Obama Headwinds

RNC:  Obama loves blaming headwinds!

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Tags: President Barack Obama, economy, headwinds, the economy, unemployment, jobs, unemployed, blaming headwinds To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Putting The REINS On Regulators

Here, then, is the distilled essence of the 2012 choice:  Obama promises the progressive agenda — more executive aggrandizement, more marginalization of Congress, more latitude for unaccountable experts to supervise our lives, more regulatory suffocation of society. Romney promises the reverse. ~ George Will

As consumers and small business owners across the fruited plain are feeling the squeeze of excessive federal regulations,  the following article, George Will reminds us that at least someone in Congress is trying to do something about the ever-expanding web of red tape coming out of the Obama administration.

Retiring Kentucky Rep. Geoff Davis has been a leader in the fight to scale back these ridiculous regulations; Will details the bill he will leave behind to increase accountability and cut costs among regulatory agencies:

Davis’s Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act would redress constitutional imbalance and buttress the rule of law by compelling Congress to take responsibility for the substance that executive rulemaking pours into the sometimes almost-empty vessels that Congress calls “laws.”

The 165,000 pages of the Code of Federal Regulations contain tens of thousands of rules promulgated by largely unaccountable agencies that churn out more than a thousand new mandates a year. According to the Small Business Administration, regulations cost the economy about $1.75 trillion, almost twice the sum of income tax receipts. Davis says that small businesses are spending $10,500 per employee on regulatory compliance. The REINS Act would require Congress to vote on a resolution of approval concerning every “major” regulation (with an economic impact of $100 million or more). There are 212 such regulations among the 4,128 currently in the pipeline from unelected executive agencies. If the vote that REINS requires did not occur within 70 days, the regulation would die.

Citizens! We need to light a fire under Congress to compel them to combat these practices that act as a drain on our economy and make it nearly impossible for businesses to grow and thrive. The Government has become like an obsessive octopus extended its tentacles in ever avenue of our lives.

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George F. Will: Reining in regulators, published in the Washington Post and shared under the Fair Use Doctrine and good common sense for the education of the public by a great thinker in our times.

All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress . . .
The Constitution
Article I, Section 1

Having cleared its throat with the Preamble, the Constitution buckles down to business with those words, which Rep. Geoff Davis (R-Ky.) takes seriously. He is retiring from Congress, leaving behind excellent legislation that could claw back from the executive-branch responsibilities that the Founders intended for the government’s first branch.

Davis’s Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act would redress constitutional imbalance and buttress the rule of law by compelling Congress to take responsibility for the substance that executive rulemaking pours into the sometimes almost-empty vessels that Congress calls “laws.”

The 165,000 pages of the Code of Federal Regulations contain tens of thousands of rules promulgated by largely unaccountable agencies that churn out more than a thousand new mandates a year. According to the Small Business Administration, regulations cost the economy about $1.75 trillion, almost twice the sum of income tax receipts. Davis says that small businesses are spending $10,500 per employee on regulatory compliance. The REINS Act would require Congress to vote on a resolution of approval concerning every “major” regulation (with an economic impact of $100 million or more). There are 212 such regulations among the 4,128 currently in the pipeline from unelected executive agencies. If the vote that REINS requires did not occur within 70 days, the regulation would die.

John Marini of the University of Nevada, Reno, writes in the Claremont Review of Books that the 2,500-page Obamacare legislation exemplifies current lawmaking, which serves principally to expand the administrative state’s unfettered discretion. Congress merely established the legal requirements necessary to create a vast executive-branch administrative apparatus to formulate rules governing health care’s 18 percent of the economy.

The Hudson Institute’s Chris DeMuth, in an essay for National Affairs quarterly, notes that Congress often contents itself with enacting “velleities” such as the wish in the 900-page Dodd-Frank financial reform act that “all consumers have access to markets for consumer financial products and services . . . [that are] fair, transparent, and competitive.” How many legislators voting for the bill even read this language? And how many who did understood that they were authorizing federal rulemakers to micromanage overdraft fees? In Dodd-Frank, Obamacare and much else, the essential lawmaking is done off Capitol Hill by unaccountable bureaucratic rulemaking.

Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly and regulators, too, have a metabolic urge to do what they were created to do. Hence, DeMuth says, they often pursue their missions beyond the point of diminishing marginal returns with health, safety, environmental and other standards “with costs exceeding any plausible measure of their benefits.”

Regulatory power is executive power, which can be checked and balanced only by the other two branches. But, DeMuth notes, although courts can, under the Administrative Procedure Act, block regulations that are “arbitrary, capricious” or “an abuse of discretion,” courts usually defer to regulators, partly because courts are usually without requisite scientific or other expertise.

What, then, about Congress, which, as DeMuth says, “has been deeply complicit in fostering regulatory power”? One proposal is to defer all new “major” regulations until unemployment falls to 7.7 percent, just below what it was when Barack Obama was inaugurated. But this would leave the regulatory state in place and poised for action on a backlog of major rules.

Another proposal is for a “regulatory budget,” limiting the costs each regulatory agency could impose. But cost estimates would come from the executive branch, and therefore not be constraining. This defect also infects the proposal (from Virginia’s Democratic Sen. Mark Warner) for “regulatory pay-go,” under which agencies could issue new regulations only by rescinding existing rules that impose the same cost, or some fraction of the cost, of new ones. Indeed, any “enforceable” cost-benefit standard will merely empower executive agencies to enforce their preferences.

Hence the importance of Congress and the indispensability of Davis’s REINS Act. It passed the House last December. But the Democratic-controlled Senate, which will not take responsibility even for producing (as the law requires) a budget, has no desire to restrain the administrative state or to ratify what it does by approving, with statutes, major regulations.

Obama says he would veto REINS. Mitt Romney says that, with or without REINS, he would submit such regulations for congressional approval. Here, then, is the distilled essence of the 2012 choice:
Obama promises the progressive agenda — more executive aggrandizement, more marginalization of Congress, more latitude for unaccountable experts to supervise our lives, more regulatory suffocation of society. Romney promises the reverse.

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Tags: George Will, REINS Act, regulators, Congress, regulations, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, reigning in regulations, 2012 elections To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Is Sen. Claire McCaskill Is Going Down in 2012?

