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Candidates Owe Voters Answers on Debt, Spending
CANDIDATES OWE VOTERS ANSWERS ON DEBT, SPENDING
Public Notice Challenges Candidates to Answer Tough Questions on Debt and Spending at Debate
Arlington, Va. – In advance of this week’s presidential debate, Public Notice today released a memo outlining questions President Obama and Governor Romney must answer for the American people regarding debt and government spending.
According to a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, federal spending and national debt topped every other listed concern among registered voters including jobs and the economy. According to Public Notice polling, voter concern over spending and the debt has increased by 10 points just this year.
Despite this growing concern, neither presidential candidate has won voter confidence on spending and the debt. According to Public Notice’s August poll, only 44 percent of likely voters believe President Obama has a plan to lower the debt, while 49 percent believe Mitt Romney does.
Gretchen Hamel, executive director of Public Notice, issued the following statement regarding the memo:
“With the national debt recently topping $16 trillion and voters listing debt and government spending as a top concern, both candidates have a responsibility to clearly explain their plan to address the problem. Since neither has detailed a plan to reduce the debt, it isn’t surprising that neither holds a commanding lead on the issue. Fiscal responsibility is always good policy, but right now it is actually smart politics too. Americans stand ready to embrace the candidate who presents a bold plan for action. Are the candidates up to the challenge?”
Questions for the Candidates:
- We have run a trillion dollar deficit each year since 2009. Can you promise we will not run a $1 trillion dollar deficit next fiscal year?
- FY 2010: $1.3 trillion
- FY 2011: $1.3 trillion
- FY 2012 (projected): $1.1 trillion
- Washington has failed to pass a budget for the past three years. What can the president do to break the gridlock and encourage the budget process? Will Washington pass a budget next year under your leadership?
- Some economists believe that Medicare growth is the biggest threat to our long-term fiscal health and believe that reform, rather than a simple haircut, is needed to ensure the program will not go bankrupt. What will you do to ensure that Medicare will be around in some form 30 years from now and that our children will not be left to deal with our inability to fix it?
- According to the Pew Research Center, 10,000 baby boomers are retiring every day.
- According to the Medicare Board of Trustees, if healthcare spending continues on its current trend, Medicare’s trust fund will be completely exhausted by 2024.
- Since 2008, the role of the federal government in the economy has grown with corporate bailouts, stimulus spending and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The result has been trillion dollar deficits each year since FY 2009 and “the worst recovery in history,” according to CBS News. Do you view trillion dollar deficits and an economy increasingly dependent on the federal government as conducive to long-term growth and prosperity?
- Reducing our debt will require working with members of both parties. Name a member of the other party from the House and Senate you think you can work with on deficit reduction and why.
- Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen has called the debt “the most significant threat to our national security.” Do you think we have reached a point where the marginal returns on our current level of government spending are no longer worth the risks, both to our national security and our economy?
Full memo:
DEBATE-MEMO-DRAFT-9.25.12-final
The Public Notice’s recent polling analysis memo on debt and spending: September-2012-Polling-Memo-final-1
41 Million Tea Party Supporters Set to Vote
From Breitbart:
The Tea Party is regularly ridiculed and declared “dead” by the mainstream press and their elitist allies in Washington and Hollywood. Not surprisingly, when Tea Partiers show up and rally by the thousands, they get all but ignored, while 30 Occupy Wall Street crazies in masks will always get wall-to-wall coverage and admiration. TV shows and movies take cheap shots at Tea Party conservatives, often linking them to murder-of-the-week cases on insipid crime procedurals or dismissing them as “birthers.” But a new Associated Press poll shows tea party supporters may have the last laugh in November.
The AP/GFK poll shows that 31% of likely voters consider themselves Tea Party supporters. With 131 million votes cast in the 2008 elections, that translates into an incredible voting bloc of 41 million Tea Party supporters waiting to cast ballots. These voters have already made their voices heard in Wisconsin earlier this year, as well as in Republican primaries in Texas and Nebraska.
