Be wiser than other people if you can, but do not tell them so.
Lord Chesterfield
TARP 2.0: Small Business Edition: Thumbs DOWN!
I'm always amused when a news item isn't properly fact-checked; in this case, Harry Reid was identified as a senator from Arizona.
Two retiring GOP senators, Voinovich (OH) and LeMieux (FL), joined the Democratic majority in passing the $30B community bank bailout legislation 61-37, with some $12B in tax breaks being used to attract GOP buy-in. As usual, Obama audaciously accused the GOP of being partisan for not approving the morally hazardous partisan Democratic bill. (I personally think Obama is out to break the American record for partisan bills passed and signed without a handful of opposition legislator votes.) For all fair-minded people, I ask a simple question: if Obama and his progressive cronies were concerned about small business, why did it take until less than 2 months before the mid-terms--after piling up consecutive $1.4T budget deficits, to find pocket change for small business (with strings attached, of course)?
I'm a pro-business conservative; occasionally I agree with Obama when I think he's right, but he could have passed the tax cuts with unanimous consent of the GOP. Loan decisions should be made on their intrinsic merits; otherwise, you're pushing on a string, and what this turns into is politically-spun crony capitalism. This is an administration which meddles with the private sector, attempts to take away the secret ballot in union elections to stack the deck in favor of unions, picks winners and losers in the marketplace, screws bondholders in bankruptcy proceedings to reward lower-standing union interests, tries to mandate what kinds of benefits businesses offer to their employees, wants to punish companies trying to compete internationally, increases reporting and regulatory costs, etc.
No, I'm Not Going To Drop It....
The Christian Science Monitor has this telling description of the GOP Delaware US Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell:
She has a sketchy financial past, including a mortgage default and allegations of unpaid loans and taxes. She reported just $5,800 in earned income between March 2009 and July 2010, according to a Senate financial disclosure form. Her professional background is also eyebrow-raising, at least outside conservative circles. During the 1990s, she worked for a pro-abstinence group and equated masturbation with adultery.Oh, my goodness. No one has ever compared me to Tiger Woods before, on or off the golf course... But I honestly didn't know that the centerfold was married...
There have also been allegations over her educational credentials. I don't consider myself an elitist, but clearly there's a difference in the knowledge, experience and qualifications between a well-liked, respected former governor and long-time Congressman and Ms. O'Donnell. For those of us conservatives whom criticized Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and other Obama Administration members over back taxes, it would be hypocritical not to hold Ms. O'Donnell to the same standard...
There are serious issues here of character and integrity which go beyond the usual political spin or exaggeration of one's background (e.g., Richard Blumenthal and Mark Kirk). I also don't know how someone with troubled personal finances can speak with any moral authority as a fiscal conservative.
I am very disturbed that the women in the GOP getting the most support and notoriety are, at best, lightly experienced, marginally qualified (in my judgment, unqualified), ineffectual, polarizing figures like Sarah Palin and Christine O'Donnell, not proven business leaders whom made it on their own, like Meg Whitman, Carly Fiorina, and Linda McMahon. I suspect Hillary Clinton must just cringe when she hears herself listed as an inspiration by both Palin and O'Donnell.
What the Tea Party Express and media conservatives did in manipulating the primary election of an unworthy candidate reflects on their material lack of judgment, political intelligence, and credibility. They should be ashamed of themselves, particularly in their virulent, incessant post-election character assassination of a decades-long public servant like Mike Castle. I do not agree with Mike Castle on every issue, but on any objective basis, the better candidate and person (not to mention the people of Delaware) lost Tuesday night to special interests.
Oh, Chris "Mr. Bearded Marxist" Coons: don't even think of using my dissent for your political gain. I haven't begun to fight with you. Whereas I do not support Ms. O'Donnell, I do respect her platform.
Castle A Poor Sportsman? My Brief Take
Sean Hannity, I'm losing my patience with you. It goes beyond your predictable laundry list/bumper sticker approach to politics. The bitching and moaning over the fact that Mike Castle, with four decades of public service for the people of Delaware, hasn't given an undeserving, unqualified winner, largely funded and supported by people whom don't live in Delaware, Ms. O'Donnell his endorsement is sheer chutzpah.
Why should Mike Castle legitimize what was done by carpetbaggers to undermine the only Republican, the most popular politician in Delaware, with a decent shot of winning the seat?
It's not a question of being a gracious loser. It's a question of legitimizing external interference of a group of people hostile to diversity of political perspectives in the Republican Party, when, in fact, the stridency of Ms. O'Donnell alienates the majority of the people of Delaware.
I did not support David Duke when he won the Louisiana nomination for the US Senate in 1990. So spare me the sportsmanship reference. Of course O'Donnell is no David Duke. I realize that the people of Delaware voted, but this vote was not representative of the people as a whole. It's one thing to lose to qualified opponent; it's another thing to endorse an unqualified candidate to the US Senate. It has nothing to do with being a sore loser. The process was unfair to him and to the broader group of people in Delaware whom do not support O'Donnell.
Political Humor
"President Obama insisted that the U.S. economy is still showing improvement. And he said you can take that to the bank, if you can find any that are still open." –Jay Leno
[It turns out there were some strings attached with those TARP loans... Remember when you used to get a toaster when opening a new bank account? Now you get your choice of a Obama '08 bumper sticker or "hope and change" T-shirt...]
The Chinese government is changing their "one child per family" rule. Now couples can have a second kid to work the night shift. - Jay Leno
[Well, Jay, after the Chinese government legalized gay marriage, they realized that the gay couples weren't making their quota...]
Musical Interlude: The American Songbook Series
Johnny Mathis*, "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face"
(* I didn't find a copy of Tony Bennett's version, so I hope that the reader likes Johnny Mathis' interpretation.)
