Erick Erickson's Blog, page 176
March 16, 2011
Dear Nomadic Bands of Hippie Activists, Welcome to Tennessee
Unlike Wisconsin, Tennessee dealt decisively with union protestors who tried to disrupt a committee meeting for, of all things, not taking up legislation. The legislation was pro-union and did not come up in committee. Consequently, several under-employed twenty-something paid activists began a protest.
Ron Ramsay, the Tennessee Lt. Governor, God bless him, said, "The right of all citizens to protest and assemble peacefully is sacred in the State of Tennessee. However, this General Assembly will not be intimidated by nomadic bands of professional agitators on spring break bent on disruption. We talk through our differences here. Tennessee is not Wisconsin."
What really is so funny is that the activists decided to protest after the bill they were waiting for did not get brought up. WKRN in Nashville has the details more accurately than most of the reports out there.
Most demonstrators left the hearing room after about 30 minutes, but a small group sat on the floor and tried to lock arms to keep from being removed.Troopers pulled the holdouts out of the room one by one, while lawmakers, lobbyists and other observers looked on.
The activists, members of the American Federal of State, County and Municipal Employees, were at the capitol to see the Commerce Committee vote on a bill that would make changes to political contributions from labor unions.
They became irate and outspoken when it became apparent the bill wasn't going to be heard.
In other words, they were there looking to disrupt the meeting and with their intended excuse not tee'd up for them, they did it anyway.
The most striking part of this are the ages of the protestors. I would not be surprised to learn that they are paid professionals, like the lefties who get paid by left-wing groups to call up talk radio shows.
They have been identified as 30-year-old James Sledge, 25-year-old Jeffrey Lichtenstein, 22-year-old Paul Garner, 25-year-old Bennett Foster, 19-year-old Leah Shoaf, 25-year-old Ashley Henderson and 26-year-old Sally Joyner.
Of course, unlike getting hung up on by Rush Limbaugh for being an idiot, these kids get to go directly to jail, via night court.
At 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, those protesters were still waiting to go through night court in Nashville.
(SOURCE)
The Importance of Saying Thank You
I'm putting all of these names on the front page.
We ask members of congress to stand for their convictions and, when they do, they are often berated and attacked by their own side.
In the past 24 hours there have been numerous stories planted by House Republican leaders attacking their conservative colleagues and spinning blame onto them for voting against the three week continuing resolution.
One article says they only did it because they are running for higher office and have to suck up to the base.
Another says they did it because they lack bold vision.
Another says the conservatives are undermining the fight for actual spending cuts (!!!) and somehow, somehow, conservatives will now be stuck with a worse deal.
The blame game by a Republican leadership that sprinkles toilet water behind their ears before flushing because they love the smell of their own B.S. knows no bounds.
But fifty-four House Republicans were willing to take a bullet from their leadership and stand up for their principles.
We ask a lot. It is important to remember to say thank you.
Below are the 54 Republicans who voted no. Call them at 202-224-3121 and make sure they know you appreciate their stand. Right now, they are only hearing a lot of yelling from their leadership.
Last Name
State
Flake
AZ
Franks
AZ
Campbell
CA
Lamborn
CO
Tipton
CO
Mack
FL
Ross
FL
Southerland
FL
Stearns
FL
West
FL
Gingrey
GA
Graves
GA
King
IA
Labrador
ID
Johnson
IL
Walsh
IL
Burton
IN
Pence
IN
Stutzman
IN
Huelskamp
KS
Fleming
LA
Landry
LA
Bartlett
MD
Harris
MD
Amash
MI
Benishek
MI
Huizenga
MI
McCotter
MI
Walberg
MI
Bachmann
MN
Akin
MO
Long
MO
Rehberg
MT
Jones
NC
Garrett
NJ
Smith
NJ
Pearce
NM
Heller
NV
Chabot
OH
Jordan
OH
Schmidt
OH
Sullivan
OK
Pitts
PA
Duncan
SC
Gowdy
SC
Mulvaney
SC
Wilson
SC
Barton
TX
Gohmert
TX
Hall
TX
Paul
TX
Poe
TX
Chaffetz
UT
Rigell
VA
A Note to House Republicans Patting Themselves On the Back
There are House Republicans patting themselves on the back today for passing a three week continuing resolution that "cuts" $6 billion in spending, largely by stopping earmarks not already spent.