Sen. McCaskill Support of Obama
May Loose Her The 2012 Election

Election 2012 - Missouri Senate: The recent Rasmussen Reports survey reveal what Missourians have been saying for some time. It is time for Sen. Claire McCaskill to be replaced by a conservative. Surprisingly, they are even willing to say they will replace her with any of the three Republican candidates presently being considered.

The Missouri primary to decide the Republican contender is August 7, 2012. The Cook Political Report still has the general election rated as a toss-up with regard to leaning right or left.  Sabato's Crystal Ball still has the seat as a toss up but believes it is 3rd most likely to end up Republican.

However,Rasmussen Reports: McCaskill’s Top GOP Challengers Again Hit the 50% Mark: Missouri Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill’s three leading Republican challengers all now earn 50% or more of the vote in matchups with her. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Missouri Voters shows former State Treasurer Sarah Steelman with the widest lead. She’s ahead of McCaskill by 12 points, 51% to 39%. Three percent (3%) like another candidate, and seven percent (7%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Election 2012: Missouri Senate
Sarah Steelman (R)	51%
Claire McCaskill (D)	39%
Other	3%
Not Sure	7%

Election 2012: Missouri Senate
Todd Akin (R)	50%
Claire McCaskill (D)	42%
Other	2%
Not Sure	7%

Election 2012: Missouri Senate
John Brunner (R)	51%
Claire McCaskill (D)	41%
Some other candidate	2%
Not sure	6%

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Tags: Missouri, Claire McCaskill, 2012 election. US Senate, Republican candidates To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Taxes: Democrat Division Spreads

Bill Clinton: Extend Bush Tax Cuts!
Just a minute - I mean through 2012!

Even More Democrats Are Breaking With President Obama, Signaling They’re Open To Extending ALL Tax Rates

‘Multiple Democratic Senators Refused’ To Echo The White House

“Two days after the White House said it would not extend the Bush tax cuts for the rich under any circumstances, multiple Democratic senators refused to rule out the same scenario.” (“Three Democratic Senators Refuse To Rule Out Extension Of Bush Tax Cuts For The Rich,” Think Progress, 6/8/12)

“…Democrats might defect and support a temporary extension of all the Bush-era rates…” (“Democrats Paralyzed On Tax Cuts,” The Hill, 6/8/12)

• SEN. CLAIRE McCASKILL (D-MO): “If you want to do something in the spirit of compromise, you don’t start out by saying, “I refuse to do this” or “I refuse to do that… I want to keep every option open...” (“Democrats Paralyzed On Tax Cuts,” The Hill, 6/8/12)
• SEN. BILL NELSON (D-FL): “…declined to rule out support for an across-the-board extension of the rates. Said Nelson, ‘I can’t get into a hypothetical.’” (“Democrats Paralyzed On Tax Cuts,” The Hill, 6/8/12)
• SEN. MARK PRYOR (D-AR): “…who is up for reelection in 2014, said he is undecided about whether to support another temporary extension of the Bush tax rates for all income brackets.” (“Democrats Paralyzed On Tax Cuts,” The Hill, 6/8/12)

Sen. Kent Conrad: ‘Going To Have To Be Done’

“Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), a member of the Gang of Six, said in an interview that it ‘might make some sense’ to extend all the taxes in the short term if lawmakers need more time to fundamentally reform the current corporate and individual tax system. ‘But on a short-term basis … I think something like that is going to have to be done,’ he said of a temporary tax cut extension.” (“Secret Talks Under Way On Fiscal Cliff,” Politico, 6/6/12)

President Clinton: ‘Economy Already Is In A Recession’

“Former President Bill Clinton told CNBC Tuesday that the US economy already is in a recession and urged Congress to extend all the tax cuts due to expire at the end of the year.” (“US Already In 'Recession,' Extend Tax Cuts: Bill Clinton,” CNBC, 6/5/12)

• “Those comments angered the Obama re-election campaign…” (“Summers’s Comment Adds to Confusion Over Extending Tax Cuts,” The New York Times, 6/6/12)

PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: “I think what it means is they will have to extend… have to put everything off until early next year. That's probably the best thing to do right now… I don't have any problem with extending all of it now.” (CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” 6/5/12)

• CLINTON: “What I think we need to do is to find some way to avoid the fiscal cliff, to avoid doing anything that would contract the economy now, and then deal with what's necessary in the long-term debt reduction plans as soon as they can…” (CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” 6/5/12)

Larry Summers: ‘Gotta Be The Top Priority’

MIKA BRZEZINSKI, MSNBC: “You heard Bill Clinton talking about the tax cuts, obviously we had some pretty terrible unemployment numbers come out late last week. What would you advise the President to do at this point?” LARRY SUMMERS: “Look, the real risk to this economy is on the side of slow down, certainly not on the side of overheating and that means we’ve got to make sure that we don’t take gasoline out of the tank at the end of this year. That’s gotta be the top priority.” (MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” 6/6/12)

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Tags: Democrats, US Senators, Mark Pryor, Arkansas. Bill Nelson, Florida, Claire McCaskill, Missouri, Kent Conrad, South Dakota, extend, bush tax cuts, taxes, President Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, former treasury secretary To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

House Repeals Medical Device Excise Tax - Obama: Private Sector Doing Fine!

House Votes to Repeal Tax on medical Devises

Today in Washington, D.C. - June 8, 2012:
The Senate is not in session today! It will reconvene on Monday, June 11th and will resume post-cloture consideration of the motion to proceed to the farm bill, S. 3240. Yesterday, the Senate voted 90-8 to cut off debate on the motion to proceed to the farm bill.

The House was in session to day until 1:09 PM EST. It will be in recess until June 18th except reconvening for for pro-forma meetings on June 12th and June 15th. Today the House concluded debate on amendments and passed H.R. 5882 (307 - 102) - Making appropriations for the Legislative Branch for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013, and for other purposes. The also passed S. 3261 (voice vote) - To allow the Chief of the Forest Service to award certain contracts for large air tankers.

