President to Hold Events on Economy in Wisconsin, Ohio, Press Conference at End of WeekTexas Insider Report: WASHINGTON, D.C. – The President will make two stops next week to talk about the economy.
He will kick off Labor Day week on Monday with remarks at the Laborfest event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
He will then travel to Cleveland, Ohio on Wednesday to deliver remarks on the economy.
On Friday, the President will hold a press conference at the White House.
45% expect their own taxes to go up during Obama Administration.
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN, Texas – Heading into the final two months of the mid-term election campaign, most voters believe Democrats in Congress want to raise taxes & spending while Republicans in Congress want to cut taxes & spending. At the same time, most voters believe that reducing taxes & spending would be good for the economy.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 62% of Likely Voters believe Congressional Democrats want to increase government spending.
Only 16% believe the party wants to cut spending.
On the tax front:
59% believe that most Democrats in Congress want to increase taxes
60% believe that tax cuts are good for the economy while 56% say tax hikes will hurt the economy.
56% believe that additional government spending will hurt the economy and 50% believe that spending cuts will help. (See survey questions and toplines and crosstabs.)
Republicans and unaffiliated voters overwhelmingly believe that Democrats in Congress want to raise taxes and increase spending. Democratic voters are more evenly divided.
45% expect their own personal taxes to go up during the Obama Administration. Only 9% expect their taxes to go down.
As noted in a November 2008 editorial, Obama won the White House by campaigning like Ronald Reagan and promising tax cuts for 95% of Americans. The disconnect between those promises and current perceptions is adding to the Democratic woes this election season.
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on August 31-September 1, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95%level of confidence.
By Neil Stevens - RedStateThis Gallup result is so large, I had to see what it shows in the Swingometer. I’ve had my ups & downs with Gallup, but since they’ve been solidly running registered voter surveys again the numbers have looked reasonable. Now they’re shocking us by showing the Republicans having their largest ever lead in the generic ballot survey.
It shows a larger edge than even today’s Rasmussen’s GOP +6 ... notwithstanding the alleged House Effect of the latter.
As always, I boil it down to two party results. In 2008 we had a 56 D - 44 R split, and this Gallup simplifies to a 45 D - 55 R split. So the swing is from a D+12 to an R+10, or a 22 point swing.
So right now, that means Gallup of all polls, using Registered Voters, is projecting in the Swingometer a 60 seat Republican gain for a 238 R-197 D majority.
The last time an election took the Democrats that low was the election of 1946, saith Wikipedia.
Election night in 2004 took them to 202 for the second lowest.
Rasmussen, by contrast, shows only a 20 point swing, a 57 seat Republican gain, and a 235 R - 200 D majority, still lower than an election since Truman has taken the House Democrats.
If I then take the mean of these two and double weight the Rasmussen Likely Voter poll, I get R+58, the new projection.
By AP Staff: PHOENIX (AP) -- A poll released Wednesday conducted on behalf of Arizona State University's Morrison Institute for Public Policy found an overwhelming majority of Arizona voters support the types of provisions that are at the heart of a national debate involving the state's immigration law.
The survey found 81 percent of registered voters approved of requiring people to produce documents that show they're in the country legally.
It found that 74 percent believe police should be allowed to detain anyone who's unable to verify their legal immigration status, and 68 percent say police should be allowed to question anyone suspected of being in the country illegally.
The survey of 614 registered voters was conducted July 16-Aug. 6 and has a sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Halfway through the poll's duration, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton put the law's most controversial portions on hold.
Bolton blocked contentious provisions that required immigrants to obtain or carry immigration registration papers, and one that required police, while enforcing other laws, to question people's immigration status if there is a reasonable suspicion they're in the country illegally.
By the CNN Wire StaffAn oil and gas production platform has exploded 102 miles off the central coast of Louisiana, with 13 people overboard, including one injured, the Coast Guard said Thursday morning.
All 13 people have been accounted for, said Petty Officer Bill Colclough of the Coast Guard. All are headed to a hospital in Terrebonne Parish, he said.
Colclough told CNN that authorities are trying to determine the cause of the blast, and that the platform apparently is still on fire from the explosion. Asked whether an oil leak has resulted from the explosion, he said the platform "was not actively producing any product."
"We do not know if there are any additional concerns of pollution," Colclough said.
However, the Coast Guard headquarters in Washington reported that the platform, fixed in 340 feet of water, was in production at the time of the fire. The type of operations was not immediately clear.
