MUTH’S TRUTHS

SIR HILLARY: “Hillary Clinton doesn’t have to prove she’s a man. She has to prove she’s a woman.” - Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan

WHO LOVES YA, BABY?

“The level of confidence in the US Congress, according to a Gallup Poll, has dropped to 14%. That means that the only people who have any confidence in them are those who are: Actual Members of the House or Senate, employed by, and/or related to, Members of the House or Senate, or lobbyists who make their living telling Members of the House and Senate they are very excellent, smart, powerful, and good-looking over dinners at exclusive Washington restaurants which, surprisingly, cost exactly $49.99 - drinks, taxes and tip included.”

- Cyber-columnist Rich Galen, Mullings.com, 6/21/7

FORCES DIVIDED ON THE RIGHT

“What do liberal Democrats think about the war in Iraq? That’s easy: It was a blunder that has become a debacle, and it should be brought to an end as soon as possible. What do conservative Republicans think about the war? That’s not so easy. The right has been fighting over the war since well before it began.”

- Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby

TARGETING CONSERVATIVE TALK

“Charging that ‘right-wing talk reigns supreme on America’s airwaves,’ two liberal groups on Thursday called for increased government regulation and greater diversity of commercial radio station owners to ‘close the gap’ between the amount of conservative and /progressive’ talk.”

- CNS News, 6/22/07

WHO’S RESPONSIBILITY IS IT?

“Who should be in charge of your child’s education - you or some strangers in Washington, D.C.? It’s a question worth pondering as Congress prepares to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind law.”

- Columnist Rebecca Hagelin

GREAT SOUNDBITE, LOUSY POLICY

“Despite proponents’ arguments to the contrary, proposed (anti-price gouging) laws would create de facto price controls reminiscent of those applied in 1970s and early 1980s that caused supply disruptions, long waiting lines and economic chaos across all industries.”

- Former Sen. J. Bennett Johnston and former Sen. Don Nickles in a Wall Street Journal column today

DEATH BY LAWYER

“Out-of-control medical malpractice lawsuits have been a problem in many parts of the country for a long time. Malpractice insurance costs can be driven so high, that doctors and insurance companies flee to more reasonable business climates. With too few doctors, it’s the patients who suffer the most.”

- Former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson

THE WORD FOR TODAY IS “TRANSPARENCY”

“Even as Washington has fiddled on earmarks - delaying, obfuscating and basically doing all it can to avoid enacting real reform - a transparency movement has been sweeping the nation. Angry over Alaskan Bridges to Nowhere, and frustrated by the lack of willpower in the nation’s capital, small-government activists have turned their attention to the states. If ever Washington lagged behind a movement, this is it.”

- Columnist Kim Strassel

INTERNET TAX BAN

“The To ban or not to ban?  State and local governments support the moratorium on Internet connection taxes, but only on a temporary basis. The benefits of broadband deployment, they admit, offset the revenue loss to state and local governments.  But a permanent ban? Not so good, they said Thursday. Contrast that with technology executives and consumer and public policy advocates who have long contended the ban should be made permanent.

“Whether the ban should be temporary or permanent is a critical question for lawmakers, as the current four-year ban expiration date of Nov. 1 approaches. Congress has renewed the ban twice since the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) originally passed in 1998.”

- Internet News, 6/21/07

THE PEOPLE VS. THE GOVERNMENT

“There is little doubt that a heated debate is taking place over the issue of immigration reform. The alarming aspect of this debate is less the where, when and why it is taking place and more about who the debate is between. With an overwhelming majority of Americans from every political party opposing the current proposal being floated by select senators and the White House, it appears – incredibly – that the debate is actually between the people and our government.”

- Columnist Frank Salvato

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION FOR ILLEGALS?

“The 12 million or more who entered the United States illegally, and would gain United States citizenship under the current immigration proposal, Senate Bill 1348, will qualify for race preferences and privileges for which the majority of Americans are not eligible. This is not fair. That is the view of Ward Connerly of the Sacramento-based American Civil Rights Institute, a veteran of battles against racial preferences… The current immigration measure, Connerly believes, would constitute a massive endowment of such preferences.”

- Columnist Lloyd Billingsley

IT’S A KENNEDY CREATION

“Even though poor Sen. Harry Reid insists on calling the Senate’s latest attempt to inundate the nation with hordes of suddenly legalized illegal immigrants the president’s bill, it is really Sen. Kennedy’s monstrosity.”

- Columnist Michael Reagan

DEATH STAR OF A BILL

“According to NRSC Chairman John Ensign, phone calls, emails, and faxes are pouring into to GOP offices and running 100 to 1 against the (immigration) bill. If the bill passes, Tom Tancredo has pledged to campaign against pro-amnesty Senators in 2008… Additionally, 96% of the conservative bloggers polled over at Right Wing News this month indicated that they were, ‘pleased that the Senate immigration bill did not pass.’ Meanwhile, the poll numbers of politicians connected to the amnesty bill like Mel Martinez, John McCain, and George Bush are plunging along with GOP fund raising numbers.”

- Columnist John Hawkins

DISSING RON PAUL IN IOWA

“(I)t appears that organizers of a forthcoming presidential forum in Iowa on June 30 have decided (Rep. Ron) Paul will not be welcome. . . . Iowans for Tax Relief and the Iowa Christian Alliance are important groups in Iowa politics and their membership includes a large number of faithful presidential caucus attendees.

“…Lew Moore, Mr. Paul’s Iowa campaign manager, sought an explanation from the Iowa forum’s organizers but was rebuffed. He says he was simply told Mr. Paul wouldn’t be allowed to participate…

“Pettiness is a natural component of politics, but when practiced in the Internet age it is quickly exposed and a price exacted. Whatever the beef the organizers of the Iowa event have with Mr. Paul, I doubt it will be worth the adverse publicity they will get by excluding him.” 

- John Fund, Political Diary, 6/21/07

THE UNION LABEL

“American workers should be able to decide whether or not they want a union by a private ballot election.  Hopefully, enough senators will be unwilling to turn the clock back 60 years to a time when workers were routinely harassed about whether or not to support a union.”

- U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao on H.R. 800, better known as the ‘card check’ legislation

Posted on June 22nd, 2007 by Chuck Muth
Filed under: National