How Many Fights Will Obama Pick With America?

Politics is a game of addition – successful politics anyway.  Great leaders, when faced with a divided electorate, not to mention difficult economic times, use a limited agenda to forge consensus out of broken paradigms.  Once they achieve an initial success, they seek a broader consensus.  In the 1980’s Reagan faced a divided Republican Party and a fractured and dispirited nation.  Concentrating on the prosperity issue and our national prestige, Reagan first brought Republicans together and then independents and even many Democrats.  Indeed, so successful was Reagan at bringing people together, that in time he could rely on a group of Reagan Democrats.  Few other Presidents have had such success at building consensus let alone are able to claim a voting block from the other party in their name.

There is little doubt that Obama faced a divided electorate when he first took office and a difficult economic climate.  Rather than start with a limited agenda designed to build consensus, Obama did the opposite.  Obama chased too many rabbits at once and preferred ideological fights over practical solutions.  As a result, the Country is more divided than ever – not less.

The most recent manifestation of that divisive M.O. is the White House’s amazing decision to insist on a terror trial in New York.   Of course, it remains a jarring ideological decision to treat KSM as a “criminal” versus the warring “terrorist” that he is.  As I wrote, in my article Internment, CSI and Eric Holder’s Disarming of America, that decision will have profound negative consequences for decades to come.  To the point of this article, Obama is compounding his initial divisive decision (treating him as a criminal) by fighting with New York over the place of the trial.  It is a political fight which he cannot win regardless of the outcome of the trial.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, cap-and-trade, economic recession, government health care
Posted Feb 3rd 2010 at 5:44 am in Congress, Environment, Featured Story, Healthcare, Obama, Politics | 67970172 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/tdelbeccaro/2010/02/03/how-many-fights-will-obama-pick-with-america/How+Many+Fights+Will+Obama+Pick+With+America%3F2010-02-03+13%3A44%3A49Thomas+Del+Beccaro

Canadian Premier Comes to U.S. For Health Care

From Canada’s National Post:

Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams

Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams will undergo heart surgery later this week in the United States.

Deputy premier Kathy Dunderdale confirmed the treatment at a news conference Tuesday, but would not reveal the location of the operation or how it would be paid for.

“He has gone to a renowned expert in the procedure that he needs to have done,” said Ms. Dunderdale, who will become acting premier while Mr. Williams is away for three to 12 weeks.

“In consultation with his own doctors, he’s decided to go that route.”

Mr. Williams’ decision to leave Canada for the surgery has raised eyebrows over his apparent shunning of Canada’s health-care system.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Canadian Health Care, canadian premier, government health care, health care access, medical rationing
Posted Feb 2nd 2010 at 10:57 am in Healthcare, News | 68738172 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/publius/2010/02/02/canadian-premier-comes-to-u-s-for-health-care/Canadian+Premier+Comes+to+U.S.+For+Health+Care2010-02-02+18%3A57%3A02Publius

Sen. Harkin Contradicts Obama, Says Final Healthcare Deal Done BEFORE the MA Election

The Hill is reporting that Senator Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Health Committee, stated that negotiators from the White House, Senate and House reached a final deal on healthcare reform days before Scott Brown’s win in Massachusetts.

From the article:

Labor leaders had announced an agreement with White House and congressional representatives over an excise tax on high-cost insurance plans on the Thursday before the special election.

Harkin said “we had an agreement, with the House, the White House and the Senate. We sent it to [the Congressional Budget Office] to get scored and then Tuesday happened and we didn’t get it back.” He said negotiators had an agreement in hand on Friday, Jan. 15.

Harkin made clear that negotiators had reached a final deal on the entire bill, not just the excise plans, which had been reported the previous day, Jan. 14.

Harkin said the deal covered the prescription-drug “donut hole,” the level of federal insurance subsidies, national insurance exchanges and federal Medicaid assistance to states.

This cannot be right.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: government health care, health care deal, massachusetts senate election, massachusetts special election, Obama GOP retreat
Posted Jan 31st 2010 at 9:02 am in Big Labor, Congress, Healthcare, News, Obama, Politics | 67486130 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/sahiller/2010/01/31/sen-harkin-contradicts-obama-says-final-healthcare-deal-done-before-the-ma-election/Sen.+Harkin+Contradicts+Obama%2C+Says+Final+Healthcare+Deal+Done+BEFORE+the+MA+Election2010-01-31+17%3A02%3A06SusanAnne+++Hiller

Obama: We Had Nothing to Do With Cornhusker Kickback, Emanuel: Yes We Did

Rahm Emanuel: "We were involved in the legislation all the way through."

Video by Real Clear Politics

Hours before his embattled boss gave his first State of the Union address, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel contradicted President Barack Obama’s claim made just two days before that he had nothing to do with the much maligned deal to get the vote of Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) for the Senate’s healthcare bill just before Christmas.

