Part 1 - The Monday After 8/30/2010
Part 2 - The Monday After 8/30/2010
Part 3 (the end) - The Monday After 8/30/2010
H/T An Ol’ Broad’s Ramblings and The Founding Patriots
Tags: Glen Beck, Restoring Honor, Washington, D.C., Lincoln Memorial, videos, 8/28 day after, summary, videos To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
DEMOCRATS: The Party of Racism and Class Warfare
Ron Russell, TOTUS:
THE DEMOCRATS MUST KEEP THE RACIAL ISSUE ALIVE AND WELL,
AFTER ALL IT'S THEIR BIG VOTE GETTER IN THE LARGE URBAN CENTERS
WHERE THEY HAVE LARGE VOTING BLOCS! THEY ARE THE PARTY OF
RACIAL DIVISION AND CLASS WARFARE!
VOTE THE BUMS OUT THIS FALL!
H/T to Draw for Truth
Authority and Patriotism
Tags: class warfare, racism, POTUS, TOTUS, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
THE DEMOCRATS MUST KEEP THE RACIAL ISSUE ALIVE AND WELL,
AFTER ALL IT'S THEIR BIG VOTE GETTER IN THE LARGE URBAN CENTERS
WHERE THEY HAVE LARGE VOTING BLOCS! THEY ARE THE PARTY OF
RACIAL DIVISION AND CLASS WARFARE!
VOTE THE BUMS OUT THIS FALL!
H/T to Draw for Truth
Authority and Patriotism
Tags: class warfare, racism, POTUS, TOTUS, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Big Government Creating High Unemployment And Stagnant Wages.
by Michael E. Newton, The Path to Tyranny: Marketwatch reports Salaries and wages are rising, but not by much. Even that subdued headline is upbeat when you read some of the details:
The American dream is dying. But why? I again return to this chart, first posted here.
As is clearly evident in that chart, the government’s intrusion in our economy is at historically high levels. In this recent recession, government spending has hit all new unforeseen levels. But even prior to that, the 90s and 2000s, a period under both Republican and Democratic Presidents and Congresses, saw government spending excluding defense bouncing around the 30% level. Even that much-lauded decline in government spending under President Bill Clinton and the Republican Congress, only saw non-defense government spending decline from 31.87% in 1991 to 28.95% in 2000, a 2.92% decline. By comparison, non-defense government spending rose a 4.86% in 2009 alone. A supposedly major accomplishment that took ten years to achieve was obliterated in less than a year.
While non-defense government spending at 28.95% may look appealing now that the figure is about nine percentage point higher, non-defense government spending had never exceeded that level prior to 1982. While many talk about the small government days of Bill Clinton and the Republican Revolution of 1994, remember that FDR, LBJ, and Jimmy Carter all spent less excluding defense (which is wildly volatile depending largely on external affairs) than the U.S.’s recent best.
Our experiment with government intervention in society is failing. Government control over a third of the economy has produced high unemployment and stagnant wages. For decades, the United States enjoyed small government and prospered as a results. It is no coincidence that our recent weakness is the result of an overly large and burdensome government.
Tags: Michael E. Newton, The Path to Tyranny, Capitalism, Economics, Government spending, Jobs, Redistribution, Socialism, Unemployment, big government, government spending, economics, unemployment, United States, Inflation, wages, economy To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Want some more bad news? Average wages today are lower than a decade ago when adjusted for inflation, according to an analysis earlier this year by the Economic Policy Institute.Additionally, the official unemployment rate was just 4.0% back in 2000. Today, it stands at 9.5%. So not only are working Americans earning less, many more are unemployed and earning nothing.
For high school graduates, median inflation-adjusted wages were $626 per week in 2009, compared with $629 in 2000. If you assume a worker gets paid for a full year that totals $32,552 in 2009, down from $32,708 in 2000.
For college graduates, weekly wages were $1,025 in 2009, compared with $1,030 in 2000, according to EPI. Over one year, that works out to $53,300 last year, down from $53,560 in 2000.
The American dream is dying. But why? I again return to this chart, first posted here.
As is clearly evident in that chart, the government’s intrusion in our economy is at historically high levels. In this recent recession, government spending has hit all new unforeseen levels. But even prior to that, the 90s and 2000s, a period under both Republican and Democratic Presidents and Congresses, saw government spending excluding defense bouncing around the 30% level. Even that much-lauded decline in government spending under President Bill Clinton and the Republican Congress, only saw non-defense government spending decline from 31.87% in 1991 to 28.95% in 2000, a 2.92% decline. By comparison, non-defense government spending rose a 4.86% in 2009 alone. A supposedly major accomplishment that took ten years to achieve was obliterated in less than a year.
While non-defense government spending at 28.95% may look appealing now that the figure is about nine percentage point higher, non-defense government spending had never exceeded that level prior to 1982. While many talk about the small government days of Bill Clinton and the Republican Revolution of 1994, remember that FDR, LBJ, and Jimmy Carter all spent less excluding defense (which is wildly volatile depending largely on external affairs) than the U.S.’s recent best.
Our experiment with government intervention in society is failing. Government control over a third of the economy has produced high unemployment and stagnant wages. For decades, the United States enjoyed small government and prospered as a results. It is no coincidence that our recent weakness is the result of an overly large and burdensome government.
Tags: Michael E. Newton, The Path to Tyranny, Capitalism, Economics, Government spending, Jobs, Redistribution, Socialism, Unemployment, big government, government spending, economics, unemployment, United States, Inflation, wages, economy To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Where Would Iraq Be Today If We Had Listened To Democrats In 2007?
According to today’s New York Times, “For only the second time since he took office, President Obama will speak to the nation from the Oval Office on Tuesday night, in an address meant to convey that he has kept one of the central promises of his campaign: withdrawing American combat troops from Iraq.” But, The Times notes, “Mr. Obama will still strike a promises-kept theme, aides said, even as he seeks to reconcile his opposition to the Iraq war — and his opposition to the so-called troop surge, which Republicans and many military officials credit for the decrease in violence in Iraq — with his role as a wartime commander in chief seeking to credit his troops with carrying out a difficult mission.”
Politico reports that both House Republican Leader John Boehner and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell will have comments on President Obama’s speech today, pointing out the success of the surge, our troops, and General David Petreaus, and noting how many Democrats opposed this plan. “‘Some leaders who opposed, criticized, and fought tooth-and-nail to stop the surge strategy now proudly claim credit for the results,’ Boehner says in remarks prepared for delivery to the American Legion’s 92nd national convention, in Milwaukee. ‘[T]oday we mark not the defeat those voices anticipated – but progress.’ . . . “McConnell underscores the contribution of President George W. Bush's troop ‘surge’ in Iraq: ‘By adopting the Bush administration's plan for winding down the war and transitioning security responsibilities to the Iraqi military over time, the president has enabled us and the Iraqis to build on the gains our troops have made. … Thankfully, we can say today that our troops, the surge, and the Petraeus plan all succeeded where many in Washington thought they would fail.’”
Indeed, Democrats continually branded the surge a “failure.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) famously declared, “[T]his war is lost and … the surge is not accomplishing anything.” Then-Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) said, “It has failed.” Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) said, “President Bush promised us his troop surge was going to improve security and allow Iraqis to stabilize their own country, but that is not working.” Then-Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) vented, “This whole notion that the surge is working is fantasy.” And a year after the surge was announced, then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) said, “ Tonight we heard President Bush ay that the surge in Iraq is working, when we know that's just not true.”
Many Democrats even attempted to stop the surge before it could get underway. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) announced early on, “The surge has to be stopped. It is a reckless, almost mindless approach to a desperately difficult situation.” And he proceeded to introduce multiple bills and amendments that would have cut off funding for troops in the field.
In fact, beginning in 2007, Congressional Democrats forced more than 40 votes to either require troops to withdraw, to micromanage forces instead of letting the generals adapt to conditions on the ground, or to outright condemn the surge strategy.
Where would our troops, where would Iraqis, and where would the United States be today if we had listened to the democrats In 2007?
Fact Checking Our Leaders: In 2007, Then-Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden Joined Fellow Dems and Voted Four Times To Cut Funding For Troops Deployed In Iraq
SEN. RUSS FEINGOLD (D-WI): “And What The Feingold-Reid Amendment Was -- Started With Was A Proposal To Use The Power Of The Purse To Try To Use Congress' Power To Bring This Mistake To An End.” (Sen. Feingold, Press Conference, 5/16/07)
Boehner Video Highlights Progress in Iraq, Thanks Our Men & Women in Uniform Titled “Victory is the Only Option,” Video Highlights Success of the Surge Despite Opposition from Then-Senator Obama & Other Key Democrats While President Obama and Vice President Biden continue to seek credit for "ending the combat mission" in Iraq, this video praises the contributions of our troops for helping bring greater stability and security there -- significant progress that was only made possible through a surge strategy most Democrats like the President and Vice President opposed. As the drawdown of troops in Iraq continues, House Republicans are grateful to all the men and women in uniform, as well as their families, for the courage and sacrifices they have made, and continue to make, to advance freedom abroad and strengthen our security here at home. [Video]
Sen. Mitch McConnell Statement on Iraq
“By adopting the Bush administration's plan for winding down the war and transitioning security responsibilities to the Iraqi military over time the President has enabled us and the Iraqis to build on the gains our troops have made.” August 31, 2010 - Lexington, K.Y – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell delivered the following remarks at the Commerce Lexington Public Policy Luncheon Tuesday on Iraq and the success of our troops:
“As some of you may know, the President tonight is expected to declare the end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq. As the Senator from a state that has carried a very heavy burden in this war, I think we can all say this is very welcome news. This is a time to be grateful for the incredible sacrifices the men and women in the armed forces have made, are making, and will continue to make on our behalf in the struggle against terrorism.
