Today, a historic press conference took place in Washington that lay bare the lies and propaganda of the Administration’s “limited prosecution discretion” for so-called “qualified aliens” or “Dreamers”, that Obama announced on June 15th in the Rose Garden.
As we warned in a post last August when Obama halted deportations for what we were told was a mere “300,000 people”, that Obama’s bypassing Congress with his lawless decrees would eventually result in unconditional amnesty for millions of illegal aliens, due to loosened DHS critieria announced at that time. We knew it was just the beginning.
The media “fact checkers” attacked SWA’s claims as “false” – by taking the Administration’s word for it. Now those media lapdogs have been revealed as fools, as was proven today.
Today, the two men who represent the rank and file of American immigration enforcement spoke out to expose the lies.
ICE Agent Chris Crane is President of the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council, the union representing America’s 7,200 ICE agents and personnel. Border Patrol Agent George McCubbin, III is President of the National Border Patrol Council, the union representing America’s more than 17,000 border agents and personnel.
In stunning detail, Agent Crane revealed that “limited prosecutorial discretion” has no limits whatsoever, and that “qualified aliens” do not require any qualifications to receive blanket amnesty from this corrupt Administration. As Crane detailed:
For example, ‘prosecutorial discretion’ for ‘Dreamers’ is solely based on the individual’s claims. Our orders are: if an alien said they went to high school, then let them go. If they say they have a GED, then let them go. officers have been told that there is NO burden for the alien to prove anything, even with the greatly relaxed new policies the alien is not even reuqired to prove that they meet any of the new critieria.
At this point, we don’t understand why DHS even has criteria at all, as there is no requirement or burden to prove anything on the part of the alien. We believe that significant numbers of people who are not Dreamers are taking advantage of this practice to avoid arrest.
Crane also detailed one recent incident in El Paso, Texas, where a criminal illegal alien assaulted an ICE agent, and not only was not charged for his crime, but was RELEASED as a “Dreamer” under Obama’s insane decree.
Agent McCubbin then ridiculed DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano’s claim that the border was safer than ever, saying his men and women know it is the opposite, and that Napolitano and her staff know it.
WATCH THE STUNNING VIDEO, AND THEN SHARE THIS POST WITH EVERYONE YOU KNOW.
This changes everything. No one can deny the lies any longer. There is nothing to do but effect “regime change” on Novemember 6th. It is the only way to restore the rule of law and sanity to our border.
Friday, July 27, 2012
The Hill: Apparently Obama Has Nothing To Do With the Current Economic Situation
NewsBusters:
Poor guy. This darned economy has a mind of its own and isn't cooperating.
That's pretty much what you're forced to think in the following cop-out sentence from the Hill in anticipation of tomorrow's report on second-quarter gross domestic product (along with revisions to prior years):
The summer, so far, hasn't been kind to President Obama's reelection campaign, which is fending off a big drop in job growth and persistently high unemployment.
Well, I suppose you can distinguish between the Obama campaign and the Obama presidency (though he certainly doesn't, constantly claiming that campaign stops really represent presidential business).
But really, guys, if the campaign has a problem with how the economy is treating it, it's because the Obama administration's policies have made the summer so tough.
The HIll notes that tomorrow's GDP report is projected to come in well below 2 percent:
Growth estimates scattered around the Internet are running about 1.5 percent, though Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, told The Hill on Thursday that he's expecting around 1.3 percent.
"It was a weak quarter, but this wouldn’t be a surprise," Zandi said.
"Anything much less than 1 percent would be disappointing, and anything closer to 2 percent would be a plus," he said.
That won't be particularly kind, either.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
Poor guy. This darned economy has a mind of its own and isn't cooperating.
That's pretty much what you're forced to think in the following cop-out sentence from the Hill in anticipation of tomorrow's report on second-quarter gross domestic product (along with revisions to prior years):
The summer, so far, hasn't been kind to President Obama's reelection campaign, which is fending off a big drop in job growth and persistently high unemployment.
Well, I suppose you can distinguish between the Obama campaign and the Obama presidency (though he certainly doesn't, constantly claiming that campaign stops really represent presidential business).
But really, guys, if the campaign has a problem with how the economy is treating it, it's because the Obama administration's policies have made the summer so tough.
The HIll notes that tomorrow's GDP report is projected to come in well below 2 percent:
Growth estimates scattered around the Internet are running about 1.5 percent, though Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, told The Hill on Thursday that he's expecting around 1.3 percent.
"It was a weak quarter, but this wouldn’t be a surprise," Zandi said.
"Anything much less than 1 percent would be disappointing, and anything closer to 2 percent would be a plus," he said.
That won't be particularly kind, either.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
Cover Thy Tracks: Obama to sign Israel security bill on eve of Romney visit
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama will sign a bill to strengthen U.S.-Israeli military cooperation on Friday on the eve of a visit to Israel by his Republican presidential challenger, Mitt Romney.
Obama will seek to stress his commitment to Israel's security for American Jewish voters at a White House ceremony that appeared timed to upstage Romney, who has accused the president of undermining U.S.-Israeli ties..
Obama will seek to stress his commitment to Israel's security for American Jewish voters at a White House ceremony that appeared timed to upstage Romney, who has accused the president of undermining U.S.-Israeli ties..
Sen. Inhofe: Obama forced military to abandon ‘apolitical stance’
Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Inhofe told The Daily Caller he believes President Barack Obama pressured the military into granting an unprecedented exception to rules that prohibit participation in political activities while in uniform..
Soldier battling bombs irked by software switch
The Army ordered the destruction of a report that praised the performance of an off-the-shelf software program that finds buried explosives in Afghanistan and replaced it with a revised, less-favorable assessment, according to internal Pentagon documents.
