Meet Mark Weaver.

Weaver is an Ohio political consultant who has been around the state for a long time, and had a pretty great track record before 2011. He was the campaign media consultant to Rob Portman’s successful Senate campaign in 2010, and even was an adviser to Ronald Reagan.

Last year, however, during Ohio’s fight to reform public employee union laws, he sold out and went to work for the unions.

A prominent Republican media consultant has been hired by police and fire unions to thwart plans by Gov. John Kasich and GOP lawmakers to kill binding arbitration and eliminate or alter collective bargaining.

Mark R. Weaver has been commissioned “to help us with our communication efforts as we try to educate the legislature on the realities of collective bargaining and not the sound bites,” said Jay McDonald, president of the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio and a major in the Marion Police Department.

Remember how the unions lied so much in their ads that even the Cleveland Plain Dealer called them out? Weaver was their media consultant and one of the brains behind that campaign to kill reasonable union reforms in Ohio.

We have learned Mark Weaver has been working with someone else in Ohio. Ohio Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine.
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President Obama’s campaign team for 2012 is beginning to look very familiar. Today, the Obama campaign named 35 national co-chairs.

And no, Obama’s voice is not Grammy-worth there.

Many of the names will ring a bell:

• Former White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley headed back to Chicago, but not to slip into an early retirement – he’ll co-chair the election campaign.

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In light of recent investigative reports from the Daily Caller that reveal close coordination between Media Matters for America and the White House, BigJournalism and BigGovernment have undertaken the task of revisiting some of our prior reporting on the media watchdog group and our list of its donors.  We thought it prudent to highlight some of the mutual financial connections to the Obama White House and MMFA, starting with Big Labor.

In all, labor unions have donated at least nearly $500,000 directly to MMFA over the last three years.

During the heated health care reform debates in 2009, there were a series of incidents that occurred, the timing of which seemed to suggest there may have been coordination between MMFA, various White House personnel and some of those donor labor unions.

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Today, in 1879, the Battle of Rourke’s Drift, part of the Anglo-Zulu War ended.

Newt Gingrich won tonight’s debate, which he needed to do, but not because he out-maneuvered his opponents. Santorum and Romney were simply too focused on each other, with Paul tag-teaming alongside Romney (ambition makes strange bedfellows). All of this gave Gingrich cover and also gave him the opportunity to be the only candidate that directly and repeatedly went after Barack Obama. He looked like a statesman. His answer on infanticide and shifting the focus from GOP and birth control to Obama and his campaign against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act was the rhetorical feat of the night.

Santorum needed to be the Florida Debate Rick Santorum, the Santorum that showed true grit and a willingness to push back against the narrative that somehow, socialized state health care (socialism is socialism at any level and just because states can vote themselves into it doesn’t mean it jives with the principles of the Constitution) is worse than the earmarks and NCLB for which he has spent the better part of his campaign disavowing. I didn’t agree with all of his reasoning for some of his past transgressions (i.e. Specter support) but I also don’t operate under the illusion that any of these cats have a perfect record. I do think that some have worse records than others which is why I don’t get why the Non Roms don’t unite to point out that taxpayer-funded abortion or a $700m increases in taxes/”fees” is worse than earmarks and disavowed support for NCLB or Medicare Part D. Romney failed to actually address that question and deflected brilliantly.

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The Republican debate that just ended moments ago should not inspire confidence for Republicans. With Barack Obama suddenly rising in the polls, and a shocking number of Americans convinced of the nonsensical proposition that the economy is dramatically improving, the Republican candidate must inspire, skewer, and defend. The candidates onstage showed flashes of brilliance at times, but overall, they disappointed on all three categories.

