It’s Friday, October 4th, 2013…and here’s The Gouge!

At the top of today’s order, two items which clearly demonstrate, despite all the scandals and plummeting popularity, it’s business-as-usual for Team Tick-Tock, where the abuse of power (courtesy of The Washington Times)…

IRS targeted Dr. Ben Carson after Prayer Breakfast speech

…and utter hypocrisy (brought to us by Joe Flood)…

…never stops!  Then again, what other tricks do they have that, despite the MSM’s constant shilling, still work?!?

Next up, the WSJ‘s Dan Henninger relates how Der Obafuhrer’s inexperience and insecurity have made the nation’s capital...

Obama’s Washington Colosseum

Obama and Ted Cruz preside over a dangerous political spectacle.

With Washington embarked on another of its oxymoronic shutdowns, everyone is giving it in the neck to the Republicans. So maybe someone should give it to Barack Obama in the knees. He’s the president. He wanted this job and must bear some responsibility for what has become of politics in the nation’s capital. Which is to say, the obliteration of politics.

By choice and disposition, Mr. Obama does not engage in the horse-trading and negotiation that defines Washington’s political life. He passed a national entitlement, the Affordable Care Act, without securing any votes by the nation’s other party. Readers of Robert Caro’s biographies of Lyndon Johnson come away agog at the presidential effort to woo and win opposition votes.

On Wednesday the press started to write Where’s Waldo? pieces about the president’s non-contributions to ending the impasse, so Mr. Obama invited congressional leaders to the White House. (Yes…to tell Republicans in person he wouldn’t negotiate!) They’ve been there before. The deficit-reduction supercommittee effort of 2011 produced nothing. In fact it collapsed after he became personally involved.

But there are consequences to conducting an anti-political presidency, and those consequences are on view now. It has created a destructive vacuum in the political life of Washington. People get themselves elected so they can go to Washington and do politics. These are people for whom politicking is oxygen. If they can’t do politics, they start to hyperventilate. They do crazy things. Right now, the Republicans are starting to look like a lab experiment involving gerbils.

Cynics and conspirators believe that the ever-clever Obama White House has sucked the oxygen out of the budget negotiations so that the Republicans would shut down Washington, alienate independents and lose the House in 2014. Right now, burning down Washington to resurrect the Pelosi ghosts looks like good strategy. But I don’t think this president is that smart. His skills at conducting presidential politics in Washington are minimal. This chaos is the result.

There are also consequences beyond Washington when a president is content to forgo governing and let an already fractured Congress become a rabble. Every American who has a stake in the economy improving is being damaged. Tax reform? Forget it.

On Wednesday the White House announced Mr. Obama would not make an important confidence-building visit this weekend to Malaysia and the Philippines. The White House planning staff would have (or should have) seen this collision of deadlines coming months ago. So two Asian countries that want to be friends of the U.S. get stiffed, while this headline about Chinese President Xi Jinping appeared in the China Daily: “Xi’s visit to lift China-Malaysia ties to a higher level.” Foreign relations suffer so Mr. Obama can pummel the GOP.

Increasingly one can find Democrats who privately admit that the president’s minor-league political skills are a liability (the Syrian red-line fiasco). But they ask: How is he supposed to do business with the Barnum & Bailey Republicans in Congress? How can he do a deal with a Speaker who can’t deliver the most conservative wing of his own caucus?

In National Journal this week, Ron Brownstein offers data to support the view that the number of House conservatives answerable only to themselves has grown significantly. In the 1995 shutdown, 79 Republicans were from districts Bill Clinton carried in the earlier presidential election; Obama last year won only 17 such districts.

This may be true, but the political paving over of blue House districts has been known for years. Also known is that the transformation of the Democrats into a European-type public-sector party has created unprecedented divisions over public spending levels.

Despite the institutional difficulties, one may still ask whether the responsibility of any president is to let this situation get worse, or to defuse it in the national interest? And it can get worse. The government shutdown may look relatively minor, but the political corrosion on view this week could drive the U.S. into a destructive debt default later this month.

