PJM’s Post-Election Symposium: What Should Barack Obama Do Next? (Updated)
Darrell Issa:
Upon his inauguration, President Obama said, “The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works.” Since then, however, this administration has nurtured record growth in both government’s spending and influence in taxpayers’ daily lives. And with more than 14 million Americans still unemployed and our national debt approaching $14 trillion, it is clear that Obama administration policymakers failed to understand the economic and psychological wounds big government inflicts upon our job creators. The federal government is too large and dysfunctional, as House Republicans and the citizens we serve have told the White House for two years. Last night, voters soundly rejected Washington’s excesses and sent a clear message: listen to us, stop growing government, and start cutting spending.
– Rep. Issa (R-CA) is the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Rick Perry:
As the election returns are certified and reality settles in for the Washington power structure, I believe President Obama should begin by acknowledging the message just sent by the American people. No matter where they come from or how their last name is spelled, Americans value freedom from excessive government interference and oppressive taxation. That desire was the heartbeat of our nation’s first settlers and it continues today in people of every race, creed, and political party.
If the president really wants to turn around the national economy, I would encourage him to take a long look at the approach we’ve taken here in Texas that has resulted in our leading the nation in job creation for the past ten years. We’ve operated from a comfortable grasp of the government’s legitimate role in the economy: establishing a level playing field, then stepping out of the way.
Call it the “Texas Fourstep” if you like, but our success has a lot to do with four basic guidelines that have informed our decisions for nearly ten years. First, we don’t spend all the money, so we have resources set aside for a rainy day. Second, we maintain a regulatory climate that is predictable, so employers don’t get whipsawed by unexpected changes. Third, we went to great lengths to reform our legal system, amending our constitution with genuine tort reform that has cut down on a plague of frivolous lawsuits that were crippling businesses and driving doctors out of state. Fourth, we have made our schools more accountable so that our young people are getting better prepared to compete for high tech jobs.
It boggles the mind to consider the effect those four simple rules could have on our nation’s economy in terms of job creation and freeing up the capital that business leaders have socked away. Such an approach allows employers to focus on creating jobs, attracting investment and building prosperity. Unfortunately, the president would be swimming upstream against decades of institutional inertia and a power structure designed to acquire more power, not necessarily do what is best for our citizens.
That is why the states are so important to the resurgence of our national economy. I believe our Founding Fathers got it right when they included the 10th Amendment in the Bill of Rights, knowing that the states are the real laboratories of innovation. Rather than look for centralized solutions, I would hope that the president would focus on pulling back the intrusive tentacles of the federal government to free up the states to thrive.
Even Texas would benefit from a smaller federal government. To me, smaller government would put an end to unnecessary and unproductive cap & trade legislation, intrusive health care changes, and the increasingly unpredictable actions of everyone’s favorite rogue agency, the EPA. So I will continue to work with our state leaders and my fellow governors from both parties to encourage such changes as a way to get our nation back on track.
– Rick Perry is the governor of Texas.
Release the vault copy of your birth certificate that you’ve been fighting to keep locked up away from the public’s eyes, you effin’ fraud.
We have a right to know that you are Constitutionally qualified for the office.
I would like them to mandate that he also release all his educational records as well as any information of visits abroad and for what reason. There are too many questions about this imposter so let’s find out, bring him before congress even if impeaching him calls for it!
We so want you to go there. Please do! Remember the Democrats still control the senate and the big house. Anything congress does is DOA. We had a wonderful night here in California. Not one Republican was elected to a constitutional office. I’ll say that again, not one. Not even dog catcher. What a great day! Moreover, Governor Brown’s job will be made much easier with the passage of Proposition 25. This proposition lowered the threshold for the passage of a budget to a simple majority (rather than two thirds). Although Democrats command an overwhelming majority it was always necessary to peel off a few Republipigs. They held the process up time after time. Now the Republipigs will NOT have a seat at ANY table. They will be left outside with a cup listening through the wall. They are COMPLETELY without power in our state and I thank the many young voters for their defeat.
As far as repealing Health Care Reform. You won’t, plain and simple. Obama will just threaten to close a couple of military bases in red states (and those hicks would starve without them), etc., so we know how that game will play out. You’ll try and shut down the government again and lose . . .again. But the GOP can be expected to dangle the repeal meme and get as much mileage out of it as they can, just like they do with abortion, Social Security, Gays, etc. (and have they changed any of that?).
If anything, an extremist GOP HOR makes Obama’s reelection easier.
The heartland of America wants freedom and liberty, not socialism. END FARM SUBSIDIES NOW!
Your crowing about the last sanity brake being removed from California’s budget process is very revealing. Where exactly do you think the money to keep your partying going is going to come from?
Jerry Brown will immediately be faced with some hard choices. Either renege on the promises to the special interests that delivered him the election in favor of fiscal sobriety, or keep those promises and stay the course that California is on. I told you in a comment a couple of weeks ago that either way you yourself lose. In the first, the party is over already. In the second, it will be over as soon as the tax streams dry up enough to force the choice between funding the powerful special interests and continuing to underwrite your play. No doubt which check will bounce first. Party’s over soon or sooner, kiddo.
What you miss in the equation is your gleeful dismissal of the US House turnover. The US House controls the budget process. When California seeks out the federal help to stave off a collapse or default of the state government, it’s highly unlikely to be there. The taxpayers in the other states aren’t going to stand for it and every state’s congressional delegation knows what ignoring the wishes of their electorate will mean to them in 2012. The bailout spigot is shut.
