Tax cuts, too
“What is Washington waiting for?” Mitt Romney asks at National Review Online.
“The inauguration is less than five weeks away: At the rate we´ve been going, another 500,000 jobs will be lost by then. The downward spiral is deepening and accelerating: Congress and the president must act now,” said Mr. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and Republican presidential candidate.
“American families have lost about $11 trillion in net worth as securities and home values have plummeted. …
“So this is surely the time for economic stimulus. But - and this is the crucial point - the government can´t just make itself bigger and more oppressive in the guise of stimulating the economy. That would make matters worse. Nor should we forget that fiscal stimulus is but one part of the solution. As Christina Romer, Barack Obama´s designee as chairperson of the Council of Economic Advisers concluded from her study of the Great Depression, bad monetary policy was its greatest cause and good monetary policy was its most effective cure. The Fed should continue to expand the money supply. And, it should confirm that it will not tolerate deflation - the pain of inflation pales in comparison.
“That being said, a stimulus plan is needed without further delay, and there are some things that Republicans should insist on.
“The first is that tax cuts are part of the solution. Harvard professor and economist Greg Mankiw points out that recent research confirms that tax cuts have a greater multiplier effect than new spending - more economic bang for the federal buck. We should lower tax rates for middle-income families and eliminate their tax on savings altogether - no tax on interest, dividends or capital gains. Let´s also align our corporate tax rate with those of competing nations. These actions will rapidly expand consumption and investment, and right now, time is of the essence.”
The swamp
“A note to all those visitors who will soon flood Washington for the inauguration: Be careful of the ’swamp,’ ” Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberley A. Strassel writes.
“That would be the swamp Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed to drain when she led her party to victory in 2006. The GOP had been rocked by scandal, and Mrs. Pelosi and Democrats won, in part, by promising to clean up the ’culture of corruption’ that pervaded Washington,” the columnist said.
“Instead, Democrats now have an image problem. The real issue isn’t so much Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s Senate-seat auction, as it is the focus that his scandal has directed toward a wider assortment of Democratic troubles. This isn’t great timing for Barack Obama, who campaigned on cleaner government. …
“But the Illinois drama has also thrust new light on the ongoing ethical controversies of House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel. …
“Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune published a new story about Illinois Rep. Luis Gutierrez, who racked up $420,000 through a series of suspicious real-estate deals. Texas Rep. Silvestre Reyes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, came under scrutiny this fall for questionable earmarking. West Virginia Rep. Alan Mollohan has been under investigation for a separate earmarking mess.”
Looking to 2010
“After losing a total of 13 or 14 seats (depending on the outcome in Minnesota) in the nightmarish 2006 and 2008 Senate elections, Republicans must be fantasizing about 2012, when 24 Democratic and just nine Republican Senate seats will be up for grabs,” Charlie Cook and Jennifer E. Duffy write at www.nationaljournal.com.
“However, Republicans first have to get past the 2010 races that, at first glance, would appear to put the GOP at a disadvantage for a third straight cycle. What we do not know at this point is how President-elect Obama’s administration and agenda will fare in the next two years or what his job-approval ratings will be in the fall of 2010. What we do know, for the most part, is which Senate seats will be up. In the 34 races currently on tap, Republicans will have to defend 19 seats compared with 15 for Democrats. But that picture is growing increasingly complicated,” the writers said.
“Of the 15 Democratic seats, it appears that two will be held by appointed incumbents who will be running for full terms. …
“Ultimately, not all of the appointed senators will find themselves in competitive races, but these 17 seats are all at more risk than they were a month ago. With potential retirements still unknown, one other very vulnerable Democratic seat is that held by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, whose poll numbers are somewhat anemic.
“On the GOP side of the ledger, three seats are in immediate danger: the open seat in Florida, where Sen. Mel Martinez is retiring, and the seats held by Sens. Jim Bunning in Kentucky and David Vitter in Louisiana. Sens. Christopher (Kit) Bond of Missouri, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, George Voinovich of Ohio, and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania could face difficult races if Democrats recruit the right challengers. Republicans could also see one or two other retirements that could produce competitive races.”
Furious liberals
“The Rick Warren dust-up seems to signal a knee-jerk reaction on the part of many liberals and progressives to what progressives would normally interpret as a slap in the face,” Marc Ambinder writes in a blog at theatlantic.com.
“The contrast, though, between the impressively (from that point of view) liberal administration appointments that Obama has been rolling out over the past few days and the choice of an anti-gay pastor to speak briefly for one morning (and presumably not about gays, or any other divisive social issue) is fascinating,” Mr. Ambinder said.
“There has been some praise for Obama’s choice of Hilda Solis as an ally of labor, but that praise has been nothing compared to the fury in many quarters about the symbolism of Rick Warren.
“The Obama team probably misread the situation a bit, but it’s easy to see how they might do so: the transition team obviously wanted two contrasting religious voices for the invocation and the benediction. Seen in this light, the Warren pick is far less controversial.
“The deeper dynamic, though, is this: liberal groups are used to being treated like stepchildren in Washington. They are used to being under [siege] at all times, and it’s going to take some adjustment to realize that gay rights are probably not in danger because of things like the Warren pick.”
• Greg Pierce can be reached at 202/636-3285 or e-mail Greg Pierce.
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