Red State Rebels

Wayne Hoffman's six cents

Wayne Hoffman, former spokesman for the lamentable Bill Sali, has found a few new ways to occupy his time. He's now director of a supposedly nonpartisan free-market think tank and a columnist for the Idaho Statesman. Here's a snip of a guest commentary I did earlier today at NewWest.net regarding Hoffman's new gigs. (I would've sent this straight to the Statesman except another op-ed of mine has been bottled up there for several weeks.)

Few would disagree with the main point of Hoffman’s first column, published Sunday: We ought to have more transparent government spending. Democrats have been calling for that for years, and President Obama is moving ahead to be sure it happens, both for government in general and his proposed American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan in particular.

I’m sure that all Democrats, Republicans and Independents agree with Hoffman’s premise. But Hoffman’s opening paragraph is worth a second thought since it belies the key difference between the two major parties. He wrote:

“I’m one Idaho taxpayer who is delighted that state government is undergoing major surgery. Every time the state adds 6 percent onto the price of the things I buy, I imagine ways I’d spend that money if I were not giving it to the government.”

Every time he spends money, he thinks about that? Clearly, Wayne Hoffman is obsessed with taxes more than your average Idahoan.

Like most people, I just pay the six cents. But every once in a while, when I’m prompted by someone like Hoffman to think about taxes, I don’t think about how I’d spend my tax pennies if I had them all to myself. Instead, I think about how – as Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes famously said - “Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society.”

Read it all over at NewWest.net - and let's plan on keeping a very sharp eye on the, ahem, nonpartisan writer who not six months ago accused the Idaho media of being "shrill news lemmings all marching willingly to a sea of liberalism, filth and innuendo.” - JF

Bailout passes

Press release on bailout, Debbie Holmes for Congress, CD2, Idaho

From the desk of Debbie Holmes:

I am encouraged by the passage of the "rescue".  It's a very sad state of affairs when we have to resort to this, but I do hope that this will help rescue the economy from the disastrous consequences of the government's inaction over the past few decades.   Already, credit has tightened; also, we lost 159,000 jobs in the USA last month, both as a result of our government's unwillingness to enforce protections for the American people. We must never again allow such lax oversight to create a preventable economic crisis.  If elected, I'll work to end the destructive cycle of American economic policy, where corporations face no risks, with the bill given to the American taxpayer. I will protect the people of Idaho against special interests and lobbyists, in order to make sure that we never have to take this step again.

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Otter orders holdbacks; Obama would help states

Talk about trickle-down economics: The national financial crisis hit home in Idaho today as Gov. Butch Otter ordered statewide budget hold backs and cautioned all state agencies to reserve another 1.5 percent of their budget for possible further cuts. Jill has more at New West .

Meanwhile, a McClatchy Newspapers article in the Idaho Statesman today noted how Barack Obama wants to provide $25 billion in relief to state and local governments to be used on whatever the states and municipalities need most, along with another $25 billion for public works projects like roads and bridges. Whatever Idaho's share, it would go a long way toward relieving our current budget gaps and infrastructure needs, wouldn't it?

John McCain calls it a gimmick, and of course he of all people should know a gimmick when he sees one. But maybe Otter and his fellow Republicans ought to consider whether voting GOP is the best move this fall, or whether it's time to give Democrats a chance to put the country together again.

'Suspended' campaign, eh?

John McCain made a big show yesterday of saying he'd "suspend" his campaign to work on the financial crisis. Many Americans immediately suspected that McCain was throwing his second "Hail Mary" pass in a month - and indeed, we learned today, as Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton said:

John McCain did not “suspend” his campaign.  He just turned a national crisis into an occasion to promote his campaign.  It’s become just another political stunt, aimed more at shoring up the Senator’s political fortunes than the nation’s economy.  And it does nothing to help advance this critical legislation to protect the American people during this time of economic crisis.

There was ample evidence today - in commercials aired, surrogates spinning, and volunteers welcomed - that the former "Straight Talk Express" has lost whatever credibility it still had. You have to wonder: What's the real reason John McCain doesn't want to debate Barack Obama? This is pathetic.

