Hoover Institution: Peter Robinson Interviewing James Pierson: ‘The Rise & Fall of Liberalism’

Posted on September 20, 2014 by Erik Schneider

Source:FRS FreeState

Again I separate Progressivism from liberalism and the progressivism From Teddy Roosevelt in the early twentieth century all the way up through the 1950s up until John F. Kennedy is progressivism in it’s best form and classical form and I would argue in it’s only form. And the so-called Progressives of today that are part of the New-Left that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s as a response in favor of the civil-rights movement and the Great Society and of course against the Vietnam War, is a much different and more leftist movement.

People who tend to be against authority all together as it relates to law enforcement and national security and this movement got behind George McGovern for President in 1972 and Senator McGovern ran with them and lost in a landslide as a result. So these are people who are called Progressives today or ‘Modern-Liberals’, (a term I hate) but they aren’t either and I tend to call them Social Democrats or McGovern Democrats, but they aren’t liberal in the Jack Kennedy sense or any sense at least from my perspective because they are so far to the left on economic policy and so anti-authority and rule of law when it comes to law enforcement and national security.

One of the reasons why the death of President Kennedy was so tragic was for both political and ideological reasons from a Liberal’s perspective because the 1960s was the decade that brought so much economic as well as personal freedom to so many new Americans. With the tax cuts of the early 1960s and the civil-rights laws of the mid and late 1960s. And had Jack Kennedy survived and then been reelected in 1964 which of course we’ll never know, we probably are not involved in Vietnam the way we were.

At least not invading the country and President Kennedy probably moves much more cautiously in Vietnam and we probably would’ve played a more of a supportive role there and not invading North Vietnam. And trying to wipeout the Communists on our own. So the Democratic South could govern the country. But of course we’ll never know this. The 1960s was a great time for real Liberals not the New-Left because of the cultural revolution that brought so much freedom to new Americans as well as the economic freedom that came in that decade. But by the late 1960s because of Vietnam and the New-Left it was a bad time for the Democratic Party.

Both sides of the American political spectrum have their centers and their cores. And the fringes that sort of give the Left and Right bad names and make them look bad as if the entire Left and Right is like that. And that’s what we saw in the Left in America in the 1960s and 70s. Where the Left in America was no longer made up of Liberals and Progressives. But the New-Left emerged of people who I would call Socialist Anarchists. Or Occupy Wall Street people of today.

People who do not see America as a great country, but a force for bad in the World. And want to try to make the country like Europe even though Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson never wanted to go that far. And some people who call themselves FDR Democrats today do not even understand Franklin and just look up to him because of the New Deal. And see him as their vision for creating some type of European welfare state and finishing the job of the New Deal and Great Society.

But in the 1990s American-Liberalism made a comeback with Bill Clinton. And the McGovern wing of the Democratic Party was no longer in charge. And Clinton New Democrats were and the Democratic Party once again became about opportunity and freedom for all both economic and personal.

Rather than being about the welfare state and government-dependence. As well as a country that could not only defend itself, but would do what it took to defend itself without trying to govern the world. Bill Clinton brought American liberalism back to life and made it a governing-philosophy again and perhaps saved the Democratic Party as well.

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American Rhetoric: President William Jefferson Clinton’s Farewell Address

Posted on September 20, 2014 by Erik Schneider


Source:FRS FreeState

Before Bill Clinton became President of the United States, Liberal Democrats in America were seen as something we are not. We had all sorts of negative stereotypes about us, not all of them unfair. Because there are Democrats back then and today who meet these stereotypes, but they just aren’t Liberal Democrats. And there’s a different and accurate term that defines their politics. But they just aren’t liberal, even though they have some liberal views on social issues.

Pre-President Clinton, Liberal Democrats were seen as tax and spend, big government supporters, Socialists. Who are soft on crime, soft on defense, soft on welfare. That we just wanted to soak the rich in taxes to take care of the poor. And soak the middle class in taxes to take care of them as well. That we wouldn’t do what was necessary to protect the country. And that we see the US Constitution a document to use for advice. But that it wasn’t enforceable.

By the time President Clinton left office in 2001, Democrats were more trusted on law enforcement, national security, foreign policy, the economy, fiscal responsibility than Republicans who use to own these issues. And this didn’t happen by accident. Just within the first two years of the Clinton Presidency, President Clinton got a deficit reduction package through Congress. That had deep budget cuts and a tax hike in the wealthy.

President Clinton got two trade agreements through Congress as well. NAFA and GAT and got the 1994 Crime bill through Congress as well. That had the Brady bill on Handguns, meaning to buy a new handgun, you had to pass a background check. And new tough sentences on violent offenders. Including a Three Strikes Law, 25-Life for criminals convicted of violent felonies.

