Obama Runs Away for Office and Joins the Circus
A delightful display of cheerful cynicism and despair from The Wall Street Journal's Kim Strassel, who writes in the voice of a carnival barker touting the Great Obama's magic act. Don't look too hard at the image at right, or he'll hypnotize you.
Watch the Great Obama perform a feat never yet managed in all history. He will create that enormous new government health program, spend billions to transform our energy economy, provide financial assistance to former Soviet satellites, invest in infrastructure, increase education spending, provide job training assistance, and give 95% of Americans a tax (ahem) cut—all without raising the deficit a single penny! And he'll do it in the middle of a financial crisis. And with falling tax revenues! Voila!
And this:
For tonight's finale, the Great Obama will uphold America's "moral" obligation to "stop genocide" by abandoning Iraq! While teleported to the region, he will simultaneously convince Iranian leaders to peacefully abandon their nuclear pursuits (even as he does not sit down with them), fix Afghanistan with a strategy that does not resemble the Iraqi surge, and (drumroll!) pull Osama bin Laden out of his hat!
Shouldn't trust the man, though. Look at how much stuff he keeps in his pockets. Got to be a doubleheaded coin in there somewhere.
Via R. G.
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Uh oh. Someone dares to say the Emperor’s Naked?
Damn, that mofo has some long fingers.
Too late – hypnotized
This is actually real stuff to hit Obama on.
Nah–not interested. Lets talk Ayers and hopefully Rev. Wright and try to rile people up because he’s black and has an Islamic sounding middle name.
“This is actually real stuff to hit Obama on.”
Well, McCain’s policies aren’t any more sensible.
Thus we keep hearing about the things you mention, and how Obama supposedly can’t talk without a teleprompter. (I really don’t get why that’s such a powerful meme among McCain supporters. It’s not true, and it’s lame. )
He can’t hold a candle to the hypnotoad.
You’ve got it all wrong. Joe Biden said in the VP debate that, due to the economy and bailout, they may have to slow down on the aid to foreign governments. So, if you factor that in, the Great and Wonderful Ob can make the numbers work out.
100 economists wrote this letter:
Barack Obama argues that his proposals to raise tax rates and halt international trade agreements would benefit the American economy. They would do nothing of the sort. Economic analysis and historical experience show that they would do the opposite. They would reduce economic growth and decrease the number of jobs in America. Moreover, with the credit crunch, the housing slump, and high energy prices weakening the U.S. economy, his proposals run a high risk of throwing the economy into a deep recession. It was exactly such misguided tax hikes and protectionism, enacted when the U.S. economy was weak in the early 1930s, that greatly increased the severity of the Great Depression.
Apparently they haven’t factored in the effect of Hope and Change on GDP.
Of course, Obama probably doesn’t actually care if the economy goes south as long as he can blame Republicans for it, as he did with the subprime mess. It’s not like the media would call him on it.
Damn, that mofo has some long fingers.
You know what they say about big hands?
Big gloves.
It’s gonna take a lot of change to offset Obama’s policies’ effect on the GDP. Hopefully, it will at least be quarters.
Oh, look, the Democrat’s economic policy is going to doom the economy again.
So. Heard any of that music coming out of Seattle?
I like most of the article, except where they imply that leaving Iraq will result in genocide.
A delightful display of cheerful cynicism and despair from The Wall Street Journal’s Kim Strassel
Which, you know, would have been great during the Great W’s performance. Esp when Hastert, Lott, and Delay were his assistants and came on stage wearing pasties and g-strings.
Those “100 economists” are pulling a lot out of their 100 asses. Where does Obama propose across the board raises on taxes or “halting” international trade agreements? Complete BS.
“So. Heard any of that music coming out of Seattle?”
I think I’ll hook up the Super Nintendo and play Donkey Kong Country.
Yeah, Nirvana’s great. Too bad Obama’s not going to be paired with an opposition Congress. Then again, Bill Clinton wasn’t facing an opposition Congress his first two years either. Who knows, maybe Obama and the Democrats will fuck up in a way that makes their flaws clear and reminds Republicans of how well it worked when their party actually some interest in reducing the size of government.
Nah. We’re all screwed.
When I tire of the elite, eastern establishment, mainstream media, I pick up the Wall Street Journal.
MAX HATS
Well, the tax increase is sort of implied by the pairing of 1. new programs and 2.criticizing the Bush deficits (which I agree with completely).
As for the halting of international trade agreements, that depends on whether you believe Obama’s “heated” public rhetoric on the issue, or his private statements that he’s just playing to the ignorant yokel crowd.
