Posted by Donny Ferguson at LP.org. Reposted to IPR by Paulie.
And you won’t hear me say that very often. But there is a reason I’ve somewhat liked the guy all these years. In this case, it’s his nailing to the wall of Republicans who suddenly find themselves concerned with growing federal budgets and deepening deficits — after eight years of doing more of that than any previous Democrat administration or Congress.
Here’s Emanuel, speaking with NBC’s David Gregory on Meet The Press Sunday:
"But I find it ironic, since one of the questions and the criticism about the deficit spending is coming from people who actually in a period of time in the last eight years were responsible for policies that left America farther behind in, in, in the sense of deep, deep red."
If Republicans are going to complain about Obama growing government and extending its reach, maybe they need to pick a spokesman who hasn’t voted to do exactly that his entire career — which pretty much limits them to Ron Paul.
21 responses so far ↓
1 Chris Cole // Feb 11, 2009 at 11:16 pm
This right on the money! The conflict between Democrats and Republicans isn’t over whether government should be bigger or smaller, but over WHOSE big government is better. Whether Democrats win or Republicans win, liberty loses.
2 paulie cannoli // Feb 11, 2009 at 11:24 pm
One of the best at the LP blog in recent times.
3 Catholic Trotskyist // Feb 12, 2009 at 1:33 am
That’s exactly what I’ve been saying for a while. Almost everyone wants big government. Democrats, Republicans, Greens, Socialists, Constitutionalists. The Catholic Trotskyist Party takes the best from all of these, to make a government that is big, yet has some libertarian leanings too.
4 paulie cannoli // Feb 12, 2009 at 2:31 am
The Catholic Trotskyist Party takes the best from all of these, to make a government that is big, yet has some libertarian leanings too.
But, so does LNSGP.
5 Cork // Feb 12, 2009 at 2:42 am
The LP is praising Ramh Emanuel? This guy?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0B7dOQwKm0
Rahm Emanuel is a cruel, inhuman monster with no soul. He is a totalitarian who supports enslaving kids–possibly the single most despicable piece of shit (I fear this comparison may even be unfair to the shit) working with the Obama administration. I don’t care if this one quote is right. The man is pure garbage.
6 derkel // Feb 12, 2009 at 2:47 am
Cork,
Completely agree. No matter what Emanuel does, he should not be praised. The man is probably the biggest statist in the government. Easily the most dangerous person we have to worry about for the next 4 years.
7 Michael Seebeck // Feb 12, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Ironic that Emmanuel was a Congressman and rolled over then on the same things he’s complaining about now. That makes him a hypocrite.
He’s also a lame-ass statist: http://usa-bo-pu.blogspot.com/2008/11/chief-of-staff-political-hire-or-real.html
8 paulie cannoli // Feb 12, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Yes, but I have to admit I agree with Ferguson, he got it right for once this time. And that doesn’t make anything folks here have said about him any less true.
9 Morgan Brykein // Feb 12, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Rahm Emanuel is a statist jerk, or as we call it in US politics, a Democrat.
10 paulie cannoli // Feb 12, 2009 at 5:12 pm
LOL. So Republicans and others can’t be statist jerks? Are all Democrats statist jerks? And why is the focus on what he is rather than what he said?
11 Eric Dondero // Feb 12, 2009 at 9:54 pm
Wow, so Republican Congressmen Jeff Flake and Tom McClintock don’t count, huh? Only Ron Paul consistently votes for limited government?
Funny, cause Flake has outscored Paul 5 years in a row on NTU.
12 Eric Dondero // Feb 12, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Sure, Republicans were “bigger spenders” than we would have liked them to be. Most especially Bush.
Yet it was Bush who appointed the very first former Libertarian Party State Chair to hold a Cabinet level position in a Presidential Administration.
Let’s see Obama do something like that.
