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One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics
is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. -- Plato
(429-347 BC)
Saturday, August 07, 2010
Trifecta Wants You This Election Season! Get Involved, Let's Win This Election!
As identified at the end of this video: All Politics are personal! Do you really want to really restore this Republic? We need you make some small sacrifice to make a difference so we all can be in the winner circle! Contact your local Republican party or a candidate that you like. Get involved, make a few phone calls, visit a few people, kick in $5 or whatever to their campaign, lets get others out to vote, so we can all meet in the winners circle.
------------- Pajamasmedia: You don't win elections by watching Glenn Beck. You've got to do the hard work - walk precincts, talk with neighbors and lick envelopes. Scott Ott, Stephen Green and Bill Whittle tell you what it will it take to deliver a Republican majority in Congress on Election Day. The midterm elections, Obama and the Tea Party Movement on this edition of Trifecta. [Video]
Tags:PVTV, video, 2010 Election, getting involved. making calls, canvassing for candidates, giving, voting, conservative, RepublicansTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
League of American Voters: On December 31st 2010 the Bush tax cuts will fully and completely expire — automatically giving Americans a massive tax increase. Please join former Sen. Fred Thompson and the League of American Voters in demanding that Congress renew these tax cuts and keep our economy sound.
Text of Message by Fred Thompson:
Dear Fellow American:
On Dec. 31, 2010, almost every working American will be hit with a massive, across-the-board tax increase on their income and investments.
On this date, the Bush tax cuts, enacted in 2001 and 2003, completely expire.
We must urge Congress and the president to renew the Bush tax cuts early, before they expire and before investors lose confidence in the U.S. economy.
Fred Thompson
The automatic tax increase that will begin on Jan. 1, 2011, and could have catastrophic consequences for the economy. As the nation faces a terrible recession — now is not the time to raise taxes!
Help me and the League of American Voters get Congress and the president to renew the Bush tax cuts. You can do so by taking three simple steps:
Second, share this petition via e-mails, Twitter, Facebook, and anyway else you can
Lastly — help support the League financially so that it can share this important message with America via TV commercials.
The petition below will take just a few moments. It could help our country.
Yours for America, Fred Thompson]
U.S. Senator 1994 - 2003
Tags:Fred Thompson, Bush Tax Cuts, video, ad, League of American Voters, petitionTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
The Republican National Committee’s members unanimously voted today to ratify the recommendation of the Tampa Bay Region to host the 2012 Republican National Convention. The vote took place at the RNC’s Summer Meeting in Kansas City, Missouri.
“We are excited to be holding our 2012 Convention in Tampa Bay. The Site Selection Committee worked incredibly hard to find and present the best city to our Members, and I am very pleased with the decision made today to ratify this selection,” said RNC Chairman Michael Steele. “As we begin our planning efforts, we have been beyond impressed by the community’s hospitality and warm welcome, and I am confident that this will be a true team effort as we move towards 2012.”
“From the start of this process Chairman Steele and the Site Selection Committee have focused on what would be the best business deal for the RNC, the Convention, and the city. Tampa has easily met all of these challenges and more, and we are thrilled to bring the Republican Convention to Florida,” said Holly Hughes, Site Selection Chairman.
The 2012 Republican National Convention will be held the week of August 27th. In downtown Tampa, the St Pete Times Forum will serve as the Convention venue, and the Tampa Convention Center being used for the Media Workspace. It is expected that the convention will bring 45,000 people to the region in the 5 day period. It is also projected that the region will see over 150 million dollars in revenue during the convention week.
All across America, citizens are upset with their Senators like Arkansas' Blanche Lincoln and their representatives who have ignored their voices. People are angry and ready to "Vote the Bums Out." But anger won't do it. You must be registered to vote and then vote. You also need to motivate your like minded friends and neighbors to register and then to vote.
Rep. John Boozman (R-AR), who is also a Candidate for US Senate opposing Blanche Lincoln, said today in his weekly update to his constituents, "Your participation in the political process is a serious and necessary endeavor to make your voice heard and make government more responsive to your needs."
In-other-words, we need to get involved beyond grumbling, watching others and going to rallies. We need to take action - November is Coming!
3 Steps to make sure your voice is heard in November
1.Register NOW to vote [Arkansas Click Here]
2. Mark your calendar for election day, November 2, 2010
3.Report Fraud or election-day misconduct [To Your Local Election Commissioner/Supervisor] Tags:vote, register to vote, election 2010, Vote the Bums OutTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Today in Washington, D.C. - Aug 6, 2010 - No Good News Today!
Summary: No Good News except for the Senate being in recess; but unfortunately, the House is being recalled..
After doing too much last minute damage, the Senate has adjourned for its August recess and will reconvene on Monday, September 13th. Yesterday, the Senate voted 63-37 to confirm liberal Elena Kagan as to be an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, While it was the lowest confirmation vote for a Supreme Court nominee from a Democrat president, the results are the same. She is now on the Supreme Court for life and based on her past record and comments barring her personal conversion to the causes of liberty, individuals freedoms under the Constitution may be continually at risk.
Also yesterday, the Senate voted 61-39 to pass a $26 billion bill (H.R. 1586) to bail out states and provide $10 billion for education in a bail out for teachers’ UNIONS. Several Senators up for reelection, like Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, ignored the majority of their constituents and voted to support Barack Obama agenda. Prior to passage, the Senate rejected two motions from Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) to suspend the rules (on post-cloture amendments) and make changes to the bill. Both failed by votes of 42-58. The first DeMint motion would have permanently extended the 2001 tax cuts, and the second would have permanently extended the tax cuts on the top marginal rates for small business owners.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi posted on her Twitter that "I will be calling the House back into session early next week to save teachers' jobs and help seniors & children." She is using one of the oldest lines (lies) in politics -"its for the children." The Hill reports that "A K Street lobbyist said the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) pushed Pelosi to call back the House for the vote. States would have to lay off thousands of teachers if Congress doesn’t approve the money by the end of August. Schools have laid off teachers in significant numbers throughout the year. Senate Democrats fear a delay in state aid could lead to additional firings." So the UNIONS have more clout with Pelosi and the Democrats than protecting THE UNION. Congress has again ignored the Constitutional fact that education is a State responsibility and not that of the Federal Government. It is not the business of an Arkansas, Missouri or any state Senator or Congressman to be underwriting the cost affecting the laying off, hiring or firing of state and local employees with those states. But. it is the responsibility of Congress and the Federal government to protect the borders of "The Union" (United States of America) and to stop the invasion of our country.
