Slap on Wrist for Senator Burris

November 20, 2009 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Campaign Finance, Chicago, Congress, Cook County, Crime, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Liberals, President, Senate, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Senate ethics committee has “admonished” Senator Roland Burris for all the lies that he’s handed them in his testimony over his involvement in disgraced and impeached Governor Rod Blagojevich’s pay-to-play scandal in Illinois.

As Blago was making his last pass around the drain over his countless illegal activities as Illinois Governor he appointed Roland Burris to the Senate seat that Obama left behind when he won the 2008 general election for the big seat in Washington.

Burris claimed, of course, that he played no part in the cash for a senate seat scandal. The truth, though, seems to be a bit different than the gauzy world that Burris inhabits.
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The Illinois Primary Ballot Will Look Like This…

November 20, 2009 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Republicans, Senate, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

When you go to the polls February 2, 2010, and request a “Republican” ballot, here’s the ballot order you’ll see — as determined by an Illinois State Board of Elections drawing earlier this week:

For US Senate, the GOP ballot starting at the top:

  • Donald (Don) Lowery
  • Mark Steven Kirk
  • Andy Martin
  • Kathleen Thomas
  • John Arrington
  • Patrick Hughes
  • Robert L. “Bob” Zadek (an objection pending)
  • Thomas (Tom) Kuna (an objection pending)

Next, Illinois Governor:

  • Kirk W. Dillard
  • Bill Brady
  • Robert J. “Bob” Schillerstrom
  • Adam Andrzejewski
  • Dan Proft
  • Jim Ryan
  • Andy McKenna

Then, Illinois Lieutenant Governor:

  • Don Tracy
  • Jason Plummer
  • Randy A. White, Sr.
  • Brad Cole
  • Matt Murphy
  • Dennis W. Cook

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Some Key Points in The Senate Healthcare Bill

November 19, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Budget, Business, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Corruption, Health, Liberals, Senate, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

Smoke and mirrors abound. Reid says we’re “saving” money, that Medicare is “saved” and that taxes aren’t being raised, but the truth argues against Reid’s obfuscations.

Some points according to the CBO and the Senate Republican Policy Committee:

  • Spending: The cost of the bill is $2.5 trillion over 10 years of full implementation (2014-2023).
  • Taxes Increases: Taxes will go up $493.6 billion — nearly half a trillion dollars.
  • Medicare Cuts: Medicare will be cut $464.6 billion — another half a trillion dollars.
  • Government Plan: The bill includes a government run plan and provides states with the possibility of opting out of participating in that plan. According to CBO, the government run plan “would typically have premiums that were somewhat higher than the average premiums for the private plans in the exchanges.”
  • Employer Mandate: The bill will impose $28 billion in new taxes on employers that do not provide government approved health plans.

Additional CBO Background:

  • The bill would bend the federal cost-curve up.
  • 24 million people would be left without insurance.
  • States will have to spend an additional $25 billion in Medicaid expenditures
  • Taxes on uninsured individuals will total $8 billion.
  • Taxes on employers from the “free-rider” penalty would total $28 billion.
  • 5 million Americans would lose their employer coverage.
  • Only 19 million people will get a subsidy to help them buy health insurance. None of the 162 million people with employer-based care will even be eligible for a subsidy.
  • The costs of the subsidies in the exchange would grow at 8 percent a year.
  • The tax on high value plans will quickly be applied to almost all plans. CBO expects the revenues from the Cadillac plan tax to grow at 10-15 percent per year outside the budget window.

(H/T John Goodman)

Harry Reid Wants to Vote on a Phantom Bill (Dem Dirty Tricks Edition)

November 19, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Communism, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Free Trade, Government, Corruption, Health, Liberals, President, Senate, Socialism, Society/Culture, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Either today or later this week, Senate Democrat Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev) wants the Senate to vote on a “motion to proceed” on the Senate’s version of the healthcare bill. That wouldn’t be so bad except for the fact that it has barely been seen by anyone in the Senate. At least not as far as most Senators are concerned. Why is that? Because the bill has not been shown to them with sufficient time to study it, that’s why.

