Erick Erickson's Blog, page 169

Barack Obama: Out of touch with large families

This really is amazing. At a townhall about gas prices, a parent of ten expressed concern about high gas prices and the impact it has on the family budget.

Obama's response? He tells the parent to sell his van that holds his ten kids and get a hybrid car.

Wisconsin & Obama Holds the Military Hostage — The Erick Erickson Show

Justice Prosser wins in Wisconsin and Barack Obama actually has decided to hold the military hostage to a shutdown.

All this and more on the Erick Erickson Show tonight. You can listen live at http://wsbradio.com and call in at 1-800-WSB-TALK. By the way, RedStaters, you really can call in if you want.

The show kicks off at 7:05 p.m. ET tonight and lasts till 10 p.m.

Consider this an open thread.

Is Barack Obama Obfuscating the Cause of the Shutdown?

"The Democrats are so invested in the right to murder children they'll let, to use the Democrats' own rhetoric, old people starve."

The leftwing partisans are in full spin mode now after weeks of privately hoping for a government shutdown (though I have wanted one too). For a taste of the spin, go to Talking Points Memo.

According to Talking Points Memo, Barack Obama and the Democrats are willing to shut down the government to protect killing kids and killing businesses. Yep.

The Democrats, according to Talking Points Memo, have decided that they will shutdown the government in order to prevent Republicans from defunding Planned Parenthood, restricting abortions in D.C., and stopping the EPA from enacting job killing carbon regulations. Harry Reid says much the same, but he is lying. The continuing resolution contains riders he is perfectly fine with.

First of all, Obama himself has in the past been okay with the D.C. abortion restrictions. From the Weekly Standard:

This policy, known as the Dornan amendment, has previously enjoyed bipartisan support: Indeed, Reid, Biden, Pelosi, and Obama have all voted for appropriations bills that included the Dornan amendment. President Obama signed the Dornan amendment into law in the fiscal year 2009 budget.

Second, there has been bipartisan opposition in Congress to the EPA doing an end run around Congress on cap-and-trade and carbon emissions regulations.

Third, the defunding of Planned Parenthood has been scrapped from the continuing resolution.

Fourth, here is Barack Obama's own veto statement. In it, the administration says nothing about the riders Talking Points Memo alleges are the source of the problem. Nothing. In fact, Speaker Boehner notes, "In its veto threat, the White House didn't cite a single policy objection. No policy reason not to pass this troop funding bill."

Is the President being diplomatic? If so, is it because he does not want the American people to know he is willing to shut down the government to protect not just killing children, but funding the murder?

Interestingly, the Republicans want to make sure the Department of Defense is funded for the rest of the year. The Republicans want to make sure our troops in harms way are not part of the "hostage negotiations".

But it seems more and more the Democrats are perfectly willing to take our troops hostage to a government shutdown. In any event, if Nancy Pelosi could accuse anyone of wanting to starve old people, she should look in the mirror.

The Democrats are so invested in the right to murder children they'll let, to use the Democrats' own rhetoric, old people starve. They'll also let our troops sit on a battlefield unfunded too all for the sacrosanct right of abortion if you believe Talking Points Memo.

If you believe Barack Obama, he just wants to make sure our troops aren't protected from a shutdown, riders be damned.

Possibility of Terrorist Attacks Coming From Libya

Well that's a fine mess you've gotten us into Mr. Obama.

The U.S. is monitoring the possibility of terrorist attacks originating in Libya, either from the forces of Muammar Qaddafi or rebels who may have associated with terror groups in the past, FBI Director Robert Mueller said.

I think any of us could and would expect terror attacks originating from (Kh)(G(h))(Q)addafi. But from the rebels?

Weren't they supposed to be the good guys, Mr. President? I thought if we helped them they'd love us.

The academic naivety of Barack Obama is yet again on display.

Are Mike Pence and Chris Christie Paying Attention?

In a pretty shocking Wall Street Journal/NBC poll Donald Trump is ranking number two among potential GOP contenders for the President. Mitt Romney edges him out by a few points into the top slot.

There is a very simple reason for this: the field is 'meh.'

Certainly partisans for the various candidates are excited about their various candidates. But the general consensus from conservatives is "none of the above." Donald Trump is filling the void right now.

Around the country I keep hearing conservatives wish Mike Pence would reconsider. But there is a growing chorus of people asking, "What do we have to do to get Chris Christie to run?"

Christie has been adamant that he is not running. That is not stopping many an activist — largely a group of people who do not even know whether the guy is actually a conservative or not — from praying hard on a daily basis that he run or Mike Pence reconsider.

Conservatives are not excited about the field. Sarah Palin seems to not be running. Mike Huckabee seems to not be running. I put these two here not because I am not intending to ignore them, but to avert the hate mail I will get for not mentioning them I will just reiterate that they are not right now taking pro-active steps to run. Many conservatives have decided they are not running.

