It Ain’t Easy Being Orange!

courtesy of the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON (AP) — John Boehner is a bloodied House speaker following the startling setback that his own fractious Republican troops dealt him in their “fiscal cliff” struggle against President Barack Obama.

There’s plenty of internal grumbling about the Ohio Republican, especially among conservatives, and lots of buzzing about whether his leadership post is in jeopardy. But it’s uncertain whether any other House Republican has the broad appeal to seize the job from Boehner or whether his embarrassing inability to pass his own bill preventing tax increases on everyone but millionaires is enough to topple him.

“No one will be challenging John Boehner as speaker,” predicted John Feehery, a consultant and former aide to House GOP leaders. “No one else can right now do the job of bringing everyone together” and unifying House Republicans.

The morning after he yanked the tax-cutting bill from the House floor to prevent certain defeat, Boehner told reporters he wasn’t worried about losing his job when the new Congress convenes Jan. 3.

“They weren’t taking that out on me,” he said Friday of rank-and-file GOP lawmakers, who despite pleading from Boehner and his lieutenants were shy of providing the 217 votes needed for passage. “They were dealing with the perception that somebody might accuse them of raising taxes.”

That “somebody” was a number of outside conservative groups such as the Club for Growth and Heritage Action for America, which openly pressured lawmakers to reject Boehner’s bill. Such organizations often oppose GOP lawmakers they consider too moderate and have been headaches for Boehner in the past.

This time, his retreat on the tax measure was an unmistakable blow to the clout of the 22-year House veteran known for an amiable style, a willingness to make deals and a perpetual tan.

Congressional leaders amass power partly by their ability to command votes, especially in showdowns. His failure to do so Thursday stands to weaken his muscle with Obama and among House Republicans.

“It’s very hard for him to negotiate now,” said Sarah Binder, a George Washington University political scientist, adding that it’s premature to judge if Boehner’s hold on the speakership is in peril. “No one can trust him because it’s very hard for him to produce votes.”

She said the loss weakens his ability to summon support in the future because “you know the last time he came to you like this, others didn’t step in line.”

Boehner, 63, faces unvarnished hostility from some conservatives.

“We clearly can’t have a speaker operate well outside” what Republicans want to do, said freshman Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan.

Huelskamp is one of four GOP lawmakers who lost prized committee assignments following previous clashes with party leaders. That punishment was an anomaly for Boehner, who is known more for friendly persuasion than arm-twisting.

He said Boehner’s job would depend on whether the speaker is “willing to sit and listen to Republicans first, or march off” and negotiate with Obama.

Conservative Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said one of the tea party’s lasting impacts would be if Boehner struggled to retain his speakership due to the fight over the fiscal cliff, which is the combination of deep tax increases and spending cuts that start in early January without a bipartisan deal to avert them.

“If there’s a major defeat delivered here, it could make it tough on him,” King said. “He’s in a tough spot.”

Defenders say Boehner has been dealt a difficult hand. They say that in nearly two years as speaker, he’s been field general over an unruly GOP majority confronting a Democratic president and Senate, steering them to the best outcomes possible.

House Republicans won some spending cuts early on. But they were faulted by the public for nearly causing a federal default in a 2011 fight over extending the government’s debt limit, and lost a later battle over renewing a payroll tax cut.

This year, they’ve suffered in the polls for resisting the extension of wide-ranging tax cuts unless the wealthiest earners were included, which Obama opposes. They saw their House majority whittled by eight seats in last month’s elections.

“He’s doing a good job in a tough situation,” said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, a Boehner friend. He said the speaker’s challenges include “independent individuals” among House Republicans and the increased willingness of outside conservatives to pressure GOP leaders, not defer to them.

Portman said he didn’t know if Boehner’s tax bill debacle would weaken him.

“It proved to the president what he’s been saying, that there are limits to how far he can go” in making concessions in fiscal cliff bargaining, said Portman. “But a win would have improved chances for an agreement” by demonstrating that Boehner could deliver votes.

“His own Republican team let him down and that always hurts a leader,” said veteran Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga.

Republicans watching closely for overt or subtle moves by would-be challengers to Boehner said Friday they’d detected none, though such moves are notoriously secretive.

