The Smoke Break

You want some brie with that whine?

Spinning RINOs

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While I sit in awe at the super-sized egomaniacal ignorance being displayed by Democrats, His Transparency in particular, trying desperately to justify their kamikaze crash-and-burn midterm election failures by actually saying out loud that Americans simply weren’t “pursuaded” enough by misunderstood “arguments” for the thinly-disguised slavery this administration and Democrat-majority Congress forced onto them, my other half is fascinated with the post-election spinning that because Angle lost in Nevada and O’Donnell lost in Delaware and Miller may have lost in Alaska the Tea Party is some sort of “failure”.

My reply is that this is little more than the smoke & mirrors of RINO guilt attempting to distract anyone with even one brain cell firing on 1/2 a cylinder that the reason Angle and O’Donnell and Miller lost is because the GOP refused to acknowledge that we, the people, had made our choice of GOP candidates and therefore refused to provide them with any real support. A guilty distraction that is, of course, glommed onto with great glee by the smacked-down Democrats to salve their soundly-whipped little egos.

Rush had it right on his radio show yesterday. Just where was the RNC while these so- called “Tea Party” candidates gave career politicians a real run for their money? Did, for examply, Democrat-lite RINO Lindsay Graham lift a finger to help what the people had said were now effectively his party? Nope. Nothing but the sound of crickets.  Because of the GOP’s failure to honor the will of the people, they must now attempt to marginalize and criticize so as to not lose their precious lobbyist support (read:  get rich off your tax dollars) and self-perceived importance in the old boy’s club; even threatening Senator Jim DeMint with a “co-opting” of his conservative freshmen.

Obama and Pelosi and Reid apparently demoralized the Democrat base so much that many of them didn’t even bother to vote. (Though based on CNN’s exit polls that show Democrat voters think Congress’ highest priority should be on even more spending instead of reducing the deficit and cutting taxes it’s perhaps a good thing they found other things to do.)  But on the flip side, Graham and his ilk are the reason many voted for the GOP while holding their noses. Snake-oil salesmen soil seats on both sides of the aisle in Washington but I have two words for them:

November 2012

The End Of Federal Money-Laundering?

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Taxes are a big theme in this year’s midterm election mudslinging contest.  It is not just a response to the current administration’s obvious attempts to crush the productive in order to maintain their personal wealth and delusions of power but rather quite a normal reflex.  Humans, being just another species of animal (regardless what self-perceived elitists like to think about themselves and others in their little herd), are normally self-protective, selfish, and therefore not really very generous until such time as they, themselves, feel their personal needs have been safely and securely met.

Progressives, in their contempt for the protections of  the fallibility of humans as written into the governing documents of the Republic by our Founding Fathers, have always known this.  And they have used it for their own equally selfish advantage by professing to offer something for nothing to those who have not fairly earned it.  The ideology of “distributing the wealth” plays on the inherently sympathetic nature of the inherently self-protective, using age-old exhortations to Man’s “higher nature” to press the guilt button and thereby gain acquiese to more and more of the fruits of their labors.

I see the rise of the Tea Party as a logical response to this theft.  And I have come to see the idiocy in believing there can be much (if any) good in what is essentially money laundering by the federal government.  The Enumerated Powers were quite clear yet today we pay thousands and thousands of bureaucrats two and three times the going rate to decide how we should be spending our money on things in which the federal government simply does not belong.  In the same way Jesus is reported to have overturned the tables of the money-changers in the temple, so now does the Tea Party stand to overturn the same thievery that has become the federal government.

What good does it to give money to what is essentially a charitable endeavor (food stamps, welfare, Social Security, even education) but allow a big bite to be taken out of it before it may be used as originally intended?  What most readily recognize as a charity gets double-dipped for they must give money to the federal government in order to be recognized as doing charitable work in the first place; then our tax dollars pay thousands of bureaucrats to monitor the flow of money from donor to recipient.  Would it not be better to be able to hand over some of your dollars directly to someone who is, say, stocking a food pantry and know that it is going to be spent on food, rather than going first to subsidize some bureaucrat’s above-average lifestyle?  Would you not be more willing to donate in the first place, and even to donate more?

I know I would.  And for anyone who thinks that this tax-loving bureaucratic micro-regulating of charities is a good idea, I would only point to organizations like ACORN and ask you just how well has that worked out?  In this age of free-flowing information, I would err on the thought that word of mouth about organizations pocketing more than reasonable expenses (United Way, anyone?) would spread quickly and they would soon find their donations dropping; the worst would have to close their doors and the userers in charge would have to go out and earn a real living.

