Sorry to keep picking on you, President Obama, but you keep doing this stuff. Today it’s about your public condemnation of an entire American city: Las Vegas.
Remember? Way back in February, you went to Elkhart, Indiana to tell that layoff-plagued town that you’d fix everything. Even though their biggest industry is making recreational vehicles, and you want everybody driving Priuses if they have to drive at all. But putting that aside, at one point in your impassioned speech about the evils of capitalism and the workers’ revolution and so forth, you said this, Mr. President:
You cannot — you cannot — you cannot expect taxpayers to bail out banks that have made bad decisions when they are then using that money to give themselves huge bonuses.
(APPLAUSE)
So — so one of the things that we’ve said is, look, we understand that the banking system is fragile right now. And even though those folks made bad decisions, it could bring down the entire economy and affects towns like Elkhart, so we’re going to do something to strengthen the banking system.
But, you know, you are not going to be able to give out these big bonuses until you pay taxpayers back. You can’t get corporate jets. You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers’ dime. There’s got to be some accountability and some responsibility, and that’s something that I intend to impose as president of the United States.
As you can imagine, this did not sit too well with the state of Nevada:
The Office of Governor Jim Gibbons was notified today that President Barack Obama has refused to meet with the Governor and key business leaders from Nevada. Governor Gibbons requested the meeting in a letter to President Obama so the President could address statements he made that were critical to Nevada and have caused economic damage to convention business and tourism business in the Silver State…
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reports over 400 conventions and business meetings scheduled to take place in Las Vegas recently have cancelled. These cancelled events translate into 111,800 guests in Las Vegas and over 250,000 “room-nights”. The cancelled conventions and meetings have cost the Las Vegas economy over $100 million, not including gaming revenue.
“I am disappointed at the hypocrisy shown by this administration,” Gibbons said, “President Obama is coming to Las Vegas later this month for a political fundraiser, but he will not help the struggling families in Las Vegas and Nevada who are out of work because of his reckless comments.” Governor Gibbons noted, “President Obama is coming to Las Vegas to raise campaign cash for Senator Harry Reid. Apparently our money is good enough for the President, but our tourism, jobs, and economic future are not.”
“Sometimes Washington politicians forget that the people of Nevada are Americans,” Governor Gibbons said. “This President needs to repair the damage he has done.”
But see, money is bad. The less of it you have, the better a person you are. (Unless you’re Obama, or you agree with Obama.) So Las Vegas is really bad, because lots of people with lots of money go there. As opposed to, say, Washington, D.C.
Regarding that fundraiser, featuring Bette Midler and Sheryl Crow gathering cash for a campaign in which the incumbent has no realistic challenger, the LA Times’ Top of the Ticket puts it best:
What better way for a new Democratic administration to symbolize cutting out excess in a time of hardship for millions of Americans than to hold a mega-fundraiser in Las Vegas, that urban personification of understatement, for a guy with millions in hand already and no one to spend it against?
You cannot expect taxpayers to bail out government officials who have made bad decisions when they are then using that money to give themselves huge fundraisers. Oh, wait, never mind.
When other people do as they see fit with their own money, that’s greed. When politicians do as they see fit with other people’s money, that’s patriotism. Welcome to the future.
P.S. Thanks to commenter Jenn for pointing out that Obama’s disparaging remark, if not his entire worldview, is having very real consequences for the people of Las Vegas.
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It just goes to show that we elected another politician into the White House. That’s all, no more, no less.
I read the first story on Drudge report and then I saw where the Las Vegas Mayor and Governor are now disliking the “One”. I remember when many people were hoping for him to come in, make changes and save the world. Sounds like a few people are disappointed in Obama. Finally!
And raise money for Harry Reid? Seriously?
Obama’s dart board is a map of the United States.
And looky here! Now Democrats are refusing to pay for the closing of Gitmo. Another strike against Obama and his promises. Although I do agree and Gitmo needs to stay open. Waterboarding for them all!
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g4mOZQZCTQoyqqgbms6XH7ud4c_wD989GJ781
They’re keeping Gitmo open for Simon. God speed old friend.
I’m telling y’all: His goal is to tear down and ruin this country, by whatever means necessary.
But you see, if you give away all your money to a fund-raiser, then you will be one of the holy poor and then Obama will like you. He’s just trying to help the people of Las Vegas become more likable. But seriously, is he ever going to stop campaigning and doing publicity stunts? Can’t he just keep his butt in Washington and work for three days straight?
