November 5, 2009
Nov 05 01:46 St. Cloud Gubernatorial Forum Notes Nov 05 07:56 Michele Bachmann Convenes Angry Mob On Capitol Hill Nov 05 09:22 It's Deeper Than That Nov 05 11:03 Where Idiots Willingly Tread Nov 05 13:38 Exposing Pelosi's Lies Nov 05 23:08 Bachmann Leads Capitol Hill Rally
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct
St. Cloud Gubernatorial Forum Notes
Wednesday night's gubernatorial debate in the St. Cloud City Council room offered a stark contrast between the DFL and the GOP candidates. DFL candidates attending were Susan Gaertner, who arrived late, John Marty and Steve Kelley. GOP candidates Bill Jungbauer, Tom Emmer, Pat Anderson and Leslie Davis also attended. Frank Harold of SCSU moderated the event. John Bodette, executive editor of the St. Cloud Times, and Jim Maurice, the news director for WJON radio asked questions of the candidates, including 2 questions from the audience.
Q1: (asked by John Bodette) Education funding
MARTY: said we need more funding for education. Supports new Minnesota Miracle.
JUNGBAUER: We've gotten away from the Constitution on this. He then talks about the tax system and how we tax productivity, not consumption. ???
EMMER: Government's job is to ensure that parents can educate their children as they see fit. "Don't play politics with kids...A child in battle Lake is worth $5K annual but a kid in the Twin Cities is worth $10,000+"
KELLEY: Advocate for big federal role in education.
ANDERSON: Remove mandates, support competition, eliminate NCLB. We're lacking local control, too.
GAERTNER: Education funding under stress. Need to make enhanced funding investments.
Q2: Balancing the budget
JUNGBAUER: We've got 1,344 taxing authorities. We need to tax consumption, not productivity.
Gaertner: We need someone who has the courage to do something more than pay bills. Eliminate mandates to cities.
OBSERVATION: Why nothing from these two about setting spending priorities?
EMMER: We don't need more taxes. Let's reform workers comp and tort reform. We don't need a Dept. of Health AND a Dept. of Human Services. Colorado and Minnesota similar size and population, yet Colorado spends a third less than we do. Why?
Kelley: I wonder which nursing homes Tom would cut. (The media table wasn't impressed with that answer.) More taxes needed. It's Pawlenty's fault. According to Kelley, no new taxes just meant that cities paid more in taxes. No mention of why cities didn't prioritize spending instead of raising taxes but that's because he's DFL.
ANDERSON: I actually agree that we aren't funding our commitments. Anderson then follows up saying that we've made too many commitments.
Q3: Transportation
Kelley: whines about how we "paid for a full railroad but only got half a railroad", then blames Pawlenty for not being a better negotiator. He's developing a whiney everything-that's-wrong-is-Pawlenty's-fault approach. This can't be appealing to voters. He also says that railroads are good investments because "Warren Buffett just invested in them." (Might that be because he'll get gov't. subsidies to operate?)
ANDERSON: We must do a better job of setting priorities because wish list is too big.
Marty: talked about bridge collapsing, doesn't mention that the problem was engineering, not funding.
Q4 was Vikings stadium. No support for public funding from anyone.
Q5: First issue you'll tackle upon taking office?
EMMER: Reducing gov't. Reform taxes so Minnesota isn't 50th in state-to-state migration. Businesses leaving because of taxes. South Dakota 2nd in state-to-state migration, North Dakota high, too, both because of cheaper taxes.
PERSONAL NOTE: 13 of NoDak's 15 biggest employers are medical industry-related.
Kelley: Increase taxes and spending. State "needs to get better at funding education."
ANDERSON: Shrink budget, reduce gov't. control of our lives. A robust private sector needed to pay for public sector.
Marty: Cradle-to-grave health care would be first priority. I'm shocked, shocked, I tell you!!!
Q6: Health Care-If universal care passes, should we cut MinnesotaCare?
Kelley: isn't sure what will pass
ANDERSON: I'll be out leading the rebellion if it passes. Says that Democrats' health care reforms would cause rebellions. We've driven competition with 26 health care mandates.
Marty: Health care is a right. Police and firefighters don't ask whether you've got a pre-existing condition. MOST INCOHERENT ANSWER OF THE NIGHT and that's saying something.
