The Council Has Spoken!! Our Watcher’s Council Results – 03.06.15

The Council has spoken, the votes have been cast, and the results are in for this week’s Watcher’s Council match up.

“Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thought-crime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. “ – George Orwell’s 1984

“Whoever controls the media, controls the mind.” – Jim Morrison of The Doors

“The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” - Malcolm X

This week’s winning essay, The Noisy Room’s – Net Neutrality: “Young fool … Only now, at the end, do you understand” takes apart the Obama dominated FCC’s plans to ‘regulate’ the Internet and turn it int0 something unrecognizable. Here’s a slice:

We keep hearing, from the saviors in Washington, DC, how government regulation is the answer and how “evil monopolies” (created, incidentally, by other government regulations) are responsible for all our trials and tribulations and the “fundamental unfairness” of the Internet as she is currently wrote.

Obligatory movie quote:

“No. No government. I know those people. Absolutely not.” – Col. Ira Kane

Yeah, it’s a movie. It’s also absolutely right.

The founder of Broadcast.com, Mark Cuban, has recently been vociferous in his opposition to so-called “Net Neutrality” with his most recent public appearance on the subject in an interview where he breaks it down. His effort to “plain-language” the argument notwithstanding, and frankly, it’s a subject that should not be oversimplified, he laid out the unintended consequences dominoes and how this “everything is equal” push plays out in terms of common services.

Now, you might want to shrug Mark Cuban off as “some rich guy who owns a sports team” and clearly that’s being done a lot, but don’t forget how he got rich: he pioneered live broadcasting over the Internet. He’s not some political hack, evil cable company exec, or mushy thinking me-too “fairness uber alles” flag waver. He is, for once, someone who knows what the hell he’s talking about.

Net Neutrality, like so many political labels, is a “fair sounding” name that hides the actual motives and consequences of the real world implementations we will experience after the seemingly inevitable adoption of this latest government overreach.

It won’t be fair. It won’t be optimum. And the right answer will never even be mentioned, never mind entertained: deregulate the cable and broadband space to eliminate the protected monopolies.

The broadband space needs more competition, not less; needs less regulation, not more. Companies like Google laying fiber? Cox, AT&T, Verizon and Comcast suddenly no longer have a free pass.

Otherwise? The cynical and dystopian view?

One of the unavoidable dominoes will be broad censorship. Once the deprioritization of broadcast packets leads to the epic traffic jam that will reduce the Web’s US speeds to worse than those found in Europe, the government of the day will, once again, have to “save us” from this “unforseen” outcome and their clever plan will include limiting who can “legitimately” have bandwidth preferences, since clearly “legitimate” news outlets need to bypass the buffering jams that will afflict TV signaling and once dot-gov starts adjudicating who’s a “real” news or other “essential” service, licensing will naturally follow, and then “standards” of what is “acceptable” traffic.

At which point, whichever political party is in power at that time will have the distinct advantage of licensing whomever they deem to be more politically correct in their eyes. “Neutrality” on the ‘Net? Yeah, not so much.

We’re in the hands of fools and corrupt bureaucrats. Last Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission held a faux meeting on open Internet rules and access to broadband Internet. Commissioner Ajit Pai made a statement before the FCC vote to take unprecedented control over the internet with a secret plan. Yes, secret. Secret as in no exposure to the public or Congress prior to its enactment. What follows is the transcript of his comments – in echoes of Obamacare, this had to pass before we could know what was in it. Except, they are still keeping it under wraps. It must be very, very bad indeed.

From Breitbart:

“The Wall Street Journal reports that it was developed through ‘an unusual secretive effort inside the White House.’ Indeed, White House officials, according to the Journal, functioned as a parallel version of the FCC. Their work led to the president’s announcement in November of his plan for internet regulation, a plan which the report says blindsided the FCC and swept aside months of work by Chairman Wheeler toward a compromise. Now, of course, a few insiders were clued in about what was transpiring. Here’s what a leader for the government-funded group Fight for the Future had to say, ‘We’ve been hearing for weeks from our allies in D.C that the only thing that could stop FCC chairman Tom Wheeler from moving ahead with his sham proposal to gut net neutrality was if we could get the president to step in. So we did everything in our power to make that happen. We took the gloves off and played hard, and now we get to celebrate a sweet victory. Congratulations. what the press has called the parallel FCC at the White House opened its door to a plethora of special interest activists. Daily Kos, Demand Progress, Fight for the Future, Free Press, and Public Knowledge, just to name a few. Indeed, even before activists were blocking the chairman’s driveway late last year, some of them had met with executive branch officials.

