The Democratic Leaders in the Senate continue to do their best to abandon all campaign promises of reigning in wasteful spending. This time it’s over Sen. Judd Gregg’s presidential rescission amendment to the Senate Ethics bill.
I’m not really going to go into it, because RedState has everything you need to know.

HUMAN EVENTS also has a good roundup with more links, including some more Republican amendments to be considered from Senators Coburn (but of course), Cornyn, and Vitter.

Gov. Sonny Perdue broke weeks of silence on Wednesday, telling a radio audience that he doesn’t support the effort to permit grocery stores to sell beer and wine on Sundays.

…

“Think of it this way…It really helps you plan ahead for the rest of your life — buying on Saturday, rather than Sunday,” the governor said. “Time management.”

Give me a friggin’ break. I would expect this to come if we had someone like, say, Ralph Reed in office. This “time management” hogwash is his way of nicely giving Georgians who want to drink a beer on a Sunday (gasp!) the middle finger. Clearly Father Sonny thinks he, not the citizens of Georgia, knows best on such trivial matters. This is absolutely absurd. You can read my original post on the matter here.
The funny thing is, Sonny had the audacity to add this:

“Some things rise to the level of referendums — such as, I felt, the symbol, the flag that represented Georgia, which I felt rose to that level. But you can’t do government really by referendum. And so, I don’t support that, and I don’t know whether it will pass the Legislature or not, but it’ll have a pretty tough time getting the last vote….

Now I’m not going to go into Flagger mode, here, because I think the flag issue is dead and quite frankly I’m ok with that (not to mention I think it’s hilarious that our current flag is based on the first official flag of the Confederacy, as opposed to the old flag having an unofficial battle flag). But for Sonny to trot this out as an excuse not to allow a referendum on alcohol sales on Sunday is pure baloney. Sonny signed off on the Democratic legislature’s edited bill that struck the 1956 flag from the ballot completely, and made the referendum worthless by making it non-binding.

The full article is here. Hat tip to Peach Pundit.

Former Majority Leader Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) is seriously considering a gubernatorial run in Tennessee in 2010, possibly setting up a White House bid further down the road.

Sources in Washington and Tennessee say Frist, who will turn 55 next month, is leaning heavily toward a run for the governor’s office, where he could gain executive experience that might position him to try for the presidency in either 2012 or 2016.

“It’s a done deal,” said a source with knowledge of Frist’s plans.

The Hill

There is no way I would support Frist in a Presidential run after his abysmal performance as Senate Majority Leader.  Frist proved himself to have little to no spine whatsoever when it came to standing up for the pivotal issues of our party against the Democrats and the RINOs.  However, governor is a different road to walk down.  Being the chief executive of a fiscally and socially conservative state like Tennessee would probably garner him more cooperation in governing in a more conservative manner, unlike the conditions of that overstuffed hog farm we call the United State Senate.

If as governor Frist could prove to be effective, then he may be able to escape from his legacy of being partly responsible for the Republican loss of the Senate.  The American public does tend to have a short political memory after all.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is proposing to cut property taxes by roughly 5 percent and eliminate the city sales tax on clothing and footwear as New York enjoys the bounty from its booming economy and real estate market, city officials said yesterday.

Mr. Bloomberg plans to outline his proposals today in his annual address to the City Council. The property tax cuts, which would be in addition to an existing $400 annual rebate for homeowners, would apply for at least the next fiscal year, aides said, while the sales tax cuts would be permanent.

New York Times

I was shocked to hear this considering Bloomberg has been a crazy tax hiker during his mayoral tenure.  This will surely come as good news to the residents of New York City who are people dying for tax relief.  New York State in general is highly taxed, but the people in the Big Apple get double dipped by the local government to cover all of its costs. 

It’s important to note the reasons Bloomberg is doing this:

Mr. Bloomberg concluded that given the city’s overall fiscal health, revenues that had come in so much higher than expected should be shared with taxpayers and plowed back into the economy.

AND

Under the mayor’s sales tax proposal, an existing exemption from the 4 percent city sales tax for clothing and footwear under $110 would be extended to purchases above that amount………………..

………………Such a change would make clothing sellers in the five boroughs more competitive with those in New Jersey, where all clothing is exempt from the sales tax.

And, of course, it is widely rumored that Bloomberg will run for President as an Independent candidate.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked the federal government Tuesday for disaster aid because of an ongoing cold snap that has destroyed nearly $1 billion worth of California citrus, and industry officials said shoppers will feel the sting through higher prices for oranges, lemons and other produce.

 

Visiting a Fresno orange grove, Schwarzenegger said he was asking the U.S. government for disaster status, which would allow California to seek aid from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Small Business Administration to offset losses to growers and other businesses.

 

“This is not just about the crop this year. It could also have a devastating effect next year,” Schwarzenegger said. “My administration will make sure that we do everything we can to help the farmers and workers get through this.”

San Francisco Chronicle

I can only long for the days of Calvin Coolidge, a true free market President, who once said “the business of America is business.”  After commercial farmers had lobbied in Congress for relief from depressed conditions, Coolidge vetoed the resulting McNary-Haugen bill.  Coolidge fully understood what the role of the Federal Government was and wasn’t, that there was no Constitutional provision allowing the Federal Government to use tax dollars to prop up an industry falling on hard times.  Such is the case today with the California citrus freeze.  It is wrong for Washington to drain the taxpayers of $1 billion in order to supply these companies with corporate welfare to cover their losses this year. 

Many industries experience highs and lows due to market demand and even disaster.  It is their responsibility to adapt to these new conditions and take measures to incur the least amount of loss possible.  Things will bounce back and they don’t need our money to do it.

We at SaveTheGOP and other bloggers love to point out this or that statistic about economic growth justifying our love of free markets, and on a global scale, free trade. People often counter with moral questions of their own, usually focused on producers of goods at home (”you can’t do that! you’re making us ship jobs overseas!”) or the poor. How are our policies helping them, they ask? Isn’t our desire for unhampered free trade only good for oil barons and the Donald Trumps of the world?

Luckily Daniel T. Griswold from the CATO Institute has an article titled “Seven Moral Arguments for Free Trade.” Here are Griswold’s seven moral arguments:

1. Free trade respects the dignity and sovereignty of the individual.

2. Free trade restrains the power of the state.

3. Free trade encourages individuals to cultivate moral virtues.

4. Free trade brings people together across distance and cultures.

5. Free trade encourages other basic human rights, such as freedom of speech and religion.

6. Free trade fosters peace by raising the cost of war.

7. Free trade feeds and clothes the poor.

I’d recommend that everyone read the article in its entirety to read Griswold’s explanation of each moral. It’s a great ode to the benefits of a global free market.

I got this today from The Club for Growth

As you may recall, each year our Leadership Council develops a policy question that is submitted to ALL Club members for a vote. The vote by our members, which includes you, will be binding on the Club’s Board of Directors and the operations of the Club. To put it simply, you have a voice in shaping official policy for the Club for Growth. You can click on the link below to vote on the question.

Policy Survey

After you are through, we hope that you will also answer the other questions that we have listed. By filling out this survey, you will help us identify your priorities, what we are doing right, and more importantly, what we are doing wrong! It will also help us expand the Club.

So we would be grateful if you could take a few minutes to vote and complete this survey today.

Sincerely,

Pat