Speaking to ABC News’ World News Tonight anchor Diane Sawyer in an exclusive interview on Monday, Obama denied being involved in what has come to be known as the “Cornhusker Kickback”

SAWYER: A lot of people think you must say at the end of the day, this is not who I was in 2008, these deals with Nebraska, with Florida…

OBAMA: Let’s hold on a second, Diane. I mean, I think that this gets into a big mush. So let’s just clarify. I didn’t make a bunch of deals. There is a legislative process that is taking place in Congress and I am happy to own up to the fact that I have not changed Congress and how it operates the way I would have liked. So that’s point number one.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Barack Obama, Ben Nelson, ben nelson bribe, cornhusker kickback, Diane Sawyer
Posted Jan 29th 2010 at 12:29 pm in Congress, News, Obama, Politics | 66650185 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/ktaylor/2010/01/29/obamas-clean-hands-claim-on-cornhusker-kickback-contradicted-by-rahm-emanuel/Obama%3A+We+Had+Nothing+to+Do+With+Cornhusker+Kickback%2C+Emanuel%3A+Yes+We+Did2010-01-29+20%3A29%3A29Kristinn+Taylor

Mr. President … That ‘Buzzsaw’ Was The American People Saying, ‘Stop.’

This morning after our weekly conference meeting I joined other House Republican leaders at a press event to discuss President Obama’s State of the Union address tonight.  What I told the press gathered in the U.S. Capitol this morning is that tonight, President Obama needs to prove he’s listening to the American people.  It’s not the message, it’s his job-killing policies.  The President must do more than rhetorically ‘pivot.’  He must scrap his job-killing agenda and work in the bipartisan way he promised during the campaign.

The American people don’t want this government takeover of health care, and it’s time to put it out of its misery. No more tricks.  Instead of just a half-baked spending freeze, how about real budget caps that can be enforced?  And instead of more government ‘stimulus’ bills, we need real solutions to help small businesses create jobs.

Last Friday, on a visit to my home state of Ohio, the President complained about this “buzzsaw” of opposition his health care bill faced.  But what you call a buzzsaw, Mr. President, I call the American people.  They’re saying ‘enough is enough’ to this big-government, job-killing agenda.  And they’re asking “where are the jobs?”  So we’re going to listen to the President, but we’re also going to continue to hold him accountable and offer our better solutions.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Barack Obama, economic downturn, government health care, health care reform, job creation
Posted Jan 27th 2010 at 9:47 am in Congress, Obama, Politics | 65802121 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/jboehner/2010/01/27/mr-president-that-buzzsaw-was-the-american-people-saying-stop/Mr.+President+%E2%80%A6+That+%E2%80%98Buzzsaw%E2%80%99+Was+The+American+People+Saying%2C+%E2%80%98Stop.%E2%80%992010-01-27+17%3A47%3A59Rep.+John+Boehner

Missing The Mass Point

As Democrats are grieving their lost super-majority in Congress, some special interests are trying to spin the loss in ridiculous ways. The latest: Union boss Leo Gerard writes that “The message of Massachusetts should be clear: If Democrats want to save their own jobs in the midterm elections this fall, they must create jobs now.”

Create jobs? Create jobs?! It’s truly a fundamentally different worldview — and the kind that led Democrats off the cliff in the first place — to believe the government, rather than American entrepreneurs create jobs. (Here’s just one retort to that kind of logic.)

In one sense, there is a way Democrats could create jobs: They could quit trying to kill job-creating employers. Shred cap and trade. Hit the reset button on health care legislation. And, particularly important given the disastrous push by labor bosses, toss card check. Quit trying to force “green jobs” by killing other jobs. Stop the devastating machine of regulation from steamrolling any hope of economic recovery.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Barack Obama, Big Labor, cap-and-trade, Card Check, government health care
Posted Jan 25th 2010 at 3:17 pm in Big Labor, Economics | 6495893 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/bjacobson/2010/01/25/missing-the-mass-point/Missing+The+Mass+Point2010-01-25+23%3A17%3A35Bret+Jacobson

The Feds Are Out of Money: Healthcare Is Their New Bank

It is mentioned, almost in passing, that the “healthcare reform” on the verge of becoming law starts collecting premiums and taxes immediately, and promises benefits only in about four years.

What kind of emergency is that?

It’s not a healthcare emergency. It’s what might be called a Madoff emergency.

Whether starry-eyed utopians or cynical malefactors, the unnamed, possibly unnameable they have high ambitions for Washington to achieve their objectives. The stars are aligned for their coup d’etat, but there is one little problem: the country is out of money.

This problem threatens to stop not only their agenda, but the whole game. Washington has 2 million employees on the payroll, earning on average twice as much as those in the private sector. And probably more than a hundred million dependents—recipients of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and grants and subsidies of all types. What happens if the checks stop coming?

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: David Brooks, entitlement spending, government health care, health care spending, ObamaCare
Posted Jan 22nd 2010 at 10:59 am in Congress, Healthcare, Politics | 6387480 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/jorient/2010/01/22/the-feds-are-out-of-money-healthcare-is-their-new-bank/The+Feds+Are+Out+of+Money%3A+Healthcare+Is+Their+New+Bank2010-01-22+18%3A59%3A57Dr.+Jane+Orient

California Democrats Ignore Brown Win: Vote For Bankruptcy

Reagan famously said that Republicans believe everyday is the 4^th of July and the Democrats believe everyday is April 15^th.  An oversimplification to be sure, but that sentiment was not far from the minds of the Massachusetts voters.  Already laboring under a bad state imposed health care system, in spectacular fashion, they rejected ObamaCare and elected Scott Brown to a “people’s seat.”

In California, that lesson apparently went unnoticed for California Democrats.   Less than 48 hours after the dust settled from the Brown triumph, California Democrats voted for a State imposed “universal” health care plan.  In other words, a state run health care system that would bar private insurance.

