OBAMA'S "SWINDLE OF THE YEAR"

From his Senate Conservatives Fund, Senator Jim DeMint wrote a detailed letter about the so-called 'compromise' to extend the Bush era tax rates. On the one side, it's Democrats as usual with their spend addiction and committed re-distribution of wealth at the expense of our children and grandchildren, but the other side is the most disturbing of all - Republicans have not seen the error of their ways.

It's almost as bad as Obamacare -- the more you read it, the worse it gets. Talk about Pork, it's loaded with it (and they keep adding more, the longer this drags out), along with more and more deficit spending. The Beltway must be a magical sort of Disneyland, where over spending has no ramifications, because Republicans are not holding up to their part of the November 2nd agreement, and have gone back to spending. That, or else they are not looking at what the other hand is doing. It's hard to believe they are that blind.

At this point, you gotta know Obama doesn't do anything without reaping loads of rewards on the back end. This mis-worded compromise is full of little goodies, such as scheduling unemployment to expire at Christmastime; the Bush tax rates to expire just in time for the 2012 re-election (scary thought, re-election); and more pay-offs to his cronies, including the unions. On-line gambling? Are you kidding me? In other words, as Charles Krauthammer writes, Obama just pulled a fast one on the Republicans.

Most of us want to spend the next two weeks before Christmas having fun shopping, gathering with friends and family, and rejoicing in the birth of Christ. But the next two weeks is all this Lame Duck session needs to add destruction to an already weakened country and economy. We can't let this happen. We worked too hard, and have been sold a cheap bag of Obama tricks.

If we have to bite the bullet for a month or two, so be it. It's far better than another close to trillion dollars in debt. We can't afford it. We don't have the money. Congress can pass a bill next month, that deals with extending the Bush tax rates only. Not more spending. And, they can make it retro-active. Americans had to deal with Clinton's tax increases retro-actively. It can be done. Republicans will have the majority. Nancy Pelosi has been fired. She no longer has the power, unless we give it back to her.

Read Senator DeMint's letter below (and Krauthammer's "Swindle of the Year"), and let's get to work. We can rejoice on Christmas Day, but in the meantime call, fax, and email our Congress that this is not the compromise we voted for. We can't move forward towards ending the deficit and recovering our economy by spending at the same time.

Have we been hood-winked again? What happened to no earmarks, no new spending, reduce the deficit? Here's some contact numbers for our elected officials. Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5. (Click on page to enlarge)

Obama wants this so-called 'compromise' desperately. You gotta ask yourself -- WHY?

From United States Senator Jim DeMint
Senate Conservatives Fund
December 10, 2010

Dear Fellow Conservatives:

Many of you have contacted me about the bipartisan tax deal reached between President Obama and Republican leaders. I've carefully reviewed the legislation and I wanted to explain to you why I cannot support it.

First, I do not want to see anyone's taxes go up and I have been fighting for years to permanently extend all the tax rates. I disagree with the President that we cannot afford to extend these rates for everyone. It's the people's money and we should not raise taxes on hardworking American families.

But this bill does much more than simply extend tax rates.

For starters, it includes approximately $200 billion in new deficit spending and stimulus gimmicks. That's a lot of money that will have to be borrowed from China and repaid by our children and grandchildren. If we're going to increase spending on new programs, we must reduce other spending to pay for it.

The bill also only extends rates for two years. We don't have a temporary economy so we shouldn't have temporary tax rates. Individuals and businesses make decisions looking at the long-term and we're not going to create jobs without giving people certainty as to what their taxes will be in future.

The bill also fails to extend all of the tax rates. It actually increases the death tax from its current rate of zero percent all the way up to 35 percent. One economic study shows that this tax increase alone will kill over 800,000 jobs over the next ten years.

Finally, the bill now includes dozens of earmarks for special interests, including ethanol subsidies, tax breaks for film and television producers, give aways for Puerto Rican rum manufacturers, favors for auto racing track owners, and a hand out for businesses in American Samoa.

