…on the front page today, I thought I’d add this.

Next to National Review, the Weekly Standard is probably the most popular conservative news and opinion magazine in America. Bill Kristol, a well-known conservative TV pundit, is its editor.

The Standard‘s David Halper has written a story that strikes very close to home for Arizonans. Not only in its target, but in its sourcing as well. (All emphasis is added).

Richard Carmona, the former surgeon general under President George W. Bush and the current Democratic Senate candidate in Arizona, recently came under scrutiny after Senator Jon Kyl revealed a memorable conversation the two had about the perks of being a member of Congress. It happened in the 2006 election cycle, Kyl revealed to this publication last week, when Carmona was briefly recruited to be a Republican congressional candidate in the district outside Tucson.

“I had one phone conversation with him when the Republican party was looking for a candidate to run in the congressional seat [for the seat close to Tucson], and I talked to him about it,” Kyl told me.

“I thought his response was odd and a little off-putting. … He seemed more concerned about the perks of the office; he specifically asked about a house and a car, in the context of, well, he wasn’t a wealthy man and he would need to consider what went with the job. And he also seemed to think that it was just a lot of work for just two years, and having to run again, he thought, well, a position in the Senate would be a lot better to hold.”

Oh, and here’s a current report on how Senators McCain and Kyl, REALLY stand on the Arizona Senate race.

Carmona has faced a backlash from both senators, who charge that it was dishonest of him to use their comments to imply support and that what they said in 2002 should have no bearing on the race today. They have both endorsed Flake for Senate.

Flake’s new ad, “Integrity,” features the two senators standing side by side speaking directly into the camera about Carmona’s ad, with McCain calling it “the most shameful of all.”

“We helped Carmona 10 years ago, but found he’s not the kind of man to represent you in the U.S. Senate,” Kyl says.

“It isn’t just that he supports the Obama agenda; his ads prove Carmona lacks integrity,” McCain adds.

Your comments are always welcome. Yours too, HP.

The commander, staff and garrison (me, myself and I) of Fort Buckley hereby present our favorite video of this election cycle: “I Want To Be A Crony,” by Chrony Chronicles.

The video opens with this foreboding message: “Our Children Used To Have Big Dreams.” Used to?

Then, it shows fresh-faced children talking about the types of dreams kids have always had:

When I grow up, I’m want to be a doctor!

I’m going to be an architect!

When I grow up, I want to work hard.

I’m going to take care of animals.

I’m going to help sick people.

I’m going to build the tallest skyscraper in the world!

But, things are different nowadays. For more than three years, our children have seen what the federal government has done with deficit spending. (I.e., what the feds have done with their [the kids'] money.)

The kids have taken the hint. The video then shows us a series of kids telling us their revised, more modern dreams:

When I grow up, I want to work for the government and rig the system!

I want to work for the IRS

The S..E..C

The D..O..E

I’m going to Capitol Hill to work on a committee, and put whatever my friends want into legislation.

I’m going to fight for MY piece of the taxpayer pie!

I’m going to play favorites!

I want to be a crony!

One kid looks puzzled. “What’s a crony,” she asks.

It’s like having a best friend, who gives you other people’s stuff!

The kid then hears more about the perks of being a crony:

The tax code is so complicated, nobody knows how WE get rich!

I’m going to build a big government program, for all my crony friends. THEY won’t have to play by the rules.

We get to spend taxpayer money, ANY way we want!

The kid is convinced. She decides that she wants to be a crony, too.

Why be a tax payer, when I can be a tax spender?

Cronies aren’t only legislators who spend money. They’re also regulators, who take care of their friends and punish their enemies.

Go watch the video. Think about how our country is changing, for the worse. Think about the twisted messages we’re sending our kids. Then vote.

Update: More cronyism—this time, in the auto bailouts.

Auto bailouts bleeding more taxpayer cash
Obama cronies profit from cooked books

Reports that the auto bailouts will cost taxpayers $25 billion more than previously projected have sparked the predictable political squabbles that attend an election year. Liberals claim the cost to taxpayers was worth the price of saving American car companies, while conservatives grouse about what they see as government wasting more taxpayer money.

