Where are the rhetorical rock stars in the debt ceiling debate?

Freshman Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) was on the Rush Limbaugh show yesterday to discuss the looming debt ceiling "crisis" and the monstrous federal deficit.  Hands down, the 40-year-old junior senator from Miami possesses the best rhetorical skills in the senate.  Whether on social or fiscal issues, Senator Rubio articulates conservative values eloquently, yet without the high-pitched rancor that others bring to the conversation.  Here are some excerpts from his conversation with Rush yesterday [emphasis added]:

SENATOR RUBIO: "The debt limit is a symptom. It's not our problem. The core problem is our debt and the fact that our government borrows 40¢ out of every dollar and has no idea how it's gonna pay it back...

"...[I]nstead, we've got this President's obsession with raising taxes -- and what bothers me the most about it is not just that it will kill jobs and is bad for our economy. What bothers me the most is there isn't a single tax package out there that's reasonable and realistic that would even put a dent on this debt crisis. I mean, people have no idea what you'd have to raise in taxes in this country to just to begin to make a difference. Of course you never can raise it to that level because you won't be able to collect them because, you know, people aren't dumb enough to work for free. I mean, if you're gonna tax all their money they're not gonna keep working. So these are the things I just don't get and I wish we had done a better job earlier of outlining these choices to the American people..."

"...By every measure that you can measure a president by, things have gotten worse, and significantly worse, and that's what he has to be measured by, and part of it I think is a flawed ideology. His view of government and the people in his administration is a flawed view that takes us away from the things that have made America exceptional and part of it is, quite frankly, incompetence. I honestly believe, and I don't say this with any disrespect, I really don't know him, I have nothing personal against him but I honestly think there's a lack of competence in terms of being able to do the job and the ability to lead on some of these critical issues and the result is being paid by, you know, millions of Americans who can't find a job or are working twice as hard to make half as much, who see their country being bankrupted and no serious solutions being offered..."

"...But let me tell you one thing, Rush, that no one said yet or maybe they have, the fact that payments on Social Security and Medicare may stop is a stinging indictment and a wake-up call. What Americans should realize, "Hold on a second, my Social Security check and my Medicare benefits are borrowed? The money that you're using to pay for my Social Security are borrowed? I thought I paid into a trust fund. I thought I worked my whole life to pay into some system and now you're paying my money back and you're claiming that the money is being borrowed?" That's what they're basically conceding when they're saying this."

RUSH: Yeah. You know, that's exactly right. We always thought Social Security was in a lockbox.

SENATOR RUBIO: "Well, maybe a Chinese lockbox because that's what we're borrowing the money from. The point is if that comes to pass or he's threatening to do that, then the wake-up call and the message to Americans is, hey, your Social Security benefits, your Medicare benefits, what we're paying soldiers in the field, all these things that are being cut off, this is borrowed money. This is not money we have or money we saved for you. This is money we are borrowing from your children and your grandchildren, and we have no way of paying it back, and that alone should send a chill up the spine of millions of Americans."

I don't pretend to know the inner workings of the Congress - how someone like Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) maneuvers his way into the position of Speaker of the House and how someone like Sen. Mitch McConnel (R-KY), who seems to some observers to be weak and  ineffective, gets to be the senate minority leader.  I do know that when I hear Sen. McConnell trying to defend the GOP position on the debt ceiling debate I cringe and know that the battle is mostly lost.  And when I see Rep. Boehner trudging to the microphone looking like he's walking The Green Mile,  I wonder if he's going to burst into to tears, out of sheer despondence over the plight of social security beneficiaries whose checks will surely bounce if he doesn't make a deal with Obama. 


Neither of these leaders has the rhetorical skills needed to win this debate that is playing out before the eyes of the American people.  It brings to mind the Nixon/Kennedy debate, where Nixon "lost" in the court of public opinion because he hadn't mastered the art of television. 

