Wit and Reason

Advice From Someone Smarter than our Representatives

2009-02-11T10:12:00.000-08:00

I love this short, two minute clip! What is greed?

Peggy Noonan is Fantastic!

2009-02-04T11:25:00.000-08:00

I will be posting an article on Wealth Redistribution tomorrow but I thought I would leave you today with one of my favorite Peggy Noonan videos!

Obama Economic Recovery House Meetings: It's Funny Because It's True

2009-01-31T19:14:00.000-08:00

Permit me to ask you a question, what are your plans the week of February 6th? If you are an avid supporter of President Obama and you said, “Hosting a house party to advocate the passing of the Federal Government’s Economic Stimulus Package,” you answered correctly. In a savvy attempt to reactivate his list of over 13 million supporters, President Barack Obama’s grassroots movement, ‘Organizing for America’, has begun recruiting activists to arrange and host local parties to coordinate efforts that will aide in the passing of Washington’s $825 billion dollar economic stimulus program. After all, nothing is more intellectually thought provoking than trial lawyers, bureaucrats, students studying environmental justice, and community college sociology professors getting together for a Socratic seminar on the economy.

Granted, the purpose of Mr. Obama’s efforts is not to develop apt improvements to a frustratingly inept bill, nor is it to entice intelligent discourse from those who are the change that they seek. The purpose, is widespread advocacy; but no matter how shrewd a move this grassroots initiative is, it still is what it is, which is, the potential mobilization of millions of Americans who know nothing about the economy to advocate a horrendously flawed bill that addresses the economy. President Obama deserves all the credit in the world for immediately using his political capital and grassroots muscle to pass a bill that will, in essence, forever grow the federal government and create record financial burdens for future generations.

If only out of pure curiosity, I highly recommend visiting http://www.barackobama.com/ which, by the way, is a fantastic website, and see how many of these home meetings are currently being organized in your area. For those of you thinking about attending and interrupting a meeting please don’t, you will only come across as a jerk; besides, I can essentially lay out what you will be missing:

1:00 p.m.
The meeting will begin with a 15-20 minute reflection session on the platonic nature of President Obama’s inauguration coupled with testimonials on all of the hard work every attending member put in which will lead one or two of the less than stellar go-getters to stay obscurely silent.

1:10 p.m.
The smokers outside will trickle in causing one of the uptight, middle-aged women to mutter under her breath about being allergic to smoke and how cigarettes should be outlawed.

1:15 p.m
Three hung over college students who have never worked more than a summer job will trickle in wearing Abercrombie & Fitch gear.

1:15 p.m.
Someone will begin serving overpriced free-trade coffee.

1:20 p.m.
The leader of the group will preface his/her presentation with an overused, snide comment regarding President Bush and transition into how important it will be to continue to bring about change for President Obama. (cheers will follow)

1:21
In the midst of the cheers, the awkward, self-proclaimed socialist in the corner everyone is afraid to make eye contact with will make an oafish comment followed by nervous laughter.

1:30 p.m.
The group gets down to business by discussing how they can ensure that President Obama’s Economic Stimulus bill will pass. Unfortunately, this conversation will digress when a person who has never owned his own business comments on how Republicans just don’t get the economy. This will be followed by a number of nasty (what’s the word the left is using now?) divisive comments from other attendees who have never owned their own businesses leading to a 3-5 minute tirade against conservatives.

1:34 p.m.
The meeting will resume but not before someone, most likely the trial lawyer who blindly invested in the stock market without doing his research, will make a comment on how this entire problem was brought about by greed; everyone will agree.

1:40 p.m.
The inevitable tie in to the war in Iraq will rear its ugly head.

1:47
One of the college students will try to use one of their big boy words and talk about Keynesian economics – he took one beginner economics course freshman year taught by a 26 year-old liberal teaching assistant. This statement will be defended by everyone who will justify all aspects of the stimulus bill with the assumption that they will create jobs.

1:51
After distributing his bundle of general, watered down talking points that in no way address where all of the stimulus money will be spent, the leader will hand out assignments and end the meeting - no one will throw away their trash.

1:55
A number of rash and primitive conversations will break out questioning the benefits of free markets followed by a wave of criticism towards Rush Limbaugh from people who have never listened to more than five minutes of his show.

I know that not everyone attending these meetings is going to be like the people above and hopefully my liberal friends can take a joke; however, how much would you be willing to wager that at least half of the scenarios listed above happen in your local Obama Stimulus Bill Gathering?

More to come!

Rod Blagojevich: Where Shameless Happens

2009-01-26T16:32:00.000-08:00

My new video on Rod Blagojevich. Dedicated to Hans Poschman.

Book Report: Economics in One Lesson

2009-01-26T16:20:00.000-08:00

Periodically, I’ll try to provide insight into some of the books I’ve gone through. Unfortunately, I’ve been slacking on my reading as of late but I did just finish Henry Hazlett’s Economics in One Lesson: Henry Hazlitt was a self-educated political and economic columnist who developed a strong liking for Austrian economics. A friend of Friedrich Hayek and Ayn Rand, Hazlett is actually credited with providing Ludwig von Mises with his first position at NYU.