“But what about the rest of the American people? They certainly couldn’t get White House meetings. They were shut out of the process altogether. They were being played for fools. And the situation didn’t improve once the White House announced President Obama’s plan, and ‘asked’ the FCC to implement it. The document in front of us today differs dramatically from the proposal that the FCC put out for comment last May, and it differs so dramatically that even zealous net neutrality advocates frantically rushed in, in recent days, to make last-minute filings, registering their concerns that the FCC might be going too far. Yet, the American people, to this day, have not been allowed to see President Obama’s plan. It has remained hidden.

“Especially given the unique importance of the internet, Commissioner O’Rielly and I ask for the plan to be released to the public. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune and House of Representatives Chairman did the same. According to a survey last week by a respected democratic polling firm, 79% of the American people favored making the document public. Still, the FCC has insisted on keeping it behind closed doors. We have to pass President Obama’s 317-page plan so the American people can find out what’s in it. This isn’t how the FCC should operate. We should be an independent agency making decisions in a transparent manner based on the law and the facts in the record.

“We shouldn’t be a rubber stamp for political decisions made by the White House. And we should have released this plan to the public, solicited their feedback, incorporated that input into the plan, and then proceeded to a vote. There was no need for us to resolve this matter today. There is no immediate crisis in the internet marketplace that demands immediate action. now. The backers of the president’s plan know this. But they also know that the details of this plan cannot stand up to the light of day. They know that the more the American people learn about it, the less they will like it. That is why this plan was developed behind closed doors at the White House. And that is why the plan has remained hidden from public view.

“These aren’t my only concerns. Even a cursory look at the plan reveals glaring legal plans that are sure to mire the agency in the muck of litigation for a long, long time. but rather than address them today, I will reserve them for my written statement. At the beginning of this proceeding, I quoted Google’s former CEO, who once said, the internet is the first thing that humanity has built, that humanity doesn’t understand. This proceeding makes it abundantly clear that the FCC still doesn’t get it. but the American people clearly do. The proposed government regulation of the internet has awakened a sleeping giant. I’m optimistic we’ll look back on today’s vote as a temporary deviation from the bipartisan consensus that’s served us so well. I don’t know whether this plan will be vacated by a court, reversed by Congress, or overturned by a future commission, But I do believe its days are numbered. For all of those reasons, I dissent.”

More at the link.

In our non-Council category, the winner was Jim DeMint in the Daily Signal with If Not Now … When? Will the GOP Majority Ever Stand for Anything? submitted by Ask Marion . As the man who, along with Sarah Palin was pretty much responsible for the victory in the 2010 midterms that resurrected he GOP from the grave, Deb Mint is definitely in a position to look at the Republicans in Congress today and wonder if they stand for anything.

After lying to their supporters again in 2014 about how they would dismantle President Obama’s radical agenda and being rewarded with majorities in both houses of Congress, they’ve reneged on everything they said they would do at election time. Can they ever be trusted again? Do read it.

Here are this week’s full results:

Council Winners

• *First place with 2 2/3 votes! – The Noisy Room – Net Neutrality: “Young fool … Only now, at the end, do you understand.”
• Second place with 2 1/3 votes – Joshuapundit - A Speech, A Choice And A Challenge
• Third place with 2 votes – The Right Planet – The White House Prayer Deception
• Fourth place with 1 2/3 votes – The Independent Sentinel – Breaking…WH Plans to Develop a Country Within a Country of 15 Million “New Americans”
• Fifth place *t* with 1 vote – The Glittering Eye -The Devil in the Details
• Fifth place *t* with 1 vote – VA Right! - Republicans Betray the Voters – AGAIN
• Sixth place *t* with 2/3 vote – The Razor – What If… Shirley MacLaine is Just an Idiot?
• Sixth place *t* with 2/3 vote – Rhymes With Right – The Faux Outrage Of The Fatuous Left And The Fabulist Media

