Many have called President Obama’s election historic, and rightly so. His presidency however, is another matter entirely. It’s historic in a lot of senses be it his record breaking debt accumulation & spending or his being the first president to have a rainbow halo placed on his head. But compared to the historic achievements of other presidents that did things like ending slavery or saving the planet, he falls woefully short.

Unless you ask him.

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Obama has decided that he’d like to tussle with Romney in the economic playground this week, releasing an ad that has echoes of Gingrich’s SuperPAC spots but with even less factual basis. It’s cleverly named “Steel.”

My favorite line from the video: “Those guys were all rich. They all had more money than they’ll ever spend.” They aren’t even trying to cover up the class warfare these days. It’s just gross.

To say nothing of the fact that Mitt Romney wasn’t even at Bain Capital during these layoffs, the person who was actually leading the charge on these steel factory shut downs happens to be an Obama bundler. But it’s irrelevant anyway because I reject the entire premise. Sometimes jobs are lost and companies go bankrupt. Just ask Obama, he knows.

On a conference call with Mitt Romney’s Senior Campaign Advisor Ed Gillespie, it became clear quickly that the Romney camp is happy to have this fight.

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Take a look at this info graphic and see if you can spot what is missing.

If you said “coal” then congratulations. You read the headline above. Yes, apparently the Obama administration’s “All of the Above” approach to energy is in need of an asterisk: *except coal.

But green energy is the future right? And the future is now! I mean how much does coal even constitute as a portion of energy consumption in America?

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You have to love the era of YouTube. Nothing gets past us these days because it’s all on tape! Although somehow people are still questioning what someone said even when it is on tape.

Either way, it makes for great moments in campaign years. Take for instance this little diddy that took place on the Romney trail.

For the video impaired, a woman had some not too kind words to say about President Obama.

Via Huffpo:

“We have a president right now that is operating outside the structure of our Constitution,” the audience member said to applause. “And I want to know — yeah, I do agree he should be tried for treason — but I want to know what you would be able to do to restore balance between the three branches of government and what you are going to be able to do to restore our Constitution in this country.”Romney didn’t correct the woman, choosing instead to address the question she posed.

“Well, as I’m sure you do, I happen to believe the Constitution was not just brilliant but probably inspired. I happen to believe the same thing about the Declaration of Independence,” said Romney. “I would respect the different branches of government if I am fortunate enough to become president.”

Apparently the White House is very upset that Romney didn’t immediately punch this woman in the face and arrest her for sedition.

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It seems that it’s not only Barack Obama’s position of football spiking that has taken a turn in an election year. Apparently the enthusiasm that resulted in huge stadiums full of adoring fans in 2008 has also changed quite a bit.

From the Columbus Dispatch:

The Romney campaign kept a close eye on the proceedings. Romney’s national press secretary, Ryan Williams, found his way to a seat in the arena and later characterized the speech as “a retread, a cut-and-paste job of President Obama’s 2008 campaign rhetoric.

“Unfortunately,” Williams continued, “for him this time around he has a record to defend, a record of exploding deficits, job losses and fiscal mismanagement in Washington.”

[...]

Twitter was abuzz with photos and comments about vast areas of empty seats in the arena’s upper deck.

Noting that the Obama campaign had predicted an “overflow crowd,” Williams said, “This arena was not full so the president failed to meet the bar his campaign set.”

So were the empty rows as bad as reported? Luckily for us, twitter exists.

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This is a question that will come up over and over as the election season unfolds. Luckily President Obama has provided the answer.

Barack Obama didn’t believe in government healthcare mandates…until he did. He didn’t think we should spike the football on Bin Laden…until it was time for reelection. Joe Biden thought Obama was ill-equipped for the job of President…until he took the job as his right hand man.

Yes, the ability for this administration to say one thing and do another is nothing short of astounding. Apparently this sphere protecting the executive branch from any lasting accusation of hypocrisy also extends to the executive spouses.

Take for example President Obama’s recent targeting of colleges that prey on veterans.

