Republicans Have No Plan

Republicans have no plan...

How many times in the media have you heard that or the claim that the Republican plan to close loopholes instead of increasing the tax rate on the rich is short on specifics?

They don't tell you of course that Republicans have actually given some of the details, pointing out how they want to eliminate the loopholes that allow money to be sheltered overseas or cap the maximum deductions allowed.

The left doesn't want you to know this even though it accomplishes everything they claim they want.  The "rich" would pay their "fair share" (pay more) and the government by some prediction would see higher revenue then if they just increased the tax rate.

So why are they opposing this?  Because the left knows that Buffet, Soros, Kerry, Moore etc would actually have to pay out under the Republican plan and if they simply increase the tax rates they could still shelter their money and wouldn't actually have to pay anything out.

Increasing the tax rate puts on a good show the the masses and allows the limousine liberals to make the appearance that they are sticking it to "the rich" while at the same time they aren't the ones actually paying anything out.  It isn't about paying off the debt or even getting the "fair share" out of the rich, it's about fooling enough people so Democrats can claim superiority at election times.

State Income Tax Arguments

I always find it telling when people argue or or against changes.  Listening to their arguments is a good way to understand their ideas over all, far beyond the single point they are pushing for or against.

For instance, I support legalization of most drugs even though I don't use drugs beyond Alcohol and a very rare cigar.  The argument I use to favor such a legalization is freedom.  It does me no harm if my neighbor grows a pot plant or smokes a little after work on weekends so why should I harm him by forcing men with guns into his home and arresting him if he's doing something that doesn't hurt anyone outside himself?

This brings up the question we will get to vote on on November 6th, whether or not to amend our state Constitution to permanently ban income tax.

The ballot question will read as follows:

 “Are you in favor of amending the second part of the constitution by inserting after article 5-b a new article to read as follows:

[Art.] 5-c. [Income Tax Prohibited.] Notwithstanding any general or special provision of this constitution, the general court shall not have the power or authority to impose and levy any assessment, rate, or tax upon income earned by any natural person; however, nothing in this Article shall be construed to prohibit any tax in effect on January 1, 2012, or adjustment to the rate of such a tax.

NHFPI has some interesting arguments posted HERE.  They include the following:

The current NH Constitution was ratified in 1784 and served us very well for more than two centuries. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Question 1 seeks to fix a problem that doesn’t exist. Neither the governor nor the legislature has seriously considered an income tax in years, and prior efforts to adopt an income tax were stopped over the course of the normal legislative process.

Question 1 takes options off the table and leaves New Hampshire dependent on already high property and business taxes to raise revenue.

Passage of Question 1 would tie the hands of future lawmakers, taking power away from our children and grandchildren when we don’t know what issues they will face – or how they may want to solve them.

Before diving into their arguments against the amendment I always find it best to find out who the group is that raises any argument.

NHFPI stands for the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute.  Their own website describes them as "an independent, non-partisan organization dedicated to exploring, developing, and promoting public policies that foster economic opportunity and prosperity for all New Hampshire residents, with an emphasis on low- and moderate-income families and individuals".

I find the emphasis on low and moderate incomes interesting. 

Their director is Jeff McLynch, who just happens to be a Democrat who's been involved in other Soros funded left wing groups that pushed for a state income tax.  Hmmmmmm can we expect this person to be far and balanced when evaluating whether income tax would be good for all NH residents?

In another article found HERE they describe the NHFPI as:

The New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute he runs is the New Hampshire chapter of the State Fiscal Analysis Initiative, which is a state by state project of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP).  CBPP is a left wing group that promotes the Democrat parties social and economic justice agenda through budget based think tanks and policy organizations with support from the cranky Progressives over at the Bookings Institute and deep pocketed left wing foundations like Ford, Rockefeller and George Soros’ Open Society Institute.

Fair to say this is a left wing group.

This brings us back to their arguments.  The first one is the one that makes me laugh the most.