So. Heard any of that music coming out of Seattle?
If grunge comes back then it really is the end times.
Holy shit, he’s not the Obamessiah…he’s the anti-Obamessiah!
What’s it got in it’s pocketsess?
Episiarch, how would you grade Al Jourgensen, purely as a guitarist?
What’s wrong with Nirvana? I liked Nirvana.
Why would Obama want the economy to do well?
http://www.clubforgrowth.org/2008/10/obama_vs_sp_500.php
Those “100 economists” are pulling a lot out of their 100 asses. Where does Obama propose across the board raises on taxes or “halting” international trade agreements? Complete BS.
Sigh.
We are very concerned with Barack Obama’s opposition to trade agreements such as the pending one with Colombia, the new one with Central America, or the established one with Canada and Mexico. Exports from the United States to other countries create jobs for Americans. Imports make goods available to Americans at lower prices and are a particular benefit to families and individuals with low incomes. International trade is also a powerful source of strength in a weak economy. In the second quarter of this year, for example, increased international trade did far more to stimulate the U.S. economy than the federal government’s “stimulus” package.
Ironically, rather than supporting international trade, Barack Obama is now proposing yet another so-called stimulus package, which would do very little to grow the economy. And his proposal to finance the package with higher taxes on oil would raise oil prices directly and by reducing exploration and production.
We are equally concerned with his proposals to increase tax rates on labor income and investment. His dividend and capital gains tax increases would reduce investment and cut into the savings of millions of Americans. His proposals to increase income and payroll tax rates would discourage the formation and expansion of small businesses and reduce employment and take-home pay, as would his mandates on firms to provide expensive health insurance.
These are not the droids you’re looking for.
100 economists wrote this letter…
Who? Where? When?
Episiarch, how would you grade Al Jourgensen, purely as a guitarist?
I don’t really think of him as a guitarist, because there’s so much mixing going on, kind of like KMFDM. So I guess I’d have to rate him as “good enough to play Jesus Built My Hotrod, which is good enough for me.”
Hey TallDave, will you blame ACORN for “stealing” the election?
I will give tax breaks to 95% of Americans, even the 40% that pay no taxes!
What do you mean, “welfare?” No, no, it’s a tax cut.
I’m Barack Obama, and I approved this messiah. Er, massage. Message! I meant message.
100 economists who define “halting trade agreements” as “continuing with existing trade agreements,” and “opposition to trade agreements” as “support for trade agreements with environmental and labor protections.”
Republican hacks can be economists, too.
Barack Obama | October 10, 2008, 2:58pm | #
I will give tax breaks to 95% of Americans, even the 40% that pay no taxes!
FICA taxes aren’t taxes, because little people pay them.
Looks like law enforcement in 5 states is already onto our little operation.
Look! I can find a bunch of economists that think the exact opposite!
http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12342127
Yes Dave, ACORN did it. And soon you will be in the Liberal Fascist Gulag they’re currently constructing in Gary, Indiana.
Yeah, it’s not like I said I would renege on NAFTA or anything! Come on!
Oh, wait, I did.
Well… uh… HOPE AND CHANGE!!!
I’m Barack Obama, and I approved this message.
joe,
I personally think the economists should have avoided saying anything about Obama and trade agreements, as his actual views are unclear due to the discrepancy between his public and private statements.
Guys, guys, guys,
He is not going to keep his campaign promises. He’ll fuck things up as much as he can get away with, but he’s too smart a politician to even attempt half the shit he’s promised.
He’s a lying pandering politician who has managed to ensure* that even if Michigan is close (it won’t be) I will not vote for him.
* I have my pet issues. That pesky 1st amendment is one of them.
ACORN | October 10, 2008, 3:02pm | #
Looks like law enforcement in 5 states is already onto our little operation.
Yeah, including those “We flagged these registrations for possible irregularities” notes on the forms you were required by law to turn in will generally draw the attention of the most eagle-eyed election registrars.
Several weeks later.
“He is not going to keep his campaign promises. He’ll fuck things up as much as he can get away with, but he’s too smart a politician to even attempt half the shit he’s promised.
”
J sub gets it.
“This is actually real stuff to hit Obama on.”
It’s tricky to accuse your opponent of lying and making empty promises to play Santa Claus when you’re wearing a red suit trimmed with white fake fur and toting a bulging sack stuffed full of shiny wrapped presents, each containing a shit sammitch, and a label on each saying “Don’t open (or smell) until after the election.”