Non-Council Winners

• First place with 2 votes! – Jim DeMint/The Daily Signal - If Not Now … When? Will the GOP Majority Ever Stand for Anything? submitted by Ask Marion
• Second place with 121/3 votes – T. Greer/Zenpundit – Guest post, T Greer: A civilization is at stake here submitted by The Glittering Eye
• Third place *t* with 1 1/3 votes – Ace Of Spades HQ – It’s Over: Boehner, Boehner’s Establishment Allies, and Democrats Unite to Fund Obama’s Executive Amnesty submitted by Rhymes with Right
• Third place *t* with 1 1/3 votes – Breitbart – New Documents Blow Lid Off Obama/Clinton Benghazi Scandal submitted by VA Right!
• Third place *t* with 1 1/3 votes – Breach Bang Clear - The New Definition Of Traumasubmitted by Bookworm Room
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote – The Daily Beast – Iraq’s Attack Against ISIS Catches U.S. ‘By Surprise’ submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote – Robert Joseph, William Tobey/NRO – Iran: A Bad Deal Is (Much) Worse than No Deal submitted by The Watcher
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 votes - Andrew McCarthy/NRO – Bring Back the Bush Doctrine – with One Addition submitted by The Noisy Room
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 votes - Maggie’s Notebook – Defense Intelligence Told Not to Update Obama on Bin Laden Documents submitted by The Independent Sentinel
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 votes - Kyle MizoKami/ War Is Boring – I Built An AR-15 In My Kitchen – Without Telling The Government submitted by The Watcher
• Sixth place with 1/3 vote - America – The National Catholic Review – The Catholic Pagan: 10 Questions for Camille Paglia submitted by The Razor

See you next week!

Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum. and every  Tuesday morning, when we reveal the weeks’ nominees for Weasel of the Week!

And remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council, and the results are posted on Friday morning.

It’s a weekly magazine of some of the best stuff written in the blogosphere, and you won’t want to miss it...or any of the other fantabulous Watcher’s Council content.

And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that, y’know?

Heritage Foundation Challenging CBO Rpt On Immigration Bill's impact On Deficit - Cavuto

Video: Heritage Foundation Challenging CBO Rpt On Immigration Bill's impact On Deficit – Cavuto

Cavuto with Jim DeMint and Jeff Flake

Technorati Tags: Cavuto,Fox,Heritage Foundation,CBO,immigration,immigration bill,amnesty,amnesty bill,smoke and mirrors,manipulation of the public,Jim DeMint,budget,deficit,Jeff Flake

BREAKING: LOST Loses… 34 US Senators Oppose Law of the Sea Treaty and Boehner Slams Door On Carbon Taxes

BREAKING: Looks like Capital Hill has miraculously Grown Testicles?!?

Gateway Pundit:

At least 34 senators will oppose Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST) which means the treaty will not be ratified this year. The treaty would subjugate American sovereignty to the whims of an international tribunal – something that excites the progressive movement.

From the Jim DeMint website:

The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Mr. Leader,

We understand that Chairman Kerry has renewed his efforts to pursue Senate ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. We are writing to let you know that we believe this Convention reflects political, economic, and ideological assumptions which are inconsistent with American values and sovereignty.

By its current terms, the Law of the Sea Convention encompasses economic and technology interests in the deep sea, redistribution of wealth from developed to undeveloped nations, freedom of navigation in the deep sea and exclusive economic zones which may impact maritime security, and environmental regulation over virtually all sources of pollution.

To effect the treaty’s broad regime of governance, we are particularly concerned that United States sovereignty could be subjugated in many areas to a supranational government that is chartered by the United Nations under the 1982 Convention. Further, we are troubled that compulsory dispute resolution could pertain to public and private activities including law enforcement, maritime security, business operations, and nonmilitary activities performed aboard military vessels.

If this treaty comes to the floor, we will oppose its ratification.

Sincerely yours,

Jon Kyl
Jim Inhofe
Roy Blunt
Pat Roberts
David Vitter
Ron Johnson
John Cornyn
Jim DeMint
Tom Coburn
John Boozman
Rand Paul
Jim Risch
Mike Lee
Jeff Sessions
Mike Crapo
Orrin Hatch
John Barrasso
Richard Shelby
John Thune
Richard Burr
Saxby Chambliss
Dan Coats
John Hoeven
Roger Wicker
Marco Rubio
Jim Moran
Dean Heller
Pat Toomey
Chuck Grassley
Mitch McConnell

The four additional senators include: Mike Johanns (R-NE), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Rob Portman (R-OH) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA).