That 31% of likely voters figure is greater than the 19% who described themselves as either strongly or somewhat liberal. Surprisingly, liberals have escaped media characterization as being a small, fringe-like group with little power or influence. At 19% of likely voters, self-described liberals would have a turnout of 25 million voters, some 16 million fewer voters than the Tea Party.
An Open Letter to American Followers of Islam & Mona Eltahawy
Good Afternoon:
As you may or depending on the state of the public schools where you live, may not know the first Europeans to permanently settle in what is now called the United States were people fleeing religious persecution, people who’s ways of worshiping God were different than those around them and suffered for it.
When they came to America the various churches massed in various colonies and based upon their own level of tolerance for other religions enacting laws restricting the practice of other religions until finally with the adoption of the Bill of Rights in the New constitution in 1787 the principle of freedom of religion was firmly established as a national policy.
We’ve had a few bumps as Catholics in Pennsylvania and Joseph Smith could tell you but by and large we’ve done an excellent job allowing people of any and all religions to practice as they please.
Islam has been around for quite a while, as a Roman Catholic I see several things good about it, particularly it’s devotion to regular prayer which is the basis of any devotion to God.
As an American I freely welcome you to practice Islam in America. Worship God as you see fit.
As an American I freely welcome you to make public your practice, hold festivals, have parades, share cultural events, let your culture be part of ours as so many other cultures have before you.
As an American I freely welcome you to use all the freedoms promised to protect religious belief under the laws of the United States and of the individual states to make sure your right to worship is respected.
As an American I freely welcome you to make your best case for Islam, explain your religion, proselytize, I invite you to make the finest argument you can that Islam is the best way to get closest to God and to live a better life that you can, both in public and in private.
As an American I freely welcome you to make the case against my religion, any other religion or no religion at all. If you say Islam is truth explain why other religions are false or have it wrong in print, in media and on the net.
As an American I freely welcome you to attempt to convert people even a Catholic like me. Convert the entire United States if you can
BUT
As an American and as a Catholic in America In return I Demand the following:
You MUST NOT prevent others from Worshiping God as they see fit
You MUST NOT restrict the public practice of other religions, festivals or any other celebration or expression of any other religion.
You MUST NOT violate the laws of the United States nor the individual States where you live in the practice of your religion.
You MUST NOT prevent others from making the best case they can, in public or in private, for their religions or religious denominations, nor prevent others from making their case to follow no religion at all.
You MUST NOT prevent others from making the case against Islam, for explaining the flaws in your belief and declaring that you have it wrong in print, in media or on the net.
You MUST NOT prevent others from converting followers of Islam nor must you harm those who do. Islam must be able to stand on its own two feet
You will note that I do not request these things, I do not entreat of you these things as a courtesy, I do not say you SHOULD NOT do these things. I say you MUST NOT do these things.
This is part of the American compact, America is not just a place where free commerce can get you anywhere economically, it’s a place where everyone competes in the battlefield of ideas and competes freely.
If you do otherwise:
If you choose to practice and excuse things such as Honor Killing
If you attempt to pass laws to restrict critique of Islam.
If you attempt to silence the voices that would argue against you by physical action or vandalism
If you commit violence against those who would preach another creed even in towns where you are the majority,
If you attempt to slay those who would choose to leave Islam.
If actively and material support those who would overthrow this nation and it’s laws or target America & Americans for slaughter.
Then I say you have broken the compact of America, and I will fight you in word or deed to my dying breath.
The choice is entirely yours.
My own Church the Catholic church predates your religion by hundreds of years. In nearly two dozen centuries it has had ups and downs. It has had success and scandal and it has been loved or as we see lately in America despised, attacked and ridiculed by those in power and media.
This doesn’t worry me. The message of Christ and the Church is a true message, it has faced obstacles for centuries and still endures and flourish. It will continue to do so.