The current NH Constitution was ratified in 1784 and served us very well for more than two centuries. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

How many times have those of us right of center heard arguments against the 2nd Amendment saying that the Constitution is a "living breathing" document?  Or that times were different back then?  Or my favorite when they just attack the founders of our Country saying they were slave owners?

The left knows they would never get a majority to support changing the 2nd amendment so in that case they argue to ignore it but now since there is a strong chance that a two third majority will support banning income tax they want to use the argument that our state Constitution served us well these 200+ years.

Question 1 seeks to fix a problem that doesn’t exist. Neither the governor nor the legislature has seriously considered an income tax in years, and prior efforts to adopt an income tax were stopped over the course of the normal legislative process.

Here their own explanation discredits the opening statement.  The claim the problem doesn't exist but then point out that there are past examples where legislators have pushed to create an income tax.

Of course since the director of this group has openly supported an income tax they wouldn't see it as a problem in the first place.

Question 1 takes options off the table and leaves New Hampshire dependent on already high property and business taxes to raise revenue.

Taking money out of your left pocket on top of your right pocket and maybe a few bucks more from your back pocket doesn't make high property taxes better, it just taxes you in more ways so you are less likely to realize how much is actually being taken from your pockets.

The problem isn't the taxation needed to raise revenue, it's the spending which requires the revenue in the first place.

Passage of Question 1 would tie the hands of future lawmakers, taking power away from our children and grandchildren when we don’t know what issues they will face – or how they may want to solve them.

Actually it doesn't take the power away from our children and grandchildren.  It does just the opposite.  It takes the power away from the government and gives it to our children and grandchildren.  If in the future they want to solve problems by taxing income they have the same power we do today to change the Constitution once again.

Lawmakers who force their will against the support of the people are the ones who take the power of the people away.

Over all it's going to be an interesting vote.  So far my favorite argument against it has to be the claim that Republicans know it will never pass but put it up as a way to incite conservatives to come out and vote against Obama.  I can't wait to hear what they'll claim if and when this passes.

NH Republicans on O'Brien

A recent survey of NH's "influential" Republicans by Red Granite found that they feel William O'Brien deserves another term as House Speaker.  The story found HERE on the Patch website states the following:

In all, 102 Republicans from New Hampshire were asked using an automated survey tool whether they think O'Brien deserves another term as Speaker.

Fifty-two responses were collected.

52 responses?

Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed agreed to some degree that O'Brien deserves another term.

Two-thirds of 52 is only 35.

Asked where they felt O'Brien has succeeded as Speaker, more than half of those who responded cited his work to help balance the budget and keep spending in check.

"Achieving fiscal sanity," said one influential Republican.

"Righting the fiscal ship," said another.

I agree with that mentality in that O'Brien turned this state around.  When Democrats took control of the House, Senate and Governorship, they went into a spending frenzy like New Hampshire had never seen and left the state in a bad situation.

Instead of sitting back and just playing the blame game like Obama has done for 3 years now, O'Brien and state Republicans did "right the fiscal ship".

That said, here are the counter views...

Others were more critical, saying his greatest success was in "abuse of power," or "Tearing apart the Republican Party."

The influential Republicans surveyed were more varied in their responses when asked about O'Brien's failures.

Many cited the Speaker's inability to "handle the press" and deal with public relations.

Republicans need to listen to this group of "influential" Republicans.

Despite how well O'Brien has done accomplishing getting NH back in the right direction fiscally and passing things like Voter ID, all that is trumped by bad public relations.

Voters don't pay close enough attention to details, past UNH polls showed that most NH voters weren't even aware that NH Democrats ran the state budget into a deficit.  But they sure can recall story after story of Lynch showing up at disaster sites in his yellow ran slicker and they can sure tell you what a nice guy Lynch is.  Does it matter that when you look at polling results on issues people continually side against the way Lynch governs?  No, because people aren't paying close enough attention.

If you stopped 20 people on the street today and asked if they know which side Lynch or O'Brien took on the more well known issues over the past 2 years I doubt many would be able to answer.

