GOVERNMENT & POLITICS

News from the Swamp: Senate showdown

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and his fellow Republicans banded together to prevent Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) omnibus earmark package from reaching a vote this week. The 52-40 vote to consider the $10-billion collection of 35 previously stymied spending bills fell eight votes short of the 60 required. When we reported two weeks ago on Reid’s sly attempt to revive earlier earmarks that Coburn single-handedly sunk, we were skeptical that the GOP would stick together in the face of earmark spending that curries favor with constituents. Thankfully, the appeal to reduce spending on duplicate and unproven programs weighed more greatly on their collective conscience than the desire for perceived easy re-election back home. Score a small victory for sensible government spending. Unfortunately, that victory is in the face of a budget deficit forecasted to exceed $482 billion in the coming fiscal year.

New & notable legislation

The Senate voted 72-13 in a rare Saturday session to pass the housing bill, which includes the bailout for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. President George W. Bush signed the measure Wednesday.

The House issued an apology on Tuesday, not for profligate spending, ethics issues or complete disregard for the Constitution, but for slavery, more than 140 years after its abolition. Ironically, the resolution was co-sponsored by 42 members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Then again, they have about as much standing to apologize as anyone else alive today, which is to say, none. Barack Obama went further, calling for reparations: “I consistently believe that when it comes to whether it’s Native Americans or African-American issues or reparations, the most important thing for the U.S. government to do is not just offer words, but offer deeds.” Of course, “deeds” means “make the check out to…”

In other Swamp shenanigans, a federal judge ruled Thursday that former White House counsel Harriet Miers and chief of staff Joshua Bolten must comply with subpoenas issued by Congress in its witch hunt over the firing of eight U.S. attorneys in 2006. The two had claimed executive privilege and refused to honor the subpoenas. The House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines that Karl Rove be cited for contempt for ignoring a subpoena.

Obama campaign watch: VP hoopla

The campaign buzz this week is that Virginia Governor Tim Kaine appears to be at the top of Barack Obama’s short list of running mates. Kaine has had conversations that have been characterized as “very serious.” His competition appears to be Sens. Evan Bayh (IN) and Joe Biden (DE). Kaine appears to be the best fit for what the Obama team is looking for—young and a Beltway outsider, not to mention a possible help in coloring Virginia blue. However, Kaine comes up short on foreign policy and national security, where Obama is already, shall we say, lacking. One growing certainty about the Obama VP stakes is that Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) will not be his running mate. The growing distance between the Clinton and Obama camps after their joint appearance at the close of the primaries suggests that his consideration of her for the ticket has been little more than a courtesy.

At least Obama has the support of disgraced Republican Sen. Larry Craig (ID), or so an erroneous campaign button would have us believe. It seems that a company that produces unlicensed Democrat campaign memorabilia created a button that was to include the images of Barack Obama and Idaho Senate candidate Larry LaRocco. The manufacturer, Tigereye Design, mixed up their Larrys and instead placed the one now infamous for his airport restroom escapades on the button with Obama. Once the error was noticed the buttons were quickly withdrawn from circulation, but not before some collectors were able to snap up a few for posterity.

This week’s ‘Alpha Jackass’ award

“This is the moment… that the world is waiting for… I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions.” —Barack Obama

On the other hand, the humble one said in a previous interview, “I am genuinely somebody who doesn’t get caught up in the hype… I think me puncturing my own balloon is something that’s not only calculated to endear me to others, but it helps remind me of who I am and where I’ve come from.”

The Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto quips, “Obama is so humble that he doesn’t feel the need to pretend not to be proud of his exquisite skill at self-deprecation!”

McCain campaign watch: Hard-hitting ad

While on his magical mystery tour of the world last week, Barack Obama caused controversy when he skipped an opportunity to visit wounded American soldiers at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center near Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Competing accounts from the two candidates’ camps explain why Obama cancelled the visit. The McCain campaign has run ads alleging that Obama skipped the trip because he was not allowed to take his media entourage along with him, thereby negating the value of the visit to the coverage-craving candidate. Obama’s campaign says it was precisely because Obama did not want to politicize the visit that he skipped it. Of course, in a political race, everything is, well, political.

