Senator Tom Coburn Weekly Republican Address 01/27/10 Follwowing Healthcare Summit

Senator Tom Coburn Weekly Republican Address 02/27/10 VIDEO FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

Remarks by Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), as provided by the Republican National Committee:

Hello, I’m Dr. Tom Coburn, a practicing physician from Oklahoma and a member of the United States Senate.

This week I had the opportunity to join President Obama and my Democrat and Republican colleagues for a summit on health care. We had a respectful and constructive discussion.

While we listened to one another, I’m concerned that the majority in Congress is still not listening to the American people on the subject of health care reform. By an overwhelming margin, the American people are telling us to scrap the current bills, which will lead to a government takeover of health care, and we should start over.

Unfortunately, even before the summit took place the majority in Congress signaled its intent to reject our offers to work together. Instead they want to use procedural tricks and backroom deals to ram through a new bill that combines the worst aspects of the bills the Senate and House passed last year.

The American people have rejected the majority’s plan for good reason. Their plan includes half a trillion dollars in new tax increases, a half a trillion dollars in cuts to Medicare, job-killing penalties for employers, taxpayer funded abortion and new boards that will ration care to American citizens. At its core, their plan continues a government-centered approach that has...

...made health care more expensive. Federal and state governments already control 60 percent of health care. If more government spending and control was the answer we could have fixed health care long ago.

Republicans in Congress have a different vision for reform. We have put forward several proposals that lay out a common sense step-by-step path to reform. Our solutions are patient-centered, not government-centered. We believe in expanding options, not government; increasing access, not taxes; and reducing costs, not quality. Most importantly, we believe that no one has the right to step between you and your doctor.

I introduced a health care bill called the ‘Patients’ Choice Act’ last May along with Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina and Representatives Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Devin Nunes of California that includes several step-by-step ideas for reform. The ‘Patients’ Choice Act’ and other Republican plans accomplish all of the President’s goals, including expanding coverage, without raising taxes, bankrupting the country or rationing care.

Our ideas address the core problem in our health care system – skyrocketing costs – by using the only force that ever lowers cost – competition and consumer choice. Health care is so expensive today because third-parties – government and insurance company bureaucrats – have stepped between you and your doctor.

Our solutions restore the doctor-patient relationship and put you – not your insurance company, your boss or the government – in charge of your health care dollars and decisions. The ‘Patients’ Choice Act,’ for instance, provides generous tax credits that let you buy, and keep, the plan of your choice. We also limit lawsuit abuse which causes doctors to order costly tests that protect themselves rather than you, the patient.

Our proposals to rein in the massive amount of fraud, waste and duplication in our health care system drew widespread praise from Democrats at the summit, including the President. One in three dollars in our more than $2 trillion health care system does not do anything to help people get well or prevent them from getting sick. Democrats and Republicans agree that eliminating waste and inefficiency would lower costs and improve access tomorrow.

The majority now has a choice. We can continue to make progress like we did at the summit. Or, they can try to ram through a partisan bill that will divide and bankrupt America.

I wholeheartedly share President Obama’s desire for more civility and bipartisanship in Washington and I’m proud of the work that we did together when he was a member of the Senate. True civility, however, is measured by actions, not words.

I was disappointed the President rejected my suggestion that he host another summit. The President himself proposed that such meetings be televised more than a year ago. Last year, dozens of Democrat-only summits were held in secret behind closed doors and produced many unsavory deals. Had those meetings been open and bipartisan, I believe Congress could have passed a bipartisan health bill months ago.

If the President and the leaders in Congress are serious about finding common ground they should continue this debate, not cut it off by rushing through a partisan bill the American people have already rejected. If the majority agrees to work together they will find many Republicans ready to help them pursue our common goals of helping all Americans access quality and affordable health care for themselves and their families.

Thank you so much for listening.

Coburn rebuts Obama on medmal and health care reform

When Pres Obama was elected to the Senate in 2004, Dr. Coburn was also elected to his first term in the Senate. Since Dr. Coburn had been in the House before, he befriended this young Senator to help show him the ropes. We would have thought since Senator Coburn is also a doctor, Obama would have sought out his advice but no he didn't bother to even seek out a man who had been his friend in the Senate on such on important issue.

What we witnessed yesterday was Obama being condenscending toward the Republicans and to two men Senator McCain and Senator Coburn who had reached out to him to offer help after he was elected. The arrogance from Obama knew no bounds yesterday as the looks he shot Republicans said it all. This President is not used to being questioned, but used to hearing himself talk which he did yesterday more then the Democrats with their sob stories or the Republicans with their facts. If you take all the Democrat time including Obama it was 3-1 over Republicans.

It was enlightening yesterday to see not only Obama but most of the Democrats speaking didn't understand what was in their own healthcare bills. The Republicans on the other hand came well prepared and understood what the Democrats were trying to push through with their huge healthcare bills and had the facts on their side.

Yet in the end, Obama wants to do reconciliation which he fought against as a Senator to pass this takeover of 1/6th of our economy with only 51 votes in the Senate. This will harm the rules of the Senate for years to come for what? So Obama can say he passed a Healthcare bill he doesn't understand?

How many Democrats will walk the plank for Obama/Reid/Pelosi? Only time will tell if Democrats in the House grow a backbone to stop this madness and actually for once listen to the American people who want the bill scrapped and a reset to start over.

Coburn rebuts Obama on medmal and health care reform

By: John McCormackWeekly Standard02/25/10 10:34 PM EST

Oklahoma Republican senator Tom Coburn says he had a "pretty positive attitude" leaving today's health care summit at the Blair House in Washington. He had even suggested Obama and lawmakers have another such meeting on health care. But now, after reading news reports saying that Democrats are set on using reconciliation to ram the Senate bill through Congress, Coburn is wondering if today's summit was pointless.

"It's fairly disappointing," Dr. Coburn told THE WEEKLY STANDARD this evening. "If the Dems are just going to run the bill anyway, why’d we just do it?"

Coburn's remarks today focused on waste in the health care system, which totals one-third of all health care costs. Due to time constraints, Coburn didn't get a chance to correct some of President Obama's misconceptions about what causes waste and how to reduce it.

Obama said during his closing remarks that "if we're serious about delivery system reform, if we're serious about squeezing out the waste that Tom Coburn referred to, you should embrace those mechanisms that are in this bill" such as Medpac, an independent board that would recommend Medicare cuts.

But Coburn wants to control costs by creating a transparent health care market that is "patient-centered," not a "government-centered" plan that uses MedPac to cut Medicare. "The whole idea at the time of Medpac is to ration care," Coburn said. "The way you change behaviors is to incentivize them. You don't come down with a rule and a hammer. What you need is a scalpel not a hammer."

Obama said today that tort reform would only save $5 billion a year, but Coburn replied this evening that tort reform would, in fact, do the most to save consumers money.

"The biggest cost driver that accounts for this 33% [of health care waste] is defensive medicine," Coburn said. Obama's figure, based on a CBO report, doesn't take into account all the tests doctors needlessly order to avoid lawsuits.

"You fix the tort system in this country and you’ll cut costs like crazy. It’s $250 billion a year in defensive medicine costs," Coburn said. "If you just got rid of half of that, in one year you’d cut everyone’s cost of health care five percent."

Coburn's final word for the president on health care: "The last thing in the world he ought to do is divide this country further over this issue."

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Coburn-rebuts-Obama-on-medmal-and-health-care-reform-85443182.html#ixzz0gcV6whlc

The Main Event: Ryan v. Obama -- Winner Ryan

From the Weekly Standard:

On deficits and spending.
BY Matthew Continetti
February 25, 2010 4:22 PM

Rep. Paul Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, just launched a full-bore assault on the faulty assumptions behind the claim that the Obama health care plan will reduce the deficit. Obama didn't even bother questioning Ryan's presentation. He changed the subject to Medicare Advantage. The expression on the president's face as Ryan made his case was absolutely priceless. Simply put, he looked like someone who realizes he's met his match.

