Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control.
These three alone lead to sovereign power.
Lord Alfred Tennyson
The Chickens Have Come Home to Roost:
Obama and Congress' Fiscal Irresponsibility
Any regular reader of this blog knows that I like to occasionally mock Obama by turning the tables on his or related rhetoric; for example, I used the "lipstick on a pig" comment Obama made soon after Palin's 2008 nomination to the GOP ticket to describe the Democratic Party Health Care Bill; in an earlier post this week, I tweaked Obama's famous "We are the ones we've been waiting for..." in captioning the photo of a bored little girl at an Obama appearance: "He's not "the one" I've been waiting for..." So, of course, when Obama-renominated/confirmed Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke yesterday jawboned the government yesterday over a looming crisis over an unsustainable federal debt, climbing bond interest rates and payments, and runaway spending, Obama's 20-year pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright's famous use of the phrase in an anti-US diatribe on 9/11 came to mind.
You're tardy, Mr. Bernanke. Perhaps you should have said have said something before this session of Congress and the new President added over $3T in federal debt in just two years. Maybe you could have said something about an oversized, ineffectual "stimulus" bill without broad-based business or investment tax relief and reflecting progressive spending priorities with the bulk in deferred disbursements. Maybe you might have said something why the Congress, instead of addressing the rapidly deteriorating solvency of the Medicare and social security programs, spent a year adding to entitlements with smoke and mirror accounting.
At least the bright note is that you indicated that you will NOT print money, like progressive legislators want, which would create an inflation-bound economy. I'm not sure I believe you won't do that when push comes to shove, but you gave a clarion call for budgetary discipline, including spending cuts and taxes.
Michael Steele: No Time for Finger-Pointing
As a Maryland resident who voted for Michael Steele in his 2006 campaign for the US Senate, I was proud to see him named as RNC Chair. According to one African American blog, some 55% consider themselves conservative or moderate. The National Black Republican Association notes Martin Luther King was a registered Republican, and there are at least 32 black Republicans running for a seat in the US House or Senate.
In fact, I'm very concerned about the images projected by things like the famous Detroit Cobo Center rush last October for a limited number of $3000 stimulus checks. Conservative radio show host Rush Limbaugh notably replayed the following WJR interview clip:
KEN ROGULSKI: Why are you here?
WOMAN: To get some money.
ROGULSKI: What kind of money?
WOMAN: Obama money.
ROGULSKI: Where's it coming from?
WOMAN: Obama.
ROGULSKI: And where did Obama get it?
WOMAN: I don't know. His stash. I don't know. I don't know where he got it from but he's giving it to us, to help us. We love him. That's why we voted for him. Obama! Obama!
Michael Steele has had, by any objective measure, a mixed first year. He got involved in an imprudent dispute with media conservative Rush Limbaugh; in a GQ interview, he, a pro-life Catholic one-time seminarian for the priesthood, referred to abortion as "an individual choice". In an environment where Republicans and independents have become increasingly motivated against Obama's progressive agenda with massive deficits and federal government empire building, we've actually seen the RNC war chest drawn down and in a tough economy, he has been seen as lavishly spending funds on office makeovers, first-class airline seats, and expensive hotel rooms, going on book tours and picking up speaking fees. There was a recent kerfuffle over a recent fundraising presentation mocking Obama as a socialist, not to mention the latest embarrassing incident over others submitting receipts from a kinky adult entertainment establishment. In a position where Steele should be doing the most to promote his party's chances in the November elections, he expresses doubts to Sean Hannity about the party's chances to flip control of Congress.
On top of that, Michael Steele has suggested that racism plays a role in the criticisms directed at him:
During Steele’s appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America” this week, George Stephanopoulos asked the RNC head whether his race gives him a “slimmer margin for error.”
“The honest answer is yes,” Steele said. “It just is. Barack Obama has a slimmer margin. We all — a lot of folks do. It’s a different role for me to play and others to play, and that’s just the reality of it.”Michael Steele, it's time for an intervention. I want you to succeed. First of all, you need to provide focused, positive leadership in your role. I'm not suggesting that you engage in political spin or say something you don't believe. But you are no longer a Fox News contributor; you are speaking for the party. You should be prudent and present a positive Republican agenda for this fall. Second, as Socrates would say, "Know thyself." Pick your battles. Control what you say and how you respond. Less is more: stick to your message and avoid Obama's overexposure. Know your limitations--if you don't have the administrative experience to tighten party internal controls, hire a strong operations manager. Third, acknowledge mistakes have been made, explain what you're doing to address the problems, and then move on.
Finally, don't play the race card or try to draw comparisons with Obama. You essentially conceded that criticism of Obama by moderates and conservatives is motivated by racism. I have no doubt that some people will support or oppose others on morally unacceptable grounds. But the reason why the President's approval rating has dropped to 43% (vs 48%) in the latest Fox News (from 60% or more at his inauguration) has to do with a struggling economy, massive, ineffective spending and deficits, the unpopular health care bill, and Democratic legislative priorities in general, not because voters suddenly noticed Obama's skin color. As a matter of civility, I don't think you should question the motives of people criticizing your performance. We conservatives stand on a core principle of personal liberty and responsibility, not politically correct victimization. In fact, if there's a common criticism of both Barack Obama and yourself, it may involve the inexperience factor, not the race factor.
Bonus Video: Tea Party Rally Call (Thumbs WAY up!)
Political Cartoon
Glenn McCoy looks at the defense and foreign policy of our Nobel Laureate President: we have Russia teaming up with Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez to set up a de facto Russian base; Russia and China are upgrading their nuclear weapons, while Obama freezes any modernization; North Korea and Iran thumb their noses at Obama while moving forward on their nuclear agendas and missile systems; we have the Afghan president threatening to join the Taliban (allies of Al Qaeda); Obama is more irritated at Israelis building homes in Jewish neighborhoods than at Palestinian terrorists firing rockets into Israel...
Musical Interlude: Madonna Songs
"Like A Prayer"
"This Used To Be My Prayground"
"Frozen"
"You Must Love Me"