What Reid wants is for the Senate to vote to proceed on a bill that has not been seen, not read, not studied by the very Senators from whom he wants to force a vote. If this bill is so important, why isn’t it imperative that our Senators actually get to see the thing they are expected to vote on?

And that isn’t the worst of the unconscionable dirty tricks that Reid is playing with this “important” legislation. He’s also planning on a bait and switch tactic once he gets his vote to proceed.
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Americans for Tax Reform Illinois: Pelosi’s Heinous Helathcare Bill

November 17, 2009 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Business, Congress, Cook County, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, GOP, Government, Corruption, Health, House of Representatives, Liberals, President, Senate, Socialism, Society/Culture, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

Dear Illinois Patient,

Last weekend, Representatives Bobby Rush (IL District 1); Jesse Jackson (IL District 2); Daniel Lipinski (IL District 3); Luis Gutierrez (IL District 4); Mike Quigley (IL District 5); Danny Davis (IL District 6); Melissa Bean (Il District 8); Janice Schakowsky (IL District 9); Deborah Halvorson (IL District 11); Jerry Costello (IL District 12); Bill Foster (IL District 13); and Phil Hare (IL District 17), voted in favor of HR 3962, Nancy Pelosi’s national health care bill. There are dozens of heinous elements in this bill, but here is a short sample of the contents:
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Kirk Denies He’s Going Right With Palin Request

November 12, 2009 | Filed Under Chicago, Congress, Conservatives, Cook County, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, GOP, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Illinois, Liberals, Senate, Society/Culture, State Government, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Mark Kirk is denying that he’s trying to angle rightward in the run up to the GOP primary next year with his recent reaching out to Governor Sarah Palin to secure her endorsement for his candidacy.

“I think I am who I am. I am a social moderate, fiscal conservative. But this is a big race and we are building a broad coalition and it will be, for a Republican candidacy, a center-right coalition, but for me, I haven’t changed my views.”

This is, of course, rather interesting. Kirk is reaching out to conservatives by courting one of their idols in Sarah Palin, yet is also claiming he hasn’t changed his views. It makes one wonder just why a conservative would want to vote for him if he isn’t even interested in paying lipservice to their causes?

In essence, Kirk is saying vote for me… and I’ll ignore all you stand for. After all Kirk’s record is more often center left than center right.
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Rep. Joe Wilson on Healthcare and Afghanistan

November 9, 2009 | Filed Under Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Capitalism, Congress, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Free Trade, Government, Corruption, Health, House of Representatives, Joe Wilson, Liberals, Senate, Society/Culture, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Does Joe Wilson or any of his colleagues on the Hill care about the Constitution?

I participated in a conference call last Friday with Representative Joe Wilson (R, SC) who wanted to rally the troops against Pelosi’s healthcare bill. He also talked of Afghanistan, as well. But I think he made a revealing comment about the Constitution that distresses me.

Rep. Wilson started off his comments with his condolences to the families of the victims of the criminal actions at Fort Hood which had only recently happened at the time. “As a 21-year veteran of the military myself with three sons in the Army, one in the Navy, and a nephew in the Air Force, I truly do have a deep sympathy for the families at Fort Hood,” Wilson said.

Wilson then went into the issues of the day and said he was pleased to see the “clean sweep” that Republicans in Virginia saw in the governor’s race there.

This has also been an extraordinary week with the elections on Tuesday in the state of my ancestors, Virginia. I’m so grateful for the Commonwealth that there was a clean sweep and as it pointed out to me the Republican clean sweep there was for limited government and extending freedom is in the tradition of Thomas Jefferson.

