The Patriot Post Brief 7-19-2010

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The Patriot Post Brief 7-19-2010
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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The Foundation

"If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people, under the pretence of taking care of them, they must become happy." --Thomas Jefferson

Opinion in Brief

"Barack Obama's incredible 'recess appointment' of Dr. Donald Berwick to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is probably the most significant domestic-policy personnel decision in a generation. It is more important to the direction of the country than Elena Kagan's nomination to the Supreme Court. The court's decisions are subject to the tempering influence of nine competing minds. Dr. Berwick would direct an agency that has a budget bigger than the Pentagon. Decisions by the CMS shape American medicine. Dr. Berwick's ideas on the design and purpose of the U.S. system of medicine aren't merely about 'change.' They would be revolutionary. One may agree with these views or not, but for the president to tell the American people they have to simply accept this through anything so flaccid as a recess appointment is beyond outrageous. It isn't acceptable. ... Let's look, then, at what President Obama won't let the American electorate hear Dr. Berwick say in front of a committee of Congress. These excerpts are from past speeches and articles by Dr. Berwick: 'I cannot believe that the individual health care consumer can enforce through choice the proper configurations of a system as massive and complex as health care. That is for leaders to do. ... Please don't put your faith in market forces. It's a popular idea: that Adam Smith's invisible hand would do a better job of designing care than leaders with plans can. ...' That the Obama White House would try to push this past public scrutiny with a recess appointment says more about Barack Obama than it does Dr. Berwick. Vilifying Dr. Berwick alone for his views is in a way beside the point. Within Mr. Obama's circle they all think like this. Defeat Dr. Berwick, and they will send up 50 more who would pursue the same goals. If the American people want the world Dr. Berwick wishes to give them, that's their choice. But they must be given that choice with full, televised confirmation hearings. Barack Obama, Donald Berwick and the rest may fancy themselves philosopher kings who know what we need without the need to inform or persuade us first. That's not how it works here." --columnist Daniel Henninger1

Liberty

"The co-chairs of President Obama's Debt and Deficit Commission painted a gloomy picture of the economy last weekend when they appeared at the closing session of the National Governors Association meeting in Boston. Former Wyoming Republican Senator Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, former White House chief of staff under Bill Clinton, called the current budgetary trends a cancer 'that will destroy the country from within' unless checked by tough action in Washington. So the place that gave us the problem is now going to provide the solution? I have as much faith in Washington curing its overspending as I do a bartender helping an alcoholic swear off drinking. Cancer is the wrong diagnosis. With the exception of those who are heavy smokers, most cancer patients get the disease through no fault of their own. The proper diagnosis of what ails Washington and too many Americans is addiction. Congress is addicted to spending and they have 'hooked' too many Americans on their bad habit. ... This should not be a partisan issue, but if Democrats make it one, then a new Republican majority should do what it failed to do the last time it controlled Congress: break our big government addiction and restore the liberty that we've lost." --columnist Cal Thomas2

Government

"One-third of the stimulus money went to state and local governments, with the effect of propping up the pay and saving the jobs of public employee union members. As a result, while 8 million private-sector jobs have disappeared, the number of public-sector jobs has barely budged. The cynical will see these measures as a political payoff and might venture that the unions have gotten something like a hundredfold payout for the $400 million they gave to Obama and his copartisans. Those who insist on looking for purer motives, in contrast, might see something potentially more sinister. They might see a former community organizer acting out of a sincere conviction that America would be better off with a much, much larger unionized private sector. That prompts the question of what the private sector would look like if nearly half its workers were union members, as is the case now with the public sector. As one who grew up in Detroit in the heyday of the Big Three auto companies and the United Auto Workers, I have some idea what the answer would be. ... It took the U.S. manufacturers multiple decades to achieve quality levels comparable to those their foreign-based competitors achieved with American workers. ... The Obama Democrats want to take us back to a system that produced huge inefficiencies and rigidity in the private sector. Does that sound progressive?" --political analyst Michael Barone3

The Gipper

"An informed patriotism is what we want. And are we doing a good enough job teaching our children what America is and what she represents in the long history of the world? Those of us who are over 35 or so years of age grew up in a different America. We were taught, very directly, what it means to be an American. And we absorbed, almost in the air, a love of country and an appreciation of its institutions. If you didn't get these things from your family, you got them from the neighborhood, from the father down the street who fought in Korea or the family who lost someone at Anzio. Or you could get a sense of patriotism from school. And if all else failed, you could get a sense of patriotism from the popular culture." --Ronald Reagan4

[nChrist]

________________________________________
The Patriot Post Brief 7-19-2010
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
________________________________________

For the Record

"It seems a lifetime ago that Obama represented hope for a post-racial presidency and in fact a post-racial era in American politics. Like so much else about Obama, the reality is the opposite of what was promised. ... Speaking about the Uganda bombings, the president said, 'What you've seen in some of the statements that have been made by these terrorist organizations is that they do not regard African life as valuable in and of itself. They see it as a potential place where you can carry out ideological battles that kill innocents without regard to long-term consequences for their short-term tactical gains.' ... Explaining the president's comment, an administration official said Mr. Obama 'references the fact that both U.S. intelligence and past al Qaeda actions make clear that al Qaeda -- and the groups like al Shabaab that they inspire -- do not value African life. The actions of al Qaeda and the groups that it has inspired show a willingness to sacrifice innocent African life to reach their targets.' ... 'In short,' the official said, 'al Qaeda is a racist organization that treats black Africans like cannon fodder and does not value human life.' Oh, good grief. Al-Qaeda isn't a racist organization -- it's an organization that kills regardless of race anyone who stands in the way of its Islamo-fascist vision. ... Does the administration really think that Africans can only be motivated if they think race is behind the slaughter of their people? And does Obama mean to suggest that al-Qaeda is pro-white? The mind reels. It is this sort of thing that fills one with dread and raises this question: is there no limit to the lengths Obama will go to avoid spelling out the real motive behind Islamic fundamentalist terror?" --columnist Jennifer Rubin5

