The Morning Flap: June 5, 2012
Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker casts his ballot Tuesday, June 5, 2012, in Wauwatosa, Wis. Walker faces Democratic challenger Tom Barrett in a special recall election
These are my links for June 4th through June 5th:
- The Wisconsin Recall Stakes – A test of whether taxpayers can control the entitlement state– A single election rarely determines a democracy’s fate, but some matter more than others. Tuesday’s recall election of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is one that matters a great deal because it will test whether taxpayers have any hope of controlling the entitlement state and its dominant special interests.Specifically, we will learn if a politician can dare to cross government unions and survive. Mr. Walker isn’t facing this extraordinary midterm challenge because he and a GOP legislature asked public workers to pay 12.6% of their health insurance premiums and put 5.8% of their paychecks toward their pensions. Those are small sums compared to what private employees typically pay.His political offense was daring to challenge the monopoly sway that public unions have come to hold over modern state government through collective bargaining. Public unions aren’t like private unions that negotiate labor terms with a single company or workplace. Public unions have outsize influence because they can often buy the politicians who are supposed to represent taxpayers. The unions effectively sit on both sides of the bargaining table.
- Intrade Has Walker’s Chances over 90%; NY Times in Panic Mode– With an Intrade poll citing Walker’s chances of winning the Wisconsin recall at more than 93%, The New York Times is entering into full-blown panic mode over whatthis election could mean for Obama’s chances this November:A Republican resurgence here, which has burst into full view as the party determinedly defends its sitting governor in a rare recall election, is spilling into the presidential race. The result is poised to shape the general election fight between Mr. Obama and Mitt Romney, who intends to add Wisconsin to his list of targeted states.After valiantly trying to shield its readers from Walker’s lead, The New York Times is now doing its best to spare them the full horror of what is occurring in Wisconsin. The progressive left pulled out all the stops: unions, rage, “community organizers,” demonstrations, and name calling were supposed to make Wisconsin the front line for the progressive “fightback.” In a state that hasn’t been carried by a Republican since Reagan in 1984, Democrats thought this strategy couldn’t fail.
- Wisconsin Walker recall: Dems prep for recall recount– Brace yourself: Wisconsin Democrats say they are preparing for the event that the hotly contested recall race could drag on for weeks, or even longer.Floating the prospect of a recount is, of course, a message that bolsters the party’s claims that the race is closer than people think and that it will go down to the wire — despite polls showing Walker with the lead.
- Romney Strongly Defended Individual Mandate, Emails Show– When Mitt Romney was governor of Massachusetts and getting health reform passed there, emails demonstrate he strongly defended the individual mandate, the Wall Street Journal reports.Republicans now criticize the much-hated requirement that everyone get health insurance and it’s the center of some of the strongest challenges to the 2010 health reform law. But the emails support the historical evidence that themandate was originally a Republican idea, one that President Obama only reluctantly embraced later
- Obama Desperate :Bill Clinton hits Romney on Solyndra visit– Former President Bill Clinton is jumping into the fray over Solyndra, the failed, taxpayer-backed solar company that Mitt Romney and GOP super-PACs hope to transform into a symbol of President Obama’s economic record.Clinton used a New York City fundraiser for Obama Monday night to bash Romney’s recent surprise campaign stop at the shuttered California headquarters of Solyndra, which went bankrupt last year after receiving a $535 million federal loan guarantee in 2009.
- Fear factors: What worries Mitt Romney backers– With Romney, it’s just the opposite. Voters are just getting to know the guy, and there’s a lot there they might not like — so much of it personal, relating to Romney the man and Romney the candidate, according to these GOP officials, even those who praise his strong showing out of the gate in the general election. His Mormon faith. His stiff public appearance. His ideological inconsistency. His trouble confronting and controlling the Donald Trumps of the party. His knack for cringe-worthy stabs at connecting.“I worry that the default will be for the devil you know over the devil you don’t,” said William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard.In interviews with top officials nationwide, Republicans expressed fear Romney will start, well, acting like Romney again — by improvising, maybe sparking another my-friends-own-NFL-teams moment in a clumsy attempt at connecting with voters. Or his Mormon faith will spook Christians more than is commonly thought – or detected in public polls. A surrogate is virtually certain to say something crazy — like Donald Trump, who seems to double-down on questioning Obama’s birthplace every chance he gets, including in an interview with POLITICO below.
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-06-05 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-06-05
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Republicans Vote for Linda Parks Tomorrow – Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Republicans Vote for Linda Parks Tomorrow
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Republicans Vote for Linda Parks Tomorrow – Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Republicans Vote for Linda Parks Tomorrow
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Republicans Vote for Linda Parks Tomorrow – Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Republicans Vote for Linda Parks Tomorrow
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Republicans Vote for Linda Parks Tomorrow – Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Republicans Vote for Linda Parks Tomorrow
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Republicans Vote for Linda Parks Tomorrow – Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Republicans Vote for Linda Parks Tomorrow
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Strickland Continues to Lead in Fundraising – CA-26: Strickland Continues to Lead in Fundraising
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Republicans Vote for Linda Parks Tomorrow – Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Republicans Vote for Linda Parks Tomorrow
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Republicans Vote for Linda Parks Tomorrow – Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Republicans Vote for Linda Parks Tomorrow
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Republicans Vote for Linda Parks Tomorrow– RE: Wow!I have known Linda Parks for decades and I find her no more abhorrent than any of the other POLS who have b…
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Republicans Vote for Linda Parks Tomorrow – Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Republicans Vote for Linda Parks Tomorrow
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Republicans Vote for Linda Parks Tomorrow – RE: I would rather see a Ventura County conservative vs. a Ventura County moderate face off than a VC Conservative vs…
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Romney Now Leads Obama Among Middle Income Voters – Romney Now Leads Obama Among Middle Income Voters #tcot
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Four Muslims Jailed in Denmark Over Muhammed Cartoons Terrorist Plot – Four Muslims Jailed in Denmark Over Muhammed Cartoons Terrorist Plot
- Election 2012: Virginia President – Rasmussen Reports™ – President 2012 Virginia Poll: Obama 47% Vs Romney 47% #tcot
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Republicans Vote for Linda Parks Tomorrow – CA-26: Republicans Vote for Linda Parks Tomorrow
- Sarah Palin to rally conservative online army – Kenneth P. Vogel – POLITICO.com – RT @MelissaTweets: Woot! @SarahPalinUSA will be speaking at Right Online in Vegas!!! #ro12
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Day By Day June 1- June 4, 2012 – Day By Day June 1- June 4, 2012
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: June 4, 2012 – The Morning Drill: June 4, 2012
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » The Morning Flap: June 4, 2012 – The Morning Flap: June 4, 2012
- Political Cartoons / You mean Elizabeth Warren is NOT a native American? – You mean Elizabeth Warren is NOT a native American?