Scott Brown's Shrewd Vote

Senators Scott Brown, Olympia Snowe, and Susan Collins represent Blue states where you will not find a hotbed of conservatives in most cities or towns. Scott Brown has always been about cutting taxes, smaller government, and national security. Those make him a conservative, but that doesn't mean on every issue he is going to vote like leadership wants him to vote. He represents the people of Massachusetts and as he said many times it is the people's seat.

Yesterday when this $15B jobs bill came up for a vote that 'RINO' Senator from Oklahoma Jim Inhofe voted for the bill. It should go without saying that Inhofe is anything but a RINO but yesterday I saw him called 'RINO' just like some did to Dr. Coburn (R-OK) who voted for something some conservatives didn't like.

It shows that there are some very politically naive people posting or writing for some sites as this vote yesterday was the perfect way for Scott Brown to show he was the independent vote from Massachusetts he touted during the campaign. An added benefit of the vote to invoke cloture by the three New England Senators along with the votes yesterday by even more Republicans for this bill puts a crimp in the 'Party of NO' label that the media has been gleefully touting on behalf of the Democrats. If the tax breaks in this $15B start helping business' hire, then it was worth it to vote for the bill. We honestly don't believe this version will pass the House as the House bill is filled with pork and is three times as expensive.

Brown said he reserves the right to vote 'NO' if this bill comes back laden with pork from the House. He is a fiscal conservative who doesn't believe in pork and earmarks. Would say coming out of Blue State Massachusetts, he is a gem for Republicans.

Scott Brown is what every Senator should strive to be -- the voice of the people of their state not someone to march in lockstep with Leadership. Time some conservatives woke up to the fact that one shoe doesn't fit all as the Republican Party needs people like Scott Brown representing Republicans.

Brown is a breath of fresh air on the national stage who is staying true to his word he gave when he ran for Senate. That in itself is amazing especially when you compare that to the current occupant of the White House whose speeches on the campaign trail were all rhetoric as he has done a 180 on almost everything he said.

Scott Brown's Shrewd Vote
By Andrew Cline on 2.25.10 @ 6:09AM

On Jan. 19, Scott Brown was the great right hero. On Feb 22, he became, in some quarters at least, a dirty, liberal traitor. He voted for cloture on the Senate Democrats' jobs bill, then, on Wednesday, voted for the bill.

Granted, the $15 billion jobs bill was not good legislation. "Far from perfect" was how Brown described it. The bill suspends the employer portion of the Social Security payroll tax to encourage hiring. But a tax reduction of a few hundred dollars a month will hardly encourage firms to hire employees that cost thousands per month. It also pumps billions into more federal transportation projects, which, as last year's failed stimulus bill showed, is no way to help the economy. Still, Brown's vote for the bill was a good move for him and ultimately for conservatives.

Conservative activists are the first people to attack Democratic members of Congress for "voting in lock step with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid." It is a valid criticism, especially as applied to Democrats from more moderate states, such as Louisiana or New Hampshire. So maybe those same activists should stop and think for a moment about the political ramifications of pressuring Scott Brown to vote in lock step with Mitch McConnell.

Scott Brown does not represent the Republican National Committee in the United States Senate. He represents Massachusetts. That's by the Founders' design, and it is a good one. If Scott Brown voted as though he were from Alabama, the voters of Massachusetts would, at the first available opportunity, send him there. Where would the conservative movement be then?

Part of the problem here is the way we think about partisan politics. We say things like, "the Republicans control 41 Senate seats." No, they don't. Nor should they. There is a huge difference between Republicans having a member of their party elected to the Senate from Massachusetts, and Republicans controlling a Senate seat from Massachusetts. It would be a sad day for the republic if party bosses completely controlled the votes of their members. If that were the case, we would already be living under Obamacare and cap-and-trade. Thank goodness for moderate Democrats who represented the people back home instead of the party bosses on those votes. And thank goodness for Scott Brown, who got elected by promising to be an independent vote in Washington and, in his first month at least, is living up to that promise.

But what about the bill? It's bad legislation, so how can Brown's vote for it be good? Here is how:

Critics of Brown's vote haven't been listening to what he's been saying. During the election campaign, Brown was asked where he fit on the Republican political spectrum. He identified himself as "a Massachusetts Republican." In an interview with FrumForum, he said, "I'm the closest thing [Bay Staters] will get to a Reagan Democrat." He also said, "I've always been an independent voter, and when I have to cross party lines, I do. I don't usually care what my party says."

Brown made clear from the start that he would not vote as a movement conservative or a leadership lapdog. He'd go his own way, regardless of where the leadership or the GOP base tried to drag him. And that's a good thing. He is, after all, from Massachusetts, remember?

With the jobs bill -- his first major vote -- Brown established his Washington identity. He proclaimed himself an independent-minded Republican who will oppose party leaders and work with Democrats. In Massachusetts, that is the only way he survives politically.

He also kept two important campaign promises: 1) that he will be independent of his party, and 2) that he would vote for legislation to create jobs. Now, policy wonks know that this jobs bill is ill-suited to job creation and better alternatives exist. But listen to Brown's explanation: "I supported this measure because it does contain some tax relief that will help Massachusetts businesses put people back to work."

Brown has signaled to his constituents that he voted for tax cuts, just as he promised in the campaign. He is from Massachusetts. That's huge.

Excerpt: Read More at American Spectator

Jeb Bush: Obama Charts 'Dangerous Course,' His Policies 'Not American'

As we were going through the article and listened to former Florida Governor Jeb Bush being interviewed by Newsmax, several items jumped out at us. The first one makes Pres Obama look really petty and not ready to accept responsibility for his actions:

Martella observed that Obama’s team seems intent on blaming his predecessor, Jeb’s brother George W., for virtually every problem the nation faces.

“From a political point of view, I don’t think that helps the president,” the former governor declared. “Pushing somebody down to make yourself look good was something my mother taught me didn’t work.

“At some point, the president needs to realize he’s no longer a candidate, he’s the leader of the greatest country on the face of the earth, and he has to begin to lead. I think a lot of people will follow him if he actually leads. But if everything’s political and everything’s about the past, then I think he’ll see declining poll numbers as we see today.”

The second item is a little frightening when you realize it is true:

Newsmax.TV asked whether Obama is the most liberal president in the nation’s history.

Bush said he tries to avoid such labels but went on to say: “If he believes that government ought to consume 40 percent of the economy, of the economic output, I don’t know what you’d call that, but it’s not American.

“If he believes that redistributing wealth will create more prosperity for more people, that’s been tried and it’s failed. What he should believe is that the interaction of millions of people freely pursuing their dreams will create more prosperity for more people than any government program. That’s the American way.

He criticized Obama for not bringing into government business leaders and entrepreneurs to advise him.

“They’re all academics or they’re political hacks,” Bush said of Obama’s circle.

We sincerely hope after hearing this interview with Jeb Bush, that he will consider running against Florida Senator Bill Nelson in 2012 as we need Jeb back in the political debate.

Jeb Bush: Obama Charts 'Dangerous Course,' His Policies 'Not American'
Tuesday, 23 Feb 2010 06:24 PM

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush tells Newsmax that the Obama administration is charting a “dangerous course” as it pushes for a dramatic expansion of government that “imperils our future.”

Bush predicted that a “tsunami” of opposition to President Barack Obama's redistributive policies will sweep away Democratic candidates this November, and a popular “uprising” is under way that will shake the pillars of Washington.

In a wide-ranging exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV, Bush also said Obama is surrounded by “political hacks,” described Scott Brown’s election in Massachusetts a “pivotal moment” in American history, and said Obama needs to be more aggressive in dealing with tyrants in Iran and Venezuela.

See Newsmax.TV's Video Interview with Jeb Bush below:

Excerpt: Read More at Newsmax

The Wall Street Journal: Editorial Board: "ObamaCare At Ramming Speed"

This was sent in an email from Cong Mike Pence who is Chairman of the House Republican Conference. Leadership in the House has been doing an excellent job of keeping Americans apprised of what the Democrats are doing. Looks to us like the Obama version is the WORST of all the bills.

