GOP Senate Candidate Brown Comes Out With first Ad in MA Race

Scott Brown (R) has released the first advertisement in the general election for the U.S. Senate seat once held by Ted and John F. Kennedy, the Boston Globe reports.

In the ad, called Different People, Same Message, JFK morphs into Brown as both read from a 1962 Kennedy speech calling for tax cuts. I have always said the Democratic Party has moved further and further to the left. I like that a moderate Republican can compare himself favorable to JFK. The ad might not work in Georgia, but with Massachusetts' Rockefeller roots it just might work.

Grading Obama

With the anniversary of Obama's inauguration and his upcoming State of the Union speech we all have to get ready to listen to pundits from all persuasions give the obligatory grade for the president's first year. Obama himself famously stated on Oprah that he thought he deserved " a good solid B+."  But before we start arguing whether he deserves a B, C, or D, we should really decide on what exactly we are basing our grade on.

As a teacher I often have to use a rubric to grade a given assignment. For something as basic as an essay I must consider the following: quality of ideas, state of organization, author's voice, word choice, sentence fluency and of course mechanics. After objectively analyzing each set of criteria I can then give a subjective grade for the whole that is justifiable and informative. On what then do we grade a year's presidency?

I can easily imagine every conservative pundit automatically giving President Obama a very low grade because he has done things with which those pundits certainly disagree, such as the stimulus package and healthcare. Just as easy to imagine is a progressive pundit giving the president glowing grades for those same two programs.

However, it is not that cut and dry. Conservatives certainly like that he is moving forward more forcefully in Afghanistan, and liberals have already been complaining that healthcare doesn't go far enough. But shouldn't a grade go beyond a basic political talking point?

So, by what criteria are we to grade? How close he stuck to campaign promises? How the economy is doing? How the center of the country feels about his presidency? Furthermore is a grade even all that telling when we are talking about year one of a presidency?

Earmarks Return...Did They Ever Leave

A constant refrain from campaign '08 was that earmarks were bad and needed to go. Both Obama and McCain agreed on that and tried to out-due each other in how they would work to get rid of them. From The Hill:

Fiscal hawks in Congress say President Barack Obama hasn't followed through on a pledge to lower federal spending on local projects.

Earmarks are expected to total nearly $12 billion in fiscal 2010, according to fiscal watchdog groups. While that number is less than the $15 billion total in 2009, lawmakers from both parties said Obama hasn’t kept up the kind of pressure he showed during his first weeks in office or that he promised as a candidate.

Merry Christmas!

One of my regular reads is Thinking Faith, the online journal of the British Jesuits and for this Christmas holiday I anted to share a recent article on the first Christmas and what it means.

Can we ever really know what happened in Bethlehem at the first Christmas?  Nicholas King SJ suggests that while they may not provide a historical account of the birth of Christ, the gospel narratives still ultimately convey the meaning of the event that we celebrate on 25th December. 

Short excerpt after the jump:

Sobering Reality of the Tea Party Movement

Many of us on the right are operating under the assumption that the Tea Party Movement will help ushering in a new Republican majority in 2 or 4 years. However, Thomas Del Baccaro has a sobering review of this meme.

At its core, the Tea Party movement is a pro-liberty – limited government movement.  Its activists continue to believe in Reagan’s cogent message about government.  Beneath that over-arching theme, Tea Partiers by-in-large are motivated by four major issues. (1) excessive taxation, (2) out-of-control spending, (3) out of control Legislators who pass bills without reading them, and (4) the apparent lack of adherence/respect for our Constitution.  None of those issues should be troublesome for the Republican establishment – yet there is anything but an easy alliance between the Tea Party movement and the Republican establishment.

The reality of today is that the Tea Party movement is more than skeptical of whether the Republican establishment is willing to take a stand on those issues or whether they are more interested in playing Let’s Make a Deal with American principles.  In other words, they do not believe that they are providing effective leadership on those important issues.  Instead, they do things such as offering a Presidential candidate who wanted to buy up all the bad mortgages that government encouraged in the first place.  A government response to a government problem – Reagan would not be pleased – and neither are Tea Partiers.  If Republicans were providing effective leadership on those important issues, I would hazard a guess that there would not be a Tea Party movement today.

Does Congress Speak For You?

With the Senate voting on health care reform this week it is more than interesting to view the latest poll numbers.  American voters "mostly disapprove" of the plan 53% to 36% and disapprove 56% to 38% of President Obama's handling of the health care issue, according to a new Quinnipiac poll.

Will there be reprecussions come next November, or will the electorate forget about the issue by then?

Letter From John McCain

My Friend,

Early this morning at 1am, the Senate voted 60 to 40 in favor of moving the Democrats' health care bill forward. The final vote to pass the bill is scheduled for Christmas Eve, and I pledge to you that I will not only continue to cast my vote against this bill, but will actively fight it every step along the way.

