It’s not a commission; it’s a Star Chamber

by Rossputin | 7:31 am, June 23, 2010

An article by Americans for Limited government entitled “The Commission to stop offshore drilling” and a WSJ piece called “The Antidrilling Commission” expose Barack Obama’s so-called Commission as a technically worthless political tool which Obama will use to attack oil drilling.

Rather than anything like a “blue-ribbon commission”, it’s more of a radical green group which I expect will soon fit well with aspects of Wikipedia’s description of the British Star Chamber of several centuries ago: “Over time it evolved into a political weapon and became a symbol of the misuse and abuse of power by the English monarchy and courts.”

Obama’s commission is filled with anti-drilling activists and does not contain one person with a working knowledge of oil or gas exploration or engineering. Not one. As the WSJ says, “The choice of men and women who are long opposed to more drilling suggests not a fair technical inquiry but an antidrilling political agenda.”

There are a few Democrat politicians in the Gulf Coast area of the US. As if the federal government’s response to the BP disaster hasn’t been bad enough for them, this commission could be a political death sentence, particularly if the administration is successful in forcing through a drilling moratorium despite the first such order being overturned by a judge yesterday.

Furthermore, when oil prices rise because of such a moratorium, it will be easy for Republicans to demonize Democrats as in the pocket of radical anti-energy leftists, a fair turnabout given Democrats’ constant insistence that Republicans are owned by big corporations (rather a strangely sticky complaint given how much money big coporations give to Democrats.) That particular charge against Dems has the advantage of being true – Obama’s commission is just the latest evidence.

Cleaning up the environmental disaster is one thing. Adding an economic disaster for the region on top of it because of an ill-considered moratorium and by implementing whatever muddle-headed ideas come from this utterly worthless commission is unconscionable. And adding even modestly to the cost of living for every American, especially during such difficult economic times, is likely to be punished harshly by voters.

I continue to believe that I’m going to win the bet I made about Republicans taking back the House in November’s election and I think taking back the Senate isn’t out of the question, though it’s obviously much more difficult.

Link to Original post at Rossputin.com.

Obama: government can’t & shouldn’t “run health care.” Whatever

by Brian Schwartz | 6:00 am, June 23, 2010

Boston Globe Columnist Jeff Jacoby points out an what President Obama said in a 2009 address:
I don’t believe that government can or should run health care.
Yet, at a 2008 town hall meeting in New Mexico, Senator Obama said:

If I were designing a system from scratch, I would probably go ahead with a single-payer system.

A [...]

When we’re being lectured by Europeans for spending too much…

by Rossputin | 4:48 am, June 23, 2010

Not for the first time, and probably not for the last, the Obama Administration is being lectured by leaders of countries which we’ve historically seen as more financially reckless than the US to get our fiscal house in order.

As the Washington Times reported yesterday, both the German Economy Minister and Chancellor Angela Merkel are chiding Obama:

“It’s urgently necessary for monetary stability that public budgets return to balance,” German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said at a press conference Monday, according to Bloomberg News. “This is something we should also tell our American friends.”

His comments were echoed at a separate press briefing Monday by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble…

Germany, home of massive labor unions and the country which, under Bismarck, essentially created the government-run Ponzi scheme of Social Security, has now become the world’s fiscal conservative with the US acting more like France, Sweden or possibly the early stages of Zimbabwe, though even I wouldn’t put Obama in the same category with Robert Mugabe.

Canada, also no stranger to socialism, was somewhat more gentle to Obama, with Prime Minister Stephen Harper saying “To sustain recovery, leaders from advanced countries, to the extent possible, need to reaffirm their intent to follow through on delivering existing stimulus plans. At the same time, advanced countries must send a clear message that as their stimulus plans expire, they will focus on getting their fiscal houses in order.”

That’s polite code for “Don’t pass a second ’stimulus’, Obama.”

