UNPRECEDENTED! Harry Reid Invents New Senate Rule To Prevent Vote on Obama Jobs Bill

 Harry Reid invented a new Senate rule tonight, its called "Because I said so!" 

Minority leader Mitch McConnell only wanted to do what the President asked, force a speedy vote on Obama's Jobs bill. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a member of the President's party would not allow it to happen and he created a new Senate rule to make it happen. Because he didn't have enough votes for its passage, Reid delayed Senate action on Obama's bill, Instead he scheduled debate and vote on a bill focusing on China's currency manipulation.

The President however, has been ostracizing the Republicans for not passing his class warfare jobs bill even though he cannot get it through the branch of Congress his own party controls. In answer to the President's demands for a vote, Minority McConnell made a "motion to suspend the rules," to allow a vote on the amendments to the China currency bill,one of which was the Jobs bill. These motions require a two-thirds vote so they are almost always defeated. But the vote would have established for the the Country what was really going on, Obama's charges about a GOP delay were nothing but a cynical political move made by a president who cares much more about his failing re-election effort than our failing economy.

Here's where it gets interesting, the Senate has always allowed motions to suspend to be offered (and voted down). In this case however, trying to protect his president, rather than provide transparency to voters Reid broke with precedent and ruled McConnell's motion out of order.

The Senate parliamentarian admitted the move was unprecedented, but of course the the Democratic chair, ruled in favor of Reid. McConnell appealed the ruling, but by a vote of 51 to 48 the majority Democratic party decided,  rather than to allow the vote, which would indicate to the public that they too rejected Obama's bill, to hide from the voters what was actually going on behind the scenes and to allow the President to continue to unfairly single out the GOP.

In one stroke Harry Reid was able to rewrite Senate rules making it even harder than it already is for the minority party to force votes on any amendments, or even discuss them.  This is the Senate, Constitutionally designed to be a deliberative body, but in one fell swoop Harry Reid said no, because he said so.  Should Republicans retake the Senate next year, it's something that could come back to haunt Democrats in a major way.

Senator McConnell took the Senate floor to express his outrage about this unprecedented move:

The Majority Leader in effect has overruled the chair--with a simple majority vote--and established the precedent that even one single motion to suspend, even one, is dilatory. Changing the rules of the Senate...And if you look back at this bill, what we've had in effect is no amendments before cloture, no motions to suspend after cloture, no expression on the part of the minority at all...Now, the fundamental problem here is the majority never likes to take votes. That's the core problem.”

Not quite Senator McConnell, you are being too polite, the core problem is the Majority wants to legislate behind closed doors, just as they did with the original stimulus, just like they did with Obamacare. In their minds it is a great sin if the people who elected them got an honest accounting of what was really happening in the Senate.

Democrats Refuse to Put Jobs Bill on Senate Schedule

Speaking to reporters at the beginning of his Cabinet meeting today, President Obama said he is ready to sign the legislation. Once again he implied that only the GOP was holding his bill up when he called on congressional Republicans to spell out what aspects of his plan they agree with and which they reject.  Perhaps a better idea would be to ask Senate Democrats what they don't like about the bill. After all three weeks after he submitted his Tax and Spend  jobs bill and demanded that it  be passed right away the Senate, which is controlled by the President's party has yet to take up the legislation, truth be told they have yet to take up when they are going to take up the bill.

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

But while the White House will again be calling for action by lawmakers, the first order of business in the Senate this week - that would the Senate which is controlled by the President's own party - will be a measure on China's currency.

Why is Obama's own party delaying the vote on his Jobs bill? Simple they don't have the votes.

At this point, Democrats probably don't have 50 votes for the underlying Obama jobs bill, as Democrats are split for a variety of reasons.

Some Senate Democrats don't like the way the plan is paid for with higher taxes; others don't like higher tax levies on the oil and gas industry as well as other details.

Even NY Senator Chuck Schumer, the most partisan of partisan hacks is indicating some problems with the bill.  At issue is the increased taxes the president wants to impose to fund the bill:

"After [Obama] announced the jobs bill ... he proposed ways of paying for it that are probably not the best way to garner the votes," Schumer said.

"We're looking for better ways," said Schumer, the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate.

Republican leaders in the House had been vocal arguing that now was not the time to raise any taxes. And Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) has said that Democratic senators standing for election won't vote for a tax increase - "even on the wealthiest people."

It seems that the party loyalists are not going for Obama's class war fare, especially those nearing their re-election campaign.  All we know for sure is Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid has promised to bring the bill up for consideration this year, but there is a lot of "this year" left.  And while President Obama is making the GOP his scapegoat, it is the Democrats causing much of the Delay.

Maxine Waters Leaks More Verbal Stupidity-The GOP is Using Obama For His Food

In Maxine Waters' warped mind there is nothing wrong with this country except for the fact that the GOP and the Tea Party movement exist. She believes that everybody has the right to HER opinion. After saying the Tea Party should go to hell, Obama's programs help white people too much today she said that the President wasn't doing enough to bash his opponents.  Especially since they have been stealing his food and they are trying to kill him.

“He’s been very nice about it,” Waters said of Obama’s budget negotiations with Republicans. “He’s been on the other side of the aisle talking with people. He’s invited them up to the White House to have beer. He’s invited them to come and watch the Super Bowl games.

“He’s done all of that, and when they eat his food and drink his beer and leave, then they go and try to kill him [on Capitol Hill],” she told an audience gathered for the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Foundation’s annual legislative conference in Washington.

Gee, what ever happened to the new tone? No one has said they want to kill the POTUS. On top of that the President serves a mean bean dip.

“You’ve gotta fight — you will not win this battle without fighting,” she added.

Waters and her fellow Democratic party members of the CBC are very upset they are not winning the class war.

Many House liberals have been disenchanted with Obama going back to December, when the president accepted GOP demands that the Bush-era tax rates be extended to even the wealthiest Americans — a provision strongly opposed by most Democrats.

The president drew similar liberal criticism this summer for backing enormous cuts in both a 2011 spending bill and legislation to raise the debt ceiling. More recently, some CBC members wondered aloud why Obama didn’t visit any urban areas on his August jobs tour through the Midwest.

....“We love the president. We want him to be successful,” Waters said. “But does he feel our pain? Does he understand what’s going on out here?”

Then she went after her favorite target

“We have got to show up. The Tea Party shows up. The Tea Party intimidates everybody,” she said. “We have to show people that we have no fear. Don’t mistake the silence for intimidation.”

Waters and her fellow progressives don't "get it." When they demonize the tea party, they demonize the American people. Because the polls show that American people support the tea party positions even when they don't support the tea party itself.

Allow me to suggest that Ms Waters may one day regret her attacks on grass roots America.

