Borders Closing and Obama

It's the economy, stupid!

Wisconsin Recall Elections and Obama

Obama and his political machine are meddling in Wisconsin politics.

Here's an e-mail from Obama's campaign operation:

Friend --

On August 9th, Wisconsin voters will go back to the polls to decide whether six Republican senators have failed to serve the needs of Wisconsin's hard-working families.

Senate Republicans broke the trust of Wisconsinites earlier this year when they forced drastic cuts in funding for schools, seniors, and the disabled to cut taxes for their own contributors.

Since then, hundreds of OFA Wisconsin supporters across the state have spoken up, saying they want to have an impact in the recall elections in August. So in the coming weeks, volunteers will be organizing their networks, working phone banks, and knocking on doors to get the word out about what's at stake on August 9th -- and this Saturday, there's an event in Glendale.

Can you make it? Here are the details:

What: Wisconsin legislative recall event

Where: 6807 N Green Bay Ave
Glendale, WI 53209

When: Saturday, July 23rd
10:00 am

If you can't make that event, find another one near you here.

Six Republican-held seats are up for grabs on August 9th -- and two more held by Democrats are up on the 16th.

While the campaign remains focused on re-electing the President, Organizing for America will provide support to OFA Wisconsin volunteers organizing around Democratic candidates in the recall elections.

I hope you can join the event in Glendale on Saturday. Sign up here:

http://wi.barackobama.com/Wisconsin-Recall-Events

Thanks,

Michelle

Michelle Kleppe
Wisconsin State Field Director
Organizing for America

Clearly, Obama considers Wisconsin to be vital to his own political future. It's no surprise that he's poking around in our state politics.

It's no surprise that Obama is waging class warfare and distorting what Governor Scott Walker and the Republicans have accomplished for Wisconsin's families.

Instead of being divisive and being a big labor hack, Obama should learn from Scott Walker and the Republicans.

"Wet blanket" Obama should observe the successes and reconsider his policies.

Wisconsin Jobs

Check it out, Wisconsin:

Net new jobs in June in WI: 9,500. Net new jobs in June in America: 18,000.

Amazing!

Wisconsin is open for business.

Thank you, Governor Scott Walker!


________________

Read "JUNE JOBS, UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS ANNOUNCED FOR STATE."

Contessa Brewer and Mo Brooks

Contessa Brewer, MSNBC, has yet another clip to add to her highlight reel.

Brewer, former TMJ4 reporter and anchor, is the gift that keeps on giving.

Video, from Breitbart:



Transcript

CONTESSA BREWER: You're simplifying the issues that were on the plate of the nation at that point. We were looking at going, reverting into a depression at that point. Everyone-- the Fed Chairman, the...

REP. MO BROOKS: Well, I disagree that we were going into a depression; but go ahead.

BREWER: Do you have a degree in economics?

BROOKS: Yes, ma'am, I do. Highest honors.

BREWER: OK, so... so, you disagree with the Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke.

Oh, Contessa, you stepped in it - AGAIN!

What a fool!

Mo Brooks is no schlub.

Mo graduated from Duke University in three years with a double major in political science and economics, with highest honors in economics. In 1978, he graduated from the University of Alabama Law School.

Other "highlights" in Contessa Brewer's career:

Contessa Brewer and John Ziegler

Contessa Brewer and Zach Lahn

Contessa Brewer, MSNBC, White People, and Guns

MSNBC Bashes Republicans on Olympics

Contessa Brewer: Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton

Contessa Brewer and Judd Gregg

Contessa Brewer: Global Warming Snow Job

Contessa Brewer: Islamic Ties, Faisal Shahzad

Contessa Brewer, MSNBC, and Living Green

Contessa Brewer and Tony Katz

Steve Wynn and Obama (Audio, Transcript)

Yes, I know everyone has heard Steve Wynn eviscerate Obama and the Obama economy.

It can't be heard enough.



