DeLuca defends Gambling; Senate approves budget

Following the Obamacare ruling that upheld perhaps the most unconstitutional legislation in U.S. history, the Delaware General Assembly has begun its mad dash to pass as much legislation as it can in the last few days of session.  First up, Senator DeLuca pushes legislation to legalize internet gambling.

Senator DeLuca says that we should allow internet gambling because “it’s already available, it’s just illegal”.  And when you put it that way, who could argue with the logic?  Well until you apply that same logic to prostitution, crack cocaine and heroin.  I mean prostitutes, crack cocaine and heroin are already available, so why not make them legal?  Think gambling doesn’t measure up?  Well ask the millions of people affected each year by the disease of problem gambling if they think that their addiction is not as bad as a drug.  The bill passed the Senate 14-6 and it doesn’t just allow internet gambling but expands table gaming outside of the 3 racinos that the state was promised gambling would remain at.  Full disclosure, I am running against Senator DeLuca in the 11^th District.  I can promise you this, I would not vote for this kind of bill as it sets a unique precedent and endangers our elderly, children and families.  It also will no doubt detract from the casino revenues that our state relies on to balance its budget.  Speaking of budgets…

Delaware State Senate voted 16-4 to pass a $3.6 billion budget that was boosted by a pay raise for government workers that will cost taxpayers $21 million.  $10 million more was added by the legislature as a boost to retiree healthcare and pension benefits.  The final bill breakdown includes $1.2 billion on public schools and over $1 billion for health and social services (which will more than triple next year when the Democrats pass their single payer healthcare bill).  Once again, the single party rule in Dover has spent more money than we can afford and has failed to deal with the major problems of growing government, failing schools and rising healthcare costs (especially now that Obamacare has been upheld).  If we don’t act in November, 2013 will be the end of Delaware as we know it.  Our budget will explode, jobs will disintegrate and we will become a wasteland in the image of Detroit.  Support your local opposition candidates in November. 

Fisker's Aptly Named Car Shows the Folly of Government

For the last 6 years, Delawareans have been barraged with promises from so-called "Green companies", most of which promised lofty job numbers and economic booms.  Blue Water Wind came to town with a plan to provide wind energy that would be clean and green and could even eliminate the need for dirty coal fired plants.  Their scheme turned out to be one that would produce far less energy than expected, one that required the government to enforce a mandate on Delmarva Power which forced them to pay more, one that required the federal government to give the company a non-compete contract for the off-shore wind farm location and one that ultimately failed just days ago when the project did not receive MORE government assistance in the form of more direct subsides.  Despite receiving awards of more than $800 million (although we can't be sure how much of it was spent on the project, how much went into the pockets of government cronies or how much the government still has, if Solyndra is any example, that money is long gone) of which we know that enough was used to pay at least 6 executives making 6 figures plus their assistants for 6 years (likely around $4 million) plus the cost of lobbyists, legislators (this is not a typo), architects, lawyers and surveyors for the ramp up to production (which likely cost Delmarva ratepayers millions more), Blue Water Wind needed MORE government funding just to begin production on a surveying tower to see if their idea would ever generate a single kilowatt of power!  After Solyndra, the government realized that green energy problems (like those that plagued Spain, the nation whose green jobs plan bankrupted their nation and after whom Obama's green jobs plan is modeled) would cause more scrutiny and so they decided to cut funding to this off shore wind disaster.  Subsequently, Blue Water Wind folded because they were unable to secure private backing (despite the assurances of company leaders who promised that it would be able to function without government support) for their venture.  Their contract with Delmarva ended 2 days ago at the stroke of midnight and along with it, any chance that we'd see a dime from the investment returned.

More recently, the buzz has been about the Obama crony run car company, Fisker.  You might remember Fisker (or more likely not) as the start-up company who out muscled Tesla as the Obama Administrations favorite in the Plug-in electric car market.  It bought (on the cheap) the Boxwood Road site formerly owned by GM and has been rehabbing it in preparation to begin production on the "cheaper" of its two offerings, the Nina (the more expensive Karma is made in Finland because Fisker says that no one in America can do the job...) in 2013.  The Karma is offered for sale at Union Park's family of dealerships in Wilmington.  A friend of mine recently tried to secure a test drive of one of the Fisker Karma's at Union Park only to find each time that he came by, that the vehicle was "in the shop" for some kind of software upgrade or maintenance issue (odd for a showroom car that is never driven).  Now, this friend may or may not have the means to purchase the vehicle, I don't get into that kind of thing but if I had to guess, I would say his credit record and history would warrant at least a test drive of almost any vehicle ever built.  The Karma retails for more than $102,000 and less than 300 have yet been sold.  Now remember, the Fisker business model actually called for them to own a significant portion of the hybrid/electric car market in just the first couple of years of production.  They would have to beat to market shares of GM, Toyota (who owns the largest share with the Prius), Nissan and Honda to name a few.  Delaware's Caesar Rodney Institute highlighted the bold plan years ago:

Competition in the hybrid market is fierce. All the major automobile producers are moving into the hybrid market. By 2015 GM plans for 26 out of 33 models to be some form of hybrid. Chrysler plans to have 8 hybrid or electric vehicles by that year. The current U.S. hybrid market averages across the business cycle 25,000 cars per month (300,000 per year). Three quarters of the sales are Toyota's Prius or Lexus, with Prius accounting for 55% of the total hybrid market. Ford and Mercury (Fusion, Milan) currently have a 9% market share, with Honda at 8% and GM at 5%. Sales have dipped during the recession and are directly influenced by the price of gas.

 

Will the market support Fisker's 2014 sales projection? U.S. car sales should top 8 million by 2014. If the hybrids share of cars rises from its current 1% and climbs to 5%, hybrid sales in 2014 will be around 400,000. This means that Fisker, with a limited retail and service network and no established reputation, will capture 19% to 25% of the U.S. hybrid market. Should 50% of Fisker's cars be sold as exports, the highest proportion of exports for any current American company, Fisker is assuming a U.S. hybrid market share of 9% to 13%, greater than the current shares of Honda and GM.

