“Sugar, rum and tobacco are commodities which are nowhere necessaries of life, which are become objects of almost universal consumption, and which are therefore extremely proper subjects of taxation.”
- Adam Smith, "The Wealth of Nations" 1776
A tax on soda (and other sugary drinks) doesn't seem like a big deal. In a lot of ways, it isn't, but it brings up some larger points worth discussing.
But first, why are Senators considering a tax on soda? The simple answer is that our government needs more money for their spending habits. The more complicated answer (in addition to the simple one) is that drinking soda leads to obesity and other health problems, like diabetes. These health problems end up hurting the rest of society - not just soda drinkers - because taxpayers cover the health bill of many Americans through Medicaid and Medicare.
President Obama announced his choice for Ambassador to China today: Jon Huntsman, Utah's Republican Governor. This apparent sign of bi-partisanship could also be a strategic move on the Democratic President's part.
David Plouffe, Obama's 2008 campaign manager, said the moderate GOP governor is "the one person in that party who might be a potential presidential candidate... he seems to understand the party has to adjust - not stubbornly believe that everything is OK and it is the country that has to adjust."
Bono might be doing more harm than good for Africa. Wait, you say. Isn't he helping to raise money for African aid? Exactly.
According to Dambisa Moyo, author of Dead Aid, these acts of aid are the problem.
Moyo is an African economist on a mission to stop aid to African governments. She claims foreign assistance to Africa actually makes her home continent poorer and more conflict-prone. While many would disagree with this, if the proof of the pudding is in the eating, then Moyo has a pretty strong point.
Mike Huckabee sure didn't disappear. After his defeat in the Republican primary, he started HuckPAC and even got his own show on FOX. It's a likely bet his name will be back in the hat for 2012.
He wrote an article for the Washington Post today, talking about the need for Republicans to get back to conservatism... and not just in theory, but in practice.
"Enough already of the hand-wringing and night sweats about the demise of the conservative movement! Conservatives aren't challenged because of the basic principles that define us, but by the failure of the principles being translated into policy and practice. The crisis is not one over the precepts, but the practice. It's not that we've failed in our doctrine, but our 'doing.'"
Last week we talked about Obama's scary budget proposal. But why is it scary? Why is having more government spending and programs a bad idea?
William Easterly, in his book The Elusive Quest for Growth, paints a clear picture:
"In an economy with many government interventions, skilled people opt for activities that redistribute income rather than activities that create growth."
You might have noticed a funny little thing happening lately: everyone thinks they have a legitimate claim to government money. Lobbyists have never been happier as their phones are ringing off the hook. But what are the long term consequences of this?
What is conservatism? That's a question we've sought to answer before here at The Relevant Elephant. And now, a new book has been written trying to answer the same question. It was penned by a fellow young conservative... a really young conservative.
Jonathan Krohn is the 13-year-old author of Define Conservatism. The book was released last fall, and it earned him a speaking spot at the recent conservative convention called CPAC. Here is his two-minute speech:
Obama recently presented his 2010 budget, and a lot of Americans are having sticker shock. From an economic standpoint, his budget does have a couple good ideas in it, such as cutting some subsidies to farmers. But after that, it gets a little scary.
This budget provides the clearest picture yet of what Obama really wants to do: expand government and redistribute wealth. Even the New York Times calls the budget a “pronounced move to redistribute wealth”.
Bobby Jindal delivered the Republican response to President Obama's speech tonight. We couldn't have picked a better person to represent this new era of conservatism. Although the Governor of Louisiana has some room to grow with his oratorical skills, it was a clear representation of conservatism and set the right tone for the party.
Jindal said that, "In the end, it comes down to an honest and fundamental disagreement about the proper role of government. We oppose the national Democratic view that says the way to strengthen our country is to increase dependence on government. We believe the way to strengthen our country is to restrain spending in Washington, to empower individuals and small businesses to grow our economy and create jobs."
Aaron Schock is currently the youngest member in Congress. What might be surprising, given the current woes of the Republican Party reaching out to young voters, is that he's a Republican. And thankfully, he's a very articulate and likable one.
The 27-year-old has been in the news lately for standing up under the pressure of Obama's charisma... and offers of trips on Air Force One. Our new President flew Schock to his hometown of Peoria, IL, for his speech to workers at Caterpillar. Obama was trying to gain support for the recently-passed stimulus bill, and he was hoping Schock would be pressured into casting a "Yea". He wasn't.
Schock isn't completely new to national attention, though. In September, he took the stage for a couple minutes (literally) at the Republican National Convention.
The face of the Republican Party to college students got a bit of a facelift today: the College Republicans updated their website. There are a couple things about the new site we liked, such as the Twitter feature. But beyond that, we honestly weren't blown away. The design is sub-par, to put it nicely.
One user was a bit more blunt when using the new Twitter feature to say, "wow crnc.org fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down."
Now design isn't everything... but it is something. Obama wouldn't have been as popular as he was if his website had also looked like it was designed in 1998.
Our goal isn't to put the College Republicans down; they do a lot of great stuff. But we do want to help them by being truthful. If they want to be appeal to young voters, they have to improve the quality of their marketing.
Do Republicans care for the poor? It's a fair question to ask. Unfortunately, the response for too many young voters is "No." This has caused many young evangelicals to flock to Obama and the Democratic party.
One of the leaders of this exodus is Chris LaTondresse, creator of RecoveringEvangelical.com. This son of evangelical missionaries says the reason he, along with many others, made the switch is because their faith speaks about more than gay marriage and abortion.
In case you missed it, Michael Steele became the new RNC Chairman last week. He said in his acceptance speech that "it's time for something completely different." He wasn't joking.
