America Sold Down the River Again With the Debt Ceiling Vote

Do you find yourself humming that tune? “I don’t know why, I don’t understand how you sold me down the river...” If so, I hope that you learned your political lesson. If anyone is shocked by the results of the debt ceiling vote, then they have much to learn.

After weeks of the dog and pony show coupled by horrendous acting, America ends up with a bill that increases spending and adds to the debt. Surprise, surprise! I only wish that the dreadful drama would cease. Now, we have Democrats saying this bill is far too extreme because it “cuts” too much, Republicans are good little stooges for “compromising;” and the tea party is destroying America by putting too much pressure on “moderate” Republicans. Shall we translate this nonsense? All right then…

Let’s begin with the tea party because they play the largest role in this charade. I’ve said time and time again that those who TRULY want to see government’s stranglehold on the economy diminish, it will NOT be accomplished through the Republican Party. It’s no surprise that “establishment” Republicans such as Eric Cantor and Mitch McConnell voted for this turkey, but a good number of so called tea party members also voted in favor. Shall we examine presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann’s caucus for a sample? Of the 60, a whopping 32 of them (including the beloved Allen West) voted in favor; and these are just members of Bachmann’s caucus! Other tea party favorites such as Paul Ryan voted in favor as well. I’m not sure what Democrats fear because the majority of the tea party is on their side; however, it’s important to dupe the voting masses into believing they are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Calling them terrorists fits the bill!

Now, we’ll sift through the pure nonsense from leftists like Paul Krugman and Democrats who voted against this bill because the spending cuts are too deep. First of all, this bill doesn’t cut spending. What it does do is cut money that HASN’T been spent yet. For example, if the U.S. plans to add $10 trillion to the debt over the next decade, the “spending cuts” in place will only allow $7.5 trillion dollars to be added to the debt. This does not even come close to satisfying credit agencies, which is what all of the fuss was over in the first place. In order for the U.S. to maintain its triple-A rating, $4 trillion must be trimmed from the deficit according to Standard & Poors.

Welcome to leftist math! Harsh spending cuts come from cutting a silver lining off of spending INCREASES! Put simply; imagine if your spouse tells you that he/she has saved the household $250,000. When you ask how so, he/she tells you that buying a Ferrari next year won’t happen, so can we borrow more money now for that vacation in Aspen? Yes, it’s just that simple folks.

The new bill only addresses cuts in discretionary spending, and worse, the bulk of these cuts are pushed back towards the latter part of the decade. In other words, no cuts will take place until after the 2012 election. How convenient! Also, this “committee” could change hands over the years, which means that any of the proposed spending cuts can be rendered null and void by a different Congress. Therefore, when the American people throw the Republicans out and re-elect Democrats for more “hope and change,” they can revise this bill. If that’s not enough, there have been SEVENTEEN bipartisan committees since 1982 assigned to reduce spending. All seventeen have failed, obviously. What makes anyone think the 18th will succeed?

In addition, discretionary spending is NOT the problem. Entitlements, defense spending and spending for all of these “emergencies” that arise ARE the problem! There are no provisions in this bill that even try to establish limits in these areas.

After all the smoke is cleared; and after all of the “tough talk” by the GOP that fooled so many, this is what we wind up with – barely a 20 percent cut to INCREASES in spending! I love bipartisanship; don’t you? The sad thing is that time is running out for lawmakers to kick the can down the road. How much longer are you going to watch lawmakers contribute to the demise of the U.S. economy? Arguing over whether or not this explosion will hit in 5 or 20 years is completely irrelevant. Who cares how far down the road the end of the cliff is?! Are we going to keep on driving towards it?

Rally to Restore Reality

The day after President Obama was elected, I told advocates of the principles of limited government not to despair; as Obama would make the best case for the cause in decades. More (but not nearly enough) people are becoming very attuned to economic policy, but that tends to happen when one in ten people are out of work and the grave threat of our debt exceeding GDP is now a mathematical certainty. Too bad it had to get to this point.

