Quick Hits Around the Political Spectrum

Dear Readers: It's been a busy week in politics, and I have received a lot of emails and comments on a variety of topics. Rather than answer them individually, I will give you my "quick hits."

President Obama's trip to the Middle East is an opportunity to "reset" relations with Israel. — How can this be an opportunity to "reset" anything between President Obama and Israel? The Obama administration spent the last four years telling the world how tight Barack Obama is with Israel. Was the administration lying then, or are they lying now?

President Obama says bringing peace to the Middle East is "a really hard problem" to solve — one that's lingered for more than 60 years. — Gosh, shouldn't this be easy for a Nobel PEACE Prize winner? I'll cut the president some slack in one regard: It's difficult to broker a true peace deal when one side wants the total annihilation of Israel and anyone who supports them. The former college instructor also might want to check his history book and take note that problems in the Middle East have gone on far longer than the past 60 years. Unless of course Obama is blaming the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 for all the subsequent problems in that part of the world. That would be par for his course.

Uber liberal comic Bill Maher complained about his high taxes in California: "I just want to say liberals ... you could actually lose me. It's outrageous what we're paying, over 50 percent." — Wow, welcome to the party, Mr. Maher. The media kind of glazed over his recent statements, but I'm sure they'll cover him again as soon as he returns to bashing Republicans.

The White House might cancel its annual Easter Egg Roll due to the sequestration — There's nothing in concrete, but the following disclaimer was included with the tickets: "By using these tickets, guests are acknowledging that this event is subject to cancellation due to funding uncertainty surrounding the Executive Office of the President and other federal agencies."

It has become widely known that President Obama wants the sequestration cuts to "hurt," so the backlash will negatively affect Republicans in 2014.

I guess President "Sensitivity" doesn't care about American traditions involving children. Let's see, we're sending billions of dollars to corrupt governments all over the world, and Obama couldn't pull a few thousand dollars from Egypt, Pakistan and Afghanistan to buy some Cadbury eggs and Peeps at Wal-Mart? The president can appear on ESPN explaining his NCAA basketball tournament bracket but can't reallocate monies within the budget?

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid implies the sequestration is to blame for the tragic death of seven Marines in Nevada — This was not some off the cuff remark at a California fundraiser, he actually spewed this from the Senate floor. Supporters of Reid claim that the senator did not directly blame the sequester. Although technically true, we know that Reid is a former attorney and a skillful politician who could split a hair on a gnat's butt. His statement is another example of trying to make the sequester hurt and impugn spending cuts in general.

Democrat pundits are telling the GOP how to remake their party — Are you kidding? Jesus did not allow the Sadducees and Pharisees to define him. The Founding Fathers didn't let England define them, and Republicans shouldn't let liberals define them, either. The principles of the Republican Party are strong and don't need a nip and a tuck along with Botox to look more appealing. Republicans need to convince the American people, along with 12 million illegals, that hard work, personal responsibility, freedom and liberty are more important than government handouts.

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