Just three days after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner declared in a New York Times op-ed, “Welcome to the Recovery,” The Wall Street Journal reports on another dismal monthly employment report: “The U.S. economy shed more jobs than expected in July while the unemployment rate held steady at 9.5%, a further sign the economic recovery may be losing momentum. Nonfarm payrolls fell by 131,000 last month as the rise in private-sector employment was not enough to make up for the government jobs lost, the U.S. Labor Department said Friday. Only 71,000 private-sector jobs were added last month while 143,000 temporary workers on the 2010 census were let go.”
This bad news follows Vice President Joe Biden’s announcement in June of the White House’s “Recovery Summer” message and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s exclamation last month, “Welcome, everyone, to the summer of recovery!” But the news between then and now hasn’t been much better. Bloomberg News reported yesterday, “[t]he number of Americans who are receiving food stamps rose to a record 40.8 million in May . . . .” And the Los Angeles Times reported in July, "The number of U.S. homes taken back by banks through foreclosure hit a record high in the second quarter ... for a record total of 269,952 ...."
Clearly, the Obama administration’s economic policies, centered around the $862 billion deficit-financed stimulus bill, have failed to produce the recovery Democrats and administration officials predicted when the bill was passed in early 2009. Recall that key White House economic advisers Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein predicted in January 2009 that the “unemployment rate with … the recovery plan,” would not exceed eight percent “with recovery plan.” Well, Romer announced last night she is leaving the administration and going back to teaching. While we can't image how Romer is going to spin her failures back in the classroom, this is one Obama cheerleader we won't miss.
Regardless, the Democrats appear convinced that more of the same actions will somehow spur a recovery. Their latest piece of legislation is a $26 billion bailout for states, which includes $10 billion for teachers, and $16 to meet unfunded federal Medicaid mandates. As mention above Speaker Pelosi is actually calling the House back from recess to vote on the bill. But in a must-read editorial today, The Washington Post blasts Democrats’ effort: “The crusade for an education jobs bill, led by the Obama administration and Democratic leaders in Congress, has always struck us as more of an election-year favor for teachers unions than an optimal use of public resources. Billed as an effort to stimulate the economy, it’s not clearly more effective than alternative uses of the cash.”
And then there are the job-killing bills that Democrats have spent most of the past 18 months working on. Pelosi actually said Democrats’ health care bill, which the NFIB says will “devastate” small businesses, their student loan takeover, which has already cost thousands of jobs, and their national energy tax proposal, which could cost more than two million jobs, “they are all three pillars of job creation.”
We must agree with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell who laid out just what Democrats’ Washington agenda has meant for American jobs: “Enough is enough. Democrats can call say these bills are a response to the jobs crisis all they want. But the American people have already issued their verdict. The American people have seen the bitter results of the Democrats’ so-called economic agenda. Every bill they pass only adds more burdens on the people we need to get us out of this economic ditch. Whether it’s the health care bill or financial regulation, every bill they pass seems to have as a prerequisite that it kills more jobs. If a bill doesn’t kill jobs or make it harder to create them, they’re not interested.” Today’s jobs report is just another indicator of the failed economic policies of the Obama administration and the Democrat majority in Congress.
Projection: There is potential Good News on the horizon - November is Coming! Will the American people say enough is enough and bring real change - sanity - back to the US Congress? Tags:US Senate, US House, Washington, D.C., Elana Kagan, SCOTUS, bailouts for states, teacher's unions, the economy,, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Modern Day Robin Hood - With the Focus on "Robbing" and "Hoods"
When someone uses force and steals your money, it is called theft. When Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Barack Obama do it it is called Politics. Why should Alice working at Wal-Mart with no pension or Johnny the Barber have their future earnings and the future earnings of her children and grandchildren taxed to pay off the growing National Debt incurred by the bailout government union thugs because they and their states have over obligated and mismanaged pensions. To make it worse, the bailouts are going to states in which a majority of people like Alice and Johnny don't even live. States which obligate to spend more than the money they have available to spend are practicing "illegal exaction" or in street terms, they a acting like a bunch of "Hoods" "Robbing" the other people. So tell me , why are the elected officials from other states supporting these bailouts. What is in it for them?
Tags:Congress, Democrats, Food Stamps, Modern Day Robin Hood, Nancy Pelosi, States Bailout, Teachers Unions, William Warren, Political Cartoons, Hoods, Robbing, illegal exactionTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Today in Washington, D.C. - Aug 5, 2010 - Democrats Stunningly Out-Of-Touch On Missouri Health Care Vote
Today, the Senate approved 61 to 39 a motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 1586, the shell bill for a $26 billion state bailout for teachers and Medicaid.
Considering the news on the massive, unpopular health care law this week, it’s pretty amazing how out of touch Democrats and the Obama administration are when they talk about the fallout from and reactions to their health care overhaul.
Today, the trustees of Medicare are set to release a report on that program’s future solvency. President Obama and members of his administration have been repeatedly claiming that Medicare’s solvency has been extended by their health care bill, thanks to “savings” in the program. But in fact these savings are being spent on the massive expansion of government health care that the bill features. On Monday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius held a conference call to tout that claim, despite reports from both CBO and CMS saying they can’t count the money for both things. Indeed, the AP writes today, “[D]espite assertions to the contrary by the Obama administration, the new health care law doesn't improve Medicare's solvency by much. . . . An April 22 analysis pointed out that the highly touted gain of 12 years of additional solvency for Medicare from the health overhaul is largely an ‘appearance,’ stemming from how Medicare cuts are handled under federal accounting rules. Savings from those cuts would be used to finance coverage for the uninsured. ‘In practice, the improved (Medicare) financing cannot be simultaneously used to finance other federal outlays (such as the coverage expansions) and to extend the trust fund, despite the appearance of this result from the respective accounting conventions,’ the report said.”
And The Wall Street Journal editors note, “Earlier this week, the Congressional Research Service reported that the new bureaucracy the bill created is so complex and indiscriminate that its size is ‘currently unknowable.’ Capitol Hill's independent policy arm added that among ‘the dozens of new governmental organizations or advisory bodies,’ it is ‘impossible to know how much influence they will ultimately have.’” This is in spite of assurances by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) during debate on the health care bill that “this bill does not increase government.”