I wish you all the joy for your electoral maintenance of your state’s current path to insolvency that a naif like yourself can find in it. I also wish you all the angst that the task of dealing with the consequences as, and only as, Californians will bring you. All last night did was guarantee those consequences will be all the more dire.
Hmmmm . . . .
I just realized that my attempts at parody are too subtle, and it actually sounds like I’m serious, and therefore I look like an immature fool.
Here’s how I’ll fix that problem in my future posts:
For instance, where I said:
Moreover, Governor Brown’s job will be made much easier with the passage of Proposition 25. This proposition lowered the threshold for the passage of a budget to a simple majority (rather than two thirds).
I should have typed:
Moreover, Governor Brown’s job will be made MEEEEP! much easier with the passage of Proposition 25. This proposition lowered the threshold for GOOGGIEGOOBLEGAH! the passage of a budget to a simple majority SCHMAAAKKK ! ! ! (rather than two thirds).
That way people will laugh with me instead of at me.
No, we’ll still be laughing AT you. And rolling our eyes at your naivete.
You’re a college student, aren’t you, “Praetorian”?
praetorian,
good luck with that mate, i’m just happy there’s 3,000 miles (or 5,000 kilometres if you prefer) of geography between me and california when the blow up comes.
This ‘monkey business’ is about to come to an abrupt stop.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=223553
I can’t go with you on the college transcripts and the foreign travel, as it is isn’t really our business.
Ascertaining whether the Alleged Hawaiian was ACTUALLY born on US soil, as he alleges, IS our business, and he never should have been sworn in as long as any question remained.
I disagree… If he traveled under an Indonesian passport as an Indonesian citizen (meaning he is not an American)… or that his thesis was ‘Blueprint for a president to destroy America’ Would you have a different opinion? I usually have no bones to pick with what you say… however, in this instance, I think which hand he wipes with is America’s business.
I think he should call his lawyer and let him know impeachment is on the way…. and that we should make sure he has his pockets checked on the way out.
No matter where he was born, his father was not an American citizen, so Obama is NOT a natural born citizen.
“suggestions on how Obama can “right the ship” and save his presidency.”
Resign. The country can handle 2 years of President Biden. Besides, think of all the laughs we’ll have.
I know we need all the laughs we can get, but I’m not as sanguine about survivng Biden as you are. How about if he asks Joe for his resignation first, fails to submit a candidate for VP to Congress, and *then* resigns. In that event, I’m *very* sure we can survive two years of President Boehner.
And Bachmann moves up the career ladder one notch faster, too.
If both Obama and Biden resign, Boehner is next in line.
Works for me.
Praetorian, OTOH, will wet her panties.
Offer to sign a bill that repeals the new health care law in exchange for a commitment from the Republicans to work with you on a replacement.
There will be no compromise at all on HCR. Got it? If you don’t like it then just shut down the government. Please, please, please, shut it down. This one will be fun to watch. The last several elections have shown that Americans are extremely fickle with regard to politicians. The days of predicting permanent majorities are over. A lot can happen in two years. In fact, all the new GOP representatives that just got elected could find themselves looking for a new job.
Follow the Michelle Bachman’s and their advice. You need to just let a wave of intolerance wash over you. I want you to let a wave of hatred wash over you. Yes, hate is good. … Your goal is a Christian nation. You have a Biblical duty, you are called by God, to conquer this country. You don’t want equal time. You don’t want pluralism. You don’t want compromise. Go with this! Keep repeating it over and over to yourself!
Ahhh . . . .
OK, I think my efforts at self-parody are working better here. Instead of sounding like an actual left/liberal dickhead, I sound a bit more like a parody of one, but with the subtly nuanced phrasing that makes me sound like an almost clever lefty troll.
Yes, this is much better.
Ah.. but while your in your cloud you forgot something… it ain’t about you! Seems there are a couple fault lines that will remedy SoCals monitary woe’s.
Is “resign in disgrace and live in exile in Costa Rica” an option?
Only Charlie if that also includes no perks like retirement or secret service protection and has only the money from book sales after he pays back the taxpayers for a $200 million dollar a day trip to India and other countries, plus the trips financed by taxpayers for his family for a VACATION (from what screwing the taxpayers?)
Damn, you beat to it. Only I wasn’t thinking Costa Rica – I was thinking more like Somalia.
Antarctica without provisions would be better!
How about Marion Fed. Correctional Facility? Only so deep that BP will have to pipe light to him… while he awaits sentence for treason in time of war.
if it is not an option it should be, along with judically ordered permanent exile. if it was good enough for philip nolan…
Perry sounds like he is preparing to run for President. He probably can’t win, but he could help focus the debate on some good principles.
Don’t let the mantra of compromise lead Republicans to give in.
Many times, politicians speak of election results giving them a mandate when it is no such thing. Yesterday’s election, however, is the clear exception. Americans have clearly issued a mandate.
The people have spoken clearly at every level of government– local, state, and federal– that they want less government and lower spending.
My advice to the incoming Republican House: reign in government and lower spending. That will make for hard choices and sacrifices. Be plain and direct with people about those choices and sacrifices, and they will respect it.
There will need to be compromise– the Democrats will need to compromise on the billions to be cut and where it will come from.
May I suggest a 5% cut across the board next year on all federal budgets except for defense?
They could go further by stop the insane automatic pay increases they get and take them back to 1968, then I would think they were serious!
