I know that some of you must think I’ve gone off the deep-end, but I've been saying all along that we must concentrate on jobs, which will take care of the deficit and the debt. The naysayers will watch the "Debt Clock” for us as if it's a ticking time bomb. The entire world is in a financial slowdown, and we would be ahead if we graded on a curve, but we don't and our standards are much higher than that. Our underpinnings are relatively durable. Don't mistake my last sentence for John McCain's “the fundamentals of our economy are strong" smack dab in the middle of the worst recession since the Great Depression.
Our new found endless supply of natural gas gives as an upper hand that we didn't have before. It burns 30% cleaner than fossil fuels. It's making us less dependent of a foreign energy source but most importantly; it's cheaper. I'm not a fan of T. Boone Pickens, but I agree with his plan, which would convert 8 million 18- wheelers to natural gas. That would enable us to get off of 75% oil dependency from Saudi Arabia.
Although they are kicking and screaming because of the new regulations; our financial sector is pretty stable and the stock market is doing great, which means worker's 401Ks are growing.
There's no doubt that we have a slow improving jobless recovery but that's what future recessions will look like because we no longer have a large manufacturing base. There's also no doubt that we have to go back to strong fiscal policies, but we have to recover first. Mitt Romney says that 130,000 jobs will be lost with the current defense cuts the president is proposing. Welcome to Keynesian economics, Mitt because that's what the initial stimulus did. It put a floor on the government jobs lost such as teacher's firemen, and police officers. A government job is a government job.
I don't know why the press says that Mitt has to introduce himself to the public because I understand where he's coming from. Mitt Romney knows finances and he knows business economics’, but he doesn't understand the middle class. He says under his plan the middle- class will not pay taxes on the interest, dividends, and capital gains, but he won't say that he will not eliminate their $1000 child tax credit, home-mortgage interest and property tax deduction, or any other tax incentives that they would rather have. As Bill Clinton said the other night, the arithmetic doesn't make sense. He has changed his mind again because now Mitt Romney will keep the “no denial for pre existing illnesses “and keeping your 26 year on your policy. The Obama Administration was able to bargain with the insurance companies and the providers using the 31 million additional customers as a bargaining chip. Mitt Romney said that the free- market would take care of everyone with pre-existing conditions. Good luck with that Mitt; they didn't before, and nothing has changed to make me believe they will change their mind.
I believe that we will take steps to avoid falling off fiscal cliff because the Democrats do not want to see the steep cuts on entitlements, and the Republicans don't want to see those same extreme cuts on defense spending. That's the reason the sequester was agreed on in the first place. Mitt Romney said it was a mistake for the Paul Ryan led Republicans to have agreed on the sequester in the first place. Paul Ryan was having a difficult time telling Norah O'Donnell of CBS why he voted for, and now is against it. It's like buying a brand-new car and returning it before the first payment is due.
We have to remember that growth is an end- product and not part of a fiscal plan as Grover Norquist would like us to believe. It's not a plan if it can't get it through both houses of Congress, attain the president's signature, and receive the stamp of approval from the Congressional Budget Office. The opposition can put all the accolades they want on Paul Ryan for submitting a plan, but it's still a partisan wish list. We do have something to work with because both parties want to extend the Bush tax cuts for the middle-class, but the Republicans want to extend them on everyone which will explode the deficit even more, and it will do nothing to create jobs.Absolutism is not a prescription for compromise.
Bring on the debates says Fox News's Kim Strassel saying that Mitt Romney was an excellent debater but how would she know? The people Romney debated is not a good metric for debating President Obama. I hope the Democrats boycott Fox News because I could feel the pain Austan Goolsbee was going through with Chris Wallace yesterday, as he kept putting up charts for his straw-man arguments.I did like Juan William’s answer to Chris Wallace question “ what about the wrong way number?” Juan said" its has always been high."
24 comments:
EA
I think Ann is Mitt's comfort blanket.
dale
I knew you would come unhinged when I heard Romney said that he would keep parts of Obamacare...And now he's admitting that Keynesian economics' works...He doesn't want to cut defense budget because it will cost jobs...Duh? That's what we been saying all along.
I'm beginning to believe you, the more he gets behind; the more he reverts back to his old self.
