Erick Erickson's Blog, page 201

Morning Briefing for December 9, 2010

RedState Morning Briefing

For December 9, 2010

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

1. Putting the TARP Band Back Together

2. House Conservatives to Senate: Don't START in the Lame Duck

3. FDA Set To Cut Off 17,000 Women Annually From Lifesaving Drug

4. Incoming WI Gov. Scott Walker Working to End His State's Tail-Wags-Dog Problem

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1. Putting the TARP Band Back Together

Opinions are varied and divided over whether the tax compromise plan is worthwhile. Some see it as the best the GOP can hope to get. Others see it as the GOP settling for keeping current income tax rates while voting to raise other taxes and increase spending on unemployment benefits, a program that has become a general welfare program.

Whether you are for it or against it, I do think it is worth pointing out this morning that with few exceptions, those parties advocating the tax compromise are precisely the same parties who advocated TARP.

Last time, they told us we were going to have a Second Great Depression if we did not pass TARP. This time they tell us we will have a Double Dip Recession if we don't pass the tax compromise.

But pay attention here to one key point.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. House Conservatives to Senate: Don't START in the Lame Duck

In light of the ongoing debate in the Senate over whether to approve the Obama Administration's New START treaty with Russia, Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) and I recently sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) asking that they delay action until the 112th Congress can convene and review the treaty.

While we recognize that it is the role of the Senate to give advice and consent to the ratification of this treaty, it will be the role of those of us in the House of Representatives to ultimately appropriate the funding necessary to modernize our nuclear weapons complex, stockpile and arsenal, as well as to conduct oversight of the implementation of the treaty.

In light of this role, we outlined in our letter specific concerns with the treaty as it is currently written.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. FDA Set To Cut Off 17,000 Women Annually From Lifesaving Drug

Obama's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is due to take up the case of Avastin, a cancer drug that successfully treats some 17,000 women annually. With a coming December 17 decision, the FDA seems poised to take this drug away from these patients quite despite the fact that their doctors find the drug effective.

The most dangerous period of time in Washington D.C. is that time we call the lame duck session (I call it the zombie congress; dead men walking). It is that time when those elected officials that are about to be ingloriously shipped off home for the last time due to losing election results make a mad scramble to grab for as much as they can get.

In the case of regulatory agencies like the FDA the lame duck session is not treated in exactly the same manner, but it is sure that when congress is about to have its majority party change over with the president's party on the losing side of the switch, regulatory agencies often try to push through favored policies before the new congress is seated and before that new congress is in a position to put any pressure on those agencies to prevent them from pushing the president's agenda.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. Incoming WI Gov. Scott Walker Working to End His State's Tail-Wags-Dog Problem

With the exception of a few races (and the state of California), the November election was about the dog getting tired of being wagged by the tail.

So, when a state like Wisconsin has unions that force-feed union propaganda down school children's throats, try to have 86-year old volunteer crossing guards removed, threaten the state's fiscal well being through unfunded pension liabilities, all the while attempting to engineer elections through dirty tricks, it's only natural that taxpayers would want it cleaned up.

That's where newly-elected Republican governor Scott Walker comes in. Walker is making plans to curtail the stranglehold that public-sector unions have on his states taxpayers, by any means legally possible.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

Did You Vote Republican For Nothing?

Did you show up at the polls on November 2nd for nothing? It seems that way. The House Republican Leadership has decided to put Jeff Flake (R-AZ) on the Appropriations Committee and that's pretty much it. They are sending a signal to the tea party movement that this is all they'll get.

John Boehner and Eric Cantor want Hal Rogers of Kentucky to serve as Appropriations Chairman. Hal Rogers is a big spending porker who has been a champion of earmarks. So brazen in his lust for your money, Rogers wants to put a Lockheed Martin lobbyist in as staff director for the Appropriations Committee — a lobbyist in charge of doling out the dollars.

But the fight is not over. Today the House GOP must ratify the leadership's decisions and we can still get Jack Kingston into the Chairman's chair. Go to our action center and fight to stop this. Call your Republican Congressman this morning. Tell him to support Jack Kingston as Appropriations Chairman.

