Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker presents President Barack Obama with a Milwaukee Brewers baseball jersey upon his arrival at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Obama made a taxpayer-funded campaign trip to Wisconsin where he tried to take credit for Walker’s success in growing the state’s economy. Obama hopes to see Walker defeated in the Recall effort, thereby re-energizing his left-wing base that is so vital to his winning Wisconsin and its 10 Electoral College points in November.
In spite of those tensions, The Washington Timesreports that Gov.Walker greeted president at the airport in Milwaukee and presented him with a Brewers baseball jersey.
But the governor bowed out of the planned Master Lock tour with Mr. Obama, saying he had a stomach flu. Mr. Walker said his decision not to accompany the president to the plant had nothing to do with politics.
“If it was politics, I wouldn’t have greeted him here,” Mr. Walker told a pool reporter traveling with the president. “Today’s the president’s day. I’m appreciative he’s in Wisconsin, appreciative he’s focused on manufacturing. We’ll leave politics for another day.”
Mr. Walker is the target of a recall election that could come in the spring or summer. Both sides in the debate are portraying the recall election as a test of how Mr. Obama will fare in Wisconsin this year.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, a native of Wisconsin, called Mr. Obama’s visit “nothing more than yet another taxpayer-paid … campaign stop by the president.”
Coinciding with his speech on the economy, Mr. Obama seized on a positive economic report Wednesday showing that manufacturing production rose 0.7 percent in January.
“Our job is to seize this moment of opportunity to create new American jobs and American manufacturing,” the president said. “And the place to start is our tax code.”
It’s been Walker’s conservative, pro-growth policiesthat have been helping Wisconsin dig out of the hole, not anything Obama did. The fact that he would try to horn in on Walker’s success, while on a taxpayer funded campaign stop, while his union supporters are working tirelessly to unseat the Governor — is almost too much to take.
The Tea Party Express is asking for donations to help spread the word about Gov Walker’s conservative achievements, and fight back against Obama and his failed policies.
Join the Tea Party Express and send Obama a message: We the People will NOT be bullied and we will NOT be silenced! We are here to fight for our country and defend the principles she was founded on!
While Republican voters continue to fluctuate on their choice for the 2012 presidential nominee, Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine has made a firm decision as to who he wants to see in the White House: former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum.
“Earlier in the election, I was completely oblivious as to who Rick Santorum was, but when the dude went home to be with his daughter when she was sick, that was very commendable,” the thrash metal star told MusicRadar.com.
“You know, I think Santorum has some presidential qualities, and I’m hoping that if it does come down to it, we’ll see a Republican in the White House…and that it’s Rick Santorum.”
Mustaine said he was supporting Santorum over the primary’s delegate leader Mitt Romney because he was distrustful of the means by which the former Massachusetts governor created his immense wealth.
“I’ve got to tell you, I was floored the other day to see that Mitt Romney’s five boys have a $100 million trust fund,” Mustaine told the music website. “Where does a guy make that much money? So there’s some questions there.”
I have to confess that I’ve never been a partaker of his kind of music – death metal, or whatever you call it. I’ve always found it to be too dark, and ….aaaaa kinda evil – oh… apparently he thinks so, too:
WASHINGTON, February 14—At a Budget Committee hearing today, OMB Acting Director Jeffrey Zients refused, under direct questioning from Sen. Sessions, to answer whether the president’s budget would increase spending over current-law levels. The White House has repeatedly claimed that their budget contains $2.50 in spending cuts for every $1 in tax increases. In truth, the budget plan submitted by the president would increase spending by $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years relative to current projections. Over that time, the federal government will spend a total of $47 trillion, up from $45.5 trillion projected under the already enacted Budget Control Act—producing by the president’s own projections an additional $11.2 trillion in gross debt.
NOTE: To view a detailed breakdown of proposed spending increases using numbers from President Obama’s own budget, please click here: http://1.usa.gov/yRREwf.
