California is creating regional governments that have much power yet are largely unaccountable to the voters. The regional government for the San Francisco Bay Area is called the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). During the public comment portion of the March 15 meeting of ABAG's executive committee, Debbie Bacigalupi shamed the assembled bureaucrats into saying the Pledge of Allegiance:
Not all of the assembled officials and bureaucrats rose to recite the Pledge. Below you can see a table of four government employees only one of whom is rising to say the Pledge. The one furthest to the left is smirking at the exercise. Her name is Patricia Jones. She is the Assistant Executive Director of ABAG:
A moment later, I took another photo. Three of the bureaucrats are still sitting. Ms. Jones, having noticed that she is on camera, has turned her head away:
Ms. Bacigalupi, the instigator of the Pledge, is an advocate of property rights and is currently running for Congress in California's 12th district against incumbent Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA).
Steve Kemp captures another yet another fascinating video of Democrats in action. This is from Rep. Barbara Lee's Town Hall meeting in Oakland California, August 16, 2011 and features rhetoric from Representives Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Lee, Raul Grijalva and Mike Honda. Their agenda is class war:
Republican Bob Turner won in a heavily Democratic district in New York City (Brooklyn/Queens). Separately, the Republican Mark Amodei won in Nevada-2, a safe Republican district.
Turner's victory is particularly surprising not just because of his party but also because he is a Catholic running against a Jew in a heavily Jewish district. Polls seem to indicate that the key issue was not Obama's economic policies but rather Obama's strained relationship with Israel. (Slate argues that it the Democrat's support for gay marriage.)
The Washington Post is trying to spin the results as showing a "fickle" electorate. They cite Democrat Hochul's win in an upstate NY special election earlier this year as evidence that "Republican momentum should be seen as momentary." Their article omits mentioning that the margin of victory in that election was provided a dirty trick: Millionaire Democrat Jack Davis ran as a pretend "Tea Party" candidate garnering 9% of the vote, giving Hochul the margin she needed for victory.
Both sides in the NY-9 campaign are accusing the other of dirty tricks, as the Daily Caller reports (hat tip: LegalInsurrection and Ace):
The campaign of Democrat David Weprin sent out a press release Tuesday accusing supporters of Republican Bob Turner of organizing an effort to jam the Weprin campaign’s phones. In response, Turner communications director William O’Reilly noted that Jewish residents of the district were receiving phone calls from a phony group calling itself “Jews for Jesus for Turner,” which he called an attempt to scare Jewish voters.
The Daily Caller reports on how one Congresswoman treats her staff:
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas also hands out nicknames to the people who work for her. The Houston Democrat addressed one of her employees as “you stupid motherf**ker.” And not just once, but “constantly,” recalls the staffer, “like, all the time.”
Another Jackson Lee aide recounts the time her parents came to Washington to visit: “They were really excited to come to the congressional office. They’re small town people, so for them it was a huge deal. They were actually sitting in the main lobby waiting area….[Jackson Lee] came out screaming at me over a scheduling change. Called me a ’stupid idiot. Don’t be a moron, you foolish girl’ and actually did this in front of my parents, of all things.”
“We’ve had some incidents where TSA authorities think that congresspeople should be treated like everybody else.” —Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), as reported by The Hill (hat tip: Instapundit).
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." —Animal Farm by Geo. Orwell
While President Obama’s economic advisor Austin Goolsbee argued Sunday that a refusal by the Senate to increase the government’s debt ceiling (currently $14.3 trillion) would be “catastrophic” and a sign of “insanity,” that’s not the position the president has held in the past.
Here are Obama’s thoughts on the debt limit in 2006, when he voted against increasing the ceiling:
The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. … Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here. Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.
In March,2006, when Obama opposed the debt limit increase, he could feel free to do so because it was a Republican-controlled Congress that was voting for the increase.
Yesterday the US Senate passed H.R. 5470 ("To exclude an external power supply for certain security or life safety alarms and surveillance..."). The summary for this bill reads:
Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to exempt from the applicability of No-Load Mode energy efficiency standards an external power supply manufactured before July 1, 2017, that: (1) is an AC-to-AC external power supply; (2) has a nameplate output of 20 watts or more; (3) is certified by the Secretary of Energy (DOE) as being designed to be connected to a security or life safety alarm or surveillance system component; and (4) is permanently marked with a distinguishing mark established within the External Power Supply International Efficiency Marking Protocol for Single Voltage External AC-DC and AC-AC Power Supplies. Defines a "security or life safety alarm or surveillance system" as equipment designed and marketed to, on a continuous basis: (1) monitor, detect, record, or provide notification of intrusion or access to real property or physical assets or notification of threats to life safety; (2) deter or control access to real property or physical assets or to prevent the unauthorized removal of physical assets; or (3) monitor, detect, record, or provide notification of fire, gas, smoke, flooding, or other physical threats to real property, physical assets, or life safety. Directs the Secretary to: (1) require, with appropriate safeguard for the protection of confidential business information, the submission of unit shipment data on an annual basis; and (2) restrict the eligibility of external power supplies for the exemption provided on a finding that a substantial number of external power supplies are being marketed to or installed in applications other than security or life safety alarm or surveillance systems.
