It’s More Than Just Politics aka What happens when you put Democrats in office pt.6 (Attack of the Republican Blogs)

Today on your favorite political blog for young Republicans: It’s more than just politics aka yet another example of the ridiculous consequences that occur when you put Democrats into any form of office.

It’s looking like this socialist, clusterf*ck of a healthcare reform bill will face its final committee vote on Tuesday according to top Senate Democrat Harry Reid.

The bill that the Finance Committee will be voting on is a 10-year, $829 billion proposal that supposedly covers 94 percent of eligible Americans while (allegedly) reducing the federal budget.

As you may already know, Reid and other Senate Democrats who happen to be in support of this misguided attempt at healthcare reform have been busy lately characterizing GOP leaders as “partisan protesters” and “divisive”. But the fact is, Senate Dems have purposely mischaracterized or blatantly left out several key details about this bill that many Americans are still not aware of.

It’s only so long that Democrat PAC ads featuring elderly citizens and children and puppies and pretty background music can fool the American people. As much more facts come out about this bill, I’ve noticed the tide starting to shift against this Democratic version of healthcare reform.

For one, this legislation is filled with tax hikes. It starts by taxing those who earn over $10,831 per year and don’t buy health insurance-a tax that increases to $3,800 as income rises. Health Insurance, health care devices and prescription drugs are also taxed, adding to the cost of health care, and decreasing the amount of competition amongst health care related businesses.

The bill also cuts $500 billion in Medicare spending, which includes over $130 billion in cuts to Medicare Advantage and almost $120 billion in Medicare cuts for hospitals and facilities that care for seniors (remember the adorable elderly people featured in their TV ads?). The CBO (Congressional Budget Office) says they expect the Medicare Advantage plans to lose around 2.7. million enrollees over the next ten years as a result of this bill being passed, while also stating that “premiums in the new insurance exchanges would tend to be higher than the average premiums in the current-law individual market…”

In other words, the cost of insurance will increase, as opposed to the claims being made by the Obama administration otherwise. But wait…it gets a lot worse.

This current bill includes what’s being called an “individual mandate”, which in essence would force all Americans to purchase health insurance. Subsidies will be given to those who earn up to three times the federal poverty level, while those who don’t qualify for the subsidies will be taxed up to $3,800 if they don’t buy insurance. So basically, if you can’t afford to buy insurance then you’ll be taxed almost $4,000. Does that make any sense to anyone? Leaving people caught in between being unable to afford insurance and having to pay this nonsensical tax? Ask yourself: If someone living at or below the poverty line had $4,000 to spend in discretionary income-don’t you think they would buy their own insurance as opposed to being taxed for not having it? And where would the tax money come from? If someone’s in what’s considered to be a lower class tax bracket, chances are they don’t pay income taxes anyway and actually get a tax refund every year.

Again, this is just the type of absurdity that can be expected when Democrats get elected to any form of office.

I can go on and on about how forcing all the uninsured into insurance could bring as much as $200 billion a year in new premiums to insurance companies (including $465 billion in subsidies over the next ten years), allowing law enforcement agencies unobstructed access to medical records (do you want that?), how this bill does nothing to add lawsuit reform to help curb frivolous lawsuits…you get the picture.

As Garet Garrett famously stated, “social gains that cost more than society can afford, especially those that are founded on the doctrine of dividing what there is instead of producing more, are bound in a little time to annul themselves.”

Socializing health care will not solve the problem. Raising taxes will not solve the problem. Government intervention will not solve the problem (bailouts anyone?) Punishing those who can’t afford health care will not solve the problem.

The only feasible solution is to elect the party in 2010 and 2012 that’s committed to cutting waste, lowering taxes, lessening bureaucracy, strengthening our country and providing economic growth and opportunities to all Americans; that party is the Republican Party. Vote GOP!

In closing, I’d like to give a special thanks to all of our Armed Forces, the RNC, the Missouri Republican Party, the Illinois Republican Party, Freedom Works, the College Republican National Committee, the National Black Republican Association, the Wall Street Journal, KSDK Channel 5, KTVI Fox 2 News (thanks for the follow on twitter!), the best assistant/god sister/too many things to name aka Jeanette (your aura…get it?), Missy (I just do like Just had said) and to all of my Republican Blogs and Bloggers (We’ve already won), my Libertarian blogs and bloggers (join us), my Democrat blogs and bloggers (Stop trying to socialize America), and to all Political blogs and bloggers: Let your voice be heard. GOP in 2012! If you’re not on the right, you’re wrong. Ready by 2011 to win in 2012! Follow STL_Politics on Twitter.
Links: http://freedomworks.org

http://grandoldparty2011.blogspot.com

Once Again…Let’s Socialize! A Liberal State of Mind pt. 2 (Attack of the Republican Blogs)

