OBAMA, THE ELECTION AND THE ECONOMY
Well, more election and economic news today, none of it good for our President or for us. Sales of previously-occupied homes took the largest monthly drop, 16.7%, in 40 years in December. To quote AP, the number sank ” more dramatically than expected”, the new phrase in use for economic reports, after ‘unexpectedly’ has been worn out. And with the expiration of the home buyers tax credit, and no significant improvement in employment, it may get worse for the real estate and housing industries. But, remember, the same anger that elected Scott Brown also elected Barack Obama.
Also, a report from Texas about stimulus spending. As part of the package, Congress boosted the spending by the Energy Department for weatherization of homes owned by low-income people by giving it an additional $5 Billion. That’s right $5 Billion. Now, a year later, only $441 million has been spent, and Texas reports that 49 houses have been weatherized under this program in the last year. That’s right, 49. One more than 48, one less than 50.
Also, on yesterday’s news shows, the Obama administration could not keep their numbers straight on jobs created and saved by the stimulus. Robert Gibbs on Fox News Sunday claimed 1.5 million, David Axelrod on CNN claimed 2 million and Valerie Jarrett on Meet The Press claimed “thousands and thousands” . What a circus this White House is; unfortunately, it’s a very expensive one and we are paying for it even if we don’t want to.
More 2010 news. Beau Biden, son of the Vice President, announced he will not run for his father’s seat this year, virtually conceding it to Republican Mike Castle. First District Arkansas Congressman Marion Berry, a Democrat, has announced he is not running for reelection, the 6th Democrat to so announce. Noted political analyst Stuart Rothenberg said yesterday that he considers 58 House seats held by Democrats to be in play in November, up from 47 last month, and 14 GOP seats are in play. Right now, it’s possible that the next Congress will see Republicans holding the former Senate seats of President Obama and Vice President Biden to go along with the Republican in Ted Kennedy’s seat.
On the state front, there is a hearing you need to call the Senate about, tomorrow, the 26th, at 10 AM before the Senate Judiciary committee, on SB 6396, the so-called assault weapons ban. It does much more than that and you need to contact the Senators and urge a no vote. I don’t have the names in front of me but you can find them at washingtonvotes.org and then call 1-800-562-6000.
Other stupid bills are HB2388 which would skyrocket the tax on cigars and HB2493 and SB 6443 which would place the sales tax on gum and candy. The revenue side of the equation is not the problem, it’s the spending but they just don’t get it. These taxes would raise very little money and hurt industries that employ people at a time when we should be encouraging the creation of jobs and controlling the spending.
More later. I will announce an event Wednesday evening, a viewing party of the President’s State of the Union speech. You all are invited. Details to come later today.
MORE THURSDAY THOUGHTS
GREAT NEWS CONTINUES today. Air America has filed for bankruptcy.
A GREAT QUOTE from Justice Kennedy’s majority opinion in today’s Supreme Court case involving Citizens United: ” The First Amendment confirms the freedom to think for ourselves.” You can tell how importat this case was by who is howling and screaming. Chuckie Shumer wants to hold Congressional hearings, that’s right, Congressional hearings about it. And the President promised a ” forceful response” to it. Too bad he doesn’t deal with America’s true enemies forcefully.
DID YOU HEAR OBAMA’S other quote, about health care? “Once this bill passes, the American people will suddenly learn that this bill does things they like.” What arrogance, what self-delusion. The President has not lost touch with the American people, he was never in touch with them.
HOW ARE YOUR DEMOCRATIC friends reacting to the John Edwards story? This slimebag finally admits what we all knew all along, then goes to Haiti to hide behind dead people. Let us remember that the Democrat party nominated him for Vice-President and he was one of their three top contenders in 2008. The Republicans have had their share of slimy people, but none like this guy.
THE NUMBERS ARE IN for election night viewership. Hannity/Fox, 6.8 million; Olberman/MSNBC 1.27 million; Chris Matthews/Hardball, 798,000. The USS Left has sprung holes in a lot of places, and is sinking, glug, glug, glug……
GEORGE WILL TODAY IN HIS COLUMN: ” Today, conservatism is rising on the steppingstones of liberal excesses.”.
