CBS Wants Some of That Action
CBS News seems to be a little jealous of all the free press (and ratings gold mine) that Fox News has garnered lately from taking on the White House that they too are starting to ask a few questions. of the Obama Administration.
Hopefully, what is good for ratings will be good for the country… You know, doing their job.
Good find Instanpundit!
Our choice to go silently in the night
Charles Krauthammer has a great piece on whether we as a people choose to decline…
Moral High Ground
Will taking the moral high ground allow us to win the House, Senate and ultimately the White House? For sake of argument, lets say the Republicans take the mantle of fiscal conservatism and individual freedoms. As the Democrats attack and simply lie about their policies and their impacts on our society, should we respond in kind?
Should we shout, lie, slander and attack those that disagree with us? Will winning be worth the cost?
Democrats ruthlessly attacked and slander President Bush (43), and rarely did Republicans come to his defense. 43 wasn’t the best of presidents, but he certainly wasn’t Hitler, a mass murderer, an idiot, or any thousands of things we was called. This set the national tone and the argument. By not responding in kind did Republicans lose all that they had gained?
Who Owns the Gay Vote
I had an interesting conversation with a close friend of mine yesterday. She has been a good friends since our Junior High School. As a small business-person, she is facing ever increasing pressures from taxes and regulations.
These are close to debilitating to her business.
During the course of the conversation, she mentioned her dissatisfaction with the Democrats for three reasons: their approach to taxes, regulatory proposals, and their not moving on gay rights issues. She was also quite adamant that many within the Gay community agree with her.
Is there a potential partnership between Gay Rights and Libertarian groups? If so, what are the next steps to exploring how we might work together and welcome each other into the fold?
Do the Democrats “own” the gay vote? It would seem that they are representing less and less of them every day. The question is, are the Republicans ready to support their needs and views?
Even more likely is that this group may become a large independent swing block of votes. If 10% of Americans are Gay and a quarter to a half of them are conservative in their fiscal leanings, then that could be a game changer.
Next Steps for Libertarians
With any type of fiscal conservative out of power at the Federal level, what are the chances that a Libertarian approach will ever have an impact on Federal policies? If there is a chance, what is the best way to go about it?
It seems unlikely that a Libertarian candidate will win the White House anytime soon, and just as long till there is a Libertarian majority in either the House or Senate.
That being said, what are we to do? The only option open to us is to identify both Republicans and Democrats who tend toward Libertarian ideals of fiscal conservatism and social liberalism. In order to affect change in this country, it seems we must work within the halls of power.
Building a viable movement will take time and money. There is a much more cost effective path to having an impact, which is to influence current members of the House and Senate as well as potential candidates at the local levels.
Lack of Info
The CBO scores the Baucus Bill and doesn’t have all the info…
It is Good To Be the King
If Obama’s awesomeness doesn’t carry the day, it is simply because he is TOO AWESOME.
We Are in the Best of Hands
So, with the advent of a functional democracy in Iraq they are just as frustrated with their leaders as we are. Is that the future of democracy worldwide?
On Health Care Reform
Interesting insights into the Democrat’s goals with health care reform from the Humble Libertarian:
He affirms that this is what an educated, honorable, realistic, democracy should support:
- Younger people should pay more
- Healthier people should pay more
- Older people should just die- they’re “too expensive”
- There should be “less innovation” in medical technology
- You should not expect to live longer than your parents.
Robert Reich is simply dead wrong. The Democrat’s approach to supposed health care reform is old school and old thinking. Real reform would hinge upon:
- Open up coverage across state lines for insurnace providers.
There simply isn’t a good reason that providers are limited and blocked from crossing state lines. If insurance is predicated on a large coverage pool to help cover individuals that do need it, then why would you limit the size of the pool of people? - Set clear criteria for malpractice suits.
We should not limit the amounts of suits, but instead crack down on fraudulent suits directly. - Clarity into pricing
Consumers need to know what they are paying for and how much it costs. I recently had a minor surgery and couldn’t get a clear answer from anyone about how much the procedure was going to cost. - Focus on innovation and quality of life
We should NEVER lose our focus on improving therapies and treatments. The longer that people are alive and well, the more productive they are.
The goal of having more people have less access to health care is simply wrong and Robert Reich and others who think like him should be ignored completely.