The Latest Attack on Unions - Higher Pay!

Here's what's wrong with unions (from National Review):

To see why unions are going extinct, check out the SEIU’s latest alert. Union president Mary Kay Henry warns that “collective bargaining rights are under attack — again.” The threat comes from a bill . . . that would let employers pay higher wages. Yes, the union considers higher pay “a federal attack on your rights at work.” Currently, union rates are both minimum and maximum wages. Unionized businesses may not pay any more or less without the union’s permission. Senator Rubio’s RAISE Act turns union rates into minimum wages only: Employers could always pay more.

They often want to. Individual performance-pay can motivate employees to work harder. This increases both wages and profits. Unfortunately, most unions dislike performance pay. As Henry put it, unions want to “negotiate contracts that create a uniform, fair process for granting wage increases.” So everyone gets the same amount — no matter how hard they work.

The RAISE Act allows employers to reward individual achievement with higher pay. The SEIU considers this intolerable, and thinks “it undermines the fairness collective bargaining contracts bring to the workplace.” Worse, “employers would be allowed to ignore what they agreed to in collective bargaining agreements — and that’s not fair.” No wonder so few workers want to unionize.

And there's this from Michigan:

One school employee union in Michigan is demanding that members turn over bank account and credit card information so that the union can automatically claim monthly dues after the state voted to stop deducting the money on behalf of the union.

“Debbie Bence, president of the Plymouth-Canton Cafeteria Association, sent a letter to her union members on June 4 stating that the dues had to be paid as a condition of employment,” the Capitol Confidential (Mich.) reports. Members can also pay dues in full at the beginning of the year.

Her demand came after the Michigan Supreme Court found that the state’s practice of automatically deducting dues on behalf of the union’s political action committee violated campaign finance laws; the state legislature also passed a bill ending the automatic deduction of union dues that is under contention in federal court.

If states can keep passing union reforms that end mandatory union dues, eventually the unions will starve and that will be the end of them.

Media Asks Marco Rubio The Question They Never Asked Obama

I was watching CBS Sunday Morning and saw an interview with Sen. Marco Rubio.  The reporterette asked "you've been a Senator for less than two years, do you really think you're ready to be one heartbeat from the presidency?"  Rubio corrected her to say he'd been there for a year-and-a-half", but didn't accept her premise that he's not ready for the job.  You could see the snark on her face as she listened to his response.

Rubio needs to have a better answer, one that turns the tables back on the media and Obama because Obama had barely been in the Senate two years when he decided he had what it takes to be president.  Since he spent the next year-and-a-half running for president, his experience in the Senate barely exceeds Rubio's, and he didn't even have the legislative experience that Rubio had (he was the youngest Speaker of the House in Florida history).

Funny, but I don't remember reporters asking Obama about his lack of senatorial or executive experience when he decided to run.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...Marco Rubio

A lot of smart people I follow on Twitter are convinced that Marco Rubio will be the VP nominee, regardless of his protestations otherwise.  Jim Geraghty has this:

It's a little amusing to watch Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio feign incredulity about running-mate selection, because when you bring a guy whom many conservatives adore from one swing state to campaign in another swing state, well, as they say on ESPN, come on, man. The Hill:

Mitt Romney told reporters Monday that "the process for selecting a vice presidential running mate is just beginning" and there was no short list of candidates. 

He made the remarks while standing alongside Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who's considered to be a favorite to be added to the Republican ticket. 

"We really haven't had a discussion yet of putting together a list or evaluating various candidates," Romney said.

He made the remarks in his first press availability since he became the presumptive GOP nominee.

The former Massachusetts governor said that his campaign team along with adviser Beth Meyers -- who last week was put in charge of the search -- were spending time hiring law and financial firms to do a through vetting of the potential candidates.

And while Romney's appearance with Rubio in Philadelphia on Monday was widely thought to be a vice presidential audition, neither man was willing to openly acknowledge that prospect.

"I'm not talking about that process anymore," Rubio told reporters. The Florida senator has previously denied interest in the position.