Wilson also remarked that Jon Corzine, the incumbent Dem. gov. in New Jersey, had some “pretty strong things to say about me” and was happy that he lost his re-election bid.
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Dem. Senate Candidate Uses Palin Against Mark Kirk

November 7, 2009 | Filed Under Campaign Finance, Chicago, Congress, Cook County, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, GOP, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Liberals, Republicans, Sarah Palin, Senate, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Democrat Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias is trying to use Mark Kirk’s approach of Sarah Palin for an endorsement against him. Giannoulias is attempting to use the Kirk/Palin incident as a fund raising tool.

A few days ago, we reported that Mark Kirk sent a letter to Governor Sarah Palin challenging her to support his candidacy for the GOP nomination for Barack Obama’s old Illinois Senate seat. It seems unlikely that Kirk will receive Palin’s endorsement, though. Being far, far too liberal Kirk is hardly Palin’s sort of Republican.

But Giannoulias thinks that even the slightest connection with Palin will drive his fundraising. The Democrat sent the following email to his supporters (bold in the original):
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Chgo Trib’s Bios of Ill. GOP Senate Candidates

November 7, 2009 | Filed Under Chicago, Congress, Conservatives, Cook County, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Senate, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Chicago Tribune has put out a few short bios of the current candidates for Illinois Senate on the GOP side of the aisle. And I do mean short. They are more like just an announcement of the candidate’s campaign than a bio. They contain links to the candidates web resources, though. Nonetheless, here are the links:

John Arrington

Patrick Hughes

Mark Kirk

Tom Kuna

Don Lowery

Andy Martin

Ed Varga

Robert Zadek

Not yet covered is Kathleen Thomas‘ campaign.
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Mark Kirk’s Yo Yo Campaign (Plus Did He Ask for Palin’s Support or Not?)

November 5, 2009 | Filed Under Chicago, Congress, Conservatives, Cook County, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, GOP, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Illinois, Liberals, Republicans, Sarah Palin, Security/Safety, Senate, Society/Culture, State Government, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

**Now with Updates**
-By Warner Todd Huston

Only a few months ago, Representative Mark Kirk voted for Cap and Tax… er, I mean Cap and Trade. Conservatives and Republicans in general lit into Kirk with a vengeance. Then he started running for the Senate and at a subsequent September 5 campaign stop he reversed himself and decided he wouldn’t support Cap and Trade.

Kirk is not a strong pro-life supporter, he is bad on the Second Amendment, Kirk is only middling on free trade, and he has drifted back and forth on sometimes support for Obama’s left-wing, big spending agenda in Washington.. though he is sometimes good on national defense. In all, Kirk is not quite as bad as N.Y. 23’s Dede Scozzafava, but he is no Illinois Dough Hoffman if you want a current analogy.

Now comes a November 4 report by the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza that Kirk sent a memo to Fred Malek attempting to get Governor Sarah Palin’s endorsement for his (Kirk’s) Senate run. Cillizza claims that this Kirk request shows Palin’s power and Kirk’s worries for his campaign.
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Pelosi Health Care Bill Raises Taxes $730 Billion

November 5, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Chicago, Congress, Cook County, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Free Trade, Freedom, GOP, Government, Corruption, Health, House of Representatives, Illinois, Liberals, President, Republicans, Senate, Socialism, Society/Culture, State Government, Supreme Court, Taxes, War on Terror, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

From the Mark Kirk Campaign:

On Thursday, I introduced the Medical Rights and Reform Act (H.R. 3970) – a centrist alternative for health care reform that lowers costs and expands coverage without raising taxes.

When Speaker Pelosi unveiled the final version of her government health care bill (H.R. 3962), she told us it cost less than $900 billion. Hours later, the Congressional Budget Office reported the bill would actually cost $1.05 trillion.

Take a look at the following list of tax increases we found inside Speaker Pelosi’s 1,990-page bill — nearly $730 billion in new taxes on individuals and small businesses.