Yesterday, the House worked until close to midnight. House Republicans led a bipartisan the effort to repeal part of Obamacare. They passed passed H.R. 436 (270-146) - amending the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the excise tax on medical devices. Thirty-seven democrats joined 233 Republicans in passing the bill.  However, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi led  146 democrats to vote to continue her 2.3 percent ObamaCare excise tax on medical devises.  Not only is Pelosi willing to push granny off the cliff at the end of her life but first granny or her estate will be charged in the price for the wheel chair the 2.3% tax on the wheel chair.  Now, will the Senate and President Obama support this repeal of the excise tax on medical devises?  Question for Congress: What about the excise tax on Food?

After several hours of debate on amendments, the House also passed H.R. 5855 (234-182) - Making appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013, and for other purposes.

In what ABC’s Jake Tapper has called “a hastily-announced press conference” to discuss the economy this morning, President Obama declared, “the private sector is doing fine.”

Appearing on Fox News shortly afterwards, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said, “To argue that the private sector is in good shape it seems to me is to be completely disconnected from reality.” In fact, it was only a week ago that the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the unemployment rate had gone up and news reports described “[a] dramatic drop-off in U.S. job growth,” a “disappointingly small number of jobs,” and “dismal jobs data.” And the AP called the first quarter economic growth rate of 1.9% “a meager pace . . . . too slow to generate many jobs or to lower the unemployment rate.”

The day the May jobs report was announced last week, the AP wrote, “The U.S. economy suddenly looks a lot weaker,” and economists said, “This is what a jobless recovery looks like,” and “the last two months look awful.”

And yet the president, like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) did last fall, is insisting “the private sector is doing fine.”

As said previously by McConnell, “The president must be on another planet. You just saw the jobs figures last Friday. . . . We’ve got a very very sluggish economy, a very slow growth rate. . . . I don’t think very many Americans see many [bright spots].” He summarized, “The fundamental issue before the American people is: what is the record of this administration? Have these policies worked?”

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Tags: Washington, D.C., Barack Obama, private sector doing fine, US. Senate, US House, appropriation bills, repeal tax,  medical devises To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Yea Sure! Obama Says ‘Private Sector Is Doing Fine’

Despite High Unemployment And Slow GDP, President Obama Thinks - The Private Sector Is Doing Fine’

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “The private sector is doing fine.” (President Obama, Press Conference, 6/8/12)

• ‘Sometimes I Forget’ “So it was a house of cards, and it collapsed in the most destructive, worst crisis that we’ve seen since the Great Depression… Sometimes I forget...” (President Obama, Remarks At A Campaign Event, Seattle, WA, 5/10/12)

‘Meager’ Economic Growth, ‘Anemic’ & ‘Tepid’ Job Creation

Current Unemployment Rate 8.2% (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 6/8/12)

• LA Times: “…disappointingly small number of jobs for the third straight month.” (“Unemployment Rises To 8.2% In May As Job Growth Stalls Again,” Los Angeles Times, 6/1/12)
• USA Today: “… payrolls gains were disappointingly tepid for a third month...” (“Unemployment Rate Ticks Up To 8.2%, 69K New Jobs In May,” USA Today, 6/1/12)
• New York Times: “…anemic jobs report...” (“The White House Strikes ‘Recover’ >From Response To Jobs Report,” The New York Times, 6/1/12)
• Washington Post: “A dramatic drop-off in U.S. job growth…” (“Markets Tumble On Weak Unemployment Report Amid Fear That U.S. Recovery Has Stalled,” The Washington Post, 6/1/12)
• AP: “…dismal jobs data…” (“US Employers Still Waiting For Sales To Pick Up,” The Associated Press, 6/1/12)

Real GDP Growth 1^st Quarter 2012: 1.9% (“Table 1.1.1, Percent Change From Preceding Period In Real Gross Domestic Product,” Bureau Of Economic Analysis, Accessed 6/6/12)

• AP: “That's a meager pace nearly three years after the recession officially ended in June 2009. And it's too slow to generate many jobs or to lower the unemployment rate.” (“Global Economy At Risk As US, Europe And Asia Slow,” AP, 6/3/12)

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Tags: Barack Obama, private sector, markets, jobs, unemployment, recession To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Remembering D-Day Beaches of Normandy

The following article was published two years ago and is shared again.
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Bill Smith, Editor: Today, marked the 66th 68th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy’s beaches, a battle that led to the Allied forces’ defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. The D-Day Museum in the United Kingdom says that 73,000 American forces landed in Normandy. Most sources cite 6,603 American casualties, though recent research conducted by the National D-Day Memorial Foundation may suggest a higher number. The Memorial’s website says the landing included 11,000 airplanes, more than 5,000 ships, and over 150,000 soldiers.

Twenty-four Twenty-six years ago, my wife and I visited traveled from Brussels, Belgium, where we were stationed, to Normandy France to honor the fallen. We stayed overnight a local inn. When we visited the battlements, it was beautiful quiet day and there were very few people. We walked the beaches, viewed the German bunkers, reviewed battle lines, read the stories of the men that day, and visited the Normandy American Cemetery. We walked between the grave markers most of them marked with simple Christian and Jewish symbols. These were the men who's remains were not returned to the United States for burial. And we cried. No one who saw us seemed to mind. We and others before us were overcome by the sacrifice made by our military both for Europe and for our country. To try to explain the extent of our emotions would only detract from remembering this day.

We had been moved emotionally on previous occasions when visiting other military battlefields, monuments and graveyards. For example, I enjoyed visiting Luxembourg where my birth father had fought and received the Silver Star for bravery in the Battle of the Bulge. We also experienced the sense of horror, desperation and anger when we visited former German concentration camps. However, when we visited Normandy, we also experienced a great sense of pride in America and what men living and deceased had done that day for both our country and on behalf of Europe by spearheading the assault that would lead eventually after many more battles to the end of the war. We also experienced something with the local French that has remained with us.

Living only a couple hours from Paris and a reasonable drive from the Southern coast of France, we had visited France on several occasions. We enjoyed our visits to these other parts of France but we also noted a resentment of Americans and often a defiant arrogance towards visiting Americans. However, when we visited Normandy, the local French people were not only friendly to us but on learning that I was in the military, they went out of their way to treat us as welcome guests. Several of the local residents who were our fathers' ages or older expressed openly that unlike many of their countrymen they had not forgotten what the Americans did for them and the sacrifice paid for their freedom. They made an effort to share this with us and could literally describe with passion what they felt when they were liberated. They showed respect and honor for the sacrifice made by others for liberty on their very soil.