In the meantime, even Senate Democrats are getting cold feet about spending which, as impossible as it would have sounded just two years ago, is so reckless that it’s making Republicans and Democrats alike forget (at least a little bit) just how bad George W Bush was.

Obama is not (yet) backing down, arguing that his budget will cut the deficit in half, from $1.4 trillion to just over $700 billion in the next few years. But, like everything else Obama says about finance, it’s either wrong or an outright lie. Indeed, if ObamaCare is not gutted or repealed, that alone could overwhelm any other potential budgetary savings Obama claims to be looking for. If anything like cap-and-trade is passed, it will only be worse.

One has to wonder whether Obama’s Through-The-Looking-Glass sense of fiscal responsibility and the pressure he places on his underlings to support what they (with the likely exception of Robert Gibbs, Obama’s own “Baghdad Bob”) know to be baseless predictions and economic policies conceived in ignorance is responsible for yesterday’s announcement that Obama’s budget chief, Peter Orszag is resigining and plans to leave his job in July.

Perhaps Orzsag, who prior to this job wasn’t particularly in the political spotlight, wants to disassociate himself from the most fiscally reckless government in this nation’s history so he can point back with a hint of “I told you so”.

Between Merkel, Harper, and Orszag, you’d think that Barack Obama might get the message. But he won’t. I guarantee it. His success in ramming through the biggest, most expensive, and most liberty-crushing of all versions of health care “reform” (except for the public option which he knew couldn’t pass the Senate) despite advice from Rahm Emanuel to go for a scaled-back version has made Obama, Pelosi, and Reid believe they must stick with a strategy of doing as much as they can as fast as they can to further their radical leftist “transformation” of our government. (Side note: I have bet that Emanuel will leave his job before the end of Obama’s first term…)

By the time they (Democrats in Congress, primarily) realize they got lucky – and the country now realizes that it got unlucky – by virtue (or specifically the lack of virtue) of the Cornhusker Kickback, the Louisiana Purchase, the Stupak flip-flop, and other such disgusting tactics, it will be too late for them to save their jobs or their places in history. Orszag doesn’t want to share a place in that pantheon of infamy with people who can’t even sense the urgent wake-up call represented by big-spending governments telling us that we’re spending too much.

Link to Original post at Rossputin.com.

Clear The Bench Colorado continues the Grassroots Revival – speaking on the Colorado Supreme Court, retention elections, and Chief Justice Mullarkey’s retirement at Aurora Tea Party Patriots meeting Tuesday

by CTBC Director | 4:11 pm, June 22, 2010

The resurgence of “We The People” in the form of local citizens banding together in grassroots civic action organizations to defend our constitutional rights is THE continuing political story of the year 2010 in America and is profoundly affecting Colorado Politics in this year and beyond…
Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold is both proud and humbled [...]

Political Breath on Campaign Etiquette: DO NOT STEAL E-MAIL ADDRESSES

by Eileen McGuire-Mahony | 3:51 pm, June 22, 2010

There are not a lot of absolutely black and white rules in activism. It tends to be a world where judgment plays a huge role. Be that as it may, PB is getting more than a little tired of unsubscribing – over and over – from lists we never subscribed to. This is the result [...]

Internet Sales Tax

by Al Maurer | 11:59 am, June 22, 2010

I ordered three books from Amazon.com com last week. When I got the receipt I was treated to a new link. Amazon let me know that I had to pay Colorado state sales tax on the purchase. They write: We are not obligated to, and do not, collect Colorado sales tax. Your purchase is subject [...]

Breaking: Judge overturns Obama drilling moratorium

by Rossputin | 11:48 am, June 22, 2010

CNBC is reporting that a federal judge has overturned the Obama Administration’s 6-month Gulf of Mexico drilling moratorium.

It’s a major political blow to Obama – who has seemed to suffer many of those lately – and a big win for the Gulf states whose economies were likely to be at least as damaged by the moratorium as by the spill itself.

More details later…

Link to Original post at Rossputin.com.