According to the Politico, Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH), Mike Simpson (R-ID), Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and others are bristling over conservative opposition to the short term spending resolution. That opposition, by the way, was because the spending cuts were not enough.
The Weekly Standard reports today that as of today the federal government's mandatory spending exceeds all federal revenue. We've reached that point, by the way, fifty years ahead of schedule.
But beyond that, I hope John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Kevin McCarthy, Jeb Hensarling, and the rest of the House Leadership and those Republicans who supported the 3 week continuing resolution "cutting" $6 billion realize this:
The daily amount of interest we will accrue on our national debt is greater than the $6 billion saved over three weeks. In other words, these cuts have done nothing to save us any money.
The Democrats, by the way, probably want to adopt that as a talking point to embarrass the supposedly fiscally responsible Republicans. Oh wait, they won't because they don't want to cut anything at all.
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Yesterday in the Politico, Jonathan Martin gave a conseratives in the mist take on the 2012 "theme" from the GOP — America 'in decline'.
I think the take is exactly opposite how he characterized it — though it is all semantics. It is not 'America in decline', but 'America the Great' that is the theme.
At a time when Barack Obama is intent on taking over the economy one-fifth at a time and leftists are turning the more-likely-than-not traitor Bradley Manning into a hero, it is more and more clear that the San Francisco left that Jeanne Kirkpatrick warned us about 25 years ago has finally gotten to have their way with America.
The theme is not about our nation in decline, but about letting a group of people run the nation who want us to decline.
It is easy to get hung up on the doom and gloom of the 2012 Republican candidates. They are a gloomy bunch. Sure they are trying to sound optimistic, but I've heard most all of them speak. With few exceptions, they have the oratory skills of a gaggle of warbling albatrosses and some, worse, sound like warbling albatrosses being violated by lepers.
I still haven't found what I'm looking for. And I may not. It's precisely why I wanted Mike Pence to run for President.
Huh? Well . . .There are differences in how people run for office. It seems that most of those running for the GOP nomination in 2012 are going through the motions. They have to talk about X in the G-major key to get group Y's support.
They think they have to hit on certain issues over and over. Hilariously, I recently attended an off the record meeting with several of the candidates invited to speak. Not one hit on any of the themes the attendees at the meeting much cared about.
What these candidates need to do is not focus on the doom and gloom, which while they say they are not they really are. They instead need to focus on the greatness of America. And when they do, they could at least sound like they believe it and aren't just saying it to get my vote.
I was listening to one of these guys prattle on and on about education a few weeks ago to a group that would prefer less federal education spending. It transitioned into more about America the beautiful, etc., etc., etc. I was left with the distinct impression this guy really wanted to talk about anything but American greatness, but felt like he had to go through the motions.
That's why I like Mike Pence and why I wanted him to run. When he speaks on these issues, you know he means it. You know he wakes up and Russell Kirk is firing on all cylinders in his mind. You know he is not just going through the motions.
With Mike Pence out of the running, I think, in all seriousness, the guy who does it the best is Mike Huckabee. I'm not a Huckabee guy, but he resonates. He exudes compassion and love for country in a way the other guys do not.
I have not found what I'm looking for. I want a candidate who expresses the optimism of America — the shining city on the hill — and actually comes across as believing it, not just catering to me. I want Mike Pence or Mike Huckabee's oratory skills and conviction in what they say with Mike Pence and Jim DeMint's actual conservative convictions.
I want somebody who may not even exist. That's kind of depressing. Right now, I'm about right here. And Iowa draws closer and closer.
Morning Briefing for March 16, 2011
RedState Morning Briefing
For March 16, 2011
Go to www.RedStateMB.com to get
the Morning Briefing every morning at no charge.
