Archive for September, 2011
Photograph Courtesy of Art Streiber
Read all of Michael Lewis’ excellent piece on California government and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
A ompelling book called California Crackup describes this problem more generally. It was written by a pair of journalists and nonpartisan think-tank scholars, Joe Mathews and Mark Paul, and they explain, among other things, why Arnold Schwarzenegger’s experience as governor was going to be unlike any other experience in his career: he was never going to win. California had organized itself, not accidentally, into highly partisan legislative districts. It elected highly partisan people to office and then required these people to reach a two-thirds majority to enact any new tax or meddle with big spending decisions. On the off chance that they found some common ground, it could be pulled out from under them by voters through the initiative process. Throw in term limits—no elected official now serves in California government long enough to fully understand it—and you have a recipe for generating maximum contempt for elected officials. Politicians are elected to get things done and are prevented by the system from doing it, leading the people to grow even more disgusted with them. “The vicious cycle of contempt,” as Mark Paul calls it. California state government was designed mainly to maximize the likelihood that voters will continue to despise the people they elect.
But when you look below the surface, he adds, the system is actually very good at giving Californians what they want. “What all the polls show,” says Paul, “is that people want services and not to pay for them. And that’s exactly what they have now got.” As much as they claimed to despise their government, the citizens of California shared its defining trait: a need for debt. The average Californian, in 2011, had debts of $78,000 against an income of $43,000. The behavior was unsustainable, but, in its way, for the people, it works brilliantly. For their leaders, even in the short term, it works less well. They ride into office on great false hopes and quickly discover they can do nothing to justify those hopes.
Tags: Arnold Schwarzenegger, California
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According to the latest Rasmussen Poll.
One’s in the race and one’s contemplating a run, but for now Mitt Romney and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie are both essentially even with President Obama in hypothetical Election 2012 matchups.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters finds Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, with 44% of the vote to Obama’s 42%. Eight percent (8%) like another candidate, and seven percent (7%) are undecided.
Obama wins 44% support, while Christie picks up 43% in their matchup. Six percent (6%) prefer a third option, and eight percent (8%) are undecided. However, just 26% believe the first-term governor is likely to run for the White House, and only 20% think he should seek the White House.
Here is the breakdown for all of the other GOP candidates and President Obama.
Not a bad first poll for Governor Christie and note the fall of Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann.
Tags: Chris Christie, Polling, President 2012
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Day By Day by Chris Muir
Chris, you remember Senator Obama during the 2008 Presidential campaign telling Joe the Plumber about “spreadin’ the wealth around.”
There you go……
Tags: Barack Obama, Day By Day
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These are my links for September 29th through September 30th:
- Why I’m liking Perry better than Romney – With three months remaining in 2011, and the presidential race firming up, I've spent a lot of time recently thnking about the respective candidates, their pros and cons, and who I would feel most comfortable supporting. The reality is, I think we're going to be looking at a Perry-Romney showdown, when push comes to shove. And in that context, it's pretty clear at this point to me that I'm in the Perry camp.
I've had some people ask me why that is recently. I originally became known in the blogosphere for being a squishy moderate/squishy libertarian, and some people seem to see that as consistent with preferring Romney to Perry, if those are the choices. So on a relatively quiet Friday, I figured I'd take a minute and spell it out, especially since reasons #1 and #2 are topical and in the news today.
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-09-30 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-09-30 #tcot #catcot
- Flap’s Links and Comments for September 29th on 09:07 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for September 29th on 09:07 #tcot #catcot
Tags: #catcot, #tcot, Mair, Perry, Pinboard Links, Romney
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Posted by Flap in Twitter
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These are my links for September 29th from 09:07 to 21:41:
- Gov. Rick Perry greeted by protestors in Charlotte – Texas Governor Rick Perry made a stop on his fundraising trail in Charlotte on Thursday, but it wasn't his supporters who made the most noise. Protestors took to the streets outside San Antonio’s Mexican Grill at SouthPark.
It was anything but a southern hospitality welcome.
"Rick Perry is the only candidate that signed in state tuition for illegal immigrants into law, " said William Gheen, President of Americans for Legal Immigration, or ALIPAC.
“The reason that states have to deal with this is because of the failure of federal government," countered Gov. Perry.
Texas signed a version of the Dream Act into law, allowing many undocumented students who grew up and received a high school education in the United States to receive in-state tuition for college, and Perry stood by his support for the issue.
"The federal government demands we give them healthcare, we educate them. So in Texas we've decided we want them to be part of the work force and not part of the problem," said Gov. Perry.
But Gheen says it doesn't matter how long the kids have been in the U.S. They shouldn't have the same rights as American students when it comes to education.
