Following Thursday night’s Republican debate-turned-brawl in Florida, Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren read a tweet from President Obama’s right-hand-man, David Axelrod:

Daniel Horowitz, in RedState, has gotten this issue exactly right.

About Rick Santorum’s intense confrontation of Mitt Romney on the subject of Romneycare in Massachusetts, Horowitz says:

He [Romney] has the nerve to feign outrage over Obamacare, even while he touts Romneycare – a carbon copy of Obamacare – as a virtuous success, supported by 90% of Massachusetts residents.  Santorum did his homework, and called him out on the hypocrisy.  Romney was never able to answer why the same market intervention and distortions – mandates, subsidies, and Medicaid – which form the bedrock of Obamacare , supposedly worked so well in Massachusetts.  The reason he couldn’t answer the question is because Romneycare was a complete failure.  It is the canary in the coal mine for Obamacare.

Gov. Romney’s statement that most Massachusetts citizens are happy with Romneycare is ludicrous. In 2010, Massachusetts and Vermont delivered the highest average individual market health insurance premiums–over $400 per person per month, approximately twice the national average. Those in the state who cannot afford these outrageous costs are forced into Medicaid which, in turn, encourages people not to work so that they can meet the eligibility requirements for the federally funded plan. (more…)

Last evening on MSNBC, Rachel Maddow took a few moments on her show to jab at the Beltway press, suggesting that the press in DC is so annoyed at being “sidelined” by the Egypt story that it’s “clawing and scratching to find some partisan story to tell here.”  Maddow then proceeded to slam a list of conservative politicians and bloggers, including freshman Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, Michigan Congressman Thaddeus McCotter, former UN Ambassador John Bolton, and blogger Pam Geller.

One other story that Maddow called out was from RedState.com, to which she mocked the suggestion that unions and the U.S. state department are involved in the Egypt protests and quipped, “What, no ACORN?”

The author of that post is a friend of mine and fellow BigGovernment contributor, who, in addition to blogging at RedState.com, also runs Labor Union Report.  I was surprised when I saw his post called out on Maddow’s show.  Not only is he not usually a typical target of MSNBC’s brand of snark, but it was obvious that Maddow – or whomever does her research – had not even read the post beyond paragraph two.  If they had, they would have noticed that the information came from a few familiar sources:  the Huffington Post and WikiLeaks. And those sources contained some potent information that’s directly related to the current uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

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If you know anything about my background at all, you know I’m a liberal. I’ve been posting stories about the  Pigford scandal here on BigGov and my usual haunt, the Huffington Post. I’ve worked for MoveOn.org and Brave New Films. I voted for Obama although like many progressives, I’m not thrilled with him.

So, since I’m the stranger in a strange land here on the Bigs, maybe you nice conservatives can explain something to me — why hasn’t the right wing blogosphere picked up on Pigford?

Don’t get me wrong. The mainstream media hasn’t picked up on it either and I’m willing to grant that most of the MSM leans left. The left wing blogosphere has totally ignored the Pigford reporting I and others here have done. But I UNDERSTAND that. This story isn’t good for Democrats.

But where are your guys?

I mean, we have a congressman, Sanford Bishop — a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, for goshsake — admitting he knew about fraud. Admitting it to newspapers. Where’s Rush or Fox News or Malkin or Red State or Coulter or Beck, or…anyone? Instapundit has covered it. Derbyshire did a piece on Pigford a few weeks back but didn’t mention the stuff on this site. And that’s about it.

Again. Democratic Congress. Fraud. Scandal. Billions. And — crickets on the right.

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A terrific video produced by Ben Howe over at RedState is a great reminder that November is coming–and why this midterm election is so critical in solidifying America’s future path.  The video speaks for itself, but I’d like to stress a couple of key points for those voters who remain undecided and still cling to Obama’s “hope” lies.

As I have previously mentioned, what was originally promised to you during the campaign and reiterated on Change.gov is completely different than what has unfolded the past 21 months.  Don’t believe me or still undecided, go see for yourself.  In 2006 and again in 2008, Republicans were taught a lesson by the voters.  Now, the Democrats must learn the same lesson, including the Blue Dog Democrat sellouts (there are no conservative Democrats).  They stole your health care, spent your hard earned money for endless crony bailouts, and in the age of Obama more people in America live in poverty.  Now, it is time for them to learn.  Call it a teachable moment.

The Democrats will lose their majority.  Period.  The questions are by how many seats and will it be both houses.  And it has nothing to do with great orator’s ability to communicate–especially regarding the peristent selling of Obamacare as evidenced here.  Independents and Republicans, and yes, even Democrats, know that this Congress and president defied their will–which was clearly known–so there was no failure to communicate.  It was a failure to listen, uphold their oaths, and obey the will of the American people as their elected representatives. There is no way to sugar-coat the progressive redistributive power grabs legislated by the Democrat Congress with rhetoric or car metaphors.

