Political Hay
Just Say Yes
You would not know it to look at them, but Republicans in Congress are holding a winning hand.
The Constitution divides the federal government into three equal branches.
1. Mammoth, labyrinthine departments set up for purposes that no individual taxpayer would ever in a million years voluntarily spend money on.
2. Mammoth, labyrinthine departments set up for purposes that probably made a lot of sense originally, but nobody can remember what they are.
3. Statuary.This separation of powers creates a system of "checks and balances," which protects everybody by ensuring that any action taken by one part of the government will be rendered utterly meaningless by an equal and opposite reaction from some other part.
-- Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort of History of the United States
You would not know it to look at them, but Republicans in Congress are holding a winning hand. Despite their depleted numbers, the voters currently favor their views. For the third week running, Rasmussen Reports reports the Republicans are leading in the generic poll for Congress. This means that across our great country, average citizens have become convinced their predispositions will be better represented by members of the Republican Party.
Another poll tells us that the number of those who believe the Democrats are doing a good job of running Congress is a whopping 18 percent. On top of that, the President's own numbers are lagging, with seven percent more voters expressing strong disapproval than strong approval. One more finding by Rasmussen: the public trusts the Republicans more than the Democrats on eight of the top ten issues of the day.
Add to this the 9.5 percent unemployment, the utterly decimated consumer confidence figures, and the current Presidential administration is blundering full speed ahead with zero gas in its tank. Its continuing to press forward with gargantuan global warming and health care bills to knock what is left of our economy to Kingdom Come is completely inadvisable from any rational political or fiscal perspective. Yet press on they will, not because it makes any sense, but because they can. And the Republican Party, with a long history of fouling off batting-practice pitches, looks almost certain to blow another great opportunity.
The Democrats are falling back on the oldest trick in the book. They declare a crisis, say everyone agrees something must be done, propose the most radical big-government approach possible, call it a solution, then berate anyone who opposes them for being insensitive to the plight of the victims of the crisis. This time they have added a slogan, calling the Republican Party the "Party of No." This from a bunch who spent the last eight years saying no missile defense, no war against terror, no fix to Social Security.
Be that as it may, the Republicans are better off swinging into the pitch and pulling the ball for power. This would be an ideal moment for a powerful advertising campaign declaring themselves to be the "Party of Yes," yes to private enterprise, yes to letting Americans build America, yes to trusting you to make wise decisions with your own money. Nobody but the Democrat true-believers thinks this Washington orgy of bailouts and takeovers is good news for America.
Putting party politics aside, all this Presidential and Congressional overreach has to make them vulnerable. Doing this during 9.5 percent unemployment is a riverboat gamble that a very quick and robust recovery is rumbling around the corner. Dragging through another year with one out of ten able-bodied Americans unable to find gainful employment will not help the powers that be in their effort to keep on being.
The core of our citizenry which opposes this leftist agenda is the source of most of our fighting men and women. These individuals should understand how to fight when the principles of our free nation are on the line. Now is a moment calling for spirited resistance. A grateful nation will remember and repay the favor at the ballot box. Those who recall 1993 will recognize all the signs recurring. Nobody really wants government health-care. If health care in this country is a problem, of which I am not convinced, it certainly cannot be solved by shifting the responsibility to Uncle Sam. It is time to draw a line in the sand; this will be seen as a sign in the land.
About the Author
Jay D. Homnick, commentator and humorist, is a frequent contributor to The American Spectator. He also writes for Human Events. Here he performs his original composition, "Buy You (Bayou) a Drink".
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martin j smith| 7.17.09 @ 7:37AM
Its not all of the hot air that moves voters ( i.e the daily give and take of mutual bashing between the two parties ) its the conditions on the ground that count. Now even those that voted for Obama are wising up because they see what is going on--and the unemployment numbers are key. For they the Obamaiacs are also on the unemployment lines too. Fear of further deficits and stuff like Government health care are also stoking the fires
as well. Under these conditions even the Cavemen
can defeat the Democrats if they have the will( this means recognizing the bipartisanship will not work with this Democratic Party ).