The President called Republicans "hostage takers" this week but he should be pointing his figure squarely at himself. We've known for years that these tax rates were going to expire but he did nothing about it until the last minute. Now Americans are being told they have to accept hundreds of billions in new spending and stimulus gimmicks, an increase the death tax, and a bunch of unnecessary earmarks or their taxes will go up.

I'm not going to be bullied into voting for things that will hurt our country because politicians in Washington ignored the problem until it was a crisis.

Many of you fought hard to elect new leaders to the Senate this year with the expectation that they would fight deficit spending, tax hikes, and backroom deals. I take that commitment very seriously and I'm prepared to vote against this bill even if I'm the only one in the Senate to do so.

I appreciate the efforts made by my party's leaders to negotiate this deal but I believe Americans deserve much better. This deal should be rejected and then fixed. We can easily extend these tax rates without increasing spending once the new crop of Republican senators, including Pat Toomey, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Mike Lee, and Ron Johnson, are sworn in. The President has already conceded that taxes cannot go up and we'll have more Republicans in Congress in a few weeks to fight for a better deal.

Thank you for supporting the principles of freedom and for your continued encouragement. I will continue to do my very best to be your voice in the United States Senate.

Respectfully,

Jim DeMint
United States Senator

Chairman, Senate Conservatives Fund

PLAYING WITH THE TWO IMMUTABLE LAWS OF WASHINGTON

It stinks. The only satisfaction was watching a defeated president pout, blame and lie, while the über left self-destructed. The left has finally realized that they lost power, and it isn't pretty. But.... Obama has exposed his true ideological self -- more pluses.

Where do we start on the negative side.

• Small businesses have a temporary tax relief, but 2 years may not be long enough for them to extend the risks necessary for economic growth, including new jobs. It should have been permanent.
• Unemployment has just been subsidized by tax paying Americans in extending an additional 13 months, for a total of 3 years. Notice the unusual amount of 13? That's so the next extension falls on Christmas next year, and just as in 2010, no one wants to cut off free money at Christmastime.
• The 2 percent cut in social security is another re-distribution of wealth for people who don't pay taxes, and guarantees that social security will be at death's door.
• The Death Tax is still going to be resurrected, although at a lower rate. Neverless, it's baa-ack. Taxes on money that has already been taxed. Wasn't there a revolution on double taxation?

No wonder Obama has conceded. This whole plan is a major re-distribution of wealth.

While Obama is playing as though he has made the supreme sacrifice, methinks he thinks this will play out to his advantage in the 2012 elections. "For the good of the people" has nothing to do with his decision. After all, it's always about him.

Red State's Erick Erickson writes an excellent piece, in his usual fashion, on what the American people get out of Obama's great sacrifice.

Playing With the Two Immutable Laws of Washington
by Erick Erickson - December 6, 2010

There are two immutable laws of Washington, D.C. To understand the tax compromise in the Senate, you must know the laws.

1. Politicians in leadership believe that if they make both the left and right angry they must have done something right; and,
2. If Democrats and Republicans come together in a compromise — no matter how bad that compromise may be — the media will herald the compromise and inevitably use the word “tone” in discussing it.

Then there is a corollary to the two rules: people who want a seat at the table with the politicians and media will turn into sycophants and tell you how delicious the compromise tastes.

Understanding those two immutable rules and the corollary tell you all you’ll need to understand about how the tax compromise will be played. Let’s review what the compromise is:

• Extend current tax rates for two years
• Extend unemployment benefit for another 13 months
• A two percent cut in the payroll tax for next year
• Death tax of 35% imposed above $5 million

We can first laugh about Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles. After all that work, lecturing, and lamenting they have been, in one act, put back under the rock from whence they came.

There will be no more hand wringing over saving social security and the deficit. We’re going to blow it up. Ironically, we’re going to blow it up to preserve today’s tax rates and resurrect the death tax.

Second, we can laugh at the Democrats who are in full meltdown over the Democrats daring to extend current tax rates for everyone. For all the left’s talk about equality over freedom, the left believes they can treat the most successful with the greatest disdain and take away the freedom to take risks in this country and replace it with servitude to government.

