Endorsement: For Mitt Romney

It has been a long two years since I last posted.

In the past two years, I have watched the progress of this years' political 
campaign with a mixture of bemusement and dismay.

Who can forget the "clown show" that was the "Parade of Candidates" 
of the Republican primary season?

Michelle Bachmann? No Way. Herman Cain? You've got to be
kidding. I think his comments about farmer-devouring 
chickens did him in. 

Let's hear it for those carnivorous Rhode Island Reds!

And Rick Perry? Right experience - Texas Governor, C-130 Hercules 
pilot - but Rick, if you're going to cut government departments if elected, 
it helps to remember just which departments you intend to cut.

And Newt? You are an American Winston Churchill - a hundred ideas 
at once, of which any two or three are good. Add in also 
Churchillian rhetorical skills. But, your habit of marrying serial 
mistresses isn't exactly a Presidential skill; we're looking for a 
President here, not an American Dominique Strauss-Khan.

And a colony on the moon? That's where some folks would like to 
send you - permanently.

But then, one man emerged out of all this, a man with the right 
experience and the right program to put the country back on course.

That man is Mitt Romney.

Now, Mitt is not perfect. A "Tribune Of The People" he is not - he is , 
in fact, an unapologetic believer in "The One Percent", of which he is a 
splendid example. From his wife's tax-deductible Dancing Olympic Horse
to his vast and extensive offshore holdings in tax-favored jurisdictions, 
he is a modern global plutocrat - using very advantage, edge, dodge 
and shelter possible to preserve and expand his privileged position.

But does this disqualify him? Not at all. Because if "plutocratic 

wealth" were a disqualifier for office, President Kennedy, both 
Presidents Roosevelt, both Presidents Bush, as well as 
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson would all have 
been ineligible.

And you can't tell me (especially in the case of Kennedy and 
the Roosevelts), that they didn't use every available trick in 
the book back in their day to preserve and expand their wealth.

When looking for a President, wealth shouldn't be the issue;

it should be Character, Culture, Substance, Experience, and the 

DETAILS of what he plans to do in office.

But on Character, Culture and Substance,  Mitt's handicapped. 
The incumbent President is hip and cool. He hosts Beyonce and 
Kanye West in the White House. He plays basketball on the 
White House court with NBA stars. He appears on Letterman, 
Leno, and Saturday Night Live. He Texts. He Tweets.

Between his Blackberry and his iPad, he's cool, contemporary, 
and utterly up-to-date. He's In Touch. 

In our digital, iPhoned and iPadded world, that equates to 
Character, Culture, and Substance.

And Mitt?  Doesn't have a cell phone. Doesn't use a laptop or PC. 
Doesn't need to.

He has subordinates and assistants who do all that "tech stuff" 
for him. 

An entire platoon of scribes writes his speeches, position papers, 
and memos for him. Another group tweaks the spreadsheets
 and comes up with "The Numbers".

A dedicated assistant does all his texting and tweeting.  
And the sole task of yet another assistant is to carry all the 
cell phones, screen the incoming calls, and dial the outgoing 
calls for him.

But while Mitt's stilted, somewhat jarring 
Gordon Gekko-meets-Ward Cleaver persona doesn't exactly 
translate to the digital age, it does reflect exactly who he is;

an early-sixtyish major-enterprise CEO who is running his 
campaign like a CEO - not a politician.

Trust me - there isn't a Global Fortune 500 CEO anywhere 
that doesn't identify with  Mitt's style and the way he has organized 
his campaign..

And while a man who thinks Perry Como, The Andrews Sisters
and Lou Rawls are current cultural icons might need some cultural
help, Mitt's uber-square persona DOES resonate with the folks who 
will decide this election. 

And here I'm not talking about the Bible thumpers, snake handlers, 
economic cranks and early-onset-dementia patients who make 
up much of the Republican base.

No - I'm talking about the entrepreneurs, proprietors, and 
small-business people who are the bulk of the nations' Productive 
sector and who provide over 80% of the nations JOBS.  

I'm talking about the serious corporate and academic leaders 
who understand that if we don't get a handle on the nation's debt and 
deficit  problems, we won't go the way of Japan or Greece - 
it will most likely be something worse.

And four more years of Barack Obama, with a tidal wave of 
"Regulation-For-Regulation's-Sake" coming up with Obamacare, 
Dodd-Frank, and a host of other liberal-left "priorities" is going 
to make an economic recovery not just difficult but impossible.

And like James Carville said twenty years ago, the ONLY issue
today is "It's The Economy, Stupid".

And the ONLY WAY to restore a healthy, full-employment economy is 

to enact the Energy, Entitlement,Regulatory, Spending and Budgetary 

reforms that will make this economy competitive again.

And the global economy IS competitive - too many people forget 

that while Investment Capital and the investors and CEO's 

who control it are mobile, governments and peoples are not.

And attracting and retaining Investment Capital takes a visionary 

CEO - not a politician.

And while "Trickle-Down Economics" might be discredited today,  
serious peopleagree that the only thing worse is "Trickle-Down 
Government".

The choice is stark; we can have the Government-Centered Economy 
of Barack  Obama, or we can return to a competitive economy of Free Markets 
run by a free people.

Vote Romney/Ryan on November 6.

Predictions On The Coming GOP Wave: House Yes, Senate No.

On Tuesday, November 2nd, to the surprise of no one, 

the Great GOP Wave will wash over Washington D.C.

Frightened Democrats and liberals are making headlines

with scare stories of a 60 to 70 seat Democratic rout in the 

House, and loss of control of the Senate as well. 

To the mainstream media , an epic repeat of the 

Disaster Of 1994 is in the works,  when the 

Democrats lost 53 seats in the House 

and eleven in the Senate to hand total 

control of Congress to an angry and motivated 

GOP.

Is this going to happen again? I think not.

I am, however, predicting that the GOP will 

take control of the House, picking up a total of 

47 seats, with most of the Democratic

losses coming from freshman and sophomore

Representatives in districts that went for McCain

in 2008. A silver lining in all this for the Democrats

is that most of their key leadership is predicted to

return to Congress, which will give them some 

necessary "time in opposition" to impose discipline

and develop an ideologically coherent message.

The Senate, however, is a different story. To win the 

majority, the GOP would have to add ten seats to the

41 they currently control. This looks to be out of reach now.

As of this writing, the GOP will pick up three contested 

seats (Arkansas, Indiana, and North Dakota) and possibly

add another in Wisconsin, where Democratic incumbent

Russ Feingold is running behind newcomer Ron Johnson

(former CEO of S.C. Johnson Co.). That leaves six to go.

And these six states - Pennsylvania, Colorado, Nevada,

Illinois, Delaware, and Washington - have been closely 

watched ever since the primaries. My prediction: The

Republicans will pick up three, the Democrats will

retain three. Here's the breakdown:

1) Pennsylvania. Pat Toomey (R) and Joe Sestak (D)

have been battling neck-and-neck all summer for the

seat being vacated by defeated Sen. Arlen Specter (D,

formerly (R) ). It all depends on turnout in heavily

Democratic Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, 

as the rest of the State leans heavily Republican.

If Sestak's margin in the Philadelphia area is less

than 400,000, Toomey wins. My prediction: Pat Toomey

will be the new Republican Senator.

2) Colorado. Appointed Senator Michael Bennett (D)

and former Weld County D.A. Ken Buck (R) are battling

for the seat vacated by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

This race has attracted perhaps the most out-of-state

and 3rd-party money of any save the race in Nevada.

At this moment, the race is rated a toss-up by the media.

My take: Obama won Colorado narrowly in 2008 on the 

strength of Denver and Colorado Springs suburban liberals.