Yesterday, Steele gave legs to his rhetoric by asking the 100 staff members at the RNC to resign. He has certainly wasted no time in bringing change to the Republican Party.
So what do you think? Was Steele the right choice? Was getting rid of all RNC staffers a smart move?
You can read more about Steele cleaning house here.
This little gem comes from our friends at Post Secret. We're guessing many on the left are having similar bouts of depression. On the flip side, though, many Republicans are likely realizing the benefits of being in the minority.
Democrats are now the ones who are responsible for our government; they are expected to have the right ideas and policies... the magic elixirs, if you will. While this temporary relief is refreshing, Republicans can't stay in the minority for long. The future of our country depends on it.
Even though our ideas aren't the ones being passed in Congress right now (unless you consider a $700 billion reformed stimulus package a Republican idea), it's important we're still developing them. The country will probably be looking to Republicans once again in a few years. We better be ready.
President Obama recently said that we all need to show the same spirit and courage as the Founders of this great country. I’m glad to say that on this point, the President and I actually agree. I only hope he’ll follow his own advice.
Alexander the Great is said to have remarked that the reason the peoples of Asia had for so long been slaves was that they never learned how to say “no,” and in that story lies the soul of what made the Founders of this country so great. When writing what would become the Constitution of the United States and given the chance to seize total power for themselves, they said “no”.
We have a new president. This reality has set in for many of us after months of media-driven euphoria culminating in a historic inauguration. Now it's back to politics.
But before you get too carried away with questioning the policies of the new administration, your friends here at The Relevant Elephant have a friendly reminder: don't lose focus.
Remember that the Republican Party must become relevant once again to young voters. Until that happens, we'll be "wandering in the wilderness" for decades to come. So while it's natural to go negative on bad policies, try and focus on what we as conservatives must do to once again win the hearts and minds of young voters.
Upon the election of our new President, Barack Obama, many of my friends (even conservatives) encouraged me to give our new leader a chance. I agreed with that request. I did my best to believe (maybe out of naivety) that despite his record, I would give the chance of hope to our new President. Today, I must announce that I rescind that hope. The fact of the matter is that within days of taking office, President Obama has made dastardly executive orders that only prove his record as the most liberal United States Senator.
Obama signed a Presidential executive order today that lifts the ban (placed by the Bush administration) on overseas abortion funding. One day after the 36th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade court decision, the order will reverse the policy that “requires any non-governmental organization to agree before receiving U.S. funds that they will 'neither perform nor actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations.'”
January 19, 2009 by Chris VanLuven · Filed in:
Current Events
My grandfather, a pastor, has told me many times that leadership is a bloody nose and having both of your front teeth knocked out. Sometimes the saying varies and it’s a broken nose and black eye. But in the end, the essence of leadership is facing more persecution than praise, more anger than applause.
As I watched President Bush give his farewell address last Thursday night, I thought to myself, Now there’s a leader. Like the Greek boxer from an ancient Olympics, President Bush has taken such a beating that it is very likely his own dog doesn’t recognize him anymore.
Yet there he stood, addressing the nation for the final time, not lamenting over the hand he had been dealt, but standing by his decisions and thanking the American people for giving him the honor of serving as our president.
The focus within the Republican Party since the election has been on who the new RNC Chairman will be. Like we said previously, this is an important job. It's not the only one, though.
The Republican Party needs good leaders at all levels, including the state and grassroots levels. We need leaders that can communicate the benefits of conservatism. It is relevant, after all. We also need more young leaders in the party.
Young voters care about the environment. Republicans have made it seem like they don't. That's a shame because, as David Frum points out in the video below, protecting the environment has been strong part of the Republican past. It needs to be a part of the future.
This doesn't mean we should all run out and hug a tree (although they are lovely). It does mean we should be realistic in figuring out how we damage our environment and then look for market-based solutions to fix the problems.
The verdict is still out on who the new RNC chairman will be. While we don't know who it'll be, we do know how they would plan to attract young voters back to the Grand Ol' Party.
The candidates recently went through a round of debate as part of the selection process. During said debate, a question was asked: how can the GOP be more attractive to young voters?
This question was based on the statement that many within the party have said the young vote is important, yet few have laid out clear plans how to reach them.
This question is important; any re-birth of the Republican Party depends on it. So what did they say? You can watch the video below:
Liberals are personally stingy. A recent NY Times article by a self-proclaimed liberal bemoans the fact that conservatives give 30% more to charity than do liberals. Maybe this is why those leaning left are in favor of government handouts.
I'm sure this comes as a shock to liberals. They have given conservatives a label of not caring for the poor. That's wrong. We just think it's our responsibility as individuals and community members to help them.
As the new year starts, a major question remains: what is the future of the Republican Party? It might take several years to figure out. One of the first steps, though, is determining who will be the new RNC chairman.
While most of us never hear much about the RNC chairman, it's an important job. Six candidates have dropped their name in the hat, all with their own hopes and visions for the direction of the party. One of the six is current chairman, Mike Duncan, who is seeking a second term.
What do you think? Give Duncan another shot, or is it time for new blood?
To learn more about the election process, click here.
"A hero who has become the scandal of his generation, aware that he is a paradox that cannot be understood, cries undaunted to his contemporaries: 'The future will show I was right!'"
No, this is not a reference to our soon-to-be-former President George W. Bush (although it certainly applies). The quote dates back to 1843. Soren Kierkegaard, an influential philosopher, penned them in his seminal work, Fear & Trembling.
So, is Bush a misunderstood hero? Will the future prove him right? No one knows, especially when it comes to Iraq.