There are certainly some mixed feelings about Rubio. He's only been a senator for less than two years, but of course that didn't stop Obama from running for president. There's no question that he's probably the guy the Dems fear most because he undermines their support with Hispanics, he probably locks up Florida (a state Obama won in '08), and helps the ticket in New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada. My theory is he will also give Obama some heartburn in California, and although he won't win the state, he could make Obama spend some money here.

Is Rubio ready for the type of scrutiny he's likely to get?  He seems pretty cool so far, but things will get pretty ugly once he's the nominee.

Everyone Has an Opinion About Romney's Veep. A Lot of Them Bad

Not a lot of good ideas here:

While pundits, politicians and prognosticators have tapped Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as one of the most likely GOP vice presidential picks, conservative commentator Ann Coulter warned today that such a choice would be a “mistake.”
“I think that would be a mistake because the same people who loved Rubio loved [former presidential candidate and Texas Gov.]Rick Perry,” Coulter told me Sunday during the “This Week” roundtable discussion. “I want someone who’s been a bit more tested.”

As the rising star of the Tea Party and a Hispanic from the delegate-rich state of Florida, Rubio would fix Romney’s two biggest problems: enthusiasm among the Republican base and lackluster support from Hispanics, argued conservative commentator George Will.

But Coulter, who is a firm Mitt Romney supporter, said the GOP frontrunner needs a running mate who is tried and tested, which, as a first-term Senator, Rubio is not.

Coulter suggested Romney pick someone like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie or Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.

“He’s been tested, he’s steady, he’s not frightening,” Coulter said of Kyl. “He could certainly step into the job.”

The people that liked Rick Perry are the people who are not enthusiastic about Mitt Romney, and that means he needs to figure out a way to attract those people. Choosing a boring guy like Kyl wouldn't inspire anybody, and Chris Christie hasn't shown any sign of wanting to be anyone's VP. He'd quickly overshadow Romney.

Van Jones, the Commie former Obama czar who was also on the show, thinks Romney should pick Condi Rice. First of all, don't ever think somebody like Jones has the GOP's best interest at heart, and secondly I doubt Rice wants the job. Jones knows that with her connections to the Bush presidency she'd carry a lot of baggage in the general election that would hurt Romney. That's the only reason he'd think her a good choice.

I still think Marco Rubio would be a game changer. Yes, he's only a first term Senator, but that hasn't stopped America from electing someone like that before (Obama '08). He would give Romney Florida and have a big impact on other states with large Hispanic populations. He could be instrumental in winning Nevada and New Mexico as well as impacting Colorado. He won't swing California, but he could cause Obama to have to spend money here he hadn't planned.

However, the likelihood based on this past weekend's story is Romney will go RINO with his choice and ignore conservative concerns, thus dooming his candidacy.

Paging Marco Rubio....

A Fox News poll shows that Hispanics favor Obama 6-1 over any GOP opponent. However, that can be changed:

One area where Republicans could gain back ground among Latino voters is by the choice of Vice President. Almost one-third of Latino voters say that they would consider voting Republican if there were a Latino on the ticket.

No Republican (that I would vote for) will agree to extend amnesty to illegals, and that seems to be what a lot of Hispanics want. However, putting a qualified Hispanic on the ticket could take some of the emphasis off of immigration and return it to the economy and jobs where it belongs.

Swinging a chunk of the Hispanic vote could also swing the results in several states, like Florida, New Mexico, Nevada, and possibly a couple of others.  It would be a good move for the GOP.

GOP Voter Question of the Day: "Why Do We Have So Many Squishes?"

Ben Domenech interviewed a Florida voter, a former detective who is now a retired stay-at-home mom.  She never used to be very politically engaged, but after the 2008 election and the passage of Obamacare she became very engaged.  What she has to say about 2010 and forward should be very concerning to the GOP:

"2010 was a real turning point for me. I watched the midterm election results as we won the House with some good, solid conservatives and I felt so proud and accomplished. I felt like we - the TEA Party, my mommy friends, ME - we had made a difference," Rebecca said. "We were helping to put our country back on the right path, and return to the ideals of our founders."