 

The likelihood of such a plan working was also a subject of the Institute and it found that the plan left far more questions on the table than it answered.  Fisker has had to hike the prices of the Karma to keep the company afloat, pushed back production and start-up plans, has sought more taxpayer funding and still has only delivered a relative handful of vehicles.  It's certainly not competitive in the market with companies like Toyota, Honda and Nissan.  Which bring us now to the news of today which is also a blow to sales of the start-up car makers most expensive model.  It turns out that the battery packs inside the Fisker Karma's can catch fire (much like the Chevy Volt which was recalled earlier this year) and cause explosions.  Battery fires have plagued the electric car industry largely due to government's force behind the implementation of the unproven and untested technology to save face in its quest for green energy goals.  The bottom line is, do we want to pin our hopes to another Pinto or Yugo?  Fisker is already north of $600 million in government subsidies, some have said it's closing in on $1 billion and now with these setbacks, business will suffer.  There can be no doubt that the $50,000 Nina, which is planned to be built in Delaware will suffer from these setbacks if it comes online in 2013 as promised and many good folks, like the people at Union Park and the many contractors who embraced this green energy plan will be affected by these pains.  The fact is that electric cars aren't ready for prime time and no amount of government force will make it so.  In fact, I say, when the private market venture capitalists start investing THAT is when you will see the rise of the electric car.  

Government picks for winners and losers, Solyndra, Blue Water Wind and Fisker are proving what conservatives have been saying for a long time, that private markets should be dictating the products in the market place.  Government wastes untold billions of dollars every year that could be used to pay down or deficit on misguided attempts to solve every problem when the reality is that it just can't do it.  Government solutions rely on mandates, cash subsidies and risky gambles with other people's money that more often than not lead to disaster.  Look at the latest deal with Bloom energy.  Delmarva Power ratepayers are now venture capitalists (don't get excited, you get no return on this investment) in a company that markets unproven emergency backups to major corporations.  Better still, not only did the government have to force Delmarva Ratepayers to subsidize Bloom but it also forced subsequent governments to have to stick with the plan.  That's right, future General Assemblies MUST remain in the agreement with Bloom for 21 years.  TWENTY ONE YEARS!  No matter how much it costs, how effective it is or how many jobs it produces.  Further, they had to compromise their own leftist principles to do it!  In 2011, the General Assembly passed a bill that redefined the term "Renewable Energy" to include Natural Gas (a fossil fuel considered dirty by the left) because the Bloom boxes need natural gas to operate and because anything not classified as renewable under Delaware's Renewable Energy Portfolio costs Delmarva more money to use.  UNREAL!  We've got to stop this madness.  We need someone with an ounce of common sense to make some changes.

CREW Exposed

A new website out today delves into the realm of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). You may remember CREW from previous posts on this blog as well as from the recently dismissed charges against Christine O’Donnell. Like most CREW complaints, the one against O’Donnell was dismissed by the U.S. Attorney because they were completely fabricated. As we broke here on this blog, CREW violated their IRS mandate to remain non-political when they attacked Christine O’Donnell during the campaign and they violated federal law when they filed a knowingly false affidavit signed by David Keegan whose entire smear campaign of lies was simply designed to keep Christine from running again.

The new website also delves into the partisanship of CREW. A quick look over the founders of CREW shows the partisan angle. Norm Eisen who was Deputy General Counsel to Obama’s transition team joined Daniel Berger, a massive donor to Democrat campaigns (including Christine O’Donnell’s opponent Chris Coons) and Clinton pollster Mark Penn to start CREW in 2003 as a way to compete with the conservative ethics groups that had questioned Bill Clinton’s philandering in the White House. They needed a face for the organization and so they tapped another ultra-liberal Democrat to head up CREW, Melanie Sloan. Sloan came with plenty of leftist credentials, she’d worked for Representative John “Read the bill” Conyers in the House, she then worked for Senator (now VP) Joe “Stand up Chuck” Biden and she also worked for NY Democrat Chuck “3 branches of government?” Schumer when he was in the House of Representatives. Sloan isn’t the only leftist in the mix, in fact, the website finds that “there isn't a single current or former CREW staffer with comparable experience working for a conservative organization or Republican politician.”

As if that weren’t enough, the new site exposes CREW’s record of attacks against Republicans over Democrats. The chart below clearly shows that CREW files more complaints against Republicans than Democrats and it clearly shows that the actions taken by the ethics committees lean more toward Democrats than Republicans. What does that mean? It means that CREW is either REALLY ineffective as a “watchdog” or it’s just out to be a Democrat Attackdog.

Let’s look at the Senate ethics complaints as an example. As you can see above CREW’s Senate ethics complaints are around 90% against Republicans. Meanwhile, the Senate ethics committee actions are 60% against Democrats 40% against Republicans. This is simply a perfect illustration of the reason why Christine O’Donnell’s complaints about CREW are entirely valid. They are a partisan group out to destroy Republicans, prop up Democrats and do the bidding of radical leftist donors like George Soros. Their list of donors reads like a Who’s Who of radical leftwing groups. The Open Society Institute, the Democracy Alliance, the Tides Foundation and the Silberstein Foundation to name just a few are all major donors to CREW. Interestingly, CREW was also a MAJOR advocate for the DISCLOSE Act (written by Delaware’s own Mike Castle) which would have required groups to disclose their donors if they engaged in any political activity. However, CREW refuses to disclose its own list of donors. 

In the end, the new site shows the bias and hypocrisy of CREW at a time when their legal status has come into question. With O’Donnell fighting back against their lies, this new website exposing CREW’s left wing motivations is yet more evidence that CREW is everything O’Donnell says they are. Mean, nasty, partisan hacks doing the bidding of left wing billionaire extremists like George Soros and left wing political machines like the Democrat Party. Kudo’s to The Center for Consumer Freedom for standing up to CREW and calling them out on their hypocrisy.

The Talking Points Are Out

Friday, Standard & Poor’s, one of the largest credit rating agencies, downgraded America’s credit rating from AAA to AA+. This was the first time in history that America’s credit rating has been downgraded. Downgrades are a sign that the credit rating agencies are losing faith in a nation’s ability to repay its debts. It didn’t take long for the Democrat Party to cobble together talking points and protect President Obama either. By Sunday the Democrats were on message and blaming the downgrade on the TEA Party. Both David Axelrod and John Kerry were out publicly calling this a TEA Party downgrade on the Sunday talk shows.

For the last few months, the Democrats, President Obama and the Republicans (led by the TEA Party Freshmen) have argued over raising America’s debt ceiling. Democrats and Republicans battled over the actual debt ceiling increase while the TEA Party freshmen focused on lowering the actual debt numbers instead of increasing the borrowing limit. Marco Rubio implored the Congress to focus on lowering the debt instead of raising the debt ceiling and the TEA Party Republicans put forth a Cut, Cap and Balance plan that called for $4 Trillion dollars in cuts to the more than $14 Trillion national debt, a cap on future spending and a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. 

