A Potpourri of Political Pratfalls

By William L. Garvin

“A man begins cutting his wisdom teeth the first time he bites off more than he can chew.” Herb Caen

In bygone San Francisco, many a local enjoyed a morning ritual of “coffee and Caen.” Herb Caen, the self described “Sackamenna Kid,” became the ultimate Mr. San Francisco and the master of “three-dot journalism.” With just a couple of short sentences, he could skewer the egos of socialites and politicos of every stripe. Many of his targets bore his darts as badges of honor. In fond memory of the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, here is a potpourri of political pratfalls.

*** We’re Number One! Now that Japan has lowered its corporate tax rate, the United States has the highest rate in the industrial world. So what’s it gonna be, America—lower the tax rates and simplify the tax codes or watch the unemployment rate go up and up and jobs go three strikes and out?
*** After years of denying his support, George Soros is out of the closet and into the open with his support of leftist Media Matters. Rather than funneling funding through Moveon.org, the Center for American Progress and closely related friends and organizations, he visibly dropped a cool one million dollars on Media Matters to “hold Fox News accountable.” That’s akin to Bill Maher holding the National Organization of Women accountable for “fair and balanced” representation of conservative women.
*** Not that there’s a media bias but why are they using five-year-old photographs of George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin? Is it because the old mug shot of Zimmerman makes him appear more sinister and the early teen picture of Martin makes him appear nearly cherubic? While you seldom see more recent pictures of either, they tend to reverse the preferred storyline.
*** Ninety-three percent of the murders of black Americans are committed by other black Americans. Where’s the outrage?
*** Now that the federal government has taken charge of student loans, what about the twenty-seven percent of loans that are over thirty days past due? That’s a potential $270 billion in losses that working taxpayers could get stuck with. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says the total student loan debt now exceeds ONE TRILLION dollars!
*** Last year, the Senate voted down the President’s budget by a 97-0 margin. This year, the House followed up with a 412-0 shutout. If the President can’t even get a Democrat to vote on his budget, why should he be trusted with another one-sixth of the economy via Obamacare? The Congressional Budget Office has already said Obamacare costs are double the original pie-in-the-sky projections.
*** How has the Republican Party managed to stay in existence if it only caters to the wealthy one percent? How can the Republican Party stay in existence if it is at “war on women,” who represent 51% of the voting population? Both liberal premises are foolish from the get-go!
*** Liberals say there’s no war on religion, however it’s curious that Stony Brook University in New York will no longer observe Christian and Jewish holidays. They even scheduled final exams on Saturday and Sunday. Moving hostility up a notch, England’s Equality Minister, Lynne Featherstone has ordered government lawyers to oppose Christians wearing a cross in the workplace. “Equality Minister”?
*** Speaking of hostility, the New Black Panther Party is at it again. They have put out a bounty of $10,000 on George Zimmerman. Then Chief of Staff (Hashim Nzinga) is arrested for being a felon in possession of a firearm! Will Eric Holder’s Department of Justice ever investigate this obvious hate crime? Maybe the National Football League could give DOJ some lessons on dealing with bounties.
*** Leftist blogs plummeted to new lows in civility by wishing that Dick Cheney would die. Only slightly less civil were the television commentators querying whether or not he was “too old” for a transplant. This is the mentality that could easily end up on the death panel known as the Independent Payment Advisory Board.
*** Does the Party of No (Democrats!) ever intend to propose a budget? Do Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid even know how?
*** R.I.P., Mr. Caen.