How Trickle Down Works: “The words “trickle down” imply that if you redistribute money to the wealthy, they will spend it (say, by hiring workers or by buying products) and it will somehow find its way into the hands of the poor. To the extent that any economists endorse such a notion, they are emphatically not free market economists… But the case for low taxation is not – as the phrase “trickle down” implies – based on the idea that we should give money to a wealthy person so she can spend it. Instead, it is based on the idea that if we take money away from either a rich or a poor person when they engage in some activity, they will tend to engage in less of that activity.” [Emphasis in the original]
-Matt Mitchell, 1-Jun-12 (Link)
The Right Accepts Secular Government: “The Christian right’s commitment to maintaining one nation under God has led the movement into the wilderness. By conceding that they can vote for Romney, evangelical Christians also concede that… [evangelical] Christianity isn’t a fundamental component of the nation’s structure. Ironically, in this election cycle, self-styled Christian voters themselves are the principal force of their own marginalization... Indeed, by hanging its support for the Republican candidate on the condition that he keep his religion out of his campaign and (presumably) out of his oval office, evangelical Christians affirm that public discourse in America is better off without authentic religious faith.”
Dogs and Cats Living Together... Mass Hysteria: “Job growth has stalled, the Democrats have been humiliated in Wisconsin, the attorney general is facing a contempt-of-Congress citation, talks with Pakistan have broken down, Bill Clinton is contradicting Obama, Mitt Romney is outraising him, Democrats and Republicans alike are complaining about a ‘cascade’ of national-security leaks from his administration, and he is now on record as saying that the ‘private sector is doing fine.’”
-Dana Milbank, 12-Jun-12 (Link)
This Spinach Tastes Different: “Democrats and the journalists who love them play a similar game with Republicans and conservatives. “Oh, I have lots of respect for conservatives,” goes the typical line, “but the conservatives we’re being served today are just so different… There are competing, or at least overlapping, motives for this liberal nostalgia for the conservatives and Republicans of yesteryear. Some liberals like to romanticize and glorify conservatives from eras when they were least effective but most entertaining. Some like to cherry-pick positions from a completely different era so as to prove that holding that position today is centrist… But whatever the motivation, what unites them is the conviction that today’s liberals shouldn’t cede power, respect, or legitimacy to today’s conservatives.”
-Jonah Goldberg, 15-Jun-12 (Link)
Mr. Milbank appears to be saying that the President is struggling, out of touch, and more than a little tone-deaf. Sounds about right, no?
ReplyDeleteDoes it bother you that while the country is falling apart, this is what Republicans busy themselves doing?
ReplyDeleteBret, you make it sound like the House Republicans haven't done anything and they're wasting time defending religious freedom in our armed forces. So I decided to check.
ReplyDeleteAs of Thursday 6/21, the House has had 411 roll call votes in 2012. Seems like they're trying to do what they can to fix Obama's economy AND protect religious freedom. Apparently they can do more than one thing at a time.