Getting Caught In A (Big) Bird Trap

As snark goes, I must admit, the new DNC ad contemptuous of Mitt Romney's plan to take an economic knife to Big Bird is pretty funny. It is right out of the Alinsky's Rules For Radicals - "ridicule is man's most potent weapon."



Ridicule is designed to communicate to the listener that the object ridiculed is not worthy of any serious consideration. So will that backfire on the left in this instance? Lord knows it should. The deficit is among the top concerns for voters. And at the debate, 70 million people heard Romney seriously address the issue:

[Our $16 trillion deficit is] not just an economic issue, I think it's a moral issue. I think it's, frankly, not moral for my generation to keep spending massively more than we take in, knowing those burdens are going to be passed on to the next generation and they're going to be paying the interest and the principal all their lives.

And the amount of debt we're adding, at a trillion a year, is simply not moral. So how do we deal with it?

. . . [F]irst of all, I will eliminate all programs by this test, if they don't pass it: Is the program so critical it's worth borrowing money from China to pay for it? And if not, I'll get rid of it. Obamacare's on my list. . . .

I'm sorry, Jim, I'm going to stop the subsidy to PBS. I'm going to stop other things. I like PBS, I love Big Bird. Actually like you, too. But I'm not going to -- I'm not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for. . .

Romney's point was not that he would make cutting PBS a central part of his plan to reduce the deficit, which is what the Obama now wants everyone to believe. Rather it was that Romney's cuts would be so far reaching and disciplined that they would even encompass PBS.

Yet Obama has latched onto Big Bird with a death grip - yes, he is choking that chicken. The Weekly Standard notes "that in the last few days, Obama has mentioned Big Bird eight times, and Elmo five--and Libya not at all." Big Bird is now central to Obama's narrative, and if you have seen Obama talk about Big Bird over the past few days, you've seen him having a lot of fun with it. It is right in his wheelhouse.



No single ad that I have seen to date so well encapsulates all that is wrong with Obama and the far left. They are demagoguing Romney's promise to cut all non-critical programs. If anyone who sees this ad thinks about it for a minute, they should walk away with a damning indictment of Obama. And if Obama wants to play the Big Bird card at the debate, Romney should make him eat that bird, feathers and all.

Romney should ask whether anyone thinks that our deficit, $16 trillion and growing at over a trillion dollars a year under Obama, is a subject for humor, one to be brushed off with ridicule? If we can't touch all non-critical funding - including PBS subsidies - when we have a $16 trillion deficit, then what that makes crystal clear is that the left is simply not serious about addressing the deficit.

Obama and the DNC might have outdone themselves this time. They have created a Big Bird trap that they themselves are standing in.

Update: As Maggies Farm points out:

Back in 2008, Obama said that, “if you don’t have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. You make a big election about small things.”

Big Bird is the epitome of Small Things.

Tweet

Read More...

Summary only...

Whoa! NYT's Maureen Dowd's Primal Scream

NYT's columnist Maureen Dowd - master of the poison pen almost always aimed to the right side of the political spectrum - has ripped into Obama over his acceptance speech. It is a primal leftist scream over the One's failure to meet his 2008 campaign promises, and his attempt to point the finger of blame elsewhere - and more specifically, at the left. It does make for quite the enjoyable read:

. . . In his renomination acceptance speech here on Thursday night, [Obama] told us that America’s problems were tougher to solve than he had originally thought.

And that’s why he has kindly agreed to give us more time.

Because, after all, it’s our fault.

“So you see, the election four years ago wasn’t about me,” President Obama explained. “It was about you. My fellow citizens, you were the change.”

We were the change!

We were the change? Us?

How on earth could we have let so much of what we fought for slip away? How did we allow Mitch McConnell, Karl Rove, the super PACs, the Tea Party, the lobbyists and the special interests take away our voice?

“Only you can make sure that doesn’t happen,” the president chastised us. “Only you have the power to move us forward.”

We’re so lame. We were naïve, brimming with confidence that we could slow the rise of the oceans, heal the planet, fix the cracks in the Capitol dome.

We never should have let the Congressional Democrats run wild with their stimulus spending on pork that didn’t even create the right kinds of jobs. . . .

It’s depressing to look back and remember what soaring hopes we had for ourselves only four years ago. Did we overdo it with the Greek columns? Sheesh, a million people showed up for our inauguration. Now we brag when we break 10,000.

What a drag to realize that Hillary was right: big rallies and pretty words don’t always get you where you want to go. Who knew that Eric Cantor wouldn’t instantly swoon at the sound of our voice or the sight of our smile?

Our forbearing leader didn’t pander to us with that standard breakup line: “It’s not you, it’s me.”

He gave it to us straight: It’s not me, it’s you.

. . .

Maybe we relied too much on Valerie Jarrett, a k a the Night Stalker and Keeper of the Essence. She says people should woo us. But could it be that we need to woo them as well?

How could we have let the storybook president lose his narrative?

How could we keep failing to explain what changes we have gotten through? Why is salesmanship so beneath us? . . .

We are grateful to the president for deigning to point out our flaws and giving us another chance.

“I’m the president,” he intoned.

But We, the People, must do the work.

The buck stops with us.

To paraphrase Dracula, "the children of the left, what sweet music they make." Do read her whole column.

Tweet

Read More...

Summary only...

DNC Bookends: $16 Trillion In Debt & A Bad Jobs Report

The Democrat's convention, characterized by Mitt Romney as a "celebration of failure," now has brutal reality for its bookends.

