Obama on Auto Jobs: Bragging, Denigrating GOP and Omitting Important Facts

There are a few things President Obama never fails to do. One, praise himself. Two, attack Republicans. Three, void as much of reality as necessary to accomplish One and Two.

For example, in his visit to Chrysler's auto plant in Detroit today, President Obama said:

So here's the bottom line. We've got a long way to go. But we're beginning to see some of these tough decisions pay off. We are moving foward.

I want you to remember, though, if some folks had their way, none of this would have been happening. Just want to point that out.

So, he praises himself and attempts to deride Republicans in one breath. I think we can pretty much all see through this one.

But Obama ignores the bigger part of the story. And so do liberals who praise him.

The problem is that Republicans weren't wrong to deride the auto bailouts as unnecessary and potentially harmful to the economy. Yes, Chrysler is going to keep its plant open for two more years and add 900 jobs. Great.

But, of all American auto companies, which is flourishing during this time?

Hint, it's the one that refused the government bailout.

Yes, Ford is doing great right now. It is the true success story. And if private industry was running GM and Chrysler, instead of the government, those companies might be doing better too.

How much taxpayer money was needed to save those 900 Chrysler jobs? Was it worth it? Wouldn't we be in better shape if they had gone the way of Ford instead of the way of government?

What Judge Bolton Got Wrong

Arizona District Court Judge Susan Bolton ordered a preliminary injunction against the enactment of several provisions of Arizona's immigration law known as SB 1070.

In doing so, the Judge determined that the United States had shown a likelihood of success on the merits that the law (or at least the best provisions of it) was preempted by federal law.

However, the Judge's decision is based mostly on Hines v. Davidowitz, a 69-year old case in which the Supreme Court found that Pennsylvania's alien registration law was preempted by the Federal Alien Registration Act. There, the state law conflicted with federal law, and the Federal government is granted the authority to regulate the registration of aliens by the U.S. Constitution.

But the law in Arizona does not deal with the registration of aliens. They only deal with determining the immigration status of people. As such, the Supreme Court case from 1941 is not directly on point.

In fact, the court in that case stated that it was "expressly leaving open all of appellees' other contentions, including the argument that the federal power in this field, whether exercised or unexercised, is exclusive." Instead, the Court was merely answering the question "of the respective powers of state and national governments in the regulation of aliens as such, and a determination of whether Congress has, by its action, foreclosed enforcement of Pennsylvania's registration law."

While the District court in the case of SB 1070 quoted only a portion of the following passage, reading it in whole connotes the very specific situation for which it was written:

Having the constitutional authority so to do, [Congress] has provided a standard for alien registration in a single integrated and all-embracing system in order to obtain the information deemed to be desirable in connection with aliens. When it made this addition to its uniform naturalization and immigration laws, it plainly manifested a purpose to do so in such a way as to protect the personal liberties of law-abiding aliens through one uniform national registration system, and to leave them free from the possibility of inquisitorial practices and police surveillance that might not only affect our international relations, but might also generate the very disloyalty which the law has intended guarding against. Under these circumstances, the Pennsylvania Act cannot be enforced.

Saying that Congress preempts state registration laws by creating its own registration law is a completely different thing than saying that states are preempted from regulating people within their borders.

In addition, the Supreme Court has held in such cases as Grahama v. Richardson and Bernal v. Fainter that states can create laws that discriminate against even legal aliens, so long as those laws meet the "strict scrutiny" test of constitutionality. As such, where Judge Bolton cautions against "imposing burdens on lawfully-present aliens," as she claims SB 1070 will do, she fails to engage in the type of analysis required to determine the constitutionality of such a law.

The biggest problem for Arizona is that the case will be appealed to the Ninth Circuit, the most liberal of all circuits. But all is not last, as the Ninth Circuit upheld an Arizona law in 2008 that required all businesses to determine the immigration status of employees.

As Governor Brewer stated, the battle is far from over. Judge Bolton's reliance on a 69-year-old law that is not directly on point raises serious questions as to whether her ruling will stand.

What a Relief - 2010 Deficit will be ONLY $1.47 Trillion

1,470,000,000,000 will be added to the national debt THIS YEAR.

And amazingly, that's less than what was originally projected.

