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Video: Can 8-28 rally-goers match spending facts with the right president?

August 28, 2010 By Jeff Leave a Comment

The gang over at Bankrupting America took their camera’s to the Restoring Honor rally in D.C. today to test the attendees government spending IQ… The result are interesting.

Before watching the video see if you can answer the following questions:

  1. Bush or Obama? This president spent a record-breaking $3 trillion in a single year.
  2. Bush or Obama? This president bailed out hundreds of large banks and corporations.
  3. Bush or Obama? This president spent billions of taxpayer dollars on “stimulus” spending during a recession.
  4. Bush or Obama? This President increased spending by many times the rate of inflation across most non-defense categories – such as education, Medicare, Medicaid, income security and regional development.
  5. Bush or Obama? This president passed an expensive healthcare bill.

The answers are here and supporting documentation are here.

That’s right the answer to all five questions is both… I’ve made this point before, but it’s worth repeating:

Every presidential administration and every Congress since Ronald Reagan left office has grown government.

When Richard Nixon left office the Federal Register, where the government publishes all current and proposed regulations, contained just over 29,000 pages. It ballooned to roughly 58,000 pages under Ford, and to nearly 73,000  pages under Carter. Under Ronald Reagan it shrank to roughly 55,000 pages, since then it has grown steadily to over 79,000 pages at the end George W. Bush’s term.

Yes, I know, counting the number of pages in the Federal Register is crude way measuring the size or intrusivenss of government, but it helps illustrate the the problem… Neither party has been particularly faithful to our Founders Fathers idea of limited, fiscally responsible government.

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Poll: American’s Don’t Much Like Congressional Republicans

August 28, 2010 By Jeff Leave a Comment

Tom Jenson, writing on Public Policy Polling’s blog notes that Congressional Republicans aren’t terribly popular Americans… or even their own base:

Our last national generic ballot poll found the Republicans ahead 45-42 despite the fact that Congressional Republicans had a 24/61 approval rating. Even among respondents who said they were going to vote Republican the Congressional GOP could muster only a 44/35 approval.

John Boehner and Mitch McConnell are going to claim a mandate when their party does well at the polls this fall but they don’t even have much of one with the people who are going to vote Republican this fall, much less with the population at large. If they keep on doing what they’re doing the GOP may well take control of the House this fall and then lose it right back in 2012.

To be honest I’m not at all surprised by PPP’s findings, first American’s aren’t terribly happy with of Congress in general. Second grassroots conservatives still haven’t forgiven the Congressional Republicans for their big spending, big government bender during the Bush years.  And third I suspect if you asked American’s what they really think of Congress they’d say both parties pretty much suck… The current generation of Congressional Democrats only seem to care about expanding the size and intrusiveness of government while spending us into bankruptcy. While Congressional Republicans only seem to care about… To be blunt I don’t know the hell Congressional Republicans care about these days.

Yeah, sure, they’re paying lip service about returning to commonsense conservative principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility, a strong national defense and vibrant free markets, but given their big spending, big government bender during the Bush years they don’t have much credibility there…

Anyway, despite their credibility problems Republicans appear to be headed for significant gains November’s mid-term elections… The question will they hold true to commonsense conservative principles or will they go another big spending, big government bender?

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CNBC: Economy Caught in Depression, Not Recession

August 25, 2010 By Jeff Leave a Comment

I be the first one to admit I’m a pessimist on the economy, but not even I’m this pessimistic:

Positive gross domestic product readings and other mildly hopeful signs are masking an ugly truth: The US economy is in a 1930s-style Depression, Gluskin Sheff economist David Rosenberg said Tuesday.

Writing in his daily briefing to investors, Rosenberg said the Great Depression also had its high points, with a series of positive GDP reports and sharp stock market gains.

But then as now, those signs of recovery were unsustainable and only provided a false sense of stability, said Rosenberg.

Rosenberg calls current economic conditions “a depression, and not just some garden-variety recession,” and notes that any good news both during the initial 1929-33 recession and the one that began in 2008 triggered “euphoric response.”

“Such is human nature and nobody can be blamed for trying to be optimistic; however, in the money management business, we have a fiduciary responsibility to be as realistic as possible about the outlook for the economy and the market at all times,” he said.

