Tag Archives: Republicans

Private Campaign Donations

Posted on October 23, 2011 | Leave a comment

I know that the Left doesn’t like the ruling that allows corporations to donate to campaigns.  Or, perhaps more importantly, actively campaign for the candidate of choice.  The granting of free speech rights to corporations does seem, in some ways, a bit silly.

Further, I resonate with those who feel that massive corporations can impact a campaign in a way and manner that can seem, how to say, unfair.  And in many ways, this political donating is similar to how I feel about unions.  The individual members of the union, or the workers/shareholders of a corporation may not WANT their money going to candidate A or to party B.

But I don’t know how to fix it.

I know that individuals are limited in the amount of money they can contribute to a candidate.  But after that, if an individual wants to spend private money to purchase air time on the radio in support of a candidate, she can, right?

I think so.  Even if it means that this woman can donate massive amounts of money to Minnesota Democrats:

For more than 30 years, one of the most influential charitable and political donors in Minnesota has been a woman passionate about issues but guarded about her privacy.

Alida Messinger, an heir to the fabled Rockefeller fortune, has quietly given at least $10 million to candidates and causes over the past decade. Some recent gifts have been extraordinary: $500,000 to a group that last year backed her former husband, Mark Dayton, for governor. And before that, $1 million to help bankroll the ballot campaign for the Legacy amendment, which raised the state sales tax to create 25 years of new funding for conservation and cultural projects.

Now, Messinger is preparing for a new showdown that will be expensive, contentious and, for the first time, public.

She is vowing to do all she can to help the DFL regain control of the Legislature and get President Obama re-elected. Her millions could also become a force in the fight over the constitutional amendment on the ballot next year to define marriage as a union of man and woman — not gay couples. Messinger, 62, contends GOP politicians are harming Minnesota. “We are not a quality-of-life state anymore,” she said. “Citizens need to get involved and say we don’t like what you are doing to our state.”

A single citizen, full of money, is helping to shape the political climate of a state.  Going so far as to elect her ex-husband to the Governor’s mansion.  And that’s not all of it.  Part of her giving, $500,000, went to a GROUP that worked to elect the good governor.

I don’t like it when a single individual can influence politics that much.  I suspect that much of my chagrin this afternoon has to do with the fact that Ms. Messinger donates to Democrats.  But I get that for ever rich Messinger, there is a rich Koch, or two.  For every Steve Jobs, there is a rich….well, a rich Republican.  I get that.

And maybe just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s not capital “R” Right.

Leave a comment

Posted in Elections 2012, Government, Politics: National

Tagged , ,

This Is Obama’s Economy

Posted on October 23, 2011 | Leave a comment

Let’s see if Obama can let the Republicans craft policy in the same way that Bill Clinton let the Republicans in his day:

(Reuters) – The United States will likely suffer the loss of its triple-A credit rating from another major rating agency by the end of this year due to concerns over the deficit, Bank of America Merrill Lynch forecasts.

The trigger would be a likely failure by Congress to agree on a credible long-term plan to cut the U.S. deficit, the bank said in a research note published on Friday.

A second downgrade — either from Moody’s or Fitch — would follow Standard & Poor’s downgrade in August on concerns about the government’s budget deficit and rising debt burden. A second loss of the country’s top credit rating would be an additional blow to the sluggish U.S. economy, Merrill said.

“The credit rating agencies have strongly suggested that further rating cuts are likely if Congress does not come up with a credible long-run plan” to cut the deficit, Merrill’s North American economist, Ethan Harris, wrote in the report.

Everyone knows that the Republican Congress has passed job creating bill after job creating bill only to have Harry Reid kill it in the Senate.  Obama’s job bill was defeated by Democrats and then Senate Democrats supported the Republican version.  And this was after Obama’s first shot at a jobs bill was defeated 99-zip.

This is Obama’s economy.

Leave a comment

Posted in Economy, Government

Tagged , , ,

Obama and Reagan: Tax Millionaires

Posted on October 4, 2011 | 9 comments

Because I think that the debate over taxes has been going on for a long time, and while continue to go on through the election, we should take a break and chuckle:

Even though this pokes fun at my side, I enjoy a good laugh just as much as the next guy.

But let’s be very clear here as well.  There is simply no reasonable argument that can be made that we have a revenue issue that’s contributing to our nation’s debt.  The problem always has and always will be spending.

