Erick Erickson's Blog, page 67
February 21, 2012
Morning Briefing for February 21, 2012
RedState Morning Briefing
February 21, 2012
Go to www.RedStateMB.com to get
the Morning Briefing every morning at no charge.
1. Principle as Political Liability
2. New Debt Limit Brings New Opportunity for Cut, Cap, Balance
3. The Stimulus Chart Obama Doesn't Want You to See
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1. Principle as Political Liability
What a weird campaign season we are having. Let me present you a truth that some of you may bristle under, but is true nonetheless.
No matter how right the cause or principle, it may still be a political liability.
I'll start with the one you'll agree with it. Barack Obama and many on the left may believe that abortion . . . er . . . um . . . "women's health except for mammograms, pap smears, and the like — contraception only —" is a fundamental right necessitating the Catholic Church foregoing its own tenets and forced to give out free birth control pills and abortifacient drugs, but those who agree are deluding themselves that it will not also be a political liability.
Let's try another one. Barack Obama and the Democrats may believe that socializing healthcare in this country is the right and proper thing to do, but it has also been proven to be a political liability.
How about this one: God bless Mitt Romney for being a capitalist's capitalist making millions on Wall Street, but it will be a huge political liability in November.
Oh, one more. Come on! Rick Santorum may be absolutely right on the principles of morality and social decay in this country, but it will be a political liability with independent voters.
The funny thing is that many of you on the left who read the first two were shaking your heads in absolute disagreement and then agreeing with the latter two. Those of you on the right had the opposite reaction.
Partisans typically do. It is for level headed strategists, consultants, and pundits to try their best to overcome their partisan world views and accept reality. Some things you and I may love about a candidate may actually be real political liabilities for that candidate in a general election.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
2. New Debt Limit Brings New Opportunity for Cut, Cap, Balance
When Republicans agreed to raise the debt ceiling last year, not only did they credit Obama's credit card by $2.1 trillion, they also gave him a lifeline until after the election. At the time, it was projected that $2.1 trillion in new debt allowance was sufficient to last until January 2013, sparing Obama the embarrassment of raising the debt ceiling right before the election. Well, it appears that we've blown through the new debt so quickly that we might bump up against the $16.394 trillion debt ceiling before November 2012.
Last week, Senator Rob Portman released an analysis showing that we will reach the debt ceiling before the end of the fiscal year.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
3. The Stimulus Chart Obama Doesn't Want You to See
Note from Erick: Yes, this is a repeat from yesterday, but it is too important to ignore.
Three years ago today, President Obama signed his infamous stimulus package into law. In exchange for $1.2 trillion (including interest), liberals said their plan would bring the unemployment rate down to about 6% today. It hasn't fallen below 8% at any point in the last 36 months.
There has been a recent drop, though, which some Democrats claim as proof that their stimulus plan finally worked. But if that's true, then where are the jobs?
February 20, 2012
The Last Debate?
Today is a holiday here at RedState, but I'm doing laundry, packing, and preparing to fly out to Arizona.
On Wednesday night, CNN will bring the nation what may very well be the last debate in the Republican Presidential Primary season. From Mesa, AZ, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul will take the stage one last time.
At least we can presume it will be the last time. Romney, Santorum, and Paul bailed on the pre-Super Tuesday debate that would have been hosted by both CNN and the Georgia Republican Party in Atlanta.
So this may be the last bite at the apple for Newt Gingrich to rebound, Santorum to throw Romney off his game, and for MItt Romney himself to maybe help himself with a base that still is not in love. Tune in Wednesday for the CNN Debate starting at 8pm ET live from Mesa, AZ. And stick around afterwards. I'll be part of the post-game commentary and this most likely last debate of the primary season.
Morning Briefing for February 20, 2012
RedState Morning Briefing
February 20, 2012
Go to www.RedStateMB.com to get
the Morning Briefing every morning at no charge.
