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EDITOR OF REDSTATE

Defending the Indefensible

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  June 17th, 2011 at 10:07 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Corporate executives have begun to bite the hand that feed them.

This is another ominous sign for Barack Obama.

William Daley, his new Chief of Staff, went so far as to say, “Sometimes you can’t defend the indefensible.”

One by one, exasperated executives stood to air their grievances on environmental regulations and stalled free-trade deals. And Daley, the former banker tasked with building ties with industry, found himself looking for the right balance between empathy and defending his boss.

At one point, the room erupted in applause when Massachusetts utility executive Doug Starrett, his voice shaking with emotion, accused the administration of blocking construction on one of his facilities to protect fish, saying government “throws sand into the gears of progress.”

Here’s the problem in a nutshell — for all the platitudes about getting it and seeking ways to end regulatory burdens, the Obama Administration keeps pushing greater and greater regulatory burdens on businesses that are making them less competitive. The uncertainty caused by the Obama Administration’s positions is causing companies to withhold hirings and investments.

We’re headed toward a very bad place because of it and CEOs on the front line of business and industry are starting to see the warning signs.

Note also in the article that Daley hints that small businesses may face tax increases. Why small businesses? Entrepreneurs are typically not unionized and this administration continues to show a preference for large unionized industry.

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  • blooch

    From March, 2011:

    “White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett has ‘exciting announcements’ about small-business investments, but the Obama administration doesn?t want anyone reporting on it.”

    “The Energy Department sent out advisory of a conference call Thursday afternoon with Jarrett and other officials ‘for an update on our inter-agency collaboration on small business procurement and exciting announcements on upcoming events around the country.’”

    From the advisory:

    “Note: Please note that this call is off-the-record and is not for press purposes.”

    http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/51489.html#ixzz1PYEYQghS

    It looks more like Daley is “mending” than “defending”. I have to say, Obama’s going to be tougher to beat if he lets Daley steer, instead of the secretive conniver Jarrett. In fact, I’m not sure who will be gone: Holder or Jarrett. Probably depends on which one that Daley determines inhibits big campaign donors the most. My bet is that Holder succumbs to Gunrunner, and Jarrett is kept around as a sop to Michelle.

    Speaking of Michelle, she appears to be taking a break from harping on fat kids’ dietary habits in order to make a guest appearance on iCarly to spotlight the hardships of soldiers’ families. Maybe Daley had a hand in that, too…if only to gently point out that her approval rating is at a new low of 50%, and she might want to try a different tack.

    And if Daley manages the Herculean task of getting Barry off the golf course, we’re monumentally screwed in 2012.

  • http://pocketchangeproductions.net/ anotherindyfilmguy

    Supporting/electing a guy who follows and is friends with 60′s radicals whose most effective plan has been to infiltrate and choke the country from inside it’s institutions isn’t going to lead to a business friendly environment.

    This sort of regret reminds me of the people in 1930′s Germany who thought they’d be able to control Hitler once he was elected because they supported him.

  • carolina

    BO and his cronies are insane. The good news is that this would guarantee his defeat in 2012.

  • carolina

    BO and his cronies are insane. The good news is that this would guarantee his defeat in 2012.