Monday, April 18, 2011

RedState Morning Briefing For April 18, 2011



1. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) Says Senate Republicans Will Support Tax Increases


2. Obama’s czar end-run: ‘Signing statements’ he once opposed



3. Paul Krugman Calls for the Assassination of Paul Ryan



4. TX Senate Dem recruit once object of scorn for military interrogations



5. Newspaper Publishers in the Black Community Think Barack Obama is Foreign Born



6. Ticking Time Bomb: Ongoing Labor Dispute Shows the Problem With Union Pensions



7. I Stand With Michele Bachmann


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1. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) Says Senate Republicans Will Support Tax Increases


A few weeks ago, I reported that the Senate Republicans’ point man on dealing with the deficit, Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), said he’d support tax increases as a means to reduce the deficit. Chambliss promptly denied it.


Yesterday, in the New York Times, Chambliss admitted he and the Senate Republicans will support tax increases to pay off the deficit.


Mr. Chambliss has been increasingly outspoken in arguing that additional revenues must be part of a debt-reduction plan, given the scale of the problem.


“I’m taking arrows from some on the far right,” he told the Rotary Club of Atlanta in an appearance with Mr. Warner on Monday. “Are some people going to pay more in taxes? You bet.”


Mitch McConnell put Chambliss in charge of the issue for the Republicans. He is their point man.


Please click here for the rest of the post.




2. Obama’s czar end-run: ‘Signing statements’ he once opposed


While the debate rages among conservatives on the merits of the budget deal lawmakers struck with President Barack Obama, add an additional point of contention: Czars, of which the appropriations measure reached last week eliminated four. At least, that’s what House GOP’ers thought.


The spending bill as written prohibited the White House from devoting funds to those czars directing the administration’s policy agenda for health care, climate change, the auto industry and urban affairs.


But the president broke the terms of the eleventh-hour agreement, issuing a signing statement Friday indicating he would employ czars–of which he’s tapped a record 39–as he sees appropriate.


Please click here for the rest of the post.






3. Paul Krugman Calls for the Assassination of Paul Ryan


RedState co-founder Josh Trevino has noticed the following: back in January, Paul Krugman was one of many drooling idiot leftists devoid of any moral compass who tried to pin the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords on a lack of Republican civility. Even though, by the time Krugman’s column ran, it was clear that Giffords’ shooter was a mentally disturbed individual whose assassination plot was not motivated by coherent political theory of any stripe, Krugman was not about to let facts get in the way of a good partisan narrative.


Yes, Krugman claimed, without any appreciable sense of shame, that a man who was seriously mentally ill was merely a symptom of - no kidding - “toxic rhetoric.” Well, three whole months have passed since Krugman peddled this tripe and apparently, Krugman’s sense of shame hasn’t become any more well-developed. Now he’s got a piece out on Paul Ryan’s deficit reduction plan. The title - the TITLE - of this piece? Let’s Not be Civil.


According to Paul Krugman, Paul Krugman has just called for the assassination of Paul Ryan.


Please click here for the rest of the post.






4. TX Senate Dem recruit once object of scorn for military interrogations


Did national Democrats’ recruitment of former Iraq commander Ricardo Sanchez transform the Texas Senate race from a blow-out into a marquee 2012 contest? Not a chance, say Republicans eyeing the race.


For deep red Texas GOP’ers, the most significant task is clearing the primary field, which includes former solicitor general Ted Cruz, ex-railroad commish Michael Williams, former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and car dealer-turned-secretary of state Roger Williams. Sanchez, whose military career took an unceremonious dive after those below his command were charged with prisoner abuse at the Abu Ghraib detention center, registers a distant second for these Senate hopefuls.


Please click here for the rest of the post.






5. Newspaper Publishers in the Black Community Think Barack Obama is Foreign Born


The National Newspaper Publishers Association is affiliated with the hundreds of newspapers across the country that cater to the black community or, in the words of the NNPA, “The Black Press of America”. The Northeast Publishers Association is a smaller association that best characterized as the trade association for black newspapers in the Northeast.


The NPA has prepared the advertisement below to go in black newspapers across the country. Walter Smith, a director of the NNPA, blasted out the advertisement to many on their email list with a note saying, in part, “We can educate our readership by either running this ad or making a similar statement in our newspapers.”


The advertisement embraces the idea that Barack Obama was not born in the United States — a position rejected by most Americans. It’s bad for Barack Obama when even the black newspaper publishers of America think he is foreign born.


Please click here for the rest of the post.






6. Ticking Time Bomb: Ongoing Labor Dispute Shows the Problem With Union Pensions


In Orange, CT, there have been two arrests over the last few weeks (the most recent on Saturday afternoon) in front of Dichello Distributors, where there is an ongoing labor battle between Teamsters, Local 443 and the company. The issue is over the company’s desire to exit the Teamsters’ grossly underfunded multi-employer pension plan, as well as asking union members to pay 10% of their medical premiums.


Please click here for the rest of the post.






7. I Stand With Michele Bachmann


Just the other day I said the answer is “no” to the question “should the House GOP replace John Boehner.” The more we’ve found out about that budget deal, the more I think I might be wrong. Maybe we need Speaker Bachmann instead.


On Friday, Robert Costa at National Review, got some insider dirt on the House GOP meeting that happened behind closed doors without staff. To put it mildly, the House GOP Leadership is unhappy with Michele Bachmann continuing to fight for repeal of Obamacare.


Please click here for the rest of the post.




Sincerely yours,


Erick Erickson
Editor, RedState.com

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