Morning Briefing for June 10, 2009
1. Joe Biden on Judge Sotomayor: She’ll keep the streets clean
If you are not embarrassed, you have not been paying attention.
2. A Stroll Down Memory Lane
Larry Summers told us things would be better by now.
3. Barry’s Jesus talk
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23, NIV)
4. Guantanamo Bay detainee transferred to New York
Now we know where Obama will put the terrorists
5. The PayGo Bait and Switch
Democrats’ ‘Deficit Control’ Measure Increases Debt by $2.5 Trillion
6. June’s Rasmussen trust numbers versus May’s.
More of the same.
7. Not So Wise
The Administration’s botched handling of the Sotomayor nomination presents an opportunity for Republicans.
8. RIP Private William Long
Monday, June 8th was the day Pvt. William Long was to ship out for his first duty station in Korea.
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1. Joe Biden on Judge Sotomayor: She’ll keep the streets clean
If you are not embarrassed, you have not been paying attention.
This is just ridiculous. Funny, but ridiculous.
Joe Biden today told law enforcement officials that Judge Sotomayor “gets what it takes to keep our communities safe and our streets clean.”
Joe, she is not applying to be either a policeman or janitor.
Click Here for More and a link to the video/audio.
2. A Stroll Down Memory Lane
Larry Summers told us things would be better by now.
With the federal deficit spiraling out of control, with unemployment approaching 10 percent, and with confidence in the Obama economic plan waning, it might be useful to go back and look at what team Obama promised if the porkulus passed.
Said Larry Summers, “Some of the adjustments can take place almost immediately as people see more income in their paychecks, as state and local governments will get support so that they can prevent layoffs of teachers, policemen, other essential personnel. And there are a ton of shovel-ready projects that are out there that are being canceled right now that are not going to be canceled when this program passes. All told, there’s enough here that Christina Romer, the President’s chief economic advisor, has estimated that he’ll create between three and four million jobs…”
To be sure, Obama did not promise a rose garden. He (through Summers) anticipated things would get worse before they got better. But Summers promised some instant relief. Instead, scarce few ’stimulus’ dollars have been spent in support of infrastructure jobs. And the best the administration now can offer is a vague claim that the economy is not getting worse as quickly as it was before.
Barring a miracle, unemployment will soon surpass 10 percent. So either Summers and the Obama team had no clue how to ‘fix’ the economy, or had actually crafted a plan that would make it worse. The fact that unemployment is so clearly and dramatically at odds with Obama’s projection forces one conclusion or the other. Are they incompetent, or are they committing malpractice?
3. Barry’s Jesus talk
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23, NIV)
For several years now the Democrats have sought to overcome the GOP’s advantage with Christian voters. But their attempts to use “Jesus talk” have not been taken seriously by Christian conservatives, as their policies have largely flown in the face of their words. There are some on the so-called “Christian Left” who have taken up with the Democrats, much like they have accused Christian conservatives of being beholden to the GOP. In the 2008 Presidential election, however, the results were as they have been for quite some time: the evangelical Christian vote went to the GOP.
But now it appears that President Obama has taken a new approach to trying to win over the Christians – use the word “Jesus” a lot. According to a new article by the Politico’s Eamon Javers, Obama has used the word “Jesus” more often than even President George W. Bush.
As implied by my highlight, I tend to agree with Perkins’ assessment of Obama’s words being a facade to cloak his anti-Christian policies.
Much of the Politico piece documents Obama’s involvement in faith-based issues, such as meetings with the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and how “religious leaders meet with White House policymakers on a regular basis — and help to shape decisions on matters large and small.”
But hey – what happened to the howls of “THEOCRACY!” from the Left? Are meetings with religious leaders to shape policy no longer an issue? Is talk of Christianity no longer an issue when it emanates from the President? Why is the Left not questioning Obama’s Christian credentials the way they did Bush’s? Perhaps the new term for the Obama administration should be “Theobamacracy” .