The unusual action came amid a battle inside the Army. It pits those who want the service to send more of the software platform, called Palantir, to the Afghanistan War against those who favor the Army’s own developed intelligence network, the Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS)..
The unusual action came amid a battle inside the Army. It pits those who want the service to send more of the software platform, called Palantir, to the Afghanistan War against those who favor the Army’s own developed intelligence network, the Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS)..
US Chamber Airs Anti-King TV Ads in Maine
The 30-second ad portrays King as a free-spending liberal, calling him the "king of spending," while Maine's former governor says the ads are negative attacks by outside money "trying to influence Maine voters."
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) _ The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has begun airing TV ads in Maine taking on independent Senate candidate Angus King.
The 30-second ad portrays King as a free-spending liberal during his years as Maine's governor, calling him the "king of spending.'' The ad says government spending skyrocketed under King, and that he left the state with a billion-dollar shortfall when he left office.
King is running against Republican Charlie Summers and Democrat Cynthia Dill in November's election. The chamber, based in Washington, is endorsing Summers.
The King campaign says the ads are nothing more than negative attack ads funded by "nameless, faceless outside money trying to influence Maine voters.''
The campaign says the ads represent a case of "Washington politicos trying to tell people in Maine how to vote.''
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) _ The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has begun airing TV ads in Maine taking on independent Senate candidate Angus King.
The 30-second ad portrays King as a free-spending liberal during his years as Maine's governor, calling him the "king of spending.'' The ad says government spending skyrocketed under King, and that he left the state with a billion-dollar shortfall when he left office.
King is running against Republican Charlie Summers and Democrat Cynthia Dill in November's election. The chamber, based in Washington, is endorsing Summers.
The King campaign says the ads are nothing more than negative attack ads funded by "nameless, faceless outside money trying to influence Maine voters.''
The campaign says the ads represent a case of "Washington politicos trying to tell people in Maine how to vote.''
EU’s leaders roam uncharted waters
European leaders have been have been accused of “improvising” their way through the debt crisis for the last two and a half years. But given the uniqueness of the event, are they completely to blame? wonders an NRC Handelsblad columnist....
NRA News at the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty Negotiations: Tom Mason - July 26
At the United Nations, Ginny Simone talks to Tom Mason from the World Forum on the Future of Sport Shooting Activities
The Threat to Greek Democracy
Everyone knows Europe faces the potential for Greek financial collapse, with serious ramifications for the euro zone and its financial institutions. Less discussed is the Greek impact on another key European institution, the less restrictive border regime instituted under the Schengen Treaty, and the danger of failure of constitutional democracy in an EU member state.
Perhaps the smartest thing modern Greece ever did was join the European Community (now the European Union) in 1981. The Greeks’ dumbest move was to join the euro twenty years later...
Perhaps the smartest thing modern Greece ever did was join the European Community (now the European Union) in 1981. The Greeks’ dumbest move was to join the euro twenty years later...
BARACK OBAMA – 1ST SLAVE MASTER PRESIDENT
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and you feed him for life.
Chinese Proverb.
————————————————————-
You know what irony is? Irony is the first “black” president enslaving massive numbers of Americans by increasing their reliance on earmarks, subsidies and entitlement programs. More Americans are reliant on the federal government for their sustenance than ever before. Do you think this is a coincidence? Guess again!!!!
————————————————————-
There are many forms of slavery and addiction. One can be a slave as in property or chattel. One can be a slave due to debt, a sexual slave, or in some cultures a slave due to arranged marriage.
Additionally, one can also be addicted to many different things or activities; from substance abuse like drugs, alcohol and tobacco to food, love, shopping, gambling, TV or even excess amounts of exercise. And today many people consider having to pay high rates of taxes as a modern day form of indentured servitude or slavery.
A countries citizens can be addicted to government subsidy and entitlement programs like Federal Unemployment Insurance, SNAP, Disaster Unemployment Assistance, Home and Property Disaster Loans, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Research and Research Training, Kentucky Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Tax Benefits for Adoption, Terrorist Attack-Disaster Relief Information for Individuals, etcetera, Etcetera, ETCETERA. For a more complete list see of the over 1,000 programs representing 17 Federal partners see: Benefits.gov.
Our politicians and government officials at the federal, state and local levels are addicted to remaining in power by extracting exorbitant and ever increasing tax levels from the citizenry. Politicians create special earmarks and subsidies for their home district; greatly increasing the likelihood of re-election. They use the tax code to reward friends and punish enemies, shifting monies from less advantageously situated groups to those with more political clout. They use legally obtained tax revenue to pay specific groups to vote for them. This is how they stay in power.
What the master and the slave have in common is an unhealthy co-dependence. Each needs the other to survive. Politicians take by force and the threat of financial penalties and even jail, monies rightfully earned by hard working citizens. They dole out monies to those groups that will, in turn, vote back into office those same politicians. Once back in office these politicians reward their loyal voting blocs with financial largesse. Whether its college students receiving more government subsidized college loans, or the bailout of GM and Chrysler on behalf of the United Auto Workers, it’s all the same. The government shifts monies from one group to another. It is a bastardized version of Robin Hood.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report in April 2012 called “The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program” finding that in the 2011 fiscal year expenditure of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), formally known as Food Stamp Benefits, reached $78 billion, the highest it’s ever been. This means 1 out of 7 or roughly 45 million U.S. residents received this benefit in 2011. This was a 70% increase over the roughly 26 million people (or one of every 11) who received these benefits in 2007. Outlays for SNAP benefits (not including administrative costs) more than doubled during that period, from about $30 billion to $72 billion. This represents an increase of 135% in spending for this program during those years.