Further, the idea that Reagan and Obama share the same economic philosophy is laughable.  Even more so than that cute clever video.  Reagan believed in less government.  He felt that government could not and never could, be the solution.  It was government that WAS the problem.  Obama?  Well, he feels very different.  The more that government gets involved, the better off the people of this nation will be is center to Obama’s thinking.

We simply disagree.  And we can’t compromise on that.  How do you compromise with someone who wants to rob your house?  Is it a moral victory to let him “only take” your TV while you get to keep the rest of your property?

No.

Last, the House Republicans led by the fiscal conservatives are doing yeoman’s work.  Obama and the Democrats know that they have no chance what-so-ever of passing nonsense through the House.  So the aren’t even trying.  The bills they craft are being written in such a way that they HOPE they get through.  If the House were less conservative, Obama’s bill would be even worse than they are today.  But, BUT, I feel my comrades are making two critical errors:

  1. Refusing to add revenue simply on principle.
  2. Missing the opportunity to “cash out”.

First, if we can raise revenue without raising rates simply by making the code easier and removing crazy-ass “loopholes”, DO IT!  For gawd’s sake man, take “W”.

Second, i was very distressed to see all Republican candidates raise their hand during one of the debates when asked if the would reject a plan that had 10-1 spending to tax ratios.  Dude, take the flippin’ deal and push away from the table.  Especially if these guys are offering up Social Security and Medi-X.  In fact, if they let me reform either or both of those programs I’d give on taxes in a second.

Anyway.  Enjoy Obama quoting Reagan!

9 Comments

Posted in Debt - Deficit, Government, Politics: National

Tagged , , , , , ,

The Impact Of New York’s House Election

Posted on September 15, 2011 | Leave a comment

After Weiner was “caught” exposing his private self in public, New York had a special election to replace him.  Here is some commentary:

In what can be taken as a referendum on Barack Obama, Republican Bob Turner  picked up a Democratic seat in New York thanks in part to his ability to attach Democratic candidate David Weprin to the President’s handling of the economy.

…

Although observers warn against looking too much at the special election as a bellwether for 2012, Republicans were quick to tout the win as a referendum on the President’s jobs agenda.

“Bob Turner’s victory tonight is a tribute to Republicans commitment to preserve and strengthen the middle class, create jobs, and grow our economy. And it sends a clear message that will echo nationwide: Democrats will be held accountable for their vote to pass the President’s jobs bill,” House Speaker John Boehner, R-OH., said in a statement.

Republican Congressional Campaign Committee chairman Steve Israel sent a similar warning message to Republicans.

“Today, the Democrat’s plan to begin a new round of stimulus cost  $3.4 million and a seat in Congress. And this is only the first seat,” Israel, D-N.Y., said in a statement. “We served notice to the Democrats that we will fight them anywhere in America when it comes to defending and strengthening American’s.”

Interesting huh?  One election and the Republicans are talking all that.  But check it out.  THAT isn’t the language of the election in New York this past Tuesday.  THAT is the report from the press back when the Democrats took the Republican seat back in May.

This is one seat in one state that is likely to go away soon.  However the news may be overstated by the Republicans, in no WAY can tis be considered good news for the Democrats.

 

 

Leave a comment

Posted in Elections 2012, Politics: National

Tagged , ,

Moderate

Posted on September 5, 2011 | 1 comment

There’s been much talk in the last few days weeks months years about the need to compromise.  To reach out, walk the aisle and find partners in diplomacy in order to strike a deal, pass legislation. And I think, to a large degree, that such sentiments are noble and admirable.  In the end, a compromise or coming together, where both sides can walk away and succeed in front of their “bosses” is, or should be, the goal.

Much of what I do in my job is such positioning, or compromising.  There are certain jobs that have to be done, some that don’t of course, and they must be done, or sunset, by a certain group of people.  Often times, the group that SHOULD be doing the work doesn’t WANNA do the work.  Or, the converse is true as well, the organizations that own the work today don’t wanna give it up.  Either way, two divergent thoughts about how to get the thing done.  Only in rare circumstances do I advocate for a total power play.  Most often I urge an agreement that will allow both managers to succeed in front of their boss.

Politics should be no different.

However, it assumes that both players are moderates.  That they don’t have the dogma associated with the zealot.  Faced with conflicting ideas and paths toward success, they feel sure that the “other guy” has the same goal in mind.

Today, that is not the case.  We are dealing with a different kind of conflict today.  We’re debating the very essence of how our government should be organized.  We are NOT debating about how we are going to run an agreed upon government.