If you could secretly give Republican officials four suggestions, what would they be? Charlie Cook, from the National Journal, recently gave that opportunity to two leading political consultants. Here are their best thoughts, in our opinion:
1) The desire for change in the 2008 election was because of the damaged Republican brand, resulting from corruption scandals, high spending, and not addressing the problems people really care about.
As everyone knows, Democrats used this thing called the "Internet" a little better than Republicans in the past election. Rebuild the Party hopes to change that.
The group of conservatives behind the website have a plan to get the Republican Party back in the game, using new technologies to build a grassroots movement. While Rebuild the Party doesn't talk about strategy or the issues, it does address something very important: how the Republican Party communicates those issues. You can check it out here.
Over at Politico.com, they recently had a discussion on the question, "What's the most important first step Republicans should take on the road to recovery?" Below are several of our favorite responses.
Zach Wamp, Rep. (R-Tenn.): First steps should include laying out policies to bring about bipartisan compromises on major issues in the areas of energy, healthcare and the economy.
Since Sarah Palin lost her bid to become the first female VP, buzz of a 2012 presidential run has surrounded her. Buzz can be a good thing, especially if you're wanting to change your public image (and make some money off writing a book).
Despite recent losses, many conservatives are optimistic about the future. But not all. David Frum, a conservative columnist, thinks it a little too optimistic to predict a Republican return in 2010.
Frum gives four reasons why it will take longer, with his main reason being "the collapsed intellectual state of the party." You can read the entire article here and see if you agree.
The next Republican presidential candidate will likely be a current governor. That much is clear. What's unclear is which governor it will be. Many think, and hope, it will be Bobby Jindal from Louisiana.
Mr. Jindal, a 37 year-old Indian American, recently told fellow governors that Republicans have failed to inspire. "We should stand for the American dream," he said. He went on to blame Republicans in Washington for cutting taxes without cutting spending, and for not providing solutions to problems.
Today's Economist has an interesting article, "Ship of fools," about why Republicans lost the election. The author is a little harsh and doesn't mince words - as you can probably tell from the title - but his basic point is sadly accurate.
"There are any number of reasons for the Republican Party’s defeat on November 4th. But high on the list is the fact that the party lost the battle for brains... Republicanism’s anti-intellectual turn is devastating for its future. The party’s electoral success from 1980 onwards was driven by its ability to link brains with brawn. The conservative intelligentsia not only helped to craft a message that resonated with working-class Democrats, a message that emphasized entrepreneurialism, law and order, and American pride. It also provided the party with a sweeping policy agenda. The party’s loss of brains leaves it rudderless, without a compelling agenda."
President Bush gave a great speech today (haven't heard that one lately) about our current financial crisis. His main points were along the lines of what we previously mentioned here.
The Party must become relevant to a majority of Americans once again. This means actually making an effort to reach young voters and addressing the problems facing the middle class. Our answers don't resonate with people anymore because they're solutions for old problems. Conservatives fixed the problems they set out to conquer at the outset of the Reagan Revolution, and the results of that can be seen in our country's overall prosperity in the last 28 years.
And yet, there is still more work to be done. We must apply conservative principles to a new set of problems, such as health care, energy, the environment, social security, and international development.
"It is not a mandate for a party or ideology, but a mandate for change." -Harry Reid, senate majority leader
Obama will have to remember this: he won because he represents change, not because the majority of Americans agree with his policies. This is going to make it very difficult for Obama once he actually has to start making policy.
Come on, admit it: Obama's acceptance speech was pretty awesome. Whether or not you voted for him, it was an amazing moment in American history. We have a lot to be proud of as a nation.
The reason we found it inspiring—historical significance aside—was that Obama's speech was laced with beautiful, patriotic rhetoric espousing conservative principles:
Americans are known for one quality above all others...our willpower. When we look at our history, time and again we see the amazing feats we’ve accomplished through an iron will and a steely determination. When the French, defeated by the heat and malaria of the Panamanian jungle, gave up on constructing a canal through Panama, it was America that stepped in and made the seemingly impossible dream of the Panama Canal a reality. After World War II, it was American treasure that poured into Europe. Both friends and foes received our help after the devastation of war. History abounds with these and other examples, as time and again America’s will and determination has been called upon, and time and again it’s answered the call.
But occasionally that great American will is subverted by our own leaders. The last to do so was Jimmy Carter. Carter let America’s enemies advance with little opposition, abandoned our allies and openly contemplated whether our best years were behind us. With his weakness of spirit rubbing off on the rest of the country, it was little wonder America was mired in what Carter called a “crisis of confidence.”
With the election upon us, we conclude our series on Obama's 'Chump Change'. Today, it's his change with foreign policy we have our doubts about.
Obama Change: Pull out all troops from Iraq in 16 months and meet with rogue dictators without preconditions.
Chump Change: Leave Iraq and the entire Middle East in a state of chaos by pulling out troops too quickly and make a huge diplomatic mistake by meeting with rogue leaders without preconditions.
If history has taught us anything, it’s that countries in turmoil are great at rebuilding themselves. For example, Germany after World War I.
It's not all gloom and doom for the Rust Belt these days. In fact, this NY Times article shows how the best days might be ahead for states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Iowa.
Three thoughts (that just so happen to be ones we've been saying here at The Relevant Elephant) stood out while reading this article:
After almost two years of hearing about 'Change' from Senator Obama, many are still wondering what exactly this 'Change' will be.
In case you've missed the past couple days, we've been having a little fun by intepreting what we think is actually 'Chump Change'. Today, it's his change, or lack thereof, with Social Security that we call into question.
Obama Change: Keep Social Security as it is and don’t allow it to be privatized.