Remember when Bush was criticized for his out of control spending? Nancy Pelosi called it dangerous and unpatriotic back in 2006 (when the deficit was about $200 billion). But with two straight years of $1.4 trillion deficits (7 times larger than the "dangerous" deficit and nearly 4 times larger than Bush's largest deficit), Pelosi seems as happy as a pig in mud.

The shocking thing is that the deficits aren't just records, they dwarf anything that has ever happened before. How can ANYONE believe that this is sustainable?

Not All Good News Today - Dems Reiterate Plans to Let Bush Tax Cuts Expire

RealClearPolitics - Video - Pelosi: Bush Tax Cuts "Did Not Create Jobs" And Should Be "Repealed"

Despite growing opposition the Democratic ranks, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Nancy Pelosi went on the offensive against the Bush tax cuts today.

Interestingly, Pelosi had the chutzpah to say that the tax cuts should expire because they added to the defecit and did not create jobs.

First, when the tax cuts went into effect, federal revenues went up. So, that actually lowered the deficit.

Second, if adding to the deficit and not creating jobs is the benchmark, shouldn't we repeal everything that Obama has passed during his term?

This comes as Senators Kent Conrad and Joe Lieberman argue for extending the cuts in light of the fragile state of the economy.

Democrats have mentioned the possibility of extending the tax cuts for the middle class. Of course they should do that. But as Democrat Congressman Gerry Connolly says, "The top 5% of earners generate 30% of consumer spending." Tax increases for "the wealthy" will significantly impair that, which is the worst thing to do for the economy.

Cap and Tax Dead (for now)

Senate Democrats have pulled the massive climate reform bill off the table, admitting that they don't have enough votes to get the measure passed.

This is obviously great news, as the measure would have created huge new energy taxes on Americans and businesses. And since the evidence continues to mount against the existence of man-caused global warming, one has to wonder what the bill would have accomplished.

Laughably (and predictably), Senator Harry Reid blamed Republicans for blocking the bill. That line has gotten so old, you have to wonder why the Democrats keep trotting it out. Here, the Democrats were themselves divided over the bill.

But, Obama's second-biggest policy goal behind healthcare is not totally dead. As Charles Krauthammer warns, beware a lame-duck Congress if Republicans do take control in November. With nothing to lose for many of thos voted out of office, the time may come to go out in a blaze of liberal glory, passing cap and tax and a host of other far-left goals.

But, that is far down the road. And for the moment, we can appreciate the fact that Obama's political capital is so low, he cannot pass one of his signature initiatives.

Eric "The Ostrich" Holder

He obviously has his head in the sand




Or up his... well, nevermind

Bleating Heart Liberal

Mock Them at Your Own Risk, Mr. President

President Obama claims to be "amused" by all the tea party protests and says that the protesters should be "thanking him."

I am starting to like the idea of Democrats making light of the groundswell against them. Part of the reason Republicans dominated elections in 1994 is that the Democrats did not realize the size of the threat until it was too late.

There was some concern that this year would be different because Democrats had over a year of warning.

But the belittling and marginalizing by Obama and the Democrats continues unabated, in the wake of Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts and terrible poll numbers for Democrats all across the country.

And this will likely be a good thing. The more they put blinders on, and try to convince each other that the uprising is small and non-threatening, the less they will prepare for the intense fight that is coming this election season.

So keep mocking, Mr. President.

So Much for Being Above the Political Process

Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, at age 90, is still going strong on the court. But, he wants to make sure that when he goes, a liberal will replace him.

So, he announced this weekend that he will retire during Barack Obama's presidency.

The Supreme Court was set up to be above the political process. Justices are appointed (not elected) and serve life terms, so they never have to worry about elections. It was designed to let them be impartial arbiters of Constitutional intent.

But let's be real. Does anyone believe that is the case? Of course not - they almost always have a political ideology and stick to it. Which is why Stevens has to retire soon. He can't risk Obama being a one-term president and then allowing a Republican to fill his seat. He even takes a risk waiting til 2012 and seeing what happens. If Obama loses, and Republicans have at least 40 seats, they will just filibuster and wait for the Republican president in 2013 to make a new nomination.

So, Stevens has to go soon to make sure a liberal president gets to appoint a liberal nominee to take the seat. And the wheel goes round...