Heritage Action has more on the news.

Also:

The Hill:

Boehner Slams The Door On Carbon Taxes - July 16, 2012

BREAKING: There are Republicans on Capitol Hill who have miraculously grown testicles.

Capitol Hill's most powerful Republicans say advocates who have been discussing a carbon tax behind closed doors are wasting their breath.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), speaking through aides, have stated their opposition to the concept in recent days.

Boehner spokesman Michael Steel had a one-word answer when asked, on Friday, whether the Speaker would ever consider a carbon tax to help address climate change and the deficit: "No."

Similarly, McConnell spokesman John Ashbrook said Monday that "Leader McConnell opposes a national energy tax."

While their positions are no surprise, the categorical opposition underscores the hurdles facing an ad hoc, left-right coalition of activists and policy wonks who have held a series of meetings in private to discuss the idea.The most recent meeting was last week at the headquarters of the conservative American Enterprise Institute, as reported by The Hill.

Backers of carbon taxes say the policy would help curb greenhouse gas emissions, and raise revenues to help battle the deficit or enable reductions of other tax rates.

A draft of the agenda prepared for last week’s meeting included representatives and scholars with groups such as the Union of Concerned Scientists, AEI, Public Citizen, the free-market group R Street, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, ConservAmerica — formerly Republicans for Environmental Protection — Taxpayers for Common Sense and others.

It is a great day for America and freedom! Thanks to all who contracted Congress on these issues, who fight the good fight every day, and to the man upstairs who heard their prayers!! These are huge victories. Next up… UN Small Arms Treaty about which many gun owners are being misled.

Another U.N. Convention That Poses Threats to U.S. Sovereignty

Ask Marion~

Technorati Tags: carbon taxes,Congress,God,John Boehner,LOST,major victory,Mitch McConnell,prayer,Saving America,treaties,U.S. Senate,UN,United Nations,success

Audit of the Federal Reserve Reveals $16 Trillion in Secret Bailouts

This gives a new meaning to " gov’t. corruption"!!!!

No wonder they didn't want to be Audited..

Audit of the Federal Reserve Reveals $16 Trillion in Secret Bailouts - unelected.org - Click: The Silver Bear Cafe

The first ever GAO (Government Accountability Office) audit of the Federal Reserve was carried out in the past few months due to the Ron Paul, Alan Grayson Amendment to the Dodd-Frank bill, which passed last year. Jim DeMint, a Republican Senator, and Bernie Sanders, an independent Senator, led the charge for a Federal Reserve audit in the Senate, but watered down the original language of the house bill (HR1207), so that a complete audit would not be carried out. Ben Bernanke(pictured to the right), Alan Greenspan, and various other bankers vehemently opposed the audit and lied to Congress about the effects an audit would have on markets. Nevertheless, the results of the first audit in the Federal Reserve’s nearly 100 year history were posted on Senator Sander’s webpage earlier this morning.

What was revealed in the audit was startling:

$16,000,000,000,000.00 had been secretly given out to US banks and corporations and foreign banks everywhere from France to Scotland. From the period between December 2007 and June 2010, the Federal Reserve had secretly bailed out many of the world’s banks, corporations, and governments. The Federal Reserve likes to refer to these secret bailouts as an all-inclusive loan program, but virtually none of the money has been returned and it was loaned out at 0% interest. Why the Federal Reserve had never been public about this or even informed the United States Congress about the $16 trillion dollar bailout is obvious - the American public would have been outraged to find out that the Federal Reserve bailed out foreign banks while Americans were struggling to find jobs.

To place $16 trillion into perspective, remember that GDP of the United States is only $14.12 trillion. The entire national debt of the United States government spanning its 200+ year history is "only" $14.5 trillion. The budget that is being debated so heavily in Congress and the Senate is "only" $3.5 trillion. Take all of the outrage and debate over the $1.5 trillion deficit into consideration, and swallow this Red pill: There was no debate about whether $16,000,000,000,000 would be given to failing banks and failing corporations around the world.