I publicly stated that I would renege on NAFTA, but then I assured the Canadians and Mexicans that it was just a joke for the foolish masses.
Uncle Al is a surprisingly good guitarist, which is especially apparent on the later albums.
By the way, The Last Sucker might be the best Ministry album of all. Listen if you haven’t.
I like how TallDave’s evidence for what Obama would do is to quote further from his 100 economists’ claims of what Obama would do, rather than quoting from Obama’s planned policies. Very convincing.
From BDB’s link:
A total of 142 responded, of whom 46% identified themselves as Democrats, 10% as Republicans
…
though the McCain campaign should be buoyed by the fact that 530 economists have signed a statement endorsing his plans
Oops!
The root word of reneg is renegotiate.
Where on earth did you find 100 economists who don’t relize that trade deals often include environmental and labor protections?
AEI?
How do we know, J sub, how do we know?
I just figured it out.
That guy screaming about international socialism and Rev. Wright the other day at the WI Town Hall?
That was TallDave.
No shit, TallDave. And how many Republicans were in the ones you linked to? That was kind of the point.
But hey, what about Bill Ayers!? Remembre, Rick Davis said we don’t want to turn the election into a “CNBC news show”.
Jourgensen + Biafra:
Nowadays, most of us need someone to run our personal life.
Someone to see that the plants are watered.
Someone to make sure the place is clean.
Someone to make sure dinner is waiting.
Someone to call for theater tickets.
Someone to make up those cheap excuses.
What we need is Lard!
Lard!
The answer.
The dancer.
The ointment.
The dream.
Absorb it.
Inflame it.
Respect it.
Molest it.
Lard!
Lard!
I will give tax breaks to 95% of Americans, even the 40% that pay no taxes! What do you mean, “welfare?” No, no, it’s a tax cut.
I didn’t expect people would be making fun of Milton Friedman on this thread.
Ah well.
BDB | October 10, 2008, 1:04pm | #
2008: ACORN DID IT!
BDB | October 10, 2008, 3:02pm | #
Yes Dave, ACORN did it.
somebody bump BDB, he’s startin to skip.
Atabrat, I used to own that EP.
That’s it! They’re coming out now! Where are my pliers?!?
That’s not the Obama I knew back in Chicago.
Just trying to point out how much they sound like the lefty moonbats they made fun of four years ago (Diebold).
What the f*ck does “That’s Allstate’s stand” mean?
innominate,
I assumed the confusion was over what specific policies Obama has advocated, not whether 100 economists (including 4 Nobel winners) are misrepresented them. FFS, these are right on Obama’s policy page:
stand firm against agreements like the Central American Free Trade Agreement
Obama and Biden believe that NAFTA and its potential were oversold to the American people. They will work with the leaders of Canada and Mexico to fix NAFTA so that it works for American workers.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/economy/
BDB, just farkin witcha
The WSJ harping on Obama’s economic plan reminds me of a bible passage…
Matthew 7
3 Teh sawdust iz in ur brothrz i, makin u confused. Why u caer so much when u gotz a board in ur i LOL?4 Why u sez “O hai takin teh sawdust out of ur i”? U gotz board in ur i!5 Taek teh board out of ur i furst dumass. Den taek teh dust out of ur brotherz i aftr dat. Duh.
FICA taxes aren’t taxes, because little people pay them.
That’s been the Democratic party line forever. If you want to call them taxes now, go full honest and call them regressive taxes.
And yeah, with the boomers coming up to the trough, lets cut us some social security contributions taxes.
Elemenope,
I think he was making fun of the fact that Obama is suggesting that he will be able to fund all his programs by raising taxes on the top income bracket, and it won’t cause any long-term reduction in revenue.
Just trying to point out how much they sound like the lefty moonbats they made fun of four years ago (Diebold).
How many Diebold employees arrested for vote fraud so far?
Keep it up, TallDave. Bitch and moan, that really makes you guys look like winners.
FICA taxes aren’t taxes, because little people pay them.
FICA taxes are NOT TAXES!!
They are a retirement savings system.
Come on lefties, let’s keep our playbook straight.
BDB,
You brought up ACORN, not me. They’re the ones being arrested for vote fraud, not Diebold. I don’t know if it’s enough to swing the election, but it’s weird you would invoke illegal activity on your side as some indicator that your side is more sane.
There’s something very familiar about this.
Dude, BDB…stop with the ACORN prognostications already. you say it every day, on every thread.
