THE MOST CORRUPTING INSTITUTION
What is the most corrupting institution in society? Quite simply, it is government, because it controls and distributes more money to more people and institutions than any other single entity and it has the power to coerce and punish or reward that dwarfs what any private party might be capable of doing.
The political class and the media decry the growth of lobbyists in Washington. Yet why is it so hard to understand that as government increasingly gives away more money and dispenses more favors, it attracts greater numbers looking for those benefits?
The Obama administration, despite claims of caring about the poor, has initiated a series of policies — higher taxes and more regulation — that guarantee a huge increase in those dependent on government. Who has a vested interest in more people being dependent? As the old saying goes, any politician who promises to tax Peter to give to Paul will always have the support of Paul.
A THOUSAND POUND GORILLA TAKES ON THE ESTABLISHMENT
She’s mighty cute for a thousand pound gorilla.
Last Friday (9/18) Sarah Palin drew 1,400 people -- the largest crowd ever -- for the annual Reagan dinner in Des Moines, Iowa. Her appearance in the state that holds the first presidential nominating contest followed by three days the stunning upset victory of Christine O’Donnell, the woman she’d endorsed in Delaware’s Republican senate primary. Ms. O’Donnell said it was Ms. Palin’s endorsement that made her victory possible.
Of the 36 candidates in contested primaries who Ms. Palin endorsed, 25 won. That’s a winning percentage of 69 percent, rather better than that of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Eight senate candidates backed by the Washington establishment lost.
PELOSI IN PYONGYANG
Beijing, China. A friend of mine and yours just got here after spending a year in North Korea. Well, actually it was less than two weeks, but it felt like a year. He's been to well over 200 countries and separate political jurisdictions all over the globe, and he says NorkLand is far - far - away the weirdest place on the planet. One of the conditions of his going there, however, is that he had to sign an agreement that he couldn't write anything about what he saw. So I interviewed him, as he isn't prohibited from talking about what he saw. What follows is his report as told to me, including a raft of pictures he took. His conclusion: North Korea is an environmentalist's paradise, the Dream of the Left. It is Nancy Pelosi's fondest fantasy. It is where she and her fellow Fascicrats should move to after they are thrown out of power on November 2nd. North Korea is where they belong.
Join the forum discussion on this postTHE PERILS OF DIPLOMATIC THEATER
The current flurry of diplomatic activity is deeply disturbing. It isn't simply that the Obama administration has strong-armed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu into participating in diplomatic theater with the PLO whose successful completion will leave Israel weaker and less defensible. It isn't merely that the newest "peace process" diverts our leadership's attention away from Iran and its nuclear weapons program.
The most disturbing aspect of the latest round of the diplomatic kabuki is that Israel's leaders and Israel's staunch friends in the US are enthusiastically participating in this dangerous project.
CRASHING THE PARTY
“I live in one of the most conservative counties in a conservative state (Hendricks County, Indiana),” wrote an emailer to Ramesh Ponnuru of National Review. “Having attended many gatherings and fund-raisers for the local Republican Party, I noticed something odd: the attendees were mostly folks who were looking for favors...
“The party apparatus was mostly dominated by people who didn’t believe in limited government or even a socially conservative agenda. They were people who had hijacked the party apparatus to advance the ‘favor factor’ theory of government.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is that sort of Republican.
HALF-FULL REPORT 09/17/10
Let’s begin this week’s HFR with three cheers for Ovide Lamontagne. He came from far behind to lose the GOP senate nomination in New Hampshire by a hair’s breadth to Kelly Ayotte. He immediately eschewed a recount, and warmly endorsed Ms. Ayotte.
Whatever Mr. Lamontagne’s motivation for his classy behavior, I can think of a sore loser in Alaska, a guy in Delaware, and a jerk in Washington state who could profit from his example.
While we’re doing shout-outs, let’s give thanks for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
ROCKING THE CASTLE
An explosive primary season was capped by a nuclear bomb: the upset victory of Christine O’Donnell over Delaware political fixture Rep. Mike Castle in the GOP senate primary.
But for me, the returns with the greatest import for November came in Wisconsin. That front runners Scott Walker and Ron Johnson easily won the GOP gubernatorial and senatorial nods is not surprising. What is is that so many more people (614,321) voted in the Republican gubernatorial primary than in the Democrat primary (233,119).
More votes were cast for Democrats than for Republicans in the seven primaries Tuesday (the others were in Maryland, Massachussetts and Rhode Island). But overall, Republicans finished the primary season with upwards of three million votes more than Democrats received.
The last time Republicans received more primary votes than Democrats did was in 1930. In both 1994 (a terrific year for Republicans) and 1946 (a really terrific year) Democrats won more primary votes than Republicans did. You don’t need to be a weatherman to see which way the wind is blowing.
SAAD HARIRI’S SAD TALE
Lebanon is a sad and desperate place. And its disastrous fate is personified today by its prime minister. All who claim to love freedom, democracy, human rights and dignity should take note of Saad Hariri's fate. They should recognize that his predicament is a testament to their failure to stand up for the ideals they say they champion.
HONORING THE ONCE AND FUTURE QUEEN OF CONSERVATISM
On Friday evening, a tall, bespectacled 30-ish Englishman, Matthew Elliott, escorted Lady Margaret Thatcher into a reception at London's 800-year-old Guild Hall. Despite the fact that England is going through its worst economic crisis since Mrs. Thatcher became prime minister more than three decades ago, she was of good cheer as she conversed with those of us who had come to pay our respects. Perhaps a reason for her upbeat manner was that the ideas she (and Ronald Reagan in the United States) championed are once again gaining currency.
WHEN ATTACK DOGS BARK UP THE WRONG TREE
Last Wednesday in Cleveland (9/8) President Barack Obama criticized John Boehner eight times. The Democratic National Committee has released an ad attacking him.
The New York Times published a hit piece on Mr. Boehner Sunday (9/12). George Stephanopoulos of ABC and Bob Schieffer of CBS attacked him in interviews.
Who, you may ask, is John Boehner?
The attacks on Mr. Boehner are a tacit admission by Democrats their earlier strategy of blaming George W. Bush for just about everything isn’t working.
When the president attacks a person who is as obscure as Mr. Boehner currently is, it elevates Mr. Boehner’s stature and reduces his own. Americans like to have their presidents act presidential. This is why vice presidents traditionally play the role of attack dog.
Vice President Joe Biden is a buffoon, which may in part explain why Mr. Obama is doing the growling and barking himself. But this is not a president who can afford further dimunition of his status. Wags say skiier Lindsey Vonn is thinking of giving Mr. Obama the gold medal she won at the Winter Olympics, because no one has gone downhill faster than he has.