Mish notes a report about the 7,000,000 or so people who have exhausted their unemployment benefits and asks:

With the exception of those opting for social security, some 7 million people who want jobs and once collected unemployment benefits, now have no job-related income.

Think those 7 million people are about to go on a spending spree? Think those forced into social security are about to go on a spending spree? Think the self-employed with no income are about to go on a spending spree? Think the 26 million unemployed or under-employed are about to go on a spending spree? Think the countless millions of working Americans barely scraping by are about to go on a spending spree?

Well, I don’t either…

…People are broke, yet Congress opts to punish those still working by letting tax cuts expire. Is this amazing or simply par for the course?

Par for the course, I’m afraid. It must be kept in mind that Democrat leaders don’t actually care about people – they talk about caring; they’ll run whole campaigns on the theme of their concern for the poor and working people, but they don’t really care. G. K. Chesterton once ventured to explain why this should be:

Among the rich you will never find a really generous man even by accident. They may give their money away, but they will never give themselves away; they are egotistic, secretive, dry as old bones. To be smart enough to get all that money you must be dull enough to want it.

The leaders of the Democrats are rich – some times, quite fabulously. While Pelosi and Co will talk about the GOP favoring the millionaires and billionaires, the fact is that most of such are on the Democrat side. How many conservative billionaires can you name? How many billionaires are sponsors of conservative groups? Democrats are the party of the rich – they’ve just got the brass to attack “the rich” while they sleep on piles of money.

But as rich people, the only thing they really know about is money – so, they’ll spend money and give money and do all sorts of things with money. But money, of itself, tends to attract people who don’t always have the best interests of others at heart. If you’re flashing the cash at a problem, that cash will be taken…but its no assurance that the cash will be taken for the problem listed. In this case here, all the Democrat spending – and they’ve spent trillions over the past couple years – has not managed to get in to the hands of the poor nor the middle class.

If they would, as Chesterton observed, give themselves away they would have better ensured the money went where most needed. As it was, it mostly ended up in the vaults of millionaires and billionaires as well as lining the pockets of well heeled union bosses and various liberal groups.

We can change this, if we change the government on November 2nd. The choice is ours – but I’m hoping we might get a new set of leaders who will, perhaps, have the ability to see things from the point of view of those who are suffering.

Just incredible – from Elizabeth Crum over at NRO:

…Nevada’s Senate candidate forum ended in a loud shouting match and fist fight between supporters of Harry Reid and Sharron Angle…

…As the forum opened, attendees were asked not to applaud or shout out questions or comments during the event. Harry Reid answered questions via a pre-taped 30-minute interview, and then Sharron Angle answered a moderator’s questions live on stage…

…once Angle appeared. Most of the 800-member audience jumped to their feet, half of them cheering, half loudly booing as she and the moderator took the stage. Even once all were seated and Angle began to speak, many in the crowd were quite boisterous and some became increasingly bold and uncivil as the event continued.

Angle was repeatedly shouted at as she tried to answer questions. Scornful remarks, sarcastic questions, and accusations including “Liar!” were shouted by Reid partisans. The moderator politely asked for order, twice, but it had little effect on the more raucous members of the crowd…

Eventually, as Angle was giving her closing remarks, a fist fight erupted as Reid supporters started leaving early. The bottom line is this:

1. Reid didn’t show up and just sent a video.

2. Reid’s supporters tried to make it impossible for Angle to speak.

So – set up: Reid wanted a platform and the ability to say that he’s engaged in debate, but he didn’t want Angle to have a chance to look good on any video clips. So, his people went there with what only can be considered an intentional desire to wreck the forum.

This is the way the left behaves – they don’t want debate; they merely want people to hate and be divided…in the resulting chaos, they hope to bamboozle a plurality to back Reid (in Nevada, you can vote for “none of these” – Reid’s only hope is that a lot of Independents check that box, thus allowing him to squeak to a win with 43 or 44% of the vote).

It won’t work, Harry – we’re on to you, and Angle is the next Senator from Nevada.

So, Democrats invite Stephen Colbert to testify before Congress. This is done on the strength of Colbert’s having done a comedy bit in regards to a pro-illegal immigrant campaign about how hard farm labor is and how gringos will never do it. Not exactly an earth-shattering issue and, in fact, nothing but the merest political gamesmanship.

This was done, almost certainly, in order to draw MSM attention away from Christopher Coates testimony (PDF) regarding the criminal irresponsibility of Holder’s “Justice” Department in regards to voter intimidation by the New Black Panther Party. If there ever was an earth-shattering issue, the failure of the Justice Department to enforce voting rights laws would be it – but the Democrats would prefer we not notice, and the MSM is easily made to play along with Democrat desires.

But just to be sure, the Democrats decide to make a circus of Colbert’s appearance, just to be sure that the MSM knows what to report on – from Drudge:

REP. CONYERS TO FUNNYMAN: ‘I’m asking you to leave the committee room completely, and submit your statement’… MORE… Rep. Lofgren steps in: ‘Many are eager to hear his comments’ … Colbert mugs: ‘I’m here at the invitation of the chairwoman, and if she would like me to remove myself from the hearing room I am happy to do so. I’m only here at her invitation’…

These are the people governing our nation, my friends. Complete and utter idiots who are playing games while America suffers. It is a curious thing that before Revolutions, there appears among the Ruling Class a sense of unreality – a conviction that all will be well, and thus no need to concentrate on what is really happening. I think this is because Ruling Classes tend to get filled with stupid people, while those few who have a bit of intellect simply can’t face up to the fact that the party is over.

