Cap And Trade Re-Cap

Posted by Gary Bauer in Politics on June 30th, 2009

Friday evening, when most of you probably were just beginning to relax after a long week, your elected representatives in Washington were hard at work. I’d like to report that they were working hard for the good of the country, but I can’t say that. In fact, I believe very strongly that what the House did is very detrimental to the well-being of our nation.

Just after 7:15pm Friday, the House voted 219-to-212 to pass Barack Obama’s “cap and trade” bill. Cap and trade is another attempt by Big Government to manipulate the free market. Liberal politicians think that they know better than consumers and business owners, and they intend to force you to use products (alternative sources of energy) that are not economically viable. It’s another example of government picking winners and losers.

The losers under this bill are fossil fuels – coal, oil and natural gas. The winners are solar, wind and other alternative fuels, which you will end up subsidizing under this bill. To give you an idea of how inefficient and expensive the alternatives are, consider this analysis from the Manhattan Institute’s Center for Energy Policy and the Environment:

“There’s an unavoidable problem with renewable-energy technologies: From an economic standpoint, they’re big losers. …The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported in early 2008 that the government subsidizes solar energy at $24.34 per megawatt-hour (MWh) and wind power at $23.37 per MWh. Yet even with decades of these massive handouts, as well as numerous state-level mandates for utilities to use green power, wind and solar energy contribute less than 1% of our nation’s electricity.

“Compare the subsidies to renewables with those extended to natural gas (25 cents per MWh in subsidies), coal (44 cents), hydroelectricity (67 cents), and nuclear power ($1.59). These are the energy sources (along with oil, which undergirds transportation) that do the heavy lifting in our energy economy.

“The alternative technologies at the heart of Mr. Obama’s plan, relying on mandates and far greater handouts, will inevitably raise energy prices — and high power prices are job killers.”
Cap and trade has been described by Michigan Democrat John Dingell, who voted for the bill, as “a great big tax.” Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who opposes cap and trade, called it “a huge tax … and a fairly regressive one.” So, supporters and opponents agree: It is a big tax and likely one of the largest in American history since it will tax energy – the lifeblood of our economy.

For the record, 96% of the votes to pass this “great big,” “huge and regressive” energy tax came from Democrats, while 94% of Republicans voted against it. The debate now shifts to the Senate, where Democrats will have to come up with 60 votes to prevent a likely filibuster.

On the merits alone, the bill is a disaster. For example: America is the Saudi Arabia of coal, from which half of the nation’s electricity is produced. But 96% of House Democrats just voted to tax coal, making it costlier to use. That makes no sense in the middle of a deep recession and with the president is predicting double digit unemployment. But, then again, this is the same logic that would not let us drill for our own oil when gas was $4.00 a gallon.

But far worse was the abuse of power liberals used to ram through one of the largest tax increases in history. Every politician who voted for this bill is guilty of gross malfeasance because not one of them read it. Not only was the bill over 1,200 pages when the debate began, but a 300-page amendment was mysteriously added just hours before the vote. For that reason alone, every member of the House would have been justified in voting no, and more of them should have.

If conservatives had done that while trying to pass the largest tax cut in history, the media would have howled about dictatorial tactics and the demise of democracy. But, so far, the media have been silent on this abuse of power, and that is a scandal of its own.

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ABC and Obama Ratings Bomb

Posted by Gary Bauer in Politics on June 27th, 2009

ABC’s one hour infomercial with President Obama promoting his socialized healthcare plan was a ratings bomb for the network. Despite airing in primetime at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, the president attracted fewer than 5 million viewers. The show had the lowest ratings of all the major networks for that hour. It wasn’t as if the other networks aired their most popular shows either. NBC debuted a new show titled “The Philanthropist” and CBS aired a repeat episode of “CSI: NY.”

It appears the American people are getting sick of seeing Barack Obama everywhere. The argument the major news networks use when they receive complaints for giving Obama too much air time is that he is a ratings booster. That argument has lost credibility after Wednesday’s bomb. It is getting harder and harder for Big Media to disguise its true intentions, which is to promote a radical leftwing agenda to the American people. But evidently the American people aren’t that interested in the new ABC — the “All Barack Channel.”

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Iranian Woman Begs CNN: “You should stop this! You should help the people of Iran…You should help us!”