Transcript

STEVE WYNN: But I'm afraid to do anything in the current political environment in the United States. You watch television and see what's going on, on this debt ceiling issue. And what I consider to be a total lack of leadership from the President and nothing's going to get fixed until the President himself steps up and wrangles both parties in Congress. But everybody is so political, so focused on holding their job for the next year that the discussion in Washington is nauseating. And I'm saying it bluntly, that this administration is the greatest wet blanket to business, and progress and job creation in my lifetime. And I can prove it and I could spend the next 3 hours giving you examples of all of us in this market place that are frightened to death about all the new regulations, our healthcare costs escalate, regulations coming from left and right. A President that seems -- that keeps using that word redistribution. Well, my customers and the companies that provide the vitality for the hospitality and restaurant industry, in the United States of America, they are frightened of this administration. And it makes you slow down and not invest your money. Everybody complains about how much money is on the side in America. You bet. And until we change the tempo and the conversation from Washington, it's not going to change. And those of us who have business opportunities and the capital to do it are going to sit in fear of the President. And a lot of people don't want to say that. They'll say, "Oh God, don't be attacking Obama." Well, this is Obama's deal, and it's Obama that's responsible for this fear in America. The guy keeps making speeches about redistribution, and maybe we ought to do something to businesses that don't invest or holding too much money. We haven't heard that kind of talk except from pure socialists. Everybody's afraid of the government, and there's no need to soft peddling it, it's the truth. It is the truth. And that's true of Democratic businessman and Republican businessman, and I am a Democratic businessman and I support Harry Reid. I support Democrats and Republicans. And I'm telling you that the business community in this company is frightened to death of the weird political philosophy of the President of the United States. And until he's gone, everybody's going to be sitting on their thumbs.

"And I'm telling you that the business community in this company is frightened to death of the weird political philosophy of the President of the United States. And until he's gone, everybody's going to be sitting on their thumbs."

In a nutshell, that's why the economy sucks.

The only thing we have to fear is Obama himself.

Obama: OWN IT

Take responsibility for the economy, Obama.

GOP: Change Direction 2

Obama: Eat Peas (Video)

"We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

--Abraham Lincoln


"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

--Franklin Delano Roosevelt


"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."

---John F. Kennedy

Now, the brilliant, articulate Obama, the "smartest guy ever to become president," according to historian Michael Beschloss, has told the nation:

"Pull off the Band-aid. Eat our peas."

We must eat our peas? Democrats and Republicans in Congress must come together and eat peas?

Obama is lecturing Republicans: "Eat your peas NOW! Quit screwing around!"

Peas in our time.

Here's video, from MRC TV, via Breitbart:



I like peas. Why is Obama dissing peas?

Timothy Geithner: No Recovery

On yesterday's Meet the Press, Treasury Secretary and tax cheat Timothy Geithner warned that economic recovery won't feel like recovery for a long time.

Wonderful.

It's going to be unlike we've ever experienced in our lifetime.

Terrific!

Video.



Transcript

DAVID GREGORY: When do you think recovery is actually going to start feeling like recovery?

TIMOTHY GEITHNER: Oh, I think it's going to take a long time still. This is a very tough economy. And I think for a lot of people...

GREGORY: Yeah.

GEITHNER: ...it's going to be--it's going to feel very hard, harder than anything they've experienced in their lifetime now, for some time to come. And that--but that is because that is the tragic effects of a crisis this deep and this bad caused by a long period of lost opportunities to do things to make the country stronger.

Geithner didn't say it, but he was blaming President Bush.

What a load!

He completely dismissed all the talk about last summer being the "summer of recovery." Now, there's no recovery in sight.

The fact is this is Obama's economy. Period.

One thing sure to make the country stronger, economically and otherwise: Do NOT reelect Obama.

Obama's Five Steps to Tanking Employment

From The Foundry:

Here are five ways that President Obama’s actions have directly contributed to Friday’s dismal jobs report, which included a rise in unemployment to 9.2%, the news that only 18,000 jobs had been created in June in a country of 300 million people, that wages have declined and that 250,000 people left the job market entirely.

• Stimulus package— The nearly $1 trillion boondoggle failed to stimulate, as we all now know, but made government grow beyond its means. Most of the stimulus bill was filled with the usual government pork or repeating failed policies of the past such as “shovel-ready” projects. Very few provisions were pro-growth and worked to encourage companies to create new, permanent jobs. Some provisions, such as increased unemployment benefits, unfortunately increase the duration of unemployment. The bottom line is that the stimulus bill was based on the flawed economic assumption that governments can spend their way back to prosperity and growth. The government stimulus bill did not create jobs; instead it filled job creators with fears of future tax hikes or more borrowing, and thus future artificially high interest rates.

• Obamacare— It took the Administration and the Democratic-held Congress a year and half to ram this piece of legislation down the throat of the American people, time that could have been spent fixing the employment picture. Worse yet, Obamacare imposes vast and expansive new regulations and made labor costs uncertain. Many businesses have said that they are not going to hire permanent workers until they understand exactly how much Obamacare is going to cost their business and raise employment expenses. Other businesses are not sure how the new Obamacare regulations impacts their bottom line, which means they are going to sit tight instead of expanding.