The New York Times jumped to Obama’s defense, “debunking” the McCain ad, though even they had to question Obama’s logic, wondering in print why he simply didn’t make the visit alone. In the end, all they did was prove that McCain had the facts right, if he added a bit of interpretation. And as The Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto points out, “This is the same New York Times that in February published an unsubstantiated story suggesting that McCain had had an affair with a lobbyist. The difference is that whereas McCain is engaging in partisan politics, the Times was doing journalism. It seems the paper’s standard for the latter is considerably lower than for the former.”

Democrat convention perks

The Rocky Mountain News reported this week that members of the host committee for the Democrat National Convention in Denver have been using municipal gas pumps to fill up their vehicles, allowing them to avoid 40 cents per gallon in state and federal gas taxes. A committee spokesman said this was being done for security reasons because “we know the gas [in city pumps] is not tainted.” Aside from that quote, which should be nominated for entry into the Pantheon of Lame Excuses, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper claimed that the Republicans were doing the same thing in Minneapolis. They are not. Hickenlooper has since ordered the committee to pay the full price for gas just like everybody else.

In the Senate: Ted Stevens Indicted

Republican (and we use that word loosely) Senator Ted Stevens was indicted this week on charges that he concealed more than $250,000 in gifts he received from VECO Corp., an oil services firm in his home state of Alaska. Fellow GOP Rep. Don Young is also being investigated for VECO ties. Stevens has relinquished his leadership positions in the Senate, but he pleaded not guilty of the charges and plans to run for re-election. However, he faces a likely primary defeat in August. The longest-serving member of the Senate has long been a pork champion, directing more earmark spending to his home state than has any other senator. In fact, his unabashed spending habits came to symbolize the GOP’s maddening lack of fiscal discipline in recent years. The Stevens indictment presents one more obstacle for Republicans looking to avoid another drubbing at the polls in November. The message of GOP corruption certainly is a lucrative fundraising tool for Democrats.

Could Murtha lose re-election?

In this era of fear that Republicans are losing the battle for the country’s heart and soul to the likes of Barack Obama and his minions, there is yet cause for hope. This hope comes in the form of political underdog William Russell, a 45-year-old Desert Storm Veteran who threatens to dethrone another Democrat military apologist, Pennsylvania Rep. Jack Murtha.

Russell, who has not been permitted to campaign actively until his active duty with the Army ends today, has managed to raise $670,000 to Murtha’s $119,000. He has already overcome several other hurdles, including relative anonymity and the decision of a Pennsylvania judge that he did not have enough signatures to qualify for the primary ballot. Yet Russell stuck to the fight, managing to collect an 4,000 more signatures, which earned him a spot on the ballot. His campaign, which has survived largely on guts and the support of folks donating under $50, is a true grassroots success story.

While many Republicans have spent precious time and energy trying to repackage the party in order to make it more palatable to the masses, Russell remains unapologetically steadfast in his views. “I am a conservative,” Russell said. “I believe in the sovereignty and security of this one nation, under God. I believe the primary role of government is to provide for the common defense and a legal framework to protect families and individual liberty… I believe that no one owes me anything just because I live and breathe.” Amen.

‘Man of the People’ becomes a ladies’ man

The National Enquirer broke the story this week about former presidential candidate John Edwards’ affair and resulting “love child” and it is gaining traction. Apparently, Edwards was caught by tabloid reporters Tuesday leaving the hotel room of alleged mistress Reille Hunter. The reporters chased him into a bathroom where he barricaded himself until security arrived and escorted him out of the hotel. Fox News reports that the Beverly Hilton Hotel security guard confirms that he did escort a visibly rattled Edwards from the hotel on the night in question. The question is whom to believe—a tabloid or a Democrat. The Enquirer did report on Jesse Jackson’s “love story,” so they occasionally do get this stuff right. John Edwards has stayed away from reporters, his lawyer is denying nothing and there is a general media gag order to protect the Democrat. All in all, while Edwards’ antics may rule out a slot on the ticket with Obama, he certainly has proved his bona fides for a future Clinton ticket.