Posted by Nathan J. Brauer in Politics on June 26th, 2009

I’ve been told by several people that the Iranian’s don’t want us to “intervene”.  My simple answer: you’re stupid.  That’s right, I’m blatantly, publicly saying that.  You will forever be able to quote me on this.  The video below features an Iranian woman who, on the phone, describes vividly a massacre she witnessed and begs CNN (and the U.S.) to “stop this” and to “help the people of Iran”.

YouTube Preview Image
After the final verdict on the elections by the supreme ruler, he had to say … death to America, death to Israel.
So you see, if they are allowed to kill their own people, they will not stop at anything to try to attack and kill the US!
This is beyond belief!

Albert Einstein once said, “The world is a dangerous place, not [only] because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.”  In my opinion, this includes those who look, notice, mention something, and move on.  The people of Iran don’t just need us to watch and spread the news.  They need us to help them.  Step in and help.  Give them more resources to take their country.

Here’s an excellent quote from the description of the same video:

Just to be clear to all those who say, this does not involve the US. It does!  After the final verdict on the elections by the supreme ruler, he had to say … death to America, death to Israel.  So you see, if they are allowed to kill their own people, they will not stop at anything to try to attack and kill the US!  This is beyond belief!

See, there’s a lot of people saying to Iran, “the world is watching.”  Here’s the problem though: Iranians are watching us.  They’re waiting for us.  They’re watching us bicker and debate about why we shouldn’t “intrude” or “meddle” in, what some people are calling, their revolution.  My guess is that they probably don’t see much ‘hope’ coming from us, especially not coming from the ‘leader of hope’ (I’m talking about Obama, just in case your brain’s running on 56k today).  Stop bickering; stop debating.  People are dieing.  People are being brutally massacred.  And for those who think this whole thing is a hoax… you’re stupid.  Yep, I said it again.  Why would the Iranian government start censoring foreign media, the web, and blocking text services?  To serve their people?  Come on, you’re smarter than that.

Prayers and Lord’s blessings to the Iranian people.

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Has Obama Become Bush?

Posted by Gary Bauer in Politics on June 26th, 2009

Iranian thug Mahmoud Ahmadinejad just kicked Barack Obama in the political groin. He said the worst thing he could possibly think of to insult Obama — he compared him to George W. Bush. Ouch! That has got to hurt. Obama and his leftwing allies have regularly defamed President Bush and suggested he is responsible for everything from hurricanes to wanton slaughter. To the Obamians, Bush is a war criminal. Obama was going to come into the White House and change America – and the world! The Texas cowboy would be forever forgotten.

Over the last five months, Barack Hussein Obama has made repeated efforts to convince Iran’s leaders that he was ready to do business with them. He sent the Iranian government New Year’s greetings; he apologized for his own country; he sent private “love” letters of respect to the ayatollah. (Maybe that made Mahmoud jealous.) But, alas, it isn’t enough. Barack Obama committed the ultimate sin – he reluctantly said people shouldn’t have their skulls cracked open and be shot simply for wanting basic human rights. Ahmadinejad is now demanding that Obama apologize for sounding like Bush.

It is probably too much to hope that as our apprentice president continues his on-the-job training, he may eventually learn that his own country is not the cause of the world’s woes but is indeed the only thing standing between mankind and another dark age.

- Excerpt from Gary Bauer’s Daily Report (6-25-09)
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Obama’s Energy Tax to Raise Gas Prices by 58% and Electric Rates by 90%

Posted by Gary Bauer in Politics on June 25th, 2009

Obama’s Energy Tax

Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced yesterday that the House of Representatives will be voting on “cap and trade” legislation this week. A recent Rasmussen poll found that only 24% of likely voters correctly understand the term, and I’d be willing to bet that an even smaller share of Congress has read the 1,200 page bill. Representative John Dingell, a Democrat from Michigan, summarized it best when he said, “Nobody in this country realizes that cap and trade is a tax, and it’s a great big one!”

Writing in the Washington Post several weeks ago, Robert Samuelson put it this way: “The centerpiece of Obama’s agenda is a ‘cap and trade’ program. This would be, in effect, a tax on fossil fuels (oil, coal, natural gas). The idea is to raise their prices so that households and businesses would use less or switch to costlier ‘alternative’ energy sources, such as solar. In general, we would spend more on energy and get less of it.”

Spend more and get less. That sounds like Obama’s rationed healthcare proposal too! That concept is antithetical to economic progress and rising standards of living. But it’s generally the outcome of socialism and leftwing thinking.