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I seem to recall the left being very upset when President Bush discussed the aspect of his presidency that dealt with 9-11. I seem to recall that they believed he was politicizing the war on terror. My how things change.

South Carolina has a mess on its hands and there is a distinct possibility that candidates statewide will be removed from ballots in the coming months.

It all started because of a form called the Statement of Economic Interests which was to be submitted to the S.C. Ethics Commission by March 30, 2012. According to multiple candidates, the filing deadline for this form was listed as April 15th on the Ethics Commission website so when the 30th passed, they were dumbfounded to discover that they might not be eligible to run.

Now lawsuits have been filed in response to a deadline extension that was granted by the South Carolina Ethics Commission to deal with the confusion of the allegedly misprinted deadline dates.

So far, two lawsuits have been filed – one against the S.C. Democratic Party and a second against the S.C. Republican Party – to keep the names of a handful of Republicans and Democrats running for Lexington County State House races off June’s primary ballot.

There are many in S.C. that are saying these maneuvers are about one thing: incumbent protection.

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I’ve written several posts here about the cost of EPA interference in our lives. Estimates of job losses at the hands of the supposedly well-intentioned Environmental Protection Agency are in the millions. As Lisa Jackson’s EPA continues its unrelenting war against coal, an obvious thing is going to happen: the cost of powering your home and your daily life is going to go up. In fact, it’s going to skyrocket. Don’t take it from me, take it from the man himself.

Oh but no worries right? The Congress rejected Cap and Trade, so nothing to fear! Well, not if Obama has anything to say about it. To him, congress is simply an obstacle to overcome. So with the help of a litany of coal targeted EPA regulations, the squeeze begins.

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Yesterday the right was mostly in agreement that Hilary Rosen’s comments needed to be highlighted as an example of the disdain Democrats seem to have with choices that are counter to their own. It’s long been a complaint of conservative women that the feminist movement of the 1960′s had become as intolerant as the alleged patriarchy they were supposed to be fighting. Being a stay at home mother was starting to be viewed as submissive and subordinate as well as being counter to liberation for women. This had the effect of alienating women that simply chose that life because they believed it was best for their children.

After decades of this mentality, guilt complexes started springing up in women that felt they needed to choose between being a mom or having a career. As my wife (a stay at home mom herself) has told me many times, “if you stay at home you feel like you’re betraying women, if you go to work you feel like you’re betraying your children. You can’t win.”

Underneath it all was the sense that “career women” thought stay-at-home-moms were sheltered & lazy, something the left has hinted at before but then covered their tracks quickly on.

So Hillary’s comment the other night confirmed again for many of us that there is a disdain for women who choose to stay at home for their children. What I didn’t expect however was the pushback from the right that this issue is “phony” and not worth our time and effort to push back on with so many other pressing issues on the table.

To put it mildly, I think that those people are completely missing the point.

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An interesting conversation took place on this particular episode of our show.  Ace and I spent a fair amount of time covering something that was (mostly) non-political.  More than one thing really.  We talked about Ashley Judd, Samantha Brick, social networking, & the difference between guys and girls.  Of course we topped it off by getting into a verbal altercation with Whoopi Goldberg.

This got me thinking.  Maybe we’ll change the show format and name.  From now on we’ll have have two additional guests come on with Ace & I and we’ll have a sort of roundtable discussion.  I’m thinking of calling it “The Stuff.”  And of course there will be coffee…and comfy chairs….and Elizabeth Hasselback.

If you’ve got a better name for the show, tell it to me here or email me.  That or SHUT YOUR FACE!

Listen to the audio below and subscribe to The Ben Howe Show on iTunes.

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The Ben Howe Show airs Tuesday nights at 11pm EST on FTR Radio.

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Cross-Posted at benhoweshow.com.

When I first wrote about Hawker-Beechcraft losing the U.S. Airforce light aircraft contract to Brazilian company Embraer, I didn’t expect it to be as controversial as it ended up being. I even had one person on twitter tell me it was downright birther-like to think there was something fishy going on.

