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Wayne’s blog. Root says he and Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin have very similar style, but that he is the only one one with the substance to match it.
After watching the Vice Presidential debate tonight, I have several opinions to share. I have a rather unique perspective- I’m the “other guy” not in the debate. I am the Libertarian Party Vice Presidential nominee. Now I know why I wasn’t invited- the two parties are so much alike, having me on that stage would have exposed them as the fakes they are. There is so little difference between the 2 major political parties, it was painful to watch as they tried hard to look different. But I digress. First let me analyze the winners and losers. Then I’ll get to the good, bad and ugly.
As far as winners- the clear-cut winner was Governor Sarah Palin. First, because expectations were so set so low. She did a very credible job- one that far surpassed what was expected of her. Second, because the biased liberal media once again has proven its own worst enemy. The media tried so hard to create the impression of Palin as being unqualified and “out of her league,” that they made her the big underdog. Palin more than rose to the occasion. What the media fails to understand is that America loves an underdog. The more the media belittles Palin, the more America (especially middle America) will rise to her defense. Third, the intellectual elite of this country thinks far too much of themselves. The pompous, arrogant “Beltway Insiders” crowd thinks that no moose-hunting, hockey mom and beauty queen contestant from the University of Idaho can ever debate them on a national stage. To the contrary, middle America loves to see one of their own do battle (and win) versus an elite D.C. establishment-insider like Senator Joe Biden. Most Americans- if given a choice- will always root for a Sarah Palin over a member of the millionaire boys club.
Palin lacks the U.S. Senate pedigree, law degree, or the D.C. Beltway credentials of Biden, but she has Reaganesque-like charm, charisma and middle American values. She also has something that even a brash New Yorker like me appreciates- CHUTZPAH. Sarah, in an “aw shucks” kind of way, is more confident of a speaker and debater than any 5-term United States Senator. Like Reagan, she knows how to connect to her audience- soccer moms and NASCAR dads (or as she calls them “Joe Six Pack”).
More than any other politician in the country, I understand why McCain took the gamble of a lifetime to choose Sarah Palin. She is a female me! We’re both unusual non-traditional politicians. I speak often of being a small businessman, home-school dad, S.O.B. (son of a butcher) and citizen politician, from a far Western frontier state like Nevada- where we love guns and hate taxes. Sarah talks of being a small-town hockey mom who hunts, fishes and shoots moose, from a far West frontier state like Alaska- where they love guns and hate taxes. We both come from humble blue-collar beginnings- my dad was a butcher, my mom a homemaker. Her dad was a teacher, her mom a homemaker. We both speak often about our beliefs in smaller government and more power to the people. We are both family-oriented with long-lasting marriages and large families- Sarah has 5 children, including a new baby; my wife Debra and I have been blessed with 4 children, including a new baby. We’re both young, enthusiastic, and passionate spokespersons for our political causes. We both get our supporters pumped up with enthusiasm. We are both proud of our lack of connections to Washington D.C. and fancy-pants lawyers or lobbyists.
And we both have a signature line that ties into who we are and where we’re from- Sarah talks of the difference between hockey moms and pit bulls- lipstick. I talk of the big difference between my hometown Las Vegas and Washington D.C.- in Vegas the drunks gamble with their own money!
McCain sensed in the “Palin style” what I’ve understood for a long time: America is looking for a hero, an ANTI-POLITICIAN. Someone who is not a lawyer; not an elitist; not an intellectual; who understands middle America and small town values; who will govern with common sense; who wants to give the power back to the people- NOT the lobbyists and corporate interests. So I say BRAVO to Governor Palin for a job well done. You “get it” in a way so few politicians do (or ever have).
But that is where my compliments end. And that is also where our similarities end. You see Sarah is much like me when it comes to “style.” But when it comes to substance and reality, not so much (as Sarah would say). You see I’m the real thing. I’m a Barry Goldwater-loving, anti-government, anti-tax rebel who despises politicians, lawyers, lobbyists, government spending, earmarks, waste and corporate welfare.
Read my lips: I will NEVER in my lifetime support a tax increase- taxes are already far too high. I pledge to lower taxes, and oppose any attempt at a tax increase. How’s that for putting a bold promise in writing? Etch it in stone- I will NEVER support a tax increase. When it comes to spending, I join great fiscal conservatives like Barry Goldwater and Dr. Ron Paul in playing the role of “Dr. NO”- I pledge to oppose any and every spending increase that is not authorized by the constitution. Government spending is already far too high. I will only vote (and fight) to lower government spending.
