NBC News In Plain Sight: Brian Williams Interviewing U.S. Representative Paul Ryan,

Source:The New Democrat

I rarely agree with Representative Paul Ryan on anything, but he actually makes some good points about poverty in America. And what I respect about is that he makes his points in an interesting way that leaves me to believe that and intelligent person can believe what he is saying. And say, “yeah I see how an intelligent person could agree with that. It might not be my approach. But it is a good alternative to what I’ve been talking about on these issues.”

Now here is where I agree with Representative Paul Ryan. Where he says that we all need to be in this together. Meaning the whole country when it comes to dealing with poverty in America. That the Federal Government can’t do all of it by themselves as much as they may want to. That the states and locals need to be involved here as well as the private sector. And for me that would be about empowering the non-profits in the private sector with the resources to train low-income workers. Give them health services, find and build them housing, give them childcare etc.

Representative Ryan was talking about the one size fits all solution to combating poverty in America. Meaning the Federal Government trying to manage everything themselves. That needs to stop and allow for the states and locals to have the resources to meet the needs of their own residents. With basic national standards in place, as well as empowering non-profits to deal with these issues. Empowering people in their own communities to take on poverty in their communities.

Newsmax: The Steve Malzberg Show- PJ O'Rourke: Author of The Baby Boom How it Got Away

Source: Newsmax- Political humorist and columnist P.J. O'Rourke, on The Steve Malzberg Show.

Source:The New Democrat 

First of all I love PJ O’Rourke, you know platonically because he’s one my favorite political and cultural commentators. And why is that because first of all his deep honesty and consistency. He’s what is called a Conservative Libertarian. Probably not a pure Libertarian, but a Barry Goldwater Conservative whose politics is built around government should mind their own business and not the business of the people. Meaning that government’s job is to defend the people’s freedom, not try to run their lives. Not one of the fake Conservatives who bash big government as they are sticking up for other parts of big government.

The exchange he had with Steve Malzberg about marijuana in this interview is a perfect example of what a conversation between a real Conservative like PJ and a fake Conservative. I’m not very familiar with Steve Malzberg enough to know if he’s a fake Conservative or not. But how they were talking about marijuana where PJ basically saying the cat is already out of the bag on this. Marijuana prohibition is a failure and besides we are only talking about a drug that has similar effects as alcohol anyway. With Steve Malzberg making the establishment drug warrior argument of why should we legalize another dangerous drug in this country. The same argument that could be made about alcohol.

I’m not a Libertarian but definitely a Liberal who takes the same viewpoint about government that PJ O’Rourke takes that it is not the job of government to run my life for me and try to protect me from myself. But protect me from people who would hurt me. By punishing them not by prohibiting what I can do with my own life. And if you are a real Conservative or a Conservative Libertarian, you have a very similar view about government as well.
Source:Newsmax

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell: It's Time for Better Ideas

Source:The New Democrat

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell actually sounding constructive instead of obstructive here in talking about expanding educational and job training opportunities for unemployed workers as part of a deal that would extend Unemployment Insurance for these long-term workers. Who definitely need that income right now and is something that Senate Democrats should at least allow for a vote on. It is relevant to the legislation and would get these workers additional skills that would make to easier for them to find a good job and finally get off of Unemployment Insurance. If you’re unemployed right now, but already have a good education, but are having a hard time finding another job in your profession, the, the more you can improve your skills, the better your chances of finding a good full-time job.

Oliver Stone: Richard Nixon (1995)

Source:The New Democrat

Nixon is one of my favorite movies purely for entertainment value. And I believe Anthony Hopkins did a great job of playing Richard Nixon and Joan Allen did a great job portraying Pat Nixon. But I don’t believe the movie is very accurate as far as other things movies and books that I’ve seen about the man. I mean the movie constantly has Dick Nixon drinking some type of scotch or alcoholic beverage. And although Nixon was Irish, (ha, ha) people close to him said that he couldn’t hold his liquor. He would have maybe one drink after work and another with dinner. But wasn’t drinking throughout the day and during meetings and so-forth.