The entire House elects its speaker by majority vote on the first day of the new session. Because the 201 Democrats will probably all back Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for the job, a GOP effort to depose Boehner would have to occur internally and before the full House votes so Republicans – with 234 seats – elect one of their own as speaker.

Possible candidates to replace Boehner, according to GOP lawmakers and aides, include Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, third-ranking Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Rep. Tom Price of Georgia.

Cantor was at Boehner’s side Friday as both men met with reporters. Cantor, McCarthy and Ryan lobbied colleagues for Boehner’s tax-cut bill, giving Republicans angry over the measure little reason to turn to them as alternatives.

“I recognize why these questions are getting asked,” conservative freshman Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., said about whether Boehner was in trouble. “I see nothing giving any evidence to that end. It was not a vote of no confidence on John Boehner. It was a legislative defeat, not a personal defeat.”

— Jackson Williams.

Freedom Works

Food for thought, dear readers. Even if you do not agree with what you read, you still owe it to yourself to get a different perspective. And, if you’d like, feel FREE to join in on the debate that’s taking place in the comments. — J.W.

Malcolm's Corner

In the U.S. the boundary of space within which we are free to make our own decisions is shrinking year by year. In daily life we face a bewildering array of restrictions on our behavior. The government now dictates what medications we can purchase, the size of our drink cups, what advertisements we can see, whether we can eat fatty foods, what kind of milk we can drink, under what conditions we can or cannot own a gun, how and who we can marry, how we divorce, what jokes we can tell at work, what kind of medical care we receive, what the interest rate on our mortgage is, what kind of education our children receive, and which legal pleasures such as cigarettes and wine, are to be discouraged through higher taxes. Indeed it is difficult to find a meaningful choice that is not monitored by a bureaucracy and covered…

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2012 Person of The Year: Barack Obama, The President

— J.W.

The (Unabridged) NRA Press Release

Found THIS earlier, and thought it was too good not to share with you, my dear readers. I love it.

— Jackson Williams.

Obama in Newtown: The Transcript

Below is a transcript of President Barack Obama’s speech in Newtown about the horrible tragedy that took place there on Friday. We will never forget, and we will always work to make the future a safer, brighter place for the innocent ones in our society. We owe it to ourselves & the rest of HUMANITY to try and solve this problem. I see no other way around it.

Sincerely,
Jackson Williams.

Thank you. Thank you, Governor. To all the families, first responders, to the community of Newtown, clergy, guests — Scripture tells us: “…do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away…inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”

We gather here in memory of twenty beautiful children and six remarkable adults. They lost their lives in a school that could have been any school; in a quiet town full of good and decent people that could be any town in America.

Here in Newtown, I come to offer the love and prayers of a nation. I am very mindful that mere words cannot match the depths of your sorrow, nor can they heal your wounded hearts. I can only hope it helps for you to know that you’re not alone in your grief; that our world too has been torn apart; that all across this land of ours, we have wept with you, we’ve pulled our children tight. And you must know that whatever measure of comfort we can provide, we will provide; whatever portion of sadness that we can share with you to ease this heavy load, we will gladly bear it. Newtown — you are not alone.

As these difficult days have unfolded, you’ve also inspired us with stories of strength and resolve and sacrifice. We know that when danger arrived in the halls of Sandy Hook Elementary, the school’s staff did not flinch, they did not hesitate. Dawn Hochsprung and Mary Sherlach, Vicki Soto, Lauren Rousseau, Rachel Davino and Anne Marie Murphy — they responded as we all hope we might respond in such terrifying circumstances — with courage and with love, giving their lives to protect the children in their care.

We know that there were other teachers who barricaded themselves inside classrooms, and kept steady through it all, and reassured their students by saying “wait for the good guys, they’re coming”; “show me your smile.”

And we know that good guys came. The first responders who raced to the scene, helping to guide those in harm’s way to safety, and comfort those in need, holding at bay their own shock and trauma because they had a job to do, and others needed them more.

And then there were the scenes of the schoolchildren, helping one another, holding each other, dutifully following instructions in the way that young children sometimes do; one child even trying to encourage a grown-up by saying, “I know karate. So it’s okay. I’ll lead the way out.”

