• Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for April 26th on 19:27

    April 26, 2011 /

    These are my links for April 26th from 19:27 to 19:30:

    • President 2012: Rudy Giuliani leaving ‘door open’ to White House run – Former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani told The Washington Times on Tuesday that he is keeping “the door open” to a 2012 presidential bid, saying he might jump into the race if he believes the other candidates are unelectable.

      Mr. Giuliani is slated to speak next month in New Hampshire, where he finished fourth among 2008 Republican presidential candidates in the first-in-the-nation primaries.

      “I’m going to go to New Hampshire to speak to a law enforcement
      o to New Hampshire to speak to a law enforcement group, so that’s really the main purpose of the speech, but I keep in contact with people in New Hampshire and try to figure out what kind of a chance I have,” Mr. Giuliani said in an interview. “At this point, I’m not actively considering it, but I have the door open.”

      ======

      I can see Rudy being selected as Vice President with Mitch Daniels, Paul Ryan or even Mike Huckabee.

      Rudy is a terrific campaigner and debater. Plus, who else would you want to take over in case anything happened to the President.

    • Mitch Daniels’ timeline for White House campaign ticking – Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, nearing an announcement on whether to run for president, is spending the final week of his state's legislative session pushing for the final pieces of a record that would be ready-made for a Republican campaign: a balanced budget, tax refunds and a school voucher program.

      This week's unexpected decision by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a Daniels friend, to forgo a presidential candidacy seemingly makes it more likely the Midwestern governor will seek the GOP nomination. Party insiders close to the two men say Barbour and Daniels, whose early careers intersected as aides to President Ronald Reagan, had indicated privately they would not both seek the 2012 nomination.

      But Daniels, 62, is not rushing to join the field.

      The governor, who typically keeps his own counsel, is staying mum about his plans. Even his closest advisers here say they still aren't sure what he will do.

      He's kept open the possibility of a run for months, if only to make sure his top issue — enormous deficits and the national debt — was a serious part of the debate. And he is keeping his pledge to tend to business in Indiana before making an announcement or taking even the most preliminary steps toward a national run.

      "He has said he's focused on the legislative session and he would make a decision when that's over," Jane Jankowski, the governor's spokeswoman, said Tuesday. The Legislature is slated to adjourn by the end of this week.

      ======

      I would say 60 – 40 at present.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for April 26th on 17:06

    April 26, 2011 /

    These are my links for April 26th from 17:06 to 18:59:

    • President 2012: Why Rep Paul Ryan Could Enter the Presidential race – It’s not just Bill Kristol, gang. There’s desire at the highest ranks of the Republican Party, according to my reporting and sources, to see House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan seek the 2012 presidential nomination. Here’s why:

      1) Since Democrats are determined to hang Ryan’s bold “Path to Prosperity” budget plan around the neck of every Republican running for office in 2012, why not have its author and best salesman advocate for it directly vs. President Obama?

      2) Ryan — to borrow a favorite Simon Cowell phrase — is “current.” He’s smack in the middle of budgetary and ideological clash between Democrats and Republicans and would immediately energize conservative and Tea Party activists.

      3) Ryan is a strong national defense conservative, as well as pro-life.

      4) Ryan is from a battleground state, Wisconsin, and a battleground region, the upper Great Lakes.

      5) Ryan’s youth, vigor, likability and Jimmy Stewart persona — well, a wonky version of George Bailey — would be an immediate shorthand signal to voters that he’s a different kind of Republican. He also has a compelling life story to tell.

      6) Obama suddenly and unexpectedly to Washington insiders looks beatable — by the right candidate.

      ======

      I can easily see a Mitch Daniels/Paul Ryan ticket.

      Or a Mike Huckabee/Paul Ryan ticket

      Or going for broke: Paul Ryan/Rudy Giuliani ticket

    • We Respond to NPR’s Lighthearted Coverage of Koch Death Threats | – I am writing to raise deep concerns about a Morning Edition segment that aired on April 22 and apparently made light of death threats that had been leveled at gentleman in Iowa but that had been intended for our company.
      The item was read by hosts Mary Louise Kelly and Renee Montagne, billed as “our last word in business,” and was clearly framed as an amusing take on the news.  Kelly and Montagne made sport of the fact that a Mr. Dutch Koch shares the same surname as that of our company, even musing that he’s also been “confused with the big soda maker” – Coca-Cola, it seems.  Kelly quipped that “he does not say which cola he prefers” before cutting away to what sounds like bongo drum music.
      But there is nothing even remotely funny about a person’s life being threatened and NPR ought to be ashamed that simple fact of decency has to be pointed out. 