On one side, you have a group of people who feel as free and as open a market is best suited to bring about prosperity to a nation as a whole.  On the other, you find a group f of people who feel that by taking more and more of another’s property is the best way to bring about prosperity as a whole.

This is not a debate about a middle ground, this is a debate about which form we wanna live under.

Ayn Rand said it best:

There can be no compromise between a property owner and a burglar; offering the burglar a single teaspoon of one’s silverware would not be a compromise, but a total surrender—the recognition of his right to one’s property.

I can’t compromise with today’s Democrats when it comes to their larger world view.  It has come down to what system of government we will agree to abide by.

1 Comment

Posted in Diplomacy, Government, Liberty, Politics: National

Tagged , ,

What The?

Posted on August 23, 2011 | Leave a comment

You have to win to govern.  And winning vs. losing in political races is a zero sum game.  When your opponent gets more votes, you lose and he wins.  This creates a situation where elected officials want to “win” the vote as much, or more, than they want to “win” the debate.

I get it, but this still sucks:

WASHINGTON — Congressional Republicans are so anti-tax, surely they will fight to prevent a payroll-tax increase on virtually every wage earner starting Jan. 1, right?

Apparently not.

They’re saying a tax cut should end as planned, opposing President Obama, who wants to extend it. The policy helps the 46 percent of all Americans who owe no federal income taxes but who pay a “payroll tax” on practically every dime they earn.

Huh?

Surly they can explain themselves?

Tax reductions, “no matter how well-intended,” will push the deficit higher, making the panel’s task that much harder, Camp’s office said.

Nope.  They can’t.

I may give this whole thing up and just go watch some baseball.

Leave a comment

Posted in Economy, Elections 2012, Government, Politics: National, Republicans Can Be Leftists Too

Tagged , ,

That Whole Squeaky Wheel Thing?

Posted on August 15, 2011 | Leave a comment

As a general rule I try to listen to what people say with a degree of open-mindedness.  IN my line of work, I hear all kids of reasons for things gone wrong and even more for why they can’t get fixed.

All day, every day.

And, in truth, many of those folks are right.  Or mostly right.  Or maybe just kinda right.

Every once in awhile I find someone who is NEVER right and I disregard what they say out of hand.  The Reverend Barber and the North Carolina NAACP are that guy.

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina’s NAACP chapter says it will fight the General Assembly’s plan to redraw legislative and congressional boundaries in court and within the Obama administration.

The Rev. William Barber said Monday the group is ramping up to challenge the maps drawn by the first Republican-led Legislature since the 1870s.

The first map drawn by Republicans since the 1870s.  Can you imagine how gerrymandered that map is today; only in favor of the Democrats?  Can you imagine a scenario where that map ISN’T gonna look different than the Democrat’s map?  One that has had the advantage of being refined over 141 years?

It’s become so bad that I’m not convinced proper legislation has been passed unless and until Reverend Barber complains.  Then I KNOW it’s right!

Leave a comment

Posted in Politics: North Carolina, Race

Tagged , , ,

Wisconsin Election Results

Posted on August 10, 2011 | Leave a comment

The Wisconsin Senate is made up of 33 members.  This morning the sun shone on 19 Republicans and 14 Democrats.  A solid majority for the Republicans.

However, because Democrats are upset that properly elected Senators passed a bill that was also passed by properly elected Congressman which was then signed into law by properly elected Governors, they are forcing, and have indeed, forced, a recall election for 6 of those 19 Republican seats.

For the Democrats to emerge victorious, they must defeat 3 incumbent Republicans.  This would be a 6 seat turn around giving the cry babies, sorry, sore losers, ahem, Democrats a razor thin majority; 16-17.

Those who remember the Prosser election with sadness are destined to be sad again.  Going into the final race, the Republicans were “winning” 3-2.  But a tie goes to the losers, ahem, Democrats.  So they need to win 4 out of 6.  And the last Democrat was ahead by 2,000 votes.

However, there is no joy in Mudville as only 1 f 11 Waukesha precincts reported.  This is the Waukesha that broke for Prosser 73% to 27%.  And guess what, glory be to the gods, ‘ol Waukesha stood and delivered!  They cared for the Republican 66% to 34%.

And to think, two more Democrats will face recall elections for their actions in running away from the office they swore to serve.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in Government, Politics: National, States Behaving Badly

Tagged , ,

Boehner’s Speech: What He Did Say – July 25, 2011

Posted on July 25, 2011 | 9 comments

Well, just finished watching and listening to John Boehner.