When you are surrounded by the Chicago Mafia like Obama is in the White House, chances are he is being told how wonderful he is and how the Republicans will go along with his new plan because they cannot resist his personality. The Republican leadership in the House is being misjudged -- Obama and his Chicago Mafia are going to find that out on Thursday when he tries to ram this monstrosity through and get Republicans on board which will never happen.

The Wall Street Journal: Editorial Board: "ObamaCare At Ramming Speed"

A mere three days before President Obama's supposedly bipartisan health-care summit, the White House yesterday released a new blueprint that Democrats say they will ram through Congress with or without Republican support. So after election defeats in Virginia, New Jersey and even Massachusetts, and amid overwhelming public opposition, Democrats have decided to give the voters what they don't want anyway.

Ah, the glory of "progressive" governance and democratic consent.

"The President's Proposal," as the 11-page White House document is headlined, is in one sense a notable achievement: It manages to take the worst of both the House and Senate bills and combine them into something more destructive. It includes more taxes, more subsidies and even less cost control than the Senate bill. And it purports to fix the special-interest favors in the Senate bill not by eliminating them-but by expanding them to everyone.

The bill's one new inspiration is a powerful federal board that would regulate premiums in the individual insurance market. In all 50 states, insurers are already required to justify premium increases to insurance commissioners, who generally have the power to give a regulatory go-ahead, or not. But their primary concern is actuarial soundness and capital standards, making sure that companies have enough cash to pay claims.

The White House wants to create another layer of review that will be able to reject any rate increase that is "unreasonable or unjustified." Any insurer deemed guilty of such an infraction by this new bureaucracy "must lower premiums, provide rebates, or take other actions to make premiums affordable." In other words, de facto price controls.

Insurance premiums are rising too fast; therefore, premium increases should be illegal. Q.E.D. The result of this rate-setting board will be less competition in the individual market, as insurers flee expensive states or regions, or even a cascade of bankruptcies if premiums are frozen and the cost of the care they are expected to cover continues to rise. For all the Dickensian outrage about profiteering by WellPoint and other companies, insurance is a low-margin business even for health care, and at least 85 cents of the average premium dollar, usually more, is devoted to actual health services.

Price controls are always the first resort of national health care-i.e., Medicare's administered prices for doctors and hospitals. This new White House gambit is merely a preview of ObamaCare's inevitable planned medical economy, which will reduce choice and quality.

The coercive flavor that animates this exercise is best captured in the section that purports to accept the Senate's "grandfather clause" allowing people who like their current health plan to keep it. Except that "The President's Proposal adds certain consumer protections to these 'grandfathered' plans. Within months of legislation being enacted, it requires plans . . . prohibits . . . mandates . . . requires . . . the President's Proposal adds new protections that prohibit . . . ban . . . and prohibit . . . The President's Proposal requires . . ." After all of these dictates, no "grandfathered" plan will exist.

Meanwhile, the new White House plan further vitiates the remnants of cost-control that remained in the House and Senate bills. Now the highly vaunted excise tax on high-cost insurance plans won't kick in until 2018, whereas it would have started in 2013 in the Senate bill, and this tax will only apply to coverage that costs more than $27,500.

Very few plans ever reach that threshold, and sure enough, this is the same $60 billion deal the White House cut in December with union leaders who have negotiated very costly benefits. Now it is extended to all to avoid the taint of political favoritism.

While the White House claims to eliminate the "Cornhusker Kickback," the Medicaid bribe that bought Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson's vote, political appearances are deceiving. As with the union payoff, what the White House really does is broaden the same to all states, with all new Medicaid spending through 2017 and 90% after 2020 transferred to the federal balance sheet. Governors will love this ruse, but national taxpayers will pay more.
And more again, because the White House has adopted the House's firehose insurance subsidies. People earning up to 400% of the poverty line-or about $96,000 for a family of four in 2016-will qualify for government help, and, naturally, this new entitlement is designed to expand over time.

The Administration also claims to have discarded the House's 5.4-percentage-point surtax on joint-filers earning more than $1 million a year, but it sneaks it back in by expanding the Senate's expansion of the 2.9% Medicare payroll tax to joint income about $250,000. The White House would now apply that tax for the first time to income from "interest, dividends, annuities, royalties and rents," details to come.
***
The larger political message of this new proposal is that Mr. Obama and Democrats have no intention of compromising on an incremental reform, or of listening to Republican, or any other, ideas on health care. They want what they want, and they're going to play by Chicago Rules and try to dragoon it into law on a narrow partisan vote via Congressional rules that have never been used for such a major change in national policy. If you want to know why Democratic Washington is "ungovernable," this is it.

To view this article, click here.

Exclusive Statement from Rep King (R-IA) on Acorn Collapse

If we elected more representatives like Steve King of Iowa, we would have better representation in DC who would represent the American people not special interest. We agree with him that ACORN is a "corrupt criminal enterprise."

Exclusive Statement from Rep King (R-IA) on Acorn Collapse
Feb 22, 2010

Congressman Steve King, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, made the following statement in response to news reports that ACORN is dissolving its national structure.

“This is not surprising news. ACORN must change its name in order to try and run ahead of the accountability that is catching up with this corrupt organization.

“Even though the one party controlled federal government is using its resources to protect ACORN, entrepreneurial new media investigators and state attorneys general are tightening the noose. Dissolving its national brand does not change ACORN’s faces nor ACORN’s crimes. This organization specializes in subterfuge, but ACORN cannot outrun the wheels of justice that are catching up with this corrupt criminal enterprise.”

Source: Big Government

"Where's the rest of me?"

There may be some gnashing of teeth because this article by Frank Gaffney is posted here as it goes after CPAC Leadership, but we agree with Gaffney 100%. Without a strong national security in place, everything else is secondary including the economy.

As for Beck's speech, words fail us that could be used on this site. We already knew that Beck was more Libertarian then anything but his attack on Republicans was out of line especially the since the Republicans in Congress at such a huge disadvantage in numbers have done a remarkable job in slowing down the Obama agenda. Republicans have never quit fighting for the American people. For Beck to call the Democrats and Republicans the same was WRONG. How can you compare an Inhofe and a Schumer -- you cannot as Inhofe is 100% Conservative and Schumer is 100% Progressive. Then we discovered last night the reason Mark Levin did not attend CPAC was because CPAC allowed the John Birch Society to have a booth. That was one of those WHAT?

Is CPAC all about money today and as a result, has dropped the #1 priority of Ronald Reagan's Conservative principles -- National Security? We hope not, but we are not so sure when they ignore National Security and allow John Birch and the Libertarians a prominent place at CPAC.

Read this article from Frank Gaffney, a renowned foreign policy expert, who heads the Center for Security Policy and ask yourself if he is not correct. If you disagree with our comments or those of Gaffney, please feel free to submit an op-ed to truesoft.474@gmail.com.

"Where's the rest of me?"
Center for Security Policy Feb 22, 2010
By Frank Gaffney, Jr.

Ronald Reagan the actor once famously screamed on screen "Where's the rest of me?!" after waking in a hospital to discover that a sadistic surgeon had amputated both of his legs. My guess is that Ronald Reagan the national leader would express similar horror at what is happening to his beloved conservative movement as some in its ranks seek to sever from its agenda the priority "the Gipper" consistently gave to the national security.

One need look no further than the various functions held in the Washington area last week to see why Mr. Reagan would be so alarmed. On Wednesday, I joined a group of prominent conservatives assembled for the purpose of unveiling a document dubbed "the Mount Vernon Statement." It was intended to emulate an earlier articulation of the principles that unite the Right, issued fifty years ago at the Sharon, Connecticut home of William F. Buckley, Jr.

It was noteworthy that, during the press event where the new statement was released, Colin Hanna of the remarkable organization Let Freedom Ring read passages from the previous one. The latter spoke of "eternal truths" to be affirmed, including: "That we will be free only so long as the national sovereignty of the United States is secure; that history shows periods of freedom are rare, and can exist only when free citizens concertedly defend their rights against all enemies; that the forces of international Communism are, at present, the greatest single threat to these liberties; that the United States should stress victory over, rather than co-existance with, this menace; and that American foreign policy must be judged by this criterion: Does it serve the just interests of the United States?"