Gallup's Analysis of Obama Approval Rating in Jewish Community is Dishonest

A helicopter was flying around above Seattle yesterday when an electrical malfunction disabled all of the aircraft's electronic navigation and communication equipment. Due to the clouds and haze the pilot could not determine his position or course to steer to the airport. The pilot saw a tall building, flew toward it, circled, drew a handwritten sign and held it in the helicopter's window. The sign said "WHERE AM I ?" in large letters. People in the tall building quickly responded to the aircraft, drew a large sign and held it in a building window. Their sign said, "YOU ARE IN A HELICOPTER." The pilot smiled, waved, looked at his map and determine the course to steer to SEATAC (Seattle/Tacoma) airport and landed safely. After they were on the ground, the co-pilot asked the pilot how the "YOU ARE IN A HELICOPTER" sign helped determine their position. The pilot responded, "I knew that had to be the MICROSOFT building because they gave me a technically correct but completely useless answer."

That story was written about Microsoft, but could have been written about Gallup's recent report on Obama's approval rating in the Jewish community. They provided information that was technically accurate, but totally useless.

The Headline of their story was:

Jewish Support for Obama Down, but Not Disproportionately Current 13-point gap between Jewish and national support is about average

That headline is absolutely true, but its the wrong comparison.

Assuming  the overall Jewish American approval numbers are correct, Jews gave President Barack Obama a 54% job approval rating in September, down from 68% in May,  and drastically below the 83% at the beginning of 2009, but its the comparison to the general population that is disingenuous.

There is little sign that President Obama is suffering disproportionately in support among Jews; 54% approved of his job performance from Aug. 1-Sept. 15, 13 percentage points higher than his overall 41% approval rating during that time, and similar to the average 14-point gap seen throughout Obama's term.

There's the problem, Jews can't be compared with total US Voters, because they don't vote that way.  Jews are far more liberal-Democratic than the average voter.  According to Gallup US Party affiliation as of May 2011 44% of American voters are Democrats.

The latest Gallup figure I could find for Jewish party affiliation (Sept 2009) shows that American Jews are almost 50% more likely to be Democrats than the average American.

Why is this important? Because Obama's approval rating has not fallen off with Democrats as fast it has for Republicans.  Using numbers from May 2011 and August 2011 Gallup reports the Democrat approval fall off is less the total US figures. Total US fell by 20% while total Democrats fell by fell by 12%

A more reasonable national baseline to compare the Jewish vote to would be 
to create a weighted average figure based on the general population approvals but weighted by the party affiliation of Jewish voters(66% Dem, 27% GOP and 7% independents)

That weighted average comes to 63.7% approval in May and 54.9% in August a drop of  almost 9% or a -13% difference in President Obama's approval rating

At the same time Obama's approval rating amongst Jewish voters dropped from 68% to 54% a drop of 14 percentage points or -16% difference.

Based on this more realistic comparison President Obama's job approval is falling faster than the national average.  While the president enjoyed a higher approval rating this May in the Jewish community than the national average (based on Jewish party affiliation), his approval today is slightly lower than the national average.

That's where Gallup gets it wrong. By comparing the drop in Obama's approval in the Jewish community to that of the overall voter, it does a disservice to it readership and creates a dishonest story.

The old proverb says there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. Friday's Gallup look at Obama Approval Rating amongst Jewish voters has  proven that proverb to be very true.

Obama's National Jewish Support Continues to Erode

Fresh off the big Democratic party loss in NY-9, Gallup has shared its latest national polling data on Jews with Poltico which shows Obama's support in the Jewish community continues to erode.


Obama’s approval rating among Jewish Americans is down to 55 percent - a five point drop from June and a 13 point drop from May which is when he made the demand that Israel use the 1949 Armistice lines as the starting point for negotiations instead of as the goal of negotiations. 

Four out of 10 Jewish Americans currently disapprove of Obama, according to polling data provided to POLITICO by Gallup, which has yet to post the numbers on its website.

This 40 percent disapproval rating is 8 percent higher than the 32 percent disapproval rating among Jewish Americans that was last reported by Gallup in June.

Together, the rise in disapproval and dip in approval ratings are a net negative 11 point downturn for Obama among Jews.

When the June numbers were released, most pundits felt it was meaningless that Jews would never abandon the Democratic Party not even to the extent they did with Jimmy Carter (who got 45% of the Jewish Vote in 1980).  Last week as attention turned to the Turner-Weprin race the scuttlebutt changed. It seemed as if pundits were now predicting that Jewish voters were going to abandon Obama in droves and the only Jewish votes Obama will get are David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel.
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Truth be told the pundits were wrong in June and are wrong today. Here are the facts:

• It is true that Jewish voters are angry with Obama's anti-Israel policies, but it is not true that Jews base their votes on that one issue.  If that was the case, George Bush would have gotten much more that 24% of the vote when he ran against the weak-on-terror John Kerry in 2004. Bush was probably the most pro-Israel President in US history. 

•  Even when Jewish voters rejected Jimmy Carter, it was not solely because of his stance on Israel. The economy was in the crapper big-time inflation and unemployment were both high.

• A close look at the NY-9 race shows that Israel wasn't the only reason for the switch of the Jewish vote.  It took at least one additional issue on top of Israel for the voters to switch.

When push comes to shove the fate of the Jewish vote in 2012 depends on three things, the economy, Israel and who the GOP offers.  Two of the three (the economy and Obama's anti-Israel policies) will not  improve before election day. The third is left to be seen. A candidate seen as moderate such as a Romney or a Gingrich would probably be the most attractive to the Jewish Vote.

A big segment of the Jewish Vote is ripe for the picking, that doesn't mean they are going anywhere.  Depending on who the Republicans pick, I would suspect that the GOP garners between 35% (what Nixon got in 1972) and 40% of the Jews (what Reagan got in 1980).  Which is a huge gain but not the total abandonment predicted in some circles.

Frankly, the bigger danger for the Democratic Party is the shift to the GOP is accompanied by disillusionment, the Jews stay home.  In that case it not only causes the President to lose votes, but also the candidates down the ticket.

Even if a major segment of liberal Jews stay home ord vote GOP,  the entire Jewish population represents only 2.2% of the U.S. population what kind of impact could they have? (NY-9 is 40% Jewish).  In a close election, a shift of Jewish votes could lose key battleground states for Obama.  States where there is a relatively larger Jewish population such as

Other states with a big Jewish populations New York, Massachusetts and California wouldn't shift from Obama even if he was caught in bed with the proverbial "dead woman or live sheep."  And as a favorite son of Illinois  he can count on that state's electoral votes.  But a  shift of 73 electoral votes, 20% of his 2008 total of 365 will make it much more difficult for President Obama to be reelected.

In summary, 2012 will see a shift in Jewish voting patterns, but not a total abandonment (and not only because of Israel). While a small percentage of total voters, a change in a few key battle ground states  may lead to some blue states moving into the red column and the presidency shifting party's. But to suggest a total shift or an effect in more than a few states (and only if those states are close) is being irresponsible.

