CALIFORNIA YANKEE

Obama losing his gun control campaign

Only 39 percent back Obama's repressive gun control agenda

New polling from Washington Post-ABC News and Pew find that President Obama's campaign to repress the Second Amendment right "keep and bear arms" is faltering.

On January 22, 2013, Pew released polling results that found the public followed news about Obama's gun control proposals closely and the reaction is mixed. Only 39 percent think Obama's proposals are about right, while 31 percent think the proposals go too far. Or, as Politico put it, "39 percent back Obama gun plan."

Of course there is the usual partisan divide. A 57 percent majority of Republicans say the proposals go too far, and 25 percent say they are about right. A 55 percent majority of Democrats (55%) say the proposals s are about right, and 10 percent  say they go too far. Independents are more evenly divided -- 36 percent say the proposals are about right, while 33 percent say they go too far.

There is also a gender divide with Men more likely than women to say Obama’s gun control proposals go too far -- 36 percent vs. 26 percent.

It is important to note that despite the "modest" up tick after Newtown, support for gun control remains lower than before Obama took office. In April 2008, 58 percent said it was more important to control gun ownership, while 37 percent  prioritized protecting gun rights. In a poll released January 14, 2013 Pew found that 51 percent say it is more important to control gun ownership, while 45 percent  say it is more important to protect gun rights.

The new Washington Post-ABC News poll, released today, finds that support for Obama's gun control  package is lower than it was for some of the same steps polled in an ABC/Post poll earlier this month, before Obama's repressive gun control package was announced.

In an article on the new ABC News/Washington Post poll, the Washington Post reports that most congressional Republicans and some Democrats oppose restrictive new gun control measures, such as an assault-weapons ban. The Post also notes that recent polls have shown broadly positive sentiment for the NRA, and that a modest plurality thinks the NRA is too influential:

"A plurality of all Americans, 38 percent, think the organization has 'too much influence' over the country’s gun-control laws. Twenty-four percent see the NRA as having 'too little' sway, while 30 percent say it has the right amount."

In the accompanying video, Duke University Professor Michael Munger explains why the NRA is so influential.

Even the New York Times reports on how Democrats are now worried that Obama's gun control campaign is going "imperil" the rest of the Democrats' agenda. And former President Clinton recently reminded Democrats what happened the last time the Democrats acted against gun rights and passed the so-called assault weapon ban:

"Clinton said that passing the 1994 federal assault weapons ban 'devastated' more than a dozen Democratic lawmakers in the 1994 midterms — and cost then-Speaker of the House Tom Foley (D-Wash.) his job and his seat in Congress."

With six Democrats up for election in two years in states where Obama received less than 42 percent of the vote, some Democrats might have to choose between their own constituents and Obama’s misguided gun control agenda.

A quick look back at Obama's first term

"Those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government." -- Barack Hussein Obama, Inaugural Address January 20, 2009

There were many things that were disappointing about President Obama's first term. 

The good folks at Reason TV take a look at some of the disappointments in a new video retrospective of Obama's rhetoric versus reality including:

• Trillion dollar deficits.
• Obama's failure to submit a budget on time.
• The Senate's failure to pass a budget in nearly four years.
• Irresponsible spending.
• Failed stimulus.
• Crony capitalism like Solyndra.
• Failure to keep the ObamaCare transparency promise.
• Failure to keep his promise to reform immigration during his first year.

You can watch the video below:

There was much to bedisappointed about during Obama's first term. But the most disappointing thing about Obama's first term was the irresponsible and out of control spending.

Today, the national debt is $16,432,631,489,854.70. It was $10,626,877,048,913.08 when Obama became president. That is an increase of more than a 5.8 trillion dollars during Obama's first term.

In 2004, when the deficit was $413 billion and the national debt was $7,419,244,676,835.15 or $7.4 trillion, Obama said the "monstrous federal deficit" was an "enormous problem." On July 3, 2008, presidential candidate Obama said that adding $4 trillion in debt was "irresponsible" and "unpatriotic." Nevertheless, President Obama added more than $5.8 trillion to the national debt in four years.