NATIONAL SECURITY

Warfront with Jihadistan: Media see progress

The mainstream media seem finally to be acknowledging the amazing turnaround that has taken place in Iraq over the last 18 months. July saw the lowest number of U.S. deaths (11) since the war began, while in 2007 the monthly average was 80, and the peak month of May 2007 saw 131 Coalition soldiers killed, 126 of them Americans. So far in 2008 there have been 226 Coalition deaths, all but two of them Americans. The Iraqi government is meeting benchmarks, and infrastructure is being rebuilt. Even card-carrying Bush haters like Time magazine’s Joe Klein can no longer ignore the evidence of amazing progress in Iraq. “I happily acknowledge that I was wrong about the surge… The surge has reduced violence. We should all be thrilled about that—and honored by the brilliance of those who have served in Iraq.”

Perhaps the media should get out their rolodexes and alert certain members of the Left who cling to their gloom-and-doom rhetoric. Harry Reid (D-Featist) and Nancy Pelosi (D-Mented) released a joint statement recently that concluded, “The increase in U.S. forces has had little impact in curbing the violence or fostering political reconciliation… It has not enhanced America’s national security. The unsettling reality is that instances of violence against Iraqis remain high and attacks on U.S. forces have increased.” Clearly, that statement is not supported by the facts. Presidential candidate Barack Obama has at least had the good sense to pull down from his website any criticism of the surge, although he has yet to acknowledge that he was wrong in predicting its uselessness and pre-ordained failure back in 2006.

It is still too soon to know what state Iraq will be in by November, but it certainly appears that the one issue on which Obama hung his election hopes —the “debacle” in Iraq—may not work out quite as Democrats had planned.

Teaching hate in America

With “friends” like these, who needs enemies? Saudi Arabia, our alleged ally in the Long War, continues funding educational material that teaches nothing more than hatred and death for all who are not Muslim. The Hudson Institute examined textbooks distributed by the Saudi Ministry of Education in 2007 and 2008 and found that the Saudis still teach their children to “hate the infidels” and that it’s okay for Muslims to kill “apostates,” adulterers, homosexuals, Christians and polytheists. For good measure, they add that Jews are apes and Christians are swine.

Sadly, this horrendous material isn’t confined to Saudi Arabia but is being disseminated worldwide, even to the U.S. The Islamic Saudi Academy in Alexandria, Virginia, continues to use textbooks that teach hatred of non-Muslims and encourage jihad and martyrdom—all this despite the Academy’s promises several years ago to clean up their act. Perhaps more frightening, thanks to a good-will gesture by President Bush after 9/11 to Saudi King Abdullah, more than 20,000 of these “educated” students are on U.S. college campuses right now. While the Saudis may be free to teach their children whatever they want to teach them, they should not be exempt from the repercussions of teaching religious hatred and violence.

Getting the military vote

A measure that sought to better enable members of the military serving overseas to cast their votes failed miserably in the House this week. Not surprisingly, nary a Democrat volunteered to back the proposal introduced by House Republican Whip Roy Blunt, which urged the Department of Defense to make positive changes in the process for military-absentee voting.

Earlier this week, the federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC) urged overseas voters to begin the voting process, one that is “lengthy,” said EAC chair Rosemary Rodriguez. “[T]hey must first request a ballot and return it to cast their vote. This lengthy process leaves little room for error or clarification.” For men and women in uniform who are in the field, such processes are not always realistic. The EAC estimates that only 5.5 percent of the roughly six million voters that fall under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act were counted for the 2006 general election. More disturbingly, “The ballots returned account for just under one-third of the ballots requested,” an EAC report shows.