Pingback| 7.17.09 @ 7:56AM
Number of Americans who think Democrats doing good job running Congress…18 percent links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Tim| 7.17.09 @ 8:48AM
"I call that bold talk from a one eyed fat man."
If the Dems go down it will be due to their own imperial overeaching, not clever Republicans. Recent history proves that Republicans are just as crazy mad for spending as the donks.
Conservatives on the other hand...
jim last| 7.17.09 @ 10:16AM
tea off the rinos for their own good & ours-exciting times -there can be no light w/o darkness
Tim| 7.17.09 @ 12:11PM
At the Copa (Co!) Coba Obama
The hottest spot north of Havanna.
At the Copa (Co!) Coba Obama
Karl Marx and taxes were just what the facts is
at the Copa Obama.
JP| 7.17.09 @ 12:20PM
Jay,
It remains to be seen if the GOP (on the national level) is even interested in the game anymore. The current RNC director is backing "moderates" in places like New Hampshire and Illinois.
This nation has gone through 2 full political cycles since 1993. The first featured a dominate GOP run Congress that proved to be able to thwart the worst of Clinton's excesses, but proved just as corrupt as the Dems when a Republican ran the White House.
The second cycle began in 2007 with the ascendency of Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid. President Barrack Obama is now thier head. Where the GOP could be accused of sloth and avarice, the Democrats are much worse. They not only want to dominate, they want rule (noticed I didn't say govern). They think they've found the formula. Using a combination of both established political clout in Congress and private liberal cause groups (thier numbers are legion and enjoy funding from a vast array of sources), the Dems believe they can prepetually control not only the agenda but also the lives of most Americans -even when they are a minority. Cap and Trade and Universal Health Care are just the beginnings. Once in place, institutions like the ACLU can constantly sue in Federal Court to expand these programs through judicial activism. Also, the GOP has shown no ability to even close down the most wasteful of government agencies (Amtrack is still going strong. The NEA and PBS still enjoy taxpayer subsidies). And as we know, once the bureaucracy is established, it only grows.
But I sense things are different now. It's not that the GOP will actually move against the Dems and thier agenda, but it's the simple fact that our federal government is stone broke. If it wasn't for the fact that they can continuously print up money, the entire federal government would be like California - printing up IOUs. The electorate as a whole realizes this. The reasons our economy will not enjoy a decent recovery any time soon is the fear that federal taxes and fees will soon overwhelm our economy. Banks are not lending to businesses because they fear those businesses will not survive the upcoming wave of tax increases. The only people making money are the banks which enjoy Obama's and Geithner's lagress. Those banks, with billions in taxpayers dollars on hand, and 0 percent interest are benefiting from a refi wave in mortgages.
We are in uncharted waters. The RNC Director Steele hasn't a clue on how to fight the Dems or the President. One gets the feeling his own views are not that much different than our President's. Fiscal Conservatives and Libertarian Conservatives can save this nation much grieve. But we won't get much support from the GOP establishment. We are on our own.
Al Adab| 7.17.09 @ 12:56PM
Perhaps a glimmer of hope (no pun intended) can be found in the potential alignment of Blue Dogs and Conservatives in Congress. There just may be enough of a bloc there to save our Constituion from this unrelenting assault by the Statists. Our government hangs in the balance and the Liberty of future generations is the "Cause" for which we must stand.
Motown Mike| 7.17.09 @ 12:57PM
Pssst! Republicans! I-t's y-o-u-r m-o-v-e. G-o f-o-r i-t !!!!!!
Helps maybe to spell it out for them.
Bob| 7.17.09 @ 2:42PM
I find it interesting that TAS uses Rasmussen almost exclusively. There are several factors in Rasmussen polls that skew the results towards Republicans. First, they weight the results with "likely voters" rather than unweighted and all voters. This is a methodology for using lower numbers of respondents and increasing consistency. "Likely voters" also favor Republicans since historically (but not as much in the last election) a higher percentage of Republicans vote than Democrats. In addition, they use automated calling rather than real people. This provides higher levels of disapproval than you normally see in the general population. Lastly, they have a habit of "preparing" the question by asking leading questions favoring Republicans prior to overall rankings. Gallup and others use the proper "top down" method of asking the larger questions first and then digging deeper. I'm sure they use this bias so they can sell their surveys to Republican groups.