“But I think we should also be thankful that another President had the determination and the will to carry out the plan that made tonight's announcement possible. You might recall that the surge wasn't very popular when it was announced. You might also recall that one of its biggest critics was the current President. One of his colleagues said the war was already a lost cause, implying, of course, that any further efforts on the part of our troops would be in vain.
“So it makes it easier to talk about fulfilling a campaign promise to wind down our operations in Iraq when the previous administration signs the security agreement with Iraq to end our overall presence there.
“It sure makes things easier when you reject your own campaign rhetoric about how the surge—the Petraeus plan—shouldn’t happen and wouldn’t work.
“It makes things easier when you reject the left-wing calls for defunding our troops in the field and instead continue the policies put in place by the previous administration and keep the same Secretary of Defense and until recently Gen. Petraeus to help guide our efforts there.
“By adopting the Bush administration's plan for winding down the war and transitioning security responsibilities to the Iraqi military over time the President has enabled us and the Iraqis to build on the gains our troops have made.
“This bilateral relationship must also be managed realistically, and based on conditions on the ground as we move forward. Much hard work remains in Iraq. And this President could very well find himself negotiating a new security agreement next year.
“But thankfully we can say today that our troops, the Surge, and the Petraeus Plan all succeeded where many in Washington thought they would fail.”
Tags: Iraq War, remembering, Democrat opposition, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Republican support, military troops, funding, John Bohner, Mitch McConnell To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Politico reports that both House Republican Leader John Boehner and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell will have comments on President Obama’s speech today, pointing out the success of the surge, our troops, and General David Petreaus, and noting how many Democrats opposed this plan. “‘Some leaders who opposed, criticized, and fought tooth-and-nail to stop the surge strategy now proudly claim credit for the results,’ Boehner says in remarks prepared for delivery to the American Legion’s 92nd national convention, in Milwaukee. ‘[T]oday we mark not the defeat those voices anticipated – but progress.’ . . . “McConnell underscores the contribution of President George W. Bush's troop ‘surge’ in Iraq: ‘By adopting the Bush administration's plan for winding down the war and transitioning security responsibilities to the Iraqi military over time, the president has enabled us and the Iraqis to build on the gains our troops have made. … Thankfully, we can say today that our troops, the surge, and the Petraeus plan all succeeded where many in Washington thought they would fail.’”
Indeed, Democrats continually branded the surge a “failure.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) famously declared, “[T]his war is lost and … the surge is not accomplishing anything.” Then-Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) said, “It has failed.” Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) said, “President Bush promised us his troop surge was going to improve security and allow Iraqis to stabilize their own country, but that is not working.” Then-Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) vented, “This whole notion that the surge is working is fantasy.” And a year after the surge was announced, then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) said, “ Tonight we heard President Bush ay that the surge in Iraq is working, when we know that's just not true.”
Many Democrats even attempted to stop the surge before it could get underway. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) announced early on, “The surge has to be stopped. It is a reckless, almost mindless approach to a desperately difficult situation.” And he proceeded to introduce multiple bills and amendments that would have cut off funding for troops in the field.
In fact, beginning in 2007, Congressional Democrats forced more than 40 votes to either require troops to withdraw, to micromanage forces instead of letting the generals adapt to conditions on the ground, or to outright condemn the surge strategy.
Where would our troops, where would Iraqis, and where would the United States be today if we had listened to the democrats In 2007?
SEN. RUSS FEINGOLD (D-WI): “And What The Feingold-Reid Amendment Was -- Started With Was A Proposal To Use The Power Of The Purse To Try To Use Congress' Power To Bring This Mistake To An End.” (Sen. Feingold, Press Conference, 5/16/07)
S.AMDT. 1098 KEY PROVISION:/b> “PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS. -- No funds appropriated or otherwise made available under any provision of law may be obligated or expended to continue the deployment in Iraq of members of the United States Armed Forces after March 31, 2008.” (S.Amdt.1098, Roll Call Vote #167, Cloture Motion Rejected 29-67; R 0-48; D 28-19; I 1-1, Obama & Biden Voted Yea, 5/16/07)
S.AMDT.2924 KEY PROVISION: “Use of Funds.-- No funds appropriated or otherwise made available under any provision of law may be obligated or expended to continue the deployment in Iraq of members of the United States Armed Forces after June 30, 2008.” (S.Amdt.2924, Roll Call Vote #345, Cloture Motion Rejected 28-70; R 0-49; D 27-20; I 1-1, Obama Voted Yea, 9/20/07)
S.AMDT.3164 KEY PROVISION: “Use of Funds.— No funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be obligated or expended to continue the deployment in Iraq of members of the United States Armed Forces after June 30, 2008.” (S.Amdt.3164, Roll Call Vote #362, Cloture Motion Rejected 28-68; R 0-46, D 27-21, I 1-1, Biden Voted Yea, 10/03/07)
S.AMDT.3875 KEY PROVISION: “Use of Funds. - No funds appropriated or otherwise made available under any provision of law may be obligated or expended to continue the deployment in Iraq of members of the United States Armed Forces after the date that is nine months after the date of the enactment of this Act.”(S.Amdt.3875, Roll Call Vote #437, Amendment Rejected 24-71; R 0-49; D 24-21; I 1-1, 12/18/07)
S.AMDT.2924 KEY PROVISION: “Use of Funds.-- No funds appropriated or otherwise made available under any provision of law may be obligated or expended to continue the deployment in Iraq of members of the United States Armed Forces after June 30, 2008.” (S.Amdt.2924, Roll Call Vote #345, Cloture Motion Rejected 28-70; R 0-49; D 27-20; I 1-1, Obama Voted Yea, 9/20/07)
S.AMDT.3164 KEY PROVISION: “Use of Funds.— No funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be obligated or expended to continue the deployment in Iraq of members of the United States Armed Forces after June 30, 2008.” (S.Amdt.3164, Roll Call Vote #362, Cloture Motion Rejected 28-68; R 0-46, D 27-21, I 1-1, Biden Voted Yea, 10/03/07)
S.AMDT.3875 KEY PROVISION: “Use of Funds. - No funds appropriated or otherwise made available under any provision of law may be obligated or expended to continue the deployment in Iraq of members of the United States Armed Forces after the date that is nine months after the date of the enactment of this Act.”(S.Amdt.3875, Roll Call Vote #437, Amendment Rejected 24-71; R 0-49; D 24-21; I 1-1, 12/18/07)
“By adopting the Bush administration's plan for winding down the war and transitioning security responsibilities to the Iraqi military over time the President has enabled us and the Iraqis to build on the gains our troops have made.”
“As some of you may know, the President tonight is expected to declare the end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq. As the Senator from a state that has carried a very heavy burden in this war, I think we can all say this is very welcome news. This is a time to be grateful for the incredible sacrifices the men and women in the armed forces have made, are making, and will continue to make on our behalf in the struggle against terrorism.
“But I think we should also be thankful that another President had the determination and the will to carry out the plan that made tonight's announcement possible. You might recall that the surge wasn't very popular when it was announced. You might also recall that one of its biggest critics was the current President. One of his colleagues said the war was already a lost cause, implying, of course, that any further efforts on the part of our troops would be in vain.
“So it makes it easier to talk about fulfilling a campaign promise to wind down our operations in Iraq when the previous administration signs the security agreement with Iraq to end our overall presence there.
“It sure makes things easier when you reject your own campaign rhetoric about how the surge—the Petraeus plan—shouldn’t happen and wouldn’t work.
“It makes things easier when you reject the left-wing calls for defunding our troops in the field and instead continue the policies put in place by the previous administration and keep the same Secretary of Defense and until recently Gen. Petraeus to help guide our efforts there.
“By adopting the Bush administration's plan for winding down the war and transitioning security responsibilities to the Iraqi military over time the President has enabled us and the Iraqis to build on the gains our troops have made.
“This bilateral relationship must also be managed realistically, and based on conditions on the ground as we move forward. Much hard work remains in Iraq. And this President could very well find himself negotiating a new security agreement next year.
“But thankfully we can say today that our troops, the Surge, and the Petraeus Plan all succeeded where many in Washington thought they would fail.”
Tags: Iraq War, remembering, Democrat opposition, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Republican support, military troops, funding, John Bohner, Mitch McConnell To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Monday, August 30, 2010
If GOP Flinches on Marriage, Obama Wins
Ken Blackwell, Contributing Author and Ken Klukowski: Same-sex marriage is back as a front-burner issue in American politics. On August 4, a federal judge in San Francisco held that there is a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, striking down part of the California Constitution defining marriage as one man and one woman. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ordered an expedited schedule to consider this case, with arguments to be held in December.Now former RNC chairman and 2004 Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman came out this week, announcing he’s homosexual, and pushing the Republican Party to support the homosexual-rights agenda. Republicans leaders are beginning to weigh in on where they stand, including on the agenda’s centerpiece: Redefining marriage. The Republican Party has an official position on same-sex marriage. It’s found in the 2008 GOP platform, which is the clear and uncontestable Republican position until the 2012 convention. When one of your authors (Blackwell) was serving as vice chairman of the GOP Platform Committee, there was a singular focus on producing a party platform that fully reflects the vast majority of Republican Party members.