Mr. Rosenberg’s argument it compelling, I’m not sure agree with him, but like I said I’m a pessimist on the economy. I’ve thought all along this so called recovery was more akin to a dead cat bounce than an actual meaningful sustained recovery… And that’s what the data seems to indicate. All the indicators I’m looking at, employment, housing, durable goods, and consumer confidence are pointing to anything but a recovery. Are we actually in a depression? I don’t know, but I think it’s safe to say this isn’t a garden variety recession.

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Union Representing Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents Unanimously Approves a “vote of no confidence” in ICE Leadership

August 10, 2010 By Jeff 2 Comments

The union representing rank and file Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents has unanimously approved a “Vote of No Confidence” in the agency’s leadership. The statement released on June 25, 2010 accuse ICE Director  John Morton, and Phyllis Coven, assistant director for the agency’s office of detention policy and planning of abandoning its core mission of protecting the public to support a political agenda favoring amnesty.

From the Washington Times:

The National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 7,000 ICE agents and employees, voted 259-0 for a resolution saying there was “growing dissatisfaction and concern” over the leadership of Assistant Secretary John Morton, who heads ICE, and Phyllis Coven, assistant director for the agency’s office of detention policy and planning.

The resolution said ICE leadership had “abandoned the agency’s core mission of enforcing U.S. immigration laws and providing for public safety,” instead directing its attention “to campaigning for programs and policies related to amnesty and the creation of a special detention system for foreign nationals that exceeds the care and services provided to most U.S. citizens similarly incarcerated.

“It is the desire of our union … to publicly separate ourselves from the actions of Director Morton and Assistant Director Coven and publicly state that ICE officers and employees do not support Morton or Coven or their misguided and reckless initiatives, which could ultimately put many in America at risk,” the union said.

In a strongly worded statement, the union and its affiliated local councils said the integrity of the agency “as well as the public safety” would be “better provided for in the absence of Director Morton and Assistant Director Coven.”

Interestingly Mr. Morton told the Washington Post in an interview a few weeks ago that calls for his resignation were ‘just part of the territory,’:

“You develop a thick skin in a job like this,” said Morton, who admits to reading many of the brickbats that come his way but says they don’t consume him. “I’d imagine that for some other senior leaders in government, the day when someone calls for their resignation would be the day they’d remember throughout their career. That’s just part of the territory here.”

That may be true Mr. Morton, but if you’ve lost the confidence of the men and women who work you I don’t see how you do your job effectively.

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Nile Gardiner: The Obama presidency increasingly resembles a modern-day Ancien Régime: extravagant and out of touch with the American people

August 10, 2010 By Jeff Leave a Comment

I came across this column by Nile Gardiner the other day and I’ve been debating on whether to post it or not… I don’t begrudge the President or First Lady a vacation, I do think the optics of Michelle Obama’s extravagant vacation in Spain and the expense to taxpayers look horrible when most Americans are struggling just to make ends meet.

Mr. Gardiner does offer valid criticism of the political class and the media in this country though, so on balance I think it’s worth posting:

What the great French historian Alexis de Tocqueville would make of today’s Obama administration were he alive today is anyone’s guess. But I would wager that the author of L’Ancien Régime and Democracy in America would be less than impressed with the extravagance and arrogance on display among the White House elites that rule America as though they had been handed some divine right to govern with impunity.

It is the kind of impunity that has been highlighted on the world stage this week by Michelle Obama’s hugely costly trip to Spain, which has prompted a New York Post columnist Andrea Tantaros to dub the First Lady a contemporary Marie Antoinette. As The Telegraph reports, while the Obamas are covering their own vacation expenses such as accommodation, the trip may cost US taxpayers as much as $375,000 in terms of secret service security and flight costs on Air Force Two.

The timing of this lavish European vacation could not have come at a worse moment, when unemployment in America stands at 10 percent, and large numbers of Americans are fighting to survive financially in the wake of the global economic downturn. It sends a message of indifference, even contempt, for the millions of Americans who are struggling just to feed their families on a daily basis and pay the mortgage, while the size of the national debt balloons to Greek-style proportions.

