Above, President Obama talks to probable new Speaker of the House John Boehner on election night 2010
Commentary
It's the economy, stupid!
And it was heard, loud and clear from sea to shining sea. Republicans rode the wave of voter discontent to take control of the House of Representatives last night, but didn't take the Senate. On the House side, Democrats controlled that body, 255-178. It looks as if the the Republican takeover could get the GOP a 242-193 edge (estimated at this hour). the Senate will remain in Democratic hands, with 49 seats (and two independents caucusing with them)in their hands, plus the tie breaking vote of Vice President Joe Biden. You can read about the individual races nationwide, but here are a few thoughts and notes I made overnight.
1. The GOP won the House yesterday, but now they have to deliver. The Republicans told voters that government needs to get smaller and spend less. Not one of the Republican leaders, such as probable new Speaker of the House John Boehner or his #2 Eric Cantor, is specific as to what will be cut. Their job creation plan seems to be hold unto the Bush tax cuts and hope that the private sector reinvests in America and gets the American economy moving again. And how will the House co-operate with President Obama and his administration? They cannot remain the "party of no"- they have to get something done, and they have to do it soon. The 2010 midterm was about change, as were the elections of 2006 and 2008. The Republican House cannot be obstructionist because if they are they'll lose the House as quickly as they won it in 2012.
2. Can the Republican leadership keep it's Tea Party faction on a short leash?. Despite their failures in most Senate races, the Tea Party emerged as a force to be reckoned within the GOP. Tea Party backed Republican candidates won 113 of 129 House races. Many of these new representatives ran on the "strength" of not being professional politicians. Now comes their reality check- politics IS a profession. They have a job to do, and some of the more extreme members can't be concerned with the birth certificate or "secret Muslim faith" of the President, or be involved in whacky schemes to have the President impeached. Sarah Palin and her guy on the inside of Washington, Jim De Mint, let the genie out of the bottle, and now the mainstream of the GOP have to deal with a probable divide from within, conservative vs. ultra-conservative.
3. Barack Obama is a brilliant man, a good leader, but not the world's greatest politician. The Democrats were poised to lose Congressional seats last night; that's what happens in midterms. But losses could have been minimized if the President did a better job of selling his accomplishments to the voters. Much time was devoted to healthcare reform while unemployment hovered at close to 10%. Healthcare reform should have been presented in a way as to show how getting away from employer mandated healthcare could help private enterprise, but the administration's message was weak.
And the President should have been more adamant about job creation. If there was no co-operation given by Republicans and the private sector, he needed to take that to the American people. Instead, he held an olive branch to Republicans instead of a club.
America wanted to see co-operation between the Democrats and Republicans, but it wasn't going to happen. Everything the President wanted to do was opposed by Republicans. Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, said early on his aim was to make Barack Obama a one term president. The President should have taken him at his word, because now the GOP's plan is very close to being on schedule.
4. The Reagan Democrats of the Rust Belt went to the GOP. This might be the most disturbing factor of the night for Democrats. Part of the coalition that swept Barack Obama to the White House in 2008 went to the other side in large numbers. The Great Recession of 2008 is over, so say economists. But many former industrial workers in the vast area stretching from Pennsylvania to Minnesota, the Great Lakes region, have been living in near depression realities for years. In those states unemployment has topped the unacceptable 9.6% national average for years, and the anxiety of the laid off workers who are living off of their life savings were part of the angry backlash.
MSNBC's Chris Matthews is a Philly guy who "gets it". Early this morning he talked about the need to for America to start making things again, in factories, manufacturing, and in public works. The auto industry in the Midwest was saved by a bailout, but it had been on the ropes for years. The American heartland has always been where America made things, and now we are not. President Obama and the Dems will be OK in New England, the Mid Atlantic, and the West Coast. The Mountain West and the South are owned by Republicans. Obama must get the Rust Belt on the way to recovery, and soon, or he may have trouble winning a second term.
5.) The 2012 election cycle begins now, and I think the President's challenger will come from the New Jersey . The power struggle from within the Republican Party to produce a challenger to Barack Obama begins in earnest today. The mainstream GOP has a nominal leader in John Boehner; the Tea Party is for all practical purposes led by Sarah Palin. Get ready for oil mixing with water.
