Clobbered In The Last Election? No Worries, Just Stop The Clock! Harry Reid Declares It's 5 January 2011

Really. In the Senate, it's January 5, 2011.

After a nearly three-week absence, the Senate is back in session Tuesday in a chamber where time has ground to a halt: It's the same legislative day there that began Jan. 5.

The ruling Democrats have effectively stopped the clock for a reason: They contend that on the Senate's first day in session, its rules can be changed with just 51 votes, rather than the 67 normally needed. And the rules they are trying to change all have to do with the minority's ultimate weapon: the filibuster.

In other words, they never adjourned the previous session of the Senate!

WTF?!

Mitch McConnell notes that it appears to be one more attempt to nullify the outcome of last November's election. Like that MotherOfAllSpendingBills that Harry Reid sprang on the Senate with less than two days' notice, demanding its passage in the December lame-duck session. The whole thing was so egregious that it didn't pass the smell test for even the Democrats--or at least for the ones who have to face the voters in 2012.

For OS's readers overseas, a few simple truths must be understood about the US Democrat party, in order to understand US politics:

Words have no meaning, being simply sounds one uses to get one's way today.

Rules are for suckers, and other guys.

Only power matters.

They exist to campaign for the next election, whenever that is. If they lose, then its the fault of the great unwashed pool of voters, and the Dems have the obligation to 'adjust' the outcomes for TheGreaterGood. They just thinkin' of us, ya'll.

Trotsky would be proud.

So, here we are, on January 25, 2011. The Senate is meeting today, on January 5, 2011. And if Harry Reid gets his way, then it will still be January 5, 2011 in November of 2012.

At which point, WeTheEnemy (that great unwashed pool of voters) get to remind him of the current date and time.

Again, OS sez it: Political violence is not an option. Once the genie is out of the bottle, and blood flows, Heaven only knows what tragedies await us. NO, NO, NO!

However, this sort of blatant abuse of power, repeated again and again, as we have experienced in the past two decades, sets the stage for just such a tragedy.

OS has children, and would like to have grandchildren some day. And hopes to have a stable, free, and peaceful America for their lifetimes. Lest the darkness fall, we must keep insisting that light prevail, while we still have time.

The Knives Are Drawn, Blue On Blue: The Democrat Left Rejects The Tax Deal

OldSouth just loves watching the leftists do that circular firing squad thang!

Just in from HuffPost, about thirty minutes ago:

WASHINGTON -- In a meeting on Thursday morning, the House Democratic caucus rejected the president's proposed deal on the Bush tax cuts but did not fully submarine the possibility of its passage, multiple sources tell The Huffington Post.

Members, by voice vote, passed a motion to reject the deal as currently written. The motion had been put forward by Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and Lloyd Doggett (D-Tex.) and was seconded, informally, by Reps. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and Jay Inslee (D-Wash.).

"It was an indication of disapproval and a rejection of the deal as currently written," said one House Democratic aide.

The vote, which was conducted with something less than a full caucus present, was as much a repudiation of the substance of the deal as the White House's handling of it. According to sources, several members spoke out about the provision that deals with the estate tax, calling it too generous to the wealthy in its current incarnation. But there was also evident frustration with the administration for essentially cutting House Democrats out of the negotiations.

"The White House f---ed up in how they rolled this out and this is a vote sharing that frustration," said one aide. "But it is not a deal killer."

DeFazio added, "They said take it or leave it. We left it."


Hmmmm...OS remembers this was how the following initiatives were handled, in classic Leftie Politburo Take-It-Or-Leave-It fashion.

TARP: Remember how Henry Paulson demanded Congress give him dictatorial powers? When that failed, the whole stinking package was passed by the House (outside the limits of the Constitution) as a Senate bill that came to them. Not a word of protest from the Left. They were proud of what they did.

The Great Stimulus of 2009, in which Obama, Geithner, and Romer all swore that unemployment would be brought below 8%. Take it or leave it. They took it, proudly, and left us with the bill.

The GM and Chrysler bailouts, which turned bankruptcy law on its head. It was a proud moment for the Left.

Let's not forget Obamacare, ya'll, a true bend-the-culture-over-the-table moment if ever there were one. The Left were especially, hot-diggity proud of that one.

So, OS reads of their indignation with a bit of a grin on his grizzled face.

This quote is especially charming:

"The House was not consulted during the negotiations that produced this package, and our support cannot be taken for granted now or in the future," said Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

(Thumping sound of old guy falling off his chair, laughing...)

The Lefties suffer from one basic delusion: They truly believe that all the wealth of a nation belongs to its government, and that it is dispensed to the serfs at the pleasure of the rulers. They didn't get the memo that that idea was repudiated in the sixteenth century, with the simultaneous emergence of both the Reformation and Renaissance. They despise the memo from 1792, the US Constitution.

They especially love the idea that they get to tax the labor and earnings of a person the entirety of his life, and if he manages to build wealth anyway, they get to steal it from his descendants.

Saddle up, ya'll. Gonna have to keep throwing these clowns out of office, from local town councils all the way to the White House. They just don't ever read the memos.

We, The Enemy

From the WSJ, today:

Rep. John Boehner (R., Ohio), in line to become speaker if his party wins control of the House, accused Mr. Obama of calling his political opponents "enemies" in a recent pitch to Latino voters. In remarks prepared for a campaign rally in Cincinnati Monday night, Mr. Boehner was to say: "Mr. President, there's a word for people who have the audacity to speak up in defense of freedom, the Constitution and the values of limited government that made our country great. We don't call them 'enemies.' We call them patriots."

