I get a lot of liberals asking me where we conservatives were when Bush was spending like a drunk Democrat (they actually don't ask it exactly like that...;) and the answer is a bit complicated.
8 months into Bush's presidency 9-11 happened. It was a tragedy none of us were prepared for, and it stunned us completely. Then two wars. Naturally our focus was elsewhere instead of on Bush's spending habits. 2004 came and we were just so happy that Bush beat Kerry and our boys would not return home from Iraq in defeat, which certainly would have happened if Kerry had won.
In 2005 Katrina hit. We felt we could not be critical of this President who was dealing with so much, but believe me, among ourselves we were like, "$2000 dollars just thrown at people? What was he thinking?" It was an irresponsible way to handle helping the victims of Katrina, but we held back our criticisms. When idiots like Kanye West were on TV saying stupid things like, "George Bush hates black people" while Bush was throwing money and resources at Katrina victims, what would we say? People didn't have a clue about how states are responsible for first responders and that Gov. Blanco wouldn't give Pres. Bush the authority by state rights that he needed to take over the rescue. The Federal Govt writes checks, the states respond to emergencies. Mississippi was hit just as hard, but the local govt knew how to handle it. The local govt of Louisiana was clueless. So we as conservatives could hardly voice our concerns with Bush when he was being hit so unfairly (and still is to this day, and the media never told the real story). We turned our focus back to the war, which wasn't going well. We were worried. Many conservatives were angry with Bush over spending and immigration issues, but again, we felt he deserved a break with all that was on his plate, and the unfairness of the media and the left. Also, the economy was doing very well, which was miraculous considering all that we had been though. We were grateful.
Then the surge happened. We couldn't believe Bush won that one, and it put us on the road to victory in Iraq finally. This meant a great deal to us, so spending seem to take a backseat again. I think our commitment to our military was so much of a focus to us during the Bush years, that we turned a blind eye to many things in the Republican party.
Republicans watched a President lead, when it wasn't easy to lead. We watched him make tough unpopular decisions because he believed them to be right. We kept our mouths shut. Was that the right thing? I don't know. But the one good thing that has come out of the election of Obama is that we can no longer be quiet as conservatives. Spending is out of control (especially now!) and we can longer tolerate those Republicans that go along with it.
Republicans are ready to return to our core values. We have always been at our best when were were fighting for something. Now we are fighting to be the conservative party that we once were.
Join the Resistance.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
My Take
Friday, February 13, 2009
The Democrat Leadership Is Dispicable
Oh, and Obama was suppose to be all about "transparency."
From Human Events:
Democratic staffers released the final version of the stimulus bill at about 11 p.m. last night after delaying the release for hours to put it into a format which people cannot “search” on their home computers.
Instead of publishing the bill as a regular internet document -- which people can search by “key words” and otherwise, the Dems took hours to convert the final bill from the regular searchable format into “pdf” files, which can be read but not searched.
Three of the four .pdf files had no text embedded, just images of the text, which did not permit text searches of the bill. That move to conceal the bill’s provisions had not been remedied this morning at the time of publication of this article. (You can find the entire bill on the House Appropriations [http://appropriations.house.gov] website.)
Valentine's Gifts
Personalized Heart Butcher Knife
Let someone know that a severed heart with their name on it reminds you of them! 4" mini Butcher Knife is hand painted, rusted, signed, and glitter dusted. Comes in a hand sketched gift box. The knife can be personalized up to 6 letters.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Sweet. Gregg withdraws.
Good grief. Republicans are re-discovering their principles!!
Senator Gregg Statement on His Withdrawal for Consideration of U.S. Commerce Secretary
Sen. Gregg stated, “I want to thank the President for nominating me to serve in his Cabinet as Secretary of Commerce. This was a great honor, and I had felt that I could bring some views and ideas that would assist him in governing during this difficult time. I especially admire his willingness to reach across the aisle.
“However, it has become apparent during this process that this will not work for me as I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package and the Census there are irresolvable conflicts for me. Prior to accepting this post, we had discussed these and other potential differences, but unfortunately we did not adequately focus on these concerns. We are functioning from a different set of views on many critical items of policy.