On this day, we can no longer share with our parents as they are now gone. But we have our memories of them, their stories and our visits to places like the Normandy. And tomorrow, I will call a living testimony - a veteran who fought on D-Day on the beaches at Normandy, France. Remember America, we are free because of the grace of God, the sacrifices made many times by veterans and others on our behalf, and our willingness to refuse to surrender our birthright of freedom to others.

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Tags: Normandy, France, D-Day, remembering, visiting, Bill Smith INSERT TAGS To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Elizabeth Warren - A Few Feathers Short

A.F. "Tony" Branco:

Elizabeth Warren is an American bankruptcy lawyer, Harvard Law School professor, and the Progressive Democratic Party candidate in the 2012 United States Senate election in Massachusetts running against Sen. Scott Brown.

In her past, she has claimed and or allowed the claim to be propagated that she is Native American so she could gain  special advancement as a minority woman. Brietbart Big Government identified that Warren is listed as a 'Woman of Color' by Harvard Journal in 1996. Three years before the Journal, Harvard Law School in 1993 publicly stated she was “a woman of color.” Elizabeth Warren likely made that claim while teaching at Harvard, and at approximately the same time the faculty was considering her for a tenured position.

However, her claim can not be validated, and she has been called on the carpet by "angered members of the Cherokee Nation, the tribe to which Warren has attached her undocumented claims." This very white woman has angered people of color, is presently being ridiculed and is backtracking on this issue. This prevaricator neither represents the Cherokee Nation nor the people of of Massachusetts. She should not be representing the people of Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate.

Cindi Appleberry, Conservative Daily News: Elizabeth Warren exaggerates heritage to work at Harvard. Lashes out at the rich though she is worth millions. Hypocrite of the nth degree – so why not make an Elizabeth Warren Parody?

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Tags: video, MA, Massachusetts, candidate, U.S. Senate, Elizabeth Warren, Elizabeth Warren Parody, Democrats, hypocrites, liberals, American Indian, Mexican, Indian, African American, parody, a few feathers short, Tony Branco, political cartoons
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Politically Connected GSA Contractor Raises Big Bucks For Obama

Marc Benioff bundler for Obama campaign

Lachlan Markay, Heritage Investigates: President Obama is raising significant campaign cash from a company that received a federal contract worth nearly $30 million just months after a top White House official signed on as a senior vice president.

During his Wednesday trip to California, Obama met with a group of 25 high-powered donors who paid $35,800 each for the pleasure at the headquarters of cloud computing company Salesforce.com.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has bundled at least $500,000 for the Obama campaign. He hosted Obama at his palatial San Francisco-area home last year for another $35,800-a-head fundraiser.

In October of last year, Salesforce landed a $28 million contract with the General Services Administration for cloud computing services.

That contract fit with a new government-centered strategy at the company. “If we look at the government opportunities that are emerging in cloud computing, there’s no reason we can’t be a billion-dollar business in four to five years,” Dan Burton, Salesforce’s senior VP of strategy, told the Washington Business Journal.

Part of that strategy involved hiring Vivek Kundra as senior vice president of emerging markets just months after securing the GSA contract. In fact, Kundra was in charge of the Obama administration’s $80 billion technology budget at the time of that contract award.

While Benioff has been a frequent donor to both Democrats and Republicans for years, he appears to have stepped up his political activities since last year with the two fundraisers and his campaign bundling. That may also play into Salesforce’s attempts to land more business with the federal government.
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Also Read: Politico: Bundlers wrapped up in government

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Tags: Barack Obama, fundraiser, general services administration, GSA, Marc Benioff, salesforce To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Six Dollars or a Job?

Phil Kerpen, Contributing Author: As Obama heads to Las Vegas to tout a fake controversy over extending subsidized interest rates on federal Stafford Loans, American Commitment released a new video that explains the remarkably low stakes in this distraction from the real issue for new graduates: jobs.
Phony Student Loan Issue extract: The interest rate on federal Stafford Loans is a phony political issue. The 6.8 percent interest rate was slashed — at taxpayer expense — to 3.4 percent last year. Now Obama and Democrats in Congress are acting as if the rate returning to its usual level is an economic catastrophe for students. It isn’t. We’re talking about a difference of $6 per month on new loans. Existing loans are unaffected. The student debt problem is real, but the Stafford Loan interest rate issue is not. . . .

The House has already passed legislation, H R 4628, that extends the current Stafford Loan interest rate for another year, averting that $6 per month disaster that Obama has been focusing on out on the stump. The bill also does something much more significant: it repeals the so-called Prevention Fund, a multi-billion-dollar slush fund created by Obama’s stimulus bill and then expanded and funded even more lavishly — and automatically, without annual appropriations—by the president’s health care law.

The Prevention Fund is the most egregious type of federal spending because it uses our federal tax dollars to raise our taxes and limit our freedoms at the state and local levels. Specifically, it provides taxpayer-funded grants for television advertising, lobbying campaigns, and other activities aimed at raising taxes on soft drinks, imposing zoning restrictions on fast food restaurants, imposing smoking bans, and other such nanny-state favorites. . . . [Read More]
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Phil Kerpen is the president of American Commitment and the author of Democracy Denied: How Obama is Bypassing Congress to Radically Transform America – and How to Stop Him. He is a contributing author for the ARRA News Service.

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Tags:Student Loans, Stafford, Jobs, Economy, Unemployment, Barack Obama, UNLV, Las Vegas, Obama student loans, American Commitment, Phil Kerpen, Phony Student Loan Issue To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Obama's Bad Week Continues - AG Holder On House Hot Seat Again

Why is AG Eric Holder Stonewalling Congress?

Today in Washington, D.C. - June 7, 2012:
The Senate reconvened at 9:30 AM today and resumed consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 3240, the farm bill.The Senate voted 90-8 to cut off debate on the motion to proceed to the farm bill.

