No More Dissent: “It Ain’t America No More”
Friday, August 28th, 2009Not while this cop is on the job, anyway:
Yeah, well. This is the way things will go…. It’s shocking. It’s outrageous.
President Obama promised change, alright. No one can say he hasn’t delivered.
America’s Lame Ass Political Class
Sunday, August 23rd, 2009Liberals and progressives are upset with President Obama, but swing voters and independents feel betrayed. From my latest Pajamas column:
The reason President Obama is tanking so quickly, though, is that he has a problem that President Bush didn’t have: Candidate Obama promised the world, sun, stars, and moon to everyone. People pinned their hopes and dreams on him. He stayed vague and hope-n-changy enough that all people felt reassured when he spoke to them. The problem is, he said whatever worked to whatever crowd he stood before. Or rather, his words were suitably bland that people projected their desires on his words. They heard what they wanted to hear, but what was he saying?
I figured it would take longer for Obama voters to be disappointed, but I underestimated the people’s wrath regarding out-of-control spending. Independents and moderates thought the President would govern as he said “responsibly”. Well, that’s not happening.
There are a few bright spots in the government, but the political class in general simply does not understand where the people are coming from. I’m sure they’ve focus grouped every phrase and every policy into oblivion but they just don’t get the overall point: Except for the socialists at the extreme, America does not want to be Europe Lite. They don’t. Perhaps when everyone was rolling in the dough, a little more redistribution sounded okay, but now, it’s patently obvious that people need to keep what they have to survive.
The only solution is an overhaul….change Washington by changing the players in Washington. That means heretofore uninvolved people getting involved, and running for office. Just voting isn’t enough. Making sure your Congressperson knows how you feel and then talking in person…
The wrong people are afraid in this new political equation. That should change.
Axelrod: Latest In Obama’s Culture of Corruption
Wednesday, August 19th, 2009Have you read Michelle Malkin’s book yet? If not, you should. And, in case you missed it, listen to my podcast interview with Michelle about her #1 New York Times best-selling book.
David Axelrod has long history, intertwined with Michelle Obama, of corrupt dealings through his consulting. Now, he’s handling those dirty dealings from the White House. Michelle says:
Hey, Bobby Gibbs: Tell us again. Who’s funded by the evil health care industry? And who’s motives should you be questioning now? According to Bloomberg, AKPD continues to work with Axelrod “on ’strategy and research’ for the Democratic National Committee.” Why no full disclosure until now? Why didn’t Axelrod recuse himself from his Obamcare lobbying TV appearances given the strong, interest-conflicted odor emanating from 1600 Pennsylvania?
There will be more of this and the press will continue to demonstrate a breath-taking lack of curiosity. Curiosity and questioning motives only works on Republicans, it seems.
Health Care Summary
Wednesday, August 19th, 2009While politicians and policy wonks get lost in minutiae, it’s important to remember the essential truths about the health care debate:
1. The Democrats control the House, the Senate & the Executive Branch. They can do whatever they want. Republicans are window dressing designed to give political cover for bad policy.
2. America cannot afford a new entitlement program and that’s what any Democratic plan will be.
3. To pay for this new program, taxes will rise.
4. To cut costs, rationing will be the solution.
5. The fight is between Progressives who want Government Run Health Care and Moderate Democrats who know they will never be re-elected if they vote for this mess. Thus the talk of “intraparty reconciliation“.
6. This is a Democrat problem. The Republicans should not give wrong-headed Democrats political cover by coming up with some half-assed, moronic legislation that solves nothing.
I am sick of the health care debate. I wonder if under Obama’s plan, there will be a drug that helps people deal with stupid politicians. I bet they give out free Xanax.
Word Games By Democrats…Latest Pajama’s Media Column
Monday, August 17th, 2009The Dems are doing it again. First, it was talking “reform” instead of overhaul, which would be a more accurate representation of their legislative aims. Now, they’re taking the “public option” out [the word has become synonymous with single payer which is synonymous with Government Run Health Care] and using Co-ops, instead.
It’s all the same. The progressives want to wrest control of health care choices out of the hands of the individual and put the power into the collective, i.e. the government, i.e. them.