• Frank-Dodd Financial Bill— The heavy-handed Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill not only placed needless burdens on small as well as large financial institutions, but has deterred investment by imposing ill-defined restrictions on those who want to invest in the economy. And it did so without addressing the real causes of the financial crisis.

• Environmental Protection Agency regulation— Unable to get Congress to pass Cap and Trade, with its skyrocketing electric rates, the Obama EPA is skinning the cat another way—mandating costly regulation. The EPA is implementing a lineup of electric-industry regulations, including the already in-force, but-as-yet-unspecified new CO2 rules, that promise higher rates, less reliability, and a sketchy future business environment. It’s no great surprise that firms haven’t turned up the throttle on hiring and expansion.

• Regulatory Assault on Employers— The Administration’s enforcement agencies view employers as lawbreakers who need to be brought in line. Within the Department of Labor the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Wage and Hour Division (WHD) have ramped up enforcement spending while cutting back programs that help employers understand and comply with the law. Obama’s Solicitor of Labor emphasizes the Labor Department’s focus on litigation against employers. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is twisting the law into pretzels to facilitate union organizing, going so far as to file charges against Boeing for creating jobs in a non-union state. Obama’s message to employers has been clear: “We suspect you are breaking the law and we will get you.” Small wonder they are not hiring.

Bottom line: Obama has to be defeated in 2012, before his brand of hope and change does anymore damage.

Rick Santelli: Less Government Spending

Over two years ago, Rick Santelli touched a chord with millions of Americans when he suggested having a Tea Party.

RICK SANTELLI: We're thinking of having a Chicago Tea Party in July. All you capitalists that want to show up to Lake Michigan, I'm gonna start organizing.

A movement was born.

The revolution lives.

Video, via Breitbart:

RICK SANTELLI: I don't believe in compromise on spending. There's no compromise. Stop spending. Live within your means.

"President Obama, are you listening?"

Obama wasn't listening in 2009. He's not listening now.

Republicans, are you listening?

Economic Freedom and Quality of Life

The Obama Legacy

Must-see video:



Four more years OF THIS?

No, thank you.

Obama: GOP, 'Gun to the Heads' of Americans

Obama's choice of words when referring to his political opponents can be extremely offensive.

In discussing the debt ceiling during the Twitter Town Hall yesterday, Obama uses some irresponsibly and inexcusably violent imagery.

Video.



Transcript

OBAMA: But — but here’s — here’s the more basic point: Never in our history has the United States defaulted on its debt. The debt ceiling should not be something that is used as a gun against the heads of the American people to extract tax breaks for corporate jet owners, for oil and gas companies that are making billions of dollars because the price of gasoline has gone up so high.

I mean, I’m happy to have those debates. I think the American people are on my side on this. What we need to do is to have a balanced approach where everything’s on the table. We need to reduce corporate loopholes. We need to reduce discretionary spending on programs that aren’t working.

"The debt ceiling should not be something that is used as a gun against the heads of the American people to extract tax breaks for corporate jet owners, for oil and gas companies that are making billions of dollars because the price of gasoline has gone up so high."

A "gun against the heads of the American people"?

Obama doesn't sound like the president. He sounds like a partisan hack.

He talks like a class warrior, a violent one.

Obama's Stimulus Failure

Obama's economic policies have failed royally.

He and his Democrat comrades have brought misery on the nation.

The Obama presidency has been an utter disaster when it comes to the economy.

From the Weekly Standard:

When the Obama administration releases a report on the Friday before a long weekend, it’s clearly not trying to draw attention to the report’s contents. Sure enough, the “Seventh Quarterly Report” on the economic impact of the “stimulus,” released on Friday, July 1, provides further evidence that President Obama’s economic “stimulus” did very little, if anything, to stimulate the economy, and a whole lot to stimulate the debt.

The report was written by the White House’s Council of Economic Advisors, a group of three economists who were all handpicked by Obama, and it chronicles the alleged success of the “stimulus” in adding or saving jobs. The council reports that, using “mainstream estimates of economic multipliers for the effects of fiscal stimulus” (which it describes as a “natural way to estimate the effects of” the legislation), the “stimulus” has added or saved just under 2.4 million jobs — whether private or public — at a cost (to date) of $666 billion. That’s a cost to taxpayers of $278,000 per job.