The GOP platform could not be more explicit: Marriage is the union of one man and one woman. The fundamental institution of human civilization should be preserved as it has been known through the entirety of American history and Western civilization. Supporters of same-sex marriage had the full opportunity to make their case to the party. They made it, and they lost. But whether same-sex marriage should be legal is a completely separate issue from whether there’s a right to same-sex marriage in the U.S. Constitution. A person can support same sex marriage, but admit that it’s a state issue to be decided locally, not a right that can be imposed on a state—or the nation—by federal judges.
That’s where supporters of same-sex marriage cannot have it both ways. Central to the Republican agenda is that the U.S. Constitution must be interpreted according to its original meaning. If the Constitution must be changed, then we do so democratically through the amendment process. Republicans demand that judges interpret the Constitution as written, not rewrite it from the bench.
The same judicial activism that Judge Walker in San Francisco displayed in declaring a constitutional right to same-sex marriage is the same activism that Republicans decry on every other front. It’s the same activism found in Roe v. Wade, declaring a right to abortion. It’s also the same activism that would uphold Obamacare as constitutional. It’s the same activism that declares foreign terrorists are protected by the Bill of Rights and habeas corpus.
You cannot have it both ways. Do you want to see Obamacare struck down as unconstitutional? Then you can’t have a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. Republican leadership is working hard to prevent a party split. Millions of Tea Party people are justifiably fed up with the GOP, and threatening to abandon the GOP in favor of a third party if Republicans do not fully attack out-of-control federal spending and power with a commitment to constitutional government.
That danger cuts both ways. Social conservatives cannot be played as fools by the Republican Party. They are not “useful idiots.” If Republican leaders abandon social conservatives and the party platform, then they will face the same disaster as if Tea Partiers abandon the GOP. Millions of social conservatives will either stay home, or will vote for a third-party candidate who takes up the mantle of marriage, life, faith and family.
As we discuss in the introduction of our book, The Blueprint, this is exactly what President Obama wants to see. If a majority of Americans reject the agenda of President Obama and his Democratic Party—as they do today—the only way that Obama and the Dems can hold on to power is to split the opposition vote. If the GOP splits either over economic issues or over social issues, then President Obama could be reelected with as little as 40% of the vote. It’s happened before in American politics, with 1912 as a perfect example. The year 2012 will be the 100-year anniversary of when a Republican split gave America a Democratic president.
If Republicans flinch on marriage, America could have eight years of President Obama.
-----------------
Mr. Ken Blackwell is a conservative family values advocate. This article also appeared in The Patriot Post. Blackwell is a former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Commission and is a senior fellow at the Family Research Council and American Civil Rights Union. Mr. Ken Klukowski is a fellow and senior legal analyst with the American Civil Rights Union.
Tags: Ken Blackwell, Ken Klukowski, GOP, Republican platform, traditional values, same-sex, marriage, social issues, economics, Barrack Obama, Democratic Party To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Countdown to Victory: 64 Days to 2010 Elections!
Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: Restoring Honor Rally A Homerun! Kudos to Glenn Beck. His Restoring Honor Rally at the Lincoln Memorial Saturday drew hundreds of thousands of Americans. They honored U.S. troops and called on our country to turn back to God. The crowd, which came to D.C. from all over the country, was patriotic, faith-based and deeply concerned about the direction of America. The rally had many highlights, but one of the most moving occurred when Beck told the story of John Newton, the British slave trader. On a voyage in 1748, Newton, in the middle of a storm at sea, converted to Christianity. He came to realize the evil of slavery and eventually wrote the famous hymn “Amazing Grace.” After the story was recounted, bagpipes began to play and hundreds of thousands of people began to sing the words, “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see. T’was Grace that taught my heart to fear, and Grace, my fears relieved. How precious did that Grace appear the hour I first believed.”
I have no doubt that Martin Luther King would have felt right at home there at the Lincoln Memorial. His whole civil rights message was based on his conviction that our rights come from God and that they flow to us regardless of the color of our skin.
But today’s leftwing elites continue to see the crowd this weekend on the mall as a bunch of haters, racists and fascists. Media coverage tried to downplay the number of attendees. Columnists at the Washington Post this morning attacked the gathering and accused those who attended of wanting to take America back to the days of lynchings and Jim Crow laws. Bill Press, a liberal TV commentator, even suggested that it was inappropriate to talk about God at the Lincoln Memorial. Apparently Press is ignorant of the fact that Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, a powerful plea to God, is inscribed inside the Memorial.
President Obama told NBC’s Brian Williams that he did not watch the rally but that he wasn’t surprised that Glenn Beck can “stir-up” people. Sadly, the president is clueless about what is moving in the hearts of millions of Americans. They are not being “stirred up” by Glenn Beck. Rather, what is stirring is a spontaneous rebirth of family, faith and freedom.
Beyond The Pale The Left has always had trouble arguing against conservatives positions on their merits. That’s why liberals resort to scurrilous attacks so often and so quickly. And when a particularly effective conservative spokesman appears, they will stop at nothing to bring him or her down.
When Sarah Palin burst onto the political scene in 2008 as Senator John McCain’s running mate, the Left was so stunned by her popularity and charisma that it groped at anything it could to try and destroy her image. Some liberals stooped so low as to mock Trig Palin, Sarah’s youngest son, who has Down syndrome. And at least one “respected” D.C. journalist repeatedly claimed that Trig was in fact Sarah’s grandson and that they faked the pregnancy for political gain.
Given all this, it is not surprising what one liberal writer is doing to Glenn Beck. Beau Friedlander, a contributing writer at the Huffington Post offered a large sum of money for a non-existent sex tape of Beck. In his column today Friedlander wrote, “I hereby offer to negotiate a $100,000 payday to the person who will come forward with a sex tape or phone records or anything else that succeeds in removing Glenn Beck from the public eye forever.” Though the Huffington Post, which is the Left’s most influential blog, deleted Friedlander’s post after conservative outrage, conservatives should brace themselves for more of these sorts of attacks as Election Day approaches.
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Gary Bauer is is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families. He submitted the above in an email to the ARRA News Service Editor. Bauer was a former Republican presidential candidate and served as President Ronald Reagan’s domestic policy adviser.
Tags: Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families, Glenn Beck, Restoring Honor Rally, Huffington Post To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Greenies Lament Bleak Prospects for Cap-and-Tax
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| Another Freedom Killing Bill |
The Post continues, “Before, green groups had wanted so much more than this - they wanted a ‘cap and trade’ bill that would set emissions limits nationwide. The House passed a bill like that, but - after industry groups said it would kill jobs and slow the economy - the Senate decided last month to not even take the issue up. The bill’s chances, already bad, will get worse if Republicans gain seats, as is widely predicted, in the midterm elections. ‘If it’s not addressed in a lame-duck session of Congress, it will have been punted to the next generation,’ said David Wasserman of the Cook Political Report.”
Earlier this year, after Democrats jammed through their unpopular health care law, they turned their efforts toward moving their climate bill featuring a carbon cap-and-trade system, which amounts to a national energy tax. In May, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), who was leading the charge for Democrats on a cap-and-tax bill, said, “Now is the time to take action. The path to progress has been long, but despite Washington conventional wisdom, we are closer than we’ve ever been to a breakthrough. . . . We want to make this the Senate that finishes the job.” In June, President Obama actually went so far as use his first address to the nation from the Oval Office to call for passage of Democrats’ energy bill. The Washington Post reported, “President Obama urged the nation Tuesday to rally behind legislation that would begin changing the way the country consumes and generates energy . . . . He called for fast Senate action on an energy bill that has already passed the House.” As late as July, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was promising to bring an energy bill to the floor before the August recess, even if it was a slimmed down version.
But all along, Republicans and many Democrats opposed the idea of a cap-and-trade plan. Indeed, just after Obama’s June speech, Democrats reacted skeptically, with Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) telling Bloomberg News, “There’s not a great call for it in the Democratic caucus,” and other Democrats admitting there weren’t 60 votes for a bill.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell warned that the Obama administration not to use the oil spill crisis as an opportunity to push the far left agenda of a carbon cap-and-tax bill. He said, “I wish the President would have used this opportunity to focus entirely on stopping the spill and to cleaning it up instead of using this crisis as an opportunity to push for a new national energy tax. . . . [I]n the midst of the worst environmental catastrophe in American history, they’re talking about a new national energy tax to achieve their ideological goal of passing global warming legislation.”
But with little enthusiasm among Democrats and recognition that such legislation would do nothing to address the oil spill in the Gulf, Democrats’ climate bill slipped and slipped, until USA Today reported, “Senate Democratic leaders said Tuesday they don’t have the 60 votes necessary to pass a scaled-back energy bill . . . . Majority Leader Harry Reid, D- Nev., said he was unable to find a handful of Republicans to vote for a bill. Reid’s decision to delay until at least September is the latest setback for Democrats trying to pass energy legislation this summer in response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.”