Mr. Boehner has been trying to spotlight a comment Mr. Obama made to a Spanish-language radio station. In that interview, Mr. Obama said Democrats would suffer on Election Day "if Latinos sit out the election, instead of saying, 'We're going to punish our enemies, and we're going to reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us.' "

In an interview Monday with syndicated radio host Michael Baisden, Mr. Obama said, "I probably should have used the word 'opponents' instead of 'enemies.' Now the Republicans are saying that I'm calling them enemies. What I'm saying is you're an opponent of this particular provision, comprehensive immigration reform, which is something very different."

Well, Mr. President, that's one of the dangers of going somewhere without your teleprompter. You just might reveal the content of your character, to borrow a phrase from Dr. King. You have a law degree from Harvard, and you edited the Law Review. You are President of The United States. Words matter, especially the ones from your lips. People expect you to act like a grown-up, not a South Side Chicago ward hustler. Oh, wait--that's what you are...never mind.

Howz'about he sez something like this:I was terribly mistaken to use that word. It should never have happened. It was the heat of the moment, but I am responsible for what I say. It will never happen again. Citizens of this great country who disagree with me are not my enemy. This is not a repeat of the Nixon
Administration.

But, he didn't say that. 'Cuz He meant what he said the first time. At least, finally, he admitted to it. That's worth something.

So, We The Enemy go to vote tomorrow. All of us, except for people like OS, who voted early, just in case he got run over by a truck before Election Day.

We The Enemy will likely hand Himself an historic comeuppance at the ballot box, which He has already explained away in His mind. We will continue to be The Enemy, and He and His will redouble their efforts to impose their VisionOfTheWorld upon this country, especially while he has a lame-session of defeated and pissed-off leftist Democrat politicians eager to take their pound of flesh before they leave office. (Next year, He'll still have the veto, and probably the Senate. And a bigger chip on his shoulder than ever. Chin-straps on, ever'body.)

Cuz' We The People are We The Enemy.

There's just a lot more of us than Himself expected to show up. Rather like the Sioux Nation of South Dakota that day long ago.

OS once visited the Little Big Horn battlefield. He came away stunned at General Custer's stupidity and arrogance. How could he have possibly created this sort of disaster? What was he thinking? Had he no concern for the lives and families of the men in his command? Why didn't he listen to the reports that told him he was riding into inescapable danger? Why didn't his officers protest, on behalf of their troops?

What was he thinking? What made him believe he was infallible?

At least, he wasn't President Custer...

The Official Catalogue Of Spin: Toby Harndon Shares His Top 10, With Quotes!

Toby Harnden is the Daily Telegraph's US Editor, based in Washington DC.

He, amongst the foreign correspondents, seems to have a most accurate view of us here, warts and all, and the writer's craft to inform both sides of the ocean. It's not easy. The two nations both speak English, to be sure, but the cultures are dramatically different. It gets interesting in hands-across-the-waters-mode, but that's tale for another time.

So, here's Toby's Top Ten:

It’s Wednesday morning, you’re a Democrat and you’re waking up after a terrible night. You’re hung over and you can’t quite remember what happened. You’re pretty sure you lost the House of Representatives and – who knows? – perhaps even the Senate as well. You have a vague recollection of Harry Reid being sent back to Searchlight, Nevada. It might have been a hallucination but didn’t you lose another Kennedy seat in New England too?

You reach for your remote control to check out what the pundits are saying but can’t find it. Perhaps someone threw it at the television set when Illinois went red (or was it Wisconsin?). Never mind, you don’t need to listen to the excuses because they’re all been aired beforehand. Here’s an idiot’s guide as to why the Democrats lost (with apologies to James Carville):

1. It’s the stupid, stupid

Barack Obama:

Part of the reason that our politics seems so tough right now – and facts and science and argument does not seem to be winning the day all the time – is because we’re hard-wired not to always think clearly when we’re scared. And the country is scared, and they have good reason to be.

John Kerry:

It’s absurd. We’ve lost our minds. We’re in a period of know-nothingism in the country, where truth and science and facts don’t weigh in. It’s all short-order, lowest common denominator, cheap-seat politics.

Anyway, it’s been scientifically proven:

Research suggests that liberals and conservatives have different personality traits… liberals are more intellectually curious and tolerant of ambiguity…

2. It’s the nuts and wusses, stupid. Democrats ran away from Obama’s stellar record.

Tim Kaine:

I do think Democrats thinking that they can, you know, hold the Democratic label at arm’s length, I do think that’s nuts. You put the label after your name, be proud of it.

Ed Rendell

We’re a bunch of wusses. We’re running from the things that we’ve done, running from the things we believe instead of saying, ‘Here’s what we stand for. If we’re going to lose, let’s go down fighting for the things we believe in’.

3. We’re just so focussed on good policy, stupid. Democrats just did the right thing instead of worrying about grubby politics.

Barack Obama:

Given how much stuff was coming at us, we probably spent much more time trying to get the policy right than trying to get the politics right. There is probably a perverse pride in my administration — and I take responsibility for this; this was blowing from the top — that we were going to do the right thing, even if short-term it was unpopular.

Harry Reid

We’re going to write a bill that sets reasonable goals over a reasonable time frame that’d benefit both our environment and our economy. We’re going to write a bill that can pass the Senate. My caucus is ready to get to work, but we need the cooperation of brave Republicans. It’s my hope they will join us in putting good policy over bad politics.

