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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Al Franken declared winner of Minnesota Senate race
CNN is reporting that Minnesota's Supreme Court has declared Democrat Al Franken the winner of the state's disputed U.S. Senate race.
Western Standard editor Peter Jaworski has some background on this story here.
Posted by Matthew Johnston
Posted by westernstandard on June 30, 2009 | Permalink
Comments
Great! A filibuster-proof Democratic senate just in time for the job-killing Cap and Trade bill.
When did the US become like Canada?
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2009-06-30 3:42:43 PM
I'm sorry Zeb but Canada is no longer the leftie lunatic asylum it once was. We have lower corporate tax rates federally and when combined with most provincial rates, the overall rate is a lower than the US. All governments and politicians seem to be possessed by lunacy. That being said, our politicians are way less possessed than the pres, house and senate in the US. We may be running a deficit but it is dwarfed by the monumental one to the south. This gargantuan debt will result in two things, an inflationary spiral and/or increased taxes both corporately and personally. The inflation will debase the USD by at least 25% over the next five years. This is the least of their problems. The high tax environment together with the proposed "crack down" on companies that invest abroad will result in relocation on a massive scale. This will reduce government tax revenues causing further tax increases along with even more borrowing. As the velocity of this phenomenon increases the US economy will sink further and further into the morass. The Won and his obamates will continue to pass fundamentally flawed but well intentioned legislation and the population will reward them with reelection as the whole country waits for the utopia created when the rich finally turn over all the money from the “tax the rich” schemes.
From a macro economic perspective, Canada is in much better position even with a marginally lunatic government. We have commodities that will continue to be in demand on a global scale. We have the healthiest, best regulated financial institutions in the world. Our debt to GDP ratio is among the lowest in the G20 and our social programs like CPP and OAS are modest and reasonably well funded. If you had to choose a country that has the best chance of coming out of this mess on top I like Canada’s chances. Our only real risk is that central Canada has a collective brain fart and the Harper conservative liberals get defeated by the Iggy Pop liberal socialists. But then we shall see the creation of Mansaskalumbia that will be governed by a truly conservative, enlightened libertarian prespective. I hope.
Posted by: B | 2009-06-30 7:45:06 PM
Oh yeah, Al Franken sucks and the concept of a filibuster proof democratic controlled Senate is terrifying. Just sayin.
Posted by: B | 2009-06-30 7:49:43 PM
So the tables have turned. We're now in some sort of bizarro world from the Superman comics. Egads. Cue the Twilight Zone theme.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2009-06-30 8:26:38 PM
Obama's poll numbers are starting to steadily drop! People are starting to get sick of him and his spending. Rasmussen now has Republicans polling ahead of Democrats in voter preference for Congress.The Democrats are setting themselves up for trouble in 2010 and a possible massacre in 2012(27 Democrat senate seats up for election versus only 9 Republican seats). The Democrats are losing points on the economy. Cap and Trade will kill their large poll lead on the environment. Socialized medicine will wipe out their poll advantage on healthcare. Gallup just released a poll showing that an increasing number of Americans(46%) find the Democrat party too liberal(only 8% too conservative). Meanwhile, an increasing number of Americans(17%) state that the Republicans are too liberal(43% say too conservative and 34% just right). AMericans are getting sick of socialized economics very quickly.
In many ways, America is still a more conservative country. First, we have our right to bear arms(strengthened by the Supreme Court ruling in D.C. gun case). This right is far stronger in America than in Canada. Here we have 40 states with largely unrestricted concealed carry laws, 34 states with castle doctrine laws, and 48 states with range protection laws. No such laws exist in Canada. The right of the citizen to be armed is the greatest counter to an overbearing government. It does a lot more for the cause of freedom than legalizing pot does. Second, the recent New Haven firefighters case that was decided 5-4 by the Supreme Court will further restrict the instances where affirmative action can be applied. 19 white and hispanic firefighters took an exam for promotion. Then, the test results were effectively nullified because no black candidates scored high enough. The court ruled in the firefighters favor and experts say this greatly weakens affirmative action programs. Third, we have some restrictions on abortion in America. Federal funds cannot openly be used for abortions. Also, 35 states have unborn victim laws much like the one that hasn't passed the Canadian parliment. Over 30 states have parental notification laws. Others have waiting periods. Some states limit the abortion time period(ex: Kansas has 20 week limit). Some states ban partial birth abortions(around 70% public support for this). Supreme Court upheld ban by 5-4 vote. Fourth, we have a lot more charter schools, magnet schools, and other school choice reforms than exist in Canada. Fifth, our criminal justice system is a lot tougher on criminals. Most states execute murderers(recent poll shows that by 73%-27% Americans don't feel that death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment that violates the constitution). Our sentencing guidelines for rapist, robbers, and child molesters(25 to life in most states) are much tougher than Canada's. The reasons for these differences are multifold. One, Republican have appointed largely strict constructionist judges who have made the difference in many Supreme Court cases. Second, is that on many of these issues, American conservatives listened to the public and tried to address their concerns. The Republican Party has a lot of faults. However, it has a respectable record on guns, judicial appointments, law and order, and school choice issues! What have any Canadian parties done on these?
Posted by: Ted | 2009-06-30 11:04:12 PM
Oh yeah! Conservative activists have also been involved in several state referendums that have done away with bilingual education in the public schools(of those states). How much does bilingual education add to Canada's education budget?
Posted by: Ted | 2009-06-30 11:06:51 PM
Ted, all of this may be true but the economic damage that will be done with a filibuster proof senate and the looney tunes house ruled by the socialist in chief will simply be too much to overcome in the short run. Further, once instituted, socialized medicine and state interference in business by way of direct ownership will be too dificult to role back. Slippery slope and all that.
Posted by: B | 2009-07-01 10:30:54 AM
I some times wonder if Minnesota is just playing a joke on every one. For the most part I find congress and the senate are a bunch of clowns, now they have literally elected a clown to the senate. Appointing Fraken will do nothing to change how the power structure works in Washington is it possible they're tying to point this out?
(yes I do understand filibuster proof, however how effective was there ability filibuster before??)
Posted by: Calgary Libertarian | 2009-07-02 8:08:35 AM
Calgary Libertarian:
In the hands of the Republicans, very effective. The Democrats don't seem to have the knack for obstructionism.
I remember reading about some controversial bill in USA Today a while back, where the writer just said "For technical reasons, the bill must get 60 votes to pass the Senate."
Something like that. It didn't even mention the fillibuster. It's simply assumed that if a bill is contentious at all, the Republicans will fillibuster it. And that's probably a good thing, too. If I remember right, the bill in question was the union-empowering "card check" legislation, and the Republicans were able to stop it just by holding it up long enough for public opinion to build against it.
Now the Democratic supermajority is upon us. I'm glad DC v. Heller is around, so that at least people will be able to keep their guns.
Posted by: Terrence Watson | 2009-07-03 12:34:07 AM
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