Romanoff lays down the smack on Bennet

by Mary Smith | 11:35 am, June 22, 2010

Andrew Romanoff blistered primary opponent U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., on The Ed (Schultz) Show on MSNBC recently, saying, “My opponent’s judgment has been clouded, it sounds like, by all the corporate cash that he’s taking.”Visit msnbc.com for …

New Jersey’s Long Battle for School Choice Stalls: Colorado Still Supports You

by Eddie | 10:51 am, June 22, 2010

About a month ago I brought your attention to the remarkable story from the New Jersey legislature, in which a liberal Democrat committee chairman moved a voucher bill hearing outside after union members hogged all the seats and refused to give up any to children supporting the bill.
Well, today the Wall Street Journal has [...]

More statist “progressive” nonsense

by David K. Williams, Jr. | 10:29 am, June 22, 2010

Today’s Denver Post editorial page features a “Point/Counterpoint.” They ask “is President Obama being unfairly blamed for his handling of the BP oil spill?”

Rafael Reuveny states that “from the onset of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, conservatives have criticized President Obama for not solving the disaster …”

No intelligent ones have. I am not aware of any one that thinks Obama can “solve” the disaster. Reuveny’s statement is absurd.

Reuveny then goes on:

The president had no choice but to rely on BP’s data on the size of the oil spill. Unfortunately, this is how the regulatory framework operates in the United States, particularly in the oil industry. By allowing the free market to govern itself, all information comes from companies that have an incentive to hide or distort information

Mr. Reuveny will need to explain what incentive, market or otherwise, BP has to “hide or distort information.” The facts are the facts. The damage caused by the oil is BP’s responsibility. If BP lies about the amount of oil being released, how does that help them in any way?

The assertion is nonsense.

Continued partisan spin and misrepresentations of Attorney General Suthers statement on Colorado Supreme Court justices

by CTBC Director | 9:12 am, June 22, 2010

Political enemies of Attorney General John Suthers are STILL attempting to use his principled (albeit uncharacteristically bold) statement that he would vote “NO” on retaining 3 of the 4 Colorado Supreme Court justices on the ballot (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, & Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) as a political club with which to rhetorically beat him – continuing [...]

Continued partisan spin and misrepresentations of Attorney General Suthers statement on Colorado Supreme Court justices

by CTBC Director | 9:12 am, June 22, 2010

Hugh Hewitt Makes Weak Attempt to Bolster Jane Norton’s Poll Showing

by Ben DeGrow | 9:01 am, June 22, 2010

Yesterday I actually found myself in a mood to give national radio host Hugh Hewitt a chance to not embarrass himself in talking about Colorado politics. After all, with a great interview early in the show, Hewitt finally acknowledged the existence of rising star and Colorado Congressional candidate Ryan Frazier. (I haven’t listened much lately: [...]

Scott McInnis, John Hickenlooper punt on Colorado’s budget problems

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 7:58 am, June 22, 2010

Can Republican Scott McInnis and Democrat John Hickenlooper continue to punt when asked how they’ll balance Colorado’s budget?
That’s what they’re doing, according to a story by Tim Hoover. And they’ll both get away with it unless one of them shows he’s serious about being governor and stops blowing off Colorado’s voters.
They’re both being irresponsible. Neither has studied the budget or really knows what to do. McInnis says he’ll restore the struggling Colorado economy. That is just nonsense. No governor, no President and no politician is going to fix the economy and thereby increase tax collections. The politicians, in fact, are doing all they can to kill jobs, especially the Obama Democrats. Hickenlooper obviously wants to increase taxes and spending, but he won’t admit it.
At this point, Colorado voters are in for a frustrating gubernatorial campaign. Neither candidate has done or is willing to do his homework and talk straight about the state’s budget.
Who will voters trust? Why will they trust either of these guys? The governor’s race is shaping up to be a personality contest, and that will be tough for McInnis.

