Erick Erickson's Blog, page 141

Because They Won't Attack Hillary Clinton, They Attack Josh Trevino

The left is in a tizzy because some "well meaning" people are on a flotilla to Gaza and Josh Trevino dares to say what so many of the rest of us are thinking — if Israel takes out the flotilla in self defense, so be it.

Frankly, from my vantage point, I can't see any other rational position — particularly for those who support Israel, particularly for conservatives.

These flotillas of leftists have been well known to smuggle arms into Gaza and cause other problems. They are not humanitarian, so much as they are anti-Israel. They ignore the daily rocket attacks launched into Israel by terrorists in Gaza and, in fact, typically make excuses for those attacks.

So Trevino gets attacked by Salon, Media Matters, and Think Progress for saying on Twitter, "Dear IDF: If you end up shooting any Americans on the new Gaza flotilla — well, most Americans are cool with that. Including me."

Frankly, I think it is a testament to the correctness of Josh's opinion that the far left is outraged by it. If Americans do join a flotilla to aid and abet terrorist thugs in Gaza under the cover of humanitarian aid, they take their lives into their own hands and Israel has a clear and reasonable right to defend itself.

Now, for all those of you hand wringing that Josh or me are extremists for daring to speak truth to leftists, add Hillary Clinton to the list of extremists for agreeing with us.

we do not believe that the flotilla is a necessary or useful effort to try to assist the people of Gaza. Just this week, the Israeli Government approved a significant commitment to housing in Gaza. There will be construction materials entering Gaza and we think that it's not helpful for there to be flotillas that try to provoke actions by entering into Israeli waters and creating a situation in which the Israelis have the right to defend themselves.

Really, if there is outrage, the outrage should be that yet again the American left has turned a blind eye toward Israel and a sympathetic eye to terrorists who'd be perfectly happy to wipe our democratic ally off the face of the earth.

On Immorality

The Democrats, in particular Joe Biden and Barack Obama, are out to make the moral case for tax increases. They claim the Republican position is immoral.

This is what happens when we debase morality in our American political culture.

For perspective, when Barack Obama was a state senator in Illinois, he was the only state senator to speak in opposition to the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. He stood up and made the case that if an infant is born alive in the process of an abortion, the doctor who botched the abortion should be able to finish off the kid, even though the child had exited the womb alive.

That, my friends, that is immoral.

Republicans arguing that the government should let hard working Americans keep their own money is not an immoral argument to make — particularly given how ineffective and inefficient government use of that money would be compared to private enterprise and non-profits.

For Barack Obama and Joe Biden to make this a case of morality is a reflection of their weak moral compass.

Pledge Fatigue, My Butt

Republican leaders on Capitol Hill are pushing out stories, encouraging various media outlets to write about "pledge fatigue."

This is in response to the Cut, Cap, Balance Pledge being pushed hard by conservative groups.

One reporter called me for comment and said several senior Republican offices on Capitol Hill had pointed to my recent posts on the pledge as evidence of fatigue.

Boy were they badly mistaken and, more so, allow us to confirm it is Republican leadership offices pushing the fatigue story for their own gain at the nation's expense.

What I said was that I am tired of pledges that have no teeth. Conservatives in Washington often do pledges to avoid doing the hard work of beating liberal Republicans.

The real problem Republican Leaders have is that they just got burned with flaking out on their own pledge. They promised $100 billion in cuts, folded like a cheap suit under the slightest pressure, and now, instead of growing a spine and keeping their promises, have just decided to stop making any promises. This is the Mitch McConnell strategy: never announce what you are for, so no matter what you get you call it a victory.

Conservatives need to take note of this and up the ante dramatically.I think the Cut, Cap, Balance Pledge is great and strong, but I want conservatives who support it to pledge additionally to beat the hell out of any Republican who does not cut, cap, and balance before raising the debt ceiling.