Gaertner: I'm "not confident we'll get universal coverage." Let's emphasize wellness programs.
EMMER: We can't solve failed gov't. programs by adding more gov't. programs. Let's let citizens make more decisions.
Overall, I thought Tom Emmer and Pat Anderson had strong nights. Kelley, Marty and Gaertner clearly aren't top tier candidates.
Finally, check out the St. Cloud Times' twitter stream . Dave Aikens did a great job under difficult circumstances. (computer crash)
Posted Thursday, November 5, 2009 1:46 AM
Comment 1 by eric z. at 05-Nov-09 06:11 AM
1. It IS all Pawlenty's fault.
2. It's "Mike" Jungbauer. Not "Bill."
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 05-Nov-09 07:04 AM
2. I'm just going by how he was introduced.
1. People have a local choice. If they choose to keep spending unjustifiable amounts of money & if they choose to set the wrong priorities, why is that Pawlenty's fault? Isn't it the local officials' fault that they set worthless spending priorities?
Comment 2 by eric z. at 05-Nov-09 06:12 AM
3. Emmer sounds to liberal to me. He must be a RINO.
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 05-Nov-09 07:01 AM
Tom & Pat Anderson are the epitome of conservatism. Tom's argument last night against having both a Dept. of Health & a Dept. of Human Services was coherent. Combining those departments would cut down alot of overhead & save Minnesota's taxpayers a bunch of money.
His point that overtaxation & overregulation are driving businesses to NoDak hit the DFL right betwixt the eyes. Fargo is a boomtown & people are leaving Minnesota's suburbs. What's wrong with that picture?
My benchmark isn't whether someone's paying their "fair share"; it's whether they're being taxed enough to generate revenues while still helping people achieve prosperity.
Michele Bachmann Convenes Angry Mob On Capitol Hill
Michele Bachmann spake and TEA Party activists, townhall protesters and people frightened at the prospect of losing control of the best health care system in the world are running, flying and driving to Capitol Hill to pay a House Call to Speaker Pelosi and the other wayward souls who want to control the health care system:
In a statement released Sunday, Bachmann, R-St. Cloud, urges Americans to join her and a handful of House Republicans at a news conference Thursday on the steps of the Capitol. The event is being billed as the "House call on Washington," led by Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., a physician and chairman of the Republican Study Committee. It has drawn the support of leading conservative groups.Yesterday, I heard a rumor that Speaker Pelosi was thinking about using Capitol Police to limit citizens' access to Capitol Hill and to prevent them from 'lobbying' their House members. If Speaker Pelosi is that stupid, then she'd best be prepared to pay the price for such dictatorial behavior.
Bachmann sees it as a chance to bring to the nation's capital the outrage that characterized many of the town hall meetings that members of Congress hosted in their districts during the summer recess. "The American people spoke loud and clear at town hall meetings all across the country throughout August," Bachmann said. "But it would appear that Congress didn't hear a word they had to say. The Democrats' latest health care proposal...may be packaged a little differently, but it's the same old bad bill as before."
She wants to insulate Democratic legislators from their own constituents as much as possible. Whether she takes it to that extreme is the unanswered question. A sane person wouldn't consider this tactic but Speaker Pelosi has enough tyrant blood running through her to consider pulling such a stunt.
As for the bill itself, Rep. Bachmann is exactly right in saying that Speaker Pelosi discounted the things that We The People told our elected officials during August and at the TEA Parties. This legislation, H.R. 3962, is as expensive, adds more money to the deficits and raises taxes just as much, if not moreso, than H.R. 3200 did.
In Speaker Pelosi's paranoid world, August didn't happen and the TEA Parties were just Astroturfing sponsored by K Street lobbyists.
SPEAKER PELOSI, NO MORE!!!
NO MORE!!! will We The People let you ignore our genuine worries.
NO MORE!!! will We The People go away just because you don't like hearing what real people have to say.
NO MORE!!! will We The People just sit back and let Washington tell us what to do.
We demand that the followers that call themselves leaders listen to us.
We demand that out-of-touch career politicians like Speaker Pelosi work for us, not vice versa.
It's bad enough that Speaker Pelosi wants to pass this ideological legislation. It's worse that she wants to ignore We The People. What's worst, though, is her thinking that she's an autocrat.