Obama's Big Jobs Speech (An Annotated Version)

Last night the President started his reelection campaign for real by setting up the Republican Party to take a fall.  Today he takes that act on the road.

Allow me to put the entire speech into two sentences, "Hey Republicans,  Pass my bill or its your fault the American people are out of work. If you do not pass it, I will demonize you on my way to winning reelection." It's  interesting that Obama started and ended his speech, saying that his proposal was not political.  Understand that everything he said between those two declarations was 100% political.

This was not the new creative approach we were promised a month ago, before his vacation. There was nothing new in his plan. In fact halfway through I felt we were no longer watching live TV and  someone slipped a DVD of Barack Obama's Greatest Hits into my player.  Obama is fully aware that the bulk of his plan will be thrown into the dustbin.  There is no way way it gets passed by either the House or the Senate, but he will use its failure to campaign against his chosen 2012 opponent  the Republican Party, more specially that horrible tea party who stubbornly prevents the GOP from agreeing with the president about anything.

By my count, Seventeen times during the speech, the President urged congress to pass this bill now. The problem is there is no bill...nothing in writing, no details and we have to wait two weeks to find out how the $450 Billion dollar stimulus plan is going to be paid for.

It's like a realtor saying buy this house now, without a title or appraisal report, heck without even letting you inside. But there is the realtor holding the contract in his hand telling you to sign the contract to buy the house immediately, even before you arrange for financing. Would you buy that house? Or would you tell the realtor that he is crazier than a loon?  But that was the deal the President offered the American people tonight.

Below is the text of the President's speech as delivered, as is the tradition of this site, the President's words are in black, my comments are in red.

THE WHITE HOUSE
September 8, 2011
Remarks of President Barack Obama in an  Address to a Joint Session of Congress

It wasn't just a joint session of Congress, also there were Jeff Immelt, Obama's Jobs Czar who, as the head of General Electric, has been shipping American jobs to other countries. Also there was socialist, violent thug and head of the AFL-CIO Richard Trumka the man who brags about being able to talk to the President a few times a week (more often than Congressional leaders).  The labor leader was there because much of the President's program was written as a gift to the labor movement.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, and fellow Americans:

Tonight we meet at an urgent time for our country. We continue to face an economic crisis that has left millions of our neighbors jobless, and a political crisis that has made things worse.

This past week, reporters have been asking “What will this speech mean for the President? What will it mean for Congress? How will it affect their polls, and the next election?”

Actually there were other questions such as "we waited a month for this?"  "not another speech!" and even, "hey, who ordered the tuna on club, light mayo."

But the millions of Americans who are watching right now: they don’t care about politics. They have real life concerns. Many have spent months looking for work. Others are doing their best just to scrape by – giving up nights out with the family to save on gas or make the mortgage; postponing retirement to send a kid to college.

These men and women grew up with faith in an America where hard work and responsibility paid off.

Hard work and responsibility? Are big government progressives allowed to say that?

They believed in a country where everyone gets a fair shake and does their fair share – where if you stepped up, did your job, and were loyal to your company, that loyalty would be rewarded with a decent salary and good benefits; maybe a raise once in awhile. If you did the right thing, you could make it in America.

But for decades now, Americans have watched that compact erode. They have seen the deck too often stacked against them. And they know that Washington hasn’t always put their interests first.

The people of this country work hard to meet their responsibilities. The question tonight is whether we’ll meet ours. The question is whether, in the face of an ongoing national crisis, we can stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy; whether we can restore some of the fairness and security that has defined this nation since our beginning.

Translation: "Will the Republicans stop screwing around and let me tax rich people? Or will they continue to be wrong by saying no and give me campaign ammo."

Those of us here tonight can’t solve all of our nation’s woes. Ultimately, our recovery will be driven not by Washington, but by our businesses and our workers. But we can help. We can make a difference. There are steps we can take right now to improve people’s lives.

I am sending this Congress a plan that you should pass right away. It’s called the American Jobs Act.[Note: He called it the American Jobs Act because "Stimulus" and "Porkulus" were already taken.] There should be nothing controversial about this piece of legislation. Everything in here is the kind of proposal that’s been supported by both Democrats and Republicans – including many who sit here tonight. And everything in this bill will be paid for. Everything.

The purpose of the American Jobs Act is simple: to put more people back to work and more money in the pockets of those who are working. It will create more jobs for construction workers, more jobs for teachers, more jobs for veterans, and more jobs for the long-term unemployed. It will provide a tax break for companies who hire new workers, and it will cut payroll taxes in half for every working American and every small business. It will provide a jolt to an economy that has stalled, and give companies confidence that if they invest and hire, there will be customers for their products and services. You should pass this jobs plan right

Everyone here knows that small businesses are where most new jobs begin. And you know that while corporate profits have come roaring back, smaller companies haven’t. So for everyone who speaks so passionately about making life easier for “job creators,” this plan is for you.

Pass this jobs bill, and starting tomorrow, small businesses will get a tax cut if they hire new workers or raise workers’ wages. Pass this jobs bill, and all small business owners will also see their payroll taxes cut in half next year. If you have 50 employees making an average salary, that’s an $80,000 tax cut. And all businesses will be able to continue writing off the investments they make in 2012.

There is no bill to pass yet. Right now the bill has the status of unicorns, well not really,  because we know what unicorns are supposed to look like.

It’s not just Democrats who have supported this kind of proposal. Fifty House Republicans have proposed the same payroll tax cut that’s in this plan. You should pass it right away.

Pass this jobs bill, and we can put people to work rebuilding America. Everyone here knows that we have badly decaying roads and bridges all over this country. Our highways are clogged with traffic. Our skies are the most congested in the world.

This is inexcusable. Building a world-class transportation system is part of what made us an economic superpower. And now we’re going to sit back and watch China build newer airports and faster railroads? At a time when millions of unemployed construction workers could build them right here in America?

There are private construction companies all across America just waiting to get to work. There’s a bridge that needs repair between Ohio and Kentucky that’s on one of the busiest trucking routes in North America. A public transit project in Houston that will help clear up one of the worst areas of traffic in the country. And there are schools throughout this country that desperately need renovating. How can we expect our kids to do their best in places that are literally falling apart? This is America. Every child deserves a great school – and we can give it to them, if we act now.

Actually what the president meant to say is that every union deserves a great deal and he is going to give it to them no matter how it screws the rest of America. Don't forget the Obama's executive order, “High Road Contracting Policy” is a union gift. This order gives preferential treatment to government  construction contractors that pay their hourly workers a "union wage"  and provide additional benefits such as health insurance, employer-funded retirement plans and paid sick leave. In other words, they will be "cutting out" the non-union shops (which represent over 80% of all construction companies) out of Federal construction Jobs, or if they want the contracts the Non Union shops have to contribute to the union pension plans (sounds like extortion). In the end the executive order raises the cost of construction jobs between 10-20% and increasing the federal deficit.

