Archive for Republicans
Pat McCrory’s Greatest Hits
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The late Benny Hill, from his critically acclaimed role in “Memoirs of the Pope Administration”
It may seem a little premature to recount Pat McCrory’s top hits as governor, but the first month of his tenure has given us enough gems that it seems like a good idea to stop and take stock before the legislative session begins and the wonders of January start to fade with distance. So here’s a run down of what I believe to be the best quotes to come out of the McCrory administration so far. Feel free to add your own in the comments.
1. “The educated elite have taken over.”
“I think some of the educational elite have taken over our education where we are offering courses that have no chance of getting people jobs.”
Tom Sullivan has already done a good job unpacking the beauty of this statement. For myself, I’m wondering who’s supposed to be in charge of education apart from “educational elites.” Educational mediocrities, maybe?
2. “I’m trying to make it.”
And yet it’s clear that McCrory doesn’t have a problem with elites in general. Read More→
McCrory: More Tradesmen, Fewer Educated Elite Like Me
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Whenever NC Gov. Pat McCrory’s predecessor, Democrat Beverly Perdue put her foot in her mouth, Republicans were gleeful. Now that the shoe is in the other mouth, so to speak, they might advise the Republican governor to avoid conservative talk radio shows. On the Tuesday edition of former Reagan education secretary Bill Bennett’s radio show, McCrory opened his mouth and promptly inserted his wingtip.
RALEIGH — Gov. Pat McCrory said Tuesday he’s determined to get North Carolina’s public university system to focus on teaching what’s useful in terms of getting a job and criticized an “educational elite” for offering courses in subjects such as gender studies that don’t lead students onto clear career paths…“I think some of the educational elite have taken over our education where we are offering courses that have no chance of getting people jobs,” McCrory said on Bennett’s program.
“I don’t want to subsidize that if that’s not going to get someone a job,” McCrory told Bennett. “Right now, I’m looking for engineers. I’m looking for technicians. I’m looking for mechanics.” McCrory himself was a political science and education major, while Bennett holds a Ph.D. in philosophy.
Fixing Elections
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s possible (though rare) for a candidate to become president of the United States without winning the popular vote. Americans complain that it is a bug in the Electoral College system.
Republicans wants to turn that bug into a feature.
At The Atlantic, David Graham suggests:
Let’s play a game. Let’s say, hypothetically, that your party has lost the popular vote in five of the last six presidential elections. Even worse, long-term demographic trends suggest that your chances are only going to get worse. What do you do?One option might be to revamp your policy proposals, improve the technical operational side of your party, and think about ways to improve your candidate pool.
Or you could try to find ways to make sure fewer people’s votes matter.
Care to guess what Republicans chose? Here’s the plan.
The One Chart You Need to Understand “Tax Reform”
Posted by: | CommentsReally. Just one. This one:
What’s this about? Details after the jump. Read More→
Statewide Implications?
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From North Carolina’s The Answer to Annexation is Confiscation Department.
The Independent Weekly of Raleigh asks whether the bill being drafted by NC state Rep. Chuck McGrady, R-Henderson, to strip Asheville of its $170 million water system might have statewide implications.
Several towns in North Carolina, including Butner, have passed resolutions opposing the legislation because it “sets a dangerous precedent that will have a chilling effect on any local government investing in infrastructure.”
“It is pretty clear state government has that power,” says Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton. “They have the ultimate say over what we do. This is obviously highly concerning.”
At press time Tuesday night, the town was considering a resolution opposing the bill.
For his part, McGrady says his confiscation bill cosponsored by Rep. Tim Moffitt, R-Buncombe, has “no statewide implications,” but that “somebody could decide it’s what they want anywhere.” The Independent replies, “That sounds like a statewide implication to us.”
The Independent Weekly quotes somebody named Barry Waters as a source on this story. Anybody know the guy?
Read more here.
Water Rights, Cattle Barons, Governors and Resolutions
Posted by: | Commentssaveourwaterwnc.com Monday hit the airwaves with a radio ad attacking the “cattle barons” behind the threatened city water system merger as Pat McCrory made his first visit to Asheville as governor. Signatures to an online petition condemning the water system seizure accelerated in number, approaching a thousand Monday night.
