When it comes to public policy victories, conservatives are gonna have a tough time topping last week. So let’s recap. We don’t get opportunities like this very often.
The most obvious was the victory over the Bush/Kennedy “No Illegal Alien Left Behind” bill. No matter how the White House tried to spin it, that bill provided a path to amnesty. And ordinary citizens from across the country cranked up phones, faxes and emails to say, not just “No,” but “Hell, no!”
And make no mistake, one of the primary reasons this bill went down in flames was the grassroots activism stirred up by conservative talk-radio hosts. Naturally, Democrats want to stop this sort of thing. So they’ve been agitating to bring back the “Fairness Doctrine.” That rule would require that radio stations provide equal time for liberal opinions to counter those of conservative talk shows whether anyone ever listened to those liberal opinions or not.
The Fairness Doctrine is a direct attack on conservatives…period. So Rep. Mike Pence, Indiana Republican and former talk-radio host, introduced an amendment last week which would prohibit the FCC from using taxpayer dollars to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine. That amendment, surprisingly enough, passed overwhelmingly. A big victory for radio broadcast freedom.
Which brings us to the Internet.
Last week the FTC’s Internet Access Task Force issued a report stating that broadband access was moving toward “more, not less, competition” and urged policy makers to stay away from federal “net neutrality” regulation of the Internet. “In the absence of significant market failure or demonstrated consumer harm,” wrote task force Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras, “policy makers should be particularly hesitant to enact new regulation in this area.”
What’s truly significant here is that this wasn’t a split decision down ideological lines; the report was approved by a unanimous 5-0 vote. Even the one commissioner apparently most sympathetic toward the concept of net neutrality concurred, noting that the report’s research and analysis “soberly reminds us that regulation often has unintended side-effects.” It’s hard not to concur with that concurring opinion. No net neutrality. No way. No how.
But as they say on late-night TV, that’s not all. There’s more? Yep.
Big Labor took it in the shorts last week, as well, when the Senate shot down the crown jewel of their legislative agenda this year, “card check.”
Fewer and fewer people – aside from government employees and illegal aliens who don’t speak English – are joining labor unions these days. When secret ballot elections are held at the workplace, unions are losing. So the union bosses’ solution, of course, is to ban secret ballot elections. Which is what the “card check” legislation would have done.
If passed, the bill would have required an employer to recognize a union if 51 percent of workers simply signed a card stating they wanted the union. Of course, many of those cards would be signed under duress or false pretenses. Union bosses aren’t exactly known for subtlety and fair play. Baseball bats and brass knuckles are more their style. By eliminating secret ballot elections, union agitators would be able to intimidate large numbers of workers into signing cards who would otherwise vote “no” in an actual election.
But card check crashed and burned last week. Chalk up another victory for truth, justice and the American way.
And finally there was the spanking that race-hustlers such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton took at the hands of the United States Supreme Court last week, which ruled against the use of racial preferences by public schools. Conservatives have been advocating this for decades now. As Ward Connerly of the American Civil Rights Institute put it, “The Court is finally starting to catch up with what the American people have known for years: Race has no place in American public life.” Indeed.
Ironically, it seems conservatives enjoy far more victories when Republicans are in the minority than when they’re in the majority. Perhaps while we’re on a roll, maybe now would be a good time to try killing the Bush/Kennedy “No Child Left Behind” law which is up for renewal and which has given the federal government a far bigger role in education than was ever envisioned by our Founders. Gentlemen and women, to your keyboards!
Posted on July 1st, 2007 by Chuck Muth
Filed under: National
1. Immigration: So what is OUR solution?…what do we do with the 12 m illegals here now? We asked the Democratic Party for an answer to the Iraq Project, so what is our solution. “NO” doesn’t solve the problem.
Didn’t OUR Trent Lott just call for an end to “talk radio”?
