Give The Governor A 'Hurrumph'

On Wednesday they held the National Governor’s Conference in the City of Brotherly Love, however, Governor Ed Rendell (D) of Pennsylvania inadvertently chose not to spread that love to one of his fellow Governors.

Unaware of an open microphone (how many times have we heard that one), Governor Rendell made, in what he felt was off the record, the following gaffe in speaking about Barack Obama's Homeland Security Secretary pick, Arizona Governor. Janet Napolitano: "Janet's perfect for that job … because for that job, you have to have no life. Janet has no family, perfect. She can devote, literally, 19 to 20 hours a day to it."

Now I’d love to take this opportunity, as a red blooded conservative, to jump all over the liberal Governor, however, while some are insinuating the remarks to be “sexist”, I believe the Governor did not mean for his remarks to sound the way it came off. Although his point was a good one, he just chose a poor way of making it.

There are plenty of Governors to rake over the coals these days, nothing mind you in comparison to the likes of former Governors Eliot Spitzer (D-New York) and Bob Wise (D-West Virginia), but some legitimate questions and concerns.

Speaking of Janet Napolitano … aside from her stance (or lack thereof) on Illegal Immigration, (and correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t she help pave the way for an Illegal alien passing lane on highways that runs from the Mexico/Arizona border through her home state?) … seems I recall a number of questionable moral and ethics violations. But none more memorable then her advising and corroborating on the Anita Hill farce.

You remember, the theatrical storyline, that is, that Ms. Hill had been sexually harassed by her boss, Clarence Thomas. When Susan Hoerchner originally testified that she heard Hill's account of being harassed during a time period that turned out to be before she ever worked for Thomas. Hoerchner’s testimony not only didn't corroborate Hill, it undermined her. But in the middle of this testimony, Napolitano (who was advising Hill) took Hoerchner off the record, and a few minutes later, return to the hearings and testified that she couldn't remember the timing. As David Brock put it in ‘The Real Anita Hill’, “Hill’s attorney Janet Napolitano asked to go off the record, and Hoerchner came back suddenly struck with amnesia.”

I’m afraid that now Barack Obama, and those on the left, have the case of amnesia.

Then there is the case of Governor Ted Strickland (D) Ohio (beginning to notice a trend here?) Seems Governor Strickland has a plumber problem. Specifically, ''Joe the Plumber,'' aka Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher. And if Strickland is not careful, his plumber problem could undermine everything he wants to do in the remaining two years of his term.

In late November, Ohio Inspector General Tom Charles opened his own inquiry into the matter. In addition State Republicans are seizing on the issue, and why not? Strickland set the ethical bar high for his administration when he ran for governor in 2006, and Democrats have justifiably criticized President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for not respecting privacy rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

The pressure applied led Strickland to place Helen E. Jones-Kelley, director of Ohio's Department of Job and Family, on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. The governor also issued an executive order to all state agencies to review and report back within 30 days on their policies regarding access to private data.

"In the absence of credible evidence of fraud or a reliable accusation of delinquency, no Ohioan should be subject to a 'witch hunt' on the whim of a public official,'' State Rep. Bill Batchelder (R) says in his open letter to Strickland. Governor Strickland has tried, unsuccessfully, to convince Ohioans that he had nothing to do with the background checks on Wurzelbacher. And now he faces legal challenges from Joe the Attorney.

Sure hope the governor realizes that it was the cover-up, not the crime that forced Richard Nixon to resign from the highest office in the land.

And from the department of ‘Last But Not Least’, one of my favorite Governors for taking to task, Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) Michigan. It seems that the Cato Institute, a Washington D.C. based and well respected organization nationally, recently took a crack at analyzing the fiscal situation in all 50 states.

The Cato study found that Governor Granholm has presided over one of the slowest-growing states in the nation, “and her tax increases have not helped matters.” The biggest tax change in recent years was to the Michigan Single Business Tax. The tax was generally hated by businesses, and there was wide agreement that it should be repealed.

Michigan’s economy, next to Massachusetts, continues to be the worst in the country. Even so, Granholm continues to drive small business away, as well as, many of its citizens.

In the words of Governor William J. LePetomane (Mel Brooks character from the movie ‘Blazing Saddles’):

'The affairs of state take precedent over the affairs of state.'

U.S. Auto Industry Alternative Solutions

Governor Jennifer Granholm (by the way, we’re still waiting to be “blown away”) appeared on the CBS “Early Show” this morning, begging for taxpayers across this country to bail her out from failing policies and leadership here in Michigan. Of course the governor conveniently camouflaged this plea under the guise of the current crisis in the U.S. automotive industry.

Granholm stated that the auto industry supports one in 10 U.S. jobs. “If the industry fails, there would be a ripple effect across the entire country.” She added: "This government decided that it was going to step in and throw $700 billion at the financial sector. We're just asking for a fraction of that."

Sure, why not! She’s getting a fraction of every penny we earn and spend here in Michigan … there’ no place else to go.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants Congress to support a financial bailout for the troubled U.S. auto industry, which is suffering under the weight of poor sales, tight credit and a sputtering economy. Pelosi, D-Calif., said Tuesday she was confident that lawmakers would consider "emergency and limited financial assistance" for the auto industry under the $700 billion bailout measure that passed Congress in October. She urged the outgoing Bush administration to support a compromise.

