Our Man Mitch
In today’s Wall Street Journal, Ricochet’s own Mitch Daniels, governor of Indiana, provides a list of emergency economic measures for Republicans to consider after election day. The Governor’s measures include a holiday on payroll taxes and a freeze on federal hiring and pay increases. “[T]o have a prayer of avoiding fiscal ruin, we need to go to economic general quarters immediately.”
One of the Governor’s proposals in particular caught my eye:
Impoundment power. Presidents once had the authority to spend less than Congress made available through appropriation. On reflection, nothing else makes sense. Plowing ahead with spending when revenues plummet is something only government would do. In Indiana, we are still solvent, with no new taxes, money in reserve, and a AAA credit rating only because our legislature gave me the power to adjust spending to new realities. I promise you that a president who wanted to could put the kibosh on enormous amounts of spending that a Congress might never vote to eliminate, but the average citizen would never miss.
That’s Mitch Daniels through and through. He displays deep historical knowledge—presidents possessed impoundment power right up until 1974, when a Democratic Congress, still motivated by spite for the disgraced Richard Nixon, made the practice illegal—and then he provides a trenchant budgetary analysis. And then? Well, then Mitch Daniels writes about giving impoundment power back to the president almost as if—and this is part I really love—he’s been thinking about what he’d do with the presidency himself.
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May '10
Re: Our Man Mitch
Scott Reusser
I shall now look up the word "legerdemain"--and then nonchalantly use it tonight while chitchatting with my wife.) · Sep 9 at 4:53am
Don't look at me, I wasn't an English major.....
May '10
Re: Our Man Mitch
Duane Oyen:
I wonder how the practical effects of the Impoundment Act would be affected by congressional failure to pass a budget, followed by an appropriations continuing resolution- those are generally ceilings rather than floors. Nixon's overruled impoundment was of a statutory budget.
Have their been any effects, other than angering voters, from the way Congress "deemed" the budget passed this year? Is there any reason to believe Congress might make a habit of that?
Sep '10
Re: Our Man Mitch
Before we pile onboard the Mitch Daniels bandwagon, allow me to offer a contrary position. For months, I have been visiting Hillbuzz.com – a Chicago site founded by gay men who supported Hillary Clinton in 2008. They utterly despise Obama (even more than we do!) and have abandoned the Democratic Party. At the present time, they positively love the Tea Party and they simply adore Sarah Palin. So their point of view is unique & very useful, I think.
Here is a list of possible Republican Presidential candidates that Hillbuzz likes:
Michelle Bachmann, Jan Brewer, Chris Christie, Jim DeMint, Nikki Haley, Sarah Palin, Allen West.
Here is a list of possible candidates that Hillbuzz does not like:
Charlie Crist, Mitch Daniels, Mark Kirk, Mitch McConnell, Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, John Thune.
Hillbuzz refers to the latter as "soggy cucumber sandwiches." Which is to say, they are perceived as squishy & RINOish, and that, if one is nominated as the Republican Presidential candidate, he will be warmly approved by the MSM and dutifully lose in 2012.
Hillbuzz wants a Republican candidate with real conservative cajones – a man (or woman) with "true grit." I tend to agree with them.
Edited on Sep 11, 2010 at 12:39amMay '10
Re: Our Man Mitch
David Parsons:
Hillbuzz wants a Republican candidate with real conservative cajones – a man (or woman) with "true grit." I tend to agree with them. · Sep 11 at 12:33am
Edited on Sep 11 at 12:39 am
If Hillbuzz does not think that Daniels fits this description, then Hillbuzz has exposed itself as a fraud.
Besides, the Hillbuzz guys must not yet have checked out Mitch in his leather, on his Harley. I suspect they'd be on that like white on rice.
Sep '10
Re: Our Man Mitch
Scott Reusser
David Parsons:
Hillbuzz wants a Republican candidate with real conservative cajones – a man (or woman) with "true grit." I tend to agree with them.
If Hillbuzz does not think that Daniels fits this description, then Hillbuzz has exposed itself as a fraud.
Besides, the Hillbuzz guys must not yet have checked out Mitch in his leather, on his Harley. I suspect they'd be on that like white on rice.
The Hillbuzz boys are fired up and full of energy. They are worth courting. If Ricochet believes that Mitch Daniels is The Man, than it might be a good idea to contact Hillbuzz and make the case for Mitch. See if you can persuade them to move Mitch out of the "soggy cucumber sandwich" column.
What do you think, Peter?
May '10
Re: Our Man Mitch
Hey, David, I just checked out that site, and you're right: it's fun, well-written, and more conservative than I anticipated. (I do hereby retract my "fraud" dig.)
Their Palin support seems over the top, however. Gov. Daniels, I think, would impress them if they took time to discover the hardcore, tough guy conservative that is masked by his gentle, reserved demeanor. He's the real deal.
For more on Daniels, check out the profile by Andrew Ferguson in The Weekly Standard a few months back.