Had Obama shown any leadership, he could have gotten this passed months ago on the grounds that it’d help stem losses in the midterms. But he didn’t, despite pressure from many Blue Dogs who will, in less than a month, be called “former congressman.”

Just last week Mr. Obama said, in his weekly radio address, “I believe we can’t afford to borrow and spend another $700 billion on permanent tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires.” My what a difference a week makes.

Ultimately though, this is a compromise that leaves both sides coming up short and is full of compromising the GOP did not have to engage in, even without controlling the Senate. They could have gotten more. We will also continue subsidizing unemployment — yes you read that right. At some point it becomes welfare, not unemployment compensation.

The compromise does little to stem the tide of uncertainty that has kept businesses from hiring. Because the fight will be wrapped up in the politics of 2012, small businesses that have been keeping money on the sidelines will keep doing so. Any politician who says this has anything to do with job creation will largely be lying.

Nonetheless, we know this much is true: the media, after weeks of taking the Deficit Commission seriously, and many of the politicians who have done the same will celebrate this grand act of bipartisan comity.

For months, the Democrats have said they would never support extending the current tax rates because of their concern for the deficit. They will now.

For months, the GOP has said they would never vote to raise taxes and will now vote to raise taxes by resurrecting the death tax instead of killing it — the only reason being Jon Kyl (R-AZ) wanted to bring it back and has held this position for a while.

For months, both sides have claimed they were committed to saving social security. Instead, they will cut the payroll tax thereby bringing the bankruptcy of social security even closer.

We will know who the real conservatives are in Congress. They’ll be the Republicans who oppose this deal.

But hey, it is bipartisan!

Maybe we can get Jeff Flake to primary Jon Kyl. . .

TIME NOW TO REVERSE ALL THAT LIBERALISM HAS DONE

Freedom has had another crushing defeat today, as 15 Republican senators and all Democrats voted in favor of and passed the Food Safety Modernization Act (SB 510). What is most troubling are the 15 Republicans, who apparently voted their own free will, rather than adhering to the pleas of the American people who spoke out loud and clearly on November 2nd.

Don't know about anyone else, but this election knocked the wind out of me. It was a long time coming, and, to coin a phrase -- All the Brothers Were Valiant. The past two years have been tumultuous, wreaking havoc on our nervous systems, but we fought back and won the battle -- historically.

How many times have we said "stop government control of our schools; stop regulating every aspect of our lives; stop this excessive, wasteful spending"? Now is the time to start the process -- possibly beginning with our schools, by using the school voucher system. That would put the fear of God in the school unions. But it would only be a start.

Something happens to politicians once they hit the Beltway, and it's not pretty. Now that a fleet of newbies are about to unload on DC, we must hold every Republican's feet to the fire. Many already there are not listening to the Election Day message, and we can only pray for the newly elected.

SB 510 has another chance to be stopped as they reconcile this atrocity in the House. The “Food Safety Modernization Act” is just another Big Government takeover, and represents everything the November 2nd election was all about. This is a massive expansion of federal regulation, increasing more power to the FDA, increases taxes, and increases food costs.

Call, fax, or email your House of Representatives and more. List of 111th Congressional phone and fax numbers Page 1, Page 2, and Page 3. A list of the "Gang of 15" who voted for this boon-doggle is at the end of this post.

Eric Cantor and John Boehner appeared weak today, after their meeting with "The One", and it was a tad discouraging. Would that I could, but we cannot give up now. If we are to preserve our freedom, we must hold their feet to the fire. The message (and our freedom) will be lost if we don't.

FOLLOW UP: House May Block Food Safety Bill Over Senate Error
A food safety bill that has burned up precious days of the Senate’s lame-duck session appears headed back to the chamber because Democrats violated a constitutional provision requiring that tax provisions originate in the House. (h/t RobNRick)

Just like a wanton greedy child, the libs desperate attempt to ram through their agenda, taking away our freedoms at every turn, will trip them up.

