Happy Birthday, Abe!

In honor of President Lincoln's birthday, here is a tribute from The Whitest Kids You Know.

Publius is ticked.

DC is on the road to getting their voting Representative in Congress. Today the Senate Government Relations Committee voted 11-1 in support of a plan to give the District of Columbia and Utah an extra voting Member of the House of Representatives.

To be plainspoken: This is total and complete bullshit.

Our Founders made it very simple:

Clause 1: The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.

Clause 2: No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

Last I checked, 'Districts' didn't count as 'States', nor do territories, regions, counties, townships, parks, cities, basements or other such locations.

Plain and simple, this is a power grab. An effort to increase the Democrat majority in Congress. Now, as Republicans we're supposed to look away because Utah was awarded the extra seat in Congress, and that seat will most assuredly be a Republican. Unfortunately, this extra seat was awarded because Utah "is the next state in line to receive an additional seat based on 2000 census figures."

Great. So what happens when the new figures come out after the 2010 census? Who knows where that seat will go?

No matter who gets the seat, forsaking the intent of the founders and abandoning principle just to satisfy the whiny federal bureaucrats who populate DC isn't acceptable. We can't simply pick and choose what we want to enforce in the US Constitution. Now, if DC wants to allow itself to be annexed by Maryland or Virginia, fine. But until then, quit bitching.

It's like ten thousand spoons, when all ya need is a knife.

The EPA building is next door to my new apartment building. This pic of it was taken around 10pm last night. Either everybody works late.....or they don't exactly support energy conservation.



Isn't it ironic, don't 'cha think?

Finally called up from AAA.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal will give the GOP response to President Obama's speech to Congress on February 24th. For Jindal, obviously this provides quite an opportunity for him. He missed his first chance to speak to a primetime national audience when he stayed home from the 2008 Republican National Convention in order do his job and make sure his state was prepared for a Hurricane.

This is payback.

And, it's also going to spur more talk about whether he really does want to run for President in 2012. If he gets rave reviews, which I'd be surprised if he doesn't, I'm sure the buzz will grow much beyond this little trip of his.

As tempting as 2012 may be for Jindal, the young GOP star still has another term available as Governor of Louisiana. There is no need to jump into the mix quite yet, especially since the timing of his reelection campaign in 2011 doesn't mesh well with the GOP primary calendar.

But, if Democrats suffer major defeats in the 2010 midterms...it may be a little too tempting. So make sure you keep an eye out for one of these...

Dear Virginia -- Yes, There Is a Santa Claus

It's called the United States Government.

Yep, folks....it's come to this. The glorious Commonwealth of Virginia is finally letting me properly ask for that unicorn.

Welcome to Stimulus.Virginia.Gov

The Commonwealth has developed a website for citizens, groups, localities, and others to use to share project proposals for potential funding from the expected federal stimulus package. As the stimulus package becomes finalized, more information and details will be made available on this site.

To begin your proposal, enter your email address below...

Really, Virginia? Hmmm. Well, fine. Here's mine.

It's on like Donkey Kong.

Today John Kasich announced his 88 County Statewide Leadership Team for his campaign for Govern......er, Recharge Ohio.

Not bad for a guy just 'flirting' with running for Governor, eh?

Now, some cynics may say Kasich was pushed into making this announcement. To those folks let me say this:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Announcing a statewide leadership team for ALL 88 counties is a monster task. It requires serious preparation and pragmatism. This isn't something one rushes into. Each county has their own political gamesmanship to consider and selecting the wrong person as Chairman can cause discord countywide. The last thing one wants to do is ruffle feathers this early.

On top of it, the team Kasich has put together reads like a who's who of Ohio Republican leadership. The County Chairmen of the three most populous counties, Doug Preisse (Franklin), Alex Triantafilou(Hamilton) and Rob Frost(Cuyahoga) are all on board.

This goes back to what I was saying yesterday. The Kasich team clearly is out in front and well prepared for a run for Governor.

I'm sure the new complaint will be, "that's all well and good, but why isn't he filing so he can begin to officially raise money?"

If that was a worry, don't you think they would have done it by now? Clearly, Kasich must have committments at a level that doesn't raise any concern in his camp. The fact is, once he makes his official announcement and creates his official campaign Committee, the spotlight will be on him. Yes, that means he'll be able to raise money, but it also raises complications that aren't necessary at this stage in the game, namely:

• Increased media scrutiny - The fact is, John doesn't need it right now. Yes, he is behind in the polls, but to think one needs to start increasing name recognition more than a year before the PRIMARY is insane.
  