The reality, however, is uglier than either side realizes. Those behind the wheel of the automobile bailout were not folks who build cars but cronies who successfully leveraged their highly placed connections. Indeed, lift the hood, and what you find is that the auto bailout was a classic tale of cronyism, in which the well-connected sped away with big bucks.

Not surprising. Disappointing, but not surprising. You should read the whole thing. Before Tuesday.

These good tidings come from the National Journal:

Obama Administration Sits on Key Regulations

The Obama administration roared into office four years ago with an openly ambitious regulatory agenda, releasing a higher-than-usual number of major regulations in the first two years. In 2012, the number of new regulations has plummeted in a year in which the president’s regulatory policies have emerged as a major campaign theme.

Gee, I wonder why the flow of new regulations has slowed down this year. Oh wait…

Federal agencies are sitting on a pile of major health, environmental, and financial regulations that lobbyists, congressional staffers, and former administration officials say are being held back to avoid providing ammunition to Mitt Romney and other Republican critics.

Talk about a lump of coal in your financial stocking. (Well, in the case of this administration, we won’t get a lump of COAL. We might get a solar panel in our stockings instead. You know, a panel from Solyndra, or one of those many green companies who got Porkulus…excuse me, stimulus…money, then promptly went bankrupt).

Despite looming legislative deadlines in the Affordable Care Act, court deadlines requiring environmental-protection rules, and a financial industry awaiting clarification on key reform details, the pace of regulatory release has slowed by almost half. The drop-off stands out not just compared to earlier years of Obama’s term but also compared to other years in which presidents are running for reelection, according to analyses from experts at George Mason and George Washington universities.

The administration has also failed to release a required regulatory outlook document, describing its regulatory agenda. Such documents are supposed to be published every six months; the most recent one was published in January, making this the longest lag between outlooks since the deadline schedule was created in 1994.

I’m sure it’s all just an oversight. They’ll release the Hounds of Hell..excuse me, I mean, the federal regulators…right after the election, I’m sure.

“They’re ready to burst,” said Susan Dudley, director of the Regulatory Studies Center at George Washington University and a top official at the White House Office of Management and Budget during the George W. Bush administration. “Some people use the analogy of a closet door—you keep putting things in, and it’s ready to burst.”

In the business community, the anticipated surge of coming regulation has been likened to a tsunami. Business groups are worried about health care and environmental regulations, but also major outstanding labor rules. The agencies charged with implementing the Dodd-Frank financial reform law have routinely blown through legislative deadlines.

“There is a lot that’s sitting, waiting to come out,” said Daniel Bosch, manager of regulatory policy at the National Federation of Independent Business. NFIB estimates that there are more than 4,100 regulations in the pipeline. That list does not include the many anticipated regulations that are still with administration agencies.

Merry Christmas! Hey, who needs a recovering economy? Not the USA! Two four six eight, who do we appreciate? Bureau-crats! Bureau-crats! Yay, stagflation!

OMB declined to comment on critiques that it is delaying completed regulation, though the number of regulations the White House has held for longer than the customary 60-day limit is significant; about 70 percent of regulations under review have been held for more than 90 days, according to Dudley’s analysis. Instead, OMB highlighted the administration’s efforts to minimize burdensome regulation. “The Obama administration has taken steps to eliminate billions of dollars in unnecessary red tape and burdens to make government work better for our nation’s citizens and businesses while also protecting American lives and well-being,” said Moira Mack, an OMB spokeswoman, in an e-mail.

Much of the delayed regulation is tied to major Obama administration policies, not vestigial red tape. Both the Affordable Care Act and Dodd-Frank require significant regulatory clarification in order to move forward. State officials and businesses whose participation is critical to the success of health reform, in particular, fear that regulatory delays may cause problems in 2014, when the law’s major provisions go into effect.

Oh joy. Of course, we can keep the Hounds of Hell in their cages, if we vote smart on Tuesday.