- Rick Perry: My wife prodded me to enter presidential race – Speaking at a fundraising event for campaign donors in Beverly Hills, California on September 8th, Mr Perry praised his wife Anita, stating that "we grow beautiful women in Texas" and it was 45 years since they had first met at a piano recital near his home in Paint Creek, Texas.
"And actually, the reason I'm standing before you is that, I was quite comfortable and happy being the governor of the state of Texas, and as she shared with me, 'You know, you're reasonably good at it'," he said.
"But she said, 'You do not have the privilege to stand on the sidelines. Our country is in trouble and you have to do your duty'. And so honey I want to say thank you for prodding me across the line."
Some of Mr Perry's detractors have said that he was pushed into running for president and that his poor debate performances reflect a lack of motivation. A senior adviser to Mitt Romney, the Texan's main rival, said that Mr Perry had embarked on "a careless candidacy prompted by his wife" and campaign consultants.
- Why Romney Hasn’t Caught On – The New York Times and Washington Post both take a look at Mitt Romney's presidential campaign and wonder why he hasn't been able to excite Republican primary voters.
First Read: "Yet here's one reason both articles don't really mention: his past positions on issues… Only six years ago, he supported abortion rights; in 1994, he sent a letter saying he'd be a stronger advocate for gay rights than Ted Kennedy; according to a 2006 article, he supported a path to citizenship for law-abiding illegal immigrants; he has said that his Massachusetts health-care law should be a model for other states; and he said back in June that humans have contributed to the world getting warmer — and that it's important to reduce emissions to combat that. All of those positions are anathema to conservatives. A question: Does this Republican electorate want to 'settle,' gravitate behind the most electable? When they've 'settled in the past, many conservative leaders have regretted it (see McCain or Dole or Bush 41)."
Tags: Perry, Pinboard Links, Romney
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“Gibson is a well-respected American company,” John Boehner said
Come On! What is going on here?
Last month’s federal raids on the company that makes Gibson electric guitars were a gift to Republicans who have spent years railing about more obscure issues like boiler MACT regulations and particulate emissions standards.
Here, at last, was a controversy the average person could grasp: Overreaching regulators were out to kill rock ‘n’ roll.
Still, House Republicans are having some trouble getting the issue to gain traction on the Hill.
The Justice and Interior departments have rebuffed the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s request for a briefing on the Gibson raid, with the agencies refusing to comment on their ongoing investigation into the possible importation of illegally harvested ebony and other woods from countries such as Madagascar and India.
Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.), chairwoman of the committee’s Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee, hasn’t scheduled a hearing on the raid but hasn’t ruled one out, said her senior adviser Ken Johnson.
“American jobs are at stake, and Bono Mack hopes the Justice Department takes into account common sense and not just the letter of the law,” he said.
The fight between the government and the Gibson Guitar Corp., maker of instruments such as the Gibson Les Paul, features some similarities with the GOP’s typical complaints about the Obama administration’s regulatory agenda — especially in the impact on jobs.
“Gibson is a well-respected American company that employs thousands of people,” House Speaker John Boehner said in a speech this month to the Economic Club of Washington. “The company’s costs as a result of the raid? An estimated $2-3 million. Why? Because Gibson bought wood overseas to make guitars in America. Seriously.”
Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz sounded a similar theme when complaining to reporters about the roughly $1 million in wood and instruments that the federal agents seized in August from company facilities in Nashville and Memphis, Tenn.
“We aren’t in the wrong, yet our entire operation has effectively been noticed to be shut down,” Juszkiewicz said during a news conference after the raid. “Over the last two years, we’ve hired 580 American workers. Just in the last two years. We’re one company that’s manufacturing in the U.S., hiring people and yet, the government is spending millions of dollars on this issue.”
Home-state Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn further raised Juszkiewicz’s political profile by inviting him to be her guest during President Barack Obama’s Sept. 8 jobs speech to Congress.
Blackburn is also scheduled to appear at an Oct. 8 “We Stand With Gibson” rally and concert that dozens of tea party, libertarian and other conservative groups are sponsoring in Nashville.
The House needs to have the Obama Administration officials in for a little chat and Rep Mary Bono Mack should expedite the hearings as soon as possible. This is typical BS from the Feds and it has to stop harassing American businesses.
Here is a piece on the original 2009 raid on Gibson guitars.
Looks to me an easy solution will be to relocate the factory offshore and import into the USA, a finished product. I am sure some of those countries that export the wood would love to have a new factory in their country.
I mean, how stupid is that because of a law first meant to regulate bird feathers in hats, the Lacey Act.
Tags: Gibson Guitars, Lacey Act
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