Chump Change: Maintain a failed program when privatizing it would give twentysomethings more options with saving for retirement.
When Obama ironically fails to change our bankrupt system, he is forced to swap retirees’ monthly checks with coupons good for one Hot-n-Ready from Little Ceasar’s.
"Change, it turns out, wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. Barack Obama is discovering that there is quite a bit he likes about the way things are." - Gerald Baker, Times Online
Although Obama is appealing and has a good message of unity and hope, the change he wants to bring has no significant value – it’s Chump Change. It's actually regressive, not progressive.
That's why over the next five days leading up to the election, we'll be sharing with you some of Obama's 'Chump Change'. Today, it's health care.
It's nice to see people are learning a thing or two from us... especially if they're Harvard economists.
We probably can't take all of the credit, but here is a great NY Times article talking about our need for better financial regulation, not more. It makes three great points:
- We need a new regulatory structure that makes our market work better.
- Good regulation makes sure investors can get their money back.
- When making new regulations, our lawmakers shouldn't do it with a sense of vengeance but with a rational approach to make our markets work best.
It goes on to explain more about how we could set up this "better regulation," but you'll just have to read it for yourself. Some of it might be controversial, so let us know your thoughts.
"I’m not optimistic about bringing about major redistributive change through the courts. You know, the institution just isn’t structured that way." - Barack Obama
If you think we've been a little hard on Barack Obama lately, you're probably right. It's because his economic worldview continues to be drawn into question with little more than a week until the election. By now, we're all familiar with Barack's conversation with "Joe the Plumber", where the democratic candidate advocated "spreading the wealth around".
Barack Obama says he's for the middle class. What's one of the best ways to help them? Create more jobs.
According to this NY Times article, though, Obama's healthcare plan would do just the opposite. As part of his healthcare plan, Obama would raise taxes on businesses with uninsured employees in order to pay for his government-funded health insurance. While this might sound great in theory, the effects of such "play-or-pay" policies haven't had a great track record at the state level over the past two decades.
Fines on businesses would cause them to either hire less people or keep employee wages low, which doesn't benefit anyone. Obama's campaign said they "decided not to decide on" the amount of the fine, but studies estimate it would cost 6 percent of a company's payroll. What does that mean? According to researchers at Harvard and the University of Michigan, 224,000 workers would be laid off as a result.
Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister before World War II, was the Bill Buckner of 20th century politics. Buckner cost the Red Sox the ‘86 World Series by letting a routine groundball roll between his legs. Chamberlain’s error was just as avoidable but far more costly. In 1938, Chamberlain broke his promise to protect Czechoslovakia and gave away part of that country to Adolf Hitler to appease the dictator and secure peace. Encouraged by Chamberlain’s weakness, Hitler broke the agreement and took the rest of Czechoslovakia.
At a glance Chamberlain and Barack Obama couldn’t be more different. Chamberlain was nearing seventy when he served as Prime Minister, the son of a prime minister, and in many respects epitomized the British aristocracy. Who could be so foolish as to compare the inspiring, rags-to-riches political saga of Barack Obama with Chamberlain, one of history’s greatest failures?
There are more slaves today than ever before in human history. This slave trade is worth $32 billion a year - more than what Nike, Google, and Starbucks make combined. Human trafficking (which is a nice way of saying slavery) involves victims who are forced, defrauded, or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation.
If you're like most Americans, it seems impossible this is still happening. It also makes you wonder why you haven't heard more about it.
Thankfully, the Republican Party has a plan in their 2008 Platform to fight human trafficking: "We advocate the establishment of an Inter-Agency Task Force on Human Trafficking, reporting directly to the President, and call for increased diplomatic efforts with foreign governments that have been negligent toward this evil."
As with most issues, we shouldn't just look to our government to solve the problem. That's where nonprofit organizations and individuals come in. One way to fight slavery is by creating awareness, which is just what the film Call + Response set out to do. Below is their (slightly graphic) trailer. Be sure and check out their website to see if the movie is playing in your city.
We have talked quite a bit about taxes lately as it's taken a more prominent role in the presidential election. In order to paint a picture of how our current tax breaks are not just for the wealthy, here is a simple illustration by an economics professor from Georgia.
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing. The fifth would pay $1. The sixth would pay $3. The seventh would pay $7. The eighth would pay $12. The ninth would pay $18. The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers,' he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.' Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
In 1970, we imported 24% of our oil. Today it's nearly 70% and growing.
T. Boone Pickens' advertisements have been all over television the past several months. If his name alone doesn't scream 'oil baron', his slow, Texas accent certainly does.
The Pickens Plan is clear: we must reduce our dependence on foreign oil. He's positioning the issue as a matter of national security ... and it is.
Why are you going to vote this year? If for no other reason, you should do it based off inspiration from this poster alone.
AIGA, the professional association for design, puts out a series of posters encouraging us to vote each election cycle. You can check out there entire collection here.
Obama's 'new kind of politics' is starting to resemble its predecessor: 'the old kind'. The airwaves have been bombarded recently with attack ads that mischaracterize McCain's health care plan.
To be fair, it's not like Senator McCain is winning any Congeniality awards in this campaign (as we well know: Maverick, etc.), but it's important to separate fact from fiction on this critical issue.
This article from the National Reveiw recently brought these false accusations to light, but here's a quick summary...
In elections, you always hear a lot about recent polls and how far someone is ahead. But how trustworthy are they? Well, if you've ever doubted their accuracy, here might be a solution: fivethirtyeight.com.
It's a website that looks at all the election polls around the country, places different weights on them based on historical accuracy, sample size, and how recent they are, and then produces the results. It's actually a little more complicated than that, but that's the gist of it.
