Blogs For Victory

As I told you it would be:

Estimated GDP growth for the third quarter has been revised downward again, to 2.2% from an initial estimate of 3.5% (it was also revised downward last month). That means that the Cash-for-Clunkers program accounts for most of the growth:

Motor vehicle output added 1.45 percentage points to the third-quarter change in real GDP after adding 0.19 percentage point to the second-quarter change. Final sales of computers subtracted 0.08 percentage point from the third-quarter change in real GDP after subtracting 0.04 percentage point from the second-quarter change.

Take away that 1.45 percentage points and you get 0.75% growth – anyone want to bet me that other government spending accounted for most or all of that? I’ll bet dollars to donuts that the private, productive economy contracted in the third quarter – and is continuing to contract right now.

Its all smoke and mirrors, as I’ve said. It will come crashing down. Will it crash by March as I expect? No one can say for certain – but crash it will. Bank on it.

Right back at ya, Barry.

Just as Democrats bribed their way to get the 60 votes needed to bring Obamacare to a vote in the Senate, a new poll by Quinnipiac finds Americans overwhelming disapprove of the plan, and more than 70% oppose using taxpayer dollars to fund abortions.

As the Senate prepares to vote on health care reform, American voters “mostly disapprove” of the plan 53 – 36 percent and disapprove 56 – 38 percent of President Barack Obama’s handling of the health care issue, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

Voters also oppose 72 – 23 percent using any public money in the health care overhaul to pay for abortions, the independent Quinnipiac University poll finds.

And how about Independent voters? They ain’t buying the plan either.

Looking at the health care plan, independent voters “mostly disapprove” 58 – 30 percent, as do Republicans 83 – 10 percent. Democrats “mostly approve” 64 – 22 percent.

The situation only gets worse for Obama. Obama’s handling of the economy gets bad marks as well, even as Obama claims that this health care bill will reduce the deficit.

American voters also disapprove 51 – 44 percent of President Obama’s handling of the economy and disapprove 56 – 37 percent of the way he is creating jobs. But voters favor 52 – 42 percent his plan to use $200 billion left over from the bank bailout for a new stimulus package to create jobs rather than to reduce the budget deficit.

Only 31 percent of voters say Obama’s policies will help their personal financial situation, while 37 percent say his policies will hurt and 30 percent say his policies will make no difference. Among voters in households where someone has lost a job in the last year, 37 percent say Obama policies will help them personally, while 37 percent say they will hurt.

I guess the people aren’t buying Obama’s b.s. about the bill deficit-reducing nature. Of course, no thinking person would.

That’s the word at the moment. Very disappointing since polls showed him defeating Gillibrand,

I know there are some who believe that since Rudy is “a RINO,” or “not a true conservative” then this news is good news. While I totally agree that it is important and vital to support conservative candidates, if people in the Tea Party movement would rather have Kirsten Gillibrand in the U.S. Senate than Rudy Giuliani, then the Tea Party movement is doing more harm than good. While I would fully support Rudy for the U.S. Senate, I would not (and did not) support him running for president.

Not all victories have to look the same. Every election doesn’t have to be about electing 100% conservative candidates. Some victories must mean booting out the pawns of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, If electing Rudy Giuliani would mean Harry Reid would have one less vote to support the radical left-wing agenda of Barack Obama, that’s still a victory for liberty.

Interesting:

In the end, Connecticut Democrats can’t make Sen. Chris Dodd choose to retire. They can go to him and urge him to think about the joys of an ambassadorship, or teaching, or heading up some organization and raking the cash in by the bucketload. They could publicly endorse a serious primary challenger.

A former state party chair talking about how someone ought to urge him to retire is probably giving Democrats the worst of both worlds. Dodd isn’t likely to take the advice, and Connecticut voters notice, “Wow, even Democratic party officials are sick of this guy.”

This isn’t confirmation that the “Torricelli maneuver” — a last-minute, not-entirely-voluntary candidate switch — is coming down the pike, but clearly some Democrats in that state have thought about it.

And Connecticut is a rather blue State, isn’t it? And yet here is a long term, Democrat incumbent who is, to put it mildly, on thin electoral ice. If voters in Connecticut are angry enough to toss out a senior Democrat, how mad to you think the voters in the red States are? Especially in those GOP districts currently held by Democrats?

Getting a net gain of 41 House and 11 Senate seats is an exceptionally tall order for the GOP (11 in the Senate because if its 50/50, VP Biden breaks the tie and Democrats remain in control) – but, clearly, winning big is not out of the question.

Our problem, as GOPers, is twofold:

1. To craft a revolutionary message which will resonate with voter anger over the disgusting sewer which is American government.

2. Figuring out a way around the myriad ways Democrats will attempt to cheat in order to limit losses. The removal of Torricelli in NJ wasn’t just non-voluntary, it was entirely illegal, in to the bargain. Democrats will stick at nothing – I really can’t imagine anything they wouldn’t do in order to win.

But if we craft the message and carry it home against all vulnerable Democrats, then even with Democrat cheating, we still stand to make big gains next year – and, just perhaps, gains which will astound the world.

