Stay The Course

Lesser
Less than 48 hours after President Obama nominated Antonio F. Weiss, a longtime adviser on mergers at the investment bank Lazard and a Democratic supporter, to become the under secretary of Treasury for domestic finance, Senator Elizabeth Warren denounced the appointment and said that she would vote against his confirmation.
...
Yet Ms. Warren’s wrath is misdirected, and her understanding of the so-called inversion deal on which she bases much of her opposition appears misinformed...Ms. Warren is, to put it politely, mistaken. (New York Times, 11/24/2014)

Why do we have to put it politely? Can't we just say that 1%er Elizabeth Warren is a complete and utter fraud? The new hero of the Democrat party - like the current president, and former hero of the Democrats - does not have the vaguest idea of how capitalism works. When you are a Democrat and the New York Times corrects you, you know that you screwed up.


Blown
“Unfortunately, Democrats blew the opportunity the American people gave them. We took their mandate and put all of our focus on the wrong problem: health-care reform.” (Senator Chuck Schumer, quoted in the Wall Street Journal, 11/25/2014)

So how do you spin this if you are Democrat?


Lies
But he (Hagel) was not the core of the Obama administration’s military problem. That lies with the president and a national security policy that has too often been incoherent and shifting at a time of mounting international challenges, especially in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. (New York Times editorial, 11/25/2014)

When you are a Democrat and the New York Times says your policy is "incoherent", you know that you screwed up.

So how do you spin this if you are Democrat?


Evidence-Free
Truthfully, the angry and sullen reactions of those who wanted Wilson tried are understandable. They’re understandable because most Americans live in the evidence-free narrative created by malicious media liars, and the politicians they enable. They live in the evidence-free world of the political left, which maintains that America remains deeply racist, that every white cop is Bull Connor, and that every black man shot by police is a Selma marcher. So long as they live in that world, racial reconciliation will remain a dream, and racial polarization will remain a tool of the political and media elite to sell papers, raise cash, and drive votes. (Ben Shapiro, Breitbart.com, 11/24/2014)

Ben Shapiro at Breitbart never disappoints. Think he is wrong? Recall what the despicable Mary Landrieu said about race on the eve of the recent election.


Razor Sharp
Scenario A -- A secretly racist cop sees two unarmed black teenagers (one of whom is six feet five inches tall and weighs 250 pounds) and decides to provoke a fight with them for no apparent reason. The cop decides to shoot the teenager knowing full well that any weapons discharge would be fully investigated. 

Scenario B -- A six foot five inch, 250 pound black teenager - who recently smoked marijuana and who had just minutes before robbed a convenience store - attacks a cop who had asked him to move to the sidewalk from the middle of the street. The teenager is shot during the struggle. 

Occam's razor posits that the simplest or most obvious solution to a problem is most often the correct one.


Refrain
They headed toward City Hall, chanting familiar refrains calling for justice. When they got there, several revelers rushed a police cruiser and smashed the windows with bricks. They then rocked it until it flipped over, and bystanders cheered.

They eventually flipped it back over and tried to set it on fire. Small flames flared up, but the car was not engulfed.

“I thought it was exciting,” said Sherrelle Primm, 26, a protester who watched as the car was vandalized. (New York Times, 11/27/2014)

Even the storefront office of Antonio French, a local politician who was an outspoken leader amid the protests over the shooting, has been destroyed. (New York Times, 11/27/2014)

We have written before about dysfunctional cultures, most notably the Palestinians for whom child suicide bombers are celebrated and sweet treats are passed around to motorists after Jewish rabbis are slaughtered while praying in a synagogue. Cultures which act in such complete opposition to accepted norms of civilization are doomed to failure. Similarly it is with the poor urban underclass wherein burning down their own neighborhood - even the office of one of their own - is celebrated and "exciting."

If Al Sharpton truly wanted to help his people he would teach black youths not to resist the police and would stand in front of the beauty shop, the convenience store and the community center in these neighborhoods and use his powers of persuasion to prevent violence. 

Obama: Turns Out I Am An Emperor!

Broadly
But accusations of a presidential abuse of power appear to have gained traction in recent days, as a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found just 38 percent support for Mr. Obama’s executive actions even as there was broad support for a path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants. In the poll, 48 percent said they opposed Mr. Obama’s actions. Even a few Democrats have expressed concern about the propriety of the president’s actions. (New York Times, 11/21/2014)

Actually - if only 38% of the country supports Obama - he has lost more than "a few" Democrats. We wonder how many Democrats are quietly saying: "this guy is going to hurt our brand for years...." 