The accuracy of their results in the primaries were unprecedented. You will definitely want to use this site throughout the election season.
Senator Obama has talked a lot about how he will lower taxes for 95% of Americans. And after we've heard him say it, we've heard him repeat it, slowly emphasizing "95%".
It's true that Obama is proposing a small tax break of $500 to $1,000 for many Americans (although not 95% as he claims since 45% of Americans don't have pay taxes). What's not small, though, is the harm that will be done to our economy if he raises two types of taxes: capital gains and dividend.
When you think of our failing economy, what comes to mind? Most likely (if you ever watch the news), you think about our slumping housing market and the stock market. That's why Obama's tax increases are simply not smart.
Aristotle had a unique outlook on life. He taught his students to live between extremes. In battle, for example, the extremes were cowardice and irrationality. Nothing was worse than cowardice, but a foolhardy rush to war with no consideration of the costs or risks wasn’t much better. Courage lay between the two.
Courage recognizes the fear that drives the coward to inaction but acts anyway; however, such action is marked by caution and sobriety rather than haste and foolish bravado. Thus courage fits neatly between (and is superior to) the two extremes.
I’m no Aristotle, but if I could be so bold, let me give you this piece of advice: live between panic and intellectualism. It’s a little place called common sense, which I urge us to live in because it’s going to see us through the dark economic days ahead.
Apparently so. This article shows the influence American politicians are having on the runways of Paris. Palin's now famous "hockey mom" hair-do was all the rage at Paris' Fashion Week.
Palin wasn't getting all of the attention, though. Obama is also a source of inspirtation...for a line of dresses.
Gov. Palin stopped the bleeding last night. She's bounced back from punch line status to legitimate Vice Presidential candidate. It looks like Tina Fey is back to her day job (aka 30 Rock).
Palin's interview with Katie Couric was a dark day for the GOP ticket—she stumbled over several questions which replayed repeatedly for the viewing public. If you watch CNN with any regularity, you've probably seen the clip a dozen times.
Certainly the media has been too critical of Palin, but that's not the most unfair part. It's hard to understand why our media literally makes fun of a Vice Presidential candidate for not having vast foreign policy experience. Since when was that a prerequisite?
Whether this is the first election you can vote in, or it's the first time you care enough to vote, the deadline for registering is almost here. It varies by state, but this list will tell you about yours. If you still need to register, visit Rock the Vote.
Also, don't forget to vote absentee if you won't be around on good ol' November 4. The process can sometimes take several weeks, so it's good to start early.
Lyndon Johnson was probably the best negotiator in U.S. political history. Known as “Master of the Senate” before becoming president, he was often able to get other Senators to do what he wanted. Perhaps his greatest feat in the Senate was getting civil rights legislation passed when Segregationists dominated his party.
As president, he even talked a justice of the Supreme Court into resigning to become ambassador to the United Nations.
There was one battle, however, Johnson couldn’t negotiate his way out of...the Vietnam War. Johnson felt sure that if he could just sit down with Ho Chi Minh, the North Vietnamese leader, he could talk him into ending the war. Regrettably, Ho was of the opinion that as long as Johnson was willing to talk, he wasn’t willing to fight hard enough to win. Even more regrettably, Ho was right.
The presidential campaign has been awfully dramatic lately. Will there be a debate? Why did McCain go to Washington? Who's wearing lipstick?
While all of this drama might be entertaining, the most important piece of legislation this decade has seen is still being debated in Washington. In case you haven't seen the news lately, our financial institutions are in a bit of a pickle, and Bush has proposed spending $700 billion to buy up bad loans that banks have made, allowing them to lend freely again.
In the first two parts to this series, we gave Mayor Bloomberg's thoughts of the current financial woes and how we got here in the first place. In short, he said our government pressured banks to make bad loans, the banks were too aggressive in making these loans, and greedy Americans gladly bought more than they could afford. He also said the government shouldn't create more regulations but simply create a better (more simplified) system for oversight. Washington should also remember what fiscal conservatism means and work to get our country out of debt.
If you've watched the news at all this week, chances are you've seen Bill Clinton doing an interview. Why is Bill all over the news? Well, it's not necessarily because Hillary's getting ready for a 2012 run for the White House. The reason you're seeing a lot more of Bill is that the annual meetings of the Clinton Global Initiative are being held this week.
Basically, Clinton brings together a lot of rich or influential people and gets them to donate money to worthy causes. In the first 3 years, CGI has raised $30 billion in commitments, helping 200 million people in 150 countries with such issues as health, education, clean energy, micro loans, etc.
Interestingly, in many of these interviews, Bill has basically been promoting a conservative ideology (in not so many words).
We've always heard how most Americans would rather have a beer with President Bush than other politicians. According to the Honorable Michael Bloomberg, Bush has (figuratively speaking) took it up a notch and bought alcoholic Americans a round of drinks. Let us explain.
In Part 1, we shared thoughts from Mayor Bloomberg about America's financial crisis, explaining what the government bailouts mean. Today, we'll give you his thoughts on how we got here in the first place.
Michael Bloomberg, business mogul and New York mayor, spoke at Georgetown last week. He talked about what's happening on Wall Street, the Federal Government's bailouts, and how we got to the place we find ourselves today.
While Bloomberg considers himself an independent, his economic views are mostly conservative. His assessment of what's going on with the financial industry seems to be accurate, and his prescription for improving it sounds convincing.
In this first part, we’ll cover Bloomberg’s assessment of the recent government bailouts and the need for fixing how Washington regulates the financial industry.
