The Foundation

“[T]he present Constitution is the standard to which we are to cling. Under its banners, bona fide must we combat our political foes – rejecting all changes but through the channel itself provides for amendments.” –Alexander Hamilton

Editorial Exegesis

“For the last decade, presidents and Congresses representing both major political parties have caused federal spending, regulation, and debt to explode as never before, with a result that the central government is in truly dire financial shape even as its power to control the most minute details of American daily life has never been greater. … [W]e think incoming Speaker of the House John Boehner has been unjustly criticized in some, mostly liberal, precincts for his decision to open the 112th Congress with a public reading of the Constitution. Aside from the sad fact that the reading will likely be the closest encounter many lawmakers have ever had with the actual words of the document, the occasion will be a happy one because it will also provide citizens across the country with an opportunity to join Congress in examining and discussing the words of our founding document. Comparing the words of the Constitution to the actions of our leaders in recent years will surely make clear the enduring wisdom of James Madison’s warning that ‘there are more instances of the abridgment of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.’ Talking seriously about this condition is the first step to remedying it, just as Madison and the rest of the Founders intended.” –The Washington Examiner

Dezinformatsia

Deliberate ignorance: “[Reading the Constitution aloud in Congress is] a gimmick. I mean, you can say two things about it. One, is that it has no binding power on anything. And two, the issue of the Constitution is not that people don’t read the text and think they’re following. The issue of the Constitution is that the text is confusing because it was written more than 100 years ago and what people believe it says differs from person to person and differs depending on what they want to get done.” –Washington Post blogger Ezra Klein

What Constitution? “One of the things the Tea Party has talked about is dismantling health care. And we’re wondering if, in the end of the day, that ends up being a fool’s errand. … It will face a certain veto. Is it worth the effort to try to do?” –CBS’s Harry Smith

The BIG Lie: “Tax cuts add to the deficit no less than spending increases do.” –Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne

Nothing to see here: “Nothing much happened in 2010. Oh, I know there was a lot of frothing and screaming. There was outrage aplenty. There was an election. Wars were fought. Humongous pieces of legislation were passed, but – with the exception of health care reform – few broke new ground and many, like financial reform, were compromised and massaged to the point of lugubrious semi-relevance. Even the enactment of health care reform, a true American milestone, was kicked down the road to 2013. … 2010 will be regarded by historians, I fearlessly predict, as something of a neon hologram.” –Time Magazine’s Joe Klein

That lovin’ feeling: “The Tea Party was a bunch of angry white guys who went around and put up racist signs at these events … who had nothing better to do on weekends than sit on lawn chairs with signs suggesting Obama was a Muslim who wasn’t born in this country.” –Fox News’ Alan Colmes

Political correctness: “[T]he bigotry expressed against Muslims in this country has been one of the most disturbing stories to surface this year. Of course, a lot of noise was made about the Islamic Center, mosque, down near the World Trade Center, but I think there wasn’t enough sort of careful analysis and evaluation of where this bigotry toward 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide, and how this seething hatred many people feel for all Muslims, which I think is so misdirected, and so wrong – and so disappointing. … Maybe we need a Muslim version of The Cosby Show. … The Cosby Show did so much to change attitudes about African-Americans in this country, and I think sometimes people are afraid of what they don’t understand.” –CBS’s Katie Couric (Did The Cosby Show encourage blacks to fly planes into the World Trade Centers?)

Newspulper Headlines:

Poor Jill!: “Biden Says Gay Marriage ‘Inevitable’” –Associated Press

Everything Seemingly Is Spinning Out of Control: “Joe Biden Poised for Larger Role in Obama White House” –Boston Herald

We Blame Christine O'Donnell: “Former CIA Director Calls Homegrown Terror Threat ‘a Witch’s Brew’” –TheHill.com

Good Thing It Was Abandoned or Someone Might’ve Been Hurt: “8 Killed in Fire in Abandoned New Orleans Building” –Associated Press

Questions Nobody Is Asking: “Do Dogs Need Sweaters?” –Slate.com

Finally, Some Good News: “President Obama: No Shirtless Pictures” –TheHill.com

(Thanks to The Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto)

Upright

“[D]espite its 13% approval rating there are those who are hailing the 111th Congress for its myriad legislative ‘accomplishments.’ Not surprisingly, many of those touting those ‘accomplishments’ are the very members of Congress who voted for the legislation in the first place. … Americans should expect better results from the 112th Congress, that is, if the newly-elected representatives heed their electoral mandate: less spending, lower taxes and limited government. But Americans should also be aware that even if Congress stays in line, President Obama can still pursue a big government agenda with more regulations from unelected bureaucrats. As the president said when the Democrats lost the House and failed to enact cap-and-trade, ‘I’m going to be looking for other means to address this problem.’ America, look out.” –Heritage Foundation

