A Good Republican Response in a Washington Post Letter

Rich Nugent, A Congressman from Florida, had an excellent letter published in the Post this morning:

"We were pushing for a public policy (a one-year extension of the payroll tax cut) that was universally acknowledged to be more responsible than the Senate alternative (a two-month extension). We took this course not at some expected political cost to our opponents but rather at a known political cost to ourselves.

In short, we chose to put responsible policy before callous political self-interest. I’m unclear on why that was a bad thing."

Nugent also writes a defense of the Freshman House Republicans: "Is the House above politics? Of course not. But this year, we have made an uncommon effort to get Washington to face the hard questions — even when it was not in our own political interest to do so."

I just hope that the Freshmen Republicans and the supporters that propelled them to election in 2010 will not have gotten so discouraged by the successful media/Democrat campaign to turn this issue against Republicans that they give up on trying to make the changes that this country needs.

Obama's Meeting with Republicans - pt. 2

It was this side of Obama that made him seem more appealing to me as a candidate in 2008 than the rest of the Democrats. He made an effort to come across as a new kind of politician that could be above party politics. Of course, although I was hopeful he might be that kind of president, I still had to support the candidate with whom I agreed on the issues, and that was John McCain. Obama's track record showed no history of working across the aisle, so I really did not believe it would happen.

He should have, though. Instead, he allowed the Democrats in the House and Senate to rule the roost while he agreeably acquiesced because he was fully sympathetic to their policies.

He was able to get some Republican support in 2009. Arlen Spector jumped to the Democratic Party and Olympia Snow did vote in committee in support of health care legislation. But Obama's main effort has been to push hard for legislation that can win the support of 218 House Democrats and 60 Democrats caucus Senators. He made little effort to integrate conservative policies into his legislation.

In the future, will Obama efforts to reach out be anything more than talk? That will be the big question.

Aftermath of Mass. Election

Great news that Massachusetts elected Scott Brown to replace the late Ted Kennedy in the U. S. Senate. I had been surprised that more prominent candidates did not run for the Republican nomination because I thought this seat was winnable. The experts thought otherwise. But Mitt Romney gave Ted Kennedy a great battle in 1994 and then he later was elected governor. So, I thought he would be a good candidate. Romney's sights are set higher and a loss in a Senate race would be crushing for his ambitions so he played it safe. Perhaps a new face like Scott Brown's was what was needed though.

Interestingly, the White House is saying that the American people are frustrated and upset about the economy. To which I say, well what did you guys do about it? Well, their plan was enacted in February 2009 and look at the results. FaIlure! Why? Because it was a nonsensical plan that was created more to please various constituencies and members of Congress than to get the economy moving again. While Ronald Reagan also faced a terrible economy in 1981, he enacted a plan that made sense and in time it paid off. Does anyone believe that throwing money at CASH FOR CLUNKERS or TAX CREDITS FOR BUYING HOUSES is going to solve the problems in the overall economy?

I was young and opposed Ronald Reagan in the early 1980s but as I watched the results of his presidency I saw that he was right, in both his understanding of the economy and in his understanding of defense policy. Now we have been given one year of Obama, and the results are coming in and they are not good. 10 % unemployment -- about double the rate during the presidency of George W. Bush who had to deal with both the aftermath of the 2000 NASDAQ crash and the 9/11 attacks.

"During the 8 years of the George W. Bush Presidency the lowest annual unemployment rate was 4.61% in 2007, the highest annual unemployment rate was 5.76% in 2008. During Bush’s 8 years as President the average unemployment rate was 5.27%, roughly 1/2 half of what the unemployment rate is today."

Mass. Senate Election Today

Speculation is rampant today that a Republican may actually have a chance to win the U.S. Senate seat from Massachusetts that was held by Edward Kennedy since 1962 in a special election.

How did we get to this point? Barack Obama's descent into unpopularity began in July when he overstepped his bounds and went out of his way to attack a hard working police officer who was rigorously questioning a man who may have been breaking into a home. The man in question was Obama's friend, a black Harvard professor. Within days it became clear that Obama had gone too far in getting involved with this local matter, and injected race where it should not have been injected. He then tried to smooth things over with his "Beer Summit" but it was too little, too late by that time. Obama had lost his moral authority and his credibility was shattered. In August, the health care debate erupted in town halls across America and the intensity of opposition was fully revealed. And Obama was seen as a man who represented the elites against the common man.

It did not have to be this way. He seems to be simply following the lead of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi rather than leading them. In some ways, Obama cannot lose in this election, if he plays it smart. If the Democrat wins, then he maintains his 60 vote filibuster-proof majority. But if the Republican wins, then Obama would be smart to shift to the middle and thus may blunt the most fervent opposition to his policies.