Representative Eric Cantor (R-VA), warns of the dangers should the Democrats attempt to ram through Obamunism between November and January:

…In the wake of the November election, the Democratic majorities of 2008 will be frozen in place until a new Congress is sworn in at the beginning of 2011. It appears likely that scores of defeated Democrats will head back to Washington to serve out their terms with nothing to lose. And with President Obama’s promises of tax increases, cap-and-trade, card check, and immigration reform left unfulfilled, what’s to stop Speaker Pelosi and Leader Reid from using the lame-duck session to pass the remaining parts of their agenda that their so-called moderates are currently too jittery to support?…

Not much – in a more rational time, we could rely upon good sense, good manners and a sense of patriotism to prevent a lame duck Congress from enacting an agenda just rejected at the polls. Trouble is that our Democrats have no sense, no manners and a highly atrophied sense of patriotism. Quite honestly, all that stands between us and a lame duck revolution are those Democrat Senators up for re-election in 2012 and already starting to look over their shoulders.

But Democrats will do such a thing at their extreme peril. The American people have a highly developed sense of fair play – indeed, it is some times a bit over-developed and leads to giving a someone a break who really doesn’t deserve it. But that is ok – if we are to err, then better to do so on the side of mercy and generosity. But the flip side of this is a white hot anger when someone really takes advantage of a generous heart.

There is a revolutionary ferment in America today – people are furious with a corrupt and out of touch Ruling Class. This looks as though it will strongly advantage Republicans in November. Not so much because everyone has falling back in love with the GOP (far from it), but that there is at least a perception that the GOP has learned some lessons and, at any rate, they aren’t the guys screwing things up at the moment. If the American people troop to the polls and return a GOP majority – or even just a strong GOP minority – then the expectation on the part of the people will be a strong modification in the course being pursued. If Democrats try to ram through the agenda which has failed, then a revolutionary ferment will explode in to revolutionary demands.

And it would not quiet down. It would not abate and become a non-issue by 2012. It would just mount higher and higher – at the end of the road for the use of a Lame Duck is the Democrat party being a dead duck. We’ll see what happens – but let no Democrat say they weren’t warned.

Mish points out just how out of whack the experts are getting – a whole pack of them predicted durable goods orders to rise:

Individual Forecasts 1.5 Percent or Greater

* Barclays Capital +1.5%

* BNP Paribas +4.0%

* Citi +1.6%

* Desjardins Group +2.0%

* High Frequency Economics +2.0%

* J.P. Morgan Chase +1.7%

* Janney Montgomery Scott +3.2%

* Landesbank Berlin +2.8%

* Nomura Securities Intl. +3.0%

* PineBridge Investments +2.5%

* Raymond James +2.0%

* RBC Capital Markets +2.3%

* Ried, Thunberg & Co. +1.5%

* Thomson Reuters/IFR +2.9%

* Wrightson Associates +1.5%

I’m sure that even the most financially uninstructed recognize a lot of those names – JP Morgan, Barclays, Citi. These aren’t just odd analysts out there no one listens to. This is the cream of the crop – the people who are supposedly really tuned in to what is going on. On the advice of such people, literally hundreds of billions of dollars will move this way or that.

And, so, what actually happened?

New Orders

New orders for manufactured durable goods in June decreased $2.0 billion or 1.0 percent to $190.5 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This was the second consecutive monthly decrease and followed a 0.8 percent May decrease…

This is not just being a bit off. This isn’t predicting a 1.5% increase and having it come in at 1.3%. This is black and white – this is people who, for whatever reason, haven’t the foggiest notion of what is going on out there. Anyone who listened to the experts and acted accordingly got burned. You literally would have been better off just automatically doing the opposite of whatever they said.

It is my opinion that the elite of our economy are entirely out to sea – they were raised on fake money, usurious interest rates and Keynesian economic theory. Now that its all come a cropper, they simply don’t know what to do. They plug their data in to their Keynesian models and its supposed to come out This Way, but then it comes out That Way, instead. They are flabbergasted – FDR cured the Great Depression using the same policies as Obama and the Fed. Why isn’t it working?

I don’t think any of them will ever figure it out – that a line of economic nonsense was propagated for decades and no one really checked in to it (except a few stalwart followers of Hayek, who are now being vindicated all to heck and gone). What they’ll keep doing is just more of the same – there are rumors of another large “quantative easing” in the works. That is elite-speak for “fire up the printing presses, Benny, we need to have government take more lousy assets off our hands!”. If Democrats thought they could get away with it, they’d pass another trillion dollar stimulus bill. They aren’t stuck in a rut – they are shacked to an economic corpse.

Only a complete overturn of the Powers That Be offers a chance to change course and get us on track to real economic revival. Keep these clowns in power, and they’ll bankrupt us completely and still never figure out what went wrong.