First there was the debt clock ticking over $16,000,000,000,000 on day one of the DNC. It is another step on the march to becoming Greece. Any question of the import of this was highlighted by the Democrat's refusal to acknowledge this dangerous milestone at any point during their convention.

And less than 12 hours after Obama's speech asking for reelection on his vision rather than his performance, the BLS has released a very bad August jobs report. It shows only 96,000 new jobs created. Note that it takes our economy creating approximately 150,000 new jobs each month just to keep us treading water, so this actually puts us on a downward trajectory.

And worse, even the 96,000 new jobs were dwarfed by the report that 368,000 people stopped looking for work. Because of that, the U-3 unemployment number was reported by BLS as 8.1% - an illusory .2% "improvement" over last month. But as AEI points out, "if the labor force participation rate was the same as when Obama took office in January 2009, the unemployment rate would be 11.2%." Further, "if the participation rate had just stayed the same as last month, the unemployment rate" would have risen to "8.4%." It also means that the number of work age Americans working or actively looking for work is now at its lowest point in 30 years.

Image via Instapundit.

Mitt Romney responded to the jobs report:

If last night was the party, this morning is the hangover. For every net new job created, nearly four Americans gave up looking for work entirely. This is more of the same for middle class families who are suffering through the worst economic recovery since the Great Depression. After 43 straight months of unemployment above 8%, it is clear that President Obama just hasn’t lived up to his promises and his policies haven’t worked. We aren’t better off than they were four years ago. My plan for a stronger middle class will create 12 million new jobs by the end of my first term. America deserves new leadership that will get our economy moving again.

This election is shaping up to be a real world referendum on post modernism versus objective reality that is there for all to see. What makes this so different then past years is that only willful ignorance can allow one to ignore the objective reality.

Tweet

Read More...

Summary only...

Humor From The DNC

Lots of things to bring a smile to one's face from the DNC . . . at least if you are not a Democrat. First up:

The economic wunderkind's at the DNC consider whether it would be a good idea to ban all corporate profits. It is funny until you realize that these people both vote and breed.



Then the Daily Show invites Democrats to demonstrate their famed "tolerance" towards others.

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

And thank God for videotape, as now can endlessly replay the spectacle of the DNC organizers ramming through a change to the Democrat platform with at least half of the delegates to the Convention booing the move to restore mention of God and mention of Israel as the capital of Jerusalem in the platform. The disorder was comic, though what this says about radicals in control of the modern Democratic Party is a tad more sobering.



Obama came into office on the promise of 'healing the racial divide.' Instead, he and his administration have, virtually from day one, fully embrace identity politics. Thus, is anyone surprised to find a large number of DNC delegates sporting a spiffy blue button with a naked appeal to voting on skin color?

And the very last joke out of the DNC was played on the rule of law. As J Christian Adams recounts at PJM: The “Ride for Justice” bus from “No Papers, No Fear” rolled into Charlotte to keep the fiasco humming. This outfit is an illegal alien pressure group. Yes, in 2012, we now have open and well-funded organizations representing people committing crimes. In fact, the bus was full of illegal aliens openly touting their illegal status! Naturally, they were welcomed with open arms by the DNC because they are supporting President Obama’s lawless immigration policies. Local authorities arrested ten of them outside the convention for state crimes and turned them over to federal authorities, who then promptly released them. Lawlessness has become policy.

Tweet

Read More...

Summary only...

Obama Fails To Clear The Hurdle

Obama, in his speech accepting the Democrat nomination for President last night, had to make his case for reelection to the independent voters. I think that he clearly failed to clear that hurdle.

His opening was a call for voters to cast their ballots based on a choice between "two fundamentally different visions for the future." Left unsaid was a plea not to judge him on his dismal performance of the past three and half years. And related thereto, left unsaid was any direct mention of his two signature achievements, the Stimulus and the Affordable Care Act.

Obama claimed that it will take years to "solve the challenges" of our nation, adding that he has never promised that the path he is offering is "quick or easy." Funny, I seem to recall the opposite, that he promised the stimulus would heal the job market and keep unemployment below 8% and, further, that millions of green jobs were just around the corner. I am sure that most people know by now that what Obama gave us was a stimulus that didn't stimulate and a few green jobs that cost us millions.

Then there was the well worn Obama ritual of demagoging his opponents while lighting up fields of strawmen. For example, Obama said “we have been told by our opponents . . . that since government can't do everything, it should do nothing." Did anybody ever hear that spoken by any Republican? Then there was this repugnant strawman - "if the company releases toxic pollution into the air your children breathe, well that's just the price of progress.“ As always, it would seem that if you don't agree with Obama, it can only be because you are evil and uncaring. I can't see that kind of base demagoguery working with independents who, by very definition, have not yet been swayed by such repeated attacks over the past four years.

When it came to ideas, I was amazed that Obama proposed absolutely nothing new. There was a call for 100,000 new math and science teachers, to create 1 million new manufacturing jobs, to cut oil imports in half by 2020, to raise taxes on the rich, and to make more investments in renewable energy. He just pulled out his old State of the Union speeches then cut and paste.

Obama made no mention of the massive $16 trillion deficit; however, he did claim that he has put forth a plan to save our nation $4 trillion over the next decade. It is a pure smoke and mirrors plan - even the Washington Post choked on that one.

Some of the things for which Obama took credit were just appalling for their hypocrisy and will leave Obama wide open for Romney attacks at the debates, assuming Obama raises the same claims there. For instance, Obama took credit for cutting oil imports by "1 million barrels of oil a day." To the extent that decline was because of increasing US production, that had absolutely nothing to do with Obama. Indeed, U.S. oil production increased on private lands in spite of the the lessened production on federal lands. To the extent that decline was due to reduced demand, that has everything to do with Obama – it's because our economy is in such a sad state.