A GREAT WEEK FOR LIBERTY CONTINUES
AN HOUR AGO, the Supreme Court announced a 5-4 decision in favor of Citizens United’s free speech rights. This case involved the movie Hillary, which we showed here in Bellevue, and whether the Federal Election Commission could regulate or prohibit it’s showing. The Court struck down several sections of the McCain-Finegold Act which gave the Federal government the power, if they wanted to, to ban books within certain timelines of an election cycle. That’s right, in oral argument, the Solicitor General told the Court that they could “ban books” under McCain-Finegold. No more. I am so proud to be a member of the Board of Directors of Citizens United, and of our Chairman, Dave Bossie, for fighting and winning. On top of Senator Scott Brown, this decison makes this week a great one for liberty.
NOT SUCH A GREAT week for the economy however. To quote AP, ” The number of newly-laid off workers seeking jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week.” And, to quote CNBC, ” US home builder sentiment unexpectedly fell in January to the lowest level since June on concerns over the weak labor market and high foreclosure volume, according to a survey on Tuesday that pointed to a patchy recovery in the housing sector.” And, again from AP, ” New US housing starts unexpectedly fell in December…”. Have you noticed how ‘unexpectedly’ has become the media’s favorite word when it comes to economic developments? Any one vaguely familiar with economics expects bad news about the economy in light of this Administration’s economic policy of spend, tax and regulate. Perhaps the writers of the stories should take some econ classes.
PRESIDENT OBAMA’S appointee to head the Transportation Security Administration has withdrawn his name over serious questions whether he lied to Congress about some of his personal activities and questions whether he abused his position as an FBI agent. Errol Southers, who last week suggested that climate change was as much a threat to our national security as Islamic radiclaism ( Well, in his defense, he believes both are ‘man-made disasters’ ), said the politics surrounding his nomination had grown to the point he felt he should withdraw his name. The President has been in office for one year this week, and we still don’t have his choice to run the TSA. Think about that. One year. No Obama-appointee running TSA. Must not be one of his priorities.
A quote from Thomas Jefferson, ” I think we have more machinery of government than is necessary, too many parasites living on the labor of the industrious.” . He said that in 1824, 186 years ago.
Don’t forget, precinct caucuses on Saturday, February 13th. I have links on this site under ‘Get Involved’ for the county GOPs in the area where you can get more info. We are asking our men and women in the military to spend a year or more overseas, many in combat conditions, to protect our right to self-government. You taking a Saturday morning to exercise that right is not asking too much of you.
More later. Feel free to leave a comment and tell your friends to read kirbytalk.
SENATOR SCOTT BROWN! BROWN WINS, PART 2
SORRY, I JUST can’t say that enough. The impact of this election will be felt for a long time and is already changing the political landscape. Let me share some thoughts.
FOR THE DEMOCRATS, they are now divided and confused. No more talking of forcing a bill through the House, more talking of starting over, more moving to the middle, more distancing from the President. Obama is 0 for 3 in campaigning for candidates in elections in the past three months, and he still doesn’t get it, but some of the Senators and Congressmen do. Expect more retirements in the next few weeks. Obamacare is DEAD. Cap and trade is DEAD. Any new massive spending programs are DEAD. Doesn’t leave much of an agenda for the President or his party in Congress.
FOR THE REPUBLICANS, many lessons to learn. There were three major issues in this race: taxes, health care and national security. One of Brown’s great lines last night in his victory speech was: “I believe that our Constitution and laws exist to protect this nation – they do not grant rights and privileges to enemies in wartime. In dealing with terrorists, our tax dollars should pay for weapons to stop them, not lawyers to defend them.” These three issues are the kind of issues that Reagan won twice on, the issues that Democrats are vulnerable on. They are core conservative issues, that point to victory. He went on to say that our ” basic convictions need only to be clearly stated to win a majority”. Reminds me of Reagan’s call for a banner of bold colors, not pale pastels. Can the Republicans learn from this? Not just the issues, but the way Brown campaigned, and the way Bob O’Donnell in Virginia did, these are the elements that can spell victory in November 2010. I so pray that the GOP understands this.
