 |
| Progressive Utopia |
Liberals have isolated the problem in American politics today: THERE IS JUST TOO MUCH DEMOCRACY. THE INCESSANT DEMANDS OF THE UNWASHED MASSES ARE FAR TOO DISTRACTING FOR THE PHILOSOPHER KINGS IN THE GOVERNMENT TO GET ANY WORK DONE.
North Carolina Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue now claims she was joking when she suggested that congressional elections be suspended to remove the inconvenient pressure of public opinion from the backs of harried legislators. "I THINK WE OUGHT TO SUSPEND, PERHAPS, ELECTIONS FOR CONGRESS FOR TWO YEARS AND JUST TELL THEM WE WON'T HOLD IT AGAINST THEM, WHATEVER DECISIONS THEY MAKE, TO JUST LET THEM HELP THIS COUNTRY RECOVER," she said this week. "You want people who don't worry about the next election."…
…Former White House Budget Director Peter Orszag chimed in this week with his suggestion that to solve the country's problems, "we need to minimize the harm from legislative inertia by relying more on automatic policies and depoliticized commissions for certain policy decisions. In other words, radical as it sounds, WE NEED TO COUNTER THE GRIDLOCK OF OUR POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS BY MAKING THEM A BIT LESS DEMOCRATIC." Mr. Orszag is attempting to make a virtue out of cowardice, allowing legislators to hand off the hard questions to others while retaining their seats in Congress to hand out favors and make ceremonial proclamations. Despite Mr. Orszag's romantic pretensions, this escapism is anything but radical; it is an incumbent-protection program.
CALIFORNIANS WILL HAVE THE CHANCE TO MULL OVER A TRULY RADICAL PROGRAM COURTESY OF THE THINK LONG COMMITTEE. This group is proposing the formation of a 21-member independent body appointed to six-year terms to serve as a type of government overseer. THE COMMITTEE - WHICH WOULD BE FREE TO FOCUS ON THE BIG PICTURE RATHER THAN ENGAGING IN ENDLESS CRISIS MANAGEMENT - WOULD HAVE THE POWER TO PROPOSE LEGISLATION, PUT INITIATIVES ON THE BALLOT AND, MOST IMPORTANT, SUBPOENA AND INVESTIGATE GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE. Thus, rather than representatives having to fawn over voters, they would instead learn to fear the investigative arm of this unelected committee. You don't have to think very long to see how this type of power could be abused. Men are not angels, as James Madison reminded. If implemented, Think Long's proposal would simply hasten the spiraling decline of the Golden State…
I wish I could say these were the ramblings of some far out left wing kooks. But it isn’t. These are the mainstream attitudes of the Progressive movement. They believe in the power of expertise, and like most people who think they have the answer they don’t like to be challenged and stymied. We separated church and state in our Constitution because history showed us what happens when political power is wedded to “moral” authority. We designed our constitution to have checks and balances to prevent a dictatorship of any branch, person or movement. We were designed to have gridlock, because gridlock is superior to the alternative of tyranny.
“IF TWO PEOPLE ALWAYS AGREE,” SAYS BEN BERNANKE, “ONE OF THEM IS REDUNDANT.” So, imagine what the Federal Reserve chairman thinks of Rep. Barney Frank’s legislation designed to dampen dissent within the Fed.
FOND OF DIVERSITY IN EVERYTHING BUT THOUGHT, A CERTAIN KIND OF LIBERAL FAVORS MANDATORY HARMONY (e.g., campus speech codes). Such liberals, being realists at least about the strength of their arguments, discourage “too much” debate about them (e.g., restrictions on campaign spending to disseminate political advocacy). Now FRANK WANTS TO STRIP THE PRESIDENTS OF THE FED’S 12 REGIONAL BANKS OF THEIR RIGHT TO VOTE AS MEMBERS OF THE POLICYMAKING FEDERAL OPEN MARKET COMMITTEE.
Five presidents are permitted to vote at any one time, and Frank’s bill is partly a response to three of them voting incorrectly, in his opinion. In August, the FOMC voted 7 to 3 in favor of an indefinite extension of the very low interest rates of the past three years.
Frank says he has “long been troubled” from a “theoretical democratic standpoint” by the “anomaly” of important decisions affecting national economic policy being made by persons “selected with absolutely no public scrutiny or confirmation.” IT WAS NOT, HOWEVER, UNTIL AUGUST THAT THIS AFFRONT TO FRANK’S DEMOCRATIC SENSIBILITIES BECAME SO INTOLERABLE THAT HE PROPOSED A LEGISLATIVE REMEDY. …
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/for-barney-frank-no-fed-dissent-will-do/2011/09/27/gIQAWlne5K_story.html
Barney Frank is already the godfather of the current recession. I think we need a legislative remedy to his being in congress. Perhaps we should start an investigation into his relationship with Fannie and Freddie and how that influenced his stances.