Likewise is the claim from Obama that "we've doubled our use of renewable energy, and thousands of Americans have jobs today building wind turbines and long-lasting batteries." As to our use of renewable energy, that has only increased because consumers are being forced to purchase it at premium prices while, at the same time, Obama is heavily subsidizing its production. There is no better example of that than the US Navy being forced to purchase biofuels in order to replace exponentially cheaper jp-4 jet fuel, and that at a a time when funding for the Navy is being drastically cut. As to Obama's proud claim that thousands are working to build turbines and batteries, that is just utterly shameless. Obama promised 5 million new green jobs in 2008, but today he is bragging about a few thousand jobs that are heavily subsidized. No mention is made of the hundreds of millions that Obama has wasted in trying to create this new, government directed market. Powerline has much more on Obama's energy claims.

In sum, I do not think that Obama will win any independent voters with this speech. If these are Obama's best arguments for reelection, Romney will feast on him during debates.

Below are two related items of interest. One is a video of Charles Krauthammer's take on the Obama speech. Suffice it to say, he was as unimpressed as I. Below that is a chart from the Tax Foundation giving a side-by-side comparison of the tax plans put forth by Obama, Romney, and Simpson – Bowles respectively. As the TaxProf notes, the Obama plan not merely raises taxes, but also adds complexity, while the Romney plan is much closer to that put forth by Simpson-Bowles.

Tweet

Read More...

Summary only...

The Bubba Show

So what did you think of Clinton's speech? For my part, I thought it was vintage Clinton. I am too tired to blog it tonight, but I will just say that I thought it was equal parts intellectual dishonesty and good humor. I enjoyed it, though I doubt it will do much for Obama. All memories of it will be flushed come Friday and the jobs report.

Tweet

Read More...

Summary only...

Warren's Dishonest Class Warrior Speech At The DNC

Elizabeth Warren addressed the DNC tonight. It was horrendous.

She begins by noting that, "for many years now our middle class has been chipped, squeezed and hammered." That was her only honest remark of the night. Under the Obama economy, median incomes have dropped by over 10%, the number of people in the workforce is at record low numbers, long-term unemployment is at record high numbers, and of those 4.5 million jobs Obama is claiming to have created, 57% of them are low-wage jobs.

Warren goes on to enumerate some of the hardluck stories that she has seen. She mentions the construction worker out of work for nine months – but fails to note that the steep falloff in construction was because of the massive housing bubble created by progressives just like her. Warren mentions the head of a manufacturing company trying to "protect jobs but worried about costs" – but fails to note that the new costs are largely associated with Obamacare. Warren mentions a student "drowning in debt" – but fails to mention that the higher education bubble was created by the structure of government loans for higher education, nor does she mention that it was Joe Biden who ensured that student loans cannot be discharged in bankruptcy as a payoff to the banking industry.

But perhaps Ms. Warren's most outrageous statements were a primal scream that some people in America are getting wealthy. Indeed, she seemed downright angry that the government is allowing any of these evil people or corporations to keep some of their wealth. To Ms. Warren, all of this means “that the system is rigged." It is clear Ms. Warren does not see any connection between wealth creation and job creation. That is idiocy unbound. Additionally, her claim that the system is rigged implies that those who are creating wealth are doing so nefariously.

I do agree with Ms. Warren, at least in part, that the system is rigged. I think it very unfair that she was able to gain the position of employment based not solely on her accomplishments, but by falsely claiming to be part Cherokee Indian. Likewise, I feel it very unfair that Democratic cronies are receiving sweetheart government deals, such as with Solyandra or GE. In addition, I feel it very unfair that we still live in a nation where, as a condition of working in one's chosen profession, one could be forced to pay union dues. And I feel it very unfair that the people who caused our economic melt-down are not being prosecuted by the current administration. It is very clear, however, that Ms. Warrens definition of “rigged” differs substantially from mine.

According to Ms. Warren, the system is rigged because, one, “oil companies guzzle down billions in subsidies." That, of course, is a flat-out lie. Oil companies receive no subsidies. They have available to them the same tax breaks that do all businesses.

Two, Ms. Warren claims the system is rigged because "billionaires pay lower tax rates than their secretaries." That too is a lie. To the extent that there is a disparity, it is because we treat capital gains – i.e., money risked on investment – at 15%. Billionaires simply make a larger portion of their income from capital gains. We already have plenty of data showing that increasing the tax rate on capital gains lowers GDP and tax receipts – so in terms of making any economic sense, Ms. Warren's argument is groundless. Good lord, even uber-socialist Sweden, the darling of many our own lefties, recently dropped its capital gains tax rate - to 0%. At least the radical left there has some economic sense. At any rate, Warren's point is the most cynical of appeals to populism.

Three, Ms. Warren claims the system is rigged because “Wall Street CEOs – the same ones who wrecked our economy and destroyed millions of jobs – still strut around Congress, no shame, demanding favors and acting like we should thank them.” This is the big lie of Democrats.

The but for cause of our economic meltdown was Democratic social engineering of the housing market, and ultimately our credit standards, through the CRA, Fanny and Freddy. Not that I am defending Wall Street. I think that there are a whole host of people who should be put in jail over the economic meltdown. However, to do so, would be for Democrats to shine a spotlight on their role in the economic melt down. Thus, there has not been a single prosecution., to my knowledge, against the people who rated subprime mortgages as AAA investments. And indeed, a few weeks ago, the Justice Department announced that it would not prosecute Goldman Sachs for fraud in its marketing of securities backed by subprime mortgages.