The American Jobs Act will repair and modernize at least 35,000 schools. It will put people to work right now fixing roofs and windows; installing science labs and high-speed internet in classrooms all across this country. It will rehabilitate homes and businesses in communities hit hardest by foreclosures. It will jumpstart thousands of transportation projects across the country. And to make sure the money is properly spent and for good purposes, we’re building on reforms we’ve already put in place. No more earmarks. No more boondoggles. No more bridges to nowhere. We’re cutting the red tape that prevents some of these projects from getting started as quickly as possible. And we’ll set up an independent fund to attract private dollars and issue loans based on two criteria: how badly a construction project is needed and how much good it would do for the economy.

This idea came from a bill written by a Texas Republican and a Massachusetts Democrat. The idea for a big boost in construction is supported by America’s largest business organization and America’s largest labor organization. It’s the kind of proposal that’s been supported in the past by Democrats and Republicans alike. You should pass it right away.

Last year my wife and kids brought me an ice cream cake and balloons on my birthday, I fully supported it, but it wouldn't be appropriate to do every day. In other words which Republicans and which Democrats supported it?  And in what situations?

Pass this jobs bill, and thousands of teachers in every state will go back to work. These are the men and women charged with preparing our children for a world where the competition has never been tougher. But while they’re adding teachers in places like South Korea, we’re laying them off in droves. It’s unfair to our kids. It undermines their future and ours. And it has to stop. Pass this jobs bill, and put our teachers back in the classroom where they belong [and after one year of help their salaries and benefit payments can go back to overwhelming state budgets].

Pass this jobs bill, and companies will get extra tax credits if they hire America’s veterans. We ask these men and women to leave their careers, leave their families, and risk their lives to fight for our country. The last thing they should have to do is fight for a job when they come home [AMEN!]

Pass this bill, and hundreds of thousands of disadvantaged young people will have the hope and dignity of a summer job next year. And their parents, low-income Americans who desperately want to work, will have more ladders out of poverty.

Pass this jobs bill, and companies will get a $4,000 tax credit if they hire anyone who has spent more than six months looking for a job. We have to do more to help the long-term unemployed in their search for work. This jobs plan builds on a program in Georgia that several Republican leaders have highlighted, where people who collect unemployment insurance participate in temporary work as a way to build their skills while they look for a permanent job.

More nonsense. If you were a businessman would you hire a worker for a one-year tax credit ?  What happens in year two when the credit goes away,  fire the new worker?  This is a short term solution for business people who are looking to be able to make long term projections, it doesn't work.

The plan also extends unemployment insurance for another year. If the millions of unemployed Americans stopped getting this insurance, and stopped using that money for basic necessities, it would be a devastating blow to this economy. Democrats and Republicans in this Chamber have supported unemployment insurance plenty of times in the past. At this time of prolonged hardship, you should pass it again – right away [What these people need are jobs, not more unemployment].

Pass this jobs bill, and the typical working family will get a fifteen hundred dollar tax cut next year. Fifteen hundred dollars that would have been taken out of your paycheck will go right into your pocket. This expands on the tax cut that Democrats and Republicans already passed for this year. If we allow that tax cut to expire – if we refuse to act – middle-class families will get hit with a tax increase at the worst possible time. We cannot let that happen. I know some of you have sworn oaths to never raise any taxes on anyone for as long as you live. Now is not the time to carve out an exception and raise middle-class taxes, which is why you should pass this bill right away.

This is the American Jobs Act. It will lead to new jobs for construction workers, teachers, veterans, first responders, young people and the long-term unemployed. It will provide tax credits to companies that hire new workers, tax relief for small business owners, and tax cuts for the middle-class. And here’s the other thing I want the American people to know: the American Jobs Act will not add to the deficit. It will be paid for. And here’s how [Abracadabra!]

The agreement we passed in July will cut government spending by about $1 trillion over the next ten years. It also charges this Congress to come up with an additional $1.5 trillion in savings by Christmas. Tonight, I’m asking you to increase that amount so that it covers the full cost of the American Jobs Act. And a week from Monday, I’ll be releasing a more ambitious deficit plan – a plan that will not only cover the cost of this jobs bill, but stabilize our debt in the long run.

Wait a second! He said it was paid for now he is asking a committee that many people believe will fail to increase their job by a third. So when the President said it was paid for, he lied!

This approach is basically the one I’ve been advocating for months. In addition to the trillion dollars of spending cuts I’ve already signed into law, it’s a balanced plan that would reduce the deficit by making additional spending cuts; by making modest adjustments to health care programs like Medicare and Medicaid; and by reforming our tax code in a way that asks the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations to pay their fair share. What’s more, the spending cuts wouldn’t happen so abruptly that they’d be a drag on our economy, or prevent us from helping small business and middle-class families get back on their feet right away.

Wait a second, this plan is spending almost a half a trillion dollars is going to reduce the deficit? Now that is a real trick!

Adjustments Medicare and Medicaid?  What adjustments? How much are they going to save? And as for the "fairness" of the tax structure, the rich pay their fair share, 47% pay no share. Now that is unfair. What is also unfair is to make Americans of any income bracket to pay for Congressional mistakes. Folks, we do not have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem.

Now, I realize there are some in my party who don’t think we should make any changes at all to Medicare and Medicaid, and I understand their concerns. But here’s the truth. Millions of Americans rely on Medicare in their retirement. And millions more will do so in the future. They pay for this benefit during their working years. They earn it. But with an aging population and rising health care costs, we are spending too fast to sustain the program. And if we don’t gradually reform the system while protecting current beneficiaries, it won’t be there when future retirees need it. We have to reform Medicare to strengthen it.

I’m also well aware that there are many Republicans who don’t believe we should raise taxes on those who are most fortunate and can best afford it. But here is what every American knows. While most people in this country struggle to make ends meet, a few of the most affluent citizens and corporations enjoy tax breaks and loopholes that nobody else gets. Right now, Warren Buffet pays a lower tax rate than his secretary – an outrage he has asked us to fix. We need a tax code where everyone gets a fair shake, and everybody pays their fair share. And I believe the vast majority of wealthy Americans and CEOs are willing to do just that, if it helps the economy grow and gets our fiscal house in order.

The little story about Buffet is true.  That's because he makes a very small salary. He pays mostly capital gains which is taxed at a lower rate .  Remember Obama said buffet pays lower rate not that he  pays less.  The President was being disingenuous by comparing apples and oranges.

I’ll also offer ideas to reform a corporate tax code that stands as a monument to special interest influence in Washington. By eliminating pages of loopholes and deductions, we can lower one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. Our tax code shouldn’t give an advantage to companies that can afford the best-connected lobbyists. It should give an advantage to companies that invest and create jobs here in America.

So we can reduce this deficit, pay down our debt, and pay for this jobs plan in the process. But in order to do this, we have to decide what our priorities are. We have to ask ourselves, “What’s the best way to grow the economy and create jobs?”