The risk in believing the results without looking at the detailed methodology is that you will have a false sense of what is really happening out there. This will also sample non-white groups to a much lesser degree than other polls.
Their methodology is sound, but is designed to favor Republicans. On the other hand, the design of the other polls will capture changes in the make up of the population like the growing Hispanic population and will oversample poor neighborhoods thus giving a slight Democrat bias. Rasmussen significantly undersamples young voters. Young voters are always undersampled because many of them just use cell phones (and cell phones aren't called). Rasmussen not only undersamples them, but also reduces the number through weighting.
Al Adab| 7.17.09 @ 3:11PM
So Bob,
If I follow you polls should not be taken among "likely voters" as that group is to heavily Republican. In other words, decisions should be based on popular sentiment ie popular cul;ture rather than the views of civic minded and involved voters.
With all the polling then why bother with elections at all. Lets just poll on a given day and see what everyone wants. True popular Democracy, which the Founders feared. Then there would be no need for legislative representation. Might be an interesting New World Order. Eh?
Tim| 7.17.09 @ 3:15PM
Her name is Lola, she was a showgirl
But that was 30 years ago, when they used to have a show
Now it's a disco, but not for Lola
Still in the dress she used to wear, faded feathers in her hair
She sits there so refined, and drinks herself half-blind
She lost her youth and she lost her Tony
Now she's lost her mind!
Bob| 7.17.09 @ 3:28PM
Al Adab -- you miss the point. "Likely voters" and weighting are based on past elections and don't take demographic trends into account. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that methodology, but it does favor Republicans. On the other hand, Gallup methodology favors Democrats and there is nothing wrong with that methodology either. Every methodology has bias because they are all based on sampling and the sample sizes are tiny compared to the total population of the U.S. When you review results, you should always take the bias into account.
Rasmussen sells its results primarily to Republicans for obvious reasons. They are a business and will use a methodology that gives them greater revenues. Gallup will do the same. I have a greater problem with how they ask questions, however. They use leading questions which bias the answers. The other services do not. They use the proper "top down" methodologies of asking the overall question first and then dig deeper. For example, you would ask a question on how well the economy is doing, and then ask how Obama is doing on the economy. If you answered that the economy sucks, then you are highly likely to also answer that Obama sucks as well. However, if you ask the questions the other way, Obama will get much higher marks.
I can bias a test as well as the next person...
Old Texican| 7.17.09 @ 3:36PM
Jay
Fun article....well to laugh to keep from crying anyway.
Bob...is still a scroll button. Heh!
I'm going to be marching in DC with my Texas flag in September..........
Who here will join me?
(check out teaparty org)
Al Adab| 7.17.09 @ 3:48PM
Bob,
Thanks for the clarification. Push polls are a well known ploy. Always good for the debate. Keep on keeping on.
Bob| 7.17.09 @ 3:56PM
Al Adab -- these Rasmussen polls are not push polls, but some of the questions come close. While the overall levels may be questionable, usually, if the methodology remains constant, trend data is meaningful. Therefore, it is true that Republicans are gaining ground while Democrats are losing ground. This is the same thing that happened to Reagan. When the economy turns around however, these numbers will change rapidly in the other direction -- again as they did with Reagan. Then again, if you don't see the jobs situation improve in a year or so, Obama will be hurt. He has until next summer to make things better for the 2010 election cycle.
Richard Baker| 7.17.09 @ 4:01PM
It's Restoration time!
Old Texican| 7.17.09 @ 4:18PM
Richard Baker:
Restoration...Amen! March with us in DC...or
LOCK AND LOAD...AND HUNKER DOWN!
Al Adab| 7.17.09 @ 4:23PM
Texican,
Al here. Would love to be with you, and the hoped for million, in D.C. Local TEA group here has big event planned for Sept. 11 and I'll be involved in that.
Fly in safe and think of us in real America while in Wash.
Old Texican| 7.17.09 @ 6:57PM
Al Adab
Push the envelope (a little) wherever you are "tea-partying"
May I suggest you pith some people off and go to jail?