1. The Last Debate?
2. The Stimulus Chart Obama Doesn't Want You to See
3. No 'Lone Wolf': FBI Sting Nabs Would-be Capitol Suicide Bomber who Thought he was Working with al Qaeda
4. Yes Virginia, There Is a Baby in There
5. Did Fred Hiatt Change the Mission and Just Not Tell Anyone?
6. NLRB Staff Union Claims Pro-Union NLRB Bosses Have Declared War on NLRB Employees
7. State Department Promoting "Gasland", Other Enviro Films To Foreign Audiences
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1. The Last Debate?
Today is a holiday here at RedState, but I'm doing laundry, packing, and preparing to fly out to Arizona.
On Wednesday night, CNN will bring the nation what may very well be the last debate in the Republican Presidential Primary season. From Mesa, AZ, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul will take the stage one last time.
At least we can presume it will be the last time. Romney, Santorum, and Paul bailed on the pre-Super Tuesday debate that would have been hosted by both CNN and the Georgia Republican Party in Atlanta.
So this may be the last bite at the apple for Newt Gingrich to rebound, Santorum to throw Romney off his game, and for MItt Romney himself to maybe help himself with a base that still is not in love. Tune in Wednesday for the CNN Debate starting at 8pm ET live from Mesa, AZ. And stick around afterwards. I'll be part of the post-game commentary at this most likely last debate of the primary season.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
2. The Stimulus Chart Obama Doesn't Want You to See
Three years ago today, President Obama signed his infamous stimulus package into law. In exchange for $1.2 trillion (including interest), liberals said their plan would bring the unemployment rate down to about 6% today. It hasn't fallen below 8% at any point in the last 36 months.
There has been a recent drop, though, which some Democrats claim as proof that their stimulus plan finally worked. But if that's true, then where are the jobs?
Please click here for the rest of the post.
3. No 'Lone Wolf': FBI Sting Nabs Would-be Capitol Suicide Bomber who Thought he was Working with al Qaeda
On Friday, Feb. 17, a long-term FBI sting operation culminated in the arrest of a would-be terrorist while he was en route to the U.S. Capitol to carry out a suicide bombing. Amine el Khalifi, a 29-year-old Muslim from Morocco who entered the U.S. with his parents on a trip to Disney World 1999 and illegally overstayed his tourist visa by over a decade, had been on the FBI's radar since early 2011, during which he was "closely and carefully monitored," according to a law enforcement spokesperson. Over this period, Khalifi's planned target and method changed several times (from bombing a synagogue, to targeting an American general officer, to blowing up a building known to contain some DOD offices, to targeting a crowded restaurant frequented by high-ranking military personnel, to a suicide attack on the U.S. Capitol), his ultimate goal of carrying out a terrorist attack on American soil remained the same.
Thanks to the FBI's efforts (in particular, its undercover assets who engaged Khalifi over the long term), when Khalifi finally set out to commit the terrorist act he had been preparing for, law enforcement officials were able to make sure that he did so with inert explosives in his suicide vest. Khalifi was ultimately arrested en route from a mosque, where he had been praying before his attack, to the U.S. Capitol.
Because Khalifi intended to carry out this suicide attack alone, media are falling back on one of their favorite misnomers – 'Lone Wolf' – to describe him. This is as predictable as it is wholly incorrect, as even a brief glance at the criminal complaint filed against Khalifi shows.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
4. Yes Virginia, There Is a Baby in There
The Virginia state legislature is fast becoming the nation's leader in fighting the abortion holocaust. Last summer abortion clinics were required to meet standards appropriate to a medical facility rather than those resembling a chicken factory. A personhood bill is moving forward which will recognize what anyone who passed high school biology already knows, that a fetus is a separate and distinct human being. But the bill that has the left in a tizzy is one that strikes directly at the market for the abortionists' sales pitch: women who have just discovered they are pregnant. As a result the Virginia GOP is being treated just by the abortion lobby the same way a rehab clinic operator would be treated by drug pushers.
