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RedState's Morning Briefing for Thursday, July 9, 2009
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Morning Briefing for THURSDAY, July 9, 2009
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1. Stimulus Puts Obama in Tough Territory
Conservatives must capitalize on the administration’s missteps
2. Alcee Hastings’ Amendment Prevents ‘Hate Groups’ in Armed Services, But Who Determines ‘Hate’?
So who is a ‘Hater’? Inquiring Minds, and all that.
3. Democrat Melancon: I Cosponsored Card Check Because I Opposed It
A “John Kerry” Moment in the Bayou State
4. SEIU Won’t Allow Card Check for Union Organizing
At Least When A Rival Union Tries It
1. Stimulus Puts Obama in Tough Territory
Conservatives must capitalize on the administration’s missteps
Is the White House’s well-oiled communications machine coming undone less than six months after President Obama took office?
Based on the past few days of mounting criticism regarding Obama’s top achievement — passage of the $787 billion stimulus — it appears that cracks are beginning to form. The administration wants to avoid distractions from its quest for government-run health care, but the mismanaged stimulus, combined with 9.5% unemployment, make it difficult.
Conservatives should not let this opportunity go to waste.
2. Alcee Hastings’ Amendment Prevents ‘Hate Groups’ in Armed Services, But Who Determines ‘Hate’?
So who is a ‘Hater’? Inquiring Minds, and all that.
l Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. Section 524 stipulates a “prohibition on recruitment, enlistment, or retention of persons associated or affiliated with groups or associated with hate-related violence against groups or persons of the United States government.”
As Hastings congratulates himself on a job well done — you know, cuz no one else will — one has to wonder exactly who it is that will determine what a “hate” group is in order to keep the armed forces free of “hate-related violence”? It turns out Hastings has given this power to the office of the Attorney General of the United States. That would be Eric Holder, the guy that wants to release Guantanamo terrorists into the interior of the country.
It is also a bit frightening to imagine that the government that issued that now infamous report calling anyone that votes Republican and has an appreciation for the Constitution a dangerous terrorist threat is being also given the power to determine who is and who isn’t a member of a “hate” group. There is something perversely ironic about giving the government that determined that our military veterans are prone to terrorist activities and the lure of extremist, hate groups the power to keep haters from joining the military.
Hastings admits that the armed forces already have numerous regulations governing what sort of recruit is allowed to enter service. So, why do we need this further law?
3. Democrat Melancon: I Cosponsored Card Check Because I Opposed It
A “John Kerry” Moment in the Bayou State
This is the first time I’ve heard anyone make this claim:
Melancon is an EFCA co-sponsor, but said he was working on making changes to the bill after being asked by local business leaders last week to drop his sponsorship.
Attendees said the congressman defended his position at a meeting in his congressional district hosted by the St. Mary Industrial Group, but added he was working to amend the bill.
“His deal is ‘I am on this bill to make it better, trying to make a bad bill better,’?” said Bob Miller, president of the St. Mary Industrial Group. “I doubt it seriously if anyone in the room believed it…”
So is Melancon in favor of Card Check, or opposed? There is no magical, unicorn-inspired compromise that makes both sides happy. And the claim that he cosponsored the bill to get in better position to change it is laughable. If a Member of Congress wants to force changes to a bill, he (or she) withholds sponsorship until it’s amended. Shocking, huh?
Melancon is experiencing one of the problems of having power in Washington - you cannot be all things to all people. He is clearly trying to send one message to labor unions and another to businesses. In much the same way, he pretends to be an independent and conservative voice when he talks to voters, but in reality he votes with Nancy Pelosi and House Democrat leaders nearly 90 percent of the time.
4. SEIU Won’t Allow Card Check for Union Organizing
At Least When A Rival Union Tries It
The SEIU is one of the most powerful forces pushing for enactment of Card Check. But if a rival union promises better representation for SEIU workers and tries to get a majority of them to sign cards, the SEIU turns to thug tactics and fights them tooth and nail.
Backers of Card Check claim it is needed because employers engage in underhanded tactics to frustrate organizing efforts. They also say that there’s no evidence that organizers will use force (or other inappropriate tactics) to get workers to sign cards. With the National Union of Healthcare Workers blowing the whistle on the SEIU, we see that workers have more to fear from the unions than from their own bosses. Passing Card Check will allow union bosses to apply pressure on holdouts, and force workers to endorse their union - as they are already doing to health care workers in California.
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