WEEK OF MARCH 8

WEEK OF MARCH 8, 2009

If it were not for the economic crisis in this country, the political theater that is playing out in Washington would be hilarious. Who knows? Maybe conservatives and liberals would get along; but then, it wouldn’t be so funny. You notice I say conservatives and liberals, rather than Democrats and Republicans. That is simply because the latter two terms are too broad.

For example, we have the following report posted on March 4 in the Australian, entitled Big chill buries global warming protest.

There were two storms in the

capital yesterday, and one blew away the other. Global warming activists had stormed Washington for what was billed as the nation's largest act of civil disobedience to fight climate change, only to see the city almost shut down by a major winter storm. As Washington was blasted with its heaviest snowfall of the winter, politicians cancelled appearances and schools and businesses were closed. The storm also buried under 15cm of snow any hope of global warming activism.

Then you have this, from the International Herald Tribune

Neo-Marxists Form Group to Push Democrats Left -- A group of liberal bloggers said it is teaming up with organized labor and MoveOn.org to form a political action committee that will seek to push the Democratic Party farther to the left. Soliciting donations from their readers, the bloggers said they are planning to recruit liberal candidates for challenges against more centrist Democrats currently in Congress.

If the Democratic Party were pushed much farther to the left, it would fall off the western edge of the Conservatives’ flat earth. Go Neo-Marxists!

But probably the funniest controversy that is swirling is the one between the Dems and Rush Limbaugh. Rush loves getting under their skin, and he is very good at it. Of course, it is largely their fault, since many, if not most, Liberals are over-sensitive wusses with an inordinate need to be loved and admired by everyone. You constantly see it in their campaigning, and you definitely see it in their foreign policy. They are easy targets for Rush, like the playground crybaby who is always picked on by the bigger kids.

They are now getting out their big guns to take aim at Rush - James “Swamp-mouth” Carville, Paul Begala, and all of the other insects that they occasionally let crawl out from under their rocks when they have the need to get mean and nasty. In a brazen effort to retain their grip on center-moderates, they are attempting to paint the entire Republican Party with the broad brush of Limbaugh’s outspoken brashness, as the party of old, worn-out, and failed policies. Apparently to them, there are none of us on the Right side of the political aisle that are capable of thinking for ourselves and forming our own opinions. According to the Demogods, we all take our marching orders from “the Big Guy”.

Rush loves the attention, and he loves the banter. So do his 20 million weekly listeners on the radio. He is the ultimate showman, and he has now gone so far as to challenge another great showman, President Barack Hussein Obama, to a debate (where was he when John McCain needed him?) If such a debate were to be held, and it never will be, The Anointed One would be dead meat unless the debate was scripted and teleprompters were used.

I have never been an ardent fan nor regular listener to Rush’s radio show. It is not because of differences in principle or political philosophy, but rather it is simply a matter of style. Having said that, I also confess that I am in total agreement with Limbaugh’s refusal to wish Obama success in his presidency, and for the same reasons that Rush has expressed. I do not want Obama’s policies to succeed, because in my mind success would mean the end of America as I know her and love her. I want my grandchildren and great-grandchildren to have the same opportunities and blessings as I have had during my lifetime. And I hope that they will live in a country where they can still laugh at the antics of the political opposition - that there will even be political opposition in the future. The way our country is headed in 2009, there may not be political opposition anymore.

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Letting Them Know

I think that I shall never see, a poem lovely as a tree, nor as big a hypocrite as a Liberal...

I do not expect to hear a whisper of protest out of any of those on the Left (who so loudly castigated the Bush Administration for awarding contracts to Haliburton Corporation for doing work in Iraq) regarding President Obama’s Executive Order of February 6, requiring that all major federal construction projects henceforth be performed solely by unionized contractors (SOURCE: Executive Order: Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects ) Not surprisingly, there was ne’er a peep out of the left-stream media, either.