Recent polls show McCain is now leading in the Electoral College - barely. McCain is likely up 227-216, but neither candidate is close to securing the 270 needed to win.
This is handy line chart from Rove & Co. shows the recent shift.
In answering the question, “Why am I a conservative?” I with many other young conservatives in the present day am forced to take a step back and ask myself… am I a conservative? Who are the true conservatives today? What political party truly embodies conservative principles?
The values promoted in the definition of conservatism in this post sure sound like positive things which should be preserved, yet at times it seems to me that most conservative pundits, commentators, and talk show personalities prefer to use these hallmarks of conservatism as battle lines from which they sling mud at the opposing team instead of truly promoting and preserving them.
New York's Fashion Week wrapped up last week, but don't worry fashion fans... an all-new episode of the beloved Project Runway airs tonight.
Fashion has been newsworthy for decades, but Bryant Park is now mentioned more than ever thanks to Bravo, Heidi Klum, and Tim Gunn (aka the “Silver Fox”).
Few industries capture the attention of Americans quite like the world of fashion. While we could never imagine wearing 97% of the clothes paraded down the runway, we’re still captivated.
As we all know, though, the fashion industry can have its dark side – from malnourished models on runways to sweat shops in developing countries. These sweat shops, controversy aside, illustrate what truly makes the fashion industry work: trade.
As we mentioned previously, education is a unique issue because both sides strongly agree on the desired outcome and have committed large amounts of money to it. It's also an area where more Americans are generally okay with larger-than-normal government programs, mainly because equal opportunity is a value deeply embedded within us.
Differences are clear in this election, however, and they mainly fall along party lines. Obama wants to increase funding for several programs while starting several new programs. He proposes this as his "historic commitment" to improve the current public system, which would make the federal government's role in education much larger than it currently is (a liberal value). McCain wants to keep funding at its current level while proposing ways to make our current system better. He also wants to increase a parent's ability to choose where their child goes to school (a conservative value).
September 12, 2008 by Josh Willaford · Filed in:
Election 2008
Religious belief is a funny thing. We're not supposed to talk about it at parties. If it's Madonna, People Magazine lauds her spiritual search and says, "Rock that red bracelet." When it's a political candidate, the tune sort of changes.
Recently, Governor Sarah Palin's religious beliefs have become the focus of significant media scrutiny. Gov. Palin grew up attending Wasilla Assembly of God. The Assemblies of God is a fundamental, Pentecostal movement that believes the Holy Spirit is active and available for all followers of Christ. Many elected officials at various levels of government have been and are adherents in Assemblies of God churches across the country. The Palin "controversy", however, is not with the Assemblies of God. It is with the beliefs of Wasilla Assembly's senior pastor, Ed Kalnins.
Last time, we summarized Obama’s education plan. Today, we will take a look at McCain’s. For his complete plan, you can visit his website.
McCain’s plan isn’t as long or detailed as Obama’s. That’s likely due to his general philosophy about education: it should mainly stay in the hands of the states. The McCain approach is about allowing the states to determine what is working and to provide support for those programs. In this view, the states drive change and the federal government's role is to draw attention to working models, encouraging other states to try them.
September 09, 2008 by Jimmy Fayton · Filed in:
Election 2008
In the world of video games, there are two types of players: those who play by the rules, and those who use cheat codes. To be honest, cheat codes are fun. They make the game a lot easier; you skip all of the hard work and get straight to the payday. You can get unlimited health, limitless resources, or whatever else the game will allow. At some point, the game ends. You’ve got to return to reality, get a job, and pay the bills.
Apparently Barack Obama didn’t get that memo. One might assume he thinks winning the presidency is like a giant game of SimCity™—one where he holds the cheat codes. As a side note, EA recently announced that SimCity™ will soon be available on the iPhone/iPod Touch platform (but I digress).
While watching Governor Palin deliver her address at the Republican Convention I found myself bubbling over with excitement, and judging from the calls and instant messages I received, I wasn’t the only one. The reason I and many others were thrilled and relieved by Governor Palin’s speech was that we could sit back and say, “She’s one of us,” and by that I don’t mean a conservative, I mean an ordinary, down to earth American.
The more I think about it, the more I realize that being able to relate to ordinary Americans is a trait shared among other successful conservatives, including George W. Bush and most notably Ronald Reagan. Maybe it’s because they all had the same speech coach, but I’ve got a good feeling it’s something deeper.
More than 37 million Americans watched Gov. Sarah Palin's historic speech this week. That's pretty impressive considering that Senator Obama, the greatest political orator of our time, only garnered a million more viewers for his convention speech (Greek columns and all).
To put that in perspective, the TV audiences for these speeches were bigger than those for this year's Academy Awards, the finale of American Idol, or the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.
Before McCain announced his VP choice, most Americans had never heard of Sarah Palin. While it was fun watching different reporters mispronounce her name the first day, Palin has quickly become a fixture on the national scene.
The previous entry in this education series outlined a brief history of America's current education system. The next two blogs will discuss both Obama and McCain’s specific plans.
Today, we’ll look at Obama’s. You can click here to view his entire plan on his website, but here’s a brief synopsis:
When it comes to Early Childhood Education, Obama plans to implement universal pre-school for all children, quadruple funding for Early Head-Start, and increase Head Start funding.
Hurricane Gustav did not cause the damage we all feared. This was partly due to nature, partly due to the great leadership of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.
Bobby was certainly in the news over the past couple days, although he had to miss his keynote speech at the Republican National Convention. He is a rising star within the Republican party, with strong fiscal conservative values.
On Friday, the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Bobby released an article showing how fiscal conservatism helped Louisiana beat Katrina. You can read that article here.