That catastrophe is predictable right now, but avoidable, if Mr. Obama will exercise the leadership he was elected to provide. The country Ronald Reagan “inherited” in 1981 was also beset with problems and divisions. The country he left behind after two terms was not. He “negotiated” with the opposition.

The productive Ronald Reagan-Tip O’Neill relationship is now the stuff of legend and books. What counterpart has Barack Obama produced? Ted Cruz. With normal political outlets choked off for five years by Mr. Obama, Sen. Cruz and his supporters risk becoming one of the passion-driven, alienated groups that Madison and Hamilton, those famous surrender monkeys, warned against.

There was a time when Washington reporters who got into this business for love of politics would have held a president to account for wrecking politics. And did. No more. Instead, they’ve become mostly thumb-waving spectators in the Roman Colosseum over which Barack Obama presides. Thumbs down any day now for the humiliated John Boehner.

It is indeed a spectacle. Absent presidential leadership, it may engulf us all.

For more on the Club Cruz, we turn to Kimberly Strassel, who reveals how, at his core, Ted is simply practicing an offshoot of the world’s oldest profession:

The Defunding Way of Fundraising

The defund ringleaders are raising money off fellow Republicans. That won’t expand the GOP’s appeal.

Most things in Washington come down to money, another word for power. To understand the depths of the anger many good Washington conservatives are feeling for the ringleaders of the defund ObamaCare movement, follow the money.

That anger got attention this week, as news leaked that a private Senate Republican lunch erupted into tirades against Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Republicans demanded Mr. Cruz explain how the defund strategy he landed on them—which has led to shutdown—now leads to a GOP victory. He had no answer.

The more poignant moment came when Mr. Cruz was asked, according to Politico, to renounce attacks on GOP senators by a group that Mr. Cruz has fundraised for—the Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF). “I will not,” he responded. And of course he will not. Because what everyone has heretofore been too polite to say is that this defund exercise is (in part) the oldest of Washington stories—fundraising, and power…

Thus its “Damn the best interests of America…full speed, even if it means…

And as Paul Bedard, writing at the Washington Examiner notes, the MSM has been only to happy to assist in perpetuating Team Tick-Tock’s all-too-predictable spin:

TV network stories blame Republicans, 21-0, for shutdown, not Democrats

The nation’s big three news networks are falling right into place for President Obama and the Democrats, blaming the Republican Party for the government shutdown by a whopping 21-0 story count. According to a survey by the conservative media watchdog Media Research Center, in 39 stories during the two weeks leading up to the shutdown, CBS, ABC and NBC blamed the failure to cut a budget deal on the Republicans 21 times, both parties four times, and Democrats zero times. In 14 stories, nobody was to blame.

Some examples of how the story is being played on the networks:

– “CBS Evening News” correspondent Nancy Cordes on Sept. 18: “Speaker Boehner was forced into the risky strategy by his right flank … [a strategy] one Senate Republican described to us today as suicide.”

– ABC’s Diane Sawyer: “The president expressed outrage that one faction in one house of Congress is ready to bring the entire federal government to a halt.”

– “Face The Nation” host Bob Schieffer: “Will the moderate and more establishment Republicans continue to go along with the ultraconservatives? … We’re headed to a shutdown unless the moderates in the House revolt.”

Should there be surprise about the media’s siding with Obama and the Democrats in their Obamacare budget coverage? Just listen to Time’s Mark Halperin on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” as quoted by the MRC: “The press is largely sympathetic to their arguments that it’s the House Republicans’ fault.”

Rich Noyes, the MRC’s research director, sized the situation up this way: “The media’s biased coverage, both in this shutdown and in past ones, may be one reason why a resolution seems so elusive right now. It’s hard to imagine the Obama administration and their fellow Democrats taking this tough a line — harsh name calling, absolutely no negotiations — if they didn’t expect their friends in the liberal media to direct all of the blame toward conservatives and Republicans. And so far, our research shows Democrats are getting exactly the kind of media coverage they hoped for.”

