Obama on Democrat Health Care Plan: “I want everyone to take another look at the [health care] plan we’ve proposed.”

Facts: House Republicans continue to oppose any effort to pass a sweeping government takeover of health care. Instead of working toward bipartisan reform that the American people can support, Democrat leaders are intent on passing legislation that adversely affects one-sixth of our nation’s economy. At a time of double-digit unemployment, the Democrat health care plan will hurt our economy when we should be focused on creating jobs.

Ø Obama on Health Care Reform: “But if anyone from either party has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors, and stop insurance company abuses, let me know.”

Facts: House Republicans have a common-sense plan that reduces health care costs, without launching a government takeover of health care. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the plan will reduce deficits by $68 billion over ten years and reduce private insurance premiums by up to 10 percent. House Republicans stand by the American people in support of responsible health care reform that lowers health care costs for struggling families and small businesses.

Ø Obama on Jobs: “…Jobs must be our number one focus in 2010, and that is why I am calling for a new jobs bill tonight… The House has passed a jobs bill that includes some of these steps. As the first order of business this year, I urge the Senate to do the same.”

Facts: Last year, President Obama promised that his stimulus bill—which the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) now predicts will cost $862 billion—would create jobs “immediately” and unemployment would not rise above 8 percent. Since the stimulus bill passed, 2.7 million jobs have been lost and unemployment has soared to 10 percent. Right now, more than 15 million Americans are unemployed and 43 States lost jobs last month. Conceding that his first stimulus bill has failed, the President is now urging Congress to pass another costly federal spending package. The American people want jobs, not more government spending.

Bottom Line: The President’s stimulus plan is not working and more of the same won’t work either.

Ø Obama on a Discretionary Spending Freeze: “Starting in 2011, we are prepared to freeze government spending for three years. Spending related to our national security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will not be affected. But all other discretionary government programs will.”

Facts: The President’s plan to freeze some expenditures comes after a year of unprecedented discretionary increases which inflated current spending levels. In March, 2009, the President signed a $410 billion omnibus spending bill for FY 2009, and less than two months ago, in December he signed yet another $447 omnibus bill. If “stimulus” funding is included, non-defense discretionary funding has increased by 66 percent since Obama took office. The President’s proposal merely locks in these extraordinary increases. The Obama proposal will also exempt mandatory spending and discretionary “security” spending, including defense, homeland security, veterans, and foreign aid spending. According to press reports, the freeze accounts for less than $450 billion or roughly 12 percent of the $3.5 trillion the government will spend in FY 2010. While this modest freeze is a welcome concession by the President that the policies of uncontrolled spending have failed, a much more extensive approach to cutting spending is necessary to considerably reduce the enormous deficits facing our nation over the next ten years.

Ø Obama on Fiscal Responsibility: “By the time I took office, we had a one year deficit of over $1 trillion and projected deficits of $8 trillion over the next decade…But families across the country are tightening their belts and making tough decisions. The federal government should do the same.”

Facts: Despite efforts to spin the facts or blame the preceding Administration, a comparison of the fiscal situation when the Obama Administration took office is telling. The nation’s historic debt and record deficits are a direct result of the President’s big-spending agenda. The President’s spending policies have drastically increased the national debt. Since taking office just one year ago, the President has increased the public debt by $1.47 trillion or 23 percent, from $6.3 trillion to $7.78 trillion. Under the Administrations’ budget, public debt will triple, jumping to $17.5 trillion dollars by 2019. In one year controlling the White House, the President increased the annual deficit by 308 percent, from $458 billion to $1.4 trillion. In 2009 alone, House Democrats passed $862 billion in “stimulus” spending (which will also add $347 billion in interest), two omnibus spending bills totaling more than $855 billion, and increased non-defense spending by 12 percent. According to the President’s own estimates, his budget and spending plan will cause deficits to average $905 billion for each of the next ten years.

And even while the President touts his commitment to fiscal responsibility, he is encouraging Congress to pass a $1.9 trillion increase in the national debt limit, allowing the government to keep borrowing in order to keep on spending.

Ø Obama on the Deficit Commission: “The Commission will have to provide a specific set of solutions by a certain deadline. Yesterday, the Senate blocked a bill that would have created this commission. So I will issue an executive order that will allow us to go forward, because I refuse to pass this problem on to another generation of Americans.”

Facts: Yesterday, a proposal endorsed by the President to establish a deficit commission whose recommendations would be fast-tracked through Congressional consideration failed as a Senate amendment to a debt limit increase. In light of the amendment’s failure, President Obama is reverting to his plan from a week ago to establish the commission through Executive Order. If the President chooses to stick to the exact model he unveiled last week, the commission would represent nothing more than a toothless effort to provide political cover for tax increases. Under the President’s original plan, the commission would be barred from cutting discretionary spending, could not ensure a vote on any of the recommendations, and would give Democrats political cover to raise taxes at the worst possible time. Without the statutory power to ensure consideration of ideas or address appropriated spending, the commission could devolve into an empty political tactic to convince Americans that something is being done, without addressing the difficult fiscal realities.

