Thread: Moving On

Moving On

By: Erick Erickson (Diary) | January 29th, 2013 at 12:18 PM |




I was not going to say anything, but rather just fade away. I suppose though with rumors and reports I should say something.
My voicemail and inbox are, as I type, filling up. I have turned my phone off as the only way to get it to stop ringing.
Yes, I can confirm I am leaving CNN. It was a very, very difficult decision. I appreciate their willingness to keep me on, but my wife and I decided it was time to move on. Contrary to some media reports, my departure has nothing to do with the new boss, though some have speculated on that since the announcement came on the same day as those related to decisions he made.


When I told my 7 year old I had decided to leave, she laid on the sofa for an hour crying that she’d never see Anderson Cooper again. She’s never actually met Anderson Cooper. But I have and I’ll miss him and his team and I’ll miss Wolf and his team, and all the other terrific people I’ve worked with these last three years. I deeply regret never working up the courage to pull on Wolf’s beard


For three years I have been a conservative political contributor at the network I grew up watching from Dubai and then home in Louisiana. I grew up wanting to be a Bernard Shaw or a Robert Novak and wound up working for CNN.


For all those liberals who lost money thinking Keith Olbermann would outlast me at Current TV, well, sorry.


Me at CNN was not an easy fit. The first month was tumultuous with several tumultuous times throughout. I liked to think of myself as job security for the public relations department. About the only thing the far right and far left could agree on was that I did not belong at CNN.
For three years I have received unmitigated hate and loathing from the left and, ironically, from a lot of folks on the right. Frankly, I’d like to thank some significant people responsible for my time at CNN, but (1) they know who they are and (2) it’d just generate hate mail for them so I better not.
For some reason saying something negative about the GOP was fine here at RedState, but saying the same damn thing on CNN brought in a flurry of emails from conservatives accusing me of selling out. Funny how that works.


Let me set the record straight in a way I could not were I still under contract because of how self-serving it would sound.
For three years I have worked with some of the greatest people I have ever had the joy of meeting. It has been a privilege to sit in a green room and hear Paul Begala or James Carville or Donna Brazile or Hillary Rosen or David Gergen or Alex Castellanos or Ari Fleischer or Mary Matalin or Gloria Borger or so many others tell stories about their days in the White House or on the campaign trail or covering the politicians who’ve governed the country these last few decades.
I’ve learned I can be on television for twenty-six straight hours and still make relative sense.


I’ve learned that some of the people I grew up thinking were in the enemy’s camp, so to speak, are spectacular people who share many of the same interests and opinions I do.


I’ve learned that family is more than just my wife and kids and our siblings and parents, but includes a host of people who, every time I’m in the room with them, we hug and eat and talk about stuff other than politics. And they always have a place at my kitchen table and a bed to sleep in if ever they are in Macon.

I’ve learned that using my wife’s blush brush to put on my own TV makeup is more than a little problematic from both a marriage stand point and the extra color it adds. I’ve also learned that my make up is more expensive than my wife’s make up, but that’s a whole other story.


I’ve learned that a surprising number of people think Sam Feist and I are related.


I’ve learned to never stay at the Hotel Fort Des Moines when reporters and campaign operatives are in Iowa. Among all the interesting stories, I’ve learned to never stay at the Hotel Fort Des Moines when reporters and campaign operatives are in Iowa. No further comment on that one.


I learned that I will never be competitive with Roland Martin on the fashion front, but he makes an excellent road trip companion through South Carolina. One of the most formative moments of my career at CNN was standing outside a hotel with Roland Martin and tourists began handing him luggage and keys as if he worked at the hotel — only because he was in a suit. His courteousness to the people when he did not have to be courteous and the fact that in the 21st century that’d happen at all really struck me profoundly.


Because of CNN I’m not just better at my job, but I’m a better person. For all the hate and angst from a lot of folks on the right over me going to CNN, I know many of the contributors I consider good friends were initially skeptical of my hiring. I had to learn an art form too often missing these days in partisan talk — the art of conversation, particularly with those who might disagree with me. I had to learn to be friends with people who I disagreed with. And I leave deeply caring for those people.


Frankly, before I went to CNN I was oblivious to the fact that there are ways to say things, without sacrificing or compromising my view or principle, that come off as more respectable and honest without invective than how I might have otherwise said them. There are ways to say things that draw people to you and ways to say things that push people from you. There are also times that facts and “known facts” get bounced around by both sides of the political spectrum without them ever actually being actual facts. We should all be more mindful of that. CNN made me mindful of that.


I am forever grateful to them for giving me a chance and have many, many fond memories and friends.
To my friends at CNN, good luck and God bless.


Effective today I am a Fox News contributor

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I Don’t Like Marco Rubio’s Plan

By: Erick Erickson (Diary) | January 29th, 2013 at 10:46 PM | 102
RESIZE: AAA

There. I said it.
You’d be surprised how long it has taken to say this. I’ve let multiple friends vet the various drafts of posts I’ve written on this and they all wind up arguing with each other over the details. Is it amnesty or isn’t it? Should we give a path to citizenship or not? We are getting in the weeds when the basics will do.
I think this plan is warmed over McCain-Kennedy and will do nothing to solve the problem. I say this as someone to the left of much of the readership here at RedState and the conservative base.
The GOP was smart to put Marco Rubio as the face of the plan because many of us like him personally, support him still, and consequently don’t want to seem critical.
But the plan makes the actual problem of immigration more difficult to solve.
As Ben Domenech noted:

The McCain-Graham+Rubio/Flake reworked proposal released yesterday is another example of wrongheadedness: The senators would increase the scope of government instead of liberty, make normalization contingent upon border security (which just sets up another fight between interest groups on the border — Republican says it’s not secure, Democrat says it is, etc.), and create employer provisions which 1) forces employers to prove a negative and 2) turns them into criminals if they can’t. Oh, I’m sure that won’t result in any profiling at all.