      =====

      More Koch Derangement Syndrome from the LEFTY NPR.

      Real funny = NOT

    • Janet Napolitano clarifies immigration program – disappoints sanctuary cities – Napolitano defended the program Monday as vital to immigration enforcement.

      "Where immigration is concerned, the federal government fundamentally sets the policy." She said communities will benefit from the tool.

      "Let's assume we have 11 million people in the country illegally," she said. If Congress can provide enough enforcement funding to remove perhaps 400,000 of them annually, she added, "How are we going to set those priorities? One big priority is who is violating criminal laws."

      =======

      The program is a good one and is a start only.

      Immigration is a federal perogative and the Obama Administration needs to do more.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for April 26th on 13:01

    April 26, 2011 /

    These are my links for April 26th from 13:01 to 16:59:

  • Nanny State,  Soda Tax

    Nanny State Watch: California Soda Tax Shelved by Legislative Committee

    April 26, 2011 /

    Well, technically the legislation is still alive.

    And, you remember the Flap.

    A proposed California law to tax sodas, sweet teas, sports drinks and other sugary beverages was shelved today by an Assembly committee.

    Assembly Bill 669 was placed on hold in a file for bills with monetary implications. No vote was taken, so the bill technically remains alive, but the author’s office conceded that it is unlikely to advance.

    Assemblyman Bill Monning, who crafted the measure, said the committee will not move AB 669 to the Assembly floor unless it can win a two-thirds majority vote there — and, so far, that is not the case. Republicans adamantly have opposed any new tax.

    “I would acknowledge that it’s an uphill struggle,” said Monning, D-Carmel.

    Monning crafted AB 669 to generate revenue for obesity prevention activities and programs.

    The measure would slap sugar drinks distributed in California with an excise tax of one penny per fluid ounce.

    There is NO WAY any Republicans in the California Legislature would ever vote for this POS law. And, remember that in California in order to raise taxes you need a two-thirds vote of the Legislature.

    But, it will remain alive to become a “JUICE BILL” for the California Democrats in order to raise money for their 2012 re-election campaigns. I can see those invites to campaign events goin gout to all of those large soda companies now.

    Opponents claim that AB 669 could harm the beverage industry and that decisions about consumption of sugary drinks are a matter of individual responsibility and parental authority.

  • Chris Christie,  Donald Trump,  Mike Huckabee,  Mitch Daniels,  Mitt Romney,  Polling,  President 2012,  Sarah Palin,  Tim Pawlenty

    President 2012 Poll Watch: 65% will Not Vote for Sarah Palin, 64% Will Not Vote for Donald Trump

    April 26, 2011 /

    According to the latest Gallup Poll.

    More than 6 in 10 registered voters nationwide say they would definitely not vote for Donald Trump or Sarah Palin for president in 2012, significantly more than say the same about possible Republican candidates Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee, or about President Barack Obama.

    This is not really surprising but I doubt it means much. I doubt Sarah Palin or Donald Trump will be candidates for the GOP nomination for President.

    What is most interesting to me is that 46% of Americans polled say they will NOT vote for President Obama which is about the same for Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney.

    While the Donald Trump show has been amuzing the past few weeks, it has served as an outlet for Americans who have decided that they do not wish to re-elect President Obama. There are sufficient Republican canddates in Huckabee and Romney who can make a credible run against the President. I, also believe, there will be other candidates who will emerge within the next 30-60 days who have accomplished records that can also be viewed as viable candidates, including Tim Pawlenty, Mitch Daniels, Chris Christie and Paul Ryan.

    Trump’s attention-grabbing, high-visibility statements and his ability to generate large amounts of news coverage cut two ways. On the one hand, Trump has undeniably dominated news coverage of the Republican race in the last several weeks, vaulting him into the middle of political and election news discussion and coverage. On the other hand, Trump’s ability to generate publicity apparently has its costs, as his image has turned more negative and as more than 6 in 10 voters across the country already say they would definitely not vote for him.