“The same organization [the FCC] that forced all consumers to buy Ma Bell-made telephones for decades, the same FCC that enforced speech codes via radio ‘fairness doctrines,’ the same FCC that took two decades after its invention to OK cellular technology for the marketplace and acted similarly sluggishly with cable and satellite innovation has no business online. It has a history of hurting consumers, not protecting them.” –columnist David Harsanyi

“[T]he 13 ‘Republicans’ who helped provide Barack Obama and Harry Reid with the super majority required to pass START, they were Corker and Alexander from Tennessee, Snowe and Collins from Maine, Brown (Massachusetts), Bennett (Utah), Murkowski (Alaska), Voinovich (Ohio), Cochran (Mississippi), Gregg (New Hampshire), Isakson (Georgia), Johanns ( Nebraska) and Lugar, the pride of Indiana. The reason that the vote was 71-26 when there are 100 members of the Senate was because three Republicans, Bond (Missouri), Bunning (Kentucky) and Brownback (Kansas), all decided to play hooky because they apparently had more important things to do than vote on a major arms treaty. I’m sure that Obama’s only regret is that he didn’t ask Santa for Cap & Trade, card checks and the opportunity to make Ramadan a national holiday, while he was at it.” –columnist Burt Prelutsky

Insight

“Back in the thirties we were told we must collectivize the nation because the people were so poor. Now we are told we must collectivize the nation because the people are so rich.” –William F. Buckley Jr. (1925-2008)

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.” –Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)

The Demo-gogues

Executive overreach: “Cap-and-trade was just one way of skinning the cat; it was not the only way. I’m going to be looking for other means to address this problem.” –Barack Obama on looking for ways to bypass Congress to fight climate change

“While we are very happy with the result, we won’t be shouting it from the rooftops because we aren’t out of the woods yet. This regulation could be modified or reversed, especially if Republican leaders try to use this small provision to perpetuate the ‘death panel’ myth. … We would ask that you not broadcast this accomplishment out to any of your lists, even if they are ‘supporters’ – e-mails can too easily be forwarded. … Thus far, it seems that no press or blogs have discovered it, but we will be keeping a close watch and may be calling on you if we need a rapid, targeted response. The longer this goes unnoticed, the better our chances of keeping it.” –Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) seeking to keep hidden new regulations for end-of-life counseling

Look who’s talking: “The reckless Republican repeal of health care is a budget busting bailout for insurance companies that will kill jobs, raise Americans’ taxes, and deny critical care to women and children. It is unconscionable that Republicans plan on ramming the bill through the House without exploring the disastrous impact repeal will have on Americans.” –Rep. George Miller (D-CA)

Look who’s talking II: “With the evidence showing that health reform is helping our economy, I can only imagine that Republicans are trying to appease the extremist elements who have taken over their party. I expect cooler heads will prevail in the Senate.” –Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Parting gut buster: “Deficit reduction has been a high priority for us. It is our mantra, pay-as-you-go.” –outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Lusional)

Village Idiots

Seriously? “[Obama’s] biggest regret is that when he took office, because of the crisis presented to him, he had to spend almost every waking hour in Washington.” –Valerie Jarrett on Barack Obama who was on Air Force I approximately 172 days out of the last year

On not raising the debt ceiling: “The impact on the economy would be catastrophic. That would be a worse financial economic crisis than anything we saw in 2008. I don’t see why anybody’s talking about playing chicken with the debt ceiling. If we get to the point where we damage the full faith and credit of the United States, that would be the first default in history caused purely by insanity.” –Austan Goolsbee, Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers

Quite a generalization: “Anyone who supports WikiLeaks is committing an act of patriotism.” –documentarian Michael Moore

Short Cuts

“Diligent English farmers of old once shared a motto about the blessings of work: ‘Industry produces wealth, God speed the plow.’ Indolent New York City union officials who oversee snow removal apparently live by a different creed: Sloth enhances political power, Da Boss slow the plow. … Let the snow-choked streets of New York be a lesson for the rest of the nation: It’s time to put the Big Chill on Big Labor-run municipal services.” –columnist Michelle Malkin

“Virginia sheriffs reported somebody robbed a bank while wearing a Hillary Clinton mask. The thief had the element of surprise. Every time the security guards see someone from the Obama administration walk into the bank they assume they are bringing money, not taking it.” –comedian Argus Hamilton

“2010 was a disaster. To make absolutely sure that we do not repeat it, let’s remind ourselves just how bad it was. Let’s put this year into a full-body scanner and check out its junk, starting with January, which begins grimly, with the pesky unemployment rate remaining high. Every poll shows that the major concerns of the American people are federal spending, the exploding deficit, and – above all – jobs. Jobs, jobs, jobs: This is what the public is worried about. In a word, the big issue is: jobs. So the Obama administration, displaying the keen awareness that has become its trademark, decides to focus like a laser on: health-care reform. The centerpiece of this effort is a historic bill that will either (a) guarantee everybody excellent free health care, or (b) permit federal bureaucrats to club old people to death. Nobody knows which, because nobody has read the bill, which in printed form has the same mass as a UPS truck.” –humorist Dave Barry in his 2010 Year in Review