A Bain on America
Leave a CommentA Bain on America
Elizabeth Minneman, Associate Writer
Once again, President Obama has resorted to personal attacks on Romney in order to distract voters from the failures of his own administration. President Obama’s destructive policies have left 23 million Americans without jobs. The economy continues to plunge while the national debt continues to skyrocket. Unsurprisingly, the liberal media ignored the Obama Administration’s gift of $530 million of taxpayer money to the now bankrupt Solyndra, a solar energy company and generous donor to the Obama campaign. Such blatant crony capitalism, that undermines markets and destroys tax dollars, gets an acquiescent nod of approval, while real capitalism, the kind that Romney spent years practicing when he created thousands of jobs and turned failing companies into booming industries, has to bear a crown of scorns from the high Pharisees of liberalism.
Congressman Paul Ryan worded it best:
“What Bain did is they used private capital to try and help struggling businesses,” said Ryan. “What President Obama’s doing is he’s gambling with taxpayer money and giving money to corporate contributors like Solyndra, and he’s losing taxpayer money.”
The distinction is very clear. Romney’s actions as the successful CEO of a lucrative private equity firm created thousands of jobs at no cost to taxpayers. Mr. Obama’s actions as the failed President of a heavily indebted nation are crowding out real economic growth and flushing trillions of tax dollars down the drain.
Even Democrats are criticizing the President’s latest ad attacking Romney for his work at Bain. Cory Booker, the Democratic mayor of Newark, NJ and one of the most popular figures in that state, called it “nauseating.” Steven Rattner, who headed Obama’s own auto task force, called the ad “unfair.”
“I don’t think Bain Capital did anything they need to be embarrassed about,” Rattner opined on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “It did it superbly well, acting within the rules, acting very responsibly, and was a leading firm.”
President Obama has already lost the support of most Americans; now he is isolating himself even from influential members of his own party. If this continues, Romney can sit back and relax until Election Day and watch President Obama defeat himself.
By placing the blame on Romney for the few already failing firms that Romney was unable to save, the Obama campaign has attempted to paint Romney as a wealthy capitalist who is out of touch with the American people. But, Mitt Romney has undeniably demonstrated his ability to create jobs for Main Street Americans, not just the wealthy. Mr. Obama’s policies, meanwhile, have led to higher unemployment and have failed to pull the U.S. out of recession. If young people want improving economic conditions, lower debt, and a job after college, the choice for President on November 6 is very clear. The real bane on America isn’t the “King of Bain,” but the current President of the United States.
Edited by Peter Finocchio, Communications Director
A Disastrous Energy Policy
A Disastrous Energy Policy
Peter A. Finocchio
Last Thursday, Sandy Liddy Bourne, Executive Director of the American Energy Freedom Center spoke in Charlottesville on the disastrous impact of the Obama Administration’s energy policy.
“All of you have probably noticed your cost of food, heating, electricity, and gas prices have gone up a little,” Bourne began. “It is no accident and it is not by design of the market. It is by policy.”
Bourne said that the Cap and Trade Program, which Obama supported and which failed to pass Congress a few years ago, “for all intents and purposes was a tax and the money would either go to large businesses or the government.” She then explained that over time the program would have resulted in the United States paying Europe for our production of carbon.
Bourne corrected some misconceptions about oil companies and reserves that have become commonplace thanks to liberal distortions of the truth.
“You often hear from the Left ‘oh, those big bad oil companies’…There are only nine oil companies and they only own 4.9% of the reserves. The rest of them are all owned by nation states- Russia, Iran, Iraq, Venezuela- those countries are very unstable and can throw off our economy.”
Bourne pointed out that in the 1980s we thought we had a thirty year supply and now have a fifty year supply of oil. She noted that we could further increase our supply, were it not for the moratorium on offshore drilling.
