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Question of the Week

The GOP is in trouble. That much is not up for debate. Once a deal is done, there will be a lot of soul-searching and more bickering. This is a serious moment of truth. How can they turn it around? There are lots of ways to answer this. If you have some please send to Charles.payne@wstreet.com
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Morning Commentary

Last Stand for Love of War?

By Charles Payne, CEO & Principal Analyst
10/16/2013 6:58 AM

I Will be Hosting Cavuto on Fox Business Network at 8 p.m. EST


You ask me if I will not be glad when the last battle is fought, so far as the country is concerned I, of course, must wish for peace, and will be glad when the war is ended, but if I answer for myself alone, I must say that I shall regret to see the war end.

George Armstrong Custer

From the very beginning the media saw the threat of ordinary Americans taking to local parks and town halls expressing worries about the direction of the nation. Just as fast the media leapt on this leaderless group with a series of derogatory assessments. At any given time over the past four years the Tea Party has been racist, poor whites, wealthy, intransigent and now they are being portrayed as all of the above. Of course the media was providing cover for the White House even if it meant demeaning grandmothers that made the big mistake of getting out of their lanes.

The movement has grown and has become a power on Capitol Hill and in the process has become an even larger target of those worried about the status quo or speed bumps in longer term plans to rid America of the Constitution, God and the notion of rugged individualism. Entrenched interest in Washington hoped the organization, which is really a series of organizations which is really just a bunch of local people that care, would implode or stumble in the rough and tumble world of Washington politics. There is a giant difference between opining on poor government policy and anti-American agendas from afar than in the midst of it all.

Getting off the sidelines and into the game means understanding the game because the grass from which one protests is different than that of the playing field.

Battle of Little Big Horn Revisited?

The House took its shot at using the combination of continuing resolution and higher debt ceiling as the battlefield for a last ditch attempt to slow the new healthcare law which is already taking a massive toll on employment, ripping patients from doctors and looming large as a Sword of Damocles over the future economy of America. I think the first salvo should've been a request for a one year delay on the individual mandate rather than a break on medical excise tax which is petty and will lead to less research which means people will die sooner than they have to in the future.

But that point is harder to make to a public that, unlike those motivated citizens that decided to get out of their chairs and say something, are too busy toggling the television back and forth between zombies and football. But everyone would have understood the notion of regular people getting the same treatment as big businesses. It's a moot point for now although a lesson for the future. So, that opportunity has passed and poll numbers have plummeted and its unlikely Democrats will let up on the pounding.

A public relations victory is at hand for the White House, albeit a short term victory as any deal will have an expiration date not longer than a gallon of milk bought this week. I suspect the idea will be to keep the pressure on making this more than a public relations loss for Republicans. In the meantime the Obamacare roll out has been a Grand Canyon-sized disaster that is treated like a fender bender in the press. Make no mistake there will be an effort to make this the Republican version of Little Big Horn.

Of course the difference between Custer and today's GOP is all of the brash general's men held firm in unity. The implosion of the GOP party makes them all more vulnerable.

For me this is a debacle because we are still talking bigger government, massive debt, outrageous deficits, more taxes, and more excuses that encourage kids to drop out of society as their parent's paychecks erode while prices for everyday goods increases.

Fiscal policy, never intended on growing the economy in the first place, puts the nation in a position to beg the world for more loans and the Fed to print more money.

This is a suicidal path promoted by people that call their opponents mean for trying to block it. But the masses are buying the idea that spending money one doesn't have is sane and the only way to feed babies.

For a nation where a can do spirit seemed to be stamped on the bare feet of each newborn the new welfare, victimization, can't do blame someone else aura is a shockingly dispirited reality.

Custer lost that day but in the end his spirited fight might have been an even larger victory that inspired many and continues to be legendary to this day. Not sure that would be the case today and I wonder if combatants know the difference between pulling back to regroup without feeling like they're giving up.

Today's Session

Okay ... let's try this again. Markets are indicating higher in large part on hopes of a deal in Washington DC as once again this drama has come down to the wire. But, we're a nation of cliffhangers, and maybe we could blame that episode of the television series "Dallas" that answered the question: who shot JR? Now there are parties for cliffhangers on television, so drama real and imagined isn't going to phase the average American.

Sure, this ruffles the feathers of those that want to wake up each day without any drama even if it means burying long term disasters in places they can't stay forever.

Earnings out last night and this morning are not really impacting the action, but here are some key names.