Zoned Out
I don’t know how ObamaCare will go, but it won’t last as it is. If the White House had wisdom, they’d declare that they’d won on the essential argument—health coverage is a right for all—and go back to the drawing board with Congress. The only part of the ObamaCare law that is popular is its intention, not its reality. The White House should declare victory and redraw the bill. But the White House is a wisdom-free zone. (Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal, 11/21/2014)

Another score for Noonan!


Wanted
People who wanted market-driven health care now have it in the Affordable Care Act (Alice M. Rivlin, Washington Post, 11/20/2014)

Completely dishonest analysis from Rivlin. Liberals do this all the time. They impose draconian rules and then talk about free markets. 


Inflation
President Barack Obama's much-touted 8 million Obamacare enrollment number was inflated by 1.3 million, the Obama administration now admits. "The mistake we made is unacceptable," tweeted Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell. "I will be communicating that clearly throughout the department." (Breitbart.com, 11/23/2014)

Is there anything that the Obama administration will not lie about? Answer: no. 


At Least
President Obama decided in recent weeks to authorize a more expansive mission for the military in Afghanistan in 2015 than originally planned, a move that ensures American troops will have a direct role in fighting in the war-ravaged country for at least another year. (New York Times, 11/21/2014)

Hey, don't get us wrong we think fighting the terrorists on their home turf is a good idea. But where is Code Pink? Where is the condemnation by the New York Times editors? Where is the rambling incoherent speech by Harry Reid on the Senate floor? Where is the reminder of how many soldiers have died already? Oh, and where are the apologies to George Bush and Dick Cheney?


Holy Holy Holy
McAllister points out that the usual separation-of-church-and-state crowd has been remarkably quiet about the president’s invocation of the Old Testament, that bloodiest and most patriarchal part of holy writ. “No scathing posts. No statement from the Freedom From Religious Foundation. Oh, right,” she says, “this is a Democratic president, so it’s okay.”(Ian Tuttle, nationalreview.com, 11/21/2014)

Killer point! Recall the endless criticism any time a Republican politician invokes religion. Liberal secularists are mute when Obama quotes scripture. 

Coming Soon from Democrats: The Republican War on Children!

Bernie Sanders: Keystone XL 'makes no sense to me' (Washington Examiner, 11/18/2014)

RedStateVT: Bernie Sanders 'makes no sense to us' (RedStateVT, 11/18/2014)


Currently
In the current Democratic-controlled Senate, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, has long refused to bring a Keystone bill to a vote for fear that it could hurt the re-election chances of environmental-minded Democrats who might have voted against a project that is popular with many voters. (New York Times, 11/18/2014)

So to fellow bloggers who write endlessly of Republican obstructionism we forward the passage above. Turns out Harry Reid's Senate (which never passed a budget either, by the way) may have doing some obstruction of their own! Also nice to hear that the Keystone pipeline is "popular with many voters." We are guessing that said voters like jobs and low gas prices. 


Starkly
President Obama is poised to ignore stark warnings that executive action on immigration would amount to “violating our laws” and would be “very difficult to defend legally.”

Those warnings came not from Republican lawmakers but from Mr. Obama himself.

For years, he has waved aside the demands of Latino activists and Democratic allies who begged him to act on his own, and he insisted publicly that a decision to shield millions of immigrants from deportation without an act of Congress would amount to nothing less than the dictates of a king, not a president. (New York Times, 11/18/2014)

For any of you cynics out there, remember: Republicans flip flop, Democrats evolve.


Mutually
But since the Affordable Care Act was enacted in 2010, the relationship between the Obama administration and insurers has evolved into a powerful, mutually beneficial partnership that has been a boon to the nation’s largest private health plans and led to a profitable surge in their Medicaid enrollment. (New York Times, 11/17/2014)

During the Obamacare debate, Charles Krauthammer once famously said: "I care not a whit about the insurance companies." We agree. They sold their souls to Obama for short term profits but given the opportunity Obama will sell them out in a heartbeat.


Surely
As headlines go, “ Obama Moves Close to Calling Russian Action in Ukraine an Invasion,” from a weekend story in the New York Times , must surely rank among the year’s most revealing. The Obama presidency has long been at odds with the obvious. Once this was called hope.

Now it is generally recognized as farce. (Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal, 11/17/2014)

Bret Stephens picks up on RedStateVT's recent point!


Extensively
Mr. Gruber wrote a 2011 cartoon book called “Health Care Reform” that aimed to explain the federal law. A note about the author says Mr. Gruber “consulted extensively with the Obama administration and Congress during the development” of the law. (Wall Street Journal, 11/17/2014)

Of all the egregious sins that Gruber has perpetrated, surely this is the worst: he wrote a cartoon book on Obamacare. 


And Then This
Here comes the tea party of the left. (Dana Milbank, Washington Post, 11/17/2014)

Honest column from Milbank. Yes, the Dems have a tea party too.

"Stupid" Americans Face Large Health Insurance Price Hikes

Substantially
The Obama administration on Friday unveiled data showing that many Americans with health insurance bought under the Affordable Care Act could face substantial price increases next year — in some cases as much as 20 percent — unless they switch plans. 
....

“Consumers should shop around,” said Marilyn B. Tavenner, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs the federal insurance exchange serving three dozen states. “With new options available this year, they’re likely to find a better deal.” She asserted that the data showed that “the Affordable Care Act is working.” (New York Times, 11/14/2014)

So apparently, a "better deal" and "working" describe a situation wherein Americans pay substantially more for health insurance. Got it.


Checked Out
 “We’re really making sure the website works super well before the next open enrollment period. We’re double- and triple-checking it.” President Obama
...

The health insurance marketplace opened for business on Saturday and performed much better than last year, but some consumers reported long, frustrating delays in trying to buy insurance and gain access to their own accounts at HealthCare.gov. (New York Times, 11/15/2014)

Quadruple-check?


Dysfunctional
Vermont is the only state that requires purchase of any individual health care insurance policies through the state exchange. Yes, that’s the same exchange that isn’t functioning. Shumlin has turned health care in Vermont into a Kafka-like cartoon: you must buy through the exchange and the exchange doesn’t work. (Stuart Stevens, thedailybeast.com, 11/13/2014)

Wonderful article which describes how corrupt and arrogant Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin is and how he nearly blew the recent election to an almost unknown Republican, Scott Milne. Speaking of Vermont Health Connect, here is a recent e-mail: 

"You are receiving this email because you have chosen email as your communication preference.  Usually this email would include a link to your account, but at this time account log-ins and online payments are unavailable due to a period of extended maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience."

Got it.


Identity Crisis
The Democrats’ widespread losses last week have revived a debate inside the party about its fundamental identity, a long-running feud between center and left that has taken on new urgency in the aftermath of a disastrous election and in a time of deeply felt economic anxiety. (New York Times, 11/14/2014)

So after fifty-two thousand articles on how the Republican party is being torn apart by the Tea Party the Times concedes that Democrats face their own rifts. Got it.


Wonderful
Sometimes we wonder if President Obama has even the vaguest idea how a private economy works. (Wall Street Journal, 11/14/2014)

We just liked this line.


Get Closer
Obama Moves Close to Calling Russian Action in Ukraine an Invasion (New York Times headline, 11/16/2014)

Months after Putin invades Ukraine, Obama threatens to accuse Putin of......invading Ukraine. Vlad must wake up every day and pinch himself thinking about how lucky he is to have Obama.

War On Women Ends; Dems Lose

Charles M. Blow: Liar at the New York Times
Then came the signing of the Civil Rights Act by the Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson — although he wasn’t perfect on the issue of race, and the bill passed partly because of Republican support. (Charles M. Blow, New York Times, 11/13/2014)

Blow purports to write an objective history of race and politics in the U.S. Of course, he tilts the facts to fit his conclusion that Republicans are racists.  Oh, and he lies. Blow says Lyndon B. Johnson "wasn't perfect" neglecting to mention that Johnson is quoted as calling the Civil Rights Act a "n***r bill." In addition, Blow, like E.J. Dionne over at the Washington Post, lies about Republican support for the Civil Rights Act. Blow says it passed "partly because of Republican support" when, in fact, a greater percentage of Republicans than Democrats voted in favor of it.

We will not be lectured by Democrats on race when they lie about the issue.

It is Democrats who perpetuate the myth of Republicans as the party of (racist) white men. Which is exactly why they must vilify Clarence Thomas, Herman Cain, Ben Carson, Tim Scott, J.C. Watts, Condi Rice, Mia Love, Sarah Palin, Nikki Haley, etc. etc.


You're Stupid!
"Call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever, but basically that was really, really critical to getting the thing to pass.” (Obamacare "architect" Jonathan Gruber)

What Gruber is really saying - and RedStateVT is the first to note this - is that Democrats who supported Obamacare are stupid. Consider that support for the bill has never been above 50%. So half of the country, let's call them Republicans, have ALWAYS been against the bill, seeing it for the dysfunctional government entitlement program which it has become. They were not then and are not now "stupid." From the beginning, they saw that Obamacare was an abomination. So those who did support the bill, call them Democrats, are the stupid ones. We are happy to provide this clarification.


Thumpity Dump
Although they do not present it this way, in some ways Mr. Obama and his aides are taking a page from President George W. Bush’s playbook after his own “thumping” in his final midterm elections. Instead of pulling out of the deteriorating war in Iraq, as Democrats interpreted Mr. Bush’s election mandate, he sent more troops. Democrats like Mr. Obama, then a senator, accused the president of defying the voters. In the end, the reinforcements and a strategy change helped turn around the war. (New York Times, 11/14/2014)

So helpfully, the Times tells us two things: once again Obama (how many times is that now?) said one thing as a senator only to do the opposite as president; and second, George Bush's surge secured success in Iraq. The Times omits, however, the follow-up: Obama then squandered this success which has led to the madness of ISIS.


Battered
Instead of simply being spun out from Procter & Gamble, Duracell will find a new corporate home — with Warren E. Buffett. The billionaire’s conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway, said on Thursday that it would acquire the battery maker from P.&G. through an unusual transaction aimed at lowering the overall tax bill. (New York Times, 11/13/2014)

News flash! Liberal icon Warren Buffett doesn't like to pay taxes.

Mocking Breeze

Blood Feud
"I'm not sure what Bill and I expected from the Obamas, but there was bad blood between us from the start."  
Hillary Clinton

"Obama has turned into a joke."  
Hillary Clinton

"The thing with Obama is that he can't be bothered, and there is no hand on the tiller half the time. That's the story of the Obama presidency. No hand on the f***ing tiller."  
Hillary Clinton

"And you can't trust the m***f***.... His word isn't worth s**t."  
Hillary Clinton

"No matter how obstructive the Republicans may be, Obama has the responsibility of leadership." Vernon Jordan

"I'm not going to enjoy this."  
Bill Clinton on playing golf with Barack Obama

"I hate that man Obama more than any man I've ever met, more than any man who ever lived."  
Bill Clinton

"He (Obama) put a hit job on me. He played the race card on me."  
Bill Clinton 

"I have no relationship with the president - none whatsoever."  
Bill Clinton 

"He (Obama) hates me. He tolerates you."  
Bill Clinton to Hillary Clinton

We recently read Edward Klein's delightful new book: Blood Feud - The Clintons vs. the Obamas. Highly recommended! The quotes above are some of our favorites from the book. 


Negotiation 101
The landmark agreement, jointly announced here by President Obama and President Xi Jinping, includes new targets for carbon emissions reductions by the United States and a first-ever commitment by China to stop its emissions from growing by 2030.
...
As part of the agreement, Mr. Obama announced that the United States would emit 26 percent to 28 percent less carbon in 2025 than it did in 2005. That is double the pace of reduction it targeted for the period from 2005 to 2020. (New York Times, 11/12/2014)

One can almost imagine Vlad Putin telling Xi Jinping: "This guy Obama is a shmuck. He is so desperate that he'll agree to anything." 

Including a deal in which he commits the U.S. to a 26% decrease in carbon emissions by 2025 while allowing China increases until 2030. 


Discouraged in Vermont
Managers of Vermont’s troubled exchange, which has been offline for repairs since September, are asking customers who have coverage to avoid using the website during open enrollment to keep volume down. Asked last week whether the exchange would be working by Saturday, Gov. Peter Shumlin said, “I’ve been discouraged so many times by this website that I’ll believe it when I see it.” (New York Times, 11/12/2014)

Shumlin added: "All these issues will go away once we implement single payer in Vermont."

Just kidding!

By the way, a quick tally shows Vermont health insurance premiums up by almost 14% for 2015.

Payback Time

On Last Night's "Hannity"
"This man is a raging narcissist."
Former Democrat pollster Pat Caddell speaking about Barack Obama. 


Possibilities
First, it raised the possibility that the justices, who narrowly spared the law in 2012, will in June come out with a new ruling that would dismantle the law on different grounds. But even if the justices make no such ruling, the very act of taking up the challenge to the law will itself undermine the law. The justices announced their decision just a week before the open-enrollment period for 2015 begins — and the looming possibility that the high court will strike down the law will probably deter those who are considering signing up for its coverage. (Dana Milbank, Washington Post, 11/10/2014)

So WaPo's Milbank believes that 2015 Obamacare enrollment will be depressed because potential enrollees will not sign up because the Supreme Court is going to rule on a challenge to the law. How does Milbank come up with nonsense like this?


Regrets
Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber said Tuesday that he regrets saying that aspects of Obamacare needed to be concealed from the public due to the “stupidity of the American voter.” (Dailycaller.com, 11/11/2014)

Guess who is likely to end up on RedStateVT's "Worst of 2014" List? If you guessed Jonathan Gruber, you might be right!

Defeated, Democrats Urge Compromise

Darkness
The next Senate was just elected on the greatest wave of secret, special-interest money ever raised in a congressional election. (New York Times editorial, Dark Money Helped Win the Senate, 11/9/2014)

Republicans defeated Democrats and won the Senate. Ergo, it was "dark money" that did it. When Democrats win elections it is because of their superior "ground game."  


RedStateVT Poll
Who were you most happy to see defeated in the recent election?
a) Martha Coakley, perennial loser
b) Sandra Fluke, destitute former law student unable to afford condoms
c) Wendy Davis, partial birth abortion advocate


Topped Off
Four years ago, Arkansas had a congressional delegation that was five-sixths Democratic, a Democratic governor, a Democratic-controlled legislature and an all-Democratic slate of statewide officials. It will now be Republican from top to bottom. (New York Times, 11/6/2014)

Great to see the home state of Mitt Romney back in Republican hands. What? Not Mitt Romney's home state? Oh, that's right, Bill Clinton's home state. 


Allegations
On Friday the U.S. Supreme Court issued a writ of certiorari in King v. Burwell, one of several cases in which plaintiffs allege that the Internal Revenue Service violated the PPACA when it issued a directive making ObamaCare subsidies available for insurance policies purchased on the federal exchange. That is counter to a provision of the law limiting the subsidies to policies purchased “through an Exchange established by the State.” Most states have not established exchanges. (Wall Street Journal, 11/10/2014)

True story...listening to a Liberal dingbat today on NPR talking about this very issue. Her contention is that "state" means the same thing as "federal." It is impossible to argue with these people. 

Apple's Tim Cook: "Proud to be a Guy"

Six Headlines (Chosen at Random by RedStateVT) from Yesterday's New York Times:

Apple Chief’s Coming Out: ‘This Will Resonate’

Common Sense: The Coming Out of Apple’s Chief Tim Cook: ‘This Will Resonate’

Coming Out in Businessweek, Tim Cook Chooses to Play It Low-Key

Trailblazers: Tim Cook Is Important Because Firsts Are Important

Common Sense: The Coming Out of Apple’s Chief Tim Cook: ‘This Will Resonate’

Apple’s Tim Cook Says That He Is ‘Proud to Be Gay’


Hustle
An American nurse returns from Sierra Leone after treating Ebola patients. She did that on her vacation. We are proud of her. After she lands at Newark Airport she is hustled into quarantine. She is greatly shocked and indignant, loudly protests in the media. Her rights are being violated, her treatment is “inhumane.” By that she perhaps meant uncomfortable—a tent, paper scrubs, no shower. It was all on-the-fly and disorganized, a state scrambling to do what the federal government would not.

The nurse got sprung and is currently in Maine, refusing quarantine, threatening legal action, and gaily bicycling past media scrums. I see a future in politics. (Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal, 10/31/2014)

Great summary from Noonan about America's most self-centered nurse. Funny line about the "future in politics" but not less likely to happen if only because there are no clear lines between the parties on Ebola. Don't kid yourself, however, Dems would love to turn her into the next Sandra ('please pay for my birth control') Fluke.