Last year, a Defense Department Inspector General reportedly sought to appoint “voting assistance officers” to aid military members in placing their votes, but the Pentagon turned down the proposal. Now that a Democrat-controlled Congress has flatly refused Blunt’s measure, there seems little hope that EAC statistics will improve this election season.

Cold War redux

Presumptuous Democrat presidential nominee Barack Obama wasn’t the only disciple of Che Guevara touring Europe last week. While Obama spoke to the adulating proletariat of Berlin, Venezuelan President Huge Chavez was in Moscow asking to buy $1 billion worth of diesel submarines, mobile missile launchers and tanks. He also told Russian leaders that he plans to spend $30 billion on weaponry in the coming years.

Not to be outdone, Chavez’s closest ally, the Republik of Cuba, offered refueling stations for Russian bombers. Cuban dictator Fidel Castro even went so far as to write a missive declaring that he owed the U.S. no explanation for breaking the 1962 treaty to keep Russian arms out of Cuba. The island penitentiary has also invited Russia to reopen the Lourdes signals intelligence facility near Havana, which being just 90 miles off the coast of Florida is “a unique place to gather intelligence on the U.S” according to one Russian official.

In short, a second Cold War is brewing in America’s back yard, and the United States will need the support of South American allies like Colombia. Unfortunately, Leftist politicians like Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi have more in common with socialist thug Hugo Chavez than with capitalist Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. As a result, the Democrat-controlled Congress has spurned Colombia’s attempts to reach a free trade agreement with the United States, despite the positive impact of such a deal on the security of both nations. Perhaps sensing that the U.S. does not realize the gravity of the situation in South America, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has vowed to enhance trade ties between Colombia and his country “so we aren’t left dependent on a single partner.”

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

A crack in the anti-drilling rig

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has created a rift in the once-united Democrat front against oil exploration and drilling by submitting a proposal to open a billion acres off the coast of Alaska to an oil drilling study. The legislation, cosponsored by Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), would also accelerate the leasing process in the Gulf of Mexico. Fellow Democrat Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) expressed his disappointment at the move and encapsulated the head-in-the-sand view of liberals on energy by crowing, “I am unalterably opposed to drilling.”

In our view, Reid’s plan came as a welcome change in the debate over more oil drilling, as it is the only realistic alternative we have at the present time to relieve our energy woes. The proposal is gaining momentum in the Senate. Unfortunately, it may not see the light of day in the House this year, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-OPEC) is opposed to the idea, in part because she knows that too many Democrats would go along with pro-drilling legislation. Indeed, more than a dozen Democrats voted with Republicans to keep Congress in session until the drilling proposal had a vote. However, that was one Democrat too few (the vote was 213-212), and the House is now adjourned.

Democrats and activist groups complained that any actions taken now will have no immediate effect on gas prices and would produce no benefit to Americans for 10 years—which is exactly what they said 10 years ago. But producing oil and gas does not have to take that long. “There are some instances that within a matter of months they could be getting additional oil,” John McCain said this week. “In the view of the people who are in the business,” there are “abundant resources… that could be exploited within a matter of months,” he added. “So offshore drilling is something we have to do.” It must come as a shock to liberals that some people actually think further ahead than next week.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama has the solution we can believe in: “We could save all the oil that they’re talking about getting off drilling if everybody was just inflating their tires and getting regular tune-ups.” Brilliant! Why didn’t we think of that?