No doubt about it, we’re in a fix as far as housing goes. While some short sighted analysts are pumping up recent data alleging a growth in home sales, the fact of the matter is that in raw numbers of houses sold, we’re clearly in a housing Depression. Prices continue to drop, foreclosures continue at a rapid pace, and the incidence of strategic default (ie, people walking away from homes they can afford because the market value is so much less than the mortgage balance) continue to rise. Rosy housing scenarios have us maintaining prices right about where they are now, but I fully expect major reductions in home prices unless we some how change the dynamics of the market.

Here is the terrible scenario – we’re already in the dumpster on home prices and as this dumpster spreads, it pushes more and more people “underwater” on their mortgages, thus stressing their willingness to keep up consumption and/or making them more likely to just walk away from their homes…

Read the rest over at Noonan for Nevada.

Tfmo is doing his latest installment – click and listen.

A few quotes:

“This fight is far from over. In fact, it is just the beginning, and at the end of what is certain to be a long legal struggle, Arizona will prevail in its right to protect our citizens.”

– Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer in her official statement to the press…

…”We are deeply disappointed in the court’s ruling today and disagree with the court’s opinion that the Arizona’s law will unduly ‘burden’ the enforcement of federal immigration law. Instead of wasting taxpayer resources filing a lawsuit against Arizona and complaining that the law would be burdensome, the Obama Administration should have focused its efforts on working with Congress to provide the necessary resources to support the state in its efforts to act where the Federal government has failed to take responsibility.”

– Joint Statement by U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz…

…”Today’s ruling does not strike down SB1070. Her ruling only puts a hold on a few parts of the new law. That’s why her actions today are called a preliminary injunction. Those who are here in this state illegally, my deputies will still ask about their status in this country and will arrest on existing state and federal immigration violations. State violators will be booked into my jail and federal violators will be turned over to authorities.”

– Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio

It is just mind-numbingly stupid to strike down this law – it is the merest enforcement of already existing federal law. Federal law, by the way, which the Obama Administration is refusing to enforce. I understand the judge was a Clinton appointee – if that is the case, then that is all that need be said; a Democrat ruled the way Democrats desires, law be darned.

This will not stand – in fact, this ruling just makes it more likely that the political will to secure our border will rise to power.

From Gay Patriot:

Last week, I jumped the gun (as did many others) in taking what was a complex story and boiling it down to an video clip without its proper context. I apologized to my readers and to Shirley Sherrod.

I hereby withdraw the apology to Mrs. Sherrod.

As I noted at the time, this was a very complex story and I had a pretty good hunch that Mrs. Sherrod was not the angel she appeared to be. I am correct. She is a picture perfect product of the liberal policies that make African-Americans dependent on the Federal Government and foster a victimization mentality…

He goes on to note Shirley Sherrod’s claim that Breitbart wants to bring back slavery, and Mr. Sherrod’s assertion that we have to stop whites and Uncle Toms from stealing elections.

Discuss.

An interesting proposal:

An anti-immigration group is calling on the Obama administration to ensure a smooth exit for illegal immigrants who are trying to leave the U.S. due to the weak economy and Arizona’s strict new immigration law.

Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC) is urging U.S. citizens to pressure the White House and the Homeland Security Department to establish “safe departure” border checkpoints along the U.S. border for illegal immigrants so they can leave without fear of being detained or prosecuted for immigration crimes…

Makes sense – voluntarily turn yourself in at the border, and out you go with no questions asked. The only problem I can see is if a violent offender on the lam tried to take advantage of such a program. We should have protections against that – but other than violent offenders, anyone who wants to self-deport should be afforded all possible conveniences – we can even help defray travel expenses as that will still be a lot cheaper than either having them stay or arresting them in the interior.

Such a program would probably induce several million to head home. The economy here isn’t in very good shape and its highly likely that illegals have borne a large measure of things such as the home building crash. It might be that a large number are willing to head back home but both lack the means and have the fear of getting tangled up in America’s immigration laws.

From Huffington Post:

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell predicted on Tuesday that if the president escalates America’s military involvement in Afghanistan he could very well face a primary challenger in 2012…

Which is both typical of liberal Democrat politics, and a continuing reminder of just how pathetic liberals are. Boiled down, what Rendell is saying is that if Obama responds to changing circumstances in Afghanistan and sends more troops (or, presumptively, if he just refuses to draw down after July of 2011), then there could be a primary challenger to him. Shades of Bobby Kennedy against LBJ in 1968!

While it should be kept in mind that Rendell was a Hillary backer in 2008, it cannot be ignored that he represents a significant portion of the Democrat coalition on this. And the fact that he’s airing this in public shows the level of dismay Obama is generating on the left. There is clearly a growing level of anger out there over the fact that the new, liberal dawn hasn’t come about as expected on election night, 2008.