I’m sure he’ll be back in Washington in time for martini night tomorrow, TrojanPrincess! Whether he can stick it out all the way until Saturday, I’m not sure…
Living in America is kind of like waxing your legs — can we just yank it off and get it over with already?! This slow descent into socialism is just infuriating… at least if we’d just become the USSR we could quit playing around.
Oh, but the One was going to fix all this mess when he got into office.
How do all of those who voted for him like him NOW??????
While Vegas is not my cup of tea I do not wish to see their economy go south.
Obama has almost single handedley destroyed the economy of Las Vegas. See this article for some numbers… http://www.lvrj.com/news/41078067.html
WORST PRESIDENT EVER!
Clarification: can we link the cancellation of meetings in Vegas directly to Obama’s remarks, or would some of those meetings have been canceled anyway because companies are cutting non-essential travel?
Otherwise, carry on. The idea of raising millions for Harry Reid is fairly nauseating, especially since he’s got no real competition. But maybe the organizers plan to hand out some of the dough to Nevada’s unemployed.
[Yeah, right.]
Do you think having the President of the United States tell people not to go there is helping?
I think BO needs to take a good look at what happened at the polls in California today. This is what will happen in 2010 and 2012. Half the population has been onto him from the beginning, and some of the other half should come around eventually. The Republican party needs to find itself a true conservative leader like Ronald Reagan, and stop the nonsense of “re-branding.”
@Koka
May 19th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
Oh, but the One was going to fix all this mess when he got into office.
How do all of those who voted for him like him NOW??????
I still like him a more than that last guy.
Roberts, I’d say there are lots out there that still like him a lot more than they liked W….but the numbers who feel duped are growing.
Most of the mess that we are in right now, was not inherited. He signed a lot of these laws and said these things after his inauguration. George Bush did not make him do this. George Bush started this last year and BO has taken it and run with it. Who wants the government running our banks and automakers? Who wants them running our healthcare. No, thank you. People come here becuase their healthcare stinks.
Bush kept us safe for 7 years. Say what you will about him, but he is not to blame for where we are headed now. Obama and his gaffeworthy VP are saying and doing things that are hurting our country more than they are helping. Kudos to the Dems for stepping up and refusing to pay to close Gitmo.
I find it funny that they wanted to raise money for Reid. Yesterday in the a press conference he made 3 major errors stating incorrect information. 3 errors 1 conference. And he doesn’t have someone to run against him? Come on Deceiver readers in L.V. can’t one of you run against this dimwit?
“I still like him a more than that last guy.”
Give it time. Barry will make sure that our nearly eight-year streak of no terrorist attacks on our soil ends as soon as he can get to it. He’ll also clamp down on all those freedoms we’ve been allowed thus far; in fact, that’s underway already. America will no longer have anyone’s respect, but they’ll LIKE us. The same way you “like” a particularly slow sheepdog.
Beige, that is scary, sad and true all at the same time. What we enjoy doing now will soon be taken away from us. The new mpg and mileage law he wants to sign will mean more money out of our pockets due to higher taxes when we go buy new cars. There is always something hidden in these things that you have to pay close attention to.
Years from now when the book is written on the fall of America, I believe GW Bush will be vindicated on some fronts and Obama will be seen as the catalyst for the demise.
The cap and trade crap Waxman and the pres are trying to push through will be the ruin of any manufacturing left in this country. I am afraid that the people of this country are too engrossed in AI and DWTS’s (probably the same ones that voted for Pres BO)to pay attention to what is happening.
The Gitmo story is interesting. Obama gets to keep the prison open for an indefinite amount of time while still holding to his campaign promise.
Neat trick. Just like the whole promise that he will pull troops out of Iraq by 2011 when the W administration was already discussing the same time frame with the Iraqi government.
” You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers’ dime.”
He said they can’t go in the taxpayers dime , but he did not said to not go.
Oh, well, that changes everything.
P.S. Now he’s going on the taxpayers’ dime.
Great, after the triumphant election results from last night, Rush just threw in a monkey wrench: California is now primed for an Obama bailout.