Update, Friday morning: The debate is on. McCain is accusing Obama of political posturing during Thursday's White House meeting (at which the hapless McCain reportedly sat mute for 40 minutes). Such leadership.

LaRocco has economic plan; debate set tonight

Four of the five Idaho candidates for the U.S. Senate will appear together tonight for a debate at the College of Idaho in Caldwell. The event is set for 7 to 8 p.m. in Jewett Auditorium. We'll have the live feed on here at Red State Rebels at 7 Mountain/6 Pacific, but Treasure Valley residents may want to check out this one in person, especially since it features not just Democrat Larry LaRocco and Independent Rex Rammell, but Libertarian candidate Kent Marmon, and the single issue candidate “Pro-Life” (formerly known as Marvin Richardson). Political economy professor Jasper LiCalzi will moderate.

Of course, Republican Jim Risch will be a no-show, as usual ... just in case anyone had any doubt.

Meanwhile, Larry yesterday announced his economic plan, "America's Path to Recovery and Prosperity." Speaking with reporters in Boise yesterday, he said, "My prescription for the economy is one-two-three: first solve the immediate crisis on Wall Street, then tackle energy independence and health insurance. If we get to work and put partisan politics aside, we should be able to accomplish these things in the first 100 days of the next Congress."

As the intro to his plan (available online) says, LaRocco "has more than 30 years experience in the financial services industry, including four years on the House Banking Committee. Larry LaRocco is uniquely qualified to understand the current crisis on Wall Street and to formulate effective solutions."

McCain tries to weasel out of debate

In one of the most startling developments of the 2008 presidential campaign, John McCain this afternoon said he wants the first presidential debate delayed so Congress can hunker down and finish the bailout bill before the markets open next Monday.

This interesting news comes on the heels of the latest ABC-Washington Post poll showing that McCain - who admits the economy is a mystery to him - now trails Barack Obama by 9 percent overall and by double-digit margins on the economy. (Independents now give Obama a whopping 21-point lead when asked which candidate is best equipped to deal with the economy.

The financial crisis was more than a decade in the making. We all need to wonder: What's the rush? And also: What does this say about John McCain's ability to handle multiple demands on his energy?

Update: The Obama campaign says the debate is still on. Rahm Emanuel, Obama's chief debate negotiator, told MSNBC that "we can handle both."

Update, Thursday morning: It became clear yesterday that Barack Obama, not John McCain, was the one who first suggested some sort of joint statement on the economy. From the Los Angeles Times: "The day's head-spinning events began about 8:30 a.m. on the East Coast, when Obama, who was campaigning in Florida, called McCain in New York to suggest that the two rivals reach agreement on a joint statement of principles for any Wall Street bailout." (More here.)

Meanwhile, the two candidates will go to the White House later today and meet with President Bush and Congressional leaders. As of 9 a.m. MST, Congress is reportedly nearing a deal that would include more protections for taxpayers than originally proposed in the Bush-Paulson plan. McCain is still maintaining today that he'll skip Friday's debate if a deal hasn't been hammered out.

Idaho GOP wants to abolish Federal Reserve

Idaho Democratic Party executive director Jim Hansen reminds us all at the state party website that the state Republican Party is on record as wanting to abolish the Federal Reserve. A snip:

There are few people alive who remember the 1929 stock market crash and the devastating depression that followed. If Idaho Republicans got their way, a crash of similar or greater impact would have happened this month.

It is clear that years of irresponsible lending fueled by Republican economic deregulation policies has accelerated into a dizzying series of near-disasters in the global economy. To put on the brakes and prevent the economy from completely derailing, our government must turn to a tool that Franklin D. Roosevelt created during the Depression: The Federal Reserve.

Read it all here. Jim raises an interesting question: Do Bill Sali, Jim Risch, Mike Simpson, Mike Crapo, Larry Craig, Butch Otter, and other Idaho Republicans actually stand behind this plank in the state GOP platform? Also, isn't it interesting how 1st CD candidate Bill Sali lashed out against the financial market bailout package before he knew anything about it - and now he's having to promise he'll keep an open mind? In complex times like this, we need leaders who think before they talk.