Sadly, the Republican leaders are being helped by groups like Tea Party Patriots who are opposed to absolutely any increase in the debt ceiling — a position I love, but know will never happen. In fact, it is the knowledge that the debt ceiling will be increased that led to the Cut, Cap, Balance Pledge — force real and sizable cuts, cap spending, and pass a Balanced Budget Amendment before raising the debt ceiling.

With a handful of groups saying they hate the pledge because it allows an eventual debt ceiling increase and Republican leaders saying there is "pledge fatigue", conservatives seem to be in a tough bind.

But when you break it down, you see that the "never raise the debt ceiling" folks are well meaning, but fighting against a tide that will overcome them. The real issue here are the leadership folks trying to undermine this pledge.

Why?

Because it boxes in their negotiating room. Ultimately, in Washington, leaders cut deals that more often than not sell out the American people. Republican Leaders are ready to sell out their base.

By putting teeth into the Cut, Cap, Balance Pledge and having conservatives in Congress hold the freaking line, it will be much more difficult and painful for the GOP to fold.

As a result, GOP leaders must get it out there that there is pledge fatigue. Otherwise, they would have to be honest and admit they are just scared of conservatives right now.

Likewise, conservatives need to pay attention to and capitalize on this fear. Now is the time for conservatives to up the ante and pledge scorched earth on Republicans who raise the debt ceiling without first cutting spending significantly, imposing enforceable caps on spending, and passing the Lee-Cornyn-Hatch Balanced Budget Amendment a/k/a the Walsh BBA for you House guys.

Morning Briefing for June 28, 2011

RedState Morning Briefing

For June 28, 2011

Go to www.RedStateMB.com to get
the Morning Briefing every morning at no charge.

1. Pledge Fatigue, My Butt

2. The Drunk On The Beltway: Two Obama Tricks That Are Going To Clean Boehner's Clock

3. The Latest From Obama's Labor Dept: "You Might Be Union Busting If…"

4. Our Nation Is All About The Choices We Make

5. Nothing Evinces Hypocrisy More than Obama's Oil Policy

———————————————————————-

1. Pledge Fatigue, My Butt

Republican leaders on Capitol Hill are pushing out stories, encouraging various media outlets to write about "pledge fatigue."

This is in response to the Cut, Cap, Balance Pledge being pushed hard by conservative groups.

One reporter called me for comment and said several senior Republican offices on Capitol Hill had pointed to my recent posts on the pledge as evidence of fatigue.

Boy were they badly mistaken and, more so, allow us to confirm it is Republican leadership offices pushing the fatigue story for their own gain at the nation's expense.

What I said was that I am tired of pledges that have no teeth. Conservatives in Washington often do pledges to avoid doing the hard work of beating liberal Republicans.

The real problem Republican Leaders have is that they just got burned with flaking out on their own pledge. They promised $100 billion in cuts, folded like a cheap suit under the slightest pressure, and now, instead of growing a spine and keeping their promises, have just decided to stop making any promises. This is the Mitch McConnell strategy: never announce what you are for, so no matter what you get you call it a victory.

Conservatives need to take note of this and up the ante dramatically.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. The Drunk On The Beltway: Two Obama Tricks That Are Going To Clean Boehner's Clock

Watching House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell negotiate with Barack Obama is like watching a drunk try to run across the Beltway. Whether it's ObamaCare, the financial reform bill, the Kagan nomination, the disastrous Lame Duck agenda, the Senate rules battle, the pathetic "continuing resolution deal," or the current debt limit fight, you know both of them will end up as a splotch on the road, marked by Barack Obama's tiretracks.

Let me predict two tactics Obama will use.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. The Latest From Obama's Labor Dept: "You Might Be Union Busting If…"

Last week, the union extremists controlling the U.S. Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board conducted a coordinated attack on America's job creators. The first punch, a 160-page rule-making proposal by the Department of Labor was issued on Monday for public comments. However, it was quickly drowned out by the second punch: Tuesday's NLRB rule-making proposal to modify election procedures, which are intended to fast track union elections giving unions greater ability to unionize employees.