The conventional wisdom is that Sarah Palin would be a weak candidate for the Republicans to run against the President; her negatives are higher than Obama's. The party insiders dislike Mitt Romney, a man who's positions seem to change with the direction of political winds. Haley Barbour and Mike Huckabee would just reinforce the perception of the GOP as a Southern party.
I really think the Republicans will try to catch lightning in a bottle and urge Chris Christie, New Jersey's governor of less than a year, and a former federal prosecutor, to run in 2012. He's become a rock star among Republicans despite his lack of a track record, because of his tough talk and in your face style. He could run strong in the Mid Atlantic region as well.
And I don't think it's a crazy idea; Obama and Palin had little experience on the bigger stage, and found themselves on national tickets in 2008; one is President of the United States, the other is now the leader of an effective populist movement.
As I said on another board late last night, Tip O'Neill had it right; all politics is local. And I think New Jersey and it's governor are about to get a national spotlight put on them starting today.
For weeks and months the American public has been told time and time again by Republicans that letting the Bush era tax cuts for the wealthiest citizens lapse will only do additional harm to an economy that has been been struggling. In theory the richest Americans would spend the money or reinvest it in America.
But in a report appearing at Bloomberg.com there appears to be evidence that most of the money the rich save in tax cuts never channels back to the economy. Instead, as Moody's Analytics Inc has determined, the money from those tax cuts will be saved rather than spent.
Tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 under President George W. Bush were followed by increases in the saving rate among the rich, according to data from Moody’s Analytics Inc. When taxes were raised under Bill Clinton, the saving rate fell.
The findings may weaken arguments by Republicans and some Democrats in Congress who say allowing the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to lapse will prompt them to reduce their spending, harming the economy. President Barack Obama wants to extend the cuts for individuals earning less than $200,000 and couples earning less than $250,000 while ending them for those who earn more.
So, when Mitch McConnell and John Boehner and the rest of the Republican leadership in Congress go before the cameras and wag their fingers telling all who will listen that the extension of these tax cuts for the wealthy are necessary for economic recovery.....that may hardly the case.
More from Bloomberg
When the first Bush tax cuts were signed into law in June 2001, pushing the top rate down to 35 percent, the wealthy boosted savings. The saving rate climbed to 2.8 percent in the first quarter of 2002 from minus 2 percent in the second quarter of 2001. The increased savings coincided with a 1.1 percent decline in the S&P 500 index.
Second Round
After the second round of Bush tax cuts in May 2003, the rich also increased their saving, with the rate climbing to 7.6 percent in the first quarter of 2004 from 2.2 percent in the second quarter of 2003, the Moody’s data show.
The analysis found some similarities across income levels in the 2001 and 2003 data. The wealthy and the remaining 95 percent of Americans both saved more of their incomes after the Bush tax cuts. The saving rate is defined as personal savings as a percentage of after-tax income,
Some may call it a distortion of the facts, but the man who did it has fessed up. We've all heard the story about the day in 1995 when the Republican leadership handed out checks from the tobacco lobby to members of Congress on the floor of the House of Representatives. And handing out checks was the then number four ranking Republican.
Today he is the House Minority Leader, and has designs on the Speakership should the Republicans take the House in November. What John Boehner (R-OH) did in 1995 was entirely against House rules, but it didn't stop him from passing out checks from Big Tobacco when a vote was considered to end tobacco subsidies.
To no one's surprise, the subsidy was saved.
In the video below Boehner admits he passed out checks on the House floor, and offers an explanation.
Above, members of the Westboro Baptist Church protest a soldier's funeral in Vermont, Undercoverage.net
Yesterday I published a blog entry about the building of a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero in New York City, not far from where the September 11th terror attacks took the lives of nearly 3,000 innocent victims. The entry took nearly eight hours to write, and it's composition took five writing sessions spread out over two days.
And I thought I had said everything I wanted to say....namely, that extreme Muslim terrorists, not Muslims, were responsible for 9/11.....and that building a mosque at the site was within the Muslim group's rights; I agreed with the position of President Barack Obama and Mayor Mike Bloomberg.