And now with the bill looking all but dead, the coalition of liberal groups pushing for an energy tax is left to lament that “[e]ven in the hottest year on record, even with a historic oil spill polluting the Gulf of Mexico, even with a Democratic Congress and a friendly White House, it couldn’t win the fight it had picked. In fact, in the Senate it couldn’t even start it.”
A national energy tax resulting from a carbon cap-and-trade scheme was never a good idea to begin with, and as a response to the oil spill, it was essentially a non-sequitur. The last thing Americans need in the midst of a recession with stubbornly high unemployment was is a new energy tax. Environmental groups may be disappointed in the rapidly diminishing prospects for such a bill, but few ordinary Americans are.
Tags: cap-and-tax, cap-and-trade, greenies, greens, lame-duck session, energy use tax, energy production tax, taxes, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Samplings of Restoring Honor Videos - Enjoy
We appreciate those who made the following videos public. Enjoy!
"Restoring Honor" Rally - Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem
Restoring Honor Rally 8.28 Slideshow
LOL - a lone protester at the Restoring Honor rally says she is speaking for Rev. Martin Luther King. When asked about Dr. Alveta King speaking - she said with "acid head" logic that Dr. Avita King could not be speaking on behalf of her uncle because Dr. Martin Luther King is dead. Warning: the comment section for this video is filled with disgusting comments by the inane left.
Opposition Protestor To Glenn Beck's 8.28 Rally
Restoring Honor Rally- Dr. Alveda King
Albert Pujols Accepts Hope Award at "Restoring Honor" Rally in DC
Tags: 8/28, Glenn Beck, Restoring Honor, National Anthem, Pledge of Allegiance, Albert Pujols, Aveta King, protester, slideshow To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
"Restoring Honor" Rally - Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem
Restoring Honor Rally 8.28 Slideshow
LOL - a lone protester at the Restoring Honor rally says she is speaking for Rev. Martin Luther King. When asked about Dr. Alveta King speaking - she said with "acid head" logic that Dr. Avita King could not be speaking on behalf of her uncle because Dr. Martin Luther King is dead. Warning: the comment section for this video is filled with disgusting comments by the inane left.
Opposition Protestor To Glenn Beck's 8.28 Rally
Restoring Honor Rally- Dr. Alveda King
Albert Pujols Accepts Hope Award at "Restoring Honor" Rally in DC
Tags: 8/28, Glenn Beck, Restoring Honor, National Anthem, Pledge of Allegiance, Albert Pujols, Aveta King, protester, slideshow To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Restoring Honor in America Rally - Numbers Being Debated
Today, I attended the Restoring Honor in America and I find it amazing how the lame street media is reporting on the number of attendees. It seems to be a trend for the old line press to deflate any numbers associated in any way with conservative or faith based events held in Washington, D.C. It is as if they believe that by deflating the size of the numbers both the subject and the supporters will cease to exist.
500,000 300,000 attendees. However the number of attendees far exceeded the space planned for the event and some are estimating the crowd as over 700,000. Take a look at the following photo taken by the BBC (yes the BBC; not NBC). What is your opinion on the number of attendees?
Tags: Restoring Honor, America, rally, BBC, Washington D.C., To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
- The Washington Post reports: "Beck, Palin tell thousands to 'restore America."
- ABC reports: "Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" Rally Draws Thousands." - "the rally has attracted more than 100,000 people."
Tags: Restoring Honor, America, rally, BBC, Washington D.C., To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Bob Weeks: At Americans for Prosperity, George Will Is Optimistic
Bill Smith, Editor: The following article on George Will's speech was written by one of the most committed investigative bloogers in Kansas who has upset more than one politician or bureaucrat by his investigative reports bringing to light corruption or abuse. Bob Weeks was my predecessor as AFP's 2009 Blogger of the Year and he shared with me tonight his personal congratulations. While all bloggers have different styles in addressing stories and national issues, Bob often shows us the way.
by Bob Weeks, Voice For Liberty in Wichita: Friday night’s dinner at the Americans for Prosperity Foundation fourth annual Defending the American Dream summit featured Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist George Will as keynote speaker. Will’s message was that while progress in limiting the growth of government has been reversed, this can be overcome, and he believes that a restoration of liberty and economic freedom will happen.
As the dinner was a tribute to former President Ronald Reagan, Will told the audience one of his favorite lines from Reagan during the 1980 campaign: “A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose your job. Recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his job.” Continuing, he said that “Barack Obama is Jimmy Carter 2.0 and it is time to hit the delete button.”
Will told the audience that the “retreat of the state” that started with the election of Margaret Thatcher in 1979 and the election of Ronald Reagan has been reversed. This should be reversed again, he said. On the federal stimulus, Will said that the downward revision of GDP from a bad number to an even worse number is evidence that the stimulus is not working.
There are two things that the administration is saying that are “funny,” Will said. One is that our current crisis was brought on because there was too little government regulation and administration. The second is that the problem with the stimulus is that Republicans made it too small. “The government is dangerously frugal at the moment,” he said to laughter from the audience. But Will said that the government controls the money supply and interest rates, leading to control of home mortgages. He traced the edicts of government that increasing percentages of mortgages must be given to those with poor credit. These expansions of the federal government, along with the No Child Left Behind education law, happened under Republican administrations, evidence that not only Democrats are too blame.
Government is dominating the energy sector too. He said that matters because “no less of an authority of energy” than Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that “America should use more natural gas rather than fossil fuels.”
In health care, half of spending is already government money, and that will increase, as will the 138,000 pages of health care regulations. As to the alleged dangerous frugality of the government, Will said we are “marching into the most predictable financial crisis the world has ever seen.” This crisis is self-inflicted, he said.
Illustrating the size of government, he said that at the time of the first world war, when federal government spending exploded, the richest man in American could have personally retired the federal debt. But today’s richest man could pay for only two month’s interest on the deficit. The administration’s planned spending program will result in a situation ten years from now when federal entitlement programs (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid) plus the interest on the federal debt will consume 93 percent of federal revenue. The debt will be one hundred percent of GDP. This will crowd out private borrowing and investment. As a nation, he said we don’t save enough to fund both government and the investment needs of the private sector economy.
Will noted the remarkable progress of American medicine during his lifetime. But both presidential candidates campaigned against the pharmaceutical industry in 2008, which Will said was “shocking.” “It is time to quit stigmatizing those who create wealth, those who extend life, those who reduce pain. Get the government out of the way, and let them get on.” The economy is fragile, Will said, and we need not burden it more with taxes. He referred to Congressman Paul Ryan, who said we have a nation with “too many takers and not enough makers.”
On education, he said we need an education system that “equips people to compete in a free society.” He criticized the short school year in the U.S., as compared to other countries. He told the audience that a major problem with schools is the teachers unions. The increased spending on schools has not worked. 90 percent of the difference between schools can be explained by characteristics of the students’ families, he said. “Don’t tell me the pupil-teacher ratio, tell me the parent-pupil ratio.”
Even with as many problems as there are, he said that an “aroused citizenry” like that in the room tonight can fix the problems. He’s not pessimistic, he said, because Obama has stimulated a “new clarity” from the American people.
There is a tension today between freedom and equality, two polar values. Liberals today stress equality of outcomes, and believe that the multiplication of entitlement programs to produce this equality serves the public good. But conservatives stress freedom, and that multiplication of entitlement programs is “subversive of the attitudes and aptitudes essential for a free society of self-reliant, far-sighted, thrifty and industrious people.”
The Obama presidency has passed its apogee, Will told the audience. Quoting Winston Churchill, he said that “The American people invariably do the right thing, after they have exhausted all the alternatives.” Will said he believes that Americans believe that “a benevolent government is not always a benefactor, capitalism doesn’t just make us better off, it makes us better.”
Will told the audience that “Americans for Prosperity exists on the principle that when you change the nation’s economy, you change the national character in the process.” Urging the citizen activists to get involved, he echoed a remark made by Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who had spoken earlier: “You are the point of the lance. Go to work.”
Before his speech, Americans for Prosperity Foundation Chairman David H. Koch awarded Will the George Washington award. This is AFP’s highest award, given to Will for his work in defending and advancing economic freedom. Koch also spoke about the goals of Americans for Prosperity Foundation, which he said are to advance economic freedom and prosperity by limiting government growth, spending, and taxation. It is a grassroots movement that holds political leaders of every party accountable. AFP advocates for the free market economy, which he said improves lives and created the greatest nation on the face of the Earth.
Tags: Bob Weeks, Americans for Prosperity, American Defended the American Dream, George Will, Barack Obama, Capitalism, Economics, Education, Free markets, Health care, Regulation, Taxation To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
by Bob Weeks, Voice For Liberty in Wichita: Friday night’s dinner at the Americans for Prosperity Foundation fourth annual Defending the American Dream summit featured Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist George Will as keynote speaker. Will’s message was that while progress in limiting the growth of government has been reversed, this can be overcome, and he believes that a restoration of liberty and economic freedom will happen.
As the dinner was a tribute to former President Ronald Reagan, Will told the audience one of his favorite lines from Reagan during the 1980 campaign: “A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose your job. Recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his job.” Continuing, he said that “Barack Obama is Jimmy Carter 2.0 and it is time to hit the delete button.”