Stand up to John Boehner and Eric Cantor. Fight for your principles.

CALL YOUR REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN THIS MORNING.

THE VOTE WILL BE TODAY.

If you believe the GOP must change their ways, you must then fight against Hal Rogers's appointment and support Jack Kingston instead. This fight is too important. We must rebuke House Republican Leaders and compel them to do the right thing.

I'm going to make it easy for you.

Go to our action center here. Call your Republican Representative and tell him to support Jack Kingston for Appropriations Chairman. Kingston, like Rogers, was an Appropriations Sub-Committee Chairman. Only Kingston turned in a budget on time and under budget.

Between Rogers and Kingston, Kingston is a stronger fiscal conservative who will work to cut spending.

Tell your Congressman that putting a huge porker in charge of Appropriations with a lobbyist as staff director is an insult to all the work you did to get the GOP back into the majority.

Call this morning. Stand up to John Boehner and Eric Cantor. Fight for your principles.

Morning Briefing for December 8, 2010

RedState Morning Briefing

For December 8, 2010

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

1. Did You Vote Republican For Nothing?

2. Sticks, Stones, and Thin-Skinned Barry

3. Rolling Blue State Bailout Ended in Tax Agreement

4. Waivers Double to 222 as More Unions 'Opt Out' of ObamaCare

5. JSOC analyst arrested in FBI spy sting.

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1. Did You Vote Republican For Nothing?

Did you show up at the polls on November 2nd for nothing? It seems that way. The House Republican Leadership has decided to put Jeff Flake (R-AZ) on the Appropriations Committee and that's pretty much it. They are sending a signal to the tea party movement that this is all they'll get.

John Boehner and Eric Cantor want Hal Rogers of Kentucky to serve as Appropriations Chairman. Hal Rogers is a big spending porker who has been a champion of earmarks. So brazen in his lust for your money, Rogers wants to put a Lockheed Martin lobbyist in as staff director for the Appropriations Committee — a lobbyist in charge of doling out the dollars.

But the fight is not over. Today the House GOP must ratify the leadership's decisions and we can still get Jack Kingston into the Chairman's chair. Go to our action center and fight to stop this. Call your Republican Congressman this morning. Tell him to support Jack Kingston as Appropriations Chairman.

Stand up to John Boehner and Eric Cantor. Fight for your principles.

CALL YOUR REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN THIS MORNING.

THE VOTE WILL BE TODAY.

More details are in the main body of the post.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. Sticks, Stones, and Thin-Skinned Barry

Robert Menendez, the other day, said it was like negotiating with terrorists referencing the tax compromise talks. Today, Barack Obama called the GOP 'hostage takers.'

So much for reaching across the aisle. . .

The President of the United States today has been left with a few "I'm rubber, your glue" remarks in his newly styled sticks and stones White House.

But, Mr. Obama, I have a question for you — if the American people are hostages and the GOP are the hostage takers, what … are you besides a failed negotiator?

Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. Rolling Blue State Bailout Ended in Tax Agreement

One of the best things to come out of the White House and Capitol Hill tax deal is that the liberals are apoplectic that there is no extension of the so called "Build America Bonds." These bonds are a rolling-state-government bailout mechanism that subsidizes the interest rate of state issued bonds. Essentially, these bonds put off the day of reckoning for the blue states that are in a terminal budget flat-spin.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. Waivers Double to 222 as More Unions 'Opt Out' of ObamaCare

For a law that was supposed to save America by making health care more affordable, the list of companies and unions who are being given the green light to 'opt out' seems to be growing by the day.