Take in the smarmy sleaze as Zients tries to tell Sessions that Obama’s profligate tax and spend budget somehow cuts spending.
Sessions appeared on Mark Levin’s radio show, yesterday, to discuss the budget, and the Obama administration’s shady, irresponsible, and downright shocking manner they’ve been treating the American economy. Levin and Sessions agree that if some of the nefarious things they’re saying and doing were done in the private sector, they would be held legally accountable.
Somehow, the President of the United States is destroying the US economy, blaming it all on his opponents, and no one can do a damn thing about it.
The US Government continues actions that will result in its own demise. That might seem fitting, except that its failure will seriously harm the citizenry.
Government decisions and actions have assured an economic collapse that will result in another depression. Federal debts and promises are too large to be honored, a conclusion based not on economics but on simple arithmetic.
The government collapse will likely trigger the economic collapse, although the order could be reversed. Arguably, we are already in a depression which has been disguised by juicing GDP via excessive government spending. This spending has been funded increased government debt in magnitudes never seen before. To put matters into perspective, by the end of President Obama’s first four years, he will have added more to the federal debt than all 43 Presidents who preceded him.
The economic collapse, as a result of this borrowing and stimulus, will be terrifying and worse than it needed be. Whether it is preceded by hyperinflation or goes directly into a deflationary collapse is moot and immaterial regarding an ultimate depression. Resulting conditions will be worse than those experienced during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
As frightening as the economic event will be, it will be superseded by the political damage. Given the state of our economy and the state of our government, there is a high probability that we lose our form of government. The confluence of the horrific economic events coupled with what H. L. Mencken foresaw long ago brings the very survival of freedom and liberty into question:
As democracy is perfected, the office of President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be occupied by a downright moron.
Mencken’s “great and glorious day” is upon us. We have found our “moron,” not that he is the first or only one. His intent “to transform America” suggests that his actions will not be limited to methods considered appropriate by his predecessors.
Dick Morris has an interesting theory about Obama’s true motivation for the contraception mandate in his latest Lunch Alert!. Obama always has an ulterior motive, he notes – you have to read it to know how to defeat the guy. Morris says that for Obama, the issue is not about infringing upon religious liberty – he thinks Obama’s trying to replace abortion with contraception in the left/right social divide because they’re losing the abortion debate. He wants to polarize the nation to profit his reelection chances over the issue of contraception. Watch the video,here.
Everyone, at least on our side of the aisle, shook their heads in disbelief as to why Stephanopoulos was bringing up the issue. There was no active controversy over contraception, it wasn’t in the news, and there were far more pressing political issues, yet what seemed like an eternity of debate time was devoted to the subject at the insistence of Stephanopoulos.
Morris cites that debate as the primary reason he came to the conclusion that Obama was engaging in this “sneaky move”.
The problem with Morris’ theory, though, is that Obama hasn’t backed off on his contraception requirement. His “compromise” is no compromise at all.
So allow me to apply this to the current situation: You (Obama) told Catholic institutions that they must provide for free contraceptives and sterilizations in their insurance plans. They said, and I quote, “No.”
To accommodate them you said the “insurance company — not the hospital, not the charity — will be required to reach out and offer the woman contraceptive care free of charge.”
Obama, who — precisely — is buying the insurance companies’ free-contraceptive coverage? Who but the Catholic institutions, the institutions morally opposed to providing contraception to their employees? All you’ve done is forced morally opposed institutions to pay for other institutions that will provide contraception. Yes, this is akin to forcing those morally opposed to murder to hire hitmen. Not only is it immoral, unconstitutional and arrogant, it’s also painfully unintellectual.
Thank you, Bad Catholic- (totally adding him to my blogroll.)
Just because 98% of the American people support contraception, doesn’t mean that they support the government forcing religious institutions into paying for it.
I agree with Morris and Jacobson that there is a connection between the ABC debate focus on contraception and the Obama’s contraception mandate that came later. I’m just not sure that Obama’s new focus on contraception is for the reason Morris cited. Obama and his media toadies may simply have been trying to get a pro-contraception narrative going ahead of the decision on the contraception mandate.