This seems par for the course for this administration – a protector of the same Wall St. they regularly denounce. And do remember that former Sen. John Corzine, Democrat, presided over the theft of $1.2 billion in customer assets at MF global, yet is still walking free, still raising money for the president, and likely to escape justice under this Democratic administration. It is all a travesty made into a farce as the Democrats attempt to paint themselves as the champions of middle America against Wall Street.

There were many other low lights – such as Warren's using Romney's factually accurate remark that corporations are “people” to launch an utterly ridiculous primer in how individuals and corporations differ. Romney was referring to how the law treats corporations – and how they have done so since 1819. Warren, a law professor, saw his true statement as a chance to launch another scurrilous attack. And there was her glowing mention of Ted Kennedy. In truth, I was waiting for her to announce to the crowd that her great great grandmother had married a Kennedy, making her 1/32nd entitled to the Kennedy Ancestral Senate Seat.

I could go on and on about every line of this woman's vile screed. The bottom line, Elizabeth Warren is about as intellectually dishonest person as you'll find. Here's yet another Democrat in the mold of Nancy Pelosi and Debbie Wasserman Schultz. It is impossible to find common ground and to hold rational discussion with such people. God help us if she is actually voted into the Senate.

Udpate: Heh. Rush is on the Warren speech today. To paraphrase, Warren presented the strongest case yet for not reelecting Obama, she just doesn't realize it.

Tweet

Read More...

Summary only...

Common "Progressive" Threads

Just a thought as I reflect on the massive celebration of progressive entitlement programs and big government philosophy in last night's DNC.

The Head Start program, designed to help preschool children, eats up billions of dollars per year, yet it has not shown to have a single long term benefit.  The welfare system that we put in place in the 1960's to help blacks had the unintended consequence of destroying inner city black families.  The housing program and inserting affirmative action in our lending and credit systems between 1994 and 2008 under the CRA has all but destroyed our economy.  All of these programs were major progressive initiatives, all have, by most metrics, failed catastrpophically, and yet all are still with us.

And Barack Obama, who has utterly failed to lead us out of the recession of 2008-09 is now asking for another four years.

The common threads running through all of these things are that, one, Progressivism never admits failure.  Two,  regardless of how ineffective or inefficient, regardless of the unintended consequences,  every progressive idea implemented in the real world just needs more time to work, or just one more new law or regulation to push it over the top into meeting its designated purpose.  Three, to question progressive ideas is to be evil - it is to conduct a war on [insert designated progressive victim class here], it is to be racist or sexist, etc.  And four, people should believe in the eventual triumph of failed progressive ideas out of simple faith in their moral superiority.

It is a toxic mix of fanaticism, fantasy and secular religion.  And anyone who pulls the lever for Obama this time around will be acting out of a faith misplaced indeed.    

Tweet

Read More...

Summary only...

You Didn't Fill That

Heh.  Obama moves his Thursday speech from the outdoor 74,000 seat venue to an indoor venue of about 20,000.  The title of this post comes from Rush Limbaugh via Ann Althouse.  The official reason given is concern for inclement weather - there is, after all, a 30% chance of rain on what promises to be a balmy Charlotte Thursday eve.   Color me skeptical.

Update:  Buzzfeed has videos from a number of 2008 Obama campaign events held in the rain.  Apparently, four years has completely upset the left's ability to withstand water.

Tweet

Read More...

Summary only...

Michelle Speaks

Michelle Obama just spoke at the DNC convention.  It was a well delivered speech. That said, the content, at least beyond the personal, was ridiculous. The penultimate laugh line was Michelle describing our Class Warrior in Chief, her hyperpartisan husband, in the following terms:

. . . for Barack, there is no such thing as “us” and “them” – he doesn’t care whether you’re a Democrat, a Republican, or none of the above…he knows that we all love our country…and he’s always ready to listen to good ideas…he’s always looking for the very best in everyone he meets.

My takeaways as to her message:

-  Life is hard.  Shut up, find a job if you can, and be prepared to sacrifice four more years for the glory of Baraky.

- The government is the source of all that is good in America and indispensable for individual achievement.

- The Obama's now fully embrace gay marriage

-  Supporting the Lilly Ledbetter Act is one of the litmus tests for support of equal rights for women.  The fact that our Civil Rights Act has, since 1964, allowed women to sue for discrimination in.pay is of no matter, as is the fact that the Lilly Ledbetter Act was really all about creating a bonanza for leftie trial lawyers - precisely the prescription for our already suffering economy.

-  The second half of the litmus test for being a supporter of women is support for abortion on demand.

Tweet

Read More...

Summary only...

DNC - Tammy Duckworth Impresses

Tammy Duckworth, a candidate for the House in an Illinois district, just spoke at the DNC.  I must admit, she was quite impressive.  She is a former U.S. National Guard officer severely injured flying a Blackhawk in Baghdad.  I applaud her heroism.

She had one pointed criticism of the Romney-Ryan ticket - that Romney never mentioned Afghanistan in his acceptance speech.  Her criticism was wholly valid.  What to do with Afghanistan is a political hot potato.  That said, we are paying a President to lead, and with fighting men and women in Afghanistan, that is, morally, the single most important issue facing our next President.  That Romney sidestepped that issue is rightly condemnable.