In late 2008, the TARP Bailout bill was passed and loans of $800 billion were given to failing banks and companies. That was a blatant lie considering the fact that Goldman Sachs alone received 814 billion dollars. As is turns out, the Federal Reserve donated $2.5 trillion to Citigroup, while Morgan Stanley received $2.04 trillion. The Royal Bank of Scotland and Deutsche Bank, a German bank, split about a trillion and numerous other banks received hefty chunks of the $16 trillion.

"This is a clear case of socialism for the rich and rugged, you’re-on-your-own individualism for everyone else." - Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

When you have conservative Republican stalwarts like Jim DeMint(R-SC) and Ron Paul(R-TX) as well as self identified Democratic socialists like Bernie Sanders all fighting against the Federal Reserve, you know that it is no longer an issue of Right versus Left. When you have every single member of the Republican Party in Congress and progressive Congressmen like Dennis Kucinich sponsoring a bill to audit the Federal Reserve, you realize that the Federal Reserve is an entity onto itself, which has no oversight and no accountability.

Americans should be swelled with anger and outrage at the abysmal state of affairs when an unelected group of bankers can create money out of thin air and give it out to megabanks and super-corporations like Halloween candy. If the Federal Reserve and the bankers who control it believe that they can continue to devalue the savings of Americans and continue to destroy the US economy, they will have to face the realization that their trillion dollar printing presses will eventually plunder the world economy.

The list of institutions that received the most money from the Federal Reserve can be found on page 131 of the GAO Audit and are as follows..

Citigroup: $2.5 trillion ($2,500,000,000,000)
Morgan Stanley: $2.04 trillion ($2,040,000,000,000)
Merrill Lynch: $1.949 trillion ($1,949,000,000,000)
Bank of America: $1.344 trillion ($1,344,000,000,000)
Barclays PLC (United Kingdom): $868 billion ($868,000,000,000)
Bear Sterns: $853 billion ($853,000,000,000)
Goldman Sachs: $814 billion ($814,000,000,000)
Royal Bank of Scotland (UK): $541 billion ($541,000,000,000)
JP Morgan Chase: $391 billion ($391,000,000,000)
Deutsche Bank (Germany): $354 billion ($354,000,000,000)
UBS (Switzerland): $287 billion ($287,000,000,000)
Credit Suisse (Switzerland): $262 billion ($262,000,000,000)
Lehman Brothers: $183 billion ($183,000,000,000)
Bank of Scotland (United Kingdom): $181 billion ($181,000,000,000)
BNP Paribas (France): $175 billion ($175,000,000,000)
and many many more including banks in Belgium of all places

View the 266-page GAO audit of the Federal Reserve(July 21st, 2011): http://www.scribd.com/doc/60553686/GAO-Fed-Investigation

Source: http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-696
FULL PDF on GAO server: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11696.pdf
Senator Sander’s Article: http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=9e2a4ea8-6e73-4be2-a753-62060dcbb3c3

Source: unelected.org  - Click: The Silver Bear Cafe

(The Motto of the Silver Bear Cafe is: "Serving up a heaping helping of the Truth, with a generous side of Common Sense")

Cut Cap and Balance… Or?

Daily National Debt Increase Figures: 

Below is what our national debt increases per day…. every day:

Under Clinton 547 Million per day

Under Bush 1.6 Billion per day

Under Obama 4.3 Billion per day

Under Bush… who is still getting blamed for everything by the Obama administration we added $1.6 Billion per day to our debt.  Under Obama we add $4.3 Billion to our debt every day and Obama is still perceived as the good guy by the uninformed public.  This is what happens when a Nanny State of selectively educated people crowns a Messiah who controls the media.  It is frightening!!

The White House and House Speaker John Boehner emphatically denied a report that they were closing in on a major deal to cut the deficit and raise the debt ceiling, though President Obama's top spokesman continued to insist Thursday that Congress will act to prevent a first-ever U.S. default  (most economists assure us that there is plenty of revenue coming in to pay the interest on our debt, social security, and the military with about $39 Billion left over.)

I am not a huge Lindsey Graham (R-SC) fan by any means, but his explanation of what is going on in the Senate right now is the best I’ve heard. 

