Via Big Government we have a throwaway remark from senior #OccupyDC member #OccupyResoluteDesk:
On Tuesday night, the president spoke in no uncertain terms: “Send me a bill that bans insider trading by Members of Congress, and I will sign it tomorrow,” he said. “Let’s limit any elected official from owning stock in industries they impact.” The remarks were cause for celebration for Breitbart editor Peter Schweizer, who authored a 2011 book exposing Congressional insider trading, and 60 Minutes, which ran a widely-viewed segment based on his book (CBS quicklyuploaded the portion of the speech last night). But early reactions from Congress (Republicans and Democrats) shouldn’t encourage much optimism.
And what did the star of Chapter 2 of Throw Them All Out have to say to BHO’s piffle?
“Easier said than done is my reaction,” Democratic Rep. Jim Moran tells Politico’s Manu Raju on the subject of restricting officials from owning stock they could impact. “Unless you are fairly precise about it, you can conceivably influence almost any corporation.”
You’ve got to go, Mr. Moran. You view Americans as sheep, and yourself as the shearer, judging by your actions.
Yesterday I confirmed that I can safely take a couple of days off of work, and signed up for CPAC. This will be my third in four years, having had the reasonable excuse last year that I was enjoying a Navy appreciation tour with the Army last February in Kabul.
The first year, 2009, I was wandering around in a fog. Stacy was still on Blogger at the time, and there was still a glimmer of hope that the Faux Moderate Obama who’d won the election and just sworn in might hang around for a few years of vaguely Clinton-esque suckage.
Somehow I heard that Evan Sayet would be at Heritage, doing a follow-up to this excellent talk:
Stacy and I went to Heritage, and I got an autograph in his book.
I also got recruited into blogging. By 2010, I was a Ron Burgundy-esque ‘big deal’. We were getting our doggone blog on. And then there was a side trip to the ‘Stan.
That trip was broken up by the arrival of the World’s Youngest Blogger:
I bring up Niklas because we’re planning to bring him down for at least a fly-by. Looking at the speaker list, I hope to get him a photo op with Sarah Palin. The other attendee that I’m looking forward to meeting is Daniel Hannan. I am jealous of Niklas already, as he is far better looking than I. No, I’m actually not jealous. Rather, I’m motivated to work hard at fixing the cesspool of American politics, so that, when he’s my age, he has no legitimate cause for anger at my for not trying harder.
One other side project for this CPAC: a bite or a beverage with Tabitha Hale and Stacy McCain. As a Christian, I have a natural instinct toward being the peacemaker. I’m not exactly sure where the tension is, but I hope to be a vessel of improvement.
SecDef Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs Chair General Martin Dempsey
Eight Army brigades, six Air Force fighter wings, seven cruisers on the chopping block; Senator Lieberman (I-CT) accuses Administration of putting budget first instead of considering defense needs
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. CONCLUSION 1 a.m. ET: Excuse my long absence. Had to go to the spin room for the post-debate action, then write a column for The American Spectator. I was hesitant to say this earlier but, did Rick Santorum kick butt or what?
Because I wanted to believe he did well, I felt that maybe I was prejudiced. But then I saw Guy Benson’s post at Townhall:
What a night for the former Pennsylvania Senator … he definitely made a very serious case that he might be the best Not Romney in the race.
No argument. Newt was off his game tonight, and I’d score Romney the winner — that is to say, I think Mitt did what he needed to do to win here Tuesday. But I suspect a lot of people watched that debate and said to themselves, “Hey, that Santorum kid’s pretty feisty.”
9:30 p.m. ET: Newt talks about the “Romney attack machine,” defends his claim to being a latter-day Reagan.
9:25 p.m. ET: Admit it: Rick Santorum won the Best Wife competition.
9:16 p.m. ET: Rick Santorum wants Marco Rubio in his cabinet. Newt wants Rubio as VP. Romney recites the names of lots of Latinos who haven’t self-deported.