I submit that if you truly believe Islam is worth the paper it’s printed on or the Arabic script it’s written in, then it can stand on it’s own in the marketplace of ideas regardless of it is despised, attacked or ridiculed by those in power or those in media without the need of violence, threat or intimidation to back it up and if it can not, if you can not allow it do to so, that tells me you have neither faith in the truth of your own religion nor in “Allah” himself?
We can either be friendly rivals both honestly arguing for he best for ourselves, our families, our neighbors and our country, or we can be enemies.
Your call.
Wake the F*ck Up! – A Rebuttal (NSFW!)
Samuel L. Jackson’s “Wake the Fuck Up” video urges Americans to re-elect Barack Obama even as it chides the president’s supporters for a lack of enthusiasm.
Why might voters be less than pleased with Obama? Reason TV responds with its own rhyme.
Go to http://reason.com/reasontv/2012/09/28/wake-the-fck-up-a-rebuttal for downloadable versions, full links, and more. And go to http://reason.tv for more videos.
baracknophobia
Podcast: Dromedary Journey-The Middle East And The West
During the past decade we have witnessed the collapse of Arab socialism and nationalism, which were the domnant forces in the Middle East apart from the traditional monarchies of the Arabian peninsula. A highly fundamentalist type of Islam has rushed in to fill the void. Although it has a dedicated following and purports to be a return to the ancient roots of the faith, one could argue that this radicalized version of Islam is more of a modern creation.
In this episode of Italian Tomatoes on Blog Talk Radio, we take a look at the distant past of the Middle East, starting with the late Roman empire, and ponder whether ancient patterns of belief and behavior are resurfacing now in new forms. It is an endlessly fascinating subject!
In addition to the Middle East, we also discuss other current events in our always lively after-show!
Photo credit: John O’Neill via Wikipedia
Breaking: DSCC Prepares To Pour Money Into Maine – Where They Won’t Endorse Their Own Nominee
As the polls continue to show a tightening race, I wanted to make sure you saw the breaking news from Politico that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is now preparing to invest a significant amount of money in Maine and they are trying to bury this big news late on a Friday. As Politico reports:
- The committee has purchased $410,000 in Maine airtime between Oct. 2 and Oct. 12, a significant investment in a relatively inexpensive state.
If you are reporting on the DSCC’s impending ad campaign in Maine, please consider the following statement from the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC):
“It’s remarkable to see national Democrats now spending money in a state where they refuse to even endorse their own nominee. Now that they are spending almost a half-million dollars in Maine, the DSCC should make clear who they are supporting – the Democratic nominee or the candidate that the State Democratic Party Chairman said today cannot be trusted.”
- Rob Jesmer, Executive Director
National Republican Senatorial Committee
BACKGROUND….
As a reminder, this is the same state that Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer had this to say about in May:
- “There’s only one state where the strong likelihood is there’s a pick-up,” Schumer said. “That’s Maine and that’s ours.”
But Schumer’s comments – which both he and the DSCC refused to expand on – raised eyebrows because of the remarkable situation in which the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has refused to even acknowledge the existence of their duly-elected female nominee, State Senator Cynthia Dill.
Despite continuously touting the 2012 election cycle as the “Year Of The Woman” in press releases, press conferences, and barn-storming fundraising tours across the country, the Chair of the DSCC Senator Patty Murray has remarkably refused to even acknowledge her own female Democratic nominee in Maine, State Senator Cynthia Dill.
This was confirmed by State Senator Dill who said in an interview earlier this year – at the same time Murray was touting her “Year Of The Woman” narrative – that she couldn’t even get a phone called returned by Senator Murray. And even in an interview with MSNBC the morning after the Maine primary in June, Murray couldn’t bring herself to utter State Senator Dill’s name, let alone say whether the DSCC would back their duly elected nominee.