The Tea Party: the adults in the room
Democrats have effectively turned "tea party" into a pejorative, making the words conjure a rigid, uncompromising movement that is at the root of Washington's dysfunction.
YOU WON'T HEAR A DEMOCRATIC MOUTH OPEN TODAY WITHOUT A SLUR AGAINST THE TEA PARTY SPILLING OUT.
What are these Republican revolutionaries doing that Dems find so divisive and dangerous?
Best I can tell, their major offense is holding Washington accountable. Listen to them, as I did on Mackinac Island last week during the Republican Leadership Conference, and THE ONLY DEMAND YOU HEAR IS THAT POLITICIANS STOP MORTGAGING AMERICA'S FUTURE TO RECKLESS SPENDING AND SWELLING DEFICITS.
All they want is for politicians to finally do what both Democrats and Republicans always said they'd do — make the government live within its means — but never got around to doing until the tea party forced their hand.
In other words, the tea party is the adult in a roomful of overindulged children who resent the call to accountability. How much greater would the debt be today, how much larger the deficit, if the tea party hadn't shouted, "Enough!" …
http://detnews.com/article/20110929/OPINION03/109290333/Tea-party-gets-bad-rap-for-telling-truth#ixzz1ZLZoIxR5
This is the awful truth. The people who are telling the truth and demanding sane behavior from our politicians are pilloried for doing so.
Who should voters blame?
VP Joe Biden told Florida radio station WLRN on Thursday that VOTERS SHOULD HOLD PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, NOT FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH, ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE POOR STATE OF AMERICA’S ECONOMY.
Conservative PAC American Crossroads circulated the startling statement Thursday afternoon, expecting it will take Democratic campaign strategists by surprise.
“Right now, understandably — totally legitimate — THIS IS A REFERENDUM ON OBAMA AND BIDEN AND THE NATURE OF THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY,” BIDEN SAID.
Polls indicating that more Americans blame Bush for the economy than Obama are not relevant, Biden said.
“Even though fifty-some percent of the American people think that the economy tanked because of the last administration, that’s not relevant,” Biden stressed. “What’s relevant is we’re in charge. And right now we are the ones in charge and it’s gotten better, but it hasn’t gotten good enough.”
“I don’t blame them for being mad. We’re in charge,” Biden explained….
http://dailycaller.com/2011/09/29/biden-voters-should-blame-obama-not-bush-for-economy/#ixzz1ZMy7bBk2
Something like this from Biden may indicate that Obama will drop out. By taking the blame, they would clear the way for Hillary Clinton to run free of the blame for the economy.
Obama Scandal Update: Fast and Furious
This just might be the smoking gun we’ve been waiting for to break the festering “Fast and Furious” gun-running scandal wide open: the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives apparently ordered one of its own agents to purchase firearms with taxpayer money, and sell them directly to a Mexican drug cartel.
Let that sink in: AFTER MONTHS OF PRETENDING THAT “FAST AND FURIOUS” WAS A BOTCHED SURVEILLANCE OPERATION OF ILLEGAL GUN-RUNNING SPEARHEADED BY THE ATF AND THE US ATTORNEY’S OFFICE IN PHOENIX, IT TURNS OUT THAT THE GOVERNMENT ITSELF WAS SELLING GUNS TO THE BAD GUYS.
Agent John Dodson was ordered to buy four Draco pistols for cash and even got a letter from his supervisor, David Voth, authorizing a federally licensed gun dealer to sell him the guns without bothering about the necessary paperwork.
“Please accept this letter in lieu of completing an ATF Form 4473 for the purchase of four (4) CAI, Model Draco, 7.62x39 mm pistols, by Special Agent John Dodson,” read the June 1, 2010, letter. “THESE AFOREMENTIONED PISTOLS WILL BE USED BY SPECIAL AGENT DODSON IN FURTHERANCE OF PERFORMANCE OF HIS OFFICIAL DUTIES.”
On orders, DODSON THEN SOLD THE GUNS TO KNOWN CRIMINALS, who first stashed them away and then -- deliberately unhindered by the ATF or any other agency -- whisked them off to Mexico.
People were killed with Fast and Furious weapons, including at least two American agents and hundreds of Mexicans. And the taxpayers picked up the bill….
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/furious_revelation_OhK6TBqPlEpRglHjsSbiBI#ixzz1ZLYzQ6Ad
This scandal is getting more and more sordid. Be sure to read the article to see what the conjecture of the author is as to why this happened.
No comments:
Post a Comment