Ø Obama on Citizens United vs. FEC Case: President Obama claimed that this week’s Supreme Court decision, Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, “reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests—including foreign companies—to spend without limit in our elections.” He also calls on Congress to pass a bill that helps to “right this wrong.”

Facts: Foreign companies are already prohibited from influencing American campaigns. The current legal prohibitions on foreign involvement in elections are quite specific, and prohibit a foreign national from directly or indirectly contributing to a candidate or party, or paying for a broadcast, cable or satellite communication which refers to a federal candidate in the period before an election (“electioneering communications”). Furthermore, FEC regulations already prohibit a foreign national from direct, control, or indirectly participating in the decision-making process of any corporation, labor union, or political committee in their election-related activities. In both cases, the term “foreign national” includes a foreign government, foreign political party, an individual who is not a U.S. citizen, or a corporation of other organization organized under the laws of a foreign country or with its principal place of business in a foreign country. These prohibitions (except the one on electioneering communications) apply not only to federal elections but also to State and local elections. None of these protections are changed at all by the Citizens United decision. This statement is nothing other than a red herring—the creation of a problem that Democrats can claim to solve. Unfortunately, no flood can occur when the dam is still intact. It is worth noting that the Citizens United decision actually overturned a 1990 case Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce, not a 100-year old case as the President claims.

Ø Obama on Middle Class Aid: “Now, the price of college tuition is just one of the burdens facing the middle-class. That’s why last year I asked Vice President Biden to chair a task force on Middle-Class Families. That’s why we’re nearly doubling the child care tax credit, and making it easier to save for retirement by giving every worker access to a retirement account and expanding the tax credit for those who start a nest egg. That’s why we’re working to lift the value of a family’s single largest investment – their home.”

Facts: While the President’s initiatives may be somewhat helpful, they do not and will not provide struggling middle class families with the aid they most need—a job. These provisions will do nothing to create new, long-term jobs for suffering families at a time when it is needed most. Today’s unemployment numbers are staggering. The 10 percent unemployment rate is the real cause of middle class anxiety. Among minorities, the situation is even bleaker with unemployment among African Americans at 16.2 percent and 12.9 percent among Hispanics and Latinos. Real unemployment, which includes workers who cannot find enough work to fully support themselves, is at 17.3 percent and 6.1 million unemployed workers have been without a job for over 27 weeks. The solution to these problems is policies that create economic growth in this country, not bigger government. The middle class isn’t asking for more federal assistance—they are asking for an opportunity.

Ø Obama on Trade: “We have to seek new markets aggressively, just as our competitors are. If America sits on the sidelines while other nations sign trade deals, we will lose the chance to create jobs on our shores.”

Facts: For over two years, Democrats in Washington have stalled action on approving the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement. Although free trade creates jobs without spending taxpayer dollars, approving the 2007 U.S.-Colombia agreement is clearly not on the Democrats’ agenda. Enacting the agreement would create jobs in the U.S. and lower consumer prices at home, thus expanding family budgets during a recession and providing a no-cost stimulus that would actually work. It would also bolster a key strategic ally in an increasingly hostile neighborhood in Latin America. Likewise, approving the 2007 U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement is apparently not on the Democrats’ agenda for 2010. The deal has awaited the approval of Congress for over two years. According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, enacting this deal would, at a minimum, add $10-12 billion to U.S. GDP per year, as well as $10 billion in additional annual merchandise exports to South Korea.

Ø Obama on Energy: “It means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America. I am grateful to the House for passing such a bill last year.”

Facts: In June 2009, the House passed H.R. 2454, the Democrat cap-and-tax energy bill. The bill imposes a national cap-and-tax regime that ultimately every consumer in the U.S. would pay for. Independent researchers, CBO, and the President all agree that this cost will be passed to consumers. There is little debate that a national energy tax would outsource millions of manufacturing jobs to countries such as China and India.

Republicans support a solution that would actually create jobs and energy in the U.S. as well as clean up the environment, without imposing a national energy tax. The American Energy Act (H.R. 2846) is an all-of-the-above plan that will provide energy independence, more jobs here at home, and a cleaner environment. The American Energy Act increases our domestic supply of energy by lifting restrictions on ANWR, the Outer Continental Shelf, and oil shale in the Mountain West. Revenue generated by the sale of leases will be invested in renewable and alternative sources of energy. The plan also renews America’s commitment to clean and emissions-free nuclear energy, by laying down a national goal of ordering 100 new nuclear reactors over the next twenty years. The House Republican plan also encourages conservation through proven tax incentives. The GOP energy plan would create more than 2.5 million American energy jobs.

Ø Obama on Foreign Policy: “That is the leadership that we are providing—engagement that advances the common security and prosperity of all people.”

