Scurrying Off Sinking Ships

By William L. Garvin

Forsaking tradition and maritime responsibility, Captain Francesco Schettino reportedly was one of the first to abandon the ill fated Costa Concordia cruise vessel. He joins a recent raft of executives who are scurrying off sinking ships.

First, there’s Bill Daley who unexpectedly resigned from one of the most pivotal jobs in politics, President Obama’s Chief of Staff. He lasted just a year. Previously, Daley had worked for J.P. Morgan Chase on Wall Street and oversaw the gobbling up of Bank One Corporation. Mr. Daley made $8.7 million at JPM in 2010, but now he’s headed back to Chicago where the real money is! Jack Lew will be the fourth Chief of Staff for President Obama in his first three years which will set a record for most shakeups in the shortest period of time.

Then there are the resignations of Fannie Mae CEO Michael Williams and Freddie Mac CEO Charles Haldeman. Despite having cost the American taxpayer more than $170 billion and likely costing up to $259 billion (according to the Federal Housing Finance Administration), Fannie and Freddie execs have pulled down tens of millions of dollars in bonuses and comps. So why resign from the government gravy train? Certainly it has nothing to do with Congress moving to deny those bonuses. Certainly it has nothing with the Securities and Exchange Commission filing fraud charges against former Fannie and Freddie CEO’s. Or does it? Time to scurry off that sinking ship.

California’s “Bullet Train to Nowhere” also saw the resignations of CEO Roelof van Ark along with the Chairman of the Board, Tom Umberg. In addition, Press Secretary Rachel Wall headed off to the greener pastures of Wal-Mart and the Ogilvy Public Relations firm resigned from its $9 million contract. Nonetheless, Governor Ahab obsessively pursues his white whale, high speed pipe dream.

These local and national economic disasters represent a Titanic sinking ship. A poll this year asked Americans what they fear most. A full 33% fear that President Obama will be reelected. Only 16% fear he will not be reelected. That’s a two to one ratio. Another 31% fear that taxes will increase. With this administration’s profligate spending obsession, that’s a virtual certainty.

A second poll proves even more troubling to the liberal/progressive movement and has compounded White House sleeplessness. This was conducted over the entire year of 2011 by the well regarded Gallup organization and has an error rate of only plus or minus 1%. According to Gallup, 40% of Americans identify themselves as conservative, another 35% identify themselves as moderate, but only 21% identify themselves as liberal. Rubbing conservative salt into liberal wounds is the breakdown amongst independents. There, 35% describe themselves as conservative; 41% identify themselves as moderate; and again, only 20% identify themselves as liberal. If liberalism isn’t a sinking ship, it’s certainly taking on a lot of water!

Maybe that explains why the Democrat governors in Minnesota, New Hampshire, and North Carolina vetoed voter identification laws passed by their state legislatures. Maybe that’s why Attorney General Eric Holder and Thomas Perez, head of his Civil Rights Division, are fighting South Carolina’s voter identification law so vehemently. Maybe that’s why the NAACP appealed to the United Nations for help. Elections are so much more difficult to rig when you have to show some form of identification. Thirty-one states already have some form of voter identification requirements; fifteen require photo identification. Maybe if Illinois had a voter identification requirement, all those dead people in Cook County could finally rest in peace!

If you need identification to buy a gun, drive cars, fly on an airplane, open bank accounts, cash a check, buy tobacco or alcohol, use a credit card, get prescriptions filled, or even purchase something containing Sudafed, what’s the exact problem? Poor people? You need proper identification to qualify for food stamps or welfare payments. Why? Of course, it’s to prevent fraud. Who stands to benefit by fraud? It’s the party that can’t win a fair fight or a fair election. The 2010 elections substantiated the Gallup poll numbers. The only way to float the progressive sinking ship may be through systemic voter fraud. Lifeboats, anyone?