As a community, you’ve inspired us, Newtown. In the face of indescribable violence, in the face of unconscionable evil, you’ve looked out for each other, and you’ve cared for one another, and you’ve loved one another. This is how Newtown will be remembered. And with time, and God’s grace, that love will see you through.

But we, as a nation, we are left with some hard questions. Someone once described the joy and anxiety of parenthood as the equivalent of having your heart outside of your body all the time, walking around. With their very first cry, this most precious, vital part of ourselves — our child — is suddenly exposed to the world, to possible mishap or malice. And every parent knows there is nothing we will not do to shield our children from harm. And yet, we also know that with that child’s very first step, and each step after that, they are separating from us; that we won’t — that we can’t always be there for them. They’ll suffer sickness and setbacks and broken hearts and disappointments. And we learn that our most important job is to give them what they need to become self-reliant and capable and resilient, ready to face the world without fear.

And we know we can’t do this by ourselves. It comes as a shock at a certain point where you realize, no matter how much you love these kids, you can’t do it by yourself. That this job of keeping our children safe, and teaching them well, is something we can only do together, with the help of friends and neighbors, the help of a community, and the help of a nation. And in that way, we come to realize that we bear a responsibility for every child because we’re counting on everybody else to help look after ours; that we’re all parents; that they’re all our children.

This is our first task — caring for our children. It’s our first job. If we don’t get that right, we don’t get anything right. That’s how, as a society, we will be judged.

And by that measure, can we truly say, as a nation, that we are meeting our obligations? Can we honestly say that we’re doing enough to keep our children — all of them — safe from harm? Can we claim, as a nation, that we’re all together there, letting them know that they are loved, and teaching them to love in return? Can we say that we’re truly doing enough to give all the children of this country the chance they deserve to live out their lives in happiness and with purpose?

I’ve been reflecting on this the last few days, and if we’re honest with ourselves, the answer is no. We’re not doing enough. And we will have to change.

Since I’ve been President, this is the fourth time we have come together to comfort a grieving community torn apart by a mass shooting. The fourth time we’ve hugged survivors. The fourth time we’ve consoled the families of victims. And in between, there have been an endless series of deadly shootings across the country, almost daily reports of victims, many of them children, in small towns and big cities all across America — victims whose — much of the time, their only fault was being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

We can’t tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change. We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex, and that is true. No single law — no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world, or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society.

But that can’t be an excuse for inaction. Surely, we can do better than this. If there is even one step we can take to save another child, or another parent, or another town, from the grief that has visited Tucson, and Aurora, and Oak Creek, and Newtown, and communities from Columbine to Blacksburg before that — then surely we have an obligation to try.

In the coming weeks, I will use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens — from law enforcement to mental health professionals to parents and educators — in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this. Because what choice do we have? We can’t accept events like this as routine. Are we really prepared to say that we’re powerless in the face of such carnage, that the politics are too hard? Are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom?

All the world’s religions — so many of them represented here today — start with a simple question: Why are we here? What gives our life meaning? What gives our acts purpose? We know our time on this Earth is fleeting. We know that we will each have our share of pleasure and pain; that even after we chase after some earthly goal, whether it’s wealth or power or fame, or just simple comfort, we will, in some fashion, fall short of what we had hoped. We know that no matter how good our intentions, we will all stumble sometimes, in some way. We will make mistakes, we will experience hardships. And even when we’re trying to do the right thing, we know that much of our time will be spent groping through the darkness, so often unable to discern God’s heavenly plans.

There’s only one thing we can be sure of, and that is the love that we have — for our children, for our families, for each other. The warmth of a small child’s embrace — that is true. The memories we have of them, the joy that they bring, the wonder we see through their eyes, that fierce and boundless love we feel for them, a love that takes us out of ourselves, and binds us to something larger — we know that’s what matters. We know we’re always doing right when we’re taking care of them, when we’re teaching them well, when we’re showing acts of kindness. We don’t go wrong when we do that.

That’s what we can be sure of. And that’s what you, the people of Newtown, have reminded us. That’s how you’ve inspired us. You remind us what matters. And that’s what should drive us forward in everything we do, for as long as God sees fit to keep us on this Earth.

