted as one of the smartest Presidents we’ve ever had, his Administration has been plagued by scandals, ranging from the relatively minor (Van Jones) to the more serious (Operation Fast and Furious). Far from being a right wing conspiracy, these scandals amount to rank incompetence, serious malfeasance, or both, and they’re not going away anytime soon.

Raw Deal: Scott Walker being “anti-union.” This is another case where the media forgot to do its job and, well, report the news. The actual collective bargaining deal Walker proposed for Wisconsin public workers wasn’t nearly as bad as the pro-union side made it out to be. If anything, the deal was far more pro-union than the pro-union side. Yet, Walker is called anti-union because he wants to keep Wisconsin’s teachers unions from getting laid off due to a lack of funds?

Missed Opportunity: Republicans sticking up for black conservatives under fire. This past year, we’ve seen black Republicans, such as Herman Cain and Allen West, get clobbered in the media and the Democrats for various things. Yet, one group has been conspicuously absent when this has happened: the Republican Party. With Republicans being painted as racist for decades, this past year was a golden opportunity to turn that around and make Democrats and their pals in the media look like hypocrites. Instead, they sat on their hands. Way to bust those stereotypes!

Defining Moment: The “Arab Spring.” The Middle East changed before our eyes this year, and not for the better. As one leader after another was marginalized, weakened, or overthrown completely, it became apparent a more extremist movement was coming to power, one that wouldn’t work and play well with us no matter how much water we would carry for them publicly. George W. Bush made the same mistake with Hamas, and now Barack Obama owns the mistakes in Egypt and Libya, among others. In both cases, these mistakes are mounting up and will eventually come back to haunt us.

Stuck on Stupid: Eric Holder. Barney Fife was a better law enforcement officer than Eric Holder is. Holder’s record as Attorney General has been rife with inconsistency, incompetence, and illegality. And that’s just Operation Fast and Furious!

The Bottom Line Award: Resa Laru Kirkland. Friendship aside, I have known few conservatives as driven and talented as Resa. She has a passion for life and politics that makes others want to try to keep up. Her vision for a conservative media presence in areas where it doesn’t have a strong foothold yet, such as making documentaries, is ambitious to say the least. For being willing to blaze a trail for others to follow and taking on all the stress that comes with it, Resa Laru Kirkland has earned the Bottom Line Award.

The Anna Nicole Smith Lifetime Achievement Award: Arianna Huffington. Take a struggling joke of an online service, combine it with a rich joke of a website editor, and what do you get? An epic fail. But at least Huffington came away with a ton of money for being ineffective and ham-fisted in her management. Way to be a credit to your gender!

The Dan Rather Award for “Excellence” in Media: Ed Schultz. Over the past two years, Ed Schultz has repeatedly put his foot in his mouth, apparently to prevent the truth from getting out. What has gotten out from Schultz is a steady string of ill-advised comments, out and out lies, and insane jealousy against conservatives in the media. Anger management classes would be more helpful to Schultz than giving him a daily and nightly forum from which to preach to an ever-dwindling audience.

The DEE DEE DEE Award: Astroturf Oakland. After coming out against big banks, where does Astroturf Oakland open up an account? Wells Fargo. Way to stick it to The Man, kids!

The “It Looked Better on Paper” Award: AttackWatch. Obama/Biden 2008 had some success with this same concept when it was known as FightTheSmears. The 2011 version, however, has been met with the one thing the Obama campaign hadn’t anticipated: mockery. Conservatives and independents have had a field day “reporting” themselves and others on AttackWatch to the point no one but the diehards take it seriously.

The Padded Resume Award: Chelsea Clinton getting a job with NBC News. Of course, she earned that gig because she did that…wait, it must have been that piece she wrote for…no, wait, it was because she went to college to study...okay, it’s because she’s a Clinton.

The 14:59 Award: All things Kardashian. When Kim Kardashian’s wedding lasted as long as a bad sitcom and had as many laughs, it’s clear the entire Kardashian 15 minutes of fame can’t expire soon enough.

The WTF Moment of 2011: Iran getting nuclear weapons (and, yes, I believe they have them and have had them for a while now), and the world being mostly okay with that.

The With Friends Like These Award: The Obama Administration’s treatment of Israel. Although it’s safe to say President Obama and Israel may not see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues, it’s also safe to say the President’s not exactly a friend of Israel. Whether it’s the ill-conceived pre-1967 borders for Israel as a starting point to Middle East peace or the frequent anti-Israel sentiment coming from Administration officials from Obama on down, it’s clear Israel doesn’t need any more friends like Obama.

The Coincidence? Award: Let’s play connect the dots. The Left wants to expand the number of people who can vote to include the homeless, ex-convicts, and illegal immigrants. A part of this effort includes making it as easy as possible for said potential voters to vote. What’s a major stumbling block to that effort? Requiring those silly little details like proving you’re an actual voter with a real address and that you look like the person you claim to be. So, when states do things to curtail that effort, the Left gets mad and decides to go after those states. And who needs a lot of help to get reelected and has the power to make it tough for states to enact these laws? Why, it’s President Obama! Funny how that works out, isn’t it?

The Pot Kettle Black Award: People who want us to accept Islam without question, but bash Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow for his Christian faith.

Like I said, #WalkingAwesome!!!  Love ya Thomas!