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.
Last week, Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) called on the American people to join her in making a “House Call” against the passage of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s 1,990-page government-run health care plan.
The event, which is intended to emulate the effective August tea parties, takes place tomorrow at noon. It will begin with a rally featuring actor Jon Voight and Mark Levin on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Following the rally, participants will descend on Congressional offices to lobby against the legislation.
Appearing yesterday on Fox and Friends, Bachmann labeled this week the “Super Bowl of Freedom.”
“The American people need to stand up again and make sure that Congress hears them this time. Speaker Pelosi is putting her bill on fast track to a vote…” said the Congresswoman. “The people need to make a House Call on Washington this week and tell their Representatives to vote no to a government take-over of one-fifth of our economy. This is gangster government at its worst.”
Watch the full Fox and Friends interview below:
It’s crunch time, folks. House Democrats have scheduled a vote on Pelosi’s government-run health care bill for this Saturday. Join Rep. Bachmann and thousands of concerned Americans in making a “House Call” against ObamaCare.
If you are not in the Washington, D.C.-area and are not able to attend this important event, please be sure to call your Representative in Congress and demand he or she vote “No!” Call today, call tomorrow, then call again on Friday and Saturday. Get your friends and family to do the same. We must light up the telephone switchboards in Congressional offices in opposition to ObamaCare.
To be patched through to your Member of Congress, call 202-224-3121.
Or, click here to find your Representative and his or her direct contact information.
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.
It looks like retired seniors aren’t the only New York-area residents making an impact in Florida this time of year. After upstate New Yorkers nearly pushed Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman over the finish line last night, Republican leaders are taking note. One Miami New Times blogger suggests that conservative insurgent Marco Rubio may have a new hurdle to overcome in his quest for establishment credibility and access to GOP moneymen. The argument goes that party big-wigs are likely to be even stingier with their support after watching a red district go blue.
On the other hand, ABC News’ Rick Klein reports that the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) will not be giving money to any candidate in an open, contested primary. Sorry, Charlie (Crist)! NRSC Chairman John Cornyn (R-TX) notes that in the aftermath of NY-23, “[t]here’s no incentive for us to weigh in.”
This is huge. Now there’s every incentive for the conservative grassroots to promote and resource Marco Rubio’s campaign, without the fear of being outspent and undercut by the national party. The big guys are saying ‘may the best man win’ in the Florida GOP primary. Game on!
So one year after Barack Obama was elected President of the United States, where do we stand on his promise to pacify the world after eight years of alleged Bush mismanagement?
Well, North Korea just flipped him the bird, providing one resounding answer to that question. Yesterday, Pyongyang announced that it has disregarded disarmament promises that it made in 2007 and 2008 by processing enough nuclear fuel to produce additional atomic bombs. By continuing this “one step forward, two steps back” routine, North Korea appears ready to demand even more concessions and dollars from the Obama Administration. Apparently, Pyongyang resumed nuclear processing in April of this year, after the United Nations Security Council scolded it for testing new long-range missiles.
So there you have it. The only thing that Obama has offered in terms of defending America’s security interests was a wagging finger and warnings of “stop, or I’ll issue more warnings.” Now, even that is apparently unacceptable to Kim Jong Il. Some “Hope and Change.”
What to do if you’re a California politician holding statewide office, but not enough money or name recognition to make it to the governor’s mansion? Win a Sacramento-area congressional election and head to Washington! With John Garamendi’s win last night in the other congressional special election (CA-10), the soon-to-be former Lieutenant Governor will join former state Attorney General and 1998 Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Lungren (CA-3) in the House of Representatives. Although he never achieved statewide office, perennial Republican candidate Tom McClintock (CA-4) certainly tried. Eventually, McClintock – like Lungren and now Garamendi – discovered that the best way to escape the horns of the dilemma of one who is termed out of office, but can’t open the door to the next, is to pour a lifetime’s worth of money and connections into an entry-level race for federal office.
While it’s good to see that career politicians can find work even in a recession with 10% unemployment, one wonders how many perpetual office seekers pause to consider the example of Rome’s greatest – and perhaps only – citizen-statesman. Though Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus had some aristocratic prejudices (such as opposing equally applicable laws to plebeians and patricians), his chief virtue was that he voluntarily surrendered absolute power as soon as it was feasible; a trait revered and emulated by George Washington.
Perhaps these three Californians serving in the people’s chamber will have a chance to make a lasting contribution to their country, and then quietly go away. Until such a time, there’s still room at the table with the shades of Cincinnatus and Washington.
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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 fewreading 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)
No waffling, we were flat-out wrong about the possibility of Doug Hoffman winning the special congressional election in NY-23. That rather significant part of the equation was a bridge too far, too fast, and we just got carried away by the effort, by the momentum (which was genuine) and by the weird dynamics of a race that behaved like a game of pinball rather than politics.