S&P issued the following statement with its downgrade of the U.S. credit rating:

– We have lowered our long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States of America to ‘AA+’ from ‘AAA’ and affirmed the ‘A-1+’ short-term rating.

– We have also removed both the short- and long-term ratings from CreditWatch negative.

– The downgrade reflects our opinion that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the Administration recently agreed to falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government’s medium-term debt dynamics.

– More broadly, the downgrade reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenges to a degree more than we envisioned when we assigned a negative outlook to the rating on April 18, 2011.

 – Since then, we have changed our view of the difficulties in bridging the gulf between the political parties over fiscal policy, which makes us pessimistic about the capacity of Congress and the Administration to be able to leverage their agreement this week into a broader fiscal consolidation plan that stabilizes the government’s debt dynamics any time soon.

 – The outlook on the long-term rating is negative. We could lower the long-term rating to ‘AA’ within the next two years if we see that less reduction in spending than agreed to, higher interest rates, or new fiscal pressures during the period result in a higher general government debt trajectory than we currently assume in our base case…

We lowered our long-term rating on the U.S. because we believe that the prolonged controversy over raising the statutory debt ceiling and the related fiscal policy debate indicate that further near-term progress containing the growth in public spending, especially on entitlements, or on reaching an agreement on raising revenues is less likely than we previously assumed and will remain a contentious and fitful process. We also believe that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the Administration agreed to this week falls short of the amount that we believe is necessary to stabilize the general government debt burden by the middle of the decade.

As you can see, S&P plays the fence on the exact answer to the debt crisis but their focus is in fact on the debt burden and not the borrowing limit. They suggest a need for “progress containing the growth in public spending, especially on entitlements, or on reaching an agreement on raising revenues”. Now, each of us has to make a decision on whether we believe that raising taxes or cutting spending is the right answer but for those who look objectively at all of the facts, the best course of action is clear. We’ve absolutely GOT to reduce our spending and reform entitlements. Interestingly, the CBO released a report this weekend that shows that Social Security outlays already exceed collected revenues and in fact, without major reforms, our Social Security system is in jeopardy of complete collapse within the next 30 years or so. For current recipients, this means nothing at all if ones view is only of what directly affects them. If you look at it more broadly, that means people who are 30 years of age today and who have paid and still pay into the Social Security system may not see the fruits of their labors. Raising revenues instead of reforming entitlements or cutting spending is a feel good discussion. Sticking it to those who have more than we do is always more palatable than reducing our own comfort levels but if life teaches us anything, it’s that the easy way is hardly ever the right way. Even the most extreme of revenue increase plans does absolutely nothing substantial in the long term. 

Check out this video from Bill Whittle and then you tell me, address spending or “raise revenues” (a.k.a increase taxes, especially on the rich)?

 

Votegate

My good friend Charlie Copeland over at Resolute Determination has an excellent piece on DeLucagate and Tiganigate that calls to task Delaware Democrats whose corruption can no longer be hidden.  As usual, Charlie expertly ties together the corruption surrounding State Senator Tony DeLuca's late release of his adjusted time cards after weeks of refusal to do so and even going so far as to have Attorney General Beau Biden cite a Homeland Security statute to keep his time cards secret, with the illegal campaign donations from NKS Distributors owner Chris Tigani.  From Vice President Biden to Lt. Gov. Matt Denn, Gov. Markell and even Senator Tom Carper, Delaware Democrats have been getting these illegal donations for years.  The Delaware Democrats have hidden for years behind a veil of secrecy thanks to a complicit media and reports whose curiosity was not just inconsistent but often nonexistent.  Now, with reporters such as Chad Livengood and Cris Barrish on the case, who are inquisitive and unafraid of following the truth, their exploits are on display. 

Now, the Democrats are pushing their far left agenda by passing marijuana legalization laws and civil union legislation through the state General Assembly and having Jack Markell sign them.  Delaware is hemorrhaging jobs and falling further and further into debt.  The transportation department has been exposed as corrupt and Markell's failure as Governor is apparent.  While some local talk show hosts may disagree, Delaware has not created jobs, there has been no net economic growth, in fact, Delaware has lost jobs month in and month out all while Markell and his cronies in the General Assembly have forced their liberal agenda on us.  Now, after all of this failure, our General Assembly wants to make Delaware, the second smallest state in the U.S. beholden to cities who have more population than our entire state. 

It's called the National Popular Vote Act and it cedes Delaware's sovereignty to the national popular vote.  What does that mean?  It means that Presidential candidates will no longer come to Delaware and that our 3 electoral votes, will no longer be awarded based on the votes of the citizens of the State of Delaware.  They would instead be awarded to the winner of the national popular vote.  This gives our electoral votes to whomever win the votes of America's major cities.  The Electoral College was designed by our founders to ensure that small states (like Delaware) would have a say on par with larger states.  That is not to say that the votes would be equal but rather that the smaller states would have a say as much as any other state would.  Originally, the "Electors" as they are shown in the Constitution, cast votes for candidates who wanted to be President.  The top two vote getters would be President and Vice President respectively.  This is how John Adams ended up with Thomas Jefferson, a political rival as Vice President.  At this time, around 1800, political parties emerged after 12 years without any real "parties".  The founders saw inherent problems with political opposites as #1 and #2 in command, especially for instance, when it came to foreign policy (Thomas Jefferson supported the French Revolution while John Adams was very much against it).  That is why they wrote and proposed the 12th Amendment which retained the Electors (and the Electoral College) but grouped the President and Vice President as a package deal. 

Now, after 223 years of successful elections with just a handful of concerns over the Presidency going to the winner of the Electoral votes who lost the national popular vote, Delaware's Democrat controlled General Assembly is ready to tell you that YOUR vote doesn't matter.  They think that Delaware's electoral votes ought to go to the person who gets the most votes nationally, meaning, the person who wins the cities.  Are you willing to let your vote be decided by people who live in New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami or Houston?  The State House has passed the measure.  Your State Democrat State Representatives have decided that your vote doesn't matter.  Please, call your State Senator and tell them NOT to cede our votes to big cities.