The same can be said for unions, which have become little more than the worst kind of charities.  The truth is, teachers and teamsters, that your Viagra is not my problem and if you think your dues can make it so, just ask Jimmy Hoffa what happened to Michigan.  Even banks, when subject to the free-flow of information in a truly free market, would not stay in business very long when they force responsible customers to pay for their loans to customers who are less responsible.

The federal government has long overstepped its bounds and their demonstrations of entitlement to do so become more clear each day.  Why else is President Walking Eagle stumping around the country inciting violence towards those who disagree with his socialist policies – on our dime?  I don’t recall that calling those who don’t want to pay to support millions more people with entitlements the “enemy” was part of his job description.  But it is certainly in the job description of we, the people, to find and to root out the enemies both without and within.

And that is why November 2nd is so important.  There are lamestream media squeakings this morning about sending the “inexperienced” into our “complicated” contemporary federal government machine in Washington.  But at the end of the day and in the final analysis it is exactly such “inexperience” that is needed to cut the crap if we don’t want Americans to end up in Greece or France without need for a passport and plane ride.  They are needed to walk those Democrat-desecrated hallowed halls wielding the scalpel about which His Transparency lied during the 2008 election campaign and then use it to cut out the heart of progressive liberalism whether it comes in the guise of an ass or a RINO and restore the Republic; beholden to no one except those who sent them there to do that very job.

As the Justice Department would say, “Bring out your dead and vote early and often.”

A Class Act He’s Not

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In the continuing adventures of The 2010 Election Story That Goes Unreported, in the heart of the Rust Belt known as Michigan’s 12th Congressional district, a food bank was recently opened.  A beautiful thing, this; neighbors stepping up and taking on the responsibility to help neighbors in what is the worst district in the nation for loss of income, loss of jobs and loss of home values.

Two of the candidates running for the House seat in this most-battered and beleagured of blue districts recently attended the opening of this small, grassroots charitable effort.  The wealthy incumbent Democrat, Sander Levin, annointed by progressive liberal Nancy Pelosi to be the chair of the House Ways & Means Committee due to his 28-year seniority in the House, took a break from campaigning for his colleagues in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois to return to his district and make a brief appearance.

His GOP challenger, small business owner Don Volaric, was there, too.  The same way he has been at the church that opened the food bank on numerous Sunday mornings.  He brought with him boxes of foodstuffs purchased by his wife to help fill the shelves of the sorely-needed pantry.

Sander Levin showed up with only a photographer to record his appearance.

November’s Big Surprise

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According to Forbes, the #1 worst area for jobs is Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Michigan (out of 389 areas). The Detroit News reported this past weekend that Michigan’s unemployment rate remains second-highest in the nation and the Detroit-Warren-Livonia region had the highest unemployment rate at 13.9 percent among the six metropolitan areas the Bureau of Labor Statistics cited.  Now make note that the city of Warren, Michigan, is smack in the middle of Michigan’s 12th Congressional district.

According to common sense, one definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results each time.

Insanity must be the explanation for why Sander Levin, the latest Chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee, has been the representative of Michigan’s 12th district for the last 28 years.  For only insanity can explain why someone who has put his district to the top of the loser’s charts by voting  in lockstep with the Democratic party has remained in office.  He’s been Pelosi’s loyal lapdog for the current administration; a guaranteed and delivered vote for bailouts that sent our hard-earned tax money to overseas banks via AIG and gave our auto companies to corrupt union leadership who are getting rich pocketing the spoils.

Sander Levin voted to destroy the health care system in favor of a progressive, government-knows-best ideology that includes making you buy something whether you want to buy it or not.

Sander Levin voted to destroy American manufacturing, sounding the death knell for Michigan, the heart of the Rust Belt, through so-called “cap & trade” that will raise the price of everything from fuel to food.

Then he scuttled out of D.C. with all his Democrat buddies without doing anything to stop the tax hikes scheduled to take effect on January 1st for everyone; do you realize that the lowest income taxpayers will see a 50% increase in their federal income tax rate on their first $8,000 of income? A 50% INCREASE on their first $8,000 of income. And let’s not forget the impact to middle-class business owners who won’t be expanding their businesses (creating jobs) because they’ll have to instead send that money to Washington in the form of higher taxes once they reach the arbitrary and magic number that the Democrats now define as being “rich”.  And “greedy”.  And “racist”.  (Unless, of course, you’re a Democrat politician or one of their lobbying buddies.)

And of course there’s the upcoming estate tax, where money already taxed when earned will be taxed again (sometimes a third time) before it can be given to one’s heirs.

Oh, let’s not forget the looming taxes on unearned income; another mean bite into the fixed income of responsible seniors who worked and saved for a lifetime in order to remain independent by living off the income from their investments. And there’s another sneaky bite from their income (and the income of everyone else) coming if the Democrats have their way:  increased costs to even pay the bills because of fees that will be levied on every single financial transaction; fees that will, of course, be passed onto you, the consumer.

