Gingrich's Low Taxes and Hard Money Scare the Bejeebers Out of Democrats

As seen here.

Romney believes in neither.

Rush Limbaugh is such a fraud today: Elliott Abrams was spoon-fed a bunch of Newt excerpts!!!

Like Eliott Abrams had no idea what Gingrich was saying in the well of the House every night for five hours, and is too stupid to remember today.

This is all about Gingrich's opposition to neo-conservatism. The whole controversy has become a veritable litmus test for it, and Rush tries to paper this over with some kakamaymee story while the Republican establishment, which is neo-conservative, launches a jihad against the former Speaker of the House, Ronald Reagan's best friend in the Congress.

'Co-opt Reagan! Co-opt Reagan!', that's the neo-conservative marching order.

Rush really does think his audience is stupid.

What a Shock: Washington Post Users Think Romney Won Debate

They also want him to have won. So they can beat him.

Conservatives think Gingrich was put on the defensive by Romney and that it was Santorum who scored the most important points against Romney. Gingrich was in a tough position, having to counter the Romney character assassination team without looking like the caricature of intemperance Romney is painting.

Insisting on audience participation also doubled back on Gingrich. Romney packed the house through his superior campaign organization, giving him the appearance of persuading.

Jan. 31 will tell the true tale, however, as elections always do.

2011 GDP Plummets 43 Percent to 1.7 Percent Overall, Q4 at 2.8 Percent, Q3 at 1.8 Percent

And don't forget. 25 percent of GDP is from government spending.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis reports today here:

Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States -- increased at an annual rate of 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 (that is, from the third quarter to the fourth quarter), according to the "advance" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 1.8 percent. ... Real GDP increased 1.7 percent in 2011 (that is, from the 2010 annual level to the 2011 annual level), compared with an increase of 3.0 percent in 2010.

Mitt Romney To Tea Party: ObamaCare's 'Not Worth Getting Angry About'

From the debate last night, as reproduced here:

Santorum said, “Just so I understand this, in Massachusetts, everybody is mandated as a condition of breathing in Massachusetts, to buy health insurance, and if you don’t, and if you don’t, you have to pay a fine.”

Moments later, as the discussion over Romneycare and Obamacare continued, Romney rebuked Santorum, saying, “First of all, it's not worth getting angry about.”

Tax Collectors For The Welfare State

'Romney Will Be The Nominee and Will Lose': Ann Coulter at CPAC 2011

You know, if Ann Coulter keeps changing her mind about things, like about GOProud for instance, someone, somewhere, someday might actually accuse her of being a woman.

Here is the video.

h/t Legal Insurrection

(Maybe she now likes Romney so much because Mormonism makes changing your mind, say about blacks or polygamy, so easy).

'People matter more than Wall Street'

Quoted here.

Gingrich's Work Product: A Comma

"We therefore oppose any attempts to increase taxes, which would harm the recovery and reverse the trend to restoring control of the economy to individual Americans."

With the comma, you believe all tax increases would harm economic progress. Without it, you believe that only some tax increases would harm the economy.

Newt wanted the comma. Bob Dole did not.

Story here:

The Gingrich work product? Making certain that Ronald Reagan was not put on record leaving the door open for any more ill-fated tax increases. Dole was furious with the young Newt -- and, it might be noted, recently made a point of endorsing Mitt Romney. Hmmmmm.

Illinois Firearm Owner Identification Surged 6 Percent in 2010

In the wake of the Supremes' McDonald decision, which neutered Chicago's ban on gun ownership, it appears gun ownership has surged in Illinois, which requires a Firearm Owner's ID Card to purchase a gun in the state. It is thought many of the new holders of the cards are in Chicago.

I used mine in 1993 to protect myself from Bill Clinton.

The story is here:

As of Jan. 1, 2011, there were nearly 1.4 million FOID card holders statewide, compared to more than 1.3 million a year earlier, Bond said. That’s an increase of more than 6 percent.

