After reading George Wills recent column, entitled, "Liberals' Wisconsin Waterloo," it appears that Barack Obama's effort to insulate unions and their bosses from his edict of "shared sacrifice" has failed. Shared sacrifice didn't apply to unions during the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies. He made sure that the UAW was given preference over the preferred creditors. The stimulus was an obvious payback to unions, especially public employees, as much of it was directed to states to avoid layoffs due to ballooning deficits. Andy Stern, head of SEIU was Obama's most frequent White House guest during his first year in office. Richard Trumka, head of the AFL-CIO was seen admitting that he visits the White House two or three times a week and has conversations with someone there every day.
Obama's political arm, "Organizing for America," was front and center during the Wisconsin demonstrations against Scott Walker and the newly elected republican legislature this last spring. The administrations National Labor Relations Board's...NLRB's attempt to sue and stop Boeing from relocating a production plant to South Carolina, a right to work state, for their new 787 jetliner, is yet another attempt to insulate unions from "shared sacrifice." The public has caught on, and they realize that Obama doesn't mean what he says. He has over reached in his attempt to empower unions and the push back has been immediate and severe.
Millions of dollars poured into Wisconsin to recall enough republicans to block Walkers agenda. Union bosses looked at the expenditure as the cost of doing business. They knew if the legislation was sustained they would lose millions in automatic union dues taken from members paychecks. They lost and lost big, and the voters of that state are watching their deficits shrink and business boom. Now that the stimulus has run out of funds, we see public employees being laid off in droves in state and local governments all around the country. Now, even though democrats lead republicans in fund raising for 2012 much of the union influence and cash is being muffled. They will still spend, and spend every dime they can to elect democrats, but their power has been shrinking. If Wisconsin was the liberals Waterloo, as Will says, 2012 may be the Unions swan song.
The midterms of 2010 will be remembered as not just a smack down of progressive theory, but the beginning of the end of union influence over our political system. Obama's intent to reward his friends and punish his enemies has ultimately backfired, much like his economic policies. I wonder if he's learned the lesson that when you over reach you will get a stinging slap to the back of your hand.. After reading the comments associated with the George Will column, I found that many of those union members have nothing left but invective and name calling. If I were them, I'd change my attitude because the American voter is in no mood to further pay for their so called entitlements. We know he never meant it, but they should embrace their saviors edict of "shared sacrifice," because if they continue to reach into the cookie jar, they may just lose more fingers.
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It's tough being cool and aloof when the world is falling around you. The Midwestern bus tour isn't going well. The proletariat is coming dressed as Tea Party members questioning my civility. I wish I hadn't made that speech in Tucson. Who was it again that suggested I choose Biden? Ah, just a few more days and I can fly away to Martha's Vineyard once again. I hope the people don't notice that Blue Heron farm is near the town of Chilmark, which the Vineyard Gazzette said was the most expensive small town in all of America. Oh well, if they do, they must understand that I am the president of the United states. After all, I and I alone stopped this country from going into a great depression, and the problems we're having now are due to circumstances beyond my control. Japanese tsunamis, and the Arab spring to name a few. I hope they don't blame the tsunami on me. After all I did say I would cause the oceans to recede.
Where is Biden when I need him? If I could sneak out with him without Michelle knowing, we could go score another cheeseburger. Everyone would think we're regular folks. Maybe I won't ask for Dijon mustard on my burger this time. Maybe while I'm at the Vineyard, I'll fly in that pizza chef again for an impromptu pizza party. All America loves pizza, and no one will notice the taxpayer cost. You know what, for a 1.1 million dollar bus this thing has terrible air conditioning. You know that Rick Perry is becoming a thorn in my side. But, when he accused Bernanke of treason he opened the door for me to scold him on civility. Thank God for that Tucson speech.
Maybe it's time I began formulating this new program for job growth. I promised I'd reveal it after Labor Day. Damn, Gallop has my approval at 39% again. Right after the senate convenes hearings on S&P, maybe we should investigate Gallop. I wish my bus was more colorful like Sarah Palin's, but no way will I have We The People painted on the side. I hope no one notices that over 50 servicemen have been killed in Afghanistan already this month. If they do, they may blame my hasty pull out of troops beginning last month. I do sincerely regret the death of many Seal Team 6 members in that chopper attack. After all, they did get my poll numbers up after the Bin Laden raid. It's tough being commander in chief. You're damned if you do, and damned if you don't. How did W. prosecute the Iraq war without being political? It has to be that he wasn't up for reelection when he implemented the surge and whipped their butts.
The Vineyard can come none to soon. I'll play some hoops and hit the links. I think I'm going to play my far left slice from now on. It would be foolish to change now. When I get back from the Vineyard, I'm going to have another Wednesday night White House party. The Chef will serve up $100 a pound imported Japanese steak for appetizers and vodka martinis again. We'll have Stevie Wonder and Sir Paul McCartney entertain us while we contemplate how we can tax the rich and blame them for the huge deficits we're running. Thank God for Warren Buffet. We'll retool our attack and demonize the Tea party as obstructionists, who hinder our economic plan for job creation. Damn, I wish I hadn't made that Tucson speech.
