Obama's 100 Day Report Card: Fail

Last week, Politico highlighted ”seven things the White House wants reporters to write” about Obama’s first 100 days in office…

Here’s each point, and my rebuttal.

Obama is a promise-keeper.

Now, a few bloggers, including myself, have regularly blogged about Obama’s broken promises for American Issues Project for a couple months now. There has been no lack of material for this. His broken promises range from such things as failing to recognize the Armenian genocide, despite saying he would during the campaign. Other broken promises include not taxing the poor, getting a rescue dog for his daughters, leading by principle rather than polls, cutting spending, not negotiating with Hamas, just to name a few.

And his promise for more transparency was clearly bogus as well.

This NRSC ad pretty much sums it up…

Obama is a game-changer.

Obama may be changing things, but not for the better. And clearly, his belief that reaching out to our enemies would strengthen us is beyond absurd and shows no sign of producing results. Despite original reports that Obama made significant progress with Raul Castro regarding human rights, freedom of the press, political prisoners, etc., it was revealed a few days later that Obama “misintepreted” Castro’s comments. Obama, in seeking the approval of foreign leaders, resorts to blaming and apologizing for the United States for various things, undermining our moral authority.

Obama is the decider.

If Obama is the decider, then how come he claims he was unaware of the AIG bonuses shifting blame away from himself and towards Chris Dodd. If Obama is the decider, what does that say about his poor decisions in choosing his cabinet? What does that say about his lack of immediate, decisive action with the Somali pirate hostage mess? Obama has shown zero accountability in his 100 days and probably won’t ever. 

Obama’s not in the bubble.

Obama claimed to be unaware of the tax day tea parties. Obama claimed to be unaware of the AIG bonuses, which he signed into law. He has actually claimed to unaware of a lot of things recently. So, it certainly looks like he is in a bubble.

Obama is not FDR. / Obama is FDR.

Obama’s administration is desperately trying to lower expectations, while simultaneously elevating Obama to a historical greatness he cannot possibly achieve. Obama certainly won’t be as effective as FDR. but he certainly has similiar socialist ideals as the president whose policies kept our country in the Great Depression far longer than it had to. Sadly the passage of time has given the negative impacts of FDR’s policies ample opportunity to be distorted by those who want to rewrite history. But, if greatness is what Obama is going after, his incompetence, and the incompetence of those around him are making sure he will never achieve it.

Obama is one cool cucumber.

Obama’s hesistance over the Somali pirate hostage situation stands in contrast to the notion that Obama is cool under pressure.  This swine flu deal. The government’s response to the situation has been inadequate and half-assed compared to the how they’ve characterized the problem. And of course, there have been ample stories questioning whether Obama has too much on his plate, which is pathetic because he doesn’t have a greater set of problems and issues to face as any of his predecessors. The issue isn’t whether he has too much, it is whether he is handling what he has well. And he isn’t. Not at all.

700,873

That is the number of people who attended the Tea Party events – not bad for, at the time, less than 100 days into the Obama Error. Imagine what we’ll do next April 15th! Now, as to the leftwing’s inability to comprehend this:

According to Pajamas Media, 700,873 people attended some 883 tea party protests on April 15. It was a remarkable day, a tangible expression of public outrage that I have not experienced in my 25 years of advocacy and grassroots organizing on behalf of free-market principles.

Judging from the left’s hysterical reaction, something really big must have happened. But the only way to really understand the left’s misinformed and paranoid attacks is to realize that the protests represent tangible proof that basic libertarian values continue to resonate with the American electorate. That, apparently, is a difficult thing for some to accept.

I attended the tea party in Atlanta along with 15,000 other activists, and was struck by the makeup of the crowd. This was not a typical conservative Republican rally, with local GOP activists, Ron Paul enthusiasts, and single-issue obsessives. (Those folks always show up—and they did in Atlanta.) The difference was the new people: Young hipsters, families, angry moms, and retirees alike left their normal routines and work obligations to show up in protest of government policies that they passionately believe will ruin what is unique about America.