In the end, the Wicked Witch of the North, Dede Scozzafava was able to exact revenge by backing Democrat Bill Owens and drawing away enough votes to deny Hoffman the victory. Regardless, her future is not going to be that of “a great leader,” Bill Owens’ appreciative words from one clueless backbench hack to another. Owens will get his lapel pin and his year, during which we suspect he won’t become one of Nancy Pelosi’s acolytes. No one could be that dumb.
For conservatism, however, the victory of shoving a dose of grassroots reality down the throats of Republican Party bosses cannot be underestimated.
As someone once said, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Now, who’s paying attention to the Florida Senate race?
By any measure, tonight is not going to be a good one for Democrats. Republican Bob McDonnell has won a commanding victory in the Virginia gubernatorial race, Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffmann looks well-positioned to win the special election in New York’s 23rd Congressional District, and Republican Chris Christie is at the very least going to keep the New Jersey gubernatorial race much closer than anyone would expect in a deep-blue state.
It’s against this backdrop that HBO is debuting “By the People: the Election of Barack Obama” a behind-the-scenes documentary of the presidential campaign that cruised to victory almost exactly a year ago. This also coincides with the release of “The Audacity to Win”, the insider book by Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe.
By the time tonight is over, the public may understand what some of us have been saying for a year: that the 2008 election was a personality-driven anomaly, not an enduring realignment. Not the best time for the Obama camp to be in the hagiography business.
In an effort to provide one-stop-checking for tonight’s election returns, the following links will take you to the respective state’s official election results website.
New York 23rd Congressional District official website for election returns. (New York State Board of Elections)
New Jersey Governor official website for election returns. (New Jersey Department of State – Division of Elections)
Virginia Governor official website for election returns. (Virginia State Board of Elections)
Additionally, Foxnews.com is keeping track of the governor’s races on its home page.
For those wanting to impress others at your election returns party tonight (and if you’re reading this blog, you’ve at least thought about it), here’s the link to the New York Conservative Party website.
And below is a link to short video description of its history by the incomparable Rick Brookhiser of National Review:
Don’t be upstaged by that know-it-all acquaintance who can quote Michael Barone’s “Almanac of American Politics” from memory. You’ll be able to counter with factoids like this:
The 1994 elections were a breakthrough for the Conservative Party as we provided the margin of victory for Governor George E. Pataki with the 326,605 votes cast on our line. Attorney General Vacco nosed out radical Karen Burstein by 88,340 votes. He received 305,961 votes on the Conservative Line. In 1998, 348,272 votes for Governor George E. Pataki were cast on the Conservative line, almost 20,000 more than in 1994, an anomaly in political history.”
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.
WASHINGTON – The health care bill headed for a vote in the House this week costs $1.2 trillion or more over a decade, according to numerous Democratic officials and figures contained in an analysis by congressional budget experts, far higher than the $900 billion cited by President Barack Obama as a price tag for his reform plan.
While the Congressional Budget Office has put the cost of expanding coverage in the legislation at roughly $1 trillion, Democrats added billions more on higher spending for public health, a reinsurance program to hold down retiree health costs, payments for preventive services and more. …
The officials who provided overall cost estimates did so on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to discuss them.
Earlier this week, the editorial staff of The Wall Street Journalinformed its readers that, “Speaker Nancy Pelosi has reportedly told fellow Democrats that she’s prepared to lose seats in 2010 if that’s what it takes to pass ObamaCare.”
So Pelosi is forcing a vote without any significant debate in the House this week on the nearly 2,000-page bill, which was crafted behind closed doors without any public or bipartisan input and which appears to be expanding by the minute in terms of its price tag and assault on individual freedom. It certainly would seem as though the Speaker is being true to her word of passage of ObamaCare at any cost, now doesn’t it.
Last week, we noted that American consumers rewarded Ford for refraining from bankruptcy and accepting federal bailout dollars by significantly boosting its share of domestic auto sales.
So leave it to unionized workers to react to Ford’s admirable success story in a very different way. As we noted in our commentary last week, many market observers worried that Ford would face a competitive disadvantage vis-a-vis General Motors and Chrysler, which did accept bankruptcy and government largess. All three Detroit automakers had been on a decades-long course of suicidal labor and business practices, but Ford chose to right its course the old-fashioned way, in contrast to GM and Chrysler. For this, Ford was rewarded by American car buyers.
But not by union voters, who rejected a contract that would have brought Ford’s unsustainable labor costs in line with those maintained by GM and Chrysler after their bailouts. As noted by the Associated Press, “workers weren’t convinced they should make more concessions, since Ford avoided bankruptcy and is considered healthier than its rivals.”
So there you have it. Behave responsibly by reviving your business without taxpayer dollars, and unionized workers will punish you for doing the right thing. We’ll check back in with these same union voters when they exclaim shock that their jobs disappear overseas or other non-union locales.
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