Videos

Bill Whittle scores the Obama presidency at half-time

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This is pretty good.

Here are the promises that Obama made when he was running for president:

  1. Roll back the Bush tax cuts
  2. Repeal the PATRIOT Act
  3. Pass cap-and-trade legislation
  4. Pass an amnesty bill for illegal immigrants
  5. Close the Guantanamo Bay prison
  6. Provide civilian trials for terrorists
  7. Sign the pro-abortion “Freedom of Choice Act”
  8. End warrantless wire-tapping
  9. Limit the influence of lobbyists in Washington
  10. Cut income tax rates for seniors

So how did he do so far? He had the House, the Senate and the Presidency.

 

Commentary

Are public sector unions to blame for state and local deficits?

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ECM sent me this post from the Manhattan Institute.

Full text:

The economists over at the e21 blog take on the argument being made by some pro-labor groups that public sector compensation (pay and the cost of benefits) is not a significant part of current state and municipal budget woes. In an editorial, e21 notes that state and local spending as a percentage of U.S. GDP has doubled in the last 50 years even as investment by local governments in traditional areas like building roads and bridges has been flat. Where has the money gone? Primarily to Medicaid and to public sector compensation.The editorial notes, for instance, that pension costs alone have increased in California from $2.4 billion per year to $4.8 billion from 2003 to 2009, while  New York City’s pension obligations have tripled over the same period.

The Manhattan Institute’s Nicole Gelinas has illustrated how those costs have worked on New York City. Amidst the controversy over the poor snow-cleaning job done by the city’s sanitation department after the Dec. 26 snowstorm, Nicole pointed out that although the department has been shrinking, its personnel costs have been rising rapidly. The average cost of employing a single sanit worker in NYC is now $144,000 annually, up from $79,000 a decade ago. The big driver of costs is sharply rising pension contributions, up from $10 million a decade ago to $200 million today.

The editorial at e21 concludes by comparing public sector pensions with private pensions, using California’s formula for public workers as an example. For a state employee in California earning almost $83,000 at retirement after 25 years of service, e21 estimates that a similar private sector employee with a defined contribution plan would have to put away 23 percent of his pre-tax income every year to amass enough of a pot of money to purchase an annuity that would give him the same kind of retirement benefits.

“Put simply, it is difficult to conceive a way to address the current – and projected – state fiscal crisis without dramatic reductions in state and local employee benefits,’ the editorial concludes.

Somebody has to pay for all this mess.

News

Conservatives mostly positive on new RNC chair Reince Priebus

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Life Site News is happy.

Excerpt:

Reince Priebus, the pro-life head of the Wisconsin Republican party, has won the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee after former chairman Michael Steele gave up the contest for re-election.

Priebus, who has strongly emphasized his pro-life and pro-family views, won over half the votes after the seventh ballot was cast Friday afternoon.

In interviews prior to the election, Priebus told the Susan B Anthony (SBA) List that, “I support our Republican platform which I think is rock solid on the issue of abortion.”

“I think that social issues are the fabric of our society and for us to not be involved with those issues causes us to turn our back on what I think is the foundation of America,” said Priebus. “I believe if I was elected Chair of the RNC that would be something I would have an even bigger obligation to uphold the position I have on abortion.”

Priebus has also established a strong pro-family profile. In debates earlier this month, Priebus said that, “I don’t believe that judges can rewrite the Constitution and redraft what marriage is.” “I think there is a sanctity of marriage. Everyone should be loved but at the end of the day, I believe that marriage through the sanctity of marriage should be between one man and one woman,” he added.

Priebus, like every candidate for the chairmanship, is a proponent of traditional marriage – notable given recent headway made by the homosexualist group GOProud to establish a foothold for the gay agenda within Republican circles.

[…]The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza noted that Priebus already has a reputation for unifying tea party and GOP sentiments, seen as one of the most important tasks facing the party: in Wisconsin, Priebus had successfully rallied the GOP behind tea party favorites such as Gov. Scott Walker and Sen. Ron Johnson.

Erick Erickson’s reaction at Red State is more moderate.

Excerpt:

He’s not the guy a lot of tea party activists wanted nationwide, but I’ve been inundated with calls from ardent defenders of his this past week from Wisconsin who say he was a significant player in the profound turn around up there.

That so many have called this week to support him — people who are authentically and unquestionably grassroots — is encouraging.

Congratulations to Reince Priebus, the new Chairman of the Republican National Committee.

He has his work cut out for him on fundraising and rebuilding the 72 hour task force. It is time to let the healing begin and the fight for 2012 go forward.

I wish Reince Priebus well, look forward to learning how to say his name, and am excited to work with him.

Red State is the number grassroots conservative site.

But Erickson did NOT consider Priebus to be the most conservative candidate in the race. Ann Wagner and Saul Anuzis were considered to be more conservative by Erickson and by Jim Hoft at Gateway Pundit. We did not get either of the two BEST candidates. But we did not get the worst candidate (Maria Cino) either.