NO MORE!!! Speaker Pelosi!!!
Thankfully, there are responsive politicians like Michele and Tom Price and Mike Pence who will stand up against tyrants like Speaker Pelosi. Thankfully freedom-loving journalists like Mark Levin will be there to chronicle the event. Thankfully, people like Rush will be talking about the goings-on during his radio program.
Most importantly, thankfully We The People have said NO MORE!!! to career politicians' ideological excesses. It's OUR nation, not the career politicians' nation.
Posted Thursday, November 5, 2009 8:01 AM
No comments.
It's Deeper Than That
If there's a theme in Daniel Henninger's WSJ article , it's that voters' anxieties run deeper than just picking a good candidate to vote for:
The GOP is now spinning the results in Virginia and New Jersey as proof that voters are fed up with the liberal ideologues in the White House and Congress. Yes, but it's deeper than that.Daniel Henninger is exactly right. The number of independents continues to grow while out-of-touch career politicians think of their next too-clever-by-half gambit. NO MORE!!!
What was learned Tuesday is that the American voter is absolutely, totally, unremittingly disgusted with both political parties. More than anything, the American voter is desperate for political leadership.
We The People demand that politicians actually solve problems. We The People demand that politicians stop attempting to paper one bad policy with a different bad policy. We The People demand that legislation is thoroughly thought threw, that legislation is a solution, not just the creation of the next problem.
By default, that eliminates the Democratic Party as a viable force in the future. Their legislation this session doens't solve the problems that Main Street America is facing. Their legislation is totally ideological.
For example, ARRA was nothing more than the Democrats paying off their political allies. It didn't fix the economy because that wasn't its intent or focus. Pelosi's and Obama's political allies got a payoff for their loyalty, We The People got the bill for that payoff.
Democrats better start flying straight because if they don't, they'll quickly become yesterday's news. The Democrats won't be in power long if they continue ignoring the DEMANDMENTS of We The People. But it's deeper than that:
The signal event of the 2008 presidential election was the day in September when Sen. John McCain "suspended" his campaign to deal with the financial crisis. Within 48 hours, his candidacy stood naked. Mr. McCain's instincts were right; The American people wanted leadership. But he didn't have a clue how to provide it. The restless herd ran toward Barack Obama.In August, Democrats criticized people turning out at the townhalls. They tried selling to the media the notion that these were just angry people or pawns of the insurance industry's lobbyists. What got caught on tape, though, were citizens correcting their representative or senator on the contents of the health care bills.
Now they're ready to run toward someone else. They just did in New Jersey and Virginia.
Looking back, that was when independents solidified their anti-Democrat standpoint. That's when independents noticed that the emporor's wardrobe didn't exist. They noticed that Democrats had insults for citizens but that they didn't have solutions for our problems.
This past Tuesday, independent voters conducted a mass exodus the likes of which hasn't been seen since Moses' time.
There are still Republicans who don't get it, too, but the House GOP leadership is listening to their constituents. Their legislation actually provides solutions to today's biggest problems. Proof of that comes in the form of the House GOP's health care reform legislation :
The Congressional Budget Office Wednesday night released its cost analysis of the Republican health care plan and found that it would reduce health care premiums and cut the deficit by $68 billion over ten years.If the media gives the House GOP's plan serious consideration on its front pages, Pelosicare is finished. People will rally to the GOP's option in numbers as big as Tuesday's exodus. Here's why:
The Republican plan does not call for a government insurance plan but rather attempts to reform the system by creating high-risk insurance pools, allowing people to purchase health insurance policies across state lines and instituting medical malpractice reforms.
"Not only does the GOP plan lower health care costs, but it also increases access to quality care, including for those with pre-existing conditions, at a price our country can afford," House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said.
According to CBO, the GOP bill would indeed lower costs , particularly for small businesses that have trouble finding affordable health care policies for their employees. The report found rates would drop by seven to 10 percent for this group, and by five to eight percent for the individual market , where it can also be difficult to find affordable policies.There are critics who've started criticizing the plan:
The GOP plan would have the smallest economic impact on the large group market that serves people working for large businesses that have access to the cheapest coverage. Those premiums would decline by zero to 3 percent, the CBO said.