Will told the audience that the “retreat of the state” that started with the election of Margaret Thatcher in 1979 and the election of Ronald Reagan has been reversed. This should be reversed again, he said. On the federal stimulus, Will said that the downward revision of GDP from a bad number to an even worse number is evidence that the stimulus is not working.
There are two things that the administration is saying that are “funny,” Will said. One is that our current crisis was brought on because there was too little government regulation and administration. The second is that the problem with the stimulus is that Republicans made it too small. “The government is dangerously frugal at the moment,” he said to laughter from the audience. But Will said that the government controls the money supply and interest rates, leading to control of home mortgages. He traced the edicts of government that increasing percentages of mortgages must be given to those with poor credit. These expansions of the federal government, along with the No Child Left Behind education law, happened under Republican administrations, evidence that not only Democrats are too blame.
Government is dominating the energy sector too. He said that matters because “no less of an authority of energy” than Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that “America should use more natural gas rather than fossil fuels.”
In health care, half of spending is already government money, and that will increase, as will the 138,000 pages of health care regulations. As to the alleged dangerous frugality of the government, Will said we are “marching into the most predictable financial crisis the world has ever seen.” This crisis is self-inflicted, he said.
Illustrating the size of government, he said that at the time of the first world war, when federal government spending exploded, the richest man in American could have personally retired the federal debt. But today’s richest man could pay for only two month’s interest on the deficit. The administration’s planned spending program will result in a situation ten years from now when federal entitlement programs (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid) plus the interest on the federal debt will consume 93 percent of federal revenue. The debt will be one hundred percent of GDP. This will crowd out private borrowing and investment. As a nation, he said we don’t save enough to fund both government and the investment needs of the private sector economy.
Will noted the remarkable progress of American medicine during his lifetime. But both presidential candidates campaigned against the pharmaceutical industry in 2008, which Will said was “shocking.” “It is time to quit stigmatizing those who create wealth, those who extend life, those who reduce pain. Get the government out of the way, and let them get on.” The economy is fragile, Will said, and we need not burden it more with taxes. He referred to Congressman Paul Ryan, who said we have a nation with “too many takers and not enough makers.”
On education, he said we need an education system that “equips people to compete in a free society.” He criticized the short school year in the U.S., as compared to other countries. He told the audience that a major problem with schools is the teachers unions. The increased spending on schools has not worked. 90 percent of the difference between schools can be explained by characteristics of the students’ families, he said. “Don’t tell me the pupil-teacher ratio, tell me the parent-pupil ratio.”
Even with as many problems as there are, he said that an “aroused citizenry” like that in the room tonight can fix the problems. He’s not pessimistic, he said, because Obama has stimulated a “new clarity” from the American people.
There is a tension today between freedom and equality, two polar values. Liberals today stress equality of outcomes, and believe that the multiplication of entitlement programs to produce this equality serves the public good. But conservatives stress freedom, and that multiplication of entitlement programs is “subversive of the attitudes and aptitudes essential for a free society of self-reliant, far-sighted, thrifty and industrious people.”
The Obama presidency has passed its apogee, Will told the audience. Quoting Winston Churchill, he said that “The American people invariably do the right thing, after they have exhausted all the alternatives.” Will said he believes that Americans believe that “a benevolent government is not always a benefactor, capitalism doesn’t just make us better off, it makes us better.”
Will told the audience that “Americans for Prosperity exists on the principle that when you change the nation’s economy, you change the national character in the process.” Urging the citizen activists to get involved, he echoed a remark made by Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who had spoken earlier: “You are the point of the lance. Go to work.”
Before his speech, Americans for Prosperity Foundation Chairman David H. Koch awarded Will the George Washington award. This is AFP’s highest award, given to Will for his work in defending and advancing economic freedom. Koch also spoke about the goals of Americans for Prosperity Foundation, which he said are to advance economic freedom and prosperity by limiting government growth, spending, and taxation. It is a grassroots movement that holds political leaders of every party accountable. AFP advocates for the free market economy, which he said improves lives and created the greatest nation on the face of the Earth.
Tags: Bob Weeks, Americans for Prosperity, American Defended the American Dream, George Will, Barack Obama, Capitalism, Economics, Education, Free markets, Health care, Regulation, Taxation To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Herman Cain Answers Questions at Defending the American Dream 2010
Herman Cain visited with new media bloggers at the Americans For Prosperity Defending the American Dream 2010 Washington, D.C. Below are two videos from this time with Mr. Cain:
Herman Cain on Conservatives Getting the Minority Vote
[Video]
Dustin Siggins interviews radio star and potential presidential candidate Herman Cain on how conservatives can attract the minority vote; Herman Cain explains the history of the Democratic Party.
Cain: Democrats started the KKK. Democrats opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Herman Cain on What You Can Do to Make a Difference
[Video]
Herman Cain talks to Allie Duzett, the author of How to Save America: A Tactical Guide for Practical Patriots, about what practical patriots can do TODAY to make a difference.
Cain: The number one thing people should be doing right now is reading the U.S. Constitution - the whole Constitution - so you know whats in it!
Tags: AFP, Defending the American Dream, Allie Duzett, Dustin Siggins, Herman Cain, civil rights, Republicans, education, Democrats, KKK , To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Herman Cain on Conservatives Getting the Minority Vote
[Video]
Dustin Siggins interviews radio star and potential presidential candidate Herman Cain on how conservatives can attract the minority vote; Herman Cain explains the history of the Democratic Party.
Cain: Democrats started the KKK. Democrats opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Herman Cain on What You Can Do to Make a Difference
[Video]
Herman Cain talks to Allie Duzett, the author of How to Save America: A Tactical Guide for Practical Patriots, about what practical patriots can do TODAY to make a difference.
Cain: The number one thing people should be doing right now is reading the U.S. Constitution - the whole Constitution - so you know whats in it!
Tags: AFP, Defending the American Dream, Allie Duzett, Dustin Siggins, Herman Cain, civil rights, Republicans, education, Democrats, KKK , To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Friday, August 27, 2010
AFP Blogger of the Year 2010 Defending the American Dream
Dr. Bill Smith, editor: Today, officially kicked off the speeches and workshops at the Americans for Prosperity (AFP) Defending the American Dream (DAD) 2010 in Washington, D.C. Over 3200 people attended and that figure did not include people found wandering the hall. Some of these wanderers were people who had come to Washington, D.C. for the Honoring America 8/28 rally and were also staying at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.
The day was a little different than normal for me and so not much is written today. I will post some articles about AFP DAD 2010 over the next few days. When I arrived yesterday around 6 pm, I saw lots of people I knew from other events. Some friendly chat and the getting to my room took another hour. It was great to see people from great groups like Smart Girl Politics and from Arkansas including the Faulkner County Tea Party. After an hour or so, I made it to my room, dropped my stuff and went down to event registration to pick up my media credentials. As I said that I was a blogger, a volunteer sent me down to blogger's row where credentials for new media bloggers and radio media were waiting. But, my credentials were not there. So, back to the event desk. Let me add that the event desk is close to 50 yards in length, so they had lots of volunteers and staff helping.
When I arrived back at the event desk, two of the AFP staff recognized me and said that my credentials were in the VIP section and walked me up to the section. Indeed, my name was on the VIP list. I chuckled and said I am not VIP, I am just an old blogger and that there must be a mistake. They said no, you are registered as a VIP. They even had a special information packet for me. They advised me that I would was to attend a breakfast, lunch and a series of presentations in the morning for VIPs and closed reception in the evening before the dinner. They also said that I would be at one of the head tables and gave me my seat assignment.
I showed up at the morning event with my computer and camera. Met some of the officers of AFP, state supporters and heard some interesting insights on strategy. After lunch, I slipped out a few minutes early because I wanted to visit the Arkansas delegation who were having a working lunch. Last year we had 8 people from Arkansas; but, this year there were over 150 people from Arkansas who attended.
I then went to bloggers row and and found the end of a table and set up operations. Besides meeting other great bloggers and video new media, I talked with some campaign staffers, other activists, and met Michele Bachmann. Also, after speaking at the main even, Herman Cain, a contributing author on the ARRA News Service, stopped by and spent a considerable time with the bloggers. If the photos turn out, I will post them next week. Some others made some video interviews which I hope to also be able to post.
At 5:30 pm, I attended an AFP Chairman's VIP reception before the evening dinner. At the reception, met people from the morning and also other AFP State leaders and friends of AFP. Rep Eric Cantor dropped by for a few minutes and spoke. Surprisingly, a lady who had sat next to me on the flight from Memphis to Washington, D.C. and was meeting her husband in Washington was also at the reception - sometimes it is small world.
As with all prior AFP Defending the American Dream summits, the "Tribute to Ronald Reagan" dinner was a success. Michele Bachmann gave a rousing speech and conservative columnist writer George Will gave an exceptional insightful speech full of wit, sarcasm, and even baseball metaphors. Then at the closing, they awarded a couple of awards. It was then that I learned why I was a VIP on this day. Americans for Prosperity presented the Blogger of the Year 2010 to me "in recognition of leadership in advancing economic freedom and liberty through modern media." I was indeed surprised, humbled and thankful. And, I am especially thankful for Americans for Prosperity.
Tomorrow, everyone is heading to the Honoring America 8/28 rally at the Lincoln Memorial. A crowd of between 500,000 and a million people are expected. Regardless, it should be both fun and educational.
