United Liberty

While President Barack Obama’s speech on Tuesday night was meant to settle down Americans and pitch his job killing cap-and-trade plan, but all that was demonstrated is that he has no idea what he is going to do:

The problem for Obama – 58 days into the biggest test of leadership he’s yet faced as president – is that the oil is still gushing, Gulf leaders are still grousing and the Senate is still deadlocked over climate change legislation.

Even a great speech wouldn’t have changed all that – and this wasn’t one of Obama’s best speeches.

While his rhetoric was commanding and decisive – some administration aides billed the speech as “turning the page” — it wasn’t entirely clear where Obama would go from here to achieve this “national mission.”

Missing from the speech was any specific commitment to a bill regulating carbon emissions, which many environmentalists and some Senate Democrats wanted. Nor did he articulate a strategy for jump-starting the moribund Kerry-Lieberman climate bill, an omission that earned him instant criticism on the left, including a roasting by MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews.

“I thought it was a great speech — if you’ve been on another planet for the last 57 days,” Olbermann quipped.

“Is there a specific direction we’re going in? He didn’t even tell us,” added Matthews.

You’re probably shocked to hear this, but the political powerhouse we know as Alvin Greene (D) is trailing Sen. Jim DeMint (R), according to a survey from Rasmussen.

General Election: Jim DeMint v. Alvin Greene

• DeMint: 58%
• Greene: 21%
• Other: 9%
• Not sure: 13%

DeMint probably had no reason to be worried as he is viewed “very favorably” by 32% of voters, and “very unfavorably” by 9%. Not to mention the fact that South Carolina is a solid Republican state.

What remains to be seen is whether Greene will be on the ballot in November now that his primary opponent, Vic Rawl, is contesting the election results. Rawl was viewed as the heavy favorite going into the primary.

“[Y]ou have your own secret military programs that go beyond even what Bush was doing. You didn’t think we’d find out?! You stumble in late at night. We’re not blind. You stumble in late at night, reeking of power - little traces of classified on your collar.” - Jon Stewart

On Tuesday night, Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show, lit into President Barack Obama for not living up to campaign promises of turning back abuses of civil liberties under the Bush Administration and reigning in executive power.

Stewart specifically slammed Obama on refusing to let foreign detainees have their day in court (suspending habeas rights), expanding secret wars, maintaining the “state secrets” policy of the last administration, questioning whether or not to read Americans their Miranda rights and prosecuting whistleblowers.

Here is the clip. It’s over 8 minutes, but it’s worth watching:

“Nothing but good can result from an exchange of information and opinions between those whose circumstances and morals admit no doubt of the integrity of their views.” - Thomas Jefferson

As you may know, President Barack Obama is pushing another “stimulus” bill for states, funded by more debt, to bail themselves out self-induced budget problems. Joshua Culling, State Affairs Manager at Americans for Tax Reform, argues against the idea:

One of the first signs that state governments would continue to look to D.C. to solve their self-imposed crises in early January, when California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed a state budget that included $6.9 billion in one-time federal money, a number that the governor pulled out of thin air. This was a clear indication of the terrible precedent set by last year’s stimulus package: that states would remain unaccountable for their own fiscal recklessness. With a president and Congress so enamored with the power the federal government, “emergency” bailouts are now the norm.

In a great article at the Wall Street Journal, Peter Robinson reminds conservatives and Republicans that Ronald Reagan welcomed immigrants, including illegals, to the United States:

In 1986, Reagan signed legislation granting amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. Instead of denouncing the undocumented, Reagan invited them to become citizens. If Reagan was right then, isn’t Sen. McCain wrong now? To attempt an answer, I’ve listed what we know for certain about my old boss and immigration. Then I’ve done my best to figure out what each item tells us about where Reagan would have stood on the issue today.

What we know for certain, item one: Ronald Reagan was no kind of nativist. In a 1977 radio talk, for instance, Reagan dismissed “the illegal alien fuss,” arguing that we need immigrant labor. “One thing is certain in this hungry world,” he said. “No regulation or law should be allowed if it results in crops rotting in the fields for lack of harvesters.”

Reagan’s attitude toward the growing Hispanic influence in American life? When announcing his bid for the White House in 1979 he asserted plainly, “I favor statehood for Puerto Rico”—scarcely the position of an Anglo chauvinist. And Reagan again and again declared that a basic, even radical, openness to immigration represents a defining aspect of our national identity. Describing America as “a shining city” in his 1989 farewell address, for example, he said, “[a]nd if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here.”

Grover Norquist has joined GOProud, a group representing gay conservatives, in an advisory role, according to Dave Weigel:

Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, has joined the advisory council of GOProud, the gay Republican group that recently — and unfortunately — drew attention when it was alternately derided and defended from the stage of CPAC. (The most notable critic, California activist Ryan Sorba, has unsuccessfully challenged GOP advisory board leader Tammy Bruce to a debate.)

In a statement going out later Tuesday, Norquist calls the group “an important part of the conservative movement.” No surprise there. Norquist has always made common cause with almost anyone on the right who’s fiscally conservative; his Wednesday meetings of the movement include representatives of social conservative groups who are at loggerheads with GOProud. Here you’ve got the fledgling gay group winning another seat at the table, and a leader of the conservative movement pulling the chair out for them.

Someone may want to check on Tax Hike Mike Huckabee. His head may have exploded.

Like I’ve frequently said and written…this next generation of voters, even the conservatives, lean libertarian on social issues. Norquist realizes that. Many others will privately admit to it, but still engage in authoritarian crusades.

If Republicans are serious about engaging younger voters, they need to focus more on fiscal issues and much, much less on social issues.

The National Rifle Association has sold out on the DISCLOSE Act, which is aimed at curbing the impact of the Citizens United decision:

Bowing to pressure from the National Rifle Association, House Democrats agreed Monday to exempt the powerful gun owners’ lobby from key portions of legislation imposing new disclosure requirements on campaign advertising and other political activity.

The legislation is designed to roll back a recent Supreme Court ruling and generally requires organizations to disclose their top donors if they sponsor political television commercials or pay for mass mailings in the months leading to an election.

Democratic attempts to bring the measure to the floor faltered last month when the NRA objected, and hurried negotiations on a compromise resulted.

Under a change negotiated over the weekend, the NRA would be exempt based on its length in existence, size of membership and other factors — a concession demanded by the powerful lobby and sought by Democratic allies in the House led by Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C. Other organizations meeting the same set of criteria would also be exempt, but officials said late Monday they were not immediately able to name any.

Democratic aides said the leadership hoped the revised legislation could be brought to a vote before the end of the week.

“The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.” - Thomas Jefferson