And this is why you have to be an idiot to believe anything TallDave writes.
stand firm against agreements like the Central American Free Trade Agreement
vs.
Obama and Biden will fight for a trade policy that opens up foreign markets to support good American jobs. They will use trade agreements to spread good labor and environmental standards around the world and stand firm against agreements like the Central American Free Trade Agreement that fail to live up to those important benchmarks. Obama and Biden will also pressure the World Trade Organization to enforce trade agreements and stop countries from continuing unfair government subsidies to foreign exporters and nontariff barriers on U.S. exports
So…. Obama is for or against me?
J sub D,
If you want to call them taxes now, go full honest and call them regressive taxes.
OK. Taxes taxes taxes taxes taxes taxes. Payroll taxes. FICA taxes. That’s all I’ve heard them called.
And regressive taxes, too. We should totally flatten that bitch out. Who’s with me?
*chirp chrip chirp*
They’re the ones being arrested for vote fraud
No ACORN employee has ever been arrestes for vote fraud. Not one. Ever. In the entire existence of the organization.
Not one single ACORN employee has ever been arrested for vtoe fraud.
Did somebody say something about believing what TallDave writes?
“Yeah, including those “We flagged these registrations for possible irregularities” notes on the forms you were required by law to turn in will generally draw the attention of the most eagle-eyed election registrars.”
ACORN is racist.
There. I said it. It had to be said.
They canvas the bus stops of downtown Minneapolis during rush hour. All of them are black. All of them.
They only approach black folk. Black folk. Not Asians. Not white people. Not Hispanics. Not Native Americans.
Black folk. Black folk.
Been doing it for years.
They also tell people who respond with “No thanks, I’m already registered” that they should fill out the form anyway because their current voter registration could have errors on it, which could prevent them from voting.
Black folk.
I’m back! I’m back!
Wooooooooooooooo-hah!
CAFTA | October 10, 2008, 3:20pm | #
So…. Obama is for or against me?
I really didn’t think it was that complicated.
See above.
Jourgenson + MacKaye:
(Pailhead = best Alien project ever)
Born as a blank page
We must pick and choose
Our destinations and
The paths we’ll use
What shall we say is sacred
What will be abused
It’s no wonder
The world is confused
Murder and weather
Is our only news
I will refuse!
Your offer is tempting
But it’s not what it seems
You take advantage
Of everyone else’s dreams
You create the perfect picture
By dressing up the scene
Trust our hopes and lives
To your death machines
Your point is not well taken
Because that’s not what it means
I will refuse!
Ohnoes, black people!
I really didn’t think it was that complicated.
Congrats, you just proved why no one should read anything you write. Your expanded text didn’t change the meaning one iota.
Black folk.
Black folk?
Black folk!
Black folk?!?
Black folk!
Black folk!
Well, ToolDave, if the expanded text didn’t change the meaning, why did you feel the need to cut it?
I’ve been approached by ACORN. I’m as caucasian as the next Irish-English-German descendant American with a bit of alleged mahogany and aboriginal American in the woodpile.
so, the answer is “yes” to “Is Obama against CAFTA?”
At least in its current form. Which kind of makes him an idiot.
How do we know, J sub, how do we know?
You list all of the lying, pandering politicians in one column.
Then you list those who aren’t in another.
Then do the math.
Bill Clinton was going to reform health care. He had Dem majorities in both houses and HillaryCare went down in such flames it cost him the congress for the next 6 years.
GWB was going to reform social security (we shall not speak of humility and foreign policy). Never even got to a floor vote.
The crap on trade treaties is just blatant lying to please the ignorant boobs who are convinced than Rani (or Pedro, or Jacques) took their jobs. The “environmental and labor protections guarantee” carrot is not worth the paper it will be printed on.
Deep down his intelligent supporters know all of this. joe and company are already working up excuses why such and such promises were left on the campaign trail come 2009. The sub-prime meltdown will of course suddenly change priorities on Nov. 5.
The recession (that’s two successive quarters of negative growth) just started and will more than likely still be going on in 2010. The GOP will pick up seats in both houses as a result.
Things will suck but it’s still better than McCain.
“Black folk.
Black folk?
Black folk!
Black folk?!?
Black folk!
Black folk!”
Whom am I supposed to believe? You, or my lying eyes and ears?
Barack Obama argues that his proposals to…halt international trade agreements would benefit the American economy. …It was exactly such misguided tax hikes and protectionism, enacted when the U.S. economy was weak in the early 1930s, that greatly increased the severity of the Great Depression.
