Chutzpah: Ray LaHood Says Congress Should Come Back From Vacation or Something

His boss is heading for a lavish Martha's Vineyard vacation later this month, but that's OK, apparently. But one of his stooges is telling Congress to skip theirs. Funny, but I could swear Congress has been in DC working on the so-called debt crisis.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood urged lawmakers today to come back from their summer vacations and vote on legislation to end the Federal Aviation Administration shutdown.

Since I'm on vacation, perhaps I missed this, but did anyone know the FAA was shut down?

“Come back to Washington! Leave your vacations! Just for a couple hours, come back, Congress!” LaHood said at the White House press briefing today. “End your vacation for a couple days, get off the beach, get out of your mobile homes or whatever you're traveling in, come back to Washington, pass a bill.”

It’s been over a week since the FAA shut down for the first time in history after Congress failed to pass a bill to continue its funding. For twelve days now, nearly 4,000 FAA employees have been furloughed and as many as 70,000 construction workers have been out of work.

“When it comes to creating jobs, members of Congress give a lot of great speeches…They talk the talk, but they have not walked the walk,” LaHood said. “For members of Congress to give speeches about jobs and then go on their vacations while construction workers have vacated their jobs rings very hollow.”

His boss also talks a great game about jobs, but I ask: Where are they?

Meanwhile, Obama will be on a three-day "listening" tour of the midwest before he departs for Martha's Vineyard. You know, to make it appear as if he gives a rat's ass.

President Obama will travel the Midwest by bus this summer to talk up the White House’s job-creation efforts and to try to shore up political support in battleground states.

Obama will embark on a three-day tour, from Aug. 15 to 17. The administration said Wednesday that the trip had long been planned but wouldn't outline an itinerary beyond saying the stops would be in the Midwest.

Sure, he'll come off like a regular Joe. He could have done something about jobs in the 30 months he's been on the job, but apparently was too busy destroying the economy.

What Could Go Wrong? Obama Now Telling Airlines How to Do Business

There's no part of the U.S. economy this guy isn't going after. Now the Obama Administration now is telling the airlines how to run their business.

"Everybody that has flown regularly has a horror story," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said on a conference call with reporters about a proposed regulation tightening consumer protections for air travelers.

LaHood said the changes were prompted by complaints from consumers.

The major airlines said through their trade group, the Air Transport Association, that they would evaluate the proposals but want to ensure a viable industry and do not want to inconvenience passengers.

The centerpiece of the measure, which could take effect later this year if finalized by regulators, is a proposal to increase the potential compensation for passengers when involuntarily bumped from flights that are oversold.

Payments would rise from a maximum of $800, depending on whether the service is domestic or overseas and the timing of the next scheduled flight, to $1,300.

More than 23,000 of the 135 million passengers scheduled to fly on 18 major U.S. carriers between January and March of 2010 were involuntarily bumped from their flight, according to data reported by carriers to the government.

The figure was 6,000 more than the year-ago period.

The administration's plan would also expand its runway delay program to overseas airlines, making them comply with the same requirements as domestic counterparts for ground delays exceeding three hours.

In an attempt to cut the longest delays following a series of embarrassing incidents, the administration in April required airlines to let passengers return to the gate in some circumstances.

The rule included strict disclosure requirements for the worst delays, which have dropped sharply over the past year from a high of 278 in 2009.

The proposal comes as the spring and summer travel season is just beginning, with more delays expected as airline schedules are fuller and seasonal thunderstorms likely to hit the U.S. Midwest and Northeast.

Officials also want each U.S. and foreign airline to disclose checked bag fees on e-ticket confirmations, post any fee increase on its Web home page and provide an Internet link to a page displaying all optional fees that passengers may be charged.

This is amazingly ironic and nervy.