Although, the CBO also found that participants stay on the program as long as they are eligible, the benefit amount will decrease as family income increases, administrative changes to the program have made it easier to qualify and participate. This benefit fosters a permanent underclass of individuals dependent on the mistaken generosity, not of the general population, but of the politicians and bureaucrats who administer the program, creating a closed loop of inter-dependency between these two groups. The program’s recipients are dependent on elected officials for their sustenance and the elected officials/bureaucrats are dependent on the SNAP recipients as a loyal voter block. It’s the perfect storm. The group that supplies the funds to make this all possible is virtually frozen out of the decision making process.
In an article from THE CENTER for DATA ANALYSIS, the authors found some very disturbing trends concerning the percentage of US citizens dependent on the federal government for such items as housing, healthcare and retirement. According to the study, and adjusting for inflation, 15 times the resources were used to pay for people dependent on the government in 2010 than in 1962. Additionally the percentage of people who do not pay taxes and are not claimed as dependent has increased from 14.8 percent in 1984 49.5 percent in 2009.
Simply put, this means that more government resources are being used to fund more programs than ever before while the number of people replenishing the well by paying taxes is dropping dramatically. This means the disparity, between self-sufficient people and those relying on government entitlements, is growing at an alarming and unsustainable rate. Once the tipping point is reached, where more citizens receive most of their income from the government, than they receive from gainful employment is reached, we may never be able to reverse this trend. I am afraid that may be the death blow to United States as you and I know it.
I believe that this trend is a conscious effort by the Libs to change the social and economic make-up of the country. They are effectively creating an entire social group totally reliant on the federal government. Not sure? Just take a look at “The Life of Julia” if you’re not sure. Case closed.
Why are we following the catastrophic economic policies of Greece, Spain and Italy? Sometimes the sincerest form of flattery is not imitation. Can this trend be reversed? If so, how do we accomplish this reversal and what is the plan?
————————————————————-
The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.
Alexis de Tocqueville
Chinese Proverb.
————————————————————-
You know what irony is? Irony is the first “black” president enslaving massive numbers of Americans by increasing their reliance on earmarks, subsidies and entitlement programs. More Americans are reliant on the federal government for their sustenance than ever before. Do you think this is a coincidence? Guess again!!!!
————————————————————-
There are many forms of slavery and addiction. One can be a slave as in property or chattel. One can be a slave due to debt, a sexual slave, or in some cultures a slave due to arranged marriage.
Additionally, one can also be addicted to many different things or activities; from substance abuse like drugs, alcohol and tobacco to food, love, shopping, gambling, TV or even excess amounts of exercise. And today many people consider having to pay high rates of taxes as a modern day form of indentured servitude or slavery.
A countries citizens can be addicted to government subsidy and entitlement programs like Federal Unemployment Insurance, SNAP, Disaster Unemployment Assistance, Home and Property Disaster Loans, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Research and Research Training, Kentucky Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Tax Benefits for Adoption, Terrorist Attack-Disaster Relief Information for Individuals, etcetera, Etcetera, ETCETERA. For a more complete list see of the over 1,000 programs representing 17 Federal partners see: Benefits.gov.
Our politicians and government officials at the federal, state and local levels are addicted to remaining in power by extracting exorbitant and ever increasing tax levels from the citizenry. Politicians create special earmarks and subsidies for their home district; greatly increasing the likelihood of re-election. They use the tax code to reward friends and punish enemies, shifting monies from less advantageously situated groups to those with more political clout. They use legally obtained tax revenue to pay specific groups to vote for them. This is how they stay in power.
What the master and the slave have in common is an unhealthy co-dependence. Each needs the other to survive. Politicians take by force and the threat of financial penalties and even jail, monies rightfully earned by hard working citizens. They dole out monies to those groups that will, in turn, vote back into office those same politicians. Once back in office these politicians reward their loyal voting blocs with financial largesse. Whether its college students receiving more government subsidized college loans, or the bailout of GM and Chrysler on behalf of the United Auto Workers, it’s all the same. The government shifts monies from one group to another. It is a bastardized version of Robin Hood.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report in April 2012 called “The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program” finding that in the 2011 fiscal year expenditure of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), formally known as Food Stamp Benefits, reached $78 billion, the highest it’s ever been. This means 1 out of 7 or roughly 45 million U.S. residents received this benefit in 2011. This was a 70% increase over the roughly 26 million people (or one of every 11) who received these benefits in 2007. Outlays for SNAP benefits (not including administrative costs) more than doubled during that period, from about $30 billion to $72 billion. This represents an increase of 135% in spending for this program during those years.
Although, the CBO also found that participants stay on the program as long as they are eligible, the benefit amount will decrease as family income increases, administrative changes to the program have made it easier to qualify and participate. This benefit fosters a permanent underclass of individuals dependent on the mistaken generosity, not of the general population, but of the politicians and bureaucrats who administer the program, creating a closed loop of inter-dependency between these two groups. The program’s recipients are dependent on elected officials for their sustenance and the elected officials/bureaucrats are dependent on the SNAP recipients as a loyal voter block. It’s the perfect storm. The group that supplies the funds to make this all possible is virtually frozen out of the decision making process.
In an article from THE CENTER for DATA ANALYSIS, the authors found some very disturbing trends concerning the percentage of US citizens dependent on the federal government for such items as housing, healthcare and retirement. According to the study, and adjusting for inflation, 15 times the resources were used to pay for people dependent on the government in 2010 than in 1962. Additionally the percentage of people who do not pay taxes and are not claimed as dependent has increased from 14.8 percent in 1984 49.5 percent in 2009.
Simply put, this means that more government resources are being used to fund more programs than ever before while the number of people replenishing the well by paying taxes is dropping dramatically. This means the disparity, between self-sufficient people and those relying on government entitlements, is growing at an alarming and unsustainable rate. Once the tipping point is reached, where more citizens receive most of their income from the government, than they receive from gainful employment is reached, we may never be able to reverse this trend. I am afraid that may be the death blow to United States as you and I know it.