Tags: AFP, Defending American Dream, 2010, Washington, D.C., VIP, blogger, award, Bill Smith
To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
The day was a little different than normal for me and so not much is written today. I will post some articles about AFP DAD 2010 over the next few days. When I arrived yesterday around 6 pm, I saw lots of people I knew from other events. Some friendly chat and the getting to my room took another hour. It was great to see people from great groups like Smart Girl Politics and from Arkansas including the Faulkner County Tea Party. After an hour or so, I made it to my room, dropped my stuff and went down to event registration to pick up my media credentials. As I said that I was a blogger, a volunteer sent me down to blogger's row where credentials for new media bloggers and radio media were waiting. But, my credentials were not there. So, back to the event desk. Let me add that the event desk is close to 50 yards in length, so they had lots of volunteers and staff helping.
When I arrived back at the event desk, two of the AFP staff recognized me and said that my credentials were in the VIP section and walked me up to the section. Indeed, my name was on the VIP list. I chuckled and said I am not VIP, I am just an old blogger and that there must be a mistake. They said no, you are registered as a VIP. They even had a special information packet for me. They advised me that I would was to attend a breakfast, lunch and a series of presentations in the morning for VIPs and closed reception in the evening before the dinner. They also said that I would be at one of the head tables and gave me my seat assignment.
I showed up at the morning event with my computer and camera. Met some of the officers of AFP, state supporters and heard some interesting insights on strategy. After lunch, I slipped out a few minutes early because I wanted to visit the Arkansas delegation who were having a working lunch. Last year we had 8 people from Arkansas; but, this year there were over 150 people from Arkansas who attended.
I then went to bloggers row and and found the end of a table and set up operations. Besides meeting other great bloggers and video new media, I talked with some campaign staffers, other activists, and met Michele Bachmann. Also, after speaking at the main even, Herman Cain, a contributing author on the ARRA News Service, stopped by and spent a considerable time with the bloggers. If the photos turn out, I will post them next week. Some others made some video interviews which I hope to also be able to post.
At 5:30 pm, I attended an AFP Chairman's VIP reception before the evening dinner. At the reception, met people from the morning and also other AFP State leaders and friends of AFP. Rep Eric Cantor dropped by for a few minutes and spoke. Surprisingly, a lady who had sat next to me on the flight from Memphis to Washington, D.C. and was meeting her husband in Washington was also at the reception - sometimes it is small world.
As with all prior AFP Defending the American Dream summits, the "Tribute to Ronald Reagan" dinner was a success. Michele Bachmann gave a rousing speech and conservative columnist writer George Will gave an exceptional insightful speech full of wit, sarcasm, and even baseball metaphors. Then at the closing, they awarded a couple of awards. It was then that I learned why I was a VIP on this day. Americans for Prosperity presented the Blogger of the Year 2010 to me "in recognition of leadership in advancing economic freedom and liberty through modern media." I was indeed surprised, humbled and thankful. And, I am especially thankful for Americans for Prosperity.
Tomorrow, everyone is heading to the Honoring America 8/28 rally at the Lincoln Memorial. A crowd of between 500,000 and a million people are expected. Regardless, it should be both fun and educational.
Tags: AFP, Defending American Dream, 2010, Washington, D.C., VIP, blogger, award, Bill Smith
To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
More Grim Economic News Underscores Obama Admins' Failed Policies
The Obama administration has spent much of the week touting their failed $862 billion stimulus bill, but there’s been little to celebrate in what the White House wanted to call “recovery summer.” The AP reports on the latest disappointing economic news today: “The economy grew at a much slower pace this spring than previously estimated, mostly due to the largest surge in imports in 26 years and a slowdown in companies' restocking of goods. The nation's gross domestic product - the broadest measure of the economy's output - grew at a 1.6 percent annual rate in the April-to-June period, the Commerce Department said Friday. That's down from an initial estimate of 2.4 percent last month and much slower than the first quarter's 3.7 percent pace. The revision follows a week of disappointing economic reports. The housing sector is slumping badly after the expiration of a government homebuyer tax credit. And business spending on big-ticket manufactured items such as machinery and software, an important source of growth earlier this year, is also tapering off. As a result, most analysts expect the economy will grow at a similarly weak pace for the rest of this year.”
This is, of course, 18 months after Vice President Joe Biden said that the stimulus “is about getting this out and spent in 18 months to create 3.5 million jobs and to . . . tee this up so the rest of the good work that's being done here literally drop-kicks us out of this recession . . . .” Instead, since the stimulus was passed we’ve seen record deficits, 3.3 million jobs lost, and a steady stream of grim economic news.
As ABC News explained Tuesday, “[T]outing summer 2010 as ‘the most active Recovery Act season yet’ and, implicitly, as a period of job growth, belies a reality many Americans say they are experiencing.” In his Wall Street Journal column yesterday, Karl Rove pointed out, “Mr. Obama’s credibility is crumbling, and for good reason: He and his people are saying things people don’t believe.” Indeed, rel="nofollow" target="new">CBS News reported Thursday, “Americans are more pessimistic about the country’s economy than they were last month, a new CBS News poll reveals. Thirty-four percent now say the economy is getting worse, up from 26 percent last month. Only 20 percent now say the economy is getting better, according to the poll, conducted Aug. 20 - 24.”
Business leaders, too, are getting fed up. The Wall Street Journal editors write today, “American business leaders were remarkably quiescent during the Obama Administration's first 18 months, but more are now speaking up as the threats to the economic recovery and long-term U.S. prosperity become more serious. The latest is Intel CEO Paul Otellini, who warned a technology forum this week that without a change in U.S. government policy ‘the next big thing will not be invented here. Jobs will not be created here. And wealth will not accrue here.’” Otellini went on to say, “I think this group [the administration] does not understand what it takes to create jobs. And I think they're flummoxed by their experiment in Keynesian economics not working.”
Even some Democrats in Congress seem to finally understand how badly the economy is performing. The Washington Post reports today, “With the economy rapidly weakening, some senior Democrats are having second thoughts about raising taxes on the nation's wealthiest families and are pressing party leaders to consider extending the full array of Bush administration tax cuts, at least through next year. . . . “a growing cadre of Democrats - alarmed by evidence that the recovery is losing steam and fearful of wounding conservative Democrats in a tough election year - are advocating a plan that would permanently extend tax cuts benefiting the middle class while renewing breaks for the wealthy through 2011, senior Democratic aides said.”
Business leaders, some Democrats in Congress, and Americans in every corner of the country are seeing how the Obama administration’s economic policies have failed to bring about the recovery Democrats predicted. Certainly, as Rove wrote yesterday, “recovery summer” “will rank as one of the all-time presidential PR disasters.” Unfortunately, as the WSJ editors lament, “Our sense is that President Obama and his advisers believe their own advertising that the stimulus has been a smashing success, that tax rates don't matter to investment, and that CEOs are merely self-interested rich guys who want to get richer.” It’s long past time for this administration and this Democrat-run Congress to stop punishing job creators, scrap plans for massive tax hikes, and reject more regulations, more government intrusion, and more government spending as the answers to our economic problems.
Tags: the economy, Democrats, failed programs, Obama administration To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
This is, of course, 18 months after Vice President Joe Biden said that the stimulus “is about getting this out and spent in 18 months to create 3.5 million jobs and to . . . tee this up so the rest of the good work that's being done here literally drop-kicks us out of this recession . . . .” Instead, since the stimulus was passed we’ve seen record deficits, 3.3 million jobs lost, and a steady stream of grim economic news.
As ABC News explained Tuesday, “[T]outing summer 2010 as ‘the most active Recovery Act season yet’ and, implicitly, as a period of job growth, belies a reality many Americans say they are experiencing.” In his Wall Street Journal column yesterday, Karl Rove pointed out, “Mr. Obama’s credibility is crumbling, and for good reason: He and his people are saying things people don’t believe.” Indeed, rel="nofollow" target="new">CBS News reported Thursday, “Americans are more pessimistic about the country’s economy than they were last month, a new CBS News poll reveals. Thirty-four percent now say the economy is getting worse, up from 26 percent last month. Only 20 percent now say the economy is getting better, according to the poll, conducted Aug. 20 - 24.”
Business leaders, too, are getting fed up. The Wall Street Journal editors write today, “American business leaders were remarkably quiescent during the Obama Administration's first 18 months, but more are now speaking up as the threats to the economic recovery and long-term U.S. prosperity become more serious. The latest is Intel CEO Paul Otellini, who warned a technology forum this week that without a change in U.S. government policy ‘the next big thing will not be invented here. Jobs will not be created here. And wealth will not accrue here.’” Otellini went on to say, “I think this group [the administration] does not understand what it takes to create jobs. And I think they're flummoxed by their experiment in Keynesian economics not working.”
Even some Democrats in Congress seem to finally understand how badly the economy is performing. The Washington Post reports today, “With the economy rapidly weakening, some senior Democrats are having second thoughts about raising taxes on the nation's wealthiest families and are pressing party leaders to consider extending the full array of Bush administration tax cuts, at least through next year. . . . “a growing cadre of Democrats - alarmed by evidence that the recovery is losing steam and fearful of wounding conservative Democrats in a tough election year - are advocating a plan that would permanently extend tax cuts benefiting the middle class while renewing breaks for the wealthy through 2011, senior Democratic aides said.”