"This was an oil and gas production platform in approximately 340 feet of water, 102 miles offshore Louisiana (80 nautical miles)," said Melissa Schwartz, spokeswoman for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, which replaced the Minerals Management Service.
Colclough said Coast Guard helicopters and cutters are en route to the scene.
The explosion happened south of Vermilion Bay on the Vermilion Oil Rig 380, which is owned by Mariner Energy, said John Edwards, a chief petty officer with the Coast Guard in New Orleans, Louisiana.
A man who said he saw the oil platform blast in the Gulf of Mexico reported suddenly seeing "a bunch of smoke" coming up from the platform. David Reed, a paramedic on board a nearby oil rig, said radios started "lighting up like a Christmas tree" after the blast.
The explosion comes nearly five months after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded April 20, killing 11 people and causing oil to gush into the Gulf of Mexico, leading to one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history.
That oil rig, contracted by BP, had 126 workers, and sank after three days of the U.S. Coast Guard's efforts to put out flames.
An oil rig drills the well, which usually takes a period of weeks; a production platform is built after the well is drilled, and remains there for years. It pumps pressure down the hole to keep the well flowing, and sometimes collects the oil or gas.
U.S. agencies and BP worked to stop oil spilling from the ruptured Deepwater Horizon well, an onslaught of oil into the Gulf waters that could hurt the region for years. The well has been capped since July 15, and no new oil is flowing into the Gulf.
The failure of the well's blowout preventer triggered the April 20 explosion, and crews are expected to remove the equipment from the well since it may hold valuable forensic evidence as to why it failed.
The Obama administration tried to impose a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the wake of the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon in April, but the ban is currently in legal limbo.
A group of companies that provide boats and equipment to the deepwater drilling industry sued to overturn the ban and won in June.
The government tried again in July, imposing a new moratorium and asking for the suit to be thrown out. A federal judge refused this week to dismiss it.
Schwartz said Thursday that the Vermilion platform did not violate the moratorium. "This platform was authorized to produce oil and gas at this water depth. The current suspension involves drilling rigs in water depths greater than 500 feet," she said.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Thursday that the federal government has "assets ready" to respond to any environmental problems resulting from the explosion of an oil platform off the coast of Louisiana.
Mariner Energy describes itself as one of the leading independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in the Gulf of Mexico. The company said it had interests in about 350 federal offshore leases last year, with more than 110 of the 350 in development.
The company has about 300 employees. Its most recent quarterly net income was $1.7 million.
Shares of Mariner Energy slipped 5 percent Thursday after the explosion. Shares of Mariner Energy fell $1.16 to $22.19.
The company is in the process of a planned merger with a larger company, Apache Corporation. The merger is about four to six weeks away, an Apache spokesman said.
Texas Insider Report: DALLAS, Texas – Columnist Donald Lambro asked America's major business associations, chief executive officers and top economic analysts to name the three best ways to create jobs and expand the U.S. economy. Here's what economist Arthur B. Laffer had to say:
The United States should move toward a true flat tax where taxes on things such as income, corporations, payroll and Medicaid are eliminated in favor of two flat-rate taxes of 11 percent on business net sales (value added) and personal unadjusted gross income (with some deductions). A true flat tax with a rate of 11 percent would be static revenue positive by about 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and would spur enormous economic growth.
Once a flat tax is put into law, America should also have a federal, state and local tax amnesty program to bring tax cheats into compliance with the new tax codes. It is estimated that such a tax amnesty program would raise a one-time amount of somewhere between $600 billion and $800 billion, and $50 billion annually on an on-going basis.
Additionally, the Federal Reserve should do what needs to be done to return to responsible monetary policy. This entails selling upwards of $1 trillion in Federal Reserve assets to contract bank reserves back to where total reserves are approximately equal to required reserves. Such actions will help ensure a stable value of the dollar going forward.
Tax reform, along with spending restraint, sound money, free trade and a rational regulatory policy would lead to a period of exceptional prosperity and asset appreciation.Source: Donald Lambro, "Business Leaders Explain How to Create Jobs," Human Events, August 5, 2010.
Texas Insider Report: FORT WORTH, Texas – On Saturday, I hosted a town hall meeting in Weatherford to hear what you want in a Congressional agenda. For too long Washington has not listened to the American people. The public is engaged like never before. Here are some of the ideas you want to see.
