Archive for February, 2010
What’s Harry Done For Nevada?
Despite Reid’s campaign ads his popularity is sinking. The state’s voters see the well publicized back room deals he’s cutting for Obamacare and realize that he’s actually doing more for Louisiana with the “Louisiana Purchase” and Nebraska with the “Cornhusker Kickback” than for Nevada. According to a recent Weekly Standard article by Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, the former editor in chief of Readers Digest, “when Paul Laxalt left office in 1987 Nevada got back 98 cents of every dollar Nevadans paid to the federal treasury. Now the state receives 65 cents.” So much for Reid’s “most powerful senator in the history of Nevada” TV ads!
Tomlinson’s article, When Harry Meets Sue, shines a positive light on Sue Lowden. Other candidates are mentioned in this national weekly like Sharron Angle and Danny Tarkanian, but the spotlight is on Sue.
The beautiful former Miss America contestant is anything but a dumb blond. She’s an intelligent, savvy business woman and politician who, from second generation Ellis Island roots, worked to gain an education eventually graduating magna cum laude from American University. A woman of the people she waitressed and won scholarships from beauty pageants to gain an education. She even joined the Bob Hope 1971 Christmas Tour in Viet Nam. A stint as a cub TV reporter lead to a news anchor role that the Las Vegas Sun called one of the most professional in the nation. She is married to Paul Lowden and is the mother of four children.
Upset by a large tax increase in 1991 she took on the state senate majority leader in a largely Democratic district and won. In the state senate was strong in opposing taxes and eventually became the Republican whip. She was targeted by the culinary union in 1996 and lost.
She then became involved in a number of charitable causes, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Salvation Army, and organizations helping severely challenged children. In 2007 she became Republican Party Chair and later incurred the wrath of Ron Paul supporters over convention rules, eventually closing down the convention. She’s certainly not afraid to take a position. Early on she voted for Reid but claims that was a different time.
It’s great to see a positive article on Sue in a respected national magazine with a conservative reputation. So, in answer to the title question, what’s Harry done for Nevada….well, he’s provided a wonderful contrast for candidates of Sue Lowden’s caliber.
Tom Motherway
Obama Wants Republican Ideas To Save Obamacare–Just Say No
Posted by Tom in Government Regulation, Individual Freedom, National Debt, Nationalized Health Care on February 11, 2010
Jay Cost has a great post today in Real Clear Politics, The Blair House Stunt. He posits Obama’s invitation to Republicans to advance their healthcare ideas as either an honest attempt at a bipartisan reform of healthcare or a political stunt. He concludes it is a political stunt meant to help the Democrats by hurting the Republicans. This for three reasons: a) it’s televised giving the glib snake oil salesman his foil over lesser debaters, b) the invitation was extended to party leaders not the more moderate/liberal Republicans, and c) there are only nine months before the midterm elections so why would the Republican leadership want to help put lipstick on this pig!
Jay Cost’s reasoning is persuasive. Obamacare is the albatross around the Democrats necks as recently demonstrated by Scott Brown’s Massachusetts victory. Recent polls show the public against the takeover of 16% of the economy.
Obama has said that he is not willing to start with a blank sheet of paper which is the only way to negotiate a compromise. He wants his core elements in Obamacare. Most of those core elements are statist, anti-free market, and deficit growing at a time when the nation is near bankruptcy.
So there is no real hope of bipartisan compromise given Obama’s ground rules. Why waste time the Republicans could better spend by going directly to the voters with a cogent set of reform ideas: 1) allow all insurance to be sold across state lines, 2) tax employer provided benefits as compensation, 3) encourage individual policy ownership and portability by allowing a modest tax credit, 4) expand Health Savings Accounts scope and deductibility so more attractive high deductible policies would come to market, and 5) enact serious tort reform to eliminate gross legal fees and defensive medicine. In short, this simple reform would make the patients the medical consumers responsible for their own insurance. It would reduce the overall cost of healthcare with increased competition and decreased lawsuit diseconomies. Finally, it would not add to the deficit and in fact would provide additional revenue to the treasury to reduce the deficit.
The Republicans should politely just say no to Obama’s invitation as it stands. At the same time it is reasonable to state the principles that are necessary for health insurance and healthcare costs containment. That can be done succinctly in a way that the voters will easily appreciate.
Tom Motherway
“Irony?”… Give Me a Break!
Posted by Tom in Centrally Managed Economy, Economics, Government Regulation, Statism on February 10, 2010
“The irony is, is that on the left we are perceived as being in the pockets of big business; and then on the business side, we are perceived as being anti-business,” Obama said in a Feb. 9 interview in the Oval Office with Bloomberg BusinessWeek, which will appear on newsstands tomorrow. This from Bloomberg.com, here.
Not an irony at all, Mr. President. You are in Wall Street’s pocket, just check out the Wall Street political contributions. And, you make deals with rent-seeking big business, just witness the drug price deals you made with big pharma. So the perception of the left, as you call it, is correct.
As to your pursuing a “fundamentally business-friendly agenda” and being a “fierce advocate” of the free market, all I can say is, Bull Shit! If you call your Obamacare, free market, or Cap-N-Trade, business friendly, I think you are hopelessly ignorant.
Perhaps you think the EPA’s proposed regulation of carbon dioxide is business friendly to those businesses in international competition. Or, your recent appointment of autocrat Craig Becker to the NLRB helpful to the US economy. How about your stimulus of liberal democratic interests, auto company bailouts and takeovers, or union card-check proposal? No, Mr. President, a free-market advocate you are not!
You are a big government statist. Please remember that distinction! I know this is hard since you have never held a real job, but please try!
Tom Motherway
The Great Spender–History Repeating?
Posted by Tom in Deficit, Economics, National Character, National Debt, Obama Budget & State of the Nation on February 2, 2010
Like the obese people who resolve to diet BUT STARTING NEXT week, St. Augustine prayed for continence but BUT NOT JUST YET, and Obama in his state of the union resolved fiscal restraint and deficit reduction BUT NOT THIS YEAR! Given his $3.8 Trillion budget submission and its $1.6 Trillion 2011 deficit with its Trillion dollar deficits that follow throughout the decade, the promised fiscal restraint and deficit reduction will not come before the nation is bankrupt.
As today’s WSJ editorial points out, this Obama budget is “one of the greatest spend-while-you-can documents in American history!” The budget will reach a post war high of over 25% of GDP, well over the 40-year average of 20.7%. As with most budgets the assumptions are optimistic. And despite nearly $2 Trillion more in taxes and fees, the decade long deficits will add $8.5 Trillion to the national debt.
You would think Obama would learn something form history, but that’s not the case. A friend, Ron Tomsic, sent this April 20th, 1934 cartoon from the Chicago Tribune. (Double click the image for a full size image.)
It took World War II to bring the country out of the Great Depression. Anyone think Obama will relish that prospect?
Tom Motherway