Since the last wave of ObamaCare waivers was released a few weeks ago, the number of unions and companies that have received ObamaCare waivers has doubled to 222. The number of known unions that inhabit this list is near 50.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

5. JSOC analyst arrested in FBI spy sting.

'JSOC' being short for the 'Joint Special Operations Command,' which is known to normal people as a group that coordinates communications and operations among various American Special Forces organizations*. The alleged would-be spy Bryan Martin allegedly traded secret documents to an FBI operative in exchange for roughly $3,500; there's no indication as of yet that he was working with anyone else, but between this and the Wikileaks Manning case it looks like the US intelligence community is on heightened alert for potential espionage problems. Looks like it's not the end of history, after all.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

Open Thread

My fellow hostage-takers, here is your open thread for the day.

Sticks, Stones, and Thin-Skinned Barry

"Mr. Obama, I have a question for you — if the American people are hostages and the GOP are the hostage takers, what the hell are you besides a failed negotiator/hostage rescuer?"

Robert Menendez, the other day, said it was like negotiating with terrorists referencing the tax compromise talks. Today, Barack Obama called the GOP 'hostage takers.'

So much for reaching across the aisle.

Of course that is what Barack Obama had to say. His base is so angry they'd be breaking out the pitchforks and storming the White House if it weren't for the Secret Service and their two year narrative that its the tea party that is the angry-racist crowd.

Ultimately, the most thinned skinned inhabitant of the White House in several generations, literally took one on the chin a few weeks ago and has figuratively taken one today. More so, he gave the GOP leaders — not necessarily the GOP itself — what they wanted and acknowledged that they'll be in an even better position come January.

That just gives the GOP base the incentive to try to kill this deal. And no, I don't think he is smart enough to intend that from his remarks.

The President of the United States today has been left with a few "I'm rubber, your glue" remarks in his newly styled sticks and stones White House.

But, Mr. Obama, I have a question for you — if the American people are hostages and the GOP are the hostage takers, what the hell are you besides a failed negotiator?

And if you can't even succeed in negotiating with the GOP, how exactly will you succeed against Iran, North Korea, and . . . you know . . . the real terrorists and hostage takers? Maybe this explains why the 2010 troop death toll in Afghanistan is closing in on the total Afghan death toll under George W. Bush's Presidency.

Community Building

This is one of those posts that must occasionally be written, though I don't like to write them.

RedState is, above all else, a community site. Anyone can start a diary and participate in the community. Those who play well in the community avoid the blam stick and, over time, we tend to promote from within to the front page.

The way we do promotion is pretty straight forward. We look for people who write quality diaries and are engaging in the comments. Here then is the rub.

I have been negligent in promoting diaries to the front page. I have occasionally asked other front pagers to promote diaries to the front page too, but I get a pretty constant refrain and have seen the same myself — a lot of diaries at the site are short or filled with typos or factual errors or have other problems. Being a largely volunteer run site, it becomes time consuming to fix all the errors to promote something to the front page.

In the last few days I've endeavored to get better at it. But I need your help. We have a couple of things happening that combined are causing issues.

First, a good number of you have become very good friends and that is awesome. At the same time, those who have been around a long time and have become friends tend to recommend each others diaries, thereby hurting the chances of a newbie to get on the list. Additionally, many of us tend to stick up for one another and do what amounts to a pile on of a commenter who disagrees or is taken to disagree with a diary or other comment.

We are in danger of developing more Clans than the morons in Twilight — seriously people, to borrow from Caleb, if your boyfriend shimmers in the sun and won't sleep with you, he's not a vampire. He's gay. But I digress.

Second, a number of the diaries are cross posted, which is not a bad thing, but they, coupled with the short form diaries, push a lot of good quality, well thought out diaries off the front page before anyone can see them.

While I don't want to discourage cross-posting, I do think we all need to work together to find a way to shine the spotlight on quality long-form diaries and, in particular, to encourage new users instead of ganging up on them.

As any community grows, we tend to evolve. Things that were once important sometimes stop being important. Some things that were not important once grow to become important. I suspect that some of the issues we are dealing with result largely from the evolution of and growth of the site.

I personally think the willingness to embrace newcomers at the site, even those with whom we disagree on some issues, is critical to our strength as a site and we must necessarily, even in a time of growth and evolution, always be willing to extend a welcoming hand to those new to the site.