People need to start boycotting this guy. No one in Vegas means no fun for him and his communistic, elitist friends. Not one thing is origional about this guy. He really reminds me of a blend of Pol Plt and Osama Bin Laden
So far I believe we should invest in ink. After all BO has no problem signing his name to anything the Dems want or he imagines to be worthwhile. As president anything and everything he says is taken seriously by some portion of the population, especially with the fanaticism of many of his supporters. This guy is showing a bias to the marginal minorities instead of the “mainstream” (regular citizens labeled as such by socialists for a catch all evil purpose). He has shown favoritism to foriegn influence instead of respecting his own US Constitution. With total disregard for our law his illegal alien aunt is still in the US and she is enjoying the 13% increase in welfare while we are paying more in taxes and leaving a legacy of debt to our kids. How many other such cases exist? Why worry about Vegas?
Spot on historyteacher. I really hope you are a true history teacher as I fear many like you are lacking in our public school systems. Many are liberal lovers and freedom haters. Where is the outrage over Obama’s drug and alchohol days in Hawaii? And him living in a muslim country?
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05/20/obama-distracted-bidens-indiscipline-book-asserts/
Yes I am a history teacher. US History infact. I am locked out of teaching in public schools because I am not allowed to express myself through my first amendment rights. For example: I am a Christian and believe in creation. I teach in a private high school where I do the best I can to inoculate my students against what they are going to be facing in college (Yikes!). I am really worried about any new curriculum that comes out in the next few years. At this point one has to find many older sources to get good true history instead of the party-line. BO is going to play to the lowest common denominator and rally support from so many know nothings. This has been the rule in too many tyranical places in the world to count. In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king. Today, I actually had a student tell me that Obama is our savior. I guess he entitled to his opinion but since he worked on BO’s campaign all I get from him is rhetoric and no facts.
@historyteacher
You know, normally, illegal aliens don’t qualify for any public assistance programs…except when someone who is in the US illegally (or is out of status) is pregnant – in this case they qualify for Medicaid, but that’s it. No food stamps, no welfare, and the Medicaid gets cancelled once the child is born or an abortion is performed, in other words, once the pregnancy ends. But I guess if an illegal alien in question is Obama’s aunt, anything’s possible…
Nati, you should come to California and see what many illegal aliens can get in the way of benefits.
Nati – I’ve heard that pointed out a lot about illegals, but frankly, it’s missing the point. It’s true that we don’t often pay directly out of pocket to support them, but we DO pay a hell of a lot in the long run. Let me give you an example from where I grew up in California.
First, you know it’s illegal in a lot of instances to turn ANYONE away without providing them medical care right? Now it has to be relatively serious, but they can’t just toss your ass out on the sidewalk. Now, you’ve got a ton of illegals (who shouldn’t be here to begin with) going to the hospital, a lot of times when a simple doctor would do the trick, because they know they won’t be turned away. They have no intention of ever paying for the services they receive, and the hospital is lucky if they get a real name most of the time, so it’s not like tracking them down and collecting is easy.
Now try to remember that hospitals are not a charity, they are a business. How well would your business run if upwards of 25% of your customers (NOT uncommon for Southern California) just walked into your store and took their stuff without paying. How long do you think you’re going to be in business? Not to mention that if you DO manage to keep your doors open, you have to make up for that lost money somehow right? So you’re forced to raise prices on those who actually do pay their bills.
Once again we see how honest, law-abiding people are punished for the actions of irresponsible criminals. That is what bothers me about illegal immigration – people never consider the unintended consequences. It’s not JUST the face they’re here illegally, it’s that they’re inconveniencing the rest of us in the process, even if the government isn’t reaching directly into my pocket to pay for their care, I end up paying for it at the hospital anyways.
One of the major hospitals in our area pays their physicians who have to treat uninsured patients (legal, illegal, who knows?) through a government-funded program. So yeah, on top of Medicare, Medi-Cal, and this fund, everyone is pretty much covered.
Deceiver people: just curious, do you make money from this operating this site? Or do you have another job/vocation that pays the rent and this is just a slendid hobby for you? Do you make enough money to pay for your health care, or do you have to rely on other sources such as Medi-Cal (Medicaid) , Medicare or charity? Perhaps a spouse who is employed by a company that offers group health care? These things really intrigue me, as I am the curious type. I pay a lot of money for my own health care as a self-employed person, and so I always wonder how other folks manage. Maybe you are a group of illegal aliens who burden the hospitals with emergency care? I think some of the other contributors here would really like to hear from you on this subject, as they seem to be passionate about folks who are a burden to society and all. Of course, you don’t have to answer to silly old me. Emphasis on the OLD!I really only tune in to hear the funny jokes about Heather Mills (clomp, clomp!, so funny!, what was Paul thinking?) and of course my other favorite, Rielle Hunter. She is SO pathetic! Really! Can’t wait for the DNA story to burst wide open. Keep up the good work!