Obama seemed very uptight and petulant this morning. he’s not going to give an inch and in the process try to blame conservatives for everything. His body language was laughable The boy child is angry at us!!!!! To have a boy child in this position of power is degrading.
I sincerely hope conservatives/indep will stand up to this man and not sit int he back ground. Come forward, tell us what is going on and what Obama is up to, is he telling the truth?..if not…tell him ‘ you lie’…but say it publically where he has to answer to it. Would that degrade the office???never, he did it all when he stepped into the office, and can’t sink any lower
We must hold his “feet to the fire”…and be vocal about it.
Governor Perry, could you please forward your message to soon to be Governor Brown?
If Brown runs California the same as he did before, it might as well break off and sink into the ocean.
i can already hear the glugglugglug….fools.
i don’t care how big their economy is..let them die in their own stupidity
Seriously, they are a bunch of fools that need to just fall off the earth and not ask help from the rest/better of us.
I agree about not asking the rest of you for help, but could you possibly make an exception and hold us under for a couple of minutes after we’ve bobbed back to the surface the third time?
We in California are absolutely thrilled with the repudiation of the GOP at every level of government!
What a coincidence. We Buckeyes here in Ohio are ecstatic at riding every Democrat holding a statewide office out of Columbus (the state capital) on the proverbial rail. We also gave the GOP control of both houses of the state legislature in addition to all those statewide offices, plus the open Senate seat that was up for grabs and a majority of our U.S. House delegation. This after the Democrats have run the state, holding everything except one Senate seat, the State Solicitor’s office, and the majority in the state Senate since 2006. (If you don’t count the Governorship, they’ve held everything else important since the mid-1990s.)
With a combination of high taxes, high-ticket boondoggles like “light rail”, and business and energy policies right out of the Sierra Club and Earth First!’s playbooks, the Democrats here have been trying desperately to turn Ohio into “California East” for the last fourteen years, four of them with Ted Strickland as Governor. Probably his most egregious moment (out of many) was appointing his Treasurer, Richard Cordray, to replace his disgraced first Attorney General, Mark Dann, and then having Tricky Dickie “investigate” the disappearance of somewhere around $100 million of taxpayers’ money at the Treasurer’s office, said magic trick occurring while Cordray was Treasurer. Needless to say, Cordray claimed he “couldn’t find anything wrong”.
Ted’s Secretary of State, Jennifer “Miss” Brunner, spent four years playing three-card monte’ with every part of the election machinery in the state. She got an “attagirl” from The Self-Exalted One for helping him win the state in 2008. Not to mention spending her spare time investigating anybody who criticized Ted- or The One.
And oh yes, Ted’s former Lieutenant Governor, Lee Fisher, wanted to replace the at best adequate George Voinovich in the U.S. Senate, mainly to help The One spend more money we haven’t got.
And when we complained, they told us that all that was wrong was that we did not understand how truly great they were. And that there was no real problem. So what if we are now the fourth-highest-taxed state in the Union, and have lost 440,000+ jobs thanks to a “jobs initiative”- run by Lee Fisher at Strickland’s behest? (The only “job growth” under Strickland has been in- yes, you guessed it- the state bureaucracy.)
Yesterday, we told them what was wrong. Namely, them, and their policies.
And we also told them, “You’re Fired”.
As Victor Davis Hanson has accurately delineated, California is about to collapse under the weight of “progressive” stupidity, financially and otherwise. Ohio has chosen not to follow its example.
But I do agree with you, Praetorian. It’s a very good thing that your party controls every aspect of California’s state government.
That way, when it all comes crashing down, you will finally have to take responsibility for it having done so. Because you will have no one else left to blame it on.
Think about it.
clear ether
eon
Darn. People are taking my comments seriously. They actually think I’m an idiot and I really mean these cretinous comments.
Well …if it looks like a duck, and….
Michelle Bachmann, a national treasure, is of course right. A resounding NO to any attempt by Obama to continue growing government. His agenda is dead. And compromise? Yes, on OUR agenda.
Last time I checked two houses (white house and senate) have more power than one. Your agenda is DOA in the senate.
Read the Constitution. Wish lists and “initiatives” may originate in the Oval Office and the Senate, but spending bills originate in the House of Representatives. As does continued funding for existing programs.
The House proposes, and the Senate disposes, as the old saying goes. But if the House refuses to appropriate the funds, The Senate and the President have a problem.
The Founding Fathers knew what happens when a head of state and an “upper house” control both policies and the purse-strings. They called it the King, the House of Lords, and “taxation without representation”. Also “tyranny”.
That’s why they handed the keys to the treasury to the “commoners” in the lower house. As a way of keeping the “elites’” honest, or at least applying the brakes to their more grandiose delusions.
Of course, the lower house can end up full of elitists, too. Yesterday, we groundlings sharply reminded them who they actually work for. By a legal, nonviolent method you rarely see elsewhere.
We voted.
It’s called “democracy”. What a concept.
cheers
eon
OK. I better stop here. That last remark betrays my stunted understanding of basic civics.
I think I need either a drink (but I’m underage), or a peyote button suppository.
Yeah, alcohol or peyote will be a BIG help in improving the clarity of your thought processes. /sarc
So Praetorian, are you a historian? History is littered with defeated fools who think like you. Santa Anna thought the same thing about the Texas rag-tag volunteer army and napped while they crept up and defeated his huge army in 20 min. Never underestimate the power and capabilities of a people who fighting to defend their own home.
