Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) Gives Republican Weekly Address Following Healthcare Forum

Senator Tom Coburn Weekly Republican Address 02/27/10 VIDEO FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

Remarks by Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), as provided by the Republican National Committee:

Hello, I’m Dr. Tom Coburn, a practicing physician from Oklahoma and a member of the United States Senate.

This week I had the opportunity to join President Obama and my Democrat and Republican colleagues for a summit on health care. We had a respectful and constructive discussion.

While we listened to one another, I’m concerned that the majority in Congress is still not listening to the American people on the subject of health care reform. By an overwhelming margin, the American people are telling us to scrap the current bills, which will lead to a government takeover of health care, and we should start over.

Unfortunately, even before the summit took place the majority in Congress signaled its intent to reject our offers to work together. Instead they want to use procedural tricks and backroom deals to ram through a new bill that combines the worst aspects of the bills the Senate and House passed last year.

The American people have rejected the majority’s plan for good reason. Their plan includes half a trillion dollars in new tax increases, a half a trillion dollars in cuts to Medicare, job-killing penalties for employers, taxpayer funded abortion and new boards that will ration care to American citizens. At its core, their plan continues a government-centered approach that has...

...made health care more expensive. Federal and state governments already control 60 percent of health care. If more government spending and control was the answer we could have fixed health care long ago.

Republicans in Congress have a different vision for reform. We have put forward several proposals that lay out a common sense step-by-step path to reform. Our solutions are patient-centered, not government-centered. We believe in expanding options, not government; increasing access, not taxes; and reducing costs, not quality. Most importantly, we believe that no one has the right to step between you and your doctor.

I introduced a health care bill called the ‘Patients’ Choice Act’ last May along with Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina and Representatives Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Devin Nunes of California that includes several step-by-step ideas for reform. The ‘Patients’ Choice Act’ and other Republican plans accomplish all of the President’s goals, including expanding coverage, without raising taxes, bankrupting the country or rationing care.

Our ideas address the core problem in our health care system – skyrocketing costs – by using the only force that ever lowers cost – competition and consumer choice. Health care is so expensive today because third-parties – government and insurance company bureaucrats – have stepped between you and your doctor.

Our solutions restore the doctor-patient relationship and put you – not your insurance company, your boss or the government – in charge of your health care dollars and decisions. The ‘Patients’ Choice Act,’ for instance, provides generous tax credits that let you buy, and keep, the plan of your choice. We also limit lawsuit abuse which causes doctors to order costly tests that protect themselves rather than you, the patient.

Our proposals to rein in the massive amount of fraud, waste and duplication in our health care system drew widespread praise from Democrats at the summit, including the President. One in three dollars in our more than $2 trillion health care system does not do anything to help people get well or prevent them from getting sick. Democrats and Republicans agree that eliminating waste and inefficiency would lower costs and improve access tomorrow.

The majority now has a choice. We can continue to make progress like we did at the summit. Or, they can try to ram through a partisan bill that will divide and bankrupt America.

I wholeheartedly share President Obama’s desire for more civility and bipartisanship in Washington and I’m proud of the work that we did together when he was a member of the Senate. True civility, however, is measured by actions, not words.

I was disappointed the President rejected my suggestion that he host another summit. The President himself proposed that such meetings be televised more than a year ago. Last year, dozens of Democrat-only summits were held in secret behind closed doors and produced many unsavory deals. Had those meetings been open and bipartisan, I believe Congress could have passed a bipartisan health bill months ago.

If the President and the leaders in Congress are serious about finding common ground they should continue this debate, not cut it off by rushing through a partisan bill the American people have already rejected. If the majority agrees to work together they will find many Republicans ready to help them pursue our common goals of helping all Americans access quality and affordable health care for themselves and their families.

Thank you so much for listening.

The Special Relationship is under fire: Barack Obama’s refusal to back Britain over the Falklands is a disgrace

Almost immediately after President Obama was sworn in a little over a year ago, it appears he set out to destroy the relationship we have with Great Britain, our strongest ally, who has been a strong partner for the United States for years. "Why?" we have been asking for months as it makes no sense unless you consider that Obama considers himself a son of Kenya.

Obama may go down in history as the most anti-American President in history as shown by his almost hostile relationship with most of our NATO allies, his playing up to our enemies, and his endless apologies around the World for the United States. Immigrants from various countries have looked at America as a Beacon of Freedom over the years as they come to our Country looking for a better life for them and their families. Ellis Island has log book after log book filled with names of people who came to America for Freedom. Now we have an American President who wants to destroy 'Freedoms' in this Country.

Obama bows to the Saudi King and the Japanese Emperor while treating the Queen of England as his next door neighbor with little regard to protocol. American President's do not bow to anyone. At the Organization of American States Summit he played up to the dictators of the Western Hemisphere while dissing the countries loyal to the United States like Colombia who we are helping in their drug lord war fight. He seems to have never met a dictator or communist head of state he doesn't like but if a country was an ally, they are now on Obama's hit list.

We are not the only ones who have noticed this as we found this paragraph from the London Telegraph telling:

Even by the relentlessly poor standards of the Obama administration, whose doctrine unfailingly appears to be “kiss your enemies and kick your allies”, this is a new low. The White House’s neutrality in a major dispute between America’s closest friend and the likes of Venezuelan tyrant Hugo Chavez, Argentina’s biggest backer, represents the appalling appeasement of an alliance of anti-Western Latin American regimes, stretching from Caracas to Havana – combined with a callous indifference towards the Anglo-American alliance.

Countries around the world have Obama pegged, and they are correct relationships will be strained while he is in the White House. Our allies are not the only ones waking up to what this President is, but so are our enemies.

This President is spineless, rude, arrogant, and acts like a spoiled brat when he doesn't he get his way as witnessed by what happened yesterday in the Healthcare Summit where Obama lectured for more minutes then either the Democrats told their sob stories or Republicans told the facts of Democrat Healthcare bills. If what we witnessed yesterday is an indication of how he handles being in meetings with foreign leaders, it is no wonder our allies question his actions on foreign policy.

Our State Department is not any better so anyone thinking Hillary would have been better as President, think again as witnessed by their quotes on The Falklands and their actions on Honduras -- BTW, whatever happened in Honduras after their elections as we hear nothing more about how wrong it was to kick out a President who went against the Constitution. Is Obama afraid that it might come back to bite?

From the State Department spokesman:

“We are aware not only of the current situation but also of the history, but our position remains one of neutrality. The US recognises de facto UK administration of the islands but takes no position on the sovereignty claims of either party.”

The remarks had echoes of an earlier statement by a senior State Department protocol official who, when asked about the shoddy treatment of the British Prime Minister in March last year, responded:

“There’s nothing special about Britain. You’re just the same as the other 190 countries in the world. You shouldn’t expect special treatment.”

This Administration is a disgrace on the world stage. We would bet if the Olympics had been held in Venzuela, Obama would have gone instead of sending the "do nothing" Biden as he describes his job as Vice President.

The next time the American people are faced with a Presidential election, they had better be demanding candidates show everything from a formal birth certificate to academic paperwork to anything they have written as adults plus their medical record all of which Obama has kept secret.

One problem we see even when we acknowledge that Obama was most likely born in Hawaii was that he was not raised in an environment that could be called American. He spent his formative young years in Indonesia going to a Catholic school as a Muslim, went to live in Hawaii with his grandparents and was under the influence of family friend, Communist Franklin Marshal Davis, who introduced him into the Chicago political scene and to the Ayers Family. As an adult, Obama attended Rev Wright's Church which is known for its black liberation philosophy and support for black Afrocentrists. Rev Wright, as a former Muslim, caters to other Muslims so they can attend a 'Christian' church for business purposes and cover up the fact they are Muslim.

You may ask yourself what the last paragraph has to do with the United States and its special relationship with Great Britian, but you need to look no farther then the fact Obama's father was a Kenyan socialist. When Obama Sr was born and growing up, Kenya was a Crown Colony under the rule of Great Britain. At the time of Obama's birth, Kenya was in the process of becoming an independent country from Great Britain. This may be an underlying cause for Obama's contempt for Great Britain. It is as good of theory as any.

In 2012 we need to elect a President who understands our special relationships around the World especially with Great Britain and honor those relationships not kick them to the curb as Obama as done. In one year Obama has managed to wreck our foreign policy that has stood for years and the American economy. Obama likes the perks as President as he travels on AF One at the drop of a hat and hosts parties every week but allows others (Chicago White House Mafia?) determine policy.