Beyond that, Ms. Duckworth, without demonizing the right, expressed general, wholesale support for the welfare state.  I think she is misguided in that our entitlements, as they exist today, will break our national piggy bank and do not promote individual responsibility.  Those are both moral as well as pragmatic issues.  The rub is how to redesign the programs so that we can help people in there true times of need, how to redesign the programs so we don't bankrupt our country, how to redesign the programs so that people are encouraged to get off those programs as soon possible, and lastly, how to redesign the programs with unintended consequences in mind.

I don't know anything about Ms. Duckworth beyond my favorable first impressions.  Ms. Duckworth appears to be rational and willing to address facts.  That makes her a unique commodity on the left.            

Tweet

Read More...

Summary only...

Blue Alert [Updated]

Send out the 911, notify all authorities, there are a laundry list of things gone missing from the Democratic National Convention:

- The debt clock is nowhere to be found at the DNC.

Somebody must have stolen it off the wall at the DNC. Fortunately, for those of us viewing Fox News, Bret Baer had a handy dandy debt clock in the corner of the screen and yes, how appropriate that it should trip over the $16,000,000,000,000.00 mark just as the DNC convenes. It is a Democrat milestone as Obama has compiled more debt under his watch than Bush in two terms and more than any previous President of the U.S., from Washington to Clinton combined.

I am not sure who the guy is in the video below, but on the issue of this insane accumulation of debt . . .



. . . I agree with him 100%.

- Mention of God in the Democratic platform. [SEE UPDATE BELOW]

Yes, for the first time in the history of the Democratic Party, all mention of God has been scrubbed from the Democratic platform.  This should not surprise anyone. The radical left has been at war with religion since prior to the founding of our country, and it is the radical left that now controls the Democratic Party. This is one more incremental step in what has been a "march of a thousand miles," to quote Mao (how appropriate), to remove religion, and in particular Christianity, from the American public square.

- Mention of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in the Democratic platform. {SEE UPDATE BELOW]

To my Jewish Democratic friends, no cause for worry. Its not like Democrats do not fully support Israel.  Oh, and the Democratic platiform also strips language from previous platforms calling for the isolation of Hamas, calling for Palestinian refugees only be returned to a Palestinian state, not Israel, and strips language that dismissed any demand for a return to the 1949 borders.  And if you don't think the Palestinians and Iranians haven't picked up on this signal, you are living in a fantasy land.  Many more friends to Israel like Obama and the Democrat left and future maps will be showing Israel overstamped with an expiration date.

- Obama Supporters

Long gone are the adoring crowds fighting for a chance to hear THE ONE make his acceptance speech. Four years ago, 84,000 showed up in Denver to worship at the feet of HE who would heal the planet and slow the rise of the oceans. Now, the Dems are "desperately" scrambling to bus in enough people from NC and surrounding states to fill the stands for The One's 2012 acceptance speech. And if there aren't enough rent a mobs to do the trick, the alternative is to move the speech to a 20,000 person indoor venue and justify the change because of the potential for inclement weather - after all, it's supposed to be partly cloudy and 75 degrees on Thursday in Charlotte.

And last but not least, there is the most important thing of all missing from the DNC . . .

- Leadership

Well, effective leadership at least. Our Community Organizer In Chief has, in the preceding near four years, led us to the worst recovery since WWII and has us poised on the brink to sink far lower. Now Obama says he wants four more years because he hasn't "finished the job" yet.

Curiously enough, that was my reaction too.

UPDATE: The radical left displayed too much of their beliefs to the public with the original platform, adopted in toto last night. So, less than 24 hours later, the DNC has forced through an amendment.

The amendment restores mention of God and acknowledges Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Now, if you think this reflects how the radical left that dominates today's Democratic Party thinks, think again. Watch the video below. If that was a 2/3rd's affirmative vote to adopt the amendment, then Obama is a small government, free market capitalist. I would imagine you would have to go back to the old Soviet Politburo to see democracy practiced like that.

Tweet

Read More...

Summary only...

Preparing To Answer The Left's DNC Mantras

According to WaPo, next week's DNC will be a blame-Bush-apalooza, at least in between updates on the war on women (i.e., the wholly irrational and unfair refusal of people to willingly and fully fund Sandra Fluke's sex life).

At any rate, expect to hear the following mindless mantras repeated ad infinitum next week:

- Do we "want to return to the very same policies that brought on the crisis in the first place?".

and

- "Wall Street greed"

and

- "Deregulation"

The Romney response to them should be simple - if Obama and the left are right about the causes of our economic problems, then their solutions should have righted our economy by now, or at least have us on a clear path to recovery, just like in every other recession we have had in the past 65 years. Yet, instead of recovery, we are circling the drain.

And of course, if Romney feels the need to elaborate any more, he can point to any of the following. IBD opined yesterday, "the Obama recovery can only be graded as a tremendous failure — as it has produced the worst rate of economic growth of any recovery in the past 65 years." And as the Economist noted this week, "three million more Americans are out of work than four years ago, and [our] national debt is $5 trillion bigger." And there is no relief in sight. On the horizon are hundreds of billions in tax increases to fund Obamacare, an explosion in regulations between Dodd Frank and an EPA at war with our energy sector. Then there is the biggie, the combination of Medicare and Social Security that will swallow our economy in a decade or so if not reformed.

Just keep the responses simple and loud. Let no repetition of the mantras go unanswered. Do that and by any measure, this should be Republicans election to lose.

Tweet

Read More...

Summary only...