The bill is pretty straight forward.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
5. Did Fred Hiatt Change the Mission and Just Not Tell Anyone?
Conservatives have come to expect liberal organizations to hire purported "conservatives" to cover the conservative movement in a way that self-affirms liberal notions of conservative neanderthal-ism.
But there is a problem in Jennifer Rubin covering conservatives at the Washington Post. According to the Post's ombudsman, Patrick Pexton, editorial page editor Fred Hiatt hired Rubin "to be an opinion blogger who would appeal to conservatives and people who want to follow conservative politics. She does." . . . .
Yesterday, Jennifer Rubin discovered that Rick Santorum is a devout Catholic and, through leaps of logic that would defy Cirque Du Soleil, arrives at a laughable conclusion not in evidence that puts a big spotlight on her understanding of devout Catholics — a core constituency in the modern conservative movement, particularly inside the beltway no less.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
6. NLRB Staff Union Claims Pro-Union NLRB Bosses Have Declared War on NLRB Employees
When discussing the National Labor Relations Board and its pro-union slant these days, few realize that the staff within the NLRB is also unionized.
In fact, according to the National Labor Relations Board Union, the union represents over 950 NLRB attorneys, examiners and support staff. It is these individuals, along with their bosses within the NLRB, who are charged with remaining neutral in employer-union disputes—which makes it all the more interesting when the NLRB's union charges NLRB management with "trying to destroy their employees' union."
According to a flyer distributed by the NRLBU, NLRB Chairman Mark Pearce (a union attorney) and Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon have declared war on NLRB attorneys.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
7. State Department Promoting "Gasland", Other Enviro Films To Foreign Audiences
In a true "what the frack" moment, the State Department, in association with the USC School of Cinematic Arts, has included the film Gasland in a list of 29 films to be showcased around the globe as part of an "international cultural diplomacy initiative". The initiative, called "The American Film Showcase", takes a panel of directors, film experts, and assorted talking heads to events the world over to screen the selected films and discuss them.
Gasland, you may recall, made quite a splash for the now famous scene featuring flammable tap water. The film (we hesitate to use the term "documentary" so loosely) is an opus to anti-natural gas drilling, and uses the fears of families about their drinking water to great dramatic effect. However, the infamous flammable tap water turns out not to have anything to do with "fracking", despite what filmmaker Josh Fox would have audiences believe. That scene, that most pivotal scene, is not what it appears to be. As our own Steve Maley has pointed out, both the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, among others, have debunked Fox's claim.
February 19, 2012
Did Fred Hiatt Change the Mission and Just Not Tell Anyone?
Conservatives have come to expect liberal organizations to hire purported "conservatives" to cover the conservative movement in a way that self-affirms liberal notions of conservative neanderthal-ism.
But there is a problem in Jennifer Rubin covering conservatives at the Washington Post. According to the Post's ombudsman, Patrick Pexton, editorial page editor Fred Hiatt hired Rubin "to be an opinion blogger who would appeal to conservatives and people who want to follow conservative politics. She does."
It is the "appeal to conservatives" that is problematic when coupled with the affirmation that "she does." For the past year, Rubin has done more to hinder the Washington Post in the eyes of conservatives as a place willing to treat conservative views honestly than even hiring Ezra Klein and Greg Sargent, both activist leftists who can, at least, put aside partisanship to occasionally engage in good reporting. We can presume that Fred Hiatt has changed the mission from "appeal to conservatives" to "appeal to liberal notions about conservatives."
Today, Jennifer Rubin discovers that Rick Santorum is a devout Catholic and, through leaps of logic that would defy Cirque Du Soleil, arrives at a laughable conclusion not in evidence that puts a big spotlight on her understanding of devout Catholics — a core constituency in the modern conservative movement, particularly inside the beltway no less.
