Capitol Notebook's blog

Interesting tid-bits in the wake of Tuesday's election...

Election already having consequences for Obamacare?

Maybe.  The Hill reports that Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) on Wednesday indicated that he was opposed to the House version of Obamacare: "I oppose the creation of a new government-run public option and continue to have serious concerns about its unintended consequences for Missourians who have private insurance plans they like. I remain concerned about the bill's impact on rural hospitals and doctors."   The dominoes may be starting to fall.

Super stimulus...saves more jobs than actually exist!

Beware all ye who doubt the power of the super stimulus.  The Associated Press documents the proof. 

President Barack Obama's economic recovery program saved 935 jobs at the Southwest Georgia Community Action Council, an impressive success story for the stimulus plan. Trouble is, only 508 people work there.  read more »

As hard as it is to believe, a video of the American flag being desecrated is a finalist in a video contest being held by President Obama's campaign organization (Organizing for America at www.barackobama.com).  By the way, this is the same site that previously compared conservatives to "domestic terrorists". 

From the Politico:

One of the 20 finalists in health care video contest run by Barack Obama's campaign arm features a mural of an America flag splattered with health care graffiti until it's covered completely by black paint.

In the video - which is accompanied by the sound of a heart monitor pumping and then flat-lining - words such as "pre-existing conditions," "homeless" and "death panel" ultimately obliterate the flag, which reappears on screen seconds later with the words "Health Will Bring Our Country Back to Life" on the blue field where the 50 stars usually are.

According to the Organizing for American Web site, the 20 finalists in the "Health Reform Video Challenge" were chosen by a panel of "qualified" Democratic National Committee "employee judges."  read more »

Our neighbors to the north have given us another excellent foreshadowing of what the near future of political correctness run amuck holds for us.

It seems that a pro-life student, wishing to engage in a SILENT protest against abortion was put in isolation and segregated from the rest of the student body.  The student, Jennifer Rankin, was joining in the pro-life "Silent Day of Solidarity" campaign, which involved wearing red tape over her mouth and a red armband.  The point of the protest was to be able to respond with a pro-life answer when people would ask why she is protesting.

From Life News:

...a school principal alerted police and met Rankin and her mother at the entrance where she told them that the protest is not welcome at the school. Ultimately, school officials allowed Rankin into the building but kept her in isolation away from other students.

"I was taken directly into a small room that was opposite the vice-principal's office and I was in there all day," Rankin told the Petersborough Examiner newspaper. "I wasn't allowed to speak with or see any other students and students were not allowed to come and see me and I was isolated in that room for the entire day."

Keep in mind that one of the "nice" things about Canada and some European countries is that, for good or ill, they seem to be a harbinger of what's heading our way.

Again, political correctness run amuck.

"We're going to let you die."

As incredible as it may sound, those are the words of Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton, in a speech given two years ago whose premise was "what a Democrat presidential candidate would say if he wasn't worried about getting elected".

You don't say.

His remarks were caught on audio, (much to the chagrin of those pushing Obamacare right now), and you can listen to them by clicking the "video" below.  A transcript of his comments is posted below as well, (via WSJ).

It's interesting how, as you listen to his comments, you can see how much of what he says looks an awful lot like some of the elements of (and logical consequences of) current Democrat health care proposals.

Enjoy... and pass it on!

TRASCRIPT:  read more »

Just in case you've forgotten what Obama himself has had to say about the "public option" and private insurance.  And remember, this is the same guy who wants us to believe him when he tells us that, under his plan, "if you like your insurance, you can keep it".

TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress to say "NO" to Obamacare.  Click here and contact your members of Congress now.

Over and over, as he's worked to promote his idea of healthcare "reform", Obama has stated that, "if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor", and various other versions of the same statement.  The point being to give people the idea that, if they like what they currently have, his reforms won't impact them.

The only trouble is it's not true, for a whole host of reasons, (not the least of which is the details of the bill, or just plain old market dynamics...).

To clear up this issue, there's a neat flowchart out now which gives you a better idea of the reality of the situation.

Click the image below to download it in a pdf format.  Then pass it on...

In the wake of the growing scandal(s) surrounding ACORN, GOP Congressman Steve King has forwarded a letter to the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee requesting that the committee start an investigation of the organization.

It will be interesting to see how Conyers reacts, (or is "allowed" to react by the House leadership).  Both the House and the Senate have each passed differing amendments that "defund" ACORN of federal dollars to varying degrees, but they still must be reconciled and then passed by both houses and signed by Obama.  One wonders if the Democrat leadership thinks this will be enough to get ACORN off their plate, as they would surely rather avoid a congressional investigation...considering the cozy relations between ACORN and many members of Congress.

Kings letter is copied below:  read more »

It's incredible that it wasn't planned for or done to begin with.  It's worse that it took an act of Congress to do...worse still that people actually opposed adding the words, (which, after all, are our national motto).  And it's amazing that it took this long to rectify, but finally the new Visitor's Center for the US Capitol has seen the words "In God We Trust" added to its walls.

From the "who didn't see this coming" department, we find out that
the administration that promised us great leaps for governmental
transparency...to say nothing of the extra steps they promised to take
in order to sell enough members of Congress to pass the stimulus
boondoggle...has failed to deliver.

Via the Denver Post: 

The
goal was to build a reporting system that allows the public to follow
the zigzagging paths of dollars awarded under the $787 billion federal
stimulus package. A financial GPS of sorts. But despite federal
lawmakers’ pledge of transparency, the final stages of most
money trails, along with key information about job impacts, will remain
invisible to users of the Recovery.org website when it debuts next
month.

Only details of a stimulus grant’s passage
through its first two stops after it leaves the federal government must
be reported, according to guidance memos from the White House Office of
Management and Budget. That means billions of dollars will be
untrackable and thousands of recipients will be left unidentified
through the database, officials acknowledge.  read more »

Well, well, well...

It looks like some apologies might be due in Joe Wilson's direction if certain Democrats have their way.

Why is that?  Because after months of denying there would be a move to add illegal aliens to any government subsidized health care, the mask came off this week as Democrats moved to specifically include illegal aliens in the pending health care bills.

A large group of House Democrats are working to amend the House healthcare bill to specifically include subsidized coverage for illegal aliens.  And the radical group LaRaza is calling on its members to contact Senators and "flood their voicemail" telling them to do the same - and drop any mandatory citizenship verification for coverage.

And they're in a hurry too.

They just rejected a Republican proposal to have at least three days to review a final bill - and they stopped a proposal to actually have the bill written out in legislative language BEFORE it gets voted on.

What they want is clear.  They want to ramrod an end-product that will be full-blown, government run "Obamacare" - which will include illegal aliens.

During August conservatives brought tremendous pressure on Congress.  And support for government run healthcare is at an all time low.  read more »