So now again, the GOP is sending the Spirit of Nixon to the plate to fight for the economic survival of our very Republic.  Day after day, as McConnell drags himself to the floor of the senate and gives speeches that no one listens to and as Boehner tries (rather unconvincingly)  to convince us he's "in it to win it," we're plunging further into this economic suicide pact.  


Meanwhile, we have rhetorical rock stars in the House and Senate who can go toe to toe with Obama and win this battle of ideas.  Sen. Marco Rubio. Sen. Rand Paul.  Rep. Paul Ryan. Rep. Allen West.   Of course, most of us know in our hearts they're not on the same page as Boehner and the GOP establishment.  They stand with the American people who are tired of these backroom deals and fantasy bookkeeping tactics.   Which is why Boehner, et al cannot afford to hand them the microphone and give them a voice in this debate.  

Cut, Cap, and Balance

Senator Jim DeMint was on Hannity tonight promoting a new website - a movement, really - called  Cut, Cap, Balance Pledge.  It's a bold plan to set us back on the road to fiscal responsibility:

"We believe that the “Cut, Cap, Balance” plan for substantial spending cuts in FY 2012, a statutory spending cap, and Congressional passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution is the minimum necessary precondition to raising the debt limit. The ultimate goal is to get us back to a point where increases in the debt limit are no longer necessary."

The group hopes to make this the focus of a national debate during next year's election cycle.  It is asking legislators, candidates and ordinary citizens to take the pledge:

1. Cut - Substantial cuts in spending that will reduce the deficit next year and thereafter.
2. Cap - Enforceable spending caps that will put federal spending on a path to a balanced budget.
3. Balance - Congressional passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution -- but only if it includes both a spending limitation and a super-majority for raising taxes, in addition to balancing revenues and expenses.

So far three presidential candidates have signed on - Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty and Herman Cain,  as well as 15 House members and 11 Senators. [UPDATE: Rick Santorum has also signed]  I hope in the coming days that I will see Rep. Jim Renacci from my district and Ohio Senator Rob Portman added to the list.  Both campaigned as fiscal conservatives and stressed the need to cut federal spending.  Time to walk the talk, gentlemen. 

Also notable is the list of 2012 Congressional candidates.  On the U.S. Senate list we find both Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel and former OH State Senator Kevin Coughlin.  So....I guess it's official that Mandel is running for the Senate?  He's been evasive when questioned about it, but all signs have pointed to him running.  This is just one more indication that he's in.  That he's boldly jumping in with DeMint, Marco Rubio, and Rand Paul at the outset of the race gives us an indication of how he might position himself as a candidate and if elected,  with whom he might align himself.  This is a GOOD development!  After years of suffering through Sherrod Brown, Ohio could use a Marco Rubio-style senator of our own, couldn't we?  

Let's be honest here.  A balanced budget amendment is a long shot.  Amending the Constitution is a very difficult process by design.  Either two-thirds of both houses of Congress or two-thirds of the state legislatures must propose the amendment.  Then, three-fourths of the state legislatures must approve it.  But the 26th amendment, which gave 18-year-olds the right to vote,  only took four months, so it's not an impossible task.

And the first two parts of the pledge - cut and cap - are within reach if the Republicans will hold the line and stand on the promises they made when they were elected in 2010.

Take a few minutes to check out the website.  If your senator or representative has not signed on,  call, send an e-mail or Facebook message or tweet them.  It only takes a minute and a few dozen calls and messages can make a huge difference.  Also, share the website with all your Facebook and Twitter friends.

March 17, 2011

Mandle Company - Candles for Men: 
Looking for a gift for the man in your life? This family-owned company in Michigan makes handmade "candles on testosterone." 

"No matter how strange it may be, every man has a favorite smell. So take a look around and chances are, we have what you’re looking for from football candles to down and dirty candles."

Scents include bacon, auto shop, grass, gunpowder, meat and potatoes, rawhide, and wood shop.  Don't see a scent you like?  You can suggest a stench! 


I saw the video below a while back and I'm pretty sure it's not associated with the Mandle Company.  But I wonder if this is where they got the idea?  

