Monthly Archives: September 2007

Newt Gingrich Announces He Won’t Run For President

Election '08, Politics

After flirting for months without ever committing to anything, former Speaker Newt Gingrich has announced that he won’t be running for President:

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) — Two days after hinting he wanted to try for the White House, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich decided he would not run for president, his spokesman said Saturday.

Rick Tyler said Gingrich realized he couldn’t run a political action committee — his American Solutions group — and form an exploratory committee to run for president as well.

“He will continue to bring the American people solutions to the challenges America faces through American Solutions, not as a candidate for president,” Tyler said in a telephone interview.

Gingrich told supporters in Marietta, Georgia, on Thursday that if they pledged at least $30 million to his campaign over a three-week period starting Monday, he would compete for the Republican nomination.

Gingrich, 64, has hinted for months that he would join the GOP presidential race if he determined no other candidate appeared able to take on the Democrats in 2008.

His hinting has become louder in recent weeks, with his suggestion that Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York is destined to be the Democratic nominee and that he would be the best Republican to debate her.

Gingrich said, however, that he has no desire to personally raise campaign funds.

This is not entirely surprising. Gingrich would’ve made an interesting addition to the race, but never a serious contender for the nomination. He simply had too much baggage.

Doug Mataconis
http://www.belowthebeltway.com

In Memory Of John Berthoud

Look About

John Berthoud was one of the unseen faces in Washington fighting the good fight for fiscal conservatism and lower takes. Since 1997, he headed the National Taxpayers Union, one of the premier lobbying groups in Washington that seeks to advance an agenda of lower taxes and lower spending.

Late last week, Mr. Berthoud died at his home in Virginia.

Dear Friends,

We are sorry to announce the passing of John Berthoud. As you may know, he has led both the National Taxpayers Union and National Taxpayers Union Foundation over the last 11 years. We have looked to him as a strong leader, compassionate friend, and a fierce fighter for freedom.

Pete Sepp, Vice President for Communications, shared his surprise, “John Berthoud’s death today was as sudden as it was shocking and saddening to all who knew him. His colleagues found him in peace at his home today. All of our staff, just as the entire policy community in Washington, are doing the best they can to cope with an irreplaceable loss.”

We give our sincere condolences to his family and friends and hope you will pay tribute with comments to our blog and facebook group. Sepp continued, “John was a true 21st century Renaissance man. He was a teacher, a mentor, a respected intellectual, and a lover of life. That’s what makes his passing all the more tragic.” Though we mourn the loss of a man and celebrate his amazing life filled with love, study, travel, and leadership, his cause and a hope for a brighter future lives on. We will press on with purpose and be thankful for his contributions to our own journeys.

Sincerely,

National Taxpayers Union &
National Taxpayers Union Foundation Staff

There are few men in Washington who devote their careers to something that actually helps the cause of freedom and liberty, which is why John Berthoud will be missed.

Doug Mataconis
http://www.belowthebeltway.com

Ron Paul Raises $ 1 Million In Seven-Day Online Campaign

Election '08, Politics

I’ve been critical of the campaign before, but this was a nicely executed fund-raising drive and a nicely-executed publicity campaign all at the same time:

Dr. Paul was campaigning in New Hampshire with his wife Carol and their family when our $1,000,000 goal was reached last night.  As the time drew near, they watched on a laptop as the counter reached the $1 million mark.  They, along with staff, supporters and volunteers throughout the country then celebrated this extraordinary accomplishment.

Over $1,000,000 raised in seven days for the Ron Paul 2008 presidential campaign.  Remarkable!

On behalf of Dr. Paul and every member of the campaign staff:  Thank you!!

Kent Snyder
Chairman
Ron Paul 2008

It will be interesting to see where this plays into the end-of-quarter numbers that should be coming out in the next few days.

Doug Mataconis
http://www.belowthebeltway.com

Outrageous Court Decision Of The Week

Constitution, Individual Rights, Privacy, The War on Drugs

Progress in the War Against Advil, from the always wacky Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals:

Safford Middle School officials did not violate the civil rights of a 13-year-old Safford girl when they forced her to disrobe and expose her breasts and pubic area four years ago while looking for a drug, according to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling.

The justices voted 2-1 in favor of the Safford School District on Sept. 21. The decision upheld a federal district court’s summary judgement that Safford Middle School Vice Principal Kerry Wilson, school nurse Peggy Schwallier and administrative assistant Helen Romero did not violate the girl’s Fourth Amendment rights on Oct. 8, 2003, when they subjected her to a strip search in an effort to find Ibuprofen, an anti-inflammatory drug sold over the counter and in prescription strengths.

(…)

The girl’s mother filed a federal law suit against the district and Middle School officials because they forced her daughter to strip down to her underwear then move her bra and panties in such a way that her breasts and pubic area were exposed. The mother also asserts that she was not notified of the impending search.

In the opinion written by Judge Richard Clifton, “Based on the information available to them, defendants (Safford School District, Wilson, Schwallier and Romero) had ‘reasonable grounds’ for suspecting that the search of (the girl’s) person would turn up evidence that (the girl) had violated or was violating either the law or the rules of the school.”

Clifton wrote that Wilson and the others had reasonable grounds for believing the girl had Ibuprofen based on conversations with two other students.

When they outlaw Advil, only outlaws will have Advil.

H/T: Radley Balko

Doug Mataconis
http://www.belowthebeltway.com

Hillary Clinton: Let’s Start Socialism At The Cradle, Literally

Dumbasses and Authoritarians, Economics, Politics, Socialism

For all the complaining I do about the Republican Party, there are days like today when I’m reminded of just how bad the alternative is:

WASHINGTON (AP) – Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that every child born in the United States should get a $5,000 “baby bond” from the government to help pay for future costs of college or buying a home. Clinton, her party’s front-runner in the 2008 race, made the suggestion during a forum hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus.

“I like the idea of giving every baby born in America a $5,000 account that will grow over time, so that when that young person turns 18 if they have finished high school they will be able to access it to go to college or maybe they will be able to make that downpayment on their first home,” she said.

The New York senator did not offer any estimate of the total cost of such a program or how she would pay for it. Approximately 4 million babies are born each year in the United States.

Let’s do some math.

4 million babies x $ 5,000 per baby = $ 20,000,000,000 per year.

$ 20,000,000,000 x 3.47%(the current interest rate on Series EE savings bonds) = $ 694,000,000/year interest.

$ 694,000,000 x 18 years = 12,492,000,000

And that’s just one year’s worth of babies.

Where, exactly, is that money going to come from ?

Update: As the comments indicate, these numbers are approximations and don’t factor in things like inflation, the compounding of interest, or the incentives that might be created by a government program that effectively pays people $ 5,000 to have a baby. If anything, reality would probably turn out to be far worse that what I’ve estimated.

Doug Mataconis
http://www.belowthebeltway.com
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