Author: Cluster

The Ryan Rally and Romney’s Taxes

Cluster203 Comments

It’s been a week, but I am sure the Democrats feel like it has been quite a bit longer, as Paul Ryan has completely changed the course of the campaign and possibly the election by coalescing the conservatives. Ryan is a solid conservative, and is not afraid to take on the once unspeakable entitlement reform issue which has Democrats in a panic because not only is he openly talking about reform, he is winning the conversation. In fact Obama has had to distort and lie about Romney and Ryan’s plan while at the same time trying to deflect the issue back to Romney’s taxes.

Let’s take a quick look at each individual issue and how the Democrats are trying to spin it. The fact is, the Medicare reform that Romney and Ryan are calling for DOES NOT impact anyone over 55 years of age. One more time for the liberals out there – the Romney/Ryan plan does not affect anyone over the age of 55 – got that? For those under 55, the reform plan offers a CHOICE. Liberals always pride themselves on being pro choice, so here’s a big moment for them. People under 55 will have the choice to remain on the current medicare program, or receive a voucher to use those funds in helping them buy other private insurance. That’s it – it’s pretty simple, and nothing like the big scary reform Obama and the Democrats are trying to paint it as, so keep that in mind the next time you see that smarmy David Axlerod on TV lying through his teeth.

Now on to Romney’s taxes. Mitt and Ann Romney have released the legally required tax returns and financial disclosures which have proven to be above board and in compliance with every tax obligation. There is no reason why they should be required to release any more, and further calls for them to do so, are tantamount to a witch hunt. If the Democrats and Obama were concerned that the Romney’s evaded taxes, or failed to submit in any given year, well then that can be found out quite easily by one phone call to Douglas Shulman, Commissioner of the IRS, who reports to Timothy Geitnner, who is ironically an admitted tax evader. If any irregularities are found in Romney’s tax returns, and no action is taken, well then we have much larger issues to concern ourselves with, but as it stands now, Romney does not have any “secret” tax returns as recently described by the aforementioned smarmy Axelrod. Do the liberals understand that? Have I dumbed this down enough for them? We will see.

The Lessons of Failure

Cluster34 Comments

In moments of solitude, which are few these days, I often contemplate the state of our union and where we find ourselves not just politically, but socially and morally as well. And one over arching concept keeps coming to mind, and that is, we as a society, particularly our younger generation, have forgotten how to fail. Failure is a very important part of a successful life. It builds character, it strengthens resolve, it teaches caution, and most importantly it builds self reliance. Throughout history, failure has been instrumental in not only shaping the lives of great people, but in shaping the direction of this great country. General Washington lost many a battle in the early days of the revolution before honing his strategic skills and ultimately winning the war. It would have been very easy for Washington to simply give up, after all it was bone chilling cold in many of those of important battles and many men died, yet Washington learned from his mistakes and his failures and pressed forward. But maybe above them all was President Lincoln, whose resolve was only steeled by his failure. In fact I have the following list of Lincoln’s failures posted in my office:

  • 1831 – Lost his job
  • 1832 – Defeated in run for Illinois State Legislature
  • 1833 – Failed in business
  • 1834 – Elected to Illinois State Legislature (success)
  • 1835 – Sweetheart died
  • 1836 – Had nervous breakdown
  • 1838 – Defeated in run for Illinois House Speaker
  • 1843 – Defeated in run for nomination for U.S. Congress
  • 1846 – Elected to Congress (success)
  • 1848 – Lost re-nomination
  • 1849 – Rejected for land officer position
  • 1854 – Defeated in run for U.S. Senate
  • 1856 – Defeated in run for nomination for Vice President
  • 1858 – Again defeated in run for U.S. Senate
  • 1860 – Elected President (success)

How many of us can honestly say we would have kept going? Yet President Lincoln is to this day regarded as one of, if not the greatest President this country has ever elected. Americans need to learn how to fail again, but our politicians win elections by promising to not let anyone fail. Corporations receive bail outs, farmers receive subsidies, and the poor receive an ever growing list of entitlements to the point that failure is becoming a lost concept. We all need to learn that failure is not the end of the world, in fact, it is often times a new beginning. There are many great historical quotes on failure, one of course is “Failure is not falling down, it is not getting back up”, but two of my favorites have always been:

– “Good people are good because they’ve come to wisdom through failure”  – William Saroyan.