Assertions:
1. Barack Obama proposes to halt international trade agreements.
Obama and Biden will fight for a trade policy that opens up foreign markets to support good American jobs. They will use trade agreements to spread good labor and environmental standards around the world…Obama and Biden will also pressure the World Trade Organization to enforce trade agreements…
Assertion 1 false.
2. Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s trade proposals are “exactly such protectionism” as that enacted at the beginning of the Great Depression.
Obama and Biden will fight for a trade policy that opens up foreign markets to support good American jobs. They will use trade agreements to spread good labor and environmental standards around the world…Obama and Biden will also pressure the World Trade Organization to enforce trade agreements…
Assertion 2 false.
“Black folk!” As I told you onnce before, Joe, I’m old enough to have endured the Jim Crow south. I really see these ACORN canvasers as being no different than a coloreds only bathroom. When you could find one.
The Angry Optimist,
You may not come in my house wearing those muddy boots. I welcome people into my house if they take off their muddy boots.
This is not remotely difficult. Playing dumb is an exercise in wasting one’s credibility.
“I’ve been approached by ACORN. I’m as caucasian as the next Irish-English-German descendant”
That’s not how it’s being played in the battle ground state of Minnesota.
J sub D,
Bill Clinton was going to reform health care. He had Dem majorities in both houses and HillaryCare went down in such flames it cost him the congress for the next 6 years.
GWB was going to reform social security (we shall not speak of humility and foreign policy). Never even got to a floor vote.
Both presidents worked to enact both of those proposals, as they said they would on the campaign trail. (Actually, did Bush ever say that on the campaign trail? As I remember it, he just sort of sprung it on people).
That they weren’t ultimately successful in getting their agendas through, that they pushed for them even to their own political detriment, makes exactly the opposite point you intended.
if the expanded text didn’t change the meaning, why did you feel the need to cut it?
Obviously the relevant question was whether Obama was against CAFTA, not his many wonderful justifications for being against it.
I really see these ACORN canvasers as being no different than a coloreds only bathroom.
You also call yourself “Sambo,” so I’m not going stay awake at night worrying about your judgement on racial issues.
Playing dumb is an exercise in wasting one’s credibility.
Hahahahahahahahahahaha!
Did joe really just write that?
The Cleveland Leader reports this morning that Barack Obama is lying about his involvement with the group ACORN, which recently added Missouri to the list of states in which its activities are under investigation. While Obama’s site maintains that he never trained ACORN activists — whose training apparently encourages them to play fast and loose with election laws — Chicago ACORN leader Toni Foulkes has thanked Obama for doing precisely that:
Since then, we have invited Obama to our leadership training sessions to run the session on power every year, and, as a result, many of our newly developing leaders got to know him before he ever ran for office. Thus it was natural for many of us to be active volunteers in his first campaign for State Senate and then his failed bid for U.S. Congress in 1996. By the time he ran for U.S. Senate, we were old friends.”
The Los Angeles Times has reported the same. Given all the improprieties with which ACORN has been associated in the past, as well as the accusations against it this year, it’s easy to see why Obama hopes the media will ignore this issue.
Obama and Biden will fight for a trade policy that opens up foreign markets to support good American jobs.
How, when we’re cancelling trade agreement?Surely no one, not even joe, is stupid to believe this will happen merely because Obama says so. This is like promising to double someone’s investment by throwing their money in a fire.
By reneging on NAFTA and cancelling CAFTA, Obama will CLOSE foreign markets, not open them.
These people really are drinking the Koolaid.
You realize that this:
Obama and Biden will fight for a trade policy that opens up foreign markets to support good American jobs.
contradicts this:
They will use trade agreements to spread good labor and environmental standards around the world
Right?
Obviously the relevant question was whether Obama was against CAFTA,
Actually, the relevant question was whether he was against trade agreements. The statement you felt the need to edit confirms that he does support trade agreements, so you edited it to make it appear that he does not.
You might as well argue that John McCain opposes funding the Iraq War, because he has argued and voted against funding bills for the Iraq War that include timelines for withdrawal.
An honest person would state the position thusly: Barack Obama supports trade deals, and wants them to include labor and environmental protections.
By raising tariffs on foreign goods, we will protect American jobs and open foreign markets!
Come on, it could work!
Sambo | October 10, 2008, 3:35pm | #
“I’ve been approached by ACORN. I’m as caucasian as the next Irish-English-German descendant”
That’s not how it’s being played in the battle ground state of Minnesota.
Well, I’m merely in Florida, so I don’t understand about close elections and battleground states.