4. Guantanamo Bay detainee transferred to New York
Now we know where Obama will put the terrorists
So it begins. The Obama administration has made its first transfer of a detainee at the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to United States soil.
Ahmed Ghailani, arrived in New York early Tuesday to be tried in federal court in lower Manhattan for his role in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed more than 224 people.
Ghailani’s transfer to New York trial is an important first step in the implementation President Obama’s decision to close the terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay even though we still haven’t been told where Obama will put the terrorists when he closes GITMO.
According to military prosecutors, after the August 7, 1998, bombings of U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Ghailani worked for Al Qaeda as a document forger, trainer at a terror camp and bodyguard to bin Laden, according to military prosecutors. He was categorized as a high-value detainee by U.S. authorities after he was captured in Pakistan in 2004 and was transferred to the detention center at the U.S. naval base in Cuba two years later.
Obama brings this Guantanamo detainee to the United State, despite the fact that by a better than 2-to-1 margin, Americans oppose closing the Guantanamo Bay terrorist detention facility and moving some of those prisoners to the United States.
5. The PayGo Bait and Switch
Democrats’ ‘Deficit Control’ Measure Increases Debt by $2.5 Trillion
Today is a big day for the Blue Dog Democrats. They’ve spent the first 6 months of this administration supine, voting for whatever spending Barry Obama and Nancy Pelosi told them to. As a result, the federal deficit is approaching $2 trillion – with nothing to show for it. All along, Barry Obama has paid lip service to the Congressional budget rule known as PayGo. Today, with much fanfare, Obama called for PayGo to be enshrined into law. You might cynically point out that it has been a rule in the House since the Democrats retook Congress in 2006, and ask why you should expect it to lead to smaller deficits once it is a law.
You would be right to ask the question. But beyond that, you ought to note that PayGo doesn’t even apply to one major category of spending: discretionary spending. It applies only to direct spending (ie, entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare). And Obama has also specifically asked for 4 exceptions to the rule. As a result, the new ‘PayGo’ has more holes in it than swiss cheese.
6. June’s Rasmussen trust numbers versus May’s.
More of the same.
So, last month I posted Rasmussen’s report that the Republicans were back to being trusted more than Democrats on four critical topics, and trusted more and/or tied on five. It got a surprising amount of play, given that I hadn’t really thought all that much about it when I wrote it. Besides, it was one month, compared to a very, very, very bad month for Republicans; the numbers could very easily shift by the next month.
| Jun-09 | May-09 | ||||||
| Issue | Democrats | GOP | Diff | Democrats | GOP | Diff | Shift |
| Health Care | 47% | 37% | 10 | 53% | 35% | 18 | 8 |
| Education | 44% | 37% | 7 | 49% | 36% | 13 | 6 |
| Social Security | 43% | 37% | 6 | 48% | 39% | 9 | 3 |
| Abortion | 41% | 41% | - | 41% | 41% | - | - |
| Economy | 39% | 45% | (6) | 44% | 43% | 1 | 7 |
| Taxes | 39% | 44% | (5) | 41% | 47% | (6) | (1) |
| Iraq | 37% | 45% | (8) | 41% | 43% | (2) | 6 |
| Nat’l Security | 36% | 51% | (15) | 41% | 48% | (7) | 8 |
| Gov’t Ethics | 29% | 35% | (6) | 40% | 29% | 11 | 17 |
| Immigration | 29% | 43% | (14) | 36% | 37% | (1) | 13 |
Numbers in red represent a shift in the GOP’s favor; numbers in blue, the Democrats. As is immediately obvious, the Republican Party is now trusted more on six out of ten (tied in one more), including the most critical one of the economy. Also note that the GOP has had a net shift in its favor in eight of the ten categories. In no category did the Democrats improve on their trust levels in May, and in nine of ten, they dropped; the GOP increased their trust ratings in seven of ten. Most gratifyingly, the Government Ethics category (which is the most volatile, from what I’ve seen so far) is currently pegged at something approaching objective reality.