As a writer for the Wall Street Journal in the 1940’s, Hazlitt was known for his ability to clearly communicate current events and economic theory, his best-selling book Economics in One Lesson, is strong starting point for those unfamiliar with the economic beliefs of Milton Friedman, von Mises and many other free market economists. Hazlitt does a great job of effectively using real-life examples to clearly articulate the basic principles and benefits of free markets and the effects that government controls have on the flow of money and production. The central theme of Economics is to teach the reader to focus on the overall effects that many economic barriers provide rather than zero in on specific market alterations.

Throughout the book, Hazlitt cites minimum wage laws, tariffs, price fixing, rent control, overly aggressive union measures, and many other issues as policies that, in the long run, do more harm than good to the economy.Like any science, the economic devil is in the details; however, Hazlitt articulately lays out the classic, free market outlook on economic growth (tariffs are bad, free trade is good, competition drives innovation, government intervention harms private enterprise etc.) that every American should be familiar with. In a time when most Presidential candidates from BOTH parties are advocating THE SAME backwards economic policies that accompanied the stagflation, gas lines, and high unemployment rates of the 1970’s; Economics in One Lesson is worth picking up. You can get a copy of Economics in One Lesson used for under six bucks at Amazon.com or you can read it for free at this website

Dance with the One That Brung Ya!

2008-09-29T23:35:00.000-07:00

In other news:
Certainly excesses in the private sector helped drive us to the situation that we are in BUT I’m sick and tired of the left placing full blame on free markets. Let’s remember the reason we got here:

Here

and here

Furthermore, take a look at Speaker Pelosi's speech to Congress just before they voted on the bipartisan Bailout Bill that ended up failing....What was she thinking?

Let's All Take a Deep Breath

2008-09-29T23:19:00.000-07:00

CNN's Suze Orman Don't let this woman scare the wits out of you

Today, after reports that a Federal Wall Street Bailout Deal would pass proved to be false, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 6.98% (778 points). In total, the losses suffered totaled approximately $1.2 trillion dollars; nearly double what the federal bailout plan would have cost taxpayers. While the losses we saw today were substantial lets all take a deep breath and look at this objectively. This evening’s edition of Anderson Cooper 360 literally ran a 20-30 minute economic segment based on the assumption that the money lost today would be gone forever rather than focusing on the long term performance of a fluctuating market. Investors are extremely anxious about the steps the federal government will take to clear these bad loans so banks can begin lending again. Such apprehension is natural and there is no doubt that markets will continue to drop. However, investors are looking for stability; the federal bailout, with all its flaws provides that. Let’s understand that while we suffered a huge hit today it was just one day. Congress will ultimately pass something along the lines of what was voted on; that should provide some stabilization. Remember, we ARE lending out $700 billion dollars – I know that we don’t have an infinite amount of time to pass this bill but this may or may not be one of the most important provisions signed in our lifetime. If Congress wants to mull over it an extra day I’m sure we will all be here tomorrow.

Bailout Fails!!! Bailout Links for your Fancy

2008-09-29T04:25:00.001-07:00

******GOVERNMENT SINKS BAILOUT PLAN*********

***How They Voted***

DOW Down 778 Points

Wachovia Bought by Citigroup Stocks Plummet 80%

Still confused about the financial crisis? Here is a GREAT link explaining what happened and how the crisis spread into the insurance field (hence AIG)

A Good, Quick Economist Article on the Financial Bailout

Mark Sanford (The Person Who SHOULD Have been the VP Candidate) on The Economy

Thomas Sowell on the Financial Bailout

Welcome Back!

2008-09-29T04:22:00.000-07:00

Welcome back everyone! Sorry I dropped off the face of the planet for a few months but Wit and Reason will be back up with daily updates. Links worth reading will be changed daily and I'll try to post some original stuff every few days.

Another Schwarzenegger? The Foundation of a McCain Administration

2008-09-27T22:20:00.001-07:00

In November 17, 2003 a rising star political star promising an administration of reform stood up and was sworn in as the governor of one of the largest states in the union. He promised to ‘change the rancor culture of politics’, ‘reach across the aisle to get things done’, and make his state ‘business friendly again.’ He appealed to independents, republicans, and a large number of democrats. Conservatives, however, were split.

It was a situation humorists will refer to as ‘sweet, sweet irony.’ In November of 2002 the fate of California rested in the hands of a small group of conservatives who, for years, were willing to tell anyone who would listen that they didn’t matter. Racked with an energy crisis, economic woes, and a bitterly partisan legislature, California decided to recall Grey Davis and hold an open election for the Governors seat in Sacramento.

Essentially conservatives had a choice between two candidates: State Senator Tom McClintock, a strict conservative in the essence of the word with principled – not political or ‘pragmatic’ – principled views on a host of issues from taxes to transportation; or, a rookie Politian named Arnold Schwarzenegger, a ‘pragmatist’ actor with few principled beliefs running on a platform of reform, common sense business practices, and the ability to reach across the aisle to instigate change. To be honest, nobody knew much about Mr. Schwarzenegger; we only knew what we were told we should know. What did he stand for? Reform? Great, but in what sense? Job creation? Wonderful, but there are lots of theories on how to create jobs; which would he entertain? Bipartisanship? Ah, now that was something we could use especially with so many Democrats in Sacramento; plus, wouldn’t it be great to finally have a Governor with an ‘R’ by his name again?

There was no question that Mr. Schwarzenegger could attract votes and votes were what we needed to finally have a voice. But were we sure that voice would listen? What did this charismatic man with a great speech writing staff stand for? To be honest, we didn’t know but the prospect of a Republican in the Governor’s mansion again was a risk that we were willing to take – and we did.