If it is some kind of an attempt to shift the left/right social divide from abortion to contraception, Obama has badly misjudged how American people view the relationship between Church and State.
Last week, the Committee on Government Oversight and Reform turned its attention to the injustice of forced union membership, focusing on the appalling union practice of forcing American workers to give money to partisan political activity they oppose.
Via an Oversight and Reform press release:
On February 8th, three of these workers testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform about how forced political contributions violate their freedom and rights. But Terry Bowman, Claire Waites and Sally Coomer are not alone: many workers are not even informed of their right to control their own hard-earned money, facing threats and intimidation when they are brave enough to speak out against this unfair loss of workplace freedom and fairness. These are the faces of forced contributions to the union special interest agenda.
SALLY COOMER: Denied the Right to Choose by SEIU Leaders:
“We were required at the end of 2009 to quit our agency employment and transfer over to a system that is unionized by the SEIU, called the Individual Provider System. Caring for my daughter is not a job that requires union intervention…The thing that is very discouraging for me is every month, you know, I’m seeing close to $95 a month being taken out of the check for union dues, going to causes I do not support. For me, that $95 a month would provide an additional 9 to 10 hours of care for Becky directly…. I feel very strongly that any type of union that a person belongs to that if the union is going to take out union dues that that employee should be well-aware of what those dues are being spent for. And that, if they are using it for political purposes that they should be aware of that and they should be able to make a choice as to whether or not that that is what they want their union dues to be spent on.”
Terry Bowman, United Auto Workers (UAW) Member from Ypsilanti, Mich:
“You know, the United States government has given labor unions the ability to trump an individual’s First Amendment right and force the seizure of an individual’s personal property – their wages – for simply exercising their pursuit of happiness by applying for a job. I really would like my first amendment right of freedom of association back. I do not have the ability to exercise that right in a forced union state. Unfortunately the union dues that I am forced to pay, much of that goes to political reasons that I disagree with. To the people who are actually pulling my dues out, you do not have to right to use my money as you so choose to use it. The fact that my plant chairman, at a union meeting, will stand up there and point to all of us and say you all better be voting for democrats is not what a union was created to do and is not what it was meant to do. So unions have lost their way. They realized that compulsion was not the way to go, but when they smelled the potential hundreds of millions of dollars from forced unionism, they had to go that route. I think it’s quite unfortunate.”
Claire Waites, National Education Association (NEA) Member from Daphne, Ala:
“I am in the Baldwin County Teacher’s Association, the Alabama Education Association, and the National Education Association because there are no other carriers for liability insurance for teachers in the state of Alabama. The NEA Fund for Children, you’d think it’s a fund for children and it’ll go to actually classroom expenses or classroom projects or teacher grants or actually go to underprivileged children. In reality, the NEA Fund for Children goes to political action groups that they choose. We have no voice. They choose who they would like the money to go to… Right now in the economy, classroom teachers need money. This is the third year that I’ve bought my own classroom supplies. For the $180 that I gave to the Children’s Fund, that’s three classroom labs in my room. My message to NEA is that if you’re going to have a children’s fund have a children’s fund. If you’re going to have a PAC fund, have a PAC fund. Don’t trick me to give to your PAC fund by making it named a children’s fund.”
Charles Krauthammer didn’t mince words this evening on Special Report in his assessment of the latest offering from the Obama administration, a budget he says is “worthy of Greece”, and “truly scandalous”:
One hopes that the Republican candidates heed his warning and shift the narrative away from Obama’s class warfare schtick to the cuts in spending most Americans want to see.
Lew is completely wrong when he claims that 60 votes are needed to “pass a budget in the Senate.” As he well knows, a budget resolution is one of the few things that are not subject to a filibuster. In fact, that is one reason why a bill based on reconciliation instructions cannot be filibustered.
