Congressional Gridlock: Good for Economy?
Utah economist Jeff Thredgold turns political commentator in his weekly Tea Leaf economic update: “… the Republican majority in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate could be in deep do-do (an economic term).” Thredgold writes that his political leanings are conservative, but he doesn’t mind a change in control of Congress. “I have written and spoken frequently during the past couple of years about the arrogance and spending excesses allowed by Republican Congressional leaders.” Gridlock in Congress might mean the economy will be “allowed to work its own magic, with limited government interference.”
Blog Watch
At the Senate Site blog, Sen. Curtis Bramble says: "The Tribune published a curiously heated editorial [yesterday] morning in opposition to dropping the tax credit to those 'who fit their homes with solar, wind or other renewable energy systems.' That's great. The Revenue and Taxation Committee discussed this very thing a week ago. There appeared to be unanimous bipartisan support, not only for the existence of the current renewable energy tax credit, but for its expansion"... Utah Peak Oil wishes UPD's LaVarr Webb felt more imperiled by resource depletion and the population bomb... This post at MangledCat on futures market movement toward the GOP in the Bob Corker/Harold Ford Jr. Tennessee Senate race catches the eye of the mighty Glenn Reynolds... Jesse Harris says: "Something is amiss in Eagle Mountain. In the last 10 years, they've burned through eight mayors, none of them ever having served a full term. The latest one to be out of the office is now being criminally charged with misuse of public funds. What's going on over there? It's like they're trying to beat the turnover rate in Rocky Anderson's office"... Paul Rolly explains why "Utah Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert's ambitious advertising campaign to get out the vote this November actually may persuade potential voters to stay away"... At Out of Context, Thomas Burr says: "In light of the latest news revolving around whether the LDS Church has got the back of Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, I thought I'd dust off a comment from last year about how Mormons could really be the key to 2008. 'They are all over the country,' conservative activist Grover Norquist told the National Journal In October 2005. 'He can call somebody in Phoenix and he will have a national network in the Mormon community, which is roughly the same size as the gay community, overnight. So he is a national player beyond what a moderate from Massachusetts might be.' But, since the LDS Church says it's staying neutral and not supporting Romney, what's Romney going to do? If only there was a community roughly the same size as the Mormons..." (see also here, here, here, and here).
National Politics
GOP Poised for Defeat?
Political guru Charlie Cook in NationalJournal.com says things are worse today for congressional Republicans than they were for Democrats in 1994 when they lost control of Congress. “In the House, Republicans are most likely to see a net loss of 20 to 35 seats, and with it their majority. In the Senate, the GOP could lose at least four, but a five- or six-seat loss is more likely.” … Speaking of Charlie Cook, interesting Washington Post profile of him, the Prophet of Politics, by columnist Dana Milbank. … Chuck Todd, in his On the Trail column lists eight bellwether races to watch to determine national trends.
Best of Late Night Humor
David Letterman: “Top Ways the Country Would Be Different If a Woman Were President”: On our currency, “In God We Trust” will be replaced with “You Go, Girl!”; NASA’s Mars mission cancelled, replaced by mission to Venus; Wars would be over as soon as someone breaks a nail; Library of Congress changed to Oprah’s Book Club; Terror Threat Level colors are plum, mauve, fuchsia, periwinkle and pink; Inaugural speech urging the nation to “moisturize”; Mandatory prison sentence for leaving the toilet seat up.
Jay Leno: The population of the United States is now at 300 million. It should be 400 million by Christmas. ... In a related story the population of Mexico is now at 38 people. ... There is an initiative in the state of Nevada to legalize small amounts of marijuana. This is the first time marijuana and initiative has appeared in the same sentence. ... Opponents are afraid of the crime element that legalization would attract to the state. Yeah, between the hookers, alcoholics and degenerate gamblers those are the last people you’d want coming into the state. ... North Korea might be testing a second nuke soon. This one could be more powerful than the first one—meaning it could blow up two mailboxes instead of one. ... According to a report by the World Energy Experts, North Korea is so short of electricity that the whole country switches off at 9 o’clock. The electricity is shut off at 9 o’clock. So it’s a country where few people speak English, they have power outages all the time, they’re ruled by a funny looking guy with a strange accent—it’s like California without the traffic. (Source: The Federalist Patriot) |