Economy grows, media fear the worst

The Associated Press reports, “The country didn’t get the energetic rebound in economic growth hoped for from the government’s tax rebates in the second quarter, and the economy jolted into reverse at the end of 2007, raising new recession fears.” What happened? The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 1.9 percent in the second quarter. But lest readers think economic growth is a good thing, the AP warns, “The pickup, while welcome, isn’t likely to be seen as a signal that the fragile economy is growing healthier.” The news was disappointing to The New York Times as well: “The economy grew less than expected from April to June, the government said on Thursday, and it shrank [by 0.2 percent] in the final months of 2007, dimming the outlook for a quick recovery.” Meanwhile, Reuters thanks the government for the disappointing growth: “Expansion accelerated modestly in the second quarter as government stimulus payments helped consumers add more buying punch to the economy.” Granted, no one thinks the economy is firing on all cylinders (the unemployment rate rose again last month, most likely because of the increase in minimum wage), but the media continue to take the glass-half-empty approach—something somewhat unmerited by a complete view of the facts. We probably just need to better inflate the proverbial tires of the economy.
Income Redistribution: Change you can tax

It’s being called a “recipe for recession” that will produce “a remarkable reduction in work incentives for our most economically productive citizens.” In fact, according to Michael J. Boskin, Stanford University economics professor, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, and former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, Barack Obama’s economic plan is evidence of “startling economic illiteracy.”

Under an Obama administration, taxpayers would witness the top 35 percent marginal income-tax rate jump to 39.6 percent and the tax cap blown off Social Security for individuals earning more than $250,000. Add this to Obama’s proposed phase-out of itemized deductions for high-income earners, and the result would be an increase in the combined marginal tax rate—from 44.6 percent to 62.8 percent—on every additional dollar earned. In short, after-tax income would plunge from 55.4 cents per dollar to only 37.2 cents.

To make matters worse, dividend rates would leap from 50.4 percent to 65.6 percent, with after-tax returns dropping over 30 percent—a combination that, according to Boskin, would “sooner or later… seriously damage the economy.”

Barack Obama has centered his campaign on change, and, indeed, if he is elected in November, taxpayers will be forking it over—lots of it.

IRS missing $58 billion in payroll taxes

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported this week that the Internal Revenue Service has failed to collect $58 billion in delinquent payroll taxes from 1.6 million businesses, prompting Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) to lament that tax cheats are “undermining confidence in the tax system as a whole.” Memo to Senator Levin: American taxpayers do not have confidence in our tax system, but rather a justified fear of it.

USA Today missed the elephant in the living room while tripping over its trunk. From its article: “Payroll taxes include money withheld by employers for federal income taxes, Social Security and Medicare hospital insurance. Increasingly, those taxes aren’t enough: The two massive entitlement programs are headed toward insolvency unless taxes are raised or benefits slashed.”

The magic phrase in that passage is “withheld by employers.” Payroll taxes are the majority tax burden of 50 percent of all taxpayers, yet it is a tax burden that the average wage earner rarely notices. If every American Taxpayer had to sit down on the 15th of every third month and remit their quarterly tax payment, the fervor for tax reform and accountability would increase to such a point that true tax reform must result. Charles Baudelaire in his 1864 short story, “The Generous Gambler,” wrote, “the devil’s best trick is to persuade you that he doesn’t exist!” In the case of the IRS, their greatest trick was to convince workers that they don’t pay taxes, but their employer does. However, this disclosure by the GAO reveals that the IRS has a real problem. Unless, of course, they pretend it doesn’t exist.

CULTURE

Around the nation: DC back in court

The plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case that struck down the District of Columbia’s handgun ban have filed a new federal lawsuit. Dick Heller, Absalom Jordan and Amy McVey say that DC’s new gun law is “highly unusual and unreasonable” and that it violates the intent of the Supreme Court’s June ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller. The new gun law, which is similar to the old, unconstitutional law, imposes an arbitrary fee to register a firearm and requires that guns be kept disassembled or locked and unloaded. “A robber basically has to make an appointment” so that a resident will have time to prepare his weapon, said Dick Heller’s attorney, Stephen Halbrook. The new regulation also bans “machine guns,” which the DC city council absurdly defines as any weapon capable of shooting more than 12 rounds without being reloaded. This ludicrous restriction makes most semiautomatic pistols illegal, thereby depriving DC residents of America’s most popular self-defense weapon. Indeed, Dick Heller decided to file the new lawsuit after DC police refused to register his Colt pistol on the basis that it was a machine gun.

