What is Jim DeMint Running From?

In addition to being blunt and cranky, your humble scribe is just about as cynical as a man can get.  So when he hears that a legislator is quitting his gig four years early to take a position in the private sector, his Uncle Martin Antennae pop up and his B.S. Detector starts ringing like a fire alarm. Such was the case when he heard about soon-to-be-former Senator DeMint, who is leaving a position of power and privilege to go to work for Wingnut Central The Heritage Foundation.

There are a number of possible reasons for such a move, none of which reflect well on the man:

Number A: There is a scandal about to erupt, and he wants to get out while he can. Possible, with the large number of information sources available these days. On the other hand, being a sitting senator would provide him with a remarkable amount of legal protection and a big pulpit from which to make his case.  So this one’s kinda iffy.

Letter 2: He is pissed off at being stuck in the minority for at least half of his remaining term.  Lots of “Republicans” assumed their party would take complete control of government, and as it turned out they lost influence in both the legislative and executive branches. This reason is possible, but not verifiable.

Thirdly: He is broke and wants to make a pile of cash. The new gig would pay over a million bucks a year and he is not one of our millionaire Senators, so that seems a very plausible scenario.

No matter which of these reasons (or another) is behind the move, Mr. DeMint’s behavior is execrable. He swore an oath and (like Sarah Palin before him)is  violating that sworn oath.  He is running away from his obligations. And no matter what he’s running from or what he’s running to, he is showing himself to be a person completely devoid of honor and integrity. Even by the low standards we have come to associate with politicos, he’s slime.

Mr. B & C

Barack Obama, You Friggin’ Cheapskate

Mr. Blunt and Cranky loves to write, but knows that sometimes someone else’s article is so well-written that it needs little elaboration.  This being one of those time, he encourages all y’all to click this link and read this article: published by those notorious liberals at Forbes, written by a pundit who is a regular on that  commie network Fox News, and backed up by socialists like the Heritage Foundation:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2012/05/24/who-is-the-smallest-government-spender-since-eisenhower-would-you-believe-its-barack-obama/

Be sure to follow the links used by the author, and if you can take the time, the comments thread is actually worth a glance for a change.  The gist: Obama isn’t as big a spender as the lazy-arsed media would have us believe.  Enjoy.

Mr. B & C

P.S.: As an Eisenhower fan, this writer finds the historical comparison a bit of a giggle, given the current level of irrational anti-Obama screeching in the media and around the country.

Mitt Romney, You Socialist Swine

Everyone knows that Mitt Romney pushed and pulled to enact universal health care in Massachusetts when he was The Guv there; everyone also knows that Barack Obama totally stole Romney’s plan and took it national (which is why Mssrs. Pawlenty, Blunt and Cranky et.al. have used the term “ObamNeycare”).

Since Mitt decided to run for the Presidency, he has shifted his stance somewhat (as in, the North Atlantic is somewhat salty, and a wee bit chilly & wet); he says that what was good public policy for a single state is Socialism for an entire nation. Hard to buy a line of hooey like that, but not impossible. So, we gave ol’ Willie the benefit of the doubt.

Until today, that is.  The Guv was in Israel, and he was loudly talking up their health care system: a system which looks one whole helluva lot like ObamNeycare. So it looks like Mitt is indeed a Socialist MoFo just like the Prexy, since he has now praised the same system at state AND national levels.

He must have just been funnin’ with us about not liking Obama’s heath care system. Or lying, so as to hide his Secret Socialist Society membership (do they give out decoder rings?). Yup, Mitt was a stinking Socialist all along, and tried to hide it: but now we see the truth.

Of course, it could be that the whole Obama/Romney/Israeli health care model is not Socialism at all, and is simply good public policy….naaah. Couldn’t be.

Mr. B & C

There is a Foundation that We All Build Upon

Mr. Blunt and Cranky, as many of you know, is a musician/composer of sorts, and has been educated in the history of music. He is fully aware of the essential contributions made by Pythagoras, Mozart, Leo Fender, and manymanymany others who have gone before him, creating the mathematical and sonic body of knowledge upon which he bases his work. He does not for an instant think that he invented the western scale and other music theory, devised and built the instruments he plays, or invented and constructed the equipment used to record and reproduce the music that he writes. He is equally happy to take credit for the music that he writes, because that is his original work, built on the foundation created by others over a millennium or so.

Sounds pretty reasonable, yes? It is an attitude based on historical fact, and gives credit where due, both to Mr. B & C and those who came before him. Indeed, you’d be hard pressed to find a sane individual who would care to argue the point.

But if one changes the word “music” to “business”, oh my, what shrieks will emerge from some parts of the business community and their bought politicians. Evidently, the centuries of innovation and decades of publicly funded infrastructure, research and investment that facilitate and enable a prosperous business community don’t exist to these blinkered yahoos.

When one lets ego, talking points, or political philosophy distort their view of historical and contemporary reality, one is no longer living in the real world. For Mitt Romney to claim that he was successful in business solely because of his own brilliance and work ethic would be like this writer claiming to have invented the Fender Bass he uses: flattering to the ego, but a complete fantasy when looked at objectively.

We work best when we face cold, hard reality and deal with any resulting hits to our egos: all of us are to some degree dependent on those who came before us, and to those who share the world with us at this time. This does not in any way add to or diminish our own work ethic, intelligence, talent or other character traits. It just means that others play their part, too.

America is a great place to do business, due to our long tradition of social, regulatory and economic policies that provide infrastructure, educated workers, and tax incentives designed to encourage business success.  Anyone who favors a totally independent environment might want to consider doing business in Kenya, Ethiopia, certain Pacific Ocean islands, or other nations with less law and public investment. This writer predicts that once you see the alternative, you’ll agree with what the Prexy said last week (even though he said it poorly).

Mr. B & C