Deconstructing the Delaware Liberal Myth

So I heard Rick Jensen talking about this blog post over at Delaware Liberal by "Cassandra_m".  Usually I don't even bother to present my fellow Delawareans over there with common sense facts because they often fail to listen to reason.  Governor Markell and I don't agree on much, including his own opinion that he is "pro-business".  Thus far Markell has shown himself to be almost anything but "pro-business".  When Delaware had the opportunity to push for an opt-out of Obamacare which threatens to destroy small-medium businesses and will demand more layoffs even from Fortune 500 companies, Markell supported it and refused to save Delaware businesses.  When the Obama Administration pushed Financial Regulatory reform through the Congress which has already shut down many jobs (potentially a thousand +) in the financial sector in Delaware, Markell supported it.  Markell has shown support for not only RGGI, the regional cap and trade system but also a national Cap and Trade system that would further punish (destroy) Delaware businesses and kill jobs.  So I decided to go ahead and post my critique of her blog posting here.  My comments are in bold.

Building Delaware's Future or How to Throw Taxpayer Money at BusinessesBy cassandra_m

Governor Markell has spent the past three days rolling out his plan to spend newly DEFAC-found revenues of $320M. Links to the Governor’s Press Releases on this are below, and worth looking at in their entirety:
Part I — Building Delaware’s Future Fund, Infrastructure:
Part II — Building Delaware’s Future, Tax Cuts
Part III — Building Delaware’s Future, Education
This is all being billed as a jobs plan, and some of it definitely supports the creation of employment — the Infrastructure proposals look like old school stimulus and takes into consideration that some newly built plant here will need expansion or adjustments to current infrastructure to operate.

Typically, the liberal spirit is to spend money in GOVERNMENT and to buy up as much land as possible so that future land use can be centrally planned.  In other words, if DuPont isn't playing ball with the government (say...on climate change) but Gore is playing ball, why not sell the government owned land to Gore instead of DuPont?  Don't think this could happen?  Well it already has.  Case in point: DelDOT land deals and Chris Tigani.

<back to Cassandra> The disappointing part of this is Part II, in which we find the Governor doing something I don’t think I thought I’d see — actually buying into the fairy tale that tax cuts create jobs. They don’t, of course, otherwise the 2000’s would have been way more robust than they were. And this plan actually extends the fairy tale — while it is certain that the financial industry is changing, there is no way to look at this industry and not see that the changes we see here in Delaware are structural ones. Jobs lost at Wilmington Trust and HSBC (and others, really) are due to serious restructurings that tax cuts won’t undo to any great extent.

Another glimpse into the liberal mindset here shows a complete and total unwillingness to put fact over ideology when they don't mix.  The reality is that going back to the 1920's, every time taxes have been cut, the economy has grown and revenues to the government have increased.  Every time.  Ok, ok, so THAT link was to a Heritage article and I know, YOU say they are biased.  Well, I guess that means that this link to the USA Today opinion piece by Bill Frist is out too?  Fine, I can understand that, but then how do you explain the jump in revenues in 2006 as reported by the New York Times?  The fact is that cutting taxes stimulates the economy as well as it does personal incomes.  It creates more wealth which can then be invested in new businesses or in expansion of current businesses.

<back to Cassandra> Tax cuts targeted at the Financial Industry are particularly galling — this industry has had the benefit of rivers of taxpayer funds in the form of TARP and multiple cheap lending facilities and now Delaware taxpayers are supposed to help support banks that are in trouble because of their own bad risk management. Again, without paying attention to the fact that there are quite a few of these jobs that won’t be coming back, no matter how healthy the economy gets.

Whoops!  Cassandra forgot to mention the REASON why these jobs "won't be coming back" to Delaware.  Part of it is because banks are under assault from all sides thanks to the financial meltdown.  Some of it is warranted and some of it is not so warranted.  A much larger part of it is Financial Regulatory Reform, also known as Reg Z.  Reg Z changed so much within the financial system (and the full impact to companies hasn't even been realized yet) that financial institutions now have some of their costs increased by 200% or more.  And while those who are committed to the causes of the left, namely bringing down the capitalist system in favor of a more redistributive model where your success only means we get to share more of YOUR wealth will not be convinced by a "biased source" it's telling to see what the company Accenture thinks of financial regulatory reform:
As we have seen, The Dodd-Frank Act has many interrelated implications for how all financial services firms will run their businesses, both short-term and long-term, and as a result, the financial services industry could look very different in five years time. The Act will increase costs, potentially hurt profits, produce new operational challenges and pose significant strategic questions about how firms will prop up their return on equity while absorbing the cost of more reporting to regulators, a more expensive cost of capital and the loss of some of their most profitable businesses. The most nimble and efficient banks, insurers and broker-dealers could pick up market share at the expense of their larger, less efficient competitors, which makes it crucial that firms make an efficient strategy for implementing reform part of the DNA of their businesses.
This is no insignificant point folks.  It's the very reason why banks are shedding jobs here in Delaware.  Key sponsors of the bill, Senator Tom Carper, Former Congressman Mike Castle and Vice President Joe Biden, all from Delaware.

<back to Cassandra> Tax cuts targeted at the top rate make no sense at all. (Full disclosure, I would benefit from this tax cut.) We are still in an economy that is finding its sea legs. It will take quite a long time to get to 7% unemployment rate, much less 5%.

And why would we want to cut tax rates on the people who create the jobs we are going to need in order to lower the unemployment rate?  Even if you don't buy the logic that I listed above, with a number of different factual sources from across the political spectrum that shows tax cuts in the past have always increased revenues and lifted the economy, you still can surely see how the rich provide the jobs.  People like Cassandra always like to go after the people making more than $250,000 as some sort of evil rich people who just want to take everything they can get their hands on.  The reality is that these are the people that create the jobs that lift our unemployment rate.  They are the small business owners, the upper level managers and the executives who create jobs.  With that said, it is easy to fall into the trap of desiring what others have, believe me there are times when I would LOVE to be a DuPont heir but we all have to remember that in America, you reap what you sow.  Until recently, America has been a place where you can keep the fruits of your labor but now it is increasingly becoming a place where government takes more of what YOU earn and gives it to those who have not earned it.  It's especially helpful to the liberal cause when these words come from someone who is part of that upper class.  When Joe Biden says "skin in the game" and people like Cassandra who claim to be in the upper class call for more like them to pay more in taxes, it sounds great!  But watch it, because most of them have found loopholes in the tax system that allows THEIR skin to be just a little smaller than most people.  (Tim Geithner anyone?)