“Obviously the President requires a team that is fully supportive of all his initiatives.
“I greatly admire President Obama and know our country will benefit from his leadership, but at this time I must withdraw my name from consideration for this position.
“As we move forward, I expect there will be many issues and initiatives where I can and will work to assure the success of the President’s proposals. This will certainly be a goal of mine.
“Kathy and I also want to specifically thank Governor Lynch and Bonnie Newman for their friendship and assistance during this period. In addition we wish to thank all the people, especially in New Hampshire, who have been so kind and generous in their supportive comments.
“As a further matter of clarification, nothing about the vetting process played any role in this decision. I will continue to represent the people of New Hampshire in the United States Senate.”
The Future of our Party
Heneritta
If you missed this story, Henrietta is the elderly black woman who told Obama at at Townhall meeting that she was homeless and needed help. Obama kissed her on the cheek and told her that his staff would get her in touch with the proper housing authorities.
Then......
Florida Republican State Representative Nick Thompson and his wife Chene Thompson offered her a house in La Belle, FL rent free for as long as she needs it.
This truly illustrates the difference in Democrat and Republican thinking. A Democrat tells the needy that the proper government authority will get back to them, and a Republican gives out of their own charity.
Yes, it's a sweeping generalization and there are many exceptions (good regular Democrats who give to charity), but when you look at the measely amount V.P. Al Gore gave to charity and the millions that V.P. Dick Cheney gave, you can see what I mean.
Also, good article on the subject. Conservatives give more.
A Thought
Watching Congressmen lecture the bank's CEO's yesterday was like watching a prostitute lecturing a young girl for being too promiscuous.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
"BENEDICT ARNOLDS OF THE GOP"
I've been so angry at Specter, Snowe, and Collins I can't even see straight. Betrayers. One and all. But Dick Morris really puts it all inperspective:
Because of the concentrated efforts of millions of Republicans all over America, Susan Collins (Maine) was reelected to the Senate, surviving a challenge once thought to be serious. She won, in large part, because she was able to drown her Democratic adversary in a sea of campaign spending made possible by donations from Republicans throughout the nation. As a result of their efforts, the GOP preserved its 40th vote in the Senate.
And when Saxby Chambliss was forced into a runoff in the Georgia Senate race, Republicans from all over the United States poured out their hearts and their funds to get him reelected, all to save the 41st vote and be able to filibuster Democrats' big spending proposals.
Now the actions of three people who told their voters that they were Republicans have eliminated any hope that the GOP has for influence during the next two years. By making their own deals with the Obama administration and settling for cosmetic improvements in the so-called stimulus package, Sens. Collins, Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) have sold out their party, their state and their supporters.
Don't buy their excuse that they shaved more than one hundred billion dollars in spending from the Senate version. By the time the Senate/House conference reconciles the differences between the versions of the legislation passed by the two houses, most of that spending will be back in the law anyway.
Collins, Snowe and Specter had a chance to send a message to Obama that he had to deal with the Republican Party to avert a filibuster. They could have made it clear that genuine bipartisan cooperation was necessary to pass legislation. These three senators, pledged to cut taxes and oppose massive growth in federal spending, could have demanded a 2-to-1 ratio for tax cuts over spending, rather than the reverse, as Obama is succeeding in getting.
Instead, the three wimped out and caved in for peanuts from Obama. In doing so, they completely stripped their party of any leverage. There was no point in having gotten 41 votes if the three weakest links could sell the party out.
This stimulus package will:
• Hurt economic recovery by elbowing aside private borrowers and consumers as the government goes to the front of the line to borrow adequate funds to cover its deficit.
• Invite massive inflation in the future as consumers and businesspeople sit on most of the money until times improve. Then, when confidence begins to return -- no thanks to the stimulus package -- they will deluge the economy with money, triggering massive inflation.
• Expand government and spend borrowed money on projects that may have some long-term merit but are scarcely our top priority right now.
Republicans in Maine and Pennsylvania need to learn their lesson and assure that these three senators face a primary. Real conservatives, who oppose larger government, must stand up to these three phony Republicans.
They'll get their chance. Specter is up for reelection in 2010. He should have been defeated in 2006 when a real conservative, Pat Toomey, opposed him in a primary and only narrowly lost. Better luck next time.
