Let’s Give Up on the Constitution

◼ New York Times

◼ Let’s celebrate New Year’s by giving up on the Constitution - Allahpundit/HotAir

What’s left for a leftist to dream about after two victories as momentous as that? Jettisoning the final check on their power, I guess...

◼ Gray Lady Down: The New York Times Jettisons the Constitution - Ed Driscoll/PJM

...As late as the 1970s, liberals seemed to be able to co-exist, albeit tenuously, with the Constitution. Then came Political Correctness, and the left’s seething hatred for postwar conservatism. And thus, we’re reliving the start of 2011, with a shattering gun crime caused by a man with severe mental illness, and the Left reacting like Dracula seeing a cross when it comes to the Constitution. Or as John Hinderaker of Power Line wrote on January 5th, 2011:

Needless to say, the Times did not adopt a similarly surly attitude in January 2007, when Nancy Pelosi took over the helm in the House. The editorial continues:

The empty gestures are officially intended to set a new tone in Washington, to demonstrate — presumably to the Republicans’ Tea Party supporters — that things are about to be done very differently. But it is far from clear what message is being sent by, for instance, reading aloud the nation’s foundational document. Is this group of Republicans really trying to suggest that they care more deeply about the Constitution than anyone else and will follow it more closely?

Well, yeah. Actually paying attention to the Constitution would be a change. But now the Times shows its true colors:

In any case, it is a presumptuous and self-righteous act, suggesting that they alone understand the true meaning of a text that the founders wisely left open to generations of reinterpretation. Certainly the Republican leadership is not trying to suggest that African-Americans still be counted as three-fifths of a person.

Presumptuous to read the Constitution out loud? Seriously? And, in fact, the founders didn’t leave the Constitution “open to generations of reinterpretation;” they provided for the document to be changed by amendment. But most revealing is the Times’ hauling out the old three/fifths chestnut, much beloved by liberals who despise the Constitution. Never mind that the point of that provision, insisted upon by representatives of the free states, was to limit the influence of pro-slavery states in the House. This is, actually, a good illustration of how the Constitution has changed through amendment rather than “reinterpretation.” Once the slaves were freed during and after the Civil War, the 14th Amendment provided that the House would be “apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State….” So the paper’s snarky aside is entirely misplaced.

And thus we arrive at the start of 2013; and even some leftists are astonished at the Times’ embrace of fascism.

◼ 2013: Welcome to Very, Very Scary Times - Victor Davis Hanson/PJM

Breaking: Obama to speak about fiscal cliff at 1:30; Update: Tax deal done? Update: Sabotage?

House GOP leadership is livid over Obama's speech, threatening to blow everything up, source says

— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) December 31, 2012

◼ DEAL: NO CUTS! - Washington Post via Drudge

◼ Breaking: Obama to speak about fiscal cliff at 1:30; Update: Tax deal done? Update: Sabotage? - HotAir

A “senior Republican side” tells Reuters that a majority of Senate Republicans are expected to vote yes on the deal. Republicans may not be the main stumbling block anymore, though. There’s a lot of angst among liberals this morning about Democrats backing off of the $250,000 threshold for new taxes, with people as prominent as Tom Harkin dumping all over the proposed deal.

◼ On the Fiscal Cliff, Republicans Are Blowing a Great Deal - Bloomberg Business Week

With the caveat that no reporter is privy to the details of the offers being swapped, here is the deal that seemed to be emerging: Democrats would get an extension of unemployment benefits for 2.1 million people; they’d patch the alternative minimum tax for a year to protect the middle class from sharp tax hikes; and they’d implement a “doc fix” to ensure that Medicare reimbursement rates to doctors don’t fall precipitously and limit patients’ access to medical care. Republicans would get to preserve Bush-era income tax rates for households making up to $400,000 (rather than the $250,000 limit Democrats prefer). They’d also get a lower tax rate and a much higher threshold for inheritance taxes (set to revert to 55 percent on estates of more than $1 million on Tuesday). And significantly, Republicans would hold onto their greatest point of leverage in upcoming negotiations over entitlement cuts, because the deal wouldn’t raise the debt limit.

Here’s what’s important about everything Democrats would get: It’s temporary; everything expires (presumably) within a year. Here’s what’s important about what Republicans would get: it’s permanent. The tax rates won’t expire.

That means Democrats are offering a huge gift to Republicans and getting almost nothing in return because on Jan. 1, if no deal is struck, Democrats will get even more revenue than they’re asking for without conceding a thing. And if, as polls suggest, voters would blame Republicans for going over the cliff, Democrats are also offering to save Republicans from their worst impulses—which, at least for the time being, since they haven’t yet agreed, is to reject this deal.