9:12 p.m. ET: Mitt Romney: “We’re insisting on personal responsibility.” This is good for Santorum to be able to go back-and-forth with Romney, thus ending the Mitt-and-Newt Show. Also, he name-checked Scott Plakon.
9:07 p.m. ET: Rick Santorum slams Newt and Mitt for their records on health care.
9:03 p.m. ET: Lynn Frazier is unemployed and wants health insurance. Ron Paul blames government for inflating medical costs.
8:59 p.m. ET: Newt accuses Santorum of being “cheap.”
8:58 p.m. ET: Mitt says, “You’re fired.” Accuses Newt of pandering. “We’ve got to say no to this kind of spending.”
8:57 p.m. ET: Newt warns of Chinese dominance of space.
8:55 p.m. ET: Ron Paul wants to send Newt to the moon.
8:50 p.m. ET: Question about NASA and manned space flight, because all politics is local. And galactic.
8:49 p.m. ET: Wolf Blitzer asks Ron Paul, age 76, if he’s willing to release his medical records. Paul makes a joke about age discrimination.
8:48 p.m. ET: Ron Paul talks about currency. Sound money.
8:46 p.m. ET: Santorum on 28% top tax rate: “If it’s good enough for Reagan, it’s good enough for me.” Get’s a laugh with, “I wish I made as much money as Mitt Romney.”
8:45 p.m. ET: Newt says he’s “the opposite of Obama.”
8:43 p.m. ET: More talk about personal finances. Newt gets caught trying to say he didn’t say what he said. Newt’s in a hole, but won’t stop digging.
8:36 p.m. ET: Ron and Rick get to have their say about Fannie and Freddie. Santorum draws cheers for demanding that they “focus on the issues.”
8:34 p.m. ET: Newt defends himself ably against the lobbying charge. But what was he paid $1.6 million for?
8:33 p.m. ET: Mitt stings Newt on mutual funds, draws cheers.
8:31 p.m. ET: Newt says Romney “has been attacking me inaccurately, and he knows it.” It’s getting nasty again.
8:30 p.m. ET: Mitt Romney gets a question about Fannie and Freddie, and starts talking about Newt Gingrich.
8:28 p.m. ET: Now it’s the Ron and Rick Show. These guys really don’t like each other.
8:25 p.m. ET: Rick Santorum talks about Honduras, accuses Obama of supporting Marxists in Latin America.
8:24 p.m. ET: A lady named Vasquez has a question about trade with Latin America. Ron Paul loves him some free trade.
8:22 p.m. ET: It’s turning into the Mitt-Newt Show again.
8:21 p.m. ET: Newt wants everybody to learn English.
8:20 p.m. ET: Mitt: “Our problem is not 11 million grandmothers.”
8:19 p.m. ET: Romney: “I am pro-immigrant. . . . I want them to come here legally.”
8:18 p.m. ET: Romney accuses Newt of “over-the-top rhetoric,” invokes Marco Rubio twice, gets a big cheer from the audience.
8:17 p.m. ET: Newt Gingrich won’t answer a direct question about his accusation that Romney is “anti-immigrant.”
8:16 p.m. ET: Ron Paul panders to the Vaguely Incoherent.
8:14 p.m. ET: Mitt defends self-deportation. Did you know his father was from Mexico? It’s true. Look it up. Anyway, Romney’s answer is long and complicated.
8:12 p.m. ET: Newt is in favor of a “guest worker” program.
8:11 p.m. ET: On immigration, Rick Santorum wants to enforce the law. This is radical extremism!
8:09 p.m. ET: Candidates say a few words. Rick Santorum introduces his 93-year-old mom, who’s a senior citizen, kinda like Ron Paul.
8:04 p.m. ET: The candidates have been introduced.
8:02 p.m. ET: That was some good pre-debate hype, huh?
8 p.m. ET: And we’re LIVE!
* * * PREVIOUSLY (7:29 p.m. ET) * * *
We’re on the scene here at the University of North Florida where, at 8 p.m. ET, the four remaining Republican presidential candidates will debate on CNN. A few quick headlines for discussion:
TV satellite trucks outside the press filing center,
University of North Florida, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.
