The Week in Review ~ 4.30.2012
Hey, moms are busy people! And in the midst of all the chaos, who’s got time to keep up with the ever-evolving (yet important) world of politics? At Mom Stop, we keep track of the 5 biggest political stories each week so you don’t have to. These are the stories that the ‘people-in-the-know’ are talking about! So grab some coffee (the Bailey’s is optional) and pull up a chair, because here we go…
~~~~~
~~~~~
And Then There Was One… - Mitt Romney will be the Republican nominee for President. In the wake of Rick Santorum’s recent announcement that he was withdrawing from the presidential race, Romney swept all 5 primaries last week, including Santorum’s home state of Pennsylvania, and is now just 300 delegates away from formally securing the GOP nomination. Following Romney’s decisive and sweeping victories last week, Newt Gingrich announced that he also will be suspending his campaign and throwing his support behind the former Massachusetts governor. Gingrich’s announcement is seen as the latest example of conservatives finally beginning to rally around Romney after a fairly bitter and divisive primary season. And apparently, supporters aren’t just throwing their votes at Romney – all indications are that the money is starting to pour in from donors who wish to see an end to the reign of Obama. So strap on the armor and gear up for November. It promises to be ugly…
~~~~~
Gay Liberal, Dan Savage: “I Wish [Republicans] Were All F***ing Dead” - You can look this one up under “irony.” Liberal and self-proclaimed anti-bullying crusader, Dan Savage, made several headlines this week when he referred to the Bible as “bullsh*t,” called Christian teens “pansy-asses,” and said he wished Republicans “were all f***ing dead.” You really have to watch the video to fully appreciate the smug hypocrisy [WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE]. Even more shocking than Savage’s comments, perhaps, are the revelations beginning to trickle out regarding his close ties to the Obama White House. Then again, why would we be surprised that someone allied with this White House is out spewing hateful, leftist, anti-American drivel to anyone who will listen…?
~~~~~
Social Security, Medicare Going Bankrupt Sooner Than Expected - Last week, the trustees of the Social Security Trust Fund released a report showing that Social Security will run dry in 2033 – three years earlier than previously projected. The report also revealed that Medicare’s hospital insurance fund will go bankrupt in 2024 – this, despite a 2% across-the-board cut for Medicare last year. Currently, more than 56 million retirees, disabled workers, spouses and children receive Social Security benefits. The average retirement benefit is $1,232 a month; and the average monthly benefit for disabled workers is $1,111. Incidentally, the Social Security Disability Fund is set to run out of money in just 4 years (2016). But in the report, even the trustees themselves admitted that their projections are probably too generous: “Medicare’s actual future costs are highly uncertain and are likely to exceed those shown …in this report,” the trustees said. So, what is the solution…? Well, so far, only one politician has been willing to stick his neck out on the chopping block with respect to what has traditionally been a toxic political issue, and that’s Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI). His ‘roadmap’ can be found HERE. We encourage you to read it and engage in the conversation…
~~~~~
EPA Administrator: ‘Crucify’ Oil Companies - Controversy erupted last week when video of an EPA administrator surfaced in which the Obama Administration official compared the agency’s enforcement strategy to Roman crucifixion. Al Armendariz, the EPA administrator in the Region 6 Dallas office, was caught on video telling an audience that his philosophy on enforcing federal environmental regulations “was kind of like how the Romans used to, you know, conquer villages in the Mediterranean. They’d go in to a little Turkish town somewhere, they’d find the first five guys they saw, and they’d crucify them. And then, you know, that town was really easy to manage for the next few years.” Yikes… So much for that ‘all of the above’ energy policy Obama has been espousing. Not surprisingly, Armendariz was forced to apologize just one day after the video came to light. Also not surprising, though, was the outrage and immediate calls for Armendariz to resign from those on the right, including Rush Limbaugh. His excellent analysis of the matter can be found HERE.
~~~~~
Obama vs. U.S. Supreme Court (Part II) - Earlier this month, President Obama’s lawyers went before the United States Supreme Court to argue the constitutionality of the President’s signature piece of legislation, ObamaCare. As we pointed out in a previous post here, those arguments did not seem to go well for Team Obama. Fast forward to last week when, for the second time this month, Obama’s lawyers once again faced aggressive questioning from the Justices, this time over the controversial Arizona immigration law. The Obama Justice Department previously filed suit against the State of Arizona, claiming that Arizona SB 1070 violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which gives the federal government authority over the states in immigration matters and provides that only the federal government can enact and enforce immigration laws. In response, Arizona has argued that SB 1070 does not seek to preempt already existing federal immigration laws, but simply ‘mirrors’ those federal laws and further allows state and local law enforcement officials to assist in their enforcement. Basically, the argument from Arizona to the Feds has been one of ‘If-you-would-just-do-your-job-we-wouldn’t-need-to.’ Arizona’s position seems to have found fertile soil at the Supreme Court, with Chief Justice John Roberts at one point responding, “It’s not an effort to enforce federal law. It is an effort to let you know about violations of federal law. Whether or not to enforce them is still entirely up to you.” And Obama appointee, Sonia Sotomayor (the ‘Wise Latina’), actually interrupted Obama’s lawyer to interject that his argument was “not selling very well. Why don’t you try to come up with something else?” While it is always difficult to gauge where the Justices will come down on any given case based on oral arguments alone, the general consensus is that Barack Obama – the former Constitutional Law professor – may get schooled twice over by ‘the Supremes’ this year. The decisions on both cases are expected to be handed down in June. Stay tuned, and stay engaged…
Remember, you can share our updates with any “busy body” below!
Official CPAC Blogger