“Let the little children come to me,” Jesus said, “and do not hinder them — for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

Charlotte. Daniel. Olivia. Josephine. Ana. Dylan. Madeleine. Catherine. Chase. Jesse. James. Grace. Emilie. Jack. Noah. Caroline. Jessica. Benjamin. Avielle. Allison.

God has called them all home. For those of us who remain, let us find the strength to carry on, and make our country worthy of their memory.

May God bless and keep those we’ve lost in His heavenly place. May He grace those we still have with His holy comfort.

And may He bless and watch over this community, and the United States of America.

Fiscal Cliff Or Fiscal Slope?

Dear readers: read this before panicking. — J.W.

The Joy of Tax Law

While Congress and the media obsess over the “fiscal cliff,” there is a growing dissent amongst some politicians and economists as to how the issue is being labeled.  More appropriate terms, critics of the “fiscal cliff” argue, may include: “fiscal slope,” “gradual fiscal slope,” “fiscal curve,” “taxmageddon,” and “austerity crisis.”  These alternatives attempt to reflect the idea that the fiscal cliff, a series of mandatory budget cuts and tax hikes that kick-in at the end of the year, is not quite the doomsday that falling off a cliff implies.

As Ed Ardeni, president and chief investment strategist for institutional investor advisory Yardeni Research, put it:

“We’re not going to fall off the edge of the earth at the beginning of next year. When you fall off a cliff you die. So it’s a bit of an exaggeration to say that’s what we’re facing here.”

Similarly, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), noted that even if the deadline is missed by a month…

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Egypt Calling

courtesy of The Associated Press:

CAIRO (AP) — The same chants used against Hosni Mubarak were turned against his successor Tuesday as more than 200,000 people packed Egypt’s Tahrir Square in the biggest challenge yet to Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

The massive, flag-waving throng protesting Morsi’s assertion of near-absolute powers rivaled some of the largest crowds that helped drive Mubarak from office last year.

“The people want to bring down the regime!” and “erhal, erhal” – Arabic for “leave, leave” – rang out across the plaza, this time directed at Egypt’s first freely elected president.

The protests were sparked by edicts Morsi issued last week that effectively neutralize the judiciary, the last branch of government he does not control. But they turned into a broader outpouring of anger against Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood, which opponents say have used election victories to monopolize power, squeeze out rivals and dictate a new, Islamist constitution, while doing little to solve Egypt’s mounting economic and security woes.

Clashes broke out in several cities, with Morsi’s opponents attacking Brotherhood offices, setting fire to at least one. Protesters and Brotherhood members pelted each other with stones and firebombs in the Nile Delta city of Mahalla el-Kobra, leaving at least 100 people injured.

“Power has exposed the Brotherhood. We discovered their true face,” said Laila Salah, a housewife at the Tahrir protest who said she voted for Morsi in last summer’s presidential election. After Mubarak, she said, Egyptians would no longer accept being ruled by an autocrat.

“It’s like a wife whose husband was beating her and then she divorces him and becomes free,” she said. “If she remarries she’ll never accept another day of abuse.”

Gehad el-Haddad, a senior adviser to the Brotherhood and its political party, said Morsi would not back down on his edicts. “We are not rescinding the declaration,” he told The Associated Press.

That sets the stage for a drawn-out battle that could throw the nation into greater turmoil. Protest organizers have called for another mass rally Friday. If the Brotherhood responds with demonstrations of its own, as some of its leaders have hinted, it would raise the prospect of greater violence after a series of clashes between the two camps in recent days.

A tweet by the Brotherhood warned that if the opposition was able to bring out 200,000 to 300,000, “they should brace for millions in support” of Morsi.

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“THIS PLEDGE IS FOR LIFE!” — Some Dude

courtesy of The Associated Press:

WASHINGTON (AP) — For decades, conservative lobbyist Grover Norquist vowed to drive Republicans out of office if they didn’t pledge to oppose tax increases. Many lawmakers signed on.

But now, several senior Republicans are breaking ranks, willing to consider raising more money through taxes as part of a deal with Democrats to avoid a catastrophic budget meltdown.

Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker says the only pledge he will keep is his oath of office. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor says no one in his home state of Virginia is talking about what leaders in Washington refer to simply as “The Pledge,” a Norquist invention that dates to 1986. Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss says he cares more about his country than sticking to Norquist’s pledge.