I’ve been approached by ACORN. I’m as caucasian as the next Irish-English-German descendant
Why am I reminded of “some of my best friends are black”?
joe, If you call GWB and reforming social security an effort, you’re delusional. If I bat with a left handed stance and one arm behind my back, can you really say I made an effort to get the base hit?
Clintoin made one, count ’em, one effort to do anything other than fiddle at the margins wwith health care. It was a centerpiece of his campaign. Gays in the military? _ Don’t ask, don’t tell. And the number of homosexual discharges rose throughout his administration.
Lying pandering assholes both of them. Clinton was a better executive by far. Still a lying pandering asshole.
How, when we’re cancelling trade agreement?
Oh, are we cancelling trade agreements? Got a link?
Please, I’m sure we’d all love to see that. So far, all we’ve got is They will use trade agreements to spread good labor and environmental standards around the world and stand firm against agreements like the Central American Free Trade Agreement that fail to live up to those important benchmarks. Obama and Biden will also pressure the World Trade Organization to enforce trade agreements
So we’re cancelling them, using them, and pressuring the WTO to enforce them all at once? But only those last two made it into the position paper. Odd, that.
By reneging on NAFTA and cancelling CAFTA Renegotiating NAFTA to include environmental and labor conditions is not renegging on it. Renegotiatring CAFTA to include those conditions is not cancelling it.
An honest person would state the position thusly: Barack Obama supports trade deals, and wants them to include labor and environmental protections.
In other words, he opposes existing trade deals such as CAFTA and NAFTA, which do not have those protections, and he also opposes any new deals which do not have those protections, and since (this may shock you) other countries are not lining up to offer those protections, his position amounts to opposing free trade.
Good Lord, you really are this dumb, aren’t you?
I give up, this is a waste of time.
“Well, I’m merely in Florida, so I don’t understand about close elections and battleground states.”
I’m just relating what I have been witnessing for years.
RC Dean,
I realize that you believe that. I also realize that you believed Clinton’s tax plan would put us into a recession in the 1990s, and that a liberal, democratic order would spontaneously arise in Iraq in short order after the toppling of Saddam.
As for environmental and labor protections making it impossible to open foreign markets, no, I don’t realize that, because it’s not, y’know, true.
LMNOP:
you’d probably like this one also:
“So you know, whoeva hear wat I say, an go do um, he jalike one smart guy dat make plan, den he build his house on top wea stay solid rock. Da rain wen come, an get plenny water, an da wind wen come from all ova da place, an wen pound da house hard. But da house no fall down, cuz he wen build um wea stay solid rock.
“All da guys dat hear wat I say, an no do um, dey jalike one guy dat not tinking, an he build his house wea ony get sand. Da rain wen come, an get plenny water, an da wind wen come from all ova da place, an pound da house hard. Az da house dat wen fall down an wen wipe out!” (Matthew Tell Bout Jesus 7:24-27)
Smoot-Hawley | October 10, 2008, 3:45pm | #
By raising tariffs on foreign goods, we will protect American jobs and open foreign markets!
Come on, it could work!
Good thing no one is proposing to raise tarrifs on foreign goods. That would just be nuts.
C’mon, hack, could you make a little bit of an effort to have some knowledge of the field you’re writing about?
J sub D,
joe, If you call GWB and reforming social security an effort, you’re delusional. If I bat with a left handed stance and one arm behind my back, can you really say I made an effort to get the base hit?
He campaigned for it for half a year, organized a national tour in which he personally barnstormed thte country, and featured it as the primary political push of his administration immediately upon re-election.
Clintoin made one, count ’em, one effort to do anything other than fiddle at the margins wwith health care. Like you said, he lost Congress after that.
Both of them pushed quite hard for those proposals, spent a great deal of their political capital. You can’t say they didn’t try, just because they were beaten.
RC Dean:
I don’t know, is it because you’re racist? I’m caucasian.
Good to know that the economic arguments against Obama have about the same level of factual basis as the “ZOMG TERRORIST” arguments.
Obama is against one particular trade agreement. Therefore he is in favor of raising tariffs. Signed, 90 something republican hacks. Uh, okay. Sure.
That is about as substantial as “Obama serves on the same republican founded and funded education board as a 60’s era radical – therefore they are best friends forever.”
I’m curious – is there a solid case against Obama that isn’t predicated on massive distortions?