By contrast, the Mt. Vernon document made no mention at all of today's totalitarian ideology - what authoritative Islam calls Shariah - or the threat it poses to America, let alone declare that victory should be our purpose in dealing with this menace. To be sure, there were passing references to the Founders' "secur[ing] national independence," "warnings to tyrants and despots everywhere" and the proposition that "energetic but responsible government is the key to America's safety and leadership role in the world." Thin gruel by comparison with Sharon's statement, and woefully short of the sort of express commitment to "peace through strength" Mr. Reagan exemplified and practiced.

Still, the Mount Vernon Statement is a paragon of robust national security- mindedness in contrast to what took place in the succeeding three days at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). With a few notable exceptions - including powerful addresses by former UN Ambassador John Bolton and former Senator Rick Santorum - the program was bereft of the focus one would think 10,000 people who cherish the memory of Ronald Reagan would have demanded, especially in the midst of a global war with two active combat fronts.

Incredibly, there was but one panel held in the plenary hall that had as its principal subject the question of national defense. Entitled "What is a Conservative Foreign Policy?," it featured remarks by: a junior (but promising) Member of Congress, Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah; an old Reaganaut, Don Devine, who urged America to emulate President Reagan's abandoning of Lebanon and the use of force only in tiny Grenada; and Joanne Herring, the colorful Texas patriot/philanthropist best known for her persona played by Julia Roberts in "Charlie Wilson's War."

With all due respect to the participants, it is inconceivable that CPAC's organizers could not have arranged a more formidable program to address this and related topics. We are entitled to know why they did not do so. Watch this space for the answer.

Whatever the reason, the intended take-away from most of the other major speakers-- including Glenn Beck, who closed the conference with an extraordinary, hour-plus-long "pox on both your houses" call-to-action that never once mentioned national security-- and the featured panels was unmistakable: It's the economy, stupid. Or at least, it's the deficit, or excessive government spending or just excessive government.

As a result, it came as little surprise to this attendee that libertarian Rep. Ron Paul won 31% of the vote in the CPAC straw poll. In the absence of the sort of serious attention to national security that was emblematic of the conservatism of Bill Buckley and Ronald Reagan, why shouldn't those present feel free blithely to endorse a man who is committed to small, cheap government even if his positions on foreign and defense policy are so extreme and so critical of America as to make Barack Obama's look responsible, if not hardline.

And there's the rub. Even if a robust security policy platform were not, on the merits, the right stance for the Right, it has proven repeatedly to be the winning-est stance politically, especially in times when our countrymen properly feel insecure. Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts was wildly acclaimed by the CPAC masses, yet he would be the first to acknowledge that some 64% of his voters supported him because of his rejection of Obama's fecklessness on terrorism.

In time of war, the American people deserve at least one party/movement/team that is unabashedly Reaganesque in its commitment to the national security of the United States. If conservatives and Republicans fail to articulate and demonstrate such a commitment, it is a safe bet that - even in an election season seemingly so promising - they will wake up on November 3rd screaming, "Where's the rest of me?"

Source: Center for Security Policy

2/20/10 Weekly Republican Address: Rep Dave Camp (R-MI)

Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) Delivers Weekly Republican Address

Rep. Camp: “So in order to have a productive bipartisan conversation on health care, Democrats must first listen to the American people and scrap their massive government takeover of health care. We must go into the summit with a clean slate focused on making health care affordable. That is what Americans are asking for, and that is what Republicans will continue to work for.”

CPAC: Issac Hayes, GOP candidate in IL-02 (Jackson seat)

If a Republican can pick up this seat, it would put the icing on the cake in 2010. Having a young conservative candidate to run against Jesse Jackson, Jr. is an accomplishment in itself.

If you are looking for a candidate to get behind, take a look at Issac Hayes from Chicago. The people of Chicago deserve to be represented by someone honest not a member of the Daley Machine.

CPAC: Issac Hayes, GOP candidate in IL-02
February 19, 2010 by Ed Morrissey

Earlier this morning, I heard for the first time that the GOP has a solid contender for IL-02, the seat currently held by Jesse Jackson, Jr. Isaac Hayes talked with me this morning about his bid against a Democratic Machine stalwart, why his district has started putting out Amber Alerts for their Representative, and how he would respond to the Barack Obama/Nancy Pelosi agenda. This soft-spoken candidate has some real steel in him:

Source: Hot Air

Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa) at CPAC

Steve King takes on the Troika of Obama/Reid/Pelosi with facts. Excellent speech detailing what has been happening for the last year in this Country orchestrated by by this Troika. Cannot think of a better word for the threesome then the word Steve King has dubbed them -- Troika!

Cheney proffers Obama's loss, daughter's win in '12

This may be one of the major stories of CPAC -- Liz Cheney possibly running for the US Senate seat in Virginia currently held by Webb. There is not much that Sen Webb and the Cheneys have in common -- their ideology views are 180 degrees apart on national security and foreign affairs from the Iraq War to detainment of and treat of terrorists to Israel for starters.

This race between the Conservative Liz Cheney and Progressive Webb in 2012 would give voters a clear between ideologies and would be looked at for national implications for Liz Cheney in the future. We predict right now that if Liz Cheney runs, she will win the Senate race in Virgnia in 2012.

Cheney proffers Obama's loss, daughter's win in '12
By Ralph Z. Hallow and Stephen Dinan THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Former Vice President Dick Cheney on Thursday brazenly predicted that President Obama will lose re-election in 2012, rallying conservatives smitten with the Cheney brand and the prospect of his daughter Liz making a Senate run in Virginia in two years.

"I think Barack Obama is a one-term president," Mr. Cheney said to thundering applause during a surprise appearance at the nation's biggest gathering of conservatives.

It was the first time any Republican of Mr. Cheney's stature had publicly ventured such a prognostication about the Democratic president, who won a resounding election victory a little more than a year ago and still has a job approval rating of slightly more than 50 percent in major polls.

Liz Cheney, a State Department official in President George W. Bush's administration, brought her father to the podium for the unscheduled address after delivering her own speech attacking Mr. Obama's national security and foreign policies.

Mr. Cheney drew the loudest applause of opening day at the Conservative Political Action Conference and was greeted by a crowd of people wearing stickers saying "Cheney 2012." Because the former vice president has ruled out another run for office, many are speculating that Ms. Cheney is primed to challenge Sen. Jim Webb, Virginia Democrat.

Excerpt: Read More at Washington Times

NJ Gov Chris Christie Interview on CNBC his Plans for the Future of New Jersey

Newly elected Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie had his first interview on CNBC's "Squawkbox" on Thursday morning, Feb 18, 2010, and left the tax and spend crowd of New Jersey fighting for air. Gov Christie has a plan for New Jersey which will put the state on a road to recovery with a strict no frills budget along with not raising any taxes.

Thanks to the former Governor Corzine and his Democrat friends in the Legislature, New Jersey is basically bankrupt. They threw money like it grew on trees at all kinds of new programs to keep the unions happy which in turn has helped bankrupt the state with a downtown in revenue which they ignored. N

Gov Christie has been elected by the voters of New Jersey to clean up the mess left behind by Corzine and the Democrats. His plan is receiving rave reviews from taxpayers and howls from the union heads. That means is plan is a Winner!

Watch the interview and ask yourself if this isn't what we should be doing at the Federal level as well. To implement even a portion of this plan at the national level, progressives need to be sent packing on November 2, 2010.

At CPAC, Rubio Grins At Audience Waterboarding Comment

At CPAC, Rubio Grins At Audience Waterboarding Comment (VIDEO)
Rachel Slajda February 18, 2010, 11:44AM

Florida Senate candidate Marco Rubio opened CPAC this morning, his speech peppered with standing ovations from the crowd. When he spoke about capturing terrorists, one audience member had a suggestion.

"Waterboard them!" the man yelled.

Rubio smiled, and the audience laughed.

"We will capture them," he went on. "We will get useful information from them," he said, to more laughter.

"And then we will bring them to justice in front of a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay," he said, at which point the crowd erupted into cheers.