The very concept of checks and balances evaporated last week on Capitol Hill when these three senators sold out their colleagues and stripped their conference of its power. Now Obama can buy off the GOP senator by senator without having to make genuine compromises with the other party to pass his agenda.
In 1993, Clinton was not able to buy Republicans retail. Only Vermont's Jim Jeffords, who soon became a Democrat, gave way and dealt independently with the president. Now, with their backs to the wall, facing a spending package that will consign America to rampant inflation, massive debt and continued recession, these three senators have gone back on their most fundamental pledge to their constituents -- to act in the public good.
The Japanese do what we can't
They make fun of Obama and Michelle. Now, I'm not overly fond of comedians making fun of our President, no matter who it is. But after years of Bush bashing and making fun of, I find it disingenuous to say the least, that they can't seem to make fun of Obama. It shows a cult like love, which is disturbing.
Over at Huffpo they are calling this "blackface." Really? Is it blackface when SNL does it?
It is strange how funny they find Obama and Michelle, isn't it?
via HotAir
Sick Kids
I've been taking care of sick kids if you are wondering why I haven't blogged as much. Terrible viral thing, like the flu, but it isn't.
Luckily, I have an immune system that rivals superman's, so I haven't gotten sick.
I found this amusing. Here are 15 famous politician's high school pics. McCain is totally hot. I hate to admit it but Biden ain't bad either and Pelosi was pretty in that cold snooty way. Cheney ain't bad either.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Bong News
Eight arrested in Phelps bong case:
"We've now learned that since investigators began trying to build a case, they've made eight arrests: seven for drug possession and one for distribution. These are arrests that resulted as the sheriff's department served search warrants. We've also learned that the department has located and confiscated that bong. Sources say the owner of the bong was trying to sell it on eBay for as much as $100,000. The owner, who wasn't even at the party, is one of the eight now charged."
This all just got me to thinking how ridiculous it is that we put athletes and stars on a pedestal.
This week we find out a baseball star, Alex Rodriguez, not only used steroids and cheated to be as good as he was, but stone cold lied about it on national TV.
Then singing/dancing star Chris Brown beats up his girlfriend.
Don't think the kids aren't paying attention. They are.
How we handle all this will say a lot to our children.
Big Words, Big Government
Obama's news conference last night, like his stop in Indiana, sounded like he was still campaigning. And when you think about it, it is what he does best and has done the longest.
Obama was completely disingenuous. Repeating that there were no "earmarks" and avoiding the word "pork" was clever, but dishonest. When you are funding the National Endowment of the Arts to the tune of $50 million, you aren't "creating jobs." You are paying back a close constituent. $300 million for grants to combat violence against women, while a worthy goal, doesn't create jobs or stimulate the economy. $650 million for activities related to the switch from analog to digital TV may ensure no one miss the next "Dancing With The Stars," but it can be called nothing more than pork.
Obama kept referring to people that don't exist in Congress. People that believe in "doing nothing" as a response to the economic crisis. I don't know any Republican Congressman that wants us "to do nothing." Just because you believe this stimulus bill is too bloated and want it cut down to be a stimulus only, doesn't equate to "doing nothing." Obama also kept saying, "tax cuts alone can't solve our economic problems." No one I know of is proposing tax cuts alone. This is dishonest and certainly not fair to those who want honest debate.
Obama wants bigger government and he is going to get it. When Rahm Emanuel stated outright that this crisis gave Democrats an opportunity to pass big government programs, he wasn't kidding. He said back in November, "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before."
Republicans have no one to blame but themselves. They squandered their time to act like true conservatives, and it's taken losing big time for them to now grow a spine and say and do things they should have been doing all along.
It's going to take a while to get their conservative creds back. Meanwhile, big government wins and we all lose.
Creating more incentive and money for people to depend on the government for their livelihood is simply wrong. We will all look back on this with regret I fear.
Update: I really can't get over how dishonest Obama is being. I think he can state his case for the stimulus by not telling untruths.