President Bush will address the Republican National Convention tonight. While he's sure to focus on McCain, he might also mention the beneficial effects of his 2001 tax cuts.
As you might have noticed, this was also a large topic of discussion at the Democratic National Convention last week. A good amount of their speakers said Bush only gave tax cuts to the wealthy.
Not surprisingly, the two sides are at odds over the effects of the tax cuts. Some argue the tax cuts stimulated our economy, helped us recover from 9/11, and kept this current recession from being worse. Others say these cuts are reckless and have led to our growing federal deficit.
Education is one of the most important issues for young voters in the upcoming Presidential election. And for good reason.
Education is an interesting topic because everybody agrees on the desired outcome: an educated population. The debate occurs over determining the best means to that end.
Both Republicans and Democrats are pro-education, but there is a difference. Conservatives tend to favor choice and financial freedom for parents, which lines up with the conservative principle of freedom of choice. Liberals, on the other hand, focus more on strengthening existing systems. This is why you often hear of Republicans advocating for a voucher system while Democrats argue that funding should stay in the public system.
Obama delivered a masterful speech last night, and it was certainly a historic moment. Unfortunately, it was a misleading speech at extreme odds with his record.
It's understandable that Obama is trying to move to the middle as the general election approaches, but many parts of his speech were based on strong conservative principles. In fact, part of his speech gave a better representation of the benefits of conservatism than we've seen a Republican give in a long time.
Here are some of the highlights of the speech that have conservative principles at the core:
A new survey by Reuters shows that McCain has a 5 point lead over Obama. It also shows that Obama's lead with young voters has slipped by 12 percentage points to 52 percent. McCain is currently getting 40 percent of voters ages 18-29.
CNN has launched The League of First Time Voters, which connects those who are voting in a election for the first time. It also helps to compare views and give resources.
The website shows that most first time voters (who have visited this CNN site, at least), tend to lean left on most issues.
Obama might not have these young voters in his pocket, though. In this video, young journalists talk about how young voters view this election.
There's also a music video by Daughtry. What more could you want?
“Back-to-School” is here. Many of us are moving into dorms, adapting to new classes, or taking the little one to Target to buy oversized pencils.
While the start of the new school year looks different for all of us, one thing is certain: we naturally think a bit more about education.
If you happen to be entering grad school or are starting a savings account for Baby Einstein’s future college bills, your initial thought about education probably has something to do with its skyrocketing price tag.
As mentioned in a previous entry, natural gas could eventually power our cars, which would be a good alternative to foreign oil. According to this New York Times article, Pelosi is investing in a company that produces natural gas for use in automobiles. While her investment is controversial (a potential conflict of interest with her role as Speaker of the House), Pelosi dismisses any such suggestion: "I'm investing in something I believe in."
Whatever you think of the ethical ramifications, Pelosi could make some serious dough with recent increases in natural gas production. America's natural gas production is rising faster than it has at any point in the past 50 years because of new technologies related to drilling. This may be good news for all Americans for two reasons.
Since The Relevant Elephant launched just over ten weeks ago, thousands have started reading our blog. We've had visitors from 100 countries, along with citizens from every state. All in all, we've had a great start.
But here's the thing: the 2008 election is right around the corner. Right now we're in that magical time when everyone and their mom is interested in politics. We've got an incredible window of opportunity, but it's closing fast. If we're going to spread the word about why conservatism is best for everyone, now is the time to do it. And that's where you come in.
Google will be showing up at both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. In addition to free smoothies and massages, they'll be there promoting a couple new tools they've developed.
Power Reader in Politics lets politicians and political pundits share articles they are reading with you.
Google Elections Video Search automatically transcribes candidates speeches to text and indexes them. The gadget not only allows you to search the titles and descriptions of the videos, but also their spoken content.
Oh, and did we mention they are providing an entire room for RockBand?
So far, 149 people have applied to officially protest during the Olympics. Chinese officials denied them all.
The Olympics have been pretty quiet so far. A Wall Street Journal blog says that "...almost none of that fiery rhetoric has made it to Beijing, largely thanks to a government crackdown on foreign and local dissent through a campaign of harassment and denying visas to others, human rights groups and Chinese petitioners say."
To find out more about potential implications of the protests, or the silencing of protestors, at these Olympics, you can read our previous post here.
A recent post on the liberal blog Open Left shows that Obama has almost lost his lead. Polling shows Obama still has the lead, but McCain is closing the gap.
We recently wrapped up an 8-part series on Reclaiming Conservatism which went in-depth on what makes up conservatism. Today, we wanted to give you a summarized (and humorous) version of what conservatism is from Daniel Kurtz' "How to Win a Fight with a Liberal".
Conservatism stands for promoting core American values: a strong defense, free markets, lower taxes, limited government, personal responsibility, family values, and the right to life, liberty, and [the pursuit of happiness].
Last time we took a look at expanding both fossil fuel production and the kinds of fossil fuels produced. While further exploration of fossil fuels is a necessary part of energy relief, the development of alternative energy technology is imperative if the U.S. is to achieve energy independence. So let’s look at what’s needed for alternative energy to catch on as well as the benefits of switching.
First, if alternative energy is to succeed, it needs to be marketed in a new light. Conservatives are a funny breed, and if the Left is all for something, that’s usually enough of a reason for them oppose it (although to be honest, liberals are the same way).
Yesterday we focused on Bobby Jindal. After giving it some thought, we sensed that Newt might feel a little left out. To help make amends, we are sharing a quote from the former Speaker of the House that illustrates our country's differing political thought.
A conservative is a person who comes to Bentonville, Arkansas, to study Wal-Mart and learn how to fix the post office. A liberal is a person who comes to Bentonville, Arkansas to make Wal-Mart more like the post office.