It’s quite an about-face for senior members of a party that long has stood firmly against almost any notion of tax increases. And while GOP leaders insist they still don’t want to see taxes go up, the reality of a nation in a debt crisis is forcing some to moderate their opposition to any movement on how much Americans pay to fund their government. Republican legislators and Democratic President Barack Obama’s White House are haggling vigorously as they look for ways to reach agreement on detailed tax adjustments and spending cuts before automatic, blunt-force changes occur at the new year.

“Oh, I signed it,” Sen. Jeff Sessions said on Fox News about Norquist’s pledge. “But we’ve got to deal with the crisis we face. We’ve got to deal with the political reality of the president’s victory.”

The naysaying about the pledge is raising the question of whether Norquist – a little-known Republican outside of Washington – is losing his position of power within the GOP. It’s a notion that he calls ridiculous.

“The fantasy is that the Republicans would cave on marginal tax rates,” Norquist said recently. “They’re nonnegotiable.”

At the White House, spokesman Jay Carney said Monday that the shifting away from Norquist signaled an opportunity for Republicans to work with President Obama.

“They represent what we hope is a difference in tone and approach to these problems and a recognition that a balanced approach to deficit reduction is the right approach,” Carney said.

Norquist, the head of the conservative Americans for Tax Reform, opposes tax increases of any kind, whether eliminating deductions or raising rates. He has insisted on hardline positions from lawmakers and, for years, has held outsized sway in the party for someone who does not hold public office. His pledge doesn’t allow any change to the tax code that adds a dollar to revenues.

House Speaker John Boehner has called that notion unrealistic and has dismissed Norquist as “some random person.”

Nevertheless, Norquist has maintained a certain level of clout for years.

Heading into the 2012 elections, 279 lawmakers had signed Norquist’s’ pledge, according to Americans for Tax Reform.

But some who have signed the pledge are having second thoughts. And when the new House is seated next year, no more than 212 of them consider themselves bound by the promise.

“I’m not obligated on the pledge,” Corker told CBS News. “I was just elected. The only thing I’m honoring is the oath I take when I serve when I’m sworn in this January.”

He’s hardly alone in his stance on the pledge.

“When I go to the constituents that have re-elected me, it is not about that pledge,” Cantor said on MSNBC. “It really is about trying to solve problems.”

Chambliss, a veteran senator from Georgia, said he signed the pledge during an earlier campaign when the country’s debt was nowhere near its current $16 trillion level.

“Times have changed significantly, and I care more about my country than I do about a 20-year-old pledge,” Chambliss told his local television station. “If we do it (Norquist’s) way, then we’ll continue in debt.”

“I’m frankly not concerned about the Norquist pledge,” Chambliss added.

Raising taxes is seldom a vote-winning strategy.

President George H.W. Bush broke his campaign promise to not raise taxes; he ended up losing re-election 1992.

Other Republicans, however, now are willing to put tax increases on the table as a bargaining chip for a deal with Democrats over changes in Social Security and Medicare and to pare down federal deficits.

“I agree with Grover, we shouldn’t raise rates. But I think Grover is wrong when it comes to we can’t cap deductions and buy down debt,” Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

“I will violate the pledge – long story short – for the good of the country, only if Democrats will do entitlement reform,” he added.

Rep. Peter King of New York told Sunday’s “Meet the Press” on NBC that the pledge is good for a two-year term only.

“A pledge you signed 20 years ago, 18 years ago, is for that Congress,” King said. “For instance, if I were in Congress in 1941, I would have signed a support of declaration of war against Japan. I’m not going to attack Japan today. The world has changed, and the economic situation is different.”

And Sen. John McCain, his party’s presidential nominee in 2008, said the pledge is losing its clout.

“Fewer and fewer people are signing this, quote, pledge,” he told an audience recently.

— Jackson Williams.

Is Ronald Reagan Actually a Hero of The Tea Party?

THANK. YOU. — J.W.

Dumbfuckistan!

YES! YES! I fully support this. Please, for the love of God, make this happen. I welcome our new neighbors to the south, Dumbfuckistan. (photo courtesy of Marilyn Gerber).

— Jackson Williams.