Business leaders, some Democrats in Congress, and Americans in every corner of the country are seeing how the Obama administration’s economic policies have failed to bring about the recovery Democrats predicted. Certainly, as Rove wrote yesterday, “recovery summer” “will rank as one of the all-time presidential PR disasters.” Unfortunately, as the WSJ editors lament, “Our sense is that President Obama and his advisers believe their own advertising that the stimulus has been a smashing success, that tax rates don't matter to investment, and that CEOs are merely self-interested rich guys who want to get richer.” It’s long past time for this administration and this Democrat-run Congress to stop punishing job creators, scrap plans for massive tax hikes, and reject more regulations, more government intrusion, and more government spending as the answers to our economic problems.
Tags: the economy, Democrats, failed programs, Obama administration To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Unions, Marxist Groups Join Forces, Use Bailout Money for Get-Out-The-Vote Efforts
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) plans to kick in about $50 million. Former rivals, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the AFL-CIO have united and committed a combined $88 million to defend eight Senate and 34 House seats, located in 26 states.
The SEIU, which richly benefited from President Obama’s health care reform bill, identified 15 top-priority Democrat House members to defend, including: Reps. John Boccieri of Ohio, Bill Foster of Illinois, Betsy Markey of Colorado, Tom Perriello of Virginia, Gary Peters of Michigan and Dina Titus of Nevada.
Notwithstanding the numerous bailouts from which they have already benefited – the latest being House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s “emergency” $26 billion union bailout on Aug. 4 – labor leaders still bemoan the fact that many of their priorities have yet to be passed.
GET-OUT-THE-VOTE
Despite dramatically diminished membership roles – from its peak in 1945 of one-third of the workforce to just 7.2 percent in 2009 – unions still wield tremendous power, as seen in the 2008 elections, and California’s marriage amendment.
Christopher Prandoni, executive director of the Alliance For Worker Freedom (AWF) – a project of Americans for Tax Reform – said that organized labor has seen its ranks dwindle, as they cannot win on the merits of their argument.
“Unions are lobbying Congress and state legislatures to enact laws that make it easier for them to unionize workers – workers that don’t want to be unionized,” Prandoni said. “With the American public increasingly disenchanted with labor’s prerogatives, unions have looked to skew the election process, and by doing so, subvert the democratic principles this country was founded on.”
AWF reports that 9 out of the top 10 political action committees (PACs) and 4 out of the top 5 organizations donating to 527s that contribute to Democrat candidates are labor unions. . . . [Full Article]
Tags: Unions, Marxists, bailout money, votes, get out the votes, fraud To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Obama Bestows New Rights
When most of us think of rights, we think of the inalienable rights referred to in the Declaration of Independence – the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Or we think of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution – the right to free speech, worship, etc.
But as Gallagher writes, the president’s report to the U.N. crows about the establishment of ObamaCare, noting, “On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. The Act makes great strides toward the goal that all Americans have access to quality, affordable health care.” Looking ahead to the elections, Gallagher asks, “If a new Congress retools this deeply unpopular bill, does [Obama] suggest to the council we are now violating international human rights standards?”
Remember, friends, this tribute to socialized medicine is contained in a report to the United Nation’s Human Rights Council, and it is very revealing of Obama’s mindset. To Obama, defending human rights is about promoting Big Government.
And therein lies Obama’s great disconnect with the foundational values of America: Our rights do not come from government, but rather from God. They do not require taxpayer-subsidies or socialist redistribution schemes. Rather, they guarantee the liberty of each individual to pursue his or her happiness.
That is not Obama’s view. In 2001, he described the Constitution as “a charter of negative liberties. [It] says what the states can’t do to you. [It] says what the federal government can’t do to you, but doesn’t say what the federal government or state government must do on your behalf.” Most Americans think the government is doing too much and taxing too much, but not Barack Obama – he thinks healthcare is a human right. Vacations will be next.
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Gary Bauer is is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families. He submitted the above in an email to the ARRA News Service Editor. Bauer was a former Republican presidential candidate and served as President Ronald Reagan’s domestic policy adviser.
Tags: Barack Obama, new rights, UN, United Nations, Obamacare, vacations, Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Weatherization Program Achieves only 10% of Goal
“DRIVING THE V.P.’S DAY, Per The White House: ‘Vice President Biden Will Visit The Home Of A Manchester, NH Family Where He’ll Announce A Major Recovery Act Milestone – The Weatherizing Of 200,000 Homes Under The Recovery Act.’” (Politico’s “Playbook,” 8/26/10)
THE ORIGINAL SALE PRESIDENT OBAMA: “ >We Also Have Put In Money [In The Stimulus] That Provide [sic] For The Weatherization Of Millions Of Homes Across The Country.” (President Obama, Remarks, Elkhart, IN, 2/9/09)
VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: “We Have A Weatherization Program In This Project [The Stimulus]. We're Going To Weatherize 2 Million Homes.” (VP Biden, Remarks, 2/11/09)
VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: “We Have A Weatherization Program In This Project [The Stimulus]. We're Going To Weatherize 2 Million Homes.” (VP Biden, Remarks, 2/11/09)
National Historic Preservation Trust: “…officials from the Michigan Department of Human Services told us that the NHPA requires that weatherization projects receiving federal funds undergo a state historic preservation review. According to Michigan officials, this requirement means that the state historic preservation office may review every home over 50 years of age if any work is to be conducted, regardless of whether the home is in a historic district or on a national registry. State officials told us that an estimated 90 percent of the homes to be weatherized would need a historic review. These reviews are a departure from Michigan’s previous experience…” (“Recovery Act: Project Selection And Starts Are Influenced By Certain Federal Requirements And Other Factors,” GAO, P.18, 2/10)
Regulations Overwhelm Localities: “In addition, as we reported in December 2009, smaller localities, which are often rural, told us that they faced challenges because of a lack of staff to understand, apply for, and comply with requirements for federal Recovery Act grants… In the District of Columbia, moreover, Department of the Environment officials explained that weatherization funds had not been spent as quickly as anticipated because officials needed to develop the infrastructure to administer the program. For example, the department needed to hire six new staff members to oversee and manage the program. Officials reported that, as of late January 2010, the department had still not hired any of the six new staff required. However, the job posting was closed, and Department of the Environment officials expected Recovery Act-funded weatherization work to begin in early February 2010.” (“Recovery Act: Project Selection And Starts Are Influenced By Certain Federal Requirements And Other Factors,” GAO, P.23, 2/10)
Tags: weatherization program, government, Joe Biden, unions, Davis Bacon wages, regulations To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
AP's Reporting: "It's Starting To Feel Like Another Recession"
Karl Rove writes in his Wall Street Journal column today, “In what will rank as one of the all-time presidential PR disasters, we’re now well over half way through what the White House called ‘the summer of recovery.’ And what a recovery it’s been.” Indeed, an AP story from last night declared, “It’s starting to feel like another recession. Businesses are ordering fewer goods. Home sales are the slowest in decades. Jobs are scarce, and unemployment claims are rising. Perhaps most worrisome, manufacturing activity, which had been one of the economy’s few bright spots, is faltering.” Even Democrats’ favorite economist, Mark Zandi, had little positive to say, telling the AP, “The odds of a double-dip are rising and uncomfortably high . . . . Nothing else can go wrong. There is no cushion left.”
Rove listed some of the gloomy statistics: “Earlier this month, first-time claims for unemployment hit a nine-month high. The unemployment rate remains at 9.5% and 18.4% of workers are out of a job, can only get part-time work, or have given up looking for a job altogether. Sales of existing homes dropped 27% from June to July, hitting the lowest point since data were first collected in 1999.”
In just the last few weeks since Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner proclaimed, “Welcome to the Recovery,” we’ve seen 131,000 more jobs lost, unemployment claims hit a nine-month high, and home sales plummet to a low that hasn’t been seen in more than a decade.
As Rove explains, “All of this has helped shatter public confidence in the president. . . . Mr. Obama’s credibility is crumbling, and for good reason: He and his people are saying things people don’t believe. At the start of his summer of recovery road show, the president flatly asserted that last year’s massive stimulus package had ‘worked.’ Vice President Joe Biden, not to be outdone, promised monthly job gains of up to 500,000 and insisted that the recovery’s pace ‘continues to increase, not decrease’ as stimulus spending was ‘moving into its highest gear.’”
Clearly Americans are not seeing the administration’s rosy predictions play out. According to CBS News, “Americans are more pessimistic about the country’s economy than they were last month, a new CBS News poll reveals. Thirty-four percent now say the economy is getting worse, up from 26 percent last month. Only 20 percent now say the economy is getting better, according to the poll, conducted Aug. 20 - 24.”
For most Americans, this is anything but a “recovery summer,” and the grim economic numbers bear that out. Yet the Obama administration persists in claiming that the $862 billion stimulus bill was a success and that job-killing bills like the health care law and the Dodd-Frank financial regulation legislation will improve the economy. We’ve already seen how costly both bills are to small businesses, let alone the rest of the economy. No wonder Americans are so fed up with the White House’s agenda of “[j]ob-stifling taxes, regulations, government intrusion,” as Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell described it recently.
Tags: recession, recovery summer, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Rove listed some of the gloomy statistics: “Earlier this month, first-time claims for unemployment hit a nine-month high. The unemployment rate remains at 9.5% and 18.4% of workers are out of a job, can only get part-time work, or have given up looking for a job altogether. Sales of existing homes dropped 27% from June to July, hitting the lowest point since data were first collected in 1999.”
