Reports Suggest U.S. Troops May Stay in Iraq and Afghanistan

While the President is on vacation and much of the political news is about the GOP primary, these two stories floated in at the end of the week. First, Defense Secretary Panetta suggests that U.S. troops will stay in Iraq next year. In addition, it appears that the U.S. and Afghanistan are working on an agreement that would allow U.S. forces to stay in Afghanistan until 2024. Those agreements don’t sound exactly like what the president promised.

H/T to Hot Air for the links.

In Defense of Romney on Federalism and Corporations

A federalist discussion was sparked by Mitt Romney when he presented his healthcare policy, distinguishing it from ObamaCare. Another federalism question was raised when Michele Bachmann, during the New Hampshire debate, said that she supports the right of states to determine their own marriage laws, but also supports a Constitutional amendment supporting traditional marriage. These discussions have generated conversations about how Romney’s Massachusetts health law is different from ObamaCare, and how someone could support both federalism and Constitutional amendments.

Fortunately, Andy McCarthy explains both issues in a federalist context. On Romney’s healthcare position, McCarthy writes:

If I were living in Massachusetts (or anyplace else), I would argue that health care is not a corporate asset and that it’s none of anyone’s business whether I choose to buy coverage. But if I lost that debate, and if the coercive mandate law bothered me enough, I could move to some state where the law was different. Or I might decide that, in the greater scheme of things, life in Massachusetts was worth enduring the nuisance and costs of state policies to which I objected. But in either event, none of my calculations would be the concern of someone living in, say, Colorado — at least as long as he wasn’t being made to pay for it.

On the Constitutional amendment issue, McCarthy writes:

If you want the federal constitution to ban something, then amend it. A constitutional amendment is not a prohibition imposed by the federal government, for the U.S. Constitution and the U.S. government are not the same thing. The Constitution is the compact of the people setting forth the terms on which we are bound together as a nation. In essence, it cannot be amended unless the provision in question garners super-majority support (two-thirds) in Congress, and then super-duper majority assent (three-fourths) in the states.

A federal Constitutional amendment does not take away states’ rights, and just because the federal Constitution does not allow the federal government to do something does not necessarily mean that states are bound in the same way.

Romney was also involved in an exchange in Iowa which has drawn a lot of attention. His assertion that corporations are people has already generated Democrat attacks. It’s important to establish a few facts about the exchange and what Romney said:

1. The exchange started with a question about whether entitlements (specifically Social Security) would be part of Romney’s deficit reduction efforts.
2. Romney’s main point in the exchange was that there are two general ways to reduce the deficit: spending cuts and tax increases.
3. Romney points out that entitlement spending is about half of federal spending, so that spending cuts would probably require entitlement reforms.
4. When Romney suggested that raising taxes on people was another way to reduce the deficit, someone in the crowd shouted that we should tax corporations instead.

It was then that Romney said that corporations are people, and he is correct. Not only has the Supreme Court upheld that, but think about what corporations are. Who runs corporations? Who invests in corporations? Who works for corporations? People. If you tax a corporation, you are taxing business owners, shareholders (think about your 401k), and employees. Corporations are not some mythical entities completely disconnected from people, and they do not represent only the super rich. They are a big part of our lives, and taxing them will likely have some impact on many people.

On another note, high tax rates on businesses are driving jobs out of this country. There are plenty of examples of how tax deductions are allowing some companies and wealthy individuals to avoid a significant tax burden. It would be one thing to reduce some of those deductions, but quite another to raise tax rates. Of course, it is a challenge to agree to the reduction of certain tax deductions, and reducing them would amount to a tax increase of some sort.

Regardless, Romney has legitimate federalist defenses for some of his policies, and he is absolutely correct about taxing corporations.

GOP Race Still Looks Like Romney vs. Non-Romney

Thursday’s Republican debate provided the most fireworks of the 2012 primary so far, with Tim Pawlenty going after Michele Bachmann for, among other criticisms, a lack of political achievements. Meanwhile, front-runner Mitt Romney was polished in his delivery and avoided being knocked off his perch. The race is still looking like a Romney vs. non-Romney one, with likely Bachmann or Rick Perry becoming the non-Romney candidate.

If Perry officially enters the race today, look for him to attempt to steal support from Bachmann and build Tea Party momentum by contrasting himself as a conservative who has achieved more results. If Perry does become the anti-Romney candidate, then look for him to again use his results in Texas to suggest he has even better economic credentials than Mitt (Perry’s economic success in Texas is going to be difficult to attack). A Romney-Perry race could be a very good one that would produce a strong candidate for the GOP.

That said, Michele Bachmann continues to perform strongly in debates. Her explanation of why she opposed raising the debt ceiling has some people groaning about her accuracy, but her consistent opposition to the profligate spending in Washington should help her maintain a contender status, and her calm delivery thus far has helped her appear reasonable. Her handling of a tough faith question about her marriage was also graceful and impressive. She may still end up the non-Romney candidate.

The straw poll in Iowa today won’t decide the race, but it may signal whose campaign(s) might end early as we slowly reduce the field down to Mitt and his challenger.

Symposium on the Constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act

SCOTUSblog has a symposium on the constitutionality of ObamaCare with varying opinions on the healthcare law contributed by some very smart people. If you are interested in the legal and political issues of the ACA, bookmark that website as a resource.

Mourning the Loss of Navy SEALs

The news that 22 Navy SEALs were killed in Afghanistan this past weekend is heartbreaking. We are so thankful for the service of those people and for the sacrifice of their families.

Hugh Hewitt has written an appropriate column on how the country as a whole can mourn the loss of those brave heroes. Please read it and reflect on those whom we have just lost.