The rest of the story is history. Arnold Schwarzenegger ended up standing for Arnold Schwarzenegger; which, is to say, he stood for whatever he darn well wanted to stand for. He was all over the map - he tried to slash the budget; that didn’t work so he did the exact opposite and sold bonds on our economy that this generation will have to pay for when our kids start going to college. He held out on using his political capital to instigate swift change only to hastily throw together a number of intelligent reforms; all of which were rejected. From there Mr. Schwarzenegger spent some time saving the world from global warming by signing shortsighted regulations and making sure that everybody knew that he drove a Hybrid Hummer. After a brief stint in the universal health care ranks Governor Schwarzenegger has come full circle and faces more budget woes and in a state that has the 4th highest unemployment rate in the country.

Moving forward to 2008 we face an eerily similar candidate in Senator John McCain. Ask yourself this – besides national defense, earmarks (only 1% - 2% of the budget), and reaching across the aisle what does John McCain stand for? What will he do about the current financial crisis? Social Security? Medicare? Furthermore, will conservatives have a voice in a McCain Administration? The Arizona Senator has billed himself as a leader who will stubbornly stick to what he thinks is right which, in most cases, is at odds with what most principled conservatives stand for. Is that something worth standing for? In John McCain’s mind placing ‘Country First’ is essentially an appeal to apply his miscellany beliefs above a focused set of ideas. Like Governor Schwarzenegger, Senator McCain’s foundation flounders early and often. Conservatives will have a hard time holding his ‘feet to the fire’ if he has no reference in which to listen.

Republican Debate Analysis

2007-12-04T01:37:00.000-08:00

New and improved version! Sometimes it is hard to write coherently at 2 a.m..

Despite the collective efforts of Andersen Cooper and the Cable News Network, the latest Republican debate was still a feisty and entertaining program. With nearly a month left before the first votes are cast in the Iowa caucuses, voters are starting to see an edgier, more hostile group of GOP candidates which, no doubt, has provided a larger number of squabbles than the collective conservative love fest that has encompassed prior debates.

Clearly the individual with the most to lose entering Florida was former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. The strategy of the Romney camp has been to place a heavy focus on Iowa and New Hampshire in order to garner enough momentum to hurdle over a number of elephant-size hurdles waiting patiently in the back of the campaign bus. For good or for worse, Mitt Romney has essentially purchased the state of Iowa, but his grip is slipping and he is quickly seeing a lot of his support slip into the Huckabee camp. With weak polling elsewhere in the nation, Romney’s only shot at the Republican nomination is to secure the first two primary states and make a victory seem inevitable; in addition to his much publicized speech on faith, look for the Governor to take more aggressive steps in the next few weeks.

Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson also needed a strong showing in this last debate as he has seen little or no growth in his polling numbers. Senator Thompson’s hyped splash into the Republican field has been dissapointing at best; faced with lukewarm fundraising totals and a dwindling number of “Fredheads”, Thompson desperately needs some sort of spark to kick start his floundering campaign.

Other than Arizona Senator John McCain, who also needs a strong push to start his campaign back up, the rest of the candidates could afford to enter Florida on cruise control; here is how they faired:

The Good:

Governor Mike Huckabee: A

Mike Huckabee was the clear winner of the night; the former Arkansas Governor had all the momentum in the world and was able to capitalize. Huckabee has found his niche in the Republican Primaries with an evangelical Christian bloc that has long held reservations about Mitt Romney. Playing the sunny preacher with an increasing support base, Mr. Huckabee could afford to stay positive and he did. The Governor hit the ball out of the park with his defense of Arkansas’s controversial policy of giving scholarships to illegal immigrants and he was easily able to brush aside Mitt Romney’s criticisms of his use of government funds to support non-citizens. Huckabee also gave strong explanations for his support of the death penalty, belief in the bible, and was able to articulate his answers to tough questions by appealing to the emotions of his audience. On a side note, it seems that the Huckabee camp has recognized the growing animosity towards his compassionate conservative message as he toned down the sob stories.

Mayor Rudy Giuliani: B

While leading in the national polls, Mayor Giuliani has not received the same amount of popularity in Iowa and New Hampshire and had some ground to gain coming into the debate. Right away, the Mayor got himself tangled in a spar with Mitt Romney on immigration and ended up on the winner’s side by pointing out the Governor’s personal history of hiring illegal immigrants. Giuliani did a great job of defending New York’s sanctuary city status and was able to link New York’s immigration policies to crime prevention, one of his strong points. The former Mayor gave an equally good defense of his gun record; there has been a lot of talk about Giuliani’s liberal gun policies and he aggressively responded to the allegations that he is weak on 2^nd amendment rights. For the most part, Giuliani was able to further his standing as an electable candidate who really isn’t all that bad. He seemed to stay on cruise control for most of the night and didn’t say anything that got him into trouble.

Senator John McCain: B

You can really see the frustration and fatigue in the face of John McCain, especially when it comes to immigration. Surprisingly, the Arizona Senator has been slowly rising in the polls, mostly because of his aggressive stance on the war in Iraq. Mr. McCain started out flat on his illegal immigration answer but made a great point about joining the Senate to “do the hard things, not the easy things” this should be the direction he will take on the issue for the rest of the election cycle. As usual, McCain provided very strong answers on foreign policy and took Mitt Romney to school on the issue of torture and water boarding. His smartest move of the night was to go after Ron Paul’s anti-war stance which can bring him some much needed attention and place the focus on his strong foreign policy experience. Currently, the problem with McCain is that he appears aged and tired; he is going to need some more energy to make it past the primaries.

