Yes-or-Nos and Either-Ors Spell the Downfall of ‘Americans Elect’

In case you missed it, the centrist, web-based third party Americans Elect fizzled out in unspectacular fashion last week when it couldn’t garner the 10,000 online votes necessary under its own rules to nominate a single candidate.

AE, proudly devoid of political principle and committed only to process, was the victim of reality. As much as the group would like to have it otherwise, the country’s political system is currently confronted with a series of very simple, though profound, choices. The duality of American politics to which AE objects did not come about coincidentally or by accident. It is very much the product of the proverbial political crossroads at which the country sits.

There is no “third way” when the options are simple yes-or-no questions, or when policies boil down to a simple either-or.

By /// May 17, 2012

VIDEO: Biden Claimed Coal Power Is More Dangerous Than Terrorism

Video from 2007 shows then-Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) claiming that coal power and corn syrup are more deadly than terrorism.

The remarks will likely prove a headache for an administration that is trying to distance itself from its anti-coal image.

As Scribe reported on Friday, the Obama campaign adjusted its website to promote its work with “clean coal” in the wake of an embarrassing showing in the Democratic primary in coal-intensive West Virginia. Obama lost 41% of the vote there to federal prison inmate – a fact the state’s Democratic Party chairman attributed directly to the administration’s stance on coal power.

Read more at Heritage.

By /// May 12, 2012

Politify’s Income Calculator Encourages Government Reliance over Personal Responsibility

At first glance, Politify looks to be another great addition to the political web. It uses household data to calculate the amount of taxes and government benefits that one will pay and receive, respectively, under the economic platform of each presidential candidate – to determine “which candidate best serves our individual interests,” as the site puts it.

A Twitter exchange with Politify founder Nikita Bier helped me crystallize my misgivings: while the data the site offers is informative, Politify reduces financial interests to rent-seeking – how much can I extract from the government and/or prevent the government from extracting from me?

Voters who define their financial interests as the “free stuff” they get through government will need look no further than Politify. But those who consider their economic interests to be something greater than the sum of government handouts and reductions in tax payments will not find an accurate picture of candidates’ likely effects on their bottom line.

By /// April 11, 2012

Stimulus Dollars Disproportionately Went to States Represented by Dems

According to a new report on President Obama’s stimulus package and its effect on the economy, the amount of stimulus money that went to each state was correlated with the number of Democrats in each state’s congressional delegation.

The data is revealed in a new book by Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, and John R. Lott Jr., a prominent conservative academic.

The book, titled Debacle: Obama’s War on Jobs and Growth and What We Can Do Now to Regain Our Future, contains this chart showing the correlation. . .

By /// March 21, 2012

The Left’s Bogus Defense of the Anti-Conscience Mandate

Conservatives have watched the left’s reaction to its opposition to Obamacare’s anti-conscience mandate with nervous amusement. In the words of one commentator, “the GOP is boldly marching backwards into the 1960s.”

The amusement stems from the fact that, far from a 50-year retrogression, the elimination of that mandate, which forces employers to provide free access to contraception and abortion-inducing drugs even if it violates their own religious beliefs, would bring the country all the way back to … 2011.

Before the Department of Health and Human Services drafted its rule, this anti-conscience requirement didn’t exist. Eliminating it would bring the country back by a matter of weeks, not decades.

By /// March 12, 2012

Obama Campaign Manager Using Political Intimidation Against Conservatives

There is a troubling trend of political intimidation against conservative individuals and groups afoot. Every American concerned with the freedom to openly participate in the political process should worry about a troubling trend of political intimidation directed against conservative groups and individuals.”.

Democrats trying to intimidate conservatives have the most powerful man in America as their model. Barack Obama’s campaign manager Jim Messina attacked libertarian philanthropists Charles and David Koch in a pair of fundraising emails last week. Their offense: opposing the president’s policies.

By /// March 10, 2012

Is Obama looking for a new campaign slogan?

Campaign advisers to President Obama revealed last weekend that they are looking for a new campaign slogan to replace the much-vaunted “Change We Can Believe In” of 2008.

He’s apparently downgrading the bromides that helped sweep him into office. “Obama promotes modest American dream,” reported the Associated Press on Tuesday. “He’s focused less on a lofty vision for overcoming divisions and remaking Washington, and more on the most basic building blocks of middle-class economic security: a job, a house, a college education for the kids, health care, money for retirement.”

Leave aside for the time being whether the president’s policies have actually advanced those “building blocks.” What happened to Hope and Change?

By /// February 24, 2012

Of Underdogs and Super PACs

Anti-war liberal Eugene McCarthy stunned the nation when his impressive showing in the 1968 New Hampshire Democratic primary spurred President Lyndon Johnson to drop his re-election bid. At the root of McCarthy’s upset: massive financial support from like-minded millionaires. At least five millionaires, most notably philanthropist Stewart Mott, propelled McCarthy’s campaign with contributions of $100,000… Read Article ›

By /// February 9, 2012