As if anyone with even a modicum of common or political sense couldn’t have seen such a response as a certainty…including Ted Cruz.

In a related item, we turn now to the “Your Tax Dollars at Work” segment, as The Daily Caller reveals the latest Obama giveaway financed on your nickel:

Obamacare phones offered to health insurance buyers

Say hello to Obamacare phones. In Tennessee, those shopping on the new health insurance co-ops could end up with more than just some health insurance. They might even walk away with a free smartphone.

The Nashville Business Journal is reporting that Community Health Alliance, Tennessee’s Obamacare health insurance co-op, is using the prospect of a free phone to encourage folks to enroll:

Community Health Alliance, Tennessee’s health insurance co-op, is running a unique promotional program to drive enrollment in its plans for sale on the exchange: health insurance in exchange for a smartphone.

As part of its Community Health Connection Program, CHA is offering qualified individuals an LG Lucid 2 4G smart phone (or equivalent model), a phone plan and tech support, included as a cost of their health plan benefits. The phone plan includes unlimited talk, unlimited texting and 1.2GB of data.

The idea is to make it easier for providers and patients to stay connected, but it will also help CHA keep track of its member population, many of whom are expected to be new to the health insurance market.

“Members will have the phone number for their CHA representative pre-loaded in their phones and can quickly get answers to questions about their policies,” said CHA Chief Operating Officer Judy Slagle in a news release. “At the same time, we will be able to connect with our members by phone, by email or by text almost instantly with health tips and reminders.”

The co-op received a federal loan of more than $73 million.

This way every lazy Volunteer can join their shiftless counterparts in Cleveland:

Moving on, writing at the WSJ, Pete du Pont opines on a reality which we find infinitely preferable to the status quo prior to the election of 2010:

The Beltway Stalemate

Democrats and Republicans have never had such a conflict of visions.

The debate about military action in Syria seems over for now, and Washington is back in campaign mode. We have a president who seems to have nothing but disdain for those who disagree with him, who forsakes no opportunity to attack congressional Republicans, and who is in full agreement with congressional Democrats that government is the key to creating jobs, prosperity and equality. We have Republicans who feel they cannot trust the president, are more dubious than ever of the government’s ability to make the right decisions, and who think such decisions belong instead with individuals, families and businesses. What we don’t have is much in the way of an incentive, or even a desire, to compromise.

To a certain extent, this friction reflects the overall coarsening of discourse, but much of it results from the fact that the parties differ so much in their views about how the world works, and those views seem to drift further apart every congressional term. The anti-ObamaCare backlash in the 2010 midterm elections drove many moderate Democrats from office, moving the Democratic caucus to the left. The tea-party influence and efforts by groups like the Club for Growth to fund conservative Republicans have moved the Republican caucus to the right. In an environment of attack ads and 24-hour cable-news bickering and blustering, few Democrats or Republicans want to make any concession to the other party.

At times like this, it is almost impossible for policies and legislation to be evaluated on the merits. That’s obviously not an environment conducive to reasoned decision-making. It’s a shame, because there are significant policy issues that could be successfully resolved if we could just strip away Washington’s nonstop campaign mentality and combative nature.

The largest of these issues is the future of ObamaCare. Any clear-eyed thinking would show that ObamaCare needs to be, at the least, delayed. (Which, of course, leaves out the Dims!) The law has always suffered from its usurpation of the physician-patient relationship, its infringement on First Amendment freedoms of Christian businesses and entities, and its stifling of the innovation and flexibility our health-care system needs. We now see the Obama administration unilaterally delaying parts of the law, Congress working to ensure members and their staffs are not burdened by the new rules, and concerns that ObamaCare computer systems will be unready for the enrollment that starts in a few days. We continue to find “glitches,” price shocks and other surprises throughout the legislation and its related rules.