The very same administration that is spending trillions of your tax dollars like drunken sailors on shore leave with little accounting for it, that are giving stimulus money to people in zip codes that don't exist for projects that are not being done, that double and triple count the same job in their "jobs saved or created" fictional number, that is documented as trying to buy off political candidates to get them out of elections is now telling the airlines how to run their business.

Is there no end to the amazing gall of these socialists? And so far I see not a single Obama worshiping MSM entity with the integrity to point out this irony.

In short, my suggestion to the socialist Obama administration is that they should focus their attention on getting the economy thing figured out and maybe get their staff to stop trying to buy folks off before they try to tell anyone else how to do run their own business.

Also, just who do they think is going to end up paying for the increase in bumping fees from $800 to $1,300? The flying public will, that's who. Yet Obama will try to claim credit for getting you more money for being bumped.

What a joke these people in the White House are.

Discovered: A Republican Who Supports ObamaCare

Well, he was an elected Republican. Until he took a job reporting to Barack Obama. Real stunner one of Obama's cabinet members would support his disastrous health-care plan, isn't it?

I've been a Republican all my life, when I served in the Illinois legislature, when I worked for members of Congress and when I served in Congress. During the 2008 presidential election, I supported Republican Sen. John McCain. I have always been — and still am — a fiscal conservative, an advocate for a smart, but restrained, government.

For those reasons and others, most people wouldn't expect me to be an advocate for comprehensive health care reform. But the truth is, I believe there is no bigger issue to solve and no better chance to solve it than now.

If I were still a member of Congress, I would proudly vote for the bill that President Barack Obama is championing and I would urge my colleagues to do the same, not because I don't believe in fiscal discipline, but because I do.

Well, that would make you the only one supporting this trainwreck, Ray. And to call yourself a fiscal conservative while working for a guy who's added $12 trillion to the deficit is laughable. If you really were fiscally conservative you'd have already resigned in protest.

I also feel compelled to remind my former colleagues that contrary to what many people have been saying, the bill explicitly prevents federal dollars from being used to fund abortion. It ensures not only that those seeking abortion coverage will be required to pay for it with their own money, but also that their personal money will never be commingled with federal funds. As a former congressman with a 100 percent pro-life voting record, I'm comfortable supporting this bill.

His claim the bill doesn't support funding abortion is an outright lie.



If LaHood were still an elected member of Congress and voted for this mess he'd be out of office as soon as the primary came around this year.

Transparency! Obama Refuses to Release Cash for Clunkers Sales Data

Considering what a robust success (cough, cough) this Cash for Clunkers program has been, you would think the bumbling Obama administration would be rushing to provide the data to the public. Of course, since we're dealing with the most incompetent presidency since James Earl Carter, that won't be the case. You know when the AP is laughing at you that the honeymoon most definitely is over.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the nation's top car salesman in recent weeks, has cited the Obama administration's best-seller list of mostly smaller, fuel-saving cars like the Ford Focus to describe the success of the Cash for Clunkers rebate program.

But what LaHood and other administration officials usually don't mention is that some trucks and sport-utility vehicles that get less than 20 miles per gallon, like the Ford F-150 truck and one version of the Cadillac SRX Crossover, also are being purchased with the new government subsidies. Both are bulky vehicles weighing more than 6,000 pounds when loaded that boast at least 248 horsepower.

Just how many consumers used the federal rebates to buy these larger, not-so-green vehicles is unclear. The Obama administration has declined so far to release detailed records of purchases under the program being compiled by the Transportation Department, listing every clunker deal requesting rebates. The Associated Press requested the data July 31.

The Transportation Department distributes regular summaries of sales from the clunkers program and has used the electronic sales information from dealers to bolster arguments that Americans are dumping gas guzzlers for gas savers. But its failure to release detailed records means the public can't verify those claims.

"Today almost 200,000 new fuel-efficient automobiles averaging 25 miles per gallon are on the road instead of gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs," LaHood wrote on his official blog just before Congress voted to spend $2 billion more for the government rebates last week.