After his arrogant, self-centered, long winded lecture yesterday, it is obvioius that he doesn't even grasp what is in the healthcare bill he has been touting for years. With that we can safely assume, that policy making in the White House is not being done by the President. Who is the main voice behind Obama on policy? Is it Emanual, Jarrett, Axelrod, or Soros who is outside the Administration. Do we have a shadow government calling the shots? Maybe when history is written, we will find out the truth.

Read this article and ask yourself what have the American people done in putting a son of a Kenyan socialist, someone mentored by a Communist friend of his mother's family, who is/was a friend of domestic terrorists, and had a minister who preaches black liberation in the Office of the President of the United States.

The Special Relationship is under fire: Barack Obama’s refusal to back Britain over the Falklands is a disgrace

By Nile Gardiner World
Last updated: February 25th, 2010

The Obama administration’s decision to remain neutral in the dispute between Great Britain and Argentina over the Falkland Islands is a shameful decision that will go down very badly across the Atlantic. As The Times has just reported, Washington has point blank refused to support British sovereignty over the Falklands, and is adopting a strictly neutral approach.

(snip)

Over the course of the last year, we’ve seen a staggering array of foreign policy follies by this administration, from the throwing under the bus of the Poles and the Czechs over missile defence to siding with Marxists in Honduras. But this latest pronouncement surely takes the biscuit as the most brazen betrayal so far of a US ally.

As the Obama government is amply aware, the tensions between London and Buenos Aires are escalating dramatically, with British military contingency planning already under way. In effect, Washington declared today that it would remain neutral in the event of another war in the South Atlantic, a stunning declaration to make.

(snip)

To put it bluntly, the Obama administration is killing the Special Relationship, and the prospects of a recovery look extremely bleak as long as Barack Obama remains in the White House.

I am in no doubt though that messages of support for Britain will begin to flow in the coming days from Senators and Congressmen who actually understand the importance of Anglo-American friendship and loyalty, and who recognize the tremendous value of the ancestral, linguistic, economic, cultural, military and intelligence ties that bind the two greatest nations in the world. And I am very sure that the vast majority of Americans will reject the spineless neutrality of the White House and State Department, and wholeheartedly support the British people in the event of another conflict.

Excerpt: Read More at London Telegraph

Powerline this morning has another take on this and lends credibility to the question of "Why does Obama hate England?":

Mel and Barack: What do they have in Common?
Feb 25, 2010

They both hate England, apparently. The difference is that Mel Gibson's antipathy, as expressed in Braveheart and The Patriot, is mostly fictional. Why Barack Obama hates England is hard to say, but his antipathy is distressingly real. Now, Obama has declared that the U.S. is neutral with regard to the Falklands. The Telegraph headlines: "Et tu, Barack? America betrays Britain in her hour of need"

Excerpt: Read More at Powerline

The Main Event: Ryan v. Obama

From the Weekly Standard:

On deficits and spending.
BY Matthew Continetti
February 25, 2010 4:22 PM

Rep. Paul Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, just launched a full-bore assault on the faulty assumptions behind the claim that the Obama health care plan will reduce the deficit. Obama didn't even bother questioning Ryan's presentation. He changed the subject to Medicare Advantage. The expression on the president's face as Ryan made his case was absolutely priceless. Simply put, he looked like someone who realizes he's met his match.

Pres. vs Vice Pres: “Pure Theater”

Today we witnessed Republicans bring their "A" team to do battle. Every last Republican was armed with facts and not afraid to dispute Obama and the Democrats. The Democrats brought their "C" team who came prepared with 'sob stories' and most not knowing what was in their own healthcare bills. Then we had to stop and think that just maybe this is the best the Democrats can offer in the way of spokesman since the Progressives now run the show in the House, Senate, and the White House.

None of the Democrats were interested in hearing about what the American people were saying so come November 2nd, 2010, it is time we showed the Democrats they should have listened instead of telling us we are not interested in the process of passing Healthcare in the Senate. According to Obama we don't care if it is 51 votes or 60 votes. Obama and the Democrats are dead wrong -- the American people in large numbers are against reconciliation or nuclear option in the Senate which require only 51 votes.

Republicans may be the Minority Party but they are the only ones standing up for the American people which showed today.

Pres. vs Vice Pres: “Pure Theater”

Washington, Feb 25 -

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “I Hope That This Isn’t Political Theater.” (President Obama, Health Care Summit, 2/25/10)

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: On Today’s Summit: “Could Be Pure Theater.” “Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Democrats are ready to work with any good ideas Republicans bring to today's White House summit on health care reform, but he also said the event ‘could be pure theater.’” (“Biden Open To Finding Deal On Health Care Reform,” [Delaware] News Journal, 2/25/10)

Unacceptable?

Unacceptable?
Speaker Pelosi Says 73 Percent Of Americans’ Opinions Are “Unacceptable”

Washington, Feb 25 -

SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI: “[I]naction And Incrementalism Are Simply Unacceptable.” (Politico’s “Playbook,” 2/25/10)

AMERICANS AGREE WITH REPUBLICANS, WANT FRESH START ON HEALTH CARE

CNN POLL: 73 Percent Of Americans Say “Lawmakers Should Work On An Entirely New Bill” Or “Stop All Work.” “Twenty-five percent of people questioned in the poll say Congress should pass legislation similar to the bills passed by both chambers, with 48 percent saying lawmakers should work on an entirely new bill and a quarter saying Congress should stop all work on health care reform.” (“

CNN Poll: Health Care Provisions Popular But Overall Bills Unpopular,” CNN, 2/24/10)• CNN POLL: 79 Percent Of Independents Want Congress To “Start Work On A New Bill” Or “Stop All Work.” “Fifty-two percent of independents want Congress to start work on a new bill, with 27 percent saying lawmakers should stop all work, and 18 percent saying that the current legislation should be passed into law.” (“CNN Poll: Health Care Provisions Popular But Overall Bills Unpopular,” CNN, 2/24/10)

Fact Check: "Promises On Medicare"

Fact Check: "Promises On Medicare"

Speaker Says “We Cannot Keep Our Promises On Medicare” Without Passing A Bill That Cuts Nearly $500 Billion Out Of Medicare

Washington, Feb 25 - REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): “And I Want To Say, Because Medicare Was Mentioned, Unless We Pass This Legislation, We Cannot Keep Our Promises On Medicare.” (Rep. Pelosi, Health Care Summit, 2/25/10)

DEM HEALTH CARE BILL: NEARLY A HALF TRILLION DOLLARS IN MEDICARE CUTS

“Plan … Largely Embraces The Approach Already Taken By The U.S. Senate.” “President Obama made it clear Monday morning that he intends to make a final push for a comprehensive overhaul of the nation's health care and insurance system, offering a new health care plan that largely embraces the approach already taken by the U.S. Senate.” (“Obama Embraces Senate Approach In New Health-Care Plan,” The Washington Post, 2/22/10)

Senate Bill: $466.7 Billion In Medicare Cuts

(Senate Finance Committee Minority Staff Review Of JCT And CBO Cost Estimates, 12/19/09)

CBO: Medicare Cuts Could “Reduce Access To Care Or Diminish The Quality Of Care.” (CBO Director Doug Elmendorf, Letter To Sen. Harry Reid, 12/19/09, P. 1, 19)

Fact Check: "No One Has Talked About Reconciliation"

Fact Check: "No One Has Talked About Reconciliation"

Washington, Feb 25 - SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): “No One Has Talked About Reconciliation.” (Sen. Reid, Health Care Summit, 2/25/10)“Reid Said… Democrats Would Use The Reconciliation Process. ‘We're Going To Have That Done In The Next 60 Days.’” “Democrats will finish their health reform efforts within the next two months by using a majority-vote maneuver in the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said. Reid said that congressional Democrats would likely opt for a procedural tactic in the Senate allowing the upper chamber to make final changes to its healthcare bill with only a simple ‘I've had many conversations this week with the president, his chief of staff, and Speaker Pelosi,’ Reid said during an appearance Friday evening on ‘Face to Face with Jon Ralston’ in Nevada. ‘And we're really trying to move forward on this.’ The majority leader said that while Democrats have a number of options, they would likely use the budget reconciliation process to pass a series of fixes to the first healthcare bill passed by the Senate in November. These changes are needed to secure votes for passage of that original Senate bill in the House. ‘We'll do a relatively small bill to take care of what we've already done,’ Reid said, affirming that Democrats would use the reconciliation process. ‘We're going to have that done in the next 60 days.’” (“Reid: Dems Will use 50-Vote Tactic To Finish Healthcare In 60 Days,” The Hill’s Briefing Blog, 2/20/10)