This remarkable hypocrisy even led Dill to pen a public letter to Senator Murray asking why “Beltway Democrats” have been refusing to back her “grassroots campaign for working-class Mainers.”
- “The silence from Washington is deafening, has taken voters’ focus from the issues that families care about, and does nothing to address the concerns of the people of Maine,” Dill said. “This is Washington politics and drama once again getting in the way of progress for ordinary Americans, as Beltway insiders broker deals, hedge bets and pick winners and losers. It’s the same old song and dance, and Maine voters are tired of it.”
Dill also made news this week when she called on both Republican Charlie Summers and “Independent” Angus King to publicly release ten years of tax returns – something which Summers readily agreed to but which Angus King has not, apparently because he’s been busy raising money out-of-state.
The DSCC’s newfound interest in this race also comes the same day that the Chairman of the Maine Democratic Party Ben Grant publicly broke with national Democrats and slammed King in an op-ed in the state’s biggest newspaper, the Portland Press-Herald. Chairman Grant wrote in part:
- Voters are mostly concerned with the jobs picture and health care costs. These are the facts. But Angus King is not running a campaign about those issues. That, more than anything else, is why he has fallen in the polls….Cynthia Dill shares those values, and she is our candidate. If Angus King wants more Democratic support, it’s not we who need to change.
As Politico reports this afternoon – “The Maine Democratic chairman questions whether King can be trusted” -
- [A]t minimum it is a different message than the no-explicit-endorsement one coming from national Democrats about their own candidate, in a race where Republicans and outside groups are making a major play on behalf of Republican Charlie Summers.
Public Notice Weekly Polling Analysis
MUST READ:
Fox News released a poll that included several tax and budget questions. The majority of the findings are discussed below. Among the most notable results:
- 79% of likely voters (83% of Independent likely voters) say every American should pay some percentage of income in income taxes, even if it’s as little as 1%. Only 19% (16% of Independents) do not agree with this statement.
- 31% of likely voters (29% of Independents) believe the federal government wastes more than 50% of what it spends; 14% (the same number of Independents) believes it wastes between 41% and 50%; 11% (10% of Independents) believe it wastes between 31% and 40%; 15% (17% of Independents) believe it wastes between 21% and 30%; 8% (4% of Independents) believe it waste 11% to 20%; 8% (9% of Independents) believe it wastes 1% to 10%; and 1% (the same percent of Independents) say the federal government does not waste any of the money it spends.
- 57% of likely voters (59% of Independents) say they worry more about the national debt than a terrorist attack. 26% (22% of Independents) worry more about a terrorist attack.
The National Federation of Independent Business and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) recently conducted a survey of small business owners. According to Public Opinion Strategies, which conducted the poll, “The theme of government being a barrier rather than a help is clear throughout this data. Two of the three biggest challenges facing small business owners and manufacturers are government spending (which 58% rate as an 8-10 significant challenge on a scale where one means a challenge is not at all significant and ten means it is very significant) and federal, state, and local taxes (which 49% rate as an 8-10).” A summary of the findings can be found here. Full results are here.
The Associated Press conducted a survey about the 2010 health care law. Some of the results are discussed below, but the poll also gauges what respondents actually now about the law and how the feel about most major provisions. Click here for the full results.
President Obama: Average approval from mid- to late September was 49.9% according to RealClearPolitics. Average disapproval was 47.3%. (Last week’s average, which covered mid-September, was 49.8%. Average disapproval was 47.3%)
Here are the polls released this week on Presidential job approval:
- Bloomberg: 49% of adults approve and 46% disapprove.
- DailyKos: 47% of registered voters approve (39% of Independent registered voters) and 49% (53% of Independents) disapprove.
- Economist: 48% of adults approve and 49% disapprove.
- Fox News: 49% of likely voters (44% of Independent likely voters) approve and 48% (49% of Independents) disapprove. One year ago, 43% of registered voters approve and 51% disapproved.
