Tag: Political Moves

A Hen In The FOX House

Flash:  Sarah Palin will join the FOX news network as a paid commentator (go figure!)

Sarah Palin, ex-VP candidate, will be giving her insights on a wide array of political topics for FOX News….since her failed VP candidacy and her resignation as governor of Alaska and then her successful book tour for her book, “Going Rogue”; there has been wild speculation on what she will do next to keep her mug and political capital in the news….

When announcing her move to FOX News she said:

“I am thrilled to be joining the great talent and management team at Fox News,’’ Palin said in a statement posted yesterday on the network’s website. “It’s wonderful to be part of a place that so values fair and balanced news.’’

Her move to FOX will help keep her brand of populism before the American people….but there will be some debate on the statement, “…fair and balanced news.”  But since populism is more about tapping into the anger and ignorance of the grassroots, then Palin will be an instant hit.

Viewers who do not believe Obama is an American or health reform will kill their grandmothers or war is good business will gravitate to her like moths to a light and she has chosen to align herself with a news organization that has a history of misreporting the news and seldom corrects the misconceptions that they report…..in that case…she has found the perfect place to voice her opinions and she and Huckabee can duke it out for the populist viewer…..

Yes…I am thrilled!  She should be a constant source for the anal statements that I post….Sarah,  I wish you good fortune at FOX and  your assistance is appreciated……

Finally, The Truth Comes Out

If you have been watching the drama on the Potomac then you have noticed that the GOP seems to be the party of “no”.  That is they will not get behind anything the president is attempting to do.  But they, the Repubs, say that it is not that they want him to fail, it is that they do not like his policies.  But absolutely nowhere do they offer anything as a plan B other than tax cuts.

So you think the GOP is trying to do the right thing for the country by opposing Obama at every turn?  But now, after I have been telling people that this is not about policies it is about politics.  And once again I have been proven right…and what a good feeling that is…..

GOP Rep. Patrick McHenry, a key player in helping craft the Republican message, has offered an unusually blunt description of the Republican strategy right now.

“We will lose on legislation. But we will win the message war every day, and every week, until November 2010,” said Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., an outspoken conservative who has participated on the GOP message teams. “Our goal is to bring down approval numbers for [Speaker Nancy] Pelosi and for House Democrats. That will take repetition. This is a marathon, not a sprint.”

McHenry’s spokesperson, Brock McCleary, says his boss is standing by the quote.

McHenry’s description of his party’s goal — to “bring down approval numbers” for Nancy Pelosi and House Dems — is being much talked about today among Congressional Dems. It’s likely that Dems will grab on to the quote today to bolster their charge that Congressional Republicans aren’t interested in playing a constructive role in governing and see their hope for political revival in the eventual failure of the Democratic majority’s policies.

There you are….it is politics…..the repubs have NOTHING constructive to add to the economic conversation, so they must be as destructive as they can and as obstructive as they can.  It is ALL about the 2010 election, nothing else.  The economy can fail completely, that will be acceptable to the GOP.  Why?  Will give them wins in 2010.

Hope you Repubs are proud of your party…because they care less for you and your family…..as long as they can return to power…they will sacrifice you and yours.  Happy now?

Random Thoughts

It has been a hectic couple of weeks and most of my notes have made it into posts but there is always something that will not make it.

1–Octomom has been offered 7 figures for the tape of the birth of the 8 puppies.

2–I read recently that some banks were charging large fees to cash unemployment checks.

3–Perpetual candidate, Alan Keyes has called Obama a “radical communist”.  He is a Repub that could explain his ignorance.

4–Blago to get 6 figures for a “kiss and tell”  book on his choices for the Obama seat in the Senate.

5–Blueprints for the president’s chopper, Marine One, has been found on a website in Iran.

6–The US is spending more money on AIG than it has on a war.

7–NBC polls shows that if people were given money by the government that they would save it, not spend it.

8–Obama’s plan for the housing crisis will assist 1 in 9 home owners…that is about 11% of the people with mortgages.

9–It is March and yet another Nicholas Cage movie.

10-The Iowa House has approved a bill changing the name of the Department of Elder Affairs. If the legislation is signed by Gov. Chet Culver, the agency will be known as the Department of Aging — or DOA.

Silliness just keeps getting deeper and deeper.