2. Internet:” In a report on its examination of the Net neutrality issue, the FTC on Wednesday didn’t urge lawmakers to either pass or kill neutrality legislation but instead recommended that policymakers proceed with caution” (ComputerWorld.com) Why caution?;
“The primary reason for caution is simply that we do not know what the net effects of potential conduct by broadband providers will be on all consumers, including, among other things, the prices that consumers may pay for Internet access, the quality of Internet access and other services that will be offered, and the choices of content and applications that may be available to consumers in the marketplace.” (FTC Report).
FTC Commissioner Leibowitz said, “The Report also soberly reminds us that regulation often has unintended side-effects. That is surely true. But it seems to me equally clear that this Report shows that doing nothing may have its costs as well” (concurring statement FTC vote).
3. Union check card was un-democratic! Nice KIA!
4. No Child Left Behind: Chuck, could you educate us on why Reagan did not drown the Department of Education in the tub? Why did he dramatically increase its spending and scope? The founders envisioned that the Bible would be taught in schools (see “hornbooks” and “The Primer”), so I wonder, when did we divert from the Founders vision? Education needs to go back to the States….it should never have left.
Southy:
You wrote, “Immigration: So what is OUR solution?…what do we do with the 12 m illegals here now? We asked the Democratic Party for an answer to the Iraq Project, so what is our solution. ‘NO’ doesn’t solve the problem.”
One of the arguments of the pro-amnesty people is, “There’s no way we’re going to round up 12 million illegals and deport them. It’s impossible, so we need to figure out something else to do here.” The something else is amnesty.
Even Pat Buchanan has acknowledged that rounding up and deporting 12 million illegals isn’t feasible. His solution, which I would agree with, is to build the border fence, and to eliminate all employment opportunities and benefits for illegals in the US. Over a period of several years, a lot of the problem will solve itself thru attrition as the illegals return home.
Sounds pretty simple, but the devil is in the details. As you pointed out in an earlier posting, a 1982 Supreme Court judgment ruled that illegals have a right to public education in this country. The EMTALA Act of 1985 (yes, passed during a time of a Republican president and Republican Senate majority) requires emergency rooms to treat patients regardless of their status in the US. People who complain about sanctuaries in certain cities should be aware that EMTALA basically made every hospital in the country a de facto sanctuary. And then there’s the whole issue of “anchor” babies born in the US to illegal parents and being US citizens at birth.
Can these issues be dealt with? Very doubtful in the current political climate.
John,
You bring up excellent points. But we elect these people to solve our complex public policy issues.
EMTALA and COBRA require care for life saving emergency care; not to treat the flu, colds, cuts, scratches, sprains, strains and all the other BS things our ERs are clogged caring for….for what ever reason, no hospital says no and the cost gets passed on to those that do have insurance. So for every premium bought in America, perhaps 2, 3 or more people get “coverage”.
Yeah, I never understood the dual citizinship concept either….
Not sure I would want to be a teenager looking forward 60 years……
[…] My favorite line from “Roadhouse”, suitably modified. “It was a good week, lotsa Liberal things died!” […]
How come the Republican majority in Congress didn’t name or re-name a single post office or federal building for 6 years?
Can you imagine?! Those rascals went 6, SIX, years without having one Senate bill, or H.R. or H.Res that named a building after anyone!! Six Years! Never did it ONCE!
This is not the truth. Yet, if a Democratically controlled Congress does so, they are labled as “silly” and a “do nothing” Congress (even when it is Republicans asking for the bill). Have you had enough of the hyperbole? Quit believing the crud that the looneys try to feed you (likeGOPUSA and REDSTATE), and read the Congressional Record for yourself.
If this “US” versus “THEM” goes on my longer, well, a house divided against itself will not stand long (Jesus).
2005conressnamespostofficebuildings
When you go to the above link, click on the 109th Conress, type in “post office buildings” and when the results come up, look at items 248 to 726; this is the 109th Congress in 2005 naming and re-naming post ofice buildings.
I did this same research for the current 110th Congress and there are plenty post offices that have had their names assigned, as is true for 108 etc….it begs the question, how many post office buildings do we have?! How often are the names changed?
This is exactly what I expected to find out after reading the title A Winning Week for Conservatives. Thanks for informative article