Freedom Line Blog

Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman might end up winning the race for the upstate New York House seat that he supposedly lost last week.  Bill Owens, the Democrat, was sworn in last Saturday.

Apparently, Hoffman conceded based on inaccurate reports from his base in Oswego County and early returns.  As it turns out, Owens’ lead is down to 3,026 votes (from over 5,000 on Election Night), with still more than 10,200 absentee ballots at large.  The chances are slim, but if Speaker Pelosi hadn’t planned a health care vote for last Saturday night, this race might still be up in the air.

From the news report:

Now Hoffman, who campaigned against the health care reform bill, is carefully watching as the 23rd District race tightens and he is left to wonder if he conceded too soon.

“I don’t know if we would have conceded on election night,” Rob Ryan, Hoffman’s campaign spokesman, said Wednesday while discussing the latest results of the recanvassing. “I’m someone who doesn’t like to look back. But would we have taken longer to make a decision on election night? Probably, if we knew it was only 3,000 votes making the difference.”

Ryan, while acknowledging that Hoffman’s chances of pulling off a come-from-behind victory are still remote, said the campaign is looking at its legal options.

Karl Rove – A Referendum on This White House
The Hill – Companies Lobby FCC on Net Neutrality
RedState – Senator Doubts Prospects for ObamaCare
George Will – Debt is Destroying the Dollar
National Review Online – Deal or No Deal, Big Pharma Loses
Washington Post – Incumbents Beware!
WSJ – Incumbents Endangered for 2010

Federal Debt: $11.933 trillion

Earlier this year IMS Health projected the American drug industry to contract slightly in the next few years, at a rate of 0.01 percent. In an updated report, however, the industry now stands to turn in healthy profits.

This change in good fortune is not because of a surging economy; it’s because of backroom deals with the White House and Congress. According to the report, the industry is expected to grow by 3.5% next year, and is set to rake in about $137 billion over the next four years.

Behind this paradox is the Obama Administration’s deal with the drug companies. IMS states that ObamaCare is actually going to “lead to higher priced brand [non-generic] products.”

So drug companies, the villain and devil-incarnate for much of the left-wing, will soon gain another $137 billion because of the Obama Administration? Wasn’t President Obama supposed to be the destroyer of all evil in the world?

These newfound profits might be surprising, but it comes as no surprise that former Representative Billy Tauzin leads PhRMA and still has plenty of political clout in Washington, D.C.

You might recall Tauzin, architect of the 2003 Prescription Drug Bill, who then bolted for his current cushy position at PhRMA.

What capitalism creates … crony-capitalism destroys.

HT: Huffington Post

HT: Reason.tv

CFIF – For All They Have Done, For All They Have Sacrificed
CNN – Nations around the World Honor Veterans
Politico – Fox News Critic Leaving the White House
John Stossel – The U.S. House of Presumptuous Meddlers

WSJ – The Economic Uses of Al Gore
George Will – The Truth about Global Warming
Gallup – Republicans Edge Democrats in 2010 Vote
The Hill – Reid Pushes for 2010 Stimulus
San Diego Union-Tribune – Stimulus Dishonesty

Federal Debt: $11.988 trillion

Politico – 10 Senate Seats Most Likely to Flip
The Hill – Democrats Defend Their Vote on Health Care
WSJ – Confessions of an ObamaCare Backer
NY Times – Democrats Raise Alarm over Health Care Costs

Slate – A Guide to Shifting Health Care Factions
Byron York – The Top Issue is Jobs
National Review Online – The Road Ahead for Health Care
Breitbart – FCC Falling Afoul of Key Senators

Federal Debt: $11.984 trillion

The unemployment rate is 10.2%, the House just passed a government-takeover of health care, but at least Wall Street gave us some good news today.

The Dow hit a 52-week high during afternoon trading, reaching 10,186.  However, this is still far behind the Dow’s October 9, 2007 high of 14,164.

