IT'S TIME TO GET FURIOUS

Operation Fast and Furious is not about politicization, as the left would have you believe.  It is about gun control. The American people should be absolutely outraged by this operation, but instead it has been swept under the rug and ignored.  The fact that hundreds of people have died is, apparently by ATF standards, nothing more than a further argument for more restrictive gun regulations. 


If you have any doubts, a quick check of the facts will set you right. Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News, who has been doggedly following this story since February of 2011, has a great primer on the scandal.  Here's how the operation worked, in a nutshell:

First, the ATF persuaded some of their informants to purchase large quantities of "long guns" - high caliber rifles.  Then, when the gun shop owners contacted the ATF out of concern for the large numbers attempting to be purchased by rather shady buyers, the ATF encouraged the dealers to sell to the informants.  Agents were specifically ordered to stop tracking the weapons and not interdict, virtually guaranteeing the weapons would cross the border and reach the cartels.  ATF then planned to use the large number of guns sold as leverage to institute "Demand Letter 3", which would place strict regulations over the purchase of said long guns.  According to emails, the fact that many of the guns made it over the border and were responsible for hundreds of deaths was seen as justification for their planned regulation.  And now they're doing everything they can to cover it up.

The ATF forced gun dealers to sell enormous quantities of guns to extremely shady people and then wanted to use the fact that gun dealers sell enormous quantities of guns to extremely shady people in order to enact stricter regulations.  That's like demanding Chevy remove the exhaust filters from all the new Corvettes, then instituting new EPA regulations outlawing or restricting new sports car sales due to the environmental impact of the exhaust system.  And now they're wide-eyed and saying they've never heard of such a thing as a 'sports car' before.  Quite a racket.

To put not too fine a point on it, our government knowingly and willingly sold guns to Mexican drug cartels, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people, in order to push for more gun control laws.  And now they are doing everything they can to cover it up.  Which is why Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt of congress this week.

If stricter gun regulation wasn't the goal as democrats are arguing, then what was?  It wasn't about tracking how guns get to, say, the Sinaloa drug cartel, because agents were told not to track the weapons.  It obviously wasn't to help the Mexican government with their cartel problems, because if that were the case, wouldn't we have let them in on the operation?  Perhaps rooting out drug lords on this side of the border was the goal, but unfortunately the drug lords in question were already in the employ of or under surveillence by the FBI and the DEA.  So if not those reasons, then why? 

As for the claim that this is being politicized, that's an absolute fact.  Democrats and their supporters have made it political by refusing to see the facts in front of them in favor of blind party loyalty to a fellow democrat.  They should be ashamed.

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IT'S TIME TO GET FURIOUS

OBAMACARE UPHELD

The mandate has survived.  Except now, it's being called what it has always been but was not allowed to be named - a tax.  Technically, since no one has been taxed yet, it stands - but that's not to say once the tax kicks in it won't be challeneged in the courts all over again.  This is a big win for democrats in the short term, but long term, this decision might well end up favoring Mitt Romney even more.

The House of Representatives have announced a repeal vote for July 11th.  A wasted effort that will not get to the floor of the Senate as long as Harry Reid is in charge, but the optics of continuing the fight should rally the base a bit.  It will also remind them of the importance of the twenty-four democratic senate seats up for reelection in the fall.  Obamacare has now officially become a major campaign issue.


First and foremost, Romney can now spend the next four months running on repealing Obamacare.  After all, you can't get rid of Obamacare unless you get rid of Obama, right?  Not only will this decision fire up the base enormously but, considering 54% of Americans want the law repealed, it's a good bet that more than the base will be voting on this issue.  Obama has to hope the 39% who support the law are far more motivated to get to the ballot box than the 54% who oppose it. 

While the ruling is a bit complicated, at least there is some much-needed clarification on one major question.  It's finally official - the mandate is a tax, according to the Court.  This is pretty big, because for the three years this has been an issue, democrats have been saying that the mandate is most definitely not a tax.  After all, who wants to be known as the party that raised taxes in a recession (or depression, if you're talking to VP Biden)?  Well, it's official - taxes they are, and up they're going.  There are more than twenty new or increased taxes in Obamacare, and eight of them will be hitting those making under $250,000 per year.  If Romney's team has their ducks in a row, they will hit this fact hard and often on the campaign trail. 

This law raises taxes by more than $400 billion over the next ten years and guts Medicare by $500 billion.  Everyone is getting taxed, including, insanely enough, the federal government.  It has been now confirmed by the Court that the cost to businesses of hiring employees is going to go up substantially.  The question now is, how long before these things start really affecting employment and the economy?  Who better to talk about the impact of a 3.8% increase in the capital gains tax rate than a businessman who knows from his many years in the business sector the real effect that one tax alone will have on the economy and jobs?

In fact, making the taxes in Obamacare a centerpiece of his campaign is imperative.  After all, hardly anyone has read the damn thing, so the public probably has no idea how many taxes there are or whom they will affect.  There should be a page on his website dedicated to the tax increases, and he should be hammering the issue on the stump. .