What were the tea parties about? Reading the signs and talking to people (unlike CNN’s incredibly hostile Susan Roesgen, I actually let folks answer my questions in their own words), the “agenda” was crystal clear. Tea party activists were worried and angry about government bailouts for the irresponsible, about spending that “stimulated” record growth in government and not much else, and about government borrowing that will place unconscionable burdens on future generations of Americans. My favorite sign of the day: “Give Me Liberty, Not Debt.”

The people showed up to demand that the powerful knock their nonsense off. The left doesn’t understand genuine popular movements – they need leaders to organize and taxpayer-funded “community” groups to put it all together…and a vast sea of people who do nothing useful (layabouts, college slackers, government employees) to provide the crowds. That Americans, all on their own, will get up and get things done without someone telling them what to do (and providing hot-ticket acts to inspire people to forgo today’s addition of Judge Judy) is outside their experience…and so, it was just a tiny group of racists who don’t understand that Obama cut their taxes who showed up…yeah, whatever.

The times, they are a-changing…the people are rising up; all the Obama election has done is awakened the American people to their peril and now all of those – regardless of party label – who work for themselves and their special interests will feel the wrath of a people cheated for too long.

The DC GOP Must be Forced to Work for Us

Scott Ramussen has some trenchant comments about the DC GOP and the political scene in general:

To be relevant in politics, you need either formal power or a lot of people willing to follow your lead. The governing Republicans in the nation’s capital have lost both on their continuing path to irrelevance.

The disconnect between D.C. Republicans and Republicans throughout the country has been growing for nearly 20 years, but it became more intense and noticeable during the waning years of the Bush administration.

Perhaps the final straw was the $700 billion bank bailout plan pushed through Congress last fall despite strong voter opposition. For all the furor unleashed this spring by congressional Republicans about President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus plan, the Bush-era bailouts last fall were approved with virtually no advance notice and no guidelines as to how the money would be spent. Looking back, most voters and nearly eight-out-of-10 Republicans now believe the bailouts were a bad idea.

The April 15 “tea party” protests, viewed favorably by 51% of Americans, were fueled as much by anger at the bailouts as anything else. Many Inside-the-Beltway Republicans chose to distance themselves from the events, and many tea party participants were happy to express their anger at both Beltway Republicans and Democrats…

…The gap between Beltway Republicans and the Republican base is part of a wider gap between the Mainstream and the Political Class. On many issues, the gap between Mainstream Americans and the Political Class is bigger than the gap between Mainstream Republicans and Mainstream Democrats.

But Political Class Democrats control Congress and the White House while their GOP counterparts have little in the way of power and influence to overcome the disconnect with their base. One immediate result of this is that senior senators like Arlen Specter and John McCain now are facing primary challenges. Other challenges may follow. It used to be possible for Republicans in Washington to argue that they needed someone like Specter or McCain to hang on to the majority but no longer.

Look for the Republican Party to sink further into irrelevancy as long as its key players insist on hanging around Congress or K Street for their ideas. The future for the GOP is beyond the Beltway.

It is, as the great Ronald Reagan once pointed out, a time for choosing. In that year of 1964, Reagan pointed out the stark differences between the conservative, Republican worldview and the position of the liberal Democrats and their “less-of-the-same, go-along-to-get-along” Republican fellow travelers. The net result of that election was, of course, a complete wipe-out of conservative, Republican ideals at the polls. I mean, our defeat that year was positively embarrassing. But it was ok – we eventually carried those exact principles into the White House and by them saved America, preserved liberty and destroyed the USSR. We conservatives are now faced with a the same opponents Reagan faced – those liberal Democrats and their “can-I-be-your-friend-Barack” RINO fellow travelers. We can only beat them by reaffirming the core principles of conservative Republicanism and then fighting like mad – as the Gipper did – to enact them into law.