Also the movie I believe over-portrays Dick Nixon’s negative aspects. And again if you are familiar with the man you know he’s one of the most fascinating complicated politicians whose ever lived. And a big reason for that had to do with the fact that he wasn’t just good or just bad. That he had many aspects that were good and bad that people who worked for the man who have broad respect, like David Gergen or his second Attorney General Elliot Richardson, said that the man had some awful character flaws like not being able to trust people, to use as an example. But that he did a lot of great things as president like as they related to China and Russia.

Nixon is a very good movie from an entertainment value and as far as the aspects of Dick Nixon’s life that they covered. And was very well written with a great cast that also included Paul Sorvino, James Woods and Ed Harris to name a few others. But they left a lot out or didn’t cover some of the other aspects of the man’s life. Like his time in Congress or as vice president and some of his big accomplishments as president.

GOP Weekly Address: Senator Thad Cochran With the GOP's Weekly ObamaCare Statement

Source:The New Democrat

The GOP’s one horse race is ObamaCare even though that is not the only issue Americans are interested in. And if you look at the weak December jobs report and millions of people losing their Unemployment Insurance without having any other way to pay their bills. But the GOP especially the Senate GOP believes their best and perhaps only shot at winning back the Senate in 2014 and giving Republicans a united Republican Congress is talk about what they do not like about the Affordable Care Act and we’ll see how it works for them. Because the Senate GOP at least has no agenda of their own. Nothing positive to run on tell Americans why Mitch McConnell should be Leader of the Senate in the next Congress.

Townhall: Daniel Doherty: Gallup Poll, Liberal Self-Identification on The Rise

Source:The New Democrat

I’ve sort of been sensing this since the 2006 mid-term elections that Americans have moved Left. Not far-left, but certainly in the liberal left direction after experiencing five years of the neoconservative Bush Administration with the pre-emptive War in Iraq and another unpaid for War in Afghanistan. With the 2002 Patriot Act, the Bush Administration having four years of unchecked power basically with a united Republican Congress that the country was moving away from this and wanted a check on the Bush Administration and weren’t happy with the Republican Congress.

And as a result the American voters spoke in 2006 and gave Democrats Congress back, both the House and Senate. Seven years later Democrats still hold the majority in the Senate with a 55-45 margin. Americans weren’t saying that they want to go from the neoconservative right and the religious-right, to a more socialist direction on the far-left. But that unchecked power when it goes to far is bad for the country. If I had to testify under oath whether America is a center-left or center-right country, I wouldn’t be able to answer that because I do not know for sure.

But I do know we are a country that likes our personal and economic freedoms and do not want a heavy-handed big centralized government trying to manage our lives for us. But we aren’t anti-government either. We just tend to have a skepticism for big government and only want government to do for us what we can’t do for ourselves and based on this you could make a very good case we are a center-left country. If you look at where the country is now on marijuana and the broader War on Drugs.

Or look at where America is now on privacy, gay rights and so-forth and that we aren’t calling for a big expansion of government in our economic affairs either. That Americans tend to be mainstream with their politics, but so is liberalism in its classical form. This is good news for Democrats, but is also a reminder for the Democratic Leadership when it comes to recruiting, that if you are going to recruit and back the more progressive or socialist even minded candidates, to run for office it better be in areas where they can actually win.

Lets say more far-leftist areas of the country, at least when it comes to the country as a whole, where even big government economics, where a large percentage of the population is even looking for a bigger government even at the federal level in their lives. And that will mostly be in the Northeast, Northwest and the San Francisco Bay Area. But for the rest of the country where the Democratic Party is strong, you want to have center-left Liberal Democrats representing you instead.

FOX Sports: 'Crowd Goes Wild- Dead Spin: Is Hall of Fame Vote a Good Thing?'

Source:FOX Sports- talking about the 2014 MLB Hall of Fame class.

Source:The New Democrat

"Crowd Goes Wild on this year's baseball HOF inductions and near misses."

From FOX Sports

I have no issues with Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine going into the Hall of Fame today. No doubt they are two of the best pitchers of their generation. Frank Thomas a great hitter, but a below average first baseman and a long-term designated hitter. 

But my main problem with the 2014 Hall of Fame Class were the great players who still haven’t made it. Especially former Detroit Tigers great pitcher Jack Morris the all-time winningest pitcher of the 1980s and one of the best big game pitchers of all-time. And Mike Piazza the greatest hitting catcher of all-time. Who should’ve been a first ballot Hall of Famer.