Friday Mashup (8/6/10)

Larry Kudlow tells us the following here at the Tucker Carlson Propaganda Factory…

The great flaw in the thinking of the Democrats is that they are ignorant of the economic power of saving and investment. Saving is a good thing. Stocks, bonds, bank deposits, money-market funds, commercial paper, venture capital, private equity, real estate partnerships — all that saving is channeled into business investment. And whether that capital goes into new start-ups or small businesses or large firms, it finances the kind of new investment in plants and equipment and software and buildings that ultimately creates jobs and family incomes. And that, in turn, spurs consumption.

As noted here…

Median household income is the best measure of American families' well-being because it shows the true economic mid-point of the population. By definition, half of all households make more than the median, and half make less. (Average household income figures are bad measures of overall well-being, because a small percentage of very rich families can skew the picture, making everyone appear to be richer than they are.) Median household income has fallen an average of 1.15 percent per year under Bush. It rose an average of 1.65 percent per year under Clinton.

But just remember, ladies and gentlemen and boys and girls, according to Kudlow, it’s the Democrats who “are ignorant of the economic power of savings and investment.”

Which begs the question – how on earth are you supposed to save and/or invest with something you don’t have?

Also, Michael Gerson tells us the following today in the WaPo (here, in another column about how the Dems are supposedly doomed this fall - for the record, this is where we are at...it all comes down to jobs, jobs, jobs)…

Politicians under stress tend to confirm, not refute, the criticisms that got them into trouble in the first place. Vacillating politicians vacillate. Thin-skinned politicians explode.

They sure do; as noted here about Gerson’s former boss…

Given his famous thin skin whenever he feels slighted, his eagerness to demean others could be interpreted as a sign of his dynastic authority, a modern-day droit du seigneur in which he can humiliate others but they can’t return the favor.

Indeed, this tendency to assert his superior position over others by subjecting them to degrading treatment has been a recurring part of Bush’s persona dating back at least to his days as an “enforcer” on his father’s presidential campaigns.

In 1986, for instance, Bush spotted Wall Street Journal political writer Al Hunt and his wife Judy Woodruff having dinner at a Dallas restaurant with their four-year-old son. Bush was steaming over Hunt’s prediction that Jack Kemp – not then-Vice President George H.W. Bush – would win the Republican presidential nomination in 1988.

Bush stormed up to the table and cursed Hunt out. “You fucking son of a bitch,” Bush yelled. “I saw what you wrote. We’re not going to forget this.”

Later in the campaign, when Newsweek ran a cover story with the image of George H.W. Bush on a boat with the headline, “Fighting the Wimp Factor,” a furious George W. Bush enforced a year-long punishment of Newsweek by barring the magazine’s reporters from access to key campaign insiders.

But just remember that Obama is the one with the “thin skin,” not his predecessor (who, by the way, received the memo noted here nine years ago today).

I know I’ve criticized conservatives loud and long for reasons that I consider to be completely justified, but I have to admit that there is one thing (and probably no more) that they do better than anyone else.

And that is projecting their own faults onto those with whom they disagree.

Finally, I received the following recent correspondence from the office of Rep. Patrick Murphy…

AMNESIA WATCH: Former Congressman Fitzpatrick Hopes Voters Forget Pro-Amnesty Voting Record

“Congressman Murphy, you have often broken with the pro-amnesty Washington politicians to take the side of unemployed Americans in the illegal immigration issue. Your voting record indicates that you believe…any immigration reform proposal that includes amnesty is a disservice to the authorized immigrants who are here and have been playing by the rules to gain citizenship in this country.”

- Roy Beck, Executive Director of NumbersUSA

(Bristol, PA) – Former Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick talks tough on illegal immigration but his weak voting record tells a whole other story.

Former Congressman Fitzpatrick says he now supports the new toughest-in-the-nation Arizona immigration law. Only problem? He voted against nearly identical legislation while he was in Washington. The legislation he voted against would have given state and local authorities the ability to detain illegal immigrants in the course of the officers’ regular duties.1 Further, the former Congressman also voted to protect “sanctuary cities” around the country, allowing them to continue ignoring federal anti-immigration laws.2

Patrick Murphy doesn’t just talk tough on illegal immigration. He’s got the record to back it up. Patrick broke with his party to support the Arizona law, which requires police to check the immigration status of individuals stopped for other crimes. He was the lone Democrat to vote in support of an amendment to prevent the Obama administration from using federal funds to sue Arizona over the law.

Former Congressman Fitzpatrick also voted against providing $20 million for construction of a fence to protect our borders from the flow of illegal immigrations.3

Patrick Murphy, on the other hand, has constantly fought to beef up security along our borders and introduced legislation to increase penalties for border agents who help smuggle people into the country, a serious breach of national security.4

Talk is cheap. Fitzpatrick might hope people in Bucks County have amnesia, but it's impossible to forget a voting record this appalling.

1 Roll Call Vote #659, 109th Congress, 1st Session
2 Roll Call Vote #177, 109th Congress, 1st Session
3 Roll Call Vote #669, 109th Congress, 1st Session
4 Secure Borders Act (H.R. 4622)

(OK, disclosure time - I support a path to citizenship and amnesty for illegals, but the issue here is yet another "Fitz-flop," talking tough but failing to act when he had the chance.)

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