Can anyone explain why a cable channel that no one watches is worth a hundred million dollars?

I think I will give "Witness" another go. But I have to ask how would you all compare "Witness" to "Darkness at Noon and "1984"? If you could get a young conservative to read one book which would it be? Or perhaps another title?

Drudge put this up.

The "fiscal cliff" deal that was designed to save money actually includes $330.3 billion in new spending over the next decade, according to the official estimate the Congressional Budget Office released Tuesday afternoon.

That didn't take long.OK another question do spending projections and saving projections over a decade actually mean anything? It seems like these numbers are released just to confuse the issue.

Jennifer is right on one thing. This really is the best political compromise that can come out of Washington. The problems is that it is still dangerously irresponsible and does nothing to address the most basic budgetary issues. Jennifer is criticizing Rubio for not supporting the best political deal that could possibly be achieved in the Senate. If you listen to her and Kaus she often points out that Conservatives have unrealistic expectations about what can actually be achieved in Washington.

She is right tactically, in this particular battle the Senate deal might be the best outcome Conservatives can hope for. But I think the frustration of Conservatives is about the lack of an overall strategy. This compromise does nothing to position Conservatives to win future battles or achieve long term strategic goals. It’s just one more retreat on a road to higher taxes, greater spending, more government control and less freedom.   

I don’t want to crush your optimism. I think we need it but I also think you underestimate the left’s ability to scapegoat their enemies and run show trials for public consumption. When Obama Care inevitably fails, it doesn’t mean that liberals will admit their mistake. They will blame greedy doctors, insurance companies and conservative saboteurs. They will argue that the real problem with Obama Care is that it didn’t go far enough. It will be the same with the economy. Obstructionist conservative saboteurs, greedy businesses, lack of regulation and the fact that the government isn’t powerful enough will be the problem.  

 It’s hard to care one way or the other about this outcome. Maybe a few billion will be cut from the projected rate of growth. Maybe tax increase will be limited to the higher tax brackets. Republicans will be totally flummoxed by the President’s brilliant rhetoric. Balanced approach, balanced approach, balanced approach. How can you counter such brilliance?

Republicans used to have a name for these policies, tax and spend. Instead Republican leaders have accepted newspeak phrases like “revenue enhancement.” It makes me wonder if they even want to win.

Newspeak has even dominated the debate to the point that I don’t even know what tax cuts mean anymore. The left has twisted the terminology to include “tax breaks” for people who don’t pay taxes and other thinly disguised handouts. The President talks about tax breaks more than Republicans, so how can the average voter sort this out? Not by turning to Republicans for clarity, that’s for sure.

Jared Loughner, the Fort Hood shooter, and the Aurora shooter were all taken alive. Loughner accepted a plea to avoid the death penalty. The Aurora shooter “could” face the death penalty but I suspect he will also be offered a plea. Hasan also “could” face the death penalty but I expect all these killers will be with us for a long time. Each one of these murderers were used by gun control advocates to push their agenda. Now that they have served their purpose the left isn’t that interested in seeing them face the ultimate punishment. Their focus is on punishing their political enemies and taking guns away from law abiding Americans.

Hearing the founders podcast actually made me feel a bit more optimistic about Ricochet's chances of survival. I was stunned that Ricochet's total advertising budget was $300.TOTAL $300.

I think members need to start their own grass roots marketing campaign. I plan on making a point of linking interesting Ricochet posts to my facebook page more often. That way I can at least build some awareness of Ricochet among my circle. 

What you need is a quarterly pledge drive like NPR. Rob knows how it is done. Make all the podcasts free during the drive and pump people for donations. Give people coffee mugs, tee shirts and tote bags for donating.

FloppyDisk90 really thoughtful posts but I challenge you to turn your economic analysis to the value of American citizenship. You can probably come up with a concrete value for citizenship. So is it rational to argue that the current immigration situation devalues citizenship? Then we are talking about a tradeoff an economic argument, not a moral one.  

Hey King, welcome back to life as a private citizen. Your loss and the voter ID amendment really shook my faith in MN politics. To be fair my esteem for MN politics has been very low for a very long time (Senator/Governor Dayton, Governor Ventura, Senator Franken, Representative Ellison.) But it is too bad that the MN legislature won’t have your expertise.

I’ve been meaning to ask an economist like yourself about the “fiscal cliff.” I have no evidence but I get the feeling we have already gone over a fiscal cliff. The current negotiations remind me of an argument about which maxed out credit card should be used to pay this month’s balance. So does avoiding the current fiscal cliff really accomplish anything or does it just signal markets that we are serious about fixing our real budget problems sometime in the future?

That's the message you are already sending to blue collar and middle class workers. Do you really think that is a good idea?

The concrete everyday problem is that you can operate illegally without following the rules. The police and the regulators won’t enforce the rules with the undocumented (untaxed, unregulated, unaccountable.) They will only enforce the rules with citizens and then they call citizens racist when they resent the double standard. No one in government is going to fix immigration or regulation so the working class will just continue to be screwed while John sneers at how ignorant we all are. This just isn’t a reality you have to deal with if you live in an ivory tower.

Right on. Its "Plan 9 from Outer Space" bad. The best part is that it takes itself so seriously. You have to see it because you just can’t believe how funny/bad it is.

Going with the weight theme I think the podcast should be “Ricochet 728” or whatever the combined weight of the hosts is.  

I really make a point of listening to what my non-political friends and coworkers say and it’s what I’m not hearing makes me fretful. I am not hearing much about gas prices, high unemployment, slow economic growth, Obama Care, attacks on American embassies or the 16 trillion dollar debt.  I only hear concern about these issues when I am in my conservative media bubble. The reality inside and outside the bubble is very stark and troubling. It leads me to suspect that the polls are right.

I also have my own nagging doubts and I wonder if the Republicans are really ready to lead if they win.