Shout out to Henry Reardon: Atlas is shrugging!
I’d offer some advice of my own, but I’m pretty sure he can’t hear us from all the way here in the back seat.
What can be said about a man who thinks his ideological opponents (and up til now his victims) got elected to help him out?
Resign.
‘Comon now obamma. Prove to us tabakka chewin’ truck drivin’ nascar lovin’ redneks that yew ar as smart as thos hi-flautin’ newspaper folk and akademia type entellektuls say yew ar. Unlok tha valt and sho us tha transkrip to prove it! An wile ur at it, sho ussens tha reel berth sertifacat. Dude!
What should he do next?
Why, fly off to India, of course. What a silly question. /sarc
Please spare me, you have got to be kidding if you think Bozobama is going to work with republicans on anything, his only care is to destroy this country. From day one when his first action as president was to protect the terrorists at Guatanamo. The man is a disaster he should be brought up on charges of treason. All you will see from him and (Barney Fwank) is a vindictive, I’ll get even, running of his administration from here on out, if this clown had done one thing that he had promised while he was running for president he would be doing okay right now, but all he did was tell the people what they needed to hear to get himself elected so he could start his destruction of this country. On a different note the sad thing is that this clown was given the greatest oppotunity ever, he could of done so much and he really could have helped break down the racial barriers that he has only made worse it is a shame that this clown was given this opportunity when someone more qualified and patriotic could have done the right thing. He truly needs to be impeached and sent back to Kenya, his birthplace.
I never expected miracles, so the whole “the seas will stop rising” and “the planet will begin to heal” thing was a little heavy handed, I thought.
But watching and listening to MSNBC and New York Times et al since the “shellacking”, I have been impressed by turning the water carriers into whiners.
I know we have this confusion about one or the other of us being a little slow on the uptake, so, can we go over the notions of just who is an “enemy”, a “homegrown terrorist”, a “teabagger”?
Maybe it was scary, being confronted by those who didn’t give off the appearance of those in your inner circle. You know, folks with funny names down South and when folks are scared of what they don’t know, they don’t always think clearly.
It makes them slow on the uptake. Maybe we didn’t communicate clearly enough or often enough. Our PR and marketing of our resistance to the government takeover, the ignoring and debasing of the Constitution, the passage of bills in the back rooms, using legislative trickery and bribes,…we probably didn’t handle the PR properly on why that might be an affront to we, the people.
Last night, we tried to get the message across a little more clearly. And we finally got what we asked for two years ago, the first sparks of change we can believe in.
Ignore the belligerent cries of the ignorant and do what he believes is best for the country. History doesn’t admire leaders who only strive to appease.
I’ll be durned. I actually agree with BC.
So, Obama shouldn’t strive to appease his left wing. He also shouldn’t strive to appease Europe, or Iran, or Russia, or China…
Yes, BC, this time you hit the nail on the head. Good job.
Your attempts at parodying a lefty are even clumsier than mine. I think you should go back to the 4-panel weekly comic strip you currently inhabit.
Kazango.
Like bowing down before our enemies?
What should Obama do next? Resign.
Or get some rest, Issa will have a few questions for you. The party is over for you and just beginning for us. We are going to take our country back.
Ditto. I was also going to ask about the possibility of resigning and returning to academia and/or golf pro, whichever would have him. If he resigns, then he avoids being fired a la Nixon because he’s going to have a boat-load of legal issues coming down the pike what with voter intimidation, Affirmative Action hiring run amok, etc. Not to mention Putin and China and Ahmadinnerjacket all getting uppity in the next two years. (AND the Mexican drug cartels.)
Option #2 would be to have a heart attack and be carried off to the hospital for an extended 2-year stay.
Option #3 I think if I said it, it would be deleted, so I’ll just mentally envision it real hard.
History does not admire either ignorance or arrogance. Obama is both ignorant and arrogant.
There are many things Obama ‘should’ do, but as ignorant and arrogant, he will not do them. Instead, as usual, his focus is on himself as invincible and in the right. He’s already blaming the election results on the economy – and he’s declared that the electorate, because of this economy, is in a fearful state and thus behaves in an unreasonable manner. Their vote, according to Obama, was thus unreasonable. Oh…and who caused them to be fearful? Why…Bush and the GOP. They were, according to Obama, the cause of the economic downturn. The Democrats who controlled Congress since 2006 had nothing to do with it..heh.
Of course, Obama ignores that the majority of Americans reject his deficit spending, his health care, his cap and trade, his polarization of people, his disdain for Congress. He’s not interested in what ‘the people’ want; he, after all, is The Messiah and knows what’s best. The egoism and arrogance is phenomenal. He won’t change…
Unfortunately, the loss was not recognized by obama…n0 capital intentional. Anyone hearing or watching his press conference would not have sensed any feeling of defeat. Even when he is out of office, I predict he will become a tall Jimmy Carter. He knows so-o-o-o much and didn’t have a chance to show everyone. Oh what will it take to rid ourselves of the man.
Oh what will it take to rid ourselves of the man.
Don’t worry. As the late great Robert Heinlein used to say “Time wounds all heels.”