Graham Speaks in Support of Cut, Cap and Balance

America at a pivotal point. We either stop spending, demand that our government live within their means by requiring a a Balanced Budget Amendment or we become Greece… and I’m not talking beautiful ocean, the Acropolis and Parthenon and old world charm.  I’m talking default, riots in the street and economic collapse.

No More Commissions… Pass Cut, Cap and Balance

With Default Looming, Obama Finds Time to See New Harry Potter Movie… Really??

URGENT: Tell your Congressman to vote YES on the 'Cut Cap Balance' Act

Please Take Action: Vote Expected in House Today

I urge you to contact your Representative and ask him to co-sponsor and vote YES on the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011. 

--The bill number is H.R.2560.  (The number of the companion Senate bill is S.1340.) 

--The House is slated to vote on H.R.2560 on Tuesday, July 19, 2011.

--The Cut, Cap, and Balance Act meets the criteria of the Cut, Cap, and Balance Pledge:

1) It substantially cuts spending;

2) It creates enforceable spending caps;

3) It requires congressional passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that includes a spending limitation and a super-majority to raise taxes before the debt ceiling can be raised.

--The debt held by the public has more than doubled in just the past five years. Interest paid on the national debt is expected to more than triple over the next ten years.

--Many economists believe the US faces a Greek-style debt crisis within the next five years if we do not get our fiscal house in order very soon.

--The federal government has hit the $14.292 trillion debt limit set in February 2010. Raising the debt ceiling without significant spending cuts is simply a tax increase on future generations.

--Moody’s Investors Services has said the AAA rating of US government bonds is in jeopardy unless Congress passes “a budget that includes long-term deficit reduction.”

--Standard & Poor's has said it will downgrade US debt if the US doesn't 1) cut spending substantially and 2) REFORM the way it budgets, to control future spending.

--The Cut Cap and Balance Act (CCB) would meet the tests set forth by Moody's and S&P, so we never again face this kind of debt problem. In short, "CCB=AAA."

--The Cut, Cap, and Balance Act is a long-term deficit reduction package that will ensure we get back on the path of fiscal sanity and are not downgraded from our AAA bond rating.

Click here to see FreedomWorks' letter on the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act. 

Click here to see FreedomWorks' Key Vote Notice on the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act.

Please fax, call and email your Congressman and Senator(s) today and tell them to vote for Cut, Cap and Balance

Related:

Michele Bachmann Personalizes Cut, Cap and Balance

Red State:  Cut, Cap and Balance

Jim DeMint’s “Cut, Cap and Balance” Qualifier

The Caucus of House Conservative: Cut, Cap and Balance

Obama Officially Threatens to Veto Republicans’ Cut, Cap and Balance Bill (Before It Even Passes) – So Who Is Really the Obstructionist?

Obama's Big Political Gamble

~~ Red-state Democrats are being asked to risk their seats ~~

Millions of Americans watched President Barack Obama's speech last night to a joint session of Congress. Much of it was familiar, having been delivered in at least 111 speeches, town halls, radio addresses and other appearances on health care. But his most revealing remarks on the topic came on Monday, at a Labor Day union picnic in Cincinnati.

There Mr. Obama accused critics of his health reforms of spreading "lies" and said opponents want "to do nothing." These false charges do not reveal a spirit of bipartisanship nor do they create a foundation for dialogue. It is more like what you'd say if you are planning to jam through a bill without compromise. Which is exactly what Mr. Obama is about to attempt.

Team Obama is essentially asking congressional Democrats to take a huge gamble. The White House is arguing that ramming through a controversial bill is safer for Democrats than not passing anything. This is based on the false premise that the death of HillaryCare is what doomed Democrats in 1994. Mr. Obama told a reporter in July that the defeat of HillaryCare "Helped [Republicans] regain the House." Former President Bill Clinton echoed that thought recently by saying "doing nothing" today is "the worst thing we can do for the Democrats."

Actually, attempting to pass HillaryCare is what brought down the party. Voters rejected a massively complicated, hugely expensive government takeover of health care and the Democrats who pushed it.

