United Liberty

In a recent interview on Fox Business, Gene Simmons, bass player and singer of KISS, and Jacob Hornberger from the Future of Freedom Foundation, called for an end to the Federal Reserve and privatization of Social Security.

Here is the video:

Over at Politics Daily, Matt Lewis notes that the politicians having the most trouble in primaries this year are appropriators, members of Congress that control the pursue strings:

Now that Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski has conceded, she has become the latest victim of a growing trend: Appropriations Committee members who have lost this year.

Once thought of as a powerful committee for members wanting to “bring home the bacon,” in today’s political environment sitting on an appropriations panel seems to be an albatross.
“Earmarking is a corrupt practice, plain and simple,” says Andy Roth, a vice president at the conservative Club for Growth. “Voters understand that, but insecure politicians do not. And that’s why the old adage that pork buys you votes doesn’t work. It costs you votes.”

Earlier this year, Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, who also sits on the committee, lost her primary challenge to Gov. Rick Perry. Perry’s strategy was to run against Washington spending — and it worked.

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) has not given up hope of passing an energy bill this year, likely in a lame-duck session, even though cap-and-trade is dead:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday a nationwide renewable-electricity standard, or RES, is “absolutely” in the mix as he tries to salvage energy legislation this year — possibly in a lame-duck session.

Before the August recess, Reid said he doubted an RES — which would require utilities to provide escalating amounts of power from sources like wind and solar energy — could win 60 votes. It was left on the cutting-room floor when Reid unveiled a modest energy bill in late July.

But Reid told reporters on a conference call Tuesday the energy bill is still a work in progress and cited two Republicans who have expressed interest in an RES. He did not name them.

Renewable energy, such as wind, isn’t not necessarily cost-effective, though I’m sure it appeals to rent-seeking businesses and allows Democrats to play like they are creating “green” jobs.

Speaking of Harry Reid, his opponent, Sharron Angle, is out with a new ad that deserves a watch. It’s being called a “game changer” by the National Journal:

Earlier this week, I told you about a poll from Rasmussen showing Republicans leading Democrats on 10 major issues ranging from the economy to health care and national security to Social Security.

Gallup came out with a similar poll yesterday showing the GOP leading in seven out of nine issues important to voters. Democrats are statistically tied with Republicans on health care and corruption in government. The only issue they are running away on is the environment.

Here is a look at the poll:

Voters rank the economy and jobs as the most important issues, which the GOP has to hammer home in the coming months to do what they need to do to win. Other issues, such as Afghanistan, the environment and immigration are not as important to voters, according to the Gallup survey.

Last month, Missouri had the opportunity to weigh in on ObamaCare as 71% of primary voters cast ballots in favor of Proposition C, a referendum rejecting the individual mandate, a centerpiece of the “health care reform” law.

A similar ballot measure, Amendment 63 or the “Right to Health Care Choice” amendment, will be on the ballot in Colorado this fall. If passed, this amendment would make it unconstitutional for the state government to force individuals to purchase health insurance and asserting the Tenth Amendment and federalism against the individual mandate of ObamaCare.

And in Minnesota, Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican assumed to have presidential aspirations, is doing what he can to stop ObamaCare:

Pawlenty, R-Minn., today signed an executive order forbidding his state’s agencies for applying for new grant programs made available under President Obama’s health care law.

Pawlenty said he has identified some 15 categories where he believes the new law would conflict with Minnesota policies, including a new sex education program, where the governor rejected an $850,000 grant yesterday.

In a farewell speech given yesterday, Christina Romer said that the United States averted a depression thanks to actions taken by the Obama Administration:

Christina Romer, the departing chairman of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, is to say in a farewell speech today that the administration’s responses to the economic crisis it inherited averted “a second Great Depression” and kindled a slow recovery, according to excerpts released on Wednesday morning by the White House.

