Much like the Obama Administration: The DNC is Broke

Very interesting:

FORTUNE — There’s another budget crisis in Washington, and it’s unfolding inside the Democratic party. The Democratic National Committee remains so deeply in the hole from spending in the last election that it is struggling to pay its own vendors.
It is a highly unusual state of affairs for a national party — especially one that can deploy the President as its fundraiser-in-chief — and it speaks to the quiet but serious organizational problems the party has yet to address since the last election, obscured in part by the much messier spectacle of GOP infighting.
The Democrats’ numbers speak for themselves: Through August, 10 months after helping President Obama secure a second term, the DNC owed its various creditors a total of $18.1 million, compared to the $12.5 million cash cushion the Republican National Committee is holding.
Several executives at firms that contract to provide services to the party — speaking anonymously to avoid antagonizing what remains an important if troubled client — describe an organization playing for time as they raise alarms about past-due bills falling further behind. And senior strategists close to the DNC say they worry the organization appears to have no road map back to solvency. “They really thought they could get this money raised by the summer,” one said, “but the fact is, from talking to people over there, they have no real plan for how to solve this.”
via The Democratic National Committee is nearly broke – The Term Sheet: Fortune’s deals blogTerm Sheet.

This could be why here:

Sources close to the DNC say officials there have quietly laid the blame in part on the White House. It’s no secret that DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who also represents an area around Miami in the U.S. House, lacks strong relationships inside the administration. But it’s not even clear who at the White House should be minding the problem these days, following the exodus of President Obama’s top political brains.

Eh, serves ’em right for overreaching while they had the majority. If this Government shuts down and it does look like it is going to; the Democrats might not ever recover from it. Here is hoping that this is the case. The Republicans might end up eating it too. I mean, if you think that Government workers do not vote; think again. I have a friend, who works in the Government and right now — he is highly ticked off at both sides.

It should be interesting come 2014!

This is my problem with the current state of the GOP

In a earlier posting, I wrote some stuff in anger. Now that I have calmed down a bit. I have more to say.

Basically what I have to say is this: For all intents and purposes: I am finished with the GOP on a National level. They are not a conservative Christian party in my humble opinion anymore. If anything they are nothing more than an “Democratic Party Lite” type of a party. From this moment on, I will voting whatever third party I feel matches my own personal convictions.

It looks like the Republican Party might just end up making Ted Cruz the face of the GOP in 2016. I hope that I am wrong about this, but if I know politics like I do; the GOP will pick someone who is a reflection of their base and a reflection of current political winds. The GOP tried an establishment candidate twice before and they lost — they will not do this again. It is not that I do not like Cruz, I just believe that he wasted a good deal of time and taxpayers money grandstanding on a losing bet.

It is very strange what is happening in the GOP now. There are two factions: One faction is the Cruz faction that some call extremist. The ones that call him this are those that believe that Big Government Conservatism is a-okay; but I digress. The other faction is the old Neoconservative Big Government Conservative wing of the GOP. Both factions are entrenched and both factions are quite well funded. Both factions are working out of concert with the other.

As a result of this, Obamacare is going to get funded and we are going to get stuck with it. That is, unless the house of representatives does something and I mean something bold. However, the realist and the common sense part of me, sees this comment by President Obama and knows that he is correct:

I don’t know how I can be more clear about this: Nobody gets to threaten the full faith and credit of the United States just to extract political concessions. No one gets to hurt our economy and millions of innocent people just because there are a couple of laws that you do not like. It has not been done in the past. We’re not going to start doing it now.
I’m not going to start setting a precedent, not just for me but for future presidents, where one chamber in Congress can basically say each time there needs to be a vote to make sure Treasury pays its bills, we’re not going to sign it unless our particular hobby horse gets advanced.
Imagine if you had a Republican president and a Democratic speaker, and the Democratic speaker said, well, we’re not going to pass the debt ceiling unless we raise corporate taxes by 40 percent or unless we pass background checks on guns or whatever other list of agenda items Democrats were interested in. Does anybody actually think that we would be hearing from Republicans that that was acceptable behavior? That’s not how our constitutional system is designed. We are not going to do it.
The American people have worked too hard to recover from a bunch of crises _ several of them now, over the last couple of years, inflicted by some of the same folks in Congress that we’re talking about now _ to see extremists in Congress cause another crisis. And keep in mind, by the way _ this whole thing has to do with keeping the government open for a few months.

~~There is video of it on CSPAN, but for some reason, I could not cut it up and embed it here.~~ I guess someone at CSPAN must read my blog. Because here is that video:

That part that I bolded and underlined? The President is absolutely correct about and I hope like the devil that Ted Cruz and the Tea Party house members read this; and remember it. If they set a precedent, the Democrats will exploit it to their liking once they are in office. So, I would be really careful and really think long and hard about what they are about to do in the House.