These folks have since been hammered by huge 

white-collar layoffs, and Colorado leads the nation 

in unemployment among educated, white-collar 

professionals. Outside of the Denver and Colorado 

Springs areas, the state is Red and getting redder.

Prediction: Ken Buck takes this seat for the GOP.

3) Nevada. Probably the most watched Senate race in the 

nation, this one pits Senate Majority Leader  Harry Reid

against exciting and outspoken newcomer Sharron Angle.

Early on, Reid was expected to "vaporize" the "extreme"

Ms. Angle and cruise to re-election. It hasn't turned out

that way.

Ms. Angle seized the initiative in their only debate, coming

across as both reasonable and energetic while Reid looked

and sounded every bit the tired, entrenched Washington 

insider. When Reid mumbled on and on about "markups"

and "Senate procedure", Ms. Angle told him to "man up"

and "take responsibility" for the disastrous condition

of both the local and national economy.

At that moment, the momentum switched to Ms. Angle.

Unenviably, Nevada leads the nation in unemployment,

foreclosures, and bankruptcies, and Reid and the 

Democrats have done precious little to turn things 

around.Even the endorsements of the large gaming

and mining interests (which came before Ms. Angle

even won the primary), have probably hurt Sen. Reid

more than they have helped. Ms. Angle has very

effectively painted Harry Reid as the candidate of 

big money interests, while she fights for the little guy.

My prediction: Reid fights Angle to a draw in Clark

County (Las Vegas), and loses resoundingly everywhere

else.  Sharron Angle goes to Washington, in what the

national media will term a huge upset.

4) Illinois. The race between State Treasurer Alex 

Giannoulias (D) and former Rep. Mark Kirk (R) for

President Obama's old seat has been watched for over 

a year. And this one is turning out to be a classic, with

The Chicago Democratic Machine  pitted against

conservative, downstate Republicans. Early scandals

involving Giannoulias with his family's failed bank

and disgraced ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich and convicted

"fixer" Tony Rezko haven't been reflected in the polls,

which show the Democrat with a slight lead.

My take: Kirk wins downstate, but the  Chicago machine,

now strengthened with the help of former White House

Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel, does its usual "fixing".

Alex Giannoulias becomes the new Democratic Senator

from Illinois.

5) Delaware. This is the one state where the Tea Party

over-reached, nominating the unelectable Christine

O'Donnell over the pragmatic GOP moderate Mike

Castle in a very low-turnout primary.

All the national Democrats had to do was replay 

endless bits from Bill Maher's Politically Incorrect,

where Ms. O'Donnell was a frequent guest talking 

about  witchcraft and Satanism. Result? Game Over.

Chris Coons (D), the Yale-educated lawyer and former

New Castle County Executive, goes to the Senate.

6) Washington State. Sen. Patty Murray (D) has been

locked in a tight battle against newcomer Dino Rossi.

While Murray has not been exactly the most effective 

of Senators, she has been instrumental in keeping

Boeing (Washington's largest employer) from 

outsourcing more jobs either overseas or to lower-cost

Kansas or South Carolina, saving thousands of

high-skill, high-wage jobs.

Add to this the fact that Washington (like 

Oregon and California) has a large edge in 

Democratic voter registration and this race 

will go as predicted, with Murray winning re-election 

by a 53% -47% margin.

Bottom Line: The GOP will make significant gains,

but the gains in my opinion could have been

larger had the GOP campaigned more on policy  

and less on blanket opposition to all things Obama.

The reason they didn't campaign on policy 

is that the mainstream GOP is hugely beholden 

to Wall Street and Corporate America, and 

mainstream GOP policy calls for more outsourcing, 

more job exportation to the Third World, shredding

what remains of the the social safety net, and vast

reductions in the standards of living for everyone

except the very richest 1%.

And the Democrats?  Rather than preach Class Warfare

and the interests of ordinary Americans, they became 

the Party of Government and Business As Usual,

becoming the party of  favor-granting, ear-marking,

bailouts, spending and pork.