In other words, the government could simply have cut a $100,000 check to everyone whose employment was allegedly made possible by the “stimulus,” and taxpayers would have come out $427 billion ahead.

Those numbers are stunning.

It's too kind to use "failure" to describe Obama's stimulus.

It has been an unmitigated bust.

Obama: Afghanistan and Election 2012

Why did Obama choose to ignore his military commanders regarding Afghanistan?

It's Election 2012, stupid.

Ron Fournier, National Journal, writes:

Don't kid yourself. President Obama's decision to withdraw 33,000 troops from Afghanistan before he stands for re-election is not driven by the United States' "position of strength" in the war zone as much as it is by grim economic and political realities at home.

A sagging economy, a soaring national debt and an increasingly restive Congress pushed Obama to order troop reductions that are both deeper and faster than recommended by his military commanders.

"America," the president said in a prime-time address from the East Room, "it is time to focus on nation building here at home."

In announcing his decision, which still leaves 68,000 troops in the country after the 2012 election, Obama focused on a set of numbers that pander to a war-weary nation -- 10,000 troops out this year and another 23,000 in 2012, keeping a promise he made in 2009 to begin winding down the "surge" by the middle of this year.

By 2014, Obama said, "this process of transition will be complete, and the Afghan people will be responsible for their own security."

But the president's eye is set on numbers that have little to do with battlefield strategy and everything to do with his re-election hopes. They include:

Fifty-six percent of Americans say U.S. troops should be brought home as soon as possible, up from 40 percent a year ago (Pew Research Center).

Fewer than a quarter of people see signs of improvement in the economy and two-thirds say the country is on the wrong track. A clear majority of Americans say their children are destined to a lower standard of living (Bloomberg News National Poll).

The United States has spent $1.3 trillion in Iraq and Afghanistan in the past decade. Afghanistan alone is costing about $120 billion this year.

...The message as framed by the Obama political team: He knows it's the economy, stupid; he'll focus on it like a laser beam, even if it means "defying" his commanders and Cabinet.

...Obama does not to need to worry as much as past Democratic presidents about being labeled soft on national security -- not after giving the order that led to the assassination of Osama bin Laden. No, his biggest concern is being labeled tone deaf on joblessness and debt.

...In the end, Obama chose the clearest course to re-election.

In other words, Obama chose the course he believes suits his ends.

Obama, Second Job: Assistant Basketball Coach

Obama is focused like a laser on creating jobs and putting people to work.

He vows to Americans that he "will not rest" until he solves a myriad of problems, including the economy, health care, and the environment.

Oops! It looks like he's doing some resting.



There's no question that Obama's laser-like focus is inadequate. He is failing at getting Americans working again.

Nonetheless, according to the Associated Press, Obama has taken on a second job.

US President Barack Obama said Saturday ahead of Father's Day that he has taken on a second job: as assistant coach for his daughter Sasha's basketball team.

"On Sundays, we'd get the team together to practice, and a couple of times, I'd help coach the games," Obama noted for the first time, in his weekly radio and Internet address which this week marked Father's Day.

"It was a lot of fun -- even if Sasha rolled her eyes when her dad voiced his displeasure with the (referees)," Obama said.

"I was hopeful that in the years to come, she'd look back on experiences like these as the ones that helped define her as a person -- and as a parent herself."

Of course, being an assistant basketball coach is a volunteer thing. It's not a "second job."

And it's good for a father to be involved in his children's lives; but this claim of Obama having an "assistant basketball coach" gig is a joke.

He's making the important point that fathers play a critical role in raising their kids. It's good for Obama to use his weekly address to highlight the significance of fathers.

But let's not pretend that Obama is really an assistant basketball coach, unless "assistant" means nothing more than being a volunteer helper now and then.

Here's the transcript of Obama's "second job" remarks:

[M]y administration has offered men who want to be good fathers a little extra support. We’ve boosted community and faith-based groups focused on fatherhood, partnered with businesses to offer opportunities for fathers to spend time with their kids at the bowling alley or ballpark, and worked with military chaplains to help deployed dads connect with their children.

We’re doing this because we all have a stake in forging stronger bonds between fathers and their children. And you can find out more about some of what we’re doing at Fatherhood.gov.

But we also know that every father has a personal responsibility to do right by our kids as well. All of us can encourage our children to turn off the video games and pick up a book. All of us can pack a healthy lunch for our son, or go outside and play ball with our daughter. And all of us can teach our children the difference between right and wrong, and show them through our own example the value in treating one another as we wish to be treated.