Fact Check: CBO On Premiums

Fact Check: CBO On Premiums CBO And Democrat Senator Says “It Is True That Some Persons” “Would Find Their Premiums” Going Up

Washington, Feb 25 - PRESIDENT OBAMA: “It's Not Factually Accurate. Here's What The Congressional Budget Office Says. The Costs For Families For The Same Type Of Coverage As They're Currently Receiving Would Go Down 14 To 20%.” PRESIDENT OBAMA: “No, no, no. And this is an example of where we've got to get our facts straight.” SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER (R-TN) :“That's my point.” PRESIDENT OBAMA: “Well, exactly. So let me respond to what you just Lamar, because it's not factually accurate. Here's what the Congressional Budget Office says. The costs for families for the same type of coverage as they're currently receiving would go down 14 to 20%.” (President Obama, Health Care Summit, 2/25/10)

CBO: “Average Premiums Per Policy In The Nongroup Market In 2016 Would Be Roughly $5,800 For Single Policies And $15,200 For Family Policies Under The Proposal, Compared With Roughly $5,500 For Single Policies And $13,100 For Family Policies Under Current Law. The Weighted Average Of The Differences In Those Amounts Equals The Change Of 10 Percent To 13 Percent In The Average Premium Per Person Summarized Above…” (Emphasis In Original; CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf, Letter To Sen. Bayh, P. 6, 11/30/09)•

SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D-MT): “So It Is True That Some Persons In The So-Called Nongroup Market In The Year 2016, Would Find Their Premiums Would Go Up Without Subsidies. And I Think That Figure Nets Out To About 7%, But They're Getting Better Insurance.” (Sen. Baucus, Floor Remarks, 12/7/09)

Pence Discusses White House Summit on MSNBC: This Isn't Good Government, It's Bad Tv"

Watching this Summit today which is still going on with Dodd talking (Obama extended the time so more Dems could speak for the most part), I take away a sense that Republicans came to the Summit well prepared and very knowledgeable about what was in these Democrat healthcare bills. The Democrats brought their "C" team as all they wanted to talk about was stories about healthcare. Bottom Line was Republicans had facts and Democrats had spin.

Obama hogged a lot of the time and never really answered the Republicans but it was a way to stop them from talking and then he would recognize a Democrat. The most galling part was Obama thinking Americans don't care about the Reconciliation process that would pass this bill with only 51 votes versus 60 in the Senate after the House Dems pass the bill (they don't have the votes right now). Obviously Obama and the Democrats are not listening to Americans and think we are too stupid to care.

We are happy to report the Republicans get it and are extremely proud of how they handled themselves against the odds today. The time of the Dems was at least 2-1 and if you put in Obama more like 3-1 or 4-1 in time but it didn't make any difference. The Republicans had the facts and Obama responding so much hurt the Democrats as he didn't have the facts. How someone with such little experience as Obama and so condescending and arrogant to the Republican members of Congress was elected is beyond us. But then he is condescending and arrogant to the American people which everyone needs to keep in mind come November 2012.

Right now we need to focus on sending the Democrats to the unemployment line after today's summit on 2 Nov 2010 as they are ill equipped with facts to answer some of the most basic questions of their own healthcare bills. They are not representing the American people and they certainly are not listening.

Pence Discusses White House Summit on MSNBC: This Isn't Good Government, It's Bad Tv"

Washington, DC - The following are excerpts from U.S. Congressman Mike Pence's appearance on MSNBC today regarding the White House health care summit: Reaction to the summit

"Well, my impression is that this isn't good government, it's bad TV. The reality is that while we were promised a serious negotiation, where the president a few weeks ago said that he was going to bring the various parties together and look for areas of common agreement. What we're seeing here from the president forward is just a restatement of the positions that the administration has taken, that Democrats in the House and Senate have taken, and Republicans are doing their level best to try and convey that the American people want this administration and Democrats in Congress to get the message, scrap the bill and start over with a clean sheet of paper.

"I got to tell you, I'm not impressed with what we are seeing, for all the president's repeated, somewhat condescending statements. He said to John McCain the campaign is over and we've got to get away from talking points. All we've got from the president today is talking points. All we've got is the president restating the bill that he dumped on the American people on Monday, and the American people want to scrap it and move on."

Can we get past the "talking points"

"Well I think it's up to the party that's in the majority and the party that's in the Oval Office to decide whether we get past it, and it really all begins with the president being willing to start with a clean sheet of paper, which he's obviously not willing to do. I think what millions of Americans, those that haven't tuned it out today, were hoping to see was a serious conversation about common ground. If the president had sat down and said, ‘Ok look, we've had bills, you've had bills, let's write across the top of a piece of paper what we could agree on, and everybody kick in and look for some modest, incremental step-by-step measures, I think that it would have been a very productive couple of hours.

"But instead, the president started out with a long monologue defending his government takeover of health care, and I have got to tell you, I really think the real winner today is The Price is Right. I mean I have to think that millions of Americans saw this as TV Land and not real negotiation, and tuned over to another channel pretty quick."

On reconciliation

"He didn't rule out the use of reconciliation. Harry Reid oddly denied that he's been talking about reconciliation. That would certainly be news to most of the reporters here in Washington. That's almost all they've been talking about is forcing the Senate bill or some version of ObamaCare 2.0 through on a simple majority. The president said he has an open mind? I haven't seen any evidence of that. What I think the American people have seen is almost like a professor with a petulant group of students. He has repeatedly interrupted Republicans. He has repeatedly jumped in and felt the need to answer every time Republicans outline our desire to allow Americans to purchase health insurance across state lines, allow businesses to have small business association plans, pass tort reform. Time and time again the president is stepping up and essentially rebutting each of those.

"So I don't see much evidence of an open mind here, what I see is a lot of political posturing, a lot of sentimental statements by Democrats around the table that all seem designed to get us to a point where they can throw their hands up in the air, say to the American public, you know what, we tried, but now we're just going to have to ram through that government takeover of health care that these Republicans aren't willing to help us with."

NOTE: To view the full interview, click here.

159 Ways the Senate Bill Is a Government Takeover of Health Care

Courtesy of the Senate Republican Policy Committee:

Here is a list of new boards, bureaucracies, and programs created in the 2,733 page Senate health care bill, which serves as the framework for President Obama’s health proposal:

1. Grant program for consumer assistance offices (Section 1002, p. 37)
2. Grant program for states to monitor premium increases (Section 1003, p. 42)
3. Committee to review administrative simplification standards (Section 1104, p. 71)
4. Demonstration program for state wellness programs (Section 1201, p. 93)
5. Grant program to establish state Exchanges (Section 1311(a), p. 130)
6. State American Health Benefit Exchanges (Section 1311(b), p. 131)
7. Exchange grants to establish consumer navigator programs (Section 1311(i), p. 150)
8. Grant program for state cooperatives (Section 1322, p. 169)
9. Advisory board for state cooperatives (Section 1322(b)(3), p. 173)
10. Private purchasing council for state cooperatives (Section 1322(d), p. 177)
11. State basic health plan programs (Section 1331, p. 201)

Excerpt: Click to see the additional 148

FACT CHECK: "Tried to Take Every Single Cost Containtment Idea That's Out There."

FACT CHECK: "Tried to Take Every Single Cost Containtment Idea That's Out There."
February 25, 2010

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: “Now, The, What We’ve Done Is We’ve Tried To Take Every Single Cost Containment Idea That’s Out There. Every Proposal That Health Care Economists Say Will Reduce Health Care Costs, We’ve Tried To Adopt In The Various Proposals.” (Pres. Obama, Health Care Summit, 2/25/10)“Obama's Health Plan Does Not Include” Liability Reform Which “Could Save As Much As $54 Billion Over The Next Decade”“Congressional Budget Analysts Said Friday That Lawmakers Could Save As Much As $54 Billion Over The Next Decade By Imposing An Array Of New Limits On Medical Malpractice Lawsuits -- 10 Times More Than Previously Estimated.” (“Tort Reform Could Save $54 Billion, CBO Says,” The Washington Post.