In other words, he opposes existing trade deals such as CAFTA and NAFTA, which do not have those protections
Actually, CAFTA, there were side agreements on labor and environmental protections that got included into NAFTA. Why don’t you read about them on the NAFTA wikipedia page? Which would also have the virtue of giving you a minimal base of understanding about the facts involved, so you could have a statistically-significant chance of holding your own in this argument.
Please, keep saying how stupid I am immediately after demonstrating your ignorance.
, and he also opposes any new deals which do not have those protections, and since (this may shock you) other countries are not lining up to offer those protections, his position amounts to opposing free trade. Since we have not had an administration that tried to negotiate those elements into trade deals for the better part of the last decade, it’s tough to say whether they are achievable in future deals or not. I know I’m certainly not going to take the word of someone so passionately opposed to them when he says they are impossible.
CAFTA | October 10, 2008, 3:50pm | #
Good Lord, you really are this dumb, aren’t you?
I give up, this is a waste of time
I love the Breakfast Club, too!
“I don’t wanna get into this with you, man.”
“Why not?”
“Cuz I’d kill you. I’d kill you, and your fuckin’ parents would sue me, and it would be a big mess, and I just don’t need that.”
“Fuckin’ faggot.”
By raising tariffs on foreign goods, we will protect American jobs and open foreign markets!
Come on, it could work!
Good thing no one is proposing to raise tarrifs on foreign goods. That would just be nuts.
Because raising environmental and labor standards is cost free. And refusing to do business if they aren’t elevated wouldn’t reduce trade. So I guess there’s a difference.
Face it joe, Obama is really bad on trade.
and to back to a drying well, a majority economists who otherwise perfer him overall, and perfer most of his individual policy positions over McCain’s, don’t like Obama’s postiion on trade.
“to go back”
“prefer”
and anything else that was gackked up.
Kolohe,
Because raising environmental and labor standards is cost free.
Raising environmental and labor standards in exchange for reducing and eliminating tarrifs is a net reducation in costs.
Would such a deal reduce those costs as much as some would like? No, some people would never be satisfied. Nonetheless, it would not be “increasing tarrifs,” it would be reducing them.
Face it joe, Obama is really bad on trade.
I’m sure he is, by your standards. And by those the guy I just beat up on, who needs to make up new handles on every thread.
Apparently, he is so “bad on trade” that to make the case to libertarians that he is bad on trade, it is necessary to misstate his actual positions.
“Barack Obama wants to pass trade deals, but include conditions on labor and environmental standards!” doesn’t cut it as a denunciation, even around here, I guess.
100 economists wrote this letter
Well, 100 other economists wrote this one:
Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah index.
Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah funding.
Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah rates.
Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah recovery.
Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah pot of gold.
Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah ponies.
Blah blah blah blah blah blah Obama is Lord.
I’m mad, MAD, MAD ABOUT IT! I’m mad about INTERNATIONAL SOCIALISM! Promise me you will talk about Rev. Wright! And Ayers! I’m mad about…about hooligans! Yeah! Associations! Rezko!
I won’t tell you his name. Let’s call him T. Dave. No, wait, that’s too obvious. Tall D.
Yup. The attacks sure are working well. So much so that a Republican Congressman is telling them to chill out and fears a backlash.
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/ray.lahood.palin.2.837484.html
RE: @Joe 3:22
No ACORN employee has ever been arrestes for vote fraud. Not one. Ever. In the entire existence of the organization.
Not one single ACORN employee has ever been arrested for vtoe fraud.
Prosecutors in King and Pierce counties filed felony charges Thursday against seven employees of ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, claiming they turned in more than 1,800 phony voter-registration forms, including an estimated 55 in Pierce County.
Elsewhere, four ACORN canvassers in Kansas City, Mo., have pleaded guilty in federal court to felony voter-registration fraud.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003808207_votefraud27m.html
Clinton promised environmental and labor protections guarantees for NAFTA.
From J sub D | October 10, 2008, 3:29pm
From Human Rights Watch
and from The CATO Institute
Apparently, he is so “bad on trade” that to make the case to libertarians that he is bad on trade, it is necessary to misstate his actual positions.
from my link above:
These people are not republican shills, joe.
yes it’s argument from authority; it’s also ‘wisdom of crowds’
I also realize that you believed Clinton’s tax plan would put us into a recession in the 1990s, and that a liberal, democratic order would spontaneously arise in Iraq in short order after the toppling of Saddam.
Ah, joe – still with the misrepresentations. I don’t recall believing either of those things.
As for environmental and labor protections making it impossible to open foreign markets, no, I don’t realize that, because it’s not, y’know, true.