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As President Obama vacationed in North Carolina this past weekend, concerned Americans decided to dedicate their time to freedom. The Post-Party Summits, hosted by American Majority, Smart Girl Politics and RedState, kicked off the first Summit in Pittsburgh, PA on April 23^rd. American Majority President Ned Ryun explained the idea behind the Post-Party Summits in a recent interview:

“The Post-Parties are about moving from protesting to implementing, and that’s what was so exciting about Pittsburgh: these people came to learn, realizing that the next iteration of the tea party movement is organizing into a potent political force. And I believe that is the answer to bringing about the change needed in this country: the tea party and 9.12 movements organizing into privatized political infrastructure to advance the great principles of free enterprise, individual freedom, and limited government.”

On Friday evening during the opening dinner, Erick Erickson of RedState gave a rousing speech regarding the next step for concerned Americans. The audience went wild when Erickson stated “The silent majority can no longer be silent.”

The Summit training courses were designed to equip citizens with the tools to effectively participate in the electoral process. Classes include, Creative Leadership,Micro-targeting Precincts, Building Effective Coalitions, Running for Office, Media Coaching: TV and Radio, and a host of other classes designed to train Americans to become more involved in the community. Ryun described it as being:

“A community organizer for Freedom”

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We are in a fascinating period in American history, where a confluence of developments has transformed our citizenry’s relationship with government. The mainstream media is distrusted and dying. The majority of our elected officials – let’s not bother with terming them “leaders” – no longer care to represent the interests of the people. In response, the American people are rising up in protest at a rate and in a manner not seen in decades, if ever.

Congressional approval ratings are at historic lows at around 14% (an acquaintance joked that during the American Revolution, the British Crown had double that approval rating, with roughly a third of colonists supporting the Crown and Parliament). Rasmussen recently reported that only 21% of Americans believe our government has the consent of the governed, and CNN reports that 56% of Americans believe that our government poses an immediate threat to American citizens’ rights and freedoms . . . well you get the idea.

The American people are making it clear where they stand, and in an unmistakable manner. Next week, on April 15th, more than one million people will be at more than 1,000 Tea Party protests across the country as more and more Americans come out to protest where elected officials are taking this country.

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As Moe Lane at Redstate noted, Rep. Phil Hare has forgotten the first rule of holes. When you find yourself in one, stop digging. As Big Government readers know, Rep. Phil Hare (D-Labor) is the Congressman who said he “doesn’t worry about the Constitution” and then mixed up that document with the Declaration of Independence…then said neither of them mattered to him because, well, ObamaCare is important! Or, something like that. As expected, this sparked a firestorm, so Rep. Hare cut his own video. It is below for your viewing pleasure. Our main tip to Hare: Memorize your lines next time. It looks really bad if you have to look at your notes to remind yourself to say that you love the Constitution.

Oh yeah, you can find info on Hare’s opponent, Bobby Schilling, here.

Popular conservative Erick Erickson has a change of heart at National Tea Party Convention.

Early in January RedState blogger Erick Erickson slammed the National Tea Party Convention. Erickson compared the convention organizers to Nigerian scam artists.

Let me be blunt: charging people $500.00 plus the costs of travel and lodging to go to a “National Tea Party Convention” run by a for profit group no one has ever heard of sounds as credible as an email from Nigeria promising me a million bucks if I fork over my bank account number.

I am led to believe a number of the sponsors who lent their names early on have grown wary of the event. That lines up with what I am hearing.

The tea party movement was always about the unorganized masses of concerned, passionate Americans uniting together with a common voice to protest the direction of the country. From that passion, others have sought to make money off the tea party movement. Some have done it for good. Many have not. And more and more we are seeing some people rise up to claim the mantle of “leader” of the tea party movement. Many of us who have been around for a while just want to know who the heck these so called leaders are.

But Erick Erickson had a change of heart. Today he is not as suspicious of the event. The RedState blogger actually was impressed with the convention and thinks it may bode well for the future of the tea party. We caught up with Erick earlier tonight:

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Since a dialogue is a conversation between two or more people, Washington Democrats’ refusal to acknowledge the voice of the American people betrays their one-party, monologue approach to governance. Tonight, the National Republican Congressional Committee is working to stop the monologue and create a meaningful dialogue between House Republicans and the American people.

Between now and the beginning of the State of the Union address at 9 PM EST, you can either text “UNION” to 777218 or visit our Web site (www.nrcc.org) to sign up to participate in our first-ever mobile text chat room. The NRCC is providing a forum for all concerned Americans to discuss issues that are important to them, framed in the context of the President’s speech. Additionally, national figures such as Dana Perino, Grover Norquist of ATR, Former Senator Fred and Jeri Thompson, Former Congressman Tom Davis and Erick Erickson from Red State will be part of the discussion, providing their personal thoughts on the speech.

Following the speech, we invite you to join us on our Web site for a live streaming video Question and Answer session with me and several of my House colleagues, including Republican Leader John Boehner and NRCC Vice Chairman Greg Walden. This is a unique opportunity to directly engage with House Republican Leadership and Members of Congress and to receive our immediate observations on the President’s speech.

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THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.

– Thomas Paine, The Crisis, December 23, 1776

For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

– Esther 4:14

These are interesting times. Under President Obama and the most liberal Congress since 1965, the United States government is expected to borrow a trillion dollars per year for the next decade while the size and power of our federal government will grow at the expense of our liberties. 

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