These kinds of things are precisely why Americans continue to not believe the Obama administration and Democrats when they try to sell their boondoggle of a health care overhaul and why voters are rejecting it every chance they get, as they did in Missouri by three-to-one on Tuesday. As The Wall Street Journal editorial puts it, “No wonder Missourians rebelled, as with voters in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Virginia last year.” Of course, the WSJ editors point out, “[t]his is another resounding health-care rebuke to the White House and Democrats, not that overwhelming public opposition to this expansion of government power ever deterred them before.”
The responses from many Democrats to Missouri’s referendum on the individual mandate illustrate just how obtuse they remain to the outrage of ordinary Americans about their health care legislation. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the referendum was “of no legal significance.” According to The Hill, “Asked what it means that voters in Missouri would vote against the federal mandate, Gibbs said: ‘Nothing.’”
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats might have been even worse with their takes. Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill told state reporters on a conference call yesterday, “I certainly noticed the vote on Prop C, the healthcare law, and: message received.” But apparently she didn’t get that message very clearly, as she went on to say, “I know that there's a lot of work we need to do on not just the provisions of the law, but most importantly making sure everyone knows what's in the law. And I can only be hopeful that as time goes on, more and more people realize the positive things that are in the bill.” So McCaskill thinks it’s only because people don’t know what’s in Democrats’ 2,800-page bill that they do like it. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had a similar response at a press conference yesterday. The Wall Street Journal reported, “[H]is main argument was that people will like the law better the more they see its benefits. ‘It’s very obvious that people have a lack of understanding of our health care reform bill,’ Reid said. ‘The more people learn about this bill, the more they like it.’”
But it’s become quite clear that Americans know precisely what’s in the health care bill: a mandate requiring people to purchase insurance, cuts to Medicare, higher health care costs, higher premiums, lost coverage, higher taxes, lost jobs, and ever more spending. That’s why Americans rejected Democrats’ health care takeover, and that’s why they continue to oppose it. As Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said yesterday, “Throughout the health care debate, Republicans heard the concerns of our constituents and insisted on the kind of commonsense solutions they were asking for, solutions that would actually do something to lower the cost of care. Democrats preferred to do their own thing. They said let’s raise taxes and cut Medicare to expand government, and then try to convince people it was in their best interests.” Yet the response from Democrats is that Americans don’t know enough to judge this flawed health care bill. The American people watched the debate and have seen the subsequent reports on how none of the major promises made about this health care bill can be kept. And they simply oppose this law. Tags:US Senate, US House, Washington, D.C., bailout, teachers, Medicaid, Missouri, vote, Obamacare, rejects, government healthcareTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
They told us that Americans would learn to stop worrying and love ObamaCare. To judge by yesterday's election in Missouri, they were wrong.
Official election returns show that citizens of the Show Me State voted overwhelmingly--71% to 29% in favor of Proposition C, a ballot measure described in a pre-election report from Time magazine:
The specific issue boils down to this: Can the government require that citizens buy health insurance? Mandatory insurance is a key element of the health care reforms passed by congressional Democrats and signed by Obama this year. Adding healthy people to the insurance pool spreads the cost of policies for people with health problems. Missouri's referendum rejects that mandate by asking voters whether state laws should be amended to forbid penalties for failing to have health insurance.
Time describes the vote as "largely symbolic." Other states have already passed such opt-out laws via legislative action rather than voter initiative, and the real test will come in the courts. But symbolism matters. If the constitutional question is a difficult one, it's possible that judges will resolve it on the side of public opinion. And of course the public's reaction to ObamaCare is likely to influence the politicians who have control over its implementation and possible repeal.
. . . Another possibly ominous sign for Democrats in the Obama era: Carnahan's opponent, Rep. Roy Blunt, received nearly 410,000 votes in his essentially uncontested primary. She got just 265,000 in hers. (Missouri has an open primary, so that anyone can vote for either party's candidate.) This is thought to be a toss-up race, with Blunt, who served as House Republican whip for three terms starting in 2003, a less than ideal GOP face in an "anti-incumbent" year.
Meanwhile, Time reports that other states will have ObamaCare opt-out measures on the ballot in November. If yesterday's results in Missouri are any indication, Nov. 2 could be a long night for congressional Democrats--and for the White House.
High Republican turnout did contribute to the size of the landslide, but as both Ed and Michael Tanner explained this morning, even a unanimous vote on the GOP side couldn’t have gotten you to 71 percent overall. A lot of indies and Democrats — specifically, Democrats motivated enough to vote in a primary — had to be onboard to push past the supermajority threshold.
Missouri voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a federal mandate to purchase health insurance, rebuking President Barack Obama's administration and giving Republicans their first political victory in a national campaign to overturn the controversial health care law passed by Congress in March.
"The citizens of the Show-Me State don't want Washington involved in their health care decisions," said Sen. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield, one of the sponsors of the legislation that put Proposition C on the August ballot. She credited a grass-roots campaign involving Tea Party and patriot groups with building support for the anti-Washington proposition.
With most of the vote counted, Proposition C was winning by a ratio of nearly 3 to 1. The measure, which seeks to exempt Missouri from the insurance mandate in the new health care law, includes a provision that would change how insurance companies that go out of business in Missouri liquidate their assets.
"I've never seen anything like it," Cunningham said at a campaign gathering at a private home in Town and Country. "Citizens wanted their voices to be heard."
About 30 Proposition C supporters whooped it up loudly at 9 p.m. when the returns flashed on the television showing the measure passing with more than 70 percent of the vote.
"It's the vote heard 'round the world," said Dwight Janson, 53, from Glendale, clad in an American flag-patterned shirt. Janson said he went to one of the first Tea Party gatherings last year and hopped on the Proposition C bandwagon because he wanted to make a difference. . . .
Tags:Missouri, vote, Obamacare, rejects, government healthcareTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
The Republican National Committee (RNC) celebrated President Barack Obama's birthday Wednesday by allowing visitors to its website to send the president an array of electronic birthday cards taking aim at his policies.
Visitors to BaracksBirthdayCards.com, redirected from the RNC official website, were given a choice of 11 different electronic greetings cards featuring various administration officials and top Democrats, including Vice President Joe Biden, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
Reid: Sorry Barack, No gift this year!
