Inside the Beltway

NEWS AND OPINION:

RUSH TO TEA

“The liberals are coming! The liberals are coming! … Two If By Tea represents traditional American values of capitalism and the pursuit of excellence. Each bottle is designed to rise above the sameness and mediocrity that threatens our great nation.”

- Rush Limbaugh’s sales pitch for his new line of bottled teas. The radio host will donate “a minimum of $100,000” to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation, a charity that provides assistance to children of U.S. Marines and federal law enforcement personnel killed on duty.

KING VERSUS CAIR

House Committee on Homeland Security hearings this week addressed maritime security and radicalization within the Muslim American community, particularly prisons. The Council on American-Islamic Relations is vexed, criticizing the “false allegations and history of anti-Muslim comments” of committee Chairman Rep. Peter T. King, saying the New York Republican’s “biased agenda” has sparked similar reactions from groups who share their distress.

“I have repeatedly said the overwhelming majority of Muslim Americans are outstanding Americans. Yet, the first radicalization hearing which this Committee held in March of this year was met with much mindless hysteria - led by radical groups such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations and their allies in the liberal media personified by the New York Times,” Mr. King says in reply.

“Countering Islamic radicalization should not be a partisan issue. I would urge my Democratic colleagues to rise above partisan talking points. I am here to work with the Obama administration. Remember it was the president’s own National Security adviser Denis McDonough who said just three months ago that al Qaeda is ’increasingly attempting to recruit and radicalize people to terrorism here in the United States.’ The threat is real and it is rising,” Mr. King adds.

PAT THE WATCHDOG

Sixty members of Congress hold assets in 19 major news or media organizations “that are supposed to be their watchdogs,” says a new investigation by the Center for Responsive Politics. Some lawmakers have investments worth a minimum of $100,000, with Sen. John F. Kerry being the kingpin. The Massachusetts Democrat has holdings in multiple companies, including a significant investment in News Corp., which owns Fox News.

But wait. Rep. Anthony D. Weiner owns assets in the New York Times, which has reported daily on the New York Democrat’s endless tweeting scandal. Though the paper has not shown its support for Mr. Weiner, his interest in media investments “should be questioned,” says Kevin Smith, chairman of the ethics committee for the Society of Professional Journalists.

“If congressmen are investing in the New York Times, does that filter into the newsroom? What happens is that it does raise red flags,” Mr. Smith adds.

GORE WARMS ROMNEY

“I believe that climate change is occurring - the reduction in the size of global ice caps is hard to ignore. I also believe that human activity is a contributing factor. Scientists are nearly unanimous in laying the blame for rising temperatures on greenhouse gas emissions,” presidential hopeful Mitt Romney recently told the world in “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness,” his recently released memoir.

That didn’t go over so well with global warming sceptics. But Al Gore? He’s pleased.

“Good for Mitt Romney - though we’ve long passed the point where weak lip service is enough on the climate crisis. While other Republicans are running from the truth, he is sticking to his guns in the face of the anti-science wing of the Republican Party,” Mr. Gore says.

“Wave bye-bye to the nomination,” counters Marc Morano, founder of the watchdog news site Climate Depot.

ON THE MENU

“Most campaigns fill their dinner guest lists primarily with Washington lobbyists and special interests. We didn’t get here doing that, and we’re not going to start now. We’re running a different kind of campaign. We don’t take money from Washington lobbyists or special-interest PACs - we never have, and we never will. If you make a donation today, you’ll be automatically entered for a chance to be one of the four supporters to sit down with me for dinner. Please donate $5 or more today. We’ll pay for your flight and the dinner -all you need to bring is your story and your ideas about how we can continue to make this a better country for all Americans.”

- New fundraising message from President Obama, paid for by Obama for America.

THE VIRAL CAMPAIGN

People may be leery of its online facial recognition features. Still, Facebook has genuine political prowess some say: An estimated 94 percent of “social media users” actually bother to watch an entire political message they receive rather than clicking it away into nothingness. Another 39 percent shared that political message, this according to a “field study” by Social Vibe, an advertising agency that places such fare.

“Facebook friends, not the evening news, will inform most voters,” says the study, which can be downloaded directly at https://bit.ly/igIK6D (copy and paste).

POLL DU JOUR

• 45 percent of likely U.S. voters say the gap between Americans “who want to govern themselves” and “politicians who want to rule over them” is as great now as it was during the American Revolution.

• 65 percent of Republicans and 47 percent of unaffiliated voters agree.

• 84 percent of tea party members also agree.

• 40 percent overall disagree with the assessment.

• 56 percent of Democrats disagree with the idea of a gap between citizens and politicians.

• 16 percent overall are undecided about the idea.

Source: A Rasmussen Reports survey of 1,000 likely voters conducted June 9.

• Barking, cat calls, neighs, nays to jharper@washingtontimes.com