Oregon Elephant

Video of the Rob Cornilles-David Wu debate last Friday…

Everything I’ve read in the way of reaction was that Cornilles dominated this debate…you be the judge.

 

Rob Cornilles / David Wu Debate at PSU on 9/10/2010 from Oregon Politico on Vimeo.

 

 

Where I stand...

I've had some people ask me what it means to be "center-right"...so here is my stab at it:

• abortion:  let's get the big one out of the way.   I am personally pro-life, and think Roe v. Wade should be reversed, with the decision on abortion decided at the state level.
• gay marriage:  I am for civil unions.  I am not for gay marriage.  But this is not an issue I'm passionate about - if gay marriage happened, it wouldn't bother me much.
• size of government/spending:  I believe in a limited, but active, government.  I think there is a role for government to play in our day, but that role should always be restrained, and individual freedom should always be the overriding concern. 
• Debt:  I think our government spends too much and tries to do too much.  It needs to be smaller, more modest in scope, and more fiscally responsible.
• Taxes:  I think taxes boil down to who is in control...does your money belong to you, or to society as a whole?  I think as much as possible, the fruits of a person's labor should belong to them.
• Free market/regulation:  I am for responsible, reasonable regulation...but regulation should not be used to punish the successful.  As Milton Friedman said, "Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself."
• National defense:  I supported the war in Afghanistan, and was less sure about the war in Iraq but am generally supportive of it.  I think in the future, we should be a little more reluctant to commit troops to foreign conflicts, but once in, we should go "all in" and give our troops every chance to be successful.  I supported the troop surge in 2007.
  

Wu's Whoppers, today's version

The setup:

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/or01_wu/pr100810edufunds.html

In the above-linked release, David Wu claims credit for his vote on H.R. 1586, which basically backstopped state budget shortfalls with federal (i.e. taxpayer) money. 

This was done by changing the tax rules for multinational corporations, reducing their tax credits for foreign taxes paid.

Wu's words:

“Today Congress is helping fill in the budget hole that states like Oregon are facing so that we can keep teachers in schools, firefighters in firehouses, and cops on the beat.

“Thanks to this bill, 2,000 Oregon teachers will be able to stay in our schools—which means that 2,000 families will also be able to keep food on the table and continue to be a productive part of our economy.

“And on top of that, the bill’s funding for Medicaid fulfills our moral duty to assist with health care for the poor.

“This bill is about doing the right thing—and it’s about jobs in Oregon and America.

“The icing on the cake is that we’re not adding a penny to the deficit because we’re paying for these programs by closing a tax loophole for corporations moving jobs overseas.”

Wu's whopper:

1. The states in the most trouble will get the most money.  So, states like California (which has run itself into the ground in an almost epic way) will get lots of federal money, whereas states that have run their economies well (such as Utah) will get very little assistance.  In other words, it is Darwinian in the reverse...survival of the least fit.
2. Wu says it is about "doing the right thing".  Would the right thing not include accountability?  Where is the assurance that the state government will manage this money any better than they have already managed their economy?  Oregon was in trouble even before the economy fell off a cliff - the truth is this giveaway is like giving gasoline to a pyromaniac.
3. Wu says that "we are paying for these programs by closing a tax loophole for corporations moving jobs overseas."  This is a lie.  A company that pays foreign taxes will have its taxes increased.  It has nothing to do with moving jobs overseas.  For example, if Intel has a business in France, and sells products there, and hires French employees, it would stand to reason they would pay French taxes on that income.  It used to be that a corpoation got a tax credit for foreign taxes paid...this has been significantly reduced  With the economy the way it is, this will certainly hurt large companies.

Work for a large company?  Know anyone who does?  You are now more likely to get laid off, thanks to David Wu.

Former Oregon Governor Vic Atiyeh running a radio ad supporting Dudley, criticizing Kitzhaber

The Oregonian is running an ad covering the new radio ad by Chris Dudley, with former Oregon Governor Vic Atiyeh (who was known as a moderate) supporting Chris Dudley and attacking John Kitzhaber as “part of the Salem establishment”.

The Kitzhaber campaign of course referred to it as a “negative ad”, but it’s actually pretty tame as political ads go, and I think sets the right tone for a former Governor…earnest, to the point, critical without being mean-spirited.

Listen to the ad here.

You can read more about Vic Atiyeh here.

Oregon's unemployment basically unchanged...must be due to all those "saved jobs"...

So, the Oregonian is reporting that Oregon's unemployment rate is pretty much unchanged at about 12%, among the highest in the nation.

Wow, I sure am glad we've got Obama...imagine where we'd be if he hadn't spent $700 billion to "save" all those jobs? (Extreme sarcasm)

Public option dropped?

So, first HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (among others) intimates that the public option isn't essential to reform in Obama's eyes:

Then, this morning, Press Secreatary Robert Gibbs says Sebelius "misspoke".

Translation:  She accidentally told the truth, as Matt Lewis at Townhall indicates.

Interesting factoid:  Obama wrote a 1200 word editorial on health care for the New York Times over the weekend, and it didn't mention a public option once.  Hmmmmm.

President Reagan weighs in on health care

Reagan talks on health care...he talks about national health insurance, socialized medicine, "sticking a foot in the door"...

Here is a snippet, talking about the dangers of the "slippery slope" inherent in government control of healthcare:

But let's also look from the other side, at the freedom the doctor loses. A doctor would be reluctant to say this. Well, like you, I am only a patient, so I can say it in his behalf. The doctor begins to lose freedoms; it's like telling a lie, and one leads to another. First you decide that the doctor can have so many patients. They are equally divided among the various doctors by the government. But then the doctors aren't equally divided geographically, so a doctor decides he wants to practice in one town and the government has to say to him you can't live in that town, they already have enough doctors. You have to go some place else. And from here it is only a short step to dictating where he will go.  This is a freedom that I wonder whether any of us have the right to take from any human being.

Everyone should listen to this.  Even years after his death, Reagan still leads.

Galizio resigning...let's get busy for 2010!

The Oregonian is reporting that State Rep. Larry Galizio is stepping down to take an education position working for the Governor.  As he's my representative, I am fairly familiar with him.

He was a strong campaigner, and the Tigard district is fairly conservative (by Oregon standards).  We should start right away in trying to recruit a good candidate to run in 2010.

"Doctor" at Shelia Jackson Lee's townhall turns out to be impostor...and that's not all

Check out this blog post over at Townhall.  I'm reluctant to throw stones at crazies, because both sides have them.  BUT, since the left has played the "crazy card" with such glee, here goes:

• Woman asks Sheila Jackson Lee softball question at a townhall.  Claims she is a "pediatric primary care physician."  Gets her picture taken by the paper, etc.
• Turns out she is not a doctor at all.  She lied.  She apparently sees no problem with lying about being a doctor - bragged about it when asked by people investigating it.
• Her friend with her at the townhall, is a well-known Obama supporter who had a Che Guavera flag at her office. 

Wow.  As the cliche' goes...you just can't make this stuff up.

American College of Surgeons takes issue with Obama's "diagnosis"

At What Cost, Cutting Off A Leg? - The Atlantic Politics Channel

This is a great post by The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder.  Basically, the American College of Surgeons is coming down hard on Obama for misstating facts, sowing distrust in patients for their Doctors and basically attempting to give medical advice without a license.

Bravo.