There are some good men and women in the Congressional GOP – but they seem too cowed by those members of the caucus who want to get along with our opponents. As I noted earlier, it seems that Orrin Hatch (R?-UT) wants to scratch Toomey from the GOP lists in Pennsylvania and find a “Beltway-Approved” candidate to take on Arlen Specter. Toomey is the man who would have rid us of Specter in 2004 except Specter prevailed upon the GOP – including President Bush – to back him to the hilt. Toomey is the instrument by which we exposed Specter for what he really is and got him out of the party. Toomey is the clear favorite of the Pennsylvania GOP…and Hatch is at least implying that if Toomey is the GOP nominee, the Beltway GOP won’t back him. What kind of nonsense is that?

The kind of nonsense the powerful are used to imposing on us. They are instructing us not to get too above ourselves and, also, that if we want to win we need to find people who will stab us in the back after the election is over. This is Beltway logic – but it is betrayal of the people of the conservative, Republican movement who pour out their sweat and treasure in the hopes that the leftist tide will be turned back for good. There is no point in winning if “winning” means enacting Democrat-lite policies. Democrats like Democrat policies, and that is fine – let them run on them and, if they win, enact them into law…more power to them and God bless them all…but we’re conservative Republicans and we want to not only run on conservative, Republican principles, we want to govern on them, when we win. Anyone who can’t be part of this had better hit the road, as far as I’m concerned. We don’t need people who don’t have the heart to fight.

Do keep in mind that conservative, Republican principles cover a lot of ground – there is, indeed, the Big Tent of Ronald Reagan…but this Big Tent does have some rules, among them are that taxes shall be low, budgets shall be balanced, gun ownership shall be an individual right, worship shall be free, national defense shall remain strong, the people shall rule themselves in their local communities, the judges shall be strict constructionists…you can be pro-choice and be part of the movement. Heck, you can be in favor of abortion, gay marriage and environmentalist whackoism and still be part of the movement…as long as you don’t want to force the States and the people to keep abortion legal, enact gay marriage and be green if they don’t have a mind to do so in their States and local communities. What you can’t be is someone allegedly pro-life, anti-gay marriage, anti-environmentalist who then goes and cuts us off at the knees by voting for some ridiculous tax and spend liberalism, or who votes to approve a judge who wants to impose liberalism via judicial fiat, or who allows himself to be stampeded by MSM shouting into some unwise, but fashionable, course of action. Better ten Giulianis in the Senate than one Specter.

The Beltway GOP had better sit up and take notice – Specter is just the first RINO we’re forcing out. The rest will go, too, unless they mend their ways right quick. We’re not asking anyone to abandon what they consider core principle – heck, we’d be insulted if anyone asked us to do that – but if you claim to subscribe to a principle then you’d better darn well do so, whatever the immediate, personal, political consequences. And if your core principles don’t extend to limited government, individual liberty, local control and the rest then there is a party for you – it is called the Democrat party. Get on board, or get out; that is the stark choice for all RINOs.

Subversive Phrase of the Day

A British rightwing extremist:

An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last. – Winston Churchill

What Spendulus Buys

All of you liberals out there who actually think the Obama spending plan will do anything worthwhile – take note:

Some locals call the Johnstown airport “Fort Murtha” because of the stream of wartime projects at the facility. Although its runway is capable of servicing the largest airplanes in North America, the airport now is used only by small commuter planes that make six trips a day back and forth to Washington Dulles International Airport.

Many of the commercial flights, which are subsidized by federal transportation dollars, carry only a handful of passengers. On a recent visit, all of the departing flights were less than half full, and one had only four passengers — screened by seven federal airport personnel.

All told, Murtha has steered about $150 million in federal funds to the airport. This spring, it was among the first four in the country to receive stimulus money — $800,000 for a runway-widening project.

The alleged rationale for this is that we need a back up military airport just in case … shoot, I don’t know; the Canadians invade?