"Then came 2011," Rebecca says, and her mood clouds. "It felt like every time I turned around, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell were selling us out, hanging our Tea Party freshmen out to dry, and doing it for no apparent reason."

She's unsure why this is. "Are they idiots, or just the worst chess/poker players ever? Every time they have an opportunity to limit government, reduce taxes, etc. they blow it."

And all the while, President Obama is able to "look like he's trying, he's really trying, but the 'Republican Controlled Congress' keeps getting in the way. The debt ceiling increases. The lack of a budget. The 30-odd House passed bills that Harry Reid won't allow a vote on." Indeed, Rebecca is so infuriated with the Congress' inability to carry their message or push back, she thinks a third party might be needed.

"I almost feel as though there needs to be a new party, a truly conservative party, that really represents us. Sometimes I feel like the GOP is more interested in protecting their jobs than in promoting conservative ideals. At least, that's what Boehner and McConnell make me think," Rebecca said. "Why can't we have a party full of Rubios - candidates who believe in American exceptionalism and limited government, and do so unapologetically? Why do we have to have so many squishes?"

There are a lot of people out there like that, and a major disappointment in 2012 could be just the thing to motivate the formation of an actual conservative third party. I don't like the idea very much because I think it will guarantee Democrat control for a long time until that party is firmly established, but just think of the impact of a party that actually ran and supported candidates like Marco Rubio and other strong conservatives. That would be something to see.

Leftist Latinos Demand Marco Rubio Play Identity Politics

These people are going to be disappointed if they expect to influence Marco Rubio's votes by demanding he play their identity politics game:

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is at the top of every pundit's short list to be the Republican vice presidential nominee, in the belief that having a Latino in the second spot on the ticket will attract Latino voters who have been fleeing the GOP in recent years.

But today at the Hispanic Leadership Network conference in Miami, the Berkeley organization Presente Action is launching a national anti-Rubio campaign during his big moment in the national spotlight, days before Tuesday's critical Florida primary.

Their assertion, backed by recent surveys, is that Rubio's positions on several key issues, immigration in particular, are far from the mainstream of the Latino electorate.

So Presente, a 3-year-old, 250,000-member online hub that aims to be "the Latino MoveOn.org" is aiming its campaign at the senator who is a Tea Party darling. The campaign's name: "No somos Rubios." ("We are not Rubios.")

"Rubio has to decide," said Presente Action co-founder and strategist Roberto Lovato, "if he's a Latino or a Tea Partino."

These people want all Latinos to vote as a bloc, which is what black voters currently do. As I explained in a previous post, the day black voters decided to act as one they effectively gave up their political power. So far Latinos haven't made the same mistake, and because so much of their electorate can still be swayed by political arguments, they have retained the power that blacks have lost.

Latinos would be wise to ignore these groups and make up their own minds about candidates and issues.  That's what Marco Rubio has done.

Not Content to Stop With Our Presidential Candidates, Reuters Starts Attacking Our VP Hopefuls

From the Daily Caller:

Reuters Ravages Rubio -- In some ways, the Republican primary could be seen as the race to be Marco Rubio's running mate -- at least, most people think he is the leading candidate for the job no matter who wins the GOP nomination. The first term Florida senator is already a superstar with what appears to be a very bright future. So it comes as no surprise that some are trying to tear him down. But in a recent hit piece on him in Reuters, TheDC's Matt Lewis documented at least 7 major errors, many of which were related to the fact that Rubio isn't particularly wealthy --- at least by U.S. Senate standards. Lewis notes how Republican politicians can't win --- they get attacked for being rich, they get attacked for being poor: 

"Aside from the inaccuracies, it is interesting to note that Rubio’s debt is seen as a liability. Mitt Romney is frequently criticized by the media for being so wealthy that he’s out of touch with the common man. Meanwhile, Rubio — like most Americans — has faced financial difficulty — and yet that is also somehow a liability? Is there a magic amount of wealth that is just right? "

Yes, whatever amount Obama has. That will be considered by the press as the perfect amount of money and debt a person should have.  Anyone else will be deemed deficient.