– “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up”  – Thomas A Edison

I posted this under the category of “Conservative Values” because in my opinion, the concept of failure is lost on most liberals. They are aghast when conservatives suggest that failure is the best option when speaking of auto companies, financial industries, and those individuals who over reach financially. It’s not that we want them to be down and out, it’s that we know what promise failure can bring.

Democrats Just Can’t Be Honest

Cluster128 Comments

Today on MSNBC with Soledad O’Brien, Debbie Wasserman Schultz walked back her line yesterday that she didn’t really know the political affiliation of Bill Burton’s Super PAC that put out that revolting ad claiming that Romney was responsible for the death of a woman. This despite the fact that Bill Burton is a former Obama spokesperson, and that DWS is the chair of the DNC, so you would think that the two have met. Today she did admit that she did know the super PAC was a democratic action committee, but that the ad was true, and this response went unchallenged by MSNBC, which from now on will be permanently referred to as the Obama reelection network. And this bit of dishonesty is just the tip of the iceberg from a party that has long ago stopped being honest with the American public and is becoming more isolated and extreme by the day. For another example of democrats unwillingness to embrace the truth, I submit to you Ryan’s reform plans on taxes and Medicare.

Lets first look at Medicare – Ryan’s plan does not at all affect anyone under the age of 55, yet just today on the Obama reelection network, the shills at MSNBC were citing the 65+demographics of the swing states and stating that Ryan’s plan to “end Medicare” as we know it, will hurt the GOP’s chances in those states. Do you suppose that they even know the plan? Considering that Jonathan Capehart was one of the pundits, and he recently admitted an ignorance of the constitution, my guess is no. But in reality, I am sure they are aware of that fact, and simply choose to lie about it to scare seniors, which is a time honored democratic tradition. Ryan’s plan also calls for means testing, a component of which is designed to give less benefits to the “rich”, or those who need it less, and more benefits to those who need it the most, and component of which is sensible and merciful, and a component of which goes unmentioned by democrats. Furthermore, the plan allows those under 55 the option to remain with the traditional plan, or to receive a voucher allowing them to use that in purchasing other health care insurance, which we all know is a “choice”, and considering that democrats pride themselves on being the party of pro choice, you would think that they would embrace this idea. But evidently the only choice democrats embrace is allowing a woman the right to kill her own baby. And they don’t consider that extreme.

Next is Ryan’s tax plan which also gives people a choice to either use the new reformed code or the existing one. In short, the new reform plan is designed to broaden the base and simplify the code. Obviously this doesn’t set well with democrats because eliminating loop holes and deductions means that the government won’t be able to pick winners and losers anymore which is also a time honored democratic tradition. The plan also calls for increasing middle class exemptions up to $39,000 for a family of four, and eliminates all double taxation on investments; ie dividends, capital gains, etc, which will allow a more free flow of money throughout the markets, creating jobs and rising incomes. The democrats however choose to simply focus on the lower rates for the rich and don’t dare tell the whole truth, because if they did, they risk actually educating their audience and in turn risk losing votes. So avoiding the truth is the only option democrats have this election cycle.

It’s Ryan – continued

Cluster100 Comments

Lots of comments on the previous thread so let’s pick it up from here. The liberals certainly have their panties in a twist over Ryan, so it was obviously a great pick.

Have at it folks, and please be civil

UPDATE, by Mark Noonan:  Hello everyone!  I’m back!  Just want to put my two cents in.  When I first heard the news I immediately thought “good pick”, but now that I’ve seen how things have played out over the last 24 hours I have to go with “inspired pick”.  The clear uptick in GOP enthusiasm combined with the meltdown on the left shows that Romney hit the target.