• Provides Strickland a target - Right now, despite his numbers, the Governor is doing plenty to give the GOP ammo for the general election. Let's keep the focus on Strickland as long as possible so Ohioans can be sure who is to blame for our situation come 2010. If he has an opponent to focus his energy on, the Governor will be able to shape the debate away from his own shortcomings.
• Campaign hangover - Ohioans were hammered for the past 2 years with politics. They need a break. One of the great things about Kasich is he helps voters forget their cynicism. That would be much more difficult if he was seen as just another politician throwing his hat into the ring too early.
• Fox - The earned media John receives everytime he appears on Fox News as a guest host or contributor is like red meat for the conservative Ohio base. That goes away the moment he announces. Plus, it gives me another excuse to watch out for Megyn Kelly without my girlfriend getting suspicious.
  

Things are right on schedule.

And the campaign ninja takes no prisoners.

UPDATE: Thanks to Redstate for linking to the post. Makes me wish I had taken more than 10 minutes to write it. Ha.

For those interested in helping John, please sign up at Recharge Ohio and join the facebook group.

Why we lose.

While defending the Stimulus Shit Sandwich Act of 2009 yesterday, President Obama said the following:

"But what I — what I’ve been concerned about is some of the language that’s been used suggesting that this is full of pork and this is wasteful government spending, so on and so forth.

…

But when they start characterizing this as pork without acknowledging that there are no earmarks in this package — something, again, that was pretty rare over the last eight years — then you get a feeling that maybe we’re playing politics instead of actually trying to solve problems for the American people."

Now, I recognize that the President is technically correct. Traditionally, pork is defined as earmarks specifically submitted by Congressmen for projects usually in their own state. But anyone with any common sense recognizes that pork is much less about who is asking for the spending, and much more about how it is being spent.

Now, I won't go over the long and depressing laundry list of wasteful spending in this bill. We all have heard about the golf carts and health insurance for bees. But Obama's tactic of redefining terms is at best, intellectually dishonest. Unfortunately for Republicans, we are hesitant to resort to such lazy mechanisms for political debate.

And that, among many other reasons, is why we lose.

The Great Golf Cart Famine of 2009

$300 million for "golf carts": "$300 million has been allocated in the stimulus bill for modern golf carts and other forms of environmentally friendly modes of transportation. The Democrats thought they could fool you by renaming the money earmarked for golf carts in the stimulus bill as paying for 'neighborhood electric vehicles' and 'low speed motor vehicles.'

And everyone gets a $1,500 tax credit to get one. Yep, that works out to 200,000 brand spankin' new golf carts wandering our majestic countrysides.

One of four things are occurring:

1) Our country is suffering a massive shortage in development of newer/faster/stronger golf carts.

2) We're starting to take the Ryder Cup a little too seriously as a nation and are going to war with Billy Madison as our savior.

3) The Democratic Congressional majority is full of blithering idiots.

4) Or maybe David Obey is just a huge fan of the Charlie Sheen epic, 'Navy Seals'.

John Kasich: Campaign Ninja

I like Kyle Sisk. He's a smart guy and has done a great job utilizing his old contacts from his fundraising days to provide solid insight into Ohio politics. But one of his more recent posts, explaining his frustration regarding John Kasich's potential candidacy for Ohio Governor, seemed to be just a weeeee bit over the top.

"...you will need $15-20 million to win this campaign. First, people need to know who you are. Secondly, they have to know why you are better than the other guy. With the way your numbers look I hope you are planning on raising $20 million.

...

As Galloway said, "You had us at hello." This flirting with running for Gov, dinners at Thiebaut's(DJ note: It's 'Thibaut') house, Recharge Ohio blah blah blah has been going on since the end of 2006.

You have been flirting for over 26 months with running for Gov in 2010.

This is "line in the sand" time.

Are you running or not? That is a simple question. Why can't we get a simple answer?!?!?!?!?!?

If you are running then run. We are 100% behind you. I get no pleasure bashing on you, but this is starting to enter the realm of being ridiculous."

Ridiculous? I don't think someone has been paying attention. The reality is this -- John Kasich has set the stage for what should be the best statewide campaign since Voino in 1988.

This effort has been much bigger than a couple dinners and a website, as Kyle portrays. Beginning in 2007 and through March of 2009, Kasich has spoken or will have spoken at 45 County Lincoln Day Dinners or similar Party activist events. Attendance at these events has averaged out at about 400. That's 18,000 people. What's important to note is that these 18,000 aren't just regular voters. These are Party leaders, grassroots coordinators, fundraisers and combinations thereof. The very people that need to be inspired to work hard to make sure victory is assured in November of 2010.

It would be easy to say that these people can be counted on already. There is no need to waste time courting folks that will already help you, just as they help each campaign cycle, right? But as a campaign veteran I can tell you there is a ginormous difference between Party activists who feel obligated to help you and Party activists that WANT to help you. A perfect example would be what we saw at the Ohio McCain HQ in 2008 vs. Ohio Bush HQ in 2004. This past election cycle we saw row after row of empty GOTV phone lines. In 2004, there were lines of volunteers out the door. Hell, we had so many volunteers in 2004 that we had to ask some to make GOTV calls on their cellulars in the hall since we were out of phone lines.

