Content by red oakster
Posted at 7:56pm on Jul. 1, 2008 How 'bout getting tough on the AMT?
By red oakster
So the Democrats want to play tough on the AMT? I say bring it.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/reid-rebuffs-republicans-on-amt-fix-...
Enough with "patching" the AMT. Let's make the Democrats take the blame if they want.
We'd be better off if the Republicans insist on some long-term solution as part of their support for the patch. AMT creep hurts most in states where state taxes are high (typically dark blue).
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Posted at 10:40am on Jun. 16, 2008 The Mozillo Four: Why McCain, Ensign, and Cole should be paying attention
By red oakster
The Mozillo Four warrant both Senate and House investigations. How did Senators Conrad and Dodd and senior executives of Fannie Mae (former CEOs Johnson and Raines) come to receive mortgage terms that have at least the appearance of sweetheart deals?
At a time when Congress is proposing all kinds of bailouts for the mortgage industry, the revelation of potentially improper self-dealing on the part of public officials demands thorough investigation.
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Posted at 1:59pm on Mar. 21, 2008 Steve Forbes' Idea Deserves Serious Consideration
By red oakster
I hope somebody at the White House is listening, because Paulson and Bernanke could use some counterpoint.
http://www.forbes.com/home/columnists/forbes/2008/0407/015.html
Forbes in 2000 was the only candidate with the smarts to recognize that Greenspan was starting something dangerous when he tightened credit excessively and put the economy on the edge of deflation. That led to Greenspan II and the excessive easing and housing bubble (and of course the failure to tighten when inflationary signals and the initial wave of dollar weakness occurred). And here we are.
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Posted at 12:21pm on Feb. 27, 2008 A Blast from the Past: 2000 National Review Article on Ridge Shows Why McCain Should Steer Clear
By red oakster
This National Review article by John Miller from 2000 really lays out why Ridge's selection as the Veep nominee would cause an irreparable breach with conservatives.
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-62241930.html
Here's an excerpt from the Miller article:
"Between 1984 and 1988, for example, he was more likely to oppose President Reagan's position on a given issue than he was to support it, according to a Congressional Quarterly analysis. In 1987 and '88, he aligned himself with the Reagan White House only 40 percent of the time. He supported President Bush somewhat more often, but he still lagged far behind the typical House Republican. Following a minimum-wage vote on which Ridge was one of only 19 Republicans to favor a hike, a reporter asked Pennsylvania congressman Bill Goodling whether Ridge had any friends left in Congress. "On our side of the aisle, he would have none," replied Goodling.
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Posted at 10:59am on Feb. 26, 2008 Alert: Ridge Reported to Be at Top of McCain's VP List-That's a Disaster Waiting to Happen
By red oakster
http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/02/ridge_for_vp_contd.a...
If this is in fact true, conservatives are really going to get the shaft and McCain has far less common sense than even I would have thought.
Tom Ridge has enough problems with social conservatives and with the leadership of the Catholic Church. But that is only half of it.
Throughout his years in Congress, he was among the most dovish of all GOP members, supporting the nuclear freeze at one point. When his name appeared on shortlists in 2001 to be Defense Secretary, the rumor was that Dick Cheney scotched the possibility. Cheney remembered Ridge from his own tenure at the Pentagon and didn't want him anywhere near the place.
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Posted at 1:16pm on Feb. 22, 2008 The Company You Keep: Rezko, Bernadine Doehrn, and Edward Said, Oh My
By red oakster
Obama's fellow travelling reveal a disturbing predeliction for hanging with sleazballs, terrorists, and terrorist symapthizers.
The latest from Politico on Obama's association with Doehrn and Ayers:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8630.html
This is a man who not only wants to appease dictators while they methodically arms themselves with nuclear and biological weapons.
Obama is someone who has chosen to spend his free time in the company of folks who represent the gutter of American society.
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Posted at 6:20pm on Feb. 20, 2008 12 Reasons Why John Bolton May Be the Best Choice for Vice President
By red oakster
It is humbly submitted that John McCain favorably consider choosing John Bolton as his running mate. Bolton merits this consideration for the following 12 reasons (feel free to add your own):
1. He is a man who possesses presidential gravitas. Bolton's seriousness and public spirit will reinforce McCain's own
2. He is a man whose intellectual accomplishments and abilities are second to none.
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Posted at 11:54am on Feb. 15, 2008 Boehner and Company Shafts Flake
By red oakster
Is pathetic too strong a word for this?
Bonner, a favorite of Jerry Lewis (himself under investigation), gets the slot. Flake gets shot down, and Tom Cole, whose leadership of the campaign committee has been, shall we say, less than outstanding, gets promised the next slot.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/boehner-tells-rep.-tom-cole-your-tur...
The GOP appropriators run the GOP leadership, not the other way around.
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Posted at 11:25am on Feb. 7, 2008 Bennet for VP at NRO's Corner
By red oakster
Kathryn Lopez is making the case for Bill Bennett as Veep.
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=Y2IxMGMxZjRjODY2ZjVhOGJiMmVmMDE...
Bennett turned down Dole in 1996, so I don't know if he'd take it today.
And it's not clear that his gambling issue could be handled.
But it is an intriguing idea that's worth considering, although I continue to feel that Rudy as Veep with the
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Posted at 2:34pm on Feb. 6, 2008 2nd Biggest Loser: Pawlenty
By red oakster
After Romney, the biggest loser of last night was Governor Tim Pawlenty.
Pawlenty's miserable performance in delivering organizational help to McCain in Minnesota raises real doubt about what he would bring to the ticket as VP. This is the worst showing since Engler tried to deliver Michigan for Bush in 2000. And unlike MI in 2000, MN was a caucus state, a place where organization should make a difference. Pawlenty was pathetic.