Round 1. Last week, Rush Limbaugh called CNN economist expert Ali Velshi a “Low Information Reporter” for ranting that “Republicans continue to use this (debt ceiling) language that somehow it’s to control spending. And it’s just incorrect”.

Rush was demonstrably incredulous that a CNN ‘economic guru’ would make the statement that the debt ceiling had nothing to do with spending, or spending control.

Round 2. Today, in the rematch, Ali Velshi threw what he may have considered his best counter-punch, in support of his original claim: “But let me explain again to Rush…the debt ceiling law was established to give Treasury the flexibility to borrow chunks of money without going to Congress to get approval every time a law was passed…it’s as simple as that Rush”.

Hardly a crushing blow. We anticipate Mr. Limbaugh’s comeback…’Unhh, Ali, can we interpret your reference to a “law” as meaning a SPENDING bill?’ (Besides, if Congress actually spent less than the government took in, who needs to raise the debt ceiling?)

Why is it we see this as a fight Mr. Velshi cannot win…?

(update) In response to an email from Kirsten H, BlueCollar notes that even though couched in coded terms, the foundational principle as suggested by Rush Limbaugh applies…debt rises as spending expands beyond available revenues.

Anyone with a credit card knows you’ll never hit its limit if you DON’T use the card.

CNN’s Velshi can code the word ‘spending’ in terms such as “every time a law was passed” or “every time a bill involving money was passed”, but no matter what flowery prose is used…they all mean SPENDING.

In the immortal words of Howard Cosell…”Down goes Ali…!!”

Bill Murray’s famous ‘Dr. Venkman quote’ from Ghostbusters truly captures the essence of the following information: as America slides down a tax-hiking Socialist chute into a 3rd world economic cesspit of stagnation, guess which country has a flat-tax rate that’s 1/3 our corporate rate…using it to balance their budget and double tax revenues?

Russia.

What other country is using radical tax-cuts to help boost it’s economic growth…?

China.

BlueCollar isn’t suggesting an airfare purchase…but anyone who doesn’t see the irony of this juxtaposition either works at the New York Times…or 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Rivers and seas boiling…40 years of darkness…you be the judge.

Really, aren’t elected ‘leaders’ sent to Washington to keep our nation on the right track?

Yet, in an era where America has become ‘the Land of the Taxed and the Home of the Over-regulated’, as a result of the laws these so-called ‘leaders’ create, we’re subjected to one crisis after another. A ‘fiscal cliff’ averted, now we’re faced with a ‘debt bomb’.

But sleep easy…that crisis isn’t scheduled for two more months.

With the arrival in movie theaters of this latest drama on the hunt for Osama bin Laden, a serious discussion on the methodology of acquiring critical intelligence is needed.

For all those who rant against ‘torture’, it seems many have forgotten the images of desperate men and women jumping out of 83-story windows to escape the implacable firestorm raging through the World Trade Center buildings on 9/11/2001.

For, if they did remember, and maintained that perspective, would they still object to enhanced interrogation techniques, had those falling bodies been their mom or dad, son or daughter…? Would they object if such techniques could save a loved one?

Inconvenient as it may be to those claiming the moral ‘high ground’, the fact is that evil elements in society have perpetrated vile acts against humanity on our homeland…and declare their intent to continue their despicable acts against America, and Americans.

Faced with that unrelenting evil, it seems curious in the extreme to allow a ‘moral high ground’ to be used as a death warrant for your mom or dad, son or daughter…or ours. And, for those who claim ‘there’s a better way’…do you honestly believe those methods aren’t being used as well? Is your opinion of our culture and values that low?

In your final closing arguments with those who hold such low opinions of our American values, ask if they have a loved one. Invoke the image of a plummeting body, hair and clothing on fire, experiencing unbelievable pain as the ground rushes toward them..

Do they really believe that a moral high ground justifies that terrifying reality…?

Because, inconvenient as it may be, that’s a reality we saw firsthand, on Sept 11th.

Liberals attack what they fear, and caress with soft lies what they can’t attack.

Meant to diminish (or destroy) conservatism, one of history’s clarifying Liberal rewrites involve their “it was the best of times…” revisionism concerning Ronald Reagan, and his 8-year duel with a Democrat Congress during his ’80’s presidency.

The Left hated Mr. Reagan, but the country loved him…so any attacks against the Great Communicator not only failed to score, but actually ricocheted back into his attackers. Liberals learn quickly, and resorted to rewriting history to diminish Ronald Reagan and his principles ever since…caressing with soft lies what they can’t attack.

To hear current-day Liberals talk, it was Koom-by-ya in Washington-land in the ’80’s. Joe Klein was doing his best Sunday to push that tripe, implying that, under Reagan, Democrats and Republicans skipped and danced through DC cherry blossoms, holding hands and swooning in bipartisan bliss. In truth, President Reagan owned the high ground, and with his usual humble style, gathered public support time-after-time, forcing the Democrat Congress to bend to the will of an American people.

Everything was great, wailed Klein, until that mean Rush Limbaugh came on the scene in the ’90’s and made the Right Wing “extreme in the most egregious way”. Really, Joe?

We suspect that Klein (like his Liberal cohort) bashes conservatives with a ‘Rush Limbaugh club’ to hide a stark fearful reality… Ronald Reagan may just have been the ‘first’ Rush Limbaugh…with the added distinction of being elected to high office. (And that keeps them up at night, revising history by turning that great conservative into a Liberal hand-holder, because they can’t attack him – or his principles – directly.)