Its going to be a great campaign and we are going to win.  And, liberals, when you’re sitting there crying in y0ur beer as Biden gives a concession speech (Obama not having the guts to do it just as Kerry sent Edwards out to face the electoral music in 2004), just think it over:  you signed on to this nauseating, un-American thing which will forever be known as the “2012 Obama re-election campaign”.  You went down in to the lowest gutter in American history and you came up a complete loser.  Maybe it will finally be time for you to reconsider your views…

It’s Ryan!

Cluster115 Comments

Mitt Romney has  solidified the conservative credentials of the ticket, and has positioned the conservative movement for the future with the pick of Paul Ryan! And I couldn’t be more pleased. As a seven term congressional representative and Chair of the House Budget Committee, Ryan has proven that he can appeal to the electorate, and win in a very blue state. He also has a unique ability to expose the lunacy of liberal policy, and articulate it in a very common sense manner. Democrats need to be very worried, and this may also prompt Obama to dump Biden, because let’s face it, Ryan is smarter, younger and has more common sense than either one of them on every issue. This is a great pick Mitt, well done.

Let’s Be Honest – Part Deux

Cluster88 Comments

A while back I wrote this same entitled thread about the need for honesty in politics, and quite frankly this is a thread that could be written every day. Last time I spoke of Harry Reid and his incessant whine of Republican obstructionism, of which I pointed out was just a cover for Harry not getting anything done in the Senate. In fact we are now over three years without a national budget, which is unconstitutional and has nothing to do with obstructionism. I believe the reason Harry won’t put together a budget is because he is afraid of being honest with the American public in letting them know exactly where the money is being allocated. Another part of that previous thread was Harry’s reluctance to even bring to the floor the two Ryan budgets, and the other Congressional Republican legislation that continues to languish on Harry’s desk. Why is Harry so afraid of even having a debate on these proposals? It simply doesn’t make sense, of course neither does Harry who will no doubt go down in history as the worst Senate Majority leader ever.

Today I want to speak about “fair share”, the Democrat mantra designed to enrage the proletariat and marshal the troops to Obama’s heroic cause. Fair share is obviously code for the “rich” not paying enough in taxes – well again, let’s be honest. The fact is, the top 10% of wage earners paid 71% of all federal income taxes and brought in 43% of all income earned. The bottom 50% of wage earners paid just 2% of all federal income taxes and brought in 13% of all income earned. Not exactly a “fair” ratio in my opinion, and this doesn’t even account for the nearly 47% of all wage earners who didn’t pay any federal income taxes. Couple this with the fact that nearly 110 million people received a welfare benefit in 2011, up from nearly 97 million in just 2009, which equates to a 13% increase in welfare distribution in just the last 3 years. And much of this welfare is in the form of food stamps which had a shocking 164% increase in the last three years, yet you will never hear this from the Obama media, which is dishonest to say the least. During the Bush administration, when budgets were actually submitted, government spending never exceeded $2.5 trillion. Obama’s spending has never been less than $3.4 trillion, absent any budget of course and that is another fact not mentioned in the media. Of course the media did try and spin that a while back, by lumping in the Obama 2009 stimulus into Bush’s budget, but were appropriately reprimanded for their dishonesty. The fact is, Obama has raised annual baseline government spending by over a $1 trillion dollars, with no plans to scale that back, thus the need for the “rich” to pay more, however, if you were to raise the top bracket by the 3.9% that Obama is calling for, that would generate approximately $70 billion dollars, or enough to run the government for 8 days. So who are we kidding? That isn’t a solution, but if you listen to “The One We Have All Been Waiting For”, this is what is holding American back.

We can never have an honest conversation about the countries affairs while liberal partisan ideologues run the show. Obama has no desire to actually be honest with the country and that is why he needs to go.

All Foam, No Beer

Cluster68 Comments

Current speculation is that it is Pawlenty as the VP, who wasn’t my first choice, but a good choice nonetheless. He is a two term Governor from a very blue state, will wipe the floor with Biden in the debate, is qualified to be President on day one, and while he is the only “DC outsider” amongst the serious contenders, he does bring a mixed record as Governor of Minnesota. I did have concerns with his initial support of Cap & Trade although he did back away from that position, liberals call it evolving, and I do respect a politician who will admit when they are wrong, but other than that, Pawlenty is pretty solid on every other issue. He did govern conservatively and left the State of Minnesota with a surplus. His free-market position on Health Care is the right position to take and it does depart from that of Romney’s Mass. plan, but keep in mind, the health care plan in Mass. was largely driven by the Democratically controlled legislature in that state. He also has the right position on tax reform, is strong on defense, and has some good ideas on Welfare reform, so all in all, Pawlenty is a conservative I could get behind.