“In 2008, President Bush and Congress moved to open almost all of the continental shelf. In February when Obama came into office he put it on hold. He said he’d come up with a new plan.” Bourne said. “The only thing Virginia has been allowed to do is develop wind energy. That does nothing! Obama closed most of the areas until 2017.”
The Obama Administration’s destructive energy policies do stop at barring oil production; however, the Administration has raised the minimum price of lease sales to oil companies and shortened the time for leased agreements. The restrictive policies make it uneconomical to take full advantage of drilling even if it were allowed.
Bourne announced that the Obama Administration also is planning to raise the amount of ethanol that the federal government requires in gasoline for automobiles. Ethanol makes cars less fuel efficient and can also do severe damage to vehicles. A few years ago, the federal government had raised the ethanol ratio to ten percent. Bourne explained that the new proposal to raise the ratio to 15% will “wreck cars older than 2007.”
In addition to the negative impact on cars, ethanol fuel decreases the corn supply, thus causing the market prices of corn rise. In turn, this causes meat prices to increase because that same corn used to ethanol is used to feed cattle across the nation.
Bourne concluded that “the cost of living continues to go up, and that’s because the current leadership is tanking America.” Getting relief for Americans struggling at the pump and getting prices down for consumers will take a new direction, new policies, and a new President.
Not Over until Virginia
Not Over until Virginia
Peter A. Finocchio
A lot of Democrats act confident that President Obama will be reelected. Even some Republicans doubt that Mitt Romney will be able to beat him in November. Regardless of what President Obama and his supporters may think, or may be telling themselves, this election is far from over, and it is going to be one of the closest elections in recent history.
According to Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball projections, the 2012 presidential election will be decided by seven states that, together, hold 85 electoral votes: Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, Ohio, New Hampshire, Florida, and our own Virginia. Virginia very well may be the most important of these. Just two cycles ago, Virginia was a solid red state for half a century and fifty years prior to that is was a stronghold of the old Southern Democratic base. Now, Virginia is deemed the quintessential swing state, the crown jewel of Republican and Democratic campaigns.
Sabato’s organization has already called the other forty three states. The electoral count therein stands at 206 electoral votes for Romney and 247 for President Obama. It doesn’t take a math major to see that the 85 swing votes make up twice the margin between the two candidates in the other 43 states that are decidedly red or blue. Adding to this, Sabato said,
“It’s hard to imagine Barrack Obama losing Virginia and carrying Ohio or North Carolina or Florida, and, of course, if Mitt Romney should carry those four critical states, he probably has won the election.” Sabato added that if someone had told him years ago that Virginia would be “a critical swing state,” he would have said they were crazy.
Republicans and conservatives in Virginia need to be particularly active this election season. We need to make calls, knock on doors, engage with voters, and let them know what candidate stands with the interests, values, and principles of Virginia voters. The fight is greater in Virginia than in any other state this year. Not only because we need to correct the misconceptions surrounding President Obama’s surprising ability to carry the Commonwealth in 2008, but also because whichever way Virginia goes, in all likelihood, the nation will follow.
In the three years since Obama was elected, Virginia has seen a strong conservative comeback. In 2009, we elected our all-star executive leaders Governor McDonnell, Lieutenant Governor Bolling, and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. In 2010, all but three liberally constructed congressional districts came into Republican hands. In 2011, we turned the tables in the Virginia senate, gained a supermajority in the House of Delegates, and won the largest Republican majority in Richmond since Reconstruction. Does it still sound like Virginia is a “critical swing state”?
This November, let’s show America that Virginia is not a swing state simply swinging the pendulum the other way. Let’s show America that Virginia is returning to her roots as the Founding Fathers intended. Let’s do it by casting the critical vote in ousting President Obama from the White House.
College Republicans protest outside Obama rally
RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – A group gathered to protest outside Barack Obama’s rally at VCU’s Siegel Center Saturday.
Members of the College Republican Federation of Virginia said they were protesting for several reasons.
For one thing, the group said youth unemployment is at an all-time high and that the president made promises to young people in 2008 that he did not keep.
The Youth Changes Direction in 2012
The Youth Changes Direction in 2012
For Immediate Release: May 5, 2012
Contact: Michael Cogar
Michael.Cogar@CRFV.net
Today, President Obama is coming to speak at a campaign rally at Virginia Commonwealth University, the first of many more to come. As young Americans, we have seen firsthand how negatively Obama’s policies have affected us. According to the Young America’s Foundation, the youth misery index has reached a record breaking high of 90.6, which is a 17% increase from the time Obama took office. The youth unemployment rate is on average the highest it has been since World War II.
Michael Cogar, Chair of the College Republican Federation of Virginia stated: “In 2008, President Obama captured the youth vote with promises of hope and change. It is now 2012, and we realize that hope and change simply panders to our generation’s vote. But, the truth is that the youth unemployment is double the national average and we are becoming known as the ‘boomerang generation’. This election cycle, we are going to vote for real change. We are going to vote for a President that gets our generation out of our parents’ houses and back into the workforce.”
Our question to the President is this: Why are 1 in 2 recent college graduates unemployed or underemployed? For someone who was so concerned with our vote back in 2008, he certainly has an odd way of showing it. Obama’s most recent attempt to garner the vote of our generation expounded upon the College Affordability Act. However, it is estimated that his proposals would save the average student less than $10 a month.
We are not a focus group that can be won over with single-minded promises. We are dedicated Americans interested in a wide range of issues. Our call to you is this: Mr. President stop trying to win us over with handouts, please, show us some results.
Overruling Obama
Overruling Obama
Peter A. Finocchio
It is more than likely that the Supreme Court has already decided how it will rule on Obamacare. The rest of us, however, will have to wait until the official decision in June. Anthony Kennedy’s skepticism, the sloppiness of the Administration’s defense, and the pessimism even of those in the media who had previously boasted of the sound constitutionality of Obamacare, all seem to suggest that we are witnessing the last days of this five-thousand page disaster.
After the oral arguments Jeffrey Toobin, a CNN legal correspondent who previously said the suit would be an easy win for the administration, is quoted in saying that the hearings were a “train wreck for the administration” and that it is likely Obamacare will be struck down. Pete Williams, an NBC news anchor, said it’s doubtful that the Court will find the bill constitutional. The Associated Press reported last month that “sharp questioning by the Supreme Court’s conservative justices has cast serious doubt on the survival of the individual insurance requirement at the heart of President Barrack Obama’s historic healthcare overhaul.”
For four years, the mainstream media has been cheerleading for Obama. During the past three years, they have disparaged and denigrated the protests of thousands of Americans who are tired of wasted tax dollars, tired of high deficits, and tired of an out-of-control government behemoth that believes it can and must provide for Americans from cradle to grave, whether we want it to or not. Like Obama and Congress, the mainstream media largely ignored the signs of growing impatience, the broken reality of hope and change, and the revelation that not only were liberal remedies not working, but were also increasingly unpopular. Yet, the chance that Obama’s number one “accomplishment” might soon be ruled unconstitutional is so real that even the media must acknowledge it, and finally is.
The Patent Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, stems from a flawed understanding of the United States Constitution, a document that’s roots stem not from within the current administration, but from over a century of precedents. Progressives like Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson ascended to the “bully pulpit” with visions of “fundamentally transforming America,” just like Obama did. These Progressives were temporarily ousted in the 1920s, but were back in full force during the imperial presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Like Obama, FDR vastly expanded the powers of the federal government. The Supreme Court was initially hostile to the dangerous innovations, and struck down much of his legislation. Also like Obama, FDR decried and vilified the Court. In 1937, FDR even tried to pack the Court with his supporters and thus stifle the opposition. Contrary to revisionists, who claim he was successful in scaring the justices to support his reforms (the court was already starting to cave three years earlier when they voted on Nebbia v. New York), the plot had tremendous backlash and helped Republicans retake Congress the next year. As history teaches, the American people do not like it when the independent judiciary is attacked by partisans.