On the Fence

Congressman Ron Paul: C+

While Mr. Paul will not receive the Republican nomination, his message has resonated among the libertarian wing of the GOP. Currently, the problem with Mr. Paul is he isn’t ready for primetime. You can tell that the Texas Representative is not the greatest natural speaker and that tends to trip him up. Additionally, Mr. Paul has a nasty habit of actually answering the questions that he is being asked. During the debate, the Congressman received a bizarre question about the transcontinental highway; to his credit, Paul gave a fairly detailed report on the development of trade relations and national sovereignty; while educational, such answers are not what people want to hear. Paul has a great message and is the lone voice for a lot of displaced economic conservatives but he needs to get better at tailoring his talking points and using his speaking time to focus on issues that resonate. Overall, Paul did fairly well and, for the most part, held his own against John McCain on the war in Iraq but he could make even more headway if he spent some time with a speech coach.

On a side note: It seems that the only Paul supporters I run into are stoned, confused hippies and college professors. Are there any normal people supporting Ron Paul?

The Ugly

Senator Fred Thompson: C-

Someone needs to tell Fred Thompson’s campaign manager to give him a few Red Bull’s before he attends the next debate. It must be so frustrating to be a ‘Fredhead” as the Senator has the right philosophy but lacks the charisma and fire to communicate his message. Right out of the gate, Thompson fell flat and aside from a quick jab at Giuliani’s hiring practices, he was a complete non-factor in Florida. Each year, candidates will tell you that we are facing the most important election of our lifetime – while that may not apply in 2008, we are in a time when Republican frustration is higher than it has been in years and conservatives are looking for someone to step up and reclaim the Grand Old Party. If Fred Thompson does not shake his campaign up soon there would be no reason for him to continue past South Carolina.

Governor Mitt Romney: D

The Governor had the most to lose in this debate and he most certainly lost it. Romney really needed a strong performance in Florida to keep his declining support from bolting to Mike Huckabee. To his credit, the former Massachusetts Governor aggressively went after the records of his opponents; however, I don’t know if you knew this, but Mitt Romney isn’t the smoothest of characters and it showed. One of the risks of locking horns with your opponent is that he might win. In Romney’s case both Giuliani and Huckabee out played him and left the Governor looking overaggressive and ill-prepared. At times, Romney looked flustered and frustrated and even offered some Hillary type non answers to simple questions. I really think that this is the end for Mitt Romney, it says a lot about a candidate who spends over 50 million dollars in a primary and can only garner about 10% of the vote. There is a lesson to be learned here: in politics, money doesn’t always ensure victory and knowledge is half the battle!

For the record I am boycotting Tom Tancredo out of general principle. I have also made an executive decision: Duncan Hunter is no longer running for President.

The Genius of Capitalism

2007-11-30T18:53:00.000-08:00

In light of the recent controversy......

The "Not as funny and really kind of sad that this happened" Article

Coming Up Next

2007-11-30T09:53:00.000-08:00

Republican Presidential Debate Commentary will be up next.

The Religious Right Straw Man

2007-11-29T08:34:00.000-08:00

The names Pat Robinson and Jerry Falwell are enough to make most people – both Republican and Democrat, cringe. To most, they represent the very worst of the conservative movement and serve as the lightning rods that fuel a strong amount of criticism from the left. In 2006 it was not uncommon to hear Democratic candidates take quick jabs at the perceived power accumulated by evangelical Christians. While many of the comments and anger directed at Falwell and Robertson are most certainly justified, can we honestly be fair and objective while simultaneously placing even a small majority of evangelicals in the same category as these individuals? The truth is that the political beliefs of the ‘religious right’ and traditional conservatives are not really all that different (although their priorities certainly are variant).

Of all the issues consistently referred to in a negative context, the social conservative belief in the ‘sanctity of marriage’ is the most cited. No other issue is pointed out more by those on the left than the ‘homophobic’ tendencies of the far right regarding the rights and liberties of the gay community. Let us first take this current catchphrase in context of where the Democratic Party currently stands. I find it terribly ironic that many on the left advocate the right to privacy, freedom, and liberty when it comes to the issues of abortion and gay marriage but furiously fight the spread of the same principles when it comes to nearly any other issue on the political spectrum. We currently have eight Democratic Presidential Candidates who are blatantly arguing against school choice, the fair tax, NAFTA, economic freedom, and limited government – all which would provide more freedoms to all Americans; yet each candidate wants to make it perfectly clear that these same freedoms that they hold in such little regard should only be spread in select circumstances. I’ll be the first to admit that the common social conservative simultaneous belief in limited government, regulated marriages and school prayer are embarrassingly inconsistent; however, when it comes to the quintessential national issues, most evangelicals have it right.

Additionally, the constant claims of the hijacking of the current Republican Party are overstated. While there may have been a larger percentage of evangelicals that voted for George W. Bush in 2004, the disastrous results of the mid-term elections in 2006 show that it takes more than the religious vote for Republicans to win. One of the more underreported events of the upcoming 2008 election was the lack of media coverage of the so-called Republican ‘Values Voter’ Debate. In a time when political campaigns are micromanaged by degree specific professionals, one would think that the four top-tier candidates would have attended a debate held by their so-called base; they didn’t. In fact, the debate was considered a flop and had little or no impact on the 24 news cycle or polls. It should also be noted that Pat Robertson’s recent endorsement of Rudy Giuliani did not change his polling numbers across the nation.