I believe that this trend is a conscious effort by the Libs to change the social and economic make-up of the country. They are effectively creating an entire social group totally reliant on the federal government. Not sure? Just take a look at “The Life of Julia” if you’re not sure. Case closed.
Why are we following the catastrophic economic policies of Greece, Spain and Italy? Sometimes the sincerest form of flattery is not imitation. Can this trend be reversed? If so, how do we accomplish this reversal and what is the plan?
————————————————————-
The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.
Alexis de Tocqueville
Boiled Like a Frog
Q. How do you boil a frog?
A. Put it in a pot of cold water and turn on the heat.
HaHa. LOL. Yeah, not so funny when it happens to you and me. And I have news for you, it’s happening ALL THE TIME. The heat is being turned up so slowly you don’t even realize it and soon it may be too late...
A. Put it in a pot of cold water and turn on the heat.
HaHa. LOL. Yeah, not so funny when it happens to you and me. And I have news for you, it’s happening ALL THE TIME. The heat is being turned up so slowly you don’t even realize it and soon it may be too late...
EU: British regulators are to blame for Britain's perma-slump, not Europe
Menino’s feathers are showing
Mumbles chickened out.
This whole Chick-fil-A fiasco turned into, as he would say, an Alcatraz around his neck. Amazing, this guy who goes to Mass every Sunday — does he know he’s supportin’, to use his terminology, a group that is probably more opposed to gay marriage than Dan Cathy?
And if Boston College gets invited to the Chick-fil-A bowl, will you allow the Eagles’ plane to take off from Logan airport?
This whole Chick-fil-A fiasco turned into, as he would say, an Alcatraz around his neck. Amazing, this guy who goes to Mass every Sunday — does he know he’s supportin’, to use his terminology, a group that is probably more opposed to gay marriage than Dan Cathy?
And if Boston College gets invited to the Chick-fil-A bowl, will you allow the Eagles’ plane to take off from Logan airport?
Einstein's theory is proved
Scientists use atomic clocks to show that time moves faster at altitude, even on Earth.
The world's most accurate clock has neatly shown how right Albert Einstein was 100 years ago, when he proposed that time is a relative concept and the higher you live above sea level the faster you should age.
Einstein's theory of relativity states that time and space are not as constant as everyday life would suggest. He suggested that the only true constant, the speed of light, meant that time can run faster or slower depending on how high you are, and how fast you are travelling....
Attention Christians: The ACLU hates you AND your religion!
..."If the DOJ is not going to enforce congressional law, they're going to go off on their own in what appears to be lockstep with the ACLU. That puts the cross in danger....."
Border Patrol union bosses turn against Obummer
Hat Tip: MichaelSavage.com
ICE, Border Patrol unions claim illegal immigrants exploiting 'dreamer' policy
ICE, Border Patrol unions claim illegal immigrants exploiting 'dreamer' policy
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Cronies, Clients, and Corruption - Vincent J. Cannato reviews Spoiled Rotten: How the Politics of Patronage Corrupted the Once Noble Democratic Party and Now Threatens the American Republic, by Jay Cost.
Vincent J. Cannato
'It wasn't supposed to be like this." So begins Spoiled Rotten, Jay Cost's new history of the Democratic party. Cost is referring to the presidency of Barack Obama, who was going to be a post-partisan, post-racial leader for the 21st century. More importantly for Democrats, Obama was also going to usher in a new era of Democratic dominance based on the changing demographics of American society.
Since the 1960s, Democrats have increasingly pinned their electoral hopes less on white working-class voters and more on an alliance of upper-middle-class professionals, minorities, young voters, and women. The election of 2008, which included Democratic victories in previously Republican states such as Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana, Florida, Nevada, and Colorado, at the time seemed to have proven the 40-year strategy correct. Amid an economic crisis, Obama was inaugurated with high approval ratings, a strongly Democratic Congress, and a Time magazine cover showing the new president as the reincarnation of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Liberals, it seemed, finally had their new New Deal.
In 2012, those dreams are a distant memory. Although no longer in a reession, the economy has been limping along with anemic growth. President Obama's signature policy change, health-care reform, is not widely popular, and many of the initial claims about its contents and costs are proving to be untrue or exaggerated. The stimulus plan now looks more like a grab bag of political handouts than a serious economic policy.
So why did things go so wrong? Part of the problem is with President Obama himself. He has proved to be a far less adept politician than many people once believed. He routinely shows a political tin ear and has expended little of the energy required to make the wheels of government turn. The president seems oddly disengaged and even uninterested in leadership. Speeches, not policy, drive Barack Obama. On top of this, the president's overweening narcissism gives the administration an odd, disconnected feel. The president seems to be saying by his body language that the country doesn't deserve a president as gifted as Barack Obama.
Cost is a writer for The Weekly Standard who brings a political scientist's keen eye to the analysis of campaigns and elections. Spoiled Rotten is part polemic, part history, and a must-read for political junkies. There are many flashes here of the political smarts and good sense that fans of his writing have come to expect.
In this book, Cost claims that the problems of the Obama administration go far beyond the failings of the president and extend to a fatal flaw within the modern Democratic party. He argues that the party has increasingly succumbed to the vice of what he terms "clientelism," which he defines as "transforming factions of voters into loyal members of a party's coalition by offering them special privileges." The Democratic party breaks down the American population into discrete groups and then proceeds to win their votes with government benefits. In doing so, Cost writes, the Democrats have "become a threat to the American republic itself." Instead of working for the public interest, "the Democrats are the party of, by, and for the politically privileged few, at the expense of everybody else."