And I disagreed with the critics of those who questioned the reasons for building a mosque at the site; there is a thing called The United States Constitution that guarantees freedom of assembly, speech, and worship to all, not to a select few.
But at 4:00am this morning I woke up- it was a bad dream. I was seeing a Bizzaroland dreamscape, a New York City that didn't have a mosque two blocks from the former WTC site.
Rather, there was another religious group housed there.....The Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, had opened a satellite church in New York; 8 million sinners, 8 million souls going to hell en masse.
But I'll digress for a minute....let's talk about those religious groups who could occupy the site, and have little or no objections.
No one would have a problem with Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, or other Eastern Orthodox Churches at the site. Coptics? Well, they're Arabs, but they're CHRISTIANS...so they're OK.
Anglicans, Episcopalian, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian.....heck, any mainstream Christian Church would be alright, even the ones who perform same sex marriage; this is New York, ya know.
Evangelical Christians and Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox Jews can build at the site....
Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses? Well, there's enough doormen in NYC to slow down any door to door missionary work, at least limiting it to "normal business hours".
Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs....they're part of the mainstream.
Santeria? Well....maybe some trouble with animal rights people....but OK, they can build a church there.
Wiccans....they're "white witches", aren't they? Pantheism....like in AVATAR? Oh, what the heck, they're OK.
Scientologists? John Travolta and Tom Cruise can't be wrong, can they?
Atheists, Agnostics, and Unitarians? One group believes in nothing, another isn't sure, and the third believes in SOMETHING, but can't quite define what it is. They're harmless....let them build SOMETHING there.
Which leads us to the Westboro Baptist Church, and their pastor, Fred Phelps.....remember them? They are the ones who picket other churches, events, stadiums, funerals, and cemeteries with signs that say things like "God Hates Fags", "God Hates America", and "God Hates Israel". The WBC is not part of any Baptist conventions or associations, and claims to adhere to Primitive Baptist and Calvinist principles. And to be fair, the WBC is NOT a representative of any mainstream Christian group
But- for argument's sake- what if the WBC moved into the same building that the Muslim group wants to turn into a mosque/Islamic cultural center?
I talked about these guys a few months ago. On April 14 the WBC was set to picket actress Dixie Carter's funeral, claiming Ms. Carter "...lived her life in adultery. She divorced her husband and married two other men along the way. God says that is living in adultery!".
In the view of the WBC, America is being punished for it's sins by being engaged in war in Iraq and Afghanistan, hence the protests at the funerals of military members killed in action....and they believe that 9/11 was more Divine Retribution leveled at America.
I could go chapter and verse about the Westboro Baptist Church and their hatred of Jews, Catholics, other Protestants, homosexuals, and a long, long, list of all they find sinful.....just check out some of these pictures. But the bottomline is the WBC, spewing hate and venom, could occupy the same space that Muslims want to use for a mosque, and little could be done to stop them. Their picketing (41,000 protests since 1991) could be curtailed by requiring them to have permits, but as far as having freedom of speech and assembly, and of religious expression, they are protected by the Constitution, even being as loathesome as they are.
I wonder how, in this Bizzarroland scenario, would the usual suspects react.....what would Palin, Boehner, Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, and the other voices with an opnion an everything, say about a far, far off the charts radical right Christian group occupying a building so close to Ground Zero, hallowed ground, and an event the WBC cheered as God's punishment?
Would those voices be as strong in repudiation as the one's we've heard in reaction to the building of a mosque? Surely there would have been fewer political ramifications.....and probably much less media coverage.
Part One-Prologue "I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son’s grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards–Purple Heart, Bronze Star–showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn’t have a Christian cross, it didn’t have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life. Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I’m troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions.~~Colin Powell on his endorsement of Barack Obama for the presidency, October 19, 2008 on Meet The Press. The text was copied from the44diaries.wordpress.com.
Part Two- Fear The story told by General Colin Powell cuts to the chase more eloquently than I could ever imagine to. US Army Corporal Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, an American Muslim from New Jersey lies in a grave in Arlington National Cemetery. The picture above shows his grieving mother at his headstone.