4. It’s the history, stupid. The president’s party always loses in the mid-terms (move along, nothing to see here).

Dick Durbin

Oh, of course we’ll lose some seats in the Senate and in the House. That’s what history tells us.

Mark Mellman

History ordains Democratic losses — in all but four midterms since the Civil War, the party controlling the White House has lost House seats…First, significant losses were the baseline for this year. Forget the stimulus. Forget healthcare. Forget global warming and partisanship (bi- or otherwise). Normal midterm effects and Democratic exposure, let alone the economy, all but guaranteed substantial losses and a House in play. Anyone expecting small losses this year was out of touch with both historical precedent and economic reality.

5. You’re impatient, stupid. Change has not come fast enough and Obama was much too moderate.

Michelle Obama:

And I know for so many people, change has not come fast enough. Believe me, it hasn’t come fast enough for Barack, either.

Paul Krugman

A few commentators will point out, with much more justice, that Mr. Obama never made a full-throated case for progressive policies, that he consistently stepped on his own message, that he was so worried about making bankers nervous that he ended up ceding populist anger to the right.

6. It’s the message, not the product, stupid. Democrats have great policies but a poor message.

Ed Rendell

I think this administration has done a great job… We just did a lousy job communicating it. We let the Republicans, to their credit, out-spin us a year-and-a-half ago, and we’re paying the price.

Bill Maher

The Democrats are very bad at selling their own product. The Republicans are geniuses at it. And I’ve said it before, a bad product well apologized for is superior in this country to a good product.

7. It’s Rove and those dastardly foreigners, stupid. Karl Rove and shadowy outside groups funded by foreign money swamped the Democrats with cash, corrupting our democracy.

DNC ad:

Karl Rove, Ed Gillespie: They’re Bush Cronies. The US Chamber of Commerce: They’re Shills for Big Business. And they’re stealing our democracy. Spending millions from secret donors to elect Republicans to do their bidding in Congress. It appears they’re even taking secret foreign money to influence our elections.

Alexi Giannoulias

Now Karl Rove and the chamber have spent about $10 million in secret money, in secret money where you don’t know where it’s coming from, what country and what amounts, to try and take President Obama’s senate seat. It’s pretty simple. Mark Kirk helped George Bush and Karl Rove wreck this economy, and now Karl Rove is repaying the favour to Congressman Kirk.

(don’t mention the fact that the Democrats spent more money)

8. It’s the racism, stupid.

NAACP:

It is the notion that President Barack Obama is not a real natural born American, that he is some other kind of person, that abounds in Tea Party ranks and draws this movement into a pit of no return.

Barack Obama:

And then there are probably some aspects of the Tea Party that are a little darker, that have to do with anti-immigrant sentiment or are troubled by what I represent as the president.

9. It’s the media’s fault (especially Fox), stupid.

John Kerry

Television seems to exclusively gravitate toward the conflict and whatever is bad, rather than really focusing on the kinds of things that are good and make a difference.

Jimmy Carter

I think under the circumstances that I just described, he’s done an extraordinary job,” Carter said. “He’s got some good things done. They’ve been totally twisted around by some of the irresponsible news media to project him as a person that he’s not and as we all know.

10. It’s stupid Bush, stupid.

Barack Obama

They don’t have a single idea that’s different from George Bush’s ideas–not one…We got here after 10 years of an economic agenda in Washington that was pretty straight forward. You cut taxes for millionaires, you cut rules for special interests, and you cut working folks loose to fend for themselves. That was the philosophy of the last administration and their friends in Congress.

Chris Van Hollen

President George W. Bush and House Republicans drove our economy into a ditch and tried to run away from the accident. President Obama and congressional Democrats have been focused repairing the damage to our economy. Elections are about choices and this year’s Midterms will be a choice between continuing the economic progress and independent leadership that House Democrats are delivering for their districts versus Republicans who are eager to turn back the clock to the same failed Bush-Cheney policies that brought our economy to the brink of collapse.


******

This all reminds OS of a popular debating topic from the late 19th century South: Who lost the Battle of Gettysburg?

Some would argue it was Lee. Or his generals who wouldn't accept his orders. Or lack of men, or lack of supplies, or the weather; or Pickett, for sending his men on that foolhardy doomed charge across open ground against reinforced positions on high ground.(That seemed to be a favorite Confederate Army tactic...)

One night, somewhere in Dixie, the argument started again, and became louder and louder, positively vociferous.

Until one old man silenced them all by saying: Boys, I wuz there! Personally, I think the Yankees had a lot to do with us losing that battle...

Angelo Codevilla: America's Ruling Class

Just to let ya'll know this gent is not a tea-bagger living in Momma's basement, as the folks in the White House tend to characterize any who dare disagree.

Angelo M. Codevilla, a professor of international relations at Boston University, a fellow of the Claremont Institute, and a senior editor of The American Spectator, was a Foreign Service officer and served on the staff of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee between 1977 and 1985. He was the principal author of the 1980 presidential transition report on intelligence. He is the author of The Character of Nations: How Politics Makes and Breaks Prosperity, Family, and Civility.

Codevilla weighs in this month with a long and thoughtful article on the American culture, which goes far in explaining what has happened to us.

His thesis is: America has been taken over by a ruling class, profoundly out of touch with the people they rule, and the strains are beginning to show.

