RealPolitix.com – The Non-Partisan Blog about Politics and Technology Archive for April 2009

Can we be honest here? Could the GOP be more boorish and disrespectful? Senator Arlen Specter was a staunch, highly-regarded senior senator of the Republican Party. One would think he would be treated with some measure of respect from the party, having served 29 years of his life. What the heck is wrong with the GOP? Don’t republicans realize how much clout Specter has being the fifth oldest senator in congress? Say what you will about Specter’s motives for leaving the party, yada, yada, yada, but come on, the GOP wasn’t doing him any favors.

Can the GOP be so shallow and petty as to disown him just because he voted in favor of Obama’s Stimulus Plan? Are republicans still so stuck on former President Bush’s philosophy of, You’re either with us, or against us, that they can’t see how that kind of self-serving attitude is killing them? Get over it already; it’s not working. Unless you want your efforts helping the Democratic Party, then fine.

Here is what I mean: When Senator Specter defects to the Democratic Party, what does the GOP do? Republican Party chair, Michael Steele, kicks the senator out the door remarking that Specter had “flipped the bird” at the GOP. Now that’s really classy.

Way to go, Grand Old Party. Not only is the media focus on President Obama and the success of his First 100 Days, but the spotlight is also glaring on the disrespectful treatment the GOP gave to one of their own former members.

Unfortunately, what can you expect when you have a guy like Rush Limbaugh calling the shots behind the scenes? And there is really no denying that Limbaugh is calling the shots – not when republicans including GOP Chair, Michael Steele, are tripping over themselves deferring and apologizing to him all over the creation. Rush Limbaugh is the Don King of the Republican Party.

So this morning, the GOP announced that the party is undergoing an image makeover.  Republicans are planning to hold town hall meetings in nearby Arlington, Virginia that will be open to everyone – as opposed to republicans only – and to really listen to what the American people want, and what their dreams are for the future. The republicans emphasize that they are not trying to be disagreeable, but merely would like to offer an alternative plan to propose for the future.

Call me cynical, but it smells like the same old pachyderm poop to me. Particularly since the usual suspects will be attending: John McCain, John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Mitch McConnell, et al. The only fresh new face in the bunch might be former President Bush’s younger brother, Jeb Bush.

If that’s the republican idea of a makeover, they’d better try harder than that. That’s not a makeover; that’s spackling with kabuki makeup. If the GOP is serious about changing its image, it should start first with changing its mission. Right now, it appears that the only mission the GOP has is to get as much as it can for itself while trampling on anyone and anything in its way.  That certainly is not the way to endear people to their party.

Gizmodo had an article about a pledge by President Obama to spend 3% of GDP for resarch and development.  The geek in me is excited by this focus on technology. However our President has already massivly increased government spending. This excesive spending cannot be sustained even if we obtain next generation technology from this spending. Using the federal government as a conduit for funding results in inefficiency and waste of precious tax payer dollars. The better option would be using tax credits and decreased regulation to encourage investment in research and developent in the sciences. This free market approach would keep the Federal govenment out as a middleman and allow for innovation and waste fewer taxpayer dollars.

Recently President Obama announced that he would order members of his cabinet to come up with $100 million dollars that could be cut from the federal budget. That sounds great until you see a representation of what $100 million dollars looks like out of our bloated runaway budget. The video above is a case of seeing is believing.

Posted above is a highly educational video that Israel recently released about Operation Cast Lead, their most recent campaign against Hamas. Even though it is under six minutes in length, you will gain a better understanding for how Hamas, a militant Islamic terrorist organization, operates by using innocent civilians as human shields. You will see how they use tunnels to smuggle arms and explosives into their region and you will better be able to visualize the tough situation in which the soldiers of the Israeli Defense Force must operate. Most of all, you will see how the citizens of Israel live under the constant threat of attack from those that wish to kill them. It is not an understatement to say that you can learn more from this video than you can from most of the media coverage.