According to an analysis by the Heritage Foundation, the “cap and trade” bill before the House will result in a “58 percent increase in gas prices, 90 percent for electricity, and 55 percent for natural gas. Cumulative higher energy costs for a household of four from 2012-2035 would reach nearly $20,000.” The Heritage Foundation also predicts more than one million job losses as a direct result of higher energy costs.

Just think about that for a moment. Here we are in the middle of a deep recession, with the president predicting double-digit unemployment, and this White House and the liberal politicians on Capitol Hill are scheming to impose one of the biggest tax increases in history. It will affect every American who turns on a light switch, drives to work or consumes products, since just about every economic activity involves the use of fossil fuels.

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Dear Ayatollah, From Your Friend Barack

Posted by Gary Bauer in Politics on June 25th, 2009

Dear Ayatollah, From Your Friend Barack

The Washington Times has learned that President Barack Obama sent a secret letter to Iran’s “supreme leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei weeks before the June 12th election. In the letter, Obama reportedly laid out the prospect of a new relationship of cooperation between the United States and Iran. The letter was delivered by a representative of the Swiss embassy to the Iranian foreign ministry.

The existence of this letter helps explain, but does not excuse, Obama’s reluctance in recent days to unambiguously support the protestors who have put their lives on the line for liberty in Iran. Once again they were beaten in the streets of Tehran today.

What exactly did the letter say? Ayatollah Khamenei actually hinted at its contents in a “sermon” Friday. He told a cheering crowd of fanatical thugs that they [the Obama Administration] had written “a letter to us to express their respect for the Islamic Republic and for reestablishment of ties.” If that is an accurate description of the letter, it is disgusting. The Islamic Republic is directly responsible for the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq. It is responsible for the deaths of its own citizens this very day. The last thing that regime should be getting from our president is a letter declaring our “respect.”

The president’s Iran policy is in shambles. Every assumption he made has been proven wrong. His desire even now to negotiate with the tyrants in Tehran, while blood drips from their hands, is beyond reprehensible.

- Excerpt from Gary Bauer’s Daily Report (6-24-09)
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Obama: Slowly Finding His Voice for #IranElection; Mohammed to Obama: “Don’t leave us alone.”

Posted by Gary Bauer in Politics on June 24th, 2009

Slowly Finding His Voice

As you know, we and other conservatives have been urging President Obama to speak up in support of the Iranian people who are daring to oppose the brutal Islamofascist regime that runs their country. Slowly the president is finding his voice, but it’s been a very frustrating exercise — like trying to get a two year-old to eat his vegetables. Meanwhile heads were getting cracked, dissidents were being jailed and innocent bystanders were being shot. Here is an excerpt of the president’s comments today at the White House:

“The United States and the international community have been appalled and outraged by the threats, the beatings and imprisonments of the last few days. I strongly condemn these unjust actions… I’ve made it clear that the United States respects the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran and is not interfering with Iran’s affairs. …some in the Iranian government, in particular, are … accusing the United States and others in the West of instigating protests over the elections. These accusations are patently false. They’re an obvious attempt to distract people from what is truly taking place within Iran’s borders. …

“In 2009, no iron fist is strong enough to shut off the world from bearing witness to peaceful protests of justice. …Above all, we’ve seen courageous women stand up to the brutality and threats, and we’ve experienced the searing image of a woman bleeding to death on the streets. While this loss is raw and extraordinarily painful, we also know this: those who stand up for justice are always on the right side of history.”

Much better, Mr. President. Almost Reaganesque.

I was particularly surprised to see the president so forcefully shoot down the accusations of the Iranian regime that we were interfering and instigating the protests. After all, that had been the major excuse that he and so many in the media were offering for his silence – that any critical statements or messages of support would be seized upon by the regime as proof of our “meddling.” It was absurd to begin with (as Brit Hume notes), but the mullahs made the charge anyway. It seems Mr. Obama is no longer worried about “alienating the ayatollah.” Now that he has spoken up and removed his own fig leaf, maybe we can begin to have a real debate about a serious policy toward Iran. (More on that in the next item.)

Many dissidents assumed “Mr. Hope and Change” would be one of their strongest allies. Instead, politicians from the European Union took the lead. When France is a more aggressive advocate for freedom than the United States, the world should be worried. Let’s hope that the president’s statement is not too little, too late. Having received little in the way of encouragement from Washington, while the tyrants in Tehran terrorized their own citizens for days, the protests appear to be waning. I pray that this historic opportunity to break the back of the “axis of evil” and transform a state sponsor of terrorism is not yet lost.