Keep in mind that California is already amidst a chronic and prolonged budget crisis brought on by runaway spending and exorbitant taxing.   Perennially listed among the worst states in our Union to do business, California features 10%+ income taxes and the highest regulatory burden around.  So imposing are the costs to business in California, despite its ports and natural resources, Nevada and its desert is #1 in the Country in new business development.

As Congressman Tom McClintock famously says, only government policy could convince people and business to relocate from lush California to the barren deserts of Nevada.  The practical result of those anti-job polices is that California now has a revenue problem.  Just 3 years ago revenues were in the $125 billion dollar range.  Now they are in the $85+ billion dollar range.  In other words, government has created a revenue problem by killing off jobs and, without those jobs, there are less taxpayers, less income tax and less sales tax.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: california democrats, government health care, higher taxesMartha Coakley, increased taxes, Jerry Brown
Posted Jan 22nd 2010 at 8:21 am in Healthcare, Politics, State Politics | 63846176 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/tdelbeccaro/2010/01/22/california-democrats-ignore-brown-win-vote-for-bankruptcy/California+Democrats+Ignore+Brown+Win%3A+Vote+For+Bankruptcy2010-01-22+16%3A21%3A04Thomas+Del+Beccaro

Now Barney Frank and the Dems are for the Nuclear Option

Take a listen to Barney Frank saying “God didn’t invent the filibuster.”

Remember way back in 2003 when the Republicans were looking to rewrite the senate rules so the Dems couldn’t filibuster judicial nominees?

Partisan disagreement over judicial nominations is so intense that senators couldn’t even agree on the title of Mr. Cornyn’s hearing: “Judicial Nominations, Filibusters and the Constitution: When a majority is denied its right to consent.”"The title suggests that [the hearing] may be intended to turn up the heat rather than cool things down,” said Sen. Russell D. Feingold, Wisconsin Democrat, who warned that any effort to change Senate rules “will be met with stiff resistance.”As with the country’s actual nuclear arsenal, there is a form of mutually assured destruction here, too.The only thing holding Republicans back from breaking the filibuster this way is knowing that the same weapon will be used against them someday in the future when the roles are reversed. “The old bears in the Senate want to preserve their ability to filibuster the Democrats in the future,” said one key Senate aide, who also stressed that such a maneuver would only be used to break filibusters involving executive nominees.”If the Democrats take back the Senate — God forbid — the first 10 things they bring up will be anathema to us but they’ll say [forget] you, we have our 51 votes.”

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Barack Obama, government health care, health care, health care reform, martha coakley
Posted Jan 21st 2010 at 3:12 pm in Congress, Healthcare, Politics, Uncategorized | 62026196 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/gknapp/2010/01/21/now-barney-frank-and-the-dems-are-for-the-nuclear-option/Now+Barney+Frank+and+the+Dems+are+for+the+Nuclear+Option2010-01-21+23%3A12%3A00Greg+Knapp

Field Marshal Andy Stern: ‘Dammit, I Said March Off That Cliff’

Suddenly, all the condescending ‘tea-bagger’ jokes must not be quite so funny in liberal circles.  Serves them right.

Losing the seat formerly held by the champion of socialized medicine – in the bluest of states – apparently hasn’t phased the radical left.  SEIU president Andy Stern put the blame on the fact that Democrats in Washington, DC, who the union spent tens of millions of dollars electing, haven’t done enough to pass the progressive agenda.  From a SEIU statement:

“The reason Ted Kennedy’s seat is no longer controlled by a Democrat is clear: Washington’s inability to deliver the change voters demanded in November 2008. Make no mistake, political paralysis resulted in electoral failure,” Stern said.

“During the past year, Republicans refused to do anything but stand in the way of change and Democratic Senators took too long to do too little. And tonight, the Senate bears the consequences for its failure to act decisively but the American people are the ones left paying the price…

“The Senate may have squandered the trust the American people gave to Washington in 2008. But now, every member of Congress and the Administration must act with a renewed sense of purpose to show working families whose side they are on and deliver meaningful change to every American. This is not the time for timidity. It starts by passing health insurance reform and giving Pat [DeJong] and millions of people like her the security and peace of mind they deserve.”

Massachusetts voters stood at the borders of their state – and the polling places – with virtual pitch forks telling politicians, to paraphrase Johnny Paycheck, “take this agenda and shove it.”

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Andy Stern, government health care, martha coakley, massachusetts senate race, massachusetts special election
Posted Jan 21st 2010 at 7:16 am in Big Labor, Healthcare, Politics | 62798154 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/kolson/2010/01/21/field-marshal-andy-stern-dammit-i-said-march-off-that-cliff/Field+Marshal+Andy+Stern%3A+%E2%80%98Dammit%2C+I+Said+March+Off+That+Cliff%E2%80%992010-01-21+15%3A16%3A25Kyle+Olson

Bush Administration Saw the Market as Key to Health Reform

Judging by their unprecedented use of the word “unprecedented” to describe everything the Obama administration has done it appears that they truly think they have fundamentally changed the national landscape in one short year.