On purpose (I have never done this in my life as a political junky..but this time it is different) I did not read the suggestions. I did not read this article and may never read it. The answer is simple. HE WON’T DO THAT, or THIS or ANYTHING ELSE YOU SUGGEST. He has his agenda and it will not change. He will not compromise. He will not be bi-partisan. He will veto any and all legislation from the conservatives. He will continue to refer to every conservative as ‘the enemy’. He has learned absolutely nothing. He is a rank amateur who loves tele-prompters, mirrors, the E.U., his children and wife (fortunately), Alinsky, Rev Wright’s agenda, socialist values, and generally hates and probably more importantly does not even remotely GET guys like me who have built several small companies, paid taxes, hired many many people (that’s called job creation, don’t know that I ever saved any)and stupidly believes that big government/socialism is not a very good idea and has been proven not to work in both the East and the West repeatedly. I defy this rookie to match his resume or understanding of anything having to do with practical economics or business or life’s values to mine. He will lose everytime. Goodriddance when he is gone. Thanks
Fifth last paragraph beginning “He is….” is overly long and difficult to follow, though ultimately accurate. Just saying you may have lost some readers on that one.
One quick move the Won could do is tell Eric Holder he’s finished. Before the first of the year.
If the new congress doesn’t promptly and in depth delve into the refusal of Holder’s DOJ to racially and neutrally enforce federal voting law I will be truly surprised. IMO the recent Black Panther episode in Houston – under the premise that diligent enforcement in 2008 would have prevented the 2010 incident – could result in an avalanche of indictments high up in the DOJ – with various trails – and chatter about those trails – leading back and forth to/from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. That kind of scrutiny will be seen by most fair-minded voters as necessary, reasonable and prudent. The published results of that inquiry 18 to 20 months down the line could further sink his 2012 chances.
Praetorian,
You are one groovy, far-out chick/dude! Power to the Praetorians!!!
I think Obama should get “angry”, punish his enemies, get more shrill, push any all egregious left-wing issues he can, with emphasis on the demands of bay area Californians, maybe even declare martial law effective immediately.
Perhaps he can have a little tryst in the Oval Office with someone a 1/3 his age and ban Happy Meals across the country.
And I would tell Obama to hurry and be as loud and nasty as possible about all of it, claiming racism in the process. And continue the continual mantra of it’s Bush’s fault.
And I would simply warn the Republicans, you’ve been told what to do. And you better not take one backward step in doing so.
Tex, I agree! Let BO continue as he has. He will continue to prove
his incompetence, arrogance and contempt for Americans.
2012 will be the end of him and more conservatives elected.
The House will be able to control the damage until then.
You nailed it! It is what he will do, of course… but it is a feature for us, not a bug, at this point.
I’m going to be drinking Slurpees for the next 2 years.
In 2012, we begin to really fix things, starting with the elections. The problem is the government, so we have to fix the government first. Once we do that, the economy will fix itself.
Resign or be impeached – this fraud must end and soon.
I want Obama to continue pushing the same crap and ignore the elements of his party that tells him to cool it. That wont be enough by itself to get another red wave in 2012 (the Republicans need to make some serious changes and a California meltdown will “help” though itll be expensive as hell), but it will keep what makes Obama and the far left unpalatable in people’s minds.
Barry should create a “What Do I Do Next?” czar.
What should Barack Obama do next? Educate himself and abandon his Alinskyite indoctrination, for starters. Memorize the Constitution, and actually absorb it. Stop thinking his exotic upbringing qualifies him for anything, or marks him as somehow “not American enough for the bitter gun-clingers”. Stop thinking he’s the smartest guy in the room, because, trust me, there’s always someone smarter. Listen to people who don’t agree with him once in a while. Deconstruct Jeremiah’s and Michelle’s bigotry about America (and/or white people). Stop thinking in terms of “us” versus “them”. Admit the truth about global terror. Recognize the failures of socialism and the successes of capitalism.
Is that asking too much?
Actually, if Mr. 0 resigns, then he should probably put some of the millions he made on the books “he” wrote and open a small business and run it for a few years.
I suspect that having to navigate the maze of gubment regulations would be a better education than the Ivy League college gave him.
“What Should Barack Obama Do Next?” Stay in India.
“what-should-barack-obama-do-next”
Barack Obama will do whatever he pleases. The Right should be more concerned about what we are going to do next and for next 2 years, and *how* are we going to do it. For the last time, understand this—this dude does not *want* to do anything which is good for america, quite the opposite, indeed. So quit asking such silly meaningless questions and conducting ‘symposia’ on the futile and dumb things. We’ve go better, and more *important* things to do.
Praetorian, you have my sympathy. Satire is difficult to pull off to begin with, but in the last few years it is more difficult than ever because the lunacy of the Left too often these days outpaces even our best satire. Democrat gaffes and declarations seem taken right out of The Onion. If you click on my name you will find a few of my humble attempts.
As for the suggestions from the panel, excellent, everyone of them.
He should promote the Tea Party, seeings how two-thirds of them lost.
Oh, really? 2/3 of them lost?
Did you know that not one conservative Republican incumbent was defeated? Yes, some challengers were, but we didn’t lose a single seat already held by a conservative.
Can you say that about your precioussssssssss lefties? What happened to Russ Feingold? What happened to Alan Grayson, the firebrand who said the GOP’s health plan was for sick people to “die quickly”?
I sure hope you have a firm grip on that straw, Sensei.
(p.s. You still owe me for our bet on the election. See this post for instructions on how to pay off.
Since numbnuts wont allow me to post on that thread, here’s what I said two days ago . . . I said 25-35 in the House and 6 in the Senate. I was right on one, you were wrong on one. We’re even. Ain’t it just like a conservative to try to cook the books. If you need $10 bad enough to lie about, you’re gonna have to lie to somebody else, cuz you ain’t gettign any handouts from me. Why don’t you try working for a living?