Wait! You skipped the part of the speech where you gave specifics on how this was going to reduce the deficit and pay down the debt!

Should we keep tax loopholes for oil companies? Or should we use that money to give small business owners a tax credit when they hire new workers? Because we can’t afford to do both. Should we keep tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires? Or should we put teachers back to work so our kids can graduate ready for college and good jobs? Right now, we can’t afford to do both.

Those evil oil companies! Notice the President doesn't talk about his buddy Jeff Immelt's company which paid no taxes and to say thank you he moved jobs to China, or Warren Buffet who's company owes the IRS about one billion dollars.

This isn’t political grandstanding. This isn’t class warfare. This is simple math. These are real choices that we have to make. And I’m pretty sure I know what most Americans would choose. It’s not even close. And it’s time for us to do what’s right for our future.

The American Jobs Act answers the urgent need to create jobs right away. But we can’t stop there. As I’ve argued since I ran for this office, we have to look beyond the immediate crisis and start building an economy that lasts into the future – an economy that creates good, middle-class jobs that pay well and offer security. We now live in a world where technology has made it possible for companies to take their business anywhere. If we want them to start here and stay here and hire here, we have to be able to out-build, out-educate, and out-innovate every other country on Earth.

This task, of making America more competitive for the long haul, is a job for all of us. For government and for private companies. For states and for local communities – and for every American citizen. All of us will have to up our game. All of us will have to change the way we do business.

A short term stimulus for the long haul? That really doesn't make sense.

My administration can and will take some steps to improve our competitiveness on our own. For example, if you’re a small business owner who has a contract with the federal government, we’re going to make sure you get paid a lot faster than you do now. We’re also planning to cut away the red tape that prevents too many rapidly-growing start-up companies from raising capital and going public. And to help responsible homeowners, we’re going to work with Federal housing agencies to help more people refinance their mortgages at interest rates that are now near 4% -- a step that can put more than $2,000 a year in a family’s pocket, and give a lift to an economy still burdened by the drop in housing prices.

We did that housing plan before, it was twice the size and did absolutely nothing.

Other steps will require Congressional action. Today you passed reform that will speed up the outdated patent process, so that entrepreneurs can turn a new idea into a new business as quickly as possible. That’s the kind of action we need. Now it’s time to clear the way for a series of trade agreements that would make it easier for American companies to sell their products in Panama, Colombia, and South Korea – while also helping the workers whose jobs have been affected by global competition. If Americans can buy Kias and Hyundais, I want to see folks in South Korea driving Fords and Chevys and Chryslers. I want to see more products sold around the world stamped with three proud words: “Made in America.”

Does he mean those trade agreements that Congress can't act on because they have been sitting on Obama's desk for three years waiting for his signature (Obama's union buddies are upset about certain provisions in the agreements).

And on all of our efforts to strengthen competitiveness, we need to look for ways to work side-by-side with America’s businesses. That’s why I’ve brought together a Jobs Council of leaders from different industries who are developing a wide range of new ideas to help companies grow and create jobs.

Already, we’ve mobilized business leaders to train 10,000 American engineers a year, by providing company internships and training. Other businesses are covering tuition for workers who learn new skills at community colleges. And we’re going to make sure the next generation of manufacturing takes root not in China or Europe, but right here, in the United States of America. If we provide the right incentives and support – and if we make sure our trading partners play by the rules – we can be the ones to build everything from fuel-efficient cars to advanced biofuels to semiconductors that are sold all over the world. That’s how America can be number one again. That’s how America will be number one again.

Now, I realize that some of you have a different theory on how to grow the economy. Some of you sincerely believe that the only solution to our economic challenges is to simply cut most government spending and eliminate most government regulations.

Here comes the president warning that the GOP wants to throw grandma off the cliff. Some in the GOP have said let's cut lots of spending and eliminate lot's of the regulation. Unlike what was claimed President Hyperbole,  No one (except Ron Paul) has said let's cut MOST of anything.

Well, I agree that we can’t afford wasteful spending, and I will continue to work with Congress to get rid of it. And I agree that there are some rules and regulations that put an unnecessary burden on businesses at a time when they can least afford it. That’s why I ordered a review of all government regulations. So far, we’ve identified over 500 reforms, which will save billions of dollars over the next few years. We should have no more regulation than the health, safety, and security of the American people require. Every rule should meet that common sense test.

Sure... tell that to Boeing and Gibson Guitars.

But what we can’t do – what I won’t do – is let this economic crisis be used as an excuse to wipe out the basic protections that Americans have counted on for decades. I reject the idea that we need to ask people to choose between their jobs and their safety. I reject the argument that says for the economy to grow, we have to roll back protections that ban hidden fees by credit card companies, or rules that keep our kids from being exposed to mercury, or laws that prevent the health insurance industry from shortchanging patients. I reject the idea that we have to strip away collective bargaining rights to compete in a global economy. We shouldn’t be in a race to the bottom, where we try to offer the cheapest labor and the worst pollution standards. America should be in a race to the top. And I believe that’s a race we can win.

In fact, this larger notion that the only thing we can do to restore prosperity is just dismantle government, refund everyone’s money, let everyone write their own rules, and tell everyone they’re on their own – that’s not who we are. That’s not the story of America.

Yes, we are rugged individualists. Yes, we are strong and self-reliant. And it has been the drive and initiative of our workers and entrepreneurs that has made this economy the engine and envy of the world.

But there has always been another thread running throughout our history – a belief that we are all connected; and that there are some things we can only do together, as a nation.

We all remember Abraham Lincoln as the leader who saved our Union. But in the middle of a Civil War, he was also a leader who looked to the future – a Republican president who mobilized government to build the transcontinental railroad; launch the National Academy of Sciences; and set up the first land grant colleges. And leaders of both parties have followed the example he set.

Ask yourselves – where would we be right now if the people who sat here before us decided not to build our highways and our bridges; our dams and our airports? What would this country be like if we had chosen not to spend money on public high schools, or research universities, or community colleges? Millions of returning heroes, including my grandfather, had the opportunity to go to school because of the GI Bill. Where would we be if they hadn’t had that chance?

How many jobs would it have cost us if past Congresses decided not to support the basic research that led to the Internet and the computer chip?

Wait there wasn't basic research, I thought Al Gore invented the internet, it came to him in a dream.

What kind of country would this be if this Chamber had voted down Social Security or Medicare just because it violated some rigid idea about what government could or could not do? How many Americans would have suffered as a result?

No single individual built America on their own. We built it together. We have been, and always will be, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all; a nation with responsibilities to ourselves and with responsibilities to one another. Members of Congress, it is time for us to meet our responsibilities.