Culture

"Is Toy Story 3 a parable for today's deep political discontent? Think about it. A slick sloganeering teddy bear convinces a gaggle of beleaguered toys that he holds the key to a brighter future. The toys, longing for leadership after years of broken promises and incompetence, uncritically submit to the teddy bear's vision. Before long, even non-Ivy Leaguers like Mr. Potato Head, Rex, and Slinky catch on. All creeds of plaything are forced to sacrifice liberty and happiness for the collective good -- as imagined by a technocratic leader, his feckless vice-leader (a Ken doll), and their muscle (a giant baby doll). First there is concern and then anger and then revolt. Even Barbie -- having shown no interest in political activism for more than 50 years -- unleashes the best line in the history of animated films: 'Authority should derive from the consent of the governed, not from the threat of force!' Naturally, that's the lesson the screenwriters for Toy Story 3 were trying to convey to the American people. ... In light of most animated movies, the message of Toy Story 3 appealed to me. And I would have allowed that my ideological interpretation was way off had I not read about a growing trend in popular culture -- namely commercials -- that seeks to tap into our tea party. ... It is a matter of time before concerns about liberty begin to filter into mainstream popular culture. The clues are everywhere... Is Toy Story 3 part of that movement? Let me engage in a bit of wishful thinking and say: Of course it is." --columnist David Harsanyi6

Reader Comments

"Barackracy, Part 27 was a great essay, Mark! This is one I will save, print out, forward to others, and re-read time after time. My greatest concern is this country no longer has statesmen (including the ladies, of course). We no longer enjoy the concern and protection of LEADERS, who guide the Ship of State through the turbulent waters of national and international relations. I haven't yet given up. I'll still fight as long my fingers can still exert three pounds of pressure on a trigger..." --Tig

"What a wonderful essay. Thank you for your pure patriotism. What we need in the coming election cycle is for men or women to step and and run on a platform of returning America to it's once great self. America has nothing to apologize for. So someone has to rally true patriots to the cause, the cause of freedom, the cause of constitutional law, the cause of throwing off the socialistic agenda instituted by those forces who want to destroy America from within. God bless you and as always God Bless the United States of America!" --Edward

"The NAACP says, 'What we take issue with is the Tea Party's continued tolerance for bigotry and bigoted statements.' Uhhh... I have news for you folks at the NAACP. Unlike some folks, we Tea Party folks understand that freedom of speech isn't just for speech YOU like. It's for everyone. So while we don't like bigotry or bigoted statements, we still defend your right to make hold those views and make those statements." --The Scarlet Pimpernel

"I am all in favor of the NAACP...We have needed the "National Association of the Abolishment of Communist People" for a loooong time!" --desert

Correction: The Minnesota Secretary of State is Mark Ritchie, not Dan as we wrote Friday. Sorry for the error.

Political Futures

"For a year or so, Republicans have been the so-called party of no. Contrary to the expectations of its critics, that tactic has been good for the GOP. It seems that the 'tea parties,' America's natural antibodies to Obamaism, have provided some vital stem cell therapy, helping to regrow the Republican spine. But that spine is only valuable if you use it for something. Much of the GOP leadership has been content saying 'no' for two reasons -- one good, one bad. When Obama was tall in the saddle and determined to exploit the economic crisis on his terms, there was no point in offering real alternatives. And it's just a lot easier to criticize than it is to lead. Now is the time for the GOP to call Obama's bluff and offer a real choice. My personal preference would be for the leadership to embrace Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan's 'road map,' a sweeping, bold and humane assault on the welfare state and our debt crisis. Doing so might come at the cost of trimming the GOP's victory margins in November, but it would provide Republicans with a real mandate to be something more than 'not-Obama.' Don't let Obama's crisis go to waste." --columnist Jonah Goldberg8

The Last Word

"In the political marketplace, there's now a run on Obama shares. The left is disappointed with the president. Independents are abandoning him in droves. And the right is already dancing on his political grave, salivating about November when, his own press secretary admitted ... Democrats might lose the House. I have a warning for Republicans: Don't underestimate Barack Obama. ... For Obama, 2010 matters little. If Democrats lose control of one or both houses, Obama will likely have an easier time in 2012, just as Bill Clinton used Newt Gingrich and the Republicans as his foil for his 1996 re-election campaign. Obama is down, but it's very early in the play. Like Reagan, he came here to do things. And he's done much in his first 500 days. What he has left to do he knows must await his next 500 days -- those that come after re-election. 2012 is the real prize. Obama sees far, farther than even his own partisans. Republicans underestimate him at their peril." --columnist Charles Krauthammer9

Links

   1. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703792704575367020548324914.html
   2. http://patriotpost.us/opinion/cal-thomas/2010/07/15/we-can-do-it/
   3. http://patriotpost.us/opinion/michael-barone/2010/07/15/as-obama-kowtows-unions-eye-the-private-sector/
   4. http://reagan2020.us/
   5. http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/rubin/327771
   6. http://reason.com/archives/2010/07/14/toy-story-3-and-the-tea-party/singlepage
   7. http://patriotpost.us/alexander/2010/07/15/barackracy-part-2/
   8. http://patriotpost.us/opinion/jonah-goldberg/2010/07/14/obamas-crisis-is-gops-opportunity/
   9. http://patriotpost.us/opinion/charles-krauthammer/2010/07/16/obamas-next-act/