Election 2012 - Republicans Have Choices, Democrats Are Stuck

The media have all but announced Obama reelected. Not for any Obama accomplishments. In fact, the media are getting pretty good now at chronicling his lack thereof:

• Obamacare is despised. Every Democrat-supporting group with any political pull - which pretty much is all groups that support Democrats - is getting waivers from Obamacare.
• War in Libya without Congressional approval under the War Powers Act, while continuing in Afghanistan and Iraq.
• Guantanamo still open, terrorists to be tried there by military tribunals.
• Extended Bush tax cuts.
• Reauthorized Patriot Act.
• Set records for deporting illegal aliens.
• Upset Israel and offended Jews with his ham-handed remarks about returning to 1967 borders, then alienated Muslims by trying to explain he didn't really mean what he said.

No, the media are conceding victory to Obama because they deem the Republican field of candidates weak.

If memory serves, the media said the same prior to Jimmy Carter standing for reelection. President Reagan defeated Jimmy easily. And for George H. W. Bush - the only real opposition were Republicans Perot and Buchanan, which let Bill Clinton slip right in. When Clinton ran for reelection he was so unpopular following the Hillarycare debacle and Republican takeover of Congress in 1994 that Republicans were sure any Republican could beat him, and ran the only one who couldn't.

But the Republican field is not weak. As Ramesh Ponnuru notes, the top Republican candidates all have extensive executive experience as governors. He contrasts this to the zero years of executive experience of the three Democrats in 2008, Obama, Hillary, and Edwards. Based on their records the past three years, none of them have improved their positions, although Hillary is looking much better to Democrats in comparisons to Obama.

Two things are obvious concerning Election 2012: Republicans will dominate election coverages, and from this crucible a powerful candidate will emerge stronger and sharper from enduring the white-hot forge of competition.

Enough mixing of blacksmithing metaphors.

But isn't that what competition achieves?

The good become better, and the best become unbeatable.

Rendition Worked!

Rendition worked! Water boarding in a secret overseas prison led to Osama Bin Laden’s last trip: a slide down a different sort of board into a watery grave. Thanks, President Bush. Mission accomplished.

“Trickle-Down” Government Spending

Democrats, vociferous opponents and critics of “trickle-down” economics when it came to businesses growing the economy by expanding and hiring more workers (and paying more taxes), are now its strongest supporters when it comes to expanding government and hiring more government workers (by borrowing and spending more).

Why the change? In one word, “control.” In two words, “government control.” Want three words? “Democrat political control.”

The Democrats see the financial crisis as a golden opportunity to increase their share of citizens dependent on government. Over half our citizens pay little (usually none) of total income taxes. Now Democrats promise to pay them more, and tax them even less.

Question. How can you tax someone even less when they don’t pay any income taxes? Answer. By paying them a tax credit, even when they haven’t paid any taxes.

Democrats also are taking advantage by increasing the total of government workers, who are overwhelmingly supporters of Democrats, plus strengthening other Democrat stalwarts, the public employees unions.

All is not rosy for Democrats. Some discouraging words were heard from an unlikely source, the Congressional Budget Office, usually a Democrat lap dog.

The Democratic plan took a hit when the Congressional Budget Office estimated that only 7 percent of infrastructure money would make its way into the economy by the end of the year, and only 38 percent would be spent by the end of the 2010 fiscal year. Obama's new White House budget director, Peter Orszag, disputed the findings, saying 75 percent of the money would be spent by fiscal 2010.

Democrats were united in deriding President Bush’s stimulus package of tax refunds, $600 to individuals and $1,200 to married couples. Now it’s déjà vu all over again.

Other parts of the package, including the tax cuts and the direct aid to states, would be injected more quickly into the economy. The bill would offer a payroll tax cut of $500 to individuals who earn less than $75,000 a year, and a $1,000 credit to married couples who earn less than $150,000 a year.

Democrats expect it will be easy to pass their bill in the House and Senate, with at most the support of one or two Republican Senators.

So be it. The stimulus bill will wear an all-Democrat label.

Let the chips fall where they may.