Fiscal Death by Welfare

Ironically enough, the medicine applied by our state as the antidote for our ills has proven to be poison.  The welfare state is killing our nation.  Today entitlement spending makes up nearly half of our budget.  Long term, we know that there will be no way to pay off our unfunded obligations — we will go bankrupt.  There will be three options ultimately, though ultimately can come quite suddenly: default, hyperinflation or abolition of the welfare state.

Default is considered by many to be an impossible option as it would likely lead to mass chaos given the necessary suspension of many government services, not to mention the practical reality that WE are the collateral in the event of default.  To default is to be honest, and to be honest is anathema to the state.

Hyperinflation in my view is the most likely outcome given the massive increase in the money supply, which is good for politicians until it hits because it allows them to kick problems down the road and impose a stealth tax.  Currently, government is toeing the line between monetizing debt and intervening to keep its borrowing rates down, while incentivizing banks to keep money in their vaults or pump it into the stock market.

I believe that as the downturn goes on the government will blame the banks for the lack of economic growth and force them to allocate credit to chosen political entrepreneurs and other bad credit risks, leading to massive inflation in prices which they will likely blame on evil speculators and greedy price gouging companies.  Hyperinflation would allow the government to pay for the welfare state –  by writing entitlement checks in worthless dollars and lead to economic paralysis as constantly rising prices would make economic calculation and thus commerce impossible.

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Tags: CPAC, default, entitlement spending, entitlements, George Will
Posted Feb 28th 2010 at 5:01 pm in Congress, Culture, History, Politics, Tax Reform, Tea Party, federal spending | 79742129 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/amellon/2010/02/28/fiscal-death-by-welfare/Fiscal+Death+by+Welfare2010-03-01+01%3A01%3A46Andrew+Mellon

Conversation With GOProud

A conversation with Jimmy LaSalvia, Executive Director, GOProud

BOB: Hi Jimmy, just wanted to touch bases and find out what your thoughts were about the rather rude outburst by that punk at CPAC. I was getting ready to videotape a following speaker and found the kid’s comments rude and uncalled for.

JIMMY LaSALVIA: It was unfortunate that happened. You know there was a little controversy when we signed on as co-sponsors back in December, but I thought all of that had blown over. I was surprised when Ryan Sorba made those remarks, but it was heartening to see and hear the crowd boo and voice disapproval.

BOB: Why was there controversy? I can imagine but let’s hear it from you. Considering we’re all Republicans and we probably vote close to each other on the issues, what was the problem?

JIMMY: There are some on fringe, some single issue groups, who disagree with GOProud on an issue or two. They threatened to boycott CPAC, but in the end most everyone was there. It was the biggest CPAC ever. I always tell people that there is a difference between policy and principles. We can disagree on some policies, but we share the same conservative principles.

BOB: Specifically, where was the agreement and disagreement?

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Tags: civil unions, CPAC, Dick Cheney, don't ask don't tell, gay conservatives
Posted Feb 26th 2010 at 7:17 am in Culture, Politics | 8097072 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/bparks/2010/02/26/conversation-with-goproud/Conversation+With+GOProud2010-02-26+15%3A17%3A56Bob+Parks

Did Andrew Breitbart ‘Breakdown’ At CPAC?

Several videos of Andrew Breitbart attending CPAC 2010 are making the rounds on the interwebs. Salon.com has posted an article entitled “Breitbart’s breakdown: A video tour”, based on four of the clips floating around.

In these videos, a visibly angry Breitbart tears into Progressive writers Max Blumenthal, Mike Madden, and others, in response to their baseless charges and innuendos of racism surrounding Breitbart, Hannah Giles, and James O’Keefe.

Apparently, Salon.com doesn’t think that anger and outrage are normal reactions for a human being to have in response to being falsely smeared and branded a racist.

Salon.com sees the videos of an angry Andrew Breitbart as not much more than an opportunity to ridicule someone with whom they disagree.

By using these videos in this particular way,  Salon reveals that it considers the righteous indignation of a man falsely accused to be funny.  A real knee-slapper.

That’s very revealing because the videos that the folks at Salon.com are promoting clearly demonstrate why Breitbart is so furious. He explains it to their cameras repeatedly. Perhaps the editors at Salon.com are too politically tone deaf to hear the message.

Just in case, we’ve produced a little video to help illustrate what we’re talking about.