Mohammed to Obama: “We need your help”

This morning I received an email from our friends at National Review that contained an excerpt from a CNN interview with one of the thousands of demonstrators in Tehran. This demonstrator, Mohammed, gives his opinion on what he thinks the United States and the rest of the world should do regarding Iran. Consider this exchange and how it contrasts with President Obama’s desire for dialogue and diplomacy based on “mutual respect”:

MOHAMMED: “Americans, European Union, international community, this government is definitely not elected by the majority of Iranians. So it’s illegal. Do not recognize it. Stop trading with them. Impose much more sanctions against them. My message, to the international community, especially I’m addressing President Obama directly — how can a government that doesn’t recognize its people’s rights and represses them brutally and mercilessly have nuclear activities? This government is a huge threat to global peace. Will a wise man give a sharp dagger to an insane person? We need your help international community. Don’t leave us alone.”

Mohammed gets it. Why is it so hard for our “experts” at the State Department and the White House? Diplomacy and appeasement do not dissuade dictators. President Obama is an impressive orator, but no one — not even Barack Hussein Obama — is going to talk a Holocaust-denying madman out of his desire to “wipe Israel off the map.” Words will not stop his work to destroy the “Great Satan,” which is how the Islamic radicals in Iran refer to the United States. The West must confront the reality that Mohammed is warning against. We need a serious plan of action, not just words. And here too Mohammed has a suggestion:

REPORTER: “Mohammed, what do you think the international community should do besides sanctions?”

MOHAMMED: “This regime is really dependent on importing gasoline. More than 85% of Iran’s gasoline is imported from foreign countries. I think the international communities must sanction exporting gasoline to Iran and that might shut down the government.”
The president should also rescind his invitation for Iranian diplomats to attend July 4th parties at U.S. embassies around the world. Obama dodged a question today about his “hot dog diplomacy” when asked by Fox News reporter Major Garrett if the Iranian government representatives were still welcome. And President Obama should immediately restore the funding that he cut for pro-democracy efforts in Iran.

- Excerpt from Gary Bauer’s Daily Report (6-23-09)
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Obama’s Numbers Falling; Perfect time to Find His Voice Regarding #IranElection

Posted by Gary Bauer in Politics on June 24th, 2009

Obama’s Numbers Falling

Last week, we reported that President Obama’s approval rating was starting to fall after a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll recorded its lowest figure to date. Now there is more evidence that the novelty is wearing off. For some time now, the daily Rasmussen tracking poll has also detected declining support for the president, and it recorded a new low over the weekend.

In assessing President Obama’s support, pollster Scott Rasmussen has developed a unique measurement – the presidential approval index (PAI). Rasmussen calculates the PAI by subtracting the percentage of voters who strongly approve of the president from the percentage of those who strongly disapprove. It is a measure of core support or disapproval.

For the first six weeks of the Obama administration, the president enjoyed strong support with a presidential approval index consistently in the double digits, with significantly more voters strongly approving of President Obama’s performance than strongly disapproving. That’s to be expected during the so-called “honeymoon” period that all presidents generally receive from the public. But in March, Rasmussen’s polling detected a “shift in the winds.” In more than one hundred days of polling since the first week of March, Obama has earned a double-digit PAI rating just three times.

And yesterday, for the first time ever, Rasmussen’s daily tracking poll found President Obama’s approval index was in fact negative at -2, with 32% of likely voters strongly approving of his performance and 34% of likely voters strongly disapproving. Today, his PAI remains negative at -1.

And here’s more news that must concern the president: His days of blaming everything on George W. Bush are coming to an end. According to a newly released Rasmussen poll, while a majority of voters still cut the president some slack on the economy, the number of voters who blame the current economic conditions on Bush is down eight points, while the number blaming Obama is up 12 points, a 20-point swing in three weeks.

Finding His Voice

President Obama struggled this weekend to catch up with Congress and the American people in voicing his support for freedom in Iran and expressing moral outrage for the oppressive tactics of the tyrants in Tehran. Friday, the House voted 405-to-1 to condemn the regime and support the Iranian people seeking liberty. Hours later, the Senate unanimously approved a similar resolution. Senators McCain (R-AZ) and Lieberman (ID-CT) issued a joint statement Friday, which read, “By acting now, Congress sent an unmistakable message of support to the courageous Iranian people at a critical moment in their history.” By staying silent, the Obama White House had been sending a message of support to the mullahs.

Saturday, the White House released a statement from the president. Here is an excerpt:

“The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching. We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost. We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people. The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights. …If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion.”