You don’t even need 50 votes, just a simple majority. Here are a few of the recent close votes for the budget resolution, as listed by CRS: 48-45 (2009 budget); 51-49 (2006); 51-50 (2004); 50-48 (2001). Senate Democrats may have reasons for failing to pass a budget plan—such as wanting to avoid casting politically inconvenient votes—but a GOP filibuster is not one of them.
Unfortunately for Jeffery Zients and the liberal cable network, it is hard to hide the fact that the President’s proposal actually projects a budget deficit of $1.33 trillion for the fiscal year 2013, according to the Wall Street Journal.
When asked what he thought about the Republican Senate renaming the proposal ‘Debt on Arrival,’ Zients stated, “I think the President has put forward today a balanced budget.” For the country to have a balanced budget, its spending must match its revenue, and the country has not came close to that feat in some time now. Obama’s proposal would mark the fourth straight year of budget deficits exceeding a trillion dollars.
Or they could point to hapless Rachel Maddow, who’s doing her best to defend her boss’s abhorrent contraception mandate by claiming that 28 states already have a similar mandate, triggering the b.s. meter of fellow traveler Scary Larry O’Donnell, who is at least honest enough to admit he’s a commie, and is apparently not playing by team Soros’ rules.
We need “truth teams” all right. But they need to be focusing 95% of their attention on the miscreants in the Obama administration, and their media toadies. Instead, they’ll focus on the the people who are pointing out the lies. ATTAAAAACK WAAAAATCH!
UPDATE:
LOL.
Michelle Malkin kinda beat me to this deal by about 12 hours. So have probably about 500,000 people on Twitter.
Heritage Foundation’s Rory Cooper sums up the audacity: “Same White House that deliberately said it takes 60 votes to pass budget yesterday launches #TruthTeam today. Unbelievable.”
Who do they think they’re kidding with this crapola?
I can’t even express how incredibly hectic CPAC was, this year. John Hawkins calls it “a conservative Disneyland for bloggers” which is about right. It’s non-stop activity from the time you get up until you hit the pillow, which can literally be as late as 3:00, 4:00, 5:00 a.m. – just ask that party animal and Blogger of the Year, John Sexton from Verum Serum. CPAC offers an opportunity for bloggers to meet with like minded political junkies – comrades in arms we only get to see in person a few times a year, and we savor every moment of it. On Friday, I watched many great speeches, went to some great panels, schmoozed in the bloggers lounge, took loads of pictures and videos, but due to the constant activity (and poor wifi), was unable to put up a single post. I was still sleep deprived from the excessively long previous day, so after messing with the occupiers outside with Jim Hoft and and some others, I stayed in and uploaded my videos, and put up a few posts, Friday night. Then I zonked out without going to a single partay. I made up for that by staying up past 3:00 a.m. on Saturday night.
Hopefully some of these left-over pix and videos I took throughout the weekend, and never had time to post, will help give you an idea of how breath-takingly chaotic and hectic the pace at CPAC is for the average blogger.
Here’s the “Axis of Fedora” outside the Marriott, Friday night. Smitty, Warner Todd Huston, and RS McCain posed for a photo, but my camera was on the video function…so -
Sheriff Paul Babeu, Pinal County, Arizona and candidate for U.S. Congress in Arizona’s new 4th congressional district stopped by to chat with bloggers. Here he is meeting Jim Hoft of Gateway Pundit:
Babeu also posed for a pic with me. My video of his speech on the subject of Fast and Furious, here. My flip camera battery had just run out so I had to videotape with my back-up (iphone). But I’m glad I did. Babeu is an awesome speaker.
The space outside the bloggers lounge was often used for interviews. As I was heading to the ladies room Saturday morning, I happened upon John Bolton in the midst of an interview (he’s much smaller in person than you’d expect!) and snapped a quick pic.
Here’s RS McCain being interviewed by DaTechGuyfor his Saturday radio show. I was interviewed, as well, but I don’t have a picture of that.