Rick Santorum: The current Republican frontrunner did not have a good night. He was at his best when he was on the attack against Mitt Romney – he smacked Romney particularly hard on Romneycare – but he fell short when it came to his votes on No Child Left Behind and Title X, and his support for Arlen Specter over Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania (inexplicably, he didn’t cite Romney’s support for Paul Tsongas in 1992). His offense was better than his defense. And as we learned from the New England Patriots, that isn’t a recipe for success. (more…)

Newt Gingrich wiped the floor with the rest of the field at the final Republican debate, partly by attacking the moderator (more on that below). But even the twice-resurrected Gingrich will struggle to revive his fading campaign. So the main effect of his stellar performance–focused on attacking Obama and CNN–will be to boost Mitt Romney. Romney had a few good answers, but was both long-winded and, at times, mean-spirited. He lacks the instinct–except on religious freedom–to provide a full-throated conservative argument. He is failing to lead his party.

Thus the winner is the brokered convention, which looks (slightly) less unlikely after tonight’s debate. Romney cannot lead on fundamental conservative principles; Santorum cannot seem to make the most of the social issues without burdening himself with them; Gingrich cannot overcome skepticism about his past; and Ron Paul remains an embarrassment on foreign policy. The one point of unity between the Republican establishment and the conservative base is that we wish another candidate were in the running. That’s the inescapable truth of this primary.

Finally, the moderator, CNN’s John King. During an exchange on foreign policy, King exposed the full extent of his contempt for his audience: “The American people often don’t pay much attention to what’s going on in the world until they have to.”

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The Final Four GOP candidates meet up tonight in Arizona. This will be the last debate before Super Tuesday on March 6th. Check BigGovernment throughout the night for reactions and analysis. Debate starts at 8pm EST on CNN.

There’s still no such thing as a free lunch, although under the Obama administration you may disagree.  According to the 2012 Index of Dependence on Government, produced annually by The Heritage Foundation, they report more than 70 percent of all federal spending goes to dependency programs.  And now with almost 50 percent of the population not paying federal income tax, it’s creating a fiscal firestorm.

The Heritage Foundation refers to the increases grimly as “unsustainable”.

“Today…67.3 million Americans, from college students to retirees to welfare beneficiaries—depend on the federal government for housing, food, income, student aid, or other assistance once considered to be the responsibility of individuals, families, neighborhoods, churches, and other civil society institutions…Unsustainable increases in dependent populations predate the recent recession—and continuing economic morass—and have continued to rise since the economy collapsed in 2008 and 2009.”

Aside from the dire economic outlook, equally important is the harm social dependence is causing for people who enter the system and become stuck.

It’s not called “in-dependency” programs for a reason.

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In 2008, while Republican crowds were chanting “USA, USA, USA,” during Sarah Palin’s speeches, Democrats were chanting “hope and change” as Barack Obama talked about “fundamentally transforming America.” And to their shame, many of the people chanting “hope and change” actually believed Obama could deliver. Of course, by the end of 2009 the only significant change, economically speaking, was that Obama had already eclipsed George W. Bush’s $700 billion federal deficit. (The difference there was that it took Bush 8 years to reach $700 billion, but it only took Obama a few months to surpass $1.5 trillion.)

Then came 2010, and “Recovery Summer.” June, July, and August of that year were going to be the months where all of Obama’s deficit spending started to pay off. By spending money we didn’t have for projects we didn’t need—like the 10,000 plus road repair projects around the country that were funded by untold millions in Obama’s stimulus package—we were going to dominate the world economically once more. Of course, it didn’t happen. And instead of putting the millions of Americans to work that David Axelrod claimed it would, the stimulus package coincided with the loss of 3 million more jobs.

(For those of you keeping score, Obama has since pushed a new stimulus act and, I suppose, probably has a “recovery summer 2.0” banner he’ll break out for speeches should the new act pass.)

Throughout these things, unemployment in America has risen from the high 7% range in early 2009 to the 10% range, and currently rests at 8.5% (soon to be 9% according to Gallup).

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MADISON – Wisconsin Education Association Council President Mary Bell is a liar.

That’s according to a recent blog on BigGovernment.com by Collin Roth of Media Trackers.