Readers of the book will be treated to a lengthy tour of Democratic-party history, from Andrew Jackson to Obama, although most of the book focuses on the post-New Deal period. In his detailed and persuasive recounting of political history, Cost shows how Democrats continually sought to expand the powers of the federal government and create programs they believed would both solve social problems and win the allegiance of voters. They broke down the American public into discrete groups and tried to make those groups "clients" of the New Deal coalition.
Discussing the post-1960s period, Cost takes us into the era of the "New Politics," where increasingly the most pressing issues became social and cultural rather than economic. He ably shows how Democrats added new "clients" to their coalition: African Americans, abortion-rights supporters, environmentalists, and gays.
In our own time, "clientelism" is really another term for "crony capitalism," and therefore the book is firmly rooted in the Age of Obama. From energy policy to health care to the stimulus, special interests have certainly had a strong hand in the shaping of policy under this administration. Attacks on cronyism have become one of the most potent Republican criticisms of the Obama administration.
One small issue with Spoiled Rotten is that Cost borrows a rhetorical trick often used by liberals, who criticize Republicans by complaining that the current party has drifted from its noble past. Liberals argue that the GOP is no longer the party of Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, or even Goldwater and Reagan, but instead in the thrall of extremists.
As his subtitle states, Cost believes that the Democratic party has become unmoored from its "once noble" past. To Cost, that means the era of Andrew Jackson in the 1830s, when the Democratic party stood for the interests of "humble members of society" against special interests. Count me skeptical, both on the history and on the usefulness of this trope. As Cost correctly notes, factionalism is rooted in the very nature of party politics, a development that the Founding Fathers despaired of and hoped to avoid in the new republic; yet in the nation's infancy, factionalism and party politics took hold with the participation of many of those who had just years earlier fretted about the problem. Even the Jacksonian Democrats that Cost lionizes played the game of factionalism and patronage.
Cost demonizes Gilded Age Republicans and argues that their support for high tariffs during the late 1800s was akin to a "shakedown racket" to use government policy to support Republican manufacturers. But Democratic policies during the Gilded Age were just as guilty of "clientelism." Free silver was an attempt to inflate the currency to assist debt-ridden farmers and others who suffered during a time of deflation.
Nor does Cost grapple with the fact that Republicans during the presidency of George W. Bush also tried to play the "clientelist" game. The Bush administration pursued policies that targeted specific groups in the hopes of building a new, stronger Republican party. Economic conservatives got tax cuts. Religious conservatives got faith-based initiatives. Laxer policies on homeownership were especially geared toward minorities. Suburban independents got No Child Left Behind. Seniors got the Medicare prescription-drug benefit. Immigration reform was supposed to attract Hispanic voters, while young voters were offered Social Security reform. The latter two ideas never came to fruition, and the strategy largely failed as both politics and policy.
Cost's attack on "clientelism" is mostly a moral one. Spoiled Rotten is a spirited defense of the virtues of republican government and the general idea that our public policy should be created in the interest of the public good, not for the fostering of a political base. It is a compelling argument that dates back to the American Revolution, one that is written into the nation's ideological DNA.
The problem, however, is that while it may in fact be immoral and anti-republican, "clientelism" makes rational sense as a political strategy for the Democrats. Sure, "green" energy companies and other crony capitalists get subsidies and benefits from government, but the "humble members" of society also get benefits at the same time, including Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, student loans, housing assistance, WIC, food stamps, and myriad others. Too often Cost writes as if only well-connected fat cats make out from Democratic policies, not mentioning that lower-income Americans vote disproportionately Democratic for good reasons. Those "humble members" turn out to be clients as well.
As the size of government grows, so does the number of potential clients for future Democratic politicians. One of the biggest problems that fiscally conservative Republicans in Washington have had over the years is that the constituencies to keep federal programs are always bigger (and louder) than the constituencies to abolish or cut back those programs.
Even with the sputtering economy and the problems that Obama has largely created for himself, the 2012 presidential election will probably be very close largely because of the fact that there might just be enough Democratic "clients" to forge a new political coalition. In Spoiled Rotten, Jay Cost provides a much-needed history lesson for Republicans trying to figure out how to appeal to 21st-century voters, as well as for Democrats seeking to reshape their party away from the divisiveness of "clientelism."
Mr. Cannato teaches history at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.
July 24, 2012
'It wasn't supposed to be like this." So begins Spoiled Rotten, Jay Cost's new history of the Democratic party. Cost is referring to the presidency of Barack Obama, who was going to be a post-partisan, post-racial leader for the 21st century. More importantly for Democrats, Obama was also going to usher in a new era of Democratic dominance based on the changing demographics of American society.
Since the 1960s, Democrats have increasingly pinned their electoral hopes less on white working-class voters and more on an alliance of upper-middle-class professionals, minorities, young voters, and women. The election of 2008, which included Democratic victories in previously Republican states such as Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana, Florida, Nevada, and Colorado, at the time seemed to have proven the 40-year strategy correct. Amid an economic crisis, Obama was inaugurated with high approval ratings, a strongly Democratic Congress, and a Time magazine cover showing the new president as the reincarnation of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Liberals, it seemed, finally had their new New Deal.
In 2012, those dreams are a distant memory. Although no longer in a reession, the economy has been limping along with anemic growth. President Obama's signature policy change, health-care reform, is not widely popular, and many of the initial claims about its contents and costs are proving to be untrue or exaggerated. The stimulus plan now looks more like a grab bag of political handouts than a serious economic policy.