Drama follows Andrew Breitbart wherever he goes. This time, a blogger or reporterette from some unknown media operation confronted Andrew Breitbart in the bloggers lounge after his speech about the unpleasantness that resulted in GOProudnot being a part of CPAC, this year. I think you’ll enjoy how (newly slimmed down!) Conservative Lesbian, Cynthia Yockey emerged to valiantly defend him:
This shockingly raaaaacist truck was parked down the street from the hotel. I’m surprised the Occupiers didn’t throw eggs at it. But, then again, there were cops everywhere.
No, that is not Kuato hiding under DaTechGuy’s shirt – it’s actually his Che’d up Stephen Kruiser tee shirt he got at BlogCon, last Fall.
DaTechGuy, Stephen Kruiser
A couple of notables who visited the bloggers lounge that I neglected to get on camera were conservative EU member, Daniel Hannan, and White House Dossier’s Keith Koffler.Granny Jan, if you read this, I know you’re jealous. Koffler is just as charming and delightful in person as you would think – it was a pleasure to meet him.
Clickhere for Warner Todd Huston’s Interview with “Freedom Lover”, Hannan, who also posed for pictures with many of the bloggers.
I think we knew this, but it’s always good to hear confirmation coming from the former chief of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Tucson.
Fox News’ William LaJeunesse traveled to Sasabe, AZ to discuss new developments in the Fast and Furious investigation regarding agencies beyond the Justice Department.
Tony Coulson, the DEA’s agent in charge of Southern Arizona during Fast and Furious, says many federal field agents knew the ATF was walking guns to Mexico, but supervisors told them to back off when they objected.
“Clearly, we went too far,” Coulson said. “The question we had among rank and file law enforcement was, ‘When is someone going to call ATF on this, when is someone going to tell them to stop?’”
Coulson’s remarks jibe with what is already known about the operation. The DEA, the FBI and ICE, also known as Immigration Customs and Enforcement, all played roles in the investigation.
Coulson said those agencies share the blame since top officials knew, but did little to stop, the gunrunning effort. Coulson is among the first senior public officials, current or former, who admit knowing about the botched operation.
Coulson claims he raised objections to then-DEA chief Elizabeth Kempshall, but was told it was taken care of. After attending a meeting with ATF agent in charge Bill Newell, Coulson said that’s when he and other agents “knew (Fast and Furious) was not some sort of benign, pie-in-the-sky publicity stunt. Guns were actually getting in the hands of criminals.”
In case you missed Andrew Breitbart’s CPAC speech (always a crowd favorite) – here it is in it’s entirety with introduction by conservative Tea Party activist Sonnie Johnson who also shared the trailer for the new movie, “Hating Breitbart”.
Breitbart revealed to the audience that he had “videos” of Barack Obama from his college days, which he suggested will shed light on Obama’s class warfare and racial division tactics.
As I keep saying, buckle up, people, 2012 is going to be a bumpy ride!
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker spoke at the CPAC convention in Washington DC on Feb. 10, 2012. He outlined his plan for fiscal responsibility by requiring the corrupt public unions to “pay their fair share” for their pension and benefit plans.
I like the fact that someone took the time to compare Walker’s speech with NEA Chief Counsel Bob Chanin’s speech at the NRA convention, July 6, 2009 because it provides an amazing contrast.
One speech is gracious, informed and about promoting personal freedom - the other one is an unconcealed tribute to raw power. Because that is the thing that motivates liberals more than anything else.
SEE ALSO:
To no one’s surprise widespread fraud is being uncovered in the recall effort.
The integrity of Wisconsin elections is on the verge of implosion, as United Wisconsin’s coordinated effort to recall six Wisconsin officials has led to the submission of more than 1,000,000 petition signatures. In an effort to audit these signatures True the Vote is discovering significant errors, including duplicate signatures, incorrect addresses, and the like.
Thus far, the organization has found discrepancies for nearly 9,000 petition signatures.
