American Republic Online

Sen. Arlen Specter announced today that he would be switching parties.  Now a lot of people are upset about the “shift of power” in the Senate.  But let’s be honest here - Sen Specter has been voting Democrat for years and the fact that he now is finally admitting that allegiance does NOTHING to the actual votes in the Senate.  It does however provide one less straw man - on less RINO (Republican In Name Only) to use for claims of “bi-partisanship”.  Which are often pointed to later when things don’t go as promised (almost always) to blame Republicans for this or that law or bill passage.

REALLY, the GOP now that they have lost 60 vote cloture numbers game (which they didn’t have even back in the “Gang for 14″ days) should step up and throw out some more dead wood.  I can think of 6 more Senators that the GOP would be better without.  Make the RINOs be honest and sport that D next to their name.  You don’t have their vote and at least they would get to sabatage the party from the inside any more.  Let the libs fully claim and own their liberal policies.  At least then when they implode you can proudly say “I told you so” and pick up the electoral peices.  That is of course if the GOP actually wants to win future elections.  Lately here, I wonder.

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Wesbury and Stein at Forbes remind us that even “if the government increased the top tax rate [(for the highest income-earners)] from the current rate of 35% to 100% (yes, that’s right 100%), it would only collect an extra $400 billion this year. In other words, confiscating all the income that is currently taxed at 35% would not raise enough revenue to cover any of the annual deficits projected in the next 10 years. There is no way that tax hikes on the rich alone can pay for proposed spending in the current budget.”

Kind of puts the “only raise taxes on the rich” in perspective.  And shows how utterly out of hand it has become.

Juxtapose that to this:
Obama’s spending vs. Obama’s spending cuts in pictures

I almost spit my coffee out when I saw that.

Glen Beck has an excellent 4 minute summation of the motivation behind the mobs of people assembling in Tea Party Protests around the country.  If you are for the Tea Parties it will speak to you. Or if you don’t understand the parties (for instance if you think they are anti-Obama) it will open your eyes (and you may find you agree with them more than you think).

• Fox Video

That’s right the same DHS that has banned the use of the word “terrorist” and the phrase “war on terror” has now found someone to target.  Right leaning voters are apparently the country’s greatest threat:

A footnote attached to the report by the Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis defines “rightwing extremism in the United States” as including not just racist or hate groups, but also groups that reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority.

“It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single-issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration,” the warning says.

So if you believe in the concept of Federalism (States rights are more important than the Fed) or if you are pro-life or against Amnesty for illegal immigrants… you are an extremist.  Also the White House press secretary is apparently OK with using the T-word with regard with regard to right wing “radicals” if not Islamic radicals.   So I am a triple terrorist threat!  Strange how far the view has shifted on those that still hold to the original intent of the founding fathers on the country and the constitution.

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