In her latest escapade, Rubin discovers that Santorum, a pro-life Catholic, believes that doctors who commit abortion should be prosecuted for killing a child.1
In discovering this and trying to overcome her shock, Rubin first ignores that Santorum and most ardent social conservatives have lllooooonnnnnnngggggggggg held this view — and then she does something that not just proves her ignorance on this issue, but also her pro-Romney agenda driven hostility to Santorum's conservative convictions. She writes:
As for his comments on prosecuting abortion doctors, this would, I assume, concern the death penalty in states that impose capital punishment for murder. After all, it would be contrary to his views (that unborn children are people under the Constitution) to decide for criminal law purposes that an unborn child is any less a person, and deserving of less protection, than any other person.
As Jennifer Rubin is clearly not aware, devout Catholics are opposed to both abortion and the death penalty. Yes, dear reader, you may be shocked to learn, but devout Catholics are the most pro-life of all pro-lifers. Where Presbyterians like me are quite comfortable opposing abortion and supporting the death penalty based on our reading of Romans 13, devout Catholics and the Magisterium of the Catholic Church are opposed to both abortion and the death penalty.
On Santorum more particularly, he has maintained support for the death penalty as it exists, but while in the Senate was opposed to its expansion for other crimes, voted to limit its use, and in 2005 told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that
"I felt very troubled about cases where someone may have been convicted wrongly. DNA evidence definitely should be used when possible. I agree with the pope that in the civilized world … the application of the death penalty should be limited. I would definitely agree with that. I would certainly suggest there probably should be some further limits on what we use it for.
In fact, of all the Republican Presidential candidates, Rick Santorum has offered only the weakest support for the death penalty and has repeatedly sought to curtail it, never to expand it.
In other words, Jenn Rubin extrapolates from Rick Santorum's devout Catholic views on abortion that he would advocate criminalizing abortion and somehow fails to both know that Rick Santorum is not a staunch death penalty advocate and further extrapolates that, despite his devout Catholicism and his record on the issue that Santorum would champion expanding the death penalty for doctors who perform abortions — something that does not stand up to either Santorum's record as a public official or how he publicly reconciles his faith with positions.
It may be hard for Jenn Rubin to comprehend, but devout Catholics are so intense on the right to life issue, they really aren't willing to hold on to the life issue at birth and give up on it at the end. What's good for the child in utero is good for everyone else. It is, in fact, the most consistent pro-life approach, even though I disagree with it. Had she studied Santorum's record on the issue, she'd see that those times the death penalty has come up in his career he has not exactly championed it, but has instead accepted it as (1) constitutional, (2) let it remain as part of the law, and (3) tried to curtail its use and application.
At this point, I don't think even my friend Quin Hillyer can maintain that Jenn Rubin might support Rick Santorum.
More troubling, the Washington Post's Fred Hiatt believes Rubin is supposed to not just cover conservatives for the typical left-wing reader of the Post, but also expand the pool of the Post's readership to conservatives.
When a majority of conservatives have rejected Mitt Romney and the Post's in-house conservative blogger not only routinely assails all the Republican candidates but Romney (with the caveat that she will praise non-Romney candidates whose actions benefit Romney) and does so while showing no understanding, no matter how nuanced, of basic conservative positions like abortion and life issues, the Washington Post needs to rethink its strategy.
I should also point out that in Jennifer Rubin's apparent shock today that Rick Santorum believes abortion should be made illegal and doctors punished for aborting children, Rubin seems completely aghast at what has been a very long held position among pro-lifers and, in general, the greater social conservative section of the conservative movement. This goes back to, at least, Ronald Reagan's campaign putting a pro-life plank in the GOP Platform in 1980. Surely someone chosen to cover the conservative movement should have a sense of history about that movement.
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February 17, 2012
Morning Briefing for February 17, 2012
RedState Morning Briefing
February 1, 2012
Go to www.RedStateMB.com to get
the Morning Briefing every morning at no charge.
1. Why is the United States Government Financing Our Foreign Competition?
2. Secretary Napolitano Disrespects And Disarms Pilots
3. Never let it be said that Obama takes governing seriously
4. EPA Needs More Time to Reconsider Boiler MACT Rules
5. Do Republicans Care About the Deficit or Not?
6. The MSM Is Dumb: Episode A Billion
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1. Why is the United States Government Financing Our Foreign Competition?