That might change.

For now though, many in the media will want a rational explanation for why Donald Trump has soared into the second place spot. The first rational explanation is that the poll is wrong. The second rational explanation is that the rest of the field is a big yawn.

Say what you will about Donald Trump, but he has the veneer of excitement regardless of how credible you may think he is or is not.

In the mean time, Mike Pence and Chris Christie might want to rethink their present positions.

Morning Briefing for April 7, 2011

RedState Morning Briefing

For April 7, 2011

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

1. Are Mike Pence and Chris Christie Paying Attention?

2. ObamaCare With Jets, Stupid Human Tricks in Libya With Live Ammo.

3. California's Gov. Jerry Brown Plies GOP With Wine & Urges SEIU to Buy Lunch

4. The Net Neutrality repeal vote is coming. Tell these Dems to vote Yes.

———————————————————————-

1. Are Mike Pence and Chris Christie Paying Attention?

In a pretty shocking Wall Street Journal/NBC poll Donald Trump is ranking number two among potential GOP contenders for the President. Mitt Romney edges him out by a few points into the top slot.

There is a very simple reason for this: the field is 'meh.'

Certainly partisans for the various candidates are excited about their various candidates. But the general consensus from conservatives is "none of the above." Donald Trump is filling the void right now.

Around the country I keep hearing conservatives wish Mike Pence would reconsider. But there is a growing chorus of people asking, "What do we have to do to get Chris Christie to run?"

Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. ObamaCare With Jets, Stupid Human Tricks in Libya With Live Ammo.

Former Red Army Generals all across Russia must be shaking their heads in disgust. "This NATO force we lost The Cold War Too!" They perhaps yell in pained exasperation. Had the Red Army attempted to blast through the Fulda Gap, and then met the NATO Alliance that has intervened in Libya's Civil War, the Red Star would have risen over the French Riviera after two weeks of futile and one-sided combat.

NATO's operations to date in Libya have been a joke – David Letterman's Stupid Human Tricks with live ammunition. Libyan Rebel Leader Abdel Fattah Younes has asked NATO to please quit the field.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. California's Gov. Jerry Brown Plies GOP With Wine & Urges SEIU to Buy Lunch

Oh, this is funny. Well, funny, except to the few sane Californians and businesses who have not moved out yet.

The once-golden state of California has devolved so much in its budgetary talks that its recycled governor, Jerry Brown has taken to plying Republican legislators with wine and food. In a telephone town hall with SEIU and state workers, Moonbeam Governor Brown divulged his secret to negotiations:

"Brown, who is seeking to extend higher tax rates on income, vehicles and sales, said the two sides 'enjoyed some nice wine in my office, and the next night I took them over to my loft and we poured another couple bottles of wine.'"

Brown also suggested that the SEIU should start taking Republicans to lunch more.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. The Net Neutrality repeal vote is coming. Tell these Dems to vote Yes.

The House of Representatives is likely to vote today, Thursday, on the repeal of the FCC's Net Neutrality power grab. Using the Congressional Review Act, the repeal of the Net Neutrality order can be accomplished in an expedited way. In particular this means the bill cannot be filibustered in the Senate, so passing it means something.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

We're Shutting Down the Government — The Erick Erickson Show

It looks like we're shutting down. We'll be talking about it tonight on WSB at 7pm ET. You can listen in at http://wsbradio.com and call in at 1-800-WSB-TALK.

Consider this an open thread.

Barack Obama Votes Present on the Budget

It really is amazing to me that Barack Obama is digging in his heels on the fluff of his budget. He has chosen to vote present on his own Deficit Commission's report. He has chosen to vote present on entitlement reform.

Obama gives a great speech. He says we need entitlement reform. But he is not willing to offer up actual reform. Paul Ryan did and now Obama is attacking Paul Ryan.

John Boehner, this morning, called out Mr. Obama for the attack. In a statement released this morning, Boehner said

"I'm disappointed but not surprised that the White House has chosen to attack Chairman Ryan's budget proposal. Chairman Ryan has put forth a 'serious, honest, and straightforward approach' to addressing our nation's enormous fiscal challenges.' Those aren't my words, but rather those of the bipartisan co-chairs of the president's own deficit commission, whose recommendations he ignored when putting together his budget. Instead, he presented Congress with a budget that punts on the drivers of our debt while raising taxes by $1.5 trillion, a surefire recipe for destroying jobs in America. The president is certainly entitled to disagree with our budget, but what exactly is his alternative? If he wants to have an 'adult conversation' about solving our fiscal challenges, he needs to lead instead of sitting on the sidelines."

It is worth noting that boht the Deficit Commission Democrat Co-Chairman, Erskine Bowles, and the Republican Co-Chairman, Alan Simpson, are calling Paul Ryan's budget a step in the right direction. Likewise, Erskine Bowles recently wrote that the President does not go far enough.