I could go on but I’m sure you get the point.  Every bit of badness cooked up by Congress, every blow to freedom, has been wholeheartedly endorsed by progressive liberal Sander Levin.

Now, despite all of this, Sander Levin apparently feels entitled to his seat in the House of Representatives since he’s unwilling to come face-to-face with his constituents to campaign for their vote or to take the time to debate his challenger during this election, though the polls show this has now become a real race (strangely gone entirely ignored by both the media and the GOP; which means one helluva headline come November 3rd). Instead he’s spending his time campaigning for his colleagues in New York, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Pennsylvania and gives only lip service and the standard Democrat’s response to questions about today’s problems.  Seems he’s hoping no one will remember that he was part of those horrible Congresses who created all the problems in the first place.

What has Sander Levin done by being a guaranteed vote for progressive liberalism? Ask your neighbor who has a house in foreclosure while Sander Levin sells his house in Maryland for almost a million dollars. Ask your friend whose company is going out of business. Ask the Michigan children who are moving out of state because that’s the only place they can find a job. Then ask yourself:  Can you afford any more of this kind of representation in Washington?

I can’t.

It’s time to shake up Michigan the way Massachusetts was shaken up last January.  It’s time to help support the efforts of conservative candidate, small business owner and family man, Don Volaric, to represent Michigan’s 12th district in the House of Representatives. 

It’s time to drive one important nail in the coffin of progressive liberalism.

Criminals Drumming Up Votes For Democrats

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“In order for there to be a change to our broken immigration system,” she said, “I believe one has to fight.”

“She” is one Maria Gianni.  Who, as it just so happens, is an illegal immigrant.  A deliberate law-breaker.  A criminal with malice aforethought.

So why are we quoting her?  Because while I’m beyond being surprised at these foreign criminals criticizing American law, I am offended to my core to hear one dare to utter their selfish, cry-baby criticisms accompanied by the word “our”; as if their sorry criminal ass is somehow equal to and has the same rights a legal American citizen.

What’s more, she is quoted (translated from Spanish, to be precise) by an AP writer in the Seattle Times in a soft, fluffy piece about illegal immigrants – aka law-breakers aka criminals – going out and pounding the pavement to drum up support for Democrat candidates.  Candidates who they believe will, of course, embrace them – the illegals, the law-breakers, the criminals – and then simply hand over to them the hard-won fruits of the labors of natural-born and legally-naturalized American citizens.

I hate to break the news to Maria and the other 11,999,999 or so foreign criminals currently sponging off the United States.  There ain’t no “our” here.  The only thing wrong with our immigration laws is the pathetic lack of their enforcement.  You’re a slap in the face to every person who came to these shores legally, swore their allegiance to this beloved land and made a positive contribution to Her well-being.  And those who coddle your ilk should be sent packing right along with you.

Democrat Supporter Wanted In Ohio For Assault

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At a Strickland campaign rally in Lucasville, Ohio on September 25, 2010 the man in the photos below “intentionally poured hot coffee” down the back of a citizen videotaping the event.  He later returned to taunt him.

If you know his identify, please call the Scioto County Sherriff’s office (740-335-8245).  Violence of any kind has no place in politics.

The Poster Child For An Ivy-League Education

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Yes, dear readers; this is the man into whose hands a majority of Americans placed their trust to keep this beloved Republic safe in November 2008.  The one who thinks that “higher education” is the solution to so many of our problems.

Apparently he took “higher” literally and lost more than a few brain cells along the way to his alleged graduation.  Or else he believes he’s the American version of Mary Poppins….

The RINO Message: “We want your votes but not your candidates”

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In an email today from Jim DeMint:

As you know, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski lost the Republican primary to her conservative challenger, Joe Miller, in a fair fight. But instead of graciously conceding and endorsing the Republican nominee, Murkowski announced that she will continue her campaign as an independent write-in candidate.

Senate Republicans held a closed-door meeting yesterday afternoon to elect someone to replace Senator Murkowski as the top Republican on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Or so we thought.

Rather than taking away Murkowski’s leadership position on the committee, Senate Republicans decided to let her keep it. One senator after another stood up to argue in favor of protecting her place on the committee — a position she will no doubt use in her campaign against Joe Miller, the conservative Republican nominee.

It was bad enough to watch my colleagues work to support her in the primary after she had built a record of betraying conservatives principles. But watching them back her after she left the party and launched a campaign against the Republican nominee was more than I could bear.

I spoke out against the motion and I voted against it. But the good ol’ boys Senate club, which always protects its own, prevailed. The motion was adopted by secret ballot and the final tally was not disclosed.