Activists need to want to win. And speaking as someone who has attended one of these Kasich events, there is a fire that goes through the room after John speaks. I even recall one friend saying, "shit, I'm ready to advance a Bus Tour right now." Ah, those are always....fun. But I digress....

Sisk worries about John raising the funds necessary to win. Yes, admittedly Kasich is already $2 million down to Strickland, but that can quickly be made up. As Sisk knows, much of the fundraising battle is about establishing commitments from your big money donors and organizing a finance committee dedicated to helping to raise dollars. Recharge Ohio undoubtedly has prepared this network and will be ready to fully utilize its capabilities immediately upon announcing.

This 'flirting', as Kyle calls it, is so much more than that. It is the establishment of a campaign firmly rooted in inspired Party activists who will work their asses off at the grassroots level and into the development of a well-networked fundraising base.

Hopefully we can count on the campaign officially kicking off in the next few months, and in the meantime the Kasich camp must continue what they've been doing -- increasing the buzz, inspiring the Party activists, readying the fundraising machine and developing the policy solutions that will bring Ohio out of the hole of which Gov. Strickland has refused to pull us out.

These aren't rookies. They know what they're doing.

And they're taking back Ohio.

UPDATE: I wanted to respond to Kyle's comment (thanks for reading, Kyle!) and new blogpost. In his recent post he states:

"Has this whole thing just been one big publicity blitz for Kasich to build a following for his Fox TV appearances and to help him sell a lot of books???

Think about it for a second.

John Kasich hanging out at a Borders bookstore on a Friday night in February would give him an audience of 50-75 people of all ages and all political backgrounds (not the best target-rich environment).

I'm sure Grand Central Publishing (Kasich's publisher) was absolutely giddy when he told them that instead of sitting in Borders on a Friday night he could put himself in front of hundreds upon hundreds of 18-80 year old, like-minded GOPers for a cost of zero dollars and zero effort other than just showing up."

Kyle, I love ya man, but this is kind of talk just doesn't make any kind of sense. Doing this to build publicity for his Fox News appearances? To sell books?

If Kasich was worried about making money, he'd just sit back and enjoy his Lehman Bros. gig and exploit the contacts he has made over the years to continue making very well-earned money. But he isn't. You think his book is what is paying for his mortgage? I seriously doubt it. As for the 'building an audience' comment, I doubt he's worried about increasing his audience by 18,000 people.

There is a rhyme and reason for Kasich's strategy. Trying to shove him into a different one only damages what he has been trying to build the past two years.

Finally, knowing John the way many Ohio Republican political hacks know John, we all know he can't be shoved into doing anything he doesn't want to do. If we want him to win, we need to work together to build the best possible environment for him to enter the race the right way and in the best position. Trying to change public sentiment about his motivations is not the way to go about it.

Bonk.

After a long weekend moving, I needed a good laugh. Thanks, Mr. President.

Pardon the interruption.

DJ Tablesauce is headed to Arlington, VA -- so while he moves this weekend, please pardon the lack of posting. We'll be back full-go on Monday!

Gotta love the view at the new place.

I hate sequels

Listening to Obama speak about the need to do something right now, it's easy to imagine just enough Republicans getting sucked in to officially get "New Deal 2: Electric Boogaloo" green-lit.

I don't ever remember my unionized teachers mentioning the 20% unemployment rate in 1938-- six years after FDR took office and years into his version of stimulus.

That's not to say that Obama's actions won't eventually solve this. Remember that it took a World War to get us out of FDR's version of a Depression. Given our dear leader's apparent reliance on the "I'd like to buy the world a Coke" version of the Can't We All Just Get Along school of diplomacy, it's not outrageous to think that history could repeat itself down the road.

What a jerk.

I take that back. Cats suck.

It's more simple than you think.

Much has been made since November about how Republicans/Conservatives must go about becoming a Party with new ideas that translate to the constantly evolving electorate. A friend of mine, hitherto known as Chobemaster(yes, I know), put together an interesting monologue discussing how the most important issues must be based in the roots of conservatism. Do we need 'new ideas'? No. We don't need to reinvent the wheel. Conservatism as we know it has worked for our country before. It will work again.

========

In practical terms "new ideas" = "new programs", which is thus further from "core" fiscal conservatism. Realistically, what "new ideas" do we actually need? Let's rattle off the "issues" we face right now, and their conservative solutions.