The New York Times has an interesting chart on the 39 Democrats who voted “No” on Speaker Pelosi’s version of health care “reform.”

The bill, H.R. 3962, passed 220 to 215 on Saturday night.

Click here for more on health care.

WSJ – Why Some Dems Voted Against ObamaCare
Political Wire – Lieberman Says He’ll Join Filibuster
The Hill – President Obama Urges Senate to Pass Health Bill
Politico – Huckabee ‘Very Serious’ About Presidential Run
Clive Crook – Obama Lost Sight of the Center
Real Clear Politics – Breaking Down the Democratic Defectors
RedState – Another Czar Bites the Dust

Federal Debt: $11.979 trillion

Someone in Congress really wants to keep their job.  Representative John Adler, a Democrat who represents New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District, just announced that he will be voting against H.R. 3962, the government takeover of health care.

This comes as a bit of a surprise since rarely are New Jersey Democrats of the moderate “Blue Dog” variety.  Then again, President Obama won Adler’s district last year, but only with 52 percent of the vote.

Call Representative Adler at 202-225-4765 to thank him for standing up for taxpayers and freedom.  Or if you live in his district, you can reach his local offices at 856-985-2777 or 732-608-7235.

There are a lot of awful provisions in Speaker Pelosi’s 1,990 page stab at health care “reform.”  For millions of small businesses across the country, a 5.4 percent surtax is high on the list of undesirable provisions.

The Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) released an estimate that determined one-third of small businesses will be hit with the new 5.4 percent surtax.  Roughly speaking, small businesses can look forward to forking over another $150 billion next year in new taxes to feed Washington’s spending binge.

The lesson: Small businesses must trust Congress.  Only Congress knows that the best way to bring down a 10.2 percent unemployment rate is to tax small businesses, raise utility rates through Cap-and-Trade legislation, take over $2 trillion from the private sector through taxes and determine corporate pay scales… Congress knows best.

Here is the JCT cost estimate.  To read more on health care, click here.

Politico – Pelosi Still Dealing as Health Care Vote Nears
The Hill – Thousands of Protesters Pay ‘House Call’
WSJ – Jobless Rate Tops 10%
Washington Post – Senate Votes to Renew Home Buyers Tax Credit

Miami Herald – Florida a Battleground State … Again
San Diego Union-Tribune – Fear of Health ‘Reform’ is Warranted
Charles Krauthammer – The Myth of ’08, Demolished
Breitbart – Obama Back-Tracking on Net Neutrality?

Federal Debt: $11.946 trillion

This afternoon, thousands of protesters and activists marched on Capitol Hill yelling “Kill the Bill,” urging Representatives to vote against Speaker Pelosi’s massive $1 trillion government takeover of health care.  There are some reports that entrances to the Capitol are clogged with taxpayers waiting to get their chance to lobby Congress directly.

The rally was prompted by Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN), who labeled this week the “Super Bowl of Freedom” and called on the American people to join her in making a “House Call” to Members of Congress in opposition to ObamaCare.  With House Democrats set to vote on Pelosi’s 1,990 bill on Saturday, the turnout today for Bachmann’s “House Call” was phenomenal.

Hat tip to FreedomWorks, the staff of which took some great pictures of the event seen below.  

Part of the so-called “cost savings” in the House version of health care reform are premised on large cuts to Medicare, a typical sore spot for senior citizens.

One area that is scheduled to be on the chopping block is reimbursement payments to physicians participating in the Medicare program.  Current reimbursement rates are insultingly low, and as a result, some doctors refuse to even participate in Medicare.

The House health care bill calls for an additional 21 percent reduction in payments to physicians, to begin in 2010. Judging from this CBO statement, even the green eyeshade folks don’t believe Congress will allow doctors to take another hit to reimbursement rates:

The bill would put into effect (or leave in effect) a number of procedures that might be difficult to maintain over a long period of time. It would leave in place the 21 percent reduction in the payment rates for physicians currently scheduled for 2010. At the same time, the bill includes a number of provisions that would constrain payment rates for other providers of Medicare services.”