Reid's card says: “Sorry no gift this year. I’m going to need every dime to defend our failed economic policies,” says the card with Reid’s visage on it.
Biden's card uses his often used expletive. Pelosi card says; "What do you give a guy who has everything? How about Charlie Rangel and Maxine Walters? Hugs and Kisses." Tags:Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, happy birthdayTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Today in Washington, D.C. - Aug 4, 2010 - Missouri Voters Overwhelmingly Reject Obamacare's Individual Mandate
The Senate resumed consideration of the motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 1586, the shell bill for a $26 billion state bailout for teachers and Medicaid. This morning, the Senate voted 61-38 to invoke cloture on the motion to concur, allowing the state bailout bill to move forward and also voted 61-38 to waive a budget point of order against the bill. Up to 30 hours of post-cloture debate is now in order.
Later today, the Senate may resume consideration of the nomination of Elena Kagan of Massachusetts to be an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) will vote for Kagan's nomination over the objections of her constituents.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports today, “Missouri voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a federal mandate to purchase health insurance, rebuking President Barack Obama's administration and giving Republicans their first political victory in a national campaign to overturn the controversial health care law passed by Congress in March.” The New York Times adds, “Missouri voters on Tuesday easily approved a measure aimed at nullifying the new federal health care law, becoming the first state in the nation where ordinary people made known their dismay over the issue at the ballot box.” And The Wall Street Journal notes, “With all precincts reporting, 71% of voters supported Proposition C, establishing a state law that says Missouri cannot compel people to pay a penalty or fine if they fail to carry health coverage. Twenty-nine percent voted against the proposition.”
The NYT explains why the Missouri referendum is so important: “The measure was intended to invalidate a crucial element of President Obama’s health care law — namely, that most people be required to get health insurance or pay a tax penalty. Supporters of the measure said it would send a firm signal to Washington about how this state, often a bellwether in presidential elections, felt about such a law.”
Yesterday’s vote is yet another confirmation that Americans continue to oppose Democrats’ massive health care takeover. The WSJ notes in its story, “A June Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found that 44% think Mr. Obama's health-care plan is a bad idea, while 40% called it a good idea.” But just last month, 2 polls showed support for the law under 40%, while a third, from Democrat polling firm PPP, showed opposition to the law at 53%. And yet in spite of all of this, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) still claims, “Remember, any poll you see today, the majority of the American people support what we did here with health care.”
This hasn’t really been a good week for the health care law. On Monday, “A federal judge has refused to block a challenge to the Obama administration’s health care law brought by the Commonwealth of Virginia,” as the NYT reported. That lawsuit came in part from another state-based repudiation of the individual mandate, where the Virginia legislature, one house controlled by Republicans and the other by Democrats, passed a law saying residents of the state could not be compelled to purchase health insurance. And yesterday, Politico featured a report from the Congressional Research Service declaring it ‘impossible’ to count all the new bureaucratic entities created by the 2,800-page health care bill.
Is it any wonder Americans continue to say they don’t like the health care takeover? Polls show there hasn’t been majority support for the Democrats’ health plan since this time last year.
Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell noted this morning, “All throughout the health care debate, Democrat leaders in Washington told themselves they could do what they want, and then persuade Americans after the fact that it was okay. Last night, the voters in Missouri overwhelmingly rejected that notion. The people of Missouri have sent a message to Washington: enough is enough. . . . Americans weren’t kidding when they said they said they opposed this health care bill. And they’re not going away. This is just the beginning. Some of us have been saying it for more than a year: the American people will be heard. Whether it’s the failed Stimulus, the health care bill, or the financial regulatory bill, Americans are more intent than ever on reversing the trend of centralizing more power in Washington.”
House GOP Conference Chair Mike Pence reflected this morning: “The American people have been loud and clear about their opposition to ObamaCare, but Democrats pushed it through against the will of the people. Yesterday’s vote in Missouri is a strong declaration that Americans continue to reject ObamaCare’s job-killing mandates and tax increases. By a margin of more than two-to-one, voters in Missouri rejected this government-takeover of health care that impinges on fundamental freedoms. House Republicans have been listening to the American people, and we continue to work toward repealing ObamaCare and replacing it with common sense legislation that will reduce health care costs and leave individual Americans with the freedom to choose their own health insurance.” Tags:US Senate, US House, Washington, D.C., Elena Kagan, Missouri, Virginia, Obamacare,To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Lincoln Aligns Again With Obama - Liberal Ties Remain Stronger Than Arkansas Ties
It should come as no surprise to Arkansas voters that Sen. Blanche Lincoln has once again sold out Arkansans and fallen lock-in-step with President Obama. After supporting his failed $862 billion stimulus and casting the deciding vote on ObamaCare, Sen. Lincoln has now decided to be another “yes” vote for the President’s Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. Interestingly, she made her decision known to Politico late last night…is she trying to sneak something by Arkansas voters?
Arkansans deserve better than a champion of the liberal, big-spending agenda of the Obama Administration and Blanche Lincoln's plantation politics of ignoring her constituents and going with the Big Government liberal agenda.
Among other negative issues regarding Lincoln, she now is willing to place at risk the 2nd Amendment Rights which is important to over 80% of Arkansans regardless of political party. Does this matter to Senator Lincoln on her vote for Kagan. No! For more information on Elena Kagan and gun rights Kagan is a “Clear And Present Danger” To 2nd Amendment.
VP Joe Biden speaks at
fundraiser for Sen. Blanche Lincoln
Lincoln is desperate, she is behind in the polls and is scampering back to the only group from which she can hope to gain funding and support - the liberal progressives presently shepherded by Barack Obama and her best buddy, Joe Biden. The people of Arkansas rejected Barack Obama as president and they will reject Blanche Lincoln. Makes you wonder what promises have been negotiated. Lincoln again is evidencing her disdain for her constituents by voting for Elena Kagan who, if confirmed, will be an elitist progressive thorn in the side of the Republic for many years beyond the Obama Administration.
By Jason Tolbert: Sen. Lincoln lets Politico know last night that she has decided to vote in favor of Elena Kagan when the issue comes up tomorrow. Just a little over a week ago, Sen. Lincoln’s office told me that she was undecided on the issue and encouraged Arkansans to contact her with their opinion.