Marco Rubio Goes After the UN

It's about time someone in the GOP looked at seriously reforming the way U.S. funds are spent at the United Nations.  Here's what he's proposing:

Allow the U.S. to fund only UN agencies and programs that advance U.S. interests and values, resulting in greater competition among UN entities for funding that would increase transparency and effectiveness.

· Authorize the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate and audit the use of U.S. contributions to the UN.

· Prohibit U.S. contributions to the UN from being used for any purpose other than the specific purposes for which it was made available by Congress.

· Firmly establish U.S. policy on various issues relating to the UN, including transparency, reform, Security Council expansion, terrorism, anti-Semitism and the unfair treatment of Israel.

· Withholds U.S. contributions from any UN agency or program that upgrades the status of the Palestinian observer mission outside a negotiated settlement with Israel.

· Conditions U.S. membership on and funding of the UN Human Rights Council on the Council’s adoption of reforms barring membership of countries subject to Security Council sanctions, under Security Council-mandated human rights investigations, states sponsors of terrorism, “countries of particular concern” for religious freedom violations, or that have been designated as Tier 3 for human trafficking violations.

· Makes it U.S. policy to lead a high-level diplomatic campaign to revoke and repudiate the Goldstone Report and its follow-on measures by the UN General Assembly.

· Withholds U.S. funding from any part of the UN’s flawed Durban process, which has been hijacked by rogue regimes and used to advance an anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, anti-Western, anti-freedom agenda.

· Conditions U.S. funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) providing assistance to Palestinians refugees until UNRWA meets certain safeguards against terrorist links.

Of course, I fully expect the Democrats to oppose all of this.

Washington Post Shoots At Marco Rubio and Misses

Why Rubio? Because he's being touted as a possible VP candidate and his candidacy could really shake things up. From Jennifer Rubin:

The Post reported yesterday that the parents of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) had not fled Cuba after Fidel Castro had risen to power but some years before. Nevertheless, the report found: “They showed that between the couple’s admission for permanent U.S. residence and Castro’s victory on Jan. 1, 1959, his father spent five days in Cuba and his mother spent no more than two months and three days there. The passports show that Rubio’s mother made at least four short trips to the island after Castro’s victory, including a month-long stay in February and March 1961.” It was during that trip that Rubio’s mother determined she couldn’t live under the Communist regime.

Rubio put out a statement slamming the report:

To suggest my family’s story is embellished for political gain is outrageous. The dates I have given regarding my family’s history have always been based on my parents’ recollections of events that occurred over 55 years ago and which were relayed to me by them more than two decades after they happened. I was not made aware of the exact dates until very recently.

What’s important is that the essential facts of my family’s story are completely accurate. My parents are from Cuba. After arriving in the United States, they had always hoped to one day return to Cuba if things improved and traveled there several times. In 1961, my mother and older siblings did in fact return to Cuba while my father stayed behind wrapping up the family’s matters in the U.S. After just a few weeks living there, she fully realized the true nature of the direction Castro was taking Cuba and returned to the United States one month later, never to return.

They were exiled from the home country they tried to return to because they did not want to live under communism. That is an undisputed fact and to suggest otherwise is outrageous.

Unlike black voters who would vote 95% for Democrats even if they reinstated slavery, the Hispanic vote is much more fluid. An attractive Hispanic candidate like Rubio could swing millions of Hispanic votes toward the GOP ticket, and that scares the Washington Post. Otherwise, there was no reason for them to take a shot at a rookie Florida Senator.

GOP Has Significant Opportunity With Hispanic Vote

West Wing Report tweeted this info this morning:

After reaching 64% in February, the Hispanic approval of Obama has fallen to 44%, says Gallup. Hispanics voted 2:1 for him in 2008.

ATTH: Rick Perry, here's another good reason to look hard at Marco Rubio as a VP pick. Besides being a solid conservative and very smart guy, he'd be the first Hispanic on a major party ticket and many of those disaffected Hispanic voters could be moved into the GOP column.