The AC-T reports on the McCrory visit: McCrory discusses water merger
The new governor promised to act as facilitator in the water merger dispute:
McCrory said he has not made up his mind about what should happen with the water system, though he said, “We’ve got to develop a long-term fix, and it can’t be just the state involved in discussion or your local leadership.”
McCrory neither explained who else he believes deserves a place at the table nor what water system problem needs fixing.
In other McCrory news, he made an announcement:
Read More→
Medicare, ACA and the Big, Bad IPAB
Posted by: | CommentsRemember the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) panel charged with holding down Medicare costs, the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB)? House Republicans, the ones with their hair on fire about deficits and runaway Medicare costs — “Not only are they unwilling to propose actual, concrete cost-cutting measures for Medicare,” says Kevin Drum at Mother Jones, but they are determined to keep the IPAB from holding down those runaway costs. Via The Hill:
House Republicans signaled Thursday they will not follow rules in President Obama’s healthcare law that were designed to speed Medicare cuts through Congress.
The House is set to vote Thursday afternoon on rules for the 113th Congress. The rules package says the House won’t comply with fast-track procedures for the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) — a controversial cost-cutting board Republicans have long resisted.
Asst. Secretary Mitch “Bulls Eye” Gillespie
Posted by: | CommentsFor those of you paying attention to the changes in our NC state executive offices, here’s another brick in the wall:
Veteran lawmaker Rep. Mitch Gillespie – who in 2011 literally drew a bulls-eye target on his legislative office window aimed at the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources – will resign next month to become an assistant secretary of the agency.
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Gillespie spearheaded a slew of environmental regulatory reforms in last year’s session, and said he felt he had good relations with environmental advocates. But Gillespie comes from the business side of the equation, having worked in surveying, civil engineering and land development.He has been supported by the state’s energy company PACs.
Welcome To The Middle Class, Top 2 Percent
Posted by: | Comments“… whereby the Democrats would agree to make a baldfaced lie out of two years of presidential campaign rhetoric …”
Writing for Esquire, Charlie Pierce welcomes the top 2 percent to the Middle Class:
It was going to be people making over $250,000 a year. That was the line in the sand. You couldn’t go 15 minutes at an Obama rally anywhere in America in the year about to pass from us without his expressing an ironclad committment to that number. And, as Jonathan Cohn and others have pointed out, even that was probably too high, but I gave him some slack in that $250,000 was probably the best deal he could blackjack out of the Congress once he got re-elected.Little did I know that the line in the sand was adjustable by 60 percent. Personally, I’d like to welcome every one of you making over $400,000 a year to The Middle Class. Never thought we’d see you all around here. (Nice shoes. Payless?) C’mon over and bowl a couple of frames, will you? Next bucket of Buds is on you, by the way. We got room in the RV when we go to Talladega next summer. You in? This old thing? Hell, Costco, $8.95. Pass me the cheese fries, will you, Trip? And, for Chrissakes, loosen your tie.
Fiscal [whatever] Update
Posted by: | CommentsThe GOP has backed off on including Social Security cuts in any deal:
“CPI has to be off the table because it’s not a winning argument to say benefits for seniors versus tax breaks for rich people,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). “We need to take CPI off the table — that’s not part of the negotiations — because we can’t win an argument that has Social Security for seniors versus taxes for the rich.”[...]
A chained CPI is based on the idea that if one product becomes more expensive — steak, for instance — consumers will switch to a cheaper substitute — say, chicken — thereby spending the same amount for food. The chained CPI would make the same switch, dropping steak from its measure of inflation and replacing it with chicken, resulting in a lower tally of inflation and, if linked to Social Security, lower payments to seniors.
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“Chained CPI would be to stabilize Social Security,” Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) said. “That’s not the way it’s being portrayed, and therefore I think it should be dropped. And I think all the Republicans agreed to that.”
And the Senate has adjourned.