The bottom line is that Israel is our greatest ally in the Middle East and they are surrounded by nations that wish for them to be literally wiped off the face of the earth. One doesn’t have to know much about history to know that the Jewish people have been persecuted since virtually the beginning of recorded history. Time after time Israel has been the small, beleaguered nation that has had to fight wars to preserve her very life.

Now Israel is faced with not only terrorist groups such as Hamas, but also by the nation of Iran, which has repeatedly promised death to Israel and is now developing their own nuclear weapons. Israel must additionally deal with an American president that believes that Iran can be negotiated with and yet has not met personally with the new Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. The enemies of Israel well know however that Israel will not hesitate to protect herself. In the 1980s Israel conducted a daring and highly skilled bombing strike on Saddam Hussein’s nuclear facility before he could use it against them. Does anyone doubt that Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israel will do the same once more if Iran’s threats grow too near? When that moment comes America must be prepared to stand by our ally once more. God forgive us if we do not.

America is suffering an invasion of nitwits. Not just any old run-of-the-mill nitwits, but arrogant, illogical, narcissistic nitwits. The days when a pompous twit would be regarded as a foul odor wafting by are over. Those same twits today are being allowed the attention they crave by the silent majority out of political correctness.

Not only do egocentric meatheads exist in all spectrums of society, they exist at the highest levels of government. Masses of nitwits have made their way to Washington. And they don’t solely exist in one political party, or one gender, or race or socio-economic class – nitwits are equal opportunity offenders; they exist in every shape and form in Washington.

The U.S. needs to curtail the spread of nitwit fever. And the way to do it is to start at the top, nip it in the bud, if you will. Talking meatheads have gained entry into top elected offices in Washington and have been passing laws and policies that affect the wellbeing of America for years. What country would allow talking meatheads to set rules and policies?

And we wonder why the U.S. is in its worst financial crisis ever. It’s time that the president, members of congress, justices of the supreme court, federal and state courts be required to qualify for their positions. All members should be given psychological and ethics tests. (No cheating allowed!) Also tests on critical thinking and abstract reasoning as well as comprehension would signal if the candidate possesses enough gray matter for problem solving.

These key government positions are what shape the country. Individuals holding these positions are relied upon to make critical decisions so why shouldn’t they be required mandatory testing to prove their fitness to serve? Way too many in Washington have the intelligence of a doorknob, yet think their big bulbous head shines brightest in the room. Fair enough, make them prove their worth.

There is no need to tiptoe around arrogant C-students any longer. People must face the fact that not everyone is on the same intelligence level. Obviously. We’ve seen what happens when low comprehension combines with a super-sized ego; the combustible mix turns such people into full-blown nitwits. These turd blossoms all resort to the same bag of tricks when something is beyond their cognitive skills. They respond in the same manner: 1) Try to divert attention away from the issue, 2) Try to blame others and 3) Act out aggressively in nitwit fashion to protect their ego.

President Obama would have no problem passing the tests on all levels – intellectual, emotional, psychological, and obviously he passed the physical test, or he would not be a sitting president. How absurd that the only requirement for a president is to pass a physical.

But how many members of congress and on the Supreme Court would be able to pass tests measuring their critical thinking ability and basic reasoning skills today? It should be mandatory for all elected and appointed officials to go through testing to weed out any bombastic C-students who do not pass. Tests to qualify for a position are given all the time; it’s nothing new. The military give extensive testing for critical, high-level positions, and so do major institutions, businesses, agencies and firms. Yet the three highest branches of government – the Legislative, Executive and Judicial – require no testing to yield the utmost power.

Why then, are the most critical positions in government appointed simply based on popularity? Comprehension and reasoning skills testing should start immediately and periodically to all members of the three branches of government. State governments would also do well to consider testing members of their legislature and courts. Bombastic nitwits everywhere would immediately have their illogical blather and antics curtailed. What would they complain about then? Intelligence discrimination? Doh.