Yesterday, the Senate voted 62-36 to confirm Jeffrey J. Helmick to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Ohio.

Today, the House Judiciary Committee continued oversight hearings on botched Fast and Furious gun running scandal conducted under the approval of the Department of Justice. Under the now-defunct Fast and Furious initiative, agents from the DOJ's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives authorized the sale of firearms to known and suspected purchasers for Mexican drug cartels. However, they lost track of many of the weapons. It is believed that ome of thee guns contributed to the death of numerous Mexican citizens and the death of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.

Attorney General Holder appeared this morning before the house oversight committee.  The committee chairman and others were not satisfied with the DOJ's lack or response and failure to provide information requested by the committee's request. Speaker John Boehner expressed his frustration with the DOJ not responding fully to inquires. He said, "We are going to hold the Department of Justice accountable for Fast and Furious." However, Boehner's statement and that of the media seem to be in conflict with the intent for the House to hold AG Holder in contempt of Congress for failure to provided appropriate documents to the committee. It is evident that AG Holder is playing a delay game hoping to put this issue off until after the 2012 Election.

Today the House is also considering H.R. 436 — "To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the excise tax on medical devices."

Yesterday, the House passed:
H.R. 5325 as amended (255-165) — "Making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013, and for other purposes."
S 363 (voice vote) Conveyance of property of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to the City of Pascagoula, Mississippi.
S 292 (voice vote) Salmon Lake Land Selection Resolution Act - To resolve the claims of the Bering Straits Native Corporation and the State of Alaska to land adjacent to Salmon Lake in the State of Alaska and to provide for the conveyance to the Bering Straits Native Corporation of certain other public land in partial satisfaction of the land entitlement of the Corporation under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

The House also considered but did not vote on H.R. 5855 — "Making appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013, and for other purposes." The finalized debate proposed instructions for conferees with the Senate for H.R. 4348 - Federal Highway bill voting down one set of instructions and passing another set of instructions.

The AP writes today, “Just one week old, June already is proving a cruel month for President Barack Obama and the Democrats — and it could get a lot worse. The political blows from Tuesday’s bitter loss in Wisconsin’s gubernatorial recall and from last week’s abysmal unemployment numbers could multiply before the month is out.

“The Supreme Court will pass judgment shortly on the president’s signature legislative achievement — the 2010 law overhauling the nation’s health care system . . . . If Chief Justice John Roberts and the court strike down all or part of the health care law, it could demoralize Democrats who invested more than a year — and quite a few political careers — to secure its passage.”

The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza agrees, writing, “It’s been a very rough last six days for President Obama. In that time, he has had to weather a disastrously bad May jobs report, Bill Clinton veering off message on the economy, a wider-than-expected loss in the Wisconsin recall election and a $16 million fundraising gap with Republicans in May. One of those developments is a blip on the radar. Two is a bump in the road. Three is a cause for concern. Four sets off mild panic.”

A new CBS News / New York Times poll shows more bad news for the president on health care, finding once again that “[m]ore than two-thirds of Americans hope the Supreme Court will overturn some or all of the 2010 health care law . . . .” The NYT reports, “Forty-one percent of those surveyed said the court should strike down the entire law, and another 27 percent said the justices should overturn only the individual mandate, which requires most Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty. . . . More than 70 percent of independent voters said they wanted to see some or all of the law struck down, with a majority saying they hoped to see the whole law overturned.”

More tough news for the Obama administration comes from another prominent Democrat saying that all current tax rates should be extended, which is in opposition to the president’s position to allow taxes to go up on January 1. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) told Politico “that it ‘might make some sense’ to extend all the taxes in the short term.” “‘[O]n a short-term basis, … I think something like that is going to have to be done,’ he said of a temporary tax cut extension.” This follows President Clinton saying, “I don’t have any problem with extending all of it now” on CNBC. And yesterday, when asked about the tax cuts on MSNBC, former Obama economic advisor Larry Summers said “[W]e’ve got to make sure that we don’t take gasoline out of the tank at the end of this year. That’s gotta be the top priority.”

Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell responded, “This tax hike the President wants would hit hundreds of thousands of small businesses. To put that in perspective, this tax hike would hit job creators that employ up to 25 percent of the workforce. We can’t allow that to happen. The economy is far too fragile right now. . . . I would like to remind everyone it was the President who said you don’t raise taxes in a down economy. Well, the economy is slower now than it was when he last extended current law, so why on earth does the President want to raise taxes making it harder for the economy to grow, job creators to hire, and families to make ends meet? It doesn’t make any sense. Let’s extend all of the current tax relief right now — before the election.”

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Tags: Washington, D.C., Eric Holder, U.S., Senate, House, House Judicial Committee, Obama, jobs, unemployment, economy  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

The Soda Jerk Has More Rules

By Jared McAndersen, aka "The Looking Spoon":

Yid With Lid offers an "exclusive" insight into more "alleged" "Soda Jerk" proposed rules:

FROM THE DESK OF MICHAEL BLOOMBERG
MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY
EMPEROR OF ALL THE EYES CAN SEE
(when on a step-ladder)

To: Staff
From: Emperor Bloomberg

We have decided to add additional regulation once the 16+ ounce ban is approved (and trust me, it WILL be approved).  Below is a list of the items needing regulation. We wish you to begin work on the formal language and get back to us by next week.

New Regulations:

• Running with scissors will now be punishable with hard prison time.

•  As the newly appointed director of environmental protection, Sheryl Crow will have "police powers" to regulate the use of toilet tissue.  Anybody using more than one square at-a-time will be prevented from making purchases of toilet paper for a period of no more than one year.  Families that re-use their paper will get a break on property taxes.

• Ms Crow will have the power to break into your home and examine the toilet contents before they are flushed.
  

• Any coffee or other hot beverage (decaf of course) must be consumed in a cup holding no more than 10 ounces.  The cup must be brought to one's mouth via the right hand, with the outside digit on that hand extended outwards.

• It is our order that fans of the NY Football Giants who live within the NY City limits will no longer be able to paint their faces and bodies blue--heck, we saw what happened to the lady painted gold in the James Bond movie Goldfinger.

