Here we go again. Another unwanted and unnecessary trip down Bush lane. Do we really want George Bush advising anyone on foreign policies? What is he advising Jeb on, telling him what not to do?
Bush cited his brother, former President George W. Bush, as one of his main advisers on the Middle East in a private meeting in Manhattan on Tuesday, according to three people who attended the off-the-record event.
The comment came as a shock to some who were in the room because Jeb, a likely presidential contender, has taken pains to publicly distance himself from his brother and his controversial policies, particularly in that area of the world.
In a national security speech in February, Bush said, “I am my own man,” and he has insisted he would develop his own policies on foreign affairs if he decides to run for president.
Last year, my personal investments provided over a 19% return and I paid no investment or broker fees.
Under Chris Christie’s dysfunctional fiscal management, the New Jersey Public Pension fund returned 15.9% (2014) but paid $398.7 million dollars in fees (fiscal 2013). Since his term in office began in 2009, the pension fund had paid billions in fees, has underperformed the market, and the governor has not made a full payment to the system.
There’s fiscal management for you. Imagine what he’d do to the country as president. On second thought, let’s not.
All of this economic tomfoolery, detailed in a new report in the International Business Times, tell you all you need to know about why Chris Christie is not only unsuited to be president, but why his tenure would be a disaster for the United States’ economy. He is steeped in the old trickle down theory that brought us the Great Recession and the Billionaire’s Recovery. He’s warming up in New Jersey by soaking the middle and working classes with higher payments, property taxes and fees, while insulating the wealthy by refusing to even entertain the idea of more revenue for needed state services.
And his latest gambit, a state commission to look into how to reform the state pension program, is led by a Christie campaign contributor and former Reagan Administration economist, Thomas J. Healy, who says that the commission is not political. Should I be skeptical?
The Republican governor of New Jersey and endorser of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, is falsely attacking the President. What else is new? “What the hell are we paying you for?,” Christie askedyesterday, implying that the president could have changed the outcome of the failed Super Committee.
“I was angry this weekend, listening to the spin coming out of the administration, about the failure of the supercommittee, and that the president knew it was doomed for failure, so he didn’t get involved. Well then what the hell are we paying you for?” Christie said in Camden, N.J.
“It’s doomed for failure so I’m not getting involved? Well, what have you been doing, exactly?” Christie was contrasting the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street movements, saying both stemmed from “anger” with government’s inability to respond to the financial crisis.
But while Christie said “both parties deserve blame for what’s going on in Washington, D.C.,” he pointed the finger squarely at Obama for failing to strike a budget deal. “Why the president of the United States refuses to do this is astonishing to me. If he wanted to run for Senate again and just be 1 of a 100, I’m sure he could have gotten reelected over and over again in Illinois,” Christie said. “He’s the one in Washington and he’s got to get something done here. And it’s not good enough just to say, ‘Well, I’ll get it done after the election.’”
Of course, this claim that President Obama could have worked his magic and convince Republicans hellbent on protecting the taxes of millionaires, is false. Republicans would want you to believe that Mr. Obama was missing in action on deficit reduction.
The facts however, are very different.
It was, after all, President Obama who first introduced a proposal to cut the deficit by $4 trillion. And he spent the entire summer trying to work with Republicans to come to some agreement. He even played golf with John Boehner, trying to come to some understanding on what spending cuts to make and at what cost.
But because of Republicans’ secret pledge to make this president fail by tanking the economy, the possibility of a deficit reduction would work against their pledge. They unanimously said “no” to the President’s proposal, and decided to put their faith in the hands of the super committee – a group of 12 people who knew the dire importance of the job at hand, but chose ideological political positions instead.
So, now that the super committee has failed to do their job, it is obviously President Obama’s fault. He should have sat in with the Super Committee everyday, giving his input and recommendations to a group of people who want him to fail.
The failure of the super committee was inevitable. Republicans went into the negotiating process knowing they were going to agree to absolutely nothing thus, causing its failure. And nothing would have been more pleasing to Republicans like Chris Christie, than having President Obama take part in that failure.
If he had played a role in the negotiations, the super-committee’s failure would be his fault. If he didn’t take part, the failure of the super-committee would be his fault.
The Republicans already knew who to blame way before the committee failed. They were just waiting to see which card the President played. It’s classic Republican politics.
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