Democrats use language to try to achieve their ends. Orwellian double-talk and inverted definitions make for confusing the public discourse. People wonder what the heck the Democrats really mean. All this confusion is back-firing. People simply distrust the President and Congress on everything related to health care now. And no wonder! The Democrats have been playing word games and trying to obscure their true intent from the beginning.
Please go take a look at my article over in Pajama’s Media about the word games. The word games matter because they end up defining the narrative. Republicans need to stop playing along and being more mindful of the words they use, lest they give credence to the ideas of the opposition. Here’s just a bit of what I say:
What is described in the bill here is not simply a reform. The tax code, legal system, hospitals, insurance companies, doctors, and the patient experience are radically changed. Radical change does not suggest reform. It suggests transformation.
Republicans and conservatives need to be smarter that the Democrats on this. Insist upon using proper descriptive words–not the language the reinforces the opposition.
Camille Paglia Reveals More Than Flaws In President Obama’s Handling Of Healthcare
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009Is there such thing as a skeptical liberal? It seems not. Or they’re as rare as white tigers which is why the get displayed like exotic zoo animals.
That Camille Paglia is always so noteworthy simply reveals how the Left marches in ideological lock-step. There should be lots of thinking people on the Left pointing out shortcomings here and there, but no. So the always interesting Ms. Paglia says:
You can keep your doctor; you can keep your insurance, if you’re happy with it, Obama keeps assuring us in soothing, lullaby tones. Oh, really? And what if my doctor is not the one appointed by the new government medical boards for ruling on my access to tests and specialists? And what if my insurance company goes belly up because of undercutting by its government-bankrolled competitor? Face it: Virtually all nationalized health systems, neither nourished nor updated by profit-driven private investment, eventually lead to rationing.
I just don’t get it. Why the insane rush to pass a bill, any bill, in three weeks? And why such an abject failure by the Obama administration to present the issues to the public in a rational, detailed, informational way? The U.S. is gigantic; many of our states are bigger than whole European nations. The bureaucracy required to institute and manage a nationalized health system here would be Byzantine beyond belief and would vampirically absorb whatever savings Obama thinks could be made. And the transition period would be a nightmare of red tape and mammoth screw-ups, which we can ill afford with a faltering economy.
Pardon me, but that’s rather obvious criticism and the only place we’re hearing it is on the Right. Why?
Do thinkers on the left have no intellectual integrity? Are they incapable of criticizing their own ideas? Have they no compunction to question?
That’s what is really interesting about Camille Paglia. She seems to be a rare breed of cat. That’s too bad.
Houstonians: Sheila Jackson Lee Takes A Call During Civilized Town Hall
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009No, no. They’re not elitists. Not at all.
Does A Path Lead From Anti-Palin Blogger Jesse Griffin To The White House?
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009Dan Riehl has found a story in the non-anonymous blogger Jesse Griffin’s anti-Palin hatred and it is leading some strange places. All the puzzle pieces are not together yet, but a picture is starting to form and it is looking very suspect. You simply must read the whole post. It is investigative journalism at it’s finest.
The players include a supposedly anonymous blogger, a Montessori school owned by Democrats where the blogger has never been seen but is, ostensibly employed, a big Democratic donor, tax liens, stimulus funds, health care reform, and Democratic political campaigns.
UPDATED:
From Stacy McCain:
Because some liberal troll-commenters at Riehl World View have pretended not to see the dots that Dan has connected, I’ve offered a simple summary:
1. Jesse Griffin’s “employer of record” is Puffin Heights Montessori school.
2. Employees of that school told Dan that they have never seen Griffin at the school.
3. Former Alaska resident Catherine New was once listed as “primary contact” for the Puffin Heights school.
4. The Puffin Heights school was apparently bankrupted by IRS tax judgments and reorganized circa 2002, with “Yolanda Baber” listed as head of the LLC.
5. Online investigator Joseph Culligan has been unable to verify the existence of a “Yolanda Baber” in Anchorage.
6. Meanwhile, Catherine New and her husband, Eligio White, have prospered in the health-care industry and are “progressive” activists whose business recently received $4.3 million of stimulus money.