This is Not an April Fool's Joke

This video comes from last Friday




Um...this man helps run the country and he thinks an island can CAPSIZE?

Arrest in the Eric Cantor Death Threat Case

A Philadelphia man was arrested Monday for posting death threats on YouTube against House Minority Whip Eric Cantor.

The best part of the story is that "The Department of Justice takes threats against government officials seriously."

Since there have been no arrests for anyone "threatening" Democrat leaders, despite the Justice Department taking such threats seriously, you really have to wonder if such threats happened.

Obama's Broken Promises

National Review has compiled a list of all of President Obama's broken promises to date.

I have to admit though, I am glad he broke some of them - like closing Guantanamo Bay within a year, having troops out of Iraq within 16 months, signing the Freedom of Choice Act and opposing nuclear energy.

On the other hand, with most of the other broken promises, my guess is that he never intended to keep any of them.

Massive Job Losses on the Horizon

School districts across the country will be laying off teachers and staff in the coming months. For example, Los Angeles Unified plans to cut 5200 jobs. 93% of New Jersey school districts will conduct layoffs. 8500 teachers will likely lose their jobs in New York. And these cuts are playing out all across the country.

This statistics are unfortunate for the teachers involved. But they are also interesting for another reason.

Taking Los Angeles Unified as an example, the school district had planned to lay off over 7000 employees last year. But an influx of funds from the stimulus bill allowed the district to keep all but 2000 employed. One year later, there is no more stimulus money for the schools and so the remaining employees will be let go in 2010 instead.

So, the interesting question is: will President Obama reduce the calculation on the number of jobs "saved" by the stimulus bill? If a job is only extended for a year, is the job "saved?" I think I know how the people laid off would answer that question.

The Arrogance is Astounding

"Go for it."

That's what President Obama told Congressional Republicans about their intent to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

We already knew Obama was completely full of himself, so this is just one more brick in the wall.

Hopefully, Obama's bravado will push Republicans along even further to seeking to repeal and replace the bill. Apparently there is already some concern in Washington that seeking to repeal the bill will be viewed poorly by the public.

But, if this CBS poll is any indication, most people want the Republicans to repeal the bill - and that includes 41% of Democrats asked.

So, let's hope the GOP does take Obama's advice. Go for it!

Obama Campaign Continues

Campaigner-in-Chief Obama just can't let up. He spent the past year trying to sell ObamaCare, and the more he talked, the more people turned against it.

But now that it has passed, and Democrats stand to lose a substantial number of seats in November, Obama is making a concerted effort to increase public perception of the bill. It hasn't worked so far, so I wonder how successful it will be now.

And in reality, doesn't this seem backward. Now that he and Congress have foisted this on us, he is trying to convince us he has done us all a favor. It's not as bad as Nancy Pelosi saying, "We have to pass the bill before we will tell you what's in it," but it is along the same lines.

The funny thing is, he obviously doesn't care about public perception or else he wouldn't have passed it until he had the support of a majority of people. Instead, he only cares about saving control of Congress from what will surely be an albatross around their collective neck.

I doubt it will work - as the taxes and fees start up in the coming months, without the attendant benefits of the plan, the public will just get more and more angry.

Well, A Bit of Good News

ACORN is closing it doors.

There have been stories for a few weeks that the community organizing (and prostitution-enabling) group was struggling financially. Well, apparently the group is shutting down and trying to figure out how to pay off its debts.

This is a big win for Andrew Breitbart, James O'Keefe, Hannah Giles and everyone else who helped to expose their corruption.

Of course, the bad news is that ACORN is just one part of a vast network of corrupt liberal organizations that will continue on once this group folds.

Time to get to work bringing down the next one!

Constitutional Challenges All that Protect Us from ObamaCare Now

Thankfully, lawsuits will be filed all across the country challenging the Constitutionality of ObamaCare.

The best grounds to challenge it are, of course, that it mandates people to buy insurance.

Sadly, any average citizen cannot sue, because they will not be deemed to have "standing" to sue - there is no general taxpayer standing except for a challenge to spending that allegedly violates the Establishment Clause (which is pretty ridiculous in my book).

Instead, lawsuits will have to be filed by states or by individuals who don't have health insurance and don't want to buy it and therefore will be harmed by the mandates.