Meet our responsibilities? Hey guys...I think the POTUS is going to give up this weekend's round of golf

Every proposal I’ve laid out tonight is the kind that’s been supported by Democrats and Republicans in the past. Every proposal I’ve laid out tonight will be paid for. And every proposal is designed to meet the urgent needs of our people and our communities.

I know there’s been a lot of skepticism about whether the politics of the moment will allow us to pass this jobs plan – or any jobs plan. Already, we’re seeing the same old press releases and tweets flying back and forth. Already, the media has proclaimed that it’s impossible to bridge our differences. And maybe some of you have decided that those differences are so great that we can only resolve them at the ballot box. But know this: the next election is fourteen months away. [424 Days, 10 Hours and 6 minutes, but who's counting?] And the people who sent us here – the people who hired us to work for them – they don’t have the luxury of waiting fourteen months. Some of them are living week to week; paycheck to paycheck; even day to day. They need help, and they need it now.

I don’t pretend that this plan will solve all our problems. [Well the last stimulus solved exactly zero problems, this one is only half as big. Does anybody have research about how many problems a half-assed version of an unsuccessful stimulus plan will solve?] It shouldn’t be, nor will it be, the last plan of action we propose. What’s guided us from the start of this crisis hasn’t been the search for a silver bullet. It’s been a commitment to stay at it – to be persistent – to keep trying every new idea that works, and listen to every good proposal, no matter which party comes up with it.

Regardless of the arguments we’ve had in the past, regardless of the arguments we’ll have in the future, this plan is the right thing to do right now. You should pass it. And I intend to take that message to every corner of this country.

HEY GUYS, WE'RE GOING ON A ROAD TRIP! A campaign road trip, I got shot-gun?

I also ask every American who agrees to lift your voice and tell the people who are gathered here tonight that you want action now. Tell Washington that doing nothing is not an option. Remind us that if we act as one nation, and one people, we have it within our power to meet this challenge.

President Kennedy once said, “Our problems are man-made – therefore they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants.”

These are difficult years for our country. But we are Americans. We are tougher than the times that we live in, and we are bigger than our politics have been. So let’s meet the moment. Let’s get to work, and show the world once again why the United States of America remains the greatest nation on Earth. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.

One last thought.  The morning of the speech the White House let it be known that the  speech would be 44 minutes long without applause.  You figure that applause would add 8-10 minutes, making the presentation 52-54 minutes.  That is the real reason there was no GOP response, they didn't want to stomp upon the first game of the NFL season due to start at 8PM. In actuality the speech took a little more than a half hour WITH the applause, which would have left plenty of time for a short GOP response.  Now tell me again that this speech had nothing to do with politics.

Obama Approval Hits New LOW In Both Rasmussen and Gallup

It seems as if President Obama's bus tour and divisive political message isn't doing him much good, in the latest Rasmussen three day rolling approval poll, his approval index hit a new low -26.  Gallup has Obama's approval sinking to a new low 38%.

The Rasmussen approval index compares voters who strongly believe Obama is doing a good job to those who strongly disapprove of the job he is doing. Those who have strong opinions of a President are more likely to work for or against his reelection. Today's -26 number is the lowest that Obama has seen since his inauguration.

Note: Double click on each chart to see it larger and more clearly) 
The chart above takes a look at Obama's approval index since July 25th (his last prime time speech about the budget deal) through today.  As you can see the budget deal at the beginning of July gave the President a bump. Since then, the economic news has been awful and Obama has been on the road trashing the GOP and the Tea Party.

The strongly approve and strongly disapprove numbers show a similar trend. The 19% strongly approve percentage is also an all time low achieved just once before (8/16).

 The overall approval/disapproval percentages also tell a sad tale for Obama:

Rasmussen released other numbers that are a black cloud floating over Obama's reelection campaign, only 28% of voters trust him on the economy (25% of independents).  With the economy being the most important issue in the upcoming election, this may be an indicator that Obama's approval numbers are likely to go down.

Gallup, whose numbers tend to be a bit more favorable to Democratic candidates also shows the President at an all time low. His approval has fallen to only 38%.

There is still plenty of time between now and election day 2012.  George HW Bush  had a Gallup approval rating of 74% at this point in his Presidency.

Unfortunately for Obama and for the country, it takes longer for the massive US economy to right itself than it does to sink. And our President still has no plan to fix the economy.  Unless he does and unless it works awful fast, we will have a new president beginning January 2013.

Top Quotes From Ann Coulter’s “Demonic: How the Liberal Mob Is Endangering America”

Ann Coulter’s Demonic: How the Liberal Mob Is Endangering America is an outstanding book filled with her normal helpings of great quotes that are both snarky and though-provoking.It just occurred to John Hawkins that no one has put together a list of the best quotations from the book. So he remedial that error. Below are some of the Gems from John's post:

Time magazine’s Walter Shapiro said that “for the first time in more than 30 years the nation has elected a President with sex appeal.” Shapiro quoted The Boomer Report editor Cheryl Russell saying “Every woman I know is having sex dreams about Bill Clinton.” (If you call nightmares about Bill Clinton dropping his pants “sex dreams,” I guess I was, too.) — P.18

It would be as if, after fighting Democrats for a hundred years over the issue of abortion, Republicans finally got Roe v. Wade overturned, and then, out of pure political calculation, Democrats jumped on the bandwagon and demanded a federal law outlawing abortion. Some pro-life Republicans would probably object that federal law outlawing abortion is not one of Congress’s enumerated powers. On the basis of Republican’s constitutional objections, Democrats would then reverse the entire history of the pro-life movement and start claiming the Democratic Party alone fought to end abortion in America. That is exactly what they have done with the history of civil rights. — P.182

Noticeably, the first abortion doctor was killed not after Roe,but twenty years later, immediately after the 1993 decision upholding Roe, Planned Parenthood v. Casey. In the first few years after Casey, about six more people were killed in attacks on abortion clinics. Most of the abortionists were shot at, depending on your point of view, had a procedure performed on them with a rifle. — P.207

Jon Stewart transmits the party line to idiots, who sit in the audience of The Daily Show and maniacally applaud everything he says. They don’t get all the jokes, but they know who they’re supposed to hate. –P.252

It’s an obsession with the Democrats to nationalize everything: health care, welfare, the speed limit, abortion, the drinking age — so there’s no escape. Like all totalitarians, the Democrats’ position is: We thought up something that we know will work better than anything anyone else has done for the last 30,000 years. We don’t know why no one else has thought of it. We must be smarter. This is why the history of liberalism consists of replacing things that work with things that sounded good on paper. — P.276

These are just a few of many great quotes to be found at the original post at Right Wing News.  I recommend strongly you click here and read the entire post.

Obama Has The GOP Set Up To Take Fall For Credit Rating Downgrade

Whether we end up with Harry Reid's  $2.7 trillion cut plan which really only cuts $1.7 trillion or Speaker Boehner's $1 trillion dollar cut which actually cuts only $850 billion or some other scheme which we don't know about, one thing is very clear, the United States is about to lose its AAA Credit Rating. In fact even a real cut of $4 trillion would do very little to stem the inevitable. And it may even happen before August 2nd.  I would suspect that the coming downgrade had more to do with last night's Presidential speech than any feud with the tea party or the GOP.