Here's a question: If tax dollars were being used to make prices cheaper for companies overseas while simultaneously forbidding American companies from enjoying the same luxury…would that be fair?
I would submit that it's not, and President Obama claimed to feel the same way at his State of the Union earlier this year:
"… It's not fair when foreign manufacturers have a leg up on ours only because they're heavily subsidized."
Unfortunately, that's exactly what is happening. Let me introduce you to something call the Export-Import Bank.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
2. Secretary Napolitano Disrespects And Disarms Pilots
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano disrespected Federal Flight Deck Officers (armed pilots) during a hearing yesterday in testimony presented to the House Homeland Security Committee. Sec. Napolitano showed a lack of knowledge about the program in addition to an intent to kill it over the next few years. The testimony yesterday provides further evidence of "President Obama's Plan to Kill Armed Pilots Program."
Please click here for the rest of the post.
3. Never let it be said that Obama takes governing seriously
Last night President Barack Obama spoke at two "star-studded" Hollywood fundraisers. And, according to Politco, he noted to a group of people who make their quite nice livings in theatrics that "people … like … poetry" rather than the "prose" of governing.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
4. EPA Needs More Time to Reconsider Boiler MACT Rules
American workers and the industries that employ them face an ill-thought out and incomplete set of Boiler MACT regulations costing $14 billion to implement. Given current economic realities, these regulations place at risk the jobs of your constituents and 200,000 working Americans across the country. With the economic climate as it is now, we cannot afford to lose too many more American manufacturing jobs.
The EPA asked for proper time to reconsider the Boiler MACT rules, and even attempted to stay the rules to have more time to clarify them. The forest products industry, for example, is compiling additional data at the EPA's request, but may not have time to complete needed testing. The courts have made it clear that only Congress can give the EPA the time they have asked for and need to provide clarity. As a result, this legal uncertainty is a cloud over American businesses, which must be able to plan for the future in these uncertain economic times. Our communities deserve environmental rules that have been fully considered, and will hold up scientifically in the long term.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
5. Do Republicans Care About the Deficit or Not?
Republicans who seek our support during an election cycle declare emphatically that they will deal with the deficit upon being elected. Once elected, however, they far too often evince nothing but apathy towards efforts to solve our budget crisis. Worse yet, they even work assiduously to create new deficits.
Ever since Republicans won control of the House in 2010, instead of looking for spending cuts to offset existing deficits, they are constantly looking for ways to create new deficits, albeit with the fervent pledge to offset those new deficits. Yesterday, several lawmakers showed us just how indifferent they are to deficit spending.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
6. The MSM Is Dumb: Episode A Billion
There is a lot of virtual ink being spilled today regarding Rick Santorum's big billionaire donor Foster Friess, and his comments on birth control. The catalyst was an interview conducted by MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell which, among other things, included the following exchange.
February 16, 2012
The Debate Strategery, Defending George Stephanopolous, & Taking On George Lucas #EERS
Tonight on the Erick Erickson Show I'll delve into lunch box inspections, the cancellation of the CNN debate, and at 7:05 pm ET, believe it or not, I'll defend George Stephanopolous.
Sometime around 8pm I hope to have time to take on George Lucas and his latest "story" about who shot first.
You can listen live right here on the WSB live stream. You can call in at 1-800-WSB-TALK.
Consider this an open thread.
Morning Briefing for February 16, 2012
RedState Morning Briefing
February 16, 2012
Go to www.RedStateMB.com to get
the Morning Briefing every morning at no charge.
1. President Obama's Plan To Kill Armed Pilot Program
2. The Proposition 8 Decision: Not Rational
3. Good News on Highway Bill Front; More Issues Elsewhere
4. There's Only One Earmark In the Senate Highway Bill
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1. President Obama's Plan To Kill Armed Pilot Program
The President's wants to end the Federal Flight Deck Officer Program (FFDO), also known as the armed pilots program. If Congress were to follow President Obama's recommendation contained in his $3.8 trillion FY2013 budget proposal, they would be making a huge mistake. This anti-terrorism program has been a success and a cost effective means to protect the cockpits of commercial aviation from 9-11 style terrorism.