In just the last few weeks since Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner proclaimed, “Welcome to the Recovery,” we’ve seen 131,000 more jobs lost, unemployment claims hit a nine-month high, and home sales plummet to a low that hasn’t been seen in more than a decade.
As Rove explains, “All of this has helped shatter public confidence in the president. . . . Mr. Obama’s credibility is crumbling, and for good reason: He and his people are saying things people don’t believe. At the start of his summer of recovery road show, the president flatly asserted that last year’s massive stimulus package had ‘worked.’ Vice President Joe Biden, not to be outdone, promised monthly job gains of up to 500,000 and insisted that the recovery’s pace ‘continues to increase, not decrease’ as stimulus spending was ‘moving into its highest gear.’”
Clearly Americans are not seeing the administration’s rosy predictions play out. According to CBS News, “Americans are more pessimistic about the country’s economy than they were last month, a new CBS News poll reveals. Thirty-four percent now say the economy is getting worse, up from 26 percent last month. Only 20 percent now say the economy is getting better, according to the poll, conducted Aug. 20 - 24.”
For most Americans, this is anything but a “recovery summer,” and the grim economic numbers bear that out. Yet the Obama administration persists in claiming that the $862 billion stimulus bill was a success and that job-killing bills like the health care law and the Dodd-Frank financial regulation legislation will improve the economy. We’ve already seen how costly both bills are to small businesses, let alone the rest of the economy. No wonder Americans are so fed up with the White House’s agenda of “[j]ob-stifling taxes, regulations, government intrusion,” as Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell described it recently.
Tags: recession, recovery summer, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Unleash Your Secret Power This November . . . Here’s How!
But, there are 6 U.S. Senate seats that are different. They are the seats where appointed Senators were selected to fill vacancies like the one created when Pres. Obama won the Presidency. They are CO, DE, FL, IL, NY & WVA. The state election law in each of these states (except NY) says that once the Nov. elections take place, the winner of the Senate race becomes the Senator right away, and doesn’t wait until January to be sworn-in.
So……your vote on November 2 will not only change the next Congress, but it will also affect what happens in the Lame Duck session. If you are voting in 1 of the 5 states where they currently have one of these “Special Senate seats” you will be making history with the power of your vote. Tell your friends and family that vote in the states of Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois and West Virginia about their unknown power and very unique opportunity.
Watch this 90 sec video on the lame duck session:
Stay tuned -- and tell Congress no lame duck session on GradeGov.com.
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Elizabeth B. Letchworth is a retired, four-times-elected United States Senate Secretary for the Majority and Minority. She is the founder of GradeGov.com. Tags: US Congress, Lame Duck, Congress, secret power, GradeGov.com, Elizabeth Letchworth, video To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
McCain Stiff Arms Opponents and Goes Teleprompter
John McCain after successfully stiff arming his opponents in the Arizona GOP primary, left nothing to chance when claiming victory. He employed the use of teleprompters.
We are still investigating the source of the teleprompters. Wonder if those little Obama America stickers mean something? Like the teleprompters were on loan from BHO. After all, McCain's "good friend across the isle" is now the supreme leader. Recall when McCain admonished America that we had nothing to fear from Barack Obama were to become the president. Yes, I believe I agree with what you are thinking about McCain's prophetic assertion. Let's say it together - "John! Stuff it!!"
[Note: Hat Tip eGOPNewsfor the photo which is real. The comments however are bitter satire.]
Tags: John McCain, Arizona, GOP, teleprompter, photo, eGOPNews, satire To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
We are still investigating the source of the teleprompters. Wonder if those little Obama America stickers mean something? Like the teleprompters were on loan from BHO. After all, McCain's "good friend across the isle" is now the supreme leader. Recall when McCain admonished America that we had nothing to fear from Barack Obama were to become the president. Yes, I believe I agree with what you are thinking about McCain's prophetic assertion. Let's say it together - "John! Stuff it!!"
[Note: Hat Tip eGOPNewsfor the photo which is real. The comments however are bitter satire.]
Tags: John McCain, Arizona, GOP, teleprompter, photo, eGOPNews, satire To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Max Baucus: ". . .You Want Me To Waste My Time To Read . . . The Health Care Bill"
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| ObamaCare / BaucusCare |
But today, the AP reports, “A plan by Medicare to try to make it simpler for consumers to pick drug coverage could force 3 million seniors to switch plans next year whether they like it or not, says an independent analysis.” The AP even points out, “That risks undercutting President Barack Obama's promise that people can keep their health plans if they like them. And it could be an unwelcome surprise for many seniors who hadn't intended to make a change during Medicare's open enrollment season this fall.”
As the article explains, “Medicare has already notified insurers they will no longer be able to offer more than one ‘basic’ drug plan in any given location. Several major prescription plans, including CVS-Caremark and AARP, offered two basic options throughout the country this year, Washington said. Eliminating that particular form of duplication among the top plans would force 2.75 million beneficiaries to find new coverage . . . .” In fact, the AP notes, “When other changes are taken into account, as many as 3.7 million Medicare recipients may have to switch, the analysis concluded. That amounts to about 20 percent of the 17.5 million enrolled in stand-alone drug plans.”
But that’s not the only story showcasing how the administration’s health care plans are likely to break their “if you like your plan, you can keep your plan” promise. Yesterday, Kaiser Health News reported, “Colleges and universities say that some rules in the new health law could keep them from offering low-cost, limited-benefit student insurance policies, and they're seeking federal authority to continue offering them. . . . Without a number of changes, it may be impossible to continue to offer student health plans, says a letter that the American Council on Education sent Aug. 12 to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, signed by 12 other trade associations that represent colleges.”
And this isn’t the only broken health care promise highlighted by a news story this month. A few weeks ago, the AP reported, “the new health care law doesn't improve Medicare’s solvency by much,” even though Obama claimed, “This law doesn't weaken Medicare; it strengthens it and extends its life almost by a decade.” And Politico noted that when it came to the “agencies, boards and commissions created under the new health care law, “Estimating the number is ‘impossible,’ a recent Congressional Research Service report says, and a true count ‘unknowable.’” That’s despite a claim from Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) that “this bill does not increase government.”
Max Baucus was one of the Democrats’ point men on their unpopular health care bill. Yesterday in Montana he responded to his constituent:“I don’t think you want me to waste my time to read every page of the healthcare bill." The Hill has the story picked up from the Flathead Beacon in Montana:
Speaking at a forum in his home state, Baucus and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius were asked by an audience member if they had read the whole bill and "if not, that is the most despicable, irresponsible thing.” “I don’t think you want me to waste my time to read every page of the healthcare bill," Baucus said, according to the Flathead Beacon. "You know why? It’s statutory language ... We hire experts." . . .Baucus response to the lady's question sounded more like the reply of a deranged assailant speaking to his distraught victim saying "several years from now you’re going to look back and say, ‘eh, maybe it isn’t so bad."
At the town hall event, Baucus defended the sweeping law. “It’s not perfect, nothing’s perfect, but I’m telling you, ma’am, it’s a good start,” Baucus said. “Mark my words, several years from now you’re going to look back and say, ‘eh, maybe it isn’t so bad.’”
This is the same Senator Max Baucus who in 1979 failed to get the facts and sided with unions to call for the United States Air Force to investigate an Air Force contracting officer's contracting decisions on a multimillion dollar housing renovation contract at Malmstrom AFB. MT. The Air Force Inspector General did investigate with a team headed by an Air Force Brigadier General. The Air Force IG investigation identified that the officer had acted properly. Baucus still pandering to his union constituents refused to accept the findings of the Air Force IG and called for the General Accounting Office (GAO) to investigate. The GAO did investigate and found that the Air Force officer's decisions were fair and reasonable and in accordance with the required rules, regulations and procedures. These investigations affected numerous lives and increased cost to the government. But, Max Baucus achieved his objective of securing constituent support for his future elections.
Baucus seems to have the dysfunctional pattern of trying to get by without completely reviewing and reading required information. Now it is the massive take over of health care. But his habit began over 30 years ago when he failed then to make an unbiased inquiry into the situation which would have prevented the unnecessary investigations, when he brought political pressure on military officers in Montana, when he refused to accept (probably didn't read that either) the Air Force Inspector General investigation report and when he called for further investigations thereby wasting even more government money.
Baucus actions 30 years ago only cost the taxpayers money and threatened a few peoples careers. But today, his behavior has escalated to the point of having devastating affects on all Americans. We could just as well have called the health care bill BaucusCare verses ObamaCare.
Baucus and other liberal Democrats were continually warned that the health care bill would not do what Democrats were claiming, and in fact would often do the opposite: raise taxes, increase premiums, grow government, increase health care costs, cut Medicare, reduce benefits, and force many Americans off the health care plans they currently like. This is exactly what is happening and the American people don't like it. Regardless of what you call the bill - ObamaCare / BaucusCare / LincolnCare / ReidCare / PelosiCare - it should be repealed!
And for Montana voters, it is time to Repeal Max Baucus! Neither you nor America can afford his ineptitude any longer.
Tags: Max Baucus, Montana, Kathleen Sebelius, Barack Obama, democrats, health care, ObamaCare, BaucusCare, Mountain To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!