In reality, it is riskier to be at odds with where Americans are than just standing by as an unpopular proposal goes down. The problem for Democrats is they are scaring voters by proposing a takeover of health care that spends too much money, creates too much debt, gives Washington too much power, and takes too much decision-making away from doctors and patients.

The political risk for Democrats is clearest among seniors. A late July Gallup poll showed they were the age group least likely to believe health-care reform would improve medical care. Seniors are coming out strongly against Mr. Obama's health-care plan even though they're already covered by government care. Perhaps it's because, as a White House fact sheet makes clear, he wants to pay for his plan's $948 billion cost over the next 10 years by cutting some $622 billion from Medicare and Medicaid.

The latest Pew poll (August 20-27) found that 30% of seniors supported health-care reform while 54% were opposed. In July, Pew showed 29% in favor and 48% opposed. The same August Pew poll shows Republicans gaining 12 points among seniors on the generic ballot, compared to where they stood in the 2006 congressional elections. The generic ballot among seniors then was at 50% Democrat, 39% Republican. Today, it's 51% Republican and 43% Democrat.

This matters because seniors make up a disproportionate share of the off-year vote. CNN exit polls showed that they were roughly 16% of eligible voters in 2008, but 29% of the turnout in 2006. The generic ballot among seniors in 1994 was 45% Republican and 43% Democrat.

These numbers should worry red-state Democratic senators and the 70 Democratic congressmen whose districts were carried by John McCain or George W. Bush. The people back home are likely to punish Democrats if they vote for ObamaCare.

Already, many of them are drawing fire for having toed the party line on a stimulus package that's likely to celebrate its first anniversary with unemployment near 10%. They're also likely to be blasted for supporting a budget that doubles the national debt in five years, a new energy tax in the form of cap and trade, and a host of other liberal policies that voters did not expect from a candidate who ran as a centrist.

Until Ted Kennedy's vacant Massachusetts Senate seat is filled and there is confidence West Virginia's Robert Byrd is well enough to show up for a vote, there simply aren't 60 Senate Democrats to invoke cloture. That means Republicans will have considerable procedural sway, even if the White House isn't interested in giving them a real role by taking out a clean sheet of paper and starting over.

Given the Senate situation, do vulnerable House Democrats really want to go first in voting for ObamaCare? They've already done that by slamming through cap and trade, which is now stalled in the Senate. How much political capital will Speaker Nancy Pelosi have to spend to pass an increasingly unpopular health-care measure?

The danger for vulnerable Democrats is they have a president who is losing popularity while championing an unpopular proposal. The wise course would be to push for more time to figure out the best consensus policy and for more bipartisanship in crafting any solution.

Congressional Democrats will be under enormous pressure to stand with Mr. Obama. But the prospect of their own political future may yet concentrate many Democratic minds in Congress.

By Mr. Rove - the former senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush. – Source WSJ

DEMOCRATS LOSING SENIORS

Nowhere is the fallout from Obama's healthcare proposals more evident than among the elderly, and nothing is more dangerous permanently for the Democratic Party than their increasing disaffection.
A Wall Street Journal poll taken last week reflects a gain by Republicans in party identification, closing the gap from 40-33 in April in favor of the Democrats to a Democratic margin of only 35-34. The data reflects that one-third of this six-point closure of the partisan gap comes from a major shift among the elderly -- the only demographic group to have moved dramatically.
In April, the elderly broke evenly on their party identification, with 37 percent supporting each political party. Now the Republicans hold a lead, at 46-33. This 13-point closure among the 14 percent of the vote that is cast by those over 65 represents two of the six points of closure nationally.

No other group changed nearly as much. Neither liberals nor minorities nor any other age group moved nearly as dramatically as did the elderly. The Journal's pollsters noted that "perhaps the most striking movement is with senior citizens."

The Democratic Party, led by Obama, is systematically converting the elderly vote into a Republican bastion. The work of FDR in passing Social Security in 1937 and of LBJ in enacting Medicare in 1965 is being undone by the president's healthcare program. The elderly see his proposals for what they are: a massive redistribution of healthcare away from the elderly and toward a population that is younger, healthier and richer but happens, at the moment, to lack insurance. (Remember that the uninsured are, by definition, not elderly, not young and not in poverty -- and if they are, they are currently eligible for Medicare, Medicaid or SCHIP and do not need the Obama program.) The elderly see the $500 billion projected cut in Medicare through the same lens as they viewed Gingrich's efforts to slice the growth in the program in the mid-1990s.