- GWU/Politico: 50% of likely voters approve and 47% disapprove.
- UPI: 45% of likely voters approve and 45% disapprove.
Gallup tracks President Obama’s job approval on a weekly basis. Last week’s average (Sept. 10-16, 2012) showed 50% approved and 44% disapproved. The latest weekly numbers available (Sept. 17-23, 2012) showed 49% approve and 45% disapprove. Last year at this time (Sept. 19-25, 2011), 41% approved and 51% disapproved.
Rasmussen conducts a daily tracking poll. One week ago (Sept. 21), 51% approved and 48% disapproved. On Sept. 28, approval was 48%; disapproval was 51%. Last year at this time, the President’s approval was 46% and his disapproval 53%.
Congress: Average approval for early August to mid-September was 13.8% according to the RealClearPolitics average. Average disapproval was 79.6%. (Last week’s average, which covered early August to mid-September, was 13.8%. Average disapproval was 79.6%)
Here are the polls released this week on Congressional job approval:
- Economist: 8% of adults approve and 75% disapprove.
Right Track/Wrong Track: According to the RealClearPolitics average, which covered early to late September, 37.6% think the country is headed in the right direction while 56.3% think it is headed in the wrong direction. (One week ago, the right track average, which covered early- to mid-September, was 38.5%. The wrong track average was 55.3%.)
Here are the polls released this week on the direction of the country:
- Bloomberg: 33% of adults think the country is headed in the right direction and 60% think it is headed in the wrong direction.
- DailyKos: 41% of registered voters (35% of Independent registered voters) think the country is headed in the right direction while 53% (60% of Independents) think it is headed in the wrong direction.
- Economist: 38% of adults think the country is headed in the right direction and 53% think it is headed in the wrong direction.
- GWU/Politico: 38% of likely voters think the country is headed in the right direction and 57% think it is headed in the wrong direction.
- Rasmussen: 36% of likely voters think the country is headed in the right direction and 58% think it is headed in the wrong direction.
ISSUE SPECIFIC
Budget Deficit & Spending:
According to Fox News, 42% of likely voters (33% of Independent likely voters) think the stimulus helped the economy. 47% (51% of Independents) think it hurt the economy more than helped it.
According to Pew, 16% of adults say the best way to cut the budget deficit is by cutting major programs; 6% say it is by raising taxes; and 69% say lawmakers should cut the deficit through a combination of both.
According to the Economist, 9% of adults believe the budget deficit is the top issue facing the country – the economy (43%) and health care (10%) received a higher percentage. Social Security was tied. Still, 65% of adults say the issue is a “very” important one to them. According to GWU/Politico, 15% of likely voters think the budget deficit and government spending are the most important issue for Congress to deal with – only the economy (26%) received a higher percentage. According to Bloomberg, 14% of adults think the budget deficit is the more important issue facing the country. Only unemployment and jobs (43%) received a higher percentage.
President Obama approval on the issue:
- Economist: 40% of adults approve and 54% disapprove.
- GWU/Politico: 40% of likely voters approve and 57% disapprove.
Economy & Jobs:
According to Bloomberg, 43% of adults say they are better off than they were at the beginng of 2009; 33% say they are worse off; and 23% say they are about the same.
Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index improved again last week. According to the polling firm, “Americans’ net economic optimism — that is, the percentage saying the economy is getting better minus the percentage saying it is getting worse — improved to -10 last week, up slightly from -12 in the prior week. Americans’ net economic optimism thus remains sharply higher now than its -28 reading in the week ending Sept. 2.”
According to the Economist, 31% of adults think the economy is getting better; 33% say it is getting worse; and 32% say it is staying the same.
According to Bloomberg, 33% of adults are hopeful about the economy since it is showing signs of improvement; 21% are fearful because they think things are getting worse and 45% are cautious because they don’t think anything is really happening.