And it's not just Hispanic support that's crumbling.  White support for Obama has dropped to a new low of 32%.  I think the whole "white guilt" thing is over and Obama will have a hard time building that number back up.

Marco Rubio Saves the Day!

And saves Nancy Reagan from a nasty fall.  Top of the Ticket has the info and photos.

Marco Rubio, 2012 Candidate?

Maybe not for the top job, but he could be a very attractive choice for VP, especially if paired with a quality presidential candidate like Rick Perry.  All you have to do is watch Rubio's floor speech and takedown of John Kerry from last weekend to see how good a national candidate he'd be.

And since the left loves to make everything about race, let's take a quick look at what effect a Rubio candidacy might have on the election.

Rubio is Hispanic, and to date no Hispanic has ever held either of the top two jobs in the U.S.  Remember the ecstasy in the black community over the first black president?  It was big, but Obama didn't really change the numbers among black voters very significantly at all.  More black voters went to the polls, but in terms of percentages, 96% voted for Obama, up only a point or two from historical averages for Dem candidates.

The Hispanic community is not nearly as monolithic as blacks.  Hispanics vote 67% - 31% for Obama in 2008.  Some of that vote certainly had to do with the whole "first black president" thing and the "rainbows and unicorns" promises, but in 2004 44% of Hispanics voted for Bush.  That tells me the Hispanic vote is very much up for grabs and can't be counted on to automatically support Democrats.

With Marco Rubio on the ticket a great many Hispanics would feel the same way about him that blacks felt about Obama - one of their own reaching for high position.  I think Rubio could swing significant votes toward the GOP ticket and possible make close races in highly Hispanic states that went for Obama like California, Nevada and Florida (Rubin being from Florida doesn't hurt either).

I'm not sure he wants the job since he's only been a senator for a short time, but that didn't stop Obama and if anyone wants to make Rubio's time in the Senate an issue, there's a ready-made argument in return about Obama.  Rubio on the ticket would sure make things entertaining, and wouldn't you just love to see a Rubio-Biden debate?

2004 Dem Nominee Gets Spanked by the 2016 or 2020 GOP Nominee

This is 14 minutes of good political theater.  It starts off with a great floor speech by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), and after he's sliced and diced the Dems for awhile Sen. John F'ing Kerry (D-MA) decides to debate him.  Epic fail on the part of Kerry who gets completely spanked by Rubio.  Here you go:

People Who Shouldn't Run Against Obama in 2012

Sen. Marco Rubio has rejected a 2012 White House run with this statement:

“I want to be a United States senator. I want to be the best United States senator that Florida’s ever had ...I just got elected three months ago ...So how can I be a full-time

United States senator if my eye’s already on something else?"

Let me add some other names of people who should reject a 2012 run.  These are people whose names I see thrown about on Facebook and political blogs:

• Gov. Chris Christie (NJ) - too soon in the job. Give him a chance to straighten out New Jersey and he'll be a force in 2016.
• Gov. Scott Walker (WI) - see Chris Christie and swap New Jersey for Wisconsin
• Sen. Rand Paul (KY) - Again, too soon. Give him some time in the job.  I want to make sure he's sane first.
• Rep. Ron Paul (TX) - goes without saying.
• Sarah Palin - damaged goods. She can be far more effective in her current role as political analyst and speaker for conservative causes.  Could be a kingmaker in 2012.
• Michele Bachmann - Although a favorite of some Tea Partiers there's no sign that she would have any significant national following. I think her 2012 hints are more about gaining visibility for a Senate run than running for president.
• Herman Cain - former pizza company chairman and conservative speaker. No one knows who he is. Needs more time.
• Rep. Allen West - too new in the job.

Republicans shouldn't go after the latest flash-in-the-pan politician. Given them a chance to prove themselves first.