Facts: A cursory review of the President’s foreign policy during his first year in office reveals several troubling precedents. Regarding Iran, President Obama was late to offer the unqualified support of the American people for pro-democracy demonstrators after the tainted presidential elections of June 2009. The President also has yet to enact tough sanctions on Iran over its nuclear weapons program, although in May 2009 he said that, “We should have some sense whether or not these [diplomatic] discussions are starting to yield significant benefits” by the end of that year. In September 2009, Obama abandoned plans to place a missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland after Russia expressed displeasure with the idea. In general, President Obama’s foreign policy has come to be typified by muteness on democratization, freedom, and human rights abroad. The first year of the Obama Administration emboldened rogue dictators across the globe—from Tehran to Pyongyang to Caracas.

Ø Obama on Terrorism: “Since the day I took office, we have renewed our focus on the terrorists who threaten our nation.”

Facts: During 2009, President Obama took several steps to weaken U.S. national security, despite mounting terrorist attempts in the U.S. In his first days in office, President Obama recklessly ordered the state-of-the-art, multimillion dollar Guantanamo Bay detention facility to be closed. The decision to close the prison has not stopped al Qaeda from plotting attacks on Americans. The President also banned certain interrogation practices utilized by the Bush Administration in January 2009, hamstringing the intelligence community. Senior U.S. intelligence officials have said the intelligence community needs the flexibility to use a variety of interrogation methods. The Obama Administration additionally plans to transfer detainees from Guantanamo to a prison in Thomson, Illinois, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to New York City for trial before a federal judge. If terrorists are brought to U.S. soil, they will seek to manipulate the rights provided by the very Constitution that they sought to destroy. Bringing dangerous terrorists to U.S. soil will not make our country safer.

Finally, the Obama Administration has transferred detainees to countries such as Yemen, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. The rate by which detainees are released from Guantanamo and return to terrorism or to the battlefield in order to kill Americans or its allies is alarming. According to the Pentagon, one in five detainees released return to terrorism. Combined, these actions are taking us back to a pre-9/11 mentality when acts of terrorism were treated as a law enforcement issue, and as a result, failed to prevent an attack. There were at least seven major terror attempts in the U.S. last year.

Ø Obama on Financial Services: “We need to make sure consumers and middle-class families have the information they need to make financial decisions. We can’t allow financial institutions, including those that take your deposits, to take risks that threaten the whole economy. The House has already passed financial reform with many of these changes. And the lobbyists are already trying to kill it. Well, we cannot let them win this fight. And if the bill that ends up on my desk does not meet the test of real reform, I will send it back.”

Facts: The Democrats’ financial regulatory reform plan creates a political economy by making permanent the authority to bailout large politically connected firms (e.g. Fannie Mae, Chrysler and AIG). It calls for the creation of a permanent bailout fund and gives the government the authority to break up financially healthy and well-managed firms for the sake of “financial stability.” The Democrat proposal will increase the cost of credit products and restrict the access to credit for many consumers, including small businesses, by giving government bureaucrats the authority to dictate prices and determine what products are offered. The proposal also separates the regulation of protecting consumers from ensuring safety and soundness, creating a conflict between numerous existing agencies.

Ø Obama on the Bank Tax: “I supported the last administration’s efforts to create the financial rescue program. And when we took the program over, we made it more transparent and accountable. As a result, the markets are now stabilized, and we have recovered most of the money we spent on the banks. To recover the rest, I have proposed a fee on the biggest banks. I know Wall Street isn’t keen on this idea, but if these firms can afford to hand out big bonuses again, they can afford a modest fee to pay back the taxpayers who rescued them in their time of need.”

Facts: Some institutions targeted by the tax have repaid or are on schedule to repay TARP monies, including interest (e.g. BB&T, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase). In fact, some targeted institutions did not need TARP funds, but participated in TARP under duress by the Treasury Department and government regulators. This tax will increase the costs of credit for customers and discourage lending. Most losses likely come from AIG, GM and Chrysler, and all are exempt from paying the tax.

Ø Obama on Small Business: “So tonight, I’m proposing that we take $30 billion of the money Wall Street banks have repaid and use it to help community banks give small businesses the credit they need to stay afloat. I am also proposing a new small business tax credit—one that will go to over one million small businesses who hire new workers or raise wages.”

Facts: The President’s budget contained over $1.5 trillion in crushing tax increases over the next 10 years. The tax increases which Obama has endorsed would disproportionately punish small businesses, which make up more than 99.7 percent of all employer firms and employ more than half of all private sector workers. According to the Small Business Administration, small businesses have generated 64 percent of net new jobs over the past 15 years. The President’s government takeover of healthcare would impose billions in new taxes on businesses who cannot afford to finance their worker’s health coverage. The Congressional Budget Office has confirmed that this tax on jobs masquerading in the form of a “pay-or-play” mandate “could reduce the hiring of low-wage workers,” and could also lead to wage stagnation as wage compensation is diverted to comply with new federal taxes and mandates. The President’s national energy tax would impose an across the board tax increase on all energy use, especially harmful to small firms struggling to make payroll each month.

Ø Obama on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”: “This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are.”

Facts: Democrats have assured the LGBT community that they will repeal the current Department of Defense (DOD) policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT). Legislation sponsored by Democrats, and supported by President Obama, would prohibit the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Homeland Security (Coast Guard), from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation against any member of the Armed Forces or any person seeking to become a member. Furthermore, the bill would authorize the re-accession into the Armed Forces of individuals previously separated for homosexuality, bisexuality, or such conduct. The bill would also require the Secretaries to ensure that regulations governing the personal conduct of members of the Armed Forces are written and enforced without regard to sexual orientation.

Republicans support policies that improve morale and encourage good order, discipline, and unit cohesion for our military. The burden is on opponents of the policy and the law to show irrefutable evidence that the readiness of the military will be improved by changing it, if repeal of the law or the DADT policy does not improve the readiness of our troops, then our armed service members should not have to shoulder this additional burden when they are already fighting two wars.

Ø Obama on College Affordability: President Obama promises to “take another one million students that when they graduate, they will be required to pay only ten percent of their income on student loans, and all of their debt will be forgiven after twenty years—and forgiven after ten years if they choose a career in public service” and guarantees that “To make college more affordable, this bill will finally end the unwarranted taxpayer-subsidies that go to banks for student loans.”

Facts: The President’s plan would expand the income based repayment (IBR) plan, one of the repayment options made available to borrowers under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-84). Under current IBR requirements, borrowers are guaranteed that their monthly federal loan payments will not be more than 15 percent of their discretionary income and are entitled to loan balance forgiveness after 25 years. The President’s proposal would make the program more generous by lowering the 15 percent of discretionary income to 10 percent, and shortening the forgiveness time from 25 to 20 years (or 10 years for public servants)— effectively forcing taxpayers to pay off even more student loan debt. Many argue that making the federal government responsible for a larger share of student debt will only exacerbate already high college costs.

Earlier this year, the House passed and the Administration supported a plan (H.R. 3221) to eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan program and shift all student loans to a government-run and taxpayer financed system under the Direct Loan program. By allowing the government to take over all federal student loan originations, it would involve one of the largest expansions of a government program in recent memory. It would dismantle a system that has successfully served generations of students. Within a decade, the Federal Direct Loan Program would be a trillion dollar operation, with the responsibility for tens of millions of borrowers, making it one of the biggest banks in the world.

Ø Obama on Education Reform: “The idea here is simple: instead of rewarding failure, we only reward success. Instead of funding the status quo, we only invest in reform—reform that raises student achievement, inspires students to excel in math and science, and turns around failing schools that steal the future of too many young Americans, from rural communities to inner-cities.”

Facts: President Obama supports merit pay (performance pay) and this is a laudable goal. Unfortunately, Democrats in the House have yet to bring a bill to the floor that would encourage merit pay, and “only reward success.” Furthermore, while the effort to reform is admirable, it needs to be thorough in his quest for reform—challenging the educational system to become more competitive and accountable. Republicans understand that student achievement only grows in good classrooms where resources are spent responsibly, and we look forward to working with the President to reform ineffective programs and reduce waste in the educational system.

Ø Obama on Rewarding Wall Street: “Some are frustrated; some are angry. They don’t understand why it seems like bad behavior on Wall Street is rewarded but hard work on Main Street isn’t; or why Washington has been unable or unwilling to solve any of our problems.”

Facts: On March 17, 2009, The Politico reported, “Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) blamed Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for letting bailed-out insurance giant American International Group pay $165 million in bonuses to its employees…” On March 20, 2009, Roll Call reported, “House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) added a fresh welt to the bruised political hide of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner…Hoyer criticized his failure to stop the bailed-out American International Group from going forward with $165 million in retention bonuses to executives who helped drive the finance giant into the ground.”

Ø Obama on Transparency of Financial Rescue: “So I supported the last administration’s efforts to create the financial rescue program. And when we took the program over, we made it more transparent and accountable.”

Facts: On November 17, 2009, the Special Inspector General of the TARP (SIGTARP), Neil Barofsky, reported that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York decided to pay AIG’s counterparties par value. The report further stated, “[O]fficials recommended to President Geithner that Maiden Lane III transactions go forward without haircuts because it would be impractical to obtain haircuts from all counterparties. Mr. Geithner concurred and it was decided that NY Fed would cease efforts to negotiate haircuts…” Geithner made the decision to pay the counter-parties one hundred cents on the dollar, ensuring that politically connected Wall Street banks incurred no loss for their poor investment decisions. On January 7, 2010, Bloomberg reported, “The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, then led by Timothy Geithner, told American International Group Inc. to withhold details from the public about the bailed-out insurer’s payments to banks during the depths of the financial crisis, e-mails between the company and its regulator show.”

Related posts:

1. Hey, go ahead and become a snitch We should have posted this Wednesday when it happened. From...
2. The Medicare fallout begins Here’s a sign of things to come. The Mayo Clinic...
3. Change you can believe in? Monthly Abortion Premiums From House Republican Leader John Boehner’s official blog What is...

No, the majority doesn’t support a public option. What has this guy been reading?

Obama also said he backs health insurance mandates, saying Americans should be required to get health insurance just like they’re required to have auto insurance. Big flip-flop since he was opposed to this during presidential campaign last year.