As over-leveraged investment houses began to fail in September 2008, the leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties, of major corporations, and opinion leaders stretching from the National Review magazine (and the Wall Street Journal) on the right to the Nation magazine on the left, agreed that spending some $700 billion to buy the investors' "toxic assets" was the only alternative to the U.S. economy's "systemic collapse." In this, President George W. Bush and his would-be Republican successor John McCain agreed with the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama. Many, if not most, people around them also agreed upon the eventual commitment of some 10 trillion nonexistent dollars in ways unprecedented in America. They explained neither the difference between the assets' nominal and real values, nor precisely why letting the market find the latter would collapse America. The public objected immediately, by margins of three or four to one.

When this majority discovered that virtually no one in a position of power in either party or with a national voice would take their objections seriously, that decisions about their money were being made in bipartisan backroom deals with interested parties, and that the laws on these matters were being voted by people who had not read them, the term "political class" came into use. Then, after those in power changed their plans from buying toxic assets to buying up equity in banks and major industries but refused to explain why, when they reasserted their right to decide ad hoc on these and so many other matters, supposing them to be beyond the general public's understanding, the American people started referring to those in and around government as the "ruling class." And in fact Republican and Democratic office holders and their retinues show a similar presumption to dominate and fewer differences in tastes, habits, opinions, and sources of income among one another than between both and the rest of the country. They think, look, and act as a class.

It's a hefty read, but truly enlightening. Kudos to American Spectator for publishing it for our consideration.

It Makes You Tear Your Hair Out: Gov. Phil Bredesen Of Tennessee

OS heard this snippet as he roused this morning, had to check to see if he heard correctly.

He did.

Bredesen is a businessman, who served two terms as Mayor of Nashville, cleaning up after the disastrous Bill Boner (who had served as a Democrat House Member, btw!) he then served two terms as governor, cleaning up after the disastrous Don Sundquist (who had served as a Republican House Member, btw!). Get the theme?

Bredesen is a boring guy who knows that words matter and math doesn't lie. OS has his differences with the governor, but that's ok. Phil Bredesen is sane, and while other states in the nation are burning to the ground, we're juggling and dipping into carefully set-aside cash reserves. The Rainy-Day Fund. Because rain happens.

From local NPR affilate WPLN:

Congress has passed a bill that is meant to restore the jobs of laid off teachers. But the state’s top officials are unsure if Tennessee will get much of the money.

The U.S. Department of Education estimates some 3,700 teaching jobs would be restored in Tennessee. While there have been some layoffs in local school districts, Tennessee has not resorted to mass teacher layoffs to balance the state budget, instead finding other areas to cut and dipping into reserves. Governor Phil Bredesen says it would have been nice to know this money might be out there back in January when the budget was getting hashed out.


“The whole notion of doing this in August, it’s the sort of thing that makes you tear your hair out.”

Bredesen says he will be “irritated” if Tennessee doesn’t qualify for some of the money, and hopes it can be used for other purposes. “State’s that have managed well,” he says, “shouldn’t be punished.” That’s the same sentiment that came from Nashville Congressman Jim Cooper, who was one of just three House Democrats to vote against the bill.

It's not about the health of the schools, Governor. It's about buying votes for Democrat House members from the teachers' unions. You're just experiencing a sane reaction to a federal government run by Chicago pols and idiots.

Congressman Cooper (D-TN5, Nashville) has credible opposition for the first time in years, so no way is he voting for this nonsense. Were his seat safe, he would have, make no mistake.

A Village In Texas Has Lost Their Idiot: Sheila Jackson-Lee

Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee, a leading Democrat from the great State of Texas, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee:



Words fail.

We Wonder Why We're In Such A Fiscal Hole: One Modest Example H.R. 3967

So, OS had C-SPAN on after the Gulf Coast hearings, and it cut back to the House floor. OS was too lazy to pay attention, it was mundane stuff, until he heard a brief debate over the extension of Federal funding for a wax museum in Baltimore.

Really. Can't make it up. The 'Blacks In Wax' museum, kept open by Federal funds, to inspire the young people of Baltimore about their heritage.

Really, we're spending money on this.

Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from Guam?
There was no objection.
Ms. BORDALLO. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3967, introduced in October of 2009 by our colleague Representative Elijah Cummings, helps tell the story of the African American struggle for equality.For the last quarter century, Doctors Joanne and Elmer Martin have worked tirelessly to create a safe, nurturing environment for Baltimore's youth. Through their work to build and fund the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum and the Justice Learning Center, they have created a unique opportunity to teach and connect with young people to tell the story of great African American leaders in the history of our United States of America.

H.R. 3967 amends the National Great Black Americans Commemoration Act of 2004 to extend authorization for Federal grant funding. Representative Cummings is to be commended for his work on behalf of this outstanding education and outreach program.
Mr. Speaker, we support this legislation.

(That 'we' referred to would be the majority in the House of Representatives.)

[back and forth it went for a few minutes...]

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R
3967.

The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.

A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

We're borrowing money from China to fund the 'Blacks In Wax' museum in Baltimore.

Sort of makes you feel warm and fuzzy all over, doesn't it?

Fish In A Barrel: Brad Sherman (D-CA) Claims To Know Nothing About The Black Panther Voter Intimidation Case

This is just too much fun. A senior, trusted member of the House Majority, smiling condescendingly at his poor constituents, claiming to know nothing about a major legal issue in the news, and the DOJ's decision to give the thugs a walk:



It's easy to conclude he's lying. But, really, he may not be lying.