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Tags: Andrew Breitbart, CPAC, Hannah Giles, James O'Keefe, Max Blumenthal
Posted Feb 26th 2010 at 5:31 am in Culture, Exclusives, Featured Story | 80814307 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/amarcus/2010/02/26/exclusive-video-did-andrew-breitbart-breakdown-at-cpac/Did+Andrew+Breitbart+%27Breakdown%27+At+CPAC%3F2010-02-26+13%3A31%3A52Andrew++Marcus

Max Blumenthal, You’re Being Booger-Boarded

Max Blumenthal has an amazing thesis:  All conservatives and Republicans are beneath contempt.  He also has an amazing line of work.  He is underwritten by various media organs to prove his thesis.

In a previous era, Blumenthal and said media organs (Salon, Independent Film Channel, Huffington Post, etc.) were able to get away with this pathetic arrangement.   But now, we are on to Max, the spawn of Sid “Vicious” Blumenthal – he who attempted to ruin Monica Lewinsky’s life by falsely portraying her as Bill Clinton’s “stalker.”

The Blumenthal operation is now under the extremely close scrutiny of a camelid named “Retracto.”

The movement formerly known as the “Tea-Baggers” (with their flip cameras and new media skills) and various conservatives who have had enough with the excessive Alinsky tactics used most egregiously by Max and Sid but representative of main stream media’s odious guilt-by-association, repeat-the-same-lie-until-it-sticks, smear-any-conservative-as-racist-sexist-homophobic skill set, are now fighting back.

If the last two weeks have not humiliated him enough — and this Huffington Post rage-fest from yesterday with its title “Feeling the Hate at CPAC 2010 With Andrew Breitbart, Hannah Giles and the Crazy Mob” suggests they have not – then perhaps this coup de booger will tell him that we say what we mean and we mean what we say.

Max gallivanted around CPAC looking for prey.  He was treated with respect as he sought to make good and decent people look foolish on camera.  He decided he would go after a 20-year-old girl, one Hannah Giles.  And perhaps due to sexism or ageism he underestimated her ability.  Max should have called Bertha Lewis before he went after this young heroine.  Instead, he went to a gunfight with a knife – and a dirty nose.

Ladies and gentlemen, the much awaited, “Max Blumenthal Picks a Booger Out of His Nose at CPAC” video:

Max Blumenthal, this is what you do for a living. I can do it too (**wink **wink** Independent Film Channel).

Salon has already corrected his initial attempt to paint James O’Keefe as a White Nationalist.  They corrected his baseless assertion that O’Keefe planned the “Race and Conservatism” forum held at Georgetown Law Center, but he continues to hold that James O’Keefe is a racist, and that he was in some way involved with the “execution” of the forum.  His source for this claim?  Daryle Jenkins, whose credibility was recently eviscerated by Kevin Martin from Project 21.

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Tags: "gotcha journalism", Andrew Breitbart, Bertha Lewis, Booger-Boarding, CPAC
Posted Feb 24th 2010 at 6:45 pm in ACORN, Featured Story, News, Politics | 80026248 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/abreitbart/2010/02/24/max-blumenthal-youre-being-booger-boarded/Max+Blumenthal%2C+You%27re+Being+Booger-Boarded2010-02-25+02%3A45%3A04Andrew+Breitbart

Poker Group Elated Following Overwhelmingly Positive Reception at CPAC

The Poker Players Alliance — a million-member strong grassroots organization that defends poker rights — cosponsored the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) for the second consecutive year.  Poker players, still reeling over past efforts to ban online and other forms of poker, have been actively reaching out to conservatives for support for their right to play, and cosponsorship of CPAC is part of this outreach effort.  They were pleased at their reception at this year’s event and feel support for their position within the broader conservative movement will continue to increase.

Displaying the confidence that a year of solid wins on Capitol Hill has earned them, the PPA went to CPAC ready to take on the dwindling minority who would ban poker as well as those who believe poker rights ought not be a conservative concern.  They came armed with handouts on why principled conservatives ought to oppose a big government prohibition on online poker, copies of pro-poker articles by George Will, Walter Williams, and Jacob Sullum, free t-shirts, and 2004 World Poker Champion Greg Raymer, who was on hand to sign autographs.

2004 World Poker Champion Greg Raymer at CPAC

They also showed off the alliances they have with many within the conservative movement, including FreedomWorks, CPAC straw poll winner Rep. Ron Paul (video of Rep. Paul backing PPA’s position), and Americans for Tax Reform.

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Tags: Americans for Tax Reform, CPAC, CPAC 2010, Focus on the Family, Grover Norquist
Posted Feb 24th 2010 at 2:31 pm in Congress, Culture, Politics, Technology, Uncategorized | 7914692 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/rmuny/2010/02/24/poker-group-elated-following-overwhelmingly-positive-reception-at-cpac/Poker+Group+Elated+Following+Overwhelmingly+Positive+Reception+at+CPAC2010-02-24+22%3A31%3A09Rich+Muny

But Is Our Republicans Learning?