Turns out people above my pay grade concurred as the US Air Force has suspended the contract pending an internal investigation:

While we pursue perfection, we sometimes fall short, and when we do we will take corrective action,” says Air Force Secretary Michael Donley in a statement. Citing the ongoing litigation, he adds, “I can only say Air Force Senior Acquisition Executive David Van Buren is not satisfied with the quality of the documentation supporting the award decision.” (emphasis mine)

As Rep. Mike Pompeo alluded to when it happened, this is not something that the Air Force would do simply to bow to political pressure:

The action is highly unusual, Rep. Mike Pompeo said in a conference call.

“That’s no small undertaking,” Pompeo said. “It’s a contractual process. They have now undone that contract. The Air Force does not do that lightly.”

I’ve said from the beginning of the saga that the reasons for Hawker-Beechcraft’s bid disqualification could be perfectly legitimate. But normally when someone is disqualified (as opposed to simply losing the bid) they are given a reason. Hawker was not and for me that raised an eyebrow. That eyebrow continued to be raised as I looked into Embraer and its cozy relationship (as in ownership stake) with the Brazilian government and the Brazilian government’s cozy relationship (as in, nuclear assistance) with that bastion of peace and understanding, Iran.

Well, Embraer won’t be taking the USAF’s desire to be more transparent lying down and, in diplomatic terms has made clear that this could cause them to take their ball and go home.

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I have solidly landed in the camp where I believe that Mitt Romney will become the Republican Presidential Nominee in 2012. I’ve already expressed my reservations about his candidacy, primarily my concern over whether or not he can sway independents with his history of socialized medicine & tax increases which so closely mirrors the president’s.

But, alas, Rick Perry didn’t get it together in time so now I have to look to the future and stop being bitter about the past. I’m not someone that believes in capitulation or tossing in the towel before the battle is lost just because it looks like we’re going to lose. But I no longer believe it simply looks like Romney will be the candidate, I believe that he essentially already is.

In 2008 I was tasked with becoming o.k. with a John McCain nominee. What I resigned myself to was that a Republican President vs. a Democrat Congress (which was pretty much agreed we would have after the election) would create a stalemate on a lot of issues, something that I might’ve thoroughly enjoyed.

But, and I say this with all sincerity, it’s much easier to become o.k. with Mitt Romney than it was with John McCain, and my reasons are probably not going to be that popular in his campaign.

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It takes a fair amount of panache to wag your fingers at others for being over the line and intolerant even while you are blatantly dismissing the same behavior in your own back yard. But that is exactly what Media Matters for America (MMFA) continues to do as they steadfastly unload their weaponry on Rush Limbaugh with “devastating” videos like this.

I guess where Media Matters comes from 10,000 views is a media blitzkrieg. The effectiveness of their campaign aside, it’s clear that MMFA wants everyone to know that Rush pulling an Ed Schultz and calling a public figure a slut is absolutely unforgivable. Apparently believing that there is a secret Zionist Israeli Cabal that manipulates American foreign policy, is a-ok however. At least that’s all one could assume from reviewing the stated positions of Media Matters “Fellow” M.J. Rosenberg.

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The recent manufactured flap by the mainstream media had a new entrant recently.  Carbonite, a company that provides online backup support and apparently hasn’t heard of DropBox, released a statement declaring the end of their sponsorship of the Rush Limbaugh Show following remarks by Rush in which he questioned the definition of the word “slut” as a result of recent testimony by feminist and world’s worst contraception shopper, Sandra Fluke.

CEO of Carbonite, David Friend, had this to say yesterday evening following an apology from Rush:

No one with daughters the age of Sandra Fluke, and I have two, could possibly abide the insult and abuse heaped upon this courageous and well-intentioned young lady. Mr. Limbaugh, with his highly personal attacks on Miss Fluke, overstepped any reasonable bounds of decency. Even though Mr. Limbaugh has now issued an apology, we have nonetheless decided to withdraw our advertising from his show. We hope that our action, along with the other advertisers who have already withdrawn their ads, will ultimately contribute to a more civilized public discourse.

His contention that her decision to go on national television to talk about her sex life expenses is “courageous” aside, these are bold words from a man who clearly is attaching no ideology to the matter.  Right? RIGHT?  Well, that’s come into question by some.  And by some I mean me.

