Big Dogs House

God Must Not Have Listened To Biden

Feb 25, 2010 Political

This past year has been a tough one for Democrats. They had majorities in both chambers of Congress that were big enough not to need one Republican vote and they could not pass signature items. They have become frustrated with the lack of progress on their Socialization plan so they want to do a few things to give them the upper hand. They want to eliminate the filibuster and they want to invoke reconciliation, a budgetary procedure, in order to pass their the health care takeover bill.

When the Republicans were in charge, they too became frustrated with the Democrats for using the same procedures that they [Republicans] now employ. The Republicans were going to use the nuclear or Constitutional option to allow a simple majority to pass judicial nominees.

The left went nuts over this and talked about how the filibuster was important and how the Founders knew what they were doing and how Republicans in the Senate did not do what Senators throughout history have done [say no to a power hungry president]. Joe Biden said it all when he stated:

I pray God when the Democrats take back control we don’t make the kind of naked power grab you are doing.

God must have decided not to weigh in on Biden’s prayer because the Democrats are involved in the very kind of “naked power grab” Biden lamented over.

Go view the video compilation of Democrats [Breitbart TV] who weighed in on the issue back when they were the minority party and see how their attitudes differ from what they want to do today.

The word hypocrite comes to mind but decide for yourself.

Take particular note of then Senator Barack Obama. In fact, Obama, Clinton, Biden, and Dodd all had something to say and each ran for the presidency…

Share on Facebook

Tags: Democrats, filibuster, hypocrisy, nuclear option, Obama

Obama Supporters Deserve The Money

Feb 12, 2010 Political

Barack Obama and his Democrats took over where George Bush left off and bailed out banks and other financial institutions to the tune of billions of dollars. These entities were “too big to fail” and were spared the consequences of their bad decisions, decisions fueled by greed. Fueled by greed and knowledge that they would be bailed out if they made bad mistakes.

The financial giants reap huge rewards when they make investments and then get taxpayer money to save them when they gamble and lose. Ann Coulter has a great piece this week laying this all out. In it she describes what happened with regard to Goldman Sachs and other institutions that packaged bad loans and then insured them through AIG which could not cover the losses. Taxpayers bailed out AIG which was the same as bailing out Goldman.

During all of this, Obama went on the blame the bankers tour and discussed the greedy guys and how their salaries needed to be capped. There were tours by the homes of AIG executives, Congress worked on legislation taxing bonuses at 90% and the citizens of America were worked into a frenzy over the greedy bankers.

But these people helped put Obama in office. Obama received huge sums of money from the financial industry and they have been friends of the Democrats for a long time (as Coulter points out, Clinton bailed them out during his presidency). So it came as no surprise this week that Obama said he did not begrudge the bonuses of savvy bankers (particularly the ones who are his supporters):

Whatever Obama has in mind for punishing the financial industry, I promise you, he won’t punish his friends. After JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon took a $17 million bonus this week, and Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein got a $9 million bonus, Obama said he didn’t begrudge them their bonuses, saying, “I know both those guys.” Ann Coulter Human Events

What happened to people not getting huge bonuses? What happened to Barney Frank and his desire to cap salaries and bonuses of all of them even if they took no TARP money? What happened to the outrage generated by Obama and his minions over these greedy bankers?

I have no problem with bankers (or any private business people) making huge sums of money for doing a good job and I have no problem with huge bonuses. I did not have trouble with the AIG bonuses particularly because the Obama administration knew about them and people worked for a dollar a year in salary on the promise of the bonuses (which the administration then reneged on). I also have no problem with a business failing if it can’t make money and that includes financial giants and auto makers. If they can’t cut it then they can fail.

However, I am not the one who ran around whipping the country into a frenzy over greedy bankers. How dare Obama call these people greedy and rail against them last year and then step up to defend their huge bonuses this year? How can he do this and remain consistent?

He can’t, but he does not have to. If he says it is good his base will blindly follow. They will ignore Obama’s words and deeds of the past and focus on what the messiah says now. They will not draw the connection between Obama and the campaign dollars he gets from these people.

When Obama said he knows these people he meant the bankers but it could apply to his base.