It would be naïve to say that there is NO divide in the Republican Party. There is an overlying frustration among traditional conservatives about the emphasis placed on so-called values issues. Many find it strange (and frustrating) that those who continuously complain about the inefficiencies of government want the very same government to step in to reduce the perceived moral erosion of our society. Mike Huckabee’s current popularity is a clear tribute to this mentality. However, as we move further into the election season it is almost certain that Mr. Huckabee’s momentum will slow as more and more attention is focused on his record. Another underreported fact is Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s consistent nationwide polling, I believe that this shows that while passionate, the evangelical bloc of the Republican Party is not stupid and know that issues like national security and economic prosperity sometimes trump personal beliefs. Many on the left have built a religious straw man, let us hope for the sake of the conservative movement that it stays that way.

Links and Updates

2007-11-27T09:33:00.000-08:00

I realize that I didn't post anything yesterday - I passed out early. I'll have a nice piece on the 'Religious Right Straw Man' up by tonight. In the meantime here are some good articles I found this morning:

An Optimistic Report on the Economy from the New York Times? Who Would Have Thought....

An Interesting Article on Ron Paul and his 'Internet Revolution'

Pat Buchanan on George W. Bush's Blind Ideology

Senator Trent Lott to resign soon

Thomas Sowell on the top 1% Tax Bracket

Links for your Fancy

2007-11-25T15:45:00.000-08:00

****Featured Column of the Day****

A good friend passed this George Will column on compassionate conservativism along to me. I highly recommend checking it out.

Interesting Heritage Artricle on Democrat Lawmakers Representing Wealthy Districts

The Economist says California's Economy 'Sliding'

Great Fred Barnes Article about Limiting Government

Less Destructive Stem-Cell Research Breakthrough

Dr. Walter Williams on the Greatest Generation

Is Mike Huckabee a Model Candidate?

2007-11-25T00:03:00.000-08:00

Compassionate Conservativism should be dead. To the typical voting conservative, the waning remnants of a tax-cut and spend Republican majority ended the minute Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi started talking about fiscal responsibility (because if anyone knows about fiscal discipline it is Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi). To many, it is clear that in recent years, the Republican Party has veered from its foundational principles and is paying the price for contributing to the surge of unnecessary earmarks, lack of accountability, and acceptance of government growth.

If you look to the left, besides the war in Iraq, the most common criticism of the Republican Party has been the emergence of a nanny state policy advocated by many members of the religious right. While the evangelical wing of the Republican Party is a sensitive topic that I won’t discuss in this post, let us at least concede that it is fairly easy to criticize a party who says we should be focusing more energy and resources to a monumentous struggle with Radical Islam while simultaneously attempting to pass a frivolous, politically driven Federal Amendment to ban gay marriage.

So, in a time when Republicans are looking to restore the foundational conservative ideas of individual freedom, limited government, and a lower tax burden and liberals are increasingly vocal about their dislike for the religious right, why are we considering Mike Huckabee as the Republican presidential nominee? In the current political climate, it would seem that Governor Huckabee would be the worst person to represent us in 2008. In the conservative movement there is a strong push to redirect the Republican Party; “Principles!” we say, “We need to get back to our principles!” I would argue that there is no other candidate who veers farther from the traditional GOP principles of limited government than Mike Huckabee.

In regards to his economic record, CATO, the Club for Growth and the National Review have all written unfavorable reports on the Governor’s poor history in Arkansas. Additionally, Mr. Huckabee’s generic cries for reevaluating our Free Trade Agreements with neighboring countries threaten to set back over ten years of progress in working with a global economy; since when have conservatives been against free enterprise? Throughout the past three months, Governor Huckabee has adapted an increasingly leftist populous message featuring stories of average, down on their luck, citizens left behind by big, bad corporate America. When he was asked by Wolf Blitzer about why he has received a host of negative attention from many conservatives the Governor gave a reply that, quite frankly, encompasses direction of his campaign; he said,

“Because I’m a threat to some folks who really want an old fashioned establishment Republican that can be controlled by a handful of people on Wall Street.”

I would argue that on the Democratic side, only John Edwards, Bill Richardson, and the Keebler Elf would say something that primitive. I really think that comments like this are harmful because rather than intelligently discussing the benefits of investment, entrepreneurship and incentives, the Governor has dismissed smart business policies as special interests desired by “a handful of people on Wall Street.” I suppose while he’s on the topic of being controlled, Governor Huckabee should explain his support for farm subsidies and the expensive, Iowan pipe dream we call ethanol.

If the Republican Party is truly serious about moving back to its principles while finding an electable candidate that will be able to win against a Democratic Party that has been hijacked by George Soros and Michael Moore, we should think twice before we support a nice guy with questionable ideas.

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T09:08:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Updates will be posted tomorrow as I love to eat and watch football.

New Podcast Link

2007-11-21T09:14:00.000-08:00

I have gone through another podcast entitled Is the Welfare State Justified from an event done by CATO; this was one of their better ones. CATO brings in Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of West Virginia Daniel Shapiro and Brookings Institute Senior Fellow Jason Furman. Again I'll only provide links to podcasts that I've heard and feel that it is worth your time to listen to.