Of course, those outside the delusional bubble of the White House know that the only truly unprecedented thing this administration has done is to destroy its own popularity faster than any other modern president, primarily thanks to its ham-handed push for a left-of-center realignment of the nation.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the titanic health care “reform” struggle.  The administration cannot seem to grasp the reality or the reasons for the public’s rejection of Obamacare.  The White House is correct that Americans want to reform health care and make it more affordable, accessible and understandable.  But the people know intuitively that a government takeover, or just a much bigger government role, won’t achieve those goals.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Barack Obama, consumer driven care, George W. Bush, government health care, health savings account
Posted Jan 20th 2010 at 7:03 am in Uncategorized | 6131872 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/dobrien/2010/01/20/bush-administration-saw-the-market-as-key-to-health-reform/Bush+Administration+Saw+the+Market+as+Key+to+Health+Reform2010-01-20+15%3A03%3A17Doug+O%26%2339%3BBrien

Dems Assemble Circular Firing Squad Over Coakley Loss; Freedom Left Intact – For Now

Martha Coakley’s campaign team began leveling charges against DC Democrats as it became increasingly apparent the wheels had fallen off her campaign wagon well before Election Day.  DC operatives, including those in the White House, of course, couldn’t withhold return fire.  Politico reports:

And in private conversations, Hill sources say White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel has blamed Coakley, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Democratic pollster Celinda Lake for failing to see Brown’s surge in time to stop it.

Coakley advisors, meanwhile, say DC operatives stepped in too late, so the blame lies with them.  A memo, obtained by Politico, said in part:

National Dems Failed to Aid Coakley Until Too Late

— Coakley campaign provided national Democrats with all poll results since early December

— Coakley campaign noted concerns about “apathy” and failure of national Democrats to contribute early in December. Coakley campaign noted fundraising concerns throughout December and requested national Democratic help.

— DNC and other Dem organizations did not engage until the week before the election, much too late to aid Coakley operation

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Bill Clinton, Byron York, DNC, government health care, Mao
Posted Jan 19th 2010 at 8:14 pm in Congress, Politics, State Politics | 6256671 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/kolson/2010/01/19/dems-assemble-circular-firing-squad-over-coakley-loss-freedom-left-intact-for-now-link-fixed/Dems+Assemble+Circular+Firing+Squad+Over+Coakley+Loss%3B+Freedom+Left+Intact+%E2%80%93+For+Now2010-01-20+04%3A14%3A14Kyle+Olson

A Victory Speech for Scott Brown

I believe that Scott Brown will win the senatorial election being held in Massachusetts today and that he will do so not by an eyelash but by a landslide. We are about to witness the Massachusetts Miracle.

I have three reasons for being so confident. First, the polls — with admirable consistency — suggest that he is ahead. Second, the Coakley campaign and the Democratic Party nationally have panicked. Coakley’s minions have sent out a flier accusing Scott Brown of wanting to turn rape victims away from Massachusetts hospitals, and the DC apparatus has sent in Bill Clinton and Barack Obama for last-minute campaigning. Both moves are likely to backfire.

First, the claims in the flier are ridiculous and demonstrably false, and voters in Massachusetts have the wit to recognize that fact. Second, the bloom is off the rose. Clinton is a has-been, and Obama inspires little in the way of adulation these days. Their appearance in Massachusetts under these circumstances is a public confession that Martha Coakley is herself a loser. In special elections, turnout is everything. Scott Brown commands enthusiasm; no one — even within the Democratic establishment — has expressed any genuine excitement regarding his opponent.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Barack Obama, Ben Nelson, cap-and-trade, cornhusker kickback, government health care
Posted Jan 19th 2010 at 2:17 pm in Big Labor, Congress, Economics, Environment, Healthcare, Obama, Politics, State Politics, Tax Reform, Tea Party, federal spending | 6091454 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/prahe/2010/01/19/a-victory-speech-for-scott-brown/+A+Victory+Speech+for+Scott+Brown2010-01-19+22%3A17%3A51Paul+A.++Rahe

Dems’ Health Care Strategy: Seek Forgiveness Instead of Permission

Consider this irony: Democrats and their special interest allies are in the fight of their lives to keep the seat formerly held by the champion of socialized medicine in the bluest of states.  Democrats should be tap dancing on the foreheads of Republicans in Massachusetts.  But instead, they’re racing against the clock for a deal on health care reform because they run the risk of losing their critical 60^th vote in just a few days.

So the Democrats strategy is clear:  seek forgiveness of American voters in November instead of permission now because the probable message from Tuesday’s election will not be in favor of ObamaCare.  Democrats are “hoping” to have an overall deal on health care reform, the tax-dodging Ways and Means committee chairman Charlie Rangel told NationalJournal.com, just in time to avoid the Tuesday Massachusetts vote.

The Huffington Post quoted SEIU vice president Anna Burger as saying, “Let’s go on and actually pass this bill.”  Anna’s wish is, of course, this White House’s command.

The special election this week in Massachusetts can easily be viewed as a referendum on Obama, his policies and specifically government-run health care.  And in a state that is navy blue, it’s a dog fight, with SEIU stepping in to plop down over $600,000 for TV ads savaging Republican candidate Scott Brown.  And RedState.com reported House Democrats are spending beaucoup bucks to elect a Democrat to the Senate.  It’s pure panic time for Democrats in Washington.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: AFL-CIO, Andy Stern, Anna Burger, Barack Obama, cadillac tax
Posted Jan 18th 2010 at 8:37 am in Big Labor, Congress, Healthcare, Obama, Politics, State Politics | 6094277 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/kolson/2010/01/18/dems-health-care-strategy-seek-forgiveness-instead-of-permission/Dems%E2%80%99+Health+Care+Strategy%3A+Seek+Forgiveness+Instead+of+Permission2010-01-18+16%3A37%3A35Kyle+Olson

Obama’s First Year

Wednesday will mark the first anniversary of the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama — who began his Presidency, as nearly all new first-term Presidents do, high in the polls. At that time, Obama’s approval ratings were, in fact, in the stratosphere. In the last twelve months, however, they have fallen further and faster than those of any President since polling began; and, and, as developments in Massachusetts suggest, his party is now in danger of suffering in November an historic defeat — which is likely to rival its fate in 1938, 1966, and 1994 if the Democrats do not, as I believe they may, do even worse. In a poll released on Thursday, the National Journal reports that half of the adults sampled responded that, if new Presidential elections were held right now, they would vote against Barack Obama, and less than a quarter of those questioned indicated that they would vote to re-elect the President. It is an appropriate time in which to pose this question: Why have Obama and his supporters fallen so far and so fast?