Everyday we put on the news, and learn the name of yet another young American killed in action in Iraq or Afghanistan. We're told they died defending freedom, and they fight so we don't have to. I'm sure Corporal Khan believed that when he entered the Army. And it's sad, and very troubling, to know that while he and others fight and die in the Middle East for this American Ideal we're told of from the day we enter kindergarten, there are some in this country who believe that some of these freedoms should not be made available to all of our citizens.
Freedom of speech, of assembly, of worship, and the separation of church and state are all guaranteed in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Yet there is an undercurrent in the United States of ant-Muslim sentiment; the proverbial "broad brush" is being used to paint Muslims the same color. It doesn't matter that the majority of Muslim Americans are good citizens, or that some, as in the case of Corporal Khan, died serving our country, killed by extremists who have perverted their religion. There is fear, there hatred, there is bigotry, and there is xenophobia.....and it threatens to undermine much of what we hold sacred in our country.
In Murfreesboro, Tenn., Republican candidates have denounced plans for a large Muslim center proposed near a subdivision, and hundreds of protesters have turned out for a march and a county meeting.
In late June, in Temecula, Calif., members of a local Tea Party group took dogs and picket signs to Friday prayers at a mosque that is seeking to build a new worship center on a vacant lot nearby.
In Sheboygan, Wis., a few Christian ministers led a noisy fight against a Muslim group that sought permission to open a mosque in a former health food store bought by a Muslim doctor.
At one time, neighbors who did not want mosques in their backyards said their concerns were over traffic, parking and noise — the same reasons they might object to a church or a synagogue. But now the gloves are off.
In all of the recent conflicts, opponents have said their problem is Islam itself. They quote passages from the Koran and argue that even the most Americanized Muslim secretly wants to replace the Constitution with Islamic Shariah law.
These local skirmishes make clear that there is now widespread debate about whether the best way to uphold America’s democratic values is to allow Muslims the same religious freedom enjoyed by other Americans, or to pull away the welcome mat from a faith seen as a singular threat.
“What’s different is the heat, the volume, the level of hostility,” said Ihsan Bagby, associate professor of Islamic studies at the University of Kentucky. “It’s one thing to oppose a mosque because traffic might increase, but it’s different when you say these mosques are going to be nurturing terrorist bombers, that Islam is invading, that civilization is being undermined by Muslims.”
Feeding the resistance is a growing cottage industry of authors and bloggers — some of them former Muslims — who are invited to speak at rallies, sell their books and testify in churches. Their message is that Islam is inherently violent and incompatible with America.
Now I have a question....is this the America that our brave men and women are fighting and dying for everyday? Is it the America that Corporal Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, winner of the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, of which he took an oath to serve and protect, and for which he ultimately died in battle? It is a country that he loved, but many of it's citizens, it can be implied by the examples above, did not love him back.
Part Three- Do the Right Thing; The President and The Ground Zero Mosque
On August 12, 1834, just after midnight, an anti-Catholic mob attacked the Ursuline Convent School in Charlestown, Massachusetts, and burned it to the ground as the nuns hurried the children out the back. Rev. Lyman Beecher had helped to incite the mob hours earlier, giving three anti-Catholic diatribes at three different churches in Boston. Beecher, whose children included educator Catharine and abolitionist and author of 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,' Harriet Beecher Stowe, later expressed regret over the arson; but as is often the case, violent speech led to violent action. Those arrested for the outrage were quickly found not guilty and became heroes in Boston. After failed attempts to get the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to pay for the damages, and amid threats of further violence, the nuns eventually moved to Canada, driven from the country by bigotry and hate.
The late former Speaker of The House Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill (1912-1994) told a story in his bio Man of the House about growing up in "Old Dublin", the Irish- Catholic suburb of North Cambridge, Massachusetts. When he was a kid the adults always talked about how the Boston Yankees, all Protestants, had burned down the Ursuline Convent, a dark deed done to the newly arrived Boston Irish-Catholics. Below, his comments from Man of the House, page 8.