IN AN INTERVIEW today with George Stephanopoulis, the President says, and I hope you are sitting down, ” Here’s my assessment of not just the vote in Massachusetts, but the mood across the country: THE SAME THING THAT SWEPT SCOTT BROWN INTO OFFICE SWEPT ME INTO OFFICE. People are angry and they are frustrated. Not just because of what’s happened in the last year or two years, BUT WHAT’S HAPPENED OVER THE LAST EIGHT YEARS.” ( Emphasis mine ). Is he delusional? It’s Bush’s fault? That Brown voters were Obama voters? Is there any liberal reading this who would like to take a swing at defending this? He is either delusional or the greatest spinner, or spin attempter, in American political history.
SENATOR SCOTT BROWN. REPUBLICAN. FROM MASSACHUSETTS. Sorry, I can’t say it enough.
BROWN WINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I really don’t know what to say. I will collect my thoughts and post longer tomorrow. Just got back from a Senate candidate forum in Tacoma, so these are my immediate thoughts.
This election has to be considered along with the GOP victories in Virginia and New Jersey last November. The Left has been saying the Republicans are regional ( Southern ) and out of ideas and the party of the past, that Obama is the wave of the future. Well, in three big elections, two outside the South, where Obama has personally campaigned for the Democrats, the Ds have had their a##es kicked and kicked good, with overwhelming numbers of independent voters voting R – Scott Brown took them 3-1. THREE-TO-ONE. The Left overreached, and overreached big time, thinking their victory in 2008, along with 60 Senators and overwhelming control of the House, was a mandate.
President Obama apparently called Marcia ( oops, sorry, Martha ) and told her tonight ” we can’t win ‘em all”. R U KIDDING ME? ALL? He has lost the last three big ones and some 15 special elections around the country for legislative vacancies in 2009 went for the Rs.
The Democrats are in a dilemma. Leading House Democrats, including Barney Frank, are saying tonight that they can’t support the Senate bill and it may be time to START OVER ON HEALTH CARE. Senator Evan Bayh, a supposed moderate who votes the liberal party line when it matters said tonight that the ‘far left’ has captured the Democratic Party. ( Gee, Evan, what took you so long? Some of us have been saying that since at least the Denver convention.). The election of Scott Brown has thrown a monkeywrench into all of their legislative plans. Expect to see a lot of Democrats peel off the health care plan, cap and trade and tax increases. If the Rs can win in Massachusetts, they can win in Indiana, Nebraska, Louisiana and California…and Washington. Tonight, there was a political earthquake that measured about 7.5 on the Richter scale, and the Ds are still shaking, fearful of the aftershocks.
I have so much to say, but I’ll write more tomorrow, particularly on what the Rs can learn from Scott Brown and Bob McDonnell. For now, I want to quote some of Scott Brown’s victory speech. Read it, savor it, memorize it. And, hey, in case I haven’t mentioned it, Scott Brown won as a Republican in Massachusetts.
” Raising taxes, taking over our health care, and giving new rights to terrorists is the wrong agenda for our country. What I’ve heard again and again on the campaign trail is that our political leaders have grown aloof from the people, impatient with dissent, and comfortable in the back room making deals. Ane we can do better.
“They thought you were on board with all of their ambitions. They thought they owned your vote. They thought they couldn’t lose. But tonight, you and you and you have set them straight.
“Across this country, we are united by basic convictions that need only to be clearly stated to win a majority. If anyone still doubts that, in the election season just beginning, let them look to Massachusetts.
“Fellow citizens, what happened in this election can happen all over America. We are witnesses, you and I, to the truth that ideals, hard work, and strength of heart can overcome any political machine. We ran a campaign never to be forgotten, and led a cause that deserved and received all that we could give it.
“And now, because of your independence and your trust, I will hold for a time the seat once filled by patriots from John Quincy Adams to John F Kennedy and his brother Ted. As I proudly take up the duty you have given me, I promise to do my best for Massachusetts and America every time the roll is called.
“I go to Washington as the representative of no faction or interest, answering only to my conscience and to the people. I’ve got a lot to learn in the Senate, but I know who I am, and I know who I serve.
” I’m Scott Brown.
“I’m from Wrentham
“I drive a truck and I am nobody’s senator but yours.
“Thank you very much.”
I really like this guy.
BTW, apparently the story is going around that the President called Scott and offerred his congratulations. Scott mentioned he would be driving down to DC in his truck and asked Obama if he would like to see it.
I REALLY like this guy.