When the president addresses Congress and the nation on Wednesday night, he will likely indicate a willingness to compromise on aspects of his program. He might attenuate his support of the public option for insurance companies and could soften other aspects of his proposal as it is embodied in the House bill.

But the fundamental equation will not change: He is cutting Medicare spending and using the money to subsidize coverage of those who are now uninsured but cannot afford to pay full premiums. It is this equation that has the elderly up in arms.
And our seniors correctly understand that you cannot extend full health benefits to some portion of the 50 million who live here and lack insurance without causing rationing of existing health services unless you expand the number of doctors and nurses and the amount of medical equipment.

When President Harry Truman first proposed compulsory health insurance in 1949, he coupled his proposal with a big increase in federal aid to medical education. He grasped the fundamental reality that you cannot expand coverage without expanding the number of people who provide the service -- unless you are prepared to resort to wholesale rationing.

If Democratic senators and congressmen believe that the elderly will recover from their Republican tendencies by Election Day 2010 -- or even by 2012 or 2014 -- they misjudge their senior constituents. The elderly are the group most dependent on government services, and they follow politics with an attention that only the needy can give.

They will not forget if the Democrats push through cuts in Medicare and then ask for their support in the next election. Their memories are long and they turn out in huge numbers. Until now, these traits have worked to the advantage of the Democrats. Now they are increasingly likely to deliver Congress and the White House to the Republicans.

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• Dems Disregard of American’s Will and Rights: “Blue Dog” Refuses to Let Constituent Videotape Town Hall!
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Posted: Daily Thought Pad – Cross-Posted: Knowledge Creates Power

Who Will Lead the Town Hallers?

Sarah Palin and Jeb Bush Poised to Lead Town-Hallers

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

Some call it the next conservative revolution, but whatever we dub the antigovernment ire at tea parties and town halls, there so far appears to be no elected official leading the charge. "It's a faceless movement," says a former Bush adviser, who credited media bigs like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck for whipping up the frenzy. So who's best positioned to lead the protesters into the next presidential election? Whispers asked a dozen GOP and conservative leaders to come up with a top 10 list. First, Rep. Ron Paul, popular among the town hallers. Then, Sarah Palin, whose 2008 crowds cheered her antitax message. Third, Newt Gingrich, the father of the 1994 conservative revolution. Next, populist Mike Huckabee. And fifth, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, said to be the family's passionate conservative.

Some call it the next conservative revolution, but whatever we dub the antigovernment ire at tea parties and town halls, there so far appears to be no elected official leading the charge. "It's a faceless movement," says a former Bush adviser, who credited media bigs like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck for whipping up the frenzy. So who's best positioned to lead the protesters into the next presidential election? Whispers asked a dozen GOP and conservative leaders to come up with a top 10 list. First, Rep.Ron Paul, popular among the town hallers. Then, Sarah Palin, whose 2008 crowds cheered her antitax message. Third, Newt Gingrich, the father of the 1994 conservative revolution. Next, populist Mike Huckabee. And fifth, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, said to be the family's passionate conservative.

The rest: South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint; Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour; Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal; House GOP Whip Eric Cantor; and Pennsylvania Senate hopeful Pat Toomey.

Note who's missing: Mitt Romney. The GOP analysts say that's because conservatives are wary of his program to reform healthcare in Massachusetts that some say resembles universal healthcare.

McCain Booed By Americans For Saying Obama Respects the Constitution

Other than that McCain’s Town Halls are a huge Success!! McCain says he will not vote for a Public Option or a Co-Op (the new White House word for Public Option). He also said that if the Dems try to push this through using “Reconciliation”, it will explode the Senate!

Senator Lieberman: Postpone Universal Healthcare

The Irony of Reconciliation

Did you know that there is $1.8 Billion in the Healthcare Bill (HR 3200) for bike paths, playgrounds, etc (pgs 382 to 392). Do we really have that to spend.

There are also provisions for “health cops” in this will… who will check on businesses.

Howard Dean was Booed and Heckled at Moran Town Hall

Posted: Knowledge Creates Power - Cross Posted: Daily Thought Pad