The Tax Day Tea Party at city hall in Austin today was a smash. I’ve attended a lot of sporting events and have always been pretty good at guessing the size of crowds. It looked like at least 1,500 people showed up during their lunch hour and perhaps more than 2,000. It was shoulder to shoulder throughout the entire city hall plaza in downtown. The crowd was fired up and came ready with a lot of clever home made signs. Despite the worries of some (or the hopes of others) there were no “wackos” visible and there were no counter protests either. Who counter protests an anti-tax rally and says they want to pay more taxes anyhow? One can just send the Federal Treasury some more money if they desire. That’s the truth.

The speakers were stellar. Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams gave a rousing speech to open it and Gov. Rick Perry closed it with a home run. The crowd ate it up. I’ve never seen a political rally before draw that many people that wasn’t about a politician or wasn’t organized by a George Soros funded machine. It felt good to be around so many people that still believe as our Founding Fathers did that this nation is best when the government does a few basic things well and leaves the citizens to their own liberty and the fruit of their own labor.

I spoke with friends around the country today that attended similar Tax Day Tea Parties and they all reported the same thing. Now the question is will this lead to another Prop 13 like taxpayer revolt as it did in California in the late ’70s. Time will tell, but the taxhiking politicians should be concerned that so many thousands of people across the nation took time out of their busy days to exercise their 1st Amendment rights againt taxation. The efforts of the liberal press like CNN (as seen in the remarkable video above where a CNN “journalist” engages in a debate with a protester) to portray these events as the workings of a band of lunatics will backfire. Increasingly Americans are seeing through the liberal bias of the mainstream media. Is it any wonder Fox is consistently number one in the rankings? It’s because they found a niche market – roughly half of the American public. Even the Austin American-Statesman got in on the act in an editorial that stated that the protesters should “drink the tea and dump the gimmicks.” Hmm, sounds more like they want us to drink their liberal Kool-Aid. If that passes for journalism no wonder the Statesman is going broke. Today was a great day for American patriots and it gives me strong hope that more days like this will come.

Tax Day, Washington’s favorite day, is coming once again on April 15th. It is said that the only inevitable things in life are death and taxes. The government knows this is true because they’ll tax you when you die, too. In fact, they will tax anything and everything that they can. The Beatles were right when they sang their song about The Taxman.

Let me tell you how it will be;

There’s one for you, nineteen for me.

‘Cause I’m the taxman,

Yeah, I’m the taxman.

Should five per cent appear too small,

Be thankful I don’t take it all.

‘Cause I’m the taxman,

Yeah, I’m the taxman.

(if you drive a car, car;) – I’ll tax the street;

(if you try to sit, sit;) – I’ll tax your seat;

(if you get too cold, cold;) – I’ll tax the heat;

(if you take a walk, walk;) – I’ll tax your feet.

Taxman!

I’m sure some of you however may think that high taxes are fine. Like the old line goes – “Don’t tax you, don’t tax me, tax that guy behind the tree.” Well, the guy behind the tree is gone and now we are the rich. Don’t believe me? Here’s P.J. O’Rourke’s recent take that hits the nail on the head.

The good news is that, according to the Obama administration, the rich will pay for everything. The bad news is that, according to the Obama administration, you’re rich. You may be surprised to discover you’re rich, especially if you’re broke. How do you know you are a member of the penurious plutocracy? Take this simple test: See if you pay double for everything. The financial bailout, for example. Pay for it once with your IRA and 401(k) plan investments. Now pay for it again with your tax dollars. Ditto with the economic stimulus. Write checks to cover your mortgage payment, utilities, insurance premiums, car loan, basic cable, high-speed Internet access, Visa, MasterCard, and American Express bills, and turn your teens loose in the Old Navy store. Think you’re done stimulating the economy? I think not. You’ve also lent President Obama a godzillion dollars to go on an economically stimulational shopping spree of his own. For collateral the Bank of Obama is using a mortgage on that home of yours called America and a lien on all the future earnings of your children.

