Politics, Government & Public Policy: November 2008 Archives

This interpretation of events will obviously be contentious, but I generally like it! Lyle Rossiter argues that Obama's election is the result of idealization on the part of immature adults who are clinging to their childhood.

When a child's development proceeds well enough, his tendency to overvalue others is gradually neutralized to become a mature capacity for realistic admiration. Instead of starry-eyed worship of grand illusions, the mature citizen admires and idealizes proven values. He reveres, among other things, certain time-honored virtues and the people who practice them, especially the personal ideals of honesty, integrity, self-reliance, courage, persistence and dependability; the political ideals of individual liberty, the rights of property and contract, and the rule of law; and the ethical ideals of mutuality, decency and charity, among others.

When development does not proceed well enough, the longing of the child for a benevolent parent with superhuman powers persists into adulthood. The search for an Idealized Other easily contaminates the immature citizen's judgment on political matters, with grave implications for societal sanity. His wish for a loving caretaker in the flesh aborts his moral commitment to the abstract principles essential to civilized freedom. Instead of seeking through limited government those protections that allow him to make a good life for himself, the immature adult seeks an omnipotent leader and benevolent government to provide it for him. In his fondest fantasy, The Modern Parental State will meet his needs and desires, rescue him from his mistakes and quiet his existential angst; The Modern Permissive Culture will indulge his appetites and rationalize his sins. The Idealized Leader who brings "Change We Can Believe In" will make us all, as Jacquez Barzun observed in "From Dawn to Decadence," "safe and at ease in a hundred ways." ...

Ignorance combined with immaturity can be politically devastating. On Nov. 4, 2008, massive numbers of immature and ignorant American voters failed to understand the ominous implications of Barack Obama's personal history: his adolescent tutelage with Communist activist Frank Marshall Davis, his 20-year filial relationship with hate-filled Jeremiah Wright, his political and business dealings with terrorist William Ayers, his real estate transactions with felon Tony Rezko, his Fannie Mae connections to the sub-prime mortgage debacle, his vote in the Illinois Senate against medical care of aborted-live babies and his radically liberal voting record in the U.S. Senate. On Nov. 4, 2008, millions of immature and ignorant American voters saw Obama as a loving father of two little girls but ignored his choice to send them every Sunday to hear the vile racist and socialist rants of a mad preacher.

Read the whole thing. I think this characterization of the typical modern voter is spot-on:

The uneducated citizen expects government to run his life with myriad regulations, pay his bills with other people's money and force others to "cooperate" with him for his benefit. Like a dependent child, he seeks freedom from want and risk, not freedom to live responsibly as he chooses.

If America is going to stay free we either need wholesale education reform or a restriction of the voting franchise. I'd greatly prefer the former, but I'd take the latter in order to preserve our liberty.

(HT: SW.)

The whole idea of government "investment" is a sham. The government doesn't "invest" money, it takes money from taxpayers and then spends it. This is called "investing" because the government would like you to think that you'll earn a return that's more than what you put in. Generally speaking, though, the return goes to different people than those who made the "investment".

Barack Obama will expand access to jobs. Obama and Biden will invest $1 billion over five years in transitional jobs and career pathway programs that implement proven methods of helping low-income Americans succeed in the workforce.

That's not an "investment", that's just wealth redistribution. Maybe it's a good idea or maybe not, but the use of the word "invest" is Orwellian.

Second, there is no non-arbitrary way to determine whether a government program makes a profit or a loss. Indeed, government typically does not "talk" in those terms. If a private company is making losses for whatever reason, it must change and innovate in order to make a profit or it will continually make losses and go out of business. But with the government, if a program is labeled as failing, it receives more money—just think of FEMA, the current bank crisis, or, no doubt, Obama's future jobs program.

In contrast, when private companies fail it is not a proof of market failure; on the contrary, it is proof the market is working. It is eliminating failure; in sharp contrast, the government promotes failure: if you want more of something, subsidize it. Government's solution to government failure is consistent with Mises's theory of intervention: government meddling seems to require more government involvement (and more money). And there is nothing as permanent as a temporary government program.

I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. When the Left steals appealing terms and concepts from the Right and then redefines them to cover socialism and totalitarianism, it's a tacit admission that people don't want what the Left is offering and that they need to be tricked into accepting it (for their own good, of course).

(HT: JB.)

I'm home sick today and just watched the Reid-Pelosi press conference about the proposed auto industry bailout. I have to say that I was impressed by the way it was handled by the Senate Majority Leader the Speaker of the House (to my great surprise).