We must, I think, begin before the beginning. The Obama campaign was predicated on a fraud. With a skill that was breathtaking, Barack Obama managed during that campaign to signal to the left within the Democratic Party with a wink and a nod that he was their man and that he meant business — that he really intended to “transform” America. To those in the middle and on the right who are ashamed of the nation’s historic sins in matters of race, he offered absolution, and he promised that the penance that they would have to perform after leaving the confessional would not be harsh. He was not, he said, a tax-and-spend liberal.

I was not taken in. Late in 2008, after reviewing the page proofs of Soft Despotism, Democracy’s Drift, I persuaded my editor to allow me to add the following to the book:

Once again, as in the 1920s, rational administration has failed us. As on that other occasion, the Federal Reserve Board and the Department of the Treasury pursued over an extended period under more than one administration an easy-money policy bound in the end to give rise to “irrational exuberance” in the markets and to a bubble followed by a catastrophic decline in prices and a collapse of the credit markets. And, to make matters worse, we responded to this set of circumstances precisely as we did on that earlier occasion — by electing a president and choosing a Congress intent on dramatically increasing the scale and scope of the administrative state.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: ACORN, auto bailout, Barack Obama, cap-and-trade, Charles Grassley
Posted Jan 16th 2010 at 6:08 am in ACORN, Big Labor, Congress, Earmarks, Economics, Featured Story, Healthcare, History, News, Obama, Politics, State Politics, Tax Reform, Tea Party, federal spending | 59998130 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/prahe/2010/01/16/obamas-first-year/Obama%27s+First+Year2010-01-16+14%3A08%3A30Paul+A.++Rahe

BREAKING-Martha Coakley: Devout Catholics ‘Probably Shouldn’t Work in the Emergency Room’

“You can have religious freedom but you probably shouldn’t work in the emergency room.”

Democrat Martha Coakley was on with Ken Pittman from WBSM in Massachusetts today. Martha told Ken that if you object to abortion and are a devout Catholic then…
“You probably shouldn’t work in the emergency room.”

From the interview:

Ken Pittman: Right, if you are a Catholic, and believe what the Pope teaches that any form of birth control is a sin. ah you don’t want to do that.

Martha Coakley: No we have a seperation of church and state Ken, lets be clear.

Ken Pittman: In the emergency room you still have your religious freedom.

Martha Coakley: (……uh, eh…um..) The law says that people are allowed to have that. You can have religious freedom but you probably shouldn’t work in the emergency room.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: campaign gaffes, catholic hospitals, emergency rooms, freedom of religion, government health care
Posted Jan 14th 2010 at 6:22 pm in Politics, State Politics | 60066386 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/jhoft/2010/01/14/game-changermartha-coakley-devout-catholics-probably-shouldnt-work-in-the-emergency-room-video/++BREAKING-Martha+Coakley%3A+Devout+Catholics+%27Probably+Shouldn%E2%80%99t+Work+in+the+Emergency+Room%272010-01-15+02%3A22%3A47Jim+Hoft

Make the Final Health Care Talks Public

Republicans are continuing to insist on behalf of the American people that any legislative negotiations pertaining to health care reform be made public. Today, Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) is filing a discharge petition which, if signed by 218 Representatives, would force an up-or-down vote on his bipartisan resolution (H. Res. 847) requiring that health care talks be public and open to the media, as President Obama promised they would be.

We’re taking this step because something as important as the Democrats’ health care bill, with its Medicare cuts and tax hikes, should not be slapped together behind closed doors.  Secret deliberations are a breeding ground for mischief, including sweetheart deals that end up not being discovered until it’s too late (see: Sen. Ben Nelson’s “Cornhusker Kickback.”)

Of course, the American people should be able to see how every bill is coming together, but it’s even more important to adhere to this common-sense standard when we’re talking about transforming one-sixth of our economy and implementing drastic changes to the way in which Americans live.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Barack Obama, C-SPAN, cornhusker kickback, government health care, health care
Posted Jan 13th 2010 at 9:17 am in Congress, Healthcare, News, Obama, Politics | 5921461 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/jboehner/2010/01/13/make-the-final-health-care-talks-public/Make+the+Final+Health+Care+Talks+Public2010-01-13+17%3A17%3A47Rep.+John+Boehner

Lessons of ‘66 and ‘94 Loom Over Democrats: Part I

Midterm elections can present a considerable risk for a new President.  Often viewed as a referendum on a President’s policies, the last 45 years featured such huge party losses as 54 House seats under Clinton, 48 seats under Ford, and 47 seats under Johnson.  While Ford’s fate was not entirely his own, the fates of Johnson and Clinton present foreboding scenarios for Democrats in 2010.