In one of the most blatant political paybacks in history, the new president rewarded his toady big labor campaign supporters with what undoubtedly will be just the first of several goody packages. The next big payoff will be the Employee Free Choice Act, which will put an end to the use of the secret ballot, a basic American concept and principle, when employees are voting for or against bringing a union into their workplace. Then again, very little of what this new president has said or done during his first month in office has any regard whatsoever for American concepts and principles.

Responding to the order, RNC Chairman Michael Steele stated:

President Obama's executive order will drive up the cost of government at a time when we should be doing everything possible to save taxpayer dollars. Federal contracts should go to the businesses that can offer taxpayers the best value - not just the unions who supported the Democrats' campaigns last year. Quietly signing executive orders to payback campaign backers undermines Obama promise to change Washington. It is a disappointment for Americans hoping for more transparency and less politics as usual in Washington.

When compared to Obama’s Economic Stimulus Package and his $3.5trillion federal budget, this “Obamination” has thus far drawn little protest from Republicans and conservatives. Taken together, however, the outrage that has been emanating from all directions on the right during Obama’s first month in office dwarfs anything that George Bush had to endure during such a limited period of time during his presidency. From the CPAC speeches to the nationwide “tea parties”, from Dave Jeffer’s rants at Salt and Light to Pam Keller’s at Atlas Shrugs, and from Rush Limbaugh to Hugh Hewitt on the radio dial, conservatives have been slowly but surely weaning Americans from the zombie-like euphoria that they found at the nipples of left-wing nannyism.

Unfortunately, it may require extremely difficult times resulting from the certain failure of Obama’s “Stimulus Package” to close the deal, but it is beginning to look like we may be able to take America back. Is it any wonder that the Democrats want so badly to silence us?

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Understanding The Recession

If you are like me, and I believe that most Americans are in this regard, you have at best a rudimentary understanding of the causes of the current economic crisis in America. Recently, former Colorado Congressman Bob Beauprez posted on his website an article written by economist Rich Sokol that provides a comprehensive description of all of the activities that went into creating the economic recession that we are now experiencing.

The article is entitled The Economic Crisis: A Primer On How We Got Here, and How It Spread. It is meant for the economic layperson like you and me, and can be found at A Line of Sight.

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Stifling Dissent

On Friday, Feb. 26, the Senate passed the District of Columbia Voting Rights b\Bill, which for the first time gives D.C. one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Since there are no Republicans who are not already holding government office within the District, the Senate thought it only fair to add another House seat for Utah as well, where there are no Democrats. Who says the Senate isn’t fair?

And speaking of “fair”, there was an amendment added to the bill that would in effect kill forever the so-called “Fairness Doctrine” that has been a popular topic of worried conversation on conservative talk-radio shows. The amendment, entitled the Broadcaster Freedom Act or BFA, was introduced by South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint, and was passed by an overwhelming 87-11 vote.

That lopsided vote should have served as a warning to Republicans, however. Shortly thereafter, Democratic Sen., Dick Durbin introduced his own amendment calling for “diversity” in radio broadcasting, using the power of the Federal Communications Commission to review content at the local level, and pulling the broadcast licenses of radio stations that, in their opinion, do not provide sufficiently diverse views in their broadcasting. An aide to Sen. DeMint described the Durban amendment as one that would, “impose the Fairness Doctrine through the back door by trying to break up radio ownership.” The amendment passed by a much smaller 57-41 majority vote.

The measure will now go to conference with the House, where either or both amendments could be dropped. As of now, the authoritarian dictatorship that is the Obama Administration appears to hold the upper hand.

On the brighter side, however, is the thought that the Durbin Amendment apparently could not be used to stifle criticism on the internet, as it was written. Many conservative bloggers have expressed concern that once the government silences conservative talk-radio, the internet would be its next target.

We can only hope that if the Durbin rule becomes law that it will quickly find its way to the Supreme Court for review relative to First Amendment guarantees of free speech.

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