In other words, as Mr. Hawkins so aptly writes:

"It’s not simply time to hit the brakes on liberalism; it’s time to roll it back."

AWR Hawkins writes an excellent, no-nonsense piece in Pajamas Media. We cannot let up for a single day.

Time Now to Reverse All That Liberalism Has Done
The new Congress has no time to piddle around the margins. It's time to attack liberalism's heart and roll its legislation back.
by AWR Hawkins - November 27, 2010

As the November 2 elections vanish in the rearview mirror, newly elected Republicans seem united on trying to repeal ObamaCare. Nearly to a person, they list the repeal of that hideous piece of legislation as job one. And they also appear united on extending the Bush tax cuts for everyone, which is how it should be. But we must keep their feet to the fire lest some weak-kneed Republicans like Senator Bob Corker (TN) pressure them into moderation. (Even before the election Corker was distancing himself from the “crazier Republicans” whom Tea Parties supported.)

We have to be louder than Corker and make sure the incoming Republicans understand we didn’t fight for their election in order to see them take office and morph into bipartisan weaklings along the lines of a John McCain (R-AZ) or a Susan Collins (R-ME). Nor do we want them to conform to the habits of John Cornyn (R-TX), whose initial refusal to fund Christine O’Donnell’s senatorial campaign in Delaware remains one of the most spineless and shameless actions undertaken by a Republican who actually claims to be a conservative.

Beginning now, as we transition from the election season, we must press incoming senators and House members not only to repeal ObamaCare and extend the Bush tax cuts, but to undo every bit of damage liberals have done to this country in the past. (I know we don’t control the Senate, but we are predominant in the House, and there we can use votes to repeal, undo, and otherwise revoke liberalism in such a way as to send a clear message about the issues that will define the 2012 elections in both the House and Senate.)

We have the momentum, for now. But if we don’t use that momentum to accomplish great things, or at least to attempt great things, we will only see how quickly momentum can atrophy and shrink away.

Why can’t we cut monies for projects liberals hold near and dear to their bleeding hearts as a means of achieving our goal of shrinking the size of government? This could include eliminating or making drastic cuts in funding for groups like the National Endowment for the Arts, and others that get their kicks from using taxpayer dollars to fund projects that ridicule Christians, Jews, and America’s heritage. We could vote to institute a school voucher program that would provide school choice to families who otherwise couldn’t afford it: a choice that would steal power from the National Education Association by allowing families to escape the air of indoctrination so prevalent in public education. We could also press for the privatization of Social Security, relaxation of certain asinine environmental standards, a national immigration law that mirrors the one Gov. Jan Brewer signed in Arizona, and a steep reduction in the 99 weeks of unemployment benefits currently offered to people who would rather not work.

In a word, we could actually take our cue from the liberal playbook and begin introducing and passing so much pro-freedom legislation in the House that our opponents are simply overwhelmed.

To do any less would be to do what Rush Limbaugh described as “piddling around the margins … and never really [getting] to the crux of what is wrong” legislatively in this country.

It’s not simply time to hit the brakes on liberalism; it’s time to roll it back.


AWR Hawkins is a conservative writer who holds a Ph.D. in military history from Texas Tech University.

GANG OF 15 (Republicans voting YES for SB 510)
Shame on these conservatives, especially those from America's heartland.
Alexander (R-TN)
Brown (R-MA)
Burr (R-NC)
Collins (R-ME)
Enzi (R-WY)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kirk (R-IL)
LeMieux (R-FL)
Lugar (R-IN)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Snowe (R-ME)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)

GOP ON TRACK TO SNATCH DEFEAT FROM JAWS OF VICTORY

The recent primaries have unleashed a miriad of emotions, which must be paralleled to a sign of our time. Never in our short history has there been such turmoil, and that is not to diminish the very difficult times America has fought herself through. You have to admit that what we witnessed this past week is a first, and has infuriated the majority of American citizens. It's almost as though this was planned by a cunning and crafty president.