• Fans of the NY Jets will still be allowed to paint themselves green as they are promoting the correct environmental policies.
  

• All Manhattan roads will be forever closed to traffic with the exception of 34th, 59th and 125th streets as they exit the Midtown Tunnel, Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge (a.k.a the 59th St. Bridge) and the Triborough Bridge [that last bridge is now called the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, which is a bit ironic when you note that Kennedy's younger brother had a famous difficulty with driving over bridges.]There will be no stopping or parking on those streets as drivers will only be allowed to go from Queens to New Jersey and back (for those of you who have never been to NYC, Queens is the borough with tons of cemeteries and a dead baseball team).

• Economically disadvantaged people with squeegees will be allowed to wait on the Manhattan side of the above river crossings as well as the Lincoln and Holland tunnels. They will be allowed push drivers into allowing the "cleaning" of their windshields as long as their squeegees are sterilized each evening with distilled water.  

• All Bars, Pubs and Taverns operating within the city limits must display a large banner with the following words. “In case of bar fight, PLEASE, no hitting near the mouth. Your mother paid a lot for the orthodontic work!”

• Stores selling meats will no longer be allowed to sell packages of chicken with only white meat breasts or dark meat wings. We want to ensure that this city remains diverse and inclusive.

• When the temperature falls below 50 degrees, all buses, trains and taxis operating in the city are prohibited from allowing people to board their vehicles if they are not wearing the proper hat and overcoat. Instead they will be sent home for the proper attire. Umbrellas and galoshes will be required on rainy days. Otherwise those people will catch a cold and/or flu, infecting the entire vehicle and driving up medical costs across the city.

• Abortion because of gender selection is allowed in our city.  There is nothing worse than trampling on women's rights by barring them from killing female fetuses.

So may it be written, so it may be done!

-From The Office Of The Royal We

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Tags: humor, satire, The Looking Spoon, Yid With Lid, Soda Jerk, Michael Bloomberg, rules, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Walker Walks the Talk, Obama Talks About the Walk

By Ken Blackwell, Contributing Author: Gov. Scott Walker Walked his Talk. He faced down a militant, union-led effort to drive him from office. Scott Walker never lacked courage. It took steely determination not to buckle in the face of militant unions who “occupied” the stately Wisconsin capitol in Madison when Walker’s reforms were first voted on. For two years, leftists have been howling. One of their speakers at a get out the (union) vote rally actually compared Scott Walker’s reforms to the 9/11 attacks on our country. And this is the crowd that is forever lecturing us on civility.

Gov. Walker’s stand up courage can be contrasted with President Obama’s missing in action stance in the Wisconsin recall effort. Badger State labor unionists have been hard pressed to explain to themselves or to their supporters why the president they helped put in office has abandoned them in their hour of need.

They ruefully recall how then Candidate Obama gave a ringing endorsement to public sector employees’ collective bargaining agreements. He went even further. In 2007, he said:  "[I]f American workers are being denied their right to organize when I'm in the White House, I will put on a comfortable pair of shoes and I will walk on that picket line with you as president of the United States," he told a crowd in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in November 2007.

Yet when reporters asked White House Press Secretary Jay Carney when the President would visit Wisconsin, the spokesman blandly replied Mr. Obama had “no current plans” to enter the fray. What can have been his hesitation?

This is an incomprehensible blunder. Mr. Obama actually flew over the state twice during the hotly contested recall. Supporters might have looked up to see Air Force One passing serenely overhead. Doubtless the President was on board as he “tweeted” his pallid support for the embattled Democrat, Tom Barrett. We can bet the president was wearing his comfortable pair of shoes as he hit that “send” button.

Compare President Obama with President Reagan. In the summer of 1981, Reagan was still recovering from a bullet in his chest. He nearly died from an assassination attempt.

The union leaders of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers (PATCO) decided to test Mr. Reagan’s resolve. They signaled they would lead their workers out on strike if their wage and benefit demands were not met by the federal government.

Ronald Reagan had been elected and re-elected president of the Screen Actors Guild. He proudly told labor audiences he was the only union president ever to run for President of the United States. He won 24% of Democrats’ votes, many of them labor union members.

But President Reagan also believed that federal law must be upheld. Federal law forbade government workers going out on strike. This was especially urgent in the case of air traffic controllers. Such a strike could cripple the already stricken U.S. economy.

Reagan warned the PATCO strikers to return to their jobs or face dismissal. They called his bluff. He wasn’t bluffing. He fired them all.

The world took note. In the Kremlin, the KGB reported “with Reagan, words are deeds.”

The world is taking note of President Obama now, too. With Obama words are, well, words.

Gov. Scott Walker walked the path Ronald Reagan blazed. Barack Obama’s promise to walk the picket lines with union strikers rings hollow this morning. Like so many of his other campaign promises.
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J. Ken Blackwell is a conservative family values advocate. Blackwell is a senior fellow at the Family Research Council. He is the co-author of the new bestseller: The Blueprint: Obama’s Plan to Subvert the Constitution and Build an Imperial Presidency. He is a National Federation of Republican Assemblies board member and a contributing author to the ARRA News Service.

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Tags: Ken Blackwell, Wisconsin, Scott Walker, Walks the Talk, Barack Obama, Talks About the Walk, words, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Recalling "Do You Recall"

While the Democrats and many in the media try to spin last night’s recall election results in Wisconsin, American Future Fund asks you to recall what the Democrats and liberals were saying just before everything went south for them. (Spoiler alert: They called it the most important election EVAH!). Also, try not to laugh at these numb-wits too much. While their intent did not have the results they desired; they are still dangerous progressive liberal.
Now for some serious reflection on last nights results. Please take a look at the following op-ed from Thomas Grier that appeared in the Daily Caller:

“Ignore the Spin, Wisconsin Was a Disaster for Democrats and President Obama”
By Thomas Grier: If you pause and listen carefully, you might be able to hear the despair coming from Jim Messina, President Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, and David Axelrod, Obama’s top strategist and communications director, as the meaning of Wisconsin’s recall election becomes clear.

In the final hours before Governor Scott Walker’s victory, with the writing on the wall, President Obama and his campaign could only muster a tweet and a last-minute video for challenger Tom Barrett. But do not let that tepid support fool you: Democrats and their union allies spent an astronomical amount on a judicial election, four state legislative recalls and the recall of Governor Walker, only to lose.