Democrats have used Bernie Madoff-style accounting to assess the cost of health care reform. And when this bill becomes law, the reality of higher taxes and Medicare cuts for seniors will settle in on the American public.

President Obama made a promise when he campaigned for president to sit down and negotiate health care reform with Republicans and Democrats. He also promised C-SPAN cameras would be in the room. But, that was all campaign rhetoric. This disastrous health care bill was negotiated behind closed doors and Republicans were never brought into the negotiations.

The result is a health care bill supported by 60 Democratic Senators, but opposed by 60% of the American public.

My friend, we must resolve today to do everything in our power to continue fighting against the government takeover of our health care system. My fellow Republican Senators and I have done everything in our power to stop this legislation, but the reality is that Democrats have 60 seats in the Senate and we have 40 seats. I'm turning to you, as a voter and constituent, to exercise your power today.

Every vote in the Senate is critical to stopping legislation like this health care bill and that is why Country First PAC is dedicated to supporting and electing candidates to office who share our values. Your support for Country First is crucial to our efforts on these candidates' behalf, so I ask you follow this link to make a contribution to Country First today.

I will always honor every promise I make to you. And today, I promise that I will continue my fight against this health care reform bill until the very end. I thank you for your support along the way and look forward to continuing our work towards real government reform.

Sincerely,

John McCain
Chairman, Country First PAC

New Format For The Rockefeller Republican

I created a new and updated look and feel to the blog for the new year. There are some new sections, new graphics and some new sponsor links as well. I would love to hear feedback from regular readers.

Health Care Reform or Not?

More math on health care bill from the Congressional Budget Office:

CBO expects that Medicare spending under the legislation would increase at an average annual rate of roughly 6 percent during the next two decades—well below the roughly 8 percent annual growth rate of the past two decades (excluding the effect of establishing the Medicare prescription drug benefit). Adjusting for inflation, Medicare spending per beneficiary under the legislation would increase at an average annual rate of roughly 2 percent during the next two decades—well below the roughly 4 percent annual growth rate of the past two decades. It is unclear whether such a reduction in the growth rate could be achieved, and if so, whether it would be accomplished through greater efficiencies in the delivery of health care or would reduce access to care or diminish the quality of care.

A Profound Disappointment

Michale Goodwin, writing in The New York Post, tells a story I have heard from quite a few aquaintences. The short article is worth a read. Here is an excerpt.

President Obama, for whom I voted because I believed he was the best choice available, is a profound disappointment. I now regard his campaign as a sly bait-and-switch operation, promising one thing and delivering another. Shame on me.

Equally surprising, he has become an insufferable bore. The grace notes and charm have vanished, with peevishness and petty spite his default emotions. His rhetorical gifts now serve his loathsome habit of fear-mongering.

"Time is running out," he says, over and again. He said it on health care, on the stimulus, in Copenhagen, on Iran.

Instead of provoking thought and inspiring ideas, the man hailed for his Ivy League nuance insists we stop thinking and do what he says. Now.

Rockefeller Republican = Whole Foods Republican

OK, I am a couple of days late in finding this article as it appeared in Monday's WSJ, but it so aptly described what I consider to be the modern reinvention of the Rockefeller Republican that I had to share it. Michael Petrilli makes the case that for the GOP to succeed it needs to cultivate what he calls Whole Foods Republicans.

What's needed is a full-fledged effort to cultivate "Whole Foods Republicans"—independent-minded voters who embrace a progressive lifestyle but not progressive politics. These highly-educated individuals appreciate diversity and would never tell racist or homophobic jokes; they like living in walkable urban environments; they believe in environmental stewardship, community service and a spirit of inclusion. And yes, many shop at Whole Foods, which has become a symbol of progressive affluence but is also a good example of the free enterprise system at work. (Not to mention that its founder is a well-known libertarian who took to these pages to excoriate ObamaCare as inimical to market principles.)

What makes these voters potential Republicans is that, lifestyle choices aside, they view big government with great suspicion. There's no law that someone who enjoys organic food, rides his bike to work, or wants a diverse school for his kids must also believe that the federal government should take over the health-care system or waste money on thousands of social programs with no evidence of effectiveness. Nor do highly educated people have to agree that a strong national defense is harmful to the cause of peace and international cooperation.

While Rod Dreher's correctly states, "Man, somebody ought to write a book about these crazy people! Oh wait." , it has been awhile since this segememnt of the GOP got some national atttention. It would be nice if it starts a trend.

Is Insurance Bad For You?

Excellent article today over at Big Government by Dr. Jane Orient. She makes the case that insurance can actually get in the way of treatment. Fascinating case study and something to keep in mind when we talk about health care reform. I'd be curious to hear if anyone has any similar stories, or contradicting ones...