Yet FDR’s long presidency enabled him to change the Court from within by appointment. In 1942, a Progressive-dominated Court delivered one of the worst rulings in history. According to Wickard v. Filburn, the Interstate Commerce Clause empowered the federal government to tell a farmer how much wheat he could grow on his own land for his own consumption. This terrible precedent still stands today, in defiance of those of us who know that the US Constitution is a limitation on governmental power, not an enabling act.
Obamacare will probably be overturned. But, this will not diminish the importance of ousting its architect from the White House this November. If he is reelected, then like FDR, he will be able to transform the Court into his image and impact constitutional (or lack thereof) jurisprudence for decades. However, if we conservatives are able to win back the Presidency, then not only will we be in a position to sweep away the last remnants of Obama’s failed policies, we will be able to begin the arduous process of returning a limited government to our nation.
Partisanship over People
Yesterday the Senate Democrats voted down the 85 billion dollar life-blood of 8 million people. Variations of the budget have passed the House of Delegates THREE separate times and have failed to pass the Senate in completely partisan fashions. Unlike the federal government, Virginia cannot operate on a continuing resolution for the next 1000 days. A sudden halt of government funded projects and agencies will occur July 1, if a resolution is not passed.
Governor McDonnell shared his thoughts yesterday after the failure:
“Today, Senate Democrats cast the most fiscally reckless vote I have witnessed in my 21 years in office. They have killed an $85 billion state budget that benefits all Virginians, for one earmark regarding an 11.4 mile rail project in one district of the Commonwealth. That is extremely irresponsible. Senate Democrats, again, put partisan politics ahead of the needs of 8 million Virginians. They brought their political agendas to the Senate floor, and in the process have put at risk a Bristol teacher’s paycheck, a Chesterfield sheriff’s salary, healthcare for a senior citizen in Hampton, road projects in Richmond, and the fiscal soundness of the entire Commonwealth. Unfortunately, this is not the first time they have done so.
When the General Assembly convened in January, Senate Democrats were clear that they wished to use the state budget as a means to gain more committee assignments. As one Senate Democrat wrote at the time, “the real reason the Senate Budget must lose – at this point – is so the power balance in Richmond can be adjusted.” For the 60 days of the regular session, they refused to pass any budget, despite multiple individual meetings, letters and conversations with them. They voted down two budgets.
Last month, Senate Democrats gave a few policy reasons to explain their obstruction. They were met with broad accommodation by Senate Republicans. They sought more funding for healthcare and education. They gained it. In fact they gained nearly $170 million in reallocated funding for the issues they identified as priorities for their caucus. Throughout budget negotiations, Republican legislators and this office worked strenuously to ensure that Senate Democrats were heard in the budget process. Only after these compromises were achieved did Senate Democrats turn, in the last days of session, to a third reason for opposing a budget: toll abatement on the Dulles Toll Road.
Since 2009, when Governor Tim Kaine signed the deal on the tolls and the rates were publicized, and no state funding was provided, Senate Democrats were silent. They offered no objections to the tolls for nearly three years. Then, at the very end of this session, after killing two budgets on the floor, Senate Democrats decided that they would make that their next issue. This will have serious consequences for all Virginians.
Budgets are a tapestry of compromises. No legislator ever gets everything he or she wants in a governing fiscal document. Nonetheless, all involved can get much of what they seek if there is cooperation and civility in the process. The budget killed by Senate Democrats today was a positive document. This budget made historic investments in our higher education system so more Virginia students can access and afford our great colleges and universities. It reduced unfunded liabilities in our retirement system by nearly $9 billion by 2031, an historic achievement that ensures our dedicated state employees will receive the retirements they have been counting on. The budget combined accountability and innovation with over half a billion dollars in new funding for our K-12 system. It improved public education in the Commonwealth. And this budget provided fiscal liquidity and stability for Virginia as we continue to navigate a very uncertain economy. Now, Senate Democrats, continuing a trend, have killed a budget for a third time. They will have to answer to every single Virginian. This vote will have real consequences in creating uncertainty and chaos for local governments, school boards and countless agencies and individuals.
