Ugly

It's going to get ugly folks. Very, very ugly. The Wall Street Journal this morning called Obama's speech "toxic." And so it was. It raised spectres of horrific imagery, likethe sick dying without care, the infrastructure crumbling, and the appearance of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man if Republicans had their way. This in response to the flat out and realistic claims by Republicans that if we do not seriously curtail spending and reign in the debt, that we face a national collapse.

Republican proposals are insufficient to the current task, but are the best possible until 2013. At least, however, they address the debt. Obama's ideas would slightly cut the deficit, but allow the debt to continue to grow. But the speech revealed Democratic Party plans for next year. All out class warfare. If you make over $250,000 per year and you feel like you already pay enough taxes, prepare to be vilified as unpatriotic. This will happen even if it is your business that grosses over that much and your net is far, far less.

The West Virginia gubernatorial election could be a bell cow for next year's national races. It will not be if Earl Ray Tomblin wins the Democratic nomination, since he is already campaigning on the idea of lower taxes. He and the GOP choice will disagree on degrees of difference more so than basic principles. If one of the others wins the nomination, they may try to ride the coattails of the emerging class warfare strategy, even while distancing themselves from the extremely unpopular president, and it could get rough by next fall. That all being said, as the Democratic Party moves farther left while failing to address basic economic concerns, they risk losing West Virginia to the Republican column in state elections as well as registrations. West Virginia's race will most likely be more civil, but expect an attempted bloodletting at the national level. Hopefully it will be the last gasp of the radical Left. A loss by them in 2012 will convince the party men and women that moderate is better.

By the way, happy tax day.