This isn’t the sub-prime stuff, good people – these are the loans made to well-qualified people:

Serious delinquencies among U.S. prime mortgages rose nearly 20 percent in the third quarter from the prior quarter, as the percentage of current and performing mortgages fell for the sixth consecutive quarter, banking regulators said on Monday.

The report by the Office of Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision, which are part of the Treasury Department, covered about two-thirds of all U.S. mortgages.

It found 3.6 percent of prime mortgages — those made to the most credit-worthy borrowers — were seriously delinquent in the third quarter. That was more than double the year-ago quarter and up nearly 20 percent from the … second quarter.

The report defined “serious delinquencies” as those loans 60 days or more past due…

It isn’t getting better out there – not in the least. And with all the bubbles being built up by the Fed and central banks around the world (especially China) its just a matter of time before the second crash hits. To be sure, the fools who got us in to this mess can continue to play fast and loose with the money supply and, perhaps, keep the ball in the air for even as much as a year or two, but without wealth creation, we’re doomed to another crash. And the bad news is we can’t create wealth if governments are printing and borrowing like mad (any real gains in wealth will be wasted effort as money and debt rise faster).

Only a complete reversal can save the situation – we have to stop borrowing, stop printing and clear the decks to allow a bit of wealth creation and “clearing the decks” means, among other things, allowing “too big to fail” corporations to do just that.

HAT TIP: Mish’s

The news:

One is a former vice presidential candidate who has been vilified in much of the press. The other is a former two-term vice president who has been celebrated in much of the press. So which is more respected by the public at large?

In the Wall Street Journal/NBC poll released a few days ago, pollsters Peter Hart and Bill McInturff asked, “I’m going to mention some people who have served in public life at some point in the past decade. Please tell me which one or two of these people, if any, you have the most regard and respect for.” The list was filled with the predictable answers. The president was on top, named by 28 percent of respondents. Colin Powell was also way up there. But the striking thing is that Sarah Palin, after all the criticism that has been directed at her, finished tied for sixth place, respected by 13 percent of respondents, and Al Gore, after all the praise that has been directed at him, was in eighth place, respected by eight percent. (The poll was taken just before the global warming fiasco in Copenhagen, which seems unlikely to have a positive effect Gore’s ratings.)

Caveat: being better respected than Al Gore is akin to being better respected than a crazed chimpanzee – but, hey, the MSM is what set up this contest.

From the supposed party of tolerance:

They are desperate to break this president. They have ardent supporters who are nearly hysterical at the very election of President Barack Obama. The birthers, the fanatics, the people running around in right-wing militia and Aryan support groups, it is unbearable to them that President Barack Obama should exist. That is one powerful reason. It is not the only one.

We won’t forget – and we’ve taken enough insults from liberals. 2012 is not such a long way off and I’m sure we’re going to do everything we can to get intolerant, un-American cretins like Whitehouse out of office.

UPDATE: Let what is going to happen to Sen. Dorgan (D-ND) next year be an indicator of what we will do to all of those who have betrayed American principles.

UPDATE II: Reid defends ObamaCare bribes.

Outside of military/terrorist threats to American lives, there is no more important issue for us to deal with:

…”at all levels, federal, state, local and GSEs, the total public debt is now at 141% of GDP. That puts the United States in some elite company–only Japan, Lebanon and Zimbabwe are higher. That’s only the start. Add household debt (highest in the world at 99% of GDP) and corporate debt (highest in the world at 317% of GDP, not even counting off-balance-sheet swaps and derivatives) and our total debt is 557% of GDP. Less than three years ago our total indebtedness crossed 500% of GDP for the first time.”

Add the unfunded portion of entitlement programs and we’re at 840% of GDP.

The world has not seen such debt levels in modern history. This debt is not serviceable. Imagine that total debt is 557% of GDP, without considering entitlements. The interest on the debt will consume all the tax revenues of the country in the not-too-distant future. Then there will be no way out but to create more debt in order to finance the old debt.

It assures a period of economic devastation. In a last, desperate attempt, politicians at the federal and local levels will raise taxes to astronomical heights to raise revenues. And that only assures destruction of the economy. Forget the fable of economic recovery. Unless there is a change in Washington by next year’s election, there will be no way to turn back.

No way to turn back? Well, think of it like this – Japan had its September, 2008 19 years ago and they are still mired in the crushing debt and resulting recession which started waaay back then. Think we can’t go through generations of economic malaise? If you think its impossible – if you think some magical “business cycle” will turn things around – then you are living in a fool’s paradise.

We must balance the budget. Now. Not next year. Not ten years from now; we need to do it right away. Yes, I know it will be hard – as a people we will have to hunker down and help each other but government must start to spend less than it takes in and it must do this without raising taxes to a ruinous height.

Of course, we won’t do it, now. With Obama and the liberals in charge, it is “full speed ahead” with more debt – and anyone who thinks that ObamaCare will actually lower government spending is a knave or fool. But we can’t go on much longer – we’re overburdened (so is most of the rest of the First World) and we have to shake ourselves free from the liberal/socialist illusions of the past century.

For those who would compromise core belief:

“What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? What could one give in exchange for his life? Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this faithless and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”- Mark 8:36-38