Interestingly, David Reilly at Bloomberg has a piece that basically says Obama needs to man up and knock a few heads to show people who is in charge (note to Reilly, coequal means that he is not in charge of Congress). He writes about several issues which are better saved for another time but he does address financial regulation. Reilly spells out a number of tactics that Obama can use to threaten the banking industry into submission. The tactics look like something one would expect from Tony Soprano and not the leader of the US but Reilly is encouraging the kinds of tactics the left would scream fascist or Nazi over if a Republican did them.

The government owes the private sector about 7 trillion dollars. Suppose the banks called those markers all at once? Suppose the banks stopped lending for a week. I imagine if they tried hard they could send the economy in the Great Depression range so perhaps the mafia style tactics would be a poor idea.

Then again, Reilly is like typical supporters who decry strong-arm politics when Republicans use them but espouse them in order to push the Democrat agenda. This is typical of the left and we see it in Congress whenever they are in charge. We can’t knock heads of terrorists or it is torture but we can do what we want to those who oppose us…

I think the hypocrisy of Obma has been exposed in the past and it is very clear in his latest support of the huge bonuses. I also think we have a number of leftists in the media calling for him to get tough because they are worried about a Palin presidency.

Whether she will run or not or could even win is not the point.

Just the idea of that drives liberals and the progressives nuts.

And that is a joy to see.

Share on Facebook

Tags: aig, ann coulter, bailout, bonuses, goldman, hypocrisy, Obama, savvy

Do Democrats Know About The Internet?

Dec 23, 2009 Political

One would think that since Al Gore invented the Internet, Democrats would know it exists and would know that people can look things up quickly. It is now possible to retrieve information in a matter of seconds when it use to take hours or days and sometimes even longer.

It seems Democrats do not know this because they keep saying or doing things that are totally different from what they said and did in the past. Take Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, the moron who said that those who oppose the health care bill were right wing extremists and members of the Aryan groups. This guy had some other nice things to say.

This happened when the defense appropriations bill was being debated. The Republicans were dragging it out as long as the legislative process allowed in order to delay the health care debate. Here is what Whitehouse had to say about this:

“The lowest of the low was the Republican vote against funding and supporting our troops in the field in a time of war. As a device to stall health care, they tried to stop the appropriation of funds for our soldiers. There is no excuse for that. From that there is no return. ” Legal Insurrection

The Republicans did not vote against funding the troops. They voted against cloture and then objected to an immediate vote once cloture was achieved. These were procedural items to drag it out. The troops got funded as was the intention all along.

However, let us look at this statement. Whitehouse says there is no excuse for trying to stop the appropriations (once again, they just tried to delay it, not stop it) and that from this there is no return.

In 2007, as reported in the linked article, Whitehouse was one of 14 Senators who voted against the Iraq war funding supplemental to support the troop surge. That is right ladies and gentlemen, Whitehouse voted not to fund our troops. He voted against funds for our soldiers. He was also a cosponsor to a bill that would cut off all funding unless troop withdrawals began in 120 days. Did he object to Obama’s additional troop request and did he try to impose a withdrawal deadline? Probably not because Obama is the messiah.

Mr. Whitehouse, there is no excuse and there is no return. Those are your words. This guy is a total hypocrite (as are most of the liberals who voiced their objection on this issue) and he is a disgrace to his office. What was that thing about glass houses and stones?

Sheldon Whitehouse is a moron. No, Whitehouse gives morons a bad name.

Share on Facebook

Tags: hypocrisy, lies, moron, sheldon whitehouse

Republicans Play Politics With Defense Spending Bill

Dec 19, 2009 Political

Oh the left is up in arms! The Defense Appropriations Bill is before the Senate and it is usually a bill that passes quickly but Republicans are using legal procedural tactics to delay the vote on the bill. The reason for this is obvious, they want to take up time with this bill to delay getting to the health care bill. This is perfectly acceptable and in no way harms the troops.

The bill had a cloture vote at 0100 this morning and Democrats got enough votes for cloture. They then immediately asked for the bill to be voted on but at least one Republican objected. This means there will be 30 hours of debate on the bill and it will be voted on Saturday morning at 0730. The defense funding ends at midnight but the delay to Saturday morning will not affect anything in defense.

