Posted on 02/04/2009 1:28:42 PM PST by Nachum
There are multiple lessons to be gleaned by President Barack Obama from the withdrawal Tuesday of former Sen. Tom Daschle as the White House nominee for secretary of the Health and Human Services Department. Here are four: - What usually works in Chicago to quell ethics controversies doesn’t wash in the nation’s capital. You should think twice about advice you get in the future from your advisers, who thought your November aura was still sufficiently bright enough to get Daschle confirmed. They thought Daschle could just say he’s sorry he forgot to pay $128,000 in taxes owed for his use of a limo and personal chauffeur provided by a big-bucks Democratic donor and media baron, then waltz to the White House to fill the dual roles of your health reform czar and HHS head. This isn’t Chicago.
- Having made strong public defenses of two of your three major nominees with tax problems, you have become a defender of Washington’s business-as-usual culture and given up the opportunity to portray yourself as the man who was going to bring change to the Potomac. It was a huge mistake to condone conduct by your Treasury and HHS secretary nominees that would have ruined the reputation of most people. Most of us would have our wages garnished, our bank accounts emptied and liens filed on our homes by the Internal Revenue Service.
- The bigger and more pervasive government becomes, the more difficult it is to find qualified, talented people to serve in high positions who don’t have multiple conflicts of interest.
Washington is overrun with former senators, representatives, executive-branch appointees, career civil servants and congressional staffers who are getting rich peddling influence. Daschle was notable, but far from unique, in having used his “political savvy and influence” to earn more than $5 million in a mere four years, as noted by The New York Times.
The solution is less government — not ever-more-complicated ethics regulations — so that fewer influence seekers look to former Washington big shots such as Daschle.
- The federal tax code must be shorn of its bewildering complications, exemptions, deductions and credits so that every taxpayer can pay either with a flat tax return the size of a postcard or a reformed version of the present system. Surely, if the tax code is too confusing for the Treasury secretary and former Senate majority leader — to say nothing of House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, who also has unpaid tax problems — it is past time to get out the chain saw.
5 exectutive ordersFirst week in office
Insults China
First interview, with foreign news outlet- for Muslims
Talks about his muslim family
Picks fight with Limbaugh
Won't take question from press
Allows to FDA approve first human embryonic stem cell safety trial (3 days after Pres. Bush left)
Excludes any compromise with GOP on Stimulus bill
Massive pork in stimulus bill
5% of stimulus bill to actually go to infrastructure
Offers to negotiate directly with Iran
Puts 5 millionairs on his cabinet
Makes a tax cheat the Sec. of the Treasury
Bombs Pakistan
Argues with the Pope on abortion
Signed the Ship bill, that gives health care to illegals
Won't bring a camera in to video his retaking of the oath of office
Ordered the closure of Gitmo
Halts all pending Bush regulations
Second week:
Appoints extremist Samantha Powers to head foreign policy team
Secret nuke talks with Iran/Syria
Appoints tax cheat for commerce secretary
Illegal alien aunt, granted a "stay" of deportation
Daschle the tax cheat/lobbiest proposed as secretary for health care
Nancy Killefer for candidacy to be the first chief performance officer for federal government fails to pay household help taxes ...withdrawn
12 lobbyists (or more) appointed to high gov't positions within the first 14 days of his administration (up to 17 by another source)
Administration demands defense cuts of 10% during wartime Obama envoy George Mitchell tells Palistinians " they believe can extract from Israel concessions reaching "much further" than during talks held under the previous administration
The European Union warns the US yesterday against plunging the world into depression by adopting Obama's “Buy American” policy, intensifying fears of a trade war Obama immediately backs down from policy
After stating her priority would be "mum-in-chief", Michelle Obama goes on listening tour and then makes political speeches with her husband not yet one month in office...
George Mitchell resigns from a Saudi Lobbying firm, two weeks into his appointment as "Special Middle East Envoy"
Obama administration says it will cancel 77 drilling leases near Utah parks
good start ... Obama has broke from the gate and ended up driving in the stupid lane.
What did people expect from a street walker with a wafer thin resume?
Major leagues? Laughable. Hussein is single A at best.
Good for you on keeping this list current!! ;-)
It is keeping me busy..LOL
I'm getting tired of this portrayal of the tax code being too complicated for these Washingon insiders. Heck, these guys wrote these tax laws. They should be very careful in paying their taxes, use professional tax preparers, and maybe even overpay, so that they are above reproach. And let's be clear: there are not tax 'errors', this is tax evasion. Not paying payroll tax for a domestic employee, or a chauffer is not a stupid little mistake. Not paying "both sides" of your FICA tax when you are self-employed is not "a simple oversight" when you are cautioned about it.
Zoe Baird & Kimba Wood happened back in 1993. It's 16 years later & the Washington types still aren't paying the "nanny tax"? Who is fooling who here?
/ rant off
T-Ball.
Did I hear correctly on Mark Steyn’s show today that Obama was tired of being in the White House so he went to read to second graders?
That is what the article said yesterday.
Quote of the day!
You heard correctly, it was posted here yesterday and it was on Drudge’s site with a picture of Michelle and Obama at a school.
Won’t bring a camera in to video his retaking of the oath of office (without the BIBLE).
“....he went to read to second graders”
#####
That too, being significantly above his pay grade.
I am beyond angry today at all the conservatives who stayed home and allowed this man to be elected.
ME, TOO!
Heats Oval Office to temperatures conducive to orchid-growing while Kentucky freezes.
That’s quite a list! Thanks for putting it together!
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