Bobby Jindal is a rising star within the Republican Party. The 37-year-old Governor of Louisiana is considered by many to represent the future of the GOP.
Last week, the GOP Youth Convention announced that Bobby is teaming up with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to serve as Honorary Co-chairs of its campaign to bring young people to the GOP National Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
In about 8 months in office, Jindal has already brought great reform and conservative principles to a state better known for its street-lined festivities and questionable ethics than a healthy business environment and tax cuts.
The Olympics officially kick off tonight at 8:08pm. As Olympics go, it's an historic event, and China has spared no money in making sure their “coming-out party” goes off without a hitch.
In fact, China has spent close to $40 billion building 19 new venues, doubling the capacity of their subway system, and adding a new terminal to the airport. Beyond wanting to impress the world with their infrastructural and architectural prowess, Beijing want us to see Chinese culture at its finest. Chinese officials have even gone so far as to launch etiquette campaigns forbidding spitting, smoking, littering, and cutting in lines by its citizens.
What do dictators, nuclear proliferators, and genocidal regimes all have in common? It's certainly not that they conjure up images of bunnies and daises. China has often protected these different types of countries and leaders from international pressure, reversing any progress made on human rights and humanitarian principles by Western countries.
These “problems” (i.e. Iran, North Korea, and Sudan) have grabbed the attention of many in our generation, and for good reason.
Shawn Askinosie gives us his thoughts today on why Fair Trade is good, but just not good enough. Aksinosie Chocolate is not Fair Trade certified, but Shawn explains their own socially responsible program that he hopes other businesses will imitate.
The Relevant Elephant: What should a consumer know about typical Fair Trade products? What are the benefits? What are the drawbacks? How could it be improved, or is there a better system all together?
For many Chinese, the upcoming Olympic Games highlight the gap between the attractive face Beijing is trying to present to the world and the much uglier political reality of their daily lives. China's human rights record is nothing new; in fact, it's been all over the news for decades. The Beijing Olympics have shed more light on these violations, though. From San Francisco to Seoul, protests seemed to follow the Olympic torch like a shadow.
So, what's behind the global community's concerns with China's human rights record? Mainly, it comes down to two types of violations: religious persecution and political discrimination.
One of the most-watched state primaries in our country is in Missouri tomorrow. Many will be watching to see what happens in the gubernatorial race, as Republicans Sarah Steelman and Kenny Hulshof wrap up a heated primary battle.
The Relevant Elephant has previously endorsed Hulshof, saying that he is the “candidate who has truly proven his relevance to young voters in Missouri” and that “when it gets right down to offering real solutions and achieving real results, Kenny stands out.”
This is the third entry in a series with Shawn Askinosie, owner of Askinosie Chocolate. Today, Shawn shares his political philosophy, tells about why James Dobson should stay out of politics, and offers a solution to make the Republican Party more relevant.
The Relevant Elephant: With your unique blend of experience as both an attorney and a small business owner, what is your political philosophy? How has it developed over the years?
Shawn Askinosie: My political philosophy, when I was in my twenties and younger, I was about as conservative as you can get. When I was sixteen years old I circulated a right-to-work petition so that Missouri didn’t have to be a union state, so we wouldn’t be a closed shop. When I was a freshman at Baylor University I delivered the nomination speech for Ronald Reagan at a mock convention that we held.
In an interesting turn of events, Senator McCain and the Republican Party are now using Obama's popularity against him, comparing him to Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and David Hasselhoff.
They recently released separate videos, painting Obama more as a celebrity than a viable commander-in-chief.
Watch these videos and let us know your thoughts. Is there truth behind the ads, or are they just a clever (and humorous) political ploy?
The Relevant Elephant: Why did you start Askinosie Chocolate?
Shawn Askinosie: Well, I was a criminal defense lawyer for about twenty years, and I really was just beginning to feel a sense that I needed to do something else, and that it was time for me to move on and to try new things and to develop a new passion for something else… 20 years is a long time to do something. So for about five years, I prayed that God would give me another passion, and I was about ready to give up on that when, in May of 2005, it came to me to make chocolate from scratch.
The term “fossil fuel” has become a dirty word when discussing energy policy. Not only are they responsible for draining our pocketbooks at the pump, they also destroy the environment and may or may not fund terrorism. Outrageous!
The unfortunate truth, however, is that for the foreseeable future our economy will continue to run on fossil fuels, primarily oil. Thus we need a short-term (fossil fuel) and long-term (green technology) energy strategy garnered toward delivering a cheap, reliable, domestically produced supply of energy.
“If you guys had compared me to Willy Wonka, I was gonna have to hit you.” – Shawn Askinosie, after his interview with The Relevant Elephant
Earlier this week, The Relevant Elephant had a chance to sit down with Shawn Askinosie, owner of Askinosie Chocolate. More than once, his business dealings and work with children have earned him comparisons with the infamous Willy Wonka… something he’s obviously excited about.
Why am I a conservative? Well, I guess it all began when I was 5 or 6 years old. I was riding in the car with my dad, who was listening to Rush Limbaugh, and after quietly listening for a while I looked up at my dad and said, “Wow, this is my kind of guy!” I might not have understood all the aspects of conservatism at the age of 6, but I haven’t looked back since.
For me, limited government and America’s global role are what make conservatism most appealing. Limited government concerns both taxes and the scope of government. While I realize taxes are an inevitable part of life, I also recognize that the government doesn’t create revenue or profit on its own, it merely reaps the fruits of others’ labors. Therefore, government has an obligation to be frugal with our money and not spend it frivolously.