However, my first choice is still Rubio, in that I believe Rubio does represent the future, is very conservative, is extremely articulate, has a certain panache, and would rally an Hispanic base, but he is young and Romney may not feel that he could step into the Presidency if needed on day one. And keep in mind, the Democrats nominated a less experienced Senator in 2008, who did win and as we all know, that didn’t turn out so well, so I will get behind Pawlenty if in fact that is who Romney selects. Besides, Pawlenty did just come out with one of the best lines on Obama that I have heard in a while – all foam, no beer.

Who do you like?

Open Thread

Cluster63 Comments

Lot’s going on folks including:

– Iran’s support of Assad, will this be enough to allow him to keep power?

– Jimmy Carter to speak in support of Obama at the convention. Help or hinderance?

– Romney considering Gen. Patraeus as VP? Good move or not? In fact, the VP selection is expected soon – who do you like and why?

And last but not least, this little surprise regarding Obama’s time at Columbia. Or was he actually there?

Or anything else that’s on your mind. Keep it clean and civil.

 

 

Common Sense

Cluster64 Comments

In honor of Thomas Paine, “these are the times that try men’s souls”, I can honestly say that my soul has been tried. The political climate we find ourselves in is surreal, and born of partisan hackery and ignorance. Last week, Harry Reid stated probably the most despicable  statement ever uttered on the Senate Floor, yet the media and ignorant liberals let it go by without question due to their hyper partisanship and ignorance. I say ignorance because of the fact that we do have an IRS and Justice Department charged with vetting and validating tax returns, and if you think someone of Romney’s prominence escaped the eye of those two government watchdogs, you’re sorely lacking in common sense. Combine that with the fact that Romney does not prepare his own taxes, he has highly paid and highly qualified CPA firms compile his returns. CPA firms who are also audited frequently, so to suggest that this highly moral man not only evaded taxes for a number of years but also avoided the scrutiny of the IRS, is just insane. Yet, it goes largely unquestioned, and the burden of proof becomes Romney’s . Let’s also throw in our dear President, who has lectured all of us on several occasions on the importance of civility, and you can imagine why many of our souls have been tried over the last three years. The disingenuous and arrogance emanating from our current crop of liberals is distasteful to say the least.

I am reminded of another one of Paine’s great quotes – “Time makes more converts than reason”, and that is a fact that Democrats bank on. Liberals know that a lie repeated often enough will resonate with the ignorant, and the liberal base is ignorant, make no mistake about that. But the quote from Paine that struck me the most was this:

SOME writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness POSITIVELY by uniting our affections, the latter NEGATIVELY by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher.

This is an incredibly profound statement. Paine is speaking to the sense of community driven not by government, but by the individual, both in charity and accomplishment. We desperately need to get back to that place where government is administered at the most local level possible, as defined by our Constitution, where individual charity nurtures those in need, and where individual accomplishment is applauded, not scolded. The ever growing bureaucracy in Washington DC is not the solution to the problem, it is the problem. Can you guess which President stated that?

Are we going to let this stand?

Cluster64 Comments

In a speech published on his website Thursday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the ultimate goal of world forces must be the annihilation of Israel.

Ahmadinejad is a despicable little man with a healthy inferiority complex and of whom poses a serious threat to world peace and stability. Obama missed a huge opportunity in 2009, which unfortunately resulted in Neda’s death, and chose to side with the tyrannical despot, rather than stand with the student uprising and with freedom. Couple that with Obama inspiring the Arab Spring, which hasn’t turned out well, and you start to get an idea of why Ahmadinejad feels so emboldened.

It’s time once again that we assert American power, stand strong for individual liberty and freedom, and put these tyrants back on notice that their misogynistic and oppressive days are over.