What happened to O’Donell, Angle, Fiorina, Whtiman, Buck, Miller, Raese, Paladino? All Tea Party favorites. And what happened to the anti-incumbent charade you were plyng this summer? You people are in more trouble than you realize.
There you go.
Wrong-o. It was all one bet, not two bets. You had to get it completely right to win. You didn’t.
Just like a lefty to try to move the goalposts. You lost. Pay up.
Come and get it. Steps of the Old State Capitol. Springfield, Illinois. Tomorrow at noon. I’ll be the one in the Che T-shirt and bandalero.
You gonna pay the plane ticket?
Typical lefty. Set the parameters so high that no one can collect.
Tell ya what. I’ll let you pay off another way. I have hemophilia, and a close friend has multiple sclerosis. Make a $10 donation to either the National Hemophilia Foundation or the National MS Society (your favorite search engine can easily find either) by Monday evening, 8 November 2010, and forward the confirmation of the donation to my username “at” gmail “dot” com and I’ll consider the bet paid.
There. I made it very easy, as opposed to you making it terribly difficult, and I completely divorced the bet payment from politics. If ya don’t pay off, then you’re just a welcher.
You’e laboring under the misperception that I owe you something. I don’t. Here’s a tip: Nobody owes you anything. That’s my lifelong creed. You’d do well to adopt it, instead of looking for handouts like Joe Miller’s wife.
You made a bet. You lost. Now you’re squirming every way you can think of to get out of paying.
It ain’t gonna work. Ya still got a couple of days to make good on the bet, then I’ll consider you just another dishonest lefty, and point it out every chance I get on PJM… your credibility, what little you have left, will be shot.
Quit begging. It’s unseemly.
As I watched Obama on tv today I just shook my head…..he still doesn’t get it! How was the stimulus an emergency? How was Obamacare an emergency? How were more regulations tying the hands of small business an emergency? Obama has made it clear this is about him and his leftist agenda. He is truly obtuse.
I want to revel in triumphalism, at least for a moment. I’ve been thinking about it, and as I heard one Republican leader say, I think Obama has already lost the 2012 elections.
Here’s why. The only major issue is, and will continue to be, the economy. Nothing controversial will get done about carbon control and energy, education, immigration, or much of anything else. There are three ways Obama can impact the economy. The first is by replacing his job-killing health care plan with a job-creating, cost-cutting plan. This won’t happen. Second, Republicans are hot to trot for cutting spending, and the President’s commission reports soon. Third, there may be room for cooperation to cut business and investment taxes and spur hiring, and what happens here will affect the economy. So here are his available options and their consequences. This assumes state spending cuts are a short-term drag no matter what Obama does, and a few new free trade agreements give a small boost to the economy. Sorry for the weird table.
____________________Tax Cuts___________________________No Tax Cuts
Spending Cuts______Deficits abate somewhat,____________Deficits are greatly reduced, but
_________________Unemployment remains high,__________Unemployment is higher, and
_________________Economy begins looking up in 2012____the economy is weak into 2012
No Spending Cuts___Deficits remain sky high, but_______Deficits abate somewhat,
__________________Unemployment goes lower, and______Unemployment remains high,
__________________The economy is stronger in 2011____Economy not getting much better,
__________________and still stronger in 2012__________even into 2012.
None of these options are good for Obama. Though the upper left is clearly best for the country. One implies a low deficit and an awful economy, two imply a reduced deficit and a bad economy, and one implies politically and economically, in the long run, ruinous deficits. His worst option is too choose to cut spending but not budge on taxes, and I think that is the one he is most likely to choose.
It also leaves Republicans with a clear message for 2012: We will create jobs, by cutting business taxes to spur hiring and simplifying and cutting taxes for everyone to save compliance costs and have a little something for everyone, and replace ObamaCare with job-creating reform which Obama has so far blocked. With over-exposed Democrats in the Senate in 2012, strong fundraising from a heavily Republican House, and the effects of redistricting and Republican governors, the wind will seriously be at our backs. In as bad an economy as is likely, a strong, appealing candidate (not Romney, who is tied to Wall Street, Palin, who is too divisive, Gingrich, who has too much baggage, or Huckabee, who has been pigeonholed as a social conservative) should walk away with it.
After that, there is every reason to think Republicans will be able to pass such a relatively modest plan even without a Senate supermajority, preside in a period of strong growth, and eventually get other parts of the agenda passed. The majority should endure, at least for a while
I don’t feel comfortable with the words of Dick Armey…there is no “working with” the President; to even assume that is dangerously naive. At this point, President Obama will suck this “crisis” dry and will pull every “con” in the book…it’s just what he wanted. It’s already started; he acted like a forlorn little puppy in the press conference and did nothing but campaign for himself…next day he’s out there in full campaign mode at the Huffington Post telling people he’s going to kick ass. Not only has he NOT learned his lesson, he’s doubling down and getting ready to intimidate every double-minded, weakling in Congress and then some.
Michelle Bachmann is focused and single-minded and I don’t believe that “compromise” is in her vocabulary…we need a woman like this; she’s got more gonads than most men, Armey included.
We simply cannot compromise the Constitution any more…no more sweet-talking; the President takes a direct hit on EVERY single freedom-crushing move, and EVERY divisive word along with every single person that gives the slightest indication of compromising the Republic. Republicans…pay heed…the MSM is already moving the goal posts and setting the premises…I hope your enemy well enough to do battle.