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On March 1st I ended up in the odd position of offering confirmation of something that I’d only learned of mere moments before.  Andrew Breitbart, star quarterback of the conservative movement, had passed away.

I had a hard time accepting it to be true so I had a quick text exchange with someone close enough to Andrew that I knew his answer would be the God’s honest truth, Chris Loesch.  I said “Please tell me this isn’t true about Andrew.”  Within seconds Chris replied, “It is true.”

I took the confirmation to twitter and within moments was being retweeted and referenced in publications as confirming the tragic news.

It was a very odd feeling.  I’d met Andrew many times, we’d exchanged a few texts and emails in the past and I had the privilege of interviewing him for my podcast.  We were acquaintances, but by no means could I be called a close friend or confidant of Andrew Breitbart.

Yet here I was, confirming to people who adored him and had loved and been friends with him for years, that the worst possible news was true.  Their friend was gone. It was a surreal and unwelcome feeling.  Almost like I had intruded on someone’s private moment.

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Few actors in Hollywood are able to bring you into the dramatic and painful world of their character with such unfettered boldness as to leave you wallowing in the depths of your own suffering as brought back by the realistic journey of the actor.
Allen Covert is not one of those actors.  He’s much better than that.

Allen is one of those actors that lives comedic characters in film so well that even when he only has 5 minutes of screen time, you’re talking about his character as you leave the theater.

I had Allen on the show yesterday after meeting him at CPAC where I discovered that not only was he a conservative, but he had cofounded a publishing company that has released books in the App store for the iPhone and iPad.  Children’s books to be specific.  Excellent children’s books to be even more specific.  I know this because I am a father of four children and they have spent many a night cheering to read more of the stories.

What makes them so special? Well, the fact that you’re reading this tells me you’re probably a conservative or at least right leaning.  Covert and his partners founded Cherry Tree to make children’s books that did something which is unfortunately incredibly unique these days.  They wrote stories about characters that (gasp) love America! Have an inkling of moral values!  Think there is a difference between good & bad.  And most incredible of all: expect that individual responsibility (yes, even in children) is something to be applauded, not subsidized away.

I urge any parents reading this or who listen to the show to check out the books and read them to your kids.  Go to www.cherrytreechildren.com to learn more.

Allen spent well over an hour talking with Ace and me and I’ll be honest, not much of it was politics.  Lots of discussion of movies, hollywood bias and filmmaking.  It was a great insight into a fascinating industry.  Of course we eventually covered some politics as well and discussed the California primaries and what Ace perceives to be conservatism’s last stand.

Go to The Ben Howe Show to listen to the interview and don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes.

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Let me get something out of the way first: I get it.  I understand.  I know that 47% of the country pays no income tax and I am fully aware that that is unfair.  I’m part of that 53% of taxpayers and I find it infuriating as well.  We exist in a system that allows half of the country to vote against the other half’s best interests.  Half of the country can vote in ways to ensure that the other half pays bills that they don’t have to pay.  It’s completely and utterly imbalanced and so far from what a free and just society would do as to be laughable.

That said, I propose a simple hypothesis that I think most people would agree with: We only change this disparity by getting more people to agree with us than disagree with us.

Accepting my hypothesis, let’s look for a moment at how we currently discuss taxes in America when the debate is between the left and the right.  The left says we need to “pay our fair share” and we respond indignantly that “we already are! It’s you that aren’t!”  The truth of our reply aside, our ability to get people to agree with us is not helped with this tactic.  For one thing, we are accepting a premise from the outset: taxes are about “fairness.”

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Here’s a question: If tax dollars were being used to make prices cheaper for companies overseas while simultaneously forbidding American companies from enjoying the same luxury…would that be fair?

I would submit that it’s not, and President Obama claimed to feel the same way at his State of the Union earlier this year:

… It’s not fair when foreign manufacturers have a leg up on ours only because they’re heavily subsidized.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what is happening.  Let me introduce you to something call the Export-Import Bank.

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