In Tune

Adversarial
With the election results ensuring another four years with an empowered adversary in the White House, and a growing docket of polls that show voters ready to blame Republicans for a failure to avert the so-called fiscal cliff, many House Republicans appear to view Mr. Boehner with the same sort of respect that adult children award their parents for the sage counsel they ignored in their younger days. (NYT, 12/5/2012)

Forget the backhanded compliment to Boehner above, the relevant phrase is "ready to blame Republicans." The Liberal media is already baking this in to the story line weeks before we know what happens.


Attraction
Competition among states and cities to lure businesses in hopes of creating jobs is not new, but it has become more fierce in recent years. An investigation by The Times found that state and local governments are giving out $80 billion a year in tax breaks and other subsidies in a foolhardy, shortsighted race to attract companies. That money could go a long way to improving education, transportation and other public services that would have a far better shot at promoting real economic growth. (NYT editorial, 12/5/2012)

The Times claims that tax incentives to lure business do not make economic sense for states. Perhaps they don't, but the alternative presented by the Times is the old Liberal standby: more money to education and the public sector. How about a Times investigation into the economics of that approach? Given labyrinthine rules that prevent accountability and efficiency in the public sector, our guess is that such an investment might not make economic sense either.

Here's another idea for a Times investigative piece: job creation in right-to-work states.


Worthwhile
The inability of this Congress and this president to compromise on anything, now or at any time in the past four years, is itself a problem worthy of some thought.

Here's one thought: The main reason there isn't, and may never be, a solution on the fiscal cliff is that Barack Obama doesn't know how to do a political compromise. Where in his career did Barack Obama ever learn the art of the political deal? Nowhere. (Daniel Henninger, WSJ, 12/5/2012)

This is the price we pay for electing a junior senator with little political experience. Who voted "present" rather than leave his footprints on the record. Say what you will about Bush or Clinton or Romney for that matter, but all governed states and in doing so, were forced to learn what Henninger calls "the political deal." 


The Heretic
HOWARD DEAN: The only problem is -- and this is initially going to seem like heresy from a progressive is -- the truth is everybody needs to pay more taxes, not just the rich. And it's a good start. But we're not going to get out of this deficit problem unless we raise taxes across the board, to go back to what Bill Clinton had and his taxes. And if we don't do that, the problem is the pressure is going to be on spending even more. (Realclearpolitics.com, 12/6/2012)

It is not just RedStateVT saying it. Liberals are even letting it slip. After the rich, the middle class is being teed up for tax hikes. Because, after all, we just have to keep spending....