DC interim Attorney General Peter Nickles said the city expected another lawsuit, adding, “I feel comfortable with what the city has done.” Not surprisingly, Nickles’ biography notes his “abiding interest in the rights of prisoners,” but it says nothing about the rights of the victims of this key Democrat constituency. When a spree of murders occurred in DC neighborhoods last month, Nickles’ solution was to set up police checkpoints at intersections and turn away all vehicles that didn’t have “legitimate business,” an action that was probably illegal under a 2000 Supreme Court ruling. Apparently for Nickles, ignoring the Supreme Court is all in a day’s work.

Nanny state bans transfat

Many call California the “land of fruits and nuts,” and with two recent developments in the state, fruits and nuts may be all state residents are allowed to eat. Starting in 2010, restaurants in California will need to phase out the use of transfats to prepare their dishes, with retail baked goods following suit in 2011. In the food business, transfats have been used to prolong the shelf life of packaged goods and enhance the crispness and flavor of fried foods. However, medical studies show a possibility that transfats have a negative effect on cholesterol levels in the body. Of course, transfat substitutes are more expensive and their use will drive up prices for restaurant owners, who naturally will pass the increase on to consumers.

Meanwhile, consumers who live in portions of Los Angeles will have fewer restaurant choices because last week the City Council passed a one-year moratorium on new fast-food eateries. The claim by moratorium proponents is that the large number of fast-food places in impoverished neighborhoods contributes to higher rates of obesity in these areas. But the California Restaurant Association, which lobbied on the losing end of both these battles, correctly noted, “sit-down restaurants don’t want to go [into these neighborhoods]. If they did, they’d be there.” Additionally, no one is forcing residents to (over)eat at fast-food restaurants. While the CRA gets it, apparently neither an understanding of free-market economics nor a grasp of the obvious can be found in the Los Angeles City Council.

Climate change this week: Blacks hardest hit

“Climate change is no longer just an environmental issue. It’s now an issue of race, according to global warming activists and policy makers,” writes Jeff Poor of the Business & Media Institute. According to a new report by the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative (EJCC), climate change disproportionately affects blacks. “Though far less responsible for climate change, African-Americans are significantly more vulnerable to its effects than non-Hispanic whites,” the report says. “Health, housing, economic well-being, culture, and social stability are harmed from such manifestations of climate change as storms, floods, and climate variability.” The report continues, “African-Americans are also more vulnerable to higher energy bills, unemployment, recessions caused by global energy price shocks, and a greater economic burden from military operations designed to protect the flow of oil to the U.S.” Victimitis has spread far and wide, uniting liberal causes in a mishmash of nonsense.

And last…

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi published a book this week titled, Know Your Power: A Message to America’s Daughters. The publisher, Random House, says Pelosi “continues to inspire women everywhere in this thought-provoking collection of wise words—her own and those of the important people who played pivotal roles in her journey.” Pelosi herself gushes with self-importance, “If women can learn from me, in the same way I learned from the women who came before me, it will make the honor of being Speaker of the House even more meaningful.” Well, how’s her feminist drivel doing at inspiring women? Judging from customer reviews at Amazon, not good. Most gave it one star, saying it was a waste of time, paper and trees, and that the Speaker’s time would be better spent allowing a vote on oil drilling. Oh, and as we went to press, she ranks 1,610 in sales at Amazon. Way to break through that glass floor, Nancy.

Veritas vos Liberabit—Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus, et Fidelis! Mark Alexander, Publisher, for The Patriot’s editors and staff. (Please pray for our Patriot Armed Forces standing in harm’s way around the world, and for their families—especially families of those fallen Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, who granted their lives in defense of American liberty.)