7. Not So Wise
The Administration’s botched handling of the Sotomayor nomination presents an opportunity for Republicans.
More trouble for Sotomayor has come to light recently as a result of her filing an incomplete Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire. The White House boasted that Sotomayor turned in her questionnaire, “faster than any nominee in modern history,” just nine days since her nomination. She may have wanted to hold onto it a bit longer.
Sotomayor did not mention memorandum she signed as a member of a Puerto Rico Legal Defense Fund task force on the reinstatement of the death penalty in New York State in 1981. In the memo, the group argues that the death penalty, “…is associated with evident racism in our society.” Sotomayor, signature on the document is another indication of her apparently incessant and ingrained tendency to see race and ethnicity first, and facts second.
Both the additional speeches and the omission of the memo underscore the decidedly unwise manner in which the Obama Administration, and Sotomayor herself, have handled the nomination, the nominee’s characterization of herself notwithstanding. Whether the Administration did not anticipate the level of scrutiny that would be visited on its first Supreme Court nomination, or whether it is simply trying to rush the nomination through before all the facts can be ascertained is not known. But questions about what the Administration knew and when about the speeches and the memo are now bound to be a feature of her confirmation hearing. As are other as yet undiscovered controversies in Sotomayor’s professional career.
With 59 Senators and a high personal approval rating, President Obama should have been able to drive Sotomayor’s nomination through the Senate with little or no question. However, the Administration’s ham-handed attempts at crisis management, and it’s juvenile pursuit of some superfluous record has brought greater scrutiny on Sotomayor than otherwise may have been expected. This has provided Republicans with an opportunity to define Sotomayor and President Obama at the confirmation hearings. They should take full advantage of the Obama Administration’s missteps, and Sotomayor’s omission, to give her a thorough examination.
8. RIP Private William Long
Monday, June 8th was the day Pvt. William Long was to ship out for his first duty station in Korea.
Monday, June 8th was the day Pvt. William Long was to ship out for his first duty station in Korea. Instead his journey ended at Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery, there buried with full military honors. He was 23 years old. He was a son and brother. He was a soldier.
Last week, Pvt. Long was killed in the line of duty, in service to his country. Outside the recruiting station where he was serving temporary duty in the Hometown Recruiter’s Assistance Program, Long and Pvt. Quinton I. Ezeagwula were attacked in a craven act of terrorism. Long is the first military member killed by Islamic terror on our shores since September 11th.
Pvt. Long’s funeral was held at Harlan Park Baptist Church in Conway, Arkansas. The service was private, attended by 200 or so family, friends, and fellow military members and veterans. Outside the church the Patriot Guard Riders lined the streets with motorcyles and flags, acting as a barrier between the service and would-be protesters. Gov. Mike Beebe and Rep. Vic Snyder were in attendance. Flags across the state were at half-mast.
Pvt. Long’s brother, Pfc. Triston Long, placed his unit’s insignia in the casket. “My brother taught me valuable lessons and made me the man I am today,” he said. “My commander said, ‘Make your brother one of us.’ I will miss my brother with all that I am, and I serve in honor of him.”
The family’s military tradition and dedication to service were praised by Long’s pastor, John Harrington. “No one is more military, no one is more patriotic than this family right here,” he said. “Military runs through their hearts and their blood.”
Daris Long, father and former Marine, stood behind his son’s casket wearing a red Marine Corps baseball cap and military medals on his chest and read aloud the letter he had planned to give his son on the day of his deployment. He spoke of duty, readiness, committment. “Your day only ends when you’ve done your duty,” he read with emotion. “You and your brother … are both heroes for having the moral courage to stand up when your country needs you most. You are in my hopes and my thoughts and my prayers. You are my son, you are my hero. I love you. Semper fidelis.”
Pvt. William Long did his duty. His day ends with honor. And we honor him.
