(Jobs Saved + Jobs Created) - Jobs Lost = A Mess

Courtesy of Veronique de Rugy and the Mercatus Center. The chart breaks down job gains and job losses since passage of the ARRA in 2009 on a state-by-state basis. That is just ugly...

Coming for You

We know who you are, we know what districts you live in and we're coming for your heads. Every last one of you.

The Thin-Skinned President

An illuminating exchange between the President and Senator McCain at today's Health Care Charade Summit:

After Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) focused on issues in his wheelhouse — the dearth of transparency and wealth of special deals in Obamacare — and chastised Obama for failing to live up to his campaign promises to change the way Washington works and conduct health-care negotiations in front of C-SPAN cameras, the president got testy.

"We're not campaigning any more, John. The election is over," he said.

To which McCain responded, "I'm reminded of that every day."

Prickly, defensive...the President just can't take criticism.

Bury the Sucker

A smidgen of common-sense:

Effort underway to suspend California's global-warming law

The L.A. Times reports:

Conservatives propose an initiative that would delay curbs on greenhouse gas emissions until the state's unemployment rate drops to 5.5%, a level not seen since 2007.

Which, the way they've run things in Sacramento means the bill won't ever see the light-of-day.

Our Senator

"Can you do that by Executive Order...?"

The Senate is no place for stupid people.

No end to the Stupidity

There is no end to the stupidity in Sacramento:

A free parking spot is one of life's little perks, and at one free lot, customers told us at a time when the price of everything seems to be going up, free parking is something they can still hang onto.

But in California, environmentalists say all that free parking comes at too high a cost- in greenhouse gas emissions. Environmentalists say if people drove less, there would be an environmental benefit.

With the support of green groups, the state senate passed a plan offering cities and counties financial incentives to slash the number of free parking spaces on the street and in government-owned lots, and to reduce the number of free spaces businesses are required to provide.

Sponsors suggest that will encourage people to walk, take the bus or even ride a bike. Critics say it's just another example of Sacramento Democrats' far left agenda.

My first reaction to hearing this last night, minus the epithet of course, was to wonder what else won't they try and regulate, control or otherwise attempt? This is agenda driven stupidity at it's extreme.

To see semi-local reaction, here is the news report from KEYT out of Santa Barbara from last evening.

Damn that Discretionary Budget!

For everyone that decries the budget-busting Defense spending over the last 30 years...

Pic of the Day

Really? A Teleprompter at a meeting? They'd still be laughing if his name were 'George'...

Freeze!

The chart tells you what percentage of the Federal budget is subject to President Obama's announced "Freeze." It's like going to the doctor to have a wart removed and rather than freezing the offending growth, he burns the rest of your finger with liquid nitrogen

Still Not Getting It

President Obama vs. Reality

Not Sunk in Yet?

Maybe it hasn't. From earlier today

In a private meeting in the Capitol just now, a dozen or more House liberals bluntly told Nancy Pelosi that there was no chance that they would vote to pass the Senate bill in its current form — making it all but certain that House Dems won’t opt for this approach, a top House liberal tells me.

We cannot support the Senate bill — period,” is the message that liberals delivered to the Speaker, Dem Rep Raul Grijalva told me in an interview just now.

Some had hoped Pelosi would push liberals to get in line behind this approach, in hopes of expediting reform, but that didn’t appear to happen in this meeting. Pelosi mostly listened, Grijalva said, adding: “We didn’t get any declarative statement from her.”

The meeting, which was polite but blunt in tone, underscores the degree to which Dems are scrambling to figure out a way forward on health care in the wake of last night’s loss. The unwillingness of liberals, and some in labor, to support passing the Senate bill means House Dem leaders need to find another way forward — fast — and leadership aides are scouring procedural rules as we speak.

What part of losing the safest Senate seat in the Country don't they get?

Clownshow

Doug at DownwithTyranny! made an ass of himself yesterday with as dubious a prediction as I can recall in some time: Doug Goes Out On A Limb-- Predicts Coakley By 10 Points Tomorrow.

I wanted to post about it yesterday but I thought better of it. But today, Doug is getting his just rewards. Folks in the comments are letting him hear about it, some not so kindly; humorously but not kindly.

It's like he set himself up:

This is a good test of my thinking. Am I looking at politics and thinking about this election rationally, or am I just being an optimist, hoping that voters are still sensible people who won’t elect candidates from the Beavis and Batshit wing of the Republican Party? Okay, I’m going to take a deep breath, and say this: Coakley wins by 10%. The third party candidate gets 3%. Massachusetts is a Democratic state.