The gist of their response was that:

• the auto CEOs looked like fools for flying in on their private jets begging for money
• the American people are pissed off about all the tax money being spent on bailouts
• any bailout would depend on the auto makers coming up with a convincing plan to restore long-term viability to the industry

I can't disagree with any of that!

Pelosi was quick to reject calls that the companies be allowed to go into bankruptcy, but she can't wave a wand to prevent it. She and Reid were right to put the onus on the CEOs to come back with a solid plan in a few weeks.

I was quite surprised by the rationality of it all. Let's see what happens.

Don't have time to watch the whole I.O.U.S.A. movie in theaters? Well, here's the short version.

The national debt, explained simply enough for movie-goers to get it.

I'd love to see Obama's application.

It's hilarious that Democrat Congressman Charlie Rangel can't obey the laws he wrote himself. Not just won't, but apparently can't.

Rangel in September said he would hire a "forensic accountant" (think: "CSI: Charlie") to untangle a 20-year morass of tax returns and to determine just how much money he's made and how much in unpaid taxes he may still owe.

(Reminder: Rangel's committee writes the nation's tax laws.)

But as The Post's Isabel Vincent reported, two months later Rangel's lawyers claim they can't locate a single qualified firm that hasn't contributed to Rangel's campaigns or has no pending business before Ways & Means.

If Rangel were a Republican he would have been laughed out of office long ago. (He, Chris Dodd, and Barney Frank would three to start with. Tar and feathers.)

Here's an idea: how about a tax system that people can actually understand and obey?

(HT: JB.)

Missouri Prop C passed on Tuesday, but Allen Glosson says it was written by idiots. Now he tells us!

Don't worry, I predict that this prop will be dropped like a hot potato before its major provisions take effect.

(Not that my predictions have been all that great recently.)

Rahm Emanuel as Chief of Staff. Fine, he'll be aimed at Congressional Democrats, not Republicans. Have fun Nancy and Harry!

John Kerry, possible SecState. Are you joking?

Robert Gibb, Press Secretary. Who cares.

How about Colin Powell for SecDef?

If Obama could could convince Warren Buffet to be Secretary of the Treasury it would be a huge coup and would do a lot to restore market confidence.

How about John Bolton for Ambassador to the UN? That would put the world on notice.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

- It's a travesty that Alaska is re-electing convicted felon Ted Stevens while John Sununu was tossed out by New Hampshire despite his long-ago attempts to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (which were blocked by Congressional Democrats).

- It's tragic that Barack Obama's grandmother passed away without seeing her grandson win the Presidency.

- Conservative group American Issues Project has released a survey it commissioned that explains why voters abandoned the Republican party. It's the economy, stupid.

The survey found that approximately 72 percent of those voters agreed that: "The Republican Party used to stand for keeping government spending under control, but not anymore." More than 75 percent of likely voters agreed with the statement: "When the Republican Party took control of Congress in 1994, they promised to reform government and clean up corruption in Washington, but they failed to live up to that promise." ...

On the immediate economic issue, the credit crisis and bailout, voters blame Republicans more than Democrats by 11 points (34 percent to 23 percent). By a huge majority (69 percent to 21 percent) the voters also believe the bailout passed by Congress is unfair to taxpayers.

- I thought the market would be up today no matter who won, but apparently not. I guess the markets like socialists less than they like uncertainty.

- Remember: for Christians, change doesn't come by electing the right guy or passing the right law. Those things are effects, not causes of the change God cares about. God calls on all people to repent of their sins and humble themselves to his will. Mere political change will follow suit.

- Both George W. Bush and John McCain are proof that trying to work with the Left is fruitless. During his last term Bush enacted more leftist policies than Bill Clinton ever did, and in exchange he was abandoned by the Right and vilified by the Left. McCain did more to appease race-conscious Hispanics than any Republican in history, and lost their vote to Obama 70-30... a worse showing that Bush in 2004.

- How long until we elect an artificial intelligence to public office? National office? President?

Looks like we're getting President Obama.

I'm not optimistic, but I say let's give him a chance. I'm not going to indulge in a right-wing "Obama Derangement Syndrome"... not yet anyway.

I'm sure I'll have plenty of criticisms on specific policy decisions, but I'll hold my fire until I've got something concrete to shoot at.

For now, congratulations to Barack Obama and his supporters. I'm not sure what you've gotten us in to, but let's face the future as a united country and see how things go.

