March 9, 2022
Permission to republish original opeds and cartoons granted.
Sen. Rick Scott puts America first on trade with bold legislative agenda, but says ‘some people don’t want to have a plan’
By Robert Romano
“I just think there’s a difference of opinion. Some people don’t want to have a plan.”
That was Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) on Fox News with Laura Ingraham on March 7 responding to criticism from within the Senate Republican Conference of his Rescue America plan located at www.rescueamerica.com, an outline of the of legislative proposals and ideas for Congressional Republicans to pursue in 2023, including supporting an America first trade policy, should they reclaim the House and Senate in the 2022 Congressional midterms.
The Scott plan calls for continuing to reduce American reliance on Chinese supply chains: “We will gradually end all imports from Communist China until a new regime honors basic human rights and freedoms. We will build supply chains that rely solely on American workers and allies. We will not be at the mercy of our enemies for medications or any essential commodities. We will terminate any trade deal that takes away American jobs.”
It is very much an approach to trade that was favored by former President Donald Trump in his 2016 Electoral College victory over Hillary Clinton, helping him to secure the Rust Belt states of Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
It made a big difference not only in the campaign but beyond, as Trump took an issue Republicans had been weak on for decades, and made them stronger.
In response, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) publicly chastised Sen. Scott, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, essentially for daring to offer specifics, whether on tax policy, trade, immigration or anything else.
“If we’re fortunate enough to have the majority next year, I’ll be the majority leader. I’ll decide, in consultation with my members, what to put on the floor,” McConnell said, blasting a part of Scott’s proposal that called for every citizen to pay income tax, “even if a small amount.”
Agree or disagree with that part of the proposal, here Sen. Scott is offering a broad vision, not just on tax policy, but on trade, immigration, foreign policy, energy production, woke culture, etc. that Republicans in 2022 can embrace fully, or take parts that they do like, if it fits into their own campaign themes. Nobody thinks that every Republican in Congress should necessarily agree on every single issue, and where there are disagreements, there should be robust debate — not dismissing an entire plan out of hand.
On March 3, Scott further responded to the pushback from Senate Republican leaders with an oped in the Wall Street Journal, writing in part, “I have committed heresy in Washington. I’ve been in the Senate for only three years, and I have released an 11-point plan with 128 ideas on what Republicans should do after we win the coming elections and take control of the Senate and House. In the real world beyond the Beltway, Republicans and independents demand bold action and a plan to save our nation. They see no point in taking control of Congress if we are simply going to return to business as usual.”
Here's what Scott is getting at: Republicans very likely to reclaim both the House and the Senate this year. Currently, Democrats only have a net five-seat majority in the House of Representatives right now: 222 to 212, with one seat vacant. Similarly, the Senate is tied 50 to 50, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote for Democrats.
Normally, in midterm elections dating back to 1906 through 2018, the party that occupies the White House usually loses on average 31 seats in the House, and about three seats in the Senate. Just going by the averages, public discontent with the incumbent party, which is Biden and the Democrats, will easily put Republicans back into majorities this year.
Especially with President Joe Biden averaging just 41.6 percent approval and 52.6 percent disapproval according to RealClearPolitics, plus 7.5 percent inflation that appears destined to go double digits, the odds of a Democratic wipeout in November rise dramatically.
And Scott is afraid that if he and his colleagues do not start promoting their agenda with specifics, Republicans will simply win by default but without any mandate to govern. He’s right.
If Republicans do not tell the American people how they will govern in 2023, then they will have failed to earn and build popular support for those policies when they are finally presented. Moreover, an agendaless campaign might falter for being milquetoast. Here, Scott is focused not merely on capturing majorities — but on keeping them.
Robert Romano is the Vice President of Americans for Limited Government Foundation.
Video: Is Biden's embargo on Russian oil the beginning of anew Cold War?
To view online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXZUn4IzMR4
Biden's energy shell game is dangerous to the world
March 8, 2022, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement responding President Joe Biden's oil embargo on Russia, when Biden said, “We’re approaching record levels of oil and gas production in the United States, and we’re on track to set a record of oil production next year”:
“President Joe Biden is playing a shell game when he talks about domestic oil and natural gas production. The truth is, America produced less oil and gas in 2020 because of the Covid pandemic, and much of the subsequent increases in production are a restoration of prior output. But it does not matter if we increase production if we do not increase the capacity to deliver the oil to refineries and the natural gas to customers, including Europe.
“The fact that this President continues to block the Keystone XL pipeline, an obvious partial solution, demonstrates that he is more interested in strangling the U.S. and Europe through high energy prices than making America work again. Americans have seen what is happening in Germany, where their Green New Deal has made them energy serfs to Putin's Russia.
“Congress needs to shove a real energy development plan down the administration's throat if the President is unwilling to take basic common sense steps to meet America's national security interests.”
To view online: https://getliberty.org/2022/03/bidens-energy-shell-game-is-dangerous-to-the-world/
ALG Editor’s Note: In the following featured report from Marketwatch, the spread between 10-year treasuries and 2-year treasuries continues to narrow, which if it inverts, would signal an imminent recession:
Marketwatch.com: 2- and 10-year Treasury yields flashwarning as reaction to Ukraine crisis deepens
U.S. Treasury yields on Monday rose, after dipping overnight, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine stretched into a 12th day and Western nations considered upping sanctions against the Kremlin.
Notably, a key market-based predictor of recessions— the so-called yield curve—continued to narrow on the session.
Richer oil prices holds implications for U.S. and global inflation in the near term and can compound fears of surging pricing pressures for goods and services.
Although worries about the conflict in Europe has drawn so-called flight-to-safety bids among buyers aiming to benefit from the steady coupon payments of government debt in uncertain times, inflation has the power to erode a bond’s fixed value.
On top of that, the Federal Reserve has said it is eager to lift benchmark Fed funds rates, which stand at a range between 0% and 0.25%, by a quarter of a percentage point at its coming policy gathering next week.
Some fear that the combination of war abroad, already elevated inflation and rising rates could create a recession in the U.S., a notion that appears to be getting reflected in the narrowing spread, known as the yield curve, between 2-year Treasury notes and benchmark 10-year debt.
An inversion of the yield curve, when the shorter maturity yields more than its longer-term counterpart, has been an accurate predictor of inflations over the past several decades.
What strategists are saying
“The yield curve flattening portends much more ominous growth assumptions,” wrote analyst at Jefferies, led by Sean Darby, global equity strategist, in a Monday note.
“The playbook that the central banks had hoped for a smooth tightening of inflation expectations has been rudely interrupted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Not only have energy prices soared but so too have food prices,” Darby said.
To view online: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-year-treasury-rate-slips-to-around-1-67-before-popping-back-as-ukraine-crisis-deepens-11646656932