Heritage points to conservative gains

In this morning’s Heritage update, they point to some gains made by conservatives in the stimulus debate.  Below is an excerpt.  Read the whole story by clicking here.

2009 is going to be a tough year for conservatives. We face a new liberal president in the White House, an adoring and compliant media establishment at his disposal, and safe majorities in both the House and Senate. But all hope is not lost. President-elect Barack Obama knows he campaigned on many conservative themes and that the American people simply will not tolerate a sudden lurch to the left. The New Year is just eight days old and yet conservatives have already scored some minor victories that we can build on.

It was just one month ago that Obama was demanding an economic stimulus package be on his desk by his January 20th Inauguration Day. But now, thanks to conservative leader calls for an open and honest debate about whether we really need $1 trillion in new government spending, the Obama transition team is acknowledging that the stimulus bill will have to be delayed at least until mid-February.

More importantly, conservatives are also making progress on significantly changing the actual content of the stimulus bill. Tacitly accepting a core conservative belief, Obama’s team has dropped any plans to raise taxes because the plan is “focused on measures that create jobs.” And not only is Obama promising not to raise taxes: the size of the tax cuts in the plan also keep rising and are now at 40%. In addition to the payroll tax cut Obama floated earlier, his latest plan also includes $100 billion in tax incentives for businesses. Now of course, many of these business “tax incentives” are terribly ill conceived and will do nothing to stimulate economic growth (Obama’s one-year tax credit for businesses that make new hires or forgo layoffs is one example. How exactly will the IRS determine which companies would have laid off people and which companies would have hired people anyway?)

Senate leaders to block Franken appointment

Cornyn standing strong

From The Associated Press - The top Senate Republican said his caucus would block any attempt to seat Democrat Al Franken until an anticipated court case over Minnesota’s close election is finished and an official election certificate is conferred.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn said Friday that Republicans would object to seating the race leader Franken sooner. A filibuster would require 60 votes to break — a few more than Democrats currently hold in Washington.

Read the full story here.

Gov. Mitch Daniels: Protecting Taxpayers

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels

Daniels has announced that state employees would not get a pay raise next year as one step toward eliminating a projected $763 million state budget spending gap through next June.

Daniels said Tuesday he hoped all public employees — including those who work for cities, counties, schools and universities — also will skip pay raises next year.

He says it would take pressure off local and school budgets and ensure continuity of vital public services during tough economic times. - The Associated Press

Mitt Romney puts forward a stimulus proposal

Romney puts forward a plan

American families have lost about $11 trillion in net worth as securities and home values have plummeted. This translates into about $400 billion less annual consumer spending, net of government safety-net funding. Exports won’t grow to make this up, as the dollar has strengthened with investors worldwide clamoring for its relative security. Investments won’t make up the gap either, as bank loans and secondary-market financing have shrunk and as fresh equity is virtually non-existent.

So this is surely the time for economic stimulus. But — and this is the crucial point — the government can’t just make itself bigger and more oppressive in the guise of stimulating the economy. That would make matters worse. Nor should we forget that fiscal stimulus is but one part of the solution. As Christina Romer, Barack Obama’s designee as chairperson of the Council of Economic Advisors concluded from her study of the Great Depression, bad monetary policy was its greatest cause and good monetary policy was its most effective cure. The Fed should continue to expand the money supply. And, it should confirm that it will not tolerate deflation — the pain of inflation pales in comparison.

That being said, a stimulus plan is needed without further delay, and there are some things that Republicans should insist on.

Read Mitt Romney’s economic stimulus plan at National Review online by clicking here.

Obama and a new Congress can’t forget about energy policy

Before the global economic and financial meltdown commenced in early September, energy policy was one of the central issues in the presidential campaign — especially the debate over offshore drilling.

Not surprisingly, $4-a-gallon gasoline focused the public’s mind on energy issues in a way that hadn’t occurred since the OPEC oil embargo of the mid-1970s.

Barack Obama even modified his long-term opposition to offshore drilling, suggesting he would consider opening up additional areas of the outer continental shelf (OCS) to exploration and production as part of a comprehensive and environmentally sensitive national energy policy.

Three months later, the election is over, and oil and gasoline prices have fallen to three-year lows. Since President-elect Obama and Congress will be preoccupied with a deepening recession, and oil and natural gas prices have moderated, energy will likely find itself on the back burner next year.

But to ignore energy policy at this time would be a serious mistake. (Read the whole article at the Star Tribune here.)