Basically how "influential" Republicans feel is a non story, it doesn't matter.  It's how the basic voter feels and as long as O'Brien can't handle public relations and Democrats have someone like Lynch who looks good in a rain slicker and is a nice guy, Republicans will have problems.

The only positive for the Republican party right now is that Democrats have the White House which carries down a lot of votes (or in this case votes against) from the top and they have Obama who is arrogant and continually sliding down the popularity polls.  ObamaCare being the largest tax increase ever in US history isn't exactly a boon for the Democratic party either.  If it wasn't for that, NH Republicans would be in serious trouble.

One More Example of Obama Harming This Country

If you were told there was a possibility to create tens of thousands of permanent jobs tomorrow would you think it's a good thing?  I certainly would.

Now what if you were told that it had bi-partisan support of both Republican and Democrats?  Sounds even better right.

What if on top of both of those if I told you it would also give the ability for us to create a product we export to other countries for profit?

And now what if I told you it would also give our country the ability to lessen our dependency on oil from the Middle East and lower our costs for fuel and heating oil?

Who in their right mind would ever say no to that?

Obama would.

The Keystone XL Project would do all of those things but ignoring his own party's support Obama instead used this as an opportunity to play politics and claim Republicans want dirty air and dirty water.

What makes matters even worse is now Canada's Priminister has stated that he will instead pursue plans to instead to sell that oil to China.

The Washington Times wrote the following in an article you can read in full HERE:

the Obama administration Wednesday rejected the proposed route for the Keystone XL oil pipeline that would provide up to 20,000 jobs on a project stretching from Canada to the Texas coast.

The pipeline, which would have been the largest infrastructure project in the country, has been a political nightmare for President Obama, with top business groups, Republican presidential candidates, the Canadian government, unions and even some of Mr. Obama’s fellow Democrats all slamming Wednesday’s rejection.

After Obama was first elected didn't we hear time and time again from Democrats that their increased spending was necessary because we needed to build up a better infrastructure in this country?  Yet here we have one of the largest ever that would bring great benefit to our country and Obama shoots it down.

“This political decision offers hard evidence that creating jobs is not a high priority for this administration,” U.S. Chamber of Commerce head Tom Donohue said. “The president’s decision sends a strong message to the business community and to investors: Keep your money on the sidelines, America is not open for business.”

Hard to argue with that.  When unemployment continues to hover close to 10% (many argue that true unemployment is well over 10%) how do you not look for ways to make a project work that will bring tens of thousands of permanent new jobs to this country?

The application has been under review by the government for three years, and Mr. Obama unsuccessfully tried to put off a final decision until after the November elections.

This quote is what worries me the most.  Obama is clearly playing politics pushing off things like this as much as he can so not to tick off too many people before his re-election but if he is re-elected and doesn't have to worry about coming off popular enough to keep independent voters on his side what more will he do?  How many other things like this that he knows will outrage voters has he been successful at pushing off under after the November elections?

Mr. Obama issued a statement Wednesday afternoon saying he agreed with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s decision to reject the project that would carry oil from tar sands in Alberta to refineries on the Gulf Coast, saying the project as proposed “would not serve the national interest.”

Really?  It would not serve the national interest?  New jobs, less dependent on Middle Eastern oil?  Our ability to refine the oil we bring in into gas which we then export for profit?

“I’m disappointed that Republicans in Congress forced this decision, but it does not change my administration’s commitment to American-made energy that creates jobs and reduces our dependence on oil.”

Ah the old green pipe dream.  Problem is our country runs on oil and there is no current alternative.  So instead of living in the here and now and moving forward with a project that would help produce jobs and lower the cost of oil he instead pushes a political agenda.

Oh and did I mention that oil is also needed for things like plastics?  By shooting this project down, Obama has approved the continued rise in the cost of oil to our nation increase costs not just of fuel and heating oil but also increases costs of every day items.  That plastic lawn chair for instance that you sit in during the summer, or the plastics that make your children's toys, the casing for your computer mouse and keyboard and so on.  This is increasing the costs of living on the poor of this country.