“The GOP Has Been Pushing A Series Of Modest Changes They Say Could Bring Down Costs And Improve Coverage, Including Tort Reform … Obama's Health Plan Does Not Include Those Republican Proposals.” “Instead, the GOP has been pushing a series of modest changes they say could bring down costs and improve coverage, including tort reform and new freedoms for insurance companies to sell their policies across state lines. Obama's health plan does not include those Republican proposals, although White House officials said several times Monday morning that the president will be open to Republican ideas at the meeting on Thursday.” (“Obama Offers New Health-Care Plan,” The Washington Post, 2/22/10)

Obama Fallsl Asleep At His Own Health Care Summit

Obama Falls Asleep At His Own Health Care Summit



The C-SPAN cameras catch President Obama falling asleep at his own health care summit.

Click Here to See Video at RCP

Obama Healthcare Summit

Today we will be posting updates from the Obama Healthcare Summit aka Obama Healthcare Infomercial. If anyone thought the Republicans were going to roll over think again -- they are standing their ground.

We wondered why Cong Mike Pence was not a participant, but now we know. We just posted two updates with facts from him as Chair of the House Republican Conference.

Obama already looks bored at what is going on at the summit -- what a misjudgement the American people made to put such an inexperienced liberal in the Office of the President with such a short attention span. Looks like when Obama is not speaking, he is not interested.

Cong Pence: Your Spokesman Talked About Reconciliation, Mr. Reid

Your Spokesman Talked About Reconciliation, Mr. Reid
Senator Reid TODAY: "...no one has talked about reconciliation, but that's what you folks have talked about ever since that came out." (Senator Reid, Health Care Summit, 2/25/10)

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Reid Spokesman ONE WEEK AGO: "If a decision is made to use reconciliation to advance health care, Senator Reid will work with the White House, the House, and members of his caucus in an effort to craft a public option that can overcome procedural obstacles and secure enough votes." (Statement by Senator Reid Spokesman Rodell Mollineau, The Plum Line, 2/19/2010)

House GOP Conf Chair Pence: Medicare Experts Disagree Madam Speaker

Medicare Experts Disagree, Madam Speaker Speaker Pelosi charges that her plan for a government takeover of health care is the cure to save Medicare:

"And I want to say, because Medicare was mentioned, unless we pass this legislation, we cannot keep our promises on Medicare." (Rep. Pelosi, Health Care Summit, 2/25/10)

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But Medicare experts disagree: "[Medical] providers for whom Medicare constitutes a substantive portion of their business could find it difficult to remain profitable and might end their participation in the program (possibly jeopardizing access to care for beneficiaries)." (Office of the Actuary, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 11/13/2009)

GOP Tells Obama To Start Over on Health Care, Harry Reid Fires Back

We now know that President Obama and Majority Leader Reid have no intention of making this bi-partisan with keeping the right to use reconciliation on the table. This is nothing more then an infomercial to set up Republicans, but it is failing. American people can see right through the what the Democrats are doing as we have had plenty of experience in the last year.

GOP Tells Obama To Start Over on Health Care, Harry Reid Fires Back Politics Daily/The Capitolist
Minutes Ago (Feb 25, 2010)
Patricia Murphy

President Barack Obama began the bipartisan health care summit Thursday morning by framing health care costs as a catastrophic drag on the American economy, and by imploring Republicans to abandon their talking points and engage in an open-minded discussion about how to improve health care delivery for all Americans.

"I hope that this isn't just political theater, where we're just playing to the cameras and criticizing each other, but instead are actually trying to solve the problem," Obama said to the Republicans and Democrats assembled in the Garden Room of the Blair House in Washington. "That's what the American people are looking for."
But when the president turned the floor over to the Republicans, Tennessee's Sen. Lamar Alexander put a challenge on the table for Obama and the Democratic leadership in the room.

"The American people have tried to say in every way they know how...they oppose the health care bill that passed the Senate on Christmas Eve," Alexander said. "We believe we have a better idea. Take the ideas you mentioned and start over."
Alexander then asked Democrats to commit that they will not use reconciliation-- a process that requires 51 votes rather than 60-- to pass health care through the Senate.

"Renounce this idea to use reconciliation to pass your version of the bill," Alexander said. "You can say this process has been used before, and it has, but not for something this big. It's not appropriate to use to 17 % of the economy."
With reconciliation on the table, Lamar concluded, "Then the rest of what we do today will not be relevant. The only thing bipartisan will be the opposition to the bill."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid took the floor shortly after Alexander and slammed the Republican's contention that Americans do not want the Senate's bill.
"I would say to my friend Lamar, you're entitled to your own opinion, but not to your own facts." Reid the cited a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll that showed 58 percent of the American people would be "disappointed" if Congress did not pass health care reform this year.

As Reid concluded his remarks, Reid did not take reconciliation off the table.
Nor did the president.

Pence Calls White House Health Care Summit "Taxpayer-funded Media Event"

Spending our tax dollars for this White House Health Care Media Event is ludicrous on so many levels. Everything this President does has to be about I, I, I and not about what is good for the Country.

Americans have woken up to the "I" President and don't like what they are seeing. Tomorrow we hope someone counts how many times he says "I" because every time he lectures it is about "Obama" not the Country. The burning question of the day is "Will Obama use his good buddy, the Teleprompter tomorrow?"

Pence Calls White House Health Care Summit "Taxpayer-funded Media Event"
Feb 24, 2010

“The American people long for health care reform that will lower the cost of health insurance without growing the size of government, but that is not what is happening here.”

Washington, DC - U.S. Congressman Mike Pence, Chairman of the House Republican Conference, delivered the following remarks today on the floor of the House of Representatives to discuss tomorrow's White House "summit" on health care:

Transcript:

"Tomorrow, the White House will convene a so-called ‘summit' on health care reform. It's supposedly an effort to find bipartisan agreement and consensus on reform. And frankly, if the administration and Democrats in Congress were actually willing to scrap the bill and start over with a clean sheet of paper, I'd be all for it.

"The American people long for health care reform that will lower the cost of health insurance without growing the size of government, but that is not what is happening here. Instead of scrapping the bill, the president has actually produced his own bigger, worse version of the bills that passed the House and Senate and have been summarily rejected by the American people. More spending, more taxes, more government and coverage for abortion.

"Instead of starting over, Democrats in Congress continue to threaten to abuse the very rules of this institution by passing some version of their health care reform bill by a simple majority in the Senate, known as reconciliation. You know, tomorrow's summit is looking more and more like a taxpayer-funded media event designed to set up passage of ObamaCare 2.0, and the American people deserve to know it."

Fact: President's Health Care Proposal Does Not Include GOP Reforms

This should not be a shock to anyone that Obama/Pelosi/Reid made sure that this 'new' Obamacare proposal contained no Republican support. What is shocking is that the Washington Post and New York Times admit the Democrats have frozen out Republican input.

The Obama Healthcare Infomercial which will kick off tomorrow may turn out to be one of the biggest political blunders we have seen from the White House to date. Inviting Republicans and already having the bill complete is not going over well. Now we learn that the White House is counting on Obama's personality to sway Republicans. Guess they haven't taken a look at what the American people think of Obamacare in polling.

Two days before the Infomercial Summit on Healthcare we have this article from the #2 person in the House, Steny Hoyer: Comprehensive healthcare bill may be no go

"We may not be able to do all. I hope we can do all, a comprehensive piece of legislation that will provide affordable, accessible, quality health care to all Americans," Hoyer said at his weekly media briefing. "But having said that, if we can't, then you know me — if you can't do a whole, doing part is also good. I mean there are a number of things I think we can agree on."

Should be an interesting day tomorrow as Obama lectures Republicans on what they need to do to get on board with 'his' healthcare bill. Republican Leader Boehner and the House Republicans seem to be in no mood to be lectured on healthcare by Obama and the Democrats when they refuse to listen to Republicans. Stay tuned for for details on what happens with the Obama Healthcare Infomercial which takes place tomorrow.

Fact: President's Health Care Proposal Does Not Include GOP Reforms

Wash Post: "Obama's Health Plan Does Not Include Those Republican Proposals," NYT: "No Big New Concessions to Republicans"

Washington, Feb 23 - President Obama has crippled the credibility of this week’s health care summit by proposing a massive government takeover based on the 2,733-page Senate bill the American people have already rejected. Don’t take our word for it. Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office of Health Reform, described the President’s proposal as “the Senate bill with targeted” changes. One initial review of the President’s proposal says it “largely embraces the approach already taken by the U.S. Senate,” another states it “follows the bill passed by Senate Democrats on Christmas Eve, with changes intended to make it acceptable to their House counterparts,” while another labeled it a “a legislative blueprint … that seeks to unify House and Senate Democrats but makes no big new concessions to Republicans.”

So when the White House claims it has incorporated Republican ideas into a proposal designed to unify Congressional Democrats, count us at a loss.