It will be interesting to see where we go from here.

Way to Stand Strong Bart!

Congressman Bart Stupak claimed to have eight pro-choice votes in his pocket. But even if it had only been the 4 that others thought he had, he would have had enough to stop ObamaCare if he hadn't caved. Needing 216 votes, Nancy Pelosi cobbled together 219 - take away the Stupak 4 and you're at 215, which is a fail.

But no, in the immortal words of Joey Tribiani - "He folded like a cheap hooker who got punched in the stomach by a fat guy with sores on his face."

Stupak could have been a hero - but he went down like all the rest.

I cannot believe he is actually pro-life; instead his actions were an attempt at political cover to show his anti-abortion constituents that he was trying to protect them. All he got was an "executive order" that cannot override the language in the Senate bill that provides federal funding for abortion.

Way to protect life, sir.

Kill the Bill - Call Your Congressman

Call your Congressman - it might be the only hope we have of stopping the government from taking over the nation's healthcare.

Speaker Pelosi and President Obama are telling wavering Congressmen this: you are going to lose in November anyway, so you might as well pass the bill and have your loss accomplish something.

But what we need to tell them is this: people are going to vote in November based almost exclusively on health care. Any Democrat that votes against it and stops it from happening is going to be a hero to the people and will win re-election, even in a Republican district. The Congressmen that are afraid of losing their jobs will only keep them if they prevent Obamacare from happening.

Joe the Blabbermouth

We can always count on Vice President Joe Biden to say something he probably shouldn't. The latest: "You know we're going to control the insurance companies..."

House Approves Slaughter Solution

The House voted 222-203 to approve the rule that would allow the House to "deem" the Senate healthcare bill passed when the House votes to pass amendments to the Senate bill

Therefore, it seems a foregone conclusion that the House will vote to approve the amendments, thus deeming the Senate bill passed.

Congratulations America - you now (or very soon will anyway) have government-run healthcare.

Barbara Boxer in Dead Heat

Senator Barbara Boxer (D - Michigan of the West) is facing a difficult challenge in her search for a 4th term in the Senate.

A new Field Poll shows her losing by a point to former Representative Tom Campbell and up a point on former HP CEO Carly Fiorina.

The poll also shows that Campbell has a 26-22 lead over Fiorina for the Republican nomination, with 40 undecided.

Boxer has a 51% unfavorable rating, which is a death knell for any politician seeking reelection.

If she is to lose, it gets Republicans one difficult step closer to reclaiming control of the Senate. Republicans will likely gain seats in North Dakota (open), Delaware (open), Indiana (open), Arkansas (Lincoln), Nevada (Reid). They have a chance for further pickups in Colorado (Bennett) and Pennsylvania (Specter). That gets them to seven. Then they need three more difficult seats out of a group of California, Wisconsin (Feingold - likely to lose if Tommy Thompson enters the race), Illinois (open), New York (Gillenbrand - who would lose to Pataki) and Washington (Murray).

So, it's possible, but will be difficult. However, if Scott Brown can do it, why not the others?

Obama Delays Asia Trip

President Obama has delayed his upcoming trip to Asia.

Is he doing it because he plans to have a bill to sign on Monday?

Or is it because, as MSNBC suggests, he is desperately trying to rally enough support to get 216 votes in the House?

It's a good sign if it's the latter, because that indicates that Pelosi has been unable to do the work herself.

But one has to wonder what sort of tactics President Obama will use to rally that support. After the Louisiana Purchase, Cornhusker Kickback and others, I think we get a sense of what will be happening in Washington the next few days.

So, How's that Jobs Bill Coming, Mr. President?

Remember how, during the State of the Union Address, President Obama said that the focus for 2010 would be a new jobs bill (which begs the question - why wasn't the focus for 2009 a jobs bill)?

Well, 2010 is nearly a quarter over and we are still talking about health care reform.

As Dennis Kneale says over at CNBC (how he got that job, I'll never know), Obama is Captain Ahab and health care reform is his white whale.

Let it go Mr. President. Focus on something the people actually want.

Hello All

Life has been really busy the past few months (and it will probably continue that way), but that old blogging bug has crept back into my heart. So, I will try to keep it up more faithfully for all of my loyal readers.