Update 9/24/08: Check out what Kos pointed out Tuesday afternoon (h/t Jill) ... this passage from the Republican Party Platform adopted mere weeks ago:

We do not support government bailouts of private institutions. Government interference in the markets exacerbates problems in the marketplace and causes the free market to take longer to correct itself.

I can only imagine the moral confusion that free-market zealots are experiencing this week, as they realize that their black-and-white positions don't work in the modern world.

Dems seek changes to GOP bailout plan

Fighting as ever for middle-class families, Congressional Democrats are seeking key changes in the Bush administration's bailout for the financial industry. From the AP:

Judges could rewrite mortgages to lower bankrupt homeowners' monthly payments as part of changes congressional Democrats are seeking in the Bush administration's proposed $700 billion financial system bailout. Also, companies that unloaded their bad assets on the government in the massive rescue would have to limit their executives' pay packages and agree to revoke any bonuses awarded based on bogus claims, according to a draft of the plan obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

The proposal by Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., the Banking Committee chairman, gives the government broad power to buy up virtually any kind of bad asset — including credit card debt or car loans — from any financial institution in the U.S. or abroad in order to stabilize markets.

But it would end the program at the end of next year, instead of creating the two-year-long initiative that the Bush administration has sought. And it would add layers of oversight, including an emergency board to keep an eye on the program with two congressional appointees, and a special inspector general appointed by the president.

More here. This is just one more example of how Democrats put Main Street before Wall Street.

Update, late Monday afternoon: It sounds like the White House will agree to some of the Democrats' demands. This truly is a situation where bipartisan support is needed.

The campaign's best ad yet

It's two minutes long - unusual for an advertisement of any sort. But in it, Barack Obama spells out a coherent, concrete, and can-do vision of how we can get America back on track, and asks people to read more specifics at his website. Good stuff. Read the script in the comments.

It's the economy, period

If the economy wasn't the top issue for voters before today, it certainly will be now. Which candidate is best prepared and most able to shepherd our shaky economy through its deepening crises? It's a no-brainer.

John McCain and his wife are unspeakably wealthy through his wife's involvement in a beer distributing empire. He doesn't know how many houses he owns.

He insists that the economy is fundamentally strong. (Watch him dodder through this statement today, even as Wall Street giants collapse and the stock market reels.) He said earlier this year that he really doesn't understand the economy. He supports Bush economic and tax policy that favors the wealthiest Americans while offering little to the middle class. His key economic adviser says Americans are "whiners" and that the recession is all in our heads.

Barack Obama is a product of the middle class who only recently became well-off due to book sales. He understands what middle-class families are going through. He and his wife Michelle own one home.

Obama's economic policy is based on tax cuts for the middle class and creation of top-notch new jobs for the 21st century. He would  end tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans and to corporations that ship jobs overseas, and he would bring more oversight to the financial and housing markets. Watch Barack Obama and Joe Biden talk about the economy and what working families really care about.

As Obama spokesman Bill Burton said this morning, "Today of all days, John McCain's stubborn insistence that the 'fundamentals of the economy are strong' shows that he is disturbingly out of touch with what's going in the lives of ordinary Americans. Even as his own ads try to convince him that the economy is in crisis, apparently his 26 years in Washington have left him incapable of understanding that the policies he supports have created an historic economic crisis."

Update 9/16/08: Obama released this ad today:

Update, Wednesday afternoon: Check out the fastest flip-flop in U.S. political history. The economy is strong. No, wait, it's not! Nice straight talk there, senator. And now McCain adviser Carly Fiorina is telling the media that neither McCain nor Sarah Palin nor Barack Obama nor Joe Biden could run a major corporation. But actually, after 19 months of watching Obama build a powerhouse organization, I'm dead  certain he could run HP, or anything else.

For a recap of how the economy is now dominating the presidential campaign, check out this AP story, which leads with this statement: "Economic fears are suddenly dominating the presidential campaign, shoving aside lipstick on pigs and every other issue." And not a moment too soon ...