Presidents are judged by what shape the country was in when they took over. And what shape the country was in when they left office. President George H.W. Bush by a lot of measures was a successful President. Especially on foreign policy, but the country was just coming out of recession. With high unemployment, low economic growth, high interest rates and Inflation and a large Federal debt and deficit.

President Clinton also inherited a high crime rate when he took over in 1993 and all of those problems were either gone by 2001, or those problems were under control when he left office in 2001. And it didn’t happen by accident, because of the policies that the President got through Congress from 1993-95. But with also Welfare to Work in 1996, working with a Republican Congress.

President Clinton showed Americans that liberalism is not about being soft and irresponsible and that taxpayers will always cover the mistakes of others. That it was about individual liberty, the US Constitution and limited government. But that people also had to be held accountable for their decisions. And that America had to do what it takes within the US Constitution to defend itself. And that government can help people who are down get on their feet and become self-sufficient. This is why President Clinton was such a successful President, the best President we’ve had since Harry Truman.

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PBS NewsHour: David Brooks & EJ Dionne On Ground Troops Debate

Posted on September 19, 2014 by kireschneider

 

Source:The New Democrat 

When was the last time that Congress had big bipartisan votes on anything? Both the House and Senate overwhelmingly voting in favor of President Obama getting America involved in Syria and Iraq to defeat ISIS or ISIL, depending on how you define what Secretary of State John Kerry calls, “The Enemy of Islam”. The so-called Islamic group that wants to occupy the Levantine region of Arabia that includes both Iraq and Syria.

As far as Hillary Clinton in Iowa. I think it is pretty likely that Hillary Clinton will run for President in 2016 and perhaps will announce by the spring of 2015. Otherwise she doesn’t have much business being at Senator Tom Harkin’s political event last weekend. But as David Brooks and EJ Dionne pointed out, she won’t have an easy ride to the Democratic nomination. She’ll get pushed by both center and further Left Democrats to take hard stands on key issues in order to win the nomination.

As far as the battle for the U.S. Senate. Yeah Kansas is good news for Democrats this week. Because it means a popular Center-Left leaning Independent will be the main challenger to a very unpopular Republican Senator Pat Roberts in November. But as I’ve been talking about for months now, Kansas is not the only problem and thing that could keep Republicans from winning back the Senate in November. They are still defending Georgia and Kentucky where the Democratic challengers are running very strong. Tied in Kentucky against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Senate Republicans will may have to hold all three of these states in order to win back the Senate.

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ESPN: AWA 1985: Curt Hennig vs. Nick Bockwinkel

Posted on September 19, 2014 by kireschneider

Source:The Daily Times

Curt Hennig and Nick Bockwinkel, two of the best pound for pound pro wrestlers of all-time. I first got into AWA pro wrestling around 1987 or 88 when my parents finally got cable TV in the house. Curt Hennig was part of the World Wrestling Federation at that point. But Nick Bockwinkel the Ric Flair of the AWA, All Star Wrestling Association was still wrestling and winning championships in his early fifties at this point. And you can tell just by looking at him that he was in great shape. Still wrestling at two-hundred-fifty pounds of so and most of that being muscle.

Curt Hennig had his career cut somewhat short dying in the late 1990s or early 2000s, but someone who could do anything in the wrestling ring. He got bigger when he went into the WWF and WCW and wrestled at about two-fifty pounds or so, up from two-hundred thirty-five pounds from when he was in the AWA. But he was a classical wrestler who also had great athletic ability, strength and pure wrestling knowledge and intelligence. That made him a world champion several times.

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Helmer Reenberg: Video: Senator Edward Kennedy Interview From 1964

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Derik Schneider


The New Democrat

Senator Ted Kennedy talking about the optimism of his older brother President John Kennedy. President Kennedy’s ability to inspire people and make them believe they can do things that they didn’t think they could do before. Which to me at least is the definition of an inspirational leader. Generally someone doesn’t need to be inspired to do things that they believe they can do and know they should do. Assuming they are responsible, because they just do those things.

President Kennedy inspired Americans to believe that we could put men on the moon and do it by the end of the 1960s, which is exactly what we did. That we didn’t have to go to war with the Soviet Union at least in a physical way because our ideas and form of government based on federalism and individual freedom was better. That all Americans under law and the Constitution are created equal and based that are entitled to equal rights under the law. We lost an amazing and incredible leader in Jack Kennedy and is someone who hasn’t been replaced since.

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CATO Institute: Ilya Shapiro: ‘ObamaCare’s Medicaid Expansion Violates Federalism’

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Ederik Schneider

Source:FreeState Now

I would’ve gone farther to bring down healthcare costs with things like preventive care, taxing junk food and drink, getting junk food and drink out of public schools, encouraging people to eat healthy and exercise, mandatory physical education K-12 and other things. And I certainly didn’t like the Medicaid expansion that was in the ACA that wasn’t paid for. And that’s what I”m going to blog about.