1. This is What Happens When Republicans Get Milquetoast
2. Washington Post: 95% Believe Spending Cuts Are The Best Way To Cut The Deficit
3. More Pennsylvania Abortion Shops Shuttered
4. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
5. For $25, You Can Learn to Be a Marxist Troublemaker…and Grab Lunch Too!
6. Answers From A Non-Interventionist
———————————————————————-
1. This is What Happens When Republicans Get Milquetoast
There is new polling out today making its way around the bathrooms of House and Senate Republican leaders. After weeks and weeks of bending over backwards to try to show they were willing to compromise on everything, guess what?
The public thinks the GOP hasn't been compromising enough.
House Republican Leaders who are more concerned with image than principle are going to fall all over themselves with this polling in a rush to compromise more. Here's the problem I see.
House Republicans have been muddying the water so much since November and painting their policy positions in pale pastels. The public voted in November with bright colors — mostly in red. The public wants Washington to stop its profligate spending. The public wants bright colors, not pastels.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
2. Washington Post: 95% Believe Spending Cuts Are The Best Way To Cut The Deficit
Greg Sargent, the Washington Post's in-house left-wing activist, has a hilarious post up analyzing the latest WaPo poll. (The post was originally entitled, "The pubic agrees with Dems, but they don't know it," although eventually someone caught on and fixed the typo.)
Everybody has typos; what's more enduringly amusing is Sargent's effort at spin.
If you are keeping score at home,a left-wing activist admits that 95% of the public believes spending cuts are the best way to reduce the deficit, whether or not that plan also includes tax hikes. Going to the poll itself, only 3% believe the best way to cut the deficit is simply raising taxes. And what's more, that's the public - not likely voters or even registered voters, but all adults.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
3. More Pennsylvania Abortion Shops Shuttered
When the story of the abortion shop cum abattoir run by Philadelphia doctor Kermit Gosnell hit the press in January the nation was shocked by the near medieval conditions encountered by women seeking access to the "safe, legal, and rare" procedure which kills over a million children each year.
As we noted at the time, the conditions in Gosnell's facility was not an aberration, rather it was the easily foreseeable consequence of a governor, Tom Ridge, electing not to have abortion shops inspected because of a personal sympathy for the butchery that occurred within. A sympathy disguised by the hackneyed formulation "I'm personally opposed to abortion, but …"
If there is a single good thing to come out of this incident, other than Gosnell and most of his ghouls spending most of the rest of their lives in prison, it is the heightened level of scrutiny to the business of baby killing, a business that has managed to intimidate its way out of any regulatory regime.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
4. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Yesterday in the Politico, Jonathan Martin gave a conservatives in the mist take on the 2012 "theme" from the GOP — America 'in decline'.
I think the take is exactly opposite how he characterized it — though it is all semantics. It is not 'America in decline', but 'America the Great' that is the theme.
At a time when Barack Obama is intent on taking over the economy one-fifth at a time and leftists are turning the more-likely-than-not traitor Bradley Manning into a hero, it is more and more clear that the San Francisco left that Jeanne Kirkpatrick warned us about 25 years ago has finally gotten to have their way with America.
The theme is not about our nation in decline, but about letting a group of people run the nation who want us to decline.
It is easy to get hung up on the doom and gloom of the 2012 Republican candidates. They are a gloomy bunch. Sure they are trying to sound optimistic, but I've heard most all of them speak. With few exceptions, they have the oratory skills of a gaggle of warbling albatrosses and some, worse, sound like warbling albatrosses being violated by lepers.
I still haven't found what I'm looking for.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
5. For $25, You Can Learn to Be a Marxist Troublemaker…and Grab Lunch Too!
You may have noticed over these last few weeks that the protesters in Wisconsin and elsewhere seem to be well trained at trouble making. It's almost as if they have their B.S. degrees from the University of Alinsky.
Well, as every good community organizer knows, you can't astroturf without being properly trained in the science of trouble making and that is why you too can learn the dark science of Alinsky in Madison on April Fool's Day [actually April 1st & 2nd].
Please click here for the rest of the post.
6. Answers From A Non-Interventionist
About the same time as I posted a diary against the idea of US military intervention in Libya, George Will wrote a column challenging those in favor of said intervention to answer a series of questions about what they were truly trying to achieve. Now David Frum has posed a series of questions to those of us who are against the intervention.