Don't just take my word on it, here are the statements from other Democrats on this project:

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA): “Landrieu says she’d support Keystone in payroll/ui/doc fix bill. Says ‘good deal’of D & R support for it.” (Trish Turner, Twitter, 12/15/11)

Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK): “Another sticking point is that Republicans inserted in their bill language that would fast-track the proposed Keystone X-L oil pipeline extension from Canada down to the Lower 48.  …Senator Begich is supportive of moving the project forward and his office says that’s not a problem.” (Alaska Public Radio, 12/14/11)

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND): “I personally think the pipeline is absolutely in the national interest.  It’ll help us reduce our dependence on foreign energy, at least foreign sources that are hostile to our interests… I, for one, on this side would hope that this could be part of a final package…” (Floor remarks, 12/14/11)

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO): “Well, let’s hope we can negotiate something like that… if states’ rights are being protected and if this is going to be something maybe that we can try to jumpstart the approval process, make it go more quickly.” (MSNBC, 12/14/11)

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV): “I am for the Keystone pipeline. …  everyone’s for it, it creates thousands of jobs!” (Fox News, 12/12/11)

Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT): “I am proud to again offer my support for the Keystone XL pipeline and the jobs it will create. We need a quicker decision, based on the merits of this project.” (Floor Remarks, 12/13/11)

Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC): “I’m very much for the pipeline. There is no question about that.”  (MSNBC, 12/14/11)

Rep. Dan Boren (D-OK): “I commend the Speaker for including the construction of the Keystone XL pipelinethat is supported by business and labor.” (Release, 12/12/11)

Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA): “‘I think the president’s wrong on this,’ said Cardoza, who is retiring after this Congress.  ‘He can veto whatever he wants, but those are both policies I support.’” (POLITICO, 12/7/11)

Rep. Gene Green (D-TX): “Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas) said he’s not swayed by Obama’s veiled veto pledge. … ‘The Keystone is awfully important,’ Green said.” (POLITICO, 12/8/11)

Happy 2012

Happy 2012 to everyone out there in cyber-land!

What an upcoming year we have ahead.  With this being a major election year where even the presidency up for grabs, the lumping Democrats took in 2010's elections and the fact they have nothing positive about their record to run against, Democrats are not holding back at all with their punches.  Just look at the editorials of the major NH papers, all the Democratic regulars are pushing letters out on a weekly basis attacking anything and everything they can find.  Our friends at Blue Hampshire and MoveOn.org  can't write about their parties accomplishments so they too have gone into full attack mode.

One problem the Republican party has in the upcoming year is the fact it has standards.  An example of this is the primary.  Just look at how Republicans are willing to point out the faults of others in their own party.  Democrats had a flawed candidate with very little overall experience, no foreign experience, who had ties to very questionable candidates including a known cop killer and who even launched his political career in that same cop killers own living room.  Not only did they not see fault in any of this they went on to elect that man president.

How many people recall all the hype the Democrats claimed would happen if they won in 2006 and 2008?

Since they took over the house and senate the economy has grown worse, unemployment has gotten worse, the situation in the Middle East has grown worse, the deficit spending has hit record highs... and so on.

All the things they blasted Bush for they've done worse.  Gitmo is still open, the patriot act was extended and expanded to give the government even more control to spy, we've gotten involved in additional conflicts in the Middle East, Obama's spending levels makes Bush's look responsible and so on.

Do they rail their own party for their failures?  Of course not.  Instead they focus on Mitt Romney's not bothering to campain in NH since he's leading polls for the primary by 40%.

I guess they'd rather focus on that than discuss how after Obama said Iraq's war is over that country is now slowly failing into civil unrest.  Or debating how much of other peoples things should be taken away by force and handed over to those who choose not to work (ie the occupy groups).

Sit back and enjoy all you political junkies, it's going to be a fun year!