What Is Rush’s Role?

Does conservative talk show host, Rush Limbaugh have a part in the future of the GOP?  Or is he just a windbag that likes hearing the sound of his own voice?  Just what is his role in this comedy special?

Limbaugh in recent days has made no efforts to step out of the spotlight. He had a banner headline across the top of his Web site that read: “Hilarious: Democrat Party Launches Yet Another Anti-Rush Web site” and linked to the site.

And on Wednesday, Limbaugh challenged Obama to a verbal showdown, calling on him to visit his talk show for an “intelligent, open discussion” on issues like health care and taxes.

Limbaugh also accused the White House of orchestrating an attack on him, telling his listeners that the Obama team is demonizing the radio host since President George W. Bush left office.

There’s a reason White House aides have dubbed conservative radio ranter Rush Limbaugh the new face of the GOP – polls showed he’s a big, fat target of opportunity.

Only a tiny fraction of voters younger than 40 – 11% – have a positive view of the talk king, a survey James Carville and other Democratic advisers to President Obama took last fall found.

That – combined with Limbaugh’s more recent wish to see Obama “fail” – was all the White House needed to launch its coordinated campaign this week to cast Limbaugh as the hydra-headed leader of the temporarily headless GOP.

Why Is It Baby Boomers Fault?

I have listened to all the rhetoric of the problem that the so-called Baby boomers have caused and will cause any day now.  Think about it….the Boomers are the ones that made the middle class the strong entity that it use to be, it is not their fault that the rich have decised that it should destroy a whole class.  And now all the conservatives are worried that the retiring of the Boomers will cause yet more economic strife.  Gee….it is not the Boomers that worked their whole lives to have a descent retirement to have the government now tell them that they cannot.

But do not look now…it is the Boomers that are doing most of the suffering on Main Street.

However, there is one step that President Obama can take to boost the economy without going through Congress: He can reaffirm his support for Social Security and assure the baby boomers nearing retirement that he will not allow their benefits to be cut. If this huge cohort in their late 40s, 50s and early 60s knows that they can count on getting their promised benefits, they will feel more comfortable spending and supporting the economy at a time when it badly needs a boost.

Workers are likely to be especially fearful about the prospects of getting their Social Security benefits now, due to an all out assault on the program financed by billionaire banker Peter Peterson. Peterson has spent much of the last two decades trying to cut Social Security, Medicare, and other benefits for the elderly. He recently contributed a billion dollars to a foundation bearing his name that is primarily committed to this goal.
The idea of taking away Social Security benefits from baby boomers was always outrageous. After all, this is a generation that has paid into Social Security at the current 12.4 percent tax rate for almost their entire working life and will be forced to wait until age 66 or even 67 to get full benefits. Their average returns are projected to be lower than the generations that follow and far lower than the generations that preceded them.

If policy were responding to reality, then this massive redistribution from older generations to the young should cause the government to focus more attention on helping the elderly. But the agenda of Peter Peterson and his ilk never had anything to do with generational equity. The point was always to gut Social Security and Medicare. These programs stand out as key targets precisely because they are hugely effective and popular programs.

Before one jumps onto the Social Security bashing bandwagon…remember who put this country first on so many levels.

No Bailout From The House

In a symbolic vote, the House of Representatives voted Thursday against releasing the second half of the financial rescue money Congress allocated last fall.

The Senate already approved the release of the $350 billion before President Obama was sworn into office, making a House vote unnecessary.

But the House voted 270-to-155 to withhold the funding.

Many lawmakers had raised objections to freeing the second half of the $700 billion fund because the Treasury Department was unable to explain how it decided to use the first half or document how it was spent.

Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., offered a “motion of disapproval” to prevent the government from spending the money. Members had to vote in favor of Foxx’s motion in order to oppose putting the funds in the pipeline.

Though the House had no power to withhold the money following the Senate vote, holding the debate gave skeptical lawmakers an opportunity to register their votes against an unpopular program.

Those who voted for withholding the money Thursday can use their vote as political cover to show they opposed spending an additional $350 billion.

Political theater is always good for the news media and it is always good for the resume.  Does nothing for the bailout but they can strut around and say that they voted against the bailout, just thast their vote was worthless and meant NOTHING.

