MI Morning Update 11-17-8
715 Days Until Election Day
November 17,
2008
QUOTE OF THE
DAY:
“As the son of an
immigrant who found the American Dream in an auto factory in
Detroit, I know that the dream is still alive. It lives in every
city and every suburb. And it lives in every coal miner,
accountant, school teacher, young professional and auto
worker.”
Saul Anuzis, Wall Street
Journal Op-Ed
“The future of the
Republican Party is in the hands of the party’s grass roots. In the
months to come, some of us will be concentrating on organizing the
people who are the real base of the party and fighting to restore
the party’s values as represented by my father’s
administration. What we stand for is worth fighting for. And
it is what will save the party of Abraham Lincoln and Ronald
Reagan.”
Michael Reagan, Human Events
Op-Ed
MORNING
UPDATE:
OBAMA ON 60
MINUTES…promises Republicans in his Cabinet? This will be
interesting…I hope he really does plan on reaching out and trying
to build some sort of consensus on policy.
SO MUCH FOR
UNITY…Democrat Senators are pushing to dump fellow Democrat Joe
Lieberman (D-CT) from his Chairmanship of any committees for
backing McCain. I guess “independence” and “bi-partisanship”
isn’t in the works for Democrats now that they are “in
charge”.
MCCAIN AND OBAMA TO
MEET…Senator John McCain will meet with President-Elect Barack
Obama in Chicago today. They will discuss ways and options of
cooperating on policy initiatives to move our country
forward
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STORY:
No further
commentary today.
TODAY’S
TOP STORIES
The following
stories and more are available at my Articles of Interest online.
GOP’s Future Is In Its Grass Roots
by Michael Reagan
11/14/2008
There are a lot of
meetings going on among some Republicans trying to figure out what
went wrong on Election Day and how the party needs to respond. None
of them involve what the media like to call the base, the folks at
the grass roots whose votes, after all, determine the outcome of
elections.
The gatherings get a
lot of media attention because the media mistakenly believe that
the people attending them represent the grass roots of the GOP.
They don’t. What they represent is the coterie who led the party
into eight years of ignoring the traditions and principles of the
party pursued so avidly by the Reagan administration, with which
they have the effrontery to identify themselves.
Among Republicans, a Debate Over the Party’s Road
Map Back to Power
By MICHAEL
COOPER
MIAMI - In small
meetings at the homes of conservative activists and bigger ones at
research groups, in conference calls and on blogs, and at
gatherings like the Republican governors’ conference that just
ended here, the questions have been the same: Nearly 30 years after
Ronald Reagan ushered in a period of conservative ascendancy in
American politics, how should the movement re-energize itself? And
how can conservatives chart a path back to power after this month’s
Republican defeats?
Some conservatives
want a return to basics, arguing that President Bush abandoned
conservative principles by expanding government and driving up
spending. Others draw just the opposite conclusion, warning that
Republicans have tried to appeal to too narrow a base and that the
party must update the focus of conservatism, especially at a time
when voters are thinking more about issues like jobs and health
care than about abortion and gay rights. The debate has been
simmering among veteran conservative leaders, a younger crop of
conservative writers and thinkers who want to modernize the
movement and the Republican officials vying to become forces in a
party that suddenly has no leader now that the Bush administration
is at an end.
Op-Ed: Clout returns to N. Michigan
With selection by
their caucuses as minority leaders, two small-town Up North
lawmakers have ended the grip that downstate population centers
have on the four top leadership posts in the Senate and House. Sen.
Mike Prusi, of Ishpeming, after narrowly defeating Sen. Buzz
Thomas, of Detroit — by two votes, says one source — will take
over as Senate Democratic Leader when Mark Schauer, of Battle
Creek, goes to Congress in January. Although old records are
sketchy, Senate staffers believe him to be the first Upper
Peninsula senator to win the post.
While the legendary
former state Rep. Dominic Jaccobetti, D-Negaunee, never served as
caucus leader, his 1955-95 service — much of which was as chairman
of the House Appropriations Committee — defined Up North
legislative clout. Other former northern legislative leaders of
note include ex-Sen. Mitch Irwin, of Sault Ste. Marie, and ex-Rep.