<back to Cassandra> And while Delaware seems to have some control over its previous revenue problem, it is not in control of the *real* problem of government budgets everywhere — health care. Deliberately letting go of revenue streams in the midst of all of this uncertainty with no idea what kind of risks will be present next year or the following year can only make sense if you expect that you can just cover any future shortfalls by asking state workers to finance the gaps. Again. Besides, one of the *principles* of using this money is supposed to be:

Limiting our dependence on less reliable sources of revenue, specifically abandoned property. The plan suggests the best way to accomplish this is to cap the amount of this revenue being used to fund the state’s operating budget, and to use any additional collections for one-time investments.

First of all, Delaware does not HAVE a revenue problem, it has a SPENDING problem.  In 2009, Delaware spent $27,362 per taxpayer and we have gone from spending $8.3 Billion in 2009 to spending more than $10.6 Billion now in 2011.  The other problem that I have here is this idea that taxes are "revenue" to be "adjusted" at the will of the elites.  Taxes are "revenue" only in that they are income to the government.  Taxes are a public trust that the people pay to the government in exchange for core services.  With that said, our "core services" haven't been looked at in many years.  I ask you, are two golf courses and two marinas "core services"?  *I* can live without a couple of golf courses and a couple of marinas, how about you?  So if you reduce spending on these "discretionary" items, you free up enough money to reduce the tax burden on businesses and individuals.  As for asking state workers to "finance the gaps", Cassandra is using liberal speak for "taking pay cuts", I say that the New York Times admits the wage/benefit gap between the public and private sector workers.  In addition, there is plenty of room for public employees to contribute a little more toward their pensions and health care.  With that said, if you eliminate redundant, wasteful and costly state programs, it will reduce any potential pay cuts or increased benefit contributions.  But let's live in the world where taxes are "revenue"...even under that idea, tax cuts INCREASE revenue.

Bush Tax Cuts:  President George W. Bush’s 2003 tax cuts generated a massive increase in federal tax revenue and were followed by 52 consecutive months of economic growth. From 2004 to 2007, federal tax revenue increased by $780 billion, the largest four-year increase in American history.  Total federal revenue from 2003 to 2007:

2003 -- $1.78 trillion

2004 -- $1.88 trillion

2005 -- $2.15 trillion

2006 -- $2.40 trillion

2007 -- $2.56 trillion

<back to Cassandra> Unless these tax cuts are just for one year, you’ve just financed this tax cut for years assuming you’ll have this revenue on a recurring basis. And tax cuts of this kind are NOT an investment.
Reducing business taxes provides balance sheet support — not real incentives to hire. Because the majority of businesses on the planet will hire people because they can keep a pair of hands busy, cover the costs of that pair of hands and still make some money.

Oh Cassandra, you miss the points so eloquently.  Tax cuts ARE an investment, especially tax cuts for businesses and those who create jobs.  Reducing taxes provides PROFITS (what she refers to as "balance sheet support") to businesses and those profits are used by business owners to reinvest in their businesses, to expand production and yes, to create jobs.  Likewise, tax cuts for the wealthy put more money back into the pockets of the people who invest in businesses (venture capital anyone?).  This is a concept that JFK espoused and that the Congress in the 1990's confirmed. 

<back to Cassandra> Nowhere that *I’ve* ever worked has justified hiring based on the tax cuts available. (And yes, I hire people.) Tax cuts cover some of the costs of that pair of hands and/or maybe some of the profits. This is why lots of businesses who get a great deal of support from local governments can get up and go after that support sunsets.

No one has ever suggested that companies hire people only because of tax cuts.  What we've said is that tax cuts stimulate growth and stimulate hiring which is absolutely true.  This is why business exploded from 2000 to 2007 despite the 9/11 terrorist attacks, two wars and Hurricane Katrina.  

<back to Cassandra> See this book and this book for the gory details.

And once you read those books by the committed leftist former "journalist" whose wife runs a philanthropic distribution group that handled more than $160 million in donations, please take a look at this book and this book.

<back to Cassandra> It is possible that we do not have all of the details here, but there has to be a smarter use of found money than these tax cuts. At least a smarter use that still acknowledges that we are economically no where near being out of the woods. And if someone from the Administration wants to tell you that these tax cuts will pay for themselves, demand to see their calculations. Because this will be the first time that this has ever been true.

Cassandra, it wouldn't be the first time it's ever been true, in fact, Michael T. Griffith can point to 5 major tax cuts that DID pay for themselves, the Bush, Clinton, Reagan, JFK and Mellon (Harding & Coolidge administrations) cuts.  They didn't just pay for themselves, they preceded times of great economic growth and increased revenues.

<back to Cassandra> The recent budget submitted by the Governor reduced some of the grant funds available to service providers in the state. Groups that are doing extraordinary work in their communities. Groups that may be laying people off or not help others to become employable due to the reduced funds. And yet this doesn’t count in the employment calculation.

My first question is, if the work is so great, why does it require government to fund it?  As someone who runs a non-profit organization that does NOT accept government funds (by choice) I can tell you that the world of community "service providers" is muddied by many who are swimming in taxpayer dollars and providing little return on investment.  I know what it takes to run an organization on nothing but donations and I think it's a testament to the longevity of groups like Founders Values, Delaware Family Policy Council and others who operate solely on the donations of like minded individuals.  In fact, some of those groups even have entirely volunteer staff and still need to produce high quality results in order to continue providing their services.  These organizations should compete like everyone else instead of reaching for handouts of taxpayer dollars.  The best will rise to the top and the worst will dissolve and contribute their good ideas to those effective organizations.

<back to Cassandra> What is truly unfortunate is to see this genuinely smart man reduced to pushing the horribly false narrative about taxes, and basically work at reinforcing the republican-pushed idea that you can have All of the Government You Can Eat for Free. And provide a revenue stream to businesses too! Don’t expect leadership on this to come from the Dem Caucus, either. Because if Governor Markell can succumb to this fairy tale, there’s no chance the Caucus will get a sudden attack of responsibility.

What is even more unfortunate is that Cassandra does such a poor job of attempting to explain "Republican-pushed" ideas and that she attributes Governor Markell's mad dash to spend the cash to Republicans.  As you can see from this week's proposal from the Republican caucus in Dover, the Governor's plans don't even come close to meeting Republican goals.  Instead of going on a spending spree like a 17yr old girl with daddy's credit card in the Mall of America, Republicans have proposed tax cuts to stimulate the economy, spur investment, ease the pain at the pump and to fix failures in government that cost taxpayers millions of dollars.  Republicans show their responsibility and leadership in their plan by proposing to fix the way that DelDOT operating funds are spent and to provide transparency and openness with respect to how the agency works. 

