American Politics and the Structure of Betrayals

The American Interest  "Although Obama has relied very much on his “base” (the left wing of the Democratic party) in his actions as president (just think of the partisan way in which he pushed the health bill through Congress), he has also given the appearance of being at heart a pragmatist inclined toward the middle (much to the disappointment of some in the “base”). Once re-elected, though, there would be no need to seek compromises with the Republican opposition or to curry favor with middle-of-the-road voters. In other words, Obama is really a man of the left at heart, but after the election, he will be able to betray those who voted for him as a man of the middle."
...."Romney is a man of the middle at heart and, until nominated, must make all these conservative noises. But after the nomination and going into the general election, he will be able to betray those who voted for him as a man of the right."

Mr. Blog's Tepid Ride

....I am not sure whether this structure of betrayals exists in other democracies. The American primary system guarantees it. A candidate must rely on a “base” to be nominated. ....
"Given the primary system, the activists must be kept happy until the nomination has been achieved; they are rather less important as the general election looms. Then all these other people, the ones who don’t normally fill their evenings with politics, must be appealed to."
PETER BERGER 

Overthrowing Environmentalism (Part one of a series)

Warning Signs

"In 1517 Martin Luther set off the Protestant revolution against the Catholic Church that led to the spread of the then-new movement as a response to the corruption of the Church. It took time for it to establish itself as an alternative and was greatly aided by the invention of printing and spread of literacy, but mostly because ordinary people had grown weary of the Church’s extravagance, poor governance, and resistance to change.
"The selling of worthless “indulgences” as a means to wipe one’s sins clean was the final straw.
"Environmentalism has become a modern religion and its “cap and trade” scheme to sell worthless permission slips for the emission of so-called “greenhouse gases”—based on United Nations Kyoto Protocol calling for a reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth’s atmosphere—is being rejected by many nations ." 
....
"On Earth Day—April 22nd—the birthday of Vladimir Lenin, the dictator who imposed Communism on Russia in 1917, the various elements of the environmental movement will flood the world with propaganda. The connection between these two events should not be ignored."


Previous Caruba article: Obama's Eco-Lies    "All this week in the run-up to Earth Day, this blog will post commentaries exposing environmentalism as the totalitarian ideology it has always been."

Obama, Israel and Iran

DEBKAfile: Israel: Obama’s secret dealings with Iran conflict with US-Israeli understandings   "The fundamental rift on Iran between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu burst into the open Monday, April 16 when high-ranking Israeli officials close to Netanyahu directly accused the president of reneging on the US-Israeli understandings reached ahead of the Istanbul talks between the six powers and Iran on April 14.

"Behind the show biz of Istanbul, they charged, the US and Iran had reached secret agreements in clandestine bilateral contacts channeled through Paris and Vienna."

Jerusalem Post

Council on Foreign Relations:  Iran and the United States Face Off in Turkey  "But the reality is that Washington's decades-long obsession with clerical Kremlinology is effectively irrelevant when it comes to the future of the nuclear program. Iran's long-standing power struggles continue to percolate, but decision-making remains firmly in the hands of the hard-liners. Indeed, for most of the previous 33 years, the central issue for U.S.-Iran policy was who rules Iran. We know the answer to that question today: Khamenei. Now, Washington must confront the question of how to move Iran. "

Stand Your Ground/Duty to Retreat

Clayton Cramer's Blog  "If the Republicans were smart (and if pigs flew) they would be rephrasing this Stand Your Ground question in "war on women" terms.  I'm impressed how many of the cases that I have found so far involve women defending themselves from abusive intimate partners (and sometimes the reverse, as in State v. Glowacki (Minn. 2001))--and being charged because they didn't leave their own homes rather than use deadly force." 

The Three Eyed Monster

Cheney: Obama "Has Been An Unmitigated Disaster To The Country"

RealClearPolitics  "I think to be in a position where he gets four more years in the White House to continue the policies he has, both with respect to the economy, and tax policy, and defense and some other areas would be a huge, huge disappointment," the former Vice President said".
Unmitigated:
1.      not mitigated; not softened or lessened: unmitigated suffering.

2.

unqualified or absolute: an unmitigated bore.

New heart, same soul.

The Blaze  “I think it’s very important that we get together and gather together and gather behind our likely nominee,” Cheney said. “It’s Mitt Romney, I’ve known him for a long time, I’ve got a lot of confidence in him.”

Will the real Hilary Rosen please stand up?

Jay Carney and the 3 Hilary Rosens   "The question has to be asked once again: how stupid does he think we are? We know he's trying to downplay the significance of this woman's frequent visits to the WH, but are we actually expected to believe that there are two other women with the same exact name who are meeting with the President and his advisors? Sure, there are 35 visits on the guest log, but if you divide those among 3 Hilary Rosens, it's really only 11.667 visits per Rosen!"

Hopenchange  "Democrats immediately started falling all over themselves to make amends, realizing that many hard-working mothers might still carve out enough personal time to actively involve themselves in campaign activities - and help throw out the party which looks down on them and their life choices."


Legal Insurrection: Liberal female pundits belittling Ann Romney have disqualified themselves, too  "If a life of economic struggle is a prerequisite for a woman to speak about economic issues affecting women, then aren’t many if not most of the liberal female pundits belittling Ann Romney disqualified from the discussion, too?"  Hat tip to this morning's Rush Limbaugh program.
Legal Insurrection: Liberal female pundits belittling Ann Romney have disqualified themselves, too  "No,it doesn’t. My definition of a liberal is “someone who best knows how to spend MY money”, and by that definition they are infinitely qualified to speak for the masses!