Top Ten Tax Increases Included In H.R. 3962
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Don’t Copy Europe’s Mistakes: Less Government Is the Right Way to Fix Healthcare

November 3, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Britain, Business, Capitalism, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Europe, Government, Corruption, Health, House of Representatives, Liberals, President, Senate, Society/Culture, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

In this Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation video, Eline van den Broek explains that government interference is driving up healthcare costs in America and warns that European style health “reform” will make the situation even worse. Based on what has happened in Europe, she explains that universal health coverage is not the same as universal healthcare, that insurance mandates mean more government control, and that price controls simply do not work. More Information: www.freedomandprosperity.org

Senate Making Deals With Union Bosses With Healthcare

October 28, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Free Trade, Government, Corruption, Health, Liberals, President, Senate, Society/Culture, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Reports have emerged over the behind-closed-doors deal that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is desperately trying to make with Big Unions in order to get the waters smoothed for his Obamacare policies. These reports show where Reid’s sympathies lie: with union bosses and not with the voters.

The Hill reported that Reid made “several significant concessions” to organized labor to smooth the way for his healthcare policies.

We’ve reported in the past that Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, has been highly skeptical of Obamacare because of the punitive tax placed on so-called Cadillac healthcare plans. Trumka feels that this tax will hit his membership too hard. For several decades unions have often foregone hourly wage hikes in order to take on richer benefits the result is that union members often have more extensive healthcare plans than most American workers.
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Gov. Pawlenty Goes Off on Obamacare

October 28, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Business, Capitalism, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Free Trade, Freedom, GOP, Government, Corruption, Health, Liberals, President, Republicans, Senate, Socialism, Society/Culture, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty delivered a red meat assessment of Obamacare and it appears he doesn’t like it much. Pawlenty slammed Obamacare as a “bait-and-switch” and said the president is “corrosive to freedom and liberty.”

In a NewsMax interview, Pawlenty really went after Obama serving a hearty dish of red meat to conservative voters across the country. Gov. Pawlenty is widely considered a prime candidate for president in 2012.

Pawlenty calls President Obama a “movement liberal” and says he’s “projecting potential weakness” to the world with his foreign policies.

“His solutions are federalization of policy, spending way beyond anything we’ve seen in terms of deficit or debt levels, spending the country into bankruptcy,” Pawlenty says. “And what’s behind it is a philosophy that government knows best, a nanny-state mentality on domestic issues that will ultimately be corrosive to the other pillars of our country — to markets, private enterprise, individual responsibility, freedom and liberty.”

As to Obamacare, Pawlenty calls it a bait-and-switch.
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Democrats Healthcare Behind Closed Doors

October 23, 2009 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Business, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, Government, Corruption, Health, House of Representatives, Liberals, Nancy Pelosi, President, Republicans, Senate, Society/Culture, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | 4 Comments

What are the Democrats trying to hide and why is President Obama letting his claim to want transparency to go ignored?

Democrats Still Against Transparency in Congress

October 21, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, GOP, Government, Corruption, Health, House of Representatives, Liberals, President, Republicans, Senate, Socialism, Society/Culture, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

According to McClatchy news, in the Democrat’s 2006 campaign book, in the “integrity” section, the Democratic leadership vowed that legislation would be posted online for 24 hours before consideration of the final versions of any bill. That promise coupled with their president’s claims that he’d post all bills online for five whole days — that’s 120 hours in case anyone’s counting — not to mention his now hoary claim that he’d put all debates on C-Span so that we the people could keep tabs on what Congress is doing makes for a facade of a deep interest in government transparency. And facade it has turned out to be for all these promises have been completely forgotten now that Democrats have taken up the reins of power.

Obviously the campaign was “then” and having power is “now.” In the minds of Democrats, the two bear no relationship one to the other showing that campaign promises are so much wind and bombast never meant to be taken seriously. In other words, lies.