With the economy in tatters and poverty and desperation

increasing everywhere, The Tea Party, unruly and 

disorganized though it may be, has become the last best

hope for millions of disfranchised Americans abandoned

by both their government and their financial elites.

And this may be the last chance the "system" gets. Two

more years like the last two and there won't be "elections"

in 2012.

There will be a Revolution - led by a Nationalist

Strongman, probably from the military.

Move over, Argentina - here comes the U.S.A. !

Endorsement: Sharron Angle For U.S. Senate

November 2nd  is shaping up to be perhaps the most 
crucial Mid -Term election in modern American history.


Facing what is unarguably the darkest  economic climate 
since the Great Depression, the choices facing Americans 
could not be more clear.


Either we continue on the same path we are on now - 
more debt, more spending, more government regulation,
or we use this crisis as an opportunity to make a clean
break with the past and begin anew.


And to begin anew, it is going to take more than just
new policies. It is going to take new people in the House
and Senate; new people untainted by the failed policies
and platitudes of BOTH parties which have placed us 
in the predicament we are in now.


And, here in Nevada, we have an opportunity to start
the national renewal process  that is so badly needed.


We can begin by sending Sharron Angle to represent us 
in Washington.

And why are we opposed to Harry Reid?  Because 
in 24 years in the Senate, good ol' Harry has gone
from representing Nevada in Washington to representing
Washington to Nevada.


We can begin with ObamaCare - the "healthcare reform"
that wasn't. The president had started with a good 
premise - that health care in the United States was both 
too expensive and inaccessible for the vast majority of 
Americans. The Bush years had seen an explosion in 
premium costs, vast reductions in coverage, and huge 
oligopoly profits for the health insurance industry. 
The system was irretrievably broken, and crying out 
for drastic reform.


Yet, when the "public option" was on the table, 
together with necessary cost controls on pharmaceuticals 
and the insurance industry, it was Harry Reid, more 
than anyone else, who bluntly told the president that 
anything that restricted the profits of the health insurance 
industry and Big Pharma was off the table.


Not only would true reform never pass the Senate, 
Harry said, but also that he personally could not support 
any bill that did not keep control of health care delivery
with the for-profit private sector.


And now we know where that has led us. Health care
premiums are rising at 25-30% rates, millions are facing
the loss of all of their health coverage through employer
plans, and costs are escalating through the roof.


If your employer is dropping your health coverage or
doubling or tripling your premiums or deductibles, you 
can thank Harry Reid for that.


And, as the Las Vegas Review-Journal points out, in 
its Oct. 3 endorsement of  Ms. Angle:


" As he has climbed higher and higher in the Democratic
hierarchy, he has veered further and further to the left,
becoming politically disconnected from Nevada and its
residents "


Truer word was never spoken. And on the other failed
policies of the past two years, on bailouts for Wall Street
and the auto companies, on the pork-laden "stimulus",
on "cap-and-trade" that threatens to sink the nation into 
permanent uncompetitiveness, Harry Reid has led the 
charge for it all.


Indeed, it can plausibly be argued that rather than"hitching
his wagon" to the Obama agenda, it was Harry Reid who
convinced the President that in order to succeed he needed 
to conform his program to  the Harry Reid-Nancy Pelosi 
agenda of  high taxes, intrusive regulation,and crony 
capitalism for Wall Street and the Fortune 500.

Finally, there's the issue of who supports who in 
this contest. Not only has Harry Reid obtained the 
support of the usual Democrat suspects (including 
the public employee unions), but he has also obtained 
the support of almost every private interest needing a 
government-granted "favor" in either 
Washington or Carson City.


Both the U.S. and Nevada Chambers of Commerce 
are supporting Reid. The gambling and mining 
interests  have loaded up his campaign coffers 
with most of the $25 million Reid is banking for this 
election. Even long-time Carson City GOP "fixers" 
and  "insiders" Sig Rogich and Bill Raggio
have signed on to the Reid bandwagon.