November can’t get here fast enough – the defeat of the Democrats will be a mercy to them; they’ll no longer be able to embarrass themselves quite so badly.

Totally chickening out on taxes:

Democrats abandoned plans to vote before Election Day on extending Bush-era tax cuts for the middle class while eliminating them for better-off Americans, spooked by protests from vulnerable incumbents and bleak prospects for passage.

With time running out to plan for 2011, the delay raises uncertainty for small businesses and individual taxpayers over their future liabilities. It also sets up a titanic battle over taxes after the election…

They are simply afraid to move – afraid to extend all or part, so they just run away from it and hope to salvage enough to be able to so something after November 2nd. This is all the proof anyone needs that the Democrats not only are in deep trouble, but know it.

This is a Ruling Class at its wits end – going to be a fun few weeks coming up, boys and girls.

Yesterday we get news that Cuomo is in trouble, now another completely safe, New York Democrat seems not so safe:

…Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joseph DioGuardi is running neck and neck with Democratic incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand for the seat vacated by Hillary Clinton…

The poll still has Schumer cruising to victory…but it looks like the GOP, and pretty conservative parts of it, in to the bargain, have a shot of breaking the Democrats in New York. Add this to the trouble Dingell in MI (between him and his dad, Dingell has held his seat for 80 years) and Frank in MA are having, we’re starting to see a really incredible election year shaping up.

With Democrats being forced to defend seats which were not under threat even two weeks ago, literally anything is possible on November 2nd.

NRO comments on the new Republican program for America:

All year long, conservatives have been pressuring Republicans to release a Contract with America for 2010 — an updated version of the campaign platform that the party unveiled before its 1994 sweep of Congress. Thursday morning, Republican congressmen are responding to that pressure by making a “Pledge to America.” The inevitable question will be: Is the pledge as bold as the Contract?

The answer is: The pledge is bolder. The Contract with America merely promised to hold votes on popular bills that had been bottled up during decades of Democratic control of the House. The pledge commits Republicans to working toward a broad conservative agenda that, if implemented, would make the federal government significantly smaller, Congress more accountable, and America more prosperous…

Which is, of course, what we need. I haven’t had a chance to digest the document, but I am impressed by the steps towards balancing the budget – our debt is the biggest internal threat we face today. If we don’t control our debt, it will destroy our economy…and maybe destroy our country.

This Pledge is just what we need going in to the last weeks of the campaign – everyone knows why they despise the Democrats, but we need to tell everyone why they should support the Republicans. This does the trick – smaller government, lower taxes, greater individual liberty, strong national defense: this is what the people want and expect from their Republican party, and we are now pledged to give it to them.

Its in Spanish, but handily sub-titled. What you’ve got here is Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) on Univision explaining that Republican candidate Van Tran is trying to take her seat away from “us” – meaning, Sanchez and her fellow Latino Americans.

Its a naked appeal to help her keep the seat “Latino” – because Democrats believe (a) there are “Latino” issues which are different from “black” or “Vietnamese” issues and (b) they further believe that only a Latino can represent Latinos. Of course, there are only human issues – and what we are to look for in our Representatives is a decent human being who will represent what is best in all of us.

Just disgusting – but no surprise after decades of Democrats playing upon racial divisions.

You can help Van Tran get this race-baiting Democrat out of office by going here.

Geesh – from the AP:

Democrat Andrew Cuomo sought to bolster his appeal among independents Wednesday in the race for New York governor with an endorsement from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, as a new poll showed tea party Republican Carl Paladino gaining ground.

Cuomo held the Bloomberg announcement just hours after the poll results were released. Soon after, Cuomo had to retract his statement during the event that he had once voted for Bloomberg…

The poll noted there shows Cuomo with only a 6 point lead, and below 50% support. Not a good sign for the man who was supposed to cruise to victory in November.

Paladino is, of course, still behind and has a very uphill fight to break the power of the elite in New York…but he’s hammering away at them, and Cuomo is scared…and starting to make stupid mistakes.

Could be an interesting night coming up on November 2nd.

From the Washington Post:

Some of the country’s most prominent health insurance companies have decided to stop offering new child-only plans, rather than comply with rules in the new health-care law that will require such plans to start accepting children with preexisting medical conditions after Sept. 23…

I know, you liberals didn’t see this coming – but with a mandate that policies accept people with pre-existing conditions, the reality is that a lot of people will wait until the child gets sick before making the purchase. This is what comes of writing laws without a basis in reality. You can’t get car insurance after you’ve driven your car in to a lamp post because it makes no sense for someone to insure an already wrecked vehicle, ya dig? Insurance is to pay for the unexpected events of life, not the things which have already happened.

A better way to provide care for children would have been to free up the insurance market for cross-State sales and to allow people to pool themselves for the purchase of insurance. That way, people with children could band together to buy policies as a discount specifically to cover their children. This, of course, is the sort of ideas we Republicans had from the get-go, but the Democrats excluded us from any say, at all, in what went on. Nancy and Harry wrote the thing behind closed doors – idiocy has been the natural result.

As I said to a young liberal the other day, you either believe in freedom, or you don’t. If you believe in freedom, then you believe that a genuinely free market will be provide for human needs. Not perfectly, because there is no perfection in this Fallen world – but best possible. Our half-free medical market is already in trouble, and the Democrats plan is to make it entirely un-free – disaster will follow.

Our job is to repeal the ObamaCare monstrosity and start implementing policies which will actually help people take care of themselves.