So why did things go so wrong? Part of the problem is with President Obama himself. He has proved to be a far less adept politician than many people once believed. He routinely shows a political tin ear and has expended little of the energy required to make the wheels of government turn. The president seems oddly disengaged and even uninterested in leadership. Speeches, not policy, drive Barack Obama. On top of this, the president's overweening narcissism gives the administration an odd, disconnected feel. The president seems to be saying by his body language that the country doesn't deserve a president as gifted as Barack Obama.
Cost is a writer for The Weekly Standard who brings a political scientist's keen eye to the analysis of campaigns and elections. Spoiled Rotten is part polemic, part history, and a must-read for political junkies. There are many flashes here of the political smarts and good sense that fans of his writing have come to expect.
In this book, Cost claims that the problems of the Obama administration go far beyond the failings of the president and extend to a fatal flaw within the modern Democratic party. He argues that the party has increasingly succumbed to the vice of what he terms "clientelism," which he defines as "transforming factions of voters into loyal members of a party's coalition by offering them special privileges." The Democratic party breaks down the American population into discrete groups and then proceeds to win their votes with government benefits. In doing so, Cost writes, the Democrats have "become a threat to the American republic itself." Instead of working for the public interest, "the Democrats are the party of, by, and for the politically privileged few, at the expense of everybody else."
Readers of the book will be treated to a lengthy tour of Democratic-party history, from Andrew Jackson to Obama, although most of the book focuses on the post-New Deal period. In his detailed and persuasive recounting of political history, Cost shows how Democrats continually sought to expand the powers of the federal government and create programs they believed would both solve social problems and win the allegiance of voters. They broke down the American public into discrete groups and tried to make those groups "clients" of the New Deal coalition.
Discussing the post-1960s period, Cost takes us into the era of the "New Politics," where increasingly the most pressing issues became social and cultural rather than economic. He ably shows how Democrats added new "clients" to their coalition: African Americans, abortion-rights supporters, environmentalists, and gays.
In our own time, "clientelism" is really another term for "crony capitalism," and therefore the book is firmly rooted in the Age of Obama. From energy policy to health care to the stimulus, special interests have certainly had a strong hand in the shaping of policy under this administration. Attacks on cronyism have become one of the most potent Republican criticisms of the Obama administration.
One small issue with Spoiled Rotten is that Cost borrows a rhetorical trick often used by liberals, who criticize Republicans by complaining that the current party has drifted from its noble past. Liberals argue that the GOP is no longer the party of Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, or even Goldwater and Reagan, but instead in the thrall of extremists.
As his subtitle states, Cost believes that the Democratic party has become unmoored from its "once noble" past. To Cost, that means the era of Andrew Jackson in the 1830s, when the Democratic party stood for the interests of "humble members of society" against special interests. Count me skeptical, both on the history and on the usefulness of this trope. As Cost correctly notes, factionalism is rooted in the very nature of party politics, a development that the Founding Fathers despaired of and hoped to avoid in the new republic; yet in the nation's infancy, factionalism and party politics took hold with the participation of many of those who had just years earlier fretted about the problem. Even the Jacksonian Democrats that Cost lionizes played the game of factionalism and patronage.
Cost demonizes Gilded Age Republicans and argues that their support for high tariffs during the late 1800s was akin to a "shakedown racket" to use government policy to support Republican manufacturers. But Democratic policies during the Gilded Age were just as guilty of "clientelism." Free silver was an attempt to inflate the currency to assist debt-ridden farmers and others who suffered during a time of deflation.
Nor does Cost grapple with the fact that Republicans during the presidency of George W. Bush also tried to play the "clientelist" game. The Bush administration pursued policies that targeted specific groups in the hopes of building a new, stronger Republican party. Economic conservatives got tax cuts. Religious conservatives got faith-based initiatives. Laxer policies on homeownership were especially geared toward minorities. Suburban independents got No Child Left Behind. Seniors got the Medicare prescription-drug benefit. Immigration reform was supposed to attract Hispanic voters, while young voters were offered Social Security reform. The latter two ideas never came to fruition, and the strategy largely failed as both politics and policy.
Cost's attack on "clientelism" is mostly a moral one. Spoiled Rotten is a spirited defense of the virtues of republican government and the general idea that our public policy should be created in the interest of the public good, not for the fostering of a political base. It is a compelling argument that dates back to the American Revolution, one that is written into the nation's ideological DNA.
The problem, however, is that while it may in fact be immoral and anti-republican, "clientelism" makes rational sense as a political strategy for the Democrats. Sure, "green" energy companies and other crony capitalists get subsidies and benefits from government, but the "humble members" of society also get benefits at the same time, including Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, student loans, housing assistance, WIC, food stamps, and myriad others. Too often Cost writes as if only well-connected fat cats make out from Democratic policies, not mentioning that lower-income Americans vote disproportionately Democratic for good reasons. Those "humble members" turn out to be clients as well.
As the size of government grows, so does the number of potential clients for future Democratic politicians. One of the biggest problems that fiscally conservative Republicans in Washington have had over the years is that the constituencies to keep federal programs are always bigger (and louder) than the constituencies to abolish or cut back those programs.
Even with the sputtering economy and the problems that Obama has largely created for himself, the 2012 presidential election will probably be very close largely because of the fact that there might just be enough Democratic "clients" to forge a new political coalition. In Spoiled Rotten, Jay Cost provides a much-needed history lesson for Republicans trying to figure out how to appeal to 21st-century voters, as well as for Democrats seeking to reshape their party away from the divisiveness of "clientelism."
Mr. Cannato teaches history at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.