He simply may be that stupid and out of touch. 

The voters in the audience certainly are not...

So, What Is Calderon Complaining About, And Why Do The Congressional Dems Cheer For Him?

OS hates to harp on a subject, but he feels this one really matters, and that recent events have been illustrative of the character of our present political leadership.

As everyone who hasn't been in a coma for the past month knows, the State of Arizona decided enough was enough. The Federal government simultaneously claimed jurisdiction over matters involving the southern border of the the US while refusing to enforce immigration law and vigorously defend that border. Arizona has been over-run, and its citizens are being murdered and kidnapped. Arizona, within its constitutional rights, passed a law to deal with the problem.

The indignant outcry was immediate and blood-curdling from the Left, and from the Mexican government.  El Presidente addressed the US Congress, denouncing Arizona for having the temerity to insist that people residing within its borders actually be able to demonstrate that they are there legally.

The Congressional Democrats stood and cheered, declaring their solidarity with their poor victimized southern compadres.

Problem is, Arizona passed a law that in great part mirrors the immigration law of Mexico, only much less harsh in both its language and application.

From USA Today. 27 May 2010

TULTITLN, Mexico — Arizona's new law forcing local police to take a greater role in enforcing immigration law has caused a lot of criticism from Mexico, the largest single source of illegal immigrants in the United States. But in Mexico, illegal immigrants receive terrible treatment from corrupt Mexican authorities, say people involved in the system.

And Mexico has a law that is no different from Arizona's that empowers local police to check the immigration documents of people suspected of not being in the country legally.

"There (in the United States), they'll deport you," Hector Vázquez, an illegal immigrant from Honduras, said as he rested in a makeshift camp with other migrants under a highway bridge in Tultitlán. "In Mexico they'll probably let you go, but they'll beat you up and steal everything you've got first." 

[end quote]

Kudos to USA Today for finally standing tall and beginning to tell the truth about Mexico. Most of the mainstream media simply will not begin to tell the truth about this place.

Mexico is violent.

Mexico is breathtakingly corrupt; from the street-corner cop to the Presidency, the entire operation thrives on la Mordida, literally 'The Bite', aka 'The Bribe'.

Mexico has been run from the 1920's by a corrupt oligarchy of politicians, 'labor union leaders', bankers and industrial interests. Until recent years, only one party the PRI, ever held power.

Then, there is the drug trade... The mayor of Cancun, a major resort destination, was arrested just yesterday for trafficking.

So, why do Democrats love Mexico so? Why do they cheer for this craziness, this corruption, this unfree violent culture? Do they see the future there, a fabulously wealthy country in the thrall of an oligarchy that gets to skim that wealth for themselves, while maintaining the appearance of civilization?

Perhaps there are other explanations, but this one certainly fits. Why would they cheer for this? Why would they roll out the carpet and put on a full-Monty Head of State welcome for the President of Mexico, who wants nothing more than to ship up millions more of his illiterate population?

Why do all the Democrats (and some Republicans like McCain--until challenged for his seat) think that an unceasing flow of illegals from Mexico is actually desireable?

Why the refusal to enforce the border?

Something else is at play in all this. Some people here must be making a lot of money, or gathering a great deal of power to themselves, by allowing this chaos to continue. Likewise, some people must have the same motivation south of the border.

People always act from motivation. Without it, there is almost no action.

What is driving this tragic, stupid race over the cultural cliff? What's the motivation?

Henry Waxman Has Second Thoughts About His 'Invitation': The Impact Of ObamaCare On Business

In recognition of our government's benign intentions toward its citizens and businesses, a brief meditation on Henry Waxman(D) of California and Bart ('I'm outta here!') Stupak (D) of Michigan.

Their Dream came true. ObamaCare became the LawOfTheLand one bright Sunday afternoon. Next day, a number of large corporations, the ones who create jobs and wealth, also complied with other federal law, and restated their projected earnings in light of ObamaCare. It was pretty distressing. Caterpillar projected a $100 million dollar hit, and firms like ATT projected dings of up to a billion dollars.

So Waxman and Stupak then went into Chicago Mode. It goes like this: Guys in suits walk into the place of business, and say, 'Dis here's a nice little business you got going here! It would be a crying SHAME (wouldn't it, Vito) if someone were to show up one night and BURN IT TO THE GROUND!! What you're gonna need to do is get yourself some fire insurance (right, Vito?). Yeah, fire insurance. Vito here, he'll be by to collect premiums every Friday afternoon. He don't like no late payments on premiums. Neither do I. It makes me UPSET!'

Well, Waxman and Stupak weren't quite that blatant, but they did send letters around to a lot of execs at a lot of firms, like the one they sent to the President of Verizon.  The language was almost as charming as Gino and Vito back in the 'hood:

The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing on April 21, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building to examine the impact of the new law on Verizon and other large employers. We request your personal testimony at this hearing. 

To assist the Committee with its preparation for the hearing, we request that you provide the following documents from January 1,2009, through the present: (1) any analyses related to the projected impact of health care reform on Verizon; and (2) any documents, including e-mail messages, sent to or prepared or reviewed by senior company officials related to the projected impact of health care reform on Verizon. We also request an explanation of the accounting methods used by Verizon since 2003 to estimate the financial impact on your company of the 28% subsidy for retiree drug coverage and its deductibility or nondeductibility, including the accounting methods used in preparing the cost impact released by Verizon this week.