President Obama has promised to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first time at least five times:

1. February 23, 2009: Obama Pledges to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term in office.
2. February 24, 2009: Obama pledges to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term in office.
3. May 26, 2009: Obama pledges to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term in office
4. December 8, 2009: Obama pledges to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term in office.
5. February 14, 2011: Obama pledges to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term in office.

Despite his promises to cut the deficit in half by the end of his "first" term, Obama has racked up the largest deficits in U.S. history:

• FY2009: The federal budget deficit was $1.413 trillion, the highest in U.S. history. ("Monthly Budget Review: November 2011," Congressional Budget Office, 11/7/11)
• FY2011: The federal budget deficit was $1.299 trillion, the second highest in U.S. history. ("Monthly Budget Review: November 2011," Congressional Budget Office, 11/7/11)
• FY2010: The federal budget deficit was $1.294 trillion, the third highest in U.S. history. ("Monthly Budget Review: November 2011," Congressional Budget Office, 11/7/11)
• FY2012 The federal budget deficit was $1.090 trillion, the fourth highest in U.S. history. ("An Analysis of the President’s 2013 Budget," Congressional Budget Office, 10/5/12)

You shouldn't be shocked by Obama's failure to reduce the deficit in half by the end of his first term in office. He did warn us there would be "trillion-dollar deficits for years to come."

The president and his Obamacrats need to get serious about the irresponsible spending. Obama has not submitted a single budget on time. And when Obama's budgets are submitted they are so "unserious" that for the last two years they haven't even received a single vote in the Democrat-controlled Senate. And the Senate hasn't passed a budget in 1,365 days, almost four years. Congress has failed to adequately address the problem by continuing raise the debt limit and borrow more and more until we now have a $16.4 trillion national debt. Can we continue down this road and avoid bankruptcy?

Obama takes the oath, begins second term

In accordance with the requirements of the United States Constitution, President Barack Hussein Obama was officially sworn-in and began his second term on Sunday, January 20, 2013.

Under the Constitution, a president's term ends at noon Jan. 20. So the official swearing -in occurred on Sunday. Following historical precedent, the inaugural ceremony did not take place on Sunday.

The official swearing-in was a nearly private affair in the White House's oval shaped blue room. You can watch video of the official swearing in below:

This time, unlike Obama's first swearing-in,  Chief Justice John Roberts administered the 35-word oath correctly. The Constitution, in Article Two, Section One, Clause Eight,   requires that the President take the oath of office:

"Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation: -- I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

After the oath was taken, President Obama was heard to say, "I did it." His daughter Sasha replied, "Good job, Dad, you didn't mess up."

For those of us who remain in the loyal opposition, the good news is that only 1,460 days remain in the Obama presidency.

Media deal may cost Taiwan a free press

As a nation that values freedom of speech and a free press above all else, Americans everywhere should at least be aware of the disaster that’s about to happen to democratic Taiwan’s media market.

Taiwan’s most popular and independent media organization, Next Media, is about to be sold to China-based tycoon Tsai Eng-Meng, in a deal which would give him and his company (Want Want China Times Group) control of 50% of Taiwan’s entire print news industry. Considering the fact that Want Want already controls many cable and television systems on the island, Eng-Meng is buying his way to being the top-dog in Taiwan's media market. 

The $600 million takeover is not so much a business deal as it is a proxy invasion of Taiwan’s independent press by the Chinese Communist Party. Eng-Meng, who is Taiwanese himself and holds large financial stakes in China, has been a vocal supporter of unification between communist China and democratic Taiwan. He is also an ally of Beijing’s communist government. These positions put Eng-Meng deeply at odds with the vast majority of the Taiwanese people.