Its pure, unadulterated porkbarrel BS and it is run of the mill government spending. This is what we get for our tax dollars – swag so that a leech can keep himself on the public gravy train for another two years. I’ll bet that a full audit of government will show that only one in five dollars actually does something (a) useful and (b) necessary. The rest of it is just crap – from crap airports no one needs to crap over payments for services the private sector could provide at half the cost. Obama is going to spend trillions on this sort of nonsense, and we’ll end up completely bankrupt and with hardly anything worthwhile to show for it (and, please note, Obama’s pledge to reduce the deficit – not a hard task if your first year’s deficit is nearly two trillion dollars…the FY 2012 deficit could be a trillion and Obama could crow about a 50% reduction…and he will, because he knows his base is servile enough to buy it).

People vs the powerful – that is all that matters at the moment. We, the people, have to find a way to pry the powerful away from our money, our government and our way of life.

Swine Flu Thread (Bumped)

Ed Note: This seems to be the growing story, so we’ll bump it up.

Time to start praying that this passes us by.

UPDATE: 20 cases in the US.

UPDATE II: CDC Swine Flu page Anyone have confirmation that swine flu was the 1919 “Spanish flu” pandemic?

UPDATE III: Six cases in Canada. Three cases in Spain.

UPDATE IV: Obama Administration not exactly Johnny-on-the-spot

UPDATE V: BBC readers report from Mexico.

UPDATE VI: 103 deaths reported in Mexico. as of about 1am EDT, April 27th.

UPDATE VII: San Antonio Schools closed.

UPDATE VIII: All schools closed in Mexico.

UPDATE IX: 2,000 cases in Mexico.

UPDATE X: Its all the GOP’s fault (and don’t try to act like any of you were surprised that this allegation cropped up).

UPDATE XI: I’m no epidemiologist, but this website seems to have people who know what they are talking about, epidemic-wise.

UPDATE XII: Simple, common-sense ways you can avoid the flu.

UPDATE XIII: 7 hospitalized in the US.

UPDATE XIV: With 150 confirmed dead, Mexico closes all eateries.

UPDATE XV: Had a scare at my place of work – employee came down with flu-like symptoms, but ended up not being swine flu. End result: one department got the day off, rest of company breathed sigh of relief.

UPDATE XVI: Relative in Reno says a child she knows has come down with a confirmed case of swine flu.

UPDATE XVII: Cases confirmed in 11 States.

UPDATE XVIII: Biden opens mouth, inserts foot. For some reason, this is still considered news.

NRSC Determined to Replace Specter With Specter

If this pans out:

NRSC Vice-Chairman Orrin Hatch said today that he doesn’t believe former Congressman Pat Toomey has a chance to beat newly turned Democrat Arlen Specter in next year’s Senate race in Pennsylvania. Hatch even suggested that the NRSC may seek to recruit a candidate to run against Toomey.

“I don’t think there is anybody in the world who believes he can get elected senator there,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch, the vice chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Asked if the NRSC would back Toomey, Hatch said, “I don’t think so” and that the party should look for “someone who can win there.”

The Chairman of the NRSC, Texas Senator John Cornyn, has yet to endorse Toomey and said today that he wasn’t sure that Toomey would be the “only candidate” or the “strongest candidate” either. In fact, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham suggested a name today that has been thrown around in political circles since Specter’s defection – Tom Ridge. The reluctance of the NRSC to get on board Toomey’s campaign, especially in the wake of Specter’s defection, is troubling. What kind of Republican party does the GOP leadership in Washington want to have?

Senator Hatch, no one will believe Toomey is going to win if you cut him off at the knees before he’s even got a chance to get started. This is what I’m on about – the people vs the powerful. I’m sorry to say that Senator Hatch has got an attack of “poweritis”…in what could be some residual “my distinguished colleague” affection for Senator Specter, Hatch appears to be trying to ensure that the GOP pick someone who “can win” and that means “can’t be differentiated from Specter” and that means “Specter wins”. Senator Hatch – just who in heck are you to be deciding for the PA GOP who can win there? Let the PA GOP decide the candidate and then, dammit, get out there and fight like heck for him – that is the job of the NRSC.