Even the Top 10 list of mostly smaller, fuel-efficient cars that LaHood has cited as evidence of the program's success is being questioned. A different Top 10 sales list produced by Edmunds.com, an auto consumer Web site, from dealer sales data shows fewer small cars and more large vehicles like trucks and utility vehicles make up the best sellers.

Both lists of top sellers include, for example, the fuel-saving Toyota Corolla, and the clunkers program by its definition is encouraging consumers to dump older, less fuel-efficient cars for new, more efficient models.

But the program, now expanded to $3 billion and offering rebates of up to $4,500, isn't limited to the best gas savers on the market. And that's good news to Beny Ledesma, general sales manager at Williamson Cadillac-Hummer in Miami.

The dealership has sold three 2009 Cadillac SRXs — the six-cylinder engine model — through the clunkers program, he said, and is finishing paperwork on two more. Ledesma hopes to sell the other 14 at the dealership, along with some of the Hummer H3Ts on the lot that are eligible for clunker rebates.

Both vehicles get about 18 mpg, considerably less than the 25.3 mpg average that LaHood has attributed to new cars purchased under the clunker program.

"The Cash for Clunkers is definitely generating traffic for Cadillac and Hummer," Ledesma said.

Another Risky Obama Scheme To Wreck the Economy: Taxing Drivers By the Mile

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Yesterday's trial balloon was the economy-crushing idea to regulate carbon dioxide. Today the geniuses are floating the idea of taxing drivers by the mile, an idea so reckless even the people in Massachusetts are in near revolt at the idea.

One of Obama's token Republicans is the fall guy for this absurdity.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says he wants to consider taxing motorists based on how many miles they drive rather than how much gasoline they burn — an idea that has angered drivers in some states where it has been proposed.

Gasoline taxes that for nearly half a century have paid for the federal share of highway and bridge construction can no longer be counted on to raise enough money to keep the nation's transportation system moving, LaHood said in an interview with The Associated Press.

"We should look at the vehicular miles program where people are actually clocked on the number of miles that they traveled," the former Illinois Republican lawmaker said.

Most transportation experts see a vehicle miles traveled tax as a long-term solution, but Congress is being urged to move in that direction now by funding pilot projects.

The idea also is gaining ground in several states. Governors in Idaho and Rhode Island are talking about such programs, and a North Carolina panel suggested in December the state start charging motorists a quarter-cent for every mile as a substitute for the gas tax.

A tentative plan in Massachusetts to use GPS chips in vehicles to charge motorists by the mile has drawn complaints from drivers who say it's an Orwellian intrusion by government into the lives of citizens. Other motorists say it eliminates an incentive to drive more fuel-efficient cars since gas guzzlers will be taxed at the same rate as fuel sippers.

This is so profoundly wrong on so many levels it's hard to know where to begin. First of all, wasn't all this wonderful "stimulus" money forced upon us last week supposed to be the magic elixir to bring us into the land of Hopenchange and save the economy? The ink is barely dry after Tuesday's signing of this bill and twice already now this week we have two more means of onerous taxation being foisted on us.

Second, with the economy hemorrhaging jobs, fewer people will be driving to work as it is, so any set sum of money they'll expect to gain will never be met, and just as when gas prices skyrocketed last year, people will cut back on non-essential driving. Further, this simply punishes the workers Democrats claim to support so much as it's people commuting to work that consume the largest amount of miles driven. Not only that it'll damage the trucking industry and drive up prices across the board because they'll just pass along costs to consumers.

Also, what incentive would there be for out of work Americans to consider driving long distance in order to secure or keep a job when they're just going to be further gouged to commute?

If you think they'll stop there, just consider what they're trying to foist upon the folks in Massachusetts.

Governor Deval Patrick wants to raise the Massachusetts gasoline tax by 19 cents, charge higher registration fees for gas-guzzlers, and even suggested taxing drivers for every mile they drive, the Boston Globe reported this week.