Sen. Fred Thompson Comes Out For Newt Gingrich

Here:

I think the American people see what is going on there, see what's going on in their own country. That is why they are organizing in hamlets and communities and towns all across this nation. You know, some of them are called Tea Parties.

That's my view and I have come to the growing realization for me anyway that Newt Gingrich is the guy who can articulate what America is all about . . . and not just read the talking points or do it off the teleprompter.

He can make the case for free markets and our basic case that lower taxes can be good for everybody. Bring about growth, it's good for everybody. He is not afraid. He is tough. He is experienced. I don't think any more it's an advantage to be able to say I know nothing about the operation of the federal government. I know something about it. Newt knows something about it. It is a colossal mess. ...

He conceived and carried out really a revolution in American politics at that time. We were able to balance the budget for about four years in a row, pass welfare reform and begin to rebuild a depleted military. These things can be done, but we can't be apologetic about it or be tentative about it.

We can't look surprised, you know, if we get off of our talking points. We have to stand up to the establishment on both sides of the aisle and to the news media and carry this thing through. These times are different in America, Sean. The old rules don't apply anymore.

People are concerned. People are frightened. People see their country going in a direction that is different from the first principles that made us the envy of the world. That is why you're seeing people react the way they did in South Carolina.

Romney Distanced Himself From Reagan-Bush In 1994 Race Vs. Ted Kennedy

If anyone's had a question mark hanging over him about his fealty to Ronald Reagan, it is Mitt Romney, for this from 1994, as recounted here:

Kennedy said discussions about supporting families shouldn’t be used to score "political hits," prompting Romney to fire back that he wasn’t politicizing the issue -- Kennedy was.

   

"I mentioned nothing about politics or your position at all. I talked about what I’d do to help strengthen families, and you talked about Reagan-Bush. Look, I was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush. I’m not trying to return to Reagan-Bush," Romney said, in a clear attempt to distance himself from the former president.

The irony being that Newt Gingrich and the Republicans were poised at the very same time to take an historic victory and extend the Reagan Revolution by recapturing the House.

So while Mitt Romney was running for Senate in Massachusetts in 1994 to the left, Gingrich and company were running right, against both HillaryCare and gays in the military.

So for the first 15 years of the Reagan Revolution Mitt Romney is firmly outside of the movement. It's not until the George W. Bush administration and while governor of Massachusetts that Mitt starts to think he too can become president, and dutifully tracks right.

Republicans didn't believe him in 2007 and 2008 and chose John McCain instead.

South Carolina voters have just said they don't believe him now, either. 

So Gingrich Didn't Treat Ronald Reagan Like a King. Big Deal.

The Washington Post has it correct, here:

According to then-assistant Secretary of State Elliot Abrams, Gingrich consistently voted for Reagan’s policies but was known more for his public criticism of the president. However, Reagan National Security Advisory Bud McFarlane, a Gingrich supporter, said Wednesday the congressman was “very influential” in the adoption of supply-side economics and the economic recovery.

On CSPAN Monday morning, Gingrich told Romney to stay out of fights “about a history he doesn’t understand.”

Obama's Symbol of Tax Injustice (Warren Buffett's Secretary) Must Make $200K To $500K

She can't possibly represent any of the 99 million American workers, 66 percent of the workforce, who make $40,000 per year or less. Fewer than 2.1 million American workers in 2010 made $200K or more.

This woman is no poor secretary. She's in the top 2 percent of wage earners, among the richest people in the country. In point of fact, at her income level and tax rate she pays more in taxes than average workers earn in a year, any of whom would gladly trade places with her.

So Forbes here:

We can get an approximate answer by consulting IRS data on tax rates by adjusted gross income, which would approximate her salary, assuming she does not have significant dividend, interest or capital-gains income (like her boss). I assume Buffet keeps her too busy for her to hold a second job. I also do not know if she is married and filing jointly. If so, it is deceptive for Obama to use her as an example. The higher rate may be due to her husband’s income.  So I assume the tax rate Obama refers to is from her own earnings.