Roth looked into recent media reports that WEAC officials asked prospective gubernatorial candidates to promise to veto any budget that doesn’t restore collective bargaining privileges for public sector unions.

He was inspired by Bell’s comments to the LaCrosse Tribune in which she insisted the union never asked for a veto pledge.

“Absolutely not,” Bell told the newspaper. “It’s not the approach that any of us would take.”

James Palmer, executive director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, helped expose WEAC’s request for a veto pledge for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He told Roth he’s sticking to his statement, that WEAC and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union “demanded a hard commitment” on the veto pledge in exchange for their endorsement.

Bell is lying when she says otherwise, Palmer told Roth.

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Idaho’s Republican contest is closed to non-Republlicans and will be held on March 6, 2012, otherwise known as Super Tuesday. Other primaries that day include Alaska, Georgia, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia.

There are 32 delegates available in Idaho, a caucus state. The Idaho Secretary of State’s website is here. Newt Gingrich has a visit planned.

Gingrich and his wife, Callista, will be at rallies in Kennewick and Spokane on Thursday, and will cross the border into Idaho for a Coeur d’Alene rally Thursday night. On Friday, they’ll be in western Washington, visiting with Republican lawmakers at the state Capitol in the morning before heading to rallies in south King County and Everett.

In previous cycles, the event wasn’t scheduled until May.

Power at the polls will be a new phenomenon in Idaho, thanks to a much earlier vote. The state GOP is switching to a Super Tuesday caucus in March instead of a May primary. The late spring date, behind dozens of other states, has traditionally left Gem-Staters without a say.

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Everybody worried about the economy needs to chill, Valerie Jarrett’s got this…

White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett spoke at the Student Summit at North Carolina Central University and claimed unemployment stimulates the economy.

Her reasoning behind this is people take their unemployment checks and “go out and spend it” which “help(s) stimulate the economy.”

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Sometimes, something is so obvious even the left has to admit it. US companies have long suffered under one the highest corporate income tax rates in the world. In April the disparity will get worse, as Japan is set to lower its corporate tax rate to below the U.S.

Even Barack Obama recognizes this is a problem and today announced a plan to lower the corporate tax rate.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Wednesday the current business tax system is bad for business and for job-creation and argued that President Barack Obama’s plan to reduce corporate tax rates to 28 percent would make the tax system more globally competitive.

So, even a leftist administration is admitting that high tax rates hurt competitiveness and dampen job creation. Can someone send some smelling salts to Paul Krugman and the palace guard at MSNBC?

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As you may recall, Judicial Watch has been investigating Vice President Biden’s role in securing a bailout for auto manufacturer Fisker Automotive, which opened a facility in V.P. Biden’s home state of Delaware in 2009. Well, that investigation has taken a new turn now that Fisker’s domestic operation is crumbling while funds and jobs promised to American taxpayers are heading overseas to Finland.

On February 1, 2012, JW sued the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for records regarding the $529 million loan granted by the DOE to Fisker – funds that were to be used to manufacture the company’s Karma and Nina electric vehicles. While the Obama White House (led by V.P. Biden) and the DOE promoted the loan as a means to generate American jobs, Fisker, which has facilities in California and Delaware, came under fire in 2011 for manufacturing cars in Finland and was recently beset with massive layoffs at their domestic operations.

Here’s what Judicial Watch is after pursuant to our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed with the DOE on November 15, 2011:

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Georgia’s Republican primary will be held on March 6, 2012, otherwise known as Super Tuesday. Other primaries that day include Alaska, Idaho, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia.

The latest polling via the Atlanta Journal Constitution has things tied at the top among three candidates.

Newt Gingrich, 26 percent; Mitt Romney, 24 percent; Rick Santorum, 23 percent.

A Southern state, Georgia is viewed as a test of a candidate’s appeal with the core of the GOP base. It’s also Newt Gingrich’s home state and he has a great deal riding on the contest. If he doesn’t win it, it could mean his bid for the nomination is over. Gingrich himself has played up the significance of winning one’s home state by pointing out Mitt Romney’s need to win Michigan.