It is important to note that both rule-making proposals are intended to work together and, like an axe in an executioner's hand, they are intended to make an employer's resistance to unionization futile.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. Our Nation Is All About The Choices We Make

"GOP Willing To Sacrifice Sacred Defense Cow For A Debt Ceiling Deal"

Recent HuffPo acquisition, Business Insider

Personally, I find this decision to compromise more of an outrage than the Huffpo Insider headline. According to a somewhat more trustworthy source of news and information than Huffpo Insider, there actually is a substance behind this particular instance of political snootiness from the typical troglodytes of the far-left Internet fever swamp. The Washington Post describes what a right wing version of Neville Chamberlain sounds like when interviewed.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

5. Nothing Evinces Hypocrisy More than Obama's Oil Policy

President Obama has asserted ad nauseam that expanding oil drilling would not affect the price of oil and generate price relief at the gas pump. He has scoffed at the 'drill, baby, drill' plan, denouncing it as insufficient in dealing with our "long-term" energy needs. Now that his reelection prospects are beginning to wither, Obama is undergoing a foxhole conversion and easing his aversion to that "addictive" black substance. Or, so it seems.

Last Thursday, after several weeks of steady decline in the price of oil, and following secret meetings with the Saudis, Obama had an epiphany. Did he suddenly accede to calls for expediting drilling in the Gulf and in Alaska? Did he agree to lift the permitorium on drilling in 97% of the Outer Continental Shelf? Not a chance. Instead, his Energy Secretary announced the release of 30 million barrels of oil from our Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR), in conjunction with a 30-million-barrel release from other countries within the International Energy Agency (IEA). The total release will be 60 million barrels, proceeding at a rate of 2 million barrels per day (bpd) for a month.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

The College Democrats' Video, Immigration, and More #EERS

Tonight on the Erick Erickson Show, we're going to delve into the College Democrats' "I'm a Democrat" poorly produced ad. Also, the immigration fight heats up in Georgia, Herman Cain suffers a hit in New Hampshire, Michelle Bachmann keeps rising, and much, much more.

You can listen to it all at http://wsbradio.com and call in at 1-800-WSB-TALK.

Consider this an open thread.

Josh Mandel Gets DeMint Endorsement

There's big news out of Ohio. Former Secretary of State Ken Blackwell is not going to seek the U.S. Senate nomination and now Jim DeMint's Senate Conservatives Fund just went all in with Josh Mandel.

I'd endorsed Josh a while back and think he is a superb candidate to take on Sherrod Brown, a man consistently listed as the most liberal member of the United States Senate.

You can click here and help Jim DeMint reach his fundraising goal for Josh Mandel. We need a guy like him in Washington.

Morning Briefing for June 27, 2011

RedState Morning Briefing

For June 27, 2011

Go to www.RedStateMB.com to get
the Morning Briefing every morning at no charge.

1. The Cut, Cap, and Balance Strategy

2. Dirty Spending Secrets

3. Why Did Obama Open the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?

4. Jim DeMint Brings His A Game To the Debt Vote

———————————————————————-

1. The Cut, Cap, and Balance Strategy

There is a lot of handwringing out there about how to actually implement the Cut, Cap, and Balance Pledge.

First, let me say that you should take the pledge and every Republican in Washington should sign on to the pledge.

Second, the strategy is very, very simple. Refuse to vote to raise the debt ceiling until we have cut, capped, and balanced.

Yes, I know to people in Washington this sounds willfully naive. In Washington, things are done through a series of compromises. In Washington, people give and take and get things done.

But if we believe the rhetoric that we are in a terrible crisis, then the best option should be to do nothing — either extract major cuts, cap spending, and get a balanced budget amendment, or do not raise the debt ceiling.