Yes, Democrats went after the latest fad and won, but they had a race card they could play and a media willing to join in the fawning. The GOP won't have any of that. We'll be running against an incumbent president, and although with Obama's record beating him in 2012 should be easy, we just don't seem to have the kind of presidential field we need. However, that's no reason to rush someone into the race before they're ready.

Oh, there is one Democrat who should run against Obama - Hillary Clinton.  I firmly believe she could win the nomination though the outcome in the general election is far from certain.

Political Video of the Day

Senator-elect Marco Rubio delivers the GOP Weekly address:

Bill Clinton Tries to Talk a Qualified Minority Into Quitting

In favor of a rich white (or orange) guy.  If any Republican did this he'd be called "racist" in a New York minute:

Bill Clinton sought to persuade Rep. Kendrick Meek to drop out of the race for Senate during a trip to Florida last week — and nearly succeeded.

Meek agreed — twice — to drop out and endorse Gov. Charlie Crist’s independent bid in a last-ditch effort to stop Marco Rubio, the Republican nominee who stands on the cusp of national stardom.

Meek, a staunch Clinton ally from Miami, has failed to broaden his appeal around the state and is mired in third place in most public polls, with a survey today showing him with just 15 percent of the vote. His withdrawal, polls suggest, would throw core Democratic voters to the moderate governor, rocking a complicated three-way contest and likely throwing the election to Crist.

The last poll I saw showed Rubio over 50% which means even if all of Crist and Meek's voters got together they'd still lose.

This also proves the theory that should Crist win he'd caucus with the Democrats. That fix was already in.

UPDATE:  Crist advisor says he'd caucus with Democrats.  I saw that coming months ago.

Political Video of the Day

Marco Rubio offers his closing argument in the Florida Senate race, and it's a beauty:

Marco Rubio Heckled by a Loser

The loser was Gov. Charlie Crist (from Cubachi):

In today’s Florida Senate debate between Marco Rubio, Charlie Crist, and Kendrick Meek, Rubio tried to answer a question about the national debt and the economy. While answering the question, Charlie Crist, being the rude and desperate candidate that he is, interrupted Rubio and tried to answer the question for Rubio, interjecting falsehoods.

Rubio looked exasperated, as we the viewers are, and gave a great response:

“I’ve never had a heckler in the debate, they’re usually in the audience… I’ve had this heckler going on for two minutes now.

Crist is losing ground daily and will be humiliated on Nov. 2 - just like his Democrat friends.

Democrats Write Off Charlie Crist

Democrats had hoped if their candidate in the Florida Senate race didn't win, perhaps independent Charlie Crist would win and agree to caucus with the Democrats, effectively giving them the win. Crist's numbers, however, are tanking and it now appears the Dems have written him off with this press release, the first attack they've made on poor old Charlie:

Greer And Crist Spent Thousands Of Dollars Jet-Setting Around Country For Personal Reasons On Republican Party Of Florida’s Expense

Destinations Include New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, And Island Home Of Crist’s Wife

Charlie Crist is facing increasing heat over a new audit of the Republican Party of Florida, which showed that Crist’s handpicked party chair Jim Greer spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of party fund’s inappropriately. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Crist and Greer spent Republican party dollars jet setting to such far off destinations as New York, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. Crist even spent party money to fly to his wife’s island home.

The current chair of the Republican Party of Florida, John Thrasher, has said that Crist “had to know this [inappropriate lavish spending] was going on,” and that the party will release the audit today. The Republican Party of Florida may go to court to get the money that was spent inappropriately back.

“Charlie Crist may talk about fiscal restraint on the campaign trail but he cannot escape the reality of his lavish spending on the dime of the Florida Republican Party,” said DSCC National Press Secretary Deirdre Murphy. “If Crist wants to be trusted, it is time for him to answer for his record of inappropriate spending.”

Marco Rubio now has a comfortable lead over both Crist and Dem Kendrick Meek. If Crist is taking votes away from anyone, it's not Rubio.

Crist is yet another of the sore loser caucus of the establishment GOP, and like his confederates Lisa Murkowski, Arlen Specter and Mike Castle, will go down to defeat.