More from Marc Thiessen:

In an interview, [Joe] Miller told me he is confident that he can win with Murkowski in the race: “She was given her job and now she thinks she deserves it. She has disrespected the will of the Alaskan voter. We had the largest turnout of any Republican primary in the history of the state of Alaska. The race was won fair and square. And then in the wake of that, she claims that the election was ‘hijacked’ and that it was a group of ‘extremists’ that voted for me. It gets down to the fact that she perceives herself as entitled, and she can’t let go of the power she’s held for the last eight years.”

In that sense of entitlement, Murkowski is not alone. All last week, we heard the GOP establishment complain how the Tea Party is threatening Republican unity by pursuing “ideological purity” at the expense of a “big tent” party. But Tea Party-endorsed candidates are the ones who have stayed within the GOP tent. Rather than launching destructive third-party bids, fiscally conservative insurgents have contested GOP primaries — and when they have lost, they have endorsed their establishment opponents virtually without fail.

Contrast that with the record of the establishment candidates. When it became clear Charlie Crist would lose to Marco Rubio in Florida’s Senate race, Crist bolted the GOP and decided to run as an independent. When Arlen Specter saw he would lose to Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania’s Senate race, he became a Democrat. And, after losing the GOP nomination in Alaska, Murkowski is running as an independent write-in candidate. And yet, we are told that it is the Tea Party that is dividing the GOP and threatening party unity. For establishment candidates, unity seems to be a one-way street. The message to Tea Party activists across the country is:  We want your votes but not your candidates.

Read that last sentence again:  We want your votes but not your candidates.  That, dear readers, is the root of all angst (or should I say “disgust”) now being demonstrated by the average American voter.  The average American voter who, when push comes to shove, is conservative and pragmatic, common sense and bottom line.  Sure, a majority of these folks voted for “hope” and “change” but paying for other people’s mortgages, abortions, and business miscalculations (not to mention padding the personal bank accounts of unrepresenting representatives a la Rangel, Dodd et al) wasn’t exactly how they defined it and the sea change being demonstrated by RINO and progressive liberal losses to “nobody” conservative candidates is the manifestation of their buyer’s remorse. 

We have plenty of politicians in Washington.  What we want and what we need are representatives of we, the people.  Despite those claims of honor among thieves it is apparently asking too much of either the GOP or the DNC to face the firing squad squarely; it appears they’ll wake up November 3rd looking like proverbial deer in the headlights.  Doesn’t say much for their claims of being the “best and brightest”, does it?  Particularly when the warnings signs are clear.  A friend of mine recently received a solicitation from the Republican National Committee and sent it back; in the space for an “other” donation amount they noted they had made a nice-sized donation directly to Sharron Angle’s Senate campaign in Nevada.  Other shots like this are being sent across the bow every day; I told my local GOP House candidate just last week that if, when he gets to Washington, he becomes what we’ve come to expect as a stereotypical politician I would personally kick his butt.  But therein lies the task that faces us:  we must become personally involved in governing this great Republic and we must remain personally involved.  It is complacency that is the biggest reason America now faces such an uncertain future, therefore it is a return to vigilence that is our personal and individual responsibility if we wish to bequeath something better than federal slavery to our children.

Terrorist Attacks Aren’t All Bad?

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In July, His Transparency told reporter and writer Bob Woodward, “We can absorb a terrorist attack.”  He goes on to say, “We’ll do everything we can to prevent it, but even a 9/11, even the biggest attack ever . . . we absorbed it and we are stronger.”

But why would we want to?  Why should we?  Are YOU willing to sacrifice your life or the life of a loved one here on American soil, the way so many did on 9/11, merely in order that one man can continue to succor an ego that has no military experience whatsoever?

This is truly insane.  Personally, I’m sticking with the advice of people like General Petraeus.  And wishing that the Commander in Chief still personally led the troops into battle.  Perhaps then such infantile, self-perceived-elitist stubbornness would not continue to endanger this beloved country.

Unions Use Your Tax Dollars To Lobby For Higher Taxes

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If this weren’t true, it would be funny in a Twilight Zone sort of way.  Instead, it makes an ironically appropriate post for Labor Day.

A mere 7% of American workers belong to a union, but just over half of that 7% (52%) are public-sector union workers.  Meaning, you and I are the ones paying their higher-than-private-sector salaries and benefits.

Out of those taxpayer-funded higher-than-private-sector salaries are paid the public-sector union worker’s dues.  Meaning, you and I are the ones paying the unions to represent them.

And the tax-payer supported unions are using dues to lobby for higher taxes.

Why?  So there is more money available to raise the already higher-than-private-sector salaries of the unionized public workers since growth of government is the only way unions are able to grow their membership these days (and thereby significantly enrich their organizers, all their bashing of “fat cat corporate executives” aside).

Any wonder politicians think the electorate are essentially stupid?