Freedom Line Blog

For those wondering whether the public option will ever get through the Senate, the White House chief of staff just answered the question.

Rahm Emanuel, President Obama’s chief of staff, gave an interview with Charlie Rose last night and stated that a public option could not pass the Senate.  I wonder if that includes the “co-op” that the Senate Finance Committee is currently considering.

Here is the link to the interview.

For those unsure about the “Rahmbo” reference, click here.

If you count Senator Robert Byrd, who is recovering in the hospital from a fall, Democrats now have a “filibuster proof” 60-seat majority in the U.S. Senate.

Today, as expected, Governor Deval Patrick (D-MA) picked Paul Kirk Jr. to serve as a temporary replacement for Senator Kennedy.  Kirk, like most of the rabble on the Hill, is a lawyer and once served as a health care lobbyist.  He will be sworn in this Friday.

Presumably, Kirk will have the easiest job in the Senate.  When a cloture motion is filed by the Democrats, vote for it.  Nice job to have if you were fortunate enough to work for Senator Kennedy and be well connected in the Bay State.

This gem is from David Boaz at the Cato Institute:

Wouldn’t it save time if the Massachusetts legislature would just pass a law saying that if the governor is a Democrat, he fills any Senate vacancy, while if the governor is a Republican, a special election must be held?”

Politico – ACORN Fights Back
Breibart – IRS Cuts Ties with ACORN
CBS News – Pelosi Seeks More Liberal Health Care Bill
CBO – Health Care Legislation and “Unauthorized Immigrants”
Cafe Hayek – Mystery of Supply and Demand

WSJ – ACORN Files Lawsuit
Steny Hoyer – House Schedule
Greg Mankiw – Is a Mandate a Tax?
The Hill – Effort to Replace Kennedy Hits Snag
CNN Money – An Interview with Michael Moore

Federal Debt: $11.833 trillion

We’ve heard the line time after time. “If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor,” exclaims the President during every major town hall and Congressional address.  Unfortunately, when it comes to the sausage factory that is Congress, pledges morph into broken promises quickly.

Here is a perfect illustration of how Congress takes the simple (patient->doctor) and makes it maddeningly complex.  There is nothing Congress is incapable of ruining, including your relationship with your physician.

According to Senate staff, the Senate Finance Committee just rejected a proposal to require the full legislative text (not the summary) and final CBO cost estimate to be placed online 72 hours before a vote.

Before the Committee votes, taxpayers and even Senators won’t have a chance to read the bill or determine its projected cost.  So much for transparency and open government.

HT: Andy Roth

NY Post – Why Doctors Hate ObamaCare
National Review – Democrats and the Uninsured
NY Times – Parties Clash over Health Care
George Will – Cost of  a Presidential Cave-In
Reason – Forcing Health Care

Steny Hoyer – House Schedule
WSJ – Frank Moves Forward on Financial Overhaul
The Hill – Pelosi Nixes Deal with ‘Blue Dogs’
Congressional Budget Office – Policy Options on Health Care
WSJ – Revised Baucus Bill Eases Excise Tax

Federal Debt: $11.829 trillion

As much as Massachusetts Democrats fought to remove their Governor’s power to appoint temporary Senators, it appears that principal has taken a back seat to politics once again.

Today, the Massachusetts Senate approved a bill allowing Governor Deval Patrick to name Senator Edward Kennedy’s replacement by as early as this week.

This was the same Senate that removed the power of the Governor to appoint to temporary Senators in 2004 when Republican Mitt Romney ran the show.

If there was ever a reason to loathe political parties, this is it.  Principal and logic, two qualities that most Americans possess, are constantly subsumed to politics in today’s world.

Cato Institute – Preemptive Regulation of the Internet
WSJ – The Fight Against Net Neutrality
Rep. Tom Price – When is a Tax Not a Tax?
Politico – Obama Urges Action on Climate Change

Washington Post – ACORN Names Its Investigator
The Hill – Reid Gives GOP Warning on Health Care
WSJ – The Health Care Markup
Steny Hoyer – House Schedule

Federal Debt: $11.826 trillion

Jeff Flake, arguably one of the strongest supporters of the free market in Congress, has just sent a letter to the White House regarding President Obama’s recent decision to impose tariffs on Chinese imports.

Here is the link. The text is below.

The President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I write to raise concern about your recent decision to impose tariffs on imported Chinese tires pursuant to a petition filed by the United Steelworkers of America under Section 421 of the Trade Act of 1974.

In an opinion piece highlighting the G20 summit in March of this year, you stated that “we should embrace a collective commitment to encourage open trade and investment, while resisting the protectionism that would deepen this crisis.”  Unfortunately, it is difficult to see how exercising your discretion to impose trade restrictions on imported tires from China is consistent with this sentiment.  Given the upcoming G20 summit in Pittsburgh, the timing of this decision is troubling.  Rather than showing U.S. leadership in the global effort to encourage open trade, your decision runs the risk of giving other countries the green light to take their own protectionist measures that could stall a global economic recovery.