Interesting Reading

I think everyone should go check out Erick Erickson’s piece called The Disconnect.

In it, Erick explains the huge disconnect between the GOP Establishment and the Conservative grassroots. It is a good read; and I am not saying this as a Paleo-Conservative laughing at the neoconservatives either. I found the article a very good read.

Check it out!

This is why I was not a big fan of Ted Cruz’s filibuster

The Video:

The Story:

Rep. Peter King, who has pulled no punches in criticizing Ted Cruz, said Thursday that supporters of the Texas senator have been bombarding his office with “vile” phone calls.
The New York Republican has called Cruz a fraud for his calls to defund Obamacare, and said the senator’s campaign this summer to get the House to pass a government funding bill that defunds the health care law led to some offensive phone calls to King’s office.
“The vehemence of the phone calls coming into the office. I don’t care, people can call me whatever they want … I haven’t heard such vile, profane, obscene language,” King said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Thursday.
[…]
“I’m not saying Ted Cruz is responsible for all his supporters, but he has tapped into a dark strain here in the American political psyche here, and again, the most obscene, profane stuff you can imagine all from people who say they support the Constitution,” King said. “I think what we have to do is reach out to his people and let them know that they’re following a false leader here.”
Cruz’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
via Peter King: ‘Vile’ phone calls by Ted Cruz allies – Tal Kopan – POLITICO.com.

Okay, let me get something straight here. I am not saying that I do not support Ted Cruz’s stand against Obamacare okay? I think that it is great that someone is standing against the idea of Government controlled and mandated healthcare. However, I think that what Cruz has tapped into is the far-right’s cynical attitude towards Government. We have to keep in mind, not everyone that believes in small or limited Government are God-fearing Christians and some of them; can be downright nasty.

Just as well, I believe that Peter King shares some of the blame. As the folks over at Weasel Zippers have noted, Peter King referred to Cruz as a “fraud” and this could be the reason Cruz’s supporters are calling him and cursing him out! What Peter King and the rest of the Republican establishment need to realize is this; we do not live in the 1950’s anymore. People are just not as polite as they once were, and if you are going to make statements about someone, who happens to taking a very popular stance at the moment, you should be ready to deal with the fallout.

The Next News Network interviews Lew Rockwell

I present this without commentary.

(via Next News Network’s Youtube channel)

Rep. Peter King makes good sense

I can see where he is coming from, although, I think calling Cruz a “Fraud” is a bit over the top. I especially like one part, which I will bold and underline.

What offends Mr. King is that Mr. Cruz, whose office did not respond to an e-mail message, dared other Republicans to be as pure and relentless in their opposition to the health care program as he is, even though everyone knew his tactics were doomed. It also struck Mr. King as an unprincipled attempt to change the law without consent of the voters. Losing actually means something; Mr. King himself said he had voted against the Obama health care overhaul at every opportunity, then voted to repeal it, and thinks it’s a law that ought to be undone.
“But I also believe in democracy, and I don’t mean that in a Fourth of July way,” he said. “We’ve lost on the House floor, we lost on the Senate floor, the president signed the bill, the Supreme Court held it to be constitutional, and the 2012 election was run on Obamacare as much as any issue. President Obama won.
“I still think we should try to repeal the bill. But you repeal it the same way you passed it. You get bills through both houses of Congress, and you get the president to sign it. The only way we are going to do that is by electing more Republicans and winning the presidential election.”
About two-thirds of the Republicans in the House of Representatives agree with him, Mr. King asserted: “A lot of them are intimidated by the Ted Cruz wing. There were robocalls and efforts in districts throughout the country during August against Republicans, telling them why they had to support defunding Obamacare.
“What do you accomplish? You build up this mailing list for Cruz, and a fund-raising list. And you also are going to generate primaries against people who I would consider to be good Republicans, pretty solid conservative Republicans.”
via A Republican Calls Another a ‘Fraud’ – NYTimes.com.

I believe when Representative King refers to “Democracy” he is simply referring to the political process in general. The fact is though that we are a Constitutional Republic and we have a process and by the process we should go. This filibustering is nothing more than a sideshow for the Republicans and it will also be used as a fundraiser for pressure groups. King is right, the Democrats won the election, and they passed a bill, fair and square. Now, the Republicans need to win some elections, like 2014 and 2016 and get the bill removed. Which is basically what I said right here.

Others: Weasel Zippers,

War: Democrat Doxes a Blogger

This is not good, at all.

Go read over at Lady Liberty: #ShutUppery and the Drums of #WAR

As Andrew Breitbart would say….:

Update: Okay, as I said in my comment policy. I normally don’t ask for, or allow personal information of anyone to be posted. Except, when I ask for it. I know where this personal lives. The problem is that his surname is a common one. If anyone knows what this guys age is let me know and I will post his address and phone number.