I've decided to take him up on his offer.
March 15, 2011
Horses Rear Ends — The Erick Erickson Show
I want to spend some time on horses rear ends today on the show. Seriously.
You can listen live at http://wsbradio.com and call in at 1-800-WSB-TALK.
Consider this an open thread.
This is What Happens When Republicans Get Milquetoast
There is new polling out today making its way around the bathrooms of House and Senate Republican leaders. After weeks and weeks of bending over backwards to try to show they were willing to compromise on everything, guess what?
The public thinks the GOP hasn't been compromising enough.
Perceived non-cooperation on the budget deficit is one problem for the Republicans in Congress. Seventy-one percent say the GOP is not willing enough to compromise with Obama on the deficit; that even includes 42 percent of Republicans. Fifty-two percent overall also say Obama isn't willing enough to compromise — still a majority, but a substantially smaller one. (Indeed, 30 percent call Obama "too willing" to make peace; half as many say that about the GOP.)
It follows that on another measure, the public by a 14-point margin says it's more apt to hold the Republicans than Obama responsible if the budget impasse forces a partial government shutdown. (Then again, three in 10 also say a partial shutdown would be a good thing.)
House Republican Leaders who are more concerned with image than principle are going to fall all over themselves with this polling in a rush to compromise more. Here's the problem I see.
House Republicans have been muddying the water so much since November and painting their policy positions in pale pastels. The public voted in November with bright colors — mostly in red. The public wants Washington to stop its profligate spending. The public wants bright colors, not pastels.
But House Republicans are too scared of their own shadow to both lead and fight. They had to be bullied by their base to actually cut significantly and then, instead of fighting the Senate on the cuts, decided to do more short term continuing resolutions to avoid a fight.
For months, Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, John Boehner, etc. have been in full Henny Penny mode making sure everyone knows the sky is falling, but that they will not, under any circumstance, shut down the government or do anything significant to avert the crisis.
And yet . . . and yet, by 14 points, the public is going to blame the GOP for a shut down. Clearly, the House GOP strategy is failing. Saying the sky is falling, but then not doing anything about it really is not what any reasonable person could call a winning strategy.
The public hates losers. Right now, House Republicans are looking like losers. House Republicans will look at this polling and decide they need to be even more accommodating of Democrats. They should look at this polling and realize it is time to lead. Their accommodationist, non-confrontational strategy is losing them the public that wanted them to cut spending.
I look at these numbers and see House Republicans needing to finally draw a line in the sand, say enough is enough, and lead. As long as the Republicans are being milquetoast on spending and the budget, the Democrats will seen the polling benefits.
John Boehner, it is time to lead. It is time for a real budget plan. It is time to stop squandering opportunities for reform by passing short term continuing resolutions.
Saxby Chambliss Will Consider Tax Increases
Saxby Chambliss is the Republican point man on deficit reduction. He is working with his friend Mark Warner (D-VA) to come up with a "good government" plan to reduce the deficit.
"Good government," by the way, is code for big government, bi-partisan compromise.
On Sunday's Fox News Sunday, Chambliss used diplomatic speak to say he'd consider tax increases. Several of you have asked me for the exact language. You can see the whole transcript here.
The relevant portion is this:
We don't believe in raising taxes.
But let me tell you, Chris — this is such a massive problem. As Senator McConnell just stated, a $14 trillion debt, that if we don't get our arms around it now, and then we're going to become a second tier nation. And we cannot allow that to happen.
So, it's imperative that we put everything on the table for discussion.
Yes, he gives lip service to opposing tax increases. Then, however, he throws in the fateful "but" and laments the size of the problem. Following that, he throws in DC speak for tax increases. "It's imperative we put everything on the table for discussion."
Everything means tax increases.
It Is As We Feared
On Sunday, Republican Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, the Senate Republicans' point man on deficit reduction, went on Fox News Sunday and told Chris Wallace that Senate Republicans will consider tax increases to cut the deficit.
Chambliss's partner in crime is Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia who added that they'll tinker with the social security retirement age without any other substantive entitlement reforms.