Despite White House rhetoric to the contrary, the President’s costly, job-killing health care proposal does not implement a single major GOP reform that would lower costs for families and small businesses. It just takes solid Republican ideas to lower costs, waters them down, and fails to deliver reform that can actually be effective. For instance, the President’s proposal to address junk lawsuits is little more than a grant program that would have a limited impact at best. The President’s proposal also prevents states from implementing proven reforms recognized by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and other independent analysts as effective in reducing junk lawsuits.

Make no mistake, out-of-touch Washington Democrats remain very much in the pockets of their trial lawyer allies. The President’s costly, job-killing health care proposal also fails to implement these common-sense GOP reforms that would lower costs for families and small businesses:

Universal Access Programs so all patients with preexisting conditions will have access to affordable health care coverage – without waiting lists;

Allowing Americans to shop for coverage across state lines without a new federal bureaucracy;

Allowing small businesses to pool together and offer health care at lower prices, just as big corporations and unions do now;

Empowering states to implement innovative reforms that make coverage more affordable.

The CBO has confirmed that the Republican health care bill would lower premiums for families and small businesses by up to 10 percent. That’s the relief Americans need based on the step-by-step approach they want.

The Washington Post reports that the President’s proposal “rejects repeated calls from Republicans to scrap Democratic efforts from last year and start over”:

"By offering his own proposal, Obama is betting that Americans watching the health-care summit will provide his efforts new momentum after a nearly year-long process that ground to a halt while negotiators cut deals in back rooms and Republicans intensified their criticisms. "Instead, the GOP has been pushing a series of modest changes they say could bring down costs and improve coverage, including tort reform and new freedoms for insurance companies to sell their policies across state lines. "Obama's health plan does not include those Republican proposals…”

The President and Congressional Democrats apparently believe that every health care bill must begin with tax increases, Medicare cuts, job-killing mandates, and higher premiums. Americans want us to scrap this massive bill and start over with a step-by-step approach focused on lowering costs.

Source: Republicanleader.house.gov

Editorials Across the Nation Question the President's Latest Health Care Plan

From Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence:

Editorials Across the Nation Question the President's Latest Health Care Plan

“Democrats have decided to give the voters what they don't want anyway”
Washington Post Editorial: “President Obama's 'opening bid' on health reform is not designed to entice Republicans to join the game. ... Overall, though, the president has proposed a plan whose uncertain savings are made even less certain, and whose known costs are increased…. And what credit or credibility is due a president who endorses a tax but leaves to his successor the unpleasant task of collecting it?” (February 23, 2010)

Wall Street Journal Editorial: “[A]fter election defeats in Virginia, New Jersey and even Massachusetts, and amid overwhelming public opposition, Democrats have decided to give the voters what they don't want anyway… [T]hey're going to play by Chicago Rules and try to dragoon it into law on a narrow partisan vote ... If you want to know why Democratic Washington is 'ungovernable,' this is it.” (February 23, 2010)

Detroit News Editorial: “Obama's compromise health care proposal looks too much like the old plan. … The White House is calling this a "jumping off point" for forging a compromise when Democrats and Republicans sit down before television cameras at the health care summit. But in reality, it's a recasting of the existing Democratic health care plan at an even higher cost. If the president's intent is to staple onto it a couple of Republican ideas and call it a bipartisan bill, then he is betraying the spirit of the summit and, in all likelihood, will end up with a package that can't pass Congress. …In structure, the new plan is a lot like the old plan, with a few tweaks to appease various Democratic interest groups. This is not what Americans are looking for.” (February 23, 2010)

San Francisco Examiner Editorial: “Republicans publicly wondered if Obama’s proposal represented a refreshing new attempt by the chief executive to display genuine bipartisanship and whether they should trust him to come to the summit with a truly open mind. We now know the answer to both questions is a resounding “no.” On Monday, Obama unveiled a “new” health care proposal. It costs an eye-popping $950 billion (that’s the White House’s rosy estimate) and represents nothing more than a warmed-over version of the 2,500-plus page Obamacare proposals passed last year by the Senate and House. …The president talks bipartisanship, but his proposal and his actions this week make clear that he and congressional Democrats are running a Washington, D.C., con game and hoping the American people won’t figure out they’re the mark, yet again, until it’s too late.” (February 23, 2010)

Christian Science Monitor Editorial: “Obama can’t very well negotiate a compromise with Republicans at Thursday’s healthcare “summit,” or later, if no one knows the details of his ideas. And details matter, not just because of healthcare’s complexity but also because Obama keeps changing his tune on healthcare. …He once favored a federal takeover of healthcare insurance (or “single payer” system) before he agreed to keep the employer-based insurance system. He once opposed the idea that every American now without insurance be required to buy it – until he favored this “mandate.” He once wanted a government-run health insurance entity (the “public option”), until he said it wasn’t necessary.” (February 23, 2010)

The Los Angeles Times Editorial: “…Obama hasn't convinced the public that the problems in the system justify such a costly overhaul.” (February 23, 2010)

The Chicago Tribune Editorial: “Obama wants Republicans to approach the summit in a spirit of compromise. Too bad he's not leading by example.” (February 22, 2010)

The Pittsburgh Post Tribune Editorial: “What's painfully transparent is Team Obama's purely political agenda that's sorely out of touch with Americans' priorities.” (February 23, 2010)

The Pittsburgh Post Tribune Editorial: “Oh, what populist pap. But we all should have seen this coming. The same government that seeks to pervert the "risk pool" concept that is the backbone of "insurance" -- by forcing pre-existing conditions to be covered -- now seeks to prevent insurers from recouping the costs of that higher risk. Simply put, the federal government continues to seek to nationalize the health insurance industry.” (February 23, 2010)

SENATE EPW MINORITY RELEASES REPORT ON CRU CONTROVERSY

The report is now out with all the facts for people to read and judge for themselves how some of the climate scientists not only violated ethics but also the fact there was huge disagreements in the climatology community that were never made public.

After all these years and the ridicule Progressive Democrats like Al Gore, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, and others spewed at Senator Inhofe, he has been proven correct. For years we have heard him refer to the data as 'junk science' that some of climate scientists were publishing. With no Peer Review, there was no one to either back up or refute their claims except a few scientists willing to stand up.

The media ran with the Al Gore Global Warming mantra and never considered the fact the the data might not have been correct -- never crossed their minds. Anyone who dared doubt Gore and the Global Warming agenda were considered people who didn't care about the environment and out of touch with reality. When, in fact, it was the Global Warming crowd who were out of touch with reality and costs Governments around the World billions.

Americans should be thanking Senator Inhofe who never gave up the fight and in the end was proven correct -- 'junk science' was used to support the political agenda of Al Gore's Global Warming that the Nobel Committee saw fit to award him a Nobel Prize. Those Nobel Prize Committees might want to rethink who they are awarding these prizes with monetary awards after the last few years.

SENATE EPW MINORITY RELEASES REPORT ON CRU CONTROVERSY

Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Contact:
Matt Dempsey Matt_Dempsey@epw.senate.gov (202) 224-9797
David Lungren David_Lungren@epw.senate.gov (202) 224-5642

SENATE EPW MINORITY RELEASES

REPORT ON CRU CONTROVERSY

Shows Scientists Violated Ethics, Reveals Major Disagreements on Climate Science

WATCH: Inhofe Releases Climategate Report During EPW Hearing
Link to Press Release
Link to EPW Minority Report on CRU Controversy
Link to a Sampling of CRU Emails
Link: IPCC Gets the Science Wrong
Link: Endangerment Finding Based on Flawed Science

Washington, D.C.-The Minority Staff of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works released a report today titled, "‘Consensus' Exposed: The CRU Controversy." The report covers the controversy surrounding emails and documents released from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit (CRU). It examines the extent to which those emails and documents affect the scientific work of the UN's IPCC, and how revelations of the IPCC's flawed science impacts the EPA's endangerment finding for greenhouse gases.

The report finds that some of the scientists involved in the CRU controversy violated ethical principles governing taxpayer-funded research and possibly federal laws. In addition, the Minority Staff believes the emails and accompanying documents seriously compromise the IPCC-based "consensus" and its central conclusion that anthropogenic emissions are inexorably leading to environmental catastrophes.

In its examination of the controversy, the Minority Staff found that the scientists:

- Obstructed release of damaging data and information;

- Manipulated data to reach preconceived conclusions;

- Colluded to pressure journal editors who published work questioning the climate science "consensus"; and

- Assumed activist roles to influence the political process.