It would be all but impossible for Gingrich to justifying remaining in contention if he loses GA, given his comments on Romney and Michigan.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich hinted Sunday that if rival Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney loses the primary election in his home state of Michigan, he should drop out of the race.

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On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Pejman Yousefzadeh and Kevin Holtsberry are joined by Professor Mark David Hall to discuss his book–co-authored by Gary Gregg–America’s Forgotten Founders, the lesser known Founding Fathers and their contributions to the making of America.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

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Moderators and guest questioners have been excruciating, mind-numbing and downright frustrating the Republican base by their prattling questions that have little to do with jobs, the economy, the environment, President Obama’s record or anything that average day Americans actually have on their minds. Previous debates have included Terri Schiavo, sugar subsidies, the Everglades Project, and an oddly foreshadowing exchange over contraception. With every candidate having been given the opportunity to respond to the inane and inaccurate narrative (contrasted with President Obama begging for reporters’ mercy not to question him) that the number one priority of the GOP is to ban all women, everywhere, from getting access to birth control, it’s a pretty good bet that the topic will come up tonight. CNN, however, may choose to avoid the almost assured boos from the audience if the question is asked.

Santorum claiming that the USA is under direct attack from Satan has been making the media rounds for the last 24 hours. Pundits are clamoring and MSNBC talking heads are exploding, it wouldn’t be surprising if Satan found his way into the debate topics. (By the way, millions of Americans also believe that Satan is an active being that attempts to disrupt events.)

As a side note, it’s Ash Wednesday. Most Catholics recognize this day with ash on their foreheads. We’ll see if the Catholic presidential candidates choose to follow this ritual.

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It almost bores me to point this out. Yet, despite decades of research and thousands of data points, a large swath of America’s political and media class still can’t seem to grasp that incentives matter. In a case of political cognitive dissonance, they continue to insist that simply raising tax rates by X will yield Y increase in revenue for the government. Conversely, they believe lower tax rates will decrease government revenue by an equal amount.

The mandarins in the UK are latest pols to run into the brick wall of incentives:

The Treasury received £10.35 billion in income tax payments from those paying by self-assessment last month, a drop of £509 million compared with January 2011

[...]

The self-assessment returns from January, when most income tax is paid by the better-off, have been eagerly awaited by the Treasury and government ministers as they provide the first evidence of the success, or failure, of the 50p rate. It is the first year following the introduction of the 50p rate which had been expected to boost tax revenues from self-assessment by more than £1billion.

So, for those keeping score at home; UK officials expected an extra $1.5 billion in revenue from the higher tax rate. Instead, they collected about $750 million less than the year before. That’s one heck of a miss!

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For all those who believe that the Republican level of enthusiasm is high enough to overcome Obama’s inherent advantages as an incumbent, this is sobering information: at the end of January, Obama had $76 million in his campaign coffers. All the Republican candidates had a combined $13 million left. Mitt Romney in particular is blowing through cash like it’s going out of style – he and his Super PAC spent a whopping $32 million to win in his back yard, New Hampshire. Romney’s Super PAC is still flush (between Romney and the Super PAC, the campaign has $24 million on hand), but he’s going to be forced to spend every dime of it during this campaign.

Some will blame this lack of cash on the infighting between the candidates, forcing each candidate to pour out the cash. But the fact is this: every presidential campaign costs lots of money. Rudy Giuliani raised nearly $61 million during his 2008 campaign. So what’s the problem here? The problem is that these candidates have no way of generating any sort of enthusiasm. They’ll spend a lot … but they’re going to tap out all their donors early. And there aren’t going to be more where those came from.

This warning came months ago: enthusiasm matters. Right now, Santorum is generating enthusiasm, but it’s lukewarm, and largely based on opposition to Romney. Newt has lost all momentum. And Romney is plodding steadily along.

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