The conservative strategy should be clear on this — hold the freaking line.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. Dirty Spending Secrets

How bad is Washington spending? Well, there is a new website that's up called Dirty Spending Secrets with a Q&A format to uncover some of Washington's dirtiest spending secrets.

Several friends of mine have emailed it to me. It's actually pretty easy to figure out, but also horribly shocking — in the Q&A multiple choice, just go for the worst answer and you'll probably be right.

With the debt ceiling vote coming up, it's just another reminder of how unserious Washington is when it comes to spending.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. Why Did Obama Open the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?

On Thursday, the Department of Energy announced a release of thirty million barrels of crude oil over the next 60 days from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the nation's stockpile supposedly set aside for emergency supply disruptions.

Upon hearing the news, my first question was "What's the emergency?" Crude oil prices have been falling recently. The market abruptly fell 5%, which will affect gasoline prices in the short term, but the futures market is less convinced that the impact is permanent. (We noted last week, before the release, that the futures premium 6-12 months out was $2 to $3; now it is $4 to $5, all the better for the Koch Brothers.)

I concluded that the President's goal is a bump in the polls, but that the effect would be short-lived. Most in the media concluded the same.

But then I reread the DOE press release: "… the U.S. and its partners in the International Energy Agency have decided … ." Ach so. Our International President strikes again. Ceding control of a uniquely American asset to an international body is troubling, but par for the course in the Obama Administration.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. Jim DeMint Brings His A Game To the Debt Vote

Finally. Conservatives are starting to fire up on the Cut, Cap, and Balance pledge and are deciding they must hold people accountable.

Senator Jim DeMint appears to be one of them. He tells ABC News that "It would be the most toxic vote" for Republicans.

Now, he's not saying necessarily that he is going to challenge them, but there are growing hints that he might. I, for one, hope he will.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

Dirty Spending Secrets

How bad is Washington spending? Well, there is a new website that's up called Dirty Spending Secrets with a Q&A format to uncover some of Washington's dirtiest spending secrets.

Several friends of mine have emailed it to me. It's actually pretty easy to figure out, but also horribly shocking — in the Q&A multiple choice, just go for the worst answer and you'll probably be right.

With the debt ceiling vote coming up, it's just another reminder of how unserious Washington is when it comes to spending.

We're Back

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We've made some upgrades and performed some maintenance around the site while cleaning out some coding cobwebs.

If you are having some problems on the site when you first get back on, please clear your cookies. I speak from personal experience.

Have a great Sunday.

Consider this an open thread.

The Cut, Cap, and Balance Strategy

"To win this fight, Republicans and conservatives must be willing to operate in ways Washington isn't suppose to operate."

There is a lot of handwringing out there about how to actually implement the Cut, Cap, and Balance Pledge.

First, let me say that you should take the pledge and every Republican in Washington should sign on to the pledge.

Second, the strategy is very, very simple. Refuse to vote to raise the debt ceiling until we have cut, capped, and balanced.

Yes, I know to people in Washington this sounds willfully naive. In Washington, things are done through a series of compromises. In Washington, people give and take and get things done.

But if we believe the rhetoric that we are in a terrible crisis, then the best option should be to do nothing — either extract major cuts, cap spending, and get a balanced budget amendment, or do not raise the debt ceiling.

The conservative strategy should be clear on this — hold the freaking line.

Do not negotiate, do not compromise. The Democrats want a "clean" vote. They can't get it. The Democrats want the debt ceiling raised. Well, that vote comes with a price. That price is cut, cap, and balance.

Conservatives must hold the line on this. And if their Republican colleagues waver, conservative organizations must be willing to wage a scorched earth fight against them to keep them from breaking the line.

Otherwise, the debt ceiling will be raised and nothing else will change. That, ultimately, is how Washington works. To win this fight, Republicans and conservatives must be willing to operate in ways Washington isn't suppose to operate. In fact, they need to operate just like the Democrats did to force through Obamacare.

At least on the debt ceiling fight the public is with the GOP.