The President's budget lists the FFDO program as one of the few "cuts" to federal spending. They have reduced the program from the $25 million they received this year to $12 million for FY2013. This massive cut to the program would destroy it. Consider this evidence that the Obama Administration would be more happy to rely on intrusive screening procedures being applied to toddlers, the elderly, and Senators, rather than pilots with guns to provide a last line of defense to aviation terrorism.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
2. The Proposition 8 Decision: Not Rational
The Ninth Circuit's 2-1 decision last week in Perry v. Brown upheld the decision of Judge Vaughan Walker holding that the people of the State of California violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment by passing – in a statewide referendum in 2008 – Proposition 8. Prop 8 amended the California Constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman, restoring the rule previously set forth in California statutory law until overturned by the California Supreme Court earlier in 2008. Prop 8 garnered over 7 million votes, two million more than John McCain in liberal California – it was the supported by 52.3% of the same electorate that broke 61-37 for Barack Obama, including 58% of black voters and 59% of Latino voters.
Despite some game efforts to meddle with the burden of proof based on the sequence of events, the core of the decision – written by veteran arch-liberal Judge Stephen Reinhardt – was the same as that of the district court: the assertion that there is no possible rational basis for distinguishing between traditional, opposite-sex marriage and same-sex marriage. More specifically, in the California context, the court found that the federal constitution gives federal judges the right to dictate the language itself, holding that California's voters were not even permitted to reserve the term marriage to opposite-sex marriage while providing effectively all the practical state-law benefits of marriage to same-sex couples through "domestic partnership."
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3. Good News on Highway Bill Front; More Issues Elsewhere
Our voices are finally being heard – sort of. When we started voicing opposition to the highway bill there were few conservatives speaking out against it, and even fewer members of the House who were willing to oppose it. Now, there is so much opposition to the bill that John Boehner was forced to delay the vote on the highway bill, which was previously scheduled for today.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
4. There's Only One Earmark In the Senate Highway Bill
If the House highway bill is an excrement sandwich, the Senate version is…well, it's a lot worse. The one saving grace of the bill was that it supposedly did not contain any earmarks. Well, indeed there is one earmark in the bill, and it's directed to Nevada. The earmark is ensconced in the bill very cleverly.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
February 15, 2012
Morning Briefing for February 15, 2012
RedState Morning Briefing
February 15, 2012
Go to www.RedStateMB.com to get
the Morning Briefing every morning at no charge.
1. The Competitive Disadvantage of Principle
2. The Demise of the Tea Party is Greatly Exaggerated
3. The Highway Bill and ANWR: It's a Trap!
4. Beware Greeks Demanding Benefits
5. CPAC: Not Quite Like the Media Matters Communications Room. But Still, Grow Up.
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1. The Competitive Disadvantage of Principle
If you have not read it, this is a fascinating article in the New York Times. The crux of the article is the title — even critics of the safety net increasingly depend on it.
The article profiles a number of people who take advantage of the federal social safety net and are increasingly resentful of it. The solutions on fixing it vary. The angry, for some, may or may not be misplaced. The article reads as a Rorschach test on your ideology — liberals will read it and find the people hypocritical. Conservatives will read it and find it all maddening.
To summarize it, the United States is increasingly taxing the middle class to subsidize the middle class. All the talk about the poor and what the safety net is designed to do for the poor overlooks that the government has taken it upon itself to keep the middle class from falling into the poorer classes of society.
It is a long held principle in this country that the individual is supreme above the collective and the government. Tied to that is the principle espoused by Abraham Lincoln back in Kalamazoo, MI back in 1856, that in this country, unlike so many others, "every man can make himself." It is less and less true.
More and more, the Middle Class has become dependent on the federal social safety net. It was a slow and creeping dependence the Middle Class did not recognize until it was too late. Now suddenly their principles have come into conflict with their lifestyle.
The Middle Class believes that with hard work it can move up the ranks of society. It is not content to and does not expect to stay in the Middle Class. At the same time, the Middle Class recognizes its current dependency. It also recognizes that if it does break through it will be despised by government. Even more troubling, it does not know how to break through. Due to lobbyists, regulators, and legislators, the process of inventiveness and creativity has been shut down.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
2. The Demise of the Tea Party is Greatly Exaggerated
Certain people keep opining that the Tea Party is all but dead, but those who wish for the demise of the Tea Party are missing the emerging new political infrastructure where Tea Party groups have set aside rallies for political action. Consider Wisconsin to determine where the Tea Party is going in 2012 and beyond.
From New York to California, newspapers are weighing in on the importance of Governor Scott Walker's recall in Wisconsin. Stephen Moore in the Wall Street Journal described it as "the most important non-presidential election of the decade." The Orange County Register even penned an editorial about how important it was that the public unions are stopped in Wisconsin.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
3. The Highway Bill and ANWR: It's a Trap!
Well, it appears that our efforts are paying off. Responding to our charge that the GOP was violating the pledge against bundled megabills, Boehner announced that he will split the proposal into three separate bills; the highway bill (HR 7), pension reform (HR 3813), and expanded oil and gas drilling (HR 3408).
This is great news. But here's the catch.
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4. Beware Greeks Demanding Benefits
In the most recent round of violent protests that have rocked Greece, a group of aggrieved Communist party members went up onto the Acropolis and hung banners from the massive rock. "Down with Dictatorship" they proclaimed (in English as well as in Greek for the benefit of the western media and/or relevant parties in London and Washington, D.C.).
The message was not particularly subtle: Here, in the birthplace of democracy, Greeks would once again stand up to their oppressors and claim their ancient freedoms. At the very feet of the Parthenon they made their stand, with the ruins of the classical past providing witness.
The juxtaposition between the "birthplace of democracy" and Greece's current budget woes has been echoed in the media, illustrated with video of Athenians torching Starbucks and Cinnabon. What this analysis fails to recognize is that the contemporary Greeks are rejecting their own heritage as they riot not for freedom, but against it.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
5. CPAC: Not Quite Like the Media Matters Communications Room. But Still, Grow Up.
Stephen Glass was a fabulist. He made up stories and eventually he was caught. I read somewhere he wants to be a lawyer now, but his contrition is in doubt.
One of the things he made up was a story on CPAC. He may have made it up, but I think he got it right nonetheless.
After RedState got started in July of 2004, blogging on the right became all the rage, though it was correlation and not causation. By 2005, CPAC had a Bloggers Row and I went for my first time. The event was held that year at the Reagan Center in Washington, D.C. Most of the attendees stayed across the street at the JW Marriott. It was not an ideal venue, but it was my first time and I did not know better.
Being the good, intrepid blogger, I ran across the street to a CVS to buy a notepad, having left mine in my office back in Macon, GA. There in line were a half dozen young men, each with CPAC credentials around their necks and each buying condoms.
February 14, 2012
Budget Busting and Big Sugar #EERS
I'm live all three hours tonight on WSB. I'll delve into President Obama's budget, go after Big Sugar, and take on the feds fining parents for serving turkey sandwiches to their kids. Seriously.
You can listen live right here on WSB's live stream and call in at 1-800-WSB-TALK or 404-872-0750.
I'll be broadcasting live from 6:05 pm ET to 9pm.
Consider this an open thread.
The Competitive Disadvantage of Principle
If you have not read it, this is a fascinating article in the New York Times. The crux of the article is the title — even critics of the safety net increasingly depend on it.
The article profiles a number of people who take advantage of the federal social safety net and are increasingly resentful of it. The solutions on fixing it vary. The angry, for some, may or may not be misplaced. The article reads as a Rorschach test on your ideology — liberals will read it and find the people hypocritical. Conservatives will read it and find it all maddening.