What changed her mind to persuade her to give Kagan the thumbs up? I have asked. I will let you know if I hear anything back. A more cynical person might say that she planned to vote for Kagan all along but I will wait and see what her office says was the compelling reason.
“I have some real concerns with regard to her experience. There is a real question about some of the comments that she made regarding the National Rifle Association, concerns about her action with regard to recruiting military,” explained Boozman. “What I would like to see on the court are people that are going to interpret the law as the people that wrote it intended. And it seems like there was a lot of squishyness in that case that perhaps that would not be the case.”
No word yet on how Sen. Mark Pryor will vote but odds are he will follow Lincoln’s lead.
Tags:Blanche Lincoln, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Elena Kagan, SCOTUS, US Supreme Court, Tolbert ReportTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Broken Promises on The Recovery and Goverment Healthcare
“Welcome To The Recovery” For Over A Year The White House Has Told Unemployed Americans “The Worst May Be Behind Us,” & That Their Economic Plan Will “Literally Drop-Kicks Us Out Of This Recession”
Over A Year Ago The Obama Administration Predicted Economic Improvement “Immediately,” Or In “Weeks To Months”
PRESIDENT OBAMA:“This Morning, We Received Additional Signs That The Worst May Be Behind Us. … I Am Convinced That We Can See A Light At The End Of Tunnel, But Now We're Going To Have To Move Forward With Confidence And Conviction To Reach The Promise Of A New Day.” (President Obama, Press Conference, 8/7/09)
VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN – FEBRUARY 25, 2009: The Stimulus Will “Literally Drop-Kicks Us Out Of This Recession.” “This is a monumental project, but I think it's doable. But I just think we got to stay on top (inaudible) and we got to stay on top of that on a weekly basis. Because this is about getting this out and spent in 18 months to create 3.5 million jobs and do -- to set -- tee this up so the rest of the good work that's being done here literally drop-kicks us out of this recession and we begin to grow again and begin to employ people again.” (Vice President Biden, Remarks At Recovery Plan Implementation Meeting, The White House, 2/25/09)
PETER ORSZAG, WHITE HOUSE BUDGET DIRECTOR – FEBRUARY 5, 2009: Americans To See Stimulus Benefits In “Weeks To Months.” BLITZER: “If it [the stimulus bill] passes the way you want it, more or less, without huge changes, when do you think the American public will begin to feel some benefit from this? In other words, jobs will stop being lost and maybe some of them will actually be created.” ORSZAG: “Well, it's going to take a bit of time, and we have to remember we’re inheriting -” BLITZER: “Define a bit of time.” ORSZAG: “It will take weeks to months.” (CNN’s “Situation Room,” 2/5/09)
LARRY SUMMERS, DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL – FEBRUARY 9, 2009:“You'll See The Effects Begin Almost Immediately.” BLITZER: “It's a tough call, obviously, right now for these members of Congress. But if the president gets his way and gets this package approved, he signs it into law, how soon before the American public starts to feel results, the creation of jobs?” SUMMERS: “You'll see the effects begin almost immediately.” (CNN’s “The Situation Room,” 2/9/09)
Another Broken Health Care Promise: Growing Government After Dems Insisted The Health Care Law “Does Not Increase Government,” Non-Partisan Experts Say There Is So Much Expansion The Exact Number Of New Government Entities Is “Unknowable” The Original Sale
SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D-MT): “This Bill Does Not Increase Government.”(Sen. Baucus, Floor Remarks, 12/9/09)
CRS: “Impossible” To Estimate The Number Of New Government Boards, Agencies, & Commissions Created Under The Health Care Law
“Don’t Bother Trying To Count Up The Number Of 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.’” (“Health Reform’s Bureaucratic Spawn,” Politico, 8/3/10)
“‘Although Some Observers Have Asserted That PPACA Will Result In A Precise Number Of New Boards And Commissions,’ The CRS Document Reads, ‘The Exact Number Of New Organizations And Advisory Bodies That Will Ultimately Be Created ... Is Currently Unknowable.’”(“Health Reform’s Bureaucratic Spawn,” Politico, 8/3/10)
“The provisions of the law that create the new entities vary dramatically in specificity. The law says a lot about some of them and a little about many, and merely mentions a few. Some have been authorized without any instructions on who is to appoint whom, when that might happen and who will pay. Those agencies created without specific appointment or appropriations procedures will have to wait indefinitely for staff and funding before they can function, according to Copeland’s report. And others could be just the opposite: One entity might not be enough and could spawn others, resulting in an ‘indeterminate number of new organizations.’” (“Health Reform’s Bureaucratic Spawn,” Politico, 8/3/10) Tags:Broken Promises, the economy, recovery, Obamacare, government healthcare, big governmentTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Today in Washington, D.C. - Aug 3, 2010 - Media Supports Kagan Conspiracy But Finally Reports on Dem's Deceptions On Obamacare, Bureaucracy & High Premiums
Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) rolled out the Kagan nomination and is also trying to force through several bills before the Aug recess. Reid wants the Senate can go on vacation and avoid questions at home about Kagan. He knows that the American people are unhappy with Congress and that many of his Senate colleagues will face their constituents once on recess. After the recess, they will return cowering and some will be in fear for their re-election. Today, the Senate began consideration of the disappointing nomination of Elena Kagan to be an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. A "very short" debate on her nomination is "scheduled" through 8:15 PM. With little to no time being allotted for a comprehensive debate, expect a vote by Thursday; possibly even tomorrow.
Reid is afraid to allow the debate of Kagan's record to be widely exposed to American voters. An Ethics - Criminal Complaint filed by Declaration Alliance is seeking to have Supreme Court nominee Kagan disbarred from practicing before the court she aspires to join. While RINOs like Sen Lindsey Graham (SC) are complicit in their unwillingness to represent there constituents by doing due diligence in their oversight responsibility on Kagan's nomination, Senator Ben Nelson (NE) has become the first Democrat to oppose Kagan saying “... I have heard concerns from Nebraskans ... Therefore, I will not vote to confirm Ms. Kagan’s nomination.” Reid cannot abide a further breach and is pressing forward for the Senate confirmation vote. And even the "lame" street press is supporting Reid in his "Kagan Conspiracy" by declaring victory for Kagan's confirmation before the vote is even taken.