Roy| 7.17.09 @ 7:33PM
Tim: Wrong. You mean, Republicans and donks both want to spend more than you or I want. But Republicans want to spend billions more, whereas Democrats want to spend trillions more.
Ever since Democrats got in power they have been shovelling money out of helicopters far faster than Bush ever dreamed of.
WR Jonas| 7.17.09 @ 9:54PM
Tim, Love the lyric ,...but there is only one n in Havana.
William Of Occam| 7.17.09 @ 10:31PM
Guys--check out SUSAN ESTRICH'S article---yes the uber lib---she thinks Obama care is a terrible idea.
Nineveh| 7.17.09 @ 10:53PM
Dave Berry is actually your best source of information on how Government works, since you are a moron. Good job.
TParty4USA| 7.18.09 @ 1:52AM
TParty4USA in D.C. on 9/12, then Tea Party all the way to the 2010 elections.
How do you spell relief?
V-o-t-e T-h-e
B-u-m-s O-u-t ! ! !
David Govett| 7.18.09 @ 3:28AM
Many are the holders of a winning hand who fold. Perhaps a winning head is preferable.
دردشه| 7.18.09 @ 7:33AM
jobs situation improve in a year or so, Obama will be hurt. He has until next summer to make things better for the 2010 election cycle
G. A. Kevis| 7.18.09 @ 10:20AM
Simple 'solution' for the jellied GOP party.
I repeat myself - Primaries!!!!!
Scour the candidates and select those who
will represent conservative values - God,
country and traditional mores - not via
molassic serpentine words but in documented
honest deeds.
Simple as ABC - not to be confused with that
swamp thing infested network.
Then watch the political tsunami.
Mike Lee| 7.18.09 @ 11:53AM
I'm going to be marching in DC with my Texas flag in September..........
Who here will join me?
I'll join you Old Texican.
God Bless Texas
God Help New York
I Conner Klast| 7.18.09 @ 1:27PM
The recent entreaty by Democrat Senators that Mr Obama lure more GOP support for their healthcare monstrosity shows how true this article is. It also demonstrates that now is no time to compromise. i'm reminded of the Franco-Prussian War when the Napoleon III decided to fortify the nerves of defenders of the ancient fortress of Sedan. Once there he became trapped. It became the nostrum that fortresses are monuments to the folly of Man. The Prussians lobbed Big Bertha shells into Sedan and the Napoleon in Name Only asked that he be allowed to leave. Bismarck saw this for the surrender it was, refused and won the war. A lesson for today's GOP holding a winning hand.
GW| 7.19.09 @ 2:32AM
A) Why the hell are their chinese or jap writings on certain posts? Can TAS not keep this comments site free???
B) I tend to agree with you Bob. For one, polling is pseudo-useless. Sure it can point to certain trends, but elections are what really matters. Saying that I still can't see the Dems doing too well in '10. For one, young voters and minorities are going to stay home since Obama isn't on the card. Secondly, the Dems will have no one to blame for the current economic downtimes. As in 06 and 08, Americans are going to vote against the party in power, just this time it happens to be against the Dems.
C) Back to polling. Whites vote at a much higher rates than minorities anyways. The fact polling represents this isn't a bias but in fact accurate. And I'm assuming more pissed off whites are going to vote in 2010 than the youth and minorities who don't care...as long as they have Obama.
Birdey| 7.19.09 @ 2:58AM
GW, if you're not fond of the Asian comments on AmSpec I can just imagine what you think of the Arabic comments. They must really trip your wire.
Tenn Slim| 7.19.09 @ 10:07AM
"current Presidential administration is blundering full speed ahead with zero gas in its tank. Its continuing to press forward with gargantuan global warming and health care bills to knock what is left of our economy to Kingdom Come "
All
You'all do not grasp the ends vs the means process going full steam here. REGARDLESS of unemployment stats, Fiscal Deficits, FDIC Czars in DC, and all the rest of the OBNA Teleprompter addresses, the goal, the end result, is:
1. Demise of the USA Production Processes.
2. Demise of the USA GNP process
3. Control of the flaying economic processes.
4. Regulatory imposition of long sought goals, to control the USA Energy, USA Manufacturing Processes.
NOTE THE WORD Process... Control, demise, manage. This is the Academic Leftist elites desire, so long repressed. Imposition of the Theory of Socialism, requires:
A. Demise of the existing system. In Progress!!
B. Incremental readjustment of regulations that effect and affect the processes of the USA life Style. In Progress!!
C. Demise and realignment of Fiscal systems to support the Academic Agencies Re adjust and implementation process. In Progress.!!