13 Michael H. Wilson // Feb 12, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Cheezus Dondereo! The ship is sinking and we appoint a Libertarian to help plug a hole.
Well Hell!
Better Government thru Intimidation!
14 Mik Robertson // Feb 12, 2009 at 10:57 pm
Maybe we should just turn it into a contest and see which major party can preside over the most deficit spending. We could break it down into various categories; best quarter, best year, best term with an opposition congress, etc.
15 paulie cannoli // Feb 12, 2009 at 11:05 pm
Eric, this is actually a story we could use here:
http://libertarianrepublican.blogspot.com/2009/02/israels-orly-levy-sarah-palin-style.html
Want to release it for IPR?
More info here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yisrael_Beiteinu
Yisrael Beiteinu (Hebrew: ????? ??????, lit. Israel is Our Home) is a political party in Israel. The party describes itself as “a national movement with the clear vision to follow in the brave path of Zev Jabotinsky”.
Interested readers can follow the links from there.
Beiteinu is also a pan-nationalist movement, encouraging a Palestinian state and the emigration of Israeli Arabs to such a state, and a strong nationalist, socialist, zionist Israeli state that encourages Jews from other countries to immigrate there with economic incentives.
The party advocates increasing punishments for all forms of crimes as well as improving the status of police officers.
Yisrael Beiteinu proposes to solve the economic crisis by carrying out massive infrastructure projects in order to ease unemployment, giving aid to small businesses, and building new factories.
Yisrael Beiteinu and its plan have many vehement critics from the left and the right in Israel.
Despite its support for increased Jewish immigration (aliyah) and settlement expansion, Yisrael Beiteinu’s platform is based in part on the creation of a Palestinian state adjacent to Israel, and thus has alienated much of the religious right-wing settlement movement which refuses to acknowledge Palestinian claims to any of the ‘Land of Israel.’
The Lieberman Plan caused a stir among Arab citizens of Israel, which explicitly treats them as a ‘fifth column’ and as an enemy within. On the one hand, with very few exceptions, Arabs in Israel argue that they are native to the region and should not have to renounce the villages and cities in which they, their parents, and their grandparents were born. Others insist that as Israeli citizens, they deserve equal rights within the State, and should not be singled out according to their ethnic or religious background. Various polls show that Arabs in Israel in general do not wish to move to the West Bank or Gaza if a Palestinian state were created there.
I might see about interviewing Ms. Levy. Gotta keep my Russian from fading.
16 paulie cannoli // Feb 12, 2009 at 11:14 pm
Maybe we should just turn it into a contest and see which major party can preside over the most deficit spending. We could break it down into various categories; best quarter, best year, best term with an opposition congress, etc.
What do they win…a free vacation in Cuba?
17 Mik Robertson // Feb 12, 2009 at 11:52 pm
Cuba, maybe, it has nice weather except for the hurricanes. Afghanistan has some great scenic beauty. I was actually thinking more of like a football pool, with winners per quarter, year, congressional term etc. Everybody throws in a certain amount then whoever is closest to the deficit in the time frame wins.
Maybe throw in the idea from The Price is Right, closest without going over.
18 Leymann Feldenstein // Feb 13, 2009 at 12:49 am
The Republican Paleocon Caucus using Yisrael Beiteinu as poster boys for libertarianism reinforces George Phillies’ description of Republicans in another post as “corrupt overage white male bigots”
One can argue that white separatists are libertarians if you believe in “separate but equal”.
19 paulie cannoli // Feb 13, 2009 at 1:00 am
Leymann, I wouldn’t exactly describe Eric as a paleocon.
20 paulie cannoli // Feb 13, 2009 at 1:02 am
One can argue that white separatists are libertarians if you believe in “separate but equal”.
They can be, if they want the separatism to be voluntary. But, I still wouldn’t like them.
21 Angellaa // Feb 23, 2009 at 11:32 pm
Hmm, very cognitive post.
Is this theme good enough to Digg?
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