Johnson and Clinton: Unpopular Policies Lead to Midterm Losses.

In 1964, the Democrats were sitting atop the political world.  They held 68 Senate seats and gained 36 House seats for an overwhelming margin of 295 to 140 – not to mention winning the White House.  Just two years later, however, they lost 48 seats.  Why? A series of policies that were unpopular including a “credibility gap” on the Vietnam War and what one Democrat Governor said was “Frustration over Vietnam; too much federal spending and… taxation; no great public support for your Great Society programs; and … public disenchantment with the civil rights programs.”  Despite the economy growing 6% because of the Kennedy/Johnson tax cuts, the divide between Johnson’s policies and public opinion produced a 49% approval rating for Johnson and resulted in historic losses for the President and his party in 1966.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: 66 elections, 94 elections, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, economic recession
Posted Jan 12th 2010 at 5:42 am in Congress, Economics, Featured Story, Obama, Politics | 58658118 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/tdelbeccaro/2010/01/12/lessons-of-66-and-94-loom-over-democrats-part-i/Lessons+of+%2766+and+%2794+Loom+Over+Democrats%3A+Part+I2010-01-12+13%3A42%3A56Thomas+Del+Beccaro

Drug Company and HMO Lobbyists Try to Save Democrat in Massachusetts

From Tim Carney in today’s Examiner:

With Democrat Martha Coakley in trouble in the Massachusetts special election to fill Ted Kennedy’s seat, Democrats could lose vote No. 60 for President Obama’s health-care bill. In response, an army of lobbyists for drug companies, health insurance companies, and hospitals has teamed up to throw a high-dollar Capitol Hill fundraiser for Coakley next Tuesday night.

COAKLEY –

Of the 22 names on the host committee–meaning they raised $10,000 or more for Coakley–17 are federally registered lobbyists, 15 of whom have health-care clients. Of the other five hosts, one is married to a lobbyist, one was a lobbyist in Pennsylvania, another is a lawyer at a lobbying firm, and another is a corporate CEO. Oh, and of course, there’s also the political action commitee for Boston Scientific Corporation.

All the leading drug companies have lobbyists on Coakley’s host committee: Pfizer, Merck, Amgen, Sanofi-Aventis, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Astra-Zeneca, and more. On the insurance side of things, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Cigna, Humana, HealthSouth, and United Health all are represented on the host committee.
(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Amgen, Drug Company lobbyists, Eli Lilly, government health care, health care reform
Posted Jan 11th 2010 at 8:13 am in Congress, Healthcare, Obama, Politics | 58186128 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/publius/2010/01/11/drug-company-and-hmo-lobbyists-try-to-save-democrat-in-massachusetts/Drug+Company+and+HMO+Lobbyists+Try+to+Save+Democrat+in+Massachusetts2010-01-11+16%3A13%3A09Publius

Reason.tv: Real World DC (Health Care Remix)

Coming this winter to C-SPAN:

The true story… of 535 politicians…picked to live in two houses…work together and their lives taped…to find out what happens…when Congress stops being polite…and starts secret, detailed negotiations on a sweeping, transformative health care reform bill…This is the real Real World DC.

Featuring Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Charles Rangel, Robert Byrd, Barney Frank, Max Baucus…and billions of taxpayer dollars.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: C-SPAN Health Care, Charles Rangel, government health care, health care reform, Nancy Pelosi
Posted Jan 10th 2010 at 11:24 am in Healthcare, News, Obama, Political Humor | 5767856 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/ngillespie/2010/01/10/reason-tv-real-world-dc-health-care-remix/Reason.tv%3A+Real+World+DC+%28Health+Care+Remix%292010-01-10+19%3A24%3A41Nick+Gillespie

Rationing Medicare: Update

My last article, Medicare is Already Rationing Care, focused on one small aspect of a much larger story, a story every American needs to know. The battle over the meaning of medicine began 2,500 years ago, not last spring.

In the late 1990’s I gave a lecture entitled “Post-Hippocratic Medicine in the Shadow of Nietzsche” in response to Peter Singer, the chair of bioethics at Princeton University. Singer had proposed we not consider humans “fully human” until they reached five weeks of age (after birth). During the first four weeks, he argued, we should allow the overt killing of infants with disabilities. This was “cost-effective.” It served the “greater good” by controlling the skyrocketing cost of healthcare.

For a decade I studied the question ”How did America reach a place in her history where we could seriously consider resurrecting the ancient practice of infanticide?” What I discovered changed my life.

For the past 2,500 years physicians served only one of two roles in Western culture. They either followed Hippocrates and served the wellbeing of their patients, or they followed Plato and served the greater welfare of the State. The philosophy of Peter Singer is not new—it has been with us for millennia. We once again stand at these same fated crossroads of Plato and Hippocrates as we debate the future of American healthcare.

