Open Thread

For general discussion and debate about politics, economics, sports, and whatever else tickles your fancy.

Following yesterday's debate and anticipating tomorrow's straw poll, the GOP presidential candidates are assembled again today to speak to the crowds at Florida CPAC. Many are also anticipating other speakers, including commentators Ann Coulter, S.E. Cupp, and Bill Kristol, among others, speaking on grassroots activism, policy, and traditional conservative values.

Will you be following CPAC coverage today? Check out a live stream of CPAC after the break, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Late last night, Georgia executed inmate Troy Davis for the murder of Mark McPhail in 1989. MacPhail, who was working as a security guard at the time, rushed to help a homeless man who prosecutors said Davis was hitting with a gun. When MacPhail came to the homeless man's aid, Davis shot MacPhail to death.

Davis's case sparked controversy around the world, with many declaring Davis was innocent due to the lack of strong physical evidence, despite a number of eyewitness testimonies. Davis's execution has previously been stopped three times since 2007, but he ran out of legal options yesterday when the pardons board and the Supreme Court both rejected his offer to take a polygraph test. Do you think the media covered the execution of Troy Davis fairly? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

As NewsBusters reported yesterday, Warren Buffett has spent years campaigning with the liberal media to raise taxes on the rich. Buffett has found an ally in President Obama to implement the "Buffett rule," a complicated and misinformed proposal that would raise taxes even more on the wealthy. As explained by the Tax Foundation:

During his Rose Garden speech [Monday], President Obama once again fueled the general misperception that people who pay the 15 percent tax rate on their capital gains and dividend income are paying a lower rate than salaried workers who pay at the individual rate (which ranges from 10 percent to 35 percent).

The reality is that capital gains and dividends are taxed at a lower rate at the individual level because this income has already been taxed at 35 percent at the corporate level before it was distributed to shareholders. Both Mr. Obama and his tax advisor Warren Buffett seem unaware that the U.S. has the 4th highest overall tax rate on dividend income among the largest industrialized countries in the OECD at 52.1 percent. Only Denmark (56.5 percent), France (57.8 percent) and the United Kingdom (54 percent) tax dividends at a higher rate.

What are your thoughts on the matter? Let us know in the comments.

This week, Republican presidential candidates are headed to Florida for a number of high-profile events, including CPAC, a straw poll, and perhaps most importantly, another debate, this time hosted by Fox News and Google at Florida CPAC.

The spotlight is again expected to be on Gov. Rick Perry, despite his pummeling by other candidates last week. Do you think he can recover from last week's criticism for his stances on immigration, health care, and Social Security, especially in a state with such large retirement communities? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

You know the drill. Chat and debate like there's no tomorrow - courteously, of course.

Have a great weekend.

Deroy Murdock has an excellent column at National Review Online holding up the Reagan economic record vs. Barack Obama's. It's an excellent read.

An excerpt follows the page break.

Leave us your thoughts in the comments section:

Tonight at 8pm is the latest Republican presidential candidate debate. This event is sponsored by the Tea Party Express and will be broadcast live on CNN television and also online.

CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, who has been rather race-obsessed and protective of President Obama, will be the host. If you're watching the debate, feel free to join fellow NBers in a live chat about the debate right here on this post. Note: You will need an Adobe Flash-enabled browser to participate. After the debate is over, we'll leave the chat up for a few hours and then turn this into an open thread about the debate.

For general discussion and debate about politics, the economy, sports, or whatever else tickles your fancy.

While the Left has long held the upper hand in appearing to implement morally superior policies, according to Jim Lacey at National Review, their policies have had particularly negative impacts on poor parts of America and abroad. From often debilitating and expensive policies, including being forced to use alternative energy or banned from using genetically modified food, Lacey explains, "leftist policies continue to destroy the lives of tens of millions in this country and billions worldwide." He adds,

Soon after I published an article questioning the global-warming orthodoxy, the world’s foremost hypocrite, Al Gore, informed anyone who still listens to him that my position is akin to racism. The wise course of action would be to ignore the rants of a man who desperately needs the world to remain fearful of carbon, the element on which all life on earth is based. …

Who do you think holds the moral high ground? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

As the GOP presidential primary continues to heat up with another debate tonight at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, it is worth considering Reagan's famous "11th Commandment" in the context of this campaign. With such a large and diverse field of candidates, though, it is proving to be difficult to stand out from the crowd in any other way. Do you think any of the candidates will be successful if they continue to fight among themselves? Or do you think infighting is the only way to make it to the top? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

While not all the candidates have specifically evoked Reagan in their political wars of words, most candidates have at least crossed into Reagan's 11th Amendment territory. From the Washington Times:

While the United States Postal Service has been facing financial concerns for some time, it has never been as close to the brink of bankruptcy as it is today, with a $5.5 billion payment due in September and a lack of resources to make the payment. Unless Congress intervenes, USPS could have to shut down operations this winter. As the postmaster general, Patrick R. Donahoe, remarked, "If Congress doesn't act, we will default." With less demand for the service than ever, though, could competition against private competitors actually be a good thing? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

For general discussion and debate about politics, the economy, sports, and whatever else tickles your fancy.

It seems proponents of demand-side economics have learned nothing from the recent bursting of the real estate bubble as it is now rumored that the Obama White House is looking to push a massive refinancing scheme powered by the unregulated and unreformed Fannie and Freddie in yet another effort to use government cash to increase private spending:

House Republicans are introducing a bill today with hopes to force major changes on the United Nations. The bill would require the UN to allow member countries to fund the UN agencies of their choosing rather than according to a formula, end funding for Palestinian refugees, limit U.S. funding to be used only for purposes specifically outlined by Congress, and end contributions to peacekeeping programs until changes in management take place.

With the United States contributing 22% of the UN's operating budget, the GOP believes there is enough leverage to force these changes in the UN. Led by the Republican chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Ilena Ros-Lehtinen, the changes are designed to end corruption and inefficiency in the global organization. How involved do you think the U.S. should be in the UN? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

For general discussion and debate about politics, the economy, Irene, sports, and anything else that tickles your fancy.

For general discussion and debate about politics, the economy, sports, or whatever else tickles your fancy.

The presidential race is heating up, but the 2012 Senate races could turn out to be just as important, with Democrats currently holding only a small majority of Senate seats. The Senate is currently composed of 51 Democrats (plus two Independents who caucus with Democrats) and 47 Republicans.

Just this morning, former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) announced he will not attempt to win back his old seat from retiring Sen. Herb Kohl, one of six Democratic senators retiring in 2012. Do you think the GOP can take the Senate in 2012? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

After he gets back from yet another vacation, President Obama is going to renew his call for taxes on "millionaires and billionaires," i.e. individuals making more than $200,000 annually and couples making more than $250,000. Besides the obvious fact that people with that type of income are not millionaires and billionaires, there's another inconvenient fact for those looking to "soak the rich:"

Tea Party activist Ryan Rhodes and President Obama got into a heated debate following an Iowa town hall yesterday after Rhodes asked Obama whether or not Vice President Joe Biden had called the Tea Party "terrorists" during debt ceiling negotiations.

Obama denied the remarks, but as Fox News White House correspondent Ed Henry reported, further explained, "As someone who’s been called a socialist, not born here, taking away freedoms for providing health care, I’m all for lowering the rhetoric." Check out the video of the exchange after the break, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.