Scott, I was mostly talking about welfare…because historyteacher mentioned it, so I was just saying that normally illegal aliens don’t qualify. As for the unpaid hospital bills, not just the illegal aliens but a lot of uninsured American citizens and legal residents think it’s perfectly fine not to pay for the medical treatment. These are two quotes from two different people (both of them American born and raised): “If you have to go to the emergency room, you don’t have to even bother paying them afterwards. I’ve done it many times – they will send you bills for about 6 months, but then the government will pay those bills and they will leave you alone”. Quote#2 “If the amount you owe them doesn’t exceed a couple thousand dollars, they are not going to bother coming after you – they will end up paying a lot more than what you owe them if they take you to the court to try to get that money from you”. Those were employed, college educated, seemingly normal American citizens. You don’t have to be here illegally to abuse the system, (apparently) a lot of people do it, this problem is not caused by just illegal immigrants, it’s caused by dishonest people.
Ya don’t say.
Nati, illegal aliens qualify for WIC (womens, infants and childern) checks. This allows them to purchase certain food items such as milk, cereal, baby formula etc., as long as they are either pregnant or have small children.
Years ago I used to work at a major grocery store and every mother’s day (the first and fiftenth of every month – the days that the welfare checks came out) there were many illegal aliens that somehow managed to not only get assistance checks but food stamps as well. Usually the mothers would have anchor babies to qualify.
Nati – There was a reason I only mentioned illegals in my argument, despite the fact that the system is obviously abused by citizens too: we have a responsibility to our citizens, we have NONE for people who are here illegally.
That’s like someone breaking into my house, taking up residence on my couch, and then demanding that I feed them because well, ‘It’s your house dude, it’s your responsibility!’
My point is that there is very little we can do about citizens gaming the system, but it’s pretty easy to keep illegals from doing the same if you’re willing to ask for identification. You have to start somewhere.
@jimmy
Illegal aliens themselves don’t qualify for public assistance, but their children do…if they were born in the US, of course. So yeah, if they have small children who are US citizens, they can apply for foodstamps and welfare on behalf of their kids. Children will also receive Medicaid. But not the mothers – mother’s Medicaid gets cancelled shortly after the baby is born. I don’t know about California, because those laws vary by state, but where I live (NY/NJ) illegal immigrants whose children were born here are usually able to collect foodstamps and welfare until the child turns 2. Then they usually have another kid, which entitles them to more welfare checks. I used to work at the immigration law firm, and I’ve seen our immigrant clients play the system like that first hand. But right now I think fewer people do it, because in the Tri-State area they started deporting everyone – they used to leave illegal aliens with US citizen kids alone, but not anymore. The Immigration has been literally knocking down doors recently – your visa has expired, you have crossed the border illegally, they don’t care if your children are US citizens, GTFO, leave the kids behind. And I can’t say I’m all that against the idea – I’ve seen too many illegal aliens using their children as meal tickets and I’m disgusted by that. And just so we’re clear, I’m not some illegal alien or welfare abuser apologist – on the contrary, I’m all for tougher immigration rules and tougher welafre rules. I have a problem with anyone abusing the welfare system like that, whether they are here legally or illegally.
Nati, once again come to CA and see what you get. WIC checks are a form of welfare and while there may be a requirement to be a US citizen, they can’t ask for any proof. So illegal aliens with small non-US born children can still get WIC checks.
In CA we hardly ever deport anyone, even if they have commited a crime.
I also forgot to mention that you can get any type of forged document in about an hour in various places around the state. That is another way that illegal aliens manage to get welfare.
jimmy, unfortunately, I’ve never been to Cali (always wanted to go though
), so I have no idea what the situation with the illegal immigrants over there is like, but from what you have said, it looks like it’s pretty bad…Things are a lot different in NY, well, at least from my experience on the job. The rules are much tougher here, the immigration officials check virtually everyhting, every single document. It’s tough even for those who are here legally and are trying to apply for a permanent residency – they hardly even grant political asylum anymore in NY, and marriage cases have also become a pain – the Immigration require so much documentation and everything is thoroughly checked. Idk, may be some people do manage to find ways around immigration laws even here, but not that I know of.
Interesting article about how much his trips to Vegas and Los Angeles cost us taxpayers….
Presidential Fundraising Trips Leave Taxpayers With Hefty Tab
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05/27/presidential-fundraising-trips-cost-taxpayers-thousands/