"This EPW Minority Report shows that the CRU controversy is about far more than just scientists who lack interpersonal skills, or a little email squabble," said Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. "It's about unethical and potentially illegal behavior by some the world's leading climate scientists.

"The report also shows the world's leading climate scientists acting like political scientists, with an agenda disconnected from the principles of good science. And it shows that there is no consensus-except that there are significant gaps in what scientists know about the climate system. It's time for the Obama Administration to recognize this. Its endangerment finding for greenhouse gases rests on bad science. It should throw out that finding and abandon greenhouse gas regulation under the Clean Air Act-a policy that will mean fewer jobs, higher taxes and economic decline."
###

Pence: Republicans Reject Obamacare 2.0

The President may think he has all the bases covered and Republicans are going to walk into his web on Thursday, but he has sorely misjudged these Republicans led by Republican Leaders Boehner, Cantor, and Pence. Today's Republican Conference has been standing strong in the face of overwhelming numbers of Progressive Democrats who want Government takeover of healthcare. They have never wavered, but have continued to put up a fight for the American people who want to push the reset button and start over on a new healthcare bill. We want a new healthcare bill that will help not hurt Americans and is put together by both Democrats and Republicans that represents the best solution on healthcare for all Americans.

Anyone who has dealt with the bureaucracy of the healthcare industry knows that improvements are necessary but also know a wholesale takeover by the Government is the last thing that is needed.

Thanks from all of us to the Republican members of the House for standing up against the Progressives led by Obama/Pelosi/Reid and their attempt to takeover healthcare.

Pence: Republicans Reject Obamacare 2.0

“House Republicans will continue to oppose any effort to use this so-called ‘summit’ as a media preamble to forcing through ObamaCare 2.0.”

Washington, DC - U.S. Congressman Mike Pence, Chairman of the House Republican Conference, delivered the following remarks today at a House Republican leadership press conference that followed the weekly meeting of the House Republican Conference:

"There is no question, after two weeks home, House Republicans know that the American people want health care reform that lowers the cost of health insurance without growing the size of government.

"But it's also clear that the American people don't want a government takeover of health care. They don't want the government takeover of health care that passed the House or the Senate. And the American people don't want more of the same government takeover bill that the White House raised the curtain on yesterday. And House Republicans are on the side of the American people.

"House Republicans believe that this administration and Democrats in Congress should heed the voice of the American people and scrap this new bill, scrap the old bills, and renounce once and for all any plan to force through ObamaCare 2.0 by abusing the legislative process in the form of reconciliation.

"As this summit is approaching, House Republicans are going to seize every opportunity, on the floor and on the airwaves, to explain to the American people that we have better solutions. We have a proposal that has been online for months that would give Americans the opportunity to choose health insurance across state lines, that would bring about meaningful tort reform, and would even deal with preexisting conditions through existing state funds.

"Republicans welcome any good faith effort to hit the reset button and start over on health care reform that will lower the cost of health insurance for working Americans. But House Republicans will continue to oppose any effort to use this so-called ‘summit' as a media preamble to forcing through ObamaCare 2.0.

Source: GOP.gov

Cong John Boehner: President’s Health Care Proposal Jeopardizes Summit

Last night Republican Leader Boehner appeared on Fox News with Greta Van Susteren and had this to say about Government Takeover of Healthcare:

Today, Republican Leader Boehner has released a statement detailing what is wrong with the new Obama bill which is the fact it is the same old Senate Health Care bill dressed up to look different. Boehner is correct that the meeting Thursday will be nothing more then an infomercial for Obamacare.

When Obama and the Dems refuse to listen to the Republican idea to scrap the Senate bill and start over from scratch, then the Republicans need to stand up and say thanks but no thanks and walk out of the room. There is no sense trying to negotiate when the other side has done everything in secret and only plans to use Republicans.

Boehner: President’s Health Care Proposal Jeopardizes Summit, Doubles Down on Failed Approach Americans Have Already Rejected

GOP Leader: “The President has crippled the credibility of this week’s summit by proposing the same massive government takeover of health care based on a partisan bill the American people have already rejected.”

Washington, Feb 22 -

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement in response to the partisan health care proposal posted online by the White House for discussion at the upcoming bipartisan health care summit:

“The President has crippled the credibility of this week’s summit by proposing the same massive government takeover of health care based on a partisan bill the American people have already rejected. This new Democrats-only backroom deal doubles down on the same failed approach that will drive up premiums, destroy jobs, raise taxes, and slash Medicare benefits.

“This week’s summit clearly has all the makings of a Democratic infomercial for continuing on a partisan course that relies on more backroom deals and parliamentary tricks to circumvent the will of the American people and jam through a massive government takeover of health care.

“The best way to protect families and small businesses in this time of economic uncertainty is to start over with a step-by-step approach to health care reform focused on lowering costs, and that’s exactly what Republicans are fighting for. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has confirmed that the Republican bill reduces premiums for families and small businesses by up to 10 percent. The Republican bill reduces premiums by implementing common-sense reforms such as allowing Americans to purchase insurance across state lines. Despite their rhetoric to the contrary, none of the Democrats’ proposals – including the President’s – provides this much-needed reform in a manner that can actually be effective.

“Republicans are also standing with the American people by calling for health care reform to protect human life and not use taxpayer money to fund abortion. The Republican bill would codify the Hyde Amendment and prohibit all authorized and appropriated federal funds from being used to pay for abortion, which the President’s proposal would allow. Pro-life Democrats in the House have already pledged to vote against this provision. Health care reform should be an opportunity to protect human life – not end it – and the American people agree.”

Source: Rep Boehner's Press Release

Pence Calls President's New Health Care Bill 'More of the Same'

Did Obama seriously think the Republicans would not look at his Obamacare bill and figure out it is nothing more then the Senate bill with some new words to make the bill look like it is something new?

Americans should be thankful we have a group of Conservative Republicans who will not be fooled by rhetoric. John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Mike Pence, Steve King of Iowa, Michelle Bachmann, and Paul Ryan are just some of the few Republicans standing up for Americans in this fight against the takeover of our healthcare by Obama/Pelosi/Reid.

Pence Calls President's New Health Care Bill 'More of the Same'
Feb 22, 2010

Washington, DC - U.S. Congressman Mike Pence, Chairman of the House Republican Conference, issued the following statement today after President Obama released his latest health care reform plan:

"House Republicans welcome any good faith effort to start over on health care reform but the bill President Obama unveiled today is just more of the same government-run insurance, mandates and taxes the American people have overwhelmingly rejected. "If this Administration is serious about health care reform, the president should scrap this 'more of the same' health care plan and start from scratch with a clean sheet of paper and an eye toward the kind of reforms that will lower the cost of insurance. House Republicans believe we can still build a bill that will lower the cost of health insurance, without growing the size of government, and are still willing to work with this White House and Congressional Democrats to do just that."

Scientists Retract Paper on Rising Sea Levels Due to Errors

It is refreshing to see a journal retract a paper that was based on flawed data instead of continuing with the mantra that it may not be supported by facts but is still true which we have seen from some scientists/people who refuse to acknowledge that mistakes were made. Mistakes are going to be made in every field, but the failure to acknowledge those mistakes when caught are the reason so many people are questioning the remarks of climate scientists today.

A better explanation of why this paper was retracted is found in the article from Fox News:

Since the leak of e-mails from the U.K.'s top global warming scientists in early December, many other errors and sloppy mistakes have been uncovered in leading report by the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Would scientists have bothered to check their data they based their articles on without the leak of e-mails? We have our serious doubts. That said, we are impressed the climate scientists saw what had happened after the leaks and retracted their paper. It shows ethics on their part which has been sorely missing in the climate debate.

One question we have been unable to find an answer is "Why is there no peer review in the climatology field?" We have called several universities but have received no definitive answer to the question. Peer review most likely would have caught some of the errors and sloppy mistakes before Global Warming became such a huge issue. Even today some climatologists continue to cling to Global Warming is man made when they are many factors, but they want to continue their political agenda. It has costs nations billions to learn in the end the data was flawed and sloppy mistakes were made, but why won't the United Nations admit there is a real problem?

One suggestion we would like to make is that the United Nations get out of Global Warming field and concentrate on helping underdeveloped countries instead of empire building like they have been on Global Warming to push a political agenda of some environmentalists who have made millions off of Global Warming.

Updated February 22, 2010
Scientists Retract Paper on Rising Sea Levels Due to Errors

FOXNews.com

Scientists have been forced to retract a paper that claimed sea level were rising thanks to the effects of global warming, after mistakes were discovered that undermined the results.