Now, for the first time since the 1978 Prop 13 vote in California and the Reagan Revolution in 1980, it seems that there is a growing groundswell of average Americans that are alarmed about our government’s runaway taxing and spending. With the inspiration of the famous Boston Tea Party, hundreds of “Tea Parties” have been held around the nation in the last few weeks. They have drawn thousands of people. On April 15th there will be thousands of Tea Parties around the nation. Even the liberal city of Austin will have a tax day Tea Party that is expected to draw an enormous crowd at City Hall at 11:30. I’ll be there and I know scores of others that are coming as well. It should be a great event. If you think your taxes are too high then please come out and join us.

Who: American Taxpayers and some great speakers

What: Austin Tax Day Tea Party

Where: Austin City Hall 301 W. Second St, Austin, TX 78701

When: 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 15, 2009

For the record, I’m actually non-partisan. It’s the Republican Party’s fault for nudging me more and more to the left with their antics. Nothing would make me happier if the problem with the GOP was simply the Bush administration.

I almost thought the party had some hope when its members finally started admitting that Bush had flaws – stunning because republicans would back one of their own until the end of time at all costs. Case in point: Republican Senate Leader, Mitch McConnell’s recent remark to reporters that, “President Bush had become extremely unpopular, and politically he was sort of a millstone around our necks in both ‘06 and ’08.”

GASP!

Finally, an admission from republicans that former President Bush was a failure dragging them and the country down! Now we’re getting somewhere!

So now that Bush is no longer around, what do the Republicans wind up doing? They wind up screwing up on their own merit! And they’re taking turns at it too. Well knock me over with a feather, after all that time, they didn’t need Bush to screw up, they were capable of doing it own their own!

Just one week alone was enough to make comedians breathe a sigh of relief. Ahh, more comic fodder! Check it out!

1) House Republican Whip Eric Cantor Goes To A Britney Spears Concert, Missing The President’s Press Conference. He even admits his daughter gave him grief for not taking her!

2) The GOP Budget Proposal Presented At A Press Conference on March 26, Appeared Without Numbers; Details Were To Be Added And Presented On April Fools Day. The April 1st budget proposal turned out to be just a starting point for what the GOP wanted to be “more discussion.”

3) Joe The Plumber Appointed Spokesman For A Campaign Against The Employee Free Choice Act, But Failed To Know What He Was Campaigning About.

4) Republican Governor Sarah Palin Invited, Then Uh, Never Mind, Uninvited To Be Keynote Speaker at the 2009 Republican House-Senate Dinner In June. Conflicting reports of who misinterpreted what to whom flew about with the end result being, Newt Gingrich – He’s back! With scandals and all! – to be the speaker.

5) Rush Limbaugh Hoping For President Obama To Fail Lives On, With Bobby Jindal And Michael Steele Apologizing For Their Disrespect To Limbaugh In Not Supporting His Ill Will Campaign. Let’s see Gingy vs Limbaugh go toe-to-toe!

So former President Bush passes the torch back to the republicans and they handle it as well as – George Bush! What a kick in the butt!

If the GOP would step into the 21st century and stop with their mean-spirited, backwards, obstructionist antics, maybe more people would take them seriously. I know I would.

In 1970 Sen. Thomas Dodd was involved in scandal. He had been caught misusing campaign funds for personal services and several investigative columnists suggested that the offenses were much deeper. The Senate responded by formerly censuring Sen. Dodd and in 1970 he ran for reelection as an independent and was defeated. He died just months after leaving the senate.

Four years later Sen. Dodd’s son was elected to congress in the Democratic landslide brought about by the Watergate scandal. Six years after that the son was elected to the U.S. Senate. Today, Sen. Chris Dodd is the powerful chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and finds himself following in his father’s footsteps. A recent poll shows him trailing his Republican opponent by 16 points and already the talk has begun of how the Democrats may try to gently push him aside for another candidate.

