Obama: Tax cuts are "gifts"

The President brought up this idea that tax cuts need to be paid for today, but he also said something even more revealing and outrageous. When discussing the idea of extending the tax cuts for those making more than $250K (married)/$200K (single), he said that "we can't give $700 billion away to some of America's wealthiest people."

So not only do lower taxes need to be "paid for", we really should look at any tax cut as a gift. It really does sound to me like he believes that all income and wealth produced in an economy is by default property of the government.

Which brings me to another point. Many on our side are pointing out that raising taxes in a recession is bad economic policy. It is, but is that really the point? Doesn't that imply that it is okay to raise taxes when times are good?

This discussion and debate needs to be framed not it terms of "not raising taxes in a recession", it needs to be framed in terms of property rights. If there was ever a time the American people might be willing to hear such an argument, it might be now.

Dick Morris: Not the time to triangulate

Dick Morris was on Hannity last night and made the case that when the biggest issue to voters is deficits and fiscal issues, being on the "far right" is not a detriment like it can be with other issues. On the contrary, being a right wing conservative can be a benefit even in the context of a general election. Why? Because if voters are looking for someone who will cut spending and reduce the size and scope of government, and all of the candidates are promising to do so, voters know that only the conservative candidate is being sincere. When it comes to spending and deficits, he says "it's not about left vs. right, it's about sincerity vs. insincerity".

Say what you want about "Mr. Dickmorris.com", but occasionally he arrives at some very interesting insights, and I think this is one of those times.

[Update]

Here is the link to Dick Morris's column on the subject, and here is the part worth reading:

When social issues like abortion, gays, and guns dominate the political discourse, moderates have a big advantage. Voters in these times tend to measure themselves on a left to right spectrum and find those flanked sharply to their right to be extremist on these issues and reject their candidacies.

But these days, social issues are in remission and economic/fiscal problems have, understandably, taken center stage. In this environment, purists of the right have a big advantage because nobody doubts the sincerity with which they embrace the goals of limited government, low taxes, and reduced spending. Politicians of all stripes – including most Democrats – vow allegiance to them as does the overwhelming majority of the electorate. In this environment, the distinctions of left and right give way to the difference between sincerity and insincerity, leaving the voters to judge. With candidates like Sharron Angle in Nevada or Christine O’Donnell in Delaware or DioGuardia in New York, voters don’t have to guess. They know real conservatives when they see them.

Also, this is where the nickname "Mr. Dickmorris.com" came from.

The Rush Limbaugh theory on Mark Sanchez's poor performance

Ines Sainz, in a Samson and Delilah sort of way.

After watching this CBS interview, it appears that the whole team was distracted.

Lileks on the power of Fox News

This from the comment section over at Ricochet:

I still remember the first time I stumbled across Fox news - I went into a fugue state, stood stock-still, wet myself, then lost 48 hours, after which I found myself on the lawn burning back issues of the New Republic. Even the ones in which I appeared. I don't know what kind of mind-control beams those guys use, but they are good. - James Lileks

Mike Barnicle on Boehner: "How is it that he ended up as a Republican?"

That was Mike Barnicle's response after watching Luke Russert's piece about John Boehner's working class background. Russert traveled to Boehner's hometown of Reading, Ohio, visiting the small home that Boehner lived in with his 11 brothers and sisters, and the family owned tavern that he used to scrub down for 4 or 5 hours at the crack of dawn each Saturday morning. Russert also explains how Boehner took 7 years to complete his undergraduate degree at Xavier because he was working full time during the day just to put himself through college.

As for Barnicle's response, it was typical, honest and revealing. For many, it is inconceivable how someone from a working class background could eventually become a conservative Republican.

Congratulations to Russert for doing the piece. It is devastating to caricature that the left is trying to create about the Minority Leader.

Watch the video here.

By the way, like I said, I love Boehner!

A new addition to Chris Christie's greatest hits

I love this man.

Boehner is making no sense

John Boehner has called for legislation that will preserve the Bush tax rates for an additional two years in order to create more certainty for small businesses.

What? How does passing yet another temporary tax cut reduce uncertainty? Two years is an incredibly short amount of time for a business that is deciding whether or not to make investments that will produce income far out into the future.

Let's stay focused here. It's the spending that's creating all of the uncertainty. No one is certain how all of this spending is going to be paid for.

This is why I have no confidence in this guy. Paul Ryan for speaker.

Obama and the ditch

"The Republicans drove our economy into a ditch." - President Obama

"Perhaps, but you are driving the economy off a cliff." - Me

The air is thick and so are we

South Floridians know well that as the humidity rises, the natural and holy constraints on human behavior seem to fall away, and not a day goes by without at least one truly bizarre story in the local paper. A few recent examples.

For starters, here's a headline from the final days of a hotly contested Democratic primary race:

• Battle of the robocalls: Greene enlists Star Jones after Pelosi phones for Meek in Dem Senate primary

(In a turn of events that will puzzle political scientists for decades to come, the Jones charisma offensive failed to sway the voters, and Kendrick Meek prevailed handily over Jeff Greene in the primary.)

The odd behavior is not limited to politics:

• A Miami Dolphins defensive end lost his 2.5 carot diamond earring at practice.
  
  
• When a man in Delray Beach came across a dead whale that had washed up on the sand, he knelt down and cut away two feet of the beast, including its tail. He wanted to eat it, and according to a reporter, "said he wasn't worried about health issues because the body still was warm and there was only one fly on it."
  
  

There is a subtle poetry to this one, like a haiku written by Ned Clampett.

Fla. man driving lawn mower charged with DUI

ANTHONY, FLA -- A central Florida man has been charged with DUI for driving a lawn mower drunk

Marion County Sheriff's Office spotted Richard Paschen driving the read lawn mower with a cup of beer sitting in the cup holder Friday night.

He told Deputy Gary Miller he'd had "a pretty good bit" to drink and had gotten lost on his way home. Paschen refused a breath test

Pasken has had several DUIs and his driver's license has been suspended.

Come to think of it, these guys ARE like an old joke