On the specific plan, for lack of legislation, it is clearly written by a group of men who seemingly love government, but do not love free markets, small businesses, or individuals. It is a plan based on faith in government, not free enterprise or the American people.
The plan creates several policy fictions to hide behind.
The first policy fiction is a secure border. The White House will claim the border is secure. The Republicans will claim it is not. The border will never be made impenetrable and we will proceed down this distracting, argumentative line to no end.
The second policy fiction is premised on the “jobs Americans won’t do” which is more accurately described as “jobs Americans won’t do at that price point.” Employers must prove that no American could be found to do the job the illegal alien would otherwise do. This is impossible, absurd, and turns employers to liars in the pursuit of running their business. The aggrieved can turn on the employers and potentially cost them all sorts of civil and criminal penalties.
The most significant policy fiction is premised on the idea of reform. The plan does nothing to address the black market for unskilled, low cost migrant work. It does nothing to deal with the long delays in the present immigration system. It does nothing to actually solve our immigration problems, but hides behind the construct of “comprehensive” reform. Along the way, it potentially adds more people to already overwhelmed entitlement programs, but then that too is another kicked can.
The desire to “just do something” overwhelms Washington too much. This immigration plan gives orgasmic relief to that desire, but in all the hype and show does nothing to address the real needs of employers and the hopes and dreams of those still longing to come to United States whose wait will now most likely be extended and grow even more complex.
Immigration is an issue that keeps hispanic voters from trusting the GOP. Many call it a “gateway” issue. I get that. But pandering in the name of a solution does not actually fix the problem. This is just another policy debate the Democrats can use to get the GOP to fight itself. The GOP should pivot to actually fixing the immigration problem, not just addressing the here and now.

I Don’t Like Marco Rubio’s Plan | RedState

Colorado Energy Office Can’t Account for $252 Million In Last Six Years

By: kforti (Diary) | January 29th, 2013 at 01:59 PM | 9



A 2012 performance review of the The Colorado Energy Office (CEO) revealed several disturbing findings by the State Auditor last month, which included a non-existent accounting system for CEO’s 34 programs, a runaway budget, and staff who had no knowledge of program goals or standards. The forty-eight page report was was dated December 18, 2012 and included background information on the CEO, key facts and findings, the State Auditor concerns, and recommendations for the CEO moving forward.
The CEO was established via executive order in 1977 as the Office of Energy Conservation. Last year, House Bill 12-1315 changed CEO’s overall mission from promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency to promoting all sources of energy development and earmarked state funding for CEO through Fiscal Year 2017. The CEO now administers various federal and state energy programs, advises stakeholders on energy-related policy and legislation, and promotes energy market development.
Since 2007, CEO’s expenditure numbers grew exponentially from $22.1 million to $84.6 million in 2011. The CEO was awarded $144 million in Recovery Act funds in Fiscal Years 2009 through 2012, an almost 250 percent increase over CEO’s previous funding levels.

The CEO is comprised of a Director, who reports to the Governor’s Deputy Chief of Staff, as well as 33 to 46 full-time-equivalent (FTE) employees in the last three years. The State Auditor’s report reflects mismanagement and lack of accountability between the CEO and the Governor’s Office, which is ultimately responsible for the performance of the Energy Office.
The CEO audit’s key findings showed the entire Office operating without a budget or accounting system for any of its programs in current operation as well as staff members who had no knowledge of the purpose or expectations of their respective programs. Twenty of twenty-two contracts reviewed had incorrect or missing information and dozens of expenditures lacked the proper justification or reporting.
With regard to the accounting, budgets, and funds, the audit report found that, “To date, [Colorado Energy Office] has not utilized an international accounting system to manage its funding streas and program funding allocations.”
The audit expressed serious concern about the size and scope of the issues the CEO faces under the satus quo. In the report, under a section entitled “Why Does This Problem Matter?” the State Auditor office concluded that the CEO spent over $250 million of state and federal taxpayer dollars as well as private funds over the past six years.
The State Auditor went on to note that, “There is ultimately no assurance the collective funds CEO received were spent cost-effectively.”
Even the most basic financial management and allocation plans of the CEO’s budget were found to be dismal at best. The report confirmed that, “by focusing only on revenue opportunities and not accounting for total spending by program—or establishing and utilizing budget information to guide what and to what extent office resources should be allocated to a program—CEO cannot determine whether the cost of administering a program is justified.”
Suggestions and other directives handed down by the State Auditor including obvious first steps such as the development of a functional accounting system, an operating program for planning and management, and staff training that highlights proper expectations, goals, and standards for each program. The audit notes that the CEO has stated its agreement with all of the report’s findings and directives. However, a timeline has not been set for compliance or correction.
State legislators reacted strongly to the release of the audit report and many more demanded action be taken. Owen Hill, the freshman Republican Senator from Colorado Springs, was one of the legislators taken aback by the State Auditor’s facts and findings.
Hill, who holds an advanced degree in Economics and has a background as a non-profit CFO and financial executive, remarked, “I would be in jail if I did this as a CFO. This makes Enron look like good accounting.”
It has yet to be decided by Governor Hickenlooper’s Office or the state legislative body if any additional immediate action should be taken against the CEO or any of its programs or staff.
This post was originally published at Media Trackers Colorado.

http://www.redstate.com/kforti/2013/...ast-six-years/