Against all this, Sharron Angle has only the people. 
And in this state, the people are, to put it mildly, 
fed up. Unenviably, Nevada leads the nation in 
foreclosures, bankruptcies, and unemployment rate.


And how has Harry Reid responded? If Harry Reid 
were any kind of Democrat Majority Leader, say on
the order of the late Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, 
Nevada should be awash in federal projects, federal 
employment,  and federal dollars, and riding out the 
recession if not comfortably, at least  satisfactorily.


Instead, Nevada ranks 49th out of 50 states in overall 
federal dollars returned to the state. Fiftieth in federal aid 
to highways. A dismal 49th in federal aid to K-12 and higher 
education. Indeed, Harry has been so busy handing out 
special favors to everyone else he has completely forgotten
the home folks. For a Democrat, that's inexcusable.


Against all this, Sharron Angle represents a 
complete break from the failed policies of the past. 
A principled and unwavering voice for low taxes, 
less regulation, competition and free enterprise,
Sharron Angle will be a key player in making 
sure that a more conservative and more Republican 
House and Senate stay in line and on message.


And that message is NO to more spending, more
regulation, more debt, and more special favors 
and breaks to those corrupt private  interests who 
have done so much to bring this country to its 
knees.


And if that's a message you agree with, then the choice is clear.

Vote for Sharron Angle on November 2nd.

The 9/11 Anniversary - Let's Be Thankful For What Didn't Happen

The 9/11 Anniversary has come and gone; thankfully, 

without any further violence to anyone.

Despite the "threat" of a misguided Florida pastor to 

burn copies of the Qu'ran, and the threat of total street

violence from the "Arab Street", the solemn day of 

remembrance came and went in what was, for the 

most part, a decent respect for the events and casualties of

that day nine tears ago.

It's as if both sides peered over the edge into the abyss

and said, "No Thanks". And that's actually a tribute to

the good sense of people of good will on both sides.

To be sure, there was a well-attended demonstration

at the site of the proposed Muslim "cultural center"

in Lower Manhattan, featuring anti-Islamic activist 

Pamela Geller and freedom-fighter and free speech 

activist Geert Wilders from the Netherlands. And there was 

also a small "counter-demonstration" by the usual coterie of

leftist nuts and peace activists. 

But both groups managed to do something right, which 

was to keep the Elected Politicians firmly at arm's length -

something which I am convinced helped keep both 

demonstrations peaceful.

And the Qu'ran-burning pastor in Florida? He called 

off his event after fellow clergy from both Christianity

and Islam gently reminded him that in Islam,

burning of the Bible is haram - forbidden - because

the Old Testament tells the story of the many 

prophets as revered in Islam as they are in Christianity.

And what both sides need to do now is to step back

and explore ways in which both communities might

better coexist with one another. 

Here in America, that's  not yet a large problem.

Muslim immigrants here tend to be either well-educated,

relatively secular professionals or hard-working taxi

drivers, shopkeepers, small business men of all kinds.

On balance, they are a net plus to society, even allowing

for the occasionally deranged lunatic like Ft. Hood's

Maj. Hassan.

The same, however, cannot be said of Europe. There,

unlimited immigration of millions of poor, uneducated, 

unassimilable Muslims has led to all sorts of problems -

problems which Europe's cowardly "politically 

correct" leaders have been both unable and unwilling

to take seriously. And we have the same problem here,

only worse.

Just substitute "Mexicans" and "America's cowardly

"politically correct" leaders " and you'll know what I'm 

talking about.

And if Europe's and America's leaders won't handle 

the problem, it will be handled for them - by Nationalistic 

peoples pushed beyond both anger and reason.

And trust me, no one is going to like that outcome.

Don't Underestimate the Power of Palin !

The last round of Republican primaries has established 

one thing: 

Don't Underestimate the Power of Palin !