The analysis shows the Republican plan would do little to expand coverage, which Democrats were quick to point out in a late night missive to reporters. "Here's the Bottom line: Americans lose and Insurance companies win under the Republican plan," Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami said.Mr. Elshami's statement shows Speaker Pelosi's contempt for capitalism, a sentiment that the American people don't share. The vast, vast majority of people don't have a problem with companies making profits, especially if they're selling a product that citizens put a high value on.
Let's conduct a little test. How many people would side with this statement:
Insurance companies make too much money.
How many people would agree with this statement:
I don't have a problem with insurance companies making a profit. They're providing a valuable, important product.I'm betting that they'll agree with the second statement more than they'll agree with the first statement.
Unless Democrats start realizing that John Q. Public doesn't hate capitalism, they'll be in for trouble the next few election cycles. Similarly, if people notice that the House GOP has put together health care legislation that reduces costs and lowers premiums while reducing the debt, I'm betting that alot of today's independents turn into 2010's conservatives and 2012's Republican activists.
That's leadership that America craves. That's leadership Americans will flock to.
Posted Thursday, November 5, 2009 9:31 AM
Comment 1 by Michael at 05-Nov-09 09:56 AM
Pelosi is such a hypocrite. She attacks a health care bill that might actually help the situation by claiming that it only helps the insurance companies, but she supports the death tax - a tax that profits exactly one group in society: the insurance companies. Guess that tax has the right ideological spin for her.
For more info on the estate tax please visit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GLfcT5-a4E
Where Idiots Willingly Tread
Speaker Pelosi walked Blue Dogs off a cliff with the Cap and Tax bill earlier. It was a tough vote for many of them. Then Harry Reid said that Cap and Tax wasn't a priority and that they likely wouldn't debate it until 2010. now she's trying to ram another job-killing bill down our throats. She's even ignoring the message voters sent Tuesday night.
Karl Rove's WSJ article is just the latest to predict gloom for Democrats if they support this bill:
Looking ahead, the bad news for Democrats is that the legislation that helped lead to the collapse of support for their party on Tuesday could yet inflict more pain on those foolish enough to support it. The health-care bill House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to vote on this week could sink an entire fleet of Democratic boats in 2010.Two Clint Eastwood lines from the Dirty Harry movies leap to mind for some reason. The line that most applies to Blue Dogs thinking about voting for Pelosicare is actually this question: Well, punk, are you feeling lucky? Here's the Eastwood line that applies to Pelosi: A man's got to know his limitations.
For starters, the bill is a lot more expensive than advertised. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) pegs its cost at $1.055 trillion over 10 years, not the $894 billion Mrs. Pelosi claims. Politico reports that "the legislation is projected to create deficits over the second five years" by front-loading revenue and benefit cuts and back-loading costs. The real cost, according to a Republican House Budget Committee report, could be $2.4 trillion for its first decade of operation.
Speaker Pelosi claims that she won Tuesday night because Democrats picked up 2 votes in Tuesday's elections. Technically, she's right. Democrats did gain 2 votes. I'm betting, though, that Blue Dogs noticed the sea change amongst independents. I'm betting that they noticed the difference in intensity of people voting for GOP candidates. Politicians aren't listening to these voters, which is pissing the voters off something fierce. The Democrats will be making a mistake if they think that this intensity is disappearing sometime soon. IT ISN'T GOING ANYWHERE ANYTIME SOON!!!
These voters are mad as hell and they aren't putting up with Washington's games anymore. NO MORE is these voters' rallying cry. King touched on it in his speech at the St. Cloud 9/12 TEA Party when he talked about William Graham Sumner's Forgotten Man:
Today is a reminder to those we send to St. Paul and City Hall, and to those in Congress and the White House, that we feel forgotten.Forgotten no more. Since that day, We The People have pledged each other that we won't be forgotten or ignored anymore. We've realized that They Work For Us. Most importantly, we know that WE OUTNUMBER THEM, which is why we're sitting in the power seat.
"Forgotten?" you ask.
The economist William Graham Sumner wrote a century ago about the way in which we are forgotten by those who would help others in the name of humanitarianism but not with their own money.