◼ GALLUP: Disapproval of Obama Has Climbed 5 Points Since Christmas... - CNS News

“@toddstarnes: RT @jamiedupree: Sen Bob Corker R-TN: "I know the President has fun heckling Congress...he probably lost some votes"”

— Jordan Sekulow (@JordanSekulow) December 31, 2012

◼ House 'Tea Party' Members Appear to Hold Key Votes - Patriot Update

Look beyond today's talk of the Fiscal Cliff’ to see the PRESENT LAW $1 Trillion Tax Hike to pay for Obamacare bit.ly/VpLoUP

— Grover Norquist (@GroverNorquist) December 31, 2012

◼ OBAMA DEMANDS MORE TAX HIKES NEXT YEAR

NFRW: LEGISLATIVE CALL TO ACTION

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) made clear in a press release dated December 30, 2012, that "the House has passed legislation to avert the entire fiscal cliff," but "the president has never called for the Senate to act on these bills in any way." The House leadership, in a joint statement issued on December 26, specified that "the House has acted on two bills which collectively would avert the entire fiscal cliff if enacted ..." but, now, "the Senate must first act" on those House bills. Leadership repeated that "the lines of communication remain open."

Speaker Boehner, in his press release, went on to point out that Democrat President Barack Obama "has simply allowed the Democratic-controlled Senate to sit on" those pieces of House legislation.

While Democrats blame Republicans for the threat of 'going over' the fiscal cliff, Speaker Boehner explained that "needed [budget] cuts and reforms agreed to just last year were no longer on the table, as [the president] cited an inability to sell them to the Democrats." The president continues "to insist on a package skewed dramatically in favor of higher taxes that would destroy jobs."

It is neither the Republican-controlled House nor Republican leaders in general who have brought us to the point of going over the economic precipice. It is the president and the Democratic-controlled Senate that are leading our economy to the edge of the fiscal cliff.

Republican women must let leadership in the House and the Senate know our strong opinions in support of their stands. It is time for Harry Reid and the Democrats in the Senate to do the job they were elected to do. With the Republican-controlled House having sent fiscal cliff avoidance legislation to them, it is now the Senate's responsibility to act. Please contact leadership members and tell them of your support.

Senate

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
(202) 224-2541 Fax (202) 224-2499

Minority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX)
(202) 224-2934 Fax (202) 228-2856

Republican Conference Chair John Thune (R-S.D.)
(202) 224-2321 Fax (202) 228-5429

Republican Policy Committee Chair John Barrasso (R-WY)
(202) 224-6441 Fax (202) 224-1724

Ranking Member on the Budget Committee Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
(202) 224-4124 Fax (202) 224-3149

House

Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)
(202) 225-4146 Fax (202) 225-0704

Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA)
(202) 225-2815 Fax (202) 225-0011

Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)
(202) 225-2915 Fax (202) 225-2908

Republican Conference Chair Kathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)
(202) 22502006 Fax (202) 225-3392

O’s cloud over us all

◼ Americans are in a panic. Crowds throng gun shows and shops. Blue-chip companies fast-forward next year’s dividends to this year. Investors cash out profits, estate planners report a rush of people trying to beat higher inheritance taxes and lobbyists line up for favors. - Michael Goodwin/New York Post

What these people share is the goal of avoiding or benefitting from government actions. More than ever, the “invisible hand” of free markets is being replaced by the visible hand of bureaucrats. The political class is the new master of the universe....

That’s because the tax-and-spending drama in Washington, as pathetic and infuriating as it is, threatens real-world consequences for every American. How could it be otherwise when Big Government is getting bigger?

Much, much bigger.

The frantic run-up to the fiscal cliff, including wild swings in the stock market, provided an ominous snapshot of the new reality. Barack Obama’s re-election was the big story of 2012, but the real impact of his statist policies will be felt in the new year and for many years to come....

The most disheartening aspect of this gloomy vision is that Americans voted for it. Obama was upfront about wanting to raise taxes and expand government and the debt. The reach and cost of Washington grew dramatically in the last four years, and he was rewarded with four more.

It is naive to think he will change course. His rejection of any serious reforms of entitlements shows that he is emboldened. Woe to the man who dares declare that the government already is too big and powerful. He will be denounced as cruel and caricatured as wanting no government at all.

This being the season for predictions, mine is that millions upon millions of Americans who voted for Obama will be disappointed in 2013. But most will not blame him. They will agree with him that the solution is to double the dose of Washington power.

Never mind that the patient is dying. The Obama operation is a great success. Just ask him....

Al Qaeda's Yemen branch offers bounty for killing US ambassador, troops

◼ Al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen is offering a bounty of gold worth $160,000 to anyone who kills Gerald M. Feierstein, the U.S. ambassador to Yemen. - FOX

The bounties were set to "inspire and encourage our Muslim nation for jihad," the Al Qaeda statement said, according to the AP.

On Sept. 11, 2012, U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed in an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Libya. Stevens' murder was the first of a U.S. ambassador since 1988.

Maria Bartiromo Lays the Smackdown on Ben Cardin, Trading Floor Erupts in Cheers

◼ Cardin didn’t get much talking done in the interview, but by the time Bartiromo was through, the people on the trading floor behind her were cheering her on.