Today on my Republican blog: Once again, let’s socialize! (The current state of the Democratic Party aka the Republican version of The Best Week Ever). For a group of individuals who’ve spent the last few years campaigning (and somehow winning) on the promise of making a change in politics, it’s extraordinarily funny to see just how much in disarray the democratic party is in today. From my perspective, it looks like the only change they’re trying to affect is socialism- and they’re not even good at accomplishing that. From nationalizing banks, car manufactures, TARP, and now this health care initiative fiasco? It’s almost like democrats are trying to give us (Republicans) the country back in 2010 and 2012. That’s the exact reason that I keep saying we’ll be ready by 2011 to win in 2012. I just had a gut feeling from the beginning that if democrats got into any form of office in 2008, they would do what liberals always seem to do: find new and innovative ways to ruin America. As evidenced by Barack Obama’s national (socialized) health care plan, it’s apparent that they’re just picking up just where Hillary Clinton left off in the mid 90’s. I’m just assuming that most democrats just enjoy failing at everything they do. Think about it. Whatever city or town or municipality you happen to live in, take a second and ask yourself what ward or district or community has the most crime, the most unemployment, the lowest property values, the worst schools, ect, ect, ect. Now ask yourself this: what party does the mayor, alderman, committee members, county executive, school board members, senators, state representatives, local politicians, ect, ect, ect belong to? If you couldn’t guess- it’s the Democratic Party. It’s so perplexing to me that the very people who claim to be the party of the people (look up democracy), who claim to care about their children and their grandchildren’s future (global warming anyone?) would vote these indecisive, liberal clowns into office at all levels; year, after year, after year. To us (Republicans) it’s really of little consequence now, because we all know that each day that passes by, you’ll have more time to introduce more asinine, trite, nonsensical proposals, propositions, bills, legislation and other comedy that your party thinks will fool the American people. And guess what? Nobody’s buying it. What have we gotten so far with democratic leadership? Higher taxes, a larger government presence and an off kilter attempt at socialization. Wake up people! 2012 is ours and we’re currently organizing this very second for 2010 and 2012. But before I let you read this funny (to Republicans) and accurate article my friend e-mailed me, I have to give my respect and thanks to Erica Werner and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar from the Associated Press, all of our Armed Forces, the RNC, the Missouri Republican Party, the Illinois Republican Party, the College Republican National Committee, the National Black Republican Association, the Wall Street Journal, KSDK Channel 5, KTVI Fox 2 News, my personal assistant /gf #2 Jeanette, all of my Republican Blogs and Bloggers (I’m still here!), my Libertarian blogs and bloggers (like your tax hikes?), my Democrat blogs and bloggers (keep giving 2012 to us on a silver platter!), and to all Political blogs and bloggers: Let your voice be heard. GOP in 2012! If you’re not on the right, you’re wrong. Ready by 2011 to win in 2012! Enjoy!

WASHINGTON – Dissension within Democratic ranks over President Barack Obama’s health care initiative all but paralyzed the House Friday, typifying just how many political land mines are littering the path to enactment.
The Obama White House figured on some pushback from congressional Republicans, but leaders of his own Democratic Party struggled to get things moving. A powerful House committee chairman threatened to force a floor vote to break the impasse within Democratic ranks — a drastic step that could roil the House.
Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said negotiations with fiscally conservative Democrats on his panel cannot continue indefinitely. But a floor vote would put fellow Democrats in an exposed position, having to cast a vote on a $544-billion upper-income tax increase that the Senate is unlikely to embrace to help pay for covering the millions of uninsured Americans.
The problems on the House side of the Capitol come a day after Senate Democratic leaders announced they would not go ahead as planned with a floor vote before Congress departs for its August recess. Senate Democrats are also divided. While some are negotiating with Republicans, others want to plow ahead on their own.
“We’re going to have to look at perhaps bypassing the (Energy and Commerce) committee because we’ve got to get moving on this legislation,” Waxman said. “I hope we don’t come to that conclusion.”
Two House panels have already passed legislation. Waxman is stymied because seven conservatives on his committee — part of a group called the Blue Dog Democrats — are sticking together.
Negotiations are continuing, but Waxman said he’s running out of patience.
“We’re not going to let them empower the Republicans to control the committee,” he said.
“This can’t be an interminable discussion,” Waxman added. He’s agreed to a study to address why Medicare rates are lower in rural areas in hopes of mollifying the Blue Dogs, many of whom represent small town constituencies. Billions of dollars are potentially at stake. Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said he hoped the talks would end on a positive note and the bill could proceed through Waxman’s committee.
As lawmakers continued to haggle, the White House said Obama will keep working on health care in August even if Congress goes home.
“Nobody in planning meetings decided we should just take August off,” said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. “For a long time we planned to continue the discussion on the issues that are important, be it the economy, health care … education. That had always in many ways been priced into the scenario.”
Obama envisions legislation that would, for the first time, require all Americans to be insured. A new government insurance program would compete with private insurers, and insurance companies would be barred from excluding people with pre-existing conditions. The goals are to hold down costs and extend coverage to most of the 50 million uninsured. The price tag: $1 trillion-plus over a decade.
Obama met Friday morning at the White House with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont. Reid said Thursday that the panel will push to complete a bill before the Senate breaks Aug. 7. Baucus has been negotiating with the panel’s Republicans in hopes of producing a bipartisan bill.
Finance Committee negotiators are looking at a bill that probably won’t satisfy Democratic liberals. One of their top goals is a new government-sponsored insurance plan, and that was a centerpiece of legislation passed by the Senate’s health committee. But Finance Committee members are looking at nonprofit co-ops instead.
In the House, the Blue Dogs want more done to try to control rising medical costs.
Democratic leaders say the back-and-forth is a normal part of the legislative process, but Republicans are latching on to the disarray in delight. The Republican National Committee has taken to issuing news releases headlined “Chaos” that highlight disagreements within the Democrats’ ranks.
In a Tweeter post on Friday, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, gave a shout-out to the Democratic dissidents: “bludogs keep barkin.” Grassley is Baucus’ counterpart in the Senate health care negotiations.