Across The Empire

Mugged
Ann Coulter's new book Mugged is a great analysis of race in America from the perspective of the two major political parties. With example after example after example, Coulter explains what actually happened (covering everything from civil rights to political advertisements to the use of alleged racist "code words") and then what Democrats and their allies in the media said happened. (Pop quiz: Which party had a larger percentage of votes in support of the Civil Rights Act of 1964? Wrong. Republicans did.) The original oppressors of black Americans (southern plantation owners), Democrats have now switched to a different kind of oppression. Call it - as others have - the soft tyranny of low expectations. And so today Democrats fail to hold blacks accountable for bad behavior within their community and relentlessly bombard them with the message that Republicans are out to....what was it the Vice President of the United States of America said to a black audience? Oh, that's right. "Put y'all back in chains." For Democrats, America will ALWAYS be a racist country because by perpetuating this myth it allows them to blame Republicans and secure black votes. Need proof? Why do black Republicans like Clarence Thomas, Condoleeza Rice, JC Watts, Michael Steele, Allen West and Herman Cain scare Democrats so much and why are all black Republicans so viciously attacked? You know the answer. They represent an existential threat to Democrats. 

Inspired by Coulter's book RedStateVT tried to imagine what it would take for Democrats to conclude that America was NOT a racist country. What achievement by a black American remains out of reach and - therefore - proof of America's inherent racism? After careful consideration, the only things we could come up with are a black pope and a black NHL head coach. That's it. Blacks have scaled the heights of all aspects of American life: business, sports, entertainment. (We even have a black president!) But no black pope or NHL coach. As we pondered this further, we have come to a tentative conclusion that blame should really be directed not toward Americans, but instead toward Italians and Canadians....  


Labeling
The most outrageous policy proposals are invariably described as the promotion of "civil rights." As long as liberals label something a "right," they never have to explain why it's a good idea. (Ann Coulter, Mugged)

Just one of our many favorite quotes from Mugged!


Carbs
Al Gore and his co-investors just sold liberal cable channel Current TV to Al Jazeera, the network bankrolled by the emir of Qatar. How much in carbon offsets does Mr. Gore need to balance his estimated $100 million from the sale to an oil sheik? (WSJ, 1/6/2013)

Al Gore is just one of those gifts that keeps on giving.


Never Mind
In 2007 Senator Obama made this pledge: "I will not use signing statements to nullify or undermine congressional instructions as enacted into law." In 2008 Candidate Obama said "Congress's job is to pass legislation. The president can veto it or he can sign it."

Last week, President Obama wrote that "though I continue to oppose certain sections" of the defense bill, "the need to renew critical defense authorities and funding was too great" not to sign it. Mr. Obama has issued more than 20 signing statements so far. (WSJ, 1/6/2013)

As the Journal points out, Liberals are largely silent. (Our emphasis)


Stunning
What stunned House Speaker John Boehner more than anything else during his prolonged closed-door budget negotiations with Barack Obama was this revelation: "At one point several weeks ago," Mr. Boehner says, "the president said to me, 'We don't have a spending problem.' "
...
The president's insistence that Washington doesn't have a spending problem, Mr. Boehner says, is predicated on the belief that massive federal deficits stem from what Mr. Obama called "a health-care problem." Mr. Boehner says that after he recovered from his astonishment—"They blame all of the fiscal woes on our health-care system"—he replied: "Clearly we have a health-care problem, which is about to get worse with ObamaCare. But, Mr. President, we have a very serious spending problem." He repeated this message so often, he says, that toward the end of the negotiations, the president became irritated and said: "I'm getting tired of hearing you say that." (WSJ, 1/6/2013)

Boehner can do much to rehabilitate his image with the Right by continuing to divulge more about his negotiations with Obama. The revelations do not flatter Obama. More importantly, they provide insight into the strange thinking of Obama and (presumably) the Democrats. America's fiscal problems are - first and foremost - a result of health care? Stunning indeed.

All of which got us thinking about Obama's legacy. If he is wrong about America's deficit problem being health care and Obamacare being the answer, his legacy will be forever tarnished. Fortunately for us, it will be very easy to track!