Medicaid was set up in 1965 as part of the LBJ Great Society. To provide Health Insurance for low-income people who can’t afford it, sounds noble enough right. And that the Federal along with state governments would provide the funds to pay for it, another Federal mandate on the states. One problem with Medicaid has been the Feds haven’t lived up to their share of the costs of Medicaid that they wrote in their own law and as the cost of health care in America has gone up.

Health care costs have gone up since Medicaid was created in 1965, so has the States Medicaid costs. But the Federal Government, has not only not paid for their share of what they originally said they would pay for, but of course they haven’t been providing the funds to pay for the new Medicaid costs that the states have picked up as well. Which have been made worse the last ten years with state revenue shrinking with a couple of recessions and everything else.

What I would like to do with Medicaid is take it off both the Federal and state budgets. Allow each State to have their own Medicaid as well as healthcare system. And then turn Medicaid into a semi-private non-profit health insurer. With each State having their own version of Medicaid. And make Medicaid self-financed as well by their customers and employers, Unemployed workers would get an additional tax credit to go along with their public assistance check to cover their Medicaid insurance.

Low-income workers would pay for part of their Medicaid insurance. And their employer would cover the other part. And both the workers and employers would be eligible for a tax credit to cover that. And you could pay for that out of corporate welfare. As well as workers and employers could use that tax credit and opt out of Medicaid for private health insurance.

I got this rule that I like to use in life, before you create a new mess, clean up your first mess. Which is how I would describe Medicaid. It’s a Financial Mess, that no one wants to pay for. Because the money isn’t there, it has to come out of general revenue. And takes money out of other priorities. So before you expand something like that, you should first fix it.

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The Weekly Standard: Daniel Halper: ‘Newt Looking to Deliver Knockout Punch in Florida’

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Rik Schneider

Source:The FreeState

I don’t see Newt Gingrich delivering a “knockout punch” in South Carolina for Florida, but with Speaker Gingrich’s overwhelmingly victory tonight in South Carolina, it does change the political landscape for the GOP presidential race. Last week we I guess, the political pundits, were talking about South Carolina as the state that Mitt Romney is going to wrap up the GOP nomination for President. Because he had a big clear victory in New Hampshire.

And all the momentum that Mitt needed to move on from there to get the GOP nomination and then move to concentrate on the President. Because Governor Romney was able to open up a big lead in South Carolina. So what happened, a few things. Newt has two great debates, Monday and Thursday nights last week. Mitt has a mediocre debate on Monday night and a bad debate Thursday night. Newt whips Mitt on the national stage where South Carolina is watching. Plus Mitt’s tax returns didn’t help as well.

My issues with Mitt Romney have always been with his honesty. Is he saying what he believes or what he thinks we want to hear. I believe Mitt is running for President for the right reasons. He believes America is in trouble etc and wants to help. And that his career in corporate America and experience can fix the problems. But Mitt has gone about it the wrong way, his whole strategy seems to be is to say “what it takes to get the job and then when you get the job” do what you think is right”.

That campaign strategy just doesn’t work in American politics. He just doesn’t seem to have a message of other, than he’s the best person for the job. But what he doesn’t understand, is to get the job you have to prove you’re the best candidate for it. And Newt has capitalized on Mitt’s weakness’s at least for this week. Newt Gingrich should have some momentum going into Florida. And if he does well in the Monday night debate, may take the lead or pull very close to Mitt Romney.

The Romney Campaign has already announced their strategy for taking down Newt and will have new attack ads focusing on Speaker Gingrich’s Speakership and leadership. And Newt is going to have to be prepared for that and be able to fight back against those political attacks and winning South Carolina should help the Gingrich Campaign with their fundraising. So Florida should be very interesting and as a political junky I’m looking forward to it.

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The New Republic: William J. Dobson: A Victory For Democratic Foreign Policy

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Erik Schneider

Source:FRS FreeState

I had just turned five years old and was in kindergarten when President Jimmy Carter left the White House in January in 1981. After losing reelection in a landslide to Ronald Reagan in November 1980. I remember President Carter being President for like a year or so and at least hearing about the 1980 presidential election when they were happening. Jimmy Carter I believe in many ways is a very impressive and intelligent man.

And I believe the best Ex-President America has ever had, especially with what the Carter Center has done around the World on human rights. His intelligence and morality even came through while he was President with what he tried to do and was successful to a certain extent on energy policy and even foreign policy. While attempting to get America off of foreign oil and with his success’s with the Panama Canal Treaty, recognizing the People’s Republic of China and the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty.