Enough is enough.
BARACK OBAMA: THE MAN WHO NEVER LEARNS
Down, despirited, feeling sorry for himself the Great Depressor gave his worse news conference ever but signaled that he still has faith in his radical agenda and that he’s determined to stay the course. This came when he said that the great public servants who lost their jobs yesterday, like Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, made tough choices but chose what was right and regret nothing. That was Obama speaking about himself. Unbowed, unhumbled, unchasened by Election Day Obama regrets nothing and would make the same choices over again however disastrous they’ve been to the economy and his political fortunes.
Though Obama is obviously hurting inside from yesterday’s bloodbath-yes I feel his pain and pity him-he still hopes that change will come, that the economy will rebound before 2012; and that he’ll be swept back into office for a second term with the public singing his praises. In short, the fallen messiah will rise again. This is what’s running through Obama’s brain and keeps from utter despair. As I predicted in my piece “The Man With the Middle Name Hussein” like the intransigent Iraqi dictator who ended his days at the end of a rope no disaster is too great to make Obama change course. Like Saddam Hussein Obama’s determined to fight on to the end and dig a deeper and deeper grave both for himself and his radical friends. It’s like Arianna Huffington complains: “Obama never learns.” He’s really that insane.
Click my name to see my widely posted NUMBER ONE Townhall blog.
Here we go again. Before Obama leaves town with his massive entourage (indication enough that he has no intention of changing course), he offers a ‘compromise’ invitation to Republicans to discuss tax cuts. If they refuse (which they should), they’re obstructing ‘progress’….and so it goes. Same ol’, same ol’. Yawn.
Repubicans are already behind the 8 ball….They have not been thinking this through….it’s hard to believe….but it’s apparently true. The first attack should have come from Republicans…but now…in Obama’s absence, the MSM are free to create another narrative and negative portrayal of Republicans’ obstructive malaise. Watch and learn.
You guys set the agenda Republicans, don’t get trumped by the POTUS before the fight has even begun. Holy space cadets Batman !!!!!!!!!!!
Here I am again!!!! I just read Sarah Plain’s article in the National Review Online…she puts it a little more succinctly than I do…Republicans “Set the narrative”. She knows how to fight…she’s a tiger. I’ve not heard this from any of the male wannabee changers of America yet…go for it Sarah.
1st round – Obama wins in setting the narrative…that’s the way it looks right now.
She4′s not a fighter or a tiger, she’s a coward. All she does it spit venom from behind glass. That’s why she’ll never run for president, because she’ll get eaten alive. Nobody’s gonna play nice with that shrew like Biden did.
BO does not leave room for compromise because he wants to set the parameters for any such talk. He should come to the meetings, not set the meetings time and place. Remember his arrogant, “I won!” statement in 2008? Boehner ought to remember that, too! Obama hasn’t landed on earth yet from that high. Could be he is still on drugs, but the $200million/day Mumbai trip is just another kick at us! He knows the Treasury is empty, why spend money that is not there? Michelle could talk to sex workers in India (what the heck!) by phone, or she could consult with Bill Clinton at a cost in pennies, not millions of dollars.
Anyway, how much is allotted for the Obamas’ gallivanting around? Seems to me they are being given a blank check. We need an accounting of what they spend for personal use and non-official function costs. The Treasury should get reimbursed for that. Barack Obama’s campaign costs for Democratic Party candidates should be borne by the DNC. He was all over the country on campaign trips with no official presidential duties incorporated in them. Our Treasury should bill the DNC or Mr. Obama, himself, for those.
While we’re at it, audits should be done on Nancy Pelosi’s use of the government issued plane and other expenses she passed on to taxpayers. Anytime she was not in it and it flew (and flies until she returns the keys), she should be billed for its fuel and maintenance. This should hold true for all government vehicles! Surely there are procedutes in place for these.
I agree with Husky’s “We simply cannot compromise the Constitution any more…no more sweet-talking.” Also Rep. Issa’s “Last night, voters soundly rejected Washington’s excesses and sent a clear message: listen to us, stop growing government, and start cutting spending.”
“but the $200million/day Mumbai trip is just another kick at us”
I don’t know which is worse, your victimhood, your gullibility or your ignorance. Hey, look a terrorist anchor baby pulling the plug on your grandma! Fools like you are holding this country back. You should just take a seat in the Tastee Freeze and let the adults take care of things.
Bozo.
Re: “No matter where he was born, his father was not an American citizen, so Obama is NOT a natural born citizen.”
The reason that the US Congress confirmed Obama’s election UNANIMOUSLY is that not one member believe that the citizenship of Obama’s father affects his Natural Born Citizen status. The reason that the chief justice of the United States swore in Obama is that he also does not believe that Obama’s father affects his Natural Born Citizen status.
That is why such prominent conservative Senators who are also lawyers as Orren Hatch and Lindsay Graham say that a Natural Born Citizen is simply one who was born in the USA:
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), said:
“Every child born in the United States is a natural-born United States citizen except for the children of diplomats.” (December 11, 2008 letter to constituent)
Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT), said:
“What is a natural born citizen? Clearly, someone born within the United States or one of its territories is a natural born citizen.” (Senate Judiciary Committee hearing hearing on OCTOBER 5, 2004)
Not so fast, dude.
First, it’s not even clear he was born where he claims he was (easy to prove that, publish your long form BC, if you have one – he doesn’t.)