Governor Palin is not an anti-politician. She’s been a politician for 13 years now. She is not against tax increases- she has in fact supported tax increases. She is not against earmarks- as Governor of Alaska she has requested more earmarks (per capita) than most any other Governor in America. She is not against government spending- while she did cut some spending out of the budget, she also signed the biggest budget in Alaska history into law. She was not against the Bridge to Nowhere- she was actually for it, before she was against it. After it was killed by public opinion, she actually kept the federal money allotted for the infamous bridge. And unlike me (a home-school dad)- she certainly is no fighter for parental freedom and school choice. To the contrary, she has publicly denounced vouchers in speeches in front of Alaska teachers unions. So it appears Sarah’s “citizen politician” image is just that- an image portrayed by a skilled actress.
The Vice Presidential debate was most shocking to me for what it exposed- a 2 party system that I call big and bigger, dumb and dumber. There was no smaller government candidate on that stage in St. Louis. There were only 2 big government supporters arguing over how big to make it. The party of Goldwater is long gone. Palin and her running mate McCain support the $700 billion bailout that socializes the U.S. banking system- just like Obama and Biden. Palin used every opportunity at the V.P. debate to denounce “greedy Wall Street” just like Biden and Obama (instead of strongly stating the truth- that it was corrupt and incompetent government that caused our economic and credit crisis). Palin supports more government regulation over Wall Street- just like Biden and Obama. Palin supports carbon caps- just like Obama and Biden. Palin agreed that mankind has caused some degree of global warming- just like Biden and Obama. Palin thinks the federal government should spend more money on failing public schools- just like Biden and Obama. No mention by Palin of failing public schools; greedy teachers unions; the need for choice and competition; or Democratic politicians being bought and paid for by teachers union contributions. Note that Goldwater supported an end to all federal meddling and spending on education. Reagan promised to terminate the entire Department of Education (although he never did). Palin proudly promised to spend more on education. Palin never mentioned one program or cabinet department she would cut. Not one. I have no doubt that Goldwater and Reagan were rolling over in their graves after this performance.
And when it comes to taxes, Palin simply says she wants to lower taxes, while the Democrats want to raise them. But she never clearly stated a detailed case for dramatically lower taxation or spending. She had no answer at all when Biden pointed out that McCain has supported tax increases hundreds of times. Is this what it has come to? Both sides arguing over who has supported tax increases the most? Is a conservative now the candidate who has supported tax increases only 120 times, instead of 400 times by the liberal Democrat?
And when it comes to war, Palin obviously supports ever-expanding military budgets (and taxation) to support more intervention and wars all over the world. There was not a mention by either candidate of cutting foreign aid, military bases or waste in the pentagon budget. Perhaps major contributions by defense contractors got in the way of that possible policy difference?
In the end, this debate proved the differences between the two major political parties to be small. Both Biden and Palin stand for bigger government- the only debate is over how big. With Biden (and Obama) it’s always just a little bigger. Palin was chosen by McCain to win back conservative and Libertarian votes. She is an actress playing a part: the part of Wayne Allyn Root- a fiscally conservative, anti-tax, Libertarian small businessperson and citizen politician from a Western state, that wants to restore common sense and give power back to the people.
Every 4 years Republicans pull the same charade- then they get elected and go back to bribing corporate interests and spending like drunken sailors (no offense intended towards drunken sailors). Democrats don’t even bother to hide what they stand for- higher taxes, bigger spending, bigger government, more power to teachers unions. Republicans just hide their true intensions much better. They run for election as small government Libertarians, then get elected and expand government to record levels. I call it “the November surprise”- they talk like Libertarians, then govern like liberals. Only now- after all the decades of promises broken- it should no longer come as a surprise. Having me on that stage would have exposed the 2-party system for the sham that it is. I now understand why I wasn’t invited to spoil the party. But boy would it have been fun!
Wayne Root is the Libertarian Vice Presidential nominee on the Libertarian Presidential ticket of Bob Barr/Wayne Root. His web site is: www.ROOTforAmerica.com.
My guess is the second one, although I would not classify that as genius. Considering inflation, property value increase over time, college cost spirals, various perks members of Congress get, ethics laws which preclude various kinds of investments, etc., he is probably neither a genius nor a moron financially. He’s clearly many years removed from any financial struggle, but that doesn’t mean he does not remember what it’s like. That sort of thing sticks with you.
Well, which is it?
Biden’s a poor investor because his net worth is only ~$350k or less?
Or Biden’s a lying faux-populist sack of shit and a financial genius, because on 35-year income of $3.6 million, he managed to come into ownership of property worth $2.5 million, put two kids and a wife through post-grad college, and can still afford to eat $50 steaks?
