Editor’s Note: Daily Caller High is a group of young writers cutting their teeth in the world of political punditry. This week, the authors’ reflect on events of the past few days.
Sayonara bipartisan?
By Ian Pringle
Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) announced on Thursday that they had created a bipartisan jobs bill. This bill included a tax break for businesses, as well as individuals, extended unemployment insurance and helped doctors facing Medicare cuts. A Grassley official said that this bill would, “build broad-based support for tax relief and other efforts to help the private sector recover from the economic crisis.” After the duo announced this bill, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs sent out a statement saying, “The draft bill released today by Sens. Baucus and Grassley includes several of the president’s top priorities for job creation.” He went on to say, “The president is hopeful that the draft language presented today will lead to a bipartisan Senate bill.”
Unfortunately for President Obama, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) nixed this bill moments later in a luncheon when instead of endorsing this bill he told fellow Democrats that his own jobs bill would be put up for vote, instead of the bipartisan one. This slap in the face was met with complete surprise from Republicans.
At first this 180° seemed to be because the bipartisan bill was full of lobbyist favors and pet-projects, however this move appears to be far more mischievous. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) said, when asked about his feelings on Reid’s move, “My own view is, let’s test them,” referring to the Republicans. This bold blind-side appears to be less about the substance of the bill and more about making Republicans look bad. Reid is confident that there isn’t any logical way for the Republicans to vote against his bill.
This is not the first time Democrats have backed the Republicans into a corner, but if the health care debates are anything to go by the Republicans will not go down without a fight.
A pox on both your houses
By Brandon Kiser
Are you a member of Congress? If so, take a quick peek at your back and you’ll probably see a target on it. Things look like they just got a bit tougher for you and your colleagues in crime.
The constituents these politicians represent took part in a couple polls and for those in office, the outlook wasn’t pretty. According to CBS/New York Times polling, a mere 8 percent want Congress re-elected. What’s more, 80 percent think congress serves the special interests more than “we the people,” and it isn’t hard to imagine why. Their approval rating is even at a dismal 15 percent. Then there’s this: according to Pew Research polling, 31 percent don’t want to see their own representatives re-elected in November. That’s higher than in 1994 and 2006.
So what does it all mean? No matter your party, no matter your seniority, no matter your connections, take nothing for granted in 2010. When Senators like Barbara Boxer, Ben Nelson, Blanche Lincoln, several Republican representatives and even Harry Reid himself could be getting the shaft, something is up in America.
So take another look at that target on your back and consider where you stand. Of course, you could always listen to Churchill when he said “There is no such thing as public opinion. There is only published opinion,” but we might not see you on C-SPAN in 2011.
The classless commentators on the left
By Jackie Seal
I am constantly amazed at what commentators on the left get away with. I don’t mean they don’t have the right to say what they do, but the double standard that goes on is simply astounding. Liberals almost always get a pass when throwing out sick comments while conservatives are attacked over the most minute things. For example, Sarah Palin called President Obama professor-like in her speech to the Tea Party Convention. Who knew “professor” is now a racist buzzword. According to an article at Newser.com referring to the president as a professor is similar to calling him ‘uppity.’ Call me crazy, but I do not understand how comparing someone to a professor qualifies as racism. But, I digress.
This week, Bill Maher sat down for an interview with Politico’s Patrick Gavin. In reading the article you see first, that Maher makes the statement, “I don’t know if this administration has really caught up to the idea that Americans are a lot more liberal, perhaps, than we think they are.” This is funny because recent polls prove quite the opposite of Maher’s assertion. Rasmussen reports that Republicans are more trusted than liberals on key issues. A Gallup poll from this summer also shows conservatives as the top ideological group.
Finally, to prove my point, at one point in the interview Maher, in talking about Obama trying to pass health care reform said, “I don’t know why he doesn’t just demand that the House pass the Senate bill, and then tweak it in reconciliation and tell Glenn Beck to shove his tea bag up his ass. Could he do that?”
I’m really getting sick of the over use of the term “tea-baggers.” As a teen, it disturbs me, as I’m sure it does adults. It is an incredibly vulgar term and the fact that Palin is dubbed a racist for likening Obama to a professor yet the liberals’ constant use of the phrase “tea-baggers” is excused annoys me. For media figures such as Bill Maher to use terms like this in attacking those who are opposed to his views are sick. I find Mr. Maher to be a very classless man. I understand if you don’t like Glenn Beck, Tea Partiers or Sarah Palin, but to call these people out and mock them in incredibly vile ways is quite distasteful.
I tune into liberal media stations fairly often to see what they are saying. I turn on Keith Olbermann for 30 seconds and he comes off as if he is under the impression he is the only man alive with a brain and his derogatory remarks toward any conservative are very unfortunate. I will say this, I find Rachel Maddow to be the most sane person on MSNBC, and while I may disagree with her often I think she handles her opponents with more class than her fellow hosts on MSNBC. Olbermann has called Sarah Palin a “threat to national security” and has called those opposed to Obamacare the real terrorists.
Think for a moment if a conservative called out a liberal or the president and suggested he “shove a tea bag up his ass.”
* See also, Maher: America Loves Its Troops Like Michael Vick loves dogs: http://ow.ly/16zPUX
Brandon Kiser is a Kentucky high school student. He writes as an assistant editor for 73wire.com, blogs at the American Kiser, and can be found on Twitter @BrandonKiser. Jackie Seal is a high school senior who blogs at Red, White and Conservative and can be found on Twitter at @JackieSeal. Ian Pringle is an 18-year-old conservative. He blogs at 17 Pages and can be found on Twitter as @Pard68.