Republicans as a rule call for a LIMITED GOVERNMENT (not "All of the Government You Can Eat for Free") but I'm glad that Cassandra agrees that government isn't free.  Now all we need to do is remind her that you can't get to a balanced budget simply by eating the rich:

I'm also happy to see her admitting that the Democrats have their own problems with leadership.

Taking a Stand for Sanity

Jack Markell was elected in 2008 after a long primary with then former Lt. Gov. (now Congressman) John Carney.  Carney was considered the more liberal of the two and at the behest of nationwide conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh, thousands of Delaware Republicans changed their political party affiliation not only to ensure that Markell was the gubenatorial candidate but also that Barack Obama beat Hillary Clinton in a move dubbed "Operation Chaos".  This move in Delaware created artificially high Democrat registration margins, gave the liberals in the Delaware Democrat Party a dataset to use in order to claim a massive liberal mandate. 

The Delaware Republican Party has been largely silent in the last 3 years as Jack Markell and the Democrat controlled General Assembly has "balanced the budget" by using accounting tricks and half measures that ignore the real roots of our problems, the rampant over spending and bloated size of Delaware's state and local govenrments.  To be fair, I should point out that government largesse is concentrated in State government, New Castle County government and Wilmington city government.  While Sussex and Kent have largely controlled the size of their governments, the northern half of the state has exploded.  While some descrepency is expected since the majority of Delawareans live in New Castle County, government has taken advantage of that fact.  We can no longer be silent about the fact that Jack Markell and his ENTIRE administration is failing the people of Delaware.  This includes DEDO chief Alan Levin who is the real reason why the GOP is silent about Markell's failures.  Levin was brought in by Markell to show his bi-partisanship and was hailed as a brilliant economic mind.  Delaware has a higher unemployment rate than it did when Levin/Markell took over, a higher unemployment rate than the national average and is continuing to lose jobs left and right.  HSBC, Wilmington Trust and countless small businesses have laid off thousands since they took office.  Fisker has yet to build a car, the University of Delaware hasn't yet created a job at the Chrysler plant and the reopening of the Valero plant has produced a net loss of 200 jobs.  Yet, the Delaware Republican leadership is SILENT...because of Levin.   Mr. Levin, you HAVE FAILED.  It's time that you followed the lead of former DelDOT chief Carolann Wicks and resign.  Perhaps you could start another drug store and create more private sector jobs than you have as DEDO head.

I'm not willing to pull the same punches as the Delaware GOP leadership.  They live in a world where a few ultra rich people control their every move.  I don't.  Where I live, the people of Delaware MATTER.  Where I live, jobs need to be created and created NOW.  Where I live, spending is out of control and the answer is to cut the size and scope of government.  Where I live our children are failing and out administrators make millions in unearned taxpayer dollars.  Where I live we owe them a better education system and a better chance at making it.  Where I live the city of Wilmington needs an injection of hope, capital and common sense.  Where I live is with you, the people.  This is the first in a series that will highlight the problems we face and how we fix them.  I'm not going to sugarcoat it folks, our situation is dire.  With that said, we can survive and if we work together we will.  I don't pretend to have all the answers but I know the fools in office now don't seem to have any.  Let's rescue Delaware.

New Castle County Democrats on the Lamb Wisconsin Style

I received an email last night from a good friend in the Delaware conservative movement who was warning about an impending power play by the New Castle County Council.  This is the message:

Tue March 1st at the New Castle County Bldg at 800 N. French Street at 4:30pm New Castle Council meets.  The New Castle Council will meet to try to strip Tom Kovach of some of his powers and undo rules of order that address the corruption in bidding and development.

We need you there. 

I immediately thought that I should go to this.  It was last minute, and with 4 kids, last minute sometimes just doesn't work out.  My wife and I scrambled to make sure we had kid coverage and I was able to leave (albeit a little late) for Wilmington.  I walked in about 25 mins late and was greeted by an almost empty room.  Well, almost empty of legislators.  By the time I arrived only Council President Kovach and Councilman Weiner were still in the room.  I later found out that of the 13 members of council, the following showed up:

1. Councilwoman Diller (D)
2. Councilman Powers (D)
3. Councilman Tackett (D)
4. Councilman Weiner (R)
5. Council President Kovach (R)

Councilwoman Kilpatrick called in sick and Councilman Cartier was out of town, both announced their intent not to show.  The rest of County Council were no shows.  They'd pulled a Wisconsin.  Why?  Well they'd gotten word that THE PEOPLE had been notified that there was to be a vote to strip the Council President of some of his powers.  Word got out that we would show.  And so the Democrats (minus the few good government supporters above) decided since we WERE going to show, that they would not. 

But their motion is not going away.  Instead they are going to wait until the next Finance Committee meeting to bring it up.  That meeting takes place next Tuesday at 1:30PM.  They're doing it then because they figure that many of us who came, wanted to come or tried to come tonight will not be able to come then.  They don't want the public to know what is going on in County Council.  People like Tim Sheldon and George Smiley are neck deep in some serious corruption when it comes to land use and they've been using suspect methods to pass their bills.  Kovach has called them out on their misdeeds and now Council is reacting viciously.  Adam Taylor over at the News Journal (one of the few good guys) has an EXCELLENT piece on the moves Council has made to restrict Kovach's ability to check the Democrats.

I say we show up enmasse on Tuesday at 1:30PM at the City County Building on the 8th Floor.  It's time we stood up for the people attempting to stand up for us.  In addition, if any of the following are your councilmembers, please send them an email about being absent from their duties today:

1st District - Joe Reda

4th District - Penrose Hollins

7th District - George Smiley

8th District - John Cartier - he was excused from the meeting but is in favor of changing the rules because Kovach is calling the Dems bluff

9th District - Tim Sheldon

10th District - Jea P. Street

12th District - Bill Bell

Where is our response?

In the last 3-4 years Delaware has lost two auto plants, an oil refinery, 750 jobs at HSBC and now hundreds more will be leaving Wilmington Trust thanks to the merger with M&T Bank.  These are just the bulk losses.  Gone with them are THOUSANDS of support jobs and small businesses whose customer bases lost their jobs in these major layoffs.  Since 2007 it has been one hit after another but what do we hear from our leaders in Dover?  *Crickets* *Crickets*

To be fair to the Markell administration the auto plant closings occurred on the watch of Governor Minner.  Of course, Jack Markell was Gov. Minner's Treasurer and he was fully aware of the economic problems we faced and if he wasn't than he was derelict in his duties.  The reality is that in just a few years during two Democrat administrations, Delaware lost more than 3,700 jobs.  For all the economic star power in the Markell Administration, including Alan Levine (of Happy Harry's fame) whose cross the party lines appointment was seen as genius and an illustration of a Governor who understood the challenges in front of him.  Democrats and Republicans alike praised Markell and to this day he is given a pass.  No one from either party questions the fact that Delaware has not created jobs.