Our kids are pretty smart. They understand that life won’t always be perfect, that sometimes, the road gets rough, that even great parents don’t get everything right.

But more than anything, they just want us to be a part of their lives.

So recently, I took on a second job: assistant coach for Sasha’s basketball team. On Sundays, we’d get the team together to practice, and a couple of times, I’d help coach the games. It was a lot of fun – even if Sasha rolled her eyes when her dad voiced his displeasure with the refs.

But I was so proud watching her run up and down the court, seeing her learn and improve and gain confidence. And I was hopeful that in the years to come, she’d look back on experiences like these as the ones that helped define her as a person – and as a parent herself.

Obama admits he helped coach "a couple of times."

Note to the Associated Press and Obama: That's not a "second job."

(If Obama wanted to see his kids more, maybe he should golf with them. He's chalked up hundreds of hours on golf courses since he became president.)

It's a poor choice of words, "second job," with so many parents unemployed or underemployed in this mess of an economy.

Moreover, parents who really do volunteer to coach sports devote countless hours to their kids' teams. It's a tremendous commitment of time and effort. As rewarding as it is, it can also be a tremendous headache.

Thank you to the dads, and moms, willing to take on the often thankless role of coaching sports or being Scout leaders.

They aren't "honorary" or "temporary" leaders. They're in the trenches helping kids for the long haul, not just "a couple of times."

Bottom line: First, I don't expect Obama to serve as a real coach. He's the president. He couldn't possibly have the time it requires. I wish he wouldn't claim to have that "second job."

Second, It's good for Obama to encourage fathers to be actively involved with their children's activities.

Third, it would be most helpful if Obama could put in place policies that would give fathers the opportunity to work and provide for their children. A strong economy should be Obama's goal if he wants to have a positive impact on families across the country.


Video of Obama's address:

Obama, ATMs, and Unemployment

Obama, allegedly the most brilliant president in the history of the United States, believes that ATMs are a blight on our economy.

From Media Research Center:

On the June 14 edition of NBC's Today, President Barack Obama ascribed part of the blame for the high unemployment rate to ATMs, yet most media outlets continue to ignore the gaffe.

"There are some structural issues with our economy where a lot of businesses have learned to become much more efficient with a lot fewer workers," lectured Obama in an interview with NBC's Ann Curry. "You see it when you go to a bank and you use an ATM, you don’t go to a bank teller, or you go to the airport and you’re using a kiosk instead of checking in at the gate."

Curry moved on to another subject without addressing the faux pas, but she's not the only journalist to gloss over the story. Despite the fact that the automated teller machine was invented decades before Obama took office, a Lexis search revealed that not a single major news network, including ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FNC, and MSNBC, has covered the remark on air.

...Contrary to the president's assertion that ATMs contribute to nagging unemployment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicted that teller jobs would grow about 6 percent from 2008 to 2016.

In addition, NRO's Jonah Goldberg pointed to statistics indicating expansive growth in banking jobs since the self-service banking era began in 1985: "At the dawn of the self-service banking age in 1985, for example, the United States had 60,000 automated teller machines and 485,000 bank tellers. In 2002, the United States had 352,000 ATMs – and 527,000 bank tellers."

Obama is a disaster. I don't think the country can afford, literally, another Obama term.

Ann Curry should be embarrassed. She looks like such a fool.

The liberal media should turn in their credentials as journalists.

The way they handle Obama is a disgrace. It's a dereliction of duty.

Video.



Save the economy! Ban ATMs!

Romney: Bump in the Road

Hey, Obama!

"I'm an American, not a bump in the road."

Obama: 'Shovel-Ready' Laugh

Obama has a bizarre sense of humor.

He makes weird jokes at inappropriate times.

He laughs about the disastrous economy.

HILARIOUS!

On 60 Minutes in March 2009, Obama couldn't contain himself when talking about the struggling banking industry and the ailing auto industry. He explained his odd laughter as a bit of "gallows humor," necessary to get him through the day.

He may like "gallows humor," but it looks terrible to see him laughing about the economy and the fruits of his horrible policies.

Yesterday, Obama got a laugh out of "shovel-ready jobs" not being so "shovel-ready" after all.

Video.



Obama's failed stimulus isn't a laughing matter. This failure of a president shouldn't be cracking jokes about what a mess he made.