    Trump also faces apparent obstacles in his efforts to gain the Republican nomination, should he decide to run. Almost half of Republican registered voters at this point say they would definitely not vote for him, the highest of any of the four possible GOP candidates measured in this survey.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for April 26th on 12:32

    April 26, 2011 /

    These are my links for April 26th from 12:32 to 12:53:

    • California budget nut remains uncracked – Jerry Brown's insider attempt to crack California's budget nut has been no more successful than Arnold Schwarzenegger's outsider attack.

      Both relied on unrealistic assumptions about Capitol reality – Schwarzenegger because he was a newbie and Brown for reasons known only to him.

      Brown offered a complex mixture of spending cuts and tax extensions tailored to the supposed predilections of a disaffected California electorate.

      Nearly four months later, however, the Capitol is stalemated – and not merely because of its deep ideological divisions.

      For weeks, Brown negotiated with a few Republican senators who were evidently willing to place an extension of temporary taxes before voters if public pension and budget reforms were part of the ballot package.

      The talks eventually collapsed. Brown says, in effect, the Republicans demanded too much, but it's also evident that he, Democratic lawmakers and their allies, especially public employee unions, got cold feet.

      Private and public polls indicated that if taxes, pension reforms and a spending limit were placed on the ballot, voters might easily reject the taxes and pass the two others.

      A new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll underscores the Democrats' dilemma, finding voters' support for a tax election and pension and budget reforms is very high but for taxes is barely 50 percent.

      ======

      California's budget will remain uncracked until either voters pass tax increases by voting for them at the ballot or the Democrats get serious about cutting spending.

      I see neither anytime soon and California's economy will stay in the doldrums.

    • Lamar Alexander: The White House vs. Boeing—A Tennessee Tale – The National Labor Relations Board has moved to stop Boeing from building airplanes at a nonunion plant in South Carolina, suggesting that a unionized American company cannot expand its operations into one of the 22 states with right-to-work laws, which protect a worker's right to join or not join a union. (New Hampshire's legislature has just approved its becoming the 23rd.)

      This reminds me of a White House state dinner in February 1979, when I was governor of Tennessee. President Jimmy Carter said, "Governors, go to Japan. Persuade them to make here what they sell here."

      "Make here what they sell here" was then the union battle cry, part of an effort to slow the tide of Japanese cars and trucks entering the U.S. market.

      ======

      Read it all…..

      This example explains why America has lost its manufacturing might…..

  • Dean Heller,  Shelley Berkley

    NV-Sen Poll Watch: Dean Heller 47% (R) Vs. Shelley Berkley 43% (D)

    April 26, 2011 /

    According to the latest PPP Poll.

    Favorable Vs. Unfavorable:

    • Shelley Berkley – 34% Vs. 31%
    • Dean Heller – 43% Vs. 29%

    Head to Head:

    Dean Heller – 47% Vs. Shelley Berkley – 43%

    With the precipitous resignation of GOP Senator John Ensign, Republican Governor Brian Sandoval will likely appoint GOP Rep. Dean Heller to the position. But, the seat becomes available in November 2012 and Heller’s apparent opponent will be Democrat Rep. Shelley Berkley, who represents the Las Vegas area of the state.

    This will be a hard fought contest with the Casino unions going all out to re-claim this seat from the GOP.

    However, Rep. Heller is a popular and well-known POL who will be the incumbent.

  • Donald Trump,  Mike Huckabee,  Mitt Romney,  Newt Gingrich,  Polling,  President 2012,  Sarah Palin

    President 2012 West Virginia GOP Poll Watch: Hucakbee 24% Trump 24% Palin 13% Romney 11%

    April 26, 2011 /

    According to the latest PPP Poll.

    Favorable Vs. Unfavorable:

    • Mike Huckabee – 73% Vs. 10%
    • Sarah Palin – 67% Vs. 18%
    • Newt Gingrich – 57% Vs. 20%
    • Mitt Romney – 51% Vs. 23%
    • Donald Trump – 47% Vs. 33%

    The GOP Primary:

    • Huckabee – 24%
    • Trump – 24%
    • Palin – 13%
    • Romney – 11%
    • Gingrich – 9%
    • Pawlenty – 4%
    • Bachmann – 3%
    • Paul – 3%

    As the GOP field narrows in the next 30 days, we will see how the numbers start to move. As Karl Rove said yesterday, a GOP candidate cannot wait more than another 30-60 days to begin raising sufficient money to run their campaign. And, major GOP donors are waiting on the sidelines, waiting for the field to firm up.