Obama to Cut Defense Budget

News broke at the end of the week that the Obama administration has asked the Joint Chiefs of Staff to request a 10% defense budget cut. This would be about $55 billion. It appears that Obama hasn’t learned from Clinton’s mistake.

This is a political move more than anything, and it is irresponsible. This must be the case, because Obama has backed the $819 billion stimulus. Can they not cut $55 billion from the stimulus? Ed Morrissey has a list of stimulus provisions that could go before the defense budget.

President Obama is trying to contrast himself with George Bush, and a defense budget cut is consistent with the apologetic message he delivered in his al-Arabiya interview. This move will surely please the anti-war left.

Meanwhile, Iran is mocking the President and America. An Iranian government spokesman said Obama’s request to talk with Iran “means Western ideology has become passive, that capitalist thought and the system of domination have failed” (H/T Drudge). This is unacceptable, but the President may have set himself up for this.

Remember, President Obama is not a fan of the Constitution’s limiting of government powers, and his priorities are out of line here. Playing politics with Guantanamo and the defense budget is a national security risk, and the nation’s defense should be his number one priority.

UPDATE: John Hinderaker at Power Line notes a report saying Obama and Petraeus are in disagreement about an Iraq withdrawal policy. It sounds like the President and his military officials aren’t in agreement. The President’s political and symbolic national security moves are not appropriate, and a hasty withdrawal from Iraq would be a dangerous move, as we’ve warned.

UPDATE 2: It sounds like the report of a budget cut is somewhat misleading. Apparently, the cut was to the Joint Chiefs’ proposal, but was in line with what the Bush administration had recommended. Technically, the administration is asking for an 8% increase. Is that enough?

Tough Start for the New President

The highly acclaimed new President has taken office, but things haven’t exactly gone smoothly, as there has been plenty of controversy.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was impeached, and this week the State Senate voted unanimously to remove him from office. Ongoing investigations could be troublesome for the new President, whose Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel reportedly engaged in discussions with Blago to appoint an Illinois Senate replacement.

One of the impeachment charges was also an FDA violation of drug importation, and Blago is alleging that Emanuel was behind the issue.

The President’s nomination of Eric Holder for AG was controversial, though Holder has had a surprisingly easy path, and is expected to be confirmed next week. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was not as fortunate, facing criticisms for failing to pay taxes. Geithner was ultimately confirmed this week.

Stimulus Passes, but House GOP Shows True Leadership

Don’t be fooled by the headline. Today, the $819 billion stimulus passed the House. An earlier WSJ editorial called it a “40-year wish list,” which includes more than $5 billion for ACORN. That is the bad news. (EDIT: ACORN would be eligible to receive funds, but they are not guaranteed to receive them)

The good news is that not a single House Republican voted for it. Thanks to one of the best examples of Republican leadership we’ve seen in recent years, this bill officially belongs to the Democrats and President Obama (except maybe the 11 House Democrats who opposed it). Bipartisanship? Only if you mean the opposition.

You can thank House GOP leaders John Boehner and Eric Cantor on Twitter.

The House Democrats proved me wrong by having the guts to take ownership of this legislation without having a few Republican votes. When the legislation fails the economy, they’ll probably still try to blame Republicans and Bush, but how many people will buy it?

In order to make this legislation look like it had broad support, Obama spoke to the press today with a few business executives at his side. Some are publicly supporting the plan. President Obama is covering himself with anyone he can to make it slightly more difficult for people to blame Democrats later.

The Senate is working on its own version, so who knows what we’ll get in the end. The flood of phone calls to GOP Representatives surely made a difference. For now, we can at least be happy that House Republicans stood their ground against bad legislation.

Drawbacks of More Government Control of Health Care

It’s no secret to most people that Democrats are interested in making sweeping changes to health care policy. Because health care is such a major and increasingly significant portion of the economy, Rush Limbaugh noted in an interview with Sean Hannity this week that:

If [Obama] gets nationalized health care, I mean, it’s over, Sean. We’re never going to roll that back. That’s the end of America as we have known it because that’s then going to set the stage for everything being government owned, operated, or provided.

I recently wrote about the importance of the direction of the FDA. Potential Commissioner Steve Nissen made a few suggestions, one of which was using the FDA to limit direct-to-consumer advertising of drugs. The two year restriction, which I’ve also analyzed, would limit an effective form of advertising that has increased patients’ access to drugs.

Obama “Wants it Both Ways on Interrogation”

From the WSJ today, an expansion on the topic I wrote about yesterday, which was the treatment of terrorist detainees. I discussed the prosecution of the war, and some of the problems of the intelligence community. This article, while referencing Jack Bauer from 24, brings up a good point about the President sending mixed signals to his organizations in an effort to play politics. The key point:

The wider danger Mr. Obama is inviting by claiming to draw a line while drawing no line at all is the message it sends to Langley. CIA interrogators are already buying legal insurance in the expectation that a Senator like Carl Levin or some prosecutor-on-the-make rings them up for war crimes. The executive order is bound to produce a more risk-averse CIA culture and over time less intelligence-gathering.

This is a problem worth noting. In any organization, people will fear making decisions if they don’t have direction from their leaders. In this case, intelligence and justice department employees might fear being hung out to dry in witch-hunt trials. This is a dangerous game Obama is playing, throwing a bone to his left wing base, while still leaving loopholes that might allow him to continue policies he has repeatedly denounced.