I asked my constituents to come to the meeting with ideas and solutions for how to reduce government spending, create jobs and get our nation back on track.
Here are some of the ideas that you want to see in a legislative agenda:
Create a stable business environment by providing consistency and certainty with government regulation
Address how to deal with the cost of children born in the United States to parents who are not legal residents
Reform how lobbyists interact with Members of Congress
Provide a permanent fix for the Alternative Minimum Tax
Reinforce the importance of vocational programs in our education system
Create a ‘jobs bill’ that does not focus on unemployment insurance but one that focuses on tax incentives for small businesses to create jobs and put people back to work.
You demand to be heard, and we are using your enthusiasm to create a new agenda that is created by Texans and not the bureaucrats in Washington.
Republican Chairman Munisteri to GOP Candidates: Seek Neutral Debate SponsorsTexas Insider Report: AUSTIN, Texas – “In Austin, the League of Women Voters should really be called the ‘League of Women Democrats,’” said Steve Munisteri, Republican Party of Texas Chairman in urging his party's nominees for State Board of Education (SBOE) in Districts 5 & 10 to not accept invitations to debate from the Austin Chapter of the League of Women Voters.
The Austin Chapter of the League of Women Voters (LWV) has long & well-established ties to Democrat candidates in these races, financially supporting the Democratic Party and its candidates said Munisteri, citing the organization’s leadership ties to the Democratic Party.
“Their elected officers and debate committee members have voted in multiple Democrat primaries and have donated thousands of dollars to Democratic Party committees and their candidates, including to the two Democrat candidates in these contests,” Munisteri said.
“How can the Austin Chapter of the LWV claim to be non-partisan when there are no Republicans among their elected officers or on their debate committee?” Munisteri stated, “There are over 475,000 women living in Travis County and yet they cannot find a single Republican woman to be involved with their organization or with this process?”
“I’ve been involved in Texas politics for over 30 years and I’ve seen the political process stacked at times, but this is ridiculous. What makes this so disingenuous is that it’s being done under the banner of a supposedly nonpartisan group. But there’s nothing non-partisan about the people organizing this proposed debate,” he said.
“For these reasons, I am urging Ken Mercer, State Board of Education Member, District 5 and Dr. Marsha Farney, Republican nominee for State Board of Education, District 10, to seek an alternative debate sponsor whose political credentials will assure voters that the debate and the debate sponsor are fair, impartial and nonpartisan,” Munisteri stated.
“I respect the LWV’s right to participate in the political process, but their liberal views and the ties of their leadership to the Democratic Party and Democrat candidates make them unsuitable and unqualified to serve as a neutral, non-partisan debate sponsor,” Munisteri said.
Below is a summary of the vote history of the elected officers and debate committee of the Austin Chapter of the League of Women Voters presented by Munisteri, showing ties to the Democrat Party and Democrat candidates:
Name LWV Position 2010 2008 2006 2004
Primary Primary Primary Primary
Frances McIntyre President D D D D
Carolyn Baker Community Relations D D none D
Texas grows from 21 million to just over 25 million people in 2010By Senator Kel SeligerTexas Insider Report: AUSTIN, Texas – Securing the border has and continues to be a high priority for Texas, especially in light of the increasing violence along our border with Mexico. Over the last two biennia, the Legislature has appropriated over $200 million to strengthen & enhance border security efforts.
I strongly support Governor Perry's request for additional National Guard troops to enhance security along the Texas-Mexico border. President Obama recently authorized 1,200 troops to the entire border region, with approximately 286 of those troops assigned to Texas.
Budget
Current estimates suggest that the state is facing an $18 billion shortfall in the 2012-2013 bienium. The franchise tax, which the Legislature revised in 2006, brought in approximately half of the revenue that it was anticipated. Fortunately, the state's Rainy Day Fund will have a balance of approximately $11 billion by the end of fiscal year 2013.
Additionally, 56% of our state budget is made up of sales taxes, and the Comptroller of Public Accounts recently reported that sales tax collections, having increased four months in a row, were up 2.2% in July.
Despite the dire financial outlook facing our state, I believe that we can balance the budget and meet all of the state's essential needs during the next biennium without placing a larger tax burden on hard working Texans. Water. Water continues to be an important issue facing the Legislature, and nowhere is water more closely tied to a region's success than in West Texas.