Really, no one who works in politics can predict an individual election with any degree of confidence, not an election where both candidates have wide recognition and have run credible campaigns, meaning they’ve reached most voters several times. I base this on a simple premise: anyone who actually could consistently predict these elections would be making their living betting on them, would be rich, and we wouldn’t be hearing from them on websites or on the news.

You can only know what usually happens, what is most likely to be true, what would be a practically unprecedented result. Don’t go searching through the evidence for secret portents or unique local factors. If you do, you’ll be a very smart person who ends up saying some very silly things.

UPDATE: It'll make his head explode but watching Frank Luntz's focus group might provide some insight for Doug on how he could be so magnificently wrong.

Who'da Thunk!?

Scott Brown does it! Some thoughts:

This is what Her Majesty had to say yesterday. What will Nancy say tomorrow?

Juan Williams on Sean Hannity's program suggested that the President will keep to his promise to 'double-down' on an agenda that seems to be getting less and less popular, public opinion be damned. Will they stick to it? I find it hard to believe that smart pols can be that thick but who knows. If they do, I still stand by this: There will be bodies in the street come November.

There is apparently at least one grown up in the Senate. And maybe a second.

Finally, on what comes next, Mark Steyn quotes an anonymous emailer calling for a "Boxer Rebellion." From his lips to God's ears.

Bodies in the Streets

With a Scott Brown win in Massachusetts becoming an actual possibility, there has been much speculating in the last few days about how Congressional Democrats might deal with the loss of their 60-seat majority in passing a Health Care bill. Here is one potentiality:

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Mon, January 18, 2010 — 7:09 PM ET

Democrats Seeking to Push Senate Health Bill Through House

The White House and Democratic Congressional leaders, scrambling for a backup plan to rescue their health care legislation if Republicans win the special election in Massachusetts on Tuesday, are preparing to ask House Democrats to approve the Senate version of the bill, which would send the measure directly to President Obama for his signature.

Should they try this or attempt the other oft-talked-about solution of passing somehting via reconciliation, I do not doubt for one second there will be bodies in the streets of DC come November 2nd.

Could have Told you That!

December sales were down and 2009 a year of record bad retail numbers: Retail sales fell in December as demand for autos, clothing and appliances all slipped, a disappointing finish to a year in which sales had the largest drop on record.

The weakness in consumer demand highlighted the formidable hurdles facing the economy as it struggles to recover from the deepest recession in seven decades.

The Commerce Department said Thursday that retail sales declined 0.3 percent in December compared with November, much weaker than the 0.5 percent rise that economists had been expecting. Excluding autos, sales dropped by 0.2 percent, also weaker than the 0.3 percent rise analyst had forecast.

For the year, sales fell 6.2 percent, the biggest decline on records that go back to 1992. The only other year that annual sales fell was in 2008, when they slipped by 0.5 percent.

Our December was right in line with the rest of 4Q09, right around 20% off of last year's numbers. If there's an economic rebound but you've gone out of business, did it really happen?

Bueller-esque

I got to spend part of my morning at the local DMV office, as today is a day when they are actually open. California long ago adopted the sophisticated 'take a number' approach to handling walk-in traffic and today there was a sizable crowd waiting to be helped when I arrived.

Thankfully, I had planned ahead and scheduled an appointment. About two-thirds of the way through not-resolving my issues our reverie was broken by the sound of the clerk working the far-end of the counter calling for the next number. And the next number. And the number after that.

Finally, in a very uncharacteristic display of humor for a state employee she just blurted out "Anyone with a number...." I didn't see who stepped up to the counter.

Racist Vote Records

Apparently voting records are now racist:

First, Reid’s allies plan to distribute the NAACP vote ratings of Republican senators who have scolded him. The data will be made available to editorial boards, cable programs and the blogosphere — including votes on minimum wage, community-oriented policing, education funding and HIV/AIDS programs. 

Separately, the Congressional Black Caucus plans to issue a new statement Monday, defending Reid and brushing back Republicans. 

“Senator Reid’s record provides a stark contrast to actions of Republicans to block legislation that would benefit poor and minority communities — most recently reflected in Republican opposition to the health bill now under consideration,” CBC Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said. “I look forward to Senator Reid continuing to serve as Majority Leader to guide this important agenda through the Senate.”

Like Glenn said...Meh.

Obligatory Sports Asterisk

"I did it," or How Mark McGwire Used Steroids and Lied About It Covered It Up.

Kill it Dead

Dead Senator walking, Chris Dodd (D-Ct) says Health Care to be "hanging by a thread."

Embarrassing

Arnold had a good first couple of years in Sacramento but over the last four years has devolved into a huge embarrassment of a politician. Cue this ridiculous statement.