Obama Plays Politics With Guantanamo

President Obama issued an executive order today to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center by the end of the year. This comes as no surprise, and is merely a political move as any effort to close down Guantanamo will be tied up with legal challenges for a while. Top officials are already hedging the move because they don’t yet know what to do with the current detainees, and they don’t want to condemn tactics that they might need.

What is troubling is that Obama also issued an order requiring all DOJ guidance issued between 9/11 and Obama taking office to be ignored. Ignoring all input from DOJ is a mistake, and is also a political move designed to insult the Bush administration. This order implies that the Al-Marri case, which the new administration has asked the Court to further postpone, will take a different direction.

From the WSJ:

“The message that we are sending around the world is that the United States intends to prosecute the ongoing struggle against violence and terrorism,” Mr. Obama said after signing the orders in the Oval Office. “And…we are going to do so in a manner that is consistent with our values and our ideals.”

Salutes to 43 and 44

Today is an exciting day: America’s 44th President will be sworn in. Congratulations to President Obama and to those who worked hard to get him elected. Enjoy this day.

We look forward to a new four years of political debate. We should support the President when we agree with him, and  oppose him we believe he is wrong.

We are not pleased, however, with the announcement that Ingrid Mattson will be part of the prayer service at the inauguration. Mattson is the head of Islamic Society of North America, who works closely with the Muslim Brotherhood, meaning they have supported Hamas and the Holy Land Foundation. Mattson was also involved in prayers for the Democrat convention, but in all fairness, the HLF had not yet been convicted of terrorist activity (although they were on trial at the time).

Also, a salute to outgoing President Bush. History ought to treat him more kindly than the media has for the last eight years. I think we’ll see plenty of continuation of his security policies, despite all of Obama’s pandering to the left.

Stimulus II

As Congress discusses the new stimulus package, a project has begun to analyze the bill (H/T Rob Neppell from Kithbridge for notifying me). There you can track how much money is going where, you can volunteer to read and report, you can see what other people are saying, and you can comment on the proposed legislation.

If you missed Nancy Pelosi on Fox News Sunday this weekend, you can see her discussion on the stimulus and other subjects with Chris Wallace here. Notice her commitment to card check, and also her refusal to believe that Bush’s supply side tax cuts have grown the economy and increased tax revenues. This refusal of the truth is what she uses to unconvincingly explain that ending those tax cuts is not really a tax increase.

Pelosi also claims that the reason the stimulus hasn’t yet passed the House is because it needs to go through Republican reviews. We know better, as we’ve recently watched Democrats cram through legislation with little or no debate (see SCHIP). The stimulus hasn’t yet passed because she doesn’t have the votes (EDIT: She doesn’t have the Republican votes that she can use to point the finger), just another example of the Speaker’s poor leadership and inability to pass legislation even when she has a majority.

This stimulus is a bad idea. Republicans need to explain repeatedly that government spending does not need to increase, but it needs to be smarter. Pet projects and special Democrat interests are not appropriate right now, and money should be focused on essential programs. I encourage Republican leaders to get on TV and radio and start re-framing the debate on the economy, so that we don’t end up with a pork-filled legislation that pays off Democrat contributors and doesn’t help the economy.

Upcoming Elections in FL, OH, CA

We’ve started mentioning some difficult 2010 elections where Republicans have opportunities. Ohio, Florida, and California are places where Republicans can win Senator and Governor.

In Ohio, former Congressman Rob Portman has announced his candidacy for the Senate. The seat will be vacated by current Republican Senator George Voinovich in 2010. Portman has served as U.S. Trade Representative and Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Bush. Most recently, he was discussed as a potential VP for John McCain. His campaign website is here.

In Florida, Republican Senator Mel Martinez will not run again in 2010. It was rumored that Jeb Bush might run for that seat, as we earlier noted, but he has decided not to run. Some potential Republican candidates include former state Speaker of the House Marco Rubio, Governor Charlie Crist, and Lieutenant Governor Bill McCallum.

In California, we’ve already mentioned the Senate race in 2010. The governor election will be an interesting one that already has people talking. Former EBay CEO Meg Whitman is considering a campaign for governor, as Arnold Schwarzenegger will be out in 2010. The Republican primary could be a difficult one, as Silicon Valley billionaire Steve Poizner may also jump in the fray.

Keep an eye on these races. We’ll link to campaign sites when candidates are official.

UPDATE: Below, you can see Meg Whitman’s testimony to the House during the economic hearing that was held this past week. Mitt Romney is also featured.

Democrat Assault on Labor

Barack Obama campaigned on helping the middle class and the American worker. Some early indications of the new Democrat Congress suggest otherwise. We’ve discussed card check, which will make it easier for labor unions to form by pressuring workers. We’ve discussed the energy policies that will hurt manufacturing sectors of the economy. Obama himself said that his cap and trade program would bankrupt the coal industry. Joe the Plumber recognized that Obama’s tax policies were going to make it difficult for him to expand his small business. So far, there isn’t much evidence to support the claim that Democrats are trying to help workers. And it didn’t get better last week.

The House passed two equal-pay legislation bills that may seem nice, but they will make trial lawyers happy at the expense of business. One of the bills, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, was overruled in 2007 by the Supreme Court. The Court’s ruling upheld the 180 day statute of limitations period. The bill that the House passed allows a two year period for employees to file a pay-bias complaint.