July 24, 2012
Took away Her White Man’s Life, Savory Crabs and her Butter Knife
They took 1/32nd of the Harvard Nation
And put Warren on their reservation
Took away her white man’s life
Savory crabs and her butter knife
They took away her hot crossed buns
Her omelettes gave them all the runs
Mayonnaise and a can of Spam
Pow Wow Chow ain’t her Uncle Sam
Harvard Law people, Harvard Law tribe
So proud to hire, so proud to hide
They took the whole John Harvard Nation
Affirmative action reservation
And though she rules at Harvard Law
Deep down inside she’s just a squaw
Harvard Law people, Harvard Law tribe
So proud to hire, so proud to hide
But maybe come election day
She will serve an Hors d’oeuvres tray
Hors d’oeuvres tray
Hors d’oeuvres tray
Hors d’oeuvres tray
Hors d’oeuvres tray
Rep. Schakowsky Says She's ‘Unaware’ hat Obamacare Reg Requires Offering Free Sterilizations
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D.-Ill.) said she was “unaware” that the preventive services regulation that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued under the Obamacare law requires health care plans to offer free sterilizations to girls as young as their teens. However, back in March, Schakowsky did acknowledge that the mandate offers sterilizations free of charge to college-age women, stressing that the HHS rules were designed to “protect the health of women, women of all ages.” The HHS regulation, which takes effect on Aug. 1, requires nearly all health care plans in the United States to provide, without cost sharing, “all Food and Drug Administration approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity,” which means all women who have begun ovulating, including teenagers.
At the Capitol on Wednesday, CNSNews.com asked Rep. Schakowsky, “The HHS preventive services mandate requires all health plans to offer free sterilizations, including to girls in their teens. Do you support the mandate as it applies to teens?”
At that point, Rep. Schakowsky started to walk away without answering but, while walking, she said, “I don’t--I’m unaware that it says that sterilization including teens is in that. I’ll check that out.”
“I will check that out,” she said..........
At the Capitol on Wednesday, CNSNews.com asked Rep. Schakowsky, “The HHS preventive services mandate requires all health plans to offer free sterilizations, including to girls in their teens. Do you support the mandate as it applies to teens?”
At that point, Rep. Schakowsky started to walk away without answering but, while walking, she said, “I don’t--I’m unaware that it says that sterilization including teens is in that. I’ll check that out.”
“I will check that out,” she said..........
Issa Accuses HHS of Using Medicare Pilot to ‘Buy’ Election for Obama
An $8.3 billion Medicare demonstration project run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was faulted by government auditors for its large size and a design that might hamper conclusive results, prompting a key congressional overseer to blast it as an attempt by the Obama administration to curry favor with voters. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, convened a hearing on Wednesday to explore whether the Health and Human Services Department’s three-year demonstration project to give bonuses to private health plans that upgrade patient services was “designed to offset Obamacare’s massive cuts to Medicare Advantage ahead of an election.” This could be a case of the Democrats “playing politics with seniors’ health care,” Issa said...
Obama Supporter Interviews Her 2008 Self (VIDEO)
Just like that viral video where the guy interviews his 12-year-old self. But with Obama. And sadness. And regret.
http://houseofsunny.tv/
http://houseofsunny.tv/
Is this Voter Fraud in the Making?
This mailer arrived in our box for my wife today. My first suspicion was that this mailer was under her ‘familiar’ name, not her ‘legal’ name. Plus, she’s already registered to vote.
But there was something fishy about this mailer so I couldn’t help but delve deeper.
It appeared to come from the Virginia State Board of Elections, but upon further investigation it actually came from the Voter Participation Center, which is a partner organization with the George Soros funded Center for American Progress and both groups have direct ties to the Obama White House. It started out as part of the Tides Foundation. Looking at the biographies on these sites show lots of people with ties to the Obama and Clinton Administrations, and is part of the Democrats’ criminal syndicate. Have a look at this from Discover the Networks. And this from Wikipedia.
The VPC also focuses on educating policymakers and media on issues impacting what it calls the “rising American electorate”, including a series of reports produced in March 2010, in partnership with the Center for American Progress.
Now. Notice the address on the return envelope
MORE HERE>>
But there was something fishy about this mailer so I couldn’t help but delve deeper.
It appeared to come from the Virginia State Board of Elections, but upon further investigation it actually came from the Voter Participation Center, which is a partner organization with the George Soros funded Center for American Progress and both groups have direct ties to the Obama White House. It started out as part of the Tides Foundation. Looking at the biographies on these sites show lots of people with ties to the Obama and Clinton Administrations, and is part of the Democrats’ criminal syndicate. Have a look at this from Discover the Networks. And this from Wikipedia.
The VPC also focuses on educating policymakers and media on issues impacting what it calls the “rising American electorate”, including a series of reports produced in March 2010, in partnership with the Center for American Progress.
Now. Notice the address on the return envelope
MORE HERE>>
Storm trends in Australia and New Zealand? No evidence that CO2 increases extreme weather
Get ready — for all the fears of extreme weather coming our way — studies of Queensland, Victoria, the whole of SE Australia, New Zealand, and Perth show that either nothing is changing (there have always been bad storms) or possibly, the weather is better now than it used to be. Where is the evidence to support the claims by alarmists that increasing CO2 will make “extreme weather” more common?
DOJ: Family Can't Run Their Business as Catholics
William, Paul and James Newland and their sister, Christine Ketterhagen, who together own Hercules Industries, have no right to conduct their family business in a manner that comports with their Catholic faith.
The federal government can and will compel them to either surrender their business or to engage in activities the Catholic faith teaches are intrinsically immoral.
This is exactly what President Barack Obama's Justice Department told a U.S. district court in a formal filing last week...
The federal government can and will compel them to either surrender their business or to engage in activities the Catholic faith teaches are intrinsically immoral.
This is exactly what President Barack Obama's Justice Department told a U.S. district court in a formal filing last week...
Illegal immigrant admits raping child, getting her pregnant
A DNA test proved that Perez-Valencia got the 11-year-old pregnant.