You can find the link here:
Is the Welfare State Justified?

I will also archive it on the top right.

-Bryant

On Mike Huckabee - The Objective Portion

2007-11-20T21:35:00.001-08:00

The Rise of Mike Huckabee.

With recent polls placing him second in the Iowa Caucuses, Mike Huckabee has a promising eleven months ahead of him. Trailing far behind in finances, manpower, and name recognition, the Huckabee campaign has been able to compensate for its disadvantages by relying on the one trait that holds back many of the better funded Republican front runners: the ability to communicate with the ‘average’ American. Four months ago, Fred Thompson was supposed to fill that void; he was, after all, a television and movie star with a loyal following and a strong background of conservative activism – much like someone else we remember. Right? In reality, Fred Thompson ended up – barring a huge turn-a-round – becoming the Crystal Pepsi of political campaigns, a well marketed, terrible product.

And so the void that was supposed to be filled by an over-hyped Thompson campaign has been floundering for quite some time, leaving many Republicans – especially the religious right – looking to adopt another hopeful, enter Mike Huckabee. In a sense, however, the Arkansas Governor has always been around; ever since his, “give us (Hope, Arkansas) another chance” line in the early debates, Mike Huckabee has been a memorable but forgettable candidate. Such is the challenge of a second-tier hopeful who struggles to be noticed among a long list of household names. Fortunately, the Huckabee campaign began gaining traction when the Thompson campaign began to lose it. The first victory for the Governor came during the Ames Straw Poll, a baseless fund raiser that gauges the mobilization abilities of many second tier candidates. Before the Ames vote, Governor Huckabee and Senator Sam Brownback, who has since dropped out of the Presidential Race, engaged in what appeared to be an asinine contest of who could out-rightious the other. The contest hit the highest levels of absurdity when voter-driven telephone calls started emphasizing the religious affiliations of both candidates (Sam Brownback is Catholic while Huckabee is southern Baptist). Despite all of the nonsensical antics that accompanied the conflict, Mike Huckabee escaped with a surprise second place victory behind Mitt Romney and ultimately knocked the Kansas Senator out of the Presidential race.

Since his success in Ames, the Huckabee campaign has enjoyed a solid amount of media coverage and has been bumped up into the first tier of the current Republican candidates. The Governor’s strong, socially conservative policies have enabled him to gain traction among a host of disgruntled Christian conservatives and his loose, down-to-earth speaking style has allowed him communicate better than his rivals the stereotypical, non-committal, overly optimistic, impractical talking points that always accompany a primary election. According to the polls, Mike Huckabee has been gaining much more traction in Iowa than anywhere else nationwide but in a 24 hour news cycle, a second place finish often-times garners as much, if not more media attention than the eventual winner.

In the end, it does not seem like the eventual Nominee spot will land in the hands of Mike Huckabee but his clearly stated populist message and strong religious affiliation make him an attractive candidate that could possibly draw support from some more moderate, church-going Democrats. Additionally, his strong, growing following of supporters could serve useful as the more well-funded, less socially conservative candidates look for a Vice Presidential candidate who could even out the ticket.

Great Huckabee Commercial

2007-11-20T13:09:00.000-08:00

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a huge Mike Huckabee fan but I have to give him credit for having the 'fortitude' and sense of humor to release this ad......

What do you think?

Best Video I've Seen in Quite Awhile

2007-11-20T12:56:00.000-08:00

A Swift Boat Veterans for Truth Parody, good stuff! There were also videos done for:

Hillary Clinton

Barack Obama

Have at it.

Links for your Fancy

2007-11-20T10:46:00.000-08:00

***FEATURED COLUMN OF THE DAY***

This was posted yesterday but I highly encourage everyone to check out The Economist's article on the state of our economy; it was very well done.

Presidential Debate Sites Announced

Sarkozy's Clash with the French Unions

Supreme Court to Rule on D.C. Gun Ban

Thomas Sowell on Income Statistics

Researchers Create Stem Cells Without Destroying Embryos

Barack Leads Hillary in Iowa

2007-11-20T08:54:00.000-08:00

If you read this post this morning I apologize about the poor grammar, I threw it up at the last minute; everything should be fixed now......

A couple of new polls have been released regarding the situation in Iowa and all of them point favorably to Barack Obama. According to a recent ABC/Washington Post Poll, despite his mediocre performance at the last debate, Senator Barack Obama has a new 4 point lead on Hillary Clinton and an 8 point lead over John Edwards. The level of support for the top four candidates in the state of Iowa are as follows:

Senator Barack Obama – 30%

Senator Hillary Clinton – 26%

Senator John Edwards – 22%

Governor Bill Richardson – 11%

On a lighter note, an AP poll was released that actually asked individuals who they would pick last on their bowling team. I wish I was creative enough to make that up; who bowls anymore? Do you know anyone who has actually joined a bowling team? In any case, Hillary Clinton was picked last by BOTH Republicans AND Democrats. Personally, I would have picked Dennis Kucinich because I have a fleeting belief that he wouldn’t be able to pick up the ball…..

By far the most important aspect of the Washington Post poll of Iowans was whether a “new direction of ideas” or “strength and experience” mattered most. In a strong blow to Senator Clinton, 55 percent of Iowans said that they favored new ideas over 33 percent who preferred experience. Additionally, among those who favored new ideas, 43% were in favor of Barack Obama as compared to 17% for Hillary Clinton.

