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1.) A tea party resurgence, or something that would have been more useful 69 days ago — A tea party group says a tea party resurgence is coming in time for the 2014 midterm elections, and that they are going to latch on to the fiscal cliff deal to help spur it. TheDC’s Alexis Levinson reports:
“The fiscal cliff deal cut in the wee hours of New Year’s Day is the ‘gift that keeps giving,’ according to Freedomworks’s Matt Kibbe, whose tea party group plans to capitalize off of what he terms the ‘New Year’s Day massacre’ heading into the 2014 midterm elections. ‘Our sense is that the New Year’s Day massacre is going to be, unfortunately, is going to be a gift that keeps giving,’ Kibbe told The Daily Caller in a phone interview. Asked who had gotten massacred, Kibbe said it was ‘the taxpayers … fiscal responsibility are getting massacred.’ ‘I think, whether we like it or not, this constant budget crisis, which I think is by design, is going to continue to define the congressional debate all the way up until the 2014 election,’ he went on.”
2.) Colin Powell emerges for another controversial endorsement — TheDC Morning doesn’t care what you think: Colin Powell is a good and decent man. He’s also wise, even if not always right. Into the category of not being right is his endorsement of Chuck Hagel for defense secretary. TheDC’s Neil Munro reports:
“Former Gen. Colin Powell walked onto a Sunday talk show to tout President Barack Obama’s choice for defense secretary, but instead punted when he was asked to defend Sen. Chuck Hagel on one of his most vulnerable points — whether he views Israelis and Palestinians as equally culpable for the violence in the Holy Land. ‘There is a sense among his critics that [Hagel] views this [conflict] in an evenhanded way, that they equally share the blame … Is that his view?’ asked David Gregory, the host of NBC’s “Meet The Press.’ ‘Well, I’ll let — you know, he should be able to give his views which he will do at the confirmation hearing,’ Powell said, failing to robustly declare that Hagel does not see Israelis and Palestinians as equally blameworthy. ‘I don’t believe that these moral equivalency between the two sides … [and] you will have to ask him what he believes,’ added Powell, who has positioned himself as a moderate GOP supporter of Obama.”
It seems we only hear from Powell these days when he is coming out of the woods to endorse somebody conservatives don’t particularly like, be it President Obama or Chuck Hagel. At least his endorsement of Hagel wasn’t overly effusive.
3.) Here comes immigration — President Obama is ready to propose an immigration bill, reports TheDC’s Neil Munro:
“President Barack Obama will soon push for a massive change to U.S. immigration law that would provide conditional amnesty for roughly 11 million illegal immigrants, import more unskilled and skilled workers, and speed up visas for relatives of new arrivals. The ambitious bill was sketched out in a Jan. 12 leak to the New York Times, and it won immediate plaudits from the main Hispanic lobby group, La Raza. The bill does not include provisions favored by immigration reformers, such as NumbersUSA, that want to spur employment of American workers. Their legislative goals include cutbacks to the flow of low-skilled workers, and a cutback in the number of ‘family reunification’ green-cards offered to relatives of new immigrants.”
Conservatives ought to get out front on this. We need to secure our borders, but also figure out a humane way to deal with the millions of illegal immigrants in the country. On this issue, Democrats and Republicans should be able to work together and get a deal done for the good of the country. As for President Obama, if he focused his energy on trying to build consensus on an issue like immigration instead of burning down the house with a nomination like Chuck Hagel, perhaps he would accomplish something good and lasting.
4.) License to steal — The moral righteousness of gun controllers is aiding criminals, reports TheDC’s David Martosko:
“A home burglary in White Plains, N.Y. that appears related to a newspaper’s recent publication of gun-permit holders will bring a legislative response Monday, in the form of a new bill aimed at banning similar public disclosures in the future. Newsday reported Sunday that burglars broke into a 70-year-old man’s home intending to steal his gun safe. The resident, and his address, were among 44,000 disclosures of lawful firearm permits that the Journal News, a Westchester County, N.Y. newspaper, published on Dec. 24.”
5.) Tweet of Yesterday —Blake Hounshell: Game over MT @martinplaut: Togo pledges 500 troops as part of an African force for Mali to battle Islamists who have occupied its north
6.) Today in North Korean News –BREAKING: “Kim Jong Un Sends Sports Equipment and Goods to Sports Teams”