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More Empty Promises and Bad Policy When it Comes to ObamaCare! |
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Despite his noble promises, President Obama has not managed to convince the general public on the strength of his commitment to not add to the federal deficit with the passage of new health care legislation. According to Rasmussen Reports on Monday, forty-four percent of voters fear the health care reform plan supported by the President and Democrats.
The Senate Finance Committee bill or Baucus bill passed with a 14-9 vote today. Democrats hold a 13-10 majority in the committee which led to easy passage of the bill in Committee. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) had announced that she would vote in favor of the bill. Democrats are saying they will try to add a public option provision that was previously defeated in committee. The Baucus bill has been estimated to cost $829 billion over the next decade by the Congressional Budget Office. Both the House and Senate Health Committee versions of health care reform legislation have shown they will add between $239 billion to $600 billion respectively to the deficit over the next decade.
The basic problem with health care reform revolves around trying to fix serious problems with more government regulation and intervention. These three versions of health care reform legislation all increase taxes and the federal deficit which could just make matters worse.
Where does the debate go from here? Democrats can overcome a GOP filibuster if they are able to secure 60 votes. If they are unable to secure 60 votes, Democrats will be able to use special parliamentary rules to pass the legislation by a simple majority.
We will continue to keep you posted on the health care debate as these bills move to the floor of the House and Senate.
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White House v. Fox News |
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Rather than dealing with the important issues currently facing our country, the Obama Administration continues to waste time by playing partisan games.
Anita Dunn, White House Communications Director, recently had this to say about the way the White House views FOX News.
“What I think is fair to say about Fox — and certainly it’s the way we view it — is that it really is more a wing of the Republican Party,” said Anita Dunn, White House communications director, on CNN. “They take their talking points, put them on the air; take their opposition research, put them on the air. And that’s fine. But let’s not pretend they’re a news network the way CNN is.”
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Keep the Heat on Health Care! |
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New health care resource available on NFRW website!
Dr. Benjamin Sasse spoke on the current health care debate at our Convention in Orlando, FL earlier this year. He has created a powerpoint presentation on the nuts and bolts of the current health care debate. This presentation is now available on our website. Click here to view the presentation.
Make YOUR voice heard on health care reform! Every phone call, letter, email, fax, etc. counts! Let us know what you are doing to get the word out with your state or local club. Email your news to [email protected] We look forward to hearing from you!
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On the Hill |
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The Senate Finance Committee passed the Baucus bill with a vote of 14-9 on Tuesday.
The Congressional Budget Office has come out with an estimate of the Baucus bill at $829 billion over the next ten years.
8 Moderate Democratic Senators have joined Senate Republicans in a call for a 72 hour review period before any health care vote.
30 Democratic Senators have sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid demanding a public option provision be included in final versions of health care reform legislation.
No date has been set to begin committee hearings or mark-ups on Sen. Boxer’s (D-CA) climate change legislation.
The Senate will be in session from Tuesday afternoon to midday Thursday.
House Ethics Committee will be expanding their probe into Rep. Charlie Rangel’s (D-NY) August disclosure of an additional $500,000 in assets.
More than 44 House Republicans voted for the Defense Authorization bill that included hate crimes language.
Democrats are working on a new plan to boost unemployment after recent numbers could harm them politically in 2010.
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National Federation of Republican Women
WCRW’s GOP Gubenatorial Candidate Forum this Saturday!
Join the WCRW for our next monthly meeting this Saturday! On October 10th, we are welcoming 5 Gubenatorial Candidates including: Tom Emmer, Pat Anderson, Marty Seifert, David Hann and Paul Kohls. During our candidate forum we will be following a question and answer format. There will be a table set in front for the candidates to sit. Each candidate will have five mintes for introduction. We will follow with 5 or 6 questions from our audience. Each will have about 2 minutes to answer. Due to our limited time, we will have a time-keeper.
Our meeting will begin at 9:00am at the Lake Elmo Inn in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. $15 per person, includes a fabulous breakfast!
You MUST RSVP to the meeting by Thursday at 6:00pm so that we have an accurate breakfast count! You can RSVP to Vice President Heidi Schumacher by e-mailing her at [email protected] or you may call her at (651)303-5913.
WCRW meetings are held on the second Saturday of every month September – June. Our next meeting is scheduled for October 10th, 2009, followed by November 14th, and December 12th.
Tom Emmer
Pat Anderson
Paul Kohls
Marty Seifert
David Hann
Yesterday, I attended the MN GOP State Convention at the St. Paul RiverCentre. During the convention, delegates approved and disapproved several amendments to the state party’s constitution and a straw poll of the 2009 gubenatorial candidates was conducted. In fact, two separate straw polls were taken. The first was to determine the delegates first choice for governor, and then delegates also cast ballots for their second choice for governor. Delegates could not vote for the same person in both polls. The results of the straw poll were as follows:
2009 MN GOP State Convention Straw Poll Results:
First Choice:
1. Rep. Marty Seifert: 37%
2. Rep. Tom Emmer: 23%
3. Former State Auditor Pat Anderson: 14%
4. Sen. David Hann: 12%
5. Rep. Paul Kohls: 5%
In the poll for their second choice, delegates chose Sen. David Hann, followed by Rep. Tom Emmer and Pat Anderson finished third. Each candidate was allowed to address the convention for five minutes before the voting. Keep in mind that off-year straw polls are unreliable for predicting the MN GOP endorsement for governor. Previous straw-poll winners often lose the endorsement. However, it does give some candidates bragging rights and it is predicted that several candidates will drop out in the next few weeks, perhaps because of their poor percentage at the straw poll.
Overall, it was a good convention. It had all the trappings of an election-year event with the walls of the convention hall plastered with the candidates posters and teams of volunteers decked out in brightly colored shirts handing out campaign literature. Governor Tim Pawlenty even address the delegates, though he hasn’t endorsed anyone yet. All thougha little more than half of the eligible delegates showed up, MN GOP Chair Tony Sutton said that the turnout for this off-year convention was on of the largest in 20 years.