He did tried to strengthen his right ring credentials by endorsing Iowa representative Steve King and meeting with Pat Roberson...:-)
AAAAAARRRRGGGGGGGGGGG! I can hardly wait for our GOP Exec Meeting at 5:30 today. The meeting is held at GOP Headquarters second floor office on Main Street The meeting is open to the public. We will have a very good presentation from a member who attended the GOP Convention. If you or your readers can attend, then and only then, will you understand why this Republican is upset at all these Establishment Rinos. They are not good for our country period. Remember Mike, I am a lifetime and always will be a conservative Republican. But things have got to change. Hope to see you at the meeting. You need to be a witness of how corrupt our political leaders have become.
Oh Mike. If you attend the GOP Executive Meeting today, wear a bag. We sure would not want to know who you are. You may be an Establishment Republican after all. Can't really tell the difference now days. LOL
Speaking of cutting the budget. If it is all about jobs. We can still cut the defense budget and reduce our debt. Pay every soldier and defense contractor who is laid off $50,000 a year to not work. We'd still probably save $300 billion every year.
Dale
Thanks for the invite, and I'm sure there's a lot I could learn but I would feel like the "fox in hen house" and feel like General Custard did on his last stand....:-0
I think I understand the rift and because I've heard it on national talk shows. I heard some republican operatives say a political loss in a couple months from now will cause a shakeup in the GOP but another said it will take three consecutive losses because of the hard headed element inside the party not wanting to change. Rand Paul spoke of the GOP giving up on the north, east and west part of our country, where he thinks there might be some Libertarian/Republicans in those regions.
Your example reminds me of an old Keynesian economics' joke “you pay a worker to dig a hole and then pay another worker to fill up the hole."
Your favorite entity (the Federal Reserve) will probably help out this week with QE 3.
I admire your gumption and perseverance; oh if I were 20 years younger, I would be your worst nightmare on the other side..:-)...Chris Bell and the new head of the Texas Democrats Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa are making the rounds to turn Texas purple by 2016.
Mike, like it or not, we are all in this together. When we can not trust our leaders... it ain't good. When any or all of us are feeling deceived it is not good for the rest.
If it makes any difference, Dr Paul's message has been accepted on the college campuses around the nation. Where Romney drew a hundred, Dr Paul filled arenas. Liberty and freedom has be writen on the hearts and in the minds of our young leaders. My hope is that when they are ready to accept the handoff, there will be something left to grab.
Dale
I agree wholeheartedly that we are in this together but our feelings of distrust are not mutual.
Unfortunately college students don't vote and in some states many students are not aware that their college ID might not be suitable for voting because it doesn't have an expiration date on it.
Ron Paul does appeal to college students and so does President Obama.. Want to talk about filling up football stadiums?
I believe a voter goes through many phases,(1) there's that first vote where you probably voted the way your parents did,(2) the one after you went off to college and got indoctrinated into saving the world,(3) the one where you voted on issues of raising a family and saving for college, and finally the one of saving Social Security and Medicare.... In between that you have radical groups like Occupy Wall Street, the Tea Party, Green Party, and various forms of liberty, constitution, and freedom parties who have no chance of winning a general election. Then there's the single issue voters such as the social conservatives.
I think our difference is emphasis; I'm more worried about the middle-class of today than I am of the college students. I think we need to establish a strong middle- class because they consume the goods and solve the demand problem which leads to more jobs. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't be investing in education while money is dirt cheap. Bill Clinton said the other night that we have three million open positions but we'd don't have the people with the education to fill them.
We're talking about monetary issues but there are also the issues on the horizon such as China building up their military, Iran getting closer to having a nuclear weapon, and our other foreign policy commitments.
We'll "get er done" but there still a lot of filling in the blanks..... It all starts with "we're in this together."
I was just kidding about Ann Romney. Apparently she isn't kidding. For a second, while reading her rationale, I thought I was reading The Onion!
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2012/09/romneys-wife-to-stand-next-to-him-at-debates.html
That's very interesting EA, it looks like he has mommy issues or he might be scared of the bully President Obama.
I can't imagine they'll stick with that plan because can you imagine what Joe six-pack will say? Hiding behind your wife skirt is not a image that you want out there.
I think 'they' think her attachment to his hip makes him more likable and human-like. I'm all for supportive wives, but at a debate??? Really??? Will make him look like the putz that he is.