Now on to some more serious matters...

Chuck Schumer to John Boehner: Ditch Tea Party  
The Daily Caller

“Speaker Boehner wouldn’t have been able to pass this short-term measure without Democratic votes, and he won’t be able to pass a long-term one without Democratic votes either,” Schumer said in a statement. “It’s time for him to abandon the Tea Party, and forge a bipartisan compromise.”

"Fifty-four House Republicans, many of them Tea Party-backed freshman, voted against a stopgap measure Tuesday that would fund the government for three weeks while the parties negotiate a long-term deal. The proposal included $6 billion in cuts, but did not touch funding for the health care law and other programs that some in the caucus said needed to be included to get their approval.

"...Schumer said Monday that Boehner “should consider leaving the Tea Party behind” because they “are unwilling to accept anything short of the extreme cuts in the House budget, even if it risks a shutdown."

Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan, Chairman of the Republican Study Committee, explained his decision to vote against the three week Continuing Resolution:

“Americans sent us here to deal with big problems in bold ways.  We’re borrowing billions of dollars a day, yet Senate Democrats have done little more than wring their hands for the last month.  With the federal government facing record deficits and a mammoth debt hanging over our economy and our future, we must do more than cut spending in bite-sized pieces.

“Democrats control both the Senate and the White House, and it’s time they stopped dithering.  We need swift action to deal with spending for the rest of this year.  We need to stop sending taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood, and we need to defund ObamaCare.  And we need to start tackling next year’s budget, the debt-ceiling, and other challenges standing in the way of job creation.  We've made some solid first downs on spending.  Now it's time to look to the end zone.”

Freshman Congressman Marco Rubio was even more direct in a RedState editorial:

"All this has led to a very predictable outcome: Washington politicians of both parties scrambling to put together two and three week plans to keep funding the government, while not fundamentally changing the behavior that has gotten us into this mess to begin with. 

Running our government on the fumes of borrowed spending is unacceptable, short-sighted and dangerous. I commend the efforts of House and Senate Republican leaders to deal with this, but I did not come to the U.S. Senate to be part of some absurd political theatre. 

I will no longer support short-term budget plans. While attempts at new spending reductions are commendable, we simply can no longer afford to nickel-and-dime our way out of the dangerous debt America has amassed. It is time our leaders in Washington wake up and realize that we are headed for a debt disaster."

John McCain s daughter wants Romney—not Palin—for president
The Marietta Daily Journal

"'My personal favorite right now is Mitt Romney,' she said. 'I like that he's not so radical. I like that he has really, really played his cards right, almost perfectly since the last election.'"

 As if I needed another reason not to vote for Romney!  Miss Meghan has made herself semi-famous by bashing conservatives, including Sarah Palin, on Twitter and in her book, "Dirty, Sexy Politics," in which she tries to make the case that social conservatism is a political dinosaur that must be retired if the Republicans are ever to win anything again. 

"Criminal justice major Deanna Pucci, 20, of Woodstock, is also a fan. "I absolutely love her," Pucci said. "I'm not really that much into politics, and I follow her on Twitter a lot, but she's just so funny and down to earth, and I think she's a good role model for younger generations.'"

An endorsement by Ms. McCain, a social liberal, will do nothing to convince conservatives that Romney shares their values. But maybe he'll be able to rouse some of the uninformed, 20-something celebrity stalkers, who are notorious non-voters.

2 ex-top Oakland County Dems arraigned in tea party ballot flap
Detroit Free Press
Two top Democrats from Michigan were indicted for getting "fake' Tea Party candidates on the ballot last fall:

“A scheme was devised by a party leader in Lansing to put people on the ballot on the Tea Party ticket,” Bouchard said. “It may not be ethical, but it’s not illegal. But some folks were placed on the ballot without their knowledge and that’s the criminal side.”