Ms. Romer’s last day as a member of Mr. Obama’s economic team, and its only leading woman, is Friday, which coincides with the release of unemployment figures for August that are expected to show joblessness still hovering above 9 percent. And she returns to California in a campaign season in which Republicans insist, and many voters believe, that administration policies have failed, despite nonpartisan analyses to the contrary.
[…]
“I am proud of the recovery actions we have taken. I believe they have made the difference between a second Great Depression and a slow but genuine recovery,” Ms. Romer will say, according to her speech draft. “And the passage of health care reform and financial regulatory reform are accomplishments that will be with us long after the recession is over.”

As the Wall Street Journal noted back in July, there is no way to know what would have happened without the bilions upon billions of “stimulus” dollars pumped into the economy, which haven’t done much other than drive up budget deficits:

On Tuesday evening, President Barack Obama delivered an address to the American people telling us that combat operations in Iraq had come to an end, though the speech also gave him an opportunity to talk about the economy.

In case you missed it, here it is:

I know you’re not shocked to learn that we still have a vast presence in Iraq as some 50,000 “advisors” (ie. troops) remain in the country to assist the Iraqi government and they are still in danger, as President Obama said. But not every thing he said was accurate as the Associated Press pointed out in a fact check after the speech:

The folks over at the Heritage Foundation are having some fun with the Obama Administration’s “Summer of Recovery” tour:

As the summer begins to wind down, many are beginning to take a second look at the grandiose promises made by the Administration about this summer before its start. While this “Recovery Summer” was lauded as the must-see event of the summer, the reality failed to match the rhetoric.[…]

[T]he entire proposition was doomed from the start. Plans planted in flawed Keynesian economics will not bear any fruit. Our latest video exposes this failure, highlighting the Administration’s continued attempt to pass off failed economic policies as successes.

The government is not a reliable engine of economic growth. That engine has historically been—and will continue to be—the private sector.

Here is the video:

Rep. Joe Sestak, a candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, and Sen. Blanche Lincoln aren’t the only Democrat playing games with earmarks. Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) is ignoring the rules of the Senate Appropriations Committee and pretty much doing whatever he wants when it comes to disclosure of his earmark requests, according to Washington Watch:

Take a look at Senator Bingaman’s earmark requests [ugly PDF image] for the Energy & Water appropriations bill. It’s a day-late, dollar-short disaster! (Bingaman’s disclosures for other approps bills are collected here.)

Take one funding request, identified only as “Central NM 593.”

The location of the project is “Bernalillo, Valencia, and SandovaNM1 [sic] Counties.”

Its purpose and benefit to taxpayers? Just two words: “Water Supply.”

Nowhere does Senator Bingaman say who will receive the money. It’s something taxpayers might like to know, and the Senate Appropriations Committee requires its disclosure.

Based on that justification, Senator Bingaman got a million dollar payout. A million dollars for a two word justification!

Senator Bingaman’s disclosure for the Energy & Water approps bill is just three pages long. Three pages cover 65 earmark requests, adding up to over half a billion dollars (—and eight percent of something…). Can a half-billion dollars in spending be justified in under three pages?

Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) is encouraging the tea party movement to take a skeptical eye to foreign policy in the same manner that they have with bailouts, ObamaCare and stimulus spending:

As many frustrated Americans who have joined the Tea Party realize, we cannot stand against big government at home while supporting it abroad. We cannot talk about fiscal responsibility while spending trillions on occupying and bullying the rest of the world. We cannot talk about the budget deficit and spiraling domestic spending without looking at the costs of maintaining an American empire of more than 700 military bases in more than 120 foreign countries. We cannot pat ourselves on the back for cutting a few thousand dollars from a nature preserve or an inner-city swimming pool at home while turning a blind eye to a Pentagon budget that nearly equals those of the rest of the world combined.

Our foreign policy is based on an illusion: that we are actually paying for it. What we are doing is borrowing and printing money to maintain our presence overseas. Americans are seeing the cost of this irresponsible approach as their own communities crumble and our economic decline continues.

According to Dr. Paul, the United States spends over $1 trillion each year on foreign policy, a claim that has been independently verified. Such is the high price of American hubris.