A and B put their heads together to decide what C shall be made to do for D. The radical vice of all these schemes,is that C is not allowed a voice in the matter, and his position, character, and interests, as well as the ultimate effects on society through C's interests, are entirely overlooked. I call C the Forgotten Man.
Look around you and say hi to Mr. C and Mrs. C.
If Speaker Pelosi wants to vote on this abomination, then she'll be staring at a political disaster within a year.
Mrs. Pelosi's bill will drive up premiums. A family of four with an income of $78,000 would pay $13,800 for insurance a year by 2016, according to CBO. Their tab would average $11,000 without the bill.ONLY IN WASHINGTON could Pelosicare be considered reform. It's Reform In Name Only!!!
If people support Pelosicare, then they're idiots. The good news is that they'll soon be unemployed if they vote for Pelosicare.
Technmorati: Karl Rove , Suburban Voters , Independents , We The People , Clint Eastwood , William Graham Sumner , Forgotten Man , Republicans , Speaker Pelosi , Pelosicare , Harry Reid , President Obama , Blue Dogs , Democrats
Cross-posted at California Conservative
Posted Thursday, November 5, 2009 11:09 AM
Comment 1 by J. Ewing at 05-Nov-09 08:05 PM
It's not much consolation to imagine these Democrats wiped out in the 2010 elections. We need to be concerned about how much damage they can do before then, and how to minimize it.
Comment 2 by eric z. at 06-Nov-09 07:56 AM
Your headline, and citing Karl Rove is an interesting juxtaposition.
Exposing Pelosi's Lies
Speaker Pelosi and her top lieutenants have told everyone that would listen that the Pelosicare bill didn't fund abortions. Thanks to Leader Boehner's statement today, we know that that's a bald-faced lie:
Health care reform should not be used as an opportunity to use federal funds to pay for elective abortions. Health reform should be an opportunity to protect human life - not end it.WOW!!! That's truly arrogant:
Unfortunately, Speaker Pelosi's 2,032-page government takeover of health care does just that. On line 17, p. 110, section 222 under "Abortions for which Public Funding is Allowed" the Health and Human Services Secretary is given the authority to determine when abortion is allowed under the government-run plan. The Speaker's plan also requires that at least one insurance plan offered in the Exchange covers abortions.
What is even more alarming is that a monthly abortion premium will be charged of all enrollees in the government-run plan. It's right there on line 16, page 96, section 213 , under "Insurance Rating Rules." The premium will be paid into a U.S. Treasury account, and these federal funds will be used to pay for the abortion services.
Section 213 describes the process in which the Health Benefits Commissioner is to assess the monthly premiums that will be used to pay for elective abortions under the government-run plan. The Commissioner must charge at a minimum $1 per enrollee per month.
A majority of Americans believe that health care plans should not be mandated to provide elective abortion coverage, and a majority of Americans do not believe government health care plans should include abortion coverage. Currently, federal appropriations bills include language known as the Hyde Amendment that prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for elective abortions under the Medicare and Medicaid programs, while another provision, known as the Smith Amendment, prohibits federal funding of abortion under the federal employees' health benefits plan.
Speaker Pelosi's 2,032-page health care monstrosity is an affront to the American people and drastically moves away from current policy. The American people deserve more from their government than being forced to pay for abortion.
House Republicans are offering a common-sense, responsible solution that would reduce health care costs and expand access while protecting the dignity of all human life. The Republican plan, available at HealthCare.GOP.gov , would codify the Hyde Amendment and prohibit all authorized and appropriated federal funds from being used to pay for abortion. And under the Republican plan, any health plan that includes abortion coverage may not receive federal funds.
A monthly abortion premium will be charged of all enrollees in the government-run plan. It's right there on line 16, page 96, section 213, under "Insurance Rating Rules." The premium will be paid into a U.S. Treasury account, and these federal funds will be used to pay for the abortion services.Speaker Pelosi obviously isn't afraid to say whatever the public wants to hear. Still, the truth is the truth. It's stupid to say something that's invalidated by simply looking at the legislation. This is a classic case of DC-itis, which is characterized by elitist politicians telling their constituents lies if that's what's needed to pass a bill and stay popular.
That worked five years ago but it doesn't work worth crap in a YouTube, everything's-online, TEA Party world. That crap gets shot down in a New York minute, if not leses.