Judge Thomas Lock sentenced him to 16 to 20 years in prison. Perez-Valencia is required to complete sex offender treatment while in prison. He must also register as a sex offender and will be under GPS satellite monitoring for the rest of his life.
Perez-Valencia will be deported from the United States after he serves his time.
Justin Bieber, benefits from Obama Stimulus
I personally watched Fox News tonight. Yes I am one of "those people". Shepard Smith had a snippet of Justin Bieber caling 911 to report 5 cars full of paparazzi following him. When the operator asked him what kind of car he was in, he replied a Fisker. The OP had to ask a couple of times to get the name of the automobile correct.
Ohio Lawmaker To Introduce Arizona-Style Law to Crack Down on Illegal Aliens
“I have no problem with immigration,” Combs said. “Immigration is a great thing, but it’s got to be done right. It’s got to be done legally.”
US House Rejects Obama Offshore Drilling Plan
Obama names seven to Holocaust memorial council
WASHINGTON - US President Obama named or renamed seven members of the US Holocaust Memorial Council, all donors to Democrats..
Obama urges tighter background checks on gun buyers after Aurora massacre
In his broadest remarks on gun control yet in the aftermath of the mass shooting at a Colorado movie theater, President Barack Obama called late Wednesday for tougher background checks designed to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill.
UN arms treaty takes shape, raising alarm among gun rights advocates
UNITED NATIONS – The arms trade treaty being hammered out by the United Nations is nearing completion, and the current draft shows it could lead to perpetual attacks on the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment and American foreign policy, critics say.
Napolitano says Egyptian politician given visa not a threat
The committee chairman, Rep. Peter King, a New York Republican, says he worries that giving a visa to a member of a State Department-designated "foreign terrorist organization" without telling Congress violated federal law..
Threat to U.S. Sovereignty July 26 Senate Vote: UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Senate passes Democratic tax plan destined for failure in the House
Democrats and Republicans conducted an exercise in political theater Wednesday by holding Senate votes on their competing tax proposals, even though both appeared destined for failure..
Hillarious! North Korea women footballers protest over flag gaffe at London 2012 Olympics
North Korea's Olympic women's football team walked off the pitch for an hour at their opening London 2012 match tonight after organisers mistakenly introduced the players using South Korea's flag.
Obama-admired Hugo Chávez tells Venezuelans to drink juice not Coke
President urges people to buy state-made Uvita to boost consumption of homegrown products and reduce imports
As Usual, UN Defends Another Terrorist State. This Time, Somalia
Drone operations over Somalia pose danger to air traffic, U.N. report says..
Is Microsoft eavesdropping through Skype for the feds?
Are your Skype calls safe from the eyes and ears of snooping feds? Microsoft has filed a patent to allow eavesdropping over Skype and other VOIP platforms, but the Silicon Valley giants won’t say whether or not they are already implementing it..
Pose-tinted glasses? The ultimate hipster eyewear is unveiled - glasses that add Instagram effects to real life
'You activate the glasses by pushing 'Insta' and choosing between different filters. Just take a picture with your glasses and upload the image straight to Instagram'..
Iran Pledges to Deploy Warships in the Atlantic
DEMS REGISTER THE DEAD?
UPDATE: Romney camp asks Va. to probe voter forms
The organization asked Cuccinelli to refuse the Romney campaign's request to investigate what it called "completely lawful efforts by the VPC to register Virginians."
The organization asked Cuccinelli to refuse the Romney campaign's request to investigate what it called "completely lawful efforts by the VPC to register Virginians."
Drug money funds voter fraud in Kentucky
Prosecutors say more than $400,000, part of it drug proceeds, was pooled by Democratic and Republican politicians over several elections, and spent to buy the votes of more than 8,000 voters, usually at $50 apiece...
The ever-growing definition of "racism" Greece expels Olympic athlete over racist tweets
"With so many Africans in Greece, the West Nile mosquitoes will be getting home food!!!"
Legendary Director Peter Bogdanovich: What If Movies Are Part of the Problem?
The director of "Targets" says: "People go to a movie to have a good time, and they get killed. … It makes me sick that I made a movie about it."
Obama-Endorsed Muslim Brotherhood calls for jihad to 'liberate' Palestine
Mursi: Recognition Of Peace Agreement With Israel – Conditional; MB Calls For Jihad To Liberate Palestine
Obama thanks 'gay-porn kingpin'
"ONE of the 'bundlers' who has raised $50,000 to $100,000 for the Barack Obama presidential campaign is Terrence Bean, who once controlled the biggest producer of gay porn in America," the Post reported in 2008, during the president's first run the office. "Bean, the first gay on Sen. Obama's National Finance Committee, is the sole trustee of the Charles M. Holmes Foundation, which owned Falcon Studios, Jock Studios and Mustang Studios, the producers of about $10 million worth of all-male pornography a year."
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Judge says it's OK to use your seized phone to impersonate you and entrap your friends
A federal judge has upheld the practice of police using seized phones to impersonate their owners, reading messages and sending sending entrapping replies to contacts in the phone's memory, without a warrant....
DNC Plans To Turn Small Business Attack Tables On Romne
On Wednesday, the Democratic National Committee plans to join the Obama campaign with a stepped up response to the “you didn’t build that” attacks on the president by Mitt Romney and the GOP..
Jury rules in favor of gun-rights activist
A Milwaukee County jury on Tuesday found a gun rights activist not guilty of carrying a concealed weapon when she parked outside a closed Milwaukee coffee shop last fall to use its Wi-Fi signal..
The Marketing Maven: Obamacare and the number 49
Entrepreneurs, those hardworking men and women who take an innovative idea and make it reality with their own money and labor, might now find 49 is their favorite number..
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