Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Trigger the class warfare filibuster - Many others are blogging on the Clinton-Obama debate right now, but was there anything more telling than Charlie Gibson confronting the Democrats with the fact that cutting capital gains taxes raised more revenue than increasing that tax? Hedge fund managers make a lot of money! says Obama. Let's get back to the Nineties! says Clinton.

Extra - Here's super-Obama-fan Andrew Sullivan: "Obama's convoluted capital gains tax answer was a brutal reminder to folks like me that he is indeed a redistributionist, and someone who seems to see the tax system as a way to decide what people "deserve" to have and keep. Ugh. Of course, Clinton isn't much better, but that Obama answer was dreadful."

More - John Podhoretz: "ABC’s anchorman points out that Bill Clinton signed legislation lowering the capital-gains rate to 20 percent and revenues went up. As he spoke those words, the River Nile briefly changed direction, hell froze over, and the law of gravity was suspended." So we were already back in the 90s! Who knew?

And this - GMTA, apparently. Here's Jonah Goldberg: "I don't cry "class warfare!" very often. But the beginning of Obama's capital gains tax question was amazing stuff. He conceded the premise that revenues go up when you cut capital gains taxes. But he said it would be worthwhile to raise them nonetheless as an issue of "fairness" because some people are making too much money. In other words, even if the government loses money to pay for all of the wonderful things Obama wants to do, it'd be worth it because sticking it to rich people is a good in and of itself."

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tom Shales, "In Pa. Debate, The Clear Loser Is ABC":

When Barack Obama met Hillary Clinton for another televised Democratic candidates' debate last night, it was more than a step forward in the 2008 presidential election. It was another step downward for network news -- in particular ABC News, which hosted the debate from Philadelphia and whose usually dependable anchors, Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos, turned in shoddy, despicable performances.

For the first 52 minutes of the two-hour, commercial-crammed show, Gibson and Stephanopoulos dwelled entirely on specious and gossipy trivia that already has been hashed and rehashed, in the hope of getting the candidates to claw at one another over disputes that are no longer news. Some were barely news to begin with.
...
The boyish Stephanopoulos... looked like an overly ambitious intern helping out at a subcommittee hearing, digging through notes for something smart-alecky and slimy. He came up with such tired tripe as a charge that Obama once associated with a nutty bomb-throwing anarchist. That was "40 years ago, when I was 8 years old," Obama said with exasperation.

Obama was right on the money when he complained about the campaign being bogged down in media-driven inanities and obsessiveness over any misstatement a candidate might make along the way, whether in a speech or while being eavesdropped upon by the opposition. The tactic has been to "take one statement and beat it to death," he said.

No sooner was that said than Gibson brought up, yet again, the controversial ravings of the pastor at a church attended by Obama. "Charlie, I've discussed this," he said, and indeed he has, ad infinitum. If he tried to avoid repeating himself when clarifying his position, the networks would accuse him of changing his story, or changing his tune, or some other baloney.

This is precisely what has happened with widely reported comments that Obama made about working-class people "clinging" to religion and guns during these times of cynicism about their federal government.

"It's not the first time I made a misstatement that was mangled up, and it won't be the last," said Obama, with refreshing candor. But candor is dangerous in a national campaign, what with network newsniks waiting for mistakes or foul-ups like dogs panting for treats after performing a trick. The networks' trick is covering an election with as little emphasis on issues as possible, then blaming everyone else for failing to focus on "the issues."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/17/AR2008041700013_pf.html

Anonymous said...

Nice to see there's no bitterness on the left.

Snoop-Diggity-DANG-DawgN

Anonymous said...

Oooh! He said "bitterness"! You heard him, right? It's a word, and he said it. Snoop-Diggity must think he's all better than us. And he'd probably rebuild a new system based on "Das Kapital," too.

Should Snoop-Diggity apologize? Should he denounce himself? Let's talk about it and talk about it, while the Chinese repossess our houses, and soldiers #4,033, #4,034, #4,035, #4,036, and #4,037 get shipped home feet first under a media blackout.

I like quoting text, too. Here's one of the raving San Francisco loonies at that moonbat dirtsheet Time Magazine, bitterly bittering:

At a time of foreign wars, economic collapse and environmental peril, the cringe-worthy first half of the debate focused on such crucial matters as Senator Obama's comments about rural bitterness, his former pastor, an obscure sixties radical with whom he was allegedly "friendly," and the burning constitutional question of why he doesn't wear an American flag pin on his lapel — with a single detour into Senator Hillary Clinton's yarn about sniper fire in Tuzla. Apparently, Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos ran out of time before they could ask Obama why he's such a lousy bowler.

Anonymous said...

sxd, I'd like to offer my deepest apology for offending your fragile constitution. The raw power of Obama's favorite word is more than I imagined and it was irresponsible for me to unleash its awesomeness upon you when the world is clearly ending.

"At a time of foreign wars, economic collapse and environmental peril,..."

oh-my-god-oh-my-god-oh-my-god-oh-my-god...I can't BREATHE...the world really IS ending!!! The democrats were right! They were RIGHT!!! Only liberals can save us from the end!

Snoop-Diggity-DANG-Dawg

DBrooks17 said...

I had no idea things were so bad. And here I am still drinking expensive wine, and wasting time on such pursuits as a leisurely round of golf. I am so ashamed that I'm not more bitter, and curled up in the fetal position. If nothing else, those criticizing the questions should know that at least the discussion of this debate has brought to light our current deplorable state for this sinner(I mean that in a secular way--not to worry). Don't despair that others don't share your despair--or something like that.

Anonymous said...

And yet the conservative blogosphere has been bleating for years that their opponents are... what's the word? "Unserious."