Please read the press release below and consider volunteering your support. As we’re learning almost on a daily basis – protecting the integrity of the election process can only be done if the people still care about that process.
We thought we were going to hit our first milestone of $75,000 – but thanks to everyone’s support we are now just over $85,000.
This means we can reach the goal of $100,000 within the next 24 hours (by the end of the day on Monday). Think of it this way, if just 150 people contribute $100 or more we’ll have surpassed the goal!
Once again, here is singer/songwriter and Wisconsinite Glen Shulfer’s excellent musical tribute to Governor Walker:
When we faced an uphill climb, with a future not too bright,
there was one man for the time, who was promising to fight.
He would stand up for “us all” when he tamed the status quo.
Now he’s standing 10-feet tall from Ashland to Monroe.
We will stand with Governor Walker.
Because he does what he says; not just a big fancy talker.
We will stand with Governor Walker.
We got to keep moving ahead, all the way, with Governor Walker.
He took on the deficit, and asked the union folks to pay
just a teeny-tiny bit, to make it fair in every way.
A balanced budget, he can claim without taxing you and me.
And in the end it wasn’t shame, but a total victory.
We will stand with Governor Walker.
Because he does what he says; not just a big fancy talker.
We will stand with Governor Walker.
We got to keep moving ahead, all the way, with Governor Walker.
Oh no we can’t go back again.
We got to keep moving ahead with Governor Walker.
Mr. Scott Walker, our Wisconsin Governor.
We are proud of Governor Walker.
We can never, ever, never let him down;
we got to keep him in MAD Town.
We will stand with Governor Walker.
And we’re not going back. No way!
We got to keep Governor Walker.
Palin brought an anti-establishment and anti-Obama message to her first CPAC presentation, and as expected, she rocked the house.
Listen closely at the 7:00 minute mark for the “mike check!” An occupier tried to get something started, but was immediately drowned out by CPACers chanting USA! USA! He was surrounded by security, and escorted out in a heartbeat.
I was just sitting next to Jan Helfeld, whose claim to fame is his epic Pete Stark interview from a few years back(the one where Stark threatened to throw him out the window – heard him talking and recognized the accent – turns out, he’s still doing interviews:
Jan Helfeld: Chris Matthews on Redistribution of Wealth:
He’s spent $38 in gas – in two months! See how, and see what Bob thinks of his new Volt, his fire insurance, and what it’s like to stay home most of the time! For more information, go to http://www.obamavolt2012.com/.
J. Christian Adams, a former U.S. Justice Department official, and author of the best seller, Injustice: Exposing the Racial Agenda of the Obama Justice Department, served as moderator for the panel entitled: “Obama vs. The Constitution: How a Harvard Law Graduate President is Shredding the Constitution.”
Panelists included former Attorney General Ed Meese, who now chairs the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at the Heritage Foundation, Carrie Severino, chief counsel and policy director for Judicial Crisis Network, and Sheriff Paul Babeu, Pinal County, Arizona and candidate for U.S. Congress in Arizona’s new 4th congressional district.
Sheriff Babeu chose to speak about Fast and Furious for the duration of his talk.
“When this Attorney General was given an opportunity in congress to apologize to the Terry family, what did he do?
The man has no shame.”
Holder had told Congress that “there’s not necessarily a connection between the fast and Furious and the murder of Brian Terry.”
Babeu also made the salient point that the idea that the Obama administration was behind Fast and Furious in order to curtail 2nd Amendment rights was “not a wild-eyed right-wing conspiracy, any longer.”
I found Andrew Breitbart’s speech on YouTube – (audio, not video) – You’ll definitely want to hear this – he had some significant news that should be giving Team Obama a case of hives: “I got video of Barack Obama from college.”
Andrew Breitbart visited the Bloggers lounge after his speech. Bloggers always want to have their pictures taken with him – including me.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker presents President Barack Obama with a Milwaukee Brewers baseball jersey upon his arrival at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