GE: To earn $168k for 30 years (approximately, adjusted for inflation)
TLK: Biden’s $42,500 salary in 1973 would be the equivalent of $196k in 2007 dollars, so he’s actually making less now in purchasing power than he was 35 years ago.
PF: Sounds like you all agree.
As for Biden’s net worth…
http://www.reason.com/news/show/129266.html
And while it is easy (and entertaining) to poke fun at Palin’s “I’ve only been at this, like, five weeks,†working-mom routine, let’s not forget that Biden too employs a particularly noxious form of populism. It’s worth reminding debate viewers that Scranton is not in Delaware, and that the senator is more likely to be found at Morton’s than at “Katie’s restaurant,†a greasy spoon referenced during last night’s debate—and which, according to his hometown paper, closed in the 1980s. In one of his many pro-regulation, pro-big government paeans, Biden blustered that “they†don’t call it “wealth redistribution in my neighborhood.†Of course, in his hardscrabble yet hyper-bourgeois neighborhood of Greenville, Delaware, he owns a $2.5 million waterfront estate, according to the News-Journal.
Paulie,
The current salary is $169k. The $104k is an average that I got by adding up the salary for each year (using the higher salary when a hike took effect mid-year) since 1973 then dividing by 35. It is therefore not inflation-adjusted.
Biden’s $42,500 salary in 1973 would be the equivalent of $196k in 2007 dollars, so he’s actually making less now in purchasing power than he was 35 years ago.
I think that $168 k was supposed to be inflation adjusted, which just might be $104 k in constant dollars?
Darcy,
Actually, the high end of Biden’s net worth estimate is actually more like $350-400k.
GE, you’re about as out of phase with reality as it’s possible to get.
First of all, Biden hasn’t been making $168k for 35 years. His salary in his first year as a Senator was $42,500. Averaged over his 35 years in the Senate, his salary has been more like $104k than $168k (and I used the highest numbers I could find, using the higher number for the whole year in mid-year increases, etc.).
Secondly, Biden probably doesn’t invest at all, let alone badly. Congresscritters are encouraged (and possibly required per Senate ethics rules) to put their investment portfolios into blind trusts while serving. I don’t know if they’re allowed to route their salaries into those trusts or not. His tax returns indicate no dividend income, and $99 in interest on savings.
Thirdly, Biden was elected young (he came of constitutional age after the election but before being sworn in). He was 30 when he took office, less than four years after graduating law school and while starting a family (unfortunately, his wife and daughter were killed in a car accident shortly after his election; he later remarried — but what do you want to bet that there were tens of thousands in medical bills to pay off?).
Fourthly, he’s put two sons through law school. Even for a US Senator, and even with assistance (one of his sons is in the Army, so probably got ROTC or other assistance) that’s expensive. I rather suspect he also helped pay off his wife’s student loans and paid for her to get her Master of Arts at Villanova. She’s taught on and off since their marriage, but at other times has been a stay-at-home mom, etc.
Let’s take his current income; call it $170k per year and do some guesstimating:
– $11,475 in payroll taxes.
– $47,600 in income tax (based on married filing jointly, 28% marginal rate).
– $12,744 commuting costs ($1062 per month for unlimited Amtrak between Wilmington, DE and Washington, DC).
Now he’s below $100k before he eats a meal, buys a suit, fills up a gas tank, makes a charitable or campaign contribution, etc.
My recollection is that one can gift up to $10k to a person per year with no tax implications. Anyone want to bet that all three of his living children get $10k each popped at them each year?
Biden lives well, but apparently decided he wasn’t that interested in socking away money or playing the market. Nothing wrong with that, although I agree that it’s not some special mark of moral stature either.
Wow. I didn’t anticipate this kind of reaction. I was merely pointing out that Joe Biden is NOT a millionaire, as Wayne Allyn Root ludicrously implied.
As far as I’m concerned, the only decent vice-presidential aspirant in St. Louis on Thursday evening was the Boston Tea Party’s Tom Knapp, who was protesting outside with a small cadre of supporters.
I didn’t watch the debate. Career politician vs. inexperienced McCain lackey. Not much of a competition there. I’m sure Biden spouted his bullshit far more eloquently and convincingly than Palin spouted hers.
Paul does not give away his salary to the Treasury. He doesn’t usually spend all of his Congressional office budget on staff salaries, etc, and he returns a small percentage of that budget to the Treasury, but not his salary.
I agree that Biden should not be trusted with the taxpayers’ moeny if he can’t even manage his own finances. Maybe Biden actually burns the money so he could perpetually be part of the middle-class. 😛
To be fair, though, Dr. Paul gives his congressional salary to the Treasury Department, but Biden is no Ron Paul, or course.