The key paragraphs of the whole article comes toward the beginning:
The government safety net was created to keep Americans from abject poverty, but the poorest households no longer receive a majority of government benefits. A secondary mission has gradually become primary: maintaining the middle class from childhood through retirement. The share of benefits flowing to the least affluent households, the bottom fifth, has declined from 54 percent in 1979 to 36 percent in 2007, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis published last year.
And as more middle-class families … land in the safety net …, anger at the government has increased alongside. Many people say they are angry because the government is wasting money and giving money to people who do not deserve it. But more than that, they say they want to reduce the role of government in their own lives. They are frustrated that they need help, feel guilty for taking it and resent the government for providing it. They say they want less help for themselves; less help in caring for relatives; less assistance when they reach old age. [Emphasis added]
In other words, the United States is increasingly taxing the middle class to subsidize the middle class. All the talk about the poor and what the safety net is designed to do for the poor overlooks that the government has taken it upon itself to keep the middle class from falling into the poorer classes of society.
It reminds me of this Robert Heinlein quote:
"Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty. This is known as 'bad luck.'"
We seem to be on the cusp of that in this country and the middle class realizes what is happening. The creators in the country who come up with the ideas, take the risks to capital and reputation, and possibly get ahead are more and more being labeled the bad guys. But there is more to it than that. The middle class is coming to terms with the idea that upholding its principles will put it at a competitive disadvantage and they are seething about it.
It is a long held principle in this country that the individual is supreme above the collective and the government. Tied to that is the principle espoused by Abraham Lincoln back in Kalamazoo, MI back in 1856, that in this country, unlike so many others, "every man can make himself." It is less and less true.
More and more, the Middle Class has become dependent on the federal social safety net. It was a slow and creeping dependence the Middle Class did not recognize until it was too late. Now suddenly their principles have come into conflict with their lifestyle.
The Middle Class believes that with hard work it can move up the ranks of society. It is not content to and does not expect to stay in the Middle Class. At the same time, the Middle Class recognizes its current dependency. It also recognizes that if it does break through it will be despised by government. Even more troubling, it does not know how to break through. Due to lobbyists, regulators, and legislators, the process of inventiveness and creativity has been shut down.
The tax code and regulatory structure are too complex for a small businessman to become a big businessman. Major corporations have, through carving up the patent laws to suit themselves, made it impossible for a small business to compete creatively without running afoul of a process or software patent that never should have existed. The entire nature of the tax code for small businesses is designed to prevent capital formation and growth. A sub S corporation faces a Hobson's choice at year end, and forming a sub C carries so many compliance costs it staggers the mind. A large company or one with angels can afford this game; the average small business cannot.
In short, individuals in the Middle Class recognize that if they cut the strings on the safety net underneath them and take their own risks to make their way in the world, they are putting their own family at a competitive disadvantage to their neighbors who refuse to cut the strings. The government has forced the Middle Class to put the livelihood of its families ahead of its principles. That is where the resentment comes from.
We see this everyday. We see this in the New York Times article. Should someone dare to suggest that student loans are driving up the cost of higher education — an economic fact — someone will attack the person for having taken student loans. When someone laments paying out 99 weeks of unemployment, they too will be attacked if ever they took social security disability, unemployment benefits, or the like. And when the person rebuts that they had to do it so as not to fall behind in a world turned upside down by the government, their complaints will fall on deaf ears by the conformists who embraced their federal masters.
A stable society depends on a stable Middle Class. A subsidized Middle Class is inherently unstable. When the really rich and the really poor are upset, rarely does the society apple cart itself get upset or overturned. But when the Middle Class is upset, you can bet the apple cart will be overturned. And in Washington, DC, neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are offering policies to put the Middle Class back in ownership of their own lives.
The resentment will continue until it boils over or changes are made to put the social order back as it was intended — using the social safety net to help the poor, not subsidize the Middle Class.
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