From NRO:
The Obama administration has claimed that virtually all economists support their approach to "stimulus" spending. This is patently untrue. Nobel Laureates Ed Prescott, James Buchanan, and Vernon Smith recently joined 200 other economists signing a letter opposing the legislation. Other notable economists critical of the stimulus package include Nobel Laureate Gary Becker, as well as Robert Barro, Greg Mankiw, Arthur Laffer, and Larry Lindsey. Martin Feldstein, who had been the only notable conservative economist loudly supporting the stimulus, has since changed his mind.
More liberal economists such as Alice Rivlin and Alan Blinder have also strongly criticized certain aspects of the spending bill.
And just so we aren't distracted by the what many of you seem to see as measley hundreds of millions here or there, you might take a look at the big picture:
According to the Wall Street Journal, there is very little actual "stimulus" in the stimulus bill:
"In selling the plan, President Obama has said this bill will make 'dramatic investments to revive our flagging economy.' Well, you be the judge. Some $30 billion, or less than 5% of the spending in the bill, is for fixing bridges or other highway projects. There's another $40 billion for broadband and electric grid development, airports and clean water projects that are arguably worthwhile priorities.
Add the roughly $20 billion for business tax cuts, and by our estimate only $90 billion out of $825 billion, or about 12 cents of every $1, is for something that can plausibly be considered a growth stimulus."
Monday, February 09, 2009
Best Story of The Day
The Stimulus Bill=Alice in Wonderland
Remember in the story of Alice in Wonderland how she eats the cake and grows so big she can't get through the door?
This is Alice eating cake on steroids.
"No, He Can't"
This is making the rounds, as well it should. Anne Wortham's bonafides here.
No He Can’t
by Anne Wortham
Fellow Americans,
Please know: I am black; I grew up in the segregated South. I did not vote for Barack Obama; I wrote in Ron Paul’s name as my choice for president.
Most importantly, I am not race conscious. I do not require a black president to know that I am a person of worth, and that life isworth living. I do not require a black president to love the ideal of America.
I cannot join you in your celebration. I feel no elation. There is no smile on my face. I am not jumping with joy. There are no tears of triumph in my eyes. For such emotions and behavior to come from me, I would have to deny all that I know about the requirements of human flourishing and survival, - all that I know about the history of the United States of America, all that I know about American race relations, and all that I know about Barack Obama as a politician. I would have to deny the nature of the “change” that Obama asserts has come to America.
Most importantly, I would have to abnegate my certain understanding that you have chosen to sprint down the road to serfdom that we have been on for over a century. I would have to pretend that individual liberty has no value for the success of a human life. I would have to evade your rejection of the slender reed of capitalism on which your success and mine depend. I would have to think it somehow rational that 94 percent of the 12 million blacks in this country voted for a man because he looks like them (that blacks are permitted to play the race card), and that they were joined by self-declared “progressive” whites who voted for him because he doesn’t look like them. I would have to wipe my mind clean of all that I know about the kind of people who have advised and taught Barack Obama and will fill posts in his administration, - political intellectuals like my former colleagues at the Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
I would have to believe that “fairness” is the equivalent of justice. I would have to believe that man who asks me to “go forward in a new spirit of service, in a new service of sacrifice” is speaking in my interest. I would have to accept the premise of a man that economic prosperity comes from the “bottom up,” and who arrogantly believes that he can will it into existence by the use of government force. I would have to admire a man who thinks the standard of living of the masses can be improved by destroying the most productive and the generators of wealth.
Finally, Americans, I would have to erase from my consciousness the scene of 125,000 screaming, crying, cheering people in Grant Park, Chicago irrationally chanting “Yes We Can!” Finally, I would have to wipe all memory of all the times I have heard politicians, pundits, journalists, editorialists, bloggers and intellectuals declare that capitalism is dead - and no one, including especially Alan Greenspan, objected to their assumption that the particular version of the anti-capitalistic mentality that they want to replace with their own version of anti-capitalism is anything remotely equivalent to capitalism.