As for the original topic, it seems that the difference between Palin and Root is similar to that between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. 😛
For one, I agree with mscrib.
I never understood that side of the appeal for Joe Biden. So, this guy spends his life in the Senate making a handsome living, apparently doesn’t know how to save or invest any of said income, and I am supposed to trust him on… anything? Oh, but he’s great on international relations… because we all know finance and global power struggles never have anything to do with each other.
All I know is that his son managed to found a lobbying firm here before the age of 40. I’m sure his father’s humble upbringing and blue collar sensibilities helped a lot with that.
One more thing: It’s pretty easy to not worry about “accumulating wealth” when you have a guaranteed income of $168,000 a fucking year, plus pension, medical care, etc. What a selfless hero, Joe Biden is! I think he is the Second Coming of Christ, in fact.
Oh yes, subservience to Israel is one of those callings “higher” than the great sin of accumulating wealth through voluntary exchange. Especially when that subservience comes at the expense of other people’s lives and money. How amoral of me to question the great Joe Biden’s moral upstandingness!
Joe Biden is an Israeli-first neocon imperialist a-hole, on top of being a reckless spender and elitist posing as middle class.
It’s too bad his family died when he was 29. The world would be better off if they had lived and he had been in that car.
Darcy – Yes… I’m sure Biden is on par with those great men…. NOT!
Do you mean to tell me that Biden is giving his $168k a year to finance the cause of liberty? Come on!
I come from a lower-than-middle class background. My parents earn like $24k a year right now, combined. It is an insult for you to suggest that a parasite like Biden, making a congressman’s salary since he was 30 years old, is “middle class.”
How can it be heroic to spend $168k a year and have nothing left over to show for it? How can it be heroic to burden the American taxpayer with your salary AND your pension?
Nice job trying to flip it on me and make me into an elitist or something. If a guy earns $30k a year and has no net worth to speak of, that’s one thing. But for someone to earn six figures a year for three decades and have nothing to show for it, when you and I both know he’s not spending his money to finance good causes (how absurd for you to even suggest that!) is REDICULOUS(TM).
There are higher callings in life than accumulating wealth — plenty of them. But none that Joe Biden is interested in. And there are few “callings” lower than being a lifelong parasite who recklessly blows a salary my parents could live six years on each and every year.
In his defense, one could argue that Joe Biden has answered to a higher calling — a vocation of public service fighting for ordinary Americans. Wealth, or the accumulation thereof, has never been one of his personal priorities.
Measured by your yardstick, I suppose that some of our country’s greatest Senators, including Nebraska’s George W. Norris — “the gentle knight of American progressive ideals,” who served in the U.S. Senate for 30 years but retired as a man of very modest means — was also a “reckless moron.”
So, too, I suppose, was Robert Morris, one of our Founding Fathers who personally financed much of the American Revolution, but later landed in debtor’s prison.
Darcy thinks “middle-class” Joe — who earns $168k (NOT middle class) should be celebrated for blowing all of his yearly salary and not saving. Is that what socialism is all about? Consumption?
Read this and tell me that Sarah Palin is not mentally retarded, for real:
http://www.236.com/blog/w/jerome_halligan/couric_to_palin_do_you_know_we_9234.php
So what is Biden doing with his salary?
If he just saved 10% of it under his mattress every year, he’d have a higher net worth than he has.
It shows me he’s a reckless moron, and he’s depending on the government to take care of him in his old age. To not even have $150k saved at his advanced age, after sucking the taxpayer dry for 30 years is disgraceful.
To many people, accumulating wealth is not what life is all about.
It tells me he’s a fucking moron.
To earn $168k for 30 years (approximately, adjusted for inflation) and not to have even one-year’s salary as your net worth represents incredible incompetence.
Self-described “Millionaire Republican” Wayne Allyn Root contends that middle America — if given a choice — will always root for someone like Sarah Palin against “a member of the millionaire boys club” like Senator Biden. For the record, Joe Biden is one of the poorest members of the U.S. Senate. His net worth is only $100,000-150,000. That’s pretty modest for a man who’s been in the U.S. Senate for 36 years. It tells me he must be a pretty honest guy.
Root then went on to say that Sarah Palin was a female version of himself, which is arguably the worst thing anyone has said about Palin during this entire campaign.
Root, who tripped all over himself to get his picture taken with Karl Rove at various GOP fundraisers for George W. Bush in 2004, also stated that his own presence in last night’s debate would have “exposed the 2-party system for the sham that it is.”
Others, of course, might suggest that Root’s inclusion in last night’s debate would have served no such purpose. It merely would have revealed that there are two idiots running for vice president while simultaneously exposing the Libertarian Party for the sham that it has obviously become.
Great analysis!