In a NASA "what-if" animation, light-blue areas in southern Florida and Louisiana indicate regions that may be underwater should sea levels rise dramatically -- which may not be as likely as scientists once thought. The study was published in Nature Geoscience and predicted that sea levels would rise by as much as 2.7 feet by the end of the twenty-first century.

Scientists have been forced to retract a paper that claimed sea level were rising thanks to the effects of global warming, after mistakes were discovered that undermined the results.

The paper also highlighted that it reinforced the conclusions of the U.N.'s controversial Fourth Assessment report, which warned of the dangerous of man-made climate change.

However, mistakes in time intervals and inaccurately applied statistics have forced the authors to retract their paper -- the first official retraction ever for the three-year-old journal, notes the Guardian. In an officially published retraction of their paper, the authors acknowledged these mistakes as factors that compromised the results.

"We no longer have confidence in our projections for the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and for this reason the authors retract the results pertaining to sea-level rise after 1900," wrote authors Mark Siddall, Thomas Stocker and Peter Clark.

Since the leak of e-mails from the U.K.'s top global warming scientists in early December, many other errors and sloppy mistakes have been uncovered in leading report by the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Flaws in weather stations have led some to question claims of rising temperatures, sloppy math led to holes in postulates that the Himalayas were rapidly melting and fears of a man-made food shortage in Africa seem unsubstantiated as well.

Source: Fox News

Mark Levin: I have no idea what philosophy Glenn Beck is promoting. And neither does he

This is another take on the Beck speech this time from Mark Levin. We salute him for not attending CPAC when he discovered they were allowing the John Birchers to have a booth. We are having a hard time believing anyone would give credibility to the John Birchers for any reason.

There are members of the Tea Party who are very sincere in their beliefs and appreciate their attending the Town Halls and standing up. They have become engaged in politics and are working to make a difference.

There is another faction who are using the Tea Party movement for their own benefit including the Ron Paul bots, the Paul Libertarian supporters, John Birchers, Militia, and some radicals from the far right who will go along with these groups to get their way and power.

Mainstream Republicans need to continue to pull away from these fringe groups as they do not represent our values of smaller government, less taxes, and a strong national security. It is no different with some of the Democrats who are appalled by their Progressives now. Americans for the most part do not appreciate the philosophy of either the far left or the far right.

Mark Levin has done a great job of pointing out where Beck is all over the place and like Levin we have a hard time understanding Beck and his ultimate goal. One thing is for sure, he is not seeing things clearly when he can compare a Chuck Schumer and a Dr. Tom Coburn who are philosophically 180 degrees apart. Shame Beck cannot see the difference.

Mark Levin: I have no idea what philosophy Glenn Beck is promoting. And neither does he
Mark Levin Fan
February 21, 2010
Mark R. Levin

I was invited to be the opening speaker at Saturday's CPAC session. I had accepted but then, to my amazement, I learned that the John Birch Society would be one of many co-sponsors. This takes the big-tent idea many steps too far for me. So, I withdrew. Apparently, others were not so moved. That's fine. But it wasn't for me. Bill Buckley and Barry Goldwater, among others, chased the Birchers from the movement decades ago. And they're not a part of the movement. So, to give them a booth at CPAC was boneheaded.

I want to commend Bill Bennett for his wise piece this morning on the Corner. I agree with him.

I have no idea what philosophy Glenn Beck is promoting. And neither does he. It's incoherent. One day it's populist, the next it's libertarian bordering on anarchy, next it's conservative but not really, etc. And to what end? I believe he has announced that he is no longer going to endorse candidates because our problems are bigger than politics. Well, of course, our problems are not easily dissected into categories, but to reject politics is to reject the manner in which we try to organize ourselves. This is as old as Plato and Aristotle. Why would conservatives choose to surrender the political battlefield to our adversaries -- who are trashing this society -- when we must retake it in order to preserve our society? Philosophy, politics, culture, family, etc., are all of one. Edmund Burke, among others, wrote about it extensively, and far better that I possibly can. But all elements of the civil society require our defense. Besides, why preach such a strategy when conservatism is on the rise and the GOP is acting more responsibly?

Moreover, when he does discuss politics, which, ironically, is often, how can he claim today that there is no difference between the two parties when, but for the Republicans in Congress, government-run health care, cap-and-trade, card check, and a long list of other disastrous policies would already be law? The GOP is becoming more conservative thanks to the grass-roots movement and a political uprising across the country, which has even reached into New Jersey and Massachusetts. Why keep pretending otherwise? My only conclusion is that he is promoting a third party or some third way, which is counter-productive to defeating Obama and the Democrat Congress. These are perilous times and this kind of an approach will keep the statists in power for decades.

And what of his flirtations with Ron Paul's lunacy respecting America's supposed provocations with her enemies, including al-Qaeda? Why should such a fatal defect in thinking be ignored? Do we conservatives agree with this?

Finally, Beck is fond of congratulating himself for being the only or the first host to criticize George Bush's spending. This is demonstrably false. I not only attacked his spending, but the creation of the Homeland Security Department, the prescription drug add-on for Medicare, his "moderate" tax cuts, as well as his nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, "comprehensive immigration reform," and so forth. And I was not alone -- Rush and Sean did the same, for example. And as someone who fought liberal Republicans in the trenches when campaigning for Reagan in 1976 and 1980, I don't need lectures from Beck, who was nowhere to be found, about big-spending Republicans. But this is not about me, or Beck, or Beck's past drunkenness (which he endlessly wears as some kind of badge of honor). It is about preserving our society for our children and grandchildren. Beck spent precious little time aiming fire at Obama-Pelosi-Reid in his speech, and it is they who are destroying our country.

On as a positive note, I am personally happy to see that Beck has cleaned up his public act -- as best I can tell, no more boiling fake frogs on TV or pretending to pour gasoline on someone -- and the rest of it. But I do think his speech, which contained nuggets of truth heard before and read elsewhere, including on Rush's show and in my book and many other books, may have distracted from some of the more compelling and coherent speeches at the event, including Marco Rubio's superb speech. I fear the media will see to this. I hope not.

Source: Mark Levin

Bill Bennett: Saturday Night Beck

We are still stunned and frankly outraged from the Beck speech last night and very much appreciate Bill Bennett's take on Beck's speech.

We had our doubts about Beck sometime ago but some people tried to convince us that Beck was the man and was going after Obama and that was good. His outing of Medina who is running for Governor of Texas as coming from the Ron Paul camp and willing to listen to Alex Jones and 9/11 Truthers made us consider that we might have misjudged him a 'little.'

Now we have to wonder about that interview with Medina if Beck got caught unawares and ended up accidentally outing her as giving credence to the 9/11 Truther movement. We will never know.

Republicans have been standing up in Congress for all of us from the time the session was called into order in Jan 2009. How Beck can even compare them to the Democrats is beyond us and shot his credibility. We had heard he leaned toward the John Birch movement who Barry Goldwater and Bill Buckley drove out of the Party and now it is time to do it again. They have no business at anything Republican.

Members of either party who go too far left or right are not helping this Country. Progressives and John Birchers fill the same space as far as we are concerned. Both groups are far from what the vast majority of Americans are which is center right. That's where America should be govern -- center right. Right now Obama, Pelosi, and Reid are part of the Progressive movement and out of touch with most Americans. We feel the same way about the John Birchers and Ron Paul Libertarians.

This article from Bill Bennett sums up what we were thinking of Beck saying both parties are alike. Not even close.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Saturday Night Beck
Bill Bennett

There’s a lot to say about CPAC. This morning the major papers are highlighting Glenn Beck’s speech. I like Glenn a lot and I think he has something to teach us. But not what he offered last night.

Analogizing his own struggles with alcohol to the problems of our polity and in our politics, he said, “Hello, my name is the Republican party, and I have a problem!” “I’m addicted to spending and big government.” ”It is still morning in America.” ”It just happens to be kind of a head-pounding, hung-over, vomiting-for-four-hours kind of morning in America. And it’s shaping up to be kind of a nasty day. But it is still morning in America.” And, again, “I believe in redemption, but the first step to getting redemption is you’ve got to admit that you’ve got a problem. I have not heard people in the Republican party yet admit that they have a problem.”

Glenn is among the best talkers in the business of broadcast. I am not sure he’s a very good listener.

