Tag: washington

Jim McDermott (D, WA-07) on the public option, translated into English.

For some bizarre reason, Rep. Keith Ellison thought that it was a good idea to get Rep. McDermott’s opinions on the public option on the public record. Who am I to pass up such an opportunity?

Yes, he really is advocating a policy that, to quote a colleague, “prevents insurers from calculating rates or willingness to insure based on risk; all must be served, and for no higher cost than anybody else.” And no, nobody he’s close to will ever have to face the consequences of McDermott’s policies. What, do you think that these people plan to live by the rules they’d impose upon the rest of us?

Moe Lane

PS: Gresham’s Law: “Bad money drives out good.” It’s a common problem in any system where one competitor for resources has coercive powers and the others do not. Conservatives handle this by punishing abuse of the coercive power; libertarians wish the coercive power removed altogether; and liberals don’t understand why this is automatically a problem, at least when they control the competitor.

Crossposted to RedState.

Elections have consequences, Megan.

I agree with you that there are legitimate reasons why the market doesn’t create more ‘green’ products – aside from everything else, clearly superior products don’t need the ‘green’ label to sell better – but when it comes to the specific example of banning phosphates in dish detergent we’re dealing with a situation where the market was overruled by the politicians. And, oddly enough, the politicians in question all come from the same political party. Stereotypically so, in fact. Justifiably stereotypically, in double fact.

Hey, don’t look at me. I voted for the other guys. And while they may be not quite libertarian enough to suit, at least they’re not constitutionally ready to make you wash your dishes three times so that they can feel better…

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Gary Locke: New Commerce pick, guy with a brother-in-law.

Yeah, you know where that last bit’s going.

[UPDATE]: (Via Ed’s original post, and thanks for the link) John Huang? John Huang?
OK, that’s it. Somebody from the White House give me a call. I will personally pick out a Commerce Secretary for you. It will be a liberal Democrat, with no skeletons in his or her closet – I’m actually leaning towards her at this point – and nothing that will make the GOP freak out. As God as my witness, I will not play any partisan games. This is a legitimate offer.
Because you people are embarrassing me with this, that’s why.

Kind of the point, really.

Via Hot Air we hear a story that sounds hauntingly familiar about Obama’s third-time’s-the-charm pick for Commerce (former WA Democratic governor Gary Locke):

LET’S SAY YOU’RE Gov. Gary Locke’s brother-in-law. You bunk at the governor’s mansion. You commute to your nearby job as an executive of a private technology firm.

uring your two years with the firm, the governor signs a bill giving your company a tax break, personally intervenes in a dispute involving your company, shows up for a party there, and signs a federal loan application for your company, whose founders—your bosses—pay at least two visits to the mansion.

At the same time, your company rakes in millions in state aid, lands a fat state technology contract, and is allowed to use government credit authority to float new loans (an authority illegally granted, as a state auditor’s report will reveal this week).

Are you getting gubernatorial favors that average citizens don’t get?

Naaaw, says the governor.

So, where have I heard this before? Continue reading Gary Locke: New Commerce pick, guy with a brother-in-law.