Any failure to contain Medicare costs, despite the surge of new beneficiaries over the next decade, will surely turn health care reform into another budget-breaker.

RedState – Senator Lieberman Will Oppose ObamaCare
WSJ – Democrats Confront Coalition Strains
Michael Barone – Tuesday’s Biggest Loser: The Union Agenda
Thomas Sowell – The “Costs” of Medical Care
Washington Examiner – Voters Reject Obama’s Double Talk
Politico – Red-State Democrats Worried, Rethink Agenda
The Hill – CBO Scores GOP Health Care Alternative

Federal Debt: $11.929 trillion

House Democrats announced today that a vote on Speaker Pelosi’s version of health care “reform” will be held on Saturday night at 6:00, likely when few people are watching.  It is, after all, still college football season.

If the vote succeeds, the House will recess next week and then the ball will be in Senator Harry Reid’s court to pass the Senate’s version of reform. If Reid succeeds, the House and the Senate would meet in conference to reconcile the different provisions in each bill.

During the vote this weekend, the House will also likely vote on a new Republican alternative to ObamaCare.  The Republican bill, 971 pages shorter than ObamaCare, contains provisions that allow consumers to shop across state lines for health insurance.  The Republican alternative also allows small businesses to pool their health plans with other businesses, in an effort to drive down costs.  You can read the alternative to ObamaCare here.

Make sure to call your representative this week at 202-224-3121 and tell them to vote “No” on H.R. 3962, Speaker Pelosi’s government-takeover of our health care system.

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H.R. 3962, Speaker Pelosi’s attempt at a government takeover of health care weighs in at 1,990 pages.  However, there are a few reading guides available to save your eyes, and your sanity.

The House Republican Conference has done the dirty work and compiled a list of all the new boards, bureaucracies, commissions and programs created in the House health care bill.  There are over 111.  Here are a few highlights:

• Health Benefits Advisory Committee (Section 223, p. 111)

• Qualified Health Benefits Plan Ombudsman (Section 244, p. 138)

• Health Insurance Exchange (Section 201, p. 155)

• “Public Health Insurance Option” (Section 321, p. 211)

• Ombudsman for “Public Health Insurance Option” (Section 321(d), p. 213)

• Demonstration program providing reimbursement for “culturally and linguistically appropriate services” (Section 1222, p. 617)

• Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research (Section 1401(a), p. 734)

• Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Section 1907, p. 1198)

• Healthy Teen Initiative grant program regarding teen pregnancy (Section 2526, p. 1398)

• Program of Indian community education on mental illness (Section 3101, p. 1722)

• Urban youth treatment center demonstration project (Section 3101, p. 1873)

Chris Cillizza – Sorting Through Election Numbers
The Hill – Democrats Feeling Angst Over 2010
Michael Barone – Lessons from the 2009 Election
WSJ Editorial – GOP Gets Some Love
The Economist – Voters Punish Obama and the Democrats

Politico – Democrats, Incumbents Get Wake-Up Call
ABC News – Exit Polls: Voters Approve of Obama, Wary of Economy
San Francisco Chronicle – FCC’s Net Neutrality Proposal is Ambiguous
Investor’s Business Daily – Health Reform Faces Moment of Untruth

Federal Debt: $11.914 trillion

The Hill, a Washington-area newspaper, has a handy whip count of House members who are undecided on Speaker Pelosi’s attempt to takeover your health care.  All of the members listed are Democrats but if you live in their district, please call 202-224-3121 and tell them to get off the fence and oppose ObamaCare.

If this ultra-liberal attempt at health care “reform” fails in the House, then it’s likely dead for the foreseeable future.  Let’s keep it that way.

Call your representative at 202-224-3131 and tell them to vote “No” on H.R. 3962.