I will have to rate the emergence of a serious primary challenger to Obama as a 1-100 shot. But this is still vastly different from “absolutely impossible”, which would have been my judgment even a couple weeks ago. Its still not at all likely because, quite simply, any Democrat who did challenge Obama would be doomed politically, even if they snatched the nomination away from him – there is no way that the broad mass of African-Americans would forgive the Democrat who ousted Obama;come November after that, black voters would stay home in droves, thus assuring not just a GOP Presidential win, but also a massive win in House, Senate and other down-ballot contests (Democrats are extraordinarily dependent upon high black turnout voting 90% Democrat). The Democrat who brought this about would be utterly finished in politics.

And so, I don’t think any of the potential serious challengers would do it. For instance, Hillary ages, but she is also in good health and 2016 is not too long from now. Why end all chances of it in 2012 when a mere four years later she’d have a chance of grabbing the brass ring?

On the other hand, if 2010 turns out badly for the Democrats and the economy slips deep in to recession/depression in 2011, then the choice for the Democrats may come down to figuring out how to save the party. Staying loyal to Obama won’t be much worth if by January 2013 they’re facing a GOP President backed by 300 House and 60 Senate Republicans. With that, in just two years all of Obamunism can be undone and great strides made in dismantling the entire Democrat power structure.

We’ll have to see how it comes out – but clearly things are not rosy in Democrat-land at the moment.

Interesting news:

A law enforcement source confirms to KATU News that Portland detectives interviewed former U.S. Vice President Al Gore this past week in San Francisco.

Portland police detectives interviewed the VP on Thursday, questioning him further about allegations that he sexually abused a licensed Portland massage therapist…

The Enquirer has been reporting that more women are coming forward – and one does wonder just why Tipper packed her bags.

Gore’s problem probably stems from the fact that he got away with it for too long. “No controlling legal authority” should have got him forced out of public life in disgrace, but it didn’t. Not only that, but he went on to gain triumph after triumph. Just the sort of thing to build a sense of invincibility.

Mercy and forgiveness are always best, but everyone still must pay the price for their errors..even if we mercifully abate the punishment, and kindly forgive the sin.

Byron York thinks so – Democrats are worried that if the GOP picks up the gavels in 2011, we’ll aggressively go after the Democrat Administration. In a certain sense, they are right – and it is one of the reasons some people prefer a divided government. Opponents watching each other tend to keep each other honest. I take a bit of a different view.

When Matt and I wrote Caucus of Corruption back in 2006, the time frame we were covering, for the most part, involved the time of GOP control of Congress (we dipped in to the more distant past in some areas, but mostly just to show how the pattern of corruption emerged early on in the current crop of Democrat leaders). In all that time, the GOP Congress never made any serious move to police the activities of individual Congressmen, Democrat or Republican. For all the talk of how the House GOP went after Clinton, the fact of the matter is that action was only taken after the Independent Counsel reported – committees out the wazoo and the Congressional GOP still waited until someone else took the lid off.

The plain fact of the matter is that there has been a too cozy relationship in the House and Senate. An unwillingness to cause offense. A shying away from the stern, republican virtues necessary to the proper functioning of a democratic government. I’d like it very much if the relevant committees of the House and Senate would rake over the coals everyone in government who has been suspected of malfeasance – but I doubt that I’ll get to see that.

You see, I’m not worried if some of my GOPers are raked over – I want them raked over. I want them so far gone that no one even remembers that they were once in the Party. Its ok if doing so causes the GOP to take a hit in the polls – the cleaner GOP which emerges will be better positioned to win public trust. But I also know that a full raking over it going to bring a couple score Democrats down – and that is in the least.

There is such much bribery, kickbacks, nepotism and other forms of corruption in government that a truly aggressive investigation would be a political explosion – and as all of this involves government, the part of government (ie, the Democrats) will be most exposed. But it is not for purely partisan advantage that I want this done – it is no less than the rescue of the two-party system I seek.

I like the two-party system. I like it, that is, when you have to parties so broadly based that wide variations exist in both parties, and towards the edges they tend to merge in view point. I don’t want a half dozen ideological parties where everyone has to be as politically pure as the wind-driven snow. The problem is, that corruption – unaddressed – is disgusting everyone with both major parties, and thus opening up the prospect of small, ideological parties. Get at the corruption and the two major parties will be restored to respectability – the people will start to trust them again.

American government is a complex monster. It can’t be worked by any one man, or any one party. The Founders ensured this – and even after half a century of the left trying to strip away Constitutional protections, they still haven’t been able to sweep away that bedrock of designed difficulty. But for this thing to work, the people in government have to be reasonably honest – not saints, because there are few such, but honest to the point where we, the people can rely upon a solid majority of them to actually be motivated by public spirit rather than personal greed or lust.

To get that, there will have to be the raw courage on the part of those in government to fearlessly go after political corruption. It is clear the Democrats, lost in a swamp of corruption, cannot lead this charge. Can the GOP? Time will tell – but it will take extreme pressure from the people to give it even a chance of happening.