Author: Buck Banks

Too Bad It’s Rand Paul Who’s Speaking Out

Buck Banks

“I support spending cuts. I think the cuts currently in the bill are wimpy and anemic, but I still would support the bill, even with wimpy and anemic cuts, if they weren’t going to explode the debt. The problem is the math doesn’t add up. They’re going to explode the debt. … Somebody has to stand up and yell, ‘the emperor has no clothes.’ Everybody is falling in lockstep on this, ‘Pass the big, beautiful bill. Don’t question anything.’ Well, conservatives do need to stand up and have their voices heard.”

— Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), on Fox News Sunday.

Tesla’s Reputation Hurt by Musk’s Antics

Buck Banks

From 8th to 95th

According to new Axios Harris Poll 100 survey results, Elon Musk’s polarizing political activism appears to have come at the expense of his largest companies, as Republicans expressed more favorable opinions than did Democrats. Tesla was in 8th place in the 2021 reputation ranking of America’s 100 most visible companies, but last year tumbled to 63rd and now is near the very bottom at 95th. It placed dead last in “character,” while placing near the bottom in areas like “ethics” and “citizenship. Six other automakers place higher, with the highest being Toyota at No. 4 and the lowest being Ford at No. 60.

Democrats Are Learning: Only Winning Is Winning

Buck Banks

“Democrats are coming around to a new mantra: winning the argument is less important than winning elections. If the path to victory means embracing economic populism, they’ll do it. If they have to make room for new faces, then sayonara, old friends. If they need to tack to the center on some social issues, so be it. If winning requires doing more podcasts, or embracing Instagram influencers, or campaigning on permitting reform, they’ll give it a try. Because now that Democrats have seen what a second Trump presidency looks like, they’re relearning the lesson they should have known all along: only winning is winning.”

— Time magazine

Brink Has a Message from the Brink

Buck Banks

“I cannot stand by while a country is invaded, a democracy bombarded, and children killed with impunity. I believe that the only way to secure U.S. interests is to stand up for democracies and to stand against autocrats. Peace at any price is not peace at all ? it is appeasement. And history has taught us time and again that appeasement does not lead to safety, security or prosperity. It leads to more war and suffering.”

— Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, writing in the Detroit Free Press.

Rand Paul’s Simple Tariff Explanation

Buck Banks

“Well, tariffs are taxes, and when you put a tax on a business, it’s always passed through as a cost. So, there will be higher prices. The only trade that means anything is the individual who buys something. That’s the only real trade. And that by very definition, if it’s voluntary, is mutually beneficial, or the trade doesn’t occur.”

— Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), quoted by Politico.