Bailing From Charlotte

More than a few notable Democrats will be skipping the DNC in Charlotte, bailing for the life rafts and trying to distance themselves from the sinking ship that Obama is captaining. None, though, are going any further than the Hildabeast, who has, scheduled herself, this week and next to visit "the Cook Islands, Indonesia, China, Timor-Leste, Brunei, and Russia."

A hat tip to Gerard Van Der Luen at American Digest for this nugget, who entitles his own blurb on the subject, "Dem's Don't Need Mo' Ho's. They're Full Up." Heh.

Tweet

Read More...

Summary only...

Is The Florida Republican Party About To Sacrifice Congressman Allen West

Allen West is one of the Republican party's most important national assets. He is deeply conservative, highly articulate, very intelligent, intellectually honest and a darling of the Tea Party movement. That he is also black gives extra weight to his highly critical commentary on the racial politics of the left. He is, by every account, a rising star in the Republican Party with national prominence. For all of these reasons, Rep. West is at the very top of the DNC's hit list of seats to challenge in 2012.

I know the world Allen West grew up in. He was a twenty year soldier - and their is no greater melting pot than the U.S. Army. It is a true meritocracy. It is an environment where the color of one's skin is meaningless. I can well imagine that LTC West was as horrified as I by the reality of the racial politics of the left when he was forced out of the service and into the civilian world. For those who don't know, LTC West's career ended in Iraq when he received intelligence that he and members of his unit were being targeted for assassination by several Iraqis. He captured one of the plotters and fired off his weapon to induce the detainee to discuss the plot. That ended the LTC's career. When asked if he would have done it again if the same scenario presented itself, West was unapologetic, stating, "[i]f it's about the lives of my soldiers at stake, I'd go through hell with a gasoline can." That is a soldier.

At any rate, Rep. West is a treasure of a Republican Party desperately in need of men and women like him. And yet, it appears that the Florida Republican Party, led by a Romney supporter, Will Weatherford, is going to sacrifice Rep. West as part of the redistricting process:

One of Governor Mitt Romney’s spokesmen was Florida Representative Will Weatherford, and during the course of his remarks in the “Spin Room”, he shed a very dim light on the ongoing redistricting process in the Florida Legislature. Over the past several weeks, many Republicans have voiced their disappointment towards the Republican legislature after the release of the preliminary redistricting maps. Much of the ire concerns the proposed boundaries of Congressman Allen West’s 22nd Congressional District that would be redrawn to include far more registered Democrats.

West’s congressional district inexplicably sheds the most Republican electoral support, in comparison to all other incumbent Republican and Democrat Congressman. A few weeks back we quoted an unnamed legislator saying that, “Allen West was screwed”, a statement which was originally made about made five months before the proposed maps were made public, leading insiders to believe that the fix was in against Allen West. But in light of Weatherford’s comment, it is increasingly clear that this is a fait accompli. (Read more- Allen West is Screwed)

According to Weatherford, those preliminary maps will not change- at the most, any additional changes would be minimal, and those changes would not make any appreciable difference from the preliminary maps. In addition, Weatherford stated that a deal was struck between him, Senate President Mike Haridopolos, and Senator Don Gaetz to finalize these maps and push them through as soon as possible. Weatherford also said that the proposed maps are in legal compliance with both the Voting Rights Act and Amendment 6.

So based on Weatherford’s comments, the 22nd Congressional District is now very much in play for the Democrat Party, and West is at an even larger disadvantage than he was previously- it will be a very difficult and expensive seat for Republicans to defend.

The only reasonable explanation for this is that the Florida Republican hierarchy has cut a deal with Democrats as part of the redistricting process. As the Shark Tank opined here:

So why would the “most conservative legislature” in Florida’s history look the other way as West’s congressional district lines are re-drawn? Is the fix really in to knock Allen West out of Congress? About five months ago, a very high ranking member of the Florida legislature gave me a very disturbing prediction regarding redistricting- “Allen West is screwed.” Take note that comment was made five months ago, long before the proposed maps were made public.

So are the poobahs in the Florida legislature really gunning to oust Allen West? Was a backroom deal made with the Democrat members of the legislature to put West’s seat into play in order to protect the other congressional seats that would favor any future runs for Congress by existing members of the Florida Legislature? The deals were struck, and the maps drawn behind closed doors.

It wouldn’t surprise us if this were the case. There is no love lost between the Florida legislature and Congressman Allen West, who has proven to be the anti-Republican establishment congressman. Back in the 2008 election cycle when West unsuccessfully ran for Congress, Republicans in the legislature did not support West. Former indicted Republican Party of Florida Boss Jim Greer and Governor Charlie Crist stayed out of the race until the very end, even after West’s Republican primary race was over.

Crist endorsed West four days prior to the general election, and Greer showed his support by writing West a personal check of $500 several weeks before the general election. This was also the case during the 2010 election cycle as state legislators sat on their hands, much like they did with Senator Marco Rubio. The Rubio saga is well documented, as the backdoor dirty deals and threats weighed heavy on the Rubio for Senate campaign against Crist.

In 2010, Will Weatherford, who is the current State House Redistricting Chairman, also supported Crist over Rubio before Crist left the GOP and ran as an Independent.

You may ask yourself why would the Florida GOP legislature not protect one of the most respected and beloved congressman in Washington D.C.? Could the reasons be as simple as sheer arrogance and self-political preservation by the Tallahassee elites?

There is rot at the heart of the Republican Party that I never knew existed until the start of the 2012 campaign season. What the Republican's are doing in Florida to Allen West is simply unforgivable. Weatherford and the Florida Republican Party needs to be condemned in no uncertain terms for this act.

Read More...

Summary only...