And now this from Drudge:

WHIP COUNT: DEMS LACK THE VOTES
Wed Sep 09 2009 17:03:37 ET

At least 44 more moderate Members of the Democrat Caucus have gone on the record in opposition to the current health care bill in the House, a Hill source claims. Likewise, at least 57 liberal Members of the Democrat Caucus have gone on the record saying they will vote against a health care bill without a strong public option.

Unless multiple Democrats flip on their stated position on health care, Speaker Pelosi lacks the votes to pass a bill through the House on the strength of Democrat votes alone.

WHIP COUNT

44 Democrats Opposed

1. Rep. Altmire
2. Rep. Adler
3. Rep. Barrow
4. Rep. Boren
5. Rep. Boucher
6. Rep. Boyd
7. Rep. Bright
8. Rep. Carney
9. Rep. Childers
11. Rep. Cleaver
12. Rep. Cooper
13. Rep. Costello
14. Rep. Cuellar
15. Rep. Dahlkamper
16. Rep. Davis
17. Rep. Driehaus
18. Rep. Ellsworth
19. Rep. Gordon
20. Rep. Griffith
21. Rep. Halvorson
22. Rep. Hill
23. Rep. Holden
24. Rep. Kanjorski
25. Rep. Kaptur
26. Rep. F Kratovil
27. Rep. Marshall
28. Rep. Massa
29. Rep. Melancon
30. Rep. McIntyre
31. Rep. Minnick
32. Rep. Murtha
33. Rep. Oberstar
34. Rep. Ortiz
35. Rep. Perriello
36. Rep. Peterson
37. Rep. Polis
38. Rep. Pomeroy
39. Rep. Ross
40. Rep. Shuler
41. Rep. Stupak
42. Rep. Tanner
43. Rep. Taylor
44. Rep. Titus

57 Liberal Democrats to vote no on a bill without a strong public option

On July 31, 2009, the Congressional Progressive Caucus sent a letter to Speaker Pelosi expressing their opposition to a weakening of the public option. The letter on behalf of 57 Progressive Democrats concludes, “In short, this agreement will result in the public, both as insurance purchasers and as taxpayers, paying ever higher rates to insurance companies. We simply cannot vote for such a proposal.” The text can be read here: http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/uploads/57%20member%20letter%20to%20PelosiWaxman%207%2030%2009.pdf

1) Rep. Woolsey
2) Rep. Grijalva
3) Rep. Kilpatrick
4) Rep. Nadler
5) Rep. Hare
6) Rep. Roybal-Allard
7) Rep. Ellison
Rep. Blumenauer
9) Rep. Watts
10) Rep. Edwards
11) Rep. Olver
12) Rep. Kucinich
13) Rep. Richardson
14) Rep. Waters
15) Rep. Conyers
16) Rep. Chu
17) Rep. Hinchey
18) Rep. Johnson
19) Rep. Watson
20) Rep. Spier
21) Rep. Pascrell
22) Rep. Doggett
23) Rep. Kaptur
24) Rep. Hirono
25) Rep. Filner
26) Rep. Sanchez
27) Rep. Fudge
28) Rep. Lee
29) Rep. Carson
30) Rep. Jackson Lee
31) Rep. Honda
32) Rep. McDermott
33) Rep. Clay
34) Rep. McGovern
35) Rep. Clarke
36) Rep. Massa
37) Rep. Pingree
38) Rep. Jackson, Jr.
39) Rep. Cummings
40) Rep. Thompson
41) Rep. Moore
42) Rep. Payne
43) Rep. Stark
44) Rep. Towns
45) Rep. Brown
46) Rep. Hastings
47) Rep. Valezquez
48) Rep. Gutierrez
49) Rep. Napolitano
50) Rep. Sires
51) Rep. Tierney
52) Rep. Capuano
53) Rep. Fattah
54) Rep. Serrano
55) Rep. Farr
56) Rep. Delahunt
57) Rep. Johnson

Details are here.

Related posts:

1. Obama backing down on “public option?” I just got out of bed at 3:30 this afternoon....
2. Public Option for Healthcare: Slip sliding away The mob’s efforts appear to be changing the minds of...
3. Uninformed letter of the day From the JG letters to the editor, and yes, this...

Related posts:

1. The Democrats won’t give up – new healthcare plan proposes $3800 fine if you’re not covered The just won’t give up, and this plan is as...
2. Michael Moore will work to unseat Blue Dog democrats Oh I love this. Michael Moore is now threatening Democrats...
3. Obama will parade a pig in lipstick tonight At the healthcare rally I helped organize last month, one...

- Congressman Mark Souder
- State Rep Dr Tim Brown
- Ryan McCann of the Indiana Family Institute
- Matthew F. Hatfield President local chapter Northeast Indiana Association of Health Underwriters (NEIAHU)

Note to counter protestors.

——————————–

This is private property, but we’ll have a place for you along the street on public property, far from our event.

Dear Friends:

Hoosiers value their freedoms. In the current health care battle, those freedoms are under attack. If politicians and Washington bureaucrats get their way – a government takeover of your health care – then we will lose the freedom to choose our doctors, what type of care we want and the insurance plans we choose.

Nothing is more important than your family’s health. That is why I’ve agreed to coordinate the Indiana leg of the Patients First “Hands off my Health Care” bus tour project. It starts next week! I believe you are most qualified to make the health care decisions that affect you and your family.

I believe when you or a family member is sick, you should be able to get care quickly – not months or years later. And I believe your medical privacy is paramount. Don’t let Washington bureaucrats come between you and your doctor. Join us next week on our Indiana bus tour to protect the right to choose your doctor, your care and to protect your privacy. Tell Washington to keep their “Hands Off My Health Care!” www.joinpatientsfirst.com

Dates, locations and times are below:

August 17:

Fort Wayne 9:00am EST- Former Kay’s Merchandise Parking Lot (663 W Coliseum Blvd)
South Bend 1:15pm EST- Precision Transmission (902 S Michigan St)
LaPorte 2:30pm CST- LaPorte County Courthouse (813 Lincolnway)
Kokomo 7:00pm EST- Foster Park (SW corner of W Superior and Washington)

August 18:

Indianapolis 9:00am EST (We’ll have a HOT AIR BALLOON at this one!) White River State Park
Columbus 2:00pm EST- Bartholomew County Courthouse (234 Washington St)
Bloomington 4:30pm EST- Monroe County Courthouse (301 N College Ave)

August 19:

Terre Haute 8:30am EST- Terre Haute Airport (581 S Airport St)
Vincennes 11:00am EST- Knox County Courthouse (111 N 7th St)
Evansville 12:30pm CST- Parking Lot at 815 John St.
Jeffersonville 5:45pm EST- Warder Park (Court Ave and Spring St)

Thanks!

Related posts:

1. Fort Wayne “Hands off my Healthcare” rally and a dose of liberal hypocrisy The rain as most of you know came down in...
2. Complete Congressman Ellsworth’s Health Care Survey From Congressman Ellsworth’s web site: As Congress works to turn...
3. Statement from Indiana Republican Chairman Murray Clark on Obama’s health care press conference Indiana Republican Party Chairman Murray Clark issued the following statement...

Questioning comments he made to a Washington Post reporter in a story published Monday, the Indiana Republican Party called on Rep. Baron Hill to apologize for labeling constituents who disagree with his stance on health care reform as “political terrorists.”

“This is the worst sort of slap in the face an elected official can give to his constituents,” said Indiana Republican Party chairman Murray Clark. “He definitely owes an apology to the people of the 9th congressional district.”

Hill told the Washington Post‘s Peter Slevin, “What I don’t want to do is create an opportunity for the people who are political terrorists to blow up the meeting and not try to answer thoughtful questions.”

“It’s one thing for Baron Hill to not schedule any public forums and to refuse to hear the public’s opinion on an issue,” said Clark. “It’s another level of disrespect entirely when he goes out of his way to call anyone who disagrees with him a ‘terrorist.’”

The Indiana Republican Party sees Hill’s comments as part of an orchestrated effort by national Democrats to quiet growing concerns about their health care reform legislation.

“Baron Hill is just following the marching orders he’s receiving from Washington,” said Clark. “The White House is calling anyone who disagrees with them ‘an angry mob’ and Nancy Pelosi says anyone who disagrees with her is ‘un-American.’ Baron Hill is just falling in line behind national Democrats. It’s sad to see him so easily discount the legitimate concerns of seniors, small business owners and Hoosiers from all walks of life.”

The original Washington Post article can be found online here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/09/AR2009080902428_pf.html

Related posts:

1. Indiana Republicans question Rep. Baron Hill’s change of heart on health care In response to the news that Rep. Baron Hill would...
2. Baron Hill: This is MY Town Hall meeting Another fun-filled Baron Hill video compliments of AWB....
3. Baron Hill thinks you might be a political terrorist ...

“Tonight, President Obama is taking to the airwaves to try to convince us it’s more important to get his health care legislation done quickly than to get done it right. The fact of the matter is there is not enough time in the next week to ensure that this 1,000 page bill does not increase the cost of healthcare, does not increase taxes on businesses or individuals, does not decrease our quality of care, and does not limit the accessibility or availability of private insurance.”

“I fail to understand how the President, as smart as he is, can convince himself that it’s appropriate to attempt to reform this huge part of our economy inside an arbitrary and dangerously condensed time frame. His original goal was three weeks; it’s not unusual for a family to take longer than that to purchase a house. Yet, despite calls from members of his own party to slow the pace, he continues to push a reckless timetable for his risky health care experiment.”

Related posts:

1. Indiana Republicans question Rep. Baron Hill’s change of heart on health care In response to the news that Rep. Baron Hill would...
2. Complete Congressman Ellsworth’s Health Care Survey From Congressman Ellsworth’s web site: As Congress works to turn...
3. Congressman Mark Souder to address Hands off my Health Care rally in Fort Wayne Update: Speakers for the event: - Congressman Mark Souder -...