Economist John Tamny has a piece in Forbes, “The Paradox Of A ‘Giving’ Government”, detailing the new, stepped-up emphasis by business on getting cozy with Washington, and how and why it pays off. In it is a very disturbing example of why we should expect at best weak and highly dispiriting pushback from Republicans when Obama finally gets around to following through on his telegraphed Plan B for the “global warming” agenda, “green jobs”.

“Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., presently a darling among Republicans for his pro-growth policies, has long made known his dislike of the 2009 Obama stimulus plan as a ‘wasteful spending spree.’ Nice rhetoric for sure–and as it turns out not very pure. In October 2009 the congressman wrote a letter to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis in favor of a grant application in his district, which, according to Ryan, would ‘place 1,000 workers in green jobs.’”

That’s pretty stomach-turning, when you consider the source. The government can give us nothing that it has not taken from us. The government cannot give your favored constituencies anything it has not taken away from others. The politics of envy have never been as strong in the United States as in Europe – which fact has given us a chance over the decades, but it appears to be a dwindling chance.

And no one who attended any appreciable part of CPAC this past weekend has any time for the philosophy that these are just the accommodations that one must make to stay here and do good work.

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Tags: CPAC, exporting jobs, federal grant, federal spending, green jobs
Posted Feb 22nd 2010 at 11:07 am in Congress, Economics, News, Obama, Politics, Tea Party | 7848271 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/chorner/2010/02/22/but-is-our-republicans-learning/But+Is+Our+Republicans+Learning%3F2010-02-22+19%3A07%3A32Christopher+C.+Horner

The Insignificance of the CPAC Straw Poll

The enthusiasm at this year’s CPAC was palpable.  Conservatives turned out in record droves, optimistic and on the offensive against a government they rightly feel has run amok.  Dick Cheney and John Bolton amongst others predicted that Barack Obama would be a one term President.  I would take a more cautious view.  Beatable as I think President Obama is based upon his bombastic arrogance, blind elitism, blatant dishonesty, and boundless seemingly intentionally destructive policies, if the 2010 CPAC straw poll tells us anything it is that the conservative movement is still searching for its opponent.

Before delving into the numbers, it is important to note that while roughly 1/4 of the 10,000 in attendance at CPAC participated in the poll, around 50% of these voters were students.  And indeed the youthful Campaign for Liberty crowd was highly visible and energized throughout the convention, which explains the extent of Congressman Ron Paul’s success.  Paul, the staunch libertarian came in first with 31% of the vote, Mitt Romney the establishment candidate second with 22% and Sarah Palin the (absent from CPAC) Tea Partier third but lagging significantly behind at 7%.

What is fascinating about the results is that the top three spots were split between three different types of conservatives, and further that the top two spots were divided between two candidates so bipolar.  In my view, Ron Paul comes off as unrefined, radical and principled, while Mitt Romney comes off as polished, moderate and slickly political. Sarah Palin alternatively is the homey if not hokie populist.

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Tags: Ann Coulter, Barack Obama, Congress, conservatives, CPAC
Posted Feb 22nd 2010 at 7:01 am in Uncategorized | 77846259 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/amellon/2010/02/22/the-insignificance-of-the-straw-poll/The+Insignificance+of+the+CPAC+Straw+Poll2010-02-22+15%3A01%3A06Andrew+Mellon

Thread: Ron Paul Wins CPAC Straw Poll

Ron Paul tops CPAC’s annual straw poll with 31%.  Mitt Romney was 2nd most popular and Sarah Palin 3rd.  The results were booed by those present in the convention halls.

The majority of attendees said they are dissatisfied with the current field of potential candidates.

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Tags: 2012 Election, CPAC, CPAC straw poll, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul
Posted Feb 20th 2010 at 2:54 pm in Politics | 77754643 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/publius/2010/02/20/thread-ron-paul-wins-cpac-straw-poll/Thread%3A+Ron+Paul+Wins+CPAC+Straw+Poll2010-02-20+22%3A54%3A38Publius

CPAC: Conservatives Get Ready For Battle

Yesterday, the Conservative Political Action Conference featured some of the best known conservative elected officials. Among the elected officials, Rep. Steve King and Rep. Mike Pence gave some of the most memorable and passionate speeches.

With approximately 10,000 registered attendee’s, this is by far the largest conservative conference in the nations capitol.

Today, the final day of the conference will feature additional speakers, including Andrew Breitbart, Ann Coulter and Glenn Beck.

Washington News Observer has been covering this conference, several highlight reels are below.

The second clip features Rep. Ron Paul, Attorney General John Ashcroft and newly elected Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell.