Democrats are already salivating that they can merge the continuing resolution debate with the debt-ceiling debate. Republicans, scared of a government shutdown and refusing to even consider it, are happy to merge the two knowing it will be hard for conservatives to stand for what leadership aides are spinning as both a shutdown and defaulting on loans.
Conservatives are, therefore, getting played by Republicans leaders in the House. Compounding that, House Republicans are making insignificant spending cuts and refusing to pick a fight over Obamacare. They do not, under any stretch of the imagination, want a government shut down. House Leaders know the only way to shut down Obamacare is to shut down the government and negotiate Obamacare out of existence.
So they'd rather keep Obamacare.
That brings us to the three week continuing resolution. To quote Admiral Ackbar, "It's a trap." House Leaders and Senate Leaders want to drag out the continuing resolution so it can be wrapped into the debt ceiling debate. They think doing so would shut up conservatives and stop all the silly nonsense about cutting spending in a meaningful way.
We must fight this. Below the fold are the names and direct phone numbers of key Republican congressmen in the House. Call each of them. Demand they oppose the three week continuing resolution.
Report back here in the comments with their position.
Last Name
State
Phone Number
Griffin
AR
202-225-2506
Schweikert
AZ
202-225-2190
Franks
AZ
202-225-4576
Denham
CA
202-225-4540
McClintock
CA
202-225-2511
Gardner
CO
202-225-4676
Coffman
CO
202-225-7882
Lamborn
CO
202-225-4422
Southerland
FL
202-225-5235
Webster
FL
202-225-2176
West
FL
202-225-3026
A. Scot
GA
202-225-6531
Woodall
GA
202-225-4272
Broun
GA
202-225-4101
Labrador
ID
202-225-6611
Walsh
IL
202-225-3711
Rokita
IN
202-225-5037
Stutzman
IN
202-225-4436
T. Young
IN
202-225-5315
Pence
IN
202-225-3021
Pompeo
KS
202-225-6216
Landry
LA
202-225-4031
Fleming
LA
202-225-2777
Scalise
LA
202-225-3015
Harris
MD
202-225-5311
Amash
MI
202-225-3831
Huizenga
MI
202-225-4401
Ellmers
NC
202-225-4531
Foxx
NC
202-225-2071
Garrett
NJ
202-225-4465
Pearce
NM
202-225-2365
Buerkle
NY
202-225-3701
Reed
NY
202-225-3161
Lankford
OK
202-225-2132
Gowdy
SC
202-225-6030
Mulvaney
SC
202-225-5501
T. Scott
SC
202-225-3176
Fleischman
TN
202-225-3271
Fincher
TN
202-225-4714
Blackburn
TN
202-225-2811
Chaffetz
UT
202-225-7751
Griffith
VA
202-225-3861
Hurt
VA
202-225-4711
Rigell
VA
202-225-4215
Ribble
WI
202-225-5665
Lummis
WY
202-225-2311
Morning Briefing for March 15, 2011
RedState Morning Briefing
For March 15, 2011
Go to www.RedStateMB.com to get
the Morning Briefing every morning at no charge.
1. It Is As We Feared
2. The Problem with One Last Vote for a Flawed Strategy
3. No More Short-Term Budget CR's
4. Cheap Trick? WI Secy of State Gives Unions Extra Time to Lock in Contracts
5. So, Which Murderers are your Taxes Funding?
6. Durbin and Federal Reserve Plot to Fix Prices and Harm Consumers
———————————————————————-
1. It Is As We Feared
On Sunday, Republican Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, the Senate Republicans' point man on deficit reduction, went on Fox News Sunday and told Chris Wallace that Senate Republicans will consider tax increases to cut the deficit.
Chambliss's partner in crime is Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia who added that they'll tinker with the social security retirement age without any other substantive entitlement reforms.
Democrats are already salivating that they can merge the continuing resolution debate with the debt-ceiling debate. Republicans, scared of a government shutdown and refusing to even consider it, are happy to merge the two knowing it will be hard for conservatives to stand for what leadership aides are spinning as both a shutdown and defaulting on loans.