For those on the right who are angry with Chief Justice John Roberts, here is a little nugget that might take some of the sting away.  According to RedState's Erick Erickson, because Roberts has now deemed the mandate to be a tax, democrats will not be able to filibuster its repeal due to the sneaky reconciliation process used to pass it in the first place.  Republicans only need to take four Senate seats from democrats to take the majority, and there are more than twenty up for grabs.  With President Romney installed in the White House, Obamacare could conceivably be a thing of the past by February.  Worst case scenario: even if Obama retains the White House, taxation is solely the purview of the House, and the Republican majority could take a page from Obama's book by just...refusing to enforce it.  No revenue means no implimentation.  Precedence can be a bitch sometimes, eh liberals?

Speaking of precedence, the main thought that has been running through my mind on this decision is the predecence that has now been set.  Even if the law is repealed, the camel's nose is now firmly under the tent and Americans can now be taxed for not just what they consume, but also what they don't.  The implications of this decision will be far reaching.  What power doesn't Congress have over the people it's supposed to serve?

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OBAMACARE UPHELD

FUN WITH CHEESEHEADS

Big fun today!  The chaotic disarray of the democratic machine is quite a sight to see, isn't it?  In case you've been living under a rock, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker won his recall election last night.  Handily.  I'm not quite sure what's sweeter - the fact that he won, or that he won by a larger margin that when he was initially elected governor in 2010.  Mmmm, sweet like candy!

It looks like the taxpayers finally have a seat at the bargaining table in Wisconsin.  It's about time.

My favorite quote of the night comes courtesy of Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch:

"This is what democracy looks like!"

Running a close second is Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal with this little gem:

“A lot of people thought it would be a late night in Wisconsin. I think it’s going to be a late night in Chicago.”

To quote the vernacular: Tru'dat!

How disconcerted are democrats?  Well, David Axelrod had a rather puzzling tweet on the subject:

"Bad night in Boston....WI raises big questions for Mitt"

In case you're confused, he isn't talking about Walkers reelection, he's talking about exit polling that shows President Obama over Mitt Romney, 51-45%.  A six-point lead is nice, right?  Perhaps Mr. Axelrod missed this from the Chicago Tribune article he referenced in his tweet (emphasis mine):

Wisconsin voters in Tuesday’s recall election seem ideologically fairly similar to those in 2010 – more heavily conservative than in the 2008 presidential election, but inclined to reelect President Obama nonetheless, according to early, partial exit poll results.

It's that "more heavily conservative" bit that is the sticking point.  Heavily, huh?  Ouch.  While a six-point lead sure is nifty, it isn't nearly as nice as the extra-spiffy fourteen point spread he enjoyed against McCain in 2008.  An eight point drop isn't anything to brag about, Dave.  Especially in ultra-blue Wisconsin.  He might have missed that bit about 'more heavily conservative', though. It was waaaay down in the...first sentence of the article.  I'd hazard a guess that the Romney camp was pretty happy with last night's outcome, and that his perfectly coiffed head slept soundly on its luxury 1000 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets, most likely dreaming up ways to make Wisconsin even more competitive in the future.

The defeat has hit union supporters hard, to say the least.  Last night Mayor Barrett was meeting and greeting supporters after he had called Gov. Walker to concede and found out just how hard - literally - when he was soundly slapped by a distraught...er, supporter (via Mediaite):



Well, at least she asked first, right?

President Obama has piped in as well.  He's sincerely hoping that Gov. Walker got the strong message the unions sent with the recall. 

Oy.

Hopefully President Obama will eventually get the strong messages the American taxpayers have been sending him for the past three years, starting with Scott Brown.  The attempt at getting the message received really hit its stride with the historic 2010 democratic defeats - not to mention loss after democratic loss in Wisconsin alone over the past year of recall mania.  And all of it (at least for now) culminating with Scott Walker's enthusiastic reconfirmation.  I'm not going to hold my breath on a presidential epiphany.  In fact, I'm rather hoping he won't have one until he receives one more message on Nov. 6th.

There will be a lot of moaning - crying, even - over the "stealing" of the election by the eeeevil corporations and their dirty, nasty millions.  Perhaps the unions would have had more in their war chest if the DNC had had more faith in their cause and candidate and had actually given money instead of moral support to help the election as the RNC did.  

On a side note, funny how blockbuster campaign  contributions - including out of state money - are a sign of universal support when its for Obama and democrats, but a sign of the coming zombie apocalypse for anyone with an 'R' after their name.

The big question now is whether the bitterness can be shed and relationships repaired.  As a parent, whenever I have to strongly rebuke one of my children, I know that sometimes there will be a certain amount of anger, resentment, and maybe even a temper tantrum or two.  But I also know that eventually they will get over it and life returns to a well-behaved, amiable normal.  Unfortunately some children are either not that bright, self destructive, or a combination of the two and fight on far longer than is wise, not caring that they are damaging themselves and others along the way. Let's hope the union hierarchy, whose fifteen month tantrum has cost the state of Wisconsin somewhere in the neighborhood of $16 million, will wise up soon.  Continuing the bad behavior of the past year will only damage the image of the unions further.  Considering they have already lost in excess of half their dues-paying membership since the reforms were put in place, they certainly can't afford to alienate anyone else.

It's time to concede and move on.  I would counsel conservatives to not spike the ball on this too much (never mind that I've written a whole post that is pure ball spiking!), as we don't want to give cause to extend the epic pout we are in for over the next few days.  But considering some of these people are fine with slapping their own candidates, I see no reason why we can't slap each other on the back a bit for a job well done (happy dances optional)!

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FUN WITH CHEESEHEADS