To all our GOP Senators: We don’t want you to get along with your Democrat opponents. Did you catch that? They are your opponents. For those a little slow up on the uptake, this means they don’t want our side to win – your Democrat opponents in the Senate are really, really keen on having the Democrats win, and they are not too concerned about just how its done. When one of your dear friends on the other side of the aisle offers you some advice, do the dratted opposite, ok? Trust me – you know, a fellow Republican – on this; any advice offered by a Democrat to a Republican is not advice designed to advance the cause of the Republican party.

All we want for you is to fight for us – for justice, mercy, patriotism, love of our fellow men and women. We don’t want you to fight for increased funding for some bull*** federal program most of us have never heard of and will never avail ourselves of. If you can’t grasp this concept, then just follow Specter into the Democrat party. Its cool, ok? If you don’t want to fight for us, then fight for whomever it is you wish…but don’t ask for our support and then fight against us.

Is Senator DeMint a Blogs for Victory Reader?

We report, you decide:

First, quoting myself:

I’d rather have 30 Senators I can rely on than 60 Senators who are in it for themselves…

Now, Senator DeMint (R-SC):

I would rather have 30 Republicans in the Senate who really believe in principles of limited government, free markets, free people, than to have 60 that don’t have a set of beliefs.

Or is it that great minds think alike? Or perhaps that there’s room for one more rock solid conservative Republican in the Senate? For now, I’ll just congratulate Senator DeMint on the sheer brilliance of his remark.

AP Fact Checks Obama

Lies. Lies. Lies.

“That wasn’t me,” President Barack Obama said on his 100th day in office, disclaiming responsibility for the huge budget deficit waiting for him on Day One.

It actually was him – and the other Democrats controlling Congress the previous two years – who shaped a budget so out of balance.

And as a presidential candidate and president-elect, he backed the twilight Bush-era stimulus plan that made the deficit deeper, all before he took over and promoted spending plans that have made it much deeper still.

Sad.

Governor Jindal Stands Firm Against Tax and Spend Liberalism

Even when it comes in the guise of a GOP-sponsored bit of legislation:

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration’s strict anti-tax stance came under criticism from a Republican lawmaker Tuesday after a Jindal adviser voiced opposition to legislation that would pay for highway construction by raising fuel taxes.

Rep. Hollis Downs pulled his bill from the House Ways and Means Committee after Jindal adviser Chris Gillott said the administration opposed the idea because it’s a tax increase. Downs said the administration needs to develop an alternative plan to pay for the state’s unfunded road projects – then summarized administration policy on the issue: “‘We offer no solutions but are opposed to taxes.’”…

…Jindal has repeatedly said he opposes any tax increase, arguing that government needs to cut expenses rather than impose a greater burden on taxpayers.

Rep. Downs, the solution – in a down economy – can’t be to increase taxes. All Americans are pulling a heavier load and trying to do more with less…its time for all government from the smallest town council to the Federal behemoth to figure out ways to live within means. I’m certain there is something in the Louisiana budget which can be cut or delayed in order to provide the funds for those road projects which are actually vital for the safety and prosperity of the citizens of Louisiana. In other words, you can’t sell anyone on the concept that every dollar proposed for highways is vital at the moment, nor can you sell anyone on the concept that there’s nothing the government proposes to do in 2009 which can’t be put off until 2010, or later.

As noted in my earlier entry, the battle is not so much between left and right as between people and powerful. Powerful interests in Louisiana want all of those proposed highway projects to go forward immediately – Downs is backing the powerful. The people, however, might not need that road so much as they need money in their pockets to pay for food and utilities. A couple potholes, plus or minus, isn’t the biggest crisis in the world…a family losing their home, is. Governor Jindal understands this, and it is why he – and others like him – are the future of the GOP.