(Yes, this post was very hard for me to write.)

Update:

John McCain just gave an excellent concession speech. "Classy", as everyone will say. He is a genuine hero, and a man of honor and integrity. He waged an honest campaign and frequently took the high road, which probably cost him votes in the end.

Senator McCain, thank you for your many years of service to our country. I hope you have the passion for many more.

The Corner has the most and best election day anecdotes.

Here's the Master of None voting guide for the issues on the Missouri ballot tomorrow.

Constitutional Amendment 1

Official Ballot Title:

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to add a statement that English shall be the language of all governmental meetings at which any public business is discussed, decided, or public policy is formulated whether conducted in person or by communication equipment including conference calls, video conferences, or Internet chat or message board?

Yes on 1. I've seen in California how ridiculous things can get when multilingualism is allowed in government offices. It's really not fun to go to the DMV and have them struggle to find a clerk who can speak English well enough to handle your case.

Constitutional Amendment 4

Official Ballot Title:

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to change provisions relating to the financing of stormwater control projects by:

• limiting availability of grants and loans to public water and sewer districts only;
• removing the cap on available funding and existing restrictions on disbursements;
• requiring loan repayments to be used only for stormwater control projects?

No on 4. If passed, it appears that this amendment would transfer a lot of money and power to various special interest groups that care about stormwater issues.

Proposition A

Official Ballot Title:

Shall Missouri law be amended to:

• repeal the current individual maximum loss limit for gambling;
• prohibit any future loss limits;
• require identification to enter the gambling area only if necessary to establish that an individual is at least 21 years old;
• restrict the number of casinos to those already built or being built;
• increase the casino gambling tax from 20% to 21%;
• create a new specific education fund from gambling tax proceeds generated as a result of this measure called the “Schools First Elementary and Secondary Education Improvement Fund”; and
• require annual audits of this new fund?

No on A. Although the $500 "loss limit" law is dumb and should be repealed, Prop A ties it to so many other issues that the waters get muddied. Why artificially limit the number of casinos by state law instead of local zoning rules? (To reduce competition for existing casinos, of course.) It's unlikely that Prop A will lead to a real increase in school revenues, since any gains would probably be offset by reduced funding from general revenue.

Proposition B

Official Ballot Title:

Shall Missouri law be amended to enable the elderly and Missourians with disabilities to continue living independently in their homes by creating the Missouri Quality Homecare Council to ensure the availability of quality home care services under the Medicaid program by recruiting, training, and stabilizing the home care workforce?

No on B. We don't need more councils. Let private industry handle it.

Proposition C

Official Ballot Title:

Shall Missouri law be amended to require investor-owned electric utilities to generate or purchase electricity from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, biomass and hydropower with the renewable energy sources equaling at least 2% of retail sales by 2011 increasing incrementally to at least 15% by 2021, including at least 2% from solar energy; and restricting to no more than 1% any rate increase to consumers for this renewable energy?

No on C. Prop C is idiotic. The "2% solar" requirement was just lifted from a similar California law where solar power is much more viable than in Missouri. Let market forces direct investment and power generation technology.

Thomas Sowell sums up Obama's ego and mouth as pithily as ever:

For someone who has actually accomplished nothing to blithely talk about taking away what has been earned by those who have accomplished something, and give it to whomever he chooses in the name of "spreading the wealth," is the kind of casual arrogance that has led to many economic catastrophes in many countries.

Obama's vacuousness and the blatant corruption of his campaign are staggering. Fortunately he's not going to win!

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is pumping John McCain to Ohioans and he's got a pretty good line:

"He has proven what kind of a man he is. We don't have to wonder if he's ready to lead. We don't have to wonder is he ready to be president of the United States. John McCain has served his country longer in a POW camp than his opponent has served in the United State Senate."

And it looks like McCain had a good day in the polls as well!

Pollster John Zogby: "Is McCain making a move? The three-day average holds steady, but McCain outpolled Obama today, 48% to 47%. He is beginning to cut into Obama's lead among independents, is now leading among blue collar voters, has strengthened his lead among investors and among men, and is walloping Obama among NASCAR voters. Joe the Plumber may get his license after all. Obama's lead among women declined, and it looks like it is occurring because McCain is solidifying the support of conservative women, which is something we saw last time McCain picked up in the polls. If McCain has a good day tomorrow, we will eliminate Obama's good day three days ago, and we could really see some tightening in this rolling average. But for now, hold on."

If McCain wins Ohio and neighboring Pennsylvania, he wins America.