I'm not sure what all the solutions are, but hope we'll be mindful of some of the problems and work together on this. Feel free to leave a comment with any suggestions or concerns.

Playing With the Two Immutable Laws of Washington

There are two immutable laws of Washington, D.C. To understand the tax compromise in the Senate, you must know the laws.

Politicians in leadership believe that if they make both the left and right angry they must have done something right; and,
If Democrats and Republicans come together in a compromise — no matter how bad that compromise may be — the media will herald the compromise and inevitably use the word "tone" in discussing it.

Then there is a corollary to the two rules: people who want a seat at the table with the politicians and media will turn into sycophants and tell you how delicious the compromise tastes.

Understanding those two immutable rules and the corollary tell you all you'll need to understand about how the tax compromise will be played. Let's review what the compromise is:

Extend current tax rates for two years
Extend unemployment benefit for another 13 months
A two percent cut in the payroll tax for next year
Death tax of 35% imposed above $5 million

We can first laugh about Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles. After all that work, lecturing, and lamenting they have been, in one act, put back under the rock from whence they came.

There will be no more hand wringing over saving social security and the deficit. We're going to blow it up. Ironically, we're going to blow it up to preserve today's tax rates and resurrect the death tax.

Second, we can laugh at the Democrats who are in full meltdown over the Democrats daring to extend current tax rates for everyone. For all the left's talk about equality over freedom, the left believes they can treat the most successful with the greatest disdain and take away the freedom to take risks in this country and replace it with servitude to government.

Had Obama shown any leadership, he could have gotten this passed months ago on the grounds that it'd help stem losses in the midterms. But he didn't, despite pressure from many Blue Dogs who will, in less than a month, be called "former congressman."

Just last week Mr. Obama said, in his weekly radio address, "I believe we can't afford to borrow and spend another $700 billion on permanent tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires." My what a difference a week makes.

Ultimately though, this is a compromise that leaves both sides coming up short and is full of compromising the GOP did not have to engage in, even without controlling the Senate. They could have gotten more. We will also continue subsidizing unemployment — yes you read that right. At some point it becomes welfare, not unemployment compensation.

The compromise does little to stem the tide of uncertainty that has kept businesses from hiring. Because the fight will be wrapped up in the politics of 2012, small businesses that have been keeping money on the sidelines will keep doing so. Any politician who says this has anything to do with job creation will largely be lying.

Nonetheless, we know this much is true: the media, after weeks of taking the Deficit Commission seriously, and many of the politicians who have done the same will celebrate this grand act of bipartisan comity.

For months, the Democrats have said they would never support extending the current tax rates because of their concern for the deficit. They will now.

For months, the GOP has said they would never vote to raise taxes and will now vote to raise taxes by resurrecting the death tax instead of killing it — the only reason being Jon Kyl (R-AZ) wanted to bring it back and has held this position for a while.

For months, both sides have claimed they were committed to saving social security. Instead, they will cut the payroll tax thereby bringing the bankruptcy of social security even closer.

We will know who the real conservatives are in Congress. They'll be the Republicans who oppose this deal.

But hey, it is bipartisan!

Maybe we can get Jeff Flake to primary Jon Kyl . . .

Morning Briefing for December 7, 2010

RedState Morning Briefing

For December 7, 2010

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

1. Playing With the Two Immutable Laws of Washington

2. An Easy Way to Stop Filibuster Reform

3. Al Qaeda's Favorite Member of Congress Opens His Mouth

4. Breast Milk and the TSA

5. I don't care (right now) about WHO the next President is; I care about WHAT the next President is.

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1. Playing With the Two Immutable Laws of Washington

There are two immutable laws of Washington, D.C. To understand the tax compromise in the Senate, you must know the laws.

Politicians in leadership believe that if they make both the left and right angry they must have done something right; and,
If Democrats and Republicans come together in a compromise — no matter how bad that compromise may be — the media will herald the compromise and inevitably use the word "tone" in discussing it.