I heard so much about the incident that one day, while in my teens, I decided to look it up in a book. To my shock, the burning of the convent took place in the summer of 1834! But to hear people talk about it, you'd think it happened the day before yesterday.
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The scars of hatred can run deep and last for generations, as the example from Tip O'Neill's childhood illustrate; the Irish were on the bottom of the pecking order in the early 19th century. They got the dirty jobs, like building canals across the East and the Midwest, and the new arrivals were hated primarily for their Roman Catholic religion. Here, in my home state of New Jersey, the Catholic minority were subject to persecution of the majority Protestants- in 1701 Queen Anne granted freedom of religious conscience to all in the colony, "except Papists". Later in the century, New Jersey Catholics were implicated in "The Negro Plot", in which they allegedly were accomplices in a slave rebellion; persecutions and executions followed.
As you can see, bigotry and religious intolerance have been part of America since before there was a United States. Every ethnic group or members of a "different" religion has met resistance after arrival on these shores; even the Pilgrim Separatists, who tradition tells us met friendly Indians when they founded Plymouth Plantation, met resistance from the Nauset after first landing on Cape Cod. The Englishmen found small mounds after landing, which they unearthed; they were graves. The Nauset came back to greet the New Arrivals with a rain of arrows.
The terror attacks of September 11, 2001 was an act of mass murder, performed by deluded fanatics bent on destroying an America that they were told was waging war on Islam. What they did was as much a perversion of Islam as what the Japanese warlords did to the code of bushido in their wars of aggression, up to and beyond their sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.
"(the government) shouldn't be in the business of picking (one religion over another)I think it's fair to say if somebody was going to try, on that piece of property, to build a church or a synagogue, nobody would be yelling and screaming. And the fact of the matter is that Muslims have a right to do it, too.
After weeks of silence on the matter, President Obama addressed the subject during a Ramadan dinner at the White House on August 13. Below, highlights from his address.
"That is not to say that religion is without controversy. Recently, attention has been focused on the construction of mosques in certain communities – particularly in New York. Now, we must all recognize and respect the sensitivities surrounding the development of lower Manhattan. The 9/11 attacks were a deeply traumatic event for our country. The pain and suffering experienced by those who lost loved ones is unimaginable. So I understand the emotions that this issue engenders. Ground Zero is, indeed, hallowed ground.
But let me be clear: as a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are. The writ of our Founders must endure."
In an age of politicians being politicians, and doing and saying what is popular instead of what was right, President Obama gave us a real moment of political courage in his support of the right of those who wish to build the mosque. His poll numbers are sagging, unemployment numbers are stuck at 9.5%, and the partisan attacks on him continue to grow, as well as criticism from the Democratic Party's left wing. But the President stuck his neck out on this issue....a principle greater than politics is at work here, and it transcends the bumper sticker and sound byte talking points that are fed to the American public by those who believe most of our citizens have the attention span of a potted plant.
The question asked is not if Muslims can build a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero, but should they.
And the government's position must be they can, and offer no opinion if they should, because it's not the government's business, nor any of the elected or appointed officials business.....period. It's about the separation of church and state, and the practice of religion in this country. If any other religious group were to try to build a house of worship on that same site, and if all permits were in order, their would not and could not be any debate. One religious group cannot be singled out fro special handling.....it's un-American.
President Obama made his statement regarding the right of Muslims to build a mosque to a nation where 57% of Republicans believe he is a closet Muslim ( and 24% say he's the Anti-Christ, and another 45% of the nation's GOP believe he was not born in the United States. Supporting the rights of Muslims to build the community center/mosque was not the politically savvy thing to do....but it took principle, and it took courage.
Mr. Obama is taking political hits for his stance; some say that it may damage his popularity further, and even drag down the Democrats in this year's midterms.
But would it be better to say and do the popular thing instead of the right thing, and retain the House and the Senate, and sully the Bill of Rights in doing so?
Part 4-The Aftermath and Beyond
After the President addressed the mosque issue, the attacks from the Republican right were swift, immediate, and relentless. Below is a sampling.
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH)....
