We're All Tea Partiers Now

The Tarrance Group released a poll today of 800 "likely registered voters throughout the country." Key findings:

• 8 in 10 (84%) of voters find it extremely or very concerning that the U.S.Senate has not passed a budget in nearly 3 years, including 93% of Republicans, 85% of Independents, and 74% of Democrats.
• 75% want to see President Obama's budget cut spending, but only 31% expect it to actually cut spending.
• 62% want to see the president's budget reduce taxes, but only 24% expect his budget to do that.
• 55% believe the best way to grow the economy and create jobs is by cutting government spending and keeping taxes low for all taxpayers, while 36% believe the best way is to increase government spending and make the rick pay more in taxes.

F & F Lied; our Economy Almost Died

So much for the president's oft-stated line that Wall Street is to blame. "New evidence Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac hid their subprime exposure from Wall Street," writes Paul Sperry, and the evidence "delegitimizes both the diagnosis of the crisis and its prescription—the Dodd-Frank Act."

The Obama Administration claims Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (F&F) played only a 'marginal' role in the nation's financial meltdown and blames Wall Street "greed" and "predatory" Wall Street bankers instead. To fix the problem, the Democrat-controlled House and Senate passed—and the president signed—the Dodd-Frank Act with harsh new regulations on the banking industry.

New evidence in recently filed SEC lawsuits against F&F for massive fraud reveals a very different story:

• F&F held/guaranteed $1.6 Trillion in subprime risky mortgages, but only reported $600 Billion of it, hiding $1 Trillion of their liabilities from Wall Street investors, rating agencies, risk managers and analysts.
• F&F caused Wall Street to underestimate the risks of continuing to acquire, hold and distribute mortgages and mortgage-backed securities
• According to the SEC's court filing, Fannie officials "created the false perception that Fannie Mae's participation in high credit risk loans ... was small and contained, and reinforced this false and misleading impression, telling investors that Fannie Mae was in the prime—not subprime—market with a different, higher set of standards and underwriting."

"If the crisis diagnosis is wrong, then the prescription--Obama's regulatory government takeover of the financial industry--must also be wrong," concludes Sperry.  "And if in fact government-controlled agencies caused the crisis, the answer is less government; and freer markets."

Lawless Disregard for Federal Budget Requirement

"Two top Democrats in Congress say the legislature doesn't really need to pass a budget," reports Investor's Business Daily.

"The fact is, you don't need a budget," [House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer] said last Tuesday. We can adopt authorization policies without a budget."
On Friday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said: "We do not need to bring a budget to the floor this year. It's done, we don't need to do it."

Au contraire, says IBD.

Actually, "the fact is," Congress is required under the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1973 to pass a spending plan and then have it scored by the Congressional Budget Office and signed by the president. That none of this happens suggests a level of disrespect for the law and the people found only among criminals.

Note: The Democratic-controlled Senate hasn't passed a budget in nearly 3 years.

NRO: What Would Reagan Do?

The Catholic backlash over government's new "mandate to force Catholics to offer and purchase health-insurance plans that violate their consciences" is the focus of NRO online editor-at-large Kathryn Jean Lopez's insightful interview with Paul Kengor, professor of political science at Grove City College and author of two books on President Reagan. The two explore what Reagan would do (and did do) with this controversial matter, and how his wisdom might inform modern-day conservatives engaged in the battle.

Victory, Not Compromise

Speaking at the CPAC conference, Senator Jim DeMint gave a "rousing speech about the importance of victory over compromise" in Washington DC, "point out that the victorious New York Giants didn't take the field to 'work with' the other guys or 'cooperate' with the opposing quarterback."

"Conservatism is not a political 'theory'," said DeMint. "It is a proven set of principles to make life better, and people freer, and the country stronger." He added that liberal social planning and the central control of economics isn't a political theory either—"it's a proven failure."

Senator DeMint is "working hard to build a Congress that can pass top-quality legislation to restore American liberty," as he explained to a recent Conservative Women's Network gathering. His remarks, entitled "It's Now or Never," can be viewed on the Institute's YouTube channel.

The Post-Recession Job Search

How does a job seeker emerge successful in this post-recession job market? Careerguidetips.com tackles 6 ways the job search has changed and suggests adapted strategies to get hired. Tips to polish interview skills and resumes are also available at the website.

Putting Sex into Perspective

World magazine reviews 2 new books about sex that conservatives may enjoy: Bringing Sex into Focus: the Quest for Sexual Integrity by Caroline J. Simon, and The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex: (and You Thought Bad Girls Have All the Fun) by Sheila Wray Gregoire.

The first "uses a helpful metaphor, optics, as a way to talk about six different lenses through which people view sex: covenantal, procreative, romantic, plain sex, power, and expressive," writes World's Susan Olasky, and "will be particularly useful for young adults searching for a way to think through sexual issues and discern perspectives that shape media and culture."

the second "answers questions about the nuts and bolts ... Like a funny big sister, [the author] takes on intimate topics in a frank and reassuring way ... for those who are engaged, for newlyweds, and for those who are sexually experienced and want to gain a biblical understanding."