We have become a nation severely divided, thanks to the president, who was annointed to be post-racial, when, in fact, the opposite is true. Obama prepped and allowed a foreign dignitary, President Calderon of Mexico, to trash the United States of America on the floor of a Joint Session of Congress, while the radical left congressional members gave him a standing ovation, including AG Holder and HS Napolitano.

He has a lot of nerve to lecture us, while his own country has far more stringent laws, and whose own country is in turmoil. Thank God for Senator McClintock, who did not let this attack go unanswered.

Americans are desperate to reverse this train wreck towards socialism, but in their desperation, conservatives are becoming unraveled. This cannot happen, or we are surely looking at an endless term of Obamanites. Rather than looking at the mainstream media's affliction towards conservatives, we should focus on the positive and concentrate on what to do between now and this coming November's critical elections. Let's not put the cart before the horse, or count our chickens before they're hatched.

We will get there, but we cannot run amuck. Ann Coulter writes her take on the primaries in World Net Daily. She is always good for a picker-upper:


GOP on Track to Snatch Defeat From Jaws of Victory
by Ann Coulter, May 20, 2010

Republican consultants are doing a wonderful job raising expectations sky-high for the November elections, so that now, even if Republicans do smashingly well, it will look like a defeat (and an across-the-board endorsement of Obama's agenda). Thanks, Republicans!

That's what happened in the 1998 congressional elections, nearly foiling Clinton's impeachment. It's what happened to the Conservative Party in Britain a week ago. And that's what happened this week in the 12th Congressional District of Pennsylvania, formerly represented by Rep. John Murtha.

Note to Republicans: Whenever possible, victory parties should be held after the election, not before it.

The result of the election in Murtha's old district on Tuesday was that the rabidly anti-Obamacare, pro-life, pro-gun candidate won! Yippee!

But the news on Wednesday morning was that the election "dealt a blow to Republicans," as the New York Times reported.

The reason the Times' description was not utter madness (in violation of New York Times' official policy) is because the anti-Obamacare, pro-life, pro-gun candidate was a Democrat, and, for the past two months, every Republican on TV has been predicting a Republican victory in Murtha's district.

Thanks to all the happy talk, if the Republican actually had won, it would have been Page 16 news. But when the Democrat won, it seemed like an against-all-odds, come-from-behind Hoosiers victory!

Why were Republicans predicting victory in a district where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1? Given a choice between two candidates who both hate Obamacare, why would lifelong Democrats not vote for the Democrat?

Republicans are playing the same raised-expectations game with the November elections. Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner is ludicrously predicting Republicans will pick up 100 seats in the House in November. Newt Gingrich puts the figure at an equally insane (and weirdly precise) 78. He also predicts the Cubs will win 132 games this season and six games will be rained out.

Keep it up, Republicans, and I'm going to keep naming names. I have Nexis.

For more than half a century, the average midterm pickup for the party out of power has been 24 seats.

Your job, Republicans, is not to go on Fox News and whisper sweet nothings in conservatives' ears. Your job is to repeal the Obama agenda. Raising expectations so high that a 30-seat Republican pickup will seem like a loss is not helping.

Moreover, we're not going to pick up any seats this November if Republicans keep chumming around with the Democrats' pals on Wall Street.

Roughly since the Harding administration, Wall Street has overwhelmingly favored Democrats. According to a recent report from ABC News, for example, the five largest hedge funds gave "almost all their donations to Democrats."

For the past year, the Democrats' Wall Street BFFs have had lower public approval ratings than Hitler. (When I say "Hitler," I don't mean Dick Cheney or George W. Bush; I actually mean Adolf Hitler.) While Hitler continues to enjoy great personal popularity, there is a growing dissatisfaction with his policies.

How could Republicans possibly screw that up? We try harder.

No sooner had the news come out that Goldman Sachs (Joseph Goebbels in this metaphor) had given Obama an astronomical $1 million in campaign donations, than Republican John Boehner decided that this was the time to suck up to Wall Street! So Boehner flew to New York to meet with Wall Street bankers and ask them to be Republicans' friends.

Boehner is like the guy who just got raped in prison and doesn't know what happened to him. Hey – what was that? Should I have thanked the guy?