The DNC Tries To Hatch A New(t) Strategy

The DNC has apparently reached the conclusion that Newt Gingrich will likely be the Republican nominee for President. They had their Romney strategy in place - the rich are evil and Romney, with a net worth of around $250 million, is a card carrying member of the evil rich club. Too bad all these months of class warfare rhetoric won't play so well with Newt, whose net worth is within the same ballpark as Obama's.

So how to demonize Gingrich? Within the past 24 hours, the DNC released on the internet an ad painting Gingrich as the "original" Tea Party guy (21st century variety, not 18th century, just to clarify). Here is the ad below. Two things strike me about the ad. One, this looks like an ad the Gingrich campaign themselves might have come up with. Two, if the Democrats want to demagogue Gingrich, they should never show him explaining his positions. The last 20 seconds of the ad shows Gingrich explaining why he wants to cut the capital gains and corporate tax - to create jobs. The DNC is obviously struggling at the moment. I almost feel sorry for them. Almost.



(H/T: Legal Insurrection)

Read More...

Summary only...

There Is Just Something About Our Form Of Government They Don't Seem To Get

Obama and the left don't seem to understand any number of things about our form of government - such as the what the phrase "rule of law" means or how that democracy thing works. The Obama administration returning to the court of Judge Vinson, who near three weeks ago ruled Obamacare unconstitutional in toto, asking for the court to rule that states have to begin complying with Obamacare anyway. In other words, they are asking Judge Vinson to rule that he didn't mean what he said when he said it. As to how democracy works, you have Wisconsin's Democratic legislators in hiding to prevent the functioning of the state government, and you have the left, from Obama through the DNC, and all labor organizations falling on Wisconsin in an effort to thwart democratic change in that state that is both constitutional and the will of the voters as expressed in the 2010 election.

I would suggest that somebody needs to send these jokers a couple of copies of the Constitution, but I have no doubt whatsoever that it would not make a wit of difference.

Read More...

Summary only...

Change You Can't Have: Obama & The DNC Interfere In Wisconsin Politics

More thugogracy from Obama and the DNC. The voters of Wisconsin spoke in November, asking for a change from Democrat controlled politics in the state that had run up a $3.6 billion tab. Now Obama and the DNC have insinuated themselves into Wisconsin politics, saying that there is some change that voters just shouldn't have, regardless of election results. Specifically, Obama and the DNC want to protect their piggy bank - public sector unions that threaten to bankrupt the state.

To understand just how despicable this federal effort to interfere in Wisconsin state politics is, know that Wisconsin's voters, in November, voted overwhelmingly for Republicans. Going into the 2010 elections, Democrats held the governorship, a 3 seat majority in the Wisconsin State Senate, and a 5 seat majority in the State Assembly. Scott Walker, in his campaign for governor, did not hide how he intended to address the budget shortfall, nor the issue of public sector unions at the heart of Wisconsin's budget woes:

. . . UW political scientist Barry Burden said. “It was part of Walker’s campaign message that he was going to ask state employees to contribute more … and that he was going to tackle unions.”

The voters of Wisconsin responded. By the time the election was over, Republicans had swept the Democrats from power, taking the governor's race, a four seat majority in the state Senate, and a massive 22 seat majority in the State Assembly. The people had spoken.

But that didn't suffice for the state's Democrats. During their 2010 lame duck session, they tried to tie Walker's hands in dealing with unions by approving 17 new union contracts. That effort to circumvent Wisconsin's voters ended only when two Democrats refused to countenance such a despicable act.

When Republicans took office, Gov. Walker proposed a Budget Repair Bill, the terms of which are more fully outlined here. It would require public union employees to contribute to their health and pension benefits, it would cap wage increases to inflation unless approved by a state wide referendum, it would require unions to annually recertify and to collect their own dues. With that restriction, unions could still collectively bargain for wage increases, but benefit increases would be solely within the purview of the state. As far as wages and benefits, this still leaves Wisconsin's public sector employees better off than Wisconsin's average private sector employees.



While Wisconsin state politics is strictly a local affair, anything that threatens public sector unions is a national threat to Obama and the DNC. This from Ben Smith at Politico:

The Democratic National Committee's Organizing for America arm -- the remnant of the 2008 Obama campaign -- is playing an active role in organizing protests against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's attempt to strip most public employees of collective bargaining rights.

And indeed, if you go to Organizing For America's website at my.barackobama.com, you find:

Organizing for America is mobilizing on the ground in Wisconsin to defend the rights of public employees from an attempt by the governor to take away their right to organize.

Jessie Lidbury, regional field organizer, explains why this is so important:

We’ve got a fight on our hands and it’s personal. Over the past few days serious developments have surfaced of Governor Scott Walker presenting a “Budget Repair Bill” that will essentially gut collective bargaining for public employees here in our own backyard of Wisconsin.

Over the next couple days nurses, teachers, snowplow drivers, prison guards, and public servants will be standing together to let Governor Walker, know what is at stake: livelihoods, heath care, our children's education, and the rights of all workers. . . .

Our job as organizers is to take action, and what better way than to help out our friends in the labor community. . . .

And the "action" the left is taking shows the civility for which they are so famous:



This federal level engagement into Wisconsin state politics, between Obama terming the proposed legislation as an "assault" and the DNC's direct action, is outrageous. I would like to see Gov. Walker go the full monty and just outlaw public sector unions in Wisconsin, the way such unions were deemed unlawful for much of our nation's history. Really, that is the only answer this toxin in our society.