First, there is a good and strong tradition in alcohol and drug treatment that personal failings should not be extrapolated into the public sphere; that too often when this is done, conclusions are reached based on the wrong motives and, often, the wrong analysis. Glenn has made that mistake here and taken to our politics a cosmologizing of his own deficiencies. This is not a baseless criticism; they are his own deficiencies that he keeps publicly redounding to and analogizing to. It is wrong and he is wrong.

Second, for him to continue to say that he does not hear the Republican party admit its failings or problems is to ignore some of the loudest and brightest lights in the party. From Jim DeMint to Tom Coburn to Mike Pence to Paul Ryan, any number of Republicans have admitted the excesses of the party and done constructive and serious work to correct them and find and promote solutions. Even John McCain has said again and again that “the Republican party lost its way.” These leaders, and many others, have been offering real proposals, not ill-informed muttering diatribes that can’t distinguish between conservative and liberal, free enterprise and controlled markets, or night and day. Does Glenn truly believe there is no difference between a Tom Coburn, for example, and a Harry Reid or a Charles Schumer or a Barbara Boxer? Between a Paul Ryan or Michele Bachmann and a Nancy Pelosi or Barney Frank?

Third, to admit it is still “morning in America” but a “vomiting for four hours” kind of morning is to diminish, discourage, and disparage all the work of the conservative, Republican, and independent resistance of the past year. The Tea Partiers know better than this. I don’t think they would describe their rallies and resistance as a bilious purging but, rather, as a very positive democratic reaction aimed at correcting the wrongs of the current political leadership. The mainstream media may describe their reactions as an unhealthy expurgation. I do not.

A year ago, we were told the Republican party and the conservative movement were moribund. Today they are ascendant, and it is the left and the Democratic party that are on defense — even while they are in control. That’s quite an amazing achievement. But anyone who knows the history of this country and its political movements should not be surprised. America has a long tradition of antibodies that kick in. From Carter we got Reagan. And from Ted Kennedy and Barack Obama we took back a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, with midterm elections on the horizon that Republicans and conservatives are actually excited about, not afraid of.

To say the GOP and the Democrats are no different, to say the GOP needs to hit a recovery-program-type bottom and hang its head in remorse, is to delay our own country’s recovery from the problems the Democratic left is inflicting. The stakes are too important to go through that kind of exercise, which will ultimately go nowhere anyway — because it’s already happened.

The first task of a serious political analyst is to see things as they are. There is a difference between morning and night. There is a difference between drunk and sober. And there is a difference between the Republican and Democratic parties. To ignore these differences, or propagate the myth that they don’t exist, is not only discouraging, it is dangerous.

— Bill Bennett is the host of Morning in America, the Washington Fellow of the Claremont Institute, and the author of A Century Turns: New Hopes, New Fears.

Source: NRO Corner

The Republican No Cost Jobs Plan

Republicans for the last year have been advocating plans like this below to help the economy, but Speaker Pelosi refuses to have the GOP bills heard in committee so the their ideas continue to be ignored. What is even worse is that Pelosi takes great pleasure in criticizing the Republicans for lack of ideas to anyone who will listen including the media when she is the one stifling any Republican ideas and bills.

One thing has happened over the last year that Pelosi cannot control is the American people are waking up to the mistake they made in electing Barack Obama and giving the Democrats complete control of Congress. If anyone wants any proof of that, they need look no further than Massachusetts where Scott Brown, a fiscal conservative Republican, took back the people's Senate seat that was held for years by Ted Kennedy.

Republican Minority Whip Eric Cantor has put forth this "No Cost Jobs Plans" which makes Common Sense. Now it is up to Pelosi's to see if she allows this Plan to be heard in Committee.

The Republican No Cost Jobs Plan
Tear Down Self-Imposed Obstacles to Economic Growth:

The threat of increased taxes, new government regulation, and costly government mandates – all of which are currently pending before Congress and various regulatory bodies – are a significant threat to any employer who is trying to decide whether they can afford to expand. As the CEO of a steelmaker recently told the Wall Street Journal “Companies large and small are saying, ‘I am not going to do anything until these things – health care, climate legislation – go away or are resolved.’”

Therefore Congress and the Administration should:

Halt Any Proposed Rule or Regulation Expected to Have an Economic Cost, Result in Job Loss, or Have a Disparate Impact on Small Businesses:
Since taking office, the Administration has had under consideration over 100 regulations that are deemed economically significant, meaning they have an impact on the economy in excess of $100 million. Many of these rules will directly impact small businesses.

The President should issue an immediate Executive Order halting any proposed regulations expected to impose any net costs on the economy in either the near or long-term or that negatively impact small businesses or result in a net loss of jobs. Such rules should be rewritten to fully mitigate any negative economic impact.

Eliminate Job Killing Federal Tax Increases:

While there is a philosophical difference between the two parties when it comes to taxes, we believe we should find common ground on the premise that the government should at a minimum never raise taxes during periods of high unemployment.
While Republicans will continue to fight both new initiatives that are premised on tax increases and automatic tax increases that are imbedded in current law, we urge a bipartisan commitment to blocking such tax increases at least until unemployment is below 5% again.

Source:
Cong Eric Cantor

Breitbart Confronts Blumenthat at CPAC - MUST SEE VIDEO

Note: Looks like Blumenthal got more then he bargained when he ran into Andrew Breitbart from Big Government. This video finally outs Blumenthal. Great job by Andrew Breitbart from Big Government as we have been waiting a long time for someone to take on Blumenthal.

Breitbart Confronts Blumenthat at CPAC
Posted by Larry O'Connor Feb 20th 2010

A funny thing happened on the last day of CPAC. Max Blumenthal, recently corrected and embarrassed “journalist” from Salon.com paraded through the convention with a camera crew. Like last year, he was looking for a confrontation of some kind. I’m not sure what Max uncovered in his fact-finding mission, but I know that as he was leaving, a confrontation found him.

As luck would have it, Andrew Breitbart was walking in the front door of the Wardman Park Marriott Hotel at the exact moment Blumenthal was walking out. Breitbart took this opportunity to address his beef with Blumenthal head-on and assailed Blumenthal for his attempt to link James O’Keefe to white supremacists.

Toward the end of the conversation, Blumenthal says to Breitbart that he did not call anybody any names. At this moment I jumped into the fray and challenged him on the point. I reminded him that he had, in fact, called O’Keefe a racist. Blumenthal attempted to deny it, but as you can see from the video, he was only able to stick to that story for so long.

Even though Salon.com issued a partial retraction for Blumenthal’s opinion piece disguised as a news article, Big Journalism is still waiting for the other errors and falsehoods to be corrected.
Much more to come…

Source: Big Government

Uncovered Video: Obama Reveals Closer Relationship With ACORN!

This year's CPAC speakers have been providing a lot of facts that we do not usually see in the mainstream media including the video (see below) released of Obama on Acorn by CPAC Speaker, Cong Darrell Issa (R-CA).

The video of Obama speaking about ACORN flies in the face of Obama's rhetoric on the campaign trail. Most of us suspected there was a closer connection with Acorn then Obama was admitting -- now we have the video from Issa to prove that fact. Issa has been a vocal opponent of ACORN and our Government tax dollars going to fund them. Finally his research has paid off with this video.

The American voters are learning very rapidly that what Obama said on the campaign trail and reality are two different things.

ACORN needs defunded by the Government 100%, but we don't expect to see that happen with the Democrats in charge of Congress and the White House. They know ACORN is responsible for some of their seats with the ACORN voter fraud so they want to keep funding them. How many Democrats across the Country have been elected because of ACORN voter fraud? We doubt if we will ever know.

This video of Obama speaking on ACORN needs to be seen by every voter in America.

Uncovered Video: Obama Reveals Closer Relationship With ACORN!
February 20, 2010
Liz Blaine

During remarks to CPAC, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA) released a video showing the close alliance between President Barack Obama and the radical leftist community organizing group ACORN.

When confronted about his relationship with ACORN during his Presidential campaign Obama stated,

Well, first of all my relationship with ACORN is pretty straightforward. It’s probably 13 years ago when I was still practicing law, I represented ACORN and my partner in that investigation was the US Justice department in having Illinois implement what was called the motor voter law, to make sure people could go to DMV’s and driver license facilities to get registered. It wasn’t being implemented. That was my relationship and is my relationship to ACORN. There is an ACORN organization in Chicago. They’ve been active. As an elected offiical, I’ve had interactions with them. But, they’re not advising my campaign. We’ve got the best voter registration in politics right now and we don’t need ACORN’s help.”

Let’s take a look at how deep their connections really go:

Source: NewsreelBlog.com