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Today for the first time in his presidency, Barack Obama's approval rating sunk below 40% in the Gallop daily tracking poll. This constitutes an enormous development with the 2012 election less than 15 months away. Of course Drudge picked up on it, but he seems to be the only one out there pointing it out. Maybe because it's Sunday, and all the buzz is about the Iowa straw poll and Rick Perry getting into the race, they decided to fire at the opposition. Also on Friday the appeals court for the 11th circuit, based in Atlanta, ruled Obama Care's individual mandate was unconstitutional. There was not any discussion of this development on the Sunday shows. It seems the mainstream media is trying to down play both of these developments and run interference for Obama by doing everything they can to de-legitimize the republican field of candidates.
Michele Bachmann once again was taking it on the chin on all the Sunday shows as most of the moderators, especially David Gregory, were trying to characterize her as out of the mainstream and unelectable. Their complete indifference to the American peoples revolt against the messiah and the appeals courts smack down of Obama care weren't even mentioned. Could it be that Obama care and the messiah's policies are out of the mainstream? Of course they are not out of the mainstream for the mainstream, or to borrow a phrase from Sarah Palin, Lame stream media. How can a sitting president who has just fallen below 40% approval be considered re-electable? They are continuing to do everything they can to bail out the sinking ship, while most Americans are considering it sunk. They are doing the messiah's work by ignoring his record, while giving intrusive anal exams to the republican field. This will get nasty and the media has staked their reputation on the outcome.
Thank God the American people have discovered they can get information from alternative sources. The only question that remains, will the mainstream media decide to go down with their sinking ship or will they run like rats from the Titanic. They are spineless and I predict they will eventually run when they realize the messiah is indeed a one term president, and could go down in history as the architect of Americas decline. They'll keep fighting or should I say gouging eyes and pulling hair for him now. Everybody knows it. They are ideologues that have not a fair or journalistic bone in their body. Our hope is that when the messiah eventually succumbs to the will of the American people, the media will reconsider their partisanship. I'm not holding my breath. Maybe they will make themselves so irrelevant it won't even matter.
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In January of 2009 when president Obama was inaugurated, there was a huge gulf already in place between conservative and liberal thought. TARP under Bush was excoriated by conservatives, and free market purists, but many republicans acquiesced. We remember that the stimulus that the democrats pushed was large and top loaded with spending and little real economic stimulus through tax cuts. The republicans wanted a smaller and more tax cut loaded stimulus. Of course the democrats with huge majorities and a new savior elected as president won the debate, which really wasn't a debate at all, and only got three republican votes in the senate by consistent rinos. Then Obama care was pushed and passed with no republican votes and a lot of democrat shenanigans. This was a major transformational piece of legislation without bipartisan agreement. All this led to the eruption of conservative influence and the Tea Party movement, which culminated in a landslide victory for conservative thought in the mid terms.
Fast forward to the recent debt limit increase debate, and we again see a gulf between a democrat tax increase mindset, and republicans saying no new taxes, but still agreeing to smaller cuts then necessary to stop a downgrade of U.S. debt. We were all told the sky would fall on August 2nd if an agreement wasn't forthcoming. and just like TARP, republicans were scared into a corner like frightened mice. The Boehner plan was watered down and gave the messiah 2.4 trillion of additional debt that will Greece the skids downward through the 2012 election cycle. A balanced Budget Amendment was nixed. The stock market didn't go down until after the deal was done. Again just like TARP, republicans and all of Washington were scared because of a possible drop in the market, which accelerated after the bills were signed. The administration promised the deal would not result in a downgrade of U.S debt. Friday S & P downgraded our debt to AA+, and who's to say what will happen when the markets open on Monday. The media is trying to paint the deal as a victory for the Tea Party, perhaps positioning them for blame for the downgrade because they wouldn't agree to the grand bargain that included tax increases.
Now each side is staking out their ideological positions. Liberals are claiming that we're at the cusp of a double dip because Washington isn't spending enough and more stimulus is needed, and of course the rich aren't paying their fair share. They argue the original stimulus was insufficient. The Paul Krugmans of the world rail against deficit reduction and fiscal discipline, while proposing huge stimulus. Doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result is still the definition of insanity. Obama seems to be doubling down on his failed policies with calls for extending unemployment benefits further and more stimulus. "Congress needs to send me a jobs bill I can sign," he shouts. What is a jobs bill he can sign? A.K.A., more spending, more debt, and more taxes.
Meanwhile conservatives are shouting, "I told you so." They say the deal will do nothing but accelerate the decline of the U.S. economy and lead us down the path toward Greece. They argue for a new attempt at zero base budgeting. No more automatic increases of up to 8% built into each years spending. Only in Washington is a minuscule decrease in the rate of increase considered a cut. The Mack Penny plan is gaining traction, which would freeze the 2012 budget at 2011 levels and then for eight year after that one penny would be cut from each dollar spent. At that point the budget would be balanced. If the federal government can't reduce spending by 1% for eight years we're all in trouble. Even with the baby boomers retiring at exponential rates, a plan to restructure entitlements is imminently doable, if only politicians had the courage to do it. The stars may be aligning for just that scenario. The squishy middle and rino republicans are being left out of the debate, which is a good thing, because now the 2012 elections will have clear distinctions between the polar opposite ideological positions. The demagogues and fear mongers will be in full force, but maybe the debate has gotten so serious, they will be ignored. We can and must win the argument with rational and articulate debate.
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