Last night, after Democrats were unable to fully offset the cost of their state bailout bill (H.R. 1586), the Senate voted 95-0 to table a pending motion to agree to it. The bill was set aside, but Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is expected to try again with a new substitute amendment. A cloture vote on that bill has been set for Wednesday.
It’s been a few weeks since the Democrats’ massive, unpopular health care law has been in the news, but there are several stories involving the bill this week, and, as has been the case since it was signed into law, they all feature negative consequences, hidden, troublesome provisions in the bill, or show the truth of the bill contradicts Democrats’ sales job. Politico has a must-read story whose headline says it all: “Health reform's bureaucratic spawn.” Meanwhile, The New York Times examines the changes the law requires and notes a number of potential negative effects. On top of that, the Obama administration got caught in its double-counting of Medicare cuts. And of course, yesterday, a federal judge ruled that Virginia’s lawsuit against the health care law based on the individual mandate could proceed.
Politico’s story aptly illustrates the consequences of Democrats writing a 2,800-page bill, jamming it through Congress, and then having House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declare, “[W]e have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it . . . .” Politico writes, “Don’t bother trying to count up the number of 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.’ . . . The provisions of the law that create the new entities vary dramatically in specificity. The law says a lot about some of them and a little about many, and merely mentions a few. Some have been authorized without any instructions on who is to appoint whom, when that might happen and who will pay.” Politico also reports, “One entity might not be enough and could spawn others, resulting in an ‘indeterminate number of new organizations.’ The CRS report cites as an example a minority health provision that ‘requires the heads of six separate agencies within Health and Human Services to each establish their own offices of minority health.’”
While Politico looks at the bureaucratic fallout, The New York Times today finally after months of supporting Obamacare, notes the challenges in implementing the law without “destabilize[ing] or disrupt[ing] the existing market in a way that makes insurance less available or more expensive to consumers.” Of course, that’s precisely what this law will do, and the NYT acknowledges this even as the story points to some of the benefits touted by Democrats. As an example, the NYT points to the flap about coverage for children with pre-existing conditions. After President Obama signed the law, insurers were notified they must cover all children, but “[f]our months later some insurers said they would stop writing new coverage for children in the individual insurance market.”
Further, the Times story notes that new requirements in the law mean “[c]onsumers could see higher premiums” and another provision that “requires insurers to spend at least 80 percent of every premium dollar on medical care and activities to improve its quality” could mean “some insurers may curtail sales to individuals or small businesses if they find the requirements too difficult to meet.” Indeed, the NYT reports, “The insurance superintendent in Maine, Mila Kofman, cited that concern in asking the federal government for an exemption from the medical loss ratio requirement. “Absent a waiver, I believe that the federal standard may disrupt our individual health insurance market,” said Ms. Kofman, a strong supporter of the new law.”
Meanwhile, two events yesterday again exposed the misrepresentations made by Democrats and the Obama administration in selling the health care takeover in the first place. On a conference call with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told the American Spectator’s Philip Klein that it’s perfectly okay for the administration to count cuts in Medicare as extending the life of the Medicare trust fund when that money is also being used to pay for the expanded insurance coverage in the law. But even the AP notes, “[C]ritics say trust fund solvency will only improve on paper, since actual savings from the Medicare cuts would have been spent to provide coverage for more than 30 million uninsured Americans.”
Finally, in rejecting a motion from the Obama administration to dismiss Virginia’s suit against the health care law, federal Judge Henry E. Hudson said of the individual mandate, “Unquestionably, this regulation radically changes the landscape of health insurance coverage in America. . . . The Commerce Clause aspect of this debate raises issues of national significance. The position of the parties are widely divergent and at times novel. The guiding precedent is information but inconclusive. Never before has the Commerce Clause and the associated Necessary and Proper clause been extended this far.” Yet Democrats repeatedly dismissed constitutional concerns during the debate over the health care bill.
Yet again, Americans who disapproved of the health care bill before it was passed are learning about the unintended consequences, the hidden bureaucracy, and the misleading claims made by the Obama administration and Democrats about the bill, all after the fact. This bill needs to be repealed and replaced with common-sense reforms that won’t break the bank and raise premiums for Americans. Tags:US Senate, Washington, democrat deceptions, Harry Reid, Kagan Conspiracy, Elena Kagan, SCOTUS, Obamacare, bureaucracy, high premiums To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Small Business is "Drowning In Paperwork" which has been created by hidden provisions in the massive Obamacare bill. Another example of big government run a muck. Cartoonist William Warren captures the frustration! Wiliam Warren: Tags:ObamaCare, Big Government, paperwork, hidden provisions in bills, Small Businesses, William Warren, Political Cartoons,To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Smears Against TEA Parties Are Contrived DNC Political Strategy
By Bill Wilson: The attacks on the tea party movement and other citizen activists are continuing. This time, the DNC has unveiled its latest effort to portray tea parties, and Republicans, as radicals and extremists.
This effort, www.republicanteapartycontract.com, is nothing more than a series of misrepresentations of popular ideas like repealing ObamaCare and the financial takeover, eliminating whole departments and agencies in the federal government, keeping taxes low, etc. but it is occurring in a highly charged media climate where the NAACP has accused the movement of being racist.
The DNC is attempting to ride that wave of coverage to discredit the movement once and for all. It has all of the appearances of a coordinated attack, but there is an even wider context than has been widely reported by the mainstream media that shows a clear pattern to sabotage, infiltrate, and to otherwise destroy the movement, which has been chronicled by conservative blogger Michelle Malkin.
But that’s not all. Michigan Capitol Confidential is reporting that the political director of the Oakland County Democrat Party was behind an effort to register candidates to run under a fake “Tea Party” in Michigan, ostensibly to take away votes from Republican candidates and to confuse voters. It turns out that the petition drive necessary to create the party on the ballot was operated by Progressive Campaigns, Inc. out of California, which has run ballot initiatives supported by left-wing activist-financier George Soros.
Congressman Brian Baird called opponents of ObamaCare “Brown Shirts” and compared them to domestic terrorists, “Some of the rhetoric that we’re hearing is… eerily reminiscent of the kind of things that drove Tim McVeigh to bomb the federal building in Oklahoma.”
See a pattern here? It has all of the appearances of a coordinated smear campaign against tea parties and other citizen activists, which even the leadership of Congress has participated in. But where is the major media coverage of this? It’s so obviously a political theater that to report the NAACP’s smear without taking into account the above facts is dishonest and becomes complicit in the myth’s perpetuation.