Posted Thursday, November 5, 2009 1:46 PM
Comment 1 by eric z. at 06-Nov-09 07:52 AM
Sure. Abortion zealots like AARP are on board.
If you want to criticize it make your criticism on something legitimate, not a divisive tirade about little unborn babies stuff.
Get real, or get marginalized.
It is a problematic thing, with mandates - get insured or get fined just under a grand.
If that's a breach of freedom to contract to you, Gary, say so.
But don't get into too many blind dead ends. It is counterproductive to what you on your end of things want, and me on the opposite end, either a good bill for the people and not the special interests who have had it too good too long, or no bill at all.
That's Ellison's stated position.
Go after what's oppressive in the bill, Gary, instead of chasing ghosts from the past of the Bushco-Rove coalition forming. Remember that only worked when there were NOT a bunch of GOP crazies going around RINO hunting.
Pelosi, she has a coalition where the Blue Dogs can vote against and there still will be the votes. So, she offers a Blue Dog bill that the Blue Dogs can avoid to keep their precious seats secure.
And the GOP seems to be in hiding, no counterdraft to offer, yet, or has one been put on the table.
I think their strategy is sound. They got no votes to speak of, so they oppose, then when the tepid false-reform piece of work gets into law, and it's inadequate as it will be, they can stand on as tall a soapbox as they can find and shout as loudly as they've lung capacity, "I told you so."
Not a bad strategy while the insurance industry is getting something they must be quite happpy with, and are not themselves shouting that loudly at all. Sure there was the August false townhall displays, but bully boy tactics are easy and easily dismissed for what they were.
But the backroom smirks, and the public squealing, then, "I told you so," it might gain a few seats in each house. Then again, it might not.
It will be interesting to see a year of so from now how the ballot boxes [if not rigged as in the past] reflect things.
But who knows what hot-button issues each side will be pushing then? It could be healthcare goes back-burner while jobs and foreclosures take attention.
Bachmann Leads Capitol Hill Rally
This afternoon Eastern time, my representative Michele Bachmann led a Freedom Rally on the Capitol Hill Steps . Joining with her were several thousand of her best, freedom-loving friends:
Rep. Michele Bachmann says her "Super Bowl of Freedom" at the U.S. Capitol today can torpedo Democratic health care overhaul plans by enlisting "the voices of freedom." At noon eastern time today, the lawn near the Capitol's West Front was crowded with thousands of protesters who chanted "kill the bill."Joining here were many of her House colleagues, including Marsha Blackburn and Tom Price. One Senate Republican, Sen. Sam Brownback, even attended the event. Joining with Capitol Hill Republicans were conservative heavyweights Mark Levin, John Voight and John Ratzenberger. Levin especially stirred up the crowd with this stemwinder of a speech:
"Are they going to listen?" Bachmann asked the throng of cheering protesters, referring to House Democrats. "Oh, yeah, they're going to listen." Bachmann stood at a podium that promoted the House GOP health care plan, declaring "Health Care Freedom."
Unsurprisingly, the White House Propaganda Minister weighed in with this statement:
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs also dismissed the rally during his daily briefing.I've listened to some of Gibbs's BS before but that's the most insulting crap I've heard coming from him yet. First, it's BS to say that "it's a series of old ideas" that won't solve any health care problems. Lifting the ban on letting insurance companies sell policies across state lines isn't old. In fact, that provision isn't found in the Democrats' legislation. Just by that alone, Gibbs's statement is pure BS. Secondly, just because the legislation isn't 1,990 pages long and just because it doesn't contain a gazillion government-imposed mandates on insurers, individuals and hospitals doesn't mean it isn't legislation. In fact, I'd argue that it's better legislation because it's concisely written, because it doesn't try to do too much and, finally, because because the end results are significantly better than "Pelosi's Abomination."
"I think anybody that watches is struck by the fact that there's a rally going on without a solution on their side," Gibbs told reporters. "They've rolled out a piece of legislation, and I use those, I hesitate to even say that, it's a series of old ideas" that wouldn't solve the nation's health care woes.