So you’ve got Granholm and Pelosi out there trying to get the money, when there are viable alternative solutions that won’t cost the taxpayers an arm and an axle.

Recently, there was a great column about this in the Wall Street Journal by Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., and it's entitled: 'How to Save Detroit and $50 Billion.' (Please review at the following link):

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122100316976917063.html

Granholm, along with the Detroit Auto Makers and their lobbyists are now out there on high alert with their plea for $50 billion in federal loans. “Congress practically owes us this money”, Ford, GM and Chrysler argue … because Congress slammed us with new fuel mileage mandates that will cost us $100 billion to meet. John McCain caved. The White House is in the process of caving. Barack Obama didn't need to cave.

But before rushing to pass the legislation, there's an easy way to save $50 billion or whatever part of these loans wouldn't be paid back … just repeal the fuel economy rules. It must infuriate the auto makers how readily their critics attribute their problems to their own incompetence.

Then how do you explain that GM is thriving in Europe, selling small cars which get very high miles per gallon? There was a story recently that Ford has a car that gets 65 miles to the gallon but they can't sell it in North America, they're not allowed, can't sell it in North America because it runs on diesel. It seats five, it gets 65 mile per gallon. Buick is among the biggest selling brands in China. GM is running away with Latin America.

The Big Three's problem, to be blunt, is North America. They should have pulled out long ago. And his idea is rather than give them $50 billion, just get rid of these stupid CAFE standards, get rid of the government running the auto business.

Keep the damn environmentalist out of the auto business and let them make the cars that they know the customer wants. These silly restrictions are causing all kinds of retooling, all kinds of investment. They don't face these restrictions in different parts of the world, and they're doing well.

The only reason GM and Ford is thinking about going bankrupt is because they're all kicking butt around the world. They're just not kicking it here. Now, why is that? They also got saddled with a monopolistic union, UAW and big, huge contracts and paying people who are no longer working for them. Toyota doesn't have that. Other foreign makers that make their cars here do not have the same restrictions that the big three do ... so it's real simple.

The auto business is overregulated and it's costing a lot of people a lot of money per car. The union contracts are estimated at over $3,000 per car, with the health insurance portion taking up the bulk of that figure. That's nearly $2,500, per car, that Toyota doesn't face. So it's real simple. Mr. Jenkins is exactly right. If you get the government out of these businesses, they'll be fine, because the government cannot tell 'em what CAFE standards to build in Latin America, in China, in Europe, and American cars are definately kicking butt over there.

Granholm To Advise Obama On What?

Jennifer Granholm (Michigan Governor since January 2003) has been personally chosen by President Elect Barack Obama, as one of a dozen nationally appointed, to help advise him on the economy during his transition period to power.

Excuse me! Come again!

All reports analyzing Michigan’s economic performance show that Michigan’s job losses from July 2003 to July 2008 (percentage-wise) are worse than U.S. job losses suffered during the U.S. Great Depression (1929-1936). It also showed that Michigan has had worse gross domestic production (GDP) growth from 2003 to 2007 than did the United States during the Great Depression era.

Officials in Lansing, Michigan’s state capital, reported this month that the state faces a revenue shortfall between $350 and $550 million next budget year. This is a major embarrassment for Governor Jennifer Granholm, the second-term Democrat who shut down the state government last year until the Legislature approved Michigan’s biggest tax hike in a generation. Her tax plan raised the state income tax rate to 4.35% from 3.9%, and increased the state’s tax on gross business receipts by 22%. Gov. Granholm argued that these new taxes would raise some $1.3 billion in new revenue that could be “invested” in social spending, new businesses, and lead to a Michigan renaissance.

Not quite! In just under a year, one-third of the expected revenues have vanished as the state’s economy continues to struggle. Income tax collections are falling behind estimates, as are property tax receipts and those from the state’s transaction tax on home sales.

It’s not too hard to connect the dots between failed social “progressive” policies and an ever increasing burden on taxpayers. There should be no surprise as to the ultimate response … People will move away, or at the very least, invest less, and shrink their spending to what is only necessary for survival.

The fight in the legislature and executive branch of this great state began when Granholm was sworn in as Governor of Michigan. The ultimate test of socialist resolve rests on the shoulders of liberal ideology implemented through planned economy and government manipulation of resources. The great works of those on the left are pitiful in their results when compared to real market based solutions … which arrive from an actual need for a service or product.

Granholm has on many occasions talked about “Cool Cities,” a utopia of modern society where life is good, where we kind of “hang out” and be one great big loving community once again. How exactly does government know what constitutes cool when it anoints cities like Detroit, Flint, Pontiac and Ypsilanti (oh sorry … “Hipsilanti”) as cool cities and gives them grants or other favors? Moreover, how do they know young, hip, creative people won’t think a city is un-cool once so designated by the mother of all authority figures … the state.

The point is this … “change,” and “hope,” and “cool,” have simply become code words for “tax,” and “spend,” and “confiscation.” While we all want a paradise, we cannot create it out of thin air by destroying the incentive to create it.

Let me put it all into perspective: Governor Granhom advising President Elect Barack Obama on the economy … would be like John Hinckley advising him on Secret Service strategies.