The White House had been alerted repeatedly over the past month by rating agencies that without a strong, long-term plan to restructure the country’s debt, they would lower America’s credit rating as soon as this Friday, according to two officials familiar with the process. The White House was warned that the deal would have to be significant—and not a short-term fix over the next few days to avoid a credit drop.

Analysts with Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, the nation’s top two rating agencies, declined to be quoted on the record, indicating that even benign statements about timing and ratings decisions can rattle markets and startle investors. But earlier this month, both agencies placed the U.S. government on notice of a downgrade of at least one notch, if not more, to a AA rating. In a written statement, S&P analysts said they believed "there is an increasing risk of a substantial policy stalemate enduring beyond any near-term agreement to raise the debt ceiling."

Ya think?  It has become painfully obvious that President Obama has decided that his stand on the budget will be the cornerstone of his reelection strategy. This fight is tailor made for Barack Obama. He can make false charges about the GOP picking big corporation over grandma.  Any cuts could be matched with rhetoric about sharing the burden.  And the President can look like Obama the peacemaker just trying to keep the stiff-necked Republican party in line, as no one calls him on his partisanship.  As an added bonus he gets to slam those pesky tea partiers who cost him the house in 2010 (despite the fact that if it wasn't for the tea party no one would be considering major budget cuts).

Obama is taking his stand so he can look good when the US's credit rating gets down graded no matter what he does. 


Reuters contacted 53 economists and 30 of them predicted that the US would be down graded by at least one of the three major ratings services Standard & Poor's, Moody's or Fitch.

The most likely to downgrade would be Standard and Poor's who has said there was a 50-50 chance of a downgrade, if Congress and President Obama failed to find a "credible solution to the rising U.S. government debt burden." S&P said it may cut the U.S. rating to AA within 90 days. Passing a $4 trillion agreement could prevent a downgrade, S&P said.

A $4 trillion debt-reduction plan sounds a lot like the agreement that was being negotiated by Obama and House Speaker John Boehner last week, at least until Obama insisted on raising the revenue part of the deal by $400 billion. 

Moody's Investors Service, said the U.S. government would likely keep its top rating if it avoids a default."

Most of the Reuters-polled economists believe the chance of a default is next to nothing but the exploding federal debt and the debate about cutting the debt has already done damage to the economy.

If the downgrade happens, things will get more expensive. Mortgage rates could rise. States and cities, already in trouble, could find it more difficult to borrow. Stock prices may tumble.

And there's more.  The same Reuters poll predicted that there's a 20% chance of another recession.

Now put this all together, US Government credit rating is likely to get downgraded whether we make the cuts or not, and the economy which has been slowing down since April may fall into recession, now Obama's speech yesterday makes sense.

Yesterday President Obama was trying to attack a deal that was already made. He kept talking about the "balanced approach" even though Harry Reid already presented a plan with no tax increases, and Obama endorsed it! He talked about the debt limit the credit rating and GOP intransigence. Obama talked about how the GOP would push the country into default and hurt our credit rating, even though he knows that there is very little chance the US will default and very little chance we will avoid a downgrade.


What seemed weird yesterday seems like a set up today.  Assuming that the US is downgraded, and the economy falls into the recession it has been flirting with since April, Barack Obama will state the case that we went into recession because of the downgrade which was caused by the Tea Party Republicans.


The possibility of this scenario makes it even more important for the GOP to hold its ground.  You can't avoid the inevitable, but you can force major spending cuts, prevent job killing tax-increases, and in the end save our economy in the long run.

Liberal Pollster Declares Obama's Re-election in Trouble

Liberal polling firm Public Policy Polling (PPP) is sounding the alarm, Barack Obama is in trouble. 

“There’s a very good chance Barack Obama would lose if he had to stand for reelection today,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “This is his worst poll standing in a long time and he really needs the economy to start turning around.”

Overall Obama's by a 48%-46% margin voters disapprove of the President's performance, but that is probably the best set of numbers in the study.  More Democrats are unhappy with the President's performance (16%), than Republicans who approve of him (10%).  I guess that means 10% of GOP voters have had no access to any media during the past two and a half years. The number that should be be most disturbing to the Obama-fans is the independent voters who disapprove of him by a margin of 49%-44%.

Now put those numbers in the context of this Jim Geraghty report which analyzed PPP and found some conflicts of interest, lack of transparency and Democratic-skewed methodology. In other words things could be even worse than the Daily Kos contractor, PPP is reporting.

PPP is also reporting that Mitt Romney has pulled into a tie with the President at 45%.

He leads the President by 9 points with independents at 46-37. And he earns more crossover support, getting 13% of the Democratic vote while only 8% of Republicans are behind Obama.

The other candidates are far behind Romney, but that is probably due to a lack of recognition rather than an understanding/disagreement with their policy.

Gallup is also showing a drop in support for Obama, the three-day rolling average of presidential approval reflected that Obama's approval dropped to 42%, to put that into perspective one month ago that approval rating was at 49%.

Since it is a three day average, and the first day a drop has been detected,  tomorrow's Gallup numbers for Obama may be even worse.

Rasmussen's three-day average reflects a similar drop with the President's disapproval at 54% vs 44% approval.

What is forcing Obama's numbers down? That could be best answered with the now-famous phrase, "Its the economy stupid!" and Americans are not very optimistic about the future:

Twenty-one percent (21%) of Likely U.S. Voters now say the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken the week ending Sunday, July 17. This matches the lowest level measured of Obama’s presidency and is also the lowest finding in nearly three months of weekly tracking.

Seventy-one percent (71%) of voters say the country is heading down the wrong track, the highest level of pessimism measured since mid-April. This finding has ranged from 57% to 72% since January 2009.

Certainly these numbers show that Americans are growing frustrated with Barack Obama's brand of change and if the election were held today he would be in severe trouble.  But the election won't be held today or for another year and a half, a lot can happen in that time period.

Why Gallup's Analysis of Jewish Voters is Dishonest

There it was in bold Gallup-type headlines.

Solid Majority of Jewish Americans Still Approve of Obama Changes in approval among Jews continues to reflect broader U.S. patterns.

The problem with the headline is that it is Dishonest.

Assuming  the overall Jewish American approval numbers are correct, they gave President Barack Obama a 60% job approval rating in June, down from 68% in May, but statistically unchanged from 64% in April and drastically below the 83% at the beginning of 2009, but its the comparison to the general population that is disingenuous.