As Pat Caddell says, Democrats are whores, but they expect to be paid; Republicans' names are scrawled on the bathroom wall: "For a good time, call the GOP!"

As depressing as it is to watch the Republican Party dive headlong off a cliff, at least we have Dick Blumenthal.

Connecticut's attorney general, pompous, freakishly ambitious, self-righteous, hold-a-press-conference-every-day Blumenthal, was a shoo-in to take Chris Dodd's Senate seat this fall.

After all, he was a Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star and Purple Heart winner from his days as a four-star general in Vietnam. (And captain of the Harvard swim team to boot!)

But now we find out from a front-page article in the New York Times that, despite Blumenthal's repeated references to serving "in Vietnam" – he was never in Vietnam. He got five draft deferments and then joined an elite unit of the Marine Reserves to avoid going to war, serving in their heroic "Toys for Tots" brigade.

He also wasn't on the Harvard swim team. (Oddly enough, though, the story Blumenthal likes to tell about owning a necklace of human ears? That one's actually true.)

Blumenthal may as well have shown up for a press conference in a dress. Suddenly, Connecticut is in play!

Naturally, therefore, Republicans are planning on running a World Wrestling Entertainment "impresario" against Blumenthal. Yes, in Connecticut ... a state that is among the wealthiest and most highly educated in the nation ... a state that isn't Minnesota. The average Nutmegger doesn't even know what a turnbuckle is, and that includes me.

Republicans could run Rob Simmons, a Connecticut legislator with a distinguished record of service in the House of Representatives, the CIA, and as a Yale political science professor – who actually did serve in Vietnam, winning two Bronze Stars and retiring as a colonel.

But defeat is so close! Republicans can almost taste the bitterness of yet another crushing loss!


Ann Coulter, well-known for her TV appearances as a political analyst, is an attorney and author. Catch her most recent book GUILTY: LIBERAL 'VICTIMS' AND THEIR ASSAULT ON AMERICA, now in paperback, here.

THE SHAM WOW SUMMIT

Yesterday was a glorious day. The Republicans finally had their day in court, and they came well prepared. It's not as though this is new to them. They have been trying to get their ideas on the table for over a year, and have been dismissed, ignored and shut out for the same amount of time. The Republicans looked intelligent, thoughtful, articulate and committed, while Obama looked more obvious that ever before. His contempt, antipathy, arrogance and loathing was so apparent it was almost laughable, except for the fact this man is in the White House.

After a year of anguish, frustration and sorrow for Americans who have felt their sovereignty slipping away, Obama's dog and pony show "summit" was a sight to behold.

Erick Erickson of Red State has a great piece on this today:


The Sham Wow Summit
by Erick Erickson, Febryary 26, 2010

There are many reasons the Republican Party is often referred to as the Stupid Party. Many Republicans thought that after the President overshadowed the GOP at their Baltimore retreat last month, going to Blair House yesterday would just be another PR disaster.

It was anything but.

The GOP won the day so convincingly that even the traditional media had to praise the party for talking issues.

Contrast that with Barack Obama who scowled, berated, lied, and harassed the attendees — not to mention filibustered them.

In the most ironic moment of the day, Barack Obama lectured Virginia Congressman Eric Cantor on having the Democrats’ 2,700+ page health care bill on his desk at the meeting. Obama called it a “prop.” At the same time, Democrats were in the newspapers admitting that, in effect, Barack Obama was using the GOP as a prop in a vain effort to show bipartisanship on health care.

There is bipartisanship on health care. There is bipartisan opposition to it. The Democrats must realize today that they would get nothing out of the meeting. They will now try to force health care deform through Congress on a majority vote in each house.

Only a couple of years ago, Barack Obama praised the filibuster claiming it was what the founding fathers wanted to prevent the tyranny of the majority. Now he is intent on ignoring the filibuster and ramming through health care deform.

If nothing else, today shows the American public that the Republicans have a better agenda, better ideas, and are willing to stand up and oppose a reckless scheme that will increase health care costs.