Second, why is he hiding the College records (Occidental, Columbia and Harvard) and all his Illinois Senate and law related employment records (about his use of multiple names)?
Third, why is he not addressing the (possibly multiple) SSN issue (one from Connecticut issued in the 1800s)?
Fourth, why is it that the 14th Amendment citizenship clause trumps Article II, Section 1, clause 5 of the Constitution regarding Presidents? Redundancy and contradictions within the Constitution, is that what you’re argueing?
Popular vote doesn’t resolve Constitutional issues – not in this Republic.
Your post is nothing but talking points from the dems, and the Annenberg Foundation. Not all Americans are gullible, no matter what those who put him in the WH think.
Re: “First, it’s not even clear he was born where he claims he was (easy to prove that, publish your long form BC, if you have one – he doesn’t.)”
Answer. He has published the OFFICIAL birth certificate of Hawaii, and the officials in Hawaii have confirmed the facts on it, as has the Republican governor of Hawaii. Like many if not most states, Hawaii has adopted a short-form birth certificate. When it did that in 2001, it decided not to send out the long-form original anymore, and it hasn’t—not even to people born before 2001.
Re: ‘Second, why is he hiding the College records (Occidental, Columbia and Harvard) and all his Illinois Senate and law related employment records (about his use of multiple names)?’
Answer: No president has shown detailed college records. He used his stepfather’s name, but he never legally changed his name.
Re; “Third, why is he not addressing the (possibly multiple) SSN issue (one from Connecticut issued in the 1800s)?’
Answer: Birther sites have not explained to you that thousands if not hundreds of thousands if not millions of social security files contain multiple errors. The SS Administration had lots of clerks who were sloppy about their data entry, and each time they entered a numeral wrong, it generated another SS number. For example, Obama’s Connecticut SS number was generated by the Hawaii zip code for his address, which was 96814. The zip code for Danbury, CT. is 06814. Notice how close together 9 and 0 are on the keyboard?
Re: “Fourth, why is it that the 14th Amendment citizenship clause trumps Article II, Section 1, clause 5 of the Constitution regarding Presidents? “
Answer. It does not trump. Article II says Natural Born, and Obama is Natural Born. The original meaning of Natural Born is “born in the country,’ and Obama was born in Hawaii.
Re: ‘Popular vote doesn’t resolve Constitutional issues – not in this Republic.”
Answer; You are completely right. The Constitution specifies that the Electoral College elects the president, and it elected Obama. It did so, by the way, despite a letter-writing campaign to the electors from birthers and two-fers who tried to get them to change their votes. Not one elector changed one vote. I also point out, though it is not necessary, that the US Congress confirmed Obama’s election UNANIMOUSLY, meaning that not one of the 535 believes either the birther crap about birth outside the USA or the two-fer crap about needing two citizen parents.
Getting back to the long-form birth certificate. Even the “birther bill” in Congress, the one that would make future candidates for president prove that they were born in the USA, that calls for the OFFICIAL birth certificate, not the original birth certificate.
Sorry disagree with every one but it does not matter what anyone does now. Spending didn’t work. I know, since spending doesn’t work, printing money will?
The Federal Reserve Board Open Markets Committee is meeting on November 2-3, and is widely expected to announce a second round of “quantitative easing,” dubbed “QE2.” Another term for what the Fed is expected to do is “monetize the debt.” The Fed will buy government debt—primarily Treasury bonds, but possibly also mortgage-backed securities owned by the government—with new money it simply “prints.” There are two major effects of printing more money:
Banks now have cash on their books instead of debt instruments, which allows them to loan more money out.
By printing more money, the Fed lowers the value of the U.S. dollar, causing prices to rise, i.e. inflation.
My suggestion: It’s too late too buy gold.
The sad part about this is that 99% of you won’t even think about this until it slaps you in the face.
The FED (Federal Reserve Bank) is neither federal, nor do they harbor any reserves. It is a private corporation that “lends” money to our government
at an interest rate. Which is where all your income tax money goes…to service the INTEREST on the national debt. Nowhere else. Not for roads or bridges or anything that would benefit We The People. GET IT? Oh. you don’t? Read some more.
The value of the dollar has declined by over 90 percent since the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913. Did the Fed really cause this loss of savings, insurance policies, retirement funds, and purchasing power? The answer, emphatically, is that with the cooperation of government, the Fed has indeed destroyed the dollar’s value.
In January 1993, National Geographic magazine published an article entitled “The Power of Money.” Written by Associated Editor Peter T. White, it presented a very clear explanation of how the Fed operates. White asked a Fed official where the organization had obtained $100 million it had just used to purchase some securities. “We created it,” said the Fed employee. “It’s money that didn’t exist before.” He matter-of-factly admitted that no limit existed on the Fed’s ability to create money out of nothing. In 2006, China and Hong Kong accounted for more than 50 percent of the increase in the amount of Treasury debt sold to the public.
In 2008, their share had fallen to 22 percent as the U.S. government increased its public debt by a record $1.2 trillion. In the first half of 2009, China and Hong Kong acquired only 9 percent of the more than $800 billion worth of Treasury bonds that were sold.And in June 2009, China became a net SELLER of U.S. Treasury notes and bonds! Today, China won’t buy anymore of our Treasury notes and bonds. That’s why we have to.
To summarize, Ron Paul gets it but Ben & the Fed want to keep it.
Hope everybody’s got their beef jerky, toilet paper and ammo stored up.