Insofar as Buffet (like Mitt Romney) earns income primarily from capital gains, which are taxed at 15 percent (and according to Obama need to be raised for reasons of fairness), we need to determine how much income a taxpayer like Bosanek must earn in order to pay an average tax rate above fifteen percent. This is easy to do.

The IRS publishes detailed tax tables by income level. The latest results are for 2009. They show that taxpayers earning an adjusted gross income between $100,000 and $200,000 pay an average rate of twelve percent. This is below Buffet’s rate; so she must earn more than that. Taxpayers earning adjusted gross incomes of $200,000 to $500,000, pay an average tax rate of nineteen percent. Therefore Buffet must pay Debbie Bosanke a salary above two hundred thousand.

Even in the most absurd hypothetical situation where the IRS confiscated every last red cent of her $200K salary, Warren Buffett still would be paying nearly 35 times more in taxes than she.

R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. Accuses Newt Gingrich of Deviancy

Here:

How long have I been saying it? At least for 15 years, but in private, I have been aware of it longer. Newt Gingrich is conservatism's Bill Clinton, but without the charm. He has acquired wit, but he has all the charm of barbed wire.

Newt and Bill are, of course, 1960s-generation narcissists, and they share the same problems: waywardness and deviancy. Newt, like Bill, has a proclivity for girl-hopping. It's not as egregious as Bill's, but then Newt is not as drop-dead beautiful. His public record is already besmeared with tawdry divorces, and there are private encounters with the fair sex that doubtless will come out. If I have heard of some, you can be sure the Democrats have heard of more.

I've heard things in private, too, but about the deviant behavior of R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr.

It's odd that the founder of a magazine lately notable for its libertarianism wants to go there.

Really bad form, old boy.

Warren Buffett's 2010 Tax Bill Was $6.9 Million. Was That 'At Least As Much As His Secretary's'?

The details of Warren Buffett's taxes for 2010 were only partially revealed last August and became the subject of critical examination, as for example here:

Buffett also said his federal income tax bill came to $6,923,494, or 17.4% of his taxable income -- two points he revealed in a New York Times op-ed in August urging Congress to tax the wealthy more. ... [But t]he current tax system already satisfies the Buffett Rule. Americans on average pay 16% of their total income in federal income and payroll taxes, while millionaires pay an average of 20.1%, according to the Tax Policy Center.

The Tax Policy Center is a generally more liberal think tank than The Tax Foundation.

The president's statement in last night's State of the Union deliberately suggests Buffett's secretary paid more in taxes than Buffett did when you know that that is completely disingenuous as well as inconceivable:

Now, you can call this class warfare all you want. But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense.

Common nonsense.

Federal Workers Delinquent on 2010 Taxes by $3.4 Billion, 3 Percent More Than 2009

As reported here:

According to records released by the Internal Revenue Service, active and retired federal employees and military personnel combined owed $3,420,168,684 in unpaid taxes for 2010, an increase of more than 3 percent over the previous year.

Michael Steele Gets Something Right

Quoted here:

“I think any conversation about having someone else come into this race at this point is not even feasible, it’s just outright stupid. ... It’s the establishment of Washington again foisting on them someone who didn’t go through the gauntlet, had not come to their kitchens or their businesses, that we’re now told we should support because these other guys aren’t right for the establishment crowd?”

Associated Press Says Obama Is Still Pushing Plans That Already Flopped

Here:

Howie Carr Reminds Us It Takes One To Know One, Unless You're A Boob

For The Boston Herald, here:

To the “Jersey Shore” MTV crowd, Newt would come across as a fat, nasty, pasty old man. They’re not going to realize what a boob Barack is, because they’re boobs, too.


And the media are never going to give a candidate Newt the opportunity to unmask the president.






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