What a maroon! (that was my best Bugs Bunny imitation!)
The debates are about a candidate's knowledge of the important issues of today not like ability....I'm thinking it's for a different reason...As a man I would not try to embarrass him in front of his wife....I think they think reporters,pundits and a debate opponent will go easier on Romney if his wife is there...I could be wrong,I would like to know what others think.
I can sleep better tonight because Romney won't let anyone take God off our coins....as if anyone is trying..lol
I predicted there will be a civil war within the Republican Party after 2012. As for the Democrats, they better hope that their leaders don't overreach and overreact in government.
If the Texas Democratic Chair is very serious he should start doing recruiting candidates for 2014 and host major forums now.
You might be right BIgJ about the GOP internal fights.
I think that the Republicans hold on to the House of Representatives
which will keep the Democrats from overreaching
Did you happen to catch the article by Chris Bell saying that Democrats will have to change if they want to make Texas a purple state? He said that Texas Democrats can't be like California Democrats because oil is a major product of Texas. He said a tea party takeover will leave some conservative Republicans looking for a new party that's not so extreme.
Where is the article? You got me interested.
It was in the Texas Tribune early last week...I tried to Google it but I didn't have any luck.
If the Democrats ever turn Texas blue,it will be nearly impossible for Republican to be president...Texas has 38 electoral votes,California 55 and NY 29 for a total of 119 of the 270 needed.
The ideas which are created in college stick with you for a lifetime. One day soon todays and 2008s college students will be the GOP leaders. It may not be in 4 or even 12 years. But soon the GOP Establishment will be history. And after this election possibly sooner than later. The Establishment are scared. They changed the rules at the Convention so as to put down opposing ideas. They would not seat national delegates duly selected at the state level. They will reap what they have sown.
Don't count on your color purple. The fight is with the NRC.
Dale
I'm sure you are correct about your political party and it sounds like you have a plan.
This is why Chuck Todd of NBC and Charlie Cook and several political experts are viewing Texas as a possible swing state.....Like the map of the United States which looks like a sea of red,Texas looks the same BUT as the U.S. map ,people are moving closer to the big cities.
Rural areas tend to be very conservative; urban voters ,not so much.
Democrats have a real good chance in Austin,Dallas,El Paso,San Antonio,Houston, and the Rio Grande Valley....They need some leaders and a mass voter registration drive and hope that Texas will always have to submit their voter redistricting to the Feds...:-)
I am surprised that Ron Paul didn't bolt the party like T.R did in 1912.
Mike. Texas will never be blue. If one Texas Democrat tries to be as liberal as CA democrats then it is over for the rest of them or us.
BigJ,Liberalism is not a disease;it's a concept, so ONE lonely politician is not going to make a differance...Chris Bell thinks the Texas Democrats wil have to follow ways of someone like John Sharp whereas they will be fiscal conservatives but won't go along with the more extreme social conservative policies....I can see that happening but the fact remains URBAN voters are not as conservative as Rural voters and people in Texas are migrating to the cities.
I was just using California as an example but not many people remember that it was a
Swing state that elected GOP governors until 1994 when Prop. 187 was passed.
Today,there is no republican who can win a state wide race.
Mike.
Unchecked liberalism is a disease. Our national energy policy, abortion by demand, and madding support for unions are my reasons.
BigJ
We've wandered off the off the topic and I'm not going to and argue your straw-man arguments. Today is 9/11 and I'm going to respect that but I'm going to try to further explain what I meant.
I don't know how this all came about but from what I heard it came from Hillary supporters.
She is not officially running for president in 2016 but some of her supporters, in an unofficial capacity, are examining her chances. They found that in the 2008 primary election, Hillary got more votes than republican candidates running for president. That was an eye- opener.
Personally, I agree with Dale's assessment of not getting too optimistic because of the three money power brokers in the United States who reside in Texas. The foundation of Texas politics and policies are already set in place with Rick Perry appointees.
You're certainly entitled to your position but it's not necessary to use inflammatory rhetoric because I don't know any human being that wants "abortion on demand." Safe, legal and rare" is a far different cry from “abortion on demand" which is the language the people on the far- right use..... Unions at best, only represent 7% of the working force in the private sector and they are powerless in states with “right –to work” laws and Texas is one of those states.... We don't have a National Energy policy.
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