I encourage all Virginians to contact the members of the Senate Democratic Caucus today to let them know that this vote is unacceptable. First, the members killed the state budget to make a point about committee assignments. Then, they demanded more funding for healthcare and education, which they received. Then, they brought up an entirely new reason for voting against the budget, an earmark for am 11.4 mile rail project in one area of the state. Teacher and sheriff salaries are now at risk. Local governments and school boards do not know what level of state funding they will receive. Road and other state projects will have to be stopped in every single region in the near future. All because Senate Democrats continue to obstruct the passage of the state budget. They even killed the ‘caboose’ budget for the remainder of FY 2012, which has absolutely nothing to do with the Dulles tolls. This is an incredibly disappointing development. This is the kind of conduct we’ve come to expect out of Democrats in the U.S. Senate, where no budget has passed for over 1000 days. It is not the conduct we would expect from Democrats who serve in Mr. Jefferson’s Capitol. Senate Democrats need to hear from all Virginians about the direct and immediate impact their partisan posturing will have on the citizens of this Commonwealth.”
Old Dominion University College Republican Alumnus Publishes Book
Norfolk, VA – Phillip Hines’ first book, Mitt Romney in His Own Words, will be published May 15, 2012 by Threshold Editions. In a primer of Romney’s speeches, Hines provides a critical analysis that reveals Romney’s stance on domestic and social issues, national security, the economy, health care, and much more. With Rick Santorum’s recent concession from the race leaving Romney as the Republican Presidential nominee, this publication could not be timelier.
Hines graduated from Old Dominion University in December 2011, where he was an active member of the College Republicans at Old Dominion. Michael Cogar, former Chairman of the College Republicans at ODU and current Chairman of the College Republican Federation of Virginia, congratulated Hines on his success:
“In politics, so many great leaders have gotten their start in the College Republicans: Karl Rove, Grover Norquist, Lee Atwater, and Morton Blackwell just to name a few. Today, I am proud to announce that one of Virginia’s very own is on his way to bigger and better things. Phillip Hines’ publication as a recent alumnus of the College Republicans is a very impressive accomplishment. I would like to congratulate Phillip on his success and I wish him the best of luck in all his future endeavors.”
- Michael Cogar Chairman College Republican Federation of Virginia
For more information, including how to pre-order, visit: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mitt-romney-in-his-own-words-phillip-hines/1108179990?ean=9781451687804&itm=1&usri=mitt+romney+in+his+own+words
JOBS not PROMISES
This past Tuesday Vice President Biden is in Virginia speaking about making college affordable. This is quite ironic considering the fact that since President Obama has taken office, the cost of tuition at a four year in-state college has increased 25%. Furthermore, in Virginia the average college student graduates with $23,327 in student loan debt.
Chairman Cogar lead Old Dominion University and Reagent University students in a protest and responded to the Vice-Presidents remarks.
“If the President wants to help recent college graduates, why are 40% of us forced to move back in with our parents? Why is our unemployment rate still much higher than the national average? Mr. President thanks, but no thanks. We don’t need your handouts. I’d rather elect a President who can fix the economy and reduce the size of government in order to get my generation back in the workforce.” – Michael Cogar, College Republican Federation of Virginia Chairman
$9.00 per gallon for gasoline?
A recent statement made by Obama Administration Energy Secretary Steven Chu caught the attention of drivers everywhere when he stated that he believes Americans should pay more for gasoline , just as they do in Europe.
