The second Clinton era

Hillary Clinton leads all Democratic challengers and while it is way to early to start playing "All Hail," its worth a look. What would a second Clinton era look like? For one thing, it could prove to be quite uneventful, which is not always a bad thing.

There is a good chance her first order would be to return the country to a fiscally stable position. Hillarycare you say? That is so 1993. Clinton is as much of a pragmatist as her husband and will learn when to play her cards. Expect a rollback of the Medicare benefit along with tax cuts making their way through a Republican congress.

The trickier question, or maybe not so tricky, is her stance on foreign affairs. Will she lead American down the path of more imperial nonsense, better yet would she adopt a less muscular version of the Bush/McCain doctrine of preemption. Based on her statements on Iran, the answer is a resounding yes, which would make her a quick footnote in presidential history.

Also, can this woman inspire anything at all? Her words instantly lull those uninterested in politics to sleep, she could be the most uninspiring President since Carter spoke of malaise. Again, this might be refreshing to some tired of Bush's grand language.

The woman is smart and cunning and knows the limits of the electorate. If she wins, expect either a dull (good) four years or a robust eight years (not so good). Either way, Bill will be back.

Cheney to America: you are all wussies

During the VP's interview with Wolf Blizter, our vice president desperate to feel manly, called the entire country weak saying:

"we would simply validate the terrorists' strategy that says the Americans will not stay to complete the task ... that we don't have the stomach for the fight. That's the biggest threat." (courtesy CNN)

It is a truly bizarro world we have created when we have a sitting vice president who says terrorists win if we end occupation of a country in which no terrorism existed prior to our invasion and occupation.

We might me getting to the point in which reporters, once timid now pulling off the gloves with this administration will start the well deserved verbal abuse:

"Mr Vice President, you are seriously delusional."

are you liberal enough?

Obama dips his toe in the political waters, and the Nation audience is already all over him, in particular a comment from ZERO:

"He is pro-corporate."

So, therefore he is pro economy, pro money, pro commerce. the shame.

trade and the truth

When I was left leaning John Stossel made my blood boil. No longer as he takes head on the hand wringing of trade protectionists in a new piece here, courtesy of realclearpolitics.com, my favorite part:

"Then I thought about my local supermarket. I buy stuff from the Food Emporium every week. I spend thousands of dollars a year there. But the supermarket never buys anything from me. Not one thing. And yet that is no problem. It's better than no problem -- it's fantastic! Imagine if I could only buy from the store to the extent that it needed my services. I'd starve. That would be barter, and mankind dumped barter for the money economy eons ago precisely because it is so inconvenient."

the Atlantic

The highly respectable Atlantic has a cover feature on presidents and their lies. You need a subscription (damn!) but here's a summary:

George Bush is a different kind of liar because he's also delusional. To quote his dad:

"SCARY, real SCARY!"

Mr. Obama

Barack Obama is running for the presidency.

and the Newsweek cover comes to fruition, wow.

Seriously, what does a Obama presidency have to offer the country other than platitudes.

minimum wage

The folks over at Think Progress have a post on the effects of increasing the minimum wage in the state of Illinois, too bad its bad for the country and its electorate, as William Niskanen of the Cato Institute made clear in a post in June of 2006:

The employment of the least-skilled members of the labor force—often new entrants—would be reduced.

The non-wage benefits and working conditions of those who keep their jobs at the higher wage would probably be reduced.

Most of those who keep their jobs at the higher wage would be secondary workers in non-poor families

If liberals aim to lift people up, this is not the way to do it.

Kemp-Roth 1981

Today marks the anniversary of a hallmark of conservative/libertarian thinking, reduction in the tax burden of the electorate. Here is an article from 2002 by excommunicated conservative Bruce Bartlett on the effects of Ronald Reagan's signature piece of legislation.

yes this is a quote from Ronald Reagan

"Our people look for a cause to believe in. Is it a third party we need, or is it a new and revitalized second party, raising a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors, which make it unmistakably clear where we stand on all of the issues troubling the people?"

Ronald Reagan at the 1976 Republican National Convention. My next post will explore the renewed image of our 40th President.

lonely

The Cato Institute, Reason.........What else do aspiring libertarians have to read these days that caters to their purist belief in the power of limited government? Well, here's hoping I can be lumped into these titans. The court of greg's opinion welcomes all tired, Bush drunk conservatives to join me in my fight to educate those afflicted with elitist liberalism.

Limited government, personal responsibility, foreign policy based on realism and above all....liberty from those who think they know better.

Hurrah!