Read the rest…

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Pete Stark: The Federal Government can do most anything in this country

August 3, 2010 By Jeff Leave a Comment

This video of Congressman Pete Stark (D-CA) has been making the rounds… it’s extraordinary, the woman question Rep. Stark lays out one the clearest examples of the Constitutional issues surrounding health care reform I’ve seen and Rep. Stark simply has no answer for them saying:

I think that there are very few constitutional limits that would prevent the federal government from rules that could affect your private life. Now, the basis for that would be, how does it affect other people. In other words… The federal government, yes, can do most anything in this country.

His answer is rather chilling, but it seems to reflect the broader attitude of many in Congress… Screw the Constitution we can do whatever we want and you rubes had better get used to it.

Every member of Congress swears an oath to defend the Constitution of United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic:

“I, [State your Name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”

Frankly, I don’t see how Rep. Stark can bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution when he so clearly has no respect for it or the limits it places on the powers of the Federal Government. Ronald Reagan said it best, The federal government has taken too much tax money from the people, too much authority from the states, and too much liberty with the Constitution.

I should note that while the woman questioning Rep. Stark argues very effectively against health care reform on 13th Amendment grounds, as Ed Morrissey notes, Fifth Amendment protections against the confiscation of private property and the Article I, Section 8 mandate that Congress protect ownership ones “exclusive right to their Writings and Discoveries” for those in the sciences and arts also apply.

Update (Wednesday, August 4, 2010): Michelle Malkin has more on Pete Stark’s remarks at last weekend’s town hall… Rep. Stark apparently didn’t know what the Government’s E-Verify program is and mockingly told his constituents that denying jobs to illegal aliens could be “unconstitutional.”

Wow, Pete Stark is another great example of why we need Congressional Term limits. Never mind his convoluted views on the Constitution, he’s openly contemptuous of the people he was elected to represent. Rep. Stark seems to have forgotten that he is an elected representative who serves at the will of the people, it’s time for the people of California’s 13th congressional district to send into retirement.

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House Ethics Committee Outlines Charges Against. Rep. Rangel

July 29, 2010 By Jeff Leave a Comment

The House Committee on Standards of Official Contact today released a detailed Statement Alleged Violation which charges Congressmen Charles Rangel (D- NY) 13 violations of House rules:

A public trial into ethics charges against New York Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel began today. Lawmakers cast the proceedings as a necessary exercise to regain the public’s trust in Congress.

The 20-term representative is charged with 13 “very serious” allegations, said Texas Rep. Mike McCaul, the ranking Republican in the House Ethics Committee. The charges are related to allegations Rangel inappropriately solicited donations for the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at City College of New York, left errors and omissions on his financial dicslosure forms, failed to report and pay taxes on rental income for a beach villa, and inappropriately allowed his campaign committees to use a rent subsized apartment.

Rangel attempted to reach a settlement with the committee to avoid a humiliating public trial, but no deal was reached. The start of trial now marks the culmination of a two-year investigation into the charges against him.

The charges against Rep. Rangel include using his office to solicit of contributions to the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at the City College of New York; the  acceptance of four rent-stabilized apartments in Harlem; errors and omissions on his financial disclosure forms; and his failure to report and pay taxes on rental income from a beach villa he owns in the Dominican Republic.

If convicted Rep. Rangel could face a range of penalties ranging from censure to expulsion from the House or Representatives.

Bottom line, Charlie Rangel is the poster child for Congressional term limits. If he had any shame he’d resign and save himself and and his party the embarrassment of a trial.

You can read to full Statement of Alleged Violations and supporting documents related to Statement of Alleged Violations on the Ethics Committee’s web site.

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House Ethics Commitee Charges Charlie Rangel With Violating House Rules

July 22, 2010 By Jeff Leave a Comment

It’s taken two years of investigations, but the House Committee on Standards of Official Contact has finally charged Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) with multiple ethics violations:

House ethics investigators have accused the once-powerful Rep. Charles Rangel (D., N.Y.) of breaking a series of congressional rules.

Mr. Rangel will have the opportunity to defend himself at a public trial before the House ethics committee beginning next week, according to a statement Thursday from the panel, formally called the House Committee on Standards of Official Contact.

The committee did not detail the charges or its findings. Congressional ethics investigators had been reviewing whether Mr. Rangel failed to disclose $75,000 worth of income he received from a rental property he owns in the Dominican Republic. Mr. Rangel has admitted what he called a mistake on that matter and has paid back taxes.