The DNC's spokesman, Hari Sevugan, also took a cheapshot at Michele:
The Democratic National Committee was quick to mock Bachmann. "If the Republican party wants to make Michele Bachmann the voice of the party, that's more than fine with us," said spokesman Hari Sevugan, accusing her of an "extreme right-wing, rigid ideological agenda."Hari shouldn't be talking about rigid ideologues if Ms. Pelosi's involved in the conversation. That description fits Ms. Pelosi to a T. As for Michele's agenda, let's have that fight. In the words of the late great Marvin Gaye, "Let's get it on." I haven't been involved in this easy of a fight in ages. If Hari and the DC Democrats want a fight on which party is about maintaining freedom and putting in place prosperity-creating policies, then please, drag me through that briar patch. Drag me through that briar patch because I'll bet that that's the type of agenda that the vast majority of Americans crave.
The Democrats better be careful what they wish for. Yes, Michele's said things that she would've been best off not saying. If they're thinking they can just reference that once and the fight's over, those Democrats are idiots. Michele's freedom and prosperity agenda plays pretty well in Peoria. And Wilkes-Barre. And Springfield, MO. And Colorado Springs. In Georgia and North Carolina, too.
Mcihele is a charismatic, appealing figure. She was the perfect person to instigate this type of a rally. Most importantly, she's got a hunger for liberty that's second to none.
Posted Thursday, November 5, 2009 11:13 PM
Comment 1 by Mickey at 06-Nov-09 07:04 AM
Marsha Blackburn Voted FOR:
Omnibus Appropriations, Special Education, Global AIDS Initiative, Job Training, Unemployment Benefits, Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations, Agriculture Appropriations, U.S.-Singapore Trade, U.S.-Chile Trade, Supplemental Spending for Iraq & Afghanistan, Prescription Drug Benefit, Child Nutrition Programs, Surface Transportation, Job Training and Worker Services, Agriculture Appropriations, Foreign Aid, Vocational/Technical Training, Supplemental Appropriations, UN "Reforms." Patriot Act Reauthorization, CAFTA, Katrina Hurricane-relief Appropriations, Head Start Funding, Line-item Rescission, Oman Trade Agreement, Military Tribunals, Electronic Surveillance, Head Start Funding, COPS Funding, Funding the REAL ID Act (National ID), Foreign Intelligence Surveillance, Thought Crimes "Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act, Peru Free Trade Agreement, Economic Stimulus, Farm Bill (Veto Override), Warrantless Searches, Employee Verification Program, Body Imaging Screening.
Marsha Blackburn Voted AGAINST:
Ban on UN Contributions, eliminate Millennium Challenge Account, WTO Withdrawal, UN Dues Decrease, Defunding the NAIS, Iran Military Operations defunding Iraq Troop Withdrawal, congress authorization of Iran Military Operations.
Marsha Blackburn is my Congressman.
See her unconstitutional votes at :
http://tinyurl.com/qhayna
Mickey
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 06-Nov-09 07:06 AM
Has her voting record improved recently?
Comment 2 by eric z. at 06-Nov-09 07:39 AM
Gary, didn't you find the Strib's subheadline interesting, "Thousands of protesters gathered at the U.S. Capitol and chanted 'Kill the bill.'"
It did not say "tens of thousands" did it?
It did not say "hundreds of thousands." Iranian protest rallies get better turnout and the cops allegedly are more savage there.
I am afraid that Michele's got trashy, tasteless, cheap tea only, in her teabag. Low grade tea, no question.
Do you have any link to pics of the crowd.
It looks more like "I gave a protest and nobody came."
Yet, there is this in Strib's report, "U.S. Capitol Police reported 12 arrests outside the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on charges ranging from unlawful entry to disorderly conduct."
Some followed Bachmann's disorderly exhortations to engage in disorderly conduct, and I truly doubt you will see Michele Bachmann there, making bail.
Trashy rabble, rousing. Nothing else. Nothing but.
Comment 3 by Gary Gross at 06-Nov-09 04:38 PM
"U.S. Capitol Police reported 12 arrests outside the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on charges ranging from unlawful entry to disorderly conduct."There were rumors last night that Pelosi was going to use the Capitol Police to prevent American citizens from talking with their representatives. It's amazing that the Strib admits that Ms. Pelosi followed her dictatorial habits.
UTTERLY SHAMEFUL!!! UTTERLY SHAMEFUL!!!