Gallup's monthly trend in Jewish approval of Obama continues to roughly follow the path of all Americans' approval of the president, more generally, as it has since Obama took office in January 2009. The 14-percentage-point difference in the two groups' approval ratings in June -- 60% among U.S. Jews vs. 46% among all U.S. adults -- is identical to the average gap seen over the past two and a half years. However, the monthly graph is somewhat variable due to the lower monthly sample size of Jewish respondents (around 350).

The problem with the comparison is that Jews can't be compared with the total US Population, they are far more liberal-Democratic than the average voter.  According to Gallup US Party affiliation as of May, broke down as follows:

But the latest Gallup figure I could find for Jewish party affiliation (Sept 2009) shows that American Jews are almost 50% more likely to be Democrats than the average American.

Why is this important? Because Obama's approval rating has not fallen  of as much for Democrats as it has for Republicans.  Using numbers from April 2009 and May 2011 Gallup reports we find that the Democrat approval fall off is less than a third of the total US figures.

The Chart below is for illustrative purposes only, and not does not necessarily reflect the actual Gallup numbers which at this point are not available.  If one were to adjust the total US numbers to reflect a party split similar to that of the Jewish voters above (66% Dem, 27% GOP, 7% Independents) and compare that number to the fall off of the Jewish vote we find:

Using the May numbers (which are available but different than the ones Gallup reported today) we find that the adjusted fall off of Obama approval is much less than that of the "total US figures (21% to 34%).  We also find that the fall off of Jewish approval of President Obama is more than twice that of adjusted numbers. While I wouldn't use the exact numbers I am confident in saying that the fall off of the President's approval, is much larger than that of the equivalent general population. In other words, Gallup's main proposition is wrong.

With a major organization such as Gallup when there is a "bogus" survey, it usually is in the sample mix (i.e. weighted to heavy toward one group), or the analysis.

Without having the sample mix for Gallup, I cannot comment on that,  but the entire set-up of the analysis is misleading at best, intentionally dishonest at worst. First of all, taking a look at the approval point spread  difference as Gallup does at the start of its analysis doesn't make sense because the  Total US and Jewish Vote fall offs are working off of different bases. Ten percentage points off of 60% is a bigger hit than 10% off of 80% something that Gallup does not acknowledge.

More important is the fact that comparing President Obama's loss of approval in the Jewish community, which is 66% Democratic,  to the loss of approval of the entire population which is only 43% Democratic is not an honest comparison because the President has maintained his approval much better amongst Democratic voters.

The old proverb says there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. Today Gallup's Jewish vote survey has proved that proverb very true.

Rasmussen Reports...Obama's Approval "Falls Off The Cliff"

Between Debbie Wassserman Schultz' claim that the economy was turning around, and Obama's joke about shovel ready projects, if the President, and the progressive Democratic party leadership has proven anything over the past few days, it is that they are out of touch with the American people. And the American people are beginning to understand the progressive's distance from the voters.

There is a wealth of polling data coming from Rasmussen over the past few days, that signal problems for the President.  For example the chart below reflects the President's overall approval/disapproval ratings since his Bin Laden announcement.

You will notice that right after the announcement the President's approval (Blue line) took a bump up, but that advantage was quickly dissipated. For the next month, the approval/disapproval numbers remained close until the bad economic data and comments such as the ones described above began to take their toll. Today there is a nine percent spread between those who disapprove (54%) and those who approve (45%) of the President's performance.

What should be particularly troubling for the President is that 62% of independent voters disapprove of Obama's performance (37% approve).  Independents are likely to be the difference in the 2012.


Obama's approval index shows the same pattern. Approval index is the difference between those who strongly approve and strongly disapprove of the president's performance. This number is important because a voter with a strong opinion regarding a president's performance is more likely to work for or against the reelection of that president. Obama's approval index was at a -11 at the time if the Bin Laden mission.


It remained approximately in the same place until late last week when it fell to -19.  Just like the overall approval numbers, the independent voters show a strong negative feeling about Obama's performance with a -29 approval index.

Approval numbers are not the only statistic indicating voter frustration with President Obama.

• Almost two thirds of voters (65%) feel the country is going in the wrong direction

• 44% of voters blame the lousy economy on Obama (vs 49% who blame Bush). Last month it was only 39% blaming Obama, and 54% Bush.  Just as important is the fact that more independents (45%) blame Obama than Bush (44%).

• Only 28% of all voters and 23% of independents trust Obama on the economy more than they trust themselves.

• The President is seen as very liberal. 42% of voters see Obama as very liberal, 24% as somewhat liberal. Only 25% see him as a moderate. Independents generally agree, 39% see him as very liberal, 28% see him as somewhat liberal and only 23% see him as a moderate.  As US voters tend to be center-right, those very liberal numbers should be a concern for Obama's reelection team.

Putting it all together it is all bad news for the President. The only  good news (for him) is that there is a very long time between now and November 2012.  Over the next 17 months the Republicans need to keep pounding on the Presidential poor economic performance to ensure that America can elect a new president and turn itself around.

New Poll: Almost Two-Thirds of Voters Want a Balanced Budget Amendment

Since Congress won’t fix the problem, Americans want a Constitutional amendment to protect them from Congress. A new Sachs/Mason-Dixon Poll released by the Daily Caller this afternoon finds that almost two out of every three Americans (65%) support a constitutional amendment that would require the budget to be balanced every year.

“Americans are concerned about our nation’s deepening deficit and as a result, an overwhelming number support a balanced budget amendment,” said Alia Faraj-Johnson, Partner and Executive Vice President of Ron Sachs Communications. “Candidates from both parties would be wise to support the measure, which will help keep Congress’ spending in check and ensure our government is tightening its belt, like many American families.”

Support for the Amendment is wide-spread; Republicans (81%) and Independents (68%) support an amendment.  As expected Democrats are more reluctant to give up their “political crack,” but still slightly more 45% support the amendment than oppose it.

A balanced budget amendment would put the federal government on the same footing as most of the state budgets. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures 45 of the 50 states have a constitutional provision requiring that the budget be balanced each year.  Four states are required to have a balanced budget by statute only (and we know how easy it is to amend statutes). One state, Vermont has neither.  

The survey also reports that 46% of Americans would be more likely to vote for a presidential candidate who supports a balanced budget amendment while 21% indicated they would be less likely to vote for such a candidate.

Just as with the first question there are vast differences depending on party affiliation. Only 21% of Democrats would be more likely to support such a candidate (versus 37% who would be less likely), 64% of Republicans would be more likely (versus 7% less likely) and 51% of Independents (versus 19%).

Two things could be gleaned from these results. First the American people are serious they want the country to find a way to dig out of the budgetary hole we created by over spending. The second point is for potential GOP presidential candidates. Unless a particular candidate is hoping to get most of its votes from the opposition party, there is no downside to supporting a balanced budget amendment, Republicans and Independents both will be more likely to vote for a candidate supporting the amendment.

American's simply do not trust politicians to fix the problem themselves, only through an amendment to the Constitution will our leaders be forced to deal with the hard choices that need to be made.