Lawmakers are required to fill out a financial-disclose statement once a year listing their assets, debts and sources of income. But Mr. Rangel has repeatedly failed to report all of his assets, and he recently filed amended reports that disclosed an additional $500,000 in assets.

Investigators have also been reviewing whether Mr. Rangel used official congressional letterhead for fund-raising letters he sent to corporations and others seeking donations for the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at the City College of New York. In addition, investigators were looking at whether Mr. Rangel have violated congressional rules by occupying several rent-stabilized apartments provided by a Manhattan real estate developer. The congressman himself had asked the ethics committee to look into those two matters.

If  he’s found guilty of violating House rules Congressman Mr. Rangel could face a variety of penalties including expulsion from Congress. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out… So far Nancy Pelosi’s “most ehtical Congress ever” has had a rather lackluster reputation on ethics. Even if Rep. Rangel, who turned 80 in June, beats the rap I suspect party insiders will be pressuring to step aside lest they hand another talking point to Republicans come November.

James Richardson has more on the Charlie Rangel’s history of ethical lapses over at Red State.

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Weekly Initial Jobless Claims Rise… Unexpectedly… Yet Again…

July 1, 2010 By Jeff Leave a Comment

This is getting silly, it seems like every time new jobless claims rise the media uses words like “unexpected’ or “surprising” to describe the news… There’s nothing surprising or unexpected about this week’s jobless report, not after reports on plunging new home sales in May, and the sharp drop in consumer confidence.

Suffices to say and up tick in new jobless claims was entirely expected by anyone with half a brain… and that’s exactly we got:

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The number of people filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits climbed 13,000 in the latest week to 472,000, indicating continued weakness in the labor market.

Although claims have fallen 22% from one year ago, they are up 4% since the start of 2010, according to data from the Labor Department. Weekly claims typically would have to fall below 400,000 to signify improved nationwide hiring trends.

Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected initial claims to fall to 455,000. See our complete economic calendar and consensus forecast.

The four-week average of initial claims — a better gauge of employment trends than the volatile weekly number – rose by 3,250 to 466,500, the highest level in almost three months.

While claims tend to align with job growth over the longer term, the weekly data is prone to sharp fluctuations. A clearer picture of job growth will emerge Friday when the government releases its monthly employment report for June.

Tomorrow’s monthly unemployment report should be interesting, economists are reportedly expecting the economy will have added 110,000 jobs in June, excluding the departure of temporary Census workers from government payrolls. Personally, I’m kind of pessimistic about about those forecasts, most of today’s economic news today is discouraging… Manufacturing declined in June, so did construction spending, and pending home sales. All in all this is look more like a dead cat bounce than a recovery.

Ed’s got a great chart illustrating just how unexpected today’s news is over at Hot Air.

What say you:

Is the U.S. economy headed for a recovery or a 'dead cat bounce'?

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Robert Byrd, Longest-Serving U.S. Senator, Dies at 92

June 28, 2010 By Jeff Leave a Comment

West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd passed away early this morning at Inova Hospital in Fairfax, Va. He was 92.

Robert Byrd, the 92-year-old West Virginia Democrat who served in the U.S. Senate for 51 years, died Monday.

A family spokesman said Mr. Byrd died peacefully at about 3 a.m. at Inova Hospital in Fairfax, Va. At first Mr. Byrd was believed to be suffering from heat exhaustion and severe dehydration, but other medical conditions developed. He had been in failing health for several years.

A master of Senate procedures and orator whose Stentorian tones aimed to evoke the roots of the republic (if not Rome), Mr. Byrd served longer, voted more frequently, and probably used the arcane Senate rules to more effect than any previous denizen of the nation’s senior legislative house.

Mr. Byrd inhabited numerous roles in a life that took him from a childhood in the coalfields of West Virginia to Senate Majority Leader. In his early years, he was a gas-station attendant, a welder, and self-taught butcher, then a West Virginia state legislator.

After he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1952, his political positions veered widely between the now almost extinct Southern conservative Democrats of mid-century to that of the more conventional liberal of today. But his reputation never rested on ideology, but rather on his persuasiveness, his sheer effort, and occasionally, his willingness to filibuster.

Suffices to say I rarely agreed with Senator Byrd on policy, but that’s irrelevant now… He was a husband, a father and a grandfather our thoughts and prayers belong with his family today.

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