Now. Having said that, and it is apparent to the most casual observor, all comments regarding the "What in the world are they doing" simply are irrelevant. Also, "What have we done ,whining" is nonsense.
Admit the facts, get on with the solution. IE: Vote the Left back into the 1900's.!!
end
Semper Fi.
Old Texican| 7.19.09 @ 11:49AM
Tenn Slim
Excellent advice!
One other thought: If we can slow these jerks down in the meantime that would be good.
Let's keep the pressure on our congress critters any way we can.
Bob| 7.19.09 @ 1:34PM
GW, I think you have a couple of misperceptions. First, the vote in 2010 will be based on the economy. If you see job growth, Democrats will win. If you don't, Republicans will gain. People almost always vote their pocketbooks.
Secondly, little noticed in the polls on this site is that Republicans are still rated lower than Democrats. Furthermore, the social issues are still trending away from Republicans and social issues are far more important to whites, than people of color.
At this juncture, it is foolish to try and predict the outcome of the 2010 elections -- a lot can happen in a year.
Aaron| 7.19.09 @ 5:00PM
Old Tex,
I will be with you in spirit in September, the steady stream of future Queada hunters requires my presence in S.A. I don't know what it will take for you'all to get this party aired on the state run media. Maybe if you lawn-darted your Texas flag into Michelle's veggie garden. I think the disrespect would be overlooked for that kind of sacrifice. :)
My prediction for Obama Rasmussen rating in September... -12.
Jim| 7.21.09 @ 9:52AM
Want a majority again? Hammer on HillaryCare, part 2, and cede ground on the culture war. Gays and lesbians have really no reason other than the prodding by the Religious Right over the marriage issue - gay households tend to be well off, and screeching about "them gays" just spooks off the moderates (like, cough, me) who DECIDE ELECTIONS. Turning out the base is great, but how about turning out a majority?
Big tent > Revival tent, any day of the week, even Sunday.
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I’ll have a Poptropica full written walkthrough very soon, but in the meantime, here are some answers to some of the frequently asked questions about Mythology Island. Having trouble? Post a question in the comments and I’ll try to answer it!
Getting Hercules to Help You Poptropica
Hercules won’t help you until you have all five items from Zeus’ quest. Once you have the five items, bring them to Athena. Zeus will appear and steal them. The big jerk! Once this happens, talk to Athena and she will tell you that Hercules will help you. You’ll need to have the magic mirror from Aphrodite because Hercules doesn’t want to have to walk. He’s so lazy!
Getting the Hydra Scale Poptropica
You can see how to do this in the videos, but basically you need to jump up when the Hydra is about to strike. He will rear one of his heads back to attack and his eyes will bulge out. Poptropica When this happens, jump up in the air and then try to land on top of his head. That head will get knocked out. When all five heads get knocked out, the Hydra will be asleep and you can click on him to get one of the scales. Poptropica I’ll have a full written walkthrough very soon, but in the meantime, here are some answers to some of the frequently asked questions about Mythology Island. Having trouble? Post a question in the comments and I’ll try to answer it!
Getting Hercules to Help You
Hercules won’t help you until you have all five items from Zeus’ quest. Poptropica Once you have the five items, bring them to Athena. Zeus will appear and steal them. The big jerk! Once this happens, talk to Athena and she will tell you that Hercules will help you.Poptropica. You’ll need to have the magic mirror from Aphrodite because Hercules doesn’t want to have to walk. He’s so lazy!
Getting the Hydra Scale
You can see how to do this in the videos, but basically you need to jump up when the Hydra is about to strike. He will rear one of his heads back to attack and his eyes will bulge out.Poptropica When this happens, jump up in the air and then try to land on top of his head. That head will get knocked out. When all five heads get knocked out, the Hydra will be asleep and you can click on him to get one of the scales. Poptropica
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