You would think that the administration would have worked to bring new businesses in to replace jobs being lost but you would be wrong.  The Chrysler plant, when abandoned by Chrysler was not turned over to flourishing companies like Ford, Hyundai, Nissan or Toyota.  Instead it was sold to the University of Delaware who will now embark on a decades long cleanup project to make the facility into a new medical complex.  They've promised grandiose plans that will lead to thousands of jobs but of course, they're long term projections.  The old GM Boxwood plant?  It's now owned by another company with lofty long term goals and no immediate results.  Fisker will employ 2000 autoworkers when it finally reopens the plant and begins making taxpayer funded electric cars.  Never mind the fact that every car it sells is subsidized 50% by state and federal taxpayers and that in all likelihood each car built will represent a net loss of taxpayer dollars.  Valero closed back in 2009 and nearly 1000 people lost their jobs.  In what represents the best hope for the creation of new jobs, it is expected that the plant will reopen under new management (PBF Energy, a foreign owned company has agreed to take ownership) this April and that 700 jobs will be picked up.  Still, that is assuming that everything goes to plan.  As for the more than 1400 jobs lost in the banking sector?  *Crickets* *Crickets*

Yet, still, we hear NOTHING from Dover and even LESS from the opposition party.  Where are the Republicans?  Why aren't they calling on Markell to produce jobs the way we hear John Boehner and Paul Ryan calling on the Obama Administration?  It's called "The Delaware Way".  The misnomer is that this is a unique brand of civility in Delaware but in reality it is nothing short of cowardice and wanton disregard for the business of the people.  It's very much the reason why there is single party rule in Delaware.  The Delaware Republican Party is scared to DEATH to call a spade a spade.  Sure, you may see a few people (like me, Charlie Copeland, Dave Anderson...etc.) with blogs who are critical of the administration but where are the press releases from the Delaware GOP leadership railing against this hemorrhaging of jobs and the lack of economic growth?  Far from being an act of civility, this silence is an act of servitude where the Delaware GOP ignores the transgressions of Delaware's ruling Democrat Party and in exchange is allowed a few token election wins.  Who would want to vote for a party that just does what the other party wants them to do? 

I'm calling on the Delaware Republican Party to STAND for something.  STAND UP for these people who have lost their jobs.  STAND UP for these people are desperately in need of help.  BE the GRAND old party again.  Stop maintaining the status quo and start rocking the boat.  Delaware needs leaders and there are people in the Delaware GOP who I KNOW can provide the leadership we need in order to turn our situation around.  What we need is for those leaders to STAND and to stop waffling.  Make your CASE...and the people will follow you.  I'm reminded of one of my favorite movies....Braveheart:

Craig: Sir William, where are you going?

William: We have beaten the English, but they'll come back because you won't stand together.

Craig: Well what will you do?

William: I will invade England and defeat the English on their own ground.

Craig: Invade? That's impossible.

William: Why? Why is that impossible? You're so concerned with squabbling for the scraps from Longshank's table that you've missed your God given right to something better. There is a difference between us. You think the people of this country exist to provide you with position. I think your position exists to provide those people with freedom. And I go to make sure that they have it.

---

Robert the Bruce: Wait! I respect what you said, but remember that these men have lands and castles. It's much to risk.

William: And the common man who bleeds on the battlefield, does he risk less?

Robert the Bruce: No, but from top to bottom this country has no sense of itself. Its nobles share allegiance with England. Its clans war with each other. If you make enemies on both sides of the border, you'll end up dead.

William: We all end up dead; it's just a question of how and why.

Robert the Bruce: I'm not a coward. I want what you want, but we need the nobles.

William: We need them?

Robert the Bruce: Aye.

William: Now tell me, what does that mean to be noble? Your title gives you claim to the throne of our country, but men don't follow titles, they follow courage. Now our people know you. Noble, and common, they respect you. And if you would just lead them to freedom, they'd follow you. And so would I.

---

New Castle County is more BROKE than we thought

Recently, the News Journal broke stories (2 months too late) that prove Chris Coons is nothing short of a liar.  Both were from a report by Independent observer Dace Blaskovitz.  Coons spent more than 6 months telling Delawareans (especially New Castle County residents) that he was responsible with the County finances and that it was not in trouble.  He told us that everything was fine and that he was able to save the county from the brink of a fiscal meltdown.  Today, the News Journal's Chad Livengood has another story on the fiscal woes of New Castle County.  The new County Executive, Paul Clark (the man of a thousand ethics problems), has put in place a 30 person transition team ($$$$) to figure out how to get the county out of the HUGE hole it's in. 

What hole you ask?  If you've only been listening to Chris Coons, Paul Clark, Tim Sheldon and the rest of the Democrats in New Castle County government you would be unable to see the huge hole in county finances that they were hiding.  If County Council did not know the MASSIVE gap between spending and revenue existed then it is time to fire every single one of them (and this includes Councilman Weiner if he knew and was silent).  Folks, this is an absolute TRAVESTY of justice.  New Castle County began the new millennium with a $200 million SURPLUS and by 2015, if nothing changes, we will be $68 million in debt.  It will have swung 134% in the opposite direction.  This is DESPITE an increase in sewer fees of more than 60%, increases in other fees including the introduction of a new fee on contractors and a 54% increase in property taxes.  Does this sound like fiscal responsibility to you?  Could you do this at home?  Let's say you already had a huge savings account but were spending more than you made and you asked your boss for a raise of more than 60% and got it.  Now your pay has increased by more than 60%, you are spending all of your income and you still are eating into your savings account at more than 6% per year . You are to the point where you will be IN DEBT within 4 years.  Would it be time to go your boss for another raise or perhaps to address your spending habit?

Well according to Clark's transition team ($$$$) it's time to come to you for a raise.  Oh, Clark doesn't think that you property owners can afford more property taxes.  Instead he and his team will focus their "revenue enhancements" on "raising sewer bills to pay for federally-mandated improvements, charging for inspections of rental homes, cutting grass in county parks less frequently and county-wide reassessment of property values."  No mention of selling county land BACK to the private individuals who managed it before (like Carousel Park which was a net PLUS before the County took it over).  The report also calls for personnel cuts but it does not get specific except to say that the county should hire MORE employees in key areas.  In fact, the finance committee ($$$$) stated that it did not want to recommend specifics to actually FIX the structural problems with County government yet later in the report they call for Clark to lobby the General Assembly for the same 911 tax that Chris Coons lobbied for in 2007. 