The Senate Committee on Natural Resources is studying the implementation of the State Water Plan, and will be considering funding options to ensure that our future water needs are met. The Committee is also studying the Groundwater Management Area joint planning process, and the progress that groundwater conservation districts have made toward establishing a desired future condition for their areas.
Altogether, these efforts will help protect our state's water resources for both today and years to come.
Redistricting Committee
Redistricting is a constitutionally mandated process following the Decennial Census. State law requires the legislature to adjust political boundaries to accommodate the population changes of the decade.
The State expects the Census to show that Texas has grown from about 21 million people in 2000 to just over 25 million people in 2010.
From now until January, the Redistricting Committeewill conduct public outreach hearings across the state to gather input from Texans on how to redraw our political boundaries for the next decade. The Senate will then draw new districts during the 82nd Legislature based on updated population totals in Texas.
All redistricting legislation will follow the normal process to ensure openness and public participation during the legislative session.
As Chairman, I intend for this process to result in fair and legal political maps for our state.
Texas Insider Report: DALLAS, Texas – President Lyndon Johnson's "War on Poverty" taught us what happens when well-meaning (to give them benefit of the doubt) politicians & bureaucrats create a welfare system that rewards those who shun work, while punishing those who take responsibility for themselves. So why don't we recognize that the same system, when directed at states rather than people, will also create a state cycle of dependency?
Those perverse incentives create a cycle of welfare dependency that grips the poor and their offspring for decades.
Washington has become little more than a sugar daddy to the states, handing out money for a whole range of needs -- health care, welfare, highways and other infrastructure needs, education, environmental concerns, and most recently bail out dollars. But those funds come with strings -- strings that give the feds indirect control over state policies.
For years the states were willing to embrace their sugar daddy to get the funds and accepted the conditions ... until recently.
When President Obama came bearing stimulus funds, a handful of states-South Carolina, Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana -- pushed back, at least against part of the funds. Some were concerned that new federally imposed mandates on unemployment benefits would eventually cost the state more than it was receiving.
Now Washington has passed a $26 billion handout to the states for education and unemployment, and states are thrilled.
Ironically, the states' embrace of the handouts comes at a time when many of them are trying to reassert their rights and independence under the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. They want Washington to quite bossing them around, even as governors plead for more federal assistance. The two can't co-exist.
It would take tremendous political courage at the state level, but we'd love to see a movement from the state legislatures that summarily rejected federal handouts, including the matching grants for Medicaid recipients.
Step up, states, and break that cycle of dependency.
And if Congress weren't handing money back to the states, it wouldn't need to extract those funds from taxpayers in the states.
Less money from taxpayers and more independence for the states; a win-win for the states and the taxpayers.
Today's TaxByte was written by IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews.
Letter to President Requests Federal ResourcesTexas Insider Report: ROUND ROCK, Texas – State Representative Diana Maldonado (HD-52) Wednesday called on the White House to provide additional federal resources to help secure Texas' border with Mexico. In the wake of the conclusion of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Maldonado joined with several colleagues in the Texas House to send a letter requesting the federal government transfer available military resources to better secure our southern border.
The letter specifically calls for the transfer of operational control of two MC-12 Aircraft to the Texas National Guard.
"The safety and security of our border with Mexico is a critical issue of state and national importance," Maldonado said.
"By transferring available military resources to this area, we can provide the Texas Air National Guard with increased capability and cutting-edge technology to protect this unstable region," said Maldonado.
The MC-12 is a military surveillance aircraft that has the potential to be a "virtual wall and a force multiplier to assist in interdiction operations." In addition, the letter calls for the transition of MC-12 crew training to the Texas Air National Guard which would allow them to use the Texas-Mexico border to train for their overseas counter-insurgency surveillance
"This is a responsible and common-sense decision that could save lives, increase security and help to curb the violence on our border," Maldonado said.
"The safety of Texans and all Americans is of the utmost importance, and we must do all that we can to ensure the best and most effective resources available are being utilized along the border."
Maldonado serves on the Committee on Defense & Veterans Affairs in the Texas House of Representatives. She is serving her first term in the Texas House and represents District 52 which encompasses a portion of Williamson County, including Round Rock, Taylor, Hutto, Thrall, Coupland and part of Georgetown & Austin.
By Bobby EberleTexas Insider: AUSTIN, Texas – The media love to portray any person who freaks out as a rightwing extremist. If someone goes on a shooting rampage or takes a hostage or sends a threatening letter, the media seem to be less interested in if that person were simply mentally unstable than what conservatives organizations he or she belongs too.