We ask that you provide the requested information by April 9, 2010. For purposes of this request, the term "senior company officials" includes all company officials at the level of Vice President and above for the company or any subsidiary. Attachments to this letter provide additional information about responding to Committee document requests and testifying before the Committee.

Youse guys need some FIRE INSURANCE, so you better 'SPLAIN YOURSELF!

Well, as the date approached, it dawned on our two intrepid Congressmen:  What if the lawyers and accountants all showed up and made presentations that would enter the Congressional record that ObamaCare was a financial nightmare for business?

Word came down today that hearings were cancelled. Nothing rescheduled.

They'll be extorting some other way to be sure, just don't want to be caught doing it in the light of day.

That's not The Chicago Way.

I Left My Job In San Francisco: Office Vacancy Rates Cimb In Nancy Pelosi's District

HT to Calculated Risk, who always seems to be three steps ahead of the world...

If the whole Hopey/Changey/SpendLikeADrunkenSailor approach to governance and economy were so self-evidently wonderful, why is the office vacancy rate in San Francisco, Nancy Pelosi's home district, on a climb toward 20%?  That means there are no people working in all that empty office space, not producing anything, not paying more taxes for Miss Nancy to spend.

It isn't like the great Federal helicopter hasn't been able to hover and rain money down upon the City By The Bay. Miss Nancy's at the stick of the chopper, by gosh and by golly.

It's now her and Obama's economy. They made sure of that by ramming through the great 'Stimulus' bill, seizing automakers  and insurance companies, making good on unpayable pension promises for the UAW. They have gotten their way on everything, including a massive health care bill.

So, what happened? Or didn't happen? Does she deserve to be trusted to continue down the same path?

What happens this fall if the voters ask these questions?

Bart Stupak, The Vote That Put ObamaCare Over The Top, Announces His Retirement

Drinking the morning coffee, attempting to wake up, and this tidbit just flashed across the screen.

On one hand, no sympathy is felt, especially after he co-signed the letter 'inviting' the execs of Caterpillar, ATT and a few others to come to his committee and 'explain themselves', complete with an exhaustive surrender of records, down to emails. This because they obeyed the law, and restated their earnings in the wake of the passage of ObamaCare.

On the other hand--he is an Obama casualty, by his own hand. He bravely held the line against ObamaCare, knowing that it was morally flawed, and let himself get suckered in with the promise of an executive order (that has no force of law).  What was he promised? With what was he threatened by the masters of The Chicago Way?

And, then there was that 700K of airport improvements dropped out of the federal helicopter just before his vote. Those funds had been competitively applied for some months ago, and their granting was most likely unrelated to his vote. But, the timing of the announcement certainly emitted a terrible odor.

He was hounded by the left for standing up for life, but his caving in only began the negative reaction. He would stand for re-election totally stripped of any semblance of integrity, in a rural upper Michigan district that is only barely Democrat. If you don't live in a place like that, be assured that rural folk in those environs view this behavior with hostility. When he went home, reports are that the reception was pretty unfriendly. Conservatives around the country were eagerly awaiting the opportunity to donate to, and work for, his Republican challenger.

OS predicts:

1. The right will be blamed, at least for a couple of days. MSNBC will become all-Stupak-all-the-time, and he'll be a regular guest face for Chris Matthews and company. He won't just slink away, with talking points to score.

2. Bart will be owned by Obama for the days that remain, having been pimped. He will discover his Inner Leftist, and the joys of politburo life. He'll be an honored guest at some very nice fund-raiser parties, the poster-child for ObamaCare.

3. After he leaves office next January, he will be quietly moved into a comfortable government or think-tank job, where he can continue to do The Beloved Leader's bidding, at least for a couple of years. That will give him and his bride (who suffered greatly from the experience) time to reassemble their lives, decide where and how they wish to live in retirement. He'll be cast as martyr for the leftist cause, write a book, hit the college lecture circuit, cheer-lead the faithful for 2012. He'll make a bunch of money, land in some poly-sci academic job, and disappear, with his pension and Congressional health-care package.

4. Ten years from now, he will be a footnote or a question on a trivia quiz. In the interim, he will discover that Obama and company cared not a moment for the pains he endured. The other eleven Democrats he took over the cliff with him will be completely unremembered, as they enter private life much less well-cared-for.

The problem with ObamaCare is not just the end product, but the horrific process used to produce it. Stupak is just one example.  Most of the last bits of goodwill from Obama's inaguration have now melted away, and it will be a difficult matter to restore it. By June of 2007 G.W. Bush had managed to destroy the Republican party base that propelled him into office in 2000 and 2004. Obama risks doing the same to his faithful followers, less than eighteen months into a first term.  What replaces two decimated parties of long standing is anyone's guess.

Vote Early, Vote Often!

That's an old gag line, which may actually be sourced in Chicago politics.

But there is some truth to jokes that endure. That's why they endure.

So, how does one vote early and often?

Ten bucks at a time, donated to the brave souls who decide to run against the Pelosis, Reids, and Barney Franks of this world.

Here's one for starters: John Dennis, seeking to unseat Miss Nancy.

It's Miss Nancy's birthday today, especially apropo to contribute the fund that may just initiate her retirement from the House.

Vote early, vote often.

HT to Junior Deputy Accountant. What would we do without her?

Charts Tell Their Stories

It's an ugly, dark secret, but OS has a Facebook account. He does not live there, like some he knows, but he checks in about every other day.