To be sure, America has had conservative voices, but we would suggest that – in the political arena of elected office – few with the effective persuasion skills of Mr. Reagan. And a hint of why those skills were so great can be heard in his farewell address.

Referring to his won nickname of ‘The Great Communicator’, he said “…I never thought it was my style or the words I used that made a difference. It was the content. I wasn’t a great communicator, but I communicated great things, and they didn’t spring full bloom from my brow, they came from the heart of a great nation – from our experience, our wisdom, and our belief of principles that have guided us for two centuries.”

Sounds like the philosophy that permeates a certain AM talk-radio show every day.

In truth, BlueCollar may have twisted the bounds of perspective with the statement that Ronald Reagan was the ‘first Rush Limbaugh’ when, in reality, it’s more likely that Rush Limbaugh is the present-day embodiment of much that was… Ronald Reagan.

In the words of a Great Communicator…’don’t doubt me’…

…otherwise, why would Liberals be attacking Rush Limbaugh every day?

What do Rosie O’Donnell, Chicago’s mayor, the White Plains Journal News, and Barack Obama, have in common…?

They’re all outraged over those who claim a Constitutional right to gun-ownership…

…while making use of ARMED security…for their own protection.

Limousine Liberal is a term coined to describe the blatant hypocrisy of those well-to-do Liberals who mouth platitudes about up-lifting the Poor…just before climbing into their stretch limo for a weekend get-away to the Hamptons.

We suggest adding to that Liberal lexicon the term Armored Angst’ers…for all of those hypocrite Liberals who piously yearn for a gun-free nation…just before being ushered into their Hampton-bound limos…by armed security guards.

Word just in – it took 3 minutes for the United States Senate to read the 154-page ‘fiscal cliff’ bill and budget score, before voting to pass it 89-8.

Now that, my friends, is Accelerated Crisis Management!

The U.S. Senate has often been described as ‘the world’s greatest deliberative body’. Considering this latest story out of D.C., we suspect it’s probably Senators themselves who make that often-described observation.

(And begs a follow-up question: how stupid must the GOP congressmen feel now…?)

Sir, you defend your vote to accept the Senate-amended version to HR8 by citing some nebulous theory of gaining future presidential support, through this act of bipartisanship.

You state we can only get debt under control with the (assumed) help of that president to curb the primary drivers of debt: too much spending, too little economic growth. Yet, you assume future assistance from the very man who caused the present problem…?

You defend your vote by implying that the alternative, this so-called ‘fiscal cliff’ dive, is cast in concrete. But Congress makes (and changes) laws every day – in session today, law tomorrow. The new 113th Congress is sworn in Jan 03, and (some would think ‘unfortunately’) can start making law immediately. Concrete? More like quicksand…!?!

Finally, you cite the real problem as out-of-control spending, and the need to “get at the heart of the problem”. Well, you just voted for a measly $15 billion in spending cuts, and $620 billion in tax hikes. That’s a 41-to-1 ratio that doesn’t look promising, since…

Congress never hikes taxes without an intent to SPEND the money…!

And, minutes after that bill passed in the House, the president (who drives this ‘out-of-control’ spending bus!) stated he would not negotiate; the debt ceiling must increase.

Congressman Ryan, we respect you as the economics guy, but even lowly BlueCollar-types realize it’s not necessary to actually be IN the cesspool…to know it’s gonna stink.

…”get at the heart of the problem…”? Look no further than 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

(Translation – good luck with that ‘bipartisan’ theory…)

And, as always, we welcome any feedback on where our logic may be misguided.

Just as BlueCollar suspected – Mystery Solved! (Late night hat-tip to James Taranto)

The ‘Senate Bill’ which the House voted on and passed last night was, in fact, a Senate-amended version of the House Republican bill HR8, which had been sent to the Senate on August 1st where it was stalled these last 5 months.

After the Senate version passed, online stories on ABC-NBC-CBS-CNN universally reported it as a ‘Senate deal’ and a ‘Senate plan’. Why no mention of HR8?

Because not only would it have undermined the Democrat narrative of a ‘do-nothing’ GOP…admitting that House bill HR8 had been in the Senate since August 1st would have clearly emphasized the fact that it was the Democrats who had been obstructive.

HR8 originated in the House, was amended in the Senate, and that amended version has now been passed in the House, so it is law. A political party of conviction would have stripped out the offending amendments, and re-submitted it to the Senate…

…a gutless GOP would have done what they’ve done.

America faces 5 huge problems in 2013, according to Investor’s Business Daily.

BlueCollar would argue 6…or actually 1, with the ‘IBD 5’ seen as a subset group.

IBD notes that the 5 problems – entitlements, debt/deficit, Obamacare, housing, and regulation – “dwarf the fiscal cliff”… but inexplicably then goes on to say the same thing BlueCollar has stated: the ‘fiscal cliff’ is a Democrat-built crisis. And yet, with media assistance, Dems managed to convince a majority of Americans it was the GOP’s fault.

Message to IBD (and all other well-meaning conservatives)…if you can’t use FACT to clearly demonstrate to the American people such issues as who was really at fault in this fiscal-cliff fiasco, we have a bigger problem – winning the communication war!

Failing that, how do you expect to realistically address any other ‘problems’ we face?

Facts melt away before the concentrated effort of a deceptive media onslaught backing dishonest politicians…we’re desperately in need of a better messaging solution.

Winning the battle of ideas…but losing the communications war…isn’t a good strategy. (The elections of November 06 should have made that clear.)

When facts fail, what’s left…deep-pocket conservatives buying up media outlets?

Anybody have the Koch brothers phone number?