They don't focus on the incident; they focus on what drove the "rightwing extremist" to do harm. Now, we have a case where a leftwing radical went psycho.
Will the media say that his fondness of Al Gore did him in? Will the government issue warnings and memos to watch out for leftwing organizations as they have done with conservative groups? I doubt it.
On Wednesday, police shot and killed James J. Lee who held three hostages for several hours "at the Discovery Communications building in Silver Springs, Maryland." Police ended up shooting and killing the gunman, and all three hostages were unharmed. The Washington Times reports:
The standoff began about 1 p.m. when Lee burst into the building with canisters strapped to his body and waving a gun.
Montgomery County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said an explosive device may have detonated, and the gunman may have brought other devices into the building. He said as far as he knows, the 1,900 people who work in the building were able to get out safely.
The real story is the gunman himself. Lee is what's known as an "eco-terrorist," although you will surely not see that phrase used by any of your typical left-leaning news outlets. The Washington Times accurately uses that phrase, because they are more concerned about reporting the news that putting a liberal spin on things:
The emerging portrait of the gunman - identified by authorities as 43-year-old James L. Lee - is one of an extreme environmentalist who was obsessed with the Discovery Channel and wanted to force the network to air programs that sought solutions for global warming, posited the view that humans should stop reproducing and generally saving nonhuman forms of life.
"Humans are the most destructive, filthy, pollutive creatures around and are wrecking what's left of the planet with their false morals and breeding culture," Lee wrote in an 11-point manifesto outlining his demands for the network. "For every human born, ACRES of wildlife forests must be turned into farmland in order to feed that new addition ... THIS IS AT THE EXPENSE OF THE FOREST CREATURES!!!!"\
So... will Lee's actions lead to a federal warning? Remember the memo that was issued by the Obama administration warning against "radical rightwing groups"? Take a look at this video as a reminder:
As noted by NationalTerrorAlert.com back in April, 2009, "The Department of Homeland Security is warning law enforcement agencies that recent news is helping 'right-wing extremist groups' recruit new members and could lead to violence, and warns about the possible recruitment and radicalization of returning veterans." The official government report read, "Right-wing extremists have capitalized on the election of the first African American president, and are focusing their efforts to recruit new members, mobilize existing supporters and broaden their scope and appeal through propaganda, but they have not yet turned to attack planning."
It may take time for the left-leaning media to find a way to portray Lee, but the leftwing web sites have already started. As noted in a report on NewsBusters.org, "the left will be working overtime in the next few days to spin this event any way they can. It began with this astoundingly dishonest Think Progress headline: Purported Eco-Terrorist Angered Over 'Immigration Pollution And Anchor Baby Filth.'"
That's right, of Lee's thousand-word manifesto in which he stated his demands of Discovery, Think Progress chose to highlight not the radical, militant environmentalism he espoused, but rather an obscure claim (in terms of overall message and word count) that immigrants to developed nations make the pollution situation worse.
Notably, Think Progress thought it was worth comparing Lee's position on this single issue to other groups that have made similar claims, but did not see fit to liken him groups of environmental activists who also think overpopulation is the problem (Tom Friedman, please call your office). Lee also said war was bad for the environment. Will Think Progress condemn anti-war groups that make similar claims?
On the CBSNews.com report on Lee, the reader has to get more than halfway through the story before the phrase "environmental extremist" is used. Even then, the report simply focuses on Lee and his ramblings, but doesn't tie him into larger leftwing groups. Would a rightwing looney get the same assessment? The ABCNews.com report actually uses "Environmental Militant" in its headline. The story talks about Lee's web site -- savetheplanetprotest.com -- but again does not imply that he was part of some larger "conspiracy" as is often reported when a conservative is the subject of a news report.
Equal treatment? Equal coverage? Let's see how fast this story disappears from the news outlets. How many reporters do you think would have been dispatched for research and background purposes if the gunman were politically conservative? I guess if you are a leftwing wacko, you are a wacko... but if you're a rightwing wacko, you're part of a conspiracy. Go figure.
By Karl RoveA dangerous world needs stronger U.S. leadership.Texas Insider: AUSTIN, Texas – At times Tuesday night, it sounded as if President Barack Obama didn't know what kind of speech he wanted to give. Was it a foreign policy address aimed at assuring a world-wide audience of America's resolve in the war against militant Islam?