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Tags: Andrew Breitbart, Ann Coulter, CPAC, John Ashcroft, Michele Bachmann
Posted Feb 20th 2010 at 11:36 am in Congress, Defense, Economics, Politics | 77634198 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/sgor/2010/02/20/cpac-conservatives-get-ready-for-battle/CPAC%3A+Conservatives+Get+Ready+For+Battle2010-02-20+19%3A36%3A26Sergio+Gor

Obama Caught in a Major ACORN Lie

The brazen dishonesty of this president is a bit concerning to say the least.

A newly discovered video shows Obama lying to the American people about his relationship with ACORN:

Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) from the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released this video at CPAC of Barack Obama discussing his close partnership with ACORN. Obama talked about his long relationship with ACORN privately in this video before the 2008 election:

“When I ran project vote, the voter registration drive in Illinois, ACORN was smack dab in the middle of it. Once I was elected there wasn’t a campaign that ACORN worked on down in Springfield that I wasn’t right there with you. Since I have been in the United States Senate I’ve been always a partner with ACORN as well. I’ve been fighting with ACORN, along side ACORN, on issues you care about my entire career.”

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Tags: ACORN, Barack Obama, CPAC, Darrell Issa
Posted Feb 20th 2010 at 6:01 am in ACORN, News, Obama, Politics | 77602189 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/jhoft/2010/02/20/obama-caught-in-a-major-acorn-lie/Obama+Caught+in+a+Major+ACORN+Lie2010-02-20+14%3A01%3A30Jim+Hoft

The Continuing Deflation of Little Green Footballs

Chuck Johnson is at it again. He must be out on a weekend pass. I was compelled to answer the Little Green Monster after I saw him go after James O’Keefe with that same tired wet noodle of a charge he has leveled at so many, calling him a white nationalist. Johnson claimed in an LGF post that “according to a group called ‘One People’s Project,’ ACORN sting filmmaker James O’Keefe was photographed attending a 2006 white nationalist conference titled ‘Race and Conservatism.’”

Sounds terrible, right? Sure, until you get the facts that Johnson doesn’t tell you. When it became clear that it wasn’t a “white nationalist conference,” Johnson tried to slither out of responsibility for his words by saying in a new post: “It’s very clear that I attributed the ‘white nationalist conference’ claim to One People’s Project; that’s what the words ‘according to’ mean.”

Busted! As if it weren’t obvious that in his original post, he was approving of and endorsing what One People’s Project said. But this is typical of Johnson’s weaselly hit-and-run smear tactics.

Meanwhile, Larry O’Connor at Big Journalism uncovered the truth about O’Keefe’s supposed participation in this conference:

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Tags: Ann Coulter, Barrett Brown, Big Journalism, Charles Johnson, CPAC
Posted Feb 5th 2010 at 3:51 pm in Media Criticism, News, Politics | 70674128 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/pgeller/2010/02/05/the-continuing-deflation-of-little-green-footballs/The+Continuing+Deflation+of+Little+Green+Footballs2010-02-05+23%3A51%3A51Pamela+Geller

The Long, Dark Tea-Time of the GOP’s Soul

The withdrawal of Dede Scozzafava from the special election for Congress in upstate New York has predictably set off another wave of media-led hand-wringing about the health of the GOP. (See here and here, for example.) These stories are like crack for reporters, especially those with a hard-left slant. It is always framed as a battle between ‘conservatives’ and ‘moderates,’ but the focus is actually much narrower.

To Big Media, conservatism comes in only one flavor, social conservatism, namely anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage and a smattering of other issues that would fall flat over canapés and seltzer (liberals don’t seem to drink anymore). That Dede was pro-choice and pro-gay marriage fits the narrative perfectly for the media. End of story.

But, the media, and political leaders would be wise to dig a bit deeper into the story. Yes, Dede was pro-choice and pro-gay marriage, but she was also pro-government spending, pro-taxes and pro-Big Labor, to name just a few other issues. When a Republican candidate regularly seeks out the endorsement of ACORN and wins the endorsement of DailyKos, it isn’t much of a stretch to imagine that large segments of the party might have some misgivings about supporting the candidate. (And they would be right, since she has now endorsed the Democrat in the race.)

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Tags: Big Media, Bill Owens, conservatism, CPAC, CPAC straw poll
Posted Nov 2nd 2009 at 5:59 am in Congress, Culture, Featured Story, Politics | 23870157 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/mikeflynn/2009/11/02/the-long-dark-tea-time-of-the-gops-soul/The+Long%2C+Dark+Tea-Time+of+the+GOP%27s+Soul2009-11-02+12%3A59%3A57Mike+Flynn