Carl Cameron was standing near the satellite trucks parked next to the press filing center when I got back from the media walk-through at Lazzara Performance Hall on the University of North Florida campus, site of tonight’s CNN debate (8 p.m. ET).
“Beats the hell out of Iowa, eh?” I said. The afternoon was warm and sunny. UNF coeds were bouncing past in tank tops and shorts.
“Yeah, lots better than Iowa,” Cameron said. “When are you guys going to attack Newt?”
“Attack Newt? What do you mean?”
“National Review went after him today,” Cameron said.
“I drove here straight from the airport,” I said. “Havent seen anything yet. What happened? What did they hit him on?”
Got in the silver Chevy Impala I’d rented at the airport — unlimited mileage — and drove down to Butler Boulevard and over to the beach, turned left up A1A , cut over to 1st Street and found a Comfort Inn.
The clerk at the desk was extremely helpful and gave me a free upgrade to an oceanfront room. I asked her if there was a Goodwill store nearby, so I could buy a cheap sports coat, since the only coat I brought with me is my big winter overcoat. She gave me directions. I’m on the second floor, with a palm tree right outside my balcony. It’s nice.
I’ve got to cover the debate tonight, then tomorrow I’ve got to do a 1,400-word article for the March print edition of The American Spectator, so this might be headquarters for the National Affairs Desk until Saturday, when there’s a candidate forum near Orlando. A couple more photos:
Inside the debate hall at the Lazzara Performance Hall.
On the balcony of the National Affairs Desk headquarters. Now I’ve got to go get that sports coat at Goodwill, take a shower and get dressed in time for the debate.
The truth, as Daniels went on, is that Republicans “alone have passed bills to reduce borrowing, reform entitlements, and encourage new job creation, only to be shot down time and time again by the President and his Democratic Senate allies.” He and we stand for a pro-jobs, pro-growth economic policy, the kind that the blue-collar working-class (that the Democrats have abandoned) understand and will support. If we fail to do this, he concludes accurately, “there will never be enough public revenue to pay for our safety net, national security, or whatever size government we decide to have.”
Look, the simple fact that ‘there will never be enough public revenue to pay for our safety net’ is the only real point here.
Sure, you can’t just throw everyone relying upon entitlements under the bus either. I get that. But Daniels, and the Ryan plan, seem about as easy-cheesy as anything Bernanke is up to. These entitlements are non-hunting dogs, my fellow Americans. How about some bold leadership that, you know, briefly admits that these entitlements are not federal tasks, not affordable, and doomed to perpetual crisis. After such a moment of clarity, how about some ideas to re-distribute the power to manage destiny back to the citizens, over time, so as not to seem quite as radical.
Truth telling is a radical proposition, I know, but, if America is exceptional, it should act that way.
Marco Rubio is a GOP celebrity whose nod would be a real help in the Florida primary. Legal Insurrection points out that:
Neither Romney nor Newt deserve credit for helping launch Rubio.
That credit goes to the folks at Not One Red Cent and a handful of other bloggers who started backing Rubio in 2009, when no one believed.
And who was the original Not One Red Cent blogger? That would be the Rodney Dangerfield Of Our Dextrosphere, Stacy. If you catch up with Stacy in Florida, offer him some encouragement. Sure, being the RDOOD is a thankless job, so he should be well acquainted with the underside of the bus, but that doesn’t mean that the occasional bit of linkage, re-tweeting, or even tip-jar hitting would be unwelcome.
He may not always be right, but he’s never boring.
Protein Wisdom links Breitbart in celebrating the World Economic Forum in Davos. It sounds as though the Commies are realizing that if you subvert capitalism to the point that you destroy it utterly, you’re going to have to come up with a new source of crap with which to flood the world.
But if there is one thing Turbo Tax Timmy Geithner can do, it is crapflood.
that ran a couple of years ago, but remains just as valid of as Obam’s State of the Union address today.