Last night’s elections were historic. Washington has a lot of energetic new faces who have vowed to restore fiscal sanity. I extend major congratulations to Rand Paul of Kentucky, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Marco Rubio of Florida and Nikki Haley of South Carolina. And now for the buzz kill…

History serves an important purpose. If we wish to know where we are going, let’s remember where we’ve been. Once upon a time, it was 1994. A much younger, naïve and idealistic “me” enjoyed the left-wing media drowning in their tears over the election results. For the first time in four decades, Republicans won control over both houses of Congress and had a commanding gubernatorial majority. Who can forget the disenchanted faces of Peter Jennings and Cokie Roberts? Let’s take a twenty minute journey back to 1994…

ABC News Election Coverage - Part 1

It will be interesting to see if Obama’s speech today will mirror former President Clinton’s. Clinton took some of the blame for the defeat, but quickly noted that the results were not a vote against policies. People were simply fed up with the process and feuding in Washington. My money is on Obama repeating most of the tenants of this speech verbatim, along with a reminder for people to continue to be patient with “hope and change.” (Anyone recognize Fox’s Britt Hume reporting in the video?)

The results of 1994 about mirrored last night’s results, as several of the same states had GOP gains.

ABC News Election Coverage - Part 2

This video is worth the watch, as we see a newly elected George W. Bush as Governor of Texas, who ironically asked the federal government to “leave Texas alone.” Too bad he didn’t subscribe to that position as President. Cokie Roberts was quick to point out her opposition to a balanced budget amendment, as she wondered if newly elected GOP governors would give up the siphon of federal funds. Fair and balanced journalism at its best!

Before we warp back to the present, who could forget Rush Limbaugh’s television show?

The Day After: “Thanks for the Memories”

I certainly won’t miss Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House, or any of the other “comrades” who were sent packing last night, but now it’s time to get serious …

History has indeed repeated itself. Unfortunately, it is very likely that the ugly part of this history will repeat – the reality that the GOP will fail to deliver just as it did in 1994. Remember the Contract with America? Look at the empty promises for yourselves. Who would have thought at the time that the 104th Congress would have helped Bill Clinton and prominent Democrats devise an asset bubble that would bring the economy to its knees in 2008? Mr. Newt Gingrich was hired as a top consultant to Freddie Mac. Don’t believe me? Allow me to put you on the path.

I referred to myself as being idealistic and naïve in 1994; however, in my shameful defense, at least the 1994 Republicans had a better selling product. The current GOP Pledge is very weak and full of holes, as I pointed out in my recent column. This is largely due to the fact that the establishment leadership survived the brunt of last night’s attack. In 1994, Democratic Speaker of the House, Tom Foley, actually lost his seat. At the time, 134 years passed since a sitting Speaker had lost their seat in an election. However, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid (thanks to Sharron Angle shifting the focus OFF the economy) will still be alive and well in Congress although the larger problem lies with establishment Republicans.

John Boehner will presumably take Pelosi’s place as Speaker of the House. However, how can the public be confident in a man to be fiscally responsible whose voting record reeks of fiscal irresponsibility? Let us not forget Boehner’s overwhelming support for the bailouts and TARP.

I believe Boehner’s drunken, emotional speech last night will give Saturday Night Live plenty of much needed comedic material; but the following speech is no laughing matter for those deeply concerned about the country’s economic woes.

Boehner’s Bailout Rally Cry

There he was in 2008 begging for support on the bailout bill - an “imperfect product” by his own admission. Rather than dazzle his listeners with economic know how (which is obviously absent) he suggests that a “mud sandwich” will save the economy. He really believed he put “America first” by pledging support for this bill. Am I supposed to be excited about his recent promotion and confident that he will put the country on the right fiscal path? Give me a break.

