Fighting to Preserve Liberty in America
“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.’” – Ronald Reagan
Our friends on the left scoff at such words as those above, but the longer they are in power and providing “help”, the more they get tied up in knots. Let me walk you through an example using Congressman Tim Bishop as the key player.
There’s good news and bad news coming out of the Tim Bishop campaign. The good news is that he has a new ad out so we don’t have to keep watching the same ad he has been running incessantly for the past five weeks. The bad news it’s about the one subject that Tim Bishop wants to talk about, outsourcing. It’s the same old stuff, wrapped in a new package. Why can’t Tim Bishop talk about his record? Is he embarrassed by it or afraid of it.
The Sherrod incident is the latest in a long line of shoot from the lip misfires from the Obama administration, from the president on down. Here is a review of some of the more egregious of them:
Is this just the lack of experience or does the Obama administration need adult supervision? They jump to these wild conclusions and then end up backtracking days later. After eighteen months in office you would think they would have learned by now how to govern.
Another case without as quick a trigger is the passage of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill. After taking office President Obama appointed a commission, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to investigate the root causes of the crisis. A prudent person might say, let’s hear what the commission finds out and then write legislation to address those root causes. With months more to go before that commission’s work will be done, we have another 2,000+ page bill coming out of Congress and signed by the president to put new regulations in place on the financial services industry. Why the rush? Wouldn’t it be better to fix the real problems rather than what Chris Dodd and Barney Frank think are the problems and let them paper over their own culpability in the creating the crisis? Why were Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac excluded? In one of the hearings before the commission an argument was made that AIG did not have to be bailed out, that there were measures in place to ride out the crisis and that in the long run their policies would be fine. Whether that is true or not, will have to wait for the final report, but the “just don’t stand there, do something,” mentality is disconcerting. I certainly hope we are never faced with another Cuban Missile Crisis with this team in place.
It was like the movie Rocky the Democrats (Rocky) were getting pounded left and right over their heavy handed tactics. They crammed through a health care bill that an overwhelming majority of the country opposed. They moved on to financial reform and they still couldn’t get any traction. Their poll numbers continued to drop and it was looking like a dismal election coming up in the fall.
And then, just like in the movie Rocky swings from his heels and connects knocking the champ to the canvas. In this case it was the SEC charging Goldman Sachs with fraud. Now they could fire a full fusillade of class warfare at the Republicans and either get Republicans to help pass the financial reform bill or be tarred as the party of the evil bankers and greedy Wall Street robber barons. But unlike the movie, right after knocking the opponent down, when the referee sends Rocky back to a neutral corner he slips in his own sweat, flips on his back and knocks himself out. By that I mean the news came out that employees of the SEC spent an inordinate amount of their time watching porn instead of the financial markets. How do you expand the role of government on the heels of that disclosure?
Trying to Make Up for Bernie Madoff?
When Bernie Madoff’s ponzi scheme was in full swing, Harry Markopolos brought the scam to the SEC practically tied in a bow. The SEC did not respond. Perhaps they were too busy…, well never mind.
With the Democrats trusty weapon, class warfare, holstered it’s time to delve more deeply into this financial reform legislation.
In a letter to Senate majority leader Harry Reid and minority leader Mitch McConnell, luminaries including former SEC Chief Accountant Lynn Turner, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, hedge fund owner Jim Chanos, former Lehman Brothers Vice Chair Peter Solomon, former S&L investigator Bill Black, former Senate Banking Committee Chief Economist Rob Johnson, economists Dean Baker, Barry Eichengreen and others pointed out that Dodd’s proposed financial reform legislation wouldn’t have prevented the current crisis … and won’t prevent the next crisis.
So tell me again why we are doing this? It’s all about more government control and more power in Washington, not about fixing any real problem. Where are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in this bill? They were at the very core of the financial meltdown. In other words it’s all politics and it’s all straight out of the Saul Alinsky tome Rules for Radicals:
Rule No. 13. Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. In conflict tactics there are certain rules that [should be regarded] as universalities. One is that the opposition must be singled out as the target and ‘frozen.’…
“…any target can always say, ‘Why do you center on me when there are others to blame as well?’ When your ‘freeze the target,’ you disregard these [rational but distracting] arguments…. Then, as you zero in and freeze your target and carry out your attack, all the ‘others’ come out of the woodwork very soon. They become visible by their support of the target…’
“One acts decisively only in the conviction that all the angels are on one side and all the devils on the other.” (pps.127-134)
The target in this case, is Wall Street and the Banks. Demonize them. When the “others”, meaning the Republicans, come out to challenge the ineffectiveness of the bill, then they can be attacked as being for the fat cats and against the little guys; class warfare at its ugliest.
Follow the Money
But who is really in bed with the fat cats? The Political Action Committees (PACs), employees, families of employees and other associates of Goldman Sachs gave almost $1 million in campaign contributions to Obama. In this legislation, the concept of too big to fail remains untouched. There will be a $50 billion fund created with money from the top banks to standby if needed for a bailout, but this also gives the impression that the largest banks are now safer because of this fund and therefore can get a lower interest rate on their borrowings compared to smaller banks.
Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman said:
“The Dodd bill has unlimited executive bailout authority. That’s something Wall Street desperately wants but doesn’t dare ask for. The bill contains permanent, unlimited bailout authority.”
Why ask for it when the Obama administration will give it to you. All you have to do is let them smack you around a bit to prime the class warfare pump, and you’re all set.
If you are backstopped by unlimited executive bailout, go ahead, take bigger and bigger risks. The government will step in if you fail. So here we have yet another fat cat (Wall Street/Big Banks) wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing (the little guy; Main Street).
If you want real financial reform, then in the name of capitalism, the big banks and Wall Street have to learn to play with their own money. If they hit a home run, good for them. If they strikeout, they should lose their own money and if they don’t have enough to cover their losses, goodbye. They should not be allowed to take huge risks and if they pay off, everybody there gets a new mansion in the Hamptons, but if they go bust, hand the bill to us. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, we were told were private entities, not part of the government, but wink, wink, nudge, nudge, everyone knew the federal government was standing behind them and would not let them go bust. So they too, got the kind of interest rates, half a point lower than their competitors, based on this implied backing not based on the strength of their balance sheet.
We have to fight this one too. This is just more smoke and mirrors from the Obama administration. Another power grab without any substantive benefit to the American people.
Can liberty be saved? Is there a chance that we can rescue our country from the federal juggernaut that wants to reach down into the deepest recesses of your life and take control? They spend your money with reckless abandon and say, “What Me Worry?” Those in power would have indulged in the trappings of office, sated on money and power, and be long gone with their spoils while the crumpled bill lies on the floor for you and your children and your children’s children to pick up and pay.
They have invited many to the party, to eat, drink, and be merry with promises of “middle class” tax cuts that are the greatest April Fools joke of all time. Don’t worry we’ll get the rich to pay for it all. You know, those evil fat cats on Wall Street. But the Republicans on Wall Street have long be replaced by Democrats. That’s right, Gordon Gecko is a Democrat. 60% of Wall Street contributions went to Democrats vs. Republicans. How long will the top 2% of earners keep shouldering the burden before they slow down, stop, or emigrate. Who will pick up the pieces then? Who will support the drunken revelers that Obama piled on the public dole?
AIG Outrage
All of the outrage by Congressional and Administration leadership over the AIG bonuses is the epitome of hubris. AIG contributed $104,000 to each Barack Obama and Christopher Dodd, during the recent election cycle. Do you remember the brouhaha over language in the stimulus bill that had a loophole that allowed the AIG bonuses to be paid? Dodd said he didn’t include the loophole. Later he said he did include it but at the insistence of the Obama administration. Now is it just me or does anyone else see a quid pro quo here? Then they come out red-faced professing that the bonuses are an outrage. Senator Schumer, who is threatening to unconstitutionally tax the bonuses into oblivion, took $112,000 in contributions from AIG.
Lessons from Hugo Chavez?
More recently President Obama effectively fired the CEO of General Motors and now speaks of bankruptcy. I, among many others, said they should have filed for bankruptcy long before taxpayers bailed them out. So now after we have sunk taxpayer money into GM and Chrysler, Obama steps in and effectively runs the company on “our behalf” as owners of 80% of the company and now says bankruptcy is a good idea! When will the amateur hour come to an end? But watch carefully, because Obama will assiduously avoid offending the auto workers union, despite the fact that the union contracts put US auto makers at a $2000 per car disadvantage against the competition. GM (Government Motors) will now be forced to make cars that satisfy Obama’s left wing supporters but that Americans don’t want to buy. It will be interesting to see how the government forces us to buy them.
What Do the Europeans Think?
For years we have been told by the left that we must listen to what the Europeans are saying. They say we have to consider foreign laws in weighing Supreme Court cases. They decried Bush’s policies as alienating our European friends. So what do the Europeans think of Obama now?
The president of the European Union on Wednesday ripped the Obama administration’s economic policies, calling its deficit spending and bank bailouts “a road to hell.” — Washington Post, March 25
A Very Dangerous Path
In March of 1933 Adolf Hitler, proclaiming a national emergency of a potential communist revolution asked the German legislature, the Reichstag, to grant him emergency powers to deal with the situation. Such a proposal required two-thirds approval by that body. The final vote was 441 in favor, 84 opposed. From that point on, Hitler was dictator.
Rahm Emmanuel likes to say, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” President Obama is taking the current financial crisis to ram through a massive power grab. The legislation is being rammed through with such force and urgency that no one has a chance to read it. What ticking time bomb could be tucked in those pages that get voted on and passed without scrutiny? Just look at the AIG fiasco for the answer. No one seemed to know or admit it was in there. If we allow this to continue, we may find some other provision included in the dead of night that will destroy our country forever.
Be on your guard.