Our Congress was not able to find time to pass a budget for the fiscal year we are now in. It has no idea how to fix the government's trillion dollar plus deficit, how to deal with a nuclear Iran or a nuclear N. Korea. Yet, it does find plenty of time for micromanaging the efficiency of wall-wart power supplies for security cameras (as in the above H.R. 5470).
While Pres. Obama wants to blame Bush for everything, it was the Democrats who blocked the reforms of the government mortgage enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, that could have prevented the mortgage bubble and therefore prevented this recession, as these video retrospectives clearly show:and more (hat tip: Roger Kimball):
As the reporter notes at the close of the above video, when it was time to stand up and be counted on mortgage reform, Sen. Obama was silent.
According to RealClearPolitics compilation of polls, Carly Fiorina had nearly pulled even with incumbent Sen. Boxer (D-CA, shown at right) two weeks ago but her poll numbers have dropped precipitously since then: UPI reports that Fiorina's supporters lack enthusiasm:
Two-thirds of respondents in the survey taken statewide Sept. 14-21 said their preference for Fiorina was largely based on disapproval of Boxer rather than support of Fiorina, the Chronicle said.
An advantage that California Sen. Boxer has over challenger Fiorina is that Boxer has supported Pres. Obama and, unlike much of the country, Pres. Obama is actually popular in California. Rasmussen reports:
Fifty-seven percent (57%) in California approve of the job President Obama is doing, while 42% disapprove. Those ratings are better than those found nationally for the president in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.
Breitbart has uncovered a shocking audio recording of a phone message left by Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) in which she cites her work as a sub-committee chair on projects of concern to the callee and then asks for contributions. If this isn't overt extortion, what is? Here is a partial transcript of her phone message:
I am a, um, Senior Member, a twenty year veteran and am Chair of the Sub-committee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management. I’m handling the largest economic development project in the United States now, the Homeland Security Compound of three buildings being built on the uh, old St. Elizabeth’s hospital site in the District of Columbia along with uh, fifteen other, uh, sites here for, that are part of the stimulus .
I was, frankly, uh, uh, surprised to see that we don’t have a record, so far as I can tell, of your having given to me despite my uh, long and deep uh, work. In fact, it’s been my major work, uh, on the committee and sub-committee it’s been essentially in your sector.
They talk about the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and how it relates to what Pres. Obama is doing now. Here, in two parts, is a short (17 min.) video presentation by Leonard Stone given at a meeting of MyLiberty, the official Tea Party Patriot group of San Mateo County, California. The lecture explores the grievances listed in the Declaration of Independence, how those grievances influenced the writing of the Constitution, and how it relates to what Pres. Obama is doing now.
The first part of the video discusses the first two of the grievances in the Declaration, what motivated them, and how they are relevant today:
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
The differences between then and now are obvious. Obama is not the king of England, for example. However, the similarities, such as are playing out in Louisiana and Arizona, are also, as Mr. Stone makes plain, striking.
The second half of the lecture addresses the next four grievances:
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
The Founding Fathers experienced what it was like to live under an oppressive government and they clearly designed the US Constitution in response to those governmental abuses. This is why the Progressive Movement found the Constitution to be an obstacle and why we need to continue to defend the Constitution against today's progressives.
Parts of the bond market have shut down in response to the Dodd-Frank bill. Among the consequences, consumers may find mortgages and auto loans harder to find while some businesses may be unable to obtain the funds they need to expand and hire new workers. The Wall Street Journalreports (Hat tip: Greg Mankiw):
There have been no new asset-backed bonds put on sale this week, in stark contrast to last week, when $3 billion of issues were sold. Market participants say the new law is partly behind the slowdown.
"We are at a standstill right now," said Bingham McCutchen partner Ed Gainor, who specializes in asset-backed securities.
Several companies are shelving their bond offerings "indefinitely," according to Tom Deutsch, executive director of the American Securitization Forum, which represents the market for bonds backed by assets such as auto loans and credit cards. He said he knew of three offerings scheduled for coming weeks that are now on hold. [Emph. added]
The reason for this is that the new law puts the companies, such as Moody's and S&P, that offer credit ratings in an untenable position:
The new law will make ratings firms liable for the quality of their ratings decisions, effective immediately. The companies say that, until they get a better understanding of their legal exposure, they are refusing to let bond issuers use their ratings.
That is important because some bonds, notably those that are made up of consumer loans, are required by law to include ratings in their official documentation. That means new bond sales in the $1.4 trillion market for mortgages, autos, student loans and credit cards could effectively shut down.
Previously, credit ratings were considered merely opinions. The Dodd-Frank law apparently changes that to make ratings companies legally liable for their ratings "effective immediately." Consequently:
Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings are all refusing to allow their ratings to be used in documentation for new bond sales.