Those numbers are HUGE. What made Hillary Clinton such an attractive candidate to Democrats was her experience and familiarity with the political process; if these numbers hold or dwindle more she could face a legitimate race for her party’s nomination.

Links for your Fancy

2007-11-19T10:38:00.000-08:00

These should hold you down until tonight....

Obama Catches up to Clinton in Iowa

Phyllis Schlafly on the Constitution

Democrats and Illegal Immigration

Great Report on the American Economy from The Economist

Time reports that Americans are Reading Less

Newsweek's Article on Reading and Amazon.com

National Review calls Huckabee's policies 'Half Baked'

Democratic Debate Assessment

2007-11-18T21:25:00.001-08:00

Prior to Thursday's debate, we saw the beginnings of what promises to be a much more aggressive primary which was sparked by Senator Clinton’s poor performance in the prior democratic debate hosted by Meet the Press host, Tim Russert.

To be honest, I don’t know what the Clinton camp was thinking. In the period of two weeks, the Senator’s staff managed to play the gender card, leak a comment calling for Tim Russert to be shot, and accuse fellow democratic candidates of using ‘Swiftboat’ tactics to get ahead of Mrs. Clinton. Swiftboating? Really? Last time I checked, calling a political opponent out in a debate on a legitimate issue that she has failed to answer didn’t cross over into the ‘I’m going to personally attack your military service history’ realm.

Such ludicrous comments and a veiled warning to CNN by the Clinton camp prompted CNN anchor and debate moderator Wolf Blitzer to speak out earlier in the week saying, “If she can’t handle the heat during a Democratic contest, wait until the Republicans really start going after her.” Overall, however, CNN didn’t really push any of the candidates to elaborate on many of their positions although and this is how they fared:

___________________________________________________________________

Senator Hillary Clinton: B

Prior to the last debate I think that Mrs. Clinton really separated herself from the rest of the pack which showed in her polling numbers; recently, her advantage has slipped somewhat as both voters and candidates are more aware of her ability to talk eloquently while avoiding any definable answer to many of the more controversial issues that arise.

In the beginning of the night, Senator Clinton was asked what she meant when she said that she, “wasn’t at her best” at the last debate. I think she handled the question fairly well considering the circumstances and she was able to alter her squabble with Barack Obama to one about healthcare rather than her indecision.

Mrs. Clinton’s best moment of the night by far came when she was asked about her comments regarding the six ‘boys’ turning up the heat on her. Hillary quickly retorted that her opponents weren’t ganging up on her because she was a woman but because she was winning; it was a good, powerful answer.

Overall, Senator Clinton put on a fairly strong performance but you could see that she certainly was not on cruise control like she was in the prior debates. It will be interesting to see the dynamic of the next debate as she preformed much better to a few tough questions than I believe her opponents thought she would.

____________________________________________________________________

Senator Barack Obama: B-

Running second in the polls, Senator Obama seems to be content with his current position. It must be frustrating to be an Obama supporter and watch him continue to stand on the sideline. It is clear that Barack has two distinct advantages over Mrs. Clinton: he didn’t vote for the war in Iraq and he has a much more charismatic personality. Currently, Mr. Obama is relying on his charisma but hasn’t really broken through that wall that would put him on equal footing with Hillary.

Senator Obama’s initial attempt to engage Senator Clinton on her non-answer to the question of distributing driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants was a welcome change from his usual practice of avoiding any strong challenges to his opponents answers; however, Barack let the argument slip away towards the issue of health care, an issue that is one of Senator Clinton’s cornerstone issues.

Ironically, most likely the worst part of the night for Senator Obama was his inability to answer Wolf Blitzer’s question on distributing driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. In a rare misstep, Barack stumbled quite visibly on his answer; much to the chagrin of Senator Clinton.

____________________________________________________________________

Senator John Edwards: B-

Senator Edwards had quite a feisty crowd on his hands and actually drew quite a lot of boos considering he was among democrats. In order to make a name for himself, John Edwards has shed his sunny, optimistic image and has transformed into a more vocal and aggressive candidate.

As expected, Edwards aggressively went after Senator Clinton about her record but didn’t really make much of a case for his candidacy throughout the night. The Senator received a fairly nasty question regarding the recent shifts in his personal philosophy compared to his voting record but he handled it well. Edwards’s most resonating statement came when he was speaking of the need to get rid of ‘Corporate Democrats,’ a clear stab and Hillary. I particularly enjoyed Senator Edwards’s handling of the Keebler Elf’s errr I mean Dennis Kucinich’s quippy comments referring to them as ‘cute.’

John Edwards has without a doubt become much more of a strong, memorable figure but his aggressiveness did not seem to go over well and he continues to place a consistent third in most major polls.

____________________________________________________________________

Senator Chris Dodd: A-

I like Chris Dodd; I don’t agree with much of what he advocates but he is smart, well spoken, experienced, and has the whitest hair of anyone I have ever seen. If you haven’t figured it out already, Senator Dodd is running for a cabinet position and from his performances I wouldn’t be surprised if he received one.

In a field of candidates that continue to veer to the left, Senator Dodd (and to her credit, Senator Clinton) has consistently stood by some positions that are unpopular among some liberal activists including placing national security over human rights (which he reiterated during the debate), the possibility of merit based pay for teachers, and to an extent his no vote on drivers licenses for illegal immigrants.