The countywide reassessment of property values would be painful to some and easing on another.  The fact is that it MUST be done.  Homeowners today have their land values assessed at the 1983 level.  That's the same value as houses built almost 30 years ago.  Also addressed by the transition team is the suggestion that Clark address the county employee pay and benefits.  Currently many (mostly union members) county employees are receiving step increases annually and have MASSIVE pensions that are coming due more and more rapidly.  About 45% of the 1,400+ full-time county employees currently receive "step raises".  On the pension front, the report calls for the county pensions to be rolled into a more manageable 401(k) plan that is in line with private sector benefits.  This has of course, set the public employees unions into a tizzy.  Some of the county leaders have shouted that Coons and Clark have filled vacancies and then forced current employees to take pay cuts thereby punishing current employees.  ENOUGH!  I'm sick and tired of this stupid argument, hurting current employees by hiring new ones.  FOR YEARS the suggestions from every transition team and independent audit has been to deal with two things:

1. Public employee Pensions
2. The cost of the size of government (a.k.a. personnel costs)

And for years the unions and county managers have screamed that the county politicians are hiring new people and screwing current employees.  Meanwhile politicians have asked for the unions to take pay cuts.  Folks, they are both right!  The bottom line is that vacant positions must be eliminated and public sector employees must take cuts to pay and benefits.  It's unsustainable as it stands and the people don't want the cost for the services they are provided.  It's THAT simple.  That may mean we have to cut services or do more with less.  That is an issue that private companies face every single day.  It's called a tough choice and these politicians claim that they make them every day.  They are lying to us.  Their answer is to raise fees, that's the easy way out.  It's like us telling our bosses that we are going to TAKE a raise and not simply asking for it.

Folks, how long will we continue to sit back and let these people take every dollar we make in taxes?  When is enough going to be enough?  A sewer fee is no different than a property tax folks.  It's a tax in a different area of our life but it is a tax.  Are we that STUPID New Castle County?  Where is the line?  Please tell me, comment here, let me know, where do we draw the line?  When do we hold Chris Coons, Paul Clark, Tim Sheldon and the rest of these people accountable?  Electing Tom Kovach doesn't hold them accountable, Tim Sheldon is still on County Council.  Electing Tom Kovach is a STEP in the right direction but folks we need to elect people who will actually TAKE these steps that need to be taken.  We need to stop the union control of the county and work to bring the county back in line.  By balancing county government we will be able to focus on job creation in the private sector, returning companies like Dupont and others to prosperity by opening up new opportunities to bring their business efforts BACK to Delaware.  I say the time is now, what say you?

The left wing media tries it again, facts prove them wrong, no retractions

Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot today along with 12 other people by a lone gunman in Tucson Arizona.  The Democratic Congresswoman is in critical condition but at least others were killed in the attack.  She is considered a Blue Dog Democrat who supported Universal Healthcare but only after language that would remove federal funding for abortions.  Immediately after the attack, the wires filled with commentary that blamed Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck for the attack.  They intimated that the gunman must have been an angry TEA Party Republican.  Even the WSJ jumped into the fray:

The shooting was not the first time the congresswoman has had brushes with violence. Following the health care overhaul vote this year, her district office was vandalized.
"The rhetoric has gotten incredibly heated," she told MSNBC in March. "Not just the calls, the emails, the slurs. Things have really gotten spun up."
 Dr. Peter Rhee, trauma surgeon at the University of Arizona Medical Center, gives an update to the press on the condition of ten victims of the Tucson, Arizona shooting including wounded Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
.She also specifically called out a "targets" website created by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for the 2010 midterm elections that featured a crosshair over hers and other districts. Republicans campaigned heavily against Ms. Giffords, a moderate Democrat in a Republican-leaning district, last year.
"We can't stand for this, we do really need to realize that the rhetoric and firing people up, and you know things for example we're on Sarah Palin's targeted list, the thing is the way she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gunsight over our district," she told MSNBC.

This reminds me, as it does Erick Erickson over at Redstate, of the reaction to the attack at the Discovery Channel.  The radical leftist blogs like the Huffington Post, Salon and Daily KOS, who routinely call in both comments and postings, for the blood of conservatives immediately attacked Palin, Beck and Limbaugh as having stoked these flames and even some elected officials got in on the hits.  Radical leftist/progressive Raul Grijalva, who is also an Arizonia Representative in the U.S. House spoke to the progressive magazine Mother Jones :
Asked whether the tea party right deserved to be singled out for particular blame, Grijalva assented:

[When] you stoke these flames, and you go to public meetings and you scream at the elected officials, you threaten them—you make us expendable you make us part of the cannon fodder. For a while, you've been feeding this hatred, this division…you feed it, you encourage it….Something's going to happen. People are feeding this monster….Some of the extreme right wing has made demonization of elected officials their priority.

A number of prominent left-wing blogs, including Daily Kos and FireDogLake, also blamed Sarah Palin for fanning the flames by placing Giffords—along with other vulnerable Democratic members of Congress—literally in the crosshairs on a map during the midterm elections. Grijalva said that the Palin "apparatus" shares responsibility for creating a climate of extremism. "Both Gabby and I were targeted in the apparatus in that cycle [saying] these people are 'enemies.'" He concluded: "The Palin express better look at their tone and their tenor."

As it turns out, the shooter was far from your average TEA Party grandfather with an axe to grind against illegal immigrants.  Jared Lee Loughner's favorite book, A Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx (and many of the left wing journalists who initially classified him as a TEA Partier).  Also he was a known leftist in school and believer in mind control and other conspiracy theories who read Hitler and enjoyed burning American flags.  Also, conservatives from Sarah Palin to Michelle Bachman down to the individual TEA Partier on Facebook have posted messages of prayer and best wishes for the Congresswoman.  Meanwhile, the media deletes old data but never issues a retraction.  AP stories which had originally called this "the fault of Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh" have been removed from the net and replaced with "updates" but no retraction has been issued.  *UPDATE* Turns out that, as usual, the HATE came from the left and not the right.

WE THE PEOPLE must hold the 4th branch accountable and call on them to be FAIR AND BALANCED.  We must stop buying their papers, tuning into their TV stations and logging into their website.  Only when we stop relying on their lies, can we get accurate news.