Then there is a corollary to the two rules: people who want a seat at the table with the politicians and media will turn into sycophants and tell you how delicious the compromise tastes.

Understanding those two immutable rules and the corollary tell you all you'll need to understand about how the tax compromise will be played. Let's review what the compromise is.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. An Easy Way to Stop Filibuster Reform

Liberal Democrats are going to take a run at the Filibuster in January. The have adopted idea that the Senate is not a continuing body and that the rules can be changed with a simple majority of Senators voting in a new Congress, in January, to adopt new rules. This interpretation of the Senate rules ignores the clear rules of the Senate and long tradition of rules being changed with only a 2/3rds vote of Senators.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. Al Qaeda's Favorite Member of Congress Opens His Mouth

To be fair, when Ron Paul said that it was completely awesome that Julian Assange was spreading our classified secrets across the internet for the entire world to see, he probably couldn't have foreseen that the information would contain this . . .

Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. Breast Milk and the TSA

Now we have yet another TSA outrage. Something tells me the media would be much more worked up by this if George Bush were still President. Oddly enough, in an era when the press is falling all over itself to highlight bipartisanship, here is an issue uniting the left and right.

In this edition of TSA Outrage, we have a mother who didn't want her breast milk going through the x-ray machine, which held her up 30 minutes. On her next trip through the airport, the same TSA agents detained her for more than an hour even after she gave them a copy of the TSA guidelines exempting breast milk from the x-ray machine.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

5. I don't care (right now) about WHO the next President is; I care about WHAT the next President is.

Harold Stassen ran for President every quadrennial between 1948 and 2000. Why? What would cause a man to do such a thing?

Quite probably because he'd tasted the sweet essence of victorious electoral power, first as a county prosecutor, and then as Governor of Minnesota. He thus served from 1940 to 1943. He played the role of a minor king-maker at the 1940 GOP convention, and this might have sparked his Quixotic, life-long quest.

So, for every Presidential election until 2004, Harold Stassen's name was on ballot. Of course, in the meantime, he managed to run for various other offices, including Governor of Pennsylvania (twice), US representative, senate, mayor, and quite probably drain commissioner, for all I know. He lost every contest after 1940. But, rather like the Energizer Bunny, Harold kept on running. And running. Stassen became the butt of jokes.

Every seeker of the Presidency has a chord or two of Harold Stassen sluicing through them. What makes them run? It certainly isn't a cheap hobby; in some states, the filing fees alone run into the tens of thousands of dollars. Abraham Lincoln ran when he saw an opening in the national dialog, and he had secured a significant nest-egg as a successful corporate lawyer. Harry Truman ran because he had nothing much else to do. But what about a Mike Huckabee, or a Tim Pawlenty (-who, in a nod to Harold Stassen, is Governor of Minnesota)?

And the most important question: How do these private yearnings equate to public leadership?

Please click here for the rest of the post.

Breast Milk and the TSA

Now we have yet another TSA outrage. Something tells me the media would be much more worked up by this if George Bush were still President. Oddly enough, in an era when the press is falling all over itself to highlight bipartisanship, here is an issue uniting the left and right.

In this edition of TSA Outrage, we have a mother who didn't want her breast milk going through the x-ray machine, which held her up 30 minutes. On her next trip through the airport, the same TSA agents detained her for more than an hour even after she gave them a copy of the TSA guidelines exempting breast milk from the x-ray machine.

Meanwhile, that Assange guy keeps releasing our national security details online. If Barack Obama won't do anything pro-active to shut him down, maybe we should just send over the TSA.

Advertisements and Sponsorships

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Advertising

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We have standard ad units you can buy, or you can get with the Eagle Publishing, Inc. team and work up some custom advertising options on the site.

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Renting the List

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But, if you are fighting the good fight, the list is a terrific list with a high open rate. You can prepare HTLM coded text and we'll get it out. I have, on occasion, lent my name to some of these emails, but only on behalf of candidates and organizations I personally love.

If you are interested in renting the Morning Briefing list, please contact Todd Miller at tmiller@eaglepub.com.