The fact is, if there were this many pieces showing Republican efforts to sabotage, infiltrate, and discredit an entire political movement and falsely portray it as extremist, you can bet it would be portrayed as a grand conspiracy.
It’s time to start putting these pieces together. Hundreds of thousands of well-meaning, activist Americans are being besmirched and smeared as part of a contrived political strategy by Democrats to keep Congress. They want nothing more than less government control over the lives of individual Americans, and for that, they are pariahs and must be destroyed. Bill Wilson is President of Americans For Limited Government Tags:smears, attacks, TEA Parties, Bill Wilson, ALG, Americans For Limited Government, Harry Reid, James Clyburn, Jason Levin, Kenneth Gladney, Labor Unions, Main Stream Media, Michigan, NAACP, Nancy Pelosi, ObamaCare, Racism, SEIU, Steny Hoyer, Steve Kagen, Tea Party MovementTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Taxpayer Money Used To Run “Fictional” Medicare Ads
FactCheck.org Says “The Promise That ‘Benefits Will Remain The Same’ Is Just As Fictional As The Town Of Mayberry Was When Griffith Played The Local Sheriff”
“Would The Sheriff Of Mayberry Mislead You About Medicare? Alas, Yes.”
“Would The Sheriff Of Mayberry Mislead You About Medicare? Alas, Yes. In a new TV spot from the Obama administration, actor Andy Griffith, famous for his 1960s portrayal of the top law enforcement official in the fictional town of Mayberry, N.C., touts benefits of the new health care law. Griffith tells his fellow senior citizens, ‘like always, we’ll have our guaranteed [Medicare] benefits.’ But the truth is that the new law is guaranteed to result in benefit cuts for one class of Medicare beneficiaries — those in private Medicare Advantage plans.” (“Mayberry Misleads On Medicare,” FactCheck.org, 7/31/10)
“A Weasel Word: So How Can The Obama Administration Claim That ‘Guaranteed Medicare Benefits Will Remain The Same’? The Answer Is That The Term ‘Guaranteed’ Is A Weasel Word — A Qualifier That Sucks The Meaning Out Of A Phrase In The Way That Weasels Supposedly Suck The Contents Out Of An Egg. It may sound to the casual listener as though this ad is saying that the benefits of all Medicare recipients are guaranteed to stay the same — and that may well be the way the ad’s sponsors wish listeners to hear it. … But here’s the catch: The extra benefits generally offered by Medicare Advantage plans aren’t guaranteed by law. They are offered by private insurance companies as inducements.”(“Mayberry Misleads On Medicare,” FactCheck.org, 7/31/10)
“Currently, About 1 In Every 4 Medicare Beneficiary Is Enrolled In A Medicare Advantage Plan. For Many Of Them, The Words In This Ad Ring Hollow, And The Promise That ‘Benefits Will Remain The Same’ Is Just As Fictional As The Town Of Mayberry Was When Griffith Played The Local Sheriff.”(“Mayberry Misleads On Medicare,” FactCheck.org, 7/31/10)
Flashback: “Weasel Word” Used Consistently By The Administration To Mislead Seniors
PRESIDENT OBAMA: “First And Foremost, What You Need To Know Is That The Guaranteed Medicare Benefits That You’ve Earned Will Not Change, Regardless Of Whether You Receive Them Through Medicare, Or Medicare Advantage.”(President Obama, Remarks, 6/8/10)
President Takes Credit For Siding With Iraq Strategy He Criticized, Troops He Worked To Defund
PRESIDENT OBAMA: “While Other Individuals And Institutions Have Shirked Responsibility, [Americans In Uniform] Have Welcomed It.” “While our country has sometimes been divided, they have fought together as one. While other individuals and institutions have shirked responsibility, they have welcomed it.” (“Obama: ‘Sacrifice In Iraq’ Not Over,” Politico, 8/2/10)
Then-Sen. Obama: “The President’s Strategy Will Not Work.”
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL): “…20,000 Troops Is Not Gonna Make A Difference” “What I did not see from the President was any recognition that there is not a military solution to the problems that we face in Iraq right now… And in the absence of that, 20,000 troops is not gonna make a difference.” (ABC’s “Nightline,” 1/10/07)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL): “…The President’s Strategy Will Not Work.” “What was striking to me in listening to all the testimony that was provided, was the almost near unanimity that the president's strategy will not work.”(Foreign Relations Committee, U.S. Senate, Hearing, 1/24/07)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL): “Tonight We Heard President Bush Say That The Surge In Iraq Is Working, When We Know That's Just Not True.”(Paul Handley, “Democrats Blast Bush’s ‘Failed Policies,’ ‘Empty Rhetoric,’” Agence France Presse, 1/29/08)
Senate Democrats, Including Sen. Obama, Fought To Cut Off Funds For Troops In The Field
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. It Was Considered Absolute Heresy Four Months Ago.”(Sen. Feingold, Press Conference, 5/16/07)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV) On The Feingold Resolution:“An Important Issue That I Support Wholeheartedly.” “So we'll see what we have here in the Senate on Feingold. It's, I think, an important issue that I support wholeheartedly.” (Sen. Reid, Press Briefing, 5/15/07)
Democrats Criticized Petraeus Surge, Campaigned On Opposing Plan
SEN. JOE BIDEN: “This [The Petraeus’ Plan] Is Ridiculous. There Is No Plan… He May Be The Only One Who Believes This Is A Good Idea.” “This is ridiculous. There is no plan. I ask the President and everyone else who comes forward with a plan, whether it is capping or surging or whatever they have: Will it answer the two-word test: Then what? Then what? Then what? What happens after we surge these women and men? And by the way, he said General Petraeus is one who believes. He may be the only one who believes this is a good idea. Virtually no one else thinks it is a good idea.” (Sen. Biden, Congressional Record, S.3080, 3/14/07)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV) On Gen. Petraeus: “I Don’t Believe Him.” Q: “…General Petraeus is going to come to the Hill and make it clear to you that there is progress going on in Iraq, that the so-called surge is working. Will you believe him when he says that?” SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): “No, I don't believe him, because it's not happening. All you have to do is look at the facts.” (CNN’s “The Situation Room,” 4/23/07)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): “We Are Going To Pick Up Senate Seats As A Result Of This War… Senator Schumer Has Shown Me Numbers That Are Compelling And Astounding.”(Shailagh Murray, “Reid Sees Gains on Iraq,” The Washington Post, 4/13/07)