The Republicans are smart to require all procedures to be followed and to use up time. If they can keep prolonging the health care debate by using parliamentary procedures and as long as it does not hurt the troops, which it does NOT, then it is OK.

Democrats are indignant about all of this and want to know how Republicans can do this to the troops. These guys have short memories and seem to forget all the times they opposed troop funding and delayed defense bills. The White House site is scolding the Republicans and using quotes from Republicans that were used in the past to oppose delaying funding the troops:

“Playing politics with the critical funding that our troops need now is political theater of the worst kind.” – Sen. John Cornyn, [Press Release, 4/26/07]
“We have plenty of time and plenty of opportunity to have political debates… but it’s just unconscionable to me to tie the hands of the very troops that we all say we support.” – Sen. John Cornyn, [Transcript, Senate Republican News Briefing, 4/10/07]
“Every day we don’t fund our troops is a day their ability to fight this war is weakened.” – Sen. Mitch McConnell, [Press Release, 3/31/07]
“No way to treat the troops, and it is entirely inconsistent with [Senators’] expressions of support for the troops.” – Sen. Mitch McConnell, [Congressional Record, 10/4/07]
“I don’t understand this attitude of, ‘We can play with; we can risk the lives of these troops by waiting until the last possible minute to get the funding to them.” – Sen. Jon Kyl, [FOX News Transcript, 4/10/07]
“Our obligation to those troops must transcend politics.” – Sen. Jon Kyl, [Press Release, 11/8/07]

All of these quotes were in response to Democrat opposition or delay with regard to troop funding bills. This list of quotes proves that Democrats were guilty of the very thing they are now acting high and mighty about. If Democrats were not guilty of the same thing in the past then these quotes would not exist.

The truth is that when the time for debate is over the bill will pass and all the Republicans will vote for it. They are just using all the time allotted for the debate.

Democrats act as if this delay will be the end of the world. When Obama took 90 days to decide on the troop request for Afghanistan the Democrats said he was deliberative and could not rush into a decision. Republicans use the 30 hours allotted for debate and they are the ones delaying the troops and causing harm.

Another point of contention in this bill is that Democrats added a “doc fix” to it. This is a non defense item that will raise the reimbursement to doctors under Medicare. This does not belong in the Defense bill but it was put in so it would be assured of passage. Putting it here rather than in the appropriations for Medicare allows Congress to hide the true cost of Medicare. This will go against defense when it really pays for Medicare. This is one of the accounting tricks I discussed in the past. The cost of Medicare is much higher than reported because of things like this, which happen every year.

This is the bill that Democrats wanted to add a 1.9 trillion dollar provision to raise the debt ceiling. They could have put it in the appropriate appropriations bill but were afraid they would not get cloture so they were going to put it in the defense bill where they knew they would. It was not added because of other concerns including demands for a balanced budget. If it had been added then I would have expected all Republicans to vote against it.

They would still get a defense bill and fast but it would be without the debt ceiling provision.

In any event, it is the Democrats who are playing politics with the defense bill. They wanted to use it to slip the debt ceiling provision in and they have included the “doc fix” both of which are political issues. Let’s get it clear, the only reason this is in the defense bill is because it will pass that way and so they can hide the true cost of Medicare. The impact on our debt does not change but they can hide the true cost of the Medicare program.

This is what they will do every year if health care overhaul is passed. They will put anything that adds to the cost in other bills to hide the cost and the deficit will continue to increase while they lie about why.

The bottom line is, regardless of all the grandstanding being done by Democrats, the bill will pass and the Republicans will vote for it. It will not hurt the troops or defense.

The Republicans are within their right to use the procedures and they did so. If the Democrats wanted this voted on before the deadline then they should have introduced it earlier. The delay is all their fault and it is a failure of leadership.

At least Republicans are doing things legally. The Democrats stopped the reading of an amendment this week and did so in complete violation of Senate rules. They just decided they were going to stop it and allow the sponsor to withdraw the amendment. This is a violation of Senate rules but that did not bother the Democrats.

Yet when Republicans use the rules the Democrats get upset.

The hypocrisy makes me sick.