In keeping with the light speed at which Democrats are running away from transparency, we find few Congressional Dems supporting the Baird/Walden discharge petition. (I covered this issue last month, and earlier this month) This measure would institute a House rules change and require bills to be posted online for 72 hours before a floor vote.
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Obamacare Lacks ‘Protection Against Treatment Denials’

October 20, 2009 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Business, Capitalism, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Freedom, Government, Corruption, Health, Liberals, Nancy Pelosi, President, Senate, Socialism, Society/Culture, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

The L.A. Times published a story that was probably meant solely as a bash on insurance companies, but still the report brings up several issues that Obamacare will only make worse if passed. The problem raised in the headline, “Healthcare bills lack protections against treatment denials, experts say,” isn’t the only problem the story touches upon — not that the L.A. Times dwells on them.

The headline problem is important, of course though the Times tries to phrase the problem as an evil failing of insurance companies. The fact is it is really but a common-sense inevitability. The Times reports that Obamacare will force an increase in denials of services to patients because of cost overruns.
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Obama’s Newest Racemongering Judge: California’s Edward Chen

October 16, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, California, Democrats/Leftists, Government, Corruption, Judges, Liberals, President, Race, Senate, Society/Culture, State Government, Supreme Court, The Law, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

President Obama has gone out of his way to “diversify” the federal bench with his spate of nominations of various minorities chief of which was his successful seating of the “wise Latina,’ Sonia Sotomayor, on the Supreme Court. Obama’s nominees* for 10 district court openings include four African-Americans, three Asian-Americans, one Latino and four women. One of those nominees, San Francisco U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward Chen, received a favorable vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington today.

So what sort of judge is Edward Chen? Well, for one, the left-wing American Bar Association rated Chen a “well qualified” nominee and many of his associates at the ACLU speak highly of him. As an ACLU lawyer, Chen was known for opposing English-only policies and for pushing discriminatory affirmative action ideals. He even came to the aid of gang members in one case. Chen was quite the ACLU activist between 1979 and 2001.

His ACLU history would suffice to make many wary of him, of course. But for a segment of America, working for the ACLU is not a disqualifier. So in order to judge Edward Chen one must look at his past. Discovering what Judge Chen thinks of the country upon which he apparently assumes to sit in judgment is a telling exercise. Sadly, it seems he has quite a low opinion of the nation that he will be serving.
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Breaking: Ill. Legislature to Consider Allowing GOP Voters to Pick Party Leaders

October 15, 2009 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Elections, GOP, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Illinois, Republicans, Senate, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

As the law stands right now, Republican voters in Illinois cannot choose their own party leaders. Party leaders now are chosen by Republican committeemen, not the voters. But there has been a bill in the State Senate that has for years been trying to change that. Now it seems that SB600 is a bit closer to finally being allowed a floor debate.

SB600 is on the docket for a third reading and debate tomorrow, October 16. Usually after a third reading a vote is called. This is the furthest the bill has gotten to passage in its years-long journey.

To be sure, it isn’t thanks to the efforts of the Republican leadership. They’ve fought tooth-and-nail to kill this bill and stop the voters from being able to affect their places of privilege. That the voters could place them in their positions of power is anathema to the state party leadership. They have wanted to avoid the voters at all costs.
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Rumors of Sneaking Senate’s Healthcare into Another Bill

October 13, 2009 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Censorship, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Free Trade, Freedom, Government, Corruption, Health, Liberals, President, Senate, Society/Culture, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Colin Hanna of Let Freedom Ring joined Neil Cavuto on his Fox News show earlier this week to talk of his new effort, wethepeoplecanread.com. This effort is echoing that being made by Representatives like Joe Wilson and his comrades in trying to get a 72 hour period where the healthcare bill will be posted online for everyone to read before Congress gets to vote on it.

Hanna told Cavuto that there is news that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid intends to sneak the Senate’s healthcare proposals in as an amendment to an unrelated House tax bill so that it will bypass the debating process.

Reports are that Reid plans to attach the Senate’s entire healthcare bill as an amendment to H.R. 1586, a bill passed by the House back in March that imposes a 90 percent tax on bonuses paid to employees of certain bailed-out financial institutions.
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Help the Soldiers!



"Governments are instituted among men,deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776




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