Comments
Charles, you know you are my fav and always make so much sense. I have been as polarized as anyone but now believe we must seek middle ground until we have an advantage that allows us to encourage the individual spirit of the young and old.

Jan Hudler on 10/16/2013 7:28:48 AM
I think your correct. Tea Party impact will not be really felt until more true constitutional conservatives are elected to Congress. Longer term deal. Change will not happen overnight.

Doug Cole on 10/16/2013 7:46:53 AM
Unfortunately the media,which is so in bed with this Administration, find the "pickings" too easy to pick the leaderless GOP apart. Maybe next time.

Barry Lock on 10/16/2013 9:27:35 AM
It's simple. Revenue cannot equal 66% of spending into perpetuity. At some point it must change. Some would balance revenue by cutting spending. Others want to increase spending and increase taxes. The "Taxed Enough Already" who have been denigrated and demonized since they first appeared, simply want a balance budget brought about by cutting spending, nothing more. And this philosophy will not just fade away!

Larry Smith on 10/16/2013 9:49:46 AM
When half of the people are paid off,and many black citizens are color blind,and 11 million aliens are placed on voter rolls,as IRS,NSA,DOJ,HS and millions of government employees need their high paying jobs;the real Custers are the patriotic tax payers.Not foolish like Custer,but many willingly ignorant and happy to just go along.

glenn dupuis on 10/16/2013 9:54:28 AM
Excellent analogy of what is going on, Charles! The Tea Party is fighting for fiscal sanity and FREEDOM. Our Constitution is being violated and America is broke.

As for the name calling, remember Leon Trotsky started the word "racist" to silence dissenters of communism in the USSR. (History repeats itself.)


paula on 10/16/2013 10:07:56 AM
The most powerful words in the English language are: "I told you so." Republicans should lick their wounds and keep their mouths shut until the train wreck happens. Then make sure every voter knows who is responsible.

z on 10/16/2013 10:42:07 AM
No last stand here, many battles yet to come. Disagree GOP is in trouble. Lets see how Lonegan does today.

John U. on 10/16/2013 11:07:58 AM
It is clear to anyone who actually watches the process that the Demoncrats have been using the media to spread horrible disinformation. Obama is causing maximum pain to his own supporters and blaming the Republicans. The media talking of massive SS payment defaults is not real, unless Obama deliberately interferes with those payments. (Remember, social security is funded seperately from the budget, is currently solvent, and has a steady income stream of its own from payroll taxes). The media has grossly failed the American people with lies and half-truths to support their ridiculous fool and his folly.

The solution for Republicans is the truth. They can recover through a massive campaign of truth. They need to use billboards and youtube and TV ads in mass to call Reid and Obamadontcare on their lies. Do you know that Obama is running add in Tx that full medical insurance for a family of four will cost $312/year, and doing it with federal budget funds. This is a gross lie which is beyond belief to anyone with even one workig gray cell, but twice I have seen it repeated as fact on network news. A well placed ad would wipe out the effect and the credibility of the Obama PR corps know as network news.

Bob G on 10/16/2013 1:50:29 PM
I think the GOP leadership needs to get a backbone! We need to replace the speaker in the house immediately and the minority leader in the senate so we can win some of these battles.

Vern Bannister on 10/16/2013 1:53:44 PM
pragmatism, not philosophy. The country is screaming for policies that work not moral guidance.

William on 10/16/2013 2:05:22 PM
Charles, you have said it all very well. What an upside down world we live in. I am not sure it can be righted. So many kids are dropping out and they are the voters of tomorrow and the takers. They won't vote for change when the government is supporting them. Down the tubes. Too bad it wasn't like in the beginning when only land owners could vote.

Fran Touchette on 10/16/2013 3:02:46 PM
The shouts were loud and sustained enough for us to finally believe that "you cannot legislate morality." Now, with the new guard firmly in place, all we hear is: "It's the right thing to do". The values (moral imperatives) have changed to equality, diversity and tolerance (so called), and the handlers are much more dogmatic than the moralist of the last century .

Logan on 10/16/2013 3:54:02 PM
Charles, as a rocket scientist I know that to escape Earth's gravity we must travel faster than 11.2 km/s. Anything less than that and we fall back to Earth. There is not enough money to tax and appropriate that will fuel the trip to planet Utopia for Pres. Obama.

James Ebel on 10/17/2013 10:35:24 AM
As a fiscal conservative but also a former civil rights activist, I have now learned that I am a racist, and on the right wing fringe. We must elect those who will stand against the debt

Joyce Nash on 10/19/2013 7:47:07 PM
 

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