And there is a damned good reason: Back when I was still on the “skeptical left of center camp,” I did something like this here. It involved Michelle Malkin. The difference is, the information that I found on the web, was quite old. This guy here, posted the real name of a blogger, who wished to keep her identity secret. So, as far as I am concerned, turn about is fair play. Anyone that knows the age and maybe the actual address of this guy, please, feel free to turn it over to me and I will publish it. The first amendment works BOTH WAYS. He wants to play that game? I am more than willing to do it too. My name, address and telephone are a matter of public record and I have zero to hide. Can Mr. Greg Flynn say the same thing? I highly doubt it.

Update #2: I lined out the above for a reason: Lady Liberty replied to my e-mail and told me that she does not support such actions. So, I will respect her wishes. Consider yourself lucky Mr. Flynn. 😡

Something that the Republican Establishment should really read

Ace over Ace of Spades HQ has a posting titled: “Alleged Right-Leaning Thought Leaders Can’t Restrain Themselves From Picking Schoolyard Fights”

A snippet:

I think there’s one way out of this, though it will not be taken by either side, because both tribes frankly loathe each other (more than they loathe Democrats).
The Establishment — the In-Tribe — has to be less condescending with the Tea Party. When I say “condescending,” I mean this: I don’t believe the Establishment is being fully candid about their goals and beliefs because they think the crazies of the Tea Party couldn’t handle the truth.
So there is a condescending sort of “yes yes of course dear” attitude in public, whereas in private they tear their hair out about the silliness of these ruffians and scoundrels.
If the Establishment doesn’t wish to do certain things — if they think certain policies are too extreme or unwise or would cause too much genuine harm — they should do the Tea Party the honor of treating them like thinking adults and say so and explain why.
[….]
To the extent that the Tea Party and Establishment are divided over such false beliefs, Then let’s discuss them honestly so that the False Beliefs can either be dispelled or, who knows, perhaps proven true.Maybe the Establishment is wrong about some things.
On the other side of the ledger, the Tea Party could sort of tamp down on the whole Righteous Wrath thing. Even though I’ve moved from “more Establishment” to “more Tea Party” over the past year, I still find the Tea Party’s frequently self-flatteries no less objectionable than David Brooks’.
We should be arguing about what is best for the country, not Who’s Got The Best Tribe. To the extent that the one devolves into the other, we should really all try to get back on track with the important thing.

Excellent post. I suggest everyone who reads here, go take a look.

Republican Anarchy eh? Hell Yes!

I love it:

The House was scheduled to vote yesterday on a continuing resolution, which is a measure to not shut down the government. Ultraconservatives have been demanding that the House refuse to continue funding the government unless President Obama agrees to defund Obamacare. House leaders have pleaded that this approach is doomed. Instead they came up with a plan to keep the government open, attached to a separate bill defunding Obamacare. Or, as Senator Mike Lee succinctly and correctly explains, “It is not a plan to defund Obamacare — it’s a plan to facilitate the passage of a CR [continuing resolution] in a way that allows people to claim that they’re defunding Obamacare without actually doing so.”
But some ultraconservatives still want to go with the defund-Obamcare-or-shut-down-the-government plan, as opposed to the pretend-to-defund- Obamcare-or-shut-down-the-government plan. It only takes about seventeen of them to defect to dent the Republicans majority, which gives a tiny fringe enormous power. What does the vote delay mean?
via House Republican Anarchy Update — Daily Intelligencer.

Anarchy!

My new theme song, and it should be the guys in the house:

It’s about damned time those bastards in the house grew a pair! 😀

Others: Politico, Salon, BuzzFeed, Wonkblog, The Plum Line, National Review and Balloon Juice, Michelle Malkin, Politico, The Raw Story and Weasel Zippers

On Putin’s Op Ed in NYT

It’s nothing more than soviet communism:

My working and personal relationship with President Obama is marked by growing trust. I appreciate this. I carefully studied his address to the nation on Tuesday. And I would rather disagree with a case he made on American exceptionalism, stating that the United States’ policy is “what makes America different. It’s what makes us exceptional.” It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation. There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy. Their policies differ, too. We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal.
via What Putin Has to Say to Americans About Syria – NYTimes.com.

It is classic soviet communism to say that there should be no difference between anyone; everyone should have the same, no rich, no poor — everyone the same. That is one the classic tenets of soviet communism.
It is gross distortion of the Bible as well. The Bible says that “God is no respecter of persons.” What it does not say, is that we should all be of one class. God never promised any sort of wealth in the Bible at all.

Again, Putin is trying and it seems to making a mockery of Obama, and quite honestly, it is quite deserved. You simply do not draw a line in the sand and then try to erase it, because it makes you look weak.

I never thought I would ever see the say, when an American President was made sport of, by a soviet-era crypto-communist. It is a sad thing to behold.

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