SurveyUSA reports that Republicans are leading in California in both the Senate and Governor races:
In an election for Governorof California today, 07/12/10, Republican Meg Whitman edges Democrat Jerry Brown 46% to 39%, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for KABC-TV Los Angeles, KPIX-TV San Francisco, KGTV-TV San Diego, and KFSN-TV Fresno. . . . .
In the race for United States Senate, Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer and Republican Carly Fiorina are effectively even. Fiorina 47%, Boxer 45%, within the survey's theoretical margin of sampling error.
Although the Senate race is within the poll's margin of error, this is continues a long trend of rising numbers for Carly Fiorina and the first time that Fiorina has shown a lead, however small, over Boxer. Any number below 50% is a bad sign for an incumbent.
Concerned for Sen. Boxer's future, VP Biden held a fundraiser for her last Thursday in Atherton, CA, on the San Francisco Peninsula. I wasn't there but Larry from San Francisco was and he reports on the protests organized by Carly Fiorina for CA:
A high definition version of the video is here. A slide show on the protest is here.
At RealClearMarkers, Diana Furchtgott-Roth reports on the financial regulation bill currently proceeding through Congress:
What one finds when reading congressional legislation is invariably surprising. Take the Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill, for instance, . . . . I was searching the bill for a provision about derivatives. What did I find but Section 342, which declares that race and gender employment ratios, if not quotas, must be observed by private financial institutions that do business with the government. [Emph. add]
Here is Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) held a town meeting in Fremont, CA, on June . To a MinuteMan, he asks: "Who are you going to kill today?" And, it gets worse from there:
In 2008, Rep. Stark won reelection with 76% of the vote to the his opponent's 24%. For all of his last six elections, he has received over 70% of the vote. He can afford to be a completejerk because his seat is safe.
Chuck DeVore was in fine form when he spoke this evening to a crowd in San Mateo on the San Francisco peninsula: DeVore, a California Assemblyman is running for the Republican nomination for Senate this year to challenge Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA). How is he different from the ordinary politician? To give one example, he spoke tonight of the dangers to our republic posed by Hegelian philosophy and he did so in a way that was not only clear but also compelling and entertaining. Impressive.
Californians are rebelling against Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA). In earlier polls, less than 50% of likely voters would vote for her reelection, a danger sign for an incumbent. In a Field poll (PDF) of likely voters released Thursday, she not only polls less than 50%, she also now trails two of her likely Republican opponents, ex-HP executive Carli Fiorina or ex-Rep. Tom Campbell:
This happens even though her opponents are relative unknowns as you can see from the large numbers in the "no opinion" line in the table below:
The third column above is interesting: it shows that Democrats give Boxer a higher "unfavorable" percentage (25%) than they do to either Campbell (24%) or DeVore (14%).
Obamacare passed the House the first time with a narrow 220-215 margin. Since then, three of the 'yes' votes have left the House, one 'no' vote has left, and another 'yes' vote, the sole Republican to support the bill, has announced that he will vote 'no' next time. That leaves the score at 216-215 in favor of the House's version of Obamacare. However, a critical complication is that, to support the reconciliation approach, the House will need to approve this time the unpopular Senate version of the bill complete with the "Cornhusker kickback," the "Louisiana purchase," and the abortion language that Rep. Stupak and his ten or so associates have said they will oppose. Further, there are a lot of House Democrats in districts in which Obama is not popular. Michael Barone explains:
[M]ore than 40 House Democrats represent districts which John McCain carried. Most voted no in November and would presumably be hurt by switching to yes now. Moreover, Mr. Obama's job approval now hovers around 48%, five points lower than his winning percentage in 2008. His approval on health care is even lower.
Another 32 House Democrats represent districts where Mr. Obama won between 50% and 54% of the vote, and where his approval is likely to be running under 50% now. That leaves just 176 House Democrats from districts where Mr. Obama's approval rating is not, to borrow a real-estate term, under water. That's 40 votes less than the 216 needed.
To pass it, the Democrats will need to get creative, possibly like this.
Traditionally, the Senate has required 60 votes to end debate and, traditionally, the majority party dislikes that requirement while the minority cherishes it. Here we flash back to 2005 when Sen. Obama and his Democratic colleagues were defending the 60-vote supermajority requirement:
"What I worry would be be ... simply majoritarian absolute power ... and that is just not what the founders intended." —Sen. Obama
"That's a bridge too far" —Sen Clinton
"We are on the precipice of a crisis, a con crisis, the checks and balances which have been at the core of this republic are about to be evaporated by the nuclear option." —Sen. Schumer
"The right to extend the debate is never more important than one party controls Congress and the White House." —Sen Reid
"The nuclear option is ultimately an example of the arrogance of power." --Sen. Biden
A moment later, I took another photo. Three of the bureaucrats are still sitting. Ms. Jones, having noticed that she is on camera, has turned her head away:
Ms. Bacigalupi, the instigator of the Pledge, is an advocate of property rights and is currently running for Congress in California's 12th district against incumbent Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA).