Watch:

Source: TPMDC

Marco Rubio speech at CPAC conference brings conservatives to their feet

It is great to hear the reception that Marco Rubio, R-FL candidate for US Senate, received from CPAC attendees when he talked about American exceptionalism. We have spent the last year and actually more then that if you count the Obama campaign telling us and the world how bad America is and how the world doesn't like us. Progressives were elected in Nov 2008 to run the Government and it has been a miserable failure. Americans more and more are deciding they don't like the hope and change that happened with Obama/Pelosi/Reid in charge.

Now Marco Rubio comes along with his positive message what America stands for versus the negatives from Obama. Rubio is a first generation Cuban born in this Country after his parents immigrated from Cuba while Obama's Father came from Kenya, he was adopted by an Indonesian and received his first schooling in Indonesia. Even though they both have experience with parent(s) raised in other countries, their philosophy is polar opposites. Rubio is very pro-American while Obama has dissed American around the Globe which we believe goes back to upbringing. Rubio was given a love of American from the beginning by his parents while Obama was raised by a Mom and Grandparents with ties to the Communist Franklin Marshall Davis who mentored Obama through high school.

Today's speech couldn't have showed more of a contrast.

Marco Rubio speech at CPAC conference brings conservatives to their feet
By Philip Rucker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 18, 2010; 3:46 PM

Marco Rubio, the 38-year-old son of Cuban immigrants and candidate for an open Senate seat in Florida, electrified thousands of conservatives Thursday morning with an impassioned defense of American exceptionalism.

In the opening address at the three-day Conservative Political Action Committee conference in Washington, Rubio delivered a fiery assault on President Obama's economic policies and his administration's handling of national security.

(snip)

The morning session belonged to Rubio, the former Florida House speaker who has become a darling of the conservative "tea party" movement during his underdog primary campaign against Crist for the state's open U.S. Senate seat

"They are using this downturn as cover, not to fix America but to try and change America, to fundamentally redefine the role of government in our lives and the role of America in the world," Rubio said. "The good news is it didn't take long for the American people to figure this out."

A crowd hungry for new conservative leaders repeatedly interrupted Rubio's speech with standing ovations. The speech served as his debut on the national stage.

"Every time somebody starts yelling 'Marco,' I'm afraid they are going to be yelling 'Polo,' " Rubio said with a smile, "and that would ruin the speech."

He drew rousing applause and shouts of "Amen!" when he criticized Obama's record on national security.

"We will do whatever it takes, for however long it takes, to defeat radical Islamic terrorism," Rubio said. "We will punish their allies like Iran. We will stand with our allies like Israel. We will target and we will destroy terrorist cells and the leaders of those cells. The ones that survive, we will capture them. We will get useful information from them.

"And then," Rubio continued, "we will bring them to justice in front of a military tribunal in Guantanamo -- not a civilian courtroom in Manhattan."
Rubio said November's midterm elections would be "a referendum on the very identity of our nation."

"The issues are so big, so consequential, so generational, that many of the old rules of political engagement will not apply," he said.

Excerpt: Read More at Washington Post

Conservatives Pack Largest-Ever CPAC

Conservative Republicans are energized and ready to continue winning more seats following the wins by NJ's Governor Christie, VA's Gov McDonnell plus that huge win by Senator Scott Brown in MA who now fills the People's Seat of MA previously held by Ted Kennedy.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney was a surprise guest this afternoon who brought the House down with his comments about Obama being a one-term President. We will post some of the speeches as they become available.

Conservatives Pack Largest-Ever CPAC
Thursday, 18 Feb 2010 10:39 AM
By: Ronald Kessler

This time last year, pundits were predicting the end of conservatism and the Republican Party.So-called conservative columnists like David Frum, formerly of National Review, and David Brooks of The New York Times were warning conservatives that something was wrong with their beliefs.

But Dave Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, was predicting that President Obama would overreach and help Republicans return to power.As the elections in Massachusetts, Virginia, and New Jersey demonstrated, Keene was dead on.

This week, Keene presides over the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), where a 28 percent increase in registrations over last year underscores his optimism. With more than 10,000 conservative activists attending this year, CPAC has moved to Washington’s Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, where the ballroom holds 2 1/2 times more people than at the previous location.

Besides speeches by the likes of Mitt Romney, Marco Rubio, Newt Gingrich, Glenn Beck, Michele Bachmann, Liz Cheney, and George Will, CPAC features panels focusing on issues, workshops on campaign techniques, booths run by 96 co-sponsors, and receptions and dinners.

Excerpt: Read More at Newsmax

To Create Jobs, We Must Start Cutting Spending Now

Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) has been doing a good job of highlighting Republican recommendations to the Obama Administration and Congress, but all we hear from Obama/Pelosi/Reid is the Republicans have no ideas to offer. The Democrat trio talk bi-partisanship but when the chips are down, they don't want to listen to Republican ideas. Hypocrites!

Web Video: To Create Jobs, We Must Start Cutting Spending Now

Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) today (11 Feb) released the following Web video highlighting real steps that can be taken to start cutting spending immediately to reverse Washington Democrats’ government spending binge, which is dragging on the economy and suppressing job growth.

Heard on the Hill: King’s Parting Shot

UPDATE on the Story from Iowa's WHOTV.com

We were just sent the following update. We had a hunch that PETA was not going to be happy and sure enough they want a racoon put ahead of the safety of Rep King's grandchildren. Personally we will come down on the side of Steve King not PETA. Once again PETA was an animal put ahead of people.

Iowa Congressman Steve King, gunslinger. The raccoon never knew what hit it. Apparently, the raccoon was trying to push its way into the King family home in Kiron. Kiron pulled out his trusty Desert Eagle. The coon didn't stand a chance. Here's the story.

PETA isn't a fan of the story. Here's a followup story on Roll Call:

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has weighed in on Rep. Steve King (R) killing a raccoon that tried to crawl its way into his Iowa home — and not surprisingly, the animal welfare group isn’t too pleased.

PETA spokesman Jaime Zalac tells HOH that King should pick on someone his own size, “not a small animal seeking warmth in a blizzard.”

“It doesn’t give you comfort in your representatives when a member of Congress finds it amusing to boast of shooting a desperately cold animal who is 100 times smaller than he is and whose only misstep was trying to get into a large, warm house,” Zalac said in a written statement. “I hope he’s not on any committees that make decisions regarding cruel and unusual punishment. Decent people would call animal control for help, not get on Twitter to boast about having a really, really big gun.”

King tweeted on Feb. 9 that he killed the raccoon with a Desert Eagle pistol when he spotted it crawling into his house. In an interview last week, King told HOH that he felt he needed to kill the critter because he believed it was rabid and could potentially hurt his family.

And King insisted he appreciates wildlife, noting he often sees deer, rabbits, squirrels and other animals on his property.

******

Great job Cong Steve King (R-IA) who understands there are times that the safety of people come before a racoon. By today's standards of PETA that automatically makes him a Conservative Republican!

Heard on the Hill: King’s Parting Shot
Feb. 16, 2010
By Emily Heil and Elizabeth Brotherton
Roll Call Staff

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note to all raccoons out there: Don’t try to crawl your way into Rep. Steve King’s house. He’ll mess you up.
The Iowa Republican set the Twittersphere all aflutter last week after he posted this message: “Mid day, mid blizzard, 15 degrees, Crazy Raccoon chewing and clawing his way into my house. Desert Eagle 1, Crazy Raccoon zero.”

And because a story that involves a potentially crazed critter, a Congressman and a high-powered semiautomatic pistol can’t quite be summed up in 140 characters, HOH chatted with King on Friday to get the full story behind the now-infamous shooting.

King told HOH that the saga began when his wife, Marilyn, first saw the raccoon — which King described as younger and midsized — trying to crawl its way into the couple’s Iowa home. King was concerned the animal might be rabid, he said, because he had never seen a raccoon so close to the house in the winter.

But the raccoon disappeared until Feb. 9, when King, sitting in his family room on a conference call, spotted it again trying to weasel its way into the house. And he immediately sprung into action.

King grabbed the Desert Eagle — “It’s the one I had handy,” he told HOH — and went after the raccoon, which fled. But King caught up, fired and killed the creature.