So you have made history, Americans. You and your children have elected a black man to the office of the president of the United States , the wounded giant of the world. The battle between John Wayne and Jane Fonda is over - and that Fonda won. Eugene McCarthy and George McGovern must be very happy men. Jimmie Carter, too. And the Kennedys have at last gotten their Kennedy look-a-like. The self-righteous welfare statists in the suburbs can feel warm moments of satisfaction for having elected a black person. So, toast yourselves: 60s countercultural radicals, 80s yuppies and 90s bourgeois bohemians. Toast yourselves, Black America . Shout your glee Harvard, Princeton , Yale, Duke, Stanford, and Berkeley. You have elected not an individual who is qualified to be president, but a black man who, like the pragmatist Franklin Roosevelt, promises to - Do Something! You now have someone who has picked up the baton of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society. But you have also foolishly traded your freedom and mine, - what little there is left, - for the chance to feel good. There is nothing in me that can share your happy obliviousness.
Exactly
Commentary Magazine has this exchange on 'This Week' between Michael Steele and George (I work for Obama) Stephanopoulos:
STEPHANOPOULOS: [Governor Charlie Crist] suggests that you and Republican Party leaders here in Washington are on the wrong side of the biggest issue, jobs.
STEELE: Well, no — you know, with all due respect to the governor, I understand where he’s coming from. Having been a state official, I know what it means to get those dollars when you’re in tight times.
But you’ve got to look at the entire package. You’ve got to look at what’s going to create sustainable jobs.
What this administration is talking about is making work. It is creating work.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But that’s a job.
STEELE: No, it’s not a job. A job is something that — that a business owner creates. It’s going to be long term. What he’s creating…
STEPHANOPOULOS: So a job doesn’t count if it’s a government job?
(CROSSTALK)
STEELE: Hold on. No, let me — let me — let me finish. That is a contract. It ends at a certain point, George. You know that. These road projects that we’re talking about have an end point.
As a small-business owner, I’m looking to grow my business, expand my business. I want to reach further. I want to be international. I want to be national. It’s a whole different perspective on how you create a job versus how you create work. And I’m — either way, the bottom line is…
STEPHANOPOULOS: I guess I don’t really understand that distinction.
STEELE: Well, the difference — the distinction is this. If a government — if you’ve got a government contract that is a fixed period of time, it goes away. The work may go away. That’s — there’s no guarantee that that — that there’s going to be more work when you’re done in that job.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Yes, but we’ve seen millions and millions of jobs going away in the private sector just in the last year.
STEELE: But they come — yes, they — and they come back, though, George. That’s the point. When they go — they’ve gone away before, and they come back. And the point is that the small-business owners take the risks. They’re the ones that are out there in the morning putting that second mortgage on the house, taking the risks that are necessary so that they can employ your — your kids and my kids and future generations. That’s sustainable, long-term growth.
Otherwise, then why do we need the small-business community? Why don’t we all just get a government job and call it a day?
I've never seen such an obvious display of a liberal (George) who doesn't understand the concept of the difference of a job created by the private sector, that grows and creates more jobs, and a govt job created for the sole purpose of getting a pay check out there for a short time.
Steele did an excellent job of explaining it. It's about time we had someone who can do that in simple terms everyone can understand.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Obama's scandals so far....
Gawker (of all people) has an excellent summary.
But this last one was news to me:
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's Capitol Hill basement apartment (rented to him by Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro and pollster Stanley Greenberg turned out to be an illegal rental unit. Honestly, isn't breaking the law supposed to pay off more than that?
Sen. John Cornyn on Fox News Sunday
The transcript is here, but this part sums it up nicely:
WALLACE: Senator Cornyn, isn't there considerable risk to Republicans to be seen as voting almost unanimously against the president's economic stimulus plan when he is seen by the public as making such a big effort to be bipartisan?
CORNYN: Well, the president has done a good job reaching out to Republicans, and he has said he wants to approach this crisis, like other problems the country has, on a bipartisan basis. That's good, and we're willing to work with him on that.
But this bill is not the president's bipartisan plan. It's Nancy Pelosi's plan, and she said, "We won the election. We're writing the bill." And that's what happened in the — in the House.
And I think every Republican suggestion that's been offered during the course, almost without exception, has been defeated along a party-line vote.
So this is — I don't think Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi actually got the memo from the president when it comes to bipartisan cooperation. That's why you're seeing this outcome.
via GOC