Hopefully, the history I have provided here will jog the memories of those who were dancing in the streets last night looking just as foolish as the “Obamabots” did in 2008. Some inroads have been made, but we need to see a lot more before I’ll be sipping champagne. While I’m excited about the victorious candidates I mentioned earlier; at the same time, I’m deeply concerned that their efforts will either be blocked by the establishment or they will BECOME the establishment. However, if these dedicated folks follow the current path of New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie, it will be possible for America to be put back on the path to prosperity. Christie has shown it can be done, even in the most impossible areas. Their success will give way to more like-minded candidates in 2012, but their task will not be easy.

If the GOP is to gain any kind of steam, then their members need the political courage to have an adult conversation of the following nature with the American public. It begins with a revelation that the entitlement days are over, which includes but is not limited to the following:

• Raising the retirement age for social security as well as introducing private investment options
• Discontinue extending unemployment benefits, as it RAISES hiring costs
• Eliminate thousands of government jobs and modify government employee retirement plans to emulate a defined contribution plan
• Require federal and state governments to balance their budgets
• Enact REAL healthcare reform, which goes far beyond the repeal of Obamacare. Americans need to be told that insurance as access to healthcare is severely flawed and is directly responsible for costs spiraling out of control. Reducing the role of insurance companies through high-deductible plans along with tort reform are the places to begin.
• Eliminate the current severely progressive income tax in favor of the Fair Tax. The days of punishing success, innovation and investment need to come to an end.

Who can honestly say that they are confident in the GOP to bring forth this message? Most of these measures are not even listed in their “Pledge.” Who will have to political guts to tell people out of work that their unemployment benefits are being cut off, that they need to pay for their OWN healthcare and work LONGER before they receive any social security benefits? (Anyone follow France’s news lately?) Who has the economic knowledge to ward off the predictable leftist backlash, when they chant their tired, silly rants such as “tax cuts for the wealthy,” and “people will die in the street?”

Do people know and fully understand what needs to be done? Will all who claim that they want the size of government shrunk and entitlements reformed continue to hold this view if it affects them personally? Can the government worker, who voted to eliminate their own job, really understand that their skills can be better used in the private sector; or will they regret their vote? Does the CPA understand that there is more to life than the tax code if they lose their job explaining the tax code to people? How about all of you in the financial sector who are making a fine living off of complex, job inhibiting government regulations – are you ready for a different job description? There are a vast number of people who have relied on big government to make their living, many of whom don’t even realize this reality. Are we ready for REAL change, or do we get scared when this change affects us directly? Are we as a country done eroding our liberties by running to the government for safety in uncertain times; and worse, RELYING on the government to provide economic prosperity? The latter is something the government will NEVER be able to do, as the opposite occurs in each instance it tries. Yet it doesn’t stop elected officials from talking about how they will “create” jobs with their magic wand.

When I am convinced that most of the country will answer “yes,” without a shadow of a doubt, to the aforementioned questions, then I’ll have something to celebrate. More people have begun to open their eyes, as I predicted in 2008, but we are not yet there as a society. Until then, I’m afraid that the efforts of our new, energetic faces will not be enough to overthrow the status quo. The voices of our select few will be overshadowed by the words “work together,” “compromise,” “avoid gridlock” – the very words that got Republicans in so much trouble the last time around. I’m afraid the GOP still doesn’t get it and perhaps never will…

Defending the Indefensible – Bob Etheridge Assaults Student

Over the weekend, a group of students confronted North Carolina Congressman, Bob Etheridge (Democrat – Lillington), regarding the Obama agenda. He asked the group of students who they were, and before they could realistically respond, the Congressman assaulted one of the students.

Watch Video Here

It would be reasonable for one to think that an incident as serious as this would be above partisan politics, but sadly it is not. Although the Congressman did apologize for his absurd behavior, there are several Democrats who are defending his actions. Etheridge issued the following statement:

“I have seen the video posted on several blogs. I deeply and profoundly regret my reaction and I apologize to all involved. Throughout my many years of service to the people of North Carolina, I have always tried to treat people from all viewpoints with respect. No matter how intrusive and partisan our politics can become, this does not justify a poor response. I have and I will always work to promote a civil public discourse.”