Under Patrick's plan, the state gas tax would nearly double from 23.5 to 42.5 cents, making it one of the highest in the country. Plans to increase tolls along the Massachusetts Turnpike and the Ted Williams and Sumner tunnels could be shelved if a gas tax hike is approved before the end of March. If it fails, the tolls would be raised anyway in July.

The so-called "Hummer fee" would target SUVs and trucks - vehicles not covered by the federal gas-guzzler tax. Cars that already carry the tax would effectively be penalized twice. But these fees - which would fund the state's debt-ridden public transportation system and $15 billion Big Dig - may be unneeded if their claim is to promote fuel-efficient vehicles.

The $15 billion Big Dig, one of the biggest boondoggles in human history that came in eight times over budget. Of course, that's pocket change compared to the "stimulus" package which, last I checked, has sent the markets into freefall.

OK, with all that bad news, I though I'd end on a humorous note. I see the most profligate spender in recorded history is actually warning people to not spend wastefully. This guy is a born comedian.

Invoking his own name-and-shame policy, President Barack Obama warned the nation's mayors on Friday that he will "call them out" if they waste the money from his massive economic stimulus plan.

"The American people are watching," Obama told a gathering of mayors at the White House. "They need this plan to work. They expect to see the money that they've earned — they've worked so hard to earn — spent in its intended purposes without waste, without inefficiency, without fraud."

In the days since the White House and Congress came to terms on the $787 billion economic package, the political focus has shifted to how it will work. Obama has staked his reputation not just on the promise of 3.5 million jobs saved or created, but also on a pledge to let the public see where the money goes.

Uhh, they how come we never had a chance to read the bill?

Oh, we're watching all right and we're not liking what we see.

Update: Epic blowback. Even Obama is bright enough to realize this dog won't hunt.

President Barack Obama will not adopt a policy to tax motorists based on how many miles they drive instead of how much gasoline they buy, his chief spokesman said Friday. Press secretary Robert Gibbs commented after Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told The Associated Press that he wants to consider the idea, which has been proposed in some states but has angered many drivers.

"It is not and will not be the policy of the Obama administration," Gibbs told reporters, when asked for the president's thoughts about the policy and LaHood's remarks.

Gasoline taxes that for nearly half a century have paid for the federal share of highway and bridge construction can no longer be counted on to raise enough money to keep the nation's transportation system moving, LaHood told the AP in an interview Thursday.

They'll just find another stealthy way to gouge you, don't worry.

Let's just hope more Americans are driven to such anger and resist these tax scams.

Obama Saves a Job: Tribune Reporter Joins Administration

We've figured out how Obama will "save" jobs. He'll just add reporters from dying newspapers to his administration. Hey, when your job the past couple of years has been building this guy up to near mythical status, you may as well be officially on the payroll.

Jill Zuckman, a Chicago Tribune Washington correspondent and frequent guest on political talk shows such as MSNBC's "Hardball" and Fox Broadcasting's "Fox News Sunday," is leaving to join President Barack Obama's administration in the Department of Transportation.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a Peoria Republican and former seven-term member of the U.S. House, has picked Zuckman to serve as assistant to the secretary and director of public affairs.

"I'm so excited about this. I think this is going to be really fun," Zuckman said by phone Sunday. "I'm excited about going to a department in the administration that's going to play a huge role in hopefully putting people back to work. There is so much money for transportation projects around the country, and I hope that that helps to stimulate the economy to get the country moving again."

Zuckman is the second Tribune Co. reporter in the nation's capital to accept a position with the new administration this month. Cissy Baker, vice president in charge of Tribune Co.'s recently unified Washington News Bureau, on Feb. 7 informed staff that Peter Gosselin, who previously had reported for the Los Angeles Times, accepted a job as chief speech writer for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

In case you couldn't tell, she's very excited.

Linked by Michelle Malkin. Thanks!