The decision to build this mosque so close to Ground Zero is deeply troubling, as is the president’s decision to endorse it. The American people certainly don’t support it.
The fact that someone has the right to do something doesn’t necessarily make it the right thing to do. That is the essence of tolerance, peace and understanding. This is not an issue of law, whether religious freedom or local zoning. This is a basic issue of respect for a tragic moment in our history.
Sarah Palin....
Mr. President, should they or should they not build a mosque steps away from where radical Islamists killed 3000 people?
Please tell us your position.
We all know that they have the right to do it, but should they? And, no, this is not above your pay grade.
If those who wish to build this Ground Zero mosque are sincerely interested in encouraging positive "cross-cultural engagement" and dialogue to show a moderate and tolerant face of Islam, then why haven't they recognized that the decision to build a mosque at this particular location is doing just the opposite?
Republican strategist Ed Rollins....
(Obama's remarks were) probably the dumbest thing that any president has said or candidate has said since Michael Dukakis said it was okay to burn the flag. And it was very similar.(CBS News)
Sen John Cornyn (R-Tex)....
It demonstrates that Washington, the White House, the administration, the president himself seems to be disconnected from the mainstream of America. And I think that's one of the reasons people are so frustrated (POLITICO)"
And there was frustration from members of the President's own Democratic Party, particularly House members facing stiff re-election campaigns. Here's what one congressman told POLITICO
Rep. Martin Frost (D-TX)....
"I would prefer the president be a little more of a politician and a little less of a college professor. While a defensible position, it will not play well in the parts of the country where Democrats need the most help."
The comments above can be divided into two types. There are those who criticize Obama for not making the most politically expedient thing; namely question why the Muslim group wishes to build on that particular site, and for God's sake, don't defend their rights as Americans to do so!
And the second group chastises the President for not joining them in the chorus denouncing the construction of the mosque; a private citizen should voice their opinion if they desire, but any government official at any level who does so may very well be infringing on the groups First Amendment rights.
That's not how we should be doing things in this country.
On the day of the September 11 attacks by early afternoon you could smell the faint odor of smoke here in my town, nearly 30 miles south and west of New York. We lost several of our residents in the inferno; the attackers didn't care about the age, sex, race, marital status, or religion of those they murdered....there were Christians and Jews, Buddhists and Hindus, non-believers and agnostics......and Muslims in the Twin Towers.
The smoke and the ashes brought all to a common end, and they entered eternity as one.
Most of the opponents of the mosque say that two blocks is too close to Ground Zero. My question is how far away would be far enough. Three blocks? Five? Ten? Or how about miles.....five miles, or 10, or 20?
Maybe the mosque should be moved to Route 3 in New Jersey, or possibly off of I-80 in central Pennsylvania? Does Lewisburg sound good?
The bottomline is the opponents of the mosque have no real solution that makes any sense other than "we don't want it", an emotion based on pain and possibly by fear. And maybe it's time to get beyond that, and think about other possibilities; like building an Islamic community and cultural center may be a viable bridge to understanding, and reconciliation, and possibly our better angels will prevail, and the broken and hardened hearts may heal.
Through it all, the United States is still a nation worthy of our love and our allegiance, and worth fighting to defend. A young corporal who lies in Arlington National Cemetery with the star and crescent on his grave believed that.
Saying that accepting New Jersey's $670 million share of the emergency $26 billion from the Feds for aiding Medicaid and preventing the layoff of several thousand teachers in the Garden State was "ill advised", Governor Chris Christie decided to take the money just the same.
Mike Drewniak, spokesman for the first term Republican governor, said the following....
"(Christie) believes that using this type of non-recurring funding for operating expenses is ill advised because it will disappear after one year."
Christie will apply for the money so that the state can distribute the money and not the federal government. But according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, the funds would reach New Jersey even without Christie's application. The law is written so the Department of Education could “bypass the state government and make awards directly to other entities within the state” if a governor doesn't wish to submit an application.
The bill, which narrowly passed the Senate last week, was was approved in a vote along party lines, 247-161. Democrats say the bill will help to save the jobs of 300,000 teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other public employees who would otherwise be laid off due to state and local fiscal woes.