As I have written before:

Unions in the public sector are a growth industry with 39% of all state and local public employees belonging to unions. What can possibly justify public sector unions in 2010? This is not the era of sweatshops and 80 hour work weeks. And indeed, today we see public sector union employees earning significantly more than their private sector counterparts.

Public sector unions are particularly insidious. They are not subject to market forces and they have every reason to seek growth of government. This from a 2009 Heritage Foundation article:

. . . As Heritage fellow James Sherk reported earlier this year, for the first time in history most union members work for the government, not the private sector. The days when “union member” meant an American working in a steel plant, or coal mine, or auto factory are gone. Today, unions are dependent on government, not the private sector, for their livelihood. Therefore, unions have little interest in private sector job growth. Private sector jobs don’t help fund political campaigns. But government jobs do. The change in incentives has been devastating to American taxpayers. Manhattan Institute senior fellow Steven Malanga explains why:

In the private sector … employers who are too generous with pay and benefits will be punished. In the public sector, however, more union members means more voters. And more voters means more dollars for political campaigns to elect sympathetic politicians who will enact higher taxes to foot the bill for the upward arc of government spending on workers.

This is why you see big labor supporting Obamacare and cap and trade taxes. Private sector job growth does nothing to increase union dues … only the further expansion of government does.

This is public theft on a grand scale. The Democrats are laundering our tax dollars through public sector unions via mandatory union dues from public employees. Bet you didn't realize that you were funding Democratic efforts to keep Obama and the far left in power, did you. At any rate, the Democrats are horrified at the thought that it may soon unravel. In fact, they are far more horrified at that prospect than they are concerned with allowing the Wisconsin voters be heard through their newly elected government. Democracy be damned. Apparently in the world of hope and change, there is some change that is just not acceptable.

Related Posts

- Public Sector Unions: A Toxin, A Crisis & An Opportunity
- Read'n, Writ'n & Unioniz'n
- What, Marx Or Lenin Weren't Available?
- Gov. Chris Christie, What Leadership Looks Like
- California: From Riches To Public Sector Unions To Ruin
- Detroit's Public School System, School Board & Teachers' Union
- Unions & Teachers: The Alpha & Omega
- Living With Public Sector Unions
- Public Sector Unions
- Obama, The Stimulus & Teachers' Unions
- Yet Another Reason Why Public Sector Unions Should Be Done Away With
- Grand Theft Democrat
- Another Win For Teachers Unions, Another Defeat For DC Students
- Reason 10,001 Why Public Sector Unions Need To Be Outlawed
- Public Sector Unions Go To War To Prevent Democratic Change In Wisconsin

Read More...

Summary only...

Demanding Racist Teabaggers Show Civility

Evan Coyne Maloney puts the left's calls for civility and their accusations of racism and radicalism of the right in perspective.



H/T Powerline

Read More...

Summary only...

Democratic Convention Day 4 - Stepping Down From The Mountain

This was about the best and safest speech that Obama could give. He did not speak of the oceans parting tonight. Nor, despite the Grecian motif, did he claim the powers of Zeus. This was a very well delivered speech, but it was uninspiring - and did nothing more than dust off the liberal wish list.

You can read the entire speech here. The guy is really good from a teleprompter. We will have to see how he does when really pressed in a debate. He did not fare well at all in Philly. At any rate, here were my notes from his speech -

We are in a second depression.

It can only be solved by

- massive increases in government programs and spending.
- cutting taxes
- taxing corporations heavier
- some cut in the capital gains tax for small businesses

A lot of anti-business rhetoric in here.

It can all be paid for by a massive reorganization of the entire government.

No drilling. Push alternative energy.

McCain = Bush on all things

He will solve all of our foreign policy problems, though he does not explain how. He gets real opaque here. No specifics at all beyond repairing alliances broken by Bush.

Obama again tried to inoculate himself from charges that he places ambition over country. He acknowledged that McCain is patriotic and expects the same in return. Don’t question his patriotism, irrespective of whether you believe he places ambition over the best needs of the country.

Abortion rights – he didn’t say much here, just a mention that we have too many in America. He ignored his vote on partial birth abortion.

Gay rights – same as abortion rights, Obama was supportive but very hazy, again not taking a real position.

Gun Rights - Obama differentiated between hunters and everyone else. This ought to set off the spidey sense of everyone watching from NRA headquarters.

He can’t wait to debate McCain. Someone hold him back . . .

Change. Change. And more change. We need change. Can anyone spare some change?

Most incredible line of the night: "If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from." The amazing thing was that Obama was saying this about McCain. I believe our phsychologist friends call this "projection."

Update: One interesting point raised by Obama in his speech. This from CNN:

If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next commander in chief, that's a debate I'm ready to have," he told supporters at the Invesco Stadium in Denver, Colorado.

I mentioned the bit about debate earlier. I only point out this entire quote since I have seen a series of attacks recently on McCain and his supposedly mecurial temperment. Harry Reid raised this two days ago. Time Magazine, an operation that has run five covers of Obama, ran a similar story the other day, and now we hear this from Obama. I do not think that this argument will go anywhere, and indeed, it got no traction when tried out two months ago. But it is interesting to see the argument gaining new life and see it being made by seemingly unconnected parties. This has the distinct smell of a deliberate strategy. If so, we will hear much more about McCain's temper from various sources in the near future.

Final thoughts:

He will get a bump because he really reads well from a teleprompter.

The bump will not be permanent because there are just too many holes in his resume and some of his key factual claims are just too outlandish.

There was nothing motivational about this speech. It was a vague laundry list.

On to Minnesota.

Read More...

Summary only...