While Obama’s rhetoric is getting better, his policy toward outlaw states like Iran is way behind reality. He still thinks he can negotiate with Ahmadinejad to end his nuclear weapons program. By the way, that would be a form of “meddling” that would only serve to offer legitimacy to the Holocaust-denying dictator. Meanwhile, a North Korean ship continues on its way, while suspected of carrying contraband materials in violation of U.N. sanctions. What will Obama do?

There’s another area where Obama is hopelessly behind and Big Media won’t tell you about this. For years, the Bush Administration spent money to promote pro-democracy movements in Iran. And now, just as those efforts are beginning to bear fruit, what does the Obama Administration do? The president cut the funding for those programs in his first budget to Congress.

And if you don’t think that it matters one iota if Iran becomes a free nation or if the Islamic fanatics currently running Iran are allowed to develop nuclear weapons, consider the latest statement from Al Qaeda: “God willing, the nuclear weapons [in Pakistan] will not fall into the hands of the Americans, and the Mujahideen would take them and use them against the Americans.” If we ignore reality and pretend the rest of the world doesn’t matter, our next 9/11 won’t be 3,000 dead, but hundreds of thousands.

- Excerpt from Gary Bauer’s Daily Report (6-22-09)
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U.S. House Finds Its Voice: Stands With the Iranian People #IranElection

Posted by Gary Bauer in Politics on June 20th, 2009

Despite Obama’s silence, the House passed a bi-partisan resolution today supporting the Iranian dissidents who share our values. My good friend Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) and Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) introduced the following legislation on the House floor:

“Expressing support for all Iranian citizens who embrace the values of freedom, human rights, civil liberties, and rule of law, and for other purposes. Resolved, That the House of Representatives-

(1) expresses its support for all Iranian citizens who embrace the values of freedom, human rights, civil liberties, and rule of law;
(2) condemns the ongoing violence against demonstrators by the Government of Iran and pro-government militias, as well as the ongoing government suppression of independent electronic communication through interference with the Internet and cell phones; and
(3) affirms the university of individual rights and the importance of democratic and fair elections.”

The resolution passed by an overwhelming margin of 405-to-1. Who was the single representative who voted against the resolution? Nancy Pelosi? Barney Frank? No, it was none other than Republican isolationist Ron Paul of Texas. At least one of our branches of government has offered its support for the courageous Iranian citizens risking their lives in the name of freedom and democracy.

- Excerpt from Gary Bauer’s Daily Report
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Why Is The Great Orator Silent Regarding the #IranElection?

Posted by Gary Bauer in Politics on June 20th, 2009

Barack Obama has been hailed as one of the greatest orators of our day, yet he has been silent in recent days, refusing to speak up in defense of democracy in Iran. Instead, the Washington Post reported yesterday that our president is trying not to “alienate the ayatollah,” all so he can keep alive his hopes for diplomacy with the Islamofascist regime, like Neville Chamberlain seeking “peace in our time.”

While the president stays tight lipped, the media are making excuses for his silence. Isolationists on the right like Pat Buchanan to left wingers like Keith Olbermann are all saying that President Obama should keep his mouth shut so that “American meddling” doesn’t become the issue in Iran. Guess what? The tyrants in Tehran are already denouncing America for “interventionist statements.” The idea that our words matter to this regime any more than they mattered to Hitler is laughable. But this president promised us that he would restore America’s moral authority around the world. Let’s think about that for a moment.

How did America win that moral authority to begin with? We won World War II and liberated Europe and Japan from tyrannical regimes. Then we rebuilt our defeated enemies and turned them into allies. We rallied the free world in defense of liberty against the evil empire that was the Soviet Union. And our free enterprise economy, combined with the generosity of American foreign aid and individual charitable giving, did more to create wealth and lift people out of poverty than at any other time in human history.

But somewhere along the way, Mr. Obama insists we lost our moral authority. How? According to Mr. Obama, we lost it when George W. Bush invaded Iraq and freed 25 million Muslims from the brutality of Saddam Hussein’s rape rooms and child prisons. Now it is the Left’s position to talk with tyrants rather than to stand with slaves yearning for freedom.

Today, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reaffirmed the “absolute victory” of Iran’s Holocaust-denying president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. During his speech, he led the crowd in chants of “death to America,” “death to Israel” and “death to the U.K.” Thank goodness Obama avoided alienating the ayatollah!

- Excerpt from Gary Bauer’s Daily Report
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