1. Rick Perry Will Be At the RedState Gathering. Will You?

2. Silence of the Lambs

3. Ed Schultz Doctored a Neal Boortz Quote to Accuse Boortz of Advocating Murder

4. Steve Benen Is Shocked To Find That Some People Don’t Like Signing Statements

5. McCain and Graham Claim to Speak for Conservatives on Libya

1. Rick Perry Will Be At the RedState Gathering. Will You?

The weekend of August 14, 2011, RedState will be going to Charleston, SC for our 2011 RedState Gathering.Nikki Haley will be there. Ted Cruz and Michael Williams will be there. Adam Hasner will be there. We expect Jim DeMint to be there (he hasn’t confirmed yet) and Mike Pence too.I can finally confirm today that Governor Rick Perry of Texas will be there as well. So I’m sure you are wondering what you need to do to get there. It’s easy. Go here: https://rsgathering.kimbia.com/rsgatheringreg and register.Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. Silence of the Lambs

I know many of those who have signed the Cut, Cap, and Balance Pledge. I hope you will too. I intend to. I know most of them and the organizations involved believe the day of judgment has arrived on our future as a country. So, just like on the real day of judgment, the time for forgiveness is over — politicians must now either be saved or ruined. No more second chances and future acts of redemption. It is a wonderful thing that the conservative movement is so full of Christian charity and forgiveness, but if this issue is judgment day then it’s also the day for accountability, not forgiveness, for politicians who claim to be part of the conservative movement.If the conservative movement does not treat capitulation on this issue as an ultimate, unforgivable act of betrayal, the conservative movement will never again be treated seriously by the very politicians the movement seeks to influence.If you just want to make a pledge and then sit back, count me out. I’m done with heady rhetoric tied to pledges that amount to bark with no bite. So conservative movement, what do you choose?Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. Ed Schultz Doctored a Neal Boortz Quote to Accuse Boortz of Advocating Murder

My WSB colleague and guru, the Talkmaster Neal Boortz, created a bit of controversy this past week over comments he made about shooting thugs in Atlanta.The controversy actually blew up because of Ed Schultz at MSNBC who claimed Boortz was advocating the murder of urban youths in Atlanta.There’s just one problem here. In both the screen shot and the accompanying audio, Ed Schultz doctored Neal Boortz’s quote.What is it about NBC editing and doctoring quotes this week? I’m sure Comcast can’t be pleased.Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. Steve Benen Is Shocked To Find That Some People Don’t Like Signing Statements

Expecting consistency from left-wing political activists is folly, but rarely does one get such a glaring example as the Washington Monthly’s Steve Benen on presidential “signing statements.” Watch, and your head will spin.During the Bush years, liberal commentators suddenly discovered that they didn’t like the longstanding practice of “signing statements” by which the President offered his own interpretation of legislation he was signing, in some cases declaring his intention to ignore unconstitutional provisions. Now, in a better world, presidents would just veto laws containing unconstitutional things – this was, in fact, perhaps the most frequent basis on which presidents used the veto power in the 19th Century – but the use of signing statements to set forth a public defense of Executive Branch prerogatives has a long and bipartisan history, and there is a quite respectable argument that such statements preserve the President’s role as head of a co-equal branch of government with as much right to his interpretation of the Constitution as Congress or the Supreme Court.Anyway, Steve Benen was one of the liberal bloggers who pushed the anti-signing-statements hysteria without consideration that there was any argument for defending the practice whatsoever.Please click here for the rest of the post.

5. McCain and Graham Claim to Speak for Conservatives on Libya

Whenever we attempt to evince bold distinctions between ourselves and the Democrats, Lindsey Graham and John McCain can always be counted upon to muddle those distinctions. Foreign policy, in particular, is a subject in which voters struggle to perceive clear differences between the parties. Consequently, we must repel the rapturous support for the so-called Arab Spring emanating from Obama’s tag team of favorite Republicans.Please click here for the rest of the post.