“We can’t have an animal that might be sick, might be rabid, out there,” King said, adding that his granddaughters often play in the area where he spotted the raccoon. “That’s just what has to happen when you live out here in the country.”

But King insists he isn’t an animal hater, pointing out that his family often spots animals such as deer, squirrels and rabbits frolicking on their property. “We appreciate the wildlife,” King said.

But “I can’t have a crazy ’coon,” he added.

Source:

SOURCE: Roll Call

Rubio's crowd: Liz Cheney, Matalin, Senor

Maybe Senator Cornyn at NRSC should reconsider his endorsement of Gov Crist for Florida Senator. Time that the NRSC stayed out of endorsing in races where there is no incumbent. Rubio has been steadily rising while Crist has been tanking since Cornyn endorsed early. When you look at who is supporting Rubio, you begin to understand why he is doing so well.

Rubio's crowd: Liz Cheney, Matalin, Senor
Politico
2-15-10
Ben Smith

Marco Rubio's appeal to Washington's conservative and Republican establishment will be on display this Thursday at a fundraiser for him in the offices of the lobbying and consulting firm Navigators Global.

The $500-a-head event's hosts include former Vice President Dick Cheney's daughter Liz, former Dick Cheney aide Mary Matalin, former Bush Iraq spokesman Dan Senor, consultants Alex Castellanos and Phil Anderson, and former Reps. Vin Weber and J.C. Watts.

The honorary hosts of the event, which coincides with CPAC, are leading Hill conservatives, including Sens. Jim DeMint and Jim Inhofe, and Reps. Paul Ryan, Mike Pence, and Jeff Miller.

Backing Rubio in the Florida Senate race is becoming a litmus test for conservatives.

Cesar Conda, who wrote recently of switching from Crist to Rubio, organized the event.

Source: Politico

Pawlenty unveils deep cuts to balance the budget

Gov Pawlenty is showing he is not afraid to make the touch choices and understands the way to get business and the economy moving is through tax cuts. That will give business more money to invest and hire more people. Smaller government with tax cuts are the roadmap out of a recession.

Now the ball is in the Minnesota Democrat legislature's court so we will see what they have planned to continue to grow government and how they like business tax cuts. Our guess is not well.

Pawlenty unveils deep cuts to balance the budget
The governor's proposal hit hardest at aid to local governments and health and human services. He also proposed corporate and small-business tax cuts

By BAIRD HELGESON and RACHEL E. STASSEN-BERGER
Star Tribune staff writers
Last update: February 15, 2010 - 3:20 PM


Gov. Tim Pawlenty presented a supplemental budget Monday morning that outlines how he wants to erase a $1.2 billion state budget deficit.

Aid to cities, counties and health and human services took the deepest cuts in Pawlenty's proposal.

The governor, who is in his last year in office, pledged to protect programs for the military, veterans, public safety and money for K-12 classroom education.
According to the governor's office, the budget proposal cuts $250 million from aids to local units of government; $347 million from health and human service programs; $47 million from higher education funding, and $181 million from state agencies and other programs.

The proposed budget balancing reflects the need to refocus state spending away from areas the state has traditionally held in high regard, Pawlenty said.
"As we have this debate about recalibrating our state policies, we need to balance them in favor of areas where we are in obvious default or deficit or misdirection, and that is we need to improve our job climate and our business climate," Pawlenty said.

Along with cuts, the governor's proposal includes a 20 percent reduction in the corporate tax rate, which would cost the state $10 million through next year and $150 million in the following two years, and a 20 percent reduction in small business taxes, which would cost the state $118 million in fiscal years 2012 and 2013.

Read More at Star Tribune

Indiana Democrat Sen Evan Bayh Not Seeking Re-Election

This came as a shock this morning although we had to wonder how Bahy would take having actual competition in the general election from someone as experienced as former Senator Dan Coats (R-IN). We have been hearing for sometime that Bayh's numbers were not looking good.

Wonder if the dissatisfactor with Bayh in Indiana from his contiuents came from his voting in lockstep with Obama and Reid. Indiana has never been a liberal state but now they have a liberal Senator in Bayh especially since the Democrats took over the Senate in 2006.

Bayh's lifetime conservative voting record in the Senate is now 20.70 while the Republican Lugar who is not known for being the most conservative is 77.55. Quite a contrast and just maybe the liberal votes of Bayh since 2006 have caught up with him in the State of Indiana and he sees the handwriting on the wall.

In Bayh's prepared remarks, he cites lack of progress recently but where was he during 2009 when Democrats were routinely ramming bills through the Senate that Republicans could not stop? If he spoke out, it was with a whisper.

We find this great news that Indiana will most likely have two Republicans in the US Senate come January 2011 -- Senator Richard Lugar and Senator Dan Coats.

Prepared remarks by Bayh, 54:

“After all these years, my passion for service to my fellow citizens is undiminished, but my desire to do so in Congress has waned,” he said.

“My decision was not motivated by political concern,” he added. “Even in the current challenging environment, I am confident in my prospects for re-election.”

(snip)

“Two weeks ago, the Senate voted down a bipartisan commission to deal with one of the greatest threats facing our nation: our exploding deficits and debt. The measure would have passed, but seven members who had endorsed the idea instead voted ‘no’ for short-term political reasons,” he said. “Just last week, a major piece of legislation to create jobs — the public’s top priority — fell apart amid complaints from both the left and right. All of this and much more has led me to believe that there are better ways to serve my fellow citizens, my beloved state4 and our nation than continued service in Congress.”

How does the above remarks track with the comments the Indy Star received from his staff below? Now Bayh is concerned about lack of bi-partisanship but wasn't all last year. What changed? Scott Brown was elected and with that their 60 vote filibuster proof majority vanished or was it the fact that former Republican Indiana Senator Dan Coats was throwing his hat in the ring for Bayh's seat? We believe it was the latter.

Only days ago, Bayh’s staff, close associates and Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker, who was manager of Bayh’s re-election campaign, had assured an Indianapolis Star reporter hat he would definitely seek a third term in the U.S. Senate. And Democrats recently released a poll showing Bayh easily ahead of both former Sen. Dan Coats and former U.S. Rep. John Hostettler, two of the four Republicans seeking the GOP nomination.

Source: Indianaopois Star

James Jones joins four Republicans in race in the Arkansas 8th District

Jan 31, 2010

Five candidates vowed Monday to seek the nomination: Gloria Carlineo, a Republican committeewoman from Solebury; Ira Hoffman, a Solebury businessman; Langhorne's James Jones, a small businessman and veteran of three wars; historian Tom Lingenfelter of Doylestown; and Jeffrey Schott, who runs an information technology firm in Chalfont.

"This is America and everyone has the right to run," Fitzpatrick said. "But let's not lose sight that the target is the rubber-stamping of the current congressman of bad national policies, excessive spending and misplaced priorities."

Read More at Philly Burb

We applaud a candidate being willing to stand up and ask a County GOP not to endorse in the primary but to let the voters decide. That should be the same across the Country -- Republican National, State, County, and Precinct officials need to stop officially endorsing candidates in the primary. An elected Party official as an individual is free to help a candidate but in NO instance should an official endorsement be given to any candidate by the official party. That is why we have primaries.

Best of luck to all five candidates -- it is wonderful to see so many people deciding to run for office. This is what America is all about -- if you don't like what you are seeing in Congress, then run to change the status quo.

In looking at the five candidates, we found James Jones, who officially joined the race today, to be a very interesting individual. He was raised as a sharecropper in Arkansas, went in the Navy fighting in two wars, and today is a small business owner. What a life story this man has to tell about the American Dream.

James Jones joins race in 8th
By: GARY WECKSELBLATT
The Intelligencer
February 14, 2010 03:34 AM

Calling it "a historical moment," a black man from rural Arkansas raised as a sharecropper officially entered the 8th District congressional race for the Republican nomination Saturday.

"This is Black History month," James Jones told a group of family and friends. "What better time to stand in front of you?"

Describing himself as a "Tea Party guy," Jones, who fought in two wars with the Navy and also served in the Middle East, spoke out against government spending, deceitful politicians and the "killing" of the U.S. military's morale.