The indictment alleges that the two tried to put two county commissioner candidates and a state  senate candidate on the ballot without their knowledge by forging signatures and notarized documents.  Ultimately, the plot was discovered and the Michigan Supreme Court blocked the candidates from appearing on the ballot.  If convicted on the forgery charges, they could face 14 years in prison.  Is anyone else shocked that it's not illegal to put people on the ballot using a fake party affiliation?  


Concerned With Muslims, Gay Activists Cancel Parade in England 
Greg Gutfeld, Big Hollywood

 "So over in England (a country), some gay activists want to cancel a gay pride parade because it will cause “community tension,” between gays and Muslims.The march was a response to anti-gay stickers placed around town, but some worry this event could hurt Muslim feelings. 

Here’s part of a letter from a group of concerned types, who claim the march will “oppress other marginalized groups.”

“We want both homophobia and Islamophobia addressed as a collective problem and not feed one against the other, we do not recognise these as distinct categories.

"So, let’s rewind: homophobia and Islamophobia are the same thing. 

Okay..I gotta ask: do you think they would also group homophobia and anti-Christian attacks as one and the same? Do they see crude jokes aimed at Mormons as no different than anti-gay jokes? 

No way. So why are they embracing Muslims as marginalized brethren – and not others? 

Well, for one, it’s HARDER to protest around people who “really” hate you.So better to stay out of Islam’s way, and target the gentler dissenters, like white pudgy Christians – the people who remind you of dad, and don’t want you dead.And so here we have fear, masked as tolerance, forcing gays into contortions even circus performers wouldn’t try. 

I mean, how can the gay left defend a religion whose practitioners want gays punished? They’re joining hands with folks who, in other more extreme lands, might cut off theirs..."

Baptist Press - In Japan: Baptists struggle to reach disaster zone:
I've read a lot of accounts of the disaster in Japan,  but for some reason, I have not seen many reports of what it's actually like in the midst of the worst hit areas.  Baptist Press shares the accounts of Baptist missionaries and relief workers:

 "Across the upper half of Japan, life is either in tatters or at a standstill. With some roads impassable and fuel almost nonexistent in the north, relief and rescue workers have struggled to reach the areas where they are needed most... 

"Some 70,000 people had already been evacuated from a 12-mile radius; about 140,000 remain in the new 30-mile warning zone, according to news reports. More than 500,000 people have been made homeless by the quake and tsunami. Many endured snow and freezing temperatures Wednesday, as government supplies began to reach the worst affected areas... 

"A four-member team from the Japan Baptist Convention and Japanese Baptist Union was forced to turn around when they tried to enter the disaster zone to check on the 21 churches affiliated with the two entities. Special government permits are needed to travel the expressway and to enter disaster zones. Another main route to the earthquake- and tsunami-affected areas goes through radiation evacuation zones. Back roads are open, but fuel is scarce so traveling long distances is almost impossible...

"We went for search and rescue, but quickly realized the Japanese government had that under control,' Frazier said. The government has deployed 100,000 troops to lead the aid effort. 'So, we drove around evaluating the damage and found an evacuation center... 

"Around 400 people had taken refuge in the center. Frazier said there was no electricity or gas in the area. When the Rescue 24 team arrived, the evacuation center was low on food... 

"All they had was a half of a box of bananas and a half of a box of oranges for 400 people,' Frazier said... 

"The Baptist team went from store to store, trying to find food to help. Frazier said the line just to get into the local 7-Eleven store numbered around 200. They finally came across a truck unloading groceries at the back of a store and convinced them to sell more than the 'rationing' amount so they could feed the 400 people... 

"'We stuffed our van with as much food as it would hold,' Frazier said.
"Survivors in the shelters in the earthquake and tsunami areas said they are short of food and water, according to news reports. The Japanese army is using helicopters to bring in basic supplies. With the country's power supply depleted by the damaged nuclear plants, many shelters have no heat. Frazier concurred that the ongoing nuclear crisis makes it hard to get much aid or relief work done at the moment."

Pray for the Japanese people and for aid workers and missionaries who are facing brutally cold temperatures on top of the other unthinkable circumstances in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami.