Reader Discretion Advised

Resolution
His supporters will say he is resolute and the Republicans are pigheaded; his opponents (including this column) would reverse the adjectives. A neutral way of describing it is that the two parties' worldviews are irreconcilable. (James Taranto, WSJ, 2/13/2013)

Taranto gets it right: irreconcilable. To which we add the answer to the question: Why won't Republicans compromise? The answer is that they have compromised and they are losing the battle. 

To wit:

• The government is expanding in size and scope.
• Entitlement programs are growing.
• Health care is being nationalized.
• Taxes have been raised.
• Regulation is increasing.
• Abortion is legal.
• Marijuana is legal (in some places).
• Princeton University is now transgender-friendly.
• Etc.

What would compromise look like to Democrats?


On The Road
Coverage of the speech described how he'll now "hit the road to sell his ideas to audiences in North Carolina, Georgia and Illinois." It seems normal until you notice he spends little or no time trying to sell any of this to Congress itself. Most of his past high-visibility proposals have underachieved or disappeared in Congress. He prefers instead the wand of solo executive authority. Even Bill Clinton, no stranger to the admiration of crowds, spent presidential capital building support one-on-one with key members of Congress. Hillary or Joe Biden would have done the same. (Daniel Henninger, WSJ, 2/13/2013)

Henninger nails it again. In private moments, even Democrats have spoken of how Obama has made little effort to engage members of his own party, never mind Republicans. Obsessed with his legacy, Obama will find it diminished due to this. What is to prevent President Rubio in 2016 from undoing Obama's executive orders? 


Pointless
President Obama is a freer man than he has been at any point in his presidency. He is free from the need to save an economy close to collapse, from illusions that Republicans in Congress would work with him readily, from the threat of a rising tea party movement and from the need to win reelection. (E..J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post, 2/13/2013)

Dionne's latest love sonnet to Obama. Did he actually write that Obama is "free from the need to save an economy close to collapse?" 


Bored Games
The Obama administration's electric car efforts took another hit on Wednesday after a federal inspection found a South Korean advanced battery maker never scaled up U.S. production despite receiving $142 million in federal grants.
...
The inspector general said that to avoid layoffs at the factory LG Chem paid idle workers $1.6 million in the third quarter of last year, about half of which was covered by its U.S. grant, even though there was nothing for them to do. The workers played board games, watched movies, and volunteered at local animal shelters during regular work hours, Mr. Friedman said. LG Chem has since paid back the government's share of those charges. (WSJ, 2/13/2013)

Unfortunately this report of the latest Obama green energy debacle has been lost due to the breaking news reported by the Legitimate Media that Senator Marco Rubio took a drink of water.


Lewdown
Mr. Lew seems to have been equally disengaged about his own investments. He said he didn't know why the venture-capital fund in which he had invested was based in the Cayman Islands or whether its location had resulted in any tax benefits. (WSJ, 2/13/2013)

Hypocrisy thy name is Democrat.

Ice Breaker

Touched
At the same time, he is preparing Florida Blue, a nonprofit Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan, for 2014, when most of the requirements of the federal Affordable Care Act go into effect. Insurers will have to offer a policy to anyone who wants one, regardless of their health, and will not be allowed to charge more in premiums to people with expensive medical conditions. The plans the companies offer will be highly regulated through government-run exchanges that are still getting their final regulatory touches. (NYT, 2/5/2013)

Here is an example of someone who cannot be denied coverage. Barney Harold O'Brien (not his real name) is 55 years old and self-employed. Although he knows that he should buy health insurance he has never wanted to spend the money. Money that he says he would rather spend on a new Ford F150 pick-up truck. Barney - never one to work-out - is 5 feet seven inches tall and weighs 250 pounds. For breakfast, he swings by Dunkin Donuts to get a large coffee and three cream-filled donuts. Lunch is either Taco Bell where he enjoys the Grande Loco Supremo Gordo Macho Taco or McDonalds where he likes the 1/4 pounder with cheese. He likes it so much that he orders two along with large fries and a milkshake. On the way home from work, Barney grabs two "hot 'n ready" pizzas at Dominos (or is it Little Caesars?) and a case of Bud Light before settling in to watch MSNBC. 

Thankfully, under Obamacare, Barney cannot be denied health insurance and he does not have to pay more than his neighbor who is training for the next marathon.

Who is picking up the cost of the extra medical bills that Barney will generate? You are sucker!

This is not insurance. This is madness.


Budget Crunch
Mr. Obama, who missed a deadline this week to submit his annual budget to Congress, acknowledged on Tuesday that a broader deficit agreement is unlikely to be reached by the March deadline. He provided no details about the tens of billion of dollars in spending cuts and tax adjustments that he wants Congress to pass quickly. More specifics could come when he delivers his State of the Union address next Tuesday. (NYT, 2/5/2013)

Displaying the same distracted stoner affect first seen in Hawaii with the Choom Squad, Obama blows off his homework again. 


Acting Out
Restarting a politically tinged debate, the Senate voted 85 to 8 on Monday evening to take up a renewal of the Violence Against Women Act.  (NYT, 2/4/2013)

Here is what you need to know about anything Congress comes up with that includes the name of a minority group in the title. One, it is completely unnecessary. Two, it is a pander to the group. Three, it is an open invitation to tort lawyers to begin suing. 

In 2013, we need a Violence Against Women Act? Really? Is violence against women legal now?


Tap Tap
Republicans tapped Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a rising star in the Republican party who is frequently mentioned as a 2016 presidential contender, to deliver the Republican response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address next week. (WSJ, 2/6/2013)

Easy prediction: Liberals will seek to demean Rubio in similar fashion to how they seek to demean black conservatives by calling them "house negros." They will coin a new phrase, perhaps calling Rubio the "Republican Party's gardener." This is what Liberals do when confronted with an ethnic politician who they insist belongs in their camp.