Pat Gagliardi, also from the eastern Upper Peninsula (Drummond
Island), both Democrats.
Why Bankruptcy Is the Best Option for
GM
Chapter 11 would better preserve the valuable parts of the company
than an ad hoc bailout.
By MICHAEL E.
LEVINE
General Motors is a
once-great company caught in a web of relationships designed for
another era. It should not be fed while still caught, because that
will leave it trapped until we get tired of feeding it. Then it
will die. The only possibility of saving it is to take the risk of
cutting it free. In other words, GM should be allowed to go
bankrupt.
Consider the costs
of tackling GM’s problems with some kind of bailout plan. After 42
years of eroding U.S. market share (from 53% to 20%) and countless
announcements of “change,” GM still has eight U.S. brands
(Cadillac, Saab, Buick, Pontiac, GMC, Saturn, Chevrolet and
Hummer). As for its more successful competitors, Toyota (19% market
share) has three, and Honda (11%) has two.
GM has about 7,000
dealers. Toyota has fewer than 1,500. Honda has about 1,000. These
fewer and larger dealers are better able to advertise, stock and
service the cars they sell. GM knows it needs fewer brands and
dealers, but the dealers are protected from termination by state
laws. This makes eliminating them and the brands they sell very
expensive. It would cost GM billions of dollars and many years to
reduce the number of dealers it has to a number near
Toyota’s.
Options all grim for GM’s
workers
Jobs will be lost no matter what solution
is found to woes
Barbara
Wieland
Bailout. Bankruptcy.
Merger. Those are terms being bandied about as lawmakers, analysts
and others try to figure out how to help keep automakers in
business. Too bad “none of the above” isn’t an option.
General Motors Corp.
and its two Detroit-area rivals - Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC -
face grim futures as Congress prepares to take up a
multibillion-dollar-bailout package Monday. Plunging sales brought
on by gas prices that topped $4 a gallon earlier this year and a
continuing credit crunch have battered the industry. Locally, GM’s
dire situation has raised the most concern. With about 6,000
workers at four facilities in the Lansing area - up to 700 of whom
will lose their jobs early next year amid a companywide layoff -
and more who work at suppliers, the Detroit automaker’s survival is
as crucial here as it is nationwide.
When billions become
trillions
Monday, November 17,
2008
The Federal Reserve,
the Treasury Department and the Democratic Party seem to be in a
race to see who can flaunt more money at more suppliants in quicker
time with less thought.
When the Federal
Reserve and the Treasury Department decided to put $30 billion into
Bear Stearns in March, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury
Secretary Henry Paulson said they were “pleased” with their efforts
to “promote liquid, well-functioning financial markets.” There were
no warnings from the two financial chiefs that more trouble was
ahead.
In July, Congress
started asking questions about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Mr.
Paulson said: “Their regulator has made clear that they are
adequately capitalized,” even as a former Federal Reserve president
warned they were already insolvent. A month later, Mr. Paulson
admitted $200 billion (and maybe more) would be needed to bail out
the two mortgage giants. From there the landslide began. There was
$700 billion to buy toxic mortgages and other assets from banks.
Another $25 billion in loans went to the American automotive
industry. Taxpayers were paid $168 billion in stimulus checks in
February. All told, the federal government has shelled out $1.148
trillion on top of a $454 billion-closing-budget
deficit.
Democrats Shouldn’t Rush on Labor
Legislation
Union-friendly rules don’t always help employees.
By ARIELLA
BERNSTEIN
The labor movement
has announced that it will push passage of the Employee Free Choice
Act (EFCA) in the first 100 days of the Obama administration. There
is even talk of adding it to President-elect Barack Obama’s
stimulus legislation, to reduce the spotlight on the issue. This
haste is a mistake. I am a Democrat who has worked at both the
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Federal Mediation and
Conciliation Service (FMCS), two agencies that figure prominently
in this legislation. I believe we need a better understanding of
the problems before signing on to this bill as the
solution.