Tomorrow it will be the one week anniversary of the "drubbing." This makes me happy, not as a Democratic warrior, but one who hopes the gridlock will ensue. If George W. Bush has taught me anything, it's that government at any level is an utter failure. This election victory for the establishment Democrats proved that the electorate could no longer stand much more of today's Republicanism.

Why? Because three years later we are still trapped in the hell that is Iraq. By his own admission, this is not Bush's problem, just whoever is fortunate enough to occupy his seat in January 2009. The Democrats see their victory as an affirmation of liberalism. It is not. It is an affirmation of the American electoral system. Soon America will grow tired to the party of Pelosi. Then the cycle continues.

Of liquids and planes

Today's foiled plot confirms the last vestages of neoconservatism's worst fears: we are in a war on terror against a bunch of pipe bombers. Men who mix together cocktails of death on commuter airplanes.

Gone are yesterday's enemies, fearsome military powers bent on world domination, just scattered islamist thugs making videotapes in underground bunkers or hollowed out office buildings. We are the United States of America, we have the CIA, the FBI and the deadliest arsenal on the planet and we go to code red over these guys? World commerce grinds to a halt in the sky.

If only we were on the ball on September 10, 2001.

Centrism defeated in Connecticut

The victory by Ned Lamont was a repudiation of centrism. Not centrism when it comes to budgets, taxes and other legislative affairs, but in matters of war.

A majority of the country wants out of Iraq. Lieberman wishes to stay, for now. This is not acceptable to the people of Connecticut or the country as a whole. American troops are about to become embroiled in a civil war and the losing candidate can only shrug his shoulders.

Lamont's election means nothing more, nothing less. Kind of like Joe Lieberman.

the stain of Iraq

The invasion and occupation of Iraq should serve as an a warning to future administrations that the goal of ending "tyranny everywhere" is unrealistic and dangerous. Dangerous to our national security, dangerous for our troops who are given this incoherent task and dangerous for the psyche of our country.

Like most, I don't believe George Bush had good intentions for the people of Iraq. His goal was simply to remove Saddam Hussein and the rest was an afterthought. He has explicitly stated the cleanup of Iraq will be left to future presidents, meaning the financial burden of restoring Iraq if at all possible, will be left to the American taxpayer.

How unconservative.

God of Food

Alton Brown was meant to talk about food. It's in his DNA. "Feasting on Asphalt," which I just caught on Food Network is his new show and once again Brown sucks you in for this new traveling, eating and more eating hour of everything food.

Watching the program is like discovering America for the first time, meeting genuine Americans who love to eat and love to watch how happy people get when they eat. Please tune in every Saturday night and get ready to drool, grin and love being American.

For more, enter his world.

Words of a war criminal

Does the violence tend to be up during the summer, in the spring, summer and fall months? Yes it does. And it tends to decline during the winter period. Does that represent failed policy? I don’t know. I would say not. (tip: thinkprogress.org)

Guess who this quote belongs to?

Rout

Interesting piece by one of the major players in DC, Charlie Cook of the National Journal (sorry, you need a subscription) believes the big spenders in the GOP are going to get their clocks cleaned. We're talking tidal wave here folks.

Which leads me to ask anyone out there in the blog wilderness, what will the Democrats do if they control Washington? Will we see a restoration of pay as you go fiscal policy? Or, will Nancy Pelosi push through massive new spending programs aimed at keeping the poor poorer, taking a cue from George Bush. Will the Democratic Party actually become more hawkish than Bush and Co and push for a strike on Iran?

So many questions.

Bolton v World

First off, sorry for any delay in posting.

Now, on the confirmation of John Bolton. Look no further than Steve Clemons, over at the Washington Note for daily coverage. There is no one more accurate or better.

neoalarmism

Newt Gingrich has an op-ed in today's USA Today with the byline "Now is not the time for restraint" which allows me to skip the entire piece altogether knowing Gingrich's history with the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute and its desire along with George Bush to end "tyranny everywhere." In other words, insanity.

We are in dire need of realists. They need to somehow infiltrate the Pentagon and the National Security Agency so we can avoid a repeat of Iraq, only this time with consequences most severe.

Get them out

It's hard to not look at what is going on in Lebanon and shake your head with disgust. The cycle of violence and revenge continues in the Middle East, and American troops occupy a country right next door.

What should we do about it? Christopher Preble of the Cato Institute (quickly becoming my driver's manual when it comes to libertarianism) hits the nail on the head:

"While there is more than enough blame to go around, the U.S. government should be focused right now on providing safe passage out of the war zone for all Americans who wish to leave. Beyond these immediate concerns, American policymakers should avoid further entangling the United States in the conflict."

Time will tell how this plays out.