Based on my study of history, philosophy, and current events, I feared we were rapidly returning to the world of Plato; a world where physicians worked at the behest of government, not solely for the patient. To help Americans understand what was about to transpire, I launched  Physicians for Reform in 2006.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Barbara Wagner, cancer treatment, consumer driven care, death panels, government health care
Posted Jan 10th 2010 at 6:01 am in Featured Story, Healthcare, Politics | 57846176 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/clgray/2010/01/10/rationing-medicare-update/Rationing+Medicare%3A+Update2010-01-10+14%3A01%3A51Dr.+C.L.++Gray

New Gov’t Report Demonstrates Superiority of Private Sector in Controlling Health Costs

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released their annual report this week on total healthcare spending in the U.S. for 2008. To the limited extent that this release was even reported, the headline was that the growth in healthcare spending “slowed” from the prior year. From a growth rate of 6% in 2007 to only 4.4% in 2008. This in fact represented the lowest rate of growth since the CMS first started reporting this data in 1960. Given all the hyperbole about exploding healthcare costs this past year, this would seem to be wonderfully good news, worthy of national media attention. Might the cost curve be bending down (gasp) without government intervention?

Not surprisingly, media coverage of the report – and even the press release from the CMS itself – convey a less positive interpretation of the underlying data. By focusing on the fact that healthcare spending as a percentage of GDP continues to rise (if only slightly), from 15.9 percent in 2007 to 16.2 percent in 2008. And by attributing the decline to the economic downturn, implying that it is only temporary, even though the co-author of the report acknowledged that “health-care spending is usually somewhat insulated from the immediate impact of a downturn in the economy”.

Why the glass half-empty view? I believe the answer can be found in this accompanying statement from CMS Director Jonathan Blum (emphasis mine):

This report contains some welcome news and yet another warning sign. Health care spending as a percentage of GDP is rising at an unsustainable rate. It is clear that we need health insurance reform now.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: CMS, cost curve, david cutler, government health care, Medicaid
Posted Jan 7th 2010 at 2:32 pm in Healthcare, Media Criticism, News | 5673033 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/mrichmond/2010/01/07/new-govt-report-demonstrates-superiority-of-private-sector-in-controlling-health-costs/New+Gov%27t+Report+Demonstrates+Superiority+of+Private+Sector+in+Controlling+Health+Costs2010-01-07+22%3A32%3A41Morgen++Richmond

21.1 Million Reasons Big Labor Pours Money into ObamaCare

The bosses of Service Employee International Union (SEIU) and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Union (AFSCME), Andy Stern and Gerald McEntee, know that ObamaCare will hurt the very workers that they claim to represent.

But, it appears that they just don’t care!

These two union bosses who stand to gain the most power under ObamaCare are spending hundreds of millions of forced union dues promoting ObamaCare. A government run health insurance program is an SEIU and AFSCME “membership net” designed to eventually complete the capture of 21.1 million forced-dues paying government workers.

It is clear that Big Labor is banking on the probability that all healthcare workers eventually become federal, state, and municipal healthcare employees.

According to SEIU’s numbers submitted to the Obama transition organization (The National Heath Care Workforce Enhancement Initiative, 12/3/2008), public sector labor bosses like Stern and AFSCME’s Gerald McEntee have 21.1 million reasons to support ObamaCare. After the November election, Stern’s SEIU submitted the following health occupation numbers to Rahm Emmanuel et al. at Obama, Inc.:

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: AFSCME, Andy Stern, Big Labor, forced dues, Gerald McEntee
Posted Jan 7th 2010 at 8:21 am in Big Labor, Healthcare | 5650679 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/dloos/2010/01/07/21-1-million-reasons-big-labor-pours-money-into-obamacare/21.1+Million+Reasons+Big+Labor+Pours+Money+into+ObamaCare2010-01-07+16%3A21%3A13Don+Loos

C-SPAN Asks to Televise Health Care Negotiations

Just before New Year’s, C-SPAN Chairman and CEO Brian Lamb sent a letter to Congressional leadership, requesting permission to televise negotiations around the final health care reform legislation. The letter was addressed to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, GOP Leader Rep. John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell.

The letter notes:

Now that the process moves to the critical stage of reconciliation between the Chambers, we respectfully request that you all the public full access, through television, to legislation that will affect the lives of every American.

C-SPAN Health Care Letter –

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: closed door negotiations, CSPAN, government health care, government transparency, health care reform
Posted Jan 5th 2010 at 7:31 am in Congress, Healthcare, News, Obama, Politics, Uncategorized | 5549499 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/publius/2010/01/05/c-span-asks-to-televise-health-care-negotiations/C-SPAN+Asks+to+Televise+Health+Care+Negotiations2010-01-05+15%3A31%3A00Publius

Barack Obama and the Exhausted Presidency

In a recent puff piece, The New York Times reports that our President is tired. This is not the first such report. Back in May, when he treated England’s Gordon Brown so shabbily, the excuse given — according to The Daily Telegraph – was that wrestling with the economic crisis had left Barack Obama too exhausted to be able to focus on foreign affairs.

We should perhaps discount what was said in May. For, as I have attempted to document in detail here, here, here, here, here, and here, President Obama is a gentleman, and, as such, he is never unintentionally rude. He is, in fact, a master of the insulting gesture, which he seems to reserve for political opponents, such as Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Sarah Palin, and for political leaders in countries, such as England, France, Germany, Israel, and Poland, which were closely associated with the United States prior to the Age of Obama.

