Top Headline Comments 4-2-13

Happy Tuesday.

Allahpundit wrote the post, so now I don't have to. Evangelicals have been telling a story about how they were lukewarm for Romney and would have turned out in greater numbers if only the party had selected a candidate that was stronger on values.

The point of this story -- and, indeed, Huckabee's point in this instance -- is twofold: (1) lay some blame for Romney's defeat; and (2) threaten the GOP with future defeats unless evangelicals' demands are met. The problem with the story (as Allah discusses in some detail) is that it is not true. Evangelicals had a larger share of the vote in 2012 than ever before.

Which brings me to another myth of Election 2012: the claim that the election demonstrated that the GOP needs to change policies to attract new voters. I've been writing since November (see here and here) that the party has a messaging problem, not a policy problem. The chart accompanying the second claim here makes that point.

We're still going round and round about Election 2012, btw, because the first step to solving a problem is to identify the problem.

Some other news, Vermont is the first state to post the prices for insurance bought through its shiny new Obamacare exchange. "[A] family of four with an annual income of $32,000 would end up paying $45 a month out of pocket. A single person with a $40,000 income would pay $317 a month." Taxpayers, you know who's paying the difference.

I made some noise about this news story yesterday on twitter. The claim, made in the headline and repeated in quotes and paraphrases, is that the sequester is delaying cruise ship debarkation and the passengers are really mad about it. Only, if you read the story, you'll note that it is entirely based on hearsay. They "heard" that sequestration has caused the number of CBP officers to be reduced, which is forcing them to stand in line. Who'd they hear it from? Oh, some other people.

Did the reporter bother to ask DHS if the agency had reduced its workforce yet? Of course not, because if the reporter had, the story would have had to explain that sequestration-related furloughs haven't started yet. Oh, and you know what? CBP is now saying it might have no furloughs at all.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 06:54 AM

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