Colorado Right to Health Care Choice Initiative – pay to collect signatures

by Brian Schwartz | 7:47 am, June 22, 2010

From Jon Caldara:
As I hope you know, we have been working to bring to this Fall’s Colorado ballot a citizens’ amendment, the Right to Health Care Choice. Well, we just cleared a massive hurdle. A federal court judge has placed an emergency injunction on a new state law that made it [...]

Gen. Stanley McChrystal doesn’t respect President Obama; he should resign

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 7:44 am, June 22, 2010

General Stanley McChrystal has revealed in a Rolling Stone article that he has no respect for President Obama, Vice President Biden or other members of the Obama administration. He should resign and explain to the world what he thinks we should do in Afghanistan. Many military observers already are upset with McChrytal. This is because he won’t let our troops fight or even defend themselves for fear of harming civilians. McChrystal has been put in a no win position by an anti-war president who doesn’t respect America. We should thank McChrystal for putting his career on the line in an effort to tell the world what kind of president he serves.

Judge kills “one man, one vote” election in NY town for demography

by Rossputin | 7:24 am, June 22, 2010

Please see my Human Events article today about how a federal judge changed a fundamental premise of American elections because he accepted an argument that not enough Hispanics were getting elected:

See “Judge Decrees Demographic Election“, Ross Kaminsky, HumanEvents.com, 6/22/10
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=37613

Link to Original post at Rossputin.com.

Denver Post: “Colorado delays Medicaid payments”

by Brian Schwartz | 6:00 am, June 22, 2010

“The trouble with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.” – Margaret Thatcher
The Denver Post reports:
Temporarily short on money, Colorado has declared a fiscal emergency and delayed payments to doctors and clinics taking care of the state’s neediest patients.
Under state law, the Medicaid department can delay reimbursements to [...]

Analysis: Economic Impact Analysis of Gulf of Mexico Moratorium

by Rossputin | 5:16 am, June 22, 2010

H/T Americans for Limited Government

The Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association has released a brief assessment of the impact of Barack Obama’s ill-conceived Gulf of Mexico drilling moratorium. You can (and should) read it HERE.

A couple of highlights:

Roughly 33% of nation’s domestically produced oil comes from the Gulf of Mexico, and 10% of the nation’s natural gas.

80% of the Gulf’s oil, and 45% of its natural gas comes from operations in more than 1000 feet of water – the deepwater (2009 data).

800 to 1400 jobs per idle rig platform are at risk.

Wages for those jobs average $1,804/weekly; potential for lost wages is huge, over $5 to $10 million for 1 month – per platform. Wages lost could be over $165 to $330 million/month for all 33 platform.

An even more in-depth (pun intended) analysis has been done by energy consulting firm Wood Mackenzie which focuses on delays and cost increases in future Gulf drilling. It’s available HERE and embedded below:

Wood Mackenzie Moratorium Study

Link to Original post at Rossputin.com.

Monday Media Week in Review – Colorado Supreme Court, Chief Justice Mullarkey, and Clear The Bench Colorado in the news

by CTBC Director | 11:45 pm, June 21, 2010

Media coverage of the pending opening on the Colorado Supreme Court (due to Justice Mary Mullarkey’s announcement of her intent to retire rather than be held accountable by voters in the November elections) along with more coverage of Chief Justice Mullarkey as she begins a “farewell tour” (and the role of the judicial accountability movement spearheaded [...]

Teflon John Hickenlooper Backs “Crash Tax” for Non-Resident Denver Wrecks

by Ben DeGrow | 11:22 pm, June 21, 2010

7News reporter Russell Haythorn has a great story today about a Denver proposal backed by Mayor John Hickenlooper to institute a “crash tax” on non-residents who cause traffic accidents on highways inside city limits: Some say it would raise revenue, others say it’s a double-tax that would scare visitors away. “It would seem to me [...]