No related posts.

No related posts.

For fun let’s say 30%, or approximately 660,000 jobs could possibly be lost. They average 37.7 hours per week, or about $891 per weekly paycheck. If our math is right that’s $588,060,000 per week in lost wages, or $30,579,120,000 per year. So, just playing with the numbers, that would be $30 billion dollars taken out of the economy. The average maximum unemployment compensation level is around $290 per week. That would mean an additional unemployment burden of $191,400,000 per week on a system that is already strained.

Obama doesn’t even know what’s in the bill the liberal democrats are attempting to push down your throats.

From Heritage.org

With the public’s trust in his handling of health care tanking (50%-44% of Americans disapprove), the White House has launched a new phase of its strategy designed to pass Obamacare: all Obama, all the time. As part of that effort, Obama hosted a conference call with leftist bloggers urging them to pressure Congress to pass his health plan as soon as possible.

During the call, a blogger from Maine said he kept running into an Investors Business Daily article that claimed Section 102 of the House health legislation would outlaw private insurance. He asked: “Is this true? Will people be able to keep their insurance and will insurers be able to write new policies even though H.R. 3200 is passed?” President Obama replied: “You know, I have to say that I am not familiar with the provision you are talking about.”

Huh? And this guy is the POTUS?

[...]

It is truly frightening that the President of the United States is pressuring Congress in an all-out media blitz to pass legislation that he flatly admits he has not read and is not familiar with. President Obama owes it to the American people to stop making promises about what his health plan will or will not do until he has read it, and can properly defend it in public, to his own supporters.

In other healthcare related news, we now have a surgeon general pick from Obama, Regina M. Benjamin. She’s estimated to be 40 pounds overweight and wear a size 18. I wonder if she could achieve the President’s Fitness Challenge? She’s a very intelligent and highly qualified person. We’re just saying..

H/T: http://chicksontheright.com/

Related posts:

1. The Journal Gazette is all wet on Obamacare I don’t know if Tracy Warner or Dan Klugman at...
2. Ted Nugent: Kill ‘em, grill ‘em and fail ‘em Worth the read: Sunday, April 05, 2009 Observe how the...
3. Obama to replace Internet access with Pony Express Last week Senators John Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) and Olympia Snowe...

ABC TURNS PROGRAMMING OVER TO OBAMA; NEWS TO BE ANCHORED FROM INSIDE WHITE HOUSE

Tue Jun 16 2009 08:45:10 ET

On the night of June 24, the media and government become one, when ABC turns its programming over to President Obama and White House officials to push government run health care — a move that has ignited an ethical firestorm!

Highlights on the agenda:

ABCNEWS anchor Charlie Gibson will deliver WORLD NEWS from the Blue Room of the White House.

The network plans a primetime special — ‘Prescription for America’ — originating from the East Room, exclude opposing voices on the debate.

MORE

Late Monday night, Republican National Committee Chief of Staff Ken McKay fired off a complaint to the head of ABCNEWS:

Dear Mr. Westin:

As the national debate on health care reform intensifies, I am deeply concerned and disappointed with ABC’s astonishing decision to exclude opposing voices on this critical issue on June 24, 2009. Next Wednesday, ABC News will air a primetime health care reform “town hall” at the White House with President Barack Obama. In addition, according to an ABC News report, GOOD MORNING AMERICA, WORLD NEWS, NIGHTLINE and ABC’s web news “will all feature special programming on the president’s health care agenda.” This does not include the promotion, over the next 9 days, the president’s health care agenda will receive on ABC News programming.

Today, the Republican National Committee requested an opportunity to add our Party’s views to those of the President’s to ensure that all sides of the health care reform debate are presented. Our request was rejected. I believe that the President should have the ability to speak directly to the America people. However, I find it outrageous that ABC would prohibit our Party’s opposing thoughts and ideas from this national debate, which affects millions of ABC viewers.

In the absence of opposition, I am concerned this event will become a glorified infomercial to promote the Democrat agenda. If that is the case, this primetime infomercial should be paid for out of the DNC coffers. President Obama does not hold a monopoly on health care reform ideas or on free airtime. The President has stated time and time again that he wants a bipartisan debate. Therefore, the Republican Party should be included in this primetime event, or the DNC should pay for your airtime.

Respectfully,
Ken McKay
Republican National Committee
Chief of Staff

MORE

ABCNEWS Senior Vice President Kerry Smith on Tuesday responded to the RNC complaint, saying it contained ‘false premises’:

“ABCNEWS prides itself on covering all sides of important issues and asking direct questions of all newsmakers — of all political persuasions — even when others have taken a more partisan approach and even in the face of criticism from extremes on both ends of the political spectrum. ABCNEWS is looking for the most thoughtful and diverse voices on this issue.

“ABCNEWS alone will select those who will be in the audience asking questions of the president. Like any programs we broadcast, ABC News will have complete editorial control. To suggest otherwise is quite unfair to both our journalists and our audience.”