The Employee Free
Choice Act has three main components: certification of a union as
the bargaining representative if a majority of employees sign
authorization cards; mandatory arbitration on the terms of a
contract if the parties cannot reach agreement; and stronger
penalties for unfair labor practices during a union organizing
campaign or while the parties are negotiating a first
contract.
Proponents say a
quarter of union campaigns result in the illegal firing of at least
one employee, and that more than a third of newly certified unions
never reach a contract with the company. Opponents say that a
secret-ballot election is a time-honored American tradition and
that mandatory arbitration only encourages irresponsible
negotiations.
A real plan for economic
growth
Republicans offer alternative to spending
binge
John Boehner
Monday, November 17, 2008
In talking with
President-elect Barack Obama after his historic election, I shared
with him my sincere hope that we can work together in the months
and years ahead toward solutions that address the significant
challenges facing our nation. The most pressing challenge is the
state of our economy and its impact on American workers and their
families.
Both parties have
promised to look for common ground in the effort to find solutions
to our economic troubles. We should start that search by listening
to the American people. Public opinion polls show the American
people believe cutting taxes for families and small businesses is
more likely to “stimulate” the economy than increasing government
spending, and they’ve got it right.
Cantor says GOP is no longer
‘relevant’
Urges real solutions on health care, economy
Stephen Dinan
Monday, November 17, 2008
Rep. Eric Cantor of
Virginia, poised to ascend to House Republicans’ No. 2 leader this
week, said the Republican Party in Washington is no longer
“relevant” to voters and must stop simply espousing principles.
Instead, it must craft real solutions to health care and the
economy.
“Where we have
really fallen down is, we have lacked the ability to be relevant to
people’s lives. Let’s set aside the last eight years, and our
falling down in living up to expectations of what we said we were
going to do,” Mr. Cantor told The Washington Times in his district
office outside of Richmond. “It’s the relevancy
question.”
As chief deputy
whip, Mr. Cantor, 45, was the logical choice to move up when
Republicans’ current whip, Rep. Roy Blunt, stepped aside -
something Mr. Blunt announced days after Republicans lost at least
20 seats in the House.
The $639 Million Loophole
Obama’s riches, and the humiliation of campaign
reformers
We’re fresh off the
most expensive election cycle in history, in which the winning
candidate raised record amounts of money while opting out of the
campaign finance limits. With victory in hand, Barack Obama’s
allies now want to return to the alleged virtues of public money.
If there was ever a demonstration of the folly and hypocrisy of
campaign finance reform, this would be it.
The GOP is using
this demonstration to make another constitutional challenge to
McCain-Feingold, and we’re glad to see it. That’s the upshot of two
lawsuits filed Thursday by the Republican National Committee in
Washington, D.C. and Louisiana, challenging campaign finance
restrictions including the 2002 McCain-Feingold law. The rules were
intended to limit the influence of money in politics, but we now
have the proof of three election cycles showing they haven’t.
Instead they have made election money less transparent, restricted
political speech, and helped create a cottage industry of election
lawyers and shadowy political groups.
Obama to meet with
McCain at transition office
November 17,
2008
CHICAGO (AP) - Once
campaign rivals, President-elect Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain
are ready to talk about how they can collaborate on issues facing
the country. A private meeting, slated for Monday at Obama’s
transition office in Chicago, will be the first since Obama beat
McCain, the Republican candidate, in the Nov. 4 election. The
meeting comes as Obama, who resigned his Senate seat on Sunday, has
been interviewing some of his one-time political opponents to help
him run the country.
Advisers to the
former candidates have said they don’t expect Obama to consider
McCain for an administration job. The two will be joined by
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a McCain
confidant, and Rep. Rahm Emanuel, an Illinois Democrat Obama has
chosen as his White House chief of staff. Emanuel and Graham have
worked together before on issues on Capitol Hill, and Graham jumped
to Emanuel’s defense when Republicans criticized his appointment as
Obama’s chief of staff.
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