The $26 billion would be paid for by closing a tax loophole used by multinational corporation, and reducing certain foodstamp benefits.
This afternoon, President Obama signed the bill into law.
Republicans railed at the bill.
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH)- "Where do the bailouts end? Are we going to bail out states next year and the year after that, too? At some point we've got to say, 'Enough is enough.'"
OK, Le Grande Orange....let's say $26 billion doesn't go to the states to help 300,000 public employees keep their jobs. Remember the the Good Old Days of Ronald Reagan, and the "Trickle Down Effect"? Well, it can work both ways.
For example, here in New Jersey 10,000 teachers, cops, firefighters, librarians, sanitation workers, and others would all lose their jobs; with this bill maybe 3,900 could be retained. We would add all 10,000 to the rolls of the 9.5 million unemployed nationally, many of whom would be picking up unemployment checks from the state. Some would have college loans that have federal guarantees that would be in danger of default. Mortgages need to be paid; those laid off could default, leading to more foreclosures. And those who aren't paying a mortgage are renting, and paying off car loans, or supporting aged parents. Those 10,000 might have families; what if they had to go on foodstamps, at taxpayer expense? And those 10,000 won't be spending as much money at the local restaurants, grocery stores, or clothing shops.
And those 10,000 won't be paying local, state, and federal taxes so there would be less money going into those coffers.
Remember....it's all about trickle down.
And while these 10,000 are being laid off, class sizes will get bigger, school bus service will be contracted and less available, full day kindergarten will be half day, sports in middle and elementary schools- and even in some high schools- will be cut back or eliminated, security at schools will be privatized (at taxpayer expense), programs will be eliminated....and say "goodbye" to art and music; if you're shocked at the cultural illiteracy of many young people, it could get worse without access to creative activity.
Rudolf Flesch once wrote a book titled Why Johnny Can't Read- And what You Can Do About It. This bill may not give us any answers. But one thing is crystal clear; laying off 300,000 educators surely isn't going to help educate a nation that is falling behind the rest of the world in math and science skills, where the dropout rate in the inner cities continues to rise, and the functional illiteracy of our youth inches upward.
And Republicans say.....just let it happen.....it costs too much.
But the cost isn't the problem....that would be the price we all would pay by not acting.
House Minority leader John Boehner's Democratic opponent for the Ohio 8th District, West Point grad and former Army officer Justin Coussoule, may not have paid for it. But he is reaping the benefits of the billboard pictured above of Boehner in his backswing, leaving the impression to some that Boehner played golf 119 times last year.
The billboard, placed on I-75 in Cincinnati, was paid for by Blue America, a progressive PAC. Howie Klein, the PAC's founder, wanted the billboard targeted to voters in Boehner's home district. The PAC is trying to unseat high profile Republicans in selected districts, and Boehner may be the biggest fish of them all....and he may be the toughest one to unseat.
Boehner's camp issued the following statement....
“Congressman Boehner held seven golf events last year, not 119. He did hold 119 events in the District and across the country to benefit conservative candidates, including receptions, meet-and-greets, rallies, speaking engagements, breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, but only seven were golf outings. Any assertion to the contrary is false.”
One thing the billboard has done is make people ask just how many times did Boehner really play golf last year?
Also.....how does he keep that natural looking suntan year round?
One thing's for sure....the billboard has gotten some attention from local, state, and national media.
But the Republican attendees kept saying "Start over" and "a clean sheet of paper".
And MSNBC's Chris Matthews called the GOP'ers use of choreographed talking points "synchronized stalling" and "Kill (the) Bill".
To be frank, I believe little was accomplished in yesterday's health care reform summit, other than President Obama proving once again that he is the smartest guy in the room....and the display of mutual testiness between the president and former presidential opponent John McCain did prove to be an eyeopener.
But both sides seem to be entrenched in their positions, and what we had was basically a daylong photo-op for the competing sides in the healthcare debate.
What was amusing...and more than a little stupid on the part of the Republicans...was the use of the rehearsed talking points, ad nauseum. Their objections came off as artificial as John Boehner's sprayed on suntan.
Enjoy the video....a classic in editing from MSNBC.