There’s No Such Thing As A Blue Dog Democrat: They’re Just Democrats–UPDATD
Friday, July 31st, 2009Every once in a while I’m hit with a fit of idealism and believe a politician actually stands for something. Five minutes later, I’m dissuaded of that notion by guys like so-called Blue Dog Democrat Gene Taylor. Politico reports:
Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) has called Grover Norquist’s anti-tax group Americans for Tax Reform “lying sacks of scum” for lumping him in with other moderate Democrats who support the House health reform bill.
“Americans for Tax Reform are lying sacks of scum, and anyone who knowingly repeats this false information is also a liar,” Taylor said in an unusually blistering statement for a member of Congress.
The incident has so incensed Taylor, he’s pointing out Americans for Tax Reforms past ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
The Americans for Tax Reform release said Taylor had agreed to a “backroom deal” on health care.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/25670.html#ixzz0MswAWHg1
Americans for Tax Reform responds:
Americans for Tax Reform issued the following public statement today about Rep. Gene Taylor’s (D-Miss.) press release distancing himself from the Blue Dog Compromise struck this week in the Pelosi/Waxman-led effort to reform healthcare:
Gene Taylor like many others is a BDINO (Blue Dog in Name Only). He voted to make Pelosi Speaker, he voted to make Waxman head of the Committee. He voted to put Barney Frank in charge of our banking system. Mike Ross, Pelosi and the other Democrats declared that the Blue Dogs were on board. If he’s not, he should have proudly indicated so–he didn’t. If he’s upset with the Blue Dogs for their decision, he should consider resigning from that caucus. If he doesn’t like being tarnished with supporting Pelosi’s government take over of healthcare, he should bring it up with her.
Congressman Taylor has historically had a difficult time telling the truth and keeping his promises.
On March 1st, 1996, Gene Taylor signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, promising his constituents he would oppose all income tax increases while serving in Congress . Apparently, he did this just to get elected, as his written word has turned out to be worthless. When Republicans controlled the Congress from 1996 to 2006, he never had the opportunity to vote for a tax increase. The first Congress he had the chance to vote for a tax increase, he did.
He has broken his Pledge so far three times now at Pelosi’s bidding: on January 18, 2007 (Roll Call No. 40) , on July 27, 2007 (Roll Call 756), and on December 6th, 2007 (Roll Call No. 1140). We’re glad that Congressman Taylor finally found a Pelosi tax hike package he’s willing to oppose (so far), but you can’t blame us for being caught off guard by it. If he doesn’t want to be associated with the Blue Dogs, he should formally leave the group. No fair hiding behind their skirts when convenient and then pretending he’s never met them when inconvenient.
Progressive Democrat. Blue Dog Democrat. Still a Democrat. Principles? Hardly.
The Blue Dogs are trying to find a way to sell out promises to those who voted them in and still get voted for again. Good luck with that guys. Serving two masters doesn’t work well.
UPDATED: Dan Riehl says, “Jeepers, people, get it together.”
Ha! Whatever. There is going to be some bad blood after this legislation gets “rammed through” (in the inimitable words of Chris Matthews). And then, there will be political blood spilled. Democrats in conservative districts will pay a bloody price for this and they know it but they are helpless before the Pelosi-Reid-Obama machine.
Sarah Palin Steps Down, Earth Continues To Turn On Its Axis
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009Bush Derangement Syndrome seems like a head cold compared to the Palin Hatred. Palin Hatred is like a full-blown mental swine flu. I fear it may be a slate clearer for the Democratic Party.
Perhaps the Left could take this Sarah-free moment and consider the power their loathing, and the underlying fear, gives Sarah Palin. Their complete lack of objectivity, their inability to actually hear what she’s saying, their tone-deafness to her resonance with a huge segment of the American people, limits them. David Frum and all you D.C. insider Republicans walking around with a hoity toity corncob securely wedged might want to consider too, your mind blindness.
Sarah Palin stepped down, but she is, I’m guessing, about to walk into the lower 48 states. Maybe by the time she gets down here, everyone can calm down. Somehow, with her fighting words igniting more passion, I doubt it.