Jones, 54, lives in Langhorne with his wife Sharone. They have five adult children and eight grandchildren.

He contends that his background with the military and as a small business owner has given him the unique ability to expand the Republican base.

"It is time we unify rather than splinter and divide America," Jones said. "That's what I'm here to do, take the grassroots message, the crossover voters' message, and carry it forward."

Indeed, one man not usually seen at Republican events, John Jordan, president of the Bucks County NAACP, showed up at the Middletown Municipal Building to support his friend.

"It's a big day for Bucks County politics," said Jordan, who is giving up his position next week with the intention to run for the state's 6th District Senate seat. "I know how important it is for young black men to see people like James stand up for them in this community.

"It's not all about rappers, it's not all about sports stars," he said. "James has a good heart. He is a good person."

Excerpt: Read more at phillyburbs.com

2/13/10 - Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) Delivers Weekly GOP Address On Trials For Terrorists

Please listen carefully to what Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has to say on Trials for Terrorists. There may be no one more knowledgeable of this subject in the Senate then Graham who was a main author of the Military Commission Act of 2009, which modified the tribunal system to align with a Supreme Court ruling.
As he pointed out in this address, this bill was not in effect at the time of the shoe bomber something the Obama Administration has chosen to ignore.

It would behoove this Administration to pay attention to what Sen Graham has to say and stop the idea of putting these terrorists in the federal court system.

Senator Graham has asked the Obama Administration to reinstate the charges against KSM and other terrorist.

Will the Obama Administration listen?

One Year Later: Stimulus Bill Failed to Create Jobs

The following quote from Congressman Cole is the one that every Republican candidate for Congress needs to keep in mind as they give voters the facts on the "jobs" bill so every last voter understands the bait and switch tactic the Democrats are using:

"While they prepare to shove another multi-billion dollar spending bill through Congress, they no longer refer to it as a "stimulus" bill; now they call it a "jobs" bill. But make no mistake: They may have changed the name, but the substance of the legislation remains the same – more spending, more government and more debt."

Candidates need to stress the fact that the outcome is the same as "Stimulus I" -- more spending, more government and more debt which is what was flawed about the stimulus bill. The original "stimulus" bill seems to have stimulated more job job growth in the Federal Sector as more government employees are being hired at the expense of contractor jobs which should never be an intention of any bill. The number of federal employees needs decreased not increased as the benefits paid by the taxpayer to Federal employees is outrageous along with the current salary structure.

Now that Obama and the Democrats are back for more of our tax dollars under the new name of "job's" bill versus Stimulus II, Republicans need to tell them once again NO!

Feb 12, 2010

One Year Later: Stimulus Bill Failed to Create Jobs

By: Congressman Tom Cole (R-OK)

Almost exactly a year after seeing 787 billion of their tax dollars evaporate courtesy of a so-called “stimulus bill,” Americans are justifiably running out of patience and asking “Where are the jobs?” President Obama and congressional Democrats rushed the stimulus bill through Congress last February amid dire predictions that failure to pass the bill would result in double-digit unemployment, while passage would keep the jobless rate below 8 percent. In the months after President Obama signed the stimulus bill into law, the unemployment rate topped 10 percent and remains close to that today. Nationwide, 3.3 million jobs have been lost. Oklahoma saw its unemployment rate jump from 4.2 percent to 7.1 percent in a year’s time. Our state’s jobless rate has ticked back down slightly to 6.6 percent, but that’s little comfort to those who are still out of work.

I voted against the stimulus bill because I believed it was a pork-laden giveaway to liberal special interest groups that would serve only to grow the government and add to the deficit while doing too little to create jobs and invest in our infrastructure. One year later, it’s clear that the stimulus bill has failed even more spectacularly than I had feared.

Remarkably, the Obama administration's response to this failed economic experiment is more of the same. Rather than embracing policies that would reduce the size of government and provide tax incentives for small businesses to create jobs, they remain sidetracked by other objectives, like a record-breaking spending plan and a government takeover of our health care system. Along with the misguided cap-and-trade bill, these policies actually discourage employers from hiring by creating uncertainty in the markets and guaranteeing punishing tax hikes for businesses and manufacturers. It’s no wonder businesses are hesitant to make new hires when they know the liberals who control Washington, D.C., are poised to pass bill after bill that will dramatically raise costs and impose new regulations.

There is one indication that President Obama and his allies learned something over the past year. While they prepare to shove another multi-billion dollar spending bill through Congress, they no longer refer to it as a "stimulus" bill; now they call it a "jobs" bill. But make no mistake: They may have changed the name, but the substance of the legislation remains the same – more spending, more government and more debt. By contrast, conservatives have proposed an economic recovery plan that promotes job creation through a variety of fiscally responsible policies, including targeted tax cuts for businesses.

The president has been talking a lot lately about bipartisanship. Unfortunately, his idea of bipartisan cooperation begins and ends with his proposal to invite Republicans to a televised summit…about Democrat-authored health care legislation. Not only does this symbolic gesture fail to give fair consideration to Republican proposals, it ignores the more pressing issues of job creation, spending restraint and deficit reduction. The American people are most certainly focused on these issues even if the Obama administration is not. By truly considering Republican plans, the president can show both bipartisanship and seriousness about making the tough choices necessary for economic recovery. It is my hope he will do so in the months ahead.

###

Rasmussen: Vitter's advantage expands

Great news for Senator Vitter and Republicans! Thought you would enjoy his You Tube about the Saints! Great week to be from Louisiana!

Rasmussen: Vitter's advantage expands Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) holds a commanding lead over Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-La.), his 2010 challenger, according to a new poll by Rasmussen Reports.

Vitter leads Melancon by 24 points in the survey, leading 57 percent to 33 percent. That's a six-point improvement over his margin in January.

Last October, Rasmussen showed Vitter drawing less than 50 percent of the vote against Melancon – a sign of vulnerability that may have abated.

Vitter is one of two Republican incumbents that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is targeting, along with North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr.

The senator, who confessed to a prostitution scandal in 2007, has seen his favorability ratings rise, according to the poll, and two-thirds of Louisiana voters now view him favorably.

Melancon's favorability numbers are less impressive – a 45 percent plurality of Louisiana voters view him unfavorably, with just 39 percent viewing him favorably.

Source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/32902.html#ixzz0fNkLnbZY

Sen. Charles (Chuck) Grassley. Why Do Iowans Keep Voting Him In?

This article is an example of what all of our elected members of Congress should be about. It is quite a contrast to their other Senator Harkin (D-IA) who is nothing but an inside the beltway type except during elections.

Now only Iowa but America thanks Sen Grassley for truly representing his constituents!

Senator Grassley's latest video where he answers questions submitted to him by his constituents about jobs and appropriations:

Iowa Listens to Grassley Because It's a 2 Way Street

The phone rang and it was an invitation to stay on the line and "chat" with Sen. Grassley and other southeastern Iowa residents. Odd? Not if you are an Iowan. Sen. Grassley conducts these phone question and answer events constantly and also keeps Iowa roads hot with his town hall meetings. Town hall meetings seem everyday occurrences these days, but Grassley has been doing them for years.

What makes Charles Grassley, better known as Chuck Grassley, tick? What keeps this man on the road for hours, no matter what the weather conditions, just to talk to Iowans? After going to several of Grassley's town hall meetings and sitting in on a conference call with other Iowans, it becomes clear. Sen. Chuck Grassley loves Iowa and loves Iowans. He cares about what is on our minds and he lends his ear to our problems.

The phone call consisted of 17 questions and answers. Some were over concerns of veterans' care and red tape that they (the vets) were running into. Some questions were about health care and the value of our dollar. All were sincerely asked and to Sen. Grassley's credit, they were all answered sincerely.

If you see Sen. Grassley in a town hall meeting, you see the intense attention he pays to the questions and the questioners. You can see that Grassley genuinely cares about that person's worry. Grassley talks to us like he was just another Iowa neighbor. No pretense. If you ask him a question and he doesn't know the answer, you can be sure that he (Grassley) and his crack staff will find the answer and get it to you.