Same Sh!t, Different Day

This is just tit for tat….after all the Dems used corruption against the Repubs in ’06.  They, Repubs, say they are not on a witch hunt while conducting a witch hunt.  That is pathetic.  They keep saying that Obama needs to come clean on what is what with Blago–somehow they are trying to infer that it is Obama’s fault that Blago is a criminal.  But they are not on a witch hunt.  Do they really think we are that stupid?  The answer is yes they do and in most cases they are right.

The Repubs keep trying this lame attempt to link Obama to something not so forthright.  Rezko did not do it.  Ayers did not do it.  Wright did not do it.  But yet they keep going with a loser track.  Repubs please stop pouting and whining and get on to the work at hand–you know the stuff that you were sent to Washington to handle–the people’s business.

Using their logic, does this mean that we can blame Bush for the corruption of Stevens and Cunningham and that idiot in Idaho?  Repubs need to get over the fact that they lost the election in November and get on with the repairs to a party that has no direction and definitely has no real leader.

Actually, the Repubs are doing an excellent job at diverting attention from the fact that they are about to crap all over the American worker in the Auto bailout thing.  The more they keep the media focused on Blago the easier it is to slide their anti-worker agenda through the Senate.

Professor’s Congressional Scorecard

It is time to tell all just how did the Congress do this past month of September.  I will also recap the year since they have gone home and will do little because of elections and a new admin for the new year.

In The month of September will Congress did do a little work.  The poor babies had to work a weel or so beyond what they were suppose to.

These are the measure voted on that I considered the most importanbt and the most telling of their progress at doing their job of representating the people of those country.

1–Let oil drilling ban expire–no step

2–renew R& D tax incentives for alt energy cars–Fwd step

3–Repeal min. alternative tax–no step–I had mixed emothions about this measure.

4–the shelving HR 362, the Iran resolution–Fwd step

5–market bailout fails–fwd step

6–Amtrak bill passes–fwd step

7–past the bail out bill–bkwd step

For the month the US Congress scores a 3 steps forward.  Finally after a whole damn year they are going in the right direction.  But things will change in Jan 09, at least that is the rallying call.

This is the breakdown for the year of 2008:

Jan–1 step forward

Feb–No step

Mar–2 steps backwards

Apr–1 step forward

May–3 steps forward

Jun–4 steps backwards

Jul–No step

Aug–1 step forward

Sep–3 steps forward

The total is:  (may I have a drum roll, please) 3 steps forward.  The Congress found the gear to move the country forward just in time to put it into park until 09.  Good plan, dipsticks.

Basically all the progress for the year was made in September, just before they went home to face the music of th voters.

Obama Leans Right–Part 2

This is a synopsis of an article written in the LA Times. I would like to be sure that there is equal time for the different sides in this discussion.

As Barack Obama moves to broaden his appeal beyond loyal Democrats, a chorus of anger and disappointment has arisen from the left. But those voices are a distinct minority because the party has a more pressing concern: winning in November.

Obama again bucked his liberal allies, voting in the Senate to give legal immunity to phone companies that took part in warrantless wiretapping after the Sept. 11 attacks. Critics chided Obama for the vote — which put him crossways with dozens of Democratic colleagues, including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

Few voters cast their ballots based on a single issue, making much of the discussion of Obama’s evolution — real or imagined — just so much talk by political insiders. Significantly, though, many have accepted what they see as Obama’s shift.
The last Democrat to occupy the White House, Bill Clinton, benefited from the same sort of shrugging acceptance from the left. A few years in the political wilderness can do a lot to promote party unity.

In 1992, Clinton ran on a platform that included deficit reduction and “ending welfare as we know it” — hardly Democratic orthodoxy. Clinton, then the governor of Arkansas, also left the campaign trail to preside over the execution of a mentally incapacitated inmate, Ricky Ray Rector, and famously went before Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition to repudiate Sister Souljah, a hip-hop artist and political activist.

While there was some outcry from liberal activists, the overwhelming majority of Democrats — and liberal voters — stuck with Clinton in the fall. More significantly, the moves strengthened Clinton’s reputation as “a different kind of Democrat,” broadening his appeal and helping him win a three-way contest against President George H.W. Bush and independent Ross Perot.

All this assumes that you would be interested in another Clinton-esque president.