It’s like the movies: “Tales of the working class as told by rich Hollywood stars!” (Firesign Theatre, 1969)"


Real Moms of the GOP battle White House SOP
"Alas, if you’re a conservative mom, you’re damned if you do stay home and damned if you don’t. In 2008, Howard Gutman, a member of the Obama campaign’s national finance committee, attacked GOP vice presidential candidate and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s ability to be a good parent and have a high-powered public life at the same time. “Your responsibility is to put your family first,” Gutman lectured as he singled out Palin’s Down syndrome baby and then-pregnant teenage daughter. “The proper attack is not that a woman shouldn’t run for vice president with five kids; it’s that a parent, when they have a family in need…” should get out of the public sphere and stay home." Michelle Malkin

The Impact of the Buffet Rule

BLOOMBERG: Obama's Buffett rule impact on taxes, jobs   "....Q: How does that compare to lower earners?

A: On average -- and that is the key -- the rich pay higher rates. The center computes that families earning $30,000 to $40,000 owed an average 6 percent of it in income and payroll taxes last year. People making $50,000 to $75,000 owed an average 12 percent, while those making $75,000 to $100,000 paid an average 13 percent.

"Q: Then what's the problem?"....Read on...

Several from Heritage: Tax Gimmicks, Tax Doom   "Even some of the President’s friends on the left are seeing the Buffett Rule for the ploy that it is. Last week, liberal Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank devoted an entire column to “Rebuffing Obama’s gimmicky ‘Buffett Rule,’” picking it apart as flawed policy and political rhetoric, noting that even White House reporters are “tiring of the theme.” Milbank concludes that, “Obama’s prioritization is no mystery: The populist Buffett Rule polls well. This explains its inclusion in countless presidential speeches and statements.” "

(Emphasis added)

The Foundry: The Tax Burden on American Households  

"Americans who are scrambling to pay their taxes by Tuesday’s deadline are in store for more depressing news: The tax burden on American families has risen dramatically and will continue to climb into the future without action from Congress. This week’s chart outlines the growth of taxes over the past 45 years."
Why Unions Want Higher Taxes  "Raising business taxes in a weak economy costs private-sector jobs—but that does not deter government unions. Higher taxes still means more for them."

‘Buffett rule’ is producing Capitol gains   "The GOP has rebutted by arguing that the tax is a distraction that will punish small businesses and won’t create jobs, though they fear an even more bruising fight later this year when the George W. Bush-era tax cuts are due to expire."


Boortz: Voting on the Buffett Rule today  "Remember ... there have been sociological studies that have shown that people will actually pay -- give up money out of their own pockets --- if the government will promise to take even more away from the rich.  That’s the level and the nature of wealth envy in the U.S. today." 


Mark Steyn: Buying ‘Buffett Rule' makes you a fool  "The Obama No-Plan plan means the end of everything. That really ought to be the only slogan the Republicans need this fall:"

How the Electoral College stands today (Updated and with comments)

The American Interest: Romney Gaining on Obama   "That still leaves with President Obama headed for a narrow 285-253 Electoral College majority and four more years in the White House, but as of this moment in time, the trend favors his challenger."


The Cook Report reports with an interactive bar chart that we don't know how to include in this blog. It compares the Electoral College in 2008 compared with the current EC outlook.
Beware those who say we should end the Electoral College. I refer you to this Tunnel Wall post from October 2011:


Keep the Electoral College!   "Popular Vote or the Electoral College?  "The Electoral College preserves federalism, encourages candidates to build national coalitions, and grants definitive electoral outcomes. It requires a presidential candidate to win simultaneous elections across 50 states and the District of Columbia."
 Let's look at it this way, shall we?  Look at this map of the United States mainland taken at night and observe the lights. Some areas are very bright while others have few lights, but the most brilliant patches of light are the areas that will choose our president if this nation abandons the Electoral College. TD

Update: The Pro's and Con's of the Electoral College System

"There have, in its 200 year history, been a number of critics and proposed reforms to the Electoral College system - most of them trying to eliminate it. But there are also staunch defenders of the Electoral College who, though perhaps less vocal than its critics, offer very powerful arguments in its favor."

Those who object to the Electoral College system and favor a direct popular election of the president generally do so on four grounds: (Much more on these points at the link)

• the possibility of electing a minority president
• the risk of so-called "faithless" Electors,
• the possible role of the Electoral College in depressing voter turnout, and
• its failure to accurately reflect the national popular will.

Proponents of the Electoral College system normally defend it on the philosophical grounds that it:

• contributes to the cohesiveness of the country by requiring a distribution of popular support to be elected president
• enhances the status of minority interests,
• contributes to the political stability of the nation by encouraging a two-party system, and
• maintains a federal system of government and representation.

This excerpt relates to the point made by the Tunnel Dweller above:  "Recognizing the strong regional interests and loyalties which have played so great a role in American history, proponents argue that the Electoral College system contributes to the cohesiveness of the country be requiring a distribution of popular support to be elected president, without such a mechanism, they point out, president would be selected either through the domination of one populous region over the others or through the domination of large metropolitan areas over the rural ones."

Conclusion

The Electoral College has performed its function for over 200 years (and in over 50 presidential elections) by ensuring that the President of the United States has both sufficient popular support to govern and that his popular support is sufficiently distributed throughout the country to enable him to govern effectively.

Although there were a few anomalies in its early history, none have occurred in the past century. Proposals to abolish the Electoral College, though frequently put forward, have failed largely because the alternatives to it appear more problematic than is the College itself.

The fact that the Electoral College was originally designed to solve one set of problems but today serves to solve an entirely different set of problems is a tribute to the genius of the Founding Fathers.

 More here, plus the comments to this post by Toto.