He has a friend who is so very excited about last week's events, and shared a link the to BBC's announcement.

It has a nifty chart embedded, showing the growth in medical costs in the US, and then comparing them to other nations' stats. Very nifty, very informative, very seducing to someone who doesn't have a grasp of history.

(You'll have to hit the link to see it, it won't lift out directly.)

It shows health care spending (and inflation) on a moon shot since about 1970. Things happen for a reason. So, what happened shortly before the moon shot?

Well, Lyndon Johnson, that paragon of statesmanship, signed a bill into law establishing Medicare, promising it wouldn't cost very much, and that it would save us money over time. At about the same time, Medicaid was mandated at the state level, with the same promises. Anyone who objected was heartless and stupid. Lawyers discovered that there was money to be made in medical malpractice litigation. The doctors' insurers started charging premiums to reflect the new realities. Then, as a result of deficits run up by Washington, trying to run a welfare state, a war in Vietnam, and keeping the lid on in places like Europe and Korea, there was a run on the US Treasury's gold supply. Nixon felt obliged to abandon the gold standard, and we went to a fiat currency. A general inflation, lasting for over a decade, erupted. No restraints ever were placed upon either government spending or medical litigation. Inflation abated in other sectors, never in the health-care sector, because that part of the economy was now effectively under the sway of Congresses and White Houses, all looking toward the next election.

Moon shot!!

Of course, none of that info is in the BBC chart.

Here's another chart, courtesy of Karl Denninger:

Another, more serious moon shot. And, in reality, the first one helped in great part create the second.

My Facebook friend is young and idealistic. He would have loved last week's pep rally at George Mason University. He's not old enough to understand the tragic inevitability of the math that awaits him in his lifetime, and that of the children he hopes to raise. He can't, he's not old enough.

He can't connect the dots between this generation's expansions of spending and entitlements, and the moon shot to come. 

Sadly, the dots will connect for him and his children.

Stating The Obvious In Sydney, Australia

It never ceases to amaze how closely the world watches how the United States acts. They scratch their collective heads in wonder at our self-absorbed folly, our refusal to take into account how our refusal to act responsibly impacts the entire world.

These words from Paul Sheehan in the Sydney Morning Herald express that concern well. 

As I wrote this column, and as you read it, the United States had reached the climax of the most contentious and sweeping attempt at social engineering in more than 40 years, a process that has degenerated into the abattoir of politics: bribery, chicanery and bloody-mindedness.

A deeply divided Congress mirrors a divided nation. The majority of Americans are opposed to the changes. Bipartisanship has become roadkill.

In contrast to the soaring rhetoric and uplifting symbolism that carried him to the White House, Obama has engaged in old-school, bare-knuckle, divisive politics wrapped in an impossibly complex 2700-page bill loaded with accounting tricks and dirty deals.

If he can see it, why can't we?

We have long been the envy of the world, and at times its hero. OldSouth's departed father spoke with such affection of his time spent in New Zealand in the 1940's. The locals could not do enough to make 'The Yanks' feel welcomed. Twice within one hundred years, Americans were viewed as the liberators of Europe, the saviours of civilization.

If you read this from overseas, know this: The anger of the US populace toward the political leadership is palpable, and growing. This latest debacle has only stoked the fires. This week, the offices of members of Congress were flooded with people begging their representatives to vote 'no', just as they flooded their offices with calls in fall of 2008, begging them to oppose the TARP bailout. In each case, they were met with deaf ears. The TARP was history's largest bait-and-switch fraud. This latest measure is worse. Responsible conservative voices, including this one, increasingly feel compelled to remind one and all that violence is NOT NOT NOT an acceptable course of action, that the political process and ballot box are the only way to go.

It's beginning to be that bad. The economy is not recovering, even if the stock market is. And taxes on employers just rose, as of today.

If you're reading from within the US, it's time to act. Budget some small amount every month, if you can, and send it to conservative candidates who are taking on the Obama machine. Every ten dollars helps, and donation is now a simple process.

A good first target for removal from office is Bart Stupak, who sold his soul for a meaningless executive order, and 700,000 dollars in airport improvements.

Rules? We Don't Need No Stinking RULES!!

The Wall Street Journal tells all.

The Rules Committee will meet on Saturday to set the rules for debate. Following the letter of the 72-hour rule would mean no vote before late Sunday, but Democrats have allowed themselves an out. "The Democratic leadership has declared 'martial law,'" Poltico.com reports, "allowing leaders to bring legislation straight to the floor on the same legislative day." That could mean a vote as early as Saturday, with a floor debate of just four hours. The public and members of Congress would have only 48 hours or even less to examine the bill.

Democrats are in a rush for two reasons. One, the longer they wait, the iffier their chances of assembling a majority of 216 House members. Two, they're also in a hurry because the Senate needs a minimum of a week of floor debate to pass the expected reconciliation bill full of legislative "fixes." With Congress set to begin its two-week Easter recess on March 26, Democratic leaders don't want members leaving town before the issue is settled, fearing a pummeling by angry constituents back home that will weaken their resolve.

Back to the question asked of the President last night, submitted by a viewer:

If this is such a good idea, why the need for these sorts of practices to get it passed?

Obama admitted he didn't care about the process, just the result.

Well, if your aim is to totally take over the culture, lock-stock-and-barrel, niceties about legislative procedure and the Constitution really don't matter that much.