Free media watchdogs everywhere have been crying foul over the deal. Objections go beyond the inherent hazards of one individual controlling the lion's share of a nation’s media market; they center on the fact that Eng-Meng already has a record of using his existing media empire to promote pro-Beijing bias and censorship in Taiwan. As the Committee to Protect Journalists recently declared, "A media buyout in Taiwan which would put independent news outlets critical of China into the hands of a pro-Beijing media tycoon is cause for concern for the island's press…letting it pass unchecked could mark the beginning of the end for Taiwan's freewheeling media culture."

The Taiwanese people are afraid of the deal and what it might mean for their free press, and have taken to the streets to protest. Last weekend, as many as ten thousand Taiwanese protested in the capital.  Persuading regulators to stop the media deal from taking place was among their demands.

The people of Taiwan have long been allies of the United States, and share our belief in freedom of the press, democracy, and sovereign peoples' right to self-government. The free people of Taiwan may be about to lose control over their own press to the Chinese Communist Party, without a shot even being fired. The American people, our press and our government need to stand alongside those in Taiwan fighting for free speech, freedom of information, and free press, and prove that our belief in those freedoms does not stop at the water’s edge.

Senate passes Obama's fiscal cliff tax increases in dead of night

In a move all too reminiscent of the passage of the ever unpopular ObamaCare, last night the Senate voted 89 to 8 to approve the so-called "American Taxpayer Relief Act" (H.R. 8, as amended). The deal was negotiated by Vice President Joseph Biden and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

You can read the 157 page bill below.

Mat 12564

It is very unlikely that any Senator actually read the 157 page bill before they voted on it. It's like former Speaker Pelosi said of the Democrats' ObamaCare bill, "we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it."

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill increases tax revenue by $620 billion while reducing spending by only $15 billion. That's right a 41:1 ratio of tax increases to spending cuts. When Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush increased taxes in return for spending the ratios were 3:1 and 2:1 respectively.  We should remember that while those tax increases happened, the promised spending cuts did not.

That history makes me question the wisdom of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell's effort to "prevent very real financial pain" by agreeing to tax increases in exchange for another spending cuts to be named later:

“As I said, this shouldn’t be the model for how to do things around here. But I think we can say we’ve done some good for the country. We’ve taken care of the revenue side of this debate. Now it’s time to get serious about reducing Washington’s out-of-control spending. That’s a debate the American people want. It’s the debate we’ll have next. And it’s a debate Republicans are ready for.”

The bill raises income tax rates for those taxpayers with incomes more than $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples from 35 percent to 39.6 percent. These higher income taxpayers will also pay higher rates on investment income, with rates on dividends and capital gains rising from 15 percent to 20 percent. Add the 3.8 percent ObamaCare surcharge on investment income -- another tax that takes effect in January, and the top rate on investment income would rise to 23.8 percent for those high-income households.

The bill also raises taxes on couples earning more than $250,000 a year and single people earning more than $200,000 by limiting personal exemptions and itemized deductions.

Estates taxes will also be increased, with the top rate raised to 40 percent, with the first $5 million in value exempted for individual estates and $10 million for family estates.

The bill also delays the automatic $1.2 trillion draconian sequester spending cuts for sixty days. The sequester cuts, evenly split between defense and certain domestic discretionary spending, were scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2013. The $24 billion cost of the sequester delay is allegedly made up with a mix of spending cuts and new revenues from rules changes on converting traditional individual retirement accounts into Roth IRAs.

Worse, the bill actually increases the deficit by including:

• A permanent fix for the alternative minimum tax.
• A five-year extension of tax credits for college tuition and the working poor, which were enacted as part of Obama’s failed 2009 stimulus.
• A one-year extension for unemployment benefits, affecting two million people.
• The long-term unemployed could count on receiving emergency benefits for another year, at a cost of about $30 billion.

The eight Senators who voted against this tax increase included five Republicans and three Democrats:

• Bennett D-CO
• Carper D-DE
• Grassley R-IA
• Harkin D-IA
• Lee R-UT
• Paul R-KY
• Rubio R-FL
• Shelby R-AL.

That leaves a lot of Senators who violated their pledge not to raise taxes.

Now the question is, will the House also approve the American Taxpayer Relief Act?