According to Rasmussen, only 36% of adults think the United States has the best economy in the world. 47%)believe the U.S. economy is not the world’s best. 17% are not sure.
According to UPI, 4% of likely voters would rate the economy as very good; 20% would say it is fairly goo; 39% would say it is fairly bad; and 36% would say it is fairly bad.
According to UPI, 3% of likely voters think the economy will improve within six months; 12% think within one year; 41% think it will improve within two to three years; 27% think it will take more than three years; and 6% say it will never improve.
According to Rasmussen, only 36% of adults expect a stronger U.S. economy in a year’s time; 34% expect the economy to be weaker. 13% say the economy will be about the same a year from now and 17% are not sure.
According to the Economist, 43% of adults believe the economy is the top issue facing the country. 84% of adults say the issue is a “very” important one to them. According to GWU/Politico, 26% of likely voters think the economy is the top issue for Congress to deal with – no issue received a higher percentage. According to Bloomberg, 43% of adults think jobs and unemployment are the top issue facing the country. No other issue received a higher percentage.
President Obama approval on the issue:
- Bloomberg: 41% of adults approve and 53% disapprove.
- Economist: 46% of adults approve and 51% disapprove.
- Fox News: 44% of likely voters (37% of Independent likely voters) approve and 52% (56% of Independents) disapprove.
- GWU/Politico: 48% of likely voters approve and 51% disapprove.
Entitlements:
According to the Employee Benefits Research Institute, “80 percent expressed partial to no confidence that they will be able to afford healthcare while on Medicare without struggling financially. A similar 77 percent were unsure that Medicare will afford them a good choice of medical providers, and 75 percent doubted that the program will guarantee them the medical treatments they need.”
According to Kaiser, 72% of adults think Medicare needs to be changed in order to keep it sustainable. 21% do not. Of those who say it needs to be changed, 50% think the program needs major changes and 44% think it only needs minor changes.
According to Kaiser, 58% of adults think the budget deficit could be reduced without reducing Medicare spending; 32% think you need to reduce Medicare spending in order to reduce the budget deficit.
According to Kaiser, 55% of adults think Medicare should continue as it is and 37% would prefer it to be changed into a voucher system where seniors were given a guaranteed amount.
Health Care:
According to The Associated Press, 22% of adults favor the 2010 health care law; 36% oppose it; and 32% neither support or oppose it.
According to Kaiser, 45% of adults have a favorable opinion of the 2010 health care law, up from 41% in September 2011, but down from 46% in April 2010, right after the law was passed. 40% have an unfavorable view, down from 43% one year ago and the same as in April 2010.
According to Rasmussen, 52% of adults favor repeal of the 2010 health care law; 41% oppose. According to Bloomberg, 34% of adults think the 2010 health care law should be repealed; 40% think it may need some modifications, but we should see how it works; and 19% think it should be left alone. According to The Associated Press, 44% of adults want the law implemented as written while 49% want it repealed outright.
According to The Associated Press, 60% of adults wish the the 2010 law would have done more. 37% do not wish it had done more to reform the system.
According to Kaiser, 40% of adults think the country will be better off under the health care law; 33% say the country will be worse off and 17% say the law will make no difference.
According to Kaiser, 31% of adults think they and their family will be better off under the health care law; 26% say they will be worse off and 33% say the law will make no difference.
Regulations/View of Government:
According to Fox News, 29% of likely voters (31% of Independent likely voters) think Americans are highly dependent on government; 47% (39% of Independents) think Americans are somewhat dependent on government; 18% (20% of Independents) think Americans are only slightly dependent on government; and 3% (5% of Independents) think Americans are not at all dependent on government.
According to Fox News, 9% of likely voters (8% of Independent likely voters) think they personally are highly dependent on government; 22% (20% of Independents) think they personally are somewhat dependent on government; 30% (33% of Independents) think they personally are only slightly dependent on government; and 37% (36% of Independents) think they personally are not at all dependent on government.