Health Reform Support on Life Support

Tax Cuts Instead of Stimulus

My favorite economist writes a new editorial in the New York Times. Mankiw is always recommended reading.

Obama and The Nobel Prize

There are plenty of things I could criticize about yesterday's speech: it was too long at over 4,000 words, his use of first person (34 times) just exacerbates the messianic image, the repetition of the hope/change message. However, by and large I felt good about what was said. My personal favorite:

Whatever mistakes we have made, the plain fact is this: the United States of America has helped underwrite global security for more than six decades with the blood of our citizens and the strength of our arms. The service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform has promoted peace and prosperity from Germany to Korea, and enabled democracy to take hold in places like the Balkans. We have borne this burden not because we seek to impose our will. We have done so out of enlightened self-interest - because we seek a better future for our children and grandchildren, and we believe that their lives will be better if other peoples' children and grandchildren can live in freedom and prosperity.

It was nice to see my president NOT apologize for America to a European audience for once. I just hope this time it is more than just words.

How Will the Reid Bill Affect Me?

According to Keith Hennessey I am going to be paying considerably more per year for my family's health insurance. Want to see how you'd do? Check out this link.

The Logic of the Center

One of my favorite economic bloggers is Greg Mankiw. The other day he posted an entry on the conclusion of his freshman seminar at Harvard. I want to make note specifically of his freshman's view once the class had ended.

I also asked the students how their views had changed over the course of the semester. Those who started out liberal said they came to appreciate market mechanisms more. Those who started out conservative said they came to appreciate the market's limitations. In other words, after a few months of reading and discussing economics and public policy, most of them moved toward the political center and closer to agreement.

Mor Stimulus Money Hard at Work

From The Hill:

Nearly $6 million in stimulus money was paid to two firms run by Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton’s pollster in 2008.

Federal records show that $5.97 million from the $787 billion stimulus helped preserve three jobs at Burson-Marsteller, the global public-relations and communications firm headed by Penn.

I don't think I need to add anything to this clip. Let the indignation begin....

Santorum in 2012?

From The Hill:

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) gave his clearest words to date that he is seriously mulling a 2012 presidential bid.

"Absolutely — absolutely taking a look," he told ABC's "Top Line" webcast Monday afternoon.

The former Pennsylvania senator has previously exhibited an interest in running in 2012. However, he has, to this point, hedged his language quite a bit, allowing his travel plans to typical presidential battlegrounds like Iowa and South Carolina to do most of the talking for him.

But on Monday, Santorum used his interview to stress his political bona fides — an emphasis on family values and free-market economics.

Santorum is a conservative Catholic and regualrly atttends Latin Mass at a Roman Catholic Church near Washington, D.C.. In addition he made a name for himself in the senate for his stances on the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Social Security, intelligent design, homosexuality, and the Terri Schiavo case.

Could Huckabee's recent troubles be prodding Santorum to consider a bid for 2012? He would certainly be a fit for much of Huckabee's perceived base? Good news for Romney fans as a Santorum/Palin battle in Iowa could leave Mitt as last candidate standing.

Liberal Fascism

I recently finished Jonah Goldberg's Liberal Fascism, The Secret History of The Left, and while the title suggests another boiler-plate special from the likes of Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity or Ann Coulter, what is presented is a chillingly sane explanation of the history of the early 20th century and how its influence can still be felt today. Goldberg is at pains to make clear that this is not just a leftist-bashing exercise, but an important evaluation of history so as not to repeat it. I can not recommend this book highly enough. In many ways it has changed how I view the current political landscape, both left and right.

There is much in the history of America during WWI, II and the Great Depression that is simply not taught in schools, and which presents a frightening warning to modern readers as we grapple with an ever-increasing federal presence in our lives. For my complete review of the book at Suite101 click here.

Scientism

Quote of the Day

Poor Al Gore. Global warming completely debunked via the very Internet you invented. OH. OH the irony.-Jon Stewart

In related Al Gore news- He was committed to a lecture at the upcoming climate summit. The event cost $1200 per person and 3000 people signed up. Over $3 mil!

Gore canceled and did not give a reason, leaving the organizers "greatly annoyed and disappointed". Any guesses why he dropped out?

State of the GOP

The new Washington Post poll on the state of the Republican party is something all political junkies should check out. The most disturbing part for me? That Sarah Palin gets 17% [the highest mark] support for 2012 GOP primary.

Who Gets Huckabee's Vote Now?

With Mike Huckabee's presidential aspirations coming to a halt this past weekend it raises the question of who gets his support. While it is obviously still very early he had been polling in the lead for 2012. There doesn't seem to be an obvious successor (Palin?) so would they go to Romney by default?