Unlike any other Republican figure, Sarah Palin has proven 

beyond doubt to have the "endorsement power" that excites

voters and gets them to the polls.

The Great Corporatist Mitt Romney doesn't have this power. 

Neither do Mike Huckabee nor Tim Pawlenty.

After this last round, the Palin endorsement scoreboard is 20 Wins, 

10 losses - a 67% winning percentage. That's good ball in any game.

But when we go behind the raw figures and dig down 

into the details, it gets even more impressive. Most of the 

Palin-endorsed primary victories were won by Tea Party 

backed candidates; most of the losses were candidates 

backed by the Republican "Establishment". And this last fact 

is something you will not find in the Mainstream media, with 

the possible exception of Fox News.

Which leads one to ask the question: "Why did Sarah Palin 

waste her endorsement power on Establishment candidates?" 

Answer: Sarah Palin is a serious politician, who will either 

win the 2012 GOP Presidential nomination or decide who 

does. To get that power, she needs to get political IOU's from 

her party's mainstream, not just the "Tea Party". 

And, as the GOP's hottest commodity, she can literally 

make or break a candidacy with her support.

Think that's a little extreme? Just ask soon-to-be-ousted Senator 

Lisa Murtkowski (R-AK), who lost to Palin and Tea Party

endorsed candidate Joe Miller.

Until two months ago, Sen. Murtkowski was the picture of 

an untouchable Establishment Republican. The daughter of

former Governor Frank Murtkowski (whom Palin defeated

for Governor in 2006), Sen. Murtkowski had $10 million

in the bank, was 20 points ahead in the polls, and was 

cruising toward re-election. Then Palin and the Tea Party

stepped in. 

While Palin endorsed candidate Miller and recorded 

messages for him, Husband Todd and the Tea Party

sprang into action. Going door-to-door and village-to-

village in Alaska's remoteness, The Tea Party and Todd

Palin won the day for Joe Miller - and the reverberations 

were felt all around the country, most especially in Washington

D.C.

Message delivered: If you are an Establishment GOP incumbent,

and Sarah Palin opposes you, you are not safe. And if you are

too closely identified with the GOP "Establishment", a Sarah

Palin endorsement may not save you.

And the details bear this out. Of the fifteen House Candidates

endorsed by Sarah Palin, 9 won and 6 lost. Of the winners,

seven were Tea Party Candidates, and only two were from

the "Establishment". Of the losers, two were Tea Party and 

four were "establishment" - including three incumbents.

On the Senate side, the results were a little more evenly

divided. Two "establishment" Palin-endorsed candidates

won (Carly Fiorina in California and John McCain in Arizona),

two Tea Party candidates lost (in Washington and Kansas),

and Tea Party bright lights Sharron Angle(Nevada) and Rand Paul

(Kentucky) won (and are expected to win in the general election), 

with the help of Sarah Palin's endorsement.

And with the always important Governor's races, Sarah made the 

difference in at least four of the nine contests she endorsed, saving

establishment candidates Susanna Martinez in New Mexico and

Mary Fallin in Oklahoma, as well as engineering the dramatic 

come-from-behind win of Nikki Haley in South Carolina.

Yes, that Nikki Haley - the daughter of Indian immigrants whom

a GOP Establishment figure called a "raghead" in public.

Bottom line - when Sarah Palin makes her run for the White House

in 2012, she'll have an awful lot of folks in the GOP, both in the

"establishment" and out, who will owe her big time.

And in getting her "IOU's" in early, on both sides of the GOP,

she's following in the proven footsteps of the Greatest 

Conservative of our Age, the 40th President, Ronald Reagan.

And she's looking and sounding more and more like The Gipper

every day.

Obama, Pelosi and Reid: Putting Government First

By Patrick J. Buchanan (Creators Syndicate) - Las Vegas Review-Journal

Where a man's purse is, there his heart will be also.