Or was it an election stump speech to confirm to voters that the economy is job No. 1 for this president and his party?
The speech's best moments were those praising the commitment, courage and sacrifice of America's military. The president powerfully said that "our troops are the steel in our ship of state," and all who serve join "an unbroken line of heroes that stretches from Lexington to Gettysburg; from Iwo Jima to Inchon; from Khe Sanh to Kandahar."
For someone who had been such a vocal war opponent, he was generous in acknowledging what our troops accomplished—defeating "a regime that had terrorized its people" and helping "Iraq seize the chance for a better future." Because of our troops, he said, "Iraq has the opportunity to embrace a new destiny, even though many challenges remain."
As a foreign policy address, however, the speech missed the mark. While Mr. Obama did acknowledge that the U.S. "intends to sustain and strengthen our leadership" in the world, most foreign observers will probably remember the president's tone of haste, withdrawal and even retreat. His phrase, "It is time to turn the page," caught many an ear around the world—and not to America's advantage.
Mr. Obama's was not the confident voice of Harry S. Truman promising to protect Europe and Japan against "outright aggression and . . . the threat of further armed attack." Nor did the president sound like the determined Dwight Eisenhower explaining America's commitment to South Korea's transition to democracy after the Korean War by saying, "We may not now relax our guard nor cease our quest."
Instead, Mr. Obama's address was more reminiscent of Sen. George McGovern's plea in the 1972 presidential campaign to "Come home, America." It sounded like he couldn't head for the Iraq exit door quickly enough.
Imagine if after World War II, America had left Europe in the face of the aggressive Soviet threat. What would Asia look like now if, following the Korean War, the U.S. had set a quick date for withdrawal from the peninsula?
As much as he may wish, Mr. Obama cannot ignore Iraq or withdraw prematurely from Afghanistan. He has ownership of both wars; it's part of his job description. He will share in the wars' success or be blamed if they are lost. And he will have a better chance of succeeding if our friends and enemies sense resolve, rather than weariness.
The world needs a determined United States. It is in the security, diplomatic and economic interests of our nation to provide to Iraq and Afghanistan the same patient leadership we provided in Europe and Asia. We face new threats from Iran. China and Russia are both flexing their muscles. Telegraphing to the world that America is no longer a dependable ally is the worst possible message a president can send.
Tuesday might have been better spent visiting not just Fort Bliss but other military installations as well to honor all the services. Then Mr. Obama could have given an Oval Office address when the new Iraqi government is formed, pairing progress on security with political success.
Mr. Obama suggested that a trillion dollars had been squandered to no good purpose in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last decade. Are removing murderous regimes that were threats to peace and stability, catalyzing change in the Arab Middle East by expanding democracy, dealing a brutal blow to al Qaeda, protecting the American homeland, and diminishing the threat of transnational terrorism really of so little value to the president?
Speaking of trillions, have we prospered because of the trillion dollars Mr. Obama is spending on stimulus? Are we more confident of our country's future because Mr. Obama will lay out two-and-a-half trillion dollars in ObamaCare's first decade of operation? Do back-to-back-to-back deficits under this president—each of more than a trillion dollars—give us comfort about his fiscal leadership?
All issues pale compared to the question of U.S. leadership. America can either shape the world's agenda, or wait for direction from international organizations.
Suggesting that only by withdrawing from the world can a president "jump-start industries," reform education, and make "tough decisions" about issues at home leaves the impression that Mr. Obama has little interest in being commander in chief, that his real passion is domestic issues and his goal to mold America into a European-style social democracy.
Presidents can simultaneously pursue international and domestic agendas. In dangerous times, it is vital that the president use America's power to shape the world.
Mr. Rove, the former senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush, is the author of "Courage and Consequence" (Threshold Editions, 2010).
Editors Note: Some language in this column may be offensiveBy Larry Elder
How does one discredit the massive back-to-the-values-that-made-this-country-great rally in Washington at the National Mall?
Easy. Call Glenn Beck, the leader and organizer of the rally, a "racist" -- as does former Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean.
What makes Beck a racist? The question presupposes the need for a reason.
Ever heard of Journolist? Apparently, neither have network news anchors Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric and Brian Williams -- none of whom saw fit to spend one second reporting on this astonishing story.