Islamofacism. The current idea is to support nations confronting terror and to confront terror w/ any means necessary -- financial, diplomatic, force of arms. That's a good approach and has been working -- keep after it. Might there be tactical tweaks? Sure, but nothing that's at a national debate level. Meanwhile, endeavor to address the root cause fueling the movement…oppression of the masses in predominantly Muslim nations. This is also currently being done.

The Economy. The general conservative idea is to let capital flow in efficient markets. Let's do that, and remove impediments to it. Dictating who should get home loans, or which industries should get more capital from the taxpayer when they’ve already destroyed the capital the market allocated them are not it.

Energy. This is really a subset of the economy, but it probably bears specific mentioning. Let capital flow to solve energy needs. Drop tariffs on imported ethanol. Drop corn subsidies if ethanol is creating upward price pressure on corn, which I suspect it won't if domestic ethanol isn't shielded from competition. Drill for oil where it exists. Burn up our existing coal. Build nuke plants. Improve the transmission grid. If there are marketplaces where “alternative” energy sources are the right solution, those sources will come online through the efforts of entrepreneurs, financed by banks free to lend to the highest expected return marginal borrower provided they are free of burdensome regulation. None of this is “new”…we just need to actually do it.

Health-care. Constraining the free market isn't going to improve quality of care OR control runaway spending...much of which has of course been caused by the increased demand for medical services encouraged by the moral hazard of insurance. Certainly we don't need MORE such hazard. All government can do is make this problem worse -- so we must do nothing. We are on the cusp of a new age of medicine with designer drugs and nanotechnology. Don't spend trillions of dollars to try to "fix" a problem that is about to go away on its own.

Infrastructure. I'm not convinced there is a need for marginal federal infrastructure projects, especially on the roads-and-bridges front. I’ve never needed to get to a place I couldn’t reach by car except Hawaii. If existing federal-responsibility infrastructure needs repair/maintenance/capacity upgrades, make them. If there is a looming national infrastructure issue that local politicians are ignoring since they have too short term a focus, it's water infrastructure.

If Republicans MUST have a “make work” spending boondoggle, how about a national watershed management program? Iowa is flooding while Georgia is in a drought. Major cities are at the edge of their water capacity. While the obsession with being “green” is sweeping the country, the average municipal water system loses 20% of the water between the treatment plant and the consumer due to leaky pipes.

Education. This isn't a federal issue, except that the teachers’ union is national. Break it.

Abortion. Stop it.

Taxation. Income tax is a complicated mess that even the Secretary of the Treasury "can't" follow, and it destroys value in the economy. It also creates the single biggest lever for demagoguery in DC. Replace it with the Fair Tax or similar. (Here, the "or similar" would be a new idea, technically speaking).

=======

Now it's the making it happen part that's difficult.

Stimulus Shit Sandwich: The Letter Home

Dear Congress,

Do Nothing.

Love,
Your Own Experts

President Obama's economic recovery package will actually hurt the economy more in the long run than if he were to do nothing, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.

CBO, the official scorekeepers for legislation, said the House and Senate bills will help in the short term but result in so much government debt that within a few years they would crowd out private investment, actually leading to a lower Gross Domestic Product over the next 10 years than if the government had done nothing.

CBO estimates that by 2019 the Senate legislation would reduce GDP by 0.1 percent to 0.3 percent on net. [The House bill] would have similar long-run effects, CBO said in a letter to Sen. Judd Gregg, New Hampshire Republican, who was tapped by Mr. Obama on Tuesday to be Commerce Secretary.

Stimulus Shit Sandwich: The GOP Strategy

It's simple. Just ask yourselves.

Thanks, Drudge.

If you believe his web stats, over 24 million today have seen this headline.


Too bad they are all likely unemployed by now, eh Nancy? Ha.

Either way, 24 million people viewing it does help combat the inattention the rest of the MSM and Entertainment-based political media will give this amazingly stupid comment.

Of course, they probably all just came to Drudge for this article...

Don't get too excited.

The Washington Post reports that Senate Dems don't think they have the votes to pass the stimulus as is.

Stimulus opponents are rejoicing.

I'll make this very simple.

Democrats threw everything they possibly could into the initial bill. If it passed, great for them. If not, fine...cut a few things, show the world they are being bipartisan, try again. If it gets knocked, they can say "Republicans aren't cooperating!"

Win the war -- don't settle for one battle.

Rimshot.

Obama Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters Tuesday, "The bar that we set is the highest that any administration in the country has ever set."

... which is why it's been so easy for us to walk back and forth under it so many times in just two weeks!

h/t: The Seaward

Oh crap.

Here comes Skynet.

A supercomputer with the processing power of two million laptops is to be built by IBM for the US government to help manage its nuclear arsenal.


IBM announced it was developing the technology for its "Sequoia" system, which will be easily the fastest computer on the planet, with delivery to the Department of Energy (DOE) scheduled in 2011.

I, for one, bow down to our new electronic overlords.