Connecticut has long been one of the wealthiest states in the nation and also one of the most liberal on cultural issues. This has worked well for the Democratic Party as the Republicans have not won a senate election there sine 1982, and in that case it was a narrow reelection victory for the liberal and dyspeptic Lowell Weicker. As the economy has cratered however voters in the Nutmeg State seem to want answers and their patience with Sen. Dodd and his lack of ethics has worn thin. Dodd is derisively known as “The Senator from Countrywide” for his close ties to the failed home mortgage giant. In fact, Dodd had a special, and secret, deal with Countrywide’s CEO Angelo Mozilo for a “Friends of Angelo” mortgage. This sweetheart deal saved Dodd over $75,000 on his homes in Connecticut and D.C. Dodd also received over $134,000 in contributions (by far more than anyone else) from quasi-government home mortgage entities like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. When those corporations and the entire industry began to struggle, the scrutiny of Dodd’s smarmy ties came under closer review. Not surprisingly, the more the voters of Connecticut learn about Sen.Dodd’s missing ethics the more angry they grow. Several newspapers have demanded that Dodd disclose more details about his dealings, yet he continues to insist he has done nothing wrong. Even the liberal New York Times has tired of Dodd’s prevaricating and weighed in with an editorial that stated, “his excuses are wearing ridiculously thin.” The Hartford Courant newspaper blasted away and said it was time, “Dodd got off his high horse, came clean and admit he screwed up.”

For a powerful senator that has never faced a difficult reelection, Dodd now finds himself in a boiling cauldron of voter dissaproval. His weakness acts like blood in the water and it has resulted in a formidable Republican coming forward to challenge him. Rob Simmons is a former congressman from eastern Connecticut that upset an incumbent in 2000 and held the district in the next two elections despite its strong Democratic nature. In 2006 he was finally ousted from office, but by fewer than 90 votes. He is a moderate Republican that served in the Army in Vietnam and was awarded two Bronze Stars. Later he became an officer in the CIA. He eventually went to work for Sen. Barry Goldwater’s Senate Armed Services Committee and is widely respected as an expert in his field. He is Dodd’s worse nightmare and he is already campaigning. Dodd has suffered even more wounds recently when it was revealed that he inserted a loophole into the bailout bill that allowed AIG executives to keep millions of dollars in bonuses. To say his voters are a bit upset about that is an understatement.

New England and the northeast have been very tough turf for Republicans over the last several years. There is not a single Republican congressman from New England out of their 22 seats and New York is almost as bad with the Democrats after the 2008 election holding 26 of the state’s 29 districts. Things are changing however. The pendulum in American politics is always swinging (sometimes faster than at other times) and the Republicans are showing new signs of life in that region. Polls indicate that Democratic incumbent Governors Patterson (NY) and Corzine (NJ) are highly unpopular and they are now trailing their prospective Republican opponents. Just this week the GOP also ran a strong race in a special election for a seat that Obama won and in which the Democratic congresswoman had earned over 62% of the vote last November. There are still up to 10,000 absentee ballots to be counted, but the Republican, Jim Tedisco, is ahead by a narrow margin and it seems likely that his lead will grow after all the votes are counted as more Republicans sent in absentee ballots than did Democrats. The Democratic candidate, Scott Murphy, was wealthy and spent tons of his own money and that of the unions to link himself as closely to Obama as possible. Murphy’s mailer even featured three photos of Obama while his own photo was far smaller. With Sen. Dodd now trailing Simmons by 16 points he might not want his photo on any piece of political advertising. He could instead just send everyone a glossy 8×10 of Obama and, like the porkulus bill, just pray that it works. That’s not much a plan however and it seems increasingly likely that 40 years later he may follow the same route as his disgraced and defeated father. We could only be so lucky.

So, today it made the news that our graceful and suave president gifted the Queen of England a new iPod. At first, I thought this was an April fools joke; but, no. This latest guffaw occurs not long after Obama gifted the prime minister a collection of DVDs. Add all this to the fact that Obama sent a letter to the old president of France and we’ve got some serious hilarity. Now, I know that Obama did not personally make these embarrassing gift purchases and mis-addressed letters, but it does bring into question his ability to choose competent employees. The icing on the cake is that Obama’s committee overseeing the auto industry contains not one single person with auto industry experience. All of these little things just further show Obama’s lack of good judgement and inexperience. It is disheartening to face the fact that he’s the one running recently nationalized companies and handling trillions in new spending.