The spin has already begun. On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the Wisconsin recall election “probably won’t tell us much about a future race.” Regardless of what you hear, the results are a colossal failure for Democrats and President Obama’s re-election efforts. Even former Pennsylvania governor and Democratic National Committee chairman Ed Rendell, speaking on MSNBC last week, said the recall election was a “mistake.”

Democrats, Big Labor and Team Obama initially put all their chips on the table, organizing a massive get-out-the-vote effort to unseat Walker. The day before the recall, Wisconsin’s MacIver Institute illustrated just how much money Big Labor has spent: more than $21 million. Earlier in the month, the MacIver Institute put up a matrix to “put an end to any stories that Big Labor, the Democratic Party and other left-wing organizations aren’t going all out to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.” The spin aside, Team Obama, Big Labor and Democrats were heavily invested and suffered a huge loss in Wisconsin.

The recall sums up a season of abject failure for Democrats in Wisconsin. Since taking office in January 2011, Governor Walker has pushed for audacious spending cuts, comprehensive improvements to public-employee union benefits and the most agitating reform to the union monolith: lasting changes to Wisconsin’s collective bargaining laws.

Democratic legislators responded by childishly fleeing the state in order to prevent a quorum in the State Senate, while the Republican majority assured passage of Walker’s budget. After weeks of wringing their hands over their absent colleagues, the Republicans found a way to pass Walker’s budget.

In response, the left tried to invalidate Walker’s reforms by attempting to alter the composition of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Liberals organized a “record setting” challenge to incumbent Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser. Prosser’s challenger, ultra-progressive JoAnne Kloppenburg, was the left’s answer to all their union reform problems. The total cost of the race between Prosser and Kloppenburg topped $3 million. In the end, Prosser won re-election and Walker’s reforms were upheld.

The Democrats’ war on Governor Walker and Wisconsin Republicans continued, with groups organizing the recall of four state senators in an attempt to recapture the Wisconsin Senate and block Walker’s reforms. In their attempt to take back the Wisconsin Senate, Democrats and their backers spent $23.4 million, with outside groups spending $18.6 million against Republicans. But the attempt failed and Republicans triumphed.

Now, Democrats have lost yet another high-profile Wisconsin race. With this string of events taking place in a state that has not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1984 and is considered the birthplace of modern progressivism, Republicans must be starting to like their chances in November. Once considered an unassailable Democratic stronghold, Wisconsin is moving into the almost unthinkable swing-state territory.

As if the wind was not blowing hard enough against Democrats and Team Obama, Governor Walker’s reforms have been a resounding success. Walker cut a $3.6 billion deficit without raising taxes or curtailing state services, and he is expected to create a $150 million budget surplus by the end of the year.

While Barack Obama won Wisconsin by 14 points in 2008, it’s important to remember that George W. Bush came close to winning the state in 2000 and 2004, missing by 0.22 and 0.4 percent respectively. The efforts by Democrats this season have forced Republicans to build a grassroots machine. Their actions have proven to be very successful, pushing the estimated voter turnout to a whopping 60 to 65 percent of all adults. This machine will no doubt be in full operation in November, causing Axelrod’s and Messina’s hearts to flutter.

President Obama and Democrats are in trouble and no amount of Washington spin will change the facts in Wisconsin. Unions had their way for decades, but times change. And this time, it is not just the future of organized labor that is in peril, it is the political future of one of their biggest supporters: President Obama.
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Thomas Grier writes on constitutional law, campaigns and elections, and pro-growth policy. He holds degrees from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and Arizona State University.

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Tags: American Future Fund, Video, Do You Recall, op-ed, Thomas Grier, Daily Caller, Wisconsin, recall, Governor, Scott Walker, Lt Governor, Sate Senators, Democrats, progressives, unions, Barack Obama, Obama election campaign
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Extend All The Current Tax Rates!

Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and
Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
highlight bipartisan support for stopping tax hikes!

Today in Washington, D.C. - June 6, 2012:
The Senate reconvened today and resumed consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 3240, the farm bill. At 4 PM, the Senate will take up the nomination of Jeffrey J. Helmick to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Ohio. At 5:30, the Senate will vote on the nomination.

Yesterday,Democrats failed to get 60 votes to take up their bill purporting to deal with “paycheck fairness,” which would have harmed employers and been a windfall for trial lawyers

Yesterday, the House addressed some technical corrections in passed bills and passed the following bills by voice vote:
HR 1740 — Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate a specified segment of the Illabot Creek in Washington as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
HR 2060 — Central Oregon Jobs and Water Security Act - amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to adjust the Crooked River boundary, to provide water certainty for the City of Prineville, Oregon, and for other purposes.
HR 2336 — York River Wild and Scenic River Study Act of 2011 - amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of the York River and associated tributaries for study for potential inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
HR 241 — Authorization of the conveyance of National Forest System lands in California.
HR 2512& — Reclamation of the Three Kids Mine site in Nevada - provides for the conveyance of certain Federal land in Clark County, Nevada, for the environmental remediation and reclamation of the Three Kids Mine Project Site, and for other purposes.
HR 3263 — Lake Thunderbird Efficient Use Act of 2011 – authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to allow the storage and conveyance of nonproject water at the Norman project in Oklahoma, and for other purposes.
HR 4222 — Conveyance of certain federal owned lands in Arizona to the Pascua Yaqui tribe of Arizona and the Tuscan Unified School District.
HR 4282 — International Child Support Recovery Improvement Act of 2012 -amends part D of title IV of the Social Security Act to ensure that the United States can comply fully with the obligations of the Hague Convention of 23 November 2007 on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance, and for other purposes.

Today, the House is expected to consider
H.R. 5325 — "Making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013, and for other purposes."
H.R. 5855 — "Making appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013, and for other purposes."
And, to debate proposed instructions for conferees with the Senate for H.R. 4348 - Federal Highway bill.