I do love it though. This forces them to commute to the Senate chamber in the huge snowstorm that is heading toward DC.

How appropriate considering the snow job the Democrats are involved in.

Share on Facebook

Tags: defense, Democrats, health care, hypocrisy, Republicans, senate rules, troops

Reid His Lips, No Weekends Off (Except For Fundraiser)

Dec 11, 2009 Political

The debate in the Senate over health care is dragging on and the pressure is on Harry Reid to get a bill passed. He has met stiff resistance and no matter what he does he alienates another segment of the Senate so that he does not have the number of votes needed to pass the bill. Reid feels the debate is so important that he recently decided that the Senate would work weekends because this issue is just so darned important:

“The American people don’t get weekends off from this injustice,” Reid said. “Bankruptcy doesn’t keep bankers’ hours. The bills don’t go away just because it’s a Saturday; the pain doesn’t go away just because it’s a Sunday.” Las Vegas Sun

Reid probably figured that Republicans would cave because they had to work weekends but that will not happen but I have felt from the start that it would not be long before all of the Senators grew restless. They will all want to get home for Christmas and will stop debate.

Harry Reid has however, found one thing that is more important than the health care debate and that would be his political career. Reid is in a fight for his seat and it appears, unless something drastic happens, that he will lose next November. If the comments in the linked article are any indication, the people in Nevada can’t wait.

Yes, health care is very important to Harry Reid and he mandated weekend work but his career is more important so he has asked that the Republicans agree to taking this weekend off so that Harry can attend a fundraiser in New Orleans. Political whore Mary Landrieu and Harry Reid will be in the Big Easy at a $1000 (plus) per plate dinner in order to raise money for their reelections.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, a political fundraiser is more important than the health care debate. The American people might not get the weekend off from the “injustice” but Harry Reid wants the weekend off so he can raise money for his political career. Remember this the next time the morons tell you how important this issue is. It is not too important for Reid to stop work so he can raise money for his reelection campaign. Reelecting him would be the true injustice.

This should say all that needs to be said about the priorities of Harry Reid and for that matter, most other politicians. Their first two priorities, no matter what, are to get elected and to get reelected.

Reid can see the writing on the wall. He knows that he is toast next year and that he will have to give up his plush job. He knows that he is pushing an agenda that most Americans do not support and he knows that the reason that it is being pushed is to make Obama look good. This will backfire.

The stimulus was so important that it had to be passed immediately and before anyone had time to read it. Then it sat on Obama’s desk for four days while he took his wife on a date.

Health care is so important that it must be done immediately (even though no benefits will be seen until 2013 or 2014) and it is so important that the Senate must work weekends.

Until Harry Reid needs some time off to raise money for his reelection.

Self serving is a good description of Harry Reid.

LATE WORD: Late word from the linked article is that Republicans did not agree to the weekend off. Senator Mitch McConnell said that Reid told them they would be working every weekend and Republicans took him at his word.

Republicans rejected Reid’s request Thursday morning to fast track several spending bills, clear the floor for health reform votes next week, and take the weekend off.

“Republicans are prepared to provide a platform for the debate as long as it takes,” said Sen. Mitch McConnell, noting that “The majority leader said we would be working every weekend and we took him at his word.”

We expect to be here this weekend and we look forward to it. Republicans believe there is nothing more important we can do than stop this bill and start over… we are eager to continue the debate.”

“I know people have fundraisers because they are running for reelection and people have other important things to do, but there is nothing more important to do than this,” said McConnell.

What a nice way to make Reid choke on his own words. I have issues with McConnell but I agree with him on this one. Shove Reid’s words down his throat and make him choke on them just as the Democrats are doing to the American people with the health care bill.

UPDATE: The fundraiser has been canceled. This is outstanding. Of course Reid and Landrieu will make it appear as if they are doing such important work that they could not be pulled away. The reality is that Republicans held Reid to his word. This is getting fun. Perhaps ole Harry should have thought about this when he mandated the weekend work (not that I am opposed to them working weekends). I mean, he had to have known the fundraiser was scheduled…

Share on Facebook

Tags: fundraiser, Harry Reid, hypocrisy, mary landrieu, Senate, weekend off