While I was pretty impressed with him, it is important to point out that with little chance of winning, Senator Dodd can afford to be more light-hearted and candid than some of the other viable candidates.

____________________________________________________________________

Cookie Factory Worker Dennis Kucinich: D+

I don’t understand why this guy doesn’t just come out and run as a socialist. Representative Kucinich is essentially running as an anti-war candidate and probably got drunk one day and decided that it would be fun to promise the American public free everything while he has a national soapbox.

As usual, Kucinich brought most of his answers back to calling his opponents on their votes for war in Iraq and NAFTA. The majority of Kucinich’s comments were of the winded type save from his comment on not voting for the Patriot Act because he ‘read it.’ In Cleveland, Representative Kucinich is running into a couple of challenges for his congressional seat due to his quixotian Presidential runs.

____________________________________________________________________

Senator Joe Biden: B+

It is a shame that two of the most qualified candidates (Dodd and Biden) are afterthoughts in the Democratic Primary. Of all the Democratic candidates, Joe Biden has the experience and practicality to lead as President of the United States but he stumbled right out of the block with his questionable comments about Barack Obama.

As always, Senator Biden kept his message fairly positive and drew some much needed laughter from his one word answers. Like Senator Obama, Biden has the ability to communicate his ideas adequately but unlike the Senator for Chicago he cannot seem to breakthrough enough to be considered a viable candidate.

____________________________________________________________________

Governor Bill Richardson: C-

I really thought that Governor Richardson could be a legitimate dark horse; he is experienced, popular among the voters in New Mexico, practical in the decisions that he has made, and Latino. Unfortunately, Richardson has a terrible habit of embarking on long winded, unfocused answers that come off as amateurish.

It is clear at this point that Richardson is running to be Vice-President and it shows. In the past couple of debates, this one not withstanding, he his been attempted to emphasize his experience while throwing out vague solutions and handouts to complex problems.

Lou Dobbs for President?

2007-11-18T10:21:00.000-08:00

In recent days there have been reports about CNN News Anchor and vehement anti-free trade activist, Lou Dobbs, pondering an independent run for the Presidency. As an unfortunate connoisseur of unnecessary news programs, I could not be less excited. Lou Dobbs is the peer equivalent of that friend that you invite to the bar who sulks in the corner about nobody paying attention to him and whines about how his girlfriend won’t return his text messages. Harsh assessment? Yes, but for the most part it is a fair one. For those of you who haven’t seen Lou Dobbs Tonight, let me condense it down to five elements and save you the migraine:

Lou Dobbs opens up with a ten minute monologue about a shrinking middle class barely treading water because of illegal immigrants and free trade.
A cycle of news specials play about one of three issues:

Corporate interest shaping Republican policy
Illegal immigrants running around recklessly
Some sort of scandal at an overseas factory

Lou Dobbs comes back on and converses with some talking head about how our country is headed straight to hell.
Lou Dobbs reads emails from viewers who talk about how our country is headed straight to hell.
Lou Dobbs signs off reminding us that our country is headed straight to hell.

There is no doubt that our country has issues and problems but closing off markets in the middle of the technological revolution, placing blame on immigrants – legal or illegal, and constantly complaining will not help. Like all nations, we have been blessed with a host of incredible minds that the majority of us can only hope to emulate. However, unlike other states, this country has been fortunate enough to have the distinct ability to provide capital to fund a host of aggressive programs. Foreign countries are catching up to the distinct advantage that we once held but we can succeed by ensuring our that our citizens can continue to do what they do best; develop new ideas and products that will push us forward in the future.

Podcasts

2007-11-16T16:14:00.000-08:00

FYI - You may or may not have noticed that my current podcast links are limited and from the CATO Institute; this is for two reasons:
1. CATO is a great organization
2. I do not want to blindly provide you with bad podcasts that I have not heard yet.
3. It is unfortunate, but most organizations do not have a user friendly method of downloading podcasts from their websites - CATO does.

This will change shortly as I am in the process of working with an uploading site that will allow you to download audio files directly without having to acquire any extra programs - this should be up and running next week.

I also want to point out that the majority of the audio files I will be providing will be long in length, the reason for my decision to provide these files specifically is because oftentimes five minute 'daily' podcasts will not provide any significant insight into the topics they cover. I like the Rolling Stones as much as you do but do yourself a favor and listen to some educational material as a substitute to music every once-and-a-while, especially when traveling!

Thanks,
Management

Welcome

2007-11-16T15:40:00.000-08:00

The current growth of registered independents reflects an increasing disconnect between reasonable, educated individuals and the misguided actions and policies of our current leaders and lawmakers. Granted, there are a number of strong, eloquent statesmen who are working hard to reverse the harmful policies of our recent past but that number has proven to be few and far between the brilliant minds that first established the foundational principles upon which our country once functioned. In a time where we are faced with an ever increasing bureaucracy, uninhibited spending, ridiculous incumbency rates, and vocal calls for more government intervention into our private lives we should step back and reflect upon the direction that our country is headed.

There has been an increasing sentiment among many disgruntled activists and it is simply the request that the government leave us alone; this is a good thing. The purpose of this initiative is to focus on the current events of the day and provide information for those interested in redistributing freedom –not resources - back to the American people with wit, reason, and poor grammar.