Yeah, any good will established by Obama in trying to give the Speaker of the House props for being willing to work with the Democrats is out the window.  John Boehner came out swinging and he didn’t let up.  Almost with a vengeance the Speaker took Obama to task going back to January and the President’s request for more money.  And this after sending America on the largest spending binge of all time.  While I think he’s right, I’m not sure that the approach the Republicans just took is the wise one.

Where Obama made the case that we all need to agree to get along, Boehner went right at the President.  Where Obama looked to build a coalition with the Speaker, Mr. Boehner attacked the President for his priorities and his tactics in the debt talks to date.  Further, by appearing so dug in, the Republican may have set himself up for a situation that he can’t win.  A long time ago I learned that to be successful, you have to create a situation where your opponent can retreat or compromise in honor.  I’m afraid that Mr. Speaker has removed that option from the table.  I can see many things being thrown at the TV in the Democrat Head Quarters.

This is not to say That I don’t agree with the Republicans.  We DO spend too much.  We DO waste money.  Obama DOES negotiate in bad faith.  I know Obama is not a centrist but rather an over-matched Leftist Statist.  However, tonight, America was watching, not just us political junkies.  And America wants compromise more than they want ideology.

Either way, tonight set the die.  How it impacts the debate and the 2012 elections will, of course, remain to be seen.

9 Comments

Posted in Diplomacy, Government, Politics: National

Tagged , , , , ,

Obama’s Speech: What He Did Say – July 25, 2011

Posted on July 25, 2011 | 5 comments

I’ll be a son of a bitch!  President Obama reads TarHeel Red!

In spelling out what Barack Obama SHOULD say I neatly laid out Obama’s speech for him and he delivered what I think was a very strong message; a very good speech.

Obama DID talk about the battle in Washington.  He did bring into play the question that each side would have to give and compromise.  And he did it while sounding Presidential.

Kudos Mr. President, well done.

Further, I predicted that Mr. Obama would bring up the fact that much of the problems we’re faced with today are the result of Dubya and his policies.  I mentioned that he wouldn’t blame Bush directly, but rather use the code phrase “of the last decade”.  Imagine my excitement as I was proven right within the first 90 seconds.  However, much to his credit, he only ever touched on Bush 2 more time, so I fell short of my “at least 4 times” prediction.  Obama took a shot at Bush giving him credit along the lines of Reagan, Clinton and himself; Obama.  Further, there was a shot when Obama listed the troubles that brought us to this position included tax cuts to the wealthy, 2 wars and a Medicare Part D program.

In describing the talks, Obama made the point that it was himself that compromised and agreed to a path forward that was not popular within his party.  And he did call out Republicans for failing to give ground.  So, while he didn’t credit Democrats [that honor was reserved for him] he also didn’t accuse the Republicans of “leaving him at the altar” as I suggested.

Further, I did say that Obama would mention the strategy Republicans have taken in pushing this debate out only 6 months.  And he did.  But I also said that Obama deride this as politics and blast the “two tiered approach”.  And he didn’t.  Rather, he made well-reasoned arguments against such a strategy; arguments that I tend to agree with.

Finally, I had thought Obama would take advantage of the fact that Democrats were willing to stipulate that there would be no tax increases in the plan.  That in exchange for an extension past the election, they were willing to give on those increases.  I was wrong; Obama made it clear he expects the wealthy to “pay their fair share”.

In fact, I thought the constant “we-they” warfare was a touch over the top.  He again brought oil companies, hedge fund managers and jet owners into the conversation.  He mentioned that those who have benefited the most in the past decade [a nifty wink at Dubya that even I didn’t score against him] shouldn’t be exempt from bearing part of the burden.

However underscored the class warfare argument was, it was overshadowed by some pretty strong points made by the President.  I thought his best moment was when he descried the voters who elected both himself and the House Republicans into office.  His comment that:

They’re offended by that.

Was especially on target and scored several points.  Further, Obama was strong when he mentioned that as recently as 2000 we had budget surpluses, that we need to act in a bi-partisan manner and that both parties need to shape up.  People are, after all, bone tired and are fed up with this three-ring circus.

On one hand, I’m excited that our President delivered a strong speech more leader like than I expected.  I’m humbled some that I was so wrong, but that is tempered by the fact that it’s now clear Obama not only reads my little rantings, but takes them to heart!

😉

5 Comments

Posted in Diplomacy, Government, Politics: National

Tagged , , , ,