Developing…

Related posts:

1. ABC – the “All Barack Channel” Fox News is reporting that ABC News is refusing to...
2. GOP to Baron Hill: Apologize Indiana Republicans want Baron Hill to apologize for labeling constituents...
3. ACORN may soon be knocking on your door ACORN, the biased, left-wing publicly subsidized organizing arm of the...

BOSTON (AP) – An immigration lawyer for President-elect Obama’s aunt says she wants to fight a deportation order and stay in the United States.

The Associated Press found that [Obama's] Zeituni Onyango (zay-TUHN on-YANG-oh) is staying with relatives in Cleveland after fleeing her public housing apartment in Boston. She had been living there for five years.

So does that mean she’s on the lam?

Onyango, who is Obama’s father’s half-sister, was ordered to leave the country in 2004 by an immigration judge who rejected her request for asylum from her native Kenya.

Asylum from what?

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

AWB

Related posts:

1. Illegal “Auntie Zeitun” attends Obama inaugural ball Obama’s aunt was instructed to leave the country four years...
2. Obama’s Aunt found in Boston slum Obama’s aunt Zeituni Onyango has been found living alone in...
3. Gamaliel prays “hear our cry Obama, deliver us Obama” This is beyond belief. Now Obama has replaced the “Lord’s...

Anyone out and about this past weekend couldn’t help but notice all the workers out canvasing for Obama’s presidential campaign. If you assumed they were all volunteers, you would be wrong. They were paid, temporary workers. And several hundred of them became raucous outside of Obama’s campaign offices on North Meridian Street when nobody showed up to issue them paychecks as promised. Indianapolis police had to be called to calm down the crowd. More here.

It figures.

AWB

Related posts:

1. Chicago gangs to crash Obama party? “I hope to God I’m wrong, but there are 7,000...
2. Obama promised bipartisanship. Here’s his first move. From Monday by Jeb Babbib @ Human Events Obama the...
3. Gamaliel prays “hear our cry Obama, deliver us Obama” This is beyond belief. Now Obama has replaced the “Lord’s...

http://www.impeach-barack-obama.com/

And on FaceBook Impeach Barack Obama with 2,306 members

Related posts:

1. Chicago gangs to crash Obama party? “I hope to God I’m wrong, but there are 7,000...
2. Obama: This will be what his administration will be like. Obama Plane Pitches Reporters From McCain-Endorsing Papers Reporters from three...
3. Obama promised bipartisanship. Here’s his first move. From Monday by Jeb Babbib @ Human Events Obama the...

Obama last night: “It can’t happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.”

Mmmm..

And here’s a partial list of his promises from a speech he gave last week.

“eliminate income taxes on Social Security for seniors making under $50,000″;

“give homeowners and working parents additional tax breaks”;
not increase taxes on anyone if they “make under $250,000; you will not see your taxes increase by a single dime –- not your income taxes, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains tax”;

“end those breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas”;

“give tax breaks to companies that invest right here in the United States”;

“eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses and start-up companies that are the engine of job creation in this country”;

“create two million new jobs by rebuilding our crumbling roads, and bridges, and schools — by laying broadband lines to reach every corner of the country”;

“invest $15 billion a year in renewable sources of energy to create five million new energy jobs over the next decade”;

“give a tax break to 95 percent of Americans who work every day and get taxes taken out of their paycheck every week”;

“reopen old factories, old plants, to build solar panels, and wind turbines”;
build “a new electricity grid”;

“build the fuel efficient cars of tomorrow”;

“eliminate the oil we import from the Middle East in 10 years”;

“lower premiums” for those who already have health insurance;

“if you don’t have health insurance, you’ll be able to get the same kind of health insurance that members of Congress give themselves”;

“end discrimination by insurance companies to the sick and those who need care the most”;

“invest in early childhood education”;

“recruit an army of new teachers”;

“pay our teachers higher salaries, give them more support. But … also demand higher standards and more accountability”;

“make a deal with every young person who’s here and every young person in America: If you are willing to commit yourself to national service, whether it’s serving in our military or in the Peace Corps, working in a veterans home or a homeless shelter, then we will guarantee that you can afford to go to college no ifs ands or buts”;

“stop spending $10 billion a month in Iraq whole the Iraqis have a huge surplus”;

“end this war in Iraq”;

“finish the fight and snuff out al Qaeda and bin Laden”;

“increase our ground troops and our investments in the finest fighting force in the world”;

“invest in 21st century technologies so that our men and women have the best training and equipment when they deploy into combat and the care and benefits they have earned when they come home”;

“No more homeless veterans”; and

“no more fighting for disability payments.”

We’ll be watching with baited bated breath.

AWB

Related posts:

1. Statement from Indiana Republican Chairman Murray Clark on Obama’s health care press conference Indiana Republican Party Chairman Murray Clark issued the following statement...
2. A little humor for your BOHO From the Onion: Black Man Given Nation’s Worst Job WASHINGTON—African-American...
3. From Obama’s info-liar-mercial From The AP THE SPIN: “That’s why my health care...