(1). A massive snowstorm has hit the DC area and will be churning up the coast to blanket the Middle Atlantic States and New England, bringing a halt to travel and retail activity on the last weekend before Christmas.
The rumor is tomorrow (Saturday December 19th) Republican House leaders John Boehner and Eric Cantor will call a press conference to blame the Obama Administration for not knowing about the storm a week ago.
(2) Obviously I'm here, in soon to be buried New Jersey, instead in sunny St. Petersburg, Florida where 8,000+ of my fellow Rutgers fans traveled to watch our beloved Scarlet Knights take on the University of Central Florida in St. Petersburg Bowl. While going to five straight bowl games is an accomplishment and it shows vast improvement from the way things used to be- little fan support, losing seasons and year upon year of bad football, it is unfortunate with the scheduling of the game right in the middle of the the Christmas frenzy with less than two weeks notice. Its hard to drop everything and go when there have been prior commitments, and in the students case bowl week is right in the middle of finals.
And even worse....ESPN and the bowl organizers should know better than to violate Rules One and Two- "Thou Shalt Not Schedule a Sports Event Opposite an NFL Game" and "Thou Shalt Not EVER Schedule a Sports Event Opposite an NFL Game Featuring the Dallas Cowboys". Organizers of the bowl were crowing the other day about scheduling the game in the evening against no other college football bowl game competition on ESPN at 8:00PM Saturday- and that's a good thing.
Now the bad stuff- the St. Petersburg Bowl will be on opposite the undefeated New Orleans Saints vs the Dallas Cowboys on the NFL Network. True, many cable systems don't have the NFL Network as part of their basic package, and some don't carry them at all. But still, in a situation where there is one team with a national following and another trying to make history by going undefeated, the TV schedule makers did neither the fans of Rutgers or UCF, or for those nationally who love bowl games any favors. Moving the game from an afternoon start to opposite the Cowboys and Saints was a colossal blunder....and you can't spin it any possible way.
(3). The other day I wrote about the inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and touched on Genesis for a bit. I came upon this amazing video of the classic five piece GENESIS lineup from 1971, featuring charter members Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford, and Tony Banks and introducing the two new kids, Steve Hackett and Phil Collins. Hackett replace original guitarist Anthony Phillips and drummer Collins took over for John Mayhew (who replaced John Silver, who replaced Chris Stewart). This stabilized lineup recorded the band's third album Nursery Cryme, released in November, 1971. This lineup went on to record Foxtrot (1972), Selling England By The Pound (1973), and the ambitious double album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (1974), after which Peter Gabriel left to embark on his very successful solo career. The group then auditioned 400 singers to take over the lead vocalist chores....but Phil Collins came out from behind his drum kit, and sounded (according to several British critics) more "like Peter Gabriel than Gabriel did".
This early video, from a Belgian TV show, is the then new lineup of Genesis performing THE MUSICAL BOX, from Nursery Cryme. And check out the hair on the now very bald Phil Collins!
BE SURE TO TURN OF THE PLAYLIST IN THE LEFT HAND MARGIN BEFORE CLICKING ON THE VIDEO!
(4). This is another abbreviated version of QUICK HITS. In the past three days I must have driven 300 miles and never left a two county area of New Jersey, just Christmas shopping and getting stuff together for the holidays. To be blunt....I'm beat! Time for a beer or two, and then start counting the snow flakes, because they're a-comin'!
I'll be back with my final "12 Hours Later" segment about the 2009 Rutgers Football season on Sunday or Monday. Stay well, stay warm....just STAY! And avoid those treacherous and icy roads.
An elected congresswoman called for harassment against the government, and compared health care reform to Nazi death camps. Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann was a leader in what was called by its organizers a "press conference" on the steps of the Capitol against health care reform, in front of about 4,000 self described patriots on Thursday.
She was joined in the efforts by some of her ideological fellow travelers; namely Republican House Leader John Boehner, and Representatives Virginia Foxx and Paul Broun among many others in this "press conference".
Below, Keith Olbermann and Eugene Robinson discuss the event on MSNBC's COUNTDOWN.