Beyond the global implications, your decision could set in motion a troubling trend in our bilateral trade relationship with one of our strongest trading partners.  The tire tariffs represent the first time restrictions have been imposed under Section 421.  While other trade laws do not require presidential involvement, duties imposed under Section 421 reflect the direct orders of the U.S. president, which might help explain China’s reaction. It is difficult to interpret the Chinese government’s initiation of antidumping proceedings against U.S. chicken and auto product exports as independent of your actions on tires. Your decision to impose duties on Chinese tires is likely to encourage other domestic industries to file their own petitions for relief under Section 421. The potential for an endless cycle of U.S. restrictions and subsequent retaliation from China is the last thing our economic recovery needs.

Finally, it is worth noting that the domestic tire industry was conspicuously absent from the Section 421 petition.  Given the economic importance of vibrant export markets for our products, it is critical that the Administration avoid even the appearance of U.S. trade policy being based on political calculus rather than comprehensive, pragmatic, and forward-looking economic analyses.

I respectfully request that, based on these concerns, you reconsider the decision imposing protectionist tariffs on Chinese tire imports.  I appreciate your attention to this request, and please do not hesitate to contact me should you like to discuss this matter further.

Sincerely,

JEFF FLAKE

This video, an interview with White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod, demonstrates how health care “choice” is fine for the White House, as long as the government chooses.  People can choose the Public Option, but people cannot choose to purchase health insurance across state lines because the government makes it illegal. HT: Andy Roth.

The White House has made a habit out of its secret dealings with outside groups, including unions.  However, now it appears that the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is scheming to promote the President’s agenda.  One would think that White House talking points wouldn’t be the best muse, but let us not underestimate the power of “hope.”

According to the Washington Times and Breitbart, the NEA and the Administration set up a conference call to encourage artists around the U.S. to channel their creativity … with the help of the White House Office of Public Engagement.

What’s worse, when confronted by reporters, the NEA lied about setting up the conference call.   Here is the transcript. The Director who misled reporters did not resign, but has instead been reassigned.

As Patrick Courrielche of Breitbart wrote:

“I was invited by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to take part in a conference call that invited a group of rising artist and art community luminaries ‘to help lay a new foundation for growth, focusing on core areas of the recovery agenda – health care, energy and environment, safety and security, education, community renewal.'”

From AEI’s Steven Hayward, writing in the WSJ:

“[T]o meet the target the climate campaigners have set, the U.S., Europe and Japan will have to replace virtually their entire fossil-fuel energy infrastructure. For the U.S., the 80% target means reducing fossil-fuel greenhouse-gas emissions to a level the nation last experienced in 1910. On a per-capita basis, we’d have to go back to the level of about 1875.”

LA Times – House Panel Investigates Maxine Waters
CNN – Conservatism is Far from Dead
Political Wire – Deeds Edging Closer to McDonnell
WSJ – Obama Backs ACORN Probe

Republican Study Committee – Climate Bill Could Shave 3.5% of GDP
Washington Post – White House Plays Political Hardball
New York Daily News – What’s Really Behind the Rage
New York Post – Inside ACORN

Federal Debt: $11.822 trillion

Actually, yesterday was Constitution Day but given the current environment in Washington, every day should be Constitution Day.

Here is the Constitution in a neat toy, Wordle.  It is a bit surprising that the word “President” is so prominently mentioned since Article II is considerably shorter than Article I.  Since the founders were especially suspicious of a strong executive, one would think our commander-in-chief would not be so frequently mentioned.

But, amendments 12 (amending electoral college), 20 (shortening lame duck period), 22 (limiting office-holder to two terms), 23 (residents in D.C. can cast presidential ballot) and 25 (presidential succession) all deal with the President.

The word “thereof” also seems frequent, likely a relic of 18th Century rhetoric.

Washington Examiner – Democrats Abandon ACORN
Washington Post – Republicans Denounce Pelosi
The Hill – FCC Chief Gets Net Neutrality Support
CBO – Economic Effects of Greenhouse Gas Legislation

Political Wire – McDonnell Leads Deeds
WSJ – Stimulus: Round 2
Chris Cillizza – A Resurgent Republican Party?
Arnold Kling – Biggest Health Care Reform Lie
Politico – Left and Right Plot on Baucus Bill

Federal Debt: $11.823 trillion

Professor Greg Mankiw on the CBO’s “neutral” cost estimate for the Senate’s new health care bill:

In other words, the plan would reduce the deficit if it were carried out as written, but there is good reason based on historical experience to be skeptical that it would be.

Let me try to put CBO’s point in a more familiar setting: Your friend Joe, who says he wants to lose weight, asks you for an extra slice of pie after dinner. Naturally, you are doubtful about the wisdom of the request.

“Ahem, Joe,” you whisper, “Aren’t there a lot of calories in that?”

“Yes,” he says, “but the pie is part of a larger plan. I am committed not only to eating that slice of pie but also to going to the gym every day for the next week and spending at least half a hour on the treadmill. The exercise will more than work off those extra calories.”

“But that’s what you said last week, when you asked for an extra piece of cake. And you never made it to the gym.”

“Yes, I know,” Joe replies ruefully, “but this time I really mean it….Can you please pass the pie?”