It would have been smart for Democrats to leave it alone after the Congressman apologized, but instead DNC spokesman, Brad Woodhouse, said: “Motives matter, and I think you can see who was behind this." "This was a Republican party tracking operation. “If it wasn't a party tracker or intern, why is the face blurred and why is the source hidden?”

In addition, a national Democratic Party official e-mailed around a set of talking points, under the subject heading, "Etheridge Gotcha Video Background."

1. There is always the part of the story that you can’t see in these gotcha style videos — what were these folks doing, how did they approach him, how were the cameraman and/or others off camera acting?
2. Why would any legitimate student doing a project or a journalist shagging a story not identify themselves? Motives matter — what was the motivation here? To incite this very type of reaction?
3. This is clearly the work of the Republican Party and the “interviewer” is clearly a low level staffer or intern. That’s what explains blurring the face of the “interviewer” and refusing to identify the entity this was done for. The Republicans know if they were caught engaging in this type of gotcha tactic it would undermine their own credibility — yet if it was an individual acting on his own there is no reason that person would have blurred themselves out of the video — and if it was the work of a right wing blog they would have their logo on the video and be shouting their involvement from the roof top.
4. This was a purposefully partisan hit job designed to incite a reaction for political reasons — but it is a tactic so low — the parties involved are remaining anonymous.
5. The fact that no one wants to take credit for this should raise real questions in the minds of voters and the press.
6. Push hard w/ blogs the lack of credibility inherent to anything Breitbart does/posts, given its role in the debunked ACORN videos.

Are these people SERIOUS? There is so much wrong with this, one would have difficulty finding a starting point, but we’ll make an attempt. First, why would the student identify himself? If “Joe the Plumber’s” fifteen minutes of fame gone bad doesn’t give you a clue, then you’ve been too far removed from the political arena to continue reading. It’s safe to say that the folks running the Republican Party may not be the sharpest tools in the shed, but I’m certain they can devise a better “hatchet” job than this student popping the million dollar “gotcha” question “Do you fully support the Obama Agenda?” They must have spent weeks coming up with that one…

Second, it is completely irrelevant what these kids’ motives were, who they were, and if they were part of a group with a political agenda. So what if they were? It doesn’t matter if they devised this wicked little scheme up on Friday night; regardless, they have a right to QUESTION an ELECTED OFFICIAL. They did so in a manner that was not threatening to Etheridge. They approached him politely, and asked a very simple question. Etheridge assaulted the student when he posed absolutely no threat. To be clear, Etheridge did have the right to ask the students to identify themselves, and it was his right to decline an interview; however, he had no right whatsoever to break the law. Why is it that elected officials feel they are above the law? Any civilian could be arrested for this type of behavior.

Lastly, and most important, is the fact that any defense of Etheridge’s behavior is a move against free speech, and the FREEDOM to question the people who work for the citizens of this country. If people are not allowed to politely question their elected officials, then this is a country without freedom, and those in Congress are rulers instead of representatives elected to carry out the people’s business. Why can no one question not only the Obama Administration, but folks in Congress who staunchly approve of the Administration’s agenda? From the continual nonsensical bashing of FOX News to the attempts to denigrate any writer or organization that disagrees with this Administration smacks of the very ideology that they try so desperately to deny. Everyone who reads my columns on a regular basis knows I did not vote for George W. Bush for either of his terms, and while I spent eight years sharply criticizing his Administration – especially economic policies, I never saw these kinds of attempts to silence people regardless of how vile the attacks became. If this video of Etheridge doesn’t offend you, then you are part of the problem.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0610/Dems_defed_Etheridge_attack_Breitbart.html?showall

Michelle Called It

Scott Brown has sided with the Democratic jobs bill.

Not too along ago Michelle said:

November, 2010, poses one of the best opportunities in decades to get candidates in office who understand economics and will fight for free market principles. While I am thrilled to see people embracing these ideas and rejecting the current statist agenda and equally thrilled to see the Democrat machine take a hit in Massachusetts, I don’t want voters to lose sight of the long-term picture. Scott Brown is not the long-term solution we need to put America back on the path to prosperity.