Conservatives are, therefore, getting played by Republicans leaders in the House. Compounding that, House Republicans are making insignificant spending cuts and refusing to pick a fight over Obamacare. They do not, under any stretch of the imagination, want a government shut down. House Leaders know the only way to shut down Obamacare is to shut down the government and negotiate Obamacare out of existence.
So they'd rather keep Obamacare.
That brings us to the three week continuing resolution. To quote Admiral Ackbar, "It's a trap." House Leaders and Senate Leaders want to drag out the continuing resolution so it can be wrapped into the debt ceiling debate. They think doing so would shut up conservatives and stop all the silly nonsense about cutting spending in a meaningful way.
We must fight this. Below the fold are the names and direct phone numbers of key Republican congressmen in the House. Call each of them. Demand they oppose the three week continuing resolution.
Report back here in the comments with their position.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
2. The Problem with One Last Vote for a Flawed Strategy
House Republican Leadership is now telling the press that this is likely the last short-term continuing resolution. At his pen-and-pad today, Majority Leader Cantor said, "We hope and intend for this to be the last one…we hope that this is the last time this happens."
But how can conservatives be so sure that this is not mere blind hope? After all, Cantor explained that there have been no negotiations with the Democrats so far. Now that is certainly not the fault of Republicans, since the Democrats' chief negotiator—Vice President Biden—went to Europe on other matters, squandering the last two weeks of respite. But it does reveal that there has been no progress made whatsoever. Negotiators would be starting from scratch.
If this extension passes, negotiators will have another three weeks, but those discussions will continue to be characterized by Republicans' fear of a government shutdown. Thus Democrats will still be able to stall until the CR expires and force another extension, pushing the debate more and more into the next budget cycle and the debt limit increase.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
3. No More Short-Term Budget CR's
From Senator Marco Rubio:
Our country faces a brutal reality: for far too long, the federal government has been recklessly spending money it does not have. It is the reason we now have a $14 trillion debt that threatens to bankrupt our country and why, each day, our government borrows $4 billion - almost half from foreigners and most of that from China.
Despite the seriousness of this debt crisis, an absurd pattern has clearly developed in Washington. Last year, when they still controlled the House, Senate and White House, the Democrats failed to pass a budget at all. In the first two months of this year, Senate Democrat leaders have spent invaluable time not on tackling the debt but on re-authorizing the F.A.A. and reforming the patent system. Their only attempt at addressing our debt was a plan to cut $4.7 billion in spending, which only equals what our government borrows approximately every 30 hours alone.
Democrats' unwillingness to engage on this issue is leading us closer to a catastrophic debt spiral that will irreversibly damage our government, our economy and ultimately our country.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
4. Cheap Trick? WI Secy of State Gives Unions Extra Time to Lock in Contracts
This may make things a bit stickier in Wisconsin: Democrat Secretary of State, Doug La Follette, is giving public-sector unions until the last moment possible (March 25th) to lock in contracts before publishing the new law limiting collective bargaining rights.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
5. So, Which Murderers are your Taxes Funding?
As the budget battle rages on and as we continue to fund domestic baby-killers, do we have to fund foreign ones as well?!
For years, the left wing foreign policy establishment has rapturously promoted the 'Palestinians' as the cause célèbre of our national security interests. Despite their unyielding commitment to terror, these supercilious 'wizards of smart' have credulously identified the creation of a 'Palestinian' state as the consummate solution to all geo-political problems. They posit that upon creation of a 22nd Arab state and 2nd Palestinian state (the first being Jordan), the culture of terror would cease and we would all experience peace in our time.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
6. Durbin and Federal Reserve Plot to Fix Prices and Harm Consumers
Senator Dick Durbin's (D-IL) amendment to the Financial Overhaul Bill is set to go into effect in April that will allow Obama and the Federal Reserve to set the prices of debit card interchange fees.
That may sound like a boring topic, but consider this: because of Dick Durbin's amendment, banks are about to restrict the number of and amount of daily debit card purchases you can make. That's right. JP Morgan is considering capping your debit card purchases at $50.00 to $100.00 per purchase.
Why? With the government setting price controls on debit card interchange fees, banks can't make money off them. Consequently, they'll be forced to push you and me into actual credit cards to make money. But that's not all.
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