ObamaCare really is the train wreck we’ve feared, and a nonpartisan Congress would work together to delay it, fix it, or replace it. Unfortunately, Republicans have so far failed to articulate a market-based alternative, (?!?) and Democrats fall into two camps—one that truly believes in government control of health care and one that refuses to abandon ship for fear of how it would look to admit their error in ramming through the legislation in 2010.

Tax reform is another area where our nation needs progress, but partisan differences seem to stand in the way. There is broad support in Washington for the theory of tax reform, but the parties are miles apart on the specifics. The White House and congressional Democrats think of tax reform as a way to increase taxes, especially on “the rich,” while Republicans want a broader tax base and lower rates. Democrats want to increase and reallocate the tax burden, but Republicans want to remove disincentives for job creation and shrink the burden for all by growing the economy, which they think will happen by making the tax code more efficient.

Almost all the significant issues requiring action in Washington show similar fault lines between the parties. Whether addressing spending control, entitlement reform, gun control, education or energy policy, the White House and congressional Democrats want government in control of the major decisions, while Republicans want individuals, families and businesses interacting in a market to make the decisions. (In other words, Republicans want to adhere to the Constitution, while Dimocrats wish to rewrite it!)

A study of history, economics and sociology would show that the Republican push for individual responsibility and market-based choice, while never yielding perfect outcomes, is the better approach. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely the White House or the Democrats, clinging to their view of government as decision-maker and allocator of resources, will ever agree. (No SH*T!!!) Nor do Republicans, who control but one house of Congress, have much power to force the issue. With the parties so far apart in their beliefs, it seems the only way to see movement in Washington is by changing the partisan mix of officeholders. It does not hurt to be reminded every once in a while that elections matter.

Monsieur du Pont is correct; but like Bill O’Reilly and Peggy Noonan so often do, his aversion to calling a spade a spade (or in this case a Socialist a Socialist) results in him only grazing the truth.  Facts are stubborn things, and as much as many on the right want to appear reasonable, the Left is decidedly, most definitely anything BUT!  While we’ll never advocate a strategy which can only result in Pyrrhic victories (see Cruz, Ted: Unaffordable Care Act defunding filibuster), compromising with The Obamao at this point won’t alter America’s ultimate fate, but only postpone her date with an anti-democratic destiny.

And for those needing further proof of the prevailing attitude in the White House, we offer this headline forwarded by Bill Meisen:

Need health care coverage? Just dial 1-800-F**KYO to reach Obamacare’s national hotline

On the Lighter Side…

Then there’s this view of the two biggest obstacles to effective governance in Washington, courtesy of Brendan Clark:And since we’re on the subject of Progressive poltroonery, is anyone else out there curious about how, in such tight fiscal times, the National Park Service managed who have all these professionally-prepared notices…

…ready for a government shutdown that was by no means certain?!?

Finally, we’ll call it a week with the Nature Section, and this just in from the urban jungle:

Mountain Lion Spotted in Southeast D.C.

Police in the District say they have received reports of a mountain lion roaming freely in Southeast. On two occasions 911 operators have received calls from concerned residents who claim to have seen the large animal. The latest sighting came Wednesday night in the 3600 block of Highwood Drive Southeast, which prompted the city’s Office of Neighborhood Engagement to issue a public safety alert. However, police say no officers are able to corroborate the reports and have not seen the lion firsthand.

Mountain Lion sightings in the District aren’t as uncommon as one may think. Two years ago authorities received a report of “large cat” prowling near Rock Creek Park. National Park Service officials told The Washington Post they were highly skeptical of the claim at the time. Rangers and biologists say they found “absolutely no trace” of the animal.

In June, a black bear was spotted in Gaithersburg, Md. on three consecutive days before it was captured in neighboring D.C. a few days later.

A mountain lion…in Southeast D.C.?!?  Yeah…

We be thinkin’ whoever made the reports is confusing a mountain lion with a…

…cougar!

Magoo