Journolist was a confidential Listserv of 400 members of the media. It included people from Time, The Huffington Post, The Guardian, The New Republic, The Nation and other outlets. No Journolist member was a conservative. (Liberals would give a confidential Listserv of conservative media a somewhat different name: The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy.)
Journolist was founded and run by a Washington Post blogger. It was exposed by The Daily Caller and written about on NewsBusters.org and by Andrew Breitbart, who offered $100,000 for a complete Journolist archive. Shortly after this exposure, Journolist was shut down.
What was the purpose of Journolist?
The most innocuous explanation -- offered by a writer for the left-wing New Republic -- is that it was a mere "chat room" where people would yak about stuff like the NBA finals or where a Journolister working on a piece could solicit suggestions for an expert. Big deal.
The most sinister explanation is that it served as a forum/echo chamber for liberals to strategize with other liberals on how to advance their agenda, craft arguments and discredit conservatives. Paranoia, you say?
Recall that during the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama's candidacy was rocked by YouTube videos of his unhinged, America-denouncing, whitey-condemning, anti-Semitic pastor of 20 years, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Several Journolist members cried Mayday! and traded e-mails on how to control the damage.
Spencer Ackerman's Huffington Post bio describes his position with The Washington Independent as "senior reporter." This Journolist "journalist" offered this game plan: "If the right forces us all to either defend Wright or tear him down, no matter what we choose, we lose the game they've put upon us. Instead, take one of them -- Fred Barnes, Karl Rove, who cares -- and call them racists." You know, eenie, meenie, minie, moe.
To be fair, some lefties actually want a plausible reason to call someone a racist. So, what makes Beck one?
As we were constantly reminded this past weekend, Beck once called President Obama "a racist" with a "deep-seated hatred for white people, or the white culture."
Beck says he regrets what he said. He says he should have referred to and condemned the "black liberation theology" preached by Wright. But only liberals are allowed regrets.
Here is The Glenn Beck Rule: When one recklessly, irresponsibly and with absolutely no basis calls someone a racist, or accuses him or her of racism or of racial insensitivity, or uses incendiary, racially tinged language -- the person who makes the accusation is the racist.
Let's apply The Rule:
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.: Then-President George Herbert Walker Bush is "a racist."
Sen. (then-candidate) Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.: Then-President George W. Bush "let people die on rooftops in New Orleans because they were poor and because they were black."
Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y.: "George (W.) Bush is our Bull Connor," referring to the racist Southern lawman who sicced dogs and turned water hoses on civil rights marchers. Of the GOP, Rangel said, "It's not 'sp--' or 'n-----' anymore; they just say, 'Let's cut taxes.'"
Donna Brazile, Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign manager: The GOP has "a white-boy attitude," which means the GOP "must exclude, denigrate and leave behind."
Rep. (then-state Sen.) Diane Watson, D-Calif., on black affirmative action foe Ward Connerly: "He's married to a white woman. He wants to be white. He wants a colorless society. He has no ethnic pride. He doesn't want to be black."
Then-Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.: In a speech in a black Baptist church, she said: "When you look at the way the (then-Republican-controlled) House of Representatives has been run, it has been run like a plantation. And you know what I'm talkin' about."
Director Spike Lee: Then-Sen. Trent Lott is a "card-carrying member" of the Ku Klux Klan; and about his dislike for interracial couples, Lee said, "I give interracial couples a look. Daggers. They get uncomfortable when they see me on the street."
The Rev. Al Sharpton: Falsely accused an assistant district attorney of sexually assaulting a black teenager; called the Central Park Jogger "a whore"; called black then-New York Mayor David Dinkins a "n----- whore"; denounced as "white interlopers" people wishing to do business in Harlem; and, during the deadly Crown Heights affair, said, "If the Jews want to get it on, tell them to pin their yarmulkes back and come over to my house."
The Rev. Jesse Jackson: Jews are "Hymies," and New York is "Hymie-Town." First he denied saying it. Then came an admission, after that an apology, followed by collective media amnesia.
Any questions?
Larry Elderis a syndicated radio talk show host and best-selling author. His latest book, "What's Race Got to Do with It?" is available now.
Newsletter: 
Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON, D.C. – The President will make two stops next week to talk about the economy.
He will kick off Labor Day week on Monday with remarks at the Laborfest event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
He will then travel to Cleveland, Ohio on Wednesday to deliver remarks on the economy.
On Friday, the President will hold a press conference at the White House.
1 Comment