The Hill reports this morning, “Using comments by former President Bill Clinton as a political gift, Republican leaders stepped up their calls for at least a one-year extension of the George W. Bush-era tax rates. One by one, senior congressional Republicans stepped before the cameras on Wednesday morning to trumpet Clinton’s momentary support for extending the full slate of current tax rates, in contrast to President Obama’s push to keep income rates in place only for the middle class. . . . Republicans jumped on the comments immediately and made Clinton’s remarks the focus of their morning press briefing. The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell (Ky.), made a rare walk across the Capitol to join House Republicans and echo their message. He noted that the economic growth rate is lower than it was in late 2010, when Obama agreed to a deal that extended the Bush tax rates, including those for the wealthy, for two years.”

Clinton told CNBC, “I think what it means is they will have to extend… have to put everything off until early next year. That’s probably the best thing to do right now… I don’t have any problem with extending all of it now.” The Wall Street Journal noted last night, “Former Democratic President Bill Clinton suggested Tuesday that Congress temporarily extend all the Bush-era tax cuts, undercutting President Barack Obama’s position that the rates on upper-income Americans should rise at year’s end. It was the second example in recent days of Mr. Clinton taking a position at odds with that of Mr. Obama . . . .”

But President Clinton isn’t alone among Democrats in making the case that we shouldn’t raise taxes at the end of the year. According to the WSJ, “Lawrence Summers [former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under President Clinton and President Obama's former Director of the White House United States National Economic Council] said Wednesday that Congress should temporarily extend Bush-era tax cuts, making him the second person with ties to the White House who is undercutting President Barack Obama’s position that the rates on upper-income Americans should rise at year’s end. ‘The real risk to this economy is on the side of slow down…and that means we’ve got to make sure that we don’t take gasoline out of the tank at the end of this year,’ he said on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ program. ‘That’s gotta be the top priority.’”

The WSJ adds, “Mr. Summers’s comments will likely further complicate Mr. Obama’s efforts to ensure the tax cuts expire at year’s end… and his comments will likely carry more weight because of his economic credentials.” Of course, it’s worth recalling that Summers was once a top economic advisor to President Obama and before that was Treasury Secretary for President Clinton.

And yet according to a tweet from Reuters, Obama is still saying the tax hikes scheduled for New Years Day 2013 should go forward.

Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell  (KY) and appearance with House Speaker John Boehner  (R-OH) appeared and responded this morning. McConnell said, “The argument [President Obama] made in agreeing to [extend all current tax rates] two years ago was that the economy needed it. The growth rate now is actually slower than it was in December of [20]10. As the speaker indicated, coupling that with Bill Clinton’s remarks and then Larry Summers’ remarks, it’s pretty obvious that the economy needs the certainty of the extension of the current tax rates for at least a year.That would also give us the time to begin to grapple with something we all agree we need to do on a bipartisan basis, which is to reform the whole tax code.”

Speaker Boehner said, “You know, last week’s jobs report was certainly bad news for the American people.  And once again it shows that the president’s economic policies have failed. As a result, it’s really important that we provide some certainty to job creators in our country and extending all of the current tax rates for at least a year is really important if we’re going to help job creators gain a little more confidence and put Americans back to work. Even Bill Clinton came out for it – before he was against it.  And then, you know, Larry Summers, the president’s former economic advisor, this morning came out in favor of this. “We believe it’s time to extend all of the current tax rates because it really will provide certainty for American job creators.”

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Tags: Washington, D.C. Speaker John Boehner, Sen. Mitch McConnell, bill Clinton, Lawrence Summer, income tax rates To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Wisconsin Union / Progressive ReCall Effort Fails

Gov. Scott Walker Victory Speech

Today, the Wisconsin voters gave a resounding no to recalling their Governor, Lt Gov, and four State Senators.  Big Union and progressive efforts failed and cost the Wisconsin people time, productivity, and money.

The majority of voters did not like the recall effort in the first place and many voters came out to let unions and democrats that enough is enough.  Big labor cannot bully their elected officials.  And democrats cannot walk off the job and then advocate that elected republicans, who remained on the job, be recalled. 

That does not mean that the voters are giving an advance pass to Governor Walker and others for 2014.  However, it does signal that it will be performance and not the voice of the unions that the voters  of Wisconsin will be reviewing in the future.

As of this post,  the Wisconsin reporting for the special election is being reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as follows:

Governor - Special General

June 05, 2012 - 11:05PM CT

Wisconsin - 3171 of 3424 Precincts Reporting - 100%

Name Party Votes Vote % Walker , Scott (i) GOP 1,334,450 53% Barrett , Tom  - Conceded Dem 1,162,785 46% Trivedi , Hari Ind 14,350 1%

Lieutenant Governor - Special General

June 05, 2012 - 11:05PM CT

Wisconsin - 3171 of 3424 Precincts Reporting - 100%

Name Party Votes Vote % Kleefisch , Rebecca (i) GOP 1,300,213 53% Mitchell , Mahlon - Conceded Dem 1,154,528 47%

State Senate - District 13 - Special General

June 05, 2012 - 11:05PM CT

Wisconsin - 82 of 97 Precincts Reporting - 100%

Name Party Votes Vote % Fitzgerald , Scott (i) GOP 47,116 58% Compas , Lori Dem 32,870 41% Virgil , Terry Lib 760 1%

State Senate - District 21 - Special General

June 05, 2012 - 11:02PM CT

Wisconsin - 17 of 60 Precincts Reporting - 100%

Name Party Votes Vote % Lehman , John  Dem 36,225 51% Wanggaard , Van (i)   GOP 35,476 49%

State Senate - District 23 - Special General

June 05, 2012 - 11:05PM CT

Wisconsin - 147 of 168 Precincts Reporting - 100 %

Name Party Votes Vote % Moulton , Terry (i) GOP 39,843 57% Dexter , Kristen Dem 30,479 43%

State Senate - District 29 - Special General

June 05, 2012 - 11:05PM CT

Wisconsin - 166 of 172 Precincts Reporting -  00%

	Name	Party	Votes	Vote %
	Petrowski , Jerry	GOP	44,027	61%
	Seidel , Donna	Dem	27,702	39%

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Tags: Wisconsin, recall, election 2012, Governor, Scott Walker, Lt Gov, Rebecca Kleefischm, state senators To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!