This time, however, Barack Obama may be genuinely tired, and he may be depressed as well. He certainly has warrant. In public, he may claim that he deserves a B+ for his first year in office, but the polling data suggests that he has earned a failing mark, and he has to know better.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Al Qaeda, Barack Obama, Beijing, Chinese relations, Christmas Attack
Posted Dec 31st 2009 at 5:41 am in Congress, Defense, Featured Story, Healthcare, Obama, Politics | 53670352 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/prahe/2009/12/31/barack-obama-and-the-exhausted-presidency/Barack+Obama+and+the+Exhausted+Presidency2009-12-31+13%3A41%3A42Paul+A.++Rahe

Obama’s 6 Worst Policy Decisions

From Guantanamo to Health Care, Obama is certainly seeking to Change America – or more accurately -to accelerate the pace of change from a private enterprise-freedom based civilization to a Big Government-run society.  According to Thomas Paine, “It is the duty of a patriot to protect his country from his government.”  I realize that is a slightly different definition than Joe Biden would use, but nevertheless, in that light, here is my listing of the worst of his policy decisions:

6. Bailing Out GM.  “His policy of public investments prevented necessary liquidations.  The businesses he hoped thus to save either went bankrupt in the end, after fearful agonies, or were burdened . . . by a crushing load of debt.  [He] undermined property rights . . .pushed federal credit into the banks and bullied them into inflating . . .” Historian Paul Johnson wrote that of Herbert Hoover.  You can almost substitute Obama’s name for Hoover’s  in every detail.   By the way, Government Motors sales are declining at 3 times the rate of the industry as a whole.  Hoover would be proud.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: auto bailout, Barack Obama, cap-and-trade, federal spending, Gitmo
Posted Dec 28th 2009 at 12:02 pm in Defense, Economics, Environment, Healthcare, News, Obama, Politics, federal spending | 52906392 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/tdelbeccaro/2009/12/28/obamas-6-worst-policy-decisions/Obama%E2%80%99s+6+Worst+Policy+Decisions2009-12-28+20%3A02%3A52Thomas+Del+Beccaro

Merry Christmas From the United States Senate

Across the country, families are gathering to celebrate the holidays. They will reconnect, reflect on the year past and voice their hopes and dreams for the future. At the same time, the United States Senate meets in a rare Christmas Eve session to pass legislation that, if enacted, will forever change the relationship between Americans and their government.

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Ben Nelson, Blanche Lincoln, government health care, health care takeover, Mary Landrieu
Posted Dec 24th 2009 at 2:01 am in Congress, Healthcare | 51826173 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/jdavid/2009/12/24/merry-christmas-from-the-united-states-senate/Merry+Christmas+From+the+United+States+Senate2009-12-24+10%3A01%3A02Jon+David

ObamaCare and Mission Creep Redux: Sen. Tom Harkin Says Health Care Bill Is ‘A Starter Home’

Jeebus H. Christ, it didn’t take long for the scope of ObamaCare to swell up like the ankles of a carnival fat lady after a day at work! ObamaCare isn’t even law yet, but Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) explains it all for us plainer than Sr. Mary Ignatius ever dared.

Despite the crappy housing market, the health care reform bill currently being debated in the Senate is only a “starter home,” you see. We’ve got to leverage the country into an unaffordable McMansion ASAP. Talking to the lefty Iowa Independent, the Daniel Ortega- and bee pollen-loving senator, gives a disturbing metaphor about the real goals of this historic (hysteric?) legislation:

“What we are buying here is a modest home, not a mansion. What we are getting here is a starter home. It’s got a good foundation: 30 million Americans are covered. It’s got a good roof: A lot of protections from abuses by insurance companies. It’s got a lot of nice stuff in there for prevention and wellness. But, we can build additions as we go along in the future. It is a starter home. Think about it in that way.”

More Harkinisms here.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: government encroachment, government health care, health care takeover, mission creep, ObamaCare
Posted Dec 22nd 2009 at 8:51 am in Congress, Healthcare, Obama, Politics | 5013437 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/ngillespie/2009/12/22/obamacare-and-mission-creep-redux-sen-tom-harkin-says-health-care-bill-is-a-starter-home/ObamaCare+and+Mission+Creep+Redux%3A+Sen.+Tom+Harkin+Says+Health+Care+Bill+Is+%27A+Starter+Home%272009-12-22+16%3A51%3A18Nick+Gillespie

The Grinches Who Will Steal Your Health Care

After reviewing the latest version of health care reform emanating from “the greatest deliberative body in the world”, The Senate, I was transported to Whoville, target of The Grinch…..from this point forward renamed America. It would appear that “Your mean ones,”   Mr., Ms and Mr. Grinch (Obama, Pelosi and Reid) have heard and learned nothing from the town hall meetings and from all of the e-mails, phone calls, faxes and letters from ALL of us Whos.

The latest version of the Grinches’ health care reform is a carbon copy of the rationing of health care that passed the House in November. The core and the heart is three sizes too small in both versions, and cuts costs by denying and rationing care, the most inhumane and unethical means of cutting costs. However, Washington’s Grinches have added a couple of “presents” to further harm all of us Whos.

The Grinches’ first “present” is to “allow” everyone in Medicare, or who will soon be in Medicare, to pay for a larger percentage of the costs of this beast. How special is that? The Grinches Obama, Pelosi and Reid have decided to cut Medicare by $500 Billion over ten years to pay for their reform package, even though millions more seniors will be on Medicare in ten years. Let’s look at the data that the Grinches refuse to acknowledge.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research, government health care, Grinch, health care rationing, health care reform
Posted Dec 20th 2009 at 5:38 pm in Congress, Healthcare | 49834266 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/djanda/2009/12/20/the-grinches-who-will-steal-your-health-care/The+Grinches+Who+Will+Steal+Your+Health+Care2009-12-21+01%3A38%3A55Dr.+David+Janda