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL) On Gen. Petraeus: He’s “Carefully Manipulating The Statistics.” “By carefully manipulating the statistics, the Bush-Petraeus report will try to persuade us that violence in Iraq is decreasing and thus the surge is working. Even if the figures were right, the conclusion is wrong.” (Sen. Durbin, Remarks To The Center For National Policy, Washington, D.C., 9/7/07)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): “This Is A Campaign.” “We intend to address the Iraq issue … The heat on those Republican senators up in '08 is tremendous and growing, and that's why they're squirming. … This is a campaign.” (Sen. Schumer, Press Conference, 3/9/07)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA): “As For Where We Go From Here, It's Not Really A Secret Plan. We Force Votes On Iraq Again And Again And Again. We Pressure Them Every Chance We Can Get. And I think these Republicans who stand with George Bush’s rotten policy will squirm. … We have a number of groups organizing in key Senate states, such as the AAEI's campaign with USAction, that have been running ads and building field operations. All Of This Is Slowly Taking Its Toll -- If We Continue To Build It, They Will Crack. As An Old Friend Of Mine Used To Say, Nothing Focuses The Mind Of A Politician Like The Prospect Of Defeat At The Polls.” (Sen. Kerry, dailykos.com, Accessed 05/24/07)
Tags:democrats, Barack Obama, Candidate Obama, President Obama, Iraq War, troop surge, troop funding, military, troops, Joe Biden, Russ Feingold, John Kerry, Harry Reid, Chuck Shumer, Dick Drubin,To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Today in Washington, D.C. - Aug 2, 2010 - Obama Audaciously Takes Credit For Iraq War After Dems Opposed Surge; Voted To Defund The Troops
The Senate will take up the motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to HR 1586, a shell for Majority Leader Harry Reid’s substitute amendment featuring bailout money for teachers and states. Around 5:45 PM, a cloture vote on the motion to concur is scheduled. Later in the week, the Senate could return to the stalled small business bill (H.R. 5297)or Reid’s energy bill (S.3663).
Towards the end of the week, the Senate will take up the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court.
House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (IN) today expresses concern about the effects of Washington Democrats’ planned tax hikes on American families and small businesses. With Americans looking for economic certainty and private sector job growth, Chairman Pence related that raising taxes on America’s job creators, small business, is the last thing our fragile economy needs. Rep. Pence also called call for stopping the Democrats’ job-killing tax increases.
Also today, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), a member of the Finance Committee, held a special blogger conference call and discussed the negative impact on the economy of Democrats letting the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts expire. Sen. Hatch again echoed his comment on the Senate floor on Thursday, “In just over five months from now, on January 1st, a good share of America’s most prolific potential job creators – small businesses that generally employ between 20 and 500 workers – are going to face large tax increases unless Congress acts to stop them. The problem is that President Obama and many of his allies in Congress have already made it clear that they have no intention of stopping these increases.”
Of concern to conservative bloggers was the governments continued spending problem and the pending increases of taxes, especially inheritance taxes, which affects the heartland farmers and small business owners being able to keep their businesses in tact and passed on to their families. Also, several bloggers were very concerned about the Obama administration signaling a willingness to circumvent Congress on the issue of deciding who may legally reside in the United States by using department procedures to in grant "quasi-amnesty" to illegals. And, many bloggers expressed concerns about the pending Kagan vote being pushed forward by Senator Harry Reid before the scheduled recess. It is becoming more evident every day that Kagan has far too many issues to be confirmed to a life-time appointment as a Supreme Court justice.
Politico reports today, “President Barack Obama takes the first steps of a U.S. victory lap on the war in Iraq Monday. . . . In his speech the president … stress[ed] that the end of U.S. combat missions in Iraq on August 31 will mark a key ‘transition’ in the seven-year conflict, the onset of a phase dubbed Operation New Dawn.” In his speech, Obama said, “As a candidate for President, I pledged to bring the war in Iraq to a responsible end. Shortly after taking office, I announced our new strategy for Iraq and for a transition to full Iraqi responsibility. And I made it clear that by August 31, 2010 America’s combat mission in Iraq would end. And that is exactly what we are doing—as promised, on schedule.” Praising veterans who served in Iraq, Obama said, “While our country has sometimes been divided, they have fought together as one. While other individuals and institutions have shirked responsibility, they have welcomed it.”
But who might the President be referring to when he talks of people who “have shirked responsibility”? Might that include the Democrats in Congress who opposed the surge in early 2007, and voted repeatedly to cut off funds to the troops? What about Reid declaring “This war is lost,” and bragging, “We are going to pick up Senate seats as a result of this war… Senator Schumer has shown me numbers that are compelling and astounding.”
And what about Democrats who accused General David Petraeus, who was in charge of turning Iraq around and implementing the surge strategy, of “cooking the books” and “manipulating the statistics”? In March 2007, then-Sen. Joe Biden said on the Senate floor, “This is ridiculous. There is no plan. I ask the President and everyone else who comes forward with a plan, whether it is capping or surging or whatever they have: Will it answer the two-word test: Then what? … What happens after we surge these women and men? And by the way, he said General Petraeus is one who believes. He may be the only one who believes this is a good idea. Virtually no one else thinks it is a good idea.” Asked about Gen. Petraeus reporting progress in Iraq, Reid said in April 2007, “No, I don't believe him, because it's not happening.” In a speech, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) accused Gen. Petreaus of “carefully manipulating the statistics” about the surge. And Biden said, “There is some accuracy to’ so-called ‘cooking-the-books’ charges being leveled against Petraeus.”
For President Obama and his administration to now be claiming credit for the successful results of the surge that he and Vice President Biden voted against, and for him to complain of people who “shirked responsibility” when Senate Democrats voted to cut off funding, declared the war lost, and bragged about the political benefits of the war is particularly audacious. President Obama’s continuing of President Bush’s strategy of winding down combat operations deserves praise, but claiming the strategy as his own and ignoring how his party behaved during the surge clearly does not. Tags:US Senate, US House, Washington, democrat arrogance, Iraq war, small business, jobs, job-killing, tax bill, unemployment, the economy, Elena Kagan, SCOTUS To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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