Many go to Washington and forget where they came from. Sen. Harkin in no way conducts himself like Grassley. And maybe that is one reason that even democrats have to say that they respect Sen. Grassley, even if they don't like his policies/politics.

Read More at: Associated Content

Dan Coats Confirms Bid for U.S. Senate

This is great news for Indiana and for America. We hated to see former Senator Coats retire and are so happy to see him get in the race for the Republican nomination to take on Democrat Senator Evan Bayh in the general election. Evan Bayh needs retired like yesterday. He quit voting for his constituents some time ago, but a challenger who could take him on has been missing until now.

Senator Coats' expertise as a former member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is needed today more then ever after the fiasco by the Obama Administration on the Christmas Day Bomber.

The Democrats are already on the attack against former Senator Coats which shows the threat he poses to Evan Bayh.

We will keep you posted when he has his site is up.

By Ryan Elijah
Story Updated: Feb 10, 2010 at 1:37 PM EST

FORT WAYNE, IN (Indiana's NewsCenter) - Former U.S. Senator Dan Coats confirmed this morning that he will run for U.S. Senate. During a live interview with Charly Butcher on WOWO radio Coats said his campaign is "up and running, with thousands of volunteers on the ground".


The campaign is still collecting the necessary signatures to enter the Republican primary in May. The former 4th District Congressman said he never expected to be back in politics, but the recent turn the country has taken concerned him, leading him to enter the race.

Since word of a possible run by Coats surfaced, Democrats came out quickly labeling Coats as a lobbyist and questioning his recent ties to Indiana. Coats will join 4 other Republicans, including State Senator Marlin Stutzman and former congressman, John Hostettler in the Republican field seeking to unseat Bayh. There is speculation that some in the field may choose not to run now that Coats has announced his intentions. Stutzman has a news conference planned later this morning, but has not revealed what he will discuss. Dan Coats served in Congress in the 1980's and 1990's as both a Congressman and Senator. The winner of the Republican primary will need plenty of money to take on Evan Bayh, who has millions of dollars in his campaign war chest.

Coats said, “I felt a call to service throughout my life, whether it was the Army early on or representing the people of Indiana, the ambassador to Germany...these calls keep coming. As I have watched things unfold this past year in Washington under Obama, Pelosi, Reid...I am more than alarmed the way this country is going.”

Candidates must collect at least 500-signatures from registered voters in each of the state's nine congressional districts by February 16th to get on the primary ballot.


Source: http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/84004092.html

Better Solutions by House Republicans

These Solutions by Republicans at Solutions.gop.gov will form the foundation of the message that Republicans take to the electorate this year culminating on November 2, 2010 when all 435 seats of the House are up for election. It is a message of fiscal conservative values along with good old fashioned Common Sense which has been missing inside the beltway for some time.

The following four items from the Solutions.gop.gov website detail Republican Solutions for Healthcare, Energy, Jobs Plan, and the Budget. These were given to President Obama on Friday, January 29, 2010:

-The GOP Healthcare Alternative provides affordable access to all Americans, instead of mandating a one-size-fits-all health system

- The American Energy Act promotes affordable energy, more well-paying jobs, energy independence, and a cleaner environment

- The GOP No-Cost Jobs Plan stops wasteful spending and tax hikes, helps small businesses, and removes unnecessary barriers to American energy production

- The GOP Budget controls the national debt, does not raise taxes, and achieves lower deficits than the President's.

After reading the full articles on these items about what Republicans have submitted in the House since January 2009, you are left with 'these Solutions make sense so why won't the Democrats including Obama listen?' Simple answer: It doesn't fit their progressive (socialist agenda).

We would like for someone to answer where all the moderate and Blue Dogs were when these Progressives/Socialists took over the House under the leadership of Nancy Pelosi in Nov 2006. We didn't hear a peep about how progressive/socialist she was. Republicans were well aware, but had no say in who was going to be Speaker. Pelosi was a member of the Progressive Caucus and it only takes two minutes of your time searching to discover that is a fancy name for a socialist agenda. Guess a lot of the media missed that two minutes of searching.

During the first session of her reign, most of the Blue Dogs voted like they always had but the second session of the Congress, she cracked the whip and they went left. Not one Democrat knowing she was so far left voted against her for Speaker for the 2009-2010 session. Shows their lack of core values because when the chips are down they will do what she says. Pelosi will see them march off the plank and not bat an eyelash. The worst part is the vast majority will march right off.

Help spread the word that Republicans do have 'Solutions' and a smarter way of spending our tax dollars so that every dollar counts. Don't forget to remind voters we need to send the Pelosi Democrats to the Unemployment Line on Nov 2, 2010 and return Common Sense to the House of Representatives!

Better Solutions

Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) released the following web video highlighting the better solutions Republicans have been offering all year long on the budget, energy, putting Americans back to work and health care. Boehner appears on the video with the Better Solutions document House Republicans presented President Obama last week that counters the baseless claims that Republicans are the party of no ideas.

Boehner says:

“This is a time of great challenge for many in our country. Republicans believe in the American people – and throughout the past year, on issues ranging from health care to jobs, we’ve offered common-sense solutions aimed at getting government off Americans’ backs and unleashing the greatness of our people.“We presented President Obama with this book of our better solutions last Friday in a meeting with House Republicans, and we want to share it with you, too.”

The Better Solutions book is a compilation of GOP policy alternatives that were offered between January of 2009 and the present to address the nation’s top priorities. To download a PDF copy of the Better Solutions book Boehner presented to President Obama, click here. The Better Solutions document and other information on GOP reform alternatives is also available at solutions.gop.gov.

Congratulations Saints!

Congratulations to the players, coaches, owner Tom Benson and his family, and all those Saints fans not only in New Orleans but all along the Upper Gulf Coast that went through so much with Katrina, but never gave up on the Saints over the years.

The Saints after Katrina never gave up on New Orleans and the Upper Gulf Coast and together they have been rebuilding a city and region. Now the Saints are Super Bowl Champs and a city who has waited a long time to Party can now go all out and enjoy the victory.

February 7, 2010 -- Super Bowl XLIV is HERE!

Today marks the official end of football games for the year with the Super Bowl. Does that mean that talk about football ends? Not on your life especially here in the Heartland of America where Friday night football is legend, Saturday game day is spent at your favorite university, and Sunday you are sitting in that favorite easy chair cheering for your NFL team. That leaves the rest of the year to discuss the year before and look ahead.

Last Wednesday marked the start of a new year for college teams across America as it was National Signing Day. All the message boards were buzzing about who was going to land which recruit. When you hear these young men interviewed on the radio, you realize they are the future of America not just in sports but in all walks of life -- we are in good hands. Recruit after recruit discussed not only football but academics as a factor for choosing their university. That same scene was repeated on college campus' all across America. These young players will learn from their older teammates there is more to college than an education and playing football. There is also the part of giving back to the community by volunteering in the schools and in the community to leave it a better place when they graduate.

Today, we have seen what these former college players who are now members of the Saints have done for their city of New Orleans which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. They have spent countless hours helping rebuild a city with their labor, their money, and their prayers. The Saints are what is good about football. The team after all those years of losing rose up to do something more then win a football game as they put a city on their back to give them hope after a disaster. That hope turned into reality and today New Orleans is celebrating their beloved Saints in the Super Bowl!

When trying to pick the team we wanted to win, it was hard since neither team was our favorite but it came down to something very basic -- who had Oklahoma Sooners playing for them? That turned out to be Saints 3 - Colts 0!

Oklahoma Sooners have three players on The Saints --

Jammal Brown, the offensive lineman who was injured early in the season, was drafted as a #1 pick of the Saints five years ago, and last spring came back to OU to get his degree.

Remi Ayodele, DT, who was signed and cut by several teams before landing with the Saints for a second time and starting today. He never gave up.

Garrett Hartley, Kicker, who kicked the winning Field Goal against the Vikings and our family's sentimental favorite.

Since there are no Sooners on the Colts team, we will have to go with the Saints -- our prediction:

24-21 Saints

Have a terrific Super Bowl Sunday -- we will be back to politics on Monday. Today is about the Super Bowl and football!