If you wish to know where the heart of the Obama party 

is today, consider: In the dog says of August, with temperatures 

in D.C. rising above 100, Nancy Pelosi called the House back to 

Washington to enact legislation that could not wait until September.

Purpose: Vote $ 26 billion to prevent layoffs of state, county 

and municipal employees whose own governments had decided 

they had to be let go if they were to meet their constitutional duty 

to balance their books.

Workers their own governments thought expendable, Congress 

decided were so essential it borrowed another 26 thousand 

million dollars from China to keep them on state and local 

payrolls.

A nation whose national debt is approaching its gross national 

product, that goes abroad to borrow to keep non-essential 

workers on the government payroll, is a nation on the way 

down and out. 

And anyone who thinks the party of Obama, Reid and Pelosi

is ever going to cull the armies of tens of millions of government

workers or scores of millions of government beneficiaries to put

America's house in order is deluding himself.

As long as this Congress and White House remain in power, a

U.S. default on its national debt is inevitable. The only question

is when.

Nor is this the first time the Obama Administration has rushed to 

save workers whose own state, city and county governments

were prepared to let go. Among the reasons the $800 billion

stimulus failed is that so little of it was directed to firing up 

the locomotive of the economy, the private sector, and so much

of it was spent to ensure that government workers did not have to 

share in the national sacrifice.

Why Pelosi and Co. felt compelled to return to D.C., to ensure

that state and local government payrolls were not pared, is 

not hard to understand.

Which party does the American Federation of Teachers, 

The National Education Association, and the American 

Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees

usually contribute to, work for, vote for?

At which of the two party conventions are teachers 

and government employees hugely over-represented?

Consider too, the states deepest in debt and facing

the largest cuts in employee ranks, pay and benefits:

California, Illinois, New York.

In these states, public employees earn an average of 

$10,000 more a year in pay and benefits than the

average American worker who is bailing them out.

Hence, we have a situation where private-sector workers

in Middle America are being taxed, their children driven

deeper into debt so government employees who have 

greater job security than they do, and earn more in pay

and benefits than they will ever earn, can stay in Fat City.

And folks wonder why so many Americans detest 

government.

In the same week that Congress came back to 

prevent AFSCME from taking a haircut, the

Wall Street Journal reported that in 2009,

only three of 52 metro areas with populations

over 1 million  saw "net earnings and the broader

measure of personal income both rise".

Are you surprised to learn that Washington D.C.

is #1 among the three?

That same day, USA Today had a startling report

on how, during the last decade, U.S. Government

workers, like Wall Street bankers, left their fellow 
Americans in the dust.

"Federal workers have been awarded bigger average 

pay and benefit increases than private employees

for nine years in a row, The compensation gap

between federal and private workers has doubled

in the past decade.

"Federal civil servants earned average pay and 

benefits of $123,049 in 2009 while private 

workers earned $61,051 in total compensation.

The federal compensation advantage has grown

from $30,415 in 2000 to $ 61,998 last year. "

Remarkable. U.S. government workers, who

enjoy the greatest job security of any Americans,

now earn twice as much in pay and benefits as the 

average American. This is not the D.C. some of

us grew up in.

Nor is all of this Obama's doing. For most of the

fat years of the federal work force came while

Washington was being run by Big Government 

Conservatives and a White House of Bush-Cheney

Republicans.

No wonder the Tea party is targeting both parties.

Nevertheless, it is impossible to believe that the

Obamaites, who intervened twice and massively

with bailouts to prevent minor layoffs of local

and state government employees, have the stomach 

to do the major surgery needed to cut the federal

monolith down to size.

For the vast majority of government employees

vote Democratic, as do the vast majority of the

scores of millions of beneficiaries of federal, state,

and local programs.

What Pelosi and Co. were saying with the $26

billion bailout was "We are going to protect

our own".

Which is why either Obama, Reid, Pelosi and 

Co. go, or we are Gone.