Obama has, yet again, voted present.

Morning Briefing for April 7, 2011

RedState Morning Briefing

For April 6, 2011

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

1. Gee, I don't *feel* rich

2. The Administration Claims The Senate Approved Libyan Intervention

3. The Nobel Peace Prize, Falo Delle Vanita and The Zionist Regime

4. Paul Ryan's Budget: In No Way Extreme, Despite Democrat Histrionics

5. Ryan's Budget: A Conservative View- The Excellent, the Good, and the Need for Improvement

6. By the Dozens: Unions Stage Not-So-Massive "We Are One" Rallies

———————————————————————-

1. Gee, I don't *feel* rich

We saw it coming, didn't we?

"It's not that I want to punish your success," Obama explained. "I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they've got a chance for success too. My attitude is that if the economy's good for folks from the bottom up, it's gonna be good for everybody ! I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody."

Of course that was then-candidate Barack Obama, in response to Joe "The Plumber" Wurzlebacher's question "Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn't it?". Obama's response was widely recognized (and condemned) as a "tell" of Obama's love for socialism. But that was just the beginning. That love for socialism was one of the few "campaign promises" that he actually fulfilled, as he and his Democrat cronies rammed through a leftist ideology-fest of spending that bloated the government - and our national debt - to previously unheard-of heights.

"Soak the rich" is a time-tested philosophy for the Democrats. And the idea lives on, now embodied by the "income inequality" socialists. Inciting class warfare in the name of "equality" or "fairness" is one of the Left's favorite tactics. In the March 2nd NYT, Robert Frank invokes the spectre of inequality, this time in the guise of a so-called "toil index". The interesting (and silly) aspect of Frank's assertions is the idea of using "family goals" as an indicator of the "cost" of inequality.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. The Administration Claims The Senate Approved Libyan Intervention

The Obama Administration is trying to avoid the inevitable fallout from their decision to intervene in the civil insurrection in Libya without so much as a by-your-leave to Congress. While the Administration has taken time to consult with the UN and the Arab League, apparently similar consultations with the Legislative Branch are just déclassé and an affront to the dignity of our demigod at 1600 Pennsylvania. Now they are trying to obscure their record.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. The Nobel Peace Prize, Falo Delle Vanita and The Zionist Regime

It would appear that Egypt's rebirth as a modern nation was extraordinarily short-lived. The Muslim Brotherhood has made peace with the Egyptian military. The Brotherhood has also seemingly reached a political deal with the partisans of Hosni Mubarak's old party. As a result of all of this wheeling and dealing, The Muslim Brotherhood now has vastly more power than the demonstrators for reform and modernity who were the face of the Egyptian Revolution.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. Paul Ryan's Budget: In No Way Extreme, Despite Democrat Histrionics

Paul Ryan, House Budget Committee Chairman, released his FY 2012 Budget proposal. The comprehensive proposal includes plans for the way forward over the next decade. You can read an excellent and full analysis of it here.

Former Speaker (I love saying that) Nancy Pelosi of course immediately set to whining and wringing hands over how the Ryan plan will cause people TO DIE!!!!1111

Please click here for the rest of the post.

5. Ryan's Budget: A Conservative View- The Excellent, the Good, and the Need for Improvement

The moment we have been anticipating has finally arrived. House Budget Committee Chairman has released his budget for FY 2012, along with his blueprint for tax and entitlement reform over the next decade. This budget proposal, which would cut $5.8 trillion from the CBO baseline over the next decade, is a mature and well balanced plan emanating from a city full of fatuous demagoguery.

It is important to note that this is just the preliminary proposal of the very first step of the congressional budget process; the Concurrent Budget Resolution. There will be ample time to sort through all of the components of this plan and provide the appropriate changes as needed. Nonetheless, it is a laudable first step that has come to fruition through the assiduous work of Paul Ryan and his Republican colleagues on the Budget Committee. It is a fresh breath of moderation and seriousness amidst the extremism that is so endemic in Washington among the Democrats. Here is a cursory breakdown of some of the major provisions of the Ryan plan, categorized by the excellent, the good, and the need for improvement.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

6. By the Dozens: Unions Stage Not-So-Massive "We Are One" Rallies

What do you do if you spend tens of thousands to plan hundreds of rallies on the same day and you get ignored? Did you see the thousands of union protesters yesterday? Surely you saw the several million workers that CWA President Larry Cohen said "were going to stop business as usual at work or after work to join vigils, community rallies or marches at statehouses." You didn't see them either? Well, that may be because the day of solidarity that the AFL-CIO had been promoting for weeks, to co-opt coincide with the anniversary of Martin Luther King's assassination was a flop.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

Paul Ryan's Budget — The Erick Erickson Show

Tonight we'll spend a good deal of time breaking down Paul Ryan's budget proposal. The show starts at 7:05 p.m. ET.

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

Consider this an open thread.