But in some ways he was also a weak leader and I don’t say that with a smile on my face. Like many brilliant people, President Carter had and probably still does a great ability to analyze issues and the problems. But what he lacked was the ability to come up with answers to deal with the issues he and his Administration and the country faced. The economy and the Iranian Hostage Crisis being perfect examples of this.

When I look at President Obama’s presidency, I see similar characteristics to President Carter. Not be able many times to make decisions quickly, even if the right answer seems obvious. Like Libya such as, or being able to take tough stands on issues. Because I believe he’s more interested in not offending people and that’s what happens many times when you make tough decisions. Even if it’s the right thing to do and that’s why they are called tough decisions.

There’s rarely full agreement to do anything in America a country of 310M people. A lot of times there’s not even a consensus, so if Leaders want to get things done and make the right decisions. They have to risk offending people, including special interest groups that generally support you. Th reason why Barack Obama is not a 2nd Jimmy Carter, because even though it takes him a while a lot of times to get to the right decision. He eventually gets there.

Health care reform, Wall Street reform, the Bush tax cuts, the budget agreement and Libya are good examples of this. This past weekend when the President and his National Security Council were in the process of taking out Osama Bin Laden, the President displayed a new ability, the ability to make the right decision and to do it quickly. His NSC gave him the opportunity to take out the most important global serial murderer. And President Obama pulled the trigger and took him out and it made me proud that he’s my President and to be an american.

The Last Days of Osama Bin Laden – National Geographic Documentary – YouTube.

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The Boston Globe: Video: Ted Kennedy: Why do You Want to be President?

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Derik Schneider


The New Democrat

Anyone who doesn’t know why they want to be President of the United States, should not run for President. It is too big of a job to have someone who hasn’t put much if any thought into why they are running, or why they would be the best person for the job. Also anyone who doesn’t want to be President, shouldn’t run either because of all the work and sacrifices that go into to simply running for President let alone doing the job itself. Sacrifices that the candidate as well as their family make.

I believe Senator Ted Kennedy qualified for both when he was looking at a 1980 presidential bid against President Jimmy Carter who just happened to be from the same party the Democratic Party. He not only didn’t know why he wanted to be President of the United States, because he didn’t want the job in the first place. He felt some obligation to the Progressive Left in the Democratic Party to run for President against Jimmy Carter who was very vulnerable against the Republican Party for reelection. But also came from the center-left New Democratic wing of the party.

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Los Angeles Times: Report: David G. Savage & Noam N. Levey: Medicaid Could be in U.S. Supreme Court’s Sights

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Ederik Schneider

Medicaid
This post was originally posted at FRS FreeStateNow on WordPress, March, 2012

As part of trying to expand health insurance to uninsured Americans in 2010, when President Obama and Congressional Democrats created the Affordable Care Act in 2010, They put in a Medicaid prevision that required states to expand their Medicaid rolls by roughly twenty-million people. Democrats and I’m one of them, that by in large supports the ACA, added another unfunded mandate, meaning the Federal Government requiring States to do something, without giving them the resources to pay for it.

They added a new unfunded mandate to a program that’s already an unfunded mandate. The economy is not great today and states are still strapped, but the economy was worst in 2010. Roughly 2M more people unemployed in 2010 then today. Whether the Medicaid Prevision in the ACA is unconstitutional or not, I’m not a lawyer and that’s above my pay grade, but to me anyway all unfunded mandates should be Unconstitutional, whether they are now or not.

But the point is the unfunded mandate in the ACA is just bad law pure and simple. The goal of the ACA was to expand health insurance for the uninsured who can’t afford it. To be eligible for Medicaid, you have to be living in poverty. A lot of the people who can’t afford health insurance today aren’t in poverty at least by definition. But can’t afford health insurance through their employer or on their own. But make too much money to be eligible for Medicaid. And in the ACA 20M out of the 30M, that were going to get Health Insurance, were to get it through Medicaid.

The Medicaid prevision of the ACA is just another example of why Medicaid was never designed properly from the first place. It was designed to be a health insurer for low-income Americans, that would be controlled by the Federal Government, but that the States would have to implement. What Uncle Sam would want them to do or pay a financial penalty for not taking the Medicaid expansion.

Unlike Medicare that was designed to a Federal health insurer run by Uncle Sam that is paid for by an increase in the payroll tax. I believe both Medicaid and Medicare are overly centralized. And that the States should have the authority to set up their own Medicaid and Medicare systems. With the resources to run them with the Feds serving as a regulator not operator.

Back in 1965 when Medicaid was created, it should’ve been set up as a health insurer for the poor but that was run by the states, or they would regulate it, that was self-financed so it wouldn’t have to be a financial hole that it is today and that would only cover the basics that people need to survive and to be healthy and it could’ve served as a model for health insurers ever since. And not be so expensive to run, with states wondering how they are going to pay for it.

Supreme Court strikes down Medicaid expansion – YouTube.

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