Sure, joe, its theoretically possible, but in the real world, especially the real world looking at a major economic contraction, these are pretty much mutually exclusive goals.
You do realize that, don’t you? That the rhetoric on free trade is cancelled out by the rhetoric on “protections”?
Well, I certainly am convinced. Obama’s reticence on a single trade agreement for reasons that have clear precedence in American trade negotiation history obviously means that he will create tariffs.
To paraphrase Dark Helmet:
Liberals will win this election. Because conservatives are dumb.
MayorOmalleySux,
Those are registration fraud, not vote fraud. Try again.
J sub D,
Clinton promised environmental and labor protections guarantees for NAFTA.
And labor and environmental protection side-deals were eventually negotiated and added to NAFTA. Sadly, they were weak and difficult to enforce, leading to…
Mexico, the United States, and Canada have ignored critically important labor rights obligations under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Human Rights Watch said in a comprehensive new study released today.
You can’t very well ignore obligations if there aren’t any.
And the environmental goals and objectives outlined in the treaty are just that–goals that for the most part few would argue with. The means of achieving those goals are left for each country to decide. Which is why Barack Obama, and much of the modern left, wants such conditions to be incorporated as binding elements in future deals.
Sure, joe, its theoretically possible, but in the real world, especially the real world looking at a major economic contraction, these are pretty much mutually exclusive goals.
Since the real world frowns on trade deals as a whole during major economic contractions just as much as on increased labor and environmental standards, that point would seem to cut both ways.
You do realize that, don’t you? That the rhetoric on free trade is cancelled out by the rhetoric on “protections”? I believe that you believe that. What does “the rhetoric is cancelled out” mean, anyway? That you’d consider a deal that reduces tariffs and quotas but formalizes labor and environmental standards a wash? You’re entitled to your opinion.
As a matter of fact, MayorOmalleySux, not only has no employee of ACORN ever been arrested for voter fraud, but not a single person in American history has ever been arrested for committing voter fraud via a fraudulent registration.
Sure, people get in trouble for handing in phony registration forms. ACORN has been defrauded several times by people like those described in our link – but it doesn’t lead to voter fraud. Trying to cheat in an election through false registrations these days is incredibly risky, and doesn’t provide any bang for the buck.
The real action is in voter suppression and ballot fraud. That’s how you steal an election, not by submitting registrations with the names of people who neither exist, nor show up to vote.
This is not the pocket lint I knew.
At least nine states have now launched criminal investigations of ACORN, which has endorsed Barack Obama, and which the Obama campaign has paid $800,000 to support its voter registration activities.
“No ACORN employee has ever been arrestes for vote fraud. Not one. Ever. In the entire existence of the organization.
Not one single ACORN employee has ever been arrested for vtoe fraud.
Prosecutors in King and Pierce counties filed felony charges Thursday against seven employees of ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, claiming they turned in more than 1,800 phony voter-registration forms, including an estimated 55 in Pierce County.
Elsewhere, four ACORN canvassers in Kansas City, Mo., have pleaded guilty in federal court to felony voter-registration fraud.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003808207_votefraud27m.html”
I have read this too but in Joe’s mind, my reading and personal experience are simply discounted because I’m just another stupid nigger.
Yeah, I’m Matilda.
ditto
Matilda: you and Joe are talking at cross-purposes. You are talking about voter registration fraud, not vote fraud. They’re not the same thing.
As a matter of fact, MayorOmalleySux, not only has no employee of ACORN ever been arrested for voter fraud, but not a single person in American history has ever been arrested for committing voter fraud via a fraudulent registration.
See, stuff like this just cries out for a link.
And you have to admire joe’s hair-splitting of voter registration fraud and vote fraud. That’s campaign-level obfuscation.
ACORN has been defrauded several times by people like those described in our link
See, ACORN’s the victim here. The fact that this happens over and over and over again in their campaigns just shows how big-hearted and trusting they are.
C’mon, people. Obama used to work for them, and has given them nearly a million dollars. Their association with the Dali Bama has purified their hearts. Its impossible for them to do wrong!
Obama – ObaWa – Obi Wan?
“This is not the socialist economic policy you think it is.”
“You will bring Captain McCain and the Wookie Hunter to me…now.”
for you, db
RC, I bet every organization that pays people to collect signatures and pays by the number of signatures gets defrauded.
Screw California. I live here. They can’t even keep the freeways maintained, much less build one of them. Ain’t been a new freeway built since Moonbeam was doing Ronstadt.
Damned if I’ll vote for this steaming pile of you know what.