OS has resisted that interpretation of Obama's behavior, because he does not want to go get fitted for his personal tin hat. But, given the brazenness of the behavior, how else can it be explained?

This sort of thing has been attempted a few times before, in Germany, Italy, France, Russia, Argentina...and has always ended in tears.

And poverty.

And war.

The Admission: The Health-Care Bill Is About Obama's Political Health

This just in on Politico.

Obama's pitch to House Democrats is now boiling down to one point: The whole enterprise is about the Obama Presidency, the Obama brand, the Obama legacy, the Obama agenda. It's all about Barack Obama.

President Barack Obama had exhausted most of his health care reform arguments with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus during a White House meeting last Thursday when he made a more personal pitch that resonated with many skeptics in the room.

One caucus member told POLITICO that Obama won him over by “essentially [saying] that the fate of his presidency” hinged on this week’s health reform vote in the House. The member, who requested anonymity, likened Obama’s remarks to an earlier meeting with progressives when the president said a victory was necessary to keep him “strong” for the next three years of his term.

Another caucus member, Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.), said, “We went in there already knowing his presidency would be weakened if this thing went down, but the president clearly reinforced the impression the presidency would be damaged by a loss.”



The Oval office has been occupied by clueless alcoholic dolts (U.S. Grant comes to mind), men who just could not manage to keep 'that thang' in their pants (that list is quite a bit longer, but we'll settle for Harding, Kennedy, Clinton), paranoids(remember Nixon?), deluded egotists(Lyndon Johnson personally ordering particular Vietnam air raids), a few dedicated servants(Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Madison, Eisenhower, Reagan), and well-meaning people in waaaaaay over their heads (Jimmy Carter, both Bushes).

But Barack Obama is a completely different sort of Occupant.

Not even FDR possessed the complete narcissism that Barack Obama displays for us all, combined with a complete willingness to, well, just make stuff up and expect that no one will dare challenge him. Jerry Ford bumps his head on an airplane, and it gets days of coverage in the 70's. Obama tells one howler after another, like yesterday's claim of an Hawaiian earthquake, or that he has saved or created millions of jobs since coming to office, or his 3000% reduction in health-care premiums for small businesses, and no notice is taken.

This man is willing to play dice with every life in America for the sake of His Presidency. His image. His ego. His legacy.

If He succeeds at this, what else lies in store for us?

The Call List

See that little red banner on the top right of the page? It's been an interesting exercise to go down that list.

OS's own beloved John Tanner (TN-8) isn't answering the phone in his DC offices. Voice mail, mailbox full. The Jackson office answered, with the weary sounding lady assuring the caller she'll pass the message on--riiiiiight....claiming he still hasn't decided. The auction for his vote is still ongoing, evidently. He sold his soul so long ago, it's not worth mentioning. OS's reminder that the attempt to pass the bill without a recorded vote on the bill is unconstitutional is met with irritation.

Still, OS takes a break from his work, and dials the Capitol switchboard, hears the busy signal, and takes a bit of comfort that maybe somebody is paying attention enough to really get motivated...

Back In The Day(2005), When The Democrats Railed Against The 51-Vote Majority

Obama, Biden, Pelosi, Reid and the MSM are about put on the full court press to pass a health care takeover that this country clearly does not want.

Is there a need for some fixes to the system? Absolutely.

Is ObamaCare the answer? Absolutely not. And Obama and company know it. That's why they will attempt to ram this huge program through via the parliamentary maneuver known as 'reconciliation'. No amendments can be offered, and minimal debate allowed.

In 2005, when the Republicans were in the majority, some judicial appointments were under consideration. The Republicans contemplated changing the Senate rules to allow approval by simple majority, which by the way is what the Constitution specifies.

The Democrats screamed bloody murder, warning darkly of the 'tyranny of the majority'. Sadly, the GOP leader Bill Frist relented. It was the beginning of the end, as conservative voters decided they had been sold out by both Bush and the GOP.

But, here for your viewing, the protestations of the Democrat Senators in 2005, decrying the very thing they now proclaim as the only way forward.

They may just succeed, but they will blow the country up. OS has come to the conclusion that they just don't care, that the will to power trumps any ethical restraint.

Livin' The High Life: The Congressional Black Caucus

OS ran across bits of this, and thought--nyah, this is just some rant from some guy living in his mom's basement with his gun collection and Confederate flag.

In 2008, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation spent more on the caterer for its signature legislative dinner and conference — nearly $700,000 for an event one organizer called “Hollywood on the Potomac” — than it gave out in scholarships, federal tax records show.

OS has a friend on the faculty at Fisk University, a flagship black university, founded and built by freed slaves. They struggle to keep the doors open.  Certainly, this story is overblown. What could Fisk do with 700 grand?

But, just to be certain, he kept searching, and the original story is sourced at the New York Times.

The quote was accurate. And the whole story is much uglier than just that paragraph.

Time was, the Times would never, ever print a story like this. They were the original LiberalGuiltAssCovering service. No matter how egregious, never a murmur about any black Democrat.  Back in the day, Adam Clayton Powell ran Harlem as a personal duchy, right under the nose of the Times.

Well, times has changed(unintentional pun...) Reality is setting in. Their people won. Statehouse, Congress, White House. Black governor, black president. The Dream is reality.

And the wheels are coming off.

The Times, to survive, must regain at least a semblance of credibility. They no longer control the conversation, and increasingly, the country doesn't care what their editorial page thinks.

Obama and company are losing their cover, and cold winds are beginning to blow.