According to Pew, 51% of adults favor a government that is smaller and provides fewer services; 40% prefer a larger government that provides more services. One year ago, 48% said they prefered a smaller government while 41% preferred a larger one. In March 2009, 48% preferred a smaller government and 40% preferred a larger one.
According to Gallup, “A record-high 38% of Americans prefer that the same party control the presidency and Congress, while a record-low 23% say it would be better if the president and Congress were from different parties and 33% say it doesn’t make any difference.”
According to Gallup, 47% of adults think there are too many government regulations; 26% say there are too few; and 24% there is the current level of regulation is about right.
According to Fox News, 46% of likely voters (49% of Independent likely voters) think the federal government is trying to do too much. 22% (19% of Independents) think it is trying to do too little and 28% (25% of Independents) think the federal government is trying to do the right amount.
According to GWU/Politico, when given two choices, 48% of likely voters say they believe government action is more likely to get in the way of finding solutions to social problems. 45% of likely voters say, in many cases, government actions and regulations are needed to solve social problems.
According to Gallup, 67% of adults have a great deal of confidence in the judicial branch of the U.S. government. 56% of adults have a great deal of confidence in the executive branch and only 34% have a great deal of confidence in the legislative branch.
Taxes:
According to DailyKos, when asked what income level they considered middle class, 64% of registered voters (61% of Independent registered voters) said $50,000 to $100,000; 27% (26% of Independents) said $100,000 to $150,000; 6% (8% of Independents) said $150,000 to $200,000; 1% (the same number of Independents) said $200,000 to $250,000; and 1% (the same number of Independents) said $250,000 to $300,000.
Public Notice is an independent non-profit dedicated to providing facts and insight on the economy and how government policy affects Americans’ financial well-being.
Soledad O’Brien on the way out at CNN?
Well, that’s the way looks from my front porch anyway.
She’s been taking lots of lumps lately and word has it that her bosses are tired of being embarrassed by her vacuous behavior. Look for election night to be her final fling.
Replacement??? Hey, thanks for asking.
If Obama wins, they’ll be looking for a conservative so they can claim “balance”. First choice David Brooks is under contract to the NYT and is unavailable. Second choice Dick Lugar wouldn’t take the job because he’s got a bigger contract from K-Street.Word on the street is that if Obama loses – not likely considering his strong polling – he’s got the job. And he’ll be a newsman NOT a commentator.
Looks like the “New Soledad” could be the guy featured in the MSNBC-esque Yahoo News today as a conservative spokesman:
Some conservatives agree reluctantly that, overall, the polls are not going in Romney’s favor.
“I’ve been in politics long enough to know that the louder one side gets complaining about the polls, the more likely it is that this is the side that, in reality, actually is losing,” conservative commentator Erick Erickson, who runs the RedState blog, wrote on Thursday.
I think this blog audition falls into the “any press is good press” category. Or something.
Anyway, looking forward to seeing EE headlining at CNN. Assuming the polling is right of course.
ReasonTV: Steve Horwitz on Austrian Economics, Bleeding Heart Libertarians, and Family
“In the 25 years since I’ve been studying central banking and competitive alternatives, there’s never been so much attention on the Fed as there is right now, and there’s never been so much critical attention,” says Steve Horwitz, Austrian economist and professor at St. Lawrence University.
Reason TV’s Nick Gillespie sat down with Horwitz at FreedomFest 2012 in Vegas and discussed the unprecedented scrutiny the Federal Reserve has faced in recent years, his work on how capitalism shaped the modern-day family, and why he identifies with Bleeding Heart Libertarians.
Held each July in Las Vegas, FreedomFest is attended by around 2,000 limited-government enthusiasts and libertarians a year. ReasonTV spoke with over two dozen speakers and attendees and will be releasing interviews over the coming weeks. For an ever-growing playlist, go here now:
