Erick Erickson's Blog, page 162

Osama Is Dead. Don't Believe It Makes Obama Invulnerable to Defeat

The United States military and intelligence community are owed a huge round of applause for a job well done killing Osama Bin Laden.

From what we know, elements of Pakistan's government cooperated with the United States in a military operation into a mansion outside Islamabad where we shot and killed Osama Bin Laden. Military installations around the world have raised their alert level. Al Qaeda is not the same as it was back in 2001, but we should not be surprised if some group tries to do something.

As the sun rises this morning, the speculation and spin that the media will readily push out is that this now makes Barack Obama invulnerable to defeat in 2012.

It is an extraordinary accomplishment — one that defies partisanship. Because Barack Obama is President, like with upturns in the economy, he will get the credit.

But the lack of an upturn in the economy will, by 2012, be more relevant. People have short memories. Voters have short memories. The good will toward Mr. Obama will not last past one or two fill ups.

If the economy does not improve, if gas prices do not go down significantly, and if jobs are not created, Barack Obama will lose. The death of Osama Bin Laden is a good thing. But it has no staying power into 2012.

Morning Briefing for May 2, 2011

RedState Morning Briefing

For April 29, 2011

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

1. Osama Is Dead. Don't Believe It Makes Obama Invulnerable to Defeat

2. FDA victory in the War on Raw Milk!

3. Pennsylvania's Schoolchildren To Be Used As Props At May 3rd Leftist-Union Rally

4. Politico: Conservatives are pro-cancer!

5. Governor Kasich on Obama: Why doesn't he do his job?

6. On Will and Kate

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1. Osama Is Dead. Don't Believe It Makes Obama Invulnerable to Defeat

The United States military and intelligence community are owed a huge round of applause for a job well done killing Osama Bin Laden.

From what we know, elements of Pakistan's government cooperated with the United States in a military operation into a mansion outside Islamabad where we shot and killed Osama Bin Laden. Military installations around the world have raised their alert level. Al Qaeda is not the same as it was back in 2001, but we should not be surprised if some group tries to do something.

As the sun rises this morning, the speculation and spin that the media will readily push out is that this now makes Barack Obama invulnerable to defeat in 2012.

It is an extraordinary accomplishment — one that defies partisanship. Because Barack Obama is President, like with upturns in the economy, he will get the credit.

But the lack of an upturn in the economy will, by 2012, be more relevant. People have short memories. Voters have short memories. The good will toward Mr. Obama will not last past one or two fill ups.

If the economy does not improve, if gas prices do not go down significantly, and if jobs are not created, Barack Obama will lose. The death of Osama Bin Laden is a good thing. But it has no staying power into 2012.

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2. FDA victory in the War on Raw Milk!

Marvel at our heroic government agents as they swoop in at 5 AM to stop the pernicious practice of selling unpasteurized milk across state lines!

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3. Pennsylvania's Schoolchildren To Be Used As Props At May 3rd Leftist-Union Rally

On Tuesday, across the state of Pennsylvania, unions and other Left-wing organizations will be boarding buses and heading to the state capitol in Harrisburg to engage in a mass rally to fight for economic and social justice and against budget cuts. The rally, is being organized by the Coalition for Labor Engagement and Accountable Revenues (CLEAR) which is comprised of government unions, such as AFSCME, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), PSEA (part of the NEA), SEIU, as well as the AFL-CIO, IAFF, UFCW and others.

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4. Politico: Conservatives are pro-cancer!

Either that, or Politico hires some pretty sloppy writers. Personally, I'm voting for the latter.

The background: Politico decided to write an article that attempts to answer the eternal question, For just how long will George Soros keep throwing money down the rathole which is the Activist Left*? It's an interesting question in its own right - the article suggests that Soros is getting pretty darn tired of piling up his money in the policy equivalent of an empty field, then setting the pile on fire - but there was one throwaway line in the piece that made me roll my eyes at what fools these mortals be.

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5. Governor Kasich on Obama: Why doesn't he do his job?

Ohio Governor John Kasich recently signed controversial Senate Bill 5, which restricted the much-abused collective bargaining power of public sector unions. The bill, similar to what passed in Wisconsin, inspired a similar level of vitriol from the unions and supporters.

Obama jumped into the conversation earlier this week saying "public employees should not be blamed for a financial crisis they had nothing to do with and sacrifices should be shared in tough economic times."

Shared by who, President Obama? Because in Ohio, the average government worker makes 24.6 percent more than their private-sector counterparts. In addition, Ohio has lost more than 600,000 private sector jobs in the last 10 years, while public sector employees are still getting pay increases.

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6. On Will and Kate

Many on the right are critical of the fawning over the Royal wedding ceremony for Prince William and his bride, Kate, broadcast around the globe today. They point to the American Revolution and our endeavors to shed the tyranny of the Crown, and they mock the stodginess of the Royals while noting the irony of several failed marriages among the recent crop from the House of Windsor - most notably, William's parents.

But whatever one thinks of the Monarchy, in an increasingly pathetic MTV world - the ceremony today was extraordinary, and a good thing for the world to see. It was nothing short of impressive - timely, carried out with precision, dripping with military, christian and royal traditions. The music was magnificent - there were actual hymns rather than gaudy "praise music" rock bands, a church that looks like a church, and the participants and guests were dressed not just appropriately, but perfectly… The procession was extraordinary, with hand-sewn uniforms and white and black horses leading the carriages - the Union Jack lining the streets.

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Osama Bin Laden Is Now Several Thousand Degrees Fahrenheit In Perpetuity

The President is about to address the nation to confirm media reports that Osama Bin Laden is dead and that we have his body.

We've taken pains to analyze the body to be sure we have the body.

Congratulations to the United States military and intelligence community for a job well done.

That said, let's keep our guard up as I suspect we can expect an Al Qaeda response.

Consider this an open thread.

Filling in for Neal Boortz

I'll be filling in for Neal Boortz again today from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. You can listen live at http://wsbradio.com and call in at 1-877-310-2100.

Consider this an open thread.

Morning Briefing for April 29, 2011

RedState Morning Briefing

For April 29, 2011

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

1. McConnell Should Appoint DeMint to Finance Committee

2. Uncivil War: States' Attorneys General Rip Into Union-Controlled NLRB in Letter

3. Become a Community Organizer: If You Control the Precincts, You Control the Party

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1. McConnell Should Appoint DeMint to Finance Committee

Last week, Nevada Senator John Ensign resigned his seat, creating a vacancy on several Senate committees. While Congressman Dean Heller will fill Ensign's Senate seat, a member with more seniority will be appointed to his coveted slot on the Senate Finance Committee. The Finance Committee is considered a prized "Super-A committee" due to the extent and relevance of its jurisdiction, which includes trade, taxes, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Unlike its House counterpart, the Senate Finance Committee also encompasses the jurisdiction of the House Ways and Means Committee. This panel is clearly the most important Senate committee in the realm of domestic policy. Who better to sit on that committee than Jim DeMint?

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2. Uncivil War: States' Attorneys General Rip Into Union-Controlled NLRB in Letter

President Obama's union-controlled NLRB isn't making any friends these days (unless you count union bosses, of course).

Earlier this week, Obama's labor board filed its lawsuit against Arizona and South Dakota for those states' voters having the gall to pass amendments favoring the preservation of their right to a secret ballot.

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3. Become a Community Organizer: If You Control the Precincts, You Control the Party

Figuring the headline might grab you, this is just a little 'nudge' to remind you about how easy it is to wrest control of the government from the claws of the professional, big-government establishment.

If you've read even one of ColdWarrior's posts, then you know the importance of Precinct Actvisim. Thankfully, people are beginning to take notice and, more importantly, get involved in their precincts. But there is a long, long way to go.

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Morning Briefing for April 28, 2011

RedState Morning Briefing

For April 28, 2011

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

1. President Obama's Birth Certificate: Why Now?

2. The Obama Doctrine and Syria

3. Don't Raise the Debt Ceiling

4. The Devil Put On His Snow Shoes: Massachusetts Dems Vote to Limit Unions' Collective Bargaining

5. Shuffling the Deck Chairs, Yet Again

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1. President Obama's Birth Certificate: Why Now?

To answer any question economic, foreign policy or political regarding President Obama one must only answer one question: What is good for Obama?

President Obama coughed up his birth certificate today. So, the question is: How is this good for Obama?

It has been my view that the "birther" issue turned bad for President Obama some time before the latest round in the press brought the issue to a head.

Here's the thing about rumors: If people like you, they won't believe even the most vicious gossip. Like a besotted lover, who refuses to see faults, a political supporter will just see all rainbows and bunnies.

When people start to dislike you, though, they'll believe every spurious and outrageous claim. Why? Because they're looking for evidence to support their changed belief.

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2. The Obama Doctrine and Syria

Over the past weeks we've been very critical of the administration's alleged policy in Libya. Under the guise of a rather exotic theory called Responsibility to Protect — also known by its cute acronym R2P — the United States, acting as part of a NATO force which seemingly only includes countries with financial interests in Libya, has undertaken a rather meaningless pseudo-intervention in Libya.

Our core objection to the Libyan intervention remains its incoherence. The Secretary of Defense has declared that Libya is not a vital national interest. This intervention has made us allies of al Qaeda, lacks any identifiable long term policy goals, and has been deliberately structured to fail as the use of ground forces and the goal of regime change have been ruled out. As a bonus, our allies are involved in the ethnic cleansing of Africans and they routinely behead prisoners.

On the other hand, a popular revolt is underway in Syria - where we do have vital national interests. More civilians have been killed to date by Syrian security forces than were killed by Qaddafi before our intervention. Instead of an "international" coalition being formed to R2P the heck out of Bashar al-Assad we get nothing.

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3. Don't Raise the Debt Ceiling

I am no economist. In fact, as I researched for this piece and saw the diversity of opinions floating in the blogosphere and in the main stream press, it became clear to me that I am completely out of my element went it comes to national economics.

However, I am a tax payer. I am a small business owner, and I am a person that understands the concept of living beyond your means. I've even written about it before.

There is no doubt that the debt ceiling is a complicated matter. I've switched sides numerous times in this debate. Most of the time, I think to myself, "If they just keep raising it every time they want to spend more what's the point? Don't raise it again or it's worthless!" This will also easily lead me to the conclusion that it's not becoming worthless, it is worthless. And since it's worthless, let's not waste time debating whether or not to raise it when we could be focusing on spending.

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4. The Devil Put On His Snow Shoes: Massachusetts Dems Vote to Limit Unions' Collective Bargaining

The first time, it was the "Scott heard around the world." Back then, it might have been a fluke–like a snowstorm in July. This time, however, it is almost unbelievable when Massachusetts' liberal, Democrat-controlled legislature votes overwhelmingly to strip unions of most of their right to bargain collectively over health care, striking their union benefactors in a Wisconsin-style smack down.

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5. Shuffling the Deck Chairs, Yet Again

In the most recent Obama administration shake up, Bob Gates will be leaving the Department of Defense, Leon Pannetta will move from the CIA to DoD, General David Petraeus will move from Afghanistan to the CIA and Ryan Crocker will move from Texas A&M (from whence came Bob Gates) to Afghanistan. As in the previous major changes in the White House staff and the economic team, competent, experienced hands are being replaced by…competent experienced hands. And so as Rahm Emanuel became Bill Daley and Larry Summers became Gene Sperling, we witness another changing of the guard designed to right the course of this haphazardly lurching administration that cannot seem to find its footing either at home or abroad.

The problem is that the root of the issue may not lie with the staff, but rather with the person doing the staffing.

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Hillary Clinton Wins. Obama Proves He Wasn't Immaculated. #EERS

Obama showed his birth certificate off today. He revealed he was immaculated directly from Heaven. We kick off at 7:05 p.m.

We'll discuss it on tonight's show. You can listen at http://wsbradio.com and call in at 1-800-WSB-TALK.

Consider this an open thread.

With Birther Issue Resolved, Trump to Set Sights on China and Taxes - HUMAN EVENTS

My colleague Tony Lee has the latest on Donald Trump.

Trump isn't going to let China go.

Potential 2012 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump essentially forced President Obama to release his long form birth certificate today.

With that issue resolved, Trump is likely to focus his sights on policy, such as on China and taxes.

Yesterday, Trump signed Grover Norquist's Americans For Tax Reform's "no new taxes" pledge, but not before adding a twist befitting Trump.

With Birther Issue Resolved, Trump to Set Sites on China and Taxes - HUMAN EVENTS

My colleague Tony Lee has the latest on Donald Trump.

Trump isn't going to let China go.

Potential 2012 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump essentially forced President Obama to release his long form birth certificate today.

With that issue resolved, Trump is likely to focus his sights on policy, such as on China and taxes.

Yesterday, Trump signed Grover Norquist's Americans For Tax Reform's "no new taxes" pledge, but not before adding a twist befitting Trump.

The Facebook Petition

Don't you think that Facebook should allow the Republican nominee for President to also do a Facebook townhall? They let Barack Obama do one. It was clearly a campaign event.

Our sister site Human Events has a petition online you can sign requesting Facebook give equal time to the Republican nominee and allow that person to do a townhall on Facebook too.

Go sign up now.