CO Faces $75 Million Shortfall

by PerlStalker | 8:12 pm, June 21, 2010

Colorado’s budget woes aren’t getting much better. The state is looking at a $75 million shortfall next year.

On Monday, Gov. Bill Ritter’s budget analysts told lawmakers the governor is going to be forced to declare a fiscal emergency, giving him t…

Why does Scott McInnis have a 28-point lead over Dan Maes?

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 6:57 pm, June 21, 2010

Why does former U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis have a 28-point lead over Dan Maes for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, according to a SurveyUSA poll published in the Denver Post? Does that mean he’ll be the GOP nominee in the fall? With the nomination virtually locked up, will he have more money to take on Obama Democrat Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper? Is McInnis just plain lucky, or what? Can you believe the results of the poll, which was done by the third most accurate political poster, according to fellow RMA blogger, Ben DeGrow?
McInnis leads Maes 57% to 29% with 14% undecided according to a SurveyUSA poll of likely Republican primary voters. McInnis leads Hickenlooper 47% to 43%, which means they’re in a virtual tie.
Why is McInnis leading? Among other things, long before SurveyUSA said jobs is the top priority for Colorado’s voters, McInnis has been saying “jobs, jobs, jobs” is the top issue since I started covering his campaign back in early October. See link below.
This is my 191st post about Scott McInnis, my 100th about Dan Maes and my 51st about John Hickenlooper.
LINKS:
Is Dan Maes Toast? Raised only $35,000 in May; Scott McInnis raised $252,000. The Business Word, 6.04.2010.
Poll: Coloradans say jobs are nation’s primary concern. SurveyUSA in Denver Post, 6.21.2010.
Poll: Hickenlooper has fight ahead with either Maes or McInnis in gubernatorial race. SuveyUSA in Denver Post, 6.20.2010.
Numbers don’t back Norton camp’s attempt to disparage SurvayUSA. By Ben DeGrow.
Scott McInnis attacks Ritter’s inexperience, bad bets. The Business Word, 10.05.2009.

Why Scott McInnis has a 28-point lead over Dan Maes

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 6:57 pm, June 21, 2010

SurveyUSA: Walker Stapleton Up By 10, J.J. Ament Faces Tough Challenge

by Ben DeGrow | 5:19 pm, June 21, 2010

Last night I posted a quick analysis on the fresh survey data on Colorado’s big-ticket 2010 political races. Down the ticket, state treasurer hopeful Walker Stapleton has a 10-point lead on J.J. Ament — who only a month ago won a resounding victory at the State Assembly. Having bypassed the assembly process, Stapleton successfully petitioned [...]

Mulligan for a veto?

by Amy Oliver | 3:14 pm, June 21, 2010

Can a governor get a do-over for a veto?
In light of recent news reports about the state’s “revenue” shortfall, COST wonders if Governor Bill Ritter is wishing he could take a mulligan for his veto of HB 1287, a bipartisan bill that would have limited the use of state vehicles for personal commuting. According to the [...]

Man On a Mission To Kill Bin Laden

by Mr. Bob | 3:06 pm, June 21, 2010

#tcot #redco #gwotI like this guy he’s a doer;

Suthers on the Healthcare Lawsuit

by Al Maurer | 12:00 pm, June 21, 2010

I heard Colorado Attorney General John Suthers speak Saturday about the progress of the suit being brought by 19 states–14 attorneys general and 5 governors–against the federal government over Obamacare. We all know that the 2010 election is important; I’ve been saying that it is as pivotal as the election of 1860. Suthers remarks seem [...]

Summertime as Good as Any For Staying Engaged in Common Core Standards Debate

by Eddie | 10:36 am, June 21, 2010

Is the